3032. EBB to Mary Russell Mitford
As published in The Brownings’ Correspondence, 18, 87–92.
138 Avenue des Ch. Elysées.
April 7– [1852] [1]
What a time seems to have past since I wrote to you, my ever loved friend! Again & again I have been on the point of writing, & something has stopped me always– I have wished to wait till I had more about this & that to gossip of, & so the time went on– Now I am getting impatient to have news of you, and to learn whether the lovely spring has brought you any good yet as to health & strength. Dont take vengeance on my silence, but write, write. The weather here is divine. Throughout March we have had such glorious sunshines, as to make fires impossible except in the early morning & late evening—and now, that the cold wind which pierced this heat, has withdrawn itself into its sheath, the windows are thrown open .. the air is like June, & the thermometer in the shady part of our rooms, stands at nearly seventy Fahrenheit. Indeed the spring here has altogether rivalled a Florence spring. The lilac trees are in leaf, the cherry trees in blossom, the forest trees are growing green. Louis Napoleon has given up the dictatorship, & his senators have put on their embroidered robes. [2] Everything revives .. even M. de Girardin .. who seems to me to be going over on tiptoe to the government. The very Times, you see, has exchanged its effective phrase about a “manacled & massacred people” to the “blind confidence of the masses” [3] .. which resumes the situation in France with much greater accuracy. And the Examiner seems to admit now that London is somewhat less likely to be taken by a “coup de main”––“in consequence of the coldness of the Emperor of Russia.”!!! [4] ——
How do you like your favorite now .. you who are by no means as cold as the Czar? How did you like his address to the legislative bodies? I who have been without enthusiasm, upon the whole, for Louis Napoleon (though a little carried off my feet at first by the ability of the coup d’état) I who have regarded the whole affair, & all the details of his government, with a certain suspicion, yet hopefully, and with a determination to accept the truth whatever it was, & to do him final justice, feel almost satisfied at last that considering the complexity of the difficulties, & the exceptional character of the situation, he has really done as much for France as an able & honest man could. The results are clear enough– He has made way with nearly everybody—his government is stronger than ever. How long any government can last in France is always an uncertainty—but his is as likely to stand .. perhaps more likely .. than another. Then I hope for liberty—Jerome Buonaparte, as the head of the senate, made a most democratic speech, & intimated what has elsewhere been hinted at, that the constitution will be developped & modified as circumstances shall allow of it. [5] The most stringent decrees are not put in force even now– For instance, the worst of the English newspapers pour into France with a freedom which would certainly have been restrained under Louis Phillippe. The French press begins to palpitate again– The financial decrees are very popular. The president drives himself about the streets in open carriages, with two grooms—or rides: he has full confidence in the people. At the same time there is opposition & bitter opposition still, in the upper classes. A lady said to me the other day that she would unscrupulously murder him with her own hand, except for the penalty to herself—which just expresses the amount of exasperation. Oh—people may be angry and sin not. [6] What makes me sick with scorn, is, when people lie because they are angry. Mr Bowes, the proprietor of Galignani’s Messenger [7] was talking in this room lately of the mendacity of the English press with regard to French affairs—“It used to be their glory,” he said, “that whatever the violence & contrariety of opinions might be, you could always turn to a column where the facts were. But now, instead of facts, you found falsifications.” He told me that the ordinary correspondent of the Times was a highly honorable man, and that they sent for the occasion of the coup d’etat, a man without scruples, who would falsify at their bidding. [8] “Cruel & infamous” he called the misrepresentations which had been used. Louis Napoleon’s secretary said to him, (speaking of the correspondent of the Chronicle) [9] “we would send that fellow about his business,—but, by doing so, we should just confer upon him & his newspaper, the consequence they desire–” Very true indeed. Ever since Louis Napoleon’s arrival at power, I have been breathless with expectation of something being done for Rome. He will do it, I still believe. Ah, if we had had such a man in Italy, Italy would have stood upright– But no such a man was sent, and we lost our opportunity–
Yes, I want to see Beranger, & so does Robert. George Sand we came to know a great deal more of. I think Robert saw her six times– [10] Once he met her near the Tuilleries, offered her his arm & walked with her the whole length of the gardens. She was not on that occasion looking as well as usual, being a little too much “endimanchée” [11] in terrestrial lavenders & supercelestial blues—not in fact, dressed with the remarkable taste which he has seen in her at other times. Her usual costume is both pretty & quiet, .. & the fashionable waistcoat & jacket, (which are aspectable in all the ‘Lady’s companions’ of the day [12] ), make the only approach to masculine wearings to be observed in her. She has great nicety & refinement in her personal ways, I think .. and the cigarette is really a feminine weapon if properly understood. Ah—but I did’nt see her smoke—I was unfortunate– I could only go with Robert three times to her house, & once she was out. He was really very good & kind to let me go at all after he found the sort of society rampant around her– He did’nt like it extremely, but, being the prince of husbands, he was lenient to my desires, & yielded the point. She seems to live in the abomination of desolation, [13] as far as regards society—crowds of ill bred men who adore her à genoux bas, [14] betwixt a puff of smoke and an ejection of saliva– Society of the ragged Red diluted with the lower theatrical—she herself, so different, so apart, so alone in her melancholy disdain! I was deeply interested in the poor woman .. I felt a profound compassion for her. I did not mind much even the Greek in Greek costume who tutoyed her, & kissed her, I believe .. so Robert said .. or the other vulgar man of the theatre who went down on his knees & called her “sublime”. “Caprice d’amitié” [15] said she, with her quiet, gentle scorn. A noble woman under the mud, be certain. I [16] would kneel down to her, too, if she would leave it all, throw it off, & be herself as God made her. But she would not care for my kneeling—she does not care for me– Perhaps she does’nt care much for anybody by this time—who knows? She wrote one or two or three kind notes to me, & promised to “venir m’embrasser” [17] before she left Paris—but she did not come– We both tried hard to please her, & she told a friend of ours that she “liked us” .. only we always felt that we could’nt penetrate .. could’nt really touch her—it was all vain. Her play failed, though full of talent– It did’nt draw .. & was withdrawn accordingly. [18] I wish she would keep to her romances, in which her real power lies.
We have found out Jadin .. Alexandre Dumas’ friend & companion in the ‘Speronare’– He showed Robert at his house, poor Louis Phillippe’s famous ‘umbrella,’ [19] & the Duke of Orleans’s uniform, [20] and the cup from which Napoleon took his coffee .. which stood beside him <as> he signed the abdication. Then, there was a picture of ‘Milord’ [21] hanging up .. I must go to see too. Said Robert, “Then Alexandre Dumas does’nt write romances always.” (You know it was like a sudden spectacle of one of Leda’s eggs.) [22] “Indeed,” replied Jadin, “he wrote the true history of his own travels .. only, of course, seeing everything, like a poet, from his own point of view.” Alfred de Musset was to have been at M. Buloz’s where Robert was a week ago, on purpose to meet him—but he was prevented, in some way– His brother Paul de Musset, a very different person, was there instead—but we hope to have Alfred on another occasion. Do you know his poems? [23] He is not capable of large grasps, .. but he has poet’s life & blood in him, I assure you. He is said to be at the feet of Rachel just now—and a man may nearly as well be with a tigress in a cage. He began with the Princess Belgisoso: followed George Sand .. Rachel finishes—is likely to ‘finish’ in every sense. In the intervals, he plays at chess. There’s the anatomy of a man! [24]
We are expecting a visit from Lamartine, who does a great deal of honour to both of us, it appears, in the way of appreciation, & is kind enough to propose to come. I will tell you all about it.
But now tell me. Oh, I want so to hear how you are. Better, stronger, I hope & trust. How does the new house & garden look in the spring? Prettier & prettier, I dare say.
My sister Henrietta is in London for a short time with her baby & husband– Another baby coming in september.
The dotation of the president is enormous certainly, & I wish for his own sake it had been rather more moderate– [25] Now I must end here– Post hour strikes. God bless you.
Do love me as much as you can, always, & think how I am
your ever affectionate
Ba.
Our darling is well,—thank God.
Address, on integral page: Miss Mitford / Swallowfield / near Reading.
Publication: EBB-MRM, III, 351–356.
Manuscript: Wellesley College.
1. Year provided by postmark.
2. EBB refers to aspects of the swearing-in ceremony at the Tuileries on 29 March 1852 (see letter 3031, note 8). The Times of 31 March described the costumes of the senators with their “profusion of gold embrodiery on their collars, cuffs, breasts, and pocket flaps” (p. 6). As further reported in The Times, Louis Napoleon’s address to the senators and deputies began: “The Dictatorship that the people intrusted to me ceases from this day” (p. 6).
3. In a letter to the editor of The Times, 21 February 1852, the writer declared that “The press of England has not denounced the French people, but one who has surprised, gagged, manacled, and massacred it” (p. 6). On 30 March the newspaper ran an editorial ridiculing the ceremony at the Tuileries and assessing Louis Napoleon’s performance in office since the coup d’état: “In spite of the unlimited authority he has exercised, in spite of the blind confidence reposed in him by the masses, … this period of his reign (if that term be applicable to it) has turned its febrile activity to few useful objects, and to no definite results” (p. 5).
4. An article in the 3 April 1852 issue of The Examiner, entitled “The Militia Bill,” noted “that if the army … should yet be numerically short of the force requisite to cope with such a body of troops as might be flung upon our shores for a coup de main, such moderate addition should be made to it as would put it on the desired footing of strength. … We admit, however, for our own parts, that we do not entertain the apprehensions now that we felt three months ago, for we believe that the chilling aspect which Russia has presented to the pretensions of the President has been worth a hundred thousand men in arms in Great Britain” (p. 210).
5. According to The Times, in his address at the opening of the Senate, of which he was president, Jerome Bonaparte (1784–1860), youngest brother of Napoleon I, pointed out “that the Constitution was open to improvements. It contained but a limited number of principles which sprang from the various institutions of France” (1 April 1852, p. 6).
6. Cf. Ephesians 4:26.
7. James Stuart Bowes (1789–1864) was the editor of Galignani’s Messenger for forty years. He had earlier worked on the Morning Herald and wrote several plays under the pseudonym Alfred Dubois. He is listed in the Brownings’ address book of this period (AB-3) at 8 Rue Gaillon.
8. The chief Paris correspondent for The Times was J.B. O’Meagher (1810–80, born Patrick J. Meagher), who served in that capacity from 1848 to 1869. The History of the Times: The Tradition Established, 1841–1884 (1939) states that he was “a mere mouthpiece of Louis Napoleon” (p. 140). “Dr. Lardner [Dionysius Lardner, 1793–1859], an English resident in Paris who had served the paper during the Exhibition of 1851 by writing a series of descriptive letters … may have been one of the ‘other sources of information’ relied on by the Editor in 1852” (pp. 140–141).
9. Thomas Fraser; see letter 2982, note 5.
10. In letter 3028, EBB told Arabella that he had seen her “seven times.”
11. “Dressed up.”
12. “We have already described several waistcoats, and need only observe that they continue in high favour—a circumstance not to be wondered at, from their convenience and comfort” (The Ladies’ Companion, 1 March 1852, p. 167).
13. Matthew 24:15.
14. “Down on their knees.”
15. “Friendly whim”; or “caprice of friendship.”
16. Underscored twice.
17. “To come greet me.”
18. Theatre listings of this period in the French daily Le Siècle indicate that the last performance of Les Vacances de Pandolphe, which had opened on 3 March 1852 at the Gymnase, was given on 18 March.
19. After being made King of the French in 1830, Louis Philippe often appeared in public carrying an umbrella. An unusual prop for a king, it endeared him to the middle-class and contributed to his reputation as a man of the people.
20. Possibly the elaborate uniform that Dumas wore on a mission to the Vendée in August 1830. In his memoirs, he writes of being impressed with a friend’s “brilliant costume … a shako with flowing tricoloured plumes, silver epaulettes, a silver belt and a royal-blue coat with trousers to match. Here was the very uniform for a man in search of one for his travels in la Vendée” (My Memoirs, trans. E.M. Waller, New York, 1908, 4, 354). Dumas asked for the man’s tailor and had the same uniform made for himself. When he had accepted the mission on 6 August, Dumas was still serving under the Duke of Orleans, Louis Philippe, who was then only lieutenant-general. Three days later the Duke was proclaimed King of the French.
21. Jadin’s “undetachable friend, … the English bull-dog” (A. Craig Bell, Alexandre Dumas: A Biography and Study, 1950, p. 118). Dumas introduces Milord, together with his other travelling companions, in the opening passage of Le Speronare.
22. In Greek mythology, Leda was seduced by Zeus, who had taken the form of a swan. Nine months later she produced two eggs, from one of which were born Helen and Pollux. In some versions of the myth, from the other egg were born Clytemnestra and Castor.
23. Musset’s first book of poems, Contes d’Espagne et d’Italie, was published in 1830. A collected edition, Poésies complètes, appeared in 1839 and reached a ninth edition in 1851.
24. We are unable to confirm EBB’s comments regarding Alfred de Musset’s current romantic liaisons. Sources indicate that the women EBB mentions were part of his past. His involvement with the renowned actress Elisabeth Félix (1821–58), known as Rachel, took place in 1839. “There was never a complete breach, yet when they did occasionally meet in later years their attitude towards one another was friendly but cool” (Charlotte Haldane, Alfred: The Passionate Life of Alfred de Musset, 1960, p. 154). His affair with George Sand began in 1833 and ended in 1835 after an unhappy trip to Italy. Whatever relationship existed between Musset and the Italian patriot Cristina Trivulzio, Princess Belgiojoso (1808–71), was short-lived between 1841–42 (see H. Remsen Whitehouse, A Revolutionary Princess: Christina Belgiojoso-Trivulzio, Her Life and Times, 1906, pp. 113–117).
25. The Times of 2 April 1852 reported that “the dotation or yearly allowance” for Louis Napoleon was to be “a sum of 12,000,000 of francs” (p. 6). Additionally, he was to have property, palaces, furnishings, etc., as well as hunting privileges in surrounding forests and the revenues from the forests.
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