ROBERT (EARL OF LYTTON I) BULWER-LYTTON - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 12/26/1874 - HFSID 73046

ROBERT BULWER-LYTTON, EARL OF LYTTON I
The British Ambassador to Paris pens this letter to a friend explaining why he has perhaps not yet visited and announcing the birth of his third daughter
Autograph Letter Signed: "Lytton" in black ink. 2p (front and verso of single sheet) 4½x7. Paris, December 26, 1574. Difficult to decipher precisely to whom the letter is written, but ostensibly to “My Dear Count”. Translated from the French, in part: "If I have not yet come to see you, it's because for more than 12 days I have been in bed with a painful ailment that still prevents me from leaving…my wife gave birth this morning at 6:10 a.m. to a girl and mother and child (praise the Lord!) are doing fine./ I now have as many daughters as King Lear-that there's not among them a Goneril or a Regan!...". Robert Bulwer-Lytton (1831-1891), 1st Earl Lytton, was a British statesman and poet best known for his tenure as Viceroy of India between 1876-1880, which included events such as the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878-1880) and the Great Famine of 1876-1878. His son Victor Bulwer-Lytton followed him to India as the Governor of Bengal and for a time, acting Viceroy of India. He furthermore was an accomplished writer and published many poems under the name of Owen Meredith; a few of his popular verses included "Lucile" (1860), "The Wanderer" (1859), "Fables in Song" (1874), and "Glenaveril" (1885). Lightly toned. Slight show-through of writing on each side. Otherwise, fine condition.