As for our masculine friend, he is ungrateful, while our feminine friend is too exacting.  You were right; they are both wrong and it is not their fault, it is the social machinery which insists on it.  The kind of recognition, that is to say, submission that she exacts, depends on a tradition that the present time still profits by (there lies the evil); but does not accept any longer as a duty.  The notions of the obliged are changed, those of the obliger ought to change also.  It must be said that one does not buy moral liberty by any kindness,—­and as for him, he should have foreseen that he would be considered enchained.  The simplest thing would have been not to care about having thirty thousand francs a year.  It is so easy to do without it.  Let him extricate himself.  They won’t entangle us in it:  we aren’t so foolish!

You say very good things about criticism.  But in order to do as you say, there must be artists, and the artist is too much occupied with his own work, to forget himself in estimating that of others.

Heavens, what fine weather!  Don’t you enjoy it, at least from your window?  I’ll wager that the tulip tree is in bud.  Here, the peaches and the apricots are in flower.  It is said that they will be ruined; that does not stop them from being pretty and not tormenting themselves about it.

We have had our family carnival:  my niece, my grandchildren, etc.  We all put on fancy dress; it is not difficult here, one only has to go to the wardrobe and one comes down again as Cassandra, Scapin, Mezzetin, Figaro, Basile, etc., all that is very pretty.  The pearl was Lolo as a little Louis XIII in crimson satin, trimmed with white satin fringed and laced with silver.  I spent three days in making this costume, which was very chic; it was so pretty and so funny on that little girl of three years, that we were all amazed in looking at her.

Then we played charades, had supper, and frolicked till daylight.  You see that banished to a desert, we keep up a good deal of vitality.  And that I delay all I can, the trip to Paris and the chapter of business.  If you were there, I would not need to be urged.  But you are going there the end of March if and I can not afford to wait till then.  To conclude, you swear to come this summer and we count on it absolutely.  Sooner than not have you come I shall go to drag you here by the hair.  I embrace you most warmly on this good hope.

G. Sand

CVI.  TO GUSTAVE FLAUBERT, at Croissset Nohant, 24 February, 1869