Lot n° 43
Estimation :
1500 - 2000
EUR
Louis Antoine Henri de Bourbon-Condé, Duc d'ENGHIEN (1772-18 - Lot 43
Louis Antoine Henri de Bourbon-Condé, Duc d'ENGHIEN (1772-1804). L.A.S. "LAhdB", Ettenheim Sunday evening, August 24, 1800, to his grandfather the Prince de CONDÉ, "at his headquarters in Überlingen"; 1 1/2 pages in-4, addressed "with red wax seal of arms (Crawford Collection seal).
Very rare and beautiful letter, replying to the letter (attached, see below) from his grandfather, who wanted to marry the Duc d'Enghien to a princess of royal blood. The Duc d'Enghien refused all offers of marriage, being committed to Charlotte de ROHAN, whom he secretly married in 1802 in Ettenheim.
He has read and reread "the touching and sensitive letter you were good enough to write to your child, dear Papa: to your child, against whom you should be angry; to whom you should speak with the severity he deserves, and whom you treat, even now, with the same kindness you have always shown him. Ah, if there were a way to overcome the excessive repugnance I still have for what you want from me, how assured of success it would be; how much this kindness, this tenderness, this goodness would be able to decide me on the spot; how much, if I had still hesitated, the advice of this person you speak of, who deserves, I'm not afraid to admit, the deep and tender feeling I have for her, would have decided all my uncertainties. Well, dear Papa, forgive me (your letter, which fortunately does not contain an absolute order, still allows me to hope to bend you) [...] I have not been shaken for a moment; my repugnance is the same, my wish the same, my prayer, which I repeat to you, the same. In the name of the friendship, tenderness and kindness you have always had for me, give in to my request; that I follow you everywhere, that I remain close to you, with you, I beg you on my knees. I tremble to offend you, I tremble to irritate a father I love, I wait, I fear, I hardly dare to hope... but I do not preserve in my heart the feelings of love and respect that I owe and that I find happiness in preserving for a tender and sensitive father"... Attached is the L.A.S. from Louis-Joseph de Bourbon, prince de CONDÉ (1736-1818), Ponting August 9, 1800, to the Duc d'Enghien (1 page in-4). "Mon cher ami, je ne puis plus differera continuer mes demarches a N., without giving a pretext to make them fail, but you feel that I can only follow them up if I am sure of not suffering the displeasure, which would become a wrong for you, of seeing me disowned by yourself; I will not repeat all that I have told you, be sure that this honorable alliance, if I can succeed, will result in the greatest advantage for you; hey Great God, to whom can you rely more than to me, of what can ensure your happiness! to me, who is occupied, from morning till night, only with your glory, your esteem, your existence, your ease, in case our misfortunes continue; do me justice, my dear friend, rely entirely on me, for what is appropriate to your birth, to your position, to your future happiness, and let me know, if I can follow, with certainty, a negociation that I only undertook, by my farsighted and clear-sighted tenderness, for my beloved child". Both letters bear the stamp of the Crawford collection; comments (partly erroneous) have been written at the head of the letters.Also enclosed is a portrait of the Duc d'Enghien; the manuscript of an Oraison funèbre du Duc d'Enghien, delivered in London, in the Catholic chapel of St. Patrick, on April 26, 1804, by Abbé de BOUVENS (cahier in-4 de 13 ff); General HULIN's brochure, Explications offertes aux hommes impartiaux... au sujet de la commission militaire instituée en l'an XII pour juger le duc d'Enghien (Paris, Baudouin, 1823, in-8).
My orders
Sale information
Sales conditions
Return to catalogue