BRILLAT-SAVARIN JEAN ANTHELME: (1755-1826) French lawyer and politician, who, as the author of ...

BRILLAT-SAVARIN JEAN ANTHELME: (1755-1826) French lawyer and politician, who, as the author of Physiologie du goût ( The Physiology of Taste), became celebrated for his culinary reminiscences and reflections on the craft and science of cookery and the art of eating. A.L.S., with his initials BS, three pages. 8vo, Paris, n.d. ( ´Le 3´; circa 1815), to Elisa Brillat des Terreaux, in French. Brillat-Savarin writes an affectionate social letter, stating that he was delighted to hear from her in Lyon, although remarking ´ Scipion est tres mecontent d´etre encore a attendre la lettre que tu annoncais, et je ne te dissimulerai pas que je croiais en recevoir une de toi au moins aujourd´hui car je croyais que tu aurais ecrit dans le premiere semaine´ (Translation: ´Scipion is very unhappy to be still waiting for the letter you announced, and I will not hide from you that I thought I would receive one from you at least today, as I thought you would have written in the first week´), continuing to recount an anecdote that had happened to him the other day whilst passing the street of Miss. Templier, ´j'attrapai un conducteur de cabriolet qui avait empoigné Ida et qui la portait dans sa voiture. Je pris son numéro et j' écrivis au préfet de police, qui le fit empoigner à son tour et mettre en prison où il est encore aujourd' hui. Sa femme est venue se mettre à mes genoux et après l'avoir bien grondée, j'ai consenti qu'on ne donne pas de suite à cette affaire´ (Translation: ´ I caught a cabriolet driver who had grabbed Ida and was carrying her in his car. I took his number and wrote to the police prefect, who had him grabbed in turn and put in prison where he still is today. His wife came to kneel at my knees and after scolding her thoroughly, I agreed that this matter should not be pursued further´) further writing of a Grand Ball which Madame de Villeplaine is going to host ´ou Scipion est invite, il s´apprete a jouer vigouruesement du jarret, et profite apres des lecons de M. Petit, et je commence a craindre d´etre oblige de faire elever mon plafond pour qu´il ne s´y casse pas la tete´ (Translation: ´to which Scipio is invited; he is preparing to play vigorously with his hock, and afterwards takes advantage of M. Petit's lessons, and I am beginning to fear that I shall be obliged to have my ceiling raised so that he does not break his head´), also referring to Agathe, ´Quand tu verras Agathe dis-lui de ma part quelque chose de bien tendre, et surtout empeche-la de se marier au loin; Scipion m´a dit de sa part quelque chose de tres aimable, si, que je n´en ai pas dormi pendant trois nuits´ (Translation: ´When you see Agathe say something very tender to her on my behalf, and above all prevent her from getting married far away; Scipio said something very kind to me on her behalf, so kind that I didn't sleep for three nights´), briefly referring to several dinners he has had at the homes of friends, and discussing his health and the weather, ´Je suis excessivement eurhume. J´ai passe une nuit entiere a tousser, encore une pareille et je vendais l´ame, maintenant cela va mieux. L´hiver a commence, il neige un peu, il fait froid mais tout cela sans exces, sont juste ce qu´il en faut pour que nos dames montrent leurs pelisses le pas apres pour leur geler le teint´ (Translation: ´ I'm excessively cold. I spent a whole night coughing, another one like that and I was selling my soul, but now I'm feeling better. Winter has started, it's snowing a bit, it's cold, but it's not too cold, just enough for our ladies to show off their fur coats and then freeze their complexions´) and concluding by stating ´Lord Wellington a dit au ministre des finances qu´il regardait comme certain que l´annee qui nait serait beaucoup plus avantageuse a la France que celle qui vient de passer, et on voit que les etrangers s´en iront´ (Translation: ´Lord Wellington told the Minister of Finance that he considered it certain that the coming year would be much more advantageous to France than the one that has just passed, and we can see that the foreigners will leave´). With address panel to the final page in Brillat-Savarin´s hand (small area of paper loss where the seal was originally broken, only very slightly affecting a few words of text). Some slight traces of former mounting to the corners of the final page and a couple of small tears, otherwise about VG