Eugène BOUDIN. L.A.S., Paris January 4, 1894, to Mme MARTIN; 3 1/2 pages in-8. On his work, despite old age. He is ashamed of his long silence: "The days pass, for me, in an incessant toil that does not often leave my mind free. The thousand and one occupations and preoccupations of everyday life absorb me more often than not. It's all swirling around in my head". He wanted to go and shake hands with her in Le Havre, "but as soon as I arrived, the fear of being stuck in Le Havre made me leave immediately. My intention was to come back, as I had a lot to do in this port, but on the other hand I was unable to carry out my project. What's more, the weather had turned bad, I was overwhelmed with rumathisms and had to give up. [...] You must find great solitude not far from you... I've been there and I know what a chill it is in the house, the disappearance of someone with whom one has spent a large part of one's existence. [...] I'm not talking about me and my health. Whether I'm sick or well, I still have to walk... I have a legion of customers for whom I am the production machine... They keep me going, they push me to the point where I no longer belong to myself. You can imagine that I'm horribly tired of this life of toil, but I can't escape it - it's fatal, I'm like those old horses that are whipped despite their stiff muscles and forced to walk until they're completely exhausted"... Attached is another L.A.S., December 31, 1894 (1 1/2 pages in-12), sending his best wishes. "Didn't have the pleasure of seeing you again on my way back through Le Havre. As always, in a hurry, in a hurry... I don't even have time to live anymore... I'm a working machine... overwhelmed with fatigue at a time in my life when I should be resting and enjoying my past labor, I have to walk, walk like a wandering Jew driven by my destiny perhaps also by a need to fulfill my mission as a painter I don't know"...