y well. My cheeks are
full, my complexion florid, my legs as nimble as a chamois, my appetite
like that of an ogre. If ever you become anemic, which God forbid, you
should set out forthwith for Saint Moritz, and I shall soon have good
news from you. Saint Moritz is a place where you find what you want, but
you find, besides, what you do not want. I do not speak of bears; I have
not seen any, and should I meet one, I am strong enough to strangle it.
Besides, bears are taciturn animals, they never relate their histories,
and the only animals I fear are those that have the gift of narrating,
and that one is not allowed to strangle. I will say no more. Have I made
myself intelligible? You are so intelligent.

"Apropos, Antoinette sends you a sketch or a painting, I do not know
which, that will be handed to you by Count Abel Larinski. He is a Pole,
of that there can be no doubt; you will perceive it at once. I wish him
well; he was obliging enough to extricate me from a breakneck position
into which I had foolishly thrust myself. That I have a pair of legs to
walk on, and a hand to write with, I owe to him. I recommend him to your
kind reception, and I beg you to get him to relate his history. He is
one of those who narrate, not every day, it is true, but when you
touch the right spring, he starts, and cannot be stopped. Seriously, M.
Larinski is no ordinary man; you will find pleasure in his acquaintance.
I have discovered that he is in rather embarrassed circumstances. He is
the son of an emigrant, whose property has been confiscated. His father
was a half fool, who made great attempts to cut a channel through
the Isthmus of Panama, and never succeeded in cutting his way through
anything. He was himself beginning to earn money in San Francisco, when,
in 1863, he gave everything up to go and fight against the Russians.
This enthusiastic patriot has since adopted the calling of an inventor,
in which he has been unsuccessful; he is now in search of a livelihood.
Do not think he will ask for anything; he is an hidalgo; he wraps
himself proudly in his poverty, as a Castilian does in his cloak. I am
interested in him; I want to assist him, give him a lift; but, first, I
wish to feel sure that he is worthy of my sympathy. Examine him closely,
sift him well; I trust your eyes rather than my own; I have the greatest
faith in your skill in this kind of valuation.

"Antoinette sends you her most affectionate greetings. She adores Sai