c had
known Buloz since 1831, when the latter bought the _Revue des Deux
Mondes_, which was then in very low water, and was working with
tremendous energy to make it successful. At that time, Buloz and he
often shared a modest dinner, and with the permission of M. Rabou,
then manager of the _Revue de Paris_, Balzac contributed "L'Enfant
Maudit," "Le Message," and "Le Rendez-Vous" to the _Revue des Deux
Mondes_, and only charged a hundred francs for the same quantity of
pages for which he was paid a hundred and sixty francs by Rabou.
However, on April 15th, 1832, there appeared in the _Revue des Deux
Mondes_ a scathing, anonymous criticism of the first dizain of the
"Contes Drolatiques." This had apparently been written by Gustave
Planche; but Balzac considered Buloz responsible for it, and therefore
refused to write any longer for his review. In August, 1832, Buloz,
who does not appear to have been particularly scrupulous in his
business relations, wrote to apologise, saying that though it was not
in his power to suppress the offending article, he had done his best
to soften it; and that now he was sole master of the Revue, so that
not a word or line could pass without his permission. He therefore
begged Balzac to resume his old connection with him, and explained
that if he had not been confined to his bed and unable to walk, or
even to bear the shaking of a cab, he would have come to visit him,
and matters would have been quickly arranged. Balzac's answer, which
is written from Angouleme, is couched in the uncompromising terms of
"no surrender," which he generally adopted when he considered himself
aggrieved. He did not absolutely refuse to write for the Review, and
referred Buloz to Madame de Balzac for terms; but, by the tone of his
letter, he negatived decidedly the idea of resuming friendly relations
with his correspondent, and while rather illogically professing a
lofty indifference to criticism, remarked that he felt the utmost
contempt for those who calumniated his books.[*]

[*] See "Correspondance Inedite--Honore de Balzac," _Revue Bleue_,
March 14, 1903.

After this the _Revue des Deux Mondes_ became hostile to Balzac; and
when Buloz and Brindeau bought the _Revue de Paris_, a proceeding
which must have been a shock to him, he believed that Brindeau would
be sole director, and drew up his agreement with him alone; having
already refused to have business dealings with the ever active Buloz.
However, Bul