Letter 091 — XCI
Original French
Au quartier-général, à Osterode, mars 1807.
Je suis dans un mauvais village, où je passerai encore bien du temps; cela ne vaut pas la grande ville. Je te le répète, je ne me suis jamais si bien porté; tu me trouveras fort engraissé. J’ai ordonné ce que tu désires pour la Malmaison; sois gaie et heureuse, c’est ma volonté. — J’attends la belle saison, qui ne doit pas tarder à venir. Je t’aime, et te veux savoir contente et gaie. L’on dira beaucoup de bêtises sur la bataille d’Eylau; le bulletin dit tout; les pertes y sont plutôt exagérées qu’amoindries.
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.
At headquarters, Osterode, March 1807.
I am in a wretched village, where I shall spend a good deal more time; it is no match for the great city. I repeat, I have never been so well; you will find I have grown quite fat. I have ordered what you want for Malmaison; be cheerful and happy, that is my wish.—I await the fair season, which cannot be long in coming. I love you, and I want to know you are contented and cheerful. Many foolish things will be said about the battle of Eylau; the bulletin tells everything; the losses are more likely exaggerated there than understated.
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.
Headquarters, Osterode, March 1807.
I'm in a miserable village, and I'll be here quite a while longer; it is no match for the big city. As I keep telling you, I've never been so well; you'll find I've put on a great deal of weight. I've given orders for what you want at Malmaison. Be cheerful and happy; that is what I want. I am waiting for the warm season, which should soon be here. I love you and want to know you are happy and cheerful. People will say a lot of nonsense about the battle of Eylau. The bulletin tells the whole story; if anything, it overstates the losses rather than understating them.
About this section
Letter 091 — XCI 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 91 of 172 in the work, which is kept in the European tradition.
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