Gounod (Charles Francois, French composer, 1818-93) Autograph Letter signed "Ch. Gounod", to a performer called Elise ("Ma chere enfant"),in French, 3pp., 8vo, Ville de Paris, Ecoles Communals, Direction de l'Orpheon, Paris, 11th February 1855, with some self-deprecating whimsy, Gounod describes his life as one of being harnessed from morning to night to the plough that is called the constructive life, man is a work horse; harness is his most certain fate: come wind or snow - and it has snowed a lot in the last few days - one has to keep going; the cook demands it; the owner demands it; the tailor too; and when you have kept going like this from January 1st to December 31st, you then start all over again, until this charming play comes to an end, the curtain falls, and the footlights go out on an ending that is not always very brilliant; he reminds Elise that exporting opera scores is strictly forbidden and that once you have 'died' in Paris, you are condemned to 'die' everywhere else unless you are rich enough to be resuscitated at your own expense in foreign climes and states that since he has no such resources he is condemned to stay entombed in Rue Lepelletier ('...only there shall I be able to come back to life again if God wills it so, but God will not will it so...'); he mentions in particular his opera Sapho which is still not finished ('...The stumbling block is still the pocket! At my own expense! At my own expense!...') and hopes that one day she will perform one of his works ('...you know how important that is to me...'), offering her in parting 'the undying and devoted affection of your grateful and faithful friend, small tear at foot.

***The recipient might possibly be the actress Elisa Rachel (1820-1858), one of the greatest tragediennes of the French stage, who was known to Gounod at this time. Gounod has recently been described as "perhaps the central figure in French music in the third quarter of the 19th century.".