Chapter VIII: Part II: The Princess Ch. De Ligne

I

The Prince-Bishop and Stanislaus-Augustus--The Diet in 1773--Second dismemberment of Poland--Prince Xavier and his tutor.

We must now return to the Bishop of Wilna, and see what had befallen him since 1772. We left him settled in Paris, as though he intended to remain there for life. Through his amiable disposition, cultivated mind, and taste for science and erudition, he formed many ties there. He was even made an Associated Member of the Academy of _Inscriptions_ and _Belles Lettres_, and Madame Geoffrin, certain of her influence over him, was persuaded that he no longer meddled with politics. She little understood the changeable and restless mind of her protégé. Since the month of January 1773 the Prince-Bishop had left Paris, and the following is a letter Madame Geoffrin received from the King of Poland:--

_16th April 1773._

“The Bishop Massalski, after having urgently requested my uncle to judge his cause, after having refused to give him colleagues, as my uncle had himself proposed, has induced the Austrian minister to interfere by means of the authority, or rather the power, which his Court exercises in Poland, in order to prevent his suit being judged by my uncle, who, if the truth be known, is only too glad to be rid of the whole business. This inconsiderate conduct has greatly discredited the Bishop. It is a pity, for I have always said that there is a great deal of good in this Bishop.”

Madame Geoffrin, although very much embarrassed at having to explain the Bishop’s conduct, endeavoured still to find excuses for him.

MADAME GEOFFRIN TO THE KING.

_2d May 1773_

“I will at once answer your Majesty about the Bishop of Wilna. It is true that he has an amiable and gentle disposition that becomes him in society; but his character is so weak that he is incapable of keeping the resolutions he makes with the best intentions. The first person who cajoles him, or who raises the least suspicion in his mind, distracts him, so that he does not know on what he can rely. He has written to me, and I could see that he was in a great fright on writing to inform me of the new aspect of his affairs. He fears that this may estrange your Majesty from his cause. I assured him of the contrary, and told him I was certain that your Majesty and also the Prince Chancellor would be very glad to avoid judging this affair, which in all probability never will be tried.

“He has left us the Abbé Baudeau, to whom, as well as to Colonel Saint Leu, he had made the most splendid promises. They are both much attached to his person; and if he forgets them I do not know what will become of them. Saint Leu is perfectly devoted to the Bishop.”

Meanwhile nearly all the exiled senators who had taken part in the Confederation of Bar were restored to favour, and returned to Poland to take their seats in the Senate. The Bishop of Wilna arrived amongst the first.

THE KING STANISLAUS-AUGUSTUS TO MADAME GEOFFRIN.

“The Bishop of Wilna, when writing to inform you that my uncle would not judge his business, might have informed you also of several other changes in his conduct and in his principles. He is now the intimate friend of those who, not satisfied with having despoiled me of three-quarters of my kingdom, are anxious to deprive me to a very great extent of my royal prerogatives.

“Moreover the appointment of a Permanent Council is contemplated, which will grant pardons instead of the King, and superintend, besides, all the transactions that take place between the Diets.

“Such are their intentions with regard to us. I was only informed of their decision at the opening of the Diet by the three Powers who have dismembered the kingdom.”

The creation of the Permanent Council that the King dreaded was decided in August 1774. The delegations of Poland had resumed their sittings on the 1st of August. The ministers of the three Powers were present at the Assembly, and proposed the plan of a Permanent Council. The scheme met with the most strenuous opposition in the following sittings, especially on the part of the Lithuanian deputies; however, it was reported that the King had already given his consent to the establishment of the council, and deputies were immediately sent to his Majesty in order to hear him confirm this rumour. The report was true: the King with his customary weakness had submitted. Pleading illness, he begged for a delay of several days, during which time he secretly hoped that the Bishop of Wilna would persuade the Lithuanian deputies to consent to the scheme.[90] Some slight modifications were made and urged by the foreign ministers, the King and the delegation were obliged to assent, and on the 7th of August the project was signed.

This may be considered as the date of the overthrowing of the ancient Polish constitution, and of the utter annihilation of the sovereign power.

The Bishop of Wilna had returned to Paris with a portfolio crammed full of schemes: “He had consulted all the philosophers of the time on the state of Poland, and brought back plans borrowed from Rousseau and Mably, etc. He fancied he would find the salvation of his country in the abstract paradoxes of the former, or in the democratic delirium of the latter; and the confused state of his mind, open to every theory, exposed him to numerous delusions.”[91]

He was named a member of the Permanent Council, and the King had little reason to be satisfied with his conduct. In the Warsaw paper called _Journal Encyclopédique_ we find the following: “As for the Bishops of Cajavia and Wilna, they persist in distinguishing themselves by their constant opposition to the King’s wishes.”

Madame Geoffrin also writes to the King:--

_19th September._

“As long as the Bishop of Wilna was in Paris, I could see how weak he was and how much he required to be guided.... When I saw him start for Poland, without taking either of his two acolytes, I foresaw all that would occur. I am more than ever convinced that one can have no confidence in weak minds and frivolous characters. The poor man will be his own dupe; others will avenge your Majesty.”

In this case Madame Geoffrin showed herself a true prophet; but in the meantime honours and distinctions were being showered on the head of the Prince-Bishop. The Polish Government had lately constituted a body for the general direction of public instruction. This body received the name of Commissioners of National Education, and the Bishop was appointed president. It proceeded to reorganise the studies which had been completely interrupted by the suppression of the Jesuits, who until then had educated the Polish youth. It was decided that the sale of their possessions should furnish the capital necessary for the founding of schools and universities as well as for the purchase and printing of the students’ books.

While the Bishop of Wilna was busied with the education of his countrymen the tutor he had chosen during his stay in Paris for his own nephew, Prince Xavier, was discharging his functions in the worst possible manner. The Bishop had not wished to send the child to college on account of his delicate state of health. He preferred confiding him to some trustworthy man, who would be exclusively attached to his person. Madame Geoffrin consulted her friends on the subject, and Masson de Pezay,[92] a clever intriguer, a colonel and a poet, proposed his uncle, M. Boesnier-Delorme; he was a commissioner of woods and forests, a talented man and accustomed to good society, but his head was turned by the economists, and he was infatuated with their new theories.

Notwithstanding this, as he was warmly recommended both by the Marquis de Mirabeau and the Abbé Baudeau, for whom the Bishop had a great regard, the offer was accepted. A salary of thirty thousand livres[93] per annum was agreed upon for M. Delorme, including an under-tutor, a gentleman, and a lackey, who were more specially assigned to the child’s service. The same amount was offered to Masson de Pezay on signing the agreement, and a further sum of sixty thousand livres was promised besides to M. Delorme when his pupil’s education should be finished.

It would have been difficult to make a worse choice. M. Delorme spent his time travelling for the benefit of his agricultural affairs, and squandered his money in costly experiments on his property near Blois, situated on the banks of the Loire. During the winter he resided chiefly in Paris, where he faithfully attended the receptions of the Baron d’Holbach and Madame Geoffrin, as well as the political dinners given by the Marquis de Mirabeau. As for his pupil, he dragged him about in his summer travels, and during the winter left him at the mercy of underlings without exercising the slightest supervision. The child, barely seven years old, and an orphan from his birth, was puny and delicate, and would have required a mother’s incessant care. Instead of getting stronger, his health deteriorated from bad to worse; either left to himself, or ill-treated by a brutal and ignorant under-tutor, encouraged in low and precocious instincts by a debauched lackey, the unfortunate child contracted bad habits, and when, at the end of the term fixed for his education, the uncle claimed his return to Poland in 1778, M. Delorme brought back a child of fourteen, half crazy, absolutely ignorant, and in a most deplorable state of health. It is easy to understand the indignation of the Bishop, who had been carefully kept in ignorance of his nephew’s condition. M. Delorme did not dare to face an interview. He sent the young Prince to Wilna accompanied by a servant, and prudently remained himself at Warsaw. He had, nevertheless, the audacity to claim the 60,000 livres promised on the completion of Prince Xavier’s education. The Bishop flatly refused it, and only paid the travelling expenses. But by dint of successful scheming in Warsaw Delorme obtained a sum of 20,000 francs from the family council, and returned in haste to Paris. He had received 30,000 livres during six years--that is, 180,000 plus 3600 at the outset, and 20,000 at the end, which made up a total of 230,000 livres,[94] in payment for so successful an education.[95]

The young Prince was settled at Werky, in the magnificent residence of his uncle, at a short distance from Wilna. He was treated with the most tender care, his uncle never let him out of his sight, and took him with him during his frequent visits to Warsaw. A confidential man named Levert was attached to his person; he was sent by the Marquis de Mirabeau, who, indignant at Delorme’s conduct, and most distressed at having recommended him, had remained on the best of terms with the Prince-Bishop. It was precisely at this period that unforeseen circumstances, in which Hélène was concerned, gave rise to a rather curious correspondence between the Bishop and the Marquis.

FOOTNOTES:

[90] See the _Journal Encyclopédique_, September 1774.

[91] _Vide_ Ferrand’s _History of the Dismemberment of Poland_.

[92] Alfred-Frédéric-Jacques Masson, called Marquis de Pezay, inspector-general of the sea-coast, born 1741, died 1777.

[93] Twelve hundred pounds sterling.

[94] 230,000 livres are £9200 sterling.

[95] This story is told differently in the _Memoirs of Durfort de Cheverny_, edited by M. de Crêvecœur; but even after a careful consideration of his version, we consider our own the most correct.

II

Hélène’s suitors--The Duc d’Elbœuf and the Prince de Salm--Negotiations of marriage--The Marquis de Mirabeau and the Comtesse de Brionne--Madame de Pailly--The Bishop of Wilna’s refusal--A fresh suitor--The Prince Charles de Ligne.

While Hélène was bringing to a close the story of her peaceful years of convent life, the reputation of her beauty, her name, and her fortune had spread beyond the walls of the old Abbey.

The young Princess had already made her appearance at children’s balls. The Duchesses de Mortemart, de Châtillon, du Châtelet, de Choiseul, and others, whose daughters or nieces were her companions, often took Hélène out with them. More than one mother, anxious for her son’s provision in life, had turned her thoughts towards the little Pole, and disposed her artillery with a view towards securing auxiliaries in the field. The young girl was not long in finding this out, but with much discretion she appeared not to notice anything. Her plans were already marked out; she was better acquainted than any one with her uncle’s weakness of character, and knew well she would only make the marriage she chose. Two suitors came forward at the same time. The first was the Duc d’Elbœuf, Prince de Vaudemont, second son of the Comtesse de Brionne, of the house of Rohan-Rochefort, and of Comte Charles-Louis de Lorraine, Grand Equerry of France. Though of such noble birth, the Prince’s fortune was small, and an alliance with a rich heiress was for him the chief object in view. The Comtesse de Brionne, an intimate friend of the Duc de Choiseul, saw Hélène at Chanteloup. The grace and charm of the young girl attracted her attention, and on returning to Paris she carefully informed herself of both Hélène’s present and future prospects. It has not been forgotten that at the beginning of her _Memoirs_ the little Princess mentions the Comtesse de Rochefort as a friend of her uncle’s. This lady and her friend, the Marquis de Mirabeau, were among those who frequented the Comtesse de Brionne’s receptions. The Marquis de Mirabeau was, as we know, a great friend of the Bishop of Wilna, and kept up a constant correspondence with him; nothing was therefore easier than for the Countess to procure all the information she desired.

It was in this small circle that was woven the matrimonial plot which is now to be unfolded before our eyes, and we can see how in those days, as at present, slight importance was attached to mutual feeling, or to conformity of taste or character; fortune, rank, and name were the only conditions required.

It was decided that the Marquis de Mirabeau should open fire by writing to the Bishop. But it was felt that he could not bring the affair to a good issue unassisted; his haughty and violent temper, the uncertainty of his disposition, required the controlling influence of a feminine mind. The right person was ready to hand, and Madame de Pailly, whose intimacy with the Marquis was well known, was deputed to assist him in this matter.[96]

Madame de Pailly was very pretty, and possessed a quick, shrewd intelligence, well fitted for intrigue. The great Mirabeau, who had good reason to hate her, wrote as follows:--

“This woman has the cleverness of five hundred thousand demons, or angels, if you prefer it; but she is equally dangerous by reason of her beauty, and her intensely designing disposition.”

We are not concerned with the unedifying position that Madame de Pailly occupied in the Mirabeau family;[97] we merely conclude that she must have conducted herself with sufficient reserve or decency, as it was then called, to be admitted into the society of the Comtesse de Brionne and that of her aunt, the Princesse de Ligne-Luxembourg. The _black hen_, as she was called by her intimates, was delighted to play a part in this affair. She desired beyond everything to be useful to such great ladies, and neglected nothing to attain this end. Madame de Pailly’s letters were quoted in her society “as models of sentiment and elegance;” we may add of acuteness and moderation.

MADAME DE PAILLY TO THE PRINCESSE DE LIGNE-LUXEMBOURG.

PARIS, _26th December 1777_.

“I enclose, Madame, a copy of M. de Mirabeau’s letter to the Bishop. On handing it to me yesterday morning he said: ‘Be assured that this negotiation will succeed; Providence will aid you. I could not have written you this morning, but having suffered all night from a violent attack of asthma I employed the time in doing so. It may have suffered from my condition,[98] but nevertheless I think I have said all that was necessary.’

“He begs the Comtesse de Brionne will forgive the freedom with which he has spoken of her and her family; he thought it advisable to preserve towards the Bishop the same frankness he has always shown him, and, moreover, that his letter should not appear to have been dictated. The Abbé[99] was quite satisfied with it.

“We are agreed as to what he (the Abbé) should say in his letter. He will resolutely treat the question of the dowry, and will make all necessary observations. He even adds that in order to influence the undecided character of the Bishop he will enclose in his letter a copy of the answer he should send the Marquis de Mirabeau. The Abbé has often used this plan with success on previous occasions.

“He does not appear much alarmed at the competition of the ‘modern prince,’[100] and following the usual bent of his mind, which leads him to believe in what he wishes, he does not doubt for one moment of our success in this affair, and will carry it through rapidly.”

The Marquis de Mirabeau was perhaps not the best person for a negotiation of this sort, and his nature was certainly not conciliatory; but in spite of his violence, his tyrannical character, and fantastical ideas, his was not an ordinary intelligence. He had much observation, and expressed his ideas in an original, glowing, and picturesque style, though occasionally somewhat obscure.

THE MARQUIS DE MIRABEAU TO THE BISHOP OF WILNA.

PARIS, _25th December 1777_.

“MY LORD--My gratitude for your kindness, and the affection I feel in return for the friendship you have conferred upon me, have caused me to entertain an idea which I think suitable both as regards the greatness of your family and your own happiness. I have conducted the affair to a point where, if it meets with your approval, it can be further developed, but without compromising you in the slightest degree should you have other intentions.

“I know your affection for the scions of your illustrious family, whose destiny both law and nature, the will of their ancestor,[101] and their own helplessness, have confided to your care.

“I have not forgotten that it formed part of your plan that the young Princess, your niece, should be established in France. I have heard that she has given much satisfaction, and that each day she has shown herself more worthy of your care and affection. I have therefore thought of an alliance worthy of you in every way. Next in rank to our Princes of the blood, who, though always ‘peers’ of the blood were only raised by law above the other peers less than two centuries ago, we have nothing in France that can equal the House of Lorraine.

“This family is now reduced in France to two branches. One of them is almost extinct; the only remaining male representative being the Prince de Marsan, who has never married. The other branch is that of the Princes of Lambesc, Grand Equerries of France, at whose head stands the beautiful Comtesse de Brionne, whom you know,[102] and who occupies her position with as much dignity as splendour. This Princess has been left a widow with two sons and two daughters. The two Princes are: the Prince de Lambesc, Grand Equerry, and the Duc d’Elbœuf,[103] a young Prince eighteen years of age, of a fine, noble mien and gentle character, with whom all his family are satisfied--a rare thing anywhere, in the present day, especially with us. The eldest, the Prince de Lambesc, has until now refused to marry with a persistency that time alone can overcome.[104] His younger brother even went so far as to throw himself at his feet to implore him to do so on one important occasion.[105] The two brothers are very amicable. It is on the Prince d’Elbœuf that I have cast my eye, as representing, in the interim, the sole hope of his family, and I thought it well not to delay.

“Madame de Brionne is very clever, very watchful over the interests of her family, especially with regard to the settlement of her children. Active, without being restless, noble and elevated in her ideas on general matters, easy on questions of detail, amiable to the exact degree or extent she chooses, but having never displeased anybody or anything any more than her own mirror. This is not a portrait: it is a plain description, such as is necessary, for all depends upon her; she will be a pillar of support--to the young Princess, who, with her noble mind and ardent feelings, will prosper under such guidance; to the young couple also, who will require sustaining and directing; and lastly, to your Lordship, when you come to live amongst us; for if I cared for society I should prefer the dull moments of Madame de Brionne to the wittiest of all the others.

“Pray take counsel with yourself, my Lord, and send me word if I am to withdraw my promises. Any other will follow up the affair as well, and better, than I can, and ought even to do so. But I alone could give you my idea with all its developments. If the plan suits you avoid all delays. State things exactly as they are to be, so that we may consider them as signed and ratified.

“In any case, pray forgive the liberty I have taken by interfering in your affairs, and consider me, etc.

“_P.S._--I ask: 1. If the idea meets with your approval.

“2. The conditions you require.

“3. Those you will grant.”

While this negotiation was being carried on Hélène had met, in the course of her frequent appearances in society, Prince Frédéric[106] de Salm, who had come as if by chance to a young ladies’ ball. His reputation as a successful man of the world, his debts, and his conduct, did little credit to the name he bore. Unscrupulous in the choice of his amusements, frequenting the worst society, of doubtful courage, he commanded in Paris no sort of consideration. He was reproached, on the occasion of a duel he fought with an officer of the King’s guards, with having taken the precaution of secretly protecting himself with a large muff. On arriving at the ground he refused to undress, and rushed on his adversary unawares. The latter gave him a thrust that would have pierced him through and through had it not been for the protecting muff. The recoil caused by this obstacle threw the officer to the ground, and the seconds had all the difficulty in the world to prevent the Prince from killing his fallen adversary.

The Prince de Salm had a handsome face, easy manners, a gay disposition, and a supple mind. Hélène ignored the dishonourable details of his private life. She only saw in him an elegant cavalier, bearing a great name, and above all, the certainty of a fixed residence in Paris, in the magnificent mansion the Salms had built, on the Quay d’Orsay.[107]

She would not hear of the Duc d’Elbœuf, in spite of his brilliant prospects; she dreaded Madame de Brionne as a mother-in-law, and allowed herself to be strongly influenced by the Prince de Salm’s friends, who did not miss an opportunity of exciting the young girl’s imagination. The Bishop, led by his niece, returned an ambiguous answer, adjourned his decision, spoke of a probable journey to Paris, and ended by no longer concealing the fresh candidature of the Prince de Salm.

The Comtesse de Brionne ardently desired to continue the negotiations, and she consulted Mirabeau as to the best means of attaining her end. The Marquis replied in a long letter, of which the following is an extract:[108]--

“It is absolutely necessary that the Countess should have as representative a staid and honourable man, acting on her authority, and capable of defeating the intrigues he will meet with. National jealousy, errors of fact, important changes in places and ideas, distractions and dissipations of all kinds, in fact every sort of disappointment, await him; quite enough to worry out of his mind any sensible man.

“It must, however, be borne in mind that he must not be expected to conclude, treat, or decide anything, but only to obtain ample and reliable information as to the family possessions, customs, etc., to keep the Bishop in a favourable frame of mind, to sketch out the conditions with him, and try to bring him round to our views. I cannot deny that this is too much to expect from a man alone, in a strange country; for this there is only one remedy, which, if we can obtain it, I think will succeed--it is to get the Abbé Baudeau to accompany him on the journey. I know all that can be said against him, and he is the first to own his faults; he would spoil any business requiring time, but an affair that has to be carried off at the outset is quite another matter, and he is the first man in Europe for that kind of thing, thanks to his business-like aptitude and resources. He is ingenious, insinuating, as good as he is scatterbrained, of easy and lively habits, knowing how to influence the Bishop, which he does, not by thwarting him, but by turning him round like a glove. In short, whatever objections there may be to him, we cannot have men made on purpose. This one has a clear head, and will elucidate matters both here and over there; he enjoys the confidence of the young Princess, and knows how to manage her; he can work up the Bishop as he pleases. In fact, even had he none of these advantages, which I consider quite exceptional for the affair in hand, or did he not know the country as he does, I should think it of capital importance to employ him in carrying through a business of this kind.

“What I can guarantee, not only as the result of my express warning, but also by the fact that he has already suffered from it, is, that he will not meddle with politics or economy, or any other subject of discussion, and that, provided his travelling companion behaves to him in a simple and friendly way, neither allowing himself to be ruled by him, nor still less contradicting him openly, he will be quite satisfied with him, and will find him most useful. I must appear to write at great length on this subject, but I assure you that I am actuated by no prejudice. In reality I have more liking than is supposed for sensible business; but try watering cabbages with lavender water, and you will see if they grow!...”

Notwithstanding the Marquis’s eloquence, the Abbé Baudeau did not start for Poland, as the negotiations fell through. By a second letter the Prince-Bishop, under the influence of his niece, declined for her the honour of entering the house of Lorraine.[109] The unsuccessful result of the negotiations undertaken by Madame de Pailly had vexed her much; she feared the displeasure of the Comtesse de Brionne, and still more that of her aunt, the Princesse de Ligne-Luxembourg,[110] whom she had special reasons for wishing to please. The Princess, formerly lady-in-waiting to the late Queen of Spain, had, by virtue of that office, been given by the King an apartment in the palace of the Tuileries. She received a limited but carefully-chosen circle, of which Madame de Pailly would have been proud to form part, though the society was a very dull one. The old Princess, according to her contemporaries, had the most hideous fifty-year-old face that had ever been seen, a fat, shiny countenance, without any rouge, lividly pale, and adorned with a chin three stories deep. The Duchesse de Tallard used to say “that she was like a dripping tallow-candle.” But she was obliging and kind, and soon consoled herself for the failure of the projected marriage. She confided to the negotiating lady that she had another scheme in view. This time she had turned her thoughts to Prince Charles de Ligne, nephew of her late husband. In point of fortune the young Prince’s position was far superior to that of the Duc d’Elbœuf, and if his family occupied in France a less elevated rank than that of the house of Lorraine--which was a reigning family--on the score of nobility it was inferior to none.

Madame de Pailly, delighted at the confidence the Princess reposed in her, thanked her for it as for a favour, and set to work, resolved to profit by the experience she had acquired and avoid another failure.

She began by making the Abbé Baudeau and the Marquis write to the Prince-Bishop that nothing could be concluded in his absence, and that among the crowd of suitors, which every day increased, it was impossible he could discern at a distance what would be the best match for his niece.

Then she cleverly tried to discover what was the influence which had been brought to bear on the young Princess that disposed her so strongly in favour of the Prince de Salm. She learned that he had gained over to his cause one of the lady residents in the Convent, whom Hélène frequently went to see.[111]

Once fully acquainted with all the details of the situation, she drew up her batteries accordingly, and won over to her side three of Hélène’s best friends: the young Duchesse de Choiseul and Mesdemoiselles de Conflans. She got mutual friends to urge them quietly to influence the young Princess, and then patiently awaited the arrival of the Bishop, which could not long be delayed.

Before seriously opening up negotiations the Princesse de Ligne had written to Prince Charles and his mother to inform them of her plan, and of the advantages she saw in this alliance. But she did not hide the preference over his numerous competitors which the young girl showed towards the Prince Frédéric de Salm. Prince Charles did not seem very much flattered, and wrote to his aunt as follows:--

_March 1779._

“I have received, my dear aunt, the letters you have had the goodness to write to me, and have immediately forwarded them to my father. I foresee that there will be many difficulties in the affair you mention. It will require all the perseverance you possess with regard to what interests you, and tax to the utmost your kindness towards the whole of our family; a kindness whereof we are deeply sensible, and for which once more, my dear aunt, we offer you our best thanks.

“The little lady appears to me of decided character, and not very delicate in her choice, since she prefers the Prince de Salm, who has such a bad reputation. I only hope the Bishop will not decide! for it takes so long to receive the answers.

“Receive, my dear aunt, etc.”

From this letter it appears that the young Prince was not very much delighted at the proposed marriage, but his mother took up the matter with more eagerness, and begged her cousin to continue the negotiations.

The latter, then staying at her niece’s, Madame de Brionne, in the Château de Limours, wrote to Madame de Pailly, and offered to come herself to Paris to talk over the great affair. Madame de Pailly replies:--

“I had hoped, Madame, that this week would not have elapsed without your coming to Paris. I greatly desire to have the honour of seeing you, in order to tell you about our affair. You may be sure that I have made the best possible use of what you deigned to inform me. It would be too long for me to write to you all that has been said on one side and on the other, but the last word of _our uncle_ is that he must know what will be the total fortune of the young Prince in the future, and what allowance his father means to give him at present. He has repeated several times that that was the essential point to be cleared up; that he found all the other conditions most suitable; that with regard to the residence in Brussels, his niece was very-sensible, and that he flattered himself he would have no difficulty in persuading her, if that was the only obstacle in the way.

“It is true that he adds: ‘But may we not hope that the Prince de Ligne will come to Paris?’ I answered that I thought not, and, indeed, that this change of residence would not be to his advantage; that I thought his niece would find it very agreeable to be at the same time a great lady in Brussels, in Vienna, and at Versailles; that the Prince de Ligne’s establishments in Flanders were such that they were preferable to any that might be had elsewhere....”

Madame de Pailly conducted the whole business very cleverly. She called on the young Princess, and, feigning to ignore the preference that Hélène openly avowed for the Prince de Salm, she carefully avoided mentioning the subject. But she boldly faced the other obstacle--that of an establishment in Brussels.

She dwelt at great length on the exceptional position of the Princes de Ligne in Vienna and in the Netherlands. Then she gave a most brilliant description of that occupied by the Prince’s father at Versailles, where he spent most of his time when free from military service. She gave Hélène to understand that with the great preference the Prince showed for the French Court, she would easily find in him an ally towards obtaining an establishment in Paris; for he adored his son, and would be happy to have him near. Only it was essential to gain time, and care must be taken not to clash with the Princesse de Ligne, who was the least disposed to accept this arrangement.

This conversation made a tolerably deep impression on Hélène, who, for the first time, did not oppose a formal refusal to the proposed alliance with the Prince de Ligne; she merely asked to be allowed to reflect, and to await the arrival of her uncle before taking a decision. The delay was granted the more easily that the Princes de Ligne, both father and son, were at that time engaged with the army, Austria being at war with Prussia as to the succession of the electorate of Bavaria.

We will now leave Hélène to her reflections, and turn our attention to the two personages who are about to play such an important part in her life.

FOOTNOTES:

[96] Madame de Pailly was the daughter of Captain de Malvieu, of the Swiss guards; her family came from Berne, but her father’s rank keeping him in France, she had been brought up there, and while still very young had married M. de Pailly, a Swiss officer, also in the French service. Her husband took his pension and returned to Lausanne; Madame de Pailly often went to see him there, but she continued to reside in Paris, and was, in fact, completely separated from him after the year 1762. For more details see _Memoirs of Mirabeau_, by Lucas de Montigny; _The Comtesse de Rochefort and her Friends_, by Louis de Loménie.

[97] The Princesse de Luxembourg, born de Bethisy, was a sister of the Princesse de Rohan-Montauban, mother of the Comtesse de Brionne.

[98] The Marquis was ill, and very much taken up trying to obtain an order for the imprisonment of his son at the Bastille.

[99] The Abbé Baudeau, who thoroughly understood the Bishop’s character, having been attached to his service in 1772, during his first stay in Paris.

[100] Prince Frédéric de Salm.

[101] Prince Massalski, Grand General of Lithuania.

[102] The beauty of the Comtesse de Brionne was famous. The Duchesse de Villeray, in sending her a netting needle, addressed to her the following lines:--

“L’emblême frappe ici vos yeux.
Si les grâces, l’amour et l’amitié parfaite
Peuvent jamais former des nœuds,
Vous devez tenir la navette.”

An emblem here meets your gaze, If grace, love, and perfect friendship Can ever be knit together, Then you must hold the shuttle.

[103] Prince Marie-Joseph de Lorraine, Duc d’Elbœuf, Prince de Vaudemont, was the son of Charles-Louis de Lorraine, Comte de Brionne, Grand Equerry of France, and of Julia-Constance de Rohan. He emigrated with his brother, the Prince de Lambesc, and they entered into the service of Austria. Their rank of Princes of Lorraine gave them special favour in the Emperor’s eyes, and they both attained the rank of field-marshal. It was to the Prince de Lambesc that the young Princesse de Montmorency was betrothed.

[104] Time effectually overcame it. He married in 1812 the Countess Colloredo, a widow, beautiful in spite of her forty years, witty and ill-natured. He separated from her at the end of two years.

[105] On the occasion of his proposed marriage with Mademoiselle de Montmorency.

[106] Frédéric-Jean Othon, hereditary Prince of Salm-Kybourg; his mother was a Princesse de Horn. He was born on 11th May 1746, and died on the scaffold in 1794.

[107] This hotel is actually the palace of the Legion of Honour; it was built by the architect Rousseau.

[108] The letters of the Marquis de Mirabeau and those of Madame de Pailly on the subject of Hélène’s marriage are numerous, and are amongst the sequestrated papers. Letter T, _Portfolio de Ligne 1-4 of the National Archives_. We only give extracts from them.

[109] In the same year the Duc d’Elbœuf consoled himself by marrying, on 30th December 1778, Mademoiselle de Montmorency-Lagny.

[110] Henriette-Eugénie de Bethisy de Mézières, widow of the High and Mighty Lord Claude-Hyacinthe-Ferdinand Lamoral, Prince de Ligne and of the Holy Empire.

[111] This lady was no other than the Marquise de Mesnard, separated from her husband, the Marquis de Marigny, brother to Madame de Pompadour. She inhabited in 1778 a magnificent apartment in the Abbaye-aux-Bois, where she received the most brilliant society. She was on intimate terms with the Prince-Cardinal Louis de Rohan, and with the Princesse de Salm, mother of Prince Frédéric.

III

The de Ligne family--Prince Charles--War in Bavaria--Engagement at Pösig--The Prince de Ligne’s letter to his son--The Treaty of Teschen.

The De Ligne family was one of the most illustrious in Flanders. Its head, Charles-Joseph, Prince de Ligne, Prince of the Holy Empire, Lord Paramount of Fagnolles, and Lord of the Manors of Beaudour, Bel Œil, Valincourt and other territories, Marquis of Roubaix and Dormans, Baron of Fauquenberghe, Baron of Wershin, Knight of the Golden Fleece, Grandee of Spain of the first class, first _ber_ of Flanders, Peer, Seneschal and Marshal of Hainault, was General in the Austrian army, Captain of the Trabans, Colonel and owner of a regiment of Walloon infantry, and chamberlain to their Imperial Majesties.[112]

These honours were certainly sufficient to satisfy the highest ambition, but they were not all. In addition to all these titles we must add the position enjoyed by the Prince de Ligne at Versailles, Vienna, and Brussels--a position acquired by his brilliant personal qualities. Handsome, brave, generous, chivalrous, gifted with a dazzling imagination, lively wit, and a mind full of impulsive brilliancy, he was, notwithstanding all these advantages, the most unaffected of men. He is mentioned in all contemporary memoirs, even by those of most diverse opinions. Mesdames de Staël, de Genlis, the Comte de Ségur, the adventurer Casanova, the Emperor Joseph, Voltaire, the Empress Catherine, and others, all unite in a concert of praise, and not a discordant note jars upon the general harmony. Madame de Staël winds up her portrait of him by saying, like Eschine: “If you are astonished at what I say of him, how much more so would you be if you knew him!” Such was the future father-in-law of Hélène.

Prince Charles-Joseph had been brought up by his father in the strictest manner. “My father did not care for me,” he says: “I know not why, for we hardly knew each other. He never spoke to me; it was not the fashion at that time to be either a good father or a good husband. My mother feared him extremely. She gave birth to me dressed in her farthingale, and died in the same dress, a few weeks later, so strict was he as to appearances and stately formalities.”

His military career was most brilliant, and his promotion rapid. At the age of twenty he was named colonel of his father’s regiment of dragoons. He immediately wrote to inform him of the fact, and the following is the answer he received:--

“It was already unfortunate enough for me, sir, to have you as a son without the additional misfortune of having you as my colonel.”

His son replied: “My lord, neither the one nor the other are my fault, and it is the Emperor your Highness must make responsible for the second misfortune.”

The Prince married in 1755 the Princesse de Lichtenstein,[113] and in September 1759, while he was busy fighting the Prussians before Meissen, he received the news of the birth of a son.

“I have a son,” he writes joyfully. “Ah! how I shall love him; I already wish I could write and tell him so.... If I come back from this war I shall say to him: ‘Be welcome: I am sure I am going to love you with all my heart!’”

The Prince had suffered too severely from the harshness of his father to be willing to imitate it. All his children were brought up with the greatest affection, but he was never able to refrain from showing a marked preference to the eldest, Prince Charles, suitor to our young Princess. He taught him what he knew so well himself--“to fight like a gentleman.” The little Prince, while still a child, was led to battle by his father.

“I had a slight skirmish at the outposts with the Prussians,” he says, “and, jumping into the saddle with him as we galloped along, I took his little hand in mine. At the first shot I ordered I said to him: ‘It would be charming, my Charles, if we had a little wound together.’ And he laughed, and swore, and became excited, and spoke quite judiciously!”

After having been at Strasburg[114] for four years, Prince Charles entered the Austrian service, at the age of sixteen, as second lieutenant of engineers. He would have preferred the artillery, but chose the engineers to please his father.

At the moment when the negotiations for Hélène’s marriage were begun war had just broken out between Austria and Prussia, on the question of the succession in Bavaria, and the two Princes de Ligne were with the Austrian army.

The Elector of Bavaria, Maximilian-Joseph, had died on the 30th of December 1777 without male issue. Notwithstanding the indisputable rights of the Elector-Palatine, several other princes raised pretensions to the succession. The most formidable of these pretenders was the Emperor Joseph II. Barely had the Elector closed his eyes when the Austrian troops marched on the Bavarian frontier.

This caused great uneasiness in Prussia, and the young Duc des Deux-Ponts, urged on and supported by Frederick the Great, protested before the Germanic Diet against Austria’s designs. The Elector of Saxony followed his example, and while this serious discussion was going on Joseph and Frederick went, the one into Silesia, the other into Bohemia, to take command of the large armies they had raised. They remained thus in presence of each other for several months. Marie-Thérèse, who feared war, carried on secret negotiations to stop it. Joseph, on the contrary, anxious for a contest with the great Frederick, urged it on with all his might.[115]

The Austrian army was divided into two corps, the one officially commanded by the Emperor, but in reality by Marshal de Lascy, and the other by Marshal Laudon; it included the Lycanians or Croats, and picked grenadier regiments under the Prince de Ligne. His headquarters were at Bezesnow, in Bohemia. His son was in Marshal de Lascy’s corps, occupying a strong position behind the steep banks of the Elbe; three lines of forts defended the passage of the river. Prince Charles was in fact principally occupied with the construction of these forts, and his father constantly wrote to him. The following letters will show the affectionate terms that existed between them. It would appear that Prince Charles was dissatisfied at the manner in which the fortifications were being made,

_From my Headquarters at_
BEZESNOW, _26th June 1778_.

“Well, my engineer, so you are still fortifying your position, but you are not fortifying your esteem for the genius of our engineers? I have much trouble, on my side, to fortify myself against _ennui_.

“The Emperor came here to make what we may well call a fuss. He said he wished for war, but did not believe in it. ‘_Who will take a bet?_’ he said to us the other day. ‘_Everybody_,’ replied Marshal Laudon, who is always in a bad temper. ‘_Everybody means nobody!_’--‘_But I for one will bet_,’ said Marshal Lascy. ‘_How much?_’ said the Emperor, who expected him to propose about twenty ducats. ‘_Two hundred thousand florins_,’ said the Marshal. The Emperor pulled a long face, and felt he had received a public reprimand.

“He has been very gracious to me. He is in constant fear lest one should play the pedant by him. He was satisfied with my troops, and said many nice things about you, my dear Charles, for he had seen you work marvellously well. He has just left; I can still see him from my windows.

“I laugh at myself and the others when I think that, unappreciated though I be, I value myself so much more than they suppose. I personally superintend every platoon. I make myself hoarse with giving the word of command to six battalions at the same time.

“I personally inspect even the very smallest huts, called in Bohemia _kaloups_, each containing only four soldiers, and taste their soup, their bread, weigh their meat, in order to see that they are not cheated. There is not one whom I do not talk to, whom I do not supply with something; not an officer I do not feed, and whom I do not rouse to the war. My comrades do nothing of this kind, and they are very wise, as no one cares. Not one of them cares for the war; they utter the most pacific speeches before the young men, whom they expect in the future to be zealous and good generals. This is also very well. They will be made generals before I shall, and that also will be very well.

“It is six weeks since I have spoken a word of French; but, on the other hand, to repay me for a tiresome dinner, I have the pleasure, on leaving the table, of receiving thirty bows at a time.”

“If an infantry officer may salute an engineer in the exercise of his genius, I embrace you, my dear boy. I am delighted that you should get praised for doing bad work. Good-bye, my excellent work; good-bye, my master-piece, almost as much so as Christine.”[116]

In the meantime the Emperor and the King of Prussia remained stationary, constantly exchanging letters. The Prince de Ligne, who was well posted up, kept his son informed of what was going on.

BEZESNOW, _5th July_.

“I have this moment heard that the Marshal asked the Emperor, on Saint John’s Day, how he had answered the letter he had received that day from the King of Prussia. ‘I have nonplussed him,’ he answered; ‘I represented that the season was advancing, and that I wished to receive some lessons from so great a master. When do you think, my dear Marshal, that I shall get his answer?’ The Marshal counted on his fingers, and replied: ‘In eight days; but he will bring it himself to your Majesty.’

“I have just heard that he has entered Bohemia; to-day is the 5th July, the calculation is exact; so much the better; I have received orders to march with all my corps.”

The King of Prussia had suddenly made his appearance at Nachod, at the head of his advanced guard. “We hoped it,” says the Prince de Ligne, “but did not expect it.” He writes to his son:--

_July._

“As I do not suppose you have already left Pardubitz for the army, I must write and give you some news of it. The Emperor was informed that the King was advancing at the head of I do not know how many columns. He went at full gallop to the redoubt number 7, and asked about twenty times: ‘Where is the Marshal?’ The latter came up slowly for the first time in his life: ‘Well, Field-Marshal, I have had you looked for everywhere.’--‘Well, Sire, there is the King.--Give me your spy-glass.... Ah! there he is himself, I bet! on a large English horse ... perhaps his Anhalt, look.’--‘That is possible; but they have not come alone to beat us; look at the strength of the columns, Oh! there is one that certainly numbers ten thousand men. They are coming to attack us?’--‘Perhaps, what o’clock is it?’--‘Eleven o’clock.’--‘They will only be in battle line in two hours’ time, then they will cook their dinner, so shall we; they will certainly not attack your Majesty to-day.’--‘No, but to-morrow?’--‘To-morrow! I think not, nor the day after, nor even at all during this campaign.’

“You will recognise the phlegmatic and bitter style of our excellent Marshal, annoyed at the constant interference and anxiety of the Emperor, who on these occasions feels that he is not master of the situation.”

At last the war began, but the opposing parties contented themselves with observing each other’s movements. Prince Charles rejoined his father at Mickenhau on the 30th of July, and he became one of his aides-de-camp; he was always to be found at the outposts, and in the midst of danger was remarkably cool and courageous. His father constantly speaks of him with a pride that he cannot conceal: “Charles is splendid under fire; I cannot restrain his ardour, he has such presence of mind, such spirits and animation, that he encourages every one. I must also add that the Emperor is very much pleased with him.” It is thus that the Prince expresses himself in the picturesque and delightful description he has given of this Bavarian war; a war presenting this peculiarity, that not a shot was fired in Bavaria, and that two armies of more than a hundred thousand men, one commanded by the King of Prussia, the other by the Emperor of Austria, remained during nine months in sight of each other without fighting a single battle, contenting themselves with slight skirmishes or small outpost attacks.

The Prince, in despair at this state of inaction,[117] seized every opportunity of attacking the enemy. We will quote the account he gives of the fight of Pösig; it was the first action in which Prince Charles took part, and had a great influence on his military career.

“Prince Henry’s[118] hussars had taken up a strong position on the heights of Hühnerwasser. In order to dislodge them it was necessary first to take the Convent of Pösig, where there was a small garrison of about forty men, who spent their days watching all that took place in our camp. This perpetual spying irritated M. de Laudon a great deal. I told him that Colonel d’Aspremont had already proposed to attack them, but that even if the position were carried it would be difficult to retain it, being situated nearer to Prince Henry than to us. He told me to try if I could.... But the garrison was on the watch. A sentinel had been placed at the door of the monk who gave me information, the main entrance to the Convent had been barricaded, and they had raised trestles. The brave Lycanians began the attack an hour before daybreak, at the very moment that I was drawing up my men on the small plain. Fifty were chosen to form the scaling party. All wanted to go, but there were only five ladders, and if I had sent for more the news would have spread in the country. Although the ladders were short, one of the brave Croatians was killed on the wall. On arriving they were greeted by a shower of stones, and Colonel d’Aspremont could no longer restrain them. The excellent and worthy Lieutenant Wolf went up first; he was shot through the arm. All of a sudden they heard, without knowing where the news came from, that the gates had been burst open, and every one rushed thither. Wolf was shot through the body, and died two days after, telling me that if he had a thousand lives he would be glad to sacrifice them all in my service. A sergeant and five sappers who burst open the gates were killed on the spot, and twenty-five men were wounded.

“Nothing has ever grieved me so much as seeing these fine, excellent fellows, stretched side by side with their lieutenant uttering these touching things. Formerly when I sacrificed the lives of my men, sometimes needlessly, we shared the same dangers, and it had not the same effect on me. But I had sent these poor fellows forward, and unable to be everywhere at once, thinking moreover to be of more use where I was, I remained behind, and perceived that it is often a hard thing to be a general officer, as one is obliged to expose one’s men to dangers which one cannot share.”

Prince Charles was so struck with the confidence and devotion his father inspired in his men, and with the praises bestowed on him by Lieutenant Wolf on his deathbed, that he remembered it all his life, as we shall see later on. A few days after Marshal Laudon[119] came to the Prince, and ordered him to advance all his troops, and dislodge the Hühnerwasser huzzars.

“We had scarcely got to Jezoway when the rattle of the carbines was heard; the Marshal in consequence began to get excited, and I saw, on a reduced scale, the conqueror of Frankfort and of Landshut; it was the first and last time he smiled through the whole of the campaign.

“Charles is so brave that it is a pleasure to see him. I was galloping by his side, and holding his hand, saying as formerly: ‘It would be a joke if we were struck by the same shot!’ After that, he carried an order to retreat to an officer, who was wounded on receiving it. Charles was delighted at having exchanged pistol shots with the enemy. M. de Laudon and I were also under fire; the first time he sees the enemy after a long period of peace he gets as excited as if he were still a mere lieutenant of Lycanians, and went himself to order Klégawiez and Pallackzi to retire from their positions, which had been turned.

“I said to him: ‘Marshal, let us rather send our orderly officers and our aides-de-camp.’ When I looked round there were none left; they had all gone off like giddy fellows with Charles. Pösig was taken at about twelve o’clock.

“Such is the simple story of a very pretty and amusing little affair--similar, however, to many others that our generals make a fuss about, and the newspapers describe as serious battles, for the edification of the coffee-rooms and society of the capital.”

Meanwhile Marie-Thérèse, in her ceaseless efforts to bring the war to a close, won over the Czarina to her cause, and at length succeeded in spite of the Emperor Joseph, who was ignorant of his mother’s negotiations.

A Congress met at Teschen on the 10th of April 1779, and peace was signed on the 13th of May 1779. This war was peculiar in many respects. The Palatine dynasty, in whose interest the war had been undertaken, took no part in it. Bavaria, the subject of dispute, was not involved in the hostilities; and the Elector-Palatine, who had refused the King of Prussia’s assistance, owed the chief advantages of the peace to his influence. The termination of this war without a single battle left everybody in a bad humour, especially the Prince de Ligne: “I was not the only one displeased,” he says; “the Empress was dissatisfied because peace had not been made soon enough; the Emperor because it was concluded without his knowledge; Marshal Lascy because his plans had been interrupted, which, if they had been carried out, would have proved far more advantageous; Marshal Laudon because he had only played the part of observer and observed; the King of Prussia because he had spent twenty-five millions of écus[120] and twenty-five thousand men, and had not once done what he intended; Prince Henry because he had been constantly crossed by the King.”

FOOTNOTES:

[112] At a latter period he became field-marshal, like his father and grandfather.

[113] Françoise-Marie-Xavière de Lichtenstein, born 25th November 1740, daughter of Emanuel, Prince de Lichtenstein, and of Marie-Antoine de Dietrichstein-Weichseltadt.

[114] At that time there was a famous school of artillery at Strasburg, directed by de Marzy.

By the treaty of Ryswick, signed in 1697, Alsace at that time belonged to France. Strasburg had capitulated on the 30th September 1681, and made its submission to Louis XIV. Fortified by Vauban it had become a formidable fortress. The arsenal contained nine hundred cannon.

[115] Rulhière, a passionate but keen observer, wrote of the Emperor Joseph: “Peace was pain and anxiety for him, _invasion_ and _conquest_ was the result of all his meditations. These two words had made the celebrity of Frederick, and it was by them that Joseph wished to attain and even surpass his rival. This proud man was constantly tortured by a nervous and jealous anxiety.”

[116] Princess Christine was the eldest daughter of the Prince de Ligne; she married in 1775 Comte Clary, eldest son of the prince of that name; she was adored by all who knew her.

[117] War was a real delight to the Prince de Ligne; from his childhood he was passionately fond of it. When he speaks of a battle he says: “A battle is like an ode of Pindar: you must throw into it an enthusiasm bordering on madness! To describe it properly would, I think, require the sort of intoxication one feels at the moment of victory.”

[118] Prince Henry of Prussia, brother of the King, born 8th January 1726, died 3d April 1802. He is said to have had great military talent; but his brother was jealous of him and did not like him.

[119] Laudon (Gédéon-Ernest, Baron of), an Austrian field-marshal, born 16th October 1710 at Trolsen in Livonia. He first served in the Russian army from 1733 to 1739, and not finding his promotion rapid enough, he entered the Austrian service. As a reward for his brilliant services the Emperor Joseph made him, in 1769, Commander-General of Moravia, and Field-Marshal in 1778. The Empress Catherine used to say: “I cannot see Admiral Tchitchakoff without thinking of a saying of the Prince de Ligne about Marshal Laudon. Some one asked him how he could be recognised: ‘Go,’ he replied; ‘you will find him hid behind the door, ashamed of his merit and superiority.’ That quite describes my admiral.”

[120] Equal to £6,250,000 sterling

END OF VOL. I

_Printed by_ R. & R. CLARK, _Edinburgh_

_S. & H._