M. Jules Claretie2 received a document yesterday of the highest interest of which our great comedian, the immortal Labiche3 is the author.
Bowing to current fashion Labiche has modified his "Grammaire"4 and this is how. In the dénouement he renounces any change to hits outward appearance, but
it is another courageous feature that our current leaders have great difficulty imitating, that Cabousset is mortified by the embarrassing situation into which
he is plunged, the departure of his daughter; he sends a message of resignation to the agricultural committee. The marriage of his daughter once decided upon, he
goes to his office, takes up his pen, writes for a few moments then hands over a piece of paper to Blanche. We now leave the words to Labiche:
"Gentalmen and deer fellow citisens,5
It is with a satisfaxion and inexpressible emosion, that I received the news of my nominacion to the presidancy, but beffore even having experianced and enjoyed
one single time the delites of the chair that your benevalent concideration has profferd me, I find myself obliged to renounse for ever the sitting in it. Please
beleeve my dear fellow citisens, that it is not without regret that I renounce to an equally pleasant situacion; because I am sure that my authority would have
been firmly seated and you would never have dreampt of reversing it.
And it is, my dear fellow citisens, with the utmost regret at not being able to accept your chair that I ask you in taking my leave of you, of you, to grant me at least
lateron, if circumstanses give me more liberty, a place in your banks."
and after this declamation, Blanche gives her father a final lesson in spelling of which the speech abounded, then the rewritten speech is entrusted to Machut6
for the committee and the curtain falls on this triumphant expression from Caboussat: "They are going to receive my message an hour after nominating me, they can't
complain that I made them wait!"
Compère Loriot
1. Le Lundi, no. 2, 28[?] Nov 1887. The handwriting appears to be by Proust. The signature Compère Loriot is very similar to that for L'Abbé Constantin, so there is a possibility that this was writtten by Proust, although it is impossible to be certain.
2. Jules Claretie (1840-1913), writer, poet and journalist.
3. Eugène Labiche (1815-1888), dramatist and member of the Académie française.
4. Play by Labiche and Alphonse Jolly, 1867. The main character, François Caboussat, is very poor at French grammer. His daughter, Blanche, corrects all of his correspondence and speeches for him.
5. This entire passage is full of deliberate spelling mistakes which I have attempted to approximate in translation.
6. Machut is a vet in La Grammaire.
Created 21.12.25