be
permanently settled, as there was no room for his art treasures in the
Rue Basse; but as Madame Hanska's tastes had to be consulted as well
as his own, it was necessary to be very careful in his choice.
However, in October, 1846, he at last found something which he thought
would be suitable. This was the villa which had formerly belonged to
the financier Beaujon, in the Rue Fortunee, now the Rue Balzac. The
house was not large, it was what might now be described as a "bijou
residence," but though out of repair, it had been decorated with the
utmost magnificence by Beaujon, and Balzac's discriminating eye
quickly discerned its aesthetic possibilities.

In front of the house was a long narrow courtyard, the pavement of
which was interrupted here and there by flower-beds. This courtyard
was bordered by a wall, and above the wall nothing could be seen from
the road but a cupola, which formed the domed ceiling of the
financier's boudoir. Some of the inside adornments possessed a
delightful fitness for the uses to which they were destined. For
instance, what could have been a more graceful compliment to the
Mniszechs than to lodge them during their visits to Paris, which would
of course be frequent, in a set of rooms painted with brilliant exotic
butterflies, poised lightly on lovely flowers? Apparently foreseeing,
as Balzac remarks, that a "Lepidopterian Georges" would at some time
inhabit the mansion, Beaujon had actually provided a beautiful bedroom
and a little drawing-room decorated in this way.[*] It seemed quite
providential!

[*] "Correspondance," vol. ii. p. 289.

Balzac was very happy superintending the building operations, deciding
exactly where his different treasures would look best in his new
abode, and hunting for fresh acquisitions to make every detail
perfect. Later on, his letters from Russia to his mother when she was
taking charge of the house--then furnished and decorated--show how
dearly he loved all his household goods, and how well he was
acquainted with their peculiarities; how he realised the danger,
unless it were held by the lower part,[*] of moving the greenish-grey
china vase with cracked glaze, which was to stand on one of the
consoles in black wood and Buhl marqueterie; and how he thought
anxiously about the candle ornaments of gilt crystal, which were only
to be arranged _after_ the candelabra had been put up in the white
drawing-room. In 1846 and 1847, his letters are instinct with th