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MEMOIR 
 
 DUCHESS OF OELEANS. 
 
 MAEQUESS DE g 
 
 gv C6U y ■ t- , |. ^^aoi/v-vgiL. VJw uJ 
 
 TOGETHER WITH 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SOUYEl^IRS kW OEIGmAL LETTERS. 
 
 CO:^LECTm) BY 
 
 PROF. a?'H5>l)E SCHUBERT. 
 
 TRANSLATED FROM TEE FRENCH. 
 
 NEW YORK : 
 OHAELES SOEIBNEE, 124 GEAND STEEET. 
 
 1860. 
 
^ 
 
 
 Kntehed, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S60, by 
 
 CHAELES SCEIBNEE, 
 
 In the Cleric's Oflice of the District Court of the United States 
 
 for the Southern District of New York. 
 
 
^/^ 
 
 TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. 
 
 The ebaracter of the Duchess of Orleans is one of such 
 remarkable loveliness, and shines with such radiant lustre 
 in the midst of the French Court, and in the subsequent 
 trials to which she was subjected after the downfall of 
 Louis Philippe, that it is worthy of the most careful 
 study. While translating her most interesting Memoir 
 by the Marquess de H , which had such well-de- 
 served success in France and England, another work upon 
 the same subject and of additional interest, by her tutor, 
 Prof, de Schubert, fell into my hands. The style of the two 
 authors is so different, and her character looked at from 
 such different points of view, that it has been deemed ad- 
 visable to unite the two Memoirs in one volume, for the 
 I'cason that the originals are not likely to fall into the 
 hands of the general reader. The following interesting 
 account of Prof, de Schubert and his Life of the Duchess 
 may be found in Monsieur Grirard's preface to his able 
 French translation : — 
 
 " In 1816, Prof de Schubert was appointed preceptor to 
 the children of the Duke of Mecklenburg Schwerin. En- 
 dowed with a superior mind, extensive information, and a 
 profoundly religious and sympathetic character, he needed 
 
4 TKAJSTSLATOE S PREFACE. 
 
 a sojourn of only three years in that household to render 
 his memory ever precious. Shortly after leaving L\id- 
 wigslust to occupy the chair of natural science at the 
 University of Erlangen, the young princess Helen solicited 
 a correspondence with him, which only ended with her 
 life. After a sojourn of eight years at Erlangen, Prof, de 
 Schubert became a professor in the University of Munich, 
 and received the honor of a membership with the Academy 
 of Sciences. 
 
 " The long career of Prof, de Schubert has been marked 
 by numerous publications upon the natural sciences, theo- 
 logical questions, instructive biographies, narrations, etc. 
 All the works of the former Professor of Ludwigslust 
 much interested the Duchess of Orleans, who gratefully 
 acknowledged them ; those which most attracted her were 
 upon his religious views, containing his profound medita- 
 tions upon the nature of the soul and its relations with 
 God. By the side of the interesting biography of the 
 
 Marquess de H , this work appears to offer a triple 
 
 source of interest. First, the more complete information 
 concerning the education of the princess up to her mar- 
 riage. Second, the publication of about twenty-four let- 
 ters or fragments of letters written in German, addressed to 
 Prof, de Schubert, the grand duchess, or a youthful friend. 
 Finally, and most important, the exclusively religious 
 point of view of the author, which is in perfect harmony 
 with the convictions of the Duchess of Orleans." 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 ' •>« 
 
 PART I. 
 
 MEMOIR, BY THE MAEQUESS DE H : 
 
 »— 
 
 PAGE 
 I. 
 
 Birth of the princess Helen — Death of her mother — Marriage of her father 
 to the princess Augusta of Hamburg — Development of the princess' 
 heart and mind — Death of a young friend — Presentation to the court 
 of Weimar — Confirmation in 1830 — Death of her brother Prince Albert 9 
 
 II. 
 
 The dulse of Orleans' negotiation for marriage with the princess Helen — 
 Departure for France (1837) — Eeception in France 22 
 
 III. 
 Letters from the duchess— Birth of the count de Paris — Birth of the duke 
 de Chartres — Letters 83 
 
 IV. 
 Failure of the health of the duchess— Sojourn at Plombi&res— Sudden death 
 of the duke of Orleans 43 
 
 V. 
 
 Hope of the duchess in God — Letters 57 
 
 YI. 
 
 Kevolution of the 24th of February — Escape from France 70 
 
 YIL 
 Letters from Eisenach and elsewhere — Sojourn in England — ^Death of Louis 
 Philippe and the queen of the Belgians — Kesideuce at Kitley. 92 
 
 YIIL 
 
 Eesidence at Thames-Ditton— Letters— Illness of the duchess 126 
 
 Last will and testament of the duchess 148 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PART II. 
 
 BIOGBAPHICAL SOUVENIKS AND OKIGINAL LETTERS COL- 
 LECTED BY PEOF. G. H. DE SCHUBERT. 
 
 PAGE 
 I. 
 
 The way of life— Birth of the princess, January 24, 1814— Death of her 
 mother, February 20, 1816— Gelations of the author with the grand 
 duke's family 151 
 
 II. 
 The vine stock in the garden — The new mother — Letter of the princess at 
 nine years of age 157 
 
 III. 
 The happy inspiration— Character of Helen— Her first friend 164 
 
 IV. 
 
 Friedensburg — Retired life of the grand duchess — M. Eennecke, precep- 
 tor to the princess — Order of the day and daily tasks — Method of edu- 
 cation — Maternal solicitude — Mademoiselle Nancy Solomon — Circle of 
 Friedensburg — Harmony of views — Letters from the period of child- 
 hood—Journey of Prince Albert, and sojourn in Switzerland— A poem 168 
 
 V. 
 Joy and sorrow— Death of Ida de Bassewitz— Confirmation— Poems of her 
 early youth 187 
 
 VI. 
 
 A new school of life— Letter from Friedensburg— Journey into Switzerland 
 and return into her country — Four new letters 191 
 
 VIL 
 Shadows and lights— Illness of the gi-and duchess— Sojourn at the baths of 
 Tceplitz— King Frederick William III. of Prussia— Intellectual pleas- 
 ures at Dresden and Jena — Precursory symptoms of a change of fortune 
 — Disquietade with regard to the life of Prince Albert— Last letter from 
 the prince (1833)— His illness at Ludwigslust— His death (October 18, 
 1834) — ^Letter from his sister 207 
 
CONTENTS. 7 
 
 PAGE 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Life a dream — New future — Visit of the duke of Orleans at Berlin — Illness 
 of the princess — Opposition to the marriage — Departure from Mecklen- 
 burg — Arrival in France 224 
 
 IX. 
 
 First interview — Marriage — Impression that the new duchess produced., . . 231 
 
 X. 
 Louis Philippe in the family circle — Sketch of the king's youth — The July 
 revolution — Members of his family 240 
 
 XL 
 New life of the family — Circle of Neuilly — Family fetes — Happiness and 
 humility , 243 
 
 XII. 
 
 Letter written in a garden — Souvenir to the address of an old friend 253 
 
 XIIL 
 The voice of filial gratitude — Eeturn of the grand duchess from Mecklen- 
 burg to Ludwigslust— First letter of the duchess of Orleans to her 
 mother (1837)— Family life at the court of France 257 
 
 XIV. 
 Birth of the count de Paris (August 24, 1838)— Letters from the duchess to 
 her mother and the author — Joy of the royal family — Departure of the 
 duke of Orleans for Algiers (1839)— The duchess accompanies him to the 
 place of his embarkment — Sympathy of the Protestants — Tolerance of 
 Louis Philippe— Letters from the duchess (1840)— Birth of the duke 
 de Chartres (November 9, 1840) 268 
 
 XV. 
 
 Enigma of the present life — ^A year of trials (1842)— Death of the brother 
 of the duchess (March 7)— The duke of Orleans accompanies the duch- 
 ess to Plombi^res— Death of the duke (July 13, 1842)— Letter to the 
 grand duchess, written before the catastrophe — The arrival at Plom- 
 bi^res — Grief of the duchess— Letter to her mother — General sympa- 
 thy — Letter written from Eu to the author 289 
 
 XVI. 
 
 Day Dawns— Letter to her mother, dated Dreus (1843)— Christmas festival 
 — Anniversary of the duke's death (1844) — The new year of 1845 — Ex- 
 tracts from various letters written to the grand duchess 300 
 
b CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 XVII. 
 
 Progress of outward life— Affection of the people for the duchess — Conso- 
 lations in her children — Taried relations — Yisit of Mademoiselle Eant- 
 zau — Letters written in 1846 and 1848— Solicitude of the duchess in the 
 education of her children 309 
 
 SVIII. 
 The February revolution and its consequences — The 24th of February — 
 Flight from Paris — Short stay at the waters of Ems — Letter to the aw 
 thor — Arrival at Eisenach 882 
 
 XIX. 
 Information derived from the best source — Eespect of the Parisian people 
 for the exiled duchess —Visits— Maternal joys — Voyage to England and 
 confirmation of the count de Paris (1850) — Death of Louis Philippe — 
 Profound retirement and inward peace (1851) — Gratitude in the midst 
 of trial 840 
 
 XX. 
 Consolation and new trials 347 
 
 XXI. 
 
 Foretaste of the terrors of death — Horizon overclouded (1852, 1853) — Jour- 
 ney and sojourn in Switzerland — Deliverance from a great danger — 
 Letter from the duchess 355 
 
 XXIL 
 New Pilgrimage — Need of repose and isolation — Maternal enjoyments — 
 Subsequent griefs —The Crimea campaign — Letter from Eisenach, (Jan- 
 nary, 1855) — ^Visits from the king of Saxony in Thuringia, and of the 
 duchess in Dresden (1855)— Illness and convalescence — Sojourn in It- 
 aly (1856-5T) — Souvenirs of this voyage 861 
 
 XXIIL 
 The end — A storm at sea — ^Death of the duchess de Nemours (November 
 10, 1857) — Last Christmas festival — Desire for departure — Last letter in 
 my address, (April 4, 1858) — Illness of the duke de Chartres — Illness of 
 the duchess— Her end, May 18, 1853 875 
 
I. 
 
 The princess Helena Louisa Elizaljetli, of 
 Mecklenburg Schwerin, born at tlie castle of Lud- 
 wigslust, on the 24tk of January, 1814, was tbe 
 daughter of Louis Frederick, hereditary grand-duke 
 of Mecklenburg Scbwerin, by bis second wife, 
 CaroKne of Weimar, The princess Caroline was 
 both charming and intellectual, and her father, 
 Charles Augustus, grand-duke of Saxe-Weimar, 
 the friend of Goethe and Schiller, was one of the 
 most distinguished princes in Germany ; her mother 
 was the princess Louisa of Weimar, of whom 
 Madame de Stael has left such a fascinating portrait. 
 " She was," wrote she, " the true model of a 
 woman destined by nature for the most illustrious 
 rank ; without pretension or weakness she inspired 
 both confidence and respect. Her soul was pene- 
 trated with the heroism of chivalric times, without 
 being disrobed of feminine gentleness." 
 1* 
 
10 MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 The princess Helen was only two years of age 
 when the grand-duchess Caroline died, in the prime 
 of life. "While dying, it is said she requested her 
 husband to grant another mother to her children, 
 and designated her cousin, the princess Augusta of 
 Hamburg. Never was maternal devotion better 
 directed. The princess Augusta became grand- 
 duchess of Mecklenburg in 1814, and being soon 
 after left a widow, consecrated all her best affec- 
 tions to her cousin's children. She retired from 
 society that she might devote herself more entirely 
 to their education, and chiefly to that of the prin- 
 cess Helen, who attached herself to her from the 
 very first, and never ceased to love her with the 
 tenderness of a daughter. 
 
 One takes pleasure in recognizing in this grace- 
 ful child aU the qualities that she afterwards ex- 
 hibited. The perfect simplicity of her character 
 was doubtless maintained by her entire forgetful- 
 ness of self. Indeed, a special charm attaches 
 itself to those natures that never vary, independ- 
 ent, if one may so speak, of their intrinsic value ; 
 one always finds in them the freshness of childhood. 
 On the contrary, virtues acquired during the course 
 of life are rarely allied with complete self-abne- 
 gation ; for the efforts they have cost are recalled 
 continually, and make one look upon them with a 
 
DUCHESS OF OELEANS. 11 
 
 sort of complacency, in spite of oneself. The prin- 
 cess Helen, at the age of four years, manifested a 
 tender, generous concern for the sufferings of others, 
 and was strong in bearing her own, as we have 
 since seen, " She was never egotistical," say those 
 who had charge of her early education, " and was 
 at that age inspired with a never decreasing devo- 
 tion to others, which renders her tenacious of life 
 even at this hour. She was benevolent, if one may 
 so speak, even towards Grod ; ever ready to act 
 from love to Him, rather than from a sense of 
 duty. Upon one occasion, some one expressed sur- 
 prise at the readiness with which she yielded a 
 childish fancy ; she replied in a low tone, ' our 
 Lord has said. Whosoever shall compel thee to go 
 a mile, go with him twain.' " 
 
 Before she was permitted to visit the poor and 
 to direct the charitable establishments founded by 
 her mother, which she did at a later period with 
 remarkable judiciousness, her instinctive charity 
 exercised itself upon the families of her dependents ; 
 she made their children come to her, and taught 
 them what she had learned herself. This gentle, 
 frail little creature, inspired the tender respect of 
 her pupils, large, robust children of Thuringia, who 
 kneeling before her, gravely answered her questions, 
 and oftener left her rewarded than punished. The 
 
12 MEMOIK OF THE 
 
 presents that were liung yearly for her upen the 
 Christmas tree, were soon found in the hands of 
 her playmates, who were made to promise never to 
 admire them in her presence, lest the articles to 
 which she attached the most value, should be the 
 first cheerfully sacrificed. Her desire to please and 
 to be surrounded by happy faces, which in some chil- 
 dren is only a graceful form of coquetterie, arose 
 from a deeper feeling ; without suspecting it her- 
 self, she early became attractive to all who ap- 
 proached her. 
 
 Her masters, charmed with her avidity for 
 knowledge, were often forced to interrupt their re- 
 citals, in order to check tlie impression made upon 
 her delicate organization, by a touching history or 
 heroic trait. Her constitution was too feeble for a 
 nature whose sudden and fine impulses betokened 
 an affinity with the Southern races, while their 
 duration and length convinced one of her German 
 origin. At twelve years of age, she lost a friend 
 who had shared her studies and resided near her for 
 several years ; her grief was so great that she be- 
 came seriously ill. At this epoch her countenance 
 assumed a melancholy expression, naturally entirely 
 foreign to it, but which a long succession of afflic- 
 tions afterwards rendered habitual. 
 
 In the spring of 1827, the grand-duchess took 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 13 
 
 her for tlie first time to Weimar, Up to this mo- 
 ment slie had educated her in almost entire soli- 
 tude. Living for the greater part of the year in 
 the country, either at Doberan, on the borders of 
 the Baltic, or at Plushon, which belonged to the 
 hereditary grand-duke, the young princess knew, 
 out of her own family, only her professors, men of 
 rare merit in Germany, and the excellent and dis- 
 tinguished women whom her mother had placed 
 over her when she was eighteen months old, and 
 who up to her marriage never left hei\ To this 
 contemplative life she owed an intellectual cultiva- 
 tion rare in any woman, and simple tastes which 
 were sources of a thousand delights in the course of 
 her changeful destiny. Accustomed to live in a 
 sort of intimacy with Nature, she penetrated the 
 beauty of its varied objects as well as its com- 
 pleteness ; a bright day, a walk in some beautiful 
 place, or the sight of flowers that she loved to 
 gather, afforded her joy in childhood, and gave her 
 moments of pleasure in after life. 
 
 The princess Helen was not surprised by the 
 new movement which presented her at the court 
 of Weimar ; with a mind already open to all intel- 
 lectual pleasures, she found herself everywhere at 
 ease, and seemed to have passed her life in the 
 midst of those to whom she was presented. The 
 
14 MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 remembrance of that little girl of thirteen years re- 
 mained in their mincls^ like a charming, poetic 
 apparition. " I see her still/' writes one, " clothed 
 in red, without any other ornament than her pretty 
 brown hair ; lively as a bird, yet dignified in all 
 her movements, and I recall the tender pride with 
 which the aged grand-duke of Weimar fixed his 
 eyes upon her. 
 
 A journey to Switzerland, whither she went to 
 join her brother prince Albert, alone interrupted 
 the regularity of her life from 1827 to 1830. 
 Upon leaving the great sand plains of Mecklen- 
 burg, with its marshes and monotonous sombre 
 woods, the first sight of the splendors of Swiss 
 scenery, filled her with emotions too deep for utter- 
 ance. One day she was surprised in tears at the 
 Falls of Schaffbuse, gazing at the foaming waters 
 sparkling in the golden sun-beams. 
 
 After a new sojourn at Doberan, the princess 
 Helen returned with her mother to Ludwigslust, 
 where she received confirmation in the parish 
 church on the 30th of May, 1830. The inhabit- 
 ants of the community who had known and cherish- 
 ed her from her birth were present at the ceremony,' 
 and united their fervent prayers with those of 
 their " good Helen," " unsere gute Helene." When 
 she kneeled before the altar, after the pastor laid 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 15 
 
 his hand upon her and pronounced the Benediction 
 according to the Lutheran rite, all joined with 
 emotion in singing the canticle she herself had 
 chosen : — herzUcJi Ueb hahe icli o Hen. 
 
 '' From the depths of my heart, Lord, I love 
 thee." 
 
 We perhaps dwell too much upon details whose 
 sweet simplicity contrasts with the more severe real- 
 ity of scenes that have impressed the memory of the 
 princess Helen upon us : — it is not simply because 
 we take a sad pleasure in dwelling upon the peace- 
 able events of a life so full of agitation, but because 
 some remarkable traits in her character here strike 
 us most forcibly. Habituated to the courtesy of pa- 
 triarchal simplicity, to respectful confidence on the 
 part of the people, and to the paternal protection 
 of princes, surrounded by warm hearts and ac- 
 quainted only with sentiments to which her heart 
 found no difficulty in responding, she might have 
 been less competent than most persons to under- 
 stand the varied society and different countries to 
 which she found herself transported. Her vivid 
 imagination might have been more easily excited 
 than most others, but she had that faculty in a 
 high degree which belongs to character as well as 
 mind : — rapid intuition of diverse situations and 
 intelligent comprehension of them, nay more, deep 
 
16 MEMOIK OF THE 
 
 admiration of all that awakened tlie idea of a great 
 work to be accomplished, of a noble cause, of lofty 
 thoughts, whatever might be the form under 
 which they presented themselves. It was owing 
 to this quickness of comprehension and the gift of 
 assimilating sympathies with all that caused the 
 hearts of others to throb, that in the forest of Do- 
 beran, a princess of sixteen years of age, acquaint- 
 ed only with France through her books and what 
 her masters taught her, was qualified to take an 
 ardent interest in the events of 1830, and to dis- 
 tinguish them with marvellous sagacity from those 
 of an ordinary revolution. In this contest wherein 
 she saw a people in arms not to attack, but to 
 maintain the laws against the power that sought 
 to overthrow them, all her interest from the very 
 first was upon the side of the people ; she daily 
 awaited the arrival of the French journals with as 
 much impatience as if she was agitated concerning 
 personal events, copied the articles that chiefly in- 
 terested her, and, in short, watched the political 
 movement, apparently so foreign to her own inter- 
 est, with singular emotion. This first enthusiasm 
 awakened in the name of France and liberty left 
 its deep traces in her mind, and the name of the 
 Orleans family was impressed upon her heart long 
 before she divined that it would one day be her own. 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 17 
 
 From this moment, French literature assumed 
 an interest altogether new in her eyes. She direct- 
 ed her studies chiefly in that language, and spoke 
 from preference that tongue she had been habituat- 
 ed to speak from infancy. 
 
 But soon some personal disquietudes succeeded 
 the disinterested emotions the events of France 
 had awakened within her. The grand-duchess was 
 taken seriously ill, and sent to Toeplitz in such a 
 feeble state, that it was feared she would die 
 before reaching the end of her journey. Her 
 daughter seated by her side watched her with ten- 
 der anxiety, though without fearing she might be 
 left an orphan for the second time. God sjaared 
 her such a grief. The sojourn at Toeplitz, to which 
 she attributed the establishment of her mother's 
 health, perhaps exercised a decisive influence over 
 her destiny. The princess seldom left the sick 
 chamber, and received only a very few jDcrsons ; 
 but none who once saw her remained indifferent 
 to her charms. The French minister, Monsieur 
 Bresson, without having yet been introduced, had 
 occasion to meet her, and never lost the impression 
 she made upon him. It was also at Toeplitz that 
 the king of Prussia, already allied to her family by 
 the marriage of one of his daughters to the heredi- 
 tary grand-duke of Mecklenburg, saw her for the 
 
18 
 
 MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 first time. At first attracted towards lier by the 
 superiority of her intellect, rendered still more 
 striking by her extreme youth, he found daily in- 
 creasing pleasure in conversing with her, and ex- 
 pressed an attachment for her that never after- 
 wards diminished. 
 
 Among the many manifestations of kindness 
 she then received, we should regret to pass in si- 
 lence one more precious than all others, for it is 
 pleasant to think that two persons, separated on 
 earth by diverse fortunes, yet worthy of each other 
 through true elevation of character, meet at one date 
 in life, and become drawn together by a common 
 sympathy, notwithstanding the difierence in age 
 and position. 
 
 The dauphiness came with King Charles X., 
 to inquire concerning the health of the grand- 
 duchess, who was still confined to her chamber. 
 The princess Helen received her, and was the 
 bearer of her mother's thanks. The rapid intuition 
 of her heart led her to perceive true moral great- 
 ness of character even when concealed by austere 
 simplicity of manners. The calm dignity impress- 
 ed upon the features of the dauphiness unveiled to 
 her an abyss of continued struggles and conquests. 
 She in turn so much inspired the admiration of the 
 noble exile that her sweet imaace remained, im- 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 19 
 
 pressed upon lier years after their meeting. When 
 some of the French visited the dauphmess at 
 Prague, she first questioned them concerning the 
 young duchess of Orleans, whose name she was 
 convinced needed only to be mentioned. " Is she 
 happy .?" she asked with much earnestness ; " I 
 sincerely hope so, for I knew her and know how 
 well she merits happiness." 
 
 The year 1832 was a memorable one to the 
 princess ; marked by one of those great griefs that 
 can never be effaced. While visiting a ruin in the 
 environs of Jena, her brother prince Albert had a 
 dangerous fall. In accordance with his own request 
 he was conveyed to Mecklenburg, to his own 
 family, where he languished several months before 
 he died. His sister watched him with tender care, 
 but cheered by no hopes of recovery. During these 
 days and nights of anguish, she stifled her own grief 
 that she might aid him in bearing his sufferings, 
 and lead him to die with resignation at the early 
 age of twenty-two years. Perhaps it was in this 
 great struggle that she learned to control her deep- 
 est emotions, to suffer with apparent serenity, con- 
 cealing her extreme sensitiveness within her own 
 soul and to be mistress of herself at all times. 
 Seven years later, when full of happiness, she 
 writes : — " This date will remind you of the great 
 
20 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 trial that marked it, Tlie Lord has richly blessed 
 me since that sad epoch ; he has been a friend and 
 protector, granting me happiness I never conceived 
 of; although my yonth never recovered from the 
 shock it then received, tears have borne their blessed 
 fruit ; I felt it would be so then, and thanks be to 
 Godj I feel it novf. I have learned to love his holy 
 will, even when it tries me, and to resign myself to 
 it, cheerfully." 
 
 She passed the winter following her brother's 
 death in entire solitude. She devoted herself to 
 reviving her mother's fortitude, and only sought 
 distraction infrequent visits to the poor. The more 
 she suffered herself, the more she sought to diminish 
 their sufferings by abundant alms. 
 
 The praise of a princess' generosity, it seems to 
 me, is a eulogy of little value ; to give, is a thing so 
 easy, that it is sometimes asked how it may be 
 distinguished from an amiable fancy ; but thanks 
 be to God, He has not granted the privilege of ex- 
 ercising true charity, only to the poor, because they 
 only can give what costs them a sacrifice. To be 
 prodigal of time, attention, and interest, to diffuse 
 joy wherever she passed, to lead the poor to think 
 that she thought of their pleasures as well as their 
 misery, was the princess Helen's privilege and pleas- 
 ure ; hence we dare praise her generosity, without 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 31 
 
 the fear of bestowing eulogy too trivial. After her 
 long season of mourning, it was not without a 
 struggle that she submitted to the wishes of her 
 family to return to Schwerin, and take part in 
 the fetes given at that court, in honor of the 
 fiftieth year of the reign of the aged duke, her 
 grandfather. One hesitates to repeat compliments 
 current in the society of princesses ; — yet it is 
 nevertheless true, wherever she presented herself, 
 she was beloved, and the particular interest mani- 
 fested in her, afbse from the special concern she took 
 in the most ordinary actions of others. The 
 benevolence of her youthful countenance with its 
 pensive expression, surprised and charmed, old and 
 young, great and small ; all felt her sweet and 
 cheering influence ; an interview with her increased 
 one's yearning for what is good ; in short, whether 
 she entered a cottage or parlor, countenances bright- 
 ened like sunbeams at her presence. Those who 
 knew her can testify, how much more delightful life 
 seemed in her society, and how the thought of her 
 was mingled with their hopes and remembrances, 
 and how a shadov/ seems now to be cast over their 
 brightest dreams for the future. 
 
22 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 II. 
 
 Who lias not experienced a melanclioly emotion, 
 upon seeing a vessel launched into tlie broad sea, 
 and been tempted to seize the hand about to 
 detach the cable ; however smooth the surface of the 
 water, however luminous the horizon, the imag- 
 ination pictures an o'erclouded sky and angry 
 waves. 
 
 The moment seems about to arrive when the 
 fate of the princess Helen is to be decided, and one 
 experiences a like emotion ; one hesitates to leave 
 the peaceful dwelling, where she has yet known 
 nothing of life but its joys, or griefs mingled with 
 consolations that God never fails to send with trials 
 coming directly from his hand. Yet now, the story 
 of her life becomes a part of our own history, and 
 her happiness and sorrows commingle with ours. 
 
DUCHESS OF OKLEANS. 23 
 
 In the spring of 1836, tlie duke of Orleans and 
 the duke of Nemours, left France for the first time 
 since 1830, and went to Berlin, where the aged 
 king received them with his accustomed cordiality ; 
 becoming subsequently charmed with so much real 
 merit and grace, he regarded them with paternal 
 affection, and frankly expressed his regret that he 
 had no more daughters upon whom to confer 
 happiness. The image of the young princess Helen, 
 whom he had known at Tceplitz, then presented 
 itself, and he felt that she alone was worthy of such 
 accomplished princes-. 
 
 He was conscious that many varied qualities 
 ought to be found in the future duchess of Orleans. 
 None but of royal blood could be presented as 
 daughter-in-law to the queen, Marie Amelia, and 
 must be as well educated for France, as if born there. 
 A person well known for superiority of intellect and 
 virtue could alone call our princess by the name 
 of sister. In short, it would be necessary for her to 
 rise above all the narrow restrictions and puerile 
 contempt that the government of the king then in- 
 spired in Europe, and boldly face all chances and 
 even dangers she would have to encounter as the 
 wife of a French prince. 
 
 The king of Prussia saw these qualities so 
 rarely united in the princess Helen of Mecklenburg, 
 
24 MEMOm OF THE 
 
 and in her only ; his tenderness for her and the 
 royal ]3rince made him earnestly desire their union. 
 He took a personal interest in these two destinies, 
 that no resistance on the part of his own family 
 could shake. Though the king had revealed his 
 wishes to the duke of Orleans, when he visited Ber- 
 lin, and had latterly spoken much of them, the 
 duke wished to satisfy himself that the king's 
 affection had not blinded him with regard to the 
 merits of the princess, and that she was such an one 
 as he had painted before determining to seek the 
 hand of one whose external circumstances corre- 
 sponded with his desires. His loyalty led him to 
 consider his marriage as a duty both to his family 
 and country, and regarded the event as one of the 
 most serious in his life ; without being willing to 
 sacrifice any of the exactions of rank, he determined 
 not to surrender any conditions of private happiness 
 and domestic union. He revealed his plans to none 
 of the king's rcinisters, before seeking to form his 
 own judgment of the intellectual and moral qualifi- 
 cations of the princess ; having satisfied his own 
 mind, he made Monsieur Bresson his ambassador 
 to the court of Mecklenburg, with power to ask the 
 hand of the princess Helen. 
 
 It is said that her brother, grand-duke of Meck- 
 lenburg, was at first ill disposed towards this 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 25 
 
 alliance. It would be unjust to charge him with 
 opposition simply on account of his views concern- 
 ing the events of 1830, and the house of Orleans ; 
 his deep anxiety for his sister's happiness led him 
 to fear her departure to a country so fatal to its 
 princes. Have we now, right to blame him ? We 
 may admire the still more exalted ideas and equal 
 tenderness of the duchess of Mecklenburg, aud the 
 noble aspirations of the princess Helen. All that 
 was said of the duke of Orleans doubtless fascinated 
 the young girl's imagination, and the thought of 
 sharing the throne of France enhanced the glory of 
 the future ; but these were not the most lively 
 motives that agitated her mind. In short, she did 
 not deem happiness (though she deeply enjoyed the 
 measure of it Grod granted her) of so much impor- 
 tance as others of more ordinary minds ; it was not 
 her first aim ; or rather, happiness, in her eyes, did 
 not consist in the tranquil possession of the good 
 things of this world, but in the exercise of all the 
 noble faculties of the soul and mind, and in the ac- 
 complishment of a "noble and important work." 
 Hence she felt attracted to France and the house of 
 Orleans, by what would repel one of less decision of 
 character. The trials to which the king and his 
 sons had been continuously exposed, seven years 
 before, were not unknown to her ; she knew in 
 2 
 
26 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 what anxiety the days of the queen had passed, in 
 consequence of the dangers to which the princes 
 voluntarily exposed themselves in Africa, and were 
 subjected to in their own country. Her share of 
 these perils and cares, she determined to accept 
 with a firm will. She resolved to devote her life 
 to the prince, whose noble character inspired her 
 confidence, and to aid him in the accomplishment 
 of his great work. 
 
 It appears that the duke of Orleans divined 
 what was passing within her mind, and that he 
 intuitively replied to her thoughts in the letter ad- 
 dressed to Monsieur Bresson, but destined for the 
 princess Helen ; in this epistle he unreservedly 
 exposed all the objections to their union, arising 
 from the solicitude of the Mecklenburg family. 
 " I received strength from that letter," said the 
 princess, " to march against all foreseen difficulties." 
 From that moment she no longer hesitated, and 
 with the support of her mother's approbation, in- 
 dulged in her unfolding hopes, and fixed her 
 thoughts upon the future country of her adoption. 
 
 The marriage contract was signed on the 5th 
 of April, 1837, and on the 15th the duke of Or- 
 leans' bethrothed, left Ludwigslust with her 
 mother, who desired in person to present her to 
 the queen. From the dawn of day the vestibules 
 
DUCHESS OF OKLEANS. 27 
 
 and stairways of the castle were crowded with, old 
 servants and youthful companions, seeking a fare- 
 well sight of the princess. Upon seeing the way 
 strewn with flowers, she bowed and smiled, though 
 in tears. Bouquets were thrown by beloved hands 
 into the carriage, and it was with diiS-Culty that 
 she made her way through surrounding groups. 
 Four verses of her own composition, traced upon 
 one of the windows of the palace, reveal the deep 
 emotions of joy and sadness she experienced at the 
 moment of her departure. 
 
 So lebe wohl, du stilles Haus 
 Ich. zieli betrubt aus dir binaus 
 Und bliibt mir fern ein shones Gltick, 
 Icb denke gem an dicb zuriick. 
 May 14, 183T. 
 
 She received touching marks of affectiiDn 
 throughout the whole route ; deputies from among 
 the peasants and lords of Mecklenburg presented 
 their earnest wishes for her happiness. King 
 Frederick William desired that the princess and 
 her retinue might halt at Potsdam, and there re- 
 ceived them with his ministers and the royal 
 family. When the time of departure arrived, the 
 king manifested much emotion, and solemnly 
 blessed the young girl, over whose future destiny 
 he had exercised some influence. 
 
28 MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 On tte 22d of May the ambassador appointed 
 to accompany tlie princess to Paris, arrived at 
 Fulde, and was presented. The king placed the 
 duke de Broglie at the head of this embassy, in 
 order that his venerated name might be associated 
 with the event of his son's marriage ; few possessed 
 such a rare combination of worth and talent. The 
 princess was capable of appreciating the king's 
 choice and duly expressed her thanks. 
 
 It was upon the 25th of May, a delightful 
 spring day, that she passed the frontier, under a 
 triumphal arch, bearing the inscription, France, 
 in large floral letters. Without dwelling upon the 
 ordinary official receptions from Forbach to Fon- 
 tainbleau, we must notice the ejffect everywhere 
 produced by the princess' appearance. She was 
 doubtless agitated by conflicting emotions. As she 
 wrote at a later date, some sad presentiments 
 mingled themselves with her hopes, some regrets 
 for her native country, with a sincere love for that 
 of her adoption. But her deepest emotions were 
 always concealed by a benign dignity. She was 
 neither intimidated nor exalted upon suddenly find- 
 ing herself the object of universal attention. Her 
 replies were not dictated but inspired by the emo- 
 tions of the moment, and were always suitable. 
 
 It was chiefly at Metz, the first French gar- 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 29 
 
 risoned city, that her unconstrained tact and noble, 
 yet not haughty, bearing made the most decided 
 impression. At Forbach she only encountered a 
 rustic population ; the courtesy and cordiality of 
 the mayors of the Alsatian villages, almost re- 
 minded her of the good Mecklenburgers and their 
 familiar amicability. Metz was altogether a French 
 town, ill-disposed to foreign manners, and always 
 more ready to criticise than approve. In a few 
 hours before her departure she entirely captivated 
 the idle, curious multitude. The officers of the 
 garrison, who were presented to her shortly after 
 she alighted from the coach, and before she had 
 taken any repose, declared that they should have 
 been intimidated in that young girl's presence, if 
 they had not been fascinated by her modest grace. 
 
 Indeed, the indescribable charm of her counte- 
 nance pleased from the very first. If no particular 
 feature attracted attention, the eyes of all were 
 fascinated by the symmetry and beauty of her whole 
 person, and an interest excited, impossible to be 
 withdrawn. Her benevolent smile and ever vary- 
 ing expression, sometimes joyous, sometimes full of 
 affection and emotion, reflected her soul and deep- 
 ened the impression made by every word she spoke. 
 Though her uncommon dignity consiantly reminded 
 all of her rank, which she seemed unconscious of, 
 
30 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 we may say the feeling slie inspired was that of 
 sympathy. At a later period, when grief under all 
 its forms had tried her, the extreme mobility of 
 her countenance was lessened hy an habitually 
 gentle, pensive expression, that even when most 
 animated, seemed to solicit a hopeful word. 
 
 The arrival at Fontainbleau was characterized 
 by one of the most striking spectacles the place 
 had ever witnessed. It was one of those rare 
 moments when the country and ruling power were 
 in harmony, and when political interests were com- 
 mingled with the private happiness of the House 
 of Orleans. The marriage of the prince royal 
 seemed to silence all disquietude for the future, and 
 the nation seemed sailing into an era of prosperity ; 
 the public satisfaction was marked by a general 
 elation, and the princess's cortege was welcomed with 
 repeated cries of " long live the king." The in- 
 terior court was filled with troops, while an immense 
 multitude surrounded the railing. The king and 
 princes stood in waiting at the foot of the grand 
 staircase ; near him the duke of Orleans, who had 
 just returned from Chalons, where he had his first 
 interview ; at the head of the stairway stood the 
 queen, with the princesses, ladies of honor^ and in- 
 vited guests ; and a little distant a group of dis- 
 tinguished men who had played a part in political 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 81 
 
 scenes and were illustrious in France, either from 
 rank or talent. 
 
 The young princess alighted from the coach 
 with uncommon grace, while all eyes were fixed 
 upon her. She knelt at the king's feet, and kissed 
 his hand with tender deference, then cast herself 
 into the queen's arms with so natural an emotion 
 that none could look on with indifference. 
 
 " It was a touching scene," writes one upon re- 
 turning from Fontainbleau. " The young princess has 
 truly a royal bearing ; though so youthful and even 
 childlike in her appearance, she seems to govern all 
 around her. Her countenance admirably accords 
 with her intellect and character ; it is an index of 
 her soul ; her eyes are radiant with intelligence and 
 animation ; it would be impossible to conceive of 
 more dignity and ease of manner, void of boldness. 
 The princess's attention did not seem in the least 
 distracted by the profusion of rich attire, jewels, 
 and laces. There was some anxiety felt concern- 
 ing the arrival at Paris in the midst of these dis- 
 plays and vanities. But all were orderly and ani- 
 mated. At the moment of entering the Tuileries 
 she arose with childlike curiosity in the caliche to 
 catch a coup d'oeil of the place, and the impression 
 her appearance made upon the spectators was a 
 most happy one. She never lost self-possession for 
 
32 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 a moment, and I believe that Grod reigns in the 
 very depths of her heart. She impresses the imag- 
 ination like those princesses in fairy tales led by 
 good genii into brilliant palaces." 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 33 
 
 III. 
 
 The years immediately following tlie marriage 
 of the duchess of Orleans, were blessed with every 
 joy that earth could afford. She found complete 
 happiness in the bosom of her family, in the 6clat 
 of a brilliant court, and in the sincere homage paid 
 not only to her rank, but to her virtues ; with 
 every hope for a cloudless future, there was nothing 
 to mar her enjoyment, and she appreciated it with 
 all the fulness of her lively yet reflective nature. 
 
 Upon the 30th of May, the anniversary of her 
 wedding, she thus writes to the friend of her child- 
 hood : " To-day, my heart is more filled with hap- 
 piness and gratitude than ever. One hails the 
 anniversary of such a day with ever new emotion. 
 How different is this from that of the past year ! 
 Behold all my hopes realized, and new ones attract- 
 ing me to the future : a deep and true affection, 
 2* 
 
34: MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 that I did not then surmise, filling my heart, my 
 position in accordance with the desires of my 
 family, established upon a solid foundation, and an 
 approaching hope, binding me to the hearts of the 
 country, all these are subjects of gratitude ; a few 
 of them we anticipated, but they are more numerous 
 than your fond heart and mother's ever conceived, 
 and more than I had ever dreamed of It is two 
 o'clock. At this moment, a year ago, I was in the 
 midst of the pomp and glory of the wedding festival. 
 What gifts were showered upon me. Since then, 
 thanhs be to Grod, I have learned to regard luxury 
 with sufficient indifference, excepting what is grant- 
 ed me, according to its true value. Then the 
 evening, with its successive ceremonies, that agi- 
 tated my mind, yet fixed my happiness. Oh what 
 remembrances ! what difference ! Let us together 
 thank God, who has loaded me with benefits, and 
 placed such a noble, important aim before me in 
 life. It seems as if God is granting me too much 
 happiness ; I feel it surpasses all that I merit, yefc 
 accept it with gratitude, since He sends it." 
 
 And when these hopes were realized, what a hymn 
 of joy is contained in these few lines written shortly 
 after the birth of the young Count Paris ; her ma- 
 ternal transports mingle themselves with the most 
 exalted feelings of her new duties towards France. 
 
DUCHESS OF OKLEANS. 35 
 
 " How merciful God is ! " exclaimed slie ; " you 
 raise your heart with mine in devout thanks ; it has 
 sounded the depths of my happiness. Yes^ your child 
 is the happiest of mothers ; her heart is too small 
 to retain its delights. A new world is unfolded to 
 me ; a child to clierisli with the hopes of a people 
 to be realized in that child. The task is great, is 
 noble ; — may God grant us his wisdom, his light." 
 
 Her passionate interest in the glory of her 
 country, if possible, surpassed her personal joys. 
 The march of public events and literary movements 
 engrossed her mind. In associating with the royal 
 prince who was ever ready to pay homage to men 
 of distinguished talents, she gathered such a circle 
 around her as she would wish her son to move in. 
 
 In the midst of most diverse opinions, she was 
 pre-eminently capable of increasing the number 
 of those personally friendly to the royal family. 
 Full of affectionate submission to the wishes of the 
 king, she avoided with scrupulous delicacy every 
 thing that might attract particular homage to 
 herself, or grant any license to parties ever ready 
 to imagine a diversity of opinions between the heir 
 to the throne and the head of the State. Denying 
 herself the pleasure of assembling friends of her 
 o\m choice around her, lest malevolence might at- 
 tribute the act to political intrigue, she made no 
 
36 MEMOIK OF THE 
 
 distinction between lier own manner of living and 
 that of lier sisters-in-law. She passed a portion of 
 each, morning with them in the queen's apart- 
 ments. While at their work, the king often join- 
 ed them, and read aloud the most remarkable 
 writings of the day. In the evening the princess 
 royal remained with the queen until her hour for 
 retirement, then withdrew to her own apartments, 
 where she read alone with the prince. Domestic 
 life was animated by her vivacity, and she never 
 sought to distract her mind from its sometimes 
 monotonous duties by puerile pleasures. Indul- 
 gence in a refined taste for the arts often relieved 
 the weariness of court life. Sometimes the finest 
 artists of the Conservatoire were summoned to ex- 
 ecute the music of the great masters at the Tuil- 
 eries, and they still recall the pleasure with which 
 the king listened to those ancient airs, souvenirs 
 of his youth. Sometimes the duke of Orleans 
 reproduced the splendor of former times at Chan- 
 tilly. The duchess in her youth and beauty pre- 
 sided at these fetes, yet she always feared becoming 
 too much engrossed in the current of happiness, 
 and was disquieted by so gay a life. On the eve 
 of a fancy ball to be given at the Marsan Pavilion, 
 she called a friend and .besought her to tell her with 
 all sincerity whether she thought her culpable in 
 
DUCHESS OF OKLEANS. 37 
 
 encouraging too frivolous, perhaps dangerous amuse- 
 ments. With charming naivete, she both asked 
 and feared a reply. 
 
 This incident, trivial in itself, reveals the depths 
 of the duchess of Orleans' nature. She always 
 experienced these scrupulous emotions, even when 
 most absorbed in the excitement of the moment. 
 Every thing in life interested her ; yet she con- 
 stantly looked beyond the delights of the world to- 
 wards heaven. While reviewing a past year, her 
 soul thus expresses itself in devotion and prayer. 
 " How quickly this year has passed away ! (1840) ; 
 it has been rich in benedictions. May Grod grant 
 us faithful, thankful hearts ! Let us serve Him in 
 thought, word and deed. May he be with all our 
 beloved ones, lead them to himself, protect and 
 bless them. Ah ! how ready the heart is to make 
 renewed vows each returning year. At this solemn 
 hour, God and our beloved ones alone fill the 
 thoughts." 
 
 The baptism of count de Paris took place in 
 the month of May, 1841. " The spring has again 
 returned in all its glory," she writes ; " it will be 
 the most beautiful ornament of the anticipated 
 fete ; the hours to be passed at Notre Dame on 
 the second Sabbath of May, wiU be filled with emo- 
 tion, prayer and hope. I desire to have my mind 
 
38 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 freed from all minor distractions. Yet I am tor- 
 mented with, anxiety, lest my child should be 
 restless, afraid, or perhaps obstinate in that solemn 
 hour. Eead, I pray you, what Fenelon has written 
 on the subject of Baptism ; those pages are beau- 
 tiful and instructive." 
 
 Upon the 3d of May, she thus writes : — 
 " Nothing could have been more beautiful or more 
 solemn than yesterday's fete ; nothing more pure 
 and touching than the sight of my little angel 
 presented at the altar ; naught more profoundly 
 moved than my poor maternal heart at that mo- 
 ment. If I was not deceived, the eyes of all pres- 
 ent were filled with an expression of tender affec- 
 tion for the cliild. The prayers of the baptismal 
 ceremony are beautiful, and I found them in ac- 
 cordance with my feelings as I followed them." 
 
 The birth of a second son, the duke de Chartres, 
 increased the happiness of the royal family. A 
 new horizon was arising to the duchess of Orleans, 
 and while it filled her heart with joy, also gave 
 rise to serious thought. There was no simple 
 pleasure to which she was indifferent, and none 
 which did not awaken some serious feeling. 
 
 A few abstracts from letters written at this 
 period enable us to lift the veil from that pure, 
 ardent soul. 
 
DUCHESS OF OELEANS. 39 
 
 " You know," writes she, " that nature has 
 always a great influence over me. I find that we 
 cannot sufficiently identify "ourselves with it by 
 observation. Grod speaks to the heart in its ad- 
 mirable manifestations. I think it good to culti- 
 vate a taste for it in the minds of chiklren ; in ad- 
 miring Nature, they learn to . adore the Creator. 
 You are right in believing that I do not allow a 
 fine sunset or moonlight to pass by, without lead- 
 ing the hearts of my children to Him, who made 
 these wonders of Nature. The emotion of the 
 beautiful must be developed in these young minds. 
 
 " Yesterday I summoned up all my resolution to 
 separate Kobert from me, and to leave him in 
 his new lodgings near Paris. It was a sort of 
 triumphal promenade that wrung my heart. Paris 
 ran joyously on before me while I led the little 
 one ; my mother and attendants followed me. I 
 had the pleasure of putting the poor child to sleep. 
 
 I earnestly recommended him to Madame G 
 
 who has charge of the dormitories, and gave Paris 
 his supper ; he is as lovely as an angel. I love 
 such an evening ; it calms the agitations of the 
 heart. I now enjoy few such, for I endeavor to 
 satisfy the demands of society as far as possible." 
 
 " The minds of children expand more freely 
 when alone with their parents. I endeavor to be 
 
4:0 MEMOIK OF THE 
 
 alone witli my son as mucli as possible. To-day 
 I went with him to Neuilly ; I reclined upon his 
 couchj and he slept in my arms while I showered 
 a thousand caresses upon him. You should see 
 how affectionate and thoughtful he is. Oh ! the 
 happiness of a bourgeois mother." 
 
 She again writes upon the return of the duke 
 of Orleans from his last voyage to Africa. 
 
 " (June, 1840.) Congratulate me upon the 
 return of my protector, my friend, my life. His 
 absence seems to have been a long dream. Tester- 
 day was a delightful day. I can only compare it 
 with Paris' birthday. My heart was full of grati- 
 tude and palpitated with joy. Some visitors came, 
 then we were left alone for a few moments. The 
 little one was in my bed-chamber ; the door was 
 half open ; he entered a little timidly, yet gave his 
 hand to his father, who thinks him much grown. 
 The family withdrew, and we dined together alone. 
 The little one trotted around the table, singing, 
 laughing and delighting his father's heart. It was 
 a precious evening of intimate communion." 
 
 One of those events that painfully and fre- 
 quently reminded France of the estimation in which 
 the life of her king was held, interrupted the peace- 
 able current of domestic joys. 
 
 " Providence has again protected us in a very 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 41 
 
 visible manner," writes the ducliess of Orleans, 
 after an attempted assassination ; " the king, queen, 
 my aunt, and all accompanying them, were spared; 
 and we have seen the frustration of the eighth in- 
 fernal attempt against so precious a life. A sense 
 of the goodness of God has supplanted the first 
 emotion of horror at such a crime. His grace fills 
 my soul. I cannot sufficiently thank Him for pre- 
 serving us from so frightful an evil. We immedi- 
 ately set out to join the family at St. Cloud. There 
 above all, upon seeing the king and embracing him 
 with my whole heart, did I fully realize God's 
 goodness in preserving him to us. You will under- 
 stand how fully my heart joined in the Te Deum, 
 at the chapel of the castle." At another time, 
 upon receiving intelligence of a like event, she 
 entered the apartment where the Count de Paris 
 was taking a lesson, and exclaimed, with great 
 emotion, " kneel with me, and thank God." 
 
 These and like past experiences, impressed her 
 still more sensibly with a feeling of the instability 
 of all things, and a vague fear of being too com- 
 pletely happy. A letter written from Dreux, on 
 the 7th of July, 1841, expresses in a touching 
 manner, the almost superstitious feeling that some- 
 times oppressed her. 
 
 " I there saw, for the first time, my poor sisters- 
 
4:2 MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 in-law's tomb, and the vaults wherein we all shall 
 one day be received ; how many tears will fall there 
 - — how many of my own, perhaps, may be shed, 
 before my ashes are there deposited. These thoughts 
 filled me with reflection, and led me to consecrate 
 myself anew, and with full confidence to resign my- 
 self into the hands of God." 
 
 Nevertheless, the year 1841 ended in the pleni- 
 tude of terrestrial benedictions. There was every 
 reason to hope- for a like future. The duke of 
 Orleans, who had been ill for some time after his 
 return from Africa, was entirely restored. The 
 enthusiasm with which he was received while travel- 
 ling with the duchess through the interior of 
 France, bore testimony to his increasing popularity. 
 The king, perceiving his great capabilities, initiated 
 him more and more into his confidence, and thus 
 increased the hopes of all for the future, 
 
 " The prince," writes the duchess of Orleans, 
 " to my great satisfaction, finds his duties greatly 
 multiplied. I say, to my great satisfaction, though 
 they often separate me from him, for I am ambi- 
 tious for his advancement, and when I .see his suc- 
 cess in every thing he undertakes, and the increas- 
 ing confidence placed in his judgment, even of those 
 things near to the king's heart, I am proud of him, 
 and this pride sometimes suffices in lieu of him- 
 self." 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 43 
 
 lY. 
 
 Some anxiety was mingled with these happy 
 presages. The duchess's health, of which she 
 never was carefulj hegan to fail, and her physicians 
 insisted upon her trying the waters of Plombieres. 
 It was difficult to persuade her to this decision. 
 She would be obliged to leave her children just at 
 the time of the year when she could most freely 
 enjoy their society in the lovely retreat at Neuilly, 
 where their domestic life was less interrupted by 
 duties to the world. 
 
 " If you knew," she writes before her departure, 
 " how much I enjoy the beautiful summer weather 
 in the country, and still more my children, who are 
 so pretty, fresh and rosy, passing their days in the 
 open fields. They are like little flowers in the 
 midst of o'ershadowing plants." 
 
 She always yielded to the entreaties of her 
 
44: , MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 friends, but now sought the consolations of religion 
 with even more than her ordinary fervor, as if she 
 would gain strength for unknown trials. On the 
 3d of July she left happy Neuilly with the duke 
 of Orleans, They were accompanied by General 
 Baudrand, M. de Montguyon and Madame de 
 Montesquieu, While crossing the outer boulevard 
 they passed a cemetery; the entrance to it was 
 bordered with Kttle shops, where crowns and fune- 
 ral ornaments were offered for sale. "I despise 
 those merchants who speculate on grief," said the 
 prince ; and casting his eyes on the various inscrip- 
 tions, he continued, " all possible wants are antici- 
 pated ; there, is a crown for a young girl, here, one 
 for a little child," These words much moved the 
 princess, her thoughts were doubtless of her absent 
 children. The prince seeing her eyes fill with 
 tears, smiled, took her hand in his and said, " No, 
 that shall not be for a child, it shall perhaps be for 
 a man of thirty-two years." She quickly raised her 
 head and affectionately reproached him for dispel- 
 ling one sad image by another still sadder." He 
 soon succeeded in withdrawing her from sad 
 thoughts, and their journey was cheerfully ended. 
 
 " I am so happy," said she, one evening, " that 
 I have no desire to be restored to health. If I had 
 not this trial, I should probably have one still more 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS . 45 
 
 painful ; physical pain, of all sufferings, is most 
 supportable. I only go to PlomMeres because my 
 friends desire it." 
 
 Although the duke of Orleans had expressed 
 his desire that the princess might be spared the 
 fatigue of public receptions, the department of 
 Vosges received them with great acclamations. 
 Triumphal arches were everywhere erected, and the 
 carriage was surrounded by an animated multi- 
 tude. They arrived at Plombi^res on the 5th of 
 July ; the duke spent the following day in examin- 
 ing the princess's establishment, and with tender 
 care providing it with every thing that could render 
 her sojourn agreeable. He recommended her many 
 times to the care of those who were to remain with 
 her, reminding them that she was ever negligent of 
 her health, and ready to abuse returning strength. 
 
 Towards evening, the prince accompanied her 
 through the pretty valley of St. Loup, and seeing 
 her forming a bouquet of wild flowers, gathered a 
 bunch of scabious plants and presented it to her. 
 This ill-omened gift did not then attract attention, 
 but was afterwards remembered by those who saw 
 him present it. 
 
 Early on the morning of the 7th of July the 
 prince departed. With much emotion the poor 
 princess exclaimed, "Our separation will happily 
 
46 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 not be long ; but the first moments are always 
 painful." 
 
 On Thursday, the 14tli, the weather was fine, 
 and the duchess, desiring to test her strength, pro- 
 posed a walk in the Gerarm6 valley, where a peasant 
 family of musicians had lived for several genera- 
 tions, and still took pride in exhibiting a piano 
 made by the grandfather. The princess reposed a 
 long time in the lowly cabin, where a young shep- 
 herd played all kinds of airs upon an old guitar, 
 which she gaily tried after him, to the great delight 
 of the poor family. It was late when they returned 
 to Plombieres. The princess was to receive several 
 guests at dinner. Excited by her walk, and with a 
 handful of flowers, she hastened up-stairs to ar- 
 range her toilette. Madame de Montesquiou had 
 scarcely commenced dressing when a domestic came 
 to say that General Baudrand wished to see her im- 
 mediately. Astonished at this request, she made 
 her repeat it twice. " Madame, he desired you to 
 come down with all haste." " But, Monuier, you 
 seem greatly agitated." " Madame, I conjure you 
 go down quickly." " Oh ! mon Dieu, what has 
 happened ? Has the king been assassinated ? " 
 " Madame, you might divine all ; do not remain so 
 near the princess ; hasten down." 
 
 She found the general with a letter in his hand. 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 4:T 
 
 neither able to speak or rise from his chair. He 
 handed her the fatal letter, containing only these 
 words : " The prince-royal is dead." Had the 
 duke of Orleans been assassinated ? Had he per- 
 ished in quelling a revolt, or been smitten by a sud- 
 den illness ? These four words only apprised them 
 of the irreparable evil, and they must announce it 
 to the princess without any preparation or consola- 
 tion. Time was flying, while the valet, with watch 
 in hand, was exclaiming, " there is only a quarter of 
 an hour to dinner ; no one yet knows the news, and 
 it is still possible to hide it for a whUe from the 
 princess." This idea was speedily rejected ; the 
 prefect and physician were summoned. The latter 
 insisted that she should at first be only apprised of 
 the prince's serious illness. " Her life is depend- 
 ent upon you," said he to the prefect ; " you are 
 responsible for it." It was finally decided that the 
 prefect should prepare a telegraphic dispatch an- 
 nouncing the prince's alarming illness at Paris. A 
 few moments longer deliberation and the princess 
 would have left her apartment. 
 
 Madame de Montesquiou, imploring Grod for the 
 strength she so much needed, ascended the stairs 
 leading to the princess's apartment ; upon reaching 
 the glass door that separated it from the hall, she 
 paused a moment ; through the light curtains over 
 
4:8 MEMOiK OF THE 
 
 the pane slie saw the princess finish her toilette, turn 
 her graceful figure and joyous face towards the door, 
 and finally open it. Immovable against the wall, 
 she could not summon sufficient courage to speak 
 the words that would destroy so much happiness. 
 " What ! are you dressed ? " said the princess 
 gayly. But approaching nearer, she added, " What 
 is the matter with you ? you are very pale ; what 
 has happened to you ? any misfortune in your 
 family ? are your children or hushand ill ? " Mad- 
 ame de Montesquieu pressed her hand in silence, 
 yet the princess seems to feel no presentiment." 
 " No, Madame, at length replied Madame de Mon- 
 tesquieu, I have suffered no misfortune, yet am not 
 less unhappy — I have news for your royal highness." 
 These words made her recoil. " Great God ! 
 what has happened ? my children, the king ? " 
 " Alas ! madame, the prince-royal is very ill." 
 " Oh, my God ! he is dead ! I am sure of it ! tell 
 me "... — then falling upon her knees, she cried, 
 " My God ! have mercy on me ; do not let him 
 die ! Thou knowest I could not survive him !" 
 After remaining a few moments in prayer, she 
 asked to see the dispatch and read it several times. 
 " This is not the ordinary form of a telegraphic 
 dispatch," she said, a doubt seeming to cross her 
 mind, which was quickly dispelled by the prefect. 
 
DUCHESS OF OELEANS. 49 
 
 Then slie burst into tears. Slie soon arose witli 
 determination, saying, " I will set out this moment, 
 perhaps I shall still arrive in time to watch, beside 
 him." Orders were given for her departure. Some 
 moments she yielded to hope; "perhaps I shall 
 find him almost well ; oh ! then I shall be well re- 
 proved ; but happy in being so." Then again her 
 fears would arise — " He is so afraid of disquieting 
 me ; he must be very ill, from his thus apprising 
 me." And her tears again began to fall. 
 
 At eight o'clock in the evening, the party left 
 Plombi^res, surrounded by a deeply agitated multi- 
 tude ; every one sobbed in taking leave of the prin- 
 cess, who bade each one a touching adieu. They 
 were obliged to pass the streets still adorned with 
 flowers. The princess prayed and wept in uninter- 
 rupted silence. At niidnight they reached Epinal 
 Madame de Montesquiou pressed her face against 
 the window^ trembling lest some public demonstra- 
 tion of grief should apprise the princess of her mis- 
 fortune ; but the multitude, filling the streets, 
 were silent. In the darkness she could see the 
 commander of the division advancing towards the 
 door ; without daring to ask any questions, she 
 said in a low voice, " we are returning to Paris." 
 He made no reply, and she understood by his 
 gravity that he knew perhaps even more than she. 
 3 
 
50 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 They continued their route. In about an hour, it 
 was announced that a coach was coming from 
 Paris. '• Open, open ! " cried the princess, but they 
 retained her in the coach. At this moment she 
 saw two men advancing towards her, and recog- 
 nized M. Chomel, physician to the royal family. 
 At the sight of him she uttered a piercing cry. 
 " Monsieur Chomel ! ah ! my God ! the prince." 
 " Madame, the prince is no longer living." " What 
 do you say ? no, no, it is impossible. What ill- 
 ness could have thus smitten him ? Tell me, 
 give me the death blow." " Alas, madame, an 
 unparalleled catastrophe — a fall from his carriage. 
 He did not recover consciousness ; a few German 
 words pronounced from time to time, were his only 
 signs of life ; doubtless a message for your Eoyal 
 Highness." " No it cannot be," she exclaimed ; 
 "I do not believe it ! " Then sobs stifled her 
 words. Turning towards Madame de Montesquieu 
 she asked, " But the illness of which you spoke ? " 
 " Madame, that was only told to prepare you." 
 '' What ! you knew of his death ! what courage 
 you had," she added, with that delicacy of feeling 
 that always characterized her. 
 
 In profound darkness they were nearly an hour 
 upon the route ; the princess sank back in the 
 coach and continued to weep while her suite vainly 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 51 
 
 endeavored to restrain their own grief ; , then sobs 
 .would break forth, in spite of themselves, which 
 alone interrupted the silence of the night. 
 
 When day dawned, she exclaimed : " What a 
 day is this for me ! " then pressing G-eneral Bau- 
 drand's hand, added, " Oh ! my dear General, you 
 can understand my grief better than any other ; 
 you knew his worth, guided his early years, loved 
 him so much ! Oh ! I have lost all ; and France, 
 also, has lost one whom she idolized, who knew her 
 so well. But you do not know as I do — how good 
 he was ; what patience, what gentleness he pos- 
 sessed, what good counsels he gave me ! No, no, I 
 cannot live without him." One sought to draw 
 her thoughts towards her children. " My poor 
 children ! " she exclaimed, in this first moment of 
 grief ; "he has all my heart, I can think only of 
 him." 
 
 At four o'clock in the morning, her sisters-in- 
 law met her ; she threw herself without speaking 
 into their arms, and seated herself beside them in 
 the carriage. From that moment she seemed ab- 
 sorbed in one thought alone ; that of contemplating 
 once more the dear features she should no longer 
 see living. The mournful procession paused, only 
 for a few moments' repose, at one - of the small 
 villages. 
 
62 MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 After two cruel nights, they reached Neuilly 
 about nine o'clock on the morning of the 16 th of 
 July. The king and the royal princes were await- 
 ing the duchess, at the Eu Castle. They led her 
 into a saloon, where she could only at intervals utter 
 a few broken words. " Oh ! my dear Helen," said 
 the king, " the greatest of misfortunes has befallen 
 me in my old age." "My dear daughter," re- 
 sumed the queen, with gentle authority, " live for 
 us — ^for your children." 
 
 After a few moments the princess left the 
 saloon, supported by the king and the duke de Ne- 
 mours. The queen and her children followed weep- 
 ing. She directed to the chapel where the remains 
 of the royal prince were deposited. The coffin, 
 alas ! already closed, stood covered with black in 
 the centre of the chapel. She knelt beside it, 
 fixed her eyes upon the long velvet pall, and 
 after a short prayer, she arose strengthened, and 
 returned to her apartments, where she clothed 
 herself in the weeds of widowhood, which she never 
 afterward laid aside. 
 
 Those who then saw her, were struck with the 
 palor of her countenance ; life seemed to have left 
 her, and she remained for so long a time in a state 
 of stupor, that fears were entertained for her frail 
 health. 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 53 
 
 TKANSLATOR'S NOTE. 
 
 The following full account of the death of the duke of Or- 
 leans, published at the time in Galignani's Messenger, will 
 doubtless be of interest to the reader. If this misfortune had 
 not befallen the generally beloved duke of Orleans, how differ- 
 ent might have been the destiny of Louis Napoleon : 
 
 Yesterday, July 13th, at 12 o'clock, the duke of Orleans 
 was to leave Paris for St. Omer, where he was to inspect several 
 regiments. His equipages were ordered and his attendants in 
 readiness. Every preparation was made at the Pavilion Manan 
 for the journey, after which his royal highness was to join the 
 duchess of Orleans at Plombieres. At eleven the prmce got 
 into a carriage, intending to go to Neuilly, to take leave of the 
 king, queen, and royal family. The carriage was a four- 
 wheeled cabriolet, or caleche, drawn by two herses, driven by 
 a postilion. It was the conveyance usually taken by the 
 prince when going short distances round Paris. He was quite 
 alone, not having suffered one of his ofiScers to accompany him. 
 On arriving near the Porte Maillot, the horse rode by the postil- 
 ion, took fright, and broke into a gallop. The carriage was soon 
 taken with great velocity up the Chemin de la R6volte. The 
 prince seeing that the postilion was unable to master the horses, 
 put his foot on the step, which was very near the ground, and 
 jumped when about half way along the road, direct from Porte 
 Maillot. The prince touched the road with both feet, but the 
 impulse was so great that he staggered and fell, with his head 
 upon the pavement. The effect of the fall was terrible, for his 
 royal highness remained insensible on the spot. Persons in- 
 stantly ran to his assistance and carried him into a grocer's by 
 
54: MEMOm OF THE 
 
 the -wayside. In the mean time the postilion succeeded in get- 
 ting command over his horses, turned the carriage round, and 
 came to the door of the house where the prince was lying. His 
 royal highness never recovered his senses. He was placed on 
 a bed in a room on the ground floor, and surgical aid sent for. 
 The royal sufferer was bled, but it produced no good effect. The 
 news of the accident was conveyed to Neuilly. The queen im- 
 mediately set out on foot and the king followed. His majesty 
 was to be in Paris at 12 o'clook, to hold a council of ministers. 
 His carriages which were ready, soon overtook their highnesses, 
 who entered them with Madame Adelaide and the princess 
 Clementine. He proceeded to the house into which the duke 
 of Orleans had been taken. He, by that time, was nearly life- 
 less. It may be easy to imagine, but it is impossible to de- 
 scribe the grief of their majesties and royal highnesses at the 
 spectacle they beheld. Dr. Pasquer, the prince royal's first 
 physician, had just arrived, and was soon compelled to an- 
 nounce that there was an effusion upon the brain, and every 
 moment the danger seemed to increase. A few words pro- 
 nounced by the prince in German, gave a momentary hope, but 
 it as quickly vanished. Marshals Soult and Gerard, the Minis- 
 ters of Justice, Foreign Affairs, the Interior, the Marine, Finances, 
 and Public Works, were admitted into the death-chamber of the 
 royal duke. At two o'clock, as the case became more desperate, 
 the king sent for the duchess de Nemours, who had remained 
 at Neuilly. She came attended by her ladies in waiting. No 
 pen can paint the aflfiicting scene presented by the chamber 
 when the duchess of Nemours entered, and added her bitter 
 tears to those of the rest of the family. The queen and 
 princesses were on their knees by the bed-side, praying, and 
 bathing the head of their departing son and brother with their 
 tears. The princes were speechless and sobbing almost to suf- 
 focation. The king stood by, silent and motionless, watching 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 56 
 
 with painful anxiety every fluctuation in the countenance of 
 his dying heir. Outside the house, the crowd continued every 
 moment to increase, every one was overwhehned with conster- 
 nation. The cure of Neuilly and his clergy instantly obeyed 
 the king's summons. Under the influence of powerful medica- 
 ments the agony of the dying prince was prolonged. Life with- 
 drew, but very slowlj^, and not without struggling powerfully 
 against so much youthful strength. For a moment, respira- 
 tion became free, and the beating of the pulse more perceptible. 
 As the slightest hopes are grasped by hearts torn with despair, 
 this scene of desolation was interrupted by a momentary calm, 
 but the gleam soon passed away. At 4 o'clock, the prince 
 showed the unequivocal symptoms of departing life, and in 
 another half hour, he rendered his soul to God, dying in the arms 
 of the king, his father, who at the last moment pressed his 
 pps on the forehead of his lost child, hallowed hy the tears of 
 the afilicted mother, amid the sobs of the whole famil3^ The 
 prince being dead, the king drew the queen into an adjoining 
 room, where the assembled ministers and marshals threw 
 themselves at her feet, and endeavored to ofier consolation. 
 Her Majestj^ exclaimed, " What a dreadful misfortune has be- 
 fallen our familjr, but how much greater for France." Her voice 
 was then stifled by sobs and tears. The king seeing Marshal 
 Gerard absorbed in grief, took his hand and pressed it, with an 
 expression that showed his sense of his bereavement, but at the 
 same time, a firmness and magnanimity, truly royal. The 
 mortal remains of the prince were placed upon a litter and cov- 
 ered with a white sheet. The queen refused to get into her 
 carriage, declaring her resolution to follow the corpse of her 
 son to the chapel at Neuill}^, where she desired them to be de- 
 posited. Consequently, a company of the 17th Light Infantry 
 was hastily marched down from Corabeine to line the pro- 
 cession on each side, and thus those men who had shared with 
 
56 MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 the prince in all his dangers of the passage of the Iron Gates 
 a,nd the heights of Mongara, in Africa, served as the escort of 
 his now lifeless body. Several of the men wept and called to 
 mind the brilliant valor with which the duke of Orleans had 
 assailed the enemy, and at the 'same time, the mild and delicate 
 beneficence with which he had ever tempered the necessary 
 rigor of command. At 5 o'clock, the mournful procession 
 moved towards the Neuilly chapel. General Athalin walked at 
 the head of the bier, carried by four non-commissioned officers. 
 Behind, followed the queen, princess Adelaide, duchess de 
 Nemours, princess Clementine, duke d'Aumale and the duke 
 de Montpensier. Then came Marshals Soult and Gerard, the 
 ministers, the general officers, the king's household and princes, 
 with an immense number of other persons. The sad proces- 
 sion moved along the Avenue de Sablonville, and crossing the 
 old Neuilly road, entered the royal park and traversed its whole 
 length to the chapel. Here their majesties, the princesses and 
 princes, after prostrating themselves before the altar, left their 
 beloved child and brother, under the guardianship of God. In 
 the evening the royal family remained in seclusion, except that 
 the king conferred with his ministers. At 7 o'clock. Mon- 
 sieur Bertin de Vaux, royal physician, set out for Plombieres, 
 where the duchess of Plombieres had gone for the benefit of 
 the waters. Amidst all their own affliction, during this disas- 
 trous day, the thought of the deprivation sustained by the 
 duchess, was never out of the minds of her royal relations, and 
 her name was repeatedly invoked in their lamentations. At 
 length it was resolved that the duchess de Nemours and the 
 princess Clementine should go to her with letters from the 
 king and queen, and commenced their journey at 9 o'clock ; 
 they met the duchess returning to Neuillv. 
 
DUCHESS OF OELEANS. 57 
 
 V. 
 
 All these broken hearts were at length sus- 
 tained by courage and faith. 
 
 "Yes, the Lord who smites," she writes five 
 months after the sad event, "is a merciful Fa- 
 ther ; I have an unalterable conviction of this, 
 even when I do not experience His consolations. I 
 am in the midst of a contest that exacts blind 
 faith ; sometimes this faith is very strong, and then 
 love and hope lighten my heart like a ray from 
 above ; but again, I feel all the weakness of my 
 poor human nature and cannot raise my heart to 
 Grod. What patience Grod has with us ! How could 
 we bear the burden laid upon us without Him ? " 
 
 On the 14th of July of the same year, she writes 
 from Dreux : " The date of this letter will suffi- 
 ciently apprise you of my anguish in tracing these 
 
5S MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 lines ; but let not your heart be troubled ; suffer 
 not on my account." 
 
 " Tbank God for me ; He has wonderfully sus- 
 tained me ; He has granted me his peace, his pres- 
 ence ; he has caused me to inhale the perfume of 
 eternity, and strengthened and revived my poor, 
 •withered, stricken heart ; my soul is filled with 
 gratitude to God, whose mercy has caused such 
 sweet consolations to spring up in the very bosom 
 of death, and pours itself out in constant prayer. 
 Upon returning here, I cried unto God : ' let me 
 not falter ; leave not my soul to be shipwrecked in 
 despair, upon his tomb, where I realize the nothing- 
 ness of life, and the mystery of eternity.' God had 
 mercy upon me ; he granted me grace to weep 
 sweet tears, and I had almost said, tears of joy. 
 My heart was filled with the thought of eternal 
 felicity, and seemed already raised above the world, 
 above my grief ; it seemed already in harmony with 
 that beloved soul, and to be enjoying his happiness. 
 Peace, joy, hght, mercy ; — praises to the thousand 
 times merciful God ! Such are the experiences of 
 my soul ; thank Him, who has granted me such 
 realization of his love, in the midst of death. The ■ 
 preceding days were terrible. Therefore I did not 
 write to you. The 6 th was the anniversary of the 
 happiest day of my life ; the 7th, that of his de- 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 59 
 
 parture from Plombieres ; tlie 10th, was spent 
 in prayers and tears at the chapel erected upon 
 the spot where the happiness of my life was de- 
 stroyed ; the 11th, was the day of the solemn in- 
 auguration ; finally, the 12th, the time of our pil- 
 grimage to Dreux : I suffered a thousand deaths, 
 and was fearfully depressed, till at the grave I again 
 found the Lord. Now, I am at peace with Him, 
 with my cross, with my future upon earth. Upon 
 the Sabhath, at 10 o'clock, I shall take the com- 
 munion in Paris, and beseech God to establish my 
 soul in this peace, in this faith, in this love that 
 nothing ought longer to trouble." 
 
 But this faith and love, had its rise and fall ; if 
 God sometimes granted her soul wings to mount 
 and renew its strength, when again drawn towards 
 the earth, the burden seemed still more weighty ; — 
 with heaven shut out, grief returned with all its 
 rankling distress, remembrances and languor ; — a 
 familiar face, a date, sufficed to reawaken her an- 
 guish. 
 
 " Ah ! what have I not suffered in speaking to 
 
 W of the sacrifice his wife has made for him. 
 
 How happy I deem her in being able to show him 
 that she loves him more than all the world, and 
 that to follow him she is ready to leave what is 
 next dearest to her, her children. How I envy her ! 
 
60 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 But why should my tears fall at each, event in life, 
 at each foreign circumstance ? My grief is like a 
 glass, in which every object is reflected." 
 
 " 1843, My sister-in-law is married. You will 
 imagine that I had not courage to be present at the 
 ceremony. I have been several times to St. Cloud, 
 to see my good Louise. I love her so much, that I 
 would go any distance to see her. The warm af- 
 fection of the queen and Victoire did me good. I 
 felt that each one of the family, suffered on my ac- 
 count. My heart was in the past, at Fontainbleau. 
 A voice seemed to speak within my heart, of conso- 
 lation, of eternity, of reunion. I passed the night 
 in writing and thinking. My decision sometimes to 
 appear in the parlor, cost me much anguish. The 
 condolence of a general, yesterday, completely un- 
 nerved me : this often happens. I do not long 
 remain in company, but I see the king and queen 
 are pleased with the part I have taken, and this 
 ought to be an indemnity for my sufferings.'' 
 
 " I have been obliged to receive the ministers 
 and royal household with Paris ; the reception was 
 in the evening, in the very ajDartments where he ap- 
 peared so often. They were brilliantly lighted as on 
 former occasions, and presented the aspect of a fete ; 
 but alas, what a fete. In the midst of the crowd, 
 there was but one thought, one regret ; above all 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 61 
 
 the surrounding group arose the noble cherished 
 portrait of the prince painted and placed in my 
 saloon by Monsieur Ingres ; aU. my acts must pass 
 under his eyes." 
 
 " There is nothing new in our sad and quiet 
 home. The beautiful spring days make my children 
 smile, and me weep. This season, he loved so 
 much ; we walked together, and rejoined the chil- 
 dren at Neuilly. There he made me bouquets of the 
 earhest flowers, and would not place them in his 
 button-hole, as formerly, but said, ' they are not 
 sombre enough for a man who has passed his thirti- 
 eth year,' He made the children play out of doors 
 the whole day, and when I sent for them to come 
 in, said to me smiling, 'you think the children 
 are only well off, when under your own eye.' We 
 dined at five o'clock in order to ride out after din- 
 ner. We passed the evening in the fragrant garden 
 at Neuilly, making large bouquets. We returned 
 at nine o'clock, and conversed upon the light or 
 serious subjects of the moment. The politics of the 
 day led to the favorite topic, the moral greatness of 
 France, its defence, its isolated position, the moral 
 valor of the people, etc., etc. I was struck with the 
 indefatigable ardor of his mind, and the calm, ad- 
 mirable sang-froid, with which he judged his coun- 
 try, its position and future. ... 
 
62 MEMOIK OF THE 
 
 " It is again spring, with, the sweet air he loved 
 to breathe, its flowers, its birds which, he noticed, 
 and to which he called my attention ; then the hap- 
 py children running in the fields ; but every thing is 
 changed. The world is no longer the same to me ; 
 the heavens, the sun, no longer smile upon me ; or 
 rather, their glory oppresses me, and I would hide 
 myself, that I might not see this spring-tide, that 
 newly awakens my grief." 
 
 And a few weeks later : " You are right in be- 
 lieving that the return of this month in which end- 
 ed the happiest day of my life (not the happiest in 
 itself, but in its promises) has not passed without 
 the most harrowing comparisons. Six years ago 
 this evening, I saw the sun set for the last time 
 upon my native land. The confidence which in- 
 spired me through all the journey, then for a mo- 
 ment failed. I do not know if you remember the 
 pains you had to revive my drooping courage. I 
 shall never forget the impressions of that last even- 
 ing in Germany. In the midst of animating 
 hopes, I experienced an unaccountable grief which 
 I attributed to the solemnity of the moment, but 
 which seems to me now, like a presentiment of mis- 
 fortune ; but if my trials have been great, my hap- 
 piness has been without parallel. I endeavor to be 
 thankful, not only for the remaining good, but for 
 those I have already possessed." 
 
DTJCHESS OF ORLEANS. 63 
 
 An accident, threatening the life of the entire 
 royal family, interrupted the course of these sad 
 days, in which she "passed from one degree of 
 grief to another." In the account given to her 
 friend, she paints her lively gratitude to God, for 
 saving her beloved ones, as by a miracle ; yet the 
 bitterness of remembrance is mingled with her ex- 
 pressions of thanksgiving. 
 
 Chateau d'Eu. 
 Yesterday the king wished to go out in the 
 char a banc ; I asked permission to accompany 
 him with my two children ; this request I had never 
 made before. The king placed himself upon the 
 first seat with Aumale and Paris ; the queen, my- 
 self and Eobert upon the second, Francois and 
 Clementine upon the third ; then Joinville and 
 Auguste, The king descended to a little village 
 upon the banks of the sea, where he visited a bat- 
 tery and made Paris fire a cannon, to which he ap- 
 plied the lighted match with a courage that en- 
 chanted everybody. He remounted the char a banc 
 to return to Treport, where he proposed to visit an- 
 other battery. To reach Treport. it is necessary to 
 cross a bridge over a foaming torrent ; the queen 
 begged to alight, declaring that it was dangerous to 
 cross so frail a structure ; I had passed upon it 
 
64: MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 when my horses began to be frightened ; I besought 
 the king to let me alight. "Nonsense," he ex- 
 claimed, " go on ! " The cannon fired at the same 
 moment, the sluice opened, the horses pranced, and 
 the three were precipitated into the abyss. The 
 char a banc would have been dragged in, if the 
 postilion, of the thill-horses had not held them 
 with a rare sang-froid, when they were even upon 
 the very brink of the precipice. The band happily 
 broke and the char a banc was arrested. I cannot 
 tell you what I experienced in that moment which 
 seemed to me a century. The king and my sons 
 safe, I should have feared nothing, I would willing- 
 ly have remained within. My heart was deep- 
 ly affected in seeing all that I loved saved. I 
 thanked God ; nevertheless, there was a little bit- 
 terness intermingled with this prayer ; it was not 
 entirely pure from murmuring. Why was this pro- 
 tection that kept us, tlien denied ? Why now es- 
 cape a danger a thousand times greater than that 
 which was so fatal in its results ? Not even a 
 horse was wounded ! That fall of twenty-five feet 
 into a gulf of whirling waters, without receiving a 
 scratch ! and then so light a fall that was so de- 
 structive ! The more one thinks, the more one mur- 
 murs. I do not wish to feel so, yet my poor heart 
 is thus constrained against my will. 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 65 
 
 After the accident , tlie king returned with us 
 upon foot, to the Treport battery. An immense 
 crowd followed him with acclamations of joy ; every 
 one seemed happy ; I only wept in the midst of 
 this cortege, remembering another, when the king 
 also upon foot, giving his arm to the queen, followed 
 the victim of a like disaster," 
 
 As we have foreseen, her children only bound 
 her to life ; "they only," said she, "make me live, 
 and sometimes conceal the dregs of the cup from 
 me. A vail of melancholy is cast over everything 
 but the joyous life of my children. 
 
 " To-day being Paris' birthday, I invited the 
 poor childen from Eu and Treport, here, which 
 gave them great pleasure. I also endeavored to 
 throw aside all sorrow ; I made myself a child, and 
 took a childish pleasure in the enjoyment of those 
 around me." 
 
 She mingled her life with that of her sons, and 
 the slightest circumstance drew her thoughts in- 
 stinctively towards them. 
 
 " I have lately been with the queen to visit 
 Monsieur Scheffer. His St. Augustine truly edified 
 me ; it is a masterpiece. Nothing could be more 
 sublime than St. Monica's countenance ; one would 
 believe her to be already in heaven ; her expression is 
 full of God ; I was deeply touched, especially, when 
 I pressed Paris' hand within my own." 
 
66 MEMOm OF THE 
 
 The absorbing interest of her mind, was the ed- 
 ucation of her sons as their father would have de- 
 sired them to be educated, and to work for the 
 happiness of France, which she could only do 
 through them. It was touching to see so great a 
 mind absorbed in the most tender care of their 
 health, plays, and early studies ; nothing seemed 
 trivial to her, for she always bore in mind the great 
 end she wished to attain. Thus, the attention she 
 gave to politics, the assiduity with which she fol- 
 lowed public discussions, and the just disquietude 
 she felt concerning the state of the public mind, 
 towards the close of the year 1847, were only varied 
 forms of her ever maternal vigilance. . She had that 
 sort of sympathy with France, which does not ne- 
 cessarily imply approbation, but comprehension of 
 the ideas by which a country is agitated. From 
 the first, she felt the threatenings that preceded the 
 storm, and though she like others could not render 
 an exact account of the extent and nature of the 
 danger, she long experienced the anxiety that agi- 
 tated the minds of many upon the first days of 
 February, and which quickly spread to the court. 
 
 She writes in 1847 : " There are subjects in the 
 order of the day, that make me blush to open the 
 journals. I am sad from the very depths of my 
 heart at the general discontent of the public 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 6Y 
 
 mind, and the discredit it reflects upon the higher 
 classes. 
 
 " The moral evil does not manifest itself in sud- 
 den agitation or outbreaks, hut in the weakness of 
 the rulers and indifference of the people. A reac- 
 tion must take place. A skilful hand is necessary 
 to suppress the disease, a sympathetic heart is 
 needed to heal it. Alas ! my thoughts dwell only 
 upon one prince who understood this epoch, whose 
 delicate soul felt the reaction of his country's moral 
 sufferings. He would have known how to temper 
 them, and to inspire the country with a new elation ; 
 his decision would have seconded his intentions ; 
 his wisdom would have diriected the right ; France 
 has need of him, but God has taken him from 
 her! 
 
 " What will our future be ? This thought 
 agitates my nights and troubles my soHtary hours. 
 The evil is profound, because it attacks the morali- 
 ty of the population. Is it momentary, or is it the 
 indication of weakness ? I do not know how to 
 judge, but I pray God to send a reviving breath 
 over our withered France." 
 
 However exorbitant the claims of the contending 
 parties might be, the duchess of Orleans desired 
 that they might at least be examined, and was 
 aflicted at seeing the king's ministers fully confi- 
 
68 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 dent that reason and right were on their side, with- 
 out due deliberation. But her fears and preferences 
 for a policy that she believed best calculated to es- 
 tablish the throne and to calm hostile passions, she 
 loyally laid before the royal family, but did not per- 
 mit them to extend beyond her own immediate cir- 
 cle. If she was mistaken in believing that it was 
 possible to prevent the disasters of 1848, it must be 
 granted that the measures of many others were at 
 fault. Malevolence only can reproach her with hav- 
 ing foreseen them, and the only reply worthy of her, 
 would be the simple narration of her actions, words 
 and even gestures, in that journey on the 24th of 
 February, when the suddenness of the shock re- 
 vealed the depths of each heart. It is a pity to 
 pass in silence the rarest examples of dignity and 
 courage, in those sad times. One can scarcely re- 
 frain from pausing before the majestic figure of the 
 queen, so bold in danger, so submissive in misfor- 
 tune ; or not render homage to the prince who so 
 nobly sacrificed his rights, confronting all perils, with- 
 out other ambition than that of saving the widow 
 and children of a tenderly regretted brother. But 
 since it belongs to us only to review the facts so 
 many times related, and it is our aim to present 
 the character of the duchess of Orleans, we must 
 follow her alone in the midst of the general disor- 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 69 
 
 der ; it is her alone we must see at tlie Tuileries. 
 If we have had the happiness of attaining our end, 
 the duchess of Orleans will not appear on that 24th 
 of February different from what she was on the 
 preceding evening or the morrow, and circumstances 
 alone will have served to manifest her noble quali- 
 ties. There is always the same melange of femi- 
 nine delicacy, decisive action, and exquisite sensi- 
 bility. 
 
YO MEMOIK OF THE 
 
 VI. 
 
 The niglit preceding the 24tli was one of great 
 anguish for the princess ; the bravest began to be 
 disquieted : " We have not even had strength to 
 pray," said she ; and, indeed, what at first seemed 
 only a ministerial crisis, suddenly assumed the 
 aspect of a revolution. The less they were pre- 
 pared, the greater was the disorder ; each moment 
 bore away the hope a previous one had excited; 
 the most popular names, even, succeeded to the 
 power ; — from Guizot to Thiers ; from Thiers to 
 Odilon Barrot. The reform — that last concession 
 which one would believe magical in its calming 
 effect, since it had suppressed factitious passions — 
 had been promised, and the news spread from rank 
 to rank of the national guard, and produced a pow- 
 erful effect upon the groups pressing round the en- 
 
DTJCHESS OF ORLEANS. Tl 
 
 trance to the Tiiileries. The king, in the midst of 
 the counsels and contradictory rumors borne to him 
 in the unaccountable confusion, decided to make a 
 last effort. Followed by his sons and aides-de-camp, 
 several of whom had not even time to put on their 
 uniform, he mounted a horse and reviewed the troops 
 ranged round the interior court and upon the Place 
 du Carrousel. The queen and princesses, near the 
 duchess of Orleans and her young sons, are at the 
 windows, following him with anxious eyes. Many 
 cries of " long live the king," for an instant reani- 
 mate their hopes ; but soon they are dissipated by 
 shouts of " long live the Eeform !"* The king is 
 not deluded. He feels the coldness with which he 
 is received by the national guard, and the abandon- 
 ment of those upon whom he ought to be able to 
 rely ; his countenance expresses neither fear nor 
 agitation, but the calm melancholy of .a man 
 wounded to the very heart. He returns to his 
 apartment, and while he is reflecting for a few mo- 
 ments with his head buried in his hands, an officer 
 precipitately enters, exclaiming : — " Sir, there is not 
 a moment to lose ; give orders, or abdicate." It is 
 about eleven o'clock in the morning. The king, 
 after a moment's silence, says : *' I have always 
 
 * For an interesting account of this crisis, see vol. 12th of 
 the London Illustrated News, published in 1848. — Translator. 
 
72 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 been a pacific king ; I will abdicate." Then arising, 
 lie opened tlie door to the saloon where the qneen 
 and princesses were assembled, and repeated in a 
 firm tone : "I will abdicate." 
 
 At these wordc, the queen and princesses rush 
 towards him, and conjure him to retract those fatal 
 words. The duchess of Orleans bows respectfully 
 before him, and takes his hand, which she kisses 
 with tenderness ; "Do not abdicate, sir, do not ab- 
 dicate," she exclaims, bursting into tears. But the 
 king, without replying, returns to his cabinet, fol- 
 lowed by the princesses, and slowly writes the act 
 of abdication, which he finally reads in a loud voice : 
 ' ' I abdicate the crown, which the national voice 
 called me to wear, in favor of my grandson, the 
 count de Paris. May he succeed in the great task 
 that falls upon him to-day !" " May he resemble 
 his grandfather !" exclaims the queen. The duchess 
 of Orleans renews her passionate entreaties with the 
 king ; she begs him " not to lay a burden upon his 
 grandson that he has not sufficient power to sustain 
 himself." Her maternal instinct told her too well, 
 that to tear the crown from the king, was not to 
 give it to her son. When she can no longer hope 
 to obtain any thing by her prayers, and the king has 
 finished the last letter of his name, she throws her- 
 self, weeping, into the queen's arms. For a few 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 73 
 
 moments they hold each other's hands in silence. 
 These moments are short ; — the king is pressed to 
 depart ; words of adieu are exchanged in haste. 
 He leaves, followed by the queen and several of the 
 princesses.* The duke de Montpensier does not 
 
 * The following is Lamartine's account of the king's de- 
 parture from the palace : 
 
 " The king took off his uniform, laid his sword upon the 
 table, put on a plain black coat, and gave his arm to the queen, 
 leaving the palace to the new regime. The silence of this last 
 moment was only interrupted by the stifled sobs of the spec- 
 tators. Without any striking prestige as a king, this prince 
 was beloved as a man; his long experience inspired men's 
 minds with confidence, while his attentive affability attached 
 him to the hearts of all. His old age, deserted for the first 
 time by fortune, excited commiseration. Political superstition 
 stood aghast at the sight of this last fugitive from the throne. 
 It seemed as if with him the wisdom of the empire was retiring. 
 The queen, leaning upon his arm, seemed proud to fall at her 
 post with her husband and monarch who had been, and who 
 remained without a throne and without a country upon earth. 
 The aged couple, inseparable in prosperity and in exile, pre- 
 sented a most affecting spectacle. Even republicans would 
 have dropped a tear at the departure of this fother and mother, 
 driven from the hearth where they thought to leave their 
 children. The spectators kissed their hands and touched their 
 dress. ... At the moment of crossing the threshold of his 
 cabinet, the king, turning back to the duchess of Orleans, who 
 had risen to follow him, exclaimed, " Eemain here, Helen !" 
 The princess threw herself at his feet, conjuring him to take 
 4 
 
74 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 hesitate to leave his sick wife iinder tlie care of a 
 friend, that he may protect his father's departure. 
 
 The king, in quitting the Tuileries, beheved 
 that his absence would appease the tumult, and 
 leave his grandson upon the throne, under the direc- 
 
 her with him. She forgot royalty, and thought only of the 
 father of her husband. Her entreaties, however, were in 
 
 vain A messenger had been sent to order one of the 
 
 royal carriages, but the mob had already burnt them on the 
 Place du Carrousel, and the groom who had gone to order one, 
 had been killed by a discharge from the insurgents. It was, 
 therefore, necessary to abandon this mode of departure. The 
 king left by the door of a subterraneous passage, which leads 
 from his apartments to the garden of the Tuileries. He crossed 
 on foot that same garden which Louis XVI., Marie Antoinette, 
 and their children, had crossed in their flight to the JSTutional 
 Assembly, — that path to the scaffold, or to exile, which mon- 
 archs never retrace. The queen comforted her husband with 
 a few words, uttered in a low tone. A group of faithful ser- 
 vants, of ofBcers, women and children, followed in silence. 
 Two little hackney carriages, engaged by an officer in disguise, 
 on the public stand in the street, drew up at the exit of the 
 Tuileries, at the bottom of the terrace. Here the nerves of the 
 queen, over-excited by the prolonged crisis she had suffered, 
 altogether failed her at the last moment ; she gasped, tottered, 
 and fell. The king was obliged to raise her in his arms, and 
 place her in a carriage, which he himself immediately entered. 
 The duchess de Nemours, the ornament and beauty of the 
 court, bathed in tears, entered the second carriage with her 
 children, seeking with a restless eye for her husband, who was 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 75 
 
 tion of his daughter-in-law ; but events marched 
 more quickly than his imagination could follow. 
 Scarcely had he left the palace, when royalty itself 
 was in doubt. The insurgents approached the rail- 
 ings of the interior court, and threatened to break 
 
 still engaged amidst the difficulties and dangers of his duty. 
 A squadron of cuirassiers surrounded the two carriages, which 
 set off at full speed along the Quay de Passy, towards St. 
 Cloud. The duke de Nemours remained to the last to secure 
 the safe departure of the duchess of Orleans. "Whilst the 
 evacuation of the palace by the troops was thus effected, a 
 small number of officers and counsellors, some devoted to the 
 d^^nasty, some to the person, and some only to the misfortunes 
 of a lady, were in consultation round the duchess of Orleans 
 and her children. . . . The report of three cannons shook the 
 ■windows of the apartment. It was the artillery of the palace 
 which was firing on the people as they issued from the quay 
 to the Carrousel. The princess sent General Grourgaud to stop 
 the firing, and the artillerymen extinguished their matches in 
 token of peace. General Gourgaud returned, and M. Dupin 
 followed him. M. Dupin was one of the great authorities of 
 public opinion. Whatever course he took, multitudes followed 
 
 in his steps The duchess saw him enter the apartment, 
 
 the presage at once of strength and peace. ' Well, sir,' cried 
 she, ' what are you come to tell me V 'I am come to tell you, 
 madam,' replied M. Dupin, in a saddened but hopeful tone, 
 ' that perhaps the part of a second INIaria Theresa is reserved 
 for you.' ' Direct me, sir,' replied the princess ; ' my life be- 
 longs to France and to my children.' ' Well, then, madam, 
 let us depart ; we have not a moment to lose. Let us go to 
 the Chamber of Deputies.' 
 
76 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 them. The crowd, which had quickly pressed into 
 the king's saloon, dispersed, and the duchess of Or- 
 leans was only surrounded by her household (not 
 one composing it abandoned her for a moment) and 
 a few deputies, who pressed her to take the regency, 
 
 This, in fact, was the only course for the duchess to take. 
 The cause of the regency, already lost in the streets, might be 
 retrieved in the chamber of deputies, if that body in discredit 
 among the people, by courtliness of spirit, had preserved suffi- 
 cient ascendency to arrest the fall of the monarchy. The pres- 
 ence of a Vi^oman, the grace and innocence of a child, were more 
 powerful attractions than any speeches. The bloody mantle of 
 Osesar, exhibited at the tribune, was less affecting than the 
 tears of a young and beautiful woman, presenting her orphan 
 child to the representatives of a chivalrous people. 
 
 It has already been stated that the king and queen, with 
 the duchess de Nemours and hsr children, seated themselves in 
 two hired coaches, on the Place de la Concorde. On reaching 
 Saint Cloud, the king took court carriages and proceeded to 
 Trianon, where he stopped for a few moments, as if to allow 
 
 time for fortune to overtake him, and arrest his flight 
 
 When evening set in, the king departed, taking the road to 
 Dreux, which place he reached early in the night. ... He in- 
 formed the Mayor and sub-prefect that it was his intention to 
 remain four days at Dreux, and there to await the decision of 
 the chambers respecting his future place of residence, and the 
 position which the nation might thenceforward allot to him. . . . 
 The king retired to rest at two o'clock ; while he was sleeping, 
 a friend arrived from Paris and announced the proclamation of 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 77 
 
 as the last chance of saving the monarchy, " It is 
 impossible/' she replies, " I cannot bear such a bur- 
 den ; it is beyond my strength ; no one is prepared 
 to see me regent ; I myself less than any one/'* 
 While she is speaking, the sound of guns is heard ; 
 
 the republic. ... A conncilj composed of members of the royal 
 family and their friends, was held at the king's bedside. It 
 was determined that the members of the family should effect 
 their escape separately and in difierent directions. The fugi- 
 tives were disguised in clothes of the plainest possible descrip- 
 tion. (The account, from page 302 of Lamartine's Works, 
 of several pauses and incidents on the route, is most interest- 
 ing, but too lengthy to be here introduced.) Through friendly 
 mediation, it was arranged that the king should embark at 
 Havre, on board of one of the vessels employed in the convey- 
 ance of cattle and provisions from France to the English coast. 
 Adverse winds prevented the carrying out of this plan. . . . 
 The king and queen departed from Havre in a steamer, and 
 landed at Newhaven, where he was informed that the hospital- 
 ity of his son-in-law, the king of the Belgians, had assigned the 
 place of Claremont as his abode." 
 
 * Monsieur Lamartine, in his " History of the Eevolution 
 of 1848," expresses his opinion that it was the duchess of Or- 
 leans' desire to hold the regency, and that " Louis Philippe 
 and his ministers perished under the unforeseen consequences 
 of wresting the regency from the young mother of an infant 
 king." " If," continues Lamartine, " if instead of laying be- 
 fore the people that ambiguous abdication, which made no pro- 
 vision for the regency, and which suffered contending parties 
 to catch sight of the duke de Nemours behind the formal abdi- 
 cation, if M. de Girardin, the bearer of the intelligence, had 
 
78 MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 a few minutes more, and the Tuileries will be in- 
 vaded. She must fly, to save her life and children, 
 or face the perils of the day, in order to preserve 
 the crown for the count de Paris, and to defend 
 the rights of France. Placed between these two 
 alternatives, her duty appears clearly defined ; she 
 is neither in hesitation or trouble. Taking the 
 hands of her two children, she crosses the long gal- 
 lery which separates her from her apartment, and 
 pauses before their father's portrait : " It is here 
 that we must die," says she, calmly ; she then gives 
 orders for the doors to be opened, ready to submit, 
 with her children, to a frightful death, if her tran- 
 quil courage cannot conquer the mobile mind of 
 
 represented before the imagination and the heart of the nation 
 a young mother reigning by popular favor in the name of her 
 son ; if this beloved princess, untainted with the shadow of a 
 charge, had herself appeared in the court of the palace, and 
 presented her child to the adoption of the country, there is no 
 doubt nature would have triumphed over the people. But the 
 duchess of Orleans, even at this last hour, was, as it were, in 
 exile with her children in the apartments of the palace assigned 
 to her. . . . In M. de Girardin's interview with her, not a word, 
 from her, indicated a mortified ambition, or a concealed sorrow. 
 Her griefs were unmingled, not only with all political intrigue, 
 but even with the feelings of ambition. She exhibited the 
 calmness and disinterestedness of a mother who entirely for- 
 gets herself amidst the recollections of her husband and her 
 hopes for her son," 
 
DUCHESS OF OELEANS, 79 
 
 the defying multitude, whose shouts already reach 
 her. 
 
 At this moment, two deputies hastily entered, 
 and in the name of the duke de Nemours, hesought 
 her, without delay, to join him at the bridge across 
 the garden ; he had watched over the king's depar- 
 ture, and returned to lead her safely out of the Tuil- 
 eries. She recognized in them aid from heaven ; 
 she had no time for questions, and was almost borne 
 onward by the multitude, seeking to protect her 
 against the bayonets pointed towards the Place du 
 Carrousel. As she passed through 1 he garden-gate, 
 ilie mob were taking possession of the Tuileries. 
 
 Upon reaching the Place Louis XY., the prin- 
 cess perceived the duke de Nemours upon horse- 
 back ; but separated by the crowd, she could not 
 communicate with him. She was ignorant of the 
 measures he had taken to conduct her to St. Cloud. 
 Her instinctive courage pressed her towards the 
 Boulevards ; there she would find herself confronting 
 the true people of Paris, now nothing more than a 
 troop of rebels. Perhaps she might perish there ; 
 yet perhaps her presence might bring them to reason. 
 Monsieur Dupin seeks to turn from this direction. 
 A voice cries, " A la Chambre V all repeat " A la 
 Chambre," Believing herself to be following the 
 direction of the duke de Nemours, she permits her- 
 
80 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 self to be led towards that quarter. He himself in 
 the distance sees her, without the power to detain 
 her, and nothing remains for him but to follow. 
 The crowd^ well disposed at this moment, cry, 
 " long live the duchess of Orleans !" " long live the 
 count de Paris !" while it forms like two walls, be- 
 tween which the princess advances, holding the 
 count de Paris by the hand, while Monsieur Schef- 
 fer, an officer of the national guard, follows, bearing 
 the little duke de Chartres, who is ill, in his arms. 
 At this moment. Monsieur Odilon Barrot was seek- 
 ing in the Tuileries for the duchess, in order to lead 
 her to the H6tel-de-Ville ; but he could not force 
 an entrance, and returned to the chamber, which he 
 reached after her. 
 
 When the princess entered the assembly, the 
 disorder was extreme ; the deputies were pressing 
 to the tribune ; a strange crowd filled the passages, 
 obstructing the progress of the royal cortege. Some 
 cry, " away with the princes ; we will have no 
 princes here \" others cry still louder, " long live 
 the duchess of Orleans ! long live the count de 
 Paris !" She takes her place near the tribune, and 
 remains there, with her two children at her side ; 
 behind her are the persons of her suite, struggling 
 to keep the multitude from gathering around her. 
 Monsieur Dupin ascends to the desk, and announces 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 81 
 
 that the act of abdication is to be borne by Mon- 
 sieur Barrot to the chamber ; in the meantime, he 
 insists that the unanimous acclamations with which 
 they have welcomed the count de Paris as king, and 
 the duchess as regent, be clothed in a legal form. At 
 these words, violent protestations burst forth from 
 a part of the chambre and tribune. The president 
 commands all foreigners to withdraw, and entreats 
 the princess to retire, " out of respect to the law." 
 " Sir," she replies, " this is a royal session." Sev- 
 eral of her friends seeing the tumult increase, en- 
 treat her to withdraw. ''If I withdraw from here, 
 my sons will never return again," she responds, 
 while remaining immovable at her place. But the 
 crowd presses, the noise increases, and the heat be- 
 comes so excessive that the princes can scarcely 
 breathe. The princess permits herself to be led 
 through the left gallery, extending round the semi- 
 circle, to the higher seats, facing the tribune, and 
 there seats herself, with the duke de Nemours and 
 her children. At this moment, Monsieur Odilon 
 Barrot, returned from the Tuileries, obtains a hear- 
 ing, while he proclaims, " the crown of July rests 
 upon the head of a child." Then are heard ac- 
 clamations of " long Hve the count de Paris !" The 
 duchess arises as if about to speak. Upon one side 
 of the chamber the cry is, " Speak, speak !" while 
 4* 
 
82 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 the otlier silences the voice. She utters these 
 words : " We are come here, my sons and myself — " 
 but is quickly interrupted. She makes a new effort 
 to make herself heard, but in vain, and resumes her 
 seat. Several orators succeed one another, in a con- 
 fusion impossible to describe. Finally, Monsieur 
 de Lamartine advances towards the tribune. His 
 first words revive the hopes of the princess' friends ; 
 but with her sweet and gentle smile, she makes a 
 motion of her finger that shows them she does not 
 share their illusion. Towards the end of the dis- 
 course, violent blows reverberate through the hall ; 
 the doors of the journalist department, upon the 
 right of the tribune, are forced open by armed men, 
 who precipitate themselves into the apartment with 
 loud vociferations ; they level their loaded guns, 
 and walk from one side of the chamber to the other 
 till they perceive the royal group, at which they 
 aim. The majority of the deputies withdraw. The 
 duchess of Orleans and her sons find themselves 
 discovered ; there remains between them and the 
 bullets only a remnant of the deputies, who have 
 stationed themselves before them. From the calm- 
 ness of her countenance, one would judge that she 
 was incurring no danger ; leaning over the nearest 
 seat, she gently rests her hand upon the shoulder of 
 an attendant, and says in a low voice which betrays 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 83 
 
 no emotioiij " what do you counsel me to do ? " 
 The reply is, " Madame, the deputies are no longer 
 here, we must go to the presidency in order to rally 
 the ' chamhre.' " " But how shall I reach there ? " 
 she responds, without moving or appearing agitated 
 by the bullets flying over her head. " Follow me," re- 
 plies Monsieur Jules de Lasteyrie. From seat to seat, 
 they descend to the left end of the hall, where they 
 find themselves in a passage reserved for delegates, 
 leading to a dimly lighted corridor ; two folding doors 
 separate it from the hall ; one is open. Monsieur de 
 Lasteyrie forces a passage through the crowd with 
 his arms ; perceiving a company of national guards 
 without the door, he commands them to hastily rank 
 around the duchess of Orleans, which they imme- 
 diately do."* 
 
 But in the meanwhile, the crowd is again 
 formed ; the j)rincess and her children are forced 
 against the closed door, and can advance no further. 
 She however disengages herself, but before she is able 
 to seize the hands of her sons, they are in the dark- 
 ness violently separated from her, and she is drag- 
 ged to the very hall of the presidency. There, not 
 
 * In her exile the duchess of Orleans sent a souvenir to 
 each of these brave men men who, in accomplishing their duty, 
 contributed to the preservation of her life upon that day. — Au- 
 thor's Note. 
 
84 MEMOIK OF THE 
 
 finding herself followed by her children, she utters a 
 despairing cry that resounds through the hall above 
 the noise of the tumult. Only these words are 
 heard, pronounced with singular energy :' " My chil- 
 dren ! my children/' The children were detained in 
 the narrow passage. • The duke de Chartres, over- 
 thrown and for an instant lost under the feet of the 
 crowd, is recovered and borne to the apartment of 
 one of the hussars. A workman in his blouse, 
 seized the count de Paris and carried him by force 
 in his arms, doubtless in order to defend him, but 
 in the midst of the noise, disorder and darkness, 
 each mistrusted his neighbor. The unhappy child 
 is torn from him and borne, or rather thrown, from 
 arm to arm till he reaches the corridor, where Mon- 
 sieur de Montguyon lets him down through a win- 
 dow into an interior court, and leads him back to 
 his mother. 
 
 Scarcely has she seen him, and been assured 
 that the youngest one is in safety, than all traces 
 of emotion disappear. The sight of her son at once 
 restores her presence of mind, and passing instantly 
 from violent despair to entire self-possession, she 
 again seeks counsel from those around her. A re- 
 union of the dispersed deputies was not to be 
 dreamed of ; the President's hall might perhaps 
 be invaded like the Court of Justice ; the Hotel-des- 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS, 85 
 
 Invalides is the nearest place ; there slie may at 
 least find a temporary asylum, and deliberate upon 
 the measures best to be taken. A carriage is found 
 at the gate ; the princess enters it with the count 
 de Paris, escorted by two national guards ; Mon- 
 sieur de Lasteyrie, takes the reins from the coach- 
 man's hands, in order to hasten departure. Mon- 
 sieur Mornay reaches the entrance to the Hotel-des- 
 Invalides almost as soon as the duchess. The 
 princess ascends to the governor's apartments. By 
 a seeming fatality, Marshal Molitor is ill and can- 
 not leave his room. There are only a very small 
 number of old soldiers around, and it is feared that 
 they will refuse to obey the orders of those unknown 
 to them. " Let orders be given in my name," says 
 the princess, without hesitation. The marshal ex- 
 presses his fears for her safety and that of her sons ; 
 he represents the isolated position of the H6tel-des- 
 Invalides, and its iU defence from within. ''No 
 matter, sir," she rephes, " it is a good place to die in, 
 if we are not to see to-morrow, or to remain in, if 
 we can defend ourselves." 
 
 The duke de Nemours, with several others, has 
 rejoined her ; they consult how troops may be re- 
 assembled for defence, or how it is possible to 
 return to Paris. The princess seeks to communi- 
 cate her ardor for resistance, listens to their advice 
 
86 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 with calmness, and replies as frankly and with as 
 much authority as if she was in ]3eaceahle possession 
 of the regency, holding council at the Tuileries. 
 Among those who accompanied her, some remain 
 near her, while others hasten to different ministers 
 and promise to return with the latest news. 
 
 During those hours of anxious waiting, neither 
 body nor soul sinks under the weight of fatigue and 
 emotion. She is scarcely seen to repose for a mo- 
 ment. It is not the excitement of imminent dan- 
 ger that inspires her courage, hut a clear and pre- 
 cise view of duty, with all its risks. About mid- 
 day. Monsieur Biesta arrives from the minister of 
 the interior, with the message from him for the 
 princess, that in spite of all his efforts, he can only 
 summon a very small number of national guards, 
 and that the mob are gaining ground and approach- 
 ing the Hotel-des-Invalides. Others return from the 
 minister of war, and also report that there is no 
 longer any thing to hope for, that the insurgents 
 already know her retreat, and that her life and that 
 of her sons is in great danger. " Is there no one 
 here who advises me to remain ? " asked she ; "if 
 there is so much as one person, only one, who coun- 
 sels me to remain, I will do so. I think more of 
 my son's life than of his crown ; but if his life is 
 necessary to France, a king, even a king of nine 
 years of age, must know how to die." 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 87 
 
 However, at six o'clock in the evening, Monsieur 
 Barrot, who had remained all day at the ministers', 
 and had not for a moment paused from his gener- 
 ous efforts, reaches the Hotel-des-Invalides ; he re- 
 lates what had passed at the H6tel-de-Ville, and 
 affirms that all is going wrong, that to-morrow it 
 will he impossible to renew the contest, but that 
 now they must retire from a place that wiU be the 
 first point of attack, and which it is no longer pos- 
 sible to maintain without troops or munitions. The 
 princess is entreated to leave the H6tel-des-Inva- 
 lides secretly, and to conceal herself in the neighbor- 
 hood, where she can return on the following morn- 
 ing if it becomes possible to organize a defence. 
 But at no price would she expose the old soldiers to 
 dangers she would not share herself. " I wiU re- 
 main altogether, or withdraw altogether," is her 
 reply. When it was at length decided to leave the 
 place, she was conjured to disguise herself in some 
 simple dress, that attention might not be attracted 
 towards her. She rejects this idea with a measure 
 of indignation. " If I am taken," she exclaims, " I 
 will be taken as a princess ;" and they were only 
 able to prevail upon her to tear off the lace that 
 covered her robe. But she was happily not recog- 
 nized in the short transit from the Hotel-des-Inva- 
 lides to " la rue de Monsieur," which she made 
 
»» MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 upon foot, leaning upon the arm of Monsieur de 
 Mornay. The count de Paris, holding the hand of 
 Monsieur de Lasteyrie, followed a few steps behind 
 her ; from distance to distance, others of the suite 
 dispersed, that no suspicion might be excited ; then 
 came the duke de Nemours, who never lost sight of 
 her. At his earnest prayers, the duchess of Orleans 
 consented to leave Paris, with her son, that same 
 evening, upon condition that she might await 
 the results of the morrow at a chateau upon the 
 environs. Upon entering the carriage, she turned 
 towards one who had been with her aU that day, 
 and said : " Upon one word, to-morrow, or in ten 
 years, I return here." The noise of wheels at night, 
 in those deserted streets, attracted the attention of 
 a few insurgents ; they called out for an arrest, and 
 aimed at the coachman ; but he spurred the horses 
 across a barricade, at the risk of shattering the car- 
 riage, and thus left Paris,* 
 
 * " The duchess of Orleans had friends at Lille, and the 
 numerous force garrisoned in that city might, by her presence, 
 have been won from the republic, and urged by enthusiasm to 
 defend the cause of a woman and a child. The thought of 
 showing herself to the troops, and claiming the throne for her 
 son, occurred to the duchess during this last night of her stay 
 in France ; but the crime of civil war stood between the throne 
 and this thought, and the duchess of Orleans renounced it. . . . 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 89 
 
 Keaching the deserted chateau at night, the 
 princess first thought only of refreshment and re- 
 pose for her exhausted child ; even this was difficult 
 to obtain, for they did not dare light a fire, lest the 
 smoke might hetray their presence to the inhabit- 
 ants of the ^dllage. She finally laid down beside 
 him, and when she saw him quietly sleeping, for 
 the first time experienced a feeling of fear. 
 
 Some will perhaps remember the frighful tem- 
 pests in the month of February, at the moment when 
 the king vainly endeavored to embark for England. 
 The princess mistook the sound of the wind for that 
 of the beating of drums, and expected every moment 
 to see the chamber where her child was reposing, 
 invaded. The night and day of Friday was spent 
 in like anguish. Upon Saturday, the 26th, the 
 duke de Chartres was restored to her, and though 
 stilliU, was so happy at seeing his mother and 
 brother, that the countenances of all three were 
 somewhat brightened. 
 
 At Ems, she was met by her mother. Whilst her memory 
 reverted to the pure but short-lived happiness she had enjoyed 
 in France, — to her bereavement, her sorrow, and the ruin of 
 her fortune through the faults of others, — she tranquilly re- 
 signed herself to the doom pronounced by her adopted country, 
 where, among persons of ail political parties, the name of the 
 duchess of Orleans will ever be associated with sentiments of 
 admiration, affection and respect." — Translator. 
 
90 MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 Evil tidings arrived at the same time from 
 Paris. Monsieur de Mornay announced that they 
 must not lose a moment, but regain the frontier, 
 and brought a passport to Germany, which he had 
 obtained with great difficulty. The princess still 
 resisted ; she consented to leave Paris, but was un- 
 willing to leave France. The count de Paris also 
 repeated his wish to remain in his own country, and 
 his words seemed to his mother like a warnins: from 
 heaven. Her friends still insisted upon her depart- 
 ure ; she must go and make preparation. At the 
 end of several moments. Monsieur de Montesequion 
 who had returned from giving his last orders, found 
 her upon her knees, praying aloud ; the count de 
 Paris was kneeling beside her, and the duke de 
 Chartres, upon his bed, had his little hands clasped 
 together. He made a memorandum of her words ; 
 they were : " My Grod, protect France, protect my 
 poor children, protect the generous host who has not 
 shrunk from offering us hospitality in these dan- 
 gerous moments ; let this act bring upon the family 
 a shower of benedictions, and forbid that the remem- 
 brance of our sojourn with them should ever be un- 
 welcome." 
 
 A driving rain, violent wind, and complete dark- 
 ness, rendered her departure lugubrious enough. 
 Few words were uttered ; she only pressed the hand 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 91 
 
 of her hosts, and took the rings from her own fingers 
 and placed them upon theirs. 
 
 All the way from Pontoise to Beaumont, the 
 railroads were disconnected and the bridges on fire. 
 They were obliged to take the post to Amiens. 
 At Lille they were obliged to wait several hours for 
 the Belgian convoy. The princess and her children 
 remained in the coach. Some one recognized them, 
 but no one betrayed them. 
 
 In crossing the frontier, the duchess of Orleans 
 burst into tears ; monsieur de Mornay, who had ac- 
 companied her, could not restrain his own, " Our 
 tears are very different," said she to him ; " you 
 weep for joy, that we are saved, while I weep for 
 grief at leaving France, that France upon which I 
 call down all the benedictions of heaven. In what- 
 ever place I may die, France knows well, the last 
 throbbing of my heart will be for her. 
 
 " When the thought passes through my mind 
 that I shall never see France again," said she, many 
 years after, " I feel as if my heart would break." 
 
92 MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 YII. 
 
 It was not fhe ducliess of Orleans' nature, to be 
 long overcome by grief. Her courage quickly re- 
 turned ; not that courage for action to wliicli slie 
 was no longer called, but that cheerful resignation, 
 at times almost serene, which she had besought of 
 God daily for ten years, and most frequently ob- 
 tained. 
 
 " Perhaps this trial," said she, upon reaching 
 Cologne, ''will be useful to my sons : in exile they 
 will receive such an education as their grandfather 
 received. Who knows but it maybe of more value 
 to them than any other ? 
 
 She had, as one would imagine, brought nothing 
 away from Paris ; the little money gathered up in 
 their hasty departure, had been exhausted in the 
 journey ; she passed the first days of her exile in 
 
DrCHESS OF ORLEANS. 93 
 
 the veritable want of all things. Her mother's 
 family, it is true, were eager to offer her hospitality, 
 and more than hospitality — all that watchful affec- 
 tions could desire. She was deeply touched, hut 
 declared it was impossible for her to accept any 
 thing further than a shelter for herself and fam- 
 ily. It was only upon this condition that she 
 established herself at Eisenach, early in May. 
 There she lived in the most simple manner, till she 
 was certain of the fortune that remained to her ; 
 she felt this trial less than all others. Indeed she 
 did not dwell upon it ; the queen of Belgium in 
 her anxiety for her, sent a mutual friend to Eisenach 
 to see that her sisters and nephews were in want of 
 nothing. She found her in a large room without 
 fire, clothed in the light apparel she wore upon 
 leaving the Tuileries. The heat of a stove made 
 her sick ; a fireplace was a thing unknown in that 
 part of Germany ; the princess turned these trials 
 into pleasantry. What mattered they to her ? 
 
 A less lofty, gentle soul, would have suffered a 
 thousand accessory pains, which, preoccupying the 
 mind, sometimes oppresses it more than the misfor- 
 tune itself Ee turning as an exile to the place from 
 which she had departed in the buoyancy of hope ; 
 passing, in a few hours, from the highest to the most 
 humble position ; from incessant excitement to the 
 
94 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 monotonous repose of a small village ; sinking, after 
 tiie agitation of those latter days, into a forced in- 
 activity, she had certainly sufficient cause for ennui, 
 — that weariness of life which troubles the harmony 
 of the soul, and seems, for a time at least, to take 
 away its strength ; but the princess was as indif- 
 ferent to trivial chagrins as to trivial pleasures. 
 She suffered deeply, as she had enjoyed deeply, and 
 her heart, far from neglecting consolations cordially 
 offered, accepted them with simplicity, almost with 
 delight. 
 
 Nothing could be more touching than the wel- 
 come with which the inhabitants of Eisenach re- 
 ceived the princess ; their discreet sympathy was 
 expressed in a thousand ways. Their hearts were 
 penetrated with a respectful, tender pity. When 
 she passed through the streets, they scarcely fixed 
 their eyes upon her, lest they might reawaken her 
 grief ; the thought of all was, how they might 
 divert and soften it. When the spring returned, 
 her chamber, despoiled of all other luxury, was 
 always supplied with flowers ; the wealthy inhabit- 
 ants contributed their exotics, the poor their wild 
 flowers ; all sent their tribute. 
 
 " A truce to complaints/' writes she on the 20th 
 of May, 1848 ; " we are in a peaceful valley, where 
 anarchy, which elsewhere rumbles, is still silent. 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 95 
 
 You are apprised that I have accepted the hospi- 
 tality oiFered hy my uncle with such paternal good- 
 ness. Our habitation is just what we need ; the 
 house is charming, the country magnificent, the 
 brave people discreet and full of delicate sympathy. 
 I bless God for having granted me this asylum ; 
 but sometimes the separation from all those who 
 are dear to me ; the great distance from that family 
 I love so dearly, from that mother whom I venerate, 
 from that sister, angel of consolation, — anxiety for 
 the future, poignant remembrances of the past, 
 trouble my soul, and make me almost overlook 
 the blessings God still grants. Sometimes I feel 
 as if shut up in the very ends of the earth, dead 
 yet living, overpowered with thirst to devote my- 
 self to that country I love so much, and riveted 
 by a chain that wounds at each respiration. My 
 existence is but a continual mental contest, in which 
 I am animated by one single desire : — the salvation 
 and happiness of France. This prayer calms me ; 
 I can have no more ardent wish for the country I 
 
 love so passionately We must not fall back 
 
 upon ourselves, but advance, unfalteringly, fixing 
 our eyes on high, from whence strength and conso- 
 lation will not always be denied." 
 
 While she was writing, a bloody contest was 
 again rendering the fate of this country, so ardently 
 
96 MEMOIK OF THE 
 
 beloved, doubtful. The four days in June, during 
 which, this struggle lasted, were more painful for 
 her to endure than those of her own peril ; the 
 acute suffering, mingled with the accents of patriotic 
 pride, are revealed in her letters at this time. 
 
 " 0, my dear friend," she writes on the 9th of 
 July, 1848, "what anguish, what torture did I en- 
 dure during those four days of suspense, when the 
 fate of France, the fate of entire society, was being 
 decided at Paris ! when our friends were upon the 
 brink of a precipice ; when the family of those so 
 devoted to us in exile were running the greatest 
 dangers. I could only cry out to God, God has 
 saved France, spared our friends ; I bless him for 
 it, yet feel my heart oppressed with sadness. What 
 a victory ! what an epoch we live in for witnessing 
 like contests ! But what energy was displayed in 
 resistance ! what heroism, what constancy ! If it 
 was necessary to shed blood, we ought to bless God 
 that it was not in the name of one of us that it 
 flowed. Men actually in power have saved France; 
 they reestablish order, they take wise and energetic 
 measures, but I fear their time will not be long ; I 
 fear that the country is destined to pass through 
 many successive crises before it rests upon stable, 
 solid foundations. Poor France ! great in its mis- 
 fortunes, as in its glory \" 
 
DUCHESS OF OKLEANS. 97 
 
 In the beginning of the summer of 1849, the 
 duchess of Orleans left Eisenach for England. In 
 the midst of all the emotions of such an interview, 
 her joy in finding herself with her family was great. 
 The tone of her correspondence during this visit 
 indicates a calm and comparatively happy state of 
 mind. Let us not pass over a single expression of 
 delight sown here and there in her letters. 
 
 •'Your letter found me in the midst of the fam- 
 ily circle," she writes from St. Leonard's. " Our 
 passage was rough ; the wind was so high, and the 
 sea so tempestuous, that our arrival was greatly 
 delayed, besides making us horribly sick. Except 
 
 ]Sr , all succumbed to this frightful malady, 
 
 which I deem worse than death, because it stupefies 
 while it harasses. My children did not suffer long; 
 one was patient and grateful to all who took care 
 of him ; the other could ill restrain his anger 
 against an evil he could not conq[uer. Instead of 
 landing in London at seven o'clock in the morning, 
 we did not reach it till four in the afternoon. My 
 sister Louise had been waiting for us at the sta- 
 tion for eight hours ! You can imagine what this 
 interview was for me. It is impossible to describe it. 
 I found them better than I had hoped ; but, alas ! 
 that impression has been quickly dissipated ; her 
 parched skin and emaciation afflict me exceedingly. 
 5 
 
98 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 Chomel arrives this morning, and will enlighten us 
 concerning the extent of the evil. God grant that 
 he may not augment my fears ! But I do not 
 know how to be sufficiently grateful to Grod for re- 
 storing our mother ; she is better than she was the 
 moment I left her, and is so affectionate, so tender, 
 so angelic towards me. We found her, with all the 
 family, waiting with feverish impatience at another 
 station. Father was moved and tender ; brothers 
 and sisters well. Father is thin, but looks well ; 
 he is a little feeble in the evening when drowsiness 
 oppresses him, but possesses a strength and clear- 
 ness of intellect, with a magnanimity of heart, ad- 
 mirable in one so sorely tried. Upon arriving here, 
 we found several visitors ; finding myself thus in the 
 bosom of my beloved family, and surrounded by old 
 faithful friends, the illusion was for the first days 
 complete, and bore me above the pain of such sweet 
 impressions. Little by little, we feel anew all the 
 bitterness of our actual situation. The reunion 
 and intimate converse with so many noble and be- 
 loved ones, still consoles and softens many griefs. 
 I had the joy of witnessing the general surprise at 
 the appearance of my children, especially Paris. 
 The king, mamma, my brothers, and everybody, 
 find him greatly improved, and take great interest 
 and delight in him. Mamma is very happy in see- 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 99 
 
 ing these two poor little ones again, and her cheva- 
 lier still holds a large place in her heart ; but she 
 expresses an infioite tenderness for Paris, who re- 
 plies to all her manifestations of interest with less 
 reserve than his nature has hitherto admitted of. 
 He is in a stage of development, with which Mon- 
 sieur Eeguier is well content. The voyage, and 
 many things he has seen, doubtless contributed to 
 this." 
 
 Upon the eve of returning to Eisenach, she 
 writes : " Our domestic life is very sweet. I am 
 much with the queen, hence with the king, whose 
 affectionate tenderness increases from day to day, 
 and makes me shrink from the moment of separa- 
 tion. I hope to make frequent sojourns with the 
 family ; the first will be upon my dear child's re- 
 ceiving his first communion." 
 
 The duchess of Orleans finally returned to Clare- 
 mont after a sojourn of several months at Eisenach, 
 and devoted herself entirely to the religious educa- 
 tion of her son. She remained with him in his cate- 
 chetical exercises with the Abb6 Guelle, followed 
 him in his retirement, and when she could not join in 
 his exercises, united herself to him by prayer. The 
 Lutheran doctrine concerning the Holy Eucharist, 
 approaches ours nearer than that of any other Prot- 
 estant communion. At the moment of her son's 
 
100 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 entrance upon Christian and Catholic life, the feel- 
 ing of the differences of worship, always painful to 
 her, was perhaps less sensibly felt than at other 
 times, because she was impressed with a sense of 
 union upon the point then most occupying the 
 hearts of both. 
 
 Without permitting ourselves to enter into the 
 details of a mother's intercourse with her child (ed- 
 ifying as it might prove) we must give her own 
 touching account of the ceremony witnessed by so 
 many friends from France. 
 
 " At eight o'clock, on the morning of the 20th 
 of July, 1850, we went with the king and queen, 
 followed by all the family and numerous faithful 
 friends, to the little French chapel in London. 
 Paris was placed at the foot of the altar, between 
 the king and myself, before a prayer desk, sur- 
 mounted by a lighted torch. He bore in his left 
 hand a white scarf, emblem of purity. Before mass 
 the Abbe Guelle addressed a beautiful and touch- 
 ing exhortation to hitn ; then mass was said, by 
 the bishop of London, Doctor Wiseman, a priest 
 highly honored by the French clergy. Before the 
 time for communion, the bishop made an equally 
 fine address, and then the Abbe Guelle led the dear 
 child to the altar. He knelt and received the body 
 of his Lord with an edifying and devout respect. 
 
DrCHESS OF ORLEANS. 101 
 
 On returning to the prayer-desk, he passed near the 
 king, who raised his hands to bless him. Then the 
 dear child turned instinctively towards me, with a 
 look that I shall never forget and know not how to 
 describe. The bishop then made another address 
 to him, and mass being finished we left the chapel 
 full of emotion. Paris' demeanor was surprising for 
 his age ; full of earnestness and dignity ; every one 
 remarked it ; not only the king, who said it was one 
 of the most delightful days of his life, not only the 
 queen and my brothers who were deeply moved, but 
 disinterested strangers were struck with the man- 
 ner of that pure, pious, grave, yet artless child. 
 Every one wept from sympathy and tenderness. 
 Poor Eobert was deeply affected during the ceremo- 
 ny. At two o'clock, we found all again in the 
 chapel, except the king, whose health requires great 
 care. The bishop was again present. Vespers 
 were chanted, the Abbe Guelle made a touching ad- 
 dress, then Paris at the foot of the altar, read anew 
 the vows of baptism in a clear, firm voice. Finally, 
 we returned with our hearts full of thanksgiving to 
 Grod who loves and blesses children." 
 
 Upon returning from a journey to St. Leonards, 
 the duchess of Orleans found the king's health so 
 enfeebled that she thought no longer of leaving him. 
 She was living near him at Richm'ond, where he died 
 
102 XrEMOIK OF THE 
 
 upon the 26th of August of that same year (1850), 
 in the full possession of his faculties, and in the se- 
 renity of an upright man. He received the sacra- 
 ments of the church, surrounded hy his family, to 
 whom he had ever been a tender father. His life 
 ended like his youth, in exile ; hut his riper years 
 were not useless to his country, and the eighteen 
 years of peace, happiness, and liberty, France owed 
 to him, should have led her to a different course 
 with regard to him. His last breath was spent in 
 enjoining upon his children the duty of not separat- 
 ing themselves from the queen. They all replied, 
 gathering around him : " She will be always our 
 first thought, and we will never leave her." Soon 
 they were again called to be united around another 
 death-bed, and to weep over one of the most re- 
 markable and beloved of beings. Her majesty, the 
 queen of the Belgians, in a few weeks followed the 
 king. . Every one will recall the effect produced by 
 her death, in Belgium, the mourning worn by the 
 entire population, even in the most miserable ham- 
 lets and her venerated memory already passed into 
 tradition ; but the vacancy left in her family by her 
 loss, can never be defined.* 
 
 The duchess of Orleans, writes on the 12th of 
 
 * For a fuller account of the death of Louis Philippe, taken 
 from London News, see p. 118. 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 103 
 
 October : — " It would be impossible to describe 
 the desolation felt by us all, after the loss of our 
 second Providence upon earth. God has taken our 
 angel from us ; He knows what is best, but His 
 designs are impenetrable. Each day we understand 
 more and more the greatness of our loss. We weep 
 not only for a friend, but a support. Since that 
 tutelary angel no longer watches over me, I feel 
 anew the isolation of my existence, and in mute 
 affliction, fear to love those ardently who still re- 
 main to me upon the earth ; for the fourth time in 
 my life God has taken those objects from me that 
 possessed all my aifection. This sad thought makes 
 me sometimes shudder for my children, who may, 
 perhaps, some day, share the fate of other objects 
 which my love has cherished. Do you blame me 
 for these thoughts ? Be indulgent ; look upon 
 them only as the result of a succession of misfor- 
 tunes ; help me to pray God to lessen the bitterness 
 of the cup He gives me to drink. If you could see 
 our mother ! if you could hear her words of sub- 
 mission and faith that astonish us ! She is truly a 
 noble woman. She lives only for heaven. Her only 
 thought is of seeing her children and self prepared 
 to enter there. She is far above human suffering, 
 for God sustains and strengthens her. . . . Alas ! I 
 despair of imitating her, and pray God to pardon 
 
104: MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 me for the degree of sadness into wMcli tliis afflic- 
 tion has plunged me." 
 
 Two years passed without any release from the 
 monotonous sadness of an exile aggravated by such 
 severe misfortunes. The days of the duchess of 
 Orleans were passed either at Eisenach or in Eng- 
 land ; it Fas in the latter place that she received 
 the news of the 2d of December. 
 
 As long as the fate of France remained uncer- 
 tain, and the form of government, and the family 
 to whom it should be intrusted was only a second- 
 ary question, while the rights of society itself were 
 in danger of being misunderstood, she followed the 
 contest with anguish, but, as we know, also with 
 hope ; and this vague hope, which she did not 
 even desire to see promptly realized, sufficed to 
 animate her patience, to color the distant horizon, 
 and to give her wings to cross the intervening space. 
 
 Upon the 2d of December, surprise, uncertainty, 
 with regard to the course best to follow, and anxiety 
 for her friends, aroused all the powers of her soul ; 
 but when she understood that a new period, of in- 
 definite duration, was about to open, she was seized 
 with a profound and almost bitter sadness. She 
 who was mistress of herself in danger, and tranquil 
 in the greatest misfortunes, resigning herself into 
 the hands of Grod, was now seeking Him, without 
 
DUCHESS OF OELEANS. 105 
 
 experiencing His peace. She wished to be submis- 
 sive, but her heart revolted. " Every thing is against 
 me," said she. " Yes, even the Christianity of the 
 admirable queen. I am irritated with her for not 
 being indignant. She has a word of indulgence 
 and charity for every one. I cannot ..." here 
 tears overpowered her. Were they tears, of disap- 
 pointed ambition ? No, if by that word is under- 
 stood sordid desires and selfish purposes ; yes, if it 
 implies the sadness of a soul devoured by the ardor 
 of a hopeless devotion and profound melancholy 
 concerning a destiny impossible to accomplish, and 
 an aimless future opening to her sons ; hopeless for 
 their country and their cause. 
 
 With this multitude of ideas and divers im- 
 pressions, was mingled a measure of disquietude 
 for her friends who were suffering for a cause, in 
 behalf of which she had no new sacrifices to offer. 
 Her foreboding imagination exaggerated the pains 
 of their exile. She saw them, for long years, away 
 from their families and country, deprived of all 
 things. The desire of despoiling herself for them, 
 and of manifesting her sympathy, became almost a 
 constant thought. One of these exiles related with 
 a smile, though deeply moved, that he had received, 
 early in January, a packet containing bills of varied 
 value, with pieces of gold for all countries. She 
 5* 
 
106 MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 hastily gathered up what she found at hand, think- 
 ing that he and his companions in exile, driven 
 precipitately from France, without time to arrange 
 their affairs, might he in need of money. 
 
 The decrees of the 22d of January found her 
 indifferent as far as they concerned herself; they 
 would have heen rather a sort of consolation, if 
 her natural generosity had heen less active, "As 
 to what concerns us," she writes several days before 
 the publication of the decrees, " you know that we 
 are, thanks to God, raised above all expectation. 
 The humiliation of our country, and persecution 
 of our friends, is what we feel most. Inasmuch as 
 the decree has not been issued, I pray you to use 
 freely some of the means I have given you ; I can- 
 not altogether renounce the only solace that remains 
 to us in misfortune." 
 
 Several months thus rolled away, in this diffi- 
 cult period, which she ever painfully remembered. 
 Before her sons she maintained self-possession ; 
 with them she was cheerful, and with marvellous 
 judgment knew how to prevent them from forget- 
 ting that they were away from their own country, 
 in a time of serious trial, yet to create a pure 
 atmosphere around them, guarding them against 
 ennui, so hurtful to the development of children, 
 and more injurious to their faculties than great mis- 
 
DUCHESS OF OKLEANS. lOT 
 
 fortunes. But when she was alone, assured that 
 her children were engaged either in work or play, 
 she was assailed by a thousand mournful thoughts, 
 that a word caused to flow forth like a wound 
 roughly opened. One day, in taking leave of a 
 friend, whom she was questioning with a benevolent 
 interest concerning his family, she asked, " What 
 is your daughter's name ? " He replied, " She 
 bears the name of your royal highness, Helen." 
 At these words she burst into tears. " Ah, why 
 have you called her Helen ? that name bears mis- 
 fortunes," and remained several moments without 
 speaking. 
 
 In order to calm her mental agitation, she had 
 recourse to forced active physical exercise ; it 
 seemed as if she sought fatigue of body in order to 
 gain repose of soul ; long walks, and incessant mo- 
 tion, served better to distract her thoughts than 
 reading and music, which she nevertheless loved 
 and appreciated ; she acknowledged frankly, that a 
 fixed attention upon subjects foreign to her habitual 
 reflections was impossible, No book settled her 
 mind, and even prayer could not pervade it. It 
 was not that " God was not always in the depths 
 of her heart," but that she feared to seek for Him 
 there. The profound depths where His image still 
 was, seemed hidden by the whirling of the surface 
 of the waters. 
 
108 MEMOIK OF THE 
 
 She felt the need of external distraction, to es- 
 cape reflections. She desired to travel, in order for 
 some time to escape " the heavy and enervating at- 
 mosphere of England, that was killing her." The 
 close of the year 1851 and a portion of 1852, she 
 divided hetween G-ermany, whither her mother 
 naturally attracted her, and Switzerland, which she 
 loved in remembrance of her childhood ; but this 
 course, undertaken with every advantage for the 
 young princes, threatened to become fatal to her. 
 On the environs of Lausanne, where the route 
 bordered a stream greatly increased by rains, the 
 carriage upset and rolled into the water. In a mo- 
 ment the princes disengaged themselves and with 
 one bound leaped upon the bank ; but as they 
 sought for their mother, to their affright they could 
 perceive only her hair floating above the waters. 
 She had fainted, and was half borne down under 
 
 Madame de Y who had also swooned. They 
 
 had the greatest difficulty in drawing her out. 
 Scarcely had she come to herself, when she uttered 
 a cry of joy at the sight of her children saved and 
 uninjured. The terrified expression of her children 
 at the thought of their mother's danger, made a 
 more lively impression upon her than even the ac- 
 cident itself. Of her dislocated shoulder, and fear- 
 ful pains endured during her return in a carriole to 
 
DUCHESS OF OKLEANS. 109 
 
 Lausanne, she spoke lightly. But she remembered 
 with emotion, the care of her sons and friends, and 
 the prompt arrival of the queen from England. 
 This shock was nevertheless a severe test to so nerv- 
 ous a temperament ; the patience of her soul tri- 
 umphed over it. Though confined to her bed in a 
 strange house, where she was in need of a thousand 
 things, notwithstanding the care of her hosts, who 
 were moved with pity and sympathy for the lovely 
 invalid, she was always cheerful. 
 
 As soon as the duchess of Orleans was in a state 
 to leave Lausanne, she set out for England. To- 
 wards the beginning of autumn, she rented a dwell- 
 ing in Devonshire, the most southern province in 
 England, where the aspect, on a bright day, was 
 somewhat like Italy ; but the fog that she sought 
 to flee from thither pursued her. From the month 
 of November till the following April, she saw the 
 beautiful view from Kitley, with its noble forests 
 and grand lake leading to the sea, only through a 
 thick gray curtain and heavy rains. Those monoto- 
 nous wintry days and long evenings were well cal- 
 culated to oppress a spirit of less energy. She bore 
 the trial patiently ; and maintained a cheerful 
 bearing by occupying herself continually with the 
 thought of others, and by, seeking to enliven the 
 circle around her. Her energy never decreased. 
 
110 MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 She would cross the muddy roads to the environs, 
 visit poor families, and interest herself in country 
 occupations for the sake of developing a taste for 
 them in her children, and of overcoming the ill con- 
 sequences of an isolated education by actual obser- 
 vation and natural impressions. 
 
 " Kitley is becoming charming," she writes in 
 the commencement of April. " Spring invests, it 
 with new attractions ; the roads are bordered with 
 blooming hedges, rippling waters, and shady woods. 
 It is a wild place, where the work of man is little 
 seen, yet an agreeable one to live in, I have made 
 the acquaintance of several families in the neigh- 
 borhood, who are amiable and intellectual." 
 
 She went to see them, invited them often to 
 Kitley, in order to make them more at ease, and 
 spoke English to them, though forced to smile at 
 her own faults. Nothing could be more cordial 
 than her welcome as a hostess. Several notes writ- 
 ten each evening after a visit to her, present her to 
 us under a new aspect, and give a pleasant impres- 
 sion of the perpetual attention she lavished upon 
 her guests. We see in her what is rarely to be 
 found in a woman, the desire to please without the 
 slightest thought of self 
 
 " Monday, 20th of June, 1853. I had arisen and 
 was arranging my toilette when I heard a gentle 
 
DUCHESS or OKLEANS. Ill 
 
 knock at the door. It was the princess, already- 
 dressed, come to see if I wanted any thing, or was 
 fatigued from my journey. She sat down, and we 
 had commenced a conversation, when some one an- 
 nounced that the physician was there. She left me 
 hastily to accompany him to the sick bed of a 
 femme de cliamhre ; the latter is German ; the 
 physician speaks English only ; she went to trans- 
 late the physician's questions and her replies. Af- 
 ter several moments she returned ; we resumed our 
 conversation, which was several times interrupted 
 by necessary household orders ; then the hour for a 
 history lesson, at which she was always present, re- 
 called her to her children. At noon we assembled 
 around the table ; no luxuries here nor elsewhere ; 
 all was simple and pleasant. It seems to me that 
 there is a certain elegance in the arrangement of 
 every thing here. No little superfluity or those ex- 
 aggerations of comfort which indicate too great con- 
 cern for mere material gratification. The domestics 
 appear as part of the family ; they are evidently 
 not chosen for their good appearance, but for their 
 faithfulness. This domestic life pleases me alto- 
 gether." 
 
 "21. We left for Kitley in the middle of the day, 
 and returned at nine o'clock in the evening, over- 
 come with hunger and fatigue, but charmed with 
 
112 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 our journey. The princess' horses were sick, as 
 often happens, for want of proper care. We went 
 out in a small establishment, and the princess and 
 myself could scarcely refrain from laughing, when 
 we met Lord Mount Edgecombe's steward at the en- 
 trance to his park, mounted ujjon a magnificent 
 English horse, ready to escort the princess, and 
 making all sorts of apologies, with great gravity, 
 for his master's not coming in person. His respect- 
 ful bearing contrasted strongly with our poor equi- 
 page, but I thought to myself, no one glancing 
 within could ever mistake the rank of the occupant. 
 She would appear what she is even in a peasant's 
 garb and cart. While returning by water, the boat 
 inclined for a moment towards one side ; the prin- 
 cess uttered a cry of terror ; I smiled in remember- 
 ing to how many more serious dangers she had been 
 exposed without shrinking. I remarked that she 
 never spoke a word" concerning those moments of 
 her life." 
 
 " 22. A rainy day. Impossible to move. Kit- 
 ley enveloped m a shroiid of fog. I have not ex- 
 perienced a moment of ennui. We have commenced 
 reading Polyeucte. She appreciates all its beauty 
 duly ; but two scenes placed us, as it were, in 
 Paris. The future, the past, the present of France, 
 the difficulty of resigning herself, the problem of 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 113 
 
 detachment and perpetual trouble, were all dis- 
 cussed, and the poor Polyeude remained open on 
 the table." 
 
 She asked me to j^lay upon the piano. " Mu- 
 sic," said she, " soothes my too poignant thoughts ; 
 it varies my feelings, without wounding them. I 
 so much wished that Paris might be fond of it, that 
 I had teachers for him when he was seven years of 
 age ; but that led him to a dislike for it. I wished 
 to hasten the time for everything, and to have him 
 become a man." 
 
 " 23. Went to Torquay ; in descending to- 
 wards the sea, we met an old vendor, whom the 
 princess had engaged a year before to polish the 
 varied colored stones found upon the strand. She 
 recognized him, and stopped the coach in order to 
 say good morning, and make several purchases ; the 
 poor man's face became radiant with delight. She 
 returned to Kitley loaded with presents for all. The 
 only luxury she permitted herself, was that of giving 
 to others. 
 
 " In the evening, several of the princes' young 
 comrades arrived. The rooms were all occupied ; 
 the princess had beds prepared in the library, one 
 of which she occupied herself" 
 
 Sunday. " This morning, upon returning from 
 mass, I found her more than ordinarily sad. I pro- 
 
114 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 posed to read aloud some religious work. ' I was 
 going to make that request/ she replied. We 
 ascended to her simply furnished room, with its 
 portraits and souvenirs, and read several pages. ' I 
 can scarcely fix my attention,' she exclaimed, at the 
 end of a few minutes. We had been speaking of 
 her children, and resuroed the subject ; ' I desire to 
 attract a serious society about them, in order that 
 they may form the acquaintance of distinguished 
 men and women ; not frivolous, worldly women, 
 but mothers of families interested in their children, 
 living good and natural lives. Sometimes an agi- 
 tating thought passes through my mind. I am in 
 feeble health ; I may die. I can make the sacrifice 
 for myself, but think with alarm of my children ! ! ' 
 A cloud passed across her face, and a quick appre- 
 hension oppressed me, but only for a moment, she 
 appeared so well. 
 
 " 26. I took leave of her this morning. She 
 wished to rise early, in order that she might help me 
 in my preparations for departure. We were all filled 
 with emotion, even the children, whose imagination 
 she had captivated as well as my own. Why ? I 
 cannot say. I have seen as remarkable natures, but 
 life seems more delightful with her than with others. 
 I do not know another hostess with whom I could 
 converse for twelve hours without a moment's ennui. 
 
DUCHESS OF OELEANS. 115 
 
 I always have something to say to her, because her 
 interest never flags. Nothing is a matter of indif- 
 ference with her ; her soul is far too great for her 
 feeble frame," 
 
 The close of the year 1853 was marked with 
 such painful agitations for the duchess of Orleans, 
 that we cannot pass it over in entire silence. Great 
 reserve is enjoined upon even the subject of these 
 agitations. But faithful to our design, we will seek 
 only the reflection of the duchess of Orleans' inner 
 life, her ideas and feelings. They have an eternal 
 value, but will be appreciated according to the 
 times and events. 
 
 Upon a question which could concern only a 
 distant future, she thought differently from some 
 of her friends ; opinions, which she could surrender 
 without violence to duty, she gave up. Two 
 thoughts directed her whole conduct ; the one con- 
 cerning her country, the other her children. She 
 believed herself bound to the former by the com- 
 pact of 1830, which confided the deposit of its lib- 
 erties to the Orleans family ; she believed it her 
 duty to keep her children's future inviolate and 
 fetterless. She did not feel free to dispose of what 
 she regarded as a deposit in her hands, till the mo- 
 ment she was to render an account to her sons. 
 
 In view of an immediate and decisive action, if 
 
116 MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 she had felt assured of the assent of the country 
 and the durable happiness of France under a free 
 government, and if it had been presented to her as 
 the result of its own concourse, she would have been 
 ready, we dare affirnij to give up the preferences 
 and souvenirs that bound her to the most lively 
 impressions of her youth, and to sacrifice even hei 
 duties as mother and wife. These duties she could 
 only surrender to one greater and more pressing. It 
 would still have been her husband's will that guided 
 her, since he desired her to subordinate her conduct 
 to the wishes of France ; she would have taken 
 nothing from the eclat of his name, since that name 
 would have participated in the glory common to all 
 the Bourbon family. There was no opposition of 
 principles between her and her friends, only a dif- 
 ferent view of the times, opportunity, and means. 
 
 But when all thought of action was put aside, 
 and France seemed tranquil, or at least silent, 
 while the matter seemed only desirable or perhaps 
 even useful to the interests of her sons, but with- 
 out any immediate results for her country, she did 
 not believe herself authorized, as mother and guar- 
 dian, to dispose of the only good remaining to them ; 
 namely, an independent future. It may doubtless 
 be said that she was misled and deluded ; but in 
 her delusion, there was nothing but what was gen- 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 117 
 
 erous, noble, and perfectly sincere. If she clung 
 to them with a certain passionate persistency, it 
 was because the most tenacious of all passions are 
 those of a mother, above all when she acts in obe- 
 dience to a will ever present, and fixed by death. 
 But the more firm were her convictions, the more 
 acutely she suffered ; she felt the need of commu- 
 nion with those whom she loved and admired, and 
 whose titles she was proud of. Her tenderness, 
 even, carried her beyond herself. In complete union, 
 the slightest clouds might become great griefs, 
 which would scarcely be noticed in relations less 
 near ; the ardor with which she would seek to dis- 
 pel them might increase them. At a distance, on 
 the contrary, circumstances might dissipate the 
 lightest clouds, and render the bonds more affec- 
 tionate and sweet. This soon happened ; and the 
 duchess of Orleans' last return to England, was the 
 happiest and most exempt from agitation of the ten 
 years of her exile ; while the joys of domestic life, 
 which were ever so dear to her, were felt in their 
 full sweetness. 
 
 The winter of 1856, which she passed in Italy, 
 strengthened her feeble health. " The impression 
 my journey left upon me," she writes from G-enoa, 
 "is that of delight. Follow my example ; come 
 beneath this incomparable shy, where to live and en- 
 joy is one and the same thing." 
 
118 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 TRANSLATOR'S NOTE. 
 
 The following article on the death of Louis Philippe ap- 
 peared at the time in the London News : 
 
 Louis Philippe died on the morning of the 26th instant, at 
 Claremont, in the presence of the queen and several members 
 of his family. He had been made aware of his approaching 
 end early the previous day, and receiving the melancholy inti- 
 mation with calmness, prepared for the final arrangements 
 he wished to make. After a conversation with the queen, he 
 dictated with remarkable clearness the concluding portions of 
 his Memoirs, and then, having caused to be assembled his 
 chaplain, the Abb6 Quelle, and all his children and grandchildren 
 who were at Claremont, he received with resignation and firm- 
 ness the last rites of the Catholic Church. Towards seven in 
 the evening, the debility that had oppressed him appeared to 
 pass off, and fever came on, which continued during the night 
 with great violence, but without disturbing his composure of 
 mind. At eight o'clock in the morning he expired, in the 
 presence of his devoted wife and of the following members of 
 his family: the duchess of Orleans, the count of Paris, the 
 duke de Chartres, the duke and duchess de Nemours, the 
 prince and princess de Jomville, the duke and duchess d'Au- 
 male, and the duchess Augusta of Sase-Ooburg. Thus ended 
 the closing scene of the life of Louis Philippe of Orleans, once 
 the sovereign of a great people, the soldier of one revolution, 
 the conqueror of a second, and the victim of a third. 
 
 The following account of his life will doubtless prove inter- 
 esting in this connection : 
 
 Louis Philippe was born in Paris, on the 6th of October. 
 
DUCHESS OF OKLEANS. 119 
 
 1773. The care of the young prince's education was assigned 
 to Madame de Genhs, and ably and admirably did that eminent 
 woman perform the duties intrusted to her. From her guid- 
 ance Louis Philippe immediately passed to the busy arena of 
 active life. In 1791, war being declared against Austria, the 
 duke made his first campaign, fighting with gallantry under 
 Kellerman at Valmy and with Dumouriez at Jemappes. But 
 the horrors of the revolution were progressing with gigantic 
 strides ; the unfortunate Louis XVI. was carried to the scaffold, 
 and within a few months after, the duke of Orleans was seized 
 on a plea of conspiracy against the French nation, and after a 
 mock trial, consigned to the executioner. A short time pre- 
 vious to the death of his father, the duke de Chartres had ef- 
 fected his escape through Belgium into Switzerland, and was 
 there joined by his sister Adelaide and Madame de Genlis. We 
 can here only mention this romantic period of his life, and glance 
 at his wanderings through Switzerland, Denmark, Lapland, 
 Finland, America, and England. For one year he held the ap- 
 pointment of professor in the college of Eeichenau, at a salary 
 of £58, and for that sum undertook to teach history, mathe- 
 matics, and English. He bore the name of Chabaud Latour, 
 and none but the superiors of the institution were aware of his 
 rank. The news of his father's execution reached him while 
 quietly instructing the youth of Eeichenau, and he instantly 
 threw up his professorship, and after a protracted journey 
 through Northern Europe, succeeded by the kind intervention 
 of jMr. Morris, the American ambassador at Paris, in reaching 
 the New "World, where he landed in Philadelphia, 24th October, 
 179G, and was joined by his three brothers. They spent the 
 winter in that city, and afterwards visited General Washington 
 at Mount Vernon. Their residence in the United States was, 
 however, short. Louis Philippe's two brothers died within a 
 
1 20 MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 few years, one in England, the other at Malta. He accompanied 
 his last remaining brother to Malta, and after his interment, 
 sailed for Sicily, on the invitation of the king of Naples. There he 
 gained the affections of the princess Amelia, and their marriage 
 took place in November, 1809. In the year 1814, on the abdi- 
 cation of Napoleon, he returned to Paris, and for a short period 
 was in the full enjoyment of all his honors. In 1815, Napoleon's 
 escape from Elba called the duke of Orleans into active em- 
 ployment, and he proceeded, in obedience to the desire of Louis 
 XVIII., to take the command of the Army of the North. In 
 this situation he remained until the 24th of March, when he 
 surrendered his command to the duke de Treviso, and returned 
 to Twickenham. After the Hundred Days, the duke of Orleans 
 obeyed the ordinance authorizing all the princes of royal blood 
 to take their seat in the chamber of the peers ; but subsequent- 
 ly incurring the jealousy and displeasure of the Court, he re- 
 sought his old residence on the Thames, and dwelt there in 
 seclusion until 1817, when he returned to France, and devoted 
 himself to the education of his children, until the Revolution of 
 1830 broke out, ending in his elevation to the Throne of 
 France. The circumstances of his reign until his final abdica- 
 tion of the Throne, and exile to England, are well known. 
 
 In the following extract will be found a detailed account of 
 the last honors paid to the deceased ex-king : 
 
 The apartments at Claremont occupied by the ex-king and 
 queen, were upon the ground floor of the mansion ; they com- 
 prised the library, dining-room, gallery, breakfast-room, and 
 the state bed-room, in which princess Charlotte died in 1817. 
 After the arrival of the royal exiles, some changes were made 
 in the appropriation of the apartments. The gallery was con- 
 
DUCHESS OF OKLEANS. 121 
 
 verted into a private chapel j the bed-room of the princess 
 Charlotte became the cabinet of the ex-king, and the adjoining 
 dressing-room the bed-chamber of the ex-king and queen. In 
 this room Louis Philippe expired. His body was embalmed 
 and placed in four coffins. The inner coffin, containing the 
 remains, Avas of Spanish mahogany, lined with white satin, 
 and covered with lead ; the third coffin was of highly polished 
 mahogany; and the outer, or state-coffin, was of the same 
 material, covered with rich black Genoa velvet, thickly stud- 
 ded with silver nails, with ornaments and handles of the same 
 metal, richly chased ; on either side were the arms of the 
 house of Orleans ; the plate on the lid was surmounted with a 
 regal crown, underneath which were three fleurs-de-lis, and the 
 following inscription : 
 
 LOUIS PHILIPPE ler., 
 
 Roi DEs Franqois, 
 
 Ne a Paris 
 
 Le 6 Octobre, 1773. 
 
 MoRT A Claremont, 
 
 (Conte de Surrey, Angleterre,) 
 
 Le 26 Ao4t, 1850. 
 
 In the centre of the royal chapel at Claremont, a platform 
 was raised, upon which was placed, upon trestles, the coffin 
 containing the body of the ex-king. The coffin was surrounded 
 by twenty-four lighted wax tapers, and was covered with a black 
 velvet pall, fringed with silver, and in the centre of which was a 
 cross, extending the length of the coffin, worked in silver. The 
 chapel walls were hung with black cloth, and the external light 
 carefully excluded. On one side of the chapel a bench was 
 placed for the accommodation of the ex-queen and the female 
 relatives of the ex-monarch ; but the space -within the chapel 
 6 
 
122 MEMOIK OF THE 
 
 was so limited that none but the members of the late king's 
 family and their immediate attendants could be admitted 
 within its precincts. Seats were placed in an adjoining room, 
 into which a small door opened from the chapel, for the stran- 
 gers who attended the solemnity ; but they could merely obtain 
 a glimpse of the tapers burning on the altar, and occasionally 
 hear the low tone of the officiating priest chanting the solemn 
 cadence of portions of the mass for the dead. At nine, the 
 ex-queen, with the princes and princesses, entered the chapel 
 and took their places, the queen on the left, and the princes on 
 the right of the catafalque. The king's former aides-de-camp 
 stood behind the catafalque. After the service of the " lesser 
 hours," mass was celebrated by the grand vicar. Dr. White, of 
 the London district, assisted by the Abb6s Tongel and Levas- 
 seur, of the French chapel in London, and by the Abb6s 
 Guelle and Orabot, respective almoner and chaplain to the 
 king, and by the Abb6 Coquerlan, canon of St. Deny's, who 
 arrived on the previous day to perform the pious duty. After 
 the mass, during which the prayer for the dead was chanted in 
 full choir, the Abbe White gave the absolution. Immediately 
 after the clergy, the queen passed around the catafalque, and 
 sprinkled the coffin of her royal husband with holy water. At 
 a quarter past ten o'clock the visitors were directed to form a 
 line from the door of the chapel, along the vestibule, and the 
 melancholy procession, which had been arranged within the 
 chapel, passed between them, towards the final resting-place of 
 the ex-king. Between Esher and Wey bridge, the procession 
 (in which were marked many persons of illustrious rank) was 
 joined by many gentlemen on horseback, who fell in before 
 the hearse, riding three abreast. The procession moved slowly 
 towards Hersham, along the narrow lane overhung with elm, 
 oak, chesnut. and beach-trees. At Esher, the green was 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 123 
 
 crowded with rustics. Many of the inhabitants evinced their 
 respect for the ex-king by closing the window-blinds of their 
 shops and houses. At Ilersham the street was lined with 
 persons, who received the sad procession with every demon- 
 stration of respect, many of the men remaining with their 
 heads uncovered while the hearse passed. The procession 
 having reached Weybridge, the mortal remiains of the king, 
 followed by the princes and all the attendants, were borne 
 across Miss Taylor's garden to the chapel, where a long mass 
 was celebrated by the Abbe Crabot. The ex-queen and prin- 
 cesses occupied the chapel gallery ; their royal highnesses, the 
 count de Paris and the duke de Nemours, were on the right of 
 the coifin ; the prince de Joinville and the duke d'Aumale on 
 the left. After the mass, the body was removed to the vault, 
 where it is destined to repose until France shall have opened 
 its gates to the family of Orleans, and given the sons of the 
 ex-king the right to deposit the mortal remains of their father 
 in the tomb which he himself built in the sepulchral chapel of 
 Dreux, and which already contains the relics of his sister and 
 eldest son. After the last prayers had been pronounced, the 
 princes once more sprinkled the coffin with holy water, and 
 kneeling amidst the tears of all the attendants, fervently kissed 
 the repository of the remains of their father. They were deepl}"- 
 affected, and it was not without difficulty that they were event- 
 ually induced to quit the vault. 
 
 The tomb in which the coffin is enclosed is a simple monu- 
 ment, covered with a large slab, attached by the upper end of 
 the wall, and supported by two small columns. On the portion 
 nearest the wall are sculptured, in relief, the arms of the ex- 
 king, surmounted by a royal crown, and beneath the escutcheon 
 is a Latin inscription. 
 
124 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 Louisa Isabella, eldest daughter of Louis Philippe, was born 
 at Palermo, 3d of April, 1812, Her sister, duchess Mary of 
 Wittemberg, the accomplished sculptor, was her junior by just 
 one year. (The exquisite creation in marble of Joan la Pucelle 
 d'Orleans was hers ;) she died in 1839. They grew up in the 
 closest affection, which was only severed by death. The care 
 of their education was intrusted to Madame de Mallet, who, 
 under the superintendence of their admirable mother, provided 
 the most distinguished professors for the different branches of 
 their education. They both derived the utmost advantage 
 from them. The talent of the princess is stamped with lasting 
 fame. She died in 1839. The worth of the princess Louisa, 
 though not so dazzling, was no less solid. In her, the worldly 
 wisdom of her father, and the Christian affection of her mother, 
 appeared to combine. She was the favorite child of Louis 
 Philippe, and he often acknowledged the benefits of her coun- 
 sels. In the year 1832, on the 9th of August, she became the 
 bride of Leopold, king of the Belgians, the sovereign of the 
 people's choice and of their never-varying affection. Queen 
 Victoria and Queen Louisa were intimate friends ; they were 
 frequently together, and when separated, corresponded. It is 
 said that Queen Victoria wrote in French, that she might have 
 the opportunity of addressing her friend with the " tu " and 
 " toi," and other graceful familiarities of that language. After 
 a union of eighteen years, so beneficial to her consort and his 
 people, the queen of the Belgians, still young, and the doting 
 mother of a youthful family, received the awful summons to 
 lay down her eartblj'- crown, with calm fortitude and resigna- 
 tion, and departed amid many princely tears and the no less 
 heartfelt sorrow of a people whom she loved so well. Queen 
 Louisa leaves three surviving children ; she died of phthisis, 
 at Ostend, on the 11th instant, (1850.) On the night of the 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 125 
 
 9lh, her majesty had a few hours' rest ; but at six o'clock nest 
 morning her majesty fell into a state of general and fatal pros- 
 tration. After a short time she, however, rallied and regained 
 sufficient strength to converse with her confessor. Although 
 greatly exhausted, she retained the possession of all her mental 
 faculties, and at two o'clock, on the afternoon of the 10th, 
 received the communion and extreme unction. Though a prey 
 to the most excruciating pain, she could console her afflicted 
 husband. She had previously taken farewell of all the mem- 
 bers of her family, and just before expiring, affectionately 
 pressed the hand of her royal consort, which grasped her own 
 till life was gone. On the morning of her funeral, the king 
 and the duchess of Orleans attended service in the English 
 Protestant chapel at Ostend, and shortly after the duchess of 
 Orleans left Belgium for London. The queen of the Belgians 
 was buried according to all the rites of the Catholic church. 
 
126 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 VIII. 
 
 She left Genoa in the spring 1857, and estab- 
 lislied herself at Thames-Ditton, a small village on 
 the banks of the Thames, a short distance from 
 Claremont and Twickenham. The duke and duch- 
 ess de Montpensier, the princess of Cohurg and chil- 
 dren, joined the family circle. The accouchement 
 of the duchess de Nemours was anticipated as a 
 happy event ; she had never been more beautiful 
 and happy than since her exile. Complete union 
 arising from sympathy of heart and mind, cast a 
 gentle sweetness over the lives of all. 
 
 The family met every evening at one of the 
 houses at Twickenham, Eichmond, Thames-Ditton, 
 or Claremont. Nothing could be more cheering or 
 sacred than these reunions, where children of all 
 ages, beautiful as angels and full of vivacity, though 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 127 
 
 docile at the least signal, forced their parents to be 
 cheerful. The queen bestowed a smile upon this 
 little troop, and her eyes rested with pride upon 
 each one of her daughters-in-law, come from coun- 
 tries so different, with accents so diverse, all united 
 in the same devotion and love for herself. 
 
 For the royal family, that summer of 1857 was 
 like a moment of respite in grief. Never, since 
 1848, had the duchess of Orleans spent such tran- 
 quil, days ; she felt it with gratitude. 
 
 "I feel inexpressibly happy," writes she, "in 
 seeing my sons developing according to my heart's 
 desire, strengthened in good, and in finding their 
 young souls manifesting an almost paternal tender- 
 ness for me ; taking care of their mother as if she 
 had been confided to their solicitude, and in my ill 
 health rendering me great assistance. The age of 
 my eldest is, in my estimation, that most charming 
 in the life of a man ; he has all the candor of early 
 youth, the rectitude of principles not yet shaken, 
 with freshness of feeling and an ever-increasing deci- 
 sion and desire for constant advancement. Eobert, 
 though stiU young, manifests maturity with in- 
 fantine purity, and his lively and sometimes vehe- 
 ment nature is moderated by daily increasing wis- 
 dom. You will say : you are blind concerning your 
 sons. I assure you I am not : recognizing the ben- 
 
128 • MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 edictions God has accorded us in the midst of suf- 
 ferings is not hlindness, I shall always be very ex- 
 acting, and desire that they should attain a very 
 high end." 
 
 After so many trials and deceptions her intense 
 prayer was at length granted. The work to which 
 she had devoted her life fully succeeded, and an 
 anxious affection was succeeded by a feeling of en- 
 tire confidence. " I cannot express the change 
 manifested in Paris," said she ; ''I no longer pro- 
 tect him, it is he who protects me ; I love to see a 
 conscience in him separate from mine. When he 
 is not of the same opinion as myself, I am almost 
 delighted. I dare say it, I have respect for him." 
 
 She was not alone in her judgment, and that 
 deference awakened by a profound and serious na- 
 ture, was already mingled with the paternal aifec- 
 tion he inspired in his uncle. The perfect union of 
 the two brothers, betokened that their future would 
 be what it ought. 
 
 The future always occupied her thoughts. Her 
 ardor for all the lofty interests of this world had 
 not diminished, but a life consecrated to duty al- 
 ways led her to a certain forecast. Her most lively 
 desires and passionate affections were little by lit- 
 tle despoiled of all that was purely personal. 
 
 " I feel as if the glimmer of entire detachment," 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 129 
 
 said she, " would dispel even maternal ambition in 
 my soul ; but these moments are fugitive, the face 
 of heaven is obscured and life returns." Then she 
 added with her usual natural sincerity : ."it is not 
 detachment from the things of this world that is 
 difficult ; but the preference for things of heaven. 
 Action distracts me, and the little things of life dis- 
 turb me. How humiliating is the examination of 
 one's self" 
 
 We recall the expression of her countenance.; it 
 was serious but not depressed. Notwithstanding 
 the shocks she had received, she could still enjoy 
 deeply, and many ties still bound her to earth. 
 
 " We to-day celebrated Paris' birthday," she 
 writes. " God has granted him nineteen years. 
 My heart seemed too small to contain so much joy, 
 and this joy will never be disturbed by this beloved 
 child. I am confident in saying that he will never, 
 to the end of my days, disappoint my expectations. 
 All the family were reunited at my house ; the f^te 
 was beautiful and delightful." 
 
 They were again called to meet at Claremont. 
 The duchess de Nemours had given birth to a 
 princess ; she was recovering rapidly ; the child was 
 beautiful as its mother, but the presentiments of 
 those who were influenced by superstition, were con- 
 firmed, when, on the 10th of November, at the 
 6* 
 
130 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 moment when the duke de Nemours was leaving the 
 princess in health, and smiling with the thought of 
 rising on the morrow, God suddenly called her, and 
 that pure soul ascended to him with His name upon 
 her Hps. 
 
 The family can testify what depth of heart and 
 ingenuous sympathy the duchess of Orleans mani- 
 fested on this occasion. She had lost a beloved 
 friend ; her emotions were deep ; but she felt that 
 she must not allow herself to be overcome by them 
 in the presence of others more directly afflicted, and 
 set them an example of strength and submission. 
 She was never weary of admiring what perfection 
 faith added to the pure soul of the queen, who 
 never rebelled at misfortune, but accepted it with 
 tranquil dignity. She reproached herself for not 
 being as resigned and weaned from the world as the 
 queen. Her courage, nevertheless, was not less, 
 but she was of a different age and nature, and called 
 to other duties ; she still had work to do in lif^. 
 She thought depression fatal to young minds, and 
 for their sakes sought always to rise above it. " I 
 will not be discouraged,'' she would often say, with 
 vivacity, " but take pleasure in surmounting diffi- 
 culties." When one day glancing at the title of 
 books upon her youngest son's table, her eye lighted 
 upon Nicole's Essays : " Oh !" said she, " I do not 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 131 
 
 like that book for young persons ; it detaches them 
 too soon from life, and renders them incapable of 
 action." 
 
 She constantly feared lest she and her children 
 should lose the activity necessary to life; and those 
 who knew her at this epoch, when sad impressions 
 filled her mind, noticed greater energy of will. 
 Were these vague feelings caused by her failing 
 health ? Was she doubtful of the final triumph 
 of purposes to which she had devoted her life, and 
 consecrated to her sons' future P What illusions 
 had been dispelled ? Sometimes she would sadly 
 ask if she should never see an end to the indifier- 
 ence manifested on the part of France towards 
 opinions as well as persons. To her nothing was 
 changed ; the two feelings that had sustained her, 
 love for her country and faith in the advancement 
 of the liberal cause, always remained ; but they 
 were colored by graver tints. She judged events 
 with more calmness and less confidence, foreboding 
 even success with anxiety. 
 
 The news of the attempt on the 14th of Jan- 
 uary filled her with horror. She was alarmed and 
 almost humiliated at the moral state of society in 
 which such crimes could be committed without any 
 public manifestation of emotion. 
 
 " That attempt/' she writes from Richmond, 
 
1-32 MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 " was the most odious of all, and one is asliamed of 
 humanity when seeing to what purpose the dis- 
 coveries of sciences are applied. I have a horror of 
 the fruits of such a crime. . . . One cannot think 
 of what stat« our French society may be in, after 
 this, without great emotion. The contest appears 
 inevitable, and will be terrible. Our part is very 
 plain and humble. We can only pray to God and 
 exhort our sons ; thus we shall not be useless." 
 
 Eeligious thoughts, which always held the first 
 place in the duchess of Orleans' heart, even when 
 most distracted by the active duties of life, now 
 pervaded it more and more. She was at once too 
 serious and sincere to approach these subjects when 
 absorbed by the occupations of the moment, or 
 when she could not speak of them with complete 
 freedom ; but the natural inclination of her mind 
 always led her to them, and the more her hopes in 
 life were blighted, the more she sought the resources 
 of faith ; but what sufferings for her, even here ! 
 The sombre form of Anglican worship did not please 
 her imagination. . . . She could neither follow it in 
 her own tongue, nor be reminded of the forms of her 
 infancy and country. She could only in worship 
 join with her sons in what was not interdicted by 
 the doctrines she professed. Upon Catholic fete 
 days she accompajiied them to tjie church, read with 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 133 
 
 them their religions works every evening, and her 
 mind, always alert in seeking points of agreement, 
 took great delight in these common occupations, and 
 could sympathize in even the foundations of Christian 
 faith. But she was too loyal to wish to find a 
 complete union of sentiments where she knew 
 differences ought to subsist. She had promised to 
 make her sons fervent Catholics ; this she did, but 
 remained herself a Protestant. It is not surprising 
 that her melancholy feelings were rendered even 
 more sensible upon the return of the Sabbath, for 
 she was alone isolated in the midst of all those 
 Christian groups. All spirit of controversy, God 
 knows, was far from that sincere Christian soul, but 
 how could she help lamenting being deprived in 
 this world of a consolation granted to all of her dear 
 ones — unity in one faith. 
 
 During these days, which were far from being 
 thought the last of her life, the princess showed in- 
 creasino; fervor. She desired to form several exclu- 
 sively religious relations, as if she would seek a 
 momentary distraction from all political agitation, 
 and prepare herself by the aids of religion for the 
 last and perhaps most difficult act of maternal devo- 
 tion. She was going to voluntarily separate herself 
 from her sons, who were about to undertake a journey 
 on the continent. It was not without anxiety that 
 
134 MEMOIR OP THE 
 
 she saw the approach of their departure ; but 
 she well understood that the moment had come 
 for her to trust to the results of an education in 
 which no care had heen spared ; their decided 
 characters no longer needed daily direction. Her 
 work as a mother was finished. God spared her 
 this separation, but revealed to her the moment of 
 a longer and final separation. 
 
 In the beginning of the month of May, the 
 princess was forced to leave the house she had rent- 
 ed at Kichmond ; she had great trouble in finding 
 a habitation for the remainder of the summer, and 
 was compelled to take the only one vacant at that 
 time. 
 
 Cranbourn House is situated, like almost all the 
 villas of Richmond, upon the banks of the Thames ; 
 but, as it is upon the declivity of the hill, and thick- 
 ly surrounded by trees, whose shadows extend even 
 to the windows of the basement, the aspect is som- 
 bre, and dampness more sensible than elsewhere. 
 Upon arriving, the duchess of Orleans remarked 
 that the entrance was gloomy, and that the railings, 
 painted black, as was common in English places, 
 " resembled the entrance of a tomb." 
 
 She did not attach to this prophetic word any 
 lugubrious impression, and soon gave a graceful, 
 cheerful aspect to Cranbourn House ; an abundance 
 
DUCUESS OF ORLEANS. 135 
 
 of flowers, filling the air with delicious perfume, 
 quickly dispelled the first impression. 
 
 The duke de Chartres fell ill on the first days 
 of May, The duchess of Orleans was not seriously 
 disquieted. Yet she confided the care of him to no 
 other person. She was constantly entering his 
 chamber, and spent more than one sleepless night. 
 Her agitation at first, then the joy of his recovery, 
 enfeebled her frail constitution ; or rather it was al- 
 ready broken. These secondary causes, so weighty 
 to those who survive, and which afibrd nourishment 
 for grief, were in reality but small measures in the 
 exact scales in which God weighs out our days. A 
 succession of emotions, while exhausting her body, 
 lent her a factitious strength even to the end. How 
 many storms had passed over this tender plant ! 
 These were the last gentle billows that were to bear 
 her away. 
 
 Upon Sunday the 9th of May, she received a 
 visitor from Paris, and conversed with great ani- 
 mation upon the state of France and its diverse 
 chances for the future. Already suffering from a 
 cold, she was obliged by "Wednesday to keep hei 
 bed. Her feebleness was much greater than could 
 be explained by the nature of the disease ; no one 
 felt at all disquieted about her. A letter from the 
 prince de Joinville, alone seems to testify to any 
 
136 MEMOIK OF THE 
 
 apprehension of danger. But every one around 
 her lavished the greatest care upon her ; her feehle 
 health always rendered this necessary ; not one had 
 any idea of alarm ; she, less than any one. Upon 
 
 Thursday, Ascension morning, as Madame B , 
 
 who hardly ever left her, was preparing hastily for 
 church in order that she might return before the 
 duchess' time for rising, she reproachfully said : 
 " Why do you rise so early ? Is it in order to pray 
 for me ? " " Yes, as I do every day ; I ask Grod 
 for the happiness of madame and her sons; hut 
 madame will pardon me, I never dare express more 
 definite wishes," " You are right," replied she ; 
 " it is thus one ought to pray ; we know so little 
 what is good for us." 
 
 Violent coughing, followed by faintings and 
 nervous paroxysms, returned several times upon 
 Saturday and Sunday. When scarcely recovered, 
 she resumed conversation with her ordinary vivaci- 
 ty, and above all when her sons were in the room. 
 Her physician besought her not to talk so much. 
 " Let me at least look at them," she replied. 
 
 She would scarcely allow herself to be treated as 
 ill, for fear of distressing those around her ; besides 
 she then felt no pain. In a moment when the 
 nervous paroxysm was most painful, she asked her 
 friend to hold her hand in hers, for it soothed her ; 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 137 
 
 but immediately turning to her jDliysician asked : " Is 
 it contagious ? " The first days she did not wish 
 any one to watch with her ; when she consented, 
 the fear of fatiguing her attendants led her to desire 
 a nurse. Hfer friends thought of sending to France 
 for a sister of ihe^" JBon-Secours " who had watched 
 with the king in his last illness ; but she, recalling 
 the establishment of Deaconesses, also consecrated 
 to the care of the sick, said : " I should like to be 
 taken care of by that good sister, but I desire to do 
 something for my persuasion, and think it will be 
 best to apply to the Deaconesses." The letter, now 
 written, did not reach Paris in time. 
 
 Upon Monday the I7th of May, about noon, she 
 was oppressed with a sense of suffocation and weak- 
 ness ; she remained for some time motionless and 
 almost without life. When they begged her to sit 
 up, thinking she might breathe more freely in that 
 posture, she replied with extreme slowness, " I can 
 do so no longer." The crisis however passed, and 
 she, so clear-sighted, saw no anxiety impressed upon 
 the countenances of her friends. She was so tran- 
 quil, that the physician even was somewhat en- 
 couraged. 
 
 The day passed without any new drawback ; 
 she slept at intervals under influence of the remedies 
 given for her cough. In this half sleep, she was 
 
138 mp:moir of the 
 
 heard to pronounce several words in a sorl: of can- 
 tilene rhytlim ; all tliat could be understood were, 
 '' My parents are interred in a purchased piece of 
 ground." But when she awoke, her mind was as 
 clear as ordinarily. She asked for her sons, " It is 
 a long time since I have seen them." Some one 
 replied, " that they did not come into her room, in 
 order that she might repose." She replied, " I do 
 not wish them to think that I neglect them." 
 
 Upon Monday evening, the name of France was 
 mentioned ; she said several words with a sort of 
 exaltation ; then she was silent ; her feebleness 
 was excessive. All retired early ; she took leave of 
 her children with her accustomed words. " Grod 
 bless you, my children." These accents are the 
 last left in their memory. They left her without 
 apprehension. 
 
 Nevertheless Monsieur de Mussy began to be 
 alarmed at her constantly decreasing strength, even 
 after she had taken some nourishment and a little 
 wine. At this moment, thoughtful and grateful to 
 others as usual, the princess addressed a maid 
 waiting upon her, " You have also need of strength 
 as well as me ; drink this wine," and passed her 
 the glass. 
 
 She several times insisted that every one should 
 retire. " I believe that I can sleep, sleep well," 
 
DTJCHESS OF OELEAXS. 139 
 
 Kaid she, dwelling upon the words. They withdrew. 
 As her friend retired behind the curtains of the bed 
 and believed herself concealed, the princess called 
 the physician to her and said, " Make her sit down, 
 Monsieur Mussy ; I see her in the glass always 
 about." 
 
 Every quarter of an hour, potions and aliments 
 were administered to strengthen her, and she never 
 complained of being disturbed ; but each time, 
 gently repeated, " I am going to sleep so well.'' 
 
 The physician sought to feel her pulse. Aston- 
 ished at so much care, she said, " You think me 
 then very ill ?" Monsieur de Mussy, already dis- 
 quieted, evaded the question and replied ; " And 
 you, madame, how do you find yourself T' — " Not 
 ill ; I have often felt thus ; I wish to repose." 
 
 Monsieur de Mussy retired to the adjoining 
 room and wrote notes of intelligence to Claremont 
 and Twickenham. During this time the silence was 
 profound — so profound, that a friend remaining near 
 the door was trembling with presentiment. " It seems 
 to me that it is very silent here," said she to Mon- 
 sieur de Mussy. He entered the princess' chamber, 
 cast a look at her, and raised his hands towards 
 heaven. The passage from one life to another had 
 been so sweet that the two women, remaining near 
 her bed, with their eyes fixed upon her, had seen no 
 
140 MEMOTK or THE 
 
 alteration in her features or change in her counte- 
 nance ; her visage had only assumed a more lurid 
 paleness. 
 
 Her friends were still inclined to doubt it ; one 
 held her for some time in her arms, while another 
 went for the princess. What can be said of these 
 moments ! 
 
 They watched four days by these dear remains. 
 Many came from France to look upon them once 
 more ; they pressed into the chamber, praying and 
 weeping over one who had so often given them wel- 
 come. She seemed to them still to smile, and those 
 who saw her can never forget the peaceful, almost 
 infantine expression upon her countenance. " That 
 ardent exile" was at last at rest. 
 
 Upon Saturday, the 22d of May, she was borne 
 from her dwelling, surrounded not by those come 
 to pay her homage and respect, but by desolate 
 friends. Sobs burst forth from every portion of that 
 simple house in Kichmond, and all the route over 
 which the sad cortege passed, was hung with 
 French colors, the cottage windows were closed as a 
 sign of mourning, and showed what sympathy she 
 had inspired in those around her. 
 
 Her remains were deposited at Weybridge, be- 
 tween the young and charming princess whom 
 Claremont still weeps, and the king whom our re- 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 141 
 
 grets have at length taught us to know. Without 
 the noble intervention of the bishop of the diocese, 
 this provisional place would have been denied her, 
 and her poor body would have found neither an 
 asylum in her adopted country nor in the one from 
 which she had been exiled. This sainted priest 
 thought that not less ought to be done for an exiled 
 princess than for a queen of France. She rests 
 there, near her friends. 
 
 If in these pages one thought, one word has 
 wounded an opinion, or a person, let the blame fall 
 upon the hand that wrote it ; and let not one bit- 
 ter feeling arise towards one who ever wished to keep 
 peace with all in her heart, and who, not under the 
 impression of her approaching end, but in those 
 years when an active life^ seemed still unfolding be- 
 fore her, pardoned all who had oppressed her, and 
 besought those whom she had injured to forgive and 
 forget. 
 
 If these eulogies bestowed upon the duchess of 
 Orleans bear the impress of exaggeration, we will not 
 try to defend them. We have painted her as she 
 appears in our hearts. None can be judged but by 
 his intentions. Thus we will not pretend to im- 
 partiality, if in order to attain it, we must cease for 
 a moment to love her. We only ask that the 
 duchess of Orleans' own words may be read with 
 
 ■^■. 
 
142 MEMOIK OF THE 
 
 all sincerity of mind, and if we mistake not, the 
 testament, drawn bj herself, wUl justify what we 
 have perhaps been able to say of the greatness of 
 her soul and the infinite tenderness of her heart. 
 God grant that tender thoughts of her may arise and 
 rejoice her soul, in that harbor of peace, where all 
 affection dwells, and from whence all suffering is 
 banished. 
 
DUCHESS OF OELEAKS. L13 
 
 WILL OF THE DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 
 
 In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, 
 
 I recommend my soul in dying to God, and implore 
 his infinite mercy in the name of Jesus Christ, beseeching 
 him to receive me in those eternal mansions, and reunite 
 me with those for whom I have wept upon earth. 
 
 I leave my maternal benedictions to my beloved sons, 
 and pray God to guide them through life, to grant them 
 prosperous days and accord them eternal felicity when they 
 have nobly finished their destiny upon earth. To them, I 
 address my last adieu, thanking them for the happiness 
 they have cast over my existence. 
 
 I pray the queen to accept the last expression of my 
 respectful gratitude. I bid adieu to my mother, to whom 
 I owe so much, to my brothers and sisters for whom I have 
 always avowed a sincere afi'ection, to my maternal family 
 whose affectionate hospitality lessened the bitterness of 
 our exile, to my friends and servants, whose fidelity in 
 misfortune inspired me with grateful attachment, and 
 finally to France that I have loved so much, and where 
 the happiest years of my life rolled away. 
 
144 MEMOIR OF TES 
 
 I recommend my sons never to forget tliat the fear of 
 G-od is the beginning of all wisdom, that it is a light in 
 prosperity and a support in misfortune. May they remain 
 faithful to the precepts of their childhood ; may they also 
 remain faithful to their political faith. May they serve 
 Him, whether by constancy, in adversity or exile, or by 
 valor and devoted patriotism when events shall recall them 
 to their country, that constitutional France may count 
 upon them to defend her honor, greatness, and interests, 
 and that she may find in them the wisdom of their grand- 
 father and chivalric qualities of their father. They will 
 always remember the political principles that have made the 
 glory of their house, and that their grandfather served 
 upon the throne, and that their father adopted with ardor. 
 His last directions have been the rule of their education. 
 
 In leaving the world, I recommend my sons to the 
 queen. My beloved son, count de Paris, will be emanci- 
 pated the moment my testament shall be enforced ; never- 
 theless, I rely upon the moral influence of the queen and 
 upon her respected authority to keep him near her ; I 
 equally count upon her maternal solicitude in praying that 
 she will accept the tutelage of my beloved son, the duke 
 de Chartres. She will not find these duties too burden- 
 some, for I ask my brothers to aid the queen in the admin- 
 istration of their nephews' fortunes. I know the sentiments 
 which animate them for the children of their deeply 
 regretted brother, and I am sure that they will always 
 testify a sincere affection for them. 
 
 I recommend my sons to remain always united, the 
 indissoluble union of two brothers being the condition of 
 their strength and mutual happiness. I desire my eldest 
 son, as soon as he shall be legally permitted, to take part 
 in the counsel of the family charged with watching over 
 the interests of his younger brother. 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 145 
 
 I also desire that my faithful and tried friends who 
 have surrounded my sons, and who were devoted friends 
 of their father, not ceasing to manifest proofs of attach- 
 ment in misfortune, should continue to remain near them. 
 
 My express will is that my possessions, all that is due 
 to me legally, and all that I have a right to dispose of, be 
 equally divided between my two sons ; with this intention 
 I divide as equally as possible between them the following 
 objects I possess, leaving — 
 
 , To the count de Paris : — My necklace, with four rows 
 of pearl, which I hope he will some day bestow upon the 
 countess de Paris , the six diamond pendants ; the red album 
 containing the beautiful collection of aquarelles, by French 
 artists, having belonged to the duke of Orleans ; all my 
 furs and Scheffer's picture of the " Holy Women." 
 
 To the duke de Chartres : — My set of pearls com- 
 posed of brooches, pins, earrings, bracelet and diadem. 
 This set came to me from my godmother, my aunt Ade- 
 laide. My bracelet of rubies, willed to me by the queen 
 of Belgium ; two ruby knots ; the sapphire ring and ruby 
 ring ; my beautiful lapis-lazuli cup ; the Livre d'Heure, 
 that his father had made ; the necessary ensigns and my 
 laces. I hope that the jewels and laces will serve the 
 duchess de Chartres. 
 
 I leave hcsids these articles, some as souvenirs. To the 
 count de Paris, the large portrait of his father by 
 Ingres, the marble bust of his father by Jollet ; the 
 large picture of the " Portes-de-Fer," by Dauzats; tlie 
 little picture from the " Col de Teniah," by Phil- 
 ippoteaux ; all the manuscripts, papers, letters, little 
 note books of his father's, and his father's letters addressed 
 to me. I know that he will always regard these papers as 
 a precious treasure, and I think that he may some day 
 dispose of them in such a way as to make the world ac- 
 7 
 
146 MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 quainted with one whom France lamented, though without 
 having known all his merits. I leave to him the portraits 
 of my two mothers ; the aquarelle of Winterhalter, repre- 
 senting the queen with the two children of the duke de 
 Nemours ; the portrait in oil of the duke de Chartres by 
 Winterhalter ; the beautiful poignard made for the duke 
 of Orleans by my sister-in-law, duchess of Wurtemburg ; 
 two of the albums containing his father's designs ; the 
 Psyche presented to me by the city of Paris upon the 
 occasion of my marriage ; the equestrian statue of his father 
 in bronze, upon a pedestal of white marble ; the great clock 
 by Begnet, which struck the hour of his birth, with the 
 mantel ornaments accompanying it ; the inlaid casket, con- 
 taining his father's watch and several other souvenirs ; 
 the case containing the seal, and vermilion knives that I 
 always used ; half of the beautiful engravings from his 
 father's portrait by Ingres ; the little aquarelle of the duke 
 of Orleans upon horseback, after H. Vernet's ; one of my 
 four beautiful fans ; my wedding fan, in open work, which 
 has already served the queen ; my bracelet containing his 
 father's portrait destined for his wife ; my sculptured 
 prayer-desk containing his father's cast ; my papers, letters, 
 little gift books which I left in England ; his father's sword 
 which he wore upon the day of his death ; the palm that 
 was given him by his division upon his return from the 
 Portes-de-Fer. 
 
 I leave as souvenirs io the duke de Chartres : — The 
 equestrian portrait of the duke of Orleans, by De Dreux ; 
 the small portrait of his father, by Ingres ; the large pic- 
 ture from " the Col de Teniah," by H. Vernet ; the head 
 of his father in marble, after the monument of Triquetti ; 
 the aquarelle of the queen, by Winterhalter ; my portrait, 
 by Henriquel Dupont ; my writing-table ornaments (vase, 
 porte-plume, vermilion ecritoire) ; the miniature of his 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 14Y 
 
 godmother ,• my small watcli ; my memorandum-book in 
 shell and gold, ornamented with family portraits ; one of 
 my beautifully painted fans ; the bracelet adorned with his 
 portrait and that of his brother, destined for the duchess 
 de Chartres ; the aquarelle, by Eugene Larny, represent- 
 ing a review of the Chasseurs of Orleans at the Tuileries 
 (1840) ; the large portrait of the count de Paris when a 
 child, by Winterhalter ; two of the albums containing some 
 designs by the duke of Orleans ; the other of the engrav- 
 ings after the portrait of his father, by Ingres; the " Arc 
 de triomphe de Dymilah," by Dauzats; my Alexandre 
 organ ; my wedding casket of jewels in Boule ; a bronze 
 equestrian statue of his father, witb two bronze vases be- 
 longing to it, 
 
 I designate upon a special list, the souvenirs which I 
 pray my family and my friends to accept as last testimonies 
 of affection, and I ask my sons to divide the remaining 
 objects between them, such as albums, bronzes, books, 
 furniture, and trinkets 
 
 Having at heart the prosperity of our House, I will, in 
 case of improbable yet possible misfortunes, that is to say 
 the pre-decease of my two sons, without leaving direct 
 heirs, that I shall become proprietor of a part of their 
 possessions, that the goods I leave be divided between the 
 princes of the House of Orleans, and at their decease, be- 
 tween the princes their sons. . . . 
 
 Whatever may be the place of exile in which my days 
 terminate, and wherever be my tomb, I ask my sons, and 
 in case of their decease, my heirs, to bear my ashes to 
 France, when our family shall be restored there, and to 
 deposit them in the mausoleum of Dreux, near my hus- 
 band's tomb. 
 
 I here terminate my last wishes, granting pardon to all 
 those who have offended or afflicted me, and beseeching 
 
148 MEMOIK OF THE DUCHESS OF OELEAJSTS. 
 
 those to wliom I may have given offence, no longer to re- 
 tain the remembrance of it. 
 
 My last word is for my beloved sons — a prayer and 
 benediction. 
 
 (Signed.) Hemnb, Duchesse d' Orleans. 
 
 Eisenach, January 1, 1855. 
 
BIOGRAPHIC SOUVENIRS 
 
 OF 
 
 THE DUCHESS OF ORLEANS, 
 
 miilx M^ml %dk\% 
 
 COLLECTED BY G. IL DE SCHUBERT. 
 
I. 
 
 THE WAY OF LIFE. 
 
 "He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction," — 
 Pieov. X : 17. 
 
 The discipline, tliat leads and maintains tlie 
 human lieart upon the way of life, is both internal 
 and external. Internally, it awakens the con- 
 science to its natural relations with God, the author 
 of life and being ; it is the discipline of humility 
 with the fear of God, that is the source of all wis- 
 dom and good in us. Externally, it makes us feel 
 the hand of God in the midst of the vicissitudes 
 of our terrestrial life. 
 
 The life of the noble woman, whose traits we 
 here propose to describe, oifers, in all its parts, the 
 action of this double education. The mental disci- 
 pline, with the fear and love of God, was already 
 germinating in her filial and devoted attachment to 
 
152 MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 her motlier and governess ; she was early exercised 
 in outward discipline by the painful severing of 
 the dearest and firmest of ties. From this double 
 education resulted the regular and ever progressive 
 development of a life which has been blessed to so 
 many souls. 
 
 What infant was ever held in the arms of a 
 mother with a more devoted love than the princess 
 Helen de Mecklenburg ? She was within four days 
 of her third birth-day when she lost her mother. 
 January 20th, 1816, the anniversary of the young 
 orphan's birth, became a day of mourning, not only 
 to one house or one country, but to all the supe- 
 rior minds with whom she had a tie of relationship. 
 Caroline Louise, the daughter of a nobly endowed 
 prince, Charles Augustus, grand duke of Saxe- 
 Weimar, had been brought up at the fireside of the 
 sciences and arts ; though her mind was highly cul- 
 tivated, the religious teachings of Herder had im- 
 planted a life far superior to science and human 
 art. It was from elation with that life, that she 
 changed the intellectual and animated circles of 
 Weimar for the peaceful retreat of Ludwigslust, 
 marrying Frederick Louis, grand duke of Mecklen- 
 burg-Schwerin, whose loneliness she sought to relieve 
 by the gift of a sympathetic heart. Upon the 11th 
 of February, 1812, the bride experienced the joys of 
 
DUCHESS OF OELEANS. 153 
 
 maternity, by the birth of the prince Albert, a child 
 endowed with rare faculties ; then, two years after, 
 by that of a lovely daughter, the princess Helen. 
 Her soul then aspired to disengage itself from its 
 terrestrial covering. The birth of a third child, 
 who quickly passed from the cradle to the tomb, 
 determined the crisis and put an end to her noble 
 Hfe. 
 
 The spirit of the mother had not fled ; it myste- 
 riously lived again in the souls of her children. 
 Several months after the death of the duchess, I 
 arrived at Ludwigslust, in obedience to the last 
 wish of the duchess, and saw the young orphans. 
 ^"I have elsewhere described my entrance into this 
 new circle of activity, and the first impressions I 
 received. I then chiefly spoke of the two young- 
 children of that august house, of prince Albert and 
 his sister Helen. The latter, already in her third 
 year, struck me with her infantile originality. I do 
 not mention this as an individual souvenir, for this 
 impression has remained in the memory of all who 
 attentively observed the child, whose third year had 
 not yet revolved. Even in the midst of her 
 childish hilarity, happy in feeling and enjoying, 
 Helen's expression was always impressed with a 
 gravity which gave an air of grandeur to her posi- 
 
 * Third volume of Schubert's Autobiography. 
 
154 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 tions and movements; there was notMng studied ; 
 it was the seal which, the mind impressed upon the 
 body from its earliest awakening. 
 
 A friend to whom I am devotedly attached, 
 Madame de Both, who accompanied the duchess 
 Caroline Louise, as the friend of her childhood in her 
 departure from Weimar to Ludwigslust, who re- 
 mained with her till her death, and has surrounded 
 her children with a devoted maternal affection, 
 writes to me with regard to the princess Helen : 
 
 " From her earliest childhood, she had a nature 
 peculiar to herself. One remarked something more 
 than ordinary in her ; it was as if no person could 
 mistake the rank to which her birth and destiny 
 called her. She ardently loved study, listened with 
 a serious attention to all that others said, and early 
 exhibited a certain poetic tendency. In one word, 
 she was in every respect remarkable, and I was often 
 struck with her resemblance to her mother, except 
 that the latter was more calm and reserved, while 
 Helen's mind was more lively and frank." 
 
 Helen loved above all things to hear those who 
 knew her mother speak of her ; she was never 
 weary of hearing the slightest details concerning 
 her ; — ^what she had done and liked in her childhood, 
 what she had said to Helen and Albert before her 
 death, what had been her favorite places in the gar- 
 
DUCHESS OF OELEANS. 155 
 
 dens and castle. She loved to find herself in the 
 neighborhood of her mother's and young brother's 
 tomb ; in short, the Eternal Country, for which the 
 spirit of man was created, occupied the dreams of 
 her childhood before it was trained for the study of 
 the invisible world. It was by this discij)line that 
 the mind of the young princess was early led upon 
 the road which leads to hfe. The permanent serious 
 impression of eternity initiated her soul into ideas 
 of a superior world, and impressed that dignity upon 
 her whole bearing, which so early struck strangers. 
 
 I was in daily intercourse with prince Albert, 
 and have often seen him with his sister Helen. 
 Though I was not preceptor, in the strict sense of 
 the word, I neglected no occasion of awakening first 
 in the mind of the young prince, then in that of his 
 sister when she joined us in the garden, the germs 
 of knowledge, whose prompt action upon the mind 
 has the same importance as the maternal milk upon 
 the body of a child. Prince Albert, from preference, 
 read and meditated with me upon Biblical histories, 
 among which that of the prophet Daniel particularly 
 interested him. Helen voluntarily remained with us 
 and attentively listened. She frequently played 
 with us in the midst of the flowers and listened to 
 my stories and romantic narrations. The children 
 also loved to hear me speak of subjects drawn from 
 
156 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 nature, trees, plants, stones, beautiful mountains; 
 and, at tlie advanced age which I have reached, I 
 still remember that the questions of those children, 
 upon which their minds were revealed, more than 
 once opened a new horizon to my view, upon the 
 essence of things. It was not difficult for me to 
 speak in language conformed to their age, for my 
 soul was with their souls. 
 
DUCHESS OF OKLEANS. 157 
 
 II. 
 
 THE EOOT OF THE VESTE IN THE GAEDEJST. 
 
 The fruit of the vine, more tlian that of any- 
 other plant, possesses the virtue of strengthening and 
 rejoicing the heart. Thus the vine is specially 
 cited among the productions of the promised land, 
 and the Holy Scripture frequently mentions the 
 care and pains bestowed upon its culture, the pro- 
 tecting walls with which, the cultivator surrounded 
 it, and the vigilance with which he watched each 
 particular vine. The vine and the stock are more 
 than once employed in Biblical language as an 
 image for the chosen people or members of that 
 people. 
 
 Among these, the force and action in the do- 
 main of spiritual life may be compared to the effects 
 the blade of wheat converted into bread produces 
 upon animal life. This action is beneficial, but as 
 
158 MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 it is daily, it is less felt than the stimulating effects 
 of a medicinal or spirituous drink. Thus like the 
 vine, minds which ought to exercise a profound and 
 salutary effect upon a people and upon an epoch, 
 ought to he the object of special care and culture. 
 It is not in the midst of flowery couches, nor in the 
 luxuriant verdure of meadows, that the root of the 
 vine germinates and grows, but the gardener trans- 
 plants it to the rocky soil of those isolated moun- 
 tains, to which the canticle of the prophet applies : 
 " We have a strong city; salvation wiU God ap- 
 point for walls and bulwarks." 
 
 Helen, endowed with rare faculties and called to 
 a high destiny, had need to be guarded in order to 
 become what she did. She had lost the aid of her 
 mother ; her father, who tenderly cherished her, 
 was too much absorbed by government affairs to 
 superintend the great task of her education. The 
 young orphan had doubtless a guardian angel near 
 her, under the guise of the lady of honor, or rather 
 that of the intimate friend of her mother, Mademoi- 
 selle de Tann, who soon after married General de 
 Both. Her attachment for the young Helen was 
 beyond limit; it rendered her capable of all sacri- 
 fices. Still later, when her cares became less 
 pressing, this faithful friend did not allow a day to 
 pass without going to see the state of the young 
 
DUCHESS OF OKLKANS. .50 
 
 princess. She unremittingly sought to find traits 
 in Helen resembling those of her mother, and when 
 she marked a new one that recalled her, her heart 
 thrilled with secret joj. 
 
 The whole nature of the child announced the 
 germ of an intellectual independence which passed 
 all ordinary hounds. One who closely observed her 
 in childhood might have said : there is in this young 
 girl the germ of a character whose development no 
 external force will retard, and which will direct her 
 with a firm step to her high destiny. Helen then 
 needed a method of education, such as Kastner 
 himself recognized and experienced : 
 
 " Als icli ein Knabe war, da trat ein Mann heran, 
 Da sah ich ihn und streckte mich, und ward ein Mann" 
 
 In obedience to the dying request of his wife the 
 prince de Mecklenburg sought the princess Augusta 
 of Hesse Hamburg in marriage. She wished to 
 decline this reiterated request for her hand, but a 
 powerful voice within, which she was in the habit 
 of consulting, replied afiirmatively, and she sub- 
 mitted. 
 
 Thus had the young princess Helen a second 
 mother, who exercised the most decisive influence 
 upon her mental development and the direction of 
 her entire life. A friend, who witnessed the results 
 
160 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 effected by the new ducLess in the household of hei 
 husband and especially in the hearts of the chil- 
 dren, thus writes : 
 
 " Humanly spealdng, it is to the princess Au- 
 gusta that the young duchess Helen owes her edu- 
 cation, and I bless G-od that the world has been 
 able to contemplate and appreciate in the duchess 
 of Orleans, the fruits of the prayers and devotion of 
 her second mother." 
 
 In the spring of 1819, I left Mecklenburg in 
 order to renew my scientific studies. The eldest of 
 the princesses, who later, under the name of the 
 duchess Maria of Altenburg, was generally beloved 
 and respected, had terminated her education, and 
 my principal task was thus achieved. Providence 
 had watched over the youngest children of the grand 
 duke, Albert and Helen ; beside the excellent gov- 
 ernor of Brandenstein, prince Albert had a precep- 
 tor who possessed with the most profound serious- 
 ness a most affectionate disposition. The remem- 
 brance of this worthy man, so soon entered into 
 rest, still moistens my eyelids, and the affection I 
 professed for him can never waver in my heart. It 
 was the theological candidate, Koch, son of the ven- 
 erable pastor of Bellahn, who, after the example of 
 the priest and king of Salem, led a holy and solitary 
 life in the midst of his generation ; extending his 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 161 
 
 hand in prayer over a vast field in which his faith 
 perceived the movement of the dry hones. (Eze- 
 Idel 37.) 
 
 The son had the fidelity and faith of his father ; 
 I do not know that I ever saw a man like him, who 
 loved with all his heart and soul, combining the 
 gentleness of St. Paul with the vehement zeal of St. 
 Peter. The interest with which Helen took part in 
 the religious lessons which he gave to prince Albert, 
 has surely been blessed. 
 
 Besides the princess Augusta, who surrounded 
 Helen with the protecting rampart of maternal 
 love, the child was confided to the vigilant care of 
 a Genevese, Mademoiselle Nancy Solomon, of whom 
 I will speak in another chapter, several words gath- 
 ered from the testimony of a faithful witness. 
 
 The end proposed by Eternal Wisdom in. sus- 
 taining this delicate plant upon all sides, was soon 
 revealed, by the approach of as torm which, break- 
 ing, proved the young vine even to the root. The 
 noble grand duke, Frederick Louis, died upon the 
 29 th of November, 1819, in the prime of life. By the 
 side of his bed there were prayers and struggles that 
 left a permanent impression upon the minds of the 
 children. The letters which were then addressed to 
 me, enable me to witness that tried family and to 
 follow the prince to his last resting place. 
 
162 MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 From my departure for Erlangen, I continually 
 corresponded with, my friends at Ludwigslust. The 
 children had also written to me ; j)i'i^ce Albert, 
 dates from my departure from Mecklenburg in 
 1819 ; and as early as 1822, the princess Helen, 
 added to her brother's letter the following words 
 traced with a sure and correct hand, rare for a 
 child of eight years : " Dear Professor, as my 
 brother writes to you, I wish to tell you that I love 
 to think of you." 
 
 I here quote several lines of the first letter 
 properly so called, addressed to me by that dear 
 child, at the age of nine years. It is dated, Lud- 
 wigslust, April 18th, 1823. 
 
 " Dear Professor ! How I envy Madame de 
 Bechtolzheim, who will have the pleasure of seeing 
 you, as well as your dear family. I hope that she 
 will tell how we speak of you and the beautiful 
 stories you related to us. Our dear Mr. Koch also 
 knows some pretty tales ; he gives me lessons which 
 give me great pleasure. Dream, I pray you, dear 
 'pro.''^ that I have not a single syllable from your 
 hand, and that a little letter would rejoice me very 
 
 * Professor. Prince Albert, in his childhood, frequently 
 employed this abbreviation, and his young sister imitated him. 
 — Author's Note. 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 163 
 
 much. Adieu, dear Professor, do not forget your 
 Helen. My Nancy cordially salutes you.'' 
 
 I granted this childish invitation with pleasure, 
 and her correspondence has been to me, in the 
 course of my life, a source of great delight. 
 
1G4 MEMOIK OF THE 
 
 III. 
 
 THE HAPPY INSPIRATION. 
 
 An ancient clironicler, relating the exploits and 
 life of the great emperor Frederick I., the Saxon, 
 says, he always seized the right hand of every thing. 
 
 These simple words are the best eulogy that 
 could he bestowed upon the sentiments and actions 
 of any man. The duchess of Orleans possessed 
 this happy faculty from her childhood ; it was re- 
 marked in her thoughts and actions. Let me here 
 present the testimony of a loyal witness, who daily 
 saw the princess during the period of her youthful 
 development. " The grand duchess distinguished 
 the most vigorous germ of independence in her 
 daughter's nature. Helen was in her eyes a new 
 and often enigmatical study, which attracted all 
 her attention. That which most astonished and 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 165 
 
 often disquieted lier mother, was the assurance and 
 courage with which the young princess questioned, 
 judged and decided, as if she had no need of reflec- 
 tion. This spontaneity had also its charm ; it 
 came to her as if by inspiration ; it was the fresh 
 effusion of a young heart, and a touching kindness 
 made itself felt in all her words, judgments and 
 actions. 
 
 " One would have thought that a certain pre- 
 sumption must be dissembled under a character so 
 independent and a nature so decided. But it was 
 not so. She had a delicate conscience that made 
 its voice heard. With the aid of this good genius, 
 she raised herself above her own nature. She early 
 learned the secret of self- education ; this secret 
 consisted in being attentive, not to the remon- 
 strances of men, but to the voice of conscience, 
 which taught her her duty towards God and her 
 neighbor. From her childhood she isolated herself 
 to live with her secret thoughts, and revealed them 
 oftener by her actions than by words. The more 
 she felt the need of this inner life, the oftener she 
 retired to her chamber, and when she withdrew from 
 it one could read in her amiable, serious face, that 
 she had been with the master and friend of her 
 heart, that she had communed with God, and God 
 with her." 
 
166 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 Thus she preserved the strength that was the 
 joy and consolation of her heart. 
 
 Dwelling upon the vicissitudes of the duchess 
 of Orleans' outer life, it has often heen said that it 
 was an unhappy one. Her mother, who knew her 
 as well as herself, judged of it otherwise. " Helen," 
 said she, " has never been long unhappy. She al- 
 ways maintained her tranquillity in a manner that 
 I do not myself understand. She has doubtless 
 been deeply tried ; after the death of her husband, 
 she seemed to have lost all happiness and inward 
 peace ; for the duke was Helen's ideal as well as 
 mine. For some time the sight of her children 
 distressed her ; she seemed only to feel the loss she 
 had met with ; but, arousing herself from this crisis, 
 she found peace." 
 
 When she was in the flower of her youth, her 
 happy disposition often manifested itself in out- 
 ward demonstrations of hilarity, but above all when 
 in company with the friend of her childhood, the 
 countess Ida de Bassewitz, in every respect a grace- 
 ful and amiable young girl. In her society, Helen 
 willingly played for hours with dolls and toys, or 
 bounded through the gardens and apartments. 
 But her taste for doUs soon gave place to more ele- 
 vated objects of art. She decked her chamber with 
 choice plaster figures. Upon the right and left of 
 
DUCHESS OF OKLEANS. 167 
 
 her secretary were the figures of two children, one 
 reading, the other writing. " How happy those 
 children are ! " exclaimed she ; " they are never 
 distracted, never rise, never turn their eyes from 
 their work ; that I might read and write with 
 such continued zeal." 
 
168 MEMOIK OF THE 
 
 lY. 
 
 FEIEDENSBURG. 
 
 The moment arrived when, tlie young princess 
 was enabled to follow her decided taste for tlie 
 study of the sciences. The grand duchess, who 
 foresaw the happy fruits that a more vigorous im- 
 pulse would have upon the development of her 
 daughter's character, energetically applied herself 
 to the accomplishment of the purpose. 
 
 Prince Albert, accompanied by the chamberlain 
 of Brandenstein, and Koch, his faithful preceptor, 
 had gone to pursue his studies at Zurich. 
 
 The grand ducal chateau, was then sufficiently 
 large for the grand duchess and the princess Helen, 
 upon whom she now lavished an undivided mater- 
 nal solicitude. It also could offer a suitable 
 apartment for the instructor who had been appoint- 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 169 
 
 ed to continue the education of Helen, then eleven 
 years of age. Kennecke was predestined by God 
 to this work, by a rare combination of intellectual 
 and spiritual gifts. But the duchess decided upon 
 a retreat where her activity might not be interrupted 
 and where her daughter's powers might be devel- 
 oped in solitude ; in the autumn of 1825, she left 
 the sumptuous apartments she occupied in a wing of 
 the castle, and went to live in the retired palace 
 which, at a later period, became the resort of her 
 widowhood. 
 
 Then commenced a life, the original charm of 
 which is described by a friend, in the following 
 letter : — 
 
 "The dignity of the grand duchess' manners 
 and all her eminent qualities led us implicitly to 
 follow all her wishes. But when we sought to read 
 them in. her eyes, we soon realized that she had no 
 other will than that of pleasing God, and contribut- 
 ing all in her power to the faithful accomplishment 
 of her duties as mother, towards Helen. Thus we 
 were all engaged in the same work, each according 
 to the respective position held, and strength 
 possessed. The organization of the palace, soon 
 resembled that of a Christian household, in which 
 from morning till evening, at table and elsewhere, 
 the watchword is, " Do every thing that you do, in 
 8 
 
170 • MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 the name of tlie Lord Jesus Christ and as in his 
 sight." Among the persons, who strictly speaking 
 composed this humble household, each one's employ- 
 ment had some relation, more or less direct, with the 
 work of the young princess Helen's education. Her 
 preceptor Eennecke, commenced the day with read- 
 ing the word of Grod, and then directed his intelli- 
 gent pupil in the varied domains of human science. 
 His teachings absorbed four or five hours daily, 
 several other hours, beside, were employed in lessons 
 with other masters and mistresses. At noon, the 
 family dined together ; then the young duchess in 
 recreation and walks passed several hours ; at eight 
 o'clock in the evening, tea was taken in the garden 
 under the shelter of an humble brick arbor, near the 
 majestic poplar, or in the saloon of the palace. Two 
 hours were passed in reading aloud and familiar 
 converse ; afterwards each one retired to her cham- 
 ber to enjoy peace of conscience and bodily repose ; 
 sometimes however upon a starry night, the studious 
 princess obliged her preceptor and several of her 
 attendants to seek some other occupation than that 
 of reading and conversing. She was not content 
 with studying in her daily lessons of the empires of 
 our terrestrial globe, she wished also to become ac- 
 quainted with the principal stars and constellations 
 as well as with the movements and laws of the 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. lYl 
 
 solar system. This instruction had a great attrac- 
 tion for her^ and in order to prove her gratitude to 
 her master she designed an astronomical map upon 
 blue paper, which she presented to him upon his 
 birthday, adding that through him she had become 
 acquainted with the celestial luminaries. She 
 wished to express herself to greater advantage but 
 could not continue." 
 
 The grand duchess did not desire to make the 
 eminent faculties of the jDiincess produce striking 
 results, but to awaken her to perseverance, and love 
 for application, and the acquirement of a taste for 
 solid intellectual culture. This method entirely 
 accorded with the character of the princess, who 
 never wished to exhibit herself. Consequently, the 
 most suitable mode of reading, seemed to be that of 
 converting the hours for lessons into hours of work. 
 Eennecke put this plan into execution with discern- 
 ment and skill. Thus in the religious lessons under 
 his direction, a Biblical book was read, he added 
 the necessary explanations, then left the princess to 
 note down for herself and to learn the passages that 
 pleased her best, by heart. She naturally chose 
 those which during the lesson, struck her as agreeing 
 with the state of her soul. Thus her steps in 
 Christian exjDcrience could be seen. Her progress 
 was visible ; religious lessons were those which she 
 
172 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 preferred, because they introduced her into tlie king- 
 dom of eternal truth. In short these lessons had 
 not for an end simply dogmatic science, but an 
 initiation into the true character of the kingdom of 
 God upon the earth. The princess was never told 
 that "she must believe such and such a point, but 
 that it might be admitted with certitude, and that 
 it was always good to allow oneself to be governed 
 by the spirit of faith. 
 
 All other lessons were in like manner made val- 
 uable. In studying the history of a people, a suita- 
 ble work was read" in connection with it. They 
 designed a map to be filled little by httle, which 
 was to contain an index of the principal facts of the 
 history of the country and its inhabitants. Ren- 
 necke and his scholar both drew their maps, and 
 when the work was finished, it was not seldom that 
 they made an exchange. In geographical lessons 
 they also traced maps ; and, in order to facilitate 
 repetition, notes were made upon the margin of the 
 most remarkable places. All this was but play for 
 a princess whose zeal and conscience seconded her 
 talents. Her mother assisted at the morning les- 
 sons, and took an active part in the afternoon 
 instruction. Her spiritual observations debarred 
 every thing trivial, and she frequently gave an un- 
 expected interest to what had not fixed the princess' 
 
DUCHESS OF OELEAJJS. 173 
 
 attention. She here unfolded all the simplicity 
 and admirable resources of a discriminating judg- 
 ment, which embraced without difficulty every thing 
 within her sphere. 
 
 She was not contented with being with her 
 daughter in the study-rooms ; the promenades she 
 often took with her in the forests and fields, be- 
 came excellent means of study. She wished to 
 share her exquisite delights in the beauties of Na- 
 ture, whose depths she loved to sound. The natural 
 sciences, in fact, were the favorite objects of the 
 grand duchess' observation and meditation. The 
 numerous writings of Dr. Gr. H, Schubert, former 
 preceptor in that noble family, served as guides 
 for that branch of science. They also made use of 
 divers collections of natural history, and in the study 
 of botany, of artificial plants of rare beauty. 
 
 From the fields and forests, where the afternoons 
 passed so quickly, let us return to the evenings. 
 Before dwelling upon them, I will sketch the por- 
 traits of some persons who passed some time with 
 the grand duchess and her daughter. 
 
 When one dwells upon the career of the future 
 duchess of Orleans, it must be incontestably ad- 
 mitted that Providence in a most special manner 
 watched over her Christian education. 
 
 By a remarkable coincidence, three persons 
 
174 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 maintaining diiferent views of religious worsTiip 
 grouped around tlie princess. Her excellent gov- 
 erness, Mademoiselle Nancy Solomon of Geneva, 
 who afterwards became tlie wife of colonel Bon- 
 tems, belonged to the reformed religion. Having 
 her heart open to the ancient faith in all its regen- 
 erating vigor, she inspired the respect of all who 
 knew how to appreciate that serious Christianity 
 which transfigures the whole man. Her black, 
 piercing eyes were somewhat tempered by the ex- 
 pression of her mouth, which I shall call sympa- 
 thetic, and which chiefly struck one when her 
 glance rested complacently upon the princess. 
 From the age of two years, her pupil had been con- 
 fided to her care ; French thus became as a second 
 maternal language to the princess, and she contin- 
 ued to make use of it in her conversations at Fried- 
 ensburg. No person was more indifferent to all 
 idea of personal merit than Mademoiselle Nancy 
 Solomon ; she had a horror for every thing that 
 might diminish the glory of God. She attributed 
 the spiritual progress of the princess to God alone ; 
 the grand duchess, playing upon her family name, 
 was accustomed to say : " Nancy is a true daughter 
 of Solomon," The mutual relations of both pupil 
 and governess were most intimate and touching. 
 By the side of the governess, belonging to the 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 1T5 
 
 reformed persuasion, who watched over the princess, 
 was Mademoiselle Gustarie de Sinclair, a Parisian 
 by birth, and a zealous Catholic. She was maid of 
 honor to the grand duchess and an intimate friend to 
 Miss Solomon. Her good disposition and excellent 
 qualities made her beloved, and the princess felt 
 particularly attracted towards her. In general. 
 Mademoiselle de Sinclair largely contributed to the 
 life of the little society ; her cordiality and the in- 
 genuousness of her observations rendered her com- 
 pany very agreeable to the princess. Let us men- 
 tion another lady, Catholic at heart, with the faith 
 of a child — Madame de Both, whose tender care for 
 the princess Helen has been already signalized. 
 
 In face of these two influential elements, the 
 princess' preceptor. Dr. Kennecke, represented the 
 Lutheran persuasion. Scarcely could any other 
 man so deeply feel the task of the education of so 
 extraordinary a child, imposed upon him ; for he was 
 animated by a spirit, whose flight is ever towards 
 a height where the sun never sets. Let us follow 
 him more closely in the work the Lord confided to 
 him, for the good of many souls. 
 
 Through his various relations with the Luther- 
 ans of Silesia, particularly with Scheibel and Henri 
 Steffens, he became a decided Lutheran. Despite 
 his modesty and natural aversion to all religious 
 
170 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 pride, lie felt it his right to spread the Lutheran 
 banner over his function as the preceptor of a 
 princess of Mecklenburg. But his zeal never 
 pressed beyond the limits imposed upon him in the 
 circle, to which the Providence of God had called 
 him. It was his privilege to choose and read aloud 
 edifying works at those evening reunions. Indeed, 
 no evening passed without the grand duchess re- 
 questing the reading of an article that might 
 strengthen her household in a living faith in the 
 Son of God. Kennecke soon felt that the spirit of 
 peace united all the members of that home circle. 
 He endeavored to render the harmony always per- 
 fect. 
 
 They all wished to live, yet in such a manner as 
 to be ever ready for the life eternal. Christ has 
 sanctioned this view, by his precepts ; after those 
 fundamental sources of our religious life, we have a 
 stimulant in the example of that cloud of wit- 
 nesses, whose lives have been glorified by being in- 
 corporated with Christ. To seek and hear those 
 faithful witnesses who have confessed the name of 
 Christ in their holy words and actions, is a noble 
 task for those who love the Lord Jesus, and wish to 
 live with God, through Him. The entire circle of 
 the grand duchess' family sought this nearness to 
 Christ, and passed with common consent from one 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. ITT 
 
 mountain to another, upon wliich rested the feet of 
 the messengers of peace. 
 
 That which they sought, they found in the 
 principles and true representatives of the Catholic, 
 Lutheran, and Keformed Eeligion, whose veracity 
 could not be doubted. The Confessions of St. Au- 
 gustine and other works chosen from the same au- 
 thor, were the vestibule through which they entered 
 into the three naves of the Church, separated from 
 one another by some barriers. As faithful witness- 
 es of the life of Christ in the Catholic Church, 
 figured alternately with the messengers of other 
 branches — Fenelon, Fr. Leop, Stolberg, Sailer, 
 Fenneberg, and Monsieur Boos. Among the Lu- 
 theran professors, they accepted above all, the testi- 
 mony of Martin Luther, himself. They availed 
 themselves of the book then widely spread through 
 Ultsch, the Monument of the Reformed Church, 
 which appeared for the jubilee of 1817. It com- 
 prises passages chosen from all the works of Luther, . 
 and arranged for all the work and fete days of the 
 year. The book was also very convenient, because 
 the dates limited the lesson. 
 
 What concerned the Eeformed church, they 
 
 found in the excellent little work, entitled the 
 
 " Doctrine of Salvation," which is an extract from 
 
 the ancient writings of the reformed theologians, 
 
 8* 
 
1Y8 
 
 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 mostly Frencli. Outside tlie principal articles of the 
 Churcli of the Low Countries and of the Keformed 
 Church of France, they also sought acquaintance 
 with those men who have been the pillars of their 
 churches, such as Calvin, Daniel Superville, whom 
 the revocation of the edict of Nantes exiled into 
 Holland, where he preached the gospel till his death; 
 Jean Despagne, around whom the French refugees 
 of London gathered in a body; Dallaeus, preceptor 
 to the son of the celebrated Mornay; Mestrezat, 
 whom cardinal Kichelieu called the boldest pastor 
 of France; and Pictet, author of melodious sacred 
 songs. Besides these authors made known by the 
 extracts from their books, they studied still further, 
 Ezekiel Spanheim, first professor at Geneva, then 
 ambassador of Frederick II. of Prussia, to the court 
 of England. In his celebrated Academic discourses 
 he made frequent allusion to Thomas, whom he 
 loved to cite as a powerful witness to the divinity 
 of Christ and the reconciliation achieved by his 
 death. Several works of the Anglican church 
 had their place in their soirees; among others, the 
 edifying letters of John Newton, and the secret of 
 sanctification by Marshal. The Moravian commu- 
 nity were represented by biographies and other 
 writings addressed to the heart. 
 
 We cannot here indicate all the elements of the 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 1T9 
 
 evening subjects ; we only wisli to prove that God 
 can unite what men separate, and what separates 
 men. He who opens a heaven to all who found 
 their hopes upon the death of his Son, alone can 
 effect a celestial communion upon earth. 
 
 The collections which have been sent to me upon 
 the soirees of Friedensburg, contain a short lesson 
 for the evening in which the princess Helen took a 
 special delight, because the rules of spiritual life 
 were concentrated under the form of questions and 
 answers. Let me here introduce it. 
 
 " From whence comes aU the evil in the world ? 
 From the thoughts of the human heart. What 
 does God regard in man ? The heart. What does 
 God try in all its ways ? The heart. What is the 
 greatest spiritual good ? Grace in the heart. 
 What are we to watch most carefully ? The heart- 
 How will God teach us his ways ? By putting his 
 law in our hearts, ^hat is the greatest of God's 
 chastisements ? Allowing the heart to become 
 hardened^ Where does God reveal his love ? In 
 our hearts, by faith. What is the effect of faith ? 
 The peace of God in our hearts, which is above all 
 understanding, and which keeps the heart in Jesus 
 Christ. What hearts does God love ? He des- 
 piseth not the humble and contrite heart. What 
 must be purified ? The heart. What reward shall 
 the pure in heart receive ? They shall see God." 
 
180 
 
 MEMOIR or THE 
 
 After having carefully designed the trunk and 
 vigorous brandies of the tree of life, which was the 
 object of study in these evening reunions, let us 
 cast a coup d'ceil over its verdant foliage and fra- 
 grant flowers. Mingled with, the grave or suppliant 
 voices which formerly resounded through the temple 
 one heard canticles and the sound of the timbrel 
 and harp. In the visible world around us the sighs 
 of the creature are also intermingled with accents 
 of joy. Thus the grand duchess, whose solicitude 
 extended over all, loved to introduce into the even- 
 ing occupations, elements of another nature ; they 
 were not direct rays of the eternal light, but they 
 still reflected the animated wave of a fresh stream. 
 They read, for example, innocent witty productions 
 such as 'Wandshecher Bote.' They pleasantly 
 occupied themselves with scientific works and travels 
 when they were of an interesting and useful kind. 
 The following letters which the princess Helen 
 addressed to me, in her twelfth and fourteenth year, 
 treat of these recreations : 
 
 Summer of 1825. 
 
 Deae Professoe, 
 
 I cordially thank you for your pleasant book and 
 the letter you were so good as to write to me ; both 
 gave me great pleasure. 
 
nUCIIESS OF ORLEANS. 181 
 
 How I pity poor Martelle/" wlio fell into the 
 hands of the Turks, and was so cruelly treated by 
 them ; but how I admire her great patience and 
 energetic faith, which surely tempered her situation. • 
 
 I much regret not having visited my dear pro- 
 fessor (with Albert), who knew how to relate such 
 beautiful stories to us, and not having traversed with 
 him the beautiful environs of Erlangen : but I hope 
 this delight is reserved for another occasion, 
 
 I beg you very cordially to salute your dear wife 
 as well as Selma and Adeline. Adieu, dear pro- 
 fessor : save a little affection for your 
 
 Helen. 
 
 My Dear Peofessor, 
 
 You are very good to think of me and to send 
 me such a pleasant little book. I cannot sufficient- 
 ly thank you for the great delight that you have 
 procured for us all. We read it every evening, and 
 we have now accompanied you to Lyons. The 
 description of the diligence amused us much, but 
 it is a great pity you should have been so disturbed 
 in your antechamber, by such a disagreeable travel- 
 ling companion. I also took a lively interest in the 
 beautiful history of the two good little children, who 
 
 * Allusion to a tale I published about this epoch at Erlangen. 
 
182 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 were saved in the Black Forest in sucTi a remark- 
 able manner. 
 
 Our Albert had a very great pleasure in seeing 
 •you last summer, dear pro. He has spoken of it so 
 much to me, that I wish very much that I had been 
 of the party, though I do not know that I should 
 have had as much courage as your dear wife. 
 
 Next summer, if G-od permits, we shall make an 
 excursion into Switzerland, to see our dear Albert. 
 I was much rejoiced at the thought of seeing you 
 again at Erlang^n, but that was not to be. God 
 grant that we may have this pleasure another 
 time. 
 
 Mamma has probably already spoken to you of 
 my preceptor, Monsieur Kennecke, who is extreme- 
 ly good ; I like him much and also his lessons. He 
 already Imows you, for we have often spoken of you, 
 and he has a great desire to make your acquaint- 
 ance. 
 
 Shall I dare pray you, my dear and good pro, to 
 embrace your dear wife and daughters, and to think 
 sometimes of your affectionate 
 
 Helem". 
 
 Ludwigslust, May 26, 1827. 
 
 I am going to add a few words upon a portion 
 of Prince Albert's youth, not only to render some 
 
DUCHESS OF OKLEANS. 183 
 
 passages of these two ingenuous letters clear, but 
 also because wbat concerned the brother is in strict 
 relation with, the horizon of the princess Helen, 
 
 In the summer of 1825, he came to see me on 
 his way to Erlangen, with his tutor, Monsieur de 
 Brandenstein. I showed them the magnificent 
 country and grottoes of Muggendorf ; then I accom- 
 panied them to Nuremburg, to the house of my 
 friend C. de Kaumer, where they also made the ac- 
 quaintance of Kanke, my future son-in-law. From 
 Nuremburg, the two travellers next went directly to 
 Switzerland, the end of their journey and desires. 
 Prince Albert sojourned a short time at Zurich in 
 order to extend the sphere of his acquaintances and 
 observations by the study of the sciences and con- 
 templation of the sublime works of nature. 
 
 At Erlangen, I charged them with salutations 
 for my dear friend and brother David Spleiss, then 
 professor at Schaffhouse, and also pastor at Buch. 
 The acquaintance of this worthy servant of God 
 was the first spiritual fruit that my dear prince 
 Albert gained, upon setting his foot upon the soil 
 of the great marvels of the Creator. He soon ar- 
 rived at Zurich, the centre of Nature's magnificence. 
 He was amicably welcomed in the house of Gressner, 
 son-in-law to Lavater. The venerable Hess, then 
 weighed down with years, received him with a 
 
184 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 paternal affection, and presented him witti one of 
 his spiritual writings, entitled, " Yoyage to the 
 Island of Hope," Dr. Hirzel, and Monsieur Jean 
 Schlatter, became soon warm friends, of the newly 
 arrived guests, who also frequented the houses of the 
 negociates Wichelhausen and Lochner, where they 
 were as one of the family, as in the dwelling of 
 Gessner. 
 
 In 1826, on my return from Italy, I made an 
 engagement to meet prince Albert at Milan, where 
 I found him in company with Monsieur de Branden- 
 stein and his preceptor, Koch. I related in detail, 
 in the last volume of my journey into the South of 
 France, the excursion we made together to Brigue, 
 in Valais, by Lake Majeur and the Simplon. Prince 
 Albert described the course of his journey to me on 
 his return to Zurich, in a letter of the 17th of 
 October, 1826. 
 
 In a later letter, of the 31st of October, 1827, 
 he spoke freely of the happiness that a visit from 
 his mother and sister Helen had given him. That 
 interview in Switzerland, and above all at Zurich, 
 was a source of mutual joy to the brother and 
 sister, such as they had never experienced. In taking 
 leave of them, the venerable Hess blessed and 
 prayed for them , laying his trembling hand upon 
 the head of the princess Helen and her brother, and 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 185 
 
 I do not know but the words pronounced by that 
 faithful pastor, remained graven upon their hearts. 
 
 It seems appropriate that I should mention, that 
 shortly after their joyful meeting at Zurich, they 
 were called to a tomb to meditate upon their own 
 end. It was first the prince's turn ; and -the expe- 
 rience of his heart, is revealed in the last letter he 
 wrote to me from Zurich, dated 13th of April, 1828. 
 
 " Our travelling party has lost one of its mem- 
 bers faithful Puis,* after an illness of fifteen days ; 
 he died of tumor of the lungs . I need not tell you 
 that his loss is deeply felt by me. The view of 
 suffering, then that of the corpse, leave an inefface- 
 able impression. When I saw him for the last time, 
 he was seated ; his eyes were fixed, his countenance 
 livid and distorted ; his sufferings had reached their 
 height. When I saw the corpse, the impression 
 was different. Suffering had disappeared, the mor- 
 tal envelop was there under my eyes, but the mouth 
 was closed for ever ; the soul had fled. Death ! 
 said a voice in my heart. I saw him for the last 
 time in his open coffin, with a bouquet of flowers 
 upon his bosom and a smile about his mouth ; then 
 I believed him at rest, and felt that he was happy, 
 
 * The name of one of the prince's lojal servitors, who jour- 
 neyed with us the preceding year to Milan. — Authors Note. 
 
186 • MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 Ah. ! yeS; Grod will reunite us near his throne, where 
 there is no more mourning, weeping or suffering ! 
 
 I again place at the end of the chapter, a short 
 poem written by the princess Helen, at the age of 
 14 years, upon her return from her journey in Swit- 
 zerland (1827). As its contents indicate, it was 
 composed at Dobberan, upon the shores of the 
 country, and in view of the sea that she came again 
 to visit. 
 
 Seyd mir gegrilsst ihr lachenden Hiigel 
 Herrlich gekroiit mit grtlnendem Laub : 
 Mild unweht von Zephyrs I'liigel 
 Werdet ihr keines Sturmes Raub. 
 
 Sey mir gegrilsst, o ruhiges Meer, 
 Brandende Wogen am eisenam Strand, 
 Spiegel dem nachtlichen Sternenheer, 
 Sey mir gegrilsst mein Jugendland. 
 
 Theure Bilder verflossener Freuden, 
 Verschwunden sind sie nach kurzem Spiel, 
 Moge der Schmerz vom irdischen Scheiden 
 Wenden das Auge zum seligen Zeil. 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 187 
 
 Y. 
 
 AFFLICTION AND JOY. 
 
 The deatli of a friend of tlie princess Helen's 
 soon after, made a deeper impression upon lier heart 
 than that which affected her brother. 
 
 I have already mentioned the young and amia- 
 ble countess Ida de Bassewitz. From her third 
 year, she had been educated with Helen as a sister ; 
 growing up together, the two friends had but one 
 heart and one soul. Ida was somewhat older than 
 the princess, and her tender affection for her adopt- 
 ed sister led her voluntarily to place herself in the 
 second rank. The slightest desire, the faintest wish 
 that she could divine in Ida's look, became as a law 
 to Helen's heart, which she immediately obeyed. 
 One might say that the bond of affection between 
 these two children resembled the perfect happiness 
 
188 MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 of a conjugal union ; Helen's relations with Ida 
 were those of a spouse who has no will but the will 
 of her husband. They had, it is true, ceased to live 
 near each other, because count de Bassewitz had 
 returned Ida to her mother, but they made frequent 
 visits and their friendship expanded itself in inti- 
 mate correspondence. Several weeks after hei 
 confirmation, Ida suddenly died upon the 6th of 
 September,1829. The grief of the young princess was 
 far greater than one would have expected from her 
 age and the natural liveliness of her character; it 
 was preparing her for another and heart-rending 
 grief awaiting her, thirteen years later, the death of 
 her husband. They could not dissuade her from 
 taking a journey to the tomb of her friend ; the 
 agitation of her soul produced the germ of a nervous 
 fever which burst forth on her return and put her 
 life in danger. The vigor of her youth arose above 
 it ; she recovered, but notwithstanding the return 
 of her habitual serenity, a serious tendency was 
 remarked in her, which confirmed the truth of the 
 French proverb ; " Sadness is in the heart ; gaiety 
 in the mind." Still later, at the epoch of her life 
 when she was smitten with the most overwhelming 
 of blows, this tendency became habitual, though 
 the cheerfulness of her mind mastered it. 
 
 This trial, which joy and grief commingled, 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 189 
 
 and eternity much occupied her thoughts, had a 
 special bearing upon the princess at this time. 
 The image of her friend was incessantly before her 
 eyes ; but she did not attract it earthwards as 
 formerly ; it seemed to her, she said, that her friend 
 from the home of the blessed, was blessing her and 
 filling her soul with the rays of an imperishable 
 love. It was a solemn and serious moment to her, 
 when on the 30th of May, 1830, she made the 
 following profession of her faith, which she had 
 written with her own hand, in the church at 
 Ludwigslust. 
 
 " After Grod, in his grace and mercy, has re- 
 ceived me by baptism into the alliance of recon- 
 ciliation through Jesus Christ, after he has made 
 me acquainted with his Word, and through it, of 
 my sin and corruption, after he has drawn my soul 
 to Him by continual appeals and exhortations, I 
 here publicly make a profession of the faith, which 
 by the action of the Holy Spirit, has become the 
 sure foundation of my temporal and eternal life, as 
 well as of my hopes. 
 
 "I believe in God the Father, creator of the 
 heaven and the earth, who so loved the world that 
 he gave his only Son, that all who believe in Him 
 might not perish, but have everlasting life. He 
 has thus had compassion upon me, pardoned my 
 
190 - MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 sins as his child reconciled through, the merits of 
 his Son. It is upon faith in the only Son of the 
 Father, that I huild the salvation of my soul, and 
 satisfy the justice of God ; for Jesus Christ, hy his 
 humanity, his hitter sufferings and death, did for 
 me what I cannot do for myself ; and by faith in 
 his inexhaustible love and grace, renders mepar- 
 ticipant of his salvation. After having opened to 
 me the gate of heaven by His resurrection and as- 
 cension, he intercedes for me with the celestial Fa- 
 ther, so that I may not die in my sins, but that I 
 may live. 
 
 " I surrender myself entirely by faith in Him 
 who has saved and redeemed me. Regarding 
 each circumstance of my life as a dispensation of 
 his love, I pray him, who is the chief object of my 
 faith, to preserve me from all evil by His Holy 
 Spirit, and to preserve me in close communion with 
 Him, that I may pass my life constantly looking to 
 Him, and that I may be found faithful. Amen ! " 
 
 NoTK — Professor Schubert here mentions the princess' 
 choice of the canticle, and introduces a poem by her, which will 
 be found at the end of the volume. 
 
DUCHESS OF OKLEANS. 191 
 
 YI. 
 
 A NEW SCHOOL OF LIFE. 
 
 The princess having attained the age of seven- 
 teen (1831), Monsieur Kennecke, her faithful pre- 
 ceptor and spiritual guide had finished his task in 
 the ducal mansion ; he went to fill an ofi6.ce to 
 which he had been called by an unforeseen direction 
 and by the spontaneous wish of many friends. He 
 first made a voyage into the South of Europe, 
 passed by Munich, and came to see us with his 
 companion, whose mind, like his heart, was assim- 
 ilated to his own. His arrival was announced to 
 me by a letter from princess Helen, who was equal- 
 ly dear to us both : 
 
 Dear Peofessoe : 
 
 I have for a long time desired to write to you, 
 to express the gratitude your interesting works 
 
192 MEMOm OF THE 
 
 awakened in my heart. I have always been arrest- 
 ed by the fear of robbing you of precious time, and 
 I contented myself, while reading your writings, with 
 sending you in thought, a cordial acknowledgment. 
 But since a favorable occasion now presents itself, I 
 joyfully make use of it, to recall myself to your re- 
 membrance and to pray you kindly to accept a 
 small gift, which I hazard sending you under the 
 patronage of my mother, and which perhaps will 
 recall our dear North Sea to you.* 
 
 Our good Monsieur Eennecke, doubtless, will 
 have arrived at Munich, and will have satisfied the 
 desire he has for a long time cherished, of forming a 
 nearer acquaintance with you. The reading of your 
 books which 1 accomplished under his direction, and 
 the frequent conversations of which you have been 
 the subject, have been the commencement of liaison 
 which he will now have the happiness of forming. 
 I have an inexpressible desire to witness it, but 
 must await his return, and now enjoy the anticipa- 
 tion of all that he will have to tell us of the pro. 
 
 Last year, in reading, "The Primitive World 
 and the Fixed Stars," I was eager to study the 
 heavens arid its planets ; I admired the incompre- 
 hensible calculations of the learned, and thought of 
 
 * It was an excellent design of a site from the shore, near 
 Dobberan. 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 193 
 
 you, in resorting to our old globe. This year, a new 
 world, but an animated world, has been opened to 
 my view, in your "History of the Soul," which I have 
 found very attractive. Unhappily the departure of 
 Monsieur Kennecke, did not allow me to finish the 
 reading with him ; but I finished it with my dear 
 mother, who has opened the eyes of my understand- 
 ing to the obscure passages, and placed them upon my 
 level, when my simple mind could not reach them. 
 
 But now, dear Professor, it would be indiscreet 
 for me to turn you longer from your important oc- 
 cupations ; I then hasten to conclude, once more 
 praying you to keep me in your remembrance. 
 
 Helen. 
 
 The departure of the worthy and active precep- 
 tor of the princess did not arrest the development 
 of her education, for she knew how to procure in 
 instructive books what she felt the need of The 
 inner school of the heart, in joy as well as in grief, 
 remained what it had been ; the invisible precep- 
 tor, under the superintendence and discipline of 
 which she found herself, remained faithful to her. 
 With these two means of the development of the 
 soul and mind, was also associated the school of the 
 world, developed by social relations, observations, 
 experiences, sufferings, and heart trials. 
 9 
 
194: MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 At this periodj tlie hand of a friend will direct 
 me and frequently accompany me through varied 
 events, by which the princess Helen was prepared 
 for her destiny. It is a friend, whose pious and lov- 
 ing heart frequently sustained that of the princess, 
 and whose spiritual life was in such harmony with 
 that of Helen, that it was as a mirror. The lady of 
 whom I speak, is the same who, in a well known 
 house of mourning, has been a faithful spiritual 
 support to broken hearts, and has witnessed the 
 powerful consolations of the gospel, beside the dying 
 bed of a loyal and sincere prince, whom the princess 
 Helen loved and respected. Several passages in the 
 course of this work, marked with a special sign, have 
 been taken from letters addressed to that friend. 
 
 Upon returning from her excursion in Switzer- 
 land and a great part of Southern Germany, the 
 duchess Helen, under her mother's faithful escort, 
 yielded to the reiterated invitations to visit the new 
 residence of her sister Maria, in beautiful Thurin- 
 gia. One of these journeys she made in the course 
 of 1831. She passed through Berlin, where duke 
 Albert then was. The princess went to see, in his 
 company, the master-pieces of the Eoyal Museum, 
 which made a profound impression upon her young 
 imagination. 
 
 At Weimar, the family of the grand duke and 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 195 
 
 the entire people loaded them with proofs of the 
 faithful and deep affection which had transmitted 
 itself from the defunct duchess Caroline, to her chil- 
 dren, and above all, to Helen. She describes with 
 transport, the circle of the reunited family at the 
 house of her beloved sister Maria, in quiet, pleasant 
 Eisenberg. She found in her sister's husband, duke 
 George of Altenburg, whom she surnames, "the 
 lever of all noble aspiration," a faithful brother, even 
 till death ; her eyes and her heart rejoiced in the 
 sight of the infantine caresses of the three young 
 princes, pledges of that happy union. At Eudol- 
 stadt, two sisters of the grand duchess welcomed 
 the travellers with open arms. 
 
 These family delights were soon disturbed by 
 the terrible news that the cholera had invaded 
 Helen's country. It was necessary to return with- 
 out delay to Mecklenburg, if they would escape the 
 ennui of a quarantine. The duchess Maria and the 
 princess of Eudolstadt, besought the grand duchess 
 to prolong her sojourn with them, until the scourge 
 should rage with less vigor. But the young 
 princess, seconded by her mother, represented with 
 all the eloquence of her heart, that in such a time 
 of distress, the faithful citizen ought to be in the 
 place assigned in his country, where he would be 
 under the sure guidance of God. It was then, 
 
196 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 "with, an unutterable joy," as she wrote, when 
 towards the end of September, 1831, she again 
 saw the soil of her native country. 
 
 The fears that the cholera had inspired were not 
 so soon dissipated ; nevertheless, she had the joy, in 
 the summer of 1832, of finding herself surrounded 
 by her own dear ones at Dobberan, which she 
 called " the Eden of her childhood." In short, 
 prince Albert, and the duchess Maria, with her 
 husband and children, there took up their abode. 
 The presence of several guests, not less distin- 
 guished by intellectual gifts than by princely eclat, 
 became a new source of delight to the young 
 princess, then eighteen years of age. 
 
 I here transcribe, almost at length, four letters 
 written by her hand during this period of her de- 
 velopment. They will serve to complete my obser- 
 vations. 
 
 Dear and honored Professor : 
 
 Having written to you a short time since, I shall 
 perhaps appear importunate, but it is impossible 
 for me to allow a letter of mother's to be sent to 
 your address, without obeying the impulse of my 
 heart, or without expressing my profound gratitude 
 for your goodness. A few days since, I received the 
 little package which I opened with an ineffable joy, 
 
DUCHESS OF OKLEANS. 197 
 
 because I recognized your handwriting, always 
 dear and welcome ; my delight was still more aug- 
 mented by the reading of your friendly letter, and 
 by the sight of the instructive books which accom- 
 panied it. My thanks, doubtless, arrive rather long 
 after the departure of your gift, from having been 
 delayed, by a journey into beautiful Saxony, to visit 
 my dear sister and some relations, which prevented 
 us from finding M. de Oettl at Dobberan. We saw 
 him only a few moments at Altenbnrg, when he 
 could not remit your gifts to mother, and promised 
 to send them to Mecklenburg. During the short 
 sojourn of the queen of Bavaria at Altenburg, I 
 had the delight of hearing your name mentioned by 
 prince Otto, with affection and respect ; I made his 
 acquaintance with much more pleasure, from moth- 
 er's having received your favorable opinion of him. 
 I envy the prince the happiness of being at your 
 side, and receiving lessons which you alone can give ! 
 It would be indiscreet longer to abuse your 
 patience by my wearisome words ; I confine myself 
 to entreating that you will sometimes think, in 
 your prayers, of your Helen, who reveres you and is 
 entirely devoted to you. 
 EisENBERG, August 18, 1831. 
 
 The second letter expresses the tendencies of 
 the princess in the first months of the year 1832 : 
 
198 MEMOm OF THE 
 
 Much honored Professor : 
 
 I would not permit myself to trouble you in your 
 occupations, if your goodness, already tested, was 
 not a guarantee of your indulgence. To express to 
 you my sincere gratitude is a necessity of my heart, 
 for I experienced ineffable joy in receiving your beau- 
 tiful letter, and your very interesting little book. My 
 insignificant work did not merit tbe welcome whicb 
 5^ou gave it ; it will be a happiness to have it some- 
 times used by you, not the least, in having provoked 
 such an excellent letter, in which you happUy hold 
 up the swan, as the symbol of the spirit of life. 
 
 You mention in your letter the great triangle of 
 the stars in the heavens, in which you see the 
 image of the Trinity in unity. I was greatly 
 delighted, for this thought had previously struck me 
 when reading it in your ' History of the Soul ; ' I 
 love, on starry nights, to discover this great symbol, 
 in the midst of other luminous worlds. 
 
 The biography of the venerable Oberlin has 
 greatly interested me ; I have read it with great 
 pleasure ; and in order that you may know, dear 
 professor, that we occupy ourselves with your writ- 
 ings, I will again tell you, that to procure innocent 
 pleasure we follow you in your journey in Italy, that 
 with you, we admire that magnificent country, and 
 the heroism of your dear wife. We are now at 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 199 
 
 Grenoa, where I listen with great interest to what 
 you have to say of the productions of ancient art ; 
 after your suggestion, I hastened to read the sequel 
 which promised still more instruction upon that 
 subject. 
 
 My dear Monsieur Kennecke, who has given an 
 account of his sojourn with you, has apprised me 
 that the princess Matilda takes lessons of you. I 
 will sincerely avow that envy glided into my heart 
 upon learning it ; for, since M. Kennecke is estab- 
 lished at Dargun, I am reduced to the means which 
 he left me for continuing my studies ; the spirit 
 which gives life, absolutely fails me ; hence, would 
 I love to share the happiness of one who finds 
 occasion for development in the domain of science. 
 Oh ! that I might from time to time be present at 
 your instructions ! 
 
 My letter may become too long, and I should be 
 injudicious if I further tested your patience. I 
 then hasten to conclude, presenting the compli- 
 ments of my Nancy, whom you have doubtless not 
 forgotten, and praying you, dear professor, sometimes 
 to think of your devoted 
 
 Helen. 
 
 LuDwiGSLusT, Feb. 13, 1832. 
 The third letter, written the same year as the 
 
200 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 preceding one, has a special importance in tlie sliort 
 series of letters of this period, which reveal the 
 spiritual progress of a heart subjected to discipline. 
 
 DOBBERAN, Aug. 12, 1832. 
 
 Dear and honoeed Peofbssor, 
 
 Behold yourself again forced to read a few words 
 of lively gratitude, written by a well-known young 
 hand, which counts anew upon your entire in- 
 dulgence and patience. Your friendly lines and 
 pages, of which the contents are so interesting, were 
 remitted to me by your friend the ecclesiastical 
 counsellor Oettl, a man who awakens the confidence 
 of the heart, and the most profound respect ; the 
 affection which he bears towards you, was from the 
 first instant, his best recommendation. Accept my 
 heartfelt thanks f3r the remembrance of which your 
 letter has assured me. The persuasion of not being 
 entirely out of your memory and your thoughts, is 
 very sweet to me. I will even say that it strength- 
 ens the mind and the heart ; and ought to exercise 
 a happy influence upon the life. 
 
 Prince Otto has often interested me, in speaking 
 of you and the lessons which you have given him. 
 He appears to be an amiable young man ; I find that 
 he already awakens interest by his career and by a 
 certain naivete, which, with him, is so attractive. 
 
DUCHESS OF OKLEAJSrS. 201 
 
 Though I have wished it, I have never succeeded 
 in efforts to converse with him upon the most 
 serious subjects ; nevertheless, I am convinced that 
 they would have more charm for him than the 
 fugitive questions of this life. But what obstacles 
 in the~ accompKshment of our wishes ! bow often, 
 useless verbiage takes the place of worthy conversa- 
 tion. 
 
 Until this time God has protected our happy 
 family reunion ; but now we must all flee from this 
 smiling Dobberan, from this beloved sea, for these 
 shores are infested by the miasma of the cholera. 
 The moment of separation is at hand ; every one 
 follows the example of the noble and gracious 
 queen.* She departs with all her court, but leaves 
 a durable remembrance in the hearts of all who have 
 known her. The same is the case with the dear 
 Bavarians who accompany her. They have all 
 gained my heart by their amiable and cordial man- 
 ners. Oh ! if all the inhabitants of Bavaria resem- 
 ble them, it must be a magnificent and delightful 
 country. 
 
 Dear professor, pardon I pray you my habillage ; 
 for this separation afldicts me much ! I would also 
 go to Munich, and hear once more from your' lips 
 those beautiful words which come written to me. 
 
 * Queen Theresa of Bavaria, sister of the duke of Altenburg. 
 9* 
 
202 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 Do not think ill of my praying you to accept 
 amicably a little souvenir, which. I hope you will 
 find use for. 
 
 HELElif. 
 
 The fourth letter from the princess, was written 
 shortly after an event which exercised a decisive in- 
 fluence upon her life. The experiences and adven- 
 tures of her sojourn at Dobheran, during the 
 preceding summer, still form a portion of the 
 subject of this letter. 
 
 LuDwiGSLUST, April 26, 1833. 
 
 Dear Peofessor, 
 
 To-day it is impossible for me to resist the desire 
 I have long had to write to you. The date of this day 
 will be my excuse, if I rob you of a moment of your 
 very precious time. It is a day very dear to the 
 hearts of all those to whom you have done so much 
 good, by your words and writings, in awakening in 
 their souls a voice which is not of the earth, but 
 which is an echo of heaven. Such a day authorizes 
 me in congratulating all those who, like me, know 
 and revere you, and in expressing my most ardent 
 wishes for the year you are about to commence. 
 
 My gratitude for the ineffable benefits that you 
 alone are able to produce by your writings, would 
 
DUCHESS OF OKLEANS. 203 
 
 express itself otherwise tlian by a dead letter, tlie 
 feebleness of wbicb I deeply feel, wben, my eyes 
 pause upon tbat dear little blue book,* wbich. speaks 
 so eloquently to the soul, and breathes a spirit which 
 you alone could animate. It is also that spirit 
 which forms the bond of our circle this evening as 
 we are engaged upon your beautiful work ; it sheds 
 a peace over us which renders the remembrance of 
 you still more dear. There are always some real 
 transports of joy, when there comes to us a new 
 jet from that abundant fountain; each one of us 
 there seeks with avidity for acquaintance with the 
 truth, and becomes strengthened by it. But this 
 is also the only consolation for so long a separation, 
 which seems to me like an eternity ; for, since your 
 departure from Mecklenburg, a whole existence for 
 me has roUed by, in which I have little by little set 
 aside the dreams of childhood, in order finally to 
 grasp the true signification of life. Sometimes still, 
 I renew my taste for childish fables, in which repose 
 the undeveloped germ of life. It is several years, 
 for example, since, in that old city of Nuremburg, I 
 found myself under the mysterious arches of the 
 St. Lawrence church, where the stained glass broke 
 
 * Allusion is here made to my "Communications upon the 
 times of the Empire," to be found in my work entitled, 
 " Ancient and Modern." — Author's Note. 
 
204 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 the rays of the setting sun ; since at St. Sebald, the 
 majestic sounds of the organ filled the nave, and 
 identified the past with the present ; how gravely 
 the four apostles of the ancient castle looked down 
 upon me ; how the entire city, symbol of ancient 
 probity, awakened before me at the sound of the 
 bell, and how the fields exhaled their evening per- 
 fume, when I seemed to hear from all sides en- 
 chanting voices, and lived again in the region of 
 childish dreams. And you, who awakened those 
 beautiful visions in my imagination, and who em- 
 bellished them with your tales, you were not there; 
 your absence was so sensible to all, that if I had had 
 any power of the magician in my nature I would have 
 made you come from Chemintz. I then thought 
 much of your beloved daughters. I knew that they 
 lived in the same country, but unhappily I was 
 ignorant of the place of their sojourn. Do me the 
 kindness to transmit to them my friendly salutations. 
 I was rejoiced to find their names in the little blue 
 book. 
 
 The long period of time which has rolled away 
 since your last letter, has abounded in political 
 events and in intellectual progress for our nation. 
 Bavaria and Grreece have, in a manner, commingled 
 their history ; all hearts have palpitated with en- 
 thusiasm and sympathy. A lively interest accom- 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 205 
 
 panies the heroic expedition into the beautiful 
 country of the Hellenes, whose soil it must be de- 
 lightful to tread ; this unfortunate region will surely 
 bloom again under the protection of a wise govern- 
 ment, and will find in obedience to the laws, the 
 true liberty which it vainly sought in anarchy. 
 The touching and solemn reception which it has 
 given to its king, may justify the liveliest hopes. 
 This young king ought to be happy in thus know- 
 ing himself to be surrounded by so many prayers 
 raised to God for him, for his happiness, and for 
 that of his people. You, also, dear professor, you 
 surely have not without emotion seen your pupil 
 borne away to fill such weighty engagements ; his 
 departure must have deeply affected the heart of 
 his excellent preceptor, M. de Oettl. 
 
 Shall I dare pray you to recall me to his re- 
 membrance ? My interviews with him the past 
 summer have been faithfully retained in my memo- 
 ry. Your goodness has so often crowned my wishes, 
 that I dare address you still another prayer ; if 
 your thoughts some day flow toward Ludwigslust, 
 recommend me some reading which you judge in- 
 structive in every respect. The present moment 
 must offer many interesting publications, and yet 
 it is rare that they reach our northern regions. 
 Many hearts here beat for animating, intellectual 
 
206 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 productions, and ardently desire an unadulterated 
 source. 
 
 I must at last cease to chatter ; I close, recom- 
 mending myself with all my heart to your remem- 
 brance and prayers. 
 
 I remain, dear professor, with the highest con- 
 sideration, your grateful 
 
 Helen. 
 
 P. S. — My Nancy and all your friends here 
 present their affectionate regards. My brother, this 
 summer, will visit the rectoiy of Gastein, and will 
 surely not go thither without seeing you. I should 
 be jealous if I loved him less. 
 
DUCJaESS OF ORLEANS. 207 
 
 YII. 
 
 LIGHTS AND SHADOWS. 
 
 Among all the friends and relations at Frie- 
 densburg, none dared hope for the restoration of 
 the grand duchess, who had reached the crisis of a 
 malady, which threatened her life. The skill of 
 physicians seemed of no further use than to deter- 
 mine, with apparent j)recision^ the number of hours 
 her sufferings would continue ; friends of both sexes 
 who approached the dying bed, had no further need 
 of controlling their emotion, for the invalid neither 
 saw nor heard any thing. Among all the persons 
 who visited the grand duchess, Helen only, then 
 nineteen years of age, clung hopefully to her 
 mother, in whom was wrapped up the happiness of 
 her life. No discouragement nor hopeless grief 
 was revealed in her countenance, which reflected 
 only the serenity of a soul in constant communion 
 
208 MEMOIK OF THE 
 
 with Grod. She had the full assurance that God 
 would not take her cherished mother from her. 
 Calm and self-possessed, she watched night and 
 day according to her strength. Her hopes were not 
 disappointed ; the grand duchess was restored to 
 her kindred. 
 
 The danger passed, the young princess, whose 
 faith alone had sustained her, then realized the se- 
 verity of the blow which had threatened to fall 
 upon her. She thus expresses herself in a letter 
 dated from the baths at Toeplitz, addressed to her 
 intimate friend. 
 
 " He who graciously received me, gave me the 
 courage of a child, that is to say, blind courage^ 
 and now raises the veil which he had himself drawn 
 over my eyes. Now all lives again, within and 
 without me ; my mountains, my dear and beauti- 
 ful mountains, awaken within me a song of mirth. 
 They also infinitely rejoice my dear mother, who 
 to-day has already rode out twice. She is happy 
 in being convalescent, and finds a new charm in 
 every object ; she scarcely remembers her illness 
 and sufferings, everything appears to her smiling 
 and serene." 
 
 Frederick William, according to his custom, 
 passed several weeks at Toeplitz, in the summer of 
 1833. The princess Helen already interested him, 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 209 
 
 because of her possession of qualities rarely united ; 
 goodness of heart, high intellectual culture, amia- 
 ble simplicity, and serious modest mien ; but she 
 was besides, the sister-in-law of his daughter, wife 
 of the young grand duke Paul Frederic, of Meck- 
 lenburg-Schwerin. He often went to see her, and 
 was forcibly struck with the exquisite tact with 
 which she received and entertained him, which was 
 always directed by the judiciousness of her mind, 
 and perfectly accorded with the faculties of her soul. 
 This impression was not a fleeting one, it was still 
 living in the affectionate heart of the noble king, 
 when his counsels, at a later period, directed the 
 choice of the duke of Orleans towards the princess 
 Helen of Mecklenburg, 
 
 From Toeplitz the two princesses went to Dres- 
 den, where they passed several days. In that beau- 
 tiful city, art and nature simultaneously impressed 
 the princess's mind, but the works of art chiefly trans- 
 ported her imagination. Her taste and judgment 
 were so fine^ that she soon recognized what was 
 truly worthy of admiration, and distinguished them 
 from those which excite the delight and astonish- 
 ment of the curious multitude. " In art, as in life, 
 there is an eternal truth under the outward form," 
 wrote she to her young friend. " It is truth which 
 touches the heart, at the first coup d'ceil cast iipon 
 
210 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 a work of art ; tlie form is only a vestment, which, 
 some exterior motives modify. But false enthusiasm 
 is passionate for the form, which it changes, and 
 takes for the truth." 
 
 After passing the winter at Jena, in the imme- 
 diate neighborhood of the celebrated doctor and 
 intimate counsellor, Starke, the grand duchess Au- 
 gusta returned to one of the hath establishments 
 in Hungary. With her return of strength, she ex- 
 perienced the reawakening of her intellectual life, 
 which naturally sought aquaintance with all that is 
 worth knowing. She soon formed around her, a 
 choice circle of savants and professors of the Uni- 
 versity of Jena, and under their direction set about 
 sounding all the depths of science. After her ex- 
 ample, the mobile mind of the princess Helen, 
 easily bent to the task of gathering varied informa- 
 tion. These intellectual labors afforded the princess 
 ineffable happiness. " Our life," wrote she to her 
 friend, "is at once calm and agitated, outwardly 
 uniform, but inwardly rich in delights. The pro- 
 fessors are very communicative ; it is a delightful 
 life, which to me has an infinite attraction," 
 
 The charm of a sojourn in that city devoted to 
 the worship of the muses, was augmented in the 
 eyes of the princess by the neighborhood of Eisen- 
 berg, which often permitted her to see her sister. 
 
DUCHESS OF OKLEANS. 211 
 
 and by the still greater nearness of Weimarj the 
 residence of her mother's relations. 
 
 " Surrounded by souvenirs of my mother's life," 
 wrote she, " I passed delicious days in the circle of 
 my kindred. I also became acquainted with many 
 good and interesting things in that ancient German 
 Athens." 
 
 Thus terminated the year 1833, during which 
 the young princess had much enjoyment ; she also 
 commences the year 1834 with a grateful remem- 
 brance, 
 
 " I am always astonished," writes she to her 
 friend at the end of that year, " I am astonished at 
 the joys God grants me, as if he would console me 
 for the past and future. His paternal love power- 
 fully attracts me towards Him ; how can I but offer 
 Him my life, a sacrifice for merciful acts. Since 
 the re-establishment of my mother's health, this 
 year has been happy in every respect. Provided 
 only, that joy be not without consistence, and flees 
 not like- the shades of evening, leaving no trace. In 
 that case, I should desire affliction to estabKsh my 
 heart and mind. For what are the delights of this 
 world, if they do not elevate the soul toward heaven, 
 the j)rimary source of all felicity ? " 
 
 This desire for a call which should elevate her 
 heart to God, even though it might be through 
 
212 MEMOIK OF THE 
 
 tears, was only too soon satisfied, in 1834. Prince 
 Albert, upon whose future his sister and mother 
 founded their dearest terrestrial hopes, in a grand 
 military parade had a fall from his horse, which 
 subsequently caused violent headaches ; this ten- 
 dency, I am told, was again aggravated by another 
 fall from the top of a high wall of the castle of 
 Cobeda, near Jena. When he made me a second 
 visit, at Munich, in 1833, upon his return from the 
 baths of Gastein, I found him very different from 
 what he had been in 1828. In his interviews with 
 his friends, though he had ever the same vivacity 
 of mind, his gayety had given place to a sombre 
 mood, which often painted itself upon the features 
 of his countenance, even in the midst of animated 
 conversation. " If you knew," said he to my wife, 
 " what continual jjain I have in my head, you would 
 comprehend the morbid silence which I continually 
 keep with friends." 
 
 This disposition did not entirely proceed from 
 his physical suffering ; it also had its source in a 
 profound agitation of the soul, which he described 
 to me in a letter dated from Gastein, from whence 
 he expressed his intention of coming to see me. 
 
 "WiLDBALD- Gastein, January 23, 1833. 
 
 My beloved Master : 
 
 Upon my departure from Berlin, I received. 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 213 
 
 from my motlier the good news that you would per- 
 mit me to visit you upon my return, and to pass 
 several days with you as formerly. I cannot ex- 
 press the great joy I experienced at the thought of 
 seeing you again, and of telling you that after the 
 lapse of so many years and divers events, I have the 
 same filial and cordial affection for you that I had 
 in my childhood. I am very impatient to see you, 
 to open my heart to you, and to ask your counsels 
 and benediction. 
 
 Since we have met, some very trying days have 
 passed over me ; my soul has been in great danger 
 of shipwreck, because the evil germs of my nature 
 commenced to take root. But in the midst of these 
 storms, I have always heard a voice unceasingly ex- 
 horting me, which seemed to be a cherished echo of 
 my boyhood ; then came that indefinable malaise, 
 which reminded me that I ought to set at liberty a 
 noble slave enchained in my heart. In the midst of 
 the insipid life of the world or upon the sick couch, 
 the Spirit moved within me, and I finally experi- 
 enced a profound disgust for all that is mere noth- 
 ingness. God has granted me strength to master 
 my passions, and with a good conscience, has re- 
 turned the delight in life, which I had lost. To say 
 all this to you verbally, dear professor, and to hear 
 again from your lips the old language of the heart. 
 
214 MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 is a permission for which I cannot sufficiently thank 
 you, for it is already a welcome halm to my soul. 
 
 In leaving Grastein, I leave a place in which I 
 have finally found the happiness which had for a 
 long time fled from me. The remembrance of Ber- 
 lin is painful to me. 
 
 I was happy then, in leaving for the dear coun- 
 tries of the South. I felt another spirit within me ; 
 I was calm, serious, joyful. I could again observe with 
 attention, and collect and arrange my impressions 
 so as to render them profitable. I first proceeded 
 to Dresden, where I tarried long enough to visit the 
 gallery leisurely and to traverse Saxon-Switzerland. 
 From there, I went by Tceplitz to Prague, that an- 
 cient city with its tombs of saints and kings, 
 archives of the history of Bohemia and Germany, 
 more instructive than all the scribbling of our 
 modern protoculs. At Linz, I again saw the snowy 
 Alps, to which my eyes had not for a long time been 
 habituated. I crossed the lake to visit Ischl ; then, 
 down lake St. Wolfgang to Salzburg, which is a 
 charming city. There, I thought much of you and 
 my dear Oettl. I visited the Kcenigsee ; I clambered 
 over the Watzman glaciers, and after having cleared 
 the passages at the Lueg and Klamm, found my- 
 self here. I have been living here tranquilly nearly 
 a month, 3,000 feet above the sea and even in the 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 215 
 
 bosom of tlie lofty Alps. "When leaping over the 
 rocky abysses, when contem|)latmg the play of the 
 sunlight upon the snow, what a world of plants I 
 see living around me where the silence is alone in- 
 terrupted by the uniform noise of a cascade, which 
 comes to my ear like the pulsation of the life of 
 Nature ; then as I recoil within myself, all the dear, 
 good thoughts of my childhood awaken a slight 
 feeling of pain ; my joy changes itself into a mute 
 prayer, and I renew my engagement to remain faith- 
 ful to the God of my youth and manhood. I live 
 here in company with persons dear to me, and with 
 whom I am at ease. We have here the arch-duke 
 John and his wife ; this noble prince is the image 
 of a German of the old stamp. When questioned 
 at hazard, he has a reply for every one ; in the 
 Tyrol, he is acquainted with each valley, and village, 
 and with most of the families in the mansions and 
 cottages. His noble face, a la Hapsburg, bears the 
 impress of perfect goodness. With all this, he 
 dresses like a peasant, and, in all his manners, is 
 simple, thoughtful, and amiable. 
 
 Without being able to fix the day, I shall leave 
 Gastein in the beginning of August^ and think I 
 shall proceed directly to Munich, passing through 
 Innspruck. Since I know it will give you pleasure, 
 I shall seek your hospitality without ceremony. I 
 
216 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 thrill witli joy at the thought of seeing you again 
 with the aifection of former times, and of present- 
 ing myself to you, not as a stranger, but as a de- 
 voted, thoughtful son. 
 
 How delighted I shall be to see all my dear 
 friends in Munich ! In the meanwhile very cordially 
 salute your dear wife, my good Oettl, and Dr. E. 
 
 Once more, dear professor, I thank you from 
 the depths of my heart for your permission, and I 
 wait for the moment in which I shall be able to 
 say so, directly, with impatience. 
 
 Your affectionate, constant, and respectful pupil, 
 Albert, duke of Mecklenburg. 
 
 Upon the prince's return into his country, the 
 pain in his head increased in an alarming manner. 
 As the physicians presumed, and as the autopsy 
 later verified, a tumor pressing upon the brain often 
 occasioned convulsions, followed by violent pain. 
 A sojourn at Franzensbad, in the spring of 1834, 
 had produced no good effect ; the dying prince was 
 brought to Ludwigslust. His sufferings assumed a 
 character which lacerated the hearts of all who 
 witnessed them. Notwithstanding the sinking of 
 his body, his mind was always collected, and un- 
 folded itself in touching expressions of love and 
 serious self-abnegation. Finally, upon the 18th of 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 2lT 
 
 October, 1854, that painful contest ended ; they 
 laid the corpse of this young prince, which seemed 
 to sleep sweetly after the fatigues of a laborious 
 journey, beside his parents. 
 
 Whoever saw the princess Helen during the 
 period when his mortal sufferings diminished all 
 chance of life, could scarcely recognize a trace of her 
 natural gaiety of mind. She was not altogether 
 overwhelmed. 
 
 " The trials of life contain the germ of my 
 eternal happiness," wrote she to her friend, after the 
 death of her brother. 
 
 She then delivered herself with still more ardor 
 to the task of "strengthening and purifying the 
 bonds which united her to those who remained upon 
 the earth." Upon her part there were only words 
 of love and acts of devotion, first for her kindred, 
 then for all those who interested her and had need 
 of her. She knew, in the Christian sense of the 
 word, that that only was profound mourning. Then, 
 and still more at a later period, sensibility to her 
 own griefs awakened within her a delicate sympathy 
 for the griefs of others, and a power of consoling, the 
 magnetic virtue of which the afflicted experienced. 
 This was her principal occupation during the first 
 portion of the winter of 1834. 
 
 She wrote me from Ludwigslust, upon the, 14th 
 10 
 
218 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 of January, 1834, the following letter, whicli is the 
 expression of tlie tendency of her soul at this 
 epoch : 
 
 Dear Peofessoe, 
 
 You loved him with us, you wept for him with 
 us, and you rejoice with him in the eternal felicity 
 accorded to his soul, as indemnity for all the suffer- 
 ings of a short, but agitated life ; you rejoice with 
 him in that celestial peace which his impatient 
 desires sought for, upon earth, and of which his 
 faith gave him happy presentiments. In the midst 
 of indescribahle sufferings, a soul like his could only 
 be led to patience and docility by the power of 
 God; in the touching outpourings of the last period 
 of his life, the powerful succor of the Most High 
 was manifested in a most consoling manner, render- 
 ing him so calm and thoughtful, and preparing him 
 for the contemplation of the eternal light, by a filial 
 submission to the will of God. The happy convic- 
 tion that he is now in possession of an incorruptible 
 inheritance, was a solace at the hour of his death 
 to our afflicted hearts, and it remains a possession 
 which neither the poignancy of doubt, nor the pain 
 of a now isolated life, can ravish; the firm persuasion 
 that he is happy and that we shall rejoin him, will 
 accompany us through the rest of our career, and 
 
DUCHESS OF OELEANS. 219 
 
 will direct our eyes towards heaven like the finger of 
 an angel ; it will be the sure pledge of our eternity 
 and the sacred bond which unites him to our world 
 of sorrow. 
 
 In the midst of the most agonizing grief, man 
 feels that such hours in life, are hours of purification; 
 he learns to kiss the hand that smites, whose 
 powerful aid alone can save him from despair. 
 You recall the divine consolations, in such a touch- 
 ing manner, in your letter, dear professor ; permit me 
 to express how profoundly grateful I am for all that 
 you have done for us. Alas ! dare the sister form 
 an adieu for you, in behalf of the brother so sensible 
 to the affection you manifested for him during his 
 life, so happy in the benedictions which he owed 
 to your prayers and his veneration for yourself.? 
 
 But no, eternal recompense is found in the 
 afiection and intercession itself ; you aspire to no 
 other reward than the answer to your prayers. 
 
 I dare not speak of myself, for I blush to com- 
 plain, knowing that my brother is in the mansions 
 of eternal happiness ; I am nevertheless too weak to 
 withdraw my thoughts from my loneliness and to 
 surmount sadness. How shall I again attain the 
 happiness of my childhood, when he who was the 
 glory, the joy, and the pride of my life sleeps in 
 death ; when my hopes resemble unbalanced scales 
 
220 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 whicli rise and fall from one side to another. But 
 no, I will not speak at random, only in heaven shall 
 I again find all who formerly attracted me by bonds 
 of love ; yes, in that promised land where ardent 
 desires are appeased, where tears are dried. Yes, 
 affliction is good ! 
 
 I am very grateful, dear professor, for your kind 
 intention of sending me a souvenir, which was des- 
 tined for my Albert; be persuaded that any gift 
 coming from you has great value, and that beautiful 
 present, whicb will remind me of a favorite name,* 
 will be of double worth. Your eyes have compla- 
 cently rested upon those features which reveal the 
 sublime genius of the poet ; your kindness destined 
 that emblem of divine force for my brother, and now 
 you wish that I should adorn my little apartment 
 with it ; what could be dearer to me than an object 
 recalling such remembrances ? 
 
 In concluding, I again transmit the complimeiits 
 of my relatives ; first those of my mother, who 
 thinks of writing to you soon, then those of my sis- 
 ter and the prince. General de Both, my Nancy, 
 
 and the good L , desire to be remembered to 
 
 you; your faithful friend B now addresses 
 
 you from a better country than that of Mecklen- 
 burg. 
 
 * Dante. 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 221 
 
 Still another request before taking leave of you ; 
 your benevolence and affection for my brother will 
 insure its acceptance. The thought of your having 
 in your hands a souvenir of his x30ssessions would be 
 very precious to me, for I might hope that it would 
 sometimes set the image of my brother -before your 
 eyes. Shall I forward it by the next courier .? I 
 believe I hear a very kind yes, and confidently 
 hazard the execution of my design. Your sympathy 
 encourages me ; may it be a legacy left by the 
 deceased to his poor and unworthy sister, and a 
 source of benediction all her life. 
 
 I remain, dear professor, with the most profound 
 
 respect, your entirely devoted 
 
 Helen. 
 
 A friendly salutation to your dear wife ; if you 
 see M. Oettl, remember me to him. He was in- 
 finitely dear to my brother, and merits all our 
 regard. I have taken a lively interest in making 
 the acquaintance of your friend Schom ; h^ is an 
 addition to Weimar. 
 
 This letter was followed by another, dated 
 Feb. 20th, 1835 : 
 
 Deak Professoe, 
 
 Without awaiting an affirmative reply to my 
 petition, I have courage to give it success, counting 
 
222 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 Tipon tlie remembrance which you surely retain of 
 my dear brother, and upon the affection of which 
 you gave him so many proofs. 
 
 I have thought that the telescope which always 
 accompanied him in his travels in Switzerland, 
 in the valleys of Silesia, in the magnificent plains of 
 Lombardy, and in the steppes of la Marche, might be 
 also useful to you in the course of the long journey 
 you contemplate into the classic plains of Greece 
 and to the sources of the Nile ; the plan of which 
 voyage transported my brother, who intended to 
 take part in it. If you find this object of service, 
 make use of it from time to time, and think affec- 
 tionately of one who is no more, and who wished for 
 your sympathy. 
 
 Accept, etc., 
 
 Helen. 
 
 My reply to the first of the preceding letters, 
 and my thanks upon the occasion of her sending the 
 beautiful DoUond, and which accompanied the sec- 
 ond letter, reached their destination more haj)pily 
 than the plaster bust of Dante, for, after a long 
 delay, it came broken into the hands of her for 
 whom it was destined. Nevertheless, in the letter 
 which she wrote after the arrival of the case, she 
 expressed her gratitude for the expression of my 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 223 
 
 good will, and dwelt upon the genius of Dante, and 
 the impression which his " Divina Commedia,'' 
 " chant of eternity," had produced, and still con- 
 tinued to produce upon her soul, but of the bust 
 she spoke not. I regret that this letter has been 
 unhappily lost or mislaid among my papers. All 
 of its contents are not entirely effaced from my 
 memory. At the time I received it I was inces- 
 santly occupied with labors which must be finished 
 before my departure for the East. Besides, from 
 the autumn of 1835 to that of 1836, when I com- 
 menced my journey, a portion of my time and 
 strength was absorbed by university duties. It is 
 probable that the last letter, addressed to me from 
 Ludwigslust by the young princess, disappeared in 
 the midst of papers that I have not had leisure to 
 examine. 
 
224 
 
 MEMOm OF THE 
 
 YIII. 
 
 LIFE, A DREAM. 
 
 To souls wbich have received the gift of a lively 
 and lofty hope, life here helow, with all its vicissi- 
 tudes, is a perpetual prophetic dream, which is 
 only realized when, after the dissolution of the 
 earthly tenement, a new existence commences for 
 the soul. This is expressed in the following pas- 
 sage by an apostle, who by his words and acts, tes- 
 tified that he felt the importance and signification 
 of terrestrial life, as the embryo of life eternal. 
 " But we know," says he, " that if our earthly 
 house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a 
 building of G-od, an house not made with hands, 
 eternal in the heavens." (2 Cor. v. 1.) 
 
 This promise to man is indeed not accom- 
 plished till the soul leaves its earthly tent ; but is 
 
DUCHESS OF OKLEANS. 225 
 
 often manifested symbolically in life, when man 
 sees the crumbling of an edifice, which in his 
 dreams he has elevated as a sure shelter. This 
 human work, the feeble vessel in which one has 
 confided his happiness for the present and future, 
 is submerged by the tempest ; he sees himself 
 alone, floating at venture upon a wreck, in the 
 midst of fogs and darkness. But the invisible 
 hand of eternal mercy has directed the winds and 
 the waves ; dawn appears, and the shipwrecked 
 one who believed himself lost, nears the isle of de- 
 liverance, where open arms receive him with affec- 
 tion, and where peace and joy re-enter the soul. 
 
 The foundation of the edifice of dreams of 
 the future and of terrestrial happiness, which the 
 loving heart of the princess had erected, was the 
 hope of passing her life near her brother Albert. 
 This hope vanished, she found herself in the same 
 situation as the bird whose home is in the branches 
 of a tree, which is suddenly struck by lightning. 
 Fatigued with flying, it seeks its daily shelter, and 
 beholds it calcinated upon the earth ; but the bird 
 is full of life, the first rays of the sun awakens it 
 as before, and it makes its morning song heard. 
 
 In the month of April, 1835, the princess' 
 o-randfather, Frederick-Francis, entered upon the 
 50th year of his government. The general jubilee 
 10* 
 
226 
 
 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 which accompanied the fetes of that anniversary, 
 had an echo in the heart of the princess, who, for 
 the first time since her brother's death, found se- 
 renity of mind. She wrote to her friend that the 
 surrounding joy not only had not made her shudder, 
 but had even communicated a certain gayety to her. 
 She loved to render herself useful to those of the 
 most humble condition ; during the winter of 1836, 
 she occupied herself in extending and ameliorating 
 the Caroline Institution, which was founded by her 
 deceased mother, and which was designed for the 
 education of those destined for domestics. She did 
 not dream of one day leaving her country, when 
 from the height of the ancient castle of Schwerin, 
 situated in the midst of a lake, her eye complacent- 
 ly rested upon the snow and glacier, which in winter 
 surrounded the isle and the castle like a rampart; 
 What an abyss between this peaceful dwelling 
 which satisfied her heart, and the vast horizon 
 which the design of God was secretly opening, about 
 this epoch.* 
 
 About the time of the princes' departure from 
 Berlin, the first part of the apostle's words, which 
 
 * Prof. Schubert here makes mention of the visit of the 
 French princes in Berlin, and the king's counsels with regard 
 to union with the princess Helen. Since the substance is the 
 same as that in the previous memoir, it is not necessary hero 
 to quote him. 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS . 227 
 
 pertain to the dissolution of the earthly tabernacle, 
 seemed about to be realized with regard to the 
 princess Helen. At Eisenberg (where she was visit- 
 ing her relatives) she was attacked with hepatitis 
 in so severe a manner, that she even believed her 
 end approaching. The rumor, indiscreetly spread, 
 that the heir to the throne of France had a view to 
 her hand in marriage, painfully affected her, for her 
 thoughts were now rather directed towards the hope 
 of which the second part of the apostle's text guar- 
 antees the certitude. 
 
 Nature remained victorious ; the thought of 
 death gave place to the hope of a terrestrial happi- 
 ness, prepared by the marvellous counsels of Grod, 
 and not by the foresight or efforts of men. Soon 
 after the re -establishment of the princess' health, 
 the family were apprised of the truth of the rumor, 
 and in the beginning of the year 1837, the news 
 spread from Mecklenburg, throughout all Germany 
 and Europe.* 
 
 She was, with regard to these disquietudes, in 
 
 * Prof. Schubert, here also mentions the death of the 
 grand-duke, and Paul Frederick's opposition to the princess' 
 union with the duke of Orleans, and adds, " But, according to 
 her habit, she followed the inspiration of her heart and re- 
 mained firm, for she felt that she was directed ever by the hand 
 of God." 
 
228 MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 the same courageous state of mind in wMcli she 
 was wken slie wrote four years before, to her friend, 
 when she had yet no dream of her future destiny : 
 " My imagination/' wrote she, " easily leads me, and 
 often touches my whole being with its magic ring ; 
 but when it is necessary, exultation and golden 
 dreams vanish ; I bow to the iron rod of destiny, 
 and, whatever may be my repugnance, I humble 
 myself, seeking the finger of God in the course of 
 events ; His ways are not always those of the heart 
 and desire of youth, but they are always those of 
 our true happiness." 
 
 In this circumstance, the way in which she was 
 directed was not difficult to follow, for all that she 
 had learned of the duke was so conformed to her 
 wishes that she had given him her heart, even be- 
 fore she had seen him. He was, in every respect, 
 the man whom she would desire to guide her life. 
 Her attachment for the husband of her choice, was 
 then, and always remained, purified by the fire of 
 divine love. 
 
 The Easter f^tes of 1837, arrived in the midst 
 of the contests produced by this project of marriage. 
 The Thursday before Easter, the princess received 
 the communion, and obtained, to use her own ex- 
 pression, " a new life through the gracious gift, the 
 power of which passes all conception." 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 229 
 
 "At tliis solemn moment/' wrote she to her 
 friend, " I deeply felt that all is nothingness beside 
 this grace, and that all feeling which flows not from 
 the love of God, and which is not sanctified by his 
 Spirit, is neither pm-e nor durable. Ah ! if we could 
 only always build our edifice upon Him, in pros- 
 perity as well as in trial ; and if, in all our life, we 
 could have the firm persuasion that He loves us, and 
 that His love produces precious fruit in. us ! " * 
 
 The best letters brought by M. Bresson from 
 the royal family, were those by the duke himself. 
 The princess opened a correspondence with him, 
 through which she became as well acquainted 
 with the heart and mind of her betrothed as if 
 she had been personally acquainted with him for 
 years. 
 
 The joy which seemed to fill France upon her 
 arrival, contrasted strongly with her departure 
 from Mecklenburg ; the latter seemed Hke a funeral 
 train, of which the former was a veritable ovation. 
 This striking contrast forcibly reminds me of an an- 
 cient canticle, the words of which faithfully repro- 
 duce the inward impressions of the princess, and the 
 
 * Prof. Schubert's remarks concerning the princess' de- 
 parture for France, and her reception along the route, so en- 
 tirely accords with those of the marquess de H ■ that they 
 
 may be omitted without detriment to the work. 
 
230 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 experiences that there were before her, in the fu- 
 ture. 
 
 " Ich traue denien "Wunderwegen, 
 Sie enden sich in Lieb und Segen ; 
 Geung, wennich Dich bei mi tab ! 
 Icb weiss, wen Du willst herrlich zieren, 
 Und ilber Mond und Sterne fiihren^ 
 Denfulirest Du suvor Mnab." 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 231 
 
 IX. 
 
 THE ARRIVAL. 
 
 A MORE solemn moment than those of these 
 outward distinctions awaited the young betrothed 
 at Chalons-sur-Marne. She did not yet know her 
 future husband by sight, who had come there in 
 advance of ber. He also, was very impatient to see 
 one who was to be the companion of his life. It was 
 known that the princess was endowed with great 
 loveliness and high intellectual faculties, but at the 
 same time less favorable rumors had been spread with 
 regard to her personal appearance. A French lady 
 who had seen her in Germany, wished to rectify 
 this opinion, but the queen forbade it, charging her 
 to say nothing to her son, in order that he might 
 have a sweet surprise. The likeness which the 
 prince had received of her, did not render the life 
 
232 MEMOIK OF THE 
 
 and grace which particularly marked Helen's phy- 
 siognomy ; hence was he struck with it. He en- 
 tered with an almost timid air, but his eyes, at first 
 cast down, became radiant with joy and emotion, 
 ■when, in the course of an animated interview, the 
 delicate features of his betrothed became so trans- 
 figured that they composed an ensemble of ideal 
 beauty, while her noble bearing and the spirituelle 
 dignity of her whole person awakened an indefina- 
 ble sentiment of respect. The impression which 
 the duke made upon the princess was not less 
 favorable. In short, in the judgment of a shrewd 
 observer, the young and handsome duke of Orleans, 
 was the most accomplished and distinguished man 
 of his time, by the union of physical advantages and 
 intellectual and spiritual gifts. 
 
 The prince, who now bore the image of the 
 princess in his heart, hastened to Fontainbleau, 
 where the royal family received the duchess with 
 such afi*ection, that she soon no longer dreamed of 
 being in a foreign court. Upon the 30th of' May, 
 the day fixed for the marriage, the ceremony com- 
 menced according to French custom, by the civil 
 marriage in the gallery of Henry II. At half past 
 eight o^'clock, the king appeared, giving his arm to 
 the princess Helen, and was followed by all the 
 royal family, as well as the numerous cortege of the 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 233 
 
 officers of the palace. The ministers, marshals, 
 deputies, municipal corps, with the generals and 
 many invited guests, were there assembled. The 
 princess' witnesses were, M, de Kantzau, marshal of 
 the grand duchess' court, M. de Bresson, French 
 minister to Berlin, who had conducted the marriage 
 negotiations, and the duke de Choiseul. The chan- 
 cellor, Duke Decazes, read the civil act in a solemn 
 voice and in the midst of profound silence ; then he 
 asked the duke of Orleans if he was resolved to take 
 as his wife, Helen Louise-Elizabeth of Mecklenburg. 
 The prince turned respectfully towards the king, 
 and, upon an affirmative signal from his majesty, 
 he replied to the chancellor in a firm voice : " Yes, 
 Monsieur." The same question being put to the 
 affianced princess, she turned towards her mothei-, 
 the grand duchess, and after another sign of 'assent, 
 said in a trembling voice : " Yes, Monsieur." The 
 signatures were finally affixed according to the 
 prescribed ceremonial ; after which, the civil mar- 
 riage was at an end. 
 
 It is not without a motive that we have recalled 
 all the circumstances of this act, the solemnity of 
 which was further enhanced by the lively interest 
 manifested by the great personages of rank. A 
 witness, placed somewhat behind the scenes, was 
 more chilled than edified. " I have neT^*- been," 
 
234 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 said lie, " tlie friend of these theatrical representa- 
 tions, which have the effect of exposing sacred 
 things to the view of a curious multitude. This 
 spectacle left me absolutely unmoved, though I was 
 so easily affected by a simple canticle sung in a vil- 
 lage church." 
 
 When, in 1804, Napoleon drew Pope Pius VII. 
 to Paris for his coronation, it was desired that 
 some church music, of extraordinary power, should re- 
 lieve the eclat of that solemnity. Twenty-four harps 
 composed the orchestra ; one may easily believe that 
 such a harmony would have a powerful effect upon 
 the minds of the spectators. The ceremony com- 
 menced ; the twenty-four harps struck their ac- 
 cords ; the multitude expressed their delight by 
 gestures and low exclamations. The pope then ap- 
 proached the altar. To the harpists succeeded the 
 choir of the Sistine chapel, which sang the ancient 
 church canticle, Tu es Fetrus. Here the acclama- 
 tions of transport from the multitude gave place 
 to a mute surprise, which awakened in many hearts 
 a truly religious feeling. 
 
 The meditation of the princess did not depend 
 upon external circumstances. The feeling of the 
 sacredness and indissolubility of the marriage fiUed 
 her heart ; for she felt that it was decided, not by 
 the will of man, but by the favor and counsel of 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 235 
 
 God. Her union was decreed in heaven, and her 
 mouth, as well as her heart, gave the high and pub- 
 lic testimony before God and man. 
 
 From the gallery of Henry II., where the civil 
 act was achieved, the great assembly withdrew to 
 Henry IV.'s chapel. The bishop of Meaux, dressed 
 in pontifical robes, made a touching address, fol- 
 lowed by the marriage benediction. The names of 
 the two affianced were finally inscribed in the 
 church register. 
 
 Then followed a new act according to the usage 
 of the court of France. The assistants proceeded 
 toward the Louis Philippe saloon. Here, was an 
 altar covered with red velvet ; a crucifix was placed 
 between four lighted tapers and before an open 
 Bible ; the curate Cuvier, dear to many among us, 
 was ready in a black robe before the altar, to bless 
 the married couple, in his turn, according to the 
 Lutheran rite. In a gentle, but firm voice, he 
 made an exhortation, the power of which proceeded 
 from the word of God. The sight of this. couple, 
 possessing such rare qualities and evidently directed 
 by the Spirit of God, gave to his voice, the elo- 
 quence of his heart. After having put the same 
 questions to them as the chancellor, and having 
 heard their affirmative response, blessed them by 
 laying on his hands, and finished the solemnity, 
 
236 MEMOm OF THE 
 
 saying, "What Grod lias joined together, let no 
 man put asunder." The duke, the duchess, -and 
 witnesses inscribed their names in the register. 
 
 The young duchess of Orleans from that time 
 regularly attended worship in the Lutheran church 
 in Paris, The impression made by her first appear- 
 ance in that church, was reproduced upon every 
 occasion of her public appearance ; a lady who was 
 an eye-witness, thus makes mention of her : 
 
 '' Being in Paris in 1848," wrote a friend to me, 
 " I happened to be at the house of the pastor Ver- 
 ney; (the same, who died at Strasburg, several years 
 since;) conversation turned to the arrival of the 
 duchess of Orleans and to her first appearance in the 
 
 Protestant church, Madame Y , with her 
 
 habitual vivacity, said : " I heard much of the im- 
 pression the duchess of Orleans produced upon every 
 one. But we French, do not make much of princes 
 and princesses, and I thought people had erred in 
 extolling her so much, I then went to the church 
 with the intention of not allowing myself to be en- 
 snared. When she entered, as she advanced down 
 the aisle with her slight figure, as she bowed to the 
 right and left with her fascinating and serious grace 
 which suited the sanctity of the place, I was also 
 smitten and my eyes were moist, as were those of 
 all present. My intention to see nothing in her but 
 
DUCHESS OF OELEANS. 237 
 
 that of an ordinary lady, and to do nothing but 
 praise or criticise her toilet, had entirely disappeared. 
 I was asked in the city, ' Did you see her bow tc 
 the jight and to the left ? Did you remark that 
 during the chant, she did not raise her eyes from 
 her hymn book, etc ?' Then I understood the pre- 
 occupied thoughts of those who found themselves in 
 her path," 
 
 We will not here recall the fHes given in Paris 
 in honor of the princess' arrival, for it is easy to form 
 an idea of them. The entire city and environs took 
 an active part in them, and employed all their in- 
 genuity to afford the princess an agreeable surprise. 
 At the ball given at the H6tel-de-Yille, upon enter- 
 ing, she saw panellings ornamented with pictures 
 representing views of her own country. There were 
 views of Ludwigslust, Schwerin, andDobberan, drawn 
 by the pencil of a skilful artist. What we may still 
 add, is, that neither the agitation of all these f^tes, 
 nor inward emotion, nor the magnificence of the 
 royal apartments, nor the interview with persons of 
 the highest distinction, could for a single moment 
 disturb the calm which was so natural to her ; she 
 accepted those inevitable honors without being dis- 
 tracted or fatigued ; it could be seen that she was 
 touched and rejoiced ; one admired her manner of 
 salutation, of observing everything, of understanding 
 
238 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 all, as well as of listening and speaking ; one was 
 astonished at tlie sound of her gentle, pleasant voice, 
 and her pure French accent.* 
 
 * The grand duchess relates a trait characteristic of her per- 
 fect calm and habitual dignity. They conducted the princess 
 as in triumph to her apartments^ where she found displayed all 
 that Paris could offer in the shape of trinkets, pearls, apparel, 
 and other objects for the toilette. They expected transports of 
 surprise, or a burst of joy. But she passed them in review with 
 an unalterable sang froid^ as distant from disdain as from ad- 
 miration ; it was a perfect tranquiUty which revealed a legitimate 
 gratitude. " Oh ! it was magnificent to see " adds her noble 
 mother with emotion. 
 
 AUTHOR'S NOTE. 
 
 A frenchman of rank, wrote about this epoch to a friend in 
 Germany : " The papers will have long since informed you of all 
 •the particulars of the journey and of the arrival of the duchess 
 of Orleans, also of her marriage and the fetes which followed. 
 But what no gazette relates and what I should endeavor in vain 
 to describe, is the grace of that young princess, whom we have 
 now the happiness o£ possessing. Praise to her education, in- 
 tellect and lofty reason, has long since been accorded ; but what 
 no person among us expected, and the prince less than others, 
 is the indescribable charm spread over all her person and deli- 
 cate features. Of all the conquests we have made in France, 
 this is the most precious, and God be praised ! she will remain 
 to us. She possesses all the qualities which are indispensable 
 among us for a princess, and which are of greater price than the 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 239 
 
 greatest beauty. It is impossible to associate so much truly- 
 royal dignity with more presence of mind, reason, grace and 
 modesty. Dream that I have daily under my eyes the model 
 of all those qualities in the person of your adorable queen 
 (Amelia) ; but I ought nevertheless to say, that the duchess 
 possesses all that I can represent to myself of what is noble and 
 attractive. 
 
 The princess had then a share in the happiness which 
 springs from affection, a happiness for which the human heart 
 would wish an eternal duration. Yet she then recalled the 
 fragility of earthly possessions, as she separated from one very 
 dear to her. Her faithful governess, Miss Nancy Solomon, 
 who had educated her with such perseverance, affection, and 
 success, took leave of her former pupil, and affected with con- 
 trasting emotions, returned to Geneva, the place of her birth. 
 
240 MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 X. 
 
 LOUIS PHILIPPE IN THE FAMILY CIRCLE. 
 
 CoNTEMPOEAEiES havG drawn a portrait of the 
 character and acts of Louis Philippe, which accord- 
 ing to the different points of view, present the 
 original in a more or less favorable light. They have 
 succeeded as a painter would, commissioned to por- 
 tray the face of a celebrated man, who has never 
 sat for him, and who at the most has only seen him 
 pass in the street. Wind, rain, or any contrariety 
 whatever, would sensibly alter the lineaments and 
 even modify the habitual bearing of the model. A 
 friend who had daily been able to study the natural 
 expression of his countenance, would not consider 
 the portrait sketched upon a public place, a perfect 
 one, and would regret that his friend had never 
 been able to sit for the artist. 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 241 
 
 Whoever could have seen Louis Philippe in the 
 midst of his family, in the evening, after the fatigues 
 of the day, would have been touched with the 
 affection borne by all the members of it to this good 
 father, and which united them to one another. One 
 could there contemplate the happiness of this care- 
 laden Mng, when found in his natural element ; a 
 cordial and sincere affection was there realized in 
 the just medium which he in vain sought to estab- 
 lish among contending parties. In public life, if 
 one is forced to render justice to his perfect probity 
 and to the benevolence of his character, sometimes 
 one might be contemned, sometimes another, some- 
 times both ; but, in the family circle, he was what 
 all desired — a devoted father, who desired but the 
 happiness of his children. 
 
 This need of affection, and outpouring of the 
 heart ought to have been one of the dominant traits 
 depicted in the character of the king of the French. 
 The faithful friend, whose intimacy was not confined 
 to entering the apartments, but also constantly 
 sounded the depths of the heart, takes care that in 
 the midst of the dangers with which Louis Philippe 
 was threatened, this dominant trait should be pre- 
 served and even enforced. The period of the birth 
 of Louis Philippe (1773) was not favorable to the 
 growth of such good germs. The salutary influence 
 11 
 
242 MEMOm OF THE 
 
 that miglit have been exercised over him by the 
 artillery officer, Bonard, the preceptor of his child- 
 hood, was certainly not developed by Madame de 
 Genlis, under whose direction the young prince was 
 placed at the age of nine years ; the warm atmos- 
 phere of a conservatory may well produce the leaves 
 and flowers of the palmy zone, but not savory or 
 aromatic fruits. At a later period, the young duke 
 de Chartres, by his prudence and valor in the revo- 
 lutionary army was indeed applauded in the Jacobin 
 Club, which he entered at the age of seventeen 
 years, (1790) following the example of his father ; 
 but this was not the standard ; a sentence of exile 
 and four months of danger in the midst of moun- 
 tains was necessary to develop the best germs in his 
 heart. Those good principles were still further 
 strengthened during his sojourn at E-eichenau, 
 where under the name of Chabaud Latour, he oc- 
 cupied the place of professor of geography and 
 mathematics. He there gained the affection and 
 esteem of his pupils, as well as the regard of the in- 
 habitants of the country. The news of his father's 
 execution, forced him to quit this place of repose. 
 His resources would not permit his prosecuting his 
 plan of going by the way of Hamburg to America ; 
 they sufficed for a voyage to Denmark, Sweden, 
 and Norway, as far as the North Gape ; this voyage 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 243 
 
 developed his knowledge in more than one direc- 
 tion.* 
 
 " In the provisory government formed after the 
 forfeiture of Charles X., Lafitte proposed that the 
 duke of Orleans should be appointed lieutenant- 
 general of the kingdom. Every one, weary of the 
 contest, and desirous of order and tranquility, re- 
 joiced when the duke, esteemed by both parties, ac- 
 cepted his election. Becoming king of the French, 
 he took the reins of government in hand, with the 
 chimerical hope of reuniting the most diverse pre- 
 tentions in a just medium. 
 
 It is useless to speak words of peace in ears 
 deafened by the storm of passions ; whoever seeks 
 to act as mediator in contests between people in- 
 sensible to reason, risks drawing the explosion of 
 their fury upon him. The hatred of the revolution- 
 ary party burst forth on the 28th of July, 1835, in 
 the horrible attempt of Fieschi against the life of 
 Louis Philippe, during a review. Twenty-one per- 
 sons were mutilated in the immediate neighborhood 
 of the king, who returned uninjured to the pious 
 Amelia, whose prayers seemed to be his guardian 
 angel. The following year, on the 25th of July, 1836, 
 
 * The sketch of Louis Philippe's life at this period is in sub- 
 stance the same as that given in a note in the work of the 
 marquess de H . 
 
24:4 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 Alibaud sought to assassinate tlie king, but failed 
 in his purpose ; and, in the month of December in 
 the same year, the pistol of a workman again spared 
 the life of Louis Philippe. The remembrance of 
 these murderous attempts, were yet recent, when the 
 princess Helen arrived in Paris to marry the duke 
 of Orleans. She could see serious indications of the 
 instability of a throne built upon so fragile a basis ; 
 a less courageous soul would have been easily 
 alarmed for the future. 
 
 But while without in the political world, always 
 iU at ease, contests between life and death contin- 
 ued unremittingly, the same peace reigned in Louis 
 PhiHppe's home circle. The good and pious Amelia, 
 above all, contributed to sustain the heart of her 
 husband, and those about him. If the king, wearied 
 with the cares of the throne, found at home an 
 asylum of repose, joy, and affection ; iier soul was 
 constantly at peace. The king besides felt, that 
 the hand of the Lord would protect and guard him 
 until he had finished the laborious task of guiding 
 the helm upon an incessantly agitated sea. 
 
 We have still to mention some essential mem- 
 bers of this family circle, who assembled twice a 
 day around the king's table. Louis Philippe's sis- 
 ter, Adelaide, had a right to equal respect with the 
 queen, by the analogy of intellectual and spiritual 
 
DUCHESS OF OKLEANS, 245 
 
 gifts, as well as by the rank whicli site occupied in 
 the family. If the queen felt the most tender ma- 
 ternal affection for her son's young wife, the princess 
 Adelaide, recognized her as a messenger of good, 
 " an angel sent from heaven to the royal family." 
 
 The eldest son of the house, Duke Ferdinand 
 Philippe of Orleans, whose place was beside his 
 mother, not only attracted the attention of the 
 stranger by the regularity of his features, but by the 
 energy depicted upon his noble physiognomy. It 
 awakened confidence and sympathy rather than 
 fear, and when animated, became irresistible. At 
 the age of twenty-one (1831), he arrested the ter- 
 rible outbreak at Lyons solely by his personal influ- 
 ence, without the use of threat or of the armed 
 force commanded by marshal Soult. He confi- 
 dently advanced into the midst of that unfortunate 
 working class, distributed all in his power to ameli- 
 orate the misery that the insurrection had still more 
 augmented, and became the instrument of Provi- 
 dence for these unfortunates. The poor of Paris af- 
 terwards also learned to know and love the young 
 duke of Orleans, when, during the terrible invasion 
 of the cholera, he visited the sick at the peril of his 
 life, in the Hotel-Dieu, and other hospitals in Paris. 
 Louis Philippe also loved his people ; but that 
 sympathetic power was enfeebled and neutralized 
 
246 MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 witli liim by prudence ; wliileli is son forgot himself 
 in dreaming only of the happiness of the nation, and 
 thus gained the general affection. 
 
 The duke of Orleans was in his twenty-seventh 
 year at the time of his marriage. He was born on 
 the 3d of September, at Palermo, the ancient resi- 
 dence of the sovereigns of Sicily. In his fourth 
 year, he accompanied his mother to Paris, but soon 
 left the Palais-Koyal, to seek refuge with his par- 
 ents in the village of Twickenham, near London. 
 That exile was not long, and when his father found 
 himself free possessor of his appanages, he confided 
 the education of his eldest son to the public schools, 
 a step which the Bourbon family highly censured, 
 and which was received with great favor by the 
 people. At nine years of age, Ferdinand entered 
 the Henry IV. college. He cheerfully submitted 
 to all the tasks of his companions, and shared 
 their punishments and rewards. After having fol- 
 lowed the course of the Polytechnic School, he 
 honorably passed the examination of that cele- 
 brated institution ; he then devoted himself to the 
 study of the modern languages and military tactics, 
 and became colonel of the first regiment of hussars. 
 At the siege of Anvers, he commanded a division of 
 the army ; three years after, he shared the dangers 
 and fatigues of the French army in a campaign in 
 Algeria and in the taking of Makara. 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 247 
 
 Duke Louis de Nemours, worthy of emulating his 
 eldest brother, also attracted attention by his noble 
 chivalric bearing. He was the younger by four 
 years, but he had had the same education. By the 
 side of them at the royal table, might be seen Duke 
 Henri d'Aumale, aged fifteen years, Duke Fran9ois 
 de Joinville, aged nineteen, and the duke Antoine de 
 Montpensier, who was only thirteen years of age. 
 The princesses Louise, Marie, and Clementine, were 
 attracted to their new sister, at the very first sight. 
 Louise, who was the eldest, soon after married king 
 Leopold whom she accompanied to Belgium ; 
 Princess Marie, married the duke Alexander of 
 Wurtemberg, and found in Germany, quiet, domes- 
 tic happiness, but it was followed by a premature 
 death. Clementine, the youngest of the king's 
 daughters, adorned the life of Duke Augustus-Louis 
 of Saxe-Coburg. 
 
 If Louis Philippe's horizon was often o'erclouded, 
 the members of his family were like so many stars 
 whose friendly light reminded him, that, above the 
 region of clouds, there was still a world of light, and 
 that beyond the contest of passions and parties, 
 there was a horizon of peace and unalterable love. 
 
MS MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 XI. 
 
 THE NEW LIFE OF THE FAMILY, 
 
 We liere give, at tlie dictation of an exactly in- 
 formed friend, a description of tlie days whicli the 
 duchess Helen of Orleans, justly called the happiest 
 of her life. 
 
 In summer all the royal family ordinarily removed 
 to the pleasant Neuilly Chateau, where Louis 
 Philippe, before his accession to the throne, loved to 
 retire during the finest portion of the year, in order 
 to enjoy the beauties of nature and to flee from the 
 noise of the Capital. " Here at Neuilly, France 
 might have contemplated a model of simple and 
 domestic virtues if the prejudices of the great world 
 had permitted the appreciation of manners so patri- 
 archal. And nevertheless it was these domestic 
 virtues which survived the splendor of the throne ; 
 
DUCHESS OF OKLEANS, 249 
 
 for wheii Louis Philippe let the sceptre, which he had 
 too promptly seized, fall too easily from his hand, 
 domestic happiness still remained to him ; the bond 
 of affection which united the noble members of his 
 family to him. 
 
 At Neuilly, where the young couple retired 
 shortly after their marriage, the king and the queen 
 lived in the same castle with their unmarried chil- 
 dren and the princess Adelaide. At fifteen minutes' 
 distance, in the centre of the park, is the little 
 Chateau of Villiers, which the duke and duchess of 
 Orleans occupied ; they had assigned to the grand- 
 duchess Augusta, and her suite a pleasant row of 
 almost contiguous lodgings. That spirituelle prin- 
 cess, who became soon the object of the royal 
 family's respect and affection, had received the 
 pressing invitation to remain near her daughter, 
 until she should be well familiarized with the new 
 existence of the duchess, and should have had 
 leisure to enjoy all that might interest her in Paris. 
 Even at Neuilly, persons who held the first rank in 
 the great world of the capital, might be seen at the 
 king's table. 
 
 Upon Sunday, the duchess of Orleans accompa- 
 nied by the grand-duchess, her mother, frequented 
 the Lutheran Church of Paris, in which some 
 ecclesiastics of rare merit alternately preached in 
 11* 
 
250 MEMOIK OF THE 
 
 Frencli and German, the doctrine of salvation 
 through Christ. Beautiful evenings were consecrat- 
 ed to excursions, even as far as Saint Cloud ; the 
 borders of the Seine, were then bordered with 
 curious gazers. Sometimes the young princes 
 amused themselves with making bonfires ; and, 
 when their royal father remarked that the lawn and 
 fields had not been properly tended, they replied 
 that they had wished to gratify their sister Helen, 
 and the king accepted the excuse, for he was indul- 
 gent to his daughter-in-law. 
 
 The duchess who had given all her heart to her 
 husband, rendered him as happy as it is possible for 
 one to be on earth ; she was, one might say, the 
 better half of his soul. He watched for the happi- 
 ness of his wife with the greatest solicitude, who 
 on her part, submitted to all his views, finding in 
 him an aid and model, and asked Grod in all humil- 
 ity to render her more worthy of being the compan- 
 ion of such a husband. The duke manifested the 
 most delicate attentions in the slightest details ; he 
 superintended the regime of his wife, and proud of 
 her beauty, controlled her toilet and went himself 
 to gather the flowers in the Villiers garden with 
 which he wished her to be adorned. When she 
 walked out, leaning upon his arm, and when the 
 multitude pressed to see the princess, he would say, 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 251 
 
 smiling with pride, " Yes, my friends, this is my 
 wife." 
 
 This sentiment of happiness was not less live- 
 ly, when the duchess seeking information in her in- 
 terviews with the most erudite men, put questions 
 to them which forced them to turn their meditations 
 upon new subjects. She had early been habituated 
 to serious thought, to listen and observe with 
 attention, and to meditate upon good books ; en- 
 dowed with a good memory and an active intellect, 
 she often made a surprising but always just use of 
 what she had learned. Yet, she remained humble 
 and modest. When one praised her scientific pro- 
 gress, she replied : ' ' Yes, what I know best is, that 
 I know nothing, or at least nothing complete." 
 One day while visiting the royal library, she heard 
 some one express astonishment at her erudition, and 
 repHed, smiling : " Yes, I am a savante who does 
 not even comprehend the rudiments of science, 
 Greek or Latin. 
 
 This humility of her heart, showed itself to the 
 best advantage and most habitually in her relations 
 with the duke of Orleans. She wished to receive cul- 
 ture of mind and heart from him ; and nevertheless 
 it was he who felt elevated by her influence. The 
 eminent faculties of the duke seem to have taken a 
 more noble direction after his marriage. The 
 
252 MEMOIK OF THE 
 
 duchess was his right arm even in the minutest 
 details ; she was, especially, his treasury for works 
 of beneficence, and in the accomplishment of these 
 offices, she calculated the extent of misery rather 
 than that of her resources ; for her purse was open- 
 ed so largely for contribution that she sometimes 
 found herself in a veritable embarrassment for 
 money. 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 253 
 
 XII. 
 
 A LETTER WRITTEN IN A GARDEN. 
 
 I HAVE already said, tliat about tlie epocli in 
 wMcIl the life of the princess Helen took an unex- 
 pected direction, I effected my voyage to the East. 
 Before setting out on my journey, the vague rumor 
 of an approaching marriage had reached my ear, 
 but I paid no attention to it. It was not until the 
 month of January, 1837, during my sojourn in 
 Egypt, that I read in the Augsburg Gazette, the 
 rejoicing confirmation of this report ; and from that 
 time, during all my journey across the desert and 
 the Holy Land, I did not cease, so to speak, to ad- 
 dress my thoughts and benedictions to my dear 
 pupil. For a long time I was unable to write^ and 
 until I reached Athens, did not even know where 
 to send a letter. While in quarantine at the laza- 
 retto of St. Leopold, an opportunity presented itself 
 
254 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 of sending a winged harbinger, and shortly after, a 
 letter dated from my prison. 
 
 I have related in detail, the event to which I 
 make allusion, in the third part of my journey in 
 the East. An ill-humored lieutenant, who then 
 acted as commandant of the lazaretto, absolutely 
 wished to strangle and cast into the water two 
 charming hull-bulls, or Oriental Nightingales, for 
 fear of their propagating the cholera. I gave one 
 to a young French officer who had accompanied us 
 in a long-boat, from the steamer to the entrance of 
 the lazaretto, and in exchange for this present, 
 which gave him great pleasure, I begged him to re- 
 mit the other to my friend, the physician of the 
 vessel, Fosse, with the request that he would for- 
 ward it to the duchess of Orleans. My commission 
 was loyally fulfilled ; shortly after my return to 
 Munich, I received the following letter from the 
 princess, the contents of which proved, to my great 
 joy, that she had not forgotten her former professor 
 of Mecklenburg. 
 
 October 7, 1837. 
 
 You have greatly rejoiced me, dear professor, 
 by sending your pretty hull-bull, and by your friend- 
 ly letter. Accept my best thanks ; permit me ateo 
 to add that every word coming from you is blessed 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 255 
 
 to my soul, and tliat eacli testimony of your good re- 
 membrance has great value in my eyes. The ideas 
 you have expressed upon the subject of my mar- 
 riage, in a letter addressed from Cairo, to my 
 mother, have always done me inexpressible good. 
 The letter, post-marked from the lazaretto, which 
 is lying near me in the garden redolent with the per- 
 fume of autumn flowers, develops the same subject 
 and touches me deeply, for you approve the direc- 
 tion my life has taken, you see in it a special bene- 
 diction from Grod, and you double my joy by making 
 mention of the high esteem, with which the noble 
 family to which I now belong, inspire you. 
 
 While you were making your pilgrimage in the 
 beautiful Oriental countries, and while you were seek- 
 ing to discover in the dreams of those dormant lands 
 some sound of the language of the past, I also took 
 my pilgrim's staff, tore myself from my country 
 with its cherished tombs and sweet souvenirs of my 
 childhood, and directed my steps towards the West 
 where the voice of my heart and the destiny of my 
 life called me ; where the benediction and counsel 
 of my mother directed me, and where I now realize 
 the dreams of my early years. Here my inward 
 life receives new strength, and finds new aliment in 
 the political contests ; I have a high mission in 
 perspective, which exhorts me to prayer and serious 
 
266 MEMOIK OF THE 
 
 activity. I should be very happy some day to see 
 you here, in my new country, so beautiful and so 
 active ; I would show you that the remembrance of 
 you has faithfully accompanied me from my earhest 
 childhood, and the graceful bird, whose song often 
 relates the marvels of his distant country to me, 
 would also salute his old master. 
 
 Several extracts from your letters, which have 
 appeared in the Augsburg Gazette, have warmly 
 interested me, and have given me more vivacity in 
 hoping that the oriental traveller, formerly known 
 under the name of " Kist," "^ will, without delay, 
 communicate the fruits of his pilgrimage to friends 
 who already owe him so much. 
 
 My compHments to Madame de Schubert, and 
 to you, the assurance of my highest consideration, 
 
 Helen, 
 Duchess of Orleans, 
 
 nee, H. de Mecklenburg. 
 
 * As in my childhood I was accustomed to say that I would 
 one day compose as beautiful poetry as Eist, my sister sur- 
 named me " little Rist and great dreamer." — Atjthoe's Note. 
 
DUCHESS OF OELEANS. 267 
 
 XIII. 
 
 THE VOICE OF FILIAL GRATITUDE. 
 
 The young ducliess, wlio had been tlie object of 
 so many varied proofs of affection^ after her entrance 
 into the royal family and into the choice circles of 
 Paris, was especially happy in the general respect 
 paid to her dear mother. She was more grateful to 
 the preferences paid to the grand duchess, than for 
 those paid to herself. She was indeed sufficiently 
 acq[uainted with her mother's tastes to appreciate 
 the sacrifice which she had made in changing her 
 tranquH retreat of Friedensburg or Eudolstadt, for 
 the great world of Paris. But here, and chiefly at 
 Court, was recognized the maternal devotion and 
 clear views which the grand duchess had evinced in 
 the education of her daughter; thus was her return 
 to Germany about the end of 1837, deeply regretted. 
 
358 MEMOIR OF TnE 
 
 She left tranquilly and happily, for she had wit- 
 nessed Helen's happiness. She wrote on the 15th 
 of January, 1838 : 
 
 " I might have sought in vain throughout entire 
 Europe for a family circle where Helen would be as 
 well cared for and as happy as in the one which I 
 have learned to know. Ought I not to sing praises 
 to my God, and testify my gratitude to Him ? For 
 I see in all things how good Se is towards me." 
 
 With regard to these words impressed with 
 faith and gratitude, let us here place some letters 
 by the duchess, for the first time since her seventh 
 year, separated from her mother ; a mother whose 
 devotion surpassed the limits of human strength. 
 The passages that I here transcribe are textually 
 imprinted in the original letters I have under my 
 eyes. 
 
 St. Cloud, October 3d, 1837, Evening. 
 
 The first day of our separation is now passed, 
 my dear and beloved mother. I am rejoiced, not 
 only for myself, but also for you, for I know by what 
 I have suffered to-day, that our adieus, have not been 
 less painful to one than to the other, and I greatly 
 fear lest your health be affected by it. 
 
 Permit me again to say from the depths of my 
 soul, how grateful I am for all that you have done 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 259 
 
 for me since my childhood ; grateful for your love, 
 which made you indulgent, patient, thoughtful — 
 which has accompanied me each moment of my 
 life — which has shared every thing with me, and 
 which has diligently watched over me, with a 
 prayerful spirit. Dear mother, it was not possible 
 for me to express my feelings of love and gratitude, 
 without weakening my strength, without paralyzing 
 the courage which I wished to keep for your sake 
 and the duke's at the last moment. 
 
 But now, let me unfold my heart and tell you 
 that my gratitude is profound, and that the remem- 
 brance of the time when I was still under your wing 
 will constantly accompany me and be my guardian- 
 angel for the future. But I do not know why I 
 speak thus ; for how can a child thank a mother 
 for what she has done from maternal tenderness ? 
 Your love directed you in every thing, and mine un- 
 derstood it, or at least felt it, when I was blind and 
 did not know your intentions. It will eternally live 
 in the depths of my soul and will be my holy safe- 
 guard. Oh ! dear mother, in thought I kiss your 
 cherished hands, pray you to give me a benediction 
 this evening, and to kiss me upon my forehead. 
 
 P. S. — Though I have not much tact for writing, 
 I cannot let this letter of our dear Helen's depart, 
 without telling you that your place remains vacant 
 among your devoted children. F. 0. 
 
260 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 October 4, in the Morning after Breakfast. 
 
 I was interrupted last evening by my dear duke, 
 who begged me to stop, because I was full of emotion. 
 He wrote with his own hand the preceding words, 
 and I to-day send the continuation of my letter. 
 
 The queen, who has come to see what the or- 
 phan is doing, charges me to write that she thinks 
 much of you, that she regrets your absence and 
 counts upon your promise. She has told me that 
 she can never take your place, but that she will do 
 her best, and that you may count upon her mater- 
 nal affection. It is very true that no one can 
 replace you, but I am happy in finding in the duke's 
 mother, one who inspires me with such a firm con- 
 fidence, and towards whom I feel so warmly 
 attracted. 
 
 I regret that I must close, for we are to be pre- 
 sent at the king's breakfast. We go to-morrow to 
 the solitude of Trianon. 
 
 Ah ! dear, dear mother, how impossible is it for 
 a letter to take the place of a life passed under the 
 same roof! God grant that I may soon receive 
 good news from your hand. Adieu, dear mother ; 
 always your daughter 
 
 Helen. 
 
 P. S. — After breakfast. 
 
 The king and court have been very good to me ; 
 the king manifested much cordiality and sympathy. 
 
DTJOHESS OF OKLEANS. 261 
 
 Trianon, October 6, 1837. 
 My dear and beloved Mother, 
 
 Eeturning an hour since from a long promenade 
 with the duke, who spoke much of you and finally- 
 left me to go to the chase, I found two words from 
 the queen, who received your telegram at Paris and 
 sent it to me, adding that I ought in my turn to 
 forward a few lines before night_> which would again 
 reach you. I need not say how much I have been 
 touched with your attention, and how much I should 
 like to respond at length, and according to the 
 promptings of my heart. This method of commu- 
 nication brings us near one another, but it is so la- 
 conic ! After my calculation, you quitted French soil 
 to-day at noon, my dear mother. You experienced a 
 pang, I am persuaded; for I deeply feel the pain this 
 thought has caused me. I cannot tell to what ex- 
 tent I miss you, for you would believe me ungrate- 
 ful to my good duke, who does every thing to lighten 
 this painful separation. Your presence tranquillized 
 us ; what you did for us, appeared much when you 
 were here. Now it seems to us that we ought to 
 be much more upon our guard, for no eye accom- 
 panies us or watches over us like yours. Ah ! dear 
 mother ! I should write entire volumes, if I would 
 reproduce all the reflections that your departure has 
 suggested to me, and the mourning this void causes 
 
262 
 
 MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 me ; but I do not wisli to sadden you, neitlier do I 
 wisH to make myself more melanclioly than I am 
 already ; it would afflict my dear duke instead of 
 diverting Mm, as it is my duty to do. We are, in 
 short, in our little hermitage at Trianon, and we 
 live entirely alone. I here propose to do for him 
 all that is in my power, and to render this abode 
 where he will have no other resource than my 
 society as agreeable as possible to him. 
 
 The royal family, who accompanied us from St. 
 Cloud, and who send, you their love, went to walk 
 with us in the little wood, the rare vegetation of 
 which you admired ; then they returned to Ver- 
 sailles. To-day we rode in the carriage to St. 
 Cloud to congratulate the king upon the occasion 
 of his anniversary. I was touched to see the good 
 and excellent king in the arms of his sons, and to 
 remark the joy which their congratulations seemed 
 to give him. I now eat strawberries every day, " in 
 memory of you." Ah ! my good mother, how we 
 miss you ! Adieu, my guardian angel, pray for 
 your child, and often think of the affection she bears 
 you. 
 
 Helen. 
 
 I do not reproduce a letter of the 11th of Octo- 
 ber, expressing the same affectionate regrets for her 
 
DUCHESS OF OKLBAlfS. 263 
 
 mother's absence, and the happiness of having re- 
 ceived a letter from her ; it also contains some 
 details upon the African expedition. The follow- 
 ing contains several passages from a letter of the 
 20th of October : 
 
 " But now, before all things, I kiss your dear 
 hand for your excellent letter, which was a journal 
 of your life. At each word I thought to hear your 
 voice ; I saw you before me and was happy in being 
 near you. My joy is a little disturbed, because I 
 cannot share it with my duke, who awaited as im- 
 patiently as myself for news of you, and who will 
 not return from the chase until this evening. With- 
 out him, I only half enjoy it ; he so affectionately 
 shares my sentiments, and so faithfully my grief ! 
 He again fully proved this to me, on the 18th of 
 October, a day* in which our thoughts certainly 
 met upon one tomb. He well understood my grief, 
 for, from all I communicated of my dear Albert, he 
 learned to love him also. It was a consolation to 
 me. That day was passed in complete retirement, 
 although on the preceding one we had celebrated 
 the marriage of Marie, which quickly recalled to 
 our memory, the 30th of May and Fontainebleau." 
 
 I do not make any use of several posterior let- 
 * It was the anniversary of Prince Albert's death. 
 
264 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 ters, also addressed to tlie grand duchess. They 
 contain some news of the African campaign, up to 
 the taking of Constantine ; the duchess Helen here 
 takes as lively a part as if the most ardent French 
 blood flowed in her veins. 
 
 The duke of Orleans, like the entire royal fami- 
 ly, was animated with the same sentiments. All 
 the princes and princesses were occupied with their 
 mother in writing joyous messages to their distant 
 friends, even as the duchess did to her mother. It 
 would be pleasant to hear her describe the taking of 
 ports, the brilliant fetes at Paris, and the joy of the 
 people at the victory of the army. The enthusiasm 
 of the princess for the glory and prosperity of the 
 nation which had become her country, gives a par- 
 ticular attraction to the description. But there 
 are o^her fetes than those of which the echo ceased 
 so quickly, other songs than those which filled the 
 churches of the capital, where the grave tones of the 
 organ, sometimes alternated with operatic airs. 
 We have here in view, " those songs of triumph and 
 deliverance which reverberated in the tabernacles of 
 the just to celebrate the victories that guard the 
 right of the eternal." In the following passages of 
 a letter written in 1837, during the Christmas fes- 
 tivals, there are questions of inward joy, the suc- 
 cess, glory, and honor of which exist eternally : 
 
dtjchess of orleans. 265 
 
 My dearly beloved Mother : 
 
 To-day, our thouglits perhaps oftener meet than 
 ordinarily. You have always marked it by many 
 testimonials of love ; it has always been a fete day 
 for your children, and my heart swells at the 
 thought of the dispersion of all the inhabitants of 
 Friedensburg, who were a year ago assembled 
 around the Christmas-tree, and happy in examin- 
 ing the beautiful presents offered by the hand of 
 affection. I am also grateful to-day, but grateful 
 in another point of view from that of a year ago. 
 When I dreamed of France under the Christmas- 
 boughs, and tried to paint what my future would 
 be, I did not dare hope that God would grant me 
 such a rich, noble destiny. Oh ! if you might only 
 be here to-day, and to-morrow, dear mother ; for 
 to-morrow, at the beautiful Christmas services, I 
 shall take the communion ; my heart feels the need 
 of kindling itself by the fireside of light and truth, 
 and of strengthening itself against my lukewarm 
 nature, which would extinguish the spark of faith, 
 if not preserved from the vain frivolities and seduc- 
 tions of the world. Without you, without some 
 one affected in a like manner with myself, who un- 
 derstands me and to whom I love to reveal myself, 
 my task is difficult. I have hitherto been some- 
 what spoiled ; in some respects it is better for me to 
 12 
 
266 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 be alone, that I may turn entirely towards the Lord 
 and wait for the action of his Spirit upon my heart ; 
 for the rest, is one alone when one has Him for a 
 friend, and when one dare ask every thing of Him ? 
 I am rejoiced that Christmas is also thought much 
 of in this kingdom. The Queen and Clementine are 
 gone to prepare for the communion to-morrow. 
 
 Ah ! my mother, how far am I yet from the 
 model that our Saviour has given us ! Perhaps I 
 have never felt so culpable as now ; for my luke- 
 warmness seems more inexcusable now that I am 
 in the midst of prosperity ; though I recognize a 
 thousand calls from the Lord, in my present posi- 
 tion, in the affection which surrounds me and in the 
 duties which are incumbent upon me, I am guilty 
 in having so little heart to respond. In a word, I 
 am much" humiliated on account of my indolence 
 and feebleness of faith, yet I am far from feeling 
 sufficiently humble for the measure of my faults. 
 When I am in this state of mind, I feel an inex- 
 pressible need of conversing with you ; for, near you, 
 I should be better, more faithful, more childlike, more 
 firm. What a great blessing to have such a pious 
 and faithful mother ! I cannot- duly bless God for 
 having given you to me, in order that I might re- 
 ceive warmth under your maternal wing. 
 
DTTCHESS OF ORLEANS. 267 
 
 CniRSTMAS MOENING. 
 
 Yesterday, my dear mother, after returning from 
 church, I could not find a moment to write to you, 
 and I regretted it very much, for it was a day when 
 the holy communion was rendered very precious to 
 me ! I warmly and deeply felt the nearness of the 
 Saviour at the moment of communion, I took the 
 " Imitation of Christ " with me, and I could read it 
 with delight. Cuvier had marked a short sermon 
 upon confession ; I examined myself upon each 
 point, and I was chiefly humbled in considering 
 what is said of indolence and lukewarmness. I 
 approached the altar, and was strengthened in my 
 faith and love for the Saviour, who alone has power 
 to keep one faithful in the right way. 
 
 On Christmas-eve, the good queen h^ pre- 
 pared a surprise for me, by secrectly furnishing a 
 beautiful tree, which was placed in my salon hlanc, 
 in order that I might be reminded of Germany. 
 She is so ingenious in preparing pleasant surprises, 
 that in seeing her, I often dream of you. 
 
 Another letter, written at the end of the year, 
 expresses sentiments analogous to many letters of 
 the first month of the year 1838. 
 
268 MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 XIY. 
 
 DOMESTIC PROSPERITY AND INWARD HAPPINESS. 
 
 The ducliess' ardent desire to see her mother 
 agaiiij was gratified in 1838, when she had the hope 
 of giving the duke an heir. The state of her 
 health obliged her to live in absolute retirement, 
 where she communed only with Grod, her husband 
 and herself. At this epoch she had still another 
 source of delight. Mademoiselle Nancy Solomon, of 
 Geneva, who had watched over her from her infancy 
 and who shared all her joys and sorrows, passed 
 several weeks with her, and seconded the duke in 
 the attention which the situation of the princess 
 req[uired. The duchess addressed me a letter about 
 this time, of which the following is a copy : 
 
 Dear Peofessor : 
 
 Accept my sincere thanks for the interesting 
 
DUCHESS OF OELEANB. 269 
 
 letter and oriental parcel wliicli you forwarded to me 
 in the beginning of spring by young Scbmidt. I 
 was tben suffering and living in entire solitude. 
 Your words, tbe rose of Jericho in the marvellous 
 progress of its unfolding and development, and 
 finally the manna of the desert, which was given 
 to you by the monks of the St. Catherine Convent, 
 upon Sinai, with the leaves which surrounded these 
 little treasures, all these souvenirs truly rejoiced me ; 
 and, if I am late in expressing my gratitude, it is 
 not less sincere. 
 
 Let not your wishes cease to accompany our 
 king, his children, and his subjects, for you can 
 bring down to us from heaven true benediction, 
 that benediction we have need of every hour, in our 
 situation in life, and which is necessary above all to 
 the king in his position. When the fatigues, bur- 
 den, and responsibility of every decision are so 
 great, the hand of our God alone can strengthen 
 us ; it alone can direct us in the right way. I also, 
 in my more restrained sphere, implore His assist- 
 ance, and you will understand, that I expect the 
 precious effects of it most specially at this moment 
 and in a future which is opening under such happy 
 auspices. 
 
 You win certainly learn, with interest, that I 
 am expecting my mother, who is to pass the sum- 
 
270 MEMOIK OF THE 
 
 iner and autumn with us. She is nowhere so be- 
 loved as in my own family, and she will never be 
 able to find a son more faithful than the duke, af- 
 ter the loss of one who was so tenderly attached to 
 her. 
 
 As you have always known how to appreciate 
 the eminent character of Miss Nancy Solomon, you 
 will doubtless be rejoiced to learn of her marriage 
 with Colonel Bontems, of Geneva, known by his in- 
 teresting travels, and an excellent man. After a life 
 checkered with trials, it seems as if a happy and 
 peaceful fate ought to be now in reserve for him. 
 
 Tell Mrs. Schubert that her salutations gave me 
 great pleasure, and that her promised visit gives 
 me one not less. Yes, come and see for yourself all 
 that is good, grand, and noble, here. 
 
 I am, with the highest consideration, your old 
 pupil, 
 
 Helen. 
 
 Neuilly, June 17, 1838. 
 
 About the time when the preceding letter was 
 written, the duchess had the long wished for happi- 
 ness of seeing her mother. Upon setting her foot 
 upon the French soil, the grand duchess already found 
 a letter of welcome ; and, even after her arrival, the 
 t^te-^-t^te did not suffice always for the duchess. 
 
DUCHESS OF OELEANS. 271 
 
 who employed her pen to outpour her heart, when 
 she had been prevented from seeing her mother. 
 The following, among others, is a note written one 
 evening : 
 
 " Again a cordial good-night, my very dear moth- 
 er. Unhappily hy ivriting, since it has not been 
 possible for you to come to me. As we could not 
 have an evening reading, I here copy a stanza,* 
 and hope that you will awake early on the morrow 
 and in good health. Your child." 
 
 On the 24th of August, the birth of the count 
 de Paris was a hajDpy event for France. The grand 
 duchess remained with her daughter until the end 
 of the autumn, and then their correspondence again 
 took its course. 
 
 I extract only one passage from a letter of the 
 17th of November, 1838 : 
 
 " Last evening, I made the acquaintance of our 
 great German painter, Cornelius ; he explained to 
 •us the designs of his Last Judgment, which he is 
 painting in the choir of the Ludwigskirche. He 
 told me that he meditated upon this creation for 
 
 * Here is found in the original, a stanza of an evening hymn, 
 by Paul Gerhardt. 
 
272 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 twenty years, and that lie had particularly studied 
 Dante, after which he has reproduced the seven 
 successive infernal regions of the damned. I find 
 this plan incomparably more beautiful than that 
 of Euhens, which I saw at Dresden ; I like the 
 idea of placing the personified conscience in the 
 centre of the picture, the book open upon the breast, 
 and the eye raised towards the Judge, who with 
 one hand banishes the wicked, and with the other, 
 calls to Him his own." 
 
 A few days after, the duchess thus spoke to 
 me, in the following letter, of our great master, 
 Cornelius : 
 
 Paris, Nov. 19, 1838. 
 I have, for a long time, dear professor, had the 
 intention of thanking you for the letter you sent me 
 by Madame Zech ; I have been prevented until 
 now by joyous events, which doubtless will justify 
 me in your eyes, and in which your heart will surely 
 take part. The birth of my dear child, the indis- 
 pensable cares which followed it, and then, the last 
 delights of my mother's sojourn, made me suspend 
 all correspondence ; I only commence to re-unite 
 the ties which attach me to my own country. The 
 hand of your friend,* will remit these lines to you, 
 and I hope that this circumstance will procure a 
 * Cornelius. 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 2Y3 
 
 good welcome. A short interview wliicli I had with 
 him^ leaves me with the regret that he does not 
 make a longer sojourn in Paris, that we might be 
 better able to appreciate so eminent an artist and 
 man. The simple words which he expressed upon 
 the subject of art, from their truth, found an echo 
 in my soul, and I wish that our artists were animated 
 with as serious a mind as his. In this respect also, 
 the bonds between France and Germany are pre- 
 cious to me, for it is evident to my view that the 
 two nations would gain by uniting them. 
 
 I remember with great pleasure the first days of 
 my childhood, in which you filled my young heart 
 with joy by your tales full of life and variety ; I 
 find myself also wishing that my child may also 
 have, from his earliest age, such an amiable ^ro, 
 who may successfully influence his heart. His hap- 
 piness, his future, his development, already occupy 
 me more than I can tell ; you, without doubt, un- 
 derstand me. The first impressions, of which the 
 subsequent direction always bears the impress, ap- 
 pears very important to me, and a mother ought to 
 watch them from the earliest days : but for this 
 wisdom, strength, and courage are necessary from 
 on High. May Heaven grant them to me ! Pray 
 for me, that the will of Grod may be accomplished 
 in us. 
 
274 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 You perhaps already know that my mother 
 wishes again to leave me, and to pass the sad win- 
 ter in the solitude, now desert, of Ludwigslust. We 
 have had very sweet interviews during these happy 
 days, and her loving heart has been warmly attract- 
 ed towards her grandson. 
 
 I conclude, etc., 
 
 Helen. 
 
 P. S. — To my great regret, the pretty little bull- 
 bull died this summer ; I am accorded the melan- 
 choly consolation of having it stuffed to serve as a 
 play-thing for my young son. Children ought to 
 learn to like such things ; this pet merits a special 
 liking. 
 
 " In my last journey to Paris," wrote the grand 
 duchess after her return, " I lived much more alone 
 with Helen, because she remained from necessity at 
 home. The dreaded moment passed so happily, 
 that I have been humiliated on account of my 
 fears. I have rarely seen so sweet a little babe as 
 that." 
 
 The grand duchess had other ideas than those 
 of her daughter, as to the effect produced upon the 
 state of her mind by the solitude of Ludwigslust. 
 She wrote upon the subject : " I accommodated 
 myself as much as possible to the life at Paris ; but 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 275 
 
 I well see that it is difficult to live in the great 
 world, though the grace of God renders that con- 
 straint less painful. I find myself altogether at 
 ease in my solitude, which I would sometimes ren- 
 der still more profound." 
 
 The happiness of the duchess of Orleans' family 
 had now attained its height. Louis Philippe, al- 
 ready disposed by nature to affection, had become 
 the father of a still more tender family since the 
 birth of his first grandchild. He often paused be- 
 side the cradle of the sleeping infant, which he 
 contemplated with an audible satisfaction ; and, 
 still later, when the child, with his precocious intel- 
 lect, comprehended the affection of his grandfather, 
 extending his hands not less affectionately to him, 
 the king ex]3erienced a delight above all others. 
 
 In 1839, the duchess Helen had the grief of be- 
 ing separated for several months from the duke. 
 With his chivahic disposition, he could no longer 
 resist the desire of taking part in a second campaign 
 to Algiers ; he made his arrangements, and, ac- 
 companied by the duchess, set out, through the 
 south of France and the Pyrenees. I possess a let- 
 ter which she wrote to me in the course of that 
 year so important to her and many persons ; but as 
 this letter contains only things which concern my- 
 self, I substitute another addressed to her mother, 
 
276 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 in order to give insight into the plan and direction 
 of the voyage. 
 
 Paris, August 2, 1839. 
 
 I write to-day in the midst of a great preoccu- 
 pation, which I shall doubtless retain for some days, 
 and which always precedes a journey. Though I 
 can fearlessly confide my child to the queen, I can- 
 not separate from him without a pang. We shall 
 set out on the 9th, from to-day the 8th ; business 
 still indispensable, the preliminary studies, the de- 
 sire of approaching the table of the Lord, in order 
 to receive strength and blessing, all this occupies 
 me and keeps me from doing any thing with calm- 
 ness. You are acquainted with this feeling, and 
 doubtless pity me a little. You will surely fol- 
 low us in thought, in our pilgrimage ; and your 
 benediction, dear mother, will not fail us. Upon 
 the 17th we shall arrive at Bordeaux ; our plan is 
 to remain there six days, then go by the depart- 
 ments of the south, to visit the beautiful Pyrenees 
 and to go through Toulouse and Perpignan, The 
 9th of September the duke embarks at Port-Yendre 
 for Algiers ; I depart in aU haste, arrive on the 14th 
 at Eandon where I am to find my aunt ; and, after 
 having passed several days with her, return to 
 Paris, to take my chUd again under my care. 
 
 During my absence, the family go tc Eu, where 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 277 
 
 they will doubtless take the child. Such are the 
 vast projects which sometimes appear, problematical 
 to me, because hero, the slightest thing overthrows 
 plans for the future. You know well, dear mother, 
 that your remembrance will accompany me, during 
 all the journey. Provided nothing happens to the 
 child ! that thought always agitates my poor heart, 
 and I can only assuage it by the following prayer : 
 
 " Breit' aus die Fliigel beide 
 Und niram deiii Kiichlein ein ! 
 Will Satan es verschlingen 
 So lass die Englein singen, 
 Dies Kind soil uverletzet seyn." 
 
 Is it not this, dear mother, that you also will 
 ask of God for him .^ 
 
 Arrived at Port-Vendre, the department of the 
 oriental Pyrenees, the duke took leave of his wife. 
 This separation did not cost him less than it did her. 
 He could not withdraw (he wrote in his journal) 
 his eyes from the window where the duchess con- 
 tinued her adieus, by waving her handkerchief ; but 
 finally, distance put an end to that touching scene. 
 After her return to Paris, the duchess consecrated 
 herself entirely to her child. The king permitted 
 her to live in retirement during the absence of the 
 duke. Even when her husband was not the centre of 
 
278 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 her domestic life, slie could only live in spirit "with 
 him and near him. The duke himself neglected no 
 occasion of writing to her from Algiers ; and when 
 the public journals sounded his praise, she was alto- 
 gether happy. The royal family often came to see 
 her at the hour when the little count de Paris slept, 
 for that tender mother would leave him only then. 
 When she received visits from the youngest mem- 
 bers of her family, they read or sang in French. 
 When seated beside her child's couch, she often oc- 
 cupied herself with rewriting a journal of her jour- 
 ney into, the beautiful countries of the South-west of 
 France; this journal, illustrated with drawings, 
 was destined to divert her cherished mother in her 
 solitude of Ludwigslust. 
 
 But I have still to mention another advantage 
 which her excursion into the south of France and 
 the Pyrenees produced, if one may so speak, for 
 thousands of persons. The marriage of the duchess 
 of Orleans, but still more her passage through the 
 departments of the South, where the reformation 
 counts many proselytes, had awakened legitimate 
 hopes among the Protestants. Several friends, and 
 among others, Heimpel Boissiers, who visited me at 
 that time, have painted to me the joy and emotion 
 which the presence of the duchess by the side of her 
 noble husband excited among their co-religionists. 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 279 
 
 Upon this occasion, I ouglit specially to reveal 
 the influence, more or less recognized, which the 
 professed religious belief of the duchess of Orleans 
 exercised upon the French nation. Though she care- 
 fully guarded against publicity with regard to her 
 principles and life, the nation learned enough of them 
 to esteem itself most happy in having such a mother 
 to educate the heir to the crown and to inculcate firm 
 principles, noble sentiments, and love for his future 
 subjects. If the Protestants had not been then 
 tolerated, the people would have been forced to re- 
 spect a faith which a princess of such distinguished 
 merit professed. Without claiming the least priv- 
 ileges for her profession, the duchess, by the fruits 
 of her faith, gained the public esteem for her cause, 
 Louis Philippe, the first, expressed himself in the 
 following manner : " I desire my grandson to be a 
 Catholic, but I will never suffer the religion of my 
 daughter-in-law to be the object of diplomatic ne- 
 gotiation. That is an affair between her and God, 
 and she shall never hear a word upon that subject, 
 not provoked by herself." The confidence which 
 the king and queen had in her was so great in this 
 respect, that finally, she ventured herself to com- 
 pose the first short pages for her children. While 
 she frequented her modest, old Lutheran church in 
 " la rue des Billettes," her young son, led by his 
 
280 MEMOm OF THE 
 
 grandfather, went to hear mass, and afterward read 
 the infantine prayers which his mother had written 
 for him in large French characters. 
 
 It was not only at Paris, but also in all France, 
 from the Ehine to the Ocean, from the Pyrenees to 
 la Mancha, that the coreligionists of the duchess 
 Helen saw in her a friend of the Lord, who was 
 also a devoted friend to them, and if necessary, a 
 protectress ready to intercede in their hehalf. 
 
 In 1840, the duke de Nemours married a Ger- 
 man princess, who had her place in the circle of the 
 royal lamily of France. In her, the duchess of 
 Orleans acquired a sister with whom she shared all 
 the remembrances of their common country, which 
 thus lived again for both in the midst of France and 
 the court. 
 
 The duke of Orleans returned to Paris, and 
 found, with his Helen and his young son, domestic 
 joys which he ranked above all others. When they 
 were seated at tea round the queen's table the 
 duchess was always at his side ; Init when his mili- 
 tary duties called him elsewhere, " she was accus- 
 tomed to gain permission to remain in her room ; " 
 she then placed little Count Paris in his cradle, and 
 amused herself with his sweet childish babble, un- 
 til he had closed his eyes under the influence of her 
 songs. Then she absorbed herself in the study of 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 281 
 
 Beethoven, whose admirable music she called the 
 purest and noblest language ; or she consecrated 
 her short leisure moments to writing to her relations 
 and friends in Germany, whom she often desired 
 to have more near her. She thus expresses herself 
 in a letter to her friend : 
 
 " When the soul outpours itself in a confidential 
 letter, it seems that in that interview so full of 
 charms, we feel still more deeply the happiness of 
 affection, the grief of absence, and the Impatient 
 desire to be eternally reunited. I speak of a reun- 
 ion in eternity, which alone is uninterrupted, for 
 that here below, which I doubtless love much, is 
 ever but for a time." 
 
 Sometimes, but less often than in the first year, 
 that peaceful domestic life was interrupted by ex- 
 cursions made with all the family, either to St. 
 Cloud, to the ch&teau d'Eu, in the neighborhood of 
 the sea, and interesting Treport. 
 
 The following letter from the duchess, raises a 
 corner of the curtain which unveils to view her 
 calm, sweet domestic life : 
 
 Neuilly, July 7, 1840. 
 Behold a salutation coming from France to your 
 address, dear professor, and to that of Madame 
 
282 MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 Sclmbert, by the means of tlie amiable little lady 
 de Zecb, wbo returns to Germany to remain there, 
 I would rest upon each word destined to recall me to 
 your memory, for it seems to me that years, far from 
 enfeebling the impressions of my early years, in- 
 creases my attachment and respect for you. It is 
 as if your image presented itself always lively and 
 fresh to my mind. I nevertheless desire with all 
 my heart to see it animated with the reality, and 
 from one year to another I count upon the visit you 
 have promised me. 
 
 Your bust adorns the chamber of my child, who 
 calls it grandpapa ; his may also have its place in 
 your cabinet, that in glancing at it, you may ad- 
 dress a thought of paternal affection and benedic- 
 tion to my son. I confide it then with this prayer 
 to Madame de Zech, and join with it another little 
 souvenir for your wife, which, from its quadruple 
 utility, will perhaps be agreeable to her. Beg 
 her to use it in remembrance of me, and to see in 
 the casket the image of supreme affection — wisdom 
 and grace — life, light, and love. 
 
 I end with the assurance of my old and constant 
 attachment, I no longer dare call it filial, for that 
 age is long since passed. 
 
 Helen. 
 
DUCHESS OF OKLEANS. 283 
 
 I have under my eyes still anotlier letter, ante- 
 rior to the preceding ; there is always the same 
 spiritual harmony, but the accord is still more ele- 
 vated in this ; the more restrained circle of a moth- 
 er's tender cares for her child makes room for that 
 of an ardent affection for her new country, whose 
 fate warmly interests her : 
 
 TuiLERiESj March 4, 1840. 
 
 The expression of my profound gratitude, very 
 dear professor, has long since advanced this letter 
 by the medium of the countess G-iech, who has 
 spoken much of you. I cannot, however, longer de- 
 lay addressing my most lively thanks directly to 
 you, and to tell you the pleasure that the reading 
 of your interesting work, in which posterity will 
 gather the fruits of your long labors, perseverance, 
 and fatigue, gives me. I have not yet gone with 
 you to the Holy Land ; I am exclusively occupied 
 with Egypt, that land which has caused such grand 
 questions in the modern world, after having guarded 
 with its deposits of antiquity, that of immortality, 
 the greatest of all. The altogether modern civili- 
 zation grafted upon the old trunk of the votaries of 
 the Koran, would be a study of very great interest. 
 
 If the spirit of Christianity in modern civiliza- 
 tion was more sound, more lively, and more ani- 
 
284 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 mated by the powerful breath which enkindles the 
 flame of faith in souls and reverses incredulity and 
 superstition ! But it is not thus ! We ought not, 
 nevertheless, to doubt that the good seed, destined 
 one day to fertilize the soil, will be thus propa- 
 gated. 
 
 Your wishes, your prayers for our country, and 
 our house, which, according to your just expression, 
 is placed in the fire of the bivouac of Europe, are 
 always a great consolation to me, for I have faith 
 in their efficacy, and I feel that we have need of 
 them. Ah ! let us ask that faithful souls may not 
 cease to pray with us and for us ; that the Lord, in 
 the midst of so many tares, may let the wheat 
 grow ; that in the contest the right may triumph ; 
 that in the whirl of frivolity. His word may not be 
 forgotten ; that in the general interest, the salva- 
 tion of all may gain victory over the malign pas- 
 sions. We live in a checkered world, where images 
 the most revolting and the most noble arise, where 
 faith and impiety come in collision. Pray, pray, is 
 the watch- word ; pray that His kingdom may come, 
 that His will may be done. 
 
 My young son, of whom you speak, is a dear 
 child, gay and happy ; he has my features and his 
 father's eyes ; he is gentle, yet nevertheless has his 
 own will ; he is very sensible, yet independent 
 
DUCHESS OF OKLEANS. 285 
 
 enough ; may God guide liim ! He only can ; I 
 wish to place my whole confidence in Him. 
 
 Salute the good Oettl and your daughters, Selma 
 and Adeline, whose features present themselves con- 
 fusedly to my mind, as a dream of my childhood. 
 I do not forget your dear wife, whose perseverance 
 in that distant voyage, I have often admired. 
 
 And now, adieu, think of me and pray for me, 
 as a father. 
 
 Helen. 
 
 When I cast my eyes upon the terrestrial hap- 
 piness which the princess, called to such a high mis- 
 sion for time and eternity, enjoyed at this time, I 
 feel pressed to recall once more the epigraph of a 
 preceding chapter : "Life is a dream." 
 
 Upon the 9th of November, 1840, the happy 
 mother had a second son, Eobert, duke de Chartres. 
 A short time before, she, with the count de Paris, 
 had been attacked with the measles, and for a mo- 
 ment her life was despaired of But the danger 
 was passed ; and, independently of the duke, two 
 loving and devoted hearts took a lively part in 
 the maternal joys which followed her deliverance, 
 these were the grand duchess Augusta of Mecklen- 
 burg, and Madame de Bontems (Nancy Solomon) 
 of G-eneva, who passed the winter in Paris. Care of 
 
286 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 her health obliged the duchess to live in almost ab- 
 solute retirement ; she could then more frequently 
 and uninterruptedly enjoy the charms of a little 
 circle, composed of the duke, her two children, with 
 her mother and her friend. The following letter, 
 which she addressed me as a wish for a happy New 
 Year, proves how she appreciated this happiness, 
 how grateful she was, and how her inward joy must 
 outpour itself : 
 
 TuiLERiES, January 3, 1840. 
 
 The message which I owe to your bounty, dear 
 professor, gave me pleasure. You spoke of the ac- 
 complishment of my- most ardent wishes, and my 
 heart might well wish to accept the desires as pro- 
 phetic, which sometimes change into mute prayers, 
 as you yourself express it. Can the heart of a 
 mother form a wish more profoundly felt, than that 
 of seeing her child, her children grow up for the 
 glory of Grod — that she may be a faithful instru- 
 ment in his hand, of leading their young hearts to 
 Him, and of one day seeing them upon the way of 
 life ! You join in this prayer of my heart ; let me 
 thank you for it, dear professor, your prayer is an 
 aid to mine, I might say, a wing which gives it 
 more easy access to the Lord. 
 
 The interesting tales written by you as recrea- 
 
DUCHESS OF OKLEANS. 287 
 
 tion after more serious labors, also merit special 
 thanks. They often enlivened my mother and my- 
 self, in" those hours of repose which followed the 
 birth of my little Kobert, and which we were so 
 happy in passing together. The day will come 
 when it shall also servd as instruction for my chil- 
 dren, one of whom, even now, often asks for little 
 stories. Would I had your gift for narrating ! its 
 charm exercised such a powerful influence over 
 children who surrounded you. 
 
 I still remember the happiness I felt in my 
 fourth year, when you assembled us around you, 
 and when the most pleasing objects crossed my 
 imagination. The tales have vanished, but the 
 taste for listening attentively, and attachment for 
 the dear narrator, still remain to me ; and like tlie 
 bee, I still draw a sweet and strengthening honey 
 from the calyx of my first remembrance. 
 
 The old year has now fled ; it has abounded in 
 blessings for me ; but it has failed in one ; shall it 
 be received in the course of the new year.^ — your 
 visit, so long a time promised, shall it be realized ? 
 I await like a child who counts upon a promise, and 
 I shall continue to hope even until you are here. 
 
 Helen, 
 
 The pleasure which the indulgent duchess ex- 
 
288 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 pressed to have received from the reading of the 
 first portion of my tales^ emboldened me to pay her 
 the homage of the second, which I sent to her with 
 a letter. The reader can divine the contents of 
 her response, because the sentiments of the princess, 
 so humble and so faithful to the impressions of her 
 childhood, are well known, 
 
 I am forced to extend a mourning veil over the 
 portrait I- endeavor to sketch. 
 
DUCHESS OF OELEANS. 289 
 
 XV. 
 
 ENIGMA OF THE PRESENT LIFE. 
 
 In tlie tropical regions where the ardent solar 
 rays fall upon the heights, night surprises and 
 astonishes the traveller coming from the North. 
 He cannot here count upon a long twilight, which 
 insensibly prepares the passage of the glory of the 
 day to the obscurity of night. The sun sinks from 
 the horizon, and the stars, arising from their incal- 
 culable depths, quickly shine from every direction ; 
 a new world seems to unfold itself to the solitary 
 traveller. 
 
 Such is the image of the unforeseen event, which 
 awaited the life of the duchess of Orleans in 1842 ; 
 it burst upon her by a dispensation, the depth of 
 which no eye can measure, the bearing of which no 
 intellect can fathom. Nevertheless, when the lov- 
 ing heart of the princess found itself suddenly en- 
 13 
 
t>iJO JIEMOIK OF Till'] 
 
 veloped in darkness, the stars slione out iii tlie 
 midst of tlie night. 
 
 From the beginning of the year 1842, thoughts 
 of death traversed the mind of the princess, who 
 wrote to me in the month of March, in reply to a 
 letter of mine : 
 
 " She has attained her destination and her end ; 
 the peaceful solitude of an afflicted woman— such 
 was the destiny ; the attainment of good — such was 
 the end ; two-fold mercy ; your words so profound 
 and serious, so impressed with faith, have done me 
 inexpressible good. Burning tears have erased those 
 lines," etc. 
 
 The grief with which her heart was then affect- 
 ed, though profound, was not yet the thunder-stroke 
 of the 13th of July, which broke a heart already 
 wounded. 
 
 In the midst of the happiness which she was 
 enjoying in France, her remembrances recalled her to 
 Mecklenburg. When she conversed with the duke, 
 the manner in which she spoke of her relatives in 
 Germany, made him love them. The sojourn that 
 the grand duchess had made in Paris established 
 the most intimate relations between the court of 
 France and that of Mecklenburg. In such circum- 
 
DtrCIIESS OF ORLEANS. 291 
 
 stances, the death of the grand duke Frederick- 
 Paul (on the 7th of March, 1842), deeply moved 
 the heart of the princess and was not without its 
 influence upon the derangement of her health. 
 
 [Professor Schubert here speaks of her departure to Plom- 
 bieres, and introduces the following letter to her mother :] 
 
 Plombieres, July 14, 1842. 
 
 My deakly beloved Mother : 
 
 Behold me in a peaceful and solitary valley of the 
 Vosges district, where I often think of you, and where 
 I, to-day, write this letter. Since you have heard 
 tidings of me, we have happily made the journey, but 
 by short stages, for my good duke cares for me like a 
 new-born child. We crossed " la Champagne," pass- 
 ing through Yitry and Toul, where is an ancient and 
 very beautiful church. We saw Nancy, where the 
 remembrance of the good Sanislas is still living ; 
 from there we reached Plombieres, through Epinal. 
 The Vosges district, in the midst of which I live, 
 reminds me, forcibly, of the forests of Thuringia, 
 the fresh and verdant valleys of Eisenach, and some- 
 times of the valley of the Schwarzbourg. The popu- 
 lation is good, tranquil, peaceable, brave, faithful, 
 and very monarchical. It is in the Vosges depart- 
 ment, that Wallach is, the community of Oberlin ; 
 I count upon going there, and shall think much of 
 
292 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 you ; if possible, I shall go to see his tomb. Last 
 Sunday, I received a visit from the minister Jaudt, 
 who officiates at Raschau, in filial communion with 
 the good Oberlin. 
 
 For eight day si have been alone here, I have 
 frequent moments of melancholy at the thought of 
 being thus separated from the duke, my children, and 
 all those that I love ; but this retired life, in which 
 I find repose, has also its charms. I pray God to 
 bless this sojourn to my soul. 
 
 I believe that the baths will have a happy effect 
 upon my disordered stomach. Do you know what I 
 have eaten since the month of May.? Three milk 
 porridges a day ; all other nourishment distresses 
 me ; with that I do well. But since I could not 
 live upon that all my life, and should become en- 
 feebled, they have sent me here to habituate me in- 
 sensibly to another regime. The baths are very 
 agreeable, but they sometimes try me. Think of 
 me, dear mother, on the 25th of this month ; that 
 day I shall reach Strasburg, and shall remain there 
 a week with the duke. This excursion, it is true, 
 will interrupt my cure ; but it will be very agreea- 
 ble to me. Without knowing it, Alsatia has al- 
 ways been dear to me, for the population is both 
 French and German ; there are such excellent peo- 
 ple here, that I am happy in studying this portion 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 293 
 
 of France. I experience a feeling peculiar to the 
 idea of being near that good Germany. 
 
 Nevertheless, the painful presentiments which 
 had agitated the duchess in taking leave of her 
 husband, -were only too welLfounded. It was a sep- 
 aration not for a few weeks, but for all her life. I 
 here allude to an event which soon happened, the 
 news of which traversed Europe, and the remem- 
 brance of which is still present to the minds of many. 
 On the 13th of July, the duke went to Neuilly.* 
 At the time of the catastrophe the grand duch- 
 ess was at the waters of Marienbad ; receiving in- 
 telligence of it through a courier, she hastened to 
 join her daughter at Paris. She was providentially 
 prepared for the mission she had to fulfil. In a 
 word, before her departure from Mecklenburg, she 
 was anxious to see Prince Albert's old instructor 
 again, the pious pastor Koch. I have already 
 spoken of that worthy ecclesiastic, whose memory 
 will always be dear to me, though I had no further 
 intercourse with him than that from Milan through 
 the valley of the Khone, in company with prince 
 Albert. 
 
 * Here again, is an account given, of the accident which 
 happened to the duke ©f Orleans, substantially the same as 
 those previously given in former portions of this volume. 
 
29-i MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 He had been dangerously ill since the month of 
 November, and seemed to be in a state of conva- 
 lescence. " In that hope/' wrote the grand duch- 
 ess, " I dared to ask for an interview with him be- 
 fore my departure, and gained permission. I found 
 him still feeble, but amicable and rejoiced to see all 
 three of us ; that is to say. Miss Sinclair, L. Ltitzow, 
 and myself. I passed several happy hours in the 
 house of this dear pastor. His aged mother ap- 
 peared to me dying. She had been bed-ridden for 
 some time ; I found her with clasped hands, await- 
 ing the hour of her deliverance. I thought to say 
 a last adieu to him, though my heart was pained 
 at then, taking leave of him. Two days after, he 
 entered into the joy of his Lord. Oh ! what a new 
 and painful vacancy in our circle ! " 
 
 Strengthened by the last benediction of a faith- 
 ful disciple of the Saviour, who was now in that 
 happy country, where his soul through hope had 
 been, as it were, in advance of its release, the 
 mother and duchess reached Paris and her daugh- 
 ter. She was not astonished to find in her a resig- 
 nation which seemed incomprehensible to others 
 after such a trial, for she knew from whence she 
 drew this resignation. The lines which the duchess 
 had written to her mother on the 6th of July, al- 
 ready bore the impress of it. 
 
duchess of orleans. 295 
 
 Dear and tender Mother, 
 
 The most frightful blow has fallen upon me ; 
 you are already acquainted with it, through the 
 queen's letter. God ! thou art severe and mys- 
 terious in thy decrees, but nevertheless, I have 
 faith in thy compassion ! 
 
 Dear mother ! my heart is lacerated. You 
 share my grief, for you loved him so much, and he 
 had so much affection for you. I can only write of 
 my misfortune, for my head is weak, my eyes burn, 
 my hands tremble, and my heart is ready to break. 
 Alas ! very dear mother, what a journey for you ! 
 at your age again to have such bitter grief ! Oh ! 
 come, come, that we may weep and pray together ! 
 
 P. S. I arrived to-day from Plom.bieres, and 
 am well ; my children also, God be praised ! the 
 king even, but in what a state ! no words can de- 
 scribe it. 
 
 The duchess was ordinarily calm and silent, but 
 she refused no obligation imposed upon her by the 
 rank she occupied. Some hesitated to admit a few 
 persons of her house, who desired to express their 
 sympathy, but she replied : " Make them enter ; I 
 wish to welcome as soon as possible all testimonials 
 of others' grief, that I may be able sooner to be 
 delivered entirely from mine." 
 
296 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 The children did not understand their irrepara- 
 ble loss, nor the cause of their mother's tears, which 
 redoubled their tenderness to her. In the first 
 days which followed the death of the duke of Or- 
 leans, the count de Paris often asked for his " petit 
 papa," and was astonished to see his mother's tears 
 flow more abundantly at these words. 
 
 The tender affection of the grand duchess as- 
 suaged the deep grief of her daughter. Never per- 
 haps had the duchess offered more hearty thanks 
 for having such a mother preserved to her. She 
 committed her entirely to God, awaited every thing 
 from Him, who had found it good to lay such a 
 sore trial upon her. He had applied a balm to her 
 wound ; He had indicated the route which she 
 ought to follow, in a life now lonely and clouded. 
 She had the assurance that He would never forsake 
 her, that He would reattach her, if necessary, to 
 that life which in her eyes was no longer precious. 
 
 In the midst of her profound grief, the queen 
 also aroused herself ; she could not contemplate her 
 daughter, who had met with such a great loss, 
 without emotion and admiration ; the duchess, on 
 her part, redoubled her affection and respect for 
 the mother of her husband, for she knew what he 
 had been to the queen. 
 
 The young widow, in the height of her grief, 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 297 
 
 gratefully recognized the inestimable price of the 
 happiness which she had enjoyed. " I would not 
 have given my five years of felicity," said she to 
 her maternal friend, Madame de Both, "if I thus 
 might have escaped the sufferings which have lat- 
 terly been my heritage." She expressed the same 
 sentiment with still more energy, when she said to 
 another friend, that " the sacrifice of a moment of 
 her preceding happiness, would more than have 
 ransomed her years of affliction." " Her felicity/' 
 she added, "had been too great to be durable. 
 She then could but render thanks to God for the 
 past, and seek to forget her grief by only speaking 
 of causes for gratitude." When the hours of an- 
 guish and bitterness came upon her, she besought 
 God that these moments might bear fruit for eter- 
 nal life. Sometimes, doubtless, the desire of depart- 
 ing was so strong within her heart, that she was 
 tempted to ask deliverance of the Lord ; but the 
 spirit of peace and resignation soon led her to 
 quell her impatience. 
 
 We still perceive, in these inward struggles, 
 that human consolations are impotent, from the 
 letter addressed to me two weeks after the duke's 
 death. I only transcribe a few passages. 
 
 13* 
 
298 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 Chateau d'Eu, Sept. 12, 1842. 
 
 In the midst of tlie darkness wliicli surrounds 
 me, dear professor, your letter has for a moment un- 
 veiled the eternal kingdom of truth to my view ; 
 and my stricken soul has been for a moment cheered 
 and strengthened. Such was surely your desire ; it 
 is fulfilled. Now I, in turn, express the wish of my 
 heart ; when you think of me, in my great misfor- 
 tune, in the severe tests that the Lord allots me, do 
 not address me words of consolation, but words of 
 truth, which in time, will give me heavenly conso- 
 lation. Always write to me what the Word of Grod 
 reveals upon eternity. Faith has surely the privi- 
 lege of entering the kingdom of the blessed, in ad- 
 vance ; but mine is still too disquieted to cast an . 
 assured glance thitherward. The sufferings of a 
 broken heart, of a broken life — the grief into which 
 the thought of my children, my country, and the 
 future plunges me, is still poignant ; its voice speaks 
 too loud for me to hear the voice of the Lord. At 
 times it seems to me well to hear a word of the 
 kingdom of the dead, or rather of the kingdom 
 of the living ; a word descends from the cross 
 into my wounded heart ; but it is soon silenced 
 by the lamentations of life. In the- contests of 
 my soul, I have however kept the unalterable con- 
 viction that the most mysterious and painful of 
 
DUCHESS OF OELEAIfS. 299 
 
 God's dispensations are always an effect of His love ; 
 when I can no longer even pray, I have yet daily to 
 offer Him, the sacrifice of my ineffable grief, say- 
 ing : " Lord ! I resign him ; Thou hast willed it, so 
 let it be ! " Pray for me, pray for my poor chil- 
 dren ; ask of the Father of orphans that he will 
 have pity upon them. 
 
 Helen. 
 
300 MEMOIJK OF THE 
 
 XYI. 
 
 DAY DAWNS. 
 
 These words recall a well-known passage of the 
 Psalmist : " Light is made for the just, and joy for 
 the upright in heart." (Ps. xcvii. 11.) The duchess 
 inwardly experienced the truth of these words of the 
 prophet-king. 
 
 Insensibly she found a new life in her love for 
 her children, angels of peace whom God had left 
 her, in taking him away whom she had loved so 
 much. She recovered all her energy, and always 
 serenely regarded her high mission of educating her 
 young sons in the fear of God, and love of their fel- 
 lows. It was feared that that long struggle would 
 prove injurious to her health ; but contrary to all 
 expectation, she gained more strength than before. 
 She showed more enjoyment in her relations with 
 her family ; she had such love for others and such 
 
DUCnESS OF OELEANS. 301 
 
 desire to render them happy, that she soon learned 
 to bear her sorrow alone ; she tried to smile, that 
 the serenity of others around her might not be dis- 
 turbed. Nothing was more touching than the sight 
 of such a resigned affliction. Her passing gaiety 
 resembled a sunbeam glancing through a dark 
 cloud ; her inward grief sometimes reappeared, 
 chiefly at certain dates which recalled old remem- 
 brances. We remark this in the letters addressed 
 to her mother. 
 
 She wrote upon the 2d of June, 1843 : 
 
 " On the 29th (May), the sixth anniversary of 
 our arrival at Fontainebleau, our thoughts doubtless 
 flowed together ; and the 30th, you surely read with 
 emotion that beautiful passage in our choice of 
 sacred texts : " What I do, thou knowest not now^ 
 but thou shalt know hereafter." I have been struck 
 with the mysterious hope implied in that consoling 
 passage." 
 
 Dreux, July 14, 1843. 
 We have passed two days in this asylum of 
 peace and eternal repose, from whence I wish to 
 write before my departure, my dear and beloved 
 mother. Here, where I have felt peace and hope 
 enter my soul, by the tomb of my husband and in 
 the midst of the most painful remembrances, here 
 
303 MEMOIK OF THE 
 
 even, I pray you, have no more disquietude about 
 me, when you know I am at Dreux, and no longer 
 repeat to me, " do not go thither." The Lord has 
 bestowed grace and peace upon the prayers I ad- 
 dressed to him in this sacred place of repose ; I 
 have found such consolation in the assurance of an 
 eternal reunion, in my meditations upon the mercy 
 and love of God, that I go away cheered and 
 strengthened, I who came here crushed and de- 
 spondent. It is as if I had breathed the pure air of 
 eternity, from whence a ray of light penetrated into 
 my heart, from whence an accord of celestial har- 
 mony fell upon my ear. Yes, yes, the Lord is with 
 us at the tomb of our beloved ones, when we ask 
 Him with confidence and from the depths of the 
 heart. He, the friend and physician of the soul. 
 He remains faithful to us, and makes us see the 
 country where all tears will be dried, where there 
 will be no more grief, nor crying. Dear mother, I 
 also prayed ardently for you yesterday, the 13th of 
 July, when I felt your prayer, when I knew that 
 you were near me. We arrived in the evening to 
 pass the 13th together. A high and solemn mass 
 of req[uiem was performed in the newly-built church. 
 There was something of exaltation in the chanting 
 of the psalms, and of the dies irce dies ilia, — ^but 
 neither solemnity, nor sermon, nor human word can 
 
DUCHESS OF OKLEANS. 303 
 
 equal what the Lord says to the soul from the silence 
 of the tomb ; no language can express the feeling it 
 made me experience. Cold, dead, and languishing 
 as I was, I had not latterly wished to approach the 
 sacred table ; to-day, I leave with the pressing de- 
 sire to receive the communion at Neuilly day after 
 to-morrow, and I hope that communion with my 
 Saviour will increase my love for Him and strength- 
 en my faith and hope. 
 
 I embrace you, in thought, my dear and be- 
 loved mother ; now, since I have so frankly spoken 
 of all that has passed within me, you will no 
 longer apprehend any thing when I go to my dear 
 tomb. Your 
 
 Helen. 
 
 I quote only one passage from a letter of Christ- 
 mas, 1843 : 
 
 " I communed yesterday in the church of Ke- 
 demption, after a very edifying preparatory service, 
 conducted by the pastor Verny. Last evening he 
 delivered an excellent discourse upon fidelity, and 
 we have conversed together for a long time upon 
 that subject. 'Ah ! if only the heart was^rm and 
 not always rendered culpable by so many little 
 infidelities.' He particularly insisted upon the ne- 
 
304 MEMOIK OF THE 
 
 cessity of keeping the soul constantly under the eye 
 of the Saviour. When a distraction comes, we 
 ought to receive it praying ; ' Lord, abide with 
 me.' In a word, one ought to live in the presence 
 of the Lord, under his eye, like children under the 
 eye of a mother. That is very difficult for me, for 
 my default is losing myself in vagueness and then 
 forgetting daily life with its hourly dangers. May 
 God aid me to open my eyes upon my state and 
 give me strength to labor for myself.'' 
 
 The duchess continues, in the course of the 
 year 1844, to describe the experiences of her heart 
 to her mother, at the period which most specially 
 reminded her of the death of her husband. We 
 confine ourselves to abstracting a few passages. 
 
 Letter of the 2d of July, 1844 : 
 
 " I cannot tell you, dear mother, in what state I 
 am since the fatal month has commenced. It is 
 two years to-day since we departed for Plombieres ; 
 during all the journey, he loaded me with attention 
 and testimonials of his affection. Each hour, alas ! 
 has its sweet remembrance, and each hour brings 
 me nearer the terrible day, on which I lost so much. 
 How falsely men judge, when they think time will 
 heal wounds ! Grief is no longer so devouring, but 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 305 
 
 it is not less intense ; the more the wound seems 
 to heal upon the surface, the deeper also becomes 
 the suffering. May God only sanctify my affliction, 
 and preserve my soul from being consumed ! This 
 fear is now so habitual and painful to me ; — ^it is 
 frightful to feel the approach of spiritual death. 
 May God preserve me from it." 
 
 Letter of the 14th of July, 1844 : 
 
 " Though the modern transformation of the 
 sepulchre at Dreux, at first somewhat disturbed 
 me, God again received my prayers and granted me 
 very happy hours, in which the certainty of a reun- 
 ion consoled me. After having prayed by the 
 tomb, during the night I extracted the following 
 passage, which comforted me, from my little col- 
 lection of verses : "I have loved thee with an ever- 
 lasting love ; therefore with loving-kindness have I 
 drawn thee." (Jeremiah xxxi. : 3.) I passed the 
 terrible 13 th of July, in praying, reading, and 
 conversing affectionately with Louise, who becomes 
 more dear to me, and edifies me by her exalted re- 
 ligious views. We left at seven o'clock in the 
 evening and arrived at two o'clock in the morning. 
 This morning, my dear little Paris appeared to me 
 like a sun-beam. He was so happy to see me, that 
 
306 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 it made me feel well. He had copied a beautiful 
 verse for me and sent it to me." 
 
 On the 24th of January, 1845, her birth-day, 
 she wrote to her mother : 
 
 " Such days, which have no higher significance 
 than to cause us to cast a glance over the past and 
 to elevate our hearts to God, one specially feels the 
 rapidity of the flight of time, and the many things 
 that have affected our hearts. Oh ! if our inner 
 life could only advance each year by the blessing of 
 the Lord, towards our eternal destination ! How 
 long-suffering the Lord is towards us, when he ob- 
 serves our slow progress, and often our culpable im- 
 mobility. How forcibly we feel that this patience 
 is an attribute of his divinity, for we are not capa- 
 ble of possessing it. 
 
 " Since I wrote to you, dear mother, the brilliant 
 Parisian court, has again taken its course. Balls, 
 concerts, and dramatic representations succeed each 
 other at the Tuileries. As for me, I live tranquil- 
 ly in my cell, and when I hear the music below me, 
 at the home of the Nemours, I feel that, in the 
 midst of my grief and solitude, God has given me 
 the good part, and that separated from him for 
 whom I bitterly weep, I live more with him through 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 307 
 
 the communion of prayer and the spirit, than if we 
 were both in the whirl of the world. Those are 
 happy moments, in which I experience the peace of 
 heaven ; but they do not last, and the bitterness of 
 life always comes to tear them from me," 
 
 Upon the recurrence of Easter, 1845, she wrote : 
 
 " To-(iay is the beautiful Easter service ; I hope 
 that it may be blessed to you, dear mother, and 
 with you I enjoy the holy signification of the day. 
 How miserable our lives would be without hope, 
 without the conviction of the resurrection which 
 this service gives us, without the seal of the great 
 work of redemption ! how bitter our tears would be, 
 in thinking of those whom we have lost, if we did 
 not already see them in all the glory of a new life." 
 
 Nevertheless, when she contrasted the suffer- 
 ings of her long mourning with the joys which had 
 preceded them, she always concluded as in this pas- 
 sage from a letter to her mother : 
 
 " You have passed our frontiers ; this new bar- 
 rier afflicts me,* How many times, in the transit, 
 you must have thought of our journey in 1837 ! 
 
 * The grand duchess' return to Ludwigslust, May 10, 1843. 
 
308 ' MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 How different and how beautiful every tiling then 
 was ! For some time my hopes were not disap- 
 pointed ; they have often been more than surpassed 
 by the reality. And though they are now engulfed 
 in a tomb, I would not exchange my lot for any 
 other." 
 
DITCITESS OF ORLEANS. • 300 
 
 XYII. 
 
 PROGRESS OF OUTWARD EVENTS. 
 
 Admikation and affection for the duchess of 
 Orleans, arose almost to enthusiasm. " In her we 
 have a great support," said a Frenchman, "for 
 the love that she inspires, exalts the nation. This 
 sentiment will bear its fruits for her children, and 
 then she will again find happiness." 
 
 Days and months followed each other without 
 modifying her course of life. She wrote as often as 
 formerly to her mother, but less often to her rela- 
 tives. She fled, she said, from revealing the suffer- 
 ings hidden within her soul, to distant persons who 
 could not offer a word of encouragement or sympa- 
 thy at the moment. 
 
 Already in 1843, she succeeded in procuring a 
 preceptor for the count de Paris, who responded to 
 all the wishes and exigencies of her maternal love. 
 
310 MEMOIR OF Til ft 
 
 "Among thousands of men," slie wrote, "I 
 could not have found one more competent to direct 
 my little Paris with wisdom and affection. The 
 little one, progresses very well ; his heart, mind, 
 and health develop themselves in a cheering man- 
 ner." 
 
 I place with the number of the happy remem- 
 brances of my old age, the pleasure which I had in 
 a passing personal acquaintance with that young 
 preceptor, M. Eegnier, who remained faithful 
 to the duchess in the first painful years of her 
 exile. 
 
 In the same letter addressed to her mother, she 
 says with regard to the duke de Chartres : " Though 
 pale and thin, Kobert is no longer ill ; but is full of 
 vivacity and mischief." 
 
 She obtained a G-erman governess for her young- 
 est son, that he might learn her native language ; 
 she frequently procured little Grerman books written 
 for children, for him, among others those by Pocci. 
 
 She had the consolation of having with her, dur- 
 ing a portion of the summer, 1843, Madame de 
 Bontems, whose affection, wisdom, and experience 
 never failed to exercise a blessed influence upon her 
 former pupU. Until the middle of autumn, the 
 duchess sojourned with the royal family either at 
 
DUCHESS OF OELEAlSrS. 311 
 
 Neuilly or at the Chateau d'Eu, situated near the 
 sea, the air of which strengthened her ; she still 
 passed the month of November at St. Cloud. 
 
 Persons who were habitually with her, and even 
 her less intimate friends, soon remarked that her 
 sympathy for all that concerned them, was even 
 more lively than in former times. She had learned 
 in the scliool of her own sufferings to apply the true 
 balm to wounded hearts, which those are rarely ac- 
 quainted with who have constantly lived in prosperi- 
 ty. She directed their reflections to the merciful 
 ways of the Lord, who could work for good, in every 
 affliction. 
 
 " But," she wrote, "our eyes are often too 
 blinded to recognize them ; our hearts too cold to 
 feel them. Yes, tlie principal cause of our suffer- 
 ings is in ourselves. If we were, as we should be, 
 in true communion with Grod, every thing would be 
 presented otherwise to our minds, and the most bit- 
 ter stream would have its sweetness. We must 
 then pray that the Lord would draw our hearts to 
 Him, that he would enlighten us and make us deep- 
 ly feel the price of his favor ; for life will then re- 
 ceive new value in our eyes, and every thing will 
 appear to us in its true light.'' 
 
 The following letter which she addressed to me, 
 in the month of March, of the following year, again 
 
312 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 testifies with, what gratitude she welcomed the 
 slightest proof of respect and affection, even when 
 offered by the most humble of her old friends. 
 
 TuiLERiES, March 16, 1844. 
 
 If I would tell you to what extent your last gift 
 rejoiced me, dear professor, (for I cannot exchange 
 that title so dear to me for thirty years, for any 
 other,) I should be obliged to show you the joyous 
 look of my child, when he listens to the tales I re- 
 late to him of Moffat.* Your work has provided 
 me with a daily spiritual aliment ; and in the eve- 
 ning, with my two children, I have followed that 
 faithful servant of Christ in his heroic pilgrimage. 
 Accept my most hearty thanks for all the contents 
 of that little volume, and for your friendly letter, 
 which has deeply touched me. 
 
 I have conversed much of you, with M. de B 
 
 who bears this letter to you, I seize every occasion 
 with joy which offers itself to revive the remem- 
 brance of you, in others ; as for myself, I have no 
 need to be reminded of it, for I very often think of 
 the faithful and dear preceptor of my childhood, 
 and I desire again to hear his voice in this world, 
 if Grod wills it. 
 
 Helen. 
 
 * Allusion is here made to the life of Mofiat, grandfather of 
 Livingston, missionary to the south of Africa. 
 
DUCHESS OF OELEANS. 313 
 
 About the time in which this letter was writ- 
 ten, the duchess had the pleasure of forming a per- 
 sonal acquaintance with a native of Steinthal, 
 Daniel Legrand, whom she loved and esteemed 
 several years after. He had several times sent her 
 good books at the Christmas festivals ; but chiefly, 
 at the most painful period of her life, she had re- 
 ceived a letter from him impressed with a Christian 
 sympathy which deeply touched her. It will be 
 seen from these letters that in him she recognized a 
 man possessing the faith of a child and a touching 
 piety, " an Israelite indeed, in whom there was no 
 guile ; " she calls him a faithful servant of God, of 
 the good school of Oberlin. 
 
 At this epoch, she sought with preference the 
 society of persons animated and penetrated with 
 that Spirit of Christ, which is the principal of all 
 truth. Hence she found great pleasure in making 
 the acquaintance of Madame de Stael, who resided 
 in Paris, during the winter of 1844, with the 
 younger son of the duke de Broglie. 
 
 " She sometimes comes to see me,'' wrote the 
 duchess, "and always does me good by her pres- 
 ence. She imposes one by her holy dignity, or 
 rather by the reflection of the presence of God, 
 which from her soul, radiates her whole person, to 
 14 
 
314 MEMOIK OF THE 
 
 such an extent that one can but have good thoughts 
 while near her. She is deeply sincere^ and no per- 
 son has ever made so great an impression upon me ; 
 all that she says, all that she feels appears as puri- 
 fied by truth. She has been a widow for seventeen 
 years ; this long, long period of trial has purified and 
 strengthened her. She has not only been deprived 
 of her chief happiness, but in losing an only son 
 at an early age, she has not even had in perspective 
 that mission of maternal love which suffices to fill 
 life, and which has remained to me. Since that day, 
 she has not been able to shed tears. She passed 
 several years in isolation, and it seemed natural to 
 her to tear herself away from every thing, that she 
 might live only for Him. But her sister-in-law, the 
 duchess of Broglie, died, and her husband remitted 
 his child, at the age of five years, to her for educa- 
 tion. ' Why is this ^ ' she asked of the Lord ; 
 ' ought I again to form a new tie ? ' This ques- 
 tion was not solved in her heart, but she surround- 
 ed the child with the most maternal and affection- 
 ate care, till she came to Paris to give him up to 
 his father. Sometimes the duke de Broglie wishes 
 him still to be under her guidance. They live in 
 two different houses, and the child lives alternately 
 with his father and his aunt/' 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 315 
 
 The duchess wrote the following to me, on the 
 15th of February, 1844 : 
 
 " How much I thought of you, yesterday, while 
 I was engaged with Madame de Stael in an ani- 
 mated conversation, in which her faith and confi- 
 dence in God spoke to my heart, and enkindled 
 it. Hers is a very rare nature, upon which suffer- 
 ing, and above all grace, have had a powerful effect. 
 One feels that she has had great conflicts, that her 
 heart has loved and suffered much ; one feels that 
 she has gained the victory and acquired peace of 
 soul ; what attracts me most towards her, is the im- 
 press of entire truthfulness. Such a plenitude of 
 spiritual life could not be associated with more 
 simplicity, calmness, and absence of all pretension. 
 What attractions she would have for you ! " 
 
 When the duchess met with such persons, she 
 did not disquiet herself with differences of worship, 
 provided their faith manifested itself in love for the 
 Saviour and his ransomed ones. At the period of 
 the inauguration of the new Lutheran chapel, she 
 did not approve of all the ideas expressed by a 
 highly esteemed preacher, upon the disagreements 
 of the Koman and the Lutheran Church, but she was 
 deeply edified with the sweet and conciliating spirit, 
 
310 MEMOIR OF TlIK 
 
 breathed in the prayer of M. Vallette at the end of 
 the service. 
 
 The attention which she accorded to the events 
 of this world was small in comparison with the sym- 
 pathy awakened within her by events of a superior 
 order. Hence she took a lively interest in the voca- 
 tion of Mademoiselle Marriana de Kantzau, the 
 friend of her childhood, who became directress of 
 the new institution of deaconesses in Berlin. Be- 
 fore entering upon her duties, this lady visited the 
 most celebrated hospitals of Germany, England, 
 and France, and upon this occasion liad the happi- 
 ness of seeing the duchess again, who wrote soon 
 after : 
 
 " Her visit gave mo very great pleasure, and her 
 serious and holy resolution touched as well as edified 
 me. May God bless her resolution and lighten the 
 burden of that great administration. She will have 
 to contend against many difficulties which oppress 
 her and often disquiet me for her sake ; but the 
 Lord, who has led her to this decision and has given 
 her the firm conviction that she is following his will, 
 will remain at her side to support and guide her." 
 
 Nearly six years later, she thus judged her noble 
 friend : " She is in every respect independent of all 
 
duciip:ss of ouja-ash. 817 
 
 odious party prejudices, religious as well m politi- 
 cal ; slie is beloved by all ; tJirougliout her wliole 
 nature there is a clearness of view, decision, and 
 government over herself, which one must admire ; 
 but one also happily feels that she remains loving 
 and devoted to all her former affections/' 
 
 Mademoiselle do Eantzau could only consecrate 
 a few years to her noble vocation ; she was one of 
 the numerous friends of the duchess who preceded 
 her into eternity. 
 
 A letter written to me by the duchess Helen on 
 the 29th of June, 1846, of which I here quote a 
 few jjassages, procured me the privilege of also 
 making the personal acquaintance of Mademoiselle 
 Eantzau. I do not make special mention of the let- 
 ters that I received the preceding year ; they were 
 chiefly with regard to procuring a German valet de 
 chambre for the young duke de Chiartres, through my 
 mediation and that of a friend of the duchess who 
 then resided at Munich. The letter of the 9th of 
 June announces the arrival of our proteg6 : 
 
 He arrived yesterday, Friday, in the morning, 
 and commenced his services to-day. He seems to 
 possess a good disposition, but it is necessary to see 
 his work before judging of it. Once again receive 
 the expression of my sincere gratitude for your co- 
 
318 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 operation in a circumstance which, might have 
 seemed insignificant, if, like me, you did not think 
 nothing unimportant that concerns the associa- 
 tions of a child, and that all who approach him have 
 their influence upon him. We have a visit from 
 our prince royal in expectation. After so long a time, 
 after twelve years, I am rejoiced at the thoughts of 
 seeing him again, and hear so much said of him 
 that his arrival will give me double pleasure. I 
 doubtless wish that his wife, my dear Maria, might 
 accompany him to. Paris ; but one cannot count 
 upon this journey in the midst of her absorbing 
 affliction.* What a loss her death is to my dear 
 aunt ! All Prussia feels it deeply. 
 
 I promised to speak to you of one of the friends 
 of my youth, and to recommend her to your good- 
 will, paternal counsels, and guidance. I refer to 
 Mademoiselle Eantzau, niece of the excellent Mad- 
 ame de Eantzau, whom you knew in Mecklenburg. 
 She is a lady of great piety, who loves the Lord, 
 and is entirely devoted to his service. Her inde- 
 pendent position suggested the thought of conse- 
 crating herself to the care and direction of children 
 in Fliedner's establishment of Deaconesses, near 
 the Ehine. She several months since occupied this 
 
 * Allusion is here made to the death of the princess Wilhel- 
 mina of Prussia, sister to the grand duchess Augusta of Meck- 
 lenburg. 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 319 
 
 important and difficult office, when slie was called 
 to the post of directress of the new house of Dea- 
 conesses in Berlin, which the king of Prussia wished 
 to found. She has not accepted it without great 
 contests, but she believes that she sees the call of 
 God in it, and declares herself ready to undertake 
 it. For the interests of the work, the king of 
 Prussia desires that she should visit the principal 
 establishments, where the sisters of charity labor, 
 in several places, and among others at Munich. She 
 desires that you should take her under your protec- 
 tion. I know I am making a request which will be 
 agreeable to you, for you never refuse your assist- 
 ance and good counsel, and to a chUd of God less 
 than any other person. I here enclose a few lines 
 to the address of Mademoiselle de Kantzau, beg- 
 ging you to remit them to her with your own hand, 
 and I once again recommend my friend to your 
 affectionate interest. 
 
 Beceive, dear Professor, etc., 
 
 Helen. 
 
 Thus unremittingly did tiie noble activity of 
 the duchess display itself ; she only found herself 
 happy and at peace when the Lord offered some 
 new devotion to her loving heart. But the first 
 necessity of her heart, and the first duty of her life, 
 
320 MEMOIR OF Tira 
 
 was always the education of her children for the 
 glory of Grod, then' devotion to her neighbors, and 
 particularly to her country. By the fidelity, love, 
 conscientiousness, and judgment which constantly 
 marked her maternal duties, the duchess of Orleans 
 has rendered herself worthy of being an example 
 for all mothers. We are going to introduce a few 
 fragments of letters addressed to the grand duch- 
 ess ; they refer to the early development of her two 
 sons, which will give us an idea of the care she be- 
 stowed from the earliest moment upon their edu- 
 cation. At the time these fragments commence, 
 the count de Paris is nearly six years old ; the duke 
 de Chartres is in his third year. 
 
 M. Eegnier, to whom allusion is made, entered 
 upon his duties the 1st of June, 1843. The duch- 
 ess writes to her mother on the 1st of June : 
 
 " The relations between M. E. and the little one 
 are excellent. You would be rejoiced to see with 
 what gentleness and yet with what firmness he man- 
 ages the child. Paris is attached to him, and dares 
 no more disobey him than myself and Madame H. 
 I anticipate excellent results from these new rela- 
 tions. As to Eobert, he is very unhappy at being 
 separated from his brother. He asks for him every 
 moment, for he sees him but seldom, and loves him 
 
DUCHESS OF OKLEANS. 321 
 
 much. He has need of being with other children 
 more than Paris ; he grows weary when he plays 
 alone. Paris is contented by himself, but he is 
 nevertheless happy in being able to play with Kob- 
 ert two hours daily." 
 
 June 18. 
 Every morning Paris reads Kobinson with M. 
 E., who leads him to many instructive conversa- 
 tions. I previously give him a short lesson in sacred 
 history, which commences with a prayer. I cannot 
 say that he is always attentive, but he nevertheless 
 likes these narrations very much. 
 
 October 15, 1843. 
 I now also go from time to time to Versailles 
 with Paris, in order to show him the historical pic- 
 tures, and thus early to impress the history of the 
 country upon him. He takes an interest in all, 
 and sees nothing superficially. 
 
 Day before Christmas,- 1843. 
 To-morrow will be a trying day ; it is the open- 
 ing of the chambers, I asked the king's permission 
 to lead Paris to the queen's tribune. In doing so, I 
 knew what task I was taking upon myself ; but it 
 is good, I believe, for the members to see the lit- 
 tle one, without his timidity being called in play, 
 14* 
 
322 MEMOIK OF THE 
 
 and without his being called into action, wHcli 
 could scarcely be expected of a child of five years. 
 I shall go then, and take my seat opposite the 
 throne, which will always appear vacant to me. 
 
 January 1, 1844. 
 We, as formerly, ended the year at the king's, 
 under the lighted tree. The children received great 
 delight from their presents ; Paris above all, at the 
 sight of a small cabinet of objects according to his 
 taste. I returned with him, soon after, for it was 
 late ; upon reaching his chamber, he quietly took 
 a book, seated himself, and began to read without 
 any appearance of distraction or excitement. His 
 play-things arrived ; he did not cast a glance upon 
 them, and said he wished to finish his history. That 
 pleased me ; it is a good sign. 
 
 March 6, 1844. 
 My children are well and are developing very 
 happily. Paris is always well employed ; but as he 
 is very nervous and subject to headaches, his studies 
 are not yet very heavy. Eobert now studies noth- 
 ing, for since his sickness at St. Cloud, we have 
 omitted all study, and I do not yet permit him to 
 begin again. He loves me very much, and in a very 
 touching manner ; I believe, that notwithstanding 
 his affection for his nurse, he prefers me above all 
 
DUCHKSS OF OKLEANS. 3-/] 
 
 tlie world ; lie wishes to be always at my side. 
 Paris has a passion for drawing; he also writes 
 many riddles, and takes great delight in dissecting 
 each word in order to make a rebus. Greography, 
 mathematics, history, and stories, all equally capti- 
 vate his attention. 
 
 From a rather later date. 
 Paris at the table relates his tales to me with 
 delight and an ever new zeal. Cyrus, Alexander, 
 etc., play a great role in his narrations ; Eobert 
 daily becomes more lively, more comical, and more 
 original. His passion for design has rather sur- 
 passed that of Paris, since we played some English, 
 German, and French pieces upon a little theatre 
 that his father had given him, and which we have 
 discovered. Eobert also now learns English, for he 
 complained much of not being able to understand 
 the English piece. His German is not bad. 
 
 April 14, 1844. 
 I measure time by the development of my chil- 
 dren ; they advance, particularly Paris. He is 
 truly an amiable boy, tall, rosy, graceful, and above 
 all, very studious and brave ; he has a good heart, 
 with frankness and well-balanced ardor. He has 
 been twice with me to the exhibition ; you can 
 imagine what resolution it required of me, I 
 
SQi MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 should never have done it, if so mucli had not been 
 said of the seclusion in which I retain the child. 
 It had an enormous success ; the people almost 
 suffocated him with joy ; and, as for him, he was 
 neither foolish nor timid, hut natural and busy, that 
 is to say, full of interest for his dear machines, 
 which he has a passion for. Happily, praise and 
 admiration do not at all dispose him to vanity ; he 
 does not set value upon it. Little Eobert, who ex- 
 amined the people more than the machines, and was 
 in the back-ground, was very happy that the peo- 
 ple also took notice of him. There was nothing on 
 his part but sallies, good humor, and vivacity ; 
 sometimes I do not know how to put an end to 
 these little impertinences ; he is too amusing ; but, 
 notwithstanding his good heart which is in his 
 favor, it is necessary to be severe with him. 
 
 July 5, 1844. 
 Paris and Kobert have their little conversations 
 together, in which the character of each is dis- 
 played in a strong light ; one fuU of reason and 
 depth ; the other, of intelligence and vivacity. 
 
 January 2, 1845. 
 What will you say, dear mother, upon learning 
 that I was present at a reception party, yester- 
 day ? The king wished Paris to be present. The 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 325 
 
 cliild made a good appearance ; lie was tranquil, 
 polite, natural, and awakened sympathy. In a 
 word, he gave me great pleasure that day ; in the 
 morning he brought me a letter which he had com- 
 posed and written entirely alone ; he was besides 
 cordial and happy, and clearly proved his affection 
 for me. The poor child had many letters to write 
 for the new year ; but yours and mine, without aid 
 from any one whatever. He wrote them in love. 
 
 January 13, 1845. 
 The differences of the two characters, happily 
 for their mutual relations, add to the difficulty of 
 their education, for it is necessary to lead and di- 
 rect them differently, without appearing unjust. If 
 I punish one, and confine myself to giving a lesson 
 in a playful tone to the other, it appears partial, 
 and nevertheless one can often reach the same end 
 only by different roads. Grod will surely lead 
 them. 
 
 TuiLEEiES, July 24, 1845. 
 
 My children are well and rejoice me by their 
 progress. Paris becomes more frank towards me ; 
 what he formerly possessed in the depths of his soul 
 without the power to express, now pervades his 
 whole nature. 
 
 Upon returning lately from the opening of the 
 
3-6 . MEMOIK OF THE 
 
 chambers, he wished to dictate the discourse of the 
 king, which he had listened too with great atten- 
 tion, to M. E, He acquires a great facility of 
 analysis, which will be very useful to him. 
 
 You ought to see the joy of my children, their 
 happiness in giving. They have worked a long time, 
 to their surprise, Paris printed a geography* of 
 Mecklenburg for me, with a map designed by his 
 hand ; a copy is destined for you which will soon 
 be sent. Kobert has learned to read in German, 
 has recited something in English, and made good 
 progress. It was pleasant to see their delight, 
 which lasted all day. We are reunited at Neuilly. 
 
 JxmE 8, 1845. 
 To-morrow I shall accompany my little Paris to 
 a concert of a thousand young singers from all the 
 schools of the city, who sing justly and without in- 
 struments. They come from Sunday schools which 
 unite in the Champs-Elys6es, I had been besought 
 to take Paris there, that he might encourage the 
 efforts of his less-favored cotemporaries by his 
 presence. 
 
 Easter, 1845. 
 Kobert went to-day to mass for the first time. 
 
 * With a little printing-press, a present from his grand- 
 father. 
 
DTJCHESS OF ORLEANS. 327 
 
 He went alone with liis brother and the king. The 
 latter was very content with his conduct, and the 
 little one well satisfied with himself. His regard 
 for the holiness of the place wiU arise little by little ; 
 the Lord will always expand this feeling in the 
 souls of children ; we only ought to pray faithfully 
 for them. 
 
 These passages give us sufficient insight to the 
 maternal occupations of a princess who had herself 
 "been educated with a view to the contests of hfe 
 and the peace of eternity. To end this subject, 
 I here insert another letter addressed to me. 
 
 TuiLEEiES, Jan. 3, 1846. 
 
 A voice, which is the echo of the country, the 
 echo of childhood, profoundly moves the heart. 
 But when that voice is that of an old master and 
 friend, whose accents, always harmonious, never 
 resound in vain, then the emotion becomes joyous 
 and res]3onds to the expectation of one who pro- 
 voked it. 
 
 If you knew to what extent each word coming 
 from you is precious to me, you would feel aU the 
 depth of my gratitude. 
 
 To-day, it is still more lively, for the heart of a 
 
328 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 motlier is. more touclied "by the goodness manifested 
 to her children than by that of which she is the 
 object. I have at this moment to express to you 
 the joy of my son, whose face became radiant when 
 I remitted him your beautiful present, and found 
 that he could there fluently read interesting and 
 instructive things. He loves, as well as a child of 
 seven years can love, science, and all that is grave 
 and profound. He likes to see a savant; he has 
 your name in great veneration, not only from that 
 motive, but for all that his mother has related to 
 him of the faithful preceptor of her childhood. The 
 book which you sent him will become more and 
 more dear to him, in proportion as his young intel- 
 lect comprehends its depths ; your teachings which 
 ascend always to the Creator, as the primary source 
 of all that we find beautiful and marvellous, will 
 diffuse that freshness and candor in his heart, which 
 dry dead science often destroys. 
 
 His preceptor faithfully aids me in keeping him 
 in this way, for he combines heart and character 
 with a superior degree of intellect. 
 
 The agitation which manifests itself in Germany 
 is without doubt serious, and also much occupies me. 
 God grant that the true German spirit may come 
 out victorious from all these embarrassments, and 
 that the nation may enter in possession of the indis- 
 
DUCHESS OF OELEANS. 329 
 
 pensable liberties in the progress of the human 
 mind and the truth. May all this disquietude ter- 
 minate peacefully ! 
 
 My cordial salutations to Madame de Schubert 
 and your dear Selina. 
 
 Helen. 
 
 The grand-duchess Augusta wrote in 1847, 
 after her return from Paris : 
 
 " The hand of God guides Helen and her 
 children ; what have I to fear ? He has permitted 
 me to pass some time with her ; I have more and 
 more recognized with admiration that she is at the 
 height of her difficult mission, and I have felt how 
 small I am beside her." 
 
 The conduct of the duchess during the course 
 of the following year (1848) well justified the un- 
 wavering confidence which the princess Augusta 
 placed in her daughter's high faculties. After 
 having once more fulfilled the duty of protecting 
 the rights of her children, and contended in favor 
 of the maintenance of order and happiness in her 
 dear adopted country, the duchess of Orleans passed 
 through, all the perils of that year with a pure con- 
 
330 MEMOIK OF THE 
 
 science and inexliaustible courage. She liad doubt- 
 less long liad tlie feeling of the instability of a 
 throne which could not be strengthened by at- 
 tempts to conciliate hostile and heterogeneous 
 parties. 
 
 Coming to an end of an important period of the 
 life of the duchess of Orleans, I will here recite the 
 judgment pronounced upon her by one of the best 
 German papers. 
 
 " Whatever may be the design of Providence 
 with regard to the moment in which the king shall 
 be called to resign the task of his life, all concurs 
 to prepare the count de Paris worthily for his 
 future and important mission. The prince receives 
 an education in every respect distinguished, under 
 the superintendence of the king himself and the 
 duchess of Orleans. One is moved to see with what 
 indefatigable solicitude and with what maternal 
 love the duchess watches over her children ; she is, 
 in this respect, the model of women and mothers, 
 and has conquered the esteem of all the nation. A 
 princess in France has rarely enjoyed a parallel 
 popularity among all classes of the people, and 
 without distinction of party ; wherever she presents 
 herself, she receives testimonials of it. Her benevo- 
 lence, to whom no unfortunate appeals in vain, has 
 contributed, not less than her piety, to gain all 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 331 
 
 hearts. One may see, twice a week, a simple car- 
 riage issuing witliout escort from the Tuileries, and 
 taking the direction of the Protestant chapel. It 
 contains the duchess of Orleans, on her way to at- 
 tend worship at her church. 
 
332 MEMOIK OF TIfE 
 
 XYIII. 
 
 THE REVOLUTION OF FEBRUARY AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 
 
 For tlie first time since tlie death of her hus- 
 band, the duchess wrote that " her birthday had 
 been a fete, which the most tender testimonials of 
 the affection of her children had rendered dear." 
 On the 5th of February, scarcely three weeks be- 
 fore the event which the world called a great mis- 
 fortune for her and her sons, she stiU speaks in a 
 letter of her inward happiness and attachment to 
 that beautiful France, her country, where she was 
 anticipating a visit from the friend whom she was 
 then addressing. 
 
 This peace at the approach of misfortune, is a 
 somewhat prophetical manifestation of the eternal 
 joy which is to follow the light afflictions of this 
 world. According to the testimony of the Book 
 
DUCHESS OK OKLEANS. 333 
 
 of Eevelation, the celestial army already hear the 
 shouts of triumph, when ruin and distress mutter 
 like the storm, and outpour themselves upon the 
 powers of the earth. 
 
 In her letters to a few influential friends, and 
 to her relations in Germany, the duchess of Orleans 
 had a good right to contradict the rumor, spread by 
 several public pamphlets, that her relations with 
 the royal family were altered since the death of the 
 duke ; she had never ceased, said she in her ma- 
 ternal language, " to be borne in the arms of love." 
 If the situation of the duchess remained the same 
 in the family circle, Louis Philippe nevertheless in 
 the loss of his son had lost a pledge for the future, 
 and a counsellor, who, seconded by the duchess, 
 opened the eyes of his royal father to the conse- 
 quences of an inopportune resistance, and moder- 
 ated excited measures, by a spontaneous prudence 
 or foreign influence. We are not here to describe 
 the past events of the revolution of February ; that 
 task belongs to political history ; for no witness can 
 embrace the whole, and each judges differently, ac- 
 cording to his point of view. Nevertheless the 
 most divergent witnesses agree in rendering homage 
 to the presence of mind and courage manifested by 
 the duchess of Orleans. An account of her con- 
 
334 MEMOIK OF THE 
 
 duct during tlie days of February, is essential to 
 her biograpliy.* 
 
 Mademoiselle Sinclair accompanied the grand 
 duchess to meet her daughter at Ems, and in a 
 letter describes the meeting of the two princesses. 
 We quote the following passage, which vividly de- 
 picts the inward disposition and outward desolation 
 of the noble exiled duchess. 
 
 "I still see her, as she appeared upon her arri- 
 val at Ems, on the 18th of March ; she was at the 
 foot of the front steps, pale, but full of energy and 
 confidence in Grod. I see her fold her mother, 
 whose arrival she had awaited so impatiently, to 
 her heart. How touching and sublime she was ! 
 "Whenever my merfiory recalls the peaceful weeks 
 at Ems, it seems to me as if a little sanctuary 
 opened before me. She was almost destitute of 
 necessaries, but the dear princess was grand in the 
 midst of aU these privations. She still wished to 
 simplify every thing, and to renounce every thing 
 not indispensably necessary. I shall never forget 
 what she said to me one evening, in a playful tone, 
 ^ Clara, we will indulge ourselves in a little fete to- 
 day ; we will drink some tea ; ' (the domestic reg- 
 
 * Prof. Schubert's account fully accords with the one pre- 
 viously given, and is essentially the same.] 
 
DUCHESS OF OELEAlsTS. 335 
 
 ulation forbid tea.) I hastened to order it ; the 
 good duchess, always amiable and naive, first tasted 
 it, then insisted that M. Kegnier should also come 
 and drink it with his colleague. She begged me 
 to invite them ; but delicacy led them to refuse ; 
 she went herself, and they obeyed. Oh ! those 
 were hours which no words can describe, and which 
 one must treasure in the depths of one's heart." 
 
 Even then " she was not unhappy ; " this asser- 
 tion of her august mother is assuredly a great 
 truth. 
 
 A loving heart never sympathizes more deeply 
 with the trials of others than when itself stricken 
 by misfortune. This the duchess experienced, and 
 it led her to write me a letter from Ems full of 
 solicitude for the young man of Munich, who, upon 
 my recommendation, had entered into the service of 
 the duke de Chartres. 
 
 Ems, April, 1848. 
 
 Dear Peofessor : 
 
 Since the storms which it has pleased the Lord 
 to send upon my dear France, I have had the feel- 
 ing that your prayers and thoughts were accom- 
 panying me. I also believed I shall one day receive 
 some word of faithful remembrance from you. I 
 hope for it now, for I will never doubt your sym- 
 
336 MEMOIK OF THE 
 
 patty. Mine is always with you, and I have more 
 than once been saddened in thinking of the cares 
 you have had in these latter days.* May God 
 calm these disquietudes ! — this hope is well found- 
 ed, since your king seems to take the great task to 
 heart, which has fallen to him in these difficult 
 times. My prayers and wishes accompany him and 
 the queen. 
 
 Yesterday, dear professor, I wrote to you with 
 regard to the excellent young man, who in happier 
 days, you recommended to the office of valet-de- 
 chamhre to my youngest son. At the moment of 
 the revolution, when I was obliged to leave that 
 dear city of Paris, he was separated from me, and 
 returned to his own country several days after ; for 
 it was unhappily impossible for me to retain him in 
 my service, notwithstanding the zeal, fidelity, and 
 intelligence, which he had constantly manifested. 
 I promised him that I would have recourse to your 
 benevolence to procure another position, if possible. 
 If you say one word, in my name, to the countess 
 Grrawenreuth, and perhaps to queen Maria, they 
 will doubtless offer him a place. During the years 
 which he devoted to my child, he gave proofs of 
 integrity, capacity, and rare intelligence ; I infinitely 
 
 * She alludes to the troubles of Munich and to the accession 
 of Maximillian II. 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 337 
 
 regret no longr^r having him with my son. In the 
 midst of the immeasurable disaster which has fallen 
 upon our family, one of my most bitter cares, is the 
 disability hereafter to recognize the services of so 
 many faithful servitors. That affects me most, 
 after the thoughts of my sons' future. But Grod, 
 who has dispensed to us so great affliction, will still 
 be our support and guide. 
 
 If you can send me a reply, I pray you to ad- 
 dress me under cover of my mother's name, who is 
 also at Ems, where we shall live in absolute retire- 
 ment until the bathers drive us away. We are at 
 the England Hotel. Adieu, dear professor, I re- 
 commend all who are dear to me to your remem- 
 brance and prayers. 
 
 Helen. 
 
 The republic appeared to consolidate itself, and 
 rendered the perspective of a return to France im- 
 possible. On the other hand, Ems ceased to be a 
 retreat ; it filled with bathers, and at the same 
 time with curious intruders. Among various asy- 
 lums offered the princess, she chose Eisenach. She 
 retired there with her suite, increased in number by 
 the preceptor of the duke de Chartres,M. Courgean, 
 and a few domestics. Persons of high rank, who 
 previously composed her retinue, came by turns to 
 15 
 
338 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 Eisenacli, during periods of time more or less long, 
 and served her as formerly at tlie Tuileries, NeuiUy, 
 and Eu. The marquis de Vins, reader to the 
 duchess, and M. Boisimlon, former preceptor to the 
 duke of Orleans, who now aided her by his counsels 
 in the education of her sons, never left the duchess 
 till her death. Thus a veritable French colony 
 was formed at Eisenach ; they there scrupulously 
 observed the French customs, for the duchess still 
 believed that the crisis would soon pass, and she 
 wished the young princes to remain in every 
 respect faithful to their country. If, in the edu- 
 cation of the count de Paris, she did not lose 
 sight of the high mission to which he might be 
 called, she at the same time did not undervalue the 
 advantages to be obtained for her sons by their 
 exile. Brought in closer contract with ordinary 
 life, they learned to become better acquainted with 
 it ; they found themselves in social relation with 
 the most varied classes, and studied the customs 
 and occupations of the peasants with interest. The 
 duchess invited M. Eegnier, his wife and two sons, 
 to Eisenach ; the nearness of their ages to that of 
 the two princes, and their intellectual development, 
 made them suitable companions for them. The 
 exiled princess herself gained new strength and life 
 at Eisenach ; the beauty and salubrity of the 
 
DUCHESS OF OELEAI^S. 339 
 
 country, the artistic interest which the renovation 
 and decoration of Wartburg offered her, the neigh- 
 borhood of Weimar, the residence of her family, the 
 society which sufficed to exclude all feeling of soli- 
 tude without being a burden, all these advantages 
 made this place of abode peculiarly attractive, 
 Eisenach, besides, possessed a Catholic church, 
 under the charge of a pious and worthy ecclesiastic ; 
 this circumstance the duchess particularly valued 
 for the sake of her two sons. 
 
 Those who had formerly seen the duchess at 
 Paris, surrounded by all the eclat of the rank which 
 she occupied, could not help sharing the general ad- 
 miration due to her elevation of mind. This senti- 
 ment became still more lively, when they saw her 
 at Eisenach, deprived of all external pomp, and de- 
 spoiled of all the natural resources of her high and 
 active intellect. The noble falcon of Schah Behe- 
 ram Gour, the great hunter, was magnificent to 
 see, when adorned with the golden ring, it proudly 
 rested upon the silver-mailed hand of his master, 
 seated upon his elegant courser ; but the eye of the 
 hunter admired the beautiful bird much more, when, 
 released from its golden chaperon, rings, and bells, 
 it soared rapidly through the air or majestically 
 hovered over the castle battlements. 
 
34(.' MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 XIX. 
 
 INFOKMATION DERIVED FROM THE BEST SOURCE. 
 
 Much information is derived from tlie letters of 
 the duchess addressed to me from various stations of 
 her exile ; this may be perceived from the first line 
 of the following : 
 
 Eisenach, June 10, 1848. 
 
 Dear Professoe : 
 
 I wrote to you from Eisenach that the German 
 Synod had been very clamorous ; from Eisenach, the 
 asylum of the holy Elizabeth and of Luther, where 
 your letter with its friendly counsel reached me. If 
 I have not sooner thanked you, it has been because 
 my time was occupied by my correspondence, 
 though I do not like in this manner to open the 
 wounds of my heart and the agitation of my mind ; 
 on the other hand, it is difficult for me to resolve 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 341 
 
 to converse witli you only upon accessory things 
 when the great questions of the time exclusively 
 occupy both one and the other. This motive how- 
 ever ought not longer to allow me to appear un- 
 grateful. Permit me to say how much I am touched 
 with your words, and how grateful I am for your 
 counsel to seek an asylum in Bavaria. That was 
 also my first thought ; I had an idea of Wartburg, 
 of Bamburg, of Nuremburg ; but in the midst of 
 my hesitation, I received from my uncle the kind 
 and paternal invitation to come here, and accepted 
 his offer. I have then provisionally pitched my tent 
 under his direction and feel as happy as one can 
 feel in exUe ; I find the country as beautiful as it 
 can appear to eyes blinded with tears, and I am 
 the object of an affection as welcome as is possible 
 to a broken heart, which sighs after its country. 
 My mother's presence is a subject of consolation ; in 
 her, I have a model of noble sentiments and piety ; 
 I have a happy pledge for the future in the develop- 
 ment of my children ; my heart then ought to 
 cease to suffer, but Grod alone can calm it ; I await 
 this benefaction from him, and submit myself blind- 
 ly to His will. Do we know what is in reserve for 
 the morrow ? Why then do we torment ourselves ? 
 Tell my cousin, the queen, how much I was 
 rejoiced at her happy deliverance, and instantly 
 
342 MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 recommend my faithful P to her. If I knew 
 
 how to place him as he merits, there would be a 
 much less weight upon my heart. I know that this 
 presents some difficulties ; I do not wish to be im- 
 portunate. 
 
 Salute the brave B , also his wife, if you see 
 
 her, I still remember the visit they made me at 
 Eu. What an abyss between then, and now. May 
 Grod shield you and grant to you and Mrs. Schubert 
 happier and sweeter days than those in which we 
 live. I recommend myself with my children to 
 your prayers. 
 
 Helen. 
 
 At the time this letter came to me, I received 
 another from a lady of high rank, who was daily 
 witness to the family life at Eisenach. She paints 
 the two princes in strong colors ; the count de 
 Palis, then ten years of age, with a tall and well 
 developed figure, graceful in his movements, easy 
 in his bearing, ingenious in his reflections, of a 
 sound mind and quick understanding. " His pre- 
 ceptor, to whom he is much attached, possesses 
 all the gifts requisite for the exercise of the happi- 
 est influence upon the development of the prince. 
 He climbs the mountains of the environs with his 
 pupil, makes him collect and press the flowers sent 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 343 
 
 to him from Paris to be classed by M. Germain, 
 who taught the prince botany. An observer who 
 should attentively notice the deep blue eyes of the 
 count de Paris, and his regular features, in which 
 goodness of heart, thoughtfulness and intelligence 
 are depicted, would soon see that he is no ordinary 
 child. 
 
 " Eobert, eight years of age, who still loves to 
 be called little Eobert, is large enough for his age, 
 but always so forward that I believe I have never 
 seen so active a child. He develops happily, as 
 well with regard to his disposition as to his intel- 
 lect. His voice is of a penetrating strength ; his 
 blue spiritual eyes animate a physiognomy whose fine 
 traits remind one of those of the queen Maria An- 
 toinette, at his age. The affection of the two chil- 
 dren for their mother is touching ; how else could 
 life be rendered supportable to her ! " 
 
 After two letters written by the duchess of Or- 
 leans from Ems and Eisenach, came the following 
 letter, from which I have abstracted several pas- 
 sages : 
 
 Eisenach, March 6, 1849. 
 I have long wished to thank you, dear professor, 
 for the precious letter I received from you in the 
 month of November of the last year, and for the 
 
344 MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 inclosed one addressed to my eldest son, who was 
 moved and rejoiced with it ; we are now zealously 
 studying the little book which accompanied it, with 
 the German lessons which I give him. My corre- 
 spondence is unhappily such that it is impossible 
 for me to fulfil all my obligations ; and hence a 
 second letter from you has^ome to me, to which I 
 reply much later than it was my desire to. 
 
 (She again expresses her solicitude for the faith- 
 ful valet-de-chambre of her youngest son, and her 
 gratitude for what had already been done for him by 
 the obliging intercession of queen Maria.) 
 
 The letter you had the goodness to write to my 
 little Paris, deeply interested me. He has been 
 acquainted with you from his earliest infancy, as 
 one is acquainted with a legend ; the rod from the 
 burning bush, the rose of Sharon, the bull-bull, un- 
 happily so early dead, and finally your natural his- 
 tory and the many stories of which you have been 
 the subject, have established a mysterious bond be- 
 tween you and his young imagination. A letter 
 from his invisible friend, has, then, appeared to him 
 as a marvel from fairy-land ; the numerous and ex- 
 cellent works which you recommend to him, will 
 become his delight, little by little. He already 
 strongly likes Plutarch, and knows it almost as well 
 as his catechism ; it is only the school of great 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 345 
 
 meiij that can now elevate him. At an epoch in 
 which humanity has fallen so low, it is very neces- 
 sary to direct his attention to the pas fc, in order that 
 he may not lose his faith in humanity. May he see 
 hetter days, when the storms which surround us 
 shall be calmed. My mother, near whom I am now 
 writing, begs me cordially to salute you. How 
 many times we speak of you, and how we wish for 
 a visit from the pilgrim in our Thuringian hermi- 
 tage. 
 
 Helen. 
 
 If the letters we have read have already given us 
 some idea of the kind of life and feelings of the duch- 
 ess during the sojourn at Eisenach, we have still more 
 minute information upon this subject. The duchess 
 sought to introduce the domestic arrangement and 
 spirit which formerly reigned at Friedensburg into 
 her new retreat. When she was alone or with her in- 
 timate friends, she frequently occupied herself with 
 the same subjects which had been the charm of the 
 Friedensburg circle. She frequently recalled a relig- 
 ious poem, which was there particularly liked, and 
 which is to be found in the excellent work, entitled : 
 " Life of J. M. Sailer Feneherg." It had there 
 produced such a profound impression that is was set 
 to music, and the choir of Friedensburg frequently 
 15* 
 
346 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 and willingly sung it. One may well say, that of all 
 the persons composing that little choir, the princess 
 Helen best understood the words of that Christian 
 poem, and sung the melody with the most soul. At 
 Paris, in moments of leisure, hut oftener at Eisen- 
 ach, she loved still to sing it, for the experience of 
 her heart had taught her the deep meaning of that 
 energetic and consoling poem of the good Feneberg. 
 
 The duchess of Orleans had occasion to apply 
 it so frequently in the course of her life, that it had 
 become a sort of rallying word with her. A poem 
 by bishop Spangenberg was also as an amulet to 
 her soul, when she was engaged, in consequence of 
 her political or religious position, upon the some- 
 what winding path of human wisdom. This poem 
 is entitled, " Sacred Simphcity, the Manual of 
 Grace ; " she frequently read it in the evenings at 
 Eisenach, as at Friedensburg. 
 
 Thus, at Eisenach, when the work of the day 
 was ended, they closed their eyes in peace and re- 
 pose of soul ; and, in the morning, opened them 
 with a disposition of heart not less calm and peace- 
 able. 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 34T 
 
 XX. 
 
 CONSOLATIONS AND NEW TRIALS. 
 
 A STRIKING proof of tliG general consideration 
 whicli the ducliess of Orleans enjoyed, was given by 
 the people of Paris, in the midst of the whirl of the 
 revolution of February. The mob penetrated into 
 most of the apartments of the Tuileries, and even 
 into some of those reserved for the duchess' suite ; 
 but they were not besought to spare the Maison Pa- 
 vilion, which she inhabited, for garlands were already 
 hung over her doors, in sign of respect. Her femme- 
 de-chambre was afterwards able to enter, and with 
 the aid of her faithful friends, to take away all that 
 belonged to her mistress. A part of her possessions 
 were sent to Eisenach ; the furniture that was too 
 heavy to transport was placed in a chamber rented 
 for the purpose. Thus the duchess preserved all 
 her articles inviolate^ and she soon found herself sur- 
 
r348 MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 rounded by all the portraits, pictures, and other ob- 
 jects which were of great price to her, reminding her 
 of happier days. She also afterwards received her 
 dowry, which, in accordance with the French law, 
 could not be taken from her. 
 
 On the 24th of February, 1849, the day of the 
 anniversary of the revolution, the marquis de Mor- 
 nay came to Eisenach, which was the object of a 
 constant pilgrimage. If the duchess was happy in 
 these testimonies of affection and sympathy, she 
 found herself in a constant state of over excitement 
 which affected her health, already shattered by so 
 many storms. She was nevertheless able to face the 
 rigors of the winter without danger, and to be a 
 spectator to the diversions of the young princes 
 when they skated upon the pond at the foot of the 
 Wartburg. 
 
 She took a still more active part in the exer- 
 cises and occupations which were destined to 
 strengthen, not her physical, but her intellectual 
 life. Though the care of her health made it her 
 duty to prolong her nightly repose, she never neg- 
 lected to call her sons around her for morning wor- 
 ship. Family prayers were followed by conversa- 
 tions, in which the lively faith of the duchess made 
 such a deep impression upon her children that it 
 will be forever graven upon their hearts. Their 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 349 
 
 differences of worship never produced evil conse- 
 quences ; slie listened witli interest to the religious 
 lessons given to her children by a worthy Catholic 
 ecclesi^istic ; and her Lutheran faith^ at once firm 
 and conciliating, inspired such profound respect in 
 the priest, that he, perhaps of all the members of 
 the clergy, after the death of the duchess, most 
 forcibly recalled what she had been and what she 
 had done. 
 
 In the summer of 1849, she saw all her Mecklen- 
 burg relations at Leipsic ; in the month of March, 
 1850, she went to Schwerin and Ludwigslust. Af- 
 ter having traversed Meiningen, which reminded her 
 of hours passed in the family of the ducal mansion, 
 and after having at Coburg enjoyed the domestic 
 pleasures of her dear sister Clementine, she went 
 with her and her brother-in-law to the good old city 
 of Nuremberg, It was in the month of April, 
 1850. She wished her sons to see the city which 
 had been so dear to her in her childhood ; she 
 showed them every thing, the churches, the beauti- 
 ful fountains, Albert Durer's house, and the manu- 
 factories. From Nuremberg, she went to Wurtz- 
 burg, where she made personal acquaintance with 
 the nephew of her maternal friend, Madame de 
 Both ; she visited Frankfort Museum with a par- 
 ticular interest, and descended the Ehine in a 
 steamboat, to proceed to England. 
 
350 MEMOIK OF THE 
 
 She was called thither by the duty of accom- 
 panying count de Paris, who was to take his first 
 communion under the eyes of the royal family. A 
 chapel in which Louis Philippe had. offered his de- 
 votions, during his first exile, was designated for 
 this solemnity ; he was then in the vigor of youth, 
 and the future was unfolding itself before him ; 
 now he entered, sustained by General Dumas, and 
 bowed under the weight of years and cares. He 
 was followed by the queen, whose step was firm, 
 and eye serene. The loss of a throne for which she 
 had never been ambitious, had not troubled her ; a 
 heart sanctified by the love of God had no regrets 
 for the smoking ruins of a terrestrial happiness ; 
 she had in Him a sure refuge, which satisfied all 
 her desires. After the queen, came the duchess of 
 Orleans, with her children and the rest of the fami- 
 ly. The entire chapel was filled with friends ; 
 twenty youths of the same age as the count de 
 Paris, occupied the first seat near the altar. They 
 presented a precious gift to the prince, which was 
 placed upon the altar.* 
 
 " Who could contemplate," said an eye-witness, 
 " without emotion, that mother, whose tearful eyes 
 rested upon her sons as if she would envelop them 
 
 * Allusion is also here made to the administrations of 
 Abb6 Guelle, and CarJiiial Wiseman, at this ceremony. 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 361 
 
 with lier look of love, wHle she was there upon her 
 knees, and while her countenance bore the expres- 
 sion of innocence, humility, and devotion ? " The 
 sobs of the spectators were not even stifled by the 
 sound of the organ. The prince's nurse came ex- 
 pressly from France to witness this ceremony. 
 
 Several persons, who had not seen the royal fam- 
 ily since the days of its prosperity, found, that of aU 
 the members which composed it, the duchess of 
 Orleans was the least changed and bowed down. 
 She was adorned for this fete, as in the period of 
 her prosperity ; the expression of her countenance, 
 was as always, sweet, benevolent, and spiritual. 
 She then wrote to a friend : 
 
 '' One often still feels so young and so sym- 
 pathetic when one does not dream of years already 
 left behind in the distance. But God and time 
 incessantly influence us. Ah ! what a capricious 
 thing is life, and how much more capricious the 
 heart of man is. God must have much, much 
 patience with regard to us." 
 
 The duchess, in successively visiting her re- 
 lations in Germany, seemed to be bidding adieu to 
 her country. She expresses this sentiment in some 
 passages of her letters, and her arrival in England 
 was soon to be followed by trying adieus. 
 
352 MEMOIK OF THE 
 
 The failing of Louis Philippe's health could not 
 escape the notice of any one who had occasion to 
 see him at certain intervals, and above all during 
 his sojourn in England. The memhers of his family, 
 who were constantly with him, did not observe it to 
 the same extent. His firm confidence in himself, 
 which never abandoned him in the midst of all the 
 dangers and vicissitudes of his reign, was shaken on 
 the 24th of February, the time of the unexpected 
 disaster, with which it had pleased God to strike 
 his house. Upon his departure from Paris he pro- 
 ceeded to Dreux, where the ashes of his father re- 
 posed, and finally embarked for England.* 
 
 The duchess of Orleans wrote at this time as 
 follows : 
 
 " This year has so impoverished me, that I have 
 often trouble to shake off the thoughts which op- 
 press and harass me, so as to prevent the loss of 
 all freshness of spirit. But this is speaking of 
 myself and my grief. Does not the queen set me 
 an example of spiritual strength and celestial resig- 
 
 * Mention is here made of the sojourn at Olaremont, and of 
 Louis Philippe's death ; the much fuller account given in the 
 first part of this volume, warrants the omission here. The 
 death of the qneen of the Belgians is here simply alluded to. 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 353 
 
 nation ? Ought I to bear my cross less courage- 
 ously than she ? " 
 
 The duchess passed the winter in England near 
 the mourning royal family. The grand-duchess 
 wrote to me in January, 1851 : " Helen loves to 
 frequent the Grerman Lutheran church in London, 
 where she enjoys the preaching of an ecclesiastic 
 who officiates alternately with the aged pastor, 
 Steinkopf, now eighty-four years of age." 
 
 The new events which passed in France in 
 1851, soon announced the thick clouds which often 
 troubled the serene horizon of the duchess. 
 
 " The repose," wrote she, " that I loved so 
 much to find in a tranquil retreat, in a complete 
 oblivion of the outward world, and of odious poli- 
 tics, that repose, I cannot obtain, because the 
 troubles of our poor country, the hopes of some, 
 the follies of others, and the stupidity of the ma- 
 jority, disturb me too much, and give my thoughts 
 no relaxation. I keep occupied, try to divert my- 
 self with music, walk often, and am frequently with 
 my relatives, but my heart cannot be calmed. God 
 only can render peace, and I have the firm hope 
 that he will." 
 
 The following passages of another letter prove 
 to what extent she knew how to find the source of 
 that inward durable peace : 
 
354: MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 " Gratitude towards God, is of all feelings the 
 one that I love the most. That outpouring of the 
 soul, does it not attract us powerfully towards Him, 
 and does it not often establish a more intimate re- 
 lation than grief? And is there a greater grief 
 than impotence to render thanks in the midst of 
 prosperity ? Is there any thing more withering to 
 the heart than ingratitude ? No ; I love to out- 
 pour the gratitude with which my heart is filled 
 towards Him, to whom I owe every thing, towards 
 my neighbors and friends, who afford me so many 
 delights ; towards my enemies, shall I add, for they 
 show me the reverse of life, and press my heart to 
 seek the aid of God, more and more. I now com- 
 prehend the double sense of the words, ' Bless those 
 who curse you/ But I should be a hypocrite, if I 
 said, that I have learned to be grateful towards them. 
 I simply confess that they merit gratitude, and that 
 in saying, ' Forgive them. Father, for they know not 
 what they do,' I should heap coals of fire upon their 
 head. Behold how I have passed, without transi- 
 tion, from my best friends to my most bitter perse- 
 cutors." 
 
DUCIIESS OF OKLEANS. 36i) 
 
 XXI. 
 
 A FORETASTE OF THE TERROES OF DEATH. 
 
 When tlie heart is in the state described in 
 the previous letter^ it can calmly face the terrors 
 and judgment of death. It was reserved for the 
 duchess to experience them, before the moment 
 assigned in the ordinary course of nature, when God 
 calls man to appear before Him. In the crisis to 
 which I allude, the duchess passed through all the 
 agonies of the dark valley through which the dying 
 one enters another world, the splendors of which she 
 had for an instant gained a glimpse. It is for this 
 reason that she afterwards left this world without 
 contest, without seeing the approach of death, or 
 feeling its bitterness ; she had already passed 
 through this trial ; she had wrestled with death, 
 and only prevailed after having said, like Jacob to 
 
356 MEMOIR OF TlIK 
 
 the angel, " I cannot let thee go, unless thou hless 
 me." 
 
 At the end of the year 1852, and in the begin- 
 ning of the following year, grave events, which fol- 
 lowed the grief of the royal family, filled the heart 
 of the duchess with agitation. I speak of the coup 
 d'etat of the 2d of December, and of the confisca- 
 tion of the property of the Orleans family, which 
 further aggravated the sentence of exile. The ma- 
 terial loss scarcely affected the duchess, but she 
 was under the weight of another afl&iction, which 
 opened an abyss between her and the future of her 
 life. " One should not be astonished by it," wrote 
 the grand-duchess, " she is attached as by a charm 
 to the country which repulses her. But the Lord 
 will deliver her from this charm. He already be- 
 gins to do so." 
 
 Her health had been very much shattered for 
 some time. Physicians prescribed a journey into 
 Switzerland. Her noble mother wrote to me on the 
 8th of August, 1852 : 
 
 " Helen is now at St. G-ervais, upon one of the 
 heights at the foot of Mont Blanc, in order to 
 breathe the pure air of the country and to strength- 
 en her nerves. Her health does not inspire serious 
 disquietude. The children, who must have grown 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 357 
 
 much, climb tlie surrounding mountains witli the 
 goats ; they love Nature and their studies. May 
 the Lord grant them all His benediction." 
 
 The innocent enjoyment of these solitary walks, 
 was habitually disturbed by the presence of persons 
 who seemed to be spies attached to the steps of the 
 duchess and her suite. Her strength of soul was to 
 be put to a most rude test ; she Avas to look death 
 in the face, and was to be saved only by the hand 
 of God. Upon the route from Geneva to Lausanne, 
 the closed carriage in which she was with her two 
 sons, received such a violent shock, that it was 
 overthrown and precipitated into a river. The 
 duchess had her collar-bone broken ; but, forgetting 
 her pain and the approach of death, which seemed 
 certain, she thought with anguish of her children, 
 who were already safe, while she was under the 
 water. She makes allusion to this deliverance in a 
 letter which she addressed to me after her return to 
 England. I give it entire, for it mirrors the calm 
 of her soul. 
 
 KiTTLEY, Devonshire, January 15, 1853. 
 It is with a true emotion, that I recognized your 
 hand-writing and opened the book which you sent 
 me as a souvenir of the past. You should have 
 
358 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 sooner received the expression of my gratitude, if 
 tlie journey of that volume had heen easier and less 
 slow ; but I have only been in possession of it for a 
 few days, I have already read your interesting 
 narrations to my sons, and they have been happy 
 that one who sent the bull-bull and Moses' rod 
 from the desert, had not forgotten them. 
 
 You have the marvellous gift of making the 
 most noble cords of my soul vibrate ; your letter 
 has not only awakened within me, that remem- 
 brance of the past, in which dreams were golden 
 and hopes full of life, but it is still a voice which 
 speaks to me of that future without end, where 
 dreams will become truths, and where hopes, faded 
 here below, will bloom anew. I again, from the 
 depths of my heart, offer you my thanks for all the 
 affectionate sympathy of which your letter gives me 
 proof. 
 
 I deeply regret that during my frequent ex- 
 cursions in Grermany, I had never the pleasure of 
 again pressing your hand, and of hearing the voice 
 which cradled my infancy with such pretty legends, 
 and which afterwards, by the aid of the pen, led my 
 intellect to enjoy the most serious truths. We have 
 sometimes no need to see you, in order to hear you ; 
 and thus, dear professor, (permit me still the old 
 title,) I have not seen you since my sixteenth year ; 
 yet have not ceased to love and respect you. 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 359 
 
 You are, without doubt, riglit ; some tempests 
 have passed over us ; and, in the course of the ten 
 past years, I have from the depths experienced the 
 bitterness of hfe. The short period of my happi- 
 ness wo s very beautiful, too much without parallel ; 
 it has been necessary for me to expiate for it. But 
 it is above all in the midst of these hard tests that 
 I have sensibly experienced the grace and patience 
 of the Lord, Latterly again, when His arm guard- 
 ed my children in danger and saved me from a 
 death which appeared inevitable, without hope of 
 succor, I had the very evident proof of His power 
 and goodness ; I have learned to regard my life as 
 a gift of his love and to appreciate the value of 
 what I have so often found bitter and painful. 
 May this feeling contribute to the glory of God, 
 and to the salvation of my dear children ! 
 
 If you would from time to time give me tidings 
 of yourself, you would give me great pleasure. 
 Make my cordial salutations to queen Maria, who is 
 so dear to me, and believe me with faithful attach- 
 ment, your former pupil, 
 
 Helen. 
 
 I left the recital of this deliverance of the duch- 
 ess of Orleans to my friend Schelling in Berlin. I 
 knew his respect and affection for the princess, with 
 
360 MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 whom he had personal acquaintance at Eisenach ; I 
 knew the sympathetic part he took in her destiny. 
 In addressing me on the 8th of March, 1853, before 
 the last letter received from his hand, he called the 
 duchess of Orleans " the most sorely tried woman 
 of our epoch," and added a prophetic word with 
 regard to her children. May it he realized in all its 
 extent. 
 
DUCHESS OF OKLEAI^S, 361 
 
 XXTI. 
 
 NEW PILGRIMAGE. 
 
 The duchess was obliged to pass several weeks 
 at Lausanne, until lier fracture permitted lier to re- 
 turn to England ; though, she was much weakened 
 by physical and mental suffering, she wrote to her 
 friend : 
 
 " May the will of Grod be accomplished in me, 
 for his glory and my salvation ; may the mysterious 
 paths through which he leads me, purify my soul 
 and render me capable of fulfiling my maternal 
 duties ! " 
 
 " My children prosper," wrote she at another 
 time ; '* they live happily in the midst of youthful 
 dreams, and grow strong in body and mind. I 
 hope soon to be able to accompany them to Eng- 
 land, whither I have an ardent desire to go. Ke- 
 pose, repose, isolation from all politics, that is what 
 I have need of as well as pure air." 
 16 
 
362 MEMOIK OF THE 
 
 As she could not escape political agitation in 
 the circle in which she lived, she took refuge for 
 several weeks in the mountains of Scotland, and 
 regained new strength in the bosom of that grand 
 nature, of which she understood the charm. She 
 again took up the pencil and the pallet which she 
 had for so long a time neglected, and set about de- 
 signing pretty landscapes after nature, in company 
 with Madame de Vins, her reader, a lady endowed 
 with distinguished talents. 
 
 She finally arrived in her much longed for Eng- 
 land, but grief thither also pursued her. The 
 duchess of Altenburg, her sister, like her, lost her 
 husband ; this death painfully affected the duchess 
 of Orleans, though habituated to such blows by so 
 many cruel separations. The loyal character and 
 sound religious principles of duke George, had ren- 
 dered him dear to the duchess, as to all those who 
 intimately knew him. She suffered much physically 
 during the winter, but she only the more actively 
 concentrated her strength of mind upon the educa- 
 tion of her children. Count de Paris, at this epoch, 
 received a military tutor, in the person of G-eneral 
 Trezelle. 
 
 " Paris,'' wrote she, some time after, " passed a 
 brilliant examination ; Kobert passed his at Easter, 
 and bore it bravely. 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 363 
 
 She introduced her sons into the circle of her 
 relations, by accompanying them to Eudolstadt, 
 lena and Eisenberg, where, in August, 1854, she 
 became godmother to her sister's little grand- 
 daughter. Her mother, the grand-duchess, who 
 had been twice deeply afflicted in the space of two 
 months, again at Kudolstadt, lost the last of her 
 sisters, to whom she had been devotedly attached. 
 The duchess hastened to join her, and finally ac- 
 companied her to Eisenach. She now especially 
 felt- the blessing of possessing such a mother, since 
 death had made new ravages in her circle of friends, 
 for she had learned of the sudden deaths of the 
 minister Verney and Mademoiselle de Eantzau. 
 
 '^ Let us be more nearly united," she wrote to 
 her friend, "and as soldiers, who in battle seeing 
 their comrades fall around them, press together in 
 the ranks, in order that the vacancy may not be 
 perceived." 
 
 She expresses to me in the following manner 
 the happiness she experienced in having her mother 
 preserved to her : 
 
 " Of all visits, the dearest is that made at this 
 time by my beloved mother ; my heart is filled 
 with an ever new gratitude. The clearness and 
 vigor of her mind charm all who see her, and her 
 
364 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 heart is still so young, so loving, that it gives life 
 to the most indifferent." 
 
 The war in the Crimea was a new source of 
 grief to the duchess, for the sons of a great number 
 of her friends in France, had fallen upon the bloody 
 field of battle. Count de Paris, among others, fol- 
 lowed each scene of the military drama with as 
 lively an interest as if the troops were still under 
 the orders of his grandfather. He acquainted him- 
 self with the towers and forts of Sebastapol, and the 
 respective positions of the armies, as if they were 
 under his own eyes. 
 
 " We sigh after peace ; may God grant it to 
 us ; otherwise no one will return," wrote the 
 duchess. 
 
 Sympathy for the consequent sufferings of this 
 war, showed itself in the minutest circumstances. 
 The sons of her valet-de-chambre fell before Se- 
 bastapol ; in the coat-pocket of one of them was 
 found a Napoleon, which was sent to his parents 
 with his clothing. The duchess added a gold ring 
 to this piece of gold, that the soldier's mother might 
 wear it in remembrance of her son. She several times 
 went to see this grief-stricken woman. 
 
 During the winters of 1854 and '55, the duchess 
 had frequent trouble with her eyes, which did not 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 365 
 
 diminisli tlie pleasure with which she welcomed the 
 visit of some friends from France. " Helen is calm," 
 wrote her mother, "though it costs her much to 
 feel that her sons have no other perspective than 
 the isolation of exile for the rich development of 
 their faculties." The duchess addressed the fol- 
 lowing letter to me at the same epoch, and its tone 
 and contents confirm this ohservation. 
 
 Eisenach, January 9, 1855. 
 For a long time, dear master and friend, I have 
 desired to express my gratitude, and to tell you how 
 much I am touched with each proof of your re- 
 membrance. I will not permit this return of the 
 year to pass without acquitting the debt of my 
 heart, and without thanking you for the gift you 
 sent me. Your work* always makes me serene, and 
 the remembrances of our childhood furnish me with 
 an abundant subject for meditation. My dearly 
 beloved mother also enjoys this book very much, 
 and I have often found her engaged in reading it. 
 It has a charm for her that old age knows how to 
 appreciate, namely, that of refreshing the impres- 
 sions of childhood ; but, besides that, she can still 
 sound the most profound passages as formerly, and 
 foUow the most delicate reasoning. She is admi- 
 
 * The first volume of the author's biography. 
 
366 MEMOIK OF THE 
 
 rable ! You would be rejoiced and astonished at 
 her ideas, so fresh, and so striking upon the most 
 important points. She has maintained a rare lu- 
 cidity which even reacts happily upon her health ; 
 and notwithstanding all the suffering which has 
 assailed her these latter years, her heart has still 
 infinite elasticity. I am very thankful for having 
 her near me, and I feel that God not only preserves 
 her to us, but that He gives her.ifo me. Her 
 presence is of inestimable value to my dear chil- 
 dren. 
 
 My dear professor, (for I must retain that old 
 name,) accept my best wishes for the year 1855, 
 and keep me, in turn, in your good remembrance, 
 to which I closely cling. 
 
 Helen. 
 
 In the spring of the same year, the king of 
 Saxony, who came to Thuringia to make several 
 family visits, also passed to Eisenach. There was 
 a double spiritual tie established between the 
 duchess and himself, which arose from a conformity 
 of trials and consolations. Indeed, what analogy 
 was there not between the sad accident which put 
 an end to the days of the duke of Orleans, and the 
 event of the 9th of August, 1854, which tore king 
 Frederick Auo-ustus from the nation to which he 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 367 
 
 was a father ? And if the duchess of Orleans had 
 found motives for joy and consolation in the thought 
 of eternity, what heart could better understand her 
 than that of a j)rince, whose conscience had been 
 awakened by Dante's poem upon Eternity ? Hence, 
 in the evening, at the table of the grand duke, who 
 had accompanied his host to Eisenach, the duchess, 
 seated by the side of the king, experienced the 
 sweet satisfaction of understanding and being un- 
 derstood. What chiefly struck one in the prince, 
 was not only his fine expression, high culture, and 
 varied knowledge, but a depth of feeling which 
 awakened unlimited confidence. 
 
 On the 23d of May, the king again made a visit 
 to the duchess, before he departed for Meiningen, 
 and invited her to visit him in Dresden, with her 
 children and suite. The duchess accepted this in- 
 vitation with pleasure, and, several weeks after, went 
 to Dresden, where the royal family welcomed her 
 with much affection. An excursion made into Saxon 
 Switzerland, during the finest season of the year, 
 agreeably diverted her. But she was chiefly happy 
 in seeing her sons as interested in works of art as 
 she had been when in her youth at Dresden. She 
 would have remained a much longer time in that 
 city, if the state of her health had not suddenly 
 forced her to shorten her visit. She hastened to 
 
368 MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 return to Eisenach, where she received the care of 
 the grand duchess, who "hastened to her hed-side ; 
 the physicians counselled her to try the waters of 
 Pfeffers. A letter from the grand duchess, on the 
 13th of July, says with regard to this subject : 
 
 " Grod he praised ! Helen is preserved to us, 
 hut she is still suffering. She will then go to 
 Kagatz, which is a branch establishment to Pfef- 
 fers. May the Lord bless this remedy ! We set 
 out on Monday and go together as far as Giessen ; 
 from there she proceeds to Switzerland and I to 
 Hamburg. To-day, the 13th of July, the anniver- 
 sary of our common grief, we have been to take the 
 communion, the children in their church, we in 
 ours, but all reunited in the same spiritual com- 
 munion. The two children, the eldest one particu- 
 larly, were deeply moved. They develop, intellec- 
 tually, so happily that all around them are rejoiced. 
 The same may be said of their bodies ; the count 
 de Paris has the figure of a man ; he is very slen- 
 der, but strong, graceful, and adroit in his move- 
 ments, calm and modest in his nature. The duke 
 de Chartres also grows ; he learns well, and has a 
 vivacity altogether French. Both so passionately 
 love their mother, that one is touched and happy 
 at the sight of their affection. Surrounded by the 
 
DUCHESS OF OKLEANS. 369 
 
 purest and most innocent delights of childhood, 
 they know, thanks to God, neither ennui nor re- 
 gret," 
 
 The following winter, the state of the duchess 
 was insupportable ; without heing ill, she had not 
 recovered her health. She then addressed me a 
 letter, the contents of which refer to the part of my 
 autobiography which concerns my sojourn at Meck- 
 lenburg. (Vol. 3, first Part.) 
 
 This letter is full of fine allusions to the situa- 
 tion of the country and the court at that epoch ; 
 these allusions are only of importance to him who 
 has the key to them. She takes, she says, a lively 
 interest in remembrances concerning her brother 
 Albert and the years she passed with him in her 
 early childhood. 
 
 The duchess again resolved to go to the waters, 
 during the beautiful season of the year 1856. This 
 time she chose Soden, not far from Frankfort, be- 
 cause she could frequently see her mother, who 
 was then in the vicinity, at Hamburg. The phy- 
 sicians, persuaded that a prolonged sojourn in a 
 milder climate alone would reestablish her health, 
 entreated her to pass the winter in Italy. Their 
 counsel was good ; the duchess so tried by many 
 afflictions, had need to summon the strength of her 
 16* 
 
3T0 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 heart and soul for the last contest which awaited 
 her ; Italy, rather than any other country, offered 
 the repose of which she had need. 
 
 " In this delightful country," wrote she to her 
 friend, " I feel animated by a new life ; I am ro- 
 bust and more cheerful than I have ever been since 
 I commenced to suffer," 
 
 If this little work was to be but an agreeable 
 recreation, I could not better attain that end than 
 by publishing the letters written by the duchess of 
 Orleans to her mother, during her sojourn in Italy 
 in 1856-57. But as these letters do not directly 
 enter into the frame which I have made, I confine 
 myself to indicating the names of the countries 
 through which she passed, and the cities where she 
 sojourned. Those of my readers who have made 
 the same journey, will scarcely have trouble to 
 place their impressions in unison with those of the 
 duchess. 
 
 One who, after a serious malady, has the new 
 life which circulates through all the members of 
 the body, will understand the animation of the first 
 letter, written from Genoa, October 5, 1856. The 
 duchess left England about the end of September ; 
 on the 2d of October she is at Yerona, crosses the 
 plain of the Po by the railroad, and passes the Ap- 
 penines. The impression that Genoa produced upon 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 371 
 
 her, with its magnificent situation, its churches, 
 its palaces, and its works of art, is so lively and at- 
 tractive that she does not mind the mud of its 
 streets. The people please her, and the sentiments 
 of a portion of the higher class of society are the 
 sympathetic echo of her own thoughts. "While she 
 is seeking for a country house which corresponds to 
 her wants, she goes to see lake Maggiore and the 
 lakes of Como and Lugano. She enthusiastically 
 describes the splendor of the surrounding country ; 
 she dwells complacently upon the cathedral of Lu- 
 gano and the Borromean Isles, seen hy the magnifi- 
 cent light of the moon. 
 
 From Milan, where the works of art captivate 
 her, she passes hy Pavia. returns to Glenoa on the 
 27th of October, and soon after occupies a villa near 
 Sestra. Seated upon the terrace of that villa, she 
 was surrounded by a southern vegetation in the midst 
 of winter ; in front of her, she had the azure sea 
 and breathed a sweet and welcome air. She was 
 surrounded by a circle of acquaintances, attracted 
 to her by conformity of principles, rank, and intel- 
 lectual culture. These visitors, who always arrived 
 by the first conveyance from Genoa and Sestra, 
 departed in the same manner in the afternoon, and 
 thus left the duchess in the free employment of her 
 evenings. This sojourn in Italy, contributed in 
 
372 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 various ways to strengtlien the duchess and to de- 
 velop the physical strength of her sons. The count 
 de Paris passed several weeks in Sardinia in order 
 to enjoy the pleasures of the chase. 
 
 The necessities of her heart and mind also there 
 found their supply. In a letter of the 31st of 
 March, 1857, the duchess describes the benevolent 
 establishments and schools of Genoa, in which she 
 takes a lively interest. She also writes to the grand 
 duchess : '' How many times I have thought of you 
 during this good and peaceable week, my dear 
 mother. I took the communion on Easter Sabbath. 
 Our Genoese preacher, M. Vaucher, is a man of 
 faith, whose words deeply touch the heart." 
 
 The duchess left the Gulf of Genoa, on the 8th 
 of May. The royal family of Sardinia, who had in- 
 vited her to Turin, gave her a cordial welcome. In- 
 dependent of the enjoyment still reserved for her 
 in the fine arts of Milan, she had the pleasure of 
 receiving a visit from the archduke Maximilian in 
 that city ; he had obtained the hand of her niece, 
 princess Charlotte of Belgium. She finally pro- 
 ceeded to Augsburg, passing through Hohenschwan- 
 gau, where she occupied the apartments of her re- 
 lative, queen Maria of Bavaria. Towards the end 
 of May, she found herself at Eisenach, where she 
 only wished at that time to sojourn for a few weeks. 
 
DUCHESS OF OJRLEANS. 373 
 
 She wrote me a letter from there, which, as else- 
 where, depicts her heart and mind. 
 
 A sojourn of several years had attached her to 
 Eisenach ; the castle in which she lived, was situ- 
 ated at the foot of the Warthurg, and contained all 
 the souvenirs of happier times, with which she had 
 wished to surround herself. It was not only in an 
 external sense that she took possession of her resi- 
 dence ; she had erected in the hearts of the inhabit- 
 ants of the city, environs, and all Thuringia, a 
 monument more precious than a dwelling of wood 
 and stone, more durable than the short station of a 
 wandering life. The materials of this monument 
 were works of love, immeasurable consolations to the 
 poor and afflicted, and encouragements to youth ; 
 it was the pure model of all Christian virtues that 
 she offered to those who surrounded her, and even 
 to those who heard her life of devotion spoken of. 
 Her name was associated with that of the holy 
 Elizabeth, whose name had been made popular by 
 legend and poetry, and who, at a distant epoch, 
 had also inhabited the Wartburg. 
 
 The duchess, who now found herself happier at 
 Eisenach than elsewhere, even found in this feeling 
 a warning soon to leave this sojourn, and to direct 
 her pilgrimage to another station. She was not 
 mistaken ; the advanced age of the queen Maria 
 
374 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 Amelia, made it lier duty to be more continually 
 near her, and slie left Germany for England. Be- 
 fore lier departure, slie sent me a letter, accom- 
 panied with, her portrait, which is said to he a true 
 one ; a copy of it is placed in the commencement 
 of this volume. On the 6th of July, 1857, the 
 duchess rejoined her family. 
 
 She occupied a country-house in the vicinity of 
 Richmond, the property of marquis de Landsdowne. 
 In one hour, she could he at Claremont, the resi- 
 dence of the queen, and in half an hour, at Twick- 
 enham, the possession of the duke d'Aumale. Her 
 sojourn at Eichmond was prolonged till the end of 
 the lease, when she was forced to take another 
 dwelling, which, with its facade of heavy portals 
 and sombre columns, resembled a tomb. The 
 duchess before entering it, caused its aspect to be 
 made less gloomy. 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 375 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 About this epoch, the thought of death was 
 not only awakened in the duchess by a mere external 
 circumstance, such as the aspect of the facade of 
 her dwelling, but it was more than ever habitual in 
 her soul. Many subjects which previously inter- 
 ested her, she now began to be indifferent to. 
 She little by little came to share the sentiments of 
 her mother, who shuddered at the bare thoughts of 
 " cold, frigid politics," and who did not like one to 
 approach the questions of the day, upon which she 
 herself maintained a profound silence. In passing 
 through Belgium, the duchess of Orleans had been 
 obhged for seven consecutive hours to submit to 
 conversations of this kind, which had extremely 
 fatigued her ; at each station, the same question 
 
376 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 presented itself anew, and slie was only delivered 
 from it upon setting lier foot upon tlie vessel which 
 was to transport her to England, In crossing from 
 Calais to Dover, she was assailed by a storm, the 
 voice of which was doubtless more powerful than 
 that of harangue ; but she was not forced to reply, 
 and her part was simply to contemplate it in silence. 
 "What she saw at that moment inspired h er with 
 serious reflections. While the entire horizon was 
 lit up with lightning, and the thunder pealed inces- 
 santly in the midst of the clouds, driven by the 
 tempest, the sea was more calm than ordinarily for 
 this portion of the channel. The noble duchess 
 then said : " My soul ought to find itself more and 
 more calm in the midst of the storms of politics." 
 This she attained. 
 
 Formerly, she cherished the hope of some day 
 returning to France, which was so dear to her ; 
 now this thought no longer absorbed her. She had 
 educated her sons in view of rendering them useful 
 and devoted to her country ; she left to Grod the 
 care of deciding in what manner their patriotism 
 should be turned to profit. 
 
 Soon after the arrival of the duchess in England, 
 a new affliction fell upon her heart and prepared 
 her for her end. The sudden and so unexpected 
 death of the duchess Yictoire de Nemours (Novem- 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 377 
 
 "ber 10, 1857), burst like a thunder-clap wliile tlie 
 sky is serene, upon the Orleans family. Let us leave 
 the duchess Helen to relate this catastrophe : 
 
 Claremont, Nov. 11, 1857. 
 
 My dear and much beloved mother, you will 
 share our affliction. That frightful event 'has para- 
 lyzed us. Never did death seize a victim so quickly. 
 The ways of God are mysterious ; but life is but a 
 valley of bitter tears ! The poor queen ! to submit 
 to sucb a blow at her age ! to see tlie happiness of 
 her dear son reduced to nothing ! It is too hard. 
 And Nemours, so touching in his grief, so profoundly 
 afflicted and yet so pious, so resigned — yes, resigned 
 to the will of God ! His dear children show much 
 heart. Alas ! they loved their mother so much ! 
 
 We are persuaded that you will sympathize 
 with our affliction, you, my dear mother, who have 
 such heart and who love our family so much ! 
 
 We cannot yet comprehend our misfortune. A 
 minute before, our dear Yictoire was so amiable, so 
 gay, she spoke of leaving her bed to receive a visit 
 from her aunt ; Nemours was below with the queen, 
 and Victoire was alone with the nurse ; suddenly 
 she leaned gently upon the shoulder of the woman 
 and said in a low voice, " Oh ! I am ill ! " She 
 was no more ! Nemours, the queen, all ran, and 
 
oY8 IHEMOIR OF THE 
 
 endeavored in vain to recall her to life ; but, be- 
 tween tbe moment when we believed her in a swoon, 
 and the one in which the frightful truth flashed 
 upon us, there was an abyss of despair. Poor Ne- 
 mours was beside himself ; he does not leave the 
 chamber where his dear Victoire sleeps. Alas ! she 
 has still an expression so sweet, so calm ; she is like a 
 broken lily, still so white, so beautiful ; there is shed 
 such peace over her features ! one almost believes 
 that she breathes, and that she is going to speak ! 
 The queen is full of strength and courage ; but she 
 often says : " that I was in her place ! " I am 
 established here in order to be with her as much as 
 possible. My dear children appear very well, and 
 show much feeling. Aumale is very useful to Ne- 
 mours. Alas ! what a winter is before us, who 
 were hoping for some bright days ! 
 
 I am going to give still a few more letters ; we 
 shall then see the reflection of the impressions pro- 
 duced upon the heart of the duchess by that unex- 
 pected blow, and the meditations which it sug- 
 gested. 
 
 Richmond, Dec. 24, 1857. 
 Deak Mother : 
 
 I write to you upon the evening of a very solemn 
 day ; upon the evening which reminds me of se 
 
DTJCHESS OF ORLEANS. 379 
 
 many proofs of love, goodness, and solicitude which, 
 you gave me in my childhood. It is a peaceful even- 
 ing, serious, yet cheerful, for it is the anniversary 
 of the birth of the Saviour who has ransomed fallen 
 humanity, and who consoles and raises stricken hearts. 
 The external fete which ravished my childhood, 
 has given place to more grave remembrance ; we 
 light no trees in our houses, and our children have 
 no demonstrative joy as formerly. This year, death 
 has cast a veil of mourning over the fete of the na- 
 tivity, and over life, and our hearts seek elsewhere 
 for joy and consolation. 
 
 We are all seeking to prepare for the holy com- 
 munion. This evening, at midnight, the queen 
 goes to commune with several members of her fam- 
 ily ; to-morrow, early in the morning, will be my 
 sons' turn ; afterwards, I shall go to my church in 
 London. It is a very solemn thought ; I always 
 tremble, and nevertheless, take courage, for the 
 grace and mercy of the Lord are inexhaustible. It 
 seems to me, dear and good mother, that I need to go 
 to you and to read a canticle again with you, in order 
 to receive strength, light, and benediction from you. 
 My heart is with you in this hour of such a peace- 
 ful evening, when each one lives in retirement, and 
 when you are in enjoyment of a sweet repose in the 
 presence of the Lord, I am assured that you also 
 
380 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 tliink of me^ with my dear sons — tliat you ask Grod 
 not to withdraw his hand from us, and to bless the 
 recent and painful trials which he has allotted us. 
 There is, as dear Schubert always repeats, a gift of 
 presentiment which never misleads, which draws 
 hearts together notwithstanding distances ; hence I 
 am now certain that we are near one another, my 
 dearly beloved mother ! 
 
 I conclude ; I will write a line to you to-mor- 
 row, after my return from London. 
 
 Afteenook of Christmas-day 
 I have had a delightful morning, my dearly be- 
 loved mother, and I have thought much of you. I 
 have returned from London, where I communed 
 after having heard the preparatory service and the 
 sermon. May God grant me his benediction, and 
 above all, holy joy, which, on account of my feeble 
 faith, fails me much. If you knew how far my de- 
 pression goes, yoLi would be pained. It is'properly 
 an evil, and a lack of faith ; but acquaintance with 
 oneself always produces this discouragement. 
 
 The good Steinkopf, in his eighty-sixth year, 
 was very ill and in bed ; he begged me to come near 
 him, and spoke to me with so much heart that I 
 was touched. He has always a word upon his lips 
 which penetrates the soul. He told me to-day,, 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 381 
 
 that I did not meditate enougli upon the words, 
 " Grive thanks." " If God has tried you," he added, 
 " you are nevertheless always guided and protected 
 by His hand, and He has beside left you many pos- 
 sessions. Hope in one who alone is immutable, 
 when every thing disappears around you. You are 
 acquainted with the nothingness of human greatness, 
 the vanity of luxury and the glory of the world ; 
 and you are also acquainted with one who is not 
 submitted to any change ; hope, then, in Him, and 
 
 lean upon Him." The excellent lady de took 
 
 the communion at the same time with me. We 
 returned to Eichmond under a bright spring sun, and 
 found my two sons upon our arrival, who had re- 
 ceived the host. I am writing to you while they 
 are gone to the evening service, which combines the 
 vespers and the benediction, and I from time to 
 time cast a glance upon the setting sun, which 
 tints half of the horizon with purple. I have a 
 magnificent spectacle before me, which reminds me 
 of the beautiful evenings at Genoa and my timid 
 attempts to reproduce that strange color with my 
 brush. It is a beautiful and peaceable Christmas- 
 eve, in which there would be nothing wanting, if 
 you were here, dear mother. 
 
 Another letter, written at the end of 1857, 
 
382 MEMOIR OF THE 
 
 breathes the same confidence in God, and she seeks 
 to raise the veil which covers the destinies of the 
 ensuing year. This letter also interests by the 
 narration of the gracious reception made at Wind- 
 sor to the duchess and her two sons, by the queen 
 of England and prince Albert. One sees that she 
 is often penetrated by an indefinable melancholy, 
 which externally manifests itself by the need she 
 experiences of casting herself into the arms of her 
 excellent mother. It was not only love for her na- 
 tive place that agitated the heart of the duchess ; 
 her soul had more profound and elevated aspira- 
 tions ; she already felt herself attracted towards 
 that eternal country, which seems to reveal itself 
 more distinctly to men, when the hour of departure 
 seems about to strike. The following letter gives 
 us a proof of this ; it is the last I received from her 
 hand, and one of the last addressed to G-ermany ; 
 for it is three days posterior to that which termi- 
 nated the correspondence of the duchess with her 
 mother. A few weeks after, the questions which 
 she raises and which absorb her, received a dazzling 
 solution in eternity, 
 
 Richmond, Easter, April 4, 1858. 
 
 Deae Pkofessok : 
 
 I confide these lines to your grandson, in the 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 383 
 
 hope that the joy of seeing the bearer will give them 
 some value. I have long had the intention of writ- 
 ing to you, and of thanking you for your kind gift, 
 which came to me only lately, but which has not 
 the less procured for me a great and durable joy. I 
 read your last production * with prolonged interest, 
 and have devoted particular attention to the chap- 
 ters which treat of death and of that which follows. 
 Those leaves could not have found me in a better 
 condition than that which followed the sudden death 
 of my beloved sister, the duchess de Nemours ; that 
 disposition will follow me, I hope, all the rest of my 
 life, for it is the fruit of the serious call which has 
 been addressed to us all by that unexpected loss. 
 The fragility of human life and the variety of inter- 
 ests here below have never so seriously struck me as 
 in these latter months, though the voice of God has 
 been so often heard in my afflicted heart, and the 
 strokes from His hand have showed me the insta- 
 bility of greatness and the inconstancy of the purest 
 earthly happiness. In this state of mind, I ardent- 
 ly wished a nourishment which suited the state of 
 my soul ; your book appeared to me like a stream 
 in the desert ; and it has consoled me by the in- 
 structive relation of the experiences of pious men in 
 trial or upon their death-beds. A multitude of 
 
 * The first volume of the Author's Collections. 
 
384 " ' ■ MEMOIR " or' the' 
 
 questions incessantly press themselves upon my 
 mind. What does the soul feel at the moment of 
 death ? Does it feel itself in the presence of God, or 
 does it fall into a kind of lethargy until the hour of 
 the resurrection ? Does it suffer at the moment 
 when it abruptly leaves the body and the external 
 world ? Does it regret those whom it has loved, and 
 who weep ? Does it know what they do in this world, 
 or are all the ties to earth broken ? Do we love 
 only the Lord on high ? and are we entirely absorbed 
 in a feeling of adoration, which excludes all other 
 feeling, and renders us strangers to what passes in 
 the world which we have left ? This is what I ask 
 of those for whom I weep and whose image is 
 always living before me : but I obtain no response. 
 I well know that if God had found it good to satis- 
 fy such a natural desire of the heart. He would have 
 revealed to us what pertains to the soul after death, 
 and would have cleared the sombre mystery of the 
 future life ! but this persuasion does not tranquillize 
 me, and if I believe that acquaintance with that 
 future, ought to remain hidden from us, I shall 
 often have an inexpressible desire to have a pre- 
 sentiment of it. If this desire appears culpable to 
 you, tell me frankly ; if it proceeds from a want of 
 faith, God grant to strengthen my faith, that I may 
 no longer be absorbed by these questions. 
 
 9 
 
DUCHESS OF OELEANS. 385 
 
 My sister apprises me that you labor without 
 relaxation, very dear professor, and that you will 
 soon send us a new work, provided your strength 
 does not exhaust itself in this incessant activity, 
 and that you remain for a long time upon our poor 
 earth, where you are so useful ! This wish your 
 grandson, the doctor, will express to you especially 
 in my name, I regret that he leaves England. I 
 have h«,d pleasure in seeing him and in conversing 
 with him, for he appears to he a gifted young man, 
 fuU of energy, goodness of heart, and piety ; such 
 ought to he the son of your Selma. I cannot tell 
 you with what interest I heard many details from 
 his mouth concerning all your family. I should 
 doubtless enjoy a greater pleasure in seeing you 
 again here below, and in expressing to you by word 
 of mouth, after forty years, my filial respect. God 
 grant me this joy. 
 
 Helen, 
 
 One might say that in writing this letter, the 
 duchess not only wished to express in words her 
 thoughts upon the uncertainty of life, and upon that 
 eternity to which she was so near ; but, that she still 
 felt the need of joining a visible pledge of her good- 
 will with this last letter of adieu. She said in the 
 postscript : 
 
 17 
 
386 MEMOIE OF THE 
 
 " I pray Madam© de Scliubert to accept a little 
 souvenir ; it is a pin, tlie twin-sister of wMcli I 
 often wear. As it is very plain, and of sombre 
 color, I hope that your wife, who cares little for the 
 toilet, will not disdain this modest onyx, and that 
 she will sometimes wear it in remembrance of me." 
 
 A few days before the date of this letter, he who 
 was charged with it again saw the duchess* in the 
 little Lutheran church, where she was taking the 
 communion in the midst of the members of the 
 community, and thus proved that fidelity to the 
 end which was an essential trait of her nature and 
 entire life. 
 
 She also had occasion to give a last testimony of 
 it, in the accomplishment of her maternal duties.* 
 
 At its departure, the soul often leaves upon the 
 countenance, the reflection of the eternal light 
 which inundates it the moment it leaves the body. 
 
 Those who had seen the duchess of Orleans for 
 the first time saluting her husband at Chalons-sur- 
 Marne, again distinguished upon her features after 
 death, the same indefinable expression of love, joy, 
 
 * The account here given by Professor Schubert concerning 
 the illness of the duke de Chartres, the duchess' care of him, 
 her illness, and peaceful death, is almost precisely the same, as 
 the one previously given in this volume. 
 
DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 887 
 
 and hiimilit3\ That fugitive instant of happiness, 
 that sweet terrestrial dream, had received its ac- 
 complishment ; faith was changed to sight. 
 
 The joy which transports the born blind, when 
 in consequence of a skilful operation, he suddenly 
 sees himself enveloped in a flood of light, and for 
 the first time distinguishes the features of those 
 who have tenderly watched over him, is well the 
 expression of the greatest happiness which the 
 heart of man can contain. But, at the sight of 
 the mortal remains of the duchess, our thoughts 
 carry us to a happiness which no eye has seen, 
 which no ear has heard, and which it has not en- 
 tered into the heart of man to conceive, and to the 
 inexpressible felicity that Grod has promised to those 
 who love Him here below, even that of contemplating 
 Him face to face in the midst of the dazzling light 
 of the abode of the blessed, and of being admitted 
 to that feast of the ransomed which has no end. 
 
888 MEMOm OP THE 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 POEMS BY THE DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 
 
 Herzlich lieb hab ich Dich, o Herr ! 
 Ich bitt, wollst seyn von mir nicht fern 
 Mit deiner Hiilf und G-naden. 
 Die ganze Welt erfreut mich nicbt, 
 Nach Himmel und Erden frag ich nicht, 
 Wenn ich nur Dich kann haben. 
 Und ob mir gleich das Herz zerbricht, 
 So bleibst Du doch meine Zuversicht, 
 Mein Heil und meines Herzens Trost, 
 Der mich durch sein Blut hat erlost, 
 Herr Jesu Christ, mein Gott und Herr, 
 Mein Gott und Herr ! 
 In Schanden lass mich nimmermehr. 
 
 Es ist ja, Herr ! Dein Geschenck und Gab, 
 Mein Leib, Seel und Alles, was ich hab 
 In diesem armen Leben, 
 Auf dass ich's brauche zum Lobe Dein, 
 Zum Nutz und Dienste der Nachsteu mein 
 Wollst mir Deine Gnade geben. 
 
DtrCHESS OF OELEANS. 389 
 
 Behi'it mich Herr vor falscher Lehr', 
 
 Des Satans Mord und Lilgen welar, 
 
 In allem Kreuz erhalte micli, 
 
 Auf dass ich's trag' geduldiglich ! 
 
 Herr Jesu Christ, mein Herr und Gotfc, 
 
 Main Herr und Gott ! 
 
 Trost' mir meine Seel' in der letzfcen Notli 
 
 Ach, Herr ! lass Deine lieben En^elein 
 
 Am letzten Ende die Seele mein 
 
 In Abrahams Schooss tragen. 
 
 Den Leib in seinem Sehlafkammerlein 
 
 Gar sanft ohn' alle Noth und Pein - 
 
 Kuh'n bis am jungsten Tage 
 
 Alsdann vom Tod erwecke mich, 
 
 Dass meine Augen sehen Dich 
 
 In aller Freud', o Gottes Sohn, 
 
 Mein Heiland und mein Gnadenthron. 
 
 Herr Jesu Christ, erhore mich, 
 
 Erhore mich ! 
 
 Ich will Dich preisen ewiglich ! 
 
 DAS SCHW^NELIED. 
 
 Kdnnte meines Herzens Sehnen, 
 Konnte meine silsse Lust 
 Durch der Sprache leises Toneu 
 Dringen aus der vollen Brust { 
 
 M^ehtig treibt in mir ein Wehen, 
 Dass die Seele mir belebt, 
 Unaufhaltsam im Entstehen 
 1st die Maoht, die mich durcbbebt. 
 
890 MEMOIK OF THE 
 
 Mit des Stromes Silberwogen 
 Sehn' icli mich — wer weiss woliin ? 
 Wie von mag'scher Kraft gezogen 
 Scliwane in die Feme zieli'n. 
 
 Doch es tonen Zauberklange 
 Tief im Innersten niir zu. 
 Eines Engelchors Gesange 
 Wiegen mich in siisse Rub : 
 
 " Gliicklicli bist du, Kind der Traume, 
 " Dem das Leben froh erscbeint, 
 " Scbwingst den Geist in freie Raume, 
 " "Wo das Auge nie geweint. 
 
 " "Wie mit goldnen Adlerscbwingne 
 " Scbwebst du durcb der Liifte Blau, 
 " Lasst dein Lied scbon frrtb erklingen 
 " Mit dem bellen Morgenthau. 
 
 " Horcb', des "Weltalls goldue Leier 
 " Tonet snsse Harmonie, 
 " "Und sie stimmt zur stillen Feier 
 " Deine sel'ge Phantasie. 
 
 " Und die ew'gen Lustgestalten, 
 *' Deren Reize nie verbliib'n, 
 " Deinem Ange sich entfalten, 
 " Mocbtest gem mit ihnen zieb'n !" 
 
 DOBBEEAN, 1830, 
 
DUCHESS OF OKLEANS- 391 
 
 Z U R U F. 
 
 Zieh' dahin wle Silberschwane 
 Nacli dem unbekannten Dorf, 
 Selbst die still vergoss'ne Thrane 
 Schwellt die Fluth und hilft Dir fori 
 
 Fijrchte nie wenn Wogen scbaumen 
 An des Felsenthales Rand, 
 Schwane Ziehen ohne Saumen 
 Nach dem herzbekannten Land. 
 
 Wageu kiihn sich auf die Wogen 
 "Wo sie boob und sicher sind. 
 Wer das Flacbe sucht — betrogen 
 1st ein solcbes armes Kind I 
 
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