moral of the piece, is as follows:--

"THE GENERAL. My friends, my fellow-citizens, we who, after so
many storms have finally reached port, and who, under the shelter
of the throne and the laws, taste that wise and moderate liberty
which has been the object of our desires for forty years; let us
guard it well, it has cost us dear. Always united, let us no
longer think of the evil done, let us see only the good that is,
let us put away sad memories, and let us all say, in the new
France, 'Union and forgiveness.'"

Among the spectators more than one could recognize himself in the
personages of the piece. But the allusions were so nicely made
that no one could be offended. Liberals and ultras could, on the
contrary, profit by the excellent counsels given them in the
little play of the Theatre de Madame.

Let us add, moreover, that Scribe never wished to be anything but
a man of letters. There could be applied to him the words said by
him of his confrere, friend, and nephew, Bayard:--

"A stranger to all parties, he speculated on no revolution; he
flattered no one in power, not even those he loved. He solicited
no honors, no places, no pension. He asked nothing of any one but
himself. He owed to his talent and his labor his honor and his
independence."

The device chosen by Scribe is a pen, above which is the motto:
Inde fortuna et libertas. The Duchess of Berry knew how to
understand and appreciate this man of wit and good sense. For his
part, Scribe avowed for the Princess a sentiment of gratitude that
he never falsified. When the days of ill fortune came for her, he
journeyed to bear his homage to her upon a foreign soil.





XXVII

DIEPPE


Dieppe has not forgotten the benefits received from the Duchess of
Berry. It was this amiable Princess that made fashionable the
pretty Normandy city and made it the most elegant bathing resort
of Europe. She made five visits there, of several weeks each, in
1824, 1825, 1826, 1827, and 1829.

The Duchess came for the first time to Dieppe some time before the
death of Louis XVIII. She arrived the 29th of July, and left the
23d of August. She conceived immediately a passion for the
picturesque town, as famous for its fine beach as for its smiling
environs. The enthusiasm manifested for her by the inhabitants
touched her. She said to the mayor: "Henri IV. was right when he
called the Dieppois his good friends. I shall imitate my ancestor
in his love for them."

The next year--the year of the coronation--Madame returned to her
favorite city. She arrived there the 2d of August, 1825. More than
twenty thousand persons were awaiting her at the boundary of the
district, and her entry was triumphal. The 6th of August, the
actors of the Gymnase, come from Paris, gave a theatrical
representation in her honor.

Madame made many excursions by sea. There was on her boat a tent
of crimson silk, above which floated the white flag. The little
flotilla of the royal navy had manoeuvres in her honor, and
saluted her with salvos of artillery. The 10th of September, the
Princess made an excursion to Bacqueville, where there awaited her
a numerous cortege of Cauchois women, all on horseback, in the
costume of the country. The 12th, she breakfasted in the ship Le
Rodeur, and a recently constructed merchant vessel was launched in
her presence. She departed the 14th, promising to return the
following year.

Accordingly, Madame left Paris for Dieppe the 7th of August, 1826.
The morrow of her arrival, she assisted at the inauguration of a
new playhouse that had been built within six months. The mayor
presented the Princess with some keys, artistically worked--the
keys to her loge and to her salon. The prologue of the opening
piece, entitled La Poste Royale, was filled with delicate
allusions and compliments. The 17th of August, there was a
performance offered by Madame to the sailors and soldiers of the
garrison. From his place in the parterre a subordinate of the 64th
regiment of the line sang, in honor of the Princess, some couplets
expressing the sentiments of his comrades.

The 19th, there was a visit to the ruins of the Chateau of Arques,
immortalized by the victory of Henry IV. An agreeable surprise for
Madame was a comedy for the occasion improvised by the actors of
the Vaudeville. When the Princess presents herself before the
Chateau, a little peasant girl at first refuses her admittance.
She has received orders, she says, from her father and mother to
open to no one, no matter whom. But the air Vive Henri IV. is
heard, and straightway both doors are opened wide to the Princess.
An old concierge and his wife sing piquant verses about their
first refusal to open to her. From here Madame is guided by the
little peasant girl to the entrance of an ancient garden, where
she perceives the whole troupe in the costume of gardeners and
garden girls. She is offered bouquets and escorted to a dairy at
the extremity of the ruins. The band of the guard plays for her
her favorite air, Charmante Gabrielle. A young milk-maid--the
pretty actress Jenny Colon--offers her a cup of milk and sings
couplets that please her greatly. Then comes the husband of the
dairy-maid and recounts to the grand-daughter of Henry IV. the
victory won by her ancestor over the Duke of Mayenne. A little
later, Madame is conducted to the foot of an ancient tower, whence
there is a view of immense extent. Here she is arrested by the
songs of an ancient minstrel, whose voice is accompanied by
mysterious music hidden in the hollows of the ruins.

Going from surprise to surprise, the Princess trav erses a long
arch of verdure where she reads on escutcheons the dates dear to
her heart. At the end of this long avenue, she again finds the
entire troupe of the Vaudeville, who re-escort her to the gates of
Chateau, singing a general chorus of farewell, amid cries of "Long
live the King! Long live Madame!" the effect of which is doubled
by repeated salutes of artillery.

Some days later, the 7th of September, the Duchess of Berry
learned, during the day, that a frightful tempest threatened to
engulf a great number of fishing-boats which were coming toward
port. Instantly she countermanded a ball that she was to give that
evening. She proceeded in all haste to the point whence aid could
be given to these unfortunates. Clinging to a little post on the
jetty, which the waves covered from all sides, she directed and
encouraged the rescue. The Dieppe correspondence of the Moniteur
said:--

"What has been seen at Dieppe alone, is a young Princess, braving
all the dangers of a wild sea, re maining on the end of the jetty
to direct the succor of the fishing-boats that were seeking refuge
in the harbor. She seemed placed there by the Deity as a
protecting angel, and the sailors who saw her took courage again."

She withdrew from the dangerous place, which she called her post,
only when all the barks had entered port. One man only had
perished. Before even changing her clothing the Princess sent
relief to his widow.

By her kindness, her charity, her grace, Madame won all hearts.
Her protection revived at Dieppe the commerce in ivory and laces.
She gave two brevets, one in her own name, the other in that of
Mademoiselle, to the best two manufacturers in the city, and made
considerable purchases. She founded at her expense, under the
direction of the Sisters of Providence, a manufactory of laces
where a large number of young girls obtained at the same time the
means of living and the benefits of a Christian education. Between
the Princess and her good city of Dieppe there was a constant
exchange of delicate attentions and proofs of sympathy. When she
was spoken to of preparations for departure, "Already?" she said
sadly. She left the 19th of September, 1826, and returned the
following year.

The 6th of August, 1827, Madame made an entry to Dieppe by the
hamlet of Janval. A great crowd went to visit her, and greeted her
with enthusiastic cheers. The 13th of August, the city offered her
a great ball, at which more than twelve hundred persons attended.
On the 16th, the portrait of the Princess was unveiled at the
Hotel de Ville. At the moment that the veil was raised, the band
of the fifth regiment of the royal guard played the air of Vive
Henri IV. amid long applause. The mayor of Dieppe, M. Cavalier,
pronounced a discourse in which he expressed the gratitude of the
inhabitants, and promised that the cherished image should be
surrounded, age after age, by the veneration of a city whose
history was one of constant devotion to its Kings. In the evening
Madame gave a soiree at which the hereditary Princess of Hesse-
Darmstadt was present. Rossini was at the piano and sang with his
wife and with Balfe; Nadermann played the harp.

The Duchess of Berry made numerous excursions by sea, even in the
worst weather. One day, at least, she was in some danger. The
sailors admired her good spirits and her courage. "Oh," they said,
"she is indeed a worthy descendant of Henry IV."

The 4th of September, 1827, Mademoiselle, with her governess, the
Duchess of Gontaut, came to join her mother at Dieppe. The little
Princess was to be eight years old the 2lst of the month. A formal
reception was given her. Her arrival was announced by the noise of
cannon and the sound of bells. The Baron de Viel-Castel, sub-
prefect of the city, made a complimentary address to her. She
responded in the most gracious manner, "I know how much you love
my mother, and I loved you in advance."

Madame, who had gone to meet her daughter at Osmonville, three
leagues from Dieppe, took her in her carriage. The horses
proceeded at a walk, and the people never wearied of admiring the
gentle little Princess. On the morrow, Madame received the homage
of the functionaries. The mayor said to her: "Your Royal Highness
is in a country filled with your ancestors, in a city honored by
Henry IV. with special benevolence, which Louis XIV. rewarded for
its fidelity by calling it 'his good city,' which your august
aunt, Madame the Dauphiness, deigned to choose for her return to

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