Honoré De Balzac · Ho n o ré de Balz ac (1799-1850)ALZ AC’S short stories, which we call in French n ouvelles, are, generally Speak ing, not the best-known or the most po pular

l ittle jfrencb masterpieces

Edited by

A le xan de r J e ssup

Ho n o r é de Balz ac

An I n troduc tion by

F e r din an d Br un e tl e r e

T he T ranslation by

Ge o rge Bur n ham I ve s

G. P. Pu tn am’

s So n sN ew Yo rk an d L o n do n

ttbe kn iche tbocker p ress

C o n te n ts

HONORf-Z DE BAL Z AC

THE UNKNOWN MASTERPIECE

A SEASHORE DRAMA

AN Emsoos UNDER THE TERROR .

LA GRANDE BRETECHETHE CONSCR IPT

A PASS ION m THE DES ERT

Ho n o ré de Balz ac

( 1799- 1850)

ALZ AC’

S sh ort stori es, wh ich we ca l l i nFrench n ouvelles, are , general ly Speak

ing, not the best- known or the most popularpart ( if h is work ; nor a re th ey the part best

fitted to give a tfue and.

complete idea of h is

gen ius . But some of them are none the less

masterpi eces i n th ei r k i nd ; they have characte ristic s and a sign ifi cance not a lways possessed by the i r author's long novels , such asEugém

’

e Grandet or Cousin Pans ; and finally ,for this very reason , they hold i n the unfinished structure of The Human Comedy a placewhich i t wi l l be i nte rest i ng to try to determ ine .That i s a l l that wi l l be attem pted i n th i s Introduc tion .

Some of the stories conta i ned i n the present{ ix !

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volume were w ritten under cu rious c i rcumstances . In the fi rst place it is to be notedth at they al l date from 1830, 1831, and 1831

1

and therefore precede the c ohc eption and

plann ing of Th e Human Comedy . Thei r valuei s far from being d im ini shed by that fact . A h

Episode under the Ter ror ( 18 for i nstance ,was com posed as an i nt roduction to theMemoirs of Sanson — that execut ioner whoof al l execut ioners i n the world ’ s h istory probably despatched the fewest c rim inals and

yet shed th e most b lo od ; and the Memoirs

themse lves , which are enti re ly apocryphal,are also i n part Balzac’ s own work . But,th ough composed i n th i s way , to order andas a piece of hack work , A h Episode under

the Ter ror is i n its a rt ist i c brev ity one ofBalzac ’s most t ragi c and most fin ished nar

ratives. La Grande Br etech e ( 1832) was at

According to Lovenjoul , A Seashore Drama was first

pub l ished in the fourth edition of the Phi losoph ie S tudies ,in 1835 . But this fact in no wise lessens the force of M.

Brunetiere ’s argument .

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fi rst only an episode i nserted among the more

exten ded narrat ives of which it made pa rt , asi n the old - fashi oned novel of tales with i n tales

of wh ich Gil Blas i s th e type ; and brief a s iti s , Balz ac neverth eless rewrote it th ree or fourtimes . lt i s therefore a nyth i ng but an im

provisation . Yet no other of these sh ortstories ca n give more v iv id ly than La GrandeBretec he th e im pressi on of a work sprung atonce i n ful l completeness from its author ’ s

bra in , and conce ived from th e very fi rst i n itsi nd iv i s ible u n ity . But , preci se ly , it i s one of

th e characteristi c tra its of Ba lzac ’ s gen ius that

we hardly need to k now when or for what pu rpose h e wrote th is or that one of h is nove ls orstories . He bore them al l with i n h im at once—w e migh t say that the germ of th em waspreexistent i n h im befo re h e had any con

sci ous thought of objectiv i s i ng them . H ischaracters were born i n h im , as th ough fromal l eterni ty, before h e k new them h imself; andbefore he h imself suspected it, The HumanComedy was al ive , was confused ly mov i ng,

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was s lowly shapi ng itse lf, i n h is brai n . Thispoint must be clearly seen before h e can beunderstood or app reciated at h is true va lue .However much interest a monograph on somean imal or pla nt may have in i tself— ancl thati nterest, no doubt , i s often great— it has farmore through the re lat ions it bears to othe rmonographs and to th e whole fi e ld of knowledge of wh ich its subject is on ly a fragmentary part . So it i s w i th B

‘

a lzac ’ s novels andstori es . Thei r i nterest i s not l im ited to themselves. They bring out one anoth er ’ s value and

sign ificanc e , they i l lustrat e and give importance to each other ; they have, outs ide themse lves

,a justification for existence . This w i l l

become clea r if we com pare Mérimée ’

s Mateo

Falcon e, for i nstance , with A Seash ore Drama

The subject is th e same : i n each case

i t i s a father who const itutes him se lf justic iaryof th e honour of h is race . But whi leMérimée ’

s

work,though perhaps better written or at least

engraved with deeper tool i ng , i s after al l

noth ing but an anecdote , a sensati ona l news[ 1 113

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item , a story of loca l manners , Balzac’s is

bound up with a whole mass of ideas , not tosay a whole socia l ph i l osophy , of wh ich iti s , p roperly speak ing , only a c hapter ; and ofwh ic h Th e Con ser zlbt ( 183 1) is a noth er.But why d id Balzac c onfine some of h issubjects with i n the narrow l im its of th e n ou

vetle, while he expanded others to the dim e n

si ons of e p ic , w e might say , or of h istory ?I t was because , th ough ana logies are numerous between natura l h istory and what we maycal l socia l h i story or the natura l h istory ofsociety , yet the i r resemblance is not com

plete nor th ei r ident ity absolute . There a re

pecul iari ti es or varia t ions of passion wh ich ,though physio logical ly or pathological ly inte re sting, a re soc ially insign ificant and ca n beleft out of account : for i nstance , A Passion in

th e Deser t or The Unkn own Master

piec e I t is rare , i n a rt, for the pass ionate pursu it of progress to resu l t only, as withFre nhofe r, ln Jumbl ing the colours on a greatpai nter ’s canvas ; and , even were thi s less rare,

[ xii i ]

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art ists are not very numerous So , if thew ri te r gave to h is narrati ve of th i s pai nfu l buti nfrequent adventure as fu l l a deve lopment, i fh e dive rsified and c omplieated it with as manyepisodes and detai ls as the adventures of BaronHulot i n Cousin Bette or those of Madame d eMo rtsauf i n Th e L ily in the Valley , he wouldthereby attribute to it, soc ially or h z

’

stor z'

eal ly b

a n im portance it does not possess . He

would err, and would make us err with h im .

regarding‘

the true proport ions of thi ngs . He

wou ld represent the human ity wh ich he wasattempti ng to depict, i n a manner far from consi stent with rea l ity . Hence may be deducedthe aesthet ics of the n ouvel le, and its distinct ion from th e eonte, and also from the r omanor novel .The n ouvelle differs from the eon te i n thati t a lways claims to be a p icture of ord inaryl ife ; and it d iffers from the nove l i n that i tse lects from ord i nary l ife , and depicts by preference and a lmost exc lus ive ly, th ose examplesof the strange, the rare , and the extraord inary

[ xiV ]

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

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n ouvel le. Let us se t off from it th e fantastic , i nth e sty l e of Hoffmann or Edgar Al lan Poe,even though Balzac somet imes t ri ed that a lso

,

as i n Th e Wild A ss ’

s Skin , for i nstance, or i n

Melmoth Conver ted; for the fantast ic belongsto th e fi eld of the eon te. But unusual events,especial ly such as resul t from an unforeseencombinat ion of c i rcumstances ; and real lyt ragic adventures , which , l ike Monsieur andMadame de Me rre t’s i n La Grande Br etec he or

Cambrem'

e r’

s i n A Seashore Drama,make

human conscience hesi tate to ca l l the crime byits name ; and i l logica l vari at ions , deviations ,or pervers ions of pass ion ; and the pathologyof feel ing , as i n Th e Unkn own Masterpiece ;

and st i l l m ore general ly, if I may so expressmyself, al l those th ings i n l ife wh ich a re outof the usua l run of l ife , wh ich happen on its

margin , and so are bes ide yet not outs ide it ;a l l that makes i ts surprises , its d ifferences , i tsstartl z

’

ngness, so to speak — a l l th is is the prov ince of the n ouvel le, bordering on that of the

nove l yet d ist i nct from it. Out of common[ xvi ]

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every- day l ife you cannot rea l ly make nou

velles, but only nove ls— min iature nove ls,whenth ey are brief, but st i l l novels . In no French

writer of the last centu ry, I th i nk , i s th i s dist inct i on more evident or more st ri ct ly observedthan it i s i n The Human Comedy ; and unlessl am much m istaken , th is may serve to solve ,or at least to throw light on , the vexed quest ion of Honoré de Balzac ’ s natural z

'

sm orr oman tic ism .

In the l itera l and even th e etymologica l senseof th e word natural z

’

sm— that is , withouttak ing account of the way i n wh ic h Emi l eZ ola and some other l tal i ans have perver ted itsh aldre no one can quest ion that Ba lzac wasa natural ist . One might as wel l deny thatVictor Hugo was a romant ic ist ! Everybody

to - day knows that ne ither the freedom o f h isvocabulary , nor some very deta i led desc ripti ons i n Notre Dame de Par is a nd espec ia l lyi n L esMiserables, nor h is coa rse popular j okes,often i n doubtfu l taste if not sometimes worse,nor yet the i nte rest i n soc ia l questions wh ich

[ xvfi ]

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characterised h im from th e very fi rst— thatnoth ing of t al l th is ,

’

I say, prevents Vi ctorHugo from having been , up to the day of hi sdeath , th e romantici st ; we may rest assu redthat i n whatever way romantici sm sha l l bedefined, he wil l a lways be , i n the h istory ofFrench l iterature , its l iv i ng i ncarnation . Balzac , on th e oth er hand , w i l l a lways be th el iv i ng i ncarnation of natural i sm . And surely ,if to be a natural i st is to c onfine the fie ld ofone ’ s art to the observati on of contem poraryl ife, and to try to give a com p lete and adequaterepresentation th ereof, not d raw ing back orhesitat i ng , not abati ng one t ittle of th e truth ,i n th e dep icti on of ugl iness and v ice ; if tobe a natura l ist is, l i ke a portra it—pai nter, to

subord i nate every aestheti c a nd mora l cons ideration to the law of l ikeness — then it i simposs ible to be more of a natural ist thanBalzac . But with a l l th is , s i nce h is imaginat ion i s unru ly

,ca pricious , changeable , with a

strong tendency to exaggeration , audacious,and corrupt ; s i nce he , as much as any of his

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contemporaries , feels the need of startl ing us ;s ince he habitua l ly writes under the domin i onof a ki nd of ha l l uc inatory fever suffi ci ent ofitse lf to mark what we may ca l l th e romanticstate of mind — romantic ism is certai n ly notabsent from th e work of th i s natural ist , buton the contrary wou ld fi ll and insp i re th ewhole of it, were that resu lt not prevented bythe cla ims , or cond iti ons , of observat ion . A

romanti c imaginat ion, struggl i ng to triumph

over itse lf, and succeed ing only by co nfin ingi tse lf to the study of th e model — such may bethe defin ition of Balzac ’s imaginati on or gen ius ;and , i n a way, to just ify th i s defin ition by h i swork we need only to dist i nguish c learly h i snouvel les from h is novel s .Balzac ’ s n ouvel les represent the share o f

romantic ism in h is work . La Grande Br e

tec he i s the typica l romantic narrat ive , andw e may say as much of The Unkn own ~Mas

terpz’

eee. The observer shuts h i s eyes ; h enow looks only withi n h imself; he imagi neswhat m ight have been and he writes A h

{ xix !

In tro duction

Episode under the Ter r or . It i s for h im a

way of escape from the obsess ion of the real :

The real is strait ; the possible is vast.

His unbrid led imagination takes free course .He works i n dream . And, s i nce of coursew e can never succeed in bui ld ing with i n ourse lves perfectly water—t ight compartments,ent irely separat ing d ream from memory andimagi nation from observat ion , real i ty doesfind i ts ‘way i nto h is n ouvel les by way ofexactness i n detai l, but the ir c oncept ion re

mai ns essent ial ly or ch icfly romantic ; j ust as i nh is l ong novels , Eugen ie Gr e ndel , A Bac he

lor’

s Establ ishmen t (Uh Menage de Garcon) ,

Cesar Bir otteau, A Dark Afi az’

r , Cousin

Pens, and Cousin Bette, h is observati on re

mains natura l ist ic , and h is imagi nat i on perve rts it, by magnifying or exaggerating, yetn ever intenti onal ly or systematica l ly or to theextent of fals ifyi ng the true relati ons of th ings .

Sha l l I dare say, to E ng l ish readers , that byth is fact he belongs to the fami ly of Shakes

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peare ? His long novels are h is Oth el lo, his

Romeo, h is Macbeth , h is Ric hard I I I . , andCor z

’

olanus; and h is n ouvelles, h is sh ort stori es , are h is Tempest, h is Twelfth Night, andhis Midsummer Night

’

s Dream.

This compari son , wh ich rea l ly i s not acomparison but a mere ana logy, such asm igh t be d rawn between Musset and Byron

,

may serve to bring out one more characteristic of Balzac ’ s n ouvel les — th ey a re ph i loSoph ic ; i n h i s Th e Human Comedy it isunder th e title of t

'

losoph z'

e Stud ies thath e brought together, whatever thei r o r

igin , such stori es as A Seashore Drama, The

Unkn own Masterpiec e, and even The Con

sc r ipt. By so doing he no doubt meant t oimply that the sensat ional stories on whichthey are based did n ot contai n thei r wholesign ificanc e ; that h e was using them mere ly asa means of stati ng a problem , of fixing thereader ’s atte nt ion for a moment on the vastness of th e mysteri ous or unknown by wh ichwe are , so to speak , enwra pped about . We

[ xx i ]

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migh t add th i s tragi c story , he w rites at th eend of h is The Conser z

’

pt, to the mass of otherobse rvat ions on that sympathy wh ich defiesth e law of space — a body of evidence wh ichsome few sol itary scholars are co l l ect ing w it hsc ie ntific curiosi ty, and wh ich w i l l one dayserve as bas i s for a new science , a sci encewhich t i l l now has lacked on ly its man ofgen ius . These are la rge words, it wouldseem , with wh ich to poi nt th e moral of amere histori cal anecdote . But if w e considerthem wel l , we shal l see that , whatever wemay thi nk of th is new sc ience , Balzac

wrote h is Th e Conser zpt for the sol e purposeof ending i t w i th that sentence . Read , too , A

Seash ore Drama. I t i s often said that A factis a fact — and l scarce ly know a more futi l esoph ism , unless i t be th e one which consistsi n saying that Of tastes and colours there i sno d isput ing . Such is not Ba lzac ’ s op in ion ,at any rate . He bel ieves that a fact i s morethan a fact

,that it i s the express ion or man

ifestatio n of someth ing other or more tha nl xxii )


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th e matter is that by reason of th e i r deal i ng

w i th th e except i onal or extraordi nary , th eyare , i n a way, th e element of r oman tic

d rama i n Balzac ’s Comedy ; and by reasonof thei r phi l osoph i c or symbol ic s ign ifi cance ,th ey add the el ement of mystery to a workwh ich but for them would be somewhatharsh ly i l l umi ned by th e hard l ight of real ity.

Once more , th at i s why he d id not class ifyh is Th e Conser z

'

pt with th e Sc en es of Pol itical

L ife, or his A Seashor e Drama with the Scen esof Coun try L ife. That , too , is what give sthem thei r i nterest and thei r origina l ity . Thatis what d ist i ngu ishes them from the stori e sof Prosper Merimee, o r, later, those of Guy d eMaupassant . So much be ing made c lear, it isnot important now to ask whether they real lyhave as much depth of mean ing as thei rauthor cla imed for them . That i s anotherquesti on ; and l have just ind icated why l

cannot treat it i n th is brief I ntroduction . Onlyi n a complete study of Ba lzac cou ld h is n ouveltes be adequately judged . Then thei r due

l xx iv ]

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place wou ld be assigned to th em , i n the ful l

scheme of Th e Human Comedy . 1 shal l behappy if the Engl ish reader remembers th is ;and if the read ing of these n ouvelles, afte rhav ing for a moment charmed h im , shal l a lsoi nsp i re h im w ith th e wish to know morecl osely and complete ly th e greatest of French

nove l i sts.

TO A LORD

T he Unkn own Maste rpie c e

GILLETTE

ATE i n the year 16 12 , one cold morn i ng i nDecember, a young man whose garments

seemed very th i n was walki ng before thedoor of a house on Rue de s Grands—Augusti ns ,Pari s . After pacing that street for a long tim e ,with th e indeci s ion o f a lover who dares notpay a v is i t to his fi rst m i stress , however ki ndshe may be , he at last crossed th e th resholdof the door and asked if Maste r Franco is Porbus was at home . Upon rece iv i ng an afl i rma

t ive reply from a woman who was sweepinga room on the lower floor, th e young manwent slowly up- stai rs , hesitati ng from sta i r tosta i r, l ike a courti er of recent creat ion , appre

hensive of th e greeti ng which he was to

[ 3 ]

Hon oré de Balzac

rece ive from the ki ng. When he reached thetop of the wind i ng stai rcase , he stood for amoment on th e land i ng, uncertai n whether h esh ould l ift the grotesque knocker affi xed tothe door of the studio where th e pa inter ofHenri IV. , cast as id e for Rubens by Marie deMedici , was doubt less at work The youngman felt that profou nd emotion which mustcause th e hearts of a l l great artists to beatqu ickly

,when , i n the prime of youth and o f

the i r love for a rt , they approach a man o i

genius , or some nob le masterp i ece .There ex ists i n a l l human sent iments ap rim it i ve flow e r, engendered by a nob lee nthus iasm which grows c onsta ntly weakerand weaker, unti l ha ppi ness ceases to be morethan a memory and g lory more than a l i e.Among these t rans i tory sent iments , noth ingbears so c lose a resemblance to love as theyouthful passi on of an artist just beginn ing toexperi ence th e de l i c i ous tortu re of h is desti nyof renown and of misfortune

,a passion ful l of

audacity and shyness , of vague be li efs a nd o f

[41


Hon oré de Ba lzac

extraordinary rei nforcement sent‘

h im bychance . An old man ascended th e sta i rs.From th e oddity of h is costume , th e magn ifi

cence of h is lace ruff, th e ponderous self- assurance of h is ga it, th e young man div ined thathe was ei ther the pai nter ’s patron or h isfriend ; he drew back against th e wal l t o makeroom for h im , and gazed at h im curi ously ,hoping to find i n h im the k i nd ly nature of anart ist , or th e obl iging dispos iti on of those wholove art ;

‘

but he detected somethi ng diabo l ica l i n that face , and above a l l that indefinab leexpression wh ich artists dote upon . Imaginea. bald , prominent , even protuberant forehead ,overshadow i ng a sma l l

, flattened nose , turnedup at the end l i ke Rabela is s or Socrates ’ sa smi l i ng mouth , wri nk led at the corners ;a sh ort ch i n , proud ly raised , and adornedwith a gray beard trimmed to a po int ; seagreen eyes , apparent ly dul led by age, which ,however, by v i rtue of the contrast of thepearly- wh ite i n which th e pup i ls swam

,

somet imes em itted magnet ic glances under[ 6 ]

T h e Un kn ow n Maste rpie ce

th e Spur of wrath or enthus iasm . Th e facewas woefu l ly ravaged by th e fat igues of age ,and even more by the thoughts wh ich t i rem ind and body a l ike . The eyes had no lashes ,and one could bare ly detect a trac e of eyebrowsover the ir protrudi ng arches . Place that h eadupon a slender a nd fragi le body , surround itwith a lace ruff of snowy wh iteness and of apattern as e laborate as that of a si lver fish - knife ,throw a heavy gold cha i n over the old man ’ sblack doublet

,and you wi l l h ave a n im perfect

image of that i nd ivid ual , to whom the d iml ight of the ha ll imparted an even st rangercolouri ng. You would have sa id that it wasone of Rembrandt ’ s canvases , walk i ng si lently ,w ithout a frame , th rough the dark atmospherewh ich that great pa i nte r made h is own . Theold man cast a sagaci ous glance at the youngone , tapped thri ce on the door, and said to asick ly - l ook ing personage of about forty years ,who opened itGood morn ing, master.Forbus bowed respectfu l ly ; he admitted the

[ 7 ]

Hon oré de Ba lzac

young man , th ink ing that h e had come withth e othe r, and paid th e less heed to h im because the neophyte was ev idently under th espel l which a born pai nter i nev itably expe

rien ce s at the aspect of th e fi rst studi o that h esees , where some of the material p rocesses ofart are revealed to h im . A window in th ece i l i ng l ighted Master Po rbus’s studio . Th el ight , c oncentrated upon a canvas stand ing onthe easel , wh ich as yet bore on ly a few l ightstrokes , did not reach the dark recesses i n thecorners of that enormous room ; but a fewstray gleams l ighted Up the s i lver bul l

’ s - eye i nthe centre of a caval ryman ’s cu irass hangingon th e wal l i n th e ruddy shadow ; i l lum i natedwith a sudden beam the carved and pol ishedcorn ice of an old - fash i oned sideboard , ladenwith curious vessels ; or studded w i th dazzl i ngpoints of l igh t the rough woof of certa i n oldcurtai ns of gold brocade , w ith broad , i rregu larfolds

,scattered about as drapery . Plaste r

casts,busts

,and fragments of anti que god

desses,fondly pol i sh ed by the k isses of ce nt

[ 8 ]


uries, lay about upon tables a nd consoles .

l nnumerable sketches, studi es i n colouredcha lk , i n red lead , or i n pen and i nk, coveredth e wal ls to th e cei l i ng. Boxes of colours ,bott les of oi l a nd of essences , and ove rturnedstools , l eft only a na rrow path to the sortof halo projected by th e high stained - glass

window, th rough which the l ight fe l l fu l l

upon Po rbus’s pale face and upon the ivoryskull of h i s st range -visi tor. The young man ’ s

attention was soon exclus ively absorbed by apicture which had a lready become famous

even i n that epoch of commot ion and revo lut ion , and which was v i s i ted by some o f thoseobst inate enthusiasts to whom we owe th epreservation of the sacred fire during ev i ldays . That beaut iful ca nvas represented St.Mary the Egyptian prepa ri ng to pay for herpassage i n th e boat. That masterp i ece ,pai nted for Mari e de Medic i, was so ld by heri n the days of her destitution .

“ I l i ke your sa i nt , th e old man said toForbus , “

and I would give you ten golden( 91

Hon or é de Ba lzac

c rowns above the pri ce that th e queen is topay ; but meddle in her preserves ! th edeuce !

You th ink it i s well done , do you PHum ! sa id the old man , “ wel l done ?

Yes and no . Your sai nt is not badly put togeth er, but she i s n ot al i ve . You fel lowsth i nk that you have done everyth i ng whenyou have drawn a figure correctly and pute veryth i ng i n its place accord ing to the law sof anatomy . You colour th is feature w i th afle sh - t i nt p repared beforehand on your pal ette, taki ng care to keep one s ide darker thanthe oth er and because you gla nce from timeto t ime at a nude woman stand ing on a table,you thi nk that you have copied natu re , youimagi ne tha t you are painters, and that youhave d i scovered God ’s secret ! Bah l To bea great poet, it is not enough to know syntax ,and to avoid errors i n grammar.

Look”

at your sai nt, Forbus . At fi rst

glance she seems adm irable ; but at the se c

o nd, one sees that she i s g lued to the canvas,[ 10]


and that it is im possib le to walk about h er

body . She is a si l houette with but a s ingleface, a figure cut out of canvas , an image thatca n neither turn nor change its posi ti on . I

am not consc ious of the a i r between that armand the background of the p icture ; space anddepth are lacki ng . However, everyth i ng isrigh t so far as perspective i s concerned , and

the gradation of l ight and shade i s sc rupul

ously observed ; but, despite such pra iseworthy efforts , I am unab le to bel ieve thatthat beaut iful body is a n imated w i t h the warmbreath of l ife . It seems to me that , i f I shouldput my hand upon that fi rm , rou nd breast, Ishould find it as cold as marble No , myfriend , the blood does not flow beneath thativory ski n ; l ife does not swel l with its purp ledew th e ve i ns and fibres which i ntertwinel ike network beneath th e tra nspa rent, amberh ued temples and breast . Th is p lace th robs

with l ife , but that other place is moti onless ;l ife and death contend i n every deta i l ; here i ti s a woman , there a statue , a nd there a corpse.

[ 11 ]

Hon oré de Ba lzac

Your creati on is i ncomplete. You have beenable to breathe only a port i on of your souli nto you r cherished work . The torch ofPrometheus has gone out more than oncei n your hands, and many parts of you r p icture have not been touched by the celestialflam e .

“ But why, my dear master ? Forbus re

spectfully asked th e old man , while th e youngman had difficulty i n repress ing a savage de

si re to strike h im .

“Ah ! i t i s th i s way, repl i ed th e l ittl e o ldman .

“ You have wavered i rresolutely between th e two systems , between drawing andcolour

,between th e phlegmati c m i nuteness,

th e stiff preci s i on of the old German masters ,a nd the dazzl ing ardou r and happy plen itude ofthe Ita l ian pai nters . You have tri ed to imitateat th e same time Hans Holbei n and Titian ,Albert Dii rer and Paul Veronese. Assured lythat was a noble amb it i on ! But what hashappened ? You have ach ieved neither th esevere charm of precis i on , nor the deceitful

[ 12]


Hon oré de Ba lzac

said,revert i ng to the m iddle of the th roat ,

“ a l l is fa lse . Le t us not attempt to analys eanyth ing ; i t would drive you to despai r.The old man seated h imse lf on a st ool , puth i s face i n h i s hands , and said no more .

“ Master, said Forbus , “ I studied thatthroat very carefu l ly in the nude figure ; but ,unfortunate ly for us, there are true effectsi n nature wh ich seem imp robable u poncanvas .“ The m ission of a rt i s not to copy nature ,

but to express it ! You are not a v i le copyist ,but a poet ! cried the old man , hast i ly i nterrupting Forbus with an imperi ous gesture .Otherw i se a scul ptor would reach th e end of

his lab ours by mould ing a woman ! But tryto mould your mistress ’s hand and to place i tbefore you ; you wi l l fi nd a horrib le dead th ingw ithout any resemblance , and you w i l l beobliged to resort to the ch isel of the man who ,without copy i ng it exactly , Wi l l im part motionand l ife to it. We have to grasp th e spi rit ,th e sou l

,the physi ognomy of th ings and of

[ 14 ]

T he Un kn ow n Maste rpie ce

creatures . Efi’

e cts ! effects ! why, th ey are theaccidents of l ife and not l ife itself.“ A hand— as l have taken that example

a hand does not s imply belong to the body ;i t expresses and carri es out a thought

,which

you must grasp and represent . Neither thepai nter, nor the poet , nor the sculptor shouldsepa rate the effect from the cause

,for th ey are

i nseparably connected ! The real strugg le i sth ere ! Many pai nters t ri umph by insti nct ,without real is i ng thi s axiom of art. You drawa woman , but you do not se e her ! That isnot th e way that one succeeds i n forc i ng thesecrets of nature . Your hand reproduces

,

without your knowledge , th e model that youhave cop ied at your master ’ s stud io . You donot go down sufi ic ie ntly i nto the i nmostdetai ls of form , you do not pursue i t withenough enthusiasm and perseveranc e i n itswind ings and its fl ights .Beauty is a stem and exacting th i ng which

does not a l low itse lf to be caught so easi ly ;we must await its p leasu re , watch for it, seize

[ 15 1

Hon oré de Ba lzac

it, and embrace it cl osely , i n order to compel i tt o su rrender. Form is a Proteus much mored ifficult to seize and more ferti le i n evasi onst han th e Proteus of fabl e ; only afte r longs trugg les can one compel i t to show itself i nits real guise . You are content with the fi rstaspect under wh ich it appears to you , or atmost w i th the second or th i rd ; that i s nott rue of th e victor ious fighte rs ! The invinc ib lepai nters do not al low themselves to be de

c e ived by- al l these subterfuges they persevere

unt i l natu re is reduced to the poi nt where sh emust stand forth naked and in her real shape .

“ That was the process adopted by Raphae l, said the old man , removing h is black

v elvet cap to express th e respect i nsp i red byt he king of a rt ;

“ h is great superio ri ty comesfrom the secret percepti on wh ich , i n h im ,

seems determi ned to shatter form . In h isfi gures form is what it real ly i s i n us, an in

te rprete r for the commun ication of ideas andsensat ions

,a vast poetic concept ion . Every

figure i s a world , a portrait , wh ose model has[ 16 ]

T h e Unkn own Maste rpie ce

appeared i n a subl ime v i s io n , t i nged withl ight, i nd icated by

‘

an i nward voice , disrobed

by a d ivi ne figure, which poi nts out the sourcesof expressi on i n the past of a whole l ife . You

give your women lovely robes of flesh , l ovelyd raperies of ha i r ; but where i s th e b l ood wh ichengenders tranqui l l i ty or pass i on , and whichcauses specia l effects ? Your sai nt is a darkwoman , but thi s one , my poor Forbus , is a

blonde ! Your figures are pale, coloured

s pectres which you parade before our eyes,

and you ca l l t hat pa i nting and art !Because you have made somethi ng which

looks more l i ke a woman than l i ke a h ouse ,you th ink that you have atta i ned your end ;and , overj oyed because you no longer have towrite bes ide you r figures, eur rus venustus,

o r pulc h er homo, l ik e the first pai nte rs , youfancy that you are marvel lous art ists ! Ah ,no ! you are not that yet, my good fe ll ows ;you wil l have to use up more penci ls andcover many canvases before you reach thatpoi nt ! To be sure , a woman carries her head

[ 17 ]

Hon or é d e Ba lzac

l ike that , she wears h er ski rts as th is one does ,her eyes languish and melt w i th that ai r ofm i ld res ignat ion , th e qu ivering shadow ofth e eyelashes trembles th us upon h er cheek !

That is accurate and i t is not accurate . Whatdoes it lack ? A mere noth ing , but that nothing is everyth i ng. You produce the appear

ance of l ife , but you do not express itsove rfl ow ,

th at indefinable someth ing wh ich‘

perhaps is th e soul , and which fl oats cloudl ike upon the outer envelope ; i n a word , thatflowe r o f l ife which Ti tia n and Raphael d is

covered .

Starti ng from the farth est point that you

have reach ed , an excel lent pai nting m ight perhaps be executed ; but you grow weary toosoon . The common herd admires , but theconnoisseur sm i les . O Mabuse , O my master

,added th is extrao rdinary individual,

“ youare a th ief; you carried l ife away with youH owever, ” he conti nued , “ th i s canvas i sworth more than the pa inti ng of that mountebank of a Rubens, w ith h is mounta i ns of

( 18 )


Flem ish fle sh powdered with verm i l l ion , h i swaves of red ha i r, and h is wilderness of

colours . At al l events, you have here colou ring , draw ing, and sentiment , th e th ree essential parts of art .But that sa i nt i s subl ime , my good

man ! cr ied th e young man , i n a loud vo ice ,emerging from a profound reveri e . Those

two figures, of the sa int and the boatman ,have a de l i cacy of exp ress ion u tterly unknownto the I ta l ian pa inte rs ; I don ’ t know a s ingl eone of them who could have ach ieved th eh es itati on of the boatman .

“ Does th is l ittle knave belong to you ?Forbus asked the old man .

Alas ! p ray excuse my presumpt ion , master,

” repl ied the neophy te,blush ing.

“ I am astranger, a daube r by i nst i nct , only lately a rr ived i n th is c ity , th e sou rce of al l k nowledgeTo work ! said Po rbus, hand ing h im a

penc i l and a sheet of paper.In a twink l i ng the stranger cop ied th e Mary .

[ 19 ]

Hon oré de Balzac

O- ho ! c ri ed the o ld man.

name ?The young man wrote at the foot of thed rawing : Nicolas Poussin .

That is not bad for a beginner, said thestrange creature who harangued so wild ly.

I see that we can safely tal k pai nting beforeyou . I don

’

t b lame you for adm iri ng Po rbus’ssa int. It is a masterp iec e for th e world , andon ly th ose who are i n it iated i n the most profound secrets of art can disc over where i n itoffends . But s ince you are worthy of th elesson and capable of understand ing , I wi l l

show you how little i s necessary to completeth e work . Be all eyes a nd all attenti on ; such

an opportun ity for i nstruct ion wi l l never occuragai n perhaps.— Your palette, Po rbus lForbus went to fetch palette and brushes .

The l ittle o ld man turned up h is sleeves witha convulsive movement , passed h is th umbover the palette laden with colou rs , whichForbus handed to h im , and snatched ratherthan took from h is hands a handful of brushes

[ 201


Hon o ré de Ba lz ac

be stifl ing and feel imp risoned i n that denseatmosphere ! See how that drapery flutte rsabout now , and how read i ly one can real i sethat th e w i nd i s ra is i ng it i Formerly i t l ookedl i ke starched l i nen held i n place by p i ns . Doyou see how perfect ly the satin l i ke glosswith wh ich I have touched the breast repre

sents the supple plumpness of a maiden ’ s

flesh , and how the m ixture of reddish brownand ochre warms the gray coldness of thattal l ghost, i n wh ich the blood congealed in

stead of flow ing ? Young man , young man ,what I am show i ng you now, no masterc ould teach you ! Mabuse alone possessedthe secret of impart ing l ife to figures. Mabusehad but one pupi l , and that was I . I havehad none, and I am grow i ng old ! You havei ntel l igence enough to guess the rest fromthi s g l impse that I give you .

While he spoke , the stra nge o ld man touchedall the pa rts of th e pi cture : here two strokes

of th e b rush and there only one ; but alwaysso opportunely that one would

’

have said that( 221


i t was a new painti ng, but a pa i nt ing d rench edwith l ight. He worked w i th such impass ionedzea l that the perspi rat ion stood upon h is h ighforehead ; h e moved so swiftly , with suchimpat i ent , j erky l ittl e movements , that to

young Poussi n i t seemed as if there must bei n that st range man ’ s body a demon act ingthrough h is hand s and guid ing th em errati ca l ly, agai nst hi s wi l l . The su perhuman gleam

of h is eyes , the convu ls ions wh ich seemed tobe the effect of resistance , gave to that idea a

semblance of truth , which was certai n t o ac tupon a youthful imaginat i on . The old manworked o n , saying :Paff ! paft l pah

’ l thi s is h ow we d o it,young man ! Come , my l ittl e touches , warm

up this frigid tone fo r me ! Come , come !pon ! po n l pon !

” he sa id , touch i ng up thepoi nts where h e had i ndicated a lack of l ife,effacing by a few daubs of pai nt the difi'e re n c es o f temperament, and restori ng th e unityof ton e which a warm - blooded Egyptian demanded.

“ You see , my boy, i t i s only the[ 23 1

Hon oré de Balzac

last stroke of th e brush that counts . Forbushas given a h undred , but I give only one .Nobody gives us cred it for what i s undern eath . Be sure to remember that !

At last th e demon paused , and , tu rn ing toPo rbus and Poussi n , wh o were dumb withadm i rat ion , he said to th em“ This does n ’

t come up to my Belle Noz’

sease; however, a man could afford to put h isname at the foot of such a work . Yes , iwould s ign it,

” he added , ris i ng and tak i ng am irror i n wh ich he looked at it. “Now letus go to breakfast ; he said .

“ Come to myhouse , both of you . I have some smokedham and some good w i ne ! Despite th e ev i lt imes, we w i l l ta lk pa inti ng. We are experts: Th is l ittl e man , he added , tapp i ngNicolas Pouss i n o n th e shoulder, “ has a fac i letouch .

Notic ing the Norman ’s shabby jacket at

that m oment , he took from his belt a goat

sk i n purse , opened it, took out two goldp i eces and sa id , offeri ng them to h im :

[ 24 1


I wi l l buy you r sketch .

Take it, said Forbus to Poussi n , seei nghim start and blush with shame , for the youngneophyte had a l l the pride of th e poor man .

Take it, h e has th e ransom of two kings i nh is wa l let .All th ree went down from the stud i o , and ,d iscoursi ng on art as they walked , bent thei rsteps to a handsome wooden house nea r Pon tSt. - Michel , the decorati ons of wh ich , th e

knocker, the w i ndow- frames,and the ara

besque s, a roused Pouss i n’s wonderi ng adm ir

ation . The pa inte r i n embryo suddenly foundh imself i n a room on the l ower floo r, before abright fi re , bes ide a table laden with appe tis

i ng dishes , and, by i ncredible good fortune ,i n th e company of two great a rt ists overfl owi ng w ith good natu re .Young man , sa id Forbus , see ing that h e

stood i n open—mouthed adm iration before apicture , don

't look at that canvas too closely ,or you w i l l be driven to despa i r.I t was the A dam wh ich Mabuse pa i nted in

[ 25 ]

Hon o r é de Ba lz ac

o rder to obta i n h is re lease from th e prison i nwhich h is c reditors kept h im so l ong .

’

In

t ruth , that face was of such start l ing rea l itythat N icolas Pouss i n began at that moment tou nderstand the true mean ing of the old man ’s

c onfused remarks . The latter gla nced at thep icture with a satisfi ed express ion , but with

o ut enthus iasm , a nd seemed to say : “ I haved one better than tha t !There is l ife i n it, he said ; “

my poormaste r surpassed h imself; but it st i l l l acks al itt le truth in the background . The man ist horough ly a l ive ; h e is about to rise and walktowards us. But the ai r, th e sky, th e w i nd ,which w e breathe and see a nd fee l , a re nott here . And then there is on ly a man ! Nowthe on ly man that ever came forth from thehands of God ought to have somethi ng of the

d i v ine , wh i ch he lacks . Mabuse himse lf sa idso w ith i rritation , when he was not drunk .

”

Poussi n g lanced at the old man and Forbusi n turn ,w ith restless curi os ity . He approachedth e latter as if to

'

ask him the name of the i r[ 26 ]


h ost ; but the pa i nte r put h is finge r t o h i sl i ps with a mysteri ous a i r, and th e youngman

,i ntensely i nterested , kept s i lence , hoping

that sooner or later some chance remark wouldenable h im to discove r the name of h is host ,whose wea lth and talent were suffi ciently attested by the respect wh ich Po rbus manifestedfor h im and by the marvel lous th i ngs col lected

i n that room .

Seeing a su perb portra it of a woman uponth e oaken wai nscot ing , Pouss i n exc la imed“What a beautiful G iorgione !No , repl ied the old man ; you a re look

i ng at one of my fi rst daubs . ”

Tu- d z'

eu ! then I must be i n the h ouse ofth e god of pai nti ng ! ” said Pouss i n

,i ngenu

ously

The old man sm iled l ike one long fam il iarwith such pra ise .

Master Frenho fe r ! sa id Forbus , could n’

t

you send for a l itt le of your fine Rh ine win efor me ?“ Two casks l repl ied th e o ld man ;

“ one[ 27 ]


to pay for th e p leasure which I enjoyed th ismorni ng in see ing your pretty s inner, and the

oth er as a friendly gift .“ Ah ! if I were not a lways i l l , rej oi nedForbus , “ and if you would let me se e your

Bel le Noz'

seuse, I might be abl e to pai nt a p icture , h igh and wide and deep , i n which the

figures would be l ife—s ize .“ Show my work '” cried th e old man ,i n tensely excited . No , no ! I sti l l have to

pe rfe c t it; Yesterday, towards n ight, he said ,“ I thought that i t was fin ish ed. The eyesseemed to me moist, the flesh qu ivered ; th etresses of the ha i r m oved . I t breathed ! Al

th ough I have d iscovered the means ofproducing upon flat canvas the rel ief androundness of nature , I real ised my error th i sm orn ing , by day l ight . Ah ! to attai n thatglorious resu lt, I have thorough ly studied thegreat masters of colou ri ng, I have ana lysed andra ised

,layer by layer, the p ictures of T i t ian ,

that king'

of l ight ; l ike that sovere ign pa i nte r,I have sketched my figure i n a l ight shade ,

[ 28 ]


Hon oré de Ba lzac

end i n l i nes. In that regard , scu lptors canapp roach the t ruth more near ly than we can.

Nature demands a success ion of rounded out~

l i nes wh ich shade into one another. Strictlyspeaki ng , drawing does not exist I— Do notlaugh , young man ! However strange thatremark may s eemto you

,you wil l u nderstand

its mean i ng some day .

— The l i ne i s th e meansby which man inte rprets the effect of l ightupon objects ; but there- a re no li nes i n nature ,where everyth i ng is ful l ; i t i s i n model lingthat one draws , that is to say, that one re

m oves th ings from the surround ings i n whichthey are ; th e dist ributi on of l ight a lone givesrea l ity to the body I So that l have not sharplyout l i ned th e features ; I have spread over theout lines a c loud of l ight , warm half- t i nts , theresu lt bei ng that one cannot place one ’s finger

upon the exact spot where the outl i ne endsand the background begins . Seen at close

‘

quarters,the work seems cottony and to lack"

precisi on ; but two yards away , everyth ingbecomes d ist i nct and stands out ; th e body

[ 30]

T h e' Un kn ow n Maste rpie ce

moves , th e forms become prom inent, and o necan fee l the a i r c i rcu lati ng al l about . . How'ever, I am not satisfied yet ; I sti l l have

doubts .Perhaps I sh ou ld not have drawn a s ingle

l i ne ; perhaps it wou ld be bette r to attack afigure i n th e midd le , devot i ng one

’s se lf fi rst tothe prom inences wh ich are most i n t he l ight

,

a nd passi ng then to'

the darke r port ions . Is

not that the way i n which the sun , that d ivi nepai nte r of the un iverse , proceeds ? 0 Nature ,Nature ! who has ever surprised th ee i n thyfl ights ? I te l l you that too much knowledge,l ik e ignorance , ends i n a negat ion . I doubtmy work !T h e old man paused

,th en cont i nued

Fur ten yea rs , young man , I h ave beenworking , but what are

°

ten short years whenit i s a question of contend ing with nature ?We have no idea how long a t ime Pygmal i onemp loyed i n mak ing th e only statue that eve rwalked !The old man fe l l i nto a profound reveri e

,

[ 31 ]

Hon oré de Ba lzac

and sat w i th sta ri ng eyes , mechanical ly toy ingwith his kn ife .

“He i s conversing with h is spir it now !sa id Forbus i n an undertone .At that word N icolas Pouss in became con

s cious of the presence of an i ndefi nable a rt istic

c uri osity . That old man with the wh ite eyes ,s tari ng and torpid , became i n h is eyes morethan a man ; he assumed th e aspect of a n un

real gen i us l iv i ng i n an unknown sphere . He

s t i rred a th ousand confused ideas in h is m ind .

The mental phenomenon of that species offascmatio n ca n no more be defined than one

c an deh ne the emoti on aroused by a bal lad

w h i ch reca l ls th e fatherla nd to the exi le ’sh ea rt . The contempt wh ich that old manaffected to express for th e most beauti ful

w orks of art , h is wealth , his manners , the de

ference with wh ich Forbus treated h im , that

w ork kept secret so l ong — a work of pati enceand of gen ius doubtless , judging by the head o f

a Virgin which young Pouss i n had so e n thusi~

astically adm ired , and which , st i l l beautiful ,[ 32]

T h e Un kn ow n M aste rpie c e

even beside Mabuse ’s Adam, bore witness tothe imperia l workmansh i p of one of th e pri ncesof a rt— everyth i ng, i n short , about the oldm an went beyond th e bounds of human natu re .

The one pomt which was pe rfectly clear a ndmanifest t o Nicolas Poussi n ’ s ferti le imagina

t i on was a complete image of the a rt i sti c natu re , of that i rrespons ible nature to wh ich somany powers a re entrusted , and whic h toooften misuses them , leadi ng cold reason , th ehonest bourgeois , and even some experts ,th rough innumerable rock- strewn paths , whereth ere i s n oth i ng so fa r as th ey are concerned ;whereas that wh ite- winged damsel

,unreason

i ng in her fanc ies , discovers these epic poems ,c hateaux , and works of a rt . A sardon ic butk i nd ly nature ; ferti l e but steri le . Thus , tothe enthusiastic Poussi n , that old man had become , by an abrupt transfiguratio n , a rt itself,art with i ts sec rets , its u nruly im pulses , and itsreveries .

Yes, my dear Forbus , Frenhofe r resumed ,3 [ 33 ]

Hon oré de Ba lz ac

I have fa i led th us far'

to meet an absolute lyflawle ss woman , a body the outl i nes of wh ichare perfectly beaut iful , and whose colouri ngBut where is she to be found i n rea l l ife ? heasked , i nterrupt i ng h imse lf, that und iscove r

abl e Venus of th e ancients, so often sought , ofwhom we find only a few scattered cha rms ?Oh ! to se e for an i nstant, but a s i ngle t ime,that d iv ine , comp l ete , i n a word , i dea l nature ,I would give my whole fortune. Aye , I wou ldseek thee i n the abode of th e dead , 0 div inebeauty ! L i ke Orpheus , I would go down i ntothe hel l of art to bri ng l ife back thence . ”

We may go away , sa id Forbus to Poussin ; he ne ither hears nor sees us now .

“ Le t us go to h is studi o, suggested th e

wonder- struck youth .

“ Oh ! the old fel low knows how to keeppeopl e out . H is treasu res a re too wel l guardedfor us to obtai n a gl impse of th em . I havenot awaited your suggesti on and your longing before attack ing the mystery .

So there i s a mystery P”[ 34 ]

T h e Un kn own Maste rpie ce

Yes, Forbus repl i ed .

“ Old Fre nho fe r isthe on ly pupi l whom Mabuse would everconsent to take . Hav i ng become h is fri end,his sav i our, h is father, Fre nhofe r sac rific ed

the greate r pa rt of h is property to humourMabuse

’

s passions ; i n exchange Mabuse be

queathed to h im the secret of r el ief, th e powerof imparti ng to figures that extraord i nary appearanc e of l ife , that touch of nature , whic his our never—end ing despa i r, but of wh ich h ewas such a thorough maste r that one day

,

hav i ng sold and drunk th e flowe red damaskwh ich he was to wea r on the occas ion o f

Charles V.

’

s entry i nto Paris , he attended hismaste r in a ga rment of pa per pai nted to represent damask . The pecul iar bri l l iancy of th efabric worn by Mabuse surpri sed the Emperor

,

who , when he attempted to compliment theold d runkard ’s patron , d iscovered th e fraud .

Frenho fe r is pass ionate ly devoted to ou ra rt , and he looks higher a nd farther aheadthan other pai nters . He has given much profound thought to the subject of colouring and

[ 35 ]

H o n o ré de Ba lzac

to the absolute accu racy of l i nes ; but he hasstud ied so much that he has reach ed the poi nt

where he i s u ncerta i n of the very object ofh is studi es . In h is moments of despai r hedeclares that d rawing does not ex ist and thatonly geometrica l figures can be made w i thl i nes ; which is goi ng beyond the truth , forwith l i nes and with black , wh ich is not acolour, a human figure may be drawn ; which

proves that our a rt , l i ke nature , i s made up ofan infin ite number of elements : drawing fur

n ish es a skeleton , colou r gives l ife ; but l ifewithout the skeleton is much l ess comp letethan th e skeleton w ith out l ife . In short , therei s one th ingwh ich is more true than any ofthese , and that i s that pract ice and observat ion are everyth i ng with a pa inte r, and that,if reason and poet ic sense quarrel with thebrush , w e arrive at doubt , l ike our exce l l entfriend h ere , who is as much madman aspai nter. A subl ime art ist , he was u nfortu nateenough to be born rich , wh ich perm itted h imto go astray ; do not im itate h im ! Work !

[ 36 ]


Hon oré de Ba lzac

come to feel that I am . a pa inter. I havea lways doubted myself before , but thi s morni ng I bel i eve i n myse lf I I te l l you , Gi l lette ,w e shal l be rich , happy ! The re is go ld i n

these b rushes .But sudden ly h e ceased to speak . His

strong and serious face lost its j oyous expression when he compared the vastness ofh is h opes with the paucity of his resou rces .The walls were covered w i th pi eces of common paper on wh ich were sketches i n penc i l .He owned no clean canvases. Pa ints commanded a h igh pri ce i n those days, and the

poor young man ’s palette was almost bare .I n th e depths of h is poverty h e possessed andwas consci ous of an i ncredible store of courage and a su perabundance of al l- consum inggenius . B rought to Paris by a gent lemanwho was a friend of his , or perhaps by hi sown talent, h e had almost immediately fal l eni n with a mistress , one of those noble anddevoted sou ls who suffer bes ide a great man ,espouse h is, t roubles , and t ry to understand

[ 38 ]


h is cap rices ; strong i n poverty and love , asother women are fear less i n bea ri ng the burde n of luxury and in parad i ng the i r lack offeel ing . The sm i le that played about G i l lette ’sl ips diffused a go lden l ight th rough that garret ,and oversp read the sky w i th b rightness . Thesu n did not a lways sh i ne , whereas she wasalways there , sedate i n her pass ion , cl i ngingto her happ i ness and her suffering , e n c our

aging th e gen ius wh ich ove rflow ed i n love

before seiz ing upon a rt .L i sten , Gi l lette— come here .

The l ight - hearted , obed ient gi rl jumpedupon the pa inter ’ s knees . She was all grac e ,a l l beauty , lovely as a sp ri ng day , adorned bya l l woman ly charms , and i l lum in ing th emwith the g low of a love ly soul .

“0 God ! he cried , “ I sha l l n eve r dare to

te l l h e r.A secret ? said sh e ;

“ I i ns ist uponknow i ng it .

Poussi n seemed lost in thought .Speak , I say .

[ 39 ]

Hon oré de Ba lzac

G il lette— poor, beloved darl i ng !Ah ! you want someth i ng of me , do

you P“ Yes.If you want m e to pose for you as I d i d

the other day, sh e said , with a l ittle pout,I shal l n ever consent ; for at those t imesyour eyes have noth ing at a l l to say to me .You forget a l l about me , and yet you look at

me .“Would you prefer to se e me painting

another woman ?“ Perhaps so , she said , “ if sh e was ve ry

ugly .

”

“Well , rejo ined Pouss i n , i n a se rious tone ,su ppose that, for any futu re glory, to makeme a great pa i nter

,i t were necessary fo r you

to pose for another artist P”

You can test me a l l you choose, she

repl ied . You know that I wou ld not go .

Poussi n let h i s h ead fa l l on his breast , l ik eo ne who surrenders t o a joy or a sorrow that

is too great for h i s heart .[ 40]


L isten , said she , pluck i ng at the sl eeve

of Poussi n’s th readbare d oublet, “ I have told

you , Nick , that I would give my l ife for you ;but I never promised to give up my lovewh i le I am a l i ve .Give it up ? cried th e young artist .I f I sh ould sh ow myself l ike that to

another man , you wou ld cease to love me ,and I shou ld deem myse lf u nworthy of you . I si t not a most s imple a nd natural th i ng to obey

your wh ims ? I n spite of myse lf, I am happy ,aye , proud , to do your dear wi l l . But for

another man — ah , no !Forgive me , my Gi llette , cri ed the pa inter,

th rowing h imself at her feet . I prefer to be

beloved rather than famous . I n my eyes youare fai rer than wealth and honours . Go , th rowaway my brushes , burn th ese sketches . I

have made a m istake . My vocat ion is to loveyou . l am no pa i nter, I am a lover. Awaywith a rt and all its secrets !She gazed adm i ri ngly at h im , happy, over

joyed. She was queen ; she fe lt i nsti nct ively[ 41]

Hon or é de Ba lz ac

that art was forgotten for her, and cast at herfeet l ike a gra in of incense .And yet it i s on ly an old man , conti nued

Pouss i n . He could see on ly the woman i nyou - you are so perfect '

“ One must needs love , she c ri ed , ready tosacrifi ce the scru ples of her love to repay herlover for a l l the sacrifi ces that he made for her.But , she added , “ it would be my rui n .

Ah ! m in for you — yes , that wou ld be verylovely ! But you wi l l forget me ! Oh ! whata w i cked idea th is is of yours !

“ I conceived the idea , and I love you , he

sa id w i th a sort of contrition ; “ but am I forthat reason a v i l la i n P

Le t us consult Father Hardou in , sh e sa id .

Oh , no ! let i t be a secret between us .

”

Very good , I wi l l go . But do not bethere ,

”

she cried .

“ Stay at the door, w i thyour dagger d rawn ; if I cry out, come in andki l l t he pa i nter.With no eyes for aught but h is art , Pouss inthrew h is arms about Gi l lette.

[ 42 ]


He no longer l oves me ! thought Gi l lette,when she was a lone .Already she repented her dec is i on . But sh e

was soon se ized by a terror more pa inful thanher regret ; she strove to drive away a shocki ng thought that stole i nto her mi nd . Shefanc ied that sh e already loved the pa i nter l ess,because sh e suspected that he was less est imable than she had h ith erto bel ieved .

I I

CATHERINE LESCAULTHREE months after th e meet ing o fPoussinand Forbus , th e latter went to se e Mas

ter Frenho fe r. The old man w as then i n the

depths of one of those periods of profound andsudden d iscouragement , the cause of wh ich ,i f we are to bel i eve the mathematicians ofmedici ne , consists i n bad d igest ion , the wind ,the heat , or some disturbance i n the hypoc hondriac regi on ; and , accord ing to the spi ri tualists, i n th e imperfection of our mora l nature .

The good man had simply t i red himself out[43 ]


i n fin ish ing his mysterious picture . He waslanguid ly recl in ing i n an enormous cha i r ofcarved oak , upholstered i n black leather ; andw ithout changing h is depressed attitude , h edarted at Po rbus the glance of a man whohad determ ined to make the best of h i sennui

Well , maste r, sa id Forbus, was theultramarine , that you went to Bruges for, verybad ? Have n ’

t you been able to gri nd ou rnew wh ite ? I s your oi l poor, or a re yourbrushes unmanageable ?Alas ! cri ed the old man , “ I th ought for

a moment that my work was fin ished ; but Icertai n ly have gone astray i n some deta i ls ,and my mind wi l l n ot be at rest unt i l I havesolved my doubts . I have almost decided tot ravel , to go to Turkey, to G reece , and toAs ia

,i n search of a model , and to compare

my picture with natu re i n d ifferent cl imes . I tmay be that I have up- sta i rs , he conti nuedw i th a sm i le of sat isfaction , “ Nature he rself.

Somet imes I am a lm ost afra id that a breath[ 441



which I give her ? She has a sou l , the sou lw i th which I have endowed her. She wou ldb lush if other eyes than mi ne shou ld rest uponher . Show her ! Where i s the husband , th elover, base enough to lend h is wife to dishonour ? When you paint a pictu re for the

court , you do not put your whole soul i nto it,you sel l to the courti ers noth ing more thancoloured mann iki ns . My pai nting is not apa inti ng ; i t i s a sentiment, a passi on ! Borni n my studio, i t must remain th ere unsul li ed ,and can not come forth u nt i l it i s clothed .

Poesy and women never abandon themselvesnaked to any but thei r lovers ! Do we possess

Raphae l ’s model , Ariosto’

s Angel ica , or Dante’s

B eatric e ? No ! We see only thei r shapes .Very well ; the

‘

wo rkwhich I have up- sta i rs

under l ock and key is an exception i n our a rt .I t i s not a canvas, i t i s a woman ; a womanW ith whom I weep , and laugh , and talk , andth i nk . Do you expect me sudden ly to layas ide a joy that has lasted ten years, as onelays aside a cloak ? Do you e xpect me sud

[ 4G]

T h e Un kn ow n M aste rpie c e

den ly to cease to be father, l over, and God ?That woman is not a c reature , she i s a crea

t ion . Let your young man come — I wil lgi ve h im my wealth ; I w i l l g ive h im pictures

by Correggio , Mich e langelo , or T it ia n ; I wi l lk iss h i s footpri nts i n th e dust ; but make h immy ri va l ? Shame ! Ah ! I am even morelover than pai nte r. Yes , I shal l have thest rength to burn my Bel le Noz

’

seuse when I

b reathe my last ; but to force her to endureth e glance of a man , of a young man , of a

pa i nter ? No, no ! I wou ld ki l l to- morrow th e

man who shou ld sul ly her with a look ! Iwould kill you on the i nsta nt , my friend , if you

d id not sa lute h er on your knees ! Do you ex

pe c t me now to subject my idol to the inse nsibl e glances a nd absurd crit i c isms of foo ls ?Ah ! love is a mystery , i t l ives on ly i n thedeepest recesses of th e hea rt , and al l i s l ostw hen a man says , even to h is friend : ‘Thisi s sh e whom I love !The old man seemed to have become youngagai n ; h is eyes gleamed w i th l ife ; h is pale

[ 47 ]

Hon oré de Ba lzac

cheeks flushed a bright red , and his hands

shook . Forb us , surprised by th e pass ionateforce with which the words were spoken , d idnot know what rep ly to make to an emotionno less novel than profound . Was Frenho fe rsane or mad ? Was he under the spel l of ana rt istic caprice , or d id the ideas which he hadexpressed proceed from that strange fanati

c ism produced i n us by the long gestation ofa great work ? Could one h ope ever to come

to an u nderstandi ng with that extraord i nary

passi on PEngrossed by all these thoughts, Forbus

said to the old manBut i s i t not woman for woman ? Wi l l

n ot Pouss i n abandon his m istress to your

eyes ?“What m istress ? rejoined Frenhofer.

She wil l betray h im sooner or later. Minewi l l always be faithful to me !Very wel l ! said Forbus , “ let us say no

more about it. But , perhaps , before you hnd,even i n Asia , a woman so l ove ly , so perfect

[ 48 ]


as i s she of whom I speak , you wi l l d ie without

'

fin ishing your picture .”

Ah ! i t i s finish ed, said Frenhofe r. “Whoever should see it would th i nk that h e waslooking at a woman ly ing upon a ve lvet couch ,behi nd a curta in . Bes ide her i s a golden t ripod conta i n ing perfumes . You would betem pted to seize the tassel of the cords whichh old th e curta in , and you would fancy thatyou saw the bosom of Catheri ne Lescau lt , abeautiful c ourtesan ca l led La Belle Noz'seuse,ri se and fal l w it h the movement of her breath .

However, I sh ould l i ke to be ce rta i n“ Oh ! go to Asia , Forbus repli ed , as h e

detected a sort of hes i tat ion i n Frenhofe r’sexpress ion .

And Forbus walked towards the door of th eroom .

At that moment Gil lette and Nicolas Pouss ina rrived at Frenho fe r’s house . When the girlwas about to enter , she stepped back , as ifshe were oppressed by some sudden present iment .

4 HQ ]

Hon oré de Ba lzac

Why have I come here , pray ? she askedher lover i n a deep voice , gazi ng at him steadfastly.

Gi l lette , I l eft you enti rely at l iberty , andI mean to obey you i n everythi ng . You aremy consci ence and my renown . Go back tothe house ' I sha l l b e happier perhaps than ifyouDo I belong to myself when you speak to

me thus ? Oh no ! I am noth ing more than achi ld . Come , sh e added, apparently mak inga m ighty effort ;

“ if ou r love d i es , and if Ip lant in my heart a never- end ing regret

,w i l l

not your fame be the reward of my comp l ia nce with your wishes ? Let us go in ; it w i l lbe l i ke l ivi ng again to be a lways present as amemory on your palette .As they opened the door of the h ouse, thetwo lovers met Forbus , who , start led by th ebeauty of G i l lette , whose eyes were thenfi lled w ith tea rs , se ized her, trembl ing fromhead to foot as she was, and sa id , lead ing heri nto the old man ’s presence

[ 50]


Look ! i s she not above all the masterpieces on earth PFrenho fe r started . Gil lette stood there i nthe ingenuous and unaffected atti tude of ayoung Georgian girl , i nnoce nt and t im id , abducted by b‘rigands and offered for sa le toa s lave - merchant . A modest flush t i nged he rch eeks , she lowered he r eyes , h er hands werehanging at her s ide , her strength seemed toabandon he r

,and tears p rotested agai nst th e

v iolence done to her modesty . At that moment Pouss i n , dist ressed beyond words because he had taken that lovely pea rl from hisgarret , cursed h imself. He became more lovertha n a rtist, and in numerable scru ples tortu redh i s hea rt when he saw the old man ’s k i nd l i ngeye , as , i n accordance with the habit of pa i nters , he menta l ly d isrobed the gi rl , so to speak ,divi n i ng her m ost secret forms . Thereuponthe young man reverted to the savage j ealousyof tru e love .

Le t us go , G illette , he cri ed .

At that tone , at that outcry, h is m istress[ 5 1]

Hon oré de Ba lzac

looked up at h im i n ra pture , saw his face andran into h is arms .“ Ah ! you do love me then ? she repl i ed ,melt i ng i nto tea rs .Although she had mustered energy to impose s i lence upon her suffering, she lackedstrength to conceal h er j oy.

“ Oh ! leave her with me for a moment ,sai d the old pa i nter, and you may compareher to my Cather in e. Yes, I consent .

Therewas love i n Frenhofe r’s c ry, too . He

seemed to be acti ng the pa rt of a coquette fo rhis counterfeit woman , and to enj oy in ad

vance the triumph which th e beauty of his

c reat ion wou ld certa in ly wi n ove r that of agi rl of flesh and blood.

“ Do not let h im retract ! c ri ed Forbus,b ri ngi ng h i s hand down on Pouss i n ’ s shoulder. “The fru its of love soon pass away,those of a rt are immortal .

“ In h i s eyes , retorted Gi l lette , l ooki ngearnestly at Pouss i n and Forbus , “ in h is eyesam I noth ing more than a woman ?

[ 52l


Hon o r é de Ba lz ac

with the other ! ” he soon held h is peace atth e aspect of Poussi n , whose face was profoundly w retched ; and alth ough th e old pai nters had none of those scruples wh ich seem sotri v ial i n th e p resence of a rt

,he admi red them ,

they were so attractive and so i n nocent . Theyoung man had h is hand on the h i lt of h isdagger and h is ea r a lmost glued to the door.The two men , stand ing thus i n the darkness ,resembled two conspi rators await ing th e mom ent t o “strike down a tyrant .“ Come in , come in , cried the o ld man ,

radiant with joy . My work is perfect , andnow I can show it w ith pride . Never wil lpa i nter

,brushes , col ours , canvas , and ligh t

produce a riva l to Catheri ne Lescault, the

beautiful courtesan !Impe l led by the most i ntense curios ity, Porbus and Pouss in hurried to the centre of an

enormous stud i o covered with dust, whereeveryth ing was i n d isorde r, and where theysaw pictures hangi ng on the wal ls h ere andthere . They paused at fi rst i n front of a l ife

[ 54 ]


s ize figure of'

a woman , half n ude, wh icharou sed the i r admiration .

Oh , don’ t pay any attent ion to th at

,sa id

Fre nho fe r ; that i s a sketch that I dashed o ffto study a pose ; it is worth noth i ng as a p ictu re . There are some of my mistakes , h econti nued , point i ng to a number of fascinat ing

compos it ions hanging on the wall s about them .

At those words , Po rbus and Pouss in , thunde rstruck by h is contempt for such works

,

looked about for the famous portra it,but

could not d iscover it.“Well, there i t i s ! said the old man , whose

hair was d ishevel led , whose face was inflam ed

by superhuman excitement, whose eyes spark led , and who panted l ike a young man d runkwith love . Aha ! he cried , “ you did notexpect such absolute pe rfect ion ! You arebefore a woman , and you are l ook ing for apicture . There is so much depth on thi s canvas , the ai r is so real , that you cannot distinguish i t from the a i r th at surrounds us.

Where is art ? Lost , van ished ! Behold the[ 55 ]

Hon oré de Balzac

actua l form of a young girl . Have I not ob

tained to perfect ion the colour, th e sharpnessof the l i ne wh ich seems to bound the body ?Is i t not th e same phenomenon presented by

objects i n the atmosphere , as wel l as by h sbc si n th e wate r ? Observe how the outl i nes

stand out from the background ! Does i t notseem to you that you could pass your handover that back ? Why , for seven years I

stud ied the effects of the conjunct i on of l igh tand of objects . And that hai r, does not th el ight fai rly i nundate it ? Why , sh e actual ly

breathed , I be lieve I— Look at that bosom !Ah ! who wou ld not adore her on his knees ?The flesh quivers . She is going to ri sewait !“ Can you see anyth i ng ? Pouss i n askedForbus .“ No . And you ?Noth ing.

The two pai nters left the o ld man to h isdreams , and looked to see whether th e light ,fal l i ng stra ight u pon th e canvas to wh ich he

[ 56 ]


was pointing , did not efface all th e l i nes .They examined th e pi cture from the right ,from th e left, and i n front, alternate ly stoopi ngand ris i ng.

Yes , yes, it’

s real ly canvas , sa id Frenh ofer , mistak ing the purpose of that carefu lscrut i ny.

“ See , here is th e frame and the

easel , and here are my colours and mybrushes .

And he seized a brush and handed it t o

them with an art less gesture .“ The old v i l la i n i s making sport of us,

sai d Poussi n , return ing to h i s pos itio n i n frontof th e a l leged picture . “ I can see noth ing

but a confused mass of colours , surrounded bya m ult itude of curious l i nes wh ich form a wal lof pai nting.

We were m istaken ; l ook ! repl iedPo rbus.

On goi ng neare r, th ey saw i n th e corner o f

th e canvas the end of a ba re foot emergingfrom that chaos of vague colours and shades ,that sort of shapeless m ist ; but a most love ly ,

[ 57 ]

Hon oré de Ba lzac

a l iv i ng foot ! They stood speech less withadmi rat ion before th at fragment , wh ich hadescaped a slow , re lentless , i ncomprehensib ledestruct ion . That foot was l ike a bust ofVenus i n Parian marble , ris i ng am id the ruin s

of a burned city .

“ There is a woman underneath '” criedForbus , ca l l i ng Pouss i n ’ s attenti on to the coatsof pa i nt which the o ld pa i nte r had la id on oneafte r another, th ink ing that he was pe rfecti ngh is work .

The two artists turned impuls ive ly towardsFre nhofer, beginn ing to understand , althoughbut vaguely , the state of ecstasy i n wh ich hel ived .

“He acts i n perfect good faith , sa i dForbus .“ Yes , my friend , sa id the old man , rous

i ng h imself,

“ one must have fa ith , fai th i nart, a nd must l ive a long whi le with h is work ,to produce such a creati on . Some of thoseshadows have cost me many hours of toi l .See , on the ch eek , just below th e eye , there

[ 58 ]

T h e Un kn ow n Maste rpie c e

is a fa int penumbra , which , i f you notice i t i nnature , w i l l seem to you almost beyond re

product i on . Well , do you th i nk that thateffect d id not cost me unheard—of t rouble ?But look close ly at my work , my dear Forbus ,and you w i l l u nderstand better what I sa id toyou as to th e method of treat ing mode l l i ngand out l i nes . Look at the l ight on the breast ,and see how , by a success ion of st rongly emphasised touches and retouches , I have suc

c e eded i n reproduc ing th e real l ight , and i ncombi n ing it w it h th e po l i shed wh iteness ofthe l ight tones ; and how by the oppositem eans , by effaci ng the lumps a nd th e rough

ness of the colou rs , I have been able , by softlyretouch ing the outl in e of my figure , d rownedi n the ha lf- t i nt , to take away even a suggestion of d raw i ng and of artific ial means ,and to give i t the aspect and the roundnessof nature itse lf. Go neare r, and you w i l l seeth e work better. At a d istance it i s im perc eptible . Look , just here it i s very remarkable , I th ink .

( 591

Hon oré de Ba lzac

And with the end of h is brush he poi ntedout to the two painters a layer of l ight paint .Forbus la id h is hand on the old man ’ s

shoulder and sa id , turn ing to Pouss i n :“ Do you know that w e have before us a

very great pa i nte r ?“He i s even more poet than painter, re

pl i ed Pouss i n , gravely .

“ Here , rej oi ned Forbus , pointing to th e

canvas , “ h ere ends our a rt on earth .

”

And‘

from here i t soars u pwards and dis

appears i n t he skies , sa i d Poussi n .

How much pleasure i s concentrated onth i s piece of ca nvas ! cried Forbus .The old man , completely distraught , d id notl i sten to them ; he was sm i l ing at that idea lwoman .

But sooner or late r he wi l l d iscover thatthere i s noth i ng on h is ca nvas ! " exclaimed

Poussm .

Noth ing on my canvas ! cried Frenhofe r,gazing at the two painters and at h is a l legedpicture i n turn .


Hon oré de Ba lzac

more than a rich man , who , when I wa lk,do noth i ng but wa lk ! 5 0 I h ave p roducednothing !He gazed at h is ca nvas th rough h is tears ;suddenly h e rose w ith a gesture of pride andcast a flashing g lance at th e two pa inters .“ By the blood , by the body , by the head

of the Christ ! you are jea lous h ounds w how ish to make me bel i eve that it is spoi led , in

'

order to steal i t from me ! But I can see her‘

he cried, and she is wonderful ly l ovely !At that moment , Poussi n heard Gi l lette

c rv ing i n a corner where she was cowering ,ent i re ly forgotten .

What is th e matter, my ange l ? askedthe pai nte r, suddenly become the lover once

more .K i l l m e ! she sai d . I shou ld be a shame

less c reature to love you sti l l , for I despiseyou . I admi re you and I have a horror ofyou ! I l ove you , and I be li eve that I hate youal ready .

Whi le Pouss i n l i stened to Gil let te . F ren[ 621


hofer covered h is Cather in e with agreen curtain , .w ith the ca lm grav ity of a jeweller closi ng

h is drawers when he th i nks that he is i n thecompany of clever th ieves . He bestowed uponthe two pai nters a profound ly cunni ng g lance

,

ful l of contem pt 'and suspic ion,and si lently

ushered them out of h is studi o,w ith con

vulsive haste ; then stand ing i n h is doorway ,he sa id to them

Adieu , my l itt le fri ends .That “ ad ieu ho rrifi ed the two pai nters .

The next day Forbus , i n h is a nxiety, went agai n

t o se e Frenho fe r, and learned that he hadd i ed i n the night, afte r burn i ng all h is p ictures,

1831.

A Se asho r e Dram a

[ 6 ]

'

l‘

o

MADAME LA PRINCESSE CAROLINE GA’

L lTZ lN DE

GENTHOD,NEE COMTESSE WALEWSKATh e author

’ s homage and r emembran ces“

IGGI

A Se asho re Dram a

OUNG men a lmost always have a pai r ofcompasses with wh ich th ey de l ight to

measure th e future ; when thei r wi l l i s i n accordwith the s ize of the angle wh ich they make ,the wor ld is thei rs . But th i s ph enomenon ofmora l l ife takes place on ly at a certa i n age .

That age , wh ich i n the case of a l l men comesbetween the years of twenty - two and twentye ight , i s th e age of nob le th oughts , the age offi rst concept i ons , because i t i s the age of unbounded des ires , th e age at wh ich one doubtsnoth ing ; he who ta lks of doubt s peaks of impotence. After that age , which passes asquickly as the season for sowing , comes theage of executi on . There are i n a certa i nsense two youths : one during wh ich oneth i nks , the other during wh ich one acts ; oftenthey are blended

,i n men whom nature has

favoured , and who , l i ke Caesa r, Newton , and[m l

Hon oré de Ba lzac

Bonaparte, are the greatest among greatmen .

I was reckon i ng how much t ime a thoughtneeds to develop itself; and , compasses i nhand , stand ing on a c lifl

c a hundred fathoms

above the ocean , whose waves played amongthe reefs , I la id out my future , furnish ing itw i th works , as an engi neer draws fortressesand palaces upon vacant land . The sea waslovely ; [h ad just dressed after bath i ng ; I waswait ing for Pauli ne , my guard ian angel , who

was bath ing in a gran ite bowl ful l of wh itesand , th e da i nt iest bath - tub that Nature everdes igned for any of her sea- fai ries . We wereat th e extreme point of Le

'

Crois ic , a t inypen insu la of Brittany ; w e were far from theharbour, i n a spot which the auth orit i es conside red so i naccess ible that the customs - ofl‘i c e rsalmost neve r v i s ited it. To swim i n th e a i rafte r sw imming i n the sea ! Ah ! who wouldnot have swum i nto the future ? Why did Ith i nk ? Why does evi l happen ? Who knows ?I deas come to your hea rt , or your bra i n , with

rag ]


Hon oré de Ba lzac

she saw me, she sa id to m e ’ “What is thematter P” I d id not answer, but my eyes became moist . The day before , Paul in e hadunderstood my pai n , as she u nderstood atthat moment my joy, with the magical sensitiven ess of a harp wh ich fol lows the variati onsof the atmosphere . The l ife of man has someglorious moments ! We wa lked si l ently alongthe shore . The sky was cloud less , the sea

without - a ri pple ; oth ers would have seenonly two b lue pla i ns , one above the other ;but w e who understood each othe r withoutneed of speech , we who could d iscoverbetween those two swadd l i ng- cloths of infi nity the i l l us ions with whi ch youth is nourish ed, we pressed each other ’s hand at thes l ightest change which took place e ither i nthe sheet of water or i n th e expanse of a i r ; forwe took those t riv ia l phenomena for materia li nterpretati ons of our twofold thought .Who has not enjoyed that unbounded bl issi n pleasu re, when the soul seems to be releasedfrom th e bonds of the fl esh , and to be restored

[ 70]

A Se a shor e Dram a

as it were to the world whence it came ?Pleasure is not our only guid e i n those regions .

Are th ere not t imes when the sent iments em

brace each other as of th e i r own mot ion , andfly th ith er, l ike two ch i ldren who take eachother ’s hands and begin to run w ith out knowi ng why or wh ither ? We walked a long

thus .At the moment th at the roofs of the townappeared on the horizon , form ing a grayish

l i ne,we met a poor fi sherman wh o was re

turn ing to Le Croi s i c . His feet were bare , h iscanvas t rousers were ragged on th e edges ,w ith many h oles im perfectly mended ; hew ore a sh irt of sa i l - cloth , wretched l ist suspenders , and h is jacket was a mere rag. Thes ight of that m isery d istressed us— a d iscord ,as i t were , i n th e midst of our ha rmony . Welooked at each other, to lament that we hadnot at that moment the power to draw uponthe treasury of Aboul- Cacem . We saw amagn ifi cent lobste r and a crab hanging bya cord wh ich th e fish e rman carri ed i n h i s r igh t

[ 7 1 ]


hand , wh ile i n th e othe r h e had h is nets andh is fish ing apparatus . We accosted h im , withthe pu rpose of buy i ng h is fish , an idea wh ichoccurred to both of us, and which expressed itself i n a smi le , to wh ich I repl ied bys l ight ly pressi ng th e a rm wh ich I h eld anddraw ing it c loser to my heart . I t was oneof those noth i ngs wh ich the memory afterward transforms into a poem , when , s itt ing byth e fi re , we reca l l the t ime when that noth i ngmoved us, the place where i t happened , andthat m i rage , the effects of wh ic h have neverbeen defined, but which often exerts a n in

flue nc e u pon th e objects which surround us,

when l ife i s p leasant and our hearts are fu l l .The lovel iest places are s imply what wemake them . Who is the man , however l ittl eof a poet he may be , who has not i n h is mem

ory a bowlder that occup ies more Space thanth e most famous landscape vis ited at greatexpense P Beside that bowlder what tempestuous thoughts ! there , a who le l ife mappedout ; h ere , fears ban ished ; there , rays of hope

[ 72 ]


Ho n oré de Ba lzac

That face i ndicated end less res ignat i on ; th epatience of the fishe rman , and his gent le manners . That man had a voice w ith out traceo f harshness , ki nd ly l i ps , no ambiti on ; an ind efinably fra i l and sick ly appearance . Anyoth er type of face would have d ispleased us.

Where are you going to sel l your fish PAt the town .

How much w i l l you get for th e lobster ?Fifteen sous .And fo r the crab PTwenty sous .Why so much d ifference between the

l obster and the crab PThe crab is much more del i cate

,mons ieu r ;

and then it ’

s as cunn ing as a monkey,and

don ’ t often a l low itself to be caught .“Wi l l you let us have both for a hundred

s ous P” sa id Paul i ne .The man was thunderstruck .

You sha ’ n ’

t have them ! I sa id laughingly ; I w i l l give ten francs . We must payfo r emot ions a l l that they are worth .

[ 74 ]

A Se ashor e Dram a

Very well , she repl ied , “ I propose tohave them ; I wil l give ten francs two sous .Ten sous .

Twelve francsFifteen fra ncs .Fifteen francs fifty, she said .

One hundred francs .One hund red and fifty .

l bowed . At that moment we were n otric h enough to carry the bidd ing any farther.The poor fish e rman d id not know whether heought to be angry as at a practi ca l joke , or toexult ; we rel ieved him from h is d i lemma bygiv ing h im the name of our landlady and te l l i nghim to take the lobster and the c rab to her

house .Do you earn a l iv ing ? I. asked h im , i n

ord er to asce rta i n to what cause h is destitut ionshould be attributed .

With much difficulty and many hardsh ips

,

” h e repl ied .

“ Fi sh i ng on the seash ore

,when you have ne ith er boat nor nets ,

and can fish on ly with a l i ne , i s a r isky trade .[ 75 ]


You se e you have to wait for th e fish or theshe lI- fish to come , wh i l e th e fish e rm en w ithboats can go out to sea afte r th em . It i s sohard to earn a l iv i ng th is way , that I am theon ly man who fi shes on th e shore . I passwhole days without catch i ng anyth ing . The

only way I get anyth ing i s when a crab forgetsh imse lf and goes to s leep , as th is one d id , or al obste r is fool enough to stay on the rocks .Sometimes

,after a high sea , th e wo lf- fish

come in , and then I grab them .

“Wel l , take one day w ith a nother, whatdo you earn P

E leven or twelve sous . I could get alongwith that if I were alone ; but I have myfather to support , and the poor man can

’ t h el pme , for h e

’

s b li nd .

At that sentence , uttered with perfect sim

plic ity , Paul i ne and I l ooked at each otherwithout a word .

You have a wife or a sweetheart ?He cast at us one of the most pit iful glancesthat I ever saw , as he repli ed :

[ 76 ]



march , and my poor father wou ld have beenask ing alms to- day .

I had thought out many dramas ; Pau l i n ewas accustomed to i ntense emotions , l i v i ngw i th a man i n my conditi on of hea lth ; butneither of us had ever l istened to moretouch ing words than those of that fishe rman .

We walked some di stance i n sile nc e , , both ofus measuring th e si lent depth s of that unknown l ife , admiri ng th e nob i l i ty of that selfsac rifice wh ich was unconscious of itse lf ; thestrength of h is weakness surprised us ; thatunconscious generos ity made us sma l l i n ourown eyes . I saw that poor creature , a l l instinc t, cha ined to that rock as a gal ley - slave i scha ined to h i s bal l , watch i ng for tw enty years

for she Il- fish to support h imself, and susta i nedi n h is pat ience by a si ngle sentiment . Howmany hours passed on th e edge of that beach !how many hopes crushed by a squa l l , by achange of weath er ! He hung over th e edgeof a gran ite she lf, h is arms stretched out l iketh ose of an I nd ian fak i r, wh i le h is father,

[ 78 ]

A Se ashor e Dram a

s itt i ng on a stool,waited i n s i lence and dark

ness for h im to bri ng h im th e coarsest ofshe Il- fish and of bread , if th e sea were w i l l i ng.

Do you ever d ri nk w i ne ? I asked him .

Three or four t imes a yea r.We l l , you shal l d rink some to - day, you

and your father, and we w ill send you awh ite loaf.You are very kind , monsieur .We will g ive you you r d i nner, if you w i l l

gu ide us along th e shore as far as Batz , wherew e are going , to see th e tower wh ich overlooks the bas i n and the coast between Batz

and Le Croi si c .With p leasure , he said . Go straight

ahead , fol low th e road you are now o n ; I w i l lovertake you after I have got r id of my fishand my tackle .We nodded simultaneously , a nd he hu rriedoff towards the town , l ight at h ea rt . Thatmeeti ng held us i n th e same menta l s i tuat i oni n wh i ch we were previ ously , but i t had lowered our spirits .

[ 79]


Poor man ! ” sa id Pau l i ne , with that accent which takes away from a woman ’s compassion whatever th ere may be offens ive i npity ; “ does it not make one feel ashamed to

be happy when one sees such misery P”

Nothing is more cruel than to have im

potent desi res , I rep l i ed .

“ Those two poorc reatures

,father and son , w ill no more know

how keen our sympathy is than the worldknows how nob le their l ives are ' for they arelay i ng up treasures i n h eaven .

“What a w retched country ! she said , asshe pointed out to me , along a field surroundedby a loose stone wal l , l umps of cow- dungarranged symmetri cal ly.

“ I asked some onewhat those were . A peasant woman

,who

was putti ng them in place , answered that shewas making wood . J ust fancy , my dea r, th atwhen these blocks of dung are d ri ed , thesepoor people gather them , pi le th em up, andwarm themselves with them . Duri ng thewinter th ey are sold , l i ke lumps of peat . Andwhat do you suppose the best pa id d ress

[ 80]



the dunes . Along th e shore th ere i s an o c

casio nal reef, about which the waves p lay,givi ng them the aspect of great wh ite rosesfl oating on the l iqu id expanse and coming torest on the shore . When I saw that plainbou nded by th e ocean on the right , and on

the left by th e great lake that fl ow s i n betweenLe Cro isi c and the sandy heights of Guerande ,at th e foot of wh ich there are sal t ma rshesabsolute ly w ithout vegetat i on , I glanced atPau l i ne and asked her i f she had the courageto defy th e heat of the sun , and the strengthto wa lk through the sand .

“ I have on h igh boots ; l et us go th i ther,she sai d , point ing to th e tower of Batz, whichcircumscribed the view by its enormous mass

,

p laced there l ike a py ram id , but a sl ender, indented pyram id , so poet ica l ly adorned that ita l l owed the imaginat ion to se e i n it th e fi rstru i ns of a great As iat i c c ity . We walked afew yards and sat down under a rock wh ichw as st i ll i n the shadow ; but it was el eveno ’ c lock i n th e morn ing, and that shadow ,

[ 82]

A Se ashor e Dram a

which ceased at our feet, rap idly disap

peared.

“ I- Iow beaut iful the si lenc e is, she sa id to

me ; and how its i ntens ity is i ncreased bythe regu lar p lash i ng of th e sea on the beach '

“ If you ch oose to abandon your understand ing to th e three immensit ies that surround us, the a i r, th e water, and the sand ,l i sten ing sole ly to the repeated sou nd of the

flow and the outflow , I rep l i ed , “ you w i l ln ot be able to endure its language ; you wi l lfancy that you discover therei n a thought

wh ich wi l l overwhelm you . Yesterday , atsunset , I had that sensat i on ; i t prostrated me .

“ Oh , yes , let us ta lk , she sa id , after a longpause . “ No orator can be more terrib le thanth i s s i lence . I fancy that I have d iscoveredthe causes of the harmony which su rroundsus, she cont inued . This landscape , wh ichhas only three sharp colours , th e bri l l iant yell ow of the sand , th e blue of th e sky , and th esmooth green of th e sea, i s grand w ith outbei ng w i ld , it i s immense w ith out being a

[ 83 ]


desert , i t is changeless without be ing monotonous ; i t has only th ree e lements , but it i sdive rsified.

“Women alone can express thei r im press ions thus , I repl i ed ;

“ you would d rive apoet to d espa i r, dear heart, whom I divined

so perfectly .

The excess ive noonday heat imparts agorgeous colou r to those th ree expressions ofinfin ity,

” repl ied Paul i ne, laugh ing .

“ I ca nimagine h ere the poesy and th e passion of theOrient . ”

And I can imagi ne its despai r.Yes , she sa id ;

“ that dune is a subl imec loiste r . ”

We heard the hurried step of our guide ; hehad dressed h imse lf i n h i s best clothes . Wesaid a few formal words to him ; he ev ident lysaw that our frame of m ind had changed , and ,w i th th e reserve that m isfortune im parts

,he

kept s i lent . Although w e pressed each oth er ’ shands from t ime to time , to advise each othero f the unity of our impress i ons , we wa lked

[ 84 ]


Hon o ré de Ba lzac

There 5 some one there ! Peop le who gofrom Batz to Le Crois i c , or from Le Croi s i c toBatz , a lways make a detour i n order not t opass that rock .

The man said th is i n a low voice , and wed ivi ned a mystery .

I s he a th ief, an assass i n ?Our gu ide repli ed only by a long- drawnbreath which i ncreased our curiosity .

But-

w i l l anyth i ng happen to us if we passby there POh no !Wi l l you go with us ?No, monsi eur.

”

We w ill go th en , i f you assure us th at weshal l be i n no danger .

“ I don ’ t say that, repl ied the fi shermanhasti ly ; “ I say s im ply that the man who

’

i sthere won ’t say anyth i ng to you , or d o anyharm to you . Oh , bless my sou l ! he won

’tso much as move from his place !

“Who i s he , pray P”

A man ![ 86 ]

A Se ashor e Dram a

Never were two syl lables utte red i n such atragi c tone . At that moment we were twentyyards from that reef, about wh ich the sea wasp lay ing ; our gu ide took the road wh ich ski rtedthe rocks ; we went stra ight ahead , but Pauli n etook my arm . Our guid e qui ckened h is pacei n order to reach the spot where the two roadsmet aga i n at th e same time that we d id . He

evident ly supposed that , afte r see i ng the man ,we would qu icken our ' pace . That ci rcumstance k i nd led our cu ri os ity , wh ich then be

came so i ntense that ou r h earts th robbed as if

they had felt a thri l l of fear . Despite th e heat

o f the day and th e fatigue caused by walk ingthrough th e sand

,our hearts were st i l l aband

o ned to the i ndesc ribable languor of a b l issfulharmony of sensati ons ; they were fi lled withthat pure pleasu re wh ich ca n on ly be describedby comparing it to the p leasure wh ich onefeels i n l isten i ng to some lovely mus ic , l i ke Mo

z art’

s A nd z’

an o m z’

o ben . Do not two pure sentim ents, which blend , resemb le two beautifulvoices s inging ? I n order fu l ly to apprec iate

[ 87 ]

Hon oré de Ba lzac

th e emoti on wh ich se ized us, you must sha rethe sem ivo luptuous cond it i on i n wh ich theevents of th at morn ing had enveloped us.

Gaze for a long wh i le at a turtl e - dove perchedon a slender twig, nea r a spri ng, and you wi l l

utte r a cry of pa in when you see a hawkpounce upon it, bury its steel c law s i n itshea rt , and bear i t away w ith th e murderousrapid ity that powder commun icates to thebu l let .When we had walked a yard or two acrossth e open space that lay i n front of the grotto

,

a sort of p latform a hundred feet above theocean , and sheltered from its rage by a success ion of steep rocks , w e were consci ous of anelectri c sh ock not un l ike that caused by a sudden noise in the m idst of the n ight . We hadspied a man seated on a bowlder of gran ite

,

and he had looked at us. His glance , l i ke theflash of a cannon , came from two bl oodshoteyes , and h is stoi cal immobi l itycould be compared only to the unchanging posture of themasses of gran ite wh ich surrounded h im . His

( 88 1


Ho n o ré de Ba lzac

th e gran ite , a broken loaf coveri ng an earthenjug . Never had my imaginat ion , when i tca rried me back to the deserts where the fi rsthermits of Chri st ian ity l ived , conce ived a facemore grandly rel igious , or m ore a ppall i nglypen itent than was the face of that man .

Even you , who have l istened to confess ions ,my dear unc le , have perhaps never met w ithsuch sub l ime remorse ; but that remorse was

d rowned i n the waves of prayer, the i ncessantprayer of s i lent d espa i r. That fi sherman , thatsai lor , that rude B reton , was sub lime by v i rtueof some unknown sentiment . But had thoseeyes wept ? Had that statuel ike hand struckits fel low man ? Was that stern foreh ead,i nst i nct with pit i less uprightness , on which ,however, strength had left those marks ofgent leness wh ich are th e accompaniment ofall t rue strength— was that foreh ead , fu rrowedby wri nkles , i n harmony with a nobl e h eart ?Why was that man among the gran ite P Whythe gran ite i n that man P Where was theman ? Where was the gran i te ? A who le

[ 90]

A Se ashor e Dram a

world o f th oughts rush ed th rough ou r mi nds .

As ou r guid e had antic i pated , we had passedi n s i lence , rapidly ; and when h e met us, wewere tremulous w ith terror , or ove rwhelmedwith amazement . But he did not use the

fulfi llm ent of his predicti on as a weapon

aga inst us.

Did you see h im ? h e asked .

Who is that man ? sa id I .They ca l l h im The Man of the Vow.

You can imagi ne h ow quick ly our twofaces turned towards our fishe rm an at those

w ords ! He was a s imple - minded man ; heu nderstood our s i lent questi on ; and th is i s

what he said , i n h i s own language , th e popu

la r tone of wh ich I'

shall try to retai nMadame , the people of Le Cro is ic , l i ke

t he peop l e of Batz , bel ieve that that man isgui lty of someth i ng, and that he i s do i nga penance ordered by a famous priest towhom he went to confess , a long way beyond Nantes . Other peop l e th ink that Cambremer— that ’s h is name —has a n evi l s pel l

( 911

Hon oré de Ba lzac

that he commun icates to everybody who

passes th rough the a i r he breathes . So‘

agood many people , before they pass thatrock , look to se e what way the w i nd is . I fi t ’

s fr om galer n e, he sa id , poi nt i ng towardsthe west, “ th ey would n ’

t go o n , even if i twas a matter of search i ng for a p iece of the true

Cross ; th ey turn back , because th ey ’

re frightened . Other peop l e , the rich people of LeCroisi c , say that he

’

s made a vow , and that’

s

w hy h e’

s ca l led Th e Man of th e Vow. He i sa lways there , nigh t and day ; never comesoutThese report s about h im have some ap

pearan c e of sense . You se e ,” he added , turn

ing to poi nt out a thi ng wh ich we had notnoticed , “ h e has stuck up there , on the left .a wooden cross , to show tha t he has put h imse lf under the protection of God , th e BlessedVi rgi n , and the sai nts . Even if he had n ’

t conse c rated h imself l ike that, th e fea r everybodyhas of h im would make h im as safe there asif h e were guarded by soldiers . He has n ’

t

( 92 )



But , I sa id , “ you arouse our curi osityw i thout grat ify i ng it. Do you know whatb rought h im here ? Was it gri ef, was it repentanc e , was i t i n san ity , was it a crime , wasi t POh ! only my father and I know the t ruth

of the thing, monsieu r. My dead motherworked for a judge to whom Cambremertold the whole story , by th e p riest ’ s order ‘

for he wou ld n ’

t give him absoluti on on anyother cond iti on , accord ing to what the peop leat th e harbour said . My poor mother overheard what Cambremer said , w ith out meani ng to , because th e j udge

’ s k itch en was rightnext to h is study , and she l istened . She ’

s

dead , a nd the judge who h eard h im is dead .

My mother made father and me p rom ise nevert o te l l anyth ing to the peop le about here ; butI can te l l you that the n ight my motherto ld it to us, th e hai r on my head tu rnedgray .

“Well tel l us, my fi ne fel low ; we w ill notmention i t to anybody .

[ 94 ]

A Se ashore Dram a

The fish e rm an looked at us , and cont i nued

thus :

Pierre Cambremer, whom you saw yonder, is the oldest of the Cambrem e rs, w ho

have a lways been sa i lors , from fathe r to son ;that ’s what thei r name says— th e sea has always bent under them . The man you saw

was a boat fi sherman . So he had boats andwent sa rd ine - fish ing ; he went deep - sea fish

ing, too , for the dealers . He’

d have fi tted outa vessel and gone afte r cod , i f h e had n

’

t beenso fond of h i s w i fe ; a fin e woman she was, aBrou i n from Guerande ; a magn ificent gi rl ,and sh e had a big heart . She was so fond ofCambremer that sh e ’

d never le t h er man

leave her any longer tha n he had to , to goafter sard i nes . They used to l ive over thereL lo ok! said the fi she rman , ascend ing a hi ll ock to poi nt to an is let i n the l ittl e i nla nd seabetween the dunes , across which we werewa lk ing, and th e sa lt marsh es of Guerande .

Do you se e that house ? That was h is .“ Jacquette Brou in and Cambremer never

[ 95 ]

Hon oré de Ba lzac

had but one ch i ld , a boy ; and they lovedhim Iike— Iike what shal l I say P— i ndeed , l ikepeople l ove the i r on ly ch i ld ; they were madover h im . If thei r l i ttle Jacques had put

d i rt i n th e sauce pan , savi ng your presence ,they ’

d have thought i t was sugar . Howmany times we ’

ve seen ’em at th e fa ir, buyi ng th e pretti est fal la ls fo r h im ! I t was a l ln onsense — everybody to ld ’em so . L itt leCambremer, seei ng that he was a l lowed to dowhatever he wanted to, became as b ig arogue as a red ass . When any one went t othe e lder Cambremer and told h im :

‘Your boynearly ki l led l i tt le So - and- so ,

’ he ’

d laugh and

say :‘Bah I he ’

Il make a fi n e sa i lor ! h e ’

11

command the k ing ’s fleet . ’ And when somebody else said : ‘Pierre Cambremer, do youknow that you r boy put out the l i ttl e Pougaud gi rl ’s eye P

’ Pierre sa id : ‘He’

ll befond of th e gi rls ! ’ He th ought everyth ingwas all right . So my li ttle scamp, when hewas ten years old , used to be at everybodyand amuse h imself cutt ing off hens ’ heads ,

[ 96 ]



tel l i ng the father about that , when h e camehome ; and she was afra id of the fath er - not

fo r herse lf, oh no ! When Pierre Cambremercame home and found h is house furn ishedwi th th ings peop le had lent h is w ife , h e sa id :

‘What does all th is mean P’

The poor woman was nearer dead than

a l ive .We

’

ve been robbed ,’ sa id she .

Where ’

s J acques P’

‘J acques is on a spree . ’

No one knew where the v i l lain had gone .‘He goes on too many sprees said

Pierre .“ Six months later, the poor man learned

that h is son was in danger of fal l ing i nto thehands o f justic e at Nantes . He went there onfoot ; made th e journey faster than he couldhave gone by sea, got hold of his son , andbrought h im back here . He did n ’

t ask h im :

‘What have you been doi ng ? ’

He just said

to h imIf you don ’ t behave yourself here w i th

[ 98 ]

A Se asho r e Dram a

you r mother and me for two yea rs , goingfish ing and acting l ike an h onest man , you

’

II

have an account to settle w i th me !“ The idiot, c ounting on his father

’ s andmother ’s stupid ity , made a face at h im . At

that Pierre fetched him a crack that la id MasterJ acques u p i n bed for s i x month s . The poormother a lmost d ied of grief. One n ight,wh en

she was sleep i ng peacefu l ly by h er husband ’ ss ide, she h eard a noise, got out of bed , and gota kn ife - cut on h er a rm . Sh e shrieked andsome one brought a l ight. Pierre Cambremerfound h is wife wounded ; he thought that arobbe r d id it — as if there was any suchthi ng i n ou r . p rovi nce , wh ere you can carryten th ousand francs i n gold from Le Cro is i c toSt. - Nazaire , w i thout fea r, and without oncebe ing asked what you ’

ve got under you r a rm !Pierre looked for Jacques , but could n ’

t fi ndh im .

I n the morn ing, th e l itt le monste r had theface to come home and say that he ’

d been toBatz . I must te l l you that h is mother did n ’

t

[ 991

Hon oré de Ba lza c

know where to hide h er money . Cambremeralways left h is with Mons ieur Dupo tet at Le

Cr015 1c . Thei r son ’ s wi ld ways had eaten u p

c rowns by th e hundred , francs by the hund red ,and Ioui s d ’or ; they were almost rui ned , and

that was pretty hard for folks who used to haveabout twelve thousand francs , i nc luding thei ris land . No one knew what Cambremer pa idout at Nantes to clear h is son . Bad luck raisedth e deuce with the fam ily . Cambrem e r

’

s

brother was i n a bad way and needed hel p .

To encourage h im , Pierre told h im that Jacquesand Perotte

, (the younger Cambrem e r’

s daugh

ter) sh ould marry . Then he employed h imi n the fi sh i ng, so that he cou ld earn h is l ivi ng ;for joseph Cambremer was reduced to l iv ingby h is work . His wife had d ied of a fever,and he had had to pay for a wet- nurse forPerotte. Pi erre Cambrem e r

’

s w ife owed ahundred francs to different people on th el i tt le gi rl ’s account, for l i nen and clothes , andfor two or th ree months ’ wages for that big

Fre lu girl , who had a ch i ld by S imon Gaudry,[ 100]


Hon oré de Balzac

The good woman brought him the money .

Cambremer took it, said : ‘All right ! ’ andwent home . The whole town heard aboutthat . But here ’

s someth ing that I know, andthat othe r people only suspect in a general

way . He told h is wife to c lean up thei r room ,

which was on th e ground flo o r ; h e made afi re on the h earth , l ighted two cand les , placedtwo c ha i rs on one s ide of th e fi replace and astool on the other. Then he told his w ife toput out h is wedding clothes and to get i ntoh er own . When he was dressed , he went t oh is brother and to ld h im to watch i n front ofthe h ouse and te l l h im if he heardany noise one ither of the beaches , th i s one or th e one i nfront of the Guerande salt marsh es . When hethought that h is w ife was d ressed , he wenthome again , loaded a gun , and put i t out o f

s ight i n the corner of the fi replac e . J acquescame at last ; i t was late ; he had been dri nking and play ing b i l l ia rds ti l l ten o ’ clock ; h ehad come home by the point of Carnouf. Hisunc le heard him hai l ing , crossed to the beach

[ 102 ]

A Se ashor e Dram a

i n front of th e marsh to fetch h im , and rowedh im to the is land without a word . When

he went i nto the house , his fathe r sai d toh im

‘Sit down th ere ,’ point ing to th e stool .

You are before your father and m othe r,whom

you have outraged , and who have got to try1

you .

“ Jacques began to bel low , because Camb rem er ’s face was work ing i n a strange way.

The mother sat as sti ff as an oar.I f you ca l l out, if you move , if you don

’ t

sit on your stool as straight as a mast , I’ l l

sh oot you l ike a dog,’ sa id Pierre , point i ng

h is gun at h im .

The son was dumb as a fish ; the motherd id n ’

t say anyth ing.

Here ,’ said Pierre to h is son , ‘i s a paper

that was wrapped round a Span i sh gold - piece ;th e gold- piece was i n your mother ’ s bed ; nobody else knew where she had put it ; I foundthe pape r on the water as I was com ingashore ; you gave th is Spanish gold - piece to

[ 103 1

Hon oré de Ba lzac

Mother Fleurant t o- night, and you r mothercan ’ t find hers i n her bed . Expla i n yourse lf IJ acques said that he did n ’

t take the moneyfrom h is mothe r, and that he had had th e coi n

ever s ince he went to Nantes .

So much the better, ’ said Pierre . How

can you prove it P’

‘I had it before . ’

You d id n ’

t take your mother’s P’

No .

”

‘Wil l you swear it by your everlasti ng

He was going to swear ; h is motherlooked up at h im and said :

‘Jacques , my ch i ld, be careful ; don’ t

swear, if i t i sn’ t t rue. You may mend your

ways and repent ; there’

s t ime enough sti l l . ’

And she began to cry.

You ’

re neith e r one th ing nor th e oth er,’

he said , and you’

ve a lways wanted to ru i nme . ’

Cambremer turned pale , and said‘What you j ust said to your ' mother W i l l

[ 104]


Hon oré de Ba lzac

so n a lesson , and I ask you not to say anyth i ngabout it .

— If you don ’t mend your way s , ’ h esa i d to Jacques, the n ext t ime w i l l be th e lastand I ’

ll put an end to it w ithout confessi on .

He sent h im o ff to bed The boy belie ved what h e had heard and imagi ned thathe cou ld a rrange matters w ith hi s father. He

went to sl eep . The father sat up. When hesaw that h i s son was sound asleep

,he stuffed

his mouth with hem p and ti ed a strip of canvas over it very tight ; then h e bound h is

hands and feet . Jacques stormed and weptblood, so Cambremer told the j udge . Whatcould you expect ! The mother th rew herse lfat the father ’s feet.

‘He has been tried ,’ he said ;

‘you musthelp me put h im i n the boat . ’

She refused . Cambremer took him to theboat a l l a lone , la id h im in th e bottom , t ied astone round his neck , and rowed abreast ofthe rock where he i s now . Then the poormoth er, w ho had got her brother- in - law tobri ng h e r over here , cried : ‘Me rcy l

’

All.

i n[ 106 ]

A Se ashor e Dram a

va i n ; i t h ad the effect of a stone thrown at awolf. The moon was sh i n i ng ; she saw th efathe r th row the i r so n i nto th e water, th e so nto whom her hea rt sti l l c lung ; and as th erewas n ’

t any wind , sh e h eard a splash , thenn oth ing more, not a sound or a bubble ; th esea

’

s a famous keeper, I tel l you ! When

he came ash ore here to qu iet h is w i fe , whowas groan ing , Cambremer found her about the

same as dead . The two broth ers c ould n’

t

carry her, so they had to put he r i n the boatthat had just h eld the son , and they took he r

home , going round th rough Le Cro isi c passage . Ah ! La Belle Br ouin , as they ca l ledh e r, d id n

’

t l ast a week . She died aski ng herhusband to burn the accursed boat . He didit, too . As for h im

,h e was l ike a c razy man ;

he d id n’

t know what he wanted , and hestaggered when he walked, l ike a man whocan ’ t carry h is wine . Then he went o ff fort en days , and when he came back he plantedhimself where you saw h im , and s ince he

’

s

been there he has n ’

t sa id a word .

"

[ 107 1

Hon oré de Ba lzac

The fishe rm an took only a moment or twoin te l l i ng us th i s story , and he told it even moresimply than I have written it. The commonpeople make few comments when they te l l astory ; they select the poi nt that has made animpress i on on them , and i nte rpret it as theyfeel it. That narrative was as sharp and in

c isive as a blow w i th an axe“I shal l not go to Batz , sa id Paul i ne , as

we reach ed th e upper end of the lake .We returned to Le Cro isi c by way of thesalt marsh es , guided th rough the i r labyri nthby a fishe rm an who had become as si lentas w e . The current of our thoughts hadchanged . We were both absorbed by depressi ng reflect ions , saddened by that drama

wh ich expla i ned the sw ift present iment thatwe had fel t at th e s ight of Cambremer. Weboth had suffic ient know l edge of the world tod iv ine al l tha t our gu ide had not told us ofthat tri p le l ife . The m isfortunes of those threepeople were reproduced before us as if wehad seen them i n the success iv e scenes of a

[ 108 ]


Hon oré de Ba lzac

where w e saw no other l iv ing bei ngs than anoccasional palud z

’

er— th e name given to the

men who gather t he salt . These men , orrather th i s tribe of Bretons , wear a specia lcostume : a wh ite jacket not unl ike that wornby brewers . They i nte rmarry , and there hasnever been an i nstance o f a girl of that tribemarry ing anybody except a palud z

'

er . Theghast ly aspect of those swamps , where thesurfac e of the m i re is neat ly raked , and of thatgray ish soi l

,which th e B ret on flo ra holds i n

h orror, harmoni sed w ith the mourn i ng of ourhearts . When we re ached the place wherew e were to cross th e arm of the sea wh ich i sformed by th e erupt ion o f the water i nto thatbas in , and which serves doubtless to supplythe salt marshes w ith thei r staple , we rejoicedto see the meagre vegetation scatte red a longth e sandy shore . As we crossed , we saw , i nthe centre of the lake , th e i slet where theCambrem e rs l ived ; w e looked the oth er way .

When we reached our hotel , we noticed ab i l l ia rd - tab le i n a room on the ground floo r ;

[ 110]

A Se ashor e Dram a

and , when we learned that it was the on lypubl i c b i l l iard - table i n Le Cro is ic , w e pre

pared fo r ou r departure that night . The nextday we were at Guerande . Paul in e was st i l ldepressed , and I could a lready feel th e comingof the flame that i s consum ing my bra i n . I

was so cruel ly tormented by my v i s i ons ofthose th ree l ives that sh e sa id to me“Write the story, Lou is ; i n that way you

w ill change the nature of th is feve r.

So I have written it d own for you , my dea runc le ; but it has al ready destroyed th e tranqui ll ity that I owed to th e sea - baths and toour v i s it here .1835

( 111 !


To Monsu-zun GUYONNET-MERVILLEWould it n ot be wel l for m e

,my dear former master, to

explain to tho se people who are curious to know every

thing, wher e I was ab le to learn enough o f legal pro cedure

to manage the busin ess of my little circle , and at the sametime to consecrate here the m emory of the am iab le and

intellectual man who said to Scr ibe,another amateur law

yer, on meeting him at a bal l : Co to the ofi’

i c e— I promise you that there is wo rk enough there ”P But do you

n eed this pub lic testimony in order to be assured of the

author’s affe ction ? DE BALZ AC.

I I 4

A n Episo de u n de r the T e rr o r

ON the twenty - second of january , 1793,

about e ight o ’ clock in the even i ng , anold lady was descendi ng th e steep h i l l wh iche nds i n front of th e chu rch of St. - Lau rent , onFaubou rg St. - Mart i n , Paris . I t had snowed

so hard a l l day that footfal ls could sca rcely beheard . The streets were deserted ; the notunnatural d read i nspi red by the s i lence was

i ntens ifi ed by the terror under wh ich Francewas th en groan ing ; so that th e old lady hadnot as yet met anybody ; her s ight , wh ich hadlong been poor, made it im poss ib le for her t ose e , i n the distance , by the d im l ight of thestreet - lanterns , the few people who werescattered about l i ke ghosts i n th e b road h ighway of the faubourg. She went h er way

courageously , alone , through that s ol itude , asif her age were a tal isman certa in to preserveher from a l l ev i l .

[ 115 ]


When sh e had passed Rue des Morts , she

fancied that she could d ist i nguish the fi rmand heavy step of a man walki ng beh ind her.I t seemed to her that it was not th e fi rst t imethat she h ad hea rd that sound ; she was terri

fled at the thought that sh e had been followed , and she tried to wal k even faster, i no rder to reach a brightly l ighted shop , hoping to be abl e to set at rest i n th e l ight thesusp i c ions wh i ch had seized he r. As soon asshe had stepped beyond th e h ori zonta l rays ofl ight that shone from the sh op , she sudden lyturned her head and caugh t s ight of a human figure i n the fog ; that i ndist i nct g l impsewas enough for her ; sh e staggered for an instant under th e weight of th e fear wh ich op

pressed her, for she no longer d oubted that

she had been attended by the stranger fromthe fi rst step that she had taken outs ide of herhome ; and the franti c l onging to escape a

spy gave h er add it i ona l strength . I nca pableof reason i ng, sh e qu ickened her pace , as if

she cou ld poss ib ly e lude a man who was[ 116 1


Hon o ré de Ba lzac

i ndicating the o ld lady by a glance , and notfin ishing her sentence .Although the past ry - cook cou ld see on ly th eenormous black s i lk bonnet , surrounded byv io let ribbons , wh ich the stranger wore uponhe r head

,h e d isappeared , afte r a glance at h is

wife , wh ich seemed to say : Do you supposethat I am going to leave that on your counter ?Amazed by th e o ld lady ’ s si l ence and immo

bility, th e trades - woman wa lked towards her ,and as she exam ined her she was conscious ofa feel i ng of com passion , and perhaps of curi-po sity as we l l . A lthough the stranger ’ s complexi on was natu ral ly sa l low , l ike that of aperson vowed to secret austeri ti es , i t was easyto see that some recent emotion had made he reven pa ler than usual . Her bonnet was so

a rranged as to concea l her hai r, which waspresumab ly wh itened by age , for the neatness of t the co l lar of her dress i nd icated thatshe did not wear powder. That lack ofadornment imparted to h er face a sort of re

ligious asceti c ism . Her features were serious[ 118 1

An Episo de un de r th e Te r ror

a nd dign ified. I n th e old days th e mannersa nd customs of peop le of qua l ity were so d iffe re nt from those of people belong ing to thelowe r c lasses , that one c ou ld eas i ly distinguish a person of nobl e b irth . 5 0 thatth e young woman was conv i nced that thestranger was a e i- de'van t, and that she hadbelonged to the cou rt .

“ Madame , she sa id i nvol untari ly andwith respect, forgetti ng that that t i tl e wasprosc ribed .

The old lady did not reply . She kept hereyes fastened u pon the shop - window, as ifsome terri fy i ng obj ect were th ere apparent .

“What ’

s the matter with you , c i t izene ss P

” asked the proprietor, who reappearedat that moment .

The citi zen pastry - cook aroused the ladyfrom her reve ry by handing he r a l ittle pasteboard box covered with b lue paper.Noth i ng , noth i ng , my fri ends , she re

pl ied i n a m i ld vo i c e .

She looked up at the pastry - cook as if to[ 119 ]

Hon o r é de Ba lzac

bestow a grateful g lance upon h im ; but whensh e saw a red cap on h is h ead she uttered anexclamat ion :Ah ! you have betrayed me !

The young woman and her h usband repl iedby a gestu re of horror wh ich made th estranger blush , perhaps for hav i ng suspected

them , perhaps with pleasure .Excuse me ,

” sh e said with ch i ldl ikegentleness .Then , taking a louis d

’or from h er pocket ,sh e handed it to the past ry - cookTh is i s . the pri ce agreed upon , she added .

There i s a sort of pove rty wh ich the poorare quick to d iv i ne . The pastry- cook and hi swife looked at each oth er and then at the oldlady , exchangi ng the same th ought . ThatIou is d ’ or was ev ident ly the last . The lady ’ shands trembled as she held out that coi n , atwh ich she gazed sorrowful ly but withoutavarice ; but she seemed to rea l ise th e fullextent of th e sac rifi ce . Fasting and pove rtywere written u pon that face , i n l i nes as legible

[ 120]



I s that all P repl ied the man w i th the redcap.

“Wait fo r me , c itizeness .He gave the Iou is to h i s w ife ; then , im

pe lled by that species of grat i tude wh ich fi ndsi ts way i nto the heart of a tradesman when herece ives an extravagant pri ce for goods ofmoderate va lue , he went to don hi s Nationa lguardsman ’ s uniform , took h is hat , th rust h issabre into - hi s be lt , and reappeared under arms .But h is w ife had had time to refle c t ; and , asi n many other hearts

, refle c tion c losed theopen hand of ki nd l i ness . Perturbed i n m ind

,

and feari ng that h e r husband might becomeinvolved i n some dangerous affai r

,the pastry

cook ’ s w ife tri ed to stop h im by pul l i ng theski rt of h is coat ; but , obeying a charitable

impu lse , th e good man at once offered to e s

c ort the old lady .

It seems that th e man who frightenedthe c i tizeness i s sti l l p row l i ng about thesh op , sa id the young woman , nervously.

“ I am afra id so , the lady a rtless ly repl i ed .

Suppose he should be a spy ? Suppose[ 122 ]

An Episode un de r th e Te rror

i t w as a consp i racy ? Don ’ t go w i th her, andtake back the box .

These words , whispered i n the pastryc ook ’ s ear by h i s w ife , congea led the improm ptu courage wh ich had moved h im .

I ’11j ust go out and say two words to h im ,

and rid you of h im in sh ort order ! c ri ed theman , open i ng the door and rush ing out.The old lady , passi ve as a ch i ld and almostdazed , resumed her seat . The wort hy t radesman soon rea ppea red ; h is fac e , which wasnatural ly red , and moreover was flushed bythe heat of h is ovens , had sudden ly becomel ivi d ; he was so terribly frightened that h islegs trembled a nd h is eyes resembled ad runken man ’s .

“ Do you mean to h ave our heads cut off,you m iserable a rist ocrat ? ” he cried angri ly .

J ust let us see your heels ; don’ t ever show

your face h ere agai n , and don’ t count on me

to supply you with materials for a conspi racy !As he spoke , the past ry - cook tri ed to takefrom the old lady th e sma l l box , which she

[ 193 ]

Hon oré de Ba lzac

had put i n one of her pockets . But no soonerdid the man ’ s insole nt hands touch her cl othing , than the stranger, preferri ng to brave thedangers of th e st reet with no other d efenderthan God , rath er than to lose what she hadpurchased

,recovered the agi l i ty of he r youth ;

sh e rushed to the door, opened it abruptly,and van ished from the eyes of the dazed andtrembl ing woman and her husband .

As soon as the stranger was out of doors ,sh e walked rapid ly away ; but her strengthfa i led her, for she heard th e snow creak beneath the heavy step of the spy , by whomshe was pit i lessly fol lowed . She was obligedto stop , and h e stopped ; she da red neithe rspeak to h im nor look at h im , whether as aresult of the fear wh ich gri pped he r hea rt , orfrom lack of i nte l l igence . She cont i nued herway , walki ng slowly ; thereupon th e manslackened his pace , so as to remai n at a distanc e , which enabled h im to keep h is eyeupon her. He seemed to be the very shadowof the old woman . The c lock was striki ng

( 124 )


H o n ore de Ba lzac

The north wind , b lowing ove r the ButtesChaumont and from Bel lev i l l e, wh istledth rough the houses , or rath er th e hovels , scatte red about i n that a lmost un inhab ited valley,where th e d iv id i ng wal ls are bui l t of earth and

bones . That desolate spot seemed to be th enatura l refuge of poverty and despai r. The

man who had pers isted i n fol low ing thewretched c reature wh o was bold enough towa lk th rough those s i lent streets at n ight,seemed impressed by the spectac le presentedto h is eyes . He became thoughtful , and stoodi n evident hes itati on , i n the d im l ight of a Iantern whose feeble rays bare ly pierced the mist .Fear gave eyes to the old woman , whofanc ied that sh e could detect someth ing s in .

i ster i n the stranger’s features ; h er forme iterror reawoke , and , tak i ng advantage of theuncertai nty wh ich had checked h is advance ,to g l ide i n th e da rkness towards the door ofthe sol itary house

,sh e pressed a spri ng and

disappeared with magica l rapid ity .

The stranger, moti on less as a statue, gazed[ 125 ]

A n Episode un de r th e Te r ror

at that house , which was i n some measu re

th e type of th e wretch ed dwel l i ngs of th efaubourg. That unstable hovel , bu i lt of roughstones , was covered with a layer of yel lowplaster, so cracked that i t seemed i n danger of fa l l i ng before the s l ightest gust ofw ind . The roof, of dark brown ti les cov

ered with moss, had sunk i n severa l p la ces

so that it seemed l ikely to give way under th ewe ight of the snow . On each flo o r therewere th ree wi ndows , the sashes of which ,rotted by the dampness and shrunken by theheat of th e sun , made it c lea r that th e co ld airmust h nd an easy entrance i nto th e rooms .That isolated house

'

resembled an old towerwhich t ime had forgotten to dest roy. A faintl ight shone through the i rregu la r w i ndows ofthe attic at the top of the tumb le - down structure, wh i le a l l th e rest of the house was i n abso lute darkness . The old woman cl imbed ,not with out difficulty, th e steep , rough stai rcase , wh ich was suppl i ed with a rope insteadof a baluste r ; sh e knocked softly at the door

[ 127 ]

Hon oré de Ba lzac

of the apa rtment i n the attic , and droppedhast i ly upon a chai r wh ich an old man offeredher.

Hide ! h ide yourse lf ! she sa i d.

“Al

though we go out very se ldom , everythi ng thatw e do is known ; our footsteps are watched .

”

“What is there new, pray ?” asked an

other old woman who was seated by the fire .

“ The man who was prowl ing around theh ouse last nigh t fol lowed me to - night.At th ese words th e three Occupants of theatt i c l ooked at each other w ith i ndications o fprofound terror on thei r faces . The old manwas the least moved of the three , perhaps because h e was i n th e greatest danger. Underthe weight of a great calam ity , or under theyoke of persecution , a courageous man begi ns ,so to speak , by prepari ng to sacrifi ce h imse lf ;he looks u po n h is days simp ly as so manyv ictori es over dest i ny . The eyes o f th e twowomen, fastened upon th is o ld man , made iteasy to d iv i ne that he was the sole object

of th e ir i ntense anxi ety .

[ 128 ]


Hon oré de Ba lzac

som e one should try to enter. A personupon whose fidel ity w e can rely has undoubtedly taken al l necessa ry measures to cross thefront ier, and wil l come here to get the letterswh ich I have written to the Duc d e Langeaisand to the Marqu is de Beauseant ask ing themto consider the means of rescu ing you fromthi s terrib l e country , from the death or desti ~

tutio n which awaits you here .“ Then you do not mean to go w ith us ?

c ried the two nuns gent ly, with man ifestati onsof despa i r.My place is where th ere a re v ictims , sa i d

the priest s im p ly .

They held th ei r peace and gazed at the i rcompanion with devout adm i rati on .

“ Siste r Martha , he sa id , addressing th enun who had gone to buy the wafers , “ th em e ssenger I speak ofw i l l re ply ‘F z’zzt volun tasto the word Hosanna .

’

“ There i s some one on the sta i rs ! criedthe other nun

,openi ng the door of a h idi ng ,

place under the lower pa rt of the roof.I 1301

A n Episode un de r the Te r ror

Th is time they could pla i n ly h ear, am id th e

profound s i lence , the footsteps of a man uponthe sta i rs , which were covered with r idges

of hardened mud . The pri est c rept with difi i

culty i nto a sort of cupboard , and th e nun sthrew over h im a few pieces of apparel .

“ You may close th e door, Sister Agatha,h e sa id i n a muffl ed voice .

The pri est was ha rdly h idden when th ree

taps on th e door caused a shock to the twoh oly women , w ho consulted each other W it hthei r eyes , afra id to utter a s i ngle word . Eachof them seemed to be about s ixty years old .

Secl uded from th e world for forty yea rs , th eywere l ike plants hab ituated to the a i r of a hothouse , wh ich wi lt if they are taken from it.

Accustomed to the l ife of a convent , they wereunable to imagine a ny other l ife . One morni ng, the i r grati ngs hav ing been shatte red ,they shuddered to fi nd themse lves free . Onecan read i ly imagine th e speci es of imbec i l itywhich th e events of the Revolut ion had produc ed i n the i r i nnocent m i nds . I ncapable of

[ 131]

Hon oré de Ba l z ac

reconc i l i ng the i r conventual ideas w i th thedif ficult problems of l ife , and not even un

de rstanding th ei r s ituation , they resembled

c h i ldren who had been zealously cared forh itherto , and who , deserted by the i r motherlyprotector, prayed i nstead of weeping . And

so , i n face of the da nger which they ap

prehended at that moment , they remai nedmute and passive , having no conception ofany other defence than Christ ian res ignation .

The man who desi red to enter i nterpretedthat si lence to su it h imself; h e opened thedoor and appeared abruptly before them .

Th e two nuns shuddered as they recognisedth e man w ho had been prowl ing about thei rh ouse , making inqu i ri es about them ,

for

some time . They did not move , but gazedat h im with anxious curios ity , after the manner of the chi ldren of savage tribes , whoexamine strangers i n s i lence . He was tal la nd stout ; but there was noth ing in h is manner, or a ppearance , to i nd icate an evi l - mindedman . He im itated the immobil i ty o f th e nuns,

[ 1321


Hon oré de Ba lzac

expressed upon hi s face, and he cast a k i nd ly

g lance upon the two women , but seemed atleast as embarrassed as they . The stranges ilence preserved by al l th ree lasted but ashort t ime, for th e stranger at last d iv ined themental weakness and the i nexperience of thetwo poor creatures , and he sai d to them i n avoice wh ich he tried to soften : “ I do not

c ome here as an enemy , c it izenesses .He paused, and then resumed : My sisters,

i f any misfortune should happen to you , besure that I have had no part i n it. I have afavour to ask of you .

They sti l l remai ned si lent .If l annoy you , if l embarrass you , tel l m e

so frank ly, and I w i l l go ; but understand thatI am enti rely devoted to you ; that if

'

there i sany serv ice that I can do you , you mayemploy me w ithout fear ; that I a lone perhapsam above th e law, as t here is no longer ak i ng.

There was such a ring of truth i n thesewords that Siste r Agatha , the one of th e two

[134]

An Episode un de r th e Te rror

nuns who belonged to the fam i ly of Langeais ,and whose manners seemed to i nd icate thatsh e had formerly been fam i l ia r with magn ifi c ent fest iv iti es a nd had breathed th e a i r of

courts , i n stantly poi nted to one of the cha i rs ,a s if to requ est the i r guest to be seated . The

stranger man ifested a sort of m ixture of pleasure and melancholy when he saw that gestu re ;a nd he waited unt i l the two venerable womenwere seated , before seat ing himse lf.

“ You have given sh elter,he cont i nued

,

to a venerable unswo rn'

priest, who m iraculously escaped the massacre at th e Ca rmel i teconvent

Hosan na ! said Sister Agatha , i nte rrupti ng the stranger, and gazi ng at h im w i tha nx ious i nterest .

“ I don ’ t th i nk that that i s h is name , herepli ed .

But , monsi eur, said Sister Martha hast i ly ,we have n ’

t any priest h ere , andI n that case you must be more carefu l and

more prudent, retorted the stranger gently ,[ 135 ]


reaching to the tab le and taki ng up a brev iary .

“ I do not bel i eve that you know Lati n , and

He did not cont i nue , for the extraord inaryemot ion depicted on the faces of the unhappynuns made h im fee l that he had gone too far ;they were t rembl i ng , and the ir eyes werefi lled with tears .Do not be alarmed , he said to them cheer

i ly ;“ I know the name of your guest and you r

names ; and th ree days ago I was i nformed ofyour destitut ion and of your devotion to thevenerable Abbé ofHush ! sai d Sister Agatha i nnocent ly,

putt i ng her finger to her l i ps.You se e , my sisters , that if I had formed

the detestable plan of betray i ng you , I mightal ready have done i t more than once.When h e heard these words , the pri estemerged from his prison and appeared i n them idd le of th e room .

I cannot bel ieve , monsieu r, he said to thestranger, “ that you are one of our pe rsecut

[ 136 ]


Hon oré de Ba lzac

at midnight , return here , and I shal l be readyto celebrate th e on ly funera l serv ice which wecan offer i n expiati on of th e c rime to which

you refer.The stranger start ed ; but a feel i ng of satis

faction , at once gratefu l and solemn , seemedto t riumph over some sec ret grief. Having respe c tfully saluted the priest and th e two holywomen , he d isappeared , manifest i ng a sort ofm ute gratitude wh ich was understood bythose three nobl e hea rts . About two hou rsafte r th is scene the st ranger returned , knockedsoft ly at the att ic door, and was adm itted byMademoise l le de Beauseant, who escorted h imi nto the second room of that humble lodging,where everyth i ng had been prepared for theceremony .

Between two flues of the ch imney, th enuns had placed th e old commode, whoseanti quated shape was covered by a magn ifi

c ent altar- cloth of green s i lk . A large crucifix of ebony and ivory, fastened upon th ed iscoloured wal l , he ightened the effect of its

[ 138 ]

A n Episode un de r th e Te rror

bareness a nd i nev itably attracted th e eye.Four s lender l i tt l e tapers , which th e si ste rshad succeeded i n stand ing upon that improv ised a ltar by fixing them in seal i ng- wax ,cast a pale l ight , which the wa l l refl ectedd im ly. That faint gl eam barely l ighted th e

rest of th e room ; but , i n that it c onfined its

i l lum i nation to th e consec rated obj ects , i t resembled a ray of l ight from heaven upon

that undecorated a lta r. The fl oor was dam p .

The atti c roof, wh ich sloped sharply on boths ides , had various cracks th rough which a

b iti ng wind blew . Noth i ng less stately cou ldbe imagi ned , and yet perhaps there could benoth i ng more solemn than th is lugubri ousceremony .

A silence so profound that i t would haveenabled them to hear the fai ntest sound on

d istant thoroughfares , d iffused a sort of sombre majesty over that nocturnal scene . I nshort, th e gra ndeur of th e occas ion contrastedso stri ki ngly with the poverty of the surround ings

'

that th e resu lt was a sensati on of

( 139 )

Hon oré de Ba lzac

rel igi ous awe The two old nuns , kneel ingon the dam p flo or on e ither sid e of the a lta r,heed less of the deadly moistu re , prayed i nun ison w i th th e priest , who , clad in h is pontifical vestments , pre pared a golden cha l ic eadorned w i th precious stones, a consecratedvesse l rescued doubtless from th e plunderersof th e Abbey of Chel les . Beside that pyx ,an object of rega l magnifi cence , were thewater and wi ne d est ined for the sacrament ,i n tw o glasses hard ly worthy of the lowesttavern . In default of a m issal , the pri est hadplaced h is b reviary on a corner of the altar.A common plate was provided for th e washi ng of those i nnocent hands , pure of bloodshed. All was majest ic , and yet paltry ;poor, but noble ; profane and holy i n one .The stranger knelt p i ously between the twonuns . But suddenly

,when he not iced a band

of crape on th e chal i ce and on the c ruc ifix

for, havi ng noth i ng to i ndicate the purpose ofthat m ortuary mass, th e priest had drapedGod H imself i n mourn ing— he was assai led

[ 140]


Hon oré de Ba lzac

man whose face betrayed too much rem orsenot t o cause a bel i ef that h e was acting i nobed ience to an im pulse of unbounded re

pe ntanc e .

I nstead of say i ng the Lati n words : “ I n troz’boad altar e etc . , th e priest, obeying ad ivi ne i nsp i ration , l ooked at th e th ree personswho represented Ch ristian France , and said t othem , i n words wh i ch ef’faced the poverty ofthat w retched placeWe are about to enter i nto God ’s sa nc

tuary !

At these words , uttered w ith most imp ressive unct ion , a thri l l o f holy awe se izedthe stranger and the two nuns . Not beneaththe arches of St. Peter ’ s at Rome could Godhave appeared wi th more majesty than Hethen appeared i n that abode of poverty, before the eyes of th ose Ch ristians ; so true it i sthat between man and Him every i nte rmediaryseems useless

,and that He derives H i s grand

eur from H imself a lone . The stranger ’ s fervour was genu ine , so that the sentiment

[ 142 ]

An Episode un de r th e Te r ror

which jo ined the prayers of th ose four se rvants of God and the k i ng was unan imous .

The sacred words rang out l i ke ce lest ia lmusi c am id the s i lence . There was a mo

ment when tears ch oked th e stranger ’ s voice ;i t was during th e '

paternoster. The priestadded to it this Lat in prayer, which thestranger ev idently understood : “ E t r emz

'

tte

seelus r egz'

e z’

d is sz’

eut Ludow'

eus ez’

s r em z'

sz'

t

semetzpse / (And forgive the regic ides even a sLouis ! VI . h imself forgave them I) .

The two nuns saw two great tears leave amoist trace on the man ly ch eeks of the stra nger, and fal l to the flo o r. The Offi c e of th eDead was recited . The Domz

’

n e salvum fae

r egem, chanted i n a low voi ce , touch ed thehearts of those faithfu l roya l i sts , who reflec tedthat the i nfant k ing

,for whom they were p ray

i ng to the Most H igh at that moment, was aprisoner i n th e hands of hi s enemies. Thestranger shuddered at the thought that theremight sti l l be committed a new crime , i nw h ich he would doubtless be compelled to

[ 143 ]

Hon oré de Ba lzac

take part . When the servic e was at an end,th e pr i est moti oned to th e two nuns to w i thd raw . As soon as he was a lone with thes tranger, he walked towards h im with a m i ldand melancholy expressi on , and sa id to h imin a fatherly tone

“My son , if you have d i pped your hands i nt he blood of the martyr ki ng , confess to me .There i s no s i n whi ch , i n God ’s eyes , may notb e effaced by repentance so touch ing and sos i ncere as yours seems to b e .

At the fi rst words of th e priest , the strangerm ade an i nvo luntary gestu re of te rror ; but h isface resumed its tranquillity,

'

and he met theaston ished priest ’s eye with calm assurance.Father, he sa id to h im i n a percept ib ly

t remu lous vo ice , “ no one is more i nnocentt ha n I of bloodshed .

“ I am bound to bel ieve you, sa id thep riest .There was a pause , during which he ex

am ined the pen itent more c lose ly ; then , pers i st ing i n taki ng h im for one of those t im id

[ 144 ]


Hon oré de Ba lzac

part i sans of monarchy , shou ld be predom inant i n a l l m i l ita ry c odes , and the no less importa nt dogma wh ich san ctifies the respect dueto the person of k ings , the stranger was tooquick to se e i n th e pri est ’ s hes itat ion a favourable solut ion of th e doubts by wh ich h eseemed to be perturbed . Then , i n order togive the venerable jansen ist no longer time to

refle ct, he sa id t o h im“I should blush to offer you any sort o f

com pensation for th e funera l serv ice wh ichyou have just performed fo r th e repose of th ek i ng ’s soul and fo r th e re l i ef of my conscience .A th ing of i nest imabl e va lue can be pa id for

only by an offeri ng wh ich i s beyond al l price .

Deign,therefore , to accept , monsieu r, the gift

that I offer you o f a blessed re l ic . The daywi l l come , perhaps , when you wi l l rea l ise itsvalue .

As he sa id th is , the stranger handed th eecclesiasti c a smal l box of l ight we igh tthe pri est took i t i nvo luntari ly , so to speak ,for the solemn ity of the man ’s w o rds, ~ the

[ 146 ]

A h Episode un de r th e Te r ror

ton e i n wh ich he said them , and th e respectw i th wh ich he hand led the box , had su rpri sedh im beyond measure . They returned then tothe room where the two nuns were await ingth em .

“ You are , sa id the stranger , i n a house

whose owner, Muc ius Scaevola , the p lastererw ho l i ves on the fi rst floor , i s famous th roughout the sect ion for h is patr iot ism ; but he I Ssecret ly attached to th e Bourbons . He used

to be a h untsman i n th e serv ice of Mo nse ign

eur Ie Prince d e Conti , and he owes h is fortune to h im . I f you do not go out of h ishouse , you are safer than i n any plac e i n

France . Stay here . Devout hearts w ill attend to your necess it i es , and you may awaitw ith out danger less ev i l t imes . A year hence ,on the twenty - fi rst of J anuary (as he men

tio n ed the date he cou ld not restra i n a n invo l

un tary gesture) , i f you conti nue to occupythis d ismal apartment, I wi l l return to ce lebrate aga i n a mass of expiat i on .

He sa id no more He bowed to the s i lent( 147 1

Hon oré de Ba lzac

occupants of the att i c, cast a last glance u ponth e evidences of the ir poverty, and went away .

To the two innocent nuns , such an adventure had a l l the i nterest of a romance ; and so ,

as soon as th e venerable abbé i nformed themof the mysterious gift so solemnly bestowedupon h im by that man , the box was placedu pon the tabl e and the th ree anxious faces ,dim ly l igh ted by the candle , betrayed ani ndesc ribab le curios ity . Mademoisel le deLangeais opened the box, and found therei na handkerch ief of fi nest l i nen , drenched withpersp irat ion ; and , on unfold ing it, they saw

sta i ns .

I t i s b lood ! said th e pri est.I t i s marked with th e royal c rown ! cried

the other nun .

The two s isters dropped the prec ious rel icwith a gesture of horror. To th ose two ingenuous souls the mystery i n wh ich th estranger was enveloped became altogetheri nexpl icable ; and as for the pri est , from thatday he d id not even seek an explanati on of it.

[ 148 ]



benefi cence , wh i ch was a lways as i ngeniousas it was time ly . The noble occupants of theatt ic could not doubt that thei r protector wasthe person who had come to ask the pri estto c elebrate th e mortua ry mass on the even i ng of the twenty - second of January , 1793 ;

so that he became the object of a pecul ia r sort

of worsh i p to those three bei ngs , who hadno h ope except in h im , and l ived only th roughh im . They had added spec ia l prayers forh im to th ei r da i ly devotions ; night and m om

i ng those p i ous sou l s offered up entreaties forh is happ iness

,for h is prosperi ty , for h i s salva

t ion , and prayed to God to rescue him from

all snares , to del iver h im from h is enem ies ,and to grant h im a long and peaceful l ife .

The i r gratitude , bei ng renewed every day , soto speak

, w as necessari ly accompanied by afee l i ng of curios ity which became more intense from day to day . The ci rcumstanceswh ich had attended the appea rance of thestranger were the subject of th ei r conversa

ti on ; they formed innumerabl e conjectures( 1501

A h Episode un de r th e Te r ror

about h im , and the d ivers i on wh ich th ei r preoccupat ion w ith h im afforded them was abenefact ion of a new sort . They were fully

d eterm ined not to a l low the st ranger to evadethe ir friendsh i p when he shou ld return , ac

cord ing to h is promise , to commemorate th esad ann iversa ry of th e death of Louis ! VI .That night , so impatiently awaited , came atlast . At midnight they heard th e sound of

th e stranger ’s heavy steps on the old , woodenstai rcase ; th e room had been a rrayed to . re

c e ive h im , the a lta r was i n place . This t ime

th e si ste rs opened the door beforehand andwent forth eagerly t o l ight the sta i rcase .

Mademoise l l e de Langea is even went downa few steps i n order to see her benefacto r theso on en

“ Come , she said to h im i n a tremu lousand affectionate voice , “ come , we are waiti ng for you .

The man ra ised h is head , cast a gloomyglance upon the nun , and made no reply .

She felt as if a garment of ice had fa l len upon( 1511


her, and she said n o more ; at s ight of him ,

grati tude and curios ity expi red i n al l the irhearts . He may have been less cold , less s i lent ,l ess awe - i nsp i ring than he a ppeared to th ose

poor souls , whom the exa ltat i on of thei r feeli ng i ncl i ned to an out pouri ng of friend l i ness.The th ree unhappy pri soners, understanding

that h e proposed to rema in a stranger tothem , res igned themselves to it . The priestfanc i ed that he detected upon the stranger ’ s

l i ps a sm ile that was i nstant ly repressed whenhe saw th e preparat ions that had been madeto rece ive h im . He hea rd the mass andprayed ; but h e d isappeared afte r respond ingby a few words of negat ive courtesy to Madem o ise lle de Langeais

’

s i nv itat i on to share th el i ttl e supper th ey had prepared .

After the n inth of Thermidor the nuns wereable to go about Pari s with out danger. Th eo ld pri est ’s fi rst errand was to a perfumer ’ sshop, at the s ign of La Reine des F leurs,kept by Ci ti ze n and C i t izeness Ragon , formerly perfumers to the Court , who had remai ned

[ 152]


Hon oré de Ba lzac

The crowd passed l ike a flood . Abbe deMaro l les , y i e ld ing to an im pu lse of curiosi ty ,saw over th e sea of h eads , stand ing on thet umbri l , the man who , th ree days before , hadl istened to h is mass .

“Who is that, h e said , “ that man

who

“ That i s the h eadsman , repl ied Mons ieu rRagon , giv i ng the executi oner his monarch ica lname .My dear, my dear, cri ed Madame Ragon ,monsieur I 'abbe is fa i nti ng !And the old woman se ized a phial of salts,

i n order to bri ng th e old priest to h imself.“Doubtl ess , sa i d th e old priest , “ he gave

m e th e handkerchi ef w ith wh ich the ki ngwiped h i s brow when he went to h is martyrd om ! Poor man ! That stee l knife had a

heart , when all France had none !The perfumers thought that the unfortunatepri est was del i ri ous .

1830.


Hon oré de Ba lzac

paths , formerly gravel led, a re overrun w ithpurs lane ; but , to tel l th e truth , th ere are n ow e lI- marked path s .

From th e top of the mountai n upon wh ichhang th e ru i ns of th e old chateau of th e Dukesof Vendome , th e only spot from which theeye can look i nto th is enc losure , you wouldsay to yourse lf that , at a period wh ich i t i sdifficult ! to determ ine , that l i ttle nook was thede l ight of som e gentleman devoted to rosesand tul i ps , t o hort iculture i n sh o rt , but espec ially fond of fi ne fru it. You espy an arbour ,or rather the ru ins of an arbou r , beneathwhi ch a table sti l l stands , not yet enti re l yconsumed by time At sigh t of that garden ,wh ich i s no longer a garden , one may div i nethe negat ive del igh ts of the peaceful l ife wh ichprovi ncia ls lead , as one d iv i nes th e ex istenceof a worthy tradesman by read ing the ep i taphon hi s tombstone . To round out th e melanch o ly yet sooth ing thoughts wh ich fi l l th em i nd , th ere i s on one of th e wal ls a su n - d ia l ,embel l i shed w i th th is commonplace Ch ristian

[ 158 1

L a Gran de B r e téc h e

i nscri pti on : ULT IMAM COGITA. The roof of th ehouse i s terribly d i lapidated , th e bl i nds arealways d rawn , the ba lcon ies are covered withswa l low ’s - nests , the doors a re never Opened .

Tal l weeds mark with green l i nes the cracks

i n the ste ps ; the i ronwork is covered w ithrust . Moon , sun , w i nte r, summer, snow ,

have rotted th e wood, warped the boards ,and corroded the pai nt.The death ly si lence wh ich reigns there isdisturbed only by th e b i rds , th e cats , th emartens , th e rats and the m ice , wh ich a re atl iberty to run about , to figh t, and to eat on eanother at the i r wi l l . An i nv is ible hand haswritten everywhere the word MYSTERY. If,

impel led by curi osi ty,you sh ould go t o in

spect the house on the street s ide , you wouldsee a h igh gate arched at the top , i n wh ichthe ch i ldren of the neighbou rhood have madenumberless h oles . I lea rned late r that thatgate had been condemned ten years before .Through these i rregular b reach es you wouldbe able to observe th e perfect harmony

[ 159]

Hon oré de Ba lzac

between th e garden front and' the cou rtya rdfront. The same disorder reigns supreme inboth . Tufts of weeds surround the pavem ents . Enormous cracks furrow the wal ls ,whose blackened tops are en laced by thec ountless tendri ls of cl imbing plants . The

s teps are w re nched apart , the be l l - rope is rott en , the gutters are broken . What fi re fromheaven has passed th i s way ? What tribunalhas ordered sa lt to be strewn upon thi s dwel ling P Has God been i nsu lted here P Has Fra ncebeen betrayed ? Such are th e quest ionsw hi ch one asks one ’ s self. The repti les craw lh i ther and th ith er without answeri ng. Thatempty and deserted house i s an immense ridd le , the solution of whi ch is known to no one .I t was formerly a smal l feudal estate and

b ore the name of La Grande Breteche . During my stay at Vendome , where Desple in hadleft me to attend a ri ch pat ient , the aspect oft hat strange bu i ld i ng became one of my keene st pleasures . Was i t not more than a mereruin P Some souven irs of unden iab le authen

[ 160]



the most di verse images of human life darkened by its m isfortunes ; now it was thea i r of the cloi ster , minus the monks ; agai n ,th e perfect peace of the cemetery , minus th edead speaking thei r epi taph ic la nguage ; t oday, th e house of the leper ; to - morrow , th atof the Fates ; but it was , above a l l , the imageof th e provi nce , w i th i ts med itati on , w ith itshour- glass l ife . I h ave often wept th ere, butnever laugh ed . More than once I have feltan i nvoluntary terror, as I h eard above myhead the low rust li ng made by th e W i ngs ofsome hurry ing dove . The ground is damp ;you must beware of l izards , snakes , and toads ,Wh ich wander about there with the fearless l ibe rty of nature ; above a l l , you must not fearthe co ld , for , after a few seconds , you feel a nicy c loak resting upon your shoulders , l i ke thehand of the Commendator on the neck ofDon Juan . One even ing I had shudderedthere ; the wind had twisted an old rustyweathervane

,whose shri eks resembled a

groan utte red by the house at the moment[ 162]

L a Gran de B re téch e

that I was finishing a rather d ismal melod rama

,by wh ich I sought to explai n to myself

that spec ies of monumental grief. I returnedto my i n n , beset by sombre thoughts . WhenI had supped , my hostess entered my roomwith a mysterious a i r, and sa id to me :Here i s Monsieu r Regnault, mons ieu r.Who i s Mons ieur Regnault P”

What ! Monsi eu r d oes n ’

t know Monsieu rRegnault P That

’

s funny ! sh e said , as shel eft th e room .

Sudden ly I saw a tal l , sl ender man , dressedi n black , with h is hat i n h is hand , who en

te red the room l ike a ram ready to rush a t h i sriva l , d isc losi ng a retreat ing forehead , a sma l l ,poi nted head , and a pale face , not un li ke aglass of d i rty water. You would have sa i dthat he was the doorkeeper of some m inister.He wore an old coat , th readbare at the seams ;but he had a diamond i n h is sh i rt- fri l l andgold rings i n h is ea rs .To whom have I th e honou r of speaki ng

,

mons ieur ? I asked h im .

[163 ]

Hon oré de Ba lzac

He took a cha i r, seated h imse lf i n front ofmy fi re , placed h is hat on my tabl e , and re

pl i ed , rubbi ng h is handsAh ! it ’s very cold ! I am Monsi eur Reg

nault , monsi eur.I bowed , say i ng to myse lf11Bondoean z

’

! Look for h im !I am the notary at Vendome , he co n

tinued.

“ I am del ighted to hear it, mons ieur, Iexcla imed , “ but I am not ready to make mywi l l , for reasons best known to myse lf.J ust a

' minute , he rejoi ned , ra is ing h ishand as if to impose si l ence upon me . “ Ibeg pardon , monsieu r, I beg pardon ! I haveheard that you go t o walk sometimes i n thegarden of La Grande B reteche .Yes , mons ieur'

J ust a m i nute , he sa id , repeating h is gesture ;

“ that practi ce const i tutes a d ownrighttrespass. I have come , mons ieu r, i n th e nameand as executor of the late Madame Countess de Me rret, to beg you to d iscont inue

[ 164 ]



annua l ly from the fund set aside for that purpose by the late countess . Ah ! her w i l l madea great dea l of ta lk i n Vendome , monsieur.At that , h e stopped to blow h is nose , th eexcel l ent man . I res pected h is loquac ity , uhde rstanding perfectly that the admin ist rat ionof Madame de Me rret ’s property was the important

'

eve n t of hi s l ife — hi s reputat ion , h isg lory , h is Restorati on . I m ust needs bi d ad ieuto my pleasa nt reveries , to my romances ; sothat I was not inc lin ed‘

to scorn the p leasu reof learn ing the truth from an offic ial source .

“Would it be indiscreet , monsi eur, I askedh im , to ask you th e reason of th is extrao r

dinary state of affai rs PAt that question an express ion wh ich be

trayed a l l the p leasure that a man feels whoi s accustomed to ride a hobby passed overth e notary ’ s face . He pulled up h is shi rt colla r w ith a se If—satisfi ed a i r, produced his snuffbox , opened it, offered it to me , and at myrefusal , took a famous p i nch h imself. He washappy ; the man who has no hobby has no

[ 166 ]


id ea of th e satisfact ion that can be derivedfrom life . A hobby is the p rec ise mean be

tween pa ss ion and monoman ia . At that mo

ment I understood th e w itty expressi on ofSterne i n a l l its extent , and I had a perfect con

c eptio n of th e joy w ith wh ich Uncl e Toby , w ithTrim ’ s ass istance , bestrod e h is battl e- horse .“ Mons ieur, sa id Monsi eu r Regnau lt , “ I

was ch ief c lerk to Master Roguin of Paris .An exce l l ent o f fic e , of wh ich you may havehea rd ? No ? Why, i t was made famous bya d isast rous fai lu re . Not hav i ng sufficient

money to p racti se i n Pari s , at the p rice towhich offi ces had risen i n 18 16, I came here

and bought the o ffic e of my predecesso r. Ihad re lat i ves i n Vendome , among others avery ri ch aunt , who gave me her daughter i nmarriage . Mons ieu r

,he cont i nued after a

bri ef pause , th ree month s afte r being l icensedby th e K eeper of th e Sea ls I was sent for oneeven ing, just as I was going to bed (I wasnot then marri ed) , by Madame Countess deMe rret, to come to her Chatea u de Me rret.

[ 167 ]


Her maid, an exce l le nt girl who works i n th i si n n to- day, was at my door w ith madamecou ntess ’s ca rriage . But, j ust a minute ! Imust tel l you , monsieu r, th at Monsi eurCount de Me rret had gone to Pari s to d ie ,two months before I came h ere . He diedm iserably there , abandoning h imself to excesses of a l l sorts . You understand P— On

th e day‘

o f hi s depa rture madame countesshad left La Grande Breteche and had disman

tled it. I ndeed , some people declare that sh ebu rned the furn iture and hangings

,and all

chatte ls whatsoever now conta ined i n the estate leased by the sa id — What on earth am Isaying ? I beg pardon , I th ought I was d ictat i ng a lease . That she burned them , heconti nued , “

in th e fi eld s at Me rret. Have

you been to Me rret, mons ieu r ? No P” h e

sa id , answeri ng h is own question . Ah !that is a lovely spot ! for about th ree months ,

”

he cont i nued , afte r a s l ight shake of the h ead ,monsieu r count and madame countess led a

strange l ife.[ 168 ]



mi st ress had rece ived th e sacrament from thecuré of Me rret during the day, and that shed id not seem l ikely to l i ve th rough th e n ight.I reached the chateau about eleven o ’ clock ;

I mounted the mai n stai rcase . After pass ingthrough d ivers large rooms , h igh and dark ,and as co ld and damp as th e devi l , I reachedth e state bedchamber where th e countess was .Accord i ng to th e report s that were cu rrentconcern i ng that lady — I should n ever end ,monsieur, if I shou ld repeat a l l th e stories thatare to ld about h er— I had th ought of her as acoquette . But , if you p lease , I h ad much d ifficulty i n finding her i n th e huge bed i n wh ichsh e lay . To be sure , to l igh t that enormouswai nscoted chamber of th e o ld regime, whereeveryth ing was so covered w i th dust that itmade one sneeze sim ply to look at it , she hadonly one of those old - fash i oned Argand lamps .Ah ! but you have never been to Me rre t.Well , monsi eu r, th e bed is one of those bedsof the olden time , w i th a h igh canopy offlow e red materi al . A sma l l n ight - table stood

[ 170]

L a Gran de Br e teche

besi de th e bed , and I saw u pon it a copy ofthe Imitation of j esus Ch r ist, which , by theby , I bought for my wife , as wel l as th e lam p .

There was a lso a large couch for the attendant,and two cha i rs . Not a spark of fi re . Thatwas al l the furnitu re . I t wou ld n ’

t have fi lledte n l i nes i n an i nventory .

Oh ! my dear monsi eu r, if you had seen , asI th en saw it, that huge room hung w i th darkta pest ry , you would have imagi ned yourselft ra nsported i nto a genui ne scene from a nove l .I t was icy cold ; and , more than that, abso l

ute ly funereal , he added , ra i si ng h is arm with

a theatrica l gesture,and pausi ng for a moment.

“ By l ook ing hard and wa lk ing c lose to thebed , I succeeded i n d iscovering Madame de

Me rre t, thanks to th e lamp , th e l ight of wh ichshone upon th e pi l l ow . Her face was as ve ll ow as wax, and resembled two c laspedhands . She wore a lace cap, which revealedher lovely hai r, as white as snow . She wass itti ng up, and seemed to reta i n that pos it i onwith much diffi cu lty . Her great black eyes,

[ 171 ]


dul led by fever no doubt , and already almostl ife less , hard ly moved beneath the bones whichthe eyebrows cover— these , he sa id , poi nt ingto th e arch over h is eyes . Her brow was

moist. Her flesh less hands resembled bonescovered w ith tightly - d rawn ski n ; her ve insand musc les could be seen perfectly . She

must have been very beaut iful ; but at that

moment - I was se ized with an indefinable feeli ng at her aspect . Never before , accord ing to

those who la id her out , had a l iv i ng creatureatta ined such th inness w i thout dy i ng. I n short ,she was h orr ib le to look at di sease had so

wasted that woman that she was nothi ngmore than a phantom . Her pa le v iolet l i ps

seemed not to move when she spoke to me.

A lthough my professi on had fam i l ia ris ed mewith such spectacles, by taki ng me sometimes to th e pi l lows of dy i ng persons to takedown thei r last w i sh es , I confess that thefami l ies i n tears and despa ir whom I had seenwere as noth ing beside that sol itary, si lentw oman i n that enormous chateau .

[ 172]



moment ; then she made a last effort to w i thd raw her hand , and when she finally produceda sealed paper, d rops of sweat fel l from herbrow .

‘I p lace my will i n your hands, ’ sh esa id .

‘0 mon Dz

'

eu, oh !’ That was al l .

She grasped a c ruc ifix th at lay on he r bed ,hasti ly put i t to her l i ps , and died . The expression o f h er stari ng eyes makes me shuddereven now , when I th i nk of it She musthave suffered terrib ly ! There was a gleam ofjoy in h er last glance , a sentiment wh ich remained i n her dead eyes .“ I carri ed the w i l l away ; and wh en it was

opened , I found that Madame de Me rret hadappoi nted m e her executor . She left all herproperty to the hospital at Vendome with theexcept ion of a few i nd ividual legac ies . Butthese were her prov isi ons with respect to La

Grande B reteche : She d i rected m e to leaveher h ouse , for fifty years from the day of herdeath , i n th e same condition as at the momentthat sh e d ied ; forbidd i ng any person whatsoever to enter the rooms , forb iddi ng the sl ight

[ 174 ]

L a Gran de Bre teche

est repa i rs to be made , and even setti ng as i dea sum i n ord er t o h i re keepers , if it sh ould be

found necessary , to assure t he l i tera l exe cu

t i on of her pu rpose . At th e expi rati on of thatperiod , if the des i re of the testat rix has bee n

carried out , th e house is to belong to my hei rs ,for monsieur k nows that n otari es ca nnot ac

cept legaci es . If not , La Grande Breteche i sto revert to whoever is entitl ed to it, but w it hthe obl igat ion to comply with th e condit i ons

set forth i n a cod ici l attached to the w i l l , whichis not to be opened unt i l th e exp i rat ion of thesai d fifty years . The wil l was not attacked ;and soAt that, without fi nish i ng h is sentence , theelongated notary glanced at me with a t riumphant ai r, and I made h im a ltogeth er happyby address ing a few compliments to h im .

Mons ieur, I sa id , “ you have made a profound im press ion upon me , so that I th i nk I

se e that dy i ng woman , pa ler than h er sheets ;her gleami ng eyes terrify me ; and I sh al ld ream of her to- night . But you must have

[ 175 ]


formed some conj ecture concern i ng th e prov is ions of that extraord inary w i l l .

“Monsi eu r, he sa id w ith a com ical reserve , “ I never al low myself to judge theconduct of those persons who honour me bygiv ing me a d iamond .

I soon loosened the tongue of the sc rupu

lous Ve ndom ese notary , wh o commun icatedto me , not w i thout long digressions , observat ions due to th e p rofound pol itic ians of bothsexes wh ose decrees are law i n Vendome .But those observations were so contrad ictoryand so d iffuse that I a lmost fe l l asleep , despiteth e i nterest I took i n that authenti c narra ti ve .The dul l and monotonous tone of the notary

,

w ho was accustomed , no doubt , to l isten toh imself

,and to force his c l ients a nd his fe l low

cit izens to l isten to h im , tri umphed over my

cur i osi ty .

“ Aha ! many peopl e , monsieur, he sa id tome on th e land ing, would l ik e to l iv e fortyfive years more ; but just a m inute ! and with

a s ly express ion he p laced h is right fore[ 176 ]


Hon oré de Ba lzac

gloomy story of Madame de Me rret. At eachsentence my h ostess th rust out h er neck ,gazi ng at me with th e true i nnkeeper ’ s perspicac ity

— a so rt of happy med ium betweenthe i nsti nct of th e detective , the cunn ing ofthe spy , and th e craft of the trader.

“My dear Madame Lepas , I added, a s Iconcluded , “ you evident ly know more , eh PI f not, why shou ld you have come up here POh ! on an honest woman ’s word , as t rue

as my nam e ’

s Lepas“ Don ’ t swear ; your eyes are big w ith a

secret . You knew Mons ieu r d e Me rre t. Whatsort of a man was h e P”

Bless‘my soul ! Mons ieur de Me rre t wasa fi ne man , whom you never could see thewho le o f, he was so long ; a n exce l lent gentleman , who came here from Picardy , a nd whohad h i s brai ns very nea r h is cap , as we sayhere . He paid cash for everyth ing, i n ordernot to have troubl e w ith anybody . You see,he was l ive ly . We women all found h im

very agreeable .[ 118 ]


Because he was live ly P I asked .

That may b e , she sa id .

“ You know ,

monsieur, that a man must have had someth ing in front of him , as th ey say, to marryMadame de Me rre t, w ho ,

without say i ng anyth i ng agai nst th e others , was the lovel i est andrichest woman i n the who le prov ince . Sh ehad about twenty thousand francs a yea r.The who le town went to her weddi ng . Thebride was da i nty and att ract ive , a real j ewelof a woman . Ah ! th ey made a ha ndsome

coupl e at that t ime I

Did they l ive happi ly together ?Oh dear ! oh dear ! yes and no , so far as

any one cou ld te l l ; for, as you can imagine ,we folks d id n ’

t l ive on i ntimate te rms withthem . Madame de Me rre t was a ki nd - heartedwoman , very p l easant , w ho had to suffe rsometimes perha ps from her h usband ’s qu icktemper ; but a lthough he was a b it proud , wel i ked h im . You see , i t was h is bus iness to bel ike that ; when a man is n ob le , you know

“ However , some catastrophe must have[ 179 ]

Hon oré de Ba lzac

happened , to make Monsieu r and Madame deMe rret separate so violently ?

“ I d id n ’

t say there was any catast rophe ,monsieu r . I don ’ t know anythi ng about it. ”

“ Good ! I am sure now that you know

al l about it.Well , monsi eur, I

’ l l te l l you al l I know.

When I saw Monsi eur Regnault come up toyour room , I had an idea that he would talkto you about Madame de Me rret i n connect i on with La Grande Breteche . That gaveme the idea of consult i ng w i th mons ieu r,who seems to m e a man of good judgment

and i ncapable of play ing fa lse with a poorwoman l ike me , who neve r d id anybody anyharm , a nd yet who

’

s troub led by her conscience. Up to th i s time I

’

ve neve r dared tospeak out to th e people of th i s neighbourhood , for th ey

’

re al l sharp- tongued gossi ps.And then , mons ieur, I

’

ve never had a gueststay i n my i nn so long as you have , and towhom I could tel l the story of the fifteenthousand francs .

( 1801


Hon oré de Ba lzac

man for a Spaniard , who they say are all

ugly. He was only five feet two or th reei nches tal l , but he was w e lI- bui lt ; he hadl itt le hands , which h e took care o f oh ! youshould have seen ; h e had as many brushesfor his hands as a woman has for a l l purposes !He had long, black ha i r, a flash ing eye , andrather a copper- coloured sk in , which I l i keda l l the s ame . He wore such fine l i nen as Inever saw before on a ny one , although I haveenterta ined princesses , and among othersGeneral Bertrand , t he Duke and Duchess

d’

Abrantes, Mons ieu r Decaz es, and the K i ngof Spa i n . He did n ’

t eat much ; but he hadpol ite and pleasant manners , so that I could n

’

t

be angry with h im for it. Oh ! I was veryfond of him , a lthough he did n

’

t say fourwords a day, and it was impossible to havethe s l ightest c onversation w i th h im ; i f anyone spoke to h im , he would n ’

t answer ; i t

was a fad , a man ia that they al l have, so theyte l l me . He read h is b rev iary l ik e a priest ,h : went to mass a nd to al l the serv ices regu

[ 132]


Iarly. Where did he sit P We noticed thatlater : about two steps from Madame de Mer

ret ’s p rivate chapel . As he took h is seatth ere the fi rst t ime that he came to thechurch , nobody imagined that there was anydesign i n it. Besid es , he never took h is face

o ff h is p rayer- book , the poor young man !I n the even ing , monsi eur, he used to walk onthe mounta i n , among the ru i ns of the chateau .

That was th e poor man ’ s on ly amusement ;he was rem inded of h is own country there .

They say that there’

s noth i ng but mounta i nsi n Spai n .

Very soon after he came here he began tostay out late . I was a nxious when he did n ’

t

come home t il l m idn ight ; but w e a l l got usedto his wh im ; he wou ld take the key of thedoor, and we wou ld n

’

t wait for h im . He

l i ved i n a house that we have on Rue de

Casernes . Then one of ou r stab lemen toldus that one n ight , when he took the horses tod rink , he thought he saw the Span ish grandeeswimming fa r out i n the river, l i ke a rea l fish .

[ 183 ]


When he came back , I to ld h im to be carefu lof the eel—grass ; he seemed vexed that h e hadbeen seen i n the wate r. At last, monsi eu r, on eday , or rather one morn ing , we did n

’

t fi nd h imi n his room ; he had n

’

t come home . By hunti ng carefu l ly everywhere , I found a writi ngi n h is table drawer, where there were fifty of

the Span ish gold- pieces wh ich they cal l por tu

gaz'

ses, and which were worth about five

thousand francs a nd then there was tenthousand francs ’ wort h of d iamonds i n a l itt lesea led box . His writ i ng said that i n case hed id n ’

t return , he left us th i s money and hi sd iamonds , on condit i on that we would foundmasses to thank God for h is escape and hi ssa lvat i on . I n those days I st i l l had my man ,w ho went out to look for h im . And h ere ’

s

th e fun ny part of the story : he brought backth e Span iard ’s clothes, which he found undera b ig stone i n a sort of shed by th e ri ver, onthe chateau s ide , a lmost oppos ite La Grand eBreteche .My husband went there so early that no

( 1841


Hon oré de Ba lzac

knows someth i ng , but i t ’s im possib le t omake he r ta lk .

Afte r conversing a moment more with me ,my hostess l eft me beset by undefined andd ismal th ough ts , by a romanti c sort of curio sity , a rel igi ous terror n ot un l ike the intenseemotion that se izes us when we enter a darkchurch at n ight a nd see a d im l ight i n thed i stance under the l ofty arch es ; a vague figure gl idi ng a long, or th e rustl i ng of a dress ora su rp l i ce ; i t makes us shudde r. La GrandeBretech e and its tal l weeds , its condemnedw i ndows, its rusty i ronwork , i ts c losed doors ,i ts deserted rooms , sudden ly appeared be

fore me i n fantast ic guise . I t ri ed to penetrate that mysterious abode, seek ing there the

kerne l of that sombre story , of that dramawhi ch had caused the death of th ree persons .

I n my eyes Rosal ie was th e most i nterest i ngperson i n Vendome . As I sc ruti n ised her, Idetected traces of some i nmost thought , des pite the robust health that sh one u pon herplump cheeks . There was i n her some seed

[ 186 ]


of remorse or of hope ; he r manner announceda secret, as does that of the devotee who prayswith excessi ve fervour, or that of th e infa ntic ide , who constant ly hears h er ch i ld ’ s last cry .

However, her attitud e was artless a nd natura l ,her stupid sm i le had no trace of crimi na l ity ,and you wou ld have voted her i nnocent s im plyby glanc i ng at th e large handkerch ief withred and blue squa res wh ich covered her v ig

o rous bust, co nfined by a gown with wh iteand v iolet st ri pes .No , I thought , “ I won ’ t leave Vendome

without learn ing the whole story of La Gra ndeB reteche . To obta i n my e nd , I w i l l becomeRosa l ie ’s frie nd , if it is absolutely necessary.

”

Rosa l i e P” I said one even ing.

What i s it, mons ieu r ?You are not ma rr i ed PShe started s l ightly .

Oh I l sha ’ n ’

t lack men when I take afancy to be unhappy I ” sh e sa id w ith a laugh .

She speed i ly ove rcame h e r i nward emotion ;fo r all women , from the great lady down to

[18 7 ]


th e servant at an i nn , have a self- possess ionwh ich is pecu l iar to them . 1

You are fresh and appet is ing enough nott o lack su itors . But te l l me , Rosal ie , whyd id you go to work i n an i n n when you leftMadame de Merret ’s P Did n ’

t she l eave yousome money P”

“ Oh yes ! but my place is the best i nVendome , monsi eu r.

”

This reply was one of those which j udgesand lawyers ca l l d i latory . Rosal ie seemed tom e to occupy i n that romant ic story th e positio n of the square i n th e midd le of the ch essboard ; she was at the very cent re of i nterestand of truth ; she seemed to me to be t iedu p i n the clew ; it was no longer an ord i na rycase of attempti ng seducti on ; there was i nthat gi rl the last chapter of a romance ; and so ,from that moment , Rosa l ie became th e objec tof my attentions . . By di nt of study i ng th egi rl , I observed i n h er, as i n a l l women towhom we devote al l our thoughts , a m ultitudeof good qua l it i es : she was neat and c lean , and

[ 188 ]


Hon oré de Balzac

th ere certa in ly i s a n attitude of t rust and sec urity essentia l to the te l l ing of a story . Thebest stories a re to ld at a certa i n hou r, and atthe tab le , as we a l l a re now . No one ever tolda story wel l wh i le stand i ng , or fast ing . Butif i t were necessa ry to reproduce fa ithfu l lyRosa l i e ’s difl‘use eloquence , a whole vo lumewou ld hardly suffi ce . Now , as the eventof which she gave me a confused accountoccup i ed , between the loquac i ty of the notaryand that of Madame Lepas , the exact positi onof the mean terms of an a rithmetica l proporti on between the two ext remes , i t i s onlynecessary for m e to repeat it to you i n a fewwords . Therefore I abridge .The room which Madame de Me rret o c cu

p i ed at La Grande B reteche was on the groundfloor. A smal l c loset , about four feet deep ,i n th e wal l , se rved as her wardrobe . Threemonths before the even ing , the i ncidents ofwhich I am about to narrate , Madame d eMe rret had been so serious ly i ndisposed thather husband left her a lone i n her room and

11901


sle pt i n a room on the fi rst fl oor. By one ofthose chances which it is im poss ible to forese e , he returned .home , on the even i ng i nquesti on

,two hours later than usua l , from the

c lub to wh ich he was accustomed to go to readthe newspapers and to ta lk po l i t i cs with thepeop le of the neighbourhood . H is wife supposed that he had come home , and had gone tobed and to s lee p . But the i nvasi on of Francehad given rise to a l ive ly d iscuss ion ; t h e gam eof bi ll ia rd s had been very c lose , and he hadlost forty francs , a n enormous sum at Ven

dome , where everybody hoards m oney , andwhere manners are c onfined w ith i n the l im it sof a modesty worthy of a l l p ra ise , wh ich pe rhaps i s the source of a tru e happi ness ofwh ich no Paris ia n has a susp ic i on .

For some time past,Monsi eu r d e Me rre t had

contented himse lf with ask ing Rosa l i e if h isw i fe were i n bed ; at the gi rl

’ s rep ly , alway s i nthe af firm ative , he went immediately t o h is ownroom with the readi ness born of hab it and c onfide nc e . But on return ing home that eveni ng ,

[ 191]


he took it i nto h is head to go to Madame deMe rret

’

s room , to tel l her of h i s m isadventure and perhaps a lso to console h imself for it.During dinner he had remarked that Madamede Me rret was very coquettish ly dressed ; hesaid to h imself, as he walked home from thec lub , that h i s wife was no longer i l l , that herconval escence had improved her ; but he perc e ived it,

- as husbands not ice everyth ing , a l itt lelate . Instead of cal l i ng Rosal i e , who at thatmoment was busy i n th e k itchen , watch i ng thecook and the coachman play a difi‘icult handof br z

’

sque, Mons ieur d e Me rret went to h iswife ’ s room , l ighted by h is lantern , which he

had placed on th e top step of th e sta i rs . I- lis

footstep, easi ly recognised , resou nded undert he arches of the corridor. At th e instant thathe turned the knob of h is wife ’ s door, he fan

c ied that he heard the door of the c loset thatI have menti oned close ; but when he en

te red, Madame de Me rret was alone , stand ingi n front of th e hearth . The husband naivelyt o nc luded that Rosa l i e was i n the closet ;

11921


Hon oré de Ba lzac

for sh e stayed for some moments i n the corrido r, Monsieu r de Me rret took h is stand i nfront of h is wife , and sa id to he r cold ly

“ Madame, th ere is some one i n yourcloset PShe looked at her husband calmly, and re

pl ied simply '

“ No , mons i eur.That no tore Monsi eu r de Me rret ’s heart ,for he d id not bel i eve it ; and yet h is w i fehad never seemed to h im purer and moreholy than sh e seemed at that moment . He

rose t o open the closet door ; Madame deMe rret took h is hand , stopped h im , looked ath im with a melancholy express ion , and saidi n a voice strangely m oved :

“ If you fi nd no one , refle ct that a l l i s at anend between us !The i ndescribab le d ign ity of h is wife ’s att itude reawoke the gent leman ’s profound es

teem for her, and inspi red i n h im one of thoseresolutions wh ich requi re on ly a vaster theatrei n order to bec ome immorta l .

[ 194 ]


No , he said , “ I wi l l not do it, J oseph i ne .I n e ither case , we should be separated forever.L i sten ; I know all the purity of your soul

,

and I know that you lead the l ife of a sai nt,

and that you would not comm it a mortal si nto save you r l ife .

At these words , Madame de Me rre t lookedat her husband with a haggard eye .See , here i s you r c ruc ifix ; swea r to m e

before God that there is ‘no one there , andI wi l l bel i eve you ; I wi l l never open thatd oom

Madame de Merret took the c ruc ifix andsa id

I swear itLouder, sa id the h usband , “ and repeat

afte r me : ‘I swear before God that there i sn o one i n that closet . ’

She repeated the words without confus ion .

I t i s wel l , sa id Monsieu r deMe rre t, cold ly.

After a moment ’s s i l ence ° “ Th is is a verybeautifu l th ing that I d id not know you possessed , he sa id , as he exam ined the c ruc ifix

[ 195 ]

Hon oré de Ba lzac

of ebony encrusted with si lver and beaut ifu l lycarved .

“ I found it at Duvivier’s ; when that partyof prisoners passed through Vendome lastyear, he bought it of a Spani sh monk .

“ Ah ! ” sa id Monsi eur de Me rret, replacingthe c ruc ifix on the nai l . And he rang. Ro

sa l i e d id not keep h im waiti ng. Monsieur d eMerre t w alked hast i ly to meet her, l ed heri nto the embrasure of the window look ingover the garden , and sa id to her i n a lowvoice“ I know that Go renfl ot wants to marry

you , that poverty alone prevents you fromcoming together, and that you have told h imthat you wou ld not be h i s wife unt i l he foundsome way to become a master mason . Well,

go to h im , and tel l h im to come here with h istrowel and h is tools . Manage so as not towake anybody i n h is house but him ;

‘

h is fortune wil l exceed you r desi res . Above al l ,

go out of th i s house without chatteri ng,o r

( 196 1



Vendome , and the cost of transportati on inc reases th e price materia l ly ; so he had purchased qu ite a la rge quant ity , knowing that hewould readi ly hnd customers for any that hemight have left. The ci rcumstance suggestedthe design wh ich he proceeded to carry out .

Go renflot i s here , monsieur, sa id Rosal i ei n an undertone .

“ Le t . h im come in , repl ied the Picardgentleman al oud .

Madame de Me rret tu rned pale when she

saw the mason .

Go renfl ot, sa id he r husband , “go out toth e carriage - house and get some bricks

,a nd

bri ng i n enough to wal l up the door of th isc loset ; you can use the p laste r that I hadleft, to plaster th e wal l . Then , beckoningRosa l i e and th e workman to him , he sa id i n alow tone : “ Look you , Gore nflo t, you wil ls leep h ere to - n ight . But to - morrow morningyou shal l have a passport to go abroad , to ac ity wh i ch I wil l name to you . I wi l l gi veyou s ix thousand francs for you r j ourney .

[ 198 ]


You w i l l remai n ten years i n that c ity ; if youare not satisfied there , you can settl e i n an

oth er c ity, p rovided that it is i n th e samec ountry . You wi l l go by way of Pari s , whereyou wi l l wa i t for me . There I wi l l give youa guarantee to pay you six th ousand fra ncs

more on your return , i n case you have abidedby the cond it i ons of ou r bargai n . At th atp rice you shou ld be wi l l i ng to keep s i lentconcerni ng what you have done here to - n ight .

As for you , Rosal i e , I w i l l give you ten thousand francs , wh ich wi l l be paid to you onthe day of your weddi ng , prov ided that youmarry Go renflo t ; but , i n orde r to be marri ed ,you w i l l have to be si lent ; if not, no dower .

”

Rosal ie , sa id Madame de Me rre t, comehere and arrange my hai r.The h usband Walked tranqui l ly back andforth , watch i ng th e door, the mason , and h iswife , but without a ny outward sign of injurious suspici on . Go renflot was obl iged to makea noise ; Madame de Me rre t se ized an oppo r

tun ity, when the workman was d ropping[ 199 ]

Hon oré d-

e Ba lzac

some bri cks, and when her h usband~ wa s

at the other end of the room , to say to

Rosa l ieA thousand francs a yea r to you , my dear

ch i ld , if you can te l l Go renflot to leave a crackat th e bottom .

— Go and help h im , she saidcool ly , a loud .

Monsi eu r and Madame de Me rre t sa id not aword whi le Go renflot was wal l i ng up the

door. That s i lence was the result of designon the h usband ’ s part , for he did not chooseto a l low h is w ife a p retext for utteri ng wordsof double mean ing ; and on Madame de Merret ’s part , i t was ei ther p rudence or prid e .When the wa l l was half bui lt

,th e crafty ma

so n se ized a moment When th e gentleman ’sback was tu rned , to strike h is pi ckaxe through

one of the panes of the glass door. That actgave Madame de Me rre t to understand thatRosal i e had spoken to Go re nflo t. At thatmoment al l th ree saw a man ’ s face , dark andsombre ,

'

w ith black ha i r and he ry eyes . Be

fore her husband had tu rned , the poor woma n[ 200]


Hon oré de Ba lzac

a so rt of smal l axe, and she , with a n ardourwh ich no words can describe , began to dem o lish the wal l . She had already loosened

s everal bri cks , when , as she stepped back todea l a blow even harder than the precedingones , she saw Mons ieur deMe rre t beh ind her ;she fai nted .

Put madame on her bed , said the gentleman , coldly .

Antic i pat ing what was l ikely to happend uring h is absence , h e had laid a trap for h iswife ; he had simply written to the mayor, andhad sent a messenger to Duvivi er. The j ewe l ler arrived just as the d isorder i n the roomhad been repaired .

Duvivie r, asked Monsi eu r de Me rret,

d id n ’

t you buy some c ruc ifixes from theSpaniards who passed through here P”

“ No, monsi eur.Very well ; I thank you , he said, ex

changing with h is wife a tigerl ike glance .

“ J ean , h e added turn ing towa rds h is c onfid ent ia l serva nt , you wi l l have my meals

[ 202 ]


served i n Madame d e Me rre t’s room ; she i s i l l ,and I shal l not l eave her unti l sh e i s wel laga i n .

The c ruel man remained with h is wifetwenty days . During the fi rst days, whenthere was a noise i n the wal l ed - up closet and

J oseph i ne attem pted to implore h im in behalfof the dying unknown , he repl i ed , not al lowi ng her to utte r a word“ You have sworn on the c ross that th ere

was no one there . ”

1832.

( 2081


TO MY DEA R FRIEND,ALBERT MARCHAND

LA RIBEL LERIE,TOURS

,1836 .

T he C o n sc r ipt

Sometimes they saw him,by a phenom enon of vision

o r of lo comotion,abo l ish space in its two e lem ents o f

tim e and distance,on e o f wh ich is intel lectual and the

other physical .”— l h tel lectua l History of Lou is Lamber t.

N a certa i n even i ng in the month of Novembe r, 1793, the p ri nc i pal people of

Ca renta n were gathered i n th e salon of

Madame d e Dey, at whose house the assembly was held dai ly . Some c i rcumstanceswh ich wou ld not have att racted attenti on i n alarge ci ty, but wh ich were ce rta in t o cause aflutter i n a sma l l one

,l ent to th is customary

meeti ng an unusua l d egree of i nterest . Two

days before , Madame de Dey had c l osed he rd oor to her guests

,whom she had also ex

cused herse lf from receiv i ng on the preced ingday , on the pretext of an i ndispositi on . In

ordi nary t imes , th ese two occurrences wou ldhave p roduced the same effect i n Carenta n

[ 207 ]

Hon oré de Ba lzac

that the clos ing of a l l the theatres would produce i n Paris . I n th ose days existence wasto a certai n extent i ncomplete . And i n 1793

the conduct of Madame de Dey might havehad the most dep l orab le results . The sl ightest venturesome proceed ing almost a lways became a questi on o f l ife or death for the noblesof that peri od . I n orde r to u nderstand thei ntense curiosi ty a nd the narrow- minded cunni ng which en l ivened th e Norman counte

nances of al l th ose people during th e even ing,but especial ly i n order that we may share thesec ret anx iety of Madame de Dey , it i s nec essa ry to explai n th e rol e that she played at

Carentan . As th e criti cal posi ti on i n whichsh e found herself at that moment was un

d oubtedly ident ical with that of many peopleduri ng the Revolution , th e sympath ies ofmorethan one reader w ill give the needed touch ofc olour to th is na rrat ive .Madame de Dey , the widow of a l i eutenantgeneral and cheva l ier of the Orders , had leftthe court at th e begi nn i ng of the emigration .

[908 ]


Ho n oré de Ba lz ac

hum i l iat ing the self- esteem of the pa rvenusor offend i ng that of her former fri ends .About th i rty- eight yea rs of age , she st i l lreta i ned , not that fresh and buxom beautywh ich d isti ngu ishes the young women ofLower Normandy , but a s lender, and , so tospeak , ari stocrat ic beauty . I-I e r features weresmal l a nd refined, h er figure s lender and wi l lowy .

“

When she spoke , her pa le face wou ldseem to brighten and to take on l ife . H e r

great b lack eyes were fu l l of suavity , butthei r p lacid and devout express ion seemed toi nd icate that the acti ve pri nci p le of her ex istence had ceased to be . Married in the flow e r

of her youth to an old and jealous sold ier, th efa lseness of her posit i on i n the centre of ad iss i pated cou rt contributed much , no doubt,to cast a vei l of serious me lancholy over a faceon which th e charm and v ivacity of love mustformerly have shone bright . Constant lyob l iged to restrai n the i ngenuous impu lses ,the emoti ons of a woman , at a time when shesti l l fee ls i nstead of reflecting, pass i on had re

[ 2101

T h e Con scr ipt

mained unsu l l ied i n the depth s of her heart .So i t was that her pri ncipa l attract ion was

due to the youthful s im pl ic ity which at i nterva ls her face bet rayed , and which gave to herideas a naive express ion of des i re . Her aspeet imposed respect, but there were alwaysi n her bearing and i n her voice symptoms ofa n outreachi ng towards an unknown future , asi n a young gi rl ; the most unsusceptib le mansoon found himself fal l i ng i n love w i th her,and nevertheles s reta i ned a sort of respectfuld read , i nspired by her courteous manners ,which were most im pos i ng . Her soul , natural ly great

,and strengthened by pai nful strug

g les , seemed to be too far removed fromthe common herd , and men rea l i sed thei rl im itat ions .That soul necessari ly demanded an exa lted

passion . So that Madame de Dey ’s affectionswere concentrated i n a si ngle sentiment , th esent im ent of matern ity . The ha ppiness andp leasures o f

,which her married l ife had been

deprived,she found i n her excess ive love for

[ 211 ]

Hon oré de Ba lzac

her so n . She loved h im not only with th epure and p rofou nd devoti on of a mother, butwith the coquetry of a m istress , th e jealousyof a wife . She was unhappy when sepa ratedfrom h im

,anxious duri ng h is absence , cou ld

never see enough of h im , l ived on ly i n h im

and for h im . I n order to make men understand the strength of th is fee l i ng , i t wi l l suffic eto add that th i s son was not on ly Madame deDey ’ s on ly ch i ld

,but her last rema ini ng rela

t ive , the on ly l iv ing bei ng to whom sh e cou ldattach the fears , th e h opes , and the joys ofher l ife . The late Count de Dey was the lastsc i on of h is fami ly, as she was the last he i ressof hers . Thus human schemes and i n te restswere i n accord with the nob lest c rav i ngs ofthe soul to i ntens ify i n the countess ’ s heart asent iment wh ich i s a lways strong i n women .

She had brought u p her son on ly w ith i nfi n itediffi culty, which had made him dearer thanever to her ; twenty t imes the doctors prophes ied his death ; but , trust ing i n her p resentiments and her hopes , she had the i nexpressible

[ 212 ]


Hon or é de Ba lz a c

ful ly al i ve to th e dangers of her pa i nful s ituat ion . As she had no other a im th an to preservea great fort une for her so n , sh e had renouncedth e happiness of a ccompanying h im ; but,when she read the ha rsh laws by v i rt ue ofwh ich the Republi c dai ly c onfiscated th e property of the émigrés at Carentan , sh e ap

plauded herse lf for her courageous act. Wasshe no t guardi ng her son ’ s treasures at theperi l of he r l ife ? Then , when she learned ofthe shock i ng execut ions ordered by the Co nve ntio n

, sh e slept und isturbed , happy to knowthat her only treasure was i n safety , far fromal l peri ls and a l l scaffolds . She took p leasurei n th e bel i ef that she had adopted the bestcourse to save a l l h is fortunes at once . Making th e concess ions to th is secret thoughtwh ich the disasters of the t ime demanded ,without com promis ing her woman ly dign ityor her aristocrat ic bel iefs , she enve loped hersorrows i n impenetrable mystery. She hadreal ised the difficulties wh ich awaited h er atCarentan . To go th ither and assume the fi rst

[ 214 ]

T h e Con scr ipt

p lace i n society — was it not equ ivale nt t odefy i ng th e scaffo ld every day ? But , sustained by a mother ’s courage , she succeededi n wi nni ng the affecti on of the poor by re

l i ev ing all sorts of m isery i nd iscrim i nate ly,

and made herse lf necessary to th e ri ch bytaki ng th e lead i n thei r oleasures.

She rece ived th e prosecuting attorney ofthe commune , the mayor, the pres ident ofthe d istri ct , the publ i c accuser, and even thejudges of the Revolutionary Tribuna l . Thefi rst fou r of these functionari es

,be i ng un

married , pa id court to her, i n the h0pe ofmarry i ng her , whether by terrify i ng he r by thei nj ury which they had i t i n th ei r power to doh e r, or by offering her the i r protecti on . Thepubl i c accuser, formerly an attorney at Caen ,where he had been em ployed by the countess ,tri ed to w i n h er love by conduct fu l l of devot ion and generosity . A dangerous scheme !

He was th e most form idab le of a l l the suitors .He a lone was thorough ly acqua i nted w i th thecond it ion of his former c l ient ’s large fortune .

[ 215 ]

Hon oré de Ba lzac

H is passion was i nev itab ly i nte nsifi ed by a l lthe cravi ngs of an ava rice wh ich rested uponalmost unl im ited power, upon the right of l ifeor death th roughout th e d istrict . This man ,who was sti l l young, displayed so much no

b ility i n h i s behavi ou r that Madame de Deyhad been unable as yet to make up her m indconcern i ng h im . But , scorn i ng the dangerthat lay i n a contest of wits w ith Normans ,she employed the i nventive genius and thecunn ing wh ich nature has a l lotted to woman ,to play those riva ls aga i nst one another. By

gain i ng t im e,sh e hoped to arri ve safe and

sound at the end of her t roubles . At thattime, th e royal i sts i n the interior of Franc eflattered th emselves that each day would se e

the c lose of the Revolution ; and that c onvic

t ion was the ru in of a great many of themDesp i te these obstacles, th e countess hadski l lfu l ly maintai ned her i ndependence downto the day when , w ith i ncompreh ens ible imprudence

,she had concei ved the idea of clos

i ng he r door. The interest wh ich she i nsp ired[ 215 ]


Ho n o ré d e Ba lzac

but the doctor was at my house a l l day , playi ng chess . He sa id with a laugh that i n thesedays there i s but one d isease, and that i su nfortunately i ncu rable .Th is j est was put forward apol oget ical ly .

Thereupon , men , women , old m en , and maidens began to search the vast fi eld of conjecture . Every one fanc ied that he caught ag l impse of a secret , and that secret engrossedthe imaginat i ons of them a l l . The next day ,

the susp i c i ons became emb ittered . As l ife i na sma l l town is open to a l l , th e Women wereth e fi rst to lea rn that B rig itte had laid i n moresupp l i es than usual at the market . That factcou ld not be denied . Brigitte had been seeni n the morn i ng, i n th e square , and — a mostextraord inary th ing— she had bought th e on lyhare that was offered for sale . Now thewhole town knew that Madame de Dey didnot l i ke gam e . The hare became the starti ngpoi nt for endless supposi t i ons . When tak i ngthe i r da i ly wa lk , old men observed i n thecountess ’s h ouse a sort of concentrated activ ity

[ 218 ]

T h e Con scr ipt

which was made manifest by the very pre cau

t i ons wh ic h the servants took to concea l it.The valet was seen beati ng a rug in the garden ; on the day before, no one would havepa id any heed to it ; but that rug became al i nk i n the cha i n of ev idence to support theromances wh ic h everybody was engaged i nconstructi ng. Every person had h is own .

On the second day, when they lea rned thatMadame de Dey p roc la imed that she was i nd isposed , th e pri nci pa l persons of Carentan meti n the even i ng at the house of the mayor ’ sbrother, an ex - merchant , a marri ed man , of upright characte r a nd genera l ly esteemed , and forwhom the countess enterta i ned a h igh regard .

There al l th e aspi rants to the ri ch w idow ’ shand had a more or less probable story to te l l ;and each of them hoped to tu rn to h is advan

tage the secret ci rcumstances which forcedhe r to comp romise herse lf thus . The pub l i caccuser imagined a com p l ete drama i n whichMadame de Dey ’ s son was brought to herhouse by n ight . The mayor favoured th e idea

[ 219 ]


of a pri est who had not taken th e oath , arri ving from La Vendee and aski ng he r for shelter ;but th e pu rchase of a ha re on Friday embar

rassed th e mayor greatly . The president ofthe d istr ict was strong i n h is convi ct ion thati t was a leader of Chouans or of Vendeans .

hotly pursued . Others suggested a noblemanescaped from one of the prisons of Paris . I nshort , one and al l suspected the countess ofbei ng gu i lty of one of those acts of generos itywh ich the laws of that day stigmatised a scrimes

,and wh ich m ight lead to the scaffold .

The publ ic accuser said i n a n undertone thatth ey must h o ld th ei r tongues , and try tosnatch th e unfortu nate woman from th e abyss

towards wh ich she was rapidly preci pitati ng

herse lf.I f you ta lk about th is bus iness , he added ,I sha l l be obl iged to i nte rfere , to search h erh ouse , and thenHe did not fi ni sh h is sentence , but they all

understood h is ret icence .The countess ’s si ncere friends were so

[220]



But, he sa id , as h e concluded , a lthoughthe re are som e among our offic ials who arenot i nd isposed to forgive you for an act ofheroism of

°

which a p riest is the object , no onewi l l pity you if they d iscover that you are sacrific ing yourself to the affecti ons of the heart.At these words Madame de Dey looked atthe old man with an express ion of desperat ion and terror wh ich made h im shudder, oldman though he was .“ Come , sa id . she , tak i ng h is hand and

lead i ng h im to her bed room , where , aftermaki ng sure that they were a lone , sh e tookfrom her bosom a soi led and wrinkled l etter.“ Read , she cried , making a v i olent effortto p ronounce the word .

She fel l i nto her cha i r as if utterly overwhelmed . While the old gentleman wasfeel i ng for h is spectacles and w ip i ng them ,

she fastened her eyes upon h im and scrut inised h im for the fi rst t ime with cur ios ity ;then she said softly, i n an a ltered voice :I t ru st you .

[ 222]

T h e Con scr ipt

Am I not sha ri ng your crime ? repl iedthe old man , s imply .

She sta rted ; for the fi rst t ime her heartfound itself i n sympathy with a nother hearti n that l ittl e town . The old merchant sud

den ly understood both the d istress and the joyof the countess . Her son had taken part i nthe Granvi l le exped iti on ; he w rote to hi smother from prison

,imparting to her one sad

but sweet hope . Having no doubt of h i ssuccess i n esca pi ng , he mentioned three daysi n wh ich h e might a ppea r at her h ouse i nd isguise . The fata l letter conta ined heartrending farewel ls i n case he should not be at

Carentan on the even ing of the th i rd day ;and he begged h is mother to hand a con

side rab le sum of money to the messenger ,who had undertaken to carry that lette r toher th rough i nnumerable peri ls . The paper

shook i n the o ld man ’ s hand .

And th is is the th i rd day ! cried Madame

de Dey,as she sprang to her feet , se ized th e

letter,and began to pace the fl oor.

[ 223 ]

Hon oré de Ba lzac

You have been im prudent, sa id themerchant ; why d id you lay i n p rovis ions PWhy , he m ay arrive alm ost starved , worn

out with fatigue , andSh e did not fin ish .

“ l am sure of my brother, sai d the oldman , “ and I w il l go and enl is t h im on yours ide .

I n thi s emergency the old t radesman re

covered the sh rewdness which he had formerly d isp layed i n h is business , and gave advicei nst i nct with prudence and sagaci ty . Afteragreeing upon a l l that they were both to sayand to do, th e old man went about , onc leverly dev ised pretexts

,t o the p ri nc ipal

houses of Carentan , where he announced thatMadame de Dey , whom he had just seen ,would rece ive that eveni ng i n spite of her ind is positi on . Pitt ing hi s sh rewdness aga instthe inborn Norman cunn ing , i n th e exam i

nati on to wh ich each fami ly subjected h imi n regard to the nature of th e c ountess ’s i l lness, h e succeeded i n leading astray a lmost

[ 224 ]


Hon oré de Ba lza c

friendly regard ; and the maj ority were impressed by the marvel l ous nature of h er rec ove ry.

They found the countess seated at the corner of the h uge fi replace of her salon , whichwas a lmost as modestly furn ished as those ofth e people of Carentan ; for, i n order not tooffend the sensit ive self- esteem of her guests,she den i ed herself th e luxury to wh ich sh e hada lways been accustomed , and had changedn oth ing in her house . The flo o r of the rece pt ion - room was not even polished . She l efto ld—fash i oned dark tapestri es on the wal ls , sheretai ned the nat ive furn iture , burned ta l lowcand les , and fol l owed the customs of the town ,espousi ng prov i ncial l ife , and recoi l i ng neith erfrom the most raspi ng petti n esses nor th emost unpleasant privation s . But , rea l i s i ng thather guests would forgive h er for any dis playof splendour wh ich a imed at thei r persona lcomfort , sh e neg lected noth i ng when i t was aquest ion of affordi ng th em enjoyment ; sothat she a lways gave them excel lent d inners .

[ 226 1

T h e Con scr ipt

She even went so far as t o make a pretence atm iserl iness , to please those calcu lat ing minds ;and afte r ca usi ng certa i n concessi ons i n the

way of luxurious l iv i ng to be extorted fromher, she seemed to comply with a good grace .About seven o ’c lock i n the eveni ng, there

fore , th e best of th e uni nteresti ng soci ety of

Carentan was assembled at h er house , andformed a la rge ci rcl e about the fi replace . Them istress of the house

,susta i ned i n he r m isery

by th e com pass ionate glances wh ich the o ldtradesman bestowed upon her, subm ittedwith extraord i na ry cou rage to the m inutequest ion i ngs

,the t riv ia l a nd stupid reason ing

of h er guests . But at every blow of theknocker at her door

,and wheneve r she heard

footsteps i n th e street , she concea led her emotion by ra is i ng some question of i nterest tothe welfare of th e prov i nce . She startednoisy d iscuss i ons c oncerni ng the qua lity ofth e season ’ s c ider, and was so wel l secondedby her confidant that her c ompahy a lmost forgot to watch her, her manner was so natu ra l

[227 ]

Hon oré de Ba lzac

and her self—possess i on so im perturbable .The publ i c accuser and one of the j udges ofthe Revolutionary Tribunal sat s i lent, ca reful lywatch i ng every movement of her face andlisten ing to every sound i n the h ouse , notwithstandi ng the uproa r ; and on severaloccas ions th ey asked her very embarrassi ng‘

questions , wh ich , howeve r, the countess an

sw e red with marve l l ous presence of m ind .

Mothers have such a n i nexhaust ible store ofcourage ! When Madame de Dey had arranged th e card - tables

,p laced everybody at

a table of boston , revers i s , or wh ist , sh e re

mai ned a few moments ta lking with someyoung people , with the utmost nonchalance ,playing her pa rt l i ke a consummate actress .She suggested a game of loto— sa id that shea lone knew where i t was , and disappeared .

“ I am suffocat i ng , my poor B rigitte ! she

c ried , wip ing away the tears that gushed fromher eyes , which g leamed w i th feve r, anxi ety ,and impat ience .

“ He does not c ome , sheconti nued , looki ng about the chamber to

[ 228 ]


Hon oré de Ba lzac

be necessa ry or agreeab le to a weary travel le rwas there set forth , so that he need lacknoth ing, so that the joy of home m ight makeknown to h im a mother ’s l ove .

B rigi tte ? ” sa id the countess i n a heartrend ing tone , as she placed a chai r at thetab le, as if to give real ity to her longings , toi ntensify the strength of her i l lus ions .Oh !

,he wil l come , madame ; he is n

’

t far

away . I d on ’ t doubt that he ’

s a l ive a nd onh is Way here , repl i ed Brigitte. “ I put akey i n th e B ible and I held i t on my finge rswhil e Gotti n read the Gospel of St. J oh n ;and madame , the key did n

’

t turn .

Is that a sure s ign P” asked the countess.Oh ! i t i s ce rtai n , madame ; I wou ld wager

my sa lvati on that he is sti l l a l ive . God can ’tmake a m istake . ”

Despi te the danger that awaits h im here,

I would l ike right wel l to see him .

Poor Monsieur Auguste ! cri ed B rigitte ;I suppose he is somewhere on the road ,on foot !

[m l

T h e Con scr ipt

And there is the church clock strik ingeight ! cried the countess

,i n d ismay .

She was afrai d that she had rema ined longert han she ought i n that room , where she hadfa ith i n th e l ife of her son because she lookedupon all that meant l ife to h im She wentdown - sta i rs ; but before entering the salon ,she stood a moment i n th e vest ibu le , l isten ingto see if a ny sound woke the s i lent echoesof the town . She sm i led at B rigi tte 's hus

band,who was on sentry- duty, and whose

eyes seemed dazed by d i nt of stra i ned attent ion to the murmurs i n the square and i n thestreets . She saw her son i n everyth i ng andeverywhere . I n a moment she returned tothe sa lon

,affecti ng a jovia l a i r, and began to

p lay loto with some young girls ; but fromt ime to t ime she complai ned of feel i ng i l l , and

returned to her chai r at th e fi replac e .

Such was the cond it io n of persons andth ings i n the house of Madame de Dey , wh i le ,on the road from Paris to Cherbou rg , a young

[ 231 ]

Hon oré de Ba lzac

man dressed i n a dark carmagnole , the regulati on c ostume at that period , strode a longtowards Carentan . At the beginni ng of theconsc ri pt ion , there was l itt le or n o d isc ip l in e .The demands of the moment made it impossib le for the Republ i c to equ ip al l of i tssold ie rs at

'

once , and it was no rare th ing tosee th e roads covered with conscripts st i l lwearing thei r c ivi l ian d ress . These youngmen ma rch ed i n advance of the i r batta l ionst o th e halt i ng - places , or Io i tered beh ind , forthei r p rogress was regu lated by th ei r abi l i tyto endure the fatigue of a long march .

The travel ler w i th whom we have to dowas some distance i n advance of th e columnof conscri pts on its way to Cherbou rg , wh ichthe mayor of Care ntan was m omentari ly expe c ting, i n o rder to d istribute lodging- ti cketsamong them . The young man wa lked w i tha heavy but st i l l fi rm step , and h is beari ngseemed to i nd i cate th at h e had long beenfami l iar w ith th e h ardsh i ps of m i l ita ry l ife .

Although the moon was sh in i ng on th e[ 232 ]


Hon oré de Ba lzac

th e mayor, he a ppeared before h im , and wassubjected to a careful exam inati on . The so ldie r was a young man of attract ive appearance , who a pparently belonged to somefami ly of d isti ncti on . His manner i nd icatednoble b i rth , and the i nte ll igence due to a

good educati on was man ifest i n h is features .What i s your name P the mayor asked ,

with a shrewd glance at him .

“ J u l ien Jussieu, repl ied the conscript .And you come from P sa id the mag

istrate , with an i ncredul ous sm ile .

From Pari s.Your comrades must be fa r beh i nd ?

cont i nued th e Norman in a mock ing tone .“ I am th ree leagues ahead of the bat

tal ion .

”

Doubtless some sent im enta l reason bringsyou to Carentan , ci t izen consc ri pt ? queriedthe mayor, slyly. It i s a l l he added ,im posing si lence , with a wave of the hand ,u pon the young man , wh o was about tospeak .

“We know where to send you.[ 234 ]

T h e Con scr ipt

Here,h e sa id , hand ing h im the lodging

t icket ; h ere , Cz'

tz'

gen j ussz’

eu .

There’

was a percept ib le t inge of i rony i nthe tone i n wh ich the magistra te utte red theselast two words

,as he held out a t icket u pon

which Madame de Dey ’s name was written .

The young man read the address with an a i r

of curios ity.

“ He knows very wel l that he has n ’

t far

to go , and when he gets outs ide, i t won'

t

take h im long to cross the square ,” cri ed the

mayor,Speak ing to h imself, wh ile th e young

man went out . He’

s a bold young fel low.

May God protect him ! He has an answerfor everyth i ng. Howeve r, i f any other thanI had asked to see h i s papers , he would havebeen lost !At that moment the clock of Ca rentanstruck half past n ine ; th e torches were beingl ighted i n Madame de Dey ’s a nte room , andth e servants were assist i ng the ir masters andm istresses to put on thei r cloaks , th e i r overcoats , and thei r mant les ; the card - p layers had

1285 )

Hon oré de Ba lzac

settled the i r accounts and were about towithdraw in a body, accord i ng to the usualcustom i n al l sma l l towns .I t s eems that th e publ i c accuser proposes

to sa i d a lady , observ i ng that thatimportant functionary was m iss ing when theywere about to separate to seek thei r respective h omes , afte r exhausting a l l the formu lasof Ieave - taki ng .

The redoubtable magistrate was i n fact a lonewith th e cou ntess , w ho waited i n fear andtrembl ing unti l i t should p l ease h im to go .

C i t i zeness , he sa id at l ength , after a longs i l ence i n which there was something ho rrible , “ I am here to see that the laws of th eRepubl i c a re observed .

Madame de Dey shuddered .

Have you no revelati ons to make to me Phe d ema nded .

None, sh e repl i ed i n amazement .

Ah , madame !” cr i ed the accuser, s itti ng

down bes ide her and changing h is tone , “ at

th i s m oment , for lack of a word , e i th er you[ 236 1



place you out of th e reach of any futu re SUSpl

c ion . I sh al l speak of your patri ot ic gifts , ofyour t rue c i ti zensh i p , and we sha l l al l besaved .

Madame de Dey feared a trap ; she d id notmove , but her face was on fire and her tonguewas frozen . A blow of th e knocke r rangth rough th e house .

“ Ah ! cri ed the terrifi ed mother, fal l i ngon he r knees . Save h im ! save h im !“ Yes , le t us save h im ,

“

rejo ined the publ i caccuser, w i th a passi onate g lance at h er ' letus save h im th ough it cost us ou r l ives .“ I am lost ! ” she cried , whi le the accuser

courteously ra ised he r.

O madame ! he repl ied w i th a grandoratori ca l gesture , “ I do not ch oose to oweyou to any one but yourself. ”

“Madame , h ere he cried Brigi tte ,who th ought that her m istress was al one .At sigh t of th e publ ic accuser, the old servant , whose face was flushed w ith joy, became rigid and deathly pa le .

[ 238 ]

T h e Con scr ipt

What is it, Brigitte P asked the magistrate

,i n a m i ld and mean i ng tone .

“ A conscri pt that th e mayor has sent hereto lodge , repl i ed th e servant, showing the

fi cke t

That i s t rue , sa id the accuser, afte r readi ng the paper ;

“ a battal i on i s to arrive hereto - night .And he went out .The countess was too anxious at that moment to bel ieve i n the s i nceri ty of h er formerattorney to enterta i n th e s l ightest suspic i on ;sh e ran swift ly up- sta i rs , hav ing barely strengthenough to stand u pright ; then she Openedthe door of h er bed room , saw her son , andrushed i nto h is arms , wel l - nigh l ife less .“O my son ,

my son ! she cried , sobbing,and covering h im w i th frenzied k isses .Madame sa id the stranger .

Oh ! i t i s n ’

t he !” sh e cried , stepp ing

back i n dismay and stand ing before the conscript

,at whom she gazed w ith a haggard

express ion .

( 2391


B lessed Lord God , what a resemblance !said B rig itte .There was a moment ’ s s i lence , and thestranger h imself shuddered at the aspect ofMadame de Dey .

Ah , monsi eu r !”

she said , l ean ing uponBrigitte ’s h usband , and feel i ng then i n a l l itsforce th e gri ef of wh ich the fi rst pang had almost kil led her ;

“ monsieur, I cannot endureto see you any l onger ; a l low my se rvantsto take my place a nd to attend to yourwants .She went down to h er own apartments ,ha lf carri ed by B rig itte a nd her old servant.What, madam e l

” cried the maid , “ is

that man going to s leep i n Mons ieu r Auguste ’sbed , wear Monsieur Auguste

’s s l i ppers, eat thepi e that I made for Monsieur Auguste ? Theymay gu i l l ot i n e me , but IB rigitte ! cried Madame de Dey.

Hold your tongue, Chatterbox ! said h er

h usband i n a low voic e ; “ do you want tok i l l madame P

[ 240]


Hon oré de Ba lzac

he were in a stab l e ! cried Brigi tte . It wasI

th at which ki l led h er !The countess ’s death was caused by a morei ntense emot ion , and probably by some terr ible v i s ion . At the preci se moment whenMadame de Dey died at Ca rentan , her son wassh ot i n Le Morb ihan . We might add th ist ragic story to th e mass of oth er observat ionson that sympathy wh ich defi es the law ofSpace — documents wh ich some few sol itaryschola rs are col lect i ng with sci entifi c curi os ity ,and which wi l l one day serve as bas is for anew science

, a sc ience which t i l l n ow has

l acked only its man of genius.1831.

W421

A Passio n in the De se rt

( 243 )


Hon oré de Ba lzac

Sh e looked at me with an ai r of aston ishment .

But , I c o ntinued,“ when I fi rst saw Mon

sieur Mart i n , I adm it that I excla imed in su rprise , as you d id . I ha ppened to be beside a no ld so ldie r who had lost h is right leg , andw ho had gone into th e menager i e w i th -me .His face had struck me It was one of thosedauntless faces , stamped with the sea l of wa r,upon which Napo leon ’ s batt l es are w ritten .

That old trooper h ad above a l l a frank andjoyous manner, wh i ch a lways prejud ices m efavourably . Doubt less he was one of thosefel lows whom noth i ng surp rises , who fi nd foodfor laughter i n the last contorti ons of a comrade,whom they bury or stri p merri ly ; w ho defycannon - bal ls fearl essly, who never del iberat el ong, and w ho would fratern ise with the devi l .After looki ng c losely at th e propri etor of th emenageri e as h e came out of the dressi ngroom

,my compan ion curled h is l i p , express

i ng disdain by that sort of mean ing glancewhich superior men affect i n order t o d is

[ 246 1

A Pass ion in th e De se rt

tinguish th emse lves from du pes . And so ,

when I waxed enth usiasti c over Monsi eurMart i n ’ s courage , h e smi led and sa id to mew ith a knowing look , shaki ng h is head : ‘Iknow al l about it !

‘What P You do P’ I repl i ed .

‘If youwil l expla i n what you mean , I shal l be verymuch ob l iged .

’

“ After a few moments , during wh ich w e

i ntroduced ou rse lves , we went to d i ne at th efi rst restaurant that we saw . At dessert , abottle of champagne made that inte rest i ng oldsol d ier’s memory perfect ly clea r. He to ld meh is h istory , and I saw that h e was justified i nexcla iming : ‘I kn ow al l about it !When we reach ed her house , sh e teased me

so ,and made me so

“many promises , that I

consented to repeat to her th e so ldier’ s story .

And so the next day she rece ived th is e pisodeof an ep i c wh ich m ight be ent it led The Fr en c hin Egypt.

At th e time of General De saix’

s exped it ion[ 247 ]

Hon oré de Ba lzac

to Upper Egypt , a Provencal sold ier, hav i ngfa l le n i nto the hands of the Maugrab ins, was

taken by those Arabs to the desert wh ich l i esbeyond th e cataracts of the N ile . In order top lace between th emselves and the French armya sufficie nt space to ensure th ei r safety, th eMaugrab ins made a forced march and did nothalt unt i l dark. They camped about a wel l ,concealed by paIm - trees , nea r wh ich they hadpreviously buried some provis ions . Hav ingno idea that th e though t of fl ight wou ld everoccur to thei r prisoner, they sim ply bound h i shands, and one and a ll went to s leep, aftereat ing a few dates and giv i ng the i r h orsessome barley. When th e bold Provenca l sawthat h i s enem ies had ceased to watch him , hemade use of h i s teeth to get possess ion of ascimitar ; then , usi ng his knees to h old theb lade in place , h e cut the cords wh ich prevented h im from using h is hands , and was free.

He at once se ized a carbi ne and a pon iard ,and took th e precaution to lay i n a supply ofdried dates , a smal l bag of barley, and som e

[248 ]


Hon oré de Ba lzac

al ready repented of hav ing l eft th e Maugrabins ,whose wandering l ife had begun to seem delightfu l ‘to h im s i nce he was far away fromthem and he lpless .He was awakened by the sun , whose pit i lessrays , fal l ing perpend icu la rly upon the granite ,caused an intolerab le heat . For th e Provenca lhad been foo l i sh enough to l i e on the s id e opposite the shadow cast by th e maj esti c and verdant fronds of th e palm - trees . He l ooked atthose sol ita ry t runks , and shuddered . Theyrem inded h im of th e graceful shafts , crownedw i th long leaves , for wh ich th e c olumns ofthe Saracen cathedra l at Arl es are noted . Butwhen

,afte r counting th e palm - trees , he

glanced about h im , th e most ghastly d espa i rs ett led about h is heart . He saw a boundless ocea n ; the sombre sands of the desertstretched away i n every d i rect ion as far asthe eye could see , and g l i ttered l ike a stee lblade i n a bright l ight. He d id not knowwhether it was a sea of glass or a success ion of lakes as smooth as a mi rror. Ris

[ 250]


i ng i n waves , a fi ery vapour whi rled abovethat quiveri ng soi l . The sky shone with aresp lendent Orienta l glare , of di scou ragi ngpuri ty, for it l eft noth ing for the imaginationto desi re . Sky and earth were aflam e . Thes i le nc e terrified by its wild and desolate majesty. The i nfi n ite , vast expanse weighedu pon the soul from every s ide ; not a cloudin the sky , not a breath i n th e a i r, not a

r ift on the surface of the sa nd , which seemedto move i n t iny waves ; and the hori zonterm i nated , as at sea i n fi ne weather, w it ha l i ne of l ight as s lender as the edge of asword . The Provenca l embraced the trunko f a palm - t ree as if it were the body of afriend ; then , she ltered by the stra ight , slen

der shadow wh i ch the tree cast upon thestone , he wept , seated h imse lf anew , and remained there , gazi ng w ith profound melanc ho ly at th e imp lacable scene before h is eyes .He shouted as if t o tempt th e sol itude . Hisvoi ce , l ost i n the hol lows of th e h i l lock , madein the distance a fai nt sound which awoke no

[ 25 1 ]

Hon oré de Ba lzac

ech o ; th e ech o was i n h i s heart . The Pro

vencal was twenty - two years old ; he cockedh is ca rbine .“ I sha l l h ave t ime enough for that ! ” he

sa id to h imself, as h e placed the weapon onth e ground .

Gazing alternately at th e dark stretch of sandand the blue expanse of the sky , the sold ierdreamed of France He smelt with a th ri l l ofrapture th e gutters of Paris , he reca l led thetowns through which he had marched , th efaces of hi s comrades, th e most tri v ia l deta i lsof h is l ife . I n t ruth , h is southern imaginat ionsoon brought before h im the stones of h is dearProvence , i n th e eddy i ng w aves of heat whichshimmered above the vast sheet of the desert .Dread ing al l the peri l s of that crue l m i rage , hedescended the s lope opposite that by wh ichhe had ascended the mound th e n ight before .He was overjoyed to discover a so rt of cave ,ho l lowed out by nature i n the huge fragmentsof gran ite wh ich formed the base

'

of that h i llock . The remai ns of a mat ind icated that

[ 2521


Hon oré de Ba lzac

before . A vague memory brought to h ism ind the beasts of th e desert, and , anti cipat i ng that th ey might come to dri nk at th esp ri ng which gushed out of th e sand at th efoot of the bowlders , he determ ined to guardhimself aga i nst th ei r v i s its by placing a bar

ri er aga i nst th e door of h i s herm itage . Despite h i s zeal , despite th e st rength wh ich thefea r of bei ng eaten up du ri ng h is s leep gavehim , i t was im possibl e for h im to cut th epalm - tree into p i eces during that day , but hesucceeded i n fel l i ng it. When , towards eveni ng , that k i ng of the desert fe l l , th e noise ofits fal l echoed i n th e di stance , and th e solitudeutte red a sort of moan ; th e sold ie r shudderedas if h e had heard a voice predict i ng d isaster.But l ike an h ei r who does not mourn longover the death of h is parent , he stri pped thatnoble tree of the great green leaves wh ich a reits poetic adornment , and used them to repa i rthe mat, upon wh ich h e lay down to sl eep .

Fatigued by th e heat and hard work , he fel lasleep beneath th e red vau lt of the grotto.

[ 254 ]


I n th e m iddle of th e n ight, h i s s lumberwas d isturbed by a pecul iar noise . He sat

up, and the profound s i l ence wh ich preva i ledenab l ed him to recogn ise a breath ing whosesavage e nergyc ould not belong to a humanbei ng . A terrib le fear, i ncreased by th e dark ,th e s i le nce , and the bewi lderment of the fi rstwak ing moments , froze h i s h ea rt . Inde ed,

he a lready fe lt th e pa i nful contract ion of h is

ha i r, when , by d int of stra i n ing h is eyes , heperce i ved i n the darkness two fa int amberl ights . At fi rst h e attributed those l ights t othe refl ect ion of h is own eyes ; but soon , th ebri l l iancy of th e n ight ass ist i ng h im l i tt le byl i tt le to d ist ingu ish the objects i n th e cavern ,he d iscovered a huge beast ly i ng with i n twoyards of h im . Was it a lion P Was it a tige r ?

Was it a crocod i le ?

The Provenca l had not enough educat ionto know to what spec i es h is compan ion be

l onged ; but h is terror was the more vi ol enti n that h i s ignorance led him to imagine a l lsorts of calam it ies at once . He endured the

[ 255 ]

Hon oré de Ba lzac

fiendish tortures of l i sten i ng , of not ic i ng thei rregularit ies of that b reath i ng, with out l osinga sou nd , and with out daring to make thesl ightest motion . An odour as pungent as thatgi ven forth by foxes , but more penetrat ing,more weighty , so to speak , fi lled th e cave ;and when the Provenca l had smel led it, h isterror reached its he ight , fo r h e could nolonge r doubt the natu re of the terrible compan ion whose roya l den he had appropriatedfor a cam p . Soon th e refl e ctio n of themoon , which was si nk i ng rapid ly towardsth e h orizon , l ighted up th e den , and l i tt l eby l i ttle i l lumi nated the spotted ski n o f a

panther.The li o n of Egypt was asleep , curled upl ike a huge dog i n peaceab le possess i on of aluxuriant kenne l a t the door of a palace ; i tseyes , which had opened for a moment, hadc losed aga i n . I ts h ead was turned towa rds theFrenchman . A thousand c o nfl ic ting thoughtspassed th rough the m ind of th e panther ’s pri so ner ; at fi rst , he thought of k i l l i ng her with

[ 256 1


Ho n oré de Ba lza c

of human fl e sh or not ; i t wi l l n ot be hu ngrywhen it wakes .I t was a femal e ; th e ha i r on the stomachand th ighs was a dazzl ing white . A numberof l itt l e spots , l i ke velvet , formed dai ntybracelets a round her paws . The muscu la rta i l was white a lso , but ended i n black ri ngs .The uppe r pa rt of th e coat , yel low as un

po l i shed gold,but very smooth and soft, bore

th e characteri st i c marki ng of rose - shapedspots whi ch serve to d ist inguish panthersfrom other vari eties of the fel i n e fam ily. Thatp lac i d but form idable hostess lay snori ng i nan attitude as graceful as that of a cat lyingon the cush ion of an ottoman . Her bloodsta ined paws , muscu lar and prov ided withsharp claws , were above her head , wh i chrested on them ; and from her muzzl e projecteda few stra ight hai rs ca l l ed wh iskers , l ike s i lve rthread . I f he had seen h er thus i n a cage , theProvencal wou ld certa in ly have adm ired thebeast ’s grace and the strik i ng contrast o f

the bright colou rs wh ich gave to her coat an[ 258 l


imperia l gloss and splendour ; but at that moment , h is eyes were bew i lde red by that terrib le sight . The presence of th e panther, eventhough asleep , produc ed upon h im the effectwh ich the snak e ’s magnet i c eyes are sa id to

p roduce upon th e n ight i ngale . Fo r a moment the sold ier ’ s cou rage oozed away beforethat danger ; whereas i t would doubtless havebeen ra ised to it s h ighest p itch before th emouth s of cannon vom iti ng sh ot and shel l .However, a bold thought ente red h is m indand froze at its source the cold pe rspi rat i onwhich stood on h i s brow . Acti ng l ike thosemen who , d ri ven to the wal l by m isfortune ,defy death and offer themse lves defencelessto its b lows , h e detected i n that adventu rea tragedy which h e cou ld not understand ,and resolved to play h is part with honourto th e last .“ The Arabs m ight have k i l l ed me day be

fore yeste rday, h e thought .Look ing u pon h imself a s dead , he wa itedwith a nxi ous curiosi ty for h is e nemy to wake .

( 2591

Hon oré de Ba lzac

When the su n appeared , the panther sudden lyopened her eyes ; then sh e stretched her paws ,as if to l imber them and to ri d herse lf of thecramp ; fi nal ly she yawned , showing her ter

rifying arsena l of teeth , and her c loven tongue ,hard as a fi l e .She is l i ke a dai nty woman ! though t

th e Frenchman , as h e watched he r rol l aboutand go through th e prett i est a nd most co

que ttish movements .She l icked o ff th e b lood which stained he r

paws and her nose,and scratched her head

agai n and agai n , with th e most graceful of

gestures .Good ! give a l ittle attenti on to you r

toi let I ” sa i d th e Frenchman to h imself, his

gayety return ing with h is courage ; i n a

moment we wil l b i d each other good day.

And he grasped the short pon ia rd which he

had taken from the Maugrab ins.

At that moment the panther turned her facetowards th e Frenchman and gazed steadfastly

at h im without moving. The rigidity of her[ 260]


Hon oré de Ba lzac

compan ion , whose hunger had ce rta i n ly beensated th e n ight before , he rose and startedto leave th e grotto . The panther a l lowedh im to go ; but , when he had cl imbed th eh i l l , she bounded afte r h im as l ight ly as aSparrow hops from branch to branch , andrubbed agai nst h i s legs , curv i ng h er back aftert he manner of a cat ; then , look ing into herguest ’ s face with a n eye whose glare had become less dead ly , she uttered that wild crywh ich natural ists l iken to th e noise made bya saw .

“ She is very exacting ! exc la imed the

Frenchman, with a sm ile.He t ried playi ng with her ears , patti ng hersides , a nd scratch ing

'

her h ead hard with hisnai ls ; and fi nd i ng that he was successful , h et ick led h er skul l wi th the poi nt of h i s dagger,watch ing for an opportu nity to k i l l her, butthe hardness of th e bones made h im afraidthat he m ight not succeed .

The sulta na of the desert approved hers lave ’ s ta lents by ra is i ng ' her head , stretch ing

[ 262 ]

A Passion in th e De se rt

out h er neck , and demonstrat ing her del ightby the t ranqui l l ity of her manner . Sudden lythe Frenchman th ough t that to murder w itha s ingle b l ow that savage p ri ncess h e wouldhave to stab h er i n th e th roat, and he hadal ready ra ised his blade , when th e panth er,sat iated no doubt , graceful ly lay down at h i sfeet, cast ing on h im from time to t ime glancesi n wh ich , desp ite thei r natura l savagery, th ere

was a vague express i on of k indness. Thepoor Provenca l ate h is dates , l ean ing agai nstone of the palm - t rees ; but he gazed by turns

at the dese rt i n search of rescuers , and at h i ste rrib le compan ion to observe the progress ofher uncerta i n k i ndness . The panther watchedthe place where th e date- stones fel l , wheneverh e th rew one away, and h er eyes th en expressed a most extraord i nary degree of suspic ion . She examined the Frenchman with thep rudent scrut iny of a tradesman ; but thatscrut iny was ev idently favourab le to h im , for,when he had fi n ish ed his meagre meal , shel i cked h is shoes , and w i th her rough , strong

[ 263 ]


tongue removed as by a m iracl e th e dust thathad becom e caked i n th e creases of th e leatherBut what wil l happen wh en she i s

hungry ? th ought th e Provenca l . Despiteth e shudder caused by that idea , th e soldierbegan to observe with a curious ardou r thep roport i ons of the panther, certai n ly one of the

fi nest examp les of th e speci es ; for sh e was threefeet i n height

,a nd four feet long , not i nclud ing

th e tai l . That powe rfu l weapon , as round asa c lub

,measured nearly th ree feet . The face ,

wh i ch was as large as a l i oness ’s , was disti nguished by an exp ressi on of extraordi naryshrewdness ; th e unfee l i ng cruelty of the t igerwas predom inant there in , but th ere was alsoa vague resemblance to the face of a n a rtfulwoman . At that moment , that sol itary queen ’sfeatures disclosed a sort of merriment l ikethat of Nero in h i s cups ; sh e had quenchedher th i rst i n b lood, and was i nc l i ned to p lay.

The so ldier tri ed to come and go ; th e panther al lowed h im to do as h e pleased , contenting herself with fo l low i ng h im w ith her

[ 264 ]


Hon oré de Ba lzac

object ion , and when the sold ier attempted tosmooth th e hai r on her paws , she ca refu l lyw i thdrew her nails,

'

w hic h were curved l ikeDamascus b lades . The Frenchman , who hadone hand on h is dagger, was st i l l th i nking of th rusting it i nto th e s ide of the toot rustfu l panth er ; but he was afraid of bei ngstrangled i n h er last convu ls ions . Moreover,h e had i n his heart a sort of remorse , enj oini ng upon h im to respect a harmless c reature .I t seemed to him that he had found a friend i nthat boundless desert.I nvoluntari ly he though t of h is fi rst sweet

h eart, whom he had n icknamed Mignonne ,by anti phrasi s , because she was so fi end ish lyjea lous that, th rough out a l l th e t ime that thei ri nterc ourse lasted , h e had to be on h i s guardagai nst th e kn ife w ith wh ich she constantlythreatened h im . That memory of h i s youthsuggested to h im the idea of t ry i ng to makethe young panther a nswer to that name ; h eadm ired he r agi l ity , her grace , and her gentleness with less terror now.

[ 266 ]


Towa rds t he close of the day , he had become accustomed to h is hazard ous s i tuat ion andhe was a lmost i n love w ith its dangers . H i scom pan ion had finally caught th e habit of turni ng to h im when he cal led , i n a fa lsetto voiceMignonne !

At sunset , Mignonne repeated severa l t imesa deep and melancho ly cry .

“ She has been wel l brought up, th oughtthe l ight- hearted so ldi er, “ she is sayi ng her

prayers .But that unspoken jest on ly came into h i sm i nd when h e not iced th e peacefu l att itudewh ich h is compan ion ma intai ned .

Come , my pretty b londe , I w i l l let you goto bed fi rst, he sa id , re ly ing upon the agi l i tyof h is legs to escape as soon as she slept , andtrusting to fi nd anoth er resti ng- place for the

n ight .He waited impatiently for th e right moment for h is fl ight ; and when . it came , hewal ked rapidly towards th e Ni le ; but he hadt ravel led barely a quarte r of a league th rough

[ 267 1

Hon oré de Ba lzac

the sand , when he heard the panther boundi ng afte r h im

,and utteri ng at i nterva ls that

saw l i ke c ry , whi ch was even more a larm ingthan th e heavy thud of her bounds .We l l , wel l ! he sai d , she has rea l ly taken

a fancy to me I I t may be that th is youngpanther has never met a man before ; i t i s flatt eri ng to possess her fi rst love IAt that moment he stepped i nto one of

those qui cksands wh ich are so peri lous tot ravel lers , and from

'which it is imposs ible to ext ricate one ’ s se lf. Fee l i ng that he was caught ,he uttered a c ry of alarm ; the panther se izedhim by the co l lar w it h her teeth , and w ith apowerfu l backwa rd leap rescued h im fromd eath as if by magic .

“ Ah I ” c ried the so ldier, caress ing he re nthus iast ica l ly , i t ’

s a matter of l ife ord eath between us now , Mignonne I — But notricks I ”

Then h e retraced h is steps .From that moment the desert was , as it were ,

peopled fo r h im . I t conta ined a l iv i ng creature[ 268 ]


Hon oré de Ba lzac

yourself. But don ’ t go eat ing Frenchmen ,at a l l events . I f you do , I sha l l not l ove you

any more IShe played as a huge puppy plays with

its master, al low i ng h im to rol l h er over andpat her by turns , and somet imes she cha llenged h im

,by putti ng her paw upon h im ,

w ith an appeal i ng gesture .Seve ral days passed thus . That c om pan

io nsh ip enabl ed the Provenca l t o adm ire the

subl ime beaut i es of the desert . From themoment that he found there moments ofdread a nd of secu ri ty , food to eat , and a creature of whom he cou ld th i nk , h is m ind was

exc ited by contrasts . I t was a l ife fu l l ofopposi ng sensati ons . Sol itude made manifestall it s sec rets to h im , enveloped him in all i tscharm . He discovered spectacles unknown toth e world

,i n th e ris ing and setti ng of the sun .

He started when he h eard above h is h ead th esoft wh irri ng of the wings of a b i rd— rare vi sitant I— o r when he watched the clouds me lttogether — ever- changing, many- t i nted voy

[ 270]


age rs I Duri ng th e n ight h e studied th e effectsof th e moon on the ocean of sand , where th es im oom produced waves and undulat i ons andsw i ft changes . He l ived i n the gorgeous l igh tof the Ori e nt , h e admi red its wonde rfu l splendours ; and often , afte r e njoy i ng th e awfu ls pectac le of a storm on that p lai n , where th esand rose i n a dry , red m ist, i n d eath - deal i ng

clouds , he rej o iced at the approach of n ight ,for then the de l ic ious coolness of the stars fe l lu pon the ea rth . He l i stened to imagina ry mu

s ic i n the sk ies . Sol itude taught h im , too ,to seek the treasu res of reverie . He passedwhole hours recal l i ng tri fles , c ompari ng h ispast l i fe w ith h is p resent one . Last ly , he conc e ived a wa rm regard for h is panther, foraffect ion was a necess ity to h im .

Whether i t wa s that h i s wi l l , magnetica l lystrong , had changed h is compan ion

’s d ispos it i on , or that sh e found abundant food , becauseof the constant batt les wh ich were tak i ngp lace i n th ose deserts, she spa red th e Frenchman ’ s l i fe, and he fi nal ly ceased to d istrust

[ 27 1]

Hon or é de Ba l z ac

her when he found that she had become so .

tame . He empl oyed most of h is t ime i nsleep ing ; but h e was obl iged to watch attimes , l ik e a spide r i n the midst of i ts w eb ,

i n order not to al low th e moment of h is de liv

e ran c e to escape , i f any human be i ng sh ou ldpass through the c i rcl e descr ibed by the horizon .

'

He had sacrifi ced h is sh i rt to make a

flag, which he had hoisted to the top of aleafless palm - tree . Adv ised by necess ity , hei nvented a way to keep it unfolded by theuse of st icks , for the wind m ight not havesti rred it at the moment when

‘the expected

t ravel ler should look across th e dese rt .But it was duri ng the long hours whenhope abandoned h im that he played w i th th epanther . He had ended by lea rn i ng the d iffe re nt infle c tions of her voice, the d ifferentexpress ions of her eyes ; he had studied all

the gradations of colour of her golden coat .Mignonne no longer even growled when heseized the tuft of ha i r at th e end of her redoubtable tai l , to count the black and white

[ 272 ]



The eagle disappea red wh ile th e sold ie rwas adm iri ng the panther ’s rounded flank .

There was so much youthfu l grac e i n h erout l i nes ! She w as as pretty as a woman .

The l ight fu r of her coat b lended by del icat eshades with the dead - wh ite of her th ighs .The v iv id sunsh ine caused that l iv ing gold

,

th ose brown spots , to gleam i n such W i se asto make them indescribab ly charm i ng. TheProvencal and h is panther gazed at eac h othe rw ith a n a i r of compreh ensi on ; the coquettestarted when sh e fe lt h e r friend ’ s nai l s sc ratchi ng her head ; her eyes sh one l ike flashes ofl ightn ing, th e n she c losed them tight .She has a soul ! he cri ed , as he stud ied

the tranqui l repose of that queen of the sa nds ,whit e as th ei r pu ls i ng l ight , sol itary andburn i ng as they.

Well , she sa id t o me , “ I have read yourargument i n favour of wild beasts ; but howdid two persons so wel l fitted to understandeach other fi na lly come out ?

12741

A Pa ss ion in th e De se rt

Ah ! there you are ! I t ended as all greatpass ions do , by a m isunderstandi ng . Each

bel i eves i n some t reachery ; one refra ins fromexpla i n i ng from pride , th e other quarre ls from

obsti nacy .

”

And sometimes , at th e happiest moment,sh e sa id ; a glance , an exclamat ion is enough— well , fi n ish your story .

“It i s very difficult, but you wil l under

stand what the old veteran had a l ready confided to me , when , as h e fi n ished h is bottle

of champagne , h e excla imed‘I d on ’ t know how I hu rt her, but she

turned as if she had gone mad , and woundedmy th igh with h er sharp teeth — a s l ightwound . I , th i nk i ng that sh e meant to d evourme , pl unged my dagger i nto her th roat . Sherol led over with a c ry wh ich tore my soul ;I saw her struggle‘, gazi ng at me without at race of anger. I would have g iven anyth ingi n the world , even my c ross, which I had notthen earned , to restore her to l ife agai n . I t

was as it ] had murdered a human being ; a nd[ 275 ]

Hon oré de Ba lzac

the sold ie rs who had seen my flag and w hohurried to my rescue found me weeping .

Wel l , monsi eu r, ’ he conti nued , after a moment ’s s i lence , ‘si nce th en I have fought i nGermany, Spain , Russia, and France ; I have

marched my poor old bones about , but I haveseen noth ing comparable to the desert. Ah ,that i s m agn ifi c e nt, I te l l you ! ’

What were you r fee l i ngs there P’ I asked .

“ ‘Oh , they cannot be told , young man .

Besides , I do not always regret my pantherand my pa lm - tree oas is : I must be very sad

for that . But I wi l l te l l you th is : i n th e dese rtthere is al l— and yet noth ing.

’

Stay ! — explai n that. ’

“ ‘Well , th en ,’ h e said , with a gestu re of

impatience, God is th ere, and man is not.’

1830.

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THE L I BRARY

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Honoré De Balzac · Ho n o ré de Balz ac (1799-1850)ALZ AC’S short stories, which we call in French n ouvelles, are, generally Speak ing, not the best-known or the most po pular