BALZAC, IloxortF DE, one of the best of the modern French novelists, was b. on the 20th May, 1799, at Tours, where his father held a civil office. At the age of twelve, he entered the college of Vendome, but finished his studies at the Pension Lepitre, in Paris. Ills father who had been impoverished by the loss of his situation, then placed him with a notary, to whom he acted as clerk. This occupation proving intolerably irksome, B. soon after began his literary career, and wrote about 30 volumes, under the name of St. Aubin, M. do Veillergrif, St. Alme, etc. He received some trilling assistance in writing these novels, which were, however, so unsuccessful, that lie lived in the greatest pov erty. In the year 1826, be entered into partnership with the printer Barbier, and pub lished various works; but the speculation turned out so ill, that he fell into debt, and returned oucc more to book-making. His perseverance was admirable. Although long utterlyunsuccessful, he continued to write on until at last he opened a path for himself by his novel Les Dernkrs Chouans, ou la Bretagne en 1800 (Par. 1829). In this book he abandoned for the first time the manner of Pigault and Lebrun, which he had hitherto adopted. Among his best works are the Physiologie du Maringe (2 vols. Par. 1831), Scenes de la Vie Pride (5 vols. 1831), Scenes de la Vie de Province (1832), Scenes de la Vie Pari sienne (1832), Le de Campagne, Le Pere Goriot, Lat Pears. de Chagrin, La Recherche
de 1' Ahsolu, which were all received with much favor by the public. Of all his novels, two only can lay claim to ;my thing like artistic completeness. They are the Histoire lectuelle de Loris Lambert, and Eugene Grandee. 1-1 is other works suffer more or lessfrom unnaturalness, diffuseness, and the want of a solid knowledge of the world, although there is a richness of description in portraying individual feature of character, as drawn directly from the heart, not to be denied. B. exercises immense power over the female part of his readers. In his Conks Drolatiques, eolkqez es Alixeies de Touraine, et Ilti8 en lumiere par le Sieur de Bawd pour l'esbattemene de Pantagruelkles et non auleres (2 vols. Par. 1833), he follows exactly in the footsteps of Rabelais. Success made B. conceitedly ambitious. He thought himself equal to the most distinguished authors of all time, and represented the aim of his Iherary activity to be, to give a complete picture of human life in all its varied pha.ses. As a dramatic author he decidedly failed. He d. Aug., 1850. A collected edition of his works in 45 vols. was published in Paris, 1856-59. An English translation of his letters, with a memoir by his sister, was issued in 1878.