Revolution and Reaction - A (very) French Victoria II Interactive AAR

[Shynka]

- To N. Barrande @naxhi24 - ​

It offends me that you would accuse me of such a dastardly act, and I will therefore not end any relationship I have with anyone.

Please wish your wife, whom I do not know, a good day and relay to her that I miss her rather pleasant presence deeply.
~ Jean

 

[Michaelangelo]

Beauty and the Beast: Part VIII

The decision to stay had not been easy. Belle desperately longed to return home, to see her father again. Yet when she finally gathered the courage to approach the front door and turn the knob, she could not bring herself to do it. There was some force pulling her back, keeping her from leaving the castle. She felt drawn towards the Beast. Despite the earlier circumstances of her imprisonment, he had been only kind to her as of late. Even when she had spurned him, fleeing from the castle, he had risked his own life to save her from the men that attacked her. She knew so little about him, and didn’t even know his name, yet she was developing a fondness for him. The way he treated her, the way he looked at her, it was unlike the way any other man acted around her. She didn’t want to lose that just yet.

In the end, she had decided to stay. The servants of the household had become a second family of sorts, friends she had never had. It was nice being somewhere where people treated her with respect and kindness. Back in Morlaix, she’d only be viewed with disdain for her intellectualism and ogled like a piece of meat. She enjoyed being wanted. It hurt to know she was abandoning her father, but wouldn’t he want her to have a good life? Here she was respected and treated well. Perhaps she could ask for some writing material and send a letter to her father explaining all that had happened. She hoped he could understand her decision.

When she had finally turned away from the door, she had found Mme Potts waiting for her, expressing how glad she was that Belle wasn’t leaving just yet. She’d then spent the night sharing a meal with the entire household, listening to them tell stories and exchange bouts of laughter. The mood was joyous and spoke to how close they were with each other. They included her in their merriment, and she knew then that this castle was as much her home as theirs now.

The next few months were a dramatic change from the past. The oppressive atmosphere in the castle seemed to lift. Everyone was so much more light-hearted, and Belle found herself in much better spirits. No longer confined indoors, she found herself wandering the gardens quite often. They had been poorly maintained over the years, and she made it her personal task to restore them. It had been quite the task, but slowly she plucked out the weeds, trimmed the unruly hedges, and coaxed the flowers into blooming once more. Her greatest pride were the roses. They had bloomed into their full beauty, crimson buds glistening in the morning dew. She had considered plucking one free and giving it to the Beast, but memories of her first night in the castle as well as the pressed rose she had found in the Master’s chambers stayed her hand.

After a lengthy period of recovery, the Beast’s wounds had finally healed enough that he could leave his bed without much trouble. He would often hobble around the castle, occasionally clutching at his side. When asked about it, he claimed nothing was wrong, but it was obvious he still felt some discomfort. It was during one of those times spent wandering around the castle that he had approached Belle, wishing to show her something.

“What is it?” Belle asked, letting the Beast take her by the hand and guide her through the castle. He walked with an awkward gait brought on by his wound, so they took their time.

“It’s a surprise,” the Beast said, a wide grin spreading across his face. His grizzled beard mostly covered it from view. Belle often wondered why he kept that unkempt facial hair, but felt it was not her place to ask.

As they approached a large oaken door, the Beast released her hand and turned to face her. “I need you to close your eyes.”

“What for?” Belle said, glancing over his shoulder at the closed door. It was one that had always been locked and she had never seen what lay beyond.

“Just trust me.”

The look on the Beast’s face, almost like a child on Christmas wishing to show off his new toy, brought a smile to her face. She closed her eyes and said, “Very well then.”

A bulky hand grabbed Belle’s and she bristled at the physical contact. She let herself be guided forward as she heard the door part before them. As they entered the room, she could hear her own footsteps echo off the walls. Whatever this room was, it must be quite spacious. The Beast let go of her hand and she was left there in silence for a moment. Then she felt the brush of hot breath against her neck as the Beast whispered in her ear. “Now just keep your eyes closed a little longer.”

Belle waited patiently, clasping her hands together and trying to supress the tingle travelling down her body after having the Beast so close to her. The sound of curtains being cast aside came from her side and she could notice the increasing brightness through her eyelids. The Beast’s footsteps drew closer and his form momentarily blocked out the light. “Now open your eyes.”

Belle opened her eyes as requested and gasped as her breath was taken away by the sight before her. She stood in a library of the likes she had never seen before. Bookcases covered every surface, reaching all the way to the ceiling. They were so massive that ladders were in place to allow one to reach the upper shelves. Each shelf was filled to the brim with books of all sizes and colours. She eagerly approached the nearest bookshelf, running her hands carefully along the spines of the books as she read their titles. There were classics, political discourses, plays, historical records, religious texts, and everything in-between. Some of the books were in languages she did not recognize, although she did notice quite a few written in Latin. Her pulse raced as she circled the entire room, taking in the wonders around her. A person could spend an entire lifetime in this library and never finish every book here.

Eventually Belle meandered back towards the Beast. He was watching her with sparkling eyes, sharing in her excitement as she marvelled at her surroundings. Despite the playful intensity of his gaze, one that made her heart flutter, she could not pull her attention away from the vast knowledge laying on the shelves all around her. It was all too exciting.

“Do you like it?” the Beast asked.

“It’s wonderful,” Belle said, twirling on her toes as she spun around, taking in everything around her. Where would she start? What would she read first?

“Then the library is yours to do with as you please,” the Beast said with a childlike grin. “Read whatever you like.”

“Thank you so much,” Belle said, wrapping the Beast in a sudden embrace without thinking. She pressed up against his warm body, resting her head against his chest. The quick beat of his heart could be heard through his hairy chest. The Beast took a moment to realize what was occurring, but then returned her embrace, wrapping his thick arms around her in turn. His embrace was gentle and comforting, physical contact she had been lacking for quite some time. They stayed like that for longer than either intended.

Eventually Belle pried herself away from the Beast, realizing it was most likely improper for her to share such a lengthy embrace with the master of the house. They both blushed, turning away from each other to hide it. Belle shuffled over towards one of the bookshelves and pretended to inspect the books as the Beast awkwardly cleared his throat and headed towards the door. He stopped in the doorway, gave her one last forlorn look, and said, “I’ll leave you to your reading then.”

It was only after the Beast’s footsteps faded into the distance that Belle realized she had been holding her breath. She took in a deep gulp of air and fidgeted with her hair. Her earlier behaviour had her all flustered. Hopefully she had not given him the wrong impression about what type of woman she was. Yet she could not deny that their shared embrace had filled her with a longing she had not felt before. She tried to push that thought aside as she browsed the books in front of her.

Belle spent the next hours scouring the library, finding books on all topics that interested her. Despite the wonders she came across, her mind always drifted back to the Beast. She found herself fantasizing about him, thinking about what it be like to share another embrace or perhaps something more intimate. She was getting all hot and bothered just thinking about it. When she finally picked a book to read, she had to read the first chapter three times before she finally managed to focus on what she was reading. She knew that these feelings she was developing for the Beast were unbecoming of a young lady, but she couldn’t help herself. As she immersed herself in the fantasy worlds of her latest novel, she took her own fantasies of the Beast with her.

 

[DensleyBlair]

Le Tigre Tyrrhénien

Sur quelques événements historiques


​

Following his return to Paris in July 1823, Alexandre Cazal found his reputation somewhat improved. Although still out of favour with the movers and shakers in the most popular literary circles, Cazal had cultivated for himself a new audience drawn from the cosmopolitan middle and upper classes. Mainly liberal in heir sympathies, these readers took less of an interest in the gritty details of their own society than in those of other countries. Aroused by Cazal's lucid conjurings of Alpine and Italian culture, certain parts of Paris's reading public developed a sizeable appetite for dispatches from abroad. This was, after all, the same Paris that was all too eager to send expeditionary forces to Spain and Greece. Wary of adventurism in its Bonapartist garb, society had by 1824 reacquired much of its taste for the outremer.

Cazal was well placed to sate this. Despite having curtailed his writing of feuilletons during his time abroad, focusing instead on more scholarly diversions, their audience did not altogether disappear. Working with Benjamin Constant to develop Le Constitutionnel's literary output as a means of keeping the journal afloat in the face of the censors, Cazal reappropriated much that he had documented whilst abroad for use in his fiction. Tinged by the influence of the Romantics, Cazal—in the guise of Outremer—wrote stories of doomed Mediterranean love and Viennese aristocratic intrigue. A series of Gothic vignettes taking as their subject the psychological effects of spending prolonged periods of isolation in the Alps excited a certain section of Paris for a time in winter 1823, adding to the catalogue of Cazal's diversions into what we might today call the horror story. One such piece notably deals with an extreme form of what is known as Stendhal syndrome, with Cazal exaggerating his own experiences in Florence to the point where his subject develops a sort of paranoid mania, convinced that the Italian ruins are actively plotting his demise. Titled “Dehors”, it was a later favourite of Guy de Maupassant, who read Outremer as an adolescent in the 1860s. Its influence is evident in his own 1887 short, “Le Horla”.

While Outremer had his fun, however, Cazal did not rest. Awaiting inspiration for a new novel, he spent the winter of 1823 adapting Haydn's Il Mondo Della Luna for the stage, although he was unsatisfied by the outcome and had abandoned the project by January 1824. Instead, the awaited germ of a novel arrived. Buoyed by the publication in London of his Italian novelette Lorenzo Pasquale in December 1823, just the wrong side of sympathetic to the revolutionary Carbonari for the French censors, Cazal set to work on his first full-length Italian piece. Le Tigre Tyrrhénien arrived months later, published in August 1824.

Later published in English as The Tiger of Tyrrhenia, the novel represented a stark shift from the rural drudgery of Messidor. Cazal's documentary leanings having apparently been satisfied by his copious records from his Alpine and Italian tours, in Tyrrhenia he lets loose. Inhabiting a mode that is neither Gothic, Romantic nor Realist, he makes use of historical detail and astute observation as a complement to a narrative with more overtly dramatic tendencies. In this regard, it seems to have been influenced by the Italian tradition, with its focus on grander historical themes. During his travels, Cazal made the acquaintance of the author Alessandro Manzoni, later famous for his masterpiece The Betrothed, whose influence can be read into Tyrrhenia.

The narrative structure itself could perhaps be considered a tighter reworking of Messidor, translated into a different society. Contemporary audiences having met Cazal's intricate interweaving of the many and various plot lines of Messidor cooly, Tyrrhenia is more restrained—“less grand tapestry than satisfying landscape”, as one later critic put it. The main story focuses on the experiences of Don Giacomo Ulerighi, Prince of Montechiusi, as his world is transformed against the backdrop of the turbulence of Napoleon's Italian campaigns. As the novel progresses, the Prince is forced to come to terms with the idea that his world will never be as it once was, having been roused from his contented life by the knock of the modern era.

The novel has various themes, both mundane and abstracted. Immediately, Cazal writes here much more of family than he had done previously, with the relationship between the Prince and his Freemason brother Don Tomaso a constant source of friction. Whilst both men share an interest in science and the workings of nature, the contented dilletante Don Giacomo does not share his brother's enthusiasm for modern ideas of politics, preferring to pursue his studies undisturbed by Bonaparte. Hence a conflict between change and stasis is also present, where stasis comes with the implication of decay. Cazal employs an irony in having the Prince symbolise elements of both ideas at once. On the one hand, his studies of nature and Classial civilisation present an image of a man consumed by the notion of transience, yet on the other he remains steadfast in his desire to see his family's position survive. This dichotomy is never fully resolved; characteristically for Cazal, the book's resolution sees everything much as it was, only slightly different.

The novel is set mainly during the years of 1806–8, with a section set in Egypt in 1801, and a final chapter set in 1815. At the novel's start, Don Giacomo is in his study observing the stars. He notes their flickering and fading, reflecting on their permanence. The next day, whilst travelling into San Gimignano to say mass, his carriage passes the villa of his brother, Dom Tomaso, who is rumoured to be the leader of a chapter of Freemasons. The Prince despairs of Don Tomaso's fascination with the arcane, though becomes troubled when he wonders whether it is Tomaso's modernity, rather than his own faith in the ultimate unchanging nature of the universe, that will see the family best survive the coming years.

Meanwhile, preparations are being made for the coming wedding between the Prince's eldest daughter Donna Agostina to Don Fabrizio Verazzi, scion of a relatively young but immensely wealthy family from Siena. Don Fabrizio is an educated man of the world, having travelled extensively in his youth, and ravishes Donna Agostina, whose own upbringing we learn was parochial, overshadowed by the influence of her prudish mother the Princess. Don Fabrizio and Don Giacomo bond over a shared love of the natural sciences, and Don Fabrizio succeeds in intriguing the Prince with stories from his travels in Egypt. Later, it is revealed that Don Fabrizio had accompanied Napoleon in Egypt, having reneged on the itinerary of his Grand Tour by taking a ship from Sicily and volunteering in the French army.

Don Giacomo grows increasingly uneasy of Napoleon's presence in Italy and is spooked by the receipt of a letter in which an anonymous interlocutor exhorts the Prince to flee before his position is consumed by the revolution. Under the advice of his family's Jesuit priest, Father Benedico, he does nothing—though remains troubled, becoming anxious later that afternoon whilst walking the ruins of an old Roman bath that exist in his garden. He reminds himself of the Romans who felt their own positions to be impervious to change, noting their hubris in believing things to be permanent.

Some weeks later, Don Tomaso arrives at the villa with his son, Don Frederico, who is greatly excited by the prospect of a Bonapartist Italy. Over dinner, a discussion of the state of the Napoleonic Kingdom to the north turns unpleasant when the Princess, Donna Maria Angelica, is scandalised by the liberal sympathies of her nephew. When Don Tomaso declines to reprimand his son, Donna Maria Angelica threatens to expel them from the villa, before Don Giacomo reinstates an awkward calm by changing the subject to the flowering of the gardens. The next morning, Don Fabrizio arrives at the villa, surprised to see Don Tomaso, whom it is implied he knows well. Don Giacomo suspects this to be proof that Don Fabrizio is a Freemason, which the young man later confirms to be true. At this point, he also confesses his Egyptian past to the Prince, who is not scandalised but instead remarks on the divide between his generation, so intent on conservation, and the passions of the youth, “who wish to see the world overturned, not knowing the underside to be much as this one”. The two men then walk to the Roman baths to admire the flowers blooming as the evening draws on.

The story resumes in 1807, with the annexation of Tuscany into Napoleon's kingdom imminent. Don Giacomo suspects that his brother is organising part of the changeover of power in the region, confronting him when the two are stargazing one night in the observatory. Don Tomaso hides nothing, noting that his actions are just as much founded in a desire to see as little change as possible. Don Giacomo considers this and decides it is the truth, accepting that each brother is equally minded towards the family's survival. They then discuss Don Fabrizio, who Don Giacomo reveals is indeed a prominent and promising Freemason, offering the gnomic comment that the young man is well served to make a great lady of Donna Agostina. Don Giacomo also admits that the letter the Prince received the previous year urging him to flee had been written by Don Frederico, a gambit designed to gauge the true strength of the Prince's convictions.

Soon, Montechiusi falls under Napoleonic control and the Prince's villa is host to a troop of French soldiers, who are respectful of the Prince and his family, the French captain, M. Henri de Villeile, an admirer of the Prince's learning. At breakfast one day, Don Fabrizio announces that he has spoken with the captain and will be enlisting as an officer in the French army. The wedding must therefore be conducted as soon as possible, so that he may be married before he leaves to fight elsewhere in Italy. The Princess is enraged, having been only just borne the insult of her home having received the imperial army, and vows that no daughter of hers will marry a French officer. The Prince confronts his wife and forbids her from banning the wedding, conceding that what has come to pass was always inevitable and giving the couple his blessing. Meeting with Don Fabrizio in his study, he prays “that you might find your place in this world more readily than I.”

The wedding takes place in early 1808, with much ceremony. A ball is thrown at the villa in celebration, where Don Giacomo considers the two worlds that exist even in his small town: that of the young, liberal in their convictions and willing to change so that everything may stay the same, and that of their parents, appalled by such ideas but nevertheless sincere and happy in their own beliefs. Don Giacomo even remarks that, in her piety and her rigidity, his wife the Princess possesses a passionate beauty of conviction, “the opposite of youth's own flame, but in essence every bit its equal”. Whilst Don Fabrizio and Donna Agostina retire to their first night, Don Giacomo and the Princess themselves retire and make love, for what is implied to be the first time in some years. The Prince describes his wife's habit of reciting a rosary to herself afterwards, no longer repulsed by its chasteness as he was in his youth—“regarding it instead as he did the Roman baths in the garden, one small imprint of a past age, bringing delight through the very act of survival.” The next week, at the novel's denouement, Don Fabrizio leaves to take part in the conquest of Ragusa.

The novel ends in 1815, Napoleon having retreated and life as it was having been restored. Don Giacomo considers how his family's position was changed by the occupation, noting with irony that Don Tomaso has bee forced by the restoration to curtail his Freemasonry. Now, he, Don Frederico and Don Fabrizio form part of an underground society working for Italian unification. Donna Maria Angelica, it is revealed, fell ill soon after the Napoleonic Kingdom fell and has not fully recovered. Her piety remains unshaken, being convinced in what the Prince considers a sweetly pathetic way of her illness being sign of God's displeasure at her having had to welcome Napoleon's army into her house. Don Giacomo, more sanguine, takes the illness for what it is: a symptom of the passing of time. He has a grandson by Donna Agostina and Don Fabrizio, ensuring the survival of the Montechiusi line. More practically, this survival is underwritten by the Verazzi fortune, which Don Fabrizio has by now inherited. The Prince himself remains devoted to his studies, taking solace in the past as the only known constant. “As the evening drew over the villa, the fading sunlight rested for a brief moment upon the stones of the Roman baths, as if caught in contemplation of its own demise. The Prince watched the lambent columns as they shifted under the red light, in defiance of their roots in space and time. He considered how little the same light seemed to move the flowers which, once again, were now beginning to bloom around the ancient stones. Then stone and flower alike fell under the same darkness, and the peace of night returned to the villa anew.”

 

[DensleyBlair]

((Private letter to @DensleyBlair ))

Dear Cazal,

I write to you again as I were pleased by the articles you wrote of me. Now with this letter I've sent you a copy of my first attempt on a book named "Brothers by Blood". I hope you will take time to read it, discuss it with your fellow cultivated fellows and if possible write a book review in Le Constiutionnel about it.

Yours sincerly,

Chef de bataillon Lothaire Lécuyer.

Cher Lécuyer,


I was pleased to receive your letter, and your book with it. As you know, I am always happy to hear of new literary ventures—and your work is no exception. I shall read it as soon as I am able, with a mind to putting a notice in Le Constitutionnel in the near future.

I trust this reply finds you well and in good spirits.

Avec amitié,

Cazal​

 

[99KingHigh]

((Private: The Council of Ministers))

CHARLES X, By the Grace of God, Most Christian King of France and Navarre

​

Messieurs,

I have elucidated in the following program the intentions of my Government, and these positions I do request are considered by the Ministry, in addition to the ordinances that I shall promulgate, for the general welfare of the Kingdom and the People.

That M. Villèle propose before the Chamber of Deputies bills for the indemnification of the émigrés in the amount that the good comte deems acceptable.

The rights of the restored Concordant must be replicated in the laws of our Kingdom; there was a law past previous in January 1817 that approved religious orders could acquire property only if authorized by legislative act. I now ask that you present to the Chamber of Peers a bill which shall give the Crown the authority to give legal recognition to these religious orders—and the benefit of the law of 1817—by a simple ordinance approved by the council of state. I know that the Gallicans shall oppose, but for our good brethren, the Jesuits, we must insist.

I have conversed with M. Lamennais, and he has told me that the disturbing number of thefts of sacred vessels from churches have exceeded five-hundred. He told me that "The Catholic religion ought to be considered true and the others false. It ought to be a part of the country's constitution and thence spread to political and civil institutions. Otherwise, the state professes indifference toward religion, it exiles God by its laws, it is atheistic." This possibility is very much frightful to the throne, and so I should it resolved. I wish for a bill to be placed before the Peers, and establish of crimes and penalties according to whether the profanation was committed on sacred vessels containing no consecrated elements, on vessels containing the consecrated host, or on the host itself. On the first case I wish there to be forced labor for life; in the second case the death penalty; and in the third case, as in those of parricides, the severing of a hand before the beheading. In the opinion of the Crown, there must be a law against sacrilege.

The issue of the division of the large estates has also been presented before the royal person, and I would like a law that would consolidate the estates, and rectify this deficiency. The lawyers of the crown tell me that the State must reverse the optional provisions of the code that affords the right of a father to increase the share of one of his children by bequeathing to him a legal extra share (preciput legal) or disposable share (quotite disponible). I wish henceforth that in order for an equal distribution among the property of the father, the paternal figure would have to provide for it specifically in his will or else the extra share would go automatically to the oldest son. The equality of inheritance must be optional, and the inequality must be the rule. For the purpose of not disturbing the healthy tranquility of the people, it should be so that these provisions should apply to landed property in excess of 300 francs, which the royal lawyers tell me form 80,000 families. The Jesuits came before me and said this would happily encourage the entrance of the younger sons into their service.

The other laws we leave to the discretion of your persons, contingent on the approval of the Crown.

​

((Charles X does not do Private Messages. If you have questions, Minister or non-Minister, you will IC them. And be sure not to do things without his consent.))​

 

[Korona]

((Private))
Dearest Therese,

Politics has become the bane of my very existence. Although I have am a Marshal of France, I feel as if I am worse off than before I achieved that lofty post. I have been attacked by the Duke of Angouléme, with him claiming that I have done nothing to deserve my post, and that I did nothing in the intervention in the Kingdom of Spain. I shall tolerate not such thoughts, spurred purely by jealousy on the Duke's part, and yet, I feel like a traitor to the Crown and His Majesty for such blatant disrespect for his house. I hate it Therese. I hate these politics, and I hate this city.

I can not stand Paris for one day longer. I aspire to return to my estate, and live out the rest of my life devoid of the petty politics of this city. I shall write to both the President of the Council and His Majesty, and inform their persons of my impending resignation as Minister of War. I know that this is best for me, and our family.

With Love,
François​

 

[Nax24]

((To @99KingHigh))

The Comte de L'Isle Jourdain paced in front of the bed while his wife stood anxiously. He was thinking of this whole ordeal, the letters, the scandal, everything. He already was planning to dive deeper into this story, but he needed to know as much as possible from her. He needed to ensure damage control in the event this whole affair ended up being worse than imagined. He stood in front of Sophia after a period of time.

"My wife, I need to know the truth. You have refused to answer my questions on the matter, but I insist on your compliance. I need to know how deep this affair with Saint-Germain goes. How far have you two went?"

 

[Dadarian]

Sur la Frégate Joviale​

Sur la Frégate Joviale is the third novel written by Henri-Maurice de St. Germain. It is the first written on a naval vessel, and portrays a predominantly political story, a first for St. Germain. It is thought that this is due to Henri-Maurice being a deputy in the Chamber of Deputies, and wishing to escape the drudgery of the political life that duty forced him to take to, but he never really loved. This would mean that the novel would be a sort of political discourse Henri-Maurice felt unable or unwilling to discuss in the chambers.

The novel takes place in an obscure time that is in the 1700s under Louis le Bon, King of France and her colonial possessions. It eminates an air of magic realism that has become a standard of St. Germain books insofar as the real world and that of Angels mix and coalesce into vivid imagery.

The cast of the book is rather large, but at the same time rather limited in that it does not introduce new characters outside of the crew of the Joviale. While many of the characters are named the most important by far are André, one of the many crewmen, and his best friend Jean. Alongside them is the cook Francis, the rural pastor Xavier, and the young drummer Henri. Commanding the crew are a trio of diverse personalities. The Captain, an intelligent and skeptical man by the name of the Marquis de Frantiqueville, the Quartermaster, a humble man named Jacques, and the bourgeois passanger and gentleman scientist, the effeminate and incapable Thomas-Théodule-Thiers (unaffectionately nicknamed Trois-Tay, a pun off his three Ts and on the French term for shut up [Tr: tais-toi]).

The voyage begins when the Capitan, in a fit of hubris and the financing of Trois-Tay, declares his desire to encircle the globe and prove once and for all that man had conquered the seas. At the same time, André receives a premonition in the form of dove who speaks to him and tells him that when the Captain finds what he's looking for in this coming journey, the Joviale will fall off the side of the earth.

After confessing to Father Xavier and Jean about his premonition, they convince him to bring it before the Quartermaster Jacques. A conversation erupts over the place of premonitions and the place of animals as prophets of the Lord, but in the end André keeps the discussion on track and is convinced by Father Xavier to bring the issue to the Captain.

The Captain, a plyer of such trades as astronomy, biology, and math, is shown to be a very intelligent figure. However, his intelligence and vast education expresses a disconnection from his crew and a distain for all that isn't physical. This is thoroughly abused by Trois-Tay, whose materialism and inanity worms into the biases of the Captain.

Thus, when André approaches the Captain and tells him about the issue facing him, he is all but laughed at by the Marquis de Frantiqueville. The idea of a pigeon speaking is inherently preposterous to the Captain. This is further reinforced by the corruption influence of Trois-Tay, who exclaims its no doubt due to excessive, poor quality rum in the galley. To the irritation of the crew, the Captain cuts off rum doles as a safety precaution (although to the crew it comes off as inherently malicious).

The frigate sails south, and encounters all manner of creatures. Huge whales, mermaids, and gigantic birds who fly the endless currents of the South Atlantic are all met, with awe by the lower classes and Quartermaster, intrigue by the Captain, and dismissal by Trois-Tay. As the story goes on, the Captain grows increasingly corrupted by Trois-Tay, going from disconnected to harsh on his men, and from mild skepticism to full cynicism of all supernatural.

It all comes to a head when the cook Francis finds that his son, the drummer Henri, had fallen overboard. As the crew scrambles to help, a dove once again lands near André and says that in order to save Henri they need to throw nothing but a piece of hardtack into the water. When André shares this, he is thrown into the brig by the enraged and cynical Captain. This nearly causes a mutiny among the men, commoners well described as to have been unduly punished by Trois-Tay (often acting as manservants or slaves to him on direct orders from the Captain). However an impassioned speech from Xavier regarding the place of French men as the defenders of common descency afforded to them by the Church sways them enough to have the Quartermaster unlock André, who promptly throws his hardtack into the water.

The hardtack grows into a giant kelp plant that pillows the young Henri back onto the ship, to the disinterest of Trois-Tay and the abject confusion and fear of the Captain. The Marquis, turning to Trois-Tay, asks confusedly what is happenly, only to be laughed at. Trois-Tay transforms into a hellish beast (akin to a gargoyle) and declares that the place of science will forever overtake faith.

The Captain, long corrupted and awash in the sins of his travels and association with Trois-Tay and comes to a sudden realization. Drawing his rapier, the Captaine stabs Trois-Tay in the back as he's monologuing the crew but is dragged into the water by the dying beast. Captain is given a post-mortam last rites by Xavier, while Jean manages to be elected by the crew as the new Quartermaster to replace Jacques, the new Captain.

In a twist of fate, the conclusion continues only a short time later when the crew, drinking on a nearby island, asks as to the name of the pub and island. The bartender explains that this sea was called the world by the Caribs, and thus the island (and therefore the pub), being an insult to the Indians here, was called Off the World [Tr: Large du Monde / Large Dumonde]. The final scene is of the crew staring into their cups quietly, as the prophecy is shown to be true in a way.

The book is primarily a moral story as to the corrupting influences of the decadent politicos of the bourgeois that prey on the weaknesses of the men of France. Although Trois-Tay is the overall villain, the Captain is a tragic hero, sadly and nefariously corrupted by Trois-Tay who plays off his education and hubris in order to put man ahead of the Lord.

The book was published by the Publications de la Maison d'Herbe in mid-1824, and represents yet another step into novelized ultraroyalism by the writer, Henri-Maurice.

 

[MadMartigan]

((Private))
@Shynka

Spoiler

My esteemed business partner,

I do not blame you for making such a fortune off of your half of our little bank, despite its inconvenience for me. I wish you the best in Britain and will only be gladdened should you return to France.

I do however, have a favor to ask.

I have the need of young men with promise and a certain amount of fire in their belly. Men of chivalry yes, but also men of cruelty. I desire that you recommend members of Jeunes Francs to my new society and to join it yourself as a notable member, a silent partner adding respect among liberal military men to my new group - The New Gauls.

If you should wonder why you would do this, I ask you to consider the irony. Your father served this same role for my enemy, the man that stole my seat and took beautiful Marseilles from me, the Other St. Germain, Henri-Maurice. The symmetry would be perfect if you were to do for the liberal cause what your father did for the Ultra-Royalists.

I have long suspected your proclivities to be as...baroque as my own, and that given the chance to cause elegant chaos you will not hesitate. I hope that I am not incorrect in this matter.

- Duval

 

[Korona]

To His Excellency the Duke of Sully,
((Private - @Maxwell500))
​

Your Excellence,

I am writing to you today to inform you of my decision to resign my post as Minister of War. I feel as if I have attracted far too much controversy and scandal, and the maintance of my person as Minister of War would only lead to further conflict and scandal. I must give my most profound thanks for all you have done for me, for without you, I would not be the man I am as of this day. Without you, I would not have the rank or station I currently hold, and I am undeniably thankful for all you have done for me.

I truly do not feel I can execute my abilities to my best ability as Minister of War, and I am certain that you will understand the position I have found myself in. I have nothing but respect for you, and I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors. I shall always remain a stalwart supporter of you and your ministry, and I shall always vote with you.

Thank you for all you have done,
Marshal François Bournier
Minsiter of War
Comte de Pontécoulant
​

To His Majesty the King
((@99KingHigh))
​

Your Majesty

I wish to convey my most sincere condolences on the loss of Your brother, the King. In my time serving Him as Minister of War, I grew to be fond of the man with such a beautiful and idyllic dream for France. He made me the man I am today, and my biggest regret is that I was never able to personally thank Him for the rank and station he bestowed ever generously upon me. However, I write to You today with the news that I have decided to tender my resignation as Minister of War in Your Council of Ministers. I have found myself to be a magnet for conflict and scandal, and I additionally do not feel as if I am able to perform my abilities as Minister of War to the best of my ability. I humbly beg your acceptance of my resignation, so I can return to my family and estate in good conscience, for without Your most August consent to my decision to resign, I do not feel as if I can truly resign as Minister of War. I have nothing but respect for You and Your person, and I shall always remain a steadfast supporter of the Crown and Your Majesty.

Ever your humble servant,

Marshal François Bournier
Minsiter of War
Comte de Pontécoulant​

​

 

[Sneakyflaps]

The Second Son

Young Philippe Henri de Bourbon​

It had been an eventful year, the death of Louis had set events in motion and now Condé was to prepare for both a funeral and a coronation. His secretaries were hard at work, and Condé for the time being had moved back to the Hotel de Lassay for easier access to the Tuileries, the royal family and the men working under him preparing all the things.

Though not all had been good, Sophia had caused a scandal, and worse than a scandal she had caused a dumb scandal. She had cheated on her husband with someone of lower standing with little prospect or future, and had been caught. There was plenty of adultery among our kind, but the golden rule was that it was all hushed down. Condé knew plenty of women with lovers, married or not, Louis XVIII had even had one. But this one which Sophia had picked was not only was a man lower than her husband, but one that had recently tried to bury Condé in scandal. It was the least to say that his now Royal Highness was less than pleased and Condé had stopped any correspondence between Sophia and Philippe.

In between his royal duties, there was another duty which was long overdue. Condé, now having returned from Spain for some time, had set about setting up a hospital for the infirm and disabled soldiers which were from the Oise department, his home department and where a large part of his estates where. The Prince had grown fond of the army, in truth he always had been, and now he wanted to ensure that those who gave their life for the king was well looked after and near their families.

For this Condé had been in contact with a local architect, it was a very young man, not a man with a famous name and not one who had made a great marvel, but that was exactly why Condé had picked him. This was not meant to be some great building, but one of practicality, one which could easily be maintained while still provide good comfort and good housing for the soldiers. The building only had the ground floor, and split into several parts. The main part of the building were filled with beds for the soldiers, on its right were the quarters for the doctors and nurses, along with the medicine. To the left was a small operation room in case something happened and needed to be done, allowing the home to also act as a minor hospital for the surrounding area. It was a nice building, beautiful in its simplicity and grand in its hopes. With that, Condé approved of the plan and the funds, allowing the builders to get to work.

With that done, Condé now had another task ahead of him as he strode through Lassay, up the stairs and into the chamber of his son, whom had his own valet by now. Philippe stood in front of a mirror, looking at himself with a bored expression on his face as the valet was kneeling down, buttoning his vest. Condé looked at them for a moment until Philippe saw him in the mirror and smiled, making his father speak up. “Do you have the gift?”.

“Yes, father.” Philippe responded as he stepped away from the valet, going over to his desk, not that he actually used it often in his daily life for anything apart from studies, at least not yet, but he would when he became older. There he opened a drawer and took out a box as Condé went over and looking down over him. Pulling out a chair and sitting down as Philippe showed the gilded pocket watch.

As Philippe opened the pocket watch, Condé could see the portrait of Berry inside. “Do you know who that is?” Louis asked his son, making Philippe shake his head slowly as he looked at the portrait. “That is the late Duke of Berry, Charles Ferdinand d'Artois, Henri’s father. Do you know what happened to him?” the question once again making Philippe shake his head. “He was murdered before Henri was born.”

Philippe looked up at his father, “Will I get to wear a uniform?” He asked eagerly making his father laugh.

“One day you will.” Condé responded as he looked at the portrait once more as the clock within was ticking. Turning to his son once more, “Did you come up with this idea?” Condé asked as Philippe nodded his head.

“Yes, father, I did.” Making Condé smile as he gave his son a hug, telling the valet to hurry as they were leaving before long. Condé was content, having Richard and Hélène, the latter being Philippe’s governess, sit down with Philippe and find a gift for young Prince Henri had turned out better than expected, they had managed to find a good gift. Condé had stressed the importance of this to Richard, that a good gift had to be given to Henri on his birthday, to ensure that Henri and Philippe became friends so that one day, no matter what happened, Philippe would have a future and be a friend of the King of France.

And now Condé along with his bastard son were off in a carriage to the Tuileries, Condé to speak Charles about the coronation, and Philippe to meet his cousin, Henri, Duke of Bordeaux, to give him his gift and celebrate Henri’s birthday among the sadness of the passing of Louis XVIII.

 

[Noco19]

Roger "Filanchi" Disney​

Birth: January 2nd, 1793 (31)
Political Leanings: Utopian Socialism
Position: None

Born in Saint-Lô under the name Roger Gauthier de Isigny to a generally well-to-do family of vague Norman descent, young Disney's childhood was dominated by his father - Captain Gauthier de Isigny. A reactionary and belligerent man, Captain de Isigny was a proud supporter of the counter-revolution, using his military training to provide assistance to the Vendean royalists and playing his part in encouraging White Terror. And just as the elder de Isigny sought to enforce his strict ideology on the French, he so too sought to impress it upon his only son.

But young Disney was not one for rigor nor for the trappings of a prim and proper officer, instead preferring playing games of imagination or reading. The elder de Isigny was a brutal man with a simple mind and so turned to force, oftentimes beating his son for his supposed shaming of the family. Disney only revolted further, becoming liberal in character in his youth.

By his teens, Disney had developed nascent ideals in line with what historians would describe as socialist in nature, of the variety associated with utopian socialism. In fact, Disney had read the earliest and anonymous works of Charles Fourier entitled "Theory of the four movements and the general destinies". It spoke of the modern industrial feudalism, and how the rights of man meant little when his right to work and to earn a minimum standard of living was deprived. Likewise, Fourier attacked the very concept of civilization, and in combination with Disney's own desire for adventure, the youth began to dream of a life in the New World, where he would live in peace in a utopia without the complications and flaws of French society.

At the age of 20, Disney embarked upon his fascinations of travel, landing in the American port of New Orleans. A bustling, melting pot of cultures, New Orleans was the perfect site to cement Disney's desire to see the world and take in its various exotic beauties. Soon, he found his surname burdensome and began using the name Disney instead. It was said that in his daily adventures, Disney learned the traditional beliefs of west Africa from a esoteric, African freedman, that he had met the Pirate Lord Lafitte and shared a stolen cask of rum, and had even had a firm handshake with General Andrew Jackson!

During his stay, he would fall in with a band of Choctaw, those few who had remained following the great Choctaw Chief Pushmataha's alliance with the United States against Tecumseh. Regarded as a peculiar man with a thick accent, the Choctaw picked him up as an oddity at first, but were impressed by his storytelling, both of his time in the New World and from back home in France. Disney would be in New Orleans as the British attacked the city in 1815, and he would serve among 30-some of his Choctaw friends in support of Andrew Jackson's heroic stand. His ferocity in battle earned him no widespread fame, but he had soundly impressed the Choctaw, who allowed him to travel east to their homelands.

Living amongst the Choctaw of western Florida, Disney became known primarily by the name "Filanchi", the local word for Frenchman. He took it as a term of endearment and worked tirelessly to befriend the Choctaw peoples. Although he could offer little in terms of wealth, he would help as a hunter and often as a translator between the Choctaw and Spaniards, Frenchmen, and Americans. It was said that Disney even helped tutor Chief Pushmataha's children in French for about a year.

By 1818, Disney was once more gripped with wanderlust, though it may have been more likely the result of the birth of a child, born of the union between Disney and a high-status Choctaw woman. Though he had asked her to follow him with the offer of marriage, she refused, stating her place was with the Chochtaw. A matriarchal society, the half-breed child would nevertheless assume the privilege of his mother's clan, but Disney had felt his welcome was worn thin with the more culturally conservative Choctaw.

Departing out west, Disney found himself travelling the lands of Mexico, an explosive land which had become host to revolution; in a way, it reminded him of home. He served briefly with Vicente Guerrero and his band of insurgents, raising the call of revolution in southern Mexico. By 1819 however, Disney was on the move once again, travelling north and into the Missouri Territory.

Living at first with the Quapaw, then the Chickasaw, Disney saw the miserable state in which the natives were being forced, their lands unfairly taken. Civilization was once more poisoning the wellbeing of Man. From 1819 to 1822, Disney spoke across the native tribes and with citizens of St. Louis, attempting to organize an expedition to form a settlement somewhere further north where all sorts of people could live in harmony. His plan would fall apart in late 1822 when a dispute between Disney and a slaver seeking to capture a befriend freedman turned into a fatal gunfight that earned the ire of local toughs.

Fleeing east, Disney found himself in Boston by 1823, bitter at the happenings in Missouri. Over the course of the year, he would reacquaint himself with the happening of the world at large. Publishing his journals and acting as an experienced expert to would-be travelers out west, Disney earned himself enough to survive and prepare for another expedition elsewhere - perhaps Africa - before news of the king's death and the rise of Charles in France reached him. Seeing his father in Charles, and still having some degree of homesickness, Disney decided to return home.

Now, Disney resides in his familial home in Saint-Lô, finding his father dead and an inheritance allowing him some autonomy. It was rumored that Disney's father was going to write his only son from the will, but was dissuaded by family but more importantly the heart attack that followed his violent rebuttal.

 

[etranger01]

To M. Duval ((PRIVATE - @MadMartigan))

Dear brother,

It has been my sincere pleasure to better know you. You have always held my professional respect for your spirited advocacy in the Chamber, and now I rejoice in our friendship and fraternal relationship. I am glad that you enjoy our meetings and salons; much more lies ahead for our Lodge and our movement, and you will play a vital role in that future.

Your counsel is both wise and to the point. I shall set aside whatever personal feelings I may have regarding Orleans and focus instead on the establishment of a united left-opposition. Whatever else he may be, he does have his own following, and it would be unwise to leave that following unattended in our efforts.

However, I believe that the spirit of liberal royalism and sensible centrism is not yet done in this country. Though my own beliefs increasingly hew towards liberalism, I remain a royalist and a loyalist, and I cannot in good conscience abandon the banner under which I presently ride. However, I also believe that the Ultras have proven themselves so hostile to centrist thought, or indeed any thought at all, that the liberal royalists and centrists must necessarily join forces with the other liberals. We must be a united front, even as we show ourselves tolerant of differences in belief. I shall naturally assist as best I can in forging this united front with you, for the general welfare of the people of France.

I am naturally intrigued by this merchant venture you suggest. His Grace left me with more than enough on which to live, but I feel that his funds would be best invested in France's future rather than my own mundane needs. Please move forward, and I shall contribute what I can to our joint venture.

Incidentally, I have something to tell you that is better related in person. Would you be willing to come an hour early to the next meeting? I believe you will find what I have to say of interest.

Yours in fraternity,
Henri
​

To M. Cazal ((PRIVATE - @DensleyBlair))

Dear monsieur,

Please accept my warm welcome upon your much-overdue return. I hope that you have thoroughly enjoyed your travels and that they have left you well.

I have naturally consumed your latest work at the earliest possible occasion and find myself thrilled with the continued growth of your talents. The themes in Tyrrhenia are robust and mature, and I find myself transported to Italy, tantalized with glimpses of far-off Egypt. Though there were many things about Bonaparte to which one could and should object, your novel captures the aspirational, Icarian elements of his regime which remain fascinating even today. As well, I could not help but find the characters and their particular hobbies to be of especial note, and enjoyed in particular the character of Don Tomaso. Even the most modern of men are captivated by the ineffable. How true it is.

In any event, I am sure that my amateur appraisal of your most professional work is hardly necessary. Instead, simply accept my humble regards and this note for 30,000 francs, which I hope shall further sustain you in your literary endeavors.

Should you find yourself available in the coming weeks, I have a number of events which may suit you, including several salons and an evening meeting with like-minded fellows of open-minded disposition. I do hope that you will find the time to attend.

Your faithful correspondent,
Henri Bourbon​

 

[DensleyBlair]

To M. Cazal ((PRIVATE - @DensleyBlair))​

Dear monsieur,

Please accept my warm welcome upon your much-overdue return. I hope that you have thoroughly enjoyed your travels and that they have left you well.

I have naturally consumed your latest work at the earliest possible occasion and find myself thrilled with the continued growth of your talents. The themes in Tyrrhenia are robust and mature, and I find myself transported to Italy, tantalized with glimpses of far-off Egypt. Though there were many things about Bonaparte to which one could and should object, your novel captures the aspirational, Icarian elements of his regime which remain fascinating even today. As well, I could not help but find the characters and their particular hobbies to be of especial note, and enjoyed in particular the character of Don Tomaso. Even the most modern of men are captivated by the ineffable. How true it is.

In any event, I am sure that my amateur appraisal of your most professional work is hardly necessary. Instead, simply accept my humble regards and this note for 30,000 francs, which I hope shall further sustain you in your literary endeavors.

Should you find yourself available in the coming weeks, I have a number of events which may suit you, including several salons and an evening meeting with like-minded fellows of open-minded disposition. I do hope that you will find the time to attend.

Your faithful correspondent,
Henri Bourbon​

Cher Monsieur,


How good it is to hear from you again. My travels have left me reinvigorated and ready once again to face the joys of Paris. Knowing you to be a man of inestimable occupation, I fear this may be futile advice; yet should you ever have the opportunity to visit Italy, I would urge you to grasp it with both hands. It has the most powerful effect on the mind.

I am glad indeed that my latest book gave you such great enjoyment. We shall see yet how Paris reacts, but I feel I have at least captured the sympathies of we happy few. Your analyses are astute, and I am unthinkably touched by your continued financial support. I hope that any merit you find in the work whose production it aids may go some small way to expressing my deep gratitude.

I should be greatly pleased to meet with you in the coming weeks. Send details of your planned events and I shall co-ordinate my schedule accordingly.

And, whilst its details may be unknown to me, I would remiss if I were to neglect one further topic. It is my understanding that you have suffered recently a terrible loss. Please accept this expression of my most sincere condolences.

Avec amitié,

Cazal​

 

[Shynka]

- @MadMartigan -​

Monsieur,

I hope you pardon me this brash response, but the very last thing I wish in life is to emulate in any way my father. I wish you and your organisation well, but myself and the rest of the Young Franks are, and always will be, a politically neutral club for Officers who are at heart patriotic and fiercely loyal to the Crown.

I hope the weather in France is better than it is here,

S.G.

 

[ThaHoward]

Fort de Bertheaume, late September 1824.

Lothaire were inspecting the walls of his fort. With him were Morgenstern and many other advisors and specialists. The time had come for them to give their report to the war ministry. The plans they had laid daown were ambitious, but the ambitious parts would be put on a hold before the more simplistic requests were put out. It was raining and the water hit the cliffs in full force making Lothaire all wet, and the same with the men on guard duty. But Lothaire told them they all had to do their duty. They might be wet now, but after a few hours they could all dry up. In solidarity with his men he did not retreat in to his commander's quarters, but created an improvised office outside. There he would examine the plans and maps of the area and write his report.

((Excerpts from a private report to @Korona - before Lothaire knew of the resignation)).

Your excellency,

The past months have been most interesting and given myself a lot to think over and a great oppourtinity to increase my own knowledge and test my leadership capabilities.

In short the morale and training of the troops were very low, but that have been mostly fixed. We've have a long way to go, but they are capable of executing their most basic objectivies.

Now I have a few requests to the Your Excellency's Ministry.

• Re-arm the fort to the Napoelonic levels.
• Create a footbridge connecting the island to the mainland.
• Increase the garrison force (and either create quarters for them on the mainland or inside the the fort) so that it can be fully garrisoned on its walls, batteries, guard posts etc. while one similar force in size are in the fort or outside training, conducting maintenance etc. and ready to relieve the ones on guard duty etc. The third force, in the same size, are to be quartered where they will sleep, recondition, eat etc. In times of attacks Force 1 will be on the walls, batteries etc, Force 2 will too mount the defenses and/or act as replacement. Force 3 are to be on alert and defend the interior of the Fort and if required act as reinforcement or replace one of the Forces entirely.

These are the most pressing issues as of now, when they are met I will put forward additional requests. However these may be fullfilled over several years, but I believe these requests should be fulfilled within the year. I am also willing to spend some of my own fortune for the improvement of the Fort.

I will also request Inspector General of frontier fortifications François Nicolas Benoît to inspect the Fort and give his own report and advise on improvement.

-Chef de bataillon Lécuyer.

 

[etranger01]

Anonymous letters, sealed with the Masonic crest, arrive at the residences of the addressees a few days before a prominent liberal salon. The following is an example.

​

The Supreme Lodge of France
((PRIVATE - @DensleyBlair, @TJDS, @Davout))
​

Dear esteemed monsieur,

Through your various efforts, you have shown yourself to be a man of superior quality, possessed of forward thought and an open mind. Such qualities are rare indeed in this fallen world. It is our considered belief that your talents would best be served in a fraternity of like-minded men, who labor together rather than struggle individually, in pursuit of a better, more enlightened world. The men of our fraternity join together to create bold new ideas, to implement plans and projects, and to support each other in their various endeavors. Should you possess the necessary discretion and fortitude, you may be a candidate for inclusion in this brotherhood.

Following receipt of this letter, you will be invited to the salon of Mme. Chartres. Should you wish to learn more about our fraternity, accept this invitation and attend the salon. When the salon comes to an end, follow the porter in the wine-red coat. From there, follow any instructions given until you reach your destination. There, all shall be revealed.

Burn this letter once you have read it. Speak of its contents to no-one.

 

[DensleyBlair]

Anonymous letters, sealed with the Masonic crest, arrive at the residences of the addressees a few days before a prominent liberal salon. The following is an example.

​

The Supreme Lodge of France
((PRIVATE - @DensleyBlair, @TJDS, @Davout))
​

Dear esteemed monsieur,

Through your various efforts, you have shown yourself to be a man of superior quality, possessed of forward thought and an open mind. Such qualities are rare indeed in this fallen world. It is our considered belief that your talents would best be served in a fraternity of like-minded men, who labor together rather than struggle individually, in pursuit of a better, more enlightened world. The men of our fraternity join together to create bold new ideas, to implement plans and projects, and to support each other in their various endeavors. Should you possess the necessary discretion and fortitude, you may be a candidate for inclusion in this brotherhood.

Following receipt of this letter, you will be invited to the salon of Mme. Chartres. Should you wish to learn more about our fraternity, accept this invitation and attend the salon. When the salon comes to an end, follow the porter in the wine-red coat. From there, follow any instructions given until you reach your destination. There, all shall be revealed.

Burn this letter once you have read it. Speak of its contents to no-one.

((Private))

Alexandre Cazal does as instructed, clearing his schedule and awaiting the invitation from Mme. Chartres.

 

[TJDS]

​

​

The Supreme Lodge of France
((PRIVATE - @DensleyBlair, @TJDS, @Davout))
​

Dear esteemed monsieur,

Through your various efforts, you have shown yourself to be a man of superior quality, possessed of forward thought and an open mind. Such qualities are rare indeed in this fallen world. It is our considered belief that your talents would best be served in a fraternity of like-minded men, who labor together rather than struggle individually, in pursuit of a better, more enlightened world. The men of our fraternity join together to create bold new ideas, to implement plans and projects, and to support each other in their various endeavors. Should you possess the necessary discretion and fortitude, you may be a candidate for inclusion in this brotherhood.

Following receipt of this letter, you will be invited to the salon of Mme. Chartres. Should you wish to learn more about our fraternity, accept this invitation and attend the salon. When the salon comes to an end, follow the porter in the wine-red coat. From there, follow any instructions given until you reach your destination. There, all shall be revealed.

Burn this letter once you have read it. Speak of its contents to no-one.

((Private))

Victor Durand does as instructed, burning the letter, clearing his schedule and awaiting the invitation from Mme. Chartres.

 

[TJDS]

An Essay
on
A State with Society

By Victor Durand
Deputy, Prefect and Former Minister of the Crown

Dedicated to His Most Christian Majesty, King Charles X of France and Navarre

-------------------------------------------------​

THE Primary Concern of any Government - even those only moved by the most basic instinct of self-preservation - should maintain and when need be expand the direct control of the ruling over the ruled in all important aspects of society, as such conduct forms the basis of national prosperity, order and power both internally and externally. From the most ancient times this principle of governance has been applied across the Globe by stable governments with the Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh's being the first government to adequately apply this principle over the Nile Delta with the creation of a bureaucracy, extensive irrigation & education systems and a standing army, thereby becoming the World's first Great Power, which existed quite prosperously for centuries. This principle also explains the military success and strength of the French Empire in the Wars of Coalition, as it successfully created an extensive state apparatus to serve the whim of the tyrant Emperor, thereby granting it the power to defeat the decentralized and weak Austrian and Prussian States, before being defeated itself by a combination of hubris and an enemy none can control - the forces of nature, colloquially referred to by the Russians as their General Winter. I would argue that it is not any particular personal genius that gifted the French Empire the ability to decisively eliminate enemies which had unsuccessfully fought to eliminate each other in the same way for decades, nay, centuries; it was the application of this most basic principle through the creation of a Society subservient to the interests of the State.

This aim, to create a State with Society rather than a Society with a State, a process of creating a utilizable society, to which I personally refer to as utilification, has been implemented, particularly in the field of the military, in nations as ancient as Sparta, but more recently in Prussia, whose Monarch sought to create an Army with a State, rather than a State with an Army, through the empirical and theoretical rationalization and universalization of laws, practices and conduct of persons and state alike for the betterment of, in this case, the Army. I would argue that this partial utilification of in this case the State and relevant parts of Society to serve the Army, rather than the complete utilification of society to serve the national interest, does not entail long term improvement of society, its prosperity, the state and monarch, the principle goals of utilification, or indeed the military prowess of the state as an incomplete process shall without doubt lead to regression of all chapters of society, as we saw in the destruction of the Prussian Army by the utilified French Army at Jena, albeit the success of partial utilification is evident from the meteoric rise of the backwards Prussian lands under this monarch, King Frederick II of Prussia. From these facts follow that if the French Government possess even only the most basic instinct of self-preservation both internally and externally, the only logical course of action of the French Government is to pursue the utilification of French Society.

-------------------------------------------------​

THUS the utilification of French Society is to be achieved. This should be done through measures that strengthen the national - thus cultural, religious, military and economic - ties across France.

On the cultural front, utilification shall build a system that will provide a set of basic truths and tools to all French citizens, while also creating the vanguard for the general advancement of all national ties in the future. It should start by the practical implementation of the theoretical education systems.[1] First, primary education would instill the most basic cultural and practical tools in the youth of France with, among other things, a single universal language, as set out by the Académie française, arithmetic, physical prowess, writing and reading. This would strengthening the interconnectedness between French and connectedness to the State with this universal and basic understanding afforded by primary education. Then, secondly, secondary and tertiary education would serve as a means to create ta vanguard of gifted students, selected through the primary education, to advance not only of French culture, but also religion, the military and the economy, on which the State and Society would rely to maintain and improve the design of this generation for France. This effort, one for which successive Governments have prepared, should, thusly, now be undertaken for the advancement of the French Society and, therefore, the State.

On the religious front, utilification shall provide the universal moral backbone of the State, needed to regulate the daily conduct of members of society within the Word of God and the Works of the Church. This is to be done through restoring the amount of members of the cloth to an amount adequate to morally maintain French Society. This rebuilding of the Catholic Church in France is best done through encouraging citizens to take up the cloth through the selection process provided by primary education and have those members of the cloth focus first and foremost on their ecclesiastical duties. This effort, which doubtlessly enjoys much support in all chapters of French Society and Government, would be vital to the utilification of broader society and would insure the perpetual morality of state and society in line with the Word of God and the Works of the Church.

On the military front, utilification shall most straight-forwardly strengthen the State, as the rationalization of the Armed Forces and its closer association with the cultural front of society would exponentially further the restoration of the Armed Forces to full strength as begun with its victory in the Restoration of King Ferdinand VIII in Spain. This would be achieved by maintaining a perpetual and well-disciplined reserve of both baisc soldiers and experienced specialists and officers through the education system. Furthermore, it would remove the detrimental policies of provincialization of the Armed Forces and work to construct a truly National Army, with a rigid discipline in battle and loyalty in peace. This effort, which cannot be done by civil servants inexperienced with the practicalities of war and battle, should be directed by the many experienced officers of the Armed Forces to combine theoretical and practical advancements into an unequalled Arm of the French State to guard its Heart, the Monarchy, from all external threats.

On the economic front, utilification shall provide both personal and national prosperity, which, in turn, will insure that all citizens can provide for themselves and their family through their own good and moral labour, rather than be reduced to immorality, poverty and disorderly pauperism. Contrary to the other fronts to strengthen national ties, France and Our Good King would not be the first to embark on the economic utilification of their society. Our northern neighbour, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, has embarked, under the good guidance of King William I of Orange, known and popular amongst his subjects for his prudent economic policies, on a quite successful course of rationalizing the governmental legislation and conduct towards the finances of its citizens and their private initiatives and presenting the State as the principal Stakeholder in Society, seeking and being able to improve society through tested and prudent financial methods that benefit the national ties, prosperity and the Dutch treasury.

To advance French national prosperity, the Government is able to and should advance the French State and Society through new policy, some of which I shall suggest in this essay for adaption.

Firstly, it is clear beyond doubt that the Government should no longer devalue or ignore the traditional training of French craftsmen through the Compagnons du Tour de France. These Compagnonnages exist across the Kingdom and provide invaluable education to further generations of artisans and should therefore be encouraged in their educational practices. Furthermore, these Compagnonnages should be encouraged to modernize their character to more easily advance their economic interests by adopting the character of Société anonymes. This shall increase both the skill of artisans in general and the quality of their products across the Kingdom as the previous hurdles towards this invaluable benefit to the Kingdom is removed.

Secondly, it is clear beyond doubt that the Government should take active measures to increase the ability of the Highway Office, the Utility Workmen & Bridge and Road Services to construct and rebuild the arteries of prosperity and strength of the Kingdom, roads and canals, to their full glory, while also expanding the purview of the Utility Workmen, a force of morality, labour and civilization among the unemployed to the construction and temporary maintenance of Post Offices, as this inexpensive source of labour would improve the lacking quality of the postal service compared to other nations. These reforms would increase the interdependence and stability of French Society, as shortages in areas of the country can be relieved through intranational trading, with greater connectiveness in both communications and real transportation, allowing the laws of supply and demand to be restored to equillibrium, untouched by malign foreign competition, and the national prosperity of France to advance again.

Thirdly, it is clear beyond doubt that the Government repeal of the Bills for the Recognition of the Bourse and the Private Printing of Specie have been detrimental to the national prosperity of France and should therefore be undone. These measures require no great expenditure to government spending, indeed, they shall provide a helpful assistance towards the other projects to fulfill complete utilification of Society.

Lastly, the Government should address three areas which, through previous inactivity, have proven detrimental to national prosperity, namely commerce, investment and business. To address this the Government should establish the Société française pour favoriser le développement de commerce, le transport, la construction, la pêche, l'agriculture et l’industrie nationale. This Société française would act as a large leverage, aiming for sustenance and encouragement of national prosperity, through the roles of (1) State Cashier, which would grant it a stable income, presence and trust across the nation, (2) Guardian of Government pensions, which would afford it further capital and an incentive to invest prudently for both the advancement of the public and the individual, (3) Chief Investor in public works and commercial ventures, thereby affording necessary capital to these vital projects to the benefit of the French Society and State - while giving private investors the confidence to join in on such prudent ventures with their own capital - and it would also allow the Government to discount taxes and issue affordable loans to interesting or otherwise advantageous commercial ventures, and (4) Trading Company, expanding existing trade, by gathering data and searching for new markets as well as financing shipping and other transportation.

Combined these measures shall increase and guarantee national prosperity, the basis of order, peace and morality. However, if these economic reforms are ignored, it would undo the entire utilification project and the many other benefits of the project through the destruction of State caused either directly by economic mismanagement or through the great burdens caused by such mismanagement which have already led the Kingdom of France down the path of disaster and ultimately destruction in 1792.

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THROUGH the full implementation of these measures the utilification of society can be achieved and France can fulfill the historical destiny of states, from being mere collections of men, to the first attempts at partial utilification in Sparta, to large attempts in Russia, Prussia and the Netherlands to become the first true State with Society, unburdened by the great toils forced upon states unwilling to accept this reality of man and being forced to accept pauperization, internal disorder, external extortion and unbridled immorality. This simple historical necessity and the observation of states moved me to asses the former and the following:

Our Monarch's Right to Rule may be unconditionally Divine, the State's Right to Existence is irrevocable temporal. If the Kingdom of France fails in this effort, as many have done before, then, when other nations succeed, for there is no doubt one will fulfill this utilification, France cannot place its trust in the Balance of Power to protect its national interests, as the equilibrium is irreversibly disturbed, and, like Sparta before us, we would not alone be able to stop the onslaught of Boeotians.


[1] Preferably the design of M. H. de Bourbon, as to prevent strain on the utilification of the religious front of Society as discussed later on in the Document