ister Laurentia, who had been lying for many years in
her coffin.

After Balzac's return from St. Petersburg, his letters were filled
with allusions to Madame de Brugnolle, his housekeeper and financial
counselor. He brought presents to various friends, and her he
presented with a muff. Besides being very practical, economical and
kind, she was a good manager for Balzac financially and strict with
him regarding his diet; the _bonne montagnarde_ did almost everything
possible, from running his errands to making his home happy. He sent
business letters under her name, and her fidelity and devotion are
seen in her denying herself clothes in order to buy household
necessities for him.

She served the novelist as a spy when he and Gavault disagreed. When
Lirette visited Paris, she treated her very kindly and gave up her own
room in order to arrange comfortable quarters for her. She had some
relatives who had entered a convent, and she talked of ending her days
in one, but Balzac begged her to keep house for him. He felt that she
was born for that! Madame de Brugnolle was of much help to him in
looking after Lirette's financial affairs, visiting her in the
convent, and carrying messages to her from him. Many times she
comforted him by promising to look out for his family, even consenting
to go to Wierzchownia, if necessary, as Lirette's visit had helped her
to realize as never before the angelic sweetness of his _Loup_.

In return for this devotion, he took her with him to Frankfort and to
Bury to visit Madame de Bocarme. He celebrated the birthday of the
_montagnarde_ in 1844, giving her some very attractive presents. Her
economy and devotion seemed to increase with time, and enabled him to
travel without any worry about his home. What must not have been the
trial to him when this happy household came to be broken up later by
her marriage!

Madame Delannoy was an old family friend of the Balzacs. She aided
Balzac in his financial troubles as early in his career as 1826, and
though he remained indebted to her for more than twenty years, he
tried to repay her and was ever grateful to her, calling her his
second mother. The following, written late in his career, reveals his
general attitude towards her:

"I have just written a long letter to Madame Delannoy, with whom I
have settled my business; but this still leaves me with
obligations of conscientiousness towards her, which my first book
will acquit. No one