he house where she
stayed, went along the road where they had walked together, and was
refreshed in the midst of his troubles and anxieties by the thought of
her.

[*] See "L'Ecole des Manages," in "Autour de Honore de Balzac," by the
Vicomte de Spoelberch de Lovenjoul.

On August 22nd the travellers returned to Paris on excellent terms
with each other, and for some years after this journey friendly
relations continued. In 1842, in remembrance of their adventure,
Balzac dedicated "La Grenadiere" to Madame Marbouty, under the name of
Caroline, and added the words, "A la poesie du voyage, le voyageur
reconnaissant." Later on, however, they quarrelled, and she wrote "Une
Fausse Position," in which Balzac is represented in a decidedly
unflattering light; and after this he naturally withdrew the
dedication in "La Grenadiere."

On his return from this amusing trip a terrible trouble awaited
Balzac. Among the letters heaped together upon his writing-table was
one from Alexandre de Berny, announcing abruptly the death of Madame
de Berny, which had taken place on July 27th. Balzac was utterly
crushed by this blow. He had not seen Madame de Berny for some time,
as since the death of her favourite son she had shut herself up
completely, pretending to Balzac that she was not very ill, but saying
laughingly that she only wanted to see him when she was beautiful and
in good health. Now she was dead, and the news came without
preparation in the midst of his other troubles. She was half his life,
he cried in despair; and writing to Madame Hanska he said that his
sorrow had almost killed him. In the midst of this overwhelming grief
other worries added their quota to the weight oppressing Balzac. Henri
de Balzac gave his family continual trouble, while Laurence's husband,
M. de Montzaigle, refused to support his children; in fact, the only
faint relief to the darkness surrounding the Balzac family at this
time was M. Surville's hopefulness about the Loire Canal scheme.

In addition to all these misfortunes, Balzac had to submit to the
annoyance of several days' imprisonment in the Hotel des Haricots, for
his refusal to serve in the Garde Nationale, a duty which was, he
said, the nightmare of his life. The place of detention was not
luxurious. There was no fire, and he was in the same hall for a time
with a number of workmen, who made a terrible noise. Fortunately, he
was soon moved to a private room, where he was warm and could