e knew Madame Hanska's
daughter Anna in her childhood, but was most intimate with her when
she was about twenty. While Madame de Girardin was not so young, he
met her several years before her marriage, called her Delphine, and
regarded her somewhat as his pupil. He liked Marie de Montbeau and her
mother, Camille Delannoy, who was a friend of his sister Laure and the
daughter of the family friend, Madame Delannoy. Though not intimate
with her, he met and observed Eugenie, the daughter of Madame de
Bolognini at Milan, and probably was acquainted with Inez and
Hyacinthe, the two daughters of Madame Desbordes-Valmore.

In his various works, he has portrayed quite a number of young girls
varying greatly in rank and temperament, among the most prominent
being Marguerite Claes (_La Recherche de l'Absolu_), noted for her
ability and her strength of character, headstrong and much petted
Emilie de Fontaine (_Le Bal de Sceaux_), Laurence de Cinq-Cygne, the
very zealous Royalist (_Une tenebreuse Affaire_), romantic Modeste
Mignon, pitiable Pierrette Lorrain, dutiful and devout Ursule Mirouet,
unfortunate Fosseuse (_Le Medecin de Campagne_), bold and unhappy
Rosalie de Watteville (_Albert Savarus_), and the well-known Eugenie
Grandet.

The novelist has revealed to us that he modeled one of these heroines
on a combination of the woman who later became his wife, and her
cousin, a most charming woman. It is quite possible that some if not
all of the other heroines would be found to have equally interesting
sources, could they be discovered.

Concerning the much discussed question as to whether Balzac portrayed
young girls well, M. Marcel Barriere remarks:

"There are critics stupid enough to say that Balzac knew nothing of
the art of painting young girls; they make use of the inelegant,
unpolished word _rate_ to qualify his portraits of this _genre_.
To be sure, Balzac's triumph is, we admit, in his portraits of
mothers or passionate women who know life. Certain authors,
without counting George Sand, have given us sketches of young
girls far superior to Balzac's, but that is no reason for scoffing
in so impertinent a manner at the author of the _Comedie humaine_,
when his unquestionable glory ought to silence similar
pamphletistic criticisms. We advise those who reproach Balzac for
not having understood the simplicity, modesty and graces so full
of charm, or often the artifice of the young girl, to please