Sagan, January 18, 1848.—I am carefully reading the debates in the French Chambers and have been delighted by the noble answers of the Chancellor[ [124] and the clever replies of M. de Barante to this M. d'Alton Shée who carries his tactlessness too far.[ [125] The general prospect seems dark and there is no point upon the horizon to which I can look with satisfaction.
Sagan, January 20, 1848.—I have been attentively reading the speech upon the Address in the Chamber of Peers, and was charmed by the clear and noble speech of the Duc de Broglie, while I was reduced to tears by the brilliant oration of M. de Montalembert on the affairs of Switzerland, as he spoke with such sincere emotion, with such cleverness and resource, and exposed so entirely the intrigues of the abominable Lord Palmerston.[ [126] I really do not know why every one should be so ready to consider that intermediary who is the curse of the age: it seems quite obvious to me that M. Guizot has been duped by him in the matter of Switzerland; in his place I should have been better inspired, and I cannot imagine how any one can cease to distrust him after the many experiences of his bad faith.[ [127]
Sagan, January 26, 1848.—So you are leaving Paris to-day to begin a new phase of your existence.[ [128] I could wish that your latest news from Turin might be satisfactory, but I doubt if this will be the case. The most important point is that the health of the King of Sardinia should be restored and fortified; he seems to be a clever and enlightened Prince, quite aware of the necessities of the age, though disinclined to make unnecessary concessions to them. I trust that he, yourself, and Italy in general may have a long and glorious existence.
I have a long letter from my daughter Pauline full of regret at your approaching departure, which she regards as another severe trial.
The news of the death of the King of Denmark has just reached us; this will further complicate the state of affairs in the North, and apparently Europe[ [129] will not escape any resulting difficulty. The King of Denmark was a learned and enlightened monarch and enjoyed an excellent reputation; I had the honour of seeing him and of knowing the Queen fairly well, a most saintly person;[ [130] her mother and mine were intimate friends, and among my mother's papers I have found letters from the Duchess of Augustenburg.
Sagan, January 29, 1848.—Yesterday we saw a remarkable meteor: for twenty minutes a column of fire seemed to connect heaven and earth; the sun appeared to be about a third of the way up the sky, and from the lower part of its disc depended this luminous column which seemed to be supported by the horizon of the earth.[ [131] It was a beautiful and imposing spectacle. Some centuries ago astrologers would have drawn many horoscopes based upon this event. I draw my prognostications from newspapers, and I dare not hope that this phenomenon portends any good.
Sagan, February 10, 1848.—On the 5th of the month I was very agreeably surprised by the arrival of the Prince Bishop of Breslau.[ [132] In spite of the unpleasant weather and his bad health he was anxious to wish me many happy returns of the day and to say mass here in person on St. Dorothea's Day. He was accompanied by several ecclesiastics and the chief Catholic lords of the province. The Prince Bishop proposed my health at dinner in a charming speech, dealing with the signification of the name of Dorothea and with the arms of Sagan,[ [133] which he was good enough to term a speaking coat of arms. He trembled with emotion and spilled a few drops of wine from his glass, whereupon he made an end, saying to me, "When the heart speaks, the hand trembles."
The typhus fever which is devastating Upper Silesia threatens to appear here, though we hope that it may be less deadly than it is upon the other side of Breslau. The extremes of want and hunger have been more successfully met here than in other parts of the province. In Upper Silesia this disease has caused dreadful ravages. The doctors have succumbed to it, and were it not for the Brothers of Charity sent by the Prince Bishop, the people would be without relief. Four thousand orphans are wandering about. Mgr. Diepenbrock, following the example of Mgr. de Quélen after the ravages of the cholera in 1833, proposes to open a place of refuge for them to which the Catholics of the province are to devote their time and energy. The plan has been elaborated here.
Weimar, February 18, 1848.—We have had a succession of festivities here in honour of the birthday of the reigning Grand Duchess. The day before yesterday an excellent performance was given of an opera which has made much stir in Germany, called Martha, by the composer Flotow. The libretto and the music are very pretty, and the orchestra was admirably conducted by Liszt. He is Capellmeister to the Weimar Court, with definite leave of absence for nine months in the year. Of this he recently took advantage to make a tour in Constantinople and Odessa, in the course of which he made much money. This evening he is to play to us privately at the house of the Grand Duchess, after Prince Pückler-Muskau has read some extracts dealing with his stay with Mehemet Ali. There is to be previously a little dinner at the young Court of the Hereditary Prince. Attempts are made here to cherish the sacred fire of art and literature, which for sixty years or more has gained for Weimar the title of the Athens of Germany. The Grand Duchess, in order to perpetuate the tradition, has devoted a certain number of rooms in the castle to the memory of poets, philosophers, and artists who have made the district famous. Fresco paintings recall the various subjects of their works, and the rooms are decorated with busts, portraits, views of the historical scenes and curious sites, and pieces of furniture of different periods. The Grand Duchess enjoys a considerable private fortune, which she expends very nobly upon charitable foundations, and in the decoration of her residences. For a hundred years the Court of Weimar has been very well divided among various Princesses; the grandmother of the present Grand Duke was the patroness of Schiller, of Goethe and Wieland, and under her patronage the classical literature of Germany was able to flourish; her daughter-in-law, the mother of the present Grand Duke, was the only Princess of Germany who was able to overawe Napoleon. She saved the kingdom for her husband, the Duke, by her courage and firmness. M. de Talleyrand often took pleasure in describing the scenes in which this Princess confronted the conqueror. The daughter-in-law of the present Grand Duchess, the Princess of the Low Countries, is also clever and well educated; she has a charming voice, great tact, and a simple manner which increases the effect of her good qualities; everything shows that she will be worthy to continue the tradition of the remarkable Princesses who have reigned over the Court of Weimar. Among them one might almost include the Duchess d'Orléans, as her mother was a sister of the reigning Grand Duke.
Berlin, February 28, 1848.—The day before yesterday I was far from thinking that an interval of forty-eight hours would have brought such vast changes of the situation. The telegraph has successively announced a series of events, though without details, none of which, however, prepared us for the startling news of the abdication of Louis Philippe, and of the regency of the Duchesse d'Orléans.[ [134] We had no knowledge of the causes or exigencies of the situation, nor can we say what events can be ascribed to prudence or to weakness; but apart from the historical value of these events, which we shall learn later, the simple fact is sufficiently crushing to cause general consternation here, which is equally widespread among all parties from the highest to the lowest. The considerations which throng upon the mind are the same in every case, and there is only one way of regarding the question and its probable results. These results will affect not only all Governments, but also all private rights. The Princess of Prussia, who is united to her cousin by the keenest sympathy, is quite overwhelmed; she thinks that my presence may help her to bear the weight of anxiety, so that I have spent many hours with her in conjectures upon all these dreadful events, and in lamentations concerning the mystery which still veils the greater part of this drama, or, rather, of this sad tragedy. These grievous events will be re-echoed more quickly and more loudly in Italy than anywhere else; the rest of Europe will then follow, for the respite momentarily granted cannot be long. The fact is that it is impossible to find a single part of Europe where undisturbed peace and quiet is certain. Even America does not seem to me to be secure from disintegrating elements; such is the general tendency of the age, and we must learn to endure it in the positions in which Providence has naturally placed us. I am thankful, however, that I had induced Pauline to leave Paris on February 23 for Le Délivrande.[ [135] I had disapproved of this plan in view of the coldness of the season, but I am now tempted to think it quite providential. This poor child's nerves have already been so shaken that they would have been overstrained by the sight and uproar of the city in tumult.