MILLET JEAN-FRANCOIS: (1814-1875)

MILLET JEAN-FRANCOIS: (1814-1875) French artist, one of the founders of the Barbizon school. A.L.S., J. F. Millet, three pages, 8vo, Cherbourg, 27th May 1871, to -´Mon cher Jean´, in French. Millet states that he has just received a letter from Sensieur informing him that their wife is very ill and can not bear the extreme heat at Tillot any longer, continuing ´Il me demande de l´installer dans notre maison ou elle sera moins suffoquee. Donnez lui donc nos clefs tout de suite. Tu les lui auras sans doute donnees quand ce petit mot t´arrivera, car il me dit que Mr. Robert doit aller te les demander´ (Translation: ´He asks me to move her to our house where she will be less suffocated. So give him our keys straight away. You will no doubt have given them to him when this little note reaches you, as he tells me that Mr. Robert must go and ask you for them´), further stating that he has not been to see the carpenter yet as he can hardly walk owing to a pain in his left foot, and enquiring further about his correspondent´s dispute with the carpenter, ´ Des moi donc d´un maniere nette ce que fait Mr. Leblond dans ton affaire & aussi comment le carpentier te doit de l´argent car que veux-tu que je lui dise sans savoir de quoi il s´agit? Il peut me dire tout ce qu´il voudra sans que j´ai un mot a lui opposer. De quand ton assignation & que porte-t-elle? Tu m´as bien parle dans le temps d´affaires avec le carpentier, mais je me retiens, pas tres bien ces choses-la. Il ne m´en reste qu´un chose, c´est que vous n´etiez pas d´accord. Il est bien certain du reste qu´en qui lui pourrons dire ne servira de rien s´il est decide a agir´ (Translation: ´So tell me in no uncertain terms what Mr. Leblond is doing in your business & also how the carpenter owes you money, because what do you expect me to say to him without knowing what it's all about? He can tell me anything he wants without me having a word to say against him. When did your writ of summons come out and what does it cover? You did speak to me at the time about business with the carpenter, but I'm holding back, I'm not very good at these things. There is only one thing left for me, and that is that you did not agree. It is quite certain, moreover, that what he can say will be of no use if he is determined to act´). In a postscript the artist further writes ´Notre retour a Barbizon n´est pas encore fixe, car on ne va pas voyager res facilement d´ici a quelque temps. Je ne dois pas ignorer ce que ces monstrueux scelerats de la commune ont fait de Paris. C´est a pleurer du sang´ (Translation: ´Our return to Barbizon is not yet fixed, as we will not be travelling very easily for some time. I must not be unaware of what those monstrous scoundrels of the Commune have done to Paris. It's enough to make you weep for blood´). One neat horizontal tear runs across the centre of the final page, repaired with old tape to the verso and only very slightly affecting a few words of text and not the signature, and with a couple of small, neat tears to the upper and lower edges of the central fold in the bifolium. G