Alexis, the visionary
Chaillot. Chopin writes to Wojciech Grzymała: "I’m drinking the Bonnes waters. [...] I pant, I cough, I feel drowsy; I don’t do anything, don’t feel like doing anything. I can’t get the man Alexis out of my head."
A few days earlier, in a letter of 28 July, Chopin described in details how a clairvoyant by the name of Alexis helped find a package of money. The event left a strong impression on the composer: "That somnambulist!!! The packet, so long mislaid, untouched!!! Such peculiar occurrences make your head spinning. As you may presume, I didn’t accept the donation, and a lot could be written about it. […] Believe in magnetism now. — Thank God it was found. I’m sparing you many details because my pen is burning."