Claude Antoine Prieur Duvernois to Thomas Jefferson, 5 September 1810
From Claude Antoine Prieur Duvernois
Paris ce 5 7bre 1810
Monsieur
je saisis avec empressement L’occasion qui se presente, dabord de vous offrir mon homage, ensuite de me rappeler a votre souvenir, enfin de vous faire parvenir un objet qui dans Le tems a parû vous faire plaisir. vous vous Rappelerez sans doute, Monsieur, de La visite que nous fimes ensemble chez Mr Besson naturaliste du desir que vous temoignates d’obtenir de Lui une agate orientale Rubannée fond violet, de Loffre de cent vingt Livres que je Lui fis de votre part de La seule agate; et de Leloignement du sr Besson de se desaisir daucun des trois objets dont vous eûtes envie. heureusement pour votre jouissance Mr Besson s’est endormi pour un tems assez Long; jai surveillé depuis La vente qui a du se faire de son Cabinet, jai acquis pour La somme de quarante Livres les trois pieres que vous avez desiré, et je suis assez heureux de trouver Le moyen de vous les faire parvenir. un accident est survenu au Caillou d’egipte, mais je joins Le morceau eclaté. puissiez vous, Monsieur, voir dans Lempressement que je mets a cet envoi, Le desir sincere de vous etre agreable, cest un Leger tribut de reconnoissance pour La Bienveillance dont vous m’avez honoré, elle est dun tel prix a mes yeux que je ne puis Lui comparer que le profond respect et La veneration La plus profonde avec Lesquels je ne cesserai Detre, Monsieur
Prieur
Mr Le general armstrong a eû La complaisance de se charger des pierres et de me Rembourser les 40 fs.
Editors’ Translation
Paris 5 September 1810
Sir
I hasten to seize the present opportunity, first to pay my respects, then to express my wish to be remembered by you, and lastly to send you an object that seemed to please you some time ago. You will no doubt recall, Sir, our visit to Mr. Besson, a naturalist, your desire to obtain his striped oriental agate of purple color, the offer of one hundred and twenty livres I made in your name for that agate, and Besson’s refusal to part with any of the three objects you wanted. Happily for you, Mr. Besson has been dead for rather a long time. Since then, I have watched for the sale of his effects. I acquired for the sum of forty livres the three stones that you wished to have, and I am quite happy to send them to you. An accident happened to the Egyptian stone, but I enclose the broken chip. May you, Sir, see in my haste in sending you this package, a sincere desire to please you. It is a small tribute of gratitude for the benevolence with which you have honored me. Such is the value of your kindness in my eyes that I can only compare it to the deep respect and most profound veneration with which I will never cease to be, Sir
Prieur
General Armstrong was kind enough to take charge of the stones and reimburse me for the 40 francs.
RC (ViW: TC-JP); dateline at foot of text; postscript written perpendicularly in left margin; endorsed by TJ as received 1 Aug. 1813 and so recorded (with the notation: “by Mr Correa de Serra”) in SJL. Translation by Dr. Roland H. Simon. Enclosed in Rembrandt Peale to TJ, 13 July 1813, TJ to John Barnes, 22 Mar. 1814 (second letter), and John Barnes to TJ, 27 Apr. 1814.
Claude Antoine Prieur Duvernois (1763–1832), generally known as Prieur de la Côte-d’Or, was a French officer of engineers who taught at the military engineering academy of the École de Mézières. Successively a member of the Legislative Assembly, the National Convention, and the Committee of Public Safety, he voted for the execution of Louis XVI, assisted in the organization of France’s defenses, and worked to standardize weights and measures. Prieur was a founder of the École Polytechnique (Prieur de la Cote-d’Or: Membre du Comité de Salut Public [1946]).
, 41:38–9; Georges Bouchard,This letter lay unnoticed at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts before it was forwarded by Rembrandt Peale in July 1813. TJ was uncertain of the identity of the sender and had forgotten his interest in acquiring the enclosed mineral specimens (TJ to Peale, 11 Aug. 1813). besson may have been a French printer and inspector of mines of that name ( , 5:819).
Index Entries
- Besson, Alexandre Charles search
- Duvernois, Claude Antoine Prieur; identified search
- Duvernois, Claude Antoine Prieur; letters from search
- Duvernois, Claude Antoine Prieur; sends minerals to TJ search
- French language; letters in, from; C. A. P. Duvernois search
- Louis XVI, king of France; execution of search
- Peale, Rembrandt; forwards minerals to TJ search
- Pennsylvania; Academy of the Fine Arts search
- Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (Philadelphia) search