Frankie Goes to the Hofburg, or Napoléon II, Regent of Austria?
I think he might. IIRC there still was a large number of non-French-speaking kids who were taught in regional languages by the Church at the time OTL so I suppose you could have French become the main language but still classes in regional languages.
Maybe children are taught to speak French as soon as they go to school, with other subjects being taught in their native tongue and as they grow older, more and more subjects are taught in French as they're supposed to have become fluent in it, while regional tongues become a subject like any other.
well, this is Henri, and even with a "modern" education courtesy of Frankie, I don't see that moving the needle from his wanting the clergy to be the main teachers. In fact, wasn't that why the 3e Republic enforced the secularization of education to start with? Because the clergy was largely conservative/monarchist?
but yes, it was.I'm curious, would Angoulême and Henri expand the war in Algiers to Morocco (as happened in later 1844 when Abd-el-Kader fled to Morocco) or would they see him fleeing as an excuse to sign a treaty?
Ok but I am loving the idea of minority languages in France doing better here compared to OTL
Hark, Hark! Just Now My Listening Ears
Soundtrack: Johann Strauss I - Musikalischer Telegraph Waltz
*exterior* *Paris* *shooting party at Rambouillet* *we see Madame Royal aiming a gun* *followed by the loud retort* *she hands the gun to a bearer amidst a smattering of light applause* *then the Grand Duchess Charlotte steps up to take aim* *she coolly aims the gun*
*cut to the dining room at Rambouillet* *around the table are Angoulême, Madame Royal, the duchesse de Berri, Prince Paul of Württemberg, Grand Duchess Charlotte, Henri, and Charlotte's daughter, Elizabeth "Lili" Mikhailovna*
*cut to a salon at Rambouillet* *in the salon, Alphonse Foy and Louis Breguet are demonstrating their new needle telegraph to the royals [1]*
Angoulême: so to make sure I understand this correctly, Monsieur Foy, this is supposed to be an improvement on the optical telegraph system currently in use?
Foy: yes, your Majesties...the recent...disturbance...in France has showed that while only the semaphore towers needed to be defended from attacks, they were, nevertheless, not exactly useful when the weather was bad, or if communication by night was required.
Henri: *leaning back in chair* well, if Orléans had had this, we'd still be sitting in Vienna. *looks aghast at what he just said* too soon?
Charlotte: and you would be able to communicate between here...and say...Paris...with this?
Breguet: indeed, your Imperial Highness. We did attempt to interest the duc d'Orléans in the device, but it was never used except on the Paris to Versailles railway. And unfortunately, there were some that blamed it for causing the crash of 1842 [2]
Lili: I thought that was an accident?
Foy: it was, your Imperial Highness, the telegraph had nothing to do with it, although sadly, it...did little to endear the project to his Royal Highness.
Madame Royal: and now you wish for the king to endorse such a project? Surely you can't ask him to be endangering the lives of his subjects if that was the result [3]?
Breguet: we wouldn't dream of it, your Majesty-
Henri: Tante...If the duc had had this, he would've been able to receive a more reliable picture from the country garrisons and been able to stop us. If we had had this in 1830, Grandpapa could've communicated with the loyal soldiers in the provinces to march on Paris and the last ten years would not have happened. It would transmit the messages much faster than a courier with a fast horse could do.
Madame Royal: and if the duc had had such a contraption *looks at Breguet-Foy's model skeptically* what would've stopped you from sending misleading messages about what you plan to do?
Foy: that is, unfortunately, a valid concern, your Majesty. However, that would be a concern no matter how we were to arrange communications, we would be unsure as to how accurate the news is until it can be confirmed by one of the other stations. Fortunately, the rate of transmission would be much faster than what it is currently is, so we would be able to confirm it sooner.
Lili: what if there were to be a certain signal for each station? For instance, a random combination of letters or numbers, to serve as a watermark. Only known to the stationmaster or the operator. A message that does not have the code on the end can be disregarded?
Breguet: *presents her with a pamphlet* as you can see, your Imperial Highness, we've developed a code for the telegraph from my father and Monsieur La Chappe's system [4]. It would make it that the current operators would not have to be taught how to recognize new signals-
Angoulême: it would not be too difficult for them then to simply be taught a simple code, surely?
Breguet: unfortunately, Majesty, it was the reason we rejected Mr. Morse's code- with the literacy rates in France being far lower in the provinces than they are in in England or America, we deemed it imprudent to depend on spelling or letters, but rather on simple things that the men could understand.
Henri: leaving aside the education factor for the moment, would it not be better to establish a school, geared specifically towards training operators?
Foy: establishing a school is one thing, your Royal Highness, but we would need students... In rural areas it would be particularly difficult to encourage such interest. I'm afraid city boys will not fancy being assigned to the country.
Breguet: and country boys usually would join the army rather than remain trapped in a town where little happens. If only for the appeal to girls, *looks at Charlotte, Lili and Madame Royal apologetically* my apologies for being crude, Mesdames.
Caroline de Berri: what about having the army man them?
*everyone looks at her*
Caroline: *half-exasperatedly like when a simple idea goes everyone else's head* Riton, all those men who fought for you cannot remain permanently in Paris. Especially if you do not intend to continue this war in Algiers now that the pasha has fled. You will need to bring the soldiers there home-
Henri: and most of them are dyed in the wool Orléanists, maman. That's exactly why we haven't brought them home.
Caroline: you'll have to conquer all the way to Timbuktu before Orléans' supporters have all died off. Napoléon couldn't do it in twenty years.
Angoulême: *cutting Henri off before he can say anything* your mother is right, Riton, we cannot leave those soldiers stranded in Africa indefinitely in the hopes they will to put it bluntly... be killed off or grow disillusioned with their devotion with their dedication to Orléans now that he is dead-
Madame Royal: you would put France in the hands of those Jacobins?
Charlotte: the fact is, your Majesty, that France, at the moment, has two armies. Three if we count the National Guard. It is why my brother-in-law is in London. He fears that France's army being... so large is a sign that she intends to make trouble.
Madame Royal: we disbanded the National Guard.
Charlotte: just because an army is disbanded doesn't mean it goes away, Majesty.
Caroline: most turn to brigandage and thievery. And hoping the National Guard would just quietly turn into a gendarmerie hasn't worked.
Madame Royal: so we are to disband loyal soldiers to receive disloyal ones?
Henri: *suddenly* no, Tante. What Maman is suggesting is that we have a loyal cadre of supporters who are currently hanging around Paris. Too many for the gendarmerie and the Garde Française, many of them are farm boys. I dare say that if we leave them in Paris, they will catch the same cold the same way the National Guard did in 1789. The Garde are the ones who wished to stay in Paris. But many of the others wanted to go home once we got here safely. Paris is expensive, they find their pay insufficient, and they get up to all sorts of mischief. If we were, Messieurs Foy and Breguet, to volunteer the ones who wish to return home, to learn how to become an operator first, it would negate the need for a code at the end, since they've demonstrated their loyalty to the crown. They would then fall under the marquis du Vaulchier [minister of posts]'s supervision rather than the army. Since many of them have served six months or more, they know how to fight if need be, and would relieve the army of the cost of guarding the lines. They would keep their military rank - if they so wish- and they' s learn a valuable skill, so they don't need to go back to pushing a plough. *to Foy* tell me Monsieur Breguet, aside from learning the code, would it be very difficult to learn how to operate the machine?
Breguet: aside from if the need to learn to transmit a message, a child could do it.
Henri: good. There's your first class of students.
*fade to black*
[1] new as in they developed it in 1842 from Morse's device (exhibited in France in 1838) and combined the Cooke-Wheatstone telegraph in England with the La Chappe optical telegraph used in France.
[2] 8 May 1842, first railway accident in French history. The train derailed, and the contents of the firebox were scattered setting a second locomotive alight and killing between fifty and two hundred people
[3] Madame Royal is trying her best to understand the concept, but unlike Angoulême-Henri, she hasn't kept up with technological developments. So it's a bit like explaining to your grandma who spent the first seventy years of her life without a computer how her new laptop works
[4] Foy-Breguet essentially copied the "signal book" of Breguet's father (Abraham Louis Breguet) and Claude la Chappe for the optical telegraph. There's some speculation that the code La Chappe came up with during the Revolution was actually based on a signal book already in use by the Ancien Regime post office.
@The_Most_Happy @isabella @VVD0D95 @Jan Olbracht @Ramontxo @HortenseMancini @Anarch King of Dipsodes @Dragonboy @kaiidth @SavoyTruffle @Wendell @nathanael1234 @Fehérvári @Guatemalan Nat-Synd @Valena @maw @LordMartinax @EmmettMcFly55 @Aghasverov
*exterior* *Paris* *shooting party at Rambouillet* *we see Madame Royal aiming a gun* *followed by the loud retort* *she hands the gun to a bearer amidst a smattering of light applause* *then the Grand Duchess Charlotte steps up to take aim* *she coolly aims the gun*
*cut to the dining room at Rambouillet* *around the table are Angoulême, Madame Royal, the duchesse de Berri, Prince Paul of Württemberg, Grand Duchess Charlotte, Henri, and Charlotte's daughter, Elizabeth "Lili" Mikhailovna*
*cut to a salon at Rambouillet* *in the salon, Alphonse Foy and Louis Breguet are demonstrating their new needle telegraph to the royals [1]*
Angoulême: so to make sure I understand this correctly, Monsieur Foy, this is supposed to be an improvement on the optical telegraph system currently in use?
Foy: yes, your Majesties...the recent...disturbance...in France has showed that while only the semaphore towers needed to be defended from attacks, they were, nevertheless, not exactly useful when the weather was bad, or if communication by night was required.
Henri: *leaning back in chair* well, if Orléans had had this, we'd still be sitting in Vienna. *looks aghast at what he just said* too soon?
Charlotte: and you would be able to communicate between here...and say...Paris...with this?
Breguet: indeed, your Imperial Highness. We did attempt to interest the duc d'Orléans in the device, but it was never used except on the Paris to Versailles railway. And unfortunately, there were some that blamed it for causing the crash of 1842 [2]
Lili: I thought that was an accident?
Foy: it was, your Imperial Highness, the telegraph had nothing to do with it, although sadly, it...did little to endear the project to his Royal Highness.
Madame Royal: and now you wish for the king to endorse such a project? Surely you can't ask him to be endangering the lives of his subjects if that was the result [3]?
Breguet: we wouldn't dream of it, your Majesty-
Henri: Tante...If the duc had had this, he would've been able to receive a more reliable picture from the country garrisons and been able to stop us. If we had had this in 1830, Grandpapa could've communicated with the loyal soldiers in the provinces to march on Paris and the last ten years would not have happened. It would transmit the messages much faster than a courier with a fast horse could do.
Madame Royal: and if the duc had had such a contraption *looks at Breguet-Foy's model skeptically* what would've stopped you from sending misleading messages about what you plan to do?
Foy: that is, unfortunately, a valid concern, your Majesty. However, that would be a concern no matter how we were to arrange communications, we would be unsure as to how accurate the news is until it can be confirmed by one of the other stations. Fortunately, the rate of transmission would be much faster than what it is currently is, so we would be able to confirm it sooner.
Lili: what if there were to be a certain signal for each station? For instance, a random combination of letters or numbers, to serve as a watermark. Only known to the stationmaster or the operator. A message that does not have the code on the end can be disregarded?
Breguet: *presents her with a pamphlet* as you can see, your Imperial Highness, we've developed a code for the telegraph from my father and Monsieur La Chappe's system [4]. It would make it that the current operators would not have to be taught how to recognize new signals-
Angoulême: it would not be too difficult for them then to simply be taught a simple code, surely?
Breguet: unfortunately, Majesty, it was the reason we rejected Mr. Morse's code- with the literacy rates in France being far lower in the provinces than they are in in England or America, we deemed it imprudent to depend on spelling or letters, but rather on simple things that the men could understand.
Henri: leaving aside the education factor for the moment, would it not be better to establish a school, geared specifically towards training operators?
Foy: establishing a school is one thing, your Royal Highness, but we would need students... In rural areas it would be particularly difficult to encourage such interest. I'm afraid city boys will not fancy being assigned to the country.
Breguet: and country boys usually would join the army rather than remain trapped in a town where little happens. If only for the appeal to girls, *looks at Charlotte, Lili and Madame Royal apologetically* my apologies for being crude, Mesdames.
Caroline de Berri: what about having the army man them?
*everyone looks at her*
Caroline: *half-exasperatedly like when a simple idea goes everyone else's head* Riton, all those men who fought for you cannot remain permanently in Paris. Especially if you do not intend to continue this war in Algiers now that the pasha has fled. You will need to bring the soldiers there home-
Henri: and most of them are dyed in the wool Orléanists, maman. That's exactly why we haven't brought them home.
Caroline: you'll have to conquer all the way to Timbuktu before Orléans' supporters have all died off. Napoléon couldn't do it in twenty years.
Angoulême: *cutting Henri off before he can say anything* your mother is right, Riton, we cannot leave those soldiers stranded in Africa indefinitely in the hopes they will to put it bluntly... be killed off or grow disillusioned with their devotion with their dedication to Orléans now that he is dead-
Madame Royal: you would put France in the hands of those Jacobins?
Charlotte: the fact is, your Majesty, that France, at the moment, has two armies. Three if we count the National Guard. It is why my brother-in-law is in London. He fears that France's army being... so large is a sign that she intends to make trouble.
Madame Royal: we disbanded the National Guard.
Charlotte: just because an army is disbanded doesn't mean it goes away, Majesty.
Caroline: most turn to brigandage and thievery. And hoping the National Guard would just quietly turn into a gendarmerie hasn't worked.
Madame Royal: so we are to disband loyal soldiers to receive disloyal ones?
Henri: *suddenly* no, Tante. What Maman is suggesting is that we have a loyal cadre of supporters who are currently hanging around Paris. Too many for the gendarmerie and the Garde Française, many of them are farm boys. I dare say that if we leave them in Paris, they will catch the same cold the same way the National Guard did in 1789. The Garde are the ones who wished to stay in Paris. But many of the others wanted to go home once we got here safely. Paris is expensive, they find their pay insufficient, and they get up to all sorts of mischief. If we were, Messieurs Foy and Breguet, to volunteer the ones who wish to return home, to learn how to become an operator first, it would negate the need for a code at the end, since they've demonstrated their loyalty to the crown. They would then fall under the marquis du Vaulchier [minister of posts]'s supervision rather than the army. Since many of them have served six months or more, they know how to fight if need be, and would relieve the army of the cost of guarding the lines. They would keep their military rank - if they so wish- and they' s learn a valuable skill, so they don't need to go back to pushing a plough. *to Foy* tell me Monsieur Breguet, aside from learning the code, would it be very difficult to learn how to operate the machine?
Breguet: aside from if the need to learn to transmit a message, a child could do it.
Henri: good. There's your first class of students.
*fade to black*
[1] new as in they developed it in 1842 from Morse's device (exhibited in France in 1838) and combined the Cooke-Wheatstone telegraph in England with the La Chappe optical telegraph used in France.
[2] 8 May 1842, first railway accident in French history. The train derailed, and the contents of the firebox were scattered setting a second locomotive alight and killing between fifty and two hundred people
[3] Madame Royal is trying her best to understand the concept, but unlike Angoulême-Henri, she hasn't kept up with technological developments. So it's a bit like explaining to your grandma who spent the first seventy years of her life without a computer how her new laptop works
[4] Foy-Breguet essentially copied the "signal book" of Breguet's father (Abraham Louis Breguet) and Claude la Chappe for the optical telegraph. There's some speculation that the code La Chappe came up with during the Revolution was actually based on a signal book already in use by the Ancien Regime post office.
@The_Most_Happy @isabella @VVD0D95 @Jan Olbracht @Ramontxo @HortenseMancini @Anarch King of Dipsodes @Dragonboy @kaiidth @SavoyTruffle @Wendell @nathanael1234 @Fehérvári @Guatemalan Nat-Synd @Valena @maw @LordMartinax @EmmettMcFly55 @Aghasverov
Question about the Silesian weavers, Nikolai tells Victoria that it was essentially a Prussian only incident. But such risings seldom respect borders, and the czar does point out that many of the workers seem to regard Frankie as being on their side without elaborating why theythink so aside from his Polonophilic tendencies. TBH, Frankie's friendship and rncouragement of industry would seem to indicate that Nikolai reasons correctly. After all, Frankie for all his "favour of improving the lives of the Venetians" does not seem to have bought into the Saint-Simonian socialism of his cousin, Napoléon III, or Henri, Albert, Montizon and D.Sebastião. is there any way that Frankie will be able to somehow be able the weavers' demands for the halting of industrialization and his own attempts to improve things? Or is he going to have to pick a side? After all, Napoléon III tried to portray himself as "all things to all men" and only succeeded in screwing himself over by undermining his support from the peasantry by favouring the industrialists. After all, if Frankie yields here, he opens himself up for another shakedown in future
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@Fehérvári @marcinL @Jan Olbracht @Zygmunt Stary @Tibi088
Well this looks like a nice development for France. Hopefully henri’s idea can be implemented successfully.
That they do. After all, they've been there less than a year, and I think there are likely already murmurs that they aren't doing anything (mostly their projects, like education, policing and street lighting don't benefit anyone outside a certain demographic (which isn't eligible to vote (yet) anyway: the urban poor). So I think they need something urgently. After all, the rising number of unemployed soldiers and the economic slump that would follow a war, plus the drought of 1844 (so bad they apparently had to "import" water in places that summer) and the coming famine aren't exactly things that inspire confidence in the new regime.
Its sort of like Mary Tudor's reign: everyone always goes off about how bad it was (and blames Mary's Catholicism) neglecting to remember that, had Elizabeth succeeded in 1553 she would've faced the same problems with a debased coinage, ruined harvests due to unseasonal cold and wet, a disease outbreak etc etc.
Here's hoping. And with Henri's patronage, like with the railways, hopefully France doesn't waste money by allowing a bunch of separate people to build railways and then have to rebuild them to get a uniform network that all runs on the same gage. Same with the telegraph, OTL, France essentially had to make the electrical telegraphy backwardly compatible with the optical telegraph to avoid having to retrain operators (and then under the Second Empire they had to retrain them anyway to the Morse system once it was linked with England and Germany). TTL Henri gives them a bunch of guys they can train from scratch. It might not work so well in practice, but royal encouragement is a good reason for both these army boys to do it, the chambers to approve it and Foy-Breguet to bow to it
You can say that again, every new regime, specially one as changing as France's needs to prove themselves worthy of their position to remain in it. Hopefully Louis and Henru will pull it off, france needs them even if everyone has yet to realize it.
Those Eyes, That Form, That Lofty Mien
Soundtrack: Antônio Carlos Gomes - Il Guarany - Ouverture
*exterior* *Forte Santa Cruz, Forte Copacobana and Forte São João fire a resounding salute as a squadron of vessels steam into Guanabara Bay*
*cut to the Paço Imperial* *the young emperor, D. Pedro II is sitting in a council meeting when we hear the returning Salvo from the ships' guns* *we see him counting them by tapping his fingers on the arm of his chair* *after it goes above a certain number his whole mood shifts to that of a schoolboy watching the clock for the final bell* *while he continues making notes on the pad in front of him, one can see by his whole mood that he's mentally left the building*
*cut to the reception hall of the Paço that evening* *Pedro II is standing next to Dowager Empress Amélie and his half-sister, the Infanta Maria Amélia*
Usher: Her Imperial Highness, Januaria of Brasil, His Royal Highness, the Prince de Joinville!
Janvière: *clearly pregnant* *steps forward* *curtseys to her brother* Sire. *kisses his hand*
Pedro II: *raises her from her obeissant* *kisses her cheek* our dearest sister. Words cannot express how delighted we are to have you returned to us in such fortuitous circumstances.
Janvière: your Majesty is too kind.
Pedro II: *presents his hand to be kissed to Joinville*
Joinville: *baulks at it[1]* *but Pedro doesn't withdraw his hand* *few moments of chilly silence before Joinville - clearly grudgingly - bends to kiss the hand*
Pedro II: *to Joinville* may I express my condolences on the loss of your father, the duc d'Orléans.
Joinville: I accept that knowing that your Majesty speaks from the heart.
Pedro II: *tone like "conversation is over"* may I present her Majesty, the Dowager Empress of Brasil *smoothly hands Joinville off to Amélie*
Usher: Her Imperial and Royal Highness, the Archduchess Auguste of Austria, Princess of Tuscany [2]
*sudden silence over the hall as Auguste enters* *she's wearing a pale yellow dress in the latest European fashion, with a green bodice and sleeves, bare shoulders* *no jewellery aside from the rose buds in her hair*
Pedro II: *looks at her* *we see him swallow* *he tugs at the edges of his sleeves* *and seems one step away from checking his hair*
*we see courtiers flicking open fans to speak* *after all, they're not quite sure what to make of this girl* *who has arrived in Brasil without even a maid [3]*
Auguste: *stops before Pedro, his stepmother and half-sister*
Pedro II: *in Italian* welcome to Brasil, Madame, *makes a polite little speech to her*
Auguste: *in perfect Brasilian accented Portuguese* your Majesty, I am honoured to be here. And I ask that you speak Portuguese to me, as to the rest of your Majesty's subjects.
*if this were a cartoon, Pedro's heart would likely be pounding out of his chest*
*cut to the wedding ceremony* *followed by the ball*
Empress Amélie: *dancing with her brother, Maximilien* I take it you are happy to be returning to Europe, Max?
Max: hopefully the next assignment the emperor gives me will be somewhat closer to home [4].
Amélie: *smiling* but then you wouldn't have a ship full of samples to take home.
Max: *gives her a look like "you know me too well"* *looks at Pedro and Auguste waltzing past* *talking philosophy* you think she'll make him happy?
Amélie: *smiles sweetly at some of her "opponents" [5] as she passes* with God's help, we'll all be happy. *quieter* and at least the papers can stop printing that I'm having an affair with my stepson [6]
Max: I wondered if there wasn't a reason you mentioned that you might be returning to Europe with me.
Amélie: rumours I can handle, Max. Nothing I haven't heard in the last ten years. But now that he has a wife and a hostess, my position here is superfluous. Besides *looks at Joinville* don't want to force Pierre to choose between me and his sister when it comes to dealing with that patch of land in Santa Catarina.
Max: you don't know that he will-
Amélie: it's only a matter of time until the matter is raised. And I do not wish to be here if it does. They'll find that the place has been very well tended for them. As for Gustl *looks at the new empress* she will already face enough opposition from those who wished for another candidate, she's marked as my choice. Which means that my staying here is only going to make life more difficult for her.
Max: and how will the Dowager Empress be spending her time? Returning to Venice?
Amélie: I can't go back to Frankie. Not now. If he's regent, then no doubt soon enough there will be mutterings in Vienna that he gives Amélia and I preference over anyone else. So I think an arm's length from that would be best. After all...it's still so...unsettled there.
Max: you think Metternich will make another play?
Amélie: Mamma thinks so. Says that the man has a disease, it's in his blood, to be at the top of the pyramid- or at least next to the man at the top- and the only cure for that disease is death. [7]
Max: you think the emperor was too lenient with him.
Amélie: I think Frankie needs to watch his step. Metternich is like the Devil, you kick him out the front door and he'll come back down the chimney.
Max: you think this business in Silesia will be the chimney?
Amélie: hardly. Metternich would've traded the Silesians back to Prussia in a heartbeat. His policies, Prussia's policies, not much difference. But they're hopeful that Frankie will offer them something better.
Max: such as?
Amélie: that's the problem. While his idea for limiting the hours that children under fifteen can work - and insisting that they attend school at least three days a week - seems good on paper, I'm not sure families that rely on their children's earnings would agree. A factory owner can be fined if they do not allow it, but who does the fine go to? The treasury. So you're taking from the poor and from the rich, and you're not giving anything back-
Max: didn't you say that he'd also obliged them to fence off the dangerous machinery for when the children worked? And that they're all now obliged to provide care for their workers similarly to what Herr Leitenberger does?
Amélie: how many businessmen will divert their own profits for that? God knows, there are enough poor here who'd work for a sou, why would a factory owner bother when he can just dump a worker and hire ten more for what it would cost him.
Max: I think you're underestimating the emperor.
Amélie: I think he's underestimating men's greed.
Max: *grinning* perhaps you should go to Vienna, scry into your crystal ball for him.
*one week later* *the entire court is assembled for the presentation of the new French ambassador*
Usher: His Excellency, Eugène Ney [8], Ambassador of France and Navarre!
Ney: *walks up to the throne's steps* *bows* your Majesties.
Pedro II: Monsieur l'Ambassadeur, we bid you welcome to Brasil.
Ney: thank you, Majesty. And I bring you the congratulations of the king of France and Navarre on your happy nuptials. He wishes you every happiness and that you will not suffer from the same misfortune as he does [9]
*cut to cabinet* *Ney is standing opposite Pedro II* *next to a portrait of Henri*
Ney: as your Majesty can see, his Royal Highness would count it as a great boon should you grant your consent for him to marry your sister.
Pedro II: *looks at Henri* my sister, Francisca's marriage, is not a Brasilian matter, as per the constitution. So the person to whom the king of France should be addressing this request should be my sister in Portugal.
Ney: while that is true, your Majesty, the queen of Portugal referred her sister's marriage to your discretion as head of house.
Pedro II: *looks at Ney* then I must unfortunately decline his Majesty's proposal. I mean him no ill-will by my refusal, but I have heard this spiel before. Now I have a sister returned to me and the gaining of a useless brother-in-law as a result. I'm sorry, but I would rather see Francisca married to a chimneysweep than be queen of France. The situation is still too unsettled. I could agree now, and by time your answer arrives back in Europe, there has been another coup and the king has been thrown out again.
Ney: my father assures me that there is no likelihood of that, your Majesty.
Pedro II: that may be true, Monsieur Ney, and if her Majesty, my beloved sister, wishes to agree to it, she may. But I will not fix my stomach on this match.
*fade to black*
[1] this is a bit of "passive aggressive who's the boss?" Pedro (and probably most of the Brasilian government) is annoyed at having been made to look a fool by the return of his sister. After all, he's now stuck with a "useless" brother-in-law thanks to changing currents in Europe.
[2] I know Auguste is technically married to Pedro already, but I figure the Brasilians probably still regard her as single until their wedding.
[3] not that unlikely. Under the ancien regime it was common custom for the groom/groom's parents to insist that the bride arrive without attendants, both to encourage adaptability and to discourage homesickness. Queen Victoria is the last monarch I know of to have insisted on this with Alexandra of Denmark. Likely, onboard ship, Auguste and Janvière were sharing a maid. And let's face it, the courtiers gonna courtier and gossip about her from the minute they laid eyes on her
[4] Max's returning from an "inspection" in Natalia (in South Africa), where his job was to basically ensure that the new German settlers Frankie sent down to Africa play nice with the Afrikaaners. And him stopping in Brasil to see his sister does not seem unlikely. He's essentially Frankie's travelling ambassador. But at the same time, given Max's OTL interests in geology and geography, I wouldn't put it past him to be "mapping" areas and compiling notes
[5] it stands to reason that Amélie would encounter resistance in Brasil. Both by her daughter being elevated to an infanta and her own status being assured by Pedro II. Just not entirely sure who the opposition would be
[6] basing this on Lilian Baels who was accused of the same thing
[7] how Amélie remains as well-informed of what's going on in Vienna
[8] this is Michel Ney's third son. He was envoy to Brasil OTL. France has extended full diplomatic recognition to Brasil
[9] namely, not being able to have children and having a nephew (i.e. an Orléans) as heir. This isn't Angoulême shaking his fist at the heavens about his own childlessness, but rather that he's indicating how...unfortunate...it would be.
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*exterior* *Forte Santa Cruz, Forte Copacobana and Forte São João fire a resounding salute as a squadron of vessels steam into Guanabara Bay*
*cut to the Paço Imperial* *the young emperor, D. Pedro II is sitting in a council meeting when we hear the returning Salvo from the ships' guns* *we see him counting them by tapping his fingers on the arm of his chair* *after it goes above a certain number his whole mood shifts to that of a schoolboy watching the clock for the final bell* *while he continues making notes on the pad in front of him, one can see by his whole mood that he's mentally left the building*
*cut to the reception hall of the Paço that evening* *Pedro II is standing next to Dowager Empress Amélie and his half-sister, the Infanta Maria Amélia*
Usher: Her Imperial Highness, Januaria of Brasil, His Royal Highness, the Prince de Joinville!
Janvière: *clearly pregnant* *steps forward* *curtseys to her brother* Sire. *kisses his hand*
Pedro II: *raises her from her obeissant* *kisses her cheek* our dearest sister. Words cannot express how delighted we are to have you returned to us in such fortuitous circumstances.
Janvière: your Majesty is too kind.
Pedro II: *presents his hand to be kissed to Joinville*
Joinville: *baulks at it[1]* *but Pedro doesn't withdraw his hand* *few moments of chilly silence before Joinville - clearly grudgingly - bends to kiss the hand*
Pedro II: *to Joinville* may I express my condolences on the loss of your father, the duc d'Orléans.
Joinville: I accept that knowing that your Majesty speaks from the heart.
Pedro II: *tone like "conversation is over"* may I present her Majesty, the Dowager Empress of Brasil *smoothly hands Joinville off to Amélie*
Usher: Her Imperial and Royal Highness, the Archduchess Auguste of Austria, Princess of Tuscany [2]
*sudden silence over the hall as Auguste enters* *she's wearing a pale yellow dress in the latest European fashion, with a green bodice and sleeves, bare shoulders* *no jewellery aside from the rose buds in her hair*
Pedro II: *looks at her* *we see him swallow* *he tugs at the edges of his sleeves* *and seems one step away from checking his hair*
*we see courtiers flicking open fans to speak* *after all, they're not quite sure what to make of this girl* *who has arrived in Brasil without even a maid [3]*
Auguste: *stops before Pedro, his stepmother and half-sister*
Pedro II: *in Italian* welcome to Brasil, Madame, *makes a polite little speech to her*
Auguste: *in perfect Brasilian accented Portuguese* your Majesty, I am honoured to be here. And I ask that you speak Portuguese to me, as to the rest of your Majesty's subjects.
*if this were a cartoon, Pedro's heart would likely be pounding out of his chest*
*cut to the wedding ceremony* *followed by the ball*
Empress Amélie: *dancing with her brother, Maximilien* I take it you are happy to be returning to Europe, Max?
Max: hopefully the next assignment the emperor gives me will be somewhat closer to home [4].
Amélie: *smiling* but then you wouldn't have a ship full of samples to take home.
Max: *gives her a look like "you know me too well"* *looks at Pedro and Auguste waltzing past* *talking philosophy* you think she'll make him happy?
Amélie: *smiles sweetly at some of her "opponents" [5] as she passes* with God's help, we'll all be happy. *quieter* and at least the papers can stop printing that I'm having an affair with my stepson [6]
Max: I wondered if there wasn't a reason you mentioned that you might be returning to Europe with me.
Amélie: rumours I can handle, Max. Nothing I haven't heard in the last ten years. But now that he has a wife and a hostess, my position here is superfluous. Besides *looks at Joinville* don't want to force Pierre to choose between me and his sister when it comes to dealing with that patch of land in Santa Catarina.
Max: you don't know that he will-
Amélie: it's only a matter of time until the matter is raised. And I do not wish to be here if it does. They'll find that the place has been very well tended for them. As for Gustl *looks at the new empress* she will already face enough opposition from those who wished for another candidate, she's marked as my choice. Which means that my staying here is only going to make life more difficult for her.
Max: and how will the Dowager Empress be spending her time? Returning to Venice?
Amélie: I can't go back to Frankie. Not now. If he's regent, then no doubt soon enough there will be mutterings in Vienna that he gives Amélia and I preference over anyone else. So I think an arm's length from that would be best. After all...it's still so...unsettled there.
Max: you think Metternich will make another play?
Amélie: Mamma thinks so. Says that the man has a disease, it's in his blood, to be at the top of the pyramid- or at least next to the man at the top- and the only cure for that disease is death. [7]
Max: you think the emperor was too lenient with him.
Amélie: I think Frankie needs to watch his step. Metternich is like the Devil, you kick him out the front door and he'll come back down the chimney.
Max: you think this business in Silesia will be the chimney?
Amélie: hardly. Metternich would've traded the Silesians back to Prussia in a heartbeat. His policies, Prussia's policies, not much difference. But they're hopeful that Frankie will offer them something better.
Max: such as?
Amélie: that's the problem. While his idea for limiting the hours that children under fifteen can work - and insisting that they attend school at least three days a week - seems good on paper, I'm not sure families that rely on their children's earnings would agree. A factory owner can be fined if they do not allow it, but who does the fine go to? The treasury. So you're taking from the poor and from the rich, and you're not giving anything back-
Max: didn't you say that he'd also obliged them to fence off the dangerous machinery for when the children worked? And that they're all now obliged to provide care for their workers similarly to what Herr Leitenberger does?
Amélie: how many businessmen will divert their own profits for that? God knows, there are enough poor here who'd work for a sou, why would a factory owner bother when he can just dump a worker and hire ten more for what it would cost him.
Max: I think you're underestimating the emperor.
Amélie: I think he's underestimating men's greed.
Max: *grinning* perhaps you should go to Vienna, scry into your crystal ball for him.
*one week later* *the entire court is assembled for the presentation of the new French ambassador*
Usher: His Excellency, Eugène Ney [8], Ambassador of France and Navarre!
Ney: *walks up to the throne's steps* *bows* your Majesties.
Pedro II: Monsieur l'Ambassadeur, we bid you welcome to Brasil.
Ney: thank you, Majesty. And I bring you the congratulations of the king of France and Navarre on your happy nuptials. He wishes you every happiness and that you will not suffer from the same misfortune as he does [9]
*cut to cabinet* *Ney is standing opposite Pedro II* *next to a portrait of Henri*
Ney: as your Majesty can see, his Royal Highness would count it as a great boon should you grant your consent for him to marry your sister.
Pedro II: *looks at Henri* my sister, Francisca's marriage, is not a Brasilian matter, as per the constitution. So the person to whom the king of France should be addressing this request should be my sister in Portugal.
Ney: while that is true, your Majesty, the queen of Portugal referred her sister's marriage to your discretion as head of house.
Pedro II: *looks at Ney* then I must unfortunately decline his Majesty's proposal. I mean him no ill-will by my refusal, but I have heard this spiel before. Now I have a sister returned to me and the gaining of a useless brother-in-law as a result. I'm sorry, but I would rather see Francisca married to a chimneysweep than be queen of France. The situation is still too unsettled. I could agree now, and by time your answer arrives back in Europe, there has been another coup and the king has been thrown out again.
Ney: my father assures me that there is no likelihood of that, your Majesty.
Pedro II: that may be true, Monsieur Ney, and if her Majesty, my beloved sister, wishes to agree to it, she may. But I will not fix my stomach on this match.
*fade to black*
[1] this is a bit of "passive aggressive who's the boss?" Pedro (and probably most of the Brasilian government) is annoyed at having been made to look a fool by the return of his sister. After all, he's now stuck with a "useless" brother-in-law thanks to changing currents in Europe.
[2] I know Auguste is technically married to Pedro already, but I figure the Brasilians probably still regard her as single until their wedding.
[3] not that unlikely. Under the ancien regime it was common custom for the groom/groom's parents to insist that the bride arrive without attendants, both to encourage adaptability and to discourage homesickness. Queen Victoria is the last monarch I know of to have insisted on this with Alexandra of Denmark. Likely, onboard ship, Auguste and Janvière were sharing a maid. And let's face it, the courtiers gonna courtier and gossip about her from the minute they laid eyes on her
[4] Max's returning from an "inspection" in Natalia (in South Africa), where his job was to basically ensure that the new German settlers Frankie sent down to Africa play nice with the Afrikaaners. And him stopping in Brasil to see his sister does not seem unlikely. He's essentially Frankie's travelling ambassador. But at the same time, given Max's OTL interests in geology and geography, I wouldn't put it past him to be "mapping" areas and compiling notes
[5] it stands to reason that Amélie would encounter resistance in Brasil. Both by her daughter being elevated to an infanta and her own status being assured by Pedro II. Just not entirely sure who the opposition would be
[6] basing this on Lilian Baels who was accused of the same thing
[7] how Amélie remains as well-informed of what's going on in Vienna
[8] this is Michel Ney's third son. He was envoy to Brasil OTL. France has extended full diplomatic recognition to Brasil
[9] namely, not being able to have children and having a nephew (i.e. an Orléans) as heir. This isn't Angoulême shaking his fist at the heavens about his own childlessness, but rather that he's indicating how...unfortunate...it would be.
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I'd like to think that the suit to Brasil is sort of with the "expectation" that they'll say no, just so that Pedro/Maria can't turn around afterwards and say they weren't asked. Although how do we feel about Henri-Francisca being "best friends"/"penpals"
Good to know. Augusta of Saxony would be a much better match in my opinion OR they could go for an extra fabulous Russian dowry…
and I like Henri and Francisca being good friends