COUTHON GEORGES: (1755-1794) French Politician and Lawyer. President of the National Convention ...

COUTHON GEORGES: (1755-1794) French Politician and Lawyer. President of the National Convention 1793-94. A proficient speaker who often exploited his condition as a paraplegic in order to gain the Assembly`s approval of his proposals. A close associate to Robespierre and Saint-Just in the Committee of Public Safety. Couthon, responsible of the huge increase of executions, was himself guillotined alongside Robespierre. A very rare A.L.S., `Couthon´, a bold ink attractive signature, two pages, 4to, Paris, 19th June 1794, to his fellow citizens in Clermont-Ferrand, in French. A very interesting letter, a manifesto full of republican enthusiasm by Couthon, with multiple words underlined, written only one month before his execution, stating in part `Encore d´excellentes nouvelles, mes chers concitoyens, Ypres, cette place importante qui défendait le port d´Ostende, et nous empêchait de cerner entièrement l´ennemi, Ypres est à nous. Vive la République. Charleroi ne manquera pas non plus de tomber incessament à notre pouvoir, au moyen de quoi l´ennemi renfermé sur notre territoire, c´est à dire dans Valenciennes, Condé, Landrecy, et le pays du Quesnoi, sans pouvoir retirer de subsistances d´aucune part, toutes les avenues lui étant fermées, va être forcé avant peut-être un mois, de nous rendre tout ce que la trahison lui avait livré. Ô le beau jour que celui où nous pourrons dire, "La Terre Sainte de la Liberté n´est plus souillée par la présence des esclaves d´Autriche, de Prusse, et d´Angleterre, nous sommes chez nous, et malheur à l´étranger qui oserait tenter d´y pénétrer par la force ou la ruse. Il ne manquerait à ce jour de gloire qu´une seule chose, ce serait de voir conduire triomphalement à Paris Son Altesse Royale le duc d´York, et Son Eminence le Prince de Cobourg. Avec quel plaisir nous donnerions à ces grands personnages des leçons...´ (Translation: "More excellent news, my dear fellow citizens, Ypres, this important place which defended the port of Ostend, and prevented us from completely surrounding the enemy, Ypres is ours now. Long live the Republic. Charleroi will not fail to fall into our power immediately, by means of which the enemy shut up in our territory, that is to say in Valenciennes, Condé, Landrecy, and the country of Quesnoi, without being able to withdraw subsistence from anywhere, all avenues being closed to him, will be forced before perhaps a month, to return to us all that treason had delivered to him. Oh, what a beautiful day it will be when we can say, "The Holy Land of Liberty is no longer soiled by the presence of slaves from Austria, Prussia, and England, we are at home, and woe to the foreigner who would dare to try to penetrate it by force or trickery. There would be only one thing missing from this day of glory, that would be to see His Royal Highness the Duke of York, and His Eminence the Prince of Coburg, led triumphantly to Paris. With what pleasure we would give lessons to these great people...") Further and before concluding, Couthon explains his immediate travel plan and how much he wishes to do it, a travel which would never happen as he was going to be shortly after arrested and executed, saying `Maintenant que nos affaires vont bien, je vais me disposer pour mon grand voyage, je dois dire aussi mon délicieux voyage puisqu´il m´enmène pour quelques jours au milieu de mes bons amis du Puy-de-Dôme...´ (Translation: "Now that our affairs are going well, I am going to prepare myself for my big trip, I must also say my delicious trip since it takes me for a few days among my good friends from Puy-de-Dôme...") With blank integral leaf. Very small overall minor age wear, otherwise VG

Only a month after writing this letter, the Convention called for the arrest of Robespierre and his affiliates, including Couthon, Saint-Just and Robespierre's brother, Augustin Robespierre. Couthon was guillotined alongside Robespierre. It took the executioner fifteen minutes, amidst Couthon's screams of pain, to arrange him on the board correctly because of his paralysis.