Blackwell Family       Anna Blackwell       Blackwell, Henry 1880[Maria] Anna

24 [a?????] Av. de Wagraw. Feb. 8. '80

Darling old Harry, [?] your welcome 
letter came yesterday, with your very 
kind enclosure, which I shall use for
going down[?] to Niec [?] for a month, if
I find that I can manage to leave 
Paris in the very unsatisfactory position
in which I find myself placed
by the rascally old party [?] in question.
I have had the worst winter I ever
had; I took two colds, just before &
just after Christmas, with bronchitis,
& have passed the great part of
the time in bed. The attack was
a scare, almost a dangerous one;
my doctor came daily for more days
than I like to think of. I am getting
over it, but very slowly, & not satisfactorily.
The bad weather keeps me
in, & I do not regain strength as I
ought to do. This house[?] is so noisy,
& my nervous system is so much
tired[?] by the incredible badness[?]
of this old scoundrel, that I hardly
sleep, [?] is what I cannot stand.
So, if I find I can go off without
still further weakening an almost                                      2
desperate position, off I shall
go, Marian having most kindly
offered me her spare-bed.
Your samples are tasted +
judged. No 1 is Cane sugar; No
2 its unworthy rival! After 
that, I hope you won't go on declaring
that there is no difference be
tween the two!!! I wish Mr Becker
had been up at once as, if I rush
off to Nice, I can neither [show]
him politeness not help him
to see. I formerly [ ] M.
Broca, one of the largest
beet sugar people of France,
+ I'd easily renew him + get
him to [ ] man everything
He is very amiable + obliging. 
After various bad [ ]
symptoms, this old swindler
openly declares her determination
to throw me overboard if possible,
to sell the place without reserving
my share, & Dr. treub her in-
-g***** with me as was ** paper. 
As I unhappily trusted to 
her & the Bo to draw up those
papers, they have done
the work so effectually
for themselves that I can
make no legal claim
or opposition, or, at least, 
not while the new suferages come
before me. It is the next
utterly swindling, business willing
-able, complicated with his,
****, & abominations of all
kinds. I have tried several 
compromises, which she rejects.
I have now a last effort
to make, suggested by my 
legal advisor; who is to get my-
-self or some one who will give me my share of the Fr-to ad-
-vance the 50,000 for necessary
for paying off the 1st mortgage & 
taking the place of the 1st mortgage,
then, force ***** D-to let me
continuue the diggings, so as to 
secure my share of the results.
The place is mortgaged for beyond
its market value; but that value more than covers the
1st mortgage; I have a *****
ready & waiting to do the whole
of the diggings at his course, cost, risk 
& paid. I am therefore not 
without hopes if accomplishing
this ***** movement, not,
of course, has to be right a pro-
-gound secret until it is exe-
-cuted, & the wretches who
are gloating over the clearness
of the trap they have laid
for me. wakes up & use find
morning to find themselves ef-
-ffectively caught in the trap
they have placed for me. 
I cannot do this if I had not a friend in M. Renard, the
notaire who had the whole
business in his hands, + of
whom I have had the good
fortune to make a counsellor
+ supporter. You see that this
new place, [ ] can be executed
without the others Removing anything
of the matter until all is
legally secured, involves to farther
outlay for me. I must find a nice
one to advance the 50,000 frs, which he
is absolutely sure to get back again
by the sale of the place, if, on the 
conclusion of the search, nothing
is found; + the diggings are provided
for neither + my having to spend a 
farthing upon them. If course
the party who advances the
money will have a large
share of the gains, if any,
the engineer, also, has his
share. But, if I can only
carry out this plan, there is
Plenty of profit for everybody.
Could you not among adventurous
American Capitalists, find
me the comparatively small
sum I now need, $10,000 for
the payment of the old + making of the new mortgage,
with the absolute certainty
of being entirely recouped by
the sale of the place, if the
diggings proved fruitless;
+ a deed, properly drawn up by
the notary, giving him
say $100,000 in case of success?
There must be numbers
of rich, speculative men
on your side, who wd close
with the chance without
hesitation. Try, dear old
fellow. 
[?End?] means a liquid
to the spread like a paint does a surface. 

The one in question is, I believe,
an admirable thing.  It is incombustible,
hydrofuge, no insect
or fish will touch it, & it has 
a mass of other valuable properties.
I will send you prospectus 
shortly.  Wood is absolutely
protected from fire by it; 
metals walls, cellars, &c, from damp; ships' bottoms
from chillfish, weeds, &c. It is put
on like a coat of paint ; & is applied
cable to [?aleu?] & every sort
of material, down to fishing
nets, wh are wonderfully preserved
by it, & pasteboard,
wh can be aided for years for
roofing.  They offer me any quantity
I can find a sale for, leaving
me 1/2 the money recd until
I have entirely  repaid myself
the 87,000 frs (outlay, interest,
& various loss) at wh I place
my loss through [?briel]; after this 

repayment, they will leave
me 20 per cent on all sales
I make in any market
[ ] I may have opened, 
for the rest of my life. It is 
not an offer from which I
can get any good in since
for my present emergency;
but I regard it as a certain
source of gain for the future, 
+ shd much like one of my 
brothers to hake it up, push
it in the U.S. + share
profits with me. They have 
given the monopoly to several
people of various countried
in Europe, also in Canada.
But the U.S is not disposed
of + I can have a monopoly
for the country, if I can intro-
duce the thing there. Yours, dear
old fellow, lovingly, Anna

Feb 28. '80
24 to dc Wagram.
My dear Harry, the Endict Universal
(Universal Coating Composition) is a 
most valuable product applicable
to all textile fabrics which it strengthens
and renders inscrutable to wet or fire;
to wood, ditto, to tiles, pipes, +c; to
building materials of all descriptions; 
to cardboard, paper, canvas;
leather; felt + straw. A wooded
city, coated thus, could not burn, nor
could its rooms be damp. No water
will touch it. Damp walls are
cured, + paper made watertight
for roofing, by it. It has various
uses in other directions. Unluckily
the Builders are out of [prospectuses]
and pamphlets, but I shall copy +
send you something or other I am 
trying to get it taken up by the
Minister of Marine here, I expect
to do this very shortly; an attache
[ ] that quarter and [ ]
the question of its value. 
If you, Sam or George, or all
tree of you, wd take it up inearnest, to open a market for
it in the U.S.  I shall have a
monopoly of it for that country.
In order to work it properly, you
should make arrangements
for having it tested in presence
of your Minister of Navy matters,
of leading architects, sailmakers,
&c, &c, so as to secure its triumphant
entry into the employment
of the various business - departments
to wh it is applicable.
In that case, I will have a certain
quantity of it sent out to
you, free of cost, transit paid,
M. Banilliez[?] having undertaken
to do this.  I now proceed to copy,
the attestations of an important
Liverpool firm, who will show
you that the product is what
it claims to be, &  promising an
ample fortune to all who take

it up.  The Bo offer me 50 percent
of sales up to say $20,000;
so as to repay me the [?]
loss which they have been the
means of inflicting upon me &
which they are sincerely desiring
to make up to me; after this no payment
they offer me 20 percent ad infinitum,
for me & for you if you decide to take it
up.  I now copy an extract from the
letter of the L.pool house, A. Perin & Co
French Produce & General Merchants,
Hauck's Buildings, 42 Duke St., L.pool,
"M Banilliez[?].
As we have already informed
you, we experimented with your coating
compositive[?] 8 months ago, & the results
of our experiments were examined, a few
days ago, by a Committee of Competent
persons, assembled for the purpose.  The
steamer Bernard, on her return from
Brazil, was placed in a dry dock, &
her keel completely exposed; the
coating was found to be intact, & within
the slightest & appearance of [?].
We hasten to inform you that all 
these gentlemen were satisfied with the result of the trial, & that I count on an order for coating 11 steamers belonging to three different companies. On Saturday next, one of these steamers will be placed in a dry dock, & we shall coat [?] of her keel with your three varieties of Coating. We desire to impress you with the serious importance of our [experience] [?], for we have no hesitation in predicting for you _a great fortune_; this is our profound conviction, & it is not France, you may be very sure, that will furnish you with a market such as our house hopes to open to you in England. Why should not your Mr. Alfred come to L'pool [the] present at Saturday's [operations]?  The affair is well worth the trouble of coming; & besides, it is not from [Bédouatre] that you can push the Coating as it should be pushed. The same has written again, as follows: - Liverpool. Feb 4. 188[0]
"[?]"
"[Enduit] Universel, Bédouatre.
"We are happy to inform you that we have made a new trial on the steamer "Cyranese", but, this time, in the interior of the ship, for the Singlehurst Company [?] that, in importing salt & sugar, those substances oxydise their vessel far more in the inside than does the seawater on the outside (for these vessels are of iron). Everything leads us to anticipate that this new experience & will be crowned with the same success as the preceding one.
"We authorize you, dear [?], to make whatever use you think proper of our present communication.
We are yours faithfully
A. [Perin] & Co
I have translated this from the letter itself, so that there isno doubt of the genuineness of the
letter.
If you take up the matter; you must
lay yr plans well for carrying
the day at once.  I will get from
Mr Marsh an introduction to
the Chief of the U.S. Navy;
& you must better yrselves to get
the heads of the great firms
of Ocean steamers &c to be present
at the experiments, also the
leading builders, &c.  By doing
this, & getting expressims of approval
from leading men of
the various departments in wh
the coating wd be useful, you
will be able to make up the
right sort of prospectus, wh Harry
can print cheaply, & these you
must disseminate from one
end of the country to the other.
As soon as a tolerable lot of
orders come in, you will have
to get suitable premises in a

seaport town (N. York or Boston
probably) & must advertise the
thing to the [?].  Consider that
I have been knocking about this
unpleasant planet since 1816,
& that, if I am to get any good act
of it, this new opening must be
[?] to hear as quickly as
possible.
The coating sells at 1000 [?]
($5000) the ton; 1/2 of this is outlay,
the other 1/2 profit.  The Bs will
send over just as much as
you can sell; - a little of it
goes a long way, &, in use,
it costs but 2 [?] (1 [?] English)
to coat thoroughly a square
metre of surface.
It is 3 columns; black,
mahogany, & yellow; the
two latter colours cost
more in making, & sell
for 1500 [?] ($750) the ton, as

soon as the Bs get out their
new pamphlet I will send
it to you, translated & ready
for Harry to strike off a
few thousand copies.
I am most anxious that my
brothers should take up this
product, for I believe it
offers them a prospect of
fortune such as they have
never had.  Should they
unwisely turn their back upon
it, I shall lose no time in
putting it into the hands of
other agents; but I should do so 
with immense regret.  If the
three wd go at it, George for the
builders &c, Harry for the ships,
& Sam as General Manager of
the Office, Book-keeper; salesman
&c. they wd make a capital team
& do [?] work for themselves & for me!

Feb 29. '80
24 Av. de Wagram.
Darling old Harry, the accompanying
letter is for the 3 brothers.
I most earnestly hope you will
all take it up; you could help
push & stir up the others [?]
neglecting yr [?]; & as Portland
is a port & Boston another, you
could push [?] sea people
almost without tumble.
For myself, me voici; - I've
been extremely ill & nearly all
the winter, & am getting on but
slowly.  Bronchitis was never
so general, so fatal, as this
winter, & never, says my Dr,
did its victims get over it so
slowly.  It weakens one amazingly.
I find I cannot leave until
a decision is come to, this wretched
woman behaving infamously
denying her engagements & obligations, 
& bent on cheating me
of my third in the [?].  She is trying to
sell the place, in wh case the [?]
will be lost, unless she finds a
buyer to reserve the shares
of the parties interested.  I am
waiting quietly to see how this thing
turns out; I don't think she will
find a buyer, & I am quietly
moving heaven & earth to find
a party to lend me the money
for buying (to be lost if nothing
found, for a share if found).
I have the word of a capitalist
(an excellent & thoroughly upright
man whom I know pretty well
& am quite sure of) that he
will buy it if it goes for about
the value of the land & [?]
will do the digging at his own
expense, & will give me
my third.  But as the two mortgagees
are intending to bid
to the amount if the two mortgages,
wh exceeds that of the

estate itself, I fear that he will
not get it.  So I am knocking
at all manner of doors in
the desperate hope of buying it
myself, this being the only way
in wh I can recoup myself for
my miseries. If I sued this wretched
ungrateful fool, I shd only
kill her, & I could not sell her
skin!! - I shd not get a [?]
beyond [?] & I am
above that.  I am as sure of
the existence of the measure
as though I had my share of it in
the Bank of England - & it is [?] [?]
getting the place into my hands 
that I can be sure of getting at
it.  I have 2 parties ready
to do the digging at their risks &
cost for a share in the result;
so that, if I can get somebody
to let me have the 120,000 [?]
or so to buy, I need nothing moreto ensure the finishing of the
work.  Did I tell you that Mr
Renard[?], the [?] whose client
holds the 1st mortgage, has begun
the legal steps for the seizure
of the place, & urges me to turn
every [?] to get the one only
for buying it in.  "You'll [?]" he
says "do anything as long as
Mr D. has any hold on the place.
I am preparing the foreclosure
as the only means of helping
you out of yr hobble.  You have
now 4 months before you to find
yr capitalist, before I can offer
the place for sale.  Make the
most of these 4 months, & get
the thing into yr own hands."
Shall I do this?  The place is valued
at 160,000 frs; so the lender wd not
risk much in lending me the
amount I want, as even a forced
sale wd give him most, if not
all, of his money.  But the idea

of a treasure generally excites
incredulity, & it is therefore very
difficult to find just the party
who will be willing to entertain
the proposition.  But such people
do exist; & I shall do my utmost
to find the right party before
 the fatal moment of its all
melting through my fingers,
if that is, indeed, to be the
melancholy result of all
my heavy sacrifices of
time, effort, money &
abnegation.
Did you get my letter,
in reply to yours with the
sugar, in wh I told you
No 1 was cane No 2 beet?
I wrote at once, a single
taste having abundantly
sufficed for the decision.
I write away at the Bristol
remembrances whenever I
have a spare moment; I
fear it will grow into a volume,
& that you will hardly
care to wade through such
a mass of - shadows.  However,
you, Harry dear, & as
you will I [?] be
down here after I have
gone back into the "around";
of "our Eldest" that you
can dip into from time
to time.
Give my love to
Lucy & to Alice; is Alice's
hair profitting from the
hair - doctor's prescriptions?
Yours, dear old Harry, lovingly
Anna

I was not aware [?] that
there had been so long a delay
in my writing to you.  I
will keep notes of my letters
in future in case of complaints
not well founded as yours
are.  Aunt Emily seems
uncertain as to her
Summer movements -
if she should talk of
coming here, encourage
her all you can.  We want
to see her.  The sisters are
advancing in age, and if she
feels she can spare the money
I do hope no cold water will
be thrown on the matter.
We have been going through
a novel experience for
me at least.  Our mild-lookingbut sulky-tempered Jane left
us before her month was up
& was very insolent indeed.  Right
glad was I to see the last of
her sour looks about the
house.  As a girl was not engaged
till March 3d I had five days of
the house work.  Dry fires to light
every a.m. & cooking &c.  Aunty
helped as much as I wd allow.
One result is - I shall never
be maid of all work in an English
house.  The beastly nature of the
coal is astonishing, even when
brains are used to divise cleanest
ways of using it.  When I do our
work I shall go home, any [?] in
France, or better still, in Hawaii
where no fires are needed throughout the
year, except the cooking fire.
I must say addio now - will write
soon again.  Affy thing, Kitty.
How is F. B. B.? - as health I mean.

24 Av. de Wagraue[?]    April 1, '80
Darling old Harry,
I have just rec'd-
a line from Eliz. giving me the excellent
news of Lucy's convalescence.
I need not tell you, dear old fellow,
how intensely glad I am to know
that the terrible danger is past,
& how earnestly I hope that she
may be able to regain health
& strength for many years to
come.  The thought of your misery,
if you had lost her, you poor wretched
creature, not seeing farther than
your nose as regards the cardinal
question of our successive lives!
has been a perfect nightmare for
me ever since I rec'd the news of
her illness.  I hope the balm of
southern air may speedily make
her illness a thing of the past.  I only
wish I could have used your Xtmas

[*must go into it tooth & nail.  Yours afftlely Anna
P.S. My love to Lucy & to Alice when you write.*]gift for going to Nice, as I thought of
doing.  But it has been impossible,
I cannot absent myself from Paris
until this anxious business is settled
one way or the other.  I am moving
heaven & earth to find a capitalist;
shall I succeed?  Only refusals as
yet.  But you may be quite sure
that I shall incur no farther 
responsibility [of] or risk of loss, beyond
the postages & omnibuses required
for my applications.
I have employed your kind & welcome
gift as follows:  Some under-
clothes which I much needed, 60 fr.;
an exquisite guitar, a thing I have
long been longing for, but had not
the money for buying, 100 fr.; a
methode (for I've so completely
forgotten the little I formerly knew
of this instrument, that I must begin
again) & a few lessons from a 1st rate
professor, take up the rest of the

amount.  Except in going south, no
other way of spending your present
could have given me so much
pleasure.  I have been most lucky
in the obtaining of the guitar; it is
the most elegant guitar I ever saw,
& of very superior quality, from the
1st house of Paris for this instrument.
It is covered with exquisite inlaying
of mother of pearl, & is, in all respects,
an uncommonly fine one.  Its proper
price was 210 frs.; but it had been
let out a few times, & the price was
put down to 100 fr., though the 
instrument is none the worse
for having been used a few times.
After a running fight, I got the
case - a very good one, lined with
green baize, & with a lock - thrown
in, though they had declared the
concession "impossible".  Altogether,
it is a great bargain.  I got M. Bosch,
the professor, & a distinguished artist,
to examine, & decide on, the guitars
I had hunted up at the two best Parishouses, & his judgment was strongly
in favour of this one.  I hereby give &
bequeath it to Alice, if she will promise
to learn to use it, in wh case, I shall
leave it to her in my will.
I have had a success in of the case
of relapse, the season being so
unfavourable, & my long & miserable
illness together with the strain of all this anxiety having left me extremely
weak & spectral.  I have tried various
things without much benefit; but
am more hopeful of a remedy just
strongly urged by a party who suffered
dreadfully from bronchitis, was
cured by it, & has since cured many;
2 teaspoonfuls of lemon-juice, pure, 5
times a day; twice a week, a teaspoonful
of Carlsbad salts in a pint of warm
water, with the juice of a whole lemon
& a good deal of sugar.  You take it, warm,
a couple of hours before you get up; a cup
of tea two hours afterwards.  I began the
treatment yesterday, feeling really uneasy about
myself; & I fancy I already feel better, &
look a trifle less ghostlike.  I have been too anxious
about Lucy to go on with the jottings; I shall now resume
them.  The enduit is splendid, most valuable; am waiting
for some English prospectus to send to you.  George & Sam


[*Anna*]
24 Av. de Wagram
7 April '80
Dear darling old Harry,
Victory!
We have our new capitalist,
& the digging will be 
resumed without delay.
This is a happy omen
for the success of my
undertaking with the
enduit; which I trust
you, Sam, & Georgie,
will seriously take in
hand, & promptly.  Tothose of the family who
know something of my
being embarked in
a matter that has given
me great anxiety &
caused me to risk heavy
loss, you can say that
it is  now changed &
that I am in great
joy over a change
that changes everything
for the better.
In grt haste
Yrs afftely AnnaHotel Monsigny
rue Monsigny
Paris, Oct 24. 1880
Continue to address to
[?] till further
advices.
Dear old Harry,
I am here for a few
days en route for Nice,
where I greatly desire
to be, suffering from these
incessant colds & sore throat;
the climate of Paris wd soon
finish me, so I must go south!
E. & I had rooms in this hotel
in 1850!  It is quiet & respectable
though modest, cheaper than the
grand ones, though much too dear
for me, as the cost per day exceeds
the miserable 11 frs per diem to

[*yr sugar-making; in France, also, the
great danger of the beet
sugar trade is known
to be the difficulty of
getting the required
supply of beets;
so that no Frenchman
goes into the [?]
unless he has a
large fortune to fall
back on when beets
run short.  I am
very sorry Lucy's throat
remains delicate.*]wh the loss of my India
paper has cut me down.
But I am here only for a special
[?] & for a few days.  But
as my enterprises have
hitherto been so unlucky,
I must ask you to keep to
yourself, for the present,
what I am about to tell
you.  Mme B. mortified
to see the plight to wh I
am reduced, & regretting
having helped to draw me
into the T-business on so
rotten a basis (tho' she certainly
declares Mme D. deceived them
about the mortgages) proposed
to me to undertake a piece
of work for some persons who,
unable to look after the
matter themselves, were
prepared to pay handsomely

[*give my love to her & to Alice.  Yours
dear old Harry
lovingly
Anna.*]

any person who cd take it on
to a successful issue.  In my
desperate case (as the attempt
required no outlay of money,
but only some brain-works
& trottings) I closed gladly
with the offer, & set to work
at once.  This was little
more than a fortnight
ago; but, despite illness
wh has hindered me, I am
all but sure of a successful
issue.  The thing will be
decided in the course of a
few days.  If I succeed,
as I have every reason
to expect, I shall receive
an honorarium wh, tho' of
course not to be compared
with the hoped-for result
at Triel, will suffice to payoff the Hodgsan[?] loan &
interest & leave me enough
to live on, quietly, without
this wearing anxiety of
depending on literary work
that may be withdrawn
at any moment.
The affair will probably
be settled one way or the
other tomorrow, & the pay
will, if successful, be
handed me in the course
of a few days.  Just think,
Harry dear, what a blessed
thing if I can write you, next
mail - I say, "I'm all right!"
I shall not stay north a
day longer than I can help;
my health absolutely requires
the move.  I am grieved to
learn that you fear loss on

24 Av. de Wagram.
24 May. '80
Dear old Harry,
Yours came
this morning.  I have just 
translated it for M. Bouielliez[?], who
will get my letter tomorrow
morning, & will doubtless accept
your conditions, which are
all perfectly reasonable & necessary.
As soon as I have his
acceptance, I will have the
proper legal deed drawn up by a notary
executed, registered &c. so as to
make it perfectly & absolutely
binding.
There is a hitch in the arrangement
wh was represented to me
as made, signed, &c.  The people
who were to buy, have not
succeeded in raising the money.

[*what I ought to have had to being with; -viz, thoroughly good legal advice.
My love to Lucy & Alice.  The guitar is splendid; and I to leave it to Alice in my will?
Yours, darling old fellow,
Affectionately
Anna*]
Unless they do this, the arrangement,
of course will fall to the ground,
& the place will be sold by auction.
This wd be, under the circumstances,
the best upshot for me; as I
have a capitalist ready to buy
it, should it go, as it probably would,
for much smaller sum than
her idiotic majesty tries to get
for it.  If this gentleman buys,
I shall have, not merely the
third of money & ingots sold to me,
but a third of the jewels, & objects
of art, &c., which we believe
to be much more valuable
than the coin & ingots.  As
he is just, kind, & generous, he
has promised me to give the
old fool a share of the find,
though she will have no

legal right to a sou of it, once
the place sold, out of her hands.
At present, I demand from her a legal recognition
by the new owners, of my right to my third, of residence
rent-free while the diggings
go on, & to have a friend reside
in the house to watch the work
in my interest.  If she do not
consent to this, I shall have to
sue her; for I cannot suffer
the treachery already enacted
to be crowned by her putting
the place out of her own hands
without my rights being fully
recognised & admitted by the
new owners.  It is, however,
quite possible that she may
not find a purchaser; in
wh case, the place will be sold
the 1st week in August, thelegal delay ending then, & Mr
Renard being impatient to get
rid of the business, & certain
to sell the very first moment the
legal delay comes to an end.
My terror at present is lest the
treacherous old wretch shd, at
last, find a buyer with money; if
I were sure the sale by auction
wd take place, I should be tolerably
at ease, as my man is prepared
to buy if it do not run up higher
than he chooses to go.  He is rich,
but prudent; & indisposed to purchase
at any extravagant price, because he
will still, after buying, have to spend
the 2 or 3 thousand pounds for the diggings,
& until the pot aux roses is actually discovered,
the result must be uncertain.  I found
Mr Renard, though apparently friendly, wd do nothing for
me, & I have put the affair into the hands of a highly
respected English firm here, [Mourilgaux?] & Sons, of long standing
solicitors, & am greatly relieved by the interest taken in
my absurd position & the feeling that I have, at last,Keep this private - Let Harry only
see it. E. B.
1 rue Mosigny 19 Dec 80
Dear both of you,
The piano will be on
its way to you before this reaches you.
I had no idea it took so long to arrive
by petite vitesse, or I would have sent it
10 days ago, for it was then ready.  When
I, yesterday, called in at Erard's to give
the order for sending it off, I said "I hope
you will send it at once, as I want it to
reach my sisters for Christmas."  At 
which the clerk opened his eyes, laughed,
& said, "Mais c'est bien loin d'ici a Nice,
tres certainement il n'arrivera pas pour
Noel!" but he seemed to think it wd reach
you in time for New Year's Day.
I am sorry to say that my difficulties
do not disappear; 15 ministerial
or Governmental visits have not
yet opened the door of success.  I rather
think I must lay the case before
Mr Grevy himself, & am preparing
for action in that direction.  I groan
when I think of yr sunshine! but
what can I do?  How can I give up an
effort which, if I succeed, will abundantly

[*have these lovely objects for Xtmas if possible.  One 
wonders how mortal fingers can turn out anything
so perfect, so absolutely true to nature!-*]compensate even for the
miseries & disappointment & losses of these
3 1/2 years?  The weather, though frequently
damp, is so mild that I only have
fire on account of the dampness;
lots of windows are standing open,
& I suffer from perspiration every-
time I go out, though I put on as
little as I dare.
This hotel, & my room (though dear & I
heartily long to get out of them)
are a wonderful oasis of peace,
cleanliness, easiness, & quiet,
in the very heart of Paris.  I, who
am so dreadfully sensitive to
noises, smells, &c. that I did
not expect, in coming here, to
have a night's sleep or a minute's
peace, am really as comfortable
as such a way of living allows it.
The disturbed nights I have to hear
too often are due to anxiety alone,

for tis as quiet as a desert during
the night; the people are kind &
very friendly; & Joseph, an excellent
servant & very obliging,
&, when it rains, does all my
little errands, for wh I pay him
two sous a piece, wh he pockets
with undisguised satisfaction.
My "old woman of the mountain",
who has grown as friendly as though
she had never been otherwise
or might not relaps into hatred,
tomorrow (extraordinary creature,
but one you can't help forgiving
& being kind to the moment she
gets out of her tantrums)! determined
to sell a very valuable picture
she has, wh de [Criquete?] told her he wd
make the Queen buy for £4,000 but
died the day before, by his appointment,
she reached Windsor.  She made me
leave everything to get her an audience
of Baron Rothschild, wh I did at once,through Mr Gatliffe, Chef of the Bureau
Anglais of the R. bank, to wh I was
recommended in 1855, & took all my
cheques for over 20 years.  He most
kindly took up the thing, & got the
audience for next day at 9 a. m. or
any day at that hour; & after all
my trouble, the provoking old Will
o the Wisp has gone back to Triel without
seeing the Baron.  She is ill, undoubtedly,
threatened with one of her awful attacks
of coliques hepatiques; but I think,
she might have forced herself to see
Baron R. before rushing back to
Triel, &, with the price she is sure
to get for her picture, she could
have staved off the danger now
hanging over our heads.  I suppose
she will do this in the course of the
week; but it is dreadfully trying to
deal with so inconsistent a will.
At any rate, if I were not here, the
crash would probably come, & I really
dare not leave at present on account of Triel as well as of this other thing, much
as I long to do so.  Yrs affectly Anna
P.S. I've just found a new flower shop - more exquisite
than the others - a holly just like nature, but all very
dear, quite of the question 5 frs each flower or spray of holly.
I shall try to get to rue de la Paix tomorrow, so that you may