"After his return from England he was twice strongly impressed with salutary effect by the Christian death of the Duc de Dalberg and by the religious habits which characterised the latter part of the life of Dr. Bourdois, his contemporary, his friend, and his doctor. He was grateful to Dr. Bourdois for entrusting him to the clever hands of M. Cruveilhier; he had confidence in his skill, and felt himself honoured to be so well attended by so religious a man. The earnestness of his doctor seemed to be regarded by him as an additional guarantee.
"Pope Pius VII. was always the object of his veneration; he devoted several pages of his memoirs to the struggle between this Pope and the Emperor Napoleon, and his view of the matter was entirely to the advantage of the Pope. He had a strong admiration for the policy of the Papacy as clever, quiet, gentle, and always uniform, which qualities he regarded as of first-rate importance in the conduct of business.
"Throughout the pontificate of Pius VII. my uncle thought himself in fairly good odour at Rome. In support of this conviction he often quoted to me a remark by the holy Father with reference to himself. The Pope was then at Fontainebleau, and was speaking to the Marquise de Brignole, a friend of M. de Talleyrand, and said, referring to my uncle: 'May God rest his soul; for my part, I have a great affection for him.'
"M. de Talleyrand was well aware that I often had the honour of seeing the Archbishop of Paris, and he had guessed that our intercourse was actuated by one principal idea as far as M. de Quélen was concerned--the desire to preserve his relations with my uncle. M. de Talleyrand was never worried by him; on the contrary; and though several letters addressed by the Archbishop of Paris to M. de Talleyrand at different times failed to achieve their object, he was none the less touched by the enduring interest he had inspired in a prelate whose character he honoured and whose sincere zeal and open-mindedness he appreciated. He also showed much interest in M. de Quélen and his political position, which he would like to have been able to render easier. Upon several occasions I have seen him attempt to do him some service, by advice which he thought useful, or by speaking warmly in his favour at any other time. This he did not merely from love of truth, but also as a testimony to the memory of the late Cardinal Périgord. He often said: 'I look upon M. de Quélen as a legacy from my uncle, the Cardinal. He likes us and our name and everything connected with the Cardinal.' On New Year's Day he used to instruct me to leave his card at the Archbishop's house, saying, 'We should always treat him as a grandparent.' He never saw me start upon a visit to Saint-Michel or to the Sacré Cœur[92] without asking me to give his respects to the Archbishop. When I came back he used to ask me for news of him and whether his own name had been mentioned, and what M. de Quélen had said of him. He would listen attentively to my answers, smile, and say at length: 'Yes, yes, I know that he is very anxious to win my soul and to offer it to the Cardinal.' Up to his last year these remarks were never uttered very seriously, but with great kindliness.