The Queen of the Belgians is dying.[ [243] Poor Queen Marie Amélie, she has been indeed a mater dolorosa.
Berlin, October 15, 1850.—The political horizon in Berlin has grown no clearer, but things have reached so critical a point that the clouds must necessarily disperse a few weeks hence, either under a ray of sunlight from Warsaw[ [244] or by the detonation of cannon. The matter will be decided by the will of the autocrat. Herr von Brandenburg is going there to-morrow: he is taking his wife who was a friend of the Empress in her youth, and has remained on intimate terms ever since; much reliance is here set upon female effusions and emotions to which the Emperor is very amenable. Prince Schwarzenberg is reaching Warsaw on the 20th, and the Austrian Emperor will be there two days later. The diplomatic body here is glad to see Radowitz at the Ministry, as he seemed to be playing a yet more dangerous part behind the scenes. It is thought that he will repudiate official responsibility for his acts, and it is hoped that the report he will be obliged to give the Chambers will make him timid. At any rate, we shall know much sooner and much more definitely upon what we can rely, and anything seems better than the state of suspense in which Germany is gradually being worn out in every direction.
Sagan, October 2, 1850.—Madame Mollien writes to say that the sainted Queen Marie Amélie said after her daughter's death, "I have only been placed in this world to send souls to God." She thinks nothing of herself, and disasters great or small do not affect her; she thinks only of encouraging, consoling and strengthening those about her. She is indeed a saint.
Humboldt tells me that he saw Salvandy for a moment; he was delighted with Frohsdorff and exasperated with Claremont.
Sagan, October 26, 1850.—As long as the Warsaw meeting continues no correct idea can be gained of the probable results. Brandenburg and Paskewitch have been received with great attention.
General Changarnier has been devoted to the Duchesse d'Orléans for a long time, in my opinion. From the outset of her exile she took particular pains to win him over by correspondence addressed to a third person but intended for the General, who invariably read it. By this means the Princesse succeeded in gaining his adherence, and he may certainly be regarded as a pure Orléanist. The success of Salvandy at Claremont and Frohsdorff means nothing so long as the Duchesse d'Orléans is in any way opposed to coalition; as long as she can rely upon Thiers, or thinks that she can count upon Changarnier, she will stand aloof, in spite of the fact that the death of the Queen of the Belgians has removed her chief supporter in that family. I have ventured to send her a letter of condolence upon this loss; it affects her much more deeply than the loss of her father-in-law, for the latter was of no importance to her; on the whole I am almost inclined to believe that Queen Marie Amélie herself is even more heartbroken by the loss of her daughter than by the death of her husband, who must have been a considerable source of perplexity on many occasions since February 24, 1848.
Sagan, November 4, 1850.—Yesterday's newspapers announce an important event, the resignation of Radowitz, which was offered and accepted, after a long council following upon the conference at Warsaw: his retirement offers every prospect of peace, and may Heaven grant that those prospects continue. If Radowitz, Bunsen, and the lame Arnim had not been members of the King's council, many miseries and calamities would have been avoided. I have always been afraid of Bunsen, as his action in conjunction with Lord Palmerston can never be anything but mischievous.
Sagan, November 6, 1850.—Here we have been lashed by a tempest which has threatened to overwhelm us for the last two days. At Berlin tempests of another sort have terrified every one. The retirement of Radowitz which, alas! I cannot yet regard as positive, the serious, and perhaps fatal illness of Brandenburg, the resignation of Ladenberg, the appeal of Bernstorff, the ill-temper of the Prince of Prussia, the King's agitation, the general uneasiness, the meeting of the Chambers on the 21st, and the continued military preparations both here and in Austria are events quite sufficient to produce utter despondency or feverish excitement in every mind.
Sagan, November 8, 1850.—We are passing through dark days. Just at the time when Count Brandenburg had gained a hearing for his pacific views he fell ill and died. Radowitz is certainly going to Erfurt, but Ladenberg is returning to the council, and orders are published to make every preparation for war. The Prussian railway of Kosel has received orders to carry no more Austrian troops from Cracow to Troppau. Bernstorff, who had been summoned to Berlin to take the place of Radowitz, has received orders not to come; and Erfurt is very near Sans Souci! Dresden is delighted by the possibility of war, as it hopes to reconquer the parts of Saxony which were acquired by Prussia in 1814. Silesia will be the first province invaded by the Austrians or occupied by the Cossacks. Count Brandenburg died in consequence of overstrain during the last two years of the acrimonious scenes through which he had to live at Warsaw, of the very stormy discussion which took place in the council on his return, and also of a chill which followed this hurricane. An important despatch came in during the night and he got up to reply to it: he was immediately taken with a shivering fit and was carried off with a gastric fever complicated with gout; he was bled and given an emetic most inadvisedly, so people say. It is possible, but doctors seem to me to be nothing but the agents of Providence; they cure or kill according to the completion which the sick man's task has reached. This death deprives the King of one of his most loyal and disinterested servants. The hand of Fate is obvious in all these events and produces general despondency and consternation.
Sagan, November 11, 1850.—Every hour brings us nearer to a decision by bloodshed. We thought that peace was at hand and suddenly the army is mobilised. The Landwehr has been called out, to the great disturbance of civil administration, agriculture, manufacture, and private life; several of my workmen, servants, and keepers have been obliged to go off; horses have been requisitioned and my stable has just been decimated. I hear from Berlin that war is not yet inevitable, but every hour makes it more probable, and for what reason, in Heaven's name? Because those who relied upon boasting and trickery have at length been caught in their own snares. The end of the week must see the final solution of the question. Heaven grant that the wind of peace may blow in this direction.