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.
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