The accession of Charles X. had brought into still greater court favor
the family of the Duc de Chaulieu, whose eldest son, the Duc de Rhetore,
was in the habit of seeing Philippe at Tullia’s. Under Charles X., the
elder branch of the Bourbons, believing itself permanently seated on
the throne, followed the advice previously given by Marshal
Gouvion-Saint-Cyr to encourage the adherence of the soldiers of the
Empire. Philippe, who had no doubt made invaluable revelations as to the
conspiracies of 1820 and 1822, was appointed lieutenant-colonel in the
regiment of the Duc de Maufrigneuse. That fascinating nobleman thought
himself bound to protect the man from whom he had taken Mariette. The
corps-de-ballet went for something, therefore, in the appointment.
Moreover, it was decided in the private councils of Charles X., to
give a faint tinge of liberalism to the surroundings of Monseigneur the
Dauphin. Philippe, now a sort of equerry to the Duc de Maufrigneuse, was
presented not only to the Dauphin, but also to the Dauphine, who was not
averse to brusque and soldierly characters who had become noted for a
past fidelity. Philippe thoroughly understood the part the Dauphin had
to play; and he turned the first exhibition of that spurious liberalism
to his own profit, by getting himself appointed aide-de-camp to a
marshal who stood well at court.
In January, 1827, Philippe, who was now promoted to the Royal Guard
as lieutenant-colonel in a regiment then commanded by the Duc de
Maufrigneuse, solicited the honor of being ennobled. Under the
Restoration, nobility became a sort of perquisite to the “roturiers”
who served in the Guard. Colonel Bridau had lately bought the estate of
Brambourg, and he now asked to be allowed to entail it under the title
of count. This favor was accorded through the influence of his many
intimacies in the highest rank of society, where he now appeared in
all the luxury of horses, carriages, and liveries; in short, with the
surroundings of a great lord. As soon as he saw himself gazetted in the
Almanack under the title of Comte de Brambourg, he began to frequent the
house of a lieutenant-general of artillery, the Comte de Soulanges.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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