The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1892-06-26
NJ. w. II.

To tho NTH and concluding volume of IN
Memoirs Of Tdneyrand Putnams) is preliSe,
nm nttcmpt OF tho editor tho Due dc Broglic
to defend the trustworthiness OF the work
| Tho defence is by no means satisfactory
| though the Duo makes tho most OF weak
| case. Not that lie Is personally charged will
| mutilation or Interpolation: 1t Is against hi,
| predecessor. VI. Do Dncourt. from whom ho re
| ceived the documents now published. thai
those accusations are levelled. We will indi
| cnto very briefly what tho Duo has to say or
| behalf OF the book and then point out where
| his argument falls short
| We do not like the form In which tho charge
| OF untrustworthness is stated by the Due de
BroGlic. We prefer to state tho charge our.
selves. 1t Is asserted that tho original docu.
ments beuueathed by Talleyrund to his execu-
tor have been revised and mutilatod. and that
the alleged memoirs were not made public
until they had undergone alterations which
rendered them unacceptable. To justify
this assertion II Is contendod that therc have
boon found many omissions. which appear to
be the effect Of abridgements made by a
strange hand after the work was completed. and
also confusion Of facts and names which could
not have escaped tho authors notice. mas
much as the errors concern events with which
he was personally connected. or rotate
to friends or advcrsarios whom he had per-
sonally known. To this charge. as wo shall
see. there would be one conclusive answer. n nd
one only. but that answer is not forthcoming
Unable to make it. the Duo takes refuge IN a
series Of explanations which might be plausi-
BILE and even effective considered us corrobora.
tions. but which are valueless considered as
substitutes for the ono decisive roply. He finds
1t easy. for example. to demonstrate that tho
absence OF scandalous anecdotes and piQuant
revelations does not warrant the doubt cast
on the authenticity Of the Memoirs. The
grave tenor OF tho narrative is in keep
ing with the nature OF tho subjects treated.
and 1t Is true that among all the re-
proaches heaped upon Talieyrand. that OF
want OF tact and good taste has never been in
cluded. Mother is 1t surprising that the
record OF public life. spanning about half
century. should pass with comparative haste
over tho early period in which the author had
little reason to he proud Of his performances.
1t is acknowledged by the Due himself that
Talleyrand's purpose in writing memoirs was
TO make u case for himself at the bar Of his
tory. and he naturally preferred TO work upon
those parts OF his career in which he incon-
testibly rendered services to his country.
1t is also truo enough that mistakes in
chronology or names would not. taken by
themselves. suffice to impuGn the authenticity
OF the book before us. such mistakes are fire.
quently encountered in the original docu-
ments on which history is based. Some strik-
Ing examples OF such errors are quoted by the
Due de Brogie. and while doing it he himself
makes a Glunder in chronology. Thus he
says: Il have had occasion in the course Of
my lnbors to study the memoirs OF mon VINO
during the sixteenth century played an inn
portant part as Ministers, Generals, or Am
Dassadors. and l will cite among others Mar
shal de Belle Isle and the Marquis d'Argen-
son." 1t was not to the sixteenth but to the
eighteenth century that Marshal Belle Isle
and the Marquis d'Argenson belonged
There is indeed no doubt whatever
that lapses Of memory in regard to
dates and proper names are frequently obsery-
able when men OF advanced years undertake
to recall events with which they were connect
ed in youth or middle lifo. One OF the most
remarkable errors OF the kind was that com.
mitted by the Dues own father. who in 1915
took his scat in the chamber of peers during |
the trial OF Marshal Ney. To tho last day OF |
his life he insisted that he heard on the first |
day OF tho trial the debate on the pivotal ques-
ton whether the Marshal should receive the
benefit Of the amnesty promised to rebels by
the capitulation Of Paris Now. IL anything is |
certain in history. it Is that this debate took |
place not on the first. but on the last day Of |
the trial: for such is the affirmation OF tho |
official report OF the chamber OF peers. The
Due de Broslle is also able to show that
among the small number Of Talleyrand's auto
graph letters which wo possess. are to be
found mistakes quito as important as those
pointed out in these memoirs.
All this is very well. but the fundamental
question remains: what has become Of the
documents belucathed by Tallcyraud to his
Executors. and why are they not produced? |
We have no doubt that the work. OF which the
volume is now published is an OK.
let reproduction Of the manuscripts trans
nitted Ivy NJ. dc Bacourt 10 the Due do Droglie
md now deposited by tho latter in the Biblio-
htQne NGtoHa'e. But these manuscripts do
lot even profess to DO the original papers
which passed under the eyes OF Talleyrnnd and
we're by him bc1ucGthcd TO his executors. They
ire simply certified in the handwriting of NJ de
3acourt to be complete and trustworthy copies
'f those original documents. Where are those
originals! II they are destroyed. who de-
'troyed them? What was the motive for the
tct! IL VI. dc Incourt tells the truth when no |
'crtiiles to tho com D!cteness and authenticity |
" his copies. there could be no motive for put
ing the originals out Of the way. BY failing
o produce them N. dc Bacourt has cast the
.ravcst doubt upon the honesty OF his inten-
ions and the character OF his pretended copies.
IT is idle for the Due do Brogiie to say that
we had the origna documents they would
lot les autographs. because Talleyrand was
accustomed to dictate his correspondence,
md often contentcd himself with giving his
secretary merely the Gist OF his ideas. That
$ doubtless true. but lie always revised his
making such corrections as
!c deemed Necessary and he Would assuredly
Iave done this with the memoirs. on which
10 relied to vindicato his conduct in the
yes OF postcrity. What, asks the Drc
10 Broglic. would be gained by having be-
ore MS those original writinGst Weanswer
hat this wou be gained; We should have
he Identical documents which PASSED undor
he eyes Of Talic,rand. and which he intended
Is tu soc. II It roul be- proved that those doe
lments had boon lost by fire. for instance |
ftcr VI. de Bacourt's copies had boon made |
Va might ahso I've hi m Of Iucstl ,nahlc inten-
ions. hu such apology for tho non prOduc-
ion Of tho originals il Tut forwart.
HorseshOrs and Luck.
F,DD, hs Uri7p Tniiy iar3 -Ocoih