Memoirs of the Duchesse de Dino (Afterwards Duchesse de Talleyrand et de Sagan), 1836-1840

Transcriber's note: Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original document have been preserved. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
MEMOIRS OF THE DUCHESSE DE DINO ( Afterwards Duchesse de Talleyrand et de Sagan ) 1836-1840
Edited, with Notes and Biographical Index, by THE PRINCESSE RADZIWILL ( NÉE CASTELLANE )
WITH FRONTISPIECE
SECOND SERIES
NEW YORK: CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS LONDON: WILLIAM HEINEMANN 1910

Paris, January 2, 1836.— M. de Talleyrand is working hard to advance the claims of M. Molé to a seat in the French Academy. He is supported alike by M. Royer-Collard and by the Ministers; hence M. de Villemain found occasion to say, yesterday evening, that all the most diverse and inverse influences were in combination to transport or to export M. Molé to the Academy, and that he himself was strongly in favour of importation , as a seat in the Academy was no obstacle to other posts. This play on words was no less pointed than malicious.
There was much talk of the various speeches delivered before the King on New Year's Day, and in particular of M. Pasquier's speech, which was remarkable for the boldness he displayed in his use of the word subject, which M. de Villemain called a progressive term.
Concerning M. Pasquier, a notice was inserted by some jester in a low-class newspaper to the effect that his recent illness was caused by his recognition of Fieschi as his natural son! The old Comtesse de la Briche, who is falling into her dotage, went off in all seriousness to relate this piece of folly with sighs of profound emotion in the salon of Madame de Chastellux, the Carlist headquarters. Such want of tact is almost inconceivable, and great merriment was aroused!
Paris, January 4, 1836. —The illness of Madame de Flahaut's second daughter has become critical, and provided me yesterday with an illustration of that truest of parables, the beam and the mote, when Madame de Lieven said to me, in reference to Madame de Flahaut: Can you conceive that she talks politics to me at a time like this and orders her carriage to visit Madame Adélaïde? She will even leave her daughter's room to discuss public affairs with her visitors, and asks me to dinner to-morrow to distract her thoughts, as she says, and not to be left alone in her anxiety! Apparently people cannot see themselves as others see them, and such incidents give one startling cause for introspection.