[M.B. notes, “Chaix had a busy schedule, and I was kind enough to excuse him from replying to me for that, and went to bid him farewell on his departure. However, I was still forced to write to him in Carpentras to remind him of his promises.”]

To Mr. Chaix, at Carpentras

June 17, 1818

Dear sir,

I had the pleasure of embracing you the day before your departure, and I learned with sorrow of the troubles that arose, and caused you to return to your homeland. I hope you enjoy good health in Carpentras. 

Please remember the visit you paid me here, where we discussed Pinel and Moreau, your great friends, and as well the work I was doing to oppose them, and the goblins you knew in Avignon. All these interest me greatly. 

And also remember the threats you made to me, on behalf of the physicist and the doctor of Salpétrière in this town, that if I persisted in writing the memoirs you saw me start, I would expose myself to being poisoned or killed. And when I went to Madame R–, you were waiting for me there, and you reiterated those same threats you’d made that morning. The answers I gave you were the same I’d given you before: I did not fear death. The next day you came again to the same lady’s house, and turned the conversation to the same subject, still in the presence of the Belgian gentleman [1], who never ceased to praise my conduct while at the same time approving everything I was doing against the men who tormented me for 20 years. Madame R– agreed with every point. 

You changed your tone then, telling me that your friends in Paris had requested that I ask you, a a favor to you, not to write anything against them; that their intention was to give me peace of mind, but they had to work with the consent of their colleagues in Avignon, and would be writing them to that effect. You didn’t even doubt that they had responded to those requests, and none of this came to fruition. 

So, still finding myself persecuted, even despite your promises, I felt I had to send you four letters, one on April 22, one on May 212, the third, June 18, this same month and year. But you were aware of all of the indignities inflicted on me by the people you claimed wanted to set me free, and you had no reply. 

I promised you that I would write to you the day you left, and write to you again in Carpentras if they continued to torment me. So in this, I’ve kept my promise. And you promised me, when you embraced me, that I would not suffer long, and that I would enjoy my freedom and tranquility soon. But I am still tormented, night and day. Though I have noticed that my suffering has been less severe since your departure. 

Now you are only 14 miles from Avignon, please write me when you find out if Pinel and Moreau will agree to give me peace. Whether or not they do, I will never submit to infernal domination. It is time for all this to end. The momentary comforts I am enjoying today cannot satisfy me. I must be completely at peace, and I will not let myself be lulled into complacency over this. I will not stop working on my memoir opposing these goblins, because I know that their attacks against me will only grow stronger in time.  

And so I hope that you will be willing to work on my behalf, as you have so often promised. I’ve been told you’ve complained about my lack of gratitude, that you’ve bought me fifty dinners and almost as many lunches, and I’ve never returned them, but in this you’re mistaken. You’ve only seen me twice at your table, and while I’ve accepted a few glasses of liquor or brandy from you, I thought they were shared with me in good will, and these should not be counted as meals. Because then you might have some actual reason to complain about me. 

Best wishes,

M.B. 

 

[1] Unsure who “the Belgian gentleman” is, will update this if I can clarify that point.