A r\ ^ .r^' V k ^ p] ^\ 01- n \ . / , . ./^ /- \l N ^ i>/J3- r/i^< ■if-^a^xn A // V ''' t - - r ' t" ^ c/ ^ / r. // ' V / . ■ /* LIFE OF PRINCE TALLEYRAND. ACCOMPANIED WITH A PORTRAIT. VOL. I. LONDON: EDWARD CHURTON, 2(1, HOLLES STREET. (late bull and churton.) 1834. LONDON; SCHULZE AND CO., 13, POLAND STREET. SRLF. URL CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. CHAPTER I. Page The three living symbols of the revolution— M. de Talleyrand — Neither pamphlet, nor libel, nor panegyric — His family — Counts of Perigord — The most ancient princely title in France — The gi-eat grand-mother of Henri IV — Birth of Charles Maurice — Dramatis personse — Louis de Perigord — Duchess of Dino — Influence of legs upon the disposition — Poaching preferable to hunting — M. de Talleyrand's childhood — College of Louis le Grand — Reward and punishment — Easter days — Misadventure at night, and fatal to the legs — Death of a father — Dismissal from col- lege — Count Perigord — Monsieur Fouquet, the children's tutor — Imprudence of youth — Malignancy or wickedness — Prodigious aptitude for politics — Gauchier's family — The seducer of fifteen — 'Mary and Amy —Double and triple alliance — Sisters iniined — Sophia and the elopement — Police evaded — Prelude to a splendid life — Duke of Pen- thi^vre — A secret purchased — Sophia put into a convent — Her death — The revolution, the empire and the restora- tion .......... I IV CONTEN'i;S, CHAPTER II. Page Family council — Lettre de cachet — Resemblance to Mirabeau — Effect of captivity — Pardonable hypocrisy — The chaplain of Vincennes — Well acted comedy — Exit from prison — Taking orders — Lomenie de Brienne — Abbe de Clermont- Tonnerre — Seminary of St. Sulpice — Madame Du Barry's Boudoir — The Abbe de Perigord at a good school — Two church-livings granted to him at once — Consequence of a first hon mot — Protection of Louis XV — The difference betw^een " Oh, oh !" and " ah, ah !" — The president's wife — Love at home — Well calculated retreat — Consolations in solitude — The marchioness and two rivals brought to agi-ee — Burgundy ladies — The hostess of the Petit Versailles — Return to Paris — Bees and women — Epigram and female revenge — Gauchier the brother — Honourable satisfaction — Dreaded consequences — The Pope's nuncio and Louis XVI — Reproof at the archiepiscopal palace — False recon- ciliation and the revenge of a priest — Six lodgings at the same time in Paris — House in the suburbs — Flamand, the valet de chambre, turned into a court rake by superior orders — Great nightly scandal — Separation — Exile at Autun — The life of a profligate man and the death of a female saint. . . . . . . . .25 CHAPTER HL Edifying letter of a new convert — The art of writing, the post office, and speech — Long reign of a mistress — The Countess of F. — Correspondence of the Abbe de Perigord — The provincial ladies — History of a baroness — Innocence and prayers against the devil — Remarkable fragment of a CONTENTS. Page letter to the Countess of F. — Marriages formerly — Portrait of a bridegroom — Women excused — Madame de Pompa- dour's brother — The Count of F. . and his brother-in-law — Book mania — The young wife without a husband — Por- trait of the Ahh6 de Perigord — Seduction easy — Birth of a child — The name of Charles — The exiled wife — Culti- vation of mind and satisfaction of a husband— Good advice from a lover, and return from exile — Prudent conduct — Influence of a lover of books — The lover a friend of the husband — Loan of 60,000 livres — One of the Abbe de Pe- rigord's principles — Love of money — Regular life — The man of intrigue and the statesman. . . . .51 CHAPTER IV. Money, and nothing but money— M. de Talleyrand appears beyond private life — His aptitude in business — Agent of the clergy at six-and-twenty — The last meeting of the clerg)' — The Abbe de Barral and the Abbe de Montesquieu — Disordered state of finances — State of public opinion — Taste for study — Contempt for a secondary part — Mirabeau and the contradictory opinions — The Count d'Antraigues — M. de Calonne — The papers pro and con — -Louis XVI — Assembly of notables — The clergy and the nobles — Situ- ation of the Abbe de Perigord— The Count d'Artois — Two heads— The Count of Provence and the Duke of Orleans — The Orleanists — Dedalus of intrigue —The parliament, the court, and the prime minister . . . . .69 CHAPTER V. Two years— To dare say and do anything — Situation of France prior to the revolution — Remarkable predictions of the Bailli de Mirabeau — Court and provincial nobility— The VI CONTENTS. Page La Rochefoucaulds — The alliance — The wind of Versailles — Allons mi chdteau — The staff of Marshal and the boudoir of Madame de Pompadour — Madame du Barry's knees and the commissions of colonel — Alexandre de Lameth and the Duke de la Vieuville — The dancing masters — The guilty and the victims— Usefulness of a court — Fable in action — Attacks against religion and government — The Baron d'Holbach — The economists and the Abbe de Perigord — The god Presumption — A word concerning the great ministers of France and of Europe — Progressive system in France — The Duke de Choiseul — Brief look at futurity — M. de Talleyrand everywhere . . , . . 88 CHAPTER VI. The Romans govern the world — Studies of the Abbe de Perigord — Notable incapacity — Allowable ambition — A banker prime minister — Louis XVI and fatality — Every body discontented — Influence of the American war — Mo- narchy and republicanism — M. Necker and the compte- rendu — Nurseries of clubs — The guests at the Palais Royal — The Abbe Sieyes — A saying by La Clos — Hesiod and M. de Talleyrand's establishment — Gallery of the States- General — Portraits by prediction — M. de Lafayette, Phi- larete — M. de Talleyrand, Amenes — The most remarkable individuals of the period . . . e . 110 CHAPTER VII Convocation of the States- General — The Court in disgrace — Successor of M. de Marboeuf — Strong prejudices against CONTENTS. Vll PaRC his youth — His consecration — His elevation to the States- General by the bailli%vick of Autun — Choice of party — Popularit}' resulting from it — Disposition of the public on the opening of the States- General — The Three Orders of the State — The Abbe Maury and the Bishop of Autun — Fouche's saying about the Duke of Orleans — A hand at the batch — Ceremony of the opening of the States-General — ■ King's speech — Assent of the assembly in consequence— M. de Barenton-^ Ambiguous speech of M. Necker — The Three Orders discontented — The enemies of Louis XVI — Enmity of Necker and Mirabeau — The Bishop of Autun mediator between them — Necker's adviser — The two ad- ministrations — Portrait of Mirabeau . . . .130 CHAPTER Vm. False patriotism — The Three Orders in presence — Inevitable results — Frustrated ambitions — Impossibility of satisf}-ing every body — Offers fi-om the court, and refusal — The trea- sury of public opinion — Money and vanity — The tarif of conscience — The Orleans' faction — Interregnum of the Montesquious — M. de Talleyrand and M. de Lafayette — Popularity and fortune — Meeting at M. de Barentin's — Verifications of the elections — Conduct of the clergy — The Archbishop of Vienne and the Bishop of Autun — Influence of M. de Tallevrand — Motives of his conduct — Wishes of Necker with regard to the formation of two chambers — Opinions of some sensible men — Mounier, Malouet, Target, and BaiUy — Excursion into futurity — The two political aims of M. de Talleyrand — Men betrayed, and fidelity to principles — The embassy to London — The Moniteur at St. Petersburg, and the cause of the recogni- tion of Louis Phihp by the Emperor of Russia . 1 1 G Vlll CONTENTS. CHAPTER IX. rage Court fools of Louis XVI — Lists of proscriptions — A pamphlet — The candidates for the halter — The Duke of Orleans — Biron — The Duke de la Rochefaucault, and the Duke de Liancourt — The Duke d'Aiguillon — The Bishop of Autun — The Abb^ Gregoire and the Abbe Sieyes — The three Marquisses — Mirabeau — The Pantheon — Marat and a com- mon sewer — The Viscount de Noailles — The Viscount de Custines — Alexander and Charles Lameth — M. de la Tour- Maubourg — The sub-lieutenant governor of the Invalids — Petion — Barnave — Condorcet — Robespierre — Tragical deaths — A singular remark — Former victims revenged— Brilliant commencement of the Bishop of Autun's parlia- mentary career — The imperative mandate — Remarkable speech — Decision of the National Assembly . . .161 CHAPTER X. The Bishop of Autun a member of the Committee of Consti- tution — Petion de Villeneuve and Mounier — Taking of the Bastile — Uneasiness of the Assembly — Missions of the Bishop— Enthusiasm of the people — Legislative enact- ments — Sitting of the 14 th of August — Feudal tenures, aristocracy, and parliaments destroyed in one night — The Marquis de la Coste and suppression of tithes — Assent of the Bishop of Autun — His influence — Declaration of the rights of man and citizen — Revision of M. de Talleyrand adopted by a unanimous vote — Papers by M. Necker on the state of the country — Loan of eighty millions — Pro- posal of the Bishop of Autun — Applause and murmurs — The regulations of the Assembly violated — Provisional decree of the Assembly — Ever increasing influence of the Bishop of Autun ....... 180 CONTENTS. IX CHAPTER XL Pa?e The select among the chosen few — The Bishop of Autun a candidate for the Presidency of the Assembly — Four hun- dred votes in his favour — Want of a Statesman — Financial questions — Loans — A milliard, or forty millions sterling worth of plate — The plate of the churches — Patriotic dona- tions at little cost — Political juggling — Project of the Bishop of Autun — The property of the clergy belongs to the nation — Applause of the Assembly — Purgatoiy and indulgences — Origin of some part of the clergy's revenue — Tarif at Rome for crimes committed, or to be committed — Delicate questions — The Abbe Maury, the adversary of the Bishop of Autun — M. de Talleyrand answers him — The art oi gilding the pill — Decree of the National Assem- bly — The property of the clergy confiscated — M. Mathieu de Montmorency — Anecdote — Armistice between the par- ties — A saying of Rivarol — Popularity of the Bishop of Autun — Mode of execution of the last decree of the Na- tional Assembly — Five articles, four of which are adopted — The Bishop of Autun — The Abbe Maury and the crucible of the empire — The Abbe Maury in 1809 . • 194 CHAPTER XIL Recapitulation of the legislative labours of the Bishop of Autun — The Jacobin club, and that of the Feuillans — Es- tablishment of a national bank — First ideas upon credit and a sinking fund — Emancipation of the Jews — Opinion upon the nature of church property — Difficulty of being serious — The comedian Beaulieu to the National Assembly — Address to the French people — Apology of the National X CONTENTS. Page Assembly — Its labours at an end, and its future endeavours — Reproaches disdained — Danger of Pamphlets — Magnifi- cent promises, the nation, the law, and the King — Praises of Louis XVI — Every body spared — A few explanations — M. de Talleyrand's family — The only Perigord on the national side — His second election as President of the Assembly ........ 223 CHAPTER XIII. The most singular period in French history — Every thing in the National Assembly — The progress of the different par- ties — A remark of Barrere — Honest people and govern- ments — Division of the National Assembly — Division of the majority — Foundation of the clubs — The 5th and 6th of October — Narrative of an eye-witness — Severity to- wards Mirabeau — Remark of M. de Talleyrand upon the Duke of Orleans — The receptacle of filth — Division in the Jacobins' club — Barnave, M. de Lafayette, and the Bishop of Autun at the Feuillans — The Duke of Orleans in England — Paris quiet during the absence of the Duke — The clubs and their influence — The real government — Effect of the clubs in foreign countries — The improvident — Letter of the Canons of Autun to their Bishop — Pastoral answer, and irony taken seriously — The devil's table — Uniformity of weights and measures proposed to the National Assembly by the Bishop of Autun — Expose of his system — Turgot and Louis XI — Ancient novelties — Principle of a political union with England . . , . . • .256 CHAPTER XIV. Motion by Bailly — Federal compact — France divided into departments— The Bishop of Autun commissioned to re- CONTENTS. XI Page port upon the festival of the 14 th of July — Decree of the Assenably, in consequence — The population of Paris at the Champ de Mars — The Bishop of Autun chosen to celebrate mass — Do not make me laugh too much — Chaplains to the Parisian battalions of the national guards — The Bishop in his episcopal dress — March, blessings, takings of oaths — The dead alone are faithful, borrowed from a foreign work — A new description of the federation of the !4th of July— A disastrous plan concocted, and ending in a mis- carriage — Fatal return of the Duke of Orleans — Ridiculous side of things — Hopes of the royalists frustrated — Letter of the Bishop of Autun to the Countess of F . . . . upon the ceremonies performed at the Champ de Mars — Sieyes jealous of the bishop — The only divinity of the latter — A financial anecdote — The diplomatic committee — The Bishop of Autun, and a hundred thousand dollars — The diamonds pawned and forgotten . . . . 281 CHAPTER XV. France without a government — Change of the national flag — Origin of the tricolour standard — Repugnance of the sailors to adopt it — New alliance with Spain — Count Albert de Rioms — Bougainville — Civil constitution of the clergy — Form of oath prescribed to its members — Opinion of M. de Talleyrand — Comparison by Madame de Stael — Oppo- sition of the clergy — Denunciation of a bishop justified bv the Bishop of Autun — Voltaire's creed — Impious priests — M. de Talleyrand deputy for the department of Paris — Increasing diflSculties — False decree — Modification pro- posed by the Abb6 Gregoire — Noble conduct of an old man — Letter from the Bishop of Autun to the Countess of F. . . . — His own conduct qualified by himself — Six hours XU CONTENTS. rage at the Duke of Orleans' — The court too slow in its reckon- ings — Curious correspondence — The farce of yesterday — The Capets, male and female — Debts paid . . .297 CHAPTER XVI. M. de Talleyrand at six and thirty — ^The three bishops who took the oaths — The Bishop of Lydda and the Bishop of Babylon — The Abbe Gregoire and M. de Themines — The first constitutional bishop — The Vicar Expilly consecrated by the Bishop of Autun — Rash action — The prelate and the pocket pistol — Complete success — Excommunication of the Bishop of Autun — Enormous winnings at play — Accu- sations in the newspapers — Letter of the Bishop of Autun justifying himself — Fine promises — Explanation of a hon mot — The new Bishop of Paris — Persecution of the priests — The populace in the convents — Nuns flagellated — Death of Mirabeau — General mourning — Efiect produced upon the Assembly — Proposal of Barrere — M. de Talleyrand legatee of Mirabeau — Posthumous speech — Plan of Mira- beau to re-establish the monarchy — Prudential measure — The King at Montmedy — Atrocious reports about Mira- beau's death — His last sigh — A bookseller's wife — Poi- soned coffee — Mirabeau's last moments . . . .319 CHAPTER XVn. Consequences of Mirabeau's death — Progress of the revolu- tion — Easter week of Louis XVI — Project of a journey to Saint Cloud — Address of the department drawn up bv M. de Tallevrand— Interested advice — Ambition un- CONTENTS. Xm Page masked — The King's note to M. de Biron — Answer of Louis XVI to the address of the department — Threaten- ing placards — M. de Talleyrand replaces Mirabeau in the directory of Paris — Lost labours of M. de Talleyrand at the National Assembly — Criticism of the Pope's brief — Anticipation of the concordat of 1802 — Report on a plan of national education — Foundation of an Institute — Project composed of thirty-five articles — Deputy Buzot's objections, and M. "de Talleyrand's reply — Amount of expenditure of the university of Paris — Adjournment to the next legislature — The National Assembly excluded by its own decrees fi'om holding public office — Reports of the day — Conduct of the court — Flight of the King — Proclamation left at the Tuileries, and attributed to M. de Talleyrand — Accusation — Refutation — M, de Talley- rand's petition in favour of the clergy — Favourable an- swer of Louis XVI -Character of M. de Talleyrand elucidated by a single fact . . . . 342 CHAPTER XVIII. The parties and their shades — Impossibility of not being urged forward — Destruction of the monarchy — M. de Tal- leyrand's benefice — His liberation from the church — Con- fidences to Madame de F . . . , — Occult ministry of Louis XVI — General La Fayette, Barnave, the two Lameths and M. de Talleyrand — Evaded decree — Last hope of the King — The fate of his trusty counsellors — The Te Deum, and the revolution ended — The constitution accepted by the King — Notification of that circumstance to foreign powers — Dismissal of diplomatic agents — Their successors not received — First rumours of approaching war — New plan in favour of the King — Avowed jjurpose of the repub- XIV CONTENTS. Page licans — M. de Talleyrand in presence of the several par- ties — Confidential letter to the Countess de F. . . . — The moment arrived to be of service to the republicans — Ad- vances to M. de Chauvelin — Patriotic journals — Particu- lars of a supper at Petion's house, given by M. de Talley- rand — Potion's journey to England — English patriots — Proposition of Brissot — Necessity of an alliance between England and revolutionary France — Carelessness of Petion and broken appointments — Libels by Thomas Payne, and causes of Potion's error . . . . . 360 M. DE TALLEYRAND. NEITHER LIBEL NOR PANEGYRIC. CHAPTER I. The three living symbols of the revolution — M. de Talleyrand — Neither pamphlet, nor libel, nor panegjric — His family — Counts of Perigord — The most ancient princely title in France — The great grand-mother of Henri IV — Birth of Charles Maurice — Dramatis personse — Louis de Perigord — Duchess of Dine — Influence of legs upon the disposition — Poaching pre- ferable to hunting — M. de Talleyrand's childhood — College of Louis le Grand — Reward and punishment— Easter days — Misadventure at night, and fatal to the legs — Death of a father — Dismissal from college — Count Perigord — Monsieur Fouquet, the children's tutor — Imprudence of youth — Ma- lignancy or wickedness — Prodigious aptitude for politics— VOL. I. B 2 M. DE TALLEYRAND. Gauchier's family — The seducer of fifteen— Mary and Amy — Double and triple alliance — Sisters ruined — Sophia and the elopement — Police evaded — Prelude to a splendid hfe — Duke of Penthievre — A secret purchased — Sophia put into a con- vent — Her death — The revolution, the empire and the res- toration. Three men are still in existence who might be living symbols of the French revolution, and who, from its very beginning represent the three opinions which have constantly been at variance with one another. These three men are Charles X, M. de La Fayette* and M. de Talleyrand. In fact, since the first meetings of the States-General, we see Charles X marching, without any deviation, towards what is called the extreme droite or pure aristocra- tic side, bearing the white banner, the only one he ever acknowledged ; in the opposite direction La Fayette is journeying, ever faithful to the national cause and rallying France round the tri- colour flag. Bowing alternately to the two em- blematical standards, stands Talleyrand in the in- termediary line ; now striking against one of the extremities, now against the other, but always taking care not to trespass upon their respective * La Fayette has died since this passage has been written. M. DE TALLEYRAND. 6 boundaries, and always keeping in view the prudent precept of Apollo to his son Phaeton, when he confided to his inexperienced hands the reins of the horses of the Sun, and keeping a middle direction or such a course as, ever since, has been properly called the juste-milieu. Perhaps it would be a curious task, and not altogether useless, to follow step by step these three men in their career ; to examine carefully the results of the obdurate obstinacy of two out of the three, and compare with it what has pro- duced the pliant flexibility of the other. But such is not here our aim : we mean only to write the political and private life of M. de Talleyrand, because M. de Talleyrand, according to our notions, is perhaps the most extraordinary offspring of the revolution ; because every occurrence attending it, one and all, seems wonderfully connected with his name and influence ; and because, in short he is himself singly a sort of type, — his ascendency, both open and secret, having extended to all the changes that have affected Europe and all the world, for the lapse of half a century. If we do, moreover, associate his private with his political life, it is in order to shew the intimate connection and positive aflinity, one might say, which exists B 2 4 M. DE TALLEYRAND. between the man and the minister, exemphfied by the circumstance that M. de Talleyrand has come to more diplomatic decisions in his drawing-room than in his closet. Besides, we hasten to declare that this book will be neither a libel nor a panegyric, our desire being that it should be classed among his- torical works, and our care, on that score, being so directed as to earn for it such honorable distinc- tion, though not pledging ourselves that our narra- tion shall always preserve a serious turn. Thus, without any further preliminary reflections, we enter into our subject. It is not superfluous here to say a few words concerning M. de Talleyrand's family ; for an illustrious birth is, by no means, so indifl'erent a circumstance as it may appear, whether on the score of the vain distinction which may be derived from it, or considered only as the mere object of a sacrifice to be offered on the altar of a revolution whose levelling principle is bent upon the destruction of all the ranks existing in the old state of society. On this account, M. de Talleyrand had two oblations, instead of one, to make to the French revolution. For it will be seen how the bishop was first sapping the founda- tions of the ecclesiastical order, in proposing the M. DE TALLEYRAND. 5 confiscation of the clerical lands, before the noble- man, acting uniformly in the same person, re- nounced the privileges of birth, and voted the abolition of hereditary titles. The house of Perigord, grafted on that of the ancient Counts de Foix, once feudal sovereigns of the small province of Quercy, has its origin from the very foundation of the French monarchy. The principality of Chalais, the only one now existing in France, before the days of Louis XIV, is supposed to have remained during eight hundred years in the house of Perigord.* Let us observe, however, that formerly in France, the qualification of prince belonged exclusively to the princes of the royal blood ; that all other individuals as- suming the same title did it as foreign princes, and were styled such only by courtesy, as were the members of the houses of Rohan, Bouillon, etc.; and as the emperors of Germany and the sovereign pontiffs of Rome, were not very sparing of favours which cost them so little, the catalogue had been greatly increased, in latter times : for in- * No such thing ! it came by alliance into the house of Perigord in the course of the l6th century. — Vide Almanach de Gotha 1831, a sure test for such pretentions. — Tr. 6 M. DE TALLEYRAND. stance, M. de St. Morris was made Prince of Mont- barrey by the Emperor Joseph II, and M. Jules, Prince de Polignac by the holy See. This descrip- tion of princes took precedence after the dukes'* who were, at the same time peers of the realm. Let it be remarked, that even under the old monarchy, titles of nobility in France did not confer import- ance equal to that derived from old blood, or the illustration attached to a name. It is a very strange circumstance indeed, that under that hetero- geneous system, patched up of laths and slips, which existed in France before 1789, the greatest family distinction which could be boasted of by a man of quality, was this " my ancestors waged war against the kings of France." After this distinction, came that of being alhed by blood to the reigning family, an honour belonging to the house of Perigord, which could boast descent from a d'Albret, great grandfather, by the mother's side, to the great Henry IV himself. As to the name of Talleyrand, its origin is not clearly ascertained. Some historians pretend that it * Dukes at Paris, whose number was thirty-six before the revo- lution, including the four ecclesiastical peers, and making in the parliament of Paris, what was called " la cour de Paris" the dues a brevet being an inferior distinction.— -Tr. M. DE TALLEYRAND. 7 came from a feudal tenure ; but as it is not known where that tenure has existed, it is more simple and natural to think that it arose from an honourable and significant sirname given to some member of the house of Perigord. The old orthography of the name of Talleyrand seems to warrant the hypothesis, though it has varied of late : Tailleran, as it was written formerly, was a denomi- nation which, in all probability, had been given to a warrior by his brethren in arms. Taille rangs, or, Mow down the ranks, offers a sense cor- responding wdth our supposition. Be this as it may, it must have been a sirname. Several of the Counts of Perigord bore it so far back as the tw^elfth century ; among them may be mentioned Helie V, son of Bozon III, who lived in the year 1118. Bozon I, their grand- father, was known under the title of Comte de la Marche, a most splendid origin terminating in Citizen Talleyrand. The third son of Hebe V, by name Helie Talleyrand, was the root of the eldest branch, now extinct and gone. The younger branch was perpetuated up to our days ; but that younger branch was itself divided into two stems : the chief of the elder was the Count of Perigord, governor of Languedoc at the breaking 8 M. DE TALLEYRAND. out of the revolution, and is now represented by the Prince of Chalais. The father of M. de Tal- leyrand was of the new younger branch ; but that branch, in the person of the subject of our memoir, has so much outshone the other, that it has now become the only one worthy to fix our attention ; for during the long lapse of half a century it has acquired such additional strength and verdure as to throw into the shade all the united sprigs of the elder «talk, as if supplanting it altogether. Charles Maurice Talleyrand de Perigord was born at Paris on the 7th of March, 1754. His father was far from possessing a fortune competent to maintain his rank. Charles Maurice, being born lame, was soon deprived of his birthright in the family ; he knew too well, however, how to claim it afterwards.* It was given shortly after to his brother. Count Archambault, who was reckoned for a long while, and even at a period far advanced in life, one of the handsomest and comliest men at the French court. As it is not amiss to get acquainted, beforehand, with those one has * Archambaud de Perigord, Count, and afterwards Duke of Talleyrand, was born of a second marriage, contracted some years after the decease of the Prince's mother. The last personage was born on the 2nd of February, and not the 7th of March, 1754. — Th. M. DE TALLEYRAND. 9 to deal with afterwards, we shall here say a few words, about the Count, as well as the other members composing the actual family of M. de Talleyrand. Count Archambault, Duke of Talleyrand, by creation of Louis XVIII, was indebted for his fortune to the beauty of his person. From his very infancy, he had been noticed on that account, by King Louis XV, who said once, — " There 's a very fine boy ! He should be married to the little girl, Mademoiselle de Senozan : a beautiful race could not fail to spring from such a union." Mademoiselle de Senozan was not only very pretty, but the only direct descendant and heiress, by the female side, of the celebrated Sully, who left such immense estates. She was one of the richest proprietors in France : her pos- sessions being valued at no less than twenty thou- sand pounds sterling a year, besides the beautiful residence of Rosny which had never gone out of the family since the days of the useful and favorite minister of Henry IV. This wish of Louis XV was fulfilled, long after, by Mademoiselle de Senozan marrying Count Archambaud. From that union three children were born : — Mademoiselle Melanie de Perigord, 10 M. DE TALLEYRAND. now Princesse de Foix ; Louis dePerigord, who died at Berlin, in 1808, of a complaint brought on by the arduous duties of a mission for Napoleon, who had sent him in haste to St. Petersburg ; last of all, the present Duke de Dino, long known in the world by the name of Edmund de Perigord. We merely mean to enumerate, one after another, the persons destined to play a part in the succes- sive pages of this our drama, but we cannot men- tion the name of Louis de Perigord without pay- ing a just tribute to the memory of that most excellent and accomplished young man, who, to his father's personal advantages seemed to have com- bined in himself all the intellectual superiority of his uncle, and much more, as he possessed a truly admirable frankness of disposition. We have not yet uttered a word of Madame la Duchesse de Dino, daughter of the late Duke of Courland, the celebrated favorite Biron, who died at such an advanced period of life, and whose chil- dren, thanks, it is said, to the interested care of Catherine II, never attained anything like old age. They were the natural heirs of the duchy of Cour- land. We will only add, and as a mere nomen- clature, of dramatis personcE, that from the marriage of Mademoiselle Dorothee, Duchess of Courland, M. DE TALLEYRAND. 11 with the Duke de Dino, was born the Duke of Va- lency, upon whom all the care of his grand uncle seems to be actually concentrated. Upon him consequently devolves the task of representing worthily the family of Perigord. As to Count Bozon, second junior brother to the Prince, we will not now allude to him more than by name, as we are bound to return immediately to the wretched infirm boy who came into the world in 1754. People might be apt to think that there exists a bond of secret analogy, in some men, be- tween their physical conformation and the turn of their mind and moral propensities. Nature seems, in fact, to have written these words on the cloven foot of Charles Maurice : " Thy progress shall be slow ;" and in order to obey the imperious dictate he moved on quietly, understand- ing well that fortune must not be suddenly assailed or attempted to be taken by surprise. Oftentimes in proof of his con\dction of the truth of that maxim, he has since been heard to say, that more game might be shot from behind a tree than on the chance of a rapid chase across the fields. When scarcely freed from the trammels of child- hood, M. de Talleyrand had to hear the determina- 12 M. DE TALLEYRAND. tion of his parent, who destined him irrevocably, and without consulting his own choice, to the eccle- siastical profession. Having become one of the in- mates of the institution called the College of Louis le Grand, his teachers and superintendants were not long in discovering that he had the great acuteness of perception, lazy disposition, and indifference to what may be said of him, which, almost in equal shares, constitute even now the main ingredients of his nature. Some even were wont to affirm that in their young pupil there existed a predominant bias somewhat akin to a strong instinct of depra- vity. It is said, that, that in 1767, when he was yet scarcely thirteen years of age, he had become at the same time, the pride and shame of the school, being publicly reprimanded for unpardonable ir- regularities and, almost in the same breath, rewarded with the first prize of merit and value. This was dealing out strict justice to him, according to the rule of Machiavel, who says, he could have wished that Rome, after having lavished honours upon the last of the Horatii, had decreed that the murderer of his sister Camilla should have been hurled from the Tarpeian rock. But, perchance, in such extremities, M. de Talley- rand might have found the means to remain M. DE TALLEYRAND. 13 suspended in the air. Nevertheless, it did not so happen to him, in the literal sense of the word, as will soon be discovered. Seriously speaking, nothing can have a more fatal tendency than the system of admonishing publicly even a child. This kind of moral exposure seems only fit -to sully the mind, irritate the temper, and humble the culprit to no good pur- pose, as its ordinary effect is more likely to make him persist in vice, than to correct a single fault. It is a sort of defiance of those stubborn dispositions, and a very useless infliction upon those of a more timid frame, who generally resign themselves, in consequence, to the obloquy of the world, and care no longer for blame or praise. It is said that the young pupil alluded to, did not show himself much affected by the check he had received : it even appeared, that from this time forward, dis- cerning that college laurels did not preserve him from the professor's remonstrances, he ceased to be attentive to his studies, and pursued, with increased avidity, the course of his juvenile delin- quencies. Another anecdote relating to the early youth of M. de Talleyrand naturally has a place here. We do not, however, warrant its authenticity, a- 14 M. DE TALLEYRAND. sort of caution we will scrupulously adhere to when trespassing upon doubtful ground. But then why not abstain altogether from alluding to facts of such uncertain nature that they do not war- rant the information you pretend to convey to your readers ? Why — on this very simple ground : — that when a man has reached a certain degree of celebrity, the very calumnies he has given rise to by the general bent of his actions make, as it were, an integral part of his life ; because falsehood itself is a sort of reality, as the world goes ; and after all, the man is not calumniated who pleases. It was rumoured then, if not proved, that in the latter days of the year 1768, when in company with some of his most intimate school fellows, the pupil who, in the preceding year, had been remu- nerated and punished on the same day, finding himself engaged in a sort of quarrel or affray with some musketeers of the king's household, was obliged to leap out of window into the street, to escape brutal treatment from those men. The fall being heavy, increased the natural defor- mity of his foot. Being left upon the spot, from which he could not stir, and found there by a •patrol of the armed police, in consequence of his M. DE TALLEYRAND. 15 refusal to give in his name and place of abode, he was conveyed to the Hotel Dieu, or general hospital for the poorer sort of people, where he remained during the space of four days, neither his friends at school, nor the superior of the college to which he belonged, being able to ac- count for his absence. The lieutenant general, or chief magistrate of police, being apprised of the circumstance by his family, took care to suppress the true account of the case, which, in those days, was commonly done in respect to young profli- gates belonging to famiUes of distinction, and had the young man brought back to the college, where he was received in the infirmary of the establish- ment. All this would have remained a profound secret but for the indiscretion of one of his accomplices ; but when once the thing was known, the scandal was found so great on account of the place where it had occurred, that it was unani- mously resolved that the delinquent should be ex- pelled from the institution. From that disgraceful day, it is added, the young man took an insuperable disgust to all theological studies, and preferred resorting to the theatres and other places, no longer attending the lectures at the university. Shortly after the real or supposed stop put to 16 M. DE TALLEYRAND. the regular education of M. de Talleyrand, his father died, leaving no fortune, and scarcely any provision for his surviving family ; but before he breathed his last, he earnestly recommended his childi'en to the kindness of his eldest brother the Count de Talleyrand, a man of rigid virtue, but at the same time of the most benevolent heart and lenient disposition; worthy in short, of exercising that patriarchal magistracy which no longer exists in our times, and which our forefathers had great reason to revere, under the denomination of Chief of the family. Count Perigord received his nephew at his mansion situated in the faubourg St. Germain, and procured for him the attendance and care which the consequences of his fall still required. A few months completed his cure, and then he was placed under the tuition of the same tutor whom his uncle had provided for his own sons the Prince de Chalais, and the Viscount Adalbert de Perigord, who has since married an English lady,* and is become himself the greatest imitator * M. de Perigord's lady was Miss St. Leger, sister to the celebrated Colonel of the same name, the friend and assiduous companion of the late King of England, in his youthful days — Tr. M. DE TALLEYRAND. 17 of English manners — the first anglomane in Pa- ris*. The name of the tutor of these three young gen- tlemen was Fouquet, and he was a man of very re- spectable character. As such, he was not long with- out feeling bitterly that the mercurial disposition of his new pupil would bring more trouble upon his hands than the direction of both the cousins together. He very soon remarked in him an ardent propensity to vice, observing, every time he walked abroad with the young clergyman, that the latter did not fail to eye with uncommon effron- tery every female who passed by. Another vice he also discovered in him, was his gluttony. But what most afflicted the worthy M. Fouquet was the capricious and mischievous disposition of young Talleyrand. Moreover, he found his cen- sures of no avail with this young man destined to take orders in the Romish church, and who would not attend to his instructions, but evinced onlv the inclinations of an amiable rake. * A strange association existed in the mind of M. de Perigord. By his dress and manner he was ambitious of passing for an Eng- lish gentleman, but not knoiving a word of Enghsh, he was often detected, and played but a miserable part in such very frec[uent occurrences. — Tr. VOL. I. C 18 M. DE TALLEYRAND. Thus, ill the vicious precocity of this young man his future character was already manifest. When scai:cely in his fifteenth year, he assumed the most arbitrary sway not only over his young relations and fellow students, but even over their tutor and his own. The latter, in the placid simplicity of his heart, believed, as did also the cousins, whatever it pleased M. de Talleyrand to invent. The good man was so partial to him, that he always feared, in accusing him of du- pUcity, to injure his ingenuousness and meekness ; then, if he gave him more liberty, the pupil always requited him by returning more openly to his bad habits and propensities. It has been asserted that, in order to satisfy his illimitable extravagance, young Talleyrand, antici- pating upon his future notions of equality, and despising the right of property in the elder branch of his family, often indulged himself in taking the purse of the Prince de Chalais for his own ; that he experienced great facilities from his uncle's servants to borrow money of them ; and this money he was never anxious to return. People have even gone so far as to pretend that more than once, as if to initiate himself into commercial affairs, he had ascertained the current value of his professor's M. DE TALLEYRAND. 19 books at the shops of the neighbouring booksellers ; but all that was premeditated with such skill and executed with such dexterity that nobody §ver could detect where the guilt lay. If the author of such grovelling acts had been one of the swinish multitude it might have terminated badly ; but the descendant of a high feudal lord was exempt from any serious consequences, and his irregularities could only be deemed the signs of a high supe- riority in that great art of deceiving mankind — called poUtics. It must be acknowledged that if w^e have just repeated evil reports, at least, we have taken care to draw from them the most favourable inferences. Let the same charitable construction be put upon another anecdote which we borrow from the chronicle of the period. At a house situated in the Rue du Bac, not very far distant from the Hotel de Perigord, the family mansion of the honourable Count of that name, lived in a very retired manner a woman of the name of Gauchier. She was a widow and the mother of five children, three of whom were daughters. Her late husband, a Swiss born, had early in life entered the French service, and had been promoted to the rank of captain. A wound he c 2 20 M. DE TALLEYRAND. had received, during the seven years' war, had been rewarded with the miUtary order of St. Louis. After his death his numerous family scarcely possessed the means of subsistence, — a scanty pension forming the whole of its income and resources. Under such circumstances, Mme. Gau- chier had become a dress maker, hoping at the same time to initiate her children into a lucrative occupa- tion, and to find in it an adequate addition to her scanty means. The industry and exemplary con- duct of this family gained them the respect and admiration of the whole neighbourhood. But, according to our notions, when one is bent on pursuing a career of seduction, it is right to begin early, and it is most commonly with young people of the weaker sex that the beginnings are easier and more secure. Here, one may learn the first rudiments of an art which age renders more and more difficult afterwards to exercise. Young- Talleyrand, at any rate, seemed to have had the same thoughts we entertain — at least if the chronicle be not an audacious slander. On a fine clear day of spring, in the year 1769, the profligate pupil of the venerable M. Fouquet had searched and beat the bushes on his wandering way, not knowing whither to direct his steps, M. DE TALLEYRAND. 21 when, on a sudden, he perceived Mme. Gauchier's pretty daughters. The love of the creature pre- luding, in the future Bishop's heart, to the worship of the Creator, his agreeable countenance flushed at once with love and hope, and he turned his blue eyes towards Maria and Amy, alternately. After looks, came letters, still more significant ; at first tender and submissive, but soon ardent and passionate. Thence a correspondence, then visits, the last and most dangerous of trials. The poor wretched girls soon had to deplore the meet- ing : both were completely ruined. Does it not seem in this case that a secret instinct had revealed to their seducer, that when a treaty is concluded with England, there is no reason for not concluding another with Russia ; and so it is, that from the dawn of that man's life, we are forced to acknow- ledge in him the instinct of a diplomatic destina- tion, while more superficial observers might only see an act of atrocious libertinism. Alas ! the chronicle quoted unfortunately adds, " The double dealings of the young man with the two sisters produced their natural consequences. Amy was eighteen, Maria two years younger. Both were likely to become mothers, nearly at the same time ; but care was taken to prevent such 22 M. DE TALLEYRAND, an untoward result. This was an application, before hand, of that political principle so tenaci- ously adhered to afterwards, that after a fault has been committed, care must be taken to make its consequences disappear. One of the two young girls died ; the other lost her senses. In her lucid intervals she still received, at the hos- pital in which she was placed, the visits of her pretended friend; and soon had she cause to deplore it. A younger sister called Sophia having come to take care of her, could no more escape than the rest ; she also was seduced. This took place about the time of the Carnival in 1770, and we cannot help admiring the rapid progress of the same young man, from year to year. It was during those days of mirth and festivity, that Sophia disappeared from the residence of her mother whose only consolation she was thenceforward to be ! Police agents were every where at work to discover Sophia's retreat, but the police of M. Lenoir, however skilful, was left far behind by a man destined, long after, to deceive and mis- lead other polices infinitely superior to his in power, and every thing else. During six months, the retreat of Sophia was not discovered, nor would it have been even then, if the secret had M. DE TALLEYRAND. 23 not been betrayed by one to whom it had been necessary to communicate it. A bribe was the means of this revelation. Did not precisely the same thing happen under the consular govern- ment, to the then minister for foreign affairs ? His secret was likewise sold to the Chevalier d'Azara, then Spanish ambassador. All is of a piece in the same life ! The disappearance of Sophia Gauchier, never- theless, had made a great noise, not among the public, properly speaking, but in the more elevated regions of the social world. That noise had come to the ears of the last illegitimate descendant of Louis XIV, a man of the most austere principles and of unimpeachable morals, the Duke of Penthievre, whose virtues and conduct might have made a royalist of the most stern republican, if, at that time, what republicans are had been known, except in Roman history. The Duke of Penthievre had promised three thousand francs, or £125 sterling — a large sum in those days — to the lucky discoverer of Sophia Gauchier's place of con- cealment. M. de Talleyrand's confidential friend seized the bait. Sophia was found in a pretty snug room in a house situated in the faubourg St. Antoine, and surprised with her lover in a situa- 24 M. DE TALLEYRAND. tion which did not leave any doubt respecting the nature of their corniexion. At the intercession, or rather command of his Serene Highness the Duke of Penthievre, she was received in the convent of UrsuUnes in the Bois de Boulogne, where it is melancholy to have to relate that, in spite of the care lavished upon her by the abbess, she died shortly after, pre- ceding her mother to the grave by only a very few days. Such was the deplorable destiny of three young women and sisters, whose ruin had been effected by an unprincipled seducer. What was all this, I should like to ask, but the true omen of what was to happen at a much later period to the hero of this last adventure, when he would apply his disastrous arts to state affairs ? Does not every body see that Maria, Amy, and Sophia, were emblems of the republic, the empire, and the restoration, successively, receiving the ho- mage and worship of the man who meant to make them his victims, one after the other ? And let us bear in mind that, at the time to which we refer, M. de Talleyrand had not yet solemnly renounced Satan, his pomps, and his w^orks. We shall see him now at the ecclesiastical seminary. M. DE TALLEYRAND. 25- CHAPTER II. Family council — Lettre de cachet — Resemblance to Mirabeau — Effect of captivity— Pardonable hypocrisy — The chaplain of Vincennes — Well acted comedy — Exit from prison — Taking orders — Lomenie de Brienne — Abbe de Clermont Tonnerre — Se- minary of St. Sulpice— Madame Du Barry's Boudoir— The Abbe de Perigord at a good school — Two church-livings granted to him at once — Consequence of a first bon mot — Protection of Louis XV — The difference between " Oh, oh!" and " ah, ah !" — The president's wife — Love at home — Well calculated retreat — Consolations in solitude — The Marchioness and two rivals brought to agree — Burgundy ladies — The hostess of the Petit Versailles — Return to Paris — Bees and women — Epigram and female revenge — Gauchier the brother — Honourable satis- faction — Dreaded consequences — the Pope's nuncio and Louis XVL — Reproof at the archiepiscopal palace — False reconciliation and the revenge of a priest — Six lodgings at the same time in Paris — House in the suburbs — Flamand, the valet de chambre, turned into a court rake by superior orders — Great nightly scandal — Separation — Exile at Autun — The life of a profligate man and the death of a female saint. The Count de Perigord having been apprized •26 M. DE TALLEYRAND. of his nephew's conduct, assembled at his house a family council, a noble and dignified tribunal, when passion does not dictate its decisions. Some relatives of the young delinquent voted for his banishment to distant colonies ; but apprehensive lest the too great share of liberty a youth of only sixteen might enjoy, after the specimens he had given of his early propensities, might lead to fatal consequences, the family came to the resolution to sohcit from the King a lettre de cachet. This was easily procured; and in the month of October, 1770, young Talleyrand was apprehended at a gaming house, and conveyed instantly to the Bastile, under the nick-name, picturesque enough, of the Ahhe Boiteux, or the lame priest. At the expiration of two months he v/as transferred to the state-prison of Vincennes, where he remained in confinement during a whole year — a singular destiny, which made him prelude, as Mirabeau did some years afterwards, to the work of that revolution towards which, in natural hatred of arbitrary arrest, one brought the tribute of his rough and manly genius, and the other the elastic resources of his coiling, sacerdotal spirit. Mira- beau was a haughty tribune, whose pride had been deeply wounded, too deeply indeed to forgive ; M. DE TALLEYRAND. 27 Talleyrand had also felt humbled in his va- nity, and resented no less the interference of his own kin and family in his personal affairs. He brought with him that spirit of flexibility and perseverance with which mines are excavated ; the other the bold resolution that fires them at noon- day, and cares not for the by-standers. But we are yet far distant from the time when these two dangerous men met and united in pre- paring the first act of the great impending revo- lution. Let us, first, before we come to that event, make use of the materials we have been able to collect relative to the manner in which the new prisoner at Vincennes spent his time, and tried to lull the ennui of his captivity ; let us observe, be- sides, what moral effect such a correction produced upon him. Were we to recur to the pamphlets with which the Paris press teemed, towards the beginning of the year 1 789, our stock of information would be immense ; but we are not disposed to give credence to them all. A man generally comes out of prison much worse than he entered it. The same thing holds good with him as with a nation : long despotism always corrupts the mind; and it would be very difficult to find an instance of a nation or an individual. 28 M. DE TALLEYRAND. whose worth had not been deteriorated by slavery. The young prisoner, then, did not grow better than he was ; it required a different system to produce such a result : but he gained in address, in craft ; for we will repeat here, what has often been said, misfortune is a great master. Instead of mending, and repenting of his fault, the young captive was only affected ]?y 'his punishment ; and as he had no means of ^ obtaining, freedom by force, a mode of action, besides, which was not consonant with his disposition, he very judiciously thought that sham regret, or a little well calculated hy- pocrisy, very pardonable on this occasion, would serve him better, and lead him to the fulfilment of his desires — though by a round about way and not all at once. Notwithstanding young Talleyrand was under solitary confinement as we have already stated, the chaplain of the castle of Vincennes was allowed to pay him occasional visits, and was especially commissioned to administer comfort to him, and make him resume his former studies. In consequence of these arrangements, as soon as the least noise indicated the approach of the chaplain, the prisoner, already an adept in cun- ningness and artifice, assumed the outward appear- M. nE TALLEYRAND. 29 ance of compunction and deep repentance, always shewing himself either employed in study, or having just taken leave of his books. Now and then he was seen weeping bitterly at his own imprudence, which had well merited the treatment he under- went ; at others he imposed himself the most rigorous penance. His contrition was so true and so heart-felt, he said, that he wished for the return of freedom, only to make a willing sacrifice of it for ever, protesting that he would • instantly enter the monastery of La Trappe, there to bury in eternal oblivion the recollection of his disorderly conduct and expiate his sins under the lash of the most severe- discipline. Indeed, it would have been a sad thing for succeeding generations, had M. de Talley- rand been condemned to perpetual silence ! So many protestations of a sincere turn to piety, so many assurances of reform, melted the good chaplain's heart : a conversion so entire and so speedy seemed, to him at least, the work of internal grace and divine intervention. In this spirit he wrote an elaborate letter to the Count de Perigord, in which he depicted, as afFectingly as he could, the edifying effect which the regeneration and re- turn to virtue of young Maurice, had produced upon him. 30 M. DE TALLEYRAND. The Count, melted by such an appeal, con- sented to his nephew's release, and an order was sent from Versailles that the gates of his pri- son should immediately be thrown open ; but he was sent to Toulon, in order to finish his studies. There he was destined to perfect his natural abilities, for he was put under the tuition of the Jesuits. In 1773,*" he received ordination in the Gallican Church, from the too celebrated Lomenie de Brienne, then Archbishop of Toulouse, and afterwards a Cardinal nominated by the French court. We shall have occasion to mention hereafter this imbecile old man, whose pompous verbosity and financial dreams contributed largely to the overthrow of the already tottering throne of Louis XVI . A short time after, the young clergyman took the title of the Abbe de Perigord, and it was under that denomination that he accomplished what is called a retreat at the Parisian seminary, or ecclesiastical institution of St. Sulpice, in company with the * A gross error. The Jesuits had been suppressed in the year 1764, and the College de I'Esquille, which belonged to that reli- gious order, at Toulouse, had been given to the reverend fathers of the Doctrine Chretienne, or doctrinaires, a name of sad omen, as it has since proved. — Tr. M. DE TALLEYRAND. 31 young Abb^ de Clermont Tonnerre, whom we have seen, mider the restoration, as one of the most violent members of the high clergy, after having been the scandal of his gown by his debaucheries, in early life. Nobody can have forgotten his motto, put forward by himself, as a sort of authority and reason for not submitting to the laws of the king- dom: Etiam si omnes ego non. As for M. de Tal- leyrand, his emblem was in La Fontaine : Je plie et ne romps pas, in allusion to the reed : "I bend unbroken to the wind." A year before the death of Louis XV, the Abbe de Perigord was introduced to the pre- sence of Mme. Du Barry, the reigning mistress of the dav, and was ever after an assiduous visitor at the toilet of that influential lady. Tlie boudoir of Mme. Du Barry, as may be supposed, was a school of pure morals; and, of all things, a fit place for young gentlemen belonging Xo the cle- rical profession. But fashion would have it so, and fashion, in France, is still greater than opinion, the queen of the world. At any rate, this assiduity of the Abbe de Perigord in courting the favour of a person who dispensed, at that time, military rank, law preferments, and church livings, was not thrown awav ; for he soon contrived to obtain 32 M. DE TALLEYRAND. from the King, on her presentation, two rich bene- fices or abbayes, of the computed value of a thousand pounds a year. It was a fine maintenance for a young abbe, whose birth could not fail afterwards to raise him to the most eminent dignities of the church, but who, in those times, had nothing to look forward to, but the advantages resulting from an agreeable face and manners , plenty of wit, au- dacity and suppleness of purpose, no prejudice, unbounded vanity, a snow-white collar over his black dress, and nineteen years of age. With these gifts the world was before him, A hon mot was the origin of M. de Talleyrand's fortune. No wonder that throughout all his life he cultivated his aptitude to compress his thoughts in brief, laconic, and cutting sentences. He had observed to what length a pun can go. In the boudoir of Mme. Du Barry, it is but fair to conjecture that the conversation could not na- turally be of the chasest kind. The deitv of the place never had been brought to throw off her former habits, and with her royal lover the coarse- ness of her language was said to be one of her most powerful attractions. It was then needless in her presence, to stand upon the ceremonies of language, and a licentious course of chat, inter- M. DE TALLEYRAND. 33 mingled with impiety, according to the fashion of the times, had something singularly striking when issuing from the lips of a young Abbe. One day, when all reserve of speech was banished and many others had related their gallant adventures, when young Talleyrand's turn came to speak, in- stead of disclosing his successes in the same career, it was observed by the Countess that he did not choose to open his lips, as if he had no hst to disclose, or one comparable, per- haps, to that of Don Juan. Mme. Du Barry, surprised at his reserve, and observing in his countenance that malicious, and almost infernal smile, which at certain times pervades it even now, asked him impatiently what his silence meant.. " Alas! Madam," he said, assuming a grave, and almost saturnine expression, " I w^as giving way to a very sad reflection." — "And what is it?" -" Alas ! Madam, Paris is a place w^here it is much easier to obtain women's favours than benefices and abbayes." The saying was instantly reported to Louis XV, whom it tickled wonderfully ; and " la France," a familiar name given to the King by his fair mistress, conferred, as we have seen, two abbayes instead of one, upon the young priest. About the same time, being then nothing more VOL. I. J) 34 M. DE TALLEYRAND. than the smart Uttle abbe we have described him, M. de Talleyrand was at the Duke de Choiseul's* at the moment that a servant announced the Duchess of N . . ., whose adventures were then making a great deal of noise, and who had delayed dinner for a considerable time. M. de Talleyrand, on seeing her appear, exclaimed, " Oh, oh !" The Duchess seemed not to have heard it ; but, when every body was seated round the dinner table, she pointedly asked him what he meant by saying, "Oh, oh!"—" No such thing, Madame la Du- chesse," was his reply, " I did not say ' oh, oh!' you are mistaken, I said ' ah, ah !' " This subtle . distinction raised a general laugh, and from that day nothing was talked of, in high life, but of the wit of the Abbe de Perigord. We are not fortunately of that description of biographers earnestly bent upon scandal, and who will not scruple to search for it even among the dregs most likely to excite and satiate public malevolence. From this feeling we omit a great many of the juvenile pranks attributed to M. de Talleyrand. It is only with a view to show our * M. de Choiseul was an exile at Chanteloup, in Surene, during the period of Mme. Du Barry's power. — Tr. M. DE TALLEYRAND. 35 utter repugnance to employ such undue means, as well as our forbearance, and our observance of the forms of good society, that we shall borrow some short passages from a work published at the time of Napoleon's coronation, in a foreign country. The accuracy of this work has never been called in question, notwithstanding the acerb tone of the author, he having openly challenged the personage whose acts he was about to reveal, to contradict any one of his assertions, however bold and dis- graceful they might appear. In the spring of 1780, the 3^oung wife of the President de M . . ., his daughter born of a former marriage, and his sister-in-law, who had just left her convent, were the joint mistresses of the Abbe de Perigord, at one and the same time. Their mutual jealousy led to the discovery of this triple intrigue, and the result was, that the president left his wife, forced his daughter to marry his secretary, and compelled his sister-in-law to take the veil in the Convent of the Carmelites, at Lille. As for the hero of the adventure, he blessed himself for his discretion in not boasting of favours which had thus been divulged without his concurrence ; for this circumstance threw a mantle of modesty D 2 36 M. DE TALLEYRAND. over his triumph. Nevertheless, he thought it decorous to withdraw, for a short time, from the scene, and he retired to Autun, of which he was not yet Bishop.* Some of his friends, ap- plauding him for this trait of wisdom and reso- lution, in a manner which savoured of raillery, " Nothing is more simple, however," replied the Abbe ; " the regret attending my absence will pro- cure me a new harvest of laurels;" he might have said, of myrtle, " in the boudoirs of Paris." His absence lasted four months, during which his solitude was agreeably interrupted. He had been followed shortly after his departure by the pretty Marquise de C. .n, who, under pretence of visiting an estate which her husband possessed in Burgundy, had deviated only a little from the direct road, by going to Autun, situated in the same province. She was in hopes of causing a delightful surprise to the Abbe, but in spite of all the haste she could make, the place was already occupied. The future female diocesans of the future Bishop, had composed for him, impromptu, a pretty sort of harem, good enough for a provincial Synod. * He was the Coadjutor, or episcopus designatus, under M. de Marboeuf, whom he succeeded in that see. — Tr. M. DE TALLEYRAND. 37 The Marchioness was looked upon as an intruder by the ladies of Burgundy ; but she treated them in return, with so much [scorn and insolence, that they ultimately left her and the Abbe entirely to themselves. The triumph, however, on the" part of the Parisian lady, was but of short duration, for very few days elapsed ere a more dangerous rival appeared. This was the discarded wife of the Pre- sident de M . . . . She arrived at Autun unex- pectedly ; threw herself into the arms of her un- faithful paramour, claimed her rights, and professed not to regret the sacrifices she had made for the delights of a connexion in which her sole happiness was centred. Such boundless devotion had due weight with the Abbe, who is not so very hard hearted as calumniators have stated. The lamb returning to the shepherd was hugged to his bosom, and reinstated to all his fondness. The Marquise de C . . . . well understanding the bearings of the case, made a virtue of necessity, and remained content with a share of the prize. A sort of treaty was accordingly subscribed by the two mistresses, under the auspices of the great mediator. Such was his innate talent for negociation of the most difficult kind ! The two ladies lived on very good terms ; but while mutual peace smiled upon them, neither could 38 M. DE TALLEYRAND. brook a new connexion formed by the Abbe. This was nothing less than a low intrigue with the hostess of an inn of Autun, called the Petit Versailles. An intercepted letter led them to a knowledge of the foul deed. There they read that their noble charms could not bear comparison with the vulgar beauties of an innkeeper's wife. Their resent- ment, in consequence, ran so high that they both agreed to depart immediately for Paris. There, on their arrival, they indulged in such luxury of slander, that it must have been all over with the flattering prospects of the poor Abbe, had not his star preserved him, as if by special interference. But Providence, it appears, does not abandon righteous men. However, a female league was formed against the Abbe at Paris : every one of his mistresses of quality or rank, wrote to him, forbidding him ever to appear again in their pre- sence. It is said, that one among them, in spite of the rest, and in their joint names, intimated .to him that they would readily pardon him, on condition of speedily returning to implore their forgiveness in person, by throwing himself at their mercy, and doing penance at their feet. He returned, and was duly forgiven, after the manner of Martine forgiving Sganarelle in Moli^re's M. DE TALLEYRAND. 39 play. Here begins a course of revenge, in which, contrary to custom, woman's wrath was to be out- done, and vanquished ! Upon the Abbe's arrival in Paris, he found a swarm of ladies buzzing reproaches in his ears about the shame of his low connexions, and ready to pierce him through with a sting different from that of the bees, though not less cruel — their tongue. It was like a concert of maledictions poured on his head, from all parts, and sufficient to charm a philosopher's ears. "Oh, oh!" did he say, "we must clear the premises," and this was the plan he pursued to ac- complish his end. There lived, in those days, a certain Duchess of B . . . . prodigiously addicted to speaking ill of her neighbour, whoever he was, and above all things in distilling on women the venom which fell abundantly from her lips. As a return for the ravages which time had made upon her beauty, she thought to make them answerable for the decay of her charms, and the neglect of her ad- mirers. The Abbe appreciating her feelings, ima- gined to turn them to his own account, and accord- ingly sent for her inspection a cutting epigram, directed against the Marchioness, who was at the head of the female party arrayed against him. 40 M. DE TALLEYRAND. We could wish we were able to produce this epigram, but it has not been preserved; though from its sinister effects we may safely guess it to have been of the most bitter import. The Duchess, scarcely in possession of it, hawked it herself from place to place, always recommending secresy as to its contents, in order to have them the sooner circulated. Ill-nature did her work to perfection. The epigram soon found the way to its address. Then came war, sufficient to furnish the subject of an epic. The Marchioness could not mistake her being the party alluded to, for, by the nature of a certain revelation, it was made mani- fest that she was the object of this ill-fated com- position. But the Abbe had not always been very discreet with regard to his own affair with the Marchioness, and in some unguarded moment, if he ever had any of that sort, had imparted to her as a pecca- dillo of his youth, the adventure of the three young Gauchiers. The Marchioness, recollecting the horrid circumstances of the case, contrived to hnd out that these unhappy girls had a brother still living, an adjutant in the Swiss regiment of Chateauvieux, then in the French service. This regim.ent was quartered at Nancy. Such a discovery M. DE TALLEYRAND. 41 was a God-sent, and her batteries were soon pointed in consequence. By means of a skilful agent she apprised the brother Gauchier of the cruel trea- chery to which his sisters had been victims, recom- mending him at the same time to take a signal revenge, and offering him the support of the most powerful men, as well as the means of repairing to Paris without delay. Gauchier did every thing that was indicated him. The agent of the Marchioness brought him to town, and he was lodged in her neighbourhood. Having received his instructions how to act his part, he suddenly appeared, one morning, before the Abbe, who w^as startled, and still more so when told of the object of this intrusion. After explaining clearly and firmly the cause of his com- plaint, the Swiss officer, having no other redress to expect from a clergyman protected by his gown, delivered his ultimatum in the following words : — " Of two alternatives I have to propose, choose one or the other. You shall immediately let me have one hundred thousand francs, (4,000 pounds sterling,) or I am determined to prosecute you to the death, before the competent tribunals of justice, and at the same time to present two petitions one to the Pope, your spiritual sovereign, the 42 M. DE TALLEYRAND. other to your temporal sovereign the King of France — exposing the wrongs you have done to my family, without any reserve or restriction. Make your choice." — "Sir,"replied the Abbe, " you come at a very awkward time to remind me of my youthful errors, of which I only have a very imperfect recollection. I do not see, besides, how a sum of money can contribute to restore the honour of your family, if you fancy I have done it an injury : nevertheless, if you will return to your regiment, and promise to remain silent concerning these ba- gatelles) I will place twenty-five louis at your ser- vice. I can do no more." The young man, rejected the offer with disdain, and leaving the room at the same time, shewed by his manner such determination of purpose, that the Abbe began to apprehend consequences, which required all haste, on his part, to avoid. He got then into his carriage, and drove to the re- sidence of M. de Montbarrey, from whom, as a man of high birth and connexions, it was not difficult for him to obtain an order for Gauchier to leave Paris within the space of five hours, and join his regiment within six days, under pain of losing his commission. But ladies, in spite of M. de Montbarrey's as- M. DE TALLEYRAND. 43 severations to the contrary, had no less credit with that minister than lords or courtiers. The Marchioness, assisted by some of her female friends, obtained immediately the revocation of the order transmitted to Gauchier who, on the following day, forwarded a petition to the Pope's Nuncio at Paris, informing him that he would present another to the King, entirely similar to the one his Ex- cellency had received. Pious, without ostentation, Louis XVI was often heard to lament the scandalous conduct of some members of the clergy ; and we shall have to re- late hereafter the sort of violence that was done to His Majesty, by the members of the house of Perigord, to procure the bishopric of Autun for Charles Maurice. The King could not, conscien- tiously, dispose of the see in such a manner, with- out an extreme repugnance. He was aware of the disorderly life of the nominee, and, though every care had been taken to conceal from his know- ledge the particulars we have already given, this virtuous Prince could not help being startled at what he had been forced to grant. In fact, he did not know half the horrors, nor was he able to sound half the vices, with which his throne was suiTounded. 44. M. DE TALLEYRAND. However, the petition or memorial of Gauchier to the Pope's Nuncio, and the threat of another copy being sent to the King, gave no small uneasiness to the person whose interest and repu- tation were affected by it. He began seriously to repent not having settled the business at once, and at any price ; but, as to money, he was far from being able to raise any; for he was yet very far from those orderly, nay, parsimonious habits, he long after assumed, in the collection of his immense wealth. He was too profligate not to be a squanderer; he used to play very high also, and had very little credit in consequence ; and his aflTairs, like those of almost every man of his rank in those days, were in the most lamentable plight. Nevertheless, fully alive to the imminence of the impending danger which threatened to cut off all his hopes of advancement, he lost no time in send- ing one of his intimate friends to Gauchier, to request the latter to withdraw his petition from the Nuncio's hand, to pledge himself to the strictest secrecy on all that had occurred, leaving, at the same time, in his hands a deed in due form, ac- knowledging himself debtor for the whole amount of the sum previously demanded. Here we are obliged to screen ourselves closely M. DE TALLEYRAND. 45 behind the foreign historian ; for he positively asserts that two days subsequently to the above transaction, the body of Gauchier was found drowned in the nets of St. Cloud. This assertion seems truly diabolical, and we should not have repeated it, had it not been so closely connected with that part of these memoirs which we are going to conclude. When the Marchioness advised Gauchier to ex- act so large a sum of money from the Abbe, she speculated on the almost insuperable embarrass- ments it would cause him, knowing, as she did, the state of his personal finances. In a word, she aimed at his total ruin. It was by a letter from the Abbe himself in which he begged an interview with her, that she learned the death of Gauchier, of which he pretended to have been informed by a police report. In hopes that some unguarded words would escape the Abbe, the interview was granted ; the Marchioness taking the perfidious precaution of having hearers at hand, in a closet contiguous to her drawing-room, whence everything could be heard or seen without fear of detection. But the hen was not born to catch the fox, and three successive conversations were gone through, without even the name of Gauchier being once mentioned. The Abb^, moreover, shewed himself 46 M. DE TALLEYRAND. SO aimable and so loving, that a complete recon- ciliation was the only fruit of those interviews. Mutual confidence took the place of hatred, and the Marchioness was weak enough to confess the part she had been led, by blind jealousy, to take in Gauchier's concerns. This harsh avowal bore its fruit, the Abbe conceiving that the game could not be considered as finally won, until he had taken an exemplary revenge on the woman who had plotted his destruction. Never had the Abb^ been so sedulous before ; he redoubled his care and attention in the most minute trifles, being either always present or writing some of those captivating notes he knew so well how to frame, or to get somebody to write for him. Such flattery was never heard, such lying adulation, sweeter than honey, or the juice of the fruit that tempted the first-born of womankind, and is so sure of producing the like influence over all her female descendants ! In a word, the Abbe would have made himself ridi- culous, and completely disgraced himself in good society, as then constituted, if his feigned passion had been anything but a jest. The Marquis of C r was a very honorable man, thirty years older than his lady, whom he M. DE TALLEYRAND. 47 had married on account of her fortune ; not in the least addicted to jealousy, shutting his eyes upon the love affairs of his better half, and caring very little for having encountered the mischances of the marriage state, yet dreading the ridicule at- taching, in such cases, to anything like publicity. About this time, the Abbe in order to give himself up entirely to his taste for gallantry, had hit upon the expedient of fixing his places of appoint- ment at various distances from each other, and in fur- therance of this plan he had hired six different lodg- ings, under different names. The one where he used to receive the Marchioness was situated on the first floor of a house in the Rue du faubourg St. Honore. Flamand, his man servant, or valet de chambre, was the nominal lodger. Having been told that the Marquis, on a certain evening, was to sup in the vicinity, he brought the Marchioness from the opera into this apartment, situated near the house where her husband might be found. After an ex- cellent supper, enlivened by sparkling cham- pagne and the usual repartees of the host, he made a pretence of some urgent business in the neighbour- hood to absent himself for half an hour, leaving the Marchioness to wait for his speedy return. 48 M. DE TALLEYRAND. She went to bed waiting for him, and put out the light, as she was wont to do in similar cases. Scarcely was she asleep when a person, using a good deal of precaution, came and lay down by her side. In the middle of the night a great noise was heard in the street, of men fighting. She started from her sleep : a wounded man begged for shelter, he entered, and close upon his steps fol- lowed a body of police guards, and a few of the rabble. The latter pretending to suspect that the murderer had concealed himself in the room of the Marchioness, burst open the door, and dis- covered her in bed with a man. This man was Fla- mand, the Abbe's valet de chambre. Both were arrested, in spite of the tears and protestations of the Marchioness. Although still undressed, she was preparing to follow the policemen to prison, when suddenly the Marquis appeared before her. An unknown hand had conveyed to him an intimation where he might find his wife, and he arrived to wit- ness the greatest scandal that could wound his honour : the Marchioness in the arms of a servant ! ! ! The following day, a deed of separation was pre- sented to the unfortunate Marchioness, and it was agreed that she should leave France, and not return M. DE TALLEYRAND. 49 during the life of her husband ; on which condition she was promised an annual allowance, to be paid to her in the place of her retirement. This affair made so much noise, that the King heard of it. The author of it became known, and the Abbe was solemnly reprimanded by the Pope's Nuncio, in the presence of the Archbishop of Paris, and of his assembled clergy ; but the reprimand had no other effect upon him than the one he had formerly received at the College of Louis-le-Grand. He was sent to Autun, escorted by two gardes du corps, and was ordered to remain there until fur- ther orders. With regard to poor Flamand, in spite of his assertion that he had only followed the orders of his master, he was confined at Bice- tre, where he remained till the revolution broke out. The fate of the Marchioness excited sincere com- passion ; for she was not hardened in vice, the Abbd who had seduced her being the only lover she ever had. Having chosen Italy for the place of her exile, she placed herself as a boarder in a convent at Pavia, where she died at the end of four or five months' residence. The Abbess of the convent, in a letter to VOL. I. ' E 50 M. DE TALLEYRAND. the Marquis, informing him of the death of his wife, expatiated upon her contrition, her piety, and her repentance ; the letter ended thus : "If her " Ufe was that of a sinner, her death was that of " a saint.'* M. DE TALLEYRAND. 51 CHAPTER III. Edifying letter of a new convert — The art of writing, tlie post office, and speech — .Long reign of a mistress — The Countess of F. — Correspondence of the Abbe de Perigord — The provin- cial ladies — History of a baroness — Innocence and prayers against the devil— Remarkable fragment of a letter to the Countess of F — Marriages formerly — Portrait of a bridegroom — Women excused — Madame de Pompadour's brother — The Coimt of F — and his brother-in-law — Book mania — The young wife without a husband — Portrait of the Abbe de Perigord — Seduction easy — Birth of a child — The name of Charles — The exiled wife — Cultivation of mind and satisfaction of a husband — Good advice from a lover, and return from exile — Prudent conduct — Influence of a lover of books — The lover a friend of the husband — Loan of 60,000 livres — One of the Abbe de Pe- rigord's principles — Love of money — Regular life — The man of intrigue and the statesman. This time the Abbe de Perigord remained two years in exile at Autun. The Marquis de C. . . .n E 2 52 M. DE TALLEYRAND. forwarded to him a copy of the affecting letter, in which the Abbess of the Convent of Pavia an- nounced the death of the Marchioness. Nothing can be more edifying than the Abba's answer : " Since our cruel separation," he wrote, " my mind has undergone a great change : my only occupa- tion is the salvation of my soul; my most intimate thoughts are now detached from earth, and fixed upon another and a better world. Henceforward, my only study shall be to edify by my devotion, which has now become sincere, the inhabitants of a diocese, which is one day to be confided to my feeble hands. I meditate, day and night, upon the holy dignity of the episcopal priesthood. Every day, in my fervent prayers, do I in- voke, the pardon of the Lord, and pray for the light of the Holy Ghost. It is not for myself alone, miserable sinner, that I implore the Divine mercy ; it would be a great con- solation for me, could I think, that my earnest prayers have been efficacious in bringing a lov- ing soul into the ways of salvation ; but, with- out daring to ascribe to them a virtue of which they are not worthy, I prostrate myself before the Lord, and with bended knees, and clasped hands, offer Him my thanks for having operated a M. DE TALLEYRAND. 53 conversion, which tends to alleviate your grief, and softens the bitterness of my repentance." The art of writing, and the post-office, are two excellent inventions : without their simultaneous help, one could only tell falsehoods to those who are near, whereas there are such pretty falsehoods, that it would indeed be a pity they should not be circulated. This one, for instance, must be placed among those pious frauds, which harm no one ; quite the contrary, the Marquis found in it a motive for forgiveness, and the writer of the letter was thereby assured of being no longer tormented on account of an adventure, the recollection of which harassed him so much. Besides if, as M. de Talleyrand has since very judiciously observed, speech has been be- stowed upon man in order that he may disguise his thoughts, in the present instance he acted accord- ing to his own principle ; and it is thus that all wis e men should act. But instead of reforming his conduct, he continued his career of gallantry ; and from that period became no less conspicuous for the number of his bonnes fortunes than for the choice of his mistresses. One of these latter deserves to occupy a sepa- rate place in the history of the Abbe de Perigord because she was also his mistress when he was 54 M. DE TALLEYRAND. Bishop of Autun, and even remained his friend after he became Prince of Benevento. It was not till he was Prince Talleyrand that be became weary of her, as will be seen in the second part of this narrative. It is impossible to conceive a more amiable, more lively, more witty, and more accomplished woman than the Countess de F. . . Her connexion with M. de Talleyrand has formed too important an episode in his life, to allow us to pass it over without some particular mention. We may do so without scandal, because the fact itself is known to every body. The veil which ought to have covered their correspondence was not so thick, but we have been able several times to read through its trans- parency. In order, therefore, not to dismiss too abruptly the subject of this exile to Autun, we will relate what the Abbe wrote about it to his fair mistress, in a letter dated from Versailles, in 1787, several years after that event: " My two years of exile at Autun have been a void in my existence, and I never more needed the con- solations of a friend, to aid me in supporting an intolerable ennui. Those provincial women are singular beings: would you believe it? — mydis- grace at court rendered them untractable : they M. DE TALLEYRAND. 55 looked upon me as a man whom the beauties of Paris and Versailles disdained; and they would have feared to commit themselves by re- ceiving those homages, which they would have courted during my first stay at Autun. I w'as, however, but little chagrined at this ; with them I might have experienced some little diversion, but there was nothing for the heart ; and loving you as I do with so much tenderness and affection, I feel that the pleasures emanating from the soul are alone capable of conferring true hap- piness." In a letter which the Abbe de Perigord wrote to the same person, on the 15th February, 1788, he says: — "You ask me, my fair friend, wiiere I first became acquainted with the young Baroness. I see, I must make up my mind to satisfy you. But are you aware it is a confession you are requiring of me? I committed, in fact, the same fault that Saint Augustin did at Hyppo, It was in the temple of the Lord, at the foot of the holy tribunal of repentance, that- I became covered with the pollutions of sin. You know how eloquently he confessed his fault ; I can only humbly avow mine. But, my fair friend, who the devil could have acted otherwise? 56 M. DE TALLEYRAND. She was so naive ! From the simphcity of her answers I perceived I had to deal with a complete novice. " Being alone with her at the confessional, I asked her if she loved? 'Oh, yes!' she replied, interrupting me, ' I love my Saviour with all my soul !' — I put it to yourself, how was it possible to resist ? I then invited her father, an honest gentilldtre, recently polished up, to come and see me, with her. A few days afterwards, she came again to confession. I made her a more direct question ; I asked her if she loved me ? * Yes,' she replied, ' I love you as the representative of God, as my guide to Heaven!' after which, she asked for my blessing ; and, drawing her missal, from her pocket she requested me to point out to her the most efficacious prayers to preserve her from the power of the devil. What could be more enchanting ? — The most singular part of the adventure is its termination. I found it impos- sible to bring it to a favourable issue ; but I soon knew of what little efficacy the prayers had been which I had marked out for her: — this pure, im- maculate young lady, was obliged to be married in a hurry to the old Baron, as she was enceinte by her father's footman." M. DE TALLEYRAND. 57 We will quote another fragment from his corres- pondence with the Countess. " I feel every day more and more the want of a partner, whom I can adore with all the passion which a mistress in- spires, and whom I can love as a tried friend ; who would prove deserving of my most unbound- ed confidence, and would feel for me the sentiments she inspired me with. I should wish to find in that being, whom I no longer look upon as an ideal one, the strength of character of a man, united to the mild sensibility of a woman ; — she must possess more reason even than passion, but her language must be more impassioned than reasonable. I should wish her to unite a great superiority of mind to the natural endowment of beauty ; and that in her conversation her wit and sense were apparent only at intervals, and without any aflfectation of learning. I have in vain sough't^ after these rare qualities at court, at Paris, in the provinces, in the palaces of the great, in the mansions of the rich, in the most modest abodes — in you alone, my dear Countess, have I found them united. This open and sincere assurance will account for what you term the enigma of my former inconstancy, and at the same time will be a sure warrant of my inviolable fidelity for the future." »'>8 M. DE TALLEYRAND. This letter appears to us particularly remarkable. The Abbd, perhaps unconsciously, explains in the most happy manner, those connexions of mere gallantry, those attachments without love, which were one of the characteristic signs of the manners of the higher circles of society before the revolution. What was marriage, at that period, but an act of sale ? It was therefore quite natural that a woman who had been sold by her parents to a rich dotard, should think herself justified in pleasing herself after her mar- riage. In no country have customs ever been more flagrantly in contradiction to the voice of nature. Figure to yourself an unfortunate girl leaving her convent. She has just attained her fifteenth year ;— on the following day she is married ; — the marriage articles, or rather the deed of sale, is drawn up in the presence of a lawyer ;— the elder branches of the family have signed it, and the Sovereign himself will, perhaps, honour the contract with his royal signa- ture. What a triumph for the two famiUes ! — An aged man waits in the drawing-room : — his trembling limbstotter beneath him;— forty years of debauchery have wrinkled his pallid brow ; — his sunken and "lack-lustre" eyes bespeak the ravages of a shameful disease ; — when he speaks, his quivering and flaccid lips show his thin and withered tongue pro- M. DE TALLEYRAND. 59 truding from his teethless jaws. Such is the hus- band of the youthful bride ; but it is the will of her parents that she should accept him. The father rubs his hands in delight ; — the marriage puts an end to a law-suit; — the trees of his estate will not be cut down ; — and, more than all, his arms will be quartered in his son-in-law's shield. Of what con- sequence then is it, if the unfortunate girl, a few years later, increases the number of the courtly courtezans ? That handsome Colonel, who em- ploys his time in working tapestry, will teach her a new stitch during his winter quarters. It is true, her grandmother will accompany her during a year to a front seat of a box at the Opera ; this is ne- cessary for the sake of decorum ; but then — then the Abbe de Perigord has a very pretty private box in one of the lower circles. What we have just related is the history of an immense number of marriages. It is pretty nearly that of the ceremony which united the Countess de F. to her husband. He was considerably beyond fifty, when at the age of fifteen she was consigned to his arms. Prior to that day she had never once seen her husband. Under such circumstances the most rigid censor would not dare, on the score of mo- rality, to cast the accusing stone at her. Cato would 60 M. DE TALLEYRAND. have excused her ; and also the wise Themistocles himself, he who said to the Athenians, surprized at seeing him bestow his daughter on a young man without fortune : — " It is because I prefer bestowing my daughter upon a man without money, to letting her wed money without a man." Considering the matrimonial customs of former times, women ought not to be censured for the disorders they committed ; they ought, on the contrary, to be praised for those they did not yield to. When the first tie is a pollution of the body, the mind becomes debased. Love is no longer compatible with virtue : — the examples of others plead in justification ; — seduc- tion exercises its empire : and, as the Abbe de Perigord very judiciously observes, in the fragment of the letter just quoted, a man seeks until he finds, and as he scarcely ever finds, he goes on seeking through habit, until age exchanges the intercourse of gallantry for debasing connections. The Countess de F was descended from a noble but reduced family. Her parents having ex- perienced the privations attendant upon the want of fortune, were led to suppose that in making their daughters rich, they also rendered them happy. The eldest had already been married to the Marquis de M , brother of Madame de Pompadour. M. DE TALLEYRAND. 61 This marriage took place on the day the bride left the convent, and it was with the same cere- monial with which the youngest sister became Countess de F . Count de F had not, during his 3'outh, led a very regular life. Possessing a very large for- tune, he had plunged into every kind of dissipation, and after having been a voluptuary, had become a dissolute man. As he advanced in years, his excesses having destroyed every sense of enjoy- ment, he changed the sphere of his preten- sions. He now aspired to the hard-earned glory which literature and science can confer. It was this taste for literature that introduced him to the Marquis de M . This nobleman kept open house for men of letters and science, and distin- guished artists. He there heard, for the first time, of the sister of the Marquis ; and, being desirous of adding the ties of relationship to those of friendship which already bound him to the brother, he demanded his sister's hand in marriage ; and the business was settled in the course of four and twenty hours. It was M. de Talleyrand who performed the marriage ceremony. He thus found himself intro- duced into the house of the young bride, and 62 M. DE TALLEYRAND. naturally felt a strong desire to perform again the duties of his sacred calling, when the offspring of the marriage should be presented to receive the baptismal waters. The Count, whose books and studies engrossed more of his attention than the playful mirth of his youthful wife, allowed her entire liberty in the selection not only of the com- pany, which adorned her drawing room, but of that which enjoyed the intimate privileges of her boudoir. If we may place faith in the recollections of persons who, at this period not far distant from the breaking out of the revolution, knew the Abbe de Perigord, it was impossible to find a man more fascinating than he was. With a par- ticularly handsome face, his features beamed with a mixed expression of suavity and archness j his beautiful light hair gracefully clustered upon his forehead, and his mouth, which had already learnt to deceive even without speaking, had an expres- sion of disdain which it has ever retained. He was very proud of his high birth : it gave him a confidence which rendered twofold the merit he really possessed, and of which he was perfectly conscious. Every species of contrast was united in his person : he knew how to be M. DE TALLEYRAND. 63 grave in the midst of a frivolous circle, which made him pass, when he thought proper, for a steady and reflecting man ; he resumed his character for frivoUty, when wearied with some serious question, and would cut the discussion short w^ith one of those witty sayings with a double meaning, which succeed so well in diverting the attention and changing the subject of conversation. Kind and aimable with every one, always anxious to please, it may be said that in general, and with the exception of particular cases, his epigrams were not so much calculated to wound those against whom they were directed, as to awaken, in the minds of his hearers, a gentle spirit of satire. The young Countess, artless and inexperienced as she then was, but with a heart formed for love, endowed with a lively mind and an intellect which only waited for a kindred spirit to awaken its energies, could not escape the artifices of a man of such experience in matters of seduction. The Abbe, therefore, found little difficulty in ingratiating himself into her favour. During the first three years of the Count's marriage, he scarcely saw his wife, except at meals, and even that did not happen every day. The Abbe, on the contrary, rarely left her : he followed her 64 M. DE TALLEYRAND. like her shadow ; entertained her agreeably when at home ; accompanied her in her visits, to church, to the public walks, to concerts, balls, plays- -in short, he behaved in every respect towards her as a young husband would no doubt have done. By his assiduous attentions, he shielded the Countess from the breath of slander, which, at that period, blasted the reputation of so many young married women of rank, who, as he has himself judiciously remarked, changed their gowns less often than their lovers. The Count, absorbed in his pursuits, spent a great part of his time at his brother-in-law's, and continued to live just as if he were not married. An unforeseen circumstance came, however, to remind him that he was a husband. On his return from the country seat of the Marquis, he learned that his wife had just given birth to a son who had already been baptised by the name of Charles, which was one of the Abbe's names. This coincidence of names, joined to various other circumstances, aroused, not the jealousy, but the pride of the Count. The Countess, on her part, too artless for the task of dissimulation, took no precautions to conceal who was the real father of her child. Now, as M. DE TALLEYRAND. 65 on such a subject, a husband would have wished to have found less ingenuousness on the part of his wife, the Abbe was requested to suspend the course of his visits, to which demand he submitted with a good grace ; and the Count conveyed his frail partner to a chateau, situated a hundred leagues from Paris. A correspondence now took place between the lovers, and the Abbe, among other good advice, urged the Countess not to appear too much affected at her exile, assuring her that was the best mode of rendering it of short dura- tion. The Count had accompanied his wife, as we have already stated ; and as he could not spend every hour of the day in pouring over his favorite books, he tried the conversation of the Countess, and was struck with surprise in discovering, for the first time after four years of marriage, that she was gifted not only with great natural sense, but with a cultivated mind, to which a well-directed course of reading had imparted the highest intellectual advantages, sound judgment, and a quick understanding ; in short, his Galatea was animated with the celestial spark of intellect, but he had not been her Pygma- lion. He felt almost grateful towards the more for- tunate Abbe, when he learnt that it was to him he was VOL. I. F 66 M. DE TALLEYRAND. indebted for this perfect education of his wife, and for the philosophical light in which she viewed every thing. He deemed this a sort of compensation for the offence he had received from the priest. It was nearly the same feeling that made Louis XVIII forgive Napoleon for having inhabited the Tuileries, when he saw the improvements which the latter had made during his residence in that palace. The Countess, punctually following the advice of her lover, obtained permission at the expiration of four months to return to Paris, whither her husband brought her back, in triumph. One of the main objects of her education had been to inculcate the necessity of acting with pru- dence ; she therefore remained constantly with her husband, or rather with his books, and ac- quiring a taste for reading, delighted him by her frequent visits to his library. This similarity of tastes entirely disarmed the Count, and the Coun- tess again recovered a full and complete liberty. She was no longer even debarred from seeing her lover, and was allowed to receive him every hour of the day. Recollecting her youth, the Count, no doubt, calculated that she would take another lover, and, in his wisdom he wished to avoid, or at least to delay this. Being once more admitted M. DE TALLEYRAND. 67 into the house, the Abbe ingratiated himself almost as much into the confidence of the husband as into that of the Countess. At this period, the Abbe's finances were in a very deranged state, in consequence of the repeated losses he had met with at the gambling table. He therefore found it both convenient and proper to seal his reconciliation with the Count, bv bor- rowing from him the sum of sixty thousand livres, which were lent without the slightest difficulty. It was a principle, like any other, but a fixed principle in the mind of the Abbe de Perigord, that the husbands of his mistresses were always to come to his assistance in cases of emergency ; and he found means to apply this principle under vari- ous circumstances, which did him great credit. He acted, in this respect, in the same manner as the great captains who have always endeavoured to make the conquered country pay the expenses of the war. And, yet, he has been accused of a want of delicacy in the means to which he resorted, in order to obtain money ! The truth is, that in his youth he always felt a strong inclination to attach himself to rich people, in the same manner that, in after life, he sided with those parties and governments which offered him the best chances of acquiring f2 68 M. DE TALLEYRAND, wealth. There are few men, in whose eyes poverty is a greater crime than in his. Whenever M. de Talleyrand speaks of the com- mencement of his career, he generally designates, under the name of his ' ' regular life," the period com- prising the five years which preceded the Revolution. These years he whiled away with the Countess de F . . . For our own part, we are deUghted with this amendment in the conduct of the Abbe, and we felt anxious to reach this part of his history. It is for the same reason that, in our progress up to this moment, we have omitted a great number of stories of love and gallantry : had we related more, we should have found that this history might have shocked some of our readers, and enough has been said to show the character of the man We will now endeavour to view him as a public intrigant, until the time when he appeared as a statesman. M. DE TALLEYRAND. 69 CHAPTER IV. Money, and nothing but money. -^M. de Talleyrand appears beyond private life — His aptitude in business — Agent of the clergy at six-and-twenty — The last meeting of the clergy — The Abbe de Barral and the Abbe de Montesquieu — Disordered state of finances — State of public opinion — Taste for study — Contempt for a secondary part — Mirabeau and the contradictory opinions. — The Count d'Anti-aigues — M. de Calonne — The papers pro and con — Louis XVI. — Assembly of notables — The clergy and the nobles — Situation of the Abbe de Perigord — The Count d'Artois — Two heads — The Count of Provence and the Duke of Orleans — Tlie Orleanists — Dedalus of intrigue — The parliament, the court, and the prime minister. The enemies of M. de Talleyrand have accused him, and still accuse him, of having betrayed every party. Our task is not to enter at present into this accusation : the facts will be disclosed at the proper time. But one thing is certain : if the 70 M. DE TALLEYRAND. accusation is founded, then money is not a party. Money is the main object of the thoughts, the aim, the spring of all the actions ofM. de Tal- leyrand, Prince of Benevento, Prince Duke de Talleyrand Pdrigord, under every denomination, and under every government of which these de- nominations have been the consequence, and in some degree the heralds. Money has always been his god; and if this god had bishops in his service, M. de Talleyrand would never have got himself re- lieved from his vows. Beyond his private life, and with the exception of his excessive love of money, M. de Talleyrand had early given indications of great acuteness and depth of mind, singular skill in forming a cor- rect estimate of affairs, and consummate prudence in the management of them. His first successes were no doubt owing, in a great degree, to favour ; but he proved himself deserving of them, and was indebted to his known merit for the place of Agent of the Clergy, which suited him the more because it brought him in from forty to fifty thousand francs a year. He was only twenty-six years of age when he filled that office, then a very important one, conferred by Louis XVI upon M. de Talley- rand and the Ahh6 de Boisgelin at the same time. j^ M. DE TALLEYRAND. 71 The last Assembly General of the clergy took place in 1785. The functions of agent lasted five years. The two individuals, whom we have mentioned, were succeeded, after delivering their accounts, by the Abbe de Barral, and the Abb^ de Montesquiou ; but the latter had not to deliver in their accounts : the following Assembly, which was to have taken place in 1 790, could not meet, on account of the troubles of the revolution. The first public functions fulfilled by M. de Talleyrand, unconnected with his clerical capacity and his love of money, necessarily directed his mind towards the study of finances. The deranged state of those of France was at that period the evil which apparently preyed upon the country, and threatened its destruction. Indeed, at that epoch, nothing was spoken of but finances, deficiency and national bankruptcy, and few men saw the monster of the revolution elsewhere but in the empty coflfers of the state. The insolence of a haughty court was unheeded ; but its ruinous professions, and insulting depredations, were the theme of universal execration. The frivolity of the French nation made it imagine that every thing was saved, when the King had substituted the incapacity of one minister to the inca- pacity of another. France resembled those hopeless 72 M. DE TALLEYRAND. patients who fancy their cure certain when they change doctors, or rather quacks. A powerful remedy was required, and even then there was no certainty of a cure. These were propitious times for doc- trines ; every inexperienced individual was at liberty to offer his quack remedy as a universal panacea. The Abbe de Perigord in the midst of the dissi- pations of his youth, had imbibed a taste for study; his aptitude for learning was so great, and his me- mory so retentive, that his occupations never inter- fered with his innate love of idleness. He early accustomed himself to view only the leading points of affairs ; for he did not think that a good clerk could ever become an able minister. We shall see him during the whole course of his life, faithful to his early resolutions ; and in the high offices he has occupied during forty years, he never did anything but what was above the duties of his subordinates. During his exile at Autun, the Abbe de Perigord had devoted himself particularly to the study of financial operations ; the theory of that science being but imperfectly known in France. At that period, public credit with its various operations, was not understood; statesmen were unconscious of the in- fluence it could have upon the prosperity of a nation, and how the increase of a national debt could, in M. DE TALLEYRAND. 73 some cases, be conducive to the national wealth. Time alone, and dearly bought experience could lead to this knowledge. Two species of madmen occupied at that period the public mind : the mag- netisers and the economists. The latter were vision- aries and doctrinarians ; in finance they saw the whole world in a geographical map, and the wants of society in calculations and reasoning. Econo- mism was all the fashion, reckoning among its proselytes the silly Turgot, the coxcomb Calonne, and a flock of court goslings, who seem to have been born of mothers whose imaginations, struck with the Itobacl of Voltaire led them to become eco- nomists at their toilette. These women discoursed upon political economy; and when they gravely debated upon such a topic, it would have been dif- ficult for the Abbe not to have taken a share in the argument. We will still, when speaking of M. de Talleyrand, style him the Abbe, for we must not lose sight of a fact which has escaped almost all the authors who have written upon his life, that it was only towards the end of the year 1788, (on the 30th of November,) that he obtained the Bishopric of Autun. The Abbe de Perigord was one of the most ardent economists, when the first symptoms of the 74 M. DE TALLEYRAND. revolution broke out. After the first administra- tion of M. Necker, he drew up a paper upon the state of the finances, which he dedicated and sent to M. de Calonne. He was placed between these two ministers, precisely in the same situation he had often found himself in between two mistresses, — he caressed and deceived them both. At the period when M. de Calonne gave proofs of a truly heroic courage in assuming a task so much beyond his means, he enjoyed the highest possible favour, and his influence at court was immense. It was thought he was going to regene- rate every thing : he was like a mighty magician, whose wand was to perform miracles. He was a man of gallantry, without morals, of pleasing address, and amiable in society. These qualities were sufficient, together with his inconceivable boasting, to make him pass for a great man, until the moment of his fall. From the time he became minister of finance, he endeavoured to surround himself with able counsellors, and was in direct communication with Mirabeau, whose interests he had previously advocated with M. de Maurepas, another frivolous old man, without talent, and in power when Mirabeau was a pri- soner at Vincennes. M. de Calonne, having re- M. DE TALLEYRAND. 75 quested the latter to furnish him with a paper upon the finances of the country, he mentioned to him the Abbe de Perigord, in a letter, in which he thus expressed himself: *' You have stated to me the regret you expe- rienced at my unwillingness to devote my feeble talents to the embodying of your high conceptions. Permit me, Sir, to point out to you a man deserv- ing, in every respect, of this proof of confidence. The Abbe de Perigord unites great and tried abilities to profound circumspection, and unshaken discre- tion. You will never find a man more trustworthy, more religiously devoted to the dictates of friend- ship and gratitude, more desirous of giving satis- faction, less envious of the glory of others, and more convinced that such glory is essentially due to him who possesses the capacity to conceive great designs and the courage to execute them." It is thus that Mirabeau expressed himself at a time when he was intimate with the Abbe de Perigord ; but, having quarrelled with him some time after, he wrote in the following manner, respecting this same Abbe to the pretended Count d'Antraigues, who, at a later period, played so conspicuous a part in the machinations of the emigrants, and was one of the most active agents 7Q M. DE TALLEYRAND. in the affair of Pichegru. This Count d'Antrai- gues married Madame Sainte-Huberty, the cele- brated actress at the opera, who was nothing more than a petty gentleman of Provence, and had as- sumed a variety of titles to which he had no right. Mirabeau WTote to him in the month of April 1787, as follows : " Monsieur le Comte, " For these last ten days I have, ten times a day, asked to see you ! How can I see you ? Where can I see you? If I have lost you, I can only ac- cuse fate, as I never had any other claim upon you than that which the elevation of your mind, the lof- tiness of your soul, and the sensibility of your heart allowed me. Your short note, worthy of the pupil of Jean Jacques, has poured oil into the wounds of my lacerated bosom ; I have only to complain of its brevity. The situation I am placed in, rendered still more gloomy by the infamous conduct of the Abbe de Perigord, has become intolerable. I send you, unsealed, the letter which I have writen to him; read it, and send it to him. I repeat it, send it to him ; for I trust you do not^ know that man, and I am quite sure he ought to be known to every honourable person. But my mis- M. DE TALLEYRAND. 77 fortunes have thrown me into his hands, and I must still deal cautiously with this vile, rapacious, mean, intriguing man. He breathes nothing but turpi- tude and venality. For money he has sold his ho- nour, and his friend ; for money he would sell his soul, and he would be right— for he would in such case barter dirt for gold !" It is very unfortunate we cannot add Mirabeau's letter to the Abbe de Perigord, which if M. de Talleyrand has preserved it, he is not very likely to communicate to us. We do not pretend to decide on whom the two fragments of letters we have just quoted reflect the greatest honour, whether on the writer or on the person with refe- rence to whom they were written. If Mirabeau was justified in the complaints he addressed to M. d'Antraigues, M. de Calonne had certainly every reason to be perfectly satisfied with his recom- mendation of the Abbe. But, notwithstanding this circumstance, Mirabeau and M. de Talley- rand felt no animosity against each other on ac- count of these altercations : they became only the more intimately connected when a common in- terest united them — so well formed were they to esteem each other. Miralieau's harshness 78 M. DE TALLEYRAND. arose probably from the circumstance of the Abbd de Perigord having, in consequence of M. de Calonne's resignation, lost no time in paying his court to the new favourite, M. Necker. Now, it is the sign of a little mind to sacrifice a principle to vulgar considerations of gratitude, or any other afiection which possesses no value in political language. In the present circum- stance, the Abbe de Perigord acted with a dexterity which reflects the highest credit upon him. As he had not signed the paper which he had drawn up for M. de fie Calonne, he composed another, also anonymous, in favour of M. Necker, refuting, most seriously, the former one. The consequence was that, if there was any reason on either side of the question, the Abbe de Perigord could not fail of being right. And this is what may be called treating business pro- perly. It was this second paper that introduced the Abbe de Perigord into the family of M. Necker, at which period that strict intimacy commenced which subsisted between him and the celebrated daughter of the Genevese quack. Let us hasten to add, for fear M. Talleyrand should be suspected in the remotest degree of want of dexterity, that he was one of the first to turn his back upon M. M. DE TALLEYRAND. 79 Necker when the breeze of popular favour had changed into a threatening tempest. In 1 787, Louis XVI, a monarch whose want of decision, and whose weakness history may condemn, but whose private virtues and good intentions cannot, without injustice, be the object of at- tack — Louis XVI, whom nature had not endow- ed with the temper of a King suited for such stormy times, convoked an assembly of the notables of the kingdom, a custom borrowed from the ancient forms of the monarchy, but which had in some measure fallen into desuetude. The two last assemblies of the kind had taken place so far back as the reigns of Henry III and Henry IV. RicheUeu, whose policy consisted in scattering, not in assembUng in one focus, the still vital energies of the opposition to his despotism, would not have allowed them to take place. Louis XIV never experienced the necessity of assembling the States during the whole course of his long reign. Louis XV, indolent and voluptuous, would have been startled at such a measure. It was thus only after a lapse of two centuries, when the manners, the habits, and, above all, the ideas of the French nation had undergone a complete change, that the convocation of the States, whicli might almost be 80 M. DE TALLEYRAND. looked upon as an innovation in the constitution, surrounded with fresh difficulties the already tottering throne of Louis XVL These notables, although named by the King, brought with them at Versailles, an undisciplined spirit of opposition to the government. Every one seemed to consider the interests of France comprised in those of his own locality. They possessed no elevation of mind, no generosity of feeling, no disinter- estedness ; patriotism seemed not to enter into their thoughts ; self-sufficiency and assurance characterized some, the others were conspicu- ous only for their profound ignorance; all of them seemed actuated by ill-disguised selfish- ness alone. They all shewed the greatest anxiety to point out the evil, and to exaggerate its ex- tent ; but none proposed any remedy that could be adopted. And in what, after all, did the evil consist ? In a deficiency which would scarcely have ruined a banking-house ! a deficiency of fifty millions of livres ! And, in this struggle, those who, from their station in society, their rank and fortune, might have been supposed the most inte- rested in hiding the canker of the state, were pre- cisely those who inflamed it, and rendered it more^ desperate. M. BE TALLEYRAND. 81 It must not be inferred, from what precedes, that we are not fully alive to the great benefits we have derived from the French revolution. But we do not form our judgment of events with ideas produced by those events : in order to speak of an ejDOch, we turn back to it, without any other ex- perience than that derived from the times that pre- ceded it, and without taking into consideration what we have since learned. This is the reason, and the only reason, why we look upon the convoca- tion of the notables, by Louis XVI, as a great error. It was, then, that a generous sacrifice on the part of the nobles and the clergy would have made them find favour in the eyes of the nation. It was then that it would have been both useful and proper to recognize the abolition of privileges, and admit the equalization of the burden of taxation. But the nobles and the clergy so little understood the situation they w^re placed in, that they were even unwilling to contribute their share of the land-tax which the landed proprietors of every other class paid. One bishop even conceived that it was a good opportunity to make the debts of the clergy fall upon the people! Such inconceiv- able blindness would scarcely appear credible, did we not know that, in France, the indispensable VOL. I. G 82 M. DE TALLEYRAND. necessity of any measure is never fully recognized but on the morrow of the day when it has become impossible to execute it. What happened to the nobles in consequence of their not consenting to part with a portion of their privileges, or rather of their not having made a voluntary sacrifice of them? What was also the fate of the clergy ? The nobles succeeded, in the course of two years in covering themselves with ridicule, when, through the medium of M. Mathieu de Montmorency, they offered, as a holo- caust on the altar of equality — what ? — why their titles ! a precious offer, truly, at a time when titles had no longer any meaning ! But the nobles decimated or destroyed, were forced to emigrate when they preferred shame to death on the scaffold. For we must proclaim it, and loudly too ; — there was no excuse for the emigrants when they bore arms against their country ! The nobles were ruined, killed, judicially assassinated ; their chateaux burned and plundered, and they were forced to seek a humiliating refuge among strangers. With regard to the clergy, there is nothing to say. They had ceased to exist as a body; they were scattered, hunted down, despoiled of their wealth, — and all because, as we have al- M. DE TALLEYRAND. 83 ready stated, neither this body nor the nobles had felt the situation they were placed in when the Assembly of Notables took place. We expatiate, perhaps, too long upon this period which was merely the prelude to the revolution, of which the assembly of the States-General, transformed afterwards into the National Assembly, was destined to be the first act. What, in the meantime, was the situation of the Abbe de Perigord ? He had not yet made up his mind with regard to his future conduct, because he did not yet know on which side the power would remain in the struggle about to take place. His birth naturally seemed to lead him to support the court ; but the passions of his youth, on the other hand, hurried him to the opposite party, or, at least kept him in a kind of suspense which the power of gold could alone remove. At the time of the Assembly of Notables, the court made some attempts to draw over the Abbe de Perigord to its interests. It is related that at one of the first interviews upon the subject, the young and profligate Comte d'Artois approached him, and asked him what his advice was : " Two heads must fall," replied the Abbe ; " two .... no more .... later, a much greater number G 2 84 M. DE TALLEYRAND. will be requisite." — "And whose heads?" — "The Duke of Orlean's and Mirabeau's."— " I am of your opinion ; but my brother will never consent to it." — "Are you certain of that?" — " Too certain... ," — " In that case I shall go over to the other side." The Abbe de Perigord then decided upon the course he meant to adopt. He went over, in fact, to the opposite party, unless it may be supposed that what he said was merely a contri- vance in order to make the court more anxious to acquire his adherence. From that moment, he was seen to divide his attention between the two princes, who made themselves conspicuous by their opposition to the government of Louis XVI. Of these two princes, one was popular, the other low and vulgar. They were Monsieur the King's brother, and the Duke of Orleans, which no writer, actuated by truth and decency, can ever place upon the same line : for the branch of Orleans was the rotten branch of the roval tree of the Bourbons. Monsieur, Comte de Provence, a high-minded, and well informed man, was sincerely desirous of reform. He wished to see an end to the ruinous extravagance, and lavish expenditure of the court ; he wished- to see the burthen which bore down the M. DE TALLEYRAND, 85 people diminished; and he anticipated that renewed prosperity would strengthen the ties that united the monarch and the nation. His opposition, in short, was conservative, noble, and generous, advising rather than censuring ; but his counsels, unfortu- nately were seldom attended to. His fate was that of the Cassandra of Homer, whose living type may be found in every page of our history. The saga- cious mind of Monsieur made him foresee that the movements which agitated France would be long felt throughout Europe. He exercised his influence in appeasing complaints, calming apprehensions, and succouring the unfortunate. He was not, as has been asserted, hostile to Louis XVI, but in his brother's interest. He loudlv condemned the advisers who urged that unhappy monarch to a resistance which could have no other effect than to accelerate the ruin of the monarchy. With regard to the Duke of Orleans he was, with the exception of the talent and courage of the Roman, the Catiline of the French revolution ; and that which from this period was styled his party was nothing but the receptacle of all the pro- fligate and infamous men in the country. The aflairs of the Duke of Orleans, in spite of his 86 M. DE TALLEYRAND. immense fortune, were in the most deranged state ; and if, like Monsieur, he spoke of reform, it was in the hope that it would create a universal discon- tent, which might end in a revolution. This Prince wished for a general conflagration, which would aflbrd him an opportunity of wreaking his ven- geance upon the King and Queen ; and, at the same time, satisfying his thirst for riches and power. It is distressing when we consider that the Abbe de Perigord was so intimately connected with the Orleans party; and if he afterwards betrayed it treachery, for this once, must be looked as an expia- tory act. Various reports were at this time spread respecting the Abbe de Perigord : he was accused, after the retirement of M. de Calonne, of having been bribed by Cardinal de Lomenie to watch the proceedings of the parliament, of having been paid by the parliament to act as a spy over the movements of the court, and of having been employed by the latter, in the same capacity, to watch both the parliament and the prime minister. It was asserted, that he lavished protestations of attachment to the Cardinal, and received his gifts, whilst he betrayed his most intimate secrets. He was pointed out as the soul of all those double in- M. DE TALLEYRAND. 87 trigues, which perpetually sowed dissension between the court and the parliament, at a moment, when it would have been so important for both to have un- derstood each other, or at least to have outwardly assumed the appearance of good understanding. But such was not the interest of those w^ho in- trigued between both, nor of their abettors. Tlie different parties found themselves betrayed to each other, and the consequence was a general distrust, a universal irritation, which led to those troubles that two years later placed Louis XVI under the necessity of convoking the States-General. 88 M. DE TALLEYRAND, CHAPTER V. Two years— To dare say and do anything— Situation of France prior to the revolution— Remarkable predictions of the Bailli de Mirabeau— Court and provincial nobility— The La Rochefou- caulds— The aUiance— The wind of Versailles— ^//cm5 cm chdteau— The staff of Marshal and the boudoir of Madame de Pompadour — Madame du Barry's knees and the commissions of colonel— Alexandre de Laraeth and the Duke de la Vieuville — The dancing masters— The guilty and the victims— Usefulness of a court — Fable in action — Attacks against religion and government— The Baron d'Holbach— The economists and the Abbe de Perigord — The god Presumption—A word concern- ing the great ministers of France and of Europe — Progressive system in France— The Duke de Choiseuil— Brief look at futurity — M. de Talleyrand everywhere. The two years which intervened between the last sittings of the Assembly of Notables, as it was called, and the convocation of the States- M. DE TALLEYRAND. 89 General, form a very strange, very characteristic, and very whimsical period to which we believe no other can be assimilated in history. Ver- sailles, Paris, nay, the whole of France might have been taken for a vast mad-house: everv- where the clatter of tongues might be heard, in confused uproar ; everywhere the discontented were at their post, as if ready to rebel on the first signal. From one end of the kingdom to the other, the lawyers were beginning to apply their loquacious industry to government questions. Noblemen, much more ridiculous and acting the reversed part of Moliere's Monsieur Jourdain, aspired to become citizens, or bourgeois, some from ambition, others through fear. Meanwhile, the great lords, or courtiers, with the traditional foppishness inherent to their existence, and the intrepidity of self-esteem which they were doom- ed to expiate afterwards so dearly, were mock- ing and turning the people into ridicule. The play of Figaro, highly approved and extolled by the public of the day, is the true characteristic of those times : it is a piece in which the court, the nobility, and the magistracy, were given up, in turn, to the scorn and contempt of all classes of spectators. It was immediately followed up by a war of satires 90 M. DE TALLEYRAND. and epigrams, of which Rivarol, Beaumarchais, Chamfort, and M. de Talleyrand, were alternately the writers and the subjects. Every thing was turned into a ridicule ; punning, dancing, sing- ing, and going to the Opera, were the main oc- cupations of life. Women of gallantry decked in sumptuous elegance drove to Longchamp in cha- riots and other equipages, which, for brilliancy of appearance might have vied with those of the Queen ; but, their reign, as well as hers, was draw- ing to a close. To dare every thing in word or deed, was the maxim. " Oser tout dire; oser tout faire," became the recurring ditty of one of Beau- marchais' favorite songs ; and, in the midst of the boobies who were listening with complacency to the dreams of the economists, and the pretended sa- viours of the state who were starting into life by myriads, like insects on a dunghill, there existed a description of persons, with whom a new pun by the celebrated M. de Brivre was still an affair of importance. Calm reason seemed to have disappeared from the scene, and to have fled to some old castles or mansions far distant from Paris, where men of truly strong minds, and without ambition, judged rightly of things and saw the gathering storm, against the explosion M. DE TALLEYRAND. 91 of which no human power or precautions could avail. It was from one of those retired places that, so far back as the year 1759, the Bailli de Mira- beau, a man of rigid virtue and comprehensive mind, wrote to his brother the Marquis, father of the celebrated demagogue, these lines, which sub- sequent events made very remarkable : *' I know Paris," he says ; " and you may rest assured that the vile populace pent up within its impure walls, and which flock there every day in search of fortune, as if fortune were the name of a lost dog, are as corrupt as Rome ever could be, when she attempted to destroy the very name of patricians. Depend upon it, that the infamous set of up- starts which now give the ton and fill the high offices of the bench and the administration, are truly republican by their insolence, though un- worthy of the title by their vices without any mix- ture of virtue. When a people in delirium mean to attack the principle of monarchy, they always begin with religion. That which is most sacred among men, being no longer held in reverence, there is nothing to arrest the popular frenzy. Distinctions must soon give way, which God himself has thought proper, in his unerring wisdom, to establish, as is exemplified by the legislation of Israel. They 92 M. DE TALLEYRAND. call that an injustice which they will no lonj^jer submit to ; and after sapping the nobility, the king or chief of the social hierarchy must of course be left tottering on his throne, of which the aristocracy were naturally the prop and support. Do you think there is any remedy for this ? I do not believe it, and for this very reason : — every dis- tinction between noble and plebeian being merely moral and conventional, when those distinctions are once destroyed in the mind, the further existence of the nobility upon mere empty pretensions, makes it worse than useless." These prophetic words, for we cannot give any other name to such language, prove to every un- prejudiced mind, that the French revolution had long existed entire, in a latent state, before it burst into evidence, in 1789. Thirty years before-hand the Bailli de Mirabeau had noticed it ; and many other persons were equally aware of the fearful change that had already taken place. To reach that knowledge, it was only necessary to know the state of the world, without having been contaminated by it. On this occasion, we shall have to confute an error which time has accredited, and which crafty men, speculators on opinion, have carefully put forward ; though these very men had, at the same M. DE TALLEYRAND. 93 time, too much good sense to be the dupes of their own assertions, and to beUeve the hes they were pro- pagating against the nobiUty. Most assuredly we do not mean to become the advocates or defenders of that old institution; — time had made it, time has destroyed it, and it would be as vain to attempt turning back time upon itself, as to force a river to drive its waters back to their source. Yet it is not out of place to record here, in a summary way, what the nobihty or titled gentry were in France, during the years which immediately pre- ceded the opening of the States -General. The noblesse in France was divided into several classes, which took rank according to date, illus- tration, fortune, and interest at court. Such, at least, was the notion generally entertained; but we beg leave to differ from it, and to admit only two classes as having existed in reality, namely : the court noblesse and the provincial noblesse. The fact is, that there were positively but two sorts of noblesse : — that belonging to the court, and basking in its rays, — a poor sort of lustre ; the other living in the country. No apology v>^ould I dare to offer for the court nobility, the most de- generate and debased, one might almost say, of all races belonging to the common stock of mankind ; 94 M. DE TALLEYRAND. for how can we imagine, basking in a royal ante- chamber, the true descendants of that chivalrous La Rochefoucauld who waged war with kings, in order to please the Duchess of Longueville, swearing, at that price, that he would have warred with the gods ! All those great historical families, in the persons of their last representatives, were disgusting all Paris with the proof of their worth- lessness, and dragging along in the saloons of Ver- sailles their vain persons, alternately insolent and crouching, according to the importance of the persons they happened to meet on their way. This cannot be termed true pride, because, among all those minions of the court, few were to be found who had not solicited, sometimes by the vilest means, the alliance of wealthy upstarts, or which did not belong to that base order of beings who openly plundered the revenues of the state. How fewer still were those who had not lowered the crested haughtiness of their race before the sash of the royal favorite, without reckoning all those ever ready to bend the knee before the contrdleur- general, or first lord of the treasury, or before any individual who had power to dispense pensions and court favours. On the other hand, the provincial nobility — M. DE TALLEYRAND. 95 that which each day offered to their country the tribute of their blood, had maintained to the last their honour, their religion, their pure and unshaken allegiance to the king ; and it is but strict justice to that deserving body of men to say that it was only in their old and half ruined country mansions, far spread and scattered thinly over the surface of the kingdom, or in those much more numerous mo- dest abodes called gentilhomieres, as if in derision of their mean appearance or poverty, that were to be found pure and unsullied, the sacred fire of pubhc spirit and pure patriotism. There, men of patriarchal appearance and habits were not at all uncommon : presiding nobly over their children and servants, and giving them all the precepts and examples of virtue. Most of them had never seen Versailles, nor wished they to see it. They were perhaps headstrong in temper, deficient in polite information, but they possessed something of much higher value : they were conversant with honour and acted always according to its severe dictates. Perfect strangers to the philoso- phical creed of the day, they knew only enough of its tendencies to bear a determined enmity to the novelties of Rousseau and the doctrines of Voltaire, whose works they never took up but to throw them back with impatient horror and disgust. 96 M. DE TALLEYRAND. Such were, one might almost say, the last remnants of that institution of barbarous ages called noblesse in France ; for the nobles who have appeared since, and continue the great chain of nature, have scarcely any thing in common with their ancestors, and can scarcely be thought to belong to the same race. A general monotonous sameness is now the badge of all classes in that country where riches have the rule, and people only think of procuring wealth by every means and at any price. Much has been said about the privileges of the nobles, which have been made heads of accusation against that order. They were exempted, it is true, from the poll tax, and that manual service called the corvee ; they did not pay the dues on lots et ventes, or on pur- chase of land and legacies ; but the mutations of property were so rare among them that it is not at all extraordinary that the revenue scarcely gained any thing by their being subsequently made amenable to these duties. A private pew in the vil- lage church, for they were attached to religion and attended its ceremonies, was the only prerogative they had left. Of their charitable habits it is almost needless to speak. "Let us go to the manor-house," were the first words of the peasant who fell sick and wanted relief or assistance. Such w^as the provincial M. DE TALLEYRAND. 97 nobility ! It is not unimportant to complete the pic- ture by saying, that the same class, which ambi- tioned military service merely for the honour of leading in battle, and having the greater share of its perils, scarcely rose to any higher rank in the army than that of a captain or lieutenant-colonel. The ribbon of St. Louis, with a proportionate pen- sion, seldom amounting to more than twenty-five pounds a year, and ten times in eleven to only half that paltry sum, was all their reward in old age. Greater honours and emoluments were exclusively reserved for the court nobiUty, who railed at the appearance of that pedestrian knighthood which dared to emit pretensions encroaching upon the precincts of their vanity. Yet the red ribbon or cross at the button-hole of a gentleman of high birth, had often cost him more to earn, in long years of perilous service, than the marshal's staff. The former had been nobly won in battle against the enemies of his king and country ; the other negligently picked up from under the very neat shoes of Madame de Pompadour, or Madame Du- barry, whose hands distributed commissions of ge- neral and colonel, with the same liberal hand with which they conferred bishoprics and abbayes, as we have seen already in relation to the Abbe de VOL. I. H 98 M. DE TALLEYRAND. Pdrigord. At the oeil de bceuf, the country gen- tleman was called gentilldtre a demeaning term to designate those who had only descent and merit to claim, in opposition to the art of tying a neckcloth with elegance, playing with the costly lace of their ruffles and throwing it back on the cuffs of their sleeves, presenting or ac- cepting a pinch of snufF with a certain air, and dancing the minuet de la cour or de la reine, as well as Marcel or old Vestris; — a praise given pecu- liarly to Alexander de Lameth, or the Duke de la Vieuville, The country gentleman did not hang his sword loose by his side like the courtier, but held it in a firm grasp when necessary, and in entering the army, was less anxious to in- crease his fortune than to squander honourably, in military service, the inheritance of his ances- tors, howcA^er trifling. The summit of his ambi- tion was the possession of a troop of horse, for which he was allowed to mortgage often his whole property, — too happy if the fate of war spared his life, and a father to his children. From what we have just said, it is obvious that no slight degree of mutual ill-will and animosity per- vaded the two distinct classes of the French nobility, when the axe of the revolution was advancing M. DE TALLEYRAND. 99 rapidly to strike at them both. But in the com- mon peril, the provincial nobles still preserved their moral superiority : for though the courtiers were keeping them from the focus of insurrection, they volunteered their arms and swords to uphold the ancient order of things, while the former had fallen into utter insignificance, either yielding to the current of the times, or foolishly attempting to stem the rushing torrent by words and conjurations, which only served to increase the magnitude of its waters, and the violence of its overwhelming power of destruction. The provincial noblesse* was every day made the victim of the court noblesse, which represented the former as hostile to the people; and, in consequence, seemed to have incited the multitudes that fired the chateaux, and to have armed them with the dagger which slaughtered the defenceless inhabit- ants of these mansions. As a last result, let it be acknowledged for once, that a court is calculated to endanger a monarchy, either by its assumptions, its pernicious counsels and influence, its disdainful supercilious airs, or the audacity of its public * The noblesse de cour and noblesse de province are old de- signations, much in use, not only prior to the present publi- cation but long before the dissolution of the old monarchy.— Tr. H 2 100 M. DE TALLEYRAND. depredations. I would ask, in attenuation, what is it fit for besides ? To defend the throne is out of the question : it knows only how to make it odious ; and when the time comes to repair the breach it has made between kings and na- tions, it prudently hides its diminished head, so long as the storms last, watching carefully and seizing the favourable moment when King Log succeeds to King Stork ; then leaping upon the piece of timber, in an inverted order of the fable of the Two Monarchs which Jupiter granted to the clamorous Frogs incapable of governing them- selves. The apologue to which we have just alluded, was never put to a clearer test than under the reign of Louis XVL The frogs of the court de- lighted in the experiment ; but their senseless joy was of short duration, and the Stork came in due time. Four years had scarcely passed, when the national convention erected its scaffolds. The Bailli de Mirabeau, already quoted, was quite right. When a people aim at the destruction of a kingly government they invariably begin by levelling its blows against religion and its ministers. Of that absolute truth the French revolution has furnished the most unequivocal proof. Nothing M. DE TALLEYRAND. 101 in past ages was to be compared to it. For a long time, the philosophic or sceptical sect had been busy in ridiculing the tenets of Christianity ; and, unfortunately, it had found but too substantial arguments in favour of its sophistry, in the scan- dalous conduct of the national clergy. It talked of the vices of the men compared with the doctrines they were wont to profess ; and a denial of the possibility of miracles led to an assertion of the non-existence of the deity. Atheism walked erect in the coterie of the Baron d'Holbach. When, however, the time had come to attack the govern- ment, more prudence was used ; for though these gentlemen might well affect to challenge the almighty power of God, and the censures of the church, they shewed themselves careful not to commit themselves with the human material means intrusted to the powers of the state for its own pre- servation. Thus M. de Talleyrand, who did not mind the excommunications of the Pope, neglected no precaution to avoid a mandamus, or writ of the revolutionary tribunal, and concealed himself to avert its dreaded consequences. It must be granted, nevertheless, that the government of Louis XVI egregiously neglected the means it had in hand for its own preservation, and to defend 102 M. DE TALLEYRAND. itself against its assailants. The more commonly it had recourse to a mode always disgraceful, and very seldom of any avail. The court had adopted for its regular system, to buy its oppo- nents over with ready money; as if a man who had once sold his conscience could ever be trusted afterwards, and was not for ever to be bought again. In order that such a contract might be permanent, it was necessary that the corrupting party should be always prosperous ; otherwise the bargain was of no certain value. Besides, the government of Louis XVI was not openly attacked : other and more dexterous means were used to procure its destruction. The foes of the state began to praise the value of liberty, in a manner leading to the conclusion that France was in a state of political slavery. They talked of the advantage of a cheap government, to make the people more impatient under the load of taxes bearing upon their property and industry ; and the enthusiasts of American independence, such as Lafayette and the brothers Lameth, did not fail to show that, as the American government went on and worked well without public charges on the people, the experiment having already been made, could be turned successfully to account in M. DE TALLEYRAND. 103 France. Not without foundation, did they go the length of boasting afterwards, that in Parisian society, and in the very court itself, they had sown the seed of equality which they had brought with them from America. The economists less positive, presented in a speculative form, the re- sults of their pretended science, professing to possess the secret of making every one contented and happy. The Abbe de Perigord was one of the most notorious promoters of those doctrines, broached with a view of persuading the people to receive and apply discoveries for the improvement of agriculture, and the directing to greater advantage of the trade carried on in towns. Hence the population, believing firmly in the prodigies revealed by mountebanks, and propagated by their dupes, would no longer submit to what they con- sidered vexatious, and refused to pay any further contributions for the expenditure and support of the state. From conviction that they possessed the right to refuse the payment of taxes, no wonder they were led to think themselves justified in their refusal. Every privilege every social dis- tinction, was soon done away, as outrages to the reason and the dignity of man. The feudal rites 104 M. DE TALLEYRAND. were attacked, less as obstacles preventing the perfection of agriculture, than as badges of slavery. The prodigalities of the court were, at length, struck at ; they were immensely exaggerated, for greater effect ; and a unanimous resolution to eradicate an evil of such magnitude was almost instantaneously made throughout all parts of the kingdom. . In the centre or labyrinth in which the throne of Louis XVI was thrown, one deity alone had pre- served his sway, and the universal homage of his votaries. Every one might have been his high- priest or pontiff. That god was Presumption. Every advocate or attorney in the country had the pretension of possessing a new code of laws of hi own manufacture, calculated to renovate and invi- gorate France ; and there was not a paltry stock- -'obber, who did not consider himself capable of giving plans of finance, from which public pro- sperity was to flow, as from a source quite inex- haustible. The only fear was the excess of riches likely to accrue. The army was to be placed upon a new footing, provided only one of twenty measures, introduced for the same purpose by dif- ferent men, was adopted. Without disputing here that the exigencies of the times often require M. DE TALLEYRAND. 105 changes upon the largest scale, we cannot help remarking, that, whatever might be said, France had not always been governed and administered by unskilful hands; witness, not the course of events merely in themselves, but the results to which they led. A few words more will explain this proposition." Spain had a right to be proud of her Ximenes, Sweden of her Oxienstiern ; but what has since been the fate of those two kingdoms ? Do they reckon themselves any longer among the ruling powers of Europe? — They have been gradually decreasing, while France, on the contrary, still ranks among the first nations of the universe.- Let us briefly explain the cause of that difference, and search where it is to be found. It arises from the consistency of her politics, ever since the days of Cardinal de Richelieu. That great man laid the fundamental stone of the edifice which Mazarin, Colbert, Louvois and others subsequently built; and if, in succeeding times, less favoured with men of genius, the progression has not kept pace with preceding times, it is just, however, to observe, that scarcely any retrograde motion had taken place up to the very breaking out of the revo- lution : for every minister, even Cardinal de Fleury 106 M. DE TALLEYRAND. and the Duke de Choiseul, always kept in view that wise rule, to look upon themselves as heirs to the views of their predecessors, avoiding, with sedulous attention, any deviation, how- ever slight and apparently insignificant, which could take them out of this track. Thus, evty successive war, however disastrous, and in spite of the vicissitudes of chance, was never ter- minated without France reaping, directly or indi- rectly, some advantage from it. In every thing, the end must be looked to as the main consider- ation. This was the case, when, after the accu- mulated reverses which marked the last years of the reign of Louis XIV, two years before he sank into the grave, the old monarch found means to insure to a prince of his blood the undisputed succession to the throne of Spain. On the same wise system the possession, or rather, the acqui- sition of the island of Corsica was secured to France by the adventitious circumstances, of which due advantage was taken, of the intestine troubles in the Seven United Provinces of the Low Countries, and the first signs of discontent in the British colo- nies in North America. At that period, how- ever, England still possessed her Chatham, among other very able statesmen ; Austria had her Kau- M. DE TALLEYRAND. 107 nitz ; Sweden her Gustavus III ; and Denmark her Bernstorf ; without reckoning, as above par in this enumeration, Catherine II of Russia, and the great Frederick in the north of Germany. We have said, that scarcely any retrograde motion had taken place in the regular course of the power of France, to the very breaking out of the revolution. It is also true, that there was no sensible diminution, not of consideration merely, but of material strength : for a new n?Lvj had been created under the government of Louis XVI, such as had not existed since the best days of Louis XIV. Yet it must be confessed, that French in- fluence abroad was on the wane, and had been pro- gressively so ever since the disgrace of the Duke de Choiseul, in 1770. This statesman, under the ex- terior cloak of volatility, disguised though he did not entirely hide, great abilities, a profound judgment, and an ardent desire to affix his name to some glorious undertaking which might blend it with the recollection of splendid achievements, and give him future renown. From the time of his retirement from power, some time elapsed before France again possessed a strong government, not in the English acceptation of the word, but a govern- ment of bold decision and energy. This did not i08 M. DE TALLEYRAND. occur till the ever deplorable days called the reign of terror. Then the French soldiers were excited against their foreign aggressors, like ravenous wolves, impatient for prey. But it is more pro- perly to the beginning of the nineteenth century that we must refer, in order to find in France a government powerful, strong, and, at the same time, humane and dignified. As soon as the con- sular government began to shoot forth the rays of its glory, every thing assumed a new face and appearance. The fourteen years of wise rule which now took place will shine like a whole century, and be capable of standing as a parallel with all possible ages, past or future. But there closes our proud era; and we have fallen back again into the most deplorable intricacies, and into a labyrinth of questions incapable of solution, which must appear without excuse now, though inexperience might have pleaded for the imprudence of their being advanced in 1789. In all the phases of those latter times, so very different from each other, so varied, so pregnant with irreparable losses, and errors not to be repaired, as well as grateful recollections^ M. de Talleyrand always appears in the fore-ground, following those tortuous tracks with which he is M. DE TALLEYRAND. 109 better acquainted than any other man in Europe; and, in the prosecution of this work, we hasten to state that in a short time we shall have no further occasion to speak of him in the irreverent manner with which we treat the Abbd de Perigord, when forced to relate his individual eccentricities of character. 4 no M. DE TALLEYRAND. CHAPTER VI. The Romans govern the world — Studies of the Abbe de Perigord — Notable incapacity — Allowable ambition — A banker prime minister — Louis XVI and fatality — Every body discontented — Influence of the American war — Monarchy and republicanism — M. Necker and the comptc-rendu — Nurseries of clubs — The guests at the Palais Royal — The Abb^ Sieyes — A saying by La Clos — Hesiod and M. de Talleyrand's establishment — Gallery of the States- General — Portraits by prediction — M. de Lafayette, Philarete — M. de Talleyrand, Amenes — The most remarkable individuals of the period. Great men pass away, and vanish ! it is their unavoidable fate ; but great and good institu- tions stand and are consoUdated by time, which alone can modify them so as to renew, at long intervals, their chances of duration. The Roman ways, constructed by Ccesar, still attest M. DE TALLEYRAND. Ill the presence of his legions in Gaul ; but that con- quering people, the Romans, live among us not only by their monuments, but by the creations which the genius of their poets, their historians, and their orators has bequeathed to posterity. Their legis- lation is in all our codes and civil establishments and on that account it may be said that the Ro- mans have not yet ceased to govern the world. It is then towards future times that legislators ought to turn their whole attention. But how will a poli- tical personage, a diplomatic character, ambitious to extend his influence over times to come be able to read in the dark book of probabilities, if he be not lighted by the rays of superior thought ? Only by studying the past— by searching history, not to unravel facts or anecdotes, but as the universal register of all nations and governments. This great study, the Abbe de Perigord* made it his principal care to pursue in spite of the many intricacies of this labyrinth of intrigue of which there was never perhaps another instance, and in which he found * Notwithstanding a most powerful memory, which he has retained unimpaired to this day, M. de Talleyrand is very far from being a man of erudition : the bent of his mind is rather to collect personal facts and insulated anecdotes upon men and manners. — Tr. 112 M. DE TALLEYRAND. himself engaged as much from inclination as from necessity. Looking around him, he discovered at last, that at the very moment when all the ele- ments of society were thrown into disorder, he might perhaps have compared himself with the weak men who had governed France since the retirement of the Duke of Choiseul and have become vain of a comparison undoubtedly to his advantage. Into what hands, truly, had the helm of the state fallen ? Their manifest corruption was not calculated to deter any conscience whatever from aspiring to succeed them ; and as their ignorance and want of aptitude were equally matters of no- toriety, no wonder that a superior mind, upborne by a variety of positive and applicable knowledge, should have attempted the task. What shall we say, but an old puppet, was that Count de Mau- repas who opened the ministerial career in the reign of Louis XVI ? What was he but a brutal innovator like the Count de St. Germain ; an old coxcomb like that old mitred fool Lomenie de Brienne ; or a dandy like de Calonne with- out learning, foresight, or expediency?* Could he * M. de Calonne, even by his bitter enemies, was never so harshly judged before. His talents v^^ere of the very first order: M. DE TALLEYRAND. 113 be alarmed even by Necker wbo was so little and whom some people have made so great — a banker turned prime minister ? As well would it be to give the portfolio of the marine to a tradesman who had studied naval evolutions on the ponds in the garden of the Tuileries. Such wretched examples, though followed by as many failures, could not justly extinguish in the aspiring mind of M. de Talleyrand the hope of reaching great political elevation and renown. It has been said that there are men evidently marked with the stamp of fatality. Louis XVI was one of these men. Other monarchs have been victims to their vices, Louis XVI was a victim to his virtues. All the good he did turned and recoiled against himself ; and because he was known to be of a wavering disposition, he was thought weak and wanting in resolution of pur- pose. His concessions were placed to the score of fear rather than of generosity ; so much so, that in proportion as he shewed himself ready to grant he was an able financier, a good scholar and a very' elegant writer. To all these qualities he united that of wanting to pass for a cour- tier, though he had the manners of one. He however lived in unfortunate times. — Tr. VOL. I. J 114 M. DE TALLEYRAND. favours, the exigencies and demands, upon him increased ; and when he at last understood the necessity of refusing to do more, he found himself deprived of the power. And as, for his misfor- tune, the court disapproved of the many marks of partiality he was incessantly giving to his servants and advisers, he soon found himself jammed in, as it were, between the party which was urging him forward and the party that wanted him to stop or to recede. The court thought he was proceeding too far in his plans for improving the condition of the people, while the political jugglers who formed his councils pretended he did not go far enough. He wished, in fact, to satisfy every body and he satisfied no one. Yet a burst' of joy saluted! his ac- cession to the throne, when it was made known that he had spontaneously renounced the usual gift called joyeux avenement. The parliament of Paris, which he had recalled from exile or rather to existence, teazed him with untimely remon- strances, as if that body had conspired with the rest for the overthrow of the monarchy which involved its own ruin. Every corporation in France followed the example of the first court of justice in M. DE TALLEYRAND. 115 the kingdom, and not less impiiidently. Thus were eyes blind to their own interest ; following irresistibly the impetus of a revolution which, like a ponderous mass hanging by a thread, was ready to fall upon all heads alike. The American war had contributed not a little towards throwing the finances of the state into disorder — a disorder, it is true, much more ap- parent than real, but which exercised a fatal in- fluence upon the destinies of the monarchy. First of all it was a sort of anomaly to see the govern- ment of an absolute monarchy cooperate in the establishment of a democratic commonwealth where no titles of nobility, no privileges, no hereditary offices, no clergy were to enter into the social frame. And it was at this precise period that the administration of the public revenue was en- trusted for the first time to Necker, that is to say, to the citizen of a repubhc and a pro- testant. In publishing his first compte rendu or account of his financial measures, Necker seems to us to have done simply what it is the duty of all governments to do. Nevertheless, upon ma- ture examination, it will be found that this unprecedented act was noticed as a very impru- I 2 116 M. DE TALLEYRAND. dent thing, and every body will readily concur in that conclusion when he comes to bear in mind the times and circumstances attending such an attempt at publicity. It was undoubtedly, we must admit the origin of a great substantial good for generations to come, but the actual cause of a great immediate calamity. Necker having spread through a gossiping and inquisitive population, a desire of knowing and talking about every- thing, endless controversies instantly began. He had untied tongues hitherto condemned to passive silence and he was considered a prodigy in consequence. The impetus once given, how was it possible to stop it? So, when that minister resigned, there was no longer any check to the investigations of public affairs made in private drawing-rooms, public meetings, or at coffee- houses. Every act of the government was openly discussed, its expediency boldly questioned, and there was no end to the enquiries and censures to which each day gave birth, and which ripened into causes of discontent and opposition. Hence the origin of those clubs of hateful memory, without the help of which, the convention would not have perpetrated its odious crimes and unheard M. DE TALLEYRAND. 117 of excesses. We shall soon see that M. de Tal- leyrand was affiliated to those clubs, and played a conspicuous part in their deliberations. The leaders of such associations wanted money to ensure the success of their theories, of which none among them would have submitted to abide the consequences, if these could have been placed before them in terrific reality. They found in the immense wealth of the Duke of Orleans that which they could not have procured otherwise. This man, for the time is not yet come to quaUfy him with the epithet of monster, nourished in his heart an implacable hatred to the elder branch of the Bourbons. We will not copy his portrait after all those who have painted him in such striking colours and with such disgusting resem- blance. Nobody exists who does not know that, though entirely devoid of courage and resolu- tion, this Prince nevertheless aimed at celebrity. The companions of his dissolute habits, and unrestrained debaucheries of all kinds, became the natural depositaries of his secret schemes, and the Palais Royal was the usual place of ren- dezvous, and almost the residence of Mirabeau, the Marquis of Sillery, the Abbe de Perigord, 118 M. DE TALLEYRAND. the Lameths, and other profligate characters, all grown ambitious, after having been discontented, or smarting under disappointment. There also, sometimes appeared the Abbe Sieyes, a man of better morals and graver appearance, always speaking of the inflexibility of his principles, to which, indeed, he never proved unfaithful but for the acquisition of wealth. It is true the world had reached that period when the witty La Clos gave this definition of probity : — " Nothing is any longer requisite," was he wont to say, " but to have the good sense not to commit imprudent rogueries, and deprive oneself thereby of the power of arriving at profitable ones." It may be remarked, as a corollary to the above argument, that M. de Talleyrand, in all the dif- ferent characters he ever assumed, was never known to commit an imprudent act, except per- haps that of marrying Mrs. Grant ; yet this was altogether a useful imprudence, since it was found necessary to complete what might be called his divorce from the church ; and, besides, it was an act of compulsion, and not one of free choice. Talking one day of his domestic concerns, he was heard to say, in the text of one of Hesiod's lines M. DE TALLEYRAND. 119 that half was better than the whole. He did not explain which half he meant, but he under- stood himself no doubt. The same La Clos, from whom we have just made a characteristic quotation was the very soul of the Orleans party, the ame damnee, as the French say ; he always held the pen at the Pandemo- nium of the Palais Royal ; and such functions were in unison with every feeling of him who wrote the — '^ Liaisons dangereuses." La Clos published another work, of a different kind, under the title of " Gallery of the States- General" — a book much sought after, at the time, and which created a very great sensation in the public mind, though without the author's name being affixed to it. It is a sort of biography, representing under feigned names, those it pre- tends to portray faithfully ; but the likenesses were so striking, that it was impossible for the reader to mistake any of the originals. In order to enable the reader to judge of the accuracy of our pre- sumptions on this head, we will transcribe here, for his information, the very passage relating to two out of the three men we have mentioned at the beginning of this work as symbols of the 120 M. DE TALLEYRAND. revolution. M. de Lafayette bore the name of Philar^te ; M. de Talleyrand that of Amines. Let us observe that what follows was written by La Clos in 1789, and that his pen was dipped in the golden ink-stand of the Palais Royal. " Philarete. — Philarete having experienced that a man could be a hero at a cheap rate, has imagined that it would not be a more difficult task to be a statesman ; and, as the war does not break out again, he has made a politician of himself. Na- ture had not, however, designed him any more for a public speaker than for a pupil of Mars, but in spite of nature, he has disputed on political aftairs, as he had before vanquished in the fields of Bellona. " The misfortune of Philarete is to have great pretentions, with little means to support them. He takes in hand the cause of freedom : not that he is over fond of that liberty which he praises, not that he really thinks of being useful to the cause ; but, in siding with the smaller number, he expects to be easier noticed ; and, if he is con- demned at Paris, he takes ample vengeance in the provinces where nothing can stop his tongue, and he makes speeches like a madman. M. DE TALLEYRAND. 121 " Philar^te has deceived himself into the idea that he is the author of the American revolution ; he flatters himself also that he shall become one of the fii'st actors in revolutionizing France. He mistakes bustle for glory, any occurrence what- ever for success, a sword for a monument, a com- pliment for a title to immortality, favours for rewards, and valour for heroism. " He dislikes the court, because he carries there nothing but foreign pretentions ; he equally dis- likes the world, because it is a medley where nobody is more looked upon than his neighbour. He shuns women, because their society may hurt a man's reputation without leading to for- tune ; but he loves the society of clubs because, from their eternal dissertations he may collect some sayings to repeat and shine, when opportunity offers at another place. He prefers foreigners, because they are less difficult to please in point of language ; he courts the intimacy of fools, because he is sure they listen patiently to his lucubrations, and admire him as a lucid reasoner. " Philarete never writes anything ; because, in order to compose a book, some reasoning, some knowledge, some method, what constitutes a style m short, is indispensable. A silly sentence will 122 M. DE TALLEYRAND. draw ridicule upon the author ; an unwarrantable assertion give rise to a criticism ; but conversation requires more fire than judgment, more liveliness than depth of thought. The man is proclaimed a pedant who comments upon the unprepared de- livery of one's ideas ; and it is admitted that a person may be a very agreeable talker without uttering one word of sense. ' ' Philar^te will be faithful to the cause he has espoused, not from well knowing the reason why he is on that side rather than another. He does not rightly know what the word constitution signi- fies, and the degree of power with which a nation ought to invest its government ; but the word liberty is magic for him ; it is in accordance with his ambition, without knowing, previously, what he may do when the thing he most longs for has been acquired and secured, " He once attacked a disgraced minister without any malice, and without knowing what he was about. It was thought, at first, that he was pur- suing some great plan which was to lead to a proportionate result. No such thing. He is no more vindictive than well-informed. The desire and well-founded hope of having his accusation talked of bv idle coftce-house declaimers, led to M. DE TALLEYRAND. 123 the step he took ; and tardy reflection only taught him that the unfortunate are always placed under the safe-guard of every man of delicacy. " What part can such a man as Philar^te play in a national assembly ? Neither a bad nor a good one, it should seem. There are men, in the world, who cannot think for themselves : they have only just nerve enough to defend the opinion of their leaders, and they do themselves the jus- tice to think that they should endanger their reputation by adhering faithfully to their own doubtful notions. ' ' Such is Philarete : he however deserves some kind of reputation, because he is better than most of his rivals or not so bad. Perhaps he does not himself know the true cause of the indulgence he has met with. It proceeds from the reason that with very limited means, he has done more than could be expected of him. He was praised for what he attempted to be, more than for what he really was. Besides, he carries with him all the exterior of modesty ; and connaisseurs alone esti- mate him at his true worth. " His military reputation is only sketched, one may say ; and 1 must wait for the next war to give it body and colour. His reputation as a 124 M. DE TALLEYRAND. statesman, though fully described, will never reach beyond what we see : a narrow genius, no nerve, no lungs, with very Httle art, and a greedy avidity for immediate success. The small size of his study is a faithful image of the extent of his capa- city 1" We have no reflections to offer upon this por- trait, taken from life, forty-five years ago : it is not difficult to perceive that time has so changed the features and expression so as to destroy the like- ness at present. As to the portrait of M. de Tal- leyrand, it is remarkable that it became more and more faithful at every period of his political life — though flattered and embellished in some of its features. " Amenes. — Amenes has those enchanting forms about him which can adorn virtue itself. The first instrument of his success is a steady mind ; judging men and things with perfect sang-froid, he is endowed with that moderation which is the true characteristic of a sage. There is a certain de- gree of perfection which can exist only in the un- derstanding, and a greatness of mind in the attempt to realize things as they are felt and conceived; but such brilliant attempts confer a mere tran- sitory favour upon the man who makes them, M. DE TALLEYRAND. 125 and are of no use to other men, who are quickly undeceived. A sound judgment, on the contrary, disdains all that drags eclat after it, and measuring the boundary of human intellect has not the foolish hope of extending it further than the limits beyond which experience has shown that it can reach. Amenes does not think of building for himself the fabric of a very high reputation ; for after reaching a certain height it has always been found to de- crease, and such a fall is the bane of all peace and happiness ; but he will arrive at any thing, because he will have the skill to master all those op- portunities ivhich are always in the way of the man who does not at once storm the heights of fortune. Every degree towards it will be marked by the display of new talent, and, ascending from suc- cess to success, he will at last conquer that unanimity of suffrages which carries a man succes- sively to all places of high trust happening to be vacant, as the fittest to fill them with advantage to their object and credit to himself. " Envy, which seldom admits the existence of eminent merit j without some drawback or other, has stated that Amenes wanted that strength which breaks asunder every obstacle, and triumphs over all possible difficulties thrown in the path of every 126 M. DE TALLEYRAND, man who acts for the public. But I shall first ask, if that saying avoir du caractere or being possessed of unbending resolution of purpose which strikes the vulgar with awe, does or has done much for the welfare of mankind ? Supposing even that strong disposition to have sometimes been opposed with success to the inroads of revolution, is it in itself any real good? I pause here. Some readers may think I confound firmness, decision, and constancy, with heat, enthusiasm, and precipitation ! No such thing. Amenes yields to circumstances, and to reason ; he justly thinks that he may make timely sacrifices to peace and concord, without descending from the principles which he has invariably made the ground-work of his conduct as well as the moral basis of his politics. "Amenes has against him the mildness of his manners, the winning expression of his counte- nance, and the charm of his conversation. I know people whom such external advantages put upon their guard; they feel prejudiced against a man who unites them to the useless accident of high birth and the most essential qualities of the mind ; they comfort themselves however by looking for his faults, or even what is ridiculous in him, for want of finding worse imputations. M. DE TALLEYRAND. 127 " What can be expected of Amenes in the States-General ? Nothing or very little, if he should receive the impetus from his own order; a great deal, if he act by himself and under the persuasion that citizens alone ought to appear in the hall of the National Assembly. The man who has drawn up some of the instructions for the members, ought to have sufficient energy to reach a high degree of influence. " People are not wanting who find fault with Amenes for his intimate connexion with a minister in disgrace ; but he never was blind to the de- fects which he has corrected more than once, doing justice to his abilities, so much the more to be re- gretted, because he well knew their extent. Every day brings instances of persons well acquainted with the imperfections of their friends without giving them up on that account ; and when events hurl them dow^n from the seat of favor and popularity, that is the precise time to console and defend them, and put them in the right way to regain what they have lost in public esteem and reputation. " Amenes knows men too well to become the dupe of praise ; and if he smiles at the illusions of friendship, he casts back the loathsome tribute of 128 M. DE TALLEYRAND. flatterers. It is not reputation alone that has weight with us ; and if Amenes has by chance perceived this rather late, he will never forget it." The different public characters brought into the gallery of the States-General along with M. de La Fayette and the Bishop of Autun are : M. Necker, the Duke de Nivernois, Bergasse, the Count de Mi- rabeau, Turgot, the Chevalier de Boufflers, M. Despremesnil, Count d'Entraigues, the Abbe Sieyes, M. de Cice, the Archbishop of Aix, Dupont de Ne- mours, Bailly, the Abbe Maury, Count Montmorin, the Archbishop of Paris, M. de Juigne, the Duke de Liancourt, M. Bernard, Rabaud de St. Etienne, the Marquis de Clermont-Tonnerre, M. Malouet, the Viscount de Noailles, Guillotin, M. de Barentin, Condorcet, the Count de Custine, the Duke de Chatelet, the Prince de Poix and the Archbishop of Vienne. It is with great regret that we abstain from borrowing more from the book of La Clos, for it shews, in an astonishing manner, the best means of judging the poUtical and moral cha- racter of all the men before enumerated ; who, one and all played so conspicuous a part at the memorable period which we have reached by an- M. DE TALLEYRAND. 129 ticipation. We cannot, however, help calling to the reader's attention that, in perusing the Gallery of portraits above alluded to, he must recollect that it was written by the orders and under the personal inspection of the Duke of Orleans. VOL. I. K 130 M. DE TALLEYRAND. CHAPTER VII. Convocation of the States-General — The Court in disgrace — Successor of M. de Marbceuf — Strong prejudices against his youth — His consecration — His elevation to the States -General by the bailliwick of Autun — Choice of party — Popularity resulting from it — Disposition of the public on the opening of the States- General — The three orders of the State— The Abb6 Maury and the Bishop of Autun — Fouch^'s saying about the Duke of Orleans — A hand at the batch — Cere- mony of the opening of the States- General — King's speech — Assent of the Assembly in consequence — M. de Barenton — Ambiguous speech of M Necker — The Three Orders dis- contented — The enemies of Louis XVI — Enmity of Necker and Mirabeau — The Bishop of Autun mediator between them — Necker's adviser — The two administrations -^ Portrait of Mirabeau. Since the convocation of the States-General had been determined upon and the day fixed, M. de Talleyrand, to use the pointed expression of an M. DE TALLEYRAND. 131 English poet, had totally given up the court mth a mental reservation, however, to take it back again into favour, if circumstances should require it. He was no longer, or rather he no longer bore the appearance of that little flirting abbe, and boyish rake, hiding his early iniquities under the mask of external accomplishments, and bearing with a good grace and perfect resignation, the deaths of his mistresses ; or to speak more plainly, he seemed not to be the same man. The Abbe de Perigord had reached the age of thirty-four years, when succeeding M. de Marboeuf, he re- ceived the investiture of Bishop of Autun. The public found him very young for such a situation ; yet he was a year older than Jesus-Christ his master, and the precise age of Cardinal Medici, when he was raised to the Popedom under the name of Leo X. Before the revolution, there existed great prejudices against youth -. the ex- ample of the great Conde gaining the battle of Tours at nineteen was present to all memories, but the blood of princes and kings was thought of an entirely privileged, if not of a different nature from that of any other men. Four months elapsed, since the nomination of M. de Talleyrand to his see., before he re- k2 132 M. DE TALLEYRAND. ceived the investiture of it. It was only after that interval, and in the month of January 1789, that he was consecrated bishop in due form. He had now received from the court, all that it could give him. Of course, his looks were directed another way. All was bustle and fermentation in France ; every one was aspiring to be elected a deputy. But who sent the Bishop of Autun to the States-General?. . . .The bailliwick of Autun. Elected by the people or third estate, prince of the church, a member to one of the greatest families in France, he belonged, at the same time, to the three estates of the kingdom by his birth, his episcopal office, and his election. Under such circumstances he followed that banner where a greater appearance of sacrifice was required to ingratiate himself with the public. What possi- ble merit could it have been for a man of the illustrious house of Perigord, to rank with the nobility and the court, or for a bishop to declare himself the supporter of the clergy ? That would be obeying the dictates of too vulgar an ambition ! and besides, the nobility and clergy were too strong, too much worn out, while the tiers-etat was a new material. He spurned then anti- quated notions, and advanced towards the rising M. DE TALLEYRAND. 133 sun to worship it. And, besides, did not the Count d'Artois declare to him, that Louis XVI never would be brought to consent to the execution of the Duke of Orleans? M. de Talleyrand knew full well that the rules of morality were not to be applied to state policy ; and that in revolu- tionary times, where strength existed, reason was always by her side. Then, the word popularity brings with it such deUghtful sounds to ambitious ears ! The people are such good masters, so easy to be led, provided a man succeeds in persuading the multitude that their will is taken by him for his sole guide while at the same time he drives them where he pleases ! A hundred and seventy five years had elapsed since the last convocation of the States-General, We have endeavoured to shew what important changes had taken place in the manners and habits of the French people, as well as in their wants and wishes, since that distant period. We shall not return at any length to the subject. We mean only to insist here upon the dis- position of the pubhc mind relative to the great trial about to be made. What strikes us most, is the fusion of the three orders of the state into one. The nobility and landed gentry, were no 134 M. DE TALLEYRAND. longer a corporation but by name, since a great many of its members made common cause with the tiers etat. The clergy clung to the nobility only by its chiefs and dignitaries, the inferior ranks of the priesthood and the monks of all descriptions belonging by birth to the lower orders of society. It is possible, rigorously speaking, that men may be ambitious to descend, but what would be much more inexplicable is that there should have been in the tiers-etat or among the plebeians, individuals aiming at the ridiculous distinction of being mem- bers of the aristocratic party ; as if by such con- cessions, the nobles were to have admitted them into their order, or had ceased to look upon them with contempt. Men offer a surer test, than all the reason- ings in the world. It is a sort of alto relievo, or prominence of figures. We will select two men to illustrate our notions. The diverging of their doctrines will be the more striking, as de- parting from the two opposite extremities of the social state, each fell into that range of opinion which the respective circumstances of their birth and native habits seemed likely to have for- bidden them to trespass upon. Those two men were the Abbe Maury, the son of the shoemaker M. DE TALLEYRAND. 135 of Carpantras and a staunch aristocrat ; whilst the democrat was the descendant of the Counts de la Marche, the Counts de Foix, and the Counts de Peri- gord, all former sovereigns of their respective dis- tricts. Did that arise from conviction or principle? Neither had convictions ; but both had made cal- culations, and were playing a different game, in hopes of winning what they severally wanted. On one side were the favours of the court; on the other, the favours of the people. The stakes once upon the table, it became impossible to recede until the game was over. The Abbd Maury was an expert gamester ; but the Bishop of Autun was perhaps a better player, and, in need, made no scruple to cheat his adversary. We mean to say, that he had the art of forcing the chance when it was doubtful. When Louis XVI convoked the States-General, the whole country was in combustion. From that state to entire confusion, there was but one step ; for every thing was ready for general disorgani- zation. The greatest, and most complete political manjiikin that ever existed, became the pivot and treasurer of the destructive faction ; and what was wanting to the hirelings of the party was abundantly supphed by the treasurer of the Duke 136 M. DE TALLEYRAND. of Orleans. However, there is a sort of justice which must not be denied to the latter: — he was but the rallying point of his followers ; and Fouche often repeated, long afterwards, the following words: — "We contrived to make sure of him, because it was essential that a prince of the royal blood should have a hand in what was then brewing." At length the grand day, so long and so an- xiously expected, dawned on the horizon. On the 5th of May, 1789, the opening of the States-Gene- ral took place at Versailles. The ceremony was ushered in by an act of rehgion. The deputies, pre- ceded by a long file of priests and followed by the King in person, repaired to the church of St. Louis, amid an immense crowd, addressing prayers to the Almighty for the success of the social regeneration which was going to be at- tempted. The three orders of the state marched separately : — the pomp and variety of dresses, among the two privileged bodies was truly daz- zling. The clergy, resplendent with all the para- phernalia of the Roman church, had before it a golden cross borne by some of its members in garments of gold embroidery ; while rich banners of brocade, and the most costly scarfs were also M. DE TALLEYRAND. , 137 displayed. The order of nobles which followed the clergy in the procession, was scarcely less showy: — each of its members was, as in the good olden times of chivalry, literally weighed down by the load of mantles, plumes, arms, orders of knight- hood, and other ornaments. They all walked in stately glory, little thinking it was to be their last exhibition of the kind, and that they were wretched victims, adorned and decorated before being offered in bloody sacrifice. After the mass of the Holy Ghost was over the procession returned, in the same order, to the hall prepared for its sittings. On a high scaffolding, erected on purpose, stood the tottering throne of Louis XVI, having near it, some degrees lower, seats for the Queen, the Princes his brothers and nephews, and those of the royal blood. The King read a speech, of which the following extract was the most important part. He pronounced it in a firm tone ; and his voice, naturally weak, seemed to have assumed for the occasion a degree of fulness and energy. " Gentlemen of the Three Orders, " The day so long wished for by me is at last arrived, to fill my heart with unmixed satisfaction. 138 M. DE TALLEYRAND. I am now surrounded by the representatives of a nation which I am proud to command. A very long interval of time has elapsed since the last convocation of the States-General, by my predecessors : but though those assembhes have not been held during so long a period, their example has not deterred me from recurring to more ancient usages, which may give new strength to this nation, and open new sources of prosperity. " A general uneasiness, and a too eager desire for innovation has taken hold of the public mind, and would ultimately mislead its judgment, if it were not soon put a stop to by wise laws and moderate measures. It is in that confidence, Gen- tlemen, that I have called you together. I trust the measure will be justified. I found my hopes upon the disposition of the two first orders of the state to abandon their pecuniary privileges. I shall not be frustrated, I am convinced, in my antici- pations of seeing all the orders unite together, and vie with me in my efforts for the public good. I have already ordered considerable retrenchments to be made in my personal expenditure ; and, on this subject, I request your advice and assistance: but, in reducing my expenditure to the most eco- M. DE TALLEYRAND. 139 nomical limits, I fear I cannot alone succeed, so soon as I could wish, in relieving the burthens which weigh upon my subjects. "The pubUc mind is highly excited; but an assembly, composed of the representatives of the nation, will surely listen to no other dictates than those of wisdom and prudence. You have been able. Gentlemen, to appreciate, in recent circum- stances, whether the people have not been misled: but the spirit which shall preside over your deliberations will recal the sentiments of a people which has ever been distinguished for its love towards its monarchs. I will attach myself to this idea alone. " I am aware of the extent of the authority and power of a just monarch, surrounded by a faithful people, attached at all times to the principles of monarchy. These principles have caused the glory and splendour of France: — I will maintain them, as it is my duty to do. Every thing that can be expected from the most lively solicitude for the public weal, every thing that may be hoped for from a sovereign animated with the most sincere love of his subjects, you may rely on obtaining from me. Let a happy concord reign in this assembly; and may the happiness and prosperity 140 M. DE TALLEYRAND. of the country render this epoch for ever me- morable ! — Such is the wish of my heart, and the object of my most ardent prayers! — it is, in short, the result I expect, from the sincerity of my inten- tions, and my love for my people." The applauses of the Assembly frequently inter- rupted this discourse. When the King had ceased speaking, M. de Barentin, keeper of the seals, rose and paid a merited tribute of gratitude to the monarch who, yielding to the public voice, had convoked the States-General. He showed the advantages of a limited government, equally removed from absolute power, and republican anarchy. M. Necker, once more controller general of the finances, as we have already stated, followed M. de Barentin ; and in a speech of great length developed the necessity of directing the attention of the Assembly principally to the finances which, he did not disguise, were not in a flourishing state ; declaring however that the deficiency, which had caused so much clamour, did not exceed the sum of fifty-six miUions of livres. Necker was undoubtedly right in affecting to look upon that debt as of Uttle importance, as a mere trifle for a great and opulent nation. His speech, M, DE TALLEYRAND. 141 however, satisfied no party ; as is always the case when one is desirous of offending none. The two first orders found that Necker cut too deeply and too boldly at their privileges, — that he attacked, with too radical a spirit, the superiority of rank ; whilst the tiers-etat was astonished to see the influential minister confine himself, in his speech, to questions of finances. He said not a word about liberty, nor reform; nothing respecting a new constitution. All parties found Necker's speech obscure and ambiguous, with regard to the grand question already agitated before the convocation of the Assembly, that of deciding whether the de- liberations should take place in different chambers, or by the plurality of the votes of the three orders united. The enemies of Louis XVI, those w^ho, under the pretence of demanding the reform of abuses, aimed at overthrowing his throne, had adopted a mode of attack which party spirit, when actuated by hatred, never fails to follow, and which is al- most always attended with success. The royal concessions were proclaimed beforehand, and an extension attributed to them which they could not possibly have, so that, when the day arrived to see them realised, general discontent prevailed ; 142 M. DE TALLEYRAND. every one was more irritated on account of what he had not obtained than satisfied with that which was granted to him. At this period, Necker and Mirabeau were irre- concileable enemies. The Bishop of Autun, who was once intimate with the latter, found means to be at the same time on the best possible terms with the the comptroller-general of finances. It was generally reported, that Necker's speech was written, in part at least, by the Bishop of Autun. Besides which, as this speech was the first blow that told directly against the minister's popularity, it was thought that Mirabeau and M. de Talleyrand had connived together to make Necker deliver a speech so displeasing to the Assembly. This pre- sumed perfidious conduct had for its object the downfal of the Genevese colossus, in order to oc- cupy his place, which would have been the case, had it been possible to hit upon any intrigue that could have deprived M. de Montmorin of the secretaryship for foreign affairs, the object of Mirabeau's ambition. This machination failed. It was Mirabeau's destiny never to become a minister, and M. de Talleyrand was fated to obtain this post for the first time during the reign of tlie Directory, and, in the course of his long life, to M. DE TALLEYRAND. 143 hold five different times an office which, at the period we are speaking of, did not even occupy his thoughts. With regard to Mirabeau, M. Lemercier, one of the most distinguished cotemporary writers, and who in his youth had seen this great orator, has drawn his portrait, which we will here present to our readers, and which we doubt not will be read with interest. " He was, in style, neither a Demosthenes, nor a Cicero. He possessed neither the flow nor the elegance of the latter, but he had all the energy of the former. As Demosthenes hurled back his answers to the messages of King Philip, in the like manner Mirabeau grappled with the attack made by prejudices and anti- national interests. He was not gifted with the exterior advantages of an Alcibiades — his counte- nance was forbidding, and even ugly ; his whole person offered an assemblage of coarse and heavy contours, and the eye rested with a feeling of repugnance upon his pock-marked features, his olive complexion, his deeply-furrowed cheeks, his sunken eyes, overshadowed by high and thick eyebrows, his lead-like lips, and irregularly formed mouth, and the whole of his ill-proportioned head 144 M. DE TALLEYRAND. supported by an expanded chest. Was it the beauty of his voice, or the correctness of his pro- nunciation, that suppUed the advantages he was deficient in ? His voice was not less harsh than his features, and he retained a slight meridional accent ; but he knew how to raise that voice, at first drawling and uneven, but gradually improved by the inspirations of his mind and his know- ledge, until it suddenly burst forth in full and varied tones, and in comprehensive ideas which he sought to develope. He resembled, in this respect, those large birds, which rise slowly and with effort, from the plain, and whose flight becomes rapid when they dart towards the heavens. Like the eagle, he hovered in the storm, mocking its efforts ; he hurled the thunderbolt, and crushed every obstacle. Conscious of the power of his manly eloquence, of effect of his expressive delivery, the plain- ness of his features seemed to disappear, and his energy became graceful : so much did his soul seem to transform his being, and make his heavy form add to the force of his oratory. How well that intellect directed his few and energetic ges- tures ; he well knew what power it gave to his proud demeanour and lion look ! How nobly did his genius blend, without distorting his features, M. DE TALLEYRAND. 145 the flash of his eyes, the convulsive motions of his brow, his panting features, and his trembling lips, with the intonations of truth, with the vehe- mence of threat and irony! Such was Mirabeau !" VOL. I. 14G M. DE TALLEYRAND. CHAPTER VIII. False patriotism — The Three Orders in presence. — Inevitable results — Frustrated ambitions — Impossibility of satisfying every body — Offers from the Court, and refusal — The treasury of public opinion — Money and vanity — The tarif of conscience — The Orleans' faction — Interregnum of the Montesquious — M. de Talleyrand and M. de La Fayette — Popularity and fortune — Meeting at M, de Barentin's — Verification of the elections — Conduct of the clergy — The Archbishop of Vienne and the Bishop of Autun — Influence of M. de Talleyrand — Motives of his conduct — Wishes of Necker vpith regard to the formation of two chambers — Opinions of some sensible men— Mounier, Malouet, Target, and Bailly — Excursion into futurity — The two political aims of M. de Talleyrand — Men betrayed, and fidelity to principles — The embassy to London — The Moniteur at St. Petersburg, and the cause of the recognition of Louis Philip by the Emperor of Russia. In France patriotism, the noblest passion that beats in the heart of man, has frequently been M. DE TALLEYRAND. 147 confounded with a certain warmth of the imagina- tion, a kind of exaltation, which may not always be devoid of generous impulse. The assembly of the States- General contained, no doubt, some sin- cere patriots, men anxious for the public good, such as the Mouniers, the Baillys, the Malouets ; but how many deceptive faces were there for one true heart ; how many men fancied they loved their country, because a secret jealousy animated them against royalty—against those exalted stations recognised, consecrated by time, and perhaps in- dispensably necessary to the continued existence and unity of that complicated machine called a government ! The envy which the tiers-etat felt towards the two other orders is an incontestible fact, and we are willing to acknowledge that this feeUng was more natural than invidious ; but it was not long in becoming fatal to the monarchy. So long as the members of the three orders w^ere scattered among society, they might certainly some- times clash together, but these clashings were partial and individual. When, however, they were after- wards united into bodies, and placed in rivalry with each other, it was impossible that a collision should not take place ; and this event very soon occurred. It is undoubtedly a fact, that the species of equal L 2 148 M. DE TALLEYRAND. footing produced by the elections, tended to destroy the illusions of rank ; united together in the same locality, each was the colleague of the other, and nothing more. The merits of each were weighed, compared, and the consequence was those questions which self-love ever suggests to the mind of man, and also the inevitable answer: '^ I am better than my neighbour." What a field for every species of ambition did an assembly Uke that of the States-General offer, especially when the constituted authorities were so deeply interested in commanding a majority. It was not, however, within the range of possibility for the monarch to satisfy every demand. It was impos- sible to raise all the deputies to the rank of princes — all the ministers could not be made generals, admirals, bishops, or presidents : and as each individual could not of necessity be what all were eager to become, the majority felt that there existed but one method of remedying the impos- sibility of their attaining the destined elevation, and that was to bring down to their level those whose former elevation was obnoxious to them. Every one thus followed a principle which the Bishop of Autun was one of the first to lay down. As the Bishop of Autun had dealt with the M. DE TALLEYRAND. 149 utmost caution towards the court, they were in- duced to beUeve, even to the last moment, that he would join their party ; negociations were set on foot for that purpose, and his refusal surprised and alarmed the royal party. Knowing that he was deeply in debt, and aware of his love of money, thev offered him a considerable sum, on condi- tion that he would employ his influence in atten- uating the effect of a recent deliberation of the clergy, the result of which was that the defini- tive verification of the elections should be made in a general assembly, with a reservation, how- ever, in favour of the distinction of the orders. To these proposals the Bishop of Autun replied : " I shall find in the treasury of public opinion infinitely more than you offer me. Money received from the court would only be a cause of ruin to me ; and, as I want to enrich myself, I must build my fortunes upon a more solid basis." The court did not understand the meaning of this answer ; we understand it perfectly well : it amounted simply to this : " The court does not offer me enough ! " That which to the Bishop of Autun was above all things, a question of money, was considered by many a question of vanity ; and, as all men 150 M. DE TALLEYRAND. appreciate highly their own talents, it was natural that every one should say, as well as their col- league : " The court does not offer me enough." Mr. Pitt was perfectly right when he said, "The important thing to give an impetus to an assembly, is to have the tarif of men's consciences." We might add, that it is necessary to possess the means of purchasing them, and the state of Louis' finances precluded the possibility of such a thing. The tiers-etat shewed, from the very first day, the intention of depriving the two other orders of the supremacy which they had hitherto enjoyed. They commenced by requiring the deliberations to be carried on in the same place. From that moment, the deliberative influence of the clergy and nobles was in fact destroyed ; because it was evident that whatever their votes might be, they would virtually be reduced to nothing through the superior numbers of the tiers-etat. We do not pretend to say that the latter were wrong in their demand, we merely relate an important fact. We are even of opinion, when we turn back to these times, that if in the social hierarchy a noble was more than a member of the tiers- etat, that superiority was inconsistent with the office of deputy, as the latter evidently repre- M. DE TALLEYRAND. 151 sented in the Assembly a greater number of per- sons, and, consequently, of interests, than any of the clergy or nobles. Besides, it must never be forgotten that the implacable faction of Orleans had in the two first chambers its creatures, bribed to support the demands of the tiers-etat against the very orders they were bound to repre- sent. Public opinion] pointed out, as the principle heads of the Orleans' party, but on different con- ditions, the Bishop of Autun, Sieyes, Gregoire, the brothers Lameth, M. de Lafayette, who was duly rewarded, and the Count de Montes- quiou. The latter nobleman, who claimed his descent from the last race of the Kings of France, probably thought this a good opportunity to put an end to the interregnum, which, since the usurpation of Charlemagne, had deprived his family of the throne. With regard to M. de Lafayette, it is probable that he did not like the Duke of Orleans ; but by caressing that Prince he was enabled to express the hatred he bore towards the court without, at the same time, making too great a display of his feelings ; besides he was not less eager for popularity than the Bishop of Autun was for money. He is now the Citizen of 152 M. DE TALLEYRAND. the two worlds, and the Bishop is the richest man in France. Meantime, M. de Barentin endeavoured to con- cihate what was impossible to be conciUated. At a meeting which took place at his hotel he made overtures, as keeper of the seals, to the commissaries delegated by the three orders. These overtures were nearly accepted by the clergy and nobles ; but the deputies of the tiers-etat rejected them, and persisted in their former de- mands. A week had now elapsed, during which the clerg:y who, as we have already remarked be- longed to both the other orders, at length adopted, after a warm debate, the resolution of putting to the vote the question whether the verification of the elections should take place at a general assembly, or whether each order should verify apart the elec- tion of its members. In this highly important de- bate, for it was already a first step, the Bishop of Autun took a very active part, and brought a great number of members to his opinion, which he strongly expressed in favour of the verification in a general assembly. Every one acknowledged that, on this occasion, he had given proofs of M. DE TALLEYRAND. 153 extraordinary talent and great sagacity ; and the fear with which from that moment he inspired his adversaries, did not prove less in his favour than the praises bestowed upon him by the party whose treasury was more efficient than the coffers . of the court. On the 22nd of June, a meeting of the clergy took place in the choir of the church of St. Louis. The object of this meeting was to call over the names of those deputies who had already signed the declaration respecting the verification being made at a general assembly. The names of the Archbishop of Vienne and the Bishop of Autun were hailed wdth bursts of applause, because they were the first who set the example of voting for the union. The Archbishop of Vienne was Le Franc de Pompignan, brother of the author so frequently the object of Voltaire's epigrams. It was then asserted that the Archbishop had merely yielded to the instigations of the Bishop of Autun, already a perfect adept in the art of gaining over the minds of men by the most insinuating flattery. M, de Pompignan was stricken in years, of the strictest morals, and great simplicity of character. Wlien once his young colleague had rendered himself 154 M. DE TALLEYRAND. master of his mind, he found no difficulty in making him follow the road he wished. Hence the applause which hailed the name of Archbishop, and that of the Bishop of Autun. At the conclusion of the ceremony of calling over the names, the clergy sent a deputation to the assembly, to inform it of the result of the deli- beration, which had decided, by a majority of votes, that the election should be verified in common. The deputation, at the same time, required to be introduced into the general assembly. The Arch- bishop of Vienne at its head deposited upon the President's desk a list of the members w^ho had voted in favour of the union. We find the following remarks, by a contem- porary writer, respecting the facts we have just re- lated. '* The conduct of the Bishop of Autun, and of the prelate who seoonded him, is to be accounted for by the circumstance of Necker's having, from the commencement of the union of the orders, formed the project of dividing the Assembly into two chambers. There were to have been senators ; — this dignity would have been the highest in the state. The most influential of the nobles and clergy were to be the first called M. DE TALLEYRAND. 155 to the upper house. It is, therefore, not to be wondered at that the Bishop of Autun acted in apparent opposition to the interest of his order on an occasion, the result of which would have proved both honourable and profitable to him." This observation is correct. We have borrowed it from its author, because it leads us in a natural manner to shew the political notion of M. de Talleyrand, the dream of his whole life, the con- stant aim of all his attempts, from the day he had settled in his own mind the form of govern- ment suitable to France. In order to express what we have to relate, we shall be under the necessity of breaking through the order of events, and coming down even to our own times ; but w^e shall soon return to the period we have reached in our narrative, that is to say, to the first open- ing of the States-General. We have not disguised the almost innate love of M. de Talleyrand for intrigue, and his power of applying the intriguing spirit of former times to grave and serious matters ; neither have we dissembled his insatiable love of money : we will therefore expose, with equal frankness, the quali- ties which render him a superior man. 156 M. DE TALLEYRAND. It is a fact, that at the period of the States-General Necker had conceived or rather proposed, not so much a decided project as a wish timidly expressed of dividing the assembly into two houses ; but the idea had not originated with himself but had been suggested to him by the Bishop of Autun. This opinion was entertained by men of great sense, whose situation rendered them perfectly un- interested in the matter. Mounier, Malouet, Tar- get, and Bailly, were not less in favour of the formation of two houses than the Marquis de Clermont Tonnerre, the Prince de Poix, the Duke de Liancourt, the Marquis de Lally-Tolendal, and the Bishop of Autun. Mirabeau, whose impetuo- sity was restrained, like the winds chained down by iEolus, had not yet declared for either side of the question ; for Mirabeau, like many others, was less anxious to build than to destroy. The Bishop of Autun, on the contrary, and the supporters of his opinion, had studied the British constitution ; the anglo-mania, so much in vogue at that period, had caused people to open their eyes to that admirable harmony of powers which for more than a century, had conciliated in Great Britain the interests of the nation with those of the aristocracy and the rights of the monarch, all M. DE TALLEYRAND. 157 equally subjected to the salutary despotism of the law. M. de Talleyrand therefore wished that there should be two houses, and an executive power. He has constantly had this end in view ; faithless towards other men, he has no doubt treacherously sacrificed them : but this sacrifice has constantlv been made, in the hope of reviving the prin- ciple of which he alternately considered them the supporters. A few words will suffice to prove this. M. de Talleyrand attached himself to the Directory, because he there found the elements of his political hobby: a council of the ancients, a council of five hundred, the aristocracy of age was at least recognized, which would now be ill re- ceived were it to put forth its claims. The 18th of Brumaire found him the most zealous partisan of a new government, because it promised that which the government of the Directory had not accomphshed. The latter entirely devoted to glory, but forgetful of its promises of liberty and heedless of its change into the imperial form of government, saw M. de Talleyrand gradually withdraw from it and join the malcontents, form new intrigues, and ultimately betray the Emperor who had lavished honours and riches upon him. But, if any one attempted to 158 M. DE TALLEYRAND. disculpate M. de Talleyrand, would it be looked upon as a justification of his conduct to say, that when he prepared the restoration, he did not so much open the gates of Paris to the Bourbons as to the constitutional government which the Bourbons swore to establish and consolidate in France? How came that government not to see and comprehend M. de Talleyrand's meaning, when he betook him- self to the opposition ? Because it w^as blinded by fatality, in the same manner that Louis XVI was blinded, and the great Napoleon hurried into a sub- lime precipice. At the revolution of July, M. de Talleyrand was ready, and protected the newly formed government with the influence of his name. He again became Orleanist by the force of circum- stance, as he had been Orleanist through interested motives, forty years previously. We will end this digression, w^hich perhaps may appear ill-timed, as we shall travel over the same ground again, by stating a fact of itself sufficient to prove how powerful that influence, of which we have just spoken, is throughout Europe. Scarcely was Louis-Philippe elected King of the French, ere he sent Colonel Athalin, one of his favourite aides- de-camp to the Emperor of Russia. The aide-de- camp was the bearer of an autograph letter from M. DE TALLEYRAND. 159 the new sovereign. A fortnight elapsed, and no answer. At length the aide-de-camp received one morning the long-expected and wished-for reply. What then had taken place at St. Petersbm^g? The simplest thing in the world : the Moniteur had arrived, and the Emperor Nicolas had read in its columns, " The Prince de Talleyrand has been appointed Ambassador to London." Upon this the Emperor had said to his Council: " Since M. de Talleyrand attaches himself to the new govern- ment of France, that government must necessarily have some chance of stability." And Louis -Philippe was recognized King of the French by the Emperor of Russia. Let us add, since we have already travelled so much out of the road traced out by the natural order of events, that M. de Talleyrand in accepting the embassy to London, must have contemplated in that mission, an opportunity of putting into practice the second and perhaps the most favourite of his political theories : an alliance between France and England. During the whole of his career as a statesman, we shall find in all his actions — we will not do him the injustice to say all his words, for he w^ould not believe us, — the expression of this idea, which has ever been the basis of his foreign policy : 160 M. DE TALLEYRAND. in the same way that the great principle of his home policy has been two legislative chambers, and a strong executive power, circumscribed within the limits of the law, whatever be the denomina' Hon, that is to say whether the head of the state be Directors, Consuls, an Emperor, a King of France, or a King of the French, and then M. de Talley- rand, Ambassador at London ! What a contrast with M. de Talleyrand ignominiously sent out of England by Mr. Pitt ! We shall come to that circumstance in due time. M. DE TALLEYRAND, JGl CHAPTER IX. Court fools of Louis XVI — Lists of proscriptions — A pamphlet — The candidates for the halter — The Duke of Orleans — Biron — The Duke de la Rochefoucault, and the Duke de Liancourt —The Duke d'Aiguillon— The Bishop of Autun — The Abbe Gregoire and the Abbe Sieyes — The three Marquisses — Mirabeau — The Pantheon — Marat and a common sewer — The Viscount de Noailles — The Viscount de Custines — Alexander and Charles Lameth — M. de la Tour - Maubourg — The sub-lieutenant governor of the Invalids — Petion — Barnave — Condorcet — ■ Robespierre — Tragical deaths — A singular remark — Former victims revenged — Brilliant commencement of the Bishop of Autun's parliamentary career — The imperative mandate — Re- markable speech — Decision of the National Assembly. Formerly the Kings of France had a fool attached to their court ; Louis XVI had thousands about his person. There was, however, a great difference between the fool of Francis I, and the fools of VOL. I. M 1G2 M. DE TALLEYRAND. Louis XVI. Triboulet enjoyed the exclusive right at court of being in the opposition without incurring danger, and to speak the truth without displeasing, — or rather the king's fool was the wise man of the court. At Versailles, on the contrary, the madmen of the chateau christened their folly by the name of reason ; they dreamed wide awake, and took their dreams for realities, saying to themselves : " If I were but allowed to act, I should soon get rid of the factious." There were striking shades of difference among these madmen : some were facetious, wrote epigrams, and were quite pleased with themselves when they succeeded in raising a laugh against some ridicule of the demo- cracy, represented by a few of its members; others, who were rakes by way of pastime, or speculative libertines, relied upon the power of woman's smile to disarm the revolutionists. Some there were whose folly consisted in denying the light of day ; others again stoutly maintained, even after a great revolution had been effected, that all revo- lution was impossible. Those who admitted the existence of the evil, attributed it to a single cause: " they had not been listened to." Then came those, who, in spite of the urbanity of their manners, were the furious madmen of the epoch. M. DE TALLEYRAND. 163 They always carried proscription lists in their pockets, and required a good number of heads — as the Abbe de Perigord had before insinuated the advice of bringing the Duke of Orleans to the block. In short, all these madmen, collectively, were not very unlike a [shovel-full of sand, every grain of which would exert itself, in its own way, to prevent a large river from flowing into the ocean. All these madmen performed their different evolutions from the period of the assem- bling of the States-General. One of them pub- lished, in the month of June 1789, a pamphlet, with the humane title of " The Candidates for the halter." It was thus that in 1814, the Comte de S -y, proposed to write a book upon " The Impossibility of being hanged in France." All these sapient thinkers of courts and drawing-rooms did more injury to Louis XVI and successors, than the most inveterate enemies could do. The mo- narch dared not disavow their acts, even when he most disapproved of them, and the enemies of royalty were thus furnished with arms to at- tack the monarch's good intentions. A king may be in error — he may listen to, and follow bad advice, and reject good; but a king, according M 2 164 M, DE TALLEYRAND. to sound logic, cannot knowingly be the enemy of the people. Let us enter into some details respecting " The Candidates for the halter," for it is rather curious to contemplate the present fate of the victims indicated for royal vengeance. A prince must necessarily enjoy due honour and precedence. The Duke of Orleans was the first inscribed upon the list of thos^ whom Louis XVI was supplicated to deliver into the hands of Sam- son, the public executioner. The Duke of Orleans did not escape his fate : he mounted the scaffold with some of his accomplices, regicides like him- self, in the month of November 1793. Then came Biron, the brilliant Duke of Lauzun, that great lord par excellence^ that accomplished and graceful libertine, as brave as his ancestor, and, like him, a traitor to his king. Like the Biron of Henry IV, he lost his head, not by order of an offended monarch, but by the same revolu- tionary axe stained with the blood of Louis XVI. Biron was guillotined a month after the Duke of Orleans. The hand of an assassin deprived the execu- tioner of the third candidate for the gallows. In M. DE TALLEYRAND. 165 the month of August 1792, the Duke de la Roche- foucault was assassinated in his carriage, in the presence of his wife, by the infuriated populace who filled the streets of Paris with blood and car- nage. His son, the Duke de Liancourt, the virtuous friend of Louis XVI, but whom the recollections of his ancestors had perhaps drawn into the party of the revolution, resigned himself philosophically to those misfortunes which he had been both unable to foresee or present. He lived during the empire like an honest man and a bene- factor to mankind ; and at his death we have seen his remains insulted, as his father had been attacked whilst alive, by the most dastardly species of the hirelings of power, the satellites of a Prefect of the restoration. The Duke d'Aiguillon, that spiritless successor of the Duke de Choiseul, that minion of the mistresses of Louis XV, died of starvation during his exile at a village in Germany. After the Duke d'Aiguillon, the Bishop of Autun appeared upon the fatal list. No accident hap- pened to him, nor to the Abbe Sieyes, whom we shall often have occasion to speak of in the course of this history, on account of his connexion with M. de Talleyrand. 166 M. DE TALLEYRAND. The Abbe Gregoire's name followed immediately that of the Abbe de Sieyes. He passed through the revolution unhurt, became a senator under the empire, and died only a few years ago. These two priests, less indulgent for Louis XVI than that monarch had been for them, both voted for his death ; and the Abbe Gregoire supported his vote, or rather his assent, he being at that time far from Paris, because, " Kings were monsters in the order of civilization !" Did he mean this as an allusion to the circumstance of Louis XVI having rejected the list of the " Candidates for the halter?" Three marquisses followed the two abb^s in the following order : the Marquis de la Fayette, the Marquis de Montesquiou, and the Marquis de Sillery. The first is known — we have stated what La Clos said of him. The second, he who de- manded the restoration of his crown directed at his will all the movements of the Palais Roval, — emigrated, and then returned to France, became the most devoted courtier of the Emperor, and succeeded his colleague the Bishop of Autun, then Prince of Benevento, as Grand Chamberlain of the imperial crown. His wife was the governess, the second mother, perhaps, indeed, the first mother of the King of Rome. The third, the Marquis de M. DE TALLEYRAND. 167 Sillery, the most outrageous Orleanist among the abettors of the Palais Royal, and the husband of Madame de Genhs, underwent upon the scaffold the fate reserved for his master. Upon the same list was inscribed the great name of Mirabeau, of that colossal tribune whose statue ought to be placed upon the Cape of Storms, to renew to all eternity the prodigies of the ancient statue of Memnon, and that his voice might pro- claim, through every age, the power of human eloquence. He was an enemy to the court, which he would undoubtedly have afterwards defended ; and he died, as will be seen hereafter, in the arms of the Bishop of Autun. We need not stop to state that in 1 790, his remains were carried to the Pantheon, where they now repose if they have not been taken from that place and thrown into the common sewer. All this was nothing ; but what was really horrible, was that the body of this great orator was treated by an infuriated populace, in the same manner as the ignoble remains of Marat. There was at court a proud and haughty family, more illustrated than illustrious, on whose ancestors Madame de Maintenon had lavished great benefits. This family was constantly assiduous at the foun- tain of favours, and seldom returned empty handed. 168 M. DE TALLEYRAND. We allude to the house of Noailles. One of the members of this family, the Viscount de Noailles, appeared on the list of " the Candidates for the halter." He was sent to St. Domingo with the expedition begun by Leclerc, and which terminated so unfortunately under the son of the worthy Mar- shal de Rochambeau. He was killed in an engage- ment with an English brig of war. The Viscount de Custines, that general of doubt- ful merit, who nevertheless occupied the trumpet of fame almost as much as Dumouriez the devoted abetter of the Orleans' party, was also inscribed upon the list : his head fell upon the scaffold in 1793. He had constituted himself one of the most zealous partizans of the sovereignty of the people. The new sovereign of his choice had not for him, nor for many others, the same in- dulgence as Louis XVI. After his name, came those of the two brothers Charles and Alexander Lameth, who not thinking that they had already reached their full degree of insignificance dared to compete with Mirabeau. Hitherto we have not experienced any very lively surprise in reading the names we have just mentioned ; but how comes it that we find the name of M. de La Tour-Maubourg, that brave man, who M. DE TALLEYRAND. 169 since this period has owed his fortune to his good sword alone, and who, in all times and under every government, could never have acquired it but in an honorable manner ? It is, however, an extraordinary thing to see the same man who was a valiant war- rior under the Empire, renounce the command of the Hotel of Invalids, though an invahd himself, when the people's voice decreed the exile of the last surviving brother of Louis XVI, of him who had been pointed out to that monarch as an enemy he ought to get rid of. In .1789, M. de La Tour- Maubourg was only a sub-lieutenant; in 1830 he had for a considerable time worn the epaulet of Lieutenant-General. Let us close this examination. Five more names remain : they are those of Bailly, the mayor of Paris, who in 1793, trembled as he mounted the scaffold, but with cold ; Petion, who died of hunger in a wood, having been proscribed by the national convention ; Barnave guillotined in 1793 ; the Marquis de Condorcet, hunted down at the same period by Robespierre's faction, and reduced to poison himself, to avoid falling alive into the hands of his persecutors; and lastly Robes- pierre, who in his turn fell upon the same scaffold on which so many of his victims had perished. 170 M. DE TALLEYRAND. What important lessons are to be read in the fate of most of these men, victims, even the most furious of them, of the cause they had embraced ! The most moderate, and the most prudent have sur- vived that stormy period, and we offer up our prayers that the hero of this our narrative, may, in spite of his eighty years, long continue a career so pregnant with events and dangers. A singular remark has been made respecting those men of great names, who, from the commencement of the revolution, unnaturally declared themselves the most ardent antagonists of the throne. We quote the remark however, without attaching any undue importance to it. It has been asked : " Was it vengeance or family tradition that raised a Perigord, a Montmorency, or a Biron against the most inoffensive of Kings? Did they remember that a Prince of Chalais, a Montmorency, and a Biron had lost their heads upon the scaffold, in the reigns of Henrv IV and of Louis XIII ? Were the moral susceptibiUties of the Marquis de La Fayette awakened to revenge the honour of a daughter-in-law of his name, who had not resisted the gallantries of a monarch?" With regard to M. de Lally-Tolendal, the recent death of his father necessarily threw him into the M. DE TALLEYRAND. 171 ranks of the opposition, where however he always showed himself calm, temperate, and reasonable. It is not for us to solve these questions. We now return to the States-General, which we left at the moment when the Archbishop of Vienne and the Bishop of Autun appeared there having having determined the majority of their order to vote in favour of deliberations in common. In the parliamentary career, a man seldom at- tains a high reputation, if he does not make a briUiant debut. The most talented individual, if his first speech is mediocre, if he does not from the first excite a lively sensation, will remain for a great length of time under the baneful influ- ence of the poor opinion he has given of his abili- ties. He will require a long time, or the chance of some favourable circumstance to excite public attention a second time. The Bishop of Autun had no reason to complain of the effect of his debut ; his first speech placed him at once at the head of the best orators. This was on the occa- sion of the imperative mandates, of which we will say a word. Some bailiwicks in electing their deputies had considered it proper to restrict the powers of their representatives within certain hmits fixed by 172 M. DE TALLEYRAND. themselves. Several of these mandates merely au- thorised the bearers of them to seek a remedy for existing abuses, and to point out the means of reform. When therefore these bearers came to take a part in the general deliberations, their fears were awakened, and they fancied they were going beyond the intentions of their constituents. Others were of opinion that the bailiwicks had committed an error, which might prove prejudicial to their interests, and that therefore the majority of the assembly possessed the right of silencing their scruples, and of determining the extent of their powers. At the sitting of the 7th July, the president an- nounced that the Bishop of Autun had long since demanded to be heard upon this question. The assembly testified almost unanimously that it was ready to hear the prelate. The latter read a speech, from which we will quote the passages that produced the greatest impression upon the assembly. " The questions of imperative mandates," said the Bishop of Autun," which were rather glanced at, than thoroughly examined during one of your sittings, and upon which I have been bold enough to conceive a project of law, M. DE TALLEYRAND. 173 could not fail to produce great agitation in your minds. " The solution of a grand problem appears natu- rally to depend upon the question ; it bears equally upon the most delicate points of morality and upon the constituting principles of societies. It is important to analyse it with attention, and even scrupulously, in order to avoid any equivocal result, or the slightest pretence for misinterpretation. " I have asked myself all the questions which have appeared to me to belong to the subject. — Ought the mandates to be free and unrestrained ? This is my answer : we may conceive two sorts of mandates prejudicial to liberty — the mandates which we may term limited, and those that are truly imperative. The former may exist. These terms appear nearly similar, but examples will shew the difference. I explain myself : " We may conceive three sorts of limited man- dates : a bailiwick may Umit the powers of its deputy, either with regard to their duration, or their object, or finally, to the period at which these powers shall be exercised. First, with regard to the duration : several bailiwicks have delegated their powers only for one year ; at the expiration of this term, the power of the deputy ceases, and he can no longer 174 M. DE TALLEYRAND. exercise it, unless again invested with it by the same bailiwick. With regard to the object of this power, a bailiwick may say to its deputy : I send you for such an object and no other. With regard to that particular object, which is the aim of the deputation and the object of its mission, the deputy will possess the same powers as the bailiwick itself, if it were there present, otherwise he would no longer be its representative ; but beyond that ob- ject, he will possess none. In short, the power may be limited by the bailiwicks, with regard to the period during which it is to be exercised. A bailiwick may say to its deputy : / invest you ivith the power of voting upon the taxes, only after such or such an object shall have been definitively settled. If the greater number of bailiwicks have held this language, then in case a deputy should propose to discuss the subject of the taxes before that object is settled, the greater number of deputies will dis- sent from the proposal — being under the impossi- bility of supporting it at that moment. " There are three kinds of limits that the bailiwicks (submitting always to the decision of the majority) may put to the power of their deputies. But these limited mandates, have nothing in common with the really imperative, or M. DE TALLEYRAND. 175 prohibitory mandates, such as are prescribed in the decision. There can be no doubt that the power granted to the deputies may be restricted by their constituents, both with regard to its ob- ject, and the time of its duration ; but when once the object and the time are properly fixed can the powers granted for that object be sub- jected to imperative, or prohibitory clauses ? In a word, can imperative mandates exist, independ- ently of limited mandates ? ' ' I have often asked myself what an imperative mandate was, or could be ? I have been able to discover only three sorts. A bailiwick says to its deputy in terms equivalent to these : I order you to express such an opinion, to say yes or no, when such an opinion is proposed ; or else I forbid you to deliberate in such or such a case ; or, I order you to retine if such or such an opinion is adopted. That is all ; for undoubtedly the different articles of the instructions which merely contain the wishes of the bailiwicks cannot be considered impera- tive clauses ; for in that case, the national as- sembly would become perfectly useless — it would be merely necessary to count, one by one, the wishes of each bailiwick upon every article, in going through the whole of the instructions ; 1 7G M. DE TALLEYRAND. and this operation might be performed by a clerk of the meanest abiUties. " Now these three imperative mandates cannot have been given, according to true principles, by the bailiwick. A bailiwick cannot have said to its deputy : I order you to express such or such an opinion, when such a question is discussed. For what purpose does a bailiwick send a deputy? — Certainly to deliberate, to take a part in the debate, and it is impossible to deliberate when one's opinion is forced ; besides, the bailiwick itself cannot know with certainty what its opinion may be, after the question have been discussed by the other bailiwicks. It cannot, therefore, form that opinion before hand ; and this it is that makes deputies true representatives. It is for the districts to point out the object — to determine the end, but it is for the deputies to choose the way, and freely decide upon the means. "As I am of opinion that this mandate is not in accordance with principle, and that every opinion manifested beforehand ought only to be considered a question for debate, and left in a manner to the conscience of the deputies, I own I would not condemn this mandate with the M. DE TALLEYRAND. 177 same severity as the two others, particularly at the first holding of the States- General ; for a sort of anxiety may be excusable at a moment when every- thing relating to the constitution, the law, and all the rights of man, appears to be confided to the deputies. And I should be more lenient if this mandate was only imperative upon a few points. With regard to the two others, the only ones in- cluded in my motion, I think that the clause they contain is absolutely null and void. ' I order you not to deliberate in such a case,' cannot have been addressed by a bailiwick to its deputies : for to deliberate, when the other bailiwicks deliberate, is both a right and a duty. And besides, as every deliberation is the wish of the majority when it commences, and its when it closes, not to have the power of deliberation when the others delibe- rate is in open opposition to the common will, and disavowing its authority. In short, ' I order you to retire if such an opinion prevail,' is still more re- prehensible : it is announcing a division, and is still more openly expressive of the wish that the general will should be subordinate to the particular will of a bailiwick, or of a province. " This is my project of law : " The National Assembly, considering that a VOL. I. N 178 M. DE TALLEYRAND. bailiwick, or part of a bailiwick, has only the right of forming part of the general opinion, and not of withdrawing itself therefrom and that it cannot, by imperative mandates, which are only the expression of a particular will, suspend the activity of the States- General, declares that all imperative mandates are essentially null and void ; that the species of pledge which would result from their operation, must be instantly withdrawn by the bailiwicks, as such a clause could not be imposed, and every declara- tion to the contrary is inadmissible ; and that, as a necessary consequence, every decree of the Assembly shall be rendered obligatory in every bailiwick, when it shall have been issued by all of them without exception." This speech, remarkable for its connection of thought and its logical force was received with loud applause. In examining it well, a practised eye will, perhaps, discover in it the first symp- tom of centralisation, of unity in the legisla- tion of the wdiole kingdom, at a period when the provincial customs were not yet abolished. M. de Lally-Tollendal supported the principles laid down by the Bishop of Autun ; Barrere followed on the same side ; but the Abbe de Sieyes maintained without however opposing them, that there was M. DE TALLEYRAND. 179 no reason for deliberating on the matter ; and the majority of the National Assembly, adopting his opinion, decided that the deliberation should not take place. N 2 180 M. DE TALLEYRAND, CHAPTER X. The Bishop of Autun a member of the Committee of Constitution — Petion de Villeneuve and Mounier — Taking of the Bastile — Uneasiness of the Assembly — Missions of the Bishop — Enthu- siasm of the people — Legislative enactments— Sitting of the 14th of August — Feudal tenures, aristocracy, and parhaments destroyed in one night — The Marquis de la Coste and suppres- sion of tithes — Assent of the Bishop of Autun — His influence — Declaration of the rights of man and citizen — Revision of M. de Talleyrand adopted by a unanimous vote — Papers by M. Necker on the state of the country — Loan of eighty milUons — Proposal of the Bishop of Autun — Applause and murmurs — The regulations of the Assembly violated — Provisional decree of the Assembly — Ever increasing influence of the Bishop of Autun, Though the National Assembly, as has just been stated did not adopt the resolution moved by the Bishop of Autun, relative to imperatiA^e mandates, M. DE TALLEYRAND, 181 that circumstance far from being considered a defeat, was raised into a triumph for the speaker. In not adopting it, the Assembly grounded its decision upon the plea, that " viewing its principles as invariably settled on that head, and considering that its activity would not be suspended nor the strength of its decrees impaired by the protest or absence of any of its members, there was no occasion to deliberate upon the motion of the honourable deputy. General attention now began to be directed towards the Bishop of Autun, who, from that moment, became one of the most influential members of the Assembly. Soon after, he received a mark of confidence from his col- leagues. ** On the 6th of July," says a writer, " a com- mittee was chosen to draw up the plan of a new constitution. This committee, having made a preparatory sketch, communicated to the assem- bly by Mounier, after whose report, the final framing of the work, upon the motion of Petion de Villeneuve, was referred to a committee of eight members, under the name of Committee of Consti- tution, of which M. de Talleyrand was one of the first members. After the framing of the project, 182 M. DE TALLEYRAND. it was to be presented to the Assembly for de- bate. A few days after came the 14th of July and the Bastile was taken by the populace of Paris, suddenly roused to arms : an event of immense importance, on account of its great results, and above all as a proof of the active part the people of Paris were likely to take in the revolution. In razing that threatening fortress to the ground, the people made, with all the energy of its pas- sions, a declaration of principles. It was under- stood by all who did not choose to shut their eyes and ears to positive conviction, that the people meant to enjoy, henceforward, full and entire freedom. Nevertheless, such a demonstra- tion of physical force frightened even those who had provoked it. The seriousness of the case alarmed the National Assembly, and as the most contradictory reports came to it from all quarters, it determined to take measures for ascer- taining the precise facts. For this purpose a deputation, of which the Bishop of Autun was a member, was sent in haste to Paris. On the 15th of July, the Deputies, in a body, went from Versailles to Paris. On their way thither they were hailed]with the liveliest acclamations by M. DE TALLEYRAND. 183 the spectators ; they enjoyed, in short, if not a complete triumph, at least the honours of an ovation. The revolution was beginning to assume a cha- racter which its most decided partisans had not even suspected, and the bold stroke of the people of Paris raised a spirit of disquietude, which could neither be dissembled nor acknowledged too openly ; for popularity, so easily acquired in troubled times, is lost still sooner than it has been gained. The Bishop of Autun had a due sense of this, and it may serve as the only commentary upon his conduct on this occasion. Meantime, the National Assembly went on with its work of demolition and reconstruction with persevering zeal and assiduity. The Bishop of Autun, on his part, seemed entirely absorbed by his inquiries into the finances of the state. At the sitting of the 14th of August two depu- ties made motions to the same effect, namely, that the following preamble should be added to the proclamation of the Committee of Constitu- tion : 1st. — That the representatives of the nation had decided that the taxes should be paid by every 184 M. DE TALLEYRAND. proprietor in the kingdom, in proportion to liis income. 2d. — That all public charges should henceforth be supported by all in equal shares. 3rd. — That feudal rights might be redeemed in cash or exchanged by the commons, upon a just valuation founded upon an average of ten years' produce. 4th.— That all personal service due to the lord of a manor, whether secular or ecclesiastical, was to be abolished without any indemnification what- soever. These motions, founded upon the well defined interest of agriculturists and other country resi- dents, was received with a thunder of enthusiasm and applause difficult to describe. The Bishop of Autun was the first to support them ; and when the Bishop of Chartres* came forward to require the abolition of the game laws, which he represented as an invasion of the first rights of nature, the Bishop of Autun seconded him most warmly, and was echoed by all the members of the clergy. On the part of that description of men, the sacrifice * M. de Lubersal, a most profligate character. — Tr. M. DE TALLEYRAND. 185 was not great, as decoinim forbad them the use of arms or any destructive weapon. This is not the first time that popularity has been courted, and gained by sacrifices more apparent than real. In- deed, such generosity which costs nothing does not deserve the name. The sitting of the 14th of August had besides a character which makes it one of the most me- morable of those of the National Assembly. It was during that same sitting, that a more real sacrifice was proposed by the clergy, and to its adoption the Bishop of Autun contributed his full share ; for to him principally ought to be ascribed the carrying of the measure. It was decided " that the quality of serf or local slave of the clergy, for the purposes of husbandry was abolished, under every possible denomination." " That the faculty existed of redeeming all seignorial rights whatever. " That all hereditary jurisdictions were sup- pressed ; likewise the game laws, and the exclusive privilege of rearing and keeping pigeons and pos- sessing rabbit warrens. " That a tax in money should replace the tithes which, under any name they bore, lay or eccle- 186 M. DE TALLEYRAND. siastical, were made redeemable on a fair appraise- ment. " That all pecuniary immunities, and personal privileges were abolished. " That the public contribution towards the maintenance of the state, should be borne equally. " That every citizen should be capable of holding any civil or military employment." "That a gratuitous mode of administering jus- tice should be soon established and the venality of office suppressed." All this was the work of a single night. Thus, in a few hours fell to the ground the props and support of a monarchy which had lasted so many centuries ; thus, were torn asunder and destroyed the hierarchy and the links that had so long bound the community together, from the King, who was the head of it, to the lowest peasant. Thus the feudal power, the aristocracy, and the parliaments ceased to exist, without leaving a trace behind. All this was very well, so far as related to the parlia- ments and the aristocracy : it was a conquest of reason over prejudice ; yet it is still a question whether the attempt was wise in regard to parlia- ments. These bodies had rendered so many services to the state, that it is, at least, doubtful whether in M. DE TALLEYRAND. 187 point of prudence, as well as gratitude, they ought to have been dispensed with and so precipitately overthrown. The character of the revolution has been to destroy, without caring to rebuild. When once the elements and materials of a monument have been dispersed and reduced to rubbish, what means remain to erect any thing in its stead ? There stands the question. Nevertheless, the debate having been renewed, a few days after, upon the subject of tithes, the Marquis de la Coste having opened it, and exposed the wants of the state which being deprived of its usual sources of revenue had no finances to supply its exigencies, moved these extraordinary resolutions : 1° That the property of the clergy belonged to the nation. 2°. That the tithes were suppressed or to be sup- pressed from the 1st. of January 1790. 3°. That the actual possessors should receive pensions. 4°. That the honorary emoluments of bishops and parish priests, the only necessary ministers of religion, should be fixed by the Provincial As- semblies. 5°. That the monastic orders should exist no 188 M. DE TALLEYRAND. longer, and every individual of either sex belong- ing to them should receive a competent indemnity from the state. It was then that a member, not of the clergy, the deputy de Landine, proposed to levy on the ecclesiastical property, the annual sum of 1,500,000 francs or sixty thousand pounds for the interest of it, and 500,000 francs, or twenty thousand pounds more, for a sinking fund. " Come forward," he said, " ministers of the altars of God, come to the relief of your country. Listen to the voice which calls you. It was the country that gave you these riches — you are only the wise usufructuaries of them ; you owe her the sacrifice of them ; but to have asked you for them is tantamount to having obtained them already." No sooner did the Bishop of Autun hear the above proposal, than he rose from his seat : " The step M. de la Landine invites us to take," he said ; ' ' would do infinite honour to the French clergy. I hasten to meet his wishes, and to ac- knowledge that it is a general feeling which he has expressed, and for the accomplishment of which we must immediately find ad^equate means." M. DE TALLEYRAND. 189 It is worthy of observation that, on this occa- sion, a noble was as generous in disposing of the church property, as certain clergymen had been before in disposing of the property of the nobility. The motion, however, was withdrawn. The Duke de Liancourt claimed back, in the name, and for the honour of the nation, the whole charge of the public burthens. The assembly sided with the Duke de Liancourt, but the deputy Chapel renewed the motions of the Marquis de la Coste, and pro- posed, "1°. That the tithes should be entirely sup- pressed, with the reservation, that all expences of divine worship, and the maintenance of the mi- nisters of the gospel should be settled at some future time, and that the tithes should until then continue to be raised as before. "2°. That feudal tithes should be declared re- deemable, after the form to be adopted by a decision of the assembly. " 3°. That nevertheless, the amount of the tithes and feudal tithes belonging to ecclesiastics, should be employed afterwards, according to the laws to be made and promulgated, relative to the alienation of church property." Here was another member of the laity doing the 190 M. DE TALLEYRAND. honours of the estates of the church. At this moment, many of the clergy raised an outcry against the proposed expedient, which did not prevent the Bishop of Autun from backing the united proposals of Chapet, and the Marquis de la Coste, and declaring that they had been adopted by the unanimity of the votes of the As- sembly. In fact they were adopted, after some slight alteration in the manner of wording them. It was by such means, that the Bishop of Autun never missed any opportunity to render himself more and more popular, at the expence of the order to which he still belonged, much to his grief, it is true : but he had a triumph, which he may with good reason call honourable, in the debate upon the rights of man and of citizen. After some observations, it was immediately and unanimously adopted. We here give the copy of it verhatim. " The law being the expression of the general will, all the citizens ought to concur to its forma- tion either by themselves personally, or by their special representatives. It ought to be the same for all whether it protects or punishes. All citi- zens being equal in the eyes of the law, are quali- M. DE TALLEYRAND. 191 fied to fill all offices of public employment, ac- cording to their capacity." Some few days afterwards, at the sitting of the 25th of August, M. Necker presented to the Na- tional Assembly an address on the state of the country ; and the conclusion to which he came was, that, in order to fill up the deficiency in the year's receipts, a loan of eighty millions of francs had become indispensable. Peculiarly addicted, as we have already stated to the study of financial mat- ters, the Bishop of Autun did not fail, on this occasion, to show, or at least attempt to shew his proficiency on the subject, and concluded his speech by moving : " 1st. That the National Assembly should imme- diately grant the eighty millions demanded, leaving the mode of borrowing entirely to the executive power. " 2nd. That a solemn declaration should be made, confirming those of the 17th of June, and 13th of July, in order to quiet the creditors of the state against the fears of any reduction whatever being made in any part of the public debt. " 3rdly. That an extraordinary committee should be named comprising twelve members to examine, in concert with the minister of finance, into the 192 M. DE TALLEYRAND. plans laid for that purpose before the assembly, to the end of taking the best means to establish a balance between the receipts and disbursements. This committee was to communicate once a week to the Assembly the results of its important labours. " 4thly. That it should be decreed, that Provincial Assemblies should be shortly established, to last during the whole session or existence of the Na- tional Assembly, as being the best means of quiet- ing the country, creating speedy resources for the state, providing without agitation for the recovery of existing taxes, and giving full weight to the operations of the National Assembly. Such Pro- vincial Assemblies to be immediately established by the Committee of Constitution, as should, in the least possible delay, present their views upon the subject to the united National Assembly." This time the proposal of the Bishop of Autun was not assented to with that unanimity to which he had been accustomed of late ; but the ascend- ency which he had acquired over the majority of his colleagues was such, that, in spite of a regu- lation which precluded the Assembly from discussing any important question, except after the expiration of three days, was overruled, and it was decided that the discussion shovdd begin immediately. It M. DE TALLEYRAND. 193 flid not last long, and the Assembly, adopting the three first articles of M. de Talleyrand's plan, came to the following resolution : — " The National Assembly, after deliberating upon the proposals made to it, in the name of the King by the mi- nister of finance, decrees the loan of thirty millions of francs immediately, and a further loan of eighty millions of francs, half in money, half in public bonds, in the manner proposed by the minister of finance, leaving the mode of raising those sums to the executive power. " The National Assembly re-enacts and con- firms its resolutions of the 17th of June, and 13th of July, by which the creditors of the state re- main under the safeguard of French honour and probity. In consequence, it declares, that no new reduction can be made from any part of the public debt." Thus, as may be seen from the very first labours of the National Assembly, the Bishop of Autun succeeded in raising himself to its first ranks ; and, so far from ever declining, his reputation and influence increased every day, as is manifest from his soon being brought by his colleagues to preside over their meetings, VOL. 1. o 194 M. DE TALLEYRAND. CHAPTER XL The select among the chosen few — The Bishop of Autun a can- didate for the Presidency of the Assembly — Four hundred votes in his favour — Want of a Statesman — Financial questions — Loans — A milliard, or forty millions sterling, worth of plate — The plate of the churches — Patriotic donations at little cost — Political juggling — Project of the Bishop of Autun — The pro- perty of the clergy belongs to the nation — Applause of the Assembly — Purgatory and indulgences — Origin of some part of the clergy's revenue — Tarif at Rome for crimes committed, or to be committed — Delicate questions — The Abbe Maury, the ad- versary of the Bishop of Autun — M. de Talleyrand answers him — The art of gilding the pill — Decree of the National Assembly — The property of the clergy confiscated — M, Mathieu de Montmorency — Anecdote — Armistice between the parties— A saying of Rivarol — Popularity of the Bishop of Autun — Mode of execution of the last decree of the National Assembly — Five articles, four of which are adopted — The Bishop of Autun — The Abbe Maury and the crucible of the empire — The Ahh6 Maury in J 809. M. DE TALLEYRAND. 195 The presidency of an Assembly elected by the people, when that presidency is itself the result of election, always appeared to us the most flat- tering station to w^hich a man can be raised. In- vested with that high dignity, a citizen becomes the select among the chosen few, the living sign of national representation. How^ever, let it be ob- served, that the presidency of an Assembly is not of equal value at all times ; but, at the period of the French revolution, when the National Assembly walked in stately gait, and was rightly conceived to be above all other powers in the state, it was undoubtedly a magnificent thing to preside over it ; for ministerial tactics and influence, in those days, were neither so well directed nor so skilful as to exercise any influence on such a choice, and the successful candidate must have deserved the suf- frages of his colleagues. After the parliamentary success which the Bishop of Autun had already won it would not have excited wonder had he obtained the presi- dency. This moment however had been delayed. The Bishop of Langres had the preference over him, at the first renewal of the office, which in those days was limited to a fortnight's duration ; but his opponent had only a majority of ninety o 2 19G M. DE TALLEYRAND, votes, and on that day the Assembly reckoned only eight hundred and ninety-nine members. M. de Talleyrand was not what is generally termed a man of theory ; at least he seldom abandoned a measure without having first given it fair trial ; — and though precipitation is far from making a part of his usual course, he knows the value of time, and never consents to share the least particle of it without knowing that he has placed it at high interest. After the financial plan presented by M. Necker — after the admission of the loan of 80,000,000 of francs by the Assembly, which made a conspicuous part of that plan, it was Uttle to be feared that the minister would avail himself of it ; and in those sorts of aff'airs, it is seldom that the dealers and managers of them do not reap some advantage from their speedy conclusion. M. de Talleyrand demanded the immediate nomination of an extraordinary committee, composed of twelve members of the Assembly, to examine the sundry operations mentioned in the address of the minister of finance, and make their report accordingly. The Assembly agreed to the proposal of the Bishop of Autun, and, with some slight modifications, sanc- tioned it by a unanimous vote. When a man of talent has created a party in M. DE TALLEYRAND. 197 a numerous assembly, in a political a^^r/omera^ion like the National Assembly, it is very rarely that he does not also find out of doors a large body of clients ready to enlist under his banners, re- ceiving the impetus from him, and directing their conduct according to his bidding. Thence, a pro- gression of influence and renown becomes estab- lished, and is always on the increase ; the out-door clients influencing those within, and, by re-action, being influenced by them in turn. It is only thus, that a statesman can hope for success and continued power ; for the great secret of reaching the summit of fortune, in such a course, consists above all things in bringing the interests of others to the work of one's own salvation. People are not so apt to attach themselves to the individual, as to grasp at his rising fortune. The sagacity of the Bishop of Autun appreciated, at its full value, those trite arts and precautions of all times and countries — and it maybe said, that he only pushed them further than any other man had ever done before. It was in this spirit that, fancying a demonstration of his popularity beyond the walls of the assembly would add to his consequence with that dignified body, as well as serve his other private views, he 198 M. DE TALLEYRAND. caused by his persuasive insinuations, the bailiwick of Autun to make a formal tender of resigning all its privileges, provided the other districts or pro- vinces of the kingdom should equally renounce theirs. This plan was admirably conducted : the hand that held the threads of the plot did riot ostensibly appear, and it seemed the spontaneous determination of the township of Autun to set the example. The Bishop was publicly thanked by the Assembly, as the representative of so pa- triotic a constituency. All this did not pass, however, without violent exclamations from the Canons of Autun, who, far from sharing in the opinions of the Bishop and his supporters in that city, loudly denounced the principles he had ad- vanced on this occasion. But this was of service to him. It was imputed to the soreness of feeling which then began to pervade the whole clergy, at the too apparent injuries already inflicted upon their order ; and the Bishop having expressed him- self unequivocally upon the matter, this partial outcry heightened the general opinion of his dis- interestedness and patriotism. A short time before, about the beginning of September, the first committee for framing a con- M. DE TALLEYRAND. 199 stitution having been dissolved, the Bishop of Autun on its re-election found himself the first on the list, as he had been before. At that very period, when the question of finance engrossed almost all the time of the Assembly, and when the means of relieving the treasury from its state of penury were anxiously looked forward to by its members, one of them, on the occasion of M. Necker's proposed loan, supported by the Bishop of Autun, shrewdly observed, that to borrow, and when the means of borrowing should fail, to take money out of other people's purses, was not a master-piece of prudence and good policy. And, he added, that it being of public notoriety that there existed in France, plate to the amount at least of a milliard, or forty millions sterling, and that the churches alone possessed a hundred and forty millions worth of fabricated gold, the remedy for the present scarcity of money was easy to be found. The natural conclusion was, that so much splendour being useless, it should be turned immediately to the profit of the state. Scarcely had the inference been drawn than the Archbishop of Paris and the Bishop of Autun simultaneously rose, and proposed, in the name of 200 M. DE TALLEYRAND. their respective dioceses, the following resolutions : " That it was the wish of their clergy, and of all the clergy of France to support the state with all the costly ornaments of the church, which were not necessarily requisite for the purposes of divine service." This was the signal for all subsequent voluntary gifts offered to the nation, and the pa- roxysm of patriotism rose to its greatest height. Nevertheless, the generous abandonment of the church plate was extolled as an act of perfect disinterestedness on the part of the clergy. It was called an evangelical renunciation, and the assembly issued, in its enthusiasm, the following decree : " The National Assembly, in consequence of the offer made by the clergy, orders that a general in- ventory shall immediately be made by all arch- bishops, bishops, heads of religious houses, etc. etc., conjointly with the mayors and other acting officers of the municipalities, of all the plate necessary to be kept for the decent performances of divine wor- ship, and that the surplus shall be carried to the mint, to be applied to the exigencies of the state." Strange as it may appear, the adherence of two dignitaries of the church was construed M. DE TALLEYRAND. 201 into the general will of the clergy, composed of more than three hundred thousand individual members ! The clergy were said not to have been spoliated ; its voluntary gift had been merely ac- cepted as a boon. What juggUng ! After all, such a mode of proceeding will ever be that of delibe- rative assemblies, whatever be their title, or however difterent from each other ; whether they be national, constitutive, convention, council, senate, house of peers, or house of commons. Those bodies politic Avhose office is properly to hold the balance between the people and the sove- reign, never come to the relief of the party which most needs their assistance. The question with them is to look at the weather-cock, which way the wind blows, thereby to increase their own power and importance. It was but too easy a task to overturn the throne of Louis XVI, when the treasure of public opinion became richer than the royal coffers ; and the same hands which con- summated that sacrifice will be found after- wardst tearing, one by one, the leaves of that very charter of hberties so dearly earned, yet pro- nounced too cheap to be presented as a holocaust to the destroying power of a Napoleon, or any other royalty of not less despotic ascendency. But 202 M. DE TALLEYRAND. we will not dwell further on the subject, and will return to the account of the first legislative exploits of the Bishop of Autun. The offer of the church plate was merely an introduction to the more extensive measure which that wily prelate was to bring forth in the sitting of the 10th of October following. On that eventful day, after having minutely detailed to the Assembly the endless catalogue of the pressing necessities of the state, and balanced the weight of all the means devised to meet them, he proclaimed their utter inefficiency, and added these momentous words : " An immense resource, notwithstanding such a dismal picture, does still exist, which can be conciliated with the respect due to property : it consists in the possessions of the clergy. A great operation upon that anomalous tenure of land is inevitable, were it but to replace the tithes which are become the property of the state. The object is not to impose any new charge upon that order, a political charge or contribution to the wants of the state being no real sacrifice. " The clergy are not proprietors, like any other members of the community. The nation enjoying a very extensive right over every other body, has M. DE TALLEYRAND. 203 a more direct right over the clergy ; it can at all times, destroy any particular institution belong- ing to that order which may appear to it useless, and necessarily the property of those institutions belong to the nation. In like manner, the nation may abolish all church benefices where no duty is performed. As a consequence of this reasoning, it is entitled, even now, to seize upon those estates which are vacant, or may happen to become so in course of time. No difficulty exists on that head ; but is the nation equally entitled to encroach upon the revenue of the active eccle- siastic, wholly or in part ? " I know all that has been said with a plausible appearance of reason, against this complicated question. I know what has been written upon it by men whose talents I esteem, and whose prin- ciples I think myself honoured by professing and often following. Therefore, before I deliver my opinion upon the subject, I must premise, that I have long meditated upon it, long had misgivings with regard to my own judgment ; but being at length convinced of its fitness as well as its jus- tice, I have made up my mind in irresistible con- viction. " However sacred may be the nature of a pos- 204 M. DE TALLEYRAND. session legally acquired, the law cannot assume to maintain more than the intention of the founder of the said possession. A portion of land for a quarry having been granted to a clergyman, what is necessary for his subsistence of course belongs to him, and what remains, it is understood, be- comes the property of the church and of the poor. If the nation, then, secures that subsistence to the clergy, which they are entitled to — if that which in reality belongs to them remains untouched ; if moreover the nation undertakes to fulfil the other intentions of the founder, to provide for the repairs of churches, and the relief of the poor, the inten- tion of the founder not being defeated, justice is not violated, " The nation, then, may first appropriate all that belongs to the religious institutions it intends to suppress, by securing the subsistence of those individuals who lived in them ; secondly, it may seize on all benefices without functionaries ; and thirdly, it may reduce, in a given proportion, the revenues of the actual beneficiaries, taking upon itself the obligation to discharge the conditions which have been imposed upon such estates. " By such means the nation will become the sole and only proprietor of all the clerical land M. DE TALLEYRAND. 205 in the kingdom, as well as of the tithes, oF which that order has so nobly made the sacrifice. The nation will secm'e to the clergy two thirds of the produce of such funds which amount to sixty millions, at the lowest calculation, and that of the tithes to eighty, total one hundred and sixty mil- lions ; the two thirds of which may be fixed at one hundred millions, which, by vacancies, and other casualties w^ould soon be reduced to eighty- five or only eighty millions. (Six millions sterl- ing, the former amount of the revenue of the clergy, four millions, the amount of its indemni- fication). This latter sum by a special privilege, would be secured to the clergy ; every member of it to be paid three months in advance, by the royal treasury, at the residence of each individual, and the nation made answerable for all the debts of the order." We leave it to the reader to judge of the effect of such bold language upon the National As- sembly, coming from the mouth of a bishop, at a period of fictitious generosity quite spontaneous and enthusiastic ; and at a period too when every body seemed bent upon surpassing all others in personal sacrifice, and when each individual, to speak the language of the times, was proud 206 M. DE TALLEYRAND. to la)^ his offerings upon the altar of the country. At bottom, the proposal of the Bishop of Autun was quite just. The nation being assembled, either by itself or its representatives, had an undoubted right to suppress every religious estab- lishment, obnoxious in itself, or opposed to the advancement of the welfare of the community, though the same establishment might, in former times, have done great public services. Those institutions being once suppressed, their property naturally returned to the public, and as the Bishop of Autun had asserted was, in itself, an immense resource. It may have been or rather it must have been remarked, that such was the opinion of the French nation at large, with very few exceptions. M. de Talleyrand had therefore the advantage of speaking in unison with the public feeling ; and it is no less worthy of atten- tion, that the reprobation which pursued the pur- chasers of the estates of the emigrants, did not attach to those who bought the possessions of the clergy. The motion of the Bishop of Autun was greeted with warm and lengthened marks of approbation by the Assembly, which ordered two hundred copies to be immediately printed. The current of M. DE TALLEYRAND. 207 obloquy fell so strongly upon the clergy, the means by which it had obtained from dying men most of its property were held in such abhorrence, that it is a wonder the Assembly did not, in its zeal, decree the suppression of purgatory, in the other world. A member having observed that this celestial centre situated between the hell of the gauche and the paradise of the droite was the golden mine of the clergy, a mine inexhaus- tible, and which clerical rapacity, in accordance with the imbecihty of bigots, had always found the means of working to great advantage, witness the creduhty of man, and the supposed value attached by the most guilty and profligate to the acts of the court of Rome. " What pious frauds," did the speaker exclaim, " what devout stratagems were recurred to, to mislead men's consciences and drain them of their gold and their blood ! There used to be for that purpose altars extending the privilege to seven years' duration; some were perpetual; at the end of the last century one was made am- bulatory. There were indulgences for the dead; some bore an image of Our Lady of the little lake, others represented the mysteries of our Saviour's passion, the measure of his height, the wound in his side, and that in his shoulder 208 M, DE TALLEYRAND. revealed by M. Bernard; there were others called of the brotherhood of St. Nicolas, of the orisons of St. Bridget, of the belt of St. Francois and so forth! The remission of sins was bought; nay, not only of sins committed but of sins in contem- plation at a distant period. An indulgence has been found in the archives of Joinville, permitting the Cardinal de Lorraine and twelve men of his retinue to sin three times each, at their own choice. This apostolical tax was arbitrary and unlimited down to the reign of John XXII . That pontiff had the audacious impudence to write it himself as a new article, in the canon laws, and with his own hand he affixed a price for adultery, incest, murder, and parricide. Not only the same Pope, but Leo X had the effrontery to have that horrid tariff of crime published at Rome, on the 18th of Novem- ber 1514, under the head of ' Taxes of the sacred chancellorship and the holy penitentiary of the apostolic see !'" These are questions better not meddled with, for one cannot touch upon them without letting loose a deluge of troubles. Such are, in all times, those connected too closely with private interests ; for which reason the measures proposed by the Bishop of Autun met with a most violent opposition, in M. DE TALLEYRAND. ] 209 the Assembly, from the major part of the clergy. But their clamour was soon put a stop to, not without hearing the zealous defenders of the cause of the clergy, at the head of whom was the famous Abbe Maury, whose eloquence was not less elegant, luminous and strong than the arguments of the Bishop of Autun. But the latter, concocting his plans with the minister Necker, was always sure to obtain a majority, while his clerical adversary who had the pliilosophical phalanx arrayed against him, was always sure to be condemned beforehand. However, the objections of the Abbe Maury were of such importance, as to require a reply. " Before all," said the Bishop of Autun, in a second speech, " I warn my colleagues, the members of the order to which I have the honour to belong, to bear in mind the actual danger of our situation. The clergy, in fact, are no longer an order of the state, but a class of the community. They possess no longer an administration of their own; they have lost their tithes which formed at least half of their revenues, and it would be the height of madness to think they will ever recover them. The clergy then have become purely dependent on the good will of the nation, which has taken the engagement, it is true, to provide a substitute VOL. I. p 210 M. DE TALLEYRAND. though not an equivalent, —for thus must the de- crees of the Assembly be explained, as they admit of no other possible interpretation. In this entirely new order of things, which it seems to me people are but too apt to forget, the clergy have only kept pos- session of their lands ; and it is after deep reflection that I have brought myself to think that it would be better to abandon these lands altogether, with a view of improving the condition of the whole body. Would it not be necessary, in fact, under any supposition, by an inevitable consequence of the destination of every species of ecclesiastical property, that those who still enjoy the revenue of these lands should come to the actual relief of those whose principal incomes being in tithes, have been deprived of them and find themselves very nearly destitute. Upon this consideration alone it is impossible for me to understand the advantages resulting from a property so eagerly claimed* and * This was in allusion to a passage in the Abbd Maury's speech, in which he maintained that the rights of the clergy were sacred and could not be touched more by the nation then, than they had been by the King at any time, as these rights had not been derived from either ; that the clergy had acquired their lands from the savings of their own retrenchments and economy ; that he could M. DE TALLEYRAND, 211 termed sacred. What description of property would that be, in reality, which by a will totally distinct from that of its ecclesiastical owner, could be made answerable for wants not his own, in order to supply the place of tithes and provide for the expences of worship and the support of its minis- ters in districts different from the place where that property is actually situated? Will the nation, invested with the same property, do any thing else? " But let us resolve the question by itself, Who is the true proprietor of those lands ? Is it the clergy, generally considered? No, most cer- tainly not : for absolutely nothing has been given to the body of the clergy, which in consequence, has never been able to perform any act of true ownership. Is it the different corporations of the clergy? No: for how could they be proprietors of their goods while they are not virtually so of their existence ? Is it the private beneficiary ? No : since the benefice was not originally given either to him, or for him, and it can now be sup- produce the title-deeds, in proof of this assertion, from which it was easy to infer that acquisitions made under the protection and authority of the law, could not be lawfully wrested from them by any power whatever. i' '2 212 M. DE TALLEYRAND. pressed without him and in spite of him. Is it the original donor? No: for it has always been ac- knowledged that his gift was irrevocable. Is it then the diocese where the land is situated ? No : for the donations cannot change places, and such a consideration under any view of the case, cannot become a matter of positive right; the gift may be so disproportioned or displaced, as in the course of time to become entirely useless. Therefore, it necessarily becomes part of the public property, applicable there or elsewhere, to the purposes of the public welfare ; for it is only on that condition that the nation has ever ratified any gift of the sort. " To whom then ought to devolve the property of those lands ? The answer cannot be doubtful :— To the nation. But upon tliis point, it is essential to un- derstand each other well. Is it to the nation, in this sense, that disregarding the intentions of the giver, this same nation may, by a chimerical supposition, dispose of the gift in any manner it pleases and like any other proprietor use or abuse it at its will ? No, certainly not ; for these lands have been subjected to an obligation by the donor — and that obhgation must be reUgiously discharged so long as it is judged lawful and right that it should M. DE TALLEYRAND. 213 be so. But the property belongs to the nation, in this sense, that the nation must keep up the neces- sary estabhshments for the due observance of pub- lic worship provide for its ministers according to the precise meaning of the object expressed by the donor. J'hese conditions fulfilled, has the nation a right to employ the surplus to objects of national use, not defined ? Most undoubtedly. The question in this shape presents no longer any difficulty." After urging his reasons, one after another, the speaker summing them up at the end, and entreating the clergy to reflect upon their true and best interest, concluded in these terms : " Such are the reasons which have led me to believe that the ecclesiastical property belongs to the nation. If such reasons, which nothing has yet been able to weaken in my mind — if such reasons, independently of all circumstances, appear to you of some weight, how much greater must be the effect produced upon me ? And ought not they to make a strong impression upon you, at this cri- tical juncture? — Let us look round us: — the public fortune is tottering, and threatens to drag down, in its fall, nearly that of every private individual ; and in this universal disaster, who has more cause 214 M. DE TALLEYRAND. to be alarmed than the clergy? For too long a period has the opulence of some of us, been held up as a contrast with public indigence and penury. Let us cut short at once these murmurs, un- worthy of our patriotism, injurious to our cha- racter, and fatiguing to our ears. Let us trust our persons and our fortunes to the nation, and that without reserve. Such entire devotion can but raise its gratitude, and ensure its respect. " A few more attempts at resistance in so unequal and degrading a struggle, and we shall lose for ever the fruits and honour of a generous resig- nation. Boldly to face necessity, is the only way to appear not to fear it ; or, to speak in a manner more worthy of you, is not to fear it in reality. The real sacrifice is not being dragged by force tow^ards the altar of the country, but carrying to it a voluntary offering. Why delay this any longer? How much of disturbance and mis- fortune might have been avoided, if what has been forcibly given up, during the last three months, had been sacrificed at first with a good grace! Let us shew that we wish to become citizens, and remain nothing but citizens; that we are anxious to form part of that national unity which makes France a whole. It is then that the M. DE TALLEYRAND. 215 clergy will have justified, by the greatness of its sacrifices, the honour it formerly enjoyed of being considered the first order in the state. In fine, it is by ceasing to be an external object of envy and hatred, that the clergy will become an assemblage, it may be said, of much better materials, an assem- blage of citizens, and the object of the eternal gra- titude of their country." From this last fragment it may be inferred that M, de Talleyrand was not, even then, a stranger to the art of gilding the pill. This may account, also, for what may be considered the main engine of his remarkable talent for negociation. First, h^ did not believe in that gratitude of the nation towards the clergy, which he had promised the latter; but he had some latent view, in urging such an argument, and that view was merely personal. He meant, most probably, to disentan- gle himself from those trammels of the clerical state, which he abhorred in his heart; and to throw away the insignia of an order, into which he had been forced much against his inclination, and for which, it must be owned, he had no pecu- liar vocation. The question of the confiscation of the property of the clergy was, however, of such importance, 216 M. DE TALLEYRAND. that it did not come to a final solution until Mirabeau carried it by storm. On the 2d of No- vember only, the National Assembly issued a decree by which all the property and goods of the clergy were placed at the disposal of the nation on con- dition that the nation should henceforward provide for the expences of public worship, the mainte- nance of the ministers of religion, and the relief of the poor.* Ever since the union of the three orders of the * It was at that memorable sitting, that M. de Montlozier, then a deputy from the bailiwick of Clermont, in defending warmly the constitution of clerical property, said in allusion to the bishops whose cause he then espoused, but deserted so strangely afterwards in his old age : — " By taking away their palaces, you will force them to seek refuge in the cottages of the poor, built by their beneficence; — by tearing from their breast the golden cross they wear on it, you will force them to wear new ones, made of wood ; but remember, it was a wooden cross that saved the world." Long after this speech, M de Talleyrand, on presenting Montlozier to the First Consul, said of him, that he had uttered the finest sentence ever pronounced in the hall of the States General. " But what is the sentence .-'" asked the im- patient warrior. M. de Talleyrand had not sufficient composure to repeat it, and was content to observe, that M. de Montlozier had better do it himself. So awkward may the most barefaced of mankind feel, at times, when playing a part at variance with that which decorum and propriety have imposed upon them. — Tr. M. DE TALLEYRAND. 217 state, and the transformation of the States -General into a National Assembly, an event which had already settled before-hand all subsequent ques- tions, no decree had been rendered of such great importance and extensive ramifications ! The nobles, by renouncing their titles, in compliance with the proposal of Matthew de Montmorency, did not make so great a sacrifice as the clergy. The relative illustration attached to great names was scarcely affected by it; and the change could only be felt by those who purchased nobility with cer- tain sinecure offices. On that occasion, and with reference to what was then termed savonettes a villain, which signifies figuratively a patent soap to wash off the stain of low birth, and literally a title to disguise it, Beaumarchais said, in his own shrewd manner: "The proof that I am noble is, that there is my receipt for becoming such." As to the clergy, it was attacked on the most positive ground that exists in civiHzed society, namely, that of its revenue, of its very subsistence. On the occasion of the proposal of M. de Mont- morency, an anecdote is related, which ought to find a place here, because it is of a nature to shew that M. de Talleyrand already knew how to modify, according to place and circumstances, his 218 M. DE TALLEYRAND. opinions as a tribune, and his obligation not to forfeit the claims of a man of the world, but to satisfy the worst exigencies of aristocratic pre- judice. Having, then, on the evening of the day on which M. de Montmorency proposed the de- struction of his order, met that inspired patriot at a select party, he addressed him thus: — "How does Matthew Bouchard?" — " Bouchard ! my name continues to be Montmorency. It is not in my power to disavow my ancestors ; I cannot help being descended from the good connetable who contributed so powerfully to the gaining of the battle of Bouvines, under Philippe Augustus; — I descend, equally, from that other connetable who was surnaraed the Great, and met his death on the field of battle of St. Denis. I descend also . . " — "Very well, very well, my dear Matthew," said the Bishop, interrupting him, " but you are also the first of your house who has laid down his arms." Rivarol, who was present at this con- versation, by way of another pun, said, " The descent of the Montmorencys is incredible." It was in this manner that in the evening all those patriots belonging to the stock of great families took their revenge among themselves, for the humiliations to which the necessity of making M. DE TALLEYRAND. 219 themselves popular at any price, had subjected them during the morning. The Bishop of Autun was then extremely popular, and orle of the most active members of the National Assembly, not only in advocating mere theories in accordance with the spirit of the times, but in proposing measures which gave them weight and substance. To follow up this line of conduct, a few days after he had obtained the decree of the 2d of September, he did not hesitate to require its application. "The Assembly," he said, " decreed, on the 2d of this month, that church property should be put at the disposal of the nation. Though I have always been con- vinced that the decree will be useful and above all that it is equitable and just, I should never cease to lament my having provoked it, if it had proved only the occasion of a private evil inflicted upon individuals, without the happy condition of doing good to the whole nation. The safety of the state depends upon it, and on the manner of its execution. " When you admitted the right of every citizen to hunt and shoot upon his own private grounds, the crops of others became damaged by the exer- 220 M. DE TALLEYRAND. cise of it: — when you suppressed feudal rights, and imposed the obUgation of redeeming them, the archives containing the title deeds were instantly burnt. In such a general disorderly state of the country, no wonder that ecclesiastical property should have been thought open to every body, and looked upon as belonging to the first occupant. It is impossible in such an emergency to make regu- lations sufficiently clear and precise. To secure to the nation the safe possession of that property, I propose five articles, which it is necessary to enact without more delay. ** 1st. To put the seals upon the charters of the different church establishments, and make the in- ventories of their furniture. " 2nd. That all descriptions of church property, the produce and crops, and especially the woods and fruits be placed immediately under the safe- guard of the king and the public authorities. " 3rd. To punish any body guilty of making away any effects, or title-deeds, relating thereto. "4th. To order the ordinary judges to inform concerning such delinquencies. " 5th. To commission the officers holding their commission under the keeper of the king's woods M. DE TALLEYRAND, 221 and forests to prevent upon their personal re- sponsibility any damage being done, such as cut- ting wood, and other trespasses." The Abbe Maury, the determined adversary of the Bishop of Autun upon all ecclesiastical matters, opposed these five articles, and was strongly sup- ported by Cazales, who had already raised him- self to the foremost rank of talent in the assembly. But their united efforts proved of little avail; since only the first article was thrown out, and the four others adopted. The Bishop of Autun and the Abbe Maury, by pursuing an opposite course, both reached a great elevation. Prior to the revolution, the Ahh6 de Perigord, condemned to belong to the church, as- pired at becoming Archbishop of Paris, This office, the first in the Galilean church, suited his genius and pleased his ambition ; but it fell to the lot of the shoemaker's son, who had opposed that revolu- tion, without which he never would have been at best but an admired court preacher. Those two men found themselves placed face to face, in the spring of the year 1809, both having been tested in the crucible of the empire. When we come to that period, we will relate a conversation we ourselves had with Cardinal Maurv, in the Rue du 222 M. DE TALLEYRAND. Columbier, at the Hotel de la Grande Bretagne, and from it the reader will judge how his re- sentments were kept alive after a lapse of nearly twenty years. In this conversation much was said, as will be seen, about M. de Talleyrand. M. DE TALLEYRAND. 223 CHAPTER XII. Recapitulation of the legislative labours of the Bishop of Autun — Tlie Jacobin club, and that of the Feuillans — Estabhshment of a national bank — First ideas upon credit and a sinking fund — Emancipation of the Jews — Opinion upon the nature of church property — Difficult}' of being serious — The comedian Beaulieu to the National Assembly — Address to the French people — Apolog}' of the National Assembly — Its labours at an end, and its future endeavours — Reproaches disdained — Danger of pamphlets — Magnificent promises, the nation, the law, and the King — Praises of Louis XVI — Every body spared — A few explanations — M. de Talleyrand's family — The only Perigord on the national side — His second election as President of the Assembly. Let us now sum up in the briefest manner possi- sible the different measures in which the Bishop of Autun had taken an active part since the first convocation of the States-General, a period of about 224 M. DE TALLEYRAND. six months. We have seen him at the beginning using his utmost influence to determine his order to join the General Assembly ; we have seen him afterwards propose to annul the imperative man- dates given by the provinces to their deputies, and maintain the obligation of the bailiwicks to submit implicitly to the decrees of the Assembly. We have seen him a member of the Committee of Constitu- tion bring in a sort of bill of rights in favour of the citizens, fixing the nature of their lawful rights ; and adjourn to the period when the con- stitution was to be voted, the articles concerning liberty of conscience, or right of all to choose the mode of worship suited to the belief of each individual. We have seen him provoke the aboli- tion of the tithes of the clergy, and demand that this abolition should be entered on the journals of the Assembly, as having been carried by a unanimity of votes. We have been present, as it were, at the sittings, where he proposed measures likely to promote the success of M. Necker's loan, and demanded the formation of a committee to consult and report upon the address of the minister of finance, in order to heal as soon as possible the bleeding wound of the state. We have seen the Assembly appoint him again a member of M. DE TALLEYRAND. 225 J the Committee of Constitution, after having brought him very near to the honour of presiding over it. More recently, we have listened to his project of applying the wealth of the church to supply the deficiency in the public treasury, and press the execution of this plan, in spite of the remon- strances of the canons of his own diocess. We have seen him, in fine, solicit that speedy and prompt measures should be taken to prevent the destruction of the title deeds and personals of the clergy. Now, let us no longer take a re- trospective view, but proceed without stopping to the institution of a club by the friends of the constitution, which took place at this period, and afterwards became the celebrated Jacobin club. We will recur to them hereafter and describe this as- sembly, as well as that of the club of the Feuillans, first called the Society of 1789, and to which the Bishop of Autun gave the preference. The National Assembly pursuing the course of its labours, and always actuated by the disorderly state of the finances, appointed a committee of enquiry relative to the causes of the evil, charged to examine into the situation of the caisse cV escompte . At the sitting of the 4th of December, the Bishop of Autun made an elaborate speech VOL, I. Q 226 M DE TALLEYRAND. upon those matters which he had studied as we have already had occasion to notice, more deeply than any other. After having expressed himself, rather in a vague manner, upon a subject so replete with difficulty, and as if he had only the design of showing the propriety of a national bank in France, he began at last to develope his ideas giving them, at the same time, more sub- stantiality and precision. He finished with pre- senting a plan which he summed up in the six following articles : " I. Considering that the establishment of a national bank is of great general importance, and as such ought to be digested maturely. " II. Moreover, that the plan of finance pro- posed by the Marquis de Montesquieu, as provi- sional, ought to be instantly adopted. " III. That the advances of the caisse d'escompte be put on the list of debts in arrear, to be after- wards classed with all the others. "IV. That an exact statement of the same debts in arrear shall be drawn up, and the said debts liquidated in twenty years and twenty days, so as to be wholly paid in the month of January 1810. " V. That all arrears of such debts be divided M. DE TALLEYRAND. 227 into shares of a thousand livres each, to be reim- bursed by instalments from year to year, at an interest of 5 per cent. " At the very first sitting of the legislature, means shall be taken to establish the balance of accounts between the receipts and the disburse- ments of the state." . All that relates to finances, offers in general very little interest, when time has passed over those questions and deprived them of the im- portance they have when they are first raised. We have thought fit however to copy from the Moniteur, which began to be published at this period, the six preceding articles, and in doing so we had a defined object. In the infancy of financial discussion amongst us, those articles are imbued, if we are not mistaken, with a spirit of innovation and a tendency to improvement equally bold and pro- mising. In them we find the first notions of public credit, a subject then new to France. We can disco- ver, besides, in the same document the application of a sinking fund, to repay the engagements of the state, though unhappily too we there find the first idea of those assignats, or national paper money whose fatal influence upon France so powerfully struck the mind of Napoleon that he never con- Q 2 228 M. DE TALLEYRAND. sented to give a moment's attention to the science of public credit, and shut his eyes to the introduc- tion of any possible light of the kind. Besides, what a warning to all authors of projects unwar- ranted by experience ! We should wish to know what the Prince of Benevento would have answered any person who, upon the faith of his promise had called upon him, at the last settlement in 1810, for reimbursement of the notes he had kept in his possession, bearing the stamp and mark of the caisse d'escompte ? He lived then in a very pretty house Rue d'Anjou, Faubourg St. Honore. With, what an eye would he have looked upon the in- truder who had chosen to trespass thus upon his comforts and enjoyments ? The Assembly adopted but partially the project of the Bishop of Autun, and unfortunately it was the very clause which related to the creation of a new paper money, to which it gave the pre- ference. Towards the month of January 1790, the Jewish inhabitants of Bordeaux and Bayonne petitioned the Assembly to be admitted to a com- munity of rights with all the other inhabitants. This petition gave rise to a debate, the object of which was to ascertain whether the individuals M. DE TALLEYRAND. 229 of that nation ought to be considered citizens to all intents and purposes — active citizens in short. The Jews did not possess any particular laws or tribunals of their own ; they were exempt from none of the charges of the state ; they had co-ope- rated in the election of deputies ; they did military service without distinction of days and hours. Naturalized by letters patent, in 1550, those letters had been regularly renewed ever since, at the ac- cession of every new King to the crown, and, for the last time, in 1776. The Bishop of Autun was commissioned to make a report upon this question, in the name of the special committee of the Assembly to which it had been referred, and he did not miss this new oppor- tunity of shewing to the world how orthodox a catholic he was. He accordingly concluded his report by proposing that all Jews who had been naturalized Frenchmen should be not only main- tained in all the rights of citizenship, as hereto- fore, but be pronounced eligible to the next Assem- blies, like every other description of citizens. After a long debate, in which Rewbel, the Abbe Maury, the Marquis of Beauharnais, and M. de S^ze, successively spoke, the National Assembly, in 230 M DE TALLEYRAND. conformity to the reports made to it, rendered the following decree : — " All Jews known in France under the appel- lations of Portuguese, Spanish and Avignoneze Jews shall continue to enjoy the rights and im- munities of which they have been in possession until now ; such immunities and rights shall be confirmed to them by letters-patent under the great seal of state, and they shall enjoy every sort of rights attached to the quality of citizens, when- ever they are in possession of the other quaUfica- cations required by the decrees of the National Assembly." About the same time the Bishop of Autun prevailed on the other clergymen, members like himself, of the committee for the examination of his motion relating to the transformation of the property of the church into national property, to present in accordance with him a model of a decree which in his own words would " be but a new and last offering on the altar of the country." The clergy had to expiate in the eyes of the nation their greediness after acquisitions in land, and riches of all kinds ; and it was a fair opportunity to wash away the imputation for ever. Was not M. DE TALLEYRAND. 231 such a proposal an absolute farce? The clergy were to demand to forfeit all right of being con- sidered any longer an order in the state ; and being no longer a particular political body, they were to be prohibited from any special administration of their property. There, however, did not end M. Talleyrand's renunciations, and patriotic cravings. To consecrate, for ever and ever, fa tout jamais J the forced yet willing alienation of the clerical property, it was to be stipulated that a sum of four hundred millions should be paid to the clergy by instalments within four years of that time ; and the sooner to reach the result, twelve commis- sioners, all members of the clergy should be im- mediately appointed to designate in the space of six weeks eligible property of the value of four hundred milhons, to be immediately put up to public auction for the purpose. The clergy, at the suggestion of its most excellent counsellor, asked besides that advertisements for such a sale should be immediately printed and published, in the form of all other public auctions, and the sale proceeded in without delay, in presence of the twelve commissioners ; the forms and conditions of the adjudication being explained in the adver- tisements. Under these circumstances the clergy 232 M. DE TALLEYRAND. were to rely entirely upon the Assembly for the liquidation of their respective debts in every part of the kingdom. The Assembly of course readily consented to these demands, and the whole being managed under the auspices of the Bishop of Autun, added a magnificent proof of the religious feelings of my lord Bishop of Autun. What we admire most in the world is the gravity which some men are apt always to observe in writing historical facts. Are they real dupes, or do they mean to make dupes of other people? For our own part, with the best intentions in the world, we cannot help seeing in political men comedians more or less able to play their parts ; and we like them to exert their talents in any thing but tra- gedy — for we find them generally the most comic when they affect to appear most serious. A comedian not merely by circumstances but by profession, a man who had the privilege of keeping all Paris in a roar of laughter when- ever he performed upon his particular stage, Beaulieu, an actor of the little theatre of the Varietes, situated at the Palais Royal, was here outdone by his brother actor of the National As- sembly. In the sitting of the 9th of February, 1790, an address was read aloud, signed " Beaulieu, M. DE TALLEYRAND. 233 actor at the Palais Royal theatre." The following sentences in it are remarkable : " I was nothing but a mere outcast of society when your decrees came and revealed to my soul that I had a right to think myself something better. Restored suddenly to social existence by your abolition of the disabilities under which I laboured with all those belonging to the same profession, I avail myself of that circumstance, which has made of me quite another man, and eagerly embrace the opportunity of your recent triumph over the similar prejudices to acquit myself of a debt and no more. Raised to the rank of a citizen, I ought to contribute my share of sacrifices, as well as the rest. The trifling produce of my industry would scarcely have left me the means of doing so hereto- fore ; but since the generosity of my directors has enabled me to do it, without taking from me the power to provide for the maintenance of my family and those beings who are most dear to me in the world, I hasten to bring my mite, and place it on the altar of the country.'" Beaulieu gave three years of a pension of four hundred francs, (twenty pounds) granted to him by the directors of the theatre of the Palais Royal. The Marquis de Villette, member of the National 234 M. DE TALLEYRAND, Assembly more akin to Voltaire by the ties of blood than any other affinity, went, on the same evening, to Beaulieu's theatre, and threw him a piece of poetry in his praise which was read from the stage, and drew on the actor more than on the author, a torrent of applause and cheerings. With or without a transition, as the reader pleases, we return from Beaulieu to the Bishop of Autun ; but this time it is to do homage to the man of transcendent abilities who, the day after Beaulieu's address had been presented to the as- sembly, moved another address, or proclamation to the people, warning them against the libels which were going through the provinces, and at the same time recommending them to be calm and confident. As this proclamation is a master- piece of style, as well as sound reasoning, clear logic, and parliamentary eloquence — as it pre- sents at one glance a complete review of all the National Assembly had already done, and a no less comprehensive view of what that body had yet to achieve, we will transcribe it at length, as uttered by the Bishop of Autun, when he was heard to propose it for the adoption of his colleagues : " The National Assembly, advancing in its career M. DE TALLEYRAND. 235 of labour, receives from every part of the em- pire, the congratulations of the provinces, cities, townships, hamlets, dispersed on its vast surface. But in hearing with delight the flattering testi- monies of public joy and gratitude, it hears also murmurs of disq.pprobation from those who can- not help feeling hurt at the suppression of so many abuses, and the overthrow of so many prejudices. In making the greatest possible happiness of all classes the object of its most anxious solicitude, the Assembly cannot help pitying those particular descriptions of men who are to suffer in conse- quence of its measures ; and it is inclined to pardon prejudice, bitterness of expression, and injustice founded upon regret at the changes which have taken place. But it is a duty incumbent upon the Assembly to warn the mass of the nation against the influence of calumny, and to destroy, as much as lays in its power, those seeds of discontent which are sown amongst you, and directed against it. And what has not been said to shake your confi- dence in it? The good the Assembly has done not only has been doubted, but totally denied. We will recal it then to your minds. We will hold moreover before your eyes, the consoling prospect of what it means yet to accomplish, in discharge 236 M. DE TALLEYRAND. of the important duties intrusted to its care and vigilance. " What has the assembly done? It has traced with a steady hand, amid the tumult of conflict- ing passions, the outlines of a constitution which is to secure to France, for ever, the enjoyment of lawful and rational liberty. " The rights of man had fallen into oblivion, or had been disregarded during a series of ages ; they have been re-established for the benefit of the whole race of mankind, by that solemn declaration which will resound as the eternal cry of war against human oppressors, and the encroachments of future legislators. " The nation had lost the right of legislating and imposing the taxes to be paid by itself: that right has been restored and made the fundamental law of the monarchy ; together with the personal invio- lability of the august head of the French people, and the hereditary succession to his throne, in a family so justly dear to all Frenchmen. " We have had heretofore only States-General ; you have now a National Assembly, of which you no longer can be deprived. " Political orders unavoidably divided among themselves, and misled by antiquated pretensions, M. DF, TALLEYRAND. 237 made the laws and could thwart at any time the national will. Those political orders no longer exist, and all other distinctions have disappeared and merged into the honorable quality of French citizen. " Every one has become a citizen. You required civic defenders, and on the first signal made by the Assembly, myriads of national guards united by patriotism, and regulated by honour, appeared to keep or restore order, and watch, with inde- fatigable zeal, over the safety of the citizens and security of their property. " Privileges, without number, inimical to all improvement, composed and darkened the book of our civil law : they have been eradicated, and at the call of this Assembly, the provinces the most jealous of their immunities and exceptional claims, have surrendered them without a murmur. " A vexatious feudality still powerful in its scat- tered fragments, covered the whole face of the country : it has been made to disappear without any chance of its ever appearing again. " You were exposed in the provinces to vexatious forms of administration : they are no longer in existence. 238 M. DE TALLEYRAND. ** Arbitrary orders threatened the personal liberty of the citizens : they are no longer possible. " You longed for a complete organization of mu- nicipal law : you have been put in possession of it ; and the creation of bodies of police and local ad- ministration presents at this day throughout France, the most imposing spectacle. *' The National Assembly, moreover, has con- summated the great work of a new division of the territories of the kingdom, which could alone preclude the return of former prejudices, replace the attachment to any province by that of all France, as the common country of its citizens, and form the basis of a good representation upon the foundation stone of the rights of each man, and each district, in proportion to their public charges: — a difficult problem, the solution of which has not been made known until our days. " For a long time you had been known to desire the abolition of the hereditary offices in the magis- tracy : this has been granted according to your wish. You were in want of a reform, at least pro- visional, in the usual practice of the criminal law. This has been decreed, before coming to a per- manent settlement upon the subject. From all M. DE TALLEYRAND. 239 parts of the kingdom, complaints, demands, and remonstrances, have been forwarded to us. We have attended to them all, as much as it was in our own power to do. The number and amount of public pledges astonished and alarmed every body : we have set that question at rest by consecrating the principles of public faith. You were in dread of the power of ministers : we have imposed upon them the law of responsibility. " The hardships of the law of the gahelles, or tax upon salt, was insupportable to you : we have les- sened it, and have taken an engagement for its entire and speedy abolition ; for we are all of opinion that, though the necessity of taxes is warranted by the existence of pubhc wants, it is necessary that such taxes should be justified by their fairness, their wisdom, and the mildness of their operation. ''Immoderate pensions often granted and heaped with culpable prodigaUty upon the same individuals, without the knowledge of your King, were w^asting every day, in a frightful disproportion, the fruits of your labour and industry. We have already made them the subject of severe inquiry, and mean un- flinchingly to bong them back to the bounds of the strictest justice and economy. 240 M. DE TALLEYRAND. " In short, the finances of the state, in all their multifarious branches, required immense reforms. Ably seconded by the minister,^ who has long been honoured with your confidence and so fully justified it, we have been working, without relax- ation, at these reforms, and are in hopes of securing to you very soon the happy result of our en- deavours. " Such has been our glorious task, Frenchmen, or to speak more properly, such has been yours. For we are but your organs, and you have en- lightened and encouraged us in our labours. What glory have we not attained ! What an honour- able inheritance you will have to transmit to your posterity ! Raised to the ranks of citizens, ehgible to every public office, enlightened censors of the administration when you are not yourselves the depositories of power, you are assured that every thing is done by you and for you. Equal before the law, free to act, to speak, to write, obliged to render no account to man, answerable onlv to the common will, is it possible to conceive a more enviable situation ! Can there exist one single citizen really worthy of the name w^ho would dare * Necker. M. DE TALLEYRAND. 241 to cast a retrospective glance, and wish to raise up the ruins which surround us, in order again to con- template the ancient edifice ? " And yet what has not been said, what has not been attempted, in order to diminish the impres- sion which so much good could not fail to pro- duce upon your minds ! " It has been asserted that we have destroyed every thing^ — it was because every thing was to be reconstructed. And what is there that can excite so much regret ? Must you be informed of it ? Let those men be questioned who reaped no bene- fit from the object reformed or abolished. Let the consciences even of those who benefitted by them be appealed to, Let those be put aside who, to ennoble feelings of personal interest, now shed their sympathy upon the individuals who, in other days were indifferent to them, and it will be seen that the reform of each of these objects does not unite every suffrage worthy of being taken into account. " We have acted it is said with too much pre- cipitation. And many others have reproached us with too much dilatoriness ! Are they not aware that it . is by attacking and over- throwing at once every abuse, that we can VOL. 1. R 242 M. DE TALLEYRAND. alone hope to be for ever free from them? — It is then, and only then, that every one will feel interested in the establishment of order. He will feel that slow and partial reforms have always ended in nothing ; and that the abuse maintained is the sole support, and will soon become also the restorer of those which were thought to have been destroyed. Our assemblies are tumultuous . . . , it is said. And of what con- sequence is this, provided the decrees which issue from them are good and wise ! We are however far from desirous of presenting to your admiration the details of our debates. More than once we have felt grieved at them, but at the same time we have felt that it was a great injustice to lay any stress upon this circumstance, and that, after all, impetuosity was the almost inevitable consequence of the first struggle that perhaps ever took place between every principle and every error. " We are accused of having aimed at a chimerical perfection. This extraordinary reproach is evidently nothing more than an ill-disguised wish for the continuation of abuses. The National Assembly has not listened to such servile or pusillanimous motives ; it has had the courage, or rather the good sense, to believe that the useful ideas neces- M. DE TALLEYRAND. 243 sary for the happiness of the human race, are not exclusively destined to ornament the pages of a book, and that the Supreme Being in bestowing upon man that perfectibility which nature did not intend he should be prevented from applying to the social order, is now become the most universal of his interests, and almost the first of his wants. " It is impossible, it has been said, to regenerate an ancient and corrupt nation. Let those who think so, learn that corruption exists only among such as wish to perpetuate demoralising abuses, and that a nation becomes young again when it has resolved to become free. Look at the rising generation ; see their hearts beating with hope and joy ! How pure, how noble, how patriotic are their feelings ! With what enthusiasm are they seen each day claiming the honour of being ad- mitted to take the oaths of citizens ! — But whv should we answer such a base accusation ? Shall the National Assembly be reduced to justify itself for not having despaired of the French people ? " Nothing has yet been done for the people, — ex- claim their pretended friends ; yet it is the people's cause which is every ^ where triumphant. Does not every abuse which has been destroyed bring with its abolition the certainty of an amelioration R 2 244 M. DE TALLEYRAND. in the people's condition ? Was there a single abuse which was not felt by the people ? " The people did not complain, say they . . it is because the excess of their misery stifled their com- plaints .... but now the people are unhappy .... say rather that they are still miserable ; but they will not long remain so, — this we solemnly aver. We have destroyed the executive power, exclaim our detractors .... No ; say that we have annihi- lated the ministerial power, which destroyed and frequently degraded the executive. We have en- lightened the executive power by shewing it in its true power, and we have above all given it more dignity by making it recur to its true source of authority, the will of the people. " The executive is powerless .... that is true ; it is impotent against the constitution and the law, but it will be more efficient than ever, when em- ployed to defend them. " The people have armed themselves .... Yes, the people have armed themselves — it was neces- sary to do so ; but in several places misfortunes have occurred. Can the National Assembly be re- proached with them? Can those disasters be imputed to our body ? It deplores them ; it has endeavoured to prevent them by the force of its decrees ; and they M. DE TALLEYRAND. 245 will no doubt cease with the existence of the union, henceforward firm and durable, between the two powers, and the irresistible action of all the national forces. " We have exceeded our powers : the answer to this is quite easy. It is incontestable that we were deputed to form a constitution ; this was the anxious desire and the want of the whole country. And how would it have been possible to create that constitution, to form even an imperfect whole, or to frame constitutional decrees, without the powers we have exercised ? We will say more : — without the National Assembly France was lost. Without the principle which submits every thing to the plurality of free votes, it is impossible to conceive a National Assembly ; it is impossible to conceive, we will not say a constitution, but even the hope of effectually rooting out the slightest abuse. This principle is founded upon eternal truth ; it has been recognized throughout all France, it has reproduced itself in a thousand forms in those numerous addresses of adhesion which were constantly met by a host of libels taxing us with having exceeded our powers. What a confirmation of those very powers which some have endeavoured to deny us, are those addresses. 246 M. DE TALLEYRAND. those congratulations, those homages, and those patriotic oaths ! " Frenchmen, such are the reproaches addressed to your representatives, in the numerous hostile productions in which the writers affect the tone of patriotic grief But it is in vain that these libellers attempt to shake our fortitude : our cou- rage increases with our efforts, and it will not be long ere you feel its effects. " The Assembly will furnish you with a military constitution, which, composing an army of citizen soldiers, will unite the valour that defends the country, to the civic virtues which protect it, without exciting its fears. " It will shortly present you with a system of taxation, bearing lightly upon the agricultural interests, and upon industry, and respecting the liberty of commerce ; — a system simple, plain, easily understood by all those who pay, and which will determine the share of each, facilitate the necessary knowledge as to the employment of the public revenue, and place before the eyes of every Frenchman the true state of the finances, hitherto an obscure labyrinth in which it was impossible to follow the traces of the treasure of the state. In a short time a citizen clergy equally removed M. DE TALLEYRAND. 247 from poverty and wealth, an example to the poor and to the rich— a clergy forgiving the injurious expres- sions of passing delirium, will inspire a true, pure, and universal confidence, unalloyed by those feelings of envy which wound, and that sort of pity which humiliates. This clergy will cause reUgion to be better loved ; it will increase its happy influence by establishing a more intimate connexion between the people and their pastors ; it will no longer present to the sight, that which the patriotism of the clergy itself has denounced in the assembly : opulent idle- ness and unrewarded labour. '* A new system of criminal and penal laws, dic- tated by reason, justice, humanity, will evince even in the person of the victims of the law the respect due to the dignity of man, without which no morality can exist. A code of civil law, con- fided to judges chosen by your own suffrages, and administering justice gratuitously, will replace those obscure, complicated, and contradictory laws, the incoherence and multitude of which seemed to leave to even an upright judge the power of calling his will, his errors, sometimes his ignorance, by the name of justice. But until that moment arrives, you will religiously obey those same laws, because you 248 M. DE TALLEYRAND. are aware that respect for every law not yet re- pealed, is the distinctive mark of a true citizen. "In short we will terminate our labours by a code of national instruction and education, which shall place the constitution under the safe-guard of the rising generation, and, disseminating civil instruc- tion through every degree of the representation, we will propagate through every class of society, the knowledge which is necessary to their happi- ness, and at the same time to the welfare of society in general. " Frenchmen ! see the glorious, the happy pros- spect which opens before you. You have still some steps to make, and it is there that the detractors of the revolution are waiting for you. Be upon your guard against an impetuous vivacity ; above all, avoid violence, for disorders may become fatal to liberty. You cherish that liberty — you now pos- sess it ; show yourselves worthy of preserving it. Be faithful to the spirit and to the letter of the decree of your representatives, sanctioned by the King. Distinguish carefully between the rights abohshed without purchase, and the redeemable rights still existing. Let the former be no longer required, but let the latter not be refused. Think M. DE TALLEYRAND. 249 of the three sacred words which guarantee these decrees : The Nation, the Law, the King. The nation is yourselves ; the law is yourselves ; it is your will ; the King is the guardian of the law. Whatever falsehoods may be attested, place reli- ance upon the union. It was the King who was deceived, it is now you who are misled, and the King's goodness deplores your error. He wishes to preserve his people against the flatterers whom he has discarded from his throne, and he will pre- serve from their baneful influence the youth of his son ; for in the midst of your representatives he has declared that he has constituted the heir to his throne the guardian of the constitution. " Let it no more be said that there are two parties : there is but one, we have sworn it, and it is that of liberty. Its victory is certain, and is attested by the conquests which increase every day. Let obscure blasphemers lavish their calum- nies upon us ; reflect only that if we were the objects of their praise France would be lost. Take especial care, above all, not to revive their hopes, by committing faults, by disorders, by a contempt of the law. Remark how they exult on account of some delays which have arisen in collecting the taxes. Do not afford them this cruel joy ! Recol- 250 M. DE TALLEYRAND. lect the debt no, it is no longer a debt — it is a sacred tribute, which the country now receives from you and your children, and will no longer allow to be lavished upon depredators who would gladly see the public finances fail, since they can no longer satiate their cupidity. They anticipated misfor- tunes which the magnanimous goodness of the King has foreseen and rendered impossible. Frenchmen, second the efforts of your King, by a holy and immutable respect for the law ; defend his happiness, his virtues, his memory against their machinations ; prove that he never had other ene- mies than those of liberty ; prove that for freedom and for your King, your constancy is equal to your courage, and that in the cause of liberty, which he has guaranteed, you are indefatigable. The expiring hope of the enemies of the revolution w^as in your weariness ; they now lose that hope. For- give them their vain regrets, and, without hating them, deplore their weakness, as the weakness of humanity. Let us seek, let us state what may serve to excuse them, and point out the concourse of causes that must have prolonged, and rendered their illusion almost eternal. Some time is required to chase from the memory the phantasms of a long dream, that of a whole life ? Who can triumph M. DE TALLEYRAND. 251 in an instant over the habits of the mind, over opinions inculcated from youth, kept up by the external forms of society, long favoured by the public servitude which was thought eternal, dear to certain kinds of pride, imposed as a duty, in fine, and placed under the protection of personal interest which they flattered in a thousand ways ? Is it in the power of many men to see at once their illusions destroyed, their hopes frustrated, their for- tunes reduced, without experiencing any regret, without making some effort, some resistance, at first natural, and which a false point of honour sometimes imposes ? If, in that class lately so favoured, there are some who cannot submit to so many losses at once, show yourselves generous ; recollect that in that same class there have been found men who have had the courage to raise themselves to the dignity of citizens ; that they have become intrepid defenders of your rights, opposing even in the bosom of their families the noble en- thusiasm of liberty to their dearest interests. " Frenchmen, pity the blind victims of so many deplorable prejudices ; but under the empire of the law, let the word vengeance never more be heard. Courage, perseverance, generosity, the virtues of liberty, — these we require of you, in 252 M. DE TALLEYRAND. the name of that sacred Uberty, the only conquest worthy of you, by the sacrifices you have made for it, by the virtues which have been found in the midst of the misfortunes insepa- rable from a great revolution. Do not dishonour the most glorious event which has ever been recorded in the annals of the world. What have you to fear? Nothing ! — ^no, nothing, except a fatal impatience. Wait only a little while : — it is for liberty ! You have given so many ages to despo- tism ! Friends, and fellow-citizens, show a generous instead of a servile patience, in the name of your country — and you now possess one ; in the name of your King — for you have a King — he is yours, no longer the King of a few thousand men, but King of the French, of all the French. How must he now despise despotism ! — how must he hate it ! As King of a nation of free men, how well must he now perceive the error of those illu- sions, kept lip by his court calling themselves his people ! —illusions wdiich surrounded him at his birth, were carefully nurtured by a royal edu- cation, and by which at all periods the judgment of kings has been formed, in order that their errors might become the patrimony of courts. He is now truly yours ! How dear is he to us ! Will you, M. DE TALLRYRAND. 253 now that his people have become his court, refuse him that tranquillity, and happiness which he de- serves? Let him henceforth hear no more of those vio- lent scenes which have so much afflicted his heart ; let him, on the contrary, be told that order is re-es- tablished; that property is every where respected, and defended ; that you receive and place under the pro- tection of the laws, the friend as well as the enemy of your cause, the innocent and the guilty. But there are none guilty, unless the law has pro- nounced them such ; or rather let your virtuous monarch hear of some more of those generous ac- tions, of those noble examples, which have already illustrated the cradle of French liberty ; let him see your adversaries protected, defended by your- selves, and covered with your persons ; astonish him by your virtues, that he may the sooner receive the reward of his own, by hastening for him the moment of public tranquillity, and giving him the sight of your happiness. " With regard to ourselves, continuing, as we do, our laborious task — devoted, as we are, to the great work of the constitution, as much your work as ours, we will terminate our labours with the aid of every enlightened mind in France ; and overcoming every obstacle, satisfied with an ap- 254 M. DE TALLEYRAND. proving conscience, happy at your approaching feUcity, we will place in your hands this sacred constitution, under the safeguard of your newly acquired virtues, the seeds of which laying dormant in yourselves, have now germinated forth in the first days of liberty." This address excited the liveliest sensation both in the Assembly and out of doors. It was re- marked with what oratorial dexterity the author spoke of every body, without too much flattery and without offending any one. The praises he be- stowed upon Louis XVI implied the earnest wish that he felt to break with the Duke of Orleans, then absent. It was in some measure announc- ing the absence of that prince, and giving at the same time an intimation to the court that an opportunity offered of setting new negotiations on foot, provided, in consequence of his former refusal, the advances did not come directly from him. Besides which he generahsed his own situa- tion with regard to his family, when he spoke of those members of the nobles who had sacrificed their dearest interests to their dutv towards the nation. He was, in fact, the only member of the house of Perigord who had taken the colours and adopted the ideas of the revolution. His two M. DE TALLEYRAND. 255 brothers, Archambaud and Bozon, had declared for the court party, and never swerved from their allegiance ; his worthy uncle, the Count de Perigord, who had received him in his youth, and the Archbishop of Rheims, brother of the Count, looked upon the revolution with horror ; and M. de Talleyrand's mother ceased to see her son when he quitted the church. There existed, in some of those ancient families, a sturdy feeling of honour which never yielded to any circumstances. This feeling too little appreciated, and too much forgotten, was, if we may so call it, the honour of descent ; and its stubborn tenacity inspired respect, even when it was based upon prejudices. It was not long before the Bishop of Autun received from the National Assembly, a striking mark of the satisfaction his address to the French people had caused. A few days after, on the 16th February, at the morning sitting, he was elected president by three hundred and se- venty-five votes out of six hundred and three. His competitor, the Abbe de Sieyes, obtained a hundred and twenty-five votes ; a hundred and sixtv-five votes were lost. 256 M. DE TALLEYRAND. CHAPTER XIII. The most singular period in French history — Every thing in the Na- tional Assembly — The progress of the different parties — A remark of Barr^re. — Honest people and governments — Division of the National Assembly — Division of the majority — Foundation of the clubs — The 5th and 6th of October — Narrative of an eye- witness — Severity towards Mirabeau — Remark of M. de Tal- leyrand upon the Duke of Orleans — The receptacle of filth — Division in the Jacobins' club — Barnave, M. de la Fayette, and the Bishop of Autun at the Feuillans — The Duke of Orleans in England — Paris quiet during the absence of the Duke — The clubs and their influence — The real government — Effect of the clubs in foreign countries — The improvident letter of the Canons of Autun to their bishop — Pastoral answer, and irony taken seriously — The devil's table — Uniformity of weights and mea- sures proposed to the National Assembly by the Bishop of Autun — Expose of his system — Turgot and Louis XI. — An- cient novelties— Principle of a political union with England. Of all the periods in French history, the most M. DE TALLEYRAND. 257 curious, and at the same time the most interest- ing is unquestionably that of the National As- sembly. This body contained the principles of all the parties which have, since that period, divided France. All interests, all opinions, every opposing wish were there seen at their birth, emanating from the same source — they each took an opposite direction, like the three great rivers which, from Mount AduUus, carry their tributary streams, one to the Mediterranean, the other to the Northern Ocean, and the third to the Black Sea : the Rhone, the Rhine, and the Danube. Such also after their departure from the Na- tional Assembly were the exclusive party of the court, and of an unlimited monarchy — the radical popular party — and a third party, who, believing in the possibility of establishing in France a mixed government like that of Great Britain, were anxious, from the origin of the French revolution, and are still eager to have a limited monarchy, a sort of royal democracy very difficult to estabhsh in a nation always fond of extremes, more enthusiastic than reflective, and capable of every thing except long perseverance. French history for the last half century is composed of the struggle between these three parties. Conquered and proscribed each in its VOL. I. s 258 M. DK TALLEYRAND. turn, they have each of them constituted the ap- parent majority in our assembhes ; each of them has been found in the minority, but all of them have shewn themselves implacable towards each other, during the intermitting periods of their triumph. These parties are now what they always were : the men are changed, with the exception of a few veterans, who have made choice of other banners ; but the parties, although differently composed, have remained the same. Full of high sounding promises, they loudly proclaim their love of the public welfare, and conceal their selfish ambition under the cloak of exalted patriotism. They have unceasingly marched towards their aim, which has never been any other than an insatiable wish for place, fortune, and power ; but, when they have attained the goal, none of them have been able to maintain their footing. During fourteen years they slumbered, but it was when an iron hand having bound them together, forced them to make a halt for the glory of the empire. We will here relate the opinion of one of the most celebrated members of our different as- semblies, and who belonged to the National As- sembly. This sarcastic old man emitted this M. DE TALLEYRAND. 259 opinion in our presence, at a time when his ma- tured experience made him smile with pity at seeing so many people believe in the discovery of a government composed of honest men. " They really are extraordinary." we have heard him say, " with their honest people. A man may undoubtedly be honest, and wish for power ; but the moment he has attained it, he must make a choice, and either cease to be an honest man, or give up the idea of governing." He then added, with cynical naivete, " I may be believed on that score. I know what it is, since I have had a pretty good share in the government." This man Avas Bertrand Barrere ! No one loves the peo- ple, but as a means of raising himself, if we except the sovereign, whose power is both incontestable, and uncontested. The National Assembly had scarcely accomplished its first year's existence, when the majority already began to divide into various sections of different shades ; and as it always happens, they became more inveterate in their hatred towards each other, in proportion to their apparent similarity. This proceeded from the circumstance that while they agreed in prin- ciple, they differed with regard to the manner of ensuring its triumph. It is thus that a religious s 2 200 M. DE TALLEYRAND, discussion between a Catholic and a Protestant will be violent, even to outrage, whilst each of the two antagonists will remain calm in the presence of an Atheist. It was thus that Robespierre saved several emigrants, but he would not spare a single Girondin. It was not long therefore before a division took place among the members of the majority of the Assembly, who gave themselves out as forming the exclusive representation of the rights of the people and the national interests. If the members had come into no other direct contact with each other than that which took place during the sittings of the Assembly, this division might have remained a secret for some time ; but the legal existence of the clubs made it public. Towards the month of October 1789, the club of the friends of the con- stitution was established. Among its founders were the Bishop of Autun, M. de Lafayette, the two brothers Alexander and Charles de Lameth, Mira- beau, Barnave, the Abbe Sieyes, Bailli, and some other members of the National Assembly. Alex- ander de Lameth and Barnave soon became the most conspicuous members of the club. Their influence was so powerful, that they were con- sidered the leaders, or rather the absolute masters M. DE TALLEYRAND. 201 of this society. The consequence was, that the other members felt discontented, and did not attend. The Bishop of Autun but seldom made his appearance at the club, and Mirabeau, finding no doubt that it offered but little scope for his ambition, also seldom made his appearance. The two days of the 5th and 6th of October opened the eyes of those who had only required the reform of those abuses, and the abolition of those ignomi- nious offices which weighed upon the people. This event is too well known to require our especial attention ; we will, however, quote the narrative of an eye-witness, M. Dumont, of Geneva, more especially because he winds it up by a charac- teristic remark of M. de Talleyrand upon the Duke of Orleans, which coincides perfectly with the opinion of Fouche, which we have already mentioned. " I was at Versailles," he says, " and saw part of what passed. But I know nothing in particular, neither did I see any thing which could characterise a settled plan or a conspiracy. I can even assert, that when the event occurred, it was not explained in the same manner that it has been accounted for since. The people attributed the dearth to the aristocracy. The aristocrats, they said, caused the 262 M. DE TALLEYRAND. wheat to be cut down before its maturity ; they paid the bakers not to work ; they suspended com- merce, they threw the flour into the rivers : — in short, there was nothing too absurd to appear pro- bable. The popular papers spread the grossest falsehoods with unceasing zeal. The arrival of a new regiment at Versailles had renewed all their fears. The fetes given to the regiment at the chateau, were most inconceivably imprudent. It was not a conspiracy; for people do not conspire in pubUc, at a banquet attended by fifty individuals ; but they had sung several anti-national songs, and had insulted the national cockade. They brought in the Dauphin ; and the King and Queen, giving themselves up to the pleasure of receiving all these marks of aflfection, increased by their pre- sence, the general enthusiasm. At any other time it would not have been thought a crime for the king's guards, for young soldiers, to be gay at a banquet, and to yield to transports of affection for the royal family. The cloud which surrounded it, and the dangers which threatened its existence, could not fail to excite feelings of honour and chivalry in young nobles, devoted by their pro- fession to the defence of their sovereign. But no sooner was the scene which took place in the M. DE TALLEYRAND. 263 chateau known to the pubUc, with the thousand exaggerations of which it was naturally suscep- tible, than the people thought they had discovered an intention of rendering the revolution odious, and of forming a new league for the defence of the King. The fete was denounced in the Assembly as the signal of a court conspiracy against the people. The right side loudly asserted that the accusation was calumnious. Mirabeau, instigated by Servan, threw himself into the midst of the tumult, and declared that he was ready to name the principal actors in these sacrilegious orgies, provided it were decreed beforehand, that the person of the King alone was sacred and inviolable. This single word, carrying with it the accusation of the Queen, made the right side tremble, and made the demo- crats themselves fear that they had gone too far. " If Mirabeau had, at that moment, acted a generous part, and opposed the popular fury, it w^ould have been very easy to have given a different character to this event : to have placed these proofs of affection for the King in a favour- able light. He might have complained openly of the supposition, that the same affection was not felt also by the whole Assembly and the nation, and to proi)ose a similar fete, in whicli the King 264 M. DE TALLEYRAND should have been surrounded by all the represen- tatives of France. He might, at the same time, have demanded the dismissal of the regiment of Flanders, whose presence was unnecessary. But it must be admitted, that the National Assembly, whose members were always so loud in their ex- pression of attachment to the King, had never shewn it by any tangible act. ' ' The dearth which kept the people in a state of great excitement, and the banquet scene at the chateau, appeared at that time sufficient to account for the insurrection at Paris, and the invasion of Versailles. " It was not till afterwards that a plot was imagined and attributed to the Duke of Orleans. This suspicion acquired consistency, when it was was known that M. de Lafayette had required the Duke of Orleans to leave Paris, and repair to England. The secret of this intrigue has never transpired ; but 1 recollect, that, during a confi- dential interview with the Bishop of Autun, he made use of these remarkable words : — ' Tlie Duke of Orleans is the slop-pail into which all the filth of the revolution is thrown.' " This account, in which every body is mentioned vith certain expressions of respect, excepting M. DE TALLEYRAND. 265 Mirabeau, whose factotum, or, rather, whose leader the author has had the audacity to call himself, has one great merit in our eyes: it proves, that after the event of which it retraces the re- collection, the democrats themselves were afraid that things might he carried too far. Puerile and ridiculous fear ! As if men could instantaneously silence a bell that they had set in motion ! as if an artilleryman could slacken the speed of a cannon-ball he had just fired off. Meanwhile, the Bishop of Autun joined those who separated themselves from the club of the friends of the constitution, where the exaggerated opinions, and violent speeches of the demagogues, con- tinually urged the Assembly forward, and rendered it not the regulating principle of the monarchy, but the lever which was to overturn the throne, Barnave himself abdicated the power which he had swayed at the Jacobin club, and, in conjunction with the Bishop of Autun and M. de Lafayette, became in 1789, one of the founders of the society which adopted the name of the Feuillans. A struggle commenced between the rival societies. The first loudly demanded that every thing should yield to the sovereignty of the people ; the latter indulged in the hope of being 266 M. DE TALLEYRAND. able to found a government which might become a model and be adopted by all the absolute govern- ments of Europe. It is thus, as we have stated at the beginning of this chapter, that two different shades of opinion wholly opposed to monarchy, took place. Unfortunately for the wisest of the two in theory, two parts of opposite principles can- not constitute a real principle. With regard to the conduct of the Duke of Orleans, it may, according to the explanation we have given of it in our preceding quotation, be- come a subject of conflicting opinions. There wera things no doubt which can never be proved with mathematical certainty ; but his departure from Paris in consequence of the energetic represen- tations of M. de Lafayette, is strong presumptive evidence of the intrigues of which the sober part of the public have always accused him ; and this evidence becomes almost a certainty, when it is considered that immediately after the departure of this Prince Paris, from a state of anarchy and excitement, became tranquil, and this mo- mentary tranquillity subsisted until the Duke's return from London. The spring of 1790 was, until the first federation, the season of seductive hopes and illusions, which we shall shortly show, M. DE TALLEYRAND. 267 when we come to treat of that most briUiant event of the revolution, the federation celebrated in the Champ de Mars, on the anniversary of the taking of the Bastille. Let us now return to the clubs, the complete and correcthistory of which, if authentic documents existed sufficient to write it, would prove where the power really resided, that active, influential, tyrannical power which governed every thing, from 1 789 to the death of Robespierre. After the spring of 1789, the debating mania spread itself every where, like an epidemic, and the club Breton was formed at Paris. The two clubs of which we have already spoken were es- tablished at Versailles, and took the names of Jacobin club, and club of the Feuillans, from the places of their meetings. But in consequence of the events of the 5th and 6tli of October, the National Assembly was obliged to remove to Paris where the populace had brought back the King and Royal Family, in the midst of its hideous escort. The Jacobin club became, from that time the sovereign de facto. It maintained a correspondence with all the affiliated societies dispersed throughout France. In 1789, there existed two thousand of 268 M. DE TALLEYRAND. them which were afterwards increased to the as- tonishing number of forty-four thousand, under the reign of Robespierre and the Convention. With such associations, so organized throughout the kingdom or the repubhc, with their prompt and immediate action striking at once upon all points, exercising great influence, propagating their principles in spite of all legal authority, no government could possibly stand, unless it con- sented to receive the impetus, instead of giving it ; and the imbecile nation was satisfied that it had conquered all the power of state, whilst it but blindly obeyed the dictates of the horrible faction which from Paris, where its den existed, sent every where its commands and its instructions. Such is the history of those provincial clubs, unwilling echoes of what was communicated to them by the agents of the Jacobin club at Paris. Order was in- compatible with the existence of such an association, as may be conceived. All society became dissolved in consequence, and the country knew of no possible remedy against evils of such magnitude, until the 18th of Brumaire, or 2nd of November 1799, came to restore her to a situation of internal repose. The soldiers admitted into the clubs, breathed an atmos- phere of insubordination ; the officers, always the M. DE TALLEYRAND. 269 objects of renewed denunciations, could no longer maintain the salutary laws of discipline, for they were sure that immediate punishment would be the conse- quence. It was sufficient to apply to them the vague designation of aristocrats, a word which was instantly answered by the cry " « /a lanterne," or to the gallows ; for the lanternes, or lamps to light the streets, were converted into so many gibbets where for greater expedition, the populace instantly hanged all individuals who were obnoxious to the demagogic party, represented in all the clubs, by some one or other of the men who composed it. And if in those receptacles of crime, any voice was raised in favour of the oppressed or the innocent, the rash attempt was railed at, and it was a great luck if the audacity of the speaker was met with threats and abuse alone instead of loss of liberty, if not of life. The action of the Jacobin club was not limited to France : this club was in constant communica- tions with secret associations established in foreign countries. By the imperceptible influence of such associations, it succeeded in disseminating the poison of its doctrines through almost every large city in Europe, taking care to carry the infection principally to ministers, generals, cour- 270 M, DE TALLEYRAND. tiers, literary and learned men. The love of humanity, or the philantropic cant of the eman- cipation of mankind from its fetters, was always put forward, in order to captivate more easily the generous and high-minded ; for there are many people, who taking their own wishes for pos- sibilities, inconsiderately admit as articles of faith, illimited freedom and perfect equality. As a re- turn, the foreign agencies apprized regularly the directing club of all that could be of any im- portance to it, and very often sent back denun- ciations in exchange for precepts, and instructions how to act. The schemers and contrivers of the first clubs, such as the Bishop of Autun and his fellows, had not perhaps foreseen what those associations would afterwards become. Neither were the men who iu 1 789 demanded the reform of abuses, the destruction of some privileges, and the equaUty of taxes, aware that they were bringing about the destruction of the monarchy and the death of Louis XVI upon the scaffold. Most, if not the whole of them would have recoiled from the frightful picture, could they have read into futurity. But this is a dark book, which human intelligence can scarcely penetrate ; and it certainly ought to be a reason M. DE TALLEYRAND. 271 for not going too fast in plans of reform. Cir- cumspection is of necessity in such cases ; and as the course of fate is very doubtful, we must re- fuse it our faith and pay to it no other tribute than hope. The history of clubs has led us much further than we could have wished ; but when such un- willing digressions happen, we have but one thing to do — to return to the point of our departure. We come in this manner to the great festival of the federation. In the month of May 1790, the Bishop of Autun received a letter from the canons of his dio- cesan chapter. We have already hinted something about it ; however we think it better to transcribe the whole of the document, in order that the reader may be better able to form a correct idea of it, and of its effect upon the person to whom it was addressed. It ran thus : " My Lord Bishop, " We have read with the liveliest interest the declaration of a portion of the members of the Na- tional Assembly in favor of the holy Catholic re- ligion, and at the same time we have been deeply 272 M. DE TALLEYRAND. afflicted at not finding at the bottom of this docu- ment the name of our deputy and bishop. ' ' Far be the supposition from us that a minister of Jesus Christ, honored with his sacerdotal func- tions, and raised to the episcopal dignity, has refused to sign his name to the profession of faith which every one of the faithful ought to be ready to do at every moment of his life ! ** God forbid that we should yield to suspicions so injurious to the honour of episcopacy, as well as to the glory of the see which you occupy ! " The desire, more probably, of uniting with the clergy of your diocese, in such a timely act of devotion to our common faith, has suspended until now, the fervour of your zeal. But we would reproach ourselves were we the cause of any longer delay. We therefore hasten to forward to you the resolutions in which we have attempted to embody the expression of our fidelity and at- tachment to the Catholic, Apostolic and Roman religion. " We beseech your Lordship, after having af- fixed your signature to it, to present it to the Assembly as the most glorious testimony of our patriotism. M. DE TALLEYRAND. 273 '* Persuaded, as we are, that we cannot give too much pubUcity to a document bearing the proof of your beUef as well as of ours, and which we are bound to manifest to the whole of Christian Europe, we have resolved to print it, and thereby give the greatest publicity to our adherence to the declaration of those members of the Assembly who have openly done homage to the Catholic com- munion. We shall also publish the letter we have the honour of addressing to your Lordship. It is honorable both to you and to ourselves, as it is the deposit of the confidence we place in your Lord- ship, and which you will no doubt justify with alacrity. It will serve besides, to propagate and give solemnity to the religious and patriotic feel- ings expressed throughout the whole of it, and will make known to all the world the real feelings of the bishop and canons of the diocesan chapter of Autun." This letter undoubtedly was a master-piece of irony : the politician was attacked, as well as the bishop; but the canons of Autun did not know or had forgotten the kind of man they had to deal with. So, in order to show them what value he put on the very indelicate manner in which they had chosen to address him, he feigned to take their VOL. I. T 274 M. DE TALLEYRAND. letter in a serious sense and answered it in the gravest strain. His reply was directed to the Dean. After some prefacing pastoral reflections it ran thus : '* The difficulty of accomplishing its task, to their mutual satisfaction, depended entirely on the manner in which the National Assembly should pronounce the Catholic to be the national religion. One party in the Assembly desired that it should be declared the religion of the state, in the sense that it should be the only one publicly authorised. Another party, fearing that such a declaration might give room to interpretations involving public and private hberties, was of opinion to have it ex- pressed as the only one supported by the nation. On both sides the CathoUc religion was then acknowledged as national ; all depended upon the wording of the declaration, but then it was but too probable that the manner would be pre- ferred, which would not give any ground for equivocation, and would prevent disturbances on account of its interpretation. The decree once pro- mulgated, was it presumable that any of the legis- lators would have ventured to protest against it?" The Bishop terminated his Jetter as follows : " In closing my letter, I come to that part of M. DE TALLEYRAND. 275 yours where you request me to present to the Na- tional Assembly the text of your deliberation. Do not blame me, Sir, for declining to do so. I do not know how to bring myself to present to a legislative body a protest against its decrees : and to present it above all as you desire me to do as a glorious testimony of your patriotism. I prefer consigning it altogether to oblivion." About the time the Bishop of Autun was car- rying on this correspondence, which he had not sought, the aristocratic party in the Assembly did not cease to banter him upon his incredulity as a bishop. He had become a great object of scandal with the bigots of the other sex, even with those who had been very anxious to sup wdth him — on the condition of afterwards obtaining absolu- tion from him at his confessional. The Marquis of Ravanet, a player at trictrac, never failed to call the devil's point the point of the Bishop of Autun. Such paltry jokes had the effect of calming for a moment the angry feelings of drawing-room parties against those who were called its renegadoes, among whom M. de Talleyrand appeared under a double title. He was, however, the first to laugh at the puns and epigrams of which he was the object. He knew that this sort of warfare carried nothing t2 276 M. DE TALLEYRAND. deadly in it. And with his usual indifference he pursued the career he had traced out for urging the progress of the revolution to its extreme point, and contributing in that manner, as we have al- ready remarked, to prove the truth of our ob- servation, that the first National Assembly alone did all that has been only repeated and enacted over again by every succeeding assembly. In the month of June, nearly at the time when the letter of his diocesan clergy reached his hands, the Bishop of Autun presented to the Assembly a proposal which was printed at the national press, urging the necessity of having a uniform system of weights and measures throughout the kingdom. As this plan fills twenty octavo pages we shall con- tent ourselves with giving its outlines. " The innumerable variety of our weights and measures," said M. de Talleyrand, " and their awk- ward names, constantly throw impediments and confusion in the way of trade. But what must be principally a source of error, and of infidelity, is less that diversity in itself than the difference of things, under a uniformity of names. Such irregularity which is a snare at all times for good faith, is much more common than people suppose ; for under the names which custom has affixed to the M. DE TALLEYRAND. 277 same measure as foot, ell, etc. real differences exist. Nothing can warrant such an abuse, and it is reserved for the Assembly to make it dis- appear. " You will do what Turgot regretted not having been able to accomplish. The nation will owe this new obligation to your prudence, and trade will be indebted to you for accelerating its pro- gress, and establishing a more productive circu- lation. Landed property, agriculture and industry, will also be benefited by it, in a sensible manner." Next comes the plan, by which such ends were to be attained, and which were presented as the easiest of execution : " It consists in taking, for elementary principle the length of the common second pendulum, in the latitude of forty-five degrees. The numerous approvers of this method have preferred that point as the mean term of distance from the equator and from the pole. The ell should have the exact length of the pendulum, the toise, double that length ; and the latter would be divided into feet, inches and lines, according to the pro- portions established between those several di- visions. Hence coming to the measures of capa- 278 M. DE TALLEYRAND. city or space, such as muid, septier, boissean, pinte, etc. and taking the cubic foot reduced from the length of the pendulum, every sort of gra- dation between the different measurements might be easily fixed. Likewise, in applying to measures of weight the same mode of calculation, they might be determined after a new ingenious process of M. Lavoisier, which establishes with the nicest precision the weight of a cubic inch of soft water once distilled, at the medium temperature of four- teen degrees, four-tenths of Reaumur's thermo- meter. By this would be ascertained the means of giving invariably the pound in weight ; for the name of pound would be given to the real weight of water contained in a cubic vessel, the weight of which would be the twelfth part of the length of the pendulum. The pound thus fixed, it would become an easy matter to find its decreasing as well as its increasing divisions." In order to give to this method a character of solemnity, of universality, and of rigorous exact- ness, the Bishop of Autun proposed that the National Assembly should write to the British parliament, requesting it to concur with France, by commissioners chosen in equal numbers from M. DE TALLEYRAND. 279 the Academy of Sciences of Paris and the London Royal Society, in the general (and he called it natural) unity of weights and measures. " Both of the two nations," did he assert, " would adopt the same principle, and keep carefully its standards in such a manner that if after the lapse of centuries any variation was ob- served in the sideral year, these standards should serve to ascertain it, and thereby connect this important point of the system of the universe, with the remarkable period of the existence of the National Assembly. It is even allowable to foresee, in the co-operation of two mighty nations referring to nature herself the solution of a great problem, the principle of a political union brought about by the intervention of science. Such views cannot fail to strike the attention of legislators, and de- serves on their part the maturest consideration." In submitting to the National Assembly the above proposal, the Bishop of Autun was not an inno- vator ; and he said so himself, in alluding to M. Turgot's project of estabUshing a system of perfect uniformity in weights and measures. But the notion here attributed to M. Turgot was of a much older date, and might also be ascribed to Philippe-le-Long, and Louis XI, Kings of France. 280 M. DE TALLEYRAND. Under the reign of Louis XIV, three academic and scientific men, Amourons, Picard, and Huy- gens, had advised the same operation, which the King strove, in vain, to get adopted by the people. It was nothing more, after all, than a return to the state of things existing before Charlemagne ; and shews how often that which is thought new is, by continual rotation, only renewed ! How many dis- coveries, in the same manner, are daily and hourly attributed to the progress of modern intellect, which have been only dug up from the regions of the past — where every thing which is forgotten be- comes the same as that which has never existed. As to the project of political union which closes the speech of the Bishop of Autun, is it not this his political notion happily realized, after an interval of more than forty years' interval, by the present alliance between France and England ? M. DE TALLEYRAND, 281 CHAPTER XIV. Motion by Bailly— Federal compact — France divided into depart- ments — The Bishop of Autun commissioned to report upon the festival of the 14 th of July — Decree of the Assembly, in con- sequence — The population of Paris at the Champ de Mars — The Bishop of Autun chosen to celebrate mass — Do not make me laugh too much — Chaplains to the Parisian bat- talions of the national guards — The Bishop in his episcopal dress — March, blessings, takings of oaths — The dead alone are faithful, borrowed from a foreign work — A new description of the federation of the 14th of July — A disastrous plan con- cocted, and ending in a miscarriage — Fatal return of the Duke of Orleans — Ridiculous side of things — Hopes of the royalists frustrated — Letter of the Bishop of Autun to the Countess of F — upon the ceremonies performed at the Champ de Mars — Sieyes jealous of the bishop — The only divinity of the latter — A financial anecdote — The diplomatic committee — The Bishop of Autun, and a hundred thousand dollars—The dia- monds pawned and forgotten. Bailly was the first to propose that the National 282 M. DE TALLEYRAND. Assembly should celebrate, in a solemn manner, the federal compact of France, the unity of which was inviolably established by a decree dividing it into departments, all equal in right, and which, by abolishing the old provincial division of its terri- tories necessarily nullified all difference of laws and customary » regulations belonging severally to its separate localities. This fusion of France into an homogeneous substance, making but one family of the whole nation, is perhaps the greatest service done to the country by the National As- sembly ; for prior to attempting equality before the law, it was fit to make that very law itself equal in its applications. The proposal of Bailly, agreed to without opposition, was however referred to the Committee of Constitution, in order that a decree might be framed befitting the solemnity of the occasion. The Bishop of Autun, intrusted by the committee with the care of drawing it up, spoke, in the following words upon the subject, at the sitting of the 7th of June : " Gentlemen, '* The Committee is of opinion that so great a national festivity as that which is ordered by you to take place, cannot be planned and conducted M. DE TALLEYRAND. 283 in too solemn and impressive a manner. Such a festival indeed, in recalling glorious deeds, in drawing closer the bonds of brotherhood between the citizens, in making evident to all the pa- triotism that animates the whole of France, will serve besides to overthrow the guilty hopes of the enemies of the revolution — if such men are still in existence. The Committee has thought likewise that the Assembly, as the natural guardian of the public purse, ought not to consent to an unne- cessary waste of the public money; and that no expence which can be with propriety dispensed with, ought to be incurred on this memorable occa- sion. It has thought also that the time was come, to consecrate the principle of the consti- tutional existence of the national guard, in order that in this fit of patriotic enthusiasm public opinion shall not be turned from its right and un- deviating course." The decree was drawn up by the Bishop of Autun, and adopted with very slight modifi- cations. Numberless, we may say, are the accounts of the scene of the 14th July, at the Champ de Mars ; on that account we are sufficiently autho- rized to omit any lengthened details. Nobody is 284 M. DE TALLEYRAND, ignorant of the enthusiasm which existed, and was easily observed on every countenance pre- sent at the ceremony. It is well known how the platform round that large space of ground was erected, as if by magic, in a single week ; every inhabitant of Paris, with a very few exceptions, contributing his share of labour and fatigue towards the circuitous pile of earth and other materials. It seemed as if all the population of that vast metropolis believed in the actual re- turn of the golden age : — regret made way for hope ; the discontented hid their disappointment, as if held in check by the general burst of joy around them. Even the royal family seemed to share in the common feeling, until Bailly, the president of the National Assembly, placing his seat upon a level with that of the King, dispelled the illusion, and shewed the monarch in characters too legible, that his reign was at an end. We ought to confine ourselves to the part the Bishop of Autun played at so imposing a spectacle, which perhaps must have appeared perfectly ridiculous to the lookers - on. It is well known that at the moment the Bishop was advancing towards the steps of the altar to celebrate divine service, he there met M. de Lafayette, whom he M. DE TALLEYRAND. 285 cautioned him not to look at him, for fear of making him laugh. There was indeed but too much cause for laughter ; for it was probably a trick of the old court that had made Louis XVI select the Bishop of Autun to celebrate mass on that day. Nevertheless, after a long file of priests moving m slow order, and composed of the sixty chap- lains belonging to the battalions of the national guard at Paris having at their head the Abbe de St. Martin, general almoner of that body, came the officiating prelate in his episcopal robes. He closed the march. He arrived, as it was said at the time, not before the altar of his God, but before the altar of his country. A discharge of artillery having announced the presence of the confederated bands, the chaplains formed into four lines. Each department having taken its respective station according to its number, the King and the president having seated them- selves upon their different thrones, the Bishop of Autun began mass to the sound of drums and military music. The religious ceremony went on with great external decency. When it was over, the officiating Bishop descended the steps of the altar to bless the oriflamme, or royal banner, then 286 M. DE TALLEYRAND. become the national banner of France, which had been altered from pure white to the three colours, blue, white, and red. It was taken out of its case on purpose, and unfurled, as were eighty-three other banners of smaller size^ belonging separately to each of the eighty-three departments which had been recently created. Whilst mass had been going on, these banners had formed a semicircle before the altar of the country. The Bishop of Au- tun, having returned to the eminence on which the altar was placed, in stern silence and with exemplary demeanour, was in the meantime receiving the oaths of every colonel of the guards. First amongst them M. de Lafayette, with the point of his sword upon the altar, went through the imposing ceremony, swearing fidelity to the King and constitution, in the previously prepared form. It cannot be said, at any rate, that he took the oath in vain. When every other chief of the national guard had gone through the same ceremony, a new discharge of artillery proclaimed that the King and the president of the National Assembly had added their oaths to those of the others. Then, and not till then, the cry of " Vive le Roi," uttered by hundreds of thousands, rent the air; — a sort of acclamation forgotten of late by the French people, and already at that M. DS TALLEYRAND. 287 period beginning to sound much more feebly, and which many entirely rejected. When silence was restored, the Bishop of Autun began to sing the Te Deum, and twelve hundred musicians sent forth into the air the harmonious sounds of their instruments. This was the day of oaths ; but of so many taken, not one was faithfully kept, except by those who died ere they had time to betray theirs. Now less for the edification of the reader than to feed his curiosity, we insert a translation of some passages in a foreign pamphlet which we have already mentioned at the beginning of this work. It will help to shew how the grand solemnity of the French revolution was appre- ciated in a neighbouring country, and what judgment the part M. de Talleyrand played in that ceremony drew upon him. We will here carefully repeat what we have already said on a similar occa- sion, that the calumnies circulated about M. de Talleyrand make part, as it were, of the identity of the public man to whom they relate. " Talleyrand, considered the patriarch of the revolution, was designated by the municipality of Paris to officiate at the ceremony preparing at the Champ de Mars. He appeared there at the head of 288 M. DE TALLEYRAND. two hundred priests, apostates like himself, dressed in white surplices adorned with the ensigns of rebellion — tricolour scarfs. At the moment the ceremony was to begin, clouds of dust followed by a deluge of rain, seem combined to prevent it. Beinga true Atheist, he was not moved by this circum- stance, but went on with mass, without attending to an occurrence which some sound, unprejudiced minds could not but construe into an unfavourable omen. When the service was over, he blessed and consecrated the new standard of France, and the eighty-three departmental banners. What a pontif ! what a blessing ! and what an altar ! ' ' The very day of this pageant would have been marked with disaster, if there had been time for preparation since the return of the Duke of Or- leans to Paris. But the necessity of getting his party in regular order ; the fear of some deputies, the presence especially of some provincial deputa- tions such as that of the faithful people of Britany, deranged the Duke's plans and it was apprehended the throne could not be so suddenly stormed and carried, as suited the aspiring pretender to it. His faction besides was not yet numerous and powerful enough in the Assembly. To this may be added, that during the Duke's residence in England, the M. DE TALLEYRAND. 289 court had found means to buy off some of his most zealous agents, or were negociating with them, if not precisely to betray, at least to abandon the cause of a man who, if not equally hated, was at least generally despised by all parties. " In the latter feeling Talleyrand deeply shared ; and as he had not yet finally settled his accounts, he could but feel displeased at the hurried return of his former friend and patron, for fear it might lead to the discovery of the many pledges he had given to adhere invariably to the Duke's cause. " In the number of ridiculous ceremonies which took place on the same day, we may place the oath of all the representatives of the people sitting in the national hall, as well as the extra- ordinary deputies sent to assist at the shew of the 14th of July, in commemoration of the anniversary of the taking of the Bastile. This new oath was the fourth administered within twelve months. From this general affirmation, made in the pre- sence of the Divine Being, the credulous part of the French nation anticipated the return of order and tranquillity ; but the majority perceived something further, and ventured rightly to presume that this was only an occasion for new perjuries. Some VOL. I. u 290 M. DE TALLEYRAND. expected that the King would make it the means of regaining his lost authority ; but the more clear- sighted only foresaw that the people, badly advised by its leaders, would take undue advantage of this circumstance, and raise its exigencies in propor- tion to the pusillanimity of the court party. " Though Talleyrand," continues our foreign informant who, as we have said, challenges any one to controvert a single one of his assertions ; "was so much taken up with his plots, and in- trigues — though he had speeches to prepare, reports to make, and addresses to present to the assembly, he still found time to devote to the ladies. His cor- respondence with his female friend of the day was more frequent even than usual ; and he did not let a day pass without writing to her when it was out of his power to pay her a visit. On the 15th of July, the day following that of the ceremony at the Champ de Mars, the Countess de F. . . . received from him, at eight in the morning, the following letter : " If you were as much pleased with the place provided for you at the ridiculous ceremony of yesterday, as I was myself to see and admire you in the seat which you occupied, you must have borne the storm with the same composure M. DE TALLEYRAND. 291 that I did. The Duke of Orleans forced me to spend the evening at the Palais Royal, other- wise I should have gone to ease my heart with you, and discharge it of all the painful impressions that had assailed it — impressions as contrary to each other as can be imagined. For, A^erily, 1 do not rightly know which is to he most pitied, the sovereign or the people, France or Europe. If the King is tempted to rely on the affection of his subjects, he is irretrievably lost ; and if, on the other hand, the people be not on their guard against the fluctuating character of the King, I foresee the greatest misfortunes, and rivers of blood will flow during many years, to punish the enthusiasm of a few months. I foresee the innocent involved in the same destruction with the guilty. Whatever happens, either the cause of liberty is likely to be lost, or the tranquillity of France destroyed, for a long lapse of time. " Far be the notion from me that Louis XVI is of a sanguinary temper or disposition ; but a weak monarch, surrounded with imprudent advisers, but too easily becomes cruel, or what leads to the same result, his weakness allows the most atro- cious acts to be perpetrated under the authority of his name. Whatever turn then things take, I can- u 2 292 M. DE TALLEYRAND. not view the events of yesterday without the great- est alarm, especially since my late conversation with the Duke. There is no crime, however odious or revolting, which his soul is not ready to con- ceive to serve his ambition, or his revenge. Hap- pily he has not sufficient nerve to execute the horrible imaginations which his brain so rapidly engenders. " Mirabeau is now as much disgusted with the man as I am. We are both of us at a loss very often, to conceal from him the contempt he excites in us. Sieyes, however, is always the same in regard to him ; and as he is chief adviser, no wonder he approves of everything the Duke does. Sieyes is become jealous of us, and seems to distrust us ; but we are too much upon our guard to let him discover, before the time, that we intend to leave both him and his hero where we found them. " Sieyes, in the presence of sixteen persons, asked me with that sardonic smile which you know is habitual to him, how I could remain serious while going through the buffooneries at the Champ de Mars ; and by how many Christians I thought myself surrounded, in the hundred thou- sand spectators, at least, who attended the cere- M. DE TALLEYRAND. 293 mony, and took the Christian and national oath. I answered that I was perfectly ignorant in that respect. ' According to my own calculation,' did he reply, ' it may amount to five hundred individuals, including the Duke, you, myself, and all those of our party who were present.' If I must speak my mind, my dear little friend, I fear he has greatly exaggerated the number of the faithful ; and though a philoso- pher myself, I cannot help deploring the advance incredulity is making every day. I share in that respect the opinion of Voltaire, that whether or not we ourselves believe in God, is perfectly un- important, but that it is imminently dangerous, in any community, that the bulk of its mem- bers should think they could rob, steal, poison, and murder, without punishment in this world, and fear of it in the next. We are come to a pass, when doctrines contrary to good morals are more to be dreaded than before, because the laws are almost without force and the mass of the people think themselves above them. What is yet more to be deplored is, that a National Assembly should have made it a predominating interest of its own to maintain in the people such a feeling of immorality as well as of political anarchy. 294 M. DE TALLEYRAND. " I acknowledge that it is not in good taste for a lover to entertain his beloved friend with such philosophical trash as this ; but to whom am I to impart all that lies at the bottom of my heart, if not to you, who are so much above the pretensions and prejudices of your sex. " I hope your usual penetration has not misled you with regard to the divinity to which I was ad- dressing my prayers and my oath of fidelity, and that you were truly that supreme being, whom I do and shall ever adore in my heart. " How does your embonpoint? Will your Charles soon have a brother or sister ; or is it only a false alarm ? Kiss our dear child. I shall sup with you to-morrow. Burn this letter." While we are borrowing from this foreign author, we will give here an anecdote of a financial nature, which we place, as usual, under the cloak of his responsibility. " The legislative labours of M. de Talleyrand," he says, " and his constant appointment to va- rious committees of the Assembly, were not alto- gether unprofitable to him. He drew, nominally, a very good remuneration from the diplomatic com- mittee. It was he who proposed the decree adopted by the Assembly, by virtue of which the treaty of M. DE TALLEYRAND. 295 alliance between France and Spain, concluded under the auspices of the Duke de Choiseul, and termed the family pact, was to become a new obli- gatory treaty between the crown of Spain and the French nation. England, at that veiy moment, was making strong demonstrations to obtain re- dress for some acts of violence committed by armed Spaniards upon merchant vessels, the pro- perty of British subjects. The King of Spain in- capable of resisting, by himself, the imperative claims of the cabinet of St. James's, wanted the alliance of France, and had sent instructions to that effect to his Ambassador at Paris. This minister to abridge the negociation, thought fit to distribute two millions of dollars among the mem- bers of the diplomatic committee of the Assembly ; of which sum, one hundred thousand fell to the share of M. de Talleyrand. This, however, was far from sufficient to satisfy the claims of his creditors ; for in order to put a stop to their clamorous de- mands already in print, and which they threatened immediately to publish, the Bishop of Autun had been already forced to borrow all the diamonds of the Countess of F . . . . and pledge them for the sum of ninety-two thousand livres, or £3,500 sterling. As the Bishop in the midst of his oc- 296 M. DE TALLEYRAND. cupations, happened to forget this insignificant cir- cumstance, the Countess, in consequence of his neglect, was obliged a year after to apply to the Marquis de M . . . . for assistance in order not to forfeit her diamonds." M HE TALLEYRAND. 297 CHAPTER XV. France without a government — Change of the national flag — Origin of the tricolour standard — Repugnance of the sailors to adopt it — New alliance with Spain — Count Albert de Rioms — Bougainville — Civil constitution of the clergy — Form of oath prescribed to its members — Opinion of M. de Talleyrand — Comparison by Madame de Stael — Opposition of the clergy — Denunciation of a bishop justified by the Bishop of Autun — Voltaire's creed — Impious priests — M, de Talleyrand deputy for the department of Paris — Increasing difficulties — False decree — Modification proposed by the Abbe Gregoire — Noble conduct of an old man — Letter from the Bishop of Autun to the Countess of F. . . . — His own conduct qualified by himself— Six hours at the Duke of Orleans'— The court too slow in its reckonings — Curious correspondence — The farce of yesterday — The Capets, male and female— Debts paid. The old regime existed no longer, and there was not yet in France anything to replace it. No new order of things had been created and 298 M. DE TALLEYRAND. Montesquiou himself would have been much puzzled to specify what sort of government was then ruling the kingdom, a kingdom no longer ; or the republic, which was not yet pro- claimed, during the first year of the rule of the National Assembly. Each succeeding day despoiled the crown, bit by bit, of its ancient rights. The social hierarchy was equally destroyed in the same gradual proportion ; and, in the short space of a year, nothing remained standing of all the elements of the monarchy of Louis XIV, not even the symbolic standard of the kings of France. When two parties divide a nation, it is always un- fortunate for a change to take place in the colours of the state, for then two distinct rallying signs exist, and feuds and civil war become imminent. The tricolour flag offered this disadvantage more than any other : for the glorious badge, which has dazzled almost every part of the world, like a rainbow, displeased a great many people as being the colours of the house of Orleans.* It must be * The liveries of this branch of the Bourbons were in reality red, white and blue, as those of the house of Vendome had been, before the reign of Henry IV. Louis XIV had abandoned the red for the blue. When the new flag was adopted, it was said M. DE TALLEYRAND. 299 stated that they were not the original colours of the insurrection, red cockades having been worn by the besiegers of the Bastile. Green had first been chosen as the emblem of hope ; but it being remarked that it was the colour of the Count d'Artois' liveries, it was instantly given up. The three colours at best had nothing to re- commend them particularly. The blue was the royal ; the white that of Charles VII, who recon- quered France from the English ; the red was borrowed from the oriflamme kept in the treasury of the chapter of St. Denis, and never displayed but upon extraordinary emergencies, and when the king himseh' took the field at the head of the nobility. Whatever be the origin of the tricolour, the Orleans' party did their best to persuade the people that it was in compliance with their chief's desire that it had been displayed. From this pretension, it is not surprising that the navy, who had wit- nessed that Prince's cowardice at the battle of Ushant, should have received tliis new standard that it was composed of the Parisian colours from times imme- morial. However, it is more probable that these colours were the choice of the Orleans' party-— Tk. 300 M. DE TALLEYRAND. with marked repugnance and disgust. It must be admitted moreover, that generous and brave men do not easily renounce the flag under which they have been accustomed to fight, even in defeat. The navy, besides, is a body of men which does not mix so much with other people as the army ; and having less frequent relations, less daily concerns with the rest of the population, they are less apt to give up their habits and no- tions. These reflections are suggested by the conse- quences brought on by the renewal of the treaty already existing between France and Spain ; and on which occasion we have seen that a hundred thousand dollars were modestly offered to the Bishop of Autun, for his good offices in the Assembly as member of the diplomatic commission. Spain, no doubt, had placed that money at high interest ; for no sooner was it known that England meant to enforce her claims upon the government of that country, for the insult done to some of her merchants, than a powerful armament of forty five sail of the line was got ready, in the port of Brest. But military discipline existed no longer : there as elsewhere the contagious spirit of insubor- dination had ;;ot not onlv into the armv, but among M. DE TALLEYRAND. 301 the sailors. Instead of their usual submission to their officers, the word aristocrat ha\dng once found its way on board the ships, it became impossible to exact obedience and respect. The officers were openly accused by the unmanageable crews, of conspiracy against the nation. Under such circumstances, Count Albert de Rioms, was appointed to the command of the squadron assembling at Brest. He found every thing in disorder, both in the town and in the harbour. The shipwrights had left off working ; the galley convicts threatened to fire the store- houses, the seamen paid no attention to the com- mands of their officers, and ridiculed both them and the orders of the National Assembly; and from the circumstance of their being the most numerous, they argued that they ought to become the masters. The National Assembly took on this occasion none but uncertain and weak measures, and Count Albert de Rioms, not finding himself suffi- ciently supported in the exercise of his authority, and being daily threatened with the lantern, pre- ferred resigning to the disgrace of seeing all the laws of the service dissolved in his powerless hands. Bougainville, a man whose name will ever be held dear in the recollections of the French navy, 302 M. DE TALLEYRAND. succeeded Count Albert de Rioms, and had the greatest difficulty to restore the appearance of order. Such was the effect at Brest of the heaps of silver and gold which had been paid at Paris into the hands of the members of the di- plomatic committee ! We are now drawing near to one of the most momentous periods of M. de Talleyrand's life. We are going to see him suspended, as it were, between ecclesiastical and secular life, and become the soul of a great debate, without taking an ostensible part in it,— at least, at the beginning : for he reserved his power for the moment it was to be carried into execution. We allude to the civil constitution of the clergy, and the form of oath imperiously prescribed to that body. It is worthy of remark, that so long as the de- bate lasted upon this important subject, the Bishop of Autun maintained unbroken silence, agitating however underhand, but doing so without bustle or noise. But when on the 27th of November, the decree of the civil constitution of the clergy was passed in the Assembly, the Bishop of Autun was among the very first to pro- nounce the prescribed oath determined upon and worded as follows : M. DE TALLEYRAND. 303 *' I swear to execute my clerical duties with exactness, to be faithful to the French nation, the law and the King, and to maintain with all my power the constitution, and more especially the decrees of the Assembly relating to the civil constitution of the clergy." In this sweeping measure may be discovered the division of the Galilean church into priests who had taken the oath, and priests who had not taken the oath. They were called by the new name, not to be found until then in the vocabularies of the French language, pr^tres assermentes and pr^tres non-assermentes. To these invidious denominations must be ascribed so many feuds, and the shed- ding of so much blood among the refractory party. That blood armed La Vendee for vengeance on those who spilt it, and though one may not share in the scruples or opinions of those mi- nisters of a God of peace, it is impossible at the same time not to admire the generous con- stancy of a whole set of men preferring death and all the horrors of violent destruction, to the ne- cessity of belying their consciences and their faith. Examples of such exemplary sacrifices are seldom given to mankind ; and to judge of their value, 304 M. DE TALLEYRAND. must imply an equally pure disposition or a perfect identity of mind. A month after the adoption of the civil con- stitution of the clergy, the Bishop of Autun, who from that moment had attended all the meetings where means were in agitation to ensure its execution, and wishing not to appear backward in promoting such success, wrote to the clergy of Autun a pastoral no less than a political letter, in which he said : " The National Assembly in its wisdom, having thought proper to impose upon ecclesiastical func- tionaries, under the form of an oath, the duty of maintaining by every means in their power the civil constitution of the clergy, I took the said oath as soon as the decree prescribing it had been accepted by the King, and I hasten to tell you so. This duty which I have fulfilled in all the sincerity of my heart" — there is always some- thing ludicrous and invincibly provoking laughter in whatever M. de Talleyrand says or writes — " you will certainly fulfil also with the same feelings with which I was animated. Not only will you perceive that it is indispensable to the maintenance, or rather the return of that peace so desirable, and of which M. DE TALLEYRAND. 30.3 we cannot forget that we are the ministers in this world, but you will also discover that in its pro- visions, there exists nothing capable of alarming the most timid conscience" — Mme. de Stael compared the conscience of M. de Talleyrand to the mimosa, a plant which recoils quickly upon itself, when touched. — " You will not fail to ob- serve that the degrees which regulate that con- stitution, have separated with the nicest care every thing belonging to religion from what is fo- reign to it, and that its articles breathe through- out the true spirit of the purest laws of the church, from which time or human passions had so strangely led us astray. You will even agree with me, that these decrees have, properly speak- ing, rather restored than given to the people the right to chuse their spiritual leaders ; and as to the number of bishops being reduced by a new cir- cumscription of territory, it must strike the mind as the most lawful, and most incontestable exer- cise of the civil power among the nations of the earth."* * Diavalo predicados or the devil preaching. The appUcation of the sentence remains equally good, hoth in the Spanish and English languages. — Tr. VOL. I. X 306 M. DE TALLEYRAND. These are very fine words undoubtedly, but the majority of the clergy were not convinced by such eloquence. The National Assembly had proceeded to ruin the priesthood with such a ruthless hand, that the whole body would have deliberately and instantly risen in opposition to it, but that the time for such an opposition had long gone by. To have any chance of success in such a predicament, you must come boldly forward from the very beginning. But when a king, or an order or class of society has once entered the road of concessions, it cannot retrace its steps, and there is no possibility even of halting on the way to ruin. Concede they must, and always concede, until they reach the very point of perdition. Already had the clergy shewn itself some- what less docile and submissive than it had done at first, when the debate about the sacri- fice of its wealth took place ; a measure brought about in the Assembly, principally by the in- fluence of the Bishop of Autun. We ought to be forgiven if in referring to the above cir- cumstance, we bring back some facts which escaped our notice before, and which besides may be of material use in explaining the new situation of the clergy, after the publication of M. DE TALLEYRAND. 307 its civil constitution. The clergy maintained then, that after destroying its established rights and revenues, no matter what reason had been alleged for it, the nation could not claim the domains that still belonged to it, and which were especially held under spiritual govern- ment. They moreover petitioned through some of their members in the Assembly, that a na- tional council should be convoked to decide upon the ambiguous points contained in the decree. Such a pretension was repelled with scorn and haughtiness. The term conspiracy against the nation was applied to it ; and in the sitting of the 26th of November, the Bishop of Autun brought forward a sort of impeachment against the Bishop of Nantz. After the Bishop of Autun had spoken, a deputy of the name of Voidel began a studied address against the clergy, in which, with an intemperance of expression and vituperation of language unheard before in the hall of the As- sembly, he pretended to disclose a series of crimes and enormities, imputable from time immemorial to all the members, without almost any exception, of that dignified body of men.* * A body of men in which, according to the keen observation X 2 308 M. DE TALLEYRAND. When the debate relating to its civil consti- tution took place, the clerg}^ possessed no longer in reality, any thing but the fooUsh weapon of the im- potent, that of protesting. It had therefore recourse to protest against the article of the constitution making all ecclesiastical functions to depend hence- forward upon the election of the people ; observing, not without some reason, that all citizens being called upon to concur in the said election, the dissidents of the church, the Jews and Christian sectaries would have to nominate to the office Catholic priests. So rational an objection, if re- ligious conscience be any thing more than a word, was violently overruled in spite of the eloquent speeches of the Abbe Maury and the Abbe de Montesquiou, who stood forward on this occasion in a manner as creditable to themselves as dis- graceful to their hearers. The Assembly decreed that the oath should be obligatory and without reserve. From that day the members of the clergy declared they would no longer take any part in the debate, but this silent mode of protesting had no better effect than the former. and discriminating mind of Burke, no one could be surprised to meet a Fenelon and many more of the same stamp ! — Tr. iM. DE TALLEYRAND. 309 It is always a very delicate thing for the civil power to have any thing to do with religion. A man of honour or common honesty, according to our notion of the case, be he even himself a deist, ought not to aim at interference with the religious persuasion of any other man. And, if this is applicable to men of the world, or those not called upon to observe the outward forms so often coupled with the reproach of hypocrisy, how much more binding and imperious is it upon clergymen ! The irreverence of a priest for re- ligion, or bis professed impiety, seems to us, w^ho have not more intolerance and bigotry than Voltaire himself, to be all that is most hideous and disgusting in human nature. A priest freed from his vows, who breaks the altars of his God, and heads a revolt against religion, can be com- pared only to the unnatural son who stabs his mother. The example he gives makes him ac- countable, not only in a religious but in a univer- sally moral sense, for all the scandal which will follow his apostacy. At the beginning of the year 1791, the electors of the city of Paris made choice of the Bishop of Autun, to fill the situation of deputy for the department of the Seine ; and most assuredly the 310 M. DE TALLEYRAND. uncommon variety and depth of his multifarious knowledge, the tendency of his speeches, the extent of his administrative acquirements, as well as his personal endowments fully qualified him for such a mark of esteem. Besides, it was thought some- thing, as soon as war had been declared against the priesthood, to secure a man who so well knew the situation and secrets of the enemy's camp. A great task still remained for the National Assembly to perform : it was to provide for the execution of the civil constitution of the clergy ; that undertaking being most difficult to bring to a happy and final issue. We have seen the Bishop of Autun keeping aloof, so long as the question remained undecided. There was, in consequence, but one way to make him break his silence, which was by being silent likewise ; for this was the only debate in which the Bishop had taken no share. It may be supposed then, that he meant to make up for lost time when he presented his plan of public instruction, and entered into all the details of it with inexhaustible volubiUty. Among the obstacles thrown in the way of the civil constitution of the clergy, must be mentioned the firm determination shown by the King not to sanction this decree of the National Assemblv. M. DE TALLEYRAND, 311 The pious monarch openly declared his opinion from the first; but the leaders of the Assembly knew very well the means of bringing the court to their senses and putting a term to the hesitation of the King. Care was taken to bring to the recol- lection of that monarch, the threats and uproar with which he had been assailed in his palace at Versailles. These scenes would be renewed, if the approbation of the decree was delayed. Resig- nation and compliance therefore became a duty, as had been the case with the clergy. A scruple of conscience, and Louis felt what a scruple was, acted strongly upon the King. He had received a brief from the Pope, expressing the unqualified discontent of his Holiness relating to the civil constitution of the clergy while that measure was yet but in preparation. The Pontiff protested strongly against such an innovation, which he looked upon as attacking the rights of the church ; and he declared his formal determination to oppose it by all the spiritual thunders with which he was armed. The oath already taken by the Bishop of Autun was but an ebullition of enthusiasm. It had taken place on the 26th of December, the precise day on which the Assemblv received a letter from 312 M. DE TALLEYRAND. Louis XVI, apprising it of the resolution to which he had at last come, to give his sanction to the controverted decree. As to the solemn oath to be taken, the day was fixed for the 4th of January 1791. On that day, every ecclesiastic in the kingdom was to read and swear to it pub- licly, on pain of giving up his preferment and resigning his spiritual duties altogether. Dark manoeuvres were had recourse to in order to extort the unwilling declaration ; threats of insurrection and violence were posted upon all the walls of Paris, warning the clergy of the unfortunate con- sequences their obstinacy would produce, and which could not be prevented by any other means than their entire submission. This expedient was gene- rally attributed to the Orleans' faction, and it was reported that tlie Bishop of Autun was, if not the adviser, at least the approver of it, and that it had been executed by himself. A falsified copy of the decree of the Assembly was posted, and it was added that those ecclesiastics who would not submit, should be considered disturbers of the public peace, and as such deserving of death. The Bishop of Clermont proposed another form of oath, but his proposal was rejected. On the 14th of January the public tribunes were filled at M. DE TALLEYRAND. 313 an early hour. In the interior of the chamber were seen those sinister-looking men, those groups of rabble, that hideous mob, inhabiting some unknown quarter of the town, but always sure to make themselves conspicuous at every political tempest, like those swarms of toads which show themselves after violent summer rain. With such auxiliaries, what cannot a powerful party accom- plish ? The clergy paid the greatest attention to the reading of the oath, and the Abbe Gregoire proposed an alteration which was not accepted. At last the president informed the members of the clergy that he was going to read over the names. The brief moment of calm which suc- ceeded this announcement was interrupted by ex- plosions of rage from the galleries : * ' Hang them ! Away with them to the lantern post !" vociferated these execrable wretches. At length silence was restored, and the president called first upon the Bishop of Agen. He rose : loud murmurs were heard from every side. After a time the aged prelate succeeded in making himself heard : "I do not regret my diocese, neither do I murmur at the loss of my fortune," said he; " but what I am anxious to preserve, gentlemen, is your 314 M. DE TALLEYRAND. esteem, and I am resolved to deserve it. I beg you, therefore, to be assured that it is painful for me to declare the impossibility of my adhering to the oath you require of me." Several members of the clergy answered in the same manner ; and as it was feared that their ex- ample would prove contagious, the president was called upon by the majority to state merely that every ecclesiastic who should not take the oath would by that sole act be deprived of his prefer- ment. One single member of the clergy, the vicar Landrin had the courage to pronounce in- stantlv in favour of his benefice ; the remainder submitted with resignation and without manifest- ing any feeling for or against, listening in profound silence to the reading of the decree which placed the clergy under the necessity of violating their consciences or being reduced to poverty. The latter alternative made those who chose it a class of parias and proscribed men, and this too in the midst of a nation boasting that it was the most civilized in the world. We have seen what M. de Talleyrand's ostensible conduct was; let us now observe how he judges this conduct of his in a letter he addressed to a fair friend of his in the month of November 1 790. M. DE TALLEYRAND. 315 " I am worn out with these tedious proceedings relative to the oath required by the Assembly. If my brothers in Jesus-Christ were not such fools, they would follow my example. They would oc- cupy themselves a little more in endeavouring to render their existence happy in France, and would be less anxious about their scruples of conscience and their duties towards Rome. After all the oaths which we have taken and violated, after having so repeatedly sworn fidelity to a constitution, to the nation, to the law, to the king, things which exist only in name, what signifies a new oath ? That poor Duke of Orleans has done what he could to bring the prelates of the French church into the same disgrace Louis XVI is in ; but, thanks to my stupid and fanatical brethren, he will not attain his end ; and I doubt if he will ever be able to reward those who have served him the best. I spent yesterday six hours with him, Mirabeau, Sieyes and Voidel ; on my return I received a letter from L. P. and early this morning I called on him. " The court are slow in their advances ; their offers relative to endeavouring to delay this affair, or to change its direction, are so evasive that one does not know what plan to adopt. What vexes 316 M. DE TALLEYRAND. me more than all the rest is, that these continual indecisions keep me away from you. I have in- vited your husband to dine with me to-morrow : do not fail to accompany him, for I do not know when it will be possible for me to see you, as I must go to-morrow to the committee where I shall pass the two following nights. I embrace you, and likewise vour Charles." On the 5th January he wrote to the same person : " Important business and harassing creditors will deprive m-e of the pleasure of spending the evening of twelfth night* with you as I had pro- mised. Unfortunate kings ! I rather think that their festivals and their reign will soon be over. Mirabeau himself is fearful that we are proceeding too rapidly and with too great strides towards a re- public. What a republic would that be, composed of thirty millions of corrupt men ! For my own part, I much fear that before we come to that, the fanatics will light their torches, and the anarchists raise their scaffolds ; and who knows how many of us will escape either the religious flames or the * 111 French twelfch night is called, Le jour des rois, The day or festival of kings. — Tr. M. DE TALLEYRAND. 317 political gibbets ! I must in the meantime ma- nage my affairs in such a way that if I am wrecked, I may not find myself without re- sources on the coast where I may happen to be cast. I hope to receive to-morrow a con- siderable sum which the Duke owes me. This sum, with what I already possess in assignats, would enable us to live in some distant country if circumstances requii'ed it. * ' What did you think of the farce of yesterday ? The galleries were so full that it was impossible for me to sp^ak to you. What hypocrites ! they have certainly achieved a masterpiece ! You must have remarked how studied their speeches were ; how affected their resignation ! The impression they made upon me, however, prevented me from appearing at the tribune, where I should have felt great pleasure in unmasking them. They knew perfectly well that they ran but little risk in exchanging their episcopal mitres against a pre- tended martyrdom, otherwise the cowards would not have shewn themselves so valiant. My dear love, I am really indignant when I reflect upon the facility of making dupes in this world. The Capets male and female, have given excellent lessons of superstition, as also have certain car- 318 M. DE TALLEYRAND. dinals with whom patriotism is certainly not a cardinal virtue. I really wish they would act their comedies at Rome, and not at Paris, where their apostolic mummeries are out of date. Their martyrdom may I fancy be placed upon a par with their orthodoxy. All this has become obsolete, although some good kind of people are still ex- cellent Christians, and ignorant enough to believe that which their grandfathers believed. Though all these ridiculous affairs have given me a great deal of trouble, I have however no reason to complain, for they have even been more profitable to me than I expected. All my debts are paid, and I have enough to purchase the popedom of France or of Rome, if either was to be sold. " I shall sup with you on Monday. How is Charles' deafness ? I embrace you both ; burn this letter. Adieu !" M. DE TALLEYRAND. 319 CHAPTER XVI. M, de Talleyrand at six and thirty — The three bishops who took the oaths — The Bishop of Lydda and the Bishop of Babylon — The Abbe Gregoire and M. de Themines— The first constitutional bishop — The Vicar Expilly consecrated by the Bishop of Autim — Rash action — The prelate and the pocket pistol — Complete success — Excommunication of the Bishop of Autun — Enormous winnings at play — Accusations in the newspapers — Letter of the Bishop of Autun justifying himself — Fine promises — Explanation of a hon mot — The new Bishop of Paris — Persecution of the priests — The populace in the convents — Nuns flagellated — Death of Mirabeau — General mourning — Effect produced upon the assembly — Proposal of Barr^re — M. de Talleyrand legatee of Mirabeau — Posthumous speech — Plan of Mirabeau to re-establish the monarchy — Pru- dential measure — The King at Montmedy — Atrocious reports about Mirabeau's death — His last sigh — A bookseller's wife — Poisoned coffee — Mirabeau's last moments. Let the reader imagine a man of six and thirty, with a line countenance, expressive blue 320 M. DE TALLEYRAND. eyes, a nose slightly turned up; and an almost deadly pale complexion, a slightly malicious smile playing upon his lips and imparting to them an air of disdain ; careful of his person, foppish in his ecclesiastic habiliments, frequently exchanging the costume of his order for plain clothes ; irreligious as a pirate, and saying mass vv^ith graceful unction. He finds time for everything, shows himself at court, but more assiduously at the opera. Instead of his breviary, he studies the Odes of Horace and the Memoirs of Cardinal de Retz. If he meets with Narbonne, Lauzun, the Chevalier de Boufflers, Segur junior, and the Bishop of Chalons in Mademoiselle Guinard's box, he will go and sup with them. Though generally confined to his bed from indolence, it does not prevent him in case of need from spending several consecutive nights in serious matters. Dunned by his creditors, denying himself to the importunate, nevermaking any promise without some reservation, obliging from circumstances, but sometimes through egotism ; eager for fame, still more eager for the substantial gifts of fortune ; devoted to the fair sex in all except his heart ; unmoved in im- portant circumstances ; proud with the great, and caressing with the humble; interrupting a M. DE TALLEYRAND. 321 report upon the finances to answer a billet-doux ; without resentment, without maUce ; an enemy to all violent measures, but knowing well how to recur to them when required : — such was M. de Talleyrand at the time of the promulgation of the civil constitution of the clergy. The Bishop of Autun was the only bishop pos- sessing a benefice in France, who had taken the oath. Two other bishops, MM. Gobel and Mi- rondot, followed his example ; but they were only bishops in partibus injidclium, the former of Lydda, the latter of Babylon. The sacrifice which these two prelates made was the less meritorious, because it was scarcely probable they would be deprived of the benefices attached to their sees : the power of the National Assembly did not reach quite so far. Even these two bishops did not act of their own accord : they had merely yielded to the persuasions of their colleague of Autun, the principal leader in the whole business, as is proved by his conduct in a circumstance which we feel ourselves imperatively called upon to relate rather circumstantially. The bishops who refused to take the oath were deprived of their sees, and it became necessary to appoint others in VOL I. Y 322 M. D£ TALLEYRAND. their stead. The Abbd for instance obtained the bishoprick of Blois, in the place of M. de Themines, and the see of Paris became vacant. We will pre- sently relate how M. de Talleyrand was accused of wishing to be translated to the latter see, and the explanation he gave upon the subject. The Vicar Expilly having been appointed con- stitutional Bishop of Finist^re, applied for con- secration to M. de Gerac Bishop of Rheims, the latter city being, according to the new division, the metropolitan city of Quimper. This prelate answered by a declaration, in which he endeavoured to prove that the election was void ; and he refused to consecrate. M. Expilly then applied to the Bishop of Autun, whose patriotic zeal carried him ostensibly beyond his religious duty. Unauthorised by his order, without a commission from the Pope, without the customary oath towards the Holy See, Avithout a confession of faith, and in defiance of the protest of the Chapter of Quimper, he conse- crated the Bishop elect of Finistere on the 25th of April 1791, in the church of the Oratoire, and at the same time he consecrated M. MarcoUes Bishop of I'Aisne. Alone, he would not perhaps have dared to do it, although no doubt was at that time entertained of his rashness ; he therefore ob- M. DE TALLEYRAND. 323 tained the assistance, as we have already said, of the Bishops of Lydda and Babylon. Nothing can be less canonical than the means to which he re- sorted to determine one of them, who had resolved to withdraw and make the undertaking fail. The Bishop of Lydda came one morning to M. de Talleyrand, when the day for the ceremony was already fixed, and informed him that the Bishop of Babylon wavered in his resolution. Without losing a single instant, the Bishop of Autun called upon the latter merely as if to pay him a visit, and there performed one of those comedies in which he has proved himself the most consummate actor in Europe. " You are not aware of what is going on," said he to his colleague with an air of contrition : ' ' our brother the Bishop of Lydda is on the eve of de- serting us, and the business has gone too far to allow us to retract. He places us in extreme jeopardy ; for you cannot be ignorant to what we shall be exposed from the people ? For my own part," he added, " my mind is made up: I will not expose myself to be stoned by the mob ;".... then grasping in his hand a small pocket pistol, with a threatening air, " I am resolved," he con- tinued, " to blow mv brains out if either of mv V 2 324 M. DE TALLEYRAND. two colleagues betrays me." This scene produced the desired effect, and the Bishop of Babylon no longer felt any desire to refuse his assistance to the Bishop of Autun. This was the last act which the former performed as member of the clergy : very shortly after he resigned his episcopal office, and rendered himself perfectly independent. He acted wisely in thus anticipating events, for the very day after the consecration of the constitutional Bishops of Finistere and I'Aisne, the brief of the Pope arrived in Paris, in which it was said: " The Bishop of Autun is suspended from his func- tions, and excommunicated after the expiration of forty days, if he does not amend his life." This brief related almost entirely to M. de Talleyrand, whose influence had been so fatal to the preten- sions of the court of Rome. He had then just entered the department, and a civil career was opened before him under the most favourable auspices. About this time, however, the metropolitan see of Paris having become vacant, a report was spread that it was the object of the Bishop of Autun's ambi- tion ; it was even asserted that he had solicited his place in the department of Paris, solely with a view of facilitating his design. It was more- M. DE TALLEYRAND. 325 over said that he was addicted to gambhng, which was true, for gambUng has ever been and is still one of his ruUng passions. Enormous winnings were talked of ; they amounted according to public report to more than six hundred thousand francs. As the pubUc press was at that time perfectly free, and did not disdain any species of scandal likely to feed the malignant curiosity of the public, M. de Talleyrand was loudly accused, and the attacks upon him became so virulent and constant, that he thought it necessary to answer them, which he did by publishing the following letter : " I have just read in the Journal de Paris, that I am pointed out as the future Bishop of Paris. In seeing my name joined to that of M. I'Abbe Sieyes, I could not but feel proud of the competi- tion. Some electors have, indeed, intimated to me their wishes, and I think it my duty to publish my answer. " No ! I shall not accept the honour which my fellow-citizens would deign to confer upon me. Since the existence of the National Assembly, I may have proved insensible to the innumer- able calumnies which the different parties have heaped upon me. I never have made, nor ever 326 M. DE TALLEYRAND. shall make to my detractors the sacrifice of any opinion or any action which may be useful to the public ; but I may and do offer them that of my personal interest, and in this circumstance alone shall my enemies influence my conduct. I will not allow them the pretence of saying that some secret motive may have dictated my resolution in the oath I took ; I will not afford them the means of destroying the good I have endeavoured to effect. The publicity which I now give to my determi- nation, I gave to my wishes when I expressed how flattered I should feel at being one of the administrators of the department of Paris. It is my conviction, that in a free country, where the people has re-conquered the right of election, which constitutes the real exercise of its sovereignty, a man should openly state the public office to which he aspires, for it is an appeal to his fellow-citizens to examine him beforehand ; it is rendering every intrigue impossible : it is offering himself to the most impartial observation ; hatred itself is not taken by surprise. I therefore here announce to those who, fearing what they call my ambition, unceasingly calumniate me, that I shall never conceal the offices to which I may have the pride to aspire. As a consequence of those M. DE TALLEYRAND. 327 false alarms spread on the approach of the nomi- nation to the vacant bishopric of Paris, it has been reported that I have gained between six and seven hundred thousand francs in the gambling houses. Now that the fear of seeing me raised to the dignity of Bishop of Paris is dispelled, I trust I shall be beheved. This is the exact truth : I have now, in the course of two months, not in gambling houses, but in company, and at the chess-club, which has almost always been looked upon from the na- ture of its institution as a private house, gained about thirty thousand francs. I here assert the pre- cise fact, without seeking to justify it. The love of play has become unfortunately prevalent in society. I never was fond of it, and I therefore reproach myself the more for not having suffi- ciently resisted the temptation. I blame myself as a private individual, and still more as a legis- lator, convinced that the virtues of liberty are as severe as its principles ; that a regenerated people ought to reconquer all the severity of moral virtue, and that the attention of the National Assembly should be directed to those baneful excesses so prejudicial to society, as they tend to cause the inequality of fortune which the laws ought to endeavour to prevent by every means compatible 328 M. DE TALLEYRAND. with respect for property, that eternal foundation of social justice. I therefore condemn myself, and I feel it a duty incumbent upon me to own it ; for as the reign of truth is arrived, the most honest way of repairing our errors, whilst we must re- nounce the impossible honour of committing none, is to have the courage to avow them." Nothing, in our minds, can be more amusing and at the same time more instructive, than to reperuse all the fine promises and acts of contrition made by great political sinners ; they prove the truth of that beautiful axiom of M. de Talleyrand : Speech was given to man only for the purpose of disguising his thoughts." How many disguises has he not made his thoughts assume ! The archbishopric of Paris had not, in the first instance been declared vacant ; Monseigneur de Juigne, who was the titulary bishop, being absent at the time of taking the oaths. When the delay had expired, and Monseigneur de Juigne refused to take the oath, it became necessary to proceed to the nomination of another prelate in his place. His successor was a priest of the name of Gobel, noted for his venality and libertinism. Gobel was raised to three sees at the same time, those of the Upper Rhine, the Upper Marne. M. DE TALLEYRAND. 329 and Paris. Obliged to choose one, it is natural to conceive that he gave the preference to the metro- polis. He was installed with the greatest pomp when he received the canonic institution. This was the prelate who, on the 7th of November 1793, at the age of seventy declared, at the bar of the convention : " That he had been, during sixty years of his life, a hypocrite and an impostor, in professing the Christian religion, which he knew was founded upon falsehood and error." M. de Talleyrand would certainly never have said so much ; for it is often more prudent to manifest one's belief by actions than by words. M. de Talleyrand was present at the installation of the new constitutional Bishop of Paris, not in the character of an ecclesiastic, but as adminis- trator of the department. His conduct in his new office drew upon him innumerable reproaches. He became an object of hatred to all devout souls, and these possess no slight knowledge of the art of hating. In fact, the consequences of the civil constitution of the clergy, of which he had been one of the most ardent promoters, were sufficiently fearful to justify strong animadversion. Persecu- tion attached itself to the^priests who had refused the oath. The municipality of Paris forbade them 330 M. DE TALLEYRAND. to read prayers in any of the Parisian churches ; the convents and the hospitals were ordered to refuse admission to their chapels of any persons who wished to be present at divine service. And yet universal toleration had been proclaimed ! How long will the meaning of words be distorted, in order to mock the credulity of men ! What atro- cious horrors were committed at that period ! Under pretence of ascertaining if the orders of the municipality were strictly obeyed, the mob, armed with cords, penetrated in the nunneries, broke open the doors where there was any resist- ance, and scourged without mercy the unfortunate women who were pursuing their devotions. No measures were taken to put a stop to these abomi- nations in the department of which M. de Talley- rand was member ; and his enemies accused him not only of remaining inactive but of encouraging the abettors of such monstrous acts. Let us quit this hideous subject, and return to others less dis- gusting. A short time after M. de Talleyrand entered the department came the 2nd of April, a day of mourn- ing for the whole of France. Tronchet on that day presided at the National Assembly. The sitting was interrupted ; the presi- M. DE TALLEYRAND. 331 dent rose and said : " 1 have at this moment a very painful duty to perform ;" a low murmur spread through the Assembly, and these words were heard from several places : " Ah ! he is no more !" — " I have to announce to you the premature loss you have sustained by the death of M. Mirabeau, the elder. He died this morning at eight o'clock. I will not recal to your remembrance the applause you have so often bestowed upon his eloquence ; he possesses other rights and more powerful claims to our regret, and to the tears we shall shed upon his tomb." A dead silence pervaded the Assembly. Barr^re addressed it in these words: —"Mirabeau is dead ! The great services he has rendered to his country and to humanity are known. The public grief every where shows itself; shall not the National Assembly manifest its sorrow in some solemn manner ? It is not upon his grave that I claim for him any vain distinctions. It is for public opinion, it is for posterity to assign to him the honourable place he has deserved. It is for his colleagues to consign their just regrets in the authentic monument of their labours. I propose, that the assembly shall express in the proces-verbal of this sorrowful day, the grief it 332 M. DE TALLEYRAND. experiences at the death of this great man, and that all the members of the Assembly shall be invited, in the name of the country, to attend his funeral." M. de Rochefoucault-Liancourt supported the motion of Barrere, upon a particular consideration : — " Recollect," said he, " that one of the last times that the colleague whose loss we now deplore, mounted this tribune, he took the solemn engage- ment to oppose factions, on whichever side they might be found. This engagement, which his transcendent talents afforded him the means of accomplishing, was hailed by you with loud and unanimous applause." Another member, M. de Beaumetz mentioned the following circumstance to the Assembly : — " Yesterday, in the midst of his sufferings,^ he called for the Bishop of Autun,* and giving him his written speech relative to the question now before us,f asked as a last mark of friendship, that he would read it to the Assembly. I do not doubt that the Bishop of Autun will hasten to fulfil this * At this time M. de Talleyrand no longer bore that title. He was called L'Abb^ Talleyrand, and by his friends, Monsieur Talleyrand. t The question of the law of succession. M. DE TALLEYRAND. 333 sacred duty, and I do not suppose any one can oppose his performing the duties of testamentary legatee of the great man whom we all regret." When the Assembly had decided by acclamation, exclaiming simultaneously, " We will all go," that it would follow the funeral of Mirabeau, the Abbe Talleyrand mounted the tribune, and, with a voice in which great emotion was perfectly well feigned, said : " I went yesterday to M. Mirabeau's ; a gi^eat concourse of people filled the house; I entered it with a feeling still more painful than the public grief. This melancholy sight filled my soul with images of death. Death seemed every where, except in the mind of him whom an imminent danger threatened. He asked for me. I will not pause to mention the emotion which several things he said, excited in me. M. Mirabeau was still at this moment a public man, and it is as such that the last words wdiich fell from him may be considered a precious relict. Concen- trating all his interest upon the labours of this Assembly, he learnt that the order of the day was the law of succession. He evinced his regret at not being able to be present at the debate, and it was with the same regret that he appeared to 334 M. DK TALLEYRAND. meet the approach of death. But as his opinion upon the question now before us is written, he has confided it to me, in order that I may read it to you in his name. I will fulfil this duty ; each applause which this opinion must draw from you will find an echo in every heart. The author of this opinion is no more ; I bring you his last labours, and such is the union of his feeling and his thoughts, both equally devoted to the common cause, that in listening to it you are present as it were at his last sigh." M. de Talleyrand then read Mirabeau's dis- course, which was listened to in the most profound silence, and received with the liveliest accla- mations. Under the circumstances in which France was then placed, Mirabeau's death was a great event ; every one regretted him, except the Orleans' party, which he had just abandoned. During the last debates upon the civil constitution of the clergy, his conduct was problematical, and it is quite certain that he would willingly have retrograded in the revolutionary road he had himself made. He had however formed the following plan, to which M. de Talleyrand, who was evidently initiated into his opinions, secretly adhered. M. DE TALLEYRAND. 335 In the first place, it must be remarked, that the Duke of Orleans' finances were in such a shattered state, and his credit so worn out, that this Prince could no longer reckon upon the fidelity of his par- tizans at a time when every thing and every body were bought and sold. Mirabeau was to undermine by degrees the place in which he and his friends had rendered themselves so formidable ; but, in this combination, M. de Talleyrand was not to come over to him before he was certain of being victorious. The part he had to play was to serve the court by attacking it with so much violence, that his exaggeration would furnish Mirabeau with the means of defending it. The latter was per- fectly well aware that, in the degraded situation to which the royal authority was reduced, nothing decisive could be attempted. He wished therefore to proceed in his attempt with prudence and caution ; for, above all, it was necessary not to endanger his popularity. He promised to contain the most ardent of the malcontents, by threaten- ing to expose their crimes to the nation ; and, at all events, imaginary crimes would have been imputed to them, had it been judged necessary. The most important point was, to make sure of the fidelity of the army towards the sovereign. It was 336 M. DE TALLEYRAND. thought — and this was Mirabeau's opinion since his change — that the people ought to be instigated to demand the dissolution of the assembly, and the convocation of a new one, and that this demand should be founded on the plea that the existing legislature had gone beyond the authority with which it had been originally invested, which would have rendered doubtful the legitimacy of the organic decrees emanated from this Assembly. It formed part of the project that the King should leave Paris, where it could not be disguised that he was really in a state of captivity. Placing himself at the head of his troops, commanded by the Marquis deBo.uilli, the king was to fix his royal residence at Montmedy, and there he would proclaim himself the protector of his people, — the defender of their rights and liberties. . This plan must have appeared wise and mode- rate to all those who did not wish for the ruin of the monarchy ; because its object was not to effect a counter-revolution, but to bring back the revo- lution to its true principle. No violence was pro- posed to be offered to the Assembly ; and the scheme was not to be polluted by individual pro- scription. Faithful to his new engagements, Mira- beau beheld with regret the attacks directed against M. DE TALLEYRANJ). 337 the clergy ; but neither he nor M. de Talleyrand could oppose them : the difference which would have been remarked between this and their preced- ing conduct would have been too glaring. At first he purposed absenting himself from the Assembly for a month ; but his sagacity soon made him reflect, that it would be folly on his part to remain away ; and when the decree was passed he contented him- self with proposing an address to the nation, the virulence of which would have produced an effect contrary to its apparent object. In it the minis- ters of religion were treated in a way calculated to stimulate the zeal of every Catholic. M, de Talley- rand highly approved of Mirabeau's proposal, but circumstances obliged him afterwards to adopt, in earnest, what he had at first considered a kind of counter-trial. The project of address was referred to a committee. The most atrocious reports were spread among the public after Mira- beau's death. It was asserted he had been poisoned, and no particulars were spared respecting his tragic end. They made no scruple in accusing M. de Talleyrand, because he had been present at his last moments. We need not say how much we repudiate such an atrocious supposition ; and with the sole view of showing how far the skilful VOL. I. z 338 M. DE TALLEYRAND. machinations of calumniators can go, we will end this chapter with a fragment borrowed from the foreign pamphlet which we have already quoted several times. '* Whilst Mirabeau was occupied in the neces- sary arrangements for the success of the plan he had formed to change the impetus given to the government, he fell suddenly ill, and, after two days of most acute suffering, expired in the arms of Talleyrand, on the 2nd of April, 1791.—'! carry the monarchy with me — some factious men will divide the wreck of it among themselves ; you, my friend, have too much sense not to take your share.' " These were Mirabeau's last w^ords. As soon as his illness became known, the whole capital was in alarm ; crowds of men and women waited at the door of his house to enquire after his health, and at every moment messages arrived from the King. In the proces verbal, published by the medical men who opened the body, his death was attributed to a sanguine obstruction :— they stated that his heart was dried up, and his intes- tines twisted. The generally received opinion was, that he had been poisoned ; and the following circumstances contributed to corroborate it. It M. DE TALLEYRAND. 339 is an undoubted fact that his most intimate accom- phces — a traitor has no friends — administered to him the dose that ended his Ufe. Talleyrand and his friend, or instrument, Doctor Cabarrus,* who attended Mirabeau at his last moments, could alone furnish explanations calculated to remove the suspicions which surround the real cause of their hero's death. But it is to be feared that their secret will remain buried in the tomb which re- ceived at the same time the body of Louis XVII, and the name of his poisoner. A report has how- ever been published relative to the manner in which Mirabeau was despatched, and the debauch during which he swallowed the deadly draught. Mirabeau, Talleyrand, and four other profligate men supped with as many women at Robert's restaurant, in the Palais Royal. In the midst of their gaiety, Madame de J — , a bookseller's wife of Paris, entered and reproached Mirabeau with his infidelity in the most violent terms her jealousy could suggest, insisting that he should imme- diately leave his company and accompany her. After some recriminations, she at length ap- peared appeased through the intercession of * This ought to be Cabanis. — Tr. 7 *> A AW 340 M. DE TALLEYRAND. Talleyrand. She then placed herself at table, and the temporary bonne amie was dismissed. They then indulged in every kind of excess until four o'clock in the morning. To re-ani- mate the drooping spirits, one of the party, Madame de J — , served coffee. Mirabeau had no sooner drunk his cup than he complained of violent spasms in his stomach. In the hope of alleviating his sufferings he placed himself in a warm bath, and swallowed several cups of milk and cocoa. This beverage, which afforded a*niomentary relief, contributed to prolong his sufferings, as otherwise the poison he had taken in his coffee would have produced instant death. During his short illness he refused to see Madame de J — , whom he accused of having hastened his death by the excess of her love. " After his death this woman lived for some time with Talleyrand, who transferred her to Petion. This circumstance gave rise to the report spread at that time, that Talleyrand had sold the secret of Mirabeau's change to the republican faction. Madame de J . . . . was suspected of having, with the participation and even at the instigation of Talleyrand, been chosen by Petion, Condorcet, Brissot, Cabarrus and others to destrov the most M. DE TALI.E.YRAND. 341 powerful barrier which had opposed to, and could still oppose, a general revolution, and the founda- tion of a universal republic." We have nothing to add to this account, of which we have marked the words in italics, as they are underlined in the original, except to say, that it is evidently a tissue of infamous falsehoods. 342 M. DE TALLEYRAND. CHAPTER XVII. Consequences of Mirabeau's death— Progress #f the revolution- Easter week of Louis XVI — Projectof a journey to Saint Cloud — Address of the department drawn up by Talleyrand — Inte- rested advice — Ambition unmasked — The King's note to M. de Biron— Answer of Louis XVI to the address of the department — Threatening placards — M. de Talleyrand replaces Mirabeau in the directory of Paris— Lost labour of M. de Talleyrand at the National Assembly— Criticism of the Pope's brief— Antici- pation of the concordat of 1802 — Report on a plan of national education — Foundation of an Institute — Project composed of thirty-five articles— Deputy Buzot's objections, and M. de Talleyrand's reply — Amount of expenditure of the university of Paris— Adjournment to the next legislature — The National Assembly excluded by its own decrees from holding public office — Reports of the day — Conduct of the court — Flight of the King— Proclamation left at the Tuileries, and attributed to M. de Talleyrand — Accusation — Refutation — M. de Talley- rand's petition in favour of the clergy — Favourable answer of Louis XVI — Character of M. de Talleyrand elucidated by a single fact. After Mirabeau's death the revolutionists M. DE TALLEYRAND. 343 attacked the wreck of the royal authority with fresh fury. A fortuitous circumstance revealed to those who still wished to doubt the fact, that the King was a prisoner at the Tuileries. A report having been spread that he intended to un- dertake a journey to St. Cloud during the Easter fortnight, the public became uneasy. It was no doubt feared that he would proceed further ; and this fear was of course kept alive by those aware of the plan of his retreat to Montmedy. Representa- tions on the subject were therefore made to him ; and as usual the monarch yielded, because he could not do otherwise. The sections of Paris, convoked by the department, deliberated then upon the question whether they ought to beg Louis XVI to realize his project and proceed to St. Cloud, or only thank him for having restored tranquillity by foregoing his intention. It was agreed, after the deliberations of the sections, that an address should be presented to the King : — it was signed by M. de la Rochefoucauld Liancourt, president of the directory ; but it is well known that the true author of it was M. de Talleyrand, which is our reason for inserting it here. 344 M. DE TALLEYRAND. ADDRESS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PARIS TO THE KING, APRIL 18tH 1791. '' Sir, " The directory of the department of Paris has reported the present state of the metropoUs to an extraordinary meeting of all the members of the department. " This account has not excited the alarm of the department, because it knows the attachment of the people towards the person of the King ; and it also is aware that the King has sworn fidelity to the constitution. But, Sir, can the confidence which the people place in your royal person resist for a length of time the impressions which men anxious to enjoy liberty receive from every thing that surrounds you ? " The enemies of liberty have feared your patriotism ; they have said, — ' We will alarm his conscience.' Concealing under a saintly garb their humiliated pride, they shed over religion the tears of hypocrites. Such are the men, Sir, who sur- round you. It is observed with pain that you favour the refractory, that you are served scarcely by any but the enemies of the constitution, and it M. DE TALLEYRAND. 345 is feared that such preferences which are but too evident, indicate the real feehngs of your heart. " Sir, the state of the country is portentous ; a false line of policy must be repugnant to you, and would avail nothing. " By a frank proceeding, Sir, remove from your person the enemies of the constitution. An- nounce to foreign nations that a glorious revolution has taken place in France ; that you have adopted that revolution ; that you are now the monarch of a free people ; and let ministers worthy of so august a duty be charged with that instruction of a new kind. Let the nat ion learn that its King has chosen the firmest supporters of the revolution to surround him ; for now there are none others who are the true friends of the King. " Do not repudiate, sir, the step taken by the department of Paris. The advice which it offers you woiild be given by the eighty-three de- partments of the kingdom, if they could make themselves heard as promptly as we can." It has been very truly said that ambition blinds men, even those endowed with the greatest acute- ness of mind. When the true author of the ad- dress to the King was known, nobody could mistake 346 M. DE TALLEYRAND. the real purport of it. It was too evident that M. de Talleyrand said to Louis XVI : " Sir, take me," for any one to be deceived. We do not even find in this address those delightful ambiguities the secret of which he possesses so well, and which always admit of different interpretations. Here the aim was direct and the argumentation positive. The enemies of M. de Talleyrand loudly pro- claimed his ambitious views, which became at once apparent. And was it not a bitter derision to speak to Louis XVI of the love of his people, when that good people would not allow him to go two leagues out of Paris in order to perform a religious act ? The fact is, that the repugnance of Louis XVI to receive the sacrament, from a priest interdicted by the Pope — a repugnance dictated by the most conscientious feelings, was the greatest condemnation the monarch could ex- press of M. de Talleyrand's conduct in the affair relating to the clergy. The brief of which we have spoken affected the King in the most lively manner. It is known that on the very day it reached M. de Talleyrand, he wrote to M. de Biron a note in the following terms : " You know the news : come and console me, and sup with me. Everybody is going to refuse M. DE TALLEYRAND. 347 me fire and water ; we shall therefore have nothing this evening but iced meats, and drink nothing but wine." Louis XVI endeavoured to joke with one of the profligate nobles of his court, an intimate friend of M. de Talleyrand ; but his heart bled to the quick, and the wound was deep. Far from an- swering the address of the department of Paris by an adhesion to its demands, the King complained that some persons had dared to place placards even upon the walls of his palace, announcing that post horses were stationed on the road from St. Cloud to Compiegne, in order to facilitate his departure. He declared, moreover, that the assertion was scandalously false, and charged the directory of the department not only to undeceive the public with regard to this calumnious imputation, but also to discover if there had not been some criminal intention to carry it into effect. Mirabeau's death having left a vacancy in the directory of the department, M. de Talleyrand, who was then merely a member of the department, was appointed to fill the vacant office. It was thought that these duties ought necessarily to devolve upon the legatee of Mirabeau's last thoughts. He was thus placed in the highest administration of 348 M. DE TALLEYRAND. the capital, and called upon to decide in the most important matters. All this happened in conse- quence of the ascendency he had acquired over his colleagues, and at the same time he continued to exercise his influence in the National Assembly. In order to have done with this subject, we will devote the end of this chapter to an enumera- tion of the various labours by which the ex- Bishop of Autun continued to signalize himself in the Assembly. It will form a rapid complement of what we have already said of his brilliant but wily parliamentary career. Let us however re- mark that he appeared less frequently at the tri- bune after he became a member of the [directory of the department. He continued to be a member of the Committee of Constitution, and in a report which in that capacity he presented to the As- sembly, he did not fail to praise in the most pompous manner the civil constitution of the clergy, his favorite topic, and which brought him very naturally to criticise with some degree of bitterness the brief of Pius VII. " Nobody," said he, " believes more sincerely than I do, that the religion whose ceremonies will be celebrated in our churches is the Catholic reli- gion in al] its purity, in all its integrity ; that M. DE TALLEYRAND. 349 we have been very unjustly accused of schism ; that a nation is not schismatic when it affirms that it will not be so ; that the Pope himself has neither the power nor the right to pronounce that such schism exists ; that in vain would he wish to separate himself from that nation, it would escape his threats as well as his maledictions by declaring quietly its determination of not sepa- rating from him ; and that it is more proper it should avoid even the slightest appearance of rupture, by publicly manifesting its resolution not to allow itself to be given to the patriarch. Let us go further : if at this moment the Pope, misled by ultramontane opinions, or by perfidious counsels, by which his old age might be surrounded, should hurl an imprudent curse against the French nation, or only against those of its members whose conduct has especially contributed to the execution of the law ; — if he did not fear to carry into execution those threats which more than once his prede- cessors ventured to utter against France, no doubt it would not be a long or difficult task to prove to all unprejudiced persons the nullity of such act of power. No doubt we should find in the imperishable monuments of our Gallican liber- ties, as well as in the historv of the errors of the 350 M. DE TALLEYRAND, pontiffs, sufficient means of replying victoriously. But even then we should remain attached to the see of Rome, and we should wait with security, an inevitable return either by the present pontiff or by his successor, to those principles which are the essential support of religion." We find in these last words a kind of anti- cipation of the concordat which attached the church of France to the holy see, during the second year of the Consulate. The Assembly issued a decree in conformity to the spirit of the speech, of which we have only quoted a fragment. We may further assert that M. de Talleyrand seldom failed in his proposals, because he possessed in a supreme degree the art of asking of the majority only that which he was aware it was disposed to grant. Thus he caused several measures to be adopted relative to the encouragement to be given to the arts. He also presented a report upon the exchange and exportation of money. This report was opposed by Rewbell, who had not forgotten it when he afterwards opposed, though but feebly, the nomination of M. de Talleyrand to the office of minister for foreign affairs. Always intent on insuring the success of his former ad- journed proposals, he presented also to theAssem- M. DE TALLEYRAND. 351 bly a paper of the Academy of Sciences, relating to the uniformity of weights and measures ; and in which the principal things which he had himself recommended upon this important question, were adopted. In short, he read to the Assembly a report upon the system of national education, necessary to be adopted in France, and he was the first to propose the establishment of a National Institute ; — but at this period the first legislature was drawing to a close. On the 13th September 1789, M. de Talleyrand presented to the Assembly a project containing thirty five articles, preceded by a luminous report upon public and national education. It was a complete plan of education, comprising the estab- lishment of a National Institute. The deputy Buzot, without opposing the project, found it too expensive ; and thought that so immense a labour upon a matter of such importance, required too profound an examination to be made in a moment. The Assembly were about to separate : M. de Talleyrand replied ; and we here insert his reply, because it appears to us to contain some valuable documents upon the state of education in France in 1791, and for the further reason that it con- 352 M. DE TALLEYRAND. tains the basis upon which the new mode of edu- cation has since been founded. " M. Buzot appears to be alarmed at the length of the project of decree, which has been printed at the bottom of my report ; but I will observe to the Assembly, that my intention is not to propose the whole of this decree, and that I have on the contrary reduced it to a limited number of articles. I propose to you the decree that there shall be primary schools distributed through the cantons, having each a master with a certain salary. You will have therefore to decree, not the details relat- ing to the instruction given in these schools, but their existence. I will add that the establishment of district schools cannot be alarming from their number, since there will be no complete instruc- tion except in those district schools where the administration have judged it proper. I do not ask that the National Institute be decreed in all its details, but I ask you to decree that there shall be a National Institute, and to determine what its elements shall be ; for the Assembly must not abandon the arts and sciences. My desire is to withdraw it from the department of the minister of the interior, and place it under a M. DE TALLEYRAND. 353 particular administration ; you will determine whether the commissaries of public instruction shall be appointed by the legislative body, the King, or the departments. My opinion is that they ought to be appointed by the King. You see, Mr. President, that I propose to the Assembly only extremely short and extremely simple decrees, but at the same time of a very pressing nature. For every where the universities have suspended their labours, the colleges are without subordina- tion, and the nation without professors and students.* It is important that the basis of the National Institute should be fixed before the month of October. M. Buzot wanted to alarm you about the expense of the plan of public edu- cation which I have proposed to you ; but I offer to demonstrate that the National Institute will be much less expensive than such an institution would have been formerly. " At Paris the primary schools have always cost from 120 to 130,000 livres ; by the new regulations their expences will be reduced to * Alone of all men upon earth, M. de Talleyrand could explain who were the insubordinate pupils existing in colleges without professors and students. VOL. I. 2 A 354 M. DE TALLEYRAND. half that sum. As for the university, the portion of it called the Faculty of arts, received 300,000 francs from the revenues of the post office, and 60,000 francs from the Hotel de Ville. The six district colleges which we mean to establish within the limits of this department, will cost 116,000 francs. The separate establishment belonging to the study of medicine amounted to nearly 320,000 livres ; we mean to replace it by a new one, which will cost only 240,000 francs. The schools of law alone will undergo the necessary condition of an increased expenditure, because they were not endowed with any revenue, all the charges at- tending them being supported by the students, — a custom which it is impossible not to abolish. Those schools will in future, require 1 16,000 francs. As to the schools of theology, the expence of keeping up those preserved by the civil constitu- tion of the clergy, will not amount to a thirtieth part of what they cost under the former system of seminaries. The revenues of the learned socie- ties, will be more than adequate to meet the whole expenditure- of the National Institute." Nobody can deny that such plans do infinite honour to their author ; for nothing in our opinion, can be more honourable and praiseworthy than M. DE TALLEYRAND. 355 that which tends evidently to propagate instruction, promote the study of arts and letters, and en- courage the acquirement of science. The National Assembly listened to them with marked favour. The articles drawn up by M. de Talleyrand himself, w^ere read and agreed to ; but in doing them justice and assenting to them, the Assembly adjourned their adoption to the following legisla- ture ; the present Assembly having fixed the ist of October, as the time of its own dissolution. Every body remembers that before the final sepa- ration of the National Assembly, that body in order to make a great shew of disinterestedness, decreed that none of its members could accept any public appointment. This measure has been universally condemned by all wise men, and was really an astonishing blunder ; though it cannot be said that it did not do honour to the motives upon which it was founded. It was pretended at the time, that the knowledge of M. de Talleyrand's ambition was not unconnected to the measure, as the brothers Larneth, who proposed it, dreaded to see him restored to the King's favour, and assume the helm of state. Several circumstances of his administration, while placed at the head of the department, had drawn upon him the 2 A 2 356 M. DE TALLEYRAND. sharp looks of all the lynxes of the time. Thus, for instance, his enemies found, if not a reason, at least a pretence for attacking him with vio- lence after the King's flight, in June 1791. It is well known that this flight had no other result than to tighten the chains of the unfortunate monarch, already a prisoner in the Tuileries. On setting off", Louis XVI left a proclamation behind him, in which he complained to the nation of its representatives, and claimed the restitution of part of the prerogatives which had been wrested from him. The King being arrested at Varennes, was brought back to Paris ; and as in his departure one might perceive a sort of counter-proof of Mirabeau's project, it was reported that M. de Talleyrand had not been an entire stranger to it. Moreover, his insatiate love of money was a secret to nobody ; and it was asserted, whether justly or not, that he had in his possession a considerable amount of treasure, with the inference that it had been received from the King to favour the monarch's escape. A report of M. de Talleyrand having been robbed of eighty thousand francs, obtained credit, and a newspaper of those days, the Gazette Universelle, affirmed the fact ; which circumstance forced him not to let it pass unnoticed, but to act as he did M. DE TALLEYRAND. 357 when he denied his enormous profits at the gaming table. The imputation here was much more serious — for the people was then in a mood that upon the slightest suspicion they broke to pieces without reflexion the idols they had created and worshipped the day before ; and the greatest per- sonal danger might accrue from any delay in clearing himself of the accusation of having aided the King's flight. He sent an answer to the Gazette, and asserted that it was only through its means that he had been apprized of the theft of which it was pretended he was the victim. " The fact itself," he added, " is without the slightest foundation. Unfortunately, I am too secure against any such occurrence, and cannot discover any other meaning than a wish to calumniate me and cast a stigma upon my character." Thus the affair ended, but his denial was not believed, and people persisted in giving faith to the story of the robbery. We will relate another fact, posterior by some few months to the dissolution of thefirst National Assem- bly, and which is connected with M. de Talleyrand's administration of the department of the Seine. In the month of December he presented to the King a petition, in which, ho who had reduced so many 358 M. DE TALLEYRAND. ecclesiastics to want and misery, earnestly solicited, in favour of the members of the clergy who had refused to take the oath to the civil constitution imposed upon them, the payment of their pen- sions which had been stopped in -consequence. " These pensions," he said, " have been ranked amongst other national debts, and any measure depriving the clergy of them is an unconstitu- tional act." He besought the King to refuse his sanction to a decree of the new National As- sembly of the 29th November, relating to the new religious feuds arisen in the kingdom, and at the same time solemnly conjured him to uphold with all his power, the energetic resolutions of the Assembly against the meetings of rebels, who were conspiring on the frontiers of the country. He further besought the monarch to take the strongest possible measures against a band of desperadoes who dared to threaten the French people with so much audacity. Louis XVI an- swered the petition favourably. He even did more, and followed M. de Talleyrand's suggestion. With regard to this petition, we cannot refrain from an observation concerning the first part of it. M. de Talleyrand's character is reflected in.it as in a mirror. After breaking down the strength M. DE TALLEYRAND. 359 of the clergy J he wanted to be thought the protector of that body ; after breaking the mitres on the heads of those who wore them, he was desirous to pass for the defender of the more humble minis- ters of rehgion. Such was his double dealing, and such his line of conduct throughout the whole course of his long public life. It has always been his policy to crush men of elevated rank, whose social position might vie with his own, and tender relief to those who could not think of aspiring to a station which would place them upon a level with himself; to pull down that which he has raised, to raise again that which he has destroyed, in order to place himself in the midst of contending parties, hke a political providence, from which every thing may be alternately dreaded or hoped for. 360 M. DE TALLEYRAND. CHAPTER XVIII. The parties and their shades — Impossibility of not being urged forward — Destruction of the monarchy — M. de Talleyrand's benefice — His liberation from the Church — Confidences to Madame de F Occult ministry of Louis XVI — General La Fayette, Bamave, the two Lameths, and M. de Talleyrand — Evaded decree — Last hope of the King — The fate of his trusty counsellors — The Te Deum, and the revolution ended. — The constitution accepted by the King — Notification of that circumstance to foreign powers — Dismissal of diplomatic agents — Their successors not received — First rumours of approaching war — New plan in favour of the King — Avowed purpose of the republicans — M. de Talleyrand in presence of the several parties — Confidential letter to the Countess de F . . . . — The moment arrived to be of service to the republicans — Advances to M, de Chauvelin — Patriotic journals — Particulars of a supper at Petion's, given by M. de Talleyrand — Petion's journey to England — English patriots — Proposal of Brissot — Necessity of an alliance between England and revolutionary France — Care- lessness of Petion and broken appointments — Libels by Thomas Pavne, and causes of Petion's error. M. DK TALLEYRAND. 361 The great misfortune of governments at the period of their dedine is that, while there always exists strong unity of purpose among the men aiming at their destruction, division and want of concert seem always to attend those who would still preserve them. How many shades of this kind might be observed in the first political assem- bhes in France ! Those shades, with as much mo- bility and fickleness as the run of human thought, varied incessantly. And what proves that men are very little capable of fixity in any other feeling but hatred is that, at the period of the disso- lution of the National Assembly, those who in the beginning had shewn themselves most timid in the reform of abuses, had become more ardent than the boldest innovators were at first ; and the latter, following the same progression, no longer made any secret of their having become republicans. The opponents of novelties, standing alone at their former post, remained staunch partizans of the old order of things ; but most of them were dispersed and had emigrated to spread their discontent, and and display their vapid foppishness and irritated feelings at all the continental courts in Europe. The great work of the Constituent Assembly was perhaps an admirable Utopia in itself; but 362 M. DE TALLEYRAND. that famous constitution was necessarily affected in its various parts by the influence under which each part had been framed ; and when it was completed and promulgated, the monarchy which was to protect those liberties was unable to do so. In reality, the monarchy no longer existed ; and as liberty or rather the republic marched on, its demands increasing with its successes, and existed in fact long before it was proclaimed, the republicans have been reproached with too hastily declaring a republic. On the contrary, they only gave its real name to a government full of force and life ; as at a later period the empire was also in thriving existence before the senate in a body came ostentatiously to place the imperial crown on the brow of the First Consul. M. de Talleyrand had never been an advocate for the total subversion of the former order of things. The elegance of his manners, his habits of syba- ritism, and his love of pleasure, did not allow him to see in a republic any thing but an object of speculation : for if most forms of government are utterly bad for the governed, all are essentially good for the governing, because their ambition is satisfied ; the people never being but the pretence M. DE TALLEYRAND. 363 to obtain power in their name. Upon mature re- flection, we could almost be tempted to make an exception in favour of despotic government when the despot is good ; but general inductions must not be made to rest upon exceptional cases. There still existed the semblance of a monarch before Louis XVI was brought back from Varennes to Paris ; but from that day such semblance totally disappeared. Tliere is no king even in name where the monarch is brought to undergo the forms of a judicial interrogatory. And let it be observed, that though monarchy in France had taken such deep root that it would have been utterly imprac- ticable to extirpate it if the attempt had not been carefully dissembled or rather disowned, the real state of things could not escape the discriminating mind of M. de Talleyrand, initiated as he was into the secrets of all the actors in this eventful drama. He knew the pretensions of the court, those of the clubs, and the plans of the republicans ; and he contrived to serve every one without making a choice of any party. He prudently classed himself with the constitutional royalists until the time should come either to sacrifice the Constitution to the King or the King to the Constitution. His liberation from the shackles of the cliurch with 364 M, DE TALLEYRAND. which his family had fettered him in his youth, without much impeding his motions, was already a valuable conquest that he had made.* But even such a conquest would have become an insuperable obstacle to the advancement of his fortune, if things had been established upon their former footing. Hence, the absolute necessity of leaning, though ever so reluctantly, towards the republic, because the republic offered him a safe asylum against the church. In one of his most confidential letters to the Countess de F . . . . , written a few days after the return of the King to Paris, we find the follow- ing, in which is explained the project of de- stroying the effect of the decree prohibiting any member of the Assembly from accepting a com- mission or place of trust in the gift of the crown. " All has been definitively settled at the palace, in spite of the absurd decree. If we cannot openly accept office under the King, we are not * It has been said, but we do not vouch the fact, though we are much inclined to beheve it, that when Charles X ascended the throne, it was intimated to M. de Talleyrand that he would do an act agreeable to the King to return into the hierarchy. A car- dinal's hat was promised as the price of his condescension. The hint was disregarded, and Charles X has fallen ! — Tr. M. DE TALLEYRANn. 365 precluded by any law from becoming his secret advisers and privy counsellors. In future the government will be entirely in our own hands. General La Fayette is to be the minister of war, Barnave w411 have the seals of the inte- rior, Lameth (the elder) the navy, his brother Charles the finances, and I myself the depart- ment of foreign affairs. This means, my dear friend, that nothing will be done in those several branches of the government without our previous consent. We must now conclude our constitutional work, which alone can restore the poor captive to liberty." Thus under the sweeping influence of a revo- lution w^hich broke through every obstacle, legis- lators did not shrink from the idea of evading their own laws ; and old sympathies with the court were encouraged by an arrangement which amounted to subjecting all the acts of the government, done in open day, to the approbation of dark meetings, and measures determined upon in mysterious secrecy. This contrivance could not however be carried into effect ; but the knowledge of it serves to exphiin the subsequent mistrust shewn by M. de Montmorin, when it was afterwards proposed to send 366 M, DE TALLEYRAND. M. de Talleyrand as ambassador to the court of St. James's, by a Jesuitical evasion of the decree of the assembly : that is to say, by making him the real ambassador, whilst M. de Chauvelin had the name and appointment, though only a man of straw for the occasion. Louis XVI had not entirely lost the hope of being able to escape from his gaolers, though unsuccessful in his first attempt. It was on that ac- count alone that he had given his confidence to men placed by public opinion in the ranks of his worst enemies. The proposed ministry had in it this remarkable feature, that it was composed exclu- sivelv of the very characters whose influence in the Assembly and with the clubs had most contributed to undermine the throne. First at the head of the most ardent revolutionists, they had become the most moderate, and of course could no longer depend upon the popularity they had acquired; for at such critical periods, if a man is once perceived lagging behind or having slackened his pace ever so little, he must consider himself lost. M. de La Fayette and the two La- meths experienced this fate, and were forced to leave France to save their heads from the block i As for M. de Talleyrand, he had the happiness to M. DE TALLEYRAND. 367 find himself on safe ground in a foreign land when things approached a decisive crisis. One out of the five private counsellors of Louis XVI re- mained in France ;~that one was Barnave, and he perished on the scaffold ! The version most likely to be the truth, re- lative to the projected escape of the King from Paris, is, we are led to think, the following; — His counsellors wished him before all to accept the Constitution ; this took place in consequence, and on the 18th of September the Constitution was proclaimed in Paris. On the following Sunday the Te deum was sung at the metropolitan church of Notre Dame, to return thanks to God that the revolution was at length terminated. And, pur- suant to the advice of the same counsellors, as soon as the King had freely accepted the Con- stitution, he transmitted the great tidings to his allies and to all foreign powers. Until then, the interference of foreigners in the affairs of France had been secret, and no foreign government had yet made demonstrations either favourable or hostile to the revolution. Secret agents only were at work to drive the revolutionists into excesses which were likely to extinguish it altogether. But the moment had arrived when the official notification of Louis 368 M. DE TALLEYRAND. XVI put every other sovereign under the ne- cessity of declaring his opinion, and enabhng France to discriminate between her friends and her foes. From the turn things were rapidly taking, several French diplomatists in foreign countries thought it prudent to look upon themselves as exiled men ; and in order to please the emigrants, they refused to become the intermediate organs of the notification committed to their care. This refusal on their part complicated the business, and it was necessary to replace these ministers by more obedient fools necessarily chosen from among the revolutionists. The new men displeased everywhere, and as during the delays brought on by these changes, circumstances had become serious beyond precedent, the new envoys were universally sent back. All communication with foreign courts thus became, for a while if not entirely, broken off, or at least suspended. This was not war, only the forerunner of it, as was but too evident. The most implacable enemies of M. de Talley- rand have all acknowledged that to direct his steps in this labyrinth of difficulties, and preserve an appearance of union between such complicated and diverging interests required great caution and dexterity, on his part ; the more so, as his momen- M. DE TALLEYRAND. 369 tary return to the cause of the court was no longer a secret to any body. Under the influence of these circumstances, M. de Talleyrand and his political friends determined upon the following line of conduct. During the ministry of M. de Narbonne, it had been settled that the King should repair to Metz, near the two generals La Fayette and Rochambeau. Louis XVI expected to find a safe refuge in camps and among those who had been his soldiers. It was asserted that his intention was to come to an understanding with those two generals, upon the necessary mea- sures to get rid of the National Assembly ; but as a preliminary step it was indispensable that the constitution should be sworn to, because the new familiars at court wished that, in saving the King, their own work should be maintained in- violate. By their advice it was further resolved, after the 18th of September, to carry the King to Dieppe, where he should embark and sail for Ostend. The department of Paris over which M. de Talleyrand presided, would have then as- sumed the supreme authority in that capital, and have collected all the deputies of the first and second Assemblies upon whom reliance could be placed. This new union would have declared VOL. I. 2 b 370 M. DE TALLEYRAND. Paris in actual insurrection against the consti- tution and the law, and Lafayette would have marched in haste to this city at the head of his army. The execution of tlie plan was attempted, but the tergiversations of the King made it miscarry. Louis XVI never knew how to take a decided part in anything, and was only endowed with passive courage or resignation — a virtue he possessed in the highest degree. Meanwhile, the republican party no longer dis- sembled its views, and those who wanted to op- pose the too great rapidity of the movement, were looked upon as traitors, and denounced as such in the clubs, and from the clubs the same denun- ciations were quickly transmitted to the second National or Legislative Assembly. First, it was resolved by the republican party to insulate France entirely from the great European confederation, as it had uniformly continued to exist, with some slight modifications, ever since the treaty of West- phaUa in 1648. For this purpose, foreign aid became necessary in order to ensure the suc- cess of the intrigues at home; and on that score no less a question was started than the esta- blishment of a republic, not in France alone, but a universal republic upon the shattered ruins M. DE TALLEYRAND. 371 of all thrones. Brissot and the other repub- licans loudly proposed these principles of gene- ral agression. M. de Talleyrand was not long in perceiving that such plans, subversive of the repose of the whole world, were approved of by men who until then had been considered attached to the monar- chical form of government. He remarked that among the republicans there were not only men of great daring, but that there existed among them all a strict understanding which may be expressed by these words : " Subversive of all existing in- stitutions throughout the world.'" He further ob- served in this party, the most compact energy, and thought in consequence that the moment was come for him to join it — not that he liked it in his heart, but because he could get at the key of their money chest, which consideration had at one time made him refuse the offers of the court. It was under this prudential inspiration that he wrote to the Countess of F the following confidential lines : *' The more I see everv dav, the more I am convinced of the truth of Mirabeau's last words. The monarchy has certainly gone with him to the grave, and I must take care not to be 2 b2 372 M. DE TALLEYRAND. buried with it. Within these last few days, I have received several confidential communications from the republicans ; but as I suspected at the very outset that they only meant to sound me upon the subject, I did not seem to pay much attention to what they said. Howsoever, I shall do my best to render them some little service, in order to draw them on, and induce them to speak more openly. The first time vou see M. Chauvelin endeavour to discover if my suspicions are well-founded. I think the court does not much encourage him ; and, between you and me, I think the republicans have only brought him thither to watch the King and all those by whom he is constantly surrounded. To get at a perfect knowledge of his feelings, the best means would be to remain silent upon your own. It is a very important matter that you should ^yourself appear in his eyes a convert to republic- anism. Speak to him for instance of the ' Patriote Francais,' by Brissot ; of the ' Chronicle of Paris,' by Condorcet ; and even of the ' Friend of the People,' by Marat. Such overtures are not binding, and may be turned to great use. He will not fail to express his surprise at seeing you in such com- pany : then you may tell him without affectation that it is in order to please me, because I have M. DE TALLEYRAND. 373 become sick of the advocates of monarchy, who after all are very silly people. Bind him upon his word of honour, not to repeat your revela- tions, and if he keeps it, nothing will have been done ; but if, on the contrary, he happens to commit some indiscretions, as I dare say he will, they may serve me in more than one sense, with- out hurting anybody, especially you, my sweet friend, whom for all the world I would not have annoyed on my account." This letter was dated October 24th. In another to the same party, but written a month later, we find a detailed account of M. de Chauvelin and M. de Talleyrand being brought back to their former intimacy. " After having passed the whole morning at court, Chauvelin and I supped the same night at Petion's with Robespierre, Brissot, Gaudet, and Rolland. They <;ommunicated to me all their plans, which appear to be well digested and formi- dably patriotic. I promised to serve them warmly, in return for their confidence, being convinced that things cannot remain long as they are. We can- not recal the implacable emigrants, nor proclaim the republic. In the first predicament, I should be one of the first objects of their vengeance. As 374 M. DE TALLEYRAND. for the republicans, I have everything to hope and nothing to fear from them. I find, as we are together now, they are in want of me upon more than one account. " Petion speaks with rapture of the reception he met with in Londoi^r, and of the enthusiasm of the EngUsh for our revolution. The resolution of breaking their chains, in emulation of our ex- ample — he says, is determined upon. He is con- vinced that England alone could boast of more repub- licans than all the rest of Europe, not only among the people, but even among the nobility; the clergy, and the capitalists, who unanimously bestowed great encomiums upon his zeal, and encouraged him not to let it cool, in the cause of liberty and equality. Not satisfied with reading our patriotic writings, they have them translated and distributed among the lower classes, more particularly in the wealthy districts and manufacturing towns. Clubs for this purpose are regularly organized in Eng- land, Scotland, and Ireland, after the manner of of our own ; the friends of the constitution, and the Jacobins, correspond with them as regularly as with those of our own provinces. They speak of reform as loudly as ourselves, and make use of the same means, and the same activity, to arrive M, DE TALLEYRAND. 375 at the common object. This is no other than ours. There, as well as here, some aristocrats murmur — a few bigots tremble and pray to God to avert the change ; but there, as well as here, the rights of man and of natural religion already triumph. Petion has no hesitation in say- ing, that a French minister of great capacity, and in whom the English people could place confi- dence, would do wonders in London, and soon be made the common leader of the patriots of both countries — the friends of liberty having but one and the same cause. He foretels that George will soon consider himself the true brother of Louis, and that, before long, the tricolour flag will float on the towers of St. James's palace, as it does now upon the pavilion of the Tuileries. " Brissot introduced a subject concerning me, which, if followed up and realised, would force me to make a journey to England. But, before then, several things must be settled and prepared. Moreover, as I intend to spend the whole evening with you, to-morrow, I shall be able to speak to you more explicitly upon these matters, and ask your advice about them." In spite of the mutual hatred which the sections of the revolutionary party bore to each other, they 376 M. DK TALLEYRAND. all agreed upon this point, that it was necessary to draw Great Britain and Ireland into the vortex of the revolution. They knew very little, indeed, of that nation, where the most ardent fire, in appear- ance, soon resolves into smoke. Besides, the cabinet of London was then under the direction of the ablest statesman that it ever had for a pilot — Mr. Pitt. We must notwithstanding acknow- ledge, that Petion had had some reason to speak to M. de Talleyrand in the manner he did ; and as this is not unconnected with M. de Talleyrand's first mission to London, we will enter into some explanation upon the subject. After the separation of the Assembly, Petion was the first to go from France to England for political purposes. He was so well received in that country, and made so welcome by a great number of Eng- lish, that he could scarcely find time to see those of his countrymen who were in London at the time. He gave out that he had come to England for the purpose of studying the action of the jury in civil and criminal cases ; and, as he did not know the language, a barrister who spoke French, offered to accompany him to the courts of law. On the day fixed for that purpose, Petion failed to keep his appointment, excusing himself on the M. DE TALLEYRAND. 377 ground that he had been wandering about to show London to some continental friends whom he had happened to meet by chance. He remained but three weeks in London, for his reception by a certain party drew upon him the attention of government. . We have borrowed these last particulars from Mr. Dumont, of Geneva, who was also at that time in London. Petion, in spite of his asser- tions, could not observe the general spirit of England, except in the revolutionary circles in which he moved, and during a very short residence only. In this he resembled every other party man. Besides, were not the violent speeches of some members of the opposition in or out of Parlia- ment, the declamations of levellers in the clubs, the libels of Tom Payne, and Petion's favourable re- ception by the English Orleanists, sufficient to per- suade him that the majority of the inhabitants of London were well disposed towards the French revo- lution ? He was however mistaken, and he deceived others. Thus it is with all men who seek less to enlighten, than to strengthen themselves in their own opinions— men who see the population of the whole globe in the little group who think like themselves, and who consequently fancy themselves VOL. I. 2 c 378 M. DE TALLEYRAND, the strongest and the most numerous. They may, notwithstanding their real and superior merits, justly be compared to the ostrich which thinks it can be hidden from the sight of those it does not see. END OF VOL. I. LONDON: SCHULZE AND CO., 13, POLAND STREET. // /-/■ C%r, ^(juu I / I f ./" K "V ^^ .J< '^ g2 1»i #t "^. >-■, ^V>' * •'.-