Order of Malta. ADMISSION OF CHEVALIER LE BACLE D'ARGENTEUIL TO THE RUSSIAN CATHOLIC GRAND PRIORY AS A KNIGHT OF JUSTICE, signed letter from the Vice-Chancellor of the Order, Commander de la Houssaye, St. Petersburg, August 30, 1799. 18913-39
Admission of Chevalier Le Bacle d'Argenteuil to the Russian Catholic Grand Priory as a Knight of Justice and granting of a lifelong pension of three hundred roubles per year. Following this letter is the response from Chevalier Le Bacle d'Argenteuil.
"St. Petersburg, August 30, 1799
Sir,
I have the honor to inform you that His Imperial Majesty the Emperor and Grand Master, having taken into consideration your allegiance and request, has deigned to admit you to His Russian Catholic Grand Priory as a Knight of Justice. According to this sovereign decision, your seniority will date back to May 25 of this year 1799, the time of your admission.
In addition to this grace, His Imperial Majesty the Emperor and Grand Master has kindly added another, ordering me that you be granted a lifelong pension of three hundred roubles per year from the Order's funds. This pension will be paid to you semi-annually starting from the 23rd of the current month of August upon receipt of duly legalized life certificates that you will send to a procurator here.
[...].
Signed 'The Vice-Chancellor of the Order, Commander de la Houssaye'."
Response from Chevalier Le Bacle d'Argenteuil:
"I have delayed for some time in responding to you, my dear Commander, but I wanted to express something more substantial in my reply than mere emotion. Let us pray to God, my dear Commander, that He may forever preserve the august leader who has pulled us from the abyss into which cowardice had thrown us, and whose benevolence seeks out the unfortunate to relieve them with the tenderness of a father and the generosity of a great Monarch."
Double leaf.
H 22.2 cm x 18.8 cm.
Fair condition, with creases, some of which are reattached, others torn but without missing pieces.
Reference :
18913-39