Letter 012 — XII
Original French
Marmirolo, le 18 juillet 1796.
J’ai passé toute la nuit sous les armes. J’aurais eu Mantoue par un coup hardi et heureux; mais les eaux du lac ont promptement baissé, de sorte que ma colonne, qui était embarquée, n’a pas pu arriver. Ce soir, je recommence d’une autre manière… Je reçois une lettre d’Eugène que je t’envoie. Je te prie d’écrire de ma part à ces aimables enfants et de leur envoyer quelques bijoux. Assure-les bien que je les aime comme mes enfants. Ce qui est à toi ou à moi se confond tellement dans mon cœur, qu’il n’y a aucune différence. Je suis fort inquiet de savoir comment tu te portes, ce que tu fais. J’ai été dans le village de Virgile, sur les bords du lac, au clair argentin de la lune, et pas un instant sans songer à Joséphine.
Musean translation
Machine-assisted Musean English translated from the French of the 172 Napoleon letters selected from Tancrède Martel, ed., Œuvres littéraires de Napoléon Bonaparte, tome 1 (Albert Savine, Paris, 1888). French Wikisource contributors supplied the scan-backed transcription: https://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Livre:Bonaparte_-_Œuvres_littéraires,_tome_1,_1888.djvu (page histories credit contributors). The transcription is CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/; this adapted text and translations are shared under the same license. Extraction removes markup and editorial notes; selected transcription repairs were checked against print images.
Marmirolo, July 18, 1796.
I spent the whole night under arms. I would have taken Mantua by a bold and successful stroke, but the waters of the lake quickly fell, so that my column, which had embarked, could not arrive. Tonight I begin again in another way… I have received a letter from Eugène, which I am sending you. Please write to those charming children on my behalf and send them some jewels. Assure them that I love them as my own children. What belongs to you and what belongs to me are so mingled in my heart that there is no difference. I am very anxious to know how you are and what you are doing. I went to Virgil's village, on the shores of the lake, in the silvery moonlight, and not a moment passed without my thinking of Joséphine.
Plain English translation
Independent machine-assisted Plain English translation from the 1888 Martel French edition, not a historical English translation. French Wikisource contributors supplied the scan-backed transcription: https://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Livre:Bonaparte_-_Œuvres_littéraires,_tome_1,_1888.djvu (page histories credit contributors). The adapted transcription and translation are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/. Extraction removes markup and editorial notes and makes documented transcription repairs. French-source model review is not human specialist certification or a complete scan collation.
Marmirolo, July 18, 1796.
I spent the whole night under arms. A bold and lucky stroke would have given me Mantua, but the lake waters dropped rapidly and my embarked column could not arrive. Tonight I shall try again another way... A letter from Eugène has reached me; I am sending it on to you. Please write to those dear children on my behalf and send them some jewelry. Tell them, and make sure they believe it, that I love them as if they were my children. Yours and mine are so completely one in my heart that I make no distinction. I long anxiously for news of your health and your occupations. I visited Virgil’s village by the lake in the silver light of the moon, thinking of Joséphine every moment.
About this section
Letter 012 — XII is part of Letters to Josephine by Napoléon Bonaparte. This page sets the French original beside 2 direct-source translations, so any line can be checked against the source. It is part 12 of 172 in the work, which is kept in the European tradition.
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