Here I found a letter from the Duchesse d'Albuféra, who says: "Lady Sandwich gave an evening party recently. You would never guess who was engaged to amuse the company—a hypnotist! The Marquise de Caraman was overheard saying to the young Duc de Vicence, 'If we were alone I should like to be hypnotised, but I dare not before all these people; I should be afraid of showing my excitement.' Marshal Valée will be continued in his African command, notwithstanding the criticism to which he is exposed, on account of the difficulty of finding any one to take his place. The Flahaut have returned in a very softened frame of mind, and well disposed to the Government; they often go to Auteuil, where M. Thiers has set up house. The marriage of Lady Acton with Lord Leveson is settled for this month; it will take place in England, where the Granvilles have been called by the serious illness of their daughter, Lady Rivers. Lord Granville does not greatly approve of this marriage; much pressure has been necessary to obtain his consent, but his son's passion has overcome all obstacles."
Löbichau, August 2, 1840.—Yesterday I went with my sister a distance of a short half-league to visit a summer residence in the middle of the park, in which I spent several summers. My mother made me a present of it, and I gave it back to her when I was married. It is now in somewhat poor repair, but I was glad to see it again. On our return I went into the village to recall some memories.
Schleitz, August 3, 1840.—This town is the residence of the Prince of Reuss LXIV. Three years ago it was burnt down. The castle is quite new, built in the style of a barracks, with two very insignificant towers; it is a pity, for the country is beautiful, especially towards Gera, where I dined with the deaconess von Dieskau, of whom I spoke above, and who is one of the pleasantest recollections of my youth. She is very comfortably settled.
Nuremberg, August 4, 1840.—Yesterday evening I reached Bayreuth at a late hour, and started again early this morning.
A mere walk through the streets of Nüremberg will show any observer the peculiarities of the town. Octagonal balconies in the form of projecting towers in the middle or at the corners of the houses, with gables, almost all overhanging the street, are most characteristic. The number of niches with statues of saints would make one think that the country was Catholic; yet the town is entirely Protestant; but the vandalism of the Reformation was as rabid here as elsewhere, and the good taste of the inhabitants has preserved from a sense of artistic value what they no longer appreciate for religious reasons.
Yesterday evening at the last posting station before Bayreuth I met some travellers whom I did not know but who seemed to be important people. The husband came up to my carriage and asked me if I had heard the news. I replied that I had not. He then told me that he belonged to Geneva, and that he was taking his invalid wife to Marienbad; that on leaving Geneva he had seen one of his friends from Paris, who told him of the news that a convention had been signed at London between Austria, Prussia, Russia, and England against the Pasha of Egypt, and that the French King was furious in consequence; that M. Thiers had immediately ordered the sudden mobilisation of two hundred thousand men to march to the northern frontier, and of ten thousand sailors.[ [115] As I no longer see the newspapers, I am very doubtful what to think of such news, and do not know what to make of these apparent contradictions.
I was told that on September 1 a fifteen days' camp would take place here; twenty thousand troops, the whole Bavarian Court, and other princes will make it a brilliant affair.
In Galignani I saw the news of the death of Lord Durham; I do not think he will be greatly regretted.
To return from my aberrations, the Church of St. Sebald is ill-proportioned and the decorations are very tawdry, but it contains one fine monument. This is a great silver reliquary covered with gold bands, placed in an openwork monument of cast iron, remarkable for its delicacy and gracefulness; the ornamentation is extremely rich and the design admirable. The Town Hall, the large hall painted with frescoes by Albert Dürer, where several Imperial Diets have been held, is worth seeing, and also the room in which are hung the portraits of those citizens of Nuremberg who were benefactors to their native town by founding religious houses. A chapel of St. Maurice which has been transformed into a museum has some interesting pictures of the old German school. The bronze statue of Dürer in one of the squares, which was modelled by Rauch of Berlin, and cast here, has nobility of bearing and makes a fine effect. The old castle, upon an elevation, overlooks the town, and from it may be gained a general view of the countryside. Though it is somewhat mean in appearance, it has the merit of indisputable antiquity. The King and Queen of Bavaria inhabit it when they are here. An old linden-tree planted in the middle of the court by the Empress Cunegonde must be eight hundred years old if the chronicle is to be believed; one may reasonably doubt such antiquity, though the fact remains that this tree has seen many events.