Stendhal – Signed Autograph Letter

Autograph letter signed “HB” to his sister Pauline. Vienna October 18, 1809; 2 pages ½ in-4. Slight wetness
The young Stendhal in search of social advancement covets a position as Auditor at the Council of State through his Daru cousins, but his ambition does not distract him from his growing search for happiness through the arts "Beylism" : “First the official. The letter must be addressed to Mal [Martial Daru], in Paris. 2° Weigh a lot on the enormous difference between the place of A [auditor] and that of C [commissioner], because between now and the reception chance can play the trick of making me C [commissioner]. 3° Keep away the idea that this new attempt comes from me; do the good and old reasoning: "When I asked you for the position of A [auditor], three years ago, you said: I will do it immediately, which he would only achieve after having been two or three years A [listener]. » Talk about Mr. D [Noël Daru] the father who, indeed, if he lived, would help us. 4° Exaggerate a little the strength of the Charpentier protection, even if he had already died. 5° Instead of 6.530, 7.530, which will look more natural. These are the only improvements that came to my mind. Do everything very promptly and secretly. Here is a letter that I wrote to a friend in Naples and which, once written, seemed to me to be a fairly true portrait of my bad side. Read it and have it mailed to Naples. Get my books out of the chest of drawers that contains them. Have good John remove the dust from them and have them carefully enclosed. I would be in despair if I lost just one. I plan to read them with you in my room in Claix. Put some tasteful paper on it, above all simple and of a soft color for the eyesight which I am constantly losing. There, when a dark breeze prevents us from walking, we will read them by a good fire, completely forgetting all the nonsense about advancement and fortune, because nothing is truer than these verses: I read on the foreheads of those whom a vain luxury surrounds That fortune sells what we believe it gives. It is as exact as a geometric description. [Fable by La Fontaine “Philemon and Baucis”] » After obtaining a prize in Mathematics at the Ecole Centrale de Grenoble, Stendhal left his hometown, which he hated, to try the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris in October 1799. Preferring to seduce women and write comedies, desperate and penniless, he was taken in by his Daru cousins who directed him towards a position at the Ministry of War through Pierre Daru, then secretary general. In June 1800, the Battle of Marengo introduced him to Italy and he fell under the spell of Naples. On May 12, 1809, Napoleon entered Vienna, Stendhal then came under the orders of Martial Daru, intendant of the province of Vienna. In August 1810, he was appointed Auditor to the Council of State, a position of high responsibility, which elevated him socially, however, money did not satisfy his boredom, he preferred to escape through the arts in the quest for happiness which he defined in March 1811 as “Beylism”. Letter included in correspondence