Vienna, 1814: How the Conquerors of Napoleon Made Love, War, and Peace at the Congress of Vienna (65 page)

Talleyrand’s interview with the tsar, Talleyrand to King Louis XVIII, October 4, 1814,
TLC,
21–24, 1814,
Memoirs,
II (1891), 228–229. According to Talleyrand, the tsar was supposed to have returned afterward a little more amiable, 24. Many other accounts circulated, Gentz to Karadja, October 6, 1814,
Dépêches inédites
(1876), 113. Castlereagh to Liverpool, October 24, 1814,
BD,
CXIX, 213, Rosenkrantz,
Journal,
October 23, 1814, 50, and Nota to Hager, October 6, 1814,
DCV,
I, no. 293. Pasquier criticized Talleyrand for his antics,
Histoire de mon temps: mémoires du chancelier Pasquier
(1893–1894), III, 77, and the tsar’s
froideur
on eve of interview, Pozzo di Borgo to Nesselrode, September 14–26, 1814,
Correspondance Diplomatique du comte Pozzo di Borgo, ambassadeur de Russie en France et du comte du Nesselrode depuis la restauration des Bourbons jusqu’au Congrès d’ Aix-la-Chapelle, 1814
–1818 (1890), 80. Tsar with his 200,000 and challenge, Nota, October 3, 1814,
DCV,
I, no. 252. An army of 230,000 was ready to march on Vienna, according to a report to Hager, September 29, 1814, I, no. 195.

C
HAPTER
8. S
PIES
A
RE
E
VERYWHERE!

Hager’s attempt to gain access to domestic staff at the palace, Hager to Emperor Francis, September 28, 1814,
DCV,
I, no. 151, and Hager to Trauttmansdorff, September 27, 1814, no. 152. The importance of finding agents active in society, for instance, appears in the
Rapport du ministre de la police Sumeraw sur l’organisation du service de la police secrète, Annexe,
II, 785. Instructions to them and more on the Cabinet Noir and Bureau de Déchiffrement in
Annexe,
III, 787–788. The use of steam and smokeless candle is in Freiherr von Bourgoing’s
Vom Wiener Kongress: Zeit-und Sittenbilder
(1943), 13–14. Some agents can be identified: Agent Nota was Carpani, Herr H was Heibenstreit, and Agent
was probably the Hungarian-born official Neustädter. For more on the general background of the espionage, see notes to chapter 5.

My account of early successes is drawn from a number of reports in the police files: Infiltration of Stein, as a valet, Siber to Hager, October 3, 1814,
DCV,
I, no. 244, and Agent Göhausen, no. 246. The words “we have enough proofs” come from Wilhelm von Humboldt’s letter to his wife Caroline, August 1, 1814, in Anna von Sydow, ed.,
Wilhelm und Caroline von Humboldt in ihren Briefen
(1910), IV, 368, and Humboldt later describing how some letters, clumsily treated in the post, raised suspicions, November 4, 1814, IV, 406. Occasionally, despite their efforts, not all of the letters were decoded. See Marescalchi to Dalberg, September 16, 1814,
DCV,
I, no. 149. The king of Denmark’s cape and appearance are in Schönholz,
Traditionen zur Charakteristik Österreichs, seines Staats-und Volkslebens unter Franz I
(1914), II, 76, and the affair with the lady calling herself the “Queen of Denmark” comes from Baronne du Montet,
Souvenirs,
1785–1866 (1904), 116. The king’s mistress was later the Danish widow after his departure,
GPWK
63, 148, 473; for more on the affair, Rosenkrantz,
Journal du Congrès de Vienne,
1814–1815 (1953), March 28, 1814, 202, and Nørregaard,
Danmark og Wienerkongressen, 1814
–1815 (1948), 17.

Prince de Ligne background comes from his
Memoirs,
I–II; of the several biographies, see particularly Philip Mansel,
Prince of Europe: The Life of Charles-Joseph de Ligne, 1735–1814
(2003). The “Prince Charming” reference is from Henri Troyat,
Catherine the Great,
trans. Joan Pinkham (1981), 283, and his “roguish wit,” Countess Anna Potocka,
Memoirs of the Countess Potocka,
ed. Casimir Stryiens, trans. Lionel Strachey (1900), 111. Prince de Ligne and Casanova in Gilbert,
The Prince de Ligne: A Gay Marshal of the Old Regime,
trans. Joseph McCabe (1923), 153–157, 157–159. Prince de Ligne’s old carriage, with the two horses, Gilbert (1923), 206, and the words on his preferences are in Franz Gräffer,
Kleine Wiener Memoiren und Wiener Dosenstucke
(1918), I, 187, noted as well by Rosalie Rzewuska,
Mémoires de la comtesse Rosalie Rzewuska
(1788–1865) I, 238, and as color of House of Ligne, Mansel (2003), 198. “Pink as” comes from Spiel (1968), 193. Another nickname for Prince de Ligne’s house was the “l’hôtel de Ligne,” Ouvaroff,
Esquisses politiques et littéraires
(1848), 121. Prince de Ligne’s words on the congress dances, Comte Auguste de La Garde-Chambonas, 14 (1904), as well as anonymous to Princess Bagration, intercepted, December 17–18, 1814,
DCV,
I, no. 1155, and again anonymous to Gagern intercept, December 26, 1814, no. 1161. See also Jacob Grimm to his brother, November 23, 1814,
Briefwechsel zwischen Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm aus der Jugendzeit
(1963), 379. Tsar Alexander, in particular, was offended at hearing Prince de Ligne’s words because he took it personally, Agent L to Hager, November 27, 1814,
DCV,
I, no. 914. “On her head” is in Spiel (1968), 289, and Countess Protassoff is in Ludwig Hevesi’s “Die Wiener Gesellschaft zur Zeit des Congresses” in Eduard Leisching, ed.,
Der Wiener Congress: Culturgeschichte die Bildenden Künste und das Kunstgewerbe Theater—Musik in der Zeit von 1800 bis 1825
(1898), 68.

France was at first “completely isolated,” as Talleyrand put it in his summary of the Vienna Congress, May 1815,
TLC,
509, and intentional isolation, Talleyrand to Louis XVIII, October 19, 1814,
TLC,
69, intercepted letter from Dalberg, October 20, 1814,
DCV,
I, no. 472, among others. Ill will against them, Pasquier (1893–1894), III, 76. “No one dared to visit its members…,” Labrador reproached for visiting French embassy often, called a “turncoat,” Talleyrand to Louis XVIII, October 19, 1814,
TLC,
68–69, and the king of Bavaria’s apparent difficulty, Ambassadors of the King to the Foreign Minister, October 20, 1814,
Memoirs
(1891), II, 270.

On Dorothée’s success, Talleyrand to the Duchess, October 13, 1814,
TLI,
52, again October 15, 1814,
TLI,
56, and how she pleases Vienna, on the nineteenth, 58. Dalberg to his uncle, intercepted, November 24, 1814,
DCV,
I, no. 872. Sagan’s request on behalf of her sister and Metternich’s invitation, Metternich to the Duchess of Sagan, undated,
MSB,
266. “Stroke of bad luck” comes from Baronne du Montet (1904), 114. Dorothée’s success is in La Garde-Chambonas (1902), 64–65; Talleyrand dictating his dispatches to Dorothée, McGuigan,
Metternich and the Duchess
(1975), 405, their “battle of the words,” Pflaum,
By Influence and Desire: The True Story of Three Extraordinary Women—the Grand Duchess of Courland and Her Daughters
(1984), 239. The Metternich-Sagan love affair was not on October 8, as sometimes presented [Dallas,
The Final Act
(1997), 201], but actually on the first. Their relationship was very different by the eighth. “Greatest happiness of my life” comes from a letter to Sagan, cited in McGuigan (1975), 341. Some historians suggest that Metternich was not officially named president, but this contradicts the protocol for the meeting on the thirtieth of October, HHSA St. K Kongressakten Kart. 2. Alexander’s visit to Princess Bagration on the night of September 30–October 1, 1814, Agent Nota to Hager, October 1, 1814,
DCV,
I, no. 233. Everyone talking about Alexander’s meeting with Bagration, Nota to Hager, October 2, 1814, no. 232.

C
HAPTER
9. D
ANCING WITH THE
W
ORLD IN
T
HEIR
H
ANDS

The words “truly magnificent” come from Countess Bernstorff’s
Ein Bild aus der Zeit von 1789 bis 1835: Aus ihren Aufzeichnungen
(1896), I, 155. The number of candles in the ballroom was estimated at everything from 4,000 (Montebello) to 16,000 (Bertuch), including 5,000–6,000 (Stolberg-Wernigerode), 8,000 (Schönholz), and 12,000 (San Marzan). Description of the palace decorations and the crowds come from Friedrich von Schönholz’s
Traditionen zur Charakteristik Österreichs, seines Staats-und Volkslebens unter Franz I
(1914), II, 106; more on the colors and the orange grove is in Carl Bertuch’s diary that night,
Tagebuch vom Wiener Kongress
(1916), 20–21; and Henrich Graf zu Stolberg-Wernigerode’s Stolberg-Wernigerode,
Tagebuch über meinen Aufenthalt in Wien zur Zeit des Congresses
(2004), 40. The abuse of the invitations is in Matthias Franz Perth’s
Wiener Kongresstagebuch, 1814–1815
(1981), 45–46. Schönholz describes one of the methods as well in his memoir (1914), II, 106. The words “murderous crush” are in Hilde Spiel’s
The Congress of Vienna: An Eyewitness Account,
trans. Richard H. Weber (1968), 93. The catering record is in Ole Villumsen Krog, ed.,
Danmark og Den Dansende Wienerkongres: Spillet om Danmark
(2002), 464.

Humboldt’s plans to avoid the ball, along with his words “stand without stirring,” come from a letter to his wife,
Wilhelm und Caroline von Humboldt in ihren Briefen
(1910), IV, 391–392, and Münster’s carriage accident and broken rib are also in Hardenberg’s
Tagebücher und autobiographische Aufzeichnungen
(2000), 799. Comte Auguste de La Garde-Chambonas’s descriptions that evening, along with his words on the waltz and the flirting in the ballroom, are in his
Anecdotal Recollections of the Congress of Vienna
(1902), 37–40 and 193. The popularity of white dresses that evening comes from Henrich Graf zu Stolberg-Wernigerode’s
Tagebuch,
October 2, 1814 (2004), 43. On popular dresses at the time, see Regina Karner’s excellent “Fashion During the Congress of Vienna” in Ole Villumsen Krog, ed. (2002), 264, as well as Carl Masner “
Das Costüm der Empirezeit
” in Eduard Leisching, ed.,
Der Wiener Kongress: Culturgeschichte die Bildenden Künste und das Kunstgewerbe Theater—Musik in der Zeit von 1800 bis 1825
(1898), 233–245.

The waltz as the “revolving dance” with background on its development in Hans Fantel’s
The Waltz Kings: Johan Strauss, Father and Son, and their Romantic Age
(1972), 31; Elizabeth Aldrich’s “Social Dancing in Schubert’s World” in Raymond Erickson, ed.,
Schubert’s Vienna
(1997), 131–138; and Otto Biba’s “The Congress of Vienna and Music” in Krog, ed. (2002), 201. The importance of masked balls at the congress, Baronne du Montet,
Souvenirs 1785–1866
(1904), 113; and excitement and intrigues in this environment, Stolberg-Wernigerode’s diary (2004), 100. The “living image of a society” is in La Garde-Chambonas (1902), 193, and the words “you should,” “shimmering silks,” and “the continuous music,” Dorothy Guis McGuigan’s
Metternich and the Duchess
(1975), 342–343. The frenzy of the waltz at the congress appears in many other sources, such as Karl von Nostitz, in his diary,
Leben und Briefwechsel
(1848), 149. The loss of the silver spoons comes from Friedrich von Schönholz’s memoir (1914), II, 106.

“Sparkling” comes from Baronne du Montet (1904), 114. Antonio Salieri’s rumored poisoning, although difficult to trace its origins, was circulating in Vienna long before the congress, as seen by Volkmar Braunbehren’s
Maligned Master: The Real Story of Antonio Salieri,
trans. Eveline L. Kanes (1992), 4. Interestingly, one of Baron Franz von Hager’s agents at the Congress of Vienna, Giuseppe Antonio Carpani (or “Nota,” as he signed his reports), wrote a defense of Salieri in September 1824,
Lettera del sig. G. Carpani in difesa del Mo Salieri calunniato dell’avve-lenamento del M’ Mozard.

Tuesday evening soirees at the British embassy, Agent ** to Hager, October 15, 1814,
DCV,
I, 384,
GPWK,
181–182, and Jean-Gabriel Eynard, who regularly attended them,
Au Congrès de Vienne: Journal de Jean-Gabriel Eynard
(1914–1924), I, 38–40, 67–68. Impressions of English pride and the isolation, Eynard, (1914–1924), I, 136, November 18, 1814, eccentricities and odd fashions noted by many, including among others Baronne du Montet (1904), 137, Rosalie Rzewuska,
Mémoires de la Comtesse Rosalie Rzewuska
(1788–1865) (1939) I, 253, Dr. Richard Bright,
Travels from Vienna Through Lower Hungary with Some Remarks on the State of Vienna During the Congress in the Year 1814
(1818), 10, Karl von Nostitz, January 15, 1815, in
Leben und Briefwechsel
(1848), 146–147, and Pictet de Rochemont to family, November 19, 1814,
Biographie, travaux et correspondance diplomatique
(1892), 176. On Stewart and the coachman, Hager to the Emperor, November 1, 1814,
DCV,
I, no. 620; San Marzan’s diary, October 26, 1814, in Ilario Rinieri ed.,
Corrispondenza inedita dei Cardinali Consalvi e Pacca nel tempo del Congresso di Vienna
(1903), lx; and Karl August Varnhagen von Ense’s
Denkwürdigkeiten des Eignen Lebens
(1987), II, 602. This was a topic of conversation around town, Stolberg-Wernigerode, October 29, 1814 (2004), 82; Karl von Nostitz also realized that the coachman did more damage than the ambassador, as noted in his diary, January 15, 1815,
in Leben und Briefwechsel
(1848), 148. Phrase “emptied some bottles” comes from Jean-Gabriel Eynard, November 6, 1814 (1914–1924), I, 89. Physician Carro confirmed the bruises, and Stewart not pressing charges, November 8, 1814, 97.