ALBUM PERDU.*
LITERARY SPECTATOR.
TuE Album Perdu is a collection of characteristic mots attributed to the greatest of modern discus's des mots, M. DE TALLEYRAND, Prince de Benevento, ex-Bishop of Anhui. It is an agreeable little work, and is probably as authentic as such publications ever are : the anecdotes bear about them ad air of verity, anti many of the mots have a delicacy and a finesse which show them to be the property of a subtile and ready wit, such as the ex-vice-grand-elector is said to possess. A prelimi- nary note, which is supposed to be addressed to a friend to whom the Album is lent, gives a rapid view of the history of one of the most remarkable men of an ama so productiie in extraordinary characters. " The denominations of Abbi! de Perigord, Bishop of Anton, M. de Talley- rand, Alzen Talleyrand, Prince of Beneventinn, Prince-Duke of Talleyrand Perigord, form in themselves alone an abridgment of the history of his life. It might be said of my hero, that when he went into orders, he was in some sort predestined to become the direcleur (confessor) of the Revolution. It was iii. de 1'— in fact who baptized the Revolution on the altar of the country, the day of the first federation ; afterwards married it to the empire ; and in 81.1 administered extreme unction, after having bountifully partaken of its last gifts, and assured to himself a comfortable provision in its succession. He has also baptized legitimacy. Let him contribute to render its marriage with the Charter of Louis XVIII. indissoluble, so that nobody may have to administer any further sacrament."
It is said that M. de TA.LLEYRAND has written his memoirs, and that he occasionally regales his friends in petit, contitj wills a page or two from them. They are said to read like Gil Bias. The cha- racter and position of TALLEYRAND are and have been such as to put it into his power to write the most curious and instructive autobio- graphy that ever saw the light. We have in the Album a passage from his supposed memoirs, but whether it really be collected from' them or not, it is impossible for us to say : it contains the history of an early amour prettily enough described. It seems decided that these memoirs, whatever they may consist of, are not to be pub- lished till after his death. They are said to be at his house at Paris, and a duplicate at Valencay. When, however, the palters of llamas were seized after his death, TALLEYRAND is reported to have said, " Ah ! ah ! this is a caul ion e:iven from the Tuileries to Rue St. Flo- rentin :" so that they are placed in safer keeping than the drawers of either the hotel at Paris or that at Valencay. The bun mats of the .411mm Perdu are classed rather formally under the different epochs of the Revolution, Directory, Consulate, &c.: they are moreover each ushered into the world with some sort of pre- face, which may be very necessary for stuffing a book,—WC think, how- ever, that we can condense a good many of the best of them, or at least tile best which will hear translation, into a very small compass. On 'a rumour of the &aft' of GEORGE the Third, when Tes.uniy- RAND was Minister for Foreign Affairs, a great speculator in the funds requested an audience. His motive was divined: the death of the King was likely to affect the funds, and he wished for accurate in- farniation. TALLEYRAND, wills imperturbable gravity, told him that some said he was dead—others said lie was not, but. that for his part he neither believed one nor the other: " I tell you this in confidence, but be sure not to quote me." We presume that his art of talking a great deal without saying any thing, to which NAPOLEON bears testimony, was not quite so gross as this specimen of mystification : the Emperor, however, on the report of O'MEARA, used to say that his slipperiness was marvellous, and that after sending for him to obtain a si!ecitic communication, he used to be astonished, after he was gone, on finding how little lie had ,gct out of him.
On one occasion, when some secret project had been betrayed to the Spanish Ambassador D'AZARA., TALLEYRANO devised the means 'of nullifying the effect of the communication: lie ordered his carriage, and went and confided the whole plan to the Ambassador himself, as 'a mark of his confidential friendship. D'Azaaa immediately wrote home to say that he hail been deceived : he was sure no such plan was in agitation.
....---BONAPART-ionee asked him if he were rich, and how he became SO: TALLEYRAND'S reply was' a piece of consummate flattery : " I bought into the funds to a great amount the day before the 18th Brumaire, and sold out the day after. I happened, moreover, to be true." The amiable and accomplished Count de NARBONNE was fond of repeating his verses : he had spouted rather too many one day to his friend TA.LLEYRAND, as they were walking on the Water-terrace-
* Paris, lean
" See," said TALLEYRAND, pointing to a man whom he observed gaping, " see, NARBONNE, I always told you you talk too loud." General DORSENNE, whose manners and speech always retained the roughness of the camp, kept dinner waiting for him at a party at TALLEYRAND'S. He apologized : he was just getting into his car- riage, when a confounded pekin stopped him, and detained him a quarter of an hour. " May I beg to know, for m- y particular informa- tion, said the Prince de BENEVENTO, what is a pekin " Oh, a pekin,-my lord, I beg pardon-but pekin is a camp word which escaped me. We are in the habit of calling everything that is not mi- litary, pekin." " Oh, you call everything not military pekin : well, that is like us-we call everything military which is not civil." Madame * * * has no teeth ; Mademoiselle DUCHESNOIS has some, but they are by no means good ones. M. TALLEYRAND one day remarked of Madame * * *, that if she had teeth, she would be as ugly as Mademoiselle DUCHESNOIS.
TALLEYRAND'S countenance so rarely affords the slightest indica- tion of what is passing in his mind, that LANNES and MURAT used .; to say, that were he to receive a kick in the posteriors, there would be no mark of it in the face.
When he went out of place, and MONTESQUIEU succeeded him in the charge of Great Chamberlain, he contented himself with saying • coolly-" What will be the consequence, but that in future the coach- men will oftener go down the road of the Faubourg St Germaine, than the line of the Faubourg St. Honore.
At the abdication of NAPOLEON, great indignation was expressed at the conduct of a certain marshal, who was said to have set the example of desertion. " Oh ! mon Dieu," said the Prince, " what does all that prove ?-only that his watch was a little too forward; for all the rest of the world were exact to the hour."
" The influence you have had on the past, excites my admiration," . said Louis the Eighteenth to him one day: " How did you manage • first to destroy the Directory, and afterwards the colossal power of 13otsapAars ?" "Mon Dies-., Sire," answered the Minister, "I have really had no hand in all that : there is something inexplicable about me which brings mischief to every government that neglects me." TALLEYRAND looked with small favour on the new favourite of Louis, M. DECAZES. One day when TALLEYRAND was closeted with the King, M. DECAZES made his entrance through a small private door. " Ah ! Monsieur," said he " You must be a very great man . to get in by so small a door:' The King began to laugh ; and the Mi- . • nister, who expected to find the King alone, was considerably discon- certed.
Somebody told him M. de SEM- was getting fat. " SEM- get fat!" said he ; " that is a thing I do not understand." " Why not, Mon- ' eigneur ?" " Why ? because I do not see what interest SEM- can ave in getting fat."
On another occasion, when some one observed that there were con • sciences in the House of Peers-" Consciences !" said he ; " aye- . yes-a great many consciences-for instance, SEM- has two." One day the Duke of LAVAL was soliciting a _place for a young man, who it was desired should marry a young lady of good family. :••. !1 I. de TALLEYRAND neither asked name, family, nor rank ; he simply said, " It is somebody, I suppose."
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