Yesterday I went to the Sacré Cœur for a long talk with Madame de Gramont, whom I found uneasy and disturbed. She gave me full details of the harassing treatment laid upon her by the new Archbishop, and also of his new style of ruling the Paris clergy, to which they are by no means accustomed. For instance, he reprimanded the poor old incumbent of Saint-Thomas-d'Aquin for the reason that he himself had been slandered in his parish, for which he regarded the incumbent as responsible. In a certain sacristy he saw some young priests laughing at his vulgar manners, and addressed them with strong language. He wishes to force certain incumbents to resign. In short, there is general disturbance throughout the diocese.
I also went to Madame de Jaucourt, whom I found alone, aged and isolated, but lively. She told me a fact which I should have thought impossible a few days ago, but which I am now more inclined to believe: that the Queen and Madame gave sixty thousand francs to M. de Montalembert's newspaper, the Univers catholique. For some time in this paper accounts have been noticed of the King's conversations with foreign ambassadors.
Madame de Castellane came to ask me to dine with her to-day, and with M. Molé, who will read us his speech upon the occasion of his admission to the French Academy, where he is taking the place of M. de Quélen.
This morning I saw M. Hottinger, the banker, who is much disturbed about the situation. He sees, with great uneasiness, that the efforts of diplomacy can be nullified at any moment by the will of the Pasha of Egypt, in whose hands it is obvious that the question of peace or war now rests. Conspiracies and risings at Constantinople continually complicate all these questions for the worse. It is certain that only a miraculous Providence could disperse these heavy clouds. At Marseilles trade has come to a standstill and people are warehousing their stocks; not a single ship is leaving the port, and every one is anxiously awaiting the issue.
At one o'clock I went to Saint-Cloud to see Madame Adélaïde; then I went to the Queen, and afterwards to the Duchesse d'Orléans: she is really charming, distinguished, witty, gracious, and self-restrained; her conversation is most agreeable and attractive. Madame Adélaïde seemed to me to think that peace will be preserved; heaven grant that she is right!
Paris, September 7, 1840.—The revolt is now breaking out with fresh audacity. Guns from the Invalides are galloping to the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, the assembly is beating continuously and troops are on the march, while the National Guard is concentrated at the different mayors' houses; in short, this is a case of battle. So far our Faubourg Saint-Germain is peaceful, but it must be admitted that if the combat is not soon concluded the left bank of the Seine will be no better off than the right. I am told that the bands scattered through Paris are largely composed of Poles and Italians, wandering people without a fixed home, never sleeping twice in the same house, and therefore difficult to seize. Since yesterday they have been threatening to set Paris on fire, by way of simplifying their task. The foremen of the factories, who have long known of the proposed movement, had warned the Chief of Police, who had, however, no legal authorisation to take adequate precautions. It was even impossible to prevent yesterday's terrible outbreak. To-day there is a general panic, and the troops and guns are ordered to do police work. Let us hope they will again stand firm.
Paris, September 8, 1840.—Yesterday evening at eight o'clock I heard that the troops had driven the rioters out of Paris, and that the town was tranquil; public buildings, however, were guarded, on account of threats of incendiarism. In the afternoon I saw M. Molé, who seemed to be quite overwhelmed by the fact that public stocks had gone down four francs. He also told me of the definite rupture of the Doctrinaires with M. Thiers, whose manifesto was inserted in a Rouen newspaper, and has been quoted in M. Molé's newspaper, La Presse. This conflict is said to be most energetic.
The Journal des Débats is also very bitter against M. Thiers. Business men on the Stock Exchange are making outcries against him, and his position is becoming very difficult. A more pressing interest is the other war, the first demonstration of which seems to have been brought about in Syria by the action of Admiral Napier. It is certainly said that this Admiral is a madman, and that as he is backed by the hot-headed Lord Ponsonby this demonstration does not emanate from the English Government, but we wonder whether this Government will disavow it.
Paris, September 10, 1840.—The general calm has outwardly at least been re-established at Paris. Yesterday I dined at Saint-Cloud, which has been restored and furnished by the King in a magnificent fashion; splendid Gobelin tapestry is to be seen there, copies from Rubens representing the life of Marie de' Medici. The King took me round all the rooms, and talked a little of every subject on the way, constantly saying that he was anxious for peace and would do all he could to preserve it, but thought his task must be facilitated; this is not being done, either at home or abroad. His hatred of the Russians and his bitterness towards England are extreme. He has a special, and not unreasonable, grudge against England, on account of present events in Spain. Queen Christina was convinced that if she could only see Espartero she could induce him to become her personal adherent, and had therefore invited him to Madrid. On his refusal she undertook the journey which was her ruin. In her absence public feeling was manufactured in the capital; she is now obliged to return under the most ominous auspices. Probably her daughter will first be taken from her, and after that what will be done with her? This is the question which the King continually asks himself, uneasily repeating: "I fear the poor woman is ruined."[ [123] He says that England finances and encourages the anarchist movement; that Espartero is entirely English, and that if a general war bursts out we may expect to see him invade France as an English ally.
The King had heard that the King of Prussia had set the Archbishop of Cologne at liberty and authorised him to return to Rome, but that the Archbishop would not take advantage of this permission until he had received fresh instructions from Rome.