Dino Dorothée - Memoirs of the Duchesse De Dino (Afterwards Duchesse de Talleyrand et de Sagan), 1841-1850

"Events in England increase the depression of Madame de Flahaut. The triumph of the Tories appears certain and the overthrow of the Whigs inevitable. The Granvilles are at La Jonchère 34 34 La Jonchère was the property of M. Thiers at La Celle Saint-Cloud. awaiting the result. Lord Granville cannot move and can only speak with difficulty, but his mental powers are unimpaired."

Hohlstein, July 21, 1841. – The newspapers give official news of the date when the plenipotentiaries of the five Courts signed the joint protocol referring to the East. 35 35 This protocol, which concluded the Egyptian question, was signed on July 13, 1841, by England, Austria, Prussia, Russia, and Turkey. The Straits Convention, which was signed at the same time, added the signature of the French plenipotentiary to the rest. I imagine that this will enable the final rearrangement of the French diplomatic body to be made.

I have a long letter from M. de Chalais which speaks only of his private life and gives me no news except that the Princesse de Lieven has written a long letter to the Duc de Noailles asking that she might be allowed to appoint him her executor in her will, as she says that she has an intuition that she will die at Paris. Meanwhile she seems to be excellently well.

M. Royer-Collard writes as follows in reference to the speech before the Academy of M. de Sainte-Aulaire: "I must say a word concerning the reception of Sainte-Aulaire; the newspapers flatter him; the audience was very brilliant but the speech of the new member colourless and cold. M. Roger's speech was more successful than it deserved to be; so much the worse for the public." M. Royer-Collard also told me that after paying a visit to Versailles with his daughter, he had another attack of the fever which nearly carried him off a few years ago at Châteauvieux. It is obvious that his system then received a shock from which it will never recover.

Günthersdorf, July 27, 1841. – I left Hohlstein the day before yesterday in the morning and reached Sagan at two o'clock. After dinner I went to the castle to select certain family portraits of which I wish copies to be made for Rochecotte. I then went to the church to decide the place and the form of the little monument which is now to be erected in memory of my father. It is time that this was done, as he has now been buried in the church for forty years, and apart from tradition no one knows the place of his burial. Yesterday I went at an early hour to the little church which is picturesquely situated at the end of the park of Sagan, in the vault of which the remains of my late sister have been laid. Mass was said there at my request for the repose of her soul. The church was filled with beautiful flowers and rare plants brought by the castle gardener; a considerable number of people were also present. I then set out for Deutsch-Wartenberg which belongs to me and came on here in the evening with Herr von Wolff who is staying for two or three days, to meet Herr von Gersdorf whom I expect. They have to settle between them the legal questions which have arisen between my sons and my sister Hohenzollern, concerning the allodial claims of the latter to the greater part of Sagan.

I found that some improvements had been made here; the garden is well kept and everything perfectly neat.

I have several letters. Madame de Lieven writing under date July 15 tells me that Queen Victoria is paying a round of visits to the Whig Ministers, a proceeding which is thought very inadvisable in the present situation and that no one would be astonished if she began a coup d'état rather than endure a Tory Ministry. It is also possible that to avoid Sir Robert Peel she may summon Lord Liverpool, a measure not likely to meet with success. It is said that the eldest son of Lady Jersey is to marry the daughter of Sir Robert Peel; that Lady Palmerston is quite revolutionary in her sentiments and more furious than any one because she is obliged to leave the Ministry. All these rumours are extremely vague.

The Duchesse de Montmorency tells me of the marriage of Mlle. Vandermarck, daughter of the stockbroker, with the Comte de Panis, owner of the fine château of Borelli near Marseilles.

Günthersdorf, July 31, 1841. – A letter from M. Bresson from Berlin tells me that he is expecting General de Rumigny to stay from the 15th to the 20th of August, as the King of Prussia has invited him to the manœuvres in Silesia and at Berlin. He tells me that M. and Madame Thiers are to arrive at Berlin at the same time. The Duc de Noailles writes that Lady Clanricarde will spend the next winter at Paris and that Lord Cowley's nomination in place of Lord Granville is expected. He adds that the little Rachel has just arrived at Paris; that only Marshal Soult's triumph in England could be compared to hers; that he had letters from her in London in which she showed the utmost delight over her success, though remarkable to relate, her head was not turned by it. I think that the Duc's head would be less steady under such circumstances.

Günthersdorf, August 1, 1841. – Madame de Perponcher tells me that the King of Hanover is quite overwhelmed by the death of his wife, over whom he seems to have watched most admirably. For a long time he was under a delusion concerning the state of her health and when the doctors told him that there was no hope, he was completely crushed. However, as soon as he recovered his spirits he went to the Queen and spoke of her religious duties as well as a Catholic could have done. The Queen heard the terrible news with the utmost firmness and received the communion with the King, her daughter, the Duchess of Anhalt and poor Prince George. The despair of the latter was heartrending; as he could not see his mother, he could not be persuaded that she was dead and insisted that he should be allowed to touch her body. As soon as the father put the mother's cold hand in that of her son, the poor blind man was overcome with a kind of madness. He has since been sent to the seaside. These details are cruel and really most heartrending.

Günthersdorf, August 6, 1841. – My sisters have been here since the first of the month and seem to enjoy themselves in spite of the terrible weather.

Yesterday I had a letter from M. Bresson who says: "There is no positive news from Paris: M. de Flahaut has refused Turin and declines to commit himself concerning the offer of Madrid. He says that he maintains the fact that Vienna was offered to him, which M. Guizot will not admit. Whether it was offered or not, he is doing his utmost to secure it and Madame de Flahaut is watching from Ems for the arrival of Prince and Princess Metternich at the Johannisberg. I remain in an attitude of expectation and am resolved only to leave Berlin for Vienna or London.

"Herr von Werther has resigned the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His place will be taken by Count Maltzan, but who will replace him at Vienna is not yet known. The King has given Werther the Order of the Black Eagle and has made the title of baron hereditary in his family; hitherto it had been only a personal title. Arnim of Paris has been made a count.

"The Toulouse disturbance is causing me more anxiety; 36 36 On July 9 and 10 the inhabitants of Toulouse were disturbed by the question of the census. The agitation seemed to have died away when a serious rising broke out upon the 12th. Large bodies of people marched about the streets, and barricades were raised, and the 13th was a very threatening day. The town was saved by the wisdom of the temporary mayor, M. Arzac, who was able, by means of tact, to restore tranquillity. no other town in France has followed this bad example. The July festival has been celebrated in an orderly manner.

The whole of the loan will not be required; the financial deficiencies are being repaired and we shall find that France has recovered her strength and reorganised her military power. My ardent desire is that all this may make for peace."