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Premium ROUILLAC
270
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[Royal Family – Chouannerie]
See original version (French)
270
-
[Royal Family – Chouannerie]
See original version (French)
Estimate €600 - €800
Voluntary lot
Description
[Royal Family – Chouannerie]
Louis Stanislas Xavier of France, Count of Provence (1755–1824), the future King Louis XVIII of France
Autograph letter signed ‘Louis’, Gosfield Hall (Essex, England), 14 February 1809, addressed to his loyal secretary and confidant, the Count [de Blacas], 1 page in-4° on laid paper with a British watermark bearing the arms of Britannia
I have received, my dear Count, your letter of yesterday. You would have done far better not to accept a parcel which Monsieur de Puisaye has the audacity to send under my name. However, as I suspect that this parcel contains the so-called evidence he wishes to present to me, my intention is that you should, without delay, summon the members of the commission so that the envelope may be opened and its entire contents read and examined by them. You must take care to inform Mr de Puisaye to send someone to attend, so that he may be present. Do not lose sight, moreover, of the fact that it is time to put an end to such impudence. You know, my dear Count, how much I hold you in esteem.
In February 1809, France was at the height of the First Empire under Napoleon I. The future Louis XVIII had been living in exile since 1791. After wandering across Europe (Verona, Mittau, Warsaw), he found refuge in England from 1807 onwards. The letter is dated at Gosfield Hall, a castle in the county of Essex, made available to him by the Marquis of Buckingham. He resided there with his small court of devoted royalists from 1807 until the summer of 1809, before moving to Hartwell House.
In this letter, written with great firmness, the sovereign in exile expresses his deep irritation at the persistent advances of Joseph de Puisaye (1755–1827). The latter, a former commander-in-chief of the Chouannerie and organiser of the tragic landing at Quiberon in 1795, was at that time seeking by every means to clear his name in the face of accusations of treason and cowardice levelled by the ultra-royalist faction.
The Count of Provence reproached Puisaye for having misappropriated royal correspondence in order to send him his exculpatory memoirs: ‘You would have done far better not to accept a parcel which Mr de Puisaye has the audacity to send under my name. ” Suspecting that the parcel contained the “so-called evidence” of his innocence, the King ordered his minister to urgently convene an official commission to open the envelope. Anxious to ensure justice was done despite his irritation, he demanded a hearing in which both sides could be heard: ‘You must take care to inform Mr de Puisaye to send someone to be present, so that he may attend.’ He concludes, however, succinctly: ‘Do not lose sight of the fact, moreover, that it is time to put an end to such impudence.’
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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