Note 32 — ERNEST ALFRED VIZETELLY (continued 9)

This note was signed "Émile Zola," but thinking that imprudent, he carried his pen violently over the signature, producing an extraordinary combination of blots and scratches. Sometimes he signed "Em. Beauchamp," at others "J. Beauchamp," and "B." Later, he ventured on a "Z." Very few of his notes of that time bear his name in full. Moreover, for fear of the Cabinet Noir (the petit bleu affair showed that one existed), his letters to Paris were usually addressed by Vizetelly to a person who transmitted them to those for whom they were intended.