"Congratulate me," he
said, laughing, "that I have not been offered that of postman; I
should have taken it just the same if I had thought I could be
useful." And he added: "It was thought that it would be a sinecure
for me. Far from that, I gave myself up wholly to my new
employment, and I worked so hard at it, than in less than a year
my eyes, previously excellent, were almost ruined. I always
occupied fifteen or twenty places, each more gratuitous than the
others. To make the religion that I practise beloved and to serve
my neighbor, has always seemed to me the best way to serve God. So
I believe that I can say without fear of contradiction that I have
never done any one harm, and that I have always tried to do all
the good possible."
In the month of August, 1824, the Duke of Doudeauville was named
minister of the King's household. In this post he showed
administrative qualities of a high order. In April, 1827, not
wishing to share in a measure that he regarded as both
inappropriate and unpopular, the disbanding of the Parisian
National Guard, he gave in his resignation. "I did not wish," he
said, "to join the Opposition. The popularity given me by my
resignation would have assured me a prominent place, but this role
agreed neither with my character nor with my antecedents. I
resolved on absolute silence and complete obscurity; I even
avoided showing myself in Paris, where I knew that manifestations
of satisfaction and gratitude would be given to me.
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