LOUIS XVIII (1601-1643)
Lot 703
600800
Letter of exile written in the mists of the Russian Empire
utograph letter to the Count of Viomesnil. Mittau (at the time part of the
Russian Empire), October 30, 1800.
3/4 p. in-12 square, in a fine, tight handwriting, envelope with preserved red
wax seal with the coat of arms of France.
The French law school for emigrants, opened in England, with the help of
the English Government, by Count Saturnin Marie Hercule Du Bourblanc
(1739- 1819), former Advocate General in the Parliament of Rennes.
The tone of this letter perfectly illustrates the firmness of character of Louis
XVIII, who never lost his dignity and maintained an unshakeable faith in
the future despite the advances he may have suffered during his 23 years of
exile, as Chateaubriand pointed out in the “ Mémoires d’outre-tombe ”.
“I received, Sir, your letter of the 7th of this month, with the speeches of Mr. Du
Bourblanc’s children. I enclose herewith, in accordance with your wish, a letter
in which I give this esteemed magistrate the praise due to him, but although
your modesty makes you reject those that belong to you, I shall not forget that
it was you who had the happy idea of a law school, you who obtained the
necessary facilities from the British Government, and that the magistrates who
will be trained in this useful establishment will owe no less to your supervision
than to the care of M. Du Bourblanc. You know, Sir, how I feel about you.”
Louis XVIII stayed twice in the Duchy of Courland, which had been part of
the Russian Empire since 1795: first in the rich dukes’ castle in Mittau, now
Jelgava in Latvia, from March 1798 to January 1801 - he was expelled from
it by the Tsar who was trying to get closer to Napoleon Bonaparte - and then
in the modest Blankenfeld Castle for three weeks in August 1804.