Letter 150 — CL
Original French
Paris, vendredi 29 décembre 1809.
Mon amie, je reçois ta lettre; je vois avec peine que tu as été malade; je crains que ce ne soit ce mauvais temps. Madame de la T… est une des plus folles du faubourg; j’ai souffert fort longtemps son caquet; je m’en suis ennuyé, et j’ai ordonné qu’elle ne revînt plus à Paris. Il y a cinq ou six autres vieilles femmes que je veux également renvoyer de Paris; elles gâtent les jeunes par leurs sottises. Je nommerai madame de Mackau baronne, puisque tu le désires, et ferai tes autres commissions. Ma santé est assez bonne. La conduite de B… me paraît fort ridicule. Je désire te savoir bien portante. Adieu, mon amie.
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.
Paris, Friday, December 29, 1809.
My friend, I have received your letter; I am sorry to see that you have been ill; I fear it is this bad weather. Madame de la T… is one of the most foolish women of the faubourg; I put up with her chatter for a very long time; I grew tired of it, and ordered that she should not return to Paris. There are five or six other old women whom I also intend to send away from Paris; they corrupt the young with their foolishness. I shall make Madame de Mackau a baroness, since you wish it, and attend to your other requests. My health is fairly good. B…'s conduct seems very ridiculous to me. I wish to hear that you are well. Farewell, my friend.
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.
Paris, Friday, December 29, 1809.
My dear, your letter has arrived, and I am sorry to learn you have been ill; I fear the bad weather may be to blame. Madame de la T… is among the silliest women in the faubourg. I endured her prattle for a long time, but grew weary of it and ordered her not to come back to Paris. I also mean to send five or six other old women away from Paris; their foolishness spoils the young. As you wish, I shall make Madame de Mackau a baroness and carry out your other commissions. My health is fairly good. B…'s conduct strikes me as very ridiculous. I hope to hear that you are in good health. Farewell, my dear.
About this section
Letter 150 — CL 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 150 of 172 in the work, which is kept in the European tradition.
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