Diary of Marie Bashkirtseff
CZENUKFR

Monday, 20 October 1884

Despite magnificent weather Bastien comes here instead of going to the Bois. He can scarcely walk any more; his brother holds him under each arm — practically carries him. And once in the armchair the poor child is utterly spent.

Lundi 20 octobre 1884. Malgre un temps magnifique Bastien vient ici au lieu d'aller au Bois. Il ne peut presque plus marcher, son frère le soutient sous chaque bras, il le porte presque. Et une fois dans le fauteuil le pauvre enfant est exténué.

Woe to us. And how many doorkeepers are in perfect health!9

Misere de nous. Et que de concierges qui se portent bien !

Emile is an admirable brother. It is he who carries Jules up and down on his shoulders to their third-floor apartment.

Emile est un frère admirable. C'est lui qui descend et monte Jules sur ses épaules jusqu'à leur troisième étage.

But I have in Dina a devotion equal to his.

Mais j'ai dans Dina un dévouement pareil.

For two days now my bed has been in the drawing room; but as it is very large, and divided by folding screens and ottomans and the piano, one does not notice it. It is too difficult for me to climb the stairs.10

Depuis deux jours mon lit est au salon, mais comme il est tres grand et divise par des paravents et des poufs et le piano, on ne s'en aperçoit pas. Il m'est trop difficile de monter les escaliers.

Notes

Marie's bitter irony: the most humble and inconsequential people flourish, while a genius like Bastien-Lepage dies at 36. ↩
This is Marie Bashkirtseff's last diary entry. She died on 31 October 1884, eleven days after writing these words. She was twenty-five years old. Jules Bastien-Lepage died on 10 December 1884. ↩