Works of Honore De Balzac

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Works of Honore De Balzac Page 1581

by Honoré de Balzac


  LUIGIA, young and beautiful Roman girl of the suburbs, wife of Benedetto, who claimed the right of selling her. She tried to kill herself at the same time she killed him, but did not succeed. Charles de Sallenauve — Dorlange — protected her, taking care of her when she became a widow, and made her his housekeeper in 1839. Luigia soon left her benefactor, the voice of slander having accused them in their mutually innocent relations. The Member for Arcis.

  LUPEAULX (Clement Chardin des), officer and politician, born about 1785; left in good circumstances by his father; who was ennobled by Louis XV., his coat-of-arms showing “a ferocious wolf of sable bearing a lamb in its jaws,” with this motto: “En lupus in historia.” A shrewd and ambitious man, ready for all enterprises, even the most compromising, Clement des Lupeaulx knew how to make himself of service to Louis XVIII. in several delicate undertakings. Many influential members of the aristocracy placed in his hands their difficult business and their lawsuits. He served thus as mediator between the Duc de Navarreins and Polydore Milaud de la Baudraye, and attained a kind of mightiness that Annette seemed to fear would be disastrous to Charles Grandet. He accumulated duties and ranks, was master of petitions in the Council of State, secretary-general to the minister of finance, colonel in the National Guard, government commissioner in a joint-stock company; also provided with an inspectorship in the king’s house, he became Chevalier de Saint-Louis and officer of the Legion of Honor. An open follower of Voltaire, but an attendant at mass, at all times a Bertrand in pursuit of a Raton, egotistic and vain, a glutton and a libertine, this man of intellect, sought after in all social circles, a kind of minister’s “household drudge,” openly lived, until 1825, a life of pleasure and anxiety, striving for political success and love conquests. As mistresses he is known to have had Esther van Gobseck, Flavie Colleville; perhaps, even, the Marquise d’Espard. He was seen at the Opera ball in the winter of 1824, at which Lucien de Rubempre reappeared. The close of this year brought about considerable change in the Secretary-General’s affairs. Crippled by debt, and in the power of Gobseck, Bidault and Mitral, he was forced to give up one of the treasury departments to Isidore Baudoyer, despite his personal liking for Rabourdin. He gained as a result of this stroke a coronet and a deputyship. He had ambitions for a peerage, the title of gentleman of the king’s chamber, a membership in the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-lettres, and the commander’s cross. The Muse of the Department. Eugenie Grandet. A Bachelor’s Establishment. A Distinguished Provincial at Paris. The Government Clerks. Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life. Ursule Mirouet.

  LUPEAULX (Des), nephew of the preceding, and, thanks to him, appointed sub-prefect of Ville-aux-Fayes, Bourgogne, in 1821, in the department presided over successively by Martial de la Roche-Hugon and Casteran. As Gaubertin’s prospective son-in-law, M. des Lupeaulx, espousing the cause of his fiancee’s family, was instrumental in disgusting Montcornet, owner of Aigues, with his property. The Peasantry.

  LUPIN, born in 1778, son of the last steward of the Soulanges in Bourgogne; in time he became manager of the domain, notary and deputy mayor of the city of Soulanges. Although married and a man of family, M. Lupin, still in excellent physical condition, was, in 1823, a brilliant figure in Madame Soudry’s reception-room, where he was known for his tenor voice and his extreme gallantries — the latter characteristic being proved by two liaisons carried on with two middle-class women, Madame Sarcus, wife of Sarcus the Rich, and Euphemie Plissoud. The Peasantry.

  LUPIN (Madame), wife of the preceding, called “Bebelle;” only daughter of a salt-merchant enriched by the Revolution; had a platonic affection for the chief clerk, Bonnac. Madame Lupin was fat, awkward, of very ordinary appearance, and weak intellectually. On account of these characteristics Lupin and the Soudry adherents neglected her. The Peasantry.

  LUPIN (Amaury), only son of the preceding couple, perhaps the lover of Adeline Sarcus, who became Madame Adolphe Sibilet; was on the point of marrying one of Gaubertin’s daughters, the same one, doubtless, that was wooed and won by M. des Lupeaulx. In the midst of this liaison and of these matrimonial designs, Amaury Lupin was sent to Paris in 1822 by his father to study the notary’s profession with Maitre Crottat, where he had for a companion another clerk, Georges Marest, with whom he committed some indiscretions and went into debt. Amaury went with his friend to the Lion d’Argent, rue d’Enghien in the Saint-Denis section, when Marest took Pierrotin’s carriage to Isle-Adam. On the way they met Oscar Husson, and made fun of him. The following year Amaury Lupin returned to Soulanges in Bourgogne. The Peasantry. A Start in Life.

  M

  MACHILLOT (Madame), kept in Paris, in 1838, in the Notre Dame-des Champs neighborhood, a modest restaurant, which was patronized by Godefroid on account of its nearness to Bourlac’s house. The Seamy Side of History.

  MACUMER (Felipe Henarez, Baron de), Spanish descendant of the Moors, about whom much information has been furnished by Talleyrand; had a right to names and titles as follows: Henarez, Duc de Soria, Baron de Macumer. He never used all of them; for his entire youth was a succession of sacrifices, misfortunes and undue trials. Macumer, a leading Spanish revolutionist of 1823, saw fortune turn against him. Ferdinand VII., once more enthroned, recognized him as constitutional minister, but never forgave him for his assumption of power. Seeing his property confiscated and himself banished, he took refuge in Paris, where he took poor lodgings on rue Hillerin-Bertin and began to teach Spanish for a living, notwithstanding he was Baron de Sardaigne with large estates and a place at Sassari. Macumer also suffered many heart-aches. He vainly loved a woman who was beloved by his own brother. His brother’s passion being reciprocated, Macumer sacrificed himself for their happiness. Under the simple name of Henarez, Macumer was the instructor of Armande-Marie-Louise de Chaulieu, whom he did not woo in vain. He married her, March, 1825. At various times the baron occupied or owned Chantepleurs, a chateau Nivernais, a house on rue du Bac, and La Crampade, Louis de l’Estorate’s residence in Provence. The foolish, annoying jealousy of Madame de Macumer embittered his life and was responsible for his physical break-down. Idolized by his wife, in spite of his marked plainness, he died in 1829. Letters of Two brides.

  MACUMER (Baronne de). (See Gaston, Madame Marie.)

  MADELEINE, first name of Madeleine Vinet, by which she was called while employed as a domestic. Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life. Cousin Pons.

  MADOU (Angelique), woman of the masses, fat but spry; although ignorant, very shrewd in her business of selling dried fruit. At the beginning of the Restoration she lived in Paris on rue Perrin-Gasselin, where she fell prey to the usurer Bidault — Gigonnet. Angelique Madou at first dealt harshly with Cesar Birotteau, when he was unable to pay his debts; but she congratulated him, later on, when, as a result of his revived fortunes, the perfumer settled every obligation. Angelique Madon had a little godchild, in whom she occasionally showed much interest. Cesar Birotteau.

  MAGNAN (Prosper), of Beauvais, son of a widow, chief-surgeon’s assistant; executed in 1799 at Andernach on the banks of the Rhine, being the innocent victim of circumstantial evidence, which condemned him for the double crime of robbery and murder — this crime having, in reality, been committed by his comrade, Jean-Frederic-Taillefer, who escaped punishment. The Red Inn.

  MAGNAN (Madame), mother of the preceding, lived at Beauvais, where she died a short time after her son’s death, and previous to the arrival of Hermann, who was bearing her a letter from Prosper. The Red Inn.

  MAGUS (Elie), Flemish Jew, Dutch-Belgian descent, born in 1770. He lived now at Bordeaux, now at Paris; was a merchant of costly articles, such as pictures, diamonds and curiosities. By his influence Madame Luigi Porta, born Ginevra di Piombo, obtained from a print-seller a position as colorist. Madame Evangelista engaged him to estimate the value of her jewels. He bought a copy of Rubens from Joseph Bridau and some Flemish subjects from Pierre Grassou, selling them later to Vervelli as genuine Rembrandts or Teniers; he arranged for the marriage of the artist wi
th the cork-maker’s daughter. Very wealthy, and having retired from business in 1835, he left his house on the Boulevard Bonne-Nouvelle to occupy an old dwelling on Chaussee des Minimes, now called rue de Bearn. He took with him his treasures, his daughter, Noemi, and Abramko as a guard for his property. Eli Magus was still living in 1845, when he had just acquired, in a somewhat dishonorable manner, a number of superb paintings from Sylvain Pons’ collection. The Vendetta. A Marriage Settlement. A Bachelor’s Establishment. Pierre Grassou. Cousin Pons.

  MAHOUDEAU (Madame), in 1840, in company with Madame Cardinal, her friend, created a disturbance during one of Bobino’s performances at a small theatre near the Luxembourg, where Olympe Cardinal was playing. While playing the “jeune premiere” she was recognized by her mother. The Middle Classes.

  MAHUCHET (Madame), women’s shoemaker, “a very foul-mouthed woman,” in the language of Madame Nourrisson; mother of seven children. After having dunned a countess, to no avail, for a hundred francs that was due her, she conceived the idea of carrying off the silverware, on display at a grand dinner to be given by her debtor one evening, as a pledge. She promptly returned, however, the silver she had taken, upon finding that it was white metal. The Unconscious Humorists.

  MALAGA, surname of Marguerite Turquet.

  MALASSIS (Jeanne), from the country, a servant of Pingret, who was an avaricious and wealthy old peasant of the suburbs of Limoges. Mortally injured while hastening to the assistance of her master, who was robbed and murdered, she was the second victim of J.-F. Tascheron. The Country Parson.

  MALFATTI, Venetian doctor; in 1820 called into consultation with one of his fellow-physicians in France, concerning the sickness of the Duc Cataneo. Massimilla Doni.

  MALIN. (See Gondreville.)

  MALLET, policeman in the department of Orne in 1809. Ordered to find and arrest Madame Bryond des Minieres, he let her escape, by means of an agreement with his comrade, Ratel, who was to have aided in her capture. Having been imprisoned for this deed, Mallet was declared by Bourlac deserving of capital punishment, and was put to death the same year. The Seamy Side of History.

  MALVAUT (Jenny). (See Derville, Madame.)

  MANCINI (De), Italian, fair, effeminate, madly beloved by La Marana, who had by him a daughter, Juana-Pepita-Maria de Mancini, later Madame Diard. The Maranas.

  MANCINI (Juana-Pepita-Maria de). (See Diard, Madame.)

  MANERVILLE (De), born in 1731; Norman gentleman to whom the governor of Guyenne, Richelieu, married one of the wealthiest Bordeaux heiresses. He purchased a commission as major of the Gardes de la Porte, in the latter part of Louis XV.’s reign; had by his wife a son, Paul, who was reared with austerity; emigrated, at the outbreak of the Revolution, to Martinique, but managed to save his property, Lanstrac, etc., thanks to Maitre Mathias, head-clerk of the notary. He became a widower in 1810, three years before his death. A Marriage Settlement.

  MANERVILLE (Paul Francois-Joseph, Comte de), son of the preceding, born in 1794, received his education in the college at Vendome, finishing his work there in 1810, the year of his mother’s death. He passed three years at Bordeaux with his father, who had become overbearing and avaricious; when left an orphan, he inherited a large fortune, including Lanstrac in Gironde, and a house in Paris, rue de la Pepiniere. He spent six years in Europe as a diplomat, passing his vacations in Paris, where he was intimate with Henri de Marsay, and was a lover of Paquita Valdes. There he was subject to the trifling of Madame Charles de Vandenesse, then Emilie de Fontaine; also, perhaps, met Lucien de Rubempre. In the winter of 1821 he returned to Bordeaux, where he was a social leader. Paul de Manerville received the appropriate nick-name of “le fleur des pois.” Despite the good advice of his two devoted friends, Maitre Mathias and Marsay, he asked, through the instrumentality of his great-aunt, Madame de Maulincour, for the hand of Natalie Evangelista in marriage, and obtained it. After being wedded five years, he was divorced from his wife and sailed for Calcutta under the name of Camille, one of his mother’s given names. The Thirteen. The Ball at Sceaux. Lost Illusions. A Distinguished Provincial at Paris. A Marriage Settlement.

  MANERVILLE (Comtesse Paul de), wife of the preceding, born Mademoiselle Natalie Evangelista, non-lineal descendant of the Duke of Alva, related also to the Claes. Having been spoiled as a child, and being of a sharp, domineering nature, she robbed her husband without impoverishing him. She was a leader at Paris as well as at Bordeaux. As the mistress of Felix de Vandenesse she disliked his dedication to a story, for in it he praised Madame de Mortsauf. Later, in company with Lady Dudley and Mesdames d’Espard, Charles de Vandernesse and de Listomere, she attempted to compromise the Comtesse Felix de Vandenesse, recently married, with Raoul Nathan. A Marriage Settlement. The Lily of the Valley. A Daughter of Eve.

  MANETTE, under the Restoration at Clochegourde in Touraine, the Comtesse de Mortsauf’s housekeeper, taking her mother’s place in the care of her young master and mistress, Jacques and Madeleine de Mortsauf. The Lily of the Valley.

  MANON. (See Godard, Manon.)

  MANON-LA-BLONDE, during the last years of the Restoration a Paris prostitute, who fell violently in love with Theodore Calvi, became a receiver of stolen goods, brought to her by the companion of Jacques Collin, who committed murder also, at the time of the robbery; she thus became the indirect or involuntary cause of the Corsican’s arrest. Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life.

  MANSEAU (Pere), tavern-keeper at Echelles, a town in Savoie, gave aid to La Fosseuse, in her poverty, and sheltered this unfortunate woman in a barn. La Fosseuse became the protegee of Doctor Benassis. The Country Doctor.

  MARANA (La), the last of a long series of prostitutes bearing the same name; natural descendant of the Herouvilles. She was known to have had more than one distinguished lover: Mancini, the Duc de Lina, and a king of Naples. She was notorious in Venice, Milan and Naples. She had by Mancini one child, whom he acknowledged, Juana-Pepita-Maria, and had her reared in good morals by the Lagounias, who were under obligations to her. Upon going to seek her daughter in Tarragone, Spain, she surprised the girl in company with Montefiore, but scorned to take vengeance upon him. She accepted as husband of the young girl M. Diard, who had asked for her hand. In 1823, when she was dying in the hospital at Bordeaux, Marana once more saw her daughter, still virtuous, although unhappy. The Hated Son. The Maranas.

  MARCAS (Zephirin), born about 1803 in a Bretagne family at Vitre. In after life he supported his parents who were in poor circumstances. He received a free education in a seminary, but had no inclination for the priesthood. Carrying hardly any money he went to Paris, in 1823 or 1824, and after studying with a lawyer became his chief clerk. Later he studied men and objects in five capitals: London, Berlin, Vienna, St. Petersburg and Constantinople. For five years he was a journalist, and reported the proceedings of the “Chambres.” He often visited R. de la Palferine. With women he proved to be of the passionate-timid kind. With the head of a lion, and a strong voice, he was equal as an orator to Berryer, and the superior of M. Thiers. For a long time he supplied the political ability needed by a deputy who had become a minister, but, convinced of his disloyalty, he overthrew him, only to restore him for a short time. He once more entered into polemical controversy; saw the newspapers which had sparkled with his forceful, high-minded criticism die; and lived miserably upon a daily allowance of thirty sous, earned by copying for the Palais. Marcas lived at that time, 1836, in the garret of a furnished house on rue Corneille. His thankless debtor, become minister again, sought him anew. Had it not been for the hearty attention of his young neighbors, Rabourdin and Juste, who furnished him with some necessary clothing, and aided him at Humann’s expense, Marcas would not have taken advantage of the new opportunity that was offered him. His new position lasted but a short time. The third fall of the government hastened that of Marcas. Lodged once more on rue Corneille he was taken with a nervous fever. The sickness increased and finally carried away this unrecognized genius. Z. Marcas was buried in a common g
rave in Montparnasse cemetery, January, 1838. A Prince of Bohemia. Z. Marcas.

  MARCHAND (Victor), son of a Parisian grocer, infantry-major during the campaign of 1808, a lover of Clara Leganes, to whom he was under obligation; tried, without success, to marry this girl of the Spanish nobility, who preferred to suffer the most horrible of deaths, decapitation by the hand of her own brother. El Verdugo.

 

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