would go there to join you. . . . Dear friend, let me at least
tell you now, in the fulness of my heart, that during this long
and painful road four noble beings have faithfully held out their
hands to me, encouraged me, loved me, and had compassion on me;
and you are one of them, who have in my heart an inalienable
privilege and priority over all other affections; every hour of my
life upon which I look back is filled with precious memories of
you. . . . You will always have the right to command me, and all
that is in me is yours. When I have dreams of happiness, you
always take part in them; and to be considered worthy of your
esteem is to me a far higher prize than all the vanities the world
can bestow. No, you can give me no amount of affection which I do
not desire to return to you a thousand-fold. . . . There are a few
persons whose approval I desire, and yours is one of those I hold
most dear."

Among those to whom Balzac could look for criticism, Madame Carraud
had the high intelligence necessary for such a role; he felt that
never was so wonderful an intellect as hers so entirely stifled, and
that she would die in her corner unknown. (Perhaps this estimate of
her caused various writers to think that Madame Carraud was Balzac's
model for the _femme incomprise_.) Balzac not only had her serve him
as a critic, but in 1836 he requested her to send him at once the
names of various streets in Angouleme, and wished the "Commandant" to
make him a rough plan of the place. This data he wanted for _Les deux
Poetes_, the first part of _Les Illusions perdues_.

Like his family and some of his most intimate friends, she too
interested herself in his future happiness, but when she wrote to him
about marriage, he was furious for a long time. Concerning this