Paris, 40 Rue de Villejust. - Miss [Natalie Clifford] Barney has showed him the letter which Trevelyan was kind enough to write to her about M. Teste [in Valéry's "La Soirée avec M. Teste"]; he was very flattered by the terms in which Trevelyan spoke of that work of his youth, which contains, in caricature, a figure resembling Valéry himself at that blessed time full of the torments of the will and clumsiness of first energy'. Does not know why he has taken the fancy to see this 'sketch' translated into English. Miss Barney has taken on the 'thankless task'; the text is difficult, and she has done her best to make it acceptable to an English reader. Discusses the problems of translation, particularly of 'pure literature'. Thanks Trevelyan for taking an interest and giving Miss Barney 'such precise and precious advice'. Did not know, when Trevelyan gave him such pleasure by reading those 'admirable verses by Keats', that he would give in response the 'torment' of M. Teste. Hopes to see Trevelyan if he travels again through Paris.
40 rue de Villejust, Paris. - Apologises for only now replying to Trevelyan's letter of last 14 June. Received the book by [Arthur] Waley with great pleasure, and has read part of it with interest; has been very tired and busy recently. As for 'pauvre [poor]' M. Teste [in Valéry's "La Soirée avec M. Teste"], he continues to bother Miss [Natalie Clifford] Barney. Knows the difficulties: when he wrote that 'fantaisie', he was 'half-living in the eighteenth century', loving the 'tone, the sharpness and the dryness' of the time of Louis XV, though the 'exaggeration' of his character belonged to the nineteenth century. He wrote it in Montpellier, in the fine old house his family then occupied; Auguste Comte had also lived there as a child, and his bedroom was the room in which Valéry wrote. Thanks Mrs Trevelyan for her offer of hospitality; has not been to England since 1896. Unfortunately he has little hope of seeing his English friends out of Paris as he is so busy.