If I continue to improve I think of returning to Paris on the 18th or 20th, to hear the discussion of the address, which they tell me will be warm and interesting. After having paid my respects, I shall come back to the sunshine; for if I had to endure the sleets and winds and mud of Paris in February, I should assuredly kick the bucket.... You are wrong not to read _Salammbô_. It is perfectly mad, it is true, and it contains even more of anguish and more of abominations than the _Vie de Chmielnicki_; but, after all, it has talent, and one gains an amusing idea of the author, and one even more droll of his admirers, the bourgeois, who wish to discuss affairs with honest folk. It is these same bourgeois whom my friend, M. Augier, has ridiculed so well. I am assured that no one with any self-respect will confess that he has been to see _Le Fils de Giboyer_. For all that, the cash-box of the theatre, and the purse of the author are filled to overflowing. I recommend you to read in the _Revue des Deux Mondes_ of the 15th, a novel by M. de Tourguenieff, the proofs of which I am expecting here, and which I have read in Russian. It is called _Fathers and Sons_, and its theme is the contrast of the past generation with that of the present. The hero of the story is the representative of the rising generation, a socialist, materialist, and realist, but a man, nevertheless, who is intelligent and interesting. He is a singular character, and would please you, I hope. This novel has produced a tremendous sensation in Russia, and there has been a strong outcry against the author, who has been accused of impiety and immorality. When a work excites thus the furious invective of the public, it is, in my opinion, a sufficient proof of its success. I think I shall have to make you read again the second part of _Chmielnicki_, the proofs of which I corrected while I was ill on my back. You will see in the book an enormous quantity of Cossacks impaled, and Jews burned alive. I shall be in Paris, not to hear the address of the crown, but only the discussion of the address--that is, I suppose, about the 20th or the 21st; still, if it were more convenient for your personal plans, I might hasten my arrival. Good-bye, dear friend. I wish you health and happiness, and no lumbago. Good-bye. Do not forget me. CCLX CANNES, _January 28, 1863_. DEAR FRIEND: I was preparing to start for Paris, and expected to be there the 20th, when I was seized with another attack of my spasms of the stomach. I had a terrible cold, with most distressing choking, and kept my bed for a week. The physician told me that if I were to return to Paris before being entirely cured I should certainly have a relapse, which would be more serious than my present illness, so I shall remain where I am for another fortnight. I understand, besides, that the discussion of the address will be uninteresting, and that everything will pass quietly and quickly.