up! Mme. Dorval shall have a superb part!' And how he laughed!
. . . Keep this a profound secret. Never betray either me or poor
Thisbe, particularly our influence on behalf of Mme. Dorval."

His friendship for her is seen in a letter written to her in 1840:

"Dear Nightingale,--Two letters have arrived, too brief by two
whole pages, but perfumed with poetry, breathing the heaven whence
they come, so that (a thing which rarely happens with me) I
remained in a reverie with the letters in my hand, making a poem
all alone to myself, saying, 'She has then retained a recollection
of the heart in which she awoke an echo, she and all her poetry of
every kind.' We are natives of the same country, madame, the
country of tears and poverty. We are as much neighbors and
fellow-citizens as prose and poetry can be in France; but I draw
near to you by the feeling with which I admire you, and which made
me stand for an hour and ten minutes before your picture in the
Salon. Adieu! My letter will not tell you all my thoughts; but
find by intuition all the friendship which I have entrusted to it,
and all the treasures which I would send you if I had them at my
disposal."

Soon after Balzac met Madame Hanska, he reserved for her the original
of an epistle from Madame Desbordes-Valmore which he regarded as a
masterpiece. Balzac's friendship for the poetess, which began so early
in his literary life, was a permanent one. Just before leaving for his
prolonged visit in Russia, he wrote her a most complimentary letter in
which he expressed his hopes of being of service to M. Valmore at the
Comedie Francaise, and bade her good-bye, wishing her and her family
much happiness.