Letter 098 — XCVIII
Original French
Dantzick, le 2 juin 1807.
Mon amie, j’apprends ton arrivée à la Malmaison. Je n’ai point de lettres de toi. Je suis fâché contre Hortense; elle ne m’écrit pas un mot. Tout ce que tu me dis d’elle me peine. Comment n’as-tu pas pu un peu la distraire? tu pleures! J’espère que tu prendras sur toi, afin que je ne te trouve pas triste. Je suis à Dantzick depuis deux jours: le temps est fort beau; je me porte bien. Je pense plus à toi que tu ne penses à un absent. Adieu, mon amie, mille choses aimables. Fais passer cette lettre à Hortense.
Pour la reine Hortense:
2 juin. — Ma fille, vous ne m’avez pas écrit un mot dans votre juste et grande douleur. Vous avez tout oublié, comme si vous n’aviez pas encore de pertes à faire. L’on dit que vous n’aimez plus rien, que vous êtes indifférente à tout; je m’en aperçois à votre silence. Cela n’est pas bien, Hortense. Ce n’est pas ce que vous nous promettiez. Votre fils était tout pour vous. Votre mère et moi, nous ne sommes donc rien? Si j’avais été à la Malmaison, j’aurais partagé votre peine; mais j’aurais aussi voulu que vous vous rendissiez à vos meilleurs amis. Adieu, ma fille; soyez gaie; il faut se résigner. Portez-vous bien pour remplir tous vos devoirs. Ma femme est toute triste de votre état; ne lui faites plus de chagrin. Votre affectionné père.
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.
Dantzick, June 2, 1807.
My dear friend, I hear of your arrival at Malmaison. I have no letters from you. I am displeased with Hortense; she does not write me a word. All you tell me of her grieves me. How could you not distract her a little? You weep! I hope you will master yourself, so that I do not find you sad. I have been in Dantzick for two days: the weather is very fine; I am well. I think of you more than you think of one who is absent. Farewell, my dear friend, a thousand affectionate thoughts. Send this letter on to Hortense.
For Queen Hortense:
June 2.—My daughter, you have not written me a word in your great and just grief. You have forgotten everything, as if you had no further losses to face. They say you no longer love anything, that you are indifferent to everything; I see it in your silence. This is not right, Hortense. It is not what you promised us. Your son was everything to you. Are your mother and I, then, nothing? Had I been at Malmaison, I would have shared your sorrow; but I would also have wished you to yield to your best friends. Farewell, my daughter; be cheerful; you must resign yourself. Keep well so that you may fulfill all your duties. My wife is very sad at your condition; cause her no more sorrow. Your affectionate father.
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.
Dantzick, June 2, 1807.
My friend, I hear that you have reached Malmaison, but no letter from you has come. I am cross with Hortense for not writing me so much as a word. Everything you tell me about her distresses me. Could you not distract her a little? You are crying! I hope you will control yourself, so that when I see you I shall not find you sad. I arrived in Dantzick two days ago; the weather is lovely and my health good. My thoughts turn to you more often than yours turn to someone absent. Farewell, my friend; a thousand affectionate messages. Send this letter on to Hortense.
For Queen Hortense:
June 2.—My daughter, in your great and justified sorrow you have not written me a word. You have forgotten everything, as if you had nothing left that you could lose. They say you love nothing any longer and are indifferent to everything; your silence makes me see it too. That is wrong, Hortense. It is not what you had given us reason to expect. Your son meant everything to you. Does that mean your mother and I are nothing? If I had been at Malmaison, I would have shared your grief; but I would also have wanted you to yield to the wishes of your dearest friends. Farewell, my daughter; be cheerful. We must resign ourselves to what has happened. Keep well, so that you may carry out all your duties. Your condition has made my wife very sad; spare her any more sorrow. Your loving father.
About this section
Letter 098 — XCVIII 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 98 of 172 in the work, which is kept in the European tradition.
Open the work page for the full contents, every edition, and the download links, or go back to Explore to browse other complete works in the European tradition. The reader keeps your place when you are signed in and lets you compare the original with each translation, one edition at a time.