The Unpublished Diary and Political Sketches of Princess Lieven: Together with Some of Her Letters |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Alliance Ambassador April asked Austria Belgium British Cabinet Canning's carriage Castlereagh Comte de Chambord Comte de Pahlen Conference Count Nesselrode Court Czar December Despatches Diary dinner diplomacy diplomatic Dorothea Duke of Clarence Duke of Wellington Emperor Alexander Emperor Paul Empress England English Esterházy fact favour February France French George Grand Duchess Grand Duke Constantine Greece Greek Greville Guizot husband influence intrigue January July June King knew Lady Granville later letter London Lord Aberdeen Lord Dudley Lord Grey Lord Palmerston Madame de Lieven Madame Lieven March Michael Palace Minister Ministry mother Napoleon Neumann never Nicholas November October Palace Paris person Petersburg Political Sketch Prince Leopold Prince Lieven Prince Metternich Prince of Orange Princess Lieven Queen question received refused Regent relations Russia salon Schiemann secret seems sent Talleyrand thought throne of Greece tion told took Villa Franca Whigs wish wrote
Popular passages
Page 72 - C[ommons] — taking care to keep safe my sources of intelligence — that I was driven from office by the Holy Alliance, and further, that the system, which I found established of personal communications between the sovereign and Foreign Ministers, was one under which no English Minister could do his duty. If, after such a denunciation, the L[ievens] and Esterhazy did not find London too hot for them, I know nothing of the present temper of the -English nation.
Page 77 - Let us fly to the aid of Portugal, by whomsoever attacked ; because it is our duty to do so : and let us cease our interference where that duty ends. We go to Portugal, not to rule, not to dictate, not to prescribe constitutions — but to defend and to preserve the independence of an ally. We go to plant the standard of England on the well-known heights of Lisbon. Where that standard is planted, foreign dominion shall not come.
Page 111 - I hope to save Greece through the agency of the Russian name upon the fears of Turkey, without a war...
Page 96 - Everybody has intrigued (tripotf) in Greece. I alone have remained pure. I have pushed scruples so far as not to have a single wretched agent in Greece, not an intelligence agent even, and I have to be content with the scraps that fall from the table of my Allies.1 Let England think of that. If they grasp hands [with us] we are sure of controlling events and of establishing in the East an order of things conformable to the interest of Europe and to the laws of religion and humanity. That should be...
Page 35 - No, Monseigneur." "Are you warm, Madame?" "No, Monseigneur." (His conversation always began like that.) "Permit me to take your hand." (This was an extra.) "It is needless, Monseigneur!" But this did not prevent him from taking my hand. Fear seized me, for he was evidently drunk. With the other hand I hastened to lower the carriage window as a precautionary measure.
Page 38 - Eh puis ? " asked the lady, in her gentle, respectful way. " Nous les renverrons encore !'* " Eh puis ? " " Nous les renverrons encore ! " " Eh puis ? " This went on till the Duke saw the absurdity of his position, and stopped, after uttering his last " Nous les renverrons encore...
Page 121 - ... the King's mischievous spirit, but they did not appear thus to the interested parties. When the carriages were announced the King began to arrange their distribution. We went out in pairs in little low chaises drawn by ponies. The King always took out Lady Conyngham. He began by turning to me, in a mood of finest malice, and said quite loud, ' I am sure that you and the Duke of Wellington would like to go out together.
Page 120 - He adorned the subjects he touched, he knew how to listen, he was very polished. For my part I had never known a person like him, who was also affectionate, sympathetic and gallant. But he was full of vanity and could be flattered at will. Weary of all the joys of life, having only taste, not one true sentiment, he was hardly susceptible to attachment, and never I believe sincerely inspired anyone with it. He was not a bad man, but was capable of bad actions. No one trusted him, none of his ministers...
Page 112 - It was not the revolution that we patronised ; we wished to stop the insurrection, to control the movement ; we wished to establish in Greece the conservation of order ; for it was proved that the Turks were powerless, that we desired a regular state of things, a hierarchical discipline, all of which sounded well in the ears of the Duke of Wellington. He entered under full sail into this order of ideas, and on 4th April he signed at St Petersburg with the Count de Nesselrode and M.
Page 119 - Unquestionably he had some wit and great penetration; he quickly summed up persons and things. He was educated and had much tact, easy, animated and varied conversation, not at all pedantic. He adorned the subjects he touched, he knew how to listen, he was very polished.