DE LESSEPS FERDINAND: (1805-1894) French Diplomat and developer of the Suez Canal. A very ...

DE LESSEPS FERDINAND: (1805-1894) French Diplomat and developer of the Suez Canal. A very interesting content A.L.S., `Cte. De Lesseps´, two pages, 4to, June 1891, in French. De Lesseps entitles his letter `Un Souvenir´ ("A Memory"), and reports on a very important time in his life, occured in 1848, and states in part `Au début de la révolution de 1848, je fus chargé par Mr. de Lamartine de l´Ambassade de France à Madrid, et j´y arrive au moment où une insurrection venait d´être réprimée. A peine installé à l´Ambassade de France j´obtins du Président du conseil des Ministres la grâce du Général de las Peñas qui s´était mis en tête d´une inserruction avortée, lorsque l´on m´annonce la visite de Mademoiselle Eugénie de Montijo (ma cousine) qui venait m´entretenir d´une affaire très importante; treize officiers appartenant aux premières familles de la cour seraient condamnés à mort par un conseil de guerre pour avoir pris part à une révolte. La soeur d´un des officiers condamnés venait me demander d´obtenir la grâce des condamnés qu´elle avait inutilement sollicité du premier Ministre. Il me semblait très difficile de réussir... En arrivant au palais, j´appris que le Ministre venait de soumettre à la Reine la sentence du conseil de guerre des condamnés de Valence. J´entre dans une salle voisine de celle où se tenait le conseil de guerre... Il sort, et après avoir entendu ma demande, il me regarde et me dit en me prenant la main: allez-vous en... avec la tête de ces gens dans votre poche....´ (Translation: "At the beginning of the revolution of 1848, I was put in charge by Mr. de Lamartine of the French Embassy in Madrid, and I arrived there at the time when an insurrection had just been suppressed. Barely installed at the French Embassy, ​​I obtained from the President of the Council of Ministers the pardon of General de las Peñas who had leaded an aborted uprising, when I was informed of the visit of Mademoiselle Eugénie de Montijo (my cousin) who came to discuss a very important matter with me; thirteen officers belonging to the leading families of the Spanish court will be condemned to death by a martial court for having taken part in a revolt. The sister of one of the condemned officers came to ask me to obtain the pardon of the condemned that she had in vain requested from the Prime Minister. It seemed very difficult to succeed... When I arrived at the palace, I learned that the Minister had just submitted to the Queen the sentence of the martial court of the condemned of Valencia. I entered a room next to the one where the martial court was held... He came out, and after hearing my request, he looked at me and taken my hand said, go away... with the heads of these people in your pocket...") A letter of excellent association. Very small overall minor age wear. Right edge with small professional repair. G to VG

Eugenie de Montijo (1826-1920) Empress consort of the French 1853-70 as the wife of Emperor Napoleon III. As De Lesseps states in the present letter, Eugenie de Montijo was his cousin. Eugenie travelled to Egypt in September 1869 to inaugurate the Suez canal.

De Lesseps refers to the Queen of Spain, Isabel II (1830-1904) Queen of Spain 1833-68, deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1868.