Vienna, 1814: How the Conquerors of Napoleon Made Love, War, and Peace at the Congress of Vienna (74 page)

Germaine de Staël’s work
De l’Allemagne
had been printed, censored, and suppressed in 1810, and appeared fully in 1813. Gentz’s words on the people “who hold the world” are from his diary, January 12, 1815,
Tagebücher
(1873), I, 348. “I enjoy,” which comes from Gentz’s end-of-the-year summary, and “foibles of the world” are in Golo Mann’s
Secretary of Europe: The Life of Friedrich Gentz, Enemy of Napoleon,
trans. William H. Woglom (1946), 212–213. Fanny von Arnstein’s hospitality is in Karl August Varnhagen von Ense’s
Denkwürdigkeiten des Eignen Lebens
(1987), II, 573–574. “Tall, slim” and the Hoher Markt setting are from Hilde Spiel’s
Fanny von Arnstein: A Daughter of the Enlightenment 1758–1818
, trans. Christine Shuttleworth (1991), 190–191. The description of Jean Carro is in Rosalie Rzewuska’s
Mémoires de la comtesse Rosalie Rzewuska
(1788–1865), I, 98. The drinks and pastries served are from Carl Bertuch’s diary entry for November 1, 1814,
Tagebuch vom Wiener Kongress
(1916), 45. The wax figures celebration appears in many sources, including Bertuch diary entry for January 10, 1815 (1916), 96; Marchese di San Marzano’s diary in Ilario Rinieri, ed.,
Corrispondenza inedita dei Cardinali Consalvi e Pacca nel tempo del Congresso di Vienna
(1903), lxviii; and Henrich Graf zu Stolberg-Wernigerode’s entry the same day in his diary,
Tagebuch über meinen Aufenthalt in Wien zur Zeit des Congresses
(2004), 150. Humboldt did not attend that particular night, because he was busy working on his arguments for Jewish equality, he noted in a letter to his wife, Caroline, January 17, 1815,
Wilhelm und Caroline von Humboldt in ihren Briefen,
ed. Anna von Sydow (1910), IV, 458.

Jacob Grimm’s critiques of the congress can be read in several letters to his brother Wilhelm, for example,
Briefwechsel zwischen Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm aus der Jugendzeit
(1963), October 8, 1814, 354—the source for his description of it as a maze, 355. Grimm was at the library whenever he could slip away from the embassy, and his varied literary pursuits come, for example, from his letter to Wilhelm, October 21, 1814 (1963), 360. Grimm’s work with Serbian and Czech folklore, and some manuscripts is also in Murray B. Peppard’s
Paths Through the Forest: A Biography of the Brothers Grimm
(1971), 88. Grimm’s dinner at the tavern, his words about “children’s tales,” and contacts with other scholars at the congress is in Ruth Michaelis-Jena’s
The Brothers Grimm
(1970), 73–74. Grimm’s address at the congress, first with the head of the delegation at Alleegasse Nr. 79, and later at Pannikelgasse Nr. 80. Grimm was not in GE, but he did make the supplement,
SG,
9.

Napoleon’s mother arrives at Elba, Sir Neil Campbell, “Journal,” published in
Napoleon at Fontainebleau and Elba; Being a Journal of Occurrences in 1814–1815
(1869), 278–279, and Napoleon cheating at cards, Christophe,
Napoleon on Elba,
trans. Len Ortzen (1964), 138. Rumored arrival of Marie Louise and visit of Marie Walewska are in Norman Mackenzie,
The Escape from Elba: The Fall and Flight of Napoleon, 1814–1815
(1982), 128–130, and Christophe (1964), 109–127. Jaucourt informs Talleyrand, September 27, 1814,
Correspondance du comte du Jaucourt avec le prince de Talleyrand pendant le Congrès de Vienne
(1905), 10. Marie Walewska’s background is in Potocka, who claimed to have sat between them at the ball where their affair began,
Countess Anna Potocka’s Memoirs of the Countess Potocka,
ed. Casimir Stryienski, trans. Lionel Strachey (1900), 79–80. Napoleon planned to seize Pianosa almost from the beginning, Captain Thomas Ussher, “Napoleon’s Deportation to Elba,” in
Napoleon’s Last Voyages, Being the Diaries of Admiral Sir Thomas Ussher, R.N., K.C.B. (on Board the “Undaunted”) and John R. Glover, Secretary to Rear Admiral Kockburn (on Board the “Northumberland”)
(1895), 54, Campbell (1869), 217, Mackenzie (1982), 85. Napoleon’s plans for Pianosa are in Campbell’s “Journal” (1869), 244.

C
HAPTER
23. “O
DIOUS AND
C
RIMINAL
T
RAFFICK IN
H
UMAN
F
LESH
”

The epigraph comes from Castlereagh’s letter to Liverpool,
CC,
X, 490. “Six weeks” is from Sir Robert Keith, (1849), 456. “Magnificent weather” is from Gentz, February 19, 1815,
Tagebücher
(1873), I, 359, and cited in McGuigan,
Metternich and the Duchess
(1975), 441, and also San Marzan’s diary entry, February 26, 1815, in Ilario Rinieri, ed.,
Corrispondenza inedita dei Cardinali Consalvi e Pacca nel tempo del Congresso di Vienna
(1903), lxxii. A “swarm of idlers and newsmongers” is in Comte Auguste de La Garde-Chambonas,
Anecdotal Recollections of the Congress of Vienna
(1902), 379. On the dinners in early February, Talleyrand to the Duchess of Courland, February 8–9, 1815,
TLI,
114. The accounts of Tsar Alexander and Countess Flora Wrbna-Kageneck’s wager at Princess Bagration’s salon, and subsequent competiton certainly made the rounds, though the sources do not agree on key elements, such as the length of time, the margin of victory, and the prize awarded. See the descriptions, for example, in Countess Thürheim’s
Mein Leben
(1913), II, 117–118, Méneval,
Memoirs,
III, 345, San Marzan,
Diario,
February 20, 1815, lxxii; Rzewuska
Mémoires de la comtesse Rosalie Rzewuska 1788–1865
(1939), I, 265, Bernstorff,
Ein Bild aus der Zeit von 1789 bis 1835: Aus ihren Aufzeichnungen
(1896), I, 175, Humboldt to Caroline, February 23, 1815,
Briefe,
IV, 485, Agent ** to Hager, February 16, 1815,
DCV,
II, no. 1636. Rosenkrantz’s
Journal du Congrès de Vienne 1814–1815
(1953), February 23, 1815, 159. Castlereagh wondering if Wellington might consider replacing him in Vienna, Castlereagh to Wellington, December 17, 1814,
CC,
X, 217–220. Castlereagh now wanting to delay his departure: the day after the secret treaty, Castlereagh to Liverpool, January 4, 1815,
CC,
X, 235–236, and a letter to Wellington,
CC,
X, 236.

Many historians write that Wellington arrived in Vienna on February 3, as did Castlereagh, Castlereagh to Liverpool, draft, February 6, 1815,
CC,
X, 248. But that does not bear out, according to references in diaries of other people who saw Wellington or dined with him prior to that date. Talleyrand, who hosted an early dinner for Wellington, reported that he arrived on the first, Talleyrand to King Louis XVIII, February 8, 1815,
TLC,
303. San Marzan also noted his arrival that day, February 1, 1815,
Diario,
lxx, as did Rosenkrantz, who saw him, February 1, 1815, 136. A police report also noted it for the first, report to Hager, February 2, 1815,
DCV,
II, no. 1467. Talleyrand’s dinner for Duke of Wellington on the fourth of February was, of course, not the first in Vienna held in his honor. The reference to the great gathering in the homes of bankers is in Karl von Nostitz, undated entry from the beginning of February 1815,
Leben und Briefwechsel
(1848), 166.

The enthusiasm surrounding Wellington’s arrival in Vienna is in Comte Auguste de La Garde-Chambonas,
Anecdotal Recollections of the Congress of Vienna
(1902), 381–382, and the duke breathing life into celebrations, Méneval,
Memoirs,
III, 349. Wellington and escort Grassini, Karl von Nostitz, undated entry from the beginning of February 1815, in
Leben und Briefwechsel
(1848), 168, as well as note to Hager, February 3, 1815,
DCV,
II, no. 1483, and Agent Nota to Hager, who added the words of Grassini as “belle of the universe,” same day, II, no. 1499. Wellington’s mannerisms are in Elizabeth Longford,
Wellington: Years of the Sword
(1969), 352–368, Andrew Roberts,
Napoleon and Wellington: The Battle of Waterloo and the Great Commanders Who Fought It
(2001), and Richard Holmes Wellington (2002). The phrase “stern monosyllables” and the laugh are in Longford (1969), 353. Wellington had been a field marshal since Battle of Vitoria 1813, and duke since 1814, resolved in House of Commons, May 13, 1814, and also in House of Lords, June 27, 1814, text printed in
WD,
VII, 522–525. Castlereagh sent his dispatches to London through Wellington’s embassy in Paris, Castlereagh to Liverpool, as seen, for example, October 25, 1814,
BD,
CXXI, 216.

Before leaving for Vienna, Talleyrand had promised assistance on the slave trade issue at the congress, Wellington to Castlereagh, October 4, 1814,
WD,
VII, 574. Talleyrand’s proposal for a commission on the slave trade, Talleyrand to Louis XVIII, December 15, 1814,
TLC,
211. Slave trade, Ambassadors of the King at the Congress to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, no. 26, January 24, 1815,
Memoirs
III (1891), 18–19. Challenges and frustrations of the many vested interests in France also in a letter to William Wilberforce, September 15, 1814,
WD,
VII, 558–559. He adds here in this letter that the abolition was unfairly associated with the turmoil of the French Revolution, and suffered accordingly. The influence of the press and particularly the difficulty of getting anything published in favor of abolition, Wellington to Wilberforce, October 8, 1814,
WD,
VII, 576. Another objection was that Britain had an ulterior motive—using the former slaves as soldiers to fight their war with the United States: Wellington to Wilberforce, December 14, 1814,
WD,
VII, 620. France did not respond to Britain’s offer of an island in exchange for France’s support on the question of slave trade, for example, is in Castlereagh to Liverpool, October 25, 1814,
BD,
CXX, 215. Description of life on board the slave ship and the words “a scene of horror” come from Olaudah Equiano (Gustavus Vasa), which, as Adam Hochschild noted, remains one of a few from a slave,
Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire’s Slaves
(2005), 32. See Hochschild, and for more on this question at the congress, see Jerome Reich, “The Slave Trade at the Congress of Vienna—a Study in English Public Opinion,”
Journal of Negro History,
53, April 1968, 129–43. There is a large collection of documents on this matter at HHStA, StK Kongressakten 13. The protocol and the declaration are published in
Le Congrès de Vienne et les traités de 1815
(1864), II, 724–727.

Castlereagh on the fervor of the issue and “the popular impatience which has been excited” hindering his negotiations, Castlereagh to Liverpool, October 25, 1814,
BD,
CXX, 215–216. British view that all merchant vessels offer “permission to visit” and that all vessels with slaves on board “should be liable to be seized,” Wellington to Talleyrand, August 26, 1814
WD,
VII, 540. The proposal of a mutual right to search ships had not been favorably received by the French government, Wellington to Castlereagh, November 5, 1814
WD,
VII, 595. Castlereagh’s idea of “a sort of permanent European Congress in existence” working on the slave trade, Castlereagh to Liverpool, November 21, 1814
BD,
CXXIX, 233. Castlereagh’s idea of peacetime economic sanctions, Castlereagh to Liverpool, October 25, 1814,
BD,
CXX, 216, and discussion in Webster,
The Foreign Policy of Castlereagh, 1812–1815: Britain and the Reconstruction of Europe
(1931), 415ff. Slave trade example for many sacrifices, and others skeptical, Webster,
The Art and Practice of Diplomacy
(1961), 2–3. The Slavery Commission Conference is in C. K. Webster,
The Congress of Vienna 1814–1867
(1919) (1937 ed.), 89, and Jerome Reich’s “The Slave Trade at the Congress or Vienna,” April 1969, 109–143. The first meeting of Slavery Commission, January 20, 1815, II, 660–670,
Le Congrès de Vienne et les traités de 1815
, ed. Comte d’Angeberg (1864), and the opposition from Portuguese and Spanish are seen in many places, for example, the meeting on the sixteenth, in II, 612–614. Some of Castlereagh’s letters on slave trade intercepted, such as one to Portuguese minister Palmella, January 30, 1815,
DCV,
II, no. 1354, also to Gentz, Hager to Emperor, January 25, 1815, II, no. 1378. Agreement with Portugal is in Angeberg (1864), II, 670–673. Additional information on the slave trade negotiations, as Castlereagh saw it, or rather wished to present it before parliament, Castlereagh in speech in the House of Commons, March 20, 1815,
BD,
appendix, II, 395–396. See also Talleyrand to King Louis XVIII, February 8, 1815,
TLC,
309–310, and his letter on the fifteenth, 322. “Odious and criminal traffick…” and the progress report comes from Castlereagh to Liverpool, January 1, 1815,
BD,
CLIII, 274, and another variation in Memorandum as to the Mode of Conducting the Negotiations in Congress for the Final Abolition of the Slave Trade,
BD,
235. The condemnation of the slave trade itself, dated February 8, 1815, is in Angeberg (1864), II, 726–727, with the phrase “desolated Africa, degraded Europe, and grieved humanity” on 726.

C
HAPTER
24. B
EFORE THE
C
AKE
W
AS
C
UT

Isabey working on the painting of the congress was noted by Agent Freddi to Hager, December 30, 1814,
DCV,
I, no. 1203, and, on the eve of Wellington’s arrival, he had just painted Hardenberg, as the Prussian noted in his diary, January 17, 1815,
Tagebüch
er
und autobiographische Aufzeichnungen
(2000), 812. For Isabey’s stay in Vienna, see Basily-Callimaki,
J. B. Isabey: sa vie—son temps, 1767–1855
(1909), 159–197. Isabey’s solution to the dilemma, and conversation with Humboldt, are also in Marion W. Osmond’s
Jean Baptiste Isabey: The Fortunate Painter, 1767–1855
(1947), 135–136. The outcome on Poland and Saxony, Webster,
The Foreign Policy of Castlereagh, 1812–1815: Britain and the Reconstruction of Europe
(1931), 384–385. The signing on February 11 was, of course, followed by several other agreements between Russia and Austria, Russia and Prussia, working out the details—Czartoryski’s disillusionment, with comments on the problems of the Grand Duke Constantine’s administration and a rash of suicides in the army, for example, come from
Adam Czartoryski’s Memoirs and His Correspondence with Alexander I,
ed. Adam Gielgud (1968), II, 306ff, with additional information in Patricia Kennedy Grimsted’s
The Foreign Ministers of Alexander I: Political Attitudes and the Conduct of Russian Diplomacy, 1801–1825
(1969), 224; Kukiel’s
Czartoryski and European Unity, 1770–1861
(1955), 131–133; and Zawadzki’s
A Man of Honour: Adam Czartoryski as a Statesman of Russia and Poland, 1795–1831
(1993). Talleyrand’s perspective on the Saxon dispute is in his letter to King Louis XVIII, February 1, 1815,
TLC,
294–297, with more on the dispute over Leipzig, and the tsar’s offer of Thorn, Talleyrand to King Louis XVIII, February 8, 1815,
TLC,
305–306, Castlereagh to Liverpool, February 6, 1815,
BD,
CLXXII, 301. Hardenberg and Prussian insistence on Leipzig, and the claims of not being able to return to Berlin without it, Castlereagh to Liverpool, January 29, 1815,
BD,
CLXIX, 296–297. For more on the reasons behind the Prussian state, opinion, military strategy, and commerce, see Gaëtan de Raxis de Flassan’s
Histoire du Congrès de Vienne
(1829), I, 185–186. The king of Saxony being freed, and the settlement,
TLC,
307, 316–317, and 526–530. The tsar’s role was also acknowledged by Castlereagh, February 13, 1815,
BD,
CLXXIV, 304.