"Eventually he derived a certain self-esteem on account of Pauline's religious earnestness, and seemed to be flattered that she should have been so well brought up under his own eyes; he would often say, in speaking of Pauline, 'She is the angel of the house.' He took great pleasure, as all good minds do, in declaring the merits of others. No one could give praise more gracefully, with greater moderation, advantage, and propriety; any one who was mentioned or criticised by him received all the credit that could be his due. Upon occasions he would certainly utter words of blame, but only at rare intervals, and never with such direct force as when he praised. He was especially lenient towards ecclesiastics, and if he disapproved of them it was only for political reasons, and never on account of their religious ministrations, while he always expressed himself with great moderation. He both respected and admired the ancient Church of France, of which he spoke as a great, a fine, and a magnificent institution. In his house I have seen cardinals, bishops, and simple village pastors; all were received with infinite respect, and became the objects of tactful attention. An inappropriate word was never uttered before them; M. de Talleyrand would never have allowed anything of the kind. I have seen the Bishop of Rennes (the Abbé Mannay) spend months at Valençay and the Bishop of Evreux (the Abbé Bourlier) stay at M. de Talleyrand's residence in Paris with the same purity and freedom of conduct and enjoying the same respect as in their dioceses. Towards his uncle, the late Cardinal of Périgord, M. de Talleyrand was a tender, attentive, and deferential nephew. He was often to be seen at the Archbishop's house, where he was especially fond of a talk with the Abbé Desjardins, whom he liked for the gentleness and the wide range and tact of his conversation.
"I have often been astonished at the unconstraint of my uncle's bearing in the society of ecclesiastics, which I can only explain by supposing that he was under a delusion, strange, but real and long-lasting, concerning his actual position with reference to the Church. He was quite aware that he had dealt the Church a blow, but he thought that the process of secularisation which he had unduly stimulated had been one of simplification rather than of destruction.[ [91] As his position thus seemed to him pretty clearly defined, he regarded it as easy. This mistake lasted as long as his political life, and only after his retirement did he think of defining more exactly his relations with the Papacy. But before this time a vague instinct made him feel that if, in his opinion, he did not exactly owe any reparation, he owed at least some consolation to those whom he had saddened. He therefore was ready to support the interests of the clergy upon every occasion, and never refused an alms either to a priest in distress or to a beggar, but tacitly recognised the claims of both upon him. His charity was great, and I gave him much pleasure by repeating to him a remark made by a most estimable person, which was as follows: 'You may set your mind at rest; M. de Talleyrand will come to a good end, for he is charitable.' I was able to remind him of this saying at the most solemn hour of his life, as you, M. l'Abbé, may remember, and remember, also, what consolation he derived from it. He was always deeply grateful to those in retirement from the world and in convents who prayed for him. He never forgot it, and used to say: 'I have some friends among the good souls.' His heart was touched because he was a good man, a very good man indeed; he felt this himself when he used to ask me: 'Am I not really better than I am thought to be?' Certainly he was better than he was thought; only his neighbours, his friends, and his servants could appreciate the extent of his simple kindness, his attention, his love, and his loyalty. You have seen our tears. The good-hearted alone are thus lamented.
"After his return from England he was twice strongly impressed with salutary effect by the Christian death of the Duc de Dalberg and by the religious habits which characterised the latter part of the life of Dr. Bourdois, his contemporary, his friend, and his doctor. He was grateful to Dr. Bourdois for entrusting him to the clever hands of M. Cruveilhier; he had confidence in his skill, and felt himself honoured to be so well attended by so religious a man. The earnestness of his doctor seemed to be regarded by him as an additional guarantee.
"Pope Pius VII. was always the object of his veneration; he devoted several pages of his memoirs to the struggle between this Pope and the Emperor Napoleon, and his view of the matter was entirely to the advantage of the Pope. He had a strong admiration for the policy of the Papacy as clever, quiet, gentle, and always uniform, which qualities he regarded as of first-rate importance in the conduct of business.
"Throughout the pontificate of Pius VII. my uncle thought himself in fairly good odour at Rome. In support of this conviction he often quoted to me a remark by the holy Father with reference to himself. The Pope was then at Fontainebleau, and was speaking to the Marquise de Brignole, a friend of M. de Talleyrand, and said, referring to my uncle: 'May God rest his soul; for my part, I have a great affection for him.'
"M. de Talleyrand was well aware that I often had the honour of seeing the Archbishop of Paris, and he had guessed that our intercourse was actuated by one principal idea as far as M. de Quélen was concerned—the desire to preserve his relations with my uncle. M. de Talleyrand was never worried by him; on the contrary; and though several letters addressed by the Archbishop of Paris to M. de Talleyrand at different times failed to achieve their object, he was none the less touched by the enduring interest he had inspired in a prelate whose character he honoured and whose sincere zeal and open-mindedness he appreciated. He also showed much interest in M. de Quélen and his political position, which he would like to have been able to render easier. Upon several occasions I have seen him attempt to do him some service, by advice which he thought useful, or by speaking warmly in his favour at any other time. This he did not merely from love of truth, but also as a testimony to the memory of the late Cardinal Périgord. He often said: 'I look upon M. de Quélen as a legacy from my uncle, the Cardinal. He likes us and our name and everything connected with the Cardinal.' On New Year's Day he used to instruct me to leave his card at the Archbishop's house, saying, 'We should always treat him as a grandparent.' He never saw me start upon a visit to Saint-Michel or to the Sacré Cœur[ [92] without asking me to give his respects to the Archbishop. When I came back he used to ask me for news of him and whether his own name had been mentioned, and what M. de Quélen had said of him. He would listen attentively to my answers, smile, and say at length: 'Yes, yes, I know that he is very anxious to win my soul and to offer it to the Cardinal.' Up to his last year these remarks were never uttered very seriously, but with great kindliness.
"On December 10, 1838, I received very early notice of the death of the Princesse de Talleyrand. I was obliged to announce the news to my uncle, and I was most reluctant to do so, for it was just at this time that he was attacked by violent palpitations which made us fear a sudden death. Excitement above all was to be avoided, and I was afraid that this news might cause him some agitation. But it was not so, and he immediately replied calmly in words which much surprised me: 'That greatly simplifies my position.' At the same moment from the pocket of his dressing-jacket he drew out some letters and told me to read them. The first was written by a religious lady at the Sacré Cœur; M. de Talleyrand had known her well in past years, had done her some service, and always called her his old friend; she was Madame de Marbœuf. In this letter she spoke to him of God, and sent him a medal, which he always used to wear, and which to-day becomes yours.
"The second letter was sent to him by a clergyman near Gap, who was entirely unknown to him, and who spoke of God with admirable and touching simplicity.
"Finally, the third letter, inspired by the warmest faith, open-mindedness, reason, and sincere interest, boldly touched upon my uncle's religious position. He wrote a few lines to the Duchesse Mathieu de Montmorency to thank her for it, and constantly carried this letter about with him in a little pocket-book, where I found it after his death. He often spoke of it, and of the noble and unfortunate lady who had written it, and always with warmth and respect.
"He also knew that one of my cousins, Madame de Chabannes, a nun of the Grandes Carmélites at Paris, constantly prayed for him; he was touched by the fact, and would say to me, when speaking of these pious people: 'The good souls will not despair of me.' I know nothing so gentle or so loving as this saying of his, which showed that he had no fear that God would abandon him.