It was Balzac's good fortune to be introduced into the salon. He explained to Madame Hanska that he went there to play lansquenet in order to escape becoming insane! He was anxious to have Madame Merlin present at the first presentation of his Quinola, where she wished to have Martinez de la Rosa with her, but the novelist dissuaded her from this.

Madame Merlin was a friend of Madame de Girardin, and ridiculed the Princesse Belgiojoso when these two were rival candidates for the presidency of the new Academy that was being formed.

During Madame Hanska's secret visit to Paris in 1847, Balzac declined an invitation to dinner with Madame Merlin, excusing himself on the ground of lack of time, but promised to call upon her soon. A few months before this (1846), he dedicated to her Les Marana, a short story written in 1832. Juana is inscribed to her also.

As has been seen, Balzac frequently depicted the features, lives, or peculiarities of various friends under altered names, but toward the close of Beatrix he laid aside all disguise in comparing the appearance of one of his famous women to the beauty of the Countess: "Madame Schontz owed her fame as a beauty to the brilliancy and color of a warm, creamy complexion like a creole's, a face full of original details, with the clean-cut, firm features, of which the Countess de Merlin was the most famous example and the most perennially young . . ."

In 1846, Balzac dedicated Un Drame au Bord de la Mer, written several years before, to Madame La Princesse Caroline Galitzin de Genthod, nee Comtesse Walewska. Balzac doubtless met her while visiting Madame Hanska in Geneva in 1834, as she was living at Genthod. He met a Princesse Sophie Galitzin, whom he considered far more attractive, and later met another Princesse Galitzin. One of these ladies evidently aroused the suspicions of Madame Hanska, but the novelist assured her that there was no cause for her anxiety.

Another woman whom Balzac honored with a dedication of one of his books, but for whom he apparently cared little, was Madame la Baronne de Rothschild, wife of the founder of the banking house in Paris. Balzac had met Baron James de Rothschild and his wife at Aix, where she coquetted with him. He had business dealings with this firm, and planned, several years later, to present to Madame de Rothschild as a New Year's greeting some of his works handsomely bound; the volumes were delayed, and he accordingly made a change in some of his business matters, for this was evidently a gift with a motive. The dedication to her of L'Enfant Maudit in 1846, as well as that of Un Homme d'Affaires to her husband in 1845, was perhaps for financial reasons or favors, since he never seemed to care for the couple in society.

In the winter of 1837, Countess San-Severino Porcia wrote from Paris to her friend in Milan, the Countess Clara Maffei, that Balzac was coming to her city, and suggested that she receive him in her salon. This distinguished and cultured woman had visited the novelist in Paris, and had been much surprised at the kind of home in which he was living, how like a hermit he was secluded from the world and the persecutions of his creditors; she was amazed when he received her in his celebrated monastic role.

The Countess Maffei retained her title after her marriage (in 1832) with the poet, Andrea Maffei, who was many years older than she. She was a great friend of the Princess Belgiojoso, and during the stirring times of 1848 the Princess had been a frequent visitor in her salon. Six years younger than the Princess, the Countess threw herself heart and soul into the political and literary life of Milan.

"For fifty-two consecutive years (1834-1886) her salon was the rendezvous not merely of her compatriots but of intellectual Europe. The list of celebrities who thronged her modest drawing-room rivals that of Belgiojoso's Parisian salon, and includes many of the same immortal names. Daniel Stern, Balzac, Manzoni, Liszt, Verdi, and a score of others, are of international fame; but the annuals of Italian patriotism, belles-lettres and art teem with the names of men and women who, during that half century of uninterrupted hospitality, sought guidance, inspiration and intellectual entertainment among the politicians, poets, musicians and wits who congregated round the hostess."[*]

[*] W. R. Whitehouse, A Revolutionary Princess.

Balzac arrived in Milan in February, 1837, was well received, and was invited to the famous salon of Countess Maffei. The novelist was at once charmed with his hostess, whom he called la petite Maffei, and for whom he soon began to show a tender friendship which later became blended with affection.

Unfortunately Balzac did not like Milan; only the fascination of the Countess Maffei pleased him. He quarreled with the Princess San-Severino Porcia, who would not allow him to say anything unkind about Italy, and was depressed when calling on the Princess Bolognini, who laughed at him for it.

In the salon of the Countess Maffei the novelist preferred listening to talking; occasionally he would break out into sonorous laughter, and would then listen again, and—in spite of his excessive use of coffee—would fall asleep. The Countess was often embarrassed by Balzac's disdainful expressions about people he did not like but who were her friends. She tried to please him, however and had many of her French-speaking friends to meet him, but he seemed most to enjoy tea with her alone. Referring to her age, he wrote in her album: "At twenty-three years of age, all is in the future."

After Balzac's return to Paris he asked her, in response to one of her letters, to please ascertain why the Princess San-Severino was angry with him. Later he showed his appreciation of her kindness by sending her the corrected proofs of Martyres ignores, and by dedicating to her La fausse Maitresse, published in 1841. The dedication, however, did not appear until several months later.

In a long and beautiful dedication, Balzac inscribed Les Employes to the Comtesse Serafina San-Severino, nee Porcia, and to her brother, Prince Alfonso Serafino di Porcia, he dedicated Splendeurs et Miseres des Courtisanes, concerning which he thought a great deal while visiting in the latter's home in Milan. The hotel having become intolerable to the novelist, he was invited by Prince Porcia to occupy a little room in his home, overlooking the gardens, where he could work at his ease. The Prince, a man of about Balzac's age, was very much in love with the Countess Bolognini, and was unwilling to marry at all unless he could marry her, but her husband was still living. The Prince lived only ten doors from his Countess, and his happiness in seeing her so frequently, together with his riches, provoked gloomy meditations in the mind of the poor author, who was so far from his Predilecta, so overcome with debts, and forced to work so hard.

To Madame la Comtesse Bolognini, nee Vimercati, who was afterwards married to Prince Porcia, Balzac dedicated Une Fille d'Eve:

"If you remember, madame, the pleasure your conversation gave to a certain traveler, making Paris live for him in Milan, you will not be surprised that he should lay one of his works at your feet, as a token of gratitude for so many delightful evenings spent in your society, nor that he should seek for it in the shelter of your name which, in old times, was given to not a few of the tales by one of your early writers, dear to the Milanese. You have a Eugenie, already beautiful, whose clever smile proclaims her to have inherited from you the most precious gifts a woman can possess, and whose childhood, it is certain, will be rich in all those joys which a sad mother refused to the Eugenie of these pages. If Frenchmen are accused of bring frivolous and inconstant, I, you see, am Italian in my faithfulness and attachments. How often, as I write the name of Eugenie, have my thoughts carried me back to the cool stuccoed drawing-room and little garden of the Viccolo dei Capuccini, which used to resound to the dear child's merry laughter, to our quarrels, and our stories. You have left the Corso for the Tre Monasteri, where I know nothing of your manner of life, and I am forced to picture you, no longer amongst the pretty things, which doubtless still surround you, but like one of the beautiful heads of Raffaelle, Titian, Correggio or Allori which, in their remoteness, seem to us like abstractions. If this book succeeds in making its way across the Alps, it will prove to you the lively gratitude and respectful friendship of your humble servant,

"DE BALZAC."

LA PRINCESSE BAGRATION—LA COMTESSE BOSSI—MADAME KISSELEFF —LA PRINCESSE DE SCHONBURG—MADAME JAROSLAS POTOCKA —LA BARONNE DE PFAFFINS—LA COMTESSE DELPHINE POTOCKA

Several women whom Balzac knew, but who apparently had no special influence over his life, are mentioned here; he evidently did not care enough for them or did not know them well enough to include their names in the dedicatory register of the Comedie humaine. This, however, by no means exhausts the list of his acquaintances among women. Many of them he had met through his intimacy with his "Polar Star"; he was indeed so popular that he once exclaimed to her that he was overwhelmed with Russian princesses and took to flight to avoid them.

The noted salon of the charming Princesse Bagration, wife of the Russian field-marshal, was open to the novelist early in his career. With her aristocratic ease and the distinction of her manners, she had been one of the most brilliant stars at Vienna where her salon, as at Paris, was one of the most popular. Among her intimate friends was Madame Hamelin whom she had known during her stay in Vienna. Notwithstanding Balzac's careless habits of dress, he was welcome in this salon, where the ladies enjoyed the stories which he told with such charm, and at which he was always the first to laugh, though told against himself.

As has been mentioned the Princess Bagration passed at Paris for the model of Foedora. If M. Gabriel Ferry is correct, Balzac met the Duchesse de Castries in the salon of the Princess Bagration before their correspondence began, but never talked to her and did not suppose that he had attracted her attention.

One of Balzac's acquaintances whom he met during his visit to Madame Hanska at Geneva was the Countess Bossi. He met her again at Milan in 1838, on his return from his journey to Corsica, but he was not favorably impressed with her, although he once deemed it wise to explain to his Chatelaine his conduct relative to her.

Madame Kisseleff was one of Madame Hanska's friends whom he probably met in Vienna; he dined at her home frequently and enjoyed her company, for she could talk to him of his Louloup. She was a friend of Madame Hamelin, and moved to Fontainebleu to be near her while the latter was living at La Madeleine. While living in Paris, Madame Kisseleff entertained Madame Hamelin and several other ladies together with Balzac; these dinners and his visites de digestion caused him to see much of her for awhile, but as in many of his other friendships, his ardor cooled later, and he went to her home only when specially invited. In 1844, she left Paris to reside at Homburg where she built a house. The novelist took advantage of her friendship to send articles to Madame Hanska through the Russian ambassador.

Balzac made visites de politesse to the Princesse de Schonburg, an acquaintance of Madame Hanska's, but no more than were required by courtesy. It would have been convenient for him to have seen much of her, had he cared to, for she had placed her child in the same house with him on account of its vicinity to the orthopaedic hospital.

One of Madame Hanska's friends whom Balzac liked was Madame Jaroslas Potocka, sister of the Countess Schouwaloff. She wrote some very pleasing letters to him, but he was too busy to answer them, so he sent her messages, or enclosed notes to her in his letters to his Predilecta.

La Baronne de Pfaffins, nee Comtesse Mierzciewska, was a Polish lady whom Balzac met rather late in life. He first thought she was Madame Hanska's cousin, but later learned that it was to M. de Hanski that she was related. Her Polish voice reminded him so much of his Louloup that he was moved to tears; this friendship, however, did not continue long.

Another acquaintance from the land of Balzac's "Polar Star" was Madame Delphine Potocka who was a great friend of Chopin, to whom he dedicated some of his happiest inspirations, and whose voice he so loved that he requested her to sing while he was dying. Her box at the opera was near Balzac's so that he saw her frequently, and dined with her, but did not admire her.

MARIA—HELENE—LOUISE

"To Maria:

"May your name, that of one whose portrait is the noblest ornament of this work, lie on its opening page like a branch of sacred box, taken from an unknown tree, but sanctified by religion, and kept ever fresh and green by pious hand to protect the home.

"DE BALZAC."

Just who is the "Maria" to whom the dedication of _Eugenie Grandet_ is addressed is a question that in the opinion of the present writer has never been satisfactorily answered. The generally accepted answer is that of Spoelberch de Lovenjoul, who thought that "Maria" was the girl whom Balzac described as a "poor, simple and delightful _bourgeoise, . . . the most naive creature that ever was, fallen like a flower from heaven," and who said to Balzac: "Love me a year, and I will love you all my life."

Even admitting that this much disputed letter of October 12, 1833, was written by Balzac, though it does not bear his signature, the name "Maria" does not appear in it, so it is no proof that she is the woman to whom Balzac dedicated one of his greatest and probably the most popular of his works, Eugenie Grandet, although the heroine has some of the characteristics of the woman referred to in that letter in that she is a "naive, simple, and delightful bourgeoise." But in reviewing the women to whom Balzac dedicated his stories in the Comedie humaine, one does not find any of this type. Either they are members of his family, old family friends, literary friends, rich people to whom he was indebted, women of the nobility, or women whom he loved for a time at least, and all were women whom he could respect and recognize in society, while the woman referred to in the letter of October 12, 1833, does not seem to have had this last qualification.

In reply to his sister Laure's criticism that there were too many millions in Eugenie Grandet, he insisted that the story was true, and that he could create nothing better than the truth. In investigating the truth of this story, it has been found that Jean Niveleau, a very rich man having many of the traits of Grandet, lived at Saumur, and that he had a beautiful daughter whom he is said to have refused to give in marriage to Balzac. Whether this be true or not, the novelist has screened some things of a personal nature in this work.

Although the book is dated September, 1833, he did not finish it until later. It was just at this time that he met Madame Hanska, and visited her on two different occasions during the period that he was working on Eugenie Grandet. As he was pressed for money, as usual, his Predilecta offered to help him financially; this he refused, but immortalized the offer by having Eugenie give her gold to her lover.

In declining Madame Hanska's offer, he writes her:

"Beloved angel, be a thousand times blessed for your drop of water, for your offer; it is everything to me and yet it is nothing. You see what a thousand francs would be when ten thousand a month are needed. If I could find nine, I could find twelve. But I should have liked, in reading that delightful letter of yours, to have plunged my hand into the sea and drawn out all its pearls to strew them on your beautiful black hair. . . . There is a sublime scene (to my mind, and I am rewarded for having it) in Eugenie Grandet, who offers her fortune to her cousin. The cousin makes an answer; what I said to you on that subject was more graceful. But to mingle a single word that I have said to my Eve in what others will read!—Ah! I would rather have flung Eugenie Grandet into the fire! . . . Do not think there was the least pride, the least false delicacy in my refusal of what you know of, the drop of gold you have put angelically aside. . . ."

The novelist not only gave Madame Hanska the manuscript of Eugenie Grandet, but had her in mind while writing it: "One must love, my Eve, my dear one, to write the love of Eugenie Grandet, a pure, immense, proud love!"

The dedication of Eugenie Grandet to "Marie" did not appear until in 1839. Balzac knew several persons named "Marie." The present writer was at one time inclined to think that this Marie might have been the Countess Marie Potocka, whom he met while writing Eugenie, but her cousin, the Princess Radziwill, says that she is sure she is not the one he had in mind, and that she was not the type of woman to whom Balzac would ever have dedicated a book. The novelist had dealings with Madame Marie Dorval, and in 1839, at the time the dedication was written, doubtless knew of her love for Jules Sandeau. Balzac knew also the Countess Marie d'Agoult, but she never would have inspired such a dedication.

Still another "Marie" with whom he was most intimate about 1839, is Madame Helene-Marie-Felicite de Valette, and it will be remembered that while she was usually called "Helene," "Marie" was Balzac's favorite name for her. But it is doubtful that he knew her when he wrote the book.

Yet Balzac's love was so fleeting that if he had had this "Maria" in mind in 1833 when he wrote Eugenie, he probably would have long since forgotten her by the time the dedication was made. It is a well known fact that Balzac dedicated many of his earlier books to friends that he did not meet until years later, and many dedications were not added until 1842.

"To Helene:

"The tiniest boat is not launched upon the sea without the protection of some living emblem or revered name, placed upon it by the mariners. In accordance with this time-honored custom, Madame, I pray you to be the protectress of this work now launched upon our literary ocean; and may the imperial name which the Church has canonized and your devotion has doubly sanctified for me guard it from peril. "DE BALZAC."

The identity of the enchantress who inspired this beautiful dedication of Le Cure de Village has been the subject of much speculation for students of Balzac. The author of the Comedie humaine knew the beautiful Helene Zavadovsky as early as 1835, and, as has been seen, knew Madame de Valette in 1836.

The Princess Radziwill states that this "Helene" was a sister of Madame Hanska, and that she died unmarried in 1842. She was much loved by all her family, and after the death of her mother in 1837 made her home with her sister Eve in Wierzchownia. The present author has found no mention of her in Balzac's letters in connection with Le Cure de Village, of which novel he speaks frequently, nor of his having known her personally, but since Balzac was continually twitting Madame Hanska about her pronunciation of various words, he was doubtless referring to her sister Helene's Russian pronunciation when he writes: "From time to time, I recall to mind all the gowns I have seen you wear from the white and yellow one that first day at Peterhof (Petergoff, idiome Helene), . . ."

While Balzac evidently knew personally the women whom he had in mind in the dedications to "Maria" and to "Helene,"—problems which have perplexed students of Balzac,—he found time for correspondence with a lady whom he never saw, and about whom he knew nothing beyond the Christian name "Louise." The twenty-three letters addressed to her bear no precise dates, but were written in 1836-1837.

Her first letter was sent to Balzac through his bookseller, who saw her seal; but Balzac allayed, without gratifying, his curiosity by assuring him that such letters came to him frequently. The writer was under the impression that Balzac's name was "Henry" and some of her correspondence was in English.

That he should have taken the time to write to this unknown correspondent shows that her letters must have possessed some intrinsic value for him, yet he refused to learn her identity.

"Chance permitted me to know who you might be, and I refused to learn. I never did anything so chivalrous in my life; no, never! I consider it is grander than to risk one's life for an interview of ten minutes. Perhaps I may astonish you still more, when I say that I can learn all about you in any moment, any hour, and yet I refuse to learn, because you wish I should not know!"

In reply to a letter from Louise in which she complained that her time was monopolized by visits, he writes:

"Visits! Do they leave behind them any good for you? For the space of twelve years, an angelic woman stole two hours each day from the world, from the claims of family, from all the entanglements and hindrances of Parisian life—two hours to spend them beside me —without any one else's being aware of the fact; for twelve years! Do you understand all that is contained in these words? I can not wish that this sublime devotedness which has been my salvation should be repeated. I desire that you should retain all your illusions about me without coming one step further; and I do not dare to wish that you should enter upon one of these glorious, secret, and above all, rare and exceptional relationships. Moreover, I have a few friends among women whom I trust—not more than two or three—but they are of an insatiable exigence, and if they were to discover that I corresponded with an inconnue, they would feel hurt."[*]

[*] Memoir and Letters of Balzac. The woman Balzac refers to here is Madame de Berny, but this is an exaggeration.

He revealed to her his ideas regarding women and friendship; how he longed to possess a tender affection which would be a secret between two alone. He complained of her want of confidence in him, and of his work in his loneliness. She tried to comfort him, and being artistic, sent him a sepia drawing. He sought a second one to hang on the other side of his fireplace, and thus replaced two lithographs he did not like. As a token of his friendship he sent her a manuscript of one of his works, saying:

"All this is suggested while looking at your sepia drawing; and while preparing a gift, precious in the sight of those who love me, and of which I am chary, I refuse it to all who have not deeply touched my heart, or who have not done me a service; it is a thing of no value, except where there is heartfelt friendship."

During his imprisonment by order of the National Guard, she sent him flowers, for which he was very profuse in expressing his thanks. He appreciated especially the roses which came on his birthday, and wished her as many tender things as there were scents in the blooming buds.

She apparently had some misfortune, and their correspondence terminated abruptly in this, his last letter to her:

"Carina, . . . On my return from a long and difficult journey, undertaken for the refreshment of my over-tired brain, I find this letter from you, very concise, and melancholy enough in its solitude; it is, however, a token of your remembrance. That you may be happy is the wish of my heart, a very pure and disinterested wish, since you have decided that thus it is to be. I once more take up my work, and in that, as in a battle, the struggle occupies one entirely; one suffers, but the heart becomes calm."

Facino Cane was dedicated to Louise:

"As a mark of affectionate gratitude."



CHAPTER V

SENTIMENTAL FRIENDSHIPS

MADAME DE BERNY

"I have to stand alone now amidst my troubles; formerly I had beside me in my struggles the most courageous and the sweetest person in the world, a woman whose memory is each day renewed in my heart, and whose divine qualities make all other friendships when compared with hers seem pale. I no longer have help in the difficulties of life; when I am in doubt about any matter, I have now no other guide than this final thought, 'If she were alive, what would she say?' Intellects of this order are rare."

Balzac loved to seek the sympathy and confidence of people whose minds were at leisure, and who could interest themselves in his affairs. With his artistic temperament, he longed for the refinement, society and delicate attentions which he found in the friendships of various women. "The feeling of abandonment and of solitude in which I am stings me. There is nothing selfish in me; but I need to tell my thoughts, my efforts, my feelings to a being who is not myself; otherwise I have no strength. I should wish for no crown if there were no feet at which to lay that which men may put upon my head."

One of the first of these friendships was that formed with Madame de Berny, nee (Laure-Louise-Antoinette) Hinner. She was the daughter of a German musician, a harpist at the court of Louis XVI, and of Louise-Marguerite-Emelie Quelpec de Laborde, a lady in waiting at the court of Marie Antoinette. M. Hinner died in 1784, after which Madame Hinner was married to Francois-Augustin Reinier de Jarjayes, adjutant-general of the army. M. Jarjayes was one of the best known persons belonging to the Royalist party during the Revolution, a champion of the Queen, whom he made many attempts to save. He was one of her most faithful friends, was intrusted with family keepsakes, and was made lieutenant-general under Louis XVIII. Madame Jarjayes was much loved by the Queen; she was also implicated in the plots. Before dying, Marie Antoinette sent her a lock of her hair and a pair of earrings. Laure Hinner was married April 8, 1793, to M. Gabriel de Berny, almost nine years her senior, who was of the oldest nobility. Madame de Berny, her husband, her mother and her stepfather were imprisoned for nine months, and were not released until after the fall of Robespierre.

The married life of Madame de Berny was unhappy; she was intelligent and sentimental; he, capricious and morose. She seems to have realized the type of the femme incomprise; she too was an etrangere, and bore some traits of her German origin. Coming into Balzac's life at about the age of forty, this femme de quarante ans became for him the amie and the companion who was to teach him life. Still beautiful, having been reared in intimate court circles, having been the confidante of plotters and the guardian of secrets, possessed of rare trinkets and souvenirs—what an open book was this memoire vivante, and with what passion did the young interrogator absorb the pages! Here he found unknown anecdotes, ignored designs, and here the sources of his great plots, Les Chouans, Madame de la Chanterie, and Un Episode sous la Terreur.

All this is what she could teach him, aided perhaps by his mother, who lived until 1837. Here is the secret of Balzac's royalism; here is where he first learned of the great ladies that appear in his work, largely portrayed to him by the amie who watched over his youth and guided his maturity.

Having consulted the Almanach des 25,000 adresses, Madame Ruxton thinks that Balzac met Madame de Berny when the two families lived near each other in Paris; M. de Berny and family spent the summers in Villeparisis, and resided during the winters at 3, rue Portefoin, Paris. It is possible that he met her at the soirees, which he frequented with his sisters, and where his awkwardness provoked smiles from the ladies. While it is generally supposed that they met at Villeparisis, MM. Hanotaux et Vicaire also believed that they must have known each other before this, if Balzac is referring to his own life in Oeuvres diverses: Une Passion au College.

Madame de Berny is first mentioned in Balzac's correspondence in 1822 when, in writing his sister Laure the general news, he informs her that Madame de Berny has become a grandmother, and that after forty years of reflection, realizing that money is everything, she had invested in grain. But he must have met her some time before this, for his family was living in Villeparisis as early as 1819.

M. de Berny bought in 1815 the home of M. Michaud de Montzaigle in Villeparisis, and remained possessor of it until 1825. M. Parquin, the present owner of this home, is a Balzacien who has collected all the traditions remaining in Villeparisis concerning the two families. According to Villeparisis tradition, Madame de Berny was a woman of great intelligence who wrote much, and her notes and stories were not only utilized by Balzac, but she was his collaborator, especially in writing the Physiologie du Mariage and the first part of the Femme de trente Ans.

When Balzac went to Villeparisis to reside, he became tutor to his brother Henri, and it was arranged that he should also give lessons to one of the sons of M. and Madame de Berny. Thus Balzac probably saw her daily and was struck by her patience and kindness toward her husband. She was apparently a gentle and sympathetic woman who understood Balzac as did no one else, and who ignored her own troubles and sufferings for fear of grieving him in the midst of his struggles.

It was owing to the strong recommendation of M. de Berny, councilor at the Court at Paris, that Balzac obtained in the spring of 1826 his royal authorization to establish himself as a printer. During the year 1825-1826, Madame de Berny loaned Balzac 9250 francs; after his failure, she entered in name into the type-foundry association of Laurent et Balzac. She advanced to Balzac a total of 45,000 francs, and established her son, Alexandre de Berny, in the house where her protege had been unsuccessful.

Though Balzac states that he paid her in full, he can not be relied upon when he is dealing with figures, and MM. Hanotaux et Vicaire question this statement in relating the incident told by M. Arthur Rhone, an old friend of the de Berny family. M. de Berny told M. Rhone that the famous bust of Flore cost him 1500 francs. One day while visiting Balzac, his host told him to take whatever he liked as a reimbursement, since he could not pay him. M. de Berny took some trifle, and after Balzac's death, M. Charles Tuleu, knowing his fondness for the bust of Flore, brought it to him as a souvenir of their common friend. This might explain also why M. de Berny possessed a superb clock and other things coming from Balzac's collection.

It was while Balzac was living in a little apartment in the rue des Marais that his Dilecta began her daily visits, which continued so long, and which made such an impression on him.

Madame de Berny was of great help to Balzac in the social world and was perhaps instrumental in developing the friendship between him and the Duchesse de Castries. It was the Duc de Fitz-James who asked Balzac (1832) to write a sort of program for the Royalist party, and later (1834), wished him to become a candidate for deputy. This Duc de Fitz-James was the nephew of the godmother of Madame de Berny. It was to please him and the Duchesse de Castries that Balzac published a beautiful page about the Duchesse d'Angouleme.

Although Madame de Berny was of great help to Balzac in the financial and social worlds, of greater value was her literary influence over him. With good judgment and excellent taste she writes him: "Act, my dear, as though the whole multitude sees you from all sides at the height where you will be placed, but do not cry to it to admire you, for, on all sides, the strongest magnifying glasses will instantly be turned on you, and how does the most delightful object appear when seen through the microscope?"

She had had great experience in life, had suffered much and had seen many cruel things, but she brought Balzac consolation for all his pains and a confidence and serenity of which his appreciation is beautifully expressed:

"I should be most unjust if I did not say that from 1823 to 1833 an angel sustained me through that horrible struggle. Madame de Berny, though married, was like a God to me. She was a mother, friend, family, counselor; she made the writer, she consoled the young man, she created his taste, she wept like a sister, she laughed, she came daily, like a beneficent sleep, to still his sorrows. She did more; though under the control of a husband, she found means to lend me as much as forty-five thousand francs, of which I returned the last six thousand in 1836, with interest at five per cent., be it understood. But she never spoke to me of my debt, except now and then; without her, I should, assuredly, be dead. She often divined that I had eaten nothing for days; she provided for all with angelic goodness; she encouraged that pride which preserves a man from baseness,—for which to-day my enemies reproach me, calling it a silly satisfaction in myself—the pride that Boulanger has, perhaps, pushed to excess in my portrait."

Balzac's conception of women was formed largely from his association with Madame de Berny in his early manhood, and a reflection of these ideas is seen throughout his works. It was probably to give Madame de Berny pleasure that he painted the mature beauties which won for him so many feminine admirers.

It is doubtless Madame de Berny whom Balzac had in mind when in Madame Firmiani he describes the heroine:

"Have you ever met, for your happiness, some woman whose harmonious tones give to her speech the charm that is no less conspicuous in her manners, who knows how to talk and to be silent, who cares for you with delicate feeling, whose words are happily chosen and her language pure? Her banter caresses you, her criticism does not sting; she neither preaches or disputes, but is interested in leading a discussion, and stops at the right moment. Her manner is friendly and gay, her politeness is unforced, her earnestness is not servile; she reduces respect to a mere gentle shade; she never tires you, and leaves you satisfied with her and yourself. You will see her gracious presence stamped on the things she collects about her. In her home everything charms the eye, and you breathe, as it seems, your native air. This woman is quite natural. You never feel an effort, she flaunts nothing, her feelings are expressed with simplicity because they are genuine. Though candid, she never wounds the most sensitive pride; she accepts men as God made them, pitying the victims, forgiving defects and absurdities, sympathizing with every age, and vexed with nothing because she has the tact of foreseeing everything. At once tender and gay, she first constrains and then consoles you. You love her so truly that if this angel does wrong, you are ready to justify her. Such was Madame Firmiani."

It was to Madame de Berny's son, Alexandre, that Balzac dedicated Madame Firmiani, and he no doubt recognized the portrait.

Balzac often portrayed his own life and his association with women in his works. In commenting on La Peau de Chagrin, he writes:

"Pauline is a real personage for me, only more lovely than I could describe her. If I have made her a dream it is because I did not wish my secret to be discovered."

And again, in writing of Louis Lambert:

"You know when you work in tapestry, each stitch is a thought. Well, each line in this new work has been for me an abyss. It contains things that are secrets between it and me."

In portraying the yearnings and sufferings of Louis Lambert (_Louis Lambert_), of Felix de Vandenesse (_Le Lys dans la Vallee_) and of Raphael (La Peau de Chagrin_), Balzac is picturing his own life. Pauline de Villenoix (_Louis Lambert_) and Pauline Gaudin (_Le Peau de Chagrin_) are possibly drawn from the same woman and have many characteristics of Madame de Berny. Madame de Mortsauf (_Le Lys dans la Vallee_) is Pauline, though not so outspoken. Then, is it not _La Dilecta_ whom the novelist had in mind when Louis Lambert writes:

"When I lay my head on your knees, I could wish to attract to you the eyes of the whole world, just as I long to concentrate in my love every idea, every power within me";

and near the end of life, could not Madame de Berny say as did Pauline in the closing lines of Louis Lambert:

"His heart was mine; his genius is with God"?

The year 1832 was a critical one in the private life of Balzac. Madame de Berny, more than twenty years his senior, felt that they should sever their close connection and remain as friends only. Balzac's family had long been opposed to this intimate relationship and had repeatedly tried to find a rich wife for him. Madame de Castries, who had begun an anonymous correspondence with him, revealed her identity early in that year, and the first letter from l'Etrangere, who was soon to over-shadow all his other loves, arrived February 28, 1832. During the same period Mademoiselle de Trumilly rejected his hand. With so many distractions, Balzac probably did not suffer from this separation as did his Dilecta. But he never forgot her, and constantly compared other women with her, much to her detriment. He regarded her, indeed, as a woman of great superiority.

In June (1832), Balzac left Paris to spend several weeks with his friends, M. and Mme. de Margonne, and there at their chateau de Sache, he wrote Louis Lambert as a sort of farewell of soul to soul to the woman he had so loved, and whose equal in devotion he never found. In memory of his ten years' intimacy with her, he dedicated this work to her: Et nunc et semper dilectae dicatum 1822-1832. It is to her also, that he gave the beautiful Deveria portrait, resplendent with youth and strength.[*]

[*] MM. Hanotaux et Vicaire think that it is Madame de Berny who was weighing on Balzac's soul when he relates, in Le Cure de Village, the tragic story of the young workman who dies from love without opening his lips.

M. Brunetiere has suggested that the woman whose traits best recall Madame de Berny is Marguerite Claes, the victim in La Recherche de l'Absolu, while the nature of Balzac's affection for this great friend of his youth has not been better expressed than in Balthasar Claes, she always ready to sacrifice all for him, and he, as Balthasar, always ready, in the interest of his "grand work," to rob her and make her desperate while loving her. However, Balzac states, in speaking of Madame de Berny:

"At any moment death may take from me an angel who has watched over me for fourteen years; she, too, a flower of solitude, whom the world had never touched, and who has been my star. My work is not done without tears! The attentions due to her cast uncertainty upon any time of which I could dispose, though she herself unites with the doctor in advising me some strong diversions. She pushes friendship so far as to hide her sufferings from me; she tries to seem well for me. You understand that I have not drawn Claes to do as he! Great God! what changes in her have been wrought in two months! I am overwhelmed."

M. le Breton has suggested that Madame de Berny is Catherine in La Derniere Fee, Madame d'Aiglemont in La Femme de trente Ans, and Madame de Beauseant in La Femme abandonnee, and has strengthened this last statement by pointing out that Gaston de Nueil came to Madame de Beauseant after she had been deserted by her lover, the Marquis d'Ajuda-Pinto, just as the youthful Balzac came to Madame de Berny after she had had a lover.

It is doubtless to this friendship that Balzac refers when he writes in the last lines of La Duchesse de Langeais: "It is only the last love of a woman that can satisfy the first love of a man." It is of interest to note that Antoinette is the Christian name of the heroine of this story. Throughout the Comedie humaine are seen quite young men who fall in love with women well advanced in years, as Calyste de Guenic with Mademoiselle Felicite des Touches in Beatrix, and Lucien de Rubempre with Madame Bargeton in Illusions perdues.

In Eugenie Grandet Balzac writes:

"Do you know what Madame Campan used to say to us? 'My children, so long as a man is a Minister, adore him; if he falls, help to drag him to the ditch. Powerful, he is a sort of deity; ruined, he is below Marat in his sewer, because he is alive, and Marat, dead. Life is a series of combinations, which must be studied and followed if a good position is to be successfully maintained.'"

Since Madame Campan was femme de chambre of Marie Antoinette, Balzac probably heard this maxim through Madame de Berny.

Although some writers state that Madame de Berny was one of Balzac's collaborators in composing the Physiologie du Mariage, he says, regarding this work: "I undertook the Physiologie du Mariage and the Peau de Chagrin against the advice of that angel whom I have lost." She may have inspired him, however, in writing Le Cure de Tours, as it is dated at her home, Saint-Firmin, 1832.

In 1833, Balzac wrote Madame Hanska that he had dedicated the fourth volume of the Scenes de la Vie privee to her, putting her seal at the head of l'Expiation, the last chapter of La Femme de trente Ans, which he was writing at the moment he received her first letter. But a person who was as a mother to him and whose caprices and even jealousy he was bound to respect, had exacted that this silent testimony should be repressed. He had the sincerity to avow to her both the dedication and its destruction, because he believed her to have a soul sufficiently lofty not to desire homage which would cause grief to one as noble and grand as she whose child he was, for she had rescued him when in youth he had nearly perished in the midst of griefs and shipwreck. He had saved the only copy of that dedication, for which he had been blamed as if it were a horrible coquetry, and wished her to keep it as a souvenir and as an expression of his thanks.

Balzac was ever loyal to Madame de Berny and refused to reveal her baptismal name to Madame Hanska; soon after their correspondence began he wrote her: "You have asked me the baptismal name of the Dilecta. In spite of my complete and blind faith, in spite of my sentiment for you, I cannot tell it to you; I have never told it. Would you have faith in me if I told it? No."

After 1834 Madame de Berny's health failed rapidly, and her last days were full of sorrow. Among her numerous family trials Balzac enumerates:

"One daughter become insane, another daughter dead, the third dying, what blows!—And a wound more violent still, of which nothing can be told. Finally, after thirty years of patience and devotion, forced to separate from her husband under pain of dying if she remained a few days longer. All this in a short space of time. This is what I suffer through the heart that created me. . . . Madame de Berny is much better; she has borne a last shock, the illness of a beloved son whose brother has gone to bring him home from Belgium. . . . Suddenly, the only son who resembles her, a young man handsome as the day, tender and spiritual like herself, like her full of noble sentiments, fell ill, and ill of a cold which amounts to an affection of the lungs. The only child out of nine with whom she can sympathize! Of the nine, only four remain; and her youngest daughter has become hysterically insane, without any hope of cure. That blow nearly killed her. I was correcting the Lys beside her; but my affection was powerless even to temper this last blow. Her son (twenty-three years old) was in Belgium where he was directing an establishment of great importance. His brother Alexandre went for him, and he arrived a month ago, in a deplorable condition. This mother, without strength, almost expiring, sits up at night to nurse Armand. She has nurses and doctors. She implores me not to come and not to write to her."[*]

[*] _Lettres a l'Etrangere. Various writers in speaking of Madame de Berny, state that she had eight children; others, nine. Balzac remarks frequently that she had nine. Among others, Madame Ruxton says that she had eight. She gives their names and dates of birth. The explanation of this difference is probably found in the following: "I am going to fulfil a rather sad duty this morning. The daughter of Madame de B . . . and of Campi . . . asks for me. In 1824, they wished me to marry her. She was bewitchingly beautiful, a flower of Bengal! After twenty years, I am going to see her again! At forty years of age! She asks a service of me; doubtless a literary ambition! . . . I am going there. . . . Three o'clock. I was sure of it! I have seen Julie, to whom and for whom I wrote the verses: 'From the midst of those torrents of glory and of light, etc.:' which are in _Illusions perdues_. . . ." Neither the name _Julie_ nor the date of her birth is given by Madame Ruxton.

Some secret pertaining to Madame de Berny remains untold. In 1834 Balzac writes Madame Hanska: "The greatest sorrows have overwhelmed Madame de Berny. She is far from me, at Nemours, where she is dying of her troubles. I cannot write you about them; they are things that can only be spoken of with the greatest secrecy." He might have revealed this secret to her in 1835 when he visited her in Vienna; the following secret, however, is not explained in subsequent letters, and Balzac did not see Madame Hanska again until seven years later in St. Petersburg:

"I have much distress, even enormous distress in the direction of Madame de Berny; not from her directly but from her family. It is not of a nature to be written. Some evening at Wierzchownia, when the heart wounds are scars, I will tell it to you in murmurs so that the spiders cannot hear, and so that my voice can go from my lips to your heart. They are dreadful things, which dig into life to the bone, deflowering all, and making one distrust all, except you for whom I reserve these sighs."

Though Madame de Berny may have been jealous of other women in her earlier association with Balzac, she evidently changed later, for he writes:

"Alas! Madame de Berny is no better. The malady makes frightful progress, and I cannot express to you how grand, noble and touching this soul of my life has been in these days measured by illness, and with what fervor she desires that another be to me what she has been. She knows the inward spring and nobility that the habit of carrying all things to an idol gives me. My God is on earth."

Contrary to his family, Madame Carraud sympathized with Balzac in his devotion to Madame de Berny, and invited them to be her guests. In accepting he writes:

"Her life is so much bound up in mine! Ah, no one can form any true idea of this deep attachment which sustains me in all my work, and consoles me every moment in all I suffer. You can understand something of this, you who know so well what friendship is, you who are so affectionate, so good. . . . I thank you beforehand for your offer of Frapesle to her. There, amid your flowers, and in your gentle companionship, and the country life, if convalescence is possible, and I venture to hope for it, she will regain life and health."

He apparently did not receive such sympathy from Madame Hanska in their early correspondence:

"Why be displeased about a woman fifty-eight years old, who is a mother to me, who folds me in her heart and protects me from stings? Do not be jealous of her; she would be so glad of our happiness. She is an angel, sublime. There are angels of earth and angels of heaven; she is of heaven."

Madame de Berny's illness continued to grow more and more serious. The reading of the second number of Pere Goriot affected her so much that she had another heart attack. But as her illness and griefs changed and withered her, Balzac's affection for her redoubled. He did not realize how rapidly she was failing, for she did not wish him to see her unless she felt well and could appear attractive. On his return to France from a journey to Italy with Madame Marbouty, he was overcome with grief at the news of the death of Madame de Berny. He found on his table a letter from her son Alexandre briefly announcing his mother's death.

But the novelist did not cease to respect her criticism:

"I resumed my work this morning; I am obeying the last words that Madame de Berny wrote me; 'I can die; I am sure that you have upon your brow the crown I wished there. The Lys is a sublime work, without spot or flaw. Only, the death of Madame de Mortsauf does not need those horrible regrets; they injure the beautiful letter she writes.' Therefore, to-day I have piously effaced a hundred lines, which, according to many persons, disfigure that creation. I have not regretted a single word, and each time that my pen was drawn through one of them, never was the heart of man more deeply stirred. I thought I saw that grand and sublime woman, that angel of friendship, before me, smiling as she smiled to me when I used a strength so rare,—the strength to cut off one's own limb and feel neither pain nor regret in correcting, in conquering one's self."

Balzac was sincere in his friendship with Madame de Berny, and never ceased to revere her memory. The following appreciations of her worth are a few of the numerous beautiful tributes he has paid her:

"I have lost the being whom I love most in the world. . . . She whom I have lost was more than a mother, more than a friend, more than any human creature can be to another; it can only be expressed by the word divine. She sustained me through storms of trouble by word and deed and entire devotedness. If I am alive this day, it is to her that it is due. She was everything to me; and although during the last two years, time and illness kept us apart, we saw each other through the distance. She inspired me; she was for me a spiritual sun. Madame de Mortsauf in Le Lys dans la Vallee, only faintly shadows forth some of the slighter qualities of this woman; there is but a very pale reflection of her, for I have a horror of unveiling my own private emotions to the public, and nothing personal to myself will ever be known."

"Madame de Berny is dead. I can say no more on that point. My sorrow is not of a day; it will react upon my whole life. For a year I had not seen her, nor did I see her in her last moments. . . . She, who was always so lovingly severe to me, acknowledged that the Lys was one of the finest books in the French language; she decked herself at last with the crown which, fifteen years earlier, I had promised her, and, always coquettish, she imperiously forbade me to visit her, because she would not have me near her unless she were beautiful and well. The letter deceived me. . . . When I was wrecked the first time, in 1828, I was only twenty-nine years old and I had an angel at my side. . . . There is a blank which has saddened me. The adored is here no longer. Every day I have occasion to deplore the eternal absence. Would you believe that for six months I have not been able to go to Nemours to bring away the things that ought to be in my sole possession? Every week I say to myself, 'It shall be this week! . . .' I was very unhappy in my youth, but Madame de Berny balanced all by an absolute devotion, which was understood to its full extent only when the grave had seized its prey. Yes, I was spoiled by that angel."[*]

[*] Madame de Berny died July 27, 1836.

So faithful was Balzac to the memory of his Dilecta that nine years after her death, he was deeply affected on seeing at the Cour d'Assises a woman about forty-five years of age, who strongly resembled Madame de Berny, and who was being arraigned for deeds caused by her devotion to a reckless youth.

LA DUCHESSE DE CASTRIES.—MADEMOISELLE DE TRUMILLY

"He who has not seen, at some ball of Madame, Duchesse de Berry, glide airily, scarcely touching the floor, so moving that one perceived in her only grace before knowing whether she was a beauty, a young woman with blond, deep-golden hair; he who has not seen appear then the young Marquise de Castries in a fete, cannot, without doubt, form an idea of this new beauty, charming, aerial, praised and honored in the salons of the Restoration."

Balzac had a brief, yet ardent friendship with the Duchesse de Castries which ended so unhappily for him that one might say: "Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned." Madame de Castries was the daughter of the Duchesse (nee Fitz-James) and the Duc de Maille. She did not become a duchess until in 1842, and bore the title of marquise previous to that time. Separated from her husband as the result of a famous love affair, the Marquise gathered round her a group of intellectual people, among whom were the writers Balzac, Musset, Sainte-Beuve, etc., and continued active in literary and artistic circles until her death (1861).

On Balzac's return to Paris after a prolonged visit with his friends at Sache during the month of September, 1831, he received an anonymous letter, dated at Paris, a circumstance which was with him of rather frequent occurrence, as with many men of letters.

This lady criticized the Physiologie du Mariage, to which Balzac replies, defending his position:

"The Physiologie du Mariage, madame, was a work undertaken for the purpose of defending the cause of women. I knew that if, with the view of inculcating ideas favorable to their emancipation and to a broad and thorough system of education for them, I had gone to work in a blundering way, I should at best, have been regarded as nothing more than an author of a theory more or less plausible. I was therefore, obliged to clothe my ideas, to disguise them under a new shape, in biting, incisive words that should lay hold on the mind of my readers, awaken their attention and leave behind, reflections upon which they might meditate. Thus then any woman who has passed through the 'storms of life' would see that I attribute the blame of all faults committed by the wives, entirely to their husbands. It is, in fact, a plenary absolution. Besides this, I plead for the natural and inalienable rights of woman. A happy marriage is impossible unless there be a perfect acquaintance between the two before marriage—a knowledge of each other's ways, habits and character. And I have not flinched from any of the consequences involved in this principle. Those who know me are aware that I have been faithful to this opinion ever since I reached the age of reason; and in my eyes a young girl who has committed a fault deserves more interest than she who, remaining ignorant, lies open to the misfortunes of the future. I am at this present time a bachelor, and if I should marry later in life, it will only be to a widow."

Thus was begun the correspondence, and the Duchess ended by lifting her mask and inviting the writer to visit her; he gladly accepted her gracious offer to come, not as a literary man nor as an artist, but as himself. It is a striking coincidence that Balzac accepted this invitation the very day, February 28, 1832, that he received the first letter from l'Etrangere.

What must have been Balzac's surprise, and how flattered he must have felt, on learning that his unknown correspondent belonged to the highest aristocracy of the Faubourg Saint-Germain, and that her husband was a peer of France under Charles X!

"Madame de Castries was a coquettish, vain, delicate, clever woman, with a touch of sensibility, piety and chaleur de salon; a true Parisian with all her brilliant exterior accomplishments, qualities refined by education, luxury and aristocratic surroundings, but also with all her coldness and faults; in a word, one of those women of whom one must never ask friendship, love or devotion beyond a light veneer, because nature had created some women morally poor."

At first, Balzac was too enraptured to judge her accurately, but after frequenting her salon for several months, he says of her:

"It is necessary that I go and climb about at Aix, in Savoy, to run after some one who, perhaps, will laugh at me—one of those aristocratic women of whom you no doubt have a horror; one of those angelic beauties to whom one ascribes a soul; a true duchess, very disdainful, very loving, subtle, witty, a coquette, like nothing I have ever yet seen, and who says she loves me, who wants to keep me in a palace at Venice (for I tell you everything), and who desires I should write nothing, except for her; one of those women who must be worshiped on one's knees when they wish it, and whom one has such pleasure in conquering; a woman to be dreamt of, jealous of everything."

A few weeks later he writes from Aix:

"I have come here to seek at once both much and little. Much, because I see daily a person full of grace and amiability, little, because she is never likely to love me."

Under the influence of the Duchesse de Castries and the Duc de Fitz-James, Balzac gave more and more prominence to Catholic and Legitimist sentiments; and it was perhaps for her sake that the novelist offered himself as a candidate for deputy in several districts, but was defeated in all of them. He thought it quite probable that the Duc de Fitz-James would be elected in at least two districts, so if he were not elected at Angouleme, the Duke might use his interest to get him elected for the place he declined.

It was after Balzac met Madame de Castries that one notes his extravagant tastes and love of display as shown in his horses and carriage, his extra servant, his numerous waistcoats, his gold buttons, his appearance at the opera with his wonderful cane, and his indulgence in rare pictures, old furniture, and bric-a-brac in general.

Induced to follow her to Aix, he continued his work, rising at five in the morning and working until half past five in the afternoon. His lunch came from the circle, and at six o'clock, he dined with Madame de Castries, and spent the evening with her. His intimacy with this illustrious family increased, and he accepted an invitation to accompany them to Italy, giving several reasons for this journey:

"I am at the gates of Italy, and I fear to give way to the temptation of passing through them. The journey would not be costly; I could make it with the Fitz-James family, who would be exceedingly agreeable; they are all perfect to me. . . . I travel as fourth passenger in Mme. de Castries' vetturino and the bargain—which includes everything, food, carriages, hotels—is a thousand francs for all of us to go from Geneva to Rome; making my share two hundred and fifty francs. . . . I shall make this splendid journey with the Duke, who will treat me as if I were his son. I also shall be in relation with the best society; I am not likely to meet with such an opportunity again. M. de Fitz-James has been in Italy before, he knows the country, and will spare me all loss of time. Besides this, his name will throw open many doors to me. The Duchess and he are both more than kind to me, in every way, and the advantages of their society are great."

From Aix they went to Geneva. Just what happened here, we shall probably never know. Suddenly abandoning the proposed trip, Balzac writes his mother:

"It is advisable I should return to France for three months. . . . Besides, my traveling companions will not be at Naples till February. I shall, therefore, come back, but not to Paris; my return will not be known to any one; and I shall start again for Naples in February, via Marseilles and the steamer. I shall be more at rest on the subjects of money and literary obligations."

Later he alludes thus to his sudden departure from Geneva:

"Mon Dieu, Mon Dieu! God, in whom I believe, owed me some sweet emotions at the sight of Geneva, for I left it disconsolate, cursing everything, abhorring womankind! With what joy shall I return to it, my celestial love, my Eva!"

Thus was ended an ardent friendship of about eight months' duration, for instead of rejoining the Duchesse de Castries in Italy Balzac's first visit to that country was made many years later, and then in the delightful company of his "Polar Star."

In speaking of this sudden breach, Miss M. F. Sandars says:

"We can only conjecture the cause of the final rupture, as no satisfactory explanation is forthcoming. The original 'Confession' in the Medecin de Campagne, which is the history of Balzac's relations and parting with Madame de Castries, is in the possession of the Vicomte de Spoelberch de Lovenjoul. The present 'Confession' was substituted for it, because the first revealed too much of Balzac's private life. However, even in the original 'Confession,' we learn no reason for Madame de Castries' sudden resolve to dismiss her adorer, as Balzac declares with indignant despair that he can give no explanation of it. Apparently she parted from him one evening with her usual warmth of affection, and next morning everything was changed, and she treated him with the utmost coldness."

Fully to appreciate what this friendship meant to both, one must consider the private life of each. As has been seen, it was in the summer of 1832 that Balzac and his Dilecta decided to sever their intimate connection, and since his Chatelaine of Wierzchownia had not yet become the dominating force in his life, his heart was doubtless yearning for some one to adore.

There was also an aching void in the heart of Madame de Castries. She, too, was recovering from an amorous attachment, more serious than was his, for death had recently claimed the young Count Metternich. Perhaps then, each was seeking consolation in the other's society.

There was nothing more astonishing or charming than to see in the evening, in one of the most simple little drawing-rooms, antiquely furnished with tables, cushions of old velvet and screens of the eighteenth century, this woman, her spine injured, reclining in her invalid's chair, languid, but without affectation. This woman—with her profile more Roman than Greek, her hair falling over her high, white brow—was the Duchesse de Castries, nee de Maille, related to the best families of the Faubourg Saint-Germain. Accompanying the young Comte de Metternich on the hunt, she was caught in the branch of a tree, and fell, injuring her spine. But a shadow of her former brilliant self—such had become this beauty, once so dazzling that the moment she entered the drawing-room, her gorgeous robe falling over shoulders worthy of a Titian, the brilliancy of the candles was literally effaced.[*]

[*] Philarete Chasles was a frequent visitor of her salon. When Balzac visited Madame Hanska at Vienna in the summer of 1835, he did a favor for the Duchesse de Castries while there. He wrote La Filandiere, 1835, one of his Contes drolatiques, for Madame de Castries' son, M. le baron d'Aldenburg.

Balzac refers frequently to Count Metternich in writing to Madame Hanska of his association with Madame de Castries:

"There is still a Metternich in this adventure; but this time it is the son, who died in Florence. I have already told you of this cruel affair, and I had no right to tell you. Though separated from that person out of delicacy, all is not over yet. I suffer through her; but I do not judge her. . . . Madame de C—— insists that she has never loved any one except M. de M—— and that she loves him still, that Artemisia of Ephesus. . . . You asked me, I believe, about Madame de C—— She has taken the thing, as I told you, tragically, and now distrusts the M—— family. Beneath all this, on both sides there is something inexplicable, and I have no desire to look for the key of mysteries which do not concern me. I am with Madame de C—— on the proper terms of politeness, and as you yourself would wish me to be."

After their abrupt separation at Geneva, their relations continued to be estranged:

"For the moment I will tell you that Madame de C—— has written me that we are not to see each other again; she has taken offense at a letter, and I at many other things. Be assured that there is no love in all this! . . . I meant to speak to you of Madame de C——, but I have not the time. Twenty-five days hence I will tell you by word of mouth. In two words, your Honore, my Eva, grew angry at the coldness which simulated friendship. I said what I thought; the reply was that I ought not to see again a woman to whom I could say such cruel things. I asked a thousand pardons for the 'great liberty,' and we continue on a very cold footing."

Balzac was deeply wounded through his passionate love for Madame de Castries, and resented her leaving him in the depths of an abyss of coldness after having inflamed him with the fire of her soul; he began to think of revenge:

"I abhor Madame de C——, for she blighted my life without giving me another,—I do not say a comparable one, but without giving me what she promised. There is not the shadow of wounded vanity, oh! but disgust and contempt . . . If Madame de C——'s letter displeases you, say so frankly, my love. I will write to her that my affections are placed in a heart too jealous for me to be permitted to correspond with a woman who has her reputation for beauty, for charm, and that I act frankly in telling her so. . . ."

Indeed, his experience with Madame de Castries at Geneva had made him so unhappy that on his return to that city to visit his Predilecta, he had moments of joy mingled with sorrow, as the scenery recalled how, on his previous visit, he had wept over his illusions perdues. While other writers suggest different causes, one might surmise that this serious disappointment was the beginning of Balzac's heart trouble, for in speaking of it, he says: "It is necessary for my life to be bright and pleasant. The cruelties of the woman whom you know have been the cause of the trouble; then the disasters of 1848. . . ."

He tried to overcome his dejection by intense work, but he could not forget the tragic suffering he had undergone. The experience he had recently passed through he disclosed in one of his most noted stories, La Duchesse de Langeais, which he wrote largely in 1834 at the same fatal city of Geneva, but this time, while enjoying the society of the beautiful Madame Hanska. In this story, under the name of the heroine, the Duchesse de Langeais, he describes the Duchesse de Castries:

"This was a woman artificially educated, but in reality ignorant; a woman whose instincts and feelings were lofty, while the thought which should have controlled them was wanting. She squandered the wealth of her nature in obedience to social conventions; she was ready to brave society, yet she hesitated till her scruples degenerated into artifice. With more wilfulness than force of character, impressionable rather than enthusiastic, gifted with more brain than heart; she was supremely a woman, supremely a coquette, and above all things a Parisienne, loving a brilliant life and gaiety, reflecting never, or too late; imprudent to the verge of poetry, and humble in the depths of her heart, in spite of her charming insolence. Like some straight-growing reed, she made a show of independence; yet, like the reed, she was ready to bend to a strong hand. She talked much of religion, and had it not at heart, though she was prepared to find in it a solution of her life."

In the same story under the name of the Marquis de Montriveau, Balzac is doubtless portraying himself. It was probably in the home of the Duchesse de Castries that Balzac conceived some of his ideas of the aristocracy of the exclusive Faubourg Saint-Germain, a picture of which he has drawn in this story of which she is the heroine. Her influence is seen also in the characters so minutely drawn of the heartless Parisienne, no longer young, but seductive, refined and aristocratic, though deceptive and perfidious.

Before publishing La Duchesse de Langeais, the novelist was either tactful or vindictive enough to call on Madame de Castries and read to her his new book. He says of this visit: "I have just returned from Madame de C——, whom I do not want for an enemy when my book comes out and the best means of obtaining a defender against the Faubourg Saint-Germain is to make her approve of the work in advance; and she greatly approved of it." But a few weeks later, he writes: "Here I am, on bad terms with Madame de C—— on account of the Duchesse de Langeais—so much the better." If Balzac refers to Madame de Castries in the following except, one may even say that he had her correct his work.

"Say whatever you like about La Duchesse de Langeais, your remarks do not affect me; but a lady whom you may perhaps know, illustrious and elegant, has approved everything, corrected everything like a royal censor, and her authority on ducal matters is incontestable; I am safe under the shadow of her shawl."

Balzac continued to call on her and to write to her occasionally, and was very sympathetic to her illness, especially as her Parisian friends seemed to have abandoned her. Though death did not come to her until more than twenty-five years later, he writes at this time:

"Madame de Castries is dying; the paralysis is attacking the other limb. Her beauty is no more; she is blighted. Oh! I pity her. She suffers horribly and inspires pity only. She is the only person I visit, and then, for one hour every week. It is more than I really can do, but the hour is compelled by the sight of that slow death."

In her despondency he tries to cheer her:

"I do not like your melancholy; I should scold you well if you were here. I would put you on a large divan, where you would be like a fairy in the midst of her palace, and I would tell you that in this life you must love in order to live. Now, you do not love. A lively affection is the bread of the soul, and when the soul is not fed it grows starved, like the body. The bonds of the soul and body are such that each suffers with the other. . . . A thousand kindly things in return for your flowers, which bring me much happiness, but I wish for something more. . . . You have mingled bitterness with the flatteries you have the goodness to bestow on my book, as if you knew all the weight of your words and how far they would reach. I would a thousand times rather you would consider the book and the pen as things of your own, than receive these praises."[*]

[*] It is interesting to note Balzac's fondness for flowers, as is seen in his association of them with various women, and the prominent place he has given them in some of his works.

Though his visits continued, their friendship gradually grew colder, and in 1836 he writes: "I have broken the last frail relations of politeness with Madame de C——. She enjoys the society of MM. Janni and Sainte-Beauve, who have so outrageously wounded me. It seemed to me bad taste, and now I am happily out of it."

La Duchesse de Langeais appeared in 1834, but Madame de Castries had not fully wreaked her revenge on Balzac. For some time an Irish woman, a Miss Patrickson, had insisted on translating Balzac's works. Madame de Castries engaged her as teacher of English, and used her as a means of ensnaring Balzac by having her write him a love letter and sign it "Lady Nevil." Though suspicious about this letter, he answered it, and a rendezvous was arranged at the opera. That day he called on Madame de Castries, and she had him remain for dinner. When he excused himself to go to the opera, she insisted on accompanying him; he then realized that he was a victim of her strategy, which he thus describes:

"I go to the opera. No one there. Then I write a letter, which brings the miss, old, horrible, with hideous teeth, but full of remorse for the part she had played, full of affection for me and contempt and horror for the Marquise. Though my letters were extremely ironical and written for the purpose of making a woman masquerading as a false lady blush, she (Miss Patrickson) had recovered them. I had the upper hand of Madame de C—— She ended by divining that in this intrigue she was on the down side. From that time forth she vowed me a hatred which will end only with life. In fact, she may rise out of her grave to calumniate me. She never opened Seraphita on account of its dedication, and her jealousy is such that if she could completely destroy the book she would weep for joy."[*]

[*] Seized with pity for this poor Irish woman, Balzac called later to see about some translations and found her overcome by drink in the midst of poverty and dirt. He learned afterwards that she was addicted to the habit of drinking gin.

Notwithstanding their enmity Balzac visited her occasionally. She had become so uncomely that he could not understand his infatuation at Aix, ten years before. He disliked her especially because she had for the moment, in posing as Madame de Balzac, made Madame Hanska believe he was married. He enjoyed telling her of Madame Hanska's admiration for and devotion to him, and sarcastically remarked to her that she was such a "true friend" she would be happy to learn of his financial success. Thus, during a period of several years, while speaking of her as his enemy, the novelist continued to dine with her, but was ever ready to overwhelm her with sarcasm, even while her guest. Yet, in 1843, he dedicated to her L'Illustre Gaudissart, a work written ten years before.

Though he was fully recovered with time, this drama, played by a coquette, was almost tragic for the author of the Comedie humaine. No other woman left so deep a mark of passion or such rankling wounds in his bleeding heart, as did she of whom he says:

"It has required five years of wounds for my tender nature to detach itself from one of iron. A gracious woman, this Duchess of whom I spoke to you, and one who had come to me under an incognito, which, I render her this justice, she laid aside the day I asked her to. . . . This liaison which, whatever may be said, be assured has remained by the will of the woman in the most reproachable conditions, has been one of the great sorrows of my life. The secret misfortunes of my situation actually come from the fact that I sacrificed everything to her, for a single one of her desires; she never divined anything. A wounded man must be pardoned for fearing injuries. . . . I alone know what there is of horror in the Duchesse de Langeais."

In 1831 Balzac asked for the hand of a young lady of the Faubourg Saint-Germain, Mademoiselle Eleonore de Trumilly, second daughter of his friend the Baron de Trumilly, Lieutenant-Colonel of the Artillery of the Royal guard under the Restoration, a former emigre, and of Madame Alexandra-Anna de Montiers. This request was received by her father, who transmitted it to her, but she rejected the suitor and married June 18, 1833, Francois-Felix-Claude-Marie-Marguerite Labroue, Baron de Vareilles-Sommieres, of the diocese of Poitiers.

The Baron de Trumilly (died April 7, 1832) held high rank among the officers of the artillery, and his cultured mind rendered him one of the ornaments of society. He lived in friendly and intellectual relations with Balzac while the future novelist was working on the Chouans and the Physiologie du Mariage, and at the time Balzac was revising the latter for publication, he went to dine frequently at the home of the Baron, who used to work with him until late in the evening. In this work he introduces an old emigre under the initials of Marquis de T—— which are quite similar to those of the Baron de Trumilly. This Marquis de T—— went to Germany about 1791, which corresponds to the life of the Baron.

Baron de Trumilly welcomed Balzac into his home, took a great interest in his work, and seemed willing to give him one of his three daughters; but one can understand how the young novelist, who had not yet attained great fame, might not favorably impress a young lady of the social standing of Mademoiselle de Trumilly, and her father did not urge her to accept him.

Although Balzac wrote Madame Hanska that when he called the girl loved by Dr. Benassis in his "Confession" (Le Medecin de Campagne) "Evelina," he said to himself, "She will quiver with joy in seeing that her name has occupied me, that she was present to my memory, and that what I deemed loveliest and noblest in the young girl, I have named for her," some think that the lady he had in mind was not Mme. Hanska, but Eleonore de Trumilly, who really was a young unmarried girl, while Madame Hanska was not only married, but the mother of several children. Again, letters written by the author to his family show his condition to have been desperate at that time. Balzac asserts that the story of Louis Lambert is true to life; hence, despondent over his own situation, he makes Louis Lambert become insane, and causes Dr. Benassis to think of suicide when disappointed in love.

Thus was the novelist doomed, early in his literary career, to meet with a disappointment which, as has been seen, was to be repeated some months later with more serious results, when his adoration for the Duchesse de Castries was suddenly turned into bitterness.

MADAME HANSKA.—LA COMTESSE MNISZECH.—MADEMOISELLE BOREL. —MESDEMOISELLES WYLEZYNSKA.—LA COMTESSE ROSALIE RZEWUSKA. —MADEMOISELLE CALISTE RZEWUSKA.—MADAME CHERKOWITSCH. —MADAME RIZNITSCH.—LA COMTESSE MARIE POTOCKA.

"And they talk of the first love! I know nothing as terrible as the last, it is strangling."

The longest and by far the most important of Balzac's friendships began by correspondence was the one with Madame Eveline Hanska, whose first letter arrived February 28, 1832. The friendship soon developed into a more sentimental relationship culminating March 14, 1850, when Madame Hanska became Madame Honore de Balzac. This "grand and beautiful soul-drama" is one of the noblest in the world, and in the history of literature the longest.

So long was Balzac in pursuit of this apparent chimera, and so ardent was his passion for his "polar star" that the above words of Quinola may well be applied to his experience. So fervent was his adoration, so pathetic his sufferings and so persistent his pursuit during the seventeen long years of waiting that Miss Betham-Edwards has appropriately said of his letters to Madame Hanska:

"Opening with a pianissimo, we soon reach a con molto expressione, a crescendo, a molto furore quickly following. Every musical term, adjectival, substantival, occurs to us as we read the thousand and odd pages of the two volumes. . . . Nothing in his fiction or any other, records a love greatening as the tedious years wore on, a love sovereignly overcoming doubt, despair and disillusion, such a love as the great Balzac's for l'Etrangere."

Their relationship from the beginning of their correspondence to the tragic end which came so soon after Balzac had arrived "at the summit of happiness," has been shrouded in mystery. This mystery has been heightened by the vivid imagination of some of Balzac's biographers, where fancy replace facts.

Miss Katherine P. Wormeley denies the authenticity of some of the letters published in the Lettres a l'Etrangere, saying:

"No explanation is given of how these letters were obtained, and no proof or assurance is offered of their authenticity. A foot-note appended to the first letter merely states as follows: 'M. le vicomte de Spoelberch de Lovenjoul, in whose hands are the originals of these letters, has related the history of this correspondence in detail, under the title of Un Roman d'Amour (Calmann Levy, publisher). Madame Hanska, born Evelina (Eve) Rzewuska, who was then twenty-six or twenty-eight years old, resided at the chateau of Wierzchownia, in Volhynia. An enthusiastic reader of the Scenes de la Vie privee, uneasy at the different turns which the mind of the author was taking in La Peau de Chagrin, she addressed to Balzac—then thirty-three years old, in the care of the publisher Gosselin, a letter signed l'Etrangere, which was delivered to him February 18, 1832. Other letters followed; that of November 7 ended thus: 'A word from you in the Quotidienne will give me the assurance that you have received my letter, and that I can write to you without fear. Sign it; to l'E—— H. de B.' This acknowledgment of reception appeared in the Quotidienne of December 9. Thus was inaugurated the system of petite correspondence now practised in divers newspapers, and at the same time, this correspondence with her who was seventeen years later, in 1850, to become his wife."[*]

[*] Miss M. F. Sandars states that a copy of the Quotidienne containing this acknowledgment was in the possession of the Vicomte de Spoelberch de Lovenjoul, and that she saw it. At the time of writing this preface, Miss Wormeley did not believe the correspondence began until February, 1833. In undertaking to prove this, she cited a letter from Balzac written to Madame Hanska, dated January 4, 1846, in which he says that the thirteen years will soon be completed since he received her first letter. She corrects this statement, however, in writing her Memoir of Balzac three years later. The mistake in this letter here mentioned is only an example of the inaccuracy of Balzac, found not only in his letters, but throughout the Comedie humaine. But Miss Wormeley's argument might have been refuted by quoting another letter from Balzac to Madame Hanska dated February, 1840: "After eight years you do not know me!"

Regarding the two letters published in Un Roman d'Amour, pp. 33-49, dated November 7, 1832, and January 8, 1833, and signed l'Etrangere, Miss Wormeley says it is not necessary to notice them, since the author himself states that they are not in Madame Hanska's handwriting.

She is quite correct in this, for Spoelberch de Lovenjoul writes: "How many letters did Balzac receive thus? No one knows. But we possess two, neither of which is in Madame Hanska's handwriting." In speaking of the first letter that arrived, he says:

"This first record of interest which was soon to change its nature, has unfortunately not been found yet. Perhaps this page perished in the autodafe which, as the result of a dramatic adventure, Balzac made of all the letters he had received from Madame Hanska; perhaps also, by dint of rereading it, he had worn it out and involuntarily destroyed it himself. We do not know. In any case, we have not found it in the part of his papers which have fallen into our hands. We regret it very much, for this letter must be remarkable to have produced so great an impression on the future author of the Comedie humaine."