Faux LOUIS XVII. L.S. "Charles Dauphin de France", New York 24 August 1824, to comte de Survilliers (Joseph Bonaparte) 1 page and a half in-4. Very curious letter from a mysterious fake Louis XVII to Napoleon's brother. "If the destiny of men is directed by the hand of God we must not murmur at the fate to which it reduces us. Lafayette in this country and the Dauphin of France, is it divine justice that directs his steps to punish him for the fate he has inflicted on the authors of my days [...] he had my unfortunate family arrested at Varennes. [In 1817 there was a trial in Rouen concerning the son of Louis XVI. If it had not been proven that this individual had been the child who took the place of the Dauphin, he would have been condemned to death. At the age of three, he took my place & he was introduced into an organ, and I was saved by the same instrument, where I was taken to the mountains of Auvergne. The Queen, to remove the suspicion of my abduction and knowing that those who were guarding us knew that the Dauphin wore a sign on his collar, burnt this child in more or less the same place where I have the sign, which meant that he kept the memory [...] my declaration is the one requested by the Duchess of Angouleme to recognise her brother. I hope, Mr Count, that you will help me with some money to make my journey to France easier. I would very much have liked to see you, but this land is full of satelists who are enemies of any sense of honour"... And he signed: "Charles Dauphin de France".