Gustave MOREAU (1826-1898). 3 L.A.S. to Mme Hortense Howland; 2 pages and a half (mourning), 1 and 1 pages in-8, envelopes. Absent from Paris, Moreau begs his neighbor on rue de La Rochefoucauld to excuse him for "the annoyances of this odious neighborhood [...] A torment, but of an entirely different kind, and one that has been very painful and hard for me, is this destruction of part of the family home, built by my father, for it was [...] only forced by an imperious necessity that I had to take this great & painful step". He did not want to set foot "once on the building site", but he fears "that you have taken a dislike, for ever, to such a troublesome & disagreeable neighbor"... "I am very embarrassed, for more than one reason, to know what I should do. I therefore want, today around 4 o'clock, to go and consult you, who better than anyone else, have tact & an exquisite sense of all things"... "You are really too kind, & it is with the greatest eagerness that I accept your so gracious invitation: very happy, I assure you, to be able to spend a few moments with you"...