Joseph FOUCHÉ (1759–1820). Autograph letter, “The Chevalier - Lot 466

Lot n° 466
Go to lot
Estimation :
1000 - 1500 EUR
Joseph FOUCHÉ (1759–1820). Autograph letter, “The Chevalier - Lot 466
Joseph FOUCHÉ (1759–1820). Autograph letter, “The Chevalier de la Roche St André” (draft), Frankfurt, June 1 [1817], to the editor of *Le Pamphlétaire* in London; 4 pages, in-4, with numerous strikings-through and corrections. A polemical letter written under a pseudonym, in which he defends himself as an outlawed regicide and announces the publication of his Memoirs. “I do not hesitate to respond to the noble desire you have expressed to print in your journal a reply to the slanders written against the Duke of Otranto. I will tell you what I know of this famous man: I studied alongside him; the Revolution separated us—he entered public life, and I joined the émigré faction. I corresponded with him constantly until he became powerful enough to secure my return to my homeland”… Fouché had always kept a personal journal, which he allowed the Chevalier to read: “These precious notes now form the basis of his memoirs, which will be published; the public will judge them. I was pleased to see that, if my illustrious friend had made mistakes, he knew how to acknowledge and correct them, and that his spirit had yielded only to the necessities of the times. I would like his notes to be published just as I have read them […]. I regret not having the intellectual acuity to provide all the explanations they have prompted. “I have never had a better lesson in morality and politics”… Yet all the political factions in France have turned against the Duke of Otrante, despite his long years of service: “It is he who is accused. He is blamed for everything he has done and even more so for what he has not done. In the eyes of some, the surrender of Paris is an act of treason; although this surrender was the result of deliberations by a council of the leading figures of the day, the blame is laid solely on him. Far from thanking him for having prevented the country from burning needlessly, for having spared Paris from destruction, and for having thrown himself into the first onslaught of the Reaction to save lives, people have no qualms about accusing him of having surrendered France to foreigners […]. In the eyes of another party, the Duke of Otranto’s moderation is regarded as treachery, and his courageous advice on amnesty as a triumph for the Bonapartists. The reports he published to bolster the king’s standing against those who, under the pretext of better defending the throne, were encroaching on his authority are presented as manifestos of personal ambition. […] “The factions will never forgive the Duke of Otrante”… Finally, he denounces the “atrocious fable” that *Le Pamphlétaire* published regarding the death of Captain Weigt. “What interest did the French government have in getting rid of such a harmless figure? The moral character of the Duke of Otranto’s ministry would suffice to refute all the senseless and unsubstantiated accusations born of malice. It is deplorable that, today, it takes courage to do justice to his administration”…
My orders
Sale information
Sales conditions
Return to catalogue