Vienna, 1814: How the Conquerors of Napoleon Made Love, War, and Peace at the Congress of Vienna (73 page)

Razumovsky palace described in Eynard
Journal,
October 25, 1814, 65–66, November 20, 1814, 145, and Nota to Hager, October 12, 1814,
DCV,
I, no. 354, and Agent ** to Hager, October 13, 1814, no. 352. Nickname “King of the Suburbs” is in Baronne du Montet,
Souvenirs,
180. The early-morning fire drums are in Carl Bertuch, December 31, 1814,
Tagebuch vom Wiener Kongress,
88, and Perth’s diary from same day,
Wiener Kongresstagebuch, 1814–1815
(1981), 79. The descriptions of the wasteland, its transformation into a “princely Eden,” the fuses, the activities to save the belongings, the roof, and the tsar-Razumovsky conversation are in Friedrich Anton von Schönholz’s
Traditionen zur Charakteristik Österreichs, seines Staats-und Volkslebens unter Franz I
(1914), II, 120–125. “Vesuvius” and the crowds come from Comte Auguste de La Garde-Chambonas,
Anecdotal Recollections of the Congress of Vienna
(1902), 256–258. “A piece of wasteland,” “Eden,” and “temple of art” are in Spiel (1968), 132–134. The fire is also in Gentz,
Tagebücher,
December 31, 1814, 343, and San Marzan,
Diario,
December 31, 1814, lxvi, among others. The description of furniture, mirrors, paintings, statues, and other items in the garden is in Stolberg-Wernigerode, December 31, 1814,
Tagebuch über meinen Aufenthalt in Wien zur Zeit des Congresses
(2004), 141. The cause of the fire was reported by many, and speculations of its origins in the bakery and the stalls are in Perth (1981), 80. Both Perth and Schönholz deliberately note that the heating system was French, Perth, January 1, 1815, 80, and Schönholz (1914), II, 121. The tsar’s description of Metternich as unreliable, Stein,
Tagebuch
V, 346. Metternich refusing to attend Razumovsky ball, his attempts to see Duchess of Sagan on New Year’s Eve, and likely spending night in office, McGuigan (1975), 424–428. Gentz visiting the Duchess of Sagan that evening, and encountering Dorothée, Count Clam-Martinitz, Windischgrätz, and others,
Tagebücher,
December 31, 1814, 344. “I had hoped to say” comes from Pflaum (1984), 243. La Garde-Chambonas’s claim to have seen Metternich at the Zichy ball is in
Anecdotal Recollections
(1902) 265.

C
HAPTER
21. R
EQUIEM

The first masked ball and the opening of the carnival season is in Perth, January 2, 1815,
Wiener Kongresstagebuch, 1814–1815
(1981), 80. News of the peace at Ghent arrives and its effects, Castlereagh to Liverpool, January 5, 1815,
CC,
CLX, 283;
WSD,
IX, 527, and Archduke Johann, in his diary, January 1, 1815,
Aus dem Tagebuche Erzherzog Johanns von Oesterreich, 1810–1815
, ed. Franz, Ritter von Krones (1891), 199, along with a few intercepted letters: Hager to Emperor, January 1, 1815,
DCV,
I, no. 1210, II, no. 1281, and II, no. 1288. Snow on the ground in Vienna that day, Bertuch’s
Tagebuch vom Wiener Kongress,
January 1, 1815, 88, and Stolberg-Wernigerode,
Tagebuch über meinen Aufenthalt in Wien zur Zeit des Congresses
(2004), 142. News of the Ghent peace, and “only the precursor of a still more fortunate event,” Talleyrand to Louis XVIII, January 4, 1815,
TLC,
241, along with Talleyrand’s perspective on the secret treaty, 242–244. The “joy of the English ministers” afterward, and those of Talleyrand, as he shared a carriage with them, San Marzan,
Diario,
January 1, 1815, lxvi. Prussian language “very warlike,” and its influence on him, Castlereagh to Liverpool, January 1, 1815,
BD,
CLV, 277–278. Talleyrand was, of course, not unaware of this help: Austria, and Britain would only approach France “in a case of extreme necessity,” he had long known, Talleyrand to Louis XVIII, November 25, 1814,
TLC,
166, and Prussian arrogance in meetings as one major factor influencing Castlereagh to sign the secret treaty, Talleyrand to Louis XVIII, January 4, 1815,
TLC,
243. See also Talleyrand’s assessment, in the Report Presented to the King During His Journey from Ghent to Paris, June 1815, 529. Castlereagh’s defiance of British government is in Webster (1931), 371. January 3 souper at Castlereagh’s, Eynard,
Journal,
January 4, 1815, 241–243, and the violin music, San Marzan,
Diario,
January 3, 1815, lxvii. The terms of the secret treaty are in
Le Congrès de Vienne et les traités de 1815
(1864), II, 589–592.

Rumors of secret treaty circulated, Agent Br to Hager, January 29, 1815,
DCV
II, no. 1437. Dalberg was speaking of it to agents, report to Hager, February 1, 1815,
DCV
II, no. 1461. Hardenberg warned of possible secret agreement between Britain, Austria, and France, as he noted in his diary, December 16, 1814,
Tagebüch
er
und autobiographische Aufzeichnungen
(2000), 808. Rumors of Metternich’s sacking abound, as did those of Nesselrode being out of favor. Talleyrand’s entry onto the Big Four committees, noted in advance, Wintzingerode and Linden to the King of Württemberg, intercepted, January 5, 1815, II, no. 1249. Castlereagh’s proposal for French joining in Saxon discussions, Castlereagh to Liverpool, January 1, 1815,
BD,
CLIV, 276–277, and Castlereagh and Metternich refusing to negotiate on Saxony without including Talleyrand, Castlereagh’s summary, letter to Liverpool, January 3, 1815,
BD,
CLVIII, 280–281. On proposing that France be admitted, Gentz to Karadja, January 4, 1815,
Dépêches inédites,
138–140. The meeting included France, as noted in the protocol,
Le Congrès de Vienne et les traités de 1815
(1864), II, 594.

“Periodic evolutions of his mind,”
NP,
I, 317, and Palmer,
Metternich
(1972), 141. Signs of the tsar changing, and less inclined to support Prussia, were noted even earlier by the observant Talleyrand, his letter to Louis XVIII, November 17, 1814,
TLC,
146–147, Gentz,
Tagebücher,
November 21, 1814, 332, Archduke Johann, November 24, 1814,
Aus dem Tagebuche Erzherzog Johanns von Oesterreich, 1810–1815
, ed. Franz, Ritter von Krones (1891), 184, and report to Hager, December 20, 1814,
DCV,
I, no. 1098. Tsar’s shift, of course, was not with Metternich, Nota to Hager, January 5, 1815, II, no. 1239. Alexander was still preferring to deal with Metternich with pistols, Rosenkrantz,
Journal,
January 10, 1815, 123.

Krüdener in her letters, and lady-in-waiting Stourdza’s memoirs, “meanly lodged,” at the Hofburg, Countess Edling,
Mémoires
(1883), 163, and “do you suppose” from Paléologue,
The Enigmatic Czar
(1938), 228. The tsar’s visits and the letters in Edling (1888), 163–164, 217, and 197ff. Krüdener’s correspondence to Stourdza from October, Clarence Ford’s
Life and Letters of Madame de Krudener
(1893), 153ff, though it had begun before Vienna, back in April that year, Ernest John Knapton,
The Lady of the Holy Alliance
(1939), 139. White angel-black angel, Paléologue, 228–229, “the Dragon,” Paléologue, 246, and more on the relationship between the tsar and Krüdener, Palmer,
Alexander I: Tsar of War and Peace
(1974), 318–319. Spies note his religious turn, and rumored desire to unify Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches, report of unidentified agent to Hager, November 7, 1814,
DCV,
I, no. 703. Palmer points out how the tsar’s affairs start to slip, and in fact abruptly disappear after the second week of December or even the fifth of December (317ff), but this is not strictly the case. For example, Schwarz, said to be “Alexander’s mistress,” still arriving to see him in secret, Goehausen to Hager, January 8, 1815, II, no. 1319. Other sources besides the spies also continue to report his affairs, for example, Baronne du Montet,
Souvenirs,
February 1, 1815, on tsar always with Gabrielle Auersperg.

It is clear that the tsar must have known, or at least suspected the secret treaty. He had even discussed the “rumor” with Castlereagh himself, as the British minister noted in a letter to Liverpool, January 8, 1815, CC, CLXI, 284. Others in the Russian suite did not fail to notice the cooperation of the three powers, for example, Karl von Nostitz, in his diary, January 7, 1815, in
Leben und Briefwechsel
(1848), 141. Other priorities and a possible attack into Turkey, and reference La Harpe and Pozzo di Borgo, July 7, 1814, Kraehe,
Metternich’s German Policy
(1963–1983), II, 134–135. Many Russian advisers supported a war against Turkey, Gentz noted, to Karadja, October 15, 1815,
Dépêches inédites,
184. The tsar’s confusion on what or whom to believe, Talleyrand to Louis XVIII, December 15, 1814,
TLC,
208–209. Talleyrand’s success in early 1815 pointed out, with king of Denmark to Emperor Francis, Marquis de Bonnay to Talleyrand, January 10, 1815, II, no. 1415.

Metternich and the Duchess at this time, including “I was your lover” and “called to lead,” are in McGuigan (1975), 438, and
MSB,
275. For Talleyrand’s account of the Requiem, see his letter to King Louis XVIII, January 21, 1815,
TLC,
273–275,
Memoirs,
II, 205, Ambassadors of the King at the Congress to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, No. 25, January 19, 1815, 14 (incorrectly dated March 19), along with the Ambassadors of the King at the Congress to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, no. 26, January 24, 1815, 20–21, Talleyrand to Jaucourt, January 21, 1815,
Correspondance du comte du Jaucourt avec le prince de Talleyrand pendant le Congrès de Vienne
(1905), 163. The symbols of the four statues are in Comte Auguste de La Garde-Chambonas,
Anecdotal Recollections of the Congress of Vienna
(1902), 309–312, Bright,
Travels from Vienna through Lower Hungary with some remarks on the state of Vienna during the congress in the year 1814
(1818), 37, and many others. This date as “the anniversary of a day of horror and eternal mourning” and “solemn expiatory service” Talleyrand to Louis XVIII, January 4, 1815,
TLC,
240. Gaining St. Stephen’s and the Archbishop of Vienna, and words “nothing shall be neglected that can render the ceremony imposing,” Talleyrand to Louis XVIII, January 6, 1815, 252, Talleyrand to Louis XVIII, January 10, 1815, 259–260. Neukomm working on the music, Talleyrand to the Duchess of Courland, January 11, 1815,
TLI
, 99. Requiem for Louis XVI, note to Hager, January 21, 1815,
DCV
II, no. 1360, and intercepted letter Wintzingerode to king of Württemberg, January 22, 1815, II, no. 1369. The fur-lined coats inside, San Marzan,
Diario,
January 21, 1815, lxix. Baronne du Montet,
Souvenirs,
133–134. Not everyone was impressed by the ceremony, as seen by the critiques of Karl von Nostitz, January 24, 1815, in
Leben und Briefwechsel
(1848), 159, or Carl Bertuch,
Tagebuch vom Wiener Kongress,
102–103. Varnhagen von Ense also critiqued it for many reasons, at least for being unnecessary and commemorating a deed better left in obscurity,
Denkwürdigkeiten des Eignen Lebens
(1987), II, 649–650. Gentz was at the “solemn dinner” at the French embassy, and saw many of the congress figures there, January 21, 1815,
Tagebücher,
351. Other entertainments not necessary canceled, as rumored, San Marzan went over to gamble at Zichys. Princess Bagration held an evening soiree with theater and a ball that night, Agent ** to Hager, January 24, 1815,
DCV,
II, no. 1390. Many accounts report that the emperor of Austria picked up the tab, but this was not the case, Talleyrand noted in his letter to Jaucourt, February 9, 1815,
Correspondance du comte du Jaucourt
(1905), 184.

C
HAPTER
22. T
HE
G
REAT
S
LEIGH
R
IDE

My account of the weather is based on several descriptions of the time, particularly Bright’s
Travels from Vienna through Lower Hungary with Some Remarks on the State of Vienna During the Congress in the Year 1814
(1818), 33–35, and San Marzan, January 8–22, 1815,
Diario,
lxviiiff. Descriptions of the sleighs from La Garde-Chambonas,
Anecdotal Recollections of the Congress of Vienna
(1902), 317–318. Eynard,
Au Congrès de Vienne: journal de Jean-Gabriel Eynard
(1914–1924), who looked down from a window in the imperial palace, January 22, 1815, I, 290–294, and Rahel Varnhagen to Moritz und Ernestine Robert, January 23, 1815,
Briefwechsel,
ed. Friedhelm Kemp (1979) IV, 70. Talleyrand to the Duchess of Courland, January 24, 1815,
TLI,
108, and Gentz
Tagebücher
(1873), I, 22, 351. Description of bells around horses shoulders, Bright (1818), 34, and the pairings of the sovereigns, Perth, January 22, 1815,
Wiener Kongresstagebuch, 1814–1815
, 86, with a more complete one in
Wiener Zeitung,
January 24, 1815. “Heavy snowfall,” “biting frost,” and “taste” are in Spiel (1968), 115. The delay at the opening along with the snowing on the return are in Eynard (1914–1924), January 22, 1815, 291–292 and 294–295. Stewart’s behavior is also in Alexander Ivanovich Mikhailovsky-Danilevsky journal, Alexander Sapojnikov in Ole Villumsen Krog (2002), 146. Marie Louise looking through a “window let into the attic,” Baron Claude-François de Méneval’s
Memoirs Illustrating the History of Napoleon I from 1802 to 1805,
ed. Baron Napoleon Joseph de Méneval (1894), III, 312. The inflation was noted by many, including Thürheim,
Mein Leben: Erinnerungen aus Österreichs Grosser Welt, 1788–1819
(1913), II, 106, and “they ride” is in Spiel (1968), 119. The state of affairs, and tensions in the French-English-Austrian alliance, Mavrojény to his brother, January 25, 1815,
GPWK,
370–371. Britain and Austria differences after the defensive treaty, Castlereagh to Liverpool, January 22, 1815
BD,
CLXVIII, 292–294, and his letter the following week, when he makes his appeal to the tsar, Castlereagh to Liverpool, January 29, 1815
BD,
CLXIX, 297–298. Talleyrand, of course, sided with Metternich, as seen in this last letter, as well as Talleyrand’s dispatches. Castlereagh’s ultimatum, January 19, 1815,
Le Congrès de Vienne et les traités de 1815
(1864), II, 795–797. Castlereagh’s chagrin at Metternich made rounds, Eynard heard it, January 24, 1815 (1914–1924), 299.