Page:Repertory of the Comedie Humaine.djvu/16

 of man it is that is under advisement. A little systematic reading of this nature will speedily render the reader a "confirmed Balzacian."

A slight confusion may arise in the use of the Repertory on account of the subdivision of titles. This is the fault neither of Messieurs Cerfberr and Christophe nor of the translator, but of Balzac himself, who was continually changing titles, dividing and subdividing stories, and revamping and working other changes in his books. Cousin Betty and Cousin Pons were placed together by him under the general title of Poor Relations. Being separate stories, we have retained the separate titles. Similarly, the three divisions of Lost Illusions were never published together until 1843&mdash;in the first complete edition of the Comedie; before assuming final shape its parts had received several different titles. In the present text the editor has deemed it best to retain two of the parts under Lost Illusions, while the third, which presents a separate Rubempre episode, is given as A Distinguished Provincial at Paris. The three parts of The Thirteen&mdash;Ferragus, The Duchess of Langeais, and The Girl with the Golden Eyes&mdash;are given under the general title. The fourth part of Scenes from a Courtesan's Life, Vautrin's Last Avatar, which until the Edition Definitive had been published separately, is here merged into its final place. But the three parts of The Celibates&mdash;Pierrette, The Vicar of Tours and A Bachelor's Establishment, being detached, are given separately. Other minor instances occur, but should be readily cleared up by reference to the Indices, also to the General Introduction given elsewhere.

In the preparation of this English text, great care has been exercised to gain accuracy&mdash;a quality not found in other versions now extant. In one or two instances, errors