the fond mother wrote him about certain traits of her daughter he
encouraged her to be proud of Anna, for she was far superior to the
best-bred young people of Paris.

He did not approve, at first, of the young Count de Mniszech and
championed another suitor; later he and the Count became warm friends,
and in 1846, he dedicated to him _Maitre Cornelius_, written in 1831.
Besides having a very handsome cane made for him, he sent him many
gifts.

Balzac expressed his admiration of Anna not only to her mother, but to
others. He wrote the Count, who was soon to become her husband, that
she was the most charming young girl he had ever seen in the most
refined circles of society. He found her far more attractive than his
niece, who had the bloom of a beautiful Norman, and he thought that
possibly some of his admiration for her was due to his great affection
for her mother.

One is surprised to see what foresight Balzac had--so many things he
said proved to be true. He thought, for instance, that Anna had the
physique to live a hundred years, that she had no sense of the
practical, that her mother--as he took care to warn her--would do well
to keep her estate separate from her daughter's, or otherwise she
might some day have cause for regret. Whether Madame Honore de Balzac
was too busy with literary and business duties after her husband's
death, or whether her extreme affection prevented her from refusing
her only child anything she wished, the results were disastrous. It
was fortunate for Balzac that he did not live to see the fate of this
paragon, for this would have grieved him deeply, while he probably
would not have been able to remedy matters.

While a part of Balzac's affection for Anna was doubtless owing to his
adoration for her mother, she must have had in her own person some
very charming traits, for after he had lived in their home for more
than a year, where he must have studied her most carefully, he says of
her: "It is true that the Countess Anna and Count George are two ideal
perfections; I did not believe two such beings could exist. There is a
nobleness of life and sentiment, a gentleness of manners, an evenness
of temper, which cannot be believed unless you have lived with them.
With all this, there is a playfulness, a spontaneous gaiety, which
dispels weariness or monotony. Never have I been so thoroughly in my
right place as here."

Balzac certainly was not tactful in continually praising the youn