(5) An instance of her disposition for lecturing will be seen in the following curious letter sent by George Sand to her friend and neighbour, Adolphe Duplomb.  This letter has never been published before, and we owe our thanks for it to Monsieur Charles Duplomb.

     Nohant, July 23,1830.

“Are you so very much afraid of me, my poor Hydrogene?  You expect a good lecture and you will not expect in vain.  Have patience, though.  Before giving you the dressing you deserve, I want to tell you that I have not forgotten you, and that I was very vexed on returning from Paris, to find my great simpleton of a son gone.  I am so used to seeing your solemn face that I quite miss it.  You have a great many faults, but after all, you are a good sort, and in time you will get reasonable.  Try to remember occasionally, my dear Plombeus, that you have friends.  If I were your only friend, that would be a great deal, as I am to be depended on, and am always at my post as a friend, although I may not be very tender.  I am not very polite either, as I speak the truth plainly.  That is my characteristic, though.  I am a firm friend nevertheless, and to be depended on.  Do not forget what I have said now, as I shall not often repeat this.  Remember, too, that happiness in this world depends on the interest and esteem that we inspire.  I do not say this to every one, as it would be impossible, but just to a certain number of friends.  It is impossible to find one’s happiness entirely in one’s self, without being an egoist, and I do not think so badly of you that I imagine you to be one.  A man whom no one cares for is wretched, and the man who has friends is afraid of grieving them by behaving badly.  As Polyte says, all this is for the sake of letting you know that you must do your best to behave well, if you want to prove to me that you are not ungrateful for my interest in you.  You ought to get rid of the bad habit of boasting that you have adopted through frequenting young men as foolish as yourself.  Do whatever your position and your health allow you to do, provided that you do not compromise the honour or the reputation of any one else.  I do not see that a young man is called upon to be as chaste as a nun.  But keep your good or bad luck in your love affairs to yourself.  Silly talk is always repeated, and it may chance to get to the ears of sensible people who will disapprove.  Try, too, not to make so many plans, but to carry out just one or two of them.  You know that is why I quarrel with you always.  I should like to see more constancy in you.  You tell Hippolyte that you are very willing and courageous.  As to physical courage, of the kind that consists in enduring illness and in not fearing death, I dare say you have that, but I doubt very much whether you have the courage necessary for sustained work, unless you have very much altered.  Everything fresh delights you, but after a little time you only