DLA003-0038 Translation; Partial letter

SOCIETÀ EDITRICE

“COSMOS CATHOLICUS”

Presidenza

ROMA- Via Giula, 1

(Palazzo Falconieri)

27 October 1900

My dear collaborator and friend,

After a leave that could not have been more agitated, and which lasted for no less than seven weeks, I have been here since yesterday, sitting at my desk, happy to resume my daily labour.

My trip to Montenegro and Bavaria has been interesting and fruitful from more than one point of view but its drawback was to force me to terribly neglect my correspondence, so, before returning to my dear archives, I would like to straighten out my position with my even dearest friends.

Your letter dated 17 September, which is in front of me, has made a wild race across and along the Adriatic, looking for me in every town, and, when it eventually reached me on the banks of the Isar, I was so busy that I could not even dream of replying to it. Finally, I am at rest, and you are one of the first to whom I am sending my kindest regards in a few lines.

Firstly, let me tell you that your project of an article on the portraits of Pope Leo XIII at the exhibition is most exciting and original; please put it in practice.

We shall ensure that you get a good photography of the painting by Chartran, which is in the possession of the Holy Father, and shall have a plate made; regarding the one by Benjamin Constant, the matter is more delicate, as our relationships with the firm [Mame?] are not very good (strictly in between ourselves), the best would be if the illustrious artist – of whom I have the pleasure to make the acquaintance last spring while lunching with Cardinal Mathieu – could send us the photography of his work himself. About László’s painting [4509], we gratefully welcome your proposal to have the negative made for us in Paris. The dimension of the illustration will be 24 x 16 cm, which is to say one page of the publication. I hope that this article will not be isolated and that we can still count on your collaboration.

Many thanks for your book which I found on my desk yesterday when I arrived, but which I have not yet had time to flick through. Of course it would be a great pleasure to review it. The mistake in the dedication is not too important: I will send this volume to the Director of the Osservatore Romano and shall wait for the one you prepared for me –

I hope that you receive “Cosmos” regularly, but in return, we do not receive L’Oeuvre d’art, as to my great annoyance, I would have like to be able to follow your excellent publication. I have already complained on several occasions on that subject, but you have obstinately not opened your mouth.

Now that we are regularly published and that we have increased the number of our collaborators, as well as improved our illustrations, we should start being slightly more popular in France. We are progressing marvellously well here here as we have friends who have pushed us and found people who have worked on the propagation of

20/12/2005