The Archduke John had looked forward to a quiet unostentatious meeting with King Leopold;[ [199] instead of this he was received with great solemnity. Frau von Brandhofen and the little Count of Meran had no part in the ceremonies, and were sent to make a railway tour in Belgium incognito. When they reached Brussels they made an unexpected entry into Metternich's drawing-room, which was the more remarkable, as the relations between Prince Metternich and the Archduke John had always been cold and strained. The politeness of Metternich simplified the matter.
Eisenach, November 7, 1849.—I left Hanover yesterday morning and arrived here in the afternoon. I sent word of my arrival immediately to Madame Alfred de Chabannes, who at once came to my hotel. We talked for a long time about the little émigré Court, of which she at present forms part; I use the term émigré, although the Duchesse de Orléans is doing her utmost to avoid obtruding the anomalous nature of her position. At the same time inconsistencies cannot be entirely obviated, and arise from the nature of the situation: for instance, the opposing parties are represented among those about her; there is a coalition and a separatist party. She declines to belong definitely to either, and does not like people to say that she is opposing coalition though she will not take the first steps towards it. At the same time she has not allowed any one to declare hitherto that she would not be opposed to it. She fears that the first step to coalition would disgust her adherents in France, whom she thinks, in my opinion, to be more numerous than they really are, and this though she sees that her truly reliable adherents are growing less every day. The names which seem to cause her the most despondency from this point of view are those of Molé and Thiers. I saw the Duchesse d'Orléans alone for half an hour before dinner; we were interrupted by the Duc and Duchesse de Nemours. I found the Duchesse d'Orléans in no way outwardly changed, except that her features may have lost something of their refinement; her spirits were more despondent, though she showed the same placidity and even dignity, but her energy has decreased and she is inclined to feel herself overwhelmed by unpleasant incidents, which are due to people rather than to things. She is humiliated by the degradation which has overtaken France, and shows much insight into the state of Germany, characterising the so-called central power and the parody of imperialism at its true worth. The Nemours, who are strong supporters of Austria, refer to Lord Palmerston with much bitterness. They are really coalitionists, and are on their way back to Claremont from Vienna; she is fresh and pretty, and ventures to assert her opinions, which are positive; he has grown stouter and much more like the King, especially in his way of speaking, as he has at last found the courage to express himself; he speaks sensibly, but with no style or distinction, and in this respect he was always wanting. The letters of his brothers which have been published are not approved by him in any way. He fears that the law may be adopted which may recall his family to France, and he does not wish to see his brothers hastening back again.[ [200] This is all very well, but I repeat he is wanting in the spirit of energy. He will never be of any account, and will never take any practical part, and remains a distinguished nonentity. The Comte de Paris is much grown and fairly good-looking, as his shyness had disappeared, but he has a squeaky, disagreeable intonation of voice. The Duc de Chartres has become much stronger and very noisy. The three Nemours children seem quite nice. After dinner, which began about seven o'clock, we stayed talking until nearly eleven o'clock. Boismilon is a strong separatist; Ary Scheffer was also there, and seems to me to be one of the zealot party, an attitude which M. de Talleyrand used to distrust.
The Princesse de Joinville has been confined of a still-born child and was in considerable danger. The child's body was taken to Dreux by my cousin, Alfred de Chabannes, who gave no notice of his intention. It was laid in the family vault, mass was said, and only when all this had been done did M. de Chabannes inform the Mayor of his actions. The ceremony was very properly conducted. Madame de Chabannes also told me that when her husband went to visit Louis Philippe at Claremont for the first time after February, the King said, almost as soon as he saw him, "What would you expect; I thought myself infallible." The observation seemed to me strikingly true and to be a remarkable admission.
The Duchesse d'Orléans proposes to return to London in the spring to take the Comte de Paris to his first communion, for which he is being prepared by the Abbé Guelle, who frequently instructs him at Eisenach.
Berlin, November 8, 1849.—On my return here I found my brother-in-law, who had come back from Dresden, where the state of public feeling is said to be going from bad to worse. The Ministers have been unable to obtain from the King of Saxony any decree for the capital punishment even of the most guilty, much to the indignation of right-minded people and to the exasperation of the troops who fought so admirably last May. The arrogance of the rebels has greatly increased in consequence. The King's prestige has sunk so low that his salutations are not even returned in the streets.
Yesterday was the anniversary of the installation of the Brandenburg Ministry, and there was a great entertainment in the rooms of Kroll in the Tiergarten: all the Ministers were present, and a feeling of great loyalty is said to have been manifested. However, in another part of the town a so-called religious celebration was in progress of another anniversary, the shooting of the famous Robert Blum.[ [201] There was thus entertainment to suit every taste, and I fear that the taste for red ruin is by no means blunted.
A letter from Paris which I find here tells me that the situation in France is entirely in the hands of the army which is divided between Cavaignac and Changarnier. The former is entirely republican and the latter will listen to nobody. Since Louise Philippe wrote his letter to Edgar Ney[ [202] at Rome Changarnier is said to have appeared less frequently at the Elysée. The President is therefore inclined to transfer the command of the Paris troops to General Magnan.
Madame de Lieven is delighted to return to Paris, and paints England in the blackest possible colours. She wears a bonnet in the style of Deffand, praises the president of the republic, and does her best as formerly to attract every shade of political colour to her house. She seems to have succeeded so far as to be frankly astonished that no one makes any mention of M. Guizot, whom she is expecting in December.
Berlin, November 12, 1849.—I spent almost the whole of yesterday at Sans Souci with the King and Queen, who received me as kindly as ever. Prince Frederick of the Low Countries, who arrived from the Hague, gave a very bad account of the situation in that direction. Resignation, abdication, and regency are words openly pronounced. The young King is despised, and the young Queen is not popular or the Dowager Queen either. In short, their position is quite precarious. The King of Prussia is expecting the proclamation of the Empire at the Elysée and all eyes are turned upon France.
A letter from Vienna which I received yesterday, tells me that beneath all the military display, some new causes of anxiety are obvious. The peasants are very displeased with the new system of land taxation, by their obligation to redeem the tithes and to pay indemnities by way of compensation for all that they expected to wrest from their overlords. The nobility consider the equality of taxation to which they are subjected is a hardship and a hateful innovation. The hodweds[ [203] who have been drafted into the regiments, are disseminating very bad ideas. The young emperor is rather short and arbitrary with his old generals; in a word, if our neighbours have not to confront the same difficulties that prevail here, they have many reasons for disquietude.