Émile ZOLA. L.A.S., Paris September 28, 1876, [to Marius Topin]; 1page in-8. On critical attacks against him. "My dear colleague, I sincerely regret that a sentence in my letter to Le Gaulois may have upset you. When I said that "for the past ten years, I have expected a little justice from critics", I was obviously speaking in general. It was difficult for me to make an exception. I have lost all memory of your excellent study, as it is one of the few benevolent pages written about me. You treated me like a gentleman, but my throat has been slit in a hundred different places, and it's still being slit. So I remain true when I complain about the brutal attitude of critics towards me. I take this opportunity to renew my thanks to you, and to repeat that I have an excellent memory, when I have been offered a hand"... [Marius Topin (1838-1895) had published two articles on Zola in La Presse in August 1875].