d never be a cloud in their sky, in spite
of the intensity of their characters, and that he would be going to
see her within six months. The soothsayer was correct in this last
statement, at least, for Balzac arrived at St. Petersburg soon after
this interview.

Madame Hanska felt that she was growing old, but Balzac assured her
that he should love her even were she ugly, and he relieved her mind
of this fear by writing in her _Journal intime_ that although he had
not seen her since they were in Vienna, he thought her as beautiful
and young as then--after an interval of seven years.[*]

[*] Balzac should have said an interval of _eight_ years instead of
_seven_, for he visited her in Vienna in May and June, 1835, and
he wrote this in September 1843. This is only one of the
novelist's numerous mistakes in figuring, seen throughout his
entire works.

Balzac arrived in St. Petersburg on July 17_29, and left there late in
September,[*] 1843, stopping to visit in Berlin and Dresden. Becoming
very ill, he cut short his visit to Mayence and Cologne and arrived in
Paris November 3, in order to consult his faithful Dr. Nacquart.
Excess of work, the sorrow of leaving Madame Hanska, disappointment,
and deferred hopes were too much for his nervous system. His letters
to Madame Hanska were, if possible, filled with greater detail than
ever concerning his debts, his household and family matters, his works
and society gossip. The _tu_ frequently replaces the _vous_, and
having apparently exhausted all the endearing names in the French
language, he resorted to the Hebrew, and finds that _Lididda_ means so
many beautiful things that he employs this word. He calls her _Liline_
or _Line_; she becomes his _Louloup_, his "lighthouse," his "happy
star," and the _sicura richezza, senza brama_.

[*] Unless the editor of _Lettres a l'Etrangere_ is confusing the
French and Russian dates, he has made a mistake in dating certain
of Balzac's letters from St. Petersburg. He had two dated October
1843, St. Petersburg, and on his way home from there Balzac writes
from Taurogen dating his letter September 27-October 10, 1843.
Hence the exact date of his departure from St. Petersburg is
obscure.

Madame Hanska and Balzac seem to have had many idiosyncrasies in
common, among which was their _penchant_ for jewelry, as well as
perfumes. Since their meeting at Geneva, the two exchanged gifts of
jewelry frequent