ness but who had sacrificed her physical
strength and worldly goods for his sake, an old woman of almost
seventy-two years, showed her true maternal love by remaining with her
glorious and immortal son in his last moments.

MADAME SURVILLE--MADAME MALLET--MADAME DUHAMEL

"To the Casket containing all things delightful; to the Elixir of
Virtue, of Grace, and of Beauty; to the Gem, to the Prodigy of all
Normandy; to the Pearl of the Bayeux; to the Fairy of St.
Laurence; to the Madonna of the Rue Teinture; to the Guardian
Angel of Caen, to the Goddess of Enchanting Spells; to the
Treasury of all Friendship--to Laura!"

Two years younger than Balzac, his sister Laure, not only played an
important part in his life, but after his death rendered valuable
service by writing his life and publishing a part of his
correspondence.[*] Being reared by the same nurse as he, and having
had the same home environment, she was the first of his intimate
companions, and throughout a large part of his life remained one of
the most sympathetic of all his confidantes. As children they loved
each other tenderly, and his chivalrous protection of her led to his
being punished more than once without betraying her childish guilt.
Once when she arrived in time to confess, he asked her to avow nothing
the next time, as he liked to be scolded for her.

[*] MM. Hanotaux et Vicaire, _Le Jeunesse de Balzac_, have correctly
observed that Balzac's sister, Madame Surville, has written a most
delicate and interesting book, but that she had not correctly
portrayed her brother because she was blinded by her devotion to
him.

He it was who accompanied her to dances, but having had the misfortune
to slip and fall on one such occasion he was so sensitive to the
amused smiles of the ladies that he gave up dancing, and decided to
dominate society otherwise than by the graces and talents of the
drawing-room. Thus it was that he became merely a spectator of these
festivities, the memory of which he utilized later.

It was to Laure that, in the strictest confidence, he sent the plan of
his first work, the tragedy _Cromwell_, writing it to be a surprise to
the rest of the family when finished. To her he looked for moral
support, asking her to have faith in him, for he needed some one to
believe in him. To her also he confided his ambitions early in his
career, saying that his two greatest desires were to be famous and to