CURTOYS, William. 19419

£100

Description

A lengthy and descriptive Autograph Letter Signed ‘W.Curtoys’, to his friends and family in England, describing his arrival in Paris under the Consulate to join the Spanish embassy there, his routine and accommodation, the theatres and dinners, and, in some detail, a reception of the Diplomatic Corps by the three Consuls. About 1200 words on 4 pp. 9 x 7 inches, folds, in very good condition, entirely legible. Paris, 29 April 1800. His Excellency Chevalier William Curtoys (1756-1826), later Minister Plenipotentiary and General Agent of his Catholic Majesty at the Court of Rome. “… the first Consul advances alone, & goes round the circle speaking to the foreign Ministers, much after the manner of the morning Courts at Berlin. When he thinks fit to retire, we go back in the same ceremonious manner as we came, accompanied with the sounds of the musick, & the tambour battant on the Stairs …”