164 - [AUTOGRAPH]. LYAUTEY (Hubert, Marshal). SIGNED AUTOGRAPH LETTER [addressed to LOUIS BERTRAND?], REGARDING HIS "LOUIS XIV" AND NORTH AFRICA. No place, “November 1, 1923.” 3½ pages in ink on a double sheet (21 × 13 cm) with the printed letterhead “Marshal Lyautey—Resident-General in Morocco.” Center fold. A BEAUTIFUL LETTER COMBINING ADMIRATION FOR LOUIS XIV WITH REFLECTIONS ON MOROCCO AND ISLAM. Lyautey thanks his correspondent for sending him his book: “I was just about to write to you to tell you how highly I thought of your ‘Louis XIV’ after reading it in the Revue when I received the volume you were kind enough to send me. ” He declares himself “very pleased” with this reading, which challenges a legend that, in his view, has been perpetuated by Saint-Simon, Michelet, and Lavisse, and has almost become historical fact. He congratulates the author for having recalled the greatness of the French tradition. The marshal then addresses their differences regarding North Africa and Islam. He states that he found in Morocco “the character of a state […] in the sense of the great Latin and Roman tradition,” while acknowledging that his correspondent does not share this conviction. He expresses his hope to discuss these matters at length with him and concludes by expressing his high esteem and friendship. The recipient can be identified with a high degree of certainty as Louis BERTRAND (1866–1941), whose *Louis XIV* was published in 1923.