MADAME DE DINO.f FEW who care to read French have
waited till now to make acquaintance with the very important and fascinating Chronique of the Duchesse de Dino. Those who do not will welcome this satisfactory translation of the first volume, which really preserves as much of the original grace of language as is ever possible when French is turned into English. A good deal of Madame de Dino herself must necessarily be lost in the process, and she was not only one of the most brilliant and delightful figures in European society during the second quarter of the nineteenth century—that rare creature, a perfect woman of the world—but she possessed a good heart and a mind distinguished both by native clever- ness and a singular cultivation. Her light touch is never malicious, her gossip never scandalous, though her likings and dislikings were strong ; and here she shines by contrast with other women in society whose letters and memoirs aimed at being its faithful mirror, and at whose hands she herself suffered considerably.
The word "cosmopolitan" could not be better applied than to Madame de Dino. Though a great French lady by marriage and adoption, she was not so by birth. She was a daughter of the Duke of Courland, and thus became heiress to the principality of Sagan, in Silesia, with vast estates which she constantly visited, and where she reigned like a Queen. There was a piquant contrast between that wild, remote country and her estate of Rochecotte, in Touraine, with its charm of peaceful civilisation. But the present volume does not go so far. It does not even include the death of the Prince de Talleyrand. As everybody knows, Princess Dorothee of Courland married his nephew Edmond, Comte de Talleyrand-Perigord, and was for many years the great statesman's constant and affectionate companion.
Naturally Talleyrand is a leading figure in the earlier part of these Memoirs. Touched by so loving and reverent a hand, he appears as one of the wisest, gayest, kindest, and most
• Shelley : the Man and the Peet. By Clifton-Brock. London : Methuen and Co. [7s. 6d. net.) t Memoirs of the Dachas'. de Disc (Afterwards Atalanta de Talleyrand et de Basal), 1831-1835. Edited, with Notes and Biographical Index, by the Princesse 4Badziwill (nes Castellane). London: W. Heinemann. [10s. net.]
agreeable, if not the best, of mankind. His unquestioned distinction as a diplomat and a Minister is largely dwelt upon. All the earlier part of this volume has its scene in London, and ought to interest every one who cares for the byways of English history in the "thirties."
The book would be very much improved by a larger number of intelligent notes, the biographical index, taken from the French original, being hardly sufficient for the varied reference often needed.
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