1836
Balzac starts the _Chronique de Paris_--Balzac and Theophile
Gautier--Lawsuit with the _Revue de Paris_--Failure of the
_Chronique_--Strain and exhaustion--Balzac travels in Italy
--Madame Marbouty--Return to Paris--Death of Madame de Berny
--Balzac's grief and family anxieties--He is imprisoned for
refusal to serve in Garde Nationale--Werdet's failure--Balzac's
desperate pecuniary position and prodigies of work--Close of
the disastrous year 1836.
Balzac opened the first day of the year 1836 by becoming proprietor of
the _Chronique de Paris_, an obscure Legitimist publication, which had
been founded in 1834 by M. William Duckett. It started under Balzac's
management with a great flourish of trumpets, the Comte (afterwards
Marquis) de Belloy and the Comte de Gramont taking posts as his
sectaries; while Jules Sandeau, Emile Regnault, Gustave Planche,
Theophile Gautier, Charles de Bernard, and others, became his
collaborators. Balzac's special work was to provide a series of papers
on political questions, entitled "La France et l'Etranger," papers
which show his extraordinary versatility; and his helpers were to
provide novels and poems, satire, drama, and social criticism; so that
the scope of the periodical was a wide one.
At first, Balzac was most sanguine about the success of his new
enterprise, and was very active and enthusiastic in working for it. On
March 27th, he wrote to Madame Hanska about the embarrassment caused
him by his plate having been pawned during his unfortunate absence in
Vienna, nearly a year ago. It was worth five or six thousand francs,
and he required three thousand to redeem it. This sum he had never
been able to raise, while, to add to his difficulties, on the 31st of
the month he would owe about eight thousand four hundred francs.
Nevertheless, he _must_ have the silver next day or perish, as he had
asked some people to dine who would, he hoped, give sixteen thousand
francs for sixteen shares in the _Chronique_. If borrowed plate were
on his table he was terribly afraid that the whole transaction would
fail; as one of the people invited was a painter, and painters are an
"observant, malicious, profound race, who take in everything at a
glance."[*] Everything else in his rooms would represent the opulence,
ease, and wealth of the happy artist.
[*] "Lettres a l'Etrangere."
Poor Balzac! To add to his difficulties, it was impossible to borrow
anywhere in Paris, as he had only purchased the _Chronique_ through
the exceptional credit he enjoyed, and this would be at once destroyed
if he were known to be in difficulties. We do not hear any further
particulars about this tragedy, and cannot tell how far the
conjunction of the borrowed plate--if it _were_ after all borrowed
--and the astute painter, contributed to the downfall of the
_Chronique_. Werdet, however, attributes the disaster to the laziness
of the talented staff, who could not be induced to work together.
However that may be, the result was a terrible blow to Balzac; who was
now, in addition to all his other liabilities, in debt for forty
thousand francs to the shareholders.
It is as a member of the staff of the _Chronique_, that the name of
Theophile Gautier first appears in connection with Balzac; and the two
men remained close friends till Balzac's death. In 1835 Theophile
Gautier published "Mademoiselle de Maupin," in which his incomparable
style excited Balzac's intense admiration, painfully conscious as he
was of his own deficiencies in this direction. Therefore, in forming
the staff of the _Chronique_, he at once thought of Gautier, and
despatched Jules Sandeau to arrange matters with the young author, and
to give him an invitation to breakfast. Theophile Gautier, much
flattered, but at the same time rather alarmed at the idea of an
interview with the celebrated Balzac, tells us that he thought over
various brilliant discourses on his way to the Rue Cassini, but was so
nervous when he arrived that all his preparations came to nothing, and
he merely remarked on the fineness of the weather. However, Balzac
soon put him at his ease, and evidently took a fancy to him at once,
as during breakfast he let him into the secret that for this solemn
occasion he had borrowed silver dishes from his publisher!
The friendship between Balzac and Gautier, though not as intimate and
confidential as that between Balzac and Borget, was true and
steadfast; and was never disturbed by literary jealousy. Gautier
supported Balzac's plays in _La Presse_, and helped with many of his
writings. Traces of his workmanship, M. de Spoelberch de Lovenjoul
tells us, are specially noticeable in the descriptions of the art of
painting and of the studio, in the edition of "Un Chef-d'Oeuvre
Inconnu" which appeared in 1837.[*] These descriptions are in
Gautier's manner, and do not appear in the edition of 1831; so that in
all probability they were written, or at any rate inspired by him.
Gautier also wrote for Balzac, who had absolutely no faculty for
verse, the supposed translation of two Spanish sonnets in the
"Memoires de Deux Jeunes Mariees," and the sonnet called "La Tulipe"
in "Un Grand Homme de Province a Paris." On his side, Balzac defended
Gautier on all occasions, and in 1839 dedicated "Les Secrets de la
Princesse de Cadignan," then called "Un Princesse Parisienne," "A
Theophile Gautier, son ami, H. de Balzac."
[*] "H. de Balzac and Theophile Gautier" in "Autour de Honore de
Balzac," by the Vicomte de Spoelberch de Lovenjoul.
Beyond this friendship, the affair of the _Chronique_ brought Balzac
nothing but worry and trouble. And it came at a time when misfortune
assailed him on all sides. Madame de Berny was approaching her end,
and he wrote to his mother on January 1st, 1836, the day he started
the _Chronique de Paris_: "Ah! my poor mother, I am broken-hearted.
Madame de Berny is dying! It is impossible to doubt it! Only God and I
know what is my despair. And I must work! Work weeping."[*]
[*] "Correspondance," vol. i. p. 323.
In the midst of his trouble, a most unfortunate occurrence took place,
which besides embittering his life at the time had a decided effect on
his subsequent career; and indirectly obscured his reputation even
after his death.
In 1833, as we have already seen, Balzac, after long dissensions with
Amedee Pichot, had definitely left the _Revue de Paris_. However, in
1834, when Pichot retired from the management, the new directors, MM.
Anthoine de Saint-Joseph, Bonnaire, and Achille Brindeau, tried to
satisfy their readers by recalling Balzac; and "Seraphita" began to
appear in the pages of the _Revue_. Difficulties, as might be
expected, soon arose between Balzac and the management; and the
undercurrent of irritation which subsisted on both sides only required
some slight extra cause of offence, to render an outbreak inevitable.
In September, 1835, M. Buloz, already director of the _Revue des Deux
Mondes_, an extremely able, but bad-mannered and dictatorial man, took
possession also of the much-tossed-about _Revue de Paris_. Balzac had
known Buloz since 1831, when the latter bought the _Revue des Deux
Mondes_, which was then in very low water, and was working with
tremendous energy to make it successful. At that time, Buloz and he
often shared a modest dinner, and with the permission of M. Rabou,
then manager of the _Revue de Paris_, Balzac contributed "L'Enfant
Maudit," "Le Message," and "Le Rendez-Vous" to the _Revue des Deux
Mondes_, and only charged a hundred francs for the same quantity of
pages for which he was paid a hundred and sixty francs by Rabou.
However, on April 15th, 1832, there appeared in the _Revue des Deux
Mondes_ a scathing, anonymous criticism of the first dizain of the
"Contes Drolatiques." This had apparently been written by Gustave
Planche; but Balzac considered Buloz responsible for it, and therefore
refused to write any longer for his review. In August, 1832, Buloz,
who does not appear to have been particularly scrupulous in his
business relations, wrote to apologise, saying that though it was not
in his power to suppress the offending article, he had done his best
to soften it; and that now he was sole master of the Revue, so that
not a word or line could pass without his permission. He therefore
begged Balzac to resume his old connection with him, and explained
that if he had not been confined to his bed and unable to walk, or
even to bear the shaking of a cab, he would have come to visit him,
and matters would have been quickly arranged. Balzac's answer, which
is written from Angouleme, is couched in the uncompromising terms of
"no surrender," which he generally adopted when he considered himself
aggrieved. He did not absolutely refuse to write for the Review, and
referred Buloz to Madame de Balzac for terms; but, by the tone of his
letter, he negatived decidedly the idea of resuming friendly relations
with his correspondent, and while rather illogically professing a
lofty indifference to criticism, remarked that he felt the utmost
contempt for those who calumniated his books.[*]
[*] See "Correspondance Inedite--Honore de Balzac," _Revue Bleue_,
March 14, 1903.
After this the _Revue des Deux Mondes_ became hostile to Balzac; and
when Buloz and Brindeau bought the _Revue de Paris_, a proceeding
which must have been a shock to him, he believed that Brindeau would
be sole director, and drew up his agreement with him alone; having
already refused to have business dealings with the ever active Buloz.
However, Buloz soon took the principal place, and was so apologetic
for his past misdeeds, and so insistent in promising amendment for the
future, that Balzac, evidently reflecting that it would be distinctly
against his interests to exclude himself from two of the most
important reviews in Paris, consented to reconsider his decision.
Therefore the following agreement, which is interesting as an example
of Balzac's usual conditions when issuing his novels in serial form,
was drawn up between the two men.
The Review was only to use Balzac's articles for its subscribers. He
was to regain absolute rights over his books three months after their
first publication--this was an invariable stipulation in all Balzac's
treaties--and was to give up fifty francs out of the two hundred and
fifty considered due to him for each "feuille" of fifteen pages, to
reimburse Buloz for the number of times the proofs had to be
reprinted.[*] On these terms he agreed to finish "Le Pere Goriot," as
well as "Seraphita," and to write the "Memoires d'une Jeune Mariee,"
with the understanding that a separate contract was to be made for
each of his contributions, and that he was free to write for other
periodicals.
[*] The account of the lawsuit between Balzac and the _Revue de Paris_
is taken from his "Historique du Proces auquel a donne lieu 'Le
Lys dans la Vallee,'" which formed the second preface of the first
edition of "Le Lys dans la Vallee" and is contained in vol. xxii.
of the Edition Definitive of Balzac's works; and from "H. de
Balzac et 'La Revue de Paris,'" which is the Review's account of
the case, and may be found in "Un dernier chapitre de l'Historie
des Oeuvres de H. de Balzac," by the Vicomte de Spoelberche de
Lovenjoul.
Almost at once difficulties began, difficulties which are inevitable
when a genius of the stamp of Balzac is bound by an unfortunate
agreement to provide a specified quantity of copy at stated intervals.
Balzac could not write to order. "Seraphita," planned to please Madame
Hanska, was intended to be a masterpiece such as the world had never
seen. From Balzac's letters there is no doubt that he was
conscientiously anxious to finish it, only, as he remarks, "I have
perhaps presumed too much of my strength in thinking that I could do
so many things in so short a time."[*] When he made the unfortunate
journey to Vienna, "Seraphita" still required, at his own computation,
eight days' and eight nights' work; but, settled there, he turned his
attention at once to "Le Lys dans la Vallee," which he had substituted
for the "Memoires d'une Jeune Mariee," and at which he laboured
strenuously. The first number of this appeared in the _Revue de
Paris_, on November 22, 1835; but in the meantime Balzac's uncorrected
proofs had been sold by Buloz to MM. Bellizard and Dufour, proprietors
of the _Revue Etrangere de St. Petersbourg_. Therefore, in October,
before the authorised version was published in Paris, there appeared
in Russia, under the title of "Le Lys dans la Vallee," what Balzac
indignantly characterised as the "unformed thoughts which served me as
sketch and plan."
[*] "Lettres a l'Etrangere."
This was double treachery on the part of Buloz, as, by the treaty
already mentioned, he had bought the right to publish Balzac's novels
in the _Revue de Paris_ only; and even if this stipulation had not
been made, he had no excuse for selling as Balzac's completed work,
what he knew to be absolutely unfinished. Balzac, after this, refused
to receive him on friendly terms; but a meeting was arranged at the
house of Jules Sandeau, at which Balzac and the Comte de Belloy met
Buloz and Bonnaire. Sandeau and Emile Regnault, who were friends of
both the contending parties, were also present; and they, after this
conference, became for a time exclusively Balzac's friends, as he
remarks significantly. Balzac owed the Review 2,100 francs; but the
remainder of the "Lys" was ready to appear, and he calculated that for
this, the payment due to him would be about 2,400 francs. He therefore
proposed that the account between him and the journal should be closed
with the end of the "Lys"; and that as indemnity for the injury done
him by the action of Buloz in publishing his unfinished work in the
_Revue Etrangere_, he should be permitted to send the novel in book
form to a publisher at once, instead of waiting the three months
stipulated in the agreement. MM. Buloz and Bonnaire refused this
arrangement, declaring that it would be extortion; and after giving
them twenty-four hours for reflection, Balzac announced his intention
of writing no longer for the _Revue de Paris_, and prepared to bring
an action against the proprietors.
Buloz and Bonnaire, however, decided that it would be good policy for
the first attack to be on their side, and as Balzac could not obtain
his proofs from Russia for a month at least, they sued him for breach
of contract in not writing "Les Memoires d'une Jeune Mariee," and
claimed 10,000 francs damages for his refusal to finish the "Lys dans
la Vallee"; as well as fifty francs for each day's delay in his doing
this. Balzac brought forward his counter claim, and offered the _Revue
de Paris_ the 2,100 francs which had been advanced to him; but they
refused to be satisfied with the payment of this debt; and in May,
1836, the case opened.
There was a side issue on the subject of "Seraphita," about which the
_Revue_ certainly had just cause for complaint. In May, 1834, Balzac
had been paid 1,700 francs in advance for this, and the first number
appeared on June 1st, the second not following till July 20th. Then
Balzac disappeared altogether; and when he returned in November, he
proposed to begin "Le Pere Goriot" in the _Revue_, and promised after
this had come to an end to return to "Seraphita"; but it was not till
the middle of August, 1835, that he at last produced another number.
After this there were again delays, and, according to Buloz, the whole
of "Seraphita" was never offered to the _Revue de Paris_. The truth,
however, appears to have been that Buloz at last completely lost his
temper at Balzac's continual failures to fulfil his engagements, and
declared that "Seraphita" was unintelligible, and was losing
subscribers to the Review. Balzac, furious at this insult, paid Buloz
300 francs, to defray the expenses already incurred for the printing
of "Seraphita," and took back his work. Buloz's receipt for this money
is dated November 21st, 1835, two days before the appearance of the
first number of the "Lys dans la Vallee" in Paris, so storms were
gathering on all sides. Ten days after this, on December 2nd, Werdet
brought out "Seraphita" in book form in "Le Livre Mystique," which
contained also "Louis Lambert" and "Les Proscrits," a fact which
proved Balzac's contention that in November it was ready for
publication in the _Revue de Paris_. The first edition of "Le Livre
Mystique" was sold in ten days, and the second followed it a month
after, which, as Balzac remarked sardonically, was "good fortune for
an unintelligible work." This success on the part of his enemy no
doubt did not help to soften the indignant Buloz; and he must have
been further exasperated by an article in the _Chronique de Paris_, in
which Balzac was styled the "Providence des Revues," and the injury
the _Revue de Paris_ sustained in the loss of his collaboration was
insisted on with irritating emphasis.
The case was carried on with the utmost bitterness by the _Revue de
Paris_; Balzac's morals, his honesty, even his prose, being attacked
with the greatest violence. Editors and publishers on all sides gave
their testimony against him. He must have been amazed and confounded
by the deep hatred he had evoked by his want of consideration, which
on several occasions certainly amounted to a breach of good faith. All
his old sins found him out. Amedee Pichot, former manager of the
_Revue de Paris_, Forfellier of the _Echo de la Jeune France_, and
Capo de Feuillide of _L'Europe Litteraire_, raised their voices
against the high-handed and rapacious author. The smothered enmity and
irritation of years at last found vent; and it was in vain that Balzac
demonstrated, in the masterly defence of his conduct written in one
night, which formed the preface to the "Lys dans la Vallee," that he
had always remained technically within his rights, and that as far as
money was concerned he owed the publishers nothing. Unwritten
conventions had been defied, because it was possible to defy them with
impunity; and editors who had gone through many black hours because of
the failure of the great man to keep his promises, and who smarted
under the recollection of the discourteous refusal of advances it had
been an effort to make, did not spare their arrogant enemy now that it
was possible to band together against him.
Perhaps, however, the bitterest blow to poor Balzac, was the fact that
his brother authors, of whose rights he had been consistently the
champion, did not scruple to turn against him. Either terrorised by
the all-powerful Buloz, or jealous of one who insisted on his own
abilities and literary supremacy with loud-voiced reiteration,
Alexandre Dumas, Roger de Beauvoir, Frederic Soulie, Eugene Sue, Mery,
and Balzac's future acquaintance Leon Gozlan, signed a declaration at
the instance of Buloz, to the effect that it was the general custom
that articles written for the _Revue de Paris_ should be published
also in the _Revue Etrangere_, and should thus avoid Belgian piracy.
Jules Janin, whose criticisms on Balzac are peculiarly venomous, and
Loeve-Veimars, added riders to this statement, expressing the same
views, only with greater insistence. To these assertions, Balzac
replied that Buloz had specially paid George Sand 100 francs a sheet
over the price arranged, to obtain the right of sending her corrected
proofs to Russia; and that arrangements on a similar basis had been
made with Gustave Planche and M. Fontaney. The fact that exceptional
payments were made on these occasions was conclusive evidence against
simultaneous publication in Paris and St. Petersburg being the
received practice. Moreover, as Balzac observes with unanswerable
justice, even if this custom _did_ exist, it would count as nothing
against the agreement between him and Buloz. "M. Janin can take a
carriage and go himself to carry his manuscripts to Brussels; M. Sue
can get into a boat and sell his books in Greece; M. Loeve-Veimars can
oblige his editors if they consent, to make as many printed copies of
his future works as there are languages in Europe: all that will be
quite right, the _Revue_ is to-day like a publisher. My treaties,
however, are made and written; they are before the eyes of the judge,
they are not denied, and state that I only gave my articles to the
_Revue de Paris_, to be inserted solely _in_ the _Revue_, and nowhere
else."
Balzac won the case. It was decided by the Tribunal of Judges on
Friday, June 3rd, 1836, that he was not bound to give the "Memoires
d'une Jeune Mariee" to the _Revue de Paris_, as when promised, the
story had not been yet written, and the "Lys dans la Vallee" had been
substituted for it; also that the 2100 francs which he had already
offered to Buloz was all that he owed the Review. The judges left
unsettled the question as to whether the proprietors of the _Revue de
Paris_ were entitled to hand over their contributors' corrected proofs
to the _Revue Etrangere_; but decreed that they were certainly in the
wrong when they parted with unfinished proofs. They were therefore
condemned to pay the costs of the action.
Balzac's was a costly victory. Except the _Quotidienne_, which stood
by him consistently, not a paper was on his side. His clumsiness of
style, his habit of occasionally coining words to express his meaning,
and the coarseness of some of his writings, combined with the
prejudice caused by his literary arrogance, had always, to a certain
extent, blinded literary and critical France to his consummate merits
as a writer. Now, however, want of appreciation had changed to bitter
dislike; and in addition to abuse, indiscriminate and often absurd of
his writings, his enemies assailed his morals, ridiculed his personal
appearance, and made fun of his dress and surroundings. He was not
conciliatory; he did not bow to the storm. In June, 1839, appeared the
second part of "Illusions Perdues," which was entitled "Un Grand Homme
de Province a Paris," and was a violent attack on French journalism;
and in March, 1843, Balzac published the "Monographie de la Presse
Parisienne," a brilliant piece of work, but certainly not calculated
to repair the breach between him and the publishing world.
Nevertheless, though his pride and independence prevented him from
trying to temporise, there is no doubt that Balzac suffered keenly
from the hostility he encountered on all sides. He writes to Madame
Hanska directly after the lawsuit: "Ah! you cannot imagine how intense
my life has been during this month! I was alone for everything;
harassed by the journal people who demanded money of me, harassed by
payments to make, without having any money because I was making none,
harassed by the lawsuit, harassed by my book, the proofs of which I
had to correct day and night. No, I am astonished at having survived
this struggle. Life is too heavy; I do not live with pleasure."[*] To
add to his difficulties, Madame Bechet had lately become Madame
Jacquillard, and possibly urged to action by M. Jacquillard, and
alarmed by tales of Balzac's misdemeanours, she became restive, and
demanded the last two volumes of the "Etudes de Moeurs" in twenty-four
hours, or fifty francs for each day's delay. The affairs of the
_Chronique_ were at this time causing Balzac much anxiety, and he fled
to the Margonnes at Sache; not for rest, but to work fifteen hours a
day for "cette odieuse Bechet"; and there, in eight days, he not only
invented and composed the "Illusions Perdues," but also wrote a third
of it.
[*] "Lettres a l'Etrangere."
However, the strain had been too great even for _his_ extraordinary
powers, and while walking in the park after dinner with M. and Mme. de
Margonne, on the day that letters arrived from Paris with the news
that liquidation of the _Chronique_ was necessary, he fell down in a
fit under one of the trees. Completely stunned for the time, he could
write nothing; and thought, in despair, of giving up the hopeless
struggle, and of hiding himself at Wierzchownia. Fortunately, his
unconquerable courage soon returned; he travelled to Paris, wound up
the affairs of the _Chronique_; and as Werdet had allowed him twenty
days' liberty, and his tailor and a workman had lent him money to pay
his most pressing debts, he obtained a letter of credit from
Rothschild, and started for Italy.
His ostensible object was a visit to Turin, to defend the Comte
Guidoboni-Visconti in a lawsuit, as the Count, whose acquaintance he
had made at the Italian Opera, could not go himself to Italy. In
reality, however, in his exhaustion, and the overstrained state of his
nerves, he craved for the freedom and distraction which he could only
find in travel. Madame Visconti was an Englishwoman--another Etrangere
--her name before her marriage had been Frances Sarah Lowell. Later
on, she became one of Balzac's closest friends, and Madame Hanska was
extremely jealous of her influence.
It is amusing to discover that Balzac did not take this journey alone.
He was accompanied by a lady whom he describes in a letter as
"charming, _spirituelle_, and virtuous," and who, never having had the
chance in her life of breathing the air of Italy, and being able to
steal twenty days from the fatigues of housekeeping, had trusted in
him for inviolable secrecy and "scipionesque" behaviour. "She knows
whom I love, and finds there the strongest safeguard."[*] This lady
was Madame Marbouty, known in literature as Claire Brunne, and during
her stay in Italy as "Marcel"--a name taken from the devoted servant
in Meyerbeer's opera "Les Huguenots," which had just appeared. A few
weeks earlier, she had refused to travel in Touraine with Balzac, as
she considered that a journey with him in France would compromise her;
but, apparently, in Italy this objection did not apply. She travelled
in man's clothes, as Balzac's page, and both he and she were
childishly delighted by the mystification they caused. Comte Sclopis,
the celebrated Piedmontese statesman, who acted as their cicerone in
Turin society, was much fascinated by the charming page. The liking
was evidently mutual, as, after the travellers had left Italy, Balzac
records that at Vevey, Lausanne, and all the places they visited,
Marcel cried: "And no Sclopis!" and it sounds as though the
exclamation had been accompanied by a sigh. Several times during the
journey the lively Amazon was mistaken for George Sand, whom she
resembled in face, as well as in the fancy for donning masculine
attire; and the mistake caused her intense satisfaction. At Geneva,
haunted to Balzac by happy memories, the travellers stayed at the
Hotel de l'Arc, and Balzac's mind was full of his lady-love, whose
spirit seemed to him to hallow the place. He saw the house where she
stayed, went along the road where they had walked together, and was
refreshed in the midst of his troubles and anxieties by the thought of
her.
[*] See "L'Ecole des Manages," in "Autour de Honore de Balzac," by the
Vicomte de Spoelberch de Lovenjoul.
On August 22nd the travellers returned to Paris on excellent terms
with each other, and for some years after this journey friendly
relations continued. In 1842, in remembrance of their adventure,
Balzac dedicated "La Grenadiere" to Madame Marbouty, under the name of
Caroline, and added the words, "A la poesie du voyage, le voyageur
reconnaissant." Later on, however, they quarrelled, and she wrote "Une
Fausse Position," in which Balzac is represented in a decidedly
unflattering light; and after this he naturally withdrew the
dedication in "La Grenadiere."
On his return from this amusing trip a terrible trouble awaited
Balzac. Among the letters heaped together upon his writing-table was
one from Alexandre de Berny, announcing abruptly the death of Madame
de Berny, which had taken place on July 27th. Balzac was utterly
crushed by this blow. He had not seen Madame de Berny for some time,
as since the death of her favourite son she had shut herself up
completely, pretending to Balzac that she was not very ill, but saying
laughingly that she only wanted to see him when she was beautiful and
in good health. Now she was dead, and the news came without
preparation in the midst of his other troubles. She was half his life,
he cried in despair; and writing to Madame Hanska he said that his
sorrow had almost killed him. In the midst of this overwhelming grief
other worries added their quota to the weight oppressing Balzac. Henri
de Balzac gave his family continual trouble, while Laurence's husband,
M. de Montzaigle, refused to support his children; in fact, the only
faint relief to the darkness surrounding the Balzac family at this
time was M. Surville's hopefulness about the Loire Canal scheme.
In addition to all these misfortunes, Balzac had to submit to the
annoyance of several days' imprisonment in the Hotel des Haricots, for
his refusal to serve in the Garde Nationale, a duty which was, he
said, the nightmare of his life. The place of detention was not
luxurious. There was no fire, and he was in the same hall for a time
with a number of workmen, who made a terrible noise. Fortunately, he
was soon moved to a private room, where he was warm and could work in
peace. After this, in terrible pecuniary difficulties, and feeling
acutely the loss of the woman who had been an angel to him in his
former troubles, he left the Rue Cassini and fled from Paris, to avoid
further detention by the civic authorities. He took refuge at
Chaillot, and under the name of Madame Veuve Durand hid at No. 13, Rue
des Batailles. Here he lodged for a time in a garret formerly occupied
by Jules Sandeau, from the window of which there was a magnificent
view of Paris, from the Ecole Militaire to the barrier of the Trone,
and from the Pantheon to L'Etoile. From time to time Balzac would
pause in his work to gaze on the ocean of houses below; but he never
went out, for he was pursued by his creditors.
It is curiously characteristic of his love of luxury that, destitute
as he was, he had no intention of occupying this modest garret for
long, but that a drawing-room on the second floor, which would cost
700 francs, was already in preparation for his use. It was to No. 13,
Rue des Batailles, that Emile de Girardin, who had just started _La
Presse_, wrote asking him to contribute to its pages; and, in
consequence, Balzac produced "La Vieille Fille," which began to appear
on October 23rd, and shocked the subscribers very much. Here, too, at
a most inopportune moment, Madame Hanska addressed to him a depressed
and mournful letter, of which he complains bitterly. She was at this
time extremely jealous of Madame Visconti, from whom she suspected
that Madame de Mortsauf, in the "Lys dans la Vallee," had been drawn;
and Balzac says he supposes that he must give up the Italian opera,
the only pleasure he has, because a charming and graceful woman
occupies the same box with him. In October he paid a sad little visit
to La Boulonniere, which must have brought before him keenly the loss
he had sustained; and after he spent a few days at Sache, where he was
ill for a day or two as a result of mental worry and overwork.
Another blow was to fall on Balzac before the disastrous year 1836
came to a close. The "Lys dans la Vallee," on which Werdet had pinned
all his hopes, had sold very badly, possibly owing to the hostility of
the newspapers. As a climax to all Balzac's miseries, in October
Werdet failed. This was doubly serious, as Balzac had signed several
bills of exchange for his publisher, and was therefore liable for a
sum of 13,000 francs. Werdet wrote a book abusing Balzac as the cause
of his failure; and Balzac, on his side, was certainly unsympathetic
about the misfortunes of a man whose interests, after all, were bound
up with his own, and whom he politely called "childish, bird-witted,
and obstinate as an ass." The truth seems to have been that, as Werdet
aspired to be Balzac's sole publisher, he was obliged to buy up all
the copies of Balzac's books which were already in the hands of
publishers, and not having capital for this, he obtained money by
credit and settled to pay by bills at long date. He also brought
before the public a certain number of books by writers sympathetic to
his client, and as these books were usually by young and unknown
authors, their printing did not cover expenses. As a consequence of
these imprudent ventures he was unable to meet his bills on maturity;
and Balzac, being liable for some of them, was naturally furious, as
_he_ had to be in hiding from the creditors, while Werdet, as he
remarked bitterly, was walking comfortably about Paris. Werdet was
young and enthusiastic, and no doubt his imagination was fired by
Balzac's picture of the glorious time in the future, when the great
writer and his publisher should have both made their fortunes, and
their carriages should pass each other in the Bois de Boulogne. There
is no reason, however, to think that Balzac wilfully misrepresented
matters, as Werdet insinuates. He was essentially good-hearted, as
every one who knew him testifies; but his extraordinary optimism and
power of self-deception, combined with the charm of his personality
and the overmastering influence he exercised, made him a most
dangerous man to be connected with in business; and Werdet, like many
another, suffered from his alliance with the improvident man of
genius.
Balzac also at this times suffered severely; but he had now completely
recovered his energy. In his efforts to clear himself he worked thirty
nights without going to bed, sending contributions to the _Chronique_,
the _Presse_, the _Revue Musicale_, and the _Dictionnaire de la
Conversation_, composing the "Perle Brisee," "La Vieille Fille," and
"Le Secret des Ruggieri," besides finishing the last volumes of the
"Etudes de Moeurs" and bringing out new editions of several of his
books. As the result of his labours, he calculated, with his usual
cheerfulness, that if he worked day and night for six months, and
after that ten hours a day for two years, he would have paid off his
debts and would have a little money in hand. In the end, he bound
himself for fifteen years to an association formed by a speculator
named Bohain: 50,000 francs being given him at once to pay off his
most pressing debts, while, by the terms of the agreement, he provided
a stipulated number of volumes every year, and was given 1,500 francs
a month for the first year, 3,000 francs a month for the second year,
4,000 francs for the third, and so on. Besides this, he was to receive
half the profits of each book after the publisher's expenses had been
defrayed. As he was extremely pleased with this arrangement, which at
any rate freed him from his immediate embarrassments, a faint ray of
sunlight shone for him on the close of the sad year of 1836.