Lot n° 199
Estimation :
30000 - 40000
EUR
Result with fees
Result
: 53 760EUR
Arthur RIMBAUD (1854-1891). L.A.S., Aden... - Lot 199 - Ader
Arthur RIMBAUD (1854-1891). L.A.S., Aden September 28, 1885, to his family; 3 pages small in-8.
Rare letter from the hell of Aden to his family.
"My dear friends,
I received your letter of the end of August. I did not write because I did not know if I was going to stay here. That will be decided at the end of this month, as you can see from the attached contract, three months before the expiration of which I must give notice. I am sending you this contract so that you can present it in case of military claims. If I stay here, my new contract will take [effect from] October 1, I may still do this 6-month contract. But next summer I will not spend it here anymore, I hope. The summer ends here around October 15. You have no idea what this place is like. There is not a single tree here, not even dried out, not a blade of grass, not a piece of land, not a drop of fresh water. Aden is a crater of an extinct volcano, filled in at the bottom by the sand of the sea. One can only see and touch lava and sand, which cannot produce the slightest vegetation. The surroundings are an absolutely arid sand desert. But here the walls of the crater prevent the air from entering, and we roast at the bottom of this hole as in a lime kiln. One must be forced to work for one's bread, to be employed in such hells! One has no society but the Bedouins of the place, and one becomes a total imbecile in a few years. Finally, it would be enough for me to collect here a sum which, if placed elsewhere, would give me a sure interest almost sufficient to live on. Unfortunately the exchange rate of the Rupee in francs in Bombay is falling every day, money is depreciating everywhere, the small capital I have (16000 fcs) is losing value, because it is in rupees, all this is abominable, awful countries and deplorable business, it poisons one's existence.
The Rupee used to be worth 2 frs 10 cents in trade, now it is worth only 1.90! It has fallen like that in 3 months. If the Latin monetary convention is re-signed, the rupee will perhaps rise to 2 francs. I have now 8000 rupees. This sum would give in India, at 6% 480 Ries per year, with which one can live. India is more pleasant than Arabia. I could also go to Tonkin; there must be some jobs there now. And if there is nothing there, we can go as far as the Panama Canal, which is still far from being finished.
I would like to send this sum to France, but it pays so little; if we buy 4 ½ we lose the interest of two years; and 3% is not worth it. Besides, at the current exchange rate of the Rupees, I would still have to wait, now they would not give me more than 1.90 for cash payment in France. 10% loss, how nice after 5 years of work!
If I make a new contract, I will send it to you. Send me back this one when you don't need it anymore
Yours faithfully Rimbaud ".
Old collection of the Bourg de Bozas, library of the castle of Prye (1990, n° 226).
Correspondence (éd Lefrère), p. 431.
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