He lodged his wife in an _appartement_ in the rue Saint-Georges, which
he bought ready-furnished from Lolotte. Madame Bridau the younger
thought it delightful, and her husband rarely set foot in it. Without
her knowledge, Philippe purchased in the rue de Clichy, at a time when
no one suspected the value which property in that quarter would one
day acquire, a magnificent hotel for two hundred and fifty thousand
francs; of which he paid one hundred and fifty thousand down, taking
two years to pay the remainder. He spent large sums in altering the
interior and furnishing it; in fact, he put his income for two years
into this outlay. The pictures, now restored, and estimated at three
hundred thousand francs, appeared in such surroundings in all their
beauty.
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.
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