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Title: Memoirs of the Princesse de Ligne, Vol. II (of 2)
Author: Massalska, Hélène
Language: English
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*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Memoirs of the Princesse de Ligne, Vol. II (of 2)" ***
LIGNE, VOL. II (OF 2) ***
MEMOIRS
OF THE
Princesse de Ligne
EDITED BY
LUCIEN PEREY
TRANSLATED BY LAURA ENSOR
IN TWO VOLUMES.--VOL. II.
[Illustration]
NEW YORK
SCRIBNER AND WELFORD
1887
_Printed by_ R. & R. CLARK, _Edinburgh_
CONTENTS
CHAPTER IV
Arrival of the Prince-Bishop in Paris--Letters from Madame de
Pailly--Letters from the Princesse de Ligne-Lichtenstein--The
Abbé Baudeau at Bel Œil--Arrival of the de Lignes in Paris--Marriage
of Hélène and Prince Charles--Their departure
for Brussels Page 1
CHAPTER V
An entertainment at Bel Œil--The Ligne family--The Court at
Brussels--Prince Charles of Lorraine--The ladies at Court--Letter
of the Chevalier de l’Isle--The Prince de Ligne at
Versailles--The Prince’s letter to his son Charles 24
CHAPTER VI
The two Princes journey to Berlin--Portrait of Frederick the
Great--Journey to Saint Petersburg--Portrait of the Empress
Catherine--Return journey through Poland---The Bishop’s
residence at Werky--The Diet at Warsaw--The _Indigénat_--The
return to Bel Œil 52
CHAPTER VII
Life at Bel Œil--The Archduchess Christine, Governor of the
Netherlands--The Comte d’Artois at Bel Œil--_Le Mariage de
Figaro_--The Comtesse de Sabran and the Chevalier de
Boufflers 72
CHAPTER VIII
Prince Charles purchases a hotel in Paris--Birth of Sidonie--The
insurrection in Flanders--Winter in Vienna--Joseph II. and
his Court--First representation of _Don Juan_--Haydn and
Mozart--The Comtesse de Kinsky--Prince Charles’s affection
for her--Hélène’s departure for Warsaw 95
CHAPTER IX
The Prince de Ligne’s departure for Saint Petersburg--Journey
through Tauris--Interview at Kherson--War declared against
the Turks--Alliance between Austria and Russia--The Prince
de Ligne as Russian General--Potemkin and Romanzoff--The
taking of Sabaez--Prince Charles at the storming of
Sabaez--Letters from the Emperor Joseph to the Prince-father--Letters
from the Prince de Ligne to his son--The Governor
of Kaminiecz--The Prince’s return to Vienna--Siege of Belgrade 120
CHAPTER X
The four years’ Diet--The Court at Warsaw and the Princesse
Charles--Festivities of the great Polish lords--Count Vincent
Potocki and his two wives--The Princesse Charles and Count
Potocki--Flight to Niemirow--Two divorce suits 158
CHAPTER XI
The rebellion in Flanders--Death of Joseph II.--Prince Charles
in the Russian service--The storming of Ismaïl--Return to
Vienna--Hélène at Kowalowska--The Count’s journey to
Paris--The Lignes refuse to grant a divorce--The Count’s
illness 192
CHAPTER XII
Return of the Princes to Mons--Emigration in Belgium--A
representation of _Richard Cœur de Lion_--Prince Charles
re-enters the Austrian service--He represents the Emperor
on his inauguration as Count of Hainault--War with France--Dumouriez
in Champagne--The fight at Croix-aux-Bois--Death
of Prince Charles--Despair of the Prince de
Ligne 230
CHAPTER XIII
Prince Charles’s Will--Hélène receives the news of her husband’s
death--Departure for Werky--Hélène marries Count
Potocki 257
IV
Arrival of the Prince-Bishop in Paris--Letters from Madame de
Pailly--Letters from the Princesse de Ligne-Lichtenstein--The Abbé
Baudeau at Bel Œil--Arrival of the de Lignes in Paris--Marriage of
Hélène and Prince Charles--Their departure for Brussels.
The Prince-Bishop at last decided to start for Paris. He had hardly
arrived when he received a visit from Madame de Pailly, who informed
him of his niece’s inclinations, and explained to him the progress
of affairs. The Bishop earnestly requested to see the Princesse de
Ligne-Luxembourg herself, but at that moment she was staying with
Madame de Brionne at her country place of Limours. Madame de Pailly at
once resumes her pen:--
“The Prince-Bishop, Madame, is always inquiring whether you have
returned; he is extremely desirous to have the honour of seeing you,
and I should be very glad if you could seriously discuss the matter
with him.
“Occasions on which I can prove to you my zeal and entire devotion will
not be wanting with so vacillating a mind; you will be able to say
through me anything you please. I will see to everything, and render
you a faithful account of what happens. But it seems to me that we must
settle between ourselves what is to be the point of departure. He has
referred several times to the question of settlements, especially with
regard to the present. Would it not be better to present him with a
copy of the deed of property? It would hurry on the transaction, and be
a wise measure.
“The Prince de Salm’s agents are very active; he constantly alludes to
him, and he listens to my replies as if they were quite new to him; he
goes on confiding to my ear all the proposals that are made to him.
We have three fresh rivals, who, for the present, however, give me no
anxiety.”
The desired explanations at last arrived from Brussels, in the
following letter:--
THE PRINCESSE DE LIGNE-LICHTENSTEIN TO THE PRINCESSE DE
LIGNE-LUXEMBOURG.
“I trust, Princess, you do not doubt the tenderness of my feelings
towards you; the gratitude I now owe you can only increase it.
“I have the honour to enclose the paper concerning M. de Ligne’s
property. For the last year he has put all his affairs into my hands,
and as I sign everything and collect all the revenues, and M. de Ligne
even gives me the receipts for the money he draws from the estates, I
can guarantee the exactness of the document.
“I am too sure of my husband’s affection for you, Princess, and the
confidence he has in your judgment, not to feel certain that he
will agree to any arrangement you may choose to make for his son. I
beg to entreat you, Madame, in case you should think an income of
twenty-five thousand livres[1] not sufficient for the present, to
fix the sum yourself, for I only require one more year to settle the
affairs of our house (public opinion having kindly reported that they
were in a much more confused state than I found them to be). I can
promise you to honour any arrangements and liabilities that you will
undertake for our young people. All they will have to do when they
draw their income every three months will be to sign their names. I
have made it a rule in business to consider as sacred the dates on
which income or pensions fall due.
“The affection I bear towards my children leading me perhaps to
overlook their faults, it would ill become me to praise our son, but I
must believe the testimony of those who knew him at Strasburg during
several years; and at the present moment we have every reason to be
satisfied with the character he bears in the army.
“Pray, therefore, do not relax your kindness towards him, and let
your efforts conduce to his happiness. You will also be contributing
towards mine, for to see him settled and to be surrounded by my
children will be my greatest joy.
“Receive, Princess, the assurance of my deepest respect and esteem,”
etc. etc.
This letter had a wonderful effect on the uncle, but did not move his
niece.
“The young lady,” writes Madame de Pailly, “is infatuated with M. de
Salm; he has some emissary about her whom we do not know, and who
demolishes beforehand all we can say against him. Even the Comte de
Horn’s name has been brought forward as an honour, on account of the
Regent’s phrase[2] about him.
“The good uncle feels his own weakness, and carefully endeavours to
hide it; he has agreed to everything with me, and, as I have been
fortunate enough to persuade him, he fancies I shall have the same
success with his niece, as if they were in the same frame of mind.
To-day he is going to use all his influence, and at the same time
inform her of the visit he wishes me to make, and of the entire trust
he desires she should have in me. I shall lend myself to all his
wishes, and shall have the honour of sending you a report of this
interview. Receive, I pray,” etc.
The uncle did not meet with the slightest success in his efforts to
overcome his niece’s resistance. Madame de Pailly was obliged to
confess it to her correspondent: “There is one point, Madame, on which
I think you will be obliged to give way; the Bishop asserts that he
can only overcome his niece’s passionate wish to be married in Paris
by pledging his word that she shall spend three winters there under
your guidance, so as to get accustomed to the fashionable world. He
appears to attach great importance to this promise; for he feels the
great advantage it would be to his niece. You still have time, Madame,
to think over this matter, for we can discuss the other points in the
meantime; I will tell you what they are when I see you....”
The Princesse de Ligne kept her nephew informed of all these
negotiations; as for the Prince’s father, he was still detained with
the army, waiting for peace to be signed. Prince Charles wrote a
short cold note to his aunt, in which he did not even allude to his
marriage:--
“MY DEAR AUNT--Although peace has been declared the Congress is
not yet over; my father is very displeased at it; he is still in a
wretched village, feeling very dull, with nothing to do.
“He will certainly go to Paris as soon as he can; I envy him the
pleasure he will have in seeing you, my dear aunt.
“Allow me to assure you from time to time of the feelings of affection
and respect with which I remain all my life,” etc. etc.
The coolness the Prince displayed will be easily understood when we
learn that he already felt for a friend of his childhood a love which
was never completely effaced. But, accustomed as he was absolutely to
respect the paternal or rather the _maternal_ will, it never entered
his mind for one moment not to obey.
His mother had eagerly agreed to their cousin’s plans. Hélène’s large
fortune, the isolated position of the young girl, which would tend to
make her adopt her husband’s family as her own, had quite won over
the Princess, who ignored or pretended to ignore her son’s secret
affection. She therefore persevered in her efforts, hoping to succeed,
though the object in view was not easy to attain.
The Bishop of Wilna had been won over to the de Lignes, but he had
many a hard battle to fight, for an unforeseen circumstance had
strengthened Hélène’s resolution not to leave Paris. Her friend,
Mademoiselle de Lauraguais, had married the Duc Auguste d’Aremberg,
cousin of the de Lignes, who, like him, resided for part of the year
at the Court of Brussels. The young Duchess returned to Paris for some
time, and at once visited her former companions at the Abbaye-aux-Bois.
She had heard of Prince Charles’ proposed marriage, and gave Hélène a
most gloomy description of life in Brussels. The latter immediately
repeated this to her uncle, making the picture several shades darker.
The poor Bishop did not know who to listen to; in the midst of his
perplexities he determined to despatch the Abbé Baudeau, who was always
at hand, to Bel Œil,[3] giving him instructions to confer verbally with
the Princesse de Ligne on the delicate subject of a residence in Paris,
as well as on the money question. He was allowed great latitude on
this latter point, and accordingly set off.
Madame de Pailly lost no time, and again wrote to the Princesse de
Ligne-Luxembourg: “We have had news of the envoy, Madame, and we hear
he is much pleased with everything, but he sends word that Madame la
Princesse de Ligne will not hear of a three years’ residence in Paris.
“The Bishop appeared to me very much disturbed at the effect this would
have on his niece, as she had always held to this condition. You know
there is nothing more difficult to overcome than the fancies of a young
person, and unfortunately she has been confirmed in this one by all
that Madame d’Aremberg de Lauraguais has told her. The Abbé will arrive
perhaps to-day; I shall be there, and we will first work upon the
uncle, so as to make him work upon his niece.
“M. de Salm will not give way; he has sent his picture to his friend at
the Convent, and she has invited the Princess Hélène to a collation,
given in a room of which this portrait forms the chief ornament.
“I was at the opera with a lady who is much interested in this fine
gentleman, and she said: ‘What does it signify whether you are a scamp
or not when you have a name and a large fortune? Look, for instance, at
so and so,’ etc.
“God forbid that such morality should enter the head of our prelate
and his niece. In the meantime I amused myself last night by quietly
challenging my free-spoken young friend to tell me all the naughty
stories about this charming Prince. The good Bishop bore it with a
slightly embarrassed air, which quite amused me.
“I shall have the honour, Madame, to give you an account of the envoy’s
return, and of all its consequences. I beg you not to be impatient, and
to rely on my zeal and my intense desire to do all that is agreeable to
you.
“Receive,” etc.
It was not long before the Abbé returned, and, though he had not
succeeded in obtaining the promise of a residence in Paris, he had
done much to push the matter forward. He brought magnificent fruit and
flowers to the young Princess from Bel Œil, and in the description he
gave of the almost regal magnificence of the place he neglected none of
the details which were likely to charm and flatter her vanity. He had
granted handsome pecuniary conditions, and the Princess, on her part,
had seemed disposed to accept the marriage-contract proposed by the
Abbé.
MADAME DE PAILLY TO THE PRINCESSE DE LIGNE-LUXEMBOURG.
“All is going on wonderfully well, Madame; you will find the Prince
and his envoy very well satisfied. At dinner we had a melon from Bel
Œil, and peaches were sent to the Princess Hélène. I proposed the
health of the giver; but they will tell you the rest. I am rejoiced
at the position of affairs.
“The Abbé may have every possible fault, but he confirms me in my
opinion that one can do nothing with fools and everything with
intelligent people. The young Princess is converted, and her good
uncle, agreeing to the Abbé’s expedient, says: ‘It will cost me thirty
thousand livres[4] a year more to make my niece happy. I will do it,
Madame, if only you are satisfied.’”
The Princesse de Ligne-Luxembourg wrote to her cousin to give her this
good news, and to urge her to come to Paris as soon as possible; but
she was in no hurry, and, like a prudent mother, wished above all, to
settle everything relating to the income and household arrangements of
the future young couple, for whom she dreaded certain temptations, from
which she herself had suffered. She again sent her steward to Paris
with two letters, one of which was a confidential one to her cousin.
BEL ŒIL, _19th January 1779_.
“I despatch you my steward, Princess; he will have the honour of
handing you this letter, and I have instructed him to carry out
exactly whatever you are kind enough to order.
“The Prince arrived at Vienna on the 5th of June; I therefore think he
will soon be home again, in which case I should only go to Paris with
him, or even a couple of days later, if I can possibly avoid going
before.
“In any case, Princess, I shall await your orders. I reserve myself
the pleasure of assuring you personally of all my gratitude. I have
never doubted the success of anything which you were good enough to
take in hand.
“As our young people will not have to receive, and as the ordinary
expenses of the household cannot possibly absorb all their income, I
fear that too large a fortune may be hurtful to them, and lead perhaps
to gambling, or other extravagances, which would do them harm, and
which they would always consider themselves obliged to increase in
proportion to their income; especially when they will come into their
respective fortunes. I look at this matter from a mother’s point of
view. Pray do not let it go beyond the family.”
The Princesse de Ligne-Luxembourg told the Bishop of her cousin’s wise
advice, but no attention was paid to it. The Congress of Teschen was
over, and the Prince de Ligne was returning home slowly, for he always
found much to delay him on the road. We will not inquire into the
nature of these delays; he, however, found sufficient time to write a
few lines from Vienna to his cousin, and to the Bishop of Wilna, which
he had neglected doing for the last two months.
TO THE PRINCESSE DE LIGNE-LUXEMBOURG.
“I am told, Princess, that, thanks to your kindness, all is going on
well, also that you have done me the honour of writing to me.... I
have not received anything. They say I must write to the Bishop. I beg
you will give him the enclosed letter.
“If you have any commands to give me, address them to the Post Office
at Munich; I shall find them in passing through.
“All the information I receive from Poland appears to coincide with
our views.
“I place myself at your feet, Princess, and beg to assure you that my
gratitude is equal to my tender and respectful attachment.
“LE PRINCE DE LIGNE.”
A few days after the receipt of this letter they had agreed upon all
points; a draft of the settlement was drawn up, and the Princesse de
Ligne and her son announced their arrival.
In spite of the very small inclination the young Prince felt for this
marriage, he experienced a certain curiosity to see his future bride.
As for Hélène, she was far more interested in her outfit, her presents,
and her diamonds than in her husband. Among other things, she had been
promised “certain girandoles[5] and diamond bracelets of wonderful
beauty--old family jewels, that she was most impatient to see, and she
was in a great fright lest they should be left behind at Brussels.” Her
future aunt undertook to explain this childlike anxiety to the wife
of the steward, so that she might remind the Princess to bring these
precious trinkets. She answered as follows:--
“On my return home I found a letter from the Princess, announcing
her immediate arrival, and adding that she is bringing with her the
girandoles and the bracelets; so the Princesse Hélène need have no
cause for anxiety. I shall have the honour of paying her my respects
on Monday. We have also heard, through M. le Comte Tasson, that M.
le Prince de Ligne will reach Brussels, at the latest, on Monday. I
hasten to apprise your Highness of the fact, and beg she will accept
the assurance of deepest respect,” etc.
The Princesse de Ligne’s first visit was to her cousin. She there found
the Prince-Bishop awaiting her arrival. After a long conversation and
endless compliments on either side, it was settled that the Bishop
should escort the Princess and her son to the Abbaye-aux-Bois.
Hélène, who had been warned the day before, was very much vexed at
having to make her first appearance in her school dress; but no
exception could be made to the rule. She went down to the parlour
accompanied by Madame de Sainte Delphine, and very soon perceived that
the plainness of her dress did not prevent the Prince from thinking
her very pretty. Though she pretended to cast her eyes modestly down
during the visit, she took care to see enough of her future husband to
be able to say to her companions on returning: “He is fair, has a tall
slight figure, and resembles his mother, who is very handsome; he has a
noble mien, but he is too serious, and there is something German about
him!”
The Prince’s father arrived three days later.
“I abandon M. de Ligne to your indignation, Princess,” his wife writes
to their cousin; “you may prepare her for his arrival, which will
certainly be either to-day or to-morrow; it fills me with the greatest
joy!”
The Prince-father had his head completely turned by his future
daughter-in-law, who did all she could to please him, intuitively
feeling that he was the one with whom she could best sympathise.
Having no family in Paris, it was decided that Hélène’s marriage
should be celebrated in the chapel of the Abbaye-aux-Bois, to the
great delight of the pupils. The Bishop gave his niece an outfit
worth a hundred thousand écus;[6] the wedding casket, offered by the
Lignes, was provided by Léonard; the laces, ordered at Brussels and
Mechlin, were real masterpieces of work. The jewels offered to Hélène,
besides the family diamonds and the famous girandoles, were chosen by
herself at Barrière’s and at Drey’s. She gave a trinket to each of
her companions in the red class, and a magnificent luncheon, _with
ices_, was given by the Prince-Bishop to all the pupils, including the
_little blues_, who each received in addition a bag of sweetmeats.
The marriage-contract was signed at Versailles by their Majesties and
the royal family, the 25th of July 1779. The wedding took place on the
29th at the Abbaye-aux-Bois.
It is needless to add that Hélène’s nurse, Mademoiselle Bathilde
Toutevoix, took part in the festivities. She adorned her pretty
mistress to the very best of her ability, and the poor girl’s head was
so completely turned with joy that she even forgot her cockades.[7] She
came down to the parlour after the bride, and modestly hid herself in
a corner. Prince Charles approached her, and slipped into her hand his
wedding present--an annuity of six hundred livres.[8] Hélène was much
touched with this attention. “I thanked him,” she says, “by a smile and
pressure of the hand, the first I had granted him.”
The bride was led to the altar by her uncle, and by the Marquise
Wielopolska, who took the place of her mother. The Duchesses de
Choiseul, de Mortemart, de Châtillon, de la Vallière, etc., were
present at the ceremony. The young Princess, exquisitely lovely in her
bridal dress, fully satisfied the company by her “decent attitude,
which was full of feeling” (style of that day). After receiving the
congratulations of the brilliant assembly, Hélène went up to her
apartment to change her costume; but, instead of returning immediately
to the parlour, she quickly made her way to the choir chapel, where
Madame de Rochechouart was buried, and kneeling on the tomb of the
one who had been to her as a mother, she offered up to God her last
girlish prayer. When she returned to the parlour she was rather pale,
and her eyes showed signs of tears; but at the gates of the Abbey a
post-chaise, drawn by six chafing horses, was awaiting; the postilions,
in the pink and silver livery of the Prince, being scarcely able
to hold them; Hélène, after a rapid farewell, was hurried into the
carriage by her young husband, and they started at full gallop for
Brussels.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] One thousand pounds sterling.
[2] The Comte de Horn, a connection of the Regent through his mother,
the Princess-Palatine, was condemned to death for murder. The family
implored his pardon, appealing to the Regent on the ground of
relationship. “When I have bad blood,” the Regent coldly replied, “I
have it drawn,” and the pardon was refused.
It is probable that they boasted to Hélène of the connection between
the Horn and Orléans families without mentioning the Count’s crime.
[3] Bel Œil was the summer residence of the Princes de Ligne, and will
often be referred to later on.
[4] Twelve hundred pounds sterling.
[5] Large diamond earrings that were worn with the Court dress.
[6] The Princesse Hélène received as her marriage-portion Mogylani,
an estate with a residence and country-houses, two palaces at Cracow
and one at Warsaw. Prince Radziwill owed the Massalski family a sum of
one million eight hundred thousand Polish florins, inherited through
Hélène’s mother. He had given them as interest three important estates,
of which half the income belonged to Hélène, and the other half to her
brother. The Prince-Bishop promised to give and guarantee the Princess,
from her wedding-day, a clear income of sixty thousand livres, payable
in Paris, and to pay all their expenses in the event of their remaining
in that city.
On the other hand, the Prince de Ligne promised to give his son, on
his wedding-day, a revenue of thirty thousand livres, and in addition
to lodge the pair at Brussels, or Bel Œil, or Vienna, in one of his
palaces or residences. If they had any children, at the end of four
years the Prince promised to double the sum of money.
[7] She was in the habit of bedizening herself with them, and Hélène
does not forget to mention in her memoranda that on that day she forgot
them.
[8] Twenty-four pounds sterling.
V
An entertainment at Bel Œil--The Ligne family--The Court at
Brussels--Prince Charles of Lorraine--The ladies at Court--Letter
of the Chevalier de l’Isle--The Prince de Ligne at Versailles--The
Prince’s letter to his son Charles.
The young couple first established themselves at Bel Œil, the
magnificent summer residence of the Prince de Ligne. The Marshal was
passionately attached to this regal abode, on which his father had
lavished several millions. The property was composed of a succession of
gardens, forests, parks, mansions, and shooting boxes, which the Prince
de Ligne had designed with the most perfect taste. It was here that he
preferred receiving his guests, and that he successively entertained
the Prince de Condé, the King of Sweden, the Comte d’Artois, Prince
Henry of Prussia, etc. Hélène was dazzled by the splendour of her
new abode. A brilliant reception had been prepared in her honour. On
the very day after her arrival, which had taken place in the evening,
the young Princess, on opening her windows, perceived an immense park
full of villagers elegantly attired as shepherds and shepherdesses,
their dresses more like those of Watteau and Lancret than those
commonly worn by the Flemish peasants. The Prince’s dragoons were
making merry at tables on the lawn; and a little farther off, in a
grove, might be seen puppet shows, in another tight-rope dancers; a
rural ballroom was established on a green sward; under a leafy bower
a magician was distributing sham ointments in little boxes, which
contained sweetmeats and trinkets. In another spot a bard was gaily
reciting verses, composed by the Prince in honour of the newly-married
pair; and if the composition was not brilliant in versification, it
yet could boast of grace and art sufficient to compensate for its
defects; finally, Aufresne and Préville, who had arrived that same
morning from Paris, were playing improvised proverbs in the private
theatre of the residence. The festivities lasted the whole day;
after dinner the proverbs were replaced by a comedy in one act, with
interludes of song, entitled, _Colette and Lucas_, composed by the
Prince de Ligne in honour of his daughter-in-law.[9] The audience was
composed of brilliant officers and fine ladies, who had come expressly
from Brussels and even Versailles for the occasion. The play, though
worthless, was courteously applauded; but another had been prepared
in order to compensate the spectators. Night having come on during
the representation, sudden floods of light springing up in brilliant
sheaves between the trees greeted the guests as they emerged from
the theatre, and in the thickets fairy-like illuminations lit up the
arbours; it was impossible to see the lamps, cleverly hidden under the
foliage. “It was not night,” says Hélène: “it was silvery daylight.”
The married couple appeared enchanted one with the other, with a shade
more of tenderness on the part of the Prince. Hélène’s beauty, grace,
and intelligence surprised and charmed him; he had not expected to find
these qualities united in the person of a child of fifteen. Every one
was under the same impression, and the Dowager-Princess herself, who
was not easy to please, wrote as follows, some time after the wedding,
to the Princesse de Ligne-Luxembourg:--
BEL ŒIL, _20th August 1779_.
“Again I renew my thanks, Princess, and reiterate the expressions of
gratitude I owe you. Our child is most charming, docile, and gentle,
having no will of her own, and amused at everything; in fact all that
could be desired in a daughter-in-law if she were moulded by one’s
self. She has been quite a success with all who have seen her in these
parts.
“As our children have both had the honour of writing to you, I will
not, for fear of repetition, give you the details of our journey.
Moreover, his Grace the Bishop of Wilna will have told you all;
he appeared himself very well pleased with our country. Do try,
Princess, to make him send my son his niece’s portrait, in whatever
style he prefers, even if it be that little pencil drawing we saw
at the Abbaye-aux-Bois; and do not doubt, Princess, of the tender
sentiments,” etc. etc.
The Prince-Bishop had indeed been delighted with his stay in Flanders;
the amiability of the family of Ligne, the harmonious relationship
existing between its members, the distinguished intelligence and the
kindness of Prince Charles in particular, all contributed to assure him
of his niece’s future happiness. He left her thoroughly satisfied.
For the first time Hélène was going to be acquainted with family
life; she could not have had a better beginning, for the Lignes lived
together with an intimacy full of ease, gaiety, and tenderness. In
her convent life the little Princess, with the selfishness natural
to children, had only thought of herself, and was not accustomed
to the daily sacrifices made by brothers and sisters, which are
made easy and rewarded by a mother’s approval and kiss. She had a
serious apprenticeship to undergo. She preferred her father-in-law
and the Princess Clary, her sister-in-law, to all the other members
of her family. The Princess Clary, the Prince’s eldest and favourite
daughter, “his masterpiece,” as he called her, was kindness, grace, and
affability itself. Married some four years, gifted with sound judgment
and perfect tact, she would have been an affectionate and charming
guide to her young sister-in-law at the outset of her married life; but
it was not possible for her to assume this position, which naturally
devolved upon the Princess-mother, who, jealous of her rights, would
have ceded her authority to no one.
The Princesse de Ligne played an important part, if not in the heart of
her husband, at least in his household. The Prince willingly rendered
justice to his wife’s qualities; he was full of consideration for her,
and treated her always with amiable deference. “My wife,” he said,
“is an excellent wife, full of delicacy, feeling, nobility, and in no
way selfish. She is often in a pet, but her temper soon passes away,
melting in tears and leaving no trace, for my wife has an excellent
heart.” It was not difficult for the Prince to resign himself to
his wife’s temper, for it affected him very slightly. Such was not
the case with her children; it must, however, be admitted that she
had often good cause for her unevenness of temper. Not only was her
husband constantly and openly faithless to her, but he also squandered
his fortune, and in spite of the large revenues he possessed would
often have been involved in serious difficulties had it not been for
the watchful care of the Princess, who by her clever administration
established a proper balance between their income and expenditure.
However, in spite of the Princess’s rather uncertain temper, the
unvarying cheerfulness and good humour of the Prince made it a
delightful home, for he possessed the rare quality of being as charming
at home as in society.
Hélène thoroughly enjoyed her new life, and eagerly threw herself into
the pursuit of pleasures entirely new to a little schoolgirl. She
at once learnt to ride. Dressed in an elegant riding-habit, made to
display her delicate and supple figure to perfection, and accompanied
by her husband, she would spring into the saddle the first thing in
the morning, as light as a bird, and as pleased with her liberty; then
three or four times a day, with childlike glee, she would array herself
in new dresses from Léonard or Mademoiselle Bertin; and we may be sure
that they in no way resembled the little black convent-frock. At all
the entertainments given in honour of her wedding, she fascinated
everybody by her grace and liveliness; she danced with such spirit,
acted so naturally and with so much animation, sang with a voice so
youthful and fresh, that her husband, though not sharing her worldly
tastes, was happy in her pleasure, and allowed her to give herself up
to it without restraint.
Immediately after her arrival Hélène was presented at the Court of
the Netherlands. The Ligne family possessed a magnificent palace at
Brussels, near the Cathedral of Sainte Gudule, and often resided there
during the winter. At that time the Viceroy was Prince Charles of
Lorraine; he had married the Archduchess Marie-Anne,[10] sister of
Marie-Thérèse, and was now a widower.
The Prince of Lorraine often came to hunt at Bel Œil. “He could not
help being kind, even in his fits of temper, which were rare. One day,
for instance, while hunting, on which occasion he gave himself the airs
of an old huntsman, enraged at a number of people who disturbed the
hunt by overrunning the forest at Bel Œil, he called out: ‘Go to the
devil!--if you please, gentlemen,’ he added, taking off his hat.”
The liveliest, wittiest, and most fashionable man at the Court of
Brussels was certainly the Prince de Ligne’s father, and he enjoyed
his life there extremely. “It was,” he says, “a nice Court, gay and at
the same time secure, idle and agreeable, with plenty of drinking and
hunting.” However, when the Duke held a levee, and invited ladies,
nothing but the most inoffensive gaiety was permitted, for the Prince
hated all license and bad taste.
Prince Charles’s palace at Brussels was an immense and ancient
building. Brussels reminded one somewhat of Paris, the town offering
every kind of resource. The _cours_ was the favourite promenade, and
there the grandest equipages were to be seen. The coachbuilders of
Brussels were famous, and the Duke was anxious that the nobility should
possess the most elegant specimens of their work. Hélène made her
first appearance on the _cours_ in a superb gilt coach made by Simon;
all the panels were delicately painted, in the most beautiful _vernis
Martin_,[11] by clever Viennese artists.
In spite of his love for the Court of Brussels and his passion for Bel
Œil, the Prince never stayed very long at either; he generally started
off at a moment’s notice. “What a charming existence mine was, in my
dear and delightful Bel Œil. In twenty-four hours’ time I could be
either in Paris or in London, at the Hague, at Spa, etc. Once I went
to Paris to spend one hour there, and another hour at Versailles,
after the Queen’s last confinement: _I saw her on the fourth day_,” he
carefully adds.
“On another occasion I took all my company there to the opera in a
coach of my own.”
It was natural that the Prince should like Paris and Versailles, for he
was the soul and life of the little intimate circle around the Queen;
his presence gave animation to everything, and his invariable good
humour and sallies of wit always secured him a smiling welcome. He was
to be seen everywhere, arranging or disarranging the gardens; presiding
at entertainments and directing the illuminations: he took part in the
Queen’s lansquenet, Mesdames’ cavagnole, Monsieur’s whist, the Prince
de Condé’s quinze, the King’s game of billiards, and the Prince de
Conti’s pharaon.[12] He said everything that came into his head; but
although he gave way to much exaggerated merriment, from time to time,
under cover of a joke, he would make many serious truths acceptable.
His great friends were the Polignacs,[13] whose intimate society
consisted of the Coignys, the Conflans, the Comte de Vaudreuil, and
the Chevalier de l’Isle. He always defended the Polignacs against the
numerous accusations which were brought against them.
He writes: “There is no one more virtuous and more disinterested than
all these Jules, but their company was sometimes monotonous, so great
was their fear of giving rise to prating and gossip; the Comtesse Diane
was the only one whose conversation was at all lively.”
The Prince was particularly intimate with the Chevalier de l’Isle,[14]
the least known member of the little circle. The Chevalier was an
excellent officer, an encyclopedist, and a poet, a correspondent of
Voltaire[15] and also of the Prince de Ligne, who held him in great
esteem. He was a master of song, and reigned supreme in the art of
letter-writing. He had never composed a faulty verse, or written a
letter that was not both witty and in excellent style; however, in
society he was wanting both in good taste and breeding, giving way
to ill-temper and familiarity. So as to make believe that he dined
with the Queen at the Polignacs on Sundays, he would arrive the first
after dinner, that those who came after him should be deceived by this
manœuvre. He wrote regularly to the Prince about all that went on at
Versailles during his absence. The following is an example of his
letters:--
_16th January 1780._
“What a turkey we have just eaten at the Comtesse Diane’s! My
goodness, what a fine bird! M. de Poix had sent it from the
poultry-yard. There were eight of us round it: the lady of the house,
Madame la Comtesse Jules, Madame d’Henin, and Madame de la Force; M.
le Comte d’Artois, M. de Vaudreuil, the Chevalier de Crussol, and
myself.
“While we were eating the turkey, but without reference to it, some
one mentioned you, my Prince. Stay, let me recall who it was? A
lady----no; a man--yes, certainly a man, for he said _Charlot_, and
our ladies are not given to such familiarities. It was the man who was
on Madame la Comtesse Jules’ left hand. Let me see; I was next to the
poet; here sat the Chevalier de Crussol, and there M. de Vaudreuil,
and then----Ah! now I’ve got it, it was M. le Comte d’Artois; yes, I
am sure of it now. He said: ‘By the bye, who can tell me if Charlot
has arrived at Brussels?’--‘I can, your Highness, for I have received
four lines in his own handwriting, and am myself going to write to
him; who has any message to send?’ All immediately answered in a
chorus: ‘I have, I have, I have.’ In the confusion I could distinguish
these words: ‘I embrace him, I love him; tell him to come, we expect
him.’ When the hubbub had subsided the soft voice of Madame la
Comtesse Jules commenced more audibly: ‘Tell him that if he had dated
his last letter more distinctly, I would not have failed to answer
it; but that, although assisted by several experts in the art of
deciphering, it was impossible for me even to suspect from what place
it had been written, and consequently to what place I should direct my
own.’
“Thereupon we conversed about you, and then about Admiral Keppel,
then of the turkey, then of the capture of our two frigates, then
of the Spanish Inquisition, then of a large gruyere cheese which
our ambassador in Switzerland has just sent his children, then of
the strange conduct of the Spaniards towards us, and at last of
Mademoiselle Théodore, who, upon my life, dances better than ever, and
who pleased us yesterday as much by her talent as Mademoiselle Cécile
by her youthful charms. To-morrow the Queen will receive for the
first time; till now she has only seen those who have the ‘_petites
entrées_’; she is rather thinner, but otherwise her health leaves
nothing to be desired. The King is still the good husband, the good
father, and the good man he has always been; it is impossible to
be near him without admiring him as the personification of honesty,
and without being sincerely attached to his person. I assure you we
are fortunate in possessing such a royal couple: may God preserve
them on the throne where His goodness has placed them!... We are all
going to-morrow to Paris to inaugurate the charming little house M.
le Duc de Coigny has bought, and in which we shall have----What do
you think we shall have?----Our first grand entertainment--a regular
house-warming. We shall have farces, proverbs, verses, songs, and
pleasures of all kinds; it will be a beautiful ceremony.
“_À propos_ of verses: you have not seen those I wrote the other day
for the Queen, threatening to play her the trick she most dreads--that
is, to name her at the opera ball. Here it is:--
“Dans ce temple ou l’incognito
Règne avec la folie,
Vous n’êtes grâce au domino
Ni reine in jolie.
Sous ce double déguisement
Riant d’être ignorée,
Je vous nomme et publiquement
Vous serez adorée.[16]
“I implore you, Prince, my very dear Prince, do not massacre my song
in honouring me by singing it yourself; leave that care to my cousin,
who will give it its full value; love her for me, and tell her I shall
go to Brussels, on my head if necessary, to see her; you must love me,
both of you.”[17]
The Queen was an object of devotion to the Prince de Ligne. “Who could
see the unfortunate Marie Antoinette without adoring her?” he writes
thirty years later.[18] “I only realised it the day she said to me:
‘My mother is displeased at your remaining so long at Versailles; go
and spend some days at your post; from thence write letters to Vienna,
in order to show where you are, then come back.’ Such kindness, such
delicacy on her part, and still more the idea of having to spend a
fortnight without seeing her, drew tears from my eyes; but the charming
heedlessness, which preserved her from all coquetry prevented her
noticing my emotion.
“As I do not believe in a passion which cannot be reciprocated, a
fortnight was sufficient to cure me of a sentiment I now admit for
the first time, and which, for fear of ridicule, I never should have
confessed to any one else.... Have I ever seen in her society anything
that did not bear the impress of grace, kindliness, and good taste?
She intuitively knew an intriguer miles off, and hated every kind
of deceit; that is why she preferred the society of the Polignacs
and their friends--that is to say, Valentine Esterhazi, Bésenval,
Vaudreuil, Ségur, and myself.”
If the Prince worshipped the Queen, on the other hand he had little
esteem for the King. He writes: “The King--in whom I hoped to find
some good qualities, whom it may be said I have protected, whose mind
I have endeavoured to elevate by interesting discourses, instead of
his hunting topics or idiotic conversation--cares for nothing but
tomfoolery. His practical jokes are always aimed at Conflans, Coigny,
or the Polignacs’ friends. The Queen has managed to cure him of this
habit. It was at bedtime that his Majesty liked to worry us. He
possessed, however, a certain tact in the midst of his rough jokes. One
day, when he was threatening us with his blue ribbon, which he tried
to throw at some one’s head, the Duc de Laval withdrew. The King said:
‘Do not fear, Monsieur; it has nothing to do with you.’... Coigny,
the eternal fault-finder, said to me one day: ‘Would you like to know
what these three brothers are? A fat locksmith, the wit of a country
public-house, and a street fop.’ The two last epithets applied to
Monsieur and the Comte d’Artois.”
When the Prince returned to Bel Œil he delighted his youthful
daughter-in-law with these tales; for although she liked Flanders
fairly well when not there alone with her mother-in-law, she could not
help regretting Paris, when her husband’s duties recalled him to the
army, and her fickle father-in-law went off on his incessant travels.
It will be remembered that the Dowager-Princess had absolutely refused
to consent to a residence in Paris during the winter months. She was
right, for although the officers generally returned to their respective
capitals during the bad season, the military profession did not allow
much leisure time, and Prince Charles, being in the Austrian service,
would scarcely have been able to spend his leave in Paris. The young
Princess would therefore have been left to the care of an aunt, who had
no authority over her, or to that of a father-in-law, more absorbed
in amusing himself than acting as mentor to his daughter-in-law. This
delicate and dangerous position had naturally alarmed the Princesse de
Ligne, but Hélène had not such foresight; the pleasure she anticipated
of appearing in the brilliant society of which she had only just caught
a glimpse outweighed any feelings of prudence, and she quite hoped to
obtain her husband’s consent in the matter.
The first step consisted of her presentation at Court. Hélène had
gained an ally in her aunt the Princess, who was quite ready to conduct
her pretty niece to Versailles; but the latter wished to make her
appearance there with all the honours of war--that is, with those of
the _tabouret_.[19] This could only be obtained by virtue of certain
rights. The rank of grandee of Spain was a sufficient title. The Prince
de Ligne possessed this rank, and Hélène persuaded her husband to ask
the Prince to make it over to him. Such a request was not a small
affair. The young Prince was rather embarrassed, the more so that this
request would entail another, that of a grant of money. Magnificent
costumes and jewels, etc., had absorbed the largest part of the young
couple’s income. However, incapable of refusing any wish of his wife’s,
Prince Charles took heart, and decided upon writing. He immediately
received from his father, who was then at Versailles, the most charming
reply:--
VERSAILLES, _10th September 1780_.
“Is it not, my dear Charles, a droll thing to be married? You will
manage to get on, for, after all, one is bound more or less according
to circumstances. It is only fools who do not know how to turn the
position to account: meanwhile you have a very pretty little wife,
whom without false shame you may love. Although from father to son
we have been called Lamoral, without knowing whether he is a saint,
I am neither moral, moralist, nor moraliser enough to preach, and I
make fun of those who do not believe in my morality, which consists
in trying to make all around me happy. I feel quite sure that this
is your case also; without having a whole array of principles, this
is one of the four or five I have adopted as a second education: my
first, as I told you, is, that to be a liar or a coward would bring
me with sorrow to my grave. Certainly, my dear fellow, you have well
understood this short lesson.
“And now, let us come to business. Take as much money as you require;
my men of business must have it or obtain it; that is one subject
done with.... The Queen said she will make my affair de Kœurs[20]
a success, and, when I told her that my _affaires de cœur_ (love
affairs) were successful, she said _I was a fool_. Kœurs settled,
that makes two affairs done with. Your uncle, the Bishop of Wilna,
who fancies that you or I may some day be King of Poland, wants us
to obtain the _indigénat_; we shall get it, that is another affair
terminated.
“Our aunt of the Tuileries wants your wife to have the _tabouret_; she
has a fancy for going to Versailles, and for that purpose wishes me
to cede to you the _grandezza_. I have already written to the King of
Spain and to the minister on the subject, and have spoken of it to the
ambassador. Fourth affair concluded, leaving me the prospect of taking
cold, by being obliged to get down at the gates of the Court, where
only the coaches of the grandees of Spain are allowed to enter, as in
the Luxembourg and elsewhere.
“Here are two sources of economy for me!--the King’s play and
_coucher_, which no longer cost me anything.
“What annoys me is to hear clever people say foolish things; to hear
war discussed by idlers, who have never seen anything but military
exercises, and those badly done; disinterestedness proclaimed by
women who manage to get pensions by dint of tormenting the ministers
and the Queen, who is a thousand times too kind; to hear sensibility
professed by those who have had at least twenty lovers. And then, the
intriguers! the obtrusive! and the wicked! How often this makes my
blood boil, but a quarter of an hour later I forget it all.
“Shall I tell you a foolish saying of mine, considered as such by all
the royal family? You know that at the town theatre I am under the
King’s box, amongst the public; you will remember the mirror in _La
fausse Magie_.[21] At the close of the play it was dreadfully cold,
and the King complained of it, as well as of the coldness of the
acting. I said: ‘It is because the _dénouement_ is _à la glace_.’[22]
The two brothers[23] hooted me out loud for this pun. This existence
at Versailles is delightful; it is like life in a country-house. I
embrace your wife and your mother for having had wit enough to make me
a Charles like yourself.
“_P.S._--By the bye, I had already planned in my head a grove for my
Charles, a fountain that will bear the name of Hélène, and a bower for
their children.
“I shall work at it as soon as I leave Versailles, to go and tell you,
_tutti quanti_, that I love you with all my heart.”
FOOTNOTES:
[9] This comedy was printed in the private press at Bel Œil in 1781.
The only copy known to be extant is in H.R.H. the Duc d’Aumale’s
library at Chantilly.
[10] This brave and clever prince was a most unfortunate general.
Beaten by the Prussians in 1742, while commanding the Austrian army in
Bohemia, he was again defeated in Alsace in 1745. The affability of
his manners, his artistic and literary tastes, his kindness of heart,
endeared him to all, and his paternal rule is still remembered in
Belgium. His generosity was boundless, and the considerable income he
received (six hundred thousand florins of Brabant) did not suffice to
cover his expenses. He ruined himself by his prodigality, but science
and art prospered under him, and schools of paintings and colleges were
established in every town. New roads were made; trade, then at a low
ebb, received a fresh impulse; and a transport service was organised
between the Flemish ports and those of Germany and France.
[11] A species of lacquer painting, at present revived in France.
[12] All different games of cards, in vogue at that time at the French
Court.
[13] The Duchesse de Polignac, Gabrielle-Yolande-Martine de Polastron,
an intimate friend of the Queen, was both amiable and beautiful.
Expressive blue eyes, a high forehead, a nose very slightly turned up,
a lovely mouth, with pretty little white teeth which were beautifully
symmetrical, formed a most agreeable physiognomy. Her features bore the
stamp of sweetness and modesty. At the age of seventeen she married the
Comte Jules de Polignac.
[14] The Chevalier de l’Isle was a brigadier in the King’s cavalry,
having been appointed on 25th July 1762. Very intimate with the
Choiseul family and Madame du Deffant, he is mentioned in the latter’s
correspondence.
[15] It was he who wrote a letter to the patriarch of Ferney about a
badly-executed commission commencing as follows: “You must, sir, be
very stupid,” etc. This beginning threw Voltaire into an ecstasy of
delight.
[16]
In this temple, where incognito
Reigns as well as folly,
You are, thanks to the domino,
Neither queen nor beauty.
Under this twofold disguise,
Laughingly unknown,
Should I name you, then at once
You will be publicly adored.
[17] In order to elucidate this paragraph, we must explain that the
Prince sang dreadfully out of tune, and that the pretended cousin was
the lovely Angélique d’Hannetaire, daughter of the director of the
theatre at Brussels; she sang beautifully, and was very intelligent;
the Prince was madly in love with her at that time.
[18] See _Fragments of unedited Memoirs of the Prince de Ligne_,
published in the _Revue Nouvelle_. Paris, 1840.
[19] To have the right of sitting down in the King or Queen’s presence.
[20] An estate of the Prince de Ligne in France, and about which he had
a lawsuit; the name of the estate is pronounced like _cœurs_ (hearts),
hence the Prince’s pun.
[21] _The false Magic_, a comic opera by Grétry.
[22] A pun on the word _glace_, which in French means either ice or a
looking-glass.
[23] Monsieur and the Comte d’Artois.
VI
The two Princes journey to Berlin--Portrait of Frederick the
Great--Journey to Saint Petersburg--Portrait of the Empress
Catherine--Return journey through Poland--The Bishop’s residence at
Werky--The Diet at Warsaw--The _Indigénat_--The return to Bel Œil.
The Prince had not spoken lightly when he said to his son that they
would go to Poland for the _indigénat_.[24] In the midst of all
the pleasures and amusements of Versailles he suddenly departed.
“Family interests,” he says, “obliged me to undertake a long journey.
My son Charles has married a pretty little Pole, but her family
has given us paper in lieu of hard cash. Their claims were on the
Russian Court; it was necessary to go and present them. In June 1780
I started for Vienna, Prague, Dresden, Berlin, Saint Petersburg,
Warsaw, Cracow,--where I had much to do,--Mogylani,[25] Léopol, and
Brunn,--where I was in love. I must not forget to add that I started
from Paris and the Rue de Bourbon, from the house of the Duchesse de
Polignac, who had just been confined,[26] and where I had dined with
the Queen. I promised to return at the same hour in six months’ time,
and ordered my livery coach and courier in consequence.”
The sum of money the Prince de Ligne claimed in the name of his
daughter-in-law was considerable. It amounted to four hundred thousand
roubles, which were well worth the trouble of recovering. However, we
incline to the belief that these family affairs were merely a cloak
for political designs; the journey was probably intended to carry
on the preliminaries of a negotiation begun by Joseph II. and the
Empress Catherine in their interview at Mohileff. The Prince started
from Vienna, whither he had gone to receive his final instructions.
His companions on the journey were his son Charles, and his friend the
Chevalier de l’Isle.
“I made de l’Isle a colonel,” he says, “by simply saying when in
Austria, Prussia, Poland, and Russia that he was one, and buying him a
pair of epaulets. I was also obliged to knight him,” he adds, “in order
to distinguish him in foreign parts from the Abbé of the same name.”[27]
The Princes started on their journey a year after the war of the
Bavarian succession had ended. “This war entailed on the King of
Prussia a large expenditure of men, horses, and money; it procured him
an appearance of honesty and disinterestedness, and some political
amenities, but it brought him no military honour, and caused him to
entertain very bitter feelings towards us. Without any apparent reason
the King forbade Austrian officers to enter his dominions without a
special permit signed by him. The Austrian Court retaliated by making
the same rule with regard to Prussian officers. This gave rise to
mutual discomfort without reason or profit. Being of a confiding
nature, I thought I could do without a permit, but the desire to have
a letter from the great Frederick, rather than the fear of being badly
received, induced me to write to him.”
Instead of one letter the Prince de Ligne received three, all charming.
For fear of missing him the King had written from Potsdam to Vienna,
Dresden, and Berlin. The travellers arrived at Potsdam on the 28th of
June.
“Having to wait until twelve o’clock, at which hour I was to be
presented to the King, together with my son Charles and M. de l’Isle,
I went to the parade ground, and was soon surrounded and escorted by
Austrian deserters, especially those from my own regiment, who tried to
fawn upon me and ask my forgiveness for having left me. The hour for
the presentation arrived, and the King received me in the most charming
fashion. The military stiffness of headquarters was exchanged for a
tender and benevolent welcome. He said he did not know I had so old a
son.
“‘He has even been married a year, Sire.’
“‘May I ask to whom?’
“‘To a Pole--a Massalski.’
“‘What, a Massalski? Do you know what her grandmother did?’
“‘No, Sire,’ replied Charles.
“‘She fired off the cannon at the siege of Dantzic,--she fired, and
made them fire, and defended the place, when her party, who had lost
their heads, only thought of yielding.’
“‘Women are unaccountable creatures,’ said I, ‘strong and weak by
turns, cautious and dissimulating, they are capable of anything.’
“‘No doubt,’ said M. de l’Isle, annoyed at not having been spoken to,
and he added, with a familiarity which met with no success, ‘See, for
instance----’
“The King interrupted him at the end of half a second. In order to
satisfy de l’Isle I told the King that M. de Voltaire had died in his
arms; so that the King asked him a few questions. He answered rather
too lengthily, and went away. Charles and I remained for dinner.
“Every day the King had long conversations with me, often of five hours
at a time, and completely fascinated me: fine arts, war, medicine,
literature and religion, philosophy, moral philosophy, history and
legislation, were all reviewed in turn. The great eras of Augustus and
Louis XIV.; the refined society of the Romans, the Greeks, and the
Franks; the chivalry of Francis the First; the frankness and valour
of Henry the Fourth; the revival of learning; anecdotes of clever men
of former days, and their failings; Voltaire’s errors, Maupertuis’s
irritability, and I know not what else. In fact, anything and
everything. The most varied and wittiest things were said by the King
in a soft, low, and agreeable voice, with an inexpressibly graceful
movement of the lips. The charm of his manner was, I think, the reason
why one did not notice that, like Homer’s heroes, he was rather a
babbler, though certainly a sublime one. His eyes, always too hard in
his portraits, although strained with work and the fatigues of war,
softened in their expression when listening to or relating some noble
deed or trait of sensibility....
“One morning, as I arrived at the palace, the King came forward and
said: ‘I fear I must be the bearer of bad news; I have just heard that
Prince Charles of Lorraine is dying.’ He looked to see what effect
the news would have on me, and seeing the tears fall from my eyes, he
gradually and gently changed the conversation. The next day, the moment
he saw me, the King came up, and said with an air of the deepest
concern: ‘Since you must hear of the death of a man who loved you and
honoured mankind, it is better that it should be through some one who
feels it as sincerely as I do; poor Prince Charles is no more!’ He was
deeply affected as he said these words.”
After a conversation during which the King had spoken unceasingly
for nearly an hour, the Prince, finding the part of listener rather
monotonous, seized upon an allusion to Virgil, and said:--
“‘What a grand poet, Sire, but what a bad gardener!’
“‘How true! Did I not try to plant, sow, dig, and hoe, with the
Georgics as my guide? “But, Sire,” the gardener used to say, not
knowing who I was: “You are a fool, and your book also; it is not so
that one sets to work.” Good heavens, what a climate! would you believe
it, God and the sun refuse me everything! Look at my orange, olive,
and lemon trees, they are all dying of hunger.’
“‘Laurels, I see, are the only trees that will grow for your Majesty.’
“The King gave me a delighted look, and to cap my insipid remark with a
bit of nonsense, I quickly added: ‘And then, Sire, there are too many
grenadiers[28] in this country, they swallow up everything.’ The King
laughed, for it is only nonsense that makes one laugh.”
The Prince knew that the King could not bear M. de Ried, and that it
was because the latter had mentioned the taking of Berlin by Marshal
Haddik that the King had conceived such a dislike for him; therefore,
when Frederick asked him if he found Berlin much altered, he took care
not to remind him that he was one of those who took possession of it in
1760. “He was pleased with my reticence, for he was an old wizard, who
guessed everything, and whose tact was the finest that ever existed.”
The Prince asked him a bold question when speaking about France.
“There is everything, Sire, in that country, and it really deserves to
be happy; it is reported that your Majesty had said that if one wished
to have a happy dream, one ought----”
“Yes,” interrupted the King, “that is true--one ought to be King of
France.”
After spending a delightful fortnight at Potsdam, the Princes took
leave of the King of Prussia with regret, and continued their journey,
arriving at Saint Petersburg in the month of August.
The Empress received the Prince de Ligne with the greatest distinction;
she was already acquainted with him through Voltaire’s letters and the
accounts the Emperor Joseph had given her at Mohileff. Catherine found
him worthy of all the praise she had heard of him, and writes:--
“We have also the Prince de Ligne, who is one of the most amusing and
easy beings to get on with I have ever seen. Though an original and a
deep thinker, he yet has all the gaiety of a child. His company would
suit me very well.”
On his part the Prince was charmed with Catherine the Great, as he
called her, and, thanks to his account, we have a living portrait of
the Czarina.
“It was easy to see that she had been handsome rather than pretty; the
majesty of her brow was softened by a pleasant look and smile, but
it showed all the force of her character, and revealed her genius,
justice, judgment, courage, equanimity, gentleness, calmness, and
firmness.
“Her chin, though rather pointed, did not exactly project; nor was it
a receding chin, but one nobly proportioned. The oval of her face was
not good, and yet it was pleasing, for the expression of her mouth was
full of frankness and mirth. She must have had a fresh complexion and
a fine bust, which, however, she got at the cost of her figure; she
had been almost too slight, but one becomes very stout in Russia. She
was clean, and if her hair had not been drawn so far back, but allowed
to surround her face, she would have been better looking. One did not
notice she was small; when she told me, in a slow manner, that she had
been very vivacious, it seemed impossible to realise it. On entering a
drawing-room she always made the same three bows, like a man, in the
Russian style; one to the right, one to the left, and the other in the
middle. Everything about her was measured and methodical.”
The Prince had already become very intimate with Catherine at the end
of a few days.
“‘What did you suppose I would be like?’ she asked me.
“‘I fancied your Majesty tall, stiff as a poker, with eyes like stars,
and a large hoop. I thought also I should only have to admire, and
constant admiration is very fatiguing.’
“‘Is it not true that you did not expect to find me so stupid?’
“‘In truth, I thought it would be necessary to have all one’s wits
about one, that your Majesty allowed yourself all license, and was a
perfect firework of wit; but I infinitely prefer your careless style
of conversation, which becomes sublime when treating of noble passages
of history, or examples of sensibility or greatness.’ And the Empress
heartily laughed at this clever mingling of frankness and flattery.
“It was this contrast of simplicity in what she said with the great
deeds she performed that made her interesting. A trifle amused her; she
was pleased at the smallest joke, and cleverly turned it to account.
One day I told her that to silence the reproaches of a lady who was
displeased with my scarcity of talk, and looking bored in her house, I
replied that I had just heard of the death of an aunt who had brought
me up. When the Empress was bored on the grand reception days, she
would say to me: ‘My uncle is about to die.’ Then I would hear it
murmured: ‘We are going to have a mourning.’ And all the Court would
search up the uncle in the almanac, and of course not find him.”
However great the fascination Catherine exercised over the Prince, she
did not make him forget Marie-Thérèse, and towards the end of his stay
he wrote: “The Empress Marie-Thérèse had certainly much greater charm
and fascination. Our Empress carried one away: the impression made by
the Russian Empress was much weaker at first, but gradually increased.
However, they resembled each other in this, that if the universe had
crumbled away they would have been found _impavidas ferient ruinæ_. No
power on earth would have made them yield; their great souls were proof
against adversity; enthusiasm preceded the one and followed the other.”
It was, however, necessary for the Prince to tear himself away from
the delights of this charming abode. But before their departure the
Empress, laughing, said to the Prince-father: “As you told me that you
would either sell, gamble, or lose any diamonds I should give you, here
are only a hundred roubles’ worth round my portrait on this ring!”[29]
To this present Catherine added jewels for the Princesse de Ligne and
her daughters; Prince Charles received a rich casket for Hélène, and
the Princes left for Poland, having forgotten only one thing, viz. the
claim of four hundred thousand roubles, for which they had undertaken
their journey. “For,” says the Prince gaily, “it seemed to me a want
of delicacy to take advantage of the favour with which I was received
to obtain favours.”
The Bishop of Wilna received the Prince at his residence of Werky,
a short distance from Warsaw. “Werky,” writes the Prince, “was a
fortunate child of nature,--a large river, three smaller ones, and a
chain of mountains, separated two valleys. Four or five waterfalls,
three islands, manufactories, castles, a windmill, a port, a ruin,
two convents of handsome appearance, natural undulations, temples to
Vulcan, to Bacchus, and one to Unity, which is to be erected upon
piles, and a kind of bridge at the meeting of three pretty rivulets,
an obelisk, a fisherman’s and a workman’s hut, bridges, some ornate,
others rustic, complete the attractions of this magnificent estate. I
advise and direct everything.”
The Dietine (sub-Diet) of Wilna had assembled to elect deputies for the
Diet of Warsaw. The Bishop gathered round his table eighty-four Polish
gentlemen, nearly all wearing the national costume, and having their
heads shaved after the Polish fashion. Before dinner each of them came
up to salute the Bishop by respectfully kissing the hem of his robe.
At the end of the repast healths were drunk; the Bishop proclaimed the
name of the person whose health was proposed; then he filled an antique
cup, beautifully chased, emptied it and turned it over, showing that
he had drained it to the bottom. He then passed it to his right-hand
neighbour, and in this way it went round the table. These toasts were
always celebrated with champagne or Tokay. After an interesting sojourn
at Werky and Wilna, the Princes, accompanied by the Bishop, started
for Warsaw. We have seen that in the negotiations for the marriage
of the Duc d’Elbœuf with Hélène the Prince-Bishop and the Marquis de
Mirabeau had dreamt of the Polish throne for the young Princess’s
future husband. This idea had taken possession of the Bishop’s brain;
and the accounts that were given to him of Saint Petersburg, and the
peculiarly cordial reception that the Princes had received, confirmed
him in it. Persuaded that the Prince was far advanced in the Empress’s
good graces, and convinced that the King Stanislaus-Augustus was no
longer in favour, the Bishop, ever ready to throw himself into a new
adventure, took advantage of the opening of the Diet to propose the
Marshal as candidate for the _indigénat_.
“You will one day be King of Poland,” said the enthusiastic Bishop;
“what a change will come over European affairs! what good luck for the
Lignes and Massalski!” The Marshal laughed, but, although he ridiculed
these sayings, he allowed matters to proceed. “I had a fancy,” he says,
“to please the nation assembled for the Diet, and accordingly presented
myself.”
Twenty-five candidates came forward to obtain the _indigénat_;
twenty-four of them were set aside, the Prince alone was retained; but
it required a unanimous vote, and three opponents came forward. “They
were nearly cut down, and the violence of one of the nuncios,[30] who
laid his hand on his sword, uttering very threatening words, nearly
broke up the Diet, and my too zealous partisan had a narrow escape of
losing his head.
“I sought my opponents; I succeeded in overcoming their prejudices, and
that so thoroughly that they said, with a grace and eloquence worthy
of their country, that, in favour of an acquisition they considered
so honourable, they would, each in turn, solicit the vote of one of
their friends. Against all custom, I rushed into the nuncios’ hall, and
embraced the mustachios of these three orators. It electrified me, for
I began an oration myself--in Latin too! then I took them by the hand,
and my advances resulted in a general _sgoda_,[31] which rang three
times through the hall, nearly bringing it down, so great were the
universal acclamations.”
After having obtained the good graces of the Empress Catherine, laid
out the Bishop of Wilna’s gardens, gained the _indigénat_, and become
almost as popular at Warsaw as in Brussels, the Prince de Ligne,
faithful to his word, arrived at Versailles to the very day, six months
after having left it.
FOOTNOTES:
[24] The _indigénat_, though differing from naturalisation, conferred
on those who obtained it all the privileges belonging to those
indigenous to the soil.
[25] An estate belonging to the Princesse Charles.
[26] The Duchess had given birth to the Comte Armand-Jules de Polignac
on 14th May 1780.
[27] The Abbé Delille, born at Aigueperse on 22d June 1728, died in
Paris on 1st May 1813. He was a member of the French Academy, and as a
poet enjoyed European celebrity. Though spelt differently the name was
pronounced in the same way.
[28] _Grenadiers_ in French signifying both the soldier and the
pomegranate tree.
[29] It is said that Catherine’s _friendship_ for the Prince de Ligne
became a warmer sentiment, and we are disposed to believe it when we
read the sour letters that Grimm wrote to the Empress about the Prince,
of whom he was jealous. It will be seen later on that he excited
Potemkin’s jealousy as well. Be this as it may, the Prince was very
discreet on the subject, as also on that of the political conversations
he had with the Empress, for he relates nothing about them, not even
in reference to Poland. We can hardly believe, however, that he did
not touch upon the subject; the Princesse Charles was Polish, and
Catherine might well suppose that her father-in-law and husband took
some interest in that unhappy country.
[30] The Polish deputies were called nuncios.
[31] The _sgoda_ was the cry which announced the unanimity of the vote.
VII
Life at Bel Œil--The Archduchess Christine, Governor of the
Netherlands--The Comte d’Artois at Bel Œil--_Le Mariage de
Figaro_--The Comtesse de Sabran and the Chevalier de Boufflers.
Hélène awaited her husband’s return with the greatest impatience, for
during his absence and that of his father her life had not been an easy
one.
The Dowager-Princess generally took advantage of her husband’s absence
to reduce the expenses of her household, and reestablish, as much as
possible, a condition of things too often upset by the Prince, who,
like the amiable spendthrift that he was, gaily threw millions out of
the window. Hélène would gladly have taken her share in superintending
the household; for she had learnt at the Convent how to keep house,
and was naturally proud of her acquirements. She gracefully proffered
her services to her mother-in-law, anxious to display her domestic
qualities, but the Princesse de Ligne was not disposed to share her
authority with any one, and coldly refused her daughter-in-law’s
offer. Hélène, rebuffed and humiliated, did not complain, but it left
a feeling of rancour in her mind, and from that moment the relations
between mother and daughter-in-law became more strained. At last the
Prince’s six months’ journey drew to a close, and it was with twofold
joy that Hélène hailed her husband’s return, and the end of the harsh
tutelage under which she had been living.
The Princes found their family at Brussels, and in the spring went
to Bel Œil, where they spent the summer together, with the exception
of Prince Louis, who was detained by his service in Paris, and could
seldom be with them. The life at Bel Œil was extremely gay and
animated; the stream of visitors was incessant, and poured in from
all sides--Brussels, Paris, and even Vienna. The officers of the de
Ligne regiment came to stay in turns. Not only did the Prince keep
open house--that is to say, that people could come and spend the day
there without any previous warning, but there was also a certain number
of apartments kept in readiness for any unexpected guests who might
come for a longer visit. Among the intimates at Bel Œil were the most
charming women of the Court of Brussels.
Although the de Lignes provided ample entertainment and amusement
for their guests, a due part of the day was devoted to more serious
occupations. The mornings were given up to study. Music, literature,
drawing, etc., were cultivated in turn. “Christine pastes and
unpastes, Hélène sings and is enchanting,” wrote the Prince. As for
him, he was no sooner up than, book in hand, he went to his island
of Flora, or worked in his library, or else inspected the gardens.
He already possessed a private printing-press in his house at
Brussels; he installed another at Bel Œil, which was a source of great
amusement.[32] Prince Charles in particular busied himself with it, but
he confined himself to publishing the works of others; his father, the
Chevalier de l’Isle, and the Abbé Payez, provided ample material for
the small presses of Bel Œil.
Prince Charles, who was an enthusiastic admirer of pictures, had
found time, in spite of his studies and military duties, to make a
magnificent collection of original drawings, both of ancient and modern
masters.[33] He was a thorough connoisseur, and drew well himself,
he even undertook to engrave some of the drawings in his collection,
and sent for the celebrated Bartsch to give him lessons at Bel Œil.
Hélène interested herself in her husband’s occupations, and, while he
was engraving, put the drawings in order, studied under his guidance
the different styles of each master, and became quite an enlightened
amateur. These intellectual occupations took up the first half of
the day, after which the family and numerous visitors assembled for
dinner. After an hour’s rest they all went into the gardens, where they
wandered about, or indulged in reverie, or gathered together according
to taste. There were a hundred different pastimes, and a hundred
different ways of enjoying one’s self; the Prince had anticipated every
taste and every wish. Sometimes they went long excursions on horseback
or in carriages to the beautiful forest of Baudour, adjoining the
woods of Bel Œil, or they sailed on the large lake which was connected
with the canals, rivers, and smaller lakes of the park. The boats were
decked out with streamers, and manned by small boatmen dressed in the
Prince’s livery. “During the lovely summer evenings,” he writes, “our
excursions on the water, with music and a bright moonlight, were most
agreeable to the ladies.”
The Prince never forgot them in his rustic arrangements; well
beaten-paths, so that they might not wet their pretty feet, bowers
of roses, jasmine, orange trees, and honeysuckle, led to the ladies’
baths. They found shaded benches and rustic cabins, and also “their
embroidery frames, their knitting, their netting, and, above all, their
black writing-books. Sand or something else was often wanting, but they
contained secrets unknown both to lovers and husbands, and, used as
desks by their owners, served to write many a pretty little lie.”
At this period Brussels presented the most brilliant and animated
aspect. Prince Charles of Lorraine had been succeeded by the
Archduchess Marie-Christine, formerly Regent of Hungary, where she had
enjoyed the privileges of a queen. She held her court on a grand scale,
and did the honours of it with grace and affability. The Archduchess
was considered the handsomest of Marie-Thérèse’s four daughters. She
danced so gracefully and so lightly that, directly she began, every one
stopped to admire. Although pretending to be annoyed, she was, on the
contrary, far from displeased at the admiration she provoked. She had
married the Archduke Albert of Saxe-Teschen,[34] who was entirely under
his wife’s influence, and, unlike Prince Charles of Lorraine, never
gained the hearts of the Flemish. Nevertheless, the Archduke’s gentle
and easy character made him beloved by all who approached him. He was
an intelligent connoisseur in pictures, and formed two magnificent
collections of paintings and drawings.
The Archduchess and her husband took pleasure in encouraging art and
literature, and Brussels soon became a lively literary centre. All
that appeared in France--novels, poetry, travels, etc.--was eagerly
read. Several reviews were started. The Prince de Ligne welcomed young
Belgian authors, and helped them in every way to the best of his
ability. Happy to avail themselves of the lordly hospitality he so
graciously offered, they constantly came to submit to him their essays.
It is needless to say that they extolled the beauties of Bel Œil and
Baudour in verses which were reproduced in the gazettes of the day.
If Belgium had not become the scene of political events, it is probable
that the Prince would have founded a school of literature and good
taste, for he occasionally evinced in his writings talent of the
highest order. Ideas flowed in abundance from his fertile pen, and he
seemed merely to jot them down on the paper at haphazard. His style,
which is capricious, incorrect, and even obscure, is always lively and
descriptive; each word seems to fall naturally into its place under his
pen; wit abounds, unexpected, satirical, and sometimes most daring. He
has the greatest contempt for grammar; but this very negligence, this
lordly indifference, gives to his writings a most original style.
Moreover, he possessed all the requisites of an excellent critic, but
it must be acknowledged that he was blindly indulgent towards his own
poetry. Unfortunately gifted with deplorable facility, he never missed
an opportunity of rhyming. One evening, when they had all gone for a
long walk in the woods, they wandered so far into the forest that they
completely lost their way, and only found it, thanks to a star Hélène
had noticed. On the following day her father-in-law brought her a
ballad, set to a tune then in vogue, and perhaps among all those he
has written, it may be considered as one of the best:--
À HÉLÈNE.
_Air: Sous la Verdure._
Un sombre voile
Nous dérobait notre chemin;
Nous errions à la belle étoile,
Mais nous arrivons à la fin
Grâce à l’étoile.
Est-ce l’étoile
Qui jadis guida vers un Dieu?
Ou de Vénus est-ce l’étoile?
Je penche beaucoup en ce lieu
Pour cette étoile.
Auprès d’Hélène
Conduit l’étoile du berger;
Trop heureux celui qu’elle amène
Tout juste à l’heure du berger
Auprès d’Hélène.[35]
And so the days passed quickly and pleasantly, the only drawback in
this happy scene being the state of Hélène’s health, which required
an amount of care her youth and love of pleasure made it difficult for
her to take. Two accidents had successively destroyed a hope dearly
cherished by her husband, and even more by her father-in-law, who was
anxious that his beloved Charles should have a son. The waters of
Spa, then very much the fashion, were recommended. Hélène went there
in the month of May 1782, accompanied by the Chevalier de l’Isle, and
her convent friend, Mademoiselle de Conflans, who was now Marquise de
Coigny,[36] and on intimate terms with the de Lignes. Hélène wrote to
appoint a meeting-place. The Chevalier de l’Isle, who had a ready pen
and familiar style, answered as follows: “Madame de Coigny embraces
Mouchette,[37] and exhorts her to wait for her to go to Spa till the
fifteenth of next month.” Hélène waited for her, and they started
together with the Chevalier; he only remained a short time, and on his
return wrote to the Prince de Ligne: “I did not write to you from Spa,
my dear Prince, because I hoped to see you there, and then because
I intended stopping at Brussels, at Bel Œil even; I had begged the
Princesse Charles, who talks much better than I can write, to speak to
you of me in her spare moments. She has none? So much the better for
both her and you, and so much the worse for me. But I had my turn at
Spa; twenty times I was on the point of writing, if only to tell you
how charming your daughter-in-law was, and then I reflected that you
were not the man to ignore it, and that when one has nothing fresh to
say, one had better hold one’s tongue.”
Shortly after the Chevalier’s departure the Prince rejoined his
daughter-in-law at Spa.
A watering-place at that time was very much like what it is in our
days, but the Prince describes it in the most spirited manner: “I
arrive in a large hall, where I find the maimed showing off their arms
and their legs; ridiculous names, titles, and faces; clerical and
worldly animals jumping and running races; hypochondriac _milords_
wandering sadly about; females from Paris entering with roars of
laughter, to make one believe they are amiable and at their ease, and
hoping thereby to become so; young men of all countries, counterfeiting
the English, speaking with their teeth closed, and dressed like grooms,
their hair cut short, black, and greasy, with a pair of Jewish
whiskers surrounding dirty ears.
“French bishops with their nieces; an accoucheur, decorated with the
order of Saint Michael; a dentist with that of the Spur; dancing and
singing masters in the uniform of Russian majors; Italians in that of
Polish colonels, leading about young bears of that country; Dutchmen
scanning the papers for the rate of exchange; thirty so-called Knights
of Malta; ribbons of all colours, to the right and the left, at the
buttonhole on both sides, orders of all kinds, shapes, and sizes.
“Old duchesses returning from their walks armed with tall canes _à
la Vendôme_, and three coatings of white and rouge; marchionesses,
cheating doubly at cards; horrible and suspicious faces, surrounded by
piles of ducats, and swallowing up all those that were timidly put on
the large green cloth; two or three electors in hunting-dress, striped
with gold, armed with hunting-knives; a few princes incognito, who
would not produce a greater sensation under their own names; some
old generals and officers retired on account of wounds they never
received; a few Russian princesses with their doctors, and Palatines
and Castilian ladies with their young chaplains.
“Americans and burgomasters of the neighbourhood; convicts escaped
from all the different prisons in Europe; quacks of every description;
adventurers of all kinds; abbés of all countries. Twenty sick people
wildly dancing for their health; forty lovers, or pretended lovers,
sweating and agitating themselves, and sixty feminine waltzers of more
or less beauty and innocence, cleverness and coquetry, modesty and
voluptuousness. All this combined is called a dancing breakfast.”
After leaving the establishment of the mineral waters, the Prince
takes us to La Sauvetière, an elegant meeting-place for bathers: “The
noise, the buzzing sound of conversation, the uproar of the music,
the intoxicating rhythm of the waltz, the passing and repassing of the
idlers, the oaths and sobs of the gamblers, both men and women, the
weariness of this magic-lantern made me leave the hall. I sit down, and
I see some water drinkers religiously counting their glasses and their
steps, and congratulating themselves, perhaps rather sadly, on the
improvement of their digestion. Some ladies join their group.
“‘Do you digest the waters, Madame?’
“‘Yes, sir, since yesterday.’
“‘Does your Excellency begin to digest?’ she says to the minister of an
ecclesiastical court.
“‘I have the honour to inform your Excellency,’ he answers, ‘that I
perspire from eight o’clock in the evening till ten, and that I sweat
completely from ten till midnight. If I had not so much business to
transact for his Grace, I should be entirely cured by the treatment.’”
Hélène returned to Spa in 1783, and met there Madame de Sabran, born a
d’Andlau,[38] who became later the Marquise de Boufflers. She was one
of the most charming women of her time, and pleased every one who saw
her by her appearance, her elegance, and the kindliness of her nature.
She was accompanied by her little son, Elzéar de Sabran, who little
thought of the part he was destined to play in politics later on; for
the present, he contented himself with learning the part of Chérubin in
the _Mariage de Figaro_, the Princesse Charles studying Suzanne, and
Madame de Sabran the part of the Countess, for after the return from
Spa the play was to be acted at Bel Œil.
Just at this time they received news of the Comte d’Artois’ arrival in
Flanders,[39] and the Princes de Ligne started off at once to receive
and accompany him on his progress through Rocroi and Spa, bringing him
back with them to Bel Œil.
The Princesse Hélène returned to Bel Œil before the Princes, in order
to prepare for the Comte d’Artois’ reception; but he had barely arrived
when he fell seriously ill. The Prince had prepared festivities which
cost him over fifty thousand francs; he never even spoke of them to
the Count, who was not in a condition to enjoy them. Only one thing
took place, a fairy-like illumination of the park, which the Prince,
however, did not see, for he never left the Comte d’Artois’ side, and
started with him for Versailles.
After the departure of the Comte d’Artois, the Chevalier de Boufflers
and Madame de Sabran came to Bel Œil. Hearing that the Chevalier was
garrisoned at Valenciennes, the Prince wrote and proposed his joining
him at Tournai, and from there returning with him to Bel Œil. The
Chevalier replied: “I am very much tempted, my dear Charlot, by all
you suggest; but on closely examining your marching orders, I believe
that my regiment is the very thing I should miss. Tell me when you go
to Tournai; I intend going there, and defying you at the head of your
army, and if I find it on two _Lignes_ (lines), I shall try to break
through them.
“Dear Prince, I love you as if I saw you every day of my life. After
yourself there is nothing that gives so much pleasure as the impression
that you leave. Send me your marching orders, so that we may meet
somewhere, and that, if possible, we may part nowhere.”[40]
The Chevalier arrived at Bel Œil in time to take part in the
representation of the _Mariage de Figaro_, which was given with great
success in the pretty theatre at Bel Œil. Hélène took the part of
Suzanne; Madame de Sabran that of the Countess; Elzéar, Chérubin, and
Boufflers, Figaro; as for the Prince-father, he had to content himself
with the modest part of Doublemain, the notary’s clerk; we must confess
that, though he gave others[41] good advice, he acted very badly
himself. He was generally given the part of the notary who draws up the
marriage-contract, or that of the lackey who brings in a letter, and
would invariably come in at the wrong moment; but on the other hand,
once on the stage he would not leave it, but say in a supplicating
whisper to the other actors: “I am not in your way, am I?”
Hélène acted with an archness and vivacity which recalled the merry
schoolgirl of the Abbaye-aux-Bois, tempered by a little experience; the
little Elzéar was charming as Chérubin, but the Chevalier carried off
the palm by the zest and spirit with which he threw himself into his
part. It was a curious sight, and a sign of the times, to hear Figaro’s
soliloquy recited by a nobleman, and applauded by the aristocratic
audience of Bel Œil.
Prince Charles willingly lent himself to his wife’s amusements,
though he took no active part in them; but his serious mind required
occupations of a different order. He took a keen interest in all
scientific discoveries, and at that moment was much taken up with the
new process of aerostation invented by Charles Pilatre de Rozier and
Montgolfier. He witnessed the first experiments made in Paris, and
among others the ascension of a fire balloon, in the gardens of La
Muette, on the 21st of November 1783, made by Pilatre de Rozier and
D’Arlandes. The aeronauts were in the greatest danger, their balloon
having caught fire; they managed to extinguish it, and made their
descent at Gentilly in safety. At that time a balloon ascension was
looked upon as a most daring undertaking, and no one cared to accompany
the aeronauts. But Prince Charles, whose courage and coolness were
proof against everything, determined to take part in the third ascent,
which took place at Lyons on the 19th of January 1784. The seven
passengers were: the elder Montgolfier, Pilatre de Rozier, Fontaine,
Prince Charles, and three other persons who at the last moment wished
to ascend. Although the balloon was of enormous size, the number of
passengers was too great; De Rozier had foreseen this, and did not
wish the two last persons to enter the car. Montgolfier persuaded him,
however, to let things be; but they were hardly off, and had only run
about five hundred fathoms, when the balloon began imperceptibly to
tear, and they were obliged to make a hasty and perilous descent at
a distance of about a league from the town. On their return to Lyons
they were received with acclamations by the whole population. In April
1784 Prince Charles sent off from the public square in front of the
hôtel des États, at Mons, a magnificent balloon, constructed at his own
expense. He had invited the Duke and Duchess of Aremberg and a great
many distinguished personages of the Courts of Brussels and Versailles,
who, after the ascent of the balloon, all returned to Bel Œil.[42]
FOOTNOTES:
[32] The volumes printed at Bel Œil are extremely rare and much in
demand. M. Adolphe Gaiffe is in possession of one of the two known
copies of the Chevalier de l’Isle’s poems. From a memorandum left by
the Princess, we believe that part of her childhood’s _Memoirs_ was
printed by her husband at Bel Œil.
[33] A catalogue of them was made by Adam Bartsch in 1794; it contained
six thousand numbers.
[34] Son of Augustus III., King of Poland; and Field-Marshal in the
Austrian army. He was born on 11th July 1738, and married, on 8th April
1766, Marie-Christine-Josepha-Jeanne-Antoinette, sister of the Emperor
Joseph, born on 13th May 1742. She died in 1798, and the Archduke
Albert in 1822.
[35]
TO HÉLÈNE.
A dark mist
Concealed our road;
We wandered in the open air,
But at last we reach our goal,
Thanks to the star.
Was it the star
That formerly led us heavenwards?
Or was it of Venus the guiding star?
I am disposed to believe
That it was this latter star.
’Tis to Hélène
That this star led us,
Too happy he that by it brought,
Comes just at the happy moment
Near to Hélène.
[36] It was to this witty Marquise de Coigny that the Prince de Ligne
addressed the charming letters written from Tauris.
[37] Familiar nickname of the Princesse Charles.
[38] Madame d’Andlau was daughter of the famous Helvétius and
Mademoiselle de Ligneville. She had educated her daughter, Madame
de Sabran, very well: Madame d’Andlau in no way shared her father’s
opinions.
[39] We read in the _Gazette des Pays Bas_, dated Thursday, 17th July
1783: “On Monday, H.R.H. the Comte d’Artois, accompanied by their
Excellencies the Governors-General, saw all that was remarkable in the
vicinity. The next day the Prince, with their Royal Highnesses, left
for the Chateau de Marimont, from whence he was going to Bel Œil.”
[40] The Prince de Ligne had a particular affection for Boufflers. It
would appear, however, that the Chevalier had a very uneven temper,
for Madame de Sabran, in one of the charming letters she wrote him,
gives us the following sketch: “It is not your manners, which are those
of a savage, your absent and moody appearance, your sharp and genuine
wit, your large appetite, and your deep sleep whenever one wishes to
converse with you, which made me love you to distraction. It is I know
not what: a certain sympathy that makes me think and feel like you, for
under that rough exterior you conceal the spirit of an angel and the
heart of a woman.”
[41] See his _Letters to Eugénie on Theatricals_. Paris, 1771.
[42] See the _Gazette des Pays Bas_, Monday, 5th April 1784, No.
xxviii.
VIII
Prince Charles purchases a hotel in Paris--Birth of Sidonie--The
insurrection in Flanders--Winter in Vienna--Joseph II. and his
Court--First representation of _Don Juan_---Haydn and Mozart--The
Comtesse de Kinsky--Prince Charles’s affection for her---Hélène’s
departure for Warsaw.
The Prince de Ligne and his daughter-in-law were in entire sympathy.
The young Princess enjoyed living at Bel Œil when her father-in-law
was there, but she disliked Brussels, their winter residence. We
already know, by her own confession, that Hélène was as “obstinate as
the Pope’s mule,” and she had not given up her purpose of settling in
Paris. Her husband disliked the idea of the Paris life, so little in
harmony with his tastes; he had never lived in France, and, a stranger
there, he feared comparison with the supreme elegance, the light witty
tone, which distinguished the brilliant gentlemen at the Court of
Versailles. But, as the saying goes, “What woman wills, God wills;”
Prince Charles ended by giving way, and he bought in September 1784 a
fine mansion, situated in the Rue de la Chaussée d’Antin.[43]
It is needless to say with what delight Hélène went to live in Paris.
She found most of her old convent friends, and, presented under the
auspicies of her father-in-law, she was welcomed and entertained on
every side.
Received everywhere into the most brilliant circles--at Chantilly,
the Prince de Condé’s; at Petit Bourg, the Duchesse de Bourbon’s; at
the Temple, the Prince de Conti’s--all welcomed the young Princess,
who gave herself up entirely to a vortex of pleasure and success.
Captivated by the charm and amiability of the young men who surrounded
her with their attentions, Hélène gave way to her natural instinct of
coquetry; she distinguished no one in particular but tried to please
all; when at home, she was occupied with her toilet and saw very little
of her husband, who but rarely accompanied her into society, absorbed
as he was in his studies. The steady character of the Prince, his taste
for study, and the very German and romantic turn of his mind, formed
a marked contrast with the light, bantering, superficial tone assumed
by the courtiers. Hélène, with the giddiness of youth, decided in her
own mind that her husband was tiresome, and had it not been for fear
of offending her father-in-law she would not have spared him a little
bantering.
Prince Charles’s position in Paris as husband of a pretty and
fashionable woman was rather a trying one. With a father whose
sparkling wit made him everywhere take a leading part in society, he
was thrown into the shade, and reduced to a secondary position, which,
however, his modesty would not have objected to had he not felt that it
lowered him in his wife’s estimation. When he married, it was without
any feeling of love for Hélène, whom he had hardly seen, but he soon
felt a tender and almost paternal affection for her. He had allowed her
the greatest freedom at Bel Œil, at the same time seeking to develop
in her a taste for serious occupations hitherto rather checked by her
intense love of pleasure. He was beginning to succeed, but these three
winters in Paris almost annulled his efforts, or at least greatly
compromised their success. Hélène was too young to understand and
appreciate her husband’s superior intelligence and high character.
However, a long-desired event brought the married pair nearer to each
other for a while. On the 8th of December 1786 Hélène gave birth to a
little girl, who received the name of Sidonie. This was a great joy to
Prince Charles, and he easily obtained Hélène’s consent to go to Bel
Œil in the early spring, instead of returning to Paris. She consented
the more willingly that her father-in-law had left Paris for the
Russian Court, whither he had been summoned by an invitation from the
Empress Catherine.
Before starting the Prince had had ample time to construct the bower of
roses he had promised for Charles’s children, and as early as the month
of March a handsome Brabant nurse, carrying a pink and white baby,
might be seen in the gardens of Bel Œil. Everything seemed to promise
a happy summer, and in spite of the somewhat unrestricted authority
exercised over the nurse and baby by the Dowager-Princess, which was a
source of annoyance to the young mother, harmony and peace prevailed at
Bel Œil.
All of a sudden, in the middle of the summer (1787), a serious
insurrection broke out in Flanders. It had been secretly brewing for
some time past. Joseph II. had the mania of meddling in everything;
he generally had the best intentions, but, cleverer in theory than in
practice, he often neglected to ascertain whether a system useful
in itself might not become dangerous if applied without any previous
preparation. The reforms he tried to introduce into Flanders are a
striking example of this sort of mistake.
The Flemish people, who had long been under the dominion of Spain,
were bigoted in their religion, and as deeply attached to their
ancient political privileges as they were to those of the Church.
After the death of Marie-Thérèse, Joseph II. began by abolishing
certain processions, pilgrimages, and a number of confraternities.
These customs and institutions, which were certainly useless and far
too numerous, were closely interwoven with the habits of the people,
and their abolition was a source of great offence. The clergy were not
less offended at the decree that suppressed the Bollandists, numerous
convents and abbeys, and all the diocesan seminaries.
Finally the Emperor, still animated with the most liberal intentions,
thought that “it was his charitable duty to extend towards Protestants
the effects of that civil tolerance which, without inquiring into a
man’s belief, considers only his capacity citizen.” He accordingly
granted them a civil existence--a privilege which till then had been
refused to them.
The Bishops loudly protested against these measures, and were severely
reprimanded. Not content with attacking the privileges of the Church,
Joseph II. upset the judicial organisation of the country, and in a
way suppressed the nationality of the Netherlands, which were declared
to be an Austrian province, divided into nine circles, governed by
an _intendant_ and Austrian commissioners, solely dependent on the
Viennese Court. This was trampling underfoot the “_Joyeuse Entrée_”
(Joyous Entry), that grand charta of the privileges of Brabant and the
other Flemish States.[44]
The irritation was at its height, for Joseph had by his various reforms
succeeded in alienating every class of his subjects.
A barrister of Brussels, Van der Noot, published an extremely violent
manifesto, demonstrating the illegality of the innovations introduced
by Joseph II. This libel was approved of by the States,[45] but the
author, in danger of being arrested by the Government, fled to England.
It was at the very moment when the revolution was being fomented that
the de Ligne family, alarmed at the agitation going on in Belgium,
hastened to join Prince Charles at Vienna, whither he had been summoned
by Marshal Lascy. An army, destined to fight the Turks in the ensuing
spring, was already being organised by the Emperor’s secret orders. The
Princesses de Ligne reached Vienna at the end of the summer. Hélène
had made a short stay there at the time of her marriage, and had not
retained an agreeable recollection of the place. The Viennese manners
and customs differed too much from the French to suit her taste. She
would infinitely have preferred spending the winter in her hotel at
Paris; but her husband’s duties detaining him in Vienna, she dared not
make the request.
The Emperor of Germany’s Court did not display the brilliant aspect
which might have been expected from the most important European
power.[46] The simple architecture of his palace conveyed no idea of a
sovereign’s residence. A detachment of the Viennese garrison mounted
guard, and a few _trabans_ posted at the inner doors superintended the
management and good order of the interior. Joseph II.’s household was
very economically conducted. He had, however, grand Crown officials,
such as grand-master, lord high chamberlain, grand-equerry, etc.
But they only fulfilled their duties on gala days. In spite of the
plainness and simplicity of the Viennese Court, the personages who
composed it were of very high standing; there were many reigning
princes, brothers of kings or electors, in the service of the Emperor,
and a crowd of great nobles, such as the Princes de Ligne, d’Aremberg,
de Lichtenstein, Esterhazi, Colorado, Palfy,[47] and others, who by
their rank and future were almost equal to their sovereign. When he
chose, the Emperor “knew how to impart to this Court, which usually had
the appearance of a convent or a barrack, all the pomp and dignity
worthy of the palace of Marie-Thérèse.
Hélène witnessed for the first time the New Year’s festivities at
Vienna. On that day most of the Hungarian magnates[48] came to Court in
their elegant costumes, decked out with their handsomest jewels; the
Prince Esterhazi, among others, was mounted on a richly caparisoned
horse whose saddle-cloth was studded with diamonds. The Prince’s
costume was as rich as his horse’s trappings. “I could not look at
him,” Hélène says; “he dazzled me.” The Emperor Joseph, so simple in
private life, wore a full-dress uniform embroidered with gold, and
his coat, his orders, and his hat glittered with eighteen hundred
thousand livres[49] worth of diamonds; the buttons, the fastenings,
the epaulets, the braid, and the button of his hat were one mass of
diamonds. On that day the Court servants and those of the nobility wore
a livery of silk embroidered with gold and silver.
The Prince de Ligne has left an interesting portrait of Joseph II.,
with whom he had been on terms of the closest intimacy. A year before
the commencement of the Emperor’s reign, Lord Malmesbury asked the
Prince de Ligne what he thought of him. “As a man,” replied the Prince,
“he possesses great merit and talent; as Prince he will always be
tortured by ambitions which he will be unable to satisfy; his reign
will be a sort of perpetual and vain longing to sneeze.”
The Emperor Joseph was fond of the society of amiable and distinguished
women, but no love intrigue ever arose in his intimate circle. The
Princesse Kinsky, born a Hohenzollern, and her sister, the Princesse
Clary,[50] were both conspicuous at Court. The first was simple
and affable, had much learning, possessed a sound judgment, and was
passionately fond of reading and conversation. The second, modest,
gentle, and gracious, was a better listener than her sister, and her
pliant disposition imparted great charm and ease to her society. The
Emperor had given the Princesse Kinsky a very fine apartment in his
palace of the Haut Belvédère.[51] It was there that the choicest
Viennese society, both of men and women, would meet every Thursday.
As a great favour Hélène was admitted to this circle, and she has
traced a few portraits of these ladies--amongst others, that of the
Princesse Charles de Lichtenstein, born Princesse d’Œttingen, who was
the darling of the Belvédère society. She was exquisitely beautiful,
and wrote marvellously well. Her letters, nearly all written in French,
overflowed with wit; she expressed herself with elegance; and her
firm and reliable character, her amiable and cultivated mind, so
won the heart of the Prince de Ligne that she became his favourite
sister-in-law.
The Comtesse Ernest de Kaunitz,[52] sister of the Princesse Charles,
was plain, but witty and lively. She would often provoke a discussion,
for she loved an argument, and excelled in the vivacity and archness of
her repartee. The Princesse François de Lichtenstein, born Steinberg,
completed the little circle. Second sister-in-law of the Prince de
Ligne, she pleased him less than the first; she had an exalted idea
of her rank and name, and of the consideration that was due to her.
Serious and dignified, but at the same time kind and benevolent, she
was constantly occupied with charitable works, and it was difficult to
escape the lottery tickets, concerts, and collections for the poor she
imposed upon every one.
The only stranger admitted into this society was the Duc de Braganza.
The Marshal de Lascy, the Prince de Kaunitz, the Prince de Ligne, and
several other gentlemen of the Court frequently came, and the Emperor
Joseph never missed a Thursday at the Belvédère.
In his youth Joseph II. did not give much promise of amiability, but he
changed entirely when he became Emperor. His travels, his campaigns,
the society of distinguished women, had formed his character and cured
him of a shyness engendered by the extreme severity of his education.
The greatest freedom existed in the Belvédère circle; the Emperor laid
aside his rank and allowed the ladies to speak with a frankness that
sometimes exceeded the bounds of respect.
“The things I have heard said to Joseph by the ladies of his society
are simply inconceivable,” writes the Prince de Ligne. “One of them
said, referring to the execution of a robber who had been hanged by
his orders that day: ‘How could your Majesty condemn him after your
robbery of Poland?’
“It was at the moment of the first division of that country.
“‘My mother, who enjoys all your confidence, ladies,’ he replied, ‘and
who goes to Mass as often as you do, has long ago made up her mind on
that question. I am only her first subject.’”
The Emperor was fond of receiving confidences, and was safe and
discreet, though he was fond of meddling. His manners were agreeable,
he had some brilliancy of conversation, a great deal of natural wit,
and was a pleasant narrator. The following is an anecdote he was fond
of repeating. When Marie-Thérèse was so closely pursued by her enemies
that hardly a town was left to her in Germany, not knowing where to go
for her confinement, she retired to Presburg and assembled the States.
She was young and handsome, with a dazzling complexion, and appeared
before the Hungarian _paladins_ clad in a long mourning garment, which
set off the radiancy of her beauty; her son, two or three years of age,
was clasped in her arms. “I confide him to you,” she said, presenting
the child, who began to cry. The Emperor, in telling this story, always
added that his mother, who knew the way to produce an effect, gave him
a sly pinch as she presented him to the Hungarians; touched by the
cries of the child, who seemed to implore their compassion, “my bearded
heroes drew their swords, and swore on their Turkish blades to defend
both mother and son to the last drop of their blood.”[53]
The little group that met at the Belvédère did not represent the only
society in Vienna; many other houses threw open their doors. The
Princesse Lubomirska,[54] commonly called the Princesse Maréchale,
held some of the most brilliant receptions. Her original and ready wit,
and the piquancy of her manner, imparted a certain liveliness to the
character of her “salon.” She forebade all talk of war or politics at
her house. “No politics,” she said, “in the drawing-room, where the men
are more women than we are.”
A great many balls were given in Vienna, and they were always very
animated, for the Viennese were passionately fond of dancing. They
waltzed so furiously and with such rapidity that at first Hélène,
though a beautiful dancer, was made quite giddy by the pace. She,
however, soon became accustomed, like others, never to rest for a
moment as long as the waltz lasted.
The balls of the Princesse Lubomirska were delightful; they always
began and ended with a polonaise, a kind of measured march,
interrupted at intervals by a graceful _balancé_ or swinging movement.
“When the elderly people wish to join in the dance they ask for a
polonaise,” says the Prince de Ligne, “and then the good people perform
the figures, and move round with a contented smile on their faces, as
they recollect the good old times, and the way they used to smile. The
young people are entirely taken up with the present, of which they
do not care to lose a moment.” This dance displayed to advantage the
elegance and grace of the figure. Hélène excelled in it, and took a
patriotic pride in carrying off the palm.
The Princesse Charles was passionately fond of music, and had a box at
the Court theatre. _Don Juan_ had just been given with great success
at Prague, in honour of the visit of the Duchess of Tuscany, the wife
of Leopold. Mozart had in person directed the rehearsals. The Emperor
Joseph, about to leave for the army, pressed Mozart to return to
Vienna to get up the opera there at once. The rehearsals were rapidly
got through, and the representation was given before a large audience.
Hélène was present, and all the Viennese nobility witnessed the
performance. _Don Juan_ was admirably sung, but the public, with few
exceptions, of which Hélène was one, remained cold throughout. The
Emperor, who thought the music admirable, was vexed at the indifference
of the audience.
“It is a divine work,” he said to Mozart, whom he had summoned to his
box, “but it is not the sort of thing for my Viennese!”
“We must give them time to appreciate it,” modestly replied the author.
“It suited the Prague people better; but I composed it only for myself
and my friends.”
On leaving the theatre some of the spectators went to the house of
the Comtesse de Thun, and they were warmly discussing the new work
when Haydn entered. Every one was of a different opinion, and though
admitting for the most part that the music bore the impress of genius,
all declared that in some parts it was obscure and incomprehensible.
Haydn was chosen as judge. “I am not in a position to decide in such a
learned dispute,” said he with malicious humility; “all I know is that
Mozart is the greatest musician living.”
The concerts at Vienna were numerous and most magnificent. The Emperor
had a passion for instrumental music. Mozart and Haydn’s[55] symphonies
were played with rare perfection by an excellent orchestra, led by
Salieri.[56] It was likewise in the spring of 1787 that the _Seven
Words_ were given for the first time--an oratorio which is looked upon
as Haydn’s masterpiece.
It is evident that Hélène might have spent a most agreeable winter in
Vienna, but she did not like Viennese society. A Parisian at heart,
she felt there entirely out of her element. Her husband, on the other
hand, who had known all the families about Court from childhood, was
infinitely more at home in Vienna than in Paris. He was on the most
intimate terms with all the young married women who were friends of his
sisters. One of them in particular treated him with the affectionate
familiarity of an old playfellow; this was the Comtesse Kinsky, born
a Dietrichstein, and daughter-in-law to the Princess presiding at the
Belvédère. It would have been difficult to meet with a more fascinating
woman, and her romantic story added greatly to her charm. Comte
Kinsky’s parents and her own had agreed on a marriage between their
children without consulting them on the subject. The young Count was
garrisoned in a small Hungarian town, and only arrived in time for
the marriage ceremony. Immediately afterwards he conducted his young
wife home, kissed her hand, and said: “Madame, we have obeyed our
parents; and I must confess it is with regret that I leave you; but
my affections have long been engaged to a woman without whom I cannot
live, and to whom I must now return.” A post-chaise was at the door of
the church; the Count drove off and never returned. Comtesse Kinsky
was therefore neither maid, wife, nor widow, and the dangers of this
peculiar position were enhanced by her extreme beauty, which it would
have been difficult to outrival. She united to her external charms a
cultivated mind and an excellent heart. Hélène often met her at the
Comtesse de Thun’s, who was an intimate friend of the de Lignes, and
whose house was their habitual rendezvous.
Comte François de Dietrichstein,[57] Madame de Kinsky’s brother, was
a great friend of Prince Charles, with whom he had been brought up.
The peculiar position of the Countess rendered this intimacy very
hazardous, and Prince Charles’s tender affection for her partook very
much of the nature of love. With a woman’s quick instinct, Hélène
divined between her husband and the beautiful Countess a secret tie,
the nature of which she could not make out, the strictest propriety
being observed on both sides. We must admit that, in spite of little
Sidonie’s birth, which for a moment drew the pair more closely
together, they were becoming very indifferent towards each other. The
Prince had not forgotten the contemptuous manner with which his wife
had treated him in Paris, and he was not sorry to show her that in
Vienna he played quite a different part. In short, neither one nor
the other had made a love match. Social conventions and a similarity
of tastes had conduced to a certain degree of friendship; but would
that suffice to guard either against any warmer sentiment that might
intervene?
And so the winter passed. The revolution in Flanders had assumed
alarming proportions, and there could be no question of returning to
Bel Œil. Prince Charles, who had rejoined his regiment, served under
General de Lascy’s orders, and had left Vienna for some time. No sooner
had he taken his departure than Hélène wrote to ask his permission
to join her uncle at Warsaw, where the Diet was about to meet. Some
important business with the Prince-Bishop served as a pretext for the
journey. The authorisation was easily granted, on condition that she
should leave little Sidonie under the care of her grandmother; and
Hélène left Vienna in September 1788.
FOOTNOTES:
[43] This hotel occupied the whole of the space between the Rue de
Provence and the Rue de la Victoire.
[44] Amongst others, the privileges of Hainault were most curious. We
find there the formula of the ancient oath which the Emperor took at
his inauguration as Comte de Hainault.
[45] The States of Hainault took an active part in the rebellion,
and refused in October 1788 to vote the subsidies demanded by the
Emperor. They had been mortally offended when an Austrian Commissioner
superseded their former governor and grand bailiff, the Prince of
Aremberg.
[46] The House of Lorraine had greatly contributed to banish the severe
etiquette which till then prevailed at the Viennese Court.
Francis the First, father of Marie-Antoinette, invited to his table
the principal Crown officials, and allowed the most perfect freedom.
Marie-Thérèse admitted to her intimacy most of the ladies of her Court;
she even during the summer paid frequent visits to several of them.
She might be seen, knitting and walking in the gardens, or reading
in an arbour, unattended by any of her ladies. Marie-Antoinette had
therefore from her infancy been accustomed to those habits of ease and
familiarity which she carried to France, and which caused her to be so
severely censured.
[47] The Princesse Euphémie de Ligne married, 11th September 1798,
Jean-Baptiste Gabriel, the eldest son of the Comte de Palfy.
[48] The guard of Hungarian nobles only escorted the Emperor on great
state occasions. It was supported by the Hungarian States, who took
great pride in the beauty of the horses and splendour of the uniforms.
The Polish guard, created after the first Polish division (1772), was
composed of young noblemen, and vied in brilliancy with the Hungarian
guard.
[49] Seventy-two thousand pounds.
[50] Mother-in-law of the Princesse Christine de Ligne.
[51] A small palace built by Prince Eugène in one of the suburbs of
Vienna.
[52] Daughter-in-law of the famous Prince de Kaunitz, Chancellor of the
Empire under Marie-Thérèse. He had retained office under Joseph, and
was one of the most influential persons at Court.
[53] Fragments of the Prince de Ligne’s _Unedited Memoirs_, published
in the _Revue Nouvelle_, 1840, and by Albert Lacroix at Brussels.
[54] The Princesse Lubomirska was a cousin of the King
Stanislaus-Augustus. He frequently mentions her in his correspondence
with Madame Geoffrin under the name of Aspasia. She was a Czartoryiska
by birth, and alternately resided at Vienna, Warsaw, and at her
magnificent estate of Lancut. A large part of the Princess’s lands was
situated in Austrian Galicia.
[55] Mozart was appointed to the Emperor’s chapel in 1780. Joseph II.
was very fond of him, and although his salary was very small, he always
refused the advantageous offers made by other sovereigns, among others
the King of Prussia. Haydn was also attached to the Emperor’s chapel.
[56] Salieri, chapel-master and music-director to the Emperor at Vienna.
[57] The Comte François-Joseph de Dietrichstein, born 28th April 1767,
was private counsellor and chamberlain to the Austrian Emperor. He
filled the post of Major-General in the Engineers during the first wars
against the French republic, and it was he who in 1800 concluded with
Moreau the armistice of Parsdorf.
IX
The Prince de Ligne’s departure for St. Petersburg--Journey
through Tauris--Interview at Kherson--War declared against the
Turks--Alliance between Austria and Russia--The Prince de Ligne as
Russian General--Potemkin and Romanzoff--The taking of Sabacz--Prince
Charles at the storming of Sabacz--Letters from the Emperor Joseph to
the Prince-father--Letters from the Prince de Ligne to his son--The
Governor of Kaminiecz--The Prince’s return to Vienna--Siege of
Belgrade.
In the autumn of the year 1786 the Prince de Ligne received an
invitation from the Czarina, asking him to join her at St. Petersburg,
and accompany her in a journey she was about to undertake in the
Crimea. This invitation was secretly intended to prepare an interview
that was to take place at Kherson between Catherine and Joseph II.
Turkey had ceded the Crimea and Kouban to Russia in January 1784.
These acquisitions had only aggravated Catherine’s thirst for
further conquest. She already betrayed her ambition in the smallest
details: one of her grandsons had been named Alexander, and the other
Constantine; the Crimea was now again called Tauris; but her ambitious
designs did not end there. The Empress received the Prince de Ligne as
if he had only left her the day before, informed him of her plans, and
at the end of December sent him back to Joseph with the itinerary of
her journey and the result of his secret mission.
Under the pretext of visiting her new dominions the Czarina undertook
on the 15th of January 1787 a journey through the southern provinces of
her empire. She was accompanied by her favourite, Count Momonoff, and
by the ambassadors of France, Austria, and England, and by the Prince
de Ligne, who met her at Kief. “I occupied,” he says, “the position of
a diplomatic jockey.”
She was also accompanied by a considerable number of princes and
Russian lords. Her flotilla consisted of eighty-four ships, manned by
three thousand seamen.
The King, Stanislaus-Augustus, awaited the Czarina at Kanew. She
slowly descended the Borysthenes in a galley as magnificent as that of
Cleopatra. The Prince de Ligne left the flotilla in a small Zaporavian
canoe to announce Catherine’s arrival to the King. An hour later the
great lords of the empire came to fetch him in a gunboat brilliantly
decorated. Whilst stepping on board he said, with the inexpressible
charm of manner and pleasant tone of voice so peculiar to him:
“Gentlemen, the King of Poland has requested me to commend to you Comte
Poniatowski.” The dinner was very gay, and while the King’s health was
drunk, three salutes were fired by the artillery of the whole fleet.
Afterwards the King gave a supper to all the nobles of his retinue. The
fleet had cast anchor before the palace improvised for him; no sooner
had night closed in than a general conflagration on the neighbouring
shores of the Borysthenes simulated an eruption of Vesuvius, lighting
up the valleys, the mountains, and the river in a most glorious
manner. The glare of the fires lit up the fantastic display of the
brilliant squadrons of Polish cavalry. Stanislaus had spent three
months and three millions in order to see the Czarina for three hours.
She had loved him, but, long ago, this love had been replaced by
others; and now she slowly and cruelly tore from him the shreds of
the kingdom she had formerly bestowed. They separated with all the
appearance of friendliness, but during their short meeting the King had
had time to perceive that there was no hope of reviving the past.
This was the last interview that took place between Catherine and
Stanislaus. Eight years later she dethroned him with her own hands.
The Emperor Joseph met the Czarina at Kherson, and they continued
together on their travels, which resembled those of a fairy tale. “I
still fancy I am dreaming,” says the Prince de Ligne, “when I recall
that journey, in an enormous coach large enough for six people, quite
a triumphal chariot in fact, studded all over with precious stones,
and drawn by sixteen horses of the Tartar race. How, as I sat between
two persons, on whose shoulders I would sink at times, overcome by the
heat, I would be startled by such snatches of conversation as these:--
“‘I have thirty millions of subjects, I am told, counting only the
males.’
“‘And I, twenty-two,’ replied the other, ‘counting all.’
“They made imaginary conquests of towns and provinces, as if that
were nothing at all, whilst I kept on saying: ‘Your Majesties will
reap nothing but worry and misery,’ to which the Emperor would reply,
addressing himself to the Empress: ‘Madame, we treat him too well;
he has no respect for us. Did you know, Madame, that he had been in
love with one of my father’s mistresses, and at the time of my first
successes in society he outwitted me in the affections of a marchioness
who was an object of adoration to both of us, and as beautiful as an
angel?’”
During the journey the Empress had made a gift of the site of
Iphigenia’s rock to the Prince de Ligne. All those who possessed land
in the Crimea, such as the Mourzas, took the oath of fidelity to
Catherine, and the Prince de Ligne followed suit. The Emperor came up
to him, and taking hold of his order of the Golden Fleece, said: “You
are the first one of this order who has sworn allegiance together with
the long-bearded lords.”
“Sire,” said de Ligne, with a malicious air, “it is better both for
your Majesty and myself that I should take it with the Tartar lords
than with those of Flanders.”
The Emperor had just heard of the rebellion in that country, of which
we shall speak later on.
After their return from this fairy-like journey the war against
the Turks was decided, and the Austro-Russian alliance concluded.
Preparations for war were being quietly carried on when, all at once,
Turkey assumed the offensive by arresting the Russian ambassador, M.
de Bulgakoff, and confining him in the Castle of the Sept Tours (Seven
Towers). On the 18th of August 1787 Catherine declared war.
The Empress thoroughly relied on the alliance she had just concluded
with Joseph II.; nevertheless she inquired of the Prince de Ligne:--
“What do you think the Emperor will do?”
“Have you any doubt, Madame? He will convey to you his good intentions,
perhaps even his best wishes; and as neither will cost him anything, I
am sure his first letter will be full of them.”
The Prince was mistaken; the Emperor was ready to appear on the field
with a hundred thousand men,[58] and had just appointed the Prince
General-Commander-in-chief (feldzeugmeister) of all the infantry.
Unfortunately the letter bringing this news crossed one the Prince had
written to the Emperor asking his permission to serve as a general in
the Russian army, and at the same time offering to keep His Majesty
well informed of the Russian plans of campaign and military operations.
The Emperor granted this request.
The Prince began preparing for his departure in October 1787. “I
received,” he says, “from the Emperor a letter concerning his ally that
showed both his kindness and genius; I made a summary of it that served
as a plan of campaign, for none had as yet been conceived at Saint
Petersburg. They had no idea by what end to begin.”
Before starting to join Potemkin[59] the Prince wished to give a
ball to the prettiest women at Court, according to their request, but
was unable to do so, as the war operations were already far advanced.
“The army,” he was told, “may perhaps be already under the walls of
Oczakoff; five thousand Turks have been killed by Souvaroff at Kinburn.
The Turkish fleet is retiring; start at once.”
He left on the 1st of November 1787. “Good heavens!” he writes, “what
weather! what roads! what a winter! what headquarters! By nature I am
confiding, and always believe I am loved. I thought the Prince, judging
by his own words, would be delighted to see me. I only observed six
months later the embarrassed manner in which he received me on the day
of my arrival. I threw myself into his arms and said:--
“‘When shall we take Oczakoff?’
“‘Who knows!’ he said; ‘the garrison numbers eighteen thousand men; I
have not as many in the whole of my army. I am short of everything, and
the most unhappy of mortals, unless God helps me.’
“‘What!’ I replied, ‘the story of Kinburn, the departure of the fleet,
has all that been of no use? I have travelled day and night, for they
told me you had already begun the siege!’
“‘Alas,’ he answered, ‘God grant that the Tartars do not get here,
and lay waste the whole country with fire and sword. God has saved me
(I shall never forget it). He allowed me to collect behind the banks
of the Bog what remained of the troops. It is a miracle that I have
retained till now as much of the country as I have.’
“‘Where are the Tartars?’ said I.
“‘Everywhere,’ he replied, ‘and among them is a séraskier,[60] with a
large number of Turks, near Ackermann, twelve thousand men in Bender,
the Dniester is guarded, and there are six thousand men in Choczim.’”
There was not a word of truth in all this. Five months were spent in a
state of inactivity which would have been inexplicable had it not been
intentional. The Prince de Ligne was not long in perceiving that this
was the case, and punctually warned the Emperor of Austria.
During the long days of _far niente_ the Prince amused himself by
scribbling down his thoughts on little squares of paper, which, though
he appeared to attach no importance to them, he took care to preserve.
They were well worth keeping, to judge by the following:--
“Europe is in such a perfect mess at the present moment that I think
it a good time to reflect on the position of affairs. France writes,
but, unfortunately, the Empire reads. The soldiers of the Bishop of
Liege are at open war with the bankers of Spa. The Netherlands have
risen against their sovereign without knowing why. Soon, no doubt,
people will kill one another in the hope of gaining more freedom and
happiness. Austria, exposed to dangers at home, timidly threatens
both friend and foe, and is unable to distinguish one from the other.
England, who is never entirely of the same opinion, has a majority in
favour of Prussia, who has already fired a few shots in Holland! Proud
Spain, who formerly owned the invincible fleet, gets anxious as soon as
a single English vessel leaves port. Italy fears the lazzaroni and the
free-thinkers. Denmark watches Sweden, and Sweden watches Russia. The
Tartars, the Georgians, the Imarets, the Abyssinians, the Circassians,
kill the Russians. The journey to the Crimea alarms and irritates the
Sultan. The Egyptian and Scutari bashaws are warring with the Turks,
who, from two other sides, at a thousand leagues’ distance, are at the
same time attacking the two most powerful and important empires that
exist. We are called to arms, and I join the fray. Without ceasing to
be a spectator, I become an actor in the play. In my opinion all that
is taking place around me is nothing more than a kick in an anthill.
Are we anything better ourselves, poor mortals that we are?”
During this time the corps under Marshal Lascy[61] had opened the
campaign; the Emperor commanded in person, and Prince Charles, who had
not accompanied his father to Russia, served as major in the engineers.
The Prince soon distinguished himself at the siege of Sabacz, where he
superintended the opening of the trenches, and directed the batteries
which attacked the fort.
On the day of the assault, by means of a plank, he crossed the wide
deep moats which protected the approaches of the fortress; he was the
first to dash forward and scale the wall, and once on the top of the
ramparts, in spite of the efforts of the Turks, he held out his hand to
the soldiers who had followed him, helped them up, and was the first
to enter the town. The Emperor, who witnessed this brilliant exploit,
conferred on the Prince the rank of Colonel, and decorated him with
the order of Marie-Thérèse, without holding a chapter of the order--an
honour which was entirely without precedent. It so happened that the
garrison of Belgrade was carrying on such a heavy cannonading during
the ceremony that the Emperor Joseph, addressing the Prince, said:
“Even the Turks are taking part in your initiation, and celebrating
your valour and my justice.”
The Emperor himself announced to the Prince de Ligne his son’s
brilliant conduct: the pride and emotion of the father can only be
described in his own words. He writes to the Comte de Ségur:--
_8th May 1788._
“Ah! my friend, let me weep awhile; and read the following!
“‘THE EMPEROR JOSEPH TO THE PRINCE DE LIGNE.
“‘KILENACK, _25th April 1788_.
“‘We have just taken Sabacz:[62] our loss was small. The
feldzeugmeister, Rouvroy,[63] a brave man, as you know, received a
slight wound in the chest, which does not prevent him from dressing
himself or going out. Prince Poniatowski was shot in the thigh, and
though the bone is not injured the wound is somewhat serious. But
I must, my dear Prince, inform you of something else, which will
please you all the more that in it you will recognise the spirit
of your race; it is that your son Charles contributed for the most
part to the success of this enterprise, by the infinite pains that
he took in marking out the trenches for the batteries, and he was
_the first_ to scale the parapet and help up the rest. So I have
named him Lieutenant-Colonel, and have conferred on him the order
of Marie-Thérèse. It is a real pleasure to me to send you this
intelligence, as I am aware of the satisfaction it will give you,
knowing, as I do, your patriotism and your affection for your son.
“‘I leave to-morrow for Semlin.
“‘JOSEPH.’
“What modesty! The Emperor does not mention himself, though he was in
the midst of the firing. And how graciously and kindly expressed is
the account he sends me. On reading it over again I burst into tears.”
_8th May (continued from the above)._
“The messenger saw the Emperor himself firing musket shots with hearty
goodwill into the suburbs of Sabacz; and Marshal de Lascy tear up
some palings to point a cannon, which should protect my Charles by
attacking a turret from which a continual fire was being directed
against him. The Marshal would, I believe, have done it for any other,
but it had the appearance of personal and almost paternal kindness.
“The Marshal being rather exhausted, the Emperor fetched a barrel and
made him sit down, while he himself stood surrounded by his generals,
thus paying him a kind of homage.
“Here is a letter from Charles himself:--
“‘We have taken Sabacz. I have the cross. You may be sure, papa,
that I thought of you on going up the first to the assault.--Your
submissive and respectful son,
“‘CHARLES.’
“Could there be anything more touching! Would I had been there to give
him a hand! I can see that I have his esteem by the words, _I thought
of you_, but I should have deserved it still better. I feel too much
affected to write more. I embrace you, my dear Count.”
But it is with his son that the Prince gives himself up to all the
intensity of his feelings.
FROM POTEMKIN’S HEADQUARTERS AT ELISABETHGOROD.
_12th May 1788._
“What can I tell you, my dear Charles, that you do not already know of
my feelings on receiving from His Majesty a letter so full of kindness
and graciousness? This letter is worth more to you than any parchments
containing titles, diplomas, or patents--mere food for rats. It
contains such touching words for us both that, though I am getting
rather old to cry, it is impossible for me to refrain from doing so
whenever I read over that paragraph. All the Circassian generals and
officers, the Zaporogues, Tartars, Cabardians,[64] Germans, Russians,
Cossacks, etc.,--all came to me in crowds, to congratulate me with a
warmth I can never forget.
“The father and most tender friend of my Charles are assuredly deeply
touched at the honour you have won, and which surpasses anything I
have ever done in my life. But the General de Ligne has suffered
abominably.
“Imagine, my boy, what a delightful moment for both of us had I been
the first to accept your aid in clambering up that parapet, where you
arrived before any one else!
“Good heavens, what a fool one is at a distance! I, who at
Hühnerwasser would have calmly seen you shot through the arm--I am as
nervous as any woman,--a condition which is not far removed from that
of minister.[65] However, I have agreed with some regiments of light
horse to make a good slashing charge. I have never done anything of
the kind, except at the head of ten Uhlans against five or six drunken
Prussian hussars. You will admit that it was not the most memorable
action of this century. I cannot shut myself up in those squares, as
in a box, where one opens a door to come in or go out.
“One can always manage to command if one chooses on the day of
battle, so that I am perfectly certain, though I have not an army,
that nothing will happen where I am but what I choose; I have already
learnt all that is necessary, and am beginning to understand Russian.
Do you think now, my Charles, that I was right in always wishing you
to be an engineer? You have now shown genius,[66] as I knew you
would. But are you sure you are not slightly wounded, though you do
not say so?
“Do not let any of His Majesty’s messengers come to me without sending
me a letter. A thousand messages to my comrade Rouvroy, whose fate and
wound I envy. Poor Poniatowski![67] I tremble lest he should follow
in his father’s footsteps. He has already the same courage, the same
military intelligence, personal devotion to His Majesty, generosity,
etc., but I trust he will not have the same fate. Embrace him for me.”
The news of the taking of Sabacz had made a welcome break in the weary
existence the Prince’s father was leading; but Potemkin’s apathy made
him relapse into bad humour and impatience. He tried in vain to sting
his pride by making constant allusions to the storming of Sabacz,
but he had rightly guessed “that, either out of policy, ill-will, or
incapacity, the marshals were resolved, even before the campaign was
begun, on doing nothing.”
At last, wearied by this determined inaction, he wrote to Prince
Potemkin that he should leave the next day for Marshal Romanzoff’s[68]
camp in Ukrania.
“At last,” writes the Prince, “I have left those filthy entrenchments
which, in virtue of a few projecting angles, are supposed to represent
a fort; eight days more and I should have died of it. Potemkin nearly
drove me mad. Sometimes on good terms, sometimes on bad, at daggers
drawn or prime favourite, speaking or not speaking, but sitting up
sometimes till six in the morning to induce him at least to say one
word sensible enough to report,--I could no longer endure the whims of
such a spoilt child.”
Wearied to death by this horrible inaction, the Prince went to see why
Marshal Romanzoff was no better employed than Potemkin.
Romanzoff, as amiable as Potemkin was the reverse, loaded the Prince
with promises and attentions, all equally, false. At the end of a few
days Ligne was fully convinced that the two Commanders-in-Chief of the
Russian army were agreed on one point--“to play a trick on the Emperor
Joseph, and only begin the campaign in July, by which time the whole of
the Turkish forces would have been directed against the Austrians.”
The Prince de Ligne redoubled his efforts to stir up Potemkin. He wrote
to the Austrian ambassador at St. Petersburg, and to the Comte de
Ségur, urging them to inform the Empress of the situation; but though
himself in such favour at Court he never once wrote to Catherine. She
knew the motive of his silence, and was irritated at it; but she would
not complain, in case that, in a fit of frankness, the Prince should
say too much. “If I had chosen,” he says, “to write only once in praise
of Prince Potemkin and his operations,[69] I should have received
showers of presents in diamonds and serfs. Catherine would have been
very well pleased if I had deceived her; it would have been more
convenient for her to believe that all was going on well.”
In spite of his anger against the Russian Marshals the Prince de Ligne,
who was a connoisseur, sincerely admired the Muscovite nation and
soldiery.
“I see that the Russians,” he writes to the Comte de Ségur, “learn
the liberal arts in the same way that _le médecin malgré lui_ (the
doctor in spite of himself) took his degree. They are foot-soldiers,
sailors, sportsmen, priests, dragoons, musicians, engineers, actors,
cuirassiers, painters and surgeons. I see the Russians sing and dance
in the trenches, though they are never relieved, and remain in the
midst of shot and shell, of snow or mud, clever, clean, attentive,
respectful, obedient, trying to forestall their orders by divining them
in the eyes of their officers.”
The greatest pleasure the General de Ligne had was to write and receive
news of absent friends. His letters are so wonderfully graphic, the
slightest detail is invested with so much charm, that one is never
tired of reading them. Those he wrote to his son Charles are a perfect
diary of his life.
FROM MARSHAL ROMANZOFF’S HEADQUARTERS IN POLAND.
_8th June 1788._
“If you inquire, my dear Charles, how I am, I shall reply: Always the
same. I am continually with the armies and the marshals, trying to
make them do something. But the devil is with them, in spite of all
their Russian signs of the cross.
“The best thing I have done is to have left that quiz, that maker of
compliments, my admirer, as he calls himself, for Kaminiecz. Ah! if I
still had a heart, how terribly in love I should be! The governor’s
wife,[70] that magnificent Greek, known and admired all over the
world, drove me in a berlin within half a cannon’s range of Choczim,
from whence a few shots were fired over our heads.
“I confess that I felt more inclined to find out her weak point of
attack than to reconnoitre that of the fortress.
“I stay at her house; but what an infernal row goes on! A rattle of
chains all night; I thought there were ghosts. The fact is that her
husband, who is commandant of Kaminiecz, has all his work done by
convicts. What a contrast between their rascally countenances and the
beauty of her whom they serve, under the sway of the rod! Even the
cook is a convict; it is economical, but dreadful.
“I wish, my dear Charles, that Oczakoff (I must return to Potemkin,
for I am still more incapable of moving this man) may procure me
something glorious in your style. I shall be killed on your account,
for you must have a father worthy of you. _You thought of me_, you
say; you are sublime and touching. You have worked for me; I will work
for you. I send you a tender farewell from these five or six hundred
leagues distance.”
The Prince found Potemkin and his army just as he had left them, and he
writes to his son, who had recommended a Prussian officer to him:----
FROM THE CAMP IN THE DESERTS OF TARTARY.
Before OCZAKOFF, _30th July_.
“I will place your Prussian officer. I cannot make Prince Potemkin
advance as far as the Liman, but I can advance officers. I have made
generals, majors, etc.; but you have made your crop of laurels, and
can laugh at me.
“Always the same inaction, one-third through fear, one through spite,
and one through ignorance. I would wish, at the end of the war, to
have one-quarter of your glory in this campaign. Your letters are gay
and brave, like yourself; they bear your image.
“A fearful storm obliges me to go to bed. A cloud has burst over the
camp, and inundated the two pretty little houses I have erected under
my immense Turkish tent, so that I do not know where to put my foot.
Oh, oh! I am this moment informed that a major has been killed by
lightning in his tent; it falls nearly every day, catch it who may.
“The other day the arms of an officer of light cavalry had to be
amputated on account of the bite of a tarentula; as for lizards, no
one is in a better position than I am to assert that they are the
friend of man; for I live with them, and can trust them better than
my friends in this country. Sometimes I hear the wind rising, and have
my tent opened, but I shut it up again quickly; for the wind seems
to blow off a furnace. Oh! we do enjoy every sort of advantage here.
Shall I give you a specimen of Prince Repnin’s good taste? You know
the habits of the service here, the baseness of the inferiors, and the
insolence of the superiors. When Prince Potemkin makes a sign or drops
anything, twenty generals prostrate themselves to earth. The other day
seven or eight of them tried to help Prince Repnin off with his cloak:
‘No, gentlemen,’ he said; ‘the Prince de Ligne will kindly do it.’ A
good lesson! They have more refinement of mind than of heart, and they
felt it.
“Nevertheless, I rather play the victim; but Sarti[71] is here with an
excellent orchestra, and he has brought that music you know so well,
in which there are thirty C’s, thirty D’s, etc. Sometimes we have no
bread, only biscuits and macaroons; no apples or pears, but pots of
jam; no butter, but ices; no water, but every kind of wine; no wood
for the kitchen fire sometimes, but logs of aloës to burn for perfume.
We have here Madame Michel Potemkin, who is extremely beautiful;
Madame Skawrowski, another niece of the vizier or patriarch Potemkin
(for he arranges his religion also), very charming; and Madame
Samoiloff, another niece, still more lovely. I played a proverb for
her in this desert, and she seemed to like it, for she has since said:
‘Do play another _riddle_ for me.’
“I presented the other day to the Prince a blockhead sent to me
by a fool. One is called Marolles, the other is M. de X----, who
recommends him as head of the engineers, and destined to take Oczakoff.
“‘Good morning, General,’ he said, on entering, to the Prince, ‘I will
take that place for you in a fortnight. Have you any books here? Do
you know in Russia those of a M. Vauban and a certain Coëhorn?[72]
I should like to look them over before beginning.’ You may fancy
Potemkin’s astonishment. ‘What a man!’ he said to me, ‘I do not
know if he is an engineer, but I know he is French. Ask him a few
questions.’ I did so, and he admitted he was an engineer for roads and
bridges.
“Baron de Stad, who is here, delights me. He also is a thorough
Frenchman; annoying the Prince, unpleasant to every one, writing
charming verses, hating the petulance of Roger,[73] with whom he is
perpetually quarrelling, and going gallantly into action, though
declaring all the time that he is dying of fright. ‘Behold,’ says he,
‘how nature suffers; my horse himself trembles, and cares no more for
glory than I do.’ We have seen another personage, as ridiculous as
his name, which is Gigandé, a lieutenant in the guards of the Abbé de
Porentruy. Yesterday he was robbed. Furious, he exclaimed, with his
Swiss accent: ‘_Che me lèfe, che m’égorge les pieds pour aller tout
te suite faire mes blaintes à un chéneral et il me tit: ‘Si c’est un
soltat, che vous ferai rentre, mais, si c’est un officier, cela sera
tifficile._’[74]
“Another Frenchman, whose name is M. Second, came to consult me
about an affair of honour. ‘For I see, sir,’ he said, ‘that I shall
be forced to fight!’ I assured him that if he spoke in that way to
everybody he would have no need of a man of his own name; that was a
good piece of nonsense, was it not?
“Shall I tell you one of my innocent amusements? I place my
dromedaries in the way of the gilded staff, when by chance
‘_Marlborough s’en va-t-en guerre_’ (Marlborough goes off to the
wars).[75] The other day two or three generals were thrown, half the
escort upset, and the other half sent flying.
“Ah, Charles, when shall we meet again, at Stamboul or at Bel Œil?
If only the Emperor and my Russian General would not stand on such
ceremony about crossing the Save and the Bog as they would do to go
through a door, we should soon upset the _Sublime Porte_, and should
meet where I said. _Then, my dear Cinéas_, etc., etc. In the meanwhile
let us love each other wherever we are.”
On the Russian side the situation remained the same till October, and
during this time things went as badly as possible for Austria. This
disastrous campaign cost her thirty thousand men, killed in various
engagements, forty thousand carried off by the plague, the invasion of
the Banate, and several defeats in Bosnia. Ill with fatigue, in despair
at his want of success, alarmed at the complete rebellion in Flanders,
Joseph returned to Vienna almost broken-hearted. He determined to call
to his side the Prince de Ligne, and to give him, with Marshal Laudon,
the command of his army during the ensuing campaign. He sent Prince
Charles to carry the order to his father. We can imagine how welcome
was the arrival of the conqueror of Sabacz, and with what transports of
delight he was received. His father immediately prepared to depart, and
they arrived in Vienna at the end of November. Potemkin took Oczakoff
a fortnight later. It seemed as though he had waited Ligne’s departure
before deciding on the attack, and his jealous character justifies the
supposition. The winter was peacefully spent at Vienna, and Prince
Charles, absorbed in his new passion, did not seem afflicted at his
wife’s absence.
In the spring of 1789 the two Princes joined Marshal Laudon’s army.
General de Ligne commanded the right wing, and played an important part
at the siege of Belgrade, during which he displayed an indefatigable
energy. “I was all on fire myself,” he writes, “urged on by that
being,[76] who is more like a god than a man. Urged on by him, I urged
on the others. Bolza watched, and danced attendance. Funk fired,
Maillard[77] advanced. I thanked, begged, thundered, threatened,
commanded; all was done, and well done, in the twinkling of an eye.”
Prince Charles, who was Colonel, was in command, and energetically
seconded his father, who caught a violent fever during the siege, and
was confined to his bed for some days, at which he was very furious.
He writes to Marshal Lascy: “The Turkish Caïques have been venturing
too near Krieg-Insel (my headquarters). ‘We must give them a lesson,’
I said to my son, who at times engaged with my own, at others with
Marshal Laudon’s column of attack; Charles, with his usual liveliness,
immediately threw himself into a boat with my aides-de-camp, and,
followed by about forty other small boats, went off to attack the
Turkish Caïques.
“I directed the battle from my window, in spite of a diabolical attack
of fever, and almost killed myself screaming to an Italian, who
commanded my frigate, the _Marie-Thérèse_: ‘_Alla larga!_’ and words
which I dare not write. Out of patience I finally went myself to end
this very peculiar naval engagement.”
Belgrade was taken on the 8th of October 1789; Prince Charles had again
the honour of being first at the assault. Marshal Laudon, who was not
lavish of praise or flattery, wrote to the Prince de Ligne the most
complimentary letter, in which he said: “More than half the glory won
by the taking of Belgrade by right belongs to your Highness.”
The Emperor sent the Prince the cross of Commander of the Order of
Marie-Thérèse, accompanied by a dry and cold letter, whose purpose de
Ligne could not unravel; but he was still so ill with fever that both
cross and letter made but a slight impression. He solved the riddle
later on: Joseph II. had unjustly suspected him of having encouraged
the rebellion in Flanders.
FOOTNOTES:
[58] On 9th February 1788 Austria, in fulfilment of her alliance with
Russia, declared war with Turkey.
[59] Potemkin (Grégoire Alexandrowitch), Russian Field-Marshal, and the
most renowned favourite of Catherine II. He was born in September 1736,
in the suburbs of Smolensk, and died on 16th October 1791.
It is said that during the famous journey in Tauris he ordered
theatrical scenery to be constructed at intervals on the road along
which the Empress was expected to pass. This scenery represented in
the distance villages, towns, and cities, and he organised troops of
supernumerary actors, who simulated the rural population peacefully
pursuing their avocations. Although he was invested with offices and
dignities more profitable one than the other, he helped himself to
the State monies, and accepted bribes from foreign powers. Joseph II.
and Frederick the Great loaded him with presents and pensions, and
in consequence of their rivalry with regard to the Russian alliance,
the first created him Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, and the second
offered to assist him in obtaining for himself the Duchy of Courland.
He had no talent as a general in command, but was fortunate in having
under him good officers, who were able to carry on the war operations
against the Turks.
[60] Seraskier, general-in-chief in the Turkish army.
[61] Joseph-François-Maurice, Comte de Lascy, born at St. Petersburg
on 21st October 1725, and educated at Vienna. He was colonel when the
Seven Years War broke out. The services he rendered ensured him rapid
promotion; he distinguished himself during the campaign of 1778, and in
1788, as field-marshal, conducted the war against the Turks. He died at
Vienna on 4th November 1801.
[62] A fortified town in Servia, situated on the Save; 4000 inhabitants.
[63] Theodore, Baron de Rouvroy, born at Luxembourg in 1727. He entered
the Austrian service in 1753, and in 1765 received the cross of
commander of the order of Marie-Thérèse. He died 31st September 1789.
He was one of the most distinguished artillery generals in the Austrian
army.
[64] Inhabitants of Cabardia, a country situated on the northern slopes
of the Caucasus, and which, at that time, was not yet under Russian
dominion.
[65] The Prince was both General-in-Chief without an army corps and
Minister-plenipotentiary _in partibus_.
[66] A play upon words; “genius” and “engineer” in French being
expressed by the same word, _génie_.
[67] Prince Joseph Poniatowski was at that time lieutenant-colonel and
aide-de-camp to the Emperor of Austria. He entered the Polish army as
general in 1789. He had command of the army at Warsaw in 1809. The
Emperor Napoleon made him a Marshal of France.
At Sabacz the Turks took him for the Emperor Joseph, as he wore
the same uniform--a green coat with red facings, and a brilliant
decoration. He was killed by a shot while crossing the Elster on 19th
October 1813.
[68] Romanzoff (Pierre Alexandrowitch), born in 1725, was one of the
most celebrated Russian generals. He defeated Frederick the Second
at the battle of Kunersdorf. Appointed Commander-in-Chief of the
Russian army in 1770 during the war against the Turks, he obtained
several brilliant successes, and was named field-marshal. He was so
dissatisfied at sharing the command with Potemkin in 1787 that he did
not continue the campaign, and resigned his post. This motive may also
explain his inaction. He died on 17th December 1796.
[69] The Prince de Ligne relates that Prince Potemkin had only one
idea--that of forming a regiment of Jews, to be called Israelowsky.
“We already had a squadron whom I delighted in; for their long beards,
which reached to their knees, on account of their short stirrups,
and the fear they were in on horseback, gave them the appearance of
monkeys. The anxiety they felt could be read in their eyes, and the
long pikes they carried in a most comical manner made them look as
if they were trying to mimic the Cossacks. I do not know what cursed
_Pope_ (Russian priest) persuaded our Marshal that a corps of Jews was
contrary to the Holy Scriptures.”
[70] The famous Sophie de Witt was a Greek slave, stolen from the
Island of Chio. She attracted the notice of the French ambassador in a
street of Constantinople, and he had her taken care of and educated.
On his way to St. Petersburg the ambassador stopped at Kaminiecz; he
had brought Sophie with him. General de Witt, Governor of Bessarabia,
entertained the ambassador, and was so struck with the beauty of the
Greek slave that he fell desperately in love with her.
In order to deceive his guest, he arranged a hunting party, which was
to meet at a great distance from the fortress, and, excusing himself
on the ground of a sudden order, remained behind. Hardly had the
ambassador left than de Witt closed the gates, and celebrated his
marriage with Sophie. On returning in the evening, the ambassador
was much surprised to find the gates closed; an envoy was sent, who
informed him of what had taken place; he thought it useless to contend
against an accomplished fact, and philosophically resigned himself to
his ward’s marriage.
[71] Sarti (Joseph), a celebrated Italian composer, born at Faënza in
1730. In 1785 he was called to St. Petersburg by Catherine II. Under
the protection of Potemkin he was appointed in 1793 Director of the
Conservatorium at Catherinoslaff, with an annual revenue of thirty-five
thousand roubles; he was allowed free lodging and fifteen thousand
roubles for travelling expenses. Admitted into the ranks of the Russian
nobility, he died at Berlin in 1802.
[72] Coëhorn (Menno, Baron de), celebrated engineer, contemporary
and rival of Vauban. He defended Namur against Vauban, and for two
days repulsed the attack on Fort Wilhelm, but at last succumbed to
superior numbers. He directed, under the Prince de Nassau-Saarbruck’s
orders, the sieges of Venloo and Ruremonde, which, owing to his skilful
operations, were obliged to capitulate. He had a great reputation in
Germany. Born in 1641 in Friesland, he died on 17th March 1704.
[73] Comte Roger de Damas (born in 1765, died in 1823). At the age of
fifteen he was already an officer in the French army; his bravery,
his chivalrous character, his quick intellect, made him the observed
of all. “François First, the great Condé, and the Marshal de Saxe,
would have wished to have a son like him,” says the Prince de Ligne.
“In the midst of the heaviest cannonade he is giddy as a cockchafer,
noisy, the most relentless singer, shouting the finest opera airs,
making the maddest quotations in the midst of the firing, and yet
judging perfectly all that goes on. War does not intoxicate him, but
he is full of a genial ardour, such as one feels after a supper ...
amiable, beloved by all, what is called a nice Frenchman, good-looking,
an excellent fellow, and a well-bred gentleman of the Court of France:
such is Roger de Damas.”
[74] “I get up, I become footsore with running about to complain to the
general, and he says to me: ‘If it is a soldier, your things will be
returned; but if it is an officer, it will be difficult.’”
[75] Popular French song.
[76] Marshal Laudon.
[77] MM. Bolza, Funk, and Maillard were the Prince’s three
aides-de-camp.
X
The four years’ Diet--The Court at Warsaw, and the Princesse
Charles--Festivities of the great Polish lords--Count Vincent Potocki
and his two wives--The Princesse Charles and Count Potocki--Flight to
Niemirow--Two divorce suits.
The Turkish war had seemingly caused a happy diversion from Polish
affairs, and for the last two or three years that country had enjoyed
a most unusual state of peace. Russia, entirely absorbed by her
important wars in Turkey and in Sweden, was apparently oblivious
of her existence. Austria, on her side, took little heed, and was
satisfied with the large share that had been ceded to her in the first
dismemberment that had taken place. But this lull could not continue.
Prussia was secretly making overtures to the Poles, and trying to
prevent Stanislaus from sending his promised reinforcements to the
Russians.
The Polish nobility, always restless and disunited, were anxious to
take advantage of Russia’s difficulties, but could not agree on the
course likely to ensure success. The majority, however, tempted by
Prussia’s secret promises, were disposed to listen to her advances, and
conclude with her a defensive alliance. A new constitution, more in
harmony with the actual state of Poland, was also a question of debate,
and the public mind, now thoroughly roused, anticipated with increasing
interest the meeting of the Diet.[78]
The King summoned it to meet on the 6th of October 1788. The arrival
of all the nuncios, accompanied by their numerous retinues, part of
which came from the most distant Palatinates, imparted to Warsaw
an unusually animated appearance; and the town offered at that time
attractions of a most unique character.
The great Polish lords, who habitually lived on their estates,
had retained manners and customs that partook of an uncivilised
magnificence. They nearly all possessed palaces in Warsaw, but only
inhabited them during the Diets--that is to say, for six weeks every
two years; and these large residences presented the most curious
mixture of luxury and penury. After passing through empty halls,
where the ceilings were falling to pieces, and the hangings were all
mouldy from the damp, one came upon drawing-rooms with ornamented
frescoes, and with gold and blue vaulted ceilings. The ante-rooms were
crowded with lacqueys in tattered liveries, and with poor gentlemen
who, attending as servants upon the great lords, proudly wore the
ancient Polish costumes. Though they did not give at Warsaw, as in the
Palatinates, gigantic feasts, during which the toasts were accompanied
by a salute of artillery, yet they did not completely abandon all the
old customs, and the master of the house would still occasionally
honour the lady of his thoughts by sending round her tiny shoe, full of
champagne or Tokay.
The tone of the best French society reigned at the Polish Court with
a mixture of oriental peculiarities. European good taste was combined
with that of Asia, and the polished manners of civilised countries did
not exclude the hospitality common to those beyond the pale.
A revival took place in Polish literature during the reign of
Stanislaus-Augustus. The King patronised learning, and encouraged
to his utmost the reorganisation of the universities. After the
suppression of the Jesuits the funds obtained by the sale of their
property were entirely applied to this object. A regular committee was
appointed to superintend the national education. The Bishop of Wilna
was one of its most influential members; he created at his own expense
a professorship of anatomy at the university of Wilna, which was the
first that existed in Poland.[79]
During the reign of Stanislaus-Augustus the Court was celebrated
for its pleasures, its love intrigues, and its pretty women; their
beauty had become proverbial. Among the beauties of that time were
the Princess Lubomirska, whom we have already heard of under the name
of Princesse Maréchale; her sister-in-law, the fascinating Princess
Czartoryska, a Fleming by birth; the Countess Potocka, an Ossolinska
by birth; and the Princess Charles of Courland. The two latter were
really beautiful, and all four were intelligent women. It was asserted
that the first one made the fortune of those she loved, the second
robbed them of it, and the two others simply enjoyed themselves without
thinking of anything else. The Princess Langorouska and the Countess
Branicka, the Princess André Poniatowska, sister-in-law to the King,
the Princess Lubomirska, a Haddik by birth, also ranked high at Court,
where all the affairs of the State were the mainspring of society. The
King, who was weak, indulgent, and always in love, was governed by the
favourite of the moment.[80] The Prince, during his short stay at
Warsaw, soon perceived these weak points, and he says: “The King is too
honest a man with women, as he is indeed with all his subjects; he is
genuinely in love, and inconstant with the greatest possible sincerity;
and thus he often throws himself into the arms of his opponents,
deserting and ruining his own cause.”
Such was the Court at which the Princess Charles was to shine. Her
reputation for intelligence, beauty, and coquetry having already
attracted the attention of all, her Polish nationality, elegance,
talents, and the evident pleasure she showed on returning to her native
land, delighted her fellow-countrymen.
Her empty palace, rapidly metamorphosed by her own able hands, became
one of the most elegant in Warsaw, and she availed herself of the
opportunity to display the remarkable domestic qualities she possessed,
and which had been so little appreciated by her mother-in-law. During
the latter time of her stay at Bel Œil her husband had forbidden her to
ride, on account of her delicate health; she now amply made up for that
privation. The Prince-Bishop, who thoroughly spoilt her, gave her the
most beautiful horses, and she might be seen every morning on horseback
escorted by several young noblemen who were perfect horsemen, as are
all the Poles. She built a theatre in her palace, and gratified her
love of acting to her heart’s content.
Freed from the supervision that oppressed her at Bel Œil, Hélène
abandoned herself without constraint to the irresistible charms of
this life of pleasure. She forgot the past, her husband, and her
daughter even; the Princesse Charles de Ligne no longer existed--Hélène
Massalska alone remained.
Winter was rapidly drawing to a close, and the Princess still gave
no thought to Vienna. The de Ligne family, justly offended at her
prolonged absence, preserved a disdainful silence.
The Prince-Bishop had returned to Wilna during the vacation of the
Diet, but his niece, who wished to enjoy the summer season, just then
beginning, remained alone at Warsaw.
The King, his family, and the most important personages at Court, had
elegant country-houses in the suburbs, where they indulged in the most
sumptuous and original festivities. The greatest luxury was displayed
in these entertainments, where each host endeavoured to surpass his
neighbour in planning surprises and unforeseen effects. The first one
at which the Princess Charles appeared was given by the Princess André
Poniatowska. “The heat on that day had been suffocating; the Prince led
his visitors to a grotto formed by an artificial rock, from which fell
a cascade, imparting by its very sound a cool and agreeable sensation.
Then they all went into the grotto, where they rested for a few minutes
on the soft mossy banks, after which the Prince proposed a walk in the
park. They entered a shady avenue leading to a door, which was hidden
in the foliage; he touched a spring, the door flew open, and disclosed
a magnificent circular hall, splendidly illuminated, and painted with
frescoes representing allegorical subjects; it was surrounded by
niches in the walls containing Turkish divans, which were covered with
the richest brocades. The back of these recesses was of a dead gold,
contrasting marvellously with the black hair and delicate complexion
of the Polish ladies who came to rest in them. They had barely seated
themselves when strains of music were heard, which seemed to descend
mysteriously from the skies. Suddenly the floor opened, and a table,
magnificently laid out, slowly ascended, as if at the touch of a
fairy’s wand.” The King seated himself, and motioned the desired guests
to their places, Princesse Hélène being among the number.
Stanislaus was most agreeably disposed; he was fond of conversation,
and set every one at ease. He liked to speak on art and literature;
his mind, which was cultivated, though without much depth, appeared at
these entertainments under its most favourable aspect, Paris and France
were the topics of conversation, and as they recalled the delightful
past, the King took pleasure in questioning Hélène about the people
whom he had known.
When supper was over they again went into the park, and wandered about
in the beautiful moonlight, returning only to Warsaw when the night was
far advanced.
Hélène had become particularly intimate with the Princess Czartoryska,
so passionately loved by Lauzun, and of whom he has left a charming
description.[81] The Princess’s residence was entirely different from
any of the others; for Powinski was laid out in what we now call the
_realistic_ style.
Each member of the family occupied a cottage, the exact reproduction
of a peasant’s hut; it was made with trunks of trees laid one on the
other, cemented together by a mixture of earth and straw: “Madame
la Princesse inhabited a very large hut; those of the children and
servants were smaller. This group of cottages looked like a village in
the midst of an immense park; but, on entering one of them, one was
struck by the sumptuousness of the apartments which greeted the eye.
The finish and elegance of the decorations were on a scale of which one
single detail will give an idea. The bathroom of the Princess was lined
from top to bottom with tiles of Dresden china, painted with the utmost
delicacy, and each representing a small picture: they numbered, it is
said, three thousand.
“After leaving these would-be cottages, and crossing a part of the
park, one came upon an enormous Turkish tent, of a magnificent and
curious appearance. It had belonged to the Vizier, and was taken
during the war between the Russians and the Turks. The interior was
ornamented with Oriental hangings and trophies of Turkish arms, which
were exceedingly beautiful. On the ground were rich carpets, and piles
of gold-embroidered cushions used as seats made the illusion perfect.
Behind the heavy curtains sounds of Turkish music were heard, and
servants dressed in Eastern costumes served pipes and coffee on small
low tables, inlaid with mother-of-pearl.” Every reception-day the park,
lakes, rivers, and bridges were illuminated, and supper was served the
whole evening in a large pavilion covered with creepers, and open on
all sides. A number of small tables were laid out, and at each one of
the ladies presided. A ball was organised in the Princess’s cottage,
where they danced most of the night.
After enjoying these gaieties for some time, Hélène joined her uncle
at Werky. With the exception of a few short holidays, the Diet,
contrary to the usual custom, sat without interruption and without
fresh elections till the year 1792. During these four years, and
notwithstanding the critical nature of the political questions under
discussion, the Court of Stanislaus presented an unusually brilliant
aspect, which, however, was not destined to last.
While the Diet was sitting all the Crown officials were obliged by
their duties to reside in Warsaw. Amongst those who attracted the
most notice was the Lord High Chamberlain, Count Vincent Potocki.
He belonged to one of the most illustrious families in Poland, and
possessed immense landed estates and palaces of regal magnificence. His
father, Stanislaus-Potocki, Palatine of Kiew, was the nephew and godson
of the King Stanislaus-Leczinski, and therefore first cousin of the
late Queen of France.
Although at this time the Lord Chamberlain was nearly thirty-eight
years of age, he passed for one of the most fascinating men at Court.
Gifted with a keen and refined intellect, very careful of his own
interests, a favourite with women, and always on the best of terms with
influential men, he knew the art of being successful with every one.
His first wife was Ursule Zamoiska,[82] niece of King
Stanislaus-Augustus; they had no children, and were divorced at the end
of a few years. Divorces were of such frequent occurrence in Poland,
and had become such an established custom, that this event made no
difference in the Count’s position with the King. Shortly after her
divorce Princess Zamoiska married the Count Mniseck, and Count Vincent
himself married in 1786 the Countess Micielska, by whom he had two
sons. It was just at the time of the birth of his second son that the
Count was summoned by his duties to Warsaw. The Countess remained at
Ukrania, in a property near Niemirow, their habitual residence, her
health not yet permitting her to travel.
The Lord Chamberlain, on arriving at Warsaw, met the Princesse Hélène
at his cousins, Mesdames Jean and Severin Potocka; he was presented to
her, and soon became one of the most faithful followers of her little
Court. Hitherto Hélène, like a real coquette, had noticed all her
admirers without seeming to distinguish any, but it was soon apparent
that she received Count Vincent with marked favour. Her habits changed
entirely, she went much less into society, and was only seen at the
houses which the Count himself habitually frequented. He showed the
greatest reserve in his intercourse with the Princess. Either from
policy or prudence, he manifested no eagerness, and even affected to
avoid meeting her too often; it was easy, however, for an attentive
observer to see that he was flattered at the distinction with which he
was treated by a young, beautiful, and most attractive woman.
Hélène, who was in love for the first time in her life, gave herself
up completely to the feelings which influenced her. Without admitting
it to herself, she felt keenly the Count’s coldness of manner towards
her, and endeavoured to find out its cause; she thought he disapproved
of her worldly pursuits, and she hoped to please him by giving them up:
the pleasure parties, the brilliant cavalcades, were all abandoned. She
courted solitude, and in her letters to her friends betrayed, unawares,
her secret thoughts: here is an answer from the Princesse Henri
Lubomirska, then living in Paris, which shows that her passion was no
longer a secret:--
PARIS, _15th October 1789_.
“At last, pussie, I have received a letter from you, dated the
24th of September. It is a thousand and a hundred thousand years
since I had heard from you, and I even felt a little cross, I must
confess. But, after seeing in your letter such big phrases as _actual
situation_, _settled for ever_, etc., I have cooled down, for, like
Germain in _La Feinte par Amour_,[83] ‘What I am not told I know
nevertheless.’ Really I am sorry that I cannot see you in _this new
situation, which makes solitude_ so precious. You must be very funny,
not that I think the sentimental style altogether unbecoming to you;
there are privileged beings whom every phase suits, and this can be
said of you more than of anybody; but I cannot suppress a certain
curiosity,--forgive me for it, my pet. Your happiness is my most
ardent wish, and I am more interested than ever in desiring it, since
the longer it lasts the longer you will remain with us. Tell me what
terms you are on with Madame de Mniseck;[84] I have good reasons for
asking, and you will understand them; but do not mention my question
to anybody, and when you see the Lord Chamberlain, present him with my
compliments.
“Is it true that he is irrevocably settled at Warsaw, and has given up
Niemirow?
“By the bye, why were you astonished that in a letter dated from Paris
I should have sent you the Comte Auguste’s[85] compliments? It was not
on the high-road, but here, where he is deputy at the States-General,
that I saw him. I will not mention my health; it is too tiresome a
subject. Neither will I write about what goes on here, as political
matters do not interest you much; and, moreover, you see everything
in the newspapers. So good-bye, my puss; write often; you know that
your letters are always a great pleasure to me. Are you still fond of
riding and going to the theatre? I am afraid you have given up all
these amusements. Forgive my surmises; at a distance of five hundred
leagues one may sometimes make a mistake, and see things in a wrong
light; but at least believe that no distance can diminish the tender
interest I feel for you.”
Evidently Hélène’s friend knew perfectly all that was going on; her
question with regard to the Comtesse de Mniseck proves it. She wished
to know on what footing the two young women were with each other.
Hélène had naturally become intimate with her. Madame de Mniseck was
only too glad that the Count should be faithless to her successor. We
have already seen that Hélène was extremely worried by the Count’s
coldness and reserve towards herself; she could not refrain from
mentioning it to Madame de Mniseck, who, according to the singular
Polish habit, had remained on perfectly courteous terms with her first
husband. It is not necessary to add that the word _love_ was never
mentioned between them; they only recognised an “affectionate regard,”
and Hélène implored her friend to discover the cause of the Count’s
strange behaviour. Madame de Mniseck graciously fulfilled this strange
commission, and reassured Hélène so completely that she wrote as
follows to the Count:--
“Madame de Mniseck has just told me that you have spoken of me in
affectionate terms to her, and that you reproach yourself with having
left me for three months in doubt as to your sentiments.
“I am deeply touched at this; your affection is precious to me, and
will always be so, and, as I felt that I had not been in fault, I was
sure your good heart would bring you back to me sooner or later.”
It is evident that little by little the intimacy between the Count
and Hélène was increasing. Perhaps he was unconsciously fascinated by
the very great charm of the young Princess? Perhaps in the Bishop of
Wilna’s immense fortune he hoped to find a resource for freeing his
lands from their heavy mortgages? It is difficult to tell, for, in this
circumstance, as in all those connected with the Count, the motive of
his conduct remains an enigma.
Whatever the reason, he accepted the delicate responsibility of
managing Hélène’s affairs, which had been in a state of great confusion
for some time. The Count had an undoubted capacity for business--a
rare quality in a Polish noble; they generally know how to spend their
fortune better than how to manage it.
The advice which he gave the Princess was a pretext for frequent
interviews, which always took place in the presence of a third person,
either a secretary or a young lady.[86] One day, however, Hélène
received a note from the Count begging for a private interview.
Surprised and disturbed at the receipt of these few lines, Hélène,
without reflecting on their undoubted significance, replied that she
would grant his request, but only on condition that he would remember
she was another man’s wife.
The Count arrived at the appointed time, and after a few minutes of the
most trivial conversation, Hélène, agitated and trembling, asked him,
without reflecting on the purport of her words, why he had demanded
this interview. He answered rather coldly that she appeared to be aware
of it already; and he then made her a regular declaration. The young
Princess, carried away by the violence of her feelings, admitted that
she loved him as she had never loved any one before, but that she was
determined that this confession should lead to no result so long as
they had not each recovered their liberty.
The Count calmly replied that he was proud of the distinction
conferred, that it was sufficient for his happiness, and that his
reserve and respect would prove that he was an honourable man. He then
made a deep obeisance and retired, leaving Hélène in a most agitated
frame of mind.
She felt more humiliated than satisfied with what had taken place; for,
in accordance with a very natural sentiment, she had wished to maintain
a discreet behaviour, with the intention of taking all the credit to
herself; she had prepared to combat an ardent lover, and she had found
herself face to face with a man who was able not only to master his
feelings, but was even more reasonable than she was.
Dissatisfied with herself, with him, and with the rash admission she
had just made, she wrote and tore up three or four letters after his
departure; at last she sent him the following:--
“I have tried three times to write to you, without having been able
to express the agitation of my heart. How changed are my prospects
since yesterday! I feel humiliated, degraded.... I granted the very
first request you made, but I wished to place between us a barrier
which your delicacy of feeling would respect. On reflection I perceive
that my surrender has only added to my imprudence. I have shown you my
weakness, whilst you have shown me how honour should control nature. I
forgot myself whilst you remembered; this is not the moment to claim
your esteem, time alone will restore it to me.
“_P.S._--My thoughts are so full of yesterday’s events that I have not
been able to close my eyes. Can it be possible that a single day should
thus influence my life; I feel that, henceforth, it is yours, and yours
alone!”
Hélène spoke truly, for this affection, already so deeply rooted, was
to last all her life.
It appears that the Count replied in a way that sufficed to dispel the
anxiety of the young Princess; for he received the following note from
her, which we find carefully preserved amongst her other letters.[87]
“The few words you have written have filled me with joy. I read and
reread them ten times whilst dressing, and I found the pastime a sweet
one. I shall see you this evening at Madame Jean’s.”[88]
We do not possess any of the letters which the Count wrote at that
time; but, judging by Hélène’s answers, he must have been a jealous
and despotic man. She submitted to his tyranny in a most extraordinary
manner. He insisted on her burning all the letters she had received
from her husband and her friends, and made so severe a selection among
her numerous acquaintances at Warsaw, that little by little he narrowed
her sphere to a small circle, in which he reigned supreme; Hélène
accepted everything.
“I wrote to you last night, and intended sending off my note this
morning,” she writes, “but when I awoke it was too late.
“What is it that worries you? Tell me at once. If a complete sacrifice
of all that displeases you can secure your peace of mind, say but one
word, and it will cost me nothing. I shall consider myself the gainer
if, by giving up everything, I am able to make you happy and contented.
“If these ladies had not insisted on my going with them, I would
willingly have stayed at home.
“With you alone I have enough to occupy my heart and mind without
requiring the presence of others.”
About this time, that is, towards the end of 1790, the Comtesse
Vincent, who had completely recovered her health, left Ukrania, and
joined her husband at Warsaw. It was impossible to prevent her return,
and equally impossible to conceal from her the growing intimacy between
the Lord Chamberlain and the Princesse de Ligne, whose reputation of
coquetry and beauty had already reached her ears.
The Comtesse Anna adored her husband, and in spite of all his efforts
to hide the truth from her she soon discovered it, and absolutely
refused to admit the Princess within her doors. “I shall never
consent,” she said to her husband, “to receive the woman who has robbed
me of your affection, whatever may be the nature of your intimacy.” The
Count, very much surprised at this unexpected resistance on her part,
vainly endeavoured to dispel his wife’s suspicion, but when Hélène
called on the Countess she found the door closed. Mortally wounded by
this affront, she gave way to all the violence of her character; she
declared to the Count that she insisted on his compelling his wife to
receive her, adding that she could never rest under an insult that
dishonoured her in the eyes of the world. The Count, after trying in
vain to calm her, finally flew into a passion, and after a terrible
scene abruptly left her. Utterly upset by the manner in which the Count
had left her on the previous day, Hélène sent him the very next morning
these few lines, written in such a state of agitation as to be almost
illegible:--
“I am writing to you without knowing how to begin. What a scene! I
am still quite unnerved by it; you have left me, abandoned me, and
nothing remains to alleviate my despair. I am alone in the world. I
have neglected my friends, broken all ties, burnt under your eyes all
the proofs of the affection which my husband once bestowed on me. I
have destroyed secrets, confidences, assurances of tenderness from the
friends of my childhood, and yesterday you retracted the few words of
affection which have at times escaped your lips. Who will console me in
my affliction? I leave it to you to imagine what remains after this.
Good-bye, my dear Vincent; in any case, should I meet you again, you
will always be the eternal object of my affections, and should nothing
bring you back to me, that of my eternal regrets. In any case you alone
will occupy all my thoughts, and possess till death all my affection.
“If you are determined never to see me again, return my letters, and
at the end of this one write: _Adieu_. This sentence, to be decreed by
your hand, is the only favour I solicit from you.”
This note was returned to the Princess, a few minutes later, by the
messenger who had taken it. The seal was unbroken,[89] but on it were
traced two lines, in the Comtesse Anna’s own handwriting, with the
following words: “The Count left this morning for Niemirow.” This news
filled Hélène with dismay; she fancied the Countess rejoicing at her
grief, triumphing in his departure, and preparing to join her husband
and her children. A mad idea shot through her brain; she rang at once,
and ordered a post-chaise to be brought round immediately. Half an
hour later the Princess threw herself into the carriage, accompanied
by only one of her women, and after a journey of astounding rapidity
arrived at Niemirow a few hours after the Count.
The latter had left Warsaw merely to escape from a position that was
no longer bearable, and without any settled resolution. The unexpected
arrival of Hélène completely unnerved him; her beauty, her tenderness,
her despair, the rashness of her conduct in thus sacrificing her
reputation, all combined to move and perplex him, and the recollection
of poor Comtesse Anna could not contend against the fascination of the
moment. Hélène carried the day, and when the emotion of the first few
moments was over they agreed to ask for a divorce on both sides.
The Princess, dreading lest the Count should change his mind, urged
that their plans should be carried out without delay, and the very next
day three letters were despatched from Niemirow, the first addressed
to the Comtesse Anna, the second to the Prince de Ligne, and the third
to the Bishop of Wilna. The Count offered his wife the custody of their
two sons, besides a large annuity, if she would consent to the divorce.
The Princess requested that her daughter Sidonie should be sent back
to her, and that the Prince-Bishop and a trustee appointed by her,
and invested with her full authority, should settle all questions of
interest with the de Ligne family. Then, in a letter to her uncle, she
informed him of her intended divorce, asking him not to withdraw his
sympathy from her, and help her in the settlement of her affairs.
The Comtesse Anna was in total ignorance of what had taken place; her
husband’s letter told her the sad truth. The unhappy woman could as yet
hardly believe in the reality of the blow which had fallen upon her.
She had scarcely been married four years, and her unvarying gentleness
and blameless character ought to have secured to her the lasting
affection of the husband she adored, and whose fondest wish had been
fulfilled by the birth of two sons. She still hoped that this intimacy
would be but a passing fancy, and refused to consent to a divorce.
Her answer was simple and touching:--
“Have you forgotten,” she said, “that we married out of mutual
sympathy, and not only with the consent but by the wish of our parents?
These ties were to last for ever; and God sanctioned and blessed
them by granting us children. You have sometimes been weak, but I
shall still persevere, being fully persuaded that both my duty and my
happiness are involved....
“I shall always remember that when Francis was born you were on your
knees in the adjoining room, praying to God for me and for our child.
You loved us then, and if you searched your inmost heart, you would
still find these two sentiments there, for I believe nothing could ever
efface them.
“You see my heart and soul laid bare before you; read your own; one
word, only one, and I will forget everything; I await it with the
greatest impatience.
“Your very humble and very obedient servant,
ANNA POTOCKA.”
* * * * *
This letter and many others remained without effect; the Lord
Chamberlain had already made up his mind. Not only was he completely
under the charm of Hélène’s fascination, but, as we said before,
the prospect of the immense fortune she would possess singularly
strengthened his determination.
FOOTNOTES:
[78] This Diet was called the Grand or Constitutional Diet; it lasted
four years, and decreed hereditary rights to the throne, religious
liberty, the maintenance of a permanent army, and a new distribution
of taxes, affecting also the nobility. See Ferrand’s _History of the
Dismemberment of Poland_.
[79] The dismemberment of Poland did not arrest the intellectual
progress of the nation, which from that time devoted itself to the
preservation of the Polish language, and to the protection of the
monuments of the country. The influence exercised by Prince Czartoryski
in the Emperor Alexander’s councils greatly assisted this movement.
He purchased the magnificent library of the King Stanislaus-Augustus,
which, added to his own, became the most important depository of
Slavonic history and literature. It was confiscated by Russia in 1831.
[80] “It would be necessary,” says the Prince de Ligne, “to prevent the
ladies at Court from harming the Government by intrigues in love, in
politics, and in society; and also advisable to attract the great lords
by all sorts of amusements and distinctions. It would then be possible
to retain in the kingdom all the money which the pettiest noble, as
soon as he has cut his mustachios and left off his long respectable
coat, thinks necessary to carry off to Paris, and spend with women,
tailors, hotels, and hairdressers, and in gambling and paying off the
police, with whom he is always getting into trouble.” Unfortunately
the King himself set the example of thus abandoning the ancient Polish
customs in favour of the French.
[81] See the _Memoirs_ of Lauzun, whose authenticity, however, one can
by no means be certain of.
[82] The King’s eldest sister, Louise Poniatowska, married Count J.
J. Michel Zamoiski, by whom she had one daughter, Ursule Zamoiska.
Madame Geoffrin wrote as follows to King Stanislaus on 25th March
1776:--“Society at Warsaw is more brilliant than ever--at least I hear
of a great many marriages. Your niece, Mademoiselle Ursule Zamoiska, is
marrying a Count Potocki, brother-in-law of a Countess Potocka who is
here.”
[83] _La Feinte par Amour_, The Counterfeit of Love, comedy in three
acts and verse by Dorat, played for the first time on 13th July 1773.
[84] Ursule Zamoiska, Count Potocki’s first wife.
[85] Comte Auguste de la Marck, second son of the Duchesse d’Aremberg.
A friend of Mirabeau, he played an interesting part in the commencement
of the Revolution.
[86] The great Polish ladies were always accompanied by some young girl
or young married woman, who belonged to the lesser and poorer nobility;
their position was that of a companion or even head lady’s-maid.
[87] Hélène’s notes, many of which were insignificant, were docketed
and carefully kept by the Count.
[88] Madame Jean Potocka, the Count’s niece.
[89] We have found this letter amongst the Count’s papers. Hélène
probably forwarded it before she determined to join him.
XI
The rebellion in Flanders--Death of Joseph II.--Prince Charles in the
Russian service--The storming of Ismail--Return to Vienna--Hélène at
Kowalowska--The Count’s journey to Paris--The Lignes refuse to grant a
divorce--The Count’s illness.
While these romantic events were taking place in Ukrania others of
a more serious nature were occurring in Flanders. Van der Noot,
uniting his efforts to those of Vonck and Van der Mersch, had issued a
manifesto exhorting the people of Brabant to rebellion, and on the same
day, the 24th of October 1789, the little army of patriots assembled at
Hasselt had invaded the Belgian territory.[90] The Emperor, suddenly
alarmed, tried to arrest the movement by making useless concessions;
the violent irritation he felt at the defection of Flanders caused him
to suspect every one belonging to the country of taking part in the
rebellion. The Prince de Ligne himself, then at the siege of Belgrade,
did not escape his displeasure, and it was then that he wrote him the
harsh letter we have already mentioned. But Joseph soon recognised the
injustice of his suspicions, and the Prince de Ligne was recalled. The
latter obeyed at once, and wrote the following charming letter to the
Emperor:--
BELGRADE, _November 1789_.
“I am overjoyed at your Majesty’s kindness in permitting me to appear
before you, and to remain in Vienna until I start for Moravia or
Silesia at the head of the army now returning from Syrmia. I am far
more touched, Sire, by a grace than by a disgrace. The cares of the
siege of Belgrade, and the fever from which I suffered, that no amount
of quinine could subdue, prevented my feeling the grief I should
naturally have had on reading the terrible phrase: ‘Prepare yourself
to receive marks of my displeasure, for it is neither my pleasure nor
my habit to be disobeyed.’ I had reason to congratulate myself on my
behaviour, Sire, during the Bavarian war eleven years ago, and you
thanked me for it. On this occasion, it is true, your Majesty decided
that my despatches should be conveyed to you through an orderly; but
if I made use of my aides-de-camp, it was solely on account of the
Comte de Choiseul’s special message from Constantinople, recommending
that his very important despatch to the Marquis de Noailles should
be conveyed as safely and directly as possible. An orderly may fall
asleep, get drunk, or be murdered.
“I must crave your pardon, Sire, if I showed no anxiety at your
displeasure, but I know your justice still better; I supposed that
the ill-timed journey made by one of my aides-de-camp to Flanders
when the rebellion was at its height had perhaps led your Majesty to
suppose that I was concerned in it, and that I had some understanding
with the disaffected.”[91]
Whilst the Prince de Ligne was returning to Vienna the insurgents
seized Ghent and Brussels, and on the 2d of December 1789 they
proclaimed that Joseph II. had forfeited the sovereignty of the
Netherlands. Two months later the Emperor succumbed to a chronic
disease, aggravated by grief and anxiety.[92] The Prince de Ligne
wrote to the Empress Catherine: “He is no more, Madame,--he is no
more, the Prince who honoured the man, the man who still more honoured
the Prince. He said to me a few days before his death, on my return
from the Hungarian army which I had led into Silesia: ‘I was not fit
to see you yesterday; your country has killed me.... The capture of
Ghent is my agony, and the abandonment of Brussels my death. What an
outrage’ (he repeated that word several times). ‘I am dying of it: one
would have to be of stone to survive it. I thank you for all you have
done for me. Laudon has spoken very well of you; I thank you for your
fidelity. Go into Flanders; bring back the country to its allegiance.
If you cannot succeed, remain there; do not sacrifice your interests to
me--you have children....’”
On the Emperor’s table were found several letters, written on the eve
of his death. One of them, which was in French, was addressed to the
Princesses François and Charles de Lichtenstein, and to the Comtesses
Clary, de Kinsky, and de Kaunitz.
TO THE FIVE LADIES WHO SO KINDLY RECEIVED ME INTO THEIR SOCIETY.
“The time has come for me to bid you an eternal farewell, and express
all the gratitude I feel at the condescension and kindliness you have
shown me for so many years. The memory of each day is dear to me, and
the thought of separation is the only one that troubles me. Wholly
trusting in the goodness of Providence, I submit myself entirely to
its decrees. Keep me in remembrance, and do not forget me in your
prayers. My writing will show you the condition I am in.”
The Prince de Ligne was deeply affected by this loss, of which he
soon felt the painful results. Leopold II., who succeeded his father,
behaved with marked coldness towards all those for whom Joseph had had
any affection. Moreover, the new sovereign’s policy had nothing in
common with that of his predecessor. On the 27th of July 1790 Austria
signed at Reichenbach a Convention with Prussia, by which she agreed to
make peace with Turkey, the conditions to be based on the _status quo_
that existed before the war.
Prince Charles, foreseeing a period of forced inaction, asked and
obtained permission to enter the Russian service. He accordingly set
off, leaving his father in Vienna unfavourably looked upon at Court,
and grieved at being separated from him.
It was under Souvarof’s orders in Bessarabia that Prince Charles
fought his campaign. He was selected to conduct part of the operations
at the famous siege of Ismaïl.[1]
Since the 19th Souvarof had been battering the walls of the town; he
directed in person the assault by land, while another attack was being
made from the river. Three times the Russians were driven back under
a terrific fire; two columns remained for three hours in the trenches
exposed to a perfect storm of grape shot. At last a fire broke out
in the town, and the Russians were able to enter, the assault having
lasted ten hours. Prince Charles was amongst the first to go up, and
behind him followed, as simple volunteers, the Duc de Richelieu, the
Comte Roger de Damas, the Comte de Langeron, etc. etc. Fifteen thousand
1 Ismaïloff, a town of Russia in Europe (Bessarabia), situated on
the Danube. The storming of Ismaïl is one of the most celebrated in
history. The Russians, numbering 30,000, took possession of the town
on 22d November 1790, and pillaged it for three days. The Russians,
exasperated at the resistance they had met with, massacred two-thirds
of the inhabitants. Turks were massacred, and the town was given up to
pillage. Prince Charles received a wound in the leg, which, however,
did not stop him.
General Ribas, who commanded the flotilla in the Danube, wrote to the
Prince de Ligne as follows:--
ISMAÏL, _15th December_.
“MY PRINCE--In recalling myself to the notice of your serene Highness,
I venture to congratulate you on the glory that Prince Charles has
won at the storming of Ismaïl. The column he commanded, following the
example of its daring leader, was the first to effect a landing. In
spite of a severe wound in his leg he was the first to leap out of the
boat, and he scaled the ramparts of the town under a deadly fire. He
took possession of it, after setting fire to a Turkish frigate that
was doing us great damage, and after establishing and directing the
battery, which inflicted the greatest loss on the enemy.”
At the moment of Prince Charles’s entry into Ismaïl, and in the midst
of the fire and pillage and the fearful carnage, he saw a child three
or four years old standing alone under the doorway of a fine-looking
house, and uttering the most heartrending cries; his beauty and the
richness of his attire attracted the attention of the Prince; he took
up the child in his arms; it ceased crying, and looked at him with eyes
full of astonishment; then, terrified at the tumult and the horrible
scenes going on around them, he hid his face on his deliverer’s breast,
clinging to his neck with all the strength of his little arms. Much
moved, the Prince hastily carried the child to a place of safety, and
had it questioned by some prisoners who had escaped the massacre.
All he could say was that he was called Norokos, and that his mother
and the women who took care of him had been killed. The Prince chose
among the prisoners a Turkish man and woman, gave the child into their
keeping, and commanded that he should receive every possible care, as
he had decided to adopt him, and take him to Vienna on his return.
Immediately after the taking of Ismaïl the Empress Catherine wrote to
Prince Charles to tell him herself of his promotion to the rank of
colonel, and to confer on him the cross of commander of the order of
Saint Georges.
The Prince de Ligne was at Vienna when he received the news of the
capture of Ismaïl, and of the honours the Empress had bestowed on his
son. He had just been slighted and treated with flagrant injustice
by Leopold II., but he forgot everything on hearing of his Charles’s
success, and wrote the same day to the Czarina:--
“MADAME--My heart, which bounds forward so quickly that my pen is
unable to keep pace with it, can never sufficiently express my
gratitude for the favours bestowed by your Imperial Majesty on my
excellent and fortunate Charles. I shall not publish the letter you
have deigned to write to me, but shall content myself with never
forgetting it. Not until we have peace will your Majesty regain your
former wit, as during the last four years you have been all soul and
genius. Good heavens, what abundant proof of it there is in your
letter to my good Charles! I am afraid it will have put him quite
beside himself....”
But it is with his son that the Prince gives himself up to the full
vehemence of his feelings.
VIENNA, _25th November 1790_.
“So you end the war, as you began it, by making me die of anxiety on
behalf of the most courageous of mortals, of joy at possessing such
a son, of emotion at your conduct, and of regret at never having
equalled your merit in any quarter.[93] My dear Charles, in spite of
these four deaths, I am quite alive, and the happiest of men, for
I am going to see you again. My God! good Charles, brave Charles,
what anxiety you have given me! Mine is the high stake! If they had
_néboïsséd_[94] you, as they sometimes do (and for two or three
nights especially the thought deprived me of sleep), say, what in
the world would have become of me? Supposing I had survived, could I
have existed a minute without reproaching myself for my strength and
weakness in not opposing your departure?...”
Almost immediately after the peace of Ismaïl the Empress began secretly
to negotiate a treaty with the Turks. Preoccupied by events in France,
and especially in Poland, she was anxious to be rid of a war which
absorbed the greatest part of her army. Prince Charles, aware of what
was going on, asked and obtained his discharge. He announced his return
to Vienna to his father, and came back escorted by a numerous retinue.
He brought with him the little Norokos and his attendants, a Turkish
band of twelve musicians, and magnificent presents of arms and horses
that Marshal Souvarof and Prince Potemkin had given him.
THE PRINCE DE LIGNE TO HIS SON.
“Good Lord! dear Charles! you are coming back, but I cannot realise
it. I assure you that since you have had the good fortune to escape
from such dangers, you must be physically immortal as well as morally.
I do not know how I shall manage to kiss you, how I shall place
myself, where your large nose will go, how I shall manage my own; I
fully intend also kissing your wounded knee, perhaps going down on my
own knees for the purpose, before you as well as before heaven.”
_P.S._--TO THE BRAVEST AND PRETTIEST FELLOW AMONG THE VOLUNTEERS.[95]
“As for you, my dear Duke, I shall not seek to express the feelings
I entertain on your behalf. It is impossible to be a more worthy
grandson of the Maréchal de Richelieu, never has any one had a more
valiant and charming comrade. Both you and Charles have equally
contributed to each other’s glory.
“Certain of your mutual esteem, you strove to augment it. What
happiness for me, dear Duke, to know that you are full of life and
energy; to remember that I have loved you from the time of your birth,
for hardly had you come into the world than you were already its
ornament.
“But I must tell you both about the King of Naples. What a kind good
man he is! He embraced me about ten times, that is to say, as often
as he met me during the ball, which took place at the house of his
ambassador Gallo.[96] He took me up to every one, saying: ‘_Suo
figlio! ah! bravo juvene! è férito_.’”[97]
The Flemish rebellion was drawing to a close. After shaking off the
Austrian yoke the first act of the Flemish people had been to divide
into two hostile factions, one of which was anxious to preserve
the ancient, aristocratic, and sacerdotal constitution, to retain
which had been the motive of the revolution, while the other faction
supported the new doctrines of the constituent assembly in Paris.
Leopold, who had learnt the art of negotiating in Tuscany, and was
an astute politician, cleverly took advantage of the division of
opinions, and on coming to the throne[98] promised to restore to
Flanders all her ancient privileges, but at the same time despatched an
army strong enough to subdue her if necessary. The country offered no
resistance.[99]
On the 2d of December 1790 Leopold granted a general amnesty, and
before many months had passed all trace of the disturbances in Flanders
had disappeared.
After enjoying for some time the happiness of seeing her son, the
Princesse de Ligne left for Brussels and Bel Œil, in order to repair
the damages these residences had sustained during the revolution, for
they had been abandoned ever since 1787. It was precisely at this
period that Hélène’s letters asking for a divorce reached her husband.
The de Ligne family had several times expressed their displeasure at
the prolonged stay of the Princesse Charles in Poland. At first she had
answered evasively, then, having inquired after her little daughter
Sidonie, she ceased writing altogether.
Hélène’s sudden departure and prolonged stay in Ukrania had created
a great sensation in Warsaw. The Princesse Maréchale and other great
ladies, who were spending the winter in Vienna, related the adventure,
and commented upon it. The Lignes, as may easily be supposed, were
greatly offended at Hélène’s imprudent escapade, and, far from
favourably receiving her request for a divorce, they absolutely refused
to consent to it. It may be supposed that if the lady whom he loved
had been free, Prince Charles would have sent a different answer, but
there existed, evidently, some insurmountable obstacle to their union.
Meanwhile the Count, who directed all Hélène’s affairs, started for
Paris, invested by her with full powers to treat with the Lignes; for
the Princesse Charles was still under the delusion that her request
would be granted. On his arrival in Paris he had a first interview
with the Prince de Ligne’s steward, and gave him a copy of his deed of
authorization.
The steward went off at once to confer with the Prince on these grave
questions, but when he returned to Paris he found that the Count, who
in the meantime had heard from Hélène of Prince Charles’s decided
refusal, had already taken his departure.
The following is the letter the steward had brought.
LETTER FROM THE PRINCE DE LIGNE.
VIENNA, _15th January 1791_.
“As we no longer are aware of the Princesse Charles de Ligne’s
existence, and as, in fact, she is dead to us and to our little
Sidonie, we can enter into no arrangements with her.
“A woman kept prisoner by a stupid Polish tyrant should not prevent
Sidonie’s great-uncle from paying the bills of exchange, for which
he has given us every possible security, and which, according to the
desire of Prince Charles and the Prince-Bishop, and even according to
that of her mother, are destined to free the estates in Galicia. She
has neither the power nor the right to administer these estates, as
she is under the influence of a man who publicly manages her business,
for in so doing she might damage her daughter’s interests.
“When she chooses to free herself from the bondage in which she is
living, and take up her residence either in Paris or Warsaw, or on
one of my estates if she prefers it, she shall receive an annuity of
thirty thousand French livres, which is the least her husband intends
her to have, as soon as he shall himself come into the whole of his
fortune.
“As the Princesse Charles, if she married the Count Potocki, would be
even more unhappy than she is at present, her husband, in her interest
and in that of her daughter, will never give his consent.
LIGNE.
“The Princess’s diamonds and the rest of her property will be
immediately returned to her, and she must send to Pradel the drawings
belonging to her husband she still has in her possession.”
Prince Charles wished to send back at once all the diamonds, furniture,
and effects left by Hélène at Bel Œil and at Brussels, and he wrote to
his mother urging her to forward them at once to their destination. It
will be remembered that Hélène had left Brussels hurriedly at the time
of the insurrection, and therefore had not had time to discharge a few
personal debts contracted at her own expense. The Princesse de Ligne
wrote to her daughter-in-law the following letter:--
BRUSSELS, _24th February 1791_.
“As your husband had written to me, Madame, that he consented to the
return of everything belonging to you, with the exception of the
books, most of which already formed a part of the library at Bel Œil,
the rest having been purchased on condition of their being placed
in it, I was about to order the packing of your effects when your
creditors, hearing of this, came to oppose the proceedings, alleging
that they never received any answer to the letters they sent you. They
will not allow the removal of the effects, which are their guarantee;
it is only out of consideration for me, and on my promising to write
to you myself, that they have consented to wait long enough for you to
receive this letter and send a reply.
“I therefore beg you, Madame, if you do not wish to run the risk of
having your things publicly sold, to send me a bill of exchange or an
order on some bank, so that by the end of April I may be able to meet
their claims.
“The bills I have been able to collect, added to those I already know
of, amount to about five thousand florins in our coin. As I do not
intend to be in Brussels after the 15th of May, I warn you that unless
I receive the money by the first of the month, I shall hand over your
possessions to a public auctioneer, who will estimate their value and
settle with the creditors, and I shall have nothing more to do with
it. You will certainly not profit by this arrangement; for I should
have been more economical and have taken more interest in your affairs
than he will.
“Sidonie is in excellent health; she is a dear little thing, and
although you hardly notice her, she often speaks of you, and never
forgets to mention her mother in her little prayers. Impatiently
awaiting your reply, for, with the precautions I have taken, I am
certain this letter will reach you, I remain, Madame, yours, etc.
“LA PRINCESSE DE LIGNE.”
During these negotiations Hélène was living at Kowalowska in complete
retirement. Her mother-in-law’s letter arrived at a moment when it was
impossible for her to send any money to Brussels. This woman of the
world, accustomed to the most refined luxury, was almost in actual
want, and with very natural pride would accept nothing from the Count
but the hospitality he had offered her. She wrote to him as follows:--
“Your letter has made me very sad. There is no more question of your
return than if you were never coming back. MM. de Ligne will listen
to nothing; what can I do? What line of action can I take? What do
they want of me? What is their object? They apparently hope that want
will make me submit to their will, and imagine they are granting
me a favour by shutting me up in a Convent with a pension.[100] But
even should they be willing to receive me back into their family, I
would never return to them; all is at an end between them and me, and
I should even prefer the Convent to the trial of living with people
whom I do not love, and who would despise me; the word alone makes me
shudder.
“As to the money question, it would be most painful to me to be a
burden to anybody in the world; I would sooner live by manual work, and
would not hesitate to begin by discarding all my household, and keeping
only one servant.
“The few effects I possess, such as books, music, and some pieces of
furniture, I no longer consider as my own; you will be good enough
to take them into account in the sum I owe you for table expenses,
washing, etc.; for, as regards money, I can give you none. I have
made a purchase this month, which I should have avoided had I known
my affairs were in such a bad state. I spent forty ducats in buying
linen to make chemises, for I required some, and it was difficult for
me to do without them. I was shown some fine linen, and as it is often
difficult to procure, I bought it. If I become a prey to absolute
misery, I shall yet have the necessary courage to bear it. You will
care as much for me in sackcloth as in silk, and I shall be quite
happy. I do not wish even to return into society. I became acquainted
early in life with its most brilliant attractions, and soon wearied
of them; I shall never get weary of a quiet life, even attended with
poverty, if you love me.”
The Princesse Charles was a prey to all kinds of anxiety; her
imagination was constantly inventing dangers: “I am far from being
reassured,” she wrote to the Count; “on the contrary, it seems to me
that each moment increases my anxiety and worry. I was told that on
his return from Vienna the _Krajczy_ had gone to Dubus. If you meet
him I fear that he will encourage you to separate from me; he will
certainly have known MM. de Ligne at Vienna; their cause will have
interested him, and he will try to oblige them by urging you to abandon
me. This idea tortures me. Answer me directly on this subject. Since
Thursday I have been abandoned to the melancholy tenure of my thoughts,
and that without any hope of consolation; I am in great dread lest
your absence should be taken advantage of to get you to give up all
idea of our union; do not ever expect my consent to this. Should it be
necessary for your happiness, I am ready to release you from your vows,
but nothing will induce me to break those by which I have bound myself
to love you always.”
The Princess had received a very short answer to the letter she had
sent to the Prince-Bishop. He had not written himself, but had replied
through his steward that he would reflect on the subject, and that he
refused for the time being to treat with his niece’s delegate. Hélène
wrote to the Count, and added:--
“If my uncle will not abide by the settlement, he has only to cancel
it, and give me back my lands. But to take possession of my estates,
and give me nothing in return, is really too unjust, and I cannot
believe my uncle will let me die of hunger. It would be infamous if,
with the immense fortune I possess, I were reduced to poverty by so
cruel an injustice, notwithstanding every law to the contrary. God
grant that I may escape the clutches of Silvestrowicz[101] with a
sufficient income to be a burden to no one! But where is my uncle? Can
I despatch any one to him, to explain my position and the ill-will of
Silvestrowicz? I shall find myself without a _sol_,[102] and then what
shall I do? tell me. But how could it be possible for my uncle to rob
me so completely, without my obtaining any redress? It is only in this
country that such a thing could take place. I am indeed very unhappy,
but I am so affected by your absence that it prevents my dwelling upon
my other griefs, which, at this moment, are but a minor part of my
sorrows. Good-bye, Vincent; love me, for your love is all I have left.”
The Count had just arrived in Poland, but seemed in no hurry to return
to Ukrania.
He wrote to Hélène that his own business kept him away from her, but
that she had nothing to fear from the influences she had mentioned in a
former letter. “I am greatly relieved,” she answers, “to hear at last
that you are in Poland, and to know that I have nothing to fear from
the _Krajczy_; his wife, his daughter, and his sons are all intimate
friends of MM. de Ligne, and I dreaded lest he might meddle with our
affairs. As for myself, I consider the engagement which bound us to
have been a fatal error, seeing we were so young, and that our only
fitness consisted in a mere similarity of birth and fortune. To you
alone I have given my pledge, my real love, the most chaste and sacred
of all ties.”
A short time after Hélène had fresh cause for anxiety. “Fancy,” she
writes to the Count, “I have read in the _Gazette de Hambourg_ that
Prince Charles is about to return to the Russian army by Léopol; he
must therefore pass by Niemirow, or at least quite near it. I assure
you that your Cossacks are barely a sufficient protection to reassure
a coward like myself.”[103] But the Prince passed through without
troubling himself about her.
At last the Count announced his arrival. “How my heart beats,” writes
Hélène, “when I think that the moment is drawing near which will bring
you back to me. I am so taken up by your return that whether you have
successfully or unsuccessfully settled my business is a question
which does not interest me as it would at any other time. I count the
minutes, and can only speculate on the hour at which you started, and
the hour at which you may arrive, and it seems to me as though I had
centuries to wait.
“I hope you will receive this letter on your way. I have just received
one from my uncle; it appears that he _is not angry with me, and,
with the exception of helping me by his influence or his money, is
entirely devoted to me_. What irony! But what can I do? If my family is
indifferent to me, I am quite the same towards them; provided that you
always love me, I shall have no wish left in the world; I have neither
vanity nor ambition, I have only love.”
The Count arrived at Niemirow very much dissatisfied with his journey,
and anxious about the future. He had thought, from what Hélène had
said, that he would meet with no opposition to a divorce on the part
of the Lignes, and instead of the consent he expected, he had only
received a very decided refusal, accompanied by a severe criticism
of his own conduct, and of the interested motives which, rightly or
wrongly, were attributed to him.
He had also fancied he would easily obtain his wife’s consent by
leaving her his two sons; instead of this, his schemes were baffled on
all sides by very serious difficulties.
On the other hand, the position of the Princess, who was living an
isolated life, almost hidden, it may be said, in one of the Count’s
residences, in the neighbourhood of Niemirow, could no longer be
endured without serious inconvenience. The Comtesse Anna was very
much beloved in the country, her two children inhabited Niemirow, and
everybody was beginning to wonder at her prolonged absence; how much
more extraordinary would it appear when her husband should return!
All these reflections threw the Count into a gloomy state of mind;
he made a short stay at Kowalowska, but Hélène was pained by the
coldness of his manner, and the embarrassment he showed during their
first interview; he briefly narrated the unsatisfactory results of his
journey, intimating that he could not remain at Niemirow, and advising
her to go to her uncle’s and wait there for a solution which was
probably very remote.
Although the Count made these announcements with a certain precaution,
they produced a terrible impression on the Princess. She had behaved
with the utmost good faith, persuaded that, to obtain a divorce and
marry directly after, was the easiest thing in the world. Her marriage
would cover the imprudence of her flight, and make every one forget
the conclusions they had drawn from it. Suddenly she saw her dearest
hopes vanish, her honour compromised, and the man for whom she had
sacrificed everything calmly suggest that she should leave him, perhaps
for ever. The strain on her over-wrought mind was too great, and she
fainted. When she came to herself her women only were around her bed,
for the Count had returned to Niemirow. She wrote to him at once: “When
you left me I was in the greatest despair, yet you never showed the
slightest feeling of pity. I can only say that I shall find my life
odious if you persist in your intention of abandoning me. I appeal to
you for an account of my destiny thus committed to your charge. Is it
possible you could dispose of it with so little reflection?”
Hélène in vain waited all day for a reply; the Count did not answer.
The next day she received a few lines, saying that he was ill. The
Princess was not in the habit of leaving Kowalowska, and had never
entered the residence where the children of the Countess Anna were
living. But in her anxiety she forgot all prudence, and wrote as
follows: “I am in despair at hearing you are ill; if you had sent me
word sooner I should have perhaps found means of coming to see you. If
you are unable to assist me otherwise, send me the key of the small
garden gate; Saint Charles will follow me, and I will come, for it is
impossible for me to let to-day pass without seeing you; I am in agony,
and besides I have letters I must show you.”
The Count’s illness was only too genuine. The worry he had gone through
during his journey, the awkwardness of his position, added to bodily
fatigue, were probably its cause. At the end of three days a putrid
fever of an alarming character declared itself, and for three months he
was in danger of death.
The unhappy Hélène did not dare to take her place at his bedside; she
only went secretly to his room in order to be certain that every care
was bestowed on him. The Bishop of Wilna, on hearing what was taking
place, decided at last to write to his niece. He urged her to come and
settle near him at Werky, and promised to forget her _past imprudences_
if she would renounce her _mad infatuation for the Count_.
The Princess answered:--
“MY DEAR UNCLE--You must certainly have heard of the Lord
Chamberlain’s illness; but what no one can tell you, and what I myself
can hardly express, is the fearful state of despair I was in on seeing
the only happiness possible for me in this world on the very brink of
destruction.
“Now at last, after all my anxiety, he is out of danger, and although
he was on the point of losing his life, I can truly assure you that he
does not recover from a worse state than I do myself.
“Your letter arrived at the very moment that we were beginning to take
courage, and to fancy that our union was still a possibility; you will
imagine my despair on seeing that you only speak of a separation.
“I know your kindness of heart, my dear uncle, and am persuaded that
you have never formed a plan without intending it to bring about my
happiness and tranquillity; I therefore implore you, my dear uncle,
not to consider any plan feasible that should remove me or oblige me
to forsake the choice I have made. Whatever reproach may be cast at
me, I am certain I do not deserve to be blamed for want of firmness
or constancy. I am quite decided not to change anything in my way of
acting, even should the present impediments last as long as my life.
I therefore beg you, my dear uncle, to vouchsafe me a few words of
comfort. Tell me that you wish to see us happy, but do not tell us
that we must seek our happiness apart from each other.
“Good-bye, my dear uncle; accept the tribute of my deepest respect,
and the tender affection which I shall bear you through life.
“HÉLÈNE LIGNE.”
After a convalescence which lasted as long as his illness, the Count
started for Galicia. He had been touched by Hélène’s despair, and by
her devotion to him. On leaving her he promised that he would again
make every effort to obtain the divorce so ardently desired, and he
left her, if not easy in her mind, at least somewhat reassured.
FOOTNOTES:
[90] Van der Noot, an active and zealous lawyer, but with more ambition
than capacity, together with the _Grand Penitencier_, Van Eupen, headed
the party who wished for the maintenance of the ancient, aristocratic,
and sacerdotal constitution, while another lawyer, Vonck, a man of
great ability, and General Van der Mersch, led the popular faction.
[91] The Belgians had, nevertheless, made the most brilliant offers
to the Prince. Van der Noot implored him to come and place himself at
their head. “I thank you for the provinces you offer me,” he replied
in his usual jesting manner, “but I never revolt in winter.” Moreover
the Prince, who did not approve of revolutions, was indignant at that
of Flanders. “If I were there,” he writes, “I should speak first as
a patriot, a word that is becoming odious to me, then as a citizen,
another word often misapplied; and if I did not succeed I should speak
as an Austrian general, and forthwith silence an archbishop, a bishop,
a fat monk, a professor, a brewer, and a lawyer.”
[92] The Empress Catherine wrote to Grimm: “Joseph II. killed himself
with his endless audiences; they are, to say the least, useless, and
waste a great deal of time. I used to tell him so. He was acquainted
with everything, except the disposition of the Flemish people when the
rebellion broke out. I witnessed his astonishment when the first news
arrived; he came to consult me, and was disposed to treat the affair as
a trifling matter; but I took the liberty of advising him to pay it the
most serious attention.” Joseph II. died on 20th February 1790.
[93] Prince Charles was extremely modest. His father wrote to Madame de
Coigny: “I do not underrate my courage, which may be brilliant enough,
but it is not unalloyed; there is a certain amount of humbug about it;
I perform too much for the public. How infinitely I prefer the courage
of my dear, good Charles, who never looks to see if he is being looked
at.”
[94] A Turkish expression, indicating the act of beheading the dead on
the field of battle.
[95] The Comte de Chinon, Armand-Emmanuel-Sophie-Septimanie Duplessis,
Duc de Richelieu, grandson of the Marshal, born the 25th September
1766, died the 16th May 1822. At the age of fourteen he married
Mademoiselle de Rochechouart, but had no children by her. The Duke
emigrated in 1790, went to Vienna, where he was received with
distinction, and from thence to Saint Petersburg, where he was equally
well received. “He possessed,” says the Prince de Ligne, “rare beauty,
and a character of extreme gentleness. Though he did not inherit his
grandfather’s superior talents, he had nevertheless a sound judgment,
many natural virtues, and an ardent love of justice; he was less
dissipated than his youthful companions, although fond of ladies’
society, and born to please.” The Duc de Richelieu was President of the
Privy Council under the Restoration.
[96] The Marquis del Gallo, Neapolitan ambassador at Vienna, gave this
ball in honour of the betrothal of the King of Naples’s two daughters
with two Archdukes, sons of the Emperor Leopold.
[97] “His son, ah! brave young fellow! is wounded.”
[98] The 30th September 1790.
[99] The Comte de Browne took back Brussels from the Belgian patriots
with a few companies of grenadiers and a handful of hussars. By dint
of care, firmness, and gold, which he distributed in handfuls, he so
completely re-established order and security in the town that it became
more quiet, more submissive, and more prosperous than it ever had been.
(_Unpublished Memoirs of the Prince de Ligne._)
[100] This phrase shows that the Count had not sent Hélène the Prince’s
letter, in which he offered her one of his residences as a retreat.
[101] The Bishop of Wilna’s steward.
[102] A halfpenny.
[103] The Cossacks inhabited the plains of Ukrania, and the borders of
the Borysthenes (Dniester). These savage hordes, who lived by plunder
and pillage, were sometimes called Zaporogues (inhabitants of the
cataracts). Most of the Polish noblemen in this part of the country had
in their pay some hundreds of these brigands, who caused the greatest
terror. They belonged to those who paid them best, and the cruelties
committed by the Cossacks in Catherine’s pay during the massacres in
Ukrania exceeded the greatest horrors that can be imagined. (See, for
more ample details, Comte de la Garde’s _Voyage in Ukrania_.)
XII
Return of the Princes to Mons--Emigration in Belgium--A representation
of _Richard Cœur de Lion_--Prince Charles re-enters the Austrian
service--He represents the Emperor on his inauguration as Count of
Hainault--War with France--Dumouriez in Champagne--The fight at
Croix-aux-Bois--Death of Prince Charles--Despair of the Prince de
Ligne.
The pacification of Flanders was an accomplished fact, and in 1791 the
Prince de Ligne, accompanied by Prince Charles, officially entered
Mons as Grand Bailiff of Hainault. A magnificent banquet, followed
by a concert and a ball, was given in their honour by the States of
Hainault, in the Town Hall.[104]
Several poems were presented to the Prince de Ligne by the students of
the college of Houdain and others. It is unnecessary to say that the
virtues of the Prince and the glory of his son were the chosen theme.
However, in the midst of this concert of praise, one discordant note
was heard. A certain lawyer from Nivelle, called Masson, published a
libel on the occasion. “Amongst several other things I have forgotten,”
writes the Prince, “he said that at my entry as governor of Hainault I
looked like an old Sultan, surrounded by women, to whom I devoted the
whole of my attention, and that I had been stupid enough to accept in
good faith acclamations of ‘Long live the Patriot Prince.’ This last
statement is true. It was in a church, where I was either taking or
administering the oath. I accepted this cry with the rest, without
suspecting that its utterer had any malicious intention. As for the
Sultan, he does me too much honour; it is true that, during my tedious
progress, some very pretty girls threw bouquets into my carriage, and
the crowd obliging them to stop near the door, I thanked them very
much, and told them they were charming. The only reproach which might
be considered not quite unfounded was that concerning my entry. The war
had just ended, as well as the rebellion in the Netherlands, both of
which had cost me a great deal of money. I might have made debts and
covered my followers with gold lace; but I thought, on the contrary,
the people would be grateful to me for not making too great a display.
As I had two Turks, four Hussars, several bearded Russians, a Tartar
with two dromedaries, and a Turkish band, he might very well compare me
to Tamerlane or the Emperor of China, though I do not remember exactly
which of the two I was supposed to resemble.”
The Princes were very heartily received by the inhabitants of the good
town of Mons, where they were much beloved; on the following day they
started with their family for Bel Œil.
As soon as he was settled the first thing the Prince did was to erect
a monument in honour of his beloved son Charles, to perpetuate the
memory of his brilliant conduct at Sabacz and at Ismaïl. He designed it
himself, chose the site, and laid it out so as to imitate a spot in the
Empress’s gardens at Czarskoë-Celo. “By following the left bank of the
river,” he says, “you come upon an obelisk dedicated by Friendship to
Valour. It is not my fault if Charles is the hero of it; it is not my
fault if Charles distinguished himself in the war; it is not my fault
if I am the father of such a perfect being. The father disappears,
the man remains, and the hero is celebrated; I must not be accused of
partiality, but I may be accused of pride.”
This obelisk, in marble, is forty-five feet high. On one side is
inscribed, in gold letters, the following: “To my dear Charles, for
Sabacz and Ismaïl;” on the second, “_Nec te juvenis memoranda silebo_;”
and on the third, “His glory is my pride, his friendship my happiness.”
The de Lignes spent the summer at Bel Œil, happy to be quiet and united
once more in the country they loved so well; but to an attentive
observer the tranquillity which reigned in Flanders was not to be of
long duration; threatening symptoms might be discerned on every side.
The frightful progress of the French revolution, and the presence of
the _émigrés_ in the Netherlands, caused anxiety in many minds.
Savoy, Switzerland, the Black Forest, Liege, Treves, Luxemburg, and
the Netherlands were the first asylums of the persecuted; it was only
later on, when they had lost all hope of a speedy return, that they
went to Vienna, London, Poland, and Russia. The Archduchess Marie
Christine, regent in the Netherlands, was the sister of the Queen of
France; it was natural she should protect the _émigrés_; but Leopold
was not favourably disposed towards them, and in the very beginning
of his reign he requested the Archduchess Christine and the Electors
of Mayence, Cologne, and Treves to do all in their power to prevent
the refugees and the Princes from doing anything rash. “Do not allow
yourselves to be led into anything,” he wrote; “do nothing the French
or the Princes ask you to do; meet them with civilities and dinners,
but give them neither troops, money, nor help of any sort.” He entirely
separated the cause of the King from that of the _émigrés_.
The Prince de Ligne was extremely ill-disposed towards the Emperor
Leopold; he reproached him with having sucked the milk of Italian
dissimulation, and he would not have anything to do with his pretended
political calculations. He adored the Queen, and his heart leaped with
indignation at the thought of the dangers which daily threatened her
more and more.
He had vainly solicited a command in the Austrian army. Leopold had
carefully avoided granting his request, for he feared the imprudences
his vivacity, his opinions, and his chivalrous devotion might lead him
to commit.
We must admit that the Prince de Ligne was no passionate admirer of
liberty; he very soon foresaw the tendencies of the revolution, and
in 1790 wrote to the Comte de Ségur concerning the National Assembly:
“Greece had her philosophers, but they were only seven; you have
twelve hundred of them at eighteen francs a day, having no mission but
what they arrogate to themselves, no knowledge of foreign countries,
no general plan of operations, and not even the sea, which is a sort
of protection to the makers of empty phrases, and to the laws of the
country it surrounds.”
The Prince never missed an opportunity of showing his sympathy for
the royal family. One day he was present at a representation of
_Richard Cœur de Lion_ at the small theatre at Tournai. The public
was chiefly composed of French _émigrés_, who were full of hope and
illusion, impatiently awaiting the time when they should return to
their country. The Prince could not hear without emotion the air of: _O
Richard! Ô mon roi! l’univers t’abandonne_.[105] Tears came into his
eyes, and the audience, perceiving his emotion, frantically applauded.
“At that part,” says the Prince, “where the promise is made to avenge
the poor captive king, I advanced, applauding as though I too wished
to contribute my efforts. I was in earnest at the time, and it seemed
likely that my services would be accepted. Suddenly the French ladies,
both young and old, in the excitement rushed out of their boxes, and
the whole of the pit, mostly consisting of young French officers,
jumped on the stage, crying out: ‘Long live the King! Long live the
Prince de Ligne;’ and they only stopped clapping their hands to wipe
their eyes over-flowing with tears.”
Among the young refugee officers who were the most cordially received
at Bel Œil was M. de Villeneuve Laroche. He writes in his Memoirs:[106]
“The Prince de Ligne at this time was residing with all his family at
Bel Œil, a fine estate distant one league from the town of Ath; he took
pleasure in conversing with us about the principles of honour that were
the basis of our conduct, and he commended us with enthusiasm.
“He was good enough to invite me several times to dine at his
magnificent residence; I may even go so far as to say that I formed
quite an intimacy with his eldest son, Prince Charles, an officer of
the very greatest promise; he was a _colonel major_ in the artillery,
and had lately distinguished himself in the war against the Turks....
“The son sympathised with our feelings as much as his father. He
told me one day that he had just written to the Emperor asking to be
employed in the coalition war, and added that if his request was
rejected he would serve as a mere volunteer with the French nobility.”
Prince Charles had in fact urgently requested to be allowed to return
to the Austrian army, with the rank of colonel in the engineers.
After the death of the Emperor Leopold, which took place on the 27th
of February 1792, the Prince was given an appointment in General
Clairfayt’s army corps. The Austrian general-in-chief was the Duke
Albert of Saxe-Teschen, husband of the Archduchess Christine.
The campaign was opened against the armies of the French republic;
and already, on the 27th of May, Prince Charles had distinguished
himself by his daring valour in a fight that took place near Condé;
but no great battle was yet imminent. The enemy confined himself to
skirmishes; the Duke Albert’s headquarters were at Mons, and the
inauguration of the new Emperor, François II., as Count of Hainault,
was to take place in that town. Prince Charles de Ligne was chosen to
represent the sovereign on this occasion.[107]
We read in the _Journal du Palais et historique_ of the councillor
Paridaens the following paragraph:--
_7th June 1792._
“This day being a feast of the Holy Sacrament, his Royal Highness
the Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen, who is Governor-General of the
Netherlands, followed in the procession. Several generals accompanied
him--among others, the Prince de Lambesc, of the House of Lorraine,
who had been transferred from the French to the Austrian service, and
also the son of the Prince de Ligne.”
_9th June._
“On this day, Saturday, the Prince de Ligne’s son, although quartered
for some time at Mons, made his official entry into the town as
Commissary to his Majesty at the ceremony of Inauguration which is
to take place on the day after to-morrow. Guns were fired, although
we are at the very seat of war. He entered on horseback by the Havré
gate, crossed the square, and went up the Rue Neuve to the hôtel de
Ligne,[108] while the bells were ringing. He was followed by the
dragoon officers of the Coburg regiment, and by his liveried retainers.
“However, as the French, who were camped at Maubeuge, showed a
disposition to interfere in the ceremony of Inauguration, and had
in the last few days drawn nearer towards Petit, Quévy, and even
Bougnies, on the evening of the 10th of June an attack was prepared
and carried out at two o’clock in the morning. There was a violent
onset and sharp cannonading, which lasted till five.”
Prince Charles, who would not have missed this fight for anything in
the world, started off in the middle of the night at the head of his
regiment, despite the Archduke Albert’s opposition. He fought with
his usual bravery, was very nearly taken prisoner, having imprudently
ventured too far amidst the enemy; and at seven in the morning, black
with powder and heated with the fight, he arrived on horseback, post
haste, barely in time to put on his full dress uniform and get into his
coach.
The ceremony of the Emperor’s Inauguration as Count of Hainault is as
old as the days of Charlemagne, but this was the last time that the
traditional custom was to be celebrated. We have seen the importance
attached to it by the States of Hainault at the time of the Flemish
insurrection.
At half-past eight all the clergy of Mons, the ladies of the Chapter
of Sainte Waudru, following the shrine of the saint, who was the
patroness of Mons, all the magistrates, the deputies of the town
council, the chief councillor of the Provinces in his State robes,
and the twenty-six deputies of the chief towns in Hainault, preceded
by magnificent banners from all the parishes, embroidered in gold and
silk, took their places in the theatre. At nine o’clock his Highness
the Prince Charles de Ligne left his hotel in a coach drawn by six
horses and preceded by a detachment of dragoons, by the members of the
order of the nobility, each one in a coach drawn by two horses, and by
a herald-at-arms on horseback, named O’Kelly, bearing his coat-of-arms,
and the cap and wand of his office. The guards and officers of his
house closed the procession. On reaching the theatre his Highness
seated himself on an arm-chair under a canopy, above which was placed a
portrait of his Majesty.
When all the different orders were placed and seated, the trumpets
sounded, Murray’s regiment fired a volley of musketry, the artillery on
the ramparts answered by a salute, and the herald-at-arms, advancing to
the front of the theatre, called _Silence_ three times. Then the Prince
rose, and, laying his hand on the Gospels, first took the oath to the
Chapter of Sainte Waudru, of which he was named Abbot. The Princesse
de Croy, first lady of the Chapter, presented to him the crozier,
and a salute of artillery and music and trumpets, etc., announced to
the people that the first act of the ceremony had taken place. The
Prince afterwards took the oath to the States, in the same manner; and
finally, a third time to the town of Mons, after which he solemnly
received the oaths of allegiance from the said Chapter, States, and
Town.
“During the ceremony,” says the councillor Paridaens, “some national
guards, taken prisoners in that night’s encounter, had been brought to
the square, and just as the procession was threading its way to Sainte
Waudru, at the entrance of the road, it was met by the generals who
were returning from fighting the French. At the head of these generals
was the Duc Albert de Saxe, with his nephew the Archduke Charles,[109]
who had been under fire for the first time in his life. At that very
moment the news arrived that M. de Gouvion, Commander-in-Chief of the
French army, had been killed. It was vaguely known that the French had
been repulsed, after having made, however, a good stand for the first
time. Indeed the cannon had been heard without interruption from two
o’clock till six in the morning. On the 12th of June H.R.H. Madame
arrived about ten o’clock in the morning. “On entering the rooms of
the Government House she heartily and repeatedly embraced her nephew,
the Archduke Charles, as one might a friend whom one sees for the
first time after he has encountered a great danger. I saw this from my
dining-room windows.”
The Prince gave a banquet that evening to the principal town
authorities; the Archdukes, the Prince de Lambesc, and other generals
were present. On the following day he returned to the camp, only too
glad to have done with a part so little in keeping with his natural
modesty. Two months went by, events were succeeding each other in
France with the most startling rapidity, the position of the royal
family was becoming daily more critical, till the terrible 10th of
August induced the Duke of Brunswick, commander-in-chief of the allied
forces, to alter his plan of campaign. He decided to move on the army
in the direction of the gorge of Argonne, so as to enter Champagne by
Sainte Menehould, and march on Paris by Châlons. He gave orders to
General Clairfayt to join him with twenty-five thousand men, who were
to form the right wing of his army. This change of position on the part
of Count Clairfayt decided Dumouriez, then at the camp of Maulde, to
proceed to the plains of Champagne with the greater part of his army.
During the three months that had elapsed since the inauguration at
Mons no important battle had afforded Prince Charles an opportunity
of distinguishing himself; but, gifted with a sound judgment and
an observant mind, he had employed the interval in forming a just
estimate of the illusions entertained by the _émigrés_, and of the
very imperfect description they had given of the state of France. He
wrote from the camp at Boux a letter, which fell into the hands of the
republicans, and was read at a public sitting of the Convention.[110]
“We are beginning to get tired of this war, in respect of which MM.
_les émigrés_ had promised us more butter than bread. We have to fight
against troops of the line who never desert, and national troops who
remain at their posts. The peasants, who are armed, fire on our men,
and if one of them is found alone or asleep in a house he is murdered.
The weather, since our entry into France, has been horrible; it rains
in torrents every day, and the roads are so bad that at the present
moment we cannot move our cannon; moreover, we are almost in a state
of famine. We have the greatest difficulty in obtaining bread for the
soldiers, and meat is often wanting; many of the officers remain for
five or six days without warm food. Our shoes and cloaks are rotten,
and our men are beginning to fall ill; the villages are deserted, and
provide neither vegetables, nor brandy, nor flour; I do not know what
we shall do, nor what will become of us.”
This letter expresses a discouragement that must have been general,
and circumstances were favourable to Dumouriez in preparing for the
attack; but it was indispensable that he should at any cost prevent
the allied army from occupying the Argonne pass. The forest was
impenetrable except by five passages, which it was necessary to guard
and hold against the enemy. These passes were the Chêne-Populeux, the
Croix-au-Bois, the Grand-Pré, the Chalade and the Islettes. A camp
placed at the Islettes and a position taken up at the Chalade would
close the two principal roads to Clermont and to Varennes, and General
Dillon was despatched for the purpose. Dumouriez established himself
at Grand-Pré, to close the roads to Rheims and to the Croix-au-Bois.
He sent orders to General Duval, then at Pont-sur-Sambre, to break
up his camp at once and advance by forced marches to the pass of the
Chêne-Populeux.
Dumouriez felt certain of success, but an act of imprudence frustrated
his hopes.
The pass of the Croix-au-Bois had been considered less important than
the others, and was only defended by a couple of battalions of infantry
and two squadrons of cavalry. Dumouriez, in the stress of the moment,
had not had the time to see and judge personally of the importance of
this pass, but the German spies, employed to inspect the different
French posts, informed the Duke of Brunswick of the advantages of this
badly-guarded pass. Clairfayt confided the attack to Prince Charles
de Ligne, who started on the 13th of September at early dawn to seize
it. The abatis intended to bar the road had been carelessly made,
the half-buried branches not offering any resistance to the enemy;
the imperialists easily forced a passage, and the roads had been so
slightly damaged that they made their way at once. They met with hardly
any resistance, and easily carried the position. The men who held it
hastily fell back on Dumouriez’s camp; the latter, anxious at the turn
things were taking, immediately despatched two brigades of infantry,
and six squadrons of cavalry, to General Chazot, with orders to
recapture the pass at any cost. Chazot spent the day without attacking,
but, on receiving fresh and urgent orders to risk an attack, he opened
fire on the morning of the 14th.
The attack and the defence were vigorous; six times the post was
carried by the French, and as often recaptured by the Austrians. Prince
Charles sees that in order to keep the position it is necessary to
capture a French battery, which, cleverly placed, is inflicting heavy
losses on the Austrians. A vigorous charge is necessary; the Prince in
person leads the attack on the battery; eight men in the front rank are
shot dead. He dashes forward himself, the ninth, but, shot through the
head by a bullet, he reels for a moment in the saddle, and falls back
dead.
The French regained possession of the pass, and raised the body of the
unfortunate Prince. They found two gold chains with a locket round his
neck, and in his pocket an unfinished letter.
Clairfayt, in despair at the cruel loss the army had sustained,
hastened to avenge it, and took possession of the Croix-au-Bois.
He immediately claimed the body of the Prince, and it was at once given
up. Mass was celebrated in the camp the following morning, and the
coffin started for Mons. At that moment M. de Villeneuve Laroche, a
guest at Bel Œil, and a friend of Prince Charles, arrived on the scene.
“On the battlefield,” he says, “where yesterday the republicans were
defeated, I met a funeral procession, escorted by a few foreign troops,
going in the direction of Hainault. It was that of the young Prince de
Ligne, who was killed in the fight, and the body was being taken to his
unhappy father at Bel Œil.”
Prince Charles’s death was universally deplored; his brilliant
military qualities caused him to be regretted by the whole army; the
Baron de Breteuil wrote from Verdun to the Comte de Fersen: “Yesterday
Clairfayt’s army came in for a sharp fight at the outposts, in which,
however, it was victorious. Clairfayt’s army lost in the attack
five or six hundred men, but what deeply affects me is that Prince
Charles de Ligne was killed. I loved him from a child; he was the most
distinguished amongst the Austrians of the same age. His father will
feel the loss terribly.”
Prince Charles’s body was conveyed to Bel Œil, after passing through
Mons[111] at night, but his father was no longer there; he had been
recalled, with Marshal de Lascy, to Vienna.
When the terrible news arrived no one dared to tell him of it, and the
Marshal alone had the courage to undertake the delicate mission. He
sent the Prince word that he had received bad news from Clairfayt’s
army, adding that he would himself come and inform him of it. “My
son is wounded!” said the Prince as the Marshal entered. The latter
remained silent. “But speak, good God!...”--“Alas! I would not, or I
could not, understand,” he writes, “when he said that dreadful word:
_Dead!_... I feel crushed by the news, and he had almost to carry me
away in his arms. I see it still, the spot where I was when the Marshal
told me that my poor Charles was killed; I see my poor Charles himself,
as he welcomed me every day with the sunshine of his happy and good
face. I had dreamt a few days before that he had received a mortal
wound in the head, and had fallen dead from his horse. For five or six
days I was anxious, but as one always treats as a weakness that which
is often a warning, or perhaps a feeling of nature when there are ties
of blood, I cast from my thoughts the fatal foreboding which was only
too soon to be realised!”
The Prince never got over his son’s death, and he entirely lost all
enjoyment in life. This sad recollection had made in his heart a
deep and incurable wound. “That so light-hearted a man,” says Count
Ouvaroff, “who had lived through so much and was so careless of
misfortune, should ten years after this calamity break down at the bare
mention of the beloved name! No one dared utter it in his presence; if
he happened to speak of his son his voice would betray the intensity of
his grief, and his eyes fill with tears.” There is something strangely
touching in this picture of the old man, formerly so worldly and
sceptical, as we should say nowadays, who _would not be comforted_
because he still thought of the child of his heart who was no longer.
“There is,” said the Prince with admirable philosophy, when shortly
after he lost all his fortune, “there is a terrible method of rising
above circumstances. It is bought at the cost of a great grief. If the
soul has been wounded by the loss of all that is dearest, I defy minor
misfortunes to touch it; loss of wealth, total ruin, persecutions,
injustice, everything sinks into insignificance.”
FOOTNOTES:
[104] The expenses of this banquet amounted to nine thousand eight
hundred and ninety-five livres. (_Archives of Mons._)
[105] Oh Richard! oh my King! the whole world forsakes thee.
[106] Villeneuve Laroche, _Memoirs on Quiberon_.
[107] On the 11th June 1792 the inauguration of the Emperor François
II. took place at Mons. By letters patent granted at Vienna on the 19th
March, the new Emperor had authorised the Duc Albert de Saxe-Teschen
to represent him in this ceremony, and to take the customary oaths
in his name. The Duke Albert having in his turn appointed the Prince
de Ligne, Grand Bailiff of Hainault, to perform these duties, the
latter conferred the honour on Prince Charles, his eldest son. (Note
communicated by M. Deviller, keeper of the records at Mons.)
[108] The hôtel de Ligne was on the Rue de la Grosse Pomme, it is now a
hospital for incurables.
[109] The Archduke Charles-Louis, born in 1771, and youngest brother
of the Emperor François, was one of the best Austrian generals during
Napoleon’s wars; it is rather curious to study the outset of his
military career.
[110] _Moniteur_, “Sitting of the Convention,” Thursday evening, 27th
September 1792.
[111] Forty years ago, at Mons, there were old men who remembered
Prince Charles’s death as an event which afflicted the whole city.
XIII
Prince Charles’s will--Hélène receives the news of her husband’s
death--Departure for Werky--Hélène marries Count Potocki.
The unhappy Prince de Ligne had immediately sent to Bel Œil the
necessary instructions for his son’s last wishes to be fulfilled,
but the victory of Jemappes, which ceded the whole of Belgium to the
French, prevented the de Ligne family from returning to Bel Œil, now
in the hands of the enemy. Prince Charles’s wishes were contained
in a will written shortly before his death. We shall see that he
instinctively felt he would fall a victim in the course of this war.
Perhaps, indeed, weary of life, he sought death, for he seemed to brave
it; at all events the deepest melancholy overshadows the following
pages:--
PRINCE CHARLES DE LIGNE’S WILL.
“As I shall most probably be killed, if not in this war at least
in some other, I wish my body to be recovered and my funeral to
be conducted with all the honours of war, and with the greatest
pomp--military, of course.
“I wish my body to be carried to Bel Œil, after having been embalmed,
so as not to incommode any one, for I desire to be laid with my good
ancestors, who from father to son have all been honest men.
“I desire that my heart be wrapped up separately in a handkerchief
which shall have belonged to her I love, and which I beg her to give
for that purpose. As she has always possessed my heart during my
lifetime, I wish it, after my death, to be as happy as a heart can
be in the absence of the beloved one, that is to say, in company
with something that has been her’s. I beg her to embroider on the
first corner of the handkerchief _Alona_; on the second _Tendresse
delicieuse_; on the third _Indissoluble_; and on the fourth the 21st
September 1787, and the date of my death.
“I.--The whole of my collection of engravings, my collection of
original drawings, and in general all the contents of my portfolios,
are to be sold to the best purchaser. One will have to see in what
country the sale will be most advantageous, whether in Paris, Vienna,
London, or Amsterdam.
“_Nota bene._--Should any of my family wish to have these, he can take
them at the estimated value, which, however, cannot be less than a
hundred thousand German florins; for the drawings are really priceless,
as I have none of inferior value, and all are recognised originals.
This will, therefore, bring in a clear sum of a hundred thousand
florins, which will be completely my own, and quite independent of the
succession due to my natural heirs, which I leave to them according to
law. This sum of a hundred thousand florins is to be divided into two
parts: eighty thousand are to be sunk in an annuity for the benefit of
my natural daughter Christine, so that there will be eight thousand
florins a year for her keep and education, which, up to the age of
fifteen, may be five hundred florins, and a thousand florins up to the
age of twenty, at which time she will probably be married, and can
then spend her money as she chooses: In such a manner, however, that
she shall not spend more than eight thousand florins; and that all the
money saved on this sum, up to the age of twenty or five-and-twenty, if
she does not marry before, shall be placed out at four or five per cent
interest; this will become her children’s property, care being taken
always to add the interest to the capital.
“II.--Should she die without children, Norokos is to be her heir. As I
am the adopted father of Norokos, the Turkish child I found abandoned
during the war, the remaining sum of twenty thousand florins out of
the hundred thousand realised by the sale shall be sunk in the same
way on his account. The directions as to its use are the same as for
little Christine. Should he die without children, Christine is to be
his heir. I recommend their marrying, if they have any inclination one
for the other; it is my greatest wish, and I beg my sister Christine
to encourage this. I appoint her their guardian, and in default of my
sister Christine, I appoint Madame la Comtesse Thérèse Dietrichstein,
formerly married to Comte de Kinsky. I bequeath also to little
Christine the portrait of her mother, painted by Le Clerc, and the
chain I wear round my neck, with the following words on the clasps:
‘Ces liens me sont chers’ (these ties are precious to me). I beg her
never to part with it, but always to wear it as a remembrance of myself
and of the person who gave it to me.
“III.--My dispositions for the servants.
“I bequeath to Norokos my damaskeened Turkish gun with gold mountings,
and my sabre with the steel guard--the one I carried during this war,
in order that he may remember that it is to war he owes his condition;
that he must look upon a military career as his fortune, his element;
and upon the army as his country.
“IV.--I bequeath to my father the small painting by Le Clerc and M.
Duvivier’s drawing, both representing the fight at Pösig, and I beg
that my crosses of the orders of Merit and that of Saint George be
suspended from them, since I won them by my father’s example; and as
also I owe the happiness of having acquired some friends in the army
through listening to all Lieutenant Wolff said to my father when dying,
and remembering it all my life.
“V.--I bequeath to my sister Christine all my framed drawings, with the
miniatures, cameos, and small frames.
“VI.--I bequeath to my daughter Sidonie her mother’s portrait, so
that she may remember not to follow her example, and the Turkish
sabre given me by Prince Potemkin, which she is always to keep in her
room, so that her children may understand that I intend them to become
soldiers; when her son fights his first battle, in which, I trust, he
will distinguish himself, she will give him this sabre from me.
“VII.--I bequeath to Madame de Kinsky, who was Countess Dietrichstein
by birth, all the framed engravings I have in my apartment at Bel Œil,
and also the chain I wear round my neck which was given me by her
dearest friend; I venture, on this account, to beg that she will wear
it all her life, in remembrance of one whose happiness was bound up
with that of Madame de Kinsky; this I positively affirm.
“VIII.--I bequeath to Madame la Princesse de Lichtenstein, a Mandesch
by birth, several things I have at Brussels, which will be described
later on, and besides these my watch, as a token that the happiest
hours it has told are those I spent with her, and that to the very last
I thought of her as a friend whose place in my heart was next to the
one I have always adored.
“IX.--I bequeath to the Princess Jablonowska, Countess Czaski by birth,
several things I have at Brussels, which will hereafter be named,
and also the ring I always wear with the motto ‘Indissoluble,’ the
small portfolio with the chain, and the other portfolios or caskets
containing letters and manuscripts written by myself. I give this last
proof of my confidence to her who has most claims on my gratitude for
past kindness, who has best understood the nature of my thoughts, of
my troubles,--in short, to a true friend, whom I am sure not to forget
even in the other world.
“X.--I bequeath to the Princess Linowska, Thun by birth, my fine
edition of Shakespeare’s works, and the best English horse in my
stable, on condition that it will be kept exclusively for her use.
“XI.--I bequeath to Mademoiselle Caroline de Thun my eight handsome
silver candlesticks, and my handsome coffee-pot, and besides this an
annuity of twenty ducats, in order that she may procure for herself
wherever she goes, and even in the house which she most frequents, the
best arm-chair or couch that can possibly be made.
“XII.--I bequeath to Madame de Woina[112] a table and a tea-service,
in order that she may remember the pleasure I had in going to take tea
with her; also two Turkish sabres for her children, Maurice and Felix.
“XIII.--I bequeath to my good friend Poniatowski, my sabre set with
Marshal Laudon’s stone, and also the shoulder belt, requesting him to
wear it should he meet the enemy, in honour of one who to save his life
would willingly have sacrificed his own. Also my fine horse Winer, so
that he may be cared for all his life.
“XIV.--I bequeath to my brother Louis the King of Poland’s sabre and
Marlborough’s pistols.
“XV.--I bequeath to my friend François, Comte de Dietrichstein, the
arms found with me if I am killed, or that belong to me should I die
a natural death, excepting those disposed of by special legacies; I
beg him to collect and distribute the above-named legacies, and I am
certain that he will not leave my body to the enemy. Should, however,
an accident intervene, such as his being wounded himself, he must
neglect nothing in having it reclaimed, with the chains and other
things I wear on my person.
“XVI.--The portraits of Mesdames de Kinsky, Lichtenstein, Jablonowska,
Linowska, and Caroline, as well as Poniatowski’s and that of Madame de
Woina, which I request may be obtained, shall be placed in my apartment
in the tower at Bel Œil, where I have already placed the coloured
prints belonging to Madame de Kinsky. My wife’s portrait is to be
previously removed and placed in the lumber-room. This chamber is to
become a Temple to Friendship, and over the door shall be inscribed the
words: _Abode of the inseparable_.
“I request that my bust shall be placed on a pedestal in the centre of
the tower, and turned in the direction of Madame de Kinsky’s portrait,
and I beg my father to compose and have engraved on this pedestal some
verses describing the happiness I have enjoyed in her society; but they
must not contain any praise of myself; under each portrait he will
write in verse a description of the person represented.
“XVII.--Arrangements for my household (not copied).
“XVIII.--I bequeath to Madame de Kinsky my good dog Tristan, that he
may be taken good care of; he has been treated by me as I was by her,
like a good and ever-faithful dog.”
_Note added by the Countess Dietrichstein._--“The body was embalmed,
and, considering the circumstances, sent to Bel Œil by mail coach.
A Mass was said at the headquarters at Boux, in the presence of all
the officers; and orders were given that the last honours should be
rendered to his memory on the passage of the coffin through Mons, where
he was well known and beloved.
“In order to carry out his wishes as much as possible, the handkerchief
will be placed in his coffin; the date he asks for is unfortunately
from the 21st of September 1787 to the 14th of September 1792.”
Notwithstanding the mysterious reserve with which the Prince expresses
himself, it is difficult not to believe that Madame de Kinsky was the
secret object of his deep attachment. On reading his last wishes, so
imbued with nobleness, tenderness, and generosity, we wonder how Hélène
could have so misunderstood him, and obliged him as it were to transfer
his affection to another. Perhaps she was not entirely responsible
for their disunion; a mother or a friend like Madame de Rochechouart
might have guarded her at the outset from many an imprudent step. It
was impossible to expect experience and wisdom in a child of fifteen.
During the last two years she had begun to feel how dearly they are
purchased.
All this time Hélène had remained alone at Kowalowska. Notwithstanding
the imprudences her passion for the Count had led her to commit, she
had never for one moment entertained any other idea than that of
marriage, though she knew in what light her conduct was judged by the
world.
Mortified and discouraged, Hélène was giving herself up to the
gloomiest ideas, when she suddenly received the news of her husband’s
death. The sudden transition from despair to joy stunned her at first;
but soon only one feeling possessed her soul, that of her freedom, and
she hurriedly wrote these few lines to the Count:--
“A cannon-ball has carried off Prince Charles. I am free; it is God’s
will: _This cannon was loaded from all eternity!_”[113] And absorbed
in the selfishness of her passion, she did not for one instant regret
the first companion of her life, or shed a tear for the father of her
child. His glorious and touching end did not inspire her with an atom
of pity.
And then, as if, indeed, death had received from God the mission of
removing all possible obstacles to Hélène’s happiness, a few days later
the second son of the Countess Anna died of a gangrenous sore throat,
before his unhappy mother was able to reach him; and that nothing might
be wanting to complete the romance, the Princess heard almost at the
same moment of the death of her brother Xavier, leaving her heiress to
an income of six hundred thousand livres.[114]
The Count had reached Niemirow in time to see his son, of whom, it must
be added, Hélène had taken the utmost care. He wrote in all haste
to the Countess Anna to tell her the fatal news, and then in another
letter he announced to her Prince Charles’s death, and offered to give
her back at once her eldest son, François, in exchange for her consent
to their divorce. The unfortunate woman resisted no longer, she only
begged that the legal forms should be carefully observed in obtaining
the consent of the Court of Rome, hoping that in the interval her
husband might return to her before the last step was taken. Directly
after his mother’s answer the little Count François, accompanied by his
governess and servants, started to meet her.
Without loss of time Hélène wrote to her uncle, whose character she
well understood; she told him of her husband’s death, and implored his
aid for the settlement of her brother’s affairs; she ended by asking
him to see Count Vincent, who would be able to explain many important
details difficult to negotiate in writing. She sent this letter to the
Prince-Bishop by Major Hoffman, a Polish gentleman attached to the
service of the Lord Chamberlain.
The embassy was a complete success. The prelate, calculating that Count
Vincent Potocki living would be infinitely more useful to him than the
Prince de Ligne dead, wrote to the Count, and begged him to come and
see him when he should next go to Warsaw, and in the meanwhile offered
to receive his niece at Werky. Hélène sent the following reply:--
_December 1792._
“MY VERY DEAR AND VERY HONOURED UNCLE--It is with the deepest
gratitude that I received through Major Hoffman the assurance of your
paternal disposition towards me. It has awakened in me the warmest and
strongest feelings. Pray receive, my dear uncle, my compliments and my
thanks. Many things at present prevent my going to see you as I should
wish, but as soon as, by the grace of God, I am able to do so, I shall
have the honour of presenting myself in person, and reiterating to
you the deep respect with which I have the honour to subscribe myself,
my very dear and revered uncle, your very humble and obedient servant
and niece,
“HÉLÈNE MASSALSKA,
“Rowager-Princesse de Ligne.”
Then she wrote to the Count Vincent: “I do not advise you to await the
arrival of the Prince-Bishop before writing to him, for he is one of
those persons who never know when they will start or when they will
arrive. You could send a messenger to Werky, who would wait for an
answer, which might perhaps hurry on matters; but if the Prince-Bishop
could see you, he would do every thing you wish, and we should be
happy.”
The Count did not make up his mind to go, and Hélène, fearing his
capricious and irresolute character, went to Werky herself. She
entreated her uncle to apply to the Pope, so as to hasten the
formalities necessary for the divorce, for she was in daily fear that
the project on which she had set her heart should fall through.
Everything took place in accordance with the Princess’s wishes, and
_three months_ after the death of Prince Charles de Ligne the marriage
of Hélène and Count Potocki was celebrated at midnight in the Chapel
of the Convent of the Bernadines near Werky. The apparent motive of
this secrecy was the Princess’s mourning, as yet too recent to allow
of an official wedding; but it must be added that the permission for
a divorce had not yet arrived from Rome, and only came three months
later. It required all the influence of the Prince-Bishop to obtain a
priest that should celebrate the marriage under such conditions.
On entering the Chapel, and at the moment of realising the happiness
she so ardently desired, Hélène experienced the deepest emotion,
mingled with a vague sense of terror. She knelt beside the Count,
and remained motionless, her eyes fixed on the ground, and absorbed
in her thoughts. When the Count gave her his hand to lead her to the
altar she rose to her feet, but suddenly stopped short, with a fixed
and terrified gaze, a prey to the most terrible hallucination. By the
flickering light of the wax tapers she fancied she saw three coffins
laid across her path, which she would have to step over on her way to
the altar. The Count, appalled at Hélène’s terrified look, inquired in
a low voice the cause of her alarm; the sound of his voice recalled her
to herself, and, chasing away the horrible vision by a strong effort of
will, she resolutely ascended the three steps of black marble, which a
moment before had presented such a sinister appearance. The bridal pair
returned to Werky, and the terrible moment was soon forgotten.
After a prolonged stay in Lithuania, during which the Lord Chamberlain
visited his wife’s extensive domains, they both returned to Ukrania,
and Hélène triumphantly entered the Count’s abode, whither she had
gone in such fear and trembling at the time of his illness. The past
and all its sorrows were forgotten, and, radiant with happiness, she
wrote to her husband, who was absent for a few days: “To-morrow I shall
see you again, and see you still the same, for I do not want you ever
to change in the smallest degree: virtues, attractions, wit, faults,
caprices, all are precious to me; if you were more perfect, you would
no longer be the Vincent for whose sake I should have been guilty of
the greatest folly, if kind heaven had not permitted that all should be
for the best in the end.”
FOOTNOTES:
[112] These three ladies were sisters.
[113] These were the words Madame de Sévigné used when writing to Bussy
Rabutin on the death of Turenne.
[114] Twenty-four thousand pounds.
THE END
_Printed by_ R. & R. CLARK, _Edinburgh_.
_S. & H._
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