In October 1823 Philippe, armed with a power of attorney from his aunt, returned to Issoudun to wind up his uncle’s estate, a business quickly accomplished, for in March 1824 he was in Paris with sixteen hundred thousand francs, the net value in hard cash of his deceased uncle’s estate, not inclusive of the valuable pictures, which had never been moved from old Hochon’s keeping. Philippe banked his money with Mongenod & Son, the house in which young Baruch Borniche had found a berth, and of whose solvency and honesty old Hochon had given a satisfactory report. This firm took the sixteen hundred thousand francs at six percent per annum, on condition of three months’ notice being given previous to withdrawal of the capital.
One fine day Philippe went to request his mother’s presence at his marriage, the witnesses being Giroudeau, Finot, Nathan, and Bixiou. By the marriage contract Madame Rouget, widow, settled all her possessions on her husband in the event of her dying childless. There were no letters of formal announcement, no party, no display, for Philippe had his own schemes; he took rooms for his wife in the Rue Saint-Georges, an apartment sold ready furnished by Lolotte, which Madame Bridau the younger thought delightful, but where her husband rarely set foot.
Without letting anybody know what he was doing, Philippe purchased for two hundred and fifty thousand francs a house in the Rue de Clichy, at a time when no one suspected the value which property in that part of the town would attain—a magnificent mansion, for which he paid fifty thousand crowns down, the rest to be paid off in two years. He spent enormous sums on the interior and in furnishing it, devoting to this his whole income for two years. The splendid pictures, cleaned and restored, and valued at three hundred thousand francs, were displayed to full advantage.
The accession of Charles X had raised to greater favor than ever the Duc de Chaulieu’s family; and his eldest son, the Duc de Rhétoré, often met Philippe at Tullia’s. In the person of Charles X the elder branch of the Bourbons supposed itself to be definitely seated on the throne, and it followed the advice given at an earlier time by Marshal Gouvion Saint-Cyr to secure the attachment of the soldiers of the Empire. Philippe, who, no doubt, gave valuable information as to the conspiracies of 1820 and 1822, was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel in the Duc de Maufrigneuse’s regiment. This delightful grand gentleman felt himself under an obligation to help the man who had robbed him of Mariette. The corps de ballet were not without some knowledge of this promotion.
It had, moreover, been decided by the wisdom of Charles X’s privy council that His Royal Highness the Dauphin should assume a slight tinge of Liberalism. Hence the great Philippe, now the satellite of the Duc de Maufrigneuse, was presented not only to the Dauphin, but also to the Dauphiness, who was not ill disposed towards blunt manners and military men with a character for fidelity. Philippe quite appreciated the Dauphin’s part, and he took advantage of the first performance of this assumed Liberalism to get himself appointed aide-de-camp to a marshal in favor at Court.
In January 1827 Philippe, transferred to the King’s Bodyguard as Lieutenant-Colonel of the regiment to which the Duc de Maufrigneuse had been appointed, solicited the honor of being allowed to assume a title. Under the Restoration ennoblement became almost a right of the commoners who were promoted to the Guards. Colonel Bridau, having just bought the estate of Brambourg, craved permission to entail the property with the title of Count. This favor he obtained by taking advantage of his connections in the highest circles, appearing with a gorgeous display of carriages and liveries, in short, with the air and style of a lord.
No sooner did Philippe, Lieutenant-Colonel of the most dashing cavalry regiment of the Guards, see his name in the Army List as Comte de Brambourg than he took to hanging about the house of Lieutenant-General the Comte de Soulanges, and paying attention to his younger daughter, Mademoiselle Amélie de Soulanges. The insatiable Philippe, supported by the mistresses of the most influential men, next craved the honor of being made aide-de-camp to Monseigneur the Dauphin. He had the audacity to say to the Dauphiness that “an old officer, wounded in many a battle and familiar with war on a grand scale, might on occasion be of use to His Royal Highness.”
Philippe, who could take the tone of any servility, was, in these high circles, exactly what he ought to be, just as he had been a second Mignonnet at Issoudun. He lived in the greatest style, gave splendid entertainments and dinners, admitting to his house none of his old friends whose position might compromise his prospects. Thus he was pitiless to the companions of his debaucheries. He refused point-blank when Bixiou asked him to speak a word in favor of Giroudeau, who wished to rejoin the service when Florentine threw him over.
“He cannot behave himself,” said Philippe.
“So that was what he said of me!” cried Giroudeau. “And I relieved him of his uncle!”
“We will serve him out,” said Bixiou.
Philippe wanted to marry Mademoiselle Amélie de Soulanges, to be made a general, and to have the command of a regiment of the Bodyguard. He asked for so much that, to keep him quiet, he was made Commander of the Legion of Honor, and of the Order of Saint-Louis.
One evening Agathe and Joseph, walking homewards in the rain, saw Philippe drive past in uniform, covered with Orders; he was lounging in a corner of his handsome coupé, lined with yellow silk, and with a coat-of-arms on the panel surmounted by a Count’s coronet, on his way to an entertainment at the Élysée-Bourbon; he splashed
