Wilhelmshöhe,
December 14, 1870.
My dear Madame Cornu,
You cannot doubt the pain which I have felt upon learning of the death of your husband. You know the great friendship which I had for him for so many years. I fully share all your emotions, and wish to know how you are getting on in the midst of the war which is surrounding you. I will not refer to my troubles; it is those of France which overwhelm me most.
The Empress and the Prince are well—this is a great consolation to me.
Let us hope for happier days, and believe always, my dear Hortense, in my sincere friendship.
Napoléon.
“I am engaged upon a Work which will explain Many Things.”
Chislehurst,
January 14, 1872.
My dear Madame Cornu,
It is always with pleasure that I hear from you, for the friendship which binds us is of such long standing that absence and misfortunes cannot weaken it.