Sagan, December 28, 1847.—I fear that Italy must be bristling with domestic and diplomatic difficulties. I am assured that the Duke of Lucca will not assert his rights over Parma, and will abandon them to his son. He has shown such want of tact, and has committed such blunders in England, that Queen Victoria requested the Austrian Ambassador to induce the Prince of Lucca to leave England at once, as she would otherwise be obliged to command his departure herself. It is very sad for Mlle. de Rosny, his wife,[ [121] who is said to be charming and distinguished.
M. de Radowitz is a clever and learned man, who thinks a great deal of himself and is a great talker. He leads the Catholic mystical party in Prussia, and is therefore entirely in the King's good graces and confidence.
Barante writes to me from Paris, assuring me that the relations between Russia and France are by no means so near a revival as people said; he seems to me rather to aim at succeeding the Duc de Broglie as Ambassador at London than at following Bresson in the Embassy at Naples.
CHAPTER VI
1848
Sagan, January 4, 1848.—I am quite overwhelmed by the death of Madame Adélaïde.[ [122] It is a misfortune for the King, for the poor and for my children. In her I lose a friend who regretted daily the loss of M. de Talleyrand, whose death I have also every reason to deplore. And thus the sad year of 1847 has come to an end with this sudden blow, and I can quite understand that the King's private friends begin the year 1848 under gloomy auspices. The political horizon seems very dark. I do not maintain that the turn of the north will never come, but at the present moment the south is in a very feverish condition.
Sagan, January 6, 1848.—There is some truth in Madame de Lieven's remarks concerning Humboldt: I do not assert that he is absolutely radical, but his liberalism is of a very advanced type and at Berlin he is thought to be urging the Princess of Prussia along the path which she does not always follow with sufficient prudence. However, Humboldt is too clever to compromise himself and though he may make himself conspicuous to some extent, he is at bottom a remnant of the few disappearing elements of the eighteenth century.
I know enough of King Louise Philippe to be convinced of his courage and his presence of mind: when therefore I saw the submission of Abd-el-Kader in the newspaper, I at once considered that the King would regard this event as counterbalancing his grief in some degree.[ [123] The ties of affection which united him to his sister were so strong that he probably will not feel his loss most deeply at the first moment, but as life resumes its usual course, when he finds that she is not present to listen to him and to share his thoughts at the time when he used to visit her and give her his confidence, his isolation will be felt and sadness will begin. The Queen is undoubtedly no less devoted and loyal to him, but she is to some extent preoccupied by family cares and her mind does not run in the same direction; she is not always in the King's room awaiting the royal pleasure at every moment, while her religious tendencies are in advance of those of the King. In short she may be much but she cannot be everything. However, it is much better that the King should survive his sister than that he should have died before her, for such a shock would have killed Madame forthwith, I am perfectly certain.
Sagan, January 10, 1848.—Though I am not free from care when I am in good health, it must not be imagined that I have a terror of sudden death, the occasion of which I cannot foresee, though of its certainty I have no doubt. I have no wish to die, but I have no pleasure in life. My life's work has certainly been done and all my tasks are accomplished. What remains affects me but little. It is but a matter of filling up the time and it is hardly worth the little daily efforts which it costs. However, I refuse to be overcome by depression. I have made up my accounts and settled my affairs, and have therefore no reason for sadness, and as long as I am alive my energy will continue; but I can never grow resigned to the idea of finding myself useless, and I trust that God will be so gracious as to leave me the power of sympathy with the wants of those about me until the last moment. If I did not love the poor I should think myself more miserable than they. Fortunately I feel more drawn towards them every day and they compensate for many losses.
Sagan, January 12, 1848.—I have been invited to the funeral ceremonies of Madame Adélaïde at Dreux. The King is greatly depressed and feels very lonely. I am very anxious as to what this year 1848 may have in store for me.
It seems that the Duc de Montpensier has been commissioned to arrange his aunt's private papers.