CHAPTER V

1847

_Sagan, December 12, 1847._--I am delighted to learn that your nomination to the Embassy of Turin has been settled, since you desire the post.[115] I hear from Berlin that the Emperor Nicholas is angry with Paul Medem for leaving his post without leave, and that he is therefore not receiving the treatment to which he is accustomed and to which he has a right. Count Nesselrode and his numerous friends are doing their best to disperse these clouds, and will doubtless be successful. At Berlin men's minds are full of Switzerland, the past history of which is a disgrace, while the present is an anxiety and the future a menace, especially in the south of Germany.[116] M. Guizot, however, seems to go forward courageously with or without the concurrence of England, and at Berlin there is general satisfaction with his frankness and his decision. I have this from a high authority.

[115] Extract from a letter to M. de Bacourt.

[116] After the fall of the Empire the department of Neuchâtel, which had belonged to Prussia since the time of Frederick II., joined the Swiss Confederation as its twenty-first canton, though it remained under the suzerainty of Prussia. This ambiguous position led to a series of disturbances and struggles. In 1847 Neuchâtel refused to take part in the war against the Sonderbund, and was condemned to pay an indemnity of nearly half a million to the Confederation.

_Sagan, December 18, 1847._--I hear upon good authority that the small states of Switzerland are in a great ferment, especially among the peasants, and that the heavy indemnities laid upon the unfortunate victims of the Sonderbund will probably drive them to a general revolt. Colleredo and Radowitz were to leave Vienna to-day for the Congress, at which the affairs of Switzerland are to be discussed.[117]

[117] Various anti-liberal attempts had been made between 1839-1840 in the Swiss Cantons of Tessin, Argovie, Valais, and Vaud. The Grand Council decreed the suppression of the convents. The Catholic Cantons protested and formed a league among themselves called the Sonderbund for the defence of their rights. The radical party regarded this movement as a violation of the constitution and declared war upon the Sonderbund, which was defeated in a desperate battle on the frontiers of the canton of Lucerne.

Yesterday I had a visit from Prince and Princess Carolath. I had seen them in London in 1830 when Prince Carolath was sent by the King of Prussia to congratulate William IV. on his succession. Through his mother, Prince Carolath is cousin german of the Dowager Queen of England.[118] By birth the princess was Countess Pappenheim, a granddaughter of the Chancellor Hardenberg; after her mother had been divorced from Count Pappenheim, she married Prince Pückler-Muskau. She is very kind and charitable to the poor, writes charming verses, reads a great deal, and speaks several languages.

[118] The mother of Prince Heinrich Carolath-Beuthen was by birth Duchess Amelia of Saxe-Meiningen and was the aunt of Queen Adelaide of England.

_Sagan, December 24, 1847._--The Empress Marie Louise is dead. A year ago this event would hardly have been noticed, but it now adds a further complication to the state of northern Italy, which was certainly not required in a district that is threatened upon every side. The people of Parma are said to be trembling lest they should fall under the government of the wretched Duke of Lucca, and are thought to be on the point of revolt.[119] The Grand Duke of Tuscany, disturbed by the liberal movement, is harassing the Court of Vienna. The Papacy is said to be in the same position as Tuscany. It seems impossible that Piedmont should escape all this ferment, and this is the fact which interests me most in the whole affair. Apparently there are many assassinations in Italy. I know that the members of the diplomatic body are not greatly exposed, but crimes about one, even if not aimed at oneself, make life difficult and sad. At Vienna society is said to be restless and touchy and inclined to duelling. For this there are several reasons. The first and chief is the extraordinarily tumultuous Diet of Hungary, where the young and untamed nobility of liberal ideas spends its time during the week, and returns from Pressburg on Saturday to spend the Sunday at Vienna and to shout its defiance in the chief casinos, until clubs have been formed. The party opposed to Metternich (I refer to the conservatives, many of whom are very hostile to him) regard Austria's attitude upon the Swiss question as deplorable.[120] It is loudly asserted that Prince Metternich is being deceived by Lord Palmerston, and that instead of issuing clever notes he should have made armed demonstrations, and that if he has sufficient intellect remaining for the first he has not the energy for the second alternative. I am therefore assured that this winter will be unpleasant at Vienna, and that there have already been lively and disagreeable scenes. Madame de Colloredo is the only cheerful person; resplendent in the magnificent jewels which her new husband has given her, dressed in youthful and coquettish style with roses in her hair as a girl of fifteen, she is totally indifferent to the mockery aimed at her, which she is enabled to bear by the attentions of Count Colloredo, who seems to be deeply in love and fully satisfied. Such is the gossip from Vienna which my brother-in-law brought back yesterday.

[119] On the death of the Empress Marie Louise, in virtue of an arrangement made at Paris in 1817, Charles Louis of Bourbon, Duke of Lucca, took possession of the duchies of Parma and of Placentia. The duchy of Guastalla passed to the Duke of Modena who ceded the duchy of Lucca to the Grand Duke of Tuscany. In 1848 the new Duke of Parma abdicated in favour of his son, Charles III., who had married Mademoiselle, the daughter of the Duc de Berry.

[120] Throughout the period of struggle in Switzerland, the Powers had constantly sent warnings to the radical party. France in particular threatened armed intervention, but the events of 1848 caused the abandonment of this project.

_Sagan, December 28, 1847._--I fear that Italy must be bristling with domestic and diplomatic difficulties. I am assured that the Duke of Lucca will not assert his rights over Parma, and will abandon them to his son. He has shown such want of tact, and has committed such blunders in England, that Queen Victoria requested the Austrian Ambassador to induce the Prince of Lucca to leave England at once, as she would otherwise be obliged to command his departure herself. It is very sad for Mlle. de Rosny, his wife,[121] who is said to be charming and distinguished.

[121] Mademoiselle, daughter of the Duc de Berry.

M. de Radowitz is a clever and learned man, who thinks a great deal of himself and is a great talker. He leads the Catholic mystical party in Prussia, and is therefore entirely in the King's good graces and confidence.

Barante writes to me from Paris, assuring me that the relations between Russia and France are by no means so near a revival as people said; he seems to me rather to aim at succeeding the Duc de Broglie as Ambassador at London than at following Bresson in the Embassy at Naples.