SAND (Aurore Dupin, Baroness Dudevant, known as George). - Lot 284

SAND (Aurore Dupin, Baroness Dudevant, known as George). Born in Paris. 1804–1876. Novelist. Autograph letter. “George Sand” to “My Dear Captain” [Captain d’Arpentigny]. No place, no date. 1½ p. in-8. Signed. A CHARMING LETTER TO A LONG-TIME FRIEND, CAPTAIN D’ARPENTIGNY, WHOM SHE MET IN THE 1840s, AND WHOM GEORGE SAND ENCOURAGED TO WRITE: George Sand apologizes for the delay in replying to him...I wanted to find out if the matter you mentioned to me had any substance, and it does not... she states... It’s a roll of the dice, but one can only gamble when one has the means to take a chance, and I am not in that position... She therefore asks him to reply... very politely to the person who wrote to you, saying that I am too busy to undertake anything beyond my duties, and that is almost the truth... She was delighted to hear from you...You must have doubted this, since you wrote me only three lines, and you were wrong. I hold you in fond memory and with warm friendship, as does Maurice, and we have often spoken of you. I have often asked Mrs. Marliani for news of you; she must have told you so. We will see each other again, and you will restore to me the pleasant conversation and warm friendship of before... Born in Yport in 1791, Casimir Stanislas d’Arpentigny, a career military officer who had risen through all the ranks, found himself a second lieutenant at the fall of Napoleon. He ended his military career with the rank of captain in 1844. His military record describes him as a rebel, critical of his superiors, who incited his comrades to insubordination. A follower of Lavater and Spurzheim, he authored two books that were reprinted numerous times: *Chirognomonie* (1843) and *The Science of the Hand* (1865). He is said to have been introduced to George Sand in 1841 by the Count d’Aure. George Sand encouraged him to take up writing. He thus became a contributor to the *Revue indépendante* and published in various newspapers. He was very close to Alfred de Musset.