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

I have the following news from Madame Mollien: "There is every readiness to support the law concerning the fortifications in the Tuileries, but considerable reluctance in the Chamber. The château is greatly obliged to M. Thiers for joining the general opinion in his report; he is anxious to reassure the Chamber as to his position. It is said that he is greatly wearied by his partisans of the Left and has had a lively scene with Odilon Barrot which reached the point of insults and in which he termed the journalists of the party "ruffians." The fact is that if this law does not pass, the thirty millions already expended, the works that have been begun, the private property that has been bought up, destroyed and ruined and the devastation of the Bois de Boulogne, would place him in a terrible position; and so he is as gentle as a lamb and sends his wife to the Tuileries. The Ministry would be content with what would cause him embarrassment; the château, on the other hand, is making common cause with him; thus the position is very complex. The Duc d'Orléans is in a bad temper: the recall of Marshal Valée which was issued in the course of two hours without any previous notice to himself, has greatly wounded his feelings; he does not like the idea of the Marshal's return because he is one of his personal enemies and he fears for the safety of Africa in the hands of Bugeaud. However, he is retiring somewhat more into the background in adherence to the wishes of the King, who is growing anxious about his successor, as Louis XIV. was about the Grand Dauphin. All our princes live like the Infantas of Spain, in loneliness and obscurity. The Pavilion Marsan is nothing more than a wearisome convent; on the ground floor there is very little vivacity and equally little on the first floor. The King retains his imperial confidence in his star. He thinks less of M. Guizot than he did some time ago, and does not so much dread a change of Ministry."

Rochecotte, January 17, 1841. – The Duc de Noailles who came here yesterday, read this morning in the drawing-room half of the article which he has written upon Jansenism, which is to be inserted in the work he is preparing upon Madame de Maintenon. 2 2 The publication which appeared in 1848 under the title The History of Madame de Maintenon and of the Principal Events of the Reign of Louis XIV. This part of the book is written cleverly and clearly; at the same time I can criticise it for an excessive partiality to the Jansenists and a failure to observe a proper moderation of tone.

Rochecotte, February 1, 1841. – Yesterday I received this bulletin from M. de Salvandy: "Our Ministry is the feeblest, the most diminished and the most elusive that ever was seen. I do not know, Madame, whether I have told you what I have often told them, that there is only one danger for them; not the danger of supporting views which might be defeated, but of having no opinion at all, or even worse, of having two opinions. They have run straight upon the rocks with sublime carelessness, in consequence of Guizot's speeches and with utter foolishness in consequence of Marshal Soult's speech, while the general attitude and language drive them along most miserably. The truth is that as a matter of principle they brought forward their proposed law concerning the fortifications in defiance of the Marshal's opinion and opposed their military expert because they thought that public opinion was on their side. Since that time the position assumed by M. Thiers as a supporter of the bill has kept them awake and though they agreed with him in committee they were attempting to secure some means of checking him when he was with us in the Chamber. Schneider's amendment has been proposed with their support in opposition to M. Thiers and in agreement with the Marshal against M. Guizot, with the support of another combination which is more or less public property. Thus M. Guizot has suddenly revised his opinion and after asking us to pass the law in his great speech with a significant phrase, he went round to the members three days ago and solemnly told us that he was opposed to it. The great success of M. Dufaure has again produced a change in these views, as people fear that the real strength of the opposition may lie in that quarter. Yesterday evening Thiers demanded that they should explain themselves. They asked for a night to think over the matter, but reflection will tell them nothing that can make such conduct worthy or politic. No question was ever so badly managed. They have succeeded in securing the protectorate of M. Thiers, in exasperating him by their obvious treachery and in separating MM. Passy and Dufaure, while also wounding the feelings of the Conservative party, the majority of which is ready to reject the great bulwark of M. Thiers. In any case, they are defeated, for they have conspired against all in turn. What will be the result of all this? Great discredit and deep divisions, if nothing else. I am going to the Chamber where I will try and write a postscript to describe the tone of the Cabinet and the vote of the Assembly, but I expect storms, and as I am acting as President in place of M. Sauzet, I must keep my hand upon the bag of Aeolus."

" Postscript from the Chamber. – The Marshal has made a speech of coarse and obvious duplicity which is setting the Chamber on fire. I have only time to send you my kind regards with this letter."

Rochecotte, February 2, 1841. – Yesterday's letters say nothing; the newspapers announce that Schneider's amendment has been rejected and that the forts and the continuous circuit wall will probably be adopted, notwithstanding the most inconceivable speech from Marshal Soult which was counterbalanced by the really clever speech of M. Guizot.

Rochecotte, February 4, 1841. – It was very cold yesterday but quite clear and I went for a walk with my son-in-law in the woods where there is always shelter in spite of the absence of leaves. To-day it is snowing as if we were in Siberia. Last night the thermometer fell more than ten degrees. Winter has indeed begun again.

The newspapers tell us that the fortifications have been voted; even those who voted for them did not want them and it is difficult to know who has been duped in the whole business. One of the jests current in Paris is no longer to refer to Marshal Soult by his long-standing title of the Illustrious Sword, but to speak of him as the Illustrious Scabbard. This is not bad and tickled my fancy.

Rochecotte, February 5, 1841. – The following is the chief passage in a letter from the Comtesse Mollien: "So we are to have fortifications. In this very complicated question every one has been taken in and it is difficult to see who has gained an advantage apart from M. Thiers, whose delight, however, is largely qualified by the success of M. Guizot, for it is generally admitted that the Chamber of Deputies was carried away by his last and most admirable speech. It now remains to deal with the Chamber of Peers, which might show some obstinacy, according to rumour. This Chamber is quite in favour of outer forts at a greater or less distance in connection with one another, etc., but there will be some trouble in passing the proposal for a continuous circuit wall through that Chamber. You have doubtless seen from the articles in the Journal des Débats that this newspaper supported the law. The truth is very different; the real supporter is Auguste de Veaux, the son of Bertin de Veaux, who alone supported this view with such warmth that he outraged the policy of the newspaper against his father and uncle, who were no less warm supporters than himself of the contrary opinion, but eventually yielded to his youth and to his position as deputy. At the château there is general delight, but I think that too little trouble is taken to conceal the fact that the circuit wall is only the passport for the rest. M. Bertin de Veaux was saying the day before yesterday that this circuit wall was the tomb of Parisian civilisation until it became the tomb of the monarchy. It has certainly already become the tomb of general conversation; people are wholly absorbed by it. Men and women, young and old, talk of nothing else and it is most wearisome and ridiculous.