and sentimental; he, capricious and morose. She seems to have realized
the type of the _femme incomprise_; she too was an _etrangere_, and
bore some traits of her German origin. Coming into Balzac's life at
about the age of forty, this _femme de quarante ans_ became for him
the _amie_ and the companion who was to teach him life. Still
beautiful, having been reared in intimate court circles, having been
the confidante of plotters and the guardian of secrets, possessed of
rare trinkets and souvenirs--what an open book was this _memoire
vivante_, and with what passion did the young interrogator absorb the
pages! Here he found unknown anecdotes, ignored designs, and here the
sources of his great plots, _Les Chouans_, _Madame de la Chanterie_,
and _Un Episode sous la Terreur_.

All this is what she could teach him, aided perhaps by his mother, who
lived until 1837. Here is the secret of Balzac's royalism; here is
where he first learned of the great ladies that appear in his work,
largely portrayed to him by the _amie_ who watched over his youth and
guided his maturity.

Having consulted the _Almanach des 25,000 adresses_, Madame Ruxton
thinks that Balzac met Madame de Berny when the two families lived
near each other in Paris; M. de Berny and family spent the summers in
Villeparisis, and resided during the winters at 3, rue Portefoin,
Paris. It is possible that he met her at the soirees, which he
frequented with his sisters, and where his awkwardness provoked smiles
from the ladies. While it is generally supposed that they met at
Villeparisis, MM. Hanotaux et Vicaire also believed that they must
have known each other before this, if Balzac is referring to his own
life in _Oeuvres diverses: Une Passion au College_.