t this character
represented his sister, and called attention to the same intense
maternal feeling of the two women, and the same sickly, morose
husband. The Princess Radziwill also believes that this is a portrait
of her aunt, which hypothesis is further strengthened by comments of
Emile Faguet, who says that to one who has read Balzac's letters in
1834-1835 closely, it is clear that Madame de Mortsauf is Madame
Hanska, and that the marvelous M. de Mortsauf is M. de Hanski.

Mr. F. Lawton also thinks that Balzac has shown his relations to
Madame Hanska in making Felix de Vandenesse console himself with Lady
Dudley while swearing high allegiance to his Henriette, just as Balzac
was "inditing oaths of fidelity to his 'earth-angel' in far-away
Russia while worshipping at shrines more accessible. Lady Dudley may
well have been, for all his denial, the Countess Visconti, of whom
Madame Hanska was jealous and on good grounds, or else the Duchesse de
Castries, to whom he said that while writing the book he had caught
himself shedding tears." Balzac says of this book:

"I have received five _formal complaints_ from persons about me,
who say that I have unveiled their private lives. I have very
curious letters on this subject. It appears that there are as many
Messieurs de Mortsauf as there are angels at Clochegourde, and
angels rain down upon me, but _they are not white_."

In the early autumn of 1835, M. de Hanski and his family, having spent
several weeks at Ischl, returned to their home at Wierzchownia after
an absence of more than two years. It was during this long stay at
Vienna that Madame Hanska had Daffinger make the miniature which
occupies so much space in Balzac's letters in later years.

It must have been a relief to poor Balzac when his _Chatelaine_
returned to her home, for while traveling she was negligent about
giving him her address, so that he was never sure whether she received
all his letters, and she did not number hers, as he had asked her to
do, so that he was not certain that he received all that she wrote
him; neither would she--though leading a life of leisure--write as
often as he wished. But if he scolded her for this, she had other
matters to worry her. She was ever anxious about the safety of her
letters, asked for many explanations of his conduct, for
interpretations of various things in his works, and who certain
friends were, so much so that his letters are filled with vindications