19th.—Breakfasted at Chantilly; went all over the Château, rebuilt.
24th.—Dined alone with Lord Lyons.
But a few letters written at this time to his wife give the best description of his visit, and call more particular attention to what seems to have been in great measure the cause of it—the paper to be read before the Institute.
Paris, December 21st.—I dined yesterday with Laugel to meet the De Witts, the young De Barantes and M. de Mérode. The Duc de Broglie came in the evening. The eldest son of Cornélis de Witt is about to marry Mlle. de Labruyère, a considerable heiress, dans l'Agénois. This is a capital marriage for the family. To-morrow I am going to a lecture by M. Caro at the Sorbonne. On Thursday there is the reception of M. Maxime du Camp (who wrote about the Commune) by M. Caro at the Académie Française, when I shall take my seat amongst the Forty Immortals. It will be interesting. On Wednesday 29th I shall probably make an address to the Institute (simple énoncé de faits) on the State of Landed Property in Ireland—a formidable undertaking!
I think now that the Radicals will break up the Government and break their own necks. I cannot conceive that the English people and Parliament will condone such monstrous conduct. I therefore now hope that they will play out their abominable game. Mr. Plunket's speech is admirable.
December 23rd.—I am just come back from the Institute, where there has been a grand function—the reception of Maxime du Camp by M. Caro on behalf of the Académie Française. All Paris was mad to go, and I believe they expected the Communards would storm the sacred building. I sat aloft among the Immortals, with the Duc de Broglie, Haussonville, Lesseps, Vieil Castel, and next Alexandre Dumas, who was very pleasant. The Duc d'Aumale was on the other side.
Yesterday we had a very pleasant dinner at the De Broglies'—Gavard, Lambert de Ste.-Croix and Cornélis de Witt. They shot 1,250 pheasants at Ferrières [Footnote: It was here that the celebrated meeting between Bismarck and Jules Favre (cf. ante, pp. 186-7) took place, on September 19th, 1870.] (Baron Rothschild's) on Sunday. The Comte de Paris brought down 300 himself.
I have written out my speech on Irish Land and read it to Gavard. It will take about fifteen or twenty minutes in the delivery. I breakfast tomorrow morning with St. Hilaire.
December 27th.—I went to the English Church in the Rue d'Aguesseau on Christmas Day—full congregation and nice service—but saw nobody I knew. Mme. Faucher's dinner was dull, but Passy and Leroy-Beaulieu were there, and there was some good music after dinner. I called yesterday on Feuillet de Conches and Mme. Mohl, each looking a thousand and older than the hills; and I spent some time in the galleries of the Louvre with my old favourites in their eternal youth. It is infinitely touching, when so much else is gone, to look at those pictures which I myself remember for sixty years in unchanging beauty. I perfectly remember the impression made on me when I was seven years old by the picture of the Entry of Henry IV into Paris.
I have copied out my whole oration to be read on Wednesday, and, in copying, enlarged it. It is chiefly taken from the Irish Land Pamphlet.