17 - BONAPARTE (Pauline, Princess Borghese)

BONAPARTE (Pauline, Princess Borghese) Frascati (near Rome), September 15, 1817. Autograph letter signed “Pse Pauline Borghese” to Count Bertrand. 3 pp., in-8. A long letter providing news of the Emperor’s family. Napoleon, hurt that his mail was not being addressed to him with the title of Emperor, decided that his close associates and family should write to him by addressing their letters to Counts Las Cases and Bertrand. Pauline Borghèse did indeed receive his letter of July 3 “with the statement regarding the San Martino campaign. I was deeply touched by this gesture on your part.” ” Indeed, Napoleon’s sister hoped to take possession of the estate that the Emperor had built on the Island of Elba. She also received good news about the Emperor’s health and noted that “Madame is in good health; She spent some time in Albano, then returned to Rome via Frascati, where she stayed with me for a few days. […] I often receive news from Queen Caroline, who has purchased a country estate near Vienna; she and her children are in good health there.” From Vienna, she has just received “news of the Emperor’s son, who is doing perfectly well; he is growing rapidly and becoming more and more charming. Everyone else in the family is doing wonderfully. ” She herself is well and is spending time at the country residence she has just acquired near Rome. Pauline Borghese reaffirms her affection for her brother and asks her correspondent “to convey my warm regards to the Emperor and to mention me to him from time to time. No one in the world is more devoted to him than I am, and please tell him that I would be happy if I could join him.” A handwritten note indicates that the letter was received on March 27, 1818—six months after it was sent. This shows just how complicated, if not tenuous, the connection was between the exiles on Saint Helena and their loved ones who remained in France or elsewhere in Europe. This delay can be explained in part by the systematic screening of mail addressed to the residents of Longwood by Colonial Secretary Bathurst in London as well as by the Governor of Saint Helena. Provenance The Aristophil Collections, auction in Paris, Ader, April 4, 2019, lot 832. Bibliography Bondeson (Lars), *Napoleon’s Last Battle: The Captivity on St. Helena*. BoD, 2022.