GÉRICAULT Théodore (1791-1824). Lot n° 98

L.A., 10 June [1822], to Mme TROUILLARD, rue Chantereine no. 10 in Paris; 3 pages in-8, address (paper a little creased). Reply to a letter of rupture from his mistress. "Beautiful madam, for I know you are beautiful and I do not say it here to afflict you, God forbid that I should cause pain to anyone; your kind letters, moreover, must have made me realise that you took things well and that good jokes were familiar to you. All of them were obliging and in good taste, only the last one seemed to me to be a little harsh. You clearly decide that I have nothing to say to you since you have nothing to hear. This is a consequence that I am allowed to consider false since I do indeed have infinitely many things to say to you, infinitely is the right expression, infinitely many things, yes, madam, infinitely many things, each one more pleasant than the last, to say to you and, as I fear, if you do not want to hear me, I will address myself to good Cécile: she will listen to me and will deign to complain to me, alas! No, Cecile, you can do nothing about it; you innocently brought me the poison that was supposed to take my life; I would still see you without hatred or wrath, I love the grief that consumed me, and even the sound of your light dress gently stirring the air in my room, every memory is dear to me. This certainly smacks of passion, heartache, embarrassment, shy love in a word, but as it could bore you a lot or, what is worse, make you laugh, I have many more things I can say and that, as a kind person, you should hear. I have reached an age when reason begins to give way to vanity, so you need not fear any presumptuous interpretation on my part of all that you have deigned to write to me, and although everything seemed to be designed to flatter my self-esteem and swell my pride, I saw only what I had to see: a great deal of originality combined with a great deal of wit, and then perhaps a little desire to make all this known to me. I am quite sure that the other three ladies will blame you harshly for acting in this way with such a good man as I seem to be, and one of them will perhaps try to console me for such a black line. Your beautiful big eyes may look at me with their melancholy expression, but they do not prevent me, you see, from telling you your truths. Wouldn't you say, "What a horse!"...