of which he had become a victim, furnished him with material of which
he made abundant use later in his works.

In September, 1828, after this business was temporarily out of the
way, Balzac went to Brittany to spend a few weeks with some old family
friends, the Pommereuls. There he roved over the beautiful country and
collected material for _Les Chouans_, the first novel which he signed
with his own name. Notwithstanding the fact that before he had reached
his thirtieth year, he was staggering under a debt amounting to about
100,000 francs, Balzac with his never-failing hope in the future and
his ever-increasing belief in his destiny, cast aside his depression,
and fought continually to attain the greatness which was never fully
recognized until long after his death.

He had entered on what was indeed a period of struggle. Establishing
himself in Paris in the rue de Tournon, and later in the rue de
Cassini, he battled with poverty, lacking both food and clothing; but
his courage never wavered. Drinking black coffee to keep himself
awake, he wrote eighteen hours a day, and when exhausted would run
away to the country to relax and visit with his friends. The Baron de
Pommereul was only one of a rather numerous group. He frequently
visited Madame Carraud at her hospitable home at Frapesle, and M. de
Margonne in his chateau at Sache on the Indre. Often he would spend
many weeks at a time with the latter, where he made himself perfectly
at home, was treated as one of the family, and worked or rested just
as he wished. Leading the hermit's life by preference, he needed the
quietude of the country atmosphere in order to recover from the great
strain to which he subjected himself when the fit of authorship was
upon him. Thus it happened that several of his works were written in
the homes of various friends.