In 1876 M. Calmann Lévy published Balzac's Correspondence in the
twenty-fourth volume of the Édition Définitive of his works. These
letters are prefaced by a short memoir written by his sister Laure,
Madame Surville, which she had already published in 1856, six years
after her brother's death, under the title of "Balzac, sa vie et ses
écrits, d'après sa correspondance."
In this Correspondence given in the Édition Définitive, the first
letter addressed by Balzac to Madame Hanska is dated August 11, 1835,
and to it is appended the following foot-note:--
"At this period Balzac was, and had been for some time,
in correspondence with the distinguished woman to whom he
was later to give his name; but, unfortunately, a part
of this correspondence was burned in Moscow in a fire
which occurred at Madame Hanska's residence. It must,
therefore, be remarked that in the letters of this series
two or three gaps occur, all the more regrettable because
those which escaped the fire present a keen interest."
(Éd. Déf., vol. xxiv., p. 217.)
* * * * *
The present publication of Letters (of which this volume is a
translation) bears upon its title-page the words: "H. de Balzac.
Œuvres Posthumes. Lettres à l'Étrangère. 1833-1842." 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 Lévy, publisher).
Madame Hanska, born Countess Evelina (Eve) Rzewuska,
who was then twenty-six or twenty-eight years old,
resided at the château of Wierzchownia, in Volhynia. An
enthusiastic reader of the 'Scènes de la Vie privée,'
uneasy at the different turn which the mind of the author
was taking in 'La Peau de Chagrin,' she addressed to
Balzac--then thirty-three years old, to the care of the
publisher Gosselin, a letter signed, 'l'Étrangère,' which
was delivered to him February 28, 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'É--h. de B."' This
acknowledgment of reception appeared in the 'Quotidienne'
of December 9. Thus was inaugurated the system of 'Petite
correspondance' 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."
Balzac himself gives the date of his reception of l'Étrangère's first
letter in a way that puts it beyond all controversy. In a letter to
Madame Hanska, written January 1, 1846 (Éd. Déf., p. 586), he says:--
"One year more, dear, and I take it with pleasure,
for these years, these thirteen years which will be
consummated in February on the happy day, a thousand
times blessed, when I received that adorable letter,
starred with happiness and hope, seem to me links
indestructible, eternal. The fourteenth will begin in two
months."
Thirteen years _consummated_ in February, 1846, the fourteenth year
_beginning_ in February, 1846, make the date of the reception of that
first letter February 28, 1833, not 1832. This fact not only puts an
end to the tale about the advertisement in the "Quotidienne" [contained
in the note to first page of present volume, quoted above, and in
pages 31 to 39 of "Roman d'Amour"], but it falsifies the dates of
the present volume. The first letter given, which is evidently not
the first of Balzac's replies, is dated January, 1833, a month or
more before the first letter of "l'Étrangère" was written. Throughout
the volume other dates can be shown to be false, proving arbitrary
arrangement of some kind, and casting justifiable doubt on the
authenticity of a certain number of these letters.
"Un Roman d'Amour" is a book made up of conjectures, insinuations,
hypotheses, and errors, in which one, and one only, _fact_ is
presented. That fact is a letter from Balzac to his sister, Madame
Surville.
This letter Madame Surville first published in 1856 in her memoir of
her brother (pp. 139, 140), introducing it in the following words:
"Being absent from Paris in the month of October of the same year
[1833], I received from my brother the following letter:"--
"Gone, without a word of warning [_sans crier gare_]. The
poor toiler went to your house to make you share a little
joy, and found no sister! I torment you so often with my
troubles that the least I can do is to write you this
joy. You will not laugh at me, you will believe me, _you_
will!
"I went yesterday to Gérard's; he presented me to
three German families. I thought I was dreaming; three
families!--no less!--one from Vienna, another from
Frankfort, the third Prussian, I don't know from where.
"They confided to me that they had come faithfully for
a month to Gérard's, in the hope of seeing me; and they
let me know that beyond the frontier of France (dear,
ungrateful country!) my reputation has begun. 'Persevere
in your labours,' they added, 'and you will soon be at
the head of literary Europe.' Of Europe! they said it,
sister! Flattering families!--How I could make certain
friends roar with laughter if I told them that. _Ma foi!_
these were kind Germans, and I let myself believe they
thought what they said, and, to tell the truth, I could
have listened to them all night. Praise is so good for
us artists, and that of the good Germans restored my
courage; I departed quite gaily [_tout guilleret_] from
Gérard's, and I am going to fire three guns on the public
and on envious folk, to wit: 'Eugénie Grandet,' 'Les
Aventures d'une idée heureuse,' which you know about, and
my 'Prêtre catholique,' one of my finest subjects.
"The affair of the 'Études de Mœurs' is well under way;
thirty thousand francs of author's rights in the reprints
will stop up large holes. That slice of my debts paid, I
shall go and seek my reward at Geneva. The horizon seems
really brightening.
"I have resumed my life of toil. I go to bed at six,
directly after dinner. The animal digests and sleeps till
midnight. Auguste makes me a cup of coffee, with which
the mind goes at one flash [_tout d'une traite_] till
midday. I rush to the printing-office to carry my copy
and get my proofs, which gives exercise to the animal,
who dreams as he goes.
"One can put a good deal of black on white in twelve
hours, little sister, and after a month of such life
there's no small work accomplished. Poor pen! it must be
made of diamond not to be worn out by such toil! To lift
its master to reputation, according to the prophecy of
the Germans, to pay his debts to all, and then to give
him, some day, rest upon a mountain,--that is its task!
"What the devil are you doing so late at M....? Tell
me about it, and say with me that the Germans are very
worthy people. Fraternal handshake to Monsieur Canal.
[_Poignée de main fraternelle à M. Canal_]; tell him that
'Les Aventures d'une idée heureuse' are on the ways.
"I send you my proofs of the 'Médecin de Campagne' to
read."
When, twenty years later, Balzac's Correspondence appeared in the
Édition Définitive (Calmann Lévy, 1876) Madame Surville's little memoir
was made the Introduction to the volume. On page lv (Introduction) the
above letter is given. On page 176 the letter is again given (in its
place in the Correspondence), and it is there identically the same as
the letter given above, down to the words: "What the devil are you
doing so late at M....?" after which, the following additions are
given:--
"However, you are free, and this is not a reproach, it is
curiosity; between brother and sister that is pardonable.
"Well, adieu. If you have a heart you will reply to me.
A fraternal handshake to _M. Canal_; tell him that the
'Aventures d'une idée' are on the ways, and that he can
soon read them.
"_Addio! Addio!_ Correct 'le Médecin' well; point out to
me all the passages which may seem to you bad; and _put
the great pots into the little pots_; that is to say, if
a thing can be said in one line instead of two, try to
make the sentence."