oman without interest in life. . . ."

Balzac's parents having moved from Villeparisis to Versailles, he had
an excellent opportunity of seeing the Duchess while visiting them, as
she was living at that time in the Grand-Rue de Montreuil No. 65, in a
pavilion which she called her _ermitage_. In _La Femme de trente Ans_,
Balzac has described her retreat as a country house between the church
and the barrier of Montreuil, on the road which leads to the Avenue de
Saint-Cloud. This house, built originally for the short-lived loves of
some great lord, was situated so that the owner could enjoy all the
pleasures of solitude with the city almost at his gates.

Soon after their meeting, a sympathetic friendship was formed between
the two writers; they had the same literary aspirations, the same love
for work, the same love of luxury and extravagant tastes, the same
struggles with poverty and the same trials and disappointments.

Since Balzac was attracted to beautiful names as well as to beautiful
women, that of the Duchesse d'Abrantes appealed to him, independently
of the wealth of history it recalled. He was happy to make the
acquaintance of one who could give him precise information of the
details of the _Directoire_ and of the Empire, an instruction begun by
the _commere Gay_. Thus the Duchesse d'Abrantes was to exercise over
him, though in a less degree, the same influence for the comprehension
of the Imperial world that Madame de Berry did for the Royalist world,
just as the Duchesse de Castries later was to initiate him into the
society of the Faubourg Saint-Germain.

Madame d'Abrantes, pleased as she was to meet literary people,
welcomed most cordially the young author who came to her seeking
stories of the Corsican. Owing to financial difficulties she was
leading a rather retired and melancholy life, and the brilliant and
colorful language of Balzac, fifteen years her junior, aroused her
heart from its torpor, and her friendship for him took a peculiar
tinge of sentiment which she allowed to increase. It had been many
years since she had been thus moved, and this new feeling, which came
to her as she saw the twilight of her days approaching, was for her a
love that meant youth and life itself.

Hence her words pierced the very soul of Balzac and kindled an
enthusiasm which made her appear to him greater than she really was;
she literally dazzled and subjugated him. Her gaiety and animation in
relating incidents of