The sun., 1899-07-30

three nights. and that the irst ffty sheets OF
Lost Illusions" we're completed In three
days He spent far more time than did Scott.
however. on the correction OF his copy. In this
respect he may be compared with Pope. One
ol his publishers hns testified that he was in
the habit OF revising his proofsheets ten or a
dozen times. He would sometimes spend an
hour In search Of one right word. and there
are pages OF his In which. as in the pages OF
Flaubort. the French language Ia tortured in
order to compel II to yield the maximum OF eI
preston In the smallest compass.
".
We may now take up the several groups and
most OF the novels composing them in the
order which the author gave them in his final
classification. The first group. entitled Paris
ian Lille" includes "Sp!cndors and Miseries." "
Cousin Bette. ""Cousn Pons" Caesar Birot-
teau. The House oil Nucngen." with which
are bound In the same volume the Secrets OF
La Prncesse de CadiEnan." "Sarrasine."
Facino Cane" "A Man Of Business" and
The Involuntary Comedians" Another VOL
ume belonging TO the same group contains
The Civil Service" and "A Prince OF Bohe-
mia" still another. THE Chief OF the Devo-
rants and La Duchesse de I.angeais."
Finally. two volumes are required for THE
Petty Bourgeois"
"Splendors and Miseriee" which begins the
EDITION Dehnitire. is really a sequel o! Lost
Illusions" which was placed by Balzac in an
other group The story portrays tho last
phases OF the career of "A Great Man OF the
Provinces in Paris" and thoroughly justiies
the authors claim that he has made all errors.
sins and crimes. from the most trifling to the
most serious, meet with punishment. human
or divine. secret or public. II is impossible to
feel much sympathy for the hero. and II Is
equally impossible not TO follow him through
the Nicissitudes OF his short life with
poignant interest. The passions that move
most OF the characters in this book
are the intense desire OF houndless
wealth. Of luxury. and OF social distinction.
Among his numerous productions. Baznc
himself hesitated whether TO award tho palm
to Splendors and Miseries" or to the second
novel in this group. Cousin Bette" which ex-
hibits on the one hand the tremendous power
for evil doing evolved through the self-concen-
tration incident to relihate state and on the
other hand. the havoc wrought in n respectable
household through indulgence in the sexual
appetite prolonged beyond the limits OF old
nge. Cousin Pons." which to Bourget seems
the authors masterpiece. was. as it happened.
the last novel penned by Balzac when he was
about to be acked@by that disease OF the
heart which was destined to prove fatal. 1t is
an account of the illness OF an old musi-
clan and collector OF curios who was cared
for by a devoted friend and despoled
by vast conspiracy OF rival lovers
OF bric-a a-brar. covetous business men and
corrupt servants. In its pages will he found
some curious notes on Germany and the Ger
mans. which are doubtless read with z"st by
Parisians at the present time. No reader OF
this book would guess from internal evidence
writ
hundred works OF fiction. He was not a man
who could ever write himself out. for he was
necessarily assimiating new materials and
evolving from them new ideas Almost every
page OF Cousin POns" is charged with i'm
pressions. reflections and theories. One per
ceives not only that the author is in nowisr
exhausted. but also that he Ia not hustanhing
himself for n future work. but, on the contrary
is dispensing with a free hand the best fruit
age OF his experience. There are those who
think Caesar Birotteau" unsurpassed for
q realism which is at once Photographic
and sympathetic. This is the story Of an up-
right Paris tradesman who becomes a bank
rupt. but who. ultimately. succeeds in paying
his creditors in full We SEQ him in his hour
OF bourgeois glory. In his long period Of eclipse
and shame and in his brief moment OF rehabil-
itation. The whole mechanism OF retail trade
and OF tho laws regulating the payment Of
commercial debts is hero minutely set FORTH
yet so intimately is the exposition associated
with the hero's fortunes that the digrrssions
never weary Its types Of the commercial
class which are delineated in THE Petty
also. though the canvas here Is
larger and contains greater number 81
figures. Although this is one OF the longest
stories penned by BaIzac. it contains relatively
Few episodes. All Is movement. incident
.ItA1g
lotted to II the authors belief TINT
wrongdonR is certain TO meet with retribution
In this world is impressively supported THE
Civil Service" seems. al first sight, an I'm prom
isinG subject for n novel. but Balzac not only
in interesting us in his characters
but he brings out in the strongest light the
causes OF the mediucrity OF the French ad-
medocrity which is quite as
pervasive in our day as il was in his He
shows that in the French bureaucracy. the
clerk is occupied solely in maintaining him
self. in keeping or lettering his position and
in obtaining his pay. lie never gives a
thought TO improvements in administrative
methods or to the welfare OF his country.
superior man can with difficulty walk
along the tortuous paths Of the bu-
reaucracy. bow, cringe and slide in the
mire. The sudden appearance Of a truly
y.
The fact that Government officials are com
posed almost exclusively OF men OF small in
tcllects constitutes grave obstacle to the
prosperity of the country Bal2ar compares
the intrigues that are hached among petty
to those which TAX" place in the
seraglio between the cunuchs. the women and
the imbecile Sultan. or to the little quarrcls OF
nuns full Of secret vcxations. or to mean college
tyrannies, The spectacle OF these intrIgues,
he saws. resembles the jumping OF ieas har-
messed to pasteboard cart. Undoubtedly
there are exceptions in the rank and flo OF the
civil service. There are some men who are
really useful. but the real workers are victims
Of the parasites Sooner or later all the clerks
Of the departmen find themselves in the con-
dition Of wheels screwed on to machine; the
only variation of their lot is to he more or less
oiled. This conviction. which Is finally driven
home to them, stincs the disclosures which
they might make regarding the secret evils Of
the admin istratiOn, disarms courage and cor
rupts those who began with the strictest re-
gard for honesty. fatgued as they are hv in
Justice and impeled to carelcssncss 10y de-
ennui. The stories respectively enti-