by phillipw | May 31, 2020 | CH, Ta
Young Talleyrand ……………… Now I ask you, who could judge, just looking At ce gosse of sixteen, what kind of trick- [ce gosse=this kid] ster he’d become? Front of Jove, no hooking Nose, a lawn cravat (only its white...
by phillipw | May 31, 2020 | CH, Ta
Victor “and he limped like the devil himself”— Victor Hugo This spitefulness arises in a man When meeting someone larger than himself, When he encounters someone greater than His own capacities; makes him an elf— Or Quasimodo—in comparison,...
by phillipw | May 31, 2020 | BR, CH, CO, DE, Ta
Trinkets The atheistic Charles de Talleyrand Had all the little perquisites a man Could hope for (with the exception of brawn In leg). Whatever his luck didn’t span, The women in his life took action to Correct. The Countess de Brionne...
by phillipw | May 31, 2020 | CH, FR, GE, PA, Ta
Talleyrand by François Gérard: a Crippled Sonnet ……………~ commonswikimedia.org He isn’t looking quite askance at us From oils and frame. The gilt surrounding trim, The mouldings, desk, rectangle-rimmed canvas) Are as close as...
by phillipw | May 29, 2020 | AD, CH, FL, GO, HE, MO, PR, RO, SE, ST, Ta
Talleyrand & Gouveneur Morris Crippled Twinning “Your character is such that you destroy Unhappiness much faster than can fate Create its sadnesses,” said Monstesquiou To Adelaïde, who had the lovely trait Of being charming Countess de Flahaut— Which meant that...
by phillipw | May 28, 2020 | BY, CH, DU, GE, LO, Ta
[The following sonnet may offend some readers. Do not read it if you think you may be offended.] Talleyrand and duc di Biron These two engaged in a competition With long dead Baron Byron–the French lords T and Duc de Biron . The ambition Was for them to strike...
