s
under the impression that Balzac's name was "Henry" and some of her
correspondence was in English.

That he should have taken the time to write to this unknown
correspondent shows that her letters must have possessed some
intrinsic value for him, yet he refused to learn her identity.

"Chance permitted me to know who you might be, and I refused to
learn. I never did anything so chivalrous in my life; no, never! I
consider it is grander than to risk one's life for an interview of
ten minutes. Perhaps I may astonish you still more, when I say
that I can learn all about you in any moment, any hour, and yet I
refuse to learn, because you wish I should not know!"

In reply to a letter from Louise in which she complained that her time
was monopolized by visits, he writes:

"Visits! Do they leave behind them any good for you? For the space
of twelve years, an angelic woman stole two hours each day from
the world, from the claims of family, from all the entanglements
and hindrances of Parisian life--two hours to spend them beside me
--without any one else's being aware of the fact; for twelve
years! Do you understand all that is contained in these words? I
can not wish that this sublime devotedness which has been my
salvation should be repeated. I desire that you should retain all
your illusions about me without coming one step further; and I do
not dare to wish that you should enter upon one of these glorious,
secret, and above all, rare and exceptional relationships.
Moreover, I have a few friends among women whom I trust--not more
than two or three--but they are of an insatiable exigence, and if
they were to discover that I corresponded with an _inconnue_, they
would feel hurt."[*]

[*] _Memoir and Letters of Balzac_. The woman Balzac refers to here is
Madame de Berny, but this is an exaggeration.

He revealed to her his ideas regarding women and friendship; how he
longed to possess a tender affection which would be a secret between
two alone. He complained of her want of confidence in him, and of his
work in his loneliness. She tried to comfort him, and being artistic,
sent him a sepia drawing. He sought a second one to hang on the other
side of his fireplace, and thus replaced two lithographs he did not
like. As a token of his friendship he sent her a manuscript of one of
his works, saying:

"All this is suggested while looking at your sepia drawing; and
while prep