Letter from Colle to his father... (1820)

NRA-L-000150 / 1820

Letter from Colle to his father concerning unrest in Paris and a family inheritance dispute, July 5, 1820

Colle reassures his father after political unrest in Paris, describing demonstrations dispersed by dragoons and cuirassiers, deaths, injuries and arrests. He then discusses a painful family and inheritance dispute, advises his father against seeking election as a deputy and asks about receipt of his pension.

Neruda Archives
NRA-L-000150

NRA-L-000150 image 1 showing the folded address panel to Monsieur Colle, proprietor in Fréjus, with two red wax seals, surrounding manuscript text and prominent folds. — **Image 1**Address panel, seals and surrounding letter text.

NRA-L-000150 image 2 showing the opening French manuscript page dated Paris, 5 July 1820, with a salutation to the writer's father, closely spaced cursive writing and fold lines. — **Image 2**Opening page of the letter.

NRA-L-000150 image 3 showing the next page of the French manuscript letter with dense cursive text, corrections, marginal writing and fold lines. — **Image 3**Continuation of the letter.

NRA-L-000150 image 4 showing the closing page of the French manuscript letter with dense text, an extended lower continuation, a vertical marginal passage, folds and paper losses along the right edge. — **Image 4**Closing page with marginal continuation.

Archive Record

Identifier: NRA-L-000150
Date: 1820-07-05
Original date: Paris le 5 juillet 1820
Type: Family correspondence
Language: French / fr
Sender: Colle
Recipient: Monsieur Colle
Places: Paris, France / Fréjus, France
Extent: 4 documentary sides: Address panel, seals and surrounding letter text; Opening page of the letter; Continuation of the letter; Closing page with marginal continuation; 4 digital images.
Signature: Colle
Citation: Neruda Archives, NRA-L-000150.

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Transcript and English translation

working scholarly aid

Address panel

Original transcript

A Monsieur
Monsieur Colle
Propriétaire
Fréjus Dept. du Var.

Address panel

English translation

To Mr Colle
Property owner
Fréjus, Department of Var

Opening page of the letter

Original transcript

Paris le 5 juillet 1820

Mon cher Père,

Vous avez raison de compter sur ma sagesse, on m'a appris
à en avoir et j'aime à ne pas m'en écarter autant pour
votre tranquillité que pour la mienne. je suis fâché de
vous avoir inspiré quelque inquiétude et j'aurais pu vous
les épargner toutes si j'avais pensé que mon silence pût
vous en occasionner. j'ai bien résolu de ne prendre aucune
part à des événemens dont on ne peut connaître le but
ni le résultat, et j'ai attendu que ceux qui ont eu lieu
fussent passés pour vous en entretenir. depuis que je vous
ai écrit tout est rentré dans l'ordre accoutumé, le
gouvernement dans cette circonstance s'est convaincu de
sa force et il ne lui a pas été difficile de dissiper
des attroupemens qui d'abord ne faisaient que des
démonstrations et qui ensuite ont pu faire quelque résistance
lorsqu'ils ont été attaqués. vous sentez qu'elle devait être

Opening page of the letter

English translation

Paris, 5 July 1820
My dear Father,
You are right to count on my wisdom; I have been taught to have it and I like not to stray from it, as much for your peace of mind as for my own.
I am sorry to have caused you some anxiety, and I could have spared you all of it had I thought that my silence might occasion you any.
I have firmly resolved to take no part in events whose goal or result cannot be known, and I waited until those that took place had passed to speak to you about them.
Since I wrote to you everything has returned to the usual order; the government in this circumstance has convinced itself of its strength and it was not difficult for it to disperse gatherings which at first only made demonstrations and which then were able to offer some resistance when they were attacked.

Continuation of the letter

Original transcript

bien faible et bientôt anéantie, et que des individus sans
armes sont facilement dispersés par des dragons et des
Cuirassiers. C'est à cette mesure qu'on doit la tranquillité qui
règne depuis, et elle ne pouvait être que très efficace. elle a
cependant
causé la mort de deux individus, et il en est d'autres qui ont
été blessés, mais je crois que le plus grand nombre de ceux
qui se sont compromis sont ceux qui ont été livrés aux
tribunaux. il me semble que leur peine ne pourra qu'être
légère, car dans tout cela on a vu plutôt de la mutinerie
qu'une véritable rébellion, et l'on ne pourra jamais
penser qu'ils en eussent eu l'idée parceque l'on ne se
révolte pas en se contentant de pousser des cris
exempts d'entreprises et d'actions ultérieures. voilà tout ce
qu'on a fait et vous devez vous garantir de croire
à tout autre récit de tous autres faits, ce serait une
exagération et ne vous donnerait que de faux indices sur
la situation de paris et sur ses dispositions. on a pu
voir qu'elles tendaient toutes vers le repos, qu'il
est d'ailleurs pourvu de troupes assez nombreuses

Continuation of the letter

English translation

You feel that it had to be very weak and soon annihilated, and that unarmed individuals are easily dispersed by dragoons and Cuirassiers. It is to this measure that we owe the tranquillity that has reigned since, and it could only be very effective.
It has however caused the death of two individuals, and there are others who have been wounded, but I believe that the greatest number of those who compromised themselves are those who were handed over to the courts.
It seems to me that their punishment can only be light, because in all this we saw mutiny rather than a real rebellion, and we will never be able to think that they had the idea of it because one does not revolt by contenting oneself with uttering cries free of subsequent enterprises and actions.
That is all that has been done and you must guard yourself against believing any other account of any other facts; it would be an exaggeration and would only give you false indications of the situation in Paris and of its dispositions.
We could see that they all tended towards rest, that it is moreover provided with quite numerous troops to ensure its tranquillity and that the troops were ready to maintain it.

Closing page with marginal continuation

Original transcript

pour en assurer la tranquillité et qu'elles étaient prêtes
à la maintenir.

je suis toujours plus étonné des prétentions de ma mère,
et surtout qu'elle n'ait pas plus d'égards pour la
position de notre famille. quels que soient nos torts il
me semble qu'ils ont été commis dans un âge où l'on
pouvait nous les excuser et qu'ils n'étaient pas assez
graves pour mériter d'être déshérités par elle. puisque
notre existence la touche si peu, vous ne devez pas
douter qu'elle fera tout son possible pour attirer à elle
tout ce qu'elle pourra de votre fortune afin de
diminuer encore ce que vous vous réservez et que vous ne
voudriez pas nous enlever comme elle. je croyais que notre
sort futur la ferait réfléchir, et que pour nous elle ferait
quelques sacrifices et renoncerait à vous tourmenter. je
vous plains beaucoup d'être exposé à toutes les horreurs d'une
désunion qui est pire qu'une guerre, et depuis que j'en ai
senti toutes les conséquences elle a influé sur toutes mes dispositions
et elle m'afflige chaque jour davantage.

M. paul de chateaudouble a dit que vous vous étiez mis sur les rangs
pour faire partie de la députation à nommer dans notre dept. il a prétendu que
ce n'était point des hommes comme vous qu'il leur fallait mais que d'ailleurs vous ne
seriez pas nommé et que MM Gasquet et Fabry auraient la préférence. je ne sais si c'est votre intention
et s'il vous plairait de réussir pour moi je ne le voudrais pas il me semble que notre premier
soin est de vous occuper de vos affaires et non des affaires publiques. celles ci ne viendront pas à votre
secours lors que pour elles vous aurez négligé les vôtres. votre fortune bien rétablie vous donnera seule plus
d'indépendance et plus de bonheur que des fonctions, et celles d'un député consciencieux ne vous seraient
pas avantageuses. je vous embrasse Colle

[marginalia]
P.S. je vous prie de ne pas oublier de m'instruire si vous l'avez reçu ce mois, ma pension je vous en remercie beaucoup je vous embrasse

Closing page with marginal continuation

English translation

I am always more astonished by my mother's pretensions, and especially that she has no more regard for the position of our family.
Whatever our wrongs may be, it seems to me that they were committed at an age when we could be excused for them and that they were not serious enough to deserve being disinherited by her.
Since our existence touches her so little, you must not doubt that she will do everything possible to attract to herself all that she can of your fortune in order to further diminish what you reserve for yourself and what you would not want to take away from us like her.
I thought that our future fate would make her reflect, and that for us she would make some sacrifices and give up tormenting you.
I pity you very much for being exposed to all the horrors of a disunion which is worse than a war, and since I have felt all its consequences it has influenced all my dispositions and it afflicts me more every day.
Mr Paul de Châteaudouble said that you had put yourself in the ranks to be part of the deputation to be named in our dept. He claimed that it was not men like you that they needed but that besides you would not be named and that Messrs Gasquet and Fabry would have the preference.
I do not know if it is your intention and if it would please you to succeed; for me I would not want it. It seems to me that our first care is for you to occupy yourself with your affairs and not with public affairs. These will not come to your aid when for them you will have neglected your own.
Your fortune well restored will alone give you more independence and more happiness than functions, and those of a conscientious deputy would not be advantageous to you.
I embrace you.
Colle
[marginalia]
P.S. I beg you not to forget to inform me if you have received it this month, my pension. I thank you very much. I embrace you.

Discovery Terms

Family correspondence
Political unrest
Public order
Cavalry
Arrests
Inheritance
Family conflict
Elections
Pensions
Colle
Paul de Châteaudouble
Gasquet
Fabry
Paris
Fréjus

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Historical context Paris unrest, two deaths and the politics of the Var 7 sources

The June disturbances behind the letter

Writing from Paris on 5 July 1820, Colle looked back on gatherings dispersed by dragoons and cuirassiers, with deaths, injuries, arrests and prosecutions. The timing and details align closely with the Paris demonstrations of 2-9 June against the electoral bill known as the law of the double vote. Enacted at the end of June, the law strengthened property-based voting by allowing the wealthiest electors to vote in a second departmental college.^{[1, 2, 3, 4]}

The two deaths reported by Colle

Colle wrote that the use of force had caused the deaths of two people. Historical research documents two fatalities within the same sequence: the law student Nicolas Lallemand, killed during the demonstration of 3 June, and an unnamed worker killed while taking part in Lallemand's funeral demonstration on 9 June. These deaths closely fit Colle's total, although the letter itself names neither victim.^{[1, 3, 4]}

An election discussed inside a family

The letter then turns from the streets of Paris to the writer's father's possible candidacy in the Var. The three political names are independently identifiable. Jean Antoine Emmanuel de Paul de Châteaudouble was then a deputy for the Var; François Henry de Gasquet entered the Chamber for the department on 12 November 1820; and Pierre Marc Antoine Bruno de Fabry, a former Var deputy, returned in 1821. Colle's account therefore captures a real local contest unfolding alongside the national dispute over electoral law.^{[1, 5, 6, 7]}

Evidence and limits

The identification of the June demonstrations is strongly supported by date, place, military response, casualties and the electoral subject, but Colle does not date the individual incidents. The two documented fatalities correspond closely to his reported total without proving whom he personally had in mind. The full identities of the writer and recipient, the father's candidacy and the pension mentioned in the postscript remain unresolved.^{[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]}

Sources & evidence (7)

Primary source · manuscript Neruda Archives, NRA-L-000150, letter from Colle to his father, 5 July 1820. View the archive record Supports the writer's account of the Paris disturbances, two deaths, injuries, arrests, family conflict, electoral discussion and named Var figures.
Official institutional history Assemblée nationale, 'La Restauration (1814-1830)', historical account of the censitary franchise and the 1820 law of the double vote. Read the historical overview Explains the restricted franchise and the electoral mechanism introduced in 1820.
Scholarly study Jean-Claude Caron, 'Extrémisme parlementaire et extrémisme politique sous la Restauration', in Extrême? Identités partisanes et stigmatisation des gauches en Europe, Presses universitaires de Rennes, pp. 175-185. Read the scholarly chapter Documents the deaths of Nicolas Lallemand on 3 June 1820 and an unnamed worker during the funeral demonstration of 9 June.
Scholarly study Jean-Claude Caron, 'Aux origines du mythe: l'étudiant sur la barricade dans la France romantique (1827-1851)', in La barricade, Éditions de la Sorbonne. Read the scholarly chapter Places Lallemand's death in the demonstrations against the new double-vote electoral law and characterizes the opposition movement.
Official parliamentary biography Assemblée nationale, 'Jean Antoine Emmanuel de Paul de Châteaudouble', Sycomore database of French deputies since 1789. View the parliamentary record Confirms Châteaudouble's identity and service as a deputy for the Var during the period of the letter.
Official parliamentary biography Assemblée nationale, 'François Henry de Gasquet', Sycomore database of French deputies since 1789. View the parliamentary record Confirms Gasquet's election for the Var on 12 November 1820 and his political alignment.
Official parliamentary biography Assemblée nationale, 'Pierre Marc Antoine Bruno de Fabry', Sycomore database of French deputies since 1789. View the parliamentary record Confirms Fabry's earlier and later mandates for the Var and identifies the political figure named in the letter.

Reviewed 2026-07-30 · Context version 1.0

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