To Dr. Prieur

12/19/1818, Paris

Dear Sir:

In your letter dated November 30, you expressly said that you would satisfy me and repair the outrages of your son Etienne, if his brother Baptiste would confirm the reality of everything he did to me. I gave him sufficient evidence to leave him so little doubt that he promised to write you, and further, that he would communicate to me your prompt reply, as swiftly as possible. I haven’t seen him since, nor have I heard anything more about him. However, it is time for my torments to end. I therefore have the honor to inform you that I cannot wait any longer, and if I still am suffering, I will write again to the  Mayor and Prefect [1], so little humanity have your sons shown in this matter, I feel it is appropriate for me to tell you to reprimand them, because I can no longer rely on any of them. I will wait another fortnight for your response, and I dare to hope that I will not wait in vain. 

I have the honor of being,
M.B.

[1] Prefect: A manager of a department (analogous to a county), appointed by the central government, a position recently created by Napoleon Bonaparte.