Hotel Montana

28 Rue St Benoît, Paris, 69.

Feb 9

Norman Dearest,

I have been to see "The Obelisk", Kahane's sons, and its address is "Editions-du Chêne", 16 Place Vendôme. This is what the elder one of them said:

"We have no accounts because under Occupation everything was mixed up and lost. BUT we would like to know how much Mr Douglas received already in the way of royalties and we would like to pay him what is due, now." I asked him to write you this himself and gave him your address which he noted and he said he would write you. I also told him that very probably you would be coming to Paris this spring, thinking that this might help on matters. Hope you hear from them! The edition is sold out.

I like my hotel here very much indeed and have a very warm, light, clean room on the 6th floor WITH LIFT. The electric current stoppages are now over, and there is current all day. It has rained! One is NEVER refused a brandy in any café, unlike the whisky and gin in London, and the new exchange makes things very much cheaper for us. Meals-in-restaurants situation is about the same. One eats meagrely cheap (about 100 francs), and well for about 300 up. I am intensely glad to be back, although the "mal-aise" goes on, due to the awful material conditions. People think that things are going to get worse in England!

Do write me any news you have about coming over.
I think I could get you a room here (it's 150 a day, with bathroom, and bath, hot, is promised for today, Saturday, and tomorrow; we'll see!

A journalist I know has just gone to Italy. He said "No difficulty at all in getting visa from here, but impossibility of getting any lira at all, either to take, or to find in Rome". As a journalist on mission he should have had no trouble in getting the visa, of course.