CANNES, _February 4, 1860_.
You cause me great perplexity of mind concerning Sainte Eulalie, whom I
had forgotten entirely. I am sure it is either the 11th or 12th. I
accept with much gratitude your kind offer, but I know very little about
those Byzantine affairs, and fear that what you suggest is far too
modern a trinket for my cousin. We must remember that she seldom goes
anywhere, and dresses in harmony with her age and in an eminently
respectable fashion. Perhaps you are thinking of some buckles, or
oxidized silver clasps, such as come from the Caucasus and elsewhere.
Anyway, you have full liberty, bearing in mind the following
instructions: 1st, That your selection must not be too conspicuous, too
modern, or too frivolous; 2d, that it does not cost much more than a
hundred francs, and that it has the appearance of being worth much more;
3d, and, finally, that it does not give too much trouble. I am sure you
will attend to this commission with your usual promptness and good
judgment, and I thank you most heartily in advance.
This reminds me of something else, and that is, that I have never sent
you my good wishes on your fête-day. When does it come? and, in the
first place, what sort of a name have you? It seems to me it is a
Lutheran or an heretical name. Is your patron saint the Evangelist, or
the Baptist? And when is his fête-day? You may imagine that I wish to
give you a surprise--a difficult thing to do.
I am at this moment lying on my couch in great distress. When I sit up
it seems as if my chest were being scorched with hot iron. Doctor Maure
advises me to apply some soothing lotion; but it does not in the least
ease the pain.
I am expecting two of my friends who are coming to spend a week with me,
and I am anxious lest the weather should be bad. Just now the sun shines
magnificently, but this is an exceptional year, and one can not count on
anything. The wind yesterday blew with such an icy blast that it seemed
to come from Siberia.
Like you, I find politics very entertaining. To see certain people rage
makes my heart rejoice. Good-bye. Next month I shall see you again.
Meanwhile, I am ill, melancholy, and bored. My eyesight is failing, and
I could no longer sketch, even if my health would permit it. How sad it
is to grow old! Good-bye.