Pierre LOUŸS. 25 L.A.S. "Pierre", January-December 1899, to - Lot 136

Pierre LOUŸS. 25 L.A.S. "Pierre", January-December 1899, to his brother Georges Louis; 22pages in-4, in-8 or in-12, most with envelope or address. Important and fascinating unpublished correspondence to his brother, notably during his honeymoon in Italy, at the time of the Dreyfus Affair. - January 13 (Hôtel Foyot letterhead). "I have an article all ready; which I'm quite happy with in advance where, to prevent the only dangerous response I'll make a preamble on my Henry subscription and on my letter to Reinach in 1896; where I'll speak neither of the Duc d'Orléans, who is a fool, nor of Prince Victor, whom nobody knows, but where I'll ask something else all the same"; but he wouldn't want this article to harm Georges' career. As for criticism: "The only 'literary criticism' that has any influence is that which doesn't come from professional critics. Mirbeau, Theuriet, Coppée, have launched people (I know). Philippe Gille and even Lemaître: nobody"... He adds: "I think q.q. times about what my life would be like, if you weren't here. It's something I can't imagine at all. - It's almost certain that I would have killed myself by now, in one of the days of distress I've had. - In any case, I'd have no taste for anything and I'd certainly lose my life"... - Saturday evening [January 21]. About the lease on his apartment on boulevard Malesherbes; a bad meal in a restaurant; the jewelers on rue de la Paix... - [January 22]. Lunch with Georges at Larue's; his appointments for the week... - Wednesday [January 25]. He hesitates to follow Georges to Cairo (with attached letter from his sister Lucie). - July 24 (letterhead and vignette of the Grand Eden Hotel in Pallanza). Vacation on Lake Maggiore, with sketch: "Pallanza is not like Bellaggio, at the central tip of its lake. This point belongs entirely to our hotel; we have two rooms there, one of which is a corner room with three windows to the east and south, and all three so full of the lake that you'd think you were on a boat; we see it in both directions, with different horizons and never the same light. It's a unique place"... He lists the paintings he saw in Genoa and Milan. He received "a seven-page letter signed 'Pierre, dit Tigre'"... - Pallanza July 25. About his wife (Louise dite Toque): "T. is invariable and charming. She has such a quick temper, and I haven't seen her lose her temper in two months. She continues to have neither will nor desires nor preferences; everything seems fine to her; she is happy everywhere. [...] I think she is determined to do everything to make our household a good one"... - August 5. Stay in Pallanza; thunderstorms on the lake... "My novel is called SABA - Voyage vers le passé". Her son Tigre, Marie writes to her, is "as cheerful as anything and as kind as a heart. He's really starting to talk. He understands everything. He's getting better every day". The letter is accompanied by one from his wife Louise (Loulouse). - August 20th. Life in Pallanza passes "in absolute monotony; not a visit, not an event, not a face known among the travelers, and few letters". His wife "is as kind as can be. Never critical or ill-tempered. Happy with everything. Not only does she not argue, she refuses to make any decisions on any subject. This will change one day, I know, but until now I've never met anyone so easy-going". Coded allusions to ladies. News from Tigre... "The Dreyfus affair enters the fairyland. Here's Mercier proving the bad faith of foreign governments by admitting our own, and calling the word of heads of state untruthful 'in case it is given'. [...] All the same, if our general staff hasn't been as astute as an assembly of old diplomats, what are we to think of these military attachés who, being spies, don't even bother to burn their baskets!"... - August 22-24. He begs Georges (in coded language) not to resign: "Mais tige, tige, tige tapisserie cénobite". Four-point summary of the Dreyfus affair (with press clippings), concluding: "Under these conditions, would you, as a juror, convict? I'd probably vote guilty. But, apart from the accused, I don't know whether I should wish for a conviction, in the very interest of the army"... On his marriage: "I've been married for two months now. When I think that just 120 days ago I thought I wouldn't be marrying anyone for a long time. But since the beginning of my journey I have not doubted once that I have done well to change my life in this way"... - August 28. He announces his forthcoming return