Autograph letter dated and signed by André Gide, 25 lines in black ink, addressed to his secretary Pierre de Massot.
Folding trace inherent to envelope insertion.
André Gide has recently failed in all his duties as a friend toward Pierre de Massot: "J'étais furieux contre moi, l'autre dimanche, de me rendre compte qu'il eût suffi peut-être d'un signe de ma part pour provoquer votre venue - et j'aurais eu grand plaisir à vous revoir ! Trop tard ! J'ai été très bas ces temps derniers..." (I was furious with myself, last Sunday, to realize that perhaps a simple sign from me would have been enough to bring about your visit - and I would have had great pleasure in seeing you again! Too late! I have been very low lately...)and attempts to seek forgiveness and forgive himself by evoking their shared tenderness for the poet André Suarès: "Très grand plaisir à écrire quelques pages sur Suarès, où je fais abondante mention de votre rôle affectueux..." (Great pleasure in writing a few pages on Suarès, where I make abundant mention of your affectionate role...)
André Gide also shares his great state of fatigue, both moral and physical: "Trop fatigué pour vous écrire. Savez-vous l'heure qu'il est ? Cinq heures du matin. Je prends en vain des drogues pour tâcher de dormir..." (Too tired to write to you. Do you know what time it is? Five o'clock in the morning. I take drugs in vain trying to sleep...)and worries about his near future: "Vais-je pouvoir tenir le coup jusqu'au bout ? Question." (Will I be able to hold out until the end? Question.)