Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1906-02-07
THE LIFE OF BALZAC
PEN SKETCH OF THE GREAT FRENCH
LITERARY GENIUS.

LITERARY GENIUS.
EverlastinEly In Debt. He ConcocteI
the Widest Schemes For Making
Money-The Tragedy of His WooinE
and Wedding Nine. Hanska.
The life story Of Honore de Balzac is
infinitely more fascinating than any Of
the tales that rippled from his facile
pen, and the wonder is that scores of
needy authors have not seized upon
such rich material and turned 1t into
gold.
Balzac was not only Frenchman,
but genius truly wild combination.
At first lie thought he wanted to be a
lawyer, then a millionaire, then some
thing else, his desires all through life
fairly tumbling over each other. At
one time he had 1.-TWO immense and
sole desires-to be famous and to be
loved" Il had determined from my
childhood that would be great man.
said with Andre Chenier as l struck
my forehead. There is something be-
meath that! l felt, believed, the
thought within me that l must ex-
press
In his early youth Balzac did not
succeed to his liking in impressing wo-
man with his Importance. With tears
of modification bowed before the de-
cision Of the world, but my distress
1,o I to
venge myself on society. l would dom
mate the feminine intellect and SO have
the feminine soul Mt my mercy. All
eyes should be fixed upon me when the
servant at the door announced my
name" what he has begun with the
sword" he said Of Napoleon, II shall
finish with the pen"
There was much of the child in him
to the end of his days. He was ever
lastingly In debt; the artists life, he
said, must be splendid one. Some
times when he was surrounded by the
costliest bric-a-brac he had not enough
money to buy food. He took coffee to
keep himself awake, and he wrote and
wrote till he was exhausted, all the
time being in the condition of track
ed hare" harassed aud pursued by his
creditors and knowing that all his gains
must go to them. He made elaborate
secret plans to attend the rehearsals of
his plays.
AS the place of Balzac's abode was
kept strictly secret for fear of his cred
Itors, the time of the rehearsal each day
,,oc tn ha communicated IN him hy n
messenger from the theater, who was
told to walk in the Champs Elysees to-
ward the Are de lEtoile. At the TWEEN
tieth tree on the left. past the circle,
he would find man who would appear
to be looking for bird In the branches.
The messenger was to say to him, II
have it," and the man would answer,
las you have it, what are you waiting
forf" On receiving this reply the ennis
sary from the Odeon would hand over
the paper and depart without looking
behind him. The only comment that
Lireux, who appears to have been a
practical man, made on these curious
arrangements was that if the twenti-
eth tree had been struck by lightning
during the night he supposed that the
servant must stop at the twenty-first
and Balzac assented gravely to this
proposition.
Balzac concocted the widest schemes
for making money, such as the cover
ing of his garden with glass houses for
the production of pineapples, by which
he was to make 100000 francs year,
and thu cnlaptotioo IF IN ONn ool,.
from Russia to France, by which lie
was persuaded 100000 francs could
be earned But when these schemes
failed-and he usually got tired of them
when the excitement Of working them
out had subsided-he always had a
play or novel In his pocket by which
the pressure Of his creditors could be
ut least temporarily reduced.
But the tragedy of Balzac's life was
his long wooing of Nine. Hanska. The
acquaintance began with letter from
the lady, who deprecated Balzac's
views Of women as expressed in his
la Peau de Chagrin." Balzac was
strongly Influenced by the letter. He
replied to 1t, and. Notwithstanding the
fact that she was a, married lady, he
was soon hopelessly in love with his
unknown correspondent. Soon he is
| writing, II love you, unknown, and
this strange thing Is the natural effect
of an empty and unhappy life only
filled with IDEAS" "You are in all my
thoughts, in all the lines that shall
trace. in all the moments Of my life, in
all my being, in my hair which grows
for YOU" Eventually they met secret
~, exchanged their first kiss under the
shade Of great oak ut Neufchatel and
promised to wait for each other.
In 1871 Nine. Hanska's husband died,
and then began for Balzac period Of
hope deferred that lasted for nine
years and broke his health, SO that
when Mt last the great lady consented
to become Nine. Honore de Balzac he
had no longer the strength to enjoy
his long deferred happiness. Five
months after the wedding he was in
his grave. There seems to be little
doubt that all the love was on one side
and that Nine. Hanska had outlived
the romance of her early interest in the
great novelist. 'Three days ago"
wrote Balzac, II married the only wo-
man l ever loved, whom love more
than ever and whom shall love till
death. This union is, think, the rec
ompense which God has had in reserve
for me after SO much adversely, SO
many years of work, so much gone
through and overcome. / am nearly