In this chapter about the optimism of the consolidating power of a dream-ideal,
that included the paean to benevolent dictatorship in Don Pepe, even Guzman Bento
gets a break: we learn that his reign provided peace and left a lasting legacy
of softened manners. But knowing what Guzman Bento was, the "peace"
of his reign serves as ominous counterpoint to Charles Gould's own "conquest
of peace."