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Marseilles, (Bouches du Rhône)

The electoral campaign was drawing to an end. Exhausted, yet, invigorated by the hopes of victory and the conviction that so much was at stake, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Reims had travelled south, to the city of Marseilles, where the Ultraroyalist were hoping to unseat one if the most competent of their adversaries and replaxe him with a bright young mind of the Ultraroyalist circles, Henri Maurice de Saint Germain. Meeting publicly with the candidate and some landed and monied interests, he spoke at lenght.

"My good friends. For the past years, this Ministry, led by the very apt Duke of Sully, has endeavored to provide the kingdom with strong, sure and stable government. We have redressed our economy, kept the books balanced, reinvigorated our school system and brought France back into the concert of nations, with a consequential seat at the table and the ability to matter once more in the realm of international relations."

Some cheers.

"And what have our opponents done during that time? Opposed us at every turn. They opposed the idea of having a school in each parish, to raise the salaries of the teachers. They opposed our intervention in Spain, prefering anarchy on our very borders in a disgusting show of shortsightedness. They opposed the rolling back of immoral financial reforms that they put in place to benefit their friends at the expense of the population. They spend their days saying No, Nay, Never. And I velieve that this is exactly what you ought to say when they come back asking for your votes."

Louder cheers.

"Now I am accompanied today by Monsieur Henri Maurice de Saint Germain, a man of excellent reputation and of powerful zeal in pursuing the well-being of the common man. As you know, we have managed to pass through Parliament an electoral reform, meant to empower the voters. We certainly had to pass it agaist the acedia of our political adversaries, for the benefit of the good people of Marseille and of France can only be defended through the energy of this current Ministry, and with the help of good men like Saint-Germain. I beseech you, good friends, send this young man to Paris to represent you, the Kingdom needs him!"
 
Following the death of the Duke of Piombino and the end of the war in Spain, Henri Bourbon gradually allowed his public appointments to decline to a more manageable level as he focused himself on a private undertaking. However, at the request of a brother, he makes his presence known in Marseilles.

An excerpt of a Bourbon speech on behalf of Duval in Marseilles:

"My good friends, my fellow-citizens, there is little in life more treasured than a constant. Knowing that there is something upon which you can rely, no matter the circumstance, to be the case no matter when you look... it is reassuring, is it not? Some people, of course, cling to a few specific constants, and we call them Ultraroyalists, but for the rest of us, they are happy reassurances. Such reassurances allow us to devote our energies to other matters, content that the situation will remain agreeable otherwise.

Thibault Duval is a constant in a world of variables, my friends. He is a staunch representative of Marseilles and her people and I have known him to be such since our very first meeting in the Chamber. Much in France has changed in the years since the Restoration, but M. Duval remains a tireless advocate for the people of Marseilles and for the cause of liberty. He is ever a representative of the industrious classes and a friend to the downtrodden. He is a good, honest man with a proven record.

As for his opponent, well, there is little to be said. A staunch Ultra whose interest in this fine city has only lately been aroused, and for what reason I cannot fathom save that the Ministry mislikes a steady voice in opposition rising from Marseilles. Surely a decent enough man, but why should the merchants of Marseilles vote for him over M. Duval? It is a mystery to me.

I thus heartily endorse my good friend M. Duval and ask that you cast your vote for him, so that he might continue faithfully representing your interests in Paris. Thank you."
 
((Heading back to the city; that gives you about 2-3 hours before I close voting.
Update writing has already started.))
 
The Palais-Royal, after the calling forth of new elections.


Dear Captain,

I have followed you efforts on behalf of my cousin, his Majesty the King, with much interest. I am quite anxious to speak with as soon as possible about ways to turn our efforts in Spain towards the benefit of French liberalism and reconciliation in general. I believe you are now needed in politics more than ever, and you and your circle can form an effective check against the forces of reaction.

Sincerely,
M. Orleans

His Serene Highness,

I am honored by your letter. I have to admit I am puzzled on what I can do. I've retired from politics, for now, as I seek a military career. Anyway it would be an honor if you visited my fortress and gave your opinion on it. I'm in the middle of rebuilding it and making it a formidable fort worthy of France and her King. Your expertise and presence would make a great honor, and we could of course discuss matters you have on your heart.

Respectfully and sincerely,

Chef de'bataillon Lothaire Lécuyer.
 
Voting is closed. Update forthcoming; probably a long one too.
 
*Claude Artaud did not vote as he was too busy drinking wine and writing obscure nonsense*
 
CHAPTER 10: Viaticum
(April 1824 - September 1824)

In the aftermath of the victory in Spain the government hastened to capitalize on its success in the political sphere and basked in the glory of its triumph. On March 2nd, Polignac was dispatched to Madrid to negotiate with the restored Spanish government under Narciso Heredia y Begines de los Ríos, conde consorte de Ofalia y marqués de Heredia, while France rejoiced at the return of the armies. The mood of jubilance was so consuming that the duc de Sully needed no incentive to persuade his parliamentary colleagues that the time was ripe for a new election. But first, the Prime Minister sought to drape himself in the costume of victory; King Louis XVIII made the comte de Pontécoualnt a Maréchal de France upon the advice of the Prime Minister, whereafter he was known as Marshal Bournier, whatever his actual contribution to the war effort.[1] The expedition also proved prestigious in international advantages; the timely intervention of the duc de Valence to His Eminence, Monseigneur Guilo Maria della Somaglia, Cardinal Secretary of State regarding the canonization of Louis XVI spun the matter in the Congregation of Rites. The new Roman pope, Pope Leo XII, was an arch-conservative figure rivaling even the most extreme Ultra-Royalists, replicating the work of the Archbishop of Rheims in the promulgation of the bull Quod divina sapientia, and submitted to the impressions of Valence. Finally, in early April, Pope Leo XII and the Congregation of Rites set in motion the canonization of King Louis XVI. Sully’s position was further strengthened by liberal vehemence in the Chamber of Deputies, when Depute Duval made exaggerated claims against the Ministry for giving license to Les Hommes and other entities that Duval supposed owed their origins to the verdets. The reaction to this claim—presented by La Gazette—produced the most inflammatory anti-semitism, and enticed other liberal members, such as Deputy Lecuyer, to resist the personalized assaults on their colleagues.

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Marshal François Paul Bournier, comte de Pontécoulant and Le duc de Sully

King Louis XVIII, who passed from characteristic sharpness to extreme feebleness and back again, was convinced by Sully and Zoé to dissolve the Chamber, and call fresh elections. All indications pointed towards an advancement of the Ministry in the next elections, and Sully was prepared to call upon all sly tricks on which they had previously criticized Decazes; tampering with the voting lists, pressure on government officeholders, etc. The first tactic was to deny the leading liberals the ability to take their seats. The new Marshal, comte de Pontécoualnt, attempted to entice Lecuyer to command at Fort de Bertheaume, and when Lecuyer discovered the trick, the liberal refused the position outright. When the Minister of War insisted that the correspondence was no request, but an order, Lécuyer had no choice but to quit his seat and take the command. His refusal was not without its complications; the newspapers were not foolish enough to miss the attempt, and Charles-Guillaume Étienne, the editor of France’s largest newspaper, Le Constiutionnel, afforded Monsieur Adolphe Thiers an opportunity to thrash the government's underhanded tactics. In reaction to these maneuvers, Duval double-downed on his campaign against the Ministry, and published a tract, known as La Pétition du Bon Français, which demanded, in no particular order, the repeal of the amendment to the penal code, the amendment of the stringent publishing law, the abolition of the Direction Royal de Sécurité de l'État, the repeal of the new education law in favour of the one proposed by Monsieur Henri Bourbon, the restoration of Durandisme as the watchword of the economy, the reinstatement of the reforms of Rothschild, and the repeal of the Indemnification Law. La Pétition du Bon Français, almost overnight, would become the “electoral manifesto” of the Doctrinaires and the Liberal Independents. Duval intensified his position, and demanded that the electors restore moderation to the administration of the Kingdom. In subsequent publications from the Petite Journal, alternatively disseminated by the sympathetic Le Constiutionnel, Duval advanced a compromising government, led by le comte de Berstett, and joined by Durand, Valence, and Henri Bourbon. These tracts also enjoined the electors to support the Christian rebellion in Greece, and harangued the continued participation of Les Hommes d’Artois. In the countryside, where the nobility dominated the procedures of the campaign, Ultra-Royalists combated the insinuations of Duval, and rallied behind the apologies of l'Élan Journal and the persuasive eloquence of Bourget and Saint-Aignan.

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Thibaut Duval, the de facto liberal spokesmen in 1824.

The Prime Minister was not appeased by oratory or written defenses; the duc de Sully wanted to see Duval denied his parliamentary privilege and reduced to a political outsider. The accomplishment of this feat was no easy task—Constant and his liberal colleagues were far more adept at managerial electioneering—not to mention that Duval’s national prominence and moderate attitude had earned him adulation in Marseille (his home department) and in Paris. As the summer election loomed, Sully employed his self-fashioned cunning to depose Duval, and extended an offer of competition to the famous novelist and plebeian Ultra-Royalist, Henri-Maurice de St. Germain. St. Germain, drunk off the enormous success of his latest novel, eagerly took the reigns of challenge, and hurried down to Marseille to dispute Duval’s hold on power. Meanwhile, Duval, who was prepared to fight a national election, was compelled to defend his seat, and conceded the national election to his other Liberal colleagues who had systematically been picked off; Bourbon by the death of his mentor, Lecuyer by his forced exile to Bertheaume, Orléans by his disfavor with Louis XVIII and his preoccupation with Greece, Cazal by his travels, and Lamarque by his departure to the Peloponnese Rebellion. Even with the organization of a challenger in Duval’s arrondissement, Sully’s crusade against the liberal leader was not yet completed. Determined to deny Duval even his self-made possessions, the Prime Minister purchased a commanding share of Petite Journal and the Seine Bank from the self-exiled comte de St. Germain, who in his wild juvenile pursuits, had been caught in a scandalous correspondence with Sophia Dawes de L'Isle Jourdain. The total sum was an exorbitant 1,000,000 francs—an excessive purchase that threatened the pecuniary stability of the wealthy dukedom. The purchase, which made St. Germain an extremely wealthy exile, was shrugged off by Sully, who was undeterred in his political vendetta against Duval. The new partial proprietor demanded political control over the newspaper, and sure enough, Duval was compelled to submit, and conceded his control over his journal in a string of faux-amicable correspondences to the Prime Minister.

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Henri-Maurice de St. Germain, supposed member of les Hommes d'Artois, and the acclaimed author of L'acadien familial.

Denied his publication outlet, but backed by Constant in Paris, Duval displayed a series of anonymous puppet shows that disparaged the Ministry to the extreme; the shows ventured to the edge of legality, and tested the waters beyond that, assaulting the persona of Monsignor Deficit, the Prime Minister, and other political personalities. The extremism of the conflict between Duval and St. Germain earned national attention; Sully was eager to seek further assistance from sympathetic forces, and sought the clandestine intervention of the His Serene Highness the prince de Condé. Louis VI Henri concluded that good relations with the Prime Minister exceeded his personal apathy to Duval, and donated 250,000 francs to St. Germain, which was pooled with Sully’s already considerable contribution. Sully had made the Marseille election a vote of confidence on his own government, but while he was concentrated on the obscure southern race, he left his center exposed. Like a wraith who appears from the dusk, Victor Durand leaped into the limelight to haunt the Ultra-Royalists. The most popular of the Doctrinaires and the Liberals, Victor Durand was acclaimed by the bourgeoisie for the durable nature of his reforms; these infrastructural and administrative reforms, which had previously proved his political downfall, were applauded for their effectiveness in the contemporary period. Le Dioclétien, emboldened by the spiritual backbone of La Pétition du Bon Français, published the famous Manifeste pour loyalistes et modérés. The manifesto gave equal derision to the extreme Right and the extreme Left, and extolled the pathway of liberalism insofar as it could embody loyalty to the King and the rule of law. Durand’s sudden appearance gave hope to the Left where before there had only been absolute resignation as Parsian supporters rallied behind “the Hand of Progress” against the “Whip of Repression.” His first speeches in the capital were transmitted to paper and published 1 July 1824 in Le Dioclétien and two days later in the leading newspapers Journal des Débats and Constitutionnel. The publication in Journal des Débats was somewhat of a surprise in the Ministry as the Journal was largely under the control of the sympathetic Ultra-Royalist, François-René de Chateaubriand, vicomte de Chateaubriand, who had been instrumental in the construction of the Spanish policy.

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Victor Durand, after his return to the forefront.

Durand, Duval, and other moderates hoped that by virtue of their electioneering the King would be required to call forth the prince de Polignac and depose the supposed extremism of the Prime Minister. As the election progressed, Durand’s rhetoric became more acerbic; he accused the Ministry of “cronyism” and assaulted their characters in a controversial speech at the marketplace of Arras. What was controversial about this ‘speech,’ more so than the content, was that he was preaching to the irrelevant—the actual electors (despite the progressive expansion of the electorate) remained confined to the nobility and the high-bourgeoisie—the nature of this fact impressed upon the Ultra-Royalists the worrisome concept that Durand was seeking to harness a democratic principle. He continued this tactic at the Somme, and drew crowds of the lower-bourgeoisie and urban poor. Contrary to Durand’s stratagem, Bourget and his colleagues sought careful study and manipulation of the mechanisms of the election, which oft included indirect patronage, and in the case of Sully’s proclivities, outright bribery and tinkering of the election rolls. The Ultra-Royalists were no nobler in their campaign; St. Germain openly endorsed the most aggressive anti-semitism, which complemented his Ultramontane belief in the “unifying effect” of the Catholic Church and the desired appeal popular royalism. In the last days of the campaign, Bourget and Bourbon came down to Marseille to court the electors. The two national figureheads traded competitive meetings and ambitious flattering, but soon thereafter, on August 15th, the date of the election arrived, and the electors took their places in the collèges électoraux, prepared to elect delegates to the revised Chamber of Deputies. On the day of the election, the pure royalists, encouraged by the innumerable civil societies that owed loyalty to the Chevaliers de la Foi, exercised an extensive manipulation of the election, and took advantage of the laws that had been passed under their own watch. The trickery went mostly unnoticed, and the effect of the Expédition d'Espagne was presumed across the kingdom to afford the Ministry a new government. Indeed, they did not fail to use the sly tricks that Decazes had once applied.

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English commentary on the hotly contested Marseilles race.

And they won a crushing victory; the liberals were reduced to less than thirty-percent of the Chamber. Many eminent liberal members—La Fayette, Manuel, d’Argenson, and yes, Duval—were left lying on the field. Louis XVIII described the result as “La Chambre Retrouvée” (“The Rediscovered Chamber”) in reference to the Chambre introuvable. The pure royalists captured a supermajority, and felt gloriously vindicated by the result. The victorious party intended gradually and quietly to take up the program which had been interrupted in May 1817. But at the very hour of this triumph there began to appear in the royalist party some irremediable fissures which seemed capable of bringing forth its own ruin. It has already been pointed out previously that there was a group on the extreme Right, known as the “les impatients” and who were now known as the “Pointus,” or the “edgies” and who were keen to constantly accuse the ministry of moderation and compromise, specifically on the policies of Ultramontane. They had previously called Berstett their leader, but his own participation in the government, not to mention his ideological proclivities, had distanced the faction and the party. Previously it would have been possible to close ranks and limit the influence of disagreements in the fact of leftist attacks, but the elections of 1824 strengthened this extreme rightist group to the number of seventy seats, and the fact that there was no longer a threat from the Left seemed to permit more freedom of action. This new group was much influenced by the controversial pastoral letter of the Cardinal-Archbishop of Toulouse which he considered to be the legitimate demands of the church: revision of the civil code to bring it line line with canon law; the return to the clergy of the right to register births, deaths, and wills; the re-establishment of synods and provincial councils, of religious (non-working) holidays that had been restored by the returned Concordant (but not enshrined in law), ecclesiastical courts, religious orders, clerical endowments to guarantee the financial independence of the clergy; the reorganization of cathedral chapters; and the abolition of the Organic Articles. The new group was also much influenced by the revival missions, which had been organized by royal ordinance under the Priests of the Missions of France, working together with the Jesuits, the Lazarists, the Montfortains, and new congregations such as the Priests of the Sacred Heart of Father Coudrin and the Oblates of Mary Immaculate of Father de Mazenod. These gentlemen were the epitome of the St. Germain Romanticists, who felt excluded by the neutrality of the Sully administration, and wished the pursuit of Ultramontanism. In the words of Ultric Guttinguer: “To be romantic is to sing about one’s country, one’s affections, one’s customs, and one’s God.” Hugo himself declared “the new literature is the expression of the religious and monarchical society which would emerge from so much of the old debris and from so many of the recent ruins.” The ultramontane, longing for color and truth and purpose, saw opportunity for the government to take this extreme mantle, and made itself known in the Chamber.

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213 Ultra-Royalists (70 "edges")
57 Doctrinaires
30 Liberals
Villele predicted this group would incur downfall when he remarked: “The absence, in the chamber, of deputies representing revolutionary principles is going to break royalist solidarity...we are going to begin firing on ourselves and lose the fight.” The predicted division came when personalist disputes were beginning to re-emerge; the duc d'Angouleme blamed Marshal Bournier for almost compromising the success of the Spanish expedition by not tending closely enough to the matter of his more experienced juniors. The threat of Bournier’s forced exit, and the seemingly ineluctable power of the extreme Right, concocted a disastrous series of events. It would begin on September 4th, when the prince de Polignac returned from Madrid with ratification on his proposed treatise by King Ferdinand VII of Spain. Polignac was no Valence—his policy at Verona and insistence of Spanish invasion had alienated Britain and had proven the death sentence for the Congress system—but the prince was nonetheless regarded as a capable man. Above other considerations, Polignac was known to be the popular darling of the Ultra-Royalists, who lionized him as a capable diplomat and committed ideologue. Indeed, during an earlier correspondence with the comte d’Artois, Monsieur had remarked “if the Chambre introuvable is more royalist than the King, Polignac is more royalist than me.”

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Joseph de Villèle, comte de Villèle, Minister of Finance

The extreme Right thus received the success of the territorial transaction and the army of occupation, stipulated in the Treaty of Madrid, with great jubilance. The more reticent among the Pointus urged the king’s ministers to replace Sully with the Foreign Minister, while the bravest of the extreme royalists openly invited Polignac to depose Sully and take the presidency. Polignac, however, was a man of extraordinary principle, and would refuse any position by furtive means, unless it was the regal will alone that invited him to power. The glorious reception of Polignac, however, invited severe envy among other souls. Chateaubriand, who had played just as an integral role in changing opinion towards intervention and European neutrality as Polignac, demanded recognition. The success of the Spanish affair had somewhat intoxicated Chateaubriand, and he now tried to be the master in conducting foreign relations by disdainfully relegating Polignac, Villele, and Sully. Chateaubriand merely had to wait for the right moment to enforce his blow; his deep hatred for the Finance Minister would be the eventual catalyst for his defection. During a regular reading of a bond bill on September 5th, in which Villele introduced a controversial technique of package, extreme Right opposition in the Chamber of Deputies threatened to tank the bill. The legislation barely passed the Chamber of Deputies, but in the Chamber of Peers, opposition became dangerous; Chateaubriand perhaps could have saved it by giving strong support, but personally he was opposed to it, and he saw no way of balancing his convictions and ministerial solidarity except by taking refuge in a passive attitude. The bill was defeated, and Villele resented his abstention very much as, still more, did the king, who gave vent to senile fury; “Chateaubriand has betrayed us like a scamp. I won’t see him again!” But the esteemed viscount had no intention of going quietly, and came before Sully, demanding that he depose Polignac as Foreign Minister and elevate the noble peer to the position which be believed was deserved. Sully might have found relief in compromise with Chateaubriand, insofar as it might have relegated a possible contender, but the Prime Minister was so indignant at the gall of the demand that he refused outright. Forthwith, the Prime Minister went to the Tuileries, and had the King sign an ordinance that would ship Chateaubriand to St. Petersburg as ambassador. The next morning, Chateaubriand, not yet suspecting anything, went to the Tuileries, in his dual capacity as Sully’s chief magistrate in the House of Peers and deputy plenipotentiary to Polignac, and it was here that his secretary brought him the document with a letter from Sully—”such a letter,” the recipient said, “as one would blush to write to a delinquent valet who was being kicked out into the street.” Chateaubriand left the palace immediately, and in two hours he had moved out of his ministerial apartments.

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François-René, vicomte de Chateaubriand, author, diplomat, and politician

Villele offered to restore his pension as minister of state, but the great writer scorned this contemptible charity dole with the words “I did not intend to become the pensionary of the council president.” He refused, on September 6th, the position of plenipotentiary to the Russian Empire on the fabricated grounds of ill-health; that same day he pointed to his inkstand, and told his friend, Berryer, “With this I’ll smash that little whippersnapper.” Immediately he brought over to the opposition the Journal des Débats, the most influential of the day, which began to denounce violently all the vices of the government: “A timid, mean, colorless administration, full of deception and power-hungry; a political system incompatible with the genius of France and contrary to the spirit of the Charter; a shady despotism, equating effrontery with strength; corruption raised to a system,” etc. The fall of Chateaubriand threatened to drag France through the mud; he had conjured a lofty system that could raise France’s prestige in Europe and the monarchy’s prestige in France. Unlike Polignac, who shirked from South American intervention, Chateaubriand had drafted a plan where the Spanish colonies would be guaranteed the recognition of their autonomy, contingent on these countries accepting Spanish royal princes as sovereigns. France would thereby have been assured a preponderant influence, opening a new outlet to her commerce which England had tried to keep exclusively for herself. The defeated peer had even begun to look towards the Rhine frontier. Chateaubriand’s defeat gave worry to the king and to Artois, who although apathetic, privately criticized this dismissal, at least in the way it was done, specifically shipping a man of such life and color to the frozen capital of Europe. Artois had also begun to be weary of the censorship, and had cried “Oh Sully, what foolishness!” when the old law was finally imposed. King Louis XVIII commenced an open consideration of replacing Sully, concerned that the entire affair would ruin the newly elected Government. By September 7th, the King had invented a policy in his mind, whereby Berstett would swap places with Sully; Louis XVIII imagined that Berstett’s allegiance with the old “impatients” would appease the dissident Ultras and simultaneously distance the personal disputes that now dominated the upper-echelons of power and press. Artois was uncertain about the program, but the King, who aside from long-periods of prostration, showed his typical firmness and lucidity, and believed that a change in council president would calm the nation. The gangrene in his legs was spreading, and the King was literally wasting away, but he remained determined. His head hung down, resting on his chest, and his ministers, in order to understand his orders, had to bend down to the legs of his armchair. He dispatched his faithful loyalists several dictated letters in order to set in motion his planned change, but the illness was now progressing at a rapid pace. Privately, Artois told his son, “Either the King or Sully shall be dead.”

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The generalized arteriosclerosis and gangrene was rotting away Louis’ body. By September 8th, the disease had formed a large suppurating wound in his lower back that made him unrecognizable; but he refused to sit down. He declared to his family, in the words of Vespasien, “A king must die standing.” It soon became apparent in Paris society that Sully’s days were numbered, and the king’s inflexible regard for his dignity seemed to be winning out. For the next four days, the king prepared a change in power, but on September 12th, his terrible suffering compelled him to lie down. The newspapers declared, in that terrible sign of impending doom, that the king would receive neither women nor men. After one of his sinking-spells, his physician, Dr. Portal, was supervising the difficult operation of putting the king to bed. In an impatient tone he spoke to the valets: “Come on, finish your job, take off his shirt.” Whereupon the king opened his eyes and said: “M. Portal, my name is Louis XVIII, you should say: “take off His Majesty’s shirt.” Nor did his bent for bad puns entirely disappear. When he gave the watchword and password for one of his latter days, he murmured: “St. Denis—Givet” (Saint-Denis was the burial place of kings, and Givet could also be rendered J’y bais [that’s where I’m going]).” The next day, throughout the kingdom, the Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs and the Archbishop of Paris informed the dioceses and archdiocese to hold prayers for King Louis XVIII across the country. Next came the rulings from Berstett and Villele, which closed all shows, stock markets, exchanges, museums, and other public places. His decomposition had become severe on the 13th of September, and Mme du Cayla, alerted by Artois, persuaded Louis to receive the last rights. The royal family heard the last rites on their return, and His Majesty called the family together; he explained to them: “I will give you my blessing, may God be with you!” After an evangelical outburst by the women of France, the King’s fever worsened, and the sickness increased. Paris was suspended on the 14th of September, and crowds of citizens and soldiers gathered in general grief and apprehension. The king continued to struggle, and remarked “a king is allowed to die, but he is never permitted to be sick.” The masses had gathered at the Carrousel, and witnessed with anticipation the attendants going into and out of the Tuileries. At two o'clock in the morning, on September 15th, the King awoke again, and in a state of great alarm; but he was told that the crowds had gathered beneath his very windows, and exclaimed: “Ah! So I have done some good!” The Archbishop of Paris was then called into the chamber, and he recited les prières des agonisants.


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The Archbishop was so moved by his consideration of the situation that he missed a verse, and the King painfully rose his head to correct the error, for he had always been devout with his scripture. When the prayers were completed, he asked for a crucifix, and said “My Lord, My Lord, have Mercy on me!” His pulse after this exclamation decreased, and the doctors knew time was short. It was even believed for a moment that the sovereign had passed, and the news was passed, but this news proved to be false, and he regained himself. He noticed his family around him, who were buried in their solemn tears. The king told another doctor, after some slip of tongue, “I am not afraid of death. A bad king is he who does not know how to die!” The next hours were turbulent, as a storm brewed outside, and the doctors believed that the king had but a few hours left to live. As the moment approached, he attempted to wave his crucifix, but his hands were too weak. He told his brother, "I have tacked between parties, like Henri IV. Unlike him, I die in my bed, and in the Tuileries. Do as I have done, and you will reach the same end of peace. I pardon whatever annoyance you may have caused me, for the hopes I entertain of your conduct as King. But..." added the monarch, pointing to the duc de Bordeaux, who was brought forth "let Charles the Tenth take care of the crown for that boy." Looking at the child, Louis XVIII said “May you be wiser and happier than your parents.” Afterwards, he bade an eternal farewell to his royal favorite, M. Decazes. Valence was nowhere to be found. His final words, in his typical style, addressed as a Priest began to give prayer alongside his beloved Decazes. Louis asked “Is it as bad as that?” When he was told it was, Louis smiled and said: “Well, never mind. Go on with it.” M. Portal drew the curtains of the bed to feel the king's pulse. The pulse had ceased to beat, though the hand was not yet cold. "Gentlemen, said M. Portal, turning to the attendants, the king is dead;" and then respectfully inclining to his brother, he exclaimed "Vive le Roi." Louis XVIII died on September 16th, 1824, exactly at 4:00 AM. The people of Paris, who suspended all their activities, showed by their spontaneous grief how grateful they were to the old monarch whose reign, opening among the worst convulsions and the most frightful disasters, ended in peace and dignity, in a pacified, independent, and prosperous France.

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Le roi est mort, vive le roi!

--
Mourn. But mostly wait. And mourn.
 
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Fort de Bertheaume, September 16th 1824.

Lothaire looked over his 115 men who stood in attention in the exhibition area in the fort. He looked over them, they had been standing in attention for an hour or so in the unberable heat. Some had already passed out - that was expected. He would soon begin his speech, but would first reflect on his months he had stayed here in the fort.

His relocation to this fort had much to Lothaire's surprise been given attention by the political elite of France and even Adolphe Thiers and Le Constiutionnel. Lothaire had felt as this was some sort of exile, but he mostly did not want this position as he felt he were a man of the field and not of administration. As he remarked to his wife
"I know how to lead men into battle, I know how to scale forts, but I do not know how to administer a fort or defend it". Anyway he were a soldier and an officer and would take his task, even if he did not feel he were up to it. During the first months he would make several personal inspections of both his garriso and the walls. To his dissapointment he saw that the fort were no longer armed, and that the soldiers were mostly ill-motivated. Much owing to the fact they felt overlooked by the military as a whole and that they were exiled.

To fix these issues, and to focus on something else than politics, Lothaire had replaced the old staff with a new one. Among the new staff he would employ Lieutenant Joakim-André Morgenstern. A veteran of many wars Morgenstern were also educated as a military-engineer. Having served as both a pontonnier and a sapper in many campaigns (including the drive to Moscow) he particpated in many sieges, both as the besiegers and the besieged, Lothaire knew he would be an important officer and advisor to get the fort up and running again. One of the first tasks Lothaire would do were to create an excercise simply named "Training Period 1" where all men would be trained and assessed in combat training. Morgenstern would personally lead the men in the field and assess them. He would oversee their motivation, dedication and skillset.

The overall report was negative. The soldiers lacked proper training or was just under bad motivation. There were a few, mostly veterans from operative and manuever units, who were motivated and clearly wanted to make a difference. But Morgernstern noticed they were quickly dragged down by the majority. He said to Lothaire
"I've been in many placed over the years. In the navy. In the calvary, in the infantry, as an engineer etc. All of these have different cultures. But all of them have one thing in common, and that is they all have a warrior culture. There is a lack of that here,they seem to be not knowing what they are here for and what they are fighting for".

Lothaire took this most serious and intended to change this. After the exercise he gathered his men and said a change of tact were to be conducted. They all had to put the unit and the army before them. That he did not care if they were sad, or tired or hungry. That they would create a proper warrior's culture among themself and that they would all be highly motivated. Those who were in doubt of what this meant or could not live up to this would be disgracefully discharged. He said to them "serving under the King is a priveldge, not a right. Those who are shwon to be not worthy of serving under the White Flag and the King will be expelled as we have hundreds of other motivated men who will take your place anyday!" Lothaire continued to speak of how he expected them to act from now on, and how they should behave and work. But in the end he would hold a more motivating speech saying it did not matter what the enemy, let it be Germans, English or Spaniards, threw at them. That despite their numbers and training this was France, this was their homeland. They had that distinct advantage and he expected them all to give their fullest for their King and Country.

The next months would include more training periods, training periods that focused on first bringing up unit-cohersion and motivation and later to train the men in their specialised roles. So that the artillerist would get proper training in how to fire artillery, as they could not get that in the fort, and the infantrymen would be trained to the desired level of an infantryman. Morgernstern and other officers would assess the fort itself and give a report to Lothaire and how it should be improved. When the report was complete Lothaire would look at the various reports and give his own report to the war ministry. He took his job serious and intended to make Fort de Berthehaume a fighting force worthy of France and the King.

But then, on September the 16th, he recieved the news that the King were passed away. It saddened Lothaire as a symbol had died. A unifying and mostly moderate symbol, and in his place a much more radical and polarizing figure would take the crown. Lothaire ordered the flag to be raised to only half the pole in a sign of grief and respect. He then ordered the entire fort to stand in formation and mourn. He spoke of that the King were dead. The person who led France, and whom they served, had passed away and they were now expected to pay their respect and mourn him.

And so they had been standing there for one hour. It was much as a sign of respect for the passed away King as a test of their endurance. Standing straight up for an hour without moving in heat were a much more difficult task and exhausting one that many could ever fathom. After an hour Lothaire would continue his speech. He would speak of that he had seen much improvement, but that much had to be done - mostly since a soldier could never be fully trained. And they would get there one day and it was Lothaire's job to make them the most capable force as possible. He then spoke of undying loyalty to their new King and when he were officially made King they would make their oath anew for the new King. For now they would carry on as usual and make King and Country proud.

((Private letter to @Syriana ))

Lieutenant général,

I have much respect for you and your deeds. As such I would to invite you to Fort de Bertheaume. It's the coastal-fort I'm currently commanding and set out to improve. It would be a great honor for a man as you to visit our humble fort and give advise on how to lead it and improve it. Other topics could of course be discussed. My wife will as such send you an open invitation to the Commander's Residency for a dinner, lunch or stay or what you please.

Yours sincerly,

Chef d'bataillon Lothaire Lécuyer.
 
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Préfet et Député Victor Durand du Nord:
«Monsieur Président de la Chambre,»
«In light of this most unfortunate occasion, I beg to move that this Chamber does now adjourn to give way to mourning and reflection on this monumental loss to the Royal Family, the French Kingdom and indeed the French People.»

«It has been our custom that this Chamber pays tributes to the memory of a distinguished figure in our Parliament, following the necessary proceedings in this Chamber, and that this Chamber then does adjourn for the day to mourn and reflect on the lose to our Chamber. I feel that it would be in conformity with the general wish of this Chamber that the business of the day should be delayed until M. Président does see fit and that this Chamber may present tributes to His Most Christian Majesty, King Louis XVIII, after which this Chamber should proceed no further with business. It is for that reason that I formally move this Motion.»

«During the last few days much has been written and spoken in praise of our beloved Monarch across this country. Indeed, after the divisive events France has transcended in the recent past under our Monarch's guidance, we see unity and unequivocalness across all lines of possible division in the mourning of the death of His Most Christian Majesty and the praise of his Great Works for this Kingdom.»

«I had the honour and joy to meet and serve His Most Christian Majesty directly in - although I would have hoped to serve longer - two short etappes, first as Préfet du Nord when he resided in Lille before his return to Paris in 1814 and second as short-lived Minister of the Interior, both times showing his unrelentless interest in the state of his Kingdom, his unequalled piety and wisdom. Besides the obvious matters of my services to France, we spoke briefly on matters of history, even Frederick II of Prussia, who claimed to be the First Servant of State. I can but only say, and this Chamber would doubtlessly join me, that His Most Christian Majesty was mayhaps not the First Servant of State, but most certainly the First Servant of God in the State and shall be remembered and honoured as such.»

«We mourn today the loss of a man of unequaled wisdom and persistence, we mourn the loss of a King who, although having been condemned to wander Europe by traitors amidst his subjects, rightly never lost his Crown, Royalty and Faith. And once his Lands were delivered by God from the Evil that were La Terreur and Napoleon, he, as the fair and just Sheperd of his People forgave those subjects led astray by ill intentioned men of low character and led the Kingdom and its People from the Moral and Material Destruction of Revolution to the Towering Heights of Prosperity, Morality and Peace that we can now enjoy. »

«I wish to close my remarks with saying that His Majesty was so considerable a figure among us that his departure makes it difficult even now to realise that he is no longer with us. To his memory we pay our tribute. To the Royal Family and particularly to the Comte d'Artois, to whom the burdens of reigning now fall, we offer our respectful sympathy and prayers. The Desired King, who returned - to - France, has departed. Le Roi est mort, Vive le Roi!»
 
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Fort de Bertheaume, September 5th 1824.

During his stay in the windblown fort in Brittany Lothaire had much sparetime. Not being torn apart by political intrigues and machinations nor the perils of war the academic within him got free reign. For years he had in a small scale focused on writing a book. However all his efforts to the political scene had taken the focus away from his works. Now he would in earnest write it and publish it. It would be titled "Brothers by Blood - in War for France". As opposed to many of the works of that time it did not focus on senior officers, nor did it focus on society as a whole or paint a romantic and gloryfying picture of generals of one ideoogical persuasion and a demonizing picture of those of the other. It was rather composed of several tales of soldiers on the ground. Several soldiers would tell their stories and experiences during war time and peace time. It ranged from private infantrists, to junior officers in elite corps to medics and engineers serving in the revolutionary wars, the Napoleonic Wars, the Emigre Army and the Spanish Intervention. It also included one of Lotahaire's own stories regarding the last campaign in 1814 as they were pushed out from Germany and into France.

The stories were vivid and focused on how it were for the common soldiers and the junior officer to actually participate in a war and their point of views. In the book one could get many unique perspective on vrious warrior cultures and coping mechanisms that one would not get by reading glorified tales of generals leading entire armies. The reader would get personal insight in the inner thoughts of many soldiers, their lifestyle and philosophy. Yet it would glorify and romanticise the common soldier. It woul often potray the soldier as a person of a certain lifestyle who gave their lives to France. Let it be by falling in battle or dedicating their lives in service. Like more modern stories it would not focus on the psychological and ethical issues, but would make for a unique insight into their lives.

The foreword by the publisher would set the tone for the rest of the novel as he wrote
"Brothers by Blood is a prying description of how young French warriors are sent by the French state and King to battle their enemies. But who are those young men who are left in the middle of the battlefield after surviving harsh battles, who pick of the bodyparts of their dead enemies and put their comrades to rest and yet sleep well at night? What does it take to dedicate all your life to learn methods and increase their competance in order to inflict casualties among the enemy in an effective and in force? And how is a man where your life is about taking the life of another man? The author have been in many wars for France and tell the personal stories of many other soldiers and officers who have served for France. The stories include tales of vivid battles, dramatic assaults and dreary losses of comrades, but also describe the unique brotherhood between the soldiers and their interactions with civilians both in France and abroad. Brothers by Blood is a moving and brutally honest story of what is required by a soldier in the service for France".

Lothaire wrote it as he wanted the stories of the common soldiers to come to light and give them the honor they deserved and to spark the interest for soldiering among the literary classes in France. He also wished to write a story that would put the soldier in a positive light and to hopefully make more want to put on the uniform and strap on a musket. As he published the novel he also contacted several editors and commentors of various papers and gave them free copies and hoped they would write about it.

((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.

((Private letter to @TJDS ))

Honored Préfét,

Your campaign were a good one. It's a shame you did not come better out of it, France need men like you in these dire times. Hopefully one day you will succeed and secure your legacy among the great men of France. Yet my letter today is not one of politcs. I have sent you a copy of my novel "Brothers by Blood" and wish for you to write a book review in Le Dioclétien about it. Hopefully you will enjoy it. I also wish you the best of luck in the coming years, both to reform French society and to liberate the Greeks from the oppressors of culture.

Kind regards,

Chef de bataillon Lothaire Lécuyer.

Lothaire also had more administrative tasks to care of and would as such send another letter.

((Private letter to @Shynka ))

Lieutenant,

I'm now in command of Fort de Bertheaume. I send you an offer to come here and work under me and by the fort. I want you on my staff or to lead a company of men - and as such I will promote you to Capitaine or Capitaine adjutant-major. I know it is not the most desired posting, but hopefully it will be a stepping stone for a bright career on your behalf. I will also send you a copy of my book "Brothers by Blood" and hope you will enjoy it and can associate with the stories. If you reject the offer, I understand that perfectly well, but I would nevertheless like for you to come over, inspect the fort and give your opinions in areas where it can be improved.

-Chef de bataillon Lécuyer.
 
((Private - @ThaHoward))

Dear Monsieur,

I thank you for your letter, your compliments on my campaign and your kind words for my work in the Chambre and the Société Philhellénique. Regarding your novel, I must say that it was a very entailing work that I would be honoured to write about. However, I must confess that I am but a mere layman when it comes to literature and that any comment I do make on your novel in Le Dioclétien would not be worth the paper it was printed on. I have therefore sent my copy to my friend, François de Viscarin, a man far more experienced in the field of literature than myself and asked him to write the review of the book for Le Dioclétien.
I do hope you forgive me for situation.

Kind regards,

Victor Durand

J3RUnZ6FX6FVwGK2mKOIUIwIdCsheM8e1XST8O4usYRL8FF6gD9neIvjxHtR0HEfoPi6Rr7CvKIRI7cLcswgHWejyBf_cBg94sFbisTwy36Y50N8TCBgYVbAYZ8yfvhPN9h_XXAz
Regarding the Brothers by Blood - in War for France

By François de Viscarin
In his first novel, Lécuyer has succeeded in capturing the lives of a diverse group of soldiers fighting for France. He has captured the suffering and heroism of the men and drawn the reader in an emotional bond with the main characters [...].
 
CHAPTER 11: VIVE LE ROI!
(September 1824)


The crowd at the threshold of a temple in prayer came;
Mothers, children, old men groan together;
And the brass shaken in the clouds
The high towers of Saint-Denis.
The sepulcher is disturbed in its gloomy darkness.
The Death of these funeral strata
Closes the incomplete ranks.
Silence in the black stay that the death protects! -
The Christian King, followed by his last procession,
enters his last palace.

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Another said: "Of my race
This great tomb will be the port;

I wish, to the king whom I replace,
Succeed even in death.
My spoil here must come down!
It is to make room for my ashes
That these black vaults were depopulated.
A new master is needed in the world;
At this sepulcher, which I founded, there
must be new bones.

"I promise my dust to these disastrous vaults.
To this honor, this temple alone has rights;
For I wish that the worm that gnaws my remains has
already devoured kings.
And when my nephews, in their haughty fortune, shall
dominate all Europe,
From the Kremlin to the Escurial,
They will come alternately to sleep in these dark places,
That I may sleep, escorted by their shadows,
into my imperial shroud! "

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Whoever said those words
Believed, bold soldier
See in magnificent symbols
His written for heaven.
In his thunderous embraces,
His eagle with flaming greenhouses
would have smothered the Roman eagle;
Victory was his companion;
And the globe of Charlemagne
was too light for his hand.

Well ! Of the potentates this formidable master
In the hope of his death by heaven was deceived.
Of his ambitions it is perhaps the only one of
which his object has escaped him.
In vain everything was seconded by his murderous march;
In vain his incendiary glory

Everywhere he carried his torch;
All charged with bundles, sceptres, and crowns,
This vast captor of empires and thrones
could not usurp a tomb.

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Fallen under the hand that chastised,
Europe made him a prisoner.
First king of his dynasty,
he was also the last.
An island in which storms
raged, Received this giant of conquests,
Tyrant, whom no one dared to judge,
Old warrior who, in his misery,
owed the obsolete of Belisarius to
the pity of the stranger.

Far from the sacred tomb which he had formerly arranged, it was
there that, stripped of the royal apparatus,
He slept wrapped in his war coat,
Without a companion of his sleep.
And while he no longer has the empire of the world
That a black rock beaten from the wave,
That an old willow beaten from the wind,
A king long banished, who made our days prosperous,
Descends to bed Of death where their fathers rested,
under the guard of the living God.

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It is at the mercy of the humble who prays,
The Lord, who gives and resumes,
Restores to the Exile his country,
Book to exile the Conqueror!
God wanted him to die in France,
That king so great in suffering,

Which of the pains bore the seal;
So that, consoling victim,
From the black threshold of his mausoleum,
He could still see his cradle.

Oh ! Let him sleep in peace in the funerary night!
Has he not forgotten his evils for our misfortunes?
Does he not bequeath us to his generous brother,
who weeps and wipes away our tears?
Did not he, dissipating our political dreams,
Of our age and ancient times
Proclaimed the august treaty?
A wise law which, taming the popular ardor,
Gives equal subjects a tutelary master, a
slave of their liberty!

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On us a King knight watches.
Let him preserve the appearance of heaven!
Let no noise of long awaken
This silent sepulcher!
Alas! The regicide demon,
Who, from the blood of the greedy Bourbons,
Paya of murder their benefits,
Gathered enough victims
These walls, depopulated by crimes,
And repopulated by crimes!

Let him know that the crown never falls!
This high summit escapes its fatal level.
The execution in which kings the mortal body succumbs
To them is but a new coronation.
Louis, loaded with irons by disloyal hands,
Stripped of the royal pumps, The execution in which kings the mortal body succumbs To them is but a new coronation. Louis, loaded with irons by disloyal hands, Stripped of the royal pumps, The execution in which kings the mortal body succumbs To them is but a new coronation. Louis, loaded with irons by disloyal hands, Stripped of the royal pumps,

Without a court, without warriors, without heralds,
Keeping his kingship before the hatchet itself,
Even on the scaffold proved his supreme right,
By giving thanks to his executioners!

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From St. Denis, from St. Helena,
So I was meditating on fate,
Sondering with uncertain view
These great mysteries of death.
Who are you, superb God?
Which arm throws the towers under the grass,
Changes the purple into a shred?
Where does your terrible breath come from?
And what is the invisible hand
Who keeps the keys of the tomb?

Victor Hugo, 1824


Charles-Philippe de France, comte d’Artois, stood beside the solemn corpse of his brother; oh, what a stark contrast! The decomposed body of the old King had been reduced an eye and two legs; his face was charred black; the new King stood with the regal pride that imbues a new champion of France when suddenly the words “His Majesty” are implanted on his person. Beside him, equally affected by the unspeakable weight of the events that had just transpired, stood France’s twenty-sixth Dauphin. The pair of them stood in dread silence, while the doctors and valets prepared the body for embalming and presentation. The next days were conducted in the most austere gravity as the body was prepared for the procession to its ultimate resting place. What was required before all other considerations was the management of steady government; Charles-Phillipe called before his regal person the necessary individuals to make what he considered to be the foremost issue of the day. What else could it be but the expungement of Madame du Cayla from the records? The party that had used Madame Du Cayla for what they called "the edficiation of the kingdom and the honor of religion" sought to efface all traces of her influence. Letters, papers, and everything relating to the intercourse of the late monarch with Madame du Cayla, had disappeared from the cabinet of the king before her friends could take any step in the business. Charles resolved on an annuity of 25,000 francs, and she retired from court into what one could call "splendid obscurity." The matter of personal involvement thus resolved, Charles-Philippe turned to the matters of governance, and for the first time, called his ministers to the Tuileries. One-by-one, the new King, fashioned as Charles X, By the Grace of God, Most Christian King of France and Navarre, received his Council, and one-by-one, the appointments of his predecessor were confirmed. The duc de Sully possessed the entire confidence of Charles X; everything seemed to smile on the new sovereign. The Spanish peninsula and Italy were tranquil—there was a majority in the Chamber of Deputies in harmony with the Peers, and there was great internal prosperity, every branch of domestic industry flourishing. The external influence of France was also great, and her power respected abroad.

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Très haut, très puissant et très excellent Prince, Charles X, par la grâce de Dieu, Roi de France et de Navarre, Roi Très-chrétien

Charles X, for his part, did all he could to ensure favorable public opinion. Immediately after Louis XVIII’s death he told a delegation from the Chamber of Deputies and the Chamber of Peers his determination to faithfully observe the Charter; he granted a wide amnesty to political offenders; and finally, over the objections of Saint-Aignan, he decided to order an immediate cessation to censorship, excluding the most extreme circumstances. Promptly the liberal press heaped praise on the new king, and for several days it was all “a cloudless idyll between Charles X and his people.” The generous character of the monarch was shown in another more remarkable way in regards to his cousins, the duc d’Orléans and the prince de Condé. Louis XVIII mistrusted them both and had maintained a firm distance between the elder branch and the junior branches. Charles X, on the contrary, was profuse in his favors. Orléans and Condé received the title “Son Altesse Royale” (His Royal Highness), as did the legitimate children, and even the sister, Mme Adelaide; the young duc de Chartres was appointed a colonel of a regiment of hussars; and finally the king had an article inserted in the law on the civil list which gave legal sanction to the restoration of the older prince of remainder of the immense appanage of Philippe-Egalite. The new king even offered to give Henri Bourbon the honorable title Marquis de Bonchamps if he surrendered his rights to the inheritance to the crown’s discretion. Now came for the king to meet his people.

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Palais des Tuileries in 1824.
[A quote from Bertier de Sauvigny]: The steady rain that fell on the day of September 27, 1824, did not prevent the Parisian crowds from warmly acclaiming their new king, Charles X, when he made his joyous entrance into the capital. What a change in appearance for royal majesty! Instead of a fat man carried around like an idol in a chair or open carriage, one could now admire an elegant monarch, still young in looks, riding on Arabian steed decked with silver trappings. In his sixty-seventh year Charles X still retained his supreme ease of manners and friendly informality which had previously made him the spoiled child of the Versailles Court and the prince charming of the ladies. A long face framed in short white sideburns, large brown eyes with an almost childish look, and a large protruding lower lip gave him the air of somewhat sheepish benevolence, and yet of some distinction. Mme de Boigne, not noted for her partiality for Charles X, admitted: “I have never seen anybody have so completely the attitude, forms, bearing, and language of the court, so desirable in a prince.” In contrast to Louis XVIII, who had admirers and favorites but no friends, Charles X evoked in his inner circle a sentimental, almost feudal devotion. “When he said ‘Good Morning,” one of them wrote, “his voice seemed to come so from the heart, he had such a gentle way of greeting, that it was impossible not to be moved by it.” One example of his warm-hearted nature; the vicomte de Vaudreuil, after receiving a dressing-down, wrote him a rather strong letter of protest, reminding him that he had been serving him for thirty years. The prince’s note had this reply: “You old fool, stop talking about thirty years of friendship. Tomorrow it will be thirty-four years that I have known and loved you!”

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Entrance of the King into Paris.

It is more difficult to say exactly what was beneath this amicable exterior. A very mediocre intellectual baggage in any case—his early education had been scandalously neglected, and later on he had not bothered much about completing it. Less intelligent than his late brother, no doubt he was not just as much lacking in ability as presumed. Pasquir, just as prejudiced against him as Mme de Boigne, reported that he had once had an occasion to attend a council meeting presided over by the king: “I was at that time impressed by the intelligent way Charles X discerned the principal point in the discussion and by his ability to sum them up. The habit of presiding over the council and of listening to the discussions must have singularly matured his mind.” Other virtues shone through on this point; the king had fine moral qualities; a high sense of his state duty, which made him devote almost all his time to government affairs; a strong desire to preserve the greatness and welfare of his country; a simplicity in taste which made him refuse any sumptuous expenditure for himself, combined with an almost excessive generosity for others. One minister noted: “He had considered his civil list as a sort of loan which borrowed from the nation for the purpose of its grandeurs, was to be repaid by state luxury, magnificence, and services.” Finally, he retained a perfect private dignity—since the death of his last mistress, Mme de Polastron, in 1804—he had sworn to devote all to God, and he has faithfully and scrupulously kept his word. His somewhat formalistic devotion was nevertheless indulgent towards the backslidings of others, and he never frowned upon those who did not share his religious convictions. So what could prevent this excellent man from becoming a good king? Perhaps one thing was that he did not ascend the throne at a time when ordinary qualities were sufficient; it can even be said that his virtues, as well as his weakness, were to hurt them, before, had he been more of a skeptic, more of a playboy, and less a devotee of his kindly duty, more like his royal English counterparts, he would not have come into such consistent conflict with the constitution. If he was to plunge head down into the fight, it was because he was stubbornly faithful to a conception of royal prerogative which was incompatible with a parliamentary regime. The king had once said “That’s true, but in England the houses defined the role of the king, and here the king defined the role of the houses.” In short, his major fault appears to have been a radical inability, not only to accept, but to understand, the point of view of the new generations of Frenchmen raised during the Revolution.

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A frieze of the new King entering Paris shown in the provinces.
The other faults for which he can be claimed, and rightly so, make up a contradictory portrait. In his opinions he was too easily influenced; too frank in his remarks; too careless in the choice of his confidence; and at the same time possessed a conspiratorial frame of mind and proclivity for secret intrigues. The influences of court and church were to have more apparent importance under his reign than that of Louis XVIII, and this was not to prove good for the moral authority of the crown. In this sense, skeptics were unsure if he was ready to last the breaking of the truce, which had occurred when the disappointment inflicted by the king on his temporary panegyrists on his retention of the Sully cabinet. On the Right and Left, the enemies of the president of the council had only raised their voices in praise of the king in order to bring down the ministers. “There existed a unique situation in the history of monarchs,” Chateaubriand wrote, “the general and complete acquiescence to the new reign, alongside the general opposition to the Ministry.” But there was no reason for Charles to put away this Ministry; in fact, this was his Ministry. Had he not put together this ministry himself? And since then had this man [Sully] disqualified himself at all? Instead, were they not indebted to him for the way he managed the transition from one reign to another. So Sully remained, transferring to the new reign the store of resentments with which had had leden the preceding on in its years. The king was now prepared for governance, and eager for coronation. Article LXXIV of the Charter had stipuled the coronation of the king, but Louis XVIII’s informants had obliged him to surrender the idea; his successor had no reason for omitting it. The ceremony in Rheims, permitting the whole nation to participate together in a manifestation of monarchical fervor, would mark, by the brilliance of its display, that France finally had emerged from the withdrawal imposed on her by her misfortunes; it would be an act of faith in the grandeur of her new destinies...
--
PLEASE READ!

The next update will be a "traditional update." It will cover approximately 2.5-3 years. Thus everything you write here in the next session will likely be incorporated into the larger work. All legislation and debates, writings, actions, etc will incorporate this span of time. All players for their votes to count in the longer session must IC at least one; and an actual IC, mind you, use your discretion. I recommend this as a time for period to switch characters, if they wish. Any stragglers should consider this a good tine to join (or re-join)!

Next, there is a new King, so there is a new style. I will be posting "private" in-thread 'dictates' to the new Ministry. Charles X will write his own ordinances, in addition to any you suggest. He will also present a list of things he wants the Ministry to execute. He is also more likely to respond to letters, especially if he finds them amicable to his sensibilities.

@Korona receives a +1 PP bonus for becoming Marshal.

There will be a 48 hour proposition period. I recommend the Government stagger their proposals to provide room for debate. There will then be a 24 hour period of just debate, followed by a 24-36 hour period of debate+voting before the next update.
 
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The Barrande estate was rather quiet. The Comtess de L'Isle Jourdain was entertaining some of her lady friends, enjoying their company as hey gossiped over the latest events. Of course they also discussed the death of the King, but in limited detail.

The Comte de L'Isle Jourdain was not in such a cheery mood. He busted through the door of the room where his wife was talking, and stood adamant against the other ladies. "My husband, I am glad you could join..."

"Out!" Interrupted the Comte as he pointed to the other ladies. The other ladies gathered up their things and left the room. When they closed the door behind them, the Comte procured a set of letters and threw them in front of his wife. His wife immedietly knew what these letters were. They were from St. Germain, the banker. The Comte stared as his wife looked in anguish over the letters. "How far did you go?" Asked the Comte. His wife remained in a stunned silence. "How far!?!" Shouted the Comte. The wife still remained silenced. "I trusted you... I believed that you would not stoop to your past life, that you would not devolve into being another man's mistress like you did with Condé. But now, this..." he held up the letters, "this is in the public sphere! All of France may as well know of you and that banker! I trusted that you would abandon your past life, but you may very well still embrace it." Said the Comte, as his backed turned on Sophia. "I was fighting a war, while you were writing letters to another man!" Said the Comte, moreso to himself then his wife.

The Comte took a long breath, and looked back over to his wife. "If I cannot trust that you abandoned your past, I might as well ensure that it is forced out of you." He said as he snapped his fingers and a squad of guards appeared. "Until I can trust you without my supervision, until I am absolutely certain you will not devolve back to your old ways, you are not to leave this estate without my supervision. These men will ensure of that. I didn't want it to come to this, but you forced my hand..." he said as he stormed out of the room
 
((Commentary written in Le Courrier français and Le Constitutionnel)).

In Rememberance of King Louis the Desired.

King Louis XVIII, the King for all of France and her people passed away. Today all French are united in sorrow, just like he united the people around him when it mattered the most. After the message of his all too early death, the message spread all around France - and beyond. The message brought together an intense feeling of solidarity and community all over France and Navarre. A King like that, a King like ours, had the very national unity emboded within himself. A force we could trust while he lived. His actions and force will continue to bind us and France together after his death. King Louis's love for his country and people, were by us all unimpeacheble - and we felt it all the time. But it was all about so much more. He, our King, have taught us all what decency, integrity, respect and devotion mean. A King who lighted the nation up and showed us the road forward. He taught us what duty mean and what allegiance and loyalty is. For more than nine years he were our King - our rallying point. When he ascended the throne in 1814 we all hoped that he would succeed, that he would gain the same foundation of approval among God and the people like his brother - the brave, highly respected and beloved King Louis XVI. King Louis the Desired built and secured a monarchy - who've later been expanded both in width and depth and been reinforced by his brother King Charles X. Like his brother before him King Louis put all his efforts and honor into what is required of a just and noble King - and he were that to the fullest. His will and the will of the people came into full harmony under the Charter and the institutions and councils he most gracefully implemented. He was the Lord of the people and France, and their humble servant. He was both, and he was both all the time. King Louis XVIII was an extraordinary man. Under King Louis our monarchy have been given a new dimension. He were all the time one with his nation, with Heaven guiding his life, that is not difficult to understand on a day like this.

A monarch in our hearts have passed away. King Louis XVIII place in the history of France will forever enlighten history. He were our desired King.

King Louis the Desired was just that - desired. Loved by the people of France, as such were proven by the days of mourning following his death and the show of solidarity in Paris before his death. Now he rest among God as such is clear due to his devout Christian character. He was desired indeed, he was desired as he brought peace and stability to France. Putting an end to the chaos that had followed him, and led the nation and its people during a period of great turmoil.


We put peace upon the memory of King Louis XVIII and hope that all who read this will take one minute of silence in his memory.

-Chef de bataillon Lothaire Lécuyer.
 
A Note on Money:

It is difficult for me to properly estimate the conversion of francs at this time, specifically because the sources I have are mid-20th century. I've thus converted them by inflation to modern USD, but skepticism is still required.

1 franc = (aprox) $1.89
The fare to travel from Paris to Bordeaux was 181 francs ($273)
The Paris Postmaster, an important person with two hundred horses in his stables, earned aprox 112,000 francs ($169,198) a year.
A ton of forged iron was 550 francs ($830)
In order for a noble to be appointed to the Peers, a majorat [that is, a piece of inalienable, indivisible, and unconfiscatable property to pass to the eldest son with the title of peer] minimum was established in 1817; originally it was established as follows

  • Furnish for dukes an income of 30,000 francs ($45,000)
  • Furnish for counts 20,000 francs ($38,000)
  • Furnish for viscounts and barons 10,000 francs ($15,000)
Eventually they tried to extend these provisions to the nobility in general; titles of nobility would only be based on to the sons on the condition that an entailed estate would be provided that would bring an income of 10,000 francs ($15,000) for a marquis, and 5,000 for a viscount ($7,533). These conditions were still too high for the great majority of the nobles with such large families, and the fervor for reform is high.

The urban craftsmen are the "aristocracy of the laboring classes and retain the traditional artisan structure. The destruction of the compagnonnages was never confirmed. Their wages were between 5 francs ($7.55) and 3.25 francs ($4.91) a day, and this was seen as enough to assure them an honest and comfortable living.

The average annual wage of a factory varied between 387 francs ($581.62) and 492 francs ($740.24) with daily wages between .5 to 2.5 francs depending on the region.

A minimum living wage for a family of three was calculated to be 860 francs ($1,299.20). A worker earning less then 600 francs ($906.42) was said to be in dire poverty.

In a residential building on Place Vendôme, one of the best locations in Paris, the second floor was rented for 600 francs ($906.42) a month and the attic apartments for 40 francs ($60) a month. Lower class rents in rougher areas might run from 50 ($75) to 400 ($600) a tear.

The king's annual civil list, had been set at 30,000,000 francs (%45,000,000) a year for Louis XVIII, and 7 million ($10,000,000) for the princes.
 
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l'Élan Journal
The Day Christ Cried

The King has passed. The singular individual of France, the most Loyal to the Church, has gone into the arms of the Lord. A Saint among men, King Louis XVIII will forever be remembered as one of the fathers of the French people, guiding us and protecting us in the aftermath of the Tyrant and his regime of terror and destruction. We all must remember and pay proper homage to the King, and as such l'Elan shall, of it's own desire, print it's cover nationally in black. This represents the loss all of us feel, and the fatherly figure we all now miss.

While we are in remembrance, we must applaud the most capable King Charles X. A devout man, a popular man, a righteous man, he is the choice the Lord made when he gave him to the Royal Family. Although we will properly mourn Louis XVIII, we must be happy that we have one of the foremost men in all of France leading us, with his right hand the most competent duc de Sully.

The King is Dead. Long Live the King!
 
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The Supreme Lodge of France
((PRIVATE - Masons))
Though the overall mood of the nation was fairly jubilant -- who doesn't like a coronation, after all? -- there remained a great deal of concern in liberal circles that the ascension of Charles X would bring about a new wave of repression and persecution. Such feelings were cemented by the underhanded tactics employed by the Ultras in the latest election to secure their supermajority, with liberal candidates forced out of races by a flood of reactionary money and attendant dirty tricks. Many feared that the once-tolerated public avenues of expression would be the subject of scrutiny by the secret police, whose power and infamy had only grown under the benevolent reign of Louis XVIII, and who were now expected to be given free reign by Charles X.

As such, the need for a secret avenue for self-expression and liberal thought became of paramount importance, which happily coincided with Henri Bourbon's deathbed assumption of the dignity of Master of the Supreme Lodge of France. Having been thoroughly instructed in the Supreme Lodge's rites and secrets with the Duke of Piombino's dying breath, and following several overseas trips to Jerusalem and other sacred places, Master Bourbon was now prepared to lead the Supreme Lodge into a new era.

The Worshipful Master inherited a Supreme Lodge much attenuated but still active. In the wake of the papal excommunication, many of the fair-weather Masons had quietly cut their ties with the Lodge, leaving mainly the die-hard liberals, including republicans and Bonapartists. Though the Worshipful Master remained a liberal royalist, he both tolerated and encouraged divergence of thought as well as representation from most schools of thought within the opposition left. Many newly initiated Masons were greatly surprised when they discovered that the Worshipful Master was the famous bastard -- half-royal blood in his veins, they whispered, and a personal letter of sanction from the fallen King Louis XVIII, as well as the deathbed blessing of His Grace the Past Master. That he was the former Minister of the Interior and thus intimately familiar with the methods of the secret police -- rumored even to have extended the hand of mercy to the Abbe Gregoire and allowed him a lenient prison sentence -- made his growing legend fearsome indeed. Through private instruction and a renewed commitment to bi-weekly meetings, the Worshipful Master elevated many of the remaining faithful, raising up a new cadre of committed Master Masons who could instruct the new recruits.

For new recruits there would be. In liberal salons and coffee houses, a quiet war for the hearts and minds of the liberal intelligentsia and the men of quality among the opposition began. The Supreme Lodge offered each of them the kind of sparkling, free-range discussion that would result in fines or even jail time in the press or in the public square. Moreover, it offered the opportunity to create a covert network of support among those most likely to be targeted by the coming persecutions. One man alone could be destroyed, but when he drew his strength from the united Lodge, he would not be destroyed without substantial consequence.

The Worshipful Master is dead. Long live the Worshipful Master.
 

MEMO TO THE BOARD OF CHARBON FRANCAISE
@Luftwafer @Davout
Private: Board of Charbon Francaise - Col. Jean-Luc Gottoliard and Former Finance Minister Jacques Rothschild

Gentlemen,

I suggest we immediately move forward with the mine rehabilitation plan. Boardmember Gottoliard has already put forth his third of the 100k francs needed. I hereby put forward my own contribution and now we only need Boardmember Rothschild to do the same.

((When Davout gives his permission for his part of expenditure, I'll message King with the order to renovate the mines and turn Charbon Francaise into an actual important mining company from its current mostly slumbering state.))

Your colleague,

M. Thibaut Duval

***

MEMO TO THE BOARD OF BANQUE DE SEINE
@Maxwell500
Private: Board of Banque de Seine - Duc de Sully, President of the Council of State of the Kingdom of France

To the Personal Secretary of His Grace,

The state of inheritance law in France, long neglected, divides land among the sons of the deceased. While the hated inheritance tax has been repealed, this painful split of small holdings into unsustainable plots is a cross being born by the farmers of the nation. As Chairman, I have seen Seine Bank rest on its laurels after expanding branches to the remote frontiers of the Kingdom. In the spirit of revitalization that comes with the mournful passing of one monarch and the blessed coronation of his rightful heir, I wish permission from the board to set up a private Rural Community Loan Program - to provide not only funds for agricultural operations but create a legal framework of cooperatives in lines with the "obschina" of Russia, so that the lands that have been forcibly split might be combined in harmony into sustainable, workable plots of land. This pilot program, if successful, could eventually apply for financial support from the Bank of France, once the current conflict of interest is no longer an issue. For now, it would be a more modest, private program using the resources of the Seine Bank.

((If I get your go ahead, I will include this in my orders to King for this 2-3 year period))

I eagerly await His Grace's thoughts on this matter.

Your most obedient servant,
M. Thibaut Duval, Bank Chairman

***

CORRESPONDENCE WITH HENRI BOURBON
@etranger01
Private: Former Interior Minister Henri Bourbon

Brother,

I have enjoyed greatly getting to know you better through our organization. The former Worshipful Master was a great man and he would be proud of the way you are leading the Lodge into this new Carolingian period. Future Lecuyer's and Lafitte's might avoid tempting fate thanks to the harmonizing intellectual experiences of the salons you host. A more united liberal movement is not just a distant future however, but a possible reality.

I know it is not right of me to speak to you of such matters, but moved by loyal sentiment I feel I must. I beg you, please write to the Duc d'Orleans and bury the rivalry that exists between you. I know he hurt our former Master, your father in all but name, greatly when he abandoned the Lodge. But he is still a liberal and his political circle should be united with yours.

I have abandoned my grudge against Durand and have eaten my youthful, hasty words. I pray that you may be able to do the same with Orleans.

Furthermore, I would like your blessing to use my connections from my days in the Chamber to reach out once more and attempt to bring Lamarque and the other Liberals into the fold. A single, united liberal movement is worth the trouble and yes, even worth the risk of bringing chivalrous but reckless souls like Lecuyer and "Lancelot" within its ranks. Better for us to take back the banner of liberalism and redeem its name than to continue to traffic in the Doctrinaire label.

Finally, on a more pleasant note, I would like to suggest a joint business venture. The French textile industry holds great potential but, like all of our industry, is woefully underdeveloped. I believe financing one of the more reputable Parisian workshops of leather and textiles, we could modernize haute fashion into a company affair rather than one dominated by tailors patronized by the nobility. The increased grandeur of the Restoration, and now doubling so under the new king, means that the aristocracy of Europe are alive and well and are a desirable market for high-end leather products, patterned fabrics for decor, and clothing. If I am foolish please tell me so, but otherwise please give a little thought to this eccentric dream of mine.

(( With your go ahead I will inquire about the scale of investment needed and the theoretical ROI, and then run that by you before putting in any orders related to this.))

In fraternity,
Thibaut
 
A Letter to the Comte de Saint-Germain ((@Shynka))

Sir

It has recently come to my attention that you have been engaging in rather seductive correspondence with my wife, the Comtess de L'Isle Jourdain. I have had no quarrel with you, sir, up until this point, and I wish for this situation to be resolved in a dignified manner.

You will cut off the relationship you have with my wife, cease all correspondence, and never approach her again.

-Nathanaël Barrande, Comte de L'Isle Jourdain