At nine o'clock I went to see Madame de Castellane. There the panegyric upon the late M. de Quélen was discussed, which led the conversation to the new Archbishop, M. Affre. His nomination was brought about by M. de Montalembert in the following way: M. de Montalembert has become a strong partisan of the Ministry, and M. Thiers thinks that with his help he will be able to confine the ranks of the clergy to distinguished men. As a matter of fact, M. de Montalembert is only connected with the democratic section of the young clergy, who form a party by themselves, including the Abbés Cœur, Combalot, Lacordaire, and Bautain, which is not regarded as orthodox in the sense that the old clergy are. This party also contains some distinguished young priests like the Abbé Dupanloup, the Abbé Petetot, the Curé de Saint-Louis-d'Autin, and others; in fact, there is quite a schism.
When I returned home I found a letter from M. Bresson, of which the following is an interesting passage: "The position is very serious, and the Prussian King's first appearance in foreign policy is not happy. There is no frankness or nobility in following all these fine protestations with an act of provocation and injustice towards ourselves, who have never been guilty of a single act of bad faith towards Prussia. Such action calls for vengeance, and I am by no means a sufficiently humble Christian not to thirst for it. I am well aware that they are sorry at what has happened and are embarrassed by it, but they have been carried away by that great windbag Bülow further than they wished at a time when his voracious appetite has been followed by a fit of indigestion; but the harm has now been done, and it is irreparable. They have shown their real feelings, and what confidence can we have for the future? In short, I am utterly disgusted, and I should be glad to resign my post; I am also ill and depressed, and have a longing for Rome. I wish to leave my mind fallow and to sit in real sunshine and get warm. I have spent twenty-four years in exile working without intermission, and I can stand it no longer. I am utterly bored, and do not want the good relations which I have been able to maintain here to break down during my tenure of office, as they seem likely to do. One fault leads to a second, and one wrongdoing begets another. Besides, I have been personally affronted; I have been loyal and they have not been. My resentment will find vent, and whether upon the King or the Minister is all the same to me. I will make them repent their want of gratitude and courtesy towards our King, after calling him the Palladium of Europe, in speaking to me and M. de Ségur." In this vehement style the impetuosity of M. Bresson will be obvious, but the truth is I think things have gone so far as to make him wish for another post.
To-morrow the Paris Stock Exchange account is made up. The probable losses are estimated at twenty-four to twenty-five millions—a very great disaster.
Paris, September 4, 1840.—Yesterday I went to the Tuileries to keep an appointment with Madame Adélaïde. I also saw the King there, who was well and cheerful, in a very easy frame of mind, convinced that there would be no war, and certainly not anxious for one. He flattered himself that the four Powers would soon be persuaded that they were working in the wrong direction and be forced to fall back upon his intervention, and that he would thus be called to play the part of mediator, &c. He is very greatly hurt that the Powers should have put him in such a position, but is too sensible to listen to the invectives and the uproar of the Ministerial Press. He has no greater leanings towards M. Thiers than he used to have, but he understands that it is now impossible to break with him, and hopes to use him to extort certain concessions from the Powers, which he alone could induce the country to accept. There is an element of truth and cleverness in these ideas, though also a certain amount of illusion. Madame's feelings are those of the King, though she is extremely bitter against M. Guizot, and accuses him of showing the most utter diplomatic incompetence. She repeated more than twenty times: "Oh, if only our dear Prince de Talleyrand were alive, if only our good General Sébastiani had remained at London, we should not be in this position!"
I had hardly returned home when the Duc d'Orléans called upon me, and stayed for a long time. He is far more anxious, and at the same time far more decided, than his father. His exasperation with the Powers is extreme, chiefly on account of the way in which events have come to pass. On July 16 Guizot sent news that nothing had happened or would happen; on the 17th he had a letter from Lord Palmerston asking him to call, and when he reached the house Lord Palmerston simply read the famous memorandum. Guizot became pale and agitated, and could find nothing to say except that he would inform his Government, and left Lord Palmerston as though thunderstruck. Now he and his friends throw the whole of the blame upon Thiers. Thiers replies vigorously that they are in the wrong, and gives details, so that relations are greatly strained. Thiers is horrified at the possibility of war, but instead of calming the journalists of his party he is so entirely dominated by them that he not only cannot check them, but thinks himself bound to tell them everything. The result is that secrecy is impossible; the Diplomatic Body is affronted and action in general is hampered. Meanwhile all the preparations announced by the newspapers have been made, and even doubled. The Duc d'Orléans is himself taking the business in hand. Thirty-four million francs have already been expended. All the forces in Algiers are being recalled, and the authorities have made up their minds to abandon the colony without regret, telling themselves that they have had the advantage of training their soldiers and their officers. The Chambers will not be summoned until all chances of peace have disappeared, when it is expected that all these expenses will be certainly approved. The Queen is the most warlike of the whole royal family; the blood of Maria Theresa is aroused; she is furious with the action of the Powers, and says that if war breaks out she will ask the Archbishop of Paris to bless the swords of her five sons and make them swear upon the Holy Sacrament never to sheath them again until France and their dynasty are restored to the chief place in Europe. As she usually interferes in no way, this vigour has astonished and embarrassed the King.
M. Guizot, to return to him, is an object of ridicule at the Château, especially since the return of the Duc de Nemours from London, for he tells numberless stories at the expense of the little ambassador. He asks for the addresses of tailors, wishes his trousers to be tight-fitting, bets at the races, thinks he has a good eye for a horse, devotes his attention to his carriages and his table, is utterly frivolous, and, to complete his ridiculous appearance, brags in front of Mrs. Stanley and tries to make Madame de Lieven jealous, and it is said with some success. This field of operations, in short, is being cleverly worked.
After the Duc d'Orléans had gone I had a call from the Abbé Dupanloup, who gave me some curious details concerning the Paris clergy, among whom a silent but very definite opposition has arisen against Mgr. Affre. The vulgarity and rudeness of his manner rouses exasperation against him every day. He has admitted his entire hatred of the memory and the friends of the late Mgr. de Quélen; even my poor self am an object of his dislike; and as for the Sacré Cœur, it is a case of persecution. The Abbé began to laugh when I said, "Then we have become the Fort-Royal of the Jesuits!" Mgr. Affre does not venture to interfere with the Abbé Dupanloup or his little seminary, and even goes out of his way to please him, because of the Abbé's widespread relations, which make him a favourite with M. Jaubert, Minister of Public Works, with the Princesse de Beauffremont, a pronounced Carlist, with Madame de La Redorte, and with Madame de Gramont, of the Sacré Cœur. Moreover, in the course of the week which preceded the nomination of the Archbishop, M. Thiers sent for him to ask his opinion about the state of the clergy. M. Thiers, with his usual tactlessness, had made an appointment at the same time with M. de Montalembert, who brought with him Mgr. Affre. The parties arrived simultaneously, and were astounded at meeting one another. While they were thus awaiting the Minister with surprise, he was closeted with M. Royer-Collard. Eventually the four men confronted one another for a few moments—a memorable scene.
The Abbé Dupanloup renewed his promise to come and see me at Rochecotte in October; at the same time he did not hide the fact that he might be unable to come if he saw that the Archbishop was unduly disturbed, for he has to respect his feelings for the sake of his little seminary.
In the papers seized with Louis Bonaparte proofs were found that the undertaking was financed by Russia, with the connivance of the Carlist party, led by Berryer, and the name of M. Thiers was too frequently mentioned. The King forbade the Chancellor to pursue his action in this direction for two reasons: firstly, because M. Thiers would have been obliged to give evidence which would have embarrassed and complicated the general situation to a far greater extent; and, secondly, because the King thinks it useless to show his foreign enemies to what an extent they can count on positive support from Russia. What will be the end of these conflicting interests and this general complication?
Paris, September 5, 1840.—Paris was greatly excited the day before yesterday and yesterday by the numerous gatherings and bands of workmen. The newspapers give full details. Much money has been found upon those who have been arrested, which is supposed to come from the Russo-Bonapartists; such, at least, is the opinion of the Government. Every day reveals some new social disease, and the age is racked by cruel sickness.