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M. de Melac has returned to France, having made a fortune in Guadalope. He is soon after appointed Receiver-general of Dunkirk, in French Flanders, and in 1776 moves there with his family of one son (Bazile, 19) and two daughters (Ernestine, 16 and Clemence, 14). He is a widower and the household is run by the governess Mme de Franval. Bazile is appointed head clerk in his office, but despises bourgeois existence and aspires to be a fashionable gentleman of leisure, leading to constant friction with his father. This conflict is intensified with the arrival in Dunkirk of the young Duke de Civrac, commander of the garrison. He quickly becomes friendly with M. de Melac, who bears a remarkable resemblance to him, and knows many of the Duke’s connections. But his superior qualities increase Bazile’s frustration. There is an incident when Bazile and his friends are arrested for drunkenness but released by the Duke out of consideration for M. de Melac, who is unwell.
The Melacs travel with the Duke to Ypres in Austrian Flanders, where a festival is taking place. There, the Duke is introduced to Ermance de Moncove, sister of Palmira, the bride who has been destined for him from an early age by their two mothers. He is captivated by her vivacity, his feelings appear to be reciprocated, and he begins to wish he were free to make his own choice. While in Ypres, M. Melac and the Duke are involved in a serious carriage accident, and the former’s strong reaction to the young man’s injuries seems to confirm a secret connection. The Duke, convalescent, resolves to tell his friend the story of his family.
His mother, Helesine, daughter of the Marechal de St. Firmin, was advantageously married to his father the Duke de la Piene. But soon after their wedding, the steward Joinville had divulged to his father a terrible secret: he had been a substitute for the true heir who had died in infancy. He was in fact the illegitimate son of Joinville himself, who had led the widowed Duchess to agree to the conspiracy in order to secure her fortune; by this information he hoped to put the Duke de la Piene in his power. But the high-minded Duke immediately resolves to surrender his estate to his uncle, and seek further guidance from his father-in-law, the Marechal. The latter persuades him, in order to avoid scandal, to leave his family and depart for the West Indies, after which he tells Helesine that her husband has been killed in a duel. The Duke is told in turn that his wife and child are dead. Many years later Joinville confesses that in fact the Duke was the genuine son and heir, because the infant that died was a prior substitute; but the truth was concealed from the Duchess Dowager in order to enhance Joinville’s influence.
M. de Meluc, strongly moved by this news, is revealed to be the long-lost father. After leaving France he had settled in Guadalope, and become an accountant at a plantation, eventually marrying the widow of his employer and raising a family. M. de Meluc (now referred to as the Duke de la Piene) and the Duke of Civrac (now referred to as Alphonsus) travel to Paris to arrange the restoration of estates, and a reunion with the Duchess de la Piene, who has never remarried. On the way light relief is provided by an encounter with Bazile and his two dissolute companions, also on the way to the capital. His father’s change of status is concealed, but a friend, the surgeon Vanval is asked to keep an eye on him in Paris, and ends by facilitating his come-uppance and partial reformation. The rest of the family are brought to Paris, and the children of the Duke’s second marriage are legitimised.
The next problem is the marriage of Alphonsus. It seems that all has been providentially ordered when Palmira decides to enter a religious order. But Ermance now suddenly declares that she refuses to marry Alphonsus, and instead loves a cousin, the dandified Count de Selicourt. The latter is a fortune-hunter and has deceived her about the character of Alphonsus. In the end, Palmira admits that she resolved to take the veil to clear the way for the union of Alphonsus and Ermance (having deduced the latter’s feelings from her letters). But now Alphonsus and Palmira find they are well suited, and marry. Ermance discovers the true character of the Count, but is unable to avoid marrying him. Bazile is improved by the discipline of the army.
© 1999 E J Clery / Sheffield Hallam University
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