Letter 020 — XX
Original French
Vérone, 17 septembre 1796.
Je t’écris, ma bonne amie, bien souvent et toi peu. Tu es une méchante et une laide, bien laide autant que tu es légère. Cela est perfidie, tromper un pauvre mari, un tendre amant! Doit-il perdre ses droits parce qu’il est loin, chargé de besogne, de fatigue et de peine? Qu’y ferait-il? Nous avons eu hier une affaire très sanglante; l’ennemi a perdu beaucoup de monde et a été complètement battu. Nous lui avons pris le faubourg de Mantoue. Adieu, adorable Joséphine. Une de ces nuits, les portes s’ouvriront avec fracas, comme un jaloux et me voilà dans tes bras. Mille baisers amoureux.
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.
Verona, September 17, 1796.
I write to you very often, my dear friend, and you to me very little. You are a wicked, ugly creature, as ugly as you are fickle. It is treachery to deceive a poor husband, a tender lover! Must he lose his rights because he is far away, burdened with work, fatigue, and trouble? What can he do about it? Yesterday we had a very bloody engagement; the enemy lost many men and was completely beaten. We took the suburb of Mantua from him. Farewell, adorable Joséphine. One of these nights the doors will burst open with a crash, and like a jealous man, there I shall be in your arms. A thousand loving kisses.
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.
Verona, September 17, 1796.
I write to you very often, my dear, and you write little. You wicked, ugly creature—as ugly as you are flighty! It is treachery to deceive a poor husband, a devoted lover. Must he forfeit his rights because he is away, weighed down by work, exhaustion and trouble? How can he help it? Yesterday’s action was exceedingly bloody; the enemy suffered heavy losses and was utterly defeated. We captured Mantua’s suburb from him. Goodbye, beloved Joséphine. One of these nights I shall burst through the doors like a jealous man, and there I shall be in your arms. A thousand kisses, full of love.
About this section
Letter 020 — XX 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 20 of 172 in the work, which is kept in the European tradition.
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