certain is, that if the fact of Madame
Hanska's indifference _had_ slowly and painfully dawned upon Balzac,
he would never have told, and would have used words to hide his
knowledge.

On the other hand, there is sometimes a ring of truth about his words,
which seem to prove that he had not yet tasted the full bitterness of
the tragedy of his life. On November 29th, 1849, he wrote to Madame
Surville[*]: "It is the recompense of your life to possess two such
children; you must not be unjust to fate; you ought to be willing to
accept many misfortunes. The case is the same with me and Madame
Hanska. The gift of her affection accounts to me for all my troubles,
my worries, and my terrible labours. I have been paying in advance for
the price of this treasure: as Napoleon says, everything is paid for
here, nothing is stolen. I seem, indeed, to have paid very little.
Twenty-five years of work and struggle are nothing compared to a love
so splendid, so radiant, so complete. I have been fourteen months in a
desert, for it _is_ a desert; and it seems to me that they have passed
like a dream, without an hour's weariness, without a single dispute;
and that after five years to travel together, and sixteen years of
intimate acquaintance, our only troubles have been caused by the state
of our health and by business matters."

[*] "Correspondance," vol. ii. p. 426.

When he wrote these words, Balzac must have at last felt tolerably
confident about a happy solution to his troubles. However, in a later
letter to his mother, he says that the Wierzchownia party are going to
Kiev for the great Fair, that he will avail himself of this occasion
for the renewal of his passport, and that he will not know till he
arrives there, whether the great event will at last take place. In any
case, he will start for France directly after the party return to
Wierzchownia in the beginning of February; and as caution is still
highly important, his mother must judge from his directions about the
Rue Fortunee, whether he is coming back alone, or is bringing his
bride with him. She is, in any case, not to be sparing about fires in
the library and the picture gallery; and can write to him at Berlin,
and at Frankfort, on his way home.

The great Fair at Kiev, which was called the "Foire des Contrats," was
a notable occasion for gaiety; and extensive preparations were made
beforehand for the enjoyment of a thoroughly festive time. A house was
hired by Madame H