LA FAYETTE (Gilbert Du Motier de). - AIGUILLON... Lot 47

[LA FAYETTE (Gilbert Du Motier de)]. - AIGUILLON (Jeanne Victoire Henriette de Navailles, duchess of). 3 autograph letters. Late 1799 or early 1800], 1807 and 1814. - To her first husband the Duke of Aiguillon, Armand-Désiré de Vignerot Du Plessis de Richelieu. S.l., [late 1799 or early 1800]. LONG AND BEAUTIFUL LETTER ON THE 18 BRUMAIRE, BONAPARTE, JOSÉPHINE, LA FAYETTE... A former member of parliament with new ideas and a former officer in the revolutionary armies, the Duke d'Aiguillon emigrated in 1792 and settled in Hamburg with two of the Lameth brothers. His wife, who was known to the future Empress Josephine with whom she had shared a cell under the Terror, explained to him here that the authorities would be ready to accept his return but in hiding. "« ... In order to determine you in full knowledge of the facts, I'll tell you what happened. A few days after the 18 brumaire, S[ieyès] proposed to the two other consuls the return of Mr de La F[ayette] alone. B[onaparte] objected, saying that the time had not yet come, that it would be necessary to wait a little longer. As soon as we were instructed of this request and this answer, I wrote to Mrs. B[onaparte] a note in which I mandated that one spoke of the return of Mr. de La F[ayette] alone, that I did not imagine that B[onaparte] would allow this injustice. Mr. de La F[ayette] undoubtedly served the cause of liberty first, but we counted on the same line men who did not yield to him either in devotion or in generous sacrifices, or finally by the important services which they also rendered to the Revolution.... FINALLY Mr. DE LA F[AYETTE] ARRIVES INCOGNITO , HIS WIFE WILL FIND HIS [IEYÈS] and tell her that the great general is in Paris. S[ieyès] replies that he does not know anything about it. She repeats: "Well, I've come to tell you". S[ieyès] adds that he doesn't want to know and turns his back on her. M. DE LA F[AYETTE] WRITES TO B[ONAPARTE] AND BEGS HIM TO COME AND THROW HIMSELF INTO HER ARMS. B[