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LAMARTINE (Alphonse, de …) :
2 handwritten letters, dated and signed by Alphonse de Lamartine.
- Letter, 3 pages in 8°, dated 1 December 1856, concerning the renewal of a subscription to the journal *Cours familier de littérature*, which Lamartine, being short of money, published monthly in order to make ends meet.
Sir,
My subscribers are not merely an audience to me; they are a family of friends.
I am well aware that personal goodwill played a greater part than literary curiosity in your subscription.
I do not feel humiliated by this. I take pride in it. I prefer cordiality to glory.
If the desire to contribute usefully to my work played a significant part in your subscription for 1856, I dare to ask you frankly and personally to renew it for 1857.
As you know, in a new publication, the first year’s costs eat up the subscription fee.
Renewal for 1857 begins on 1 January, since I have delivered the twelve essays—or the two volumes—promised for 1856.
To make the renewal process easier for you, I have taken steps to simplify your dealings with me as much as possible. You will find these set out in the note printed at the end of the last essay.
Please be so kind, Sir, as to send me your reply as soon as possible, so as to spare me the very costly and unnecessary expenses of printing and postage; and whatever your reply may be, rest assured that your name, entered on my lists, will remain forever engraved in my heart with gratitude.
Signed: Lamartine""
The correspondent added this note at the foot of the signature:
"20 December 1856,
A tribute to the great poet, the great writer, the great orator; a tribute to the noble heart that never despaired of the salvation of the Fatherland, to the great citizen who knew how to overcome factional strife through the influence of his character and the eloquence of his speech, and who inspired feelings of esteem and admiration amongst men of integrity from all parties.
Such is the significance of the subscription that one of his most sincere admirers is eager to renew.”
- Letter, 3 pages in 4° [With envelope, addressed to Mr Thuillier, solicitor in Amiens]. Letter dated 23 November 1847, signed Lamartine, Member of Parliament for Mâcon.
Following the triumphant banquet, which had marked his remarkable debut in politics, Lamartine opens up about his political views, but is unable to attend an event organised in the provinces.
“I deeply regret that the distance prevents me from responding to the honourable invitation I have received from you.
France, of which you are such a devoted and patriotic advocate, is at last awakening to the long-foreseen consequences of its government’s failings. A new and active opposition seems set to emerge from the still peaceful unrest, to which you wish to lend a further generous impetus.
I am pleased that you have thought of me to lend an additional voice, within your walls, to the demands of the public conscience. I see this as proof of the close bond between the various regions of the Fatherland.
The right of citizenship which you have kindly granted me on this occasion tells me that the principles of the Mâcon banquet have taken root in your fine country.
Let us hope that they will soon be established everywhere and that the voice of an independent France, by carrying them right into the legislative chamber, will enable them to triumph legally over the retrograde system that is dragging us back into the traps of the past].
I shall be unable to attend your rally … My mind is with you in spirit, and my heart is filled with gratitude. [...]
Signed: Lamartine, Member of Parliament for Mâcon”.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
ID: 89135223
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