You should not dislike the "romantic romance," which every one in these days advises us to write--as if that style did not begin as far back as the birth of romance itself: as if the Princess of Cleves had not written, and as if Balzac himself, the great realist, had not invented, the finest "romantic romances" that can be found--for example, the amorous adventure of General de Montriveau and the Duchesse de Langlais! Apropos, in your charming story there is a General who pleases me very much. How was it that you did not take, after the fashion of Paul de Molenes, a dashing cavalry officer for your hero?--you, for whom the literary cavalier has all the attractions of a gentleman and a soldier? Nothing could be more piquant, alert, chivalrous--in short, worthy of a Frenchman--than the departure of your hero for the war after that dramatic card-party, which was also a battle--and what a battle!--where, at the end of the conflict, he left his all upon the green cloth. That is an attractive sketch of the amiable comedienne, who wishes for fair weather and a smooth sea for the soldier lover who is going so far away. It seems to me that I have actually known that pretty girl at some time or another! That chapter is full of the perfume of pearl powder and iris! It is only a story, of course, but it is a magnificent story, which will please many readers. The public will ask you to write others, be sure of that; and you will do well, my dear friend, for your own sake and for ours, to follow the precept of Denis Diderot: "My friends, write stories; while one writes them he amuses himself, and the story of life goes on, and that is less gay than the stories we can tell." I do not know precisely whether these last words, which are slightly pessimistic, are those of the good Diderot himself. But they are those of a Parisian of 1892, who has been able to forget his cares and annoyances in reading the story that you have told so charmingly. With much affection to you, and wishing good luck to Zibeline, I am Your friend, JULES CLARETIE de l'Academie Francaise. APRIL 26, 1892. ZIBELINE BOOK 1 CHAPTER I LES FRERES-PROVENCAUX In the days of the Second Empire, the Restaurant des Freres-Provencaux still enjoyed a wide renown to which its fifty years of existence had contributed more than a little to heighten its fame. This celebrated establishment was situated near the Beaujolais Gallery of the Palais-Royal, close to the narrow street leading to the Rue Vivienne, and it had been the rendezvous of epicures, either residents of Paris or birds of passage, since the day it was opened.