REGNAUD DE SAINT-JEAN-D'ANGÉLY (Auguste). 2 autograph letter - Lot 88

REGNAUD DE SAINT-JEAN-D'ANGÉLY (Auguste). 2 autograph letters signed "Aug. New York, 1816. 400/500 American wedding plans - To Marie-Barbe de La Tour]. New York, February 16, 1816. "Dear maman petite, we are truly doomed to Heaven's curse, it seems to keep all French ships out of New York harbor & I believe only lets those who don't have letters for us board.... You wouldn't believe how tormented my father is, he doesn't like it in THIS COUNTRY WHOSE MINDS DIFFER TOO MUCH FROM OURS... My father often complains about Mr Buffault [brother-in-law of Regnaud's wife, the banker Philippe-Jean-Baptiste Buffault, former Director of Expenditure of the Extraordinary Estate of the Crown, now Master Counsellor at the Court of Accounts, and brother of a Regent of the Bank of France], he has not received a single letter from him, and as he left him, in concert with you, in charge of his affairs, he cannot conceive that he should have remained 5 months without saying a word to him ; perhaps the letters got lost? But if indeed my uncle has gone so long without writing, tell him, I beg you, to do so promptly, for you know that my father is rather quick to accuse, and in the position he is in, men are generally more inclined to this feeling. We live... quietly enough. I, who for some years now have been a little used to foreign ways, have adopted those of this country more readily. THE WOMEN HERE ARE MOSTLY PRETTY, AND THAT'S A GREAT POINT. I'm in love, and that's another. Some time ago, to please my father, I went to a big ball where I saw a lot of pretty people. Decem[m]ently, I could not leave so many beauties without becoming a little in love, so I am in all forms. I AM IN LOVE WITH THREE YOUNG PEOPLE, each charming in her own way; but I don't yet know whom to prefer. I LOVE THE FIRST, FIRST OF ALL BECAUSE SHE IS VERY PRETTY, SHE SPEAKS GOOD FRENCH, WHICH IS A LOT FOR ME, SHE DANCES WONDERFULLY, WHICH IS RARE IN THIS COUNTRY, but above all she draws and paints like an angel. Her family is decent and her fortune comfortable, I've been introduced to her and I'm going to court her assiduously, but what will seem strange to you is that I don't yet know her father or her mother, although I've been to her house more than ten times and had dinner. THE SECOND IS UNQUESTIONABLY THE MOST BEAUTIFUL OF THE THREE, AND IS EVEN CONSIDERED THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PERSON IN N[EW] Y[ORK]. Everyone knows that except her. But what seduces me is her gentleness, her modesty, her enchanting candor. She seduces everything around her, without noticing, and if she ever notices any of the effect she produces, it's only to blush and appear more amiable. My affairs are less advanced with her than with the first. I've only paid her one visit, and if I'm honest, she wasn't at home. What's more, as she's still young and her mother takes great care of her upbringing, she doesn't go out into the world much, so you see I have to nurture this second love a little in silence and solitude, but it's no less violent for that. We've finally arrived at the third, and this is where you need to open your eyes and pay close attention: THE THIRD, SO, IS WHAT WE CALL AN HEIRESS HERE. I think she's sixteen, not tall but perfectly well-built, with big chestnut hair, lively black eyes that are perhaps a little coquettish, the most beautiful teeth in the world, grace combined with a cheerfulness that's still a little childish; but all that is little compared to 160,000 gourdes [the old transaction currency of the French colonies in the West Indies], or 800,000 francs, which she will force her husband to accept, willy-nilly. She's the one I'm most advanced with; her mother welcomes me warmly, and her father swears by me; every day I'm invited to his house, and however often I go, he still thinks I'm neglecting him; he took me aside the other day to tell me that his daughter only enjoyed herself when I came to his house, that she only went to the ball to dance with me. Anyway, dear maman petite, I don't know how this will end, but OF COURSE MY FIRST LETTER WILL BE TO TELL YOU THAT I AM MARRIED WITH ONE OF THE THREE. That polygamy is not allowed!!! I forgot to tell you the names of my trinity: the first is called mis[s] Elisabeth, the second mis[s] Maria, and the third mis[s] Camillia... Farewell, I interrupt my chatter to kiss you a thousand times, to hold you close to my heart... A thousand tender greetings to all the waterfalls, rocks and bushes of the Val [former ab