In the year 1835 the novelist's restlessness and inability to remain
long in one spot were evinced in a very marked manner. Only by
repeated changes of scene was he able to carry on his work at all.
After wearing himself out in a fruitless attempt to complete
_Seraphita_ in April, he fled to Madame Carraud's at Frapesle. In
October he was at La Boulonniere, where he put the last touches to
_Pea-Blossom_, better known as the _Marriage Contract_, which came out
before the end of December. His fits of depression alternated with
spurts of cheerfulness nearly every week, according as he had some
loss or gain to register; here, a fire at the printer's, where some of
his _Contes Drolatiques_ were burned; there, the sale of an article to
the _Conservateur_ for three thousand francs. In September the
barometer rose, and he exclaimed joyfully in a letter to Laure:
"The Reviews are at my feet and pay me more for my sheets. He! He!
"The reading public have changed their opinion about the _Country
Doctor_, so that Werdet is certain of selling his editions directly.
Ha! Ha!
"In short, I can meet my liabilities in November and December. Ho!
Ho!"
This tone changed in October.
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