table_ during the whole month of
his stay at Angouleme, at the house of his friend and sister's
schoolfellow, Madame Zulma Carraud,--hence, something like seven sous
(3-1/2_d._) per day: for which extravagance he makes up, on his return
to Paris, by plunging into work harder than ever. He goes to roost at 7
p.m., "like the fowls;" and he is called at 1 a.m., when he writes
until 8 a.m. He takes another hour and a half of sleep, and, after
partaking of a light meal, "gets into his collar" until four in the
afternoon. After that, he receives a few friends, takes a bath, or goes
out, and immediately he has swallowed his dinner he "turns in," as
stated above. "I shall be compelled to lead this nigger's life for a few
months without stopping, in order not to be swamped by those terrible
bills that are due."

These extracts are not personal recollections. I have inserted them to
make good my statement that Balzac was neither a gambler, a drunkard,
nor an idler.

"How does he spend his money?" I asked Mery, when he had told us of his
fourth meeting with Balzac on that very morning.

"In sops to his imagination, in balloons to the land of dreams, which
balloons he constructs with his hard-won earnings and inflates with the
essence of his visions, but which nevertheless will not rise three feet
from the earth," he answered. Then he went on explaining: "Balzac is
firmly convinced that every one of his characters has had, or has still,
its counterpart in real life, notably the characters that have risen
from humble beginnings to great wealth; and he thinks that, having
worked out the secret of their success on paper, he can put it in
practice. He embarks on the most harum-scarum speculations without the
slightest practical knowledge; as, for instance, when he drew the plans
for his country-house at the Jardies (Ville d'Avray), and insisted upon
the builder carrying them out in every respect while he was away. When
the place was finished there was not a single staircase. Of course, they
had to put them outside, and he maintained that it was part of his
original plan; but he had never given a thought to the means of ascent.
But here is Monsieur Louis Lurine. If you would like an idea of Balzac's
impracticability, let him tell you what occurred between Balzac and
Kugelmann a few months ago."

Kugelmann was at that time publishing a very beautifully illustrated
work, entitled "Les Rues de Paris," which Louis Lurine was editing. We