U AHtt I UN
1201
DATE DUE
UPl
PRINTED IN U.SA
I 2o I (+LS "3
MARQUISE DEIATOURBC FIN
17 7 O - 1353
^RECOLLECTIONS
OF THE
REVOLUTION AND
THE EMPIRE
FROM THE FRENCH OF THE
" JOURNAL D'UNE FEMME DE CINQUANTE ANS "
BY
LA MARQUISE DE LA TOUR DU PIN
EDITED AND TRANSLATED BY
WALTER GEER
WITH FIFTEEN PHOTOGRAVURE ILLUSTRATIONS
NEW TORK : BRENrANO'S
IQ20
DC
COPYRIGHT IQ20, BY
Q WALTER CEER
dtt rights reserved
FOREWORD
THE author of the " Journal of a Woman of
Fifty Years," Henriette-Lucie Dillon, was
born at Paris, 25 February 1770, and died
at Pisa, Italy, 2 April 1853. The 21 May 1787, she
married FrederioSeraphin, Comte de Gouvernet,
who upon the death of his father on the scaffold,
28 April 1794, took the title of Comte de La Tour
du Pin de Gouvernet. Under the Second Restoration
he was named a Peer of France and given the title
of Marquis. The events of his life from the date of
his marriage to the epoch of the Hundred Days are
told in the following memoirs of his wife. Other
details of his career will be found in the Postscript.
In her "Journal" Madame de La Tour du Pin
relates all the notable incidents of the period of her
life comprised between her childhood and the end
of the month of March, 1815, immediately following
the return of Napoleon from Elba. Her history from
that time on is closely linked with that of her husband,
and will be related in that connection.
Her memoirs were written from time to time, with
long interruptions. Commenced on the first day of
January, 1820, the last pages of the First Part were
not finished, or put in final shape, until about twenty
years later. The Second Part was not begun until
February, 1843, and at the time of her death ten
[in]
FOREWORD
years later had been completed only to the month of
March, 1815.
At her death in 1853, she left the manuscript to her
only surviving son, Aymar, who in turn willed it to
his nephew, Hadelin, Comte de Liedekerke-Beaufort,
who confided it a short time before his death to his
son Aymar, by whom the memoirs were published in
Paris in 1906. The book met with an immediate and
well-deserved success, and in a few years reached the
sixteenth edition.
In his Preface the Comte de Liedekerke-Beaufort
says that with the Marquise de La Tour du Pin dis-
appeared one of the last vestiges of the high society
of the period before the Revolution, of which the
traditions have to-day completely vanished. The
reader of these memoirs cannot fail to appreciate the
high qualities of heart and soul and mind shown by
the author. Those who knew her, both esteemed and
loved her. They united in saying that rarely was
greater stability united to greater charms, more con-
stant fidelity to duty to greater kindliness. Endowed
with a retentive memory, which recalled in her con-
versation the varied recollections of so many different
periods, Madame de La Tour du Pin interested to
the highest degree the thoughtful and serious-minded,
as she attracted to her the young, whose tastes she
understood and whose faults she excused.
According to the statement of the Editor of the
French edition, the recollections brought together in
these memoirs by Madame de La Tour du Pin were,
in her mind, intended for her only surviving son,
Aymar, and were not written originally with the
[iv]
FOREWORD
idea of publication. They therefore contain many
pages of intimate details of family life, and other
matters, which would not be of interest to the general
public, and which it has therefore been thought
advisable to omit from this edition.
WALTER GEER
NEW YORK
July IQ20
CONTENTS
FIRST PART
CHAPTER ONE
1770-1781
CHILDHOOD OF MLLE. DILLON
PAGE
Her Earliest Years. — Members of Her Family. — Her
Sad and Precocious Infancy. — Her Maid Marguerite.
— Society Before the Revolution. — An Archbishop's
Mode of Life. — Toilettes of Men and Women. —
Dinners and Suppers. — Chateau of Hautefontaine. —
Louis XVI Jealous of the Hunting Establishment. —
Sojourn at Versailles in 1781. — The Queen's Friend-
ship for Madame Dillon I
CHAPTER TWO
1782-1783
DEATH OF MME. DILLON
Illness of Mme. Dillon. — She is Ordered to the Waters of
Spa. — Indignation of Her Mother. — Intervention of
the Queen. — Departure for Brussels. — Lord and
Lady Dillon. — Lady Kenmare.— Education of Mile.
Dillon. — Sojourn at Brussels. — Visit to the Arch-
duchess Marie-Christine. — Sojourn at Spa. — Return
to Paris. — Death of Mme. Dillon. — Description of
Hautefontaine. — Purchase of the Folie Joyeuse at
Montfermeil 10
[vii]
CONTENTS
CHAPTER THREE
1783-1786
VISITS TO LANGUEDOC
PAGE
Annual Trip of Mile. Dillon to Languedoc. — Method of
Travel at That Epoch. — The Route to Languedoc. —
Nimes and Montpellier. — Etiquette at Dinners. —
Society at Montpellier. — Return of Monsieur Dillon
to France. — He Weds Mme. de La Touche. — He
Takes the Government of Tabago. — First Plan for the
Marriage of Mile. Dillon. — Sojourn at Bordeaux. —
Another Dillon Family. — The Comte de La Tour du
Pin and His Son, the Comte de Gouvernet 19
CHAPTER FOUR
1786
MATRIMONIAL PROJECTS
New Marriage Plans. — The Marquis Adrien de Laval. —
Fortune of Mile. Dillon. — Regiments of the Irish
Brigade. — Portrait of Mile. Dillon. — Marechal de
Biron. — Rupture with Monsieur Adrien de Laval. —
The Vicomte de Fleury. — M. Esperance de L'Aigle.
— The Comte de Gouvernet. — Decision of Mile.
Dillon 31
CHAPTER FIVE
1787
THE MARRIAGE PRELIMINARIES
Convocation of the Notables. — Return to Paris. — Death
of Mme. de Monconseil. — Monsieur de Gouvernet's
Marriage Proposal Accepted.— Visit of Mme. d'Henin.
[ viii ]
CONTENTS
PAGE
— Signature of the Contract. — Toilette the Day of
the Fiangailles. — Politeness of this Epoch. — The
Four Lameth Brothers. — The Marriage Contract. —
The Comte and Comtesse de La Tour du Pin. — A
Visit to the Queen. — At Montfermeil. — The Trous-
seau and the Corbeille 38
CHAPTER SIX
1787
MARRIAGE AND PRESENTATION AT COURT
A Marriage in High Society at the End of the 18th
Century. — The Nuptial Benediction. — The Mar-
riage Souvenirs. — Toilette of the Bride. — Presenta-
tion to the Queen. — Rehearsal with the Maitre a
Danser. — The Presentation Toilette. — The Sunday
Court. — Portrait of the King. — The Art of Walking
at Versailles. — The Mass. — The Royal Dinner 43
CHAPTER SEVEN
1787-1788
FIRST SEASON IN SOCIETY
Civil War in Holland. — Feebleness of the French Govern-
ment.— Mme. de La Tour du Pin at Henencourt. —
Excursion to Lille. — Return to Montfermeil. — The
Loges of the Queen at the Theatres. — Mme. de La
Tour du Pin in Society. — Mme. de Montesson and
the Due d'Orleans. — Rupture of Mme. de La Tour
du Pin with Her Family 52
[ix]
CONTENTS
CHAPTER EIGHT
1788-1789
EVE OF THE REVOLUTION
PAGE
Sojourn with Mme. d'Henin. — Monsieur de La Tour du
Pin, Colonel de Royal-Vaisseaux. — Indiscipline of the
Officers of the Regiment. — Prince Henry of Prussia.
— His Taste for French Literature. — The Hotel de
Rochechouart. — Comte de Chinon, afterwards Due
de Richelieu. — A Ball at Lord Dorset's. — Approach
of the Revolution. — Popularity of the Due d'Orleans.
— Causes of the Antipathy of the Queen to the Due.
— Popularity of English Fashions. — The Origin of
Monsieur de Lally-Tollendal 61
CHAPTER NINE
1789
FALL OF THE BASTILLE
Mme. deGenlis. — Education of the Young Orleans Princes.
— Pamela. — Horse Races at Vincennes. — First
Popular Meetings. — Residence at Versailles. — Sess-
ion of the Opening of the States-General. — Attitude
of the King and Queen. — Feebleness of the Court.
— Departure of Monsieur Necker. — The 14th of July
1789. — Return of Mme. de La Tour du Pin to Paris. —
The Waters of Forges 73
CHAPTER TEN
1789
VERSAILLES INVADED BY THE MOB
Monsieur de La Tour du Pin Pere, Minister of War. — Of-
ficial Dinners. — Commencement of the Emigration. —
Ruin of the La Tour du Pin Family. — The Controle-
[x]
CONTENTS
PAGE
General and Mme. de Stael. — Organization of the
National Guard of Versailles. — Monsieur de La Tour
du Pin, Second in Command. — The National Guard
of Paris and Monsieurde La Fayette. — Banquet of the
Gardes du Corps at the Chateau. — Day of the 5th of
October. — The King at the Hunt. — Paris Marches
on Versailles. — Arrangements for the Defence. — The
Women of Paris at Versailles. — Revolt of the National
Guard of Versailles. — Plan for the Departure of the
Royal Family for Rambouillet. — Invasion of the
Offices of the Ministry. — Hesitation of the King. —
Monsieur de La Fayette with the King. — Calm Re-
established.— Day of the 6th of October. — An Armed
Band Invades the Chateau. — Massacre of the Gardes
du Corps. — Attempted Assassination of the Queen. —
Presence of the Due d'Orleans. — Departure of the
Royal Family for Paris. — The King Confides the
Guard of the Palace to Monsieur de La Tour du
Pin. — Mme. de La Tour du Pin Takes Refuge at
Saint-Germain 84
CHAPTER ELEVEN
1789-1790
VISIT TO SWITZERLAND
Residence of Mme. de La Tour du Pin at Paris. — The
Minister of War at the Hotel de Choiseul. — Birth of
Humbert. — Kindness of the Queen for Mme. de La
Tour du Pin. — The Fete of the Federation. — The
Garrison of Paris. — Composition of the National
Guard. — Monsieur de La Fayette. — Talleyrand,
Bishop of Autun. — The Spectacle at the Champ-de-
Mars. — The Royal Family. — Excursion to Switzer-
land.— An Adventure at Dole. — Four Days of Cap-
tivity.— Departure from Dole. — The Lake of Geneva.
Cxi]
CONTENTS
PAGE
— Revolt of the Garrison of Nancy. — Monsieur de
La Tour du Pin Sent as Parlementaire. — Suppression
of the Revolt. — Sojourn at Lausanne. — Return to
Paris via Alsace 108
CHAPTER TWELVE
1791-1792
RESIDENCE IN HOLLAND
Sojourn at Paris. — Monsieur de La Tour du Pin Leaves
the Ministry of War. — His Son Refuses the Post. —
Is Named as Minister to Holland. — Residence at Rue
de Varenne. — The Flight of the Royal Family. — De-
parture for Holland. — The Lameth Family. — Life of
Pleasure at The Hague. — Recall of Monsieur de La
Tour du Pin. — Decree against the Emigres. — Flight
of La Fayette. — Mme, de La Tour du Pin Returns
to France 122
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
1793
FLIGHT TO BORDEAUX
Vexations of Travel in France. — Residence at Passy. —
The 21 January, 1793. — Portrait of Monsieur Arthur
Dillon. — Retirement to Le Bouilh. — Bordeaux
and the Federation. — Arrest of Monsieur de La Tour
du Pin Pere. — His Son and Daughter-in-Law Take
Refuge at Canoles with Monsieur de Brouquens. —
The Guillotine at Bordeaux. — Birth of Seraphine. —
Flight of Monsieur de La Tour du Pin. — Arrest of
Monsieur de Brouquens. — Confrontation of the
Queen and the Former Minister of War. — Precipitate
Departure of His Son from Bouilh. — Three Months of
Forced Retirement at Mirambeau 137
[xii]
CONTENTS
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
1793-1794
LIFE AT BORDEAUX
PAGE
The Seals at Le Bouilh. — Refuge at Bordeaux with Bonie.
— The Pain de la Section. — The Queue at the Door of
the Butchers and Bakers. — Arrest of the English and
Americans. — A Belle Grisette. — Unexpected Protec-
tion.— Mme. Tallien. — Interview with Tallien. — Mon-
sieur de La Tour du Pin Takes Refuge at Tesson. — New
Flight. — Return to Tesson. — The Cartes de Surete . . 151
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
1794
DECISION TO LEAVE FRANCE
Alarming Situation of Mme. de La Tour du Pin at Bor-
deaux and of Her Husband at Tesson. — Certificates of
Residence with Nine Witnesses. — Decision to Leave
for America. — The American Vessel "Diane". — Pre-
parations for Departure. — On the Arm of Tallien.
— Passport of the Citizen Latour. — Anxiety over the
Delay. — Return of Monsieur de La Tour du Pin. —
How He Came Back from Tesson 163
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
1794
VOYAGE TO BOSTON
Delivery of the Passport. — The Vise by Ysabeau. — Mon-
sieur de Fontenay and his Wife's Diamonds. — Final
Preparations. — Adieux to Marguerite. — Monsieur de
Chambeau Accompanies Us. — Embarkment on the
"Diane".— The Boat and Its Equipment.— Off the
Azores. — The Pilot. — The Port of Boston. — Joy at
Arriving 173
C
CONTENTS
SECOND PART
CHAPTER ONE
1794
ARRIVAL IN AMERICA
PAGE
Adieux to the "Diane". — Joy of Being in a Friendly
Country. — Temporary Residence at Boston. — Mr.
Geyer. — General Schuyler. — Sale of Superfluous
Articles. — Departure for Albany. — Mme. de La
Tour du Pin Learns of the Death of her Father. — The
Inn at Lebanon. — Arrival at Albany. — Friendly
Reception by General Schuyler and the Van Rens-
selaer Family. — Mrs. Van Rensselaer. — Talleyrand
in America 183
CHAPTER TWO
1794
THE FARM NEAR ALBANY
En Pension with the Van Burens. — Mme. de La Tour du
Pin's Father-in-Law. — Apprenticeship as Farmer. —
Purchase of a Farm. — Temporary Residence at Troy.
— A Log House. — Unexpected Visit of Monsieur de
Talleyrand. — News of the 9 Thermidor. — An Ap-
preciation of Monsieur de Talleyrand. — Mr. Law.
— Alexander Hamilton. — Beginning of Winter. —
First Encounter with the Indians. — Purchase of
the First Negro, Minck. — Repairs of the Farm-house.
— Activity of Mme. de La Tour du Pin 196
[xiv]
CONTENTS
CHAPTER THREE
1795
COUNTRY LIFE
PAGE
Family Life at the Farm. — The Arrival of Spring. — The
Indians. — Their Passion for Rum. The Shakers.
— A Visit to Their Establishment. — A Visit from
Messieurs de Liancourt and Dupetit-Theuars. —
Talleyrand and the Banker Morris. — Plans for a
Trip to Philadelphia and New York 210
CHAPTER FOUR
1795
A VISIT TO NEW YORK
Fulton's Invention. — The Trip to New York. — The
Hudson River. — West Point. — Sojourn at New York.
— Alexander Hamilton. — The Yellow Fever. — Pre-
cipitate Departure. — General Gates. — Return to the
Farm. — Death of Seraphine. — Gathering the Apples
and Making Cider. — The Crop of Corn. — Ice in the
River. — Recovery of a Portrait of the Queen 223
CHAPTER FIVE
1796
DEPARTURE FOR EUROPE
News from France. — Return Decided Upon. — Regrets
of Mme. de La Tour du Pin. — The Slaves Receive
Their Liberty. — Departure for Europe. — The Wait
at New York. — Arrival at Cadiz. — The Quarantine.
— Visit of the Customs Officers. — Mode of Travel in
Spain at this Epoch. — A Bull Fight. — Departure
from Cadiz. — The Inns. — Cathedral of Cordova. —
In the Sierra Morena. — At Madrid .... 23 7
[XV]
CONTENTS
CHAPTER SIX
1796-1797
VISIT TO PARIS
PAGE
Departure from Madrid. — The Escurial. — Arrival at
Saint-Sebastien. — Bonie Rejoins Us. — Apprehen-
sions on Returning to France. — Arrival at Bayonne.—
Monsieur de Brouquens Again. — Arrival at Le Bouilh.
— Devastation of the Chateau. — The Library Saved.
— Return of Marguerite. — Birth of Charlotte. — Ab-
sence of Monsieur de La Tour du Pin. — Fortune
Compromised. — Dispersion of the Family Souvenirs.
— Trip to Paris. — Devastation of the Chateau of
Tesson. — Talleyrand, Minister of Foreign Affairs. —
Jealousy of Tallien 256
CHAPTER SEVEN
1797-1798
EXILE IN ENGLAND
The 18 Fructidor. — A Promenade in Paris. — Mme. de
Stael and Benjamin Constant. — Expulsion of the
Returned Emigres. — Situation of Monsieur and Mme.
de La Tour du Pin. — Conduct of Talleyrand and
Tallien. — New Exile. — A Friend from America. —
Cordial Reception by Lady Jerningham. — Visit of
Mme. Dillon. — Mme. de Rothe and the Archbishop
of Narbonne. — Lord Dillon. — His Apostasy and
Marriage with an Actress. — Lord Kenmare and His
Daughter. — Dominating Character of Mme. d'Henin.
— Society of the Emigres. — Departure for Cossey. —
The Races at Newmarket. — Kindness of Lady Jer-
ningham.— Life at Cossey. — The Family Table. —
Residence at Richmond with Mme. d'Henin. — An
Inheritance Difficult to Realize. — Money Troubles of
Mme. de La Tour du Pin 273
[xvi]
CONTENTS
CHAPTER EIGHT
1798-1799
LIFE AT RICHMOND
PAGE
The Princesse de Bouillon in England. — Birth and Death
of Edward. — Change of Residence at Richmond. —
Facilities of Life in England. — Narrow Circumstances
of Monsieur and Mme. de La Tour du Pin. — Distress
of Monsieur de Chambeau. — He is Aided by Mon-
sieur de La Tour du Pin. — The One Hundred Pounds
of Edward Jerningham. — A Week at London. — An
Eight Days' Excursion. — Plans for Return to France
Abandoned. — The Circulating Library 293
CHAPTER NINE
1799-1800
RETURN TO PARIS
Again at Cossey. — News of the 18 Brumaire. — Plans for
Return to France. — The Wait at Yarmouth. — The
Crossing. — The Debarkment at Cuxhaven. — In the
North of Germany. — The Ball at Wildeshausen. —
Birth of Cecile.— En Route for Holland.—- At
Utrecht. — Unexpected Meeting with Mme. d'Henin.
— Arrival at Paris. — Residence in the Rue de Mi-
romesnil. — Mme. Bonaparte. — Monsieur de Beau-
harnais the Best Dancer in Paris. — The Morality of
Talleyrand. — A Visit to Mme. Bonaparte. — Certifi-
cates of Residence. — At Malmaison. — The Gallery
of Mme. Bonaparte. — Mme. de Stae'l and Bonaparte 302
[xvii]
CONTENTS
CHAPTER TEN
1800-1808
LIFE AT LE BOUILH
PAGE
Sale of the Paris House. — Departure for Le Bouilh. — Life
There. — Education of Mile, de Lally. — Establish-
ment of the Empire. — Birth of Aymar. — Marriage
of Mile, de Lally and Henri d'Aux 317
CHAPTER ELEVEN
1808
THE EMPEROR AT BORDEAUX
Humbert Leaves for Antwerp. — Grief over the Separation.
— Visit of the Emperor to Bordeaux. — His Passage
of the River at Cubzac. — Mme. de La Tour du Pin
Summoned to Bordeaux. — The Court Assembly.
— Presentation to the Emperor. — The Salon of
the Empress. — Her Entourage. — Strict Rules for
Her Days Dictated by the Emperor. — Anxiety of
Josephine over the Rumors of Her Divorce. — A Note
from the Emperor. — Departure of the Empress. —
Return to Le Bouilh. — Monsieur de La Tour du Pin
Appointed Prefet at Brussels. — Mme. de La Tour du
Pin, Dame d'Honneur of the Queen of Spain. —
Presentation to the Queen. — The Prince de la Paix. —
Departure of the Spanish Sovereigns 327
CHAPTER TWELVE
1808-1810
THE PREFECTURE AT BRUSSELS
Commencement of a New Life. — Judicious Choice of
Monsieur de La Tour du Pin for the Prefecture. — De-
parture from Le Bouilh. — Mile. Fanny Dillon and
[ xviii ]
CONTENTS
PAGE
the Prince Pignatelli. — Project of Her Marriage with
General Bertrand. — A Delicate Mission to the
Empress Josephine. — Wives of the Officers at
Brussels. — The Dowager Duchesse d'Arenberg. —
Her Suppers. — Her Reception of Monsieur and Mme.
de La Tour du Pin. — A Study of Brussels Society. —
Organization of the House. — Napoleon Obtains Con-
sent of Mile. Fanny Dillon to Marry General Bertrand.
— Eight Days for the Marriage. — Meeting with
General Bertrand. — Details of the Marriage Arranged
by the Emperor. — Mme. de La Tour du Pin Received
by the Emperor at Saint-Cloud. — Signature of the
Contract. — Marriage at Saint-Leu. — The Emeralds
of Queen Hortense 339
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
1810-1811
VISIT OF THE EMPEROR
The Winter Season at Brussels. — The Ennui of Queen
Hortense. — Arrival of Marie-Louise at Compiegne. —
High Society at Brussels and the Imperial Govern-
ment.— The Guard of Honor. — Napoleon and Marie-
Louise at Brussels. — Dinner with the Emperor. —
Ball at the Hotel de Ville. — Departure of the Em-
peror.— The Summer at Brussels. — Examination of
Humbert at the Conseil d'Etat. — Humbert Ap-
pointed Sous-Prefet at Florence. — Birth of the
King of Rome. — The Private Baptism. — The Old
Guard 355
[xix]
CONTENTS
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
1811-1813
AN AUDIENCE WITH NAPOLEON
PAGE
Marie-Louise at Laeken. — Opening of the Russian Cam-
paign.— Movements of Troops. — Monsieur de Liede-
kerke Demands the Hand of Charlotte de La Tour
du Pin. — Humbert is Appointed Sous-Prefet at Sens.
— Dismissal of the Prefet of Brussels. — Mme. de La
Tour du Pin Leaves for Paris. — Request for an
Audience. — Conversation with the Emperor. — Sur-
prise of Monsieur de Montalivet. — Monsieur de La
Tour du Pin Appointed Prefet at Amiens. — The As-
sembly at the Tuileries. — Amiability of Napoleon. —
The Last Days at Brussels. — Regrets of the Popula-
tion.— Marriage of Charlotte 365
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
1813-1814
RETURN OF THE KING
Society at Amiens. — The Prefecture. — General Dupont.
— Arrival of the Cossacks. — Conversation with
Talleyrand. — His Hatred of Napoleon. — Flight of
Humbert from Sens. — In the Ante-chamber of
Talleyrand. — "Vive le Roi!" — Distribution of White
Cockades. — Preparations for the Reception of the
King. — The King Enjoys His Dinner. — Ill-nature of
the Duchesse d'Angouleme. — Monsieur de La Tour
du Pin Re-enters Diplomacy. — Humbert is Appointed
Lieutenant of the Black Musketeers 380
[XX ]
CONTENTS
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
1814^1815
THE FIRST RESTORATION
PAGE
Monsieur de La Tour du Pin Envoy to the Congress of
Vienna. — His Wife Accompanies Him to Brussels. —
Alexandre de Lameth, Prefet of Amiens. — Life at
Paris. — Monsieur de Liedekerke Decorated with the
Legion of Honor. — Mme. de Liedekerke Leaves for
Vienna with her Husband. — The Court of Louis
XVIIL— Two Balls at the Due de Berry's.— Lord
Wellington. — News of the Debarkment of Napoleon
at Cannes. — Mme. de La Tour du Pin Decides to
Leave for Brussels. — She Visits the Minister of
Finance. — A Night of Anxiety. — At Brussels. — Visit
to the King of Holland. — Separation of the Congress
of Vienna. — Mission of Monsieur de La Tour du Pin
to the Due d'Angouleme 394
POSTSCRIPT
Life of Monsieur and Madame de La Tour du Pin
after the First Restoration. — The Dillon Family. —
Genealogical Table. — Biographical Notes. — History
of the Dillon Regiment 406
[xxi]
ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
Marquise de La Tour du Pin Frontispiece
Comte de La Tour du Pin de Gouvernet 32
La Reine Marie Antoinette 48
Le Marquis de Lally-Tollendal 64
Anne-Louise Necker; Baronne de Stael 96
Princesse d'Henin 112
Le Conventionnel Tallien 160
Madame Tallien 176
Le Bateau "La Diane" 192
Comte Arthur Dillon 208
Prince de Talleyrand-Perigord 288
Chateau du Bouilh 304
L'Imperatrice Josephine 320
L'Imperatrice Marie-Louise 352
Comte Humbert de La Tour du Pin de Gouvernet 368
[xxii]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE
REVOLUTION AND THE EMPIRE
FIRST PART
CHAPTER ONE
1770-1781
CHILDHOOD OF MLLE. DILLON
Her Earliest Years. — Members of Her Family. — Her Sad and
Precocious Infancy. — Her Maid Marguerite. — Society
Before the Revolution. — An Archbishop's Mode of Life. —
Toilettes of Men and Women. — Dinners and Suppers. —
Chateau of Hautefontaine. — Louis XVI Jealous of the
Hunting Establishment. — Sojourn at Versailles in 1781. —
The Queen's Friendship for Madame Dillon.
WHOEVER writes a book, almost always
does so with the idea that it will be read
either before or after his death. But I do
not intend to write a book — merely the journal of
my life. If I were only to relate events, a few sheets
of paper would suffice for a record of so little interest,
but if I undertake to set forth the history of my
opinions and my feelings, the journal of my heart,
the enterprise is more difficult, for to depict one's
self, self-knowledge is essential, and one does not
begin to acquire that at fifty years of age. Perhaps
CO
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
I shall speak of the past and tell the story of my
early years only in episodes and without continuity.
I do not pretend to write my confessions, but al-
though I should dislike to reveal my faults, I wish
nevertheless to depict myself as I am and as I have
been.
I have never written anything except letters to
those I love. I have no order in my ideas, and little
method. My memory is already much impaired.
Moreover, my imagination carries me sometimes so
far from the subject I wish to follow that it is difficult
for me to pick up the threads so often broken by
these digressions. My heart is still so young that I
have to look at myself in the mirror to realize that
I am no longer twenty years of age. Let me then
take advantage of the ardor which still remains, and
which the infirmities of age may sweep away at any
moment, to relate some facts of a troubled life, but
one not so unhappy from the events known to the
public, as from the secret afflictions known only to
God.
During my earliest years I was a witness of many
incidents which should have debased my mind,
perverted and corrupted my heart, and destroyed in
me every idea of morality and religion. From the
age of ten I was present when the conversation was
most free, and heard expressed the most ungodly
principles. I was brought up in the house of an arch-
bishop, where all the rules of religion were daily
violated. I knew from observation that I was taught
dogmas and doctrines exactly as I was instructed in
history and geography.
CHILDHOOD OF MLLE. DILLON
My mother had married her cousin, Arthur Dillon,
with whom she had been brought up, and whom she
regarded only as a brother. She was very beautiful,
and the angelic sweetness of her character caused her
to be loved by everybody. Men adored her, and
women were not jealous of her. Although free from
coquetry, she was not sufficiently reserved in her
relations with men who took her fancy and who, the
world said, were in love with her.
One of her admirers in particular spent his entire
life in the house of my grandmother and of my uncle,
the Archbishop, where my mother lived. He also went
to the country with us. The Prince de Guemene,
nephew of the notorious Cardinal de Rohan, was
therefore considered by everybody as my mother's
lover. But I do not think this was true, for the Due
de Lauzun, the Due de Liancourt, and the Comte de
Saint-Blancard were equally attentive to her. The
Comte de Fersen, who was reputed to be the lover
of Queen Marie-Antoinette, also came to our house
nearly every day. My mother took the fancy of the
Queen, who was always impressed by brilliancy.
Madame Dillon was much in vogue, and for this
reason only she entered the Royal household and
became a Dame du Palais. At that time I was seven
or eight years of age.
My grandmother, who was a woman of very
haughty character, and of infinite ill-nature, run-
ning frequently into a rage, enjoyed nevertheless the
affections of her daughter. My mother was absolutely
under her contol. Entirely dependent upon her
mother in money matters, she had never dared to
[3]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
point out, that as the only daughter of her father
General de Rothe, who died when she was fifteen
years old, she had the right to control her own
fortune. My grandmother had taken possession arbi-
trarily (de vive force) of the domain of Hautefontaine,
which had been purchased with the funds of her
husband. Daughter of a Peer of England of slender
fortune, she had received a very small inheritance.
But my mother, married at seventeen years of age
to a man of eighteen, who had been brought up with
her, and who had no property except his regiment,
could never find the courage to talk to my grand-
mother of money matters. The Queen opened her
eyes to her interests and encouraged her to demand
an accounting. My grandmother was furious, and in
place of maternal tenderness, became possessed of an
inconceivable rage, such as you find described only
in romances or tragedies.
My earliest recollections are of the frightful scenes
between my mother and my grandmother, which I
was obliged to appear not to notice. Reserve and
discretion on my part were absolutely necessary. I
contracted the habit of hiding my feelings. I re-
member that I was shocked by the way in which my
mother complained to her friends of my grandmother.
My father naturally took the part of my mother.
But I knew that he was under great pecuniary obli-
gations to my uncle, the Archbishop, and his position,
to me, seemed false.
These reflections developed ideas and experiences
which were too precocious in the head of a child of
[4]
CHILDHOOD OF MLLE. DILLON
ten years. I never had any infancy. The only person
who saved me from these bad influences, and en-
couraged the thoughts of virtue in my heart, was a
maid who could neither read nor write. She was a
young peasant, by the name of Marguerite, from the
neighborhood of Compiegne. She was very devoted
to me and remained in my service nearly all of her
life. I knew that Marguerite was worthy of all con-
fidence and that she would rather die than com-
promise me by an indiscreet word.
The manners and customs of society have changed so
much since the Revolution that I wish to retrace in some
detail what I recall of the mode of life of my family.
My great-uncle, the Archbishop of Narbonne,
rarely visited his diocese. President, ex officio, of the
States of Languedoc, he visited this province solely
to preside over the meetings of the States, which were
in session six weeks during the months of November
and December. As soon as the meeting was over he
returned to Paris, under the pretext that the interests
of his province imperiously claimed his presence at
the Court, but, in reality, in order to live en grand
seigneur at Paris and as a courtier at Versailles.
Besides the archbishopric of Narbonne, which paid
him 250,000 francs a year, he had an abbey which
was worth 110,000; still another which was worth
90,000; and he received an allowance of more than
50,000 francs for giving dinners every day during the
meetings of the States. It would seem that with such
an income he should have been able to live honorably
and at his ease, but nevertheless he was always in
us]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
financial difficulties. His style of life at Paris was
noble but simple, and the daily fare, although
abundant, was reasonable.
At this epoch grand dinners were never given, be-
cause every one dined at an early hour — at two-
thirty, or three o'clock at the latest. The ladies were
sometimes coiffees, but never dressed for dinner. The
men, on the contrary, were usually dressed in em-
broidered or plain costumes, according to their age
or taste, but almost never in evening dress or in
uniform. Those who were not going out in the even-
ing, and the master of the house, were in formal
dress and en neglige, for the necessity of putting on
a hat deranged the fragile edifice of the curled and
powdered toupet. After dinner there was general con-
versation or, sometimes, a game of backgammon. The
ladies then retired to dress, and the men awaited them
to go to the theatre, if they were to be in the same loge.
Those who remained at home received visitors during
the afternoon. At nine-thirty in the evening the
guests arrived for supper.
The supper was the real event of the day in society.
There were two kinds of suppers — those given by
persons who had them every day, which permitted a
certain number of persons to drop in when they
wished, and the more formal affairs, which were more
brilliant and more numerously attended, and to which
the guests were invited. I speak of the period of my
infancy, from 1778 to 1784. I never attended one of
these fine suppers, but I have often seen my mother
dressing to go to one at the Hotel de Choiseul or
the Palais-Royal.
[6]
CHILDHOOD OF MLLE. DILLON
At this time there were fewer balls than later.
The costumes worn by the ladies naturally turned
dancing into a kind of torture. Every one wore heels
three inches high, which put the foot in an unnatural
position; a pannier of heavy and stiff whalebone, ex-
tending to the right and the left; a coiffure a foot
high, surmounted by a bonnet called pouf, upon
which feathers, flowers and diamonds were piled up,
besides a pound of powder and pomade which the
least movement caused to fall upon the shoulders:
such a scaffolding rendered it impossible to dance
with pleasure. But at the suppers, where everybody
talked or enjoyed a little music, this edifice was not
disturbed.
But to return to my family. We went to the country
early in the spring for the whole summer. At the
chateau of Hautefontaine there were twenty-five
apartments for guests, and these were often filled.
The principal season, however, was during the month
of October. It was then that the colonels came back
from their regiments, where they had passed four
months, less the number of hours necessary to return
to Paris, from which city they scattered to the
different chateaux to visit their families and their
friends.
At Hautefontaine there was a hunting establish-
ment, the expense of which was divided between my
uncle, the Prince de Guemene and the Due de
Lauzun. I have heard it said that the expense did
not exceed 30,00x3 francs, but in this sum was not
included the outlay for the saddle-horses of the
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
masters — only the dogs, the wages of the huntsmen,
who were English, their horses and the keep of the
whole establishment. The hunt was held during the
summer and autumn in the forests of Compiegne and
Villers-Cotterets. The hunt establishment was kept
on such a scale that the poor King Louis XVI was
seriously jealous.
At the age of seven I took part in the hunt once
or twice a week, and when I was ten years old, the
day of Saint-Hubert, I broke my leg. They tell me
that I showed great courage and did not make a
complaint, although it was necessary to carry me
five leagues on a stretcher.
My first visit to Versailles was at the time of the
birth of the first Dauphin in October, 1781. How
often the recollection of these days of splendor of
Marie-Antoinette comes to my mind, when I think
of the torments and ignominies of which she
was afterwards the unfortunate victim. I went to see
the ball given by the Gardes du Corps in the Grande
Salle de Spectacle, in the Chateau of Versailles. The
Queen opened the ball with a simple young guard.
She was dressed in a blue gown all sprinkled with
sapphires and diamonds; beautiful, young, adored
by all, having just given a Dauphin to France, not
dreaming of the possibility of a backward step in her
brilliant career, she was already on the edge of the
abyss.
I shall not undertake to describe the intrigues of
the Court, which my great youth prevented me from
judging or even comprehending. I heard it said at
[8]
CHILDHOOD OF MLLE. DILLON
the time that the Queen had commenced to take a
fancy to Madame de Polignac, who was very pretty,
but had little animation. Her sister-in-law, the
Comtesse Diane de Polignac, who was older and
very intrigante, advised her as to the means of secur-
ing the royal favor. I recall that Monsieur de Gue-
mene endeavored to warn my mother of this grow-
ing favor of Mme. de Polignac, but my mother
accepted the Queen's love without thinking to profit
by her favor, either to augment her own fortune or
to make that of her friends. She felt that she was
already attacked by the malady from which she was
to perish less than two years later.
At this time my father was in America, at the
head of the first battalion of his regiment. The Dillon
Regiment had entered the service of France in 1690,
at the time that James II had lost all hope of re-
mounting the throne, after the battle of the Boyne.
The regiment was commanded at that time by my
great-grandfather, Arthur Dillon.*
* A genealogical table of the Dillon family and a brief history
of the Regiment will be found at the end of this volume.
[9]
CHAPTER TWO
1782-1783
DEATH OF MME. DILLON
Illness of Mme. Dillon. — She is Ordered to the Waters of Spa. —
Indignation of Her Mother. — Intervention of the Queen. —
Departure for Brussels. — Lord and Lady Dillon. — Lady
Kenmare. — Education of Mile. Dillon. — Sojourn at
Brussels. — Visit to the Archduchess Marie-Christine. —
Sojourn at Spa. — Return to Paris. — Death of Mme.
Dillon. — Description of Hautefontaine. — Purchase of the
Folie Joyeuse at Montfermeil.
MY mother had always been delicate since
the birth of her son, who died at the age
of two years. She did not take any care of
her health. She rode horseback, hunted the stag,
and sang with the celebrated Piccini, who was a
great admirer of her voice. Finally, about the month
of April, 1782, at the age of thirty-one, she had a
hemorrhage.
My grandmother, who did not wish to believe in
the sickness of her daughter, was at last forced to
admit that she was seriously ill. My mother consulted
a physician who then enjoyed a great deal of ce-
lebrity, and he ordered her to go to Spa. It would be
difficult to describe the inconceivable rage of my
grandmother at the idea that her daughter was going
to the springs. She did not wish to accompany her
there and refused her money for the journey. I think
[10]
DEATH OF MME. DILLON
that the Queen came to my mother's help on this
occasion. We set out from Hautefontaine for Brussels,
where we passed a month.
My uncle, Charles Dillon, had married Miss Phipps,
daughter of Lord Mulgrave. He resided at Brussels,
as he was not able to live in England on account of
his numerous debts. At this time he was still a
Catholic. It was only later that he had the unpardon-
able feebleness to change his religion and become a
Protestant, in order to inherit from his maternal
great-uncle, Lord Lichfield, who made this a condi-
tion of his heritage of 15,000 pounds sterling. Lady
Charles Dillon was very beautiful. The year before,
she had visited Paris with Lady Kenmare, my
father's sister, who was also a great beauty. She went
to the Queen's Ball with my mother, and the three
sisters-in-law were generally admired. A year had
hardly passed before they were in their tombs. All
three died at an interval of one week.
As I have already said, I did not have any in-
fancy. At twelve years of age my education was al-
ready far advanced. I had read much, but without
discrimination. From the age of seven I had been
given an instructor. He was an organist of Beziers,
named Combes. He was engaged to give me lessons
on the clavecin, for at that time pianos were very
rare. My mother had one to accompany her voice,
but I was not permitted to touch it.
I had always had a great desire to improve my
mind. I wished to know everything, from the cuisine
to experiments in chemistry, which I made with a
little apothecary who lived at Hautefontaine. The
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
gardener was English, and my maid Marguerite took
me every day to see his wife who taught me to read
in that language, generally "Robinson Crusoe,"
of which I was very fond.
At eleven years of age, my mother, finding that I
was not speaking English as well as formerly, engaged
for me an English maid who was expressly brought
over from England. Her arrival caused me great
chagrin, as I was separated from my former maid,
Marguerite.
Returning to my story. At Brussels we stayed in
the house of my aunt. She was in the last stages of
consumption, but the disease had not impaired her
beauty, which was really heavenly. She had two
charming children — a boy of four, who afterwards
became Viscount Dillon, and a girl who later became
the wife of Sir Thomas Webb. I had a great deal of
fun with these children. My greatest pleasure was to
care for them and to put them to sleep. I already had
the maternal instinct. I felt that these poor children
would soon be deprived of their mother. I did not
realize that I myself was so near the same misfortune.
My mother took me to see Archduchess Marie-
Christine, who governed the Low Countries with her
husband, Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen. While my
mother was talking with the Archduchess, they
showed me a cabinet in which there were portfolios
of prints. I have often thought since that this was
the beginning of that superb collection of engravings,
the finest in Europe, which Duke Albert left to the
Archduke Charles.
[12]
DEATH OF MME. DILLON
From Brussels we went to Spa, where Monsieur
de Guemene rejoined us. It was at Spa that I en-
joyed for the first time the dangerous poison of
praise and success. The days that there were dances
at the Assembly Room, my mother took me there,
and the dancing of the petite jranqaise soon became
one of the curiosities of Spa.
The Comte and Comtesse du Nord had just ar-
rived from the interior of Russia, and they had
never seen a girl of twelve years dance the gavotte
and the minuet. This same princess later became the
second wife of the Emperor Paul the First of Russia,
and thirty-seven years later, when she met me again
as a grave mother of a family, she had not forgotten
the little girl of other days. At that time she said
many pleasant things regarding the recollections
which she had preserved of my grace and, above all,
of my beautiful figure.
However, the waters of Spa shortened the days of
my poor mother. Nevertheless, she disliked to return
to Hautefontaine, as she was certain that she would
be greeted there by my grandmother, as usual, with
scenes of ill-nature. But my mother had the thought,
common to all those who are attacked by this cruel
malady of the chest, that she should have a change
of air. She wished to go to Italy, and asked first to
return to Paris. My grandmother consented, and
then for the first time fully realized the unfortunate
state of her daughter.
On our arrival at Paris, my grandmother gave my
mother her own apartment, as it was the largest in
[13],
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
the house. During her last moments my mother was
well cared for. The Queen came to see her, and every
day a groom or a page was sent from Versailles to
inquire regarding her. She grew feebler from day to
day. In writing these lines, after forty-five years, I
still have a feeling of regret that nobody spoke of the
sacraments of the Church, or thought of sending for
a priest. In this house of an Archbishop there was
not even a chaplain. My mother did not realize
that the end was so near. The yth of September,
1782, she died in the arms of my maid.
A good old friend of my mother's, Mme. Nagle,
brought me the sad news. In the morning I awoke
to find her beside my bed. She told me that my grand-
mother had left the house, and that I should get up
and follow her, and ask for her protection and care;
that now I depended on her for my future. She said
that my grandmother was on bad terms with my
father, who was then in America, and that she might
disinherit me. My young heart, which was nearly
broken, revolted at the idea of this dissimulation,
and the good lady had much trouble in persuading
me to allow her to take me to my grandmother. At
last I consented, and, as I expected, my grandmother
made a great scene of despair, which produced a most
painful impression upon me.
After the death of my mother, my grandmother
and my uncle went in the month of October, 1782,
to Hautefontaine and took me with them, as well as
my instructor Monsieur Combes, who occupied him-
self exclusively with my education.
DEATH OF MME. DILLON
I was very fond of this chateau, which I knew
would one day belong to me. It was a beautiful
estate, all en domaines, about twenty-two leagues from
Paris, between Villers-Cotterets and Soissons. The
chateau, built towards the beginning of the previous
century, was situated upon a very steep hill. It over-
looked a fertile little valley, or rather gorge, opening
out upon the forest of Compiegne, which formed an
amphitheatre at the back of the picture. Prairies,
woods, ponds of clear water filled with fish, were
situated beyond a fine kitchen garden, which you
overlooked from the windows of the chateau. The
chateau itself, although it had no architectural
beauty, was convenient, vast, perfectly furnished and
well cared for in every detail.
My uncle, my grandmother and my mother had
accompanied my father as far as Brest when he em-
barked in 1779 for the war in the Antilles. On his
return my uncle bought at Lorient the whole cargo
of a vessel just arrived from India, consisting of
Chinese and Japanese porcelains, and Persian cloth
of all colors for the hangings of our apartments. All
these riches were unpacked, to my great joy, and
arranged in the large garde-meubles, where the old
concierge let me roam with my maid when the
weather did not permit me to go out.
During the life of my mother the residence at
Hautefontaine had been very brilliant, but after her
death all this was completely changed. My grand-
mother had taken possession, in the absence of my
father, of all of my mother's papers, and of all of the
correspondence which she had preserved. The fortune
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
of my grandfather had run through her hands, and
all of our investments had changed in nature during
the minority of my mother. She was only fifteen
years of age when she lost her father, General de
Rothe, who died suddenly at Hautefontaine, only a
short time after purchasing this property. He had
bought the chateau in the name of his wife, under the
pretext that it was paid for exclusively with the
funds — 10,000 pounds sterling — given as a dot to
my grandmother by her father, Lord Falkland.
My grandfather had inherited the fortune of his
mother, Lady Catherine de Rothe, and also that of
his aunt, the Duchess of Perth, both daughters of
Lord Middleton, Minister of James II. Another
relative had left him, at Paris, the house in which
we lived, Rue du Bac, and 4,000 livres of rentes upon
the Hotel de Ville of Paris. These two investments
were the only ones which remained at the death of
Monsieur de Rothe, when my mother came into
possession.
My great-uncle, the Archbishop, had lived in the
house in the Rue du Bac for twenty years without
paying a sou of rent to his niece and without even
paying for the repairs. When he left the house after
the death of my mother and leased another, he
borrowed 40,000 francs on mortgage and used the
money for repairs which were urgently necessary. I
did not know anything about this debt, which I was
obliged to pay myself when I sold the house in 1797.
At the death of my mother, all that I received was
this house in the Rue du Bac, which was leased for
10 ooo francs to the Baron de Stae'l, who afterwards
[16]
DEATH OF MME. DILLON
married the celebrated Mile. Necker, and the 4,000
francs of income spoken of above. I had no expecta-
tions from my father. He had already spent the
portion of 10,000 pounds sterling which he had in-
herited with the Dillon Regiment, of which he was
proprietaire-ne, as heir of his uncles James and
Edward, who were killed within two years of each
other.
Towards the end of the autumn of 1782, my uncle
set out as usual for Montpellier to preside over the
States of Languedoc. As Archbishop of Narbonne,
he had this prerogative, which he exercised over the
period of twenty-eight years.
My grandmother and I remained at Hautefontaine,
where we were very lonely. When my grandmother
found herself alone at Hautefontaine, in that grand
chateau formerly so animated and brilliant; when she
saw the empty stables ; when she no longer heard the
baying of the hounds and the horns of the hunters,
she became desirous of changing her mode of life
and of persuading the Archbishop to do the same.
When the Archbishop returned from Montpellier,
where he had remained only the time absolutely
necessary for the meeting of the States, we went to
meet him at Paris. My father at that time was
Governor of the island of Saint-Christophe, which he
had captured during the expedition in which his regi-
ment had gloriously contributed to the success of the
French forces. In his absence my guardians repre-
sented to my great-uncle that he should no longer
continue to live in my house without paying any
rent or even looking after the repairs. He therefore
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
made up his mind to leave the house, and, as already
stated, borrowed on mortgage the funds necessary
for the repairs.
About this same time my grandmother, who was
tired of Hautefontaine, bought, for 52,000 francs, a
house at Montfermeil, near Livry, about five leagues
from Paris. The price was very moderate, for the
land comprised ninety acres. The house, which was
in a charming situation, was named Folie-Joyeuse. It
had been built by a Monsieur de Joyeuse, who had
begun the construction where one ordinarily leaves
off. After having laid out a fine court, enclosed by a
railing, he built, at the right and left, two wings
terminated by two handsome square pavilions. He
had then found himself short of the money necessary
to build the body of the house, so that the only
communication between the two pavilions was by a
corridor at least one hundred feet long. His creditors
had then seized the house. The park was beautiful,
surrounded by walls, with every path terminating
at a gate, and all the outlets opening on the forest
of Bondy, which was charming in this locality.
f The furniture was brought from Hautefontaine,
and in the spring of 1783 we were quite well estab-
lished at Folie-Joyeuse. The first year no repairs
were made, but we passed the summer in laying out
plans with architects and decorators, which interested
me very much.
[18]
CHAPTER THREE
1783-1786
VISITS TO LANGUEDOC
Annual Trips of Mile. Dillon to Languedoc. — Method of
Travel at That Epoch. — The Route to Languedoc. —
Nimes and Montpellier. — Etiquette at Dinners. — Society
at Montpellier. — Return of Monsieur Dillon to France. —
He Weds Mme. de La Touche. — He Takes the Government
of Tabago. — First Plans for the Marriage of Mile. Dillon.— >
Sojourn at Bordeaux. — Another Dillon Family. — The Comte
de La Tour du Pin and His Son, the Comte de Gouvernet.
IN the month of November, 1783, I learned that
my grandmother would accompany my uncle,
the Archbishop, to the meeting of the States of
Languedoc. This news caused me great joy. At this
time the annual session of the States was a very
brilliant occasion. Peace had just been concluded, and
the English, deprived for three years of the possi-
bility of travelling on the Continent, came over in
crowds, as they did later in 1814. At that time people
did not travel so much in Italy. The fine roads by
Mt. Cenis and the Simplon, and the magnificent
route by the Corniche, constructed during the reign
of Napoleon, were not then in existence. The climate
of the south of France, especially that of Languedoc
and Montpellier, was very attractive.
The thought of this journey, practically the first
I had ever taken, filled me with joy. I will relate
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
here once for all how we made the trip to Mont-
pellier, as we went there every year until 1786 when
I made my last visit.
We set out in a large berline with six horses. My
uncle and my grandmother were seated in the back,
with myself and the secretary of my uncle facing
them, and two domestics upon the box seat in front.
The second berline, also with six horses, carried our
two maids and two valets, with two servants upon
the box seat. A chaise de poste brought the maitre
d'hotel and the chef. There were also three couriers,
one of whom went a half-hour ahead, while the other
two accompanied the carriages. Monsieur Combes,
my instructor, left several days before us by diligence.
Every year the Ministers kept my great-uncle so
long at Versailles that he had hardly sufficient time
to arrive at Montpellier by the day fixed for the
opening of the States. The session could not com-
mence until the Archbishop of Narbonne, who was
President, ex officio, was present.
The delay caused by the Ministers obliged us to
travel as fast as possible — a very disagreeable ne-
cessity at this advanced season of the year. As we
needed eighteen horses, the order of the Administra-
tion des Posies preceded us by several days, in order
that the horses might be ready. We made very long
daily trips. Setting out at four o'clock in the morn-
ing, we stopped only for dinner. The chaise de poste
and the first courier had preceded us by an hour.
This arrangement permitted us to find the table
ready, the fires lighted, and several good dishes
prepared by our chef when we arrived. The chef
[20]
VISITS TO LANGUEDOC
carried with him from Paris, in his carriage, bottles
of soup and sauces all prepared, and everything that
was necessary to make palatable the bad meals
which we found at the hotels. As soon as we arrived,
the chaise de poste and the first courier set out, so
that when we halted for the night we found every-
thing ready for us the same as at noon.
At that time the route, which followed the course
of the Rhone as far as Pont-Saint-Esprit, was in such
bad order that you ran the risk of being overturned
at every moment.
At La Palud we entered the territory of the Comte
Venaissin, which belonged to the Pope. It gave me
great pleasure to see the guide-post upon which was
painted the tiara and the keys. I felt as though we
were entering Italy. We left the highway to Marseille
and followed an excellent road, which the Papal
Government had permitted the States of Languedoc
to construct, and which led directly to Pont-Saint-
Esprit.
At La Palud my uncle changed his costume. He
put on a wadded costume of violet cloth, lined with
silk of the same color; silk stockings, also violet in
color; shoes with gold buckles; his cordon bleu, and
a three-cornered priest's hat ornamented with gold
tassels.
As soon as the carriage had passed the last arch
of the bridge at Pont-Saint-Esprit, the cannon of the
little citadel at this bridge-head fired twenty-one
shots. The drums beat a salute, the garrison came
out, the officers in full dress, and all the civil and
[21]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
religious authorities presented themselves at the door
of the berline. If it was not raining, my uncle de-
scended while they attached the eight horses destined
for his carriage.
He listened to the harangues which they addressed
to him, and replied with affability and incomparable
grace. He was very tall, with a noble face, and a
voice and air at the same time gracious and assured.
He asked for information regarding everything which
might interest the inhabitants; listened to the peti-
tions which were addressed to him ; and the following
year he still remembered the requests which had
been made of him the preceding year. All this lasted
about a quarter of an hour, after which we set out
like the wind, for not only had the postilions been
doubled, but the honor of conducting the carriage of
so great a personage was warmly appreciated.
In the eyes of the inhabitants of Languedoc the
President of the States was a much greater man than
the King. My uncle was extremely popular. Although
he was very haughty, his arrogance was never shown
except to those who were, or who thought they were,
his superiors.
We spent the night at Nimes, where my uncle
always had business. One year we spent several days
with the Archbishop, which gave me the time to see
the antiquities, although the monuments were not
as well cared for as at present. They had just com-
menced to clear up the Arenes and had brought to
light several new inscriptions.
Finally we arrived at Montpellier. After having
travelled 1 60 leagues of detestable roads, after having
[22]
VISITS TO LANGUEDOC
crossed torrents without bridges, where you ran the
risk of your life, at last we arrived at a route as fine
as that of a well-kept estate. We crossed superb
bridges perfectly constructed. We traversed cities
flourishing with industry and a country which was
well cultivated. The contrast was very striking.
The house in which we lived at Montpellier was
large and beautiful but very dismal. It was situated
in a narrow and sombre street. My uncle rented it
all furnished. The apartment which he occupied on
the first floor contained very fine Turkish rugs, which
were common in Languedoc at that time. The house
surrounded the four sides of a square court, one side
of which was taken up by the large dining-room,
another by a salon of the same dimensions, with six
windows, which was hung and furnished in fine
crimson damask, with an immense chimney of very
ancient design, which to-day would be much admired.
My grandmother and I occupied the lower floor,
which was dark even at three o'clock in the afternoon.
We never saw my uncle in the morning. We took
breakfast at nine o'clock, after which I went out
for a walk with my English maid. At three o'clock
precisely, it was necessary to be dressed and ready
for dinner. We ascended to the salon where we found
fifty guests assembled every day except Friday.
Saturday my uncle always dined abroad, either with
the Bishop or with some great personage of the
States. There were never any ladies present at dinner,
except my grandmother and myself. Between us
were placed the guests most highly regarded. When
there were any strangers, especially English, they
[23]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
were seated at my side. At that time every person
who had a presentable domestic was served by him
at table. Neither carafes nor glasses were placed upon
the table. At the large dinners, there were placed
upon the buffet silver buckets containing bottles of
wine and a glass-stand with a dozen glasses, and any
one who wished a glass of wine of any kind sent his
servant to obtain it.
I had a servant attached to my person who was
at the same time my coiffeur. He wore my livery,
which we were obliged to have in red, although in
England it was blue, because our stripes were exactly
the same as those of the House of Bourbon. If our
costumes had been blue, our livery would have been
exactly the same as the King's, which was not allowed.
After dinner, which never lasted more than one
hour, we returned to the salon which was filled with
members of the States who had come for coffee. No-
body sat down, and at the end of a half-hour my
grandmother and I descended to our apartment.
We then frequently went out to make visits in a
chaise a porteurs, which was the only means of trans-
portation used in the streets of Montpellier. The fine
quarter of the city, which has been built since, was
not in existence at that epoch.
On our arrival at Paris, at the beginning of 1784,
my father had returned from America. He had been
Governor of Saint-Christophe until peace had been
declared. After having surrendered the island to the
English, he had made a visit tq Martinique, where he
became strongly attached to the Comtesse de La
[24]
VISITS TO LANGUEDOC
Touche, who was the widow, at thirty years, of an
officer of the Navy who had left her two children —
a boy and a girl. She was very agreeable and very
rich. Her mother, Mme. de Girardin, was a sister of
Mme. de La Pagerie, the mother of Josephine, later
Empress of the French. At this time she had recently
married her daughter to Vicomte de Beauharnais,
who had taken her with him to France. Mme. de La
Touche had made her plans to go to France with her
two children, Alexandre and Betsy, who was later
Duchesse de Fitz-James. My father followed them to
France, and at this time people began to talk of their
marriage. On hearing the news, my grandmother
flew into a rage, and nobody could calm her. Never-
theless, it was very natural that my father should
wish to marry again, in the hope of having a son.
He was only thirty-three years of age and was
proprietaire of one of the finest regiments of the
army. Conducted to France by his grandfather,
Arthur Dillon, this regiment had never changed its
name, like the other regiments of the Irish Brigade.
Without doubt, it would have been better if he had
chosen for his new wife the daughter of one of the
titled Catholic families of England, but he did not
like the English, and he did love Mme. de La Touche.
Of a very sweet and amiable character, although
feeble, she had the careless and easy-going ways of
the Creoles.
The marriage took place, in spite of my grand-
mother, who made a great fuss. My father wished
to have me presented to my stepmother, but he gave
up the idea on account of the opposition of my
[25]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
grandmother. She declared that if I ever went out
of the house, even for an hour, to visit Mme. Dillon,
I should never come back. The only visit that I ever
made to my stepmother was in 1786, when my father
left to take the position of Governor of the island of
Tab ago.
My father was very much dissatisfied because he
had not been named Governor of Martinique or of
Saint-Domingue, as he had acquired the right to de-
mand one or the other of these two posts. During
the war he had won the greatest distinction. His
regiment had carried off the first success of the cam-
paign by taking by assault the island of Grenade of
which the Governor, Lord Macartney, was his
prisoner. He had also powerfully contributed to the
capture of the islands of Saint-Eustache and Saint-
Christophe. He was Governor of this last named
island for two years. When he turned it over to the
English, at the time of the peace of 1783, the in-
habitants gave him many evidences of their esteem
and appreciation, of which the echoes reached even
to England. My father received the most flattering
evidences of this feeling at the time of his visit to
England on his return to Europe.
My uncle, the Archbishop, dominated and in-
fluenced by my grandmother, instead of lending his
support to his nephew to aid him to obtain one of
these two governorships of Martinique or Saint-
Domingue, did not assist him in any way. My father,
therefore, accepted the governorship of Tabago, where
he resided until he was elected Deputy of Martinique
to the States-General. He left France accompanied
[26]
VISITS TO LANGUEDOC
by his wife and my little sister Fanny, who later
became the wife of General Bertrand. He also took
with him as recorder of the island, my instructor,
Monsieur Combes.
Before his departure, my father talked with my
grandmother of a project which he wished strongly
to see carried out. He had known at Martinique,
during the war, a young man who was aide de camp
to the Marquis de Bouille, whom the latter liked
extremely, and whom my father also highly appreci-
ated. My grandmother objected, without giving the
matter much consideration, although the young man
was of high birth and would be the head of his house,
under the pretext that he was a mauvais sujet, that
he had many debts and that he was small and
homely. I was so young that my father did not
insist. He sent my uncle, the Archbishop, a procura-
tion which gave him the power to arrange my mar-
riage when he judged that the time had arrived.
However, I often thought of the parti whom my
father had proposed and searched for information
regarding the young man. My cousin, Dominique
Sheldon, brought up by my grandmother, and who
lived with us, knew him and often spoke to me of
him. I learned that he had had indeed a very lively
youth, and I made up my mind no longer to think of
him.
In 1785 our sojourn in Languedoc was much
longer than usual. After the session of the States
we went to pass nearly a month at Alais, with the
amiable Bishop, who was later Cardinal de Bausset
of that city. This trip interested me very much. It
[27]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
was during this sojourn at Alais that I acquired my
first love for the mountains. This little city, situated
in a charming valley, surrounded by a beautiful
prairie sprinkled with very old chestnut trees, is in
the midst of the Cevennes. Every day we made
some excursions which were really charming. The
young people of the country had formed a mounted
guard of honor for my uncle. They had adopted the
English uniform of the Dillons, red with yellow
facings. They all belonged to the best families of the
country.
To my great regret we set out to pass two months
at Narbonne, where I had never been. As I liked to be
informed regarding all matters of interest in the
places which I visited, I began to look up the histories
of Narbonne from the time of Caesar to that of
Cardinal de Richelieu, who had formerly occupied the
archiepiscopal chateau, which was similar to a strong-
hold of the middle ages.
From Narbonne, we went to Toulouse, by way of
Saint-Papoul, where we remained several days.
From there we went to Bordeaux, where we made a
visit of seventeen days with the Archbishop.
I cannot say why Bordeaux interested me more
than the other cities which we had visited. Here we
saw Mme. Dillon, mother of all those Dillons who
have always pretended, but wrongly, to be our
relatives. This lady, who was of a good English
family, had married an Irish merchant named Dil-
lon, whose ancestors had probably come from that
part of Ireland named, until the reign of Queen
[28]
VISITS TO LANGUEDOC
Elizabeth, "Dillon's country," where a great number
of the inhabitants, the same as in Scotland, took the
name of their lord. However this may be, this Dillon
had no success in business, and, having raised a
certain sum of money, came to establish himself at
Bordeaux, where he entered into commerce. His wife
was a woman of extraordinary beauty, well known
throughout the province. Her husband died leaving
her with twelve children and with very little fortune,
but possessed of great charms and much courage.
Marechal de Richelieu befriended her and recom-
mended her to my uncle at the time of one of his trips
to Bordeaux. My uncle promised to look after her
children and kept his word. The three eldest, who
were rather beautiful girls, made very favorable
marriages. The nine sons, who were without excep-
tion fine fellows, all had most honorable careers.
At Bordeaux, several days before my departure, my
servant when dressing my hair asked my permission
to go that evening to a chateau situated at a short
distance, to see some old comrades. He rejoined our
carriages at the passage of the Dordogne, at Cubzac,
not far from the chateau which he had visited. I
asked the name of the place, and he told me it was
called Le Bouilh, and that it belonged to the Comte
de La Tour du Pin. His son was the young man
whom my father had wished me to marry and whom
my grandmother had refused. I asked my servant
regarding the position of the chateau and learned
with regret that it could not be seen from the high-
way. I was very much interested in crossing the river
at Cubzac to learn that the land around belonged
[29]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
to Monsieur de La Tour du Pin, and I said to myself
that perhaps I might some day be the lady of all
this fine country. I took good care, however, not to
communicate these reflections to my grandmother,
who would not have received them with pleasure.
Nevertheless, they remained in the back of my head.
[30]
CHAPTER FOUR
1786
MATRIMONIAL PROJECTS
New Marriage Plans. — The Marquis Adrien de Laval. —
Fortune of Mile. Dillon. — Regiments of the Irish Brigade.
— Portrait of Mile. Dillon. — Marechal de Biron. —
Rupture with Monsieur Adrien de Laval. — The Vicomte
de Fleury. — M. Esperance de L'Aigle. — The Comte de
Gouvernet. — Decision of Mile. Dillon.
A~^ the time of our return to Paris I was six-
teen years of age, and my grandmother in-
formed me that she was trying to arrange
a marriage for me with the Marquis Adrien de Laval.
He had just become the head of his family by the
death of his brother, who left a widow twenty years
of age, but no children. The Duchesse de Laval, the
mother of Adrien, had been a great friend of my
mother's. She was very desirous of seeing this mar-
riage brought about, and it was equally agreeable to
me. The name of Laval-Montmorency sounded very
agreeably in my aristocratic ears. Young Laval had
left the Seminaire to enter the Army at the death
of his brother. Our fathers were also closely associ-
ated, but the principal reason which led me to wish
this marriage was that I would be able to leave the
house of my grandmother. I was no longer a child.
My education had commenced at so early an age
that at sixteen I was as old as other girls at twenty-
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
five. With my grandmother I led a wretched life.
I was very miserable and ardently desired to end
this unhappy position. Nevertheless, being in the
habit of reflecting upon my fate, I had resolved
never to accept, out of spite, a marriage which
would not be en rapport with my situation in the
world.
I was considered to be the sole heir of my grand-
mother, who had the reputation of being rich, and
was so in reality. The fine estate of Hautefontaine,
situated about twenty-two leagues from Paris, with a
revenue of 50,000 francs from the farms, without
counting the woods, the lakes and the fields ; a pretty
house which she had just purchased about five leagues
from Paris, and where my uncle was making ex-
tensive repairs; with rentes upon the Hotel de Ville
of Paris which she should give me at the time of my
marriage ; an immense amount of personal property —
all this was assured to me, since my grandmother was
sixty years of age when I was sixteen.
Who would ever have suspected that my uncle,
with over 400,000 francs of income, was in financial
difficulties and had persuaded my grandmother to
borrow, in order to come to his rescue? All the men
who wished to marry me were blinded by these fine
appearances. It was also known that, at the time of
my marriage, I would have the position of Dame du
Palais of the Queen. This, at that time, weighed
heavily in the balance in the grand monde. Eire a la
Cour sounded very fine. The Dames du Palais were
only twelve in number. My mother had been one,
because the Queen personally loved her tenderly;
[32]
.
MATRIMONIAL PROJECTS
because she was the daughter-in-law of a Peer of
England and the granddaughter of another, Lord
Falkland ; finally, because my father, a distinguished
officer, was counted among the very few who could
become Marshals of France.
Of the three regiments of the Irish Brigade, Dillon
and Berwick were the only ones which had preserved
their names. I remember that when Monsieur Walsh
was named Colonel of the regiment which took his
name, Monsieur de Fitz-James and my father showed
a great deal of discontent, on the pretext that he did
not belong to any great Irish or English family. The
Duchesse de Fitz-James — Mile, de Thiard — was
Dame du Palais, like my mother, and a woman of
the same age. But her husband, the third Due de
Fitz-James, who was the grandson of Marechal de
Berwick, and the son of the second Due, who had
also been Marechal de France, enjoyed a very
mediocre military reputation, while my father had
greatly distinguished himself during the war which
had just finished. At the age of twenty-seven he
had been named Brigadier, a grade since suppressed,
which represented the rank intermediate between
the grade of Colonel and that of Lieutenant-General.
To return to myself. I was then what would be
called from every point of view a good match, and
since I am on the subject of my personal advantages,
I think this is the place to trace my portrait. It will
not be very attractive on paper, because I owed my
reputation for beauty only to my figure, my general
appearance, and not at all to my features.
[33]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
I had a mass of light blond hair; small gray eyes,
with very few eyelashes, most of which I had lost
through a severe attack of smallpox at the age of
four; I had thin blond eyebrows; a high forehead,
and a nose which was said to be Greek, but which
was long and too large at the end. My finest feature
was my mouth, with very fresh lips, chiselled like
those of an antique statue, and beautiful teeth
which I have preserved intact at the age of seventy-
one. It was said that my face was agreeable, that I
had a gracious smile, and, notwithstanding all this, I
could be considered plain. However, a large and beau-
tiful figure and a clear and transparent complexion,
with a great deal of color, gave me a marked superi-
ority in all gatherings, especially by day, and it was
certain that I outshone many women apparently
endowed with superior advantages.
At the State dinners given frequently by my uncle
during the summers that we passed at Paris, I
often saw Marechal de Biron, the last grand seigneur
of the time of Louis XIV. Although he was eighty-
five years of age, while I was only fifteen, he had
taken a great fancy to me. He had me seated at table
beside him, and had the kindness to talk with me.
At Paris he had a large and beautiful mansion, now
that of the Sacre-Coeur, with a splendid garden of
three or four acres where there were hothouses filled
with rare plants. It was considered a particular honor
to be received at his house. One day in speaking with
my uncle, he said :
"If I should have the misfortune to lose Mme. la
Marechale de Biron, I would pray Mile. Dillon to
[34]
MATRIMONIAL PROJECTS
take my name and to permit me to put my fortune
at her feet."
He never had this misfortune, however, of which
he would easily have consoled himself. His wife
survived him and perished upon the scaffold with
her niece, the Duchesse de Biron.
The Marechal died in 1787 or 1788 and had a
magnificent funeral. It was the last splendor of the
Monarchy.
My marriage with Adrien de Laval fell through,
because the Marechal de Laval, his grandfather,
chose for his wife Mile, de Luxembourg. He married
her when he was almost a child and when she herself
was hardly eighteen years of age. I regretted this on
account of the name.
My grandmother then proposed to me the name
of the Vicomte de Fleury, with whom I did not wish
to have anything to do. His reputation was bad. He
had neither esprit nor distinction, and he also be-
longed to the younger branch of a house without any
great reputation. I therefore refused him.
The next candidate was Esperance de L'Aigle, of
whom I had seen a great deal during our youth. I
did not think that his name was sufficiently illustrious.
My decision was perhaps unreasonable, as he was
really a very good match. We belonged to the same
circle in society. The estate of his father was situated
only six or seven leagues from Hautefontaine. All
these facts were in favor of our union. Nevertheless,
I refused him.
Marriages are made in Heaven. I had taken it
into my head to marry the Comte de Gouvernet,
[35]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
notwithstanding the fact that I had never seen him
and every one spoke badly of him. I knew that he
was small and plain ; that he gambled and contracted
debts. Nevertheless, my resolution was made. I told
my cousin Sheldon that I would marry no one else.
He attempted, but without success, to reason me out
of what he called my folly.
In the month of November, 1789, we were just
about to set out for Languedoc when one morning
my grandmother said:
"This Monsieur de Gouvernet continues to come
back with his proposals of marriage. Mme. de Mon-
conseil, his grandmother, is endeavoring to get the
best of us on all sides; his father is Commandant of a
province and will be Marshal of France. He is a man
who enjoys the highest consideration in the Army.
The Queen herself desires it, for the Princesse d'Henin,
the daughter of Mme. de Monconseil, has spoken to
her about it. Therefore think and decide about it."
To which I replied without hesitation, " I have made
up my mind. I do not ask for anything better."
My grandmother was stupefied. She hoped, I
think, that I would refuse him. She could not con-
ceive why I should prefer him to Monsieur de L'Aigle.
In reality, I could not have told why myself. It was
an instinct, an impulse coming from Heaven. God
had destined me for him.
We set out for Montpellier without any further
talk on the subject of this marriage. One morning
my grandmother informed me that my uncle had
received a charming letter from Mme. de Monconseil ;
that she extremely desired my marriage with her
[36]
MATRIMONIAL PROJECTS
grandson for whom she had the warmest affection;
that she would do everything in her power to bring
about our union ; but that she was not on good terms
with her son-in-law, the Comte de La Tour du Pin,
who did not get on well with his wife and had not
lived with her for many years. This was the first
time that I had heard of this family trouble. Although
they did not live together, they were not legally
separated, as the family had wished to avoid scandal
on account of the Princesse d'Henin, the sister of
Mme. de La Four du Pin, and also on account of her
daughter, the Marquise de Lameth.
The Marquise de Monconseil was then eighty-five
years of age, but was still considered beautiful. Her
husband, who was an officer, like nearly all the
gentlemen of that epoch, had married her very
young. He had been a page of Louis XIV and had
had a very lively and dissipated youth. He had
served in all the wars at the end of the reign of
Louis XIV and in those of Louis XV.
At the age of forty, Monsieur de Monconseil left
the service and retired to his estate of Tesson in
Saintonge. Here he spent most of his life until his
death at the age of ninety. He had a fine house at
Saintes, where he passed three months during the
winter. The rest of the year he lived at Tesson where
he himself had laid out and planted the park and
gardens. Occasionally, he went to Paris to see his
wife, who had a very fine mansion. He was very
fond of his grandson, who frequently visited him at
Tesson.
[37]
CHAPTER FIVE
1787
THE MARRIAGE PRELIMINARIES
Convocation of the Notables. — Return to Paris. — Death of
Mme. de Monconseil. — Monsieur de Gourvernet's Marriage
Proposal Accepted. — Visit of Mme. d'Henin. — Signature
of the Contract. — Toilette the Day of the Fian^ailles. —
Politeness at this Epoch. — The Four Lameth Brothers. —
The Marriage Contract. — The Comte and Comtesse de
La Tour du Pin. — A Visit to the Queen. — At Montfermeil.
— The Trousseau and the Corbeille.
1
last trip which I made to Montpellier,
during the winter of 1786 and 1787, was to
me the most brilliant of all. Nevertheless, I
was very desirous of returning to Paris where my
fate was to be decided. We set out sooner than I
had expected. My uncle had promised this year to
visit Marseille and Toulon before our return to
Paris. I was rejoicing at this arrangement, when a
courier arrived with the news of the convocation of
the first assembly of the Notables, of which my uncle
was a member. It was necessary, therefore, to set out
for Paris the day after the closing of the session of
the States and to give up our visit to Marseille and
Toulon.
My uncle, who was not feeling very well, wished to
spend the night at Fontainebleau, so that he might
not be too fatigued on his arrival at Paris and be
[38]
THE MARRIAGE PRELIMINARIES
able to go the next morning to Versailles. We always
found our house ready for us, as though we had not
left it at all.
The evening of our arrival there were several
visitors, among whom was a fat German named
Comte de Bentheim, whose wife was a friend of my
grandmother's. My uncle at once asked him the news
of Paris. He replied: "Mme. de Monconseil is dead."
I turned pale, and my uncle, noticing my agitation,
said to me in English that this would not in any way
change our plans. For several days I heard nothing
except conversation regarding the death of this Mme.
de Monconseil, of the grief of her daughter, Mme.
d'Henin, and of her grandson, Monsieur de Gou-
vernet, who had taken care of her in an admirable
manner.
Monsieur de Gouvernet, in the absence of his
father, took occasion at once to notify my uncle
that the loss of his grandmother would in no way
change his desire for his union with our family. He
demanded permission of my uncle to go to his father
and tell him personally that his demand for my hand
would be satisfactory to me and my family. Upon
the affirmative response of my great-uncle, he im-
mediately set out for Bordeaux. Before the week was
over he had returned from Le Bouilh where he had
talked with his father and had arranged to have him
write a letter to make a formal demand for my hand.
It was settled that he should present himself the
following morning at my grandmother's house, but
that he was not to see me until after the articles were
signed, which was the usage at that time.
[39]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
This memorable morning I hid myself behind a
curtain and saw Monsieur de Gouvernet descend
from his carriage and enter the house. He remained
a quarter of an hour, and it was arranged that the
articles should be signed as soon as they could be
drawn up by the notary.
The arrangements were not terminated before the
end of the week, and in the meantime Mme. d'Henin
paid a visit to my grandmother. She asked to see me,
as I had expected. I was so much afraid of this
grande dame, so elegant and imposing, who was
going to examine me from head to foot, that I could
hardly control myself on entering the room. She took
my hand and kissed me and then exclaimed: "Ah!
la belle taille! Elle est charmante. Mon neveu est
bien heureux!"
This visit took place, I think, the eve of the day
on which the articles were to be signed. It was not
customary for the young lady to be present at the
reading of the articles, but as soon as this was over,
I was sent for. I was placed beside Mme. d'Henin
and my aunt Lady Jerningham, who took pity on
my embarrassment.
My toilette was very simple. I had requested my
grandmother to let me order it myself. At that time
the gowns which were worn were laced behind and
plainly indicated the figure. They were therefore
called "sheaths" (jourreaux). My robe was of white
gauze, without any ornaments, with a sash of dark
blue ribbon with fringed ends of brilliant English
silk.
From this time on, Monsieur de Gouvernet came
[40]
THE MARRIAGE PRELIMINARIES
every day for dinner or supper, either at Paris or at
Versailles, where my uncle was established since the
commencement of the meeting of the Notables.
My grandmother and I remained at Paris, but
every day at one-thirty we set out for Versailles
where we arrived for dinner at three o'clock.
Monsieur de Gouvernet had presented to my uncle
his brother-in-law, the Marquis de Lameth, and two
brothers of the latter, Charles and Alexandre. The
fourth brother, Theodore, whom I knew later, was
not there at the time.
Finally the meeting of the Notables ended, and my
uncle returned to Paris, where the day of the signa-
ture of the contract was arranged for the first of
May. I do not now recall the details of my toilette,
but I think that it must have been rose or blue, for
the white robe was reserved for the day of marriage.
A few days previously I had made the acquaint-
ance of my future father-in-law, the Comte de La
Tour du Pin. He was a little man but very erect,
very well built and had been handsome in his youth.
He had admirable teeth, fine eyes, an air of assurance
and a charming smile. He had served during the
Seven Years' War as Colonel of the Regiment called
les Grenadiers de France, which was composed of the
elite of all the other regiments.
The Queen, who approved of my marriage, ex-
pressed the desire to see me and asked my uncle to
bring me to her, together with Mme. d'Henin. The
day of my visit at Versailles I found myself in the
presence of the Queen without really knowing how
[41]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
I got there. She kissed me and I kissed her hand.
She made me sit down beside her and asked me a
thousand questions regarding my education and so
on, but I was too embarrassed to reply. Finally, tak-
ing pity upon my diffidence, the Queen talked with
my uncle and Mme. d'Henin. I am afraid that my
timidity made an unfavorable impression on the
Queen, which was perhaps never effaced.
We went to Montfermeil about the eighth or
tenth of the month of May, 1787. As it was not the
etiquette of the time for the futur to sleep under the
same roof with the young lady whom he was to
marry, Monsieur de Gouvernet came every day from
Paris for dinner and remained until after supper.
In the vast wardrobes had been brought together
the fine trousseau which my grandmother had given
me, the price of which exceeded 45,0x30 francs. It
was composed of linens, laces, and muslin dresses.
There was not a single silk dress. The corbeille, which
had been given me by Monsieur de Gouvernet, com-
prised jewels, ribbons, flowers, feathers and so on.
The present of Mme. d'Henin was a charming tea
service of silver gilt, complete in every respect, with
Sevres porcelain. I think that this gave me more
pleasure than anything else. My grandfather, Vis-
count Dillon, sent me a pair of ear-rings which cost
10,000 francs. I had also received from Monsieur de
Gouvernet a fine collection of English and Italian
books; also of English engravings, for which I was
very grateful.
CHAPTER SIX
1787
MARRIAGE AND PRESENTATION AT COURT
A Marriage in High Society at the End of the i8th Century.—
The Nuptial Benediction. — The Marriage Souvenirs. — •
Toilette of the Bride. — Presentation to the Queen. — •
Rehearsal with the Maitre a Danser. — The Presentation
Toilette. — The Sunday Court. — Portrait of the King. — •
The Art of Walking at Versailles. — The Mass. — The
Royal Dinner.
I WOULD like to have the power of depicting the
manners of the times of my youth, of which
many details have escaped my memory, and the
occasion of this marriage in high society, at which
figured so many personages, men and women.
The day of my marriage everybody was present
in the salon at noon. The company was composed,
on my side, of my grandmother, Mme. de Rothe,
my great-uncle, the Archbishop of Narbonne, my
aunt, Lady Jerningham, her husband, Sir William
Jerningham, their daughter and eldest son, who was
afterwards Lord Stafford; also of the Messieurs
Sheldon, and their elder brother Monsieur Constable,
my first witness, and the Chevalier Jerningham,
brother of Sir William Jerningham, who was a friend
of my mother and of myself, my second witness.
This was all of my family. The guests included all
the Ministers, the Archbishops of Paris and Toulouse,
[43]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
Monsieur de Lally-Tollendal, of whom I shall speak
later, and several other persons whose names escape
me.
The Comte de Gouvernet was born in Paris, Rue
de Varenne, at the hotel of his parents, the 6 January
1759. At the age of sixteen years he entered the
military service as a Second Lieutenant of Artillery,
and two years later was promoted to be Captain of
Cavalry. In 1779 he was appointed aide de camp of
the Marquis de Bouille, Governor of the Antilles,
and served under his orders during the last three
years of the war in America. During his absence he
was promoted to be Colonel en Second of the Royal-
Comtois-Infanterie, and was still serving with this
regiment at the time of our marriage, 21 May 1787.
The family of Monsieur de Gouvernet was com-
posed of his father and mother; of his uncle, TAbbe
de Gouvernet ; of his sister, the Marquise de Lameth ;
of her husband and his three brothers, Charles,
Alexandre and Theodore de Lameth; also of Mme.
d'Henin, his aunt, and of a number of other persons —
fifty or sixty in all.
In going to the chapel, we passed through the
court. I walked first, giving my hand to my cousin,
young Jerningham. My grandmother followed with
Monsieur de Gouvernet, and the rest in order. At
the altar we found my uncle and the Archbishop of
Paris. After a low mass which was said by the Cure
of Montfermeil, my uncle gave us the nuptial bene-
diction after having pronounced a very fine discourse.
All the ladies then embraced me in the order of
relationship and age. After this a valet de chambre
[44]
MARRIAGE, PRESENTATION AT COURT
brought a large basket containing the wedding
souvenirs, consisting of sword-knots for the men,
costing from twenty-five to thirty francs each, and
of fans for the ladies, of different prices from twenty-
five to one hundred francs. This custom was very
expensive.
Let us not forget the toilette of the bride, which
was very simple. I had a dress of white crepe, trimmed
with Brussels lace. As veils were not then in vogue,
I wore pinners, that is to say, a head-dress having
long flaps hanging down the sides of my cheeks. I
had a sprig of orange blossoms on my head and a
bouquet at my side. For the dinner, which was not
served until four o'clock, I put on a pretty toque,
with white plumes, to which was attached the sprig
of orange blossoms. In the evening a fine concert
ended the day.
The following day the greater part of the guests
left us. I was married on Monday, and the next day
Mme. d'Henin informed me of the desire of the
Queen that my presentation should take place the
Sunday following. Mme. d'Henin added that I ought
to accompany her to Paris on Thursday morning to
take two lessons in courtesies (reverences) of my danc-
ing master; also to try on my presentation costume.
I therefore set out the following morning for Paris
in company with my aunt, Mme. d'Henin, and passed
the two following mornings with Monsieur Huart,
my dancing master. You cannot imagine anything
more ridiculous than this rehearsal of the presenta-
tion. Monsieur Huart, a fat man, admirably coiffe
[45]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
and powdered, wearing a full skirt, represented the
Queen and stood at the end of the salon. He dictated
to me what I should do, at one moment personifying
the lady who presented me, the next, returning to
the place of the Queen in order to indicate the
moment when, taking off my glove and bending to
kiss the bottom of her robe, she would make the
gesture of preventing me from so doing. Nothing
was forgotten or neglected in this rehearsal, which
was prolonged over a period of three or four hours.
My hair was dressed simply, and I wore an ordinary
morning costume, over which I had put on a court
dress with a large pannier. It was a regular comedy.
Sunday morning after the mass my presentation
took place. I was in full court dress (grand corps'),
that is to say, with a corsage expressly made, with-
out shoulder straps, laced in the back, but so narrow
that the lacings, four fingers wide at the bottom,
revealed a chemise of the finest batiste. This chemise
had very short sleeves and no straps, so as to leave
the shoulders bare. The top of the arm was covered
with three or four rows of white lace falling to the
elbow. The neck and shoulders were entirely un-
covered. Seven or eight strands of large diamonds,
which the Queen had wished to lend me, partially
concealed my own. The front of the corsage had the
appearance of being laced with rows of diamonds.
I also had a number on my head in the form of an
aigrette.
Thanks to the good lessons of Monsieur Huart, I
had no trouble with the three courtesies, and took
off and put on my glove without too much awkward-
[46]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
frequently called the Petits Appartements de la Reine,
consisting of a boudoir, library and salon. All of
these rooms were extremely small but remarkable
for the charm of their decoration. They were lighted
by small interior courts, on the other side of which
were the King's Guard Room and his first ante-
chamber.
At a few minutes before noon the ladies entered
the salon which preceded the Queen's bed-chamber.
No one sat down except a few aged ladies. There
were always at least forty present and sometimes
more. Ordinarily, the Princesse de Lamballe, the
superintendent of the house, arrived and entered
immediately into the Queen's room, where she was
making her toilette. The Princesse de Chimay, the
sister-in-law of my aunt d'Henin, and the Comtesse
d'Ossun, one a lady of honor and the other lady of
the bed chamber, also had the entrees. At the end
of several minutes an usher advanced to the door of
the chamber and called in a loud voice: "Le service!"
Then the Dames du Palais for the week, four in
number, and other young ladies like myself desig-
nated later on to form part of the service also en-
tered. As soon as the Queen had said good-morning
to all in turn, with much grace and kindness, the
door was opened and everybody entered.
This audience was prolonged until twenty minutes
before one. Then the door was opened and the usher
announced, "The King." The Queen, always dressed
in court costume, advanced towards him with a
charming and respectful air. The King nodded to
right and left, spoke to some ladies whom he knew,
[48]
UkREXNE MAKXE
MARRIAGE, PRESENTATION AT COURT
but never to the young ones. He was so shortsighted
that he could not recognize any one at three paces.
He was a fat man of medium height, with high
shoulders and the worst form that you could imagine.
He had the air of a peasant, and there was nothing
lofty or royal in his mien. He was always embarrassed
by his sword and did not know what to do with his
hat. His costume, which was very magnificent, was
highly embroidered, and ornamented with the star
of the Saint-Esprit in diamonds. He never wore the
cordon over his costume, except his fete day and the
days of gala and great ceremony.
A quarter before one was the time set to go to
the mass. The King and Queen walked side by side,
slowly enough to say a word in passing to the numer-
ous courtiers who lined the Gallery. The Queen often
spoke to strangers who had been presented to her,
to artists and to men of letters. Behind came the
ladies in the order of their rank.
It was a great art to know how to walk in these
vast appartements without stepping on the long
train of the lady who preceded you. You could not
raise your foot at all, but had to glide it along the
floor, which was always very slippery, until you had
passed through the Salon d'Hercule. After this you
threw the bottom of your robe over one side of your
pannier, and having caught the eye of your lackey
who awaited you with a large hassock of red velvet
trimmed with a golden fringe, you rushed down one of
the aisles at the right or left of the chapel in the en-
deavor to obtain a place as near as possible to the
tribune occupied by the Royal family. Your lackey
[49]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
put the hassock before you and you took your
prayer book, in which you hardly ever read, for, by
the time you were in your place and had arranged
the train of your dress and had knelt upon this
immense hassock, the mass was already half finished.
As soon as the service was over, the Queen made
a profound reverence to the King, and then the
march back began in the same order in which we had
come. Every one returned to the Queen's chamber
and chatted while awaiting the dinner hour. At this
time, during a period of a quarter of an hour, the
King and Queen received the ladies who had come
from Paris. We impertinent young things used to
call these ladies the traineuses, because they had the
skirts of their court costumes so long that you
could not see their ankles.
Dinner was served in the first salon, where a small
rectangular table was set with two covers, and two
large green armchairs were placed one beside the
other, touching, with backs so high as entirely to
conceal the persons occupying them. The Queen sat
at the left of the King. They turned their backs to
the chimney, and before them, at a distance of ten
feet, was arranged in a circle a line of stools upon
which were seated the Duchesses, Princesses and
ladies of high rank who had the privilege of the
tabouret. Behind them stood the other ladies, facing
the King and Queen. The King ate with good appe-
tite, but the Queen did not take off her gloves or
unfold her serviette, which was a great mistake on
her part. As soon as the King had drunk, we had the
privilege of leaving, after having made a courtesy.
[So]
MARRIAGE, PRESENTATION AT COURT
We regained our appartements very much fatigued,
and remained quietly in our rooms, so as not to dis-
arrange our coiffures, especially when we had had
our hair dressed by Leonard, the most famous of
coiffeurs. The private dinners were served at three
o'clock which, at this time, was the elegant hour.
The Minister of War, Marechal de Segur, who had
been present at my marriage, had given my husband
a month's leave of absence, so instead of leaving for
Saint-Omer, where his regiment was in garrison, he
remained with me at Montfermeil. At the end of the
month of June it was necessary for him to return to
his post and I saw him leave with real chagrin.
About the middle of August he came to pass a week
at Montfermeil. The Marechal had consented to this
escapade on condition that he should not go to Paris.
The Colonels in garrison in Flanders were then
threatened with the necessity of passing the autumn
and winter months with their regiments, on account
of the troubles in Holland, in which it seemed that
we should be obliged to interfere. But the indecision
of the King and the feebleness of the Government
did not permit us to take part, which was a great
mistake, as it might have turned public opinion
from the revolutionary ideas which were beginning
to germinate in the heads of the French people.
CHAPTER SEVEN
1787-1788
FIRST SEASON IN SOCIETY
Civil War in Holland. — Feebleness of the French Government.
— Mme. de La Tour du Pin at Henencourt. — Excursion
to Lille. — Return to Montfermeil. — The Loges of the
Queen at the Theatres. — Mme. de La Tour du Pin in
Society. — Mme. de Montesson and the Due d'Orleans. —
Rupture of Mme. de La Tour du Pin with Her Family.
MY sister-in-law, Mme. de Lameth, for whom
I had conceived the most tender friend-
ship, had been kept at Paris by the illness
of her younger son until the month of October, 1787.
As the Colonels were still with their regiments and
not able to return, my sister-in-law proposed to me
the first of October that I should accompany her to
the country. My husband could then rejoin us, as
his regiment was in garrison at Saint-Omer, a short
distance from Henencourt, between Amiens and
Arras. The difficulty was to arrange this trip with
my grandmother, who, in the absence of my husband,
had again assumed her authority over me. Neither I
nor my sister-in-law had the courage to make the
proposition to her. We therefore devised the scheme
of having the request made by my husband himself.
On the appointed day the letter arrived, and my
grandmother, without preamble, brusquely demanded,
FIRST SEASON IN SOCIETY
"When are you going to leave?" To which I replied
trembling that my sister-in-law awaited me. Ac-
cordingly, we set out together. Our maids were in my
carriage, Mme. de Lameth, her two children and
myself, in her carriage.
I have preserved the most charming recollections
of this trip. We went to Lille to see the Marquis de
Lameth, my brother-in-law, who was there with his
regiment. I had never had so much pleasure as during
this short journey. With my husband I visited all
the establishments, military and civil.
When it was finally decided that France should
abandon the Holland patriots to their unfortunate
fate, permission was given the Colonels to return to
Paris. My husband and I therefore set out for
Montfermeil, while my sister-in-law remained in
the country until the beginning of winter.
Soon after my return my uncle and grandmother
left for Montpellier. It had been arranged that dur-
ing the absence of my relatives we should live with
our aunt, Mme. d'Henin. As she was to introduce
me to society, this arrangement was agreeable and
convenient. It was not then customary for a young
lady to appear alone in public the first year of her
marriage. When she went out in the morning to pay
visits or shop, she always took a maid with her in
her carriage. Certain old dames carried this rigorism
so far as to blame those who went out even with
their husbands for a promenade in the Champs-
Elysees or the Tuileries gardens, and thought in such
cases they should be followed by a lackey in livery.
ess]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
My husband considered this custom insupportable,
and we never submitted to this etiquette.
Once established with my aunt, we found our-
selves much happier and more tranquil than with
my grandmother. Nearly every evening we went to
the theatre, where the performances then ended early
enough to permit our going to supper afterwards.
My aunt and I had permission to occupy the Queen's
boxes. This was a favor which was accorded to only
six or eight of the youngest ladies of the Palace. She
had a loge at the Opera, at the Comedie-Francaise
and at the theatre then called the Comedie-Italienne
where opera-comique was given in French. We had
only to read the daily papers to make our choice
between the different theatres.
These stage boxes were furnished like elegant
salons. Every box had a large antechamber, well
heated and lighted; and a private staircase com-
municated with the antechamber where the servants
remained. At the entrance was a porter in the King's
livery. You never had to wait a moment for your
carriage. Generally we went to the Comedie-Italienne
for the first piece, which was always the best, and to
the Opera for the ballet.
Since I am now established with my aunt, this is
the moment to speak of the society in which she
moved, which was the most elegant and the most
highly considered in Paris, and by which I was adopted
the first year that I was out. This clique was com-
posed of four very distinguished ladies, joined to-
gether from their youth by a friendship which in
their eyes represented a sort of religion, and which
[54]
FIRST SEASON IN SOCIETY
was perhaps the only one that they possessed ! These
four ladies, very highly esteemed on account of their
rank in the world, were, besides Mme. d'Henin, the
Princesse de Poix, the Duchesse de Biron and the
Princesse de Bouillon.
At the time of my marriage, my aunt, Mme.
d'Henin, was thirty-eight years of age. She had
espoused, at the age of fifteen, the Prince d'Henin,
younger brother of the Prince de Chimay, who was
only seventeen. They were admired as the hand-
somest couple who had ever appeared at court. The
second year of her marriage Mme. d'Henin had an
attack of smallpox, and this malady, which they
did not then know how to treat properly, left upon
her face an eruption which was never cured. How-
ever, she was still very beautiful when I knew her,
with fine hair, charming eyes, teeth like pearls, a
superb figure and a very noble air. Until the death
of her mother she resided with her. Monsieur
d'Henin had an apartment in the house of Mme. de
Monconseil, but although he was not judicially
separated from his wife, he nevertheless resided apart
with an actress of the Comedie-Francaise, who was
ruining him. The Court justified by its indifference
these kinds of liaisons. It was laughed at as the
most simple thing in the world.
At that time the ladies of high society were marked
by the audacity with which they made a parade of
their love affairs. These intrigues were known almost
as soon as formed, and when they were durable, they
acquired a sort of consideration. In the society of
les princesses combinees, as they were called, there
ess:
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
were exceptions however to these blamable customs.
Mme. de Poix, who was deformed, lame, and crippled
a great part of the year, had never been accused of
any intrigues. When I first knew her, she still had a
charming face, although forty years of age. She was
the most amiable person in the world.
Mme. de Lauzun, who was later Duchesse de
Biron, after the death of my respectful admirer, the
Marechal of that name, was an angel of kindness and
goodness. After the death of the Marechale de
Luxembourg, her grandmother, with whom she had
lived, and who kept the finest house in Paris, she
had bought a hotel, Rue de Bourbon, looking out
on the river. This she had arranged with simple
elegance, in harmony with her handsome fortune
and the modesty of her character. She lived here
alone, for her husband, following the example of
Monsieur d'Henin, passed his time with an actress
of the Comedie-Fran^aise. Since the death of his
mother, whose happy influence had kept him in
good company, he had mixed with the habitues of
the Due d'Orleans (Egatitt), who corrupted all who
approached him.
The Duchesse de Lauzun had a very curious library,
with many manuscripts of Rousseau, among others
that of "La Nouvelle Heloise," entirely written in
his own hand; also a quantity of letters and notes
which he had written to Mme. de Luxembourg.
The Princesse de Bouillon had married, when very
young, the last Due de Bouillon, who was an imbecile
and a cripple. She lived with him in the Hotel de
Bouillon upon the Quai Malaquais. He was never
'
FIRST SEASON IN SOCIETY
seen, because he remained always in his apartment
with the persons who looked after him. During the
summer he went to his place at Navarre, the fine
estate which later belonged to the Empress Josephine.
But I think that Mme. de Bouillon never went there.
She was a person of great spirit and charm and,
I think, was the most distinguished of my acquaint-
ances. At no time could she have been pretty. She
was exceedingly thin, almost a skeleton, with a flat
German face, retrousse nose, wretched teeth and yel-
low hair. With all this, she had so much esprit, such
original ideas, and her conversation was so amusing
that she attracted and enchanted everybody. Her kind-
ness to me was very great and I was quite proud of it.
Nevertheless this homely and spirituelle Princesse
had had one or several lovers. She was bringing up a
little girl who, in a striking manner, resembled her
as well as the Prince Emmanuel de Salm-Salm. He
passed for being the lover whom she had adopted
for life, but certainly at that time he was only a
friend. A very tall man, as thin as his mistress, he
always appeared to me to be insipid, although he
was said to be learned. I would like to believe that,
but he hid his treasures, and I cannot recall anything
of his conversation.
The Chevalier de Coigny, brother of the Due, who
was first equerry of the King, was supposed, before
the time of my marriage, to be the lover of my aunt.
At least he had that reputation. Later on he formed
a strong attachment for Mme. de Monsauge, wife of
the fermier general and mother of the charming
Comtesse Etienne de Durfort, whom he afterwards
[57]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
married. I was very fond of this fat chevalier who
was of so gay and amiable a nature. As he was fifty
years of age, I talked with him as often as possible.
He recounted to me a thousand anecdotes which I re-
membered and which perhaps would be amusing if I
were to relate them. Destined to live in the grand monde
and at the Court, I listened with interest to his reci-
tals, for a knowledge of past times was useful to me.
A mansion which we all visited, and where I was
received with the most affectionate familiarity, was
that of Mme. de Montesson. She loved my husband
like a son. After the death of his grandmother, Mme.
de Monconseil, he had lived there until the day of
his marriage. She received me with extreme kindness.
I was also bound by ties of friendship to Mme. de
Valence, the daughter of her niece, Mme. de Genlis.
Mme. de Valence was three years older than myself
and was then considered a model young woman.
It is well known that Mme. de Montesson was the
legitimate wife of the Due d'Orleans, the father of
Philippe-Egalite, to whom she had been married by
the Archbishop of Toulouse. The King was unwilling
to recognize this marriage, and she ceased to visit
the Court. The Due d'Orleans gave up his residence
in the Palais-Royal to establish himself in a house,
Rue de Provence, adjoining that which Mme. de
Montesson had bought in the Chaussee-d'Antin.
The separating walls were torn down and the two
gardens were united. The Due always kept his
separate entrance, Rue de Provence, with a Swiss in
his livery, while Mme. de Montesson also had her
private entrance. But the courts remained connected,
[58]
FIRST SEASON IN SOCIETY
The house of Mme. de Montesson bore a very good
reputation. She saw the best company in Paris and
the most distinguished, from the oldest sets to the
youngest. She no longer gave large parties, as during
the life of the Due d'Orleans, which I much regretted.
She immediately adopted me for a daughter, and
from her great experience in the world, her conversa-
tion and her counsels were very useful to me. Hardly
a day passed without my visiting Mme. de Valence,
and often when the hour was advanced, Mme. de
Montesson kept me for dinner.
On her return to Paris my grandmother came to
see me. She soon learned from my conversation of my
success in the world and the fine reception which I
had received from a large number of persons whom
she disliked. From this moment I think she resolved
to seize the first occasion which presented itself to
oblige us to leave my uncle's house. Nevertheless,
for the moment I returned to the Hotel Dillon, where
they had arranged for me a charming appartement in
the mansardes, which was reached unfortunately by
a small turning staircase.
I do not remember the circumstances which finally
led to the rupture with my relatives. After several
months of repeated quarrels my grandmother re-
quested us to leave her house. In spite of my tears
and the intervention of my uncle, the Archbishop,
whose affection we had gained, but who feared my
grandmother too much to offer any opposition, we
were obliged to leave the Hotel Dillon never to
return. This was about the month of June, 1788.
My aunt received us at her house with great kind-
[59]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
ness. It was nevertheless a great chagrin for me to be
separated from my family. This epoch was one of
the most painful of my life. It was the first real grief
that I had ever known, and the remembrance is
still painful, although I cannot in any way reproach
myself for having provoked it.
CHAPTER EIGHT
1788-1789
EVE OF THE REVOLUTION
Sojourn with Mme. d'Henin. — Monsieur de La Tour du Pin,
Colonel de Royal- Vaisseaux. — Indiscipline of the Officers
of the Regiment. — Prince Henry of Prussia. — His Taste
for French Literature. — The Hotel de Rochechouart. —
Comte de Chinon, afterwards Due de Richelieu. — A Ball
at Lord Dorset's. — Approach of the Revolution. — Popu-
larity of the Due d'Orleans. — Causes of the Antipathy of
the Queen for the Due. — Popularity of English Fashions. —
The Origin of Monsieur de Lally-Tollendal.
MY aunt, Mme. d'Henin, received us at her
house in the Rue Verneuil, and gave me
quarters on the ground floor looking out
on a very dismal little garden. As we did not wish
to be an expense to her, our cook prepared our
servants' meals, and also our own when my aunt
dined out or had company for dinner. My maid,
Marguerite, who had never left me, refused all the
offers and even prayers of my grandmother in order
to accompany me.
The summer of 1788 we passed at Passy in a house
which Mme. d'Henin had leased, together with Mmes.
de Poix, de Bouillon and de Biron. My aunt and I
lived there all the time, while these ladies came there
in turn.
[61]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
Monsieur de La Tour du Pin had been appointed
Colonel of the regiment of Royal- Vaisseaux. This
body of troops was in a state of great indiscipline,
not by the conduct of the soldiers and the under-
officers, which was excellent, but by the attitude of
the officers, who had been spoiled by their former
Colonel, Monsieur d'Ossun, husband of the Queen's
Dame cTAtours. When my husband, who was very
severe in the matter of discipline, arrived at his
regiment, he found that these gentlemen were not
attending to their duties. Having ascertained that
during the daily drills the regiment was commanded
by the under-officers and the Lieutenant-Colonel,
Monsieur de Kergaradec, Monsieur de La Tour du
Pin declared that, as he expected to be present at
the drills every morning at sunrise, he should require
that the officers also be present. This order raised a
perfect storm of discontent, and punishments, arrests,
prison — no measures could determine the officers
to fulfil their duties. In this way the summer
passed.
In the autumn a camp for manoeuvres was to be
formed at Saint-Omer under the command of the
Prince de Conde. The first manoeuvre, which should
have been executed in a model manner, was very un-
satisfactory, and Monsieur de La Tour du Pin was
furious. He reported to the Prince regarding the bad
spirit of the regiment, or rather that of the officers.
The Prince declared that if, at the next manoeuvre,
the officers did not do better, he would put them all
under arrest for the duration of the camp, and that
the companies would be commanded by the under-
[62]
EVE OF THE ^REVOLUTION
officers. This order had the desired effect and there
was no further insubordination.
While these events were happening at Saint-Omer,
I was living very pleasantly at Passy with my aunt
and with one or two of her friends. I often visited
Paris, and also passed some time at Berny with Mme.
de Montesson, who was always full of kindness for
me. Here I met very frequently old Prince Henry of
Prussia, brother of the Great Frederick. He was a
man of much capacity, both military and literary, and
a great admirer of all the philosophers whom his
brother had attracted to his court, and particularly
of Voltaire. He knew our literature better than any
Frenchman.
As I am not writing a history of the Revolution,
I shall not speak of all the conversations, arguments
and disputes that the difference of opinions occasioned
in society. For my eighteen years these discourses
were very boring, and I endeavored to divert myself
by visiting as often as possible a charming house
where I was attached by ties of friendship since the
period of my youth, and especially from the day that
I had been obliged to leave my relatives. The Hotel
de Rochechouart was one of those patriarchal man-
sions which will never be seen again and where sev-
eral generations mingled, sans gene, sans ennui, sans
exigence.
Mme. de Courteille, a very rich widow, had
married her only daughter to the Comte de Roche-
chouart. She lived with her son-in-law and their two
daughters in a large and beautiful mansion in the
[63]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
Rue de Crenelle. Mme. de Rochechouart had been
an intimate friend of my mother's, and I had passed
my childhood with her two daughters, who were from
two to four years older than myself. The elder had
married, at the age of fifteen, the Due de Piennes,
since Due d'Aumont. She was an amiable girl with
an agreeable face, without being precisely pretty.
Her husband, according to the usage in high society
at that time, was the avowed and declared lover
of Mme. de Reuilly, which made his wife very
unhappy.
I was more intimate, however, with Rosalie, the
younger sister. She had been married at the age of
twelve years and one day with the grandson of the
Marechal de Richelieu, the Comte de Chinon, who
then was only fifteen years of age. At this time she
was still a nice little girl, but thin and very delicate,
while he was a disagreeable boy whom in our chil-
dren's parties we could not endure. This marriage
was celebrated before the death of my mother, and
I was present. Immediately after the dinner, which
was given at the Hotel de Richelieu, the bridegroom
set out with his tutor for a European tour. Leaving
thus at the beginning of the year 1782, he did not
return to France until about seven years later. He
had then become a large and fine young man and
an excellent fellow.
At the Hotel de Rochechouart every one was de-
lighted at his return, except his poor wife who was
far from participating in this joy. In completing her
growth she had become, at the age of fourteen, a
complete hunchback, and she was afraid that her
M&]&$Efi§ BE
EVE OF THE REVOLUTION
husband would detest her on account of this de-
formity. To add to the misfortunes of this poor man,
he found upon his return two sisters, born of a second
marriage of his father, who were deformed in the
same manner as his wife. These three hunchbacks
gave him a feeling of horror for his native country.
At the first indications of the coming Revolution,
he emigrated and went to Russia, where he gained
much glory in the war between the Russians and the
Turks, during the course of which he served as a
volunteer in the army of Catherine II with MM. de
Damas and de Langeron.
Returning to France under the Consulate, he left
almost immediately for Russia whence he did not
return until after the Restoration.
.1 ,
I think that it was during the spring of the year
1789 that the Duke of Dorset, the English Am-
bassador, who had just been replaced by Lord Gower
and his charming wife, Lady Sutherland, gave a fine
ball on the eve of his leaving Paris. At the bottom
of the invitations he had placed very cavalierly:
"Les dames seront en blanc." This order displeased
me. By way of protest, I ordered a charming robe
of blue crepe, trimmed with flowers of the same
color. My gloves and my fan were also adorned with
blue ribbons. In my coiffure, arranged by Leonard,
were blue feathers. This piece of childish folly had a
great success. Everybody kept remarking: "Oiseau
bleu, couleur du temps." The Duke of Dorset him-
self was amused at this pleasantry and said that the
Irish were pig-headed !
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
In the midst of our pleasures we approached the
month of May, 1789. Now that a long life permits me
to pass in review the events which I saw unroll be-
fore me, I am confounded by the profound blind-
ness of the unfortunate King and of his Ministers.
Every one insisted upon the necessity of modelling the
new Constitution of France upon that of England,
which few persons understood. Monsieur de Lally,
afterwards the Marquis de Lally-Tollendal, in spite
of his pretensions fully to understand the English
Constitution, was himself ignorant of its details, al-
though he passed for an oracle. The force of his
speech filled with delight the ladies who listened to
him. He had turned the head of my aunt who had no
doubt of his success in the States-General.
Monsieur de Lally had just been elected Deputy
to the Assembly by the nobility of Paris. I was
present at one of the first meetings of this Assembly.
With twenty or thirty ladies I was concealed behind
the curtains of the tribunes which had been arranged
in the windows of the hall. The first two names taken
from the election urn, of persons nominated for
Secretaries of the Assembly, were those of Monsieur
de Lally and Monsieur d'Espremenil, the President
of the Parliament of Paris. Now it so happened that
Monsieur d'Espremenil was the person who had
made the report upon the sad affair which had sent
General de Lally to the scaffold in 1766. Before the
different courts where Monsieur de Lally, his son,
had pleaded for the rehabilitation of the memory of
his father, Monsieur d'Espremenil had pleaded on
the other side and in such a furious manner that a
[66]
EVE OF THE REVOLUTION
profound hatred had arisen between the two men.
Therefore when these two were proclaimed as the
Secretaries of the Assembly, and they left their
places at the end of the hall to seat themselves side
by side at the desk, there was heard a murmur of
very marked interest in favor of Monsieur de Lally.
When, a few moments later, he addressed a few
brief words to the Assembly to thank them for his
nomination, and stated that all private misunder-
standing should disappear before the public interest,
every one present enthusiastically applauded him.
At the beginning of the spring of 1789, which fol-
lowed a terrible winter that had been very hard upon
the poor, the Due d'Orleans (Egalite) was very
popular in Paris. He had sold, the previous year, a
large part of the pictures of the splendid gallery of
his palace, and it was generally stated that the eight
million francs received from this sale had been de-
voted to relieving the misery of the people during
the rigorous winter which had just ended. On the
other hand, nothing was said, rightly or wrongly, of
the charities of the Princes of the Royal family and
of the King and Queen. This unfortunate Princess
had become entirely devoted to the Polignac family.
She no longer went to the theatre in Paris, and no
one ever saw her or her children. The King also never
appeared in public. Shut up at Versailles, or hunting
in the surrounding woods, he suspected nothing, fore-
saw nothing, believed nothing.
The Queen detested the Due d'Orleans, who had
spoken harshly of her. He had wished to marry his
son, the Due de Chartres, afterwards King Louis-
[673.
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
Philippe, with Madame Royale, the daughter of the
King. But the Comte d'Artois, afterwards Charles X,
also desired the hand of this Princess for his son, the
Due d'Angouleme, a match which the Queen pre-
ferred. The demand of the Due d'Orleans was there-
fore refused, and he was mortally offended. His visits
to Versailles were very infrequent, and I do not recall
ever having met him in the Queen's room at the hour
that the Princes came there just before the mass.
As he never was in his appartement at Versailles, I
had not been officially presented to him. This,
however, did not prevent me from being present at
the suppers which he gave at the Palais-Royal,
which during this winter were very brilliant.
I was present at the supper he gave at which
was employed for the first time the beautiful silver
service which he had ordered of Arthur, the great
jeweller of the epoch. If I am correct in my recollec-
tion, the service appeared to me too light and too
English. But this was the fashion. It was necessary
that everything should be English — from our Con-
stitution to our horses and our carriages. I was often
envied because in public places I had the good fortune
to evoke the exclamation, "Voila une Anglaise!"
Since I have spoken of Monsieur de Lally at the
moment that he became a marked man, it is well to
tell the story of his origin, as well as the remarkable
history of that illegitimacy from father to son which
has perhaps never been encountered in any other
family.
Gerard Lally, the great-grandfather of the Lally
[68]
EVE OF THE REVOLUTION
of whom I am speaking, was a poor little Irish gentle-
man who had taken the side of James II. I think that
he came originally from the estate of my ancestor,
Lord Dillon.
The daughter of my great-great-uncle, Lord Dillon,
had been seduced by this Gerard Lally, who was
probably handsome and attractive. A son was born
of their relations, and Lord Dillon demanded that
Gerard should wed his daughter and legitimatize the
child : first case of bastardy.
The natural son of Gerard Lally distinguished
himself during the troubles and wars of James II,
who made him a baronet and permitted him to
recruit troops on the estate of his ancestors. He ac-
companied James II to France and died, if I am not
mistaken, at Saint-Germain. Although he was never
married, nevertheless he also left a natural son by a
lady of Normandy, whose name I have never known :
second case of bastardy.
The natural son of Sir Gerard Lally became the
General Lally who was condemned to death and
executed in 1766 and whose name was rehabilitated
in 1781.
At seventeen years of age he entered the Army and
distinguished himself in all the wars of Louis XV.
He accompanied Prince Charles Edward in the
glorious campaign of 1745, which ended in the un-
fortunate defeat of Culloden in 1746.
It is said that on his return to France he became
very much enamored of my grandmother. But this
is certain, that he formed a very tender friendship
for Mile. Mary Dillon, elder sister of my great-uncle,
[69]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
the Archbishop of Narbonne. Mile. Mary Dillon was
never married and died in 1786 at Saint-Germain-en-
Laye, at a very advanced age.
She was on bad terms for a long time with her
brother, the Archbishop. This misunderstanding,
caused originally by some family disagreement, was
perpetuated by the troublesome interference of my
grandmother, Mme. de Rothe, who feared the in-
fluence on the Archbishop of Mile. Dillon, whom she
detested. It so happened that I never saw Mile.
Dillon until the year before her death. She had then
become reconciled with my uncle, and we frequently
went to see her at Saint-Germain.
But to return to Lally and the third case of
bastardy, to which the family seemed to be con-
demned. Before General de Lally was sent to India
as Governor of the French possessions, he had had
an intrigue amoureuse with a Comtesse de Maulde,
nee Saluces, wife of a Flemish lord of the environs
of Arras or of Saint-Omer, and aunt of the Saluces
whom we knew at Bordeaux. As a result of this
liaison he had a son whom he caused to be brought
up under another name at the Jesuit College of
Paris. A dramatic event was destined to have a
dominant influence upon the future of this child.
As I have already said, Mile. Mary Dillon, who
was a great friend of General de Lally, was his
confidante in the matter of the intrigue with the
Comtesse de Maulde and looked after this child,
who was ignorant of his origin and of the name of
his father. After the execution of General de Lally,
an Irish officer named Drumgold was entrusted by
EVE OF THE REVOLUTION
Mile. Dillon with the details of the allowance of this
young boy and went to see him. Drumgold no sooner
found himself alone with the child than this lad of
twelve years began to speak to him of the execution
of Monsieur de Lally which had taken place the
previous day. He approved of the sentence, and, to
justify it, repeated all the arguments which he had
heard at the Jesuit College. Drumgold, unable to
remain silent upon hearing such language from the
mouth of the son of the person who had just been
executed, cried: " Malheureux, il etait ton pere!"
At these words young Lally fainted and remained
unconscious several hours. A severe illness followed,
and it was during his convalescence that he formed
the resolution to consecrate his life to the rehabilita-
tion of the memory of his father. From this moment
all his readings, all his studies, all his thoughts
tended to this end.
General de Lally had recognized his son in his will.
The boy took his name, and at eighteen years of
age he commenced the work of rehabilitating his
father by composing pleadings and memoirs which
were models of close reasoning and eloquence. Dur-
ing a period of twenty years this was his sole occupa-
tion and his only thought. Having received very
little money from the inheritance of his father, he
lived with Mile. Dillon at Saint-Germain-en-Laye
and was protected by Marechal de Noailles and by
Marechal de Beauvau, both friends of Mile. Dillon.
When, in 1785, my great-uncle became reconciled
with his sister, we saw at her appartement at Saint-
Germain, Monsieur de Lally whom I had not previ-
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
ously known. He was then about thirty-five years of
age and had a very handsome face but an effeminate
air which did not please me. After having pleaded
before three Parlements, he had succeeded in gaining
his cause, and had acquired a great reputation for
eloquence and a well-merited standing, from the
constancy with which he had carried his case to
success. It would be only just to attribute a great
part of the honor of his conduct to Mile. Dillon. A
person of distinguished spirit, of very superior charac-
ter, she had gained an absolute empire over Monsieur
de Lally, and in the solitude in which she lived at
Saint-Germain, she was entirely devoted to his in-
terests. She died in 1786, leaving him by her will all
the property of which she was able to dispose. More
than this, she had arranged that he should have
the reversion of the appartement which she occupied
at Saint-Germain and which was the one given by
Louis XIV to her father when he arrived at this
chateau with James II. She had been born there, as
well as her four sisters and five brothers, of whom
the youngest was the Archbishop of Narbonne. My
father deeply regretted, when he returned from the
Islands, that she had disposed of this lodging — the
cradle of the family in France. Monsieur de Lally
would have shown more delicacy in not accepting,
among the objects which were left him, many of the
family souvenirs, which were without value to him,
but which my father and I highly esteemed on account
of their origin.
[72]
CHAPTER NINE
1789
FALL OF THE BASTILLE
Mme. de Genlis. — Education of the Young Orleans Princes. —
Pamela. — Horse Races at Vincennes. — First Popular
Meetings. — Residence at Versailles. — Session of the Open-
ing of the States-General. — Attitude of the King and
Queen. — Feebleness of the Court. — Departure of Mon-
sieur Necker. — The 14 July 1789. — Return of Mme.
de La Tour du Pin to Paris. — The Waters of Forges.
THE winter of 1789, which was cold and dis-
astrous for the people, in society was as
brilliant as usual with spectacles and balls.
During this time circumstances led me to make a
very curious acquaintance. Mme. de Genlis was gou-
verneur of the young Orleans Princes and of their
sister Louise. This unusual title of gouverneur was
one which the Due d'Orleans had wished to give her.
On his demanding permission of the King, Louis XVI,
the latter replied, shrugging his shoulders and turn-
ing on his heel: "Gouverneur ou Gouvernante! vous
etes le maitre de faire ce qu'il vous plaira; d'ailleurs,
le Comte d'Artois a des enfants."
Mme. de Genlis lived in a pavilion of the Convent
of Belle-Chasse, which was situated at the end of the
Rue de Belle-Chasse, in the Rue Saint-Dominique.
This pavilion, which was very small, was composed
of a rez-de-chaussee, which you entered immediately
[73]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
from the street, after having mounted several steps
covered by an auvent under which carriages could
penetrate if the coachman was not too maladroit.
A vestibule, where the servants remained, served as
an antechamber. Mme. de Genlis occupied this small
pavilion with Mile. d'Orleans who was then thirteen
years of age. She had with her Pamela, afterwards
Lady Fitz-Gerald, of whom I shall speak later on, and
Henriette de Sercey, both of whom were being brought
up with the Princess. The Princes themselves did not
sleep in the pavilion. They were brought there at
an early hour of the morning and returned in the
evening after supper, with their sous-gouverneur, to
sleep at the Palais-Royal. As I had often met them,
and as I was very friendly with Mme. de Valence,
the daughter of Mme. de Genlis, Mme. de Montesson
invited me to come to see her when the young
Princes were there. Mme. de Genlis had taken a
great fancy to me, and wished to have me present
at the little soirees dansantes which she gave once a
week during this winter. The dances always finished
before eleven o'clock and were not followed by a
supper.
The Due de Chartres, afterwards King Louis-
Philippe, had commenced to go out in society, that
is to say, he was sometimes present at the suppers
at the Palais-Royal. He had entered the Army and
had the cordon bleu. He was a fat boy, very awkward
and uncouth, with pale and hanging cheeks, an air
at once sly, serious and timid. He was said to be well
informed and even learned. It would be unjust to
assert, nevertheless, that Mme. de Genlis' system
[74]
FALL OF THE BASTILLE
of education had not its good side, especially when
you compared it with the one adopted for his two
pupils by the Due de Serent, gouverneur of the chil-
dren of the Comte d'Artois. No one ever saw them,
and they remained as great strangers to France as
if they were to reign in China. The Orleans Princes,
on the other hand, devoted their promenades and
their recreations to everything which could instruct
them. They learned at the same time that they were
amused. This rendered them popular, and events
have shown that the one of the three who survived
profited by his experience.
Since I have mentioned the name of Pamela, let us
speak a moment of her origin. Mme. de Genlis let
people understand that she had found the child in
England, but everybody thought that she was the
daughter of herself and the Due d'Orleans (Egalite).
Strangely enough, however, I have reason to believe
that the assertion of Mme. de Genlis was the truth.
My aunt, Lady Jerningham, had known intimately
in Shropshire, where her husband had a large estate,
a clergyman who was also acquainted with Mme. de
Genlis. This clergyman stated that he had received
a letter from Mme. de Genlis asking him to find for
her a young girl whom she wished to adopt. The
Curate said that he had found such a child and that
he had sent her to a place in London which had been
indicated to him, and Lady Jerningham had no
doubt but that this child was Pamela.
At the age of fifteen, when I knew her, you could
not imagine anything more delicate than her. face,
which had not a defect nor even an imperfection.
[75]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
She was as beautiful as a young goddess. All of her
movements were graceful; her smile was angelic;
her teeth like pearls. In 1792, at the age of eighteen,
she turned the head of Lord Edward Fitz-Gerald,
fifth son of the Duke of Leinster, who married her
and took her to Ireland, where he was head of the
insurgents — "United Irishmen." On the death of
her husband she returned to the Continent and
established herself at Hamburg, where she married
the American consul, Mr. Pitcairn. I shall speak of
her later on.
In the spring of 1789, after the winter which had
been so cruel for the poor, and after the opening of
the States-General, never had people shown them-
selves more disposed to amusement, without being
embarrassed in any way by the public misery. There
were races at Vincennes, where the horses of the
Due d'Orleans ran against those of the Comte
d'Artois. It was when returning from the last of
these races with Mme. de Valence in her carriage
that, in passing through the Rue Saint-Antoine, we
came upon the first of the public Assemblies of this
epoch.
The elections being terminated, every one made
arrangements to establish himself at Versailles. All
the members of the States-General searched for
apartments in the city. Those who were attached to
the Court, arranged to occupy the apartments re-
served for them in the Chateau. My aunt had her
lodging there and I lived with her. Her quarters
FALL OF THE BASTILLE
were located very high, over the Gallery of the
Princes, and were situated in the wing of the Chateau
fronting on the Parterre du Midi and the Terrasse
de TOrangerie. The room which I occupied looked
out on the roofs, while that of my aunt faced the
terrace and had a very fine view. We occupied these
lodgings Saturday nights only. Monsieur de Poix,
as Governor of Versailles, had at his disposal a
charming little house with a pretty garden at the
Menagerie, which was a small isolated chateau situ-
ated in the Grand Pare at the extremity of one of
the arms of the canal, opposite the Trianon. He
loaned this to my aunt, and here we settled with our
servants, her horses and mine, that is to say, my
saddle-horses and my English groom. This lodging
was very agreeable. All of our acquaintances were
established at Versailles, and we attended with
pleasure, and without anxiety, the opening of
this Assembly which was to regenerate France.
When I reflect now upon this blindness, I can only
conceive it as possible for young people like myself.
As for men of affairs, and the Ministers, the thing
seems inexplicable.
My husband was so put out because he had not
been elected Deputy to the States-General that he
did not wish to be present at the opening of the
session. The spectacle was magnificent, but as it has
been so often described in the memoirs of the time,
I shall not speak of it. The King wore the costume
of the "cordons bleus" and all the Princes the same,
with the difference only that the King's costume was
more richly ornamented and covered with diamonds.
[77]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
This good Prince had no dignity of carriage. He held
himself badly and waddled ; his movements were
brusque and ungraceful, and his shortsightedness,
inasmuch as it was not customary then to wear
glasses, caused him to squint. His speech, although
very short, was given in a resolute tone. The Queen
was remarkable for her great dignity, but you could
see by the almost convulsive movements of her fan
that she was very much moved.
The address of Monsieur Necker, Minister of
Finance, bored me to death. It lasted more than two
hours and, to my nineteen years, seemed eternal.
The first of June my husband and the other
Colonels rejoined their regiments. He was in garrison
at Valenciennes, and consequently was not connected
with the troops which had been assembled at the
gates of Paris, under the command of Marechal de
Broglie. Owing to the fatal feebleness which was al-
ways shown at the moment when firmness was
necessary, the Government did not employ these
troops at the opportune moment. The Queen showed
only discontent without ever deciding to act.
Meanwhile there was no material change in the
system of etiquette which enveloped the Court.
Every day I wrote my husband the news which I
had gathered. These letters, which would have been
of great assistance to me in writing these souvenirs,
I did not preserve.
The first event which seemed to me serious was
the withdrawal of Monsieur Necker from the Minis-
try. It was the extraordinary conditions of his de-
parture, rather than the consequences, which struck
[78]
FALL OF THE BASTILLE
me. I had made a visit to the Contr die-General the
eve of the day that we were to set out, my aunt and
I, to visit the Marechal de Beauvau at his country
house of Le Val, at the end of the terrace of Saint-
Germain. While we were taking luncheon in the
pavilion in the garden, a valet de chambre arrived
very much troubled and inquired of the Marechal
if he knew where Monsieur Necker was. He added
that the evening before, on returning from the
Council, the Minister had gotten into a carriage
with Mme. Necker, saying that he was going to take
supper at Le Val, and that since then he had not
been seen, and no one knew where to find him. This
disappearance very much disturbed us, and my aunt
wished to return to Versailles, or rather to the
Menagerie, where we were established. On arriving
there the mystery was unveiled. The horses of Mon-
sieur Necker had returned to Versailles after having
conducted their master to Bourget. From this place
he had taken the post to go to Switzerland by way
of the Low Countries. His intention, in so leaving
the Ministry, was to avoid testimonials of his popu-
larity which his departure could not have failed to
evoke.
Mme. de Montesson, who was at Paris, had formed
the plan of going to Berny to pass the summer.
Loving the world as she did, she would doubtless
have preferred to establish herself for the season at
Versailles, which was then the centre of society and
affairs. But her position with regard to the Court
did not permit this. Berny was not very far from
Versailles and she could go there in two hours by
[79]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
the Sceaux road. She therefore decided to establish
herself there with Mme. de Valence and invited
me to come and pass a month or six weeks.
The thirteenth of July therefore I sent off my
saddle-horses, with my English groom, who hardly
spoke French, and ordered him to go by way of
Paris in order to secure certain articles which were
necessary. I relate this little incident as proof that
no one had the least idea of what was to happen in
Paris the following day. The little army which was
assembled in the Plain of Crenelle and the Champ-
de-Mars reassured the Court, and although there
were desertions every day, no one was disturbed.
When you remember that my personal position
put me in the way of knowing everything; that
Monsieur de Lally, an influential member of the
Assembly, lived with my aunt and myself at the
little house of the Menagerie; that I went every day
to supper at Versailles with Mme. de Poix, whose
husband was Captain of the Guards and a member
of the Assembly, and saw the King every evening,
you will be very much surprised at what I am going
to relate.
Our security was so profound that the 14 July
at noon we had no idea, my aunt and myself, that
there was the slightest tumult at Paris, and I got
into my carriage with a maid, and a domestic on the
box, to go to Berny by the highway to Sceaux
which traverses the Bois de Verrieres. It is true that
this route, that of Versailles to Choisy-le-Roi, does
not pass through any villages and is very solitary.
[80]
FALL OF THE BASTILLE
I recall that I had dined at an early hour at Versailles
so as to arrive at Berny in my apartment before
supper, which in the country was served at nine
o'clock. On arriving at Berny, I was surprised, after
having entered the first court, to see no one and to
find the stables deserted, the doors closed and the
same solitude in the court of the chateau. The con-
cierge, who knew me well, on hearing the carriage
came out on the step and cried with a troubled air:
"Eh! mon Dieu, madame! Madame n'est pas ici.
Personne n'est sorti de Paris. On a tire le canon de
la Bastille. II y a eu un massacre. Quitter la ville
est impossible. Les portes sont barricadees et gardees
par les Gardes Francaises qui se sont revokes avec
le peuple."
You can conceive of my astonishment — greater
even than my anxiety; but as unforeseen cir-
cumstances, in spite of my youth, did not greatly
disconcert me, I ordered the carriage to turn around
and conduct me to the poste aux chevaux of Berny,
where I knew the master to be a worthy man, very
devoted to Mme. de Montesson and her friends. I
told him of my desire to return immediately to
Versailles. He confirmed to me the story of the
concierge. My hired coachman, however, declared
that he would not return to Versailles for anything
in the world. I then arranged to have hitched up
four post horses with two postilions, for whom the
master vouched as determined fellows, and we set
out at a full gallop to return to Versailles. I arrived
there at eleven o'clock. My aunt, who had a head-
ache, was already in bed. She had not seen Mme.
[81]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
de Poix, and Monsieur de Lally had not returned.
She therefore knew nothing. On seeing me at her
bedside she thought that she had a bad dream or
that my head was turned. As for myself, I confess
that the fate of my English groom and my three
horses worried me more than anything else.
The next morning at an early hour we were at
the Chateau. My aunt went to look for news, while
I hastened to my father-in-law, from whom I
learned everything that had passed: the taking of
the Bastille ; the revolt of the regiment of the French
Guards; the deaths of MM. de Launay and Flesselles
and of many others who were more obscure ; the use-
less charge upon the Place Louis XV of the squad-
ron Royal-Allemand, commanded by the Prince de
Lambesc. The following day a deputation of the
people forced Monsieur de La Fayette to place him-
self at the head of the National Guard which had
been instituted.
Seven or eight days after the 14 July, Monsieur
de La Tour du Pin arrived en secret at Versailles from
his garrison, as he was much disturbed regarding his
father and myself. The Ministry of War did not dis-
approve of this slight infraction, and a leave of
absence was given him at the request of his father
who was glad to have his son beside him. Neverthe-
less, after the visit of the King to Paris, which had
been required by the Commune, and the return of
Monsieur Necker, who had been brought back in the
hope of calming the excitement, my husband, who
did not think that his father should accept the posi-
[82]
FALL OF THE BASTILLE
tion of Minister of War, which had been offered him,
wished to leave Versailles in order not to influence
his father in his determination.
I had been ordered to go to the Springs of Forges
in Normandy, and the month which we spent there
is one of the periods of my life which I recall with
the greatest pleasure. Having sent our saddle-horses,
we made long promenades every day in the beautiful
woods and pretty country which surround this little
city. We had brought with us a great variety of books
and my husband, an indefatigable reader, read them
to me while I occupied myself with embroidery and
other handiwork.
CHAPTER TEN
1789
VERSAILLES INVADED BY THE MOB
Monsieur de La Tour du Pin Pere, Minister of War. — Official
Dinners. — Commencement of the Emigration. — Ruin of
the La Tour du Pin Family. — The Controls-General and
Mme. de Stael. — Organization of the National Guard of
Versailles. — Monsieur de La Tour du Pin, Second in Com-
mand.— The National Guard of Paris and Monsieur de
La Fayette. — Banquet of the Gardes du Corps at the
Chateau. — Day of the 5th of October. — The King at the
Hunt. — Paris Marches on Versailles. — Arrangements for
the Defence. — The Women of Paris at Versailles. — Revolt
of the National Guard of Versailles. — Plan for the De-
parture of the Royal Family for Rambouillet. — Invasion
of the Offices of the Ministry. — Hesitation of the King. —
Monsieur de La Fayette with the King. — Calm Re-
established.— Day of the 6th of October. — An Armed
Band Invades the Chateau. — Massacre of the Gardes du
Corps. — Attempted Assassination of the Queen. — Presence
of the Due d'Orleans. — Departure of the Royal Family
for Paris. — The King Confides the Guard of the Palace
of Versailles to Monsieur de La Tour du Pin. — Mme. de
La Tour du Pin Takes Refuge at Saint-Germain.
SEVERAL days after the events which I have
just recounted, my husband received a courier
announcing the nomination of his father as
Minister of War. We immediately set out for Ver-
sailles. This was the commencement of my public
life. My father-in-law took up his quarters in the
[84]
VERSAILLES INVADED BY THE MOB
War Department, which was installed in that part
of the Palace forming the southern wing of the Cour
des Ministres. He put me at the head of his mansion
to do the honors, together with my sister-in-law, who
was also lodged at the Ministry, but who, at the end
of two months, was obliged to leave us. With my
husband I occupied a fine apartment on the first
floor. I had become so accustomed at Montpellier
and Paris to state dinners that my new situation
did not in any way embarrass me. There were two
dinners a week of twenty-four covers, to which were
invited all the members of the Assembly in turn.
Their wives were never invited. Mme. de Lameth
and I were seated facing each other, and we had be-
side us the four individuals of the most importance,
chosen always from the different parties. Inasmuch
as we were at Versailles, the men, without exception,
were always in full dress at these dinners, and I re-
member Monsieur de Robespierre, in an apple-green
costume, with a mass of white hair which was well
dressed. Mirabeau was the only one who did not
come and was never invited. I often went out to
supper — sometimes to the houses of our colleagues,
and sometimes to those of persons established at
Versailles during the period of the National Assembly.
Two days after the taking of the Bastille, the
fourteenth of July, the Comte d'Artois, with his
children, left France and went to Turin to his father-
in-law, the King of Sardinia. Several persons of his
household accompanied him, among others, Monsieur
d'Henin, the Captain of his Guards. The Queen,
thinking that the popular feeling might compromise
[85]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
the security of the Polignac family, arranged for
them also to leave France. Mme. de Polignac took
with her her daughter, the Duchesse de Gramont,
and I saw her for the last time on the eve of her
departure.
Everything in France follows the custom, and that
of emigration commenced at this time. All began to
raise money upon their property in order to carry
away a large sum. Nobody at that time foresaw the
consequences that would follow this action.
Nevertheless, the motion adopted the night of the
fourth of August, which destroyed feudal rights,
should have proved to the most incredulous that the
National Assembly would not stop at this beginning
of robbery. My father-in-law was ruined, and we
have never recovered from this blow to our fortune.
Entire spoliation was not decreed at this time ; they
only settled the rate at which property could be re-
acquired ; but before the expiration of the date fixed
for the payment of this sum, it was decided that such
payment could not be made. In fine, everything was
lost. By a stroke of the pen we were ruined. Since
then we have been obliged to live by expedients,
from the proceeds of the sale of what remained to us.
At this time I did not realize that my grandmother,
who during the past six months had retired to Haute-
fontaine with my uncle, the Archbishop, was also
to entirely deprive me of my fortune, upon which I
had every reason to count. I could not foresee that
my uncle, who still enjoyed an income of over 400,000
francs, of which he could not spend one fourth part,
in the retreat where he lived, would leave, when he
[86]
VERSAILLES INVADED BY THE MOB
departed from France the following year, nearly two
million francs of debts in which my grandmother was
compromised.
We did not at once realize all the consequences of
the ruin which had come to us. My father-in-law as
Minister received a salary of 300,000 francs, besides
his income as Lieutenant-General and Commander of
a province. However, he was obliged to keep up an
expensive establishment, and besides the two state
dinners a week of twenty-four covers, we gave two
elegant suppers to which I invited twenty-five or
thirty ladies.
Mme. Necker, the wife of the Controle -General, or
to speak more correctly, of the Prime Minister, lived
on a footing similar to our own. But as she rarely
went out, she received every day at supper the
Deputies and the savants, together with the admirers
of her daughter, who was then in the full flush of her
youth, interested at the same time in politics, science,
intrigue and love. Mme. de Stael lived with her
father at the ministerial residence at Versailles, and
it was at this period that she was the most involved
with Alexandre de Lameth, who at the time was
still the friend of my husband. This friendship,
which dated from their youth, disturbed me. I had
a very poor opinion of the morality of this young
man, and my sister-in-law shared my feeling in this
respect. Therefore, when several months later my
husband completely broke with him and his brother
Charles, we were delighted. Although I was on a
footing of intimate relations with Mme. de Stael,
these never went so far as confidence in her.
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
This woman was a strange mixture of good and bad
qualities, of which I have often endeavored to explain
the connection. Her good qualities were tarnished by
the passions to which she easily gave way. Neverthe-
less, it would be wrong to think that I considered
her as really a licentious person. In spite of every-
thing, she always exacted a certain delicacy of senti-
ment, and she was susceptible to passions which
were very strong and very ardent as long as they
lasted. Thus it was that she passionately loved Mon-
sieur de Narbonne, who abandoned her in a very
unworthy manner.
At this time the National Guard was being organ-
ized throughout the kingdom on the model of that
of Paris, of which Monsieur de La Fayette was
Generalissimo. The King himself desired that that of
Versailles should be formed and that all the clerks
and employes of the Ministry should become mem-
bers. In the Comte d'Estaing a bad choice was made
for the Commander. My father had served under his
orders at the beginning of the American war and
had the most positive proofs that the Comte was
lacking not only in ability but in courage. However,
on his return he was loaded with praise, whereas my
father, to whom he owed his first success, as it was
the Dillon Regiment which took Grenade, received
after the war only neglect. It was due to the request
of the Queen that Monsieur d'Estaing was named as
Commander-in-chief of the National Guard of Ver-
sailles. My father-in-law appointed his son as second
in command, which was equivalent to the real com-
[88]
VERSAILLES INVADED BY THE MOB
mand, as Monsieur d'Estaing never occupied himself
with his duties except when he was unable to avoid
it. Monsieur Berthier, who was later Prince de Wa-
gram, a very distinguished officer of the General
Staff, was named as Major-General . He was a worthy
man who had talent as organizer, but the feebleness
of his character left him open to all kinds of intrigues.
The day of Saint-Louis it was customary for the
magistrates and officers of the city of Paris to bring
their felicitations to the King. This year the National
Guard wished also to take part in this function, and
the Generalissimo, Monsieur de La Fayette, went to
Versailles with his staff, at the same time as Monsieur
Bailly, the Mayor of Paris, and all of the municipal
officers. The fish-women also came as usual to bring
a bouquet to the King. The Queen received them all
ceremoniously in the salon vert, adjoining her bed-
chamber. The ordinary etiquette of these receptions
was followed. The Queen, as usual, wore a dress
which was very much trimmed and covered with
diamonds. She was seated in a large fauteuil with a
kind of small stool at her feet. At right and left,
seated upon stools, were several Duchesses in full
dress, and behind them, all the ladies and gentlemen
of the household.
The usher announced: "La ville de Paris !" The
Queen expected that the Mayor would kneel as he
had done in previous years, but Monsieur Bailly, on
entering, only made a deep bow, to which the Queen
responded by a nod of the head which was not very
cordial. He delivered a short address, very well
written, in which he spoke of devotion, of attach-
[89]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
ment and also a little of the fear of the people re-
garding the shortage of food, with which they were
menaced every day.
Then Monsieur de La Fayette advanced and pre-
sented the Staff of the National Guard. The Queen
turned red, and I saw that her emotion was very
great. She stammered several words in a trembling
voice and then dismissed them with a nod of the
head. They went away very much displeased with
her, as I have since learned. This unfortunate
Princess never considered the importance of the cir-
cumstances in which she found herself. She was in-
fluenced by the feelings of the moment, without con-
sidering the consequences. These officers of the
National Guard, whom a gracious word would have
won, went away in bad humor and spread their
discontent throughout Paris. All this increased the
ill-feeling which they had towards the Queen and of
which the Due d'Orleans was the first author.
The National Guard of Versailles, like the other
troops of the kingdom, wished to have flags, and it
was decided that these should be solemnly con-
secrated at Notre-Dame-de- Versailles. A deputation
of the principal officers, with Monsieur d'Estaing at
their head, came to request me to interest myself
in the ceremony of this benediction. If any one had
told me, at the time, that the modest Major of the
National Guard, Berthier, whose father was steward
of the War Department, would become the Sovereign
Prince of Neufchatel and that he would wed a German
Princess, I should have laughed at such a tale; but
we have seen others even more remarkable !
[90]
VERSAILLES INVADED BY THE MOB
I was present at this very brilliant and very solemn
ceremony where there were deputations from all the
military corps present at Versailles. During this
high mass, which was very long, I had time to
reflect upon the march of events. Hardly fourteen
months before, I had been present the day of Pente-
cost in the Chapel of Versailles, at a meeting of the
chapter of the cordons bleus, at which were present
the King and all the Princes of the Royal House, of
whom several had already left France.
The regiment of Flandre-Infanterie, of which the
Marquis de Lusignan, a Deputy, was Colonel, had
been ordered to Versailles. At this time the Gardes
du Corps wished to offer a dinner to the officers of
this regiment of Flanders and to those of the National
Guard. They requested that for this purpose they
should be allowed to use the large Salle des Spectacles
de la Cour, at the end of the gallery of the Chapel.
This superb hall could be converted into a ball-room by
placing over the parterre a floor on a level with the
boxes, and the permission was given them. The dinner
commenced rather late and the theatre was brilliantly
illuminated, which would have been necessary under
any circumstances, as there were no windows.
My sister-in-law and I went, towards the end of
the dinner, to view the scene which was really magni-
ficent. Toasts were being proposed, and my husband,
who came to meet us and to conduct us to one of
the first tier boxes, had time to tell us very low that
the officers were very much excited and that in-
considerate words had been uttered.
[91]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
All at once it was announced that the King and
Queen were coming to the banquet — a very im-
prudent step which had the worst possible after-
effect. The sovereigns appeared in a box with the
little Dauphin who was about five years of age.
There were enthusiastic cries of: "Vive le Roi!" A
Swiss officer approached the box and asked the
Queen to confide to him the Dauphin, in order to
make the round of the hall. She consented and the
poor little fellow was not at all afraid. The officer
put the child on the table and he made the round
very boldly, smiling and not at all frightened by the
cries which he heard around him. The Queen was
not so calm, and when the child was brought back
to her, she embraced him tenderly. We left as soon
as the King and Queen had retired. The next day
the opposition journals, of which several were al-
ready in existence, did not fail to give a description
of the "orgy" at Versailles.
The fourth of October there was a shortage of
bread at several bakers in Paris and a great deal of
tumult. One of these bakers was hung, in spite of the
efforts of Monsieur de La Fayette and the National
Guard. Nevertheless, at Versailles no one was
alarmed. They thought that this revolt was similar
to those which had already taken place and that the
National Guard, of whose loyalty they felt sure,
would be able to control the people. Several messages
which came to the King and to the President of the
Chambers were so reassuring that the fifth of October,
at ten o'clock in the morning, the King set out for
[92]
VERSAILLES INVADED BY THE MOB
the hunt in the wood of Verrieres, while I myself,
after dejeuner, went to rejoin Mme. de Valence who
had come to Versailles. We went for a drive in the
garden of Mme. Elisabeth at the end of the Grande
Avenue. As we descended from the carriage to
traverse the contre-allee, we saw a man on horse-
back pass near us at full gallop. It was the Due de
Maille, who cried out to us : " Paris is marching here
with cannon!" This news greatly frightened us, and
we returned at once to Versailles, where the alarm
had been given.
My husband had gone to the Assembly without
knowing anything. We were not in ignorance of the
fact that there was a great deal of tumult in Paris ;
but we were not able to learn anything more, be-
cause the gates had been closed and no one was
permitted to go out. Monsieur de La Tour du Pin,
in searching in the corridors for a person with wThom
he wished to speak, passed behind a large man whom
he did not at once recognize, who was saying: "Paris
is marching here with twelve pieces of cannon."
This personage was Mirabeau, then strongly allied
with the Due d'Orleans. My husband hastened to
his father, who was already in conference with the
other Ministers. The first thing that they did was
to send in every direction where they thought the
hunt might have led the King, to warn him to return.
My husband occupied himself in assembling the
National Guard, in whom he was far from having
confidence. He ordered the Flanders Regiment to
take their arms and to occupy the Place d'Armes.
The Gardes du Corps saddled their horses. Couriers
[93]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
were sent out to call the Swiss from Courbevoie.
Messengers were sent out at every moment on the
highway to obtain news of what was going on. It
was learned that an innumerable mob of men with
many women were marching upon Versailles; that
after this kind of advance guard came the National
Guard of Paris with their cannon, followed by a large
troop of individuals marching without order. There
was no longer time to defend the bridge of Sevres.
The National Guard of that city had already given
it up to the women and had fraternized with the
Guard of Paris. My father-in-law wished to send the
Flanders Regiment to cut off the road from Paris,
but the National Assembly had declared itself in a
permanent session, the King was absent, and there
was no one present to take the initiative in any
hostile demonstration.
During this time the drums beat the call to as-
semble the National Guard. They came together on
the Place d'Armes and were placed in battle order
with their backs to the railing of the Cour Royale.
The Flanders Regiment had its left wing on the
Grande Ecurie and its right on the railing. The post
of the interior of the Cour Royale and that of the
Chapel were occupied by the Swiss, of whom there
was always a strong detachment at Versailles. The
gates everywhere were closed. All the outlets of the
Chateau were barricaded, and the doors, which had
not turned on their hinges since the days of Louis
XIV, were closed for the first time.
Finally, at about three o'clock, the King and his
suite arrived at full gallop by the Grande Avenue.
[94]
VERSAILLES INVADED BY THE MOB
This unfortunate Prince, instead of stopping and
addressing a kind word to this fine Flanders Regi-
ment, before which he passed, and which cried:
"Vive le Roi!" did not say a single word to them.
He went to shut himself up in his apartment, from
which he did not come out. The National Guard of
Versailles, which was making its first campaign, com-
menced to murmur and to declare that it would not
fire upon the people of Paris. There were no cannon at
Versailles.
The advance guard of two or three hundred women
commenced to arrive and to spread out in the Avenue.
Many entered the Assembly and said that they had
come to look for bread and to take the Deputies to
Paris. Night came on, and several gun shots were
heard. They came from the ranks of the National
Guard and were directed against my husband, their
commander, whom they had refused to obey, by re-
maining at their post. My husband escaped by a
miracle and, realizing the fact that his troop had
abandoned him, he went to take a place in front of
the Gardes du Corps, who were drawn up in battle
order near the Petite Ecurie. But these troops, which
comprised only the company of Gramont, were so
few in number that any idea of defence was thought
impossible.
At this moment, my father-in-law and Monsieur
de Saint-Priest offered the advice that the King
should retire to Rambouillet with his family and
await there any propositions which might be made
to him by the insurgents of Paris and by the National
Assembly. The King at first accepted this plan. At
[95]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
about eight or nine o'clock a company of the Gardes
du Corps was ordered to the Cour Royale, which
they entered by the gate of the Rue de la Sur-In-
tendance, now the Rue Gambetta. From here they
passed by the Terrasse de 1'Orangerie, under the
windows of the apartments of Queen Marie-An-
toinette, traversed the Little Park and gained, by
the Menagerie, the Grande Route to Saint-Cyr.
There was left of this troop at Versailles only suf-
ficient men to relieve the posts in the apartments of
the King and Queen. The Suisses and the Cent-
Suisses guarded their own posts.
It was at this moment that two or three hundred
women, who for an hour had been hovering around
the gates, discovered a little door opening upon the
Rue du Grand-Commun, which was a prolongation
of the Rue de la Chancellerie. This door gave access
to a secret staircase which ended under that part of
the building where we had our quarters in the Cour
des Ministres. Some traitor had probably shown
them this entrance. They entered in a crowd, knock-
ing down the Swiss guard posted at the top of the
stairway, then spread through the court and gained
the quarters of the four Ministers which were located
in this part of the building. My husband returned at
this moment to bring news to his sister and myself.
Very much disturbed to find us in such bad company,
he accompanied us into the Chateau. My sister-in-
law had taken the precaution of sending her children
to the house of a deputy, one of our friends, who was
lodged in the city. Guided by Monsieur de La Tour
du Pin, we ascended to the Gallery where we found
[96]
^"JLOUISE HEGJCEli
BARONNE DE §TAEL-HOLSTEIK
1766 - 1817
VERSAILLES INVADED BY THE MOB
already gathered a number of persons living in the
Chateau, who had come from their apartments to be
nearer the source of news.
During this time the King, still hesitating as to
what decision to make, was no longer willing to de-
part for Rambouillet. He consulted everybody. The
Queen, equally undecided, could not make up her
mind to this flight by night. My father-in-law went
down on his knees to the King to implore him to put
himself and his family in a place of security. The
Ministers would have remained to treat with the
insurgents and the Assembly. But the King, repeat-
ing continually, "I do not wish to compromise any
one," thus lost a precious period of time. At one time
it was thought that he was going to yield, and the
order was given to prepare the carriages for de-
parture. For two hours they had been ready waiting
in the Grande Ecurie. No one seemed to think
that the people of Versailles would oppose the de-
parture of the Royal family. This, however, is what
happened. The moment that the crowd of people
from Paris and Versailles who were assembled on the
Place d'Armes saw the gate of the court of the
Grande Ecurie opened, there was a unanimous cry
of fear and fury: "Le roi s'en va!" At the same mo-
ment they rushed upon the carriages, cut the harness
and led the horses back, so that it was necessary to
bring word to the Chateau that the departure was
impossible. My father-in-law and Monsieur de Saint-
Priest then offered our carriages, which were hitched
up outside the railing of the Orangerie, but the King
and the Queen rejected this proposition, and every
[97]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
one, discouraged, frightened and fearing the greatest
misfortunes, remained in silence and suspense.
In this Gallery, witness of all the splendors of the
monarchy since Louis XIV, every one walked up and
down without exchanging a word. The Queen re-
mained in her room with Mme. Elisabeth, the sister
of Louis XVI, and the wife of the Comte de Provence.
The Salon de Jeu, hardly lighted, was full of women
who were talking in low tones — some seated on
stools and others upon the tables. As for myself, my
agitation was so great that I could not remain for a
moment in the same place. Every few minutes I
went to the &il-de-boruf, from which one could see
those who entered and who came out of the King's
apartment, in the hope of encountering my husband
or my father-in-law and of learning from them some
news. The wait to me seemed intolerable.
Finally at midnight, my husband, who had been
in the court for some time, came to announce that
Monsieur de La Fayette had arrived before the gate
of the Cour des Ministres, with the National Guard
of Paris, and requested to speak with the King. He
added that a part of this Guard, composed of the
former Regiment des Gardes, was manifesting much
impatience and that the least delay might lead to
trouble and even danger.
The King then said: "Have Monsieur de La Fa-
yette come up." In an instant Monsieur de La Tour
du Pin was at the gate, and Monsieur de La Fayette,
dismounting from his horse, and so fatigued that he
was hardly able to stand upright, ascended to the
King's apartment accompanied by seven or eight
£98]
VERSAILLES INVADED BY THE MOB
persons, mostly from his staff. Very much moved he
addressed the King in these terms: "Sire, j'ai pense
qu'il valait mieux venir ici, mourir aux pieds de Votre
Majeste, que de perir inutilement sur la Place de
Greve." To these words the King replied: "Que
veulent-ils done?" La Fayette said: "Le peuple
demande du pain, et la Garde desire reprendre ses
anciens postes aupres de Votre Majeste." The King
said: "Well, let them do so."
These words were immediately reported to me. My
husband descended with Monsieur de La Fayette,
and the National Guard of Paris, composed almost
exclusively of the Gardes Fran^aises, resumed at
once their former posts. Thus it happened that at
every outer door where there had been a Swiss
guard, a member of the Guard of Paris was posted,
and the rest, made up of several hundred men, were
sent to bivouac, as usual, upon the Place d'Armes,
in a long building comprising several large halls
constructed and painted in the form of tents.
During this time the people of Paris had left the
vicinity of the Chateau and had dispersed in the city
and the cabarets. The women, who had invaded the
offices of the Ministry, were sleeping everywhere on
the floor. The principal leaders of the women had
taken refuge in the hall of the National Assembly
where they remained during the night mingled with
the Deputies, who were being relieved in order to
keep up the permanent session.
I think that Monsieur de La Fayette, after having
established his posts of the National Guard, went to
the Assembly, whence he returned to the Chateau
[99]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
with Mme. de Poix, whose quarters were near the
chapel in the gallery of that name. As for Monsieur
d'Estaing, he had not appeared during the whole day
and had remained in the cabinet of the King, taking
no more responsibility for the National Guard of
Versailles than as if he had not been their com-
mander-in-chief. Monsieur de La Tour du Pin had
brought together a small number of the officers of
his staff, upon whom he thought he could count,
among whom was Major Berthier. But the majority
of the officers at this advanced hour had retired to
their own quarters or to the houses of persons of
their acquaintance.
The King, to whom they had reported that the
most absolute calm reigned at Versailles, which at
that moment was really true, dismissed all the persons
who were still present in the ceil-de-bceuf or in his
cabinet. The ushers came to the Gallery to tell the
ladies who were still there that the Queen had retired.
The doors were closed, the candles extinguished, and
my husband escorted us back to the apartment of my
aunt, which was situated above the Galerie des
Princes, at the top of the south wing of the Chateau.
He did not wish to take us back to our rooms in the
Ministry on account of the women who were sleeping
in the antechambers and who caused us great disgust.
After having placed us in security in this apart-
ment, he redescended to find his father and pray
him to go to bed, saying that he himself would
watch during the night. He went to his room to put
on an overcoat over his uniform, for the night was
cold and damp; then, taking a round hat, he
[100]
VERSAILLES INVADED BY THE MOB
descended to the court and proceeded to visit the
posts. He went through the courts, the passages and
the garden to assure himself that it was quiet every-
where. He did not hear the least noise, either around
the Chateau or in the adjacent streets. The different
posts were relieved with vigilance, and the guard
which was installed in the large tent upon the Place
d'Armes, and which had placed the cannon in form
of battery before the gate, was performing its service
with the same regularity as before the 14 July.
Such is the exact account of what passed at Ver-
sailles the fifth of October.
Monsieur de La Tour du Pin, having heard noth-
ing of a nature to lead him to fear the least disorder,
returned after his nocturnal round to the office of
the Minister of War in the south wing of the Cour
des Ministres. However, instead of going to the
cabinet or to his room, which, like my own, faced
the Rue du Grand-Commun, he remained in the din-
ing-room and placed himself at a window to have the
air for fear of going to sleep. It is well to explain here
that the Cour des Princes was then closed by a gate
near which was stationed a garde du corps, for here
was the first post of the guard of the King's person,
a service which particularly devolved upon the Gardes
du Corps and the Cent-Suisses. In the interior of
this little court there was a passage which communi-
cated with the Cour Roy ale. This had been arranged
so as to enable the Gardes du Corps, who were
stationed in the Cour Royale at the corner of the
Cour Marbre, when the posts were changed, to go
out by the gate at the middle of the Cour Royale
[101]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
and reenter by that of the Cour des Princes. It will
be seen in a moment how necessary the knowledge
of this passageway was to the assassins.
Day was commencing to break. It was almost six
o'clock, and the most profound silence reigned in the
court. Monsieur de La Tour du Pin, leaning out of
the window, thought he heard the steps of a great
crowd of people which seemed to ascend the rampe
that led to the Cour des Ministres, from the Rue de la
Sur-Intendance. Then, to his great surprise, he saw a
mob of miserable creatures enter by the gate, al-
though it had been closed and locked. The key had
been obtained by an act of treason. The crowd was
armed with axes and sabres. At the same moment
my husband heard a gun-shot. During the time that
he took to descend the stairway and to have the door
ot the Ministry opened, the assassins had killed
Monsieur de Vallori, the garde du corps posted at
the gate of the Cour des Princes, and had rushed
through the passage of which I have just spoken to
fall upon the Corps de Garde of the Cour Royale.
Some of the crowd, who were not more than two
hundred in number, rushed to the marble stair-
case, while another part hurled themselves upon the
garde du corps whom his comrades had abandoned
without defence. This unfortunate man, after having
fired one shot, with which he killed the nearest of his
assailants, was immediately cut down by the others.
This task accomplished, the invaders rushed to rejoin
the other part of the band which, at this moment,
had forced aside the guard of the Cent-Suisses posted
at the top of the marble staircase.
[102]
VERSAILLES INVADED BY THE MOB
The proof that no extra precautions had been
taken, is found in the fact that the assassins, arrived
at the top of the staircase, and certainly guided by
some one who knew the route to follow, turned into
the Queen's Guardroom and fell suddenly upon the
only guard who was posted in this place. This guard
rushed to the door of the Queen's bed-chamber,
which was closed on the inside, and having rapped
several times with the cross of his mousqueton, he
cried: "Madame, save yourself! They are coming to
kill you!" Then, resolved to sell his life dearly, he
placed his back against the door, discharged his
mousqueton, and defended himself by his sabre, but
was quickly cut down by these miserable creatures
who fortunately had no fire-arms. He fell against the
door, and his body hindered the assassins from break-
ing it in. His body was pushed aside into the embra-
sure of the window, which saved his life.
During this time my sister-in-law and I were sleep-
ing in one of the apartments of my aunt, Mme.
d'Henin. My fatigue was so great that my sister-in-
law had considerable trouble in awakening me. As
neither of us was undressed, we both rushed to the
room of my aunt, which looked out upon the park,
and where she was unable to hear anything. Her fright
was equal to our own. We immediately called our
servants. Before they were awakened, my good and
devoted Marguerite came running to us, pale as
death, and tumbling upon the first chair, she cried:
"Ah! mon Dieu! nous allons tous etre massacres."
This exclamation was far from reassuring us.
Marguerite stated that she had left her room with
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
the intention of coming to ascertain whether I had
need of her services, but in descending the stair-
case, she had discovered a large number of very
ordinary people and had seen arriving a Monsieur,
with boots covered with mud, and a whip in his hand,
who was no other than the Due d'Orleans, whom she
recognized perfectly, as she had often seen him; fur-
thermore, that these miserable creatures surrounded
him and showed their joy at seeing him by crying:
"Vive notre roi d'Orleans!"
Marguerite had hardly finished this moving recital
when my husband arrived. He told us that on seeing
the assassins penetrate into the Cour Royale, he had
immediately rushed to the grand1 garde stationed
upon the Place d'Armes to have the drums beat the
alarm. We also learned from him that the Queen had
been able to save herself by going to the King's
apartment through a little passage, arranged under
the room known as the (Eil-de-Bceuf, which formed the
means of communication between her bedroom and
that of the King. He persuaded us to leave my aunt's
apartment, which was too near, in his opinion, to
those of the King and Queen, and counselled us to
rejoin Mme. de Simaine, who was lodged near the
Orangerie. The Abbe de Damas came to find us and
conduct us there.
At the end of two hours, which seemed to me
centuries, my husband sent a valet de chambre to
inform me that they were leading the King and
Queen to Paris, that the Ministers, the Administra-
tion and the National Assembly were quitting Ver-
sailles, where he himself had the order to remain to
[104]
VERSAILLES INVADED BY THE MOB
save the Chateau from pillage after the departure of
the King. He added that for this purpose they were
leaving him a Swiss battalion, the National Guard of
Versailles, of which the commander-in-chief, Mon-
sieur d'Estaing, had sent in his resignation, and a
battalion of the National Guard of Paris. For the
moment he forbade me absolutely to issue from my
refuge. I remained alone for several hours, as my
aunt had gone to Mme. de Poix, who was also
leaving for Paris, and my sister-in-law had left me
to go in search of her children and her husband.
He had just arrived from Henencourt and wished to
have her leave at once for the country. I do not
think that I ever in my life passed hours more
cruel than those of this morning. The death-cries
by which I had been awakened still resounded in my
ears. The least noise made me tremble. My imagina-
tion conjured up all the dangers which my husband
could run. My maid, Marguerite, who could have
encouraged me, was also absent. She had returned
to the Ministry to assist my servants in packing our
effects, which were to go to Paris by the wagons of
my father-in-law.
About three o'clock Mme. d'Henin returned to
look for me and announced that the sad cortege had
set out for Paris, the carriage of the King preceded
by the heads of the Gardes du Corps, which their
assassins were carrying on the ends of their pikes.
In getting into his carriage, Louis XVI had said
to Monsieur de La Tour du Pin: "Vous restez
maitre ici. Tachez de me sauver mon pauvre Ver-
sailles." This injunction was equivalent to an order,
[IOS]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
which he was firmly resolved to obey. He took
measures to carry out this order with the com-
mander of the battalion of the National Guard of
Paris who had been left with him — a man who was
very determined and who showed the best good-
will — this was Santerre !
I left my refuge with my aunt and returned to the
Ministry. A frightful solitude then reigned at Ver-
sailles. The only noise which was heard in the
Chateau was that of the doors, the blinds and the
window-shutters which were being closed for the first
time since the reign of Louis XIV. My husband made
all arrangements for the defence of the Chateau,
being convinced that as soon as night arrived, the
strange and sinister figures which he saw roaming
around the streets and the courts would come to-
gether to pillage the Chateau. Alarmed for my safety,
in view of the disorder which he foresaw, he insisted
that I should leave with my aunt.
We were not willing to go to Paris, because of the
fear that the gates would be closed upon us and
that I would find myself separated from my husband
without the power of rejoining him. My wish would
have been to remain at Versailles, as, near to my
husband, I had no fear. But he said that my presence
would paralyze the efforts which it was his duty to
make to show himself worthy of the King's con-
fidence. Finally he persuaded me to set out for Saint-
Germain and to await events in the apartment of
Monsieur de Lally, at the Chateau. This apartment
was that of my family, which my great-aunt, Mile.
Dillon, had left him entirely furnished.
[106]
VERSAILLES INVADED BY THE MOB
We made the trip in a wretched cariole, my aunt
and I, accompanied by a femme de chambre, origi-
nally from Saint-Germain. The horses and carriages
of my father-in-law had been sent to Paris, and it
was impossible to find at Versailles any other means
of transport, no matter what sum was offered. The
trip took us three long hours.
[1073
CHAPTER ELEVEN
1789-1790
VISIT TO SWITZERLAND
Residence of Mme. de La Tour du Pin at Paris. — The Minister
of War at the Hotel de Choiseul. — Birth of Humbert. —
Kindness of the Queen for Mme. de La Tour du Pin. — The
Fete of the Federation. — The Garrison of Paris. — Com-
position of the National Guard. — Monsieur de La Fayette.
— Talleyrand, Bishop of Autun. — The Spectacle at the
Champ-de-Mars. — The Royal Family. — Excursion to
Switzerland. — An Adventure at Dole. — Four Days of
Captivity. — Departure from Dole. — The Lake of Geneva.
— Revolt of the Garrison of Nancy. — Monsieur de La Tour
du Pin Sent as Parlementaire. — Suppression of the Revolt.
— Sojourn at Lausanne. — Return to Paris via Alsace.
AT the end of two weeks I left for Paris where
I stayed with my aunt, Rue de Verneuil,
until the Hotel de Choiseul, which had been
set apart for the War Department, was ready. My
father-in-law was temporarily quartered in a house
which belonged, I think, to the Menus plaisirs near
the Louvre. Every day I went there to dine with
him and to do the honors of his salon.
My aunt had persuaded Monsieur Lally, over
whom she exercised an absolute control, to abandon
the National Assembly after the Revolution of the
sixth of October. She also forced him to leave France
with Monsieur Mounier. They both retired to
[108]
VISIT TO SWITZERLAND
Switzerland. This was a very false move. It was to
desert their post on the eve of battle. However this
may be, she followed M. Lally to Switzerland, and
it was at this time that she persuaded him to marry
his former mistress, Miss Halkett, niece of Lord
Loughborough, who was then Lord Chancellor of
England. It was only for the purpose of legitimatizing
the daughter whom he had had by this woman several
years before, that he decided to espouse her, for he
had for her neither esteem nor love. But at the mo-
ment of leaving Lausanne to rejoin Miss Halkett at
Turin, he was taken ill with a terrible attack of
smallpox, of which he nearly died. The marriage
was therefore adjourned and did not take place
until the following year.
At the beginning of winter we went to take up
our quarters at the Hotel de Choiseul. It was a
superb mansion, in which I had a charming apart-
ment entirely distinct from that of my father-in-
law, with which it was connected, however, by a
door into one of the salons. A fine separate stair-
case led to my quarters, which were like a separate
house, with a view upon the gardens, which today
are all built up. My husband, who was entrusted by
his father with many important matters, was very
much occupied. I saw him only at luncheon which
we took together, and at dinner.
My father-in-law ceased to give large dinners
when we were at Paris. The dinner hour was four
o'clock. An hour after dinner, after having chatted
in the salon with several persons who came for
coffee, according to the custom at Versailles, my
C 109]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
father-in-law returned to his cabinet. I then went
back to my own apartment, whence I went out to
take part in social functions.
On arriving in Paris the Queen had given up her
theatre boxes, and this act of spite, which was
natural but also very ill-advised, had still further
turned the Parisians against her. This unfortunate
Princess had no tact, or did not wish to employ it.
She openly showed her dislike to those whose presence
displeased her. In giving way in this manner to feel-
ings of which she did not weigh the consequences
she injured the interests of the King. Although en-
dowed with great courage, she had very little esprit,
no address, and, above all, a lack of confidence,
generally unwarranted, with regard to those who
were the most disposed to serve her. After the sixth
of October, failing to appreciate that the terrible
danger which had menaced her was the result of a
plot woven by the Due d'Orleans, she let her resent-
ment fall upon all of the inhabitants of Paris in-
discriminately and avoided every occasion to appear
in public.
I missed very much the privilege of using the
Queen's boxes, and, fearing the crowd, I was not
present at any performances during the winter of
1789 and 1790. I often brought together eight or
ten persons in my apartment for little suppers, in
which my father-in-law did not take part, for he
retired at an early hour and arose very early in the
morning.
It was during the first months of 1790 that the
demagogues employed all their means to corrupt
[no]
VISIT TO SWITZERLAND
the Army. Every day bad news was received, and
my poor father-in-law was nearly overwhelmed with
the labor caused by these reports. Many officers left
France without leave, and this example of indis-
cipline, of which the other officers took advantage,
encouraged the revolt.
The nineteenth of May was born my eldest son,
who was baptised in the Parish of Saint-Eustache
and received the name of Humbert. My aunt, Mme.
d'Henin, who had come from Switzerland, was the
godmother, and my father-in-law was the godfather.
At Paris the Court was still conducted in ac-
cordance with the customs of Versailles, with the
exception of the mass, which had been abandoned.
Dinner was served as at Versailles. As soon as I was
able to leave the house, I paid a visit to the Queen,
in full costume, and was received by her with great
kindness. In leaving for Switzerland, Mme. d'Henin
had resigned her position, and the question came up
as to whether I should take her place in the Queen's
service. The Queen, however, was not in favor of
this, because there was already talk of appointing
my husband Minister to Holland, and as I would
naturally accompany him, the Queen did not think
it was worth while, if my service was to be interrupted
so soon. "Besides," said she, "who knows that I
may not expose you to dangers like those of the fifth
of October?"
I no longer recall the reasons which inspired the
idea of having all the military corps of the State
fraternize, as they called it then, by sending to Paris
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
the oldest of each grade to be present the fourteenth
of July, the anniversary of the taking of the Bastille.
The National Guards, which had been organized
throughout the kingdom during the year, were to
send deputations composed of the officers of the
highest rank. The preparatory work for receiving
them was begun at the end of June. The Champ-de-
Mars, facing the Ecole Militaire, at this time pre-
sented the appearance of a well-levelled lawn, on
which were held the exercises of the pupils of the
school and the manoeuvres of the regiments of the
Gardes Francaises.
At that time there was no garrison, either at Paris
or in the environs. The Gardes Francaises were the
only body of troops in the city, and their number did
not exceed, I think, two thousand men at the most.
They furnished a detachment at Versailles which
was changed every week. At Courbevoie there was
quartered the regiment of Swiss Guards, which was
never seen at Paris. The Gardes du Corps were com-
posed of four companies, of which only one was in
service at Versailles. The others occupied the neigh-
boring cities : Chartres, Beauvais and Saint-Germain.
No other body of troops ever appeared either at
Versailles or at Paris, where the only uniforms you
saw were those of the ser gents recruteurs for the
different regiments.
My husband had been instructed by his father to
look after all the deputations and to arrange for
their board and lodging, as well as their amusements,
for all the theatres had orders to reserve free places
for the old soldiers and boxes for the officers. A large
[U2]
D' BENIN
1749 - 1626
VISIT TO SWITZERLAND
number were lodged in the Invalides and the Ecole
Militaire. The people of Paris took part enthusi-
astically in the work undertaken at the Champ-de-
Mars. All was finished in two weeks.
Finally on the evening of the thirteenth of July,
my sister-in-law, who had just arrived at Paris, and
myself went to take up our quarters at the Ecole
Militaire, in a little apartment looking out upon the
Champ-de-Mars, so as to be on hand the following
morning. My father-in-law had sent in a fine repast,
and provisions, so as to offer a substantial dejeuner
to the soldiers who might have the intention of com-
ing to see us during the ceremony. This precaution
was all the more necessary, because at the Tuileries
they had forgotten to bring anything for the King's
children, and the Dauphin was very glad to share our
collation. The poor little Prince wore the uniform of
the National Guard, to which nearly every one at
that time belonged. In society all the men under
fifty years of age had had their names inscribed, and
performed very faithfully their service.
Monsieur de La Fayette, who has been so much
condemned, did not then think of a republic for
France, whatever may have been the ideas as to
this kind of government that he had brought back
from America. He desired as much as any of us the
establishment of a wise liberty and the abolition of
abuses, but I am certain that he had not at that time
the least idea or desire of overturning the throne,
and that he never had such a thought. The unbounded
hatred which the Queen had for him, and which she
showed every time that she dared, nevertheless
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
caused him as much chagrin as was possible in the
case of a character which was soft even to foolishness.
Yet La Fayette was not weak, as his conduct under
the Empire has well proved. He resisted all the ap-
proaches, all the offers and even the cajolery of
Napoleon. The Restoration showed itself very unjust
towards him. The Duchesse d'Angouleme had in-
herited from her mother the hatred which the Queen
bore him.
But to return to the Federation of 1790. The altar
had been erected in the Champ-de-Mars, and a mass
was celebrated by the least respectable of the French
priests. The Abbe de Perigord, since Prince Talley-
rand, had been designated as Bishop of Autun when
Monsieur Marboeuf was transferred to the diocese
of Lyon. The King, however, justly offended by his
ecclesiastical conduct, refused to confirm the appoint-
ment. In this refusal the King showed a firmness
very different from his ordinary character, but
aroused on this occasion by his conscience. However,
when the Comte de Talleyrand, father of the Abbe,
was upon his deathbed and demanded as a last
favor this appointment, which the King had previ-
ously refused, he no longer made any opposition,
and the Abbe de Perigord was appointed Bishop of
Autun. It was he who celebrated the mass of the
Federation of 1790.
No words can give any idea of this pageant. The
troops, arranged in order in the middle of the arena,
the multitude of different uniforms, mingled with
those of the National Guard, brilliant from their
newness, — all this constituted one of the most sur-
VISIT TO SWITZERLAND
prising spectacles which you could possibly see, and
which I enjoyed from the windows of the Ecole
Militaire, where I was located. In front of the middle
balcony had been constructed a fine tribune, highly
decorated. The unfortunate Royal family this day
comprised the King, the Queen, their two children,
Mme. Elisabeth, the sister of the King, and the
Comte and Comtesse de Provence. As I was still
very weak, I did not descend to the Royal tribune.
Nevertheless, I was near the Queen when she passed,
and, accustomed for a long time to the expression of
her face, I saw that she was making great efforts
to conceal her ill-humor, without succeeding well
enough either for her own interests or for those of
the King.
Towards the end of July, 1790, my health was
quite well reestablished. My aunt wished to return
to Lausanne, and my husband, knowing my desire
to see Switzerland, gave me permission to make a
trip of six weeks. Mme. de Valence was at this time
at Secheron, near Geneva, with Mme. de Montesson,
who passed the summer there. It was arranged that
I should join her and pass some time with her in a
little house which was separate from that of my aunt.
I left my son with his nurse and Marguerite at the
Hotel de la Guerre. As my maid could not accompany
me, I took with me only one servant. I travelled by a
little chaise de paste , for caleches were not then known.
My aunt and I were furnished with all possible
passports for the civil authorities, as well as for the
National Guards and the military authorities. An
[us]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
act of imprudence on the part of my aunt nearly
cost us very dear. The post where we were to change
horses at Dole was outside the city upon the route
to Besancon. Accordingly, we passed through the
city by a quiet street without any trouble. Arrived
at the post, my aunt inquired of the maitre de poste
if this route led to Geneva. He replied that to take
the route to Geneva, that of the Rousses, it was
necessary to recross the city. In vain I suggested to
my aunt that our passports stated that we were to
leave France by Pontarlier. She said that that was
of no importance, and as soon as the horses were
attached, gave the order to turn back and recross
the city to gain the route of Rousses under the pretext
that she had given a rendez-vous at Geneva to
Monsieur Lally.
Accordingly, we reentered the city. We were igno-
rant of the fact that it was necessary to pass through
the market, which was being held upon a large square.
Forced to go at a walk, in order to avoid the market
baskets and the persons in the street, we were re-
ceived with abuse. Suddenly a voice exclaimed:
"C'est la Reine!" At once we were stopped, our
horses were unhitched, our courier was dragged from
his horse, and there were cries of "A la lanterne!"
They opened the door of the carriage and ordered
us to descend, which we did, not without fear. I
stated that I was the daughter of the Minister of
War and demanded that they should take me to the
commander of the place or send to look for him. My
aunt said that she had a letter from Monsieur de La
Fayette for the commander of the National Guard.
[116]
VISIT TO SWITZERLAND
"There is his house," cried some one, and we saw
two sentinels at a door over which floated a large
tricolored flag. It was only a few steps away, and my
aunt and I entered the house, where the crowd of
people did not dare to follow us. We went through
an ante-chamber, without finding any one. From
there we entered a dining-room where there was a
table laid out with seven or eight covers. The guests
had left precipitately, and two or three over-turned
chairs testified to the haste with which they had
disappeared. My aunt refused to go farther, but rang
a bell, which she had noticed, in the hope that some
one would appear. As we had had no dejeuner, we
sat down at the table and commenced to eat the
dinner which had been abandoned. An excellent meal
satisfied our hunger, while we laughed over our ad-
venture and the cowardice of the chief of the National
Guard.
Finally, after waiting three hours, there entered a
grave personage, a kind of fat bourgeois, accompanied
by two or three other men. This individual addressed
my aunt and demanded her name. Then, pointing to
me, he said: "This young lady is your daughter?"
She replied that I was the daughter-in-law of the
Minister of War; that I knew that there was a regi-
ment of cavalry in garrison at Dole ; that I wished to
speak to the commander who would arrange, with-
out doubt, with the President of the Cummune that
we should be set at liberty. The person who had ap-
proached us stated that he himself was the President
of the Commune. My aunt, seeing that they wished
to keep us prisoners, suggested, as a means of clear-
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
ing the matter up, that a servant should be sent as a
courier to Paris, and demanded that while awaiting
his return we should be authorized to establish our-
selves at an inn. One of the members of the Commune
who accompanied the President, proposed to take us
to his house. This asylum seemed more certain than
an inn, where we might be insulted by the people.
Upon our consenting, he offered me his arm, and leav-
ing this inhospitable house, where we had eaten our
dinner without invitation, we were conducted by our
host to a mansion where we were lodged in rooms
which, although common, were quite good. Here we
were rejoined by the maid and our three servants.
We at once wrote to Paris about our misadventure,
my aunt to Monsieur de La Fayette and I to my
husband. Our host advised us not to attempt to go
out, and we resigned ourselves to remaining in this
dismal lodging on the ground floor, looking out on a
very small garden where the sun hardly penetrated
at midday.
The next morning two members of the Commune
came to interrogate us. They asked a thousand
questions and examined our papers and writing port-
folios. They demanded an account of everything we
had in our chaise de paste , also why I had so many
new shoes, if I was only going to pass six weeks in
Switzerland, as I had stated, and hundreds of other
similar absurdities which caused me to laugh in their
faces. Finally the thought occurred to me to say to
them that the officers of the city sent to Paris to the
Federation, and who ought to be back with their
regiment, having probably dined with my father-in-
[118]
VISIT TO SWITZERLAND
law, would recognize me. This idea appeared to them
a brilliant one and they went to look for the officers.
Towards the end of our first day of seclusion there
arrived the officers of Royal-Etranger who offered me
the services of their protection. I prayed the officers
to conceal their dissatisfaction, but I could not
prevent them from coming every day to call, one
after another. At the end of the fourth day the
members of the Municipality made up their minds
that they had made a foolish mistake in arresting
us and gave us permission to set out. It required
several hours to repack our carriages, and as we wished
to stop for the night at Nyon, we resolved not to set
out before the next morning at five o'clock. The next
day, with many thanks to the officers for their polite-
ness, we took the road for the Jura.
Our triumph came that very evening. The Presi-
dent of the National Assembly wrote the Mayor,
or President of the Commune, by a courier sent
expressly, a very strong reprimand on account
of our arrest. Monsieur de La Fayette also sent a
message to the commander of the National Guard.
My father-in-law entrusted our safety to the Lieu-
tenant-Colonel commanding the place. For our part,
we were glad to escape by a prompt retreat from the
honors which they wished to shower upon us to make
up for our unjust detention.
We arrived at Nyon at midnight after having
passed the frontier without difficulty. My aunt did
not find Monsieur Lally there. He was at Secheron,
where it was arranged that we should go the next
morning.
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
The next day we arrived at Secheron, where we
found Monsieur Lally and Monsieur Mounier. Here
I received letters from my husband, who seemed to be
disturbed by the revolt of several garrisons in Lor-
raine — in particular of that of Nancy. This news,
however, did not arouse my anxiety. Monsieur
Mounier persuaded my aunt to make a visit to
Chamonix, and we set out the next day and did not
return to Geneva before the end of five or six days.
On our return to Secheron, I found a letter from my
husband which had been forwarded to me from
Lausanne, where he thought I was with my aunt.
He announced his departure for Nancy to carry orders
from the King to Monsieur de Bouille. Their tenor
was that he should unite several French and Swiss
regiments and march on Nancy.
At Rolle, where we stopped to refresh our horses,
we learned at the inn that Monsieur Plantamour of
Geneva was there and that he was en route for
Nancy. My aunt asked to speak to him in private,
In a few minutes he entered the room where I was,
and I observed that he was very much troubled,
which increased my anxiety. He told me that there
had been fighting at Nancy, but that details were
lacking. We continued our route to Lausanne, and
on arriving there Monsieur Lally, who had preceded
us, gave me several letters from my husband, written
after his return to Paris. In these letters he told me
everything which had occurred at Nancy. As these
details belong to the domain of history, I shall not
relate them here.
While these events were happening at Nancy, I
[120]
VISIT TO SWITZERLAND
was at Lausanne, where I passed two weeks and en-
joyed myself very much. Here I encountered a cele-
brated person — Mr. Gibbon — whose grotesque face
gave me such a desire to laugh that it was difficult
to control myself. There were also many emigres at
Lausanne. As I did not enjoy myself in their society,
as soon as Mme. Montesson was established at
Paquis, near Geneva, I hastened to rejoin her, and
went to lodge with Mme. Valence in a little house
distinct from that of Mme. Montesson.
The inn of Secheron was then very popular. Many
of the emigres whom I knew were settled there for
the summer. Several young men, after having ac-
companied the Comte d'Artois to Turin, already
tired of Piemont, had come to Switzerland.
Fortunately I remained only three or four weeks
at Geneva, or rather Paquis. My husband came to
join me and take me back to Paris. As he was in a
hurry and wished to return by way of Alsace, in order
to meet Monsieur Bouille, we left Geneva at an early
hour in the morning so as to have several hours
to visit Berne and Bale. Monsieur Bouille came to
meet us between Huningue and Neuf-Brisach, and I
waited patiently in the carriage while my husband
talked with him in walking up and down the high-
way. After a morning devoted to Strasbourg, we
passed the night at Saverne and from there went to
Nancy. From Nancy we made the trip to Paris with-
out stopping, and upon my return I found my dear
boy in good health and looking well and handsome.
CHAPTER TWELVE
1791-1792
RESIDENCE IN HOLLAND
Sojourn at Paris. — Monsieur de La Tour du Pin Leaves the
Ministry of War. — His Son Refuses the Post. — Is Named
as Minister to Holland. — Residence at Rue de Varenne. —
The Flight of the Royal Family. — Departure for Holland. —
The Lameth Family. — Life of Pleasure at The Hague.—
Recall of Monsieur de La Tour du Pin. — Decree against
the Emigres. — Flight of La Fayette. — Mme. de La Tour
du Pin Returns to France.
I RESUMED my life at Paris, at the Hotel de la
Guerre. Nearly every morning I rode on horse-
back accompanied by my cousin, Dominique
Sheldon. I often went to the theatre with young Mme.
de Noailles, whose mother, Mme. Laborde, did not
go out. Every day my father-in-law became more
disgusted with the Ministry. Nearly all the regiments
of the army were in a state of revolt. The greater part
of the officers, instead of opposing the efforts of the
Revolutionists with consistent firmness, sent in their
resignations and left France. Emigration became a
point of honor. The officers who remained with their
regiments received letters from those who had em-
igrated, reproaching them for cowardice and lack of
attachment to the Royal family. They endeavored to
make them see that it was their duty to abandon
their sovereign. They promised them the interven-
[122]
RESIDENCE IN HOLLAND
tion of enormous armies of foreigners. The King,
whose feebleness was equal to his goodness, hesitated
to arrest this torrent. It thus happened that every
day saw the departure of some members of his party
or even of his household.
My father-in-law, who was powerless against the
intrigues of the Assembly, and who did not find in
the King the firmness which he had the right to ex-
pect, resolved to leave the Ministry. This he did
on the fifteenth of November, 1790. It was proposed
that my husband should succeed him. He had just
finished a plan for the reorganization of the Army,
which was entirely his own work. The King himself
felt that the author of this plan was capable of putting
it in operation. My husband refused. He did not
wish to succeed his father for fear that the matter
would be misinterpreted.
It was at this time, in the last days of December,
1790, that he was given the place of Minister Pleni-
potentiary to Holland. It was arranged, however,
that he should not join his post before the King had
accepted the Constitution, which the National As-
sembly expected to finish before the end of the winter.
Having left the Hotel de la Guerre, we went to
live in the house of my aunt, Mme. d'Henin, Rue de
Varenne, near the Rue du Bac. She had had trans-
ported here all the furniture from the Rue de Ver-
neuil, where she had given up her lease. This house
was very convenient. We lived here with my sister-
in-law, Mme. de Lameth, her two children and my
father-in-law. My husband kept the saddle-horses
and a coupe horse for himself. My father-in-law did
[123 ]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
not wish to have any carriage. He kept only two
carriage horses for my sister-in-law and myself. Mme.
de Lameth hardly ever went out in the evening, but
she went every morning to the sittings of the As-
sembly, which were held in the Riding School of the
Tuileries. The National Assembly had taken up its
quarters in this place at the time it was transferred
from Versailles to Paris.
I occasionally went to meetings which I thought
would interest me, but not regularly like my sister-
in-law. My mornings were employed more usefully.
I had a master of design, one of singing, one for
Italian and, if the weather was good, I rode horse-
back from three o'clock to nightfall. When my cousin
Sheldon was able to accompany me, I went to the
Bois de Boulogne, but more often I went by the Plaine
de Crenelle to the Bois de Meudon, and those days I
rode a thoroughbred who was very lively and whose
manners pleased me very much. But it was difficult
to manage him in the Bois de Boulogne, because he
would not allow another horse before him and was
always ready to run away.
In the spring of 1791 my husband made his prep-
arations to leave for Holland. We packed up our
effects, and our boxes were sent to Rotterdam by sea.
We sold our saddle-horses and set out with our son
and his nurse for Henencourt where my sister-in-law
was staying. Monsieur de La Tour du Pin came to
pass some time there and then returned to Paris to
finish up his business. At Paris he was informed by
Monsieur Montmorin that the King did not wish
him to leave for his post until the day after the
RESIDENCE IN HOLLAND
Constitution, which was to be presented to him, had
received the royal sanction. My husband therefore
remained at Paris. I went to rejoin him for several
days to see the indecent funeral procession of Voltaire
when his remains were taken to the Pantheon.
I was living quietly at Henencourt with my sister-
in-law, when my negro servant, Zamore, entered my
room at about nine o'clock one morning in a state of
great excitement. He informed me that two strangers
had passed in front of the gate who stated that the
evening before, the King, his children, the Queen and
Mme. Elisabeth had left Paris and that it was not
known where they had gone. This news troubled me
very much, and I wished to speak with these men. I
ran to the gate of the court, but they had already
disappeared, and no one knew what had become of
them.
My anxiety was very great, as I was afraid that my
husband might be compromised. Therefore I de-
cided to send Zamore to Paris as a courier to ob-
tain some definite news. An hour later he set out,
but before he returned I received by mail a word
from my husband which confirmed the news. My
brother-in-law returned from Amiens, where he was
at the time, and we passed two days in a state of
agitation which nothing can describe. Ignorant of the
outcome of this adventure, the days seemed like
centuries. My brother-in-law would not allow us to
go to Amiens for fear that they might close the city
gates and that we would not be able to return to the
country. We hoped that the King had passed the
frontier, but we did not dare to calculate the effect
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
that this event would cause in Paris. My anxiety for
my husband was intense, but I did not dare to go to
rejoin him because he had forbidden me to do so. On
the third day, at evening, we learned by a man who
had come from Amiens that the King had been ar-
rested and taken back as a prisoner to Paris. An hour
later Zamore arrived bringing a long letter from my
husband, who was in despair.
I will not attempt to relate the details of this un-
fortunate flight, so badly organized. The memoirs of
the time have recounted all the circumstances. This
whole affair, originated by Monsieur Fersen, who
was a fool, was one succession of mistakes and
imprudences.
It was only after a seclusion of two months that
the King decided to accept the Constitution which
had been presented to him. My husband had drawn
up a long memorandum, written entirely in his own
hand but not signed, in which he implored the King
to refuse to sign. This memorandum, which was
handed by my husband, personally, to the King,
was found after the tenth of August in the famous
Armoire de Per. The King had written at the top:
"Handed me by Monsieur G to advise me to
refuse the Constitution." Later it was generally sup-
posed that the initial was that of Monsieur Gouvion
who was killed in one of the first combats of the war.
After the acceptance of the Constitution, during
the session of the Legislative Assembly there were
several months of respite, and I am persuaded that
if war had not been declared, if the emigres had re-
turned as the King seemed to desire, the excesses of
[126]
RESIDENCE IN HOLLAND
the Revolution would have been arrested. But the
King and Queen believed in the good faith of the
Powers. Every party was deceived, and France saw
and found glory in the defence of its territory. As
Napoleon said to Sieves: "Si j'avais ete a la place de
La Fayette, le roi serait encore sur le trone, et vous,
1'abbe, vous seriez trop heureux de me dire la messe."
We set out for The Hague at the beginning of
October, 1791. My sister-in-law accompanied us with
her two sons and their tutor. My sister-in-law's
health was very bad, for the consumption of which
she died the following year had already made much
progress. As she was very fond of society, the thought
of spending the winter alone at Henencourt was in-
supportable. She no longer had an establishment at
Paris. Until the Revolution she had lived with her
whole family at the Hotel de Lameth, Rue Notre-
Dame-des-Champs. There the mother of the four
Lameth brothers, who was a sister of Marechal de
Broglie, had brought up her children. The Marechal
had placed the boys in four different regiments, and
the three youngest had taken part with distinction
in the American war, in which one of them, Charles,
had been severely wounded. My husband's brother-
in-law, the eldest of the four, had retired to the
country, after having resigned as Colonel of the regi-
ment of the Couronne-Infanterie. The second brother,
Theodore, also left the army and is still living at the
time these lines are written (1841). The third, Charles,
had married Mile. Picot, the only daughter and heir of
a planter of Saint-Domingue and lived at Bayonne.
In 1787 the French embassy had been driven from
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
Holland, and the Comte de Saint-Priest had retired
to Antwerp. France was only represented at The
Hague by a charge d'affaires, Monsieur Caillard, who
was a consummate diplomat. He was very useful to
my husband, who until then had never occupied him-
self with diplomacy, except in reading history which
was his favorite study.
When we arrived at The Hague, in the month of
October, 1791, the Stadtholder was at Berlin where
he had gone to attend the marriage of his eldest son
to the young Princess of Prussia. He returned to The
Hague several months later, and then there began a
series of fetes, balls and suppers, and diversions of
every kind, which were very pleasant for my twenty-
one years. I had brought many elegant things with
me from France and I soon became very much in
vogue. They tried to copy me in everything. I danced
very well and my success at the balls was very great.
I enjoyed it like a child. No thought of the morrow
bothered me. At all the social reunions I was the
first. The Princesse d'Orange did not object to being
dressed like me and to have her hair dressed by my
valet de chambre. In short, this life of success, which
was to last so short a time, intoxicated me.
When Dumouriez was appointed Minister of
Foreign Affairs in the month of March, 1792, his
first care was to avenge himself for I know not
what personal discontent which had been caused
him by my father-in-law during the time he was
Minister. He therefore recalled my husband under
the false pretext that he had not shown sufficient
firmness in demanding reparation for a pretended
RESIDENCE IN HOLLAND
insult made to the National flag of France. As soon
as we received the news of our recall, we at once
leased a pretty little unfurnished house, for our-
selves, my sister-in-law and her children. She did
not wish to return to France and preferred to remain
with me at The Hague. During the day all the furni-
ture which belonged to us, and which we did not wish
to sell, was transported to this house. The rest of
our effects, as well as the wines, the service of porce-
lain, the horses and carriages, remained at the Hotel
de France to be placed on sale after the arrival of
the new Minister, in case he did not wish to acquire
them from us. As my husband had no secretary of
legation, because Monsieur Caillard had been sent
to Petersbourg as charge d'affaires, he placed the
archives in the hands of his own private secretary,
who was none other than Monsieur Combes, my
former instructor.
Monsieur de La Tour du Pin then left for England
to see my father who had just arrived there, in order
to persuade him to rejoin us at The Hague. From
there he went to Paris, whence he wrote me by every
mail letters which were more and more alarming.
Monsieur de Maulde, who had been appointed
Minister to The Hague, arrived at his post about the
tenth of August and was very badly received. No
one paid any visits to him, except the Ambassador
of England, which power was not yet at war with
France. He did not wish to buy any of our effects,
and sent his secretary to notify me of his refusal to
allow us to have the auction sale of our things held
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
in the salons of the ground floor of the Hotel de
France.
As the weather was fine, I obtained permission to
have the sale of our things held upon the Petit
Voorhout, a charming promenade before the door of
the Embassy. This auction was an event at The
Hague. All my friends were present, and the smallest
things were sold at a very high price. I received a
sum of money which was more than double what
everything had cost us. The proceeds of the sale were
put in the hands of Monsieur Moliere, a trustworthy
Dutch banker. He took care of the money, and later
on sent it to me in America.
Mme. d'Henin, my aunt, had emigrated to England
and was very anxious to have me come there and
join her, but the health of my sister-in-law was
visibly declining and I did not wish to leave her. On
the other hand, my father-in-law was thinking of
joining us in Holland. My husband passed several
days at The Hague between the tenth of August and
the massacres of September, 1792. Then his father
recalled him to London to be with him.
During the last days of November, 1792, the Con-
vention adopted a decree against the emigres and
fixed a short term in which they could return to
France, under pain of confiscation. My excellent
father-in-law was in England and was thinking of
joining us at The Hague where his daughter and I
were awaiting him with impatience. But the news of
this decree changed his plans. He wrote us that he
was not willing to injure the interests of his children
RESIDENCE IN HOLLAND
on account of any personal consideration and that he
should return to Paris.
I do not know why I neglected to speak of the
flight of Messieurs de La Fayette, Alexandre de
Lameth and de La Tour-Maubourg. All three secretly
left the corps d'armee commanded by Monsieur de
La Fayette, to pass into foreign territory, with a
foolish confidence which it would be difficult to ex-
plain. Having presented themselves at the advance
posts of the Austrians, they were at once arrested.
The Austrians wished to use them as hostages to
guarantee the safety of the King and his family, who
had been confined in the Temple since the day of the
tenth of August. Monsieur Alexandre de Lameth had
permission to write to his sister-in-law who was then
with me at The Hague, as I have already said, in
order to ask for money. Monsieur de La Fayette, for
his part, wrote to Mr. Short, the American Minister
at The Hague. A man named Dulong, who had been
for many years in the service of the French Legation,
had undertaken to arrange the escape of Monsieur de
La Fayette who was imprisoned at Liege. For this
purpose it was necessary for him to have at least
25,000 francs. Mr. Short, although he was a rich man,
refused to advance the sum. Accordingly, Monsieur
de La Fayette was transferred with his two com-
panions to the prison of Olmutz, where he remained
until the Treaty of Campo-Formio (October, 1797).
At the end of the Terror, Mme. de La Fayette went
to Vienna, accompanied by her two daughters, and ob-
tained permission from the Emperor of Austria to be
shut up at Olmutz with her husband and to undergo
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
all the rigours of his fate. Almost by a miracle, she
had escaped the scaffold upon which perished on the
same day, (22 July 1794), her grandmother, her
mother and her sister. In her voluntary captivity, she
showed a resignation and a courage which only
religion could have inspired. Nevertheless, she had
never been treated by her husband except with the
most cruel indifference, and she certainly could not
have forgotten the numerous infidelities of which he
had been guilty.
My father commanded the corps d'armee es-
tablished in camp between Quesnoy and Valenciennes.
At the news of the events of the month of August
1792 at Paris — the attack on the Tuileries and the
overthrow of the Monarchy — he had addressed an
order of the day to the troops, prescribing the renewal
of the oath of fidelity to the King which he himself
took at the same time. The result of this noble profes-
sion of faith was his removal, the 23 August, 1792,
with the order to report at Paris. My endeavors to
prevent this remained fruitless and my fears were
only too well justified. I have always reproached my-
self because I did not go to find him and force him to
return with me to The Hague. God had decided other-
wise! Poor father! He perished on the scaffold, 13
April, 1794.
As I owned a house at Paris, occupied by the
Swedish Ambassador, and had an income from the
State, or from the City of Paris, my husband was
afraid that my name would be put upon the list of
emigres which was about to appear. He therefore
RESIDENCE IN HOLLAND
sent to me at The Hague a very faithful valet de
chambre to accompany me on my return to Paris
and charged him to tell me that I would find at the
Belgian frontier, several leagues from Antwerp, a
former aide de camp of my father, provided with an
order to secure my safety, and that this man would
escort me if necessary. I made my adieux to my poor
sister-in-law, who died two months later, and set out
in company with my son, aged two years and a half,
my faithful Marguerite, a valet de chambre and my
negro, Zamore. The winter which had just com-
menced rendered the journey very disagreeable.
The first day of December, 1792, buried in the
back of an excellent berline, well enveloped with furs
and bear skins, I left The Hague, to pass the first
night, I think, at Gorkum. During the whole day we
heard the noise of cannon. My valet de chambre
thought that this noise must come from the French
who were besieging the city of Antwerp, but that it
would take them a long time to capture the city as
the garrison was very strong and the city well
provisioned. The next day, at Breda, a city situated
also in Holland, there was the same noise of cannon-
ade. As no alarming news was published, I set out,
nevertheless, without fear and found, at the Austrian
frontier of the Low-Countries, Monsieur Schnetz, a
brave officer and friend of my father's whose presence
gave me great pleasure. Arrived there the evening
before, he had been astonished that there was no
news from Antwerp. He said laughingly, but without
really believing it, that perhaps the city had been
taken. However, about midday, the noise of the
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
cannon having ceased, he then declared that this
rampart of the Austrian power had capitulated, which
was indeed true. On arriving at the French post, at
the exterior gate of the city, we learned that the
French were masters of this great fortress. On arriving
at the Hotel du Grand Laboureur upon the large
Place Meir, we had much trouble in obtaining a
room. It was only due to the intervention of a general,
whose name escapes me, that an officer gave up for me
the room in which he was already installed, from which
he had his baggage taken out with rather bad grace.
In the morning Monsieur Schnetz informed me
that we must set out for Mons, where we were to
pass the night, as had been arranged. I was so upset
by the events of the previous day, that I did not
venture to request the privilege of passing the next
night at Brussels, which would have permitted me
to see my aunt, Lady Jerningham, who was then in
this city with her daughter. It was therefore arranged
that we should only change horses at Brussels.
In leaving Antwerp, I was struck by the originality
of a spectacle new to me. Between the advance lines
of the fortifications and the first post, at Contich,
we passed through the entire French army, which
was in bivouac there. These conquerors, who had al-
ready caused the armies of Austria and Prussia to
tremble, had all the appearance of a horde of bandits.
The greater part were without uniforms. The Con-
vention had had manufactured in haste for the
soldiers caps of cloth of the most varied colors, for
which they had requisitioned the material from all
the shops of Paris and the large cities. The officers
RESIDENCE IN HOLLAND
only were in uniform, but their uniforms had none
of the brilliant embroideries of which Napoleon later
on was so prodigal.
Forced to go almost at a walk, the route to me ap-
peared very long. The highways had been cut up by
the artillery and were encumbered by wagons,
caissons and cannon. We proceeded slowly, in the
midst of the cries and the oaths of the charretiers and
the gross pleasantries of the soldiers. I saw that
Schnetz was disturbed and that he regretted that we
had not taken an escort. Finally, at nightfall, we
reached Malines, where we passed the night quietly,
although there were still many troops.
The following morning, we set out for Brussels
which we were to pass through without stop. But
Monsieur de Chabrillan, commandant of the city,
thought otherwise. At the moment that the horses
were ready and after Schnetz had already had our
passports vised, there arrived an order from the
general that I should be detained. The horses were
unhitched, and when I wished to descend from the
carriage to look for a shelter in the maison de poste,
I found sentinels placed at the two doors of the
carriage who prevented me. Schnetz immediately
went to the general headquarters to demand the
reason for this vexatious delay.
Finally, at the end of three hours, the general author-
ized my departure, without having condescended
to explain this singular abuse of authority. He was
a man of the world whom I had met a hundred times in
society without ever having spoken to him. He was
verv short-sighted and had a very revolutionary spirit.
C 135 ] "
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
I was not yet at the end of my alarms. On arriving
late at Mons, we had much trouble in finding a
lodging. All the inns were full. At last in one place
we succeeded in finding two little rooms for my maid
and myself which were located in a very low first
story, looking out upon the street. The officers who
occupied them had just left. Schnetz and my two
domestics were to sleep at the end of a very large
court, so that my maid and I were separated from
them. This arrangement was very far from pleasing
me, but it was necessary to submit. I therefore lay
down on the bed without undressing. During the
night I was disturbed and alarmed by officers who
endeavored to enter my room.
The following morning, shortly after our de-
parture, we met an escadron composed entirely of
negroes, all of whom were well mounted and perfectly
equipped. They were commanded by the handsome
negro of the Due d'Orleans (Egalite). His name was
Edouard and he was well acquainted with my negro,
Zamore, who asked my permission to spend the day
with his friends. I was afraid that they would en-
deavor to persuade him to join them and that I
should never see him again, but I was mistaken.
This worthy fellow was very well treated by his
comrades during the day, but at night he rejoined me.
The remainder of my journey passed without any
circumstances worthy of being reported. Monsieur
Schnetz left me at Peronne, and I continued my
route to Henencourt where I found my brother-in-
law, the Marquis de Lameth.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
1793
FLIGHT TO BORDEAUX
Vexations of Travel in France. — Residence at Passy. — The
21 January, 1793. — Portrait of Monsieur Arthur Dillon. —
Retirement to Le Bouilh. — Bordeaux and the Federation.
— Arrest of Monsieur de La Tour du Pin Pere. — His Son
and Daughter-in-Law Take Refuge at Canoles with Mon-
sieur de Brouquens. — The Guillotine at Bordeaux. —
Birth of Seraphine. — Flight of Monsieur de La Tour du
Pin. — Arrest of Monsieur de Brouquens. — Confrontation
of the Queen and the Former Minister of War. — Precipitate
Departure of his Son from Le Bouilh. — Three Months of
Forced Retirement at Mirambeau.
I ARRIVED very late at Henencourt where, as
already stated, I found my brother-in-law. He
was very much depressed over his personal situa-
tion and was well satisfied that his wife and children
were out of France. It was arranged that I should
stop only twenty-four hours at Henencourt, in order
to take the papers which would permit me to reach
Paris in safety, among others, an attestation of my
sojourn at Henencourt since the recall of Monsieur
de La Tour du Pin. My hope that my husband would
come to meet me was disappointed, for already it
was both difficult and dangerous to travel in France.
Not only was a passport necessary, but, to obtain
this, it was essential to be accompanied by sureties
[137]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
who, upon their own responsibility, testified that you
were not going in a direction different from that
indicated. Besides this, in order to enter the environs
of Paris, it was necessary to be fortified with a carte
de surete, of which each post of the National Guard
had the right to demand the production. In short,
a thousand little vexations added to great ones
rendered a sojourn in France insupportable.
I therefore set out alone from Henencourt and
arrived without trouble at Passy the following day.
The maitre de poste of Saint-Denis commenced by
refusing peremptorily to conduct me to Passy where I
wished to go, under the pretext that as my passport
was for Paris, it was necessary to conduct me there
by the shortest route. After an hour of conferences
and explanations, during the course of which I was
afraid of compromising myself, as I was not used to
this sort of thing, my valet de chambre had the happy
thought of showing his own carte de surete for Passy,
and, upon the payment of an extra sum, they allowed
us to leave.
At Passy I finally rejoined my husband who was
established in a house belonging to Mme. de Poix.
As this dwelling was too large for our household, we
were enabled to close the windows on the street,
thus giving the idea that the house was uninhabited.
We entered by the small door used by the concierge.
The house had two or three other exits and therefore
constituted a good refuge, especially as it was the
last dwelling of the village on the side of Auteuil,
which enabled us easily to join my father-in-law who
had been settled in this last named locality since his
FLIGHT TO BORDEAUX
return from England. The house which he occupied
was named La Tuilerie. It was isolated and situated
between Auteuil and Passy. Fortunately we could go
there by byways where we never encountered any one.
An old cabriolet and a wretched horse conducted us
to Paris, without the necessity of letting the public
coachmen into the secret of our retreat.
Every day after our dejeuner, I went to Paris with
my husband who was occupied with his own affairs and
those of his father. We nearly always took our dinner
in the city, either with my father or with Mme. de
Montesson whose house was always open to us.
My father who was living in a furnished hotel in
the Chaussee-d'Antin was giving all his time to the
service of the King, endeavoring to organize the party
which was later known as the Girondins. To them he
pointed out that their best interests lay in preserving
the life of the King, of arranging his escape from Paris,
and then of guarding him as hostage in some city of
the interior where he would not be able to communi-
cate either with foreign powers, or with the Royalists,
who were then commencing to organize in the Vendee.
But the party of Terrorists was too strong for any
human efforts to thwart its terrible intentions.
My unfortunate father made his strongest efforts
with Dumouriez, who came to Paris about the middle
of January, but was deceived by the latter with vain
promises. Dumouriez was entirely committed to the
party of Egalite and his son of whom he boasted
that he was the military tutor. His trip to Paris had
no other end than that of serving the Orleans Princes.
I will not attempt to relate all of the series of
[139]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
anxieties and discouragements through which we
passed during the month of January, 1793. These
events belong to the domain of history and have
been related by the historians in the light of their
own opinions. My only idea is to clear the memory
of my father from the odious imputations with which
they have not hesitated to tarnish his honorable
character. He only saw the judges of Louis XVI
with the hope of saving, if not the liberty, the life
of the King; and the very morning of his sentence,
he thought it certain that a vote of imprisonment
until the end of the war was assured. During this
memorable meeting, we remained at home in a state
of anxiety which no words can express. When the
sentence was known and we had left my father, we
still hoped that an insurrection would break out.
The morning of the twenty-first of January, the
gates of Paris were closed with orders to make no
reply to those who demanded the reason. We under-
stood the meaning of this only too well, and my
husband and I, leaning out of the window of our
house, which overlooked Paris, listened for the sound
of musketry which would bring to us the hope that
so great a crime would not be committed without
opposition. In a state of stupor, we hardly dared to
address a word to each other. Alas, the greatest
silence continued to reign in the regicidal city. At
half-past ten, the gates were opened and everything
resumed its ordinary course. A great nation had
stained its annals with a crime for which the centu-
ries would reproach it, and not even the course of
life had been changed.
[140]
FLIGHT TO BORDEAUX
We set out on foot for Paris, and, taking care not
to traverse the Place Louis XV, we went to the
house of my father, then to that of Mme. de Montes-
son, and later to Mme. de Poix.
Returning at an early hour to Passy, we found at
our house Mathieu de Montmorency and the Abbe
de Damas. Both of them had been on the place of
execution with their battalion of the National Guard.
Having compromised themselves by some remarks,
they had left Paris from the fear of being arrested
and had come to demand that we should conceal
them until they could leave or return home. They
were afraid of a visite domiciliaire, the first sign of
trouble, which generally preceded by some months
the arrest of people who were suspected. In these
visits papers of every kind were seized and taken
to the Section, where often the most secret
correspondence served as a pastime for the young
members of the National Guard who were on duty
that day.
About the middle of March, my father-in-law was
arrested at La Tuilerie and conducted to the Com-
mune of Paris. After answering many questions, he
was released. Being more disturbed over the fate of
his son than over his own danger, he decided that
we ought to retire to Le Bouilh, whence my husband
would be able to reach Vendee or with us to escape
to Spain. This plan seemed the more feasible, as our
excellent friend, Monsieur de Brouquens, had been
living at Bordeaux during the past year. In this city,
as Food Director, he was in charge of the supplies
CHI]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
for our army which was waging war in Spain. We
therefore resolved to set out. I left my father with
the most profound emotion, although I was far from
thinking that I was embracing him for the last time.
The difference between our ages, hardly nineteen
years, was so little, that he seemed to me more like
a brother than like a father. He had an aquiline nose,
a very small mouth, large black eyes and light chest-
nut hair. His tall figure, his handsome face and his
superb form gave him all the appearance of youth.
No one could have had more noble manners, nor a
greater air of grand seigneur. He was my best friend
and at the same time the comrade of my husband.
My father-in-law was impatient to have us far
from Paris and urged us to set out as soon as possible.
The first day of April, 1793, we were on our way. It
had been decided that we should make short journeys
on account of the state of my health.
We finally arrived at Le Bouilh towards the mid-
dle of April, and I experienced great joy in finding
myself in this place so dear to my poor father-in-
law. He had diminished his fortune by the embel-
lishments which he had made and by the buildings
which he had constructed. The four months which
we passed there have remained in my memory, and
above all in my heart, as the pleasantest of my life.
There was a fine library and my husband, who could
read for hours without fatigue, consecrated our even-
ings to a course of history and literature which was as
interesting as it was instructive. Our happiness was
without a cloud and more complete than at any other
moment of our past life together.
FLIGHT TO BORDEAUX
The city of Bordeaux, controlled by the Girondins,
was in a state of semi-revolt against the Convention.
Many of the Royalists had taken part, in the hope of
leading the Departments of the Midi, and above all
those of the Gironde, to join in the movement which
had broken out in the Departments of the West.
But Bordeaux was far from possessing the energetic
courage of the Vendee. There had been organized in
the city an armed troop of eight hundred or one
thousand young men of the first families. The insti-
gators of this movement had only one end in view,
namely: to declare their independence of Paris and
of the Convention and establish on the model of the
United States a federal government in the south of
France. Monsieur de La Tour du Pin went to Bor-
deaux where he saw the chiefs of this projected
federation and returned disgusted with his interview.
At the end of the summer, we began to be dis-
turbed by the municipality of Saint- And re-de-Cub-
zac. The possibility of a visile domiciliaire or the
establishment of a garrison in the Chateau frightened
my husband. My father-in-law had just been ar-
rested. Seals had been placed upon the Chateau of
Tesson near Saintes, and the Department of Cha-
rente-Inferieure had arbitrarily taken possession for
their offices of the fine mansion which we possessed
at Saintes. Under these conditions it seemed to us
prudent to accept the proposition of our excellent
friend, Monsieur de Brouquens, to go and settle in
a small house which he possessed at a quarter of a
league from Bordeaux. This house, named Canoles,
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
offered every kind of security. It was isolated in the
midst of a vineyard surrounded on three sides by
parish roads leading in different directions, and on
the fourth side by an extensive moor. No village was
to be found in the environs, and all this part of the
country, called Haut-Brion, comprised an agglomera-
tion of properties, larger or smaller, planted with
vines and almost all contiguous. Accordingly, on the
first of September, 1793, we went to establish our-
selves at Canoles. Here Monsieur de Brouquens came
to dine with us every day.
If it had not been for the delicate state of my
health, we would have perhaps set out for Spain.
Admitting, however, that this departure was possible
it would have been necessary for us to pass through
the entire French army.
The morning of the thirteenth of September, the
Revolutionary Army entered Bordeaux. Less than
an hour later all the federal chiefs were arrested and
imprisoned. The Revolutionary Tribune immediately
began its sessions, and during a period of six months
there was not a day passed which did not see the
death of some innocent person. A guillotine was
permanently established upon the Place Dauphine.
During the course of these events was born my
little girl who was named Seraphine, after her father.
An hour after her birth my husband was obliged to
leave us to seek a place of safety.
Monsieur de Brouquens had hardly returned to his
house in Bordeaux when they came to arrest him
C H4]
FLIGHT TO BORDEAUX
and conduct him to prison. He protested that he
was charged with the details of the administration of
the supplies for the army fighting in Spain, that his
arrest would greatly compromise this service and in
consequence would be strongly disapproved of by the
general-in-chief. These good reasons determined the
representatives of the people to place him under
arrest in his own house. It was indeed a kind of im-
prisonment, because he was not able to go out, but
he had the liberty of a house, which was very large,
with several means of escape in case the danger be-
came too imminent. The twenty-five men of the garde
bourgeois e stationed at his door were almost all from
his quarter and under some kind of obligation to him.
His goodness and kindness were very great and he
was adored in Bordeaux.
It was necessary, however, for him to board these
twenty-five men the whole time that he was under
arrest, which was during the greater part of the
winter. Every day the guards were changed.
The night following the arrest of Monsieur de
Brouquens, about midnight, when he was about to go
to bed, a municipal officer, followed by the chief of
his section and several guards, presented themselves
at his house and summoned him to follow them to
Canoles where they wished to examine his papers.
His trouble and embarrassment were extreme. He
knew that my name, my rank in the world, the situa-
tion of my father-in-law who had just been con-
fronted with the Queen at Paris, were so many
motives for proscription. My fate seemed to him
certain, and he was in despair in thinking of my hus-
CHS]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
band who had confided me to his care and whom he
tenderly loved. He could not think of any means of
avoiding the fate with which I seemed to be menaced.
Fortunately, among the members of his guards there
was one who was very much attached to him. Divin-
ing his perplexity, of his own accord, he came to give
the alarm.
I was sleeping quietly when suddenly I felt myself
shaken by a faithful old woman, who, in tears and as
pale as death cried: "Here are the coupe-fetes who
are coming to search and attach the seals. We are
all lost!" In saying these words, she pushed under
my pillow a large packet and disappeared as sud-
denly as she had come. I felt of the package and recog-
nized that it was a sack containing five or six hundred
louis, of which Monsieur de Brouquens had spoken
to me, and which he kept in reserve, in case of urgent
necessity, either for himself or for Monsieur de La
Tour du Pin or me. This bag of money was not re-
assuring. Nevertheless, I did not dare, in taking it
from its hiding place, to let it be seen by the girl who
was caring for my child. Not only was I suspicious
of her, but the physician had discovered that she
was playing the role of a spy.
A half an hour later, the visitors arrived. After
carefully examining the exterior of the house, they
entered the salon. The blood froze in my veins when
I thought of all the dangers to which I was exposed.
Every moment I expected to hear a hand placed upon
my door. Finally, I distinctly heard some one ask:
"Who is in this room?" Monsieur de Brouquens
replied in a whisper and I could not hear the words.
FLIGHT TO BORDEAUX
Later he explained to me that the inspiration had
come to him to state that a young girl, whom some
friends had confided to him, was in the room and
that she was in a delicate condition and very ill. No
one entered my room, and at the end of two hours,
after having drunk and eaten everything there was
in the house, they went away, taking their prisoner
with them.
I remained alone at Canoles with my worthy
physician, who commenced to feel reassured, although
all danger had not passed.
Every evening upon my request the good doctor
read the papers to me. The news then was something
terrible, and became even more so for me when we
found the report of the confrontation of my worthy
father-in-law with the Queen. In these reports was
described the wrath of Fouquier-Tinville when Mon-
sieur de La Tour du Pin continued to name her "The
Queen," or "Her Majesty," instead of "Femme
Capet," as the public prosecutor wished. My fear
reached its height when I learned that in answer to
the question as to where his son was, Monsieur de
La Tour du Pin had replied with simplicity that he
was on his estate, near Bordeaux. The result of this
reply was an order, sent the same day, to Saint-
Andre-de-Cubzac, to arrest my husband and send
him to Paris.
He was at Le Bouilh, and there was only an hour
to save him. Fortunately, in anticipation of this
eventuality, and under the pretext of having a farm
to visit, he kept quite a good horse ready in the
stable. Disguising himself as well as possible, he set
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
out with the intention of gaining the estate of Tesson,
near to Saintes, and concealing himself in the Chateau.
The house was under sequestration but was in charge
of an excellent care-taker and his wife. He was not
short of money as he had from 10,000 to 12,000 francs
in assignats. He rode all night long. The weather was
terrible. The rain fell in torrents and the thunder did
not cease to rumble. The flashes of lightning blinded
and frightened his horse who was quite a lively beast.
In leaving Saint-Genis, upon the route from Blaye
to Saintes, a man who was standing before a small
house addressed him. "What weather, citizen! Would
you like to enter and let the storm pass?" Monsieur
de La Tour du Pin consented. He dismounted and
tied his horse to a little shed, situated fortunately
for him, as you will see later on, very near to the
door. He entered the house where he found an old
man occupying the corner of the fire-place. A quarter
of an hour passed in conversation upon the dearness
of grains and cattle. At this point the individual who
had been seated near the fire issued from the house
and returned ten minutes later wearing a scarf. It
was the Mayor. "Citizen, you undoubtedly have a
passport," he said to my husband. "Why certainly,"
replied the latter. "No one travels without that."
So saying, my husband produced a false passport in
the name of Gouvernet, of which he had made use
in going and coming between Saint-Andre and
Bordeaux. "But," declared the Mayor, after exami-
nation, "your passport has no vise to go into Charente-
Inferieure. Remain here until morning. I will consult
the Municipal Council." Then he resumed his place.
[148]
FLIGHT TO BORDEAUX
My husband felt that he was lost if he did not take
his courage in both hands. During this conversation
the master of the house, who appeared to be very
much bored, had approached the opened door, and
now remarked in a loud tone, as though speaking to
himself: "Ah! the weather has all cleared up." My
husband at that time was only thirty-four years of
age, was extremely quick, and could rival in point
of address the most practised horseman. After hear-
ing the above remark of the master of the house, he
arose quietly and approached the door which had
remained open. Extending his arm out in the ob-
scurity of the night, he unfastened the bridle of
his horse. In a single bound he was on the back
of the horse and, putting the spurs to~him, had
escaped before the poor Mayor had had the time
to leave his seat beside the fire and reach the door
of the house.
Monsieur de La Tour du Pin did not dare to pass
through Pons where there was a fair during the day.
He stopped at Mirambeau with the former groom of
his father, who inhabited this locality and in whom
he had confidence. This man had a little inn and
conducted a stage which went to Saintes once a week.
Tetard, which was his name, offered to conceal him,
but he had young children, and was afraid of their
indiscretion. He therefore proposed to my husband
to demand an asylum with his brother-in-law, a rich
locksmith, who was married but had no children.
The latter consented, upon the payment of quite a
large sum, and the bargain was concluded. My hus-
band was hidden at the house in a closet without
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
windows, connected with the bedroom which was
also used as a kitchen.
I have since visited this horrible hole. A thin floor-
ing alone separated it from the shop where the em-
ployes worked and where were situated the forge and
bellows. When the locksmith and his wife left their
room they always took away the key, and it was
necessary for my husband to remain stretched upon
his bed and not make the slightest noise. They had
also recommended to him not to have any light from
fear that it might be perceived from without, but, as
soon as the shop was closed, my husband descended
to supper with the man and his wife. The groom often
brought news, frequently newspapers and also books
which he went to Tesson to obtain.
It was in this way that my poor husband passed
the first three months of our separation. The post-
master of Saintes, upon whose devotion he could
count, advised him to go to Vendee, but aside from
the extreme difficulty of passing through the lines
of the Republican troops, my husband was not willing
to go there under an assumed name, and, by rejoining
openly the Vendeens, he would have only made
certain the death of his father and myself.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
1793-1794
LIFE AT BORDEAUX
The Seals at Le Bouilh. — Refuge at Bordeaux with Bonie. —
The Pain de la Section. — The Queue at the Door of the
Butchers and Bakers. — Arrest of the English and Ameri-
cans.— A Belle Grisette. — Unexpected Protection. — Mme.
Tallien. — Interview with Tallien. — Monsieur de La Tour
du Pin Takes Refuge at Tesson. — New Flight. — Return
to Tesson. — The Cartes de Surete.
A MEMORANDUM had been presented to
the municipality of Saint- And re-de-Cubzac
going to show that the estate of Le Bouilh
was a royal domain. Without any further informa-
tion, the commissioners were sent to Le Bouilh
where they placed the seals with such prodigality
that there was not a single door which could be
opened. However, an excellent girl whom I had left
at the Chateau had already concealed the most
valuable effects which I had there, in the way of
linen and so forth, and brought them to me at
Bordeaux each week in small packets.
About this time I began to fear that my prolonged
sojourn with Monsieur de Brouquens was attracting
too much attention. Above all, I feared that my
presence at his house would end by compromising
him. This situation was often the subject of my
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
conversations with a relative of Monsieur de Brou-
quens, Monsieur de Chambeau, who was himself
suspected and obliged to hide. He had found a very
retired place of refuge with an individual who kept
a little obscure hotel, Place Puy-Paulin. This in-
dividual, young and active, a widower with a single
child whom he had confided to his mother-in-law,
lived entirely alone in this hotel with a single domestic.
This man, whose name was Bonie, pretended to be
a furious demagogue. He wore a vest of coarse plush,
called carmagnole, sabots and a sabre. He went to the
meetings of the Section, to the Jacobins' Club and
"thoued" every one.
Monsieur de Chambeau spoke to him of my anxie-
ties. I did not know where I could retire. My hus-
band was in flight, my father and father-in-law were
prisoners, my house had been seized and my only
friend, Monsieur de Brouquens, was under arrest at
his own house. At twenty-four years of age, with two
little children, what was to become of me ?
Bonie came to see me at Canoles and was interested
in my sad situation. He proposed that I take refuge
with him. His house was vacant and Monsieur de
Brouquens advised me not to reject his offer. I there-
fore accepted. He gave me an apartment which was
very sombre and very dilapidated, with an outlook
upon a little garden. Here I installed myself with my
two children, their nurse and my dear Marguerite,
who was continually tormented by a fever which
nothing seemed to cure. My negro, Zamore, passed
for a free black who was awaiting the moment to
join the army.
LIFE AT BORDEAUX
The location of my own apartment enabled me to
enjoy my music, without the danger of being over-
heard. As I was alone a great deal of the time, this
was a great distraction for me. I knew a very good
music teacher named Ferrari, of Italian origin, who
had stated and also proved to me that he was an
agent of the Royal Princes. He was very spirituel
and original and had much talent.
My room which was quite large was reached
through a kind of wood-house in which I had had
piled up a large lot of wood which had been brought
from Le Bouilh, unknown to the guardian there.
This wood was brought by our peasants who took
it in my interest. A woman of the country, who was
entirely devoted to us, also came to Bordeaux twice
a week to sell vegetables. She led a donkey which
bore paniers half-full of linen and clothing which were
covered with cabbages and potatoes. She was adroit
enough to make the employes of the octroi believe
that these objects had been taken from enemies of
the people. Sometimes she made them a present of
some articles and brought the rest to me.
My husband found means of writing me, by a boy
who came to Bordeaux each week. His letter, which
was without address, was concealed in a loaf of
bread which the child brought to the Place Puy-
Paulin ostensibly for the nurse. As he arrived at a
fixed hour, the cook awaited him at the time of high
tide. This poor child, fifteen years of age, was ignorant
of the subterfuge. They had simply told him that
there was a nurse in the house whom the physician
had forbidden to eat the bread of the Section.
[•MS]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
This pain de section was composed of all kinds of flour,
was black and sticky, and one would hesitate now to
give it even to the dogs. It was delivered hot from the
furnace, and every one was forced to place himself in
line to obtain it. It was a very singular thing, however,
that the people found a sort of pleasure in this assem-
blage. As the terror under which they lived hardly
permitted them to exchange a word with those whom
they met in the street, this "queue" represented, so
to speak, an authorized meeting where they could
speak with their neighbors and learn the news with-
out being exposed to the imprudence of a question.
I do not recall under what circumstances all the
English and American merchants residing at Bor-
deaux were arrested. This measure gave me the well-
founded fear of being taken for an Englishwoman,
which had often happened. Bonie was seriously
alarmed and advised me no longer to wear a hat
when I went out during the day but to dress myself
like the women of Bordeaux. This idea of disguise
was not disagreeable. I ordered some brassieres which
were well suited to my form, very slight at that time,
and which with the red handkerchief upon my head
changed me so completely that I encountered people
of my acquaintance without being recognized. Mon-
sieur de Brouquens, who was still in confinement,
was very much amused at the comments of his
twenty-five guardians upon the daily visits which he
received from the belle grisette.
Nevertheless, my position at Bordeaux became
more perilous from day to day, and I cannot under-
LIFE AT BORDEAUX
stand now how I escaped death. I was advised to
endeavor to have the sequestre of Le Bouilh raised,
but any manifestation of my existence seemed to me
too dangerous, and I was in a state of the most
desperate uncertainty when Providence sent me a
special protection.
[_ Mme. de Fontenay, who was then called Theresia
Cabarrus, arrived at Bordeaux. Four years before I
had met her once at Paris. Mme. Charles de Lameth,
with whom she had been a pupil in a convent,
pointed her out to me one evening in coming out of
the theatre. She did not seem to me at the time to be
more than fourteen or fifteen years of age and only
left in my mind the remembrance of a child. It was
said that she had divorced her husband to preserve
her fortune, but it was rather to use and abuse her
liberty. Having met Tallien at the Baths of the
Pyrenees, he had rendered her some kind of service
of which I am ignorant, which she had rewarded
with an unlimited devotion which she took no pains
to disguise. She had come to Bordeaux to rejoin him
and was quartered at the Hotel d'Angleterre.
On the day following her arrival, I wrote her the
following note: "A lady who has met Mme. de Fon-
tenay at Paris, and who knows that she is as good as
she is beautiful, requests a moment of interview."
She replied verbally that this lady could come when-
ever she wished. A half hour later I was at her door.
When I entered, she came to me, and looking me
in the face cried: "Grand Dieu! Madame de Gou-
vernet!" Then having embraced me with effusion,
she put herself at my service. (This was her expres-
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
sion.) I explained to her my situation. She considered
it more dangerous than I had thought it myself and
declared that the only means of saving myself was
to fly as soon as possible. I told her that I could not
make up my mind to leave without my husband.
She said, "You must see Tallien. He will advise you
as to the course to adopt. You will be safe here as
soon as he knows that you are the object of my
interest." I determined to solicit from Tallien the
lifting of the sequestre of Le Bouilh in the name of my
children, also the permission to retire there with
them. Then I left her, with a feeling of confidence
from the interest she had shown, and at the same time
asking myself why she was interested in me.
Mme. de Fontenay was then not more than twenty
years of age. A more beautiful human being had
never issued from the hands of the Creator. She was
a perfect woman. All her features bore the imprint of
the most regular and artistic perfection. Her hair,
black as ebony, seemed made of the finest silk, and
nothing detracted from the brilliancy of her com-
plexion which was clear as ivory. An enchanting smile
displayed the most admirable teeth. Her tall form
recalled that of Diane Chasseresse. The least move-
ments revealed an incomparable grace, while her
voice, which was harmonious and slightly marked
with a foreign accent, exercised a charm which no
words can express. You could not help feeling sad
when you thought that so much youth, beauty,
grace and spirit was abandoned to the man who,
every morning, signed the death warrant of many
innocent persons.
LIFE AT BORDEAUX
The following morning I received from Mme. de
Fontenay this message : "This evening at ten o'clock."
I passed the day in a state of agitation difficult to
describe. Arming myself with all my courage, at nine
o'clock I took the arm of Monsieur de Chambeau, who
was more alarmed than myself, without daring to
show it. He conducted me to the door of Mme. de
Fontenay where he left me with the promise to walk
up and down on the boulevard until the moment
when I came out.
Tallien had not yet arrived and the moment of
waiting was full of anguish. Mme. de Fontenay could
not talk with me as there were several persons present
whom I did not know. Finally we heard the carriage,
and it was impossible to be mistaken, for it was the
only one which rolled in the streets of this large city.
Mme. de Fontenay went out and returned in a
moment. She took my hand saying: "He awaits
you." If she had announced to me that the executioner
was there, I could not have had a different feeling.
She opened a door upon a little passageway, at the
end of which I saw a lighted room. As I hesitated in-
voluntarily, Mme. de Fontenay gave me a push in
the back, and said: "Go ahead! Do not act like a
child." Then she turned and went away, closing the
door. It was necessary for me to advance, but I did
not dare to raise my eyes. Nevertheless, I walked to
the corner of the chimney-piece, upon which there
were two lighted candles. Without the support of
the marble I should have fallen. Tallien was leaning
on the other corner. He said in a voice that was quite
soft: "What do you wish of me?" Then I stammered
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
the request to be allowed to go to our country estate
of Le Bouilh and that the seals which had been placed
there by error should be taken from the property of
my father-in-law, with whom I had resided. Brusquely
he replied that all this was none of his affair. Then
he said: "But you are then the daughter-in-law of
this man who was confronted with the woman
Capet ? . . . And you have a father ? . . . What is his
name ? . . . Ah ! Dillon, the General ? . . . All the ene-
mies of the Republic will pass like this," he added,
making at the same time with his hand the gesture
of cutting off a head. I was overcome with indignation
which gave me back all my courage. I raised my
eyes to look at this monster whom I had not yet
regarded. Before me I saw a man of twenty-five or
twenty-six, with a fine face which he endeavored to
render severe. A mass of blond curls escaped from
all sides under a large military hat covered with
varnished cloth and surmounted by a tricolored
plume. He was dressed in a long tight overcoat of
coarse blue cloth, over which hung a sabre by a
shoulder belt which was crossed by a long silk scarf
of the three colors. "I have not come here, citizen,"
said I, "to hear the sentence of death of my family,
and since you cannot accord me what I have de-
manded, I must not trouble you longer." At the
same time I gave him a slight salute with my head.
He smiled as if to say: "You are very rash to talk
to me in this manner." Then I went out by the door
by which I had entered without going again to the
salon.
On my return home, I felt that my position was
LIFE AT BORDEAUX
aggravated rather than helped. If Tallien did not
help me, my fate appeared to me certain.
Towards the middle of the winter, the locksmith
with whom my husband was concealed arrived at
Bordeaux to purchase iron. He came to see me and
I showed him my appreciation and my confidence. I
also let him see my children so that he would be able
to tell their father that he had found them in good
health. He was a good peasant of Saintonge, but very
simple and ignorant and understanding nothing of
the state of the country. He could not comprehend
why they were able to eat excellent white bread at
Mirambeau, while that which they had given him
that morning at Bordeaux was so black that his dog
would have refused it. While waiting for the tide to
turn, so that he could return to Blaye, he walked in
Bordeaux, and unfortunately passed the Place Dau-
phine where executions were taking place. A lady
mounted the scaffold and he demanded what was
her crime. "She is an aristocrat," they replied. Soon
he saw a peasant like himself called upon to submit
to the same fate. Again he demanded the reason and
it was explained that this man had given asylum to
a nobleman and that for this reason only he was
condemned to die with him.
The poor man forgot what had brought him to
Bordeaux. He set out to return on foot, and on his
arrival home during the night, he at once announced
to my husband that he could not guard him for an-
other hour, as his own life and that of his wife were
in danger. He ran to wake up his brother-in-law, the
Ci59]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
groom, who could not succeed in reassuring him. It
was decided that they should attach a horse to a
little chariot, at the bottom of which they put some
straw in which my husband was concealed. Then
they departed, through round-about roads, for Tes-
son, the chateau of my father-in-law, upon which
the seals had been placed, but to which the concierge
Gregoire and his wife had a secret entrance. One of
the windows of the pavilion which they occupied
looked out upon the road. The groom rapped at a
sjiutter, which they opened, and my husband entered
by this window, and was received by these worthy
people with exclamations of pleasure. He was in-
stalled in a room adjoining their own, with a chimney
in common. This permitted them to have a fire every
day without attracting attention without, which was
very much appreciated by my husband who was very
chilly.
At Tesson there was an excellent library. The in-
ventory of this and also of the furniture of the
Chateau had not yet been taken. The seals had been
placed only upon the exterior doors, so that it was
possible to go anywhere in the house as long as the
Venetian blinds were not opened. My husband there-
fore had access to all the books he wished to read.
He even found means of withdrawing papers and
old correspondence of his father, the publication of
which would have been disagreeable. However, he
was not destined to enjoy this retreat, which was
comparatively comfortable, without trouble.
At the end of seven or eight days orders arrived
at the municipality of Tesson that they should at
[160]
LE C
1757 - 1820
LIFE AT BORDEAUX
once proceed with the inventory of all that was con-
tained in the Chateau, which was large and very well
furnished. The father of my husband had inherited
this property from Monsieur de Monconseil, his
father-in-law, who had lived there for forty years
and had furnished it in a sumptuous and magnificent
manner of the time of Louis XIV. This inventory
would take about two days and it was impossible to
expect that any corner of the Chateau would escape
the vigilance of the visitors.
Gregoire did not disguise his fears from my un-
fortunate husband. He declared that he did not know
a place where he could conceal him, or a person in the
village or the neighborhood who would be willing to
receive him. It was therefore agreed that Gregoire
should go to Saintes to see Boucher, the postmaster,
a former ecuyer of Monsieur de Monconseil, who was
very much attached to my husband, whom he had
known when very young at his grandfather's, and
request him to receive the fugitive at his house.
Gregoire set out early in the morning on foot in very
bad weather, although he was over seventy years of
age. He did not find Boucher at home, but his sister,
who was equally devoted to our interests, consented
to receive my husband and conceal him during the
absence of her brother. Gregoire accordingly returned
to Tesson without having taken any rest. That very
night he again set out with my husband for Saintes,
a locality where there were no walls and which
was consequently accessible by byways known to
Gregoire.
I have omitted to say before that I had sent my
[161]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
husband, during the time that he was at Mirambeau,
a complete costume of a peasant of the Revolutionary
period, in which he could hardly recognize himself.
Mile. Boucher received him very well but with an
exaggeration of precautions from which he drew the
conclusion that the shorter the time he remained in
the house the better she would like it.
The inventory at Tesson having been finished at
the end of three days, it was possible for my husband
to return.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
1794
DECISION TO LEAVE FRANCE
Alarming Situation of Mme. de La Tour du Pin at Bordeaux
and of Her Husband at Tesson. — Certificates of Residence
with Nine Witnesses. — Decision to Leave for America. —
The American Vessel "Diane." — Preparations for De-
parture.— On the Arm of Tallien. — Passport of the Citizen
Latour. — Anxiety over the Delay. — Return of Monsieur
de La Tour du Pin. — How He Came Back from Tesson.
HOWEVER, the situation became more alarm-
ing from hour to hour. Not a day passed
without executions. I was lodged sufficiently
near the Place Dauphine to hear the drum, the roll
of which marked each head that fell. I could count
them before the evening papers told me the names of
the victims. The window of my room looked out on
the garden, the end of which touched an old church
in which was established the Club of the Amis du
peuple, and when the evening session was animated,
the applause and vociferations of the miserable crea-
tures who were present reached even to my room.
The news which I received of my husband depicted
his situation at Tesson as most precarious. At every
moment Gregoire was menaced with the establish-
ment in the Chateau of a body of troops, or a military
hospital, or something similar, which would have
obliged my husband to flee again.
[163]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
I did not know of any other place where he could
be in greater security. I could not think of recalling
him to Bordeaux, near me, on account of the girl who
took care of my child. I had been told again that it
was impossible to trust her. Nevertheless, I did not
dare to send her away for fear of worse.
Another circumstance had proved to me that I
was not forgotten at Bordeaux, as much as I had
hoped. My man-of-affairs had written me from Paris
that a law had just been adopted requiring certificats
de residence with nine witnesses, and that it was
necessary to renew these certificats every three months
under pain of the confiscation of the property which
you possessed in the communes where you did not
reside. I had a house at Paris, occupied by the
Swedish Ambassador, and an income from the State
which had already been reduced by a third. It was
therefore necessary for me to obtain this certificate.
Bonie took charge of getting together the nine
witnesses, none of whom had ever seen me in their
lives, but who were willing to believe his word. By
arrangement, we went to the municipality one morn-
ing. Here I was seated near the fire while Bonie had
the act drawn up and obtained the signatures of the
witnesses. Finally the moment for me to sign arrived
and the municipal officer, with a kind of respect
which astonished me, gave me a chair to use while
signing. Then to my great alarm the certificate was
read from one end to the other in a loud voice, and
at the name of Dillon, one of these rascals interrupted
by saying: "Ah! ah! the citizeness is apparently sister
or niece of all the emigres of this name whom we
DECISION TO LEAVE FRANCE
have upon our list?" I was going to reply in the
negative, when the head of the Bureau said brusquely,
"You do not know what you are talking about. She
is not even their relative." I looked at him in surprise,
and he said to me in a low tone, while giving me the
pen to sign: "You are the niece of the Archbishop
of Narbonne. I am from Soreze." I thanked him with
a slight inclination of the head, but I thought as I
went away that it was necessary to leave Bordeaux
since I was so well known.
I felt at the end of my resources. I saw that Bonie
was disturbed over my fate. Several means of escape
had been recognized as impossible. Every day some
one was executed who had thought he was in safety.
My nights were passed without sleep, as I thought
at every noise that they were coming to arrest me.
I hardly dared any longer to leave the house. I was
afraid of falling sick at the moment when I never had
had greater use for my health, in order to be strong
enough to act, if this was found necessary. Finally,
one morning, going to see Monsieur de Brouquens,
who was still under arrest at his house, I was leaning
pensively upon the table, when my eyes were me-
chanically drawn to a morning paper which was open.
Here I read under the commercial news: "The ship
'Diane' of Boston, 150 tons, will leave in eight days
in ballast with the permission of the Minister of
Marine." Without saying a word, I immediately got
up and was leaving when Monsieur de Brouquens
raised his eyes and said: "Where are you going then
so quickly?" "I am going to America," I replied
as I went out.
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
I went directly to see Mme. de Fontenay whom I
advised of my resolution. She approved of my plan,
especially as she had just had bad news from Paris.
Tallien had been denounced there by his colleague
and was likely to be recalled at any moment. This re-
call she thought would probably be the signal for a new
outbreak of cruelty at Bordeaux, where she herself
did not wish to remain if Tallien left. There was there-
fore not a moment to lose if we wished to be saved.
I returned to my house and called Bonie, to whom
I said that it was necessary to find me a man in
whom he had confidence, to go in search of my
husband. He did not hesitate a moment. He said:
"The commission is perilous, but I know a man
who can undertake it, and that man is myself." He
assured me that he would succeed, and I had confi-
dence in his zeal and his intelligence. He hazarded
his life, which would have been sacrificed with that
of my husband if they had been discovered ; but as
in this case my own would not have been spared, I
did not feel any scruples in accepting his proposition.
I did not lose an instant. I went to find an old
ship-owner, a friend of my father's, who was also a
ship-broker. He was very devoted to me and agreed
to go and arrange passage on the "Diane" for my-
self, my husband and our two children. I should
have liked to take Marguerite with me, but for a
period of six months already she had had a double
intermittent fever, and no remedy seemed to cure
her. I was afraid that a sea voyage at this bad season
of the year, as we were in the last days of February,
might be fatal to her. I therefore resolved to leave
[166]
DECISION TO LEAVE FRANCE
without her. When I returned to see Monsieur de
Brouquens, having already arranged everything, his
surprise was very great. He then told me that he
had just been restored to liberty by an order from
Paris and that he was counting on leaving in several
days. He proposed to me to go the following day to
Canoles for luncheon, to which place he had not re-
turned since the visite domiciliaire.
Once more at my own residence, I placed my confi-
dence in my good Zamore, for the most difficult
thing was to arrange to pack our effects without the
knowledge' of the maid, who would immediately have
denounced us to the Section. She slept with my little
girl, then six months of age, in a long room lined
with wardrobes in which I had placed all the things
which had been sent me from Le Bouilh, as well as
those which I had brought from there myself, when
I came to take up my residence at Canoles. This
room was between my own and that of Marguerite.
The latter had an exit on a little staircase which
descended to the cellar. Fortunately, having no confi-
dence in this maid, I had always kept the wardrobes
closed. I therefore arranged with Zamore that on the
following morning, while I was at Canoles, where I
would take with me the maid and the children, he
should get out all my things and take them down to
the cellar by the little stairway, and there pack them
in the boxes which he would find. I especially charged
him not to leave on the floor even a piece of thread,
the sight of which might reveal to the maid that the
wardrobes had recently been opened. He executed
this commission with his usual intelligence.
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
The next day I went in company with Monsieur
de Chambeau to luncheon at Canoles at the house
of Monsieur de Brouquens. While we three were at
the table the gate of the garden opened and we saw
Mme. de Fontenay enter on the arm of Tallien. My
surprise was very great as she had not told me of her
plan. Brouquens was stupified but soon recovered
himself. As for myself I endeavored to conceal my
emotion at the sight of a man who had entered be-
hind Tallien. He had placed a finger upon his lips
on looking at me, and I immediately turned my eyes
away. This was Monsieur de Jumilhac, whom I knew
well, and who, concealed at Bordeaux under another
name, accompanied Tallien. The latter, after a polite
remark to Brouquens regarding the liberty which he
had taken to pass through his garden to go to the
house of the Swedish Consul, came to me with the
polite bearing of a seigneur of the ancienne cour,
and said to me in the most gracious manner: "I am
told, Madame, that I am in a position to-day to
repair my faults with regard to you. I am entirely
at your disposal." Accordingly, laying aside the aii
of cold disdain which I had formerly assumed towards
him, with an expression sufficiently polite, I explained
that having some pecuniary interests at Martinique,
I desired to go there to look after my affairs, and
that I would like to ask him for a passport for my-
self, my husband and my children. He replied: "But
where then is your husband?" I said, laughing,
"Permit me, citizen representative, not to tell you."
"As you wish," said he, gayly. The monster was very
amiable. His beautiful mistress had threatened to see
[168]
DECISION TO LEAVE FRANCE
him no longer if he did not save me, and this menace
had enchained his cruelty for the moment.
After several minutes of conversation, they spoke of
going to the house of the Swedish Consul. I excused
myself from going under the pretext that I must look
after my children whom the maid had brought to
Canoles. But Mme. de Fontenay, looking at me with
her big black eyes, said: "Venez done!" and I under-
stood with horror what was about to happen. She
herself took the arm of M. de Brouquens and Tallien
offered me his. I do not know how to express what I
felt at this moment. If only my own life had been in
question, and if that of my husband had not depended
upon my taking the arm which he offered me, I should
have refused. I therefore accepted and took advan-
tage of the moment to arrange my affair definitely.
The poor Swedish Consul and his charming
daughter were more dead than alive at receiving this
amiable visit from the representative of the people.
We entered the billiard room, where Tallien played
two or three games, including one with poor Brou-
quens, who missed nearly all his strokes, although he
was a very good player.
Finally Tallien declared that he had an engage-
ment and that he was obliged to leave. He took out
his watch and looked at the time. "You have there
a pretty watch," said Mme. de Fontenay. "Yes," he
replied. "It is one of the new watches of Breguet and
is worth from seven to eight thousand francs. Would
you like to have it?" he added in offering it to her.
"Ah! merci!" she said, as if he had offered her a
flower, and taking the watch she put it in her bag.
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
This incident caused me a profound disgust, for it
was the act of a corrupted courtisane.
This visit finished, we returned, Brouquens and I,
to Canoles, for Monsieur de Chambeau had concealed
himself upon the arrival of Tallien. When we were
alone, the alteration in the face of Brouquens struck
me. He threw himself upon a sofa in a great state of
agitation, and in a reply to my question as to the
cause of his trouble, he said : "Alas, you saw the watch
which was given by Tallien to Mme. de Fontenay.
Well, it belonged to poor Saige! (The name of the
former Mayor of Bordeaux, an intimate friend of Brou-
quens, and one of the first victims of The Terror at
Bordeaux.) When he was condemned he placed this
watch upon the desk of the tribunal, saying: 'Take it,
I do not wish to have the executioner profit by it/
And Tallien took it and put it in his pocket."
It is easy to comprehend the repulsion which this
recital inspired in me. I would like to believe that
the citizeness Theresia was ignorant of this fact when
she accepted the present.
Two hours after my return to Bordeaux, Alexandre,
the secretary of Tallien, brought me the order en-
joining upon the municipality of Bordeaux to deliver
a passport to the citizen Latour and his wife with
two young children, to go to Martinique on board
the ship "Diane." Once furnished with this precious
paper, it only remained for me to recall my husband
to Bordeaux, for the American captain would not
have been willing to take him on board if these papers
had not been in order.
DECISION TO LEAVE FRANCE
This journey from Tesson to Bordeaux was full of
difficulties and dangers. As I have already said above,
Bonie did not hesitate a moment and set out for
Blaye with the falling tide. He had already procured
a regular passport for himself, for without that he
could not leave the department and enter that of
Charente-Inferieure, in which was located Tesson,
ten leagues from the frontier of the Gironde. But as
soon as he returned to the Gironde, a simple carte de
surete would be sufficient for him to travel anywhere
in the department. Bonie had indeed his personal carte
de surete, but it was necessary to procure one for my
husband. He therefore went to find one of his friends,
who for the moment was sick, and under the pretext
that he had mislaid his own card, he borrowed the card
of his friend for several days. Bonie set out that evening.
I had calculated the moments that would be neces-
sary to accomplish this perilous journey, and the
third day, towards nine o'clock in the evening, I
thought that the boat which came every day from
Blaye with the tide would bring to me the travelers
so anxiously awaited. The fever of impatience which
devoured me would not permit me to remain in the
house. With Monsieur de Chambeau I went upon
the Chartrons to the place where I knew the Blaye
boat should arrive. The darkness was so profound
that it was impossible to see the water in the river.
I did not dare to ask for any information, as I knew
that all the points on the river were observed by
numerous police spies. Finally, after a long wait, we
heard the clock strike the hour of nine-thirty, and
Monsieur de Chambeau, who had no carte de surete,
[171]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
remarked to me that we had only a half hour to re-
turn to the house without danger. Having lost all
hope for that day, I returned to the house where I
passed the night in imagining with anguish all the
obstacles which might have delayed Bonie and his
unfortunate companion.
While I was trembling thus with anxiety and im-
patience, my husband was sleeping quietly upon a
comfortable bed prepared for him by Bonie before
his departure, in one of the unoccupied rooms of the
house. In the morning the maid, when she came to
dress my little girl, said to me, with an indifferent
air: "A propos, madame, Monsieur Bonie est la qui
demande si vous etes levee." I made a prodigious
effort not to cry out, and the reader can understand
that my toilette was not long. Bonie then entered and
informed me that they had arrived too late at Blaye
to take the ordinary boat, upon which my husband
also might have been recognized. He had chartered
a fishing bark, and the wind being favorable and very
strong, he had set out with his companion and soon
overtaken and then passed the ordinary boat. They
had therefore already arrived when I was waiting for
them in a state of despair upon the bank of the river.
I was dying with impatience to enter the room
where my husband was concealed, but Bonie advised
me to dress as if I were going out, so as to deceive
the maid. Finally, a half hour later, I went out under
the pretext of doing some shopping, and Bonie hav-
ing rejoined me, he conducted me by a secret stair-
case to my husband's room. It was thus that we met
after six months of the most painful separation.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
1794
VOYAGE TO BOSTON
Delivery of the Passport. — The Vise by Ysabeau. — Monsieur
de Fontenay and His Wife's Diamonds. — Final Prepara-
tions.— Adieux to Marguerite. — Monsieur de Chambeau
Accompanies Us. — Embarkment on the "Diane." — The
Boat and Its Equipment. — Off the Azores. — The Pilot. —
The Port of Boston. — Joy at Arriving.
I HAVE already related how I took out, two
months before, a certificate of residence with
nine witnesses under the name of Dillon Gou-
vernet. It was now necessary to go and obtain a pass-
port under the name of Latour, and to avoid the
name of Dillon which was too well known at
Bordeaux, I decided to replace the name of Dillon
with that of Lee, which my uncle Lord Dillon had
added to his own when he received the inheritance
of Lord Lichfield, his great-uncle. It was impossible
to draw back. The bureau of passports was closed at
nine o'clock and we went there at eight-thirty. The
date was the eighth of March, 1794. My husband
walked, quite a distance ahead with Bonie. I followed,
accompanied by a friend of the latter, who carried in
his arms my little girl, six months of age, and led by
the hand my son who was not then four years old.
On account of the English or American name which
I wished to take, I was dressed as a lady, but very
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
badly gotten up and wearing an old straw hat. We
entered the hall of the Hotel de Ville which was full
of people. I was trembling with fear lest some in-
habitant of Saint- Andre-de-Cubzac or of Bordeaux
should recognize us. We therefore took care, Monsieur
de La Tour du Pin and I, to keep as far apart from
one another as possible and to avoid the lighted part
of the hall.
Furnished with this card, we ascended to the bu-
reau of passports, and as we entered we heard the
employe cry out: "That is enough for today, the
rest tomorrow." Any delay would have cost our
lives, as you will see. Bonie rushed up to the desk
and said: "If you are tired, citizen, I will write for
you." The other consented and Bonie made out the
collective passport for the Latour family.
As soon as the passport was signed, we took it
with keen satisfaction, although we were still very
far from being saved. It had been arranged, in order
that we should not both be found in the same house,
and to avoid the necessity of passing through Bor-
deaux the following morning in full daylight, that
Monsieur de La Tour du Pin should pass the night
with the Consul of Holland, Monsieur Meyer, who
lived in the last house of the Chartrons, and who was
entirely devoted to us. Monsieur de Brouquens was
waiting for us in the street and conducted my husband
there. As for myself, after having taken the children
back to the house, I went to see Mme. de Fontenay,
where I expected to see Tallien who had to vise our
passport. I found her in tears. Tallien had received
the order of his recall and had already left two hours
VOYAGE TO BOSTON
before. She herself was to leave in the morning and
she did not conceal from me her fears that the fe-
rocious Ysabeau, the colleague of Tallien, would
refuse to vise our passport. But Alexandre, the secre-
tary of Tallien, assured us that he would obtain the
vise. He said that Ysabeau always signed on leaving
the theatre, and that as he was in haste to have his
supper, he hardly regarded the papers which were
presented to him. Providence in its kindness had
wished that Ysabeau should demand of Tallien to
leave with him his secretary Alexandre, who not only
was very useful to him but had also the address to
render himself necessary.
At the moment that I entered the house of Mme.
de Fontenay, Alexandre left to go and get the signa-
ture. He took the passport and slipped it in between
a number of others. Ysabeau who was very much
taken up that day with the arrival of his new col-
league, whom he looked for in the morning, signed
without paying any attention, and as soon as
Alexandre was at liberty to leave, he ran to Mme.
de Fontenay's where I was waiting more dead than
alive. I was not there alone, for a person whom I did
not know had entered. This man was no other than
Monsieur de Fontenay. At this moment, Alexandre
arrived holding the passport unfolded in his hand.
He was so out of breath that he fell on a chair with-
out being able to articulate more than the words
"Le voila!" Mme. de Fontenay and I embraced him
with all our hearts, for he was our real sauveur.
Alexandre was getting ready to leave and, as it
was nearly midnight, I also prepared to leave with
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
him. Mme. de Fontenay kept me for a moment by
saying that she would have me escorted, but that
before I left she wished to show me something very
pretty. I followed her into her bedroom where Mon-
sieur de Fontenay, who was still silent, accompanied
us. From a drawer she took out a handkerchief and
laid it upon the table. Then opening a handsome
jewel-case, she took out a collection of diamonds of
the greatest magnificence and threw them upon the
handkerchief pell-mell. When she had thus emptied
all the drawers of the jewel-box, without leaving the
least thing, she tied up the ends of the handkerchief
and handed it to Monsieur de Fontenay with these
words: "Prenez tout." And he indeed took all and
went out without opening his mouth. I showed my
great surprise and she replied to my thought by
saying: "He had given me a part; the rest came
from my mother. He also is leaving tomorrow for
America."
All of our baggage had now been on board for
three days, without my spy having imagined that all
the wardrobes and all the drawers were empty. I
paid the most tender adieux to my maid, Marguerite,
whom I left under the protection of Monsieur de
Brouquens. Finally, on the tenth of March, taking my
daughter Seraphine in my arms and my son Humbert
by the hand, I said to the nurse that I was going to
take them to the Alices de Tourny, which at this
time was still the usual promenade for children, and
that I would be back in an hour or two. Instead of
returning, I walked towards the Glacis du Chateau-
&J
nee THERESIA CABARRUS
1773 - 1635
VOYAGE TO BOSTON
Trompette, where I rejoined Monsieur de Chambeau,
to whom I had given rendez-vous. He had also ob-
tained passage on our boat, as it was necessary for
political reasons for him to leave the city with the
shortest possible delay. I found him at Chateau-
Trompette accompanied by a boy carrying his port-
manteau which was very light. He took the hand of
Humbert and when we arrived at the end of the
Chartrons, and saw the boat of the "Diane," we
both of us experienced a feeling of joy such as one
does not often have in this life.
Monsieur Meyer, with whom my husband had
passed the night, was awaiting us. We found, already
at luncheon, the good Brouquens, Mme. de Fontenay
and three or four other persons. In spite of all of our
efforts, the famine at Bordeaux was so great that we
had been able to procure very few provisions. Several
sacks of potatoes and of beans, a small box of pre-
serves and fifty bottles of Bordeaux wine comprised
all our riches. Captain Pease had several casks of
biscuits, but they were eighteen months old, as he
had brought them from Baltimore. Monsieur Meyer
gave me a little bag of fresh biscuits which I kept to
make soup for my little girl. But of what importance
was all that compared to the fact that the life of my
husband was saved !
Mme. de Fontenay was overjoyed at her success.
Her beautiful face was bathed with tears of joy
when we entered the boat. She has since told me
that this moment, thanks to our expressions of
gratitude, was one of the pleasantest of which she
had preserved the memory.
[177]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
When the captain was seated at the helm and cried
"Off!" a feeling of indescribable happiness overcame
me. Seated before my husband whose life I was sav-
ing, with my two children upon my knees, nothing
to me seemed impossible. Poverty, work, misery,
nothing was difficult with him.
The boat "Diane" had descended with the pre-
ceding tide as far as Bee d'Ambez, where we were to
rejoin it. We had received orders from headquarters
to hail a ship of war stationed as a sentinel in the
middle of the river at the entrance of the port. Our
captain prepared to submit his papers and our pass-
ports. This was a dangerous moment. We did not
dare to speak French, nor to look up towards the
bridge of the war vessel. The captain alone went on
board. He did not know a word of French although
he had spent a year at Bordeaux. A voice from the
bridge cried: "Have the woman come up to serve as
interpreter." I was struck with a mortal terror. But
our captain leaned over the rail and told me not to
answer. I did not raise my eyes. At this moment a
French boat in great haste and full of men in uniform
approached. The captain took advantage of this
diversion, seized his papers, jumped into the boat
and we rowed away as fast as possible.
At last we found our little vessel the "Diane"
and settled ourselves on board as well as possible.
The second falling tide took us in front of Pauillac.
There we had again to receive the visit of two other
guard vessels. The officers who came on board were
very polite, but very inquisitive.
As the wind was absolutely contrary and showed
VOYAGE TO BOSTON
no signs of changing, the captain proposed to us to
go on land for dinner, where we might have a chance
to buy some articles to add to our provisions. Here
we had a narrow escape from being recognized by a
servant who served the dessert and who thought she
recognized my husband. It was therefore with a feel-
ing of relief that we found ourselves once more in
the cabin of the "Diane." Fortunately the wind
changed and the following day we left behind us the
Tour de Cordouan.
The little brig upon which we had embarked was
only of 150 tons, that is to say a large bark. As the
cargo was composed solely of our twenty-five boxes
or trunks, the boat rolled horribly. My maritime
apprenticeship was very painful.
We had agreed with the captain regarding our
board, but he, as unfortunate as ourselves, had not
been able to procure provisions other than those
which had been furnished by the marine stores.
At the time of our departure from Bordeaux, one
of the four sailors had had a terrible fall from the top
of the mast into the hold and was out of service.
Only three sailors remained to manoeuvre the boat.
The crew therefore consisted only of these three
sailors, a cabin boy who acted as servant, the cap-
tain, who was a young man without much experience,
the mate, who like himself was from Nantucket, and
an old sailor of much experience named Harper
whom the captain consulted on every occasion.
The captain had a little room which he occupied
alone. He had given a cabin to my husband and to
[179]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
myself and another to Monsieur de Chambeau. My
husband did not leave his bed for thirty days. He
suffered terribly from sea-sickness and also from the
poor food.
At the time, the Americans were at war with the
Algerians, who had already captured several of their
vessels. Our captain was in such great terror of these
pirates that at two leagues from the Tour de Cor-
douan he set his course towards the north and de-
clared that nothing in the world would reassure him
before he was to the north of Ireland.
One day the sailor who was on watch upon the
deck cried out: "French man-of-war ahead." The
captain rushed on deck and at the same time ordered
us not to appear. A cannon shot was heard. It was
the commencement of a conversation upon which de-
pended the question of our life or death. The vessel
announced itself as French by displaying its flag. We
also showed our flag, and after the usual questions,
we heard our captain reply, for we were not able to
distinguish the questions from the French boat: "No
passengers; no cargo." To which the "Atalante" re-
plied: "Come on board." Our captain said that the
sea was too rough. Then the conversation terminated
with a word from the French vessel : " Follow," and
we set our only sail and with submission followed in
the wake of the French vessel. The captain on de-
scending said to us gayly: "In another hour it will
be night, and there is a fog coming on." Never was a
fog hailed with greater joy. We soon lost sight of the
frigate in the darkness, and as we were making as
little sail as possible, she continued to gain upon us.
[180]
VOYAGE TO BOSTON
The frigate had signalled to us that she was going
into Brest and wanted us to follow. As soon as night
fell, we took the route directly contrary, and, the
wind being very strong and favorable, with all sails
set, we laid our course to the northwest, without
caring whether or not it was the route to Boston,
where we were to go.
This incident threw us completely out of our course,
and we experienced thick fogs which did not enable
us to take an observation for a period of twelve or
fifteen days. Provisions commenced to run short and
we were put upon a ration of water. We encountered
an English vessel coming from Ireland and our cap-
tain went on board and returned with a bag of
potatoes and two small pots of butter for myself and
children. Having compared his position with that of
the English captain, he found that we were fifty
leagues to the north of the Azores. On learning this,
my husband prayed him to put us on the shore of
the Azores, from which we might have been able to
gain England, but the captain was unwilling to do so.
Ten days followed in which we were unable to take
an observation, and the fog was so dense that even
upon our little boat we could not see the bowsprit.
The captain did not know where he was. Old Harper
assured us that he felt land breezes, but we thought
that he was endeavoring to cheer us up. Finally, the
twelfth of May, 1794, at daybreak, as the weather
was warm and the sea calm, we were on deck with
the children to breathe the fresh air. The fog was
still very dense, and the captain declared that the
[181]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
land was still at a distance of at least fifty or sixty
leagues. I could not help remarking, however, the
nervousness of the dog — a black terrier, of which
I was very fond and who had taken a great fancy to
me. The poor beast rushed forward barking and then
at once returned to me and licked my hands, and
then repeated the same action. This singular per-
formance had already lasted for an hour when a
little pilot boat appeared near to us and a man cried
in English: "If you do not change your direction,
you are going to run onto the Cape." A cord was
thrown to him and he sprang on board. It is im-
possible to describe the joy we felt upon seeing this
pilot from Boston. We had arrived without knowing
it at the entrance of this magnificent harbor, of whcih
the finest lake in Europe can give no idea. Leaving
the open sea, where the waves were breaking with
fury over the rocks, we entered by a narrow passage,
where two vessels could hardly pass at the same time,
into a body of water as quiet and smooth as a mirror.
A light breeze came up from the friendly land which
was to receive us.
The transports of my son cannot be described.
For a period of sixty days he had heard us talk of
the dangers from which, thanks to Heaven, we had
escaped. The remembrance of good white bread and
of the good milk of other days often troubled his
young imagination. When he saw from this straight
passage by which we were entering, the green fields,
the trees and flowers and all the beauty of the most
luxuriant vegetation, his joy was unbounded. Our
own, although more reasonable, was not less intense.
SECOND PART
CHAPTER ONE
1794
ARRIVAL IN AMERICA
Adieux to the "Diane." — Joy of Being in a Friendly Country. —
Temporary Residence at Boston. — Mr. Geyer. — General
Schuyler. — Sale of Superfluous Articles. — Departure for
Albany. — Mme. de La Tour du Pin Learns of the Death
of Her Father. — The Inn at Lebanon. — Arrival at Albany.
— Friendly Reception by General Schuyler and the Van
Rensselaer Family. — Mrs. Van Rensselaer. — Talleyrand
in America.
IT is probably very presumptuous on my part to
continue to write these memoirs at the age of
nearly seventy-three years. But having to-day
finished the task of copying the part which I had
already written upon loose sheets, I warn you, my
dear son, Aymar, that you shall have the rest if God
permits, as long as I retain a little strength and
reason and eyes to guide my hand. An enterprise of
this kind demands, above all things, memory, and
it seems to me that I have not entirely lost mine.
But abandoning preambles, let us return to our
entrance into the port of Boston. Our ecstacy, I
admit with shame, was entirely concentrated upon
an enormous fresh fish which the pilot had just
caught and which, with a pitcher of milk, fresh
butter and white bread, composed what the captain
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
called "a welcome breakfast." While we were eating
with voracious appetites, we were advancing, towed
by our boat, up this magnificent bay. At two cables'
length from the land, our captain dropped the
anchor and then left us with the promise to return
in the evening after having found us a lodging.
We did not have a single letter of introduction,
and we awaited his return with patience. Fresh
provisions arrived from all sides. Several Frenchmen
also came, who were impatient to have news. They
assailed us with questions to which we could reply
only very imperfectly. One wished to know what was
going on at Lille, another at Grenoble, a third at
Metz, and all were surprised and almost angry to
obtain replies only regarding Paris or France in
general. Most of them were very common people:
ruined merchants, or workmen who were looking for
positions. They left us in very bad humor, and we
were not troubled by them during the rest of the
time that we were at Boston.
The remainder of the day was passed in putting
our things in order. The captain returned in the
evening. He had found a little lodging upon the
Market Place, and his ship-owner had charged him
to offer us his services. My husband resolved to go
to see him the following day on landing. The captain
told us that he was a rich man and highly considered,
and that we were fortunate to be under his protection.
You may well believe that daybreak the following
morning found me already awake. I made my adieux
to all the members of the crew individually by
"shaking hands" with them. These worthy fellows
[184]
ARRIVAL IN AMERICA
had been full of attention for us. The cabin-boy shed
tears on separating from my son. Every one expressed
his regret at parting, and I for my part was very
sorry not to be able to take the dog "Black" who
was much attached to me. I had consulted my friend
Boyd to learn whether the captain would willingly
let me have her. Boyd assured me that the request
would be refused, and I therefore did not dare to
make it.
Our good captain conducted us first to one of the
best inns, where he had ordered prepared an excellent
luncheon, and we found everything of which we had
been deprived for so long a time. After this, we went
to the little lodging house chosen by the captain,
where my husband left me to go and see the owner
of our ship.
Mr. Geyer was one of the richest proprietors of
the city of Boston. Although he had returned after
the peace to enjoy his fortune in his native land,
he had been counted among the partisans of England,
and had taken no part in the Revolution against the
Mother Country. Following the example of many
other Boston merchants, he had even taken his
family with him to England during the war. My
husband was received by Mr. Geyer with a charming
cordiality.
I omitted to say that at Pauillac we were moored
alongside a vessel which was waiting for a favorable
wind, like ourselves, and which was bound for Eng-
land. I had written a few words in haste to Mme.
d'Henin, then living at London, to beg her to write
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
us at Boston, in care of Mr. Geyer whose address
had been given me by the captain. The length of
our voyage had permitted my aunt to reply, and we
found, on landing, letters which settled the place in
the United States which we were to inhabit. I will
return to this later.
The house, in which were located the rooms found
for us by the captain, was inhabited by three genera-
tions of ladies: Mrs. Pierce, her mother and her
daughter. The house was situated upon the Market
Place, the locality the most frequented and most
animated in the city. Our lodging comprised, on one
side, a little sitting-room lighted by two windows
looking out on the Market Place; on the other side,
at the top of a little stairway, a comfortable bed-
chamber allotted to my husband, my children and
myself. This room had a view over an isolated dock-
yard where ship carpenters were working. Beyond
that extended the neighboring country. You will
see later why I enter into these details.
We arranged for board with some excellent people,
who nourished us well in the English fashion. The
evening of the first day found us settled as if no
grief or inquietude had ever troubled our life.
Towards the middle of the night I was awakened
by the barking of a dog and by a scratching at the
door of the kitchen which opened out on the dock-
yard. This bark was not unknown to me. I got up
and opened the window. By the moonlight I could
recognize the dog "Black." I at once descended and
opened the door for her. As soon as she had entered
my room, I saw that the poor beast was so wet
[186]
ARRIVAL IN AMERICA
that she certainly must have remained a long time
in the water. The following morning, I found that
she had been kept chained on board during the day,
but that at ten o'clock in the evening, the sailor
thinking that it would be all right to release her,
had done so, and she had immediately jumped into
the sea. As the "Diane" was at anchor about a mile
from the quay, it is certain that the good beast must
have swum this entire distance and then have
searched through the city until she discovered exactly
the door of the house which was nearest to the room
where we were sleeping. The captain felt a sort of
superstition that he must not oppose an attachment
so clearly shown. "Black" never left us again and
returned with us to Europe.
The morning of the day after our arrival, Mr.
Geyer came to see me with his wife and daughter.
He spoke French quite well, but the ladies did not
know a single word. They were delighted to find that
their language was as familiar to me as it was to
themselves.
Mr. Geyer offered to put at our disposal a farm
which he owned about eighteen miles from Boston.
Perhaps we should have done well to accept his
proposition, but my husband wished to be as near
as possible to Canada, where he would have liked
to settle. He spoke English with difficulty, although
he understood it perfectly, and the thought that
French was, as it still is, the language which is
usually spoken at Montreal, gave him the desire to
live in the vicinity of that city.
In the letters which we had received from Eng-
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
land, Mme. d'Henin, while regretting that we had
not been able to rejoin her in England, sent us letters
from an American who was one of her friends. This
lady, Mrs. Church, recommended us to a family
residing at Albany. She was a daughter of General
Schuyler who had gained a great reputation during
the War of Independence. Until a short time before
the surrender of General Burgoyne, at Saratoga in
October, 1777, he had commanded the American
army which opposed the forces led from Canada by
General Burgoyne to reenforce the English army
which was in possession of New York. Since the
peace, General Schuyler, a Hollander by origin,
lived upon his estate with all his family. His eldest
daughter had married the head of the Van Rensselaer
family which was settled at Albany and possessed a
large fortune in the county.
Mrs. Church, seeing the great maternal interest
and tender friendship which animated our aunt,
wrote to her relatives, and we received on our arrival
in Boston very pressing letters from General Schuyler
in which he urged us to come without delay to Al-
bany, where he assured us we would easily be able
to establish ourselves. To this end he offered us all
of his support. We therefore made up our minds to
accept his proposition. Having sent all of our baggage
by sea to New York, whence it would be forwarded
to Albany by the Hudson River, we waited at Boston
for the news of its arrival at destination before set-
ting out by land. We preferred to make in this way
the trip of two hundred miles, as it would permit us
to see the country and would not be more expensive.
[188]
ARRIVAL IN AMERICA
Before despatching our baggage, we were obliged
to unpack and repack all the boxes, as they contained
a lot of articles which would be useless to people,
who, like ourselves, were going to live in the country
under conditions similar to those of peasants in
Europe. There was no indication that the Revolution
would permit us to return to Europe for a long time,
and I was happy, I admit, that my husband had
been received in the United States in a manner
which turned him from the idea of going back to
England, where I had a kind of presentiment that
we would not be well received by my family.
At Boston I sold everything among the effects
which we had brought with us which could bring
us in a little money. As the "Diane" had made the
voyage without cargo, our baggage, which had cost
us nothing to transport, was very considerable. We
disposed of more than half of it; clothing, cloth, laces,
a piano, music, porcelains — everything which would
be superfluous in our little household was converted
into money and then into drafts upon persons of
responsibility at Albany.
After remaining a month at Boston we set out
with our two children, Humbert and Seraphine, the
first of June, and fifteen days later we arrived at
Albany. We traversed the whole state of Massa-
chusetts, of which we admired the fertility and the
air of prosperity. But a sad piece of news had made
me so melancholy that I did not enjoy anything.
Before leaving Boston my husband had heard of the
death of my father who perished on the scaffold the
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
thirteenth of April. He awaited the time of our
journey to tell me, in the hope that the necessary
distraction of travelling would be a kind of relief for
me. It was at Northampton, where we passed the
night, that he resolved to tell me, fearing lest I should
read of the sad event in some paper. All the news of
France was reproduced in the American papers as
soon as it was received in every port of the Union.
The death of my father strongly affected me, al-
though I had expected it for some time. Though I
had seen very little of him for years, I nevertheless
had for him the most tender affection. I wrote my
step-mother, who was living at Martinique with my
sister Fanny, who was then twelve years of age. A
long time afterwards I received a reply from Mme.
Dillon, in which she announced her departure for
England with Fanny and Mile, de La Touche, a
daughter by her first marriage. The letter was very
cold, and my step-mother did not trouble herself at
all over the conditions of my existence in America.
In spite of everything, as generally happens when
you see new objects, I was diverted from my grief
by the beauty of the woods which we had to traverse
to arrive at Lebanon, the last stop where we passed
the night before arriving at Albany. A forest, fifty
miles wide, then separated the state of Massachusetts
from that of New York. These woods, which probably
are no longer in existence, afforded a spectacle new to
me, with all the degrees of vegetation, from the tree
commencing to spring from the earth, to that which
had fallen from age. The route laid out through these
splendid woods was no wider than the wagon track.
[190]
ARRIVAL IN AMERICA
It was a simple opening through the trees which had
been cut off at the foot and thrown to the right and
left to leave a free passageway.
About midway, we stopped for luncheon at an inn
recently erected, in the middle of these immense
woods. In America, as soon as a rustic house is built
in the forest, if it is near a road, even if only one
person passes during the course of the year, the first
expenditure of the owner is the purchase of a sign,
and the first task is the erection of a post to attach
it. Then he nails to the post below the sign a letter-
box, and this locality, where the road is hardly laid
out, is at once designated upon the map of the country
as a city.
The wooden house where we stopped had reached
the second degree of civilization, as it was a frame
house, that is to say, a house provided with sashes
and panes of glass.
At the end of the dinner which we took together,
the master of the house rose, removed his cap, and,
with a respectful air, pronounced these words: "We
will drink the health of our beloved President." You
would not then have found a cabin, no matter how
buried it was in the depths of the woods, where this
act of love for the great Washington did not terminate
every meal. Sometimes there was also added a toast
to the "Marquis," Monsieur de La Fayette, who had
left a well-loved name in the United States.
At Lebanon there was an establishment of sulphu-
reous baths which was already quite important. The
inn was very good, and above all was perfectly neat.
But the luxury of white bed-linen was then unknown
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION"
in this part of the United States. A request for it
would only have appeared fantastic and would not
have been understood.
The city of Albany, the capital of the state, had
been almost entirely burned two years before by an
insurrection of negroes. Slavery was not yet entirely
abolished in the state of New York, except for
children to be born during the year of 1794, and only
when these had reached their twentieth year. This
very wise measure, which obliged the owners of the
slaves to raise them, gave, on the other hand, to the
slave the time to make good to his master, by his
work, the cost of his education. One of these "blacks,"
a very worthless character, who had hoped that the
act of the legislature would give him his liberty with-
out conditions, resolved to be revenged. He enrolled
several miserable fellows like himself, and on a fixed
day arranged to set fire to the city, which at this
time was constructed mainly of wood. This atrocious
plan succeeded beyond their expectations. Fires were
started in twenty places at once, and houses and stores,
with their contents, were destroyed, notwithstanding
the efforts of the inhabitants, at the head of whom
labored the old General Schuyler, and all his family.
A little negress, twelve years old, was arrested at the
moment she was setting fire to a store with straw
from the stable of her master. She revealed the names
of her accomplices. The next day a court assembled
upon the still smoking ruins, and condemned the
black chief and six of his accomplices to be hung,
which sentence was executed at once.
[ 192]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
buildings which gave to the whole establishment the
air of a very fine and well-kept farm. I asked of a
young boy, who opened the gate to permit us to
descend to the edge of the river, who was the proprie-
tor of this large mansion. He replied with an air of
surprise that it was the house of the "patroon." On
my saying that I did not know what he meant by the
word "patroon," he was filled with astonishment.
Two days later we were received in this house with
a kind attention and friendship which in the future
never failed us. Mrs. Van Rensselaer was a woman of
thirty years who spoke French very well. She had
learned the language while accompanying her father
to the general headquarters of the American and
French armies. She was endowed with a superior
mind and with an extraordinary clearness of judg-
ment regarding men and things. For years she had
not gone out of the house, where she was confined
to her chair by the state of her health for months
at a time, the beginning of a malady which led her
to the tomb a few years later. By reading the papers
she had kept informed as to the state of parties in
France, the mistakes which had brought on the
Revolution, the vices of the higher class of society,
and the folly of the medium classes. With an ex-
traordinary perspicuity she had penetrated the causes
and the effects of the troubles of our country better
than we ourselves. She was very impatient to make
the acquaintance of Monsieur de Talleyrand, who
had arrived at Philadelphia, having been dismissed
from England on very short notice. With his usual
quickness of apprehension, he had made up his
ARRIVAL IN AMERICA
mind that France had not yet finished the different
phases of the Revolution. He brought for us im-
portant letters from Holland which Mme. d'Henin
had confided to him. She wrote me, among other
things, that Monsieur de Talleyrand had come to
pass, in a country of real liberty, the period of cruel
folly from which France was suffering. Monsieur de
Talleyrand asked where he could find me at the end
of a trip to the interior of the country which he was
thinking of making in company with Monsieur de
Beaumetz, his friend, and a millionaire Englishman
who had just arrived from India.
[195]
CHAPTER TWO
1794
THE FARM NEAR ALBANY
En Pension with the Van Burens. — Mme. de La Tour du Pin's
Father-in-Law. — Apprenticeship as Farmer. — Purchase of
a Farm. — Temporary Residence at Troy. — A Log House.
— Unexpected Visit of Monsieur de Talleyrand. — News
of the 9 Thermidor. — An Appreciation of Monsieur de
Talleyrand. — Mr. Law. — Alexander Hamilton. — Begin-
ning of Winter. — First Encounter with the Indians.—
Purchase of the First Negro, Minck. — Repairs of the
Farmhouse. — Activity of Mme. de La Tour du^Pin.
AS we did not wish to remain at Albany,
General Schuyler took charge of finding us
a farm which we could buy in the neighbor-
hood. He advised us in the meantime to arrange for
three months to live with a family of his acquaintance
which was located not far from the farm which his
brother, Colonel Schuyler, occupied with his twelve
children. Our sojourn at Albany, therefore, was not
prolonged beyond several days. After this, we went
to live with Mr. Van Buren to learn American
manners, as we had made it a condition of living
with this family that they were not to change in
any way the customs of the house. It was also ar-
ranged that Mrs. Van Buren should employ me in
the housework the same as if I were one of her
daughters. Monsieur de Chambeau at the same time
THE FARM NEAR ALBANY
began an apprenticeship with a carpenter of the little
growing city of Troy situated at a quarter of a mile
from the Van Buren farm. He set out Monday morn-
ing and returned Saturday night only to pass Sunday
with us. We had just received news of the tragic end
of my father-in=law who perished upon the scaffold
the twenty-eighth of April, 1794. Monsieur de Cham-
beau had received at the same time news of the death
of his own father. As I was a very good seamstress,
I fashioned for myself my mourning costume, and
my good hostess, having thus learned to appreciate
the skill of my needle, found it very pleasant to have
a seamstress at her command without cost, when she
would have been obliged to pay a dollar a day and
board if she had hired one from Albany.
My husband visited several farms. We were await-
ing the arrival of the funds which had been sent us
from Holland before purchasing the farm which we
expected to acquire. General Schuyler and Mr. Van
Rensselaer advised my husband to divide his funds
into three equal parts: A third for the purchase;
a third for the management, the purchase of negroes,
horses, cows, agricultural implements and household
furniture ; and a third part, added to what remained
of the 12,000 francs brought by us from Bordeaux,
for a reserve fund to meet unexpected circumstances,
such as the loss of negroes or cattle and also for living
expenses the first year. This arrangement became
our rule of conduct.
Personally, I resolved to be in a position to fulfill
my duties as manager of the farm. I began by ac-
customing myself never to remain in bed after sun-
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
rise. At three o'clock in the morning, during the
summer, I was up and dressed. My room opened
upon a little lawn stretching down to the river. When
I say "opened," I am not speaking of the window,
but of the door which was on a level with the turf.
Therefore, without moving from my bed, I could see
the vessels passing.
The Van Buren farm, an old mansion built in the
style of Holland, occupied a delightful situation upon
the bank of the river. Entirely isolated on the land
side, it had easy facilities of communication with
the other side of the river. Opposite, on the highway
to Canada, was situated a large inn where could be
found all the notices, the papers, and the posters re-
garding sales. Two or three stage coaches passed
there every day. Van Buren owned two canoes, and
the river was always so calm that it was possible to
cross it at any moment. No road crossed this prop-
erty. It was bounded at a distance of several hundred
yards by a mountain covered with fine trees belong-
ing to the Van Burens. We often said that this farm
was just what we wanted, but the value was far be-
yond what we were able to pay. This was the only
thing which prevented us from acquiring it, for the
general rule in America at this time was that no
matter how attached a man might be to his house,
his farm, his horse or his negro, if you offered him a
third more than the value, you were assured of
becoming the owner.
During the month of September my husband en-
tered into negotiations with a farmer whose land was
THE FARM NEAR ALBANY
situated on the other side of the river, upon the road
from Troy to Schenectady, a distance of two miles
in the interior. The situation of this farm upon a
hill overlooking a large expanse of country appeared
to us agreeable. The house was new, pretty and in
very good condition. The land was only partially
under cultivation. There were one hundred and fifty
acres sown down, as many in woods and pasturage,
a small kitchen garden of a quarter of an acre full of
vegetables, and finally a handsome orchard sown
with red clover and planted with cider apples. These
trees were ten years old and in full bearing. They
asked us 12,000 francs. General Schuyler did not
think the price exorbitant. The property was situated
at four miles from Albany, upon a route which they
were going to open up to communicate with the city
of Schenectady, which was in a thriving situation.
The proprietor did not wish to move until after
the snow was well packed. As we had arranged with
the Van Burens, who evidently had had enough of
us, for two months only, it was necessary, therefore,
to look for another home from the first of September
to the first of November. At Troy, we found for a
moderate sum, a little wooden house in the midst
of a large yard, enclosed by a board fence. Here we
established ourselves, and, as it would be necessary
for us to purchase some furniture for the farm, we
immediately acquired what we wanted. These pieces
of furniture, added to those which we had brought
from Europe, permitted us to be well settled at once.
I had engaged a white girl, who was quite satisfactory.
She was to be married in two months and consented
[199]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
to enter my service while awaiting the erection of the
log house which her future husband was building,
where they expected to live after their marriage.
Here is what is meant by a log house. A plan better
than a description would give an exact idea. A piece
of land fourteen or fifteen feet square was levelled
and the construction was begun by building a brick
chimney, which was the first comfort of the house;
then the walls were erected. These were composed of
large pieces of wood, covered with bark, which were
hewn in such a manner as to join exactly to each
other. Above the walls was constructed the roof,
with an opening for the chimney. In the middle a
door was installed. You see many of these houses in
Switzerland where they serve exclusively for the use
of the cattle and the men who guard them. In America
these houses represent the first degree of shelter and
often the last, for there are always unfortunate per-
sons, and these log houses in a prosperous city become
the refuge of the poor.
One day at the end of September, I was in the
yard with a hatchet in my hand, occupied with
cutting the bone of a leg of mutton which I was pre-
paring to put on the spit for our dinner. All of a
sudden, I heard behind me a loud voice which said
in French: "On ne peut embrocher un gigot avec
plus de majeste." Turning quickly, I saw Monsieur
de Talleyrand and Monsieur de Beaumetz. Having
arrived the evening before at Albany, they had
learned from General Schuyler where we were. They
came on his part to invite us to dinner and to pass
the following day with them at his house. These
[200]
THE FARM NEAR ALBANY
gentlemen were to remain in the city only two days.
An Englishman who was one of their friends was ac-
companying them and was very impatient to return
to New York. However, as Monsieur de Talleyrand
was very much amused at the sight of my leg of
mutton, I insisted that he should return the follow-
ing day to eat it with us. He consented. Leaving the
children in the care of Monsieur de Chambeau and
Betsey, we set out for Albany.
En route we talked a great deal upon all kinds of
subjects, as people do when they meet after a long
time. The latest news from Europe, of which they
were ignorant, owing to their visit to Niagara, from
which they had only just returned, was more terrible
than ever. Blood flowed in floods at Paris. Mme.
Elisabeth, the sister of the King, had perished ; our
relatives, and our friends were counted among the
victims of the Terror.
When we arrived at the house of the good General,
he was on the stoop. From a distance he made signs
to us and cried: "Come quickly, come quickly!
There is great news from France!" We entered the
sitting-room and every one of us took a paper. Here
we found the news of the Revolution of the 9 Ther-
midor; the death of Robespierre and his followers, the
end of the shedding of blood and the just punishment
of the Revolutionary Tribunal.
Monsieur de Talleyrand was rejoicing especially
that his sister-in-law, Mme. Archambauld de Peri-
gord, had escaped, when, later in the evening, having
taken up from the table a paper which he thought
he had read, he found her name among the terrible
[201 ]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
list of victims executed the 9 Thermidor, that very
morning, during the session in which Robespierre
was denounced. The news of her death painfully
affected him. His brother, who cared little for his
wife, had left France in 1790, and as their fortune
belonged to his wife, he had found it more convenient
that she should remain in order to avoid confiscation.
She left three children, a daughter who was later
Duchesse de Poix, and two sons : Louis, who died in
the army under Napoleon, and Edmond who married
the youngest of the daughters of the Duchesse de
Courlande. Without the news of this cruel event,
our evening with General Schuyler would have been
more agreeable.
Mr. Law, the travelling companion of Messieurs de
Talleyrand and de Beaumetz, could have passed for
the most original of Englishmen, all of whom are
more or less so. He was a tall blond man, forty or
forty-five years of age, with a handsome sad face.
That evening upon returning to their inn, he said
suddenly to Monsieur de Talleyrand :
"Mon cher, nous ne partirons pas apres-demain."
" Et pourquoi ? Vous avez retenu votre passage sur
le sloop qui descend a New- York."
"Oh! cela est egal. Je ne veux pas partir. Ces gens
de Troy que vous avez ete chercher ..."
"Ehlbien?"
" Je veux les revoir encore plusieurs fois. Demain,
vous irez chez eux?"
"Oui."
"J'irai vous y prendre le soir. Je veux voir cette
femme-la chez elle."
202
THE FARM NEAR ALBANY
Then he became silent and they could not get
another word out of him.
The following morning, after having dined with our
paternal General, Monsieur de Talleyrand and my
husband returned to Troy. I had preceded them dur-
ing the morning, for it was necessary for me to prepare
the dinner for my guests. A little negro drove the
"carry-all" which could be easily procured at Albany
for a dollar.
Monsieur de Talleyrand was amiable as he has
always been for me, without any variation, with that
charm of conversation which no one has ever pos-
sessed to a greater degree than himself. He had
known me since my childhood, and therefore assumed
a sort of paternal and gracious tone which was very
charming. I regretted sincerely to find so many
reasons for not holding him in esteem, but I could
not avoid forgetting my disagreeable recollections
when I had passed an hour in listening to him. As
he had no moral value himself, by singular contrast,
he had a horror of that which was evil in others. To
listen to him without knowing him, you would have
believed that he was a worthy man.
That evening Mr. Law, accompanied by Mr. Beau-
metz, came to take tea. I already had a cow and gave
them some excellent cream. We went for a walk, and
Mr. Law offered me his arm and a long conversation
followed between us. Brother of Lord Landaff, he
had left while still very young for India, where, for
a period of fourteen years, he had been in the em-
ploy of the Government of Patna, or some similar
post. There he had married a rich Indian widow by
[203 ]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
whom he had two sons who were still children. His
wife had died, leaving him a considerable fortune.
Upon his return to England he had not been happy
and had formed the resolution of coming to America
to invest in that country in the purchase of land a
part of the capital which he had brought back from
India.
Two days later we were to pass the day at Mrs.
Van Rensselaer's, with all the Schuylers. Monsieur
de Talleyrand had been extremely impressed by the
remarkable culture of Mrs. Van Rensselaer, and
could not believe that she had not passed years in
Europe. She had a very clear understanding of
American affairs and the Revolution, of which
she had gained a profound and extended knowledge
through her brother-in-law, Colonel Hamilton, who
was the friend and also the most intimate confidant of
Washington. Colonel Hamilton was expected at Al-
bany where he intended to pass some time with his
father-in-law, General Schuyler. He had just resigned
the position of Secretary of the Treasury, which he
had held since the peace. It was to him that the
country owed the good order which had been es-
tablished in this branch of the government of the
United States. Monsieur de Talleyrand knew him
and had the very highest opinion of him. But he
found it very remarkable that a man of his value,
and endowed with talents so superior, should leave
the Ministry to resume the profession of lawyer, giv-
ing as his reason for this decision that the position
of Minister did not give him the means of bringing up
his family of eight children. Such a pretext seemed to
[204]
THE FARM NEAR ALBANY
Talleyrand very singular and, so to speak, even a
little naif.
At the end of the dinner, Mr. Law took Talleyrand
by the arm and led him into the garden where they
passed some time. The departure of these gentlemen
was fixed for the following day, and they had formed
the plan of coming to Troy in the morning to say
adieu to us. After his conversation with Talleyrand,
Mr. Law stated that he had letters to write and re-
turned to his inn. Monsieur de Talleyrand then led
my husband and myself to a corner of the salon where
he related what Monsieur Law had said, in these
terms: "My good friend, I am very fond of these
people, and my intention is to lend them a thousand
louis. They have just purchased a farm. It will be
necessary for them to have cattle, horses, negroes
and so on. As long as they inhabit the country they
will not repay my loan. Besides, I would not accept
it. It is necessary for me to help them in order to be
happy. If they refuse, I shall fall ill. They will render
me a real service in accepting my offer."
Then he added: "Cette femme, si bien elevee! qui
fait la cuisine ... qui trait sa vache ... qui lave son
linge . . . Cette idee m'est insupportable . . . elle me
tue . . . Voila deux nuits que je n'en ai pas dormi."
Talleyrand was a man of too good taste to turn to
ridicule such a feeling. He asked us very seriously
what reply he should make. To tell the truth we
were very profoundly touched by this proposition,
notwithstanding the originality with which it was
made. We requested Monsieur de Talleyrand to ex-
press to his friend our very sincere thanks and to
[205]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
assure him that for the moment we were able to take
care of all the demands of our establishment, but that
later on, if, owing to some unexpected circumstance
we found ourselves in need, we would promise to let
him know. This promise which he received that even-
ing quieted him a little. The following morning he
came to say adieu. The poor man was as embarrassed
as if he had done something wrong.
We were awaiting with impatience the first snow-
fall and the moment when the river would be frozen
for three or four months. In order to have the ice
solid, it is necessary that the freezing should take
place during the twenty-four hours, and that the ice
should be two or three feet thick. This peculiarity is
due entirely to the locality and the immense forests
which cover the large continent to the west and north
of the settlements of the United States, but is not
due to the latitude. It is probable that at the present
writing the Great Lakes are now almost entirely
surrounded by settlements, and that the climate of
the region in which we lived has notably changed.
From the twenty-fifth of October until the first of
November the sky was covered with a mass of clouds
so thick that the day was obscured. A northwest
wind, bitterly cold, blew with great violence and
every one made preparations to put aside whatever
could be covered up by the snow. We took out of the
river the boats, the canoes and the barks, turning
upside down those which had no decks. Everybody
at this time displayed the greatest activity. Then the
snow commenced to fall with such abundance that
[206]
THE FARM NEAR ALBANY
you could not see a man at ten paces. Ordinarily the
ice formed two or three days before. The first care
was to trace with pine branches a wide route along
one of the banks. In the same way were marked the
places where the border was not steep and where one
could pass upon the ice. It would have been dangerous
to pass elsewhere, for in many places the ice lacked
solidity upon the edges.
We had acquired moccasins, a kind of foot-covering
of buffalo-skin, made and sold by the Indians. The
price of these articles was sometimes quite high when
they were embroidered with dyed bark or with
porcupine quills.
It was in purchasing these moccasins that I saw
the Indians for the first time. They were the last
survivors of the Mohawk tribe whose territory had
been purchased or taken by the Americans since the
peace. The Onondagas, established near Lake Cham-
plain, also were selling their forests and disappearing
at this epoch. From time to time some of them came
to us. I was a little surprised when I met for the first
time a man and woman practically nude promenading
tranquilly upon the highway, without any one seem-
ing to find this remarkable. But I soon became ac-
customed to this, and, when I was settled on the farm,
I saw them almost every day during the summer.
We took advantage of the first moment that the
route was traced and trodden down to commence
our moving. The funds which we awaited from Hol-
land had arrived and my grandmother, Lady Dillon,
who had died the nineteenth of June, had left me a
legacy of 300 guineas, although she had never seen
[207]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
me. With this money we bought our farm utensils.
We already possessed four good horses and two work-
sleds. A third served for our personal use and was
called the pleasure sleigh. It could hold six persons.
It was constructed in the form of a very low box.
At the back was a seat, a little wider than the body of
the sleigh, which was placed upon a box in which we
could put small packages, and it had a back higher
than your head, which broke the force of the wind.
The other seats — two in number — were composed
of simple planks. Buffalo-robes and sheepskins cov-
ered the feet. Two horses were attached and we were
carried very swiftly.
We accordingly set out to establish ourselves on
our farm, although the sellers were still occupying it.
They were in no hurry to move out, and we were
literally obliged to put them out of the door.
At this time we bought a negro, and this purchase,
which seemed to be the most simple thing in the
world, produced in my case a feeling so new that I
shall remember it all my life.
A few days after our arrival, the people from whom
we had purchased the farm finally went away, leav-
ing us the house, which was dirty and badly kept.
They had abandoned the property after having occu-
pied it for several years, because it had become too
small for them and they were going to take possession
of another place on the other side of the river.
As soon as we were alone in the house, we spent a
little money in arranging it. The house comprised
only the rooms on the ground floor and was raised
[208]
1750 - 1794
THE FARM NEAR ALBANY
five feet above the earth. At the time it was built
they had commenced by constructing a wall, buried
six feet in the ground and rising two feet above the
surface. This part formed the cellar and the milk-
room. Above, the rest of the house was of wood, as
you will still see frequently in Switzerland. The
vacant spaces in the carpentry work were filled with
sun-dried bricks which formed a wall very compact
and very warm.
Monsieur de Chambeau had well profited by his
four months of apprenticeship with the master-
carpenter and had really become a very good work-
man. Besides, it would have been impossible for him
to think of idleness, for my activity admitted of no
excuse. My husband and he could have applied to
me those words of Talleyrand on Napoleon: "Celui
qui donnerait un peu de paresse a cet homme, serait
le bienfaiteur de 1'univers." In short, during all the
time that I lived at the farm, well or ill, the sun
never found me in my bed.
[209]
CHAPTER THREE
1795
COUNTRY LIFE
Family Life at the Farm. — The Arrival of Spring. — The
Indians. — Their Passion for Rum. — The Shakers. — A
Visit to Their Establishment. — A Visit from Messieurs de
Liancourt and Dupetit-Thouars. — Talleyrand and the
Banker Morris. — Plans for a Trip to Philadelphia and
New York.
MY butter had become very popular. I ar-
ranged it carefully in little rolls formed in
in a mould marked with our cipher, and
placed it attractively in a very neat basket upon a
fine serviette. It was for general sale. We had eight
cows which were well fed, and our butter did not feel
the effects of the winter. My cream was always
fresh. This brought me in every day quite a little
money, and the sledge-load of wood also sold for at
least two dollars.
Our slave, Prime, although he did not know how
to read or write, nevertheless kept his accounts with
such exactitude that there was never the slightest
error. He often brought back some fresh meat which
he had bought at Albany, and, upon his return, my
husband, from his report, wrote out the sum of the
receipts and expenditures.
Property like ours was generally burdened with a
small rent which was paid either in grain or in money.
[210]
COUNTRY LIFE
Our farm paid to the patroon, Van Rensselaer,
twenty-two pecks of corn, either in kind or in money.
All of the farms in his immense estate, which was
eighteen miles wide by forty-two miles long, were
held under the same conditions.
One of our neighbors at Albany, Monsieur De-
jardin, had brought from Europe a complete suite of
furniture, and, among other things, a fine library of
a thousand or fifteen hundred books. He loaned these
books to us, and my husband or Monsieur de Cham-
beau read to me during the evening, while I worked.
We took our dejeuner at eight o'clock, and our
dinner at one o'clock. In the evening at nine o'clock
we had tea, with slices of bread, our excellent butter
and some fine Stilton cheese which Monsieur de
Talleyrand sent us. With this consignment, he had
sent, for me personally, a present which gave me
the greatest pleasure. This was a very fine woman's
saddle, with a bridle and other accessories complete.
No gift had ever come in more a propos. We had
indeed bought with the farm, and "to boot," two
handsome mares, exactly similar in coat and form,
but very dissimilar in character. One had the tempera-
ment of a lamb, and, although she had never had a
bit in her mouth, I mounted her the very day that
she was saddled for the first time. In a few days I
could harness her as well as though she had been a
work-horse. Her manners were very agreeable, and
when you wished, she would follow you like a dog.
The other was a regular devil, whom all the skill of
Monsieur de Chambeau, an old Cavalry officer,
could not succeed in subduing. We were able to
[211]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
master her only in the spring, when we made her
work between two strong horses. The first time she
was hitched up in this way, she was so furious that
at the end of ten minutes she was wet with sweat.
In time, however, she calmed down and made an
excellent mare. She was worth at least twenty or
thirty louis.
A propos of the springtime, it is interesting to
recount with what promptitude it arrived in these
parts. The latitude of forty-three degrees then made
itself felt and resumed all its empire. The northwest
wind, after having prevailed throughout the winter,
ceased suddenly during the first days of March. The
southerly breezes commenced to blow, and the snow
melted with such speed that the roads were trans-
formed into torrents during two days. As our dwell-
ing occupied the slope of a hill, we were soon free
from our white mantle. During the winter, the snow,
three or four feet deep, had protected the grass and
the plants from the ice. Therefore, in less than a
week, the fields were green and were covered with
flowers, and an innumerable variety of plants of
every kind, unknown in Europe, filled the woods.
The Indians, who had not appeared during the
entire winter, began to visit the farms. One of them,
at the beginning of the cold weather, had asked my
permission to cut some branches of a kind of willow
tree which had shoots, large as my thumb and five
or six feet long. He promised me to weave some
baskets during the winter season. I counted little
upon this promise, as I did not believe that Indians
[212]
COUNTRY LIFE
would keep their word to this degree, although I
had been so informed. I was mistaken. Within a
week after the snow had melted, my Indian came
back with a load of baskets. He gave me six of them
which were nested in one another. The first, which
was round and very large, was so well made that,
when filled with water, it retained it like an earthen
vessel. I wished to pay him for the baskets, but he
absolutely refused and would accept only a bowl of
buttermilk of which the Indians are very fond. I
was very careful not to give my visitors any rum,
for which they have a great liking. But I had in an
old paste-board box some remnants (artificial flowers,
feathers, pieces of ribbons of all colors and glass
beads, which were formerly much in vogue) and I
distributed these among the squaws, who were
delighted with them.
I had been suffering for a period of two months
with a double intermittent fever. This attack which
lasted from five to six hours interfered very much
with my daily work. It enfeebled me and took away
my appetite, and, although I never lay down, it
caused me to shiver even in a temperature of eighty-
five degrees, and made me incapable of any work.
Under these circumstances, a young girl, my neighbor,
who lived not far from us in the woods with her
parents, came to my aid. She was a seamstress by
trade and worked perfectly. She arrived at the farm
in the morning and remained all day long, and asked
no wages except her meals.
My son, Humbert, was then over five years of age,
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
although to judge by his size, any one would have
thought he was at least seven. He spoke English
perfectly — much better even than he did French.
A lady of Albany, a friend of the Van Rensselaers
and wife of a minister of the Church of England, had
taken a great fancy to him. Several times already
he had been to pass the afternoon with her. One day
she proposed to me to take charge of the boy during
the summer, promising me to teach him to read and
write. She said that in the country I had not the
time to look after him, that he would take my fever,
and added several other reasons to persuade me to
yield to her wish.
This lady, whose name was Mrs. Ellison, was about
forty years of age and had never had any children,
which had been a great grief to her. I ended by con-
senting to let her have Humbert, and he was very
happy and very well cared for with her. This ar-
rangement relieved me of a great deal of care. On
the farm I was always afraid that he would have
some accident with the horses of which he was very
fond. It was almost impossible to prevent him from
accompanying the negroes to the fields, and above
all from mingling with the Indians, with whom he
always wished to go away. I had been told that the
Indians sometimes kidnapped children. Therefore,
when I saw them hanging for hours around my door
I imagined they were awaiting a favorable moment
to take my son.
A nice wagon, loaded with fine vegetables, often
passed before our door. It belonged to the Shakers,
COUNTRY LIFE
who were located at a distance of six or seven miles.
The driver of the wagon always stopped at our house,
and I never failed to talk with him about their
manner of life, their customs, and their belief. He
urged us to visit their establishment, and we decided
to go there some day. It is known that this sect of
Quakers belonged to the reformed school of the orig-
inal Quakers who took refuge in America with Penn.
After the war of 1763, an English woman set her-
self up for a reformer apostle. She made many
proselytes in the states of Vermont and Massa-
chusetts. Several families put their property in
common and bought land in the then uninhabited
parts of the country, but, as the clearings approached
and reached them, they sold their establishment in
order to retire further into the wilderness.
Those of whom I speak were then protected on all
sides by a forest several miles deep. They therefore
had no reason as yet to fear their neighbors. Their
establishment was bounded on one side by woods
which covered 20,000 acres, belonging to the city
of Albany, and on the other by the river Mohawk.
Without doubt, at the present writing, they no
longer live in this locality where I knew them, and
have retired beyond the Great Lakes. This establish-
ment was a branch of their headquarters at Lebanon,
which was located in the large forest through which
we passed in going from Boston to Albany.
Our negro, Prime, who knew all the routes in our
neighborhood, conducted us to their place. At the
start we were at least three hours in the woods, fol-
lowing a road which was hardly laid out. Then after
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
having passed the barriers which marked the limits
of the Shaker property, the road became more distinct
and better marked. But we still had to pass through
a very thick forest, broken here and there by fields
where cows and horses were pastured at liberty.
Finally, we came out in a vast clearing traversed by
a pretty stream and surrounded on all sides by woods.
In the midst was erected the establishment, com-
posed of a large number of nice wooden houses, a
church, schools, and a community house of brick.
The Shaker, whose acquaintance we had made,
greeted us with kindness, although with a certain
reserve. They showed Prime the stable in which he
could put up his horses, for there was no inn. We
had been advised that nobody would offer us any-
thing, and that our guide would be the only one to
speak to us. He first led us to a superb kitchen-garden
perfectly cultivated. Everything was in a state of
the greatest prosperity, but without the least evi-
dence of elegance. Many men and women were
working at the cultivation or the weeding of the
garden. The sale of vegetables represented the
principal source of revenue to the community.
We visited the schools for the boys and girls, the
immense community stables, the dairies, and the
factories in which they produced the butter and
cheese. Everywhere we remarked upon the order
and the absolute silence. The children, boys and
girls alike, were clothed in a costume of the same
form and the same color. The women of all ages wore
the same kind of garments of gray wool, well kept
and very neat. Through the windows we could see
COUNTRY LIFE
the looms of the weavers, and the pieces of cloth
which they were dyeing, also the workshops of the
tailors and dress-makers. But not a word or a song
was to be heard anywhere.
Finally, a bell rang. Our guide told us that this
announced the hour of prayer and asked if we would
like to be present. We consented very willingly, and
he led us towards the largest of the houses, which no
exterior sign distinguished from the others. At the
door I was separated from my husband and Monsieur
de Chambeau, and we were placed at opposite
extremities of the immense hall, on either side of a
chimney in which was burning a magnificent fire. It
was then the beginning of spring and the cold was
still felt in these large woods. This hall was
about 150 or 200 feet long by 50 feet wide. It was
entered by two lateral doors. The building was very
light and the walls, without being ornamented in any
way, were perfectly smooth and painted a light blue.
At each end of the hall there was a small platform
upon which was placed a wooden arm-chair.
I was seated at the corner of the chimney, and my
guide had enjoined silence, which was all the easier
for me as I was alone. While keeping absolutely
silent, I had the opportunity to admire the floor,
which was constructed of pine wood, without any
knots, and of a rare perfection and whiteness. Upon
this fine floor were drawn in different directions
lines represented by copper nails, brilliantly polished,
the heads of which were level with the floor. I en-
deavored to divine what could be the use of these
lines, which did not seem to have any connection
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
with each other, when at the last stroke of the bell
the two side doors opened, and I saw enter on my
side fifty or sixty young girls or women, preceded
by one who was older who seated herself upon one
of the arm-chairs. No child accompanied them.
The men were arranged in the same manner at
the opposite side, where were my husband and Mon-
sieur de Chambeau. I then observed that the women
stood upon these lines of nails, taking care not to
cross them with their toes. They remained immobile
until the moment when the woman seated in the arm-
chair gave a sort of groan or cry which was neither
speech nor song. All then changed their places, and I
imagined that this kind of stifled cry which I had
heard must represent some command. After several
evolutions, they stopped, and the old woman mur-
mured quite a long string of words in a language
which was absolutely unintelligible, but in which
were mingled, it seemed to me, some English words.
After this, they went out in the same order in which
they had entered. Having thus visited all parts of
the establishment, we took leave of our kind guide
and entered our wagon to return home, very little
edified regarding the hospitality of the Shakers.
When the Shaker who came to sell vegetables and
fruit passed before our farm, I always bought some-
thing. He was never willing to take money from my
hand. If I remarked that the price which he asked
was too high, he replied: "Just as you please." Then
I placed upon the corner of the table the sum which
I thought sufficient. If the price was satisfactory, he
took it ; if not, he climbed into his wagon, without
COUNTRY LIFE
saying a word. He was a man of very respectable
appearance, always perfectly dressed in a coat, vest
and trousers of gray homespun cloth of their own
manufacture.
One thing had rendered me at once very popular
with my neighbors. The day that we took possession
of our farm, I adopted the costume worn by the
women on the neighboring places, that is to say, a
skirt of blue and black striped wool, a little camisole
of light brown cotton cloth, a handkerchief of the
same color, with my hair parted as it is worn now,
and caught up with a comb. In winter, I wore gray
or blue woolen stockings, with moccasins or slippers
of buffalo skin; in summer, cotton stockings, and
shoes. I never put on a dress or a corset, except to go
into the city. Among the effects which I had brought
to America were two or three riding-costumes. These
I used to transform myself into a dame elegante, when
I wished to pay a visit to the Schuylers or Van
Rensselaers, for very frequently we dined and after-
wards passed the evening with them, particularly
when it was moonlight, and above all, during the
period of snow.
At the beginning of the summer of 1795, we re-
ceived a visit from the Due de Liancourt. He has
spoken of this very kindly in his "Voyage en Ame-
rique." He came from the new settlements formed
since the War of Independence upon the banks of
the Mohawk and on the territory ceded by the
Oneida nation. Monsieur de Talleyrand had given
him letters of introduction to the Schuylers and Van
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
Rensselaers. After a sojourn of a day with us, I
offered to take him to Albany to present him to
these two families. Had he taken seriously my woolen
skirt and my cotton camisole? I do not know, but
the fact is that he seemed to begin to understand
that we had not entirely become beggars, when he
saw me appear with a pretty robe and a very well
made hat, and when my negro, Minck, brought up a
fine wagon to which were hitched two excellent
horses in a harness which shone brilliantly. This was
the moment for me to exclaim that for nothing in
the world would I take him to see Mrs. Van Rensse-
laer or Mrs. Schuyler, if he did not himself make a
little change in his toilette. With his garments covered
with mud and dust, torn in several places, he had
the appearance of a shipwrecked sailor, escaped from
the pirates, and nobody would have thought that in
this bizarre get-up was concealed a first gentleman
of the Chamber. We arranged our conditions: I
agreed to take him to see Mrs. Van Rensselaer and
Mrs. Schuyler, and he consented to open his trunk,
which he had left at the inn in Albany, in order to
clothe himself in a more conventional manner. Then
I went to pay a visit in the city while waiting for
him to change his costume.
After we had made our calls, he promised to return
the next day to the farm, and I left Albany, taking
back with me his travelling companion, Monsieur
Dupetit-Thouars. As for Monsieur de Liancourt, I
did not see him again. The fever with which I was
suffering at the time made it impossible for me to go
out. Besides, this philanthropic grand seigneur had
[220]
COUNTRY LIFE
extremely displeased me, and my friends did not
like him any better. The spirituelle Mrs. Van Rensse-
laer had sized him up from the first as a man who
was very ordinary. Perhaps I shall be reproached
with ingratitude for treating him in this way, for
he spoke of me in the most flattering manner in his
book.
Several days after the visit of Monsieur de Lian-
court, about the month of June, we received from
Monsieur de Talleyrand a letter in which he in-
formed us of a fact that might have caused us the
most serious consequences, and at the same time
spoke of the important service which he had rendered
us under the circumstances. The balance of the funds
which we had received from Holland, 20,000 or 25,000
francs, had been deposited with the Morris Bank at
Philadelphia. Monsieur de Talleyrand had offered to
withdraw this money for us, and was only awaiting
the formal authorization of my husband to do so.
By a chance which was really providential, he learned
one night through an indiscretion that Mr. Morris
was going to announce his failure the next day.
Without losing a moment, he went to the house of
the banker, forced his door, the entrance of which
had been denied him, and penetrated his cabinet.
He told him that he was aware of his situation and
forced him to place in his hands the Holland drafts
which had only come into his possession as a de-
positary. Mr. Morris was constrained by fear of the
dishonor which would have resulted to him from
an abuse of confidence, which Monsieur de Talley-
[221]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
rand would not have hesitated to proclaim. The only
condition he made was that Monsieur de La Tour du
Pin should sign an acknowledgement of the payment
of these funds. Monsieur de Talleyrand therefore
urged my husband to come to Philadelphia to arrange
this matter. At the same time, he advised me to
accompany my husband, for, having consulted several
physicians, he said, regarding the persistency of my
fever, all were of the opinion that only a journey
would cure me of it.
Mr. Law possessed a charming mansion at New
York, and had already urged us several times to
come and make him a visit. The haying would not
begin before another month, and Monsieur de Cham-
beau was familiar with all the details of the farm
work. There was therefore nothing to stand in the
way of this trip. Our neighbor, Susy, the young girl
of whom 1 have already spoken, agreed to come and
take my place to look after my little girl. As for my
son, Humbert, who was still with Mrs. Ellison at
Albany, he would not even know of our absence.
[222]
CHAPTER FOUR
1795
A VISIT TO NEW YORK
Fulton's Invention. — The Trip to New York. — The Hudson
River. — West Point. — Sojourn at New York. — Alexander
Hamilton. — The Yellow Fever. — Precipitate Departure. —
General Gates. — Return to the Farm. — Death of Sera-
phine. — Gathering the Apples and Making Cider. — The
Crop of Corn. — Ice in the River. — Recovery of a Portrait
of the Queen.
STEAMBOATS had not yet been invented, al-
though this kind of motor power was already
in use in some factories. We even had, our-
selves, a steam turnspit which acted perfectly, and
which we used every week, in cooking either the
roast beef for our Sunday dinner, or the immense
brown and white turkeys, which are of a species very
superior to that found in Europe. But Fulton had
not yet applied this discovery to boats; and, since I
have touched on this subject, I will relate at once
how the thought was suggested to him.
Between Long Island and New York there is an
arm of the sea a mile or more wide, which small
boats can cross without interruption whenever the
weather permits. Since it is not a river, there is no
current, and the tide is only apparent from the
elevation of the water and does not interfere with
navigation. A poor sailor had lost his two legs in
[223 ]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
battle. Being still young and vigorous, he had a great
deal of strength in his arms. The idea came to him to
place athwart his bark canoe a round pole with wings
at the two extremities, at the right and left of the
boat, which he was able to turn at will while seated
in the stern. This ingenious system was observed by
Fulton one day when he had hired the boat to go to
Brooklyn on Long Island, and this gave him the
first idea of applying steam to navigation.
Trade with Albany, which was very considerable
at this time, was carried on by large sloops and barks.
Nearly all of these boats had good rooms, with a
fine saloon at the stern, and carried passengers. The
descent to New York took about thirty-six hours,
as it was necessary to remain at anchor during the
period of the rising tides. The boats always en-
deavored therefore to leave Albany at daybreak.
We accordingly went on board one of these barks in
the evening, and before sunrise we were already far
from the point of our departure.
The North or Hudson River is extremely beautiful.
The banks, covered with houses or pretty little
villages, spread out on either side, until you reach
the very high and steep chain of mountains which
runs the length of the continent of North America
and which has various names in different localities:
Green Mountains, Appalachians, or Alleghanies. The
river, before entering the highlands, forms a large
basin over a mile wide, similar to that part of the
Lake of Geneva called Le Fond du Lac, with this
difference that here the mountains rise from the edge
of the water. The opening through which the river
[224]
A VISIT TO NEW YORK
passes, situated between two steep mountains, can
be seen only when you are very close to it. The water
is so deep that a large frigate could be moored to the
side of this passage without danger of touching
bottom. The whole morning of the day after our em-
barkment, we were sailing in the midst of these
beautiful mountains. Then, the tide having left us,
we went ashore to visit the historical place of West
Point, celebrated for the treason of General Arnold
and the fate of Major Andre.
Although I have visited many different places, and
admired not a few great effects of nature, I have
never seen anything comparable with the pass of
West Point. Perhaps it has now lost some of its
beauty, if they have cut down the fine trees which
dipped their ancient branches in the waters of the
river. These mountain-sides were useless for cultiva-
tion. I therefore hope, from my love of nature, that
the desire of making clearings has not touched them.
We arrived at New York on the morning of the
third day and here we found Monsieur de Talley-
rand with Mr. Law. Their reception was most friendly.
Both were alarmed at my thinness and the change
in my appearance. They therefore would not hear
of my proposed trip to Philadelphia, which it was
necessary to make by stage. It meant that I would
have to pass two nights on the way. My husband
undertook the journey alone, and I was confided to
the good care of Mrs. Foster, the housekeeper of
Mr. Law. This good woman exhausted for my benefit
all the prescriptions of her medical repertoire. Four
[225]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
or five times a day she came to me with a little cup
of some kind of bouillon which she urged me to take.
I submitted willingly to this regime as I had been
much disturbed by the lamentations of Monsieur de
Talleyrand over my decline.
The three weeks which we passed in New York
have remained in my memory as a most agreeable
period. My husband returned at the end of four days.
He had much admired the fine city of Philadelphia.
But what I envied him most was the fact that he
had seen the great Washington, who was my hero.
Even to-day I cannot console myself at having
missed seeing this great man, of whom his friend,
Mr. Hamilton, had spoken to me so often. I found
again at New York the whole Hamilton family. I
had been present at the time of their arrival at Al-
bany in a wagon driven by Mr. Hamilton himself,
when he came to resume the practice of his profession
as a lawyer, after having resigned the position of
Secretary of the Treasury. As I have already stated,
he gave up this position, to have a better chance of
leaving a small fortune to his children. Mr. Hamilton
at that time was about thirty-eight years of age. Al-
though he had never been in Europe, he nevertheless
spoke our language like a Frenchman. His remarkable
mind, and the clearness of his thoughts, mingled well
with the originality of Monsieur de Talleyrand and
the vivacity of Monsieur de La Tour du Pin. Every
night these distinguished men, with two or three
others, came for tea. Seated upon the terrace, the
conversation which was started between them lasted
until midnight and sometimes later. At one moment,
[226]
A VISIT TO NEW YORK
Mr. Hamilton would relate the story of the beginnings
of the War of Independence, of which the dull memoirs
of that imbecile, Lafayette, have since rendered the
details so insipid. At another, Mr. Law would speak
of his sojourn in India, of his administration of
Patna, where he had been Governor, of the elephants
and the palanquins. Between them all, the conversa-
tion never languished. Mr. Law enjoyed these even-
ings so much that when we spoke of our departure,
he became very sad and said to his butler, "Foster,
if they leave me, I am a dead man."
Three weeks had rolled around when the news
became current one evening that yellow fever had
broken out in a street very near to Broadway, where
we were living. That very night my husband and I
were very ill; I think from having eaten too many
bananas or pineapples or other fruits brought from
the Islands by the same boat which had carried the
fever. Fearing to be shut in by the quarantine, I
resolved to leave at once, and at daybreak our trunk
was packed and we had gone to reserve our places
on board a sloop which was ready to set sail. We
then returned to see Mr. Law and make our adieux.
He decided then to leave also, under the pretext of
going to visit some property in the new city of
Washington, which they were beginning to build. In
these purchases he compromised the greater part of
his fortune. Our departure was so precipitate that
I did not even see Monsieur de Talleyrand. He was
not yet up when we were already far from New York.
On our return we saw with the same admiration
the fine pass at West Point, and this time we made
[227]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
a long promenade on land during the six hours our
boat remained at anchor. We ascended the hill upon
which was situated the inn which was the place of
the last interview between Arnold and Andre. At
New York I had seen the aged General Gates who
had known all the French officers and loved to talk
of them. I had been cautioned not to speak of the
incident of Major Andre, a subject of conversation
which was very painful to him — not because he re-
proached himself with the sentence, which was pro-
nounced in conformity with rules of military justice,
but because it recalled to him the terrible reprisals
made by the English, who had executed a number of
American prisoners.
I found my house in the best of order, although
Monsieur de Chambeau did not expect us. My little
girl was also in very good health. This absence of a
month had appeared long to me, in spite of the very
agreeable society in which I had lived. The yellow
fever made great ravages that year at New York, and
I congratulated myself that we had left so quickly.
I resumed with new ardor my rural occupations.
My fever had departed with the change of air and
my strength had returned. The work of the dairy
was resumed, and the pretty designs moulded upon
the butter-balls informed my customers of my return.
Our orchard promised a magnificent harvest of apples,
and our barn contained grain for the whole winter.
Our negroes, stimulated by our example, worked
with good spirit. They were better clothed and better
nourished than those of our neighbors.
[228]
A VISIT TO NEW YORK
I was feeling very happy under these circumstances
when God struck me a most unexpected blow, and,
as I then imagined, the most cruel and terrible that
one could endure. Alas, I have since experienced
others which have surpassed it in severity. My little
Seraphine was taken from us by a sudden illness very
common in this part of the country — a kind of
infant paralysis. She died in a few hours without
losing consciousness. The physician from Albany,
whom Monsieur de Chambeau had gone to bring,
as soon as she began to suffer, gave us no hope that
she would live and declared that this malady was
then very common in the country and that no remedy
was known. The young Schuyler who only the day
before had been playing with my daughter during
the afternoon succumbed to the same trouble a few
hours later and rejoined her in Heaven. This cruel
event threw us all into a state of sadness and mortal
discouragement. We brought Humbert home, and I
endeavored to obtain distraction from my grief in
occupying myself with his education. He was then
five and a half years old. His intelligence was very
well developed. He spoke English perfectly and read
it easily.
There was no Catholic priest either in Albany or
in the neighborhood. My husband, who did not wish
to have a Protestant minister called, himself per-
formed the last rites for our child, and placed her in
a little enclosure which had been arranged to serve
as a cemetery for the inhabitants of the farm. It
was situated in the middle of our woods. Almost every
day I went to kneel upon the grave, the last resting
[229]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
place of the child whom I had so much loved, and
it was there that God gave to me a change of heart.
Up to this period of my life, although I was far
from being irreligious, I had never taken much inter-
est in religion. During the course of my education,
no one had ever spoken to me of religion. During the
first years of my childhood I had had, under my eyes,
the worst possible examples. In the high society of
Paris, I had been witness of scandals, so often re-
peated, that they had become familiar to me to the
point of no longer moving me. In this way every
thought of morality had been benumbed in my
heart, but the hour had come when I had to recognize
the hand which had smitten me.
I do not know exactly how to describe the trans-
formation which came over me. It seemed to me as
if a voice cried out to me that I must change my
whole being. Kneeling upon the grave of my child,
I implored her to obtain from God, who had already
recalled her to Him, my pardon and a little relief
from my distress. My prayer was heard. God ac-
corded me then the grace to know and serve Him.
He gave me the courage to bend very humbly under
the stroke which had smitten me and to prepare my-
self to support without complaining the new griefs,
by which in His justice He deemed it proper to try
me in the future. From that day the divine will
found me submissive and resigned.
Although all joy had disappeared from our house-
hold, it was none the less necessary for us to continue
our work, and we encouraged each other, my husband
[230]
A VISIT TO NEW YORK
and I, to find distraction in the obligation under
which we were not to remain a moment idle. The
harvest of the apples approached. It promised to be
very abundant, for our orchard had the finest ap-
pearance. We could count upon the trees as many
apples as there were leaves. The autumn before we
had essayed what is known at Bordeaux as une
fa$on. This consists in turning over with a spade a
square of four or five feet around each tree, some-
thing which had never been done there before. The
Americans indeed have no idea of the effect which
that produces upon vegetation; but when, in the
springtime, they saw our trees covered with blossoms,
they looked upon us as sorcerers.
Another act brought us great reputation. Instead
of buying for our cider new barrels made of very
porous wood, we succeeded in finding at Albany
several casks which had contained Bordeaux and also
some marked cognac which were well known to us.
Then we arranged our cellar with the same care as
if it were to contain wine of the Medoc. We borrowed
a cider mill to crush the apples. A horse twenty-
three years old which General Schuyler had given
me was hitched to it. Here is the story of this horse
which I have not previously recounted :
The horse had carried him through the war, and
the General wished to let him die a happy death.
It seemed as though he had almost reached the end
of his days, when our negro, Prime, saw him in the
pasture dragging one foot after the other and reduced
to skin and bones. Prime requested me to ask the
General to give me the horse, which he did with
[231]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
pleasure. He had been a magnificent pure-blooded
animal, but he no longer had any teeth. Prime had
much difficulty in leading the poor beast the four
miles which separated the pasture from our stable.
Every day he gave him a mixture of oats and boiled
corn, hay finely cut up, carrots and so on. This
fodder in abundance restored to the fine animal the
vigor of his youth. At the end of the month I could
mount him every day, and soon at a little gallop he
carried me even to Albany without making a false
step. They refused to believe that he was the same
horse. This display of skill greatly increased the
reputation of Prime.
But to return to our apples. The cider mill was
very primitive. It consisted of two pieces of channelled
wood which fitted into each other, and was turned by
our horse attached to a pole. The apples were fed
into a hopper, and when the juice had filled a large
tub, it was taken to the cellar and poured into the
casks.
The whole operation was very simple and, as we
had very fine weather, this harvest was a charming
recreation. My son who rode the horse during the
day was convinced that without him nothing could
have been done.
When the work was finished, we found ourselves
provided with eight or ten barrels to sell, in addition
to what we had reserved for ourselves. Our reputation
for honesty was so great that people had confidence
that we would not put any water into our cider.
This enabled us to sell it at double the ordinary
price, and all was sold at once. As for that which we
[232]
A VISIT TO NEW YORK
had reserved for ourselves, we treated it exactly
as we would have done with our white wine at
Le Bouilh.
The crop of corn followed that of the apples. This
crop was very abundant as it is the one which succeeds
best in the United States where it is indigenous. As
you must not leave the ear covered with the husk
more than two days, we brought together all of our
neighbors to finish the harvest quickly on the spot.
This is what is called a "husking bee." We began by
sweeping the floor of the barn with as much care as
though we were going to give a ball. Then when night
arrived, we lighted several candles and the people
assembled, about thirty in all, black and white, and
set themselves to work. One of the party did not
cease to sing or to tell stories. Towards the middle
of the night we served to each one a bowl of hot
milk which we had previously mixed with cider. To
this mixture you add five or six pounds of brown
sugar, if you are prodigal, or an equal amount of
molasses, if you are not, then spices, such as cloves,
cinnamon and nutmeg. Our workers drank to our
very best health the contents of an immense wash-
boiler filled with this mixture, with which they ate
toast. At five o'clock in the morning, when the
weather was already quite chilly, they left us in good
spirits. Our negroes were often invited to these
gatherings, but my negress never went. When all of
our crops had been harvested and garnered, we com-
menced to work our land and to undertake the labors
which precede the winter. Under a shed was piled up
the wood which was to be sold. The sleds were re-
[233]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
paired and repainted. I bought a large piece of coarse
blue and white checked flannel to make two shirts
for each of my negroes. A tailor was employed by
the day at the farm to make them coats and well-
lined caps. This man ate with us because he was
white. He would certainly have refused if we had
asked him to eat with the slaves, although they were
incomparably better dressed and had better manners
than he. But I was very careful not to express the
least remark upon this custom. My neighbors acted
in this way, and I followed their example and in our
reciprocal relations I was always careful not to make
any allusion to the place which I had formerly occu-
pied on the social ladder. I was the proprietor of a
farm of 250 acres. I lived in the same manner as my
neighbors, neither better nor worse. This simplicity
and abnegation gave me more respect and considera-
tion than as if I had wished to play the lady.
I never lost a moment. Every day, winter and
summer alike, I was up at dawn and my toilette did
not take long. The negroes before going to their work
assisted the negress to milk the cows, of which we
had eight. During this time, I was busy with skim-
ming the milk in the dairy. The days we made butter,
two or three times a week, Minck remained to turn
the handle of the churn, a task which was too difficult
for a woman. All the rest of the making of the butter
which was quite tiresome was my task. I had a re-
markable collection of bowls, spoons, wooden spatu-
las, which were the work of my good friends the
Indians, and my dairy was considered the cleanest
and also the most elegant in the country.
[234]
A VISIT TO NEW YORK
This year the winter came very early. During the
first days of November, the black curtain which an-
nounced the snow commenced to rise in the west.
As we would have wished, there followed eight days
of bitter cold, and the river in twenty-four hours was
frozen to the depth of three feet before the snow
began to fall. When it began to snow, it fell with
such violence that you could not see a man at the
distance of ten paces. Prudent people took care not
to hitch up their sleighs to mark out the routes. This
work was left to those who were more in haste, or
to those whose business compelled them to go to the
city or to the river. Then before venturing upon the
river, we waited until the passageways to descend
upon the ice had been marked by pine branches.
Without this precaution, it would have been very
dangerous to venture on the ice, and every year
there were accidents caused by imprudence. The tide
before Albany and as far up as the junction of the
Mohawk rises several feet and the ice often does not
remain upon the water.
Our winter passed like the preceding one. We fre-
quently went to dine with the Schuylers and the
Van Rensselaers, whose friendship never changed.
Monsieur de Talleyrand, who was again living at
Philadelphia, had been able to recover in a very
singular manner certain articles which belonged to
me : a medallion portrait of the Queen, a casket and
a watch which had been left me by my mother. He
knew from me that our banker at The Hague had
advised me that he had placed these articles in the
hands of a young American diplomat (I have for-
[235]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
gotten his name, fortunately for him) with the request
that he should arrange to send them to me. But al-
though Monsieur de Talleyrand had done his best,
he had never been able to put his hand on this person.
Finally one evening, when calling upon a lady of his
acquaintance at Philadelphia, she had spoken to him
of a portrait of the Queen which Monsieur - - had
procured at Paris and which he had loaned her to
show to some of hei friends. She wished to know
from Monsieur de Talleyrand if the portrait was
good. Hardly had he looked at it before he recognized
that it belonged to me. He took possession of the
medallion and informed the lady that it did not
belong to the young diplomat. Then he went at once
to find the latter and, without any preamble, de-
manded from him the casket and the watch which
the banker at The Hague had confided to him with
the portrait. The young man was much embarrassed
and ended by restoring all of these articles, which
Monsieur de Talleyrand sent to us at the farm.
[236]
CHAPTER FIVE
1796
DEPARTURE FOR EUROPE
News from France. — Return Decided Upon. — Regrets of Mme.
de La Tour du Pin. — The Slaves Receive Their Liberty. —
Departure for Europe. — The Wait at New York. — Arrival
at Cadiz. — The Quarantine. — Visit of the Customs Of-
ficers. — Mode of Travel in Spain at This Epoch. — A Bull
Fight. — Departure from Cadiz. — The Inns. — Cathedral
of Cordova. — In the Sierra Morena. — At Madrid.
TOWARDS the end of the winter of 1795
1796, I had the measles and was quite ill.
We were afraid that Humbert also would
take them, but he did not, although he slept in my
room. I soon found myself in good health, and it
was at this moment that we received letters from
Bonie in France which informed us that, joining his
efforts to those of Monsieur de Brouquens, he had
succeeded in having the sequestration raised at Le
Bouilh.
The property of the persons who had been con-
demned had been restored. My mother-in-law in
concert with her son-in-law, the Marquis de Lameth,
acting in the name of his children, again entered into
possession of the estates of Tesson and Ambleville
and of the house at Saintes which the Department
of the Charente-Inferieure had occupied. But when
they repuested that the seals should be taken off at
[237]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
Le Bouilh, the authorities objected on account of
the absence of the proprietor. Our family represented
that the owner was living in America with a passport,
and that neither my husband nor myself, who person-
ally owned a house at Paris, had been inscribed upon
the list of emigres. After numerous discussions they
allowed us a delay of a year in which to put in a
personal appearance, in default of which Le Bouilh
would be placed on sale as national property. Our
friends, therefore, urged us to return as soon as
possible. Nevertheless, as the stability of the French
Government inspired, even at this time, very little
confidence, they recommended us at the same time
not to take our passage for a French port, but rather
to return by way of Spain, with which the Republic
had just concluded a peace which seemed likely to be
durable.
These dispatches fell in the midst of our tranquil
occupations like a fire-brand which quickly lighted
in the hearts of all around me the thought of a return
to their native land. As for myself, I had an entirely
different feeling. France had left in my mind only a
recollection of horror. There I had lost my youth,
which had been broken by terrors the remembrance
of which I could not forget. I had not then, and I
never have had since in my mind but two feelings
which entirely and exclusively mastered me : the love
of my husband and of my children. Religion, the only
motive now for all my actions, commanded me not
to oppose the least obstacle to a departure which
frightened me and cost me dear. A sort of pre-
sentiment caused me to foresee that I was going
£238]
DEPARTURE FOR EUROPE
to encounter a new life of trouble and anxieties.
My husband did not dream of the intensity of my
regret when I saw the moment of our departure
arrive. I imposed only one condition, that of giving
our slaves their liberty. My husband consented and
reserved for me alone this happiness.
These poor people, on seeing the letters arrive from
Europe, had feared some change in our life. They
were disturbed and alarmed. Therefore, all four of
them were trembling when they entered my room to
which I had called them. They found me alone. I
said to them with emotion: "My friends, we are
going to return to Europe. What shall I do with you ? "
The poor creatures were overcome. Judith dropped
into a chair, in tears, while the three men covered
their faces with their hands, and all remained silent.
I continued: "We have been so satisfied with you
that it is just that you should be recompensed. My
husband has charged me to tell you that he will give
you your liberty." On hearing this word our good
servants were so stupified that they remained for
several seconds without speech. Then all four threw
themselves at my feet crying: "Is it possible? Do
you mean that we are free?" I replied: "Yes, upon
my honor, from this moment, as free as I am myself."
Who can describe the poignant emotion of such a
moment! Never in my life had I experienced any-
thing so sweet. Those whom I had just promised
their liberty surrounded me in tears. They kissed my
hands, my feet, my dress, and then suddenly their
joy ceased and they said: "We would prefer to
remain slaves all our lives, if you would stay here."
[239]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
The following day my husband took them to Al-
bany before a judge, for the ceremony of the manu-
mission, an act which had to be public. All the negroes
of the city were present. The Justice of the Peace,
who was at the same time the steward of Mr. Van
Rensselaer, was in very bad humor. He attempted to
assert that Prime, being fifty years of age, could not
under the terms of the law be given his liberty unless
he was assured a pension of a hundred dollars. But
Prime had foreseen this case, and he produced his
certificate of baptism which attested that he was
only forty-nine. They made the slaves kneel before
my husband, and he placed his hand upon the head
of each to sanction his liberation, exactly in the
manner of ancient Rome.
We let our dwelling, with the land which sur-
rounded it, to the same individual from whom we had
purchased it, and we sold the greater part of our
equipment. The horses brought quite a high price.
I distributed by way of souvenirs several little
articles in porcelain which I had brought from Europe.
As for my poor Judith, I left her some old silk dresses
which have, without doubt, been handed down to her
descendants.
Towards the middle of April, 1796, we embarked
from Albany to descend to New York, after having
paid tender and thankful adieux to all those who for
two years had overwhelmed us with tender thoughts,
friendship and kindness of every kind. How many
times, two years later, when enduring another exile,
have I not regretted my farm and my good neighbors.
[240]
DEPARTURE FOR EUROPE
At New York we stayed with Mr. and Mrs. Olive
who received us in their pretty little country house.
Here, we found Monsieur de Talleyrand, who had
decided, like us, to return to Europe. Mme. de Stael
was back at Paris, where she was living with Benjamin
Constant. She urged him to return and enter the
service of the Directory which demanded the aid of
his ability. For a moment he had thought that he
would take his passage upon the same vessel with
us, but when he learned our intention to land at a
Spanish port, whence we expected to gain Bordeaux,
he changed his plans and resolved to take passage
on a vessel bound for Hamburg. There was no ship
leaving for Coruna or for Bilbao in the north of
Spain, as we would have wished. Only one boat, a
superb English vessel of four hundred tons, was
going to Cadiz at an early date. For lack of anything
better, and in spite of the long journey which we
would have to make in Spain, we decided to engage
our passage on this vessel. It sailed under the Spanish
flag, although it as well as the cargo belonged to an
Englishman. The proprietor, who was named Mr.
Ensdel, was to go as a passenger. He was an old ship-
owner who had been interested in whaling. He did
not know a word of French. The captain who was
originally from Jamaica also spoke only English, but
he soon found a very intelligent interpreter in my
son who although only six years of age was of great
use to him. While occupying our time with our outfit
and our arrangements for the voyage, we passed the
three remaining weeks with Mrs. Olive, in company
with Monsieur <Je Talleyrand.
CHI]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
In the harbor there was a French sloop of war,
commanded by Captain Barre, whose father my
husband had known in the household of the old Due
d'Orleans, the father of Philippe Egalite. Although a
regular sea-dog, he was a very pleasant man. He
came for us every day in his boat and conducted
us to every part of the harbor, taking good care
never to approach Sandy Hook where Captain, later
Admiral, Cochrane had waited for two months to
capture him if he attempted to come out. We visited
his sloop, which was armed with fifteen guns. It was
a jewel of order, neatness and care. How I should have
loved to have returned to Europe in this fine boat.
But the " Maria-Josepha " awaited us. We went
on board, my husband, myself, our young son,
Humbert, and Monsieur de Chambeau, the sixth of
May, 1796, and the same day we set sail. There were
several other passengers on board. Among them was
Monsieur de Lavaur, an emigre, a former officer of
the Constitutional Guard of Louis XVI, who had
escaped from a thousand dangers at the time of the
massacres of the tenth of August. As he was from
Bordeaux, a kind of attachment was formed between
him and my husband. Then there was a French
merchant, Monsieur Tisserandot, and his wife. He
had been unfortunate in business at New York and
was going to make another attempt at Madrid. His
wife was young, sweet, quite well brought up, but
lazy. The persons whom I have just named, with
Mr. Ensdel and the captain, made up the table in the
large salon.
I did not suffer from sea-sickness, and, the weather
[242]
DEPARTURE FOR EUROPE
being superb, I was occupied all day long. As I soon
finished the work which I had brought for my husband
and myself, I then set up for a general seamstress
and announced that any one could give me work to
do. Every one brought me something. I had shirts to
make, cravats to hem and linen to mark. The voyage
lasted forty days, because the captain, against the
advice of Mr. Ensdel, had taken a southerly course,
and had been carried away by the currents. This
time was sufficient for me to put the wardrobe of
everybody on the boat in order.
Finally about the tenth of June, we saw Cape
Saint- Vincent and the next day we entered the
harbor of Cadiz. The captain by his stupidity and
ignorance had prolonged our voyage by at least
fifteen days by allowing himself to be carried towards
the coast of Africa, whence he had a great deal of
trouble in returning to the north. He believed that
he was so far from land that he had not even thought
of sending a sailor as a look-out to the top of the
mast. When he discovered, at daybreak, Cape
Saint-Vincent, which is very high, he was entirely
disconcerted.
We were moored alongside a French vessel with
three decks, the "Jupiter." It was there with a
French fleet which had been prevented from going
out by the English men-of-war, superior in number,
which were cruising every day almost in sight of the
port.
We were visited at once by the boat of the health
officer who notified us that we would be kept a week
[243]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
on board in quarantine. We preferred this to being
sent to the lazarette where we would have been
devoured by all the numerous insects which are so
abundant in Spain. If we had been able to find a
boat which was going to Bilbao or Barcelona, we
should have taken passage. The voyage thus would
have been shorter, less tiresome and less expensive.
The name of Monsieur de Chambeau had not been
erased from the list of emigres, and he was not able
to return to France. He wished to go to Madrid
where he knew several persons, but, nevertheless, he
would have willingly accompanied us as far as Barce-
lona, which would have brought him quite near to
Auch, a city in which he owned some property.
The uncertainty of our plans formed the subject of
our conversation during the quarantine which lasted
ten days and which might have been prolonged even
more on account of the desertion of one of our sailors.
This man, of French nationality, had been captured
in a combat upon a sloop of war. He recognized a
sailor on board the "Jupiter" which was moored
alongside us and spoke to him through a megaphone.
The same night he swam to the "Jupiter" and when
the health officer proceeded to call the roll the follow-
ing morning, no trace of him could be found, except
his shirt and trousers. This was his whole wardrobe.
This incident prolonged our quarantine until the
day that it was ascertained that the fugitive was on
the French vessel.
The quarantine was nearly fatal to me. Every day
sellers of fruit came alongside the boat, and I passed
my time with Mme. Tisserandot in lowering a basket
[244]
DEPARTURE FOR EUROPE
by means of a cord in order to obtain figs, oranges
and strawberries. Eating this fruit made me very ill.
Finally permission was received to give us our
liberty. The captain put us on land, and never in
my life have I been so much embarrassed as at this
moment. On landing they ordered Mme. Tisserandot
and myself to enter a little room looking out on the
street, while they examined our effects with the most
exaggerated minuteness. Our colored dresses and our
straw hats soon attracted a large crowd of individuals
of every age and of every condition: sailors and
monks, porters and gentlemen — all anxious to see
what they doubtless considered to be two curious
animals. As for our husbands, they had been de-
tained in the room where our baggage was examined.
We were therefore alone with my son.
This indiscreet curiosity decided us, my companion
and myself, immediately to dress like the Spanish
women. Even before proceeding to the inn, we went
to purchase black skirts and mantillas so as to be
able to go out without scandalizing the whole popula-
tion. We stopped at the hotel which was reputed to
be the best at Cadiz, but which was so dirty as to
cause me the greatest discomfort, accustomed as I
was to the exquisite neatness of America, and I would
willingly have returned on board our boat.
I happened to remember that one of the sisters of
poor Theobald Dillon, massacred at Lille in 1792,
had married an English merchant established at
Cadiz, by the name of Langton. Having written him
a polite note, he came at once and was very attentive
to us. At that time his wife with his younger daughter
[245]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
was at Madrid visiting a married daughter, the Ba-
ronne d'Andilla. Nevertheless, Mr. Langton invited us
to dinner and even wished to have us stay at his house.
But we did not accept, as I was too ill to take the
trouble to be polite. It was arranged that the dinner
should be put off until the first day that I felt better.
The day after our arrival my husband took our
passport to be vised by the French Consul-General.
He was a Monsieur de Roquesante, a former Comte
or Marquis, now changed into a hot Republican, if
not a Terrorist. He asked my husband a hundred
questions and made a note of his replies. All this
was very much like an examination. Then he suddenly
exclaimed, "Citizen, we have received to-day excellent
news from France. That rascal Charette has finally
been taken and shot." "So much the worse," replied
Monsieur de La Tour du Pin, "he was at least a
worthy man." The Consul then kept silent and
signed the passport, which he reminded my husband
it would be necessary to present again to the French
Ambassador at Madrid. Later we learned the manner
in which he had recommended us at Bayonne.
At this time Spain, having concluded peace with
the French Republic, had disbanded the greater part
of her army, probably without paying them. The
roads were infested with brigands, especially the
mountains of the Sierra Morena which we had to
cross. We travelled in a convoy composed of several
carriages only. We did not take any military escort,
which would have probably been in league with the
brigands, the former soldiers, but the mounted
travellers who joined the convoy had taken the
DEPARTURE FOR EUROPE
precaution to be armed to the teeth. A convoy was
usually composed of from fifteen to eighteen covered
chariots drawn by mules.
It is thus that we set out from Cadiz. We occupied,
my husband, my son and myself, one of these chariots,
in which we were stretched out at full length upon
our mattresses. Below, in the bottom of the chariot,
was placed our baggage, covered with a bed of straw
which filled the spaces between the trunks. A hood of
cane artistically sewn and covered by a tarpaulin
protected us from the sun during the day and from
the humidity during the night, for it happened several
times that we preferred the chariot to an inn.
But in speaking so soon of our departure, I have
anticipated, because we remained a week at Cadiz.
Every evening we walked upon the beautiful prome-
nade of L'Alameda, which looks out on the sea,
where you can breathe a little air after having endured
during the day a heat of 95 degrees.
A spectacle which I have never forgotten was the
magnificent bull-fight the day of Saint-Jean. This
national fete of Spain has been described so often
that I will not attempt to write of it here. The
amphitheatre was immense and held at least four or
five thousand persons who were seated upon the
steps and were protected from the sun by a canvas
awning similar to the velum of the Roman amphi-
theatres. This awning was kept constantly wet by a
spray like fine rain which did not go through the
cloth. Thus, although the performance began after
the mid-day mass and lasted until sunset, I do not
recall having suffered a moment from the heat.
[247]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
They killed ten bulls, who were so beautiful and
so well-bred that they would have made the fortune
of an American farmer. The matador was the first
of his kind at this epoch. He was a handsome young
man of twenty-five years. In spite of the terrible
danger which he ran, on account of his remarkable
agility, you did not feel any anxiety. Certainly, at
the moment when the two adversaries, alone face to
face, looked steadily at each other, before the bull
rushed upon the matador, the most poignant emotion
which could possibly be felt gripped all of the spec-
tators. You could have heard a pin drop. But you
must understand that the matador does not give the
coup d'epee. He only directs the point of the sword
upon which the bull rushes to empale himself. This
spectacle was an epoch in my life and no other has
left upon me so powerful an impression. I have never
forgotten the slightest detail and the recollection is
as fresh in my memory after so many years, as if I
had seen it yesterday.
The day fixed for our departure we let the convoy
set out and remained, my husband, my son and
myself, to dine with Mr. Langton. A bark which had
been prepared by his thoughtfulness was to take us
to the other side of the bay to rejoin our caravan at
Port-Sainte-Marie where we were to pass the night.
During this long journey we did not travel faster
than a man can walk on foot.
I was feeling so ill that my husband hesitated to
let me set out, and yet there was no means of draw-
ing back. Our baggage had been sent forward. We
had paid half of the cost of our trip as far as Madrid.
[248]
DEPARTURE FOR EUROPE
Our passport had been vised and Monsieur de
Roquesante, a Republican Consul, would have re-
garded any delay with suspicion. He would have
attributed it to some pretext, and as I have always
believed that one can surmount any evil, except
perhaps a broken leg, the thought never occurred
to me to remain at Cadiz. We therefore dined with
Mr. Langton, after having been present at the de-
parture of our travelling companions who were to
sleep at Port-Sainte-Marie.
Nothing could be more delightful in point of neat-
ness and care than this place of Mr. Langton, which
was kept in the English fashion. He had adopted
none of the Spanish practices except those customary
to avoid the inconvenience of the very hot climate.
The house was built around a square court filled
with flowers. On the ground floor there was a line of
arcades and an open gallery at the first floor. An
awning stretched at the height of the roof covered
the whole surface of the court. In the middle a jet
of water reached the canvas, which being thus con-
stantly wet communicated a delightful freshness to
the whole house. I admit that I experienced a very
painful feeling in thinking that instead of remaining
in this agreeable place it was necessary for me to
begin a long journey in a heat of 95 degrees. But the
die was cast, and it was necessary to depart. After
this farewell dinner, towards evening, we entered the
bark, and in an hour and a half, the wind being favor-
able, we arrived at Port-Sainte-Marie. There we found
our caravan, composed of fourteen carriages and six
or seven hidalgos, armed from head to foot.
[249]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
The aim of our second day's journey was Xeres,
situated at a distance of only five leagues. As I had
need of rest, we made up our minds once more to let
the caravan go ahead and to rejoin it in the evening.
We therefore took dinner at an early hour at Port-
Sainte-Marie, a very pretty locality. Then we took
a cabriolet similar to those which I see here at Pisa
where I am writing these Recollections. Our vehicle
was attached to a large mule which had no bridle,
which seemed to me curious. Upon the head of the
mule was balanced a high plume to which bells were
attached. A young boy, with whip in hand, sprang
lightly upon the shafts, uttered some cabalistic words,
and the mule set out at a trot as rapid as a good
hunting gallop. The route was superb and we went
like the wind, the mule obeying docilely the voice of
his little driver, avoiding obstacles, and winding
through the streets of the villages which we traversed,
with a wonderful sagacity. At first I was afraid, but
reflecting that it was the custom of the country to
drive this way, I became resigned.
Arrived at Xeres, I was curious to know the value
of a mule like the one which had conducted us and
was told that it was worth from fifty to sixty louis,
which seemed to me quite dear.
The following day began our real travels. I was still
indisposed, but, stretched out as I was upon a good
mattress, and the road being very fine, I did not
suffer more than I would have if I had remained
quiet. At two o'clock we stopped for dinner in
some wretched inn, and it happened two or three
times that we preferred to pass the night in our
[250]
DEPARTURE FOR EUROPE
chariot, rather than to sleep in beds so filthy as to
be disgusting.
It was night when we arrived at Cordova. As we
were travelling a certain distance behind, all the
other members of the party had already found their
lodgings when we reached the inn. As there were only
beds to be had at the inn, it was necessary to look
for a place to eat. We finally succeeded, with some
difficulty, on account of the advanced hour, in finding
a kind of cabaret, where we could only obtain some
bread and a few slices of fried bacon.
The following morning there was a delay in the
departure of the convoy, which gave me an oppor-
tunity to see the magnificent Cathedral of Cordova
<of which so many descriptions have been written.
You can readily believe that travelling in so un-
comfortable a manner and also feeling quite ill, in
the heat which reigned in Andalusia from mid-day
to three o'clock, the period of the day that we
ordinarily stopped, I did not feel like visiting the
monuments. This time we passed an hour in walking
through the forest of columns of this cathedral. The
muleteers came to urge us to set out. They were
carrying sufficient provisions for two meals which we
were to take in the open that day, as there was no
dwelling in existence in the part of the country
which we were going to traverse.
On leaving Cordova, we rode for a whole hour in the
midst of groves of lemon trees, and of Moorish olive
trees, which were abundantly watered, before arriving
at the wall of the ancient city of which vestiges are
still being uncovered. This will give an idea of the
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
immense surface which was covered by this large
Moorish city of other days, as in Italy you obtain
an idea in the same way of the limits of ancient Rome.,
We had our dinner, as had been arranged, near a
well in the midst of a pasture covered with sheep.
The eye could not measure the extent of this plain,
which was several leagues long, and covered in part
with fine grass, and in part with dwarf myrtle trees.
Several pomegranates covered with blossoms arose
around the well. This halt had something oriental
about it which singularly pleased me. I preferred it
very much to the stops of three hours in the dirty
inns which were always so hot.
The next day and the days following we crossed
the Sierra Morena and saw the two pretty little
cities of La Carlota and La Carolina. These had been
built by German Colonists, and we observed that
certain characteristics of the German physiognomy
had not yet been entirely effaced. We encountered
children with blond hair whose complexion, as dark
as that of the Spaniards, was in marked contrast
with their blue eyes. These little cities are pictur-
esque, and are constructed with regularity on fine
sites. This route which is very beautiful is bordered
on all the hills by a parapet of marble. At the time
this was the only road between the south of Spain
and Castile.
To my great regret we did not pass by Toledo.
We arrived at Aranjuez for dinner the fifteenth day
of our journey, I think. Here we remained for the
rest of the day. We admired the fresh shade, the
handsome weeping willows and the green prairies.
[252]
DEPARTURE FOR EUROPE
After having come from Andalusia which was baked
by the sun of July, it seemed to us like a green oasis
in the midst of a desert. The River Tagus, although
very small, is conducted with such art through this
charming valley as to produce everywhere a delight-
ful freshness. The Court was not then at Aranjuez;
nevertheless, for some reason which I have for-
gotten, we did not visit the Chateau.
The following day we reached Madrid, after a
halt of two hours at Puerta del Sol, while our baggage
was being examined, ransacked and inspected. It
would have been useless to show any impatience for
the sang-froid of the Castilians is not put out by
anything. Finally the signal for our departure was
given and they took us to the hotel, a mediocre inn
located in a small street.
Here we were assigned quite a good room. My
husband immediately dispatched the letters and
packages with which Mr. Langton had charged us
for his wife and his two daughters. Then I made a
more careful toilette than that of my chariot, with
the intention of going to see these ladies after our
dinner. But they called on us first. A half-hour had
hardly elapsed when we received a visit from two
of the most beautiful ladies I have ever seen, Baronne
d'Andilla and Mile. Carmen Langton. The mother
who was ill had not been able to go out. Their
brother-in-law, Monsieur Broun, accompanied them.
His wife who was dead had been the third Mile.
Langton, who was said to have been more beautiful
even than her sisters. These ladies showed us great
kindness and attention and their brother-in-law pro-
[253]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
posed that we should take a little furnished lodging
in the quarter where these ladies lived. He took
charge of all the necessary arrangements and placed
himself at our disposal for all the time that we re-
mained at Madrid. Our sojourn could not be shorter
than a month or six weeks at least, because we were
awaiting replies from Bordeaux to the letters which
we had written from Cadiz.
However, on account of the delicate state of my
health, I wished to be at Le Bouilh before the tenth
of November. My husband went the following day
to see the ambassador of the Directory to have his
passport put in order. As he still preserved a very
vivid recollection of the reception of the citizen, the
former Comte or Marquis, de Roquesante, he was
very agreeably surprised by the kind reception of the
ambassador. He was the General, later the Marechal,
Perignon. Formerly under the command of my father,
he had received from him assistance which advanced
his career. Not having forgotten this, he was full of
politeness for my husband. Nevertheless, his gratitude
did not go so far as to honor me with his visit. The
seigneurs of other days were not yet in fashion, as
they became later on.
We remained six weeks at Madrid, during which
time we were overwhelmed with the thoughtfulness,
the attentions and the kindness of the Langton and
Andilla families. The son-in-law of Mme. Langton,
Monsieur Broun, whose wife had died the preceding
year, conducted us to all the most interesting parts
of the city, and every evening Mme. d'Andilla took
us to the Corso, then to take an ice in a fashionable
[254]
DEPARTURE FOR EUROPE
cafe at the end of the Rue d'Alcala. Monsieur Broun
showed us the portrait of his wife. She had been as
beautiful as, if not more beautiful than, her sisters,
and he could not be consoled for her loss, at the age
of twenty-two years.
[255]
CHAPTER SIX
1796-1797
VISIT TO PARIS
Departure from Madrid. — The Escurial. — Arrival on Saint-
Sebastien. — Bonie Rejoins Us. — Apprehensions on Re-
turning to France. — Arrival at Bayonne. — Monsieur de
Brouquens Again. — Arrival at Le Bouilh. — Devastation
of the Chateau. — The Library Saved. — Return of Mar-
guerite.— Birth of Charlotte. — Absence of Monsieur de
La Tour du Pin. — Fortune Compromised. — Dispersion of
the Family Souvenirs. — Trip to Paris. — Devastation of
the Chateau of Tesson. — Talleyrand Minister of Foreign
Affairs. — Jealousy of Tallien.
FINALLY we received a letter from Bonie
stating the day that he would await us at
Bayonne, and this time we engaged a little
collier as to transport ourselves and our baggage.
Monsieur de Lavaur, who had received word that
his name had been erased from the list of emigres,
proposed to accompany us, and we consented, al-
though this was not at all agreeable to us. Monsieur
de Chambeau was obliged to remain at Madrid.
The tender friendship which he bore us, and of which
he had given us many proofs, rendered this separa-
tion very painful for him and for us. For a period of
three years, he had shared all of our vicissitudes, our
interests and our troubles. My husband considered
him as a brother. During the long years of exile,
VISIT TO PARIS
our thoughts had been the same. Thus our departure
was a sad blow to our poor friend. He had no money,
as no one had thought to send him any. We were
happy to be in a position to leave him fifty louis,
and he was fortunate enough to be welcomed in the
house of the Comtesse de Gaivez, where he remained
until 1800.
We left Madrid at two o'clock in the afternoon
to spend the night at the Escurial. The collier as
was a fine old berline, drawn by seven mules, which
were conducted, or rather counseled and exhorted,
by a coachman seated upon the box and by an
assistant-postillion armed with a long whip. The
latter sprang alternately from one to the other of
the mules, who had no bridles and obeyed only his
voice. However, I think that the mules at the pole
had reins, but the five others certainly not. One of
them, the seventh, marched alone in front. She was
named the "Generala" and guided all the others.
At a quarter of a league from Madrid, the coach-
man perceived that he had forgotten his mantle. In
spite of the stifling heat, he was not willing to go
another step before the postillion had gone back to
look for it mounted on one of the mules. This de-
layed us much, and we reached the Escurial only
late in the evening.
Nearly all of the following day was consecrated
to a visit to this admirable monastery, of which so
many descriptions have been written. Among all
those which I have read since, none has seemed to
me perfectly exact. They do not picture the kind of
sad religious calm with which this place, this chef-
[257]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
d'ceuvre of all the arts, in the midst of a desert,
imbues the soul. So many marvellous things seem to
have been brought together in this solitude, only to
recall to the mind the futility and the inutility of the
works of man. Since then, when the events which
have distracted Spain have been unrolled before me,
I have been struck by the prophecy of the father
who showed us the subterranean chapel in which
are buried the Kings of Spain since Philip II. After
having walked through the midst of these tombs, all
of which are similar, he called our attention to one
which remained empty: that destined for the reign-
ing King, Charles IV, and at the same time placing
his hand on the sarcophagus, which was kept open
by a wedge of marble, he said to us in Italian: "Who
knows whether he will ever occupy it?" At the
moment, this remark did not arrest my attention,
but long afterwards, when I saw this unfortunate
Prince chased from his throne, this prophetic speech
returned to my mind.
Since the discovery of America and of the gold and
silver mines of Peru, the Kings of Spain have made
every year, to the Church of the Escurial, a mag-
nificent present of these two metals. It thus happens
that the Treasury of the Church has become the
richest in all Europe. All of the articles provided by
this luxurious custom, arranged in order by years,
testified, to an observing eye, to the successive de-
terioration in taste, from the first signed by Ben-
venuto Cellini, to the last of very recent date.
The top of the high altar, a bas-relief in solid
silver, representing the apotheosis of Saint Laurent,
[258]
VISIT TO PARIS
Patron of the Escurial, although of an unequalled
magnificence, was not satisfactory as a work of art.
I say "was" not, for there is reason to suppose that
the misfortunes of Spain have led to the destruction
of all these masterpieces. The different objects used
for the religious worship were arranged in armoires
a glace s made of the finest wood of the East Indies.
I have preserved a clear recollection of a sacred
ciborium (ciboire), in the form of a map of the world
surmounted by a cross, the middle of which was
ornamented by an enormous diamond and the arms
with four large pearls. There were also monstrances
(ostensoirs) entirely covered with precious stones.
They showed us the ornament du jour de Paques,
made of red velvet embroidered entirely with fine
pearls of different sizes, according to the design.
Many persons would not perhaps have appreciated
this magnificence, for the smallest piece of stuff em-
bossed with silver produced more effect. Neverthe-
less, there were many million pearls upon these plain
pieces of velvet.
We ascended to the rood-loft (jube), where we saw
some admirable books of the Church, formed of
leaves of vellum, the margins of which were painted
by the pupils of Raphael from his designs. These
volumes in grand in-folio, ornamented with corners
of silver, bound in a brown skin showing the reverse
side, were placed in a kind of open case separated
from one another by slender pieces of wood. On
account of their weight, it would have been difficult
to take them out of their case. To obviate this in-
convenience, there was arranged at the bottom of
[259]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
each of these cases little ivory wheels traversed by
iron pins around which they turned. In this manner,
the slightest effort was enough to draw one of these
books to you. I have never seen this method em-
ployed in any other library.
In this high gallery of the Escurial we found the
magnificent Christ in silver, of life size, made by
Benvenuto Cellini. After having visited and admired
this magnificent Church, I was left alone while my
husband and Monsieur de Lavaur went to visit the
Monastery and the Library where they saw the
beautiful picture of Raphael named La Vierge a la
Perle. I had not been informed at Madrid that a
woman was not able to visit the Library, which was
situated in the interior of the Monastery, without a
special permit. I regretted this greatly.
During the long time that I awaited my travelling
companions, I had time for my mind to become lost
in many meditations. I thought of the beauty of
this edifice, then of the battle of Saint-Quentin, lost
by the French, on the tenth of August, 1557, the
fete day of Saint Laurent, in commemoration of
which the Escurial was built by Philip II, the savage
father of Don Carlos. So when my husband returned
and tapped me on the shoulder, saying, "Let us go
to see the house of the Prince," I was almost vexed
to have my thoughts disturbed. My son, being only a
boy, had accompanied his father and was very proud
to be able to relate to me what he had seen.
We then proceeded to this house of the Prince,
erected by Charles IV while he was Prince of the
Asturias and where he retired when the Court was
VISIT TO PARIS
at the Escurial, to escape from the rigorous Spanish
etiquette. It resembled a very elegant little house,
which a modest broker would hardly be contented
with in our day. Pretty furniture, little tables, orna-
ments of doubtful taste, a quantity of draperies of
the most shabby effect, gave it the appearance of a
petit logis de file. What a contrast with the admirable
Church which we had just left! It gave me a very
disagreeable impression.
Having returned to the inn, we at once set out to
go to pass the night at La Granja, where the Court
was in residence at the Royal Chateau. Here we were
to find dispatches from the American Minister, Mr.
Rutledge, for his Consul at Bayonne. He invited us
to supper, and the following day we set out for
Segovie, a very picturesque little city with a chateau,
of which we saw only the court surrounded by arcades
in the Moorish style. The remainder of our journey
was very uneventful. We remained a day at Vittoria
to care for the "Generala," without whom we could
not proceed. Then a day at Burgos, where I went to
see the Cathedral, and finally we arrived at Saint-
Sebastien, where Bonie awaited us.
I felt no pleasure in returning to France. On the
contrary, the. sufferings which I had endured during
the last six months of my sojourn had left in my
mind a sentiment of terror and horror which I could
not overcome. I thought that my husband was com-
ing back with his fortune lost, and that difficult
affairs would occupy him disagreeably and that we
were condemned to live in a large devastated chateau,
for everything had been sold at Le Bouilh. My
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
mother-in-law was still living. She had again entered
into possession of Tesson and Ambleville. Without
any intelligence, very suspicious, very obstinate, in
business she had confidence in no one. How much I
regretted my farm, my tranquillity! It was with a
very heavy heart that I crossed the bridge of the
Bidassoa and realized that I was upon the territory
of the Republic "one and indivisible."
We arrived at Bayonne in the evening. Hardly
had we entered the inn when two members of the
National Guard came to look for Monsieur de La
Tour du Pin to take him before the authorities,
represented then, it seems to me, by the President
of the Department. This debut caused me great
terror. Accompanied by Bonie, he was conducted
before the assembled members of the Tribunal. He
was questioned as to his opinions, his plans, his
actions, the causes and the reasons of his absence
and those of his return. He at once perceived that
he had been denounced by Monsieur de Roquesante
and declared so frankly, while stating at the same
time, how much, on the other hand, he had to praise
in the attitude of the Ambassador at Madrid. After
a discussion which lasted at least two hours, my
husband returned. They had authorized him to
continue his route as far as Bordeaux, but armed
with a kind of official itinerary in which the stops
were indicated and with the injunction to have this
paper vised at each place.
Bonie left us and returned to Bordeaux by the
mail-coach. We engaged a wretched driver, who
conducted us by short journeys. One event only
[262]
VISIT TO PARIS
marked our trip. At Mont-de-Marsan where I called
a perruquier to dress my hair, he proposed to me, to
my great surprise, to purchase my hair for 200 francs.
He said that blond wigs were so much the fashion
at Paris that he would certainly make a profit of
at least 100 francs, if I would consent to sell him my
hair. I refused this proposition, you may well believe,
but I conceived a great respect for my hair, which
was, modesty apart, very handsome and very fine
at that time.
At Bordeaux we found again the excellent Brou-
quens. He had prospered during the war against
Spain and was now engaged in providing provisions
for our armies in Italy. He received us with the
tender friendship which had never for a moment
changed. But I was impatient to be at home, and I
made arrangements at once with my good Doctor
Dupouy who was to take care of me. Then, the
affair of raising the sequestration terminated, we
went to Le Bouilh to have the seals removed.
The first moment, I admit, sorely tried my phi-
losophy. I had left the house very well furnished,
and if nothing very elegant was to be found there,
at least everything was convenient and in sufficient
quantity. I found it absolutely vacant. Not a chair
to sit down on, not a table, not a bed. I was on the
point of giving way to discouragement, but to com-
plain would have been useless. At the farm we set
about unpacking our boxes which had long since
arrived at Bordeaux, and the sight of these simple
little pieces of furniture, transported to this vast
chateau, gave rise to many philosophical reflections.
[263]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
The next day many of the inhabitants of Saint-
Andre, ashamed of having purchased our furniture
at auction, came to propose to us to re-sell it for the
price which it had cost them. Under these reasonable
conditions, we again came into possession of those
articles which we needed most. One of the things
which had the most value was the equipment of our
kitchen, which was very fine. It had been transported
to a district of Bourg with the intention of sending
it to the mint. This was re-sold to us, as well as the
library which had also been deposited in the district.
We passed several days very agreeably in placing
the books on the shelves, and before the arrival of
Doctor Dupouy all of our interior arrangements
had been finished, and we were as well installed as
if we had been at Le Bouilh for a year.
At this moment I experienced a great pleasure;
this was the arrival of my dear maid Marguerite.
Mme. de Valence, when she was released from prison
at Paris, had engaged her to take care of her two
daughters, but as soon as this excellent maid heard
of my return, nothing could prevent her from coming
to rejoin me. In spite of the aristocracy of her white
apron, she had escaped from all the dangers of the
Terror. She arrived at Le Bouilh in time to be present
at the birth of my dear daughter Charlotte, who was
born the fourth of November, 1796. I gave her the
name of Charlotte, because she was the god-daughter
of Monsieur de Chambeau. Nevertheless, upon the
Registry of the Commune, she was inscribed under
the name of Alix, which consequently was the only
name she was able to use legally.
[264]
VISIT TO PARIS
When I was up again, in the month of December,
my husband started to make a circular trip to Tesson,
Amble ville and La Roche-Chalais, where there re-
mained to us only some old ruined towers, from the
20,000 francs of quit-rent and rents which this land
was worth. I remained alone in the large Chateau
of Le Bouilh with Marguerite, two servants, and old
Biquet who got drunk every night. The peasants in
the farm-yard were far away. Only some wretched
planks closed the part of the ground floor which
was not yet finished. This was the time when troops
of brigands, called chauffeurs, spread terror in all
the southern part of France. Every day new horrors
were recounted regarding them. I admit to my shame
that I was cold with terror. It seems to me that I
never in my life passed a time more painful. How
much I regretted my farm, my good negroes and my
tranquillity of other days !
Our affairs, which were far from taking a favorable
turn, also constantly preoccupied me. My husband
had been advised not to accept the inheritance of
his father except sous benefice cT invent air e, that is to
say, in reserving the right to verify the charges or
costs. Would to God that he had done so! But the
sad manner in which we had lost my father-in-law
and the profound respect which my husband had for
his memory deterred him from adopting this course.
This inheritance comprised the estate of Le Bouilh,
several pieces of property in La Roche-Chalais, and
our rights to the fortune of my mother-in-law which
had formed a part of our marriage contract. I will
not enter into the details of our ruin, the recollection
[265]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
of which escapes me now and which besides I have
never clearly understood. I only know that at the
time of our marriage, my father-in-law was supposed
to have an income of 80,000 francs. Without going
into further details, it may be said that our loss in all
amounted to nearly 60,000 francs of income. To this
can be added the house at Saintes, a fine dwelling
in a perfect state of repair, and which could have
been rented for 3,000 francs. The authorities of the
Department had occupied it and when at the end of
several years it was returned to us, it was in such a
state of dilapidation that it had lost its entire value.
We also lost the furniture of the Chateau of Tesson
which Monsieur de Monconseil had left to my father-
in-law. This furniture was sold at the same time as
that of Le Bouilh, that is to say during the months
which elapsed between the epoch of the condemna-
tion, followed by the execution of my father-in-law,
and the date of the decree which restored the property
of the persons condemned to their children. It can be
said that it was during this period of several months
that nearly all the furniture of the chateaux of France
had been sold. It is necessary, however, to except
the libraries which, after having been transported to
the chief places of the district, were subsequently
restored to their owners. These sales struck the most
disastrous blow to family souvenirs, and it is in-
contestable that the sudden dispersion of all these
souvenirs of the paternal roof contributed strongly
to the demoralization of the young noblesse.
We remained at Le Bouilh the whole winter and a
part of the spring. About the month of July, 1797,
[266]
VISIT TO PARIS
my husband recognized the necessity of going to
Paris to terminate his arrangements with Monsieur
de Lameth. As if inspired by presentiment, I re-
quested to accompany him. Mme. de Montesson,
who was still full of kindness for me, arranged with
Mme. de Valence that I should live in her house at
Paris. She herself was established for the summer in
the country in a house which she had just purchased
near Saint-Denis. The six weeks which we expected
to pass at Paris before returning to Le Bouilh for the
harvest of the grapes did not require any great
quantity of baggage. We therefore transported only
what was strictly necessary for us and our children.
A large number of emigres had returned under
borrowed names. Mme. d'Henin, who had come back
under the name of a milliner of Geneva, Mile.
Vauthier, was situated with Mme. de Poix at Saint-
Ouen. Mme. de Stae'l, protected by Barras, the
Director, and many others were at Paris.
Monsieur de Talleyrand had summoned us to come
to Paris and had particularly urged my husband to
come there. People had commenced to speak of a
counter-Revolution, in which everybody believed.
The Government had been formed, and two As-
semblies, the Council of the Five Hundred and that
of the Ancients, comprised many Royalists. The
salon of Barras, the influential Director, of which
the Duchesse de Brancas did the honors, was full of
them, and although the other Directors did not seem
disposed to follow the example of their colleague, it is
certain that never had the Bourbon cause had so
much chance of success as at this epoch.
[267:
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
We set out in a sort of little carriage, my husband,
myself, my maid Marguerite and our two children:
Humbert, seven and a half years of age and Charlotte
who was only eight months old.
We passed several days at Tesson, where we found
the Chateau in a terrible state of dilapidation. They
had not only carried off the furniture but had de-
stroyed the papers, taken away the locks of many of
the doors, the blinds of several windows, the irons
of the kitchen and the bars of the furnaces. It was a
regular devastation. Fortunately Gregoire had piled
upon his bed and those of his wife and daughter as
many mattresses as he had been able to save, and
these served as beds for us during our sojourn at
Tesson.
My emotion was vivid in finding again this good
family of Gregoire who had concealed my husband
with so much care and devotion. Before this, in
passing by Mirambeau, I had seen the locksmith,
Potier, and his wife, with whom my husband had
remained three months, shut up in a hole where
there was not enough light to read by. How I again
rendered thanks to God that He had permitted him
to escape from all the frightful times of the Terror !
We finally arrived at the end of our journey. Mme.
de Valence received me with pleasure, and Mme. de
Montesson, who was not yet in the country, greeted
me with a thousand acts of kindness. At Paris any
little thing out of the ordinary always attracts at-
tention. Accordingly, I made a hit, immediately on
our arrival. As my husband and I were taking supper
in the room of Mme. de Valence, Monsieur de Talley-
[268]
VISIT TO PARIS
rand was announced. He was very glad to see us,
and at the end of a moment he said :
" Eh bien ! Gouvernet, qu'est-ce que vous comptez
faire?"
"Moi?" replied Monsieur de La Tour du Pin with
surprise, "mais je viens pour arranger mes affaires."
"Ah!" said Monsieur de Talleyrand, "je croyais
»
Then he changed the conversation and spoke of
indifferent matters. Several moments later, addressing
Mme. de Valence, he began to say with that air of
nonchalance which it is necessary to have seen to
understand :
" A propos, vous savez que le ministere est change;
les nouveaux ministres sont nommes."
"Ah," said she, "et quels sont-ils?"
Then after a moment of hesitation, as if he had
forgotten the names and was trying to recall them,
he said:
"Ah! oui, voici: un tel a la guerre, un tel a la
marine, un tel aux finances ..."
"Et aux affaires etrangeres," said I. ...
"Ah! aux affaires etrangeres? Eh! mais . . . moi,
sans doute!"
Then taking his hat, he went away.
We looked at each other, my husband and myself,
without surprise, for nothing could be surprising in
the case of Monsieur de Talleyrand except an act
on his part of bad taste. He remained eminently the
grand seigneur, while serving a government composed
of the refuse of the rabble. The next day found him
established at the office of Foreign Affairs as if he
[269]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
had occupied this post for the past ten years. The
intervention of Mme. de Stae'l, all powerful at this
moment with Benjamin Constant, had made him
Minister. He had gone to her house and throwing
upon the table his purse which contained only a few
louis had said: "Voila le reste de ma fortune! Demain
ministre ou je me brule la cervelle!" None of these
words were true, but it was dramatic, and Mme. de
Stae'l loved that. Besides, the nomination was not
difficult to arrange. The Directors, and above all,
Barras, were very much honored to have such a
Minister.
I will not relate here the history of the 18 Fructidor.
You can read it in all the memoirs of the time. The
Royalists had a great deal of hope and the different
intrigues were mixed up in every sense of the word.
Many of the emigres had returned. They wore the
rallying signs, all of which were perfectly known to
the police: the collar of the coat of black velvet, a
knot, in I know not what form, in the corner of the
handkerchief and so on. It was by absurdities of this
kind that they thought to save France. Mme. de
Montesson returned from the country expressly to
give a dinner to the Deputies who were well disposed.
Monsieur de Brouquens, our excellent friend, was
also one of the hosts of these dinners where they
talked with an unbelievable imprudence. We met
again every day, my husband and I, some people of
our acquaintance, and the originality of the life
which I had led in America and the desire which I
evinced of returning there rendered me for a month
very much in vogue.
[270]
VISIT TO PARIS
Mme. d'Henin, our aunt, had returned as I have
already said under a borrowed name with a Geneva
passport. She was living with Mme. de Poix, who
herself was installed for the duration of the summer
in a house which she had borrowed at Saint-Ouen.
We went there to pass several days to the great
pleasure of Humbert who was very much bored at
Paris where he was not able to go out.
I also saw Mme. de Stael nearly every day. In
spite of her liaison more than intimate with Benjamin
Constant, she was working for the Royalist Party.
You may well believe that my first care on arriving
at Paris was to go to see Mme. Tallien to whom we
owed our life. I found her established in a little
house called "La Chaumiere" at the end of the
Cours la Reine. She received me with much affection
and wished immediately to explain how it happened
that she had found herself under the necessity of
marrying Tallien, by whom she had a child. Her
family life with this new husband already seemed in-
supportable. Nothing could equal, it seemed, his dis-
trustful and suspicious character. She related to me
that one night, when she returned at one o'clock
in the morning, he had such an attack of jealousy
that he had been upon the point of killing her.
Seeing him armed with a pistol, she had taken flight
and had gone to demand asylum and protection from
Monsieur Martell, whose life she had saved at
Bordeaux, but he had refused to receive her. She
wept bitterly in recounting to me this act of in-
gratitude. Therefore my gratitude which I expressed
[271]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
with warmth, as indeed I felt it, seemed very sweet
to her. Tallien came for a moment to his wife's
room. I thanked him quite coldly, and he told me to
count on him under all circumstances. You will see
later on in what way and in what manner he kept
his word.
[272]
CHAPTER SEVEN
1797-1798
EXILE IN ENGLAND
The 1 8 Fructidor. — A Promenade in Paris. — Mme. de Stael
and Benjamin Constant. — Expulsion of the Returned
Emigres. — Situation of Monsieur and Mme. de La Tour
du Pin. — Conduct of Talleyrand and Tallien. — New
Exile. — A Friend from America. — Cordial Reception by
Lady Jerningham. — Visit of Mme. Dillon. — Mme. de
Rothe and the Archbishop of Narbonne. — Lord Dillon. —
His Apostasy and Marriage with an Actress. — Lord Ken-
mare and His Daughter. — Dominating Character of Mme.
d'Henin. — Society of the Emigres. — Departure for Cossey.
— The Races at Newmarket. — Kindness of Lady Jerning-
ham.— Life at Cossey. — The Family Table. — Residence
at Richmond with Mme. d'Henin. — An Inheritance Dif-
ficult to Realize. — Money Troubles of Mme. de La Tour
du Pin.
MY husband was busy with his affairs and
had undertaken negotiations to repurchase
a part of the estate of Hautefontaine
which had been sold, when one morning at daybreak,
the 1 8 Fructidor, the fourth of September, 1797, I
thought I heard upon the boulevard a noise of
artillery carriages. As my room looked out on the
court, I told Marguerite to go to the window of the
salle a manger to see what was going on. On her
return she told me that the boulevard was filled with
a number of generals, with troops and cannon. I
arose as soon as possible and sent to awaken my
[ 273 ]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
husband who was sleeping in the room above mine.
We both went to the window, where a short
time later we were joined by Mme. de Valence.
Augereau was there giving orders. The Rue des
Capucines and the Rue Neuve-du-Luxembourg were
barricaded.
Towards mid-day, as nobody had brought us any
news, Mme. de Valence and I, inspired by curiosity,
went out, quietly dressed in order not to be remarked,
with the intention of going to see Mme. de Stael.
As the streets above mentioned were barricaded by
pieces of cannon, and the Rue de la Paix was not
in existence at that period, we were obliged to ascend
as far as the Rue de Richelieu to find a free passage.
All the shops were closed. There were a good many
people out but no one was talking. Finally we arrived
at the residence of Mme. de Stael. She was with
Benjamin Constant and very much incensed with
him because he maintained that the Directory in
arresting the Deputies had only performed an
indispensable coup d'etat.
From M. Constant we learned that all of the
emigres who had returned had received an order once
more to leave France under pain of being judged
by military commissions. This news filled me with
consternation, and I hastened to return home to
inform my husband. On arriving I found my husband
very much perplexed as to the means of notifying
my aunt of these events. She was living at Saint-
Ouen and the gates of Paris were closed. No one
was able to pass the barriers without a special
permission.
EXILE IN ENGLAND
By a singular piece of good fortune, I met Mme.
de Pontecoulant, whom I knew, as I had often seen
her with Mme. de Valence. I will tell later on who
she was. As she had a permit of the Section for
herself and her maid, she was able to go to Saint-
Denis, where her country house was located. I
begged her to let me take the place of the maid and
with her usual kindness she consented.
You can easily imagine with what exclamations I
was received by Mme. de Poix and my aunt. The
latter decided to leave at once for England. With
these ladies were several former emigres, who were in
despair over the necessity of once more leaving
France.
By the terms of the decree, all the emigres who
had returned upon French territory were ordered to
leave Paris within twenty-four hours and France
within a week. My idea was to return at once to
Le Bouilh. Having left France with a proper pass-
port and having returned with this same passport
duly vised by the French authorities in the United
States and in Spain, I thought that the decree could
not apply to us as we had not returned secretly. To
assure himself on this point my husband went to
find Monsieur de Talleyrand. The latter, very much
occupied with his own future, was not giving much
thought to that of others. He at once replied without
hesitation that it was not his affair and told us to
submit the case to Sottin, the Minister of Police.
I accordingly went to see Tallien who received me
very cordially. He promised to go at once to see
Sottin, to have him annotate the paper without
[275]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
which we could not have vised the passport of the
municipality of Saint-Andre-de-Cubzac, with which
we had come to Paris and which we must have in
our possession in order to pass the barriers.
I came home quite disturbed and commenced to
pack my trunks. A police decree had just been
posted ordering all proprietors to send in a report as
to the persons living in their houses who were at
Paris without papers in regular order. We were un-
willing to cause any trouble to Mme. de Montesson
with whom we were lodging.
Finally after a trying delay of several hours Tallien
sent me back the request which he had submitted to
the inspection of Sottin. The Minister had added with
his own hand and signed the following annotation:
"This private individual is within the law." Tallien,
in the note which he wrote me at the same time in the
third person excused himself politely for not having
been able to obtain anything, but the end of his
note could be translated by the words: "I wish you
a bon voyage."
There were two alternatives from which to choose.
We could ask for a passport for Spain and proceed
to Le Bouilh, where I could remain some time while
my husband went to Saint-Sebastien. This would
have been the wisest course. We could also go to
England and from there, according to circumstances,
return to America. My aunt, Mme. d'Henin, had
much influence with my husband and she induced
him to adopt the latter course. We had very little
money, but were assured of finding at London my
[276]
EXILE IN ENGLAND
step-mother, Mme. Dillon, and many other very
close relations, who without doubt would be disposed
to come to our aid. We therefore decided to leave
for England.
Having come to Paris with the intention of re-
maining only five or six weeks, we had brought with
us only the most necessary baggage. I had in addi-
tion several dresses which I had had made at Paris.
Two very small trunks contained all of our baggage,
including that of my maid, Marguerite, who had
decided this time not to leave us. This departure
was destined to have the most unfortunate conse-
quences for us. We were in negotiations with the new
owners of Hautefontaine to repurchase the property,
but this new emigration put an end to all of our
arrangements.
The two or three days which preceded our de-
parture were passed in a state of sadness and dis-
quietude. Perhaps it would have been better for us
to have returned to Le Bouilh. The report was
current that Barras, who had yielded for the moment
to the demands of his colleagues, would soon regain
his authority and at the same time resume his
favorable disposition regarding the emigres.
Everywhere you met people who were in despair
over this new emigration. We reserved three places
in a carriage which was to take us in three days to
Calais. Two other places were occupied by Monsieur
de Beauvau and by a cousin of Mme. de Valence,
the young Cesar Ducrest, an amiable young man who
was destined to perish so miserably several years later.
The French are naturally light-hearted. So in spite
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
of the fact that we were all in despair, ruined, furious,
we found, nevertheless, the means of being in good
humor and of laughing. Monsieur de Beauvau, our
cousin, was going to rejoin his wife, who had been a
Mile, de Mortemart, and his three or four children.
She was living in a country house at Staines, near
Windsor, with her grandfather, the Due d'Harcourt,
formerly Governor of the first Dauphin who died at
Meudon in 1789. Mme. de Beauvau was the youngest
of the three grand-daughters of the Due d'Harcourt.
Their mother had married the Due de Mortemart
and had died long before the Revolution. Monsieur
de Mortemart had then married a Mile, de Brissac,
the mother of the present Due.
We appeared before all the municipalities in the
localities situated on the route, including those of
Calais, where we embarked on the packet one evening
at eleven o'clock.
I was seated upon the deck holding my daughter
in my arms while Marguerite was occupied in putting
my son to bed, and my husband was suffering as
usual from sea-sickness, although there was little
wind and the night was superb. Beside me was a
gentleman who, seeing me embarrassed with my
child, proposed to me, with an English accent, that
I should lean against him. As I turned to thank him,
he saw my face in the moonlight and cried: "Bon
Dieu, est-ce possible!" It was young Jeffreys, son of
the editor of the "Edinburgh Review." I had seen
him every day at Boston at his uncle's at the time
of our sojourn in that hospitable city three years
before. We talked much of America and of the regret
[278]
EXILE IN ENGLAND
which I had felt in leaving it. I gave him to under-
stand that in spite of the presence of all my family
in England, I was going there inspired only by the
desire and the plan of returning to my farm, if all
hope of a return to France vanished or at least
became indefinite.
The night passed in talking of England with my
companion, and the first rays of the sun revealed to
us the white cliffs of England to which a strong
southeast wind had brought us near. We landed to
find ourselves handed over to the brutality of the
English Customs officers who seemed to me worse
even than those of Spain. At the sight of my passport
which I presented at the alien office, I was asked if
I was a subject of the King of England, and upon my
affirmative reply, they told me that I should give
as reference some person who was known in England.
Having named without hesitation my three uncles,
Lord Dillon, Lord Kenmare and Sir William Jerning-
ham, the tone and manner of these employes changed
very quickly. These details took up the morning.
After an English luncheon, or rather dinner, we left
Dover for London. We spent the night at Canter-
bury, or at Rochester, my recollections are not very
precise as to the locality, and the following morning
we arrived at London and went to one of the inns
in Piccadilly. As I had written my aunt, Lady Jerning-
ham, from Dover to announce our arrival, she had
sent her son Edward to bring us to her house in
Bolton Row. Her reception was entirely maternal.
She immediately informed us of her departure for
her country place at Cossey, where she said she ex-
[279]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
pected to stay at least six months. She invited us to
come and pass this time with her. My good aunt
was particularly amiable towards my husband, and,
being very fond of children, she conceived at once
a great affection for Humbert.
We therefore took up our residence in Bolton Row
like children of the family. Here I found again my
excellent old friend, the Chevalier Jerningham,
brother of Sir William, the husband of my aunt.
The faithful friendship which he had shown me since
my childhood was as sweet as it was useful during
my sojourn in England.
I was arranging to go to see my step-mother, Mme.
Dillon, who had been living in England for two years,
when she came to see my aunt.
My arrival in London was an event in the family.
Here I met again Betsy de La Touche, the daughter
of my step-mother. She had been confided to my
care in 1789 and 1790 when she was at the Convent
of the Assumption where I often went to see her and
whence I alone had permission to take her out from
time to time. She had married Edward de Fitz-
James. She was a sweet and amiable young woman,
worthy of all good fortune. She was passionately
fond of her husband, who did not return her affection,
and his cruel and public infidelities had broken her
heart.
Alexandre de La Touche, her brother, was three
years younger than herself. He was a handsome
young man, light headed, gay, but with little mind
and still less education. He had all the whims of the
young emigres who had nothing to do, was destitute
[280]
EXILE IN ENGLAND
of any talent, loved horses, society and small in-
trigues, but never opened a book. My step-mother,
who as long as I knew her never had a book on the
table, could not have given him any taste for reading.
She herself was not lacking in natural intelligence
and had good manners and was well bred. Neverthe-
less, I have often asked myself why my father, who
was endowed with a superior mind and was a man
of fine education, had married a woman older than
himself. It is true that she was rich, but, nevertheless,
she could not pass for being what was called an
heiress. Although he desired a son above all things,
they had only three daughters. Two died as small
children and only the eldest, Fanny, survived.
My -uncle the Archbishop and my grandmother
were living in London. I had not seen them since my
departure from their house in 1788, nine years
before. My aunt, Lady Jerningham, thought that I
would do well to pay them my respects, and the good
Chevalier, her brother-in-law, undertook to ask them
if they would consent to receive me. My grandmother,
seeing that the Archbishop desired it, dared not offer
any opposition. At the same time she made a condi-
tion that my husband should not accompany me. I
could have made this condition a pretext for not
going to see them but I feigned ignorance. My hus-
band besides was very happy to be relieved of this
visit, for even at this time, he confessed to me later,
he knew that my grandmother had spoken very un-
kindly of me since she had been in London. If I had
known this at the time, I should certainly have re-
frained from going to see her.
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
One morning, therefore, I turned my steps towards
Thayer Street with my little Humbert. It was not
without an emotion mingled with many different
feelings, that I knocked at the door of this modest
mansion inhabited by my uncle and my grandmother.
This house seemed to me to take the place, without
transition, of the fine hotel of the Faubourg Saint-
Germain, where I had passed my childhood sur-
rounded by the luxury and the splendor which can
be obtained in life with an income of 400,000 francs,
which the Archbishop of Narbonne enjoyed at that
time.
An old domestic opened the door for me. On seeing
me he burst into tears. He was one of the servants
of Hautefontaine, where he had been present at my
marriage. He preceded me and I heard him announce
me in a voice full of emotion, saying: "Here is Mme.
de Gouvernet." My grandmother arose and came to
meet me. I kissed her hand. Her reception was very
cold and she called me "Madame." At the same
moment the Archbishop entered and throwing his
arms around my neck he kissed me tenderly, and
then seeing my son, he embraced him several times.
He addressed several questions in English and in
French to the boy, who replied with an intelligence
which charmed my uncle.
My uncle invited me to come to dinner the follow-
ing day, with six old Bishops from Languedoc whom
he had taken en pension at his table. They were all
former acquaintances of mine. As for my husband
he was not mentioned. I announced my plan to go
and visit my aunt at Cossey during the period of her
[282]
EXILE IN ENGLAND
sojourn there. The Archbishop expressed his satis-
faction but my grandmother was certainly much put
out.
Lady Jerningham, who had been very anxious as
to the result of my visit, was happy that everything
had gone so well. The following day my aunt took
me to see two other uncles. One was Lord Dillon,
elder brother of my father. He lived in a handsome
mansion in Portman Square, with his second wife,
two of her daughters, and a young son eight or nine
years of age, who was a beautiful boy. Lady Dillon
had been a Mile. Rogier of Belgian origin. She had all
the appearance of what she was in reality, a former
actress. She had been the mistress of my uncle before
his marriage to Miss Phipps, daughter of Lord Mul-
grave. From this liaison had been born a son who,
according to the custom allowed in England among
the Protestants, had been authorized to bear the
name of his father. As I have already stated at the
commencement of these Recollections, Lord Dillon,
at the time that he bore only the title of the Honor-
able Charles Dillon, was a gambler and a spend-
thrift and was loaded with debt. He abjured the
religion of his fathers to become a Protestant at the
instigation of his grand-uncle, Robert Lee, fourth
and last Earl of Lichfield, who had demanded this
as the price of his inheritance, an income of 15,00x3
pounds sterling and the beautiful castle of Ditchley.
Assured of this handsome fortune and wishing to
have an heir, he married a Protestant, Miss Phipps,
and made her so unhappy that she died at the age
of twenty-five years, leaving him a son, Henry
[283]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
Augustus, who later became Viscount Dillon, and a
daughter who married Sir Thomas Webb.
My uncle then lived openly with Mile. Rogier, by
whom he had had two daughters during the life of
his wife. After his wife's death he publicly married
her. His sister, Lady Jerningham, was extremely dis-
satisfied, and to appease her, he confided to her his
legitimate son to bring up, and only kept with him
the two bastards. These used his name, with this
difference, that they did not put upon their visiting
cards "Honorable Miss Dillon," but "Miss Dillon"
only. They were both charming girls, pretty and well
brought up. One died at the age of eighteen and the
other married Lord Frederick Beauclerk, brother of
the Duke of Saint-Albans.
As my aunt was not particularly anxious to see
Lady Dillon, I went to her house with her daughter,
Lady Bedingfeld, my cousin, who was at that time
in London for several days. Lord Dillon received us
very politely, but as a man of the world, without
showing the least interest. He offered us his box for
the Opera for the same evening, and we accepted.
This was the only benefit that I received from him.
He gave a pension of 1,000 pounds sterling to his
uncle the Archbishop, who was eighty years of age.
As far as I was concerned, although I was the daughter
of his brother, he never came to my aid during the
two years and a half I passed in England.
The second uncle whom I visited, this time with
Lady Jerningham, was Lord Kenmare who had
formerly borne the name of Valentine Browne. He
received me in a very different manner, although I
[284]
EXILE IN ENGLAND
was his niece only by his first wife, a sister of my
father, who had been dead for many years. He was
then remarried. By his first wife he had a daughter,
Lady Charlotte Browne, who was accordingly my
cousin. She later became by marriage Lady Charlotte
Goold.
Lord Kenmare, his daughter and all his family
received me with the greatest kindness and goodness,
and the friendship of Lady Charlotte in particular
has never become cold. She was then eighteen years
of age and had many aspirants for her hand as she
had a fortune of 20,000 pounds sterling.
I went to see my aunt Mme. d'Henin at Richmond.
She was much displeased over our plan of passing
some time at Cossey with Lady Jerningham. Mme.
d'Henin was exceedingly domineering, even to the
point of tyranny, and everything which brought the
slightest umbrage to her empire put her out to a
most unreasonable degree. Her authority was exer-
cised principally upon Monsieur de Lally, although
it must be admitted that she was very useful to him
through the firmness and decision of her character.
But she did not suffer any rival and Monsieur de
Lally had committed the imprudence, during the
two or three months that Mme. d'Henin had passed
in France, of going to Cossey where he had enjoyed
himself like a school-boy on his vacation. Mme.
d'Henin had accordingly conceived a great aversion
for Lady Jerningham. Accordingly on learning that
her nephew, Monsieur de La Tour du Pin, and I had
formed the project of passing six months in the
[2853
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
country with Lady Jerningham, she had a feeling of
vexation which she did not try to dissimulate. In
spite of her character, Mme. d'Henin nevertheless
did not lack a spirit of justice. She was forced to
admit that, having arrived in England without re-
sources, it was very natural for us to accept with
pleasure an invitation from a relative so near and so
highly considered in the world as my aunt Jerning-
ham. Mme. d'Henin and Monsieur de Lally had an
establishment in common. The age of the two should
have prevented the public from finding any scandal-
ous motive in this association. Nevertheless, people
turned the matter into ridicule. Mme. d'Henin in spite
of her real and great qualities was not generally liked.
After a residence of three days at London, I
realized that I would not have any pleasure in stay-
ing there longer. The society of the emigres, their
gossip, their little intrigues and slander had rendered
my sojourn disagreeable.
Finally to my great joy the time came for our de-
parture for Cossey. Lady Jerningham had preceded
us to the country. It was therefore arranged that I
should stay with my step-mother, Mme. Dillon, for
several days. There I learned with great satisfaction
that Edward de Fitz-James had some saddle-horses.
As I had the reputation of being an excellent horse-
woman, he procured for me a side-saddle. My step-
mother gave me a fine equestrian habit and every
day we took long rides.
We set out from London like a caravan: my step-
mother, myself, my daughter, my son, my maid
Marguerite and Flora, the colored maid of Mme.
EXILE IN ENGLAND
Dillon, in one berline ; Mme. de Fitz-James, Alexandra
de La Touche and my husband in another. Then
followed the aged governess of Betsy and finally
Monsieur de Fitz-James, his horses, grooms and so on.
We stopped for the night at Newmarket where
are held the famous horse-races, which I was very
curious to see. We remained here all the next day.
It was the last day of the races and the one on which
was run the Royal Cup. We passed the whole day
upon the turf and by a good chance, quite rare in
England, the weather was very fine. I have guarded
the memory of this day as one of those in my life
when I was the most amused and interested. The
following day we set out to arrive for the night at
Cossey. It was, I think, during the first days of
October, 1797.
My aunt, who was very fond of children, took
possession of Humbert. Every morning after break-
fast she took him to her room and kept him all the
morning, occupied in giving him lessons and making
him read and write in English and in French. His
toilette also was the object of her care. She furnished
him with suits, overcoats, linen and a complete
child's wardrobe. She was also extremely kind to me.
Having observed that I was able to make my dresses
myself, under the pretext of inspiring in Fanny
Dillon a love of work, she brought to my room and
placed at my disposal pieces of muslin and material
of every kind, an attention which was all the more
agreeable as I had arrived from France very lightly
dressed for the climate of England.
My aunt had learned that my children had not
[287]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
been inoculated (vaccination having then only re-
cently been discovered) and she took charge of supply-
ing this omission and had her own surgeon come from
Norwich to perform the operation. In fine, she sur-
rounded us with care of every kind, and the time
which I passed at Cossey was as agreeable as we
could have possibly wished.
Sir William possessed an income estimated at
18,000 pounds sterling, which does not constitute a
large fortune in England, but was sufficient to enable
him to live handsomely. His house was old but
convenient. The chapel in which the chaplain of-
ficiated was installed in the garret, following the
usage of the Catholics prior to the Emancipation.
The winter passed very agreeably. Towards the
month of March, Mme. Dillon, my sister Fanny, and
Monsieur and Mme. de Fitz-James returned to
London. But we remained at Cossey until the month
of May. As my aunt was to pass the summer at
London, Sir William proposed to us to take possession,
during the period of his absence, of a pretty cottage
which he had built in the park. I preferred, however,
not to remain there alone, and furthermore Mme.
d'Henin was very much enraged at the idea of the
prolongation of our sojourn in the country and in-
sisted on having us with her at Richmond where she
could give us lodging. We therefore agreed to go
there and rejoin her, although it was much against
my desire; but my husband did not wish to disoblige
his aunt and besides this, we had some business in
London about which I am going to speak.
[288]
175? - 1838
EXILE IN ENGLAND
As I have not re-read the first part of these Recollec-
tions, I am not certain that I stated that at the time
of my arrival at Boston I had written my excellent
instructor, Monsieur Combes, who was then living
with my step-mother at Martinique. My father had
given him a good position, that of Recorder of the
Island. He had exercised this function at Saint-
Christophe and Tabago and, living in the house, he
had been able to accumulate his salary until it
amounted to the sum of 60,000 francs. Mme. Dillon
had borrowed this capital from him, agreeing to pay
him interest. When Monsieur Combes learned at
Martinique of our arrival at Boston, and also of
our intention to buy property, the excellent man, who
loved me like a father, had the thought of joining this
sum, his entire fortune, to the funds which we
possessed, in order to permit us to acquire a more
considerable establishment, where he would come to
be with us and pass the rest of his days. He therefore
asked Mme. Dillon to repay the capital which he
had loaned her. She not only refused his demand,
but she also would not set the time when she would
repay his money. He was in despair over the failure
of his plans and prayed and menaced Mme. Dillon,
but all without effect. Every vessel which came from
Martinique to the United States brought me a letter
from him. He wrote that he did not dare to leave
Mme. Dillon, hoping that by his presence he would
finally succeed in obtaining his money. In the midst
of all this, Mme. Dillon left for England. Before her
departure, poor Monsieur Combes who remained at
Martinique succeeded in obtaining a paper, in due
[289]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
form, acknowledging the debt of 60,000 francs of
capital and the interest which then amounted to
nearly 10,000 francs, in addition.
Upon my arrival at Richmond, I received the sad
news of the death of my old friend. A short time
before, in his last letter, he had told me that the
climate of the Islands, and still more the chagrin at
knowing that I was again in France without re-
sources, was killing him. He added that he was
writing to Mme. Dillon requesting her to pay me
the interest of the capital of 70,000 francs which she
owed him.
By will, in legal form, he left me his credit of
70,000 francs on Mme. Dillon, as well as the running
income which amounted to 1500 or 1800 francs.
From the very day that she knew of this legacy the
attitude of Mme. Dillon towards us completely
changed. She kept a fine house at London and spent
freely in dinners and evening entertainments, but if
we had need of money she referred us to a Creole
emigre who was charged with the care of her affairs.
To all our demands with the object of having her
fix a date when she would pay the interest of our
credit, she replied evasively. One time there was no
sale for her sugar, another time her funds had not
been received. In short, every day some new excuse
was offered. Having addressed myself directly to her,
I was very badly received. We spoke of the matter
to her son, Alexandre de La Touche. My husband
also took the matter up with her man-of-affairs, but
all of our attempts remained without success.
The money which we received was given us like
[290]
EXILE IN ENGLAND
alms, although it came from our own property.
Nevertheless, it was necessary for us to pay our part
of the expenses with Mme. d'Henin, and this con-
stituted for us a new cause of embarrassment. How
many times I regretted that I had not remained at
Cossey !
Our participation in the household of Mme.
d'Henin was to me insupportable. She had given us
such bad quarters that we were not able to receive
any one. Our lodging comprised only two small bed-
rooms on the ground floor, and in England it is not
customary to receive visitors in your bed-rooms. I
occupied one of these rooms with my daughter, and
my husband the other with our son. In the evening
only, we found our aunt in a handsome salon which
she had on the first floor. It was very inconvenient
certainly, but, if our life had been pleasant, I would
not have been disturbed. While admitting the great
and fine qualities of Mme. d'Henin, and never failing
to show her the respect which I owed her, I was
forced nevertheless to recognize that our characters
were not sympathetic. Perhaps it was my fault and
I should have remained insensible to the thousand
pin pricks which she gave me. Monsieur de Lally,
the most timid of men, would not have dared to
venture the least drollery which might have amused
me. I was still young and gay. At twenty-eight years
of age how could I have had the severity of mien
imposed by the fifty years of my aunt ? Absorbed in
politics, the only thing which interested her was the
Constitution which it was necessary to give to France.
This bored me to death. And then came the writings
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
of Monsieur de Lally which it was necessary to read
and re-read, word by word, phrase by phrase. In
fine, I aspired to have a household of my own, no
matter how small it might be. As I could not see
any opportunity, I was resigned.
[292]
CHAPTER EIGHT
1798-1799
LIFE AT RICHMOND
The Princesse de Bouillon in England. — Birth and Death of
Edward. — Change of Residence at Richmond. — Facilities
of Life in England. — Narrow Circumstances of Monsieur
and Mme. de La Tour du Pin. — Distress of Monsieur de
Chambeau. — He is Aided by Monsieur de La Tour du
Pin. — The One Hundred Pounds of Edward Jerningham. —
A Week at London. — An Eight Days' Excursion. — Plans
for Return to France Abandoned. — The Circulating
Library.
IT was at the beginning of the summer of 1798
that the Princesse de Bouillon, of whom I have
spoken at the commencement of these Recollec-
tions, came to England to arrange the affairs of an
inheritance which had been left her by her friend,
the Duchesse de Biron. If I am not mistaken, the
sum involved was 600,000 francs in English funds.
Mme. de Bouillon was a German, Princesse de Hesse-
Rothenbourg, although she had passed her life in
France where she had married the cripple who had
never been her husband except in name. Joined by
a long and faithful attachment to Prince Emmanuel
de Salm, she had had a daughter who was brought
up under the name of Theresia. During the emigra-
tion this daughter had married a young counsellor
of the Parlement of Aix who has since become well
known, M. de Vitrolles.
[293]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
One morning after my aunt had gone to make a
call on Mme. de Bouillon, I saw these two ladies
return together. Several moments later, Mme. d'Henin
entered my room accompanied by my hushand. "We
have arranged for you," she said. "Monsieur de
Vitrolles is going away, and Mme. de Bouillon does
not wish to remain alone in her lodging, although she
has it at her disposal for three months still. She
wishes to give it up to you in exchange for your own.
You will be much more comfortable there." A sign
from my husband gave me to understand that I ought
to accept this proposition.
I therefore moved to the dwelling of Mme. de
Bouillon, and here was born a boy to whom we gave
the name of Edward, as he was the god-son of Lady
Jerningham and her son Edward. The good Chevalier
Jerningham came to see me and said that my aunt,
his sister-in-law, thought that with three children,
I could not, when I left my present residence, return
to the two little rooms of the modest lodging which
I had occupied with Mme. d'Henin. He had therefore
undertaken to find a small house at Richmond where
we would be at home. His search had succeeded be-
yond anything we could have hoped for.
The house belonged to a former actress of Drury
Lane who had been at one time very beautiful and
very popular. She never occupied it, but the dwelling
was so neat and well kept that she was not anxious
to lease it. However, the eloquence of the Chevalier
and the forty-five pounds sterling offered as rent by
Lady Jerningham decided her. This little house
which was a real jewel was only fifteen feet wide.
[294]
LIFE AT RICHMOND
On the ground floor was a hall, a pretty salon with
two windows and then a stairway which was hardly
visible. The first floor comprised two charming bed-
rooms, and the floor above, two other rooms for
servants. At the end of the hall, on the ground floor,
was a nice kitchen which looked out on a miniature
garden, with only a path and two flower-beds. There
were rugs everywhere and fine English oilcloth in
the passage-ways and upon the staircase. Nothing
could have been more attractive, cleaner and more
gracefully furnished than this little house which
could have all been put in a room of medium size.
However, I was very unhappy in taking possession,
for that very day I lost my little boy, aged three
months. He was carried off in a moment by an attack
of pleurisy which I attributed to the neglect of the
English maid who cared for him. I was very ill and
almost dying when I took possession of the little
house with my two surviving children, Humbert and
Charlotte. Having only these two children to look
after, we discharged our English servant. My maid,
Marguerite, had learned a little cooking during my
absence in the United States and she very willingly
placed her experience and above all her zeal at our
disposal.
England, where there are fortunes so immense,
existences so luxurious, is at the same time the
country in the world where poor people can live in
the most comfortable manner. For instance, there is
no necessity for going to market. The butcher never
fails a single day to come at a fixed hour crying,
"Butcher," at your door. You open the door and
[295]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
tell him what you want. Is it a leg of lamb ? He brings
it all arranged ready to put upon the spit. Is it lamb
chops? They are arranged on a little wooden platter
which he calls for the following day. On a slip of
paper are written the weight and the price.
About this time, as Mme. Dillon refused to pay
our income, we found ourselves much embarrassed.
All the money which we had on hand was five or
six hundred francs, and when this sum was spent
we did not know what we could do, not for a lodging,
for our little house cost us nothing, but literally for
our food. My friend, Chevalier Jerningham, had in-
formed me that my uncle, Lord Dillon, had refused
with the greatest severity to come to our aid. In
addition to this, all communications had ceased with
France.
At this moment we received from Monsieur de
Chambeau, who was still living in Spain, a despondent
letter in which he said that he had no news from
France and that nobody had sent him a sou. His
uncle, a former Fermier General, of whom he was
the sole heir, had just died after having made a will
in his favor, but the government had confiscated the
inheritance on the ground that he was an emigre.
The day that he wrote us, a last louis composed his
entire fortune, and he could no longer count upon
his friends in Spain, whose good will he had already
exhausted. Upon receiving this letter, my husband
did not hesitate a moment to share with his friend
the last of his funds. He rushed to a banker where
he purchased a draft for ten pounds sterling, payable
to bearer. The same day he sent it to Madrid. This
[296]
LIFE AT RICHMOND
was nearly a half of our own resources. There re-
mained with us only twelve pounds sterling on hand,
without any other resources to pay our bills when this
sum was spent. We were not willing to ask the aid
accorded by the English government to the emigres,
on account of my family, and above all, on account
of Lady Jerningham. So far as Lord Dillon was
concerned, I had no scruples of any kind. Out of
respect for the memory of my father, I did not wish
to declare publicly that his widow, Mme. Dillon, my
step-mother, who was proprietor of a house at London
where she gave dinners and evening entertainments,
had refused to come to my succor.
A last five pound note was all we had left, when
one morning my good cousin, Edward Jerningham,
came to see me. He was a charming young man who
had just passed his twenty-first birthday. He well
justified the passionate love which his mother felt
for him. As he arose to leave, I went to the door to
see him mount his horse. He remained a moment
behind and I saw him slip something into my work-
basket. I made a pretense of not noticing anything,
on account of his extreme embarrassment. After his
departure I found in my basket a sealed letter ad-
dressed to me. It contained only these words:
"Offered to my dear cousin by her friend, Ned,"
and a note for one hundred pounds sterling.
My husband returned a moment afterwards, and
I said to him : " See, here is the reward for what you
have done for Monsieur de Chambeau." The next
day, as you may well suppose, he went to London to
thank Edward but found that he had already left
[297]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
for Cossey. Several days later, I also went to London
with two English ladies whom I knew and whom I
frequently saw at Richmond. They were two sisters,
of whom the elder, Miss Lydia White, has been
celebrated as a famous "Blue Stocking." She had
conceived for me a kind of romantic passion, on
account of my adventures in America. One of these
ladies sang well, and we enjoyed our music together.
Their books were at my disposal. When I went to
visit them in the morning they kept me with them
the whole day, and, when the evening arrived, I was
only able to tear myself away by promising to return
before the end of the week. Having formed the plan
of passing a week at London, they implored Monsieur
de La Tour du Pin to permit me to accompany them.
This little trip to London with Miss Lydia White
and her sister put me somewhat in touch with society.
We went to the Opera and they also took me to a
large assembly at the house of a lady whom I hardly
saw. There were people on the stairway, and no one
was able to sit down. We had great difficulty in
leaving the house, the crowd of guests was so nu-
merous. At the end of the week, which appeared to
me long and tiresome, I returned with pleasure to
Richmond.
Monsieur de Poix, who was living at Richmond,
had an excellent horse and a tilbury. Frequently I
went on foot to Teddington, a village about two
miles from Richmond, and he brought me back to
Richmond in his carriage.
In this way passed the summer of 1798.
We made an excursion of a week of which I retain
[298]
LIFE AT RICHMOND
the pleasantest recollections. My children were so
safe with my excellent maid, that this little absence
did not cause me any disquietude. We set out,
Monsieur de Poix and I in his tilbury, my husband
on horseback, and, having passed Windsor, we went
to spend the night at Maidenhead. From there we
went to Oxford, to Blenheim, to Stowe, and returned
by Aylesbury and Uxbridge. The beautiful country
estates which we visited charmed me. It is in the
country only that the English are really grands
seigneurs. We were favored by very fine weather
during the whole week which we employed for this
excursion. In this connection, I must say that the
climate of England, outside of London, is very much
calumniated. I have not found it worse than that of
Holland, and incomparably better and less uncertain
than that of Belgium. Our little trip left with me the
most agreeable impression.
Returned to Ricnmond, I resumed my household
occupations. The news from France appeared some-
what better. My husband even formed the plan of
sending me over lor several days, armed with an
English passport, which would not have been en-
tirely false, since I should have signed it by my
maiden name, Lucy Dillon. At this moment un-
favorable news was received, and this determined me
to renounce my trip to France. The news came the
very day that I was to set out. Personally I was
much pleased not to undertake this trip which was
very disagreeable to me, not because I was afraid,
but because the thought of leaving my husband and
[299]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
children caused me a real chagrin. At this time, I
made the resolution never to return to France with-
out them.
My life at Richmond was very monotonous. I no
longer saw anything of Mme. Dillon, since we had
succeeded in getting some money from her at the
end of a very lively correspondence between my
husband and her man-of-affairs. When I went to
London, which happened only once or twice, I saw
no one except Lady Jerningham or Lord Kenmare,
who for a year past had given me six louis a month.
Once a week I paid a visit to Mme. de Duras at
Teddington where I went sometimes alone on foot
and sometimes with Monsieur de Poix in his carriage.
Towards the end of the winter, Miss White left
Richmond. This was a real grief to me, not because
we had formed a durable friendship, but because she
had been so kind to me that I had found her sojourn
in our neighborhood very agreeable.
For some time past my health had not been good.
I felt very languid, without knowing exactly what
was the matter with me. I was not able to have a
carriage, and our house was situated in a remote
quarter called "The Green." I had therefore given
up going out after supper and devoted my evenings
to reading the books which Miss White, who had a
fine library, had sent me in large numbers. A sub-
scription to the Circulating Library is very dear in
England and I was not able to take one. Therefore,
you can imagine my joy when one day I received a
box addressed in my name, of which the messenger
[300]
LIFE AT RICHMOND
gave me the key. I opened it and found ten volumes
from Ookam's Circulating Library at London, with
a catalogue of twenty thousand volumes of all kinds,
English and French, which were contained in this
library. Joined to this consignment was a receipt
in my name for a year's subscription, with a notice
that by putting the box on the stage at seven o'clock
in the morning, I would receive the same evening the
new books which I had ordered. Nothing could have
been more agreeable to me than this attention. I
attributed it to Miss White. Having written to
thank her, she made no reply, from which I inferred
that she did not wish to admit that she had sent the
books.
The summer of 1799 my health was somewhat
better. Our house on "The Green" had a party wall
with that of a rich alderman of London. A little
fence, eight or ten feet from our windows, formed a
barrier between the two properties, as is usual in
England. The house of the alderman had a pretty
yard covered with turf, surrounded like our own by
a fence. My son had arranged a small flower-bed in
the little space which he called his garden. He entered
this by the window of our sitting room where I al-
ways sat with my work. His sister, Charlotte, often
accompanied him to the garden. As we were living
in an out of the way place, hardly any one ever
passed our house.
[3013
CHAPTER NINE
1799-1800
RETURN TO PARIS
Again at Cossey. — News of the 18 Brumaire. — Plans for Re-
turn to France. — The Wait at Yarmouth. — The Crossing.
— The Debarkment at Cuxhaven. — In the North of
Germany. — The Ball at Wildeshausen. — Birth of Cecile. —
En Route for Holland. — At Utrecht. — Unexpected Meet-
ing with Mme. d'Henin. — Arrival at Paris. — Residence
in the Rue de Miromesnil. — Mme. Bonaparte. — Monsieur
de Beauharnais the Best Dancer in Paris. — The Morality
of Talleyrand. — A Visit to Mme. Bonaparte. — Certificates
of Residence. — At Malmaison. — The Gallery of Mme.
Bonaparte. — Mme. de Stael and Bonaparte.
THE summer of 1799 passed without any-
thing unusual. Lady Jerningham was again
settled at Cossey, where she had invited me
to rejoin her and pass the six months of her sojourn
in the country. The lease of our house at Richmond,
which she had taken for us, was on the point of
expiring, and it would have been hardly considerate
on our part to ask her to renew it, with the view of
not accepting the hospitality which she offered us.
My aunt was alone at Cossey. Her niece, Fanny
Dillon, my cousin, whom she had brought up, had
just married Sir Thomas Webb, a Catholic Baronet
who was quite an ordinary man although very well
born. Her eldest son, George Jerningham, had also
[302]
RETURN TO PARIS
married a Miss Sulyard, a very beautiful young lady
belonging to an old and noble Catholic family.
William Jerningham was in Germany. Her favorite
son, Edward, had not left her, and that was all that
was necessary. Under these circumstances, it would
have been a real disgrace for us not to go to Cossey.
We were making our preparations accordingly to set
out, when there arrived the news of the unexpected
return from Egypt of General Bonaparte who had
landed at Frejus.
On learning of this event we left at once for Cossey
with the hope of being able soon to go over to the
Continent and perhaps to return to France. It was
during our sojourn there that we received the happy
news of the fall of the Directory and of the Revolu-
tion of the 1 8 Brumaire. Some time later we received
letters from Monsieur de Brouquens and our brother-
in-law, the Marquis de Lameth, urging us to return
to France by way of Holland with German passports.
Lady Jerningham proposed that my husband
should leave alone. This would perhaps have been
better on account of the state of my health, but no
consideration could determine me to be separated
from my husband for an indefinite time. The com-
munications between England and France, in time
of war, might be entirely interrupted. The news
which we received from Hamburg was often a month
old; so we rejected all the propositions of Lady
Jerningham.
A Danish passport was sent from London for my
husband, my children and myself. We set out for
Yarmouth with the idea of taking passage on a
[303]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
packet of the Royal Marine. At this time there were
no steamboats. Our wait at Yarmouth was prolonged
during the whole month of December. We did not
dare to return to Cossey, although the distance was
only eighteen miles, as the Captain had declared that
as soon as the wind became favorable, that is to say,
from the southeast, he would sail immediately. He
would hardly consent to let us remain on land, as he
was in such haste to leave as soon as possible. Every
courier brought dispatches from the government.
Never had I passed such tedious days as during
the month we were at Yarmouth. We were living in
a very poor lodging with two rooms, and we were not
able to go out for the weather was frightful. The
contrary winds blew with fury. Every day there were
reports of vessels which had been lost. You can
imagine how such news was of a nature to discourage
persons who might be called upon to embark at any
moment.
Finally one morning they came to inform us that
it was necessary to go on board, where our baggage
had been already for a long time. Hardly had we set
foot on deck when the anchor was lifted. The sea
was very rough and we had a very disagreeable
passage which lasted forty-eight hours. About the
middle of the second night we were for some hours
uncertain as to whether or not we might be left on
Heligoland, a little island off the mouth of the Elbe,
in case the current did not loosen the ice. The Captain
subsequently declared that on account of the violent
weather, if the wind had veered a single point to the
north, he would have been forced to return to Eng-
[304]
RETURN TO PARIS
land without attempting to land. Fortunately^ we
escaped both of these eventualities. After having
passed the island of Heligoland we entered the Elbe
and moored in the offing of the little port of Cuxhaven
which we did not enter.
The Captain was in haste to be relieved of his
passengers. Everything was thrown pell-mell into the
long-boat. My husband and my maid left with my
son. As for myself, the Captain, on account of the
state of my health, put me with my little girl in his
private boat and ordered the two sailors to land me
as near as possible to the city. This injunction was
nearly fatal to me. The tide being low, when we came
alongside the jetty, I found much difficulty in land-
ing. The two sailors seized me then by the wrists
and, in spite of the motion of the boat, they would
not let go, fortunately, for I certainly should have
fallen into the sea. Then they hoisted me on the jetty
in such a manner that for several moments I was
suspended by the arms. They left me then alone
with my little Charlotte. Although I was feeling very
ill, I was forced nevertheless to set out to meet my
husband whom I perceived at a distance in a small
wagon in which were our baggage and my maid. I
felt a violent pain in my right side and I have always
thought since that I suffered some internal injury.
We were obliged to knock at the door of two or three
inns without being able to find a lodging, on account
of the number of emigres who were leaving for or
arriving from England.
Finally we succeeded in persuading one inn-keeper
to give us temporary quarters. A few moments later
[305]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
I was taken with a violent fever and was out of my
head. My husband who was very anxious sent for a
doctor. After a long search they brought back one
who did not speak a word of French. He applied a
plaster to my side and ordered me a calming draft
which caused me to sleep continuously for twenty-
four hours. On waking up I felt all right again.
While I was asleep my husband had purchased for
two hundred francs a little old caleche which was
sufficiently spacious to contain us all. After a second
day of repose we set out in this open carriage in the
month of January, in the north of Germany. Fortu-
nately the weather was favorable the first days of our
journey. The fourth day a torrential rain did not
cease to fall. Marguerite and I were somewhat pro-
tected by the back of the caleche, but my husband
and my son, in spite of an umbrella, were wet to the
skin. We remained two days at Bremen to dry our
clothes behind the fine large stoves which you find
in the German houses, and also to obtain a little
repose. Then the weather became fine and we again
set out. Much snow had fallen and it was difficult to
distinguish the route in the plains of heather which
we were traversing.
Towards evening we arrived at the little city of
Wildeshausen where we were to pass the night. It
was situated in the electorate of Hanover and had
consequently a Hanoverian garrison. The officers that
day were giving a great ball to another regiment
which was passing through. All the rooms of the only
inn in the locality were occupied. We found refuge
[306]
RETURN TO PARIS
in the vestibule near the stove and were very sad
over the prospect of passing the night upon the
wooden benches, when an officer all dressed for the
ball came gallantly to say to me in English that as
he was to pass the whole night at the ball he would
place his room at my disposal. There we went for
supper.
A little later I was taken very ill and the proprie-
tor of the hotel sent a messenger to the end of the
city to awaken an old hairdresser, a Frenchman by
origin, who had been settled at Wildeshausen since
the Seven Years' War. He arrived very promptly as
he had not yet gone to bed on account of the ball.
His first care was to run in search of a physician who
lived in the vicinity. The doctor, an elegant young
man, arrived, wearing white gloves. He had left the
ball and was still out of breath from his last waltz.
His acquaintance with the French language com-
prised only several medical phrases. The old per-
ruquier, Denis, fortunately came to our rescue to
explain the nature of my malady. He asked if I
could be transported without trouble to two rooms
which he knew were to let at the end of the city.
The doctor consented and then returned to the ball.
Denis ran to awaken the proprietor of these rooms
and before daybreak I was settled there.
The house, like all those of the prosperous peasants
of this part of Germany, had a large porte-cochere
by which you entered a large carriage house which
occupied the whole depth of the house. In front, at
right and left of this carriage house on the ground
floor were two good rooms, very neat and quite well
[307]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
furnished. Marguerite and my two children took one,
while I was placed in the larger room, and my hus-
band took possession of a small cabinet adjoining.
The following morning, the thirteenth of February,
1800, was born my little girl, to whom we gave the
name of Cecile.
The following day the bailiff of the locality, who
had already sent once in search of our passport,
dispatched one of the village guards to lead Monsieur
de La Tour du Pin to him. He said to my husband
in good French: "Sir, your Danish passport is under
a false name. You are French and an emigre, and in
the electorate of Hanover where you are now, it is
forbidden to allow the sojourn of French emigres
more than forty-eight hours."
My husband was terrified by this discourse. He
alleged that I was not in a state to be transported,
but the bailiff was inflexible as to the departure of
my husband and declared that before the end of the
day he must take his choice between leaving for
Hanover and returning to Bremen. Then he added:
"Sir, since you acknowledge that you are French,
let me know your real name."
"La Tour du Pin."
"Ah! mon Dieu," cried the bailiff. "Are you the
former Minister of France to The Hague?"
"Exactly."
"Well, sir, if it is so, remain here as long as you
wish. My nephew, Monsieur Hinuber, a very young
man, was Minister of Hanover at The Hague. He
often visited your house and you were very kind to
him."
[308]
RETURN TO PARIS
From this moment he placed himself at our disposal
with the greatest zeal.
In two weeks I was up again, and at the end of
another week we set out after having taken tea with
the bailiff, the burgomaster and the curate. As there
was a Catholic Church at Wildeshausen, my little
daughter was baptized there. She was held at the
font by the old perruquier, and his wife, who during
the forty years of their marriage had never learned
a word of French.
We took the route of Lingen to enter Holland.
For several leagues we were accompanied by a
number of young men. Before leaving they insisted
that I should drink a cup of a German mixture of
which they had prepared the ingredients. I thought
it would be detestable but nevertheless, after having
tasted it, I found the beverage delicious. It was com-
posed of warm Bordeaux wine in which they had
put yolks of eggs and spices. The Doctor was among
those who had accompanied me and it was by his
advice that I swallowed this mixture which some-
what inebriated me. The worthy fellows of our escort
then left us and wished us with fervor a bon voyage.
Their wish brought us good fortune for nothing
troublesome happened, and my little girl endured the
trip in an astonishing manner for a baby who was
not a month old.
We finally arrived at Utrecht, and my husband
went at once to The Hague to obtain a passport
en regie, from the Ambassador of the French Republic,
Monsieur de Semonville. The latter, who turned with
[309]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
each wind which blew, had already succeeded in
pleasing the new government of which Bonaparte
was the head. My husband had known Monsieur de
Semonville very intimately for a long time, so he was
received with open arms, and they fabricated for him
a superb passport, attesting that he had not left
Utrecht since the 18 Fructidor.
During the short absence of Monsieur de La
Tour du Pin, Mme. d'Henin, by the merest chance,
passed through Utrecht, and my husband was very
much surprised to find his aunt on his return from
his trip to The Hague. I think that Mme. d'Henin
was on her way to see Monsieur de La Fayette who
had been living at Vianen near Utrecht, since his
release from prison after the Peace of Campo Formio.
I do not recall whether she had come from France or
England. She always had two or three passports and
changed her name and her route at every moment.
We remained two days with her, and then taking
advantage of a carriage which was being sent to
Paris, and which we were charged to deliver at its
destination, we set out.
On arriving at Paris we stopped at the Hotel
Grange-Bateliere. My brother-in-law Lameth and
our friend Brouquens were at Paris. Monsieur de
Lameth installed us in a charming little house entirely
furnished, Rue de Miromesnil, which had been occu-
pied prior to that by two or three friends who had
just left to go and pass the whole summer in the
country. We were predestined to live in the houses of
courtesans. That at Richmond belonged to an actress;
this one had been arranged for Mile. Michelot, former
RETURN TO PARIS
mistress of the Due de Bourbon. All the walls were
ornamented with mirrors, with such prodigality that
I was obliged to hang pieces of muslin to conceal
the greater part of them, as I was much annoyed at
not being able to move without encountering my
form reflected from head to foot.
At Paris I found many persons of my acquaintance
who had already returned from the emigration. All
the young people from this moment turned their
eyes towards the rising sun, Mme. Bonaparte, who
was installed at the Tuileries, where the apartments
had been entirely refurnished as if by enchantment.
She already put on the airs of a queen, but of a
queen the most gracious, the most amiable, the most
kind hearted. Although she had very little intelligence,
she had nevertheless well penetrated the projects of
her husband. The First Consul had given his wife
the mission of bringing to him la haute societe, having
been persuaded by Josephine that she belonged to it,
which is not strictly true. I do not know whether she
had ever been presented at Court or visited at
Versailles, but thanks to the name of her first hus-
band, Monsieur de Beauharnais, the thing was
certainly possible.
During the years 1787 to 1791, I met Monsieur de
Beauharnais constantly in society. As he had seen
my husband frequently when he was aide de camp of
Monsieur de Bouille, during the war in America,
Monsieur de Beauharnais said to him one day:
"Come and see me, so that I may present you to
my wife." My husband went there once but never
went again. The society which met in their salon
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
was not ours. Monsieur de Beauharnais nevertheless
went everywhere, for during the war he had formed
ties with a number of leaders of high society. He had
a charming figure and had the reputation, justly, of
being the finest dancer in Paris. I had often danced
with him and I therefore experienced a very painful
feeling when I heard of his death on the scaffold.
I again saw Monsieur de Talleyrand, who was al-
ways animated by the same sentiments towards me:
amiable without being really useful. During the past
two years he had worked so successfully at increasing
his fortune that I found him settled in a beautiful
house, his personal property, in the Rue d'Anjou. He
laughed in his sleeve at the disposition on the part
of all those who had returned to France to rally to
the government. He said to me :
"Que fait Gouvernet? Veut-il quelque chose?"
"Non," I replied, "nous comptons aller nous
installer au Bouilh."
"Tant pis/' he exclaimed, "c'est une betise."
"Mais," I replied, "nous ne sommes pas en etat
de rester a Paris."
"Bah!" he said, "on a toujours de Targent quand
on veut." Voila rhomme!
As soon as Mme. Bonaparte learned through Mme.
de Valence and Mme. de Montesson of my presence
in Paris she wished me to come and see her. To draw
to her a woman still young, a former Lady of Honor
very much in vogue, would be a conquest, if I dare
say so, of which she was very impatient to boast to
the First Consul. In order to give value to my con-
RETURN TO PARIS
descension, I allowed myself to be implored a little,
then one morning, I went with Mme. de Valence to
call on Mme. Bonaparte. I found in the salon a
number of ladies and a group of young men, all of
whom I knew. Mme. Bonaparte came to me crying:
"Ah! la voila!" She seated me beside her and said
a thousand pleasant things, repeating all the time:
"Comme elle a 1'air anglais!" which ceased to be a
praiseworthy trait a short time later. She examined
me from head to foot and her attention was particu-
larly drawn to a tress of blond hair which surrounded
my head and from which her eyes could not be drawn.
As we rose to leave she could not refrain from de-
manding in a low tone of Mme. de Valence if this
tress was indeed my own hair.
Mme. Bonaparte spoke to me with much kindness
of Mme. Dillon, my step-mother, and expressed a
warm desire to make the acquaintance of my sister
Fanny, who was at the same time her cousin (the
mother of Mme. Dillon and of Josephine having been
sisters). Then she continued by saying that all the
emigres were going to return and that she was
charmed, that they had suffered enough and that
General Bonaparte wished above everything else to
bring to an end the evils of the Revolution and so on,
in short a lot of reassuring statements. She also asked
for news of Monsieur de La Tour du Pin and evinced
a desire of seeing him. She was leaving for Mal-
maison and invited me to come there. She was very
pleasant in every way and I saw clearly that the
First Consul had intrusted to her the department of
the ladies of the Court and the task of their conquest
[313]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
when she met them. The task was not very difficult,
for all were rushing towards the rising power, and I
do not know any one, except myself, who refused to
be Lady of Honor to the Empress Josephine.
Monsieur de La Tour du Pin and I had never been
inscribed, I cannot explain why, upon the list of
emigres. It was necessary however for us to obtain a
certificate of residence in France, signed by nine
witnesses, an indispensable formality of which, never-
theless, no one was dupe. With this end we went to
the Municipality of the quarter with our squad of
witnesses. When the certificate was signed and clothed
with all the necessary mensonges, the Mayor said to
me in a low tone: "That does not prevent you from
bringing from London all your effects/' Then he
began to laugh. What a comedy!
The place in Paris, during this summer, where the
most distinguished company was brought together,
was under the arch of a house in the Place de Ven-
dome : that which forms the angle of the Place on the
right in going towards the Rue Saint-Honore and
on the side of that street. It was there that the Com-
mission of the emigres held its sessions, a tribunal very
easy to conciliate if you did not come with empty
hands. In the crowds which assembled at this point
you met the greatest personages mingled with brokers
of every kind.
The French find amusement in everything. The
Commission of emigres had become a place of re-
unions; people made appointments there; they went
there to meet former acquaintances; to talk over their
plans, their choice of residence. Many of those who
[314]
RETURN TO PARIS
came back considered the place as an employment
bureau. We had no business with this Commission
as we did not figure on the list of emigres. It was
necessary, however, to have erased from this list the
name of my mother-in-law. Although she had resided
for thirty years in the Convent of the Dames An-
glaises, of the Rue des Fosses-Saint-Victor, which she
had never left, they had, nevertheless, inscribed her
name. The sale of all the furniture of the Chateau
of Tesson and of two farm houses had been the
consequence of this unjustifiable inscription.
One morning I went to Malmaison. It was after
the battle of Marengo. Mme. Bonaparte gave me a
wonderful reception, and after luncheon, which was
served in a charming salle a manger, she invited me
to see her picture gallery. We were alone and she
took advantage of the occasion to tell me the story
of the origin of the masterpieces which the gallery
contained. This fine picture had been presented to
her by the Pope; two others had been given her by
Canova; the city of Milan had offered her this
picture and that. Having a great admiration for the
conqueror of Marengo, I should have esteemed Mme.
Bonaparte more highly if she had told me that all
these masterpieces had been conquered at the point
of his sword. The good woman was naturally a liar.
Even when the simple truth would have been more
interesting and more piquant than a lie, she would
have preferred to lie.
Mme. de Stae'l had given up her house. Her husband
had returned to Sweden, where he died two years
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
later. After having settled in a small apartment, she
was preparing to go to join her father at Coppet.
Bonaparte could not endure her, although she tried
in every way to please him. I think that she never
went to see Mme. Bonaparte. One day, however, I
met Josephine Bonaparte in her salon. She received
people of all the regimes. The emigres, returned to
France, mingled at her house with the former partisans
of the Directory.
[316]
CHAPTER TEN
1800-1808
LIFE AT LE BOUILH
Sale of the Paris House. — Departure for Le Bouilh. — Life
There. — Education of Mile, de Lally. — Establishment of
the Empire. — Birth of Aymar. — Marriage of Mile, de
Lally and Henri d'Aux.
FINALLY about the month of September, we
decided to leave for Le Bouilh. About three
years before we had sold our house in Paris
at a very low price. It was situated in a bad quarter,
the Rue du Bac. I no longer remember the disposition
which my husband made of the proceeds of this sale.
On his return he found the affairs of his father, as
well as his own, in such great disorder, and he was
so unfortunate in everything he undertook, that in
spite of his intelligence and his capacity, he did not
seem to succeed in anything. My husband set out
alone for Tesson, and I engaged a driver who took
me home by short journeys in a large carriage which
held besides myself, my son, my two daughters, the
instructor, Monsieur de Calonne, and my maid,
Marguerite.
We finally arrived at Le Bouilh where I was happy
to be once more. I had great need of repose. An
excellent girl whom I had left there had taken care
of everything in good shape. My husband arrived a
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
few days later, and we finally found ourselves all
reunited in our home.
My husband devoted himself to agriculture and
the education of his son, in which I assisted in order
that he should not forget his English. Humbert was
then ten and a half years of age, while Charlotte
was four and Cecile six months. My excellent
maid, Marguerite, devoted herself with as much
attention and tenderness to the dear children as I
did myself.
A short time after our arrival at Le Bouilh, a
cousin of my husband, Mme. de Maurville, came to
stay with us. She had lost all the property which
she possessed in France and her principal resource
was a pension of forty pounds sterling, paid to her by
the English government. This had been given her
as the widow of a general officer of the French
Marine, who had taken service with England, a
thing which I may say in passing was very villainous.
Mme. de Maurville was very fond of Monsieur de
La Tour du Pin. She was four years older than he
and had known him since his childhood. She was
very happy to be with us.
Mme. d'Henin came to Le Bouilh on several oc-
casions during the eight years we resided there. At
the time of her first visit, which lasted several months,
she brought Elisa, the daughter of Monsieur de
Lally, who had just left the school of Mme. Campan.
I was asked to undertake finishing her education.
Mile, de Lally at that time was fifteen years of age,
and I received her with pleasure. She was a sweet,
LIFE AT LE BOUILH
good child, quite well grounded in orthography,
music and dancing, while the cultivation of her mind
had been almost completely neglected. I looked at
the mission which had been confided to me as a
heavy charge and a great responsibility to take.
Nevertheless, my husband urged me to accept and
his wish for me was a law against which the thought
of resisting never occurred to me. As we were not in
a state of fortune easily to increase our expenses, my
aunt arranged that Monsieur de Lally should pay
us, as pension for his daughter, a sum equivalent to
that which he had paid for her with Mme. Campan.
To accept such a condition seemed to me a backward
step on our part, nevertheless, we submitted. Besides
this, Monsieur de Lally undertook the charge of pay-
ing the personal expenses of his daughter. Elisa had
no ground to complain of these arrangements, and
I am able to say that we also had no reason to regret
them. In assuming the education of Mile, de Lally,
I was only doing what it was necessary for me to
undertake later on with my own daughters. My hus-
band, for his part, undertook to t^ach her history
and geography. I took charge of the English lessons,
and the instructor of my son gave her lessons in
Italian. Our reading aloud was also of benefit to her.
She was very fond of my children, especially of
Cecile whose first education she began.
We were preoccupied, my husband and I, with the
future of our children, and this was not the least of
the disquietudes which the bad state of our affairs
caused us. The estate of Le Bouilh, reduced to its
bare land value, represented very little. The war with
[319]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
England had reduced the price of wines to almost
nothing, especially white wines, already at this
time of little value in our part of the country. This
wine could then be bought at from four to five
francs a barrel. My husband installed an equip-
ment for making eau-de-vie and went to quite heavy
expense to put this apparatus in working order.
But the profits from this commerce permitted us
at least to live. Soon it was necessary for us to
think of the future of our son, which was our prin-
cipal concern.
My aunt and Monsieur de Lally wrote us from
Paris that all the persons whom we had formerly
known had rallied to the government. The Concordat
had just been published and the reestablishment of
religion had a prodigious effect in the provinces.
Until this moment, divine services were only held in
private rooms, if not entirely in secret, and the
priests were almost always returned emigres. There
was therefore universal joy when Monsieur d'Aviau
de Sanzai, a man highly esteemed, was appointed
Archbishop at Bordeaux. We had the honor of enter-
taining him at Le Bouilh during the first two days
which followed his taking possession of the diocese.
We brought together to receive him all the good
cures of our former estate which comprised nineteen
parishes. The greater part, recently appointed, had
returned from foreign countries. Others had been
concealed with their parishioners or in private
houses. Our Archbishop was adored by all and his
entry into Bordeaux was a triumph. The gratitude
which all felt went out to the great man who held
[320]
1763 - 1814
LIFE AT LE BOUILH
the reins of government. When he proclaimed himself
Consul for Life, this gratitude was shown by the
almost unanimous approbation of those who were
called upon to vote upon this proposition.
A little later there appeared in the communes the
lists upon which it was necessary for the voters to
inscribe their names and respond by "yes" or "no"
to the question as to whether the Consul for Life
should be proclaimed Emperor.
Monsieur de La Tour du Pin was in a state of great
indecision before he decided to write "yes" upon the
list at Saint-Andre-de-Cubzac. I saw him walk up
and down alone in the garden, but I did not try to
penetrate his thoughts. Finally one evening he entered
and I learned with pleasure that he had just written
"yes" as a result of his reflections.
In 1805, I went with Elisa de Lally to pass some
time at Bordeaux. One day at mass Elisa was ob-
served by a young man, the most distinguished in
Bordeaux, by birth, face and fortune: Monsieur
Henri d'Aux. Elisa was very small, but she had a
superb head of black hair, very brilliant color, the
freshness of a rose and the handsomest eyes in the
world. Our friend Brouquens, after the loss of his
fortune caused by the failure of his company which
furnished provisions for the army, had returned to
take up his residence at Bordeaux for an indefinite
time. He learned through* friends that Monsieur
Henri d'Aux had spoken in terms of eulogy to certain
of his comrades of the young lady who was being
brought up by Mme. de La Tour du Pin, and had
[321 ]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE! REVOLUTION
declared that none of the young ladies of Bordeaux
had so pleasant and agreeable a manner. He asked
for information regarding us, our manner of life and
so on.
My husband who had been named President of
the Canton, without having solicited the office, had
gone to Paris for the coronation. I wrote him of the
gossip which had been reported to me and he spoke
of it to Monsieur de Lally. The latter was then taken
up with the endeavor to secure the repayment of
quite a large sum of money which the State owed
him since the rehabilitation of his father and the
cancellation of his death penalty, that is to say,
since three years before the Revolution. This in-
debtedness of the State had been recognized as valid
by the Council of State, but the sum having
been reduced two thirds, like all the Funds, did not
amount to more than 100,000 francs. Napoleon, who
desired to rally Monsieur de Lally to his government,
wished that the reclamation should be entirely
successful. When my husband spoke to Monsieur
de Lally of the contents of my letter, he declared
without hesitation that if he received this sum he
would give it to his daughter the day of her marriage.
You will see how he kept his word. We arranged to
go to Bordeaux for the Carnival season in order to
give Monsieur d'Aux the chance of seeing Elisa at
the balls which were given in the salons of the
former Intendance.
About this time I had the great sorrow of losing
our dear maid, Marguerite, whom I loved as a
mother. This caused me very sincere grief.
[322]
LIFE AT LE BOUILH
My husband had seen at Paris several persons of
his acquaintance, all of whom had entered the service
of the government, among them, Monsieur Maret,
afterwards Due de Bassano. They urged him to
attempt to obtain some employment. Without ex-
actly refusing, he replied that if the Emperor wished
to have his services, he well knew where he could
find him and that the role of solicitor did not please
him. Monsieur de Talleyrand could not comprehend
reluctance of this kind, but he felt, nevertheless, in
his mind rather than his heart, that there was a sort
of distinction in not mingling with the crowd of
solicitors. He only said, shrugging his shoulders:
"Cela viendra," and then he thought no more about
it.
My husband returned to Le Bouilh. He had seen
Monsieur Malouet who had just been named Prefet
Maritime at Antwerp, in charge of the large ship-
yards there to which he gave so tremendous an
impetus. These gentlemen had come to an under-
standing that when Humbert was seventeen years
of age he should receive a position in the office of
Monsieur Malouet. The Institution des Auditeurs of
the Council of State was not then in existence. They
had commenced, however, to talk of it, and we were
of the opinion that it would be useful for a young
man who was destined for business to work for a
time under the eyes of a man as keen and as compe-
tent as Monsieur Malouet. As he had much friend-
ship for us, we could intrust our son to him with
entire confidence. The thought of this separation,
nevertheless, weighed heavily on my heart.
[323]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
The eighteenth of October, 1806, as I was dressing
in the morning, I saw passing on the terrace our
good doctor Dupouy, who had been at Le Bouilh for
several days. I asked him laughingly where he had
come from so early in the morning. He replied that
he had just been to report the death of one of our
neighbors who had passed away suddenly in getting
up that morning. I knew this person very well and
had had a long talk with her only the evening before.
This event upset me to such a degree that that very
morning I gave birth to my youngest son, Aymar, the
only one of my children who is living at this writing.
In the meantime, we had not lost sight of the im-
portant affair of the marriage of Elisa. Under pretext
of having our baby vaccinated, we went, about
Christmas time, to pass six weeks at Bordeaux with
our excellent friend Brouquens. He had succeeded in
winning to our side Monsieur de Marbotin de
Couteneuil, former Counsellor of Parlement, the
uncle of Monsieur d'Aux. His wife having been the
sister of the mother of Monsieur d'Aux, this young
man, after the death of his mother, which happened
a long time before, felt towards his aunt a real filial
affection. Monsieur de Couteneuil desired to reenter
the Judicature, and Monsieur de Lally was under-
stood to have good standing with the government.
This was another reason which led Monsieur de
Couteneuil to favor the marriage of his nephew.
Besides this, pride apart, we enjoyed such considera-
tion at Bordeaux that a person admitted into our
family life would have a certain standing.
The young people met at several balls. They also
[324]
LIFE AT LE BOUILH
met on the street and at church, where we were
always sure to see Monsieur d'Aux. Finally, one
day, Mme. de Couteneuil presented herself officially
at my house to ask for the hand of the young lady
for her nephew. As a good old diplomatist, I replied
that I was ignorant of the plans of Monsieur de
I/ally for his daughter, but that Monsieur de La
Tour du Pin would go to see him at Le Bouilh where
he was at the moment and present the proposition
to him.
My husband went there as arranged and returned
the following day with Monsieur de Lally. All was
soon arranged. Then followed the congratulations,
the dinners, the evening entertainments. We received
a call from the aged father of Monsieur d'Aux. He
was a gentleman of the olden days, without the
least vestige of intelligence or instruction. It was
said that he had bored his wife to death. This did
not prevent him, however, from possessing more than
60,000 francs of income.
The day of the signature of the contract, Monsieur
de Lally counted out for Monsieur d'Aux, as he had
agreed, 100 bags of 1000 francs, representing the
dot of his daughter. It was the only time in my life
that I ever saw so much money at one time.
The marriage took place at Le Bouilh the first of
April, 1807. At this season there were no flowers
except little pink and white marguerites. Mme. de
Maurville, Charlotte and I constructed a charming
epergne for the dinner, the bottom of which was of
moss with the names of Henri and Elisa written in
flowers.
[325]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
All these preliminaries and the marriage itself had
very much upset me and taken me out of my tranquil
and regular habits. I was, therefore, very glad to
return home to enjoy the last months which my son
was to pass with us. My aunt and Monsieur de Lally
returned to Paris, and I remained alone with Mme.
de Maurville.
[326]
CHAPTER ELEVEN
1808
THE EMPEROR AT BORDEAUX
Humbert Leaves for Antwerp. — Grief over the Separation. —
Visit of the Emperor to Bordeaux. — His Passage of the
River at Cubzac. — Mme. de La Tour du Pin Summoned to
Bordeaux. — The Court Assembly. — Presentation to the
Emperor. — The Salon of the Empress. — Her Entourage. —
Strict Rules for Her Days Dictated by the Emperor. —
Anxiety of Josephine over the Rumors of her Divorce. —
A Note from the Emperor. — Departure of the Empress. — •
Return to Le Bouilh. — Monsieur de La Tour du Pin Ap-
pointed Prefet at Brussels. — Mme. de La Tour du Pin
Dame d'Honneur of the Queen of Spain. — Presentation to
the Queen. — The Prince de La Paix. — Departure of the
Spanish Sovereigns.
TOWARDS the end of the summer, or to
speak in agricultural terms immediately
after the harvest of the grapes (vendanges),
it was necessary for me to be separated for the first
time from my dear son Humbert. He set out with
his father who accompanied him as far as Paris.
Bordeaux was very much taken up with the affairs
of Spain, and several refugees from that country had
already arrived there. My aunt wrote us from Paris
that the Emperor was to go to Spain, accompanied
perhaps by the Empress Josephine, and that Mon-
sieur de Bassano would form part of his suite. She
[3273
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
advised her nephew to pay his court to the Emperor
and to see Monsieur de Bassano, who was interested
in him. My husband received this letter at the mo-
ment when he was setting out on horseback for
Tesson. A matter of business absolutely claimed his
presence there. In leaving he said that he would be
gone only two days and that he had plenty of time
to go and return. The very next day the order was
received at the posting station to prepare horses
for the Emperor. This news filled me with despair,
but I was none the less anxious to see this extraor-
dinary man.
Mme. de Maurville, my daughter Charlotte and I
went to Cubzac resolved not to return before we had
seen Napoleon. We demanded hospitality from Ribet,
the Grand Commissionnaire de Transport who knew
us and who installed us in a room looking out on the
port. The brigantine destined for the passage of the
Dordogne was already there with the sailors at their
posts. The whole population of the country lined
the road; the peasants, while cursing the man who
took their children to send them away to war, wished
to see him nevertheless. A first courier arrived.
People tried to question him. General Drouet d'Erlon,
the Commander of the Department, asked him when
the Emperor would arrive. The man was so fatigued
that the only response they could get from him was
the word: "Passons." His horse was saddled, he
accompanied it on the boat, then fell at the bottom
of the boat like a dead man and it was necessary to
rouse him and put him on his horse at the other side
of the river. After the passage of the courier, our im-
[328]
THE EMPEROR AT BORDEAUX
patience was very great. As for myself, I was taken
up with the fatality which kept my husband far
from the place where his functions demanded his
presence. The municipality of Cubzac was present,
and he, the President of the Canton, whose place was
there, was absent. It was an occasion lost which
might not return. I felt very much put out. Finally,
after a wait which lasted the entire day, towards
evening, a first carriage arrived and a little later
a berline with eight horses escorted by a picket of
cavalry stopped under the window where we were.
The Emperor descended, dressed in the uniform of
chasseur de la garde. Two chamberlains, one of
whom was Monsieur de Barral, and an aide de camp
accompanied him. The Mayor paid his compliments.
The Emperor listened with an air of great boredom,
then entered the brigantine which immediately set
out. This was all we saw of the great man. We re-
turned to Le Bouilh, all three of us, tired out and
in bad humor.
The next day my husband arrived. I gave him
only time to eat his breakfast and then forced him
to set out for Bordeaux, where the Empress was ex-
pected the next day. Immediately on his arrival, he
went to see Monsieur Maret, who professed for him
much friendship and interest. He found him kind
and obliging, but what was his astonishment when
Monsieur de Maret said to him:
"You have felt much annoyance over the necessity
of going to Tesson, exactly at the time that the
Emperor was passing your home, and you have
shown great diligence in returning/'
[329]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
"You have then seen Brouquens," replied Mon-
sieur de La Tour du Pin.
"No."
" But, then how do you know all that ? "
"The Emperor told me."
You can imagine how much my husband was
surprised.
"Mme. de La Tour du Pin should come to Bor-
deaux," added Monsieur Maret. "She should remain
here during the time of the sojourn of the Empress.
There will be an Assembly tomorrow and the Emperor
wishes that she should be present."
My husband immediately sent a carriage for me,
for it was not a time to hesitate. I had several dresses
at Bordeaux, made at the time that I was taking
Elisa to the balls and evening entertainments given
at the time of her marriage, but among these there
was no black dress, and the Court was in mourning.
The Assembly was for eight o'clock, and it was al-
ready five. Fortunately, I had a pretty robe of gray
satin. I added several dark ornaments, the good
coiffeur arranged some black ribbons in my hair,
and this seemed to me very appropriate for a woman
of thirty-eight, who can say, without vanity, that
she did not have the air of being more than thirty.
The reunion was in the large salle d manger of the
palace. I knew very few persons at Bordeaux. Sixty
or eighty ladies were present. We were arranged
according to a list read aloud by the chamberlain,
Monsieur de Beam. He enjoined us that no one was
to leave her place under any pretext, as otherwise
it would be impossible for him to find the name to
[ 330]
THE EMPEROR AT BORDEAUX
give to each person. This sort of military manoeuvre
had hardly been arranged when a loud voice an-
nounced: "L'Empereur!" which caused my heart to
beat. He began at the end of the line and addressed
a word to each lady. As he approached the place
where I was standing, the chamberlain said a word
in his ear. He fixed his eyes on me, smiling graciously,
and when my turn came he said to me laughing, in
a familiar tone, while he regarded me from head to
foot:
"Why, you are not then afflicted over the death
of the King of Denmark?"
"Not sufficiently, Sire," I replied, "to sacrifice the
pleasure of being presented to your Majesty. I had
no black dress."
"Oh, that is an excellent reason." And then he
added: "You were in the country!"
Speaking then to the lady beside me, he said:
"Your name, Madame?" She stammered and he did
not comprehend.
"Montesquieu," I said.
"Ah, really, that is a fine name to have. I went
this morning to La Brede to see the cabinet of
Montesquieu."
The poor woman replied, thinking that she had
found a fine inspiration:
"C'est un bon citoyen."
This word "citoyen" displeased the Emperor. He
gave Mme. de Montesquieu, with his eagle eyes, a
look which would have terrified her if she had under-
stood, and replied very brusquely:
"Mais non, c'etait un grand homme," and then
.RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
shrugging his shoulders he looked at me, as if to say:
"Que cette femme est bete!"
The Empress followed at some distance behind the
Emperor and the ladies were named to her in the
same order. But before she arrived at my place, a
valet de chambre came to request me to go to the
salon to await Her Majesty. When the Empress
entered the salon, she showed herself very amiable
for me and for my husband, whom she had also
summoned. She expressed the desire to see me every
evening during her sojourn at Bordeaux, and then
began to play backgammon with Monsieur de La
Tour du Pin. They served tea and ices. I was still in
hopes of seeing the Emperor again, and my disap-
pointment was great when I learned that upon the
arrival of a courier from Bayonne, he had immediately
left Bordeaux to go there.
The Emperor, having all Spain and all Europe on
his hands, to use the common expression, had never-
theless the time to dictate the order of the day of the
Empress, in the most minute detail, even to the
toilettes which she was to wear. She would neither
have wished nor dared to change this in the slightest
particular, unless she was sick in bed. I learned from
Mme. Maret that the Emperor had ordered that we
should come, my husband and I, every day to pass
the evening, which we did.
However, the poor Empress was beginning to be
cruelly disturbed over the rumors of divorce which
were already being circulated. She spoke of it to
Monsieur de La Tour du Pin, who reassured her as
well as possible. He endeavored to stop the confi-
[332]
THE EMPEROR AT BORDEAUX
dences which the imprudent and light-headed Jo-
sephine seemed disposed to make to him, and which
it seemed to him indiscreet to hear. She was much
turned against Monsieur "de Talleyrand, whom she
accused of urging the Emperor to obtain a divorce.
No one was better aware of this fact than my husband,
for he had talked the matter over with him during
the trip he made to Paris, but he took care not to let
Josephine know this. Accustomed to the adulation
of some, the deception of others, she found great
relief in talking with my husband and opened her
heart to him on a subject which she had not dared to
broach to any persons of her entourage. She was very
desirous of leaving for Bayonne and demanded every
day of Ordener :" When do we go?" to which he replied
with his German accent : "Indeed, I do not yet know."
One evening I was seated beside the Empress at
the tea table when she received a note of several lines
from the Emperor. Leaning towards me she said very-
low: "He writes like a cat. I cannot read this last
phrase." At the same time she handed me the note,
while putting her finger upon her lips as a sign of
mystery. I had only the time to read several "thous"
and "thees"; then the last phrase thus worded: "I
have here the father and the son. This gives me much
embarrassment." Since then this note has been quoted
in a dispatch, but much amplified. There were only
five or six lines written across a sheet of paper which
had been torn and folded in two. If it were shown to
me I should recognize it.
After tea, General Ordener approached the Empress
and said to her: "Your Majesty will leave tomorrow
[333]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
at mid-day." At this decision, every one rejoiced. The
sojourn at Bordeaux had been a cause of expense for
me, as it had been necessary, during the ten days,
to be in full-dress every evening. I was crazy to
return to my children. Elisa, on account of her baby,
was not able to come to see the Empress, to her great
regret. She had been present only at the Assembly
where she received a very flattering reception. Her
husband had entered the mounted Guard of Honor
which was composed of all the most distinguished
young men of Bordeaux.
We returned accordingly to Le Bouilh, and not-
withstanding the fine reception from the distinguished
personages whom we had seen at Bordeaux, we enter-
tained only small hopes for the future. How could I
believe indeed that a man averse to all intrigue,
unknown, so to speak, to those in power, since he
had not mingled in any of the events for the past
few years, living retired at his chateau, in a retreat
all the more profound, because he was almost without
fortune, how could I suppose, I say, that he should
have attracted the eye of the eagle who was the
master of the destinies of France ! My husband had
remained at Bordeaux to finish some business, and I
was seated beside my lamp, talking with my poor
cousin, Mme. Joseph de La Tour du Pin, whom we
had received at our house through kindness. At this
moment, as nine o'clock was striking, a peasant sent
expressly from Bordeaux arrived with a note from
my husband in which were written only these words :
"I am Prefect of Brussels, of Brussels only ten leagues
from Antwerp!"
[334]
THE EMPEROR AT BORDEAUX
I admit that I experienced a great joy in which the
thought of again seeing my son touched me above all.
Monsieur Maret was ignorant of the vacancy in
this prefecture. The papers of the Minister of the
Interior arrived at Bayonne, exactly as if he had
been present at the Tuileries or at Saint-Cloud, for
nothing was allowed to change the habits of the
Emperor. He was upsetting the Spanish monarchy
and sending to prison or into exile the two Kings,
father and son. This gave him "much embarrass-
ment," as I had read written in his own hand, but
in spite of that, when the work of the Minister ar-
rived, he read, rectified and changed the nominations.
Prefecture de La Dyle: a name is proposed for this
post. He takes his pen, erases it, and writes above it
La Tour du Pin. That is what we learned later from
Monsieur Maret, who never raised any objection,
but who also never made any proposition. He was a
very useful machine.
My son was at Antwerp, seated at his desk as
secretary to Monsieur Malouet, when he saw the
latter running across the court. Never had any one
seen Monsieur Malouet, the most dignified of men,
hasten his pace for any reason whatsoever. On enter-
ing he cried: "Your father is Prefet of Brussels!"
Dear Humbert, how great was his joy!
Several days before the departure of my husband
from Le Bouilh to go to Brussels, I received a courier,
in great haste, from our friend Brouquens, who an-
nounced that he had sent a carriage to Cubzac. He
informed me at the same time that King Charles IV
of Spain and his unworthy wife were to arrive at
[3353
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
Bordeaux at the Palace and that the Emperor had
given orders that I should serve as Lady of Honor
to the Queen during her sojourn at Bordeaux, which
would be for two or three days. Fortunately, all my
ceremonial costumes were still with Monsieur de
Brouquens. My packing was therefore soon finished.
My husband accompanied me and we set out. Arrived
at Bordeaux, I dressed hastily and went to the Palace
where Their Spanish Majesties had just arrived. On
entering the salon I found some gentlemen of my
acquaintance who cried: "Come at once, we are
awaiting you for dinner!" This was very agreeable
to me for I had taken only a cup of tea before leaving.
The King and Queen had retired to their own apart-
ment with the Prince de la Paix. I met Monsieur
d'Audenarde and Monsieur Dumanoir, the one
ecuyer, the other chamberlain of the Emperor, a few
others, and two or three Spaniards whose names I
did not know and who did not speak French. We
immediately sat down to dinner. These gentlemen
told me that two other Ladies of Honor had been
named, one of whom was Elisa d'Aux, and I was
charged to notify them to be at the Palace the next
day at mid-day. The next day at eleven o'clock, I
went to the Palace, and Monsieur Dumanoir re-
quested to enter the Queen's apartment to present
me. Turning to me before opening the door, he said :
"Don't laugh!" This of course gave me a desire to,
and, in truth, there was sufficient reason. There I
saw the most surprising and unexpected spectacle.
La reine d'Espagne se tenait au milieu de la
chambre devant une grande psyche. On la la^ait. Elle
[336]
THE EMPEROR AT BORDEAUX
avait pour tout vetement une petite jupe de percale
tres etroite et tres courte, et sur la poitrine (la plus
seche, la plus decharnee, la plus noire que Ton put
voir) un mouchoir de gaze. Sur ses cheveux gris etait
disposee, en guise de coiffure, une guirlande de roses
rouges et jaunes. Le reine s'avanca vers moi, la
femme de chambre la la^ant toujours, en operant ces
mouvements de corps que Ton fait quand on veut,
en termes de toilette, se retirer de son corset.
Near her was the King, and several other men
whom I did not know. The Queen demanded of
Monsieur Dumanoir:
"Who is that lady?"
He told her.
"What is her name?" she said.
He repeated it, and the Queen addressed several
words in Spanish to the King who replied by saying
that I was, or that my name was, very noble. Then
the Queen finished her toilette while relating that
the Empress had given her several of her dresses, as
she had brought none from Madrid. This degree of
degradation gave me a very painful impression. The
Sovereign indeed was wearing a gown of yellow crepe,
lined with satin of the same shade, which I re-
membered having seen the Empress wear. All desire
to laugh had left me; I was more inclined to weep.
When the Queen was dressed, she dismissed me. I
went to the salon where I found Elisa and together
we awaited the arrival of the authorities, whom I
was to present to Her Majesty. At this moment a
fat man with a black plaster upon his forehead passed
through the salon. I recognized him /or the famous
[337]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
Prince de la Paix. He passed impolitely before us
without saluting and we both agreed that neither
his face nor his figure justified the favors which the
scandalous chronicles attributed to him.
The salons were then filled and the Queen was
notified. I presented to her, one by one, the chiefs
of the Administration, commencing with the Arch-
bishop, to whom alone she addressed a word. Mon-
sieur Dumanoir did the same for the King who
showed himself more gracious.
The following day I made a visit of a quarter of
an hour in the morning, and there was the usual
entertainment in the evening. The day after, to my
great joy, I learned of the early departure of the
members of the Royal Family of Spain. The Prefet
and the Archbishop came to bid them adieu. Then
we entered a carriage to go to the passage of the
river, for at this time there was no bridge. We found
there the brigantine all ready, and, the crossing
effectuated, I took leave of these unhappy sovereigns.
The unfortunate King did not have the air for a
single instant of comprehending the sadness of his
situation. His attitude was completely lacking in
dignity and seriousness. During the passage of the
river he had talked all the time with my servant,
who was on the deck. He was a good German, who
could hardly believe that he had talked with the
King. He said to me afterwards: "Mais, Madame,
il n'a done pas de chagrin!"
Such is the history of my brief functions at the
Court of King Charles IV and of the Queen, his
horrible wife.
[338]
CHAPTER TWELVE
1808-1810
THE PREFECTURE AT BRUSSELS
Commencement of a New Life. — Judicious Choice of Monsieur
de La Tour du Pin for the Prefecture. — Departure from
Le Bouilh. — Mile. Fanny Dillon and the Prince Pignatelli.
— Project of her Marriage with General Bertrand. — A
Delicate Mission to the Empress Josephine. — Wives of
the Officers at Brussels. — • The Dowager Duchesse d'Aren-
berg. — Her Suppers. — Her Reception of Monsieur and
Mme. de La Tour du Pin. — A Study of Brussels Society. —
Organization of the House. — Napoleon Obtains Consent
of Mile. Fanny Dillon to Marry General Bertrand. — Eight
Days for the Marriage. — Meeting with General Bertrand.
— Details of the Marriage Arranged by the Emperor. —
Mme. de La Tour du Pin Received by the Emperor at
Saint-Cloud. — Signature of the Contract. — Marriage at
Saint-Leu. — The Emeralds of Queen Hortense.
1
was the commencement of a new life. I
was to leave my garden, my chickens, my
cows, my flowers, my regular and tranquil
occupations which suited my taste, to lead an en-
tirely different existence. But Providence had given
me the desire to endeavor always to make the best
of any situation in which I found myself. It was
about nine o'clock in the evening, as I have said,
when I received, by messenger, the note from my
husband announcing his nomination as Prefect at
Brussels. When he arrived the following morning for
[339]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
breakfast he found me already prepared to discuss
the change in our existence and the arrangements
and plans which I thought we should make in
consequence.
Charlotte was then over eleven years of age. Very
advanced for her age, she had a great desire to be
informed on all subjects. She had immediately begun
to study all the geographical dictionaries regarding
Belgium, to examine the maps of the country, and
when her father, who knew her well, arrived and
questioned her regarding the department of the Dyle,
she already knew all the statistics. As for little Cecile,
who was already a good musician, at eight years of age,
and also a good Italian scholar, her first question was
whether she would have a music teacher at Brussels.
My husband immediately made all the necessary
arrangements at Le Bouilh, but unfortunately con-
fided his affairs to a man in whom he believed he
could have entire confidence. To me he left the care
of closing the house and the packing.
Monsieur de La Tour du Pin had received an
order to report at Paris without delay, as Monsieur
de Chaban, his predecessor, had already left Brussels
to go to organize the department of Tuscany, which
had just been united to the Empire. Our friend,
Brouquens, happier even than my husband himself
over his good fortune, came to pass several days with
us, and they left for Paris together.
The news of this nomination had surprised all
those who for a long time had solicited favors with-
out obtaining them. Nobody was willing to believe
that the Government had come to look for Monsieur
[340]
THE t PREFECTURE AT BRUSSELS
de La Tour du Pin at his plow, like Cincinnatus, in
order to give him the finest prefecture in France.
This choice was, however, the most judicious that
the wonderful foresight of Napoleon could have made,
and for the following reason: Brussels was a conquered
capital and no effort had yet been made to attach it
to France. The seat of the Court and of high society,
it had been governed up to the present time only by
obscure and worthless representatives.
Monsieur de Pontecoulant, the first Prefet, was
assuredly a man of birth and aristocratic leanings, a
former officer of the French Guards. His youth had
been passed at Versailles and at Paris and he would
perhaps have succeeded at Brussels except for his
wife, of whom I have already spoken. It was under-
stood that she had saved his life during the Terror.
Formerly she had been the mistress of Mirabeau, of
whom Lejai, her first husband, was the librarian. It
was said that she had been pretty, but if so she did
not retain the slightest vestige of beauty. After her
marriage with Monsieur de Pontecoulant, she had
been frequently seen in the salon of Barras and this
did not exactly constitute a recommendation. Taken
to Brussels by her husband, her antecedents had not
been very attractive to the high and aristocratic
society which formerly constituted the Court of the
Archduchess.
Surrounded by French intriguers who had fallen
upon Belgium as upon a prey, Monsieur de Ponte-
coulant did not give much time to the cares of the
administration. The Emperor had recalled him, at
the same time nominating him for the Senate, and
[3413
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
had sent Monsieur de Chaban to replace him. The
latter, who was an honest and enlightened man, a
firm and excellent administrator, had reformed many
abuses, punished breaches of trust and dismissed the
culpable parties. All his acts had been just and en-
lightened. It was only necessary for him to follow
out this course to administer the country well, but
he had not succeeded in overcoming the aloofness
which the upper classes felt for the French govern-
ment. This task was encumbent upon my husband,
and I dare say upon me, also, as the source of all
influence is found in the salon.
It is true that Monsieur de Chaban was married,
but his wife who was sickly, insignificant and of
obscure origin, never received, and consequently no-
body had ever seen her.
I had been preceded at Brussels by a kind of
romantic reputation which I owed to my adventures
in America.
After having made all my arrangements at Le
Bouilh and sent off by the wagon everything which
we thought would be useful to us at Brussels, to
diminish the very great expense of our establishment
in a large mansion, I set out by post with Mme. de
Maurville, my daughters and my little son. A friend
at Bordeaux, Monsieur Meyer, lent me a carriage
which I sold for him at Brussels. En route I passed
three or four weeks at Paris with my aunt, who was
then living with Monsieur de Lally in a fine house,
in the Rue de Miromesnil which she has since sold.
Mme. Dillon had returned from England some
[342:
THE PREFECTURE AT BRUSSELS
time before. I went to see her, for she had received
my husband very cordially when he visited Paris
with Humbert the preceding year. My sister Fanny
had grown up. She was then twenty-three years of
age and without being pretty had a very distinguished
air. Several suitors had already presented themselves
for her hand, but the one whom she would have
preferred among them all and would have married
was no longer living. This was Prince Alphonse
Pignatelli who had died of a malady of the chest.
Before his death he had wished to marry Fanny so
as to be able to leave her his fortune, but she had
refused. As the days of the unfortunate man were
numbered, she thought that it would have shown a
lack of consideration on her part towards the family
of Monsieur Pignatelli, if she had married him at
the last moment, although she loved him dearly and
would have been happy, even in losing him, to bear
his name. I also was grieved, for I should have
preferred to have my sister called Pignatelli rather
than Bert rand.
Since this common name has come from my pen,
this is the place to relate what had passed at the
time of the last trip of my husband to Paris.
The Emperor had repeatedly informed the Empress
and Fanny herself of his wish that she should marry
General Bertrand, his aide de camp, who was later
Grand Marechal of the Palace, who had been in love
with her for a long time. My sister was not willing
to consent, and the Emperor was much put out.
When he learned of her preference for Alphonse
Pignatelli, however, he dropped the matter, but after
[343]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
the death of the Prince he took the affair up again.
My husband was at Paris just at the moment when
Mme. Dillon had promised a definite answer, and
she requested him to see the Empress and notify her
of the formal refusal of my sister. The commission
was quite a delicate one, nevertheless he undertook
it. The Empress received him in her bed-room where
the deep alcove was closed during the day by a thick
drapery of heavy material which formed a kind of
wall of embroidered damask with a deep border of
golden fringe. She asked him to sit down beside her
on a couch which was placed against the curtain.
As they were en tete a tete, Monsieur de La Tour du
Pin without any circumlocution acquitted himself to
the Empress of the commission with which he had
been charged, while at the same time excusing him-
self for having brought a decision contrary to the
wishes of the Emperor. As the Empress continued to
insist, in the course of the conversation, which was
quite long, he gave expression to very aristocratic
sentiments which were not unpleasant. Finally, after
having spoken to him of himself, of me, of our chil-
dren, of his fortune, of his plans, the Empress dis-
missed him. My husband then went to make his
report to Mme. Dillon regarding the interview which
he had just had. That same evening he called on
Monsieur de Talleyrand, who took him by the arm,
as he was in the habit of doing when he wished to
talk informally with him in a corner.
"What possessed you," he said, "to refuse General
Bertrand for your sister-in-law. Was that any of
your affair?"
[344]
THE PREFECTURE AT BRUSSELS
"Why, Fanny wished it," replied Monsieur de La
Tour du Pin, "and my age allows me to act for her
as a father."
"Well," said the cunning old fox, "fortunately you
have not hurt your affair with all your aristocracy.
They love that at the Tuileries now."
"Who then told you that ?" demanded my husband.
"Have you seen the Empress?"
"Not at all," replied Talleyrand, "but I have seen
the Emperor who was listening to you ! "
It was perhaps this conversation overheard behind
the curtain which made Monsieur de La Tour du Pin
Prefet at Brussels.
It would be difficult for me to tell, with exactitude,
the story of my sojourn at Brussels. They were very
fond of society there and they were much pleased to
have at last a salon de Prefet held by a woman who
belonged to the aristocratic class. There were two
ladies residing at Brussels who were my superiors
on account of the positions occupied by their hus-
bands : the wife of the General, Commander of the
Division which had its headquarters at Brussels, and
the wife of the First President of the Imperial Court
seated also at Brussels.
The first, Mme. de Chambarlhac, had been a
beautiful Savoyarde, Mile, de Coucy. She was the
aunt of Monsieur de Coucy whom we have known
since. It was said that she had been a religieuse or
novice when her husband, during one of the campaigns
in Italy, carried her off and married her. Although
forty years of age, she was still quite pretty. Ac-
[345]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
customed to live with military men of every kind,
she had acquired very common manners which, how-
ever, were relieved by a certain aristocratic gloss.
You can understand that I was neither able nor
willing to associate with such a person. Her ante-
cedents repelled me. I always pictured her to myself,
attired in the costume of a hussar which she had
worn, it was said, in order to follow her husband
during several campaigns. As for General de Cham-
barlhac, he was an imbecile who, from the very first
day, took a hostile position regarding my husband
on account of jealousy.
The second woman was the wife of the First
President, Monsieur Betz, a learned German with
much intelligence and capacity. She belonged to the
lowest class in the social scale. Although she was
quite homely at the age of fifty years, she might
nevertheless have been pretty in her youth. She was
always coiffee, paree, decolletee like a young person.
I received her at my house on State occasions, but
I do not remember ever having entered her home,
although I did not neglect to leave my card from
time to time.
The great jealousy of these two ladies was due to
the fact that they were never invited to supper with
the "Dowager." To be invited to these suppers was
considered a mark of great distinction and formed the
line of demarcation in the society of Brussels.
The "Dowager" was the Duchesse d'Arenberg,
nee Comtesse de La Marck and the last descendant
of the "Boar of the Ardennes," Guillaume de La
Marck, born about 1436, who was decapitated in
[346]
THE PREFECTURE AT BRUSSELS
1485. She represented, according to the words of the
Archbishop of Malines, the ideal of the reine-mere.
Living in retirement in the mansion assigned to the
widows of the House of Arenberg, she maintained
there a simple but noble style and invited every day
to supper a certain number of persons of every age,
both men and women. She always dined alone, went
out in an open carriage in all kinds of weather, and
saw, during the course of the day, her children,
especially her blind son whom she tenderly loved.
Every time that a slight indisposition, caused by the
gout, prevented the latter from going out, she did
not fail to go to see him. From seven to nine in the
evening she received visits. After that hour, if any
one called, the Swiss demanded if he had been in-
vited to supper. If the response was negative, he
was not admitted. At this hour the guests arrived,
and such was the respect in which the Duchesse was
held that no one in Brussels would have ventured
to arrive at half past nine. At ten o'clock the Duchesse
rang and ordered the supper served.
After supper we played at lotto until midnight.
When her son was present he had a game of whist
or by preference a game of backgammon with Mon-
sieur de La Tour du Pin, if he was there. These re-
unions never comprised more than fifteen or eighteen
guests chosen from the most distinguished persons of
the city or from strangers of distinction. But the
presence of strangers was rare, since France, at war
with all Europe, could not be visited then as it has
been since.
I had often met the Duchesse d'Arenberg at Paris
[347]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
before the Revolution, at the Hotel de Beauvau,
where I was received with great kindness. Besides
this, I knew that Mme. de Poix and Mme. de Beauvau
had written letters regarding me prior to my arrival
at Brussels. The day following our arrival I went,
therefore, accompanied by my husband, to see this
distinguished lady. We were received with the great-
est possible kindness and invited for supper on the
following day. The Duchesse also expressed the wish
that I should present to her my son, Humbert, who
had come to Brussels to meet us. This was a token
of the consideration with which we were to be
treated. All the members of high society hastened
to inscribe their names at our house or came to see
us in person. I took very particular care to return
all these visits without forgetting any one. I prepared
a methodical list of all the persons who had come to
call. After each name I made a note of all the par-
ticulars which I had been able to gather as to the
family, either in conversation or from the nobiliary
records which I procured at the Burgundy Library
which was, and is still, very rich in information of
this kind. As assistants in this work, for the present
time, I had Monsieur de Verseyden, Secretary
General of the Prefecture of Wareck, and, for times
past, an old Commander of Malta, who came to see
me every evening. At the end of a month I was as
familiar with the world of Brussels as if I had lived
there all my life. I knew the liaisons of every kind,
the animosities, the tracasseries and so on.
Our establishment cost us a great deal of money.
It seems to me that my husband received a certain
[348]
THE PREFECTURE AT BRUSSELS
sum to maintain the house, but I am not sure of this :
The personnel of the service comprised two domestics
and an employe of the Bureau, dressed in livery, a
porter, a valet de chambre maitre d'hotel, the usher
of the cabinet, who also waited the days of receptions,
and two men in the stable. We occupied the Palace
where the King of Holland has lived since.
The Palace at that time comprised only the east
wing of the present Royal Palace. The west wing
was then occupied by the Hotel Bellevue. Between
the two wings was the Rue Heraldique, which was
closed in 1826 when the two wings were joined by the
central colonnade. My private rooms, on the same
floor with the State apartments, were pleasant and
commodious. They comprised, in particular, a fine
salon and a billiard room. From the very first I
announced that I would never receive in the morning
under any pretext whatsoever. The morning hours
I devoted to the education of my daughters, helping
them in their lessons and going out with them for
promenades, either on foot or in a carriage.
We soon became intimate with a number of
persons. My husband met again with pleasure the
Comte de Liedekerke, one of his old companions in
arms before the Revolution in the Regiment of
Royal-Comtois, of which Monsieur de La Tour du
Pin had been the Colonel en Second. The Comte de
Liedekerke had married Mile. Desandrouin, who
was heiress to an immense fortune of which she
already possessed a considerable part. They had only
one son, Florent-Charles-Auguste, and two daughters.
The young man, then twenty-two years of age, was
[349]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
auditeur of the Council of State. As there was talk
of attaching one of these auditeurs to the person of
each prefet, in order to give these young men an
acquaintance with the administration, and with the
idea of employing them as secretaries in the private
cabinet of the prefet, Monsieur de Liedekerke re-
quested Monsieur de La Tour du Pin, his former
Colonel, to give his son such a post.
Our son Humbert had left Antwerp, where Monsieur
Malouet had been to him a second father, and returned
to Brussels to take up the preparatory studies which
were necessary for his examination for the Council of
State which was to take place in several months.
During the month of September, 1808, I received
a letter from my step-mother, Mme. Dillon. She in-
formed me that my sister had finally decided, after
much hesitation and uncertainty, to marry General
Bertrand. She had been overcome, in part by his
constancy, and in part by the persistency of the
Emperor to whom you could refuse nothing, as he
used so much charm and fascination in obtaining
what he desired. My sister at that time was extremely
frivolous, with the frivolity of a Creole like her mother.
Napoleon had desired that she should accompany
the Empress Josephine to Fontainebleau, and in
order to enable her to appear to advantage, he had
sent her 30,000 francs to cover the expenses of her
wardrobe during the week that the Court was to be
there. At this time he finally succeeded in obtaining
her assent to the proposed union which she had
refused so obstinately.
[350]
THE PREFECTURE AT BRUSSELS
The Emperor decided that the marriage should
take place at once, in spite of the objection raised by
my sister that her mother had just lost her daughter,
poor Mme. de Fitz-James. The Emperor, in face of
these attempts at delay and judging that the two
women if left to themselves would never come to a
decision, said to Fanny: "Have your sister come.
She will arrange everything. I am leaving for Erfurt
in a week. The marriage must take place before then."
I was advised by a letter from the Due de Bassano,
for neither Mme. Dillon nor Fanny thought to write
me. Although the letter was very pleasant, it had
very much the air of an order, and the thought of
refusing did not enter my mind. Two hours after I
received it, I was on my way to Paris.
At daybreak, I arrived at the house of Mme.
d'Henin who was stupified on awakening to find me
beside her bed. She always kept a room at our dis-
posal in her pretty mansion of the Rue de Miromesnil
where she then lived. I remained with my aunt only
long enough to change my gown and to send for a
carriage. Then, having taken a cup of tea, I went to
see Mme. Dillon, Rue Joubert. There I learned that
she had been for several days in the country, not
far from Saint-Cloud, with Mme. de Boigne. She had
left no word for me. I then demanded the name, and
the route to take to this house, and immediately set
out again, after having written a line to the Due de
Bassano, to announce to him my arrival.
After a trip of an hour and a half, I arrived at
Beauregard, the house of Mme. de Boigne, above
Malmaison. Half past eleven was striking when I
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
arrived, and Mme. Dillon was still in bed. Fanny
cried: "Now we are saved. Here is my sister!" Her
mother, on the contrary, was seized with fright at
the idea of the activity which my energy would
impart to her. She had thought of nothing. I began
by advising her to get up, dress, take breakfast, and
then return to Paris with my sister and myself. At
this moment General Bertrand arrived. Until then
I had never met him, and he probably knew that
my husband had been charged by Mme. Dillon with
the task of refusing his marriage propositions two
years before. As he was naturally extremely timid,
he was very much embarrassed. In order to put him
at his ease, I proposed to him a walk in the park
while awaiting the moment when Mme. Dillon should
be dressed. During this promenade which lasted an
hour, we came to such a complete understanding that
on returning to the house all was arranged.
Without entering into long details, I will say that
the following morning everything was ready and the
signature of the contract was fixed for the next
evening. This was accomplished at the Mairie. The
Grand-Juge Regnier was awakened at five o'clock in
the morning to have expedited I know not what act
which had to serve as a certificate of baptism for
my sister, as Mme. Dillon had lost the one which
she possessed, if she ever had one. Even the most
diligent courier would not have been able to go to
Avesnes in Flanders, where my sister was born, and
return by the day destined by Napoleon for the
marriage. The Emperor had also insisted that
the ceremony should take place at Saint-Leu, at the
[352]
KAJUC'LOUISC
1791 - 18*7
THE PREFECTURE AT BRUSSELS
Chateau of Queen Hortense, who was very careful
to carry out in all particulars the orders given by the
Emperor for the ceremony. Thus at the moment
when he was going to assemble around him all the
potentates who were then at his feet, the great man
had found the time to regulate the minutest details
of the celebration of the marriage of his favorite
aide de camp.
I was presented to the Emperor by Mme. de
Bassano at Saint-Cloud. Towards eight o'clock in
the morning, it was necessary for me to go to her
house in Court costume, with a plumed toque. The
Emperor received me in the most gracious manner,
asked me many questions regarding Brussels, the
society, la haute societe, with a smile which seemed
to say: "Vous n'aimez que celle-la." Then he laughed
at having made me get up so early in the morning
and made a little fun of Mme. de Bassano on this
subject, a mockery which she took with a little sulky
air which was very becoming to her. She has since
told me that the Emperor at that time was quite
smitten with her.
The great ones of the earth arrived with their
wives. The clauses of the marriage contract were
read, but I do not remember the details, although I
think they were favorable to my sister. Fanny, that
day, appeared to very great advantage.
The evening which preceded the day of the marriage
passed in a very tiresome manner. The dejeuner the
next day was not more amusing. The marriage was to
take place at half past three. All the "archi" arrived:
[353]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
the Marshals, the Generals and so on. We marched
in a procession to the chapel. The Abbe d'Osmond,
Bishop of Nancy, later Archbishop of Florence, gave
the nuptial benediction. Then the dinner was served,
and after dinner we danced. Many young people
came from Paris. Queen Hortense, who loved to
dance, nevertheless was in bad humor, on account
of a little incident which was quite amusing. The
Emperor had not appeared, but he had intimated to
Queen Hortense that, after having examined the set
of emeralds surrounded by diamonds which the
Empress had given Fanny, he did not think it was
sufficient. As he knew that Hortense had a similar
set, he requested her to add hers to that given by
her mother, in order to complete the gift. She did
not expect anything of this kind and was very much
displeased, but it was necessary to submit.
[354]
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
1810-1811
VISIT OF THE EMPEROR
The Winter Season at Brussels. — 'The Ennui of Queen Hortense.
— Arrival of Marie-Louise at Compiegne. — High Society
at Brussels and the Imperial Government. — The Guard of
Honor. — Napoleon and Marie-Louise at Brussels. — Dinner
with the Emperor. — Ball at the Hotel de Ville. — Departure
of the Emperor. — The Summer at Brussels. — Examination
of Humbert at the Conseil d'Etat. — Humbert Appointed
Sous-Prefet at Florence. — Birth of the King of Rome. —
The Private Baptism.— The Old Guard.
I RETURNED to Brussels after several grand
dinners given in honor of the marriage, which
were very boring. I set out with joy to be again
with my husband and my children. The autumn and
the winter passed quite agreeably at Brussels. I gave
two or three handsome balls. Mme. de Duras came
with her daughters to pass two weeks with us. I gave
them dances and took them to the theatre in the
excellent box of the Prefecture. They had a very
good time.
Queen Hortense had passed through Brussels in
the course of the last journey which she made to
rejoin her husband for a period of several days at
Amsterdam. I saw her when she went through and
she expressed a great boredom over the necessity of
going to resume her duties as Queen.
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
As I have no pretension of writing history, I will
not speak of the marriage of the Emperor Napoleon
with the Archiduchesse Marie-Louise. I will only
report what my sister told me regarding the arrival
of this Princess at Compiegne.
The Emperor was then at Compiegne with the
new Ladies of Honor of the Empress and was in a
state of boundless impatience to see his new wife.
A little caleche was waiting all hitched up in the
court of the Chateau to take him to meet her. When
the advance courier came, Napoleon rushed to the
caleche and set out to meet the berline which was
bringing the spouse so much desired. The carriage
stopped. The door was opened and Marie-Louise
prepared to descend, but her husband did not give
her the time. He entered the berline, embraced his
wife, and then having pushed her sister, the Queen
of Naples, without ceremony onto the front seat of
the carriage, he seated himself beside Marie-Louise.
Arriving at the Chateau he descended first, offered
her his arm and conducted her to the salon de service,
where all the invited guests were assembled. It was
already evening. The Emperor presented, one after an-
other, all the ladies of the mansion, and then the men.
This presentation over, he took the Empress by the
hand and conducted her to her apartment. All of us
thought that the Empress was proceeding with her toi-
lette. We waited for an hour and then commenced to
be very anxious to have our supper. At this moment,
the grand chamberlain came to announce that Their
Majesties had retired. The surprise was great, but no
one ventured to let it be seen, and we went to supper.
[356]
VISIT OF THE EMPEROR
This marriage with an Archiduchesse was cele-
brated at Brussels with great rejoicing. The recollec^
tions of the Austrian domination were far from being
effaced. The nobility of Brussels, which until then had
kept aloof from the new government, attracted now by
the good administration of a Prefet of the aristocratic
class, found the moment favorable to lay aside its for-
mer antipathy, which had commenced to be irksome.
When Monsieur de La Tour du Pin learned that
the Emperor was going to bring the young Empress
to the capital of the ancient possessions of her father
in Belgium, he created a Guard of Honor to form the
service at the Chateau of Laeken. This Guard was
composed entirely of Belgians, to the exclusion of
all French. The uniform was very simple: a green
coat with amaranthine breeches. It was a cavalry
corps and very well mounted. My sister came to
Brussels and stayed with us at the Prefecture. She
was present at the grand dinner which we gave in
honor of this Guard, at which the ladies were adorned
with ribbons of the same colors as the uniform.
The Emperor arrived at Laeken for dinner. The
next day he received the Guard of Honor and all the
officials. The Mayor, the Due d'Ursel, presented the
municipal authorities to him. In the evening there
was an Assembly at which I presented the ladies,
nearly all of whom I knew. Marie-Louise did not
address a personal word to any of them. The name
of the most illustrious lady present, for example the
Duchesse d'Arenberg, or the Comtesse de Merode,
meant no more to her ear than that of Mme. P ,
wife of the Receiver General.
ESS?:
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
After the Assembly. I had the honor of playing a
game of whist with Her Majesty. The Due d'Ursel
named the cards which I must throw upon the table
and warned me when it was my turn to deal. This
kind of comedy lasted half an hour. After this, the
Emperor having retired, we separated, and I was
charmed to return home.
The following day there was to be a grand ball at
the Hotel de Ville. I was therefore somewhat put
out when I was invited to dinner at Laeken, as I did
not well see how I could find a moment to change
my toilette, or at least my gown, between the dinner
and the ball. However, the pleasure of seeing and
listening to the Emperor during a period of two hours
was so great that I could not but appreciate the
value of such an invitation. The Due d'Ursel ac-
companied me, and as we were to go afterwards to
the Hotel de Ville to receive the Emperor, I ordered
my femme de chambre to be there with another
toilette all ready.
This dinner was one of the events of my life of
which I have preserved the most agreeable recollec-
tion. Here is the way in which the guests, to the
number of eight, were placed at the table: The
Emperor; at his right, the Queen of Westphalia, then
Marechal Berthier, the King of Westphalia, the
Empress, the Due d'Ursel, Mme. de Bouille, finally
myself, at the left of the Emperor. He talked to me
nearly all the time, regarding the manufactures, the
laces, the daily wages, the life of the lace-makers;
then of the monuments, the antiquities, the establish-
ments of charity, the manners of the people, the
[358]
VISIT OF THE EMPEROR
beguines. Fortunately I was well posted regarding all
of these subjects. The Emperor demanded of the
Due d'Ursel: "What are the wages of a lace-maker?"
The poor man was embarrassed in the endeavor to
express the sum in centimes. The Emperor saw his
hesitation, and turning to me asked: "What is the
name of the money of the country?" I replied: "An
escalin, or sixty-three centimes." "Ah! c'est bien,"
said he.
We did not remain more than three-quarters of an
hour at table. On returning to the salon, the Emperor
took a large cup of coffee and began again to talk.
First he spoke of the toilette of the Empress which
he admired. Then, changing the topic, he asked me
if I found my lodging satisfactory.
"Pas mal," I replied, "dans Tappartement de
Votre Majeste."
"Ah ! vraiment," said he, " il a coute assez cher pour
cela. C'est ce coquin de . . . (le nom m'echappe) le secre-
taire de Monsieur Pontecoulant, qui 1'a fait arranger."
The Emperor then turned to an entirely different
subject of conversation. He spoke of Charles the
Bold, Due de Bourgogne, and of Louis XI, from whom
he descended quite abruptly to Louis XIV, saying
that he had never been really great except in his
latter years. Observing with what interest I listened
to him, and that I understood him, he returned to
Louis XI and expressed himself thus: "J'ai mon avis
sur celui-la, et je sais bien que ce n'est pas 1'avis
de tout le monde." After several words regarding
the shame of the reign of Louis XV, he pronounced
the name of Louis XVI, upon which, stopping with
[359]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
an air at once respectful and sad, he said: "Ce
malheureux prince!"
At this moment someone announced that it was
necessary to set out for the ball. Monsieur d'Ursel
and I rushed to the carriage, and the horses, at a
gallop, brought us to the Hotel de Ville. I went up
four steps at a time. A toilette which was all ready,
awaited me. I changed my costume and was able to
be in the ball-room when the Emperor arrived. He
paid me a compliment on my promptitude and asked
me if I intended to dance. I replied: "No, because I
am forty years old." At this he began to laugh, saying:
"There are many others who dance who do not reveal
their age like that." The ball was very fine and was
prolonged after the supper where everyone drank to
the health of the Empress.
The Emperor and his wife left the following morn-
ing. A yacht highly decorated took them to the end
of the Canal of Brussels where they found the
carriages which conveyed them to Antwerp. On
boarding the yacht, my husband noticed the Marquis
de Trazegnies, the Commander of the Guard of
Honor. Fearing that the Emperor would not invite
him to take a place on the yacht, where there was
only room for a few persons, he named him, at the
same time adding: "His ancestor was Constable undei
Saint Louis." These words produced a magic effect
on the Emperor, who immediately summoned the
Marquis de Trazegnies and had a long talk with him.
A short time later, his wife was named Dame du
Palais. She pretended to be displeased over this
nomination, although secretly she was delighted.
[360]
VISIT OF THE EMPEROR
After this trip of the Emperor, we resumed the
ordinary train of our life at Brussels. The summer
passed in visiting different country houses where we
were invited to dine. We went to Antwerp to be
present at the launching of a large vessel of Seventy-
four, one of the new ones at that moment on the
ways. Our excellent friend, Monsieur Malouet, was
at the head of this work through his position as
Prefet Maritime. All the details of these constructions
interested me in the highest degree.
Our son Humbert went to Paris to pass his ex-
amination. It was a very trying thing for a young
man of twenty years to reply to a whole series of
questions which were asked him. But it was even more
so, when the Emperor, seated in an armchair, with
the candidates standing before him, took up the
examination and asked you a lot of unexpected
things. Humbert heard the examiner say in the ear
of Napoleon in pointing him out: "This is one of the
most distinguished," and this good word comforted
him. The Emperor asked him if he knew any foreign
language, to which he replied: "English and Italian,
as well as French/' It was the facility with which he
spoke Italian that decided his nomination as Sous-
Prefet at Florence.
Towards the end of the winter of 1810 and 1811,
we went, my husband and I, to pass two months at
Paris, to accompany our son Humbert, who was
setting out for Florence. My sister Fanny was at
Paris with her two children, of whom the younger,
little Hortense, was only three months old.
[361]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
We had left at Brussels, Mme. d'Henin, my two
daughters and Monsieur de Lally, who passed for an
English prisoner. He was very anxious not to lose
this position, in order to preserve the pension of
300 pounds sterling which was paid him on that
account by the English government.
My dear Humbert left for Florence. This departure,
the beginning of a long absence, was very painful to
me. I was his friend, as well as his mother. I was
therefore desirous of returning at once to Brussels,
but my husband did not think it advisable to leave
Paris before the birth of the Imperial child which
was expected at any moment.
One evening I was invited to an entertainment
given at the Tuileries, in a little gallery where a
theatre had been improvised. We assembled in the
salon of the Empress. The Emperor came directly
to me. With an extreme kindness he spoke to me
first of my son, then he exclaimed regarding the
simplicity of my dress, my good taste and my dis-
tinguished air, to the great surprise of several ladies
covered with diamonds, who were asking each other
who this new-comer could possibly be. When we
entered the gallery, I was placed upon a bench very
near that of the Emperor. The play, "L'Avocat
Patelin, " was performed by some admirable actors.
The piece which was very comical amused Napoleon
very much and he laughed heartily. The presence of
the great man did not prevent me from doing the
same. This pleased him very much, as he said after-
wards in mocking the ladies who thought it necessary
to maintain their gravity. It was considered a great
[362]
VISIT OF THE EMPEROR
favor to be invited to this spectacle, and only about
fifty ladies were present.
The morning of the twentieth of March, 1811, we
heard the first discharge of the guns of the Invalides.
Every one rushed into the street. All the carriages
stopped ; the merchants, upon the thresholds of their
shops, the people at their windows, counted the
strokes. We heard everyone say: "Three, four, five,"
and so on. There was an interval of about a minute
between each discharge. After the twenty-first, there
was a profound silence, but at the twenty-second,
there were spontaneous cries of: "Vive I'Empereur!"
That evening I dined with my sister, Mme.
Bertrand, and there we were notified that the child
would be privately baptized at nine o'clock and that
the ladies who had been presented at Court could
attend the ceremony.
Mme. Dillon, my sister and I went. We had to
enter by the Pavilion de Flore and pass through all
the apartments, as far as the Salle des Marechaux.
The salons were full of the dignitaries of the Empire,
men and women. Every one endeavored to be at the
edge of the passage-way, kept open by the ushers,
where the procession was to pass to descend to the
chapel. We managed to manoeuvre so as to find
ourselves on the landing of the stairway. From this
point we enjoyed a very rare sight, that of the old
grognards of the Vieille Garde, arranged in order
upon each step, every one wearing the cross upon his
breast. They were forbidden to make a movement,
but a very vivid emotion was depicted upon their
[363]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
stern faces, and I saw tears of joy in their eyes. The
Emperor appeared at the side of Mme. de Montes-
quiou, who bore the child with his face uncovered,
upon a cushion of white satin covered with lace. I
had the opportunity to obtain a good look at him.
[364]
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
1811-1813
AN AUDIENCE WITH NAPOLEON
Marie-Louise at Laeken. — Opening of the Russian Campaign. —
Movements of Troops. — Monsieur de Liedekerke Demands
the Hand of Charlotte de La Tour du Pin. — Humbert is
Appointed Sous-Prefet at Sens. — Dismissal of the Prefet
of Brussels. — Mme. de La Tour du Pin Leaves for Paris. —
Request for an Audience. — Conversation with the Em-
peror.— Surprise of Monsieur de Montalivet. — Monsieur
de La Tour du Pin Appointed Prefet at Amiens. — The As-
sembly at the Tuileries. — Amiability of Napoleon. — The
Last Days at Brussels. — Regrets of the Population. —
Marriage of Charlotte.
A FEW days later we returned to Brussels
where the Emperor was expected during
the spring. His brother Louis had deserted
the throne of Holland where the iron hand of Napo-
leon had prevented him from carrying out his policy
for the good of the country. He had left in Holland
a very honorable record, as I know from King
William himself. The people felt very differently
about the administration of Monsieur de Celles, the
son-in-law of Mme. de Valence, whose memory there
has been held in horror. The Emperor appointed him
Prefet at Amsterdam where he did all the evil of
which a man is capable who is absolutely devoid of
principle.
[365]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
It was towards the spring of this year 1811, as
nearly as I can remember, that we received the visit,
always dreaded by the Prefets, of a Councillor of
State, en mission, a kind of spy of high rank, de-
termined to find fault even with those whom he
could not help esteeming. Monsieur Real fell to the
lot of Monsieur de La Tour du Pin, who realized,
at the time of the first visit, that he would endeavor
to do him all the harm possible. Nevertheless, during
his sojourn, we gave him a dinner followed by a
reception. I had said to the ladies who had shown
kindness to me that they would do me a favor in
coming to pass the evening with us. After dinner, on
returning to the grand salon, we found united there
all the most distinguished persons of the society of
Brussels, both men and women. Monsieur Real was
stupified by the names, the manners, and the jewels.
He could not refrain from saying to Monsieur de
La Tour du Pin: "Monsieur, voila un salon qui
m'offusque terriblement." To which my husband
replied: "I am very sorry, but fortunately, it does
not have the same effect on the Emperor."
The nineteenth of September,' 1811, the Emperor
set out from Paris to visit the camp at Boulogne,
the French Fleet and the north of the Empire. The
Empress went to Laeken near Brussels, where she
arrived the night of the twenty-first or twenty-
second of September. We were invited to come to
Laeken every day to pass the evening and play at
lotto. This lasted for a week and was very boring.
The Empress on every occasion showed the greatest
insipidness. Every day she said the same thing to me
[366]
AN AUDIENCE WITH NAPOLEON
in giving me her pulse to count: "Do you think that
I have any fever?" to which I invariably replied:
"Madame, I do not know anything about it." The
Due d'Ursel was charged with the task of arranging
the morning promenades, according to the weather.
One day when Marie-Louise visited the Museum
she seemed to be struck by a handsome portrait of
her illustrious grandmother, Marie-Therese. The Due
d'Ursel proposed to her to place the portrait in a
salon at Laeken. She replied: "Oh no, the frame is
too old!" Another time he suggested as an interest-
ing promenade that part of the Forest of Soignes
known as the "pilgrimage of the Archiduchesse
Isabelle," whose sanctity and goodness have re-
mained in the hearts of the people. She replied that
she did not like the woods. In fine, this insignificant
woman, so unworthy of the great man whose destiny
she shared, seemed to make it a point to be as dis-
agreeable as possible to the Belgians whose hearts
were so disposed to love her. I never saw her again
until after she lost her throne, and then she was still
as destitute of intelligence.
During the summer of 1811, Monsieur de Talley-
rand came to preside over an electoral college, sum-
moned I think to elect a senator and two deputies to
the Corps Legislatif. He arrived with a large household
and gave several dinners in the fine apartments of the
Hotel d'Arenberg, placed at his disposal by the blind
Due. On this occasion he showed again all his great and
charming manners, which contrasted in a comical fash-
ion with those of the Archbishop of Malines who had
the appearance of a Scapin in a violet cassock.
[367]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
About the middle of the spring of 1812, we began
to see the troops passing through on their way to
Germany. Several regiments of the Young Guard
came to Brussels and remained there. Other regiments
only passed through the city. Instructions were re-
ceived to bring together the farmers' wagons hitched
to four horses. Sometimes the order was received only
in the morning, and it was necessary the same even-
ing to have eighty or one hundred wagons assembled,
provided with forage for two days. The gendarmes
had to gallop in every direction to notify the farmers.
The latter, obliged to leave their plows, and their
work, were in very bad humor. But who would have
dared to resist? The thought never occurred to any
one from Bayonne to Hamburg. We served several
substantial meals to the corps of officers who came
at ten o'clock in the evening and left at midnight.
Doubtless very few of these brave fellows ever re-
turned from this disastrous campaign.
No one had any idea that the French army would
go as far as Moscow. Therefore, when my husband,
upon his return from a trip of several days to Paris,
brought back a very fine map of Poland and Russia,
we were astonished that Lapie had added upon the
margin a little square of paper on which was the
name of Moscow. The map did not go as far as
the meridian of that city, and when pinned to the
draperies of the salon, every one thought that this
precaution on the part of the map-maker was very
unnecessary. It was a prognostic!
During the last months of this same year, young
Auguste de Liedekerke-Beaufort paid very marked
[368]
1790 - 1816
AN AUDIENCE WITH NAPOLEON
attentions to my elder daughter Charlotte, who at
this time was sixteen years of age. She was very tall,
and without being pretty had a very distinguished
air. She was a noble demoiselle in every sense of the
term. In this affair both the heart and mind of young
Liedekerke were involved. He felt that Mile, de La
Tour du Pin, with her personal charms, her name
and her connections, although without fortune, suited
him better than some good Belgian girl who was very
rich and very obscure. He declared to his parents
that he would not marry any other woman than my
daughter. His father raised some objections, but his
mother in the hope that the political career of her
son would be favored by a marriage which would
take him out of his country, obtained the consent
of her husband. The first day of the year 1813, at
ten o'clock in the morning, Mme. de Liedekerke
was announced. She demanded the hand of my
daughter for her son. I was prepared for this
request which I received and agreed to with
pleasure. Mme. de Liedekerke wished to see my
daughter whom she embraced and it was ar-
ranged that the marriage should take place within
six weeks.
My daughter Cecile was at the Convent of the
Dames de Berlaimont where she had been for six
months preparing for her first communion. I promised
to take her out the day of her sister's marriage. At
the same time we received news that Humbert, then
sous-prefet at Florence, had just been named as sous-
prefet at Sens, Department of the Yonne. This news
filled the measure of our contentment.
[369]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
My husband had gone to Nivelles to be present at
the drawing of the conscription necessitated by the
continuation of the war which the Emperor had
undertaken. I was alone at home before luncheon
when I saw the secretaire-general of the Prefecture
enter with a dejected face. He informed me that the
courier from Paris had just brought word of the dis-
missal of my husband and of his replacement by
Monsieur d'Houdetot, Prefet of Ghent.
This news struck me like a thunder clap, and in it
I saw at the first moment a cause of breaking off the
marriage of my daughter. However, I made up my
mind not to yield without a fight. Without awaiting
the return of my husband to whom I sent a courier,
I decided to leave at once for Paris. I owe it to Mon-
sieur de Liedekerke, to state that he came to see me
with an eagerness and a warmth which must surprise
him now, if he recalls this circumstance, to beg me
not to change our plans in any respect.
I left my aunt and Mme. de Maurville to pack
everything which belonged to us in the Prefecture,
and at four o'clock I set out for Paris. I had had so
many things to do and to arrange in the space of
two hours, that I was already fatigued when I set
out. The night passed in a wretched chaise de poste
and the anxiety caused by our new position gave me
quite a high fever, with which I arrived at Paris at
ten o'clock in the evening. I went to the house of
Mme. de Duras whom I found out. Her daughters
had just gone to bed. They arose and sent some one
in search of their mother who on returning found me
lying on her sofa worn out with fatigue. There was
[370]
AN AUDIENCE WITH NAPOLEON
no room in the apartment to lodge me, but she had
the key of the apartment of the Chevalier de Thuisy,
our common friend. My femme de chambre and the
servant who had followed me went and prepared a
bed in which I took refuge at once,but without finding
the repose of which I had great need. The next morn-
ing at an early hour, Mme. de Duras came with
Doctor Auvity whom she had summoned. He found
that I still had a good deal of fever. But I told him
that it was necessary for him to get me on my feet
at no matter what cost, and that I must be in a state
to go to Versailles before night. He then gave me a
calming draft which caused me to sleep until five
o'clock. I do not know in what state of health I then
found myself, but at any rate I did not pay any
attention to it.
I had a carriage called and, dressed in a very
elegant toilette, I went in search of Mme. de Duras.
We set out at once for Versailles where the Emperor
was staying at Trianon. We stopped at an inn, Rue
de TOrangerie, where they put us together in an
apartment. I at once opened my ink-stand. Mme. de
Duras, to whom I had confided only my desire to
have an audience with His Majesty, saw me take a
fine large sheet of paper and then copy a rough draft
which I had drawn from my portfolio, and said to me :
"To whom are you writing?" "To whom?" I replied,
"apparently to the Emperor. I do not like small
measures."
The letter written and sealed, we again got into a
carriage to take it to Trianon. There I asked for the
chamberlain on duty. I had taken the precaution to
C37i]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
prepare a little note for him. By a fortunate chance
he was Adrien de Mun who was one of my best
friends. He approached the carriage and promised
me that at ten o'clock, when the Emperor came from
tea with the Empress, he would hand him my letter.
He kept his promise and was as satisfied as he was
surprised when, on looking at the address, Napo-
leon said, speaking to himself: "Mme. de La Tour
du Pin writes very well. It is not the first time that
I have seen her hand-writing." These words con-
firmed my suspicion that a certain letter written to
Mme. d'Henin had been seized before arriving at
its destination.
After our trip to Trianon, we returned to our hotel.
About ten o'clock in the evening, while Claire and I
were debating as to whether I would have my audi-
ence, "yes" or "no," the hotel waiter who up to that
moment had considered us as simple mortals, opened
the door and cried: "De la part de 1'Empereur!"
The same moment a man covered with gold lace
entered and said: "His Majesty awaits Mme. de La
Tour du Pin tomorrow at ten o'clock in the morning."
The good news did not trouble my slumber. On
the following morning, after having drunk a large
bowl of coffee, which Claire had prepared with her
own hands to brace me up, as she said, I set out for
Trianon. I had to wait ten minutes in the salon
which preceded the one where Napoleon received. I
was very glad to find no one there for I had need of
this moment of solitude to arrange my thoughts. A
conversation en tete a tete with this extraordinary
man was an event of great importance in my life,
[372]
AN AUDIENCE WITH NAPOLEON
and nevertheless I declare here in all the sincerity
of my heart, perhaps with pride, that I did not feel
in the least embarrassed. The door opened; the usher,
by a gesture, made me a sign to enter and then closed
the double door behind me. I found myself in the
presence of Napoleon. He advanced to meet me and
said with quite a pleasant air:
"Madame, I am afraid that you are very much
displeased with me."
I inclined my head in sign of assent and the con-
versation began. Having lost the notes which I wrote
of this long audience which lasted fifty-nine minutes
by the clock, after the lapse of so many years I am
not able to remember all the details of the interview.
The Emperor endeavored, in short, to prove to me
that he had been forced to act as he had done. Then
I pictured to him in a few words the state of society
at Brussels, the consideration which my husband had
acquired there compared with all the preceding
prefets, the visit of Real, the stupidity of General
Chambarlhac and of his wife, a religieuse defroquee,
and so on. All this was recited rapidly, and, as I was
encouraged by his air of approbation, I ended by
announcing to the Emperor that my daughter was
going to marry one of the greatest seigneurs of
Brussels. Upon which, he interrupted me, placing his
beautiful hand upon my arm, and said :
" J'espere que cela ne fera pas manquer le mariage,
et, dans ce cas, vous ne devriez pas le regretter."
Then while promenading the length of the large
salon, while I followed, walking at his side, he pro-
nounced these words (and it is perhaps the only
[373]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
time in his life that he ever said them and the privilege
was reserved for me to overhear him) :
"I have made a mistake, but what can I do?"
I replied, "Your Majesty can repair the error."
Then he placed his hand on his forehead and said:
"Ah! they are at work upon the prefectures; the
Minister of the Interior is coming this evening."
Then he mentioned the names of four or five de-
partments and added: "There is Amiens. Will that
suit you?"
I replied without hesitation: "Perfectly, Sire."
"In that case, it is arranged," said he. "You can
go and notify Montalivet."
And with that charming smile of which so much
has been said: "A present, m'avez-vous pardonne?"
I replied to him in my best manner: "J'ai besoin
aussi que Votre Majeste me pardonne de lui avoir
parle si librement."
"Oh! vous avez tres bien fait."
I made a courtesy and he went to the door which
he opened for me himself.
On coming out I found Adrien de Mun and Juste
de Noailles, who asked me if I had arranged my
business. I only replied that the Emperor had been
very kind to me. Without losing time, I entered my
carriage and taking Mme. de Duras who, unable to
overcome her impatience, had come to await me in
an alley of Trianon, we returned to Paris.
After having left Mme. de Duras at her door, I
went to see Monsieur de Montalivet, where I arrived
at about two-thirty o'clock. He received me in a
friendly manner, but with a very sad air, saying:
[374] '
AN AUDIENCE WITH NAPOLEON
" Ah ! I could do nothing to prevent it. The Emperor
is very displeased with your husband. They have
told him a thousand tales. They pretend that people
went to your house as to a Court."
With the idea of amusing myself a little with him,
I replied: "But would it not be possible to find
another place for my husband?"
"Oh! I would never dare to propose such a thing
to the Emperor. When he is put out justly or unjustly
with any one, it is very difficult to change him."
"Well," I replied, with a hypocritical air, "it is
necessary to bow the head. However, as you are
going to Trianon to present four nominations for
prefets to be signed ..."
"But, how do you know that?" he cried hastily.
Without having the appearance of understanding,
I added: "You will propose Monsieur de La Tour
du Pin for the prefecture of Amiens."
He looked at me with stupification and I continued
very simply, "The Emperor has charged me to tell
you that."
Monsieur de Montalivet gave an exclamation, took
my hands with much friendship and interest and at
the same time looking at me from head to foot:
"Indeed," he said, "I should have divined that that
pretty toilette this morning was not intended for me."
The nomination of Monsieur de La Tour du Pin
appeared the same evening in the "Moniteur," and
I received the compliments of all the people of my
acquaintance who had been afflicted by the news of
his disgrace. In fact this dismissal was a fortunate
event for my husband, as you will see later on.
[375]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
I remained several days at Paris where I awaited
my husband and the Comte de Liedekerke who came
to rejoin me for the signature of the contract of
marriage. At this time there was an Assembly at
Court and I went with Mme. de Mun. I was dressed
very simply, without a single gem, contrary to the
custom of the ladies of the Empire who were covered
with jewels. I found myself placed in the last row in
the Throne Room where I was a head taller than
two little women who had placed themselves un-
ceremoniously before me. The Emperor entered. He
glanced his eyes over the three rows of ladies, spoke
to several with an inattentive air, and then having
perceived me, he smiled in that manner which all
the historians have endeavored to describe and which
was truly remarkable, from the contrast it presented
to the usual expression of his face which was always
serious and often severe. But the surprise of my
neighbors was great when Napoleon, still smiling,
addressed to me these words: "Etes-vous contente de
moi, Madame?" The persons who surrounded me
then withdrew to the right and left, and I found
myself, without knowing how, in the front rank. I
thanked the Emperor in an accent of very sincere
gratitude. After several very amiable words, he
passed on. This was the last time I saw this great man.
I set out for Brussels where I was very desirous of
seeing my children, and where I had besides a thou-
sand things to do. My husband went by way of
Amiens to prepare for our installation. He then came
to rejoin me with Humbert, who was back from
Florence and who had received at Paris his nomina-
[3763
AN AUDIENCE WITH NAPOLEON
tion as sous-prefet at Sens. Who could have possibly
foreseen at that moment that ten months later he
would be chased from that city by the Wiirtembergers ?
When Monsieur de La Tour du Pin arrived at
Brussels, he found me settled with my children with
the Marquis de Trazegnies, who had offered us a
very cordial hospitality. Monsieur d'Houdetot had
announced, without delicacy, that he would take
possession of the Prefecture the second day after the
date of my return to Brussels. I was desirous that
he should find no vestige of our sojourn of five years
in the house which he was to inhabit. Everything
which belonged to us was packed and dispatched. As
for the furniture of the Prefecture, every article had
been put back in the place designated by the in-
ventory. Nothing was lacking. Monsieur d'Houdetot
was rather put out by this exactitude and was even
more disturbed by the regrets which all classes loudly
expressed over the recall of Monsieur de La Tour du
Pin. He found a pretext to return to Ghent, and
lived there until after our departure which was fixed
for the second of April. My daughter was to be
married the twentieth. My husband could say with
Guzman :
"J'etais maitre en ces lieux, seul j'y commande
encore."
He therefore summoned the Chief of Police, Mon-
sieur Malaise, and enjoined him to see that there was
no manifestation, too pronounced, on the part of
the people on the occasion of the marriage of our
daughter. The Mayor, the Due D'Ursel, to the same
end, fixed an advanced hour of the evening, half past
[377]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
ten, for the marriage at the Municipality. This did
not prevent the people from assembling in crowds in
all the streets through which we were to pass in
going to the Hotel de Ville which was brilliantly
illuminated. On all sides were heard only expressions
of regret and kindness in connection with Monsieur
de La Tour du Pin. When we returned, after the civil
marriage at the Hotel de Ville, to the house of Mme.
de Trazegnies, we found all the salons of the ground
floor lighted up and in the street under the windows
was a large band composed of all the musicians of the
city to give us a serenade. My husband was naturally
very much pleased at this manifestation of the public
good-will.
The following day my daughter was married in
the private chapel of the Due d'Ursel. After a fine
dejeuner attended by relatives and friends, she left
with her husband for the Chateau de Noisy, situated
near Dinant in the Belgian Ardennes. There her
father-in-law had preceded her by several hours. I
accompanied them as far as Tirlemont.
Up to this moment, I have not spoken again of
Monsieur de Chambeau, our friend and companion
in misfortune during our emigration to America. He
had fallen into possession of a small fortune and had
passed at Brussels the greater part of his leisure
time. His business, however, obliged him to make
long sojourns in the south of France. For a year past
he had occupied at Antwerp a position which
was temporary, it is true, but which held out the
assurance of advancement. When he learned of the
catastrophe which forced our departure from Brussels
[378]
AN AUDIENCE WITH NAPOLEON
so suddenly, he came at once, and, knowing the bad
state of our affairs, he said to my husband: "You
are about to marry your daughter and at the same
time you are losing your position. I have 60,000 francs
in securities which I have brought you. Use them as
your own." He was present at the marriage of Char-
lotte who was his god-daughter.
At the moment I write these lines, at Pisa, at the
beginning of the year 1845, I do not know anything
more about this excellent man. I saw him again ten
years ago at Paris. At this time he was living in a
little country house at fipinay where he had fallen
entirely under the influence of two young serving
maids who had acquired an unfortunate control over
his old age. They took care to prevent him from
coming near us. Our poor friend is probably no longer
living.
I 379 ]
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
1813-1814
RETURN OF THE KING
Society at Amiens. — The Prefecture. — General Dupont. —
Arrival of the Cossacks. — Conversation with Talleyrand. —
His Hatred of Napoleon. — Flight of Humbert from Sens. —
In the Ante-chamber of Talleyrand. — "Vive le Roi!" —
Distribution of White Cockades. — Preparations for the
Reception of the King. — The King Enjoys His Dinner. —
Ill-nature of the Duchesse d'Angouleme. — Monsieur de
La Tour du Pin Re-enters Diplomacy. — Humbert is Ap-
pointed Lieutenant of the Black Musketeers.
IT was in the month of April, 1813, that we arrived
at Amiens where we were destined to see happen
events which we were far from looking for. Here
we found our brother-in-law, the Marquis de Lameth,
whose friendship had already assured us a very
favorable reception on the part of the nobility and
of the people of importance in the city, who up to
then had been very much dissatisfied with their
Prefets.
The house set apart for the Prefecture was charm-
ing. It had just been entirely refurnished with ele-
gance and luxury. The ground floor comprised a
complete apartment where I lived with my husband.
On one side was the cabinet of the Prefet, communi-
cating with the bureaus. The house looked out on a
magnificent garden of seven or eight acres, well
[380]
RETURN OF THE KING
cultivated. This gave us almost the pleasure of being
in the country.
The first days of summer passed very agreeably.
We often went to dinner in the neighborhood with
friends who resided there during the fine season. My
daughter Cecile, who was thirteen years of age at
this time, already showed very great talent for music
and also had a charming voice of great compass.
During the five years that we had passed at Brussels
I had given her an excellent teacher in Italian.
Formerly from Rome and not knowing French, he
had taught my daughter to use the fine Roman idiom.
She expressed herself in this language with facility.
Charlotte and she also read not only Italian, but also
English. We were very well settled at Amiens when
we commenced to hear the grumbling of the storm.
Every one was so confident of the fortunes of Na-
poleon, that the idea did not occur to any one to
admit that he could possibly have any other enemy
to fear than the frosts that had been so fatal to him
during the Russian campaign.
However, after the Battle of Leipsic, there began
the requisitions, the enlisting of men and the organi-
zation of Guards of Honor. This last measure caused
desolation among the families.
Under these circumstances, my husband had need
of all his firmness. He served the Government in good
faith and the thought of the Restoration had not yet
occurred to his mind. He neither foresaw it nor
desired it. All the faults and all the vices which had
been the causes of the First Revolution were still
too fresh in his memory for him to desire to see the
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
exiled Royal Family return, bringing in its train the
former weakness and abuses of all kinds. The expres-
sion, so well justified: "They have learned nothing
and forgotten nothing," often came to his mind.
However, he endeavored so far as possible to mitigate
the application of the rules for the organization of
the Guards of Honor. The greatest resistance to
certain measures was found among the rich classes,
and I often heard him say: "They give their children
more willingly than their money." In a city devoted
to the manufacture of woolens, like Amiens, the
requisitions were very burdensome, and my husband
suspected above all things the greediness and the
rascality of the requisitionnaires.
The cannon of Laon which we heard at Amiens
gave us the first news of the invasion of French
territory. Several days later, Monsieur d'Houdetot,
the Prefet of Brussels, fleeing before the invasion,
entered our salon one evening, at the very moment
that the Receiver General, Monsieur d'Haubersaert,
who saw everything in a rosy light, was saying to us
that he had just received a letter from Brussels and
that Belgium was in no danger of a coup de main.
Soon afterwards, we were informed of the ap-
pearance of a corps of Cossacks commanded by
General Geismar, in the plains around the city. It
was at this time that General Dupont passed through
Amiens, under the escort of the gendarmes. He had
previously been transferred from the Chateau of
Joux, where Napoleon had had him confined after
the capitulation of Baylen, to the citadel of Doullens.
They were now conducting him to Tours, in order
[382]
THE RETURN OF THE KING
that he might not fall into the hands of the Allies.
He did not go any further than Paris, however, and
the severity with which he was treated made his
fortune.
The Cossacks approached so near to Amiens that
they could be seen from the tower of the Cathedral.
The squadron of cavalry in garrison in the city,
commanded by our worthy Major, presented such a
formidable appearance that they did not appear
again.
My aunt, Mme. d'Henin, was settled for the
autumn at the Chateau of Mouchy, near Beauvais
with her friend the Princesse de Poix. Mme. de Duras
was also there with her daughters, and they invited
me to come and pass several days. My husband
urged me to accept and asked me to return by way
of Paris, to see Monsieur de Talleyrand and ascertain
the news. Monsieur de Talleyrand had sent him a
note by Merlin de Thionville, but this note was so
nonsensical, and the reputation of the bearer was so
bad, that my husband, averse to all intrigue, was
afraid of being drawn, in spite of himself, into some
adventure of Monsieur de Talleyrand, who hesitated
at nothing and who willingly pushed other people
forward while quite ready to abandon them later on
to save himself.
I accordingly set out for Mouchy where I remained
three days. I left in the morning after breakfast to
return to Amiens by way of Paris. Not wishing to
pass the night there, I stopped at the apartment of
Monsieur de Lally who was at Mouchy.
[383]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
After the time necessary to make a slight change
in my toilette, I went to see Monsieur de Talleyrand
whom I found alone in his room. He received me as
always with that familiar grace which he has ever
shown towards me. People have said many hard
things of him, and perhaps he has merited even
worse, so that the expression of Montesquieu regard-
ing Caesar could well be applied to him: "Mais cet
homme extraordinaire avait tant de grandes qualites,
sans pas un defaut, quoiqu'il eut bien des vices."
Well, in spite of everything, he possessed a charm
which I have never found in any other man. It was
all very well to be armed at all points against his
immorality, his conduct, his life, against everything
with which he was reproached, nevertheless, he at-
tracted you as a bird is fascinated by the eye of the
serpent.
There was nothing particularly remarkable about
our conversation that day. I noticed only that he
repeated with a certain affectation that Monsieur de
La Tour du Pin was "well, very well" to be at
Amiens. I informed him of my intention to leave in
the morning. He told me not to do so. The Emperor
was expected in the course of the next day, he would
see him and would come to find me after his interview
and would let me know at what hour I could com-
mand my post horses, which would certainly not be
before ten o'clock in the evening.
I returned home very much put out at being kept
another twenty-four hours in Paris. After having
written my husband to notify him of this delay, I
endeavored to occupy the morning of the day follow-
[384]
THE RETURN OF THE KING
ing in going to breakfast with my good friend Mme.
de Maurville and in making several calls.
At ten o'clock my horses were attached and wait-
ing at the door. The postillion was beginning to get
impatient, as well as I myself, when Monsieur de
Talleyrand arrived.
"What folly to set out in this cold!" he said.
"And above all things, in a caleche. But whose
apartment is this?"
"That of Monsieur de Lally."
Then, taking a candle from the table, he began to
look at the engravings which were hung in fine frames
around the room.
"Ah! Charles II, James II, just so!" And he put
the candle back on the table.
" Mon Dieu ! " I cried ' ' il est bien question de Charles
II, de Jacques II ! Vous avez vu TEmpereur. Comment
est-il? que fait-il? que dit-il apres une defaite?"
"Oh! laissez-moi done tranquille avec votre Empe-
reur. C'est un horrime fini."
"Comment fini?" I said. "Que voulez-vous dire?"
"Je veux dire," he replied, "que c'est un homme
qui se cachera sous son lit!"
This expression at the moment did not surprise
me so much as at the end of our conversation. I in-
deed knew the hatred and rancor of Monsieur de
Talleyrand towards Napoleon, but never had I heard
him express himself with so much bitterness. I asked
him a thousand questions to which he replied only
by the words :
"II a perdu tout son materiel ... II est a bout.
Voila tout."
[385]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
Then, searching in his pocket, he brought out a
paper printed in English, and. while putting two logs
on the fire, he added:
"Let us burn a little more of the wood of poor
Lally. Since you know English, read this passage
for me."
At the same time he indicated quite a long article
marked with a pencil on the margin. I took the paper
and read:
"Dinner given by the Prince Regent to Mme. la
Duchesse d'Angouleme."
I stopped and raised my eyes to his. He had his
usual impassible countenance.
"Go on and read. Your postillion is getting im-
patient."
I resumed my reading. The article gave a descrip-
tion of the dining room hung in sky-blue satin with
bouquets of lilies, the top of the table entirely deco-
rated with this same royal flower, with the service of
Sevres showing views of Paris and so on. Arrived at
the end, I stopped and looked at him like one stupe-
fied. He took the paper back, folded it slowly, put it
back in his vast pocket and said, with that sly and
malicious smile which he alone possessed:
"Ah! que vous etes bete! A present partez, mais
ne vous enrhumez pas."
Then ringing, he said to my valet de chambre:
"Call the carriage for Madame."
He then left me, crying out as he put on his mantle :
"Give my best regards to Gouvernet. I send him
that for his breakfast. You will arrive in time."
I reached Amiens at so early an hour that my
[386]
THE RETURN OF THE KING
husband had not yet risen. Without losing a moment
I related to him the above conversation which had
worried me during the night to such a degree that
I could not sleep. In it he saw the explanation of
certain perplexing expressions of Merlin de Thion-
ville, and enjoined me to guard as the most absolute
secret what I had learned, for if it was by such means,
he said, that the Bourbons thought they could
mount the throne, they would not remain there long.
A little later, my husband ordered Humbert to
leave for Paris to secure further news. My son had
been at Amiens for two weeks. Driven from his sous-
prefecture by the Wiirtembergers, he had taken
refuge with us in order to care for his health which
had been compromised by an attack of pleurisy
which he contracted at Sens and of which he had
been very ill when the enemy approached that city.
Humbert arrived at the residence of Monsieur
de Talleyrand, at Paris, at the very moment that
the latter was receiving as his guest the Emperor
Alexander. He passed the night on a bench which
Monsieur de Talleyrand had assigned to him, in en-
joining him not to move, so that he could find him at
hand when he thought that the time had come for him
to return to Amiens. At six o'clock in the morning,
Monsieur de Talleyrand tapped him on the shoulder.
Humbert saw that he was fully dressed.
"Leave," he said, "with a white cockade, and cry
'ViveleRoi!'"
Humbert was not sure that he was entirely awake.
Shaking himself, he set out nevertheless and arrived
[387]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
at Amiens, where the news of the events had already
been received, and where Monsieur de La Tour du
Pin was not entirely sure what position he was
going to take. But the voice of the people was not
long in making itself heard. The requisitions, the
Guards of Honor and so on had exasperated all
classes of society. In an instant, as by an electric
movement, cries of "Vive le Roi!" issued from all
mouths. People rushed to the court of the Prefecture
to demand white cockades with which Humbert, on
leaving Paris, had filled the coffers of his caleche.
The supply was soon exhausted.
During the day, when the news of the arrival of
Louis XVIII became known, people began to pay
us marked attention. Several days after, when they
learned that the Prefet had left for Boulogne to await
the arrival of the King, and that His Majesty would
stop at Amiens and that he would pass the night at
the Prefecture, a large number of people came to
offer me articles of every nature which could be used
to ornament or embellish the house, such as clocks,
vases, pictures, flowers and so on.
Monsieur de Duras, having been designated to
take up his service with the King as Gentleman of
the Chamber, had passed through the city to go and
await the King at Boulogne. In spite of so many
changes, he had preserved all the prejudices, all the
hatred, all the littleness, all the rancors of other days,
as if there had never been a Revolution.
Monsieur de Poix had also taken the road for
Boulogne, but he stopped at Amiens, very much
disturbed as to the reception which he might receive
[388]
THE RETURN OF THE KING
from the King, on account of his son who was
Chamberlain of the Emperor, and of his daughter-
in-law who had been Lady of the Palace of the
Empress. But I had no time to raise his courage, and
I confided to my daughter, Charlotte, the task of
talking with him while I superintended the arrange-
ment of the table of twenty-five covers, which the
King was to honor with his presence. I was in the
dining-room when a gentleman entered and said
several words to my servant in a tone which dis-
pleased me. Approaching him, I demanded uncere-
moniously why he was interfering. He endeavored to
make an impression on me by saying that he be-
longed to the suite of the King. His surprise was very
great when he learned that I was determined to
remain mistress of my house and that I was little
disposed to let him give orders there. He went away
grumbling. It was Monsieur de Blacas.
A word from my husband had told me that the
King had received him with much kindness, and that
he was quartered at the Prefecture with the Duchesse
d'Angouleme. All was ready at the appointed hour.
Twelve young ladies of the city, at the head of whom
was my daughter Cecile, were waiting to present
their bouquets to Madame.
The carriage in which were the King and Madame
was drawn by the company of millers of Amiens who
had demanded this ancient privilege. These worthy
fellows, to the number of fifty or sixty, all attired at
their own expense in new costumes of gray-white
cloth, with large hats of white felt, then drew the
Royal carriage to the Cathedral where the Bishop
[389]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
entoned the Te Deum. The doors of the Church had
been kept closed and were not opened until the
moment when the King was seated in his armchair
at the foot of the altar. Then, in less than a moment,
this immense church was filled to such a point that
there was not room for another person.
In thinking at this writing of the innumerable
stupidities which later precipitated his brother,
Charles X, from the throne, I have almost a feel-
ing of shame at the recollection of the emotion
which I felt on seeing this old man thanking God
for having replaced him upon the throne of his
fathers. Madame knelt at the foot of the altar, in
tears, and my heart shared the sentiments which she
felt. Alas! this illusion did not endure for twenty-
four hours.
The flour-dealers then conducted the King to the
Prefecture where he received the whole city, men
and women, before dinner, with that grace, with that
presence of mind, with that charm which eminently
distinguished him. At seven o'clock we sat down at
the table. The dinner was excellent, the wines perfect,
which particularly pleased the King, and which
brought me many kind compliments. It was then for
the first time that this simple provincial gentleman,
Monsieur de Blacas, who had thought that he could
issue his commands, discovered that in the wife of
the Prefet he had to deal with a former Lady of
Honor. He was very much confused by his mistake
and paid me a thousand compliments in the endeavor
to make me forget his first attitude, but without
success.
[390]
THE RETURN OF THE KING
My cousin, Edward Jerningham, and his charming
wife, had accompanied the King from England to
France, and His Majesty stated with much kindness
that Edward had been of great service to his cause,
in the English journals, by the articles which he had
written, which had had a very great success. Both
Edward and his wife suggested that the extremely
English costume of Madame would displease the
Court of Napoleon, which was united at Compiegne
to await the new sovereign. Both of them represented
the necessity of not alienating sympathy at the very
beginning. At their suggestion I spoke of the matter
to Mile, de Choisy, Lady of Honor to Madame, and
to Monsieur de Blacas who spoke about it to the
King. But nothing could overcome the obstinacy of
this Princesse.
My son-in-law had ceased to be a Frenchman and
had now become a subject of the new King of the
Low Countries, William the First, who was the same
Prince d'Orange whom I had seen in England under
very different circumstances. He returned with my
daughter to Brussels to his family, and this separa-
tion was very grievous to me. I went back to Paris
and we established ourselves, my husband and I, in
a pretty apartment, 6 Rue de Varenne, where my
son Humbert was also located.
The very evening of my arrival, I went with Mme.
de Duras to a fete which was given by Prince Schwar-
zenberg, Generalissimo of the Austrian troops. There
I saw all the conquerors and was witness of all the
baseness with which they were surrounded and so to
speak overwhelmed. What a curious spectacle for a
[391]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
philosophical mind! Everything recalled Napoleon:
the furniture, the supper, the guests. The thought
came to me that among all those who were united
there, there were some who had trembled before the
Emperor when he had vanquished them, and others
who had formerly solicited his favor or even his
smile, and that there was not one present who seemed
worthy to be his conqueror. Certainly the situation
was interesting, although profoundly sad. Mme. de
Duras saw in it only the happiness of being the wife
of the First Gentleman of the King's Chamber. The
fall of the great man, the invasion of her country, the
humiliation of being the host of the conquerors did
not appear to trouble her. As for myself, I had a
feeling of shame which was probably not shared by
any one else.
Monsieur de La Tour du Pin foresaw that the
administrative career, although suited to his taste,
would fall into a class inferior to that in which he had
a right to be placed. He therefore desired to resume
his rank in the diplomatic service where he had been
before the Revolution. Monsieur de Talleyrand,
Minister of Foreign Affairs, proposed to him the
Embassy to The Hague. The new King of Holland
desired it, and my husband willingly accepted this
post, although he could have aspired to a higher
mission. But a word from Monsieur de Talleyrand,
telling him to accept it, gave him to understand that
he was destined for other employment.
My son Humbert was led away, alas, by the charm
of entering the military household of the King.
General Dupont, the Minister of War, was a former
[392]
THE RETURN OF THE KING
aide de camp of my father and professed for me a
great attachment. Humbert, who was desirous of
being married, preferred to remain at Paris rather
than to go elsewhere to be Prefet in some little city
at a distance. He was appointed Lieutenant of the
Black Musketeers, a name which came from the color
of their horses. This gave him the grade of Chef
d'Escadron in the army.
[393]
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
1814-1815
THE FIRST RESTORATION
Monsieur de La Tour du Pin, Envoy to the Congress of Vienna. —
His Wife Accompanies Him to Brussels. — Alexandre de
Lameth, Prefet of Amiens. — Life at Paris. — Monsieur de
Liedekerke Decorated with the Legion of Honor. — Mme.
de Liedekerke Leaves for Vienna with Her Husband. — The
Court of Louis XVIIL— Two Balls at the Due de Berry's.
— Lord Wellington. — News of the Debarkment of Na-
poleon at Cannes. — Madame de La Tour du Pin Decides
to Leave for Brussels. — She Visits the Minister of Finance.
— A Night of Anxiety. — At Brussels. — Visit to the King
of Holland. — Separation of the Congress of Vienna. —
Mission of Monsieur de La Tour du Pin to the Due
d'Angouleme.
AT the time it was decided to hold the Con-
gress of Vienna, I happened to be one
morning in the cabinet of Monsieur de
Talleyrand. My husband had gone to Brussels to be
present at the coronation of the new King, William
the First, and to deliver his credentials. He was to
return in a day or two.
I was preparing to leave the cabinet of the Minister
of Foreign Affairs and had already placed my hand
on the handle of the door to open it, when looking
at Monsieur de Talleyrand, I saw upon his face that
expression with which I was familiar when he wished
to do some one a good turn in his line.
[-394 ]
THE FIRST RESTORATION
"When is Gouvernet coming back?" he said.
"Why, tomorrow," I replied.
"Well!" said he, "hasten his return, because he
must set out for Vienna."
"For Vienna!" I exclaimed. "And why?"
"You understand nothing. He is going as Minister
to Vienna while waiting for the Congress to open,
when he will be one of the Ambassadors."
I made another exclamation, and he continued :
" It is a secret. Do not speak of it to any one, and
send your husband to me as soon as he arrives."
I waited impatiently, keeping the secret of the
good news, except from my son Humbert.
This nomination aroused a great deal of envious
feeling towards my husband. Mme. de Duras was
wild. She would like to have seen Monsieur de
Chateaubriand obtain the post. Adrien de Laval was
not even able to console himself with the promise of
the Embassy to Spain. Every one cried out that it
was an abuse because my husband had also kept his
place at The Hague.
We decided in the family, though with great
regret on my part, that Monsieur de La Tour du Pin
should leave alone for Vienna, and that I should
remain at Paris to occupy myself with the marriage
of Humbert. My husband wrote to Auguste, our
son-in-law, who was desirous of entering the diplo-
matic career in his country, and invited him to come
to Vienna, either as his private secretary or simply as
a looker-on, since, having become a subject of the
Low Countries, he was no longer French. We thought
that if Monsieur de La Tour du Pin remained at
[395]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
Vienna, after the Congress, we would have no dif-
ficulty in obtaining from the King of Holland a
position for Auguste as attache at the Vienna Le-
gation. These projects, like many others, were upset
by events both public and private. It was arranged
that I should accompany my husband as far as
Brussels. There he would be joined by his son-in-law
and I would take my daughter and her child back to
Paris with me. This plan was carried out.
Our trip to Brussels and back passed very agree-
ably, although I felt very sad and disappointed at
not accompanying my husband to Vienna. There was
no reason then to suppose that his absence would be
prolonged as it was in reality. Besides, the assurance
had been given me that two special couriers would
set out every week from the Foreign Affairs which
permitted me to hope that I would receive regularly
news as fresh as possible from my husband.
On our return to Paris, we found news from our
travellers. I settled in my apartment and Charlotte
took possession of the rooms previously occupied by
her father.
General Dupont, who was still very devoted to my
interests, arranged to have the cross of the Legion
,of Honor given to Auguste, as a reward for his
excellent services as Sous-Prefet at Amiens, at the
moment of the Restoration. I sent it to him at Vienna,
and it gave him great pleasure.
My poor Charlotte had the misfortune at this time
to lose her little girl who was carried off in the short
space of two days. The next day, Monsieur de Liede-
[396]"
THE FIRST RESTORATION
kerke arrived unexpectedly from Vienna charged
with dispatches. It was necessary for him to set out
on his return the following day. The despair of
Charlotte over the loss of her child suggested to me
the thought of sending her to Vienna with her
husband. As her father loved her tenderly, her
presence there would be a great pleasure for him also.
I possessed an excellent travelling caleche. I took
charge of the purchase and packing, in all details,
of the elegant toilettes to be worn by my daughter
at the fetes of the coming Congress. Besides, I
placed at her disposal my maid who was a very
experienced person. Thanks to my usual activity,
the resolution once made, the second day following
my daughter was ready to set out. She left for
Vienna with her husband, who was carrying dis-
patches from Monsieur de Talleyrand who had not
yet left Paris.
I remained alone with Cecile, then fifteen years of
age, and my two sons, Humbert and Aymar.
It may be interesting to state how I passed my
time after this restoration of the Monarchy. I went
to the Tuileries when the King received the ladies,
about once or twice a week. As a former Dame du
Palais of the Queen, I had the "honors," that is to
say, instead of mingling with the crowd of ladies who
were assembled in the first salon, called "Diane,"
while waiting for the King to be rolled into the Throne
Room, for he was not able to walk, I took my place
immediately, as well as the other women who enjoyed
the same privilege, on the benches which were ar-
[397]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
ranged around the Throne Room. There we found
many gentlemen who had also the entrees, and,
seated very comfortably, we talked until the moment
when the King was announced, when we rose and
took a more conventional and respectful attitude.
Then we filed one by one before the Royal arm-
chair. The King always had something droll or kind
to say to me.
This same winter, the Due de Berry gave two balls
to which he invited all the principal members of the
Bonaparte Party, the Duchesses de Rovigo, de Bas-
sano and so on. None of them danced and all had a
very disagreeable air, in spite of the advances and
the attentions of the Prince and his aides de camp.
Mme. de Duras and I took to one of these balls
Albertine de Stael. After having obtained the consent
of her mother, who, in spite of her fifty years, was
always dressed herself like a tight-rope dancer, we
had been permitted to dress her to our taste. Every
one found her so changed and so improved that from
that time on she abandoned her former custom of
wearing English dresses. The Due de Broglie fell in
love with her, and, if I am not mistaken, it was at
one of these balls that he decided to demand her
hand in marriage.
Since I have named Mme. de Stael, this is the
moment to say that shortly after my return to Paris,
after the Restoration, I had renewed my former
acquaintance with her. I had already seen her, never-
theless, in 1800, when I arrived from England, a
little before the time when Napoleon obliged her to
leave Paris, and had also met her at different periods
[398]
THE FIRST RESTORATION
since then. At the time of the 18 Fructidor, she had
shown herself very Revolutionary, carried away by
her intimate relations with Benjamin Constant. Her
last transformation had been accomplished in Eng-
land whence she returned a Royalist. She received at
her house all the notable personages from all the
countries of Europe who were present in Paris during
the winter of 1814 and 1815.
I happened to be in her salon the evening of the
day when the Duke of Wellington arrived at Paris.
One hundred other persons, equally curious to see
this personage, already well-known, were also there.
My relations with the Duke went back to my child-
hood. Our ages were about the same, and Lady
Mornington, his mother, had been closely associated
with my grandmother, Madame de Rothe. Young
Arthur Wellesley, his sister Lady Anne and I
had passed many evenings together. Later I again
met Lady Anne in England at Hampton Court, when
I went to see the old Stadtholder, the Prince d'Orange.
I was received by the Duke as an old friend. In this
salon where all eyes were fixed upon him, but where
he knew hardly any one, he was very glad to find
some one to talk with him.
During the sojourn that the Duke made at Paris,
before going to the Congress of Vienna, I met him
almost every day. I presented my son Humbert to
him, and he showed him much kindness. Humbert
spoke English perfectly, as he had become familiar
with this language, both in America and in England.
He had also a good acquaintance with Italian. This
winter when Paris was full of strangers, he was
[399]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
frequently taken for either an Englishman or an
Italian. On leaving Paris, the Duke of Wellington
set out for the Congress where Monsieur de La Tour
du Pin was already present.
One evening during the first days of March, I was
in the apartment of Mme. de Duras at the Tuileries.
There were many people there, including General
Dulauloy and his wife. Mme. Dulauloy appeared to
fear something and showed a great desire to leave,
especially when Monsieur de Duras passed through
the salon after the King had retired. She rose and
left the room taking her husband with her. I remained
behind and waited for Mme. de Duras to return
from the room of her husband where she had fol-
lowed him. I saw that she was very much troubled
and she said to me : " Something terrible has happened,
but Amedee is not willing to explain." I then returned
home accompanied by Humbert and we made all the
conjectures possible except the right one. The follow-
ing morning the news of the debarkation of Napoleon
at the Golfe Juan spread through Paris. The news
was brought by Lord Lucan. Having left the evening
before for Italy, at several stages from Paris, he met
the courier who was coming from Lyon with the
news. He immediately turned around and came back
to Paris where he spread the news.
The results of this event belong to the domain of
history. I will therefore only recount those which
concern me personally.
I was too well acquainted, on the one hand, with
the Court, and on the other, with the strength of the
[400]
THE FIRST RESTORATION
Napoleonic Party, to have for a moment any doubts
regarding the efficacy of the measures which would
be adopted.
Monsieur de La Tour du Pin, although one of the
four Ambassadors of France at the Congress of
Vienna and employed per interim in the diplomatic
affairs of France, in Austria, had nevertheless retained
his post of French Minister to Holland. I felt that I
could not remain at Paris when Napoleon was about
to arrive there and that I ought to go to Brussels or
The Hague. My plans were submitted to the King by
Monsieur de Jaucourt, Minister of Foreign Affairs
per interim. He approved of my purpose and I there-
fore prepared to leave.
Humbert, as soon as the departure of the King was
decided upon, was not able to leave the quarters of
the Musketeers. Consequently, I was obliged to
complete alone all the arrangements for my trip
which I was about to undertake with my daughter
Cecile, sixteen years of age, and my son Aymar who
was eight.
In the evening, I went to the bureau of the
Minister of Finance to obtain the amount of the
salary due Monsieur de La Tour du Pin, which I
wished to take with me. The same evening, 19 March,
1815, the King was to leave at midnight. On entering
the cabinet of the Minister, Monsieur Louis, with
whom I had been well acquainted for a long time,
I found him in a state of terrible rage. Showing me a
hundred little barrels, similar to those in which
anchovies are sold, he said:
"Look, I have had these barrels prepared, each of
[401 ]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
which contains 10,000 or 15,000 francs in gold. I
wished to confide one to each of the Body Guard
ordered to accompany the King, and these gentlemen
refused to take charge of them, under the pretext
that it was not part of their duty."
While saying these words, he signed my voucher
for the sum which I was to receive at once. I next
took the money to my man-of-affairs in order to have
him change it into gold. I had strongly urged Mon-
sieur Louis to let me have one of the barrels of gold
in his cabinet, but he absolutely refused. When I
left my man-of-affairs, which was after nine o'clock,
he told me to come back at eleven o'clock and that
he would then give me the gold which he had procured.
I then went to see my aunt, Madame d'Henin, who
had also decided to leave, to make my adieux. I
found her in company with Monsieur de Lally in a
state of great trouble, packing, gesticulating, urging
her fat friend who was finishing nothing. On seeing
me she cried:
"But are you not going to leave, that you have
such a tranquil air?"
I left her in the midst of her packages to go and
take leave of Monsieur de Jaucourt, my Minister, to
have him vise my passport and obtain an order for
the post horses, a very necessary thing, for it would
probably have been impossible to find a single one
at midnight. Finally, at exactly eleven o'clock, I re-
turned to my man-of-affairs, Rue Sainte-Anne. He
handed me 12,000 francs in rolls of napoleons. I had
a cabriolet hired by the hour. Getting into the
carriage, I said to the coachman: "Home." I was
[402]
THE FIRST RESTORATION
living at 6 Rue de Varenne. We wished to take the
route by the Carrousel, but, on account of the de-
parture of the King, no one was allowed to pass. My
coachman then kept along the Rue de Rivoli. At the
moment we arrived at the Pont Louis XVI (now
Pont de la Concorde) he heard the clock strike
twelve. Stopping short, he declared that for nothing
in the world would he go another step. His home he
said was at Chaillot, and the gates would be closed
at midnight. He demanded to be paid and invited me
to continue my route on foot.
I used in vain all of my eloquence and promised
him a superb pourboire if he would take me only to
the point where we met another hack. He refused. I
was obliged to descend from the carriage, although
seized with a mortal terror. Fortunately, at this
moment I heard the noise of a carriage. It was a
hack, and vacant, thank God ! I entered and offered
the coachman a generous gratification to take me
home.
As soon as I arrived I sent in search of the post
horses. In spite of my service extraordinaire, in spite
of the signature of the Minister, I waited until six
o'clock in the morning for two miserable horses
which were to be attached to a little caleche in which
I was to take my place with Aymar, Cecile and a
little Belgian maid whom I had kept in my service.
Our journey was not marked by any incident. We
arrived safe and sound at Brussels where I took a
little lodging Rue de Namur, with a lawyer named
Monsieur Huart. He has been since, I think, Minister
of Leopold I, King of the Belgians. I was very im-
[403]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
patient to receive news from Vienna. The dispatch
of the couriers who were usually sent to the Foreign
Affairs and by whom my husband and my daughter
Charlotte wrote me, had undoubtedly been in-
terrupted. Although I had advised them both of my
departure for Brussels, I had good reason to feel
that I would be a long time without news, which
indeed was what happened. At Brussels I found all
the persons of my acquaintance, both Belgian and
French. Every one received me cordially, with the
exception of the Bonapartists.
The King of Holland, William the First, was at
Brussels. I went to see him and he received me
cordially. We were seated upon a sofa in the former
cabinet of Monsieur de La Tour du Pin. Turning to
me he said :
"In this salon I try to find the inspiration to make
myself loved like your husband."
Alas! the poor Prince did not succeed. I spoke to
him urgently regarding the interests of my son-in-
law who had now become his subject. Probably it
was this conversation which opened to him the
diplomatic career.
A little later my daughter Charlotte arrived alone
from Vienna, accompanied by her maid and the va-
let of her father. She informed me that the Congress
had dissolved at the news of the landing of Nap-
oleon at Cannes. Every one had left in haste and
the Powers who were all ready to become enemies
had become reconciled before the imminent danger.
They only thought now of making France pay dearly
for the welcome given the hero who in making her so
[404]
THE FIRST RESTORATION
powerful and glorious had raised up for her so many
enemies.
In the southern provinces, the Due d'Angouleme
had brought together a kind of party which might
have become important under another chief. Some
one was wanted to take to this Prince the assurance
of the union of the Powers to overwhelm Napoleon.
Monsieur de La Tour du Pin, with his usual zeal,
accepted the mission of going to Marseille to join the
Due. He set out accompanied by his son-in-law, who
went as far as Genoa, whence he brought me at
Brussels news from my husband. Young Liedekerke
rejoined his wife in that city, and I was able to inform
him on his arrival that I had assured his position
with the King, his master.
£405]
POSTSCRIPT
Life of Monsieur and Madame de La Tour du Pin After the
First Restoration. — The Dillon Family. — Genealogical
Table. — Biographical Notes. — History of the Dillon
Regiment.
events of the life of Monsieur and
Madame de La Tour du Pin, up to the
epoch of the Hundred Days, have been told
us in the foregoing Recollections.
At the moment of the debarkation of Napoleon at
the Golfe Juan, Monsieur de La Tour du Pin was at
the capital of Austria where he had been sent after
the First Restoration, first as Minister per interim
and then as one of the Plenipotentiaries of France to
the Congress of Vienna.
After having signed the famous declaration of the
thirteenth of March, 1815, which placed Napoleon
outside the law, he went, accompanied by Monsieur
de Talleyrand, to Toulon, to endeavor to hold
Marechal Massena, Governor of that place, in the
service of the King, and from there to Marseille to
confer with the Due de Riviere.
After this, his mission was to rejoin in the South
the Due d'Angouleme, who had received from the
King the order to go to Nimes. But having learned at
Marseille the news of the surrender of this Prince at
Pont-Saint-Esprit, after having taken, in concert with
the Due de Riviere, some indispensable measures, he
[406]
POSTSCRIPT
chartered a vessel in order to go to Genoa, whence
he expected to return to Vienna. The bad weather, or
rather the ill-will of the captain of this vessel, forced
him to go to Barcelona.
From there, by way of Madrid, he proceeded to
Lisbon where he embarked for London. During the
twenty-four hours that he remained in London, he
had the honor of seeing the Duchesse d'Angouleme
and put her in touch with the situation in France.
The night following this interview, he left for Dover,
passed over to Ostende and went to Ghent where he
joined Louis XVIII.
After the battle of Waterloo, Monsieur de La Tour
du Pin returned to Paris, at the same time with the
King.
In the month of August following, he took part in
the general elections as President of the Electoral
College of the Department of the Somme. The
seventeenth of the same month, he was named Peer
of France by Louis XVIII.
As stated in the memoirs of his wife, Monsieur de
La Tour du Pin, while acting as one of the Pleni-
potentiaries of France at the Congress of Vienna, had
kept the post to which he had been appointed a short
time before of Minister to the Low Countries. In
October, 1815, he went to Brussels to hand his
credentials to the King, William I, and be present at
his coronation.
Having returned to Paris, a short time later, to
take his seat in the Chamber of Peers, Monsieur de
La Tour du Pin took part during the first days of
December in the debates over the trial of Marechal
[407]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
Ney. He voted in favor of his condemnation, but at
the same time made a formal declaration in which he
stated that he thought that the Marechal was worthy
of the clemency of the King.
As is well known, the clemency of the King was not
accorded.
About the first of February, 1816, Monsieur de La
Tour du Pin returned to The Hague to take up his
duties as Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of
the Low Countries.
In the month of September, 1818, the Due de
Richelieu summoned Monsieur de La Tour du Pin
to act as his assistant at the Congress at Aix-la-
Chapelle, the object of which was to arrange the
conditions for the evacuation of the French territory
by the foreign troops. Immediately after the closing
of this Congress, Monsieur de La Tour du Pin re-
turned to his post at The Hague. At the end of the
year 1819, he went again to Paris to take his seat
in the Chamber of Peers, at the opening of the session,
and was there at the time of the assassination of the
Due de Berry, the thirteenth of February, 1820.
A little later in 1820, he was appointed Ambassador
at Turin and immediately joined his post, which he
did not leave until the month of January, 1830,
except for a sojourn of four months at Rome in 1824.
In the month of January, 1830, Monsieur de La
Tour du Pin decided to retire from public life, as he
was worn out and also dissatisfied at the turn taken
by events. He accordingly took up his residence at
Versailles, where he was living at the time of the
Revolution of July, 1830.
POSTSCRIPT
The second of August at three o'clock in the morn-
ing, he left Versailles and directed his steps towards
Orleans, thinking that the King, in leaving by way of
Rambouillet, would take this route to go to Tours.
The following day, learning of the abdication of the
King and of his departure for Cherbourg, Monsieur
de La Tour du Pin resolved to proceed to his estate
at Le Bouilh, near Saint Andre-de-Cubzac. From there
he addressed a letter to Monsieur Pasquier, President
of the Chamber of Peers, in which he advised him
that he was not willing to take the new oath of
allegiance which was demanded of him, because it
was directly contrary to that which he had already
taken to Charles X. This letter was laid before the
Chamber during the session of the twenty-first of
August and appeared in the "Moniteur" the following
day.
The events of the month of August had at the
same time put an end to the mission with which
Monsieur de La Tour du Pin was charged, in connec-
tion with the King of Sardinia. Free, therefore, from
all engagements, he passed the end of the year 1830
quietly on his estate at Le Bouilh. During the course
of the year 1831, his youngest son Aymar became
involved in the movement in the Vendee and was
arrested and put in prison. His father not wishing to
be separated from him spent the four months of his
detention with him. As soon as he was liberated in
April, 1832, Aymar again went to the Vendee to
rejoin the Duchesse de Berry. The failure of this
attempt is well known.
After the arrest of Madame, Aymar was once more
[409]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
pursued, but he succeeded in finding refuge in the
Island of Jersey in the month of November, 1832.
During his absence, he was condemned to death on
account of his participation in the attempt of the
Duchesse de Berry.
Several of the newspapers having attacked his son
in terms which appeared outrageous to Monsieur de
La Tour du Pin, the latter came vigorously to the
defence of his son in a letter which was published by
the "Guyenne." As a result, he was put on trial before
the Cour d'Assises at Bordeaux, and the fifteenth of
December, 1832, was condemned to pay a fine of
1,000 francs and to three months in prison. These
three months, from the twentieth of December, 1832,
to the twentieth of March, 1833, ne was confined
at the Fort du Ha, in company with his wife who
refused to be separated from him.
On leaving prison, Monsieur de La Tour du Pin
settled at Nice, where his wife and son came to rejoin
him. Having been compelled by political reasons to
leave this city, he proceeded to Turin and from there
to Pignerol, where he remained until the twenty-
eighth of August, 1834.
At this time urgent business interests recalled
Monsieur and Madame de La Tour du Pin to France.
Here they remained exactly one year, and then again
left France with the plan of settling at Lucerne, where
they arrived towards the end of the month of No-
vember, 1835, after a sojourn of several weeks at Suze.
The twenty-sixth of February, 1837, Monsieur de
La Tour du Pin died at Lucerne at the age of seventy-
eight years.
[410]
POSTSCRIPT
The Marquise de La Tour du Pin has recounted to
us in her Recollections all the notable events of the
period of her life comprised between her childhood
and the end of the month of March, 1815. Her history
from that time on was closely connected with that of
her husband, whom she followed to The Hague and
later to Turin. She also accompanied him to Italy
and then to Switzerland in the voluntary exile which
he imposed upon himself, in order to share that of
his son, Aymar, and she was at the bed-side of her
husband at Lucerne at the moment of his death in
February, 1837.
Some time afterwards, with her son, Aymar, she
left for Italy and took up her final residence at Pisa
in Tuscany, where she died the second of April, 1853,
at the age of eighty-three years.
The Marquise de La Tour du Pin had six children
— three sons, Humbert, Edward and Aymar, and
three daughters, Seraphine, Charlotte and Cecile.
Two of her children, Seraphine and Edward, died in
infancy.
In the interval between March, 1815, the date at
which the Recollections end, and the first of January,
1820, the date at which Madame de La Tour du Pin
began to write her memoirs, she lost two other
children, her eldest son, Humbert, and her youngest
daughter, Cecile.
Humbert de La Tour du Pin was born at Paris the
nineteenth of May, 1790. During the last years of
the Empire he was Sous-Prefet at Florence and
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
later at Sens. At the time of the First Restora-
tion he was appointed officer in the corps of the
Mousquetaires Noirs and became later aide de
camp of Marechal Victor, Due de Bellune. He died
under circumstancesj which were very sad and very
dramatic.
At the time of his appointment to the Military
Household of the Due de Bellune, among the aides
de camp of the Marechal was the Commandant
Malandin, an officer who had risen from the ranks.
He was rough and uneducated, but audacious and
courageous, with an open and loyal heart, but very
susceptible upon the point of honor. He had won
every one of his grades upon the different fields of
battle of the Empire.
The very day that Humbert took up for the first
time his service with the Marechal, on entering the
quarters of the aides de camp, he encountered the
Commandant Malandin. The latter addressed him in
a vein of pleasantry, regarding some unimportant
detail of his uniform, but in terms which were coarse
and unbecoming.
Before Humbert could make any reply, the
Marechal entered, upon a tour of inspection, and,
while there, gave the Commandant a mission to the
Minister of War.
As soon as Humbert was able to leave, he went im-
mediately to the hotel occupied by his family and
entered the cabinet of his father. Here he recounted
the incident, without omitting any of the details,
except that he stated that the person involved was
not himself, but one of his friends. He then asked
POSTSCRIPT
his father what "his friend" ought to do. His father
replied :
"Challenge the aggressor."
"And if apologies are offered?"
"Refuse them."
That evening Humbert sent a challenge to Ma-
land in. The meeting was arranged for the following
morning in the Bois de Boulogne. The weapons selected
were pistols and the distance was twenty-five paces.
The duel took place the following morning in a
clearing in the Bois de Boulogne.
When the distance had been measured off and the
adversaries had been placed in position, before the
signal had been given, the Commandant Malandin
gave a sign that he wished to speak, and in a loud
tone he pronounced these words :
"Monsieur de La Tour du Pin, in the presence of
these gentlemen, I think that I ought once more to
declare to you that I regret my wretched pleasantry.
Two good fellows ought not to kill each other for
that."
Humbert hesitated a moment and then walked
slowly towards the Commandant. All the assistants
had a feeling of secret relief at seeing the favorable
turn which the affair had taken. But when the young
man arrived close to his adversary, instead of offer-
ing him his hand, he raised his arm and with the
butt of his pistol struck Malandin on the forehead.
"Monsieur," he said, "I think that now you will
not refuse to fight!" and he returned to his place.
After such a scene, only one denouement was
possible. The signal was given; Monsieur de La Tour
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
du Pin fired first and missed. His adversary, the
Commandant, then fired in turn and shot Humbert
through the heart.
Cecile de La Tour du Pin was born the thirteenth
of February, 1800, under circumstances which have
been related in the Recollections, at Wildeshausen,
a little city upon the borders of Hanover and of the
Grand-Duchy of Oldenburg. During the month of
September, 1816, at The Hague, where Monsieur de
La Tour du Pin occupied the post of Minister Plenipo-
tentiary of France to the Court of the Low Countries,
she became the fiancee of Charles, Comte de Mercy-
Argent eau.
The latter at this time had served for ten years in
the French army with great distinction. He had
taken part in the campaigns of the Empire and had
gained particular renown at the battle of Hanau
where he received the cross of the Legion of Honor.
Shortly afterwards, Cecile was taken ill and, in
spite of every care, continued to grow worse. She
was ordered by her physicians to go from The Hague
to Nice in order to find a milder climate, but she
did not recover her health and died in that city
the twentieth of March, 1817, and was buried in
the cemetery there.
On the death of his fiancee, Comte Charles de
Mercy-Argenteau abandoned himself to despair. Re-
nouncing his brilliant career in the army, he left the
military service and entered into orders. He became
Archfcishop of Tyr, and died the sixteenth of No-
vember, 1879, at the age of ninety-three years.
C4H]
POSTSCRIPT
During their residence at. Turin, which has been
spoken of above, Monsieur and Madame de La Tour
du Pin were once more called upon to endure a new
sorrow. Charlotte, the only daughter who was still
living, and who had married the twentieth of April,
1813, at Brussels, Comte Auguste de Liedekerke-
Beaufort, died at the Chateau of Faublanc, near
Lucerne, the first of September, 1822. At that time
she was on her way from Turin to rejoin at Berne
her husband who was at that time Minister of the
Low Countries near the Helvetian Republic.
Charlotte left two children — a son, Hadelin, born
at Brussels, n March, 1816, and a daughter, Cecile,
born at The Hague, 24 August, 1818.
After the death of Charlotte, of the six children,
Aymar alone survived. On the death of the author,
the manuscript of the "Journal d'une Femme de
Cinquante Ans" passed into the hands of her son,
Aymar, Marquis de La Tour du Pin, who had been
born at Le Bouilh, the eighteenth of October, 1806.
On his death at Fontainebleau the fourth of March,
1867, he left the manuscript to his nephew, Hadelin,
Comte de Liedekerke-Beaufort, who himself confided
it a short time before his death to one of his sons, the
Colonel Comte Aymar de Liedekerke-Beaufort, who
published it at Paris in 1906.
., 4>
-, *J
Mo uS
E S^o 6
3 J3 v<U >>
ECJO<
O O 1-1 N
s
3
g
JS
00
1
s
w
ffi
G fa rt
^£S
VO
.
*0 co
S-S
r§^
P^ U
b
I
VO
-H -
rt 3
* "5
,s<
b
I
£
[416]
POSTSCRIPT
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
,i THEOBALD, VII Viscount Dillon, died 1691; married Mary,
daughter Sir Henry Talbot.
2 HENRY, VIII Viscount Dillon, died 13 January, 1714;
married 1687, Frances Hamilton.
3 ARTHUR, first Colonel- Proprietor of the Regiment of Dillon
in the service of France, died 5 February, 1733; married
Christina, daughter Ralph Sheldon. (From Ralph Sheldon
were descended the cousins of the author, so frequently
mentioned in her memoirs.) Children: five sons and five
daughters.
4 RICHARD, IX Viscount Dillon, born 1688; died 1737; mar-
ried Lady Bridget Burke, daughter Earl of Clanricarde.
Daughter FRANCES who married her cousin (5) CHARLES.
5 CHARLES, X Viscount Dillon, second Colonel of the Regi-
ment, died 1741; married his cousin FRANCES (above). No
children.
6 HENRY, XI Viscount Dillon, third Colonel, born 1705; died
1787; married Lady Charlotte Lee, daughter second Earl
of Lichfield, grandson of King Charles II by the Duchess
of Cleveland.
7 JAMES, fourth Colonel, killed at Fontenoy, 1745. Never
married.
8 EDWARD, fifth Colonel, died 1747 from wounds at battle of
Lawfeld. Never married.
9 ARTHUR-RICHARD, born 1721; died 5 July, 1806; was Arch-
bishop of Narbonne.
10 LAURA, married Lucius Gary, Viscount Falkland. She died
1741. One daughter (16) LUCY.
11 CHARLES, XII Viscount Dillon, born 1745; died 1813;
married Henrietta Phipps, daughter Lord Mulgrave. Two
[417]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
children: HENRY AUGUSTUS, and FRANCES CHARLOTTE,
who married Sir Thomas Webb. He also had by Marie
Rogier, whom he married after death of his wife, a natural
daughter, CHARLOTTE, who married Lord Frederick Beau-
clerk, brother of the Duke of Saint Albans.
12 ARTHUR, sixth Colonel, born 3 September, 1750; executed
13 April, 1794; married, ist, his cousin (18) THERESE-
LUCY DE ROTHE. One daughter (17) HENRIETTE-LUCY,
the author of "Le Journal d'une femme de cinquante
ans." He married, 2d, Marie de Girardin, widow of Comte
de La Touche, and first cousin of the Empress Josephine.
One daughter FRANCES, who married General Bertrand,
aide de camp of the Emperor Napoleon.
13 HENRY, Colonel of the Regiment in England, born 1759;
married Frances Trant, and had two sons and two
daughters.
14 FRANCES, born 1747; married 1767, Sir William Jerningham.
15 CHARLOTTE, married 1777, Earl of Kenmare. One daughter
Charlotte, married Goold.
1 6 LUCY CARY, married General de Rothe. One daughter (18)
THERESE-LUCY, who married her cousin (12) ARTHUR
DILLON. One daughter (17) * HENRIETTE-LUCY.
17 HENRIETTE-LUCY DILLON, author of the "Recollections"
was born at Paris, 25 February, 1770; died at Pisa, Italy,
2 April, 1853; married 21 May, 1787, FREDERIC-SERAPHIN,
Comte de Gouvernet, later MARQUIS DE LA TOUR DU PIN.
Two sons (19) HUMBERT and (22) AYMAR, and two daugh-
ters (20) CHARLOTTE and (21) CECILE, besides two children
who died young.
18 THERESE-LUCY DE ROTHE, married 1768, her cousin (12)
ARTHUR DILLON. She died 7 September, 1782. One
daughter (17) HENRIETTE-LUCY.
19 HUMBERT DE LA TOUR DU PIN, born 19 May, 1790; died
28 January, 1816.
20 CHARLOTTE DE LA TOUR DU PIN, born 4 November, 1796;
died I September, 1822; married 20 April, 1815, the Comte
POSTSCRIPT
de Liedekerke-Beaufort. Children: one son and one
daughter: HADELIN, Comte de Liedekerke-Beaufort, born
at Brussels n March, 1816; died at Brussels 3 January,
1890; CECILE, born at The Hague, 24 August, 1818, died
at Paris 19 August, 1893; married Baron Ghislain, 28
December, 1841.
HADELIN DE LIEDEKERKE-BEAUFORT had a son AYMAR,
born at Brussels, 19 May, 1846; died at Paris, March,
1909; married at Paris, 16 September, 1885, Louise Cecile
Beranger. Children: three sons and one daughter: Hadelin,
born at Paris, 8 October, 1887; Aymar, born at Paris
21 October, 1888; and Humbert, born at Paris 14 Sep-
tember, 1890.
21 CECILE DE LA TOUR DU PIN, born 13 February, 1800; died
20 March, 1817; never married.
22 AYMAR DE LA TOUR DU PIN, born at Le Bouilh 18 October,
1806; died at Fontainebleau 4 March, 1867; married; son:
HUMBERT ADELIN MARIE, born 15 May, 1855; married
10 October, 1883, Gabrielle, daughter Comte Aynard de
Clermont Tonnerre: three daughters.
[419]
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
HISTORY OF THE DILLON REGIMENT
Theobald (i), Lord Viscount Dillon, Peer of Ireland, chief at
this epoch of the illustrious house of that name, raised at the
end of the year 1688, upon his lands in Ireland, and equipped
at his own expense, a Regiment for the service of King James II.
In the course of the year 1690, this Regiment passed into the
service of France, under the orders of Arthur Dillon (3), his
second son. It formed a part of a corps of 5371 men of the Irish
troops who debarked at Brest on I May, 1690, and who were
given by King James II to Louis XIV in exchange for six
French regiments.
After the capitulation of Limerick, in 1691, the number of
Irish troops who entered the service of France was considerably
augmented and reached a total of more than 20,000 men. From
that time to the date of the French Revolution they served
under the name of the "Irish Brigade" in all the wars of France
and always with the most brilliant distinction.
Arthur Dillon (3), first Colonel of the Dillon Regiment, became
Lieutenant General at the age of thirty-three years, having won
this rank through his glorious deeds. He was for a long time
Commandant in Dauphine and Governor of Toulon. On 28
jAugust, 1709, near Briancon, he defeated General Rehbinder,
Commander of the troops of Savoy, who wished to invade
France. He finished a glorious career in 1733, at the age of
sixty-three years. He left five sons and five daughters.
In 1728, he had transferred his Regiment to Charles Dillon (5),
the eldest of his sons. Charles Dillon, having become the head of
the family in 1737, by the death of Richard (4), Lord Dillon,
his cousin, kept the Regiment temporarily and then transferred
it to his brother Henry Dillon (6).
Henry Dillon (6) on the death of Charles Lord Dillon in 1741,
succeeded to the titles and property of his family, but neverthe-
less kept the command of the Regiment at the head of which he
[420]
POSTSCRIPT
served until 1743. After the Battle of Dettingen the English,
who up to that time had been auxiliaries, became the principal
parties in the war. Lord Henry Dillon, in order to preserve his
title of Peer of England and to avoid the confiscation of his
estates, was, owing to this fact, obliged to leave the service of
France, which he did with the consent and even by the advice
of Louis XV.
James Dillon (7), Chevalier of Malta, the third brother, was
then promoted to be Colonel of the Regiment, at the head of
which he was killed at Fontenoy in 1745.
Edward Dillon (8), the fourth brother, was appointed Colonel
of the Regiment by Louis XV on the field of battle, and like
his brother found his death in action at the head of the Regiment
at the Battle of Lawfeld in 1747.
Arthur Richard Dillon (9), the fifth brother, alone survived,
but he had entered into orders and died in England in 1806 as
Archbishop of Narbonne.
At the death of Edward Dillon (8), killed at Lawfeld, Louis XV
was strongly urged to dispose of the Regiment under the pretext
that there was no longer a Dillon to take command. But the
King replied that Henry, Lord Dillon, had just been married
and that he was not willing to consent to see go out of the family
a property cemented with so much blood and of so remarkable
services, so long as it was possible to hope for an heir. The
Dillon Regiment consequently remained after 1747 under the
successive command of a Lieutenant- Colonel and of two Colonel-
Commandants until the Honorable Arthur Dillon (12), second
son of Henry, Lord Dillon, was put in charge, on 25 August,
1767, at the age of seventeen years.
At the epoch of the French Revolution, the Irish Brigade
was reduced to three infantry regiments, namely: Dillon, Ber-
wick and Walsh. In 1794, what was left of the three regiments,
including the greater part of the officers who had emigrated to
England, passed into the service of the King of England. The
Dillon Regiment, or the part still in existence, to which England
was willing to attribute the name, was given to the Honorable
Henry Dillon (13), third son of Henry, Lord Dillon, and brother
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION
of Arthur Dillon, last Colonel of the Regiment in France, who
had perished on the scaffold in 1794. This new Regiment was
filled up by recruiting on the same lands which had furnished
the first soldiers in 1688. A little later it embarked for Jamaica
where its losses were so considerable that it was disbanded. The
flags and ensigns of the Regiment were transported to Ireland
and carefully deposited in the hands of Charles, Lord Dillon,
chief of the family and eldest brother of the Colonel.
[422]
18*3
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11