70.
1925:
Rapid City, Man. 27 November,
1925
Dear Phelps,
All right, then, I'll be there on Wednesday,
Dec 2 , at 4:50, was it? C.P.R. Now don't go to any trouble
on my account. We'll see about that paying. I don't think
so. However, the name of the landlady, if I remember right,
is Mrs. Holmes. Could you phone her? So as to have a room
for sure.
I am not worrying about the Settlers. As for the library,
that was to be expected. What a nation of children we are!
It has never struck me that anybody might want to sell the
book "on the quiet". Marvelous! Marvelous! Maybe the censors
will forbid its circulation? What strikes me is that I have
sent out 8 copies and have not received a single acknowledgement.
Dr. Maclean, f.i. Oh, oh, oh! I feel almost naughty. And
it had never occurred to me! Maybe I am the child?
However, as to the Daily Bread, "ca marche !" as Flaubert
would say. I have the first part in shape, I believe. And
surely, it won't offend such tender ears as Allison's. Not
a naughty line in it. I am out of the blues. Only my pains
are such that I fear there won't be much time left to do
the rest of the work in. So, at present, I work day and night.
It shapes itself, I believe. And yet, "Ce live m'étreint!" to
quote Flaubert once more. "Tant pis, il faut qu'il se fasse
!" Allison complained over the radio that I had no humor.
Well and good, there's some humor in Pt 1 of the Daily Bread,
anyway. Though as a whole, it is somber, somber. "Il y a
de quoi se casser la geule de découragement." You
see, I am stock full of Flaubert. When I got into the depth,
a week or so ago, I wrote to the U. Library to ask for his
correspondence.
I remembered such things as: "En une semaine, deux pages!!!" and
then, "Ah, j'y arriverai, quelque dur que ce soit!" And I
thought he'd pull me out of the slough, and he did! Il était
un fort!
"Ce que sera le livre," he says, "je n'en sais rien; mais
je réponds qu'il sera ECRIT."
I can't guarantee any of these texts. I am quoting from
memory. I had not read that sort of thing for over twenty
years. There is nothing to compare with it in English. That
whole correspondence should be translated. I've reread only
one vol. But I know the others. There is not a page where
something does not make you jump.
Pierce wrote me a short note which does not ring true. Should
it be inspired by you? Full of compliments which sound second
hand, and not a word about the sale. I had the mortification
of seeing myself advertised in to-nights issue of the local
sheet.
I am gathering notes for a comprehensive essay on "Realism".
Strange to say, I write in the notes in French . They, The
French, have a vocabulary ready made. In English, it all
sounds so crude. But, perhaps, that is the my arrogance again.
How to express "des hypothèses directrices d'un auteur?" It
beats me.
Well, this will be the last time I trouble you will all
my irrelevancies till I get there. But, you know, I am a
cauldron in which many things cook. Though, sometimes I think
I am just stewing in my own juice.
Very well, until then.
F.P.G.
