I have a long letter from the Duc d'Orléans, in which he tells me that his sister, the Duchess of Würtemberg, did not go immediately to Stuttgart on leaving Paris, but went first to Coburg, and will not go to Würtemberg till later. The Duc d'Orléans gives me excellent accounts of his wife, and seems to regard her as a perfect friend, which is the best certificate a woman can have from her husband, and a guarantee of the most desirable future for her.
Valençay, November 2, 1837.—I shall start presently to dine and sleep at Beauregard. To-morrow I shall pass through Tours, and reach my house at Rochecotte in time for dinner.
I have a kind letter from M. Guizot, who tells me that the new Chamber will be like the last, and that if there is a difference it will be to the advantage of his own views.
M. Thiers writes from Lille saying that the general electioneering cry is "Down with the Doctrinaires!" and that he is asked by five different departments to become a candidate, but that he will remain faithful to Aix. Finally, M. Royer-Collard writes from Paris saying that M. Molé has been tricked in the elections; that it does not, however, follow that the elections will go in favour of the Doctrinaires, but that they will not lack Ministerial support. Of these three versions which is the most credible? I am inclined to accept the last.
Rochecotte, November 4, 1837.—Since yesterday I have been in my own home. As I passed through Tours in the morning I found the poor Prefect grappling with the electoral fever.
The confusion of the instructions is incredible, continually modified or contradicted as they are by intrigues at Paris, alternating between the influence of Guizot or Thiers; consequently I think the result will be very far removed from that which was proposed at the dissolution of the Chamber. Fortunately the country is calm, for the dissolution was decided upon, not for patriotic reasons, but simply for personal interest, and miscalculation upon that ground is a matter of indifference. At the same time it is foolish uselessly to stir up an infinity of local passions which, though they do not rise to the danger and violence of political strife, none the less injure public spirit by dividing the country more and more into parties.
Rochecotte, November 5, 1837.—The comedies which we acted at Valençay brought some life into the great castle, of which there has been a prodigious lack during June, July, and August. I admit, to my shame, that for the first time in my life since I rested from the fatigues of Fontainebleau and Versailles I have been very bored. The illness which we have all suffered one after another brought anxiety in place of boredom, and I am glad of some small diversion to bring me out of the groove.
Rochecotte, November 11, 1837.—A letter from Madame Adélaïde reached me yesterday. She seems fairly pleased with the elections, and would be more so were it not for the infamous alliance between the Legitimists and Republicans, which has brought success to the latter party in several places. I use her own expressions. She also says that Princesse Marie is delighted with her husband and her journey, with Germany and with the reception which has so far been given.
Rochecotte, November 24, 1837.—I am sorry for the Grand Duchess Stephanie on account of the wrongdoing or misfortune of her daughter, the Princess Wasa.[ [81] I never liked her, and was struck by her bad appearance when I saw her at Paris in 1827 with her mother; moreover, her husband, whom I also know, is a very ordinary person, and by no means the man to guide a young wife.
The Duchess of Massa speaks with delight in her letters of the hospitality and the distinction at the Court of Coburg, and of the happiness of the Princesse Marie. I also hear that the Duc d'Orléans constantly talks of his domestic happiness, in which he is entirely absorbed. He is to give an entertainment upon the return of his brother, the Duc de Nemours, the victor of Constantine.