François-Dominique de Reynaud, Count of MONTLOSIER (1755–183 - Lot 506

Lot n° 506
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François-Dominique de Reynaud, Count of MONTLOSIER (1755–183 - Lot 506
François-Dominique de Reynaud, Count of MONTLOSIER (1755–1838), politician and writer. Autograph letter, Randanne, April 18, 1827; 4 pages, in-8 format, filled with dense handwriting. An interesting political letter. In this letter peppered with Latin quotations, Montlosier assesses the political situation and expresses concern about ecclesiastical dominance and ultramontane tendencies. He foresees a serious crisis: the House of Orléans is helpless in the face of the danger, “given that everything is turning toward 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, unarmed and powerless, are driven to seek refuge with the king and the clergy: “the former in the culpable hopes of a certain counterrevolution, the latter in the honorable or excusable hopes of a certain preservation, an entire people watching as every element of its existence grows old and withers away piece by piece,” not knowing “neither what it wants nor what it can do.” As for the government, it gives “the appearance of universal inertia, amid which a growing exasperation is fermenting on both sides.” There will be no religious and respected prelate, as there was in 1789, to lead the way out of this crisis. “We would have to fall out with the king, with Rome, with the entire clergy, and with a whole mass of the public consisting of misguided consciences influenced by Jesuits and religious orders”; every day, the evil progresses imperceptibly. It would be necessary to mobilize “the members of both chambers 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 principles, will, and action among the leading figures devoted to the monarchy and 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 grow fearful 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 caused us so much harm during the Revolution and who subsequently caused 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 in another era, when the government was heading toward revolution—why not do it today, when it is heading in another direction toward destruction!”… He adds in a postscript that he will submit a petition regarding the ecclesiastical budget at the next session of the Chamber of Peers, after consulting with his friends.
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