ce, he passed the same
time in that of M. Passez, a notary, who lived in the same house with
the Balzacs, and was another of their intimates.

Balzac does not appear to have made any objection to these
arrangements, though his legal studies cannot have been congenial to
him; but they were only spoken of at this time as a finish to his
education--old M. de Balzac, _homme de loi_ himself, remarking that no
man's education can be complete without a knowledge of ancient and
modern legislation, and an acquaintance with the statutes of his own
country. Perhaps Honore, wiser now than in his school-days, had learnt
that all knowledge is equipment for a literary life. He certainly made
good use of his time, and the results can be seen in many of his
works, notably in the "Tenebreuse Affaire," which contains in the
account of the famous trial a masterly exposition of the legislature
of the First Empire, or in "Cesar Birotteau," which shows such
thorough knowledge of the laws of bankruptcy of the time that its
complicated plot cannot be thoroughly understood by any one unversed
in legal matters.

Honore was very well occupied at this time, and his mother must have
felt for once thoroughly satisfied with him. In addition to his study
of law, he had to follow the course of lectures at the Sorbonne and at
the College of France; and these studies were a delightful excuse for
a very fitful occupation of his seat in the lawyer's office. Besides
his multifarious occupations, he managed in the evening to find time
to play cards with his grandmother, who lived with her daughter and
son-in-law. The gentle old lady spoilt Honore, his mother considered,
and would allow him to win money from her, which he joyfully expended
on books. His sister, who tells us this, says, "He always loved those
game in memory of her; and the recollection of her sayings and of her
gestures used to come to him like a happiness which, as he said, he
wrested from a tomb."

Other recollections of this time were not so pleasant. Honore wished
to shine in society. No doubt the two "immense and sole desires--to be
famous and to be loved"--which haunted him continually, till he at
last obtained them at the cost of his life, were already at work
within him, and he longed for the tender glances of some charming
_demoiselle_. At any rate he took dancing-lessons, and prepared
himself to enter with grace into ladies' society. Here, however, a
terrible humiliation awaited h