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an old book with a page of writing on it and a pen in it
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506 - François-Dominique de Reynaud, Count of MONTLOSIER (1755–183…
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Estimate €300 - €400
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Description
François-Dominique de Reynaud, Count of MONTLOSIER (1755–1838), politician and writer. Autograph letter, Randanne, 18 April 1827; 4 pages, in-8, filled with dense handwriting. An interesting political letter. In this letter, peppered with Latin quotations, Montlosier takes stock of the political situation and expresses concern about ecclesiastical dominance and ultramontane tendencies. He foresees a serious crisis: the House of Orléans is powerless in the face of the danger, ‘given that everything is turning towards a republic’; the clergy is striving for religious domination ‘for its own dominion’ with the support of the king and the pope; the remnants of the nobility, defenceless and powerless, are driven to seek refuge with the king and the clergy: ‘the latter harbouring culpable hopes of a certain counter-revolution, the former harbouring honourable or excusable hopes of a certain preservation, an entire people watching as every element of their existence grows old and withers away piece by piece’, knowing ‘neither what they want nor what they can do’. As for the government, it gives “the appearance of universal inertia, amidst which a growing exasperation is fermenting on both sides”. There will be no religious and respected prelate, as in 1789, to lead the way out of this crisis. ‘It would mean falling out with the King, with Rome, with the entire clergy, and with a whole mass of the public consisting of misguided consciences among the Jesuits and religious orders’; day by day, the evil creeps forward imperceptibly. It would be necessary to mobilise ‘those members of both Houses reputed to be the most extreme in their reactionary doctrines and belonging to the old nobility’, such as Chateaubriand, M. de La Bourdonnais, M. de Lézardière, de Beaumont, etc. ‘Given the nature of the leaders, I see the need for a concerted effort in terms of principles, resolve and action amongst the leading figures devoted to the monarchy and the House of Legitimacy’. He clings to past events, evoking a time when ‘the government, moving in a liberal direction, came so close to revolution that I even saw my liberal friends take fright and, turning in the opposite direction, enact a new electoral law ’ and recalling that ‘a particular political alliance was formed around Monsieur, led by that good and virtuous Mathieu de Montmorency, who nevertheless did us so much harm during the Revolution and who subsequently did us even more harm during the Restoration. ‘What was done then in one direction, why should we not do it in another? What was done at another time, when the government was moving towards revolution, why should we not do it today, when it is moving in another direction towards destruction!’… He adds in a postscript that he will table a petition on the ecclesiastical budget at the next session of the Chamber of Peers, after consulting his friends.
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About the sale Letters and Autograph Manuscripts – Part II
Auction location
Auction time 10/14/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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