It was Mme. de Balzac who undertook to see the publishers and magazine
editors, to pass upon the contracts, to follow up the negotiations
already under way, and to conclude them; in short, she represented her
son in all respects in his badly involved business relations. From a
distance he supervised operations, with a mathematical keenness of
vision, and his mother assumed the responsibility of carrying out his
wishes, bringing to the contest all her qualities of vigour, clear
perception and crafty dealings. Honore de Balzac did not spare her. For
he estimated her endurance by his own; and no sooner was he installed
at Sache than he began to give her instructions that were little short
of orders. She must copy The Grocer, which the Silhouette had
published, send him a copy of Contes Bruns, obtain from Mme. de Berny a
volume of The Chouans with her corrections, read the article on Bernard
Palissy in the great Biographie Universelle, copy it, and make note of
all the works that Palissy had written or which had been written about
him, then hurry with those notes to M.
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