90 - MERMOZ, Jean

MERMOZ, Jean 7 letters signed “Jean” (4) or “Mermoz” (3), Barcelona, May–August 1925, to his “Dearest Mom”; 8 pages, in-4 format, on letterhead from the Hotel de Francia (2), Nueva Pensión Frascati, and Restaurant-Confiserie Royal in Barcelona, 2 postcards (views of bullfights), and 3 pages, in-8 format. On the Spanish lines. May 8. He won’t get his leave until October. “Nevertheless, I’m going to ask for 8 to 10 days of unpaid leave for the first few days of July. I need to go to Paris for my visit and various other matters. And besides, it’s been so long since we’ve seen each other. […] Things are still going well for me. The work is a little less intense right now because we’re almost at full strength. I broke down the day before yesterday, but no one was hurt, and neither the car nor my reputation took a hit—I was with two passengers. I landed safely on a stretch of beach 120 km from Barcelona and spent a quiet night there while waiting for help. An English passenger had a good bottle of whiskey, which we thoroughly enjoyed. In short, yet another delightful surprise”… –“For the past four days, I’ve been flying back and forth between Barcelona and Alicante in a single day. I finally have a day off and am really glad about it, because I’m a little tired. I’ve requested time off from July 15 to August 15. I hope it’ll be granted because I’ve certainly earned it”… He’d like to “know when the meetings in Lille and Douai are taking place, because I’ll do my best to attend if they’re during my time off”… – May 26. “I’m always on the go; I’m not often in Barcelona. I’m putting in 4,000-hour months right now. But you know, I do feel just a tiny bit tired at times”… – June 17. He’s considering postponing his leave “until the end of December so we can spend the holidays together, unless I move closer permanently. I’d like to have my ten days. I’d go see Mr. Piémontais again, and I’d like to visit some friends at the Franco-Romanian Company. And besides, I have ambitions and plans—what can I say? Anyway, I’ll stay here as long as it takes because I’ll only leave for something certain and better”… – August 24. “I stayed in Toulouse for a day, then the next day I sent a letter and have just returned to Barcelona for good. I don’t think I’ll be going to Dakar now. I need to write to the Franco-Romanian Company again in November or reapply. I’m hopeful. In short, I’m feeling a bit down; I’ve resumed my old life, even my old habits—it almost seems as if I never left Spain, but a few regrets and memories bring me back to the reality of my absence”… – Saturday evening: “I’m flying back to Toulouse tomorrow afternoon. So I plan to be in Paris Monday morning”… – Sunday. He was still unable to “collect what I’m owed for my two months. I was asked to wait until Latécoère returns from South America. I was given five hundred francs as an advance. Fortunately, I have my savings here. […] The bad weather gives us no respite, and I sometimes come home very tired. What a winter! I’m still waiting to go to Dakar. I’m feeling homesick right now”… Correspondence, nos. 53, 49, 55, 57, 62, 76, 32. Source: - Jean Mermoz (1901–1936); - Gabrielle Gillet-Mermoz (1880–1955); - Later passed down within the family