BALZAC, Honoré, one of the most distinguished and most prolific of the modern French novelists, was born at Tours on the 20th May 1799. After completing his studies at Vendôme, he entered the office of a notary at Paris, and commenced his literary career by contributions to periodical works; which attempts, however, gave little indication of his genius. Between the years 1821 and 1829 he published, under various pseudonyms, no fewer than thirteen romances; and in the last-mentioned year appeared the first work to which he affixed his name. His writings display a profound knowledge of the human heart, and several of them bear the stamp of unquestionable genius; such, for example, as La Peau de Chagrin, Le Dernier Chouan, La Physiologie de Mariage, Le Père Goriot, La Femme de Trente Ans; and his later works, Médecin de Campagne,
and Parens Pauvres. The most remarkable feature in his private history was his deep attachment to the Countess Eveline Hanska, a Russian princess, who rewarded his long and untiring devotion with the gift of her hand in 1848. Balzac did not long enjoy his felicity. He died at Paris, of hypertrophy of the heart, on the 30th of August 1850. His remains, attended by a vast concourse of people, were deposited in the cemetery of Père-Lachaise.