À Louis-Théodore Besserer

Montebello, 5th Oct., 185912

My dear old friend,

I received last night your letter of the 3rd instant announcing me that we may have the pleasure of seeing you with Mrs. Besserer next Saturday; and I am obliged to write to you and say that I will probably be deprived of it. The house and the family are both disorganised. You were aware that we are going to spend the winter in Montreal, where Mrs. Papineau has now been staying for the last twelve days with part of the servants, and the moving is going on every day. I have today sent by The Breeze one servant, two horses and two carriages with thirty cases. My dear Ezilda and Mrs. Bourassa are both engaged in the ardeous task of packing and they are trying to be in a position to leave for the City by Saturday with the rest of the servants, if they can finish their packing; if not, they will leave on Monday. Under the circumstances, they say that they cannot receive any visitors.

But I, who am always young and dressy, as you know, I do not like to advise you of their objections, but I submit. Well, you have been too lazy to come sooner, and I too lazy to write to you. Mrs. Papineau above all would have been delighted to become acquainted with Mrs. Besserer and your nice and good little family. She now is absent, and the greatest part of the pleasure of this visit is lost to us both. The house stripped of mostly all its furniture and decorations, what had not already been sent away is scattered among the straw, is not nice to see; and the gardens have all been spoiled by the premature frost we have had. Personnally I am to remain here solitary with old Marguerite and one hired man, until the snow, when I shall join the family in Montreal.

If I have not the pleasure of seeing you here, I propose to go and visit you before the end of navigation. In fact, that conference of Zurich is going on slowly that the great interests of beautiful Italy could not be properly settled until we have had a long talk on the subject. There is much to say in this complicated question of Papacy. For my part, I am convinced that Italy is incapable of protecting herself against the barbarous nations, whether Gaulish or Teutonic, with a neutral power cutting her in two so that her troops can never be united in the North, from where come the danger and ruin. Foreign domination is the greatest misfortune for any nationality who still possess some patriotism. There are so many reasons why the native land, more glorius by the grandor of its souvenirs, more favoured by the beauty of its sky, its waters and its soil than any other part of Europe, should be dear to all Italians. A new great destiny may still await this beautiful country, if she were well administered.

We shall employ ourselves to that end at our next reunion, during this month. In the meantime, kindly give my most respectful and sincere love with my excuses to Mrs. Besserer, and tenderly embrace for me your dear little children; also the affectionate salutations of my children and their excuses to Mrs. Besserer, and receive the assurance of my true and sincere friendship. That does not decrease in getting older. If it were the same for all the rest!

Your friend.

(Signed) L.J. Papineau

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[1] Le manuscrit original, en français, appartiendrait à M. Andrew D. Besserer ou à ses descendants; nous reproduisons la copie d'une traduction en anglais de cette lettre, déposée dans les archives de la famille Papineau. La traduction anglaise porte l'indication: «Translated from French, M.T.».

[2] La conférence de Villafranca, qui réunissait Napoléon III et François-Joseph d'Autriche, en juillet 1859, mit fin à la seconde guerre de l'indépendance italienne. Le traité de paix sera signé formellement à Zurich le 10 novembre 1859....