Yesterday I visited the Lichtenstein palace, so fabulous for its magnificence. At the same time whatever income may be forthcoming, to spend eighty thousand florins upon a single chandelier is unpardonable. However, there is more to admire than to criticise in this fine work of modern luxury.
Vienna, August 31, 1850.—A rumour is in circulation here that King Louis Philippe is dead. I have not heard whether the news is authentic or not.[241]Vienna, notwithstandingrecent catastrophes, has taken remarkably little part in political life, and the Prater, the theatre, and gossip are the dominant occupations now as formerly. I went to see the church of St. Stefan again which always makes a great impression upon me. I also looked in at the graceful and remarkable church of Maria Steig, adjoining the Convent of the Ligurians who were driven out by the Revolution of 1848.
Sagan, September 5, 1850.—I have made an excursion by way of Dornbach which belongs to Princess Lory Schwarzenberg, and through Felsberg and Eisgrub which belongs to the Lichtensteins. Princess Lory Schwarzenberg does the honours of her delightful villa most agreeably; the site and the view are alike charming. Felsberg is a winter establishment, shut in, warm, sheltered and rather gloomy; there is plenty of room, but the apartments are ill-proportioned and the garden is insignificant. There is a fine chapel, a pretty theatre room, many family portraits, and some old furniture of curious form and date. The most striking part of the house is the rooms of Prince Eugène of Savoy which he occupied when he went hunting with his friend Prince Lichtenstein. Eisgrub is a dainty, gay, and well-cared-for estate, with a large park which adjoins the woods, in a country covered with lakes and full of every kind of game. The kennels, the stables, and the riding-school are all arranged in English style.
We nearly had a serious accident on the railway: it was dark, and a peasant's horse escaped from his field and lay down across the rails; the train passed over it at full speed and killed the animal; the consequence was such a shock in our carriage that we were thrown from one side to the other. The train was stopped and help was brought, but we eventually came through without further disaster, apart from a great fright.
Sagan, September 12, 1850.—I am glad to hear that the newspaper reports were once more false which said that the Duchesse d'Orléans had summoned Thiers to her.
The newspapers relate a terrible scene of demonstrationagainst General Haynau at London, which is hardly consistent with the much boasted hospitality of mighty Albion.[242]
Sagan, September 16, 1850.—I have just received a letter from M. de Salvandy dated from the Hague on the 10th of the month. He says that he is on his way from London to Frohsdorff to perform a mission. From his letter I should think that he is a somewhat important figure in the negotiations which he seems to have undertaken officiously and officially; which is the more correct adverb I cannot discover from his complicated account.
The Queen of the Belgians is dying.[243]Poor Queen Marie Amélie, she has been indeed amater 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 dayslater. 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, forthe 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 reconquerthe 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.
Sagan, November 13, 1850.—The first collision between the Prussians and the Austro-Bavarians has already taken place near Fulda.[245]The official or Ministerial gazettedieDeutsche Reform, which appears twice daily at Berlin, brought me the news. It says that the Prussians were the first to fire; that the Austrians had not even loaded their guns, so that several were wounded and were unable to defend themselves; that a misunderstanding was the cause of the conflict; and that after this skirmish the Prussian General, von Gröben, fell back beyond Fulda. The account is preceded by a very pacific leading article. Meanwhile it seems that Bernstorff has actually gone to Berlin, but only for the purpose of refusing the Ministerial post which had been offered to him. Confusion is thus complete. Since the trumpet-blast of war resounded, every one is absorbed by the thoughts, the predictions, and the arrangements which so engrossing an occurrence naturally produces. However, I have decided not to stir from here; I think it is bad policy to abandon one's home in the hour of danger, and a course of action which is almost always regretted.
Sagan, November 15, 1850.—My brother-in-law came back yesterday from Berlin where he had left a state of peace. The King had visited the Austrian Minister; a long explanation took place which began with some temper and afterwards grew calm. Eventually they separated in mutual satisfaction. I can only pray that nothing but good may result from this explanation and that no further clouds will come to obscure the horizon. Radowitz has so infuriated the Prince of Prussia that in a council held upon the return of the Count of Brandenburg from Warsaw in which Radowitz preached peace, the Prince accused him of treachery to his country in no measured terms. The poor Count felt this reproach so deeply that it is generally thought to have been the cause of his death. The fact remains that in his delirium this scene was continually before his mind and caused him the greatest uneasiness. It reminds me of the quarrel between the Dauphin and Marshal Marmont at Saint-Cloud in the month of July 1830.
Austria is willing to regard the attack near Fulda as due to chance and not as inspired by any premeditation.Both sides seem anxious to pursue peace, and Austria is sensible enough to lend herself to anything that will shield Prussian pride during this forced retreat. The Austrians have resolved to send twenty-five thousand men to Schleswig-Holstein to finish the difficulties there. The most troublesome point between Vienna and Berlin is Hanover. Austria wishes that Hanover should give free passage to her troops, while Berlin is anxious that Hanover should not grant this concession. I think this is the only outstanding point which could throw us back into the anguish of war.
I am very curious to know what impression Madame Swetchine has made upon you.[246]She is old and ugly but clever and well educated, pleasant and insinuating, and entirely suited for the profession she has followed for the last thirty years. I have been always surprised that those who are religious by profession and who should always be considering their own consciences, should yet find so much time to deal with the consciences of others.
Sagan, November 18, 1850.—For several days the chances have been in favour of peace. Apparently the conferences which are to settle the fate of Germany will be begun at Dresden on December 1, and Russia undertakes the guarantee which Austria and Prussia simultaneously claim, while the disarmament of the two Powers will go on simultaneously, if agreed upon.[247]At the same time, we cannot absolutely deny every possibility of war. The Democratic party, for instance, which is fairly strong in the Chambers to be opened on the 21st; the personal ambitions of those who do not belong to this party, but who are foolish enough to think that if they join its shouts for war they will be able to muzzle it afterwards; personal hatred, foolish vanity, patriots with their silly love of glory and all that is most inappropriately termed the national honour, are influences now working, and Manteuffel is obliged to maintain the struggle alone. He is accused of having already sold himself to Russia and toAustria! Perhaps the forces which France, according to the newspapers, is sending to the banks of the Rhine, will provide food for reflection.
Sagan, November 29, 1850.—The Minister, Manteuffel, left Berlin yesterday to keep an appointment with Prince Schwarzenberg;[248]there is no reason to suppose that this interview will further the cause of peace. It is also said that the Chambers will be prorogued. Whatever solution may be attained, every one must be prepared.
Sagan, December 1, 1850.—All the railways are crowded by troop trains, and in spite of this military energy, which continues to increase, people are still betting that peace will be secured. Baron Manteuffel passed near here a few hours ago in a special train for Berlin; in this railway carriage our destinies are contained.[249]Baron von Meyendorff was present at the interview, and doubtless his influence was weighty and helped to turn the scale. I have also been told that the Elector of Hesse is helping to simplify the matter by declaring that he has no wish for either Austrian or Prussian help, and is capable of reducing his subjects to obedience unaided.
The castle court is full of waggons, carriages, and horses; the castle is full of officers of high rank, and the villages are full of soldiers; everything is in a bustle; drums are beating, trumpets sounding, and yet the whole may be nothing more than a military parade at once ridiculous and burdensome.
Sagan, December 3, 1850.—Letters and newspapers from France have not come in for several days; this delay is doubtless due to the movements of the troops, which have delayed and disorganised both the regularity and the safety of the railways. Such irregularity in the delivery of lettersis a misfortune which I feel deeply at this moment, which is a serious time for me in every respect, as my house has just been the scene of a tragedy. One of the officers of high rank—a talented man, and much esteemed in the army, rich and respected—has blown out his brains in consequence of some service dispute. He had dined with me a few hours previously, and gave no sign that he had determined on the fatal act. He has left a letter in which he explains his motives for this action, and the arrangements he desires to be made. In it he thanks me for my kindly welcome, and apologises for the act which he was proposing to commit under my hospitable roof. This event has affected us all deeply. The poor man has just been buried amid the universal regret of the detachment; the funeral was not carried out with military honours on account of the suicide, but it was honoured by the tears of all those who had served with and under the deceased man.
To-day we shall know how the Chambers have welcomed the arrangement which Manteuffel and Schwarzenberg have agreed upon; the matter must have been discussed yesterday. A stormy and hostile feeling prevailed, and in any case the contest will have been keen. Herr von Ladenberg had offered his resignation, as he declines peace at any price. If the Chambers show themselves too intractable, will the authorities have the courage to dissolve them, and exercise the rights of making peace and war which the Constitution guarantees to the King, or will they yield before the outcries of the democracy and their dupes who fill the Prussian Chambers? That is the question. One might bet with equal certainty upon either issue, so impossible is it to rely upon a consistent or regular policy when definite resolutions are required.
I have a letter from Potsdam, dated November 30, from which the following is an extract: "Our excellent Sovereign has seemed greatly depressed during the illness and the death of Count Brandenburg, the fall of Radowitz, the keen discussions with the Prince of Prussia, and the determination to mobilise the army; but he has shown keen repugnance forthe Gerlach party,[250]and for Herr von Manteuffel, and great exasperation at the insulting threats of Russia to occupy the eastern province as Hesse is occupied. Then, after a terrible inward struggle, the King has recovered his calm with reference to the arrangements for peace, and has become almost affectionate towards Herr von Manteuffel; he has also resolved to send him with the Prince of Schwarzenberg. The Kinghopesto preserve peace."
I have also another letter which says: "The Russian Court has officially notified the other Courts of its strict neutrality in purely German affairs, though this does not apply to the Holstein affair. On this question the reserve is made that if any one Power should claim to prevent the passage of Federal troops, Russia would oppose such claim by force. The London and Paris Cabinets had recognised the same right in the case of Denmark, and have undertaken to leave Russia a free hand. The King of Denmark asked the Emperor Nicholas for twelve thousand men, and the Emperor replied that he would send a hundred and twenty thousand."
Sagan, December 5, 1850.—The following are some details which reached me from an authentic source: Baron Manteuffel arrived on Thursday, November 28, at five o'clock in the evening, at Olmütz, and the conference between himself and Prince Schwarzenberg immediately began and lasted till half-past twelve. The first interview led to no result, and Manteuffel declared his intention of leaving the place an hour later by the night train; Prince Schwarzenberg made no offer to detain him; on the contrary, he rang the bell and ordered the carriage to take the Baron back to the station; at that moment Herr von Meyendorff intervened, and begged the two diplomatic champions to make trial of a second interview the next day. Schwarzenberg and Manteuffel consented, and their conference was resumed the next morning at nine o'clockand continued till five in the evening. The former had spoken in the course of the previous evening with such frankness concerning the equivocal policy of Prussia, that Herr von Manteuffel was obliged to tell him that he could not listen to such language. During the second interview he showed more self-control and more readiness to make concessions, and eventually the conference ended in the following result: Prussia will occupy the military road in Hesse, but will allow the Austrian troops to make use of it for the pacification of the country; Cassel is to have a garrison composed partly of Austrians and partly of Prussians; the domestic affairs of Hesse are to be arranged by two Commissioners appointed by Austria and Prussia; the question of Schleswig will also be discussed by two Commissioners, representing each of the great Powers; Denmark and Holland will be requested to reduce their military forces by two-thirds, and if it should be necessary to bring up troops to secure this result, Austria declares herself indifferent upon the question as to which Power is to undertake the operation; in such an event she will allow Prussia to take the matter in hand alone or to entrust the task to one of the other Powers in the Germanic Confederation. The general interests of Germany are to be discussed in the free conferences held at Dresden. Prince Schwarzenberg had given no clear explanation of the basis upon which he will regard these interests as established, but he has consented that the Frankfort Diet should be suspended while the Dresden conferences are in progress. Stipulations have also been made that Prussia should set the example of disarmament, but that the moment when disarmament is to be begun shall depend upon the will of the King of Prussia. This latter article is, I think, kept strictly secret. The King has shown great satisfaction with these results; however, he could not help saying aloud at table that Manteuffel had only secured what Radowitz, the most German of all his Ministers, had demanded.
In the Prussian Chambers discussion had been markedby strong and violent feeling. The result has been an adjournment till January 3. Embarrassment will arise in Parliament on the question of money. Will the Chambers vote the money which has been expended in preparations now found to be useless? It is thought that they will not. There is talk of a direct appeal from the King to the Powers and to the goodwill of his subjects. We shall see what effect will be produced upon the provinces and the country at large by the return of the Deputies to their homes during the month of adjournment. This period will probably be spent in every kind of intrigue and in stirring public feeling, and as such efforts can be complicated by representing the pecuniary sacrifice as pure loss, very unpleasant incidents may be the consequence. We are thus entering upon a new phase.
Sagan, December 9, 1850.—At the present moment all eyes are turned to Dresden. In five days the conferences are to be opened, and as these poor provinces have been exhausted by the concentration of the troops, it is of urgent importance that the disarmament should be quickly begun; they can no longer maintain the troops upon a war footing, as they will be literally ruined by them if they are not turned into an enemy's country.
Sagan, December 11, 1850.—Count Stolberg, the son of the former Minister, who is stationed at a neighbouring hamlet and has just arrived from Berlin, came to dine here and spend the evening. He is well informed of the course of events at Sans Souci. He has assured me that the authorities have decided to carry matters to extremes with the Chambers if they do not show themselves tractable upon their return. A dissolution will then take place, and as a more amenable Chamber is not probable under the present detestable electoral law, there is an idea of modifying this law by acoup d'état, or an attempt will be made to do without the Chambers by means of a temporary dictatorship, or by an appeal to the people. I must confess that I have great doubts whether the authorities have sufficient courage to carry matters with so high a hand;at the same time, I must admit that things have reached the stage at which we must either pass under the pitiless yoke of the democracy or take the bull by the horns.
Sagan, December 18, 1850.—The Dresden conferences have been adjourned to the 23rd, and there is no idea of disarmament upon any serious scale until their decisions are known. The state of war continues with disastrous results. Those who complain are told that effective remonstrance can only be made under arms. However, to soothe the feelings of Austria, the newspapers publish announcements that the disarmament is beginning, which is only true to a very small extent.
Sagan, December 22, 1850.—I hear from Berlin that the Cabinet has been completed and strengthened with Conservative elements; a good sign, but I shall require twelve signs, like those of the Zodiac, to give me any confidence in their consistency.
Berlin, December 28, 1850.—News from Berlin is entirely peaceful. Schwarzenberg has been received with many marks of distinction, though the troops are still kept under arms. The officers now say that the war footing is continued in agreement with Russia and Austria in order to reduce the little recalcitrant States who look for French support. We shall see.