had a period of training in the office of an attorney, Guyonnet
de Merville, the Derville of La Comédie Humaine. Balzac
later continued this training in a notary's office. Meanwhile,
he was studying literature at the Sorbonne.

1819. While living alone in a garret in the rue Lesdiguières,
he tried his hand at literary work, using up a good deal of
paper and ink without much success. (See Louis Lambert, La
Peau de Chagrin, Le Lys clans La Vallée.)

1820. Balzac resumed his place in the family circle, now
located in Villeparisis. He stayed there only intermittently,
however, for the Balzacs had also rented a pied-à-terre in Paris.
In 1822, he developed a passionate love for Madame de Berny,
born Louise Antoinette Laure Hinner, the daughter of a harpist
in the service of her godmother, Queen Marie Antoinette. The
de Bernzy family spent their summers at Villeparisis. Twenty-two
years older than Honoré, Laure became an incomparable friend:
she was deeply devoted to him; she had a profound influence
on his moral and literary development; and she continued to
give proof of her boundless love until her death on July 27, 1836.
She enveloped her friend with warm tenderness. One may well
wonder what the undisciplined temperament of Balzac would
have brought forth without the counsels of La Dilecta.

1821-1824. Under various pseudonyms he collaborated on
several novels, collected and published with the title Oeuvres
complètes d'Horace de Saint-Aubain (Souverain, 1836-40). By
1819, he had already formed a noble friendship with Zulma
Tourangin, who had been in boarding school with his sister
Laure; and was now the wife of Artillery Commandant Carraud.
This modest and virtuous woman had her share of influence
over the writer, who was a frequent visitor at the Poudrerie
(Powder Mill) of Angoulême and later at Frapesles, near Is-
soudun, as a guest of the Carraud family.

1825-1828. Balzac attempted to capture riches by engaging
in business as an editor and then as a printer and typefounder,
but he was forced into liquidation by a court order. This
brought financial ruin on his family and was to weigh heavily
on him for the rest of his life. He turned once more to literature;
and, becoming intimate with the Duchess of Abrantès, he col-
laborated closely on her Memoirs.

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