BAUDIN (Charles) - Lot 224

BAUDIN (Charles) Paris, 1784 - 1854. Naval officer, vice-admiral and politician. Important figure in the French navy of the 18th and 19th centuries. L.A.S. "Ch. B." addressed to "cher Augustin". [Paris], Friday, December 11, 1840. 4 pages in-8. Very interesting autograph letter of an intimate and political nature, written at the time of the return to France of Napoleon I's ashes. In it, Baudin contrasts his own peaceful existence with that of his correspondent, to whom he pays a heartfelt tribute for his courage in the face of life's difficulties: "...I enjoy, you struggle; to me the crown of roses, to you that of laurel, to you the palm of triumph through the difficulties of life..." In a particularly well-developed passage, the admiral meditates on the moral strength acquired in adversity, and on "that satisfaction of soul and spirit" which compensates for "many privations of the heart". The letter then takes on a remarkable historical dimension when he mentions the forthcoming ceremony for the return of Napoleon's ashes, organized a few days later at Les Invalides. Baudin then expresses a nuanced and personal opinion on the event: "I wanted Napoleon's remains not to remain prisoners in a foreign land, but I did not wish for an apotheosis of the character, a deification of his person and his system." And he adds lucidly: "In this, as in so many other things, we are going beyond our goal...". A fine testimony to the political sensitivity of a senior officer under the July Monarchy, torn between respect for Napoleonic memory and reservations about the resurgent imperial cult. A beautiful, long autograph letter, rich in personal and historical reflections, written a few days before the official Return of the Ashes ceremony on December 15, 1840. Charles Baudin served under the Empire and then the July Monarchy. A leading sailor, he took part in numerous naval campaigns and later played an important political role under the Second Republic.