Letter 165 — CLXV bis
Original French
Compiègne, le 21 avril 1810.
Mon amie, je reçois ta lettre du 19 avril; elle est d’un mauvais style. Je suis toujours le même; mes pareils ne changent jamais. Je ne sais ce qu’Eugène a pu te dire. Je ne t’ai pas écrit, parce que tu ne l’as pas fait, et que j’ai désiré tout ce qui peut t’être agréable. Je vois avec plaisir que tu ailles à la Malmaison, et que tu sois contente; mais, je le serai de recevoir de tes nouvelles, et de te donner des miennes. Je n’en dis pas davantage jusqu’à ce que tu aies comparé cette lettre à la tienne; et, après cela, je te laisse juge qui est meilleur et plus ami de toi ou de moi. Adieu, mon amie, porte-toi bien, et sois juste pour toi et pour moi.
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.
Compiègne, April 21, 1810.
My friend, I have received your letter of April 19; it is written in a poor style. I am always the same; people like me never change. I do not know what Eugène may have said to you. I have not written to you because you have not done so, and because I have wished for everything that can please you. I am glad to see that you are going to Malmaison and that you are content; but I shall be glad to receive news of you and to give you mine. I shall say no more until you have compared this letter with yours; after that, I leave you to judge which of us is better and more a friend to the other. Farewell, my friend, take care of yourself, and be fair to yourself and to me.
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.
Compiègne, April 21, 1810.
My dear, I have your letter of April 19; its style is poor. I am just as I have always been; men of my kind never change. What Eugène may have told you, I cannot imagine. I have not written because you did not, and because I wished for everything that might give you pleasure. It pleases me to see you going to Malmaison and being happy; I shall also be pleased to receive your news and give you mine. I will say nothing further until you compare this letter with yours; after that, you may judge which of us is kinder and the truer friend to the other. Farewell, my dear; keep well and be fair both to yourself and to me.
About this section
Letter 165 — CLXV bis 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 165 of 172 in the work, which is kept in the European tradition.
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