Lamennais, La Chenaie

[Autograph in the possession of Mr. Marshall in London.]

[Paris, May 28th, 1836—according to the stamp of the post office]

Dear and venerable Father,

I shall expect you. Whatever sorrow there is in the depth of my soul, it will be sweet and consoling to me to see you again.

You are so wonderfully good to me! and I should suffer so much by being so long away from you!—

Au revoir then, once more—in eight days at latest it will be, will it not? I do nothing else than keep expecting you.

Yours, with the deepest respect and most sincere devotion,

F. Liszt

10. To Mademoiselle Lydie Pavy, of La Glaciere, Lyons

[Autograph in the possession of M. Etienne Charavay in Paris.]

St. Gervais, August 22nd [1836].

Your postscript deserves a punishment, and here it comes dated from St. Gervais. I do not know whether your charming sister-in- law, Madame Pavy, will consider this stamp of St. Gervais worthy to appear in her collection; be that as it may, it gives me no less a pleasure to converse a little with you who are always so charming, so versatile, so excellent, and, permit me to say, so kind to me.

Mademoiselle Merienne, whom I saw only quite lately (for you must know that during the whole month of July, of glorious memory, I have barely condescended to go down once or twice to Geneva; I was living in a little bit of a house on the mountain, whence, let me say parenthetically, it would have been quite easy for me to hurl sermons and letters at you); Mademoiselle Merienne (what shall I say to you after such an enormous parenthesis?), somewhat like (by way of a new parenthesis) those declaimed discourses of Plantade or Lhuillier, which put a stop to music whilst nevertheless admitting that there is such a thing, whether at the beginning or at the end—Mademoiselle Merienne—au diable Mademoiselle Merienne! You guess by this time that she gave me tidings of you, that she is a delightful and enchanting person, that she makes admirable portraits, and that mine, amongst others, has been a wonderful success. Etc., etc., and always etc…

And yet I do wish to talk to you about this good Mademoiselle Merienne, for she said a heap of charming things to me for your sake, which will certainly not astonish you. But how to set about it after all this preamble of parentheses? Ah, I have it!—In three or four weeks I shall come and knock at your door.—And then? Well, then we will chatter away at our ease. So much the worse for you if you are not satisfied with my cunning stratagem. Now let us talk business; yes, seriously, let us talk business!

Has your brother returned from his journey? And is he well? And has no accident happened to him on the way? You are surprised, perhaps, at my anxiety; but by-and-bye you will understand it without difficulty, when I have explained to you how terribly interested I am in the fact of his journey being safely accomplished.

Just imagine that at this moment I have only 200 fr. in my purse (a ridiculously small sum for a traveler), and that it is M. Pavy who is to be my financial Providence, considering that it is to him that my mother has confided my little quarterly income of a thousand francs. Now at this point I must entrust you with a little secret, which at present is only known to two individuals, Messrs. Paccard and Roger (charming names for confidants, are not they?), and which I beg you to make known as quickly as possible to your brother. It concerns a little scrap of paper (which these rogues of bankers call a draft, I believe), for a thousand francs, by which Messrs. Paccard and Roger are authorized by my signature, which is at the bottom, to demand the above sum of a thousand francs (which my mother entrusted to M. Pavy in Paris) from M. Pavy, junior, living at La Glaciere at Lyons, after the 22nd of August, 1836.

A thousand pardons for troubling you with these details, but I should never have had the courage to write direct to your brother, on account of my profound ignorance in money matters.

You tell me that you passed part of the fine season in the country—why did not you arrange so as to tour for a little among the mountains of Switzerland? I should have had such pleasure in doing the honors, and Mademoiselle Merienne also…but don't let us speak any more of Mademoiselle Merienne (who, be it observed in parenthesis, must have already appeared a dozen times in this letter), for fear of again falling into inextricable parentheses.

Au revoir then; in five weeks at latest I shall come and warm myself at your "glacier."

F. Liszt

11. To Abbe de Lamennais

[Autograph in the possession of M. Alfred Bovet at Valentigney.]

My friend Louis de Ronchaud writes me word that he has had the honor of seeing you, dear Father, and that you were kind enough to give him a message of affectionate remembrance for me. I am very happy to know that you continue to keep this precious and friendly feeling for me, of which you have already given me so many proofs, and which I shall endeavour always to deserve as far as is in my power.

I am still not very far advanced in my Italian journey. The beauty of these parts, the necessity of writing with some little continuance, and also, if all be said, some altogether unexpected successes, have kept me in Milan and the neighborhood (Como and the delicious shores of the lake) much longer than I had foreseen. As regards musical matters, the presence of Rossini, whom I frequently see, gives a certain impetus to this country. I have been singularly well received here, so I shall probably pass the greater part of the winter here, and shall not start for Venice till towards the beginning of March. Thence I shall go to Florence and Rome, where I expect I shall stay a good long time.

D. has no doubt talked to you of our stay at Nohant last summer. I think that he got rid there of a good many old prejudices about me. It was a sweet satisfaction to me to learn through him how good and indulgent you have been towards me on several occasions, even so far as to contradict and defend me warmly against him and against others who knew me still less. I had charged our secret friend to defend me in his turn from a slight wrong which I had, only apparently, committed, but even "apparently" is too much, and I think I have entirely justified myself with regard to it. I don't know whether in his noble carelessness he will have thought of it. However that may be, I shall always count on your paternal affection more than all the rest.

What can I say to you of Italy that you do not know, and that you have not said in such manner as to cause despair for ever to the makers of observations!—It is always the same status quo, the excellent and perfectly happy government that you know.—I am hoping and longing ardently for your next book [probably "Le Livre du Peuple": Paris, 1837], which I shall read with my whole heart and soul, as I have read all that you have written for four years. I shall owe you just so many more good and noble emotions. Will they remain for ever sterile? Will my life be for ever tainted with this idle uselessness which weighs upon me? Will the hour of devotion and of manly action never come? Am I condemned without respite to this trade of a Merry Andrew and to amuse in drawing-rooms?

Whatever may be my poor and humble destiny, do not ever doubt my heart. Do not ever doubt the deep respect and unalterable devotion with which you have inspired me.

Yours for ever,

F. Liszt

Como, December 18th, 1837