The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1906-06-09
THE LIFE OF BALzAC
PEN SKETCH or THE GREAT FRENCH
LITERARY GENIUS.
HwvEiastingiy IN Debt, lie Concoctcd
the Widest schemes For Making
Men~y--The Tragedy Of Ills wooinw
nad wedding Mime. HaasLa.

Che tales that rippled from bis fncile
pen. and the wohdcr ls that scores OF
needy authors have not seized upon
such rich material aud turned II Into
gold.
Bazac was not only a Frenchman.
but genius. truly u wild combination.
Al first he thought he wanted TO be a
lawyer. then millionaire, then some
thing else. his desires all through life
fairly tumbIng over cnch other. Al
one tlnc he had two immense aud
sole dcsires-.to bc famous aud to bs
loved" II hud determined from M
childhood that | would be a great man.
| Naid with Andre thener M struck
my forehead, There IN something be
meath that" | felt. believed, tho
thought within NE that must ex'
press
III his ,arly youth Bnlzac did not
succeed to his liking IN lmprcsslng wo'
mnu with his Importance with tears
ul modification bowed before The de-
ClsIon of the world, bui my dlstrcsA
wns not barren determined 10 70
yougc myself Oh society. would dom.
innle the feminine intellect aud NO have
the feminine soul AT my mercy. All
eyes should bc Used upon me when The
servant ut the door announced my
name" What be lus begun with The
sword" hc said Of Napoleon. II shall
finish with the pen
There was much OF tllc child In him
10 the end Of his days, lie Was ever
laHilugly III debt. the artists l!fc, he
said. must be splendid one. Some
times when be- was surrounded by the
costiiest hricn brac he had not enough
money 10 buy food. He took coffee 10
keep himself awake. aud he wrote aud
wrote till he was exhausted, all The
time being IN the condition Of track
sd hare" hnrassed and pursued by his
creditors aud knowing That all his gains
must 20 10 them He made elaborate
secret plans 10 attend the rchearsals Of
his plays,
As the place ot Balzacs abode was
kept strictly secret for fear Of his cred
kors the time Of the rehearsal each day
was TO be communicated TO him by q
messenger from the thrater. who was
told to walk In the Champs Elysees to-
ward the Are de rEtoile At the TWEEN
tieth tree on the left. past the circle,
be would find man who would appear
TO he looking for bird In the branchea
The messenger was TO ray 10 him, u
have H." and the man would answer.
As you have IT, what are you waiting
forr' On receiving this reply the ennis
sary from the Odcon would hand over
the paper and depart without looking
behind him. The only comment that
Lreux. who appears 20 have been a
practical man, made on these curious
arrangements was that II the twenti.
eth tree had been struck by lightning
during the night he supposed that the
servant must stop at the twenty hrst,
and Balzac asscnted gravcly 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.
aud the transportation OF 00.000 oaks
from Russia TO France by which he
was persuaded 100000 francs could
be earned But when these schemes
failed he usually got tired Of them
when the excitement of working them
out had subslded-he always had q
play or novel in bis pocket by which
the pressure OF his creditors could be
Ht least temporarily reduced
But the tragedy OF Balzac's life was
his long wooing OF Mime. Hanska. The
acquaintance began with letter from
the lady. who deprecated BalZac's
views of women az expressed In his
la Peau dc Chagrin." Balxac was
strongly Influenced by the letter. He
replied to II, and. notwithstanding the
fact that she was 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
oiled with ideas.' "You are in oil 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
ly, exchanged their first kiss under the
shade Of a great oak at Neufchatel and
promised to wait for each other.
In 1841 Nine. Hanska's husband died,
aad then began for Balzac period OF
hope deferred that lasted for nine
years and broke his health, so that
when at 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 ever loved, whom love more
thAn ever and whom shall love till