Hunting was carried on with the pack of the Prince of Wagram, and some four hundred young men rode out; but only thirty were in at the death of the stag.
The Prince Royal is to start on the 3rd or 4th, and will go straight to Metz to visit the School of Artillery; he will not stop at any of the small Courts, which he proposes carefully to avoid by taking all kinds of unusual routes under the pretext that they are more direct.
Yesterday I dined with Madame de la Redorte, and met several people, including General Alava, who told us the story of the duel between Mendizabal and Isturitz, in which neither combatant received a scratch.
He seemed to expect a Ministerial crisis at Madrid which might affect his position as ambassador.
Alava is so inclined to exaggerate that when he was at the house of M. Dupin at a reception of Deputies the host asked him, touching M. Berryer on the shoulder, whether he knew this Deputy. Alava straightway exclaimed: "Certainly I know M. Berryer, and I share all his opinions."
Paris, April 27, 1836.– The route of the Prince Royal passes through Verdun, Metz, Trèves, Düsseldorf, Hildesheim, Magdeburg, Potsdam, and Berlin. All the Ministers of Saxony, Hanover, and Bavaria have brought pressing invitations from their Sovereigns asking the Prince to make a stay with them. These have been declined under the pretext of want of time, but in reality owing to some ill-feeling caused by the continued affronts and insults from Munich; if the Prince refused one invitation he obviously could not accept others without a declaration of hostility. He is sorry, however, to hurry by Dresden, whence there has never been any cause of complaint. From Berlin he will proceed to Vienna, by way of Breslau and Brünn.
For some days I have been reading a few volumes of the "Essais de Morale" by Nicole; our curiosity concerning this work was aroused by Madame de Sévigné. They are doubtless excellent, but I think one must be somewhat more advanced than I am to admire them keenly. There is a certain dry austerity apparent which somewhat repels me. To these many philosophical arguments I prefer the touching phrase of St. Augustine: "If you are afraid of God, throw yourself into the arms of God." Eventually, perhaps, I shall learn to appreciate Nicole, as one's mental tastes change with one's age and circumstances.
Paris, April 28, 1836.– Pozzo has received the order of St. Andrew in diamonds, and at the same time unlimited leave of absence to travel in Italy. I imagine that he will soon pass this way.
The journey of the Prince Royal has been arranged to begin a day earlier, and he is to start on the 2nd. Berlin will not be reached for ten days, as he is to put up every night, while each day's journey will not be too long, as they wish him to arrive fresh and alert and ready to undergo military fatigues, the manœuvres, festivities, and other duties. This seems to me very sensible. The Prince Royal has received a formal invitation to the manœuvres at Berlin. Hence his reception cannot be anything but excellent. The invitation has certainly been sought, but it is undoubtedly an invitation, and accusations of importunity or rashness are therefore out of place. The Duc and the Duchesse d'Angoulême will naturally have left Vienna when the two Princes arrive there.
Yesterday I accompanied the Comtesse de Castellane to a reading given by M. de Rémusat upon historical incidents in the style of the "Barricades"; "The Night of St. Bartholomew" was his subject. It was clearly and brightly treated, and the author assures us that much historical research has been devoted to it, but it was so long that the second part had to be postponed until Tuesday. To sit through a reading is an exhausting business.
Paris, May 1, 1836.– Yesterday was Pauline's ball – a pretty scene and entirely successful. There was no crowd, plenty of light, young and pretty people in full gaiety, and polite young men acting as partners to the ladies, all in excellent style and taste, and the company most carefully selected. It was not exactly exclusive, but the Faubourg Saint-Germain were in preponderant numbers. My cousin, Madame de Chastellux, for instance, went to the trouble of coming. In short, I was well pleased with our little success and with the delight of Pauline.
Paris, May 2, 1836.– Yesterday news arrived from Berlin of the preparations made to receive the young Princes. The King said that they should have the kind of reception given to his son-in-law, the Emperor. They are to stay at the old palace. An hour after their arrival all the princes will come to pay their first calls; in short, everything is to go off as well as possible. The Carlist faction is overwhelmed, and the aggressive members of it are quite ill in consequence; the moderate members are casting tender glances at the Château des Tuileries, and yesterday M. de Chabrol, formerly Naval Minister, and M. Mounier went to the Château. M. de Noailles would be ready to do the same were it not for his wife, whose feelings he has to consider – and reasonably, for she, though a most worthy person, is very extravagant in her political ideas.
Paris, May 4, 1836.– Yesterday I went to hear the conclusion of M. de Rémusat's "Night of St. Bartholomew."16 It is clever and talented, but I repeat that this style of performance is a mistake, and a good historical narrative would be much more interesting to me.
I have seen M. Royer-Collard, and also M. Thiers. The former said that the doctrinaires were decisively defeated in the Dupin dispute, as the Chamber had pronounced against them. The second is very pleased with his reports from the Russian Ambassador and from the Court of St. Petersburg, which are beginning to become flattering. I believe he is on the way to another reconciliation which he thinks of more importance, with Bertin de Veaux, but this is still a profound secret.
Paris, May 6, 1836.– I have been deeply affected by the death of the good Abbé Girolet. He followed the fine precept of Bossuet, and the only precaution which he took against the attacks of death was the innocence of his life, for all his interests were so neglected that he has left me a fine complication to unravel, which demands my immediate presence at Rochecotte. I shall start the day after to-morrow, and they are only waiting for me to take the seals off his property. A will in which he has left me everything has been found, but where or what may this everything be? This is as yet unknown, and there is some fear that there may be more debts than property, which fact would prevent me from beginning the charitable foundations which I promised to take in hand after his death. I shall find a very obvious void at Rochecotte, and shall miss that gentle look which clung so affectionately to me. And then how sad are the details of his death!
Rochecotte, May 10, 1836.– No interesting news can be expected from me in this retired corner of the world, where I can boast only of peace and silence and of solitude – three excellent things which I appreciate the more as I have left, in the words of the "Imitation," "the tumultuous commerce of men, which arouses vanity even in the simple-minded, and eventually enslaves the soul."
I spent the evening with M. Vestier, my good architect, over plans and arrangements for the vault of the Abbé and for my own. This will be arranged quite simply in the parish cemetery on the hillside before that beautiful view, in the pure air, looking out upon the rising sun. The vaults are to be very simply surrounded by shrubs and an iron railing; there will be nothing more than names and dates. Thus his last resting-place will be as simple as was his mind, and I trust that mine will be equally so. The wishes of men are so rarely performed after their deaths that during our lifetime we should act as far as we can. I had considerable difficulty in inducing Vestier to undertake this simple work. He says it is horrible to be giving orders for the digging of my grave, and at length the poor fellow began to weep, but he yielded at last, for he is very obedient to me.17
Rochecotte, May 13, 1836.– Yesterday I received a long letter from my son, Valençay, from Coblenz. Full honour has been done to the Princes; M. the Duc d'Orléans has invariably invited to dinner the authorities commissioned to welcome him. He speaks German with a fluency which is much appreciated. In every town regimental bands are constantly playing under the windows of the Princes, and, in short, all due attention is shown to them.
Valençay, May 18, 1836.– I have been here since the day before yesterday, and am expecting