On the genesis of “Gaspard de la Nuit” Ida Saint-Elme’s letter to Charles Malot published in Le Provincial

Is the letter in Le Provincial from la Contemporaine, one of the most famous women of the Bourbon Restoration, author of the scandalous Mémoires, genuine? Various clues lead us to suspect a deception on the part of Bertrand, which would make this text an initial version of the foreword to the 1836 manuscript.