Note 52 — Chapter XIV

A stupid story is told by Vaulabelle, and greatly embroidered by some of the romanticists, that the Duchess of Courland’s daughter was seen joining in wild orgies on the night of April 2nd, and riding on horseback behind a Cossack. One of Talleyrand’s letters to the duchess unconsciously reveals the germ of this monstrous story. Talleyrand had sent a Cossack escort to accompany her back to Paris from Rosny that evening on account of the mob.