Padua, 20 September 1833.
The Duchesse de Berry returned from the Catajo at nine o'clock in the evening: she appeared very much excited; as for me, the more peaceful I had been before, the more eager I now was for the fray: we were being attacked, we must needs defend ourselves. I proposed to H.R.H., half in jest, to take her in disguise to Prague and, between the "two of us," carry off Henry V. It was a question only of knowing where we should deposit our plunder. Italy would not do, because of the weakness of her Princes; the great absolute monarchies must be discarded for a thousand reasons. There remained Holland and England: I preferred the former because she had not only a constitutional government, but a clever King.
We postponed these extreme measures; we decided on the most reasonable, which laid the burden of the affair on my shoulders. I was to set out alone with a letter from Madame: I was to ask for the declaration of majority; on receiving the reply of the great kinsmen, I was to send a messenger to H.R.H., who would await my dispatch at Trieste. Madame added to her letter for the old King a note for Henry: I was to give it to the young Prince only according to circumstances. The superscription of the note was by itself a protest against the mental reservations of Prague. Here are the letter and the note:
"Ferrara, 19 September 1833.
"My dear Father,
"At a moment so decisive as the present for Henry's future, allow me to address you with all confidence. I have not relied upon my own judgment in so important a matter; I wished, on the contrary, in this grave circumstance, to consult the men who had shown me the most attachment and devotion. M. de Chateaubriand was naturally at the head of these.
"He has confirmed what I had already heard, namely, that all the Royalists in France look upon a deed setting forth Henry's rights and majority as indispensable for the 29th of September. If loyal M. —— is with you at present, I draw for his evidence, which I know to agree with what I am stating.
"M. de Chateaubriand will lay before the King his ideas on the subject of this deed. He says rightly, so it seems to me, that it should simply declare Henry's majority and not put forward a manifesto: I think that you will approve of this view. In short, my dear Father, I leave it to him to draw your attention and bring about a decision on this essential point. I am much more occupied with it, I assure you, than with what concerns myself, and my Henry's interest, which is that of France, goes before my own. I have proved to him, I think, that I was able to expose myself to dangers for his sake and that I drew back before no sacrifice; he will find me always the same.
"M. de Montbel handed me your letter on his arrival; I read it with lively gratitude: to see you again, to set eyes once more on my children will always be my fondest prayer. M. de Montbel will have written to you that I had done all that you asked; I hope that you have been satisfied with my eagerness to please you and to prove to you my respect and my love. I now have only one longing, to be in Prague for the 29th of September, and, although my health is very much impaired, I hope to arrive. In any case, M. de Chateaubriand will go before me. I beg the King to receive him with kindness and to hear all that he will say to him from me.
"Believe, my dear Father, in all the sentiments, etc.
"P.S. Padua, 20 September. My letter was written, when I was shown the order not to continue my journey: my surprise equals my sorrow. I cannot believe that an order of this kind can have emanated from the heart of the King; only my enemies can have dictated it. What will France say? And how Philip will triumph! I can but hasten the Vicomte de Chateaubriand's departure and charge him to tell the King that which it would be too painful for me to write to him at this moment."
(Addressed) "To His Majesty Henry V., my dearest son, Prague
"Padua, 20 September 1833.
"I was about to arrive in Prague and embrace you, my dear Henry, when an unexpected obstacle stopped me on the road.
"I am sending M. de Chateaubriand in my place to discuss your business and mine. Have confidence, dear, in what he will tell you from me and be sure to believe in my fond affection.
"I embrace you and your sister and I am
"Your affectionate mother and friend,
"Caroline."
The Comte of Montbel.
M. de Montbel fell from Rome upon Padua in the midst of our pother. The little Court of Padua was cool with him; it blamed M. de Blacas for the orders from Vienna M. de Montbel, a very moderate man, had no other resource than to seek refuge with me, although he feared me; when I saw that colleague of M. de Polignac's, I explained to myself how he had written the History of the Duc de Reichstadt and admired the Archdukes, all, without his perceiving it, at sixty leagues from Prague, the Duc de Bordeaux's place of exile; if he, M. de Montbel[237], was suited to throw the Monarchy of St. Louis and the monarchies of this base world out of window, it was a little accident of which he had not thought. I behaved graciously to the Comte de Montbel; I talked to him of the Coliseum. He was returning to Vienna to place himself at the disposal of the Prince de Metternich and to serve as an intermediary for the correspondence of M. de Blacas.
At eleven o'clock, I wrote the Governor the letter agreed upon; I respected Madame's dignity, made no engagements on her behalf and reserved her power of action:
"Padua, 20 September 1833.
"Monsieur le gouverneur,
"H.R.H. Madame la Duchesse de Berry is quite willing, for the moment, to comply with the orders that have been sent you. Her intention is to go to Venice and thence to Trieste; there she will act on the information which I shall have the honour to address to her and will take a final resolve.
"Pray accept my sincerest thanks and the assurance of the high regard with which I am,
"Monsieur le gouverneur,
"Your most humble and most obedient servant,
"Chateaubriand."
The Deputy, when he read this letter, was very much pleased with it. Once Madame had left Venetian Lombardy, he and the Governor ceased to be responsible; the Duchesse de Berry's doings at Trieste concerned only the authorities of Istria or Friuli; each vied with the other to rid himself of misfortune, as, in a certain game, every player hastens to pass a little piece of paper on to his neighbour.
At ten o'clock, I took leave of the Princess. She placed her fate and that of her son in my hands. She made me King of France after her fashion. In a Belgian village, I once received four votes to raise me to the throne occupied by Philip's son-in-law[238]. I said to Madame: