"HOW BRILLIANT OUR CAMPAIGN HAS BEEN, WE HAVE ALWAYS BEATEN THE ENEMY...". Lannes (Jean). Autograph letter signed to his first wife Paulette Méric. Mantoue, 25 prairial an IV [13 June 1796]. 2 pp. in-4, address on the back with postal mark "Arm. d'Italie". Extraordinary letter on Bonaparte's Italian campaign. "I very rarely receive any of your dear news, you will tell me that I do not often give you good news; for me it is the hasty march of the army which prevents me from doing so; since the opening of the campaign, I have not had an hour to be able to write to you, instead of you, my dear, it is either forgetfulness or negligence, so I beg you to give me some more often than you do. Our friend, Pauzols [Jean Pauzols], recently wrote me a letter which tore my heart apart, I thought you were at peace with yourself, but I see the opposite; my relatives have therefore sworn to kill me slowly by their actions towards you; be patient, my good friend, soon I will put right the insults you have endured up to now. Peace has been made with the King of Naples and the Pope, and soon it will be general [the armistice had been signed with the Kingdom of Naples on 6 June and would soon be signed with the Holy See on 22 June]. The latter is giving many millions, and we have forgotten to ask him for some blessing, but it doesn't matter, we haven't forgotten the most precious thing, we have the small good gold coins which will give us as much as we want. It is impossible for me to tell you how brilliant our campaign has been, we have always beaten the enemy; the remnants of this army are beyond the Tirolle mountains, we have been forced to abandon them. Today we are enjoying laying siege to the fort of Mantou, and to Milan; in the first place there are eight thousand men, and in the last two thousand, who will soon be in the power of the Republic, and then the whole of Ytaly will belong to us. Farewell, my good friend, I am for life with the santimen of the purest friendship and fidelity, your husband...".