Adieu (English "Farewell") is a short story by Honoré de Balzac.

[3][4] In 1819, two men, Baron Philippe de Sucy and Marquis d'Albon get lost while out hunting near L'Isle-Adam.

On November 28, 1812, Philippe had escorted them to the eastern bank of the Beresina river, where they stopped for the night along with much of the rest of Napoleon's retreating army.

When he comes back he finds that the Comte and Comtesse are sitting at a campfire with a number of hungry and cold French soldiers.

When it is finished, a lot of soldiers rush on board, and there is only room for the Comte, the Comtesse and the grenadier.

So the raft crosses over without Philippe who is captured by the Russians, and remains a prisoner of war in Siberia for a number of years.

Balzac had planned to write a number of stories in the Scènes de la vie militaire section of La Comedie humaine, but only completed two, Les Chouans and Une passion dans le désert.

However, Adieu is one of a number of works from other parts of La Comedie humaine along with Le Médecin de campagne, El Verdugo and others which depict military scenes from the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

[5] The story reflects Balzac's interest in the medicine of his time, in particular the work done by Jean-Étienne Dominique Esquirol in the area of mental illness.