would be written in England, that his exile would drag on month after
month till winter would come and spring return, followed once more by
summer. In those days we used to say: 'It will all be over in a
fortnight, or three weeks, or a month at the latest;' and again and again
did our hopes alternately collapse and revive. Thus the few chapters of
'Fecondite,' which he thought he might be able to pen in England,
multiplied and multiplied till they at last became thirty--the entire
work.

It was M. Desmoulin who brought the necessary materials--memoranda,
cuttings, and a score of scientific works--from Paris. And at the same
time he had a trunk with him full of clothes which had been smuggled in
small parcels out of M. Zola's house, carried to the residence of a
friend, and there properly packed. Desmoulin also brought a hand camera,
which likewise proved very acceptable to the master, and enabled him to
take many little photographs--almost a complete pictorial record of his
English experiences.

During Desmoulin's absence the master remained virtually alone at
Oatlands, and as he still cared nothing for newspapers I sent him a few
books from my shelves, and, among others, Stendhal's 'La Chartreuse de
Parme.' He wrote me afterwards; 'I am very grateful to you for the books
you sent. Now that I am utterly alone they enabled me to spend a pleasant
day yesterday. I am reading "La Chartreuse." I am without news from
France. If you hear of anything really serious pray let me know about
it.'

By this time proper arrangements had been made with regard to M. Zola's
correspondence. His exact whereabouts were kept absolutely secret even
from his most intimate friends. Everybody, his wife and Maitre Labori
also, addressed their letters to Wareham's office in Bishopsgate Street.
Here the correspondence was enclosed in a large envelope and redirected
to Oatlands. With regard to visitors Wareham and I had decided to give
the master's address to none. Wareham intended to take their cards,
ascertain their London address, and then refer the matter through me to
M. Zola. Later on, a regular supply of French newspapers was arranged,
and those journals were re-transmitted to the master by Wareham or
myself.

On the other hand, I usually addressed M. Zola's letters for him to the
house of a trusty friend in Paris. This precaution was a necessary one,
as M. Zola's handwriting is so extremely characteristic and so well known
in France. A