The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1851-02-11
Lord HOLLANDS "Reminiscences.

The early pages of the Foreign "reminiscences Of
Lord Holland, edited by his son, and recently pub
lished in London, devoted to the scenes and
persons of the first great French revolution. The
following anecdoto exhibits Louis XVI. in new
light, and gives the secret history of the abrupt
dismissal of M. de Calonne!
AM. de Calonne told me that when he had ascer.
tanned that the queen and her Coterc hostile to
the plans he had prepared, he waited on the king,
and delicatcly lamcnted the queens reported dis
appreciation OF his project, earnestly conjuring his
majesty if not resolved to go through with the plan,
and TO silence all opposition cavil to it within
at first scouted the notion Of the queen (unc femme,
as he called her. forming or hazarding any OPT.
MON about it, hut when nj. de Calonnc assured
him that she spoke Of the project in terms of dis
paragcmcnt and censure, the king rang the bell,
sent Tor her majesty into the apartment, and after
ding with matters qtslles les emmes mont rien
a fare, he, to the dismay Of Calonne took her by
the shoulders and fairly turned her out of the room
like naughty child. ME uoild perdu,' said Do
Calonne to himself, and he was accordingly dis
missed, and his scheme abandoned in the course of
a few days."
The pupil ofthc minister thus driven from power
was Tallcyrand, with whom Lord Holland was for
many years in habits Of personal intimacy, and Of
whom he tells one two capital anecdotes. We
will not vouch for the novelty of the following, but
they are too good not to deserve repeating:
ga gentleman in his presence was boosting of
the extreme beauty of his mother, and apparently,
implying that it might account for personal advan-
tages in her descendants. 'C'ctait donc said Tai
leyrand, Monsieur votrc pere qui n'etait pas 81
bien.' The celebrity of NJ. de Chateaubriand, the
yainest of mortals was the wane; about the same
time il happened to be casually mentioned in con-
versaton that Chatcaubriand was affected with
dcafncss, and complained bitterly Of his infirmty.
'Je comprends, was Talleyrands comment, de
puts qu'on cessc parcr dc lui il SO croft sourd'"
Eran tha rrafsv tai ma tn he h.
ern courts, where Lord Holland spent the summer
and autumn of 1892. OF the madness of the old
King Christian many amusing stories arc told; the
following specimen must suffice:
"He continued for many years to dine occasion
ally in public. Though the foreign ministers were
cautioned neithor to provoke nor to remark any OF
his peculiaritics, he not unfrequenty succeeded in
disconoerting them He would, for instance, ask
them to drink wine, and then throw the contents of
his glass in the face of the page behind him; and
when by this and the addition Of sudden grimaces,
gcsticulations, and antics, he had provoked n
smile, he would suddenly assume grave and
solemn oountcnance, and addressing the minister
opposite say: 'Monsiour lenvoye parait fort gal?
TIL quelquc chose qu amuse? Jc lc prize dc m en-
faire part Such was the innocent nature Of tho
royal insanity"
From Copenhagen to Berlin the "reminiscences
flow on in pleasant stream of anccdotc. The follow
ing bit of court gossip is curiously characteristic of
the "Grcat Fritz:"
at is said that George III objected TO any union
with that branch Of the house Of Brandenburgh,
prince Fcrdinaud's familyD with an observation
drawn from tho scandaous chronicle of Berlin, viz:
that none of his children should ally themselves
with the children Of Schmeffau' Frederick, when
there not much prospect of heir in the other
branches, had placed distinguished officer Of en-
ginecrs Of that name in the family of his brother
Ferdinand, in the hope and expectation, and, per-
haps with the express injunction, that he would
supply all deficiencies in the household The prin-
| unh n nd In, hcr dam nor
not long inscnsiblc to the personal and mental
charms of her chamberlain; and Schmcttau
nually announced the birth of prince, and
news till the third visit tho king. after giving
him gold headed cane called him back, and said
Schmcttau. trois! c'cst azzcz!'