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قراءة كتاب Memoirs of the Duchesse de Dino, 1831-1835
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MEMOIRS OF THE
DUCHESSE DE DINO
"MEMOIRS OF THE
DUCHESSE DE DINO
(Afterwards Duchesse de Talleyrand et de Sagan)
1831-1835
Edited, with Notes and Biographical Index, by
THE PRINCESSE RADZIWILL
(NÉE CASTELLANE)
WITH PHOTOGRAVURE FRONTISPIECE
NEW YORK: CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
LONDON: WILLIAM HEINEMANN
1909
Printed in England
PREFACE
This history is composed of notes made in England during the Embassy of the Prince de Talleyrand and of fragments of letters addressed by my grandmother, the Duchesse de Dino (afterwards Duchesse de Talleyrand et de Sagan), during a period of thirty years, to M. Adolphe de Bacourt, who gave them to me by her desire.
Some months before her death in 1862 my grandmother, who was then fully aware of her condition, herself told me of the precious legacy which would be transmitted to me when she was gone by M. de Bacourt, her executor, and added her final instructions and advice.
A just judgment on conspicuous ideas and persons is possible only after the lapse of many years, and so I should willingly have postponed the publication of these Memoirs. But some years since, my niece, the Comtesse Jean de Castellane, published the story of the early years of the Duchesse de Dino, and as many readers desire to have the continuation, I have decided not to withhold it any longer, and it will be found in the following pages.
The book throws more light on the last years of the Prince de Talleyrand than any previous publication, and it speaks so well for itself that I need say nothing for it. The place which the Duchess occupied in the European Society of the first half of last century is also too well known to need to be recalled here. Her personal charm, like her intellectual distinction, has rarely been equalled, but the moral fascination which she exercised on all who knew her is less well known. Intellect is a great source of strength, but nobility of soul is a greater; and it was assuredly this which helped the Duchess in many difficult passages in her history.
It is this sense of nobility and distinction which, in my opinion, is the chief characteristic of her Memoirs.
CASTELLANE, PRINCESSE RADZIWILL
CONTENTS
| CHAPTER I | PAGE |
|---|---|
| Paris, May 9—A crowded drawing-room—Eridge Castle—Trouble in Paris—A Naval Spectacle. | 1 |
| CHAPTER II | |
| A Visit from the Duke of Wellington—Politics at Paris—The King's Birthday—The Princess Victoria—European complications. | 12 |
| CHAPTER III | |
| M. Thiers' Marriage—Talleyrand summoned to Paris—Return to London—Lady Jersey and the Duc d'Orléans—Dinner with the King. | 19 |
| CHAPTER IV | |
| Warwick Castle—Queen Adelaide—The Duke of Wellington—London at its best—Woburn Abbey—M. de Lieven's recall—A rift in the Cabinet—Lord Brougham—Dinner with Palmerston—Lord Grey's difficulties—Palmerston's methods—Oxford and the Duke—Kings in exile—A jovial monarch—Mirabeau—Talleyrand's Memoirs—The King's health—Don Carlos and Court—A Schism at Almack's—Resignation of Lord Grey—Don Carlos escapes—Lord Melbourne's position—Revolutionary politics—European politics—Spanish affairs—Palmerston's incivility—A scene at the levée—Last days in England—Talk with Louis-Philippe—George Sand—English visitors—A royal visit—M. de Talleyrand resigns—Lord Brougham in Paris—A State trial—Talleyrand's successor. | 27 |
| CHAPTER V | |
| A Court at the Tuileries—Cabinet making—Triumph of M. Guizot—Talleyrand and Church—Fieschi's crime—English politics—Thiers' difficulties—The King's courage—General Sébastiani—A clever secretary—Marriage projects—State prisoners—British affairs. | 224 |
| APPENDIX I | 287 |
| APPENDIX II | 288 |
| BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX | 291 |
MEMOIRS OF THE
DUCHESSE DE DINO
CHAPTER I
1831
Paris, May 9, 1831.—I am bewildered by the tumult of Paris. There is such a babel of words, such a crowd of faces, that I hardly recognise myself, and have the greatest difficulty in collecting my thoughts so as to discover where I am, where others are, whether the country is doing well or ill, whether the physicians are skilful enough, or whether the malady is beyond their art.
Twenty times I have stopped to think of Madeira; sometimes, too, my thoughts are of Valençay; but I can find no fixed resting-place, and it seems to me quite futile to prejudge anything before the great electoral crisis which preoccupies everybody. A propos of everything, people here say "after the elections," just as the gay world of London used to say "after Easter."
There was a little article in the Moniteur of yesterday; the attitude of the Ministry and that of the general public are both just and flattering to M. de Talleyrand, but reason is not the fashion nowadays, and less so in this country than elsewhere. In fact, if I were to let my thoughts wander over the thousand and one small complications which spoil and embarrass everything, the only conclusion I could arrive at would be that the country is very ill but that the doctor is excellent!...