AURIER ALBERT: (1865-1892) French painter, poet, art critic and collector, associated with the Symbolist movement. A rare A.L.S., G Albert Aurier, three pages, small 8vo, n.p. (Paris), n.d. (´Samedi´), to his mother, in French. Aurier states that he arrived safely in Paris and has had a lot of errands to run, and continues to recount an amusing tale involving hijinks, ´Nous avons fait avant-hier une noue de chien. Roussou, l´ancien directeur du Moderniste, qui part en mission à la Terre de Feu on n´a jamais su pour quoi y faire, donnait un dîner d´adieu. Il y avait une trentaine de convives et des vins abondants et variés. Nous étions tous très saouls et, à 2h du matin Darien a trouvé bon de casser une table de marbre au Muller. Le patron a réclamé 10 francs. On nous a traînés au poste et là Darien a expliqué au commissaire que c´était la table qui avait commencé. Moi, j´ai corroboré cette assertion en affirmant sous la foi du serment que le patron du Muller était spirite et que je soupçonnais la table en question d´être une table tournante. J´ai exigé que ma déposition soit inscrite in extenso au procès verbal et le commissaire nous a renvoyés indemnes en infligeant au patron du Muller un blâme sévère pour s´adonner aux sciences occultes´ (Translation: ´The day before yesterday, we made a doghouse. Roussou, the former director of Le Moderniste, who is leaving on a mission to Tierra del Fuego (we never found out what for), gave a farewell dinner. There were about thirty guests and an abundance of varied wines. We were all very drunk and, at 2 a.m., Darien saw fit to break a marble table at Muller's. The owner demanded 10 francs. We were dragged to the police station, where Darien explained to the commissioner that it was the table that had started it. I corroborated this assertion by swearing under oath that the owner of Muller's was a spiritualist and that I suspected the table in question of being a turning table. I demanded that my statement be recorded in full in the minutes, and the commissioner released us unharmed, giving the owner of Muller's a severe reprimand for engaging in the occult sciences´). Aurier further writes regarding his finances, reminding his mother that she had given him 200 francs before leaving for Paris, listing various expenses comprising his travel, rent, and a tip to the concierge who looked after and fed his birds, all of which has left him with 48 francs, and asking ´Or penses-tu que 48 fr soient une somme suffisante pour vivre 10 jours à Paris. J´espère que tu n´essayeras pas de soutenir ce paradoxe. Je te prie donc de joindre à ta prochaine lettre un mandat-poste d´une quinzaine de francs´ (Translation: ´Now, do you think that 48 francs is enough to live on for 10 days in Paris? I hope you will not try to defend this paradox. I therefore ask you to enclose a postal order for about fifteen francs with your next letter´). Autograph letters of Aurier are rare as a result of his untimely death at the age of 27 from a typhus infection. VG

Georges Darien (1862-1921) French writer associated with anarchism and whose most important work, Le Voleur, was published posthumosuly and made into a film by Louis Malle in 1967.