Lons-le-Saulnier, August 31, 1835.—I got here last night very late, after having traversed the wild, melancholy and arid Jura. Great efforts have been used there to create an easy road, on which however you get on slowly owing to the constant ascents and descents. The roads themselves, cut out of the living rock and protected by encasements skilfully contrived so as to prevent infiltration of water, are perfectly smooth, wide and well protected against the dangers of this rugged country. From the heights of Saint Cergue I cast a last look at the lovely lake of Geneva and the Alps. The view stretches out magnificently before one and leaves a fine image in one's memory.
Arlay, September 1, 1835.—This place, which was part of the ancient duchy of Isenghien, came to Prince Pierre d'Arenberg from his maternal grandmother, the heiress of the house of Isenghien, which descended from those of Châlons and Orange. The nobility of such an origin is unquestionable, and is much in the mind of the present owner. The view from my room, and in fact from all parts of the house, is wide without being picturesque; and in this it is like the house itself, which is vast and well restored, but rather bare of furniture and rather chilly, as the ridge above it comes between it and the south.
On the summit of this ridge there are the ruins of the Gothic manor, which have not character enough to be interesting. The approaches are short, there being no other avenue than a courtyard planted with trees. There are many things wanting which are necessary to make it agreeable and effective, but it is a substantial piece of wreckage saved from the revolutionary catastrophe. The master of the house and the Duchesse de Périgord received me with the utmost kindness.
I received here a letter from M. Royer-Collard, who was returning to his country house "after having done what he believed to be his duty and due to his honour in the Chamber," and without waiting for the vote on the law as a whole. His speech, the thought, sentiment and language of which I admire (he did not intend it to create a sensation or to carry people away), was made to satisfy the demands of his conscience. He also wished to make his position quite clear (a long silence had made some people uncertain about it) and to lay down clearly the line of his opinions. This is why, though far from well, he made this speech which is so short and yet so full of matter. It is the first time that, without exciting any murmuring or appearing ridiculous, hypocritical or imprudent, any one has praised, honoured, and defended the peers, and that the spirit of religion, the words God and Providence, have been heard in the precincts of the Chamber of Deputies. The respect with which such words were heard seemed to me, more than anything else, to place M. Royer-Collard apart in the exalted regions to which he naturally belongs.
The man in whose pay Fieschi seems to have been, and whose name is Pépin, has at last been arrested. It was a great triumph, but—he has escaped! A few hours after his arrest, following an order of the Court, this Pépin had been taken to his house from the Conciergerie where he was confined in order that a search might be made in his presence. He was taken by a Commissaire de Police and two men only, and the moment he got home he disappeared! It is extraordinary that a man whose arrest and safe keeping were so important should be entrusted at midnight to the care of two guards, that he should not have been handcuffed, and that he should have been taken to his own house from which he no doubt knew of exits unknown to those in charge of him! It seems that since the affair of June 6, 1832,[53] in which Pépin was implicated, his house has been so arranged as to furnish him with means of escape. The Juge d'Instruction who allowed Pépin to escape by not having him properly guarded is called Legonidec; he is a young Judge of the Paris Cour d'Assises. Some people think he will be seriously compromised by the carelessness (if it is no worse) with which he has treated this very important matter.
They took me to see the ruins of the old castle, which are more extensive and important than I thought when I came. It was an important fortress in its day and was dismantled by the orders of Louis XI. in the time of the wars against Burgundy.
Dijon, September 3, 1835.—I left Arlay this morning with grateful memories of the kindness with which Pauline and I were received. The Princesse d'Arenberg became a special friend of mine; her politeness, her kindness and simplicity, combined with much good sense and good manners, her education and talents, and her power of making good use of all these, assure this young woman a distinguished position among those of her age and rank of whom very few in my opinion are her equals.
I went by the new road which goes by Saint Jean-de-Losne and is much shorter. The road is good and easy, but the country it crosses—rich no doubt and well cultivated—has no special beauty or even interest apart from its many châteaux and the Burgundian canal which is finely shaded by poplars.
Pierres, the château of M. de Thiard, is the most important of those on the road. It seemed to me large and the surroundings of it are splendid, but its situation is not pleasant. It is a pity they are pulling down the castle of Seurre on the bank of the Saône. It seemed to me to be well placed. Toiran, La Bretonnière, and some others show that the province is well inhabited.
I regret having arrived too late to see Dijon. It is a fine town with splendid buildings. The streets are animated. The park, an excellent public promenade about a quarter of a league from the town and connected with it by long avenues, must be a source of great pleasure to the inhabitants.