During the remainder of Balzac’s stay in the Ukraine, he was preoccupied with the thought of his mother having every possible comfort, with his becoming acclimatized in Russia,—­impossible though it was for him in his condition,—­and above all with the realization of his long-cherished hope.  But he cautioned his mother to observe the greatest discretion in regard to this hope, “for such things are never certain until one leaves the church after the ceremony.”

What must have been his feeling of triumph when he was able to write: 

“My very dear Mother,—­Yesterday, at seven in the morning, thanks be to God, my marriage was blessed and celebrated in the church of Saint Barbara, at Berditchef, by the deputy of the Bishop of Jitomir.  Monseigneur wished to have married me himself, but being unable, he sent a holy priest, the Count Abbe Czarouski, the eldest of the glories of the Polish Roman Catholic Church, as his representative.  Madame Eve de Balzac, your daughter-in-law, in order to make an end of all obstacles, has taken an heroic and sublimely maternal resolution, viz., to give up all her fortune to her children, only reserving an annuity to herself. . . .  There are now two of us to thank you for all the good care you have taken of our house, as well as to testify to you our respectful tendresses.”

Balzac was not only anxious that his bride should be properly received, but also that his mother should preserve her dignity.  On their way home he writes her from Dresden to have the house ready for their arrival (May 19, 20, 21), urging that she go either to her own home or to Laure’s, for it would not be proper for her to receive her daughter-in-law in the rue Fortunee, and that she should not call until his wife had called on her.  After reminding her again not to forget to procure flowers, he suggests that owing to his extremely feeble health he meet her at Laure’s, for there he would have one less flight of stairs to climb.  These suggestions, however, were unnecessary, as his mother had been ill in bed for several weeks in Laure’s house.

After the novelist’s return to Paris with his bride, his physical condition was such that in spite of the efforts of his beloved physician, Dr. Nacquart, little could be done for him, and he was destined to pass away within a short time.  Balzac’s mother, she with whom he had had so many misunderstandings, she who had doubtless never fully appreciated his greatness but who had sacrificed her physical strength and worldly goods for his sake, an old woman of almost seventy-two years, showed her true maternal love by remaining with her glorious and immortal son in his last moments.

MADAME SURVILLE—­MADAME MALLET—­MADAME DUHAMEL

“To the Casket containing all things delightful; to the Elixir of
Virtue, of Grace, and of Beauty; to the Gem, to the Prodigy of all
Normandy; to the Pearl of the Bayeux; to the Fairy of St.
Laurence; to the Madonna of the Rue Teinture; to the Guardian
Angel of Caen, to the Goddess of Enchanting Spells; to the
Treasury of all Friendship—­to Laura!”