Lot 342: CAMBRONNE, Viscount Pierre Jacques-Etienne (1770-1842), General of the French Empire . Autograph letter signed ('CA') to Augustine Corbisez, n.p., n.d., one page, folio , address panel on verso ('A Madame Corbisez chez Le General Joba ... de la

CAMBRONNE, Viscount Pierre Jacques-Etienne (1770-1842), General of the French Empire . Autograph letter signed ('CA') to Augustine Corbisez, n.p., n.d., one page, folio , address panel on verso ('A Madame Corbisez chez Le General Joba ... de la Legion d'honneur a Nieuport') , stamped 'Boulogne sur Mer', remnants of red seal (wear to upper margin affecting 'Augustine', reinforced at edges). An ardent love letter to his mistress. Despite Augustine's disobedience on a matter relating to his portrait, Cambronne's overwhelming love for her leaves him unable to object. Napoleon's General is not ashamed by his apparent weakness for his lover, 'ta force et ma faiblesse ... sais tu que tu agis un peu militairement dans tes actions, tu fais ce que tu veux'). An explicit letter, Cambronne remembers 'délicieux moments' in his lover's bed, 'Ma chère, si je ne craignis d'être traité de polisson ... cette lettre serait couverte du sperme que je verse tous les jours pour toi et plus particulièrement à cette minute ...'. Cambronne became Major of the Imperial Guard in 1814, accompanying Napoleon into exile on Elba, and in 1815 returning to France for 'The Hundred Days', capturing the fortress of Sisteron on 5 March. Following the battle of Waterloo, commanding the last of the Old Guard, General Colville summoned him to surrender; Rougement recorded the event, reporting Cambronne's reply as 'La garde meurt mais ne se rend pas!'. Cambronne's own account was that he said, simply, 'Merde!', the expletive becoming known as the 'le mot Cambronne'.

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