[*] "Correspondance," vol. i. p 98.

In May, 1831, Balzac was again away from Paris, this time taking up
his abode in Nemours, where he describes himself as living alone in a
tent in the depths of the earth, subsisting on coffee, and working day
and night at "La Peau de Chagrin," with "L'Auberge Rouge," which he
was writing for the _Revue de Paris_, as his only distraction.

These absences did not apparently cause any friction; but when, in
November, 1831, Balzac went to Sache to stay with M. de Margonne, and
then moved on to the Carrauds, he left "Le Maitre Cornelius," which he
was writing for the _Revue de Paris_, in an unfinished and uncorrected
condition. Thereupon, Amedee Pichot, who naturally wanted consecutive
numbers of the story for his magazine, committed what was in Balzac's
eyes an unpardonable breach of trust, by publishing the uncorrected
proofs, leaving out or altering what he did not understand. Balzac was
furious at his signature being appended to what he considered
unfinished work. Amedee Pichot was also very angry, because Balzac had
unduly lengthened the first part of the story, and had kept him two
months waiting for the finish. Therefore, as diligence was the only
mode of transit, and it was necessary that "Le Maitre Cornelius"
should end with the year, it was impossible to send the proofs before
printing for correction to Angouleme. Nevertheless, as he had
undoubtedly exceeded his rights as editor, he thought it wise to
temporise, and wrote an explanatory and conciliatory letter; and as
this did not pacify Balzac, he dispatched a second of similar tenor.
However, a few days later, on January 9th, 1832, he felt compelled by
the tone of Balzac's correspondence to send a third beginning: "Sir, I
find from the tone of your letter that I am guilty of doing you a
great wrong. I have treated on an equality and as a comrade a superior
person, whom I should have been contented to admire. I therefore beg
your pardon humbly for the 'My dear Balzac' of my preceding letters. I
will preserve the distance of 'Monsieur' between you and me."[*]

[*] "Une Page Perdue de Honore de Balzac," by the Vicomte de
Spoelberch de Lovenjoul; from which the whole account of the
dispute between Balzac and Pichot is taken.

However, Balzac was furious. His respect for his own name and his
intense literary conscientiousness were stronger even than his desire
for money, and it was a very black crime in his eyes for any