storehouse a multitude of images admirable for their reality and
freshness, and which supplied him with mental nutriment through all his
periods of clear-sighted contemplation."

Such was the mental condition of Honore at the time when he was
regarded by his masters as a dullard, a mediocre pupil who might as
well be left to reap the consequences of his own laziness. Clad in his
grey uniform, ill shod and with hands red and swollen from chilblains,
he held aloof from his comrades, indifferent alike to their games and
their taunts. The ruddy colour of well-rounded cheeks, due to long
walks in the open air of the countryside around Tours, had disappeared
and his face was now as white and delicate as a young girl's, while his
eyes had become blacker and more mysterious than ever.

Honore de Balzac received visits from his parents at Easter and at the
time of the distribution of prizes. It was a joyous occasion, long
awaited by the boy, who retained the warmest affection for his family.
But his joy was short-lived. The pupil Balzac had won no prizes, he had
received black marks, he had done no work; consequently, instead of the
loving greeting that he expected, he was met only with words of
disappointment and censure; he was told that he did not appreciate the
sacrifices that were being made to educate him, he was idle and lazy;
they hoped that next year he would do better and at last give them some
little satisfaction.

Honore listened to these reproofs with bowed head, and probably he made
promises, in his desire to bring a smile to their faces and to receive
some of those endearments that he had hungered for, through long days
of solitude. But each year he again took up his interrupted dream, more
laboriously and more fiercely than before.