Bidspirit auction | MONTESQUIOU-FÉZENSAC ANNE-PIERRE, MARQUIS DE: (1739-1798)

MONTESQUIOU-FÉZENSAC ANNE-PIERRE, MARQUIS DE: (1739-1798) - MONTESQUIOU-FÉZENSAC ANNE-PIERRE, MARQUIS DE: (1739-1798) French Lieutenant General and writer who invaded Savoy during the First War of the Coalition. A.L.S., A P Montesquiou , two pages, 8vo, Paris, 24th December 1795, to ´Mon cher et ancien collègue´ , in French. The Marquis announces that his correspondent is putting their talents to good use, remarking ´ Ils doivent honorer les vertus et flétrir le crime´ (Translation: ´ They should honour virtue and condemn crime´ ) and continuing to write of his cousin, François-Xavier-Marc-Antoine de Montesquiou-Fézensac, in an amusing manner typical of the 18th century, ´ Mon cousin l'abbé n'est point mort, mais il l'est pour son pays d'où la persécution l'a chassé comme tant d'autres. Quelque part où il soit, s'il lit son épitaphe, il en sera fort content. C'est un plaisir que l'on n'a guère´ (Translation: ´ My cousin the abbot is not dead, but he is as good as dead to his country, from which persecution has driven him, like so many others. Wherever he may be, if he reads his epitaph, he will be very pleased with it. It is a pleasure one rarely experiences´ ). In concluding the Marquis makes a declaration of republican faith, ´ Je suis bien sensible au souvenir dont vous m'honorez, et à l'intérêt que vous voulez bien prendre à mon sort. Dieu veuille que la majorité de vos collègues pensent aussi bien que vous, et qu'elle prenne une bonne fois le vrai moyen d'abattre le royalisme, celui de faire aimer la République´ (Translation: ´ I am deeply touched by the thoughtfulness with which you have honoured me, and by the concern you have shown for my welfare. May God grant that the majority of your colleagues think as well as you do, and that they may at last adopt the true means of overcoming royalism: that of making people love the Republic´ ). One small, minor hole, otherwise VG The Marquis de Montesquiou-Fézensac, grandfather of Robert de Montesquiou, was a Lieutenant-General in the King’s armies and one of the nobles who, in 1789, rallied to the Third Estate. Elected deputy to the National Constituent Assembly, he subsequently commanded the Army of the Midi and the Army of the Alps. Accused of having negotiated with the Swiss authorities, he withdrew to Switzerland, where he remained until after the fall of Robespierre. His cousin, the Abbé François-Xavier-Marc-Antoine de Montesquiou-Fézensac (1756–1832), followed an almost diametrically opposed political course. A deputy of the clergy at the Estates-General, he was a staunch defender of the Ancien Régime and emigrated to England in 1792, subsequently travelling to America. He later enjoyed a distinguished political career under the Restoration, becoming Minister of the Interior, a peer of France and, in 1821, Duke of Montesquiou-Fézensac.