PARIS, _March 4, 1860_.
We had yesterday the first suggestion of the return of spring. It did me
a great deal of good, and I felt entirely made over. It seemed as if I
were breathing the air of Cannes. To-day it is gray and gloomy. I need
you very much, to take life patiently. Day by day it becomes more
burdensome. People are so terribly stupid. The most inexplicable thing
is the general ignorance one finds in this century of enlightenment, as
it calls itself modestly. No one any longer knows a word of history.
You will have read Dupin’s address, which amused me hugely....
I have never succeeded in finding Gobineau, and I know very well why;
you also. I made myself a few presents two days ago, at Poitiers’. I
bought several beautiful old books, and some others, modern ones, in
excellent bindings. Have you read the _Memoirs of Holland_ attributed to
Madame de la Fayette? They were very entertaining. I will lend them to
you, on good security, when you return. The binding is done by
Bauzonnet.
I have had made a black Venetian domino, with a lace biretta, or
something of the kind, after the sketch I had drawn in Venice, and which
I showed you. Since my return, in this untoward season, I am taking an
unusual interest in the weather....