Mustapha RÉCHID PACHA. Autograph letter signed by the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire, at the time ambassador in Paris. Addressed to Douglas Loveday.
Paris, February 27, 1836
One sheet in 4to. 250 x 202 mm. Text in French, brown ink. Dated "Paris, February 27, 1836." At the end, signed "Réchid".
He regrets having to refuse the request to lend the reception rooms of the Turkish Embassy for a concert by D. Loveday's daughter. «Vous avez eu raison de croire que j’étais dans la disposition de vous obliger, mais je ne pense pas que dans cette circonstance il me soit permis de céder au désir de vous être agréable. Une seule considération vous fera comprendre que des raisons graves et nombreuses ne me laissent pas libre à cet égard […]».
[You were right to believe that I was in a position to oblige you, but I don't think that in this circumstance I am allowed to give in to the desire to please you. One consideration alone will make you understand that serious and numerous reasons do not leave me free in this respect [...]"
Mustafa Resid Pasha (1800–1858) was an Ottoman Turkish statesman and diplomat, best known for being the principal architect of the Ottoman imperial government reforms known as the Tanzimat. He was first sent to Paris in 1834 with the task of reconquering Algeria from recent French occupation. Although he ultimately failed, he remained in Paris as permanent ambassador until his transfer to London in 1836.
Douglas Loveday, an English lawyer living in Paris, was the father of a talented pianist, Emily, born in 1799. Around the same time as this letter, he also appears as a correspondent of Paganini, whose son Emily had given piano lessons.
See Nicolo Paganini, a biography; by Prod'homme, J. G., New York 1911.