Letter 086 — LXXXVI
Original French
Eylau, le 11 février 1807; trois heures du matin.
Je t’écris un mot, mon amie; tu dois avoir été bien inquiète. J’ai battu l’ennemi dans une mémorable journée, mais qui m’a coûté bien des braves. Le mauvais temps qu’il fait me porte à prendre mes cantonnements. Ne te désole pas, je te prie; tout cela finira bientôt, et le bonheur de te voir me fera promptement oublier mes fatigues. Du reste, je n’ai jamais été si bien portant. Le petit Tascher, du 4e de ligne, s’est bien comporté; il a eu une rude épreuve. Je l’ai appelé près de moi, je l’ai fait officier d’ordonnance; ainsi, voilà ses peines finies. Ce jeune homme m’intéresse. Adieu, mon amie, mille baisers.
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.
Eylau, February 11, 1807, three in the morning.
I write you a word, my friend; you must have been very anxious. I defeated the enemy in a memorable day, but it cost me many brave men. The bad weather is leading me to take up quarters. Do not be distressed, I beg you; all this will soon end, and the happiness of seeing you will quickly make me forget my hardships. Besides, I have never been so well. Little Tascher, of the 4th Line, behaved well; he went through a hard trial. I have called him to my side and made him an orderly officer; so now his hardships are over. This young man interests me. Goodbye, my friend, a thousand 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.
Eylau, February 11, 1807, three in the morning.
Just a line, my friend; you must have been very worried. I defeated the enemy on a memorable day, though it cost me many brave soldiers. The bad weather is prompting me to take up quarters. Please do not despair. It will all end soon, and the joy of seeing you will soon make me forget my exertions. Otherwise, I have never been in better health. Young Tascher of the 4th Line behaved well; he has been through a hard test. I have summoned him to serve at my side as an orderly officer, and so his hardships are at an end. I take an interest in this young man. Goodbye, my friend; a thousand kisses.
About this section
Letter 086 — LXXXVI 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 86 of 172 in the work, which is kept in the European tradition.
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