RIMBAUD'S first phase ended on August 29, 1870. Here for
once we can set an exact date. This was the day when he sold
his books and took the train for Paris -- where he was picked
up for having ridden farther than he had paid to ride. Shortly
he was writing his friend Izambard, with urgency, to come and
take him out of the Mazas prison. Izambard did so, took the
fugitive back to his own home in Douai for rehabilitation, and
then returned with him to Charleville and a monumentally
displeased mother. What had begun as high adventure ended
in ignominy, with Rimbaud promising to amend his life and
avoid the further occasion of sin -- a promise which was no
sooner made than broken.

But if we know when and how all this took place, we surely
do not know why, or the reason for its happening when it did.

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