February 25th
The news this morning is only from Amiens, which has risen in
support of France. The railways are torn up all round Paris, to
prevent the passage of troops, and the roads and barriers are all in
possession of the people. All France will follow the lead of Paris,
and what will be the result Heaven only knows.
LETTER: To I.P.D.
LONDON, February 26, 1848
My dear Uncle: . . . On Thursday Mr. Bancroft dined with Count
Jarnac, the Minister in the Duc de Broglie's absence, and he little
dreamed of the blow awaiting him. The fortifications and the army
seemed to make the King quite secure. On Friday Mr. Bancroft went
to dine with Kenyon, and I drove there with him for a little air.
On my return Cates, the butler, saluted me with the wondrous news of
the deposition and flight of the royal family, which Mr. Brodhead
had rushed up from his club to impart to us. I was engaged to a
little party at Mr. Hallam's, where I found everybody in great
excitement.
Sunday Noon
To-day we were to have dined with Baron de Rothschild, but this
morning I got a note from the beautiful baroness, saying that her
sister-in-law and her mother with three children, had just arrived
from Paris at her house in the greatest distress, without a change
of clothes, and in deep anxiety about the Baron, who had stayed
behind.
Our colleagues all look bewildered and perplexed beyond measure. . .
. The English aristocracy have no love for Louis Philippe, but much
less for a republic, so near at hand, and everybody seemed perplexed
and uneasy.
Tuesday
On Sunday the Duc de Nemours arrived at the French Embassy, and
Monday the poor Duchess de Montpensier, the innocent cause of all
the trouble. No one knows where the Duchess de Nemours and her
young children are, and the King and Queen are entirely missing. At
one moment it is reported that he is drowned, and then, again, at
Brussels.
Wednesday
To-day the French Embassy have received despatches announcing the
new government, and Count Jarnac has immediately resigned. This
made it impossible for the Duc de Nemours and the Duchess de
Montpensier to remain at the Embassy, and they fell by inheritance
to Mr. Van de Weyer, whose Queen is Louis Philippe's daughter. The
Queen has taken Louis Philippe's daughter, Princess Clementine, who
married Prince Auguste de Saxe-Coburg to the Palace, but for State
Policy's sake she can do nothing about the others. Mr. Van de Weyer
offered Mr. Bates's place of East Sheen, which was most gratefully
accepted.
Friday
This morning came Thackeray, who is the soul of PUNCH, and showed me
a piece he had written for the next number.
Saturday
The King has arrived. What a crossing of the Channel, pea-jacket,
woollen comforter, and all! The flight is a perfect comedy, and if
PUNCH had tried to invent anything more ludicrous, it would have
failed. Panic, despotism, and cowardice.
These things are much more exciting here than across the water. We
are so near the scene of action and everybody has a more personal
interest here in all these matters. The whole week has been like a
long play, and now, on Saturday night, I want nothing but repose.
What a dream it must be to the chief actors! The Queen, who is
always good and noble, was averse to such ignominious flight; she
preferred staying and taking what came, and if Madam Adelaide had
lived, they would never have made such a [word undecipherable]
figure. Her pride and courage would have inspired them. With her
seemed to fly Louis Philippe's star, as Napoleon's with Josephine. .
. . Mr. Emerson has just come to London and we give him a dinner on
Tuesday, the 14th. Several persons wish much to see him, and
Monckton Milnes reviewed him in BLACKWOOD.
LETTER: To W.D.B.
LONDON, March 11, 1848
Dear W.: . . . Yesterday we dined at Lord Lansdowne's. Among the
guests were M. and Madam Van de Weyer, and Mrs. Austin, the
translatress, who has been driven over here from Paris, where she
has resided for several years. She is a vehement friend of
Guizot's, though a bitter accuser of Louis Philippe, but how can
they be separated? She interests herself strongly now in all his
arrangements, and is assisting his daughters to form their humble
establishment. He and his daughters together have about eight
hundred pounds a year, and that in London is poverty. They have
taken a small house in Brompton Square, a little out of town, and
one of those suburban, unfashionable regions where the most
accommodations can be had at the least price. What a change for
those who have witnessed their almost regal receptions in Paris!
The young ladies bear very sweetly all their reverses. . . . Guizot,
himself, I hear, is as FIER as ever, and almost gay. Princess de
Lieven is here at the "Clarendon," and their friendship is as great
as ever.
March 15th
Yesterday we had an agreeable dinner at our own house. Macaulay,
Milman, Lord Morpeth and Monckton Milnes were all most charming, and
we ladies listened with eager ears. Conversation was never more
interesting than just now, in this great crisis of the world's
affairs. Mr. Emerson was here and seemed to enjoy [it] much.
Friday, March 17th
Things look rather darker in France, but we ought not to expect a
republic to be established without some difficulties. . . . You
cannot judge of the state of France, however, through the medium of
the English newspapers, for, of course, English sympathies are all
entirely against it.
