The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-02-22
WOMEN WERE
HIS |NSP|RERS
BaIzac's Writings Credited to
Influence Thew Welded.
NINE. De BERNY WAS ONE
His Unfortunate Marriage
Ended His Romatic Career.

Paris, Feb. Alt was a singular idea
on the part of NJ. Hughes Rebel to find
bond Of unity between the writer's nam
ed in the catching title of his The In
spirers of Balzac. Stenhal, and Merimee.
1t must be declared at once that these
fnspirers are women; better than men
they draw the attention of a frivolous
public. The bond l have spoken of is
thus defined in the short preface: Pure
chance did not unite these three figures.
Though they understood and spent life
in such different manners, they have this
in common. that they sought nowhere
but in themselves for their standard of
morality, that they did not live for a
crowd or for a group, but for the free de-
velopment Of their imagination, of their
sensibility, of their intelligence" And
the author adds at the end: LAS love is
the most vivid and complete passion
which employs all the energies of our
being, it reveals better than any other
the master faculty, the primordial soul
which guides us from youth to death
The pages which it suggests to our
writers will help us, better than any
document, to ina CINE their souls"
NJ. Rebel studies Balzac not only in
his novels, but also in the two volumes
of his Correspondence. During all his
life, Balzac had female correspondents.
He confides to an unknown lady, who
signs merely Louise. his troubles his
hopes. as if she We're an old friend.
Madame de Berry had great place in his
life; she had real devotion for him.
-hav, Del
bles she helped him with her own money,
and Induced his family and friends to
pay the debts of the printingoffice which
BalZac had inprudently bought. For
twelve years" writes Balzac, IAN angel
robbed the world. her family. her duties
of two hours. which she spent
with me, nobody knowing anything about
1.-TWO hours, do you hear? Without
her I should have died. Balzac was
the confident of Madame de Berny's trou-
bles-the i'll conduct of a son, the mad
ness of a daughter. the brutality of
husband. He painted her under the name
of Madame de Mortsauf. Madame de
Berry writes Ralzac afterwards to
Madame Hanska (who became his wife,
was not young; and. believe me. youth
and beauty are something. Ny dream at
that time was incomplete" 1t was in
order TO please Madame de Berry that in
some OF his novels he pleaded the cause
of faded beauties. of the femme de trente
ans" Madame de Berry was the daugh-
ter of Hinner, who played the harp for
Marie Antoinette. After the death of her
husband. Madame Hinner married the
Chevalier ue Jarjayes, one of the men
who plotted to save the Queen. Madame
de Berry was naturally thrown into roy
alist society; she knew the Duras, the
Castries. the Fitz-James; she rendered
Balzac familiar with the feelings, the
traditions. of the aristocratic part OF
France. and she thus furnished him many
useful documents for his novels, and
probably helped to form his politics, if
Balzac can be said to belong to a politi-
cal party.
We will not speak of several ladies
whose names are given by NJ. Rebel. as
they seem to have had very little influ-
ence on Balzac's mind. 1t was not so
with the Duchess de Castries. whom he
painted under the name of Duchess de
Langeais. she was" says NJ. Rebel,
perhaps of all his friends. the one who
human passion" She was a tall wo-
nan. with magnificent blond hair, with
a Roman and somewhat hard profile;
ironical. pertinence, having. by contrast.
in her eyes. like most invalds something
tender and beseeching." She had had a
bad fall on the huntng-feld, and had to
spend most of her time on the sofa.
After having read the Peau de Chagrin,'
she wished to know the author. and Bal
FAC soon became one of the visitors at
the Hotel de Castries, in the Rue de Var
enRes This acquaintance was an event
in his life. He continued to work as
hard as ever. but he became more world
". bought two carriages. took two male
domestics. He followed his friend to the
waters of AK. Their friendship TO use
the words of Madame dc Sevegne. was
by storms ia grande amitic
Wit de quereles). Balzac wrote 10 Ma
dame Zulma Carraud, his constant and
devoted friend:
Il have come here for much and for
little; for much. as l see a gracious. ami
able person; for little. as l shall never
be loved by her. She is the finest type
OF woman. a better Madame de Beuaseant
Zone of Balzac's heroines); but are not
all these pretty ways assumed at the
expense of the soul? l say to myself that
a life like mine ought not 20 be tied 10
a woman's petticoat. that l must fol-
low my destiny.
The acquaintance ended in : sort OF
of worldly and somewhat dissatisfied and
friendship. Two years after
a small incident which had caused some
GOODNESS between them, he wrote TO her.
in answer to d letter OF compliments
which she had written him:
You have added a little bitterness To
what you have the goodness to say to me
regarding my book. l should have pre-
ferred TO have you look upon my book
and my pen as things belonging to You.
rather than 70 receive such eulogies. But
cannot tell you all my soul-it would
PERHAPS astonish you: il would need some
wells and some leisure. and / must, poor
workman as l am. return TO my work.
hear the bell in my cloister. and ! must
finish for the Review the picture OF q
sentiment SO great in itself that il can
resist perpetual wear; it is a spring AZ
which ingrautude can drink without ever
drying tt"
The relation Of Madame Hanska with
Balzae began, as was usual with him.
with letter II came from Odessa. and
was followed by many others. all writ.
ten in relation to his works 1t was 4
somewhat Fictitious correspondence: hut
Balzas was a man OF imagination. The
unknown lady gave him rendezvous at
Neuchatel he saw her there and per
euaded himself that he had found a sue
cessor TO Madame de Castries. a new IN
spirer. She belonged TO the Polish nobility