couple of arm-chairs,
and six ordinary ones, Louis XV., and upholstered in Aubusson
tapestry--subjects, Lafontaine's Fables. Opposite again, a monumental
mantelpiece in malachite (a present of Czar Nicholas, who had
expressed his admiration of Balzac's novels), with bronzes and clock
by De Gouttieres. The place on the ceiling was marked for a chandelier
of Venetian glass, and in the dining-room a square was drawn on the
carpetless floor for the capacious sideboard, whereon would be
displayed "the magnificent family plate."

Pending the arrival of the furniture, the building of the dairy,
hothouses, and vineries, the guests had to sit on hard wooden chairs, to
eat a vile dinner, supplemented, however, by an excellent dessert.
Balzac was very fond of fruit, and especially of pears, of which he
always ate an enormous quantity. The wine was, as a rule, very inferior,
but on that particular occasion Balzac's guests discovered that their
host's imagination could even play him more cruel tricks in the
selection of his vintages than it played him in his pursuit of financial
schemes and the furnishing of his house.

When the fruit was placed upon the table, Balzac assumed a most solemn
air. "Gentlemen," he said, "I am going to give you some Chateau-Lafitte,
such as you have never tasted--such as it has been given to few mortals
to taste. I wish you to sip it carefully--I might almost say reverently,
because the opportunity may not repeat itself in our lives."

Wherewith the guests' glasses were filled; all of them made horrible
faces, for it was abominable stuff, but one more outspoken than the rest
gave his opinion there and then--

"This may be 'Chateau de la Rue Lafitte,' but it is enough to give one
the colic."

Any one else but Balzac would have been horribly disconcerted; he, on
the contrary, did not budge. "Yes," he said proudly, "you are right in
one respect; this ambrosial nectar comes in a straight line from the Rue
Lafitte, for it is Baron James de Rothschild who made me a present of
two barrels, for which I am profoundly grateful. Drink, gentlemen,
drink, and be thankful also."

Those who would consider this a clever piece of acting on Balzac's part,
would be greatly mistaken. His imagination at times affected his palate
as well as his other organs, and at that moment he was under the
distinct impression that he was offering his guests one of the rarest
vintages on record.

I have endeavoured hitherto to di