CIPREY of Provins, Seine-et-Marne; nephew of the maternal grandmother
of Pierrette Lorrain. He formed one of the family council called
together in 1828 to decide whether or not the young girl should remain
underneath Denis Rogron's roof. This council replaced Rogron with the
notary Auffray and chose Ciprey for vice-guardian. [Pierrette.]
CLAES-MOLINA (Balthazar), Comte de Nourho; born at Douai in 1761 and
died in the same town in 1832; sprung from a famous family of Flemish
weavers, allied to a very noble Spanish family, time of Philip II. In
1795 he married Josephine de Temninck of Brussels, and lived happily
with her until 1809, at which time a Polish officer, Adam de
Wierzchownia, seeking shelter at the Claes mansion, discussed with him
the subject of chemical affinity. From that time on Balthazar, who
formerly had worked in Lavoisier's laboratory, buried himself
exclusively in the "quest of the absolute." He expended seven millions
in experiments, leaving his wife to die of neglect. From 1820 to 1825*
he was a tax-collector in Brittany--duties performed by his elder
daughter who had secured the position for him in order to divert him
from his barren labors. During this time she rehabilitated the family
fortunes. Balthazar died, almost insane, crying "Eureka!" [The Quest
of the Absolute.]
* Given erroneously in original text as 1852.--J.W.M.
CLAES (Josephine de Temninck, Madame), wife of Balthazar Claes; born
at Brussels in 1770, died at Douai in 1816; a native Spaniard on her
mother's side; commonly called Pepita. She was small, crooked and
lame, with heavy black hair and glowing eyes. She gave her husband
four children: Marguerite, Felicie, Gabriel (or Gustave) and
Jean-Balthazar. She was passionatley devoted to her husband, and died
of grief over his neglect of her for the scientific experiments which
never came to an end. [The Quest of the Absolute.] Mme. Claes counted
among her kin the Evangelistas of Bordeau. [A Marriage Settlement.]
CLAES (Marguerite), elder daughter of Balthazar Claes and Josephine de
Temninck. (See Solis, Madame de.)
CLAES (Felicie), second daughter of Balthazar Claes and of Josephine
de Temninck; born in 1801. (See Pierquin, Madame.)
CLAES (Gabriel or Gustave), third child of Balthazar Claes and of
Josephine de Temninck; born about 1802. He attended the College of
Douai, afterwards entering the Ecole Polytechnique, becoming an
engineer of roads and bridges. In 1825 he married Mlle. Conyncks of
Cambrai. [The Quest of the Absolute.]
CLAES (Jean-Balthazar) last child of Balthazar Claes and Josephine de
Temninck; born in the early part of the nineteenth century. [The Quest
of the Absolute.]
CLAGNY (J.-B. de), public prosecutor at Sancerre in 1836. A passionate
admirer of Dinah de la Baudraye. He got transferred to Paris when she
returned there, and became successively the substitute for the general
prosecutor, attorney-general and finally attorney-general to the Court
of Cassation. He watched over and protected the misguided woman,
consenting to act as godfather to the child she had by Lousteau. [The
Muse of the Department.]
CLAGNY (Madame de), wife of the preceding. To use an expression of M.
Gravier's, she was "ugly enough to chase a young Cossack" in 1814.
Mme. de Clagny associated with Mme. de la Baudraye. [The Muse of the
Department.]
CLAPARON, clerk for the Minister of the Interior under the Republic
and Empire. Friend of Bridau, Sr., after whose death he continued his
cordial relations with Mme. Bridau. He gave much attention to Philippe
and Joseph on their mother's account. Claparon died in 1820. [A
Bachelor's Establishment.]
CLAPARON (Charles), son of the preceding; born about 1790. Business
man and banker (rue de Provence); at first a commercial traveler; an
aide of F. du Tillet in transactions of somewhat shady nature. He was
invited to the famous ball given by Cesar Birotteau in honor of
Cesar's nomination to the Legion of Honor and the release of French
possessions. [A Bachelor's Establishment. Cesar Birotteau.] In 1821,
at the Bourse in Paris, he made a peculiar bargain with the cashier
Castanier, who transferred to him, in exchange for his own
individuality, the power which he had received from John Melmoth, the
Englishman. [Melmoth Reconciled.] He was interested in the third
liquidation of Nucingen in 1826, a settlement which made the fortune
of the Alsatian banker whose "man of straw" he was for some time. [The
Firm of Nucingen.] He was associated with Cerizet who deceived him in
a deal about a house sold to Thuillier. Becoming bankrupt he embarked
for America about 1840. He was probably condemned for contumacy on
account of swindling. [A Man of Business. The Middle Classes.]
CLAPART, employe to the prefecture of the Seine during the
Restoration, at a salary of twelve hundred francs. Born about 1776.
About 1803 he married a widow Husson, aged twenty-two. At that time he
was employed in the Bureau of Finance, at a salary of eighteen hundred
francs and a promise of more. But his known incapacity held him down
to a secondary place. At the fall of the Empire he lost his position,
obtaining his new one on the recommendation of the Comte de Serizy.
Mme. Husson had by her first husband a child that was Clapart's evil
genius. In 1822 his family occupied an apartment renting for two
hundred and fifty francs at number seven rue de la Cerisaie. There he
saw much of the old pensioner Poiret. Clapart was killed by the
Fieschi attack of July 28, 1835. [A Start in Life.]
CLAPART (Madame), wife of the preceding; born in 1780; one of the
"Aspasias" of the Directory, and famous for her acquaintance with one
of the "Pentarques." He married her to Husson the contractor, who made
millions but who became bankrupt suddenly through the First Consul,
and suicided in 1802. At that time she was mistress of Moreau, steward
of M. de Serizy. Moreau was in love with her and would have made her
his wife, but just then was under sentence of death and a fugitive.
Thus it was that in her distress she married Clapart, a clerk in the
Bureau of Finance. By her first husband Mme. Clapart had a son, Oscar
Husson, whom she was bound up in, but whose boyish pranks caused her
much trouble. During the first Empire Mme. Clapart was a
lady-in-waiting to Mme. Mere--Letitia Bonaparte. [A Start in Life.]
CLARIMBAULT (Marechal de), maternal grandfather of Mme. de Beauseant.
He had married the daughter of Chevalier de Rastignac, great-uncle of
Eugene de Rastignac. [Father Goriot.]
CLAUDE, an idiot who died in the village of Dauphine in 1829, nursed
and metamorphosed by Dr. Benassis. [The Country Doctor.]
CLERETTI, an architect of Paris who was quite the fashion in 1843.
Grindot, though decadent at this time, tried to compete with him.
[Cousin Betty.]
CLERGET (Basine), laundress at Angouleme during the Restoration, who
succeeded Mme. Prieur with whom Eve Chardon had worked. Basine Clerget
concealed David Sechard and Kolb when Sechard was pursued by the
Cointet brothers. [Lost Illusions.]
CLOUSIER, retired attorney of Limoges; justice of the peace at
Montegnac after 1809. He was in touch with Mme. Graslin when she moved
there about 1830. An upright, phlegmatic man who finally led the
contemplative life of one of the ancient hermits. [The Country
Parson.]
COCHEGRUE (Jean), a Chouan who died of wounds received at the fight of
La Pelerine or at the siege of Fourgeres in 1799. Abbe Gudin said a
mass, in the forest, for the repose of Jean Cochegrue, and others
slain by the "Blues." [The Chouans.]
COCHET (Francoise), chambermaid of Modeste Mignon at Havre in 1829.
She received the answers to the letters addressed by Modeste to
Canalis. She had also faithfully served Bettina-Caroline, Modeste's
elder sister who took her to Paris. [Modeste Mignon.]
COCHIN (Emile-Louis-Lucien-Emmanuel), employe in Clergeot's division
of the Bureau of Finance during the Restoration. He had a brother who
looked after him in the administration. At this time Cochin was also a
silent partner in Matifat's drug-store. Colleville invented an anagram
on Cochin's name; with his given names it made up "Cochenille." Cochin
and his wife were in Birotteau's circle, being present with their son
at the famous ball given by the perfumer. In 1840, Cochin, now a
baron, was spoken of by Anselme Popinot as the oracle of the Lombard
and Bourdonnais quarters. [Cesar Birotteau. The Government Clerks. The
Firm of Nucingen. The Middle Classes.]
COCHIN, (Adolphe), son of the preceding; an employe of the Minister of
Finance as his father had been for some years. In 1826 his parents
tried to obtain for him the hand of Mlle. Matifat. [Cesar Birotteau.
The Firm of Nucingen.]
COFFINET, porter of a house belonging to Thuillier on rue
Saint-Dominique-d'Enfer, Paris, in 1840. His employer put him to work
in connection with the "Echo de la Bievre," when Louis-Jerome
Thuillier became editor-in-chief of this paper. [The Middle Classes.]
COFFINET, (Madame), wife of the preceding. She looked after Theodose
de la Peyrade's establishment. [The Middle Classes.]
COGNET, inn-keeper at Issoudun during the Restoration. House of the
"Knights of Idlesse" captained by Maxence Gilet. A former groom; born
about 1767; short, thickset, wife-led, one-eyed. [A Bachelor's
Establishment.]
COGNET (Madame), known as Mother Cognet, wife of the preceding; born
about 1783. A retired cook of a good house, who on account of her
"Cordon bleu" talents, was chosen to be the Leonarde of the Order
which had Maxence Gilet for chief. A tall, swarthy woman of
intelligent and pleasant demeanor. [A Bachelor's Establishment.]
COINTET (Boniface), and his brother Jean, ran a thriving
printing-office at Angouleme during the Restoration. He ruined David
Sechard's shop by methods hardly honorable. Boniface Cointet was older
than Jean, and was usually called Cointet the Great. He put on the
devout. Extremely wealthy, he became deputy, was made a peer of France
and Minister of Commerce in Louis Philippe's coalition ministry. In
1842 he married Mlle. Popinot, daughter of Anselme Popinot. [Lost
Illusions. The Firm of Nucingen.] On May, 1839, he presided at the
sitting of the Chamber of Deputies when the election of Sallenauve was
ratified. [The Member for Arcis.]
COINTET (Jean), younger brother of the preceding; known as "Fatty"
Cointet; was foreman of the printing-office, while his brother ran the
business end. Jean Cointet passed for a good fellow and acted the
generous part. [Lost Illusions.]
COLAS (Jacques), a consumptive child of a village near Grenoble, who
was attended by Dr. Benassis. His passion was singing, for which he
had a very pure voice. Lived with his mother who was poverty-stricken.
Died in the latter part of 1829 at the age of fifteen, shortly after
the death of his benefactor, the physician. A nephew of Moreau, the
old laborer. [The Country Doctor.]
COLLEVILLE, son of a talented musician, once leading violin of the
Opera under Francoeur and Rebel. He himself was first clarionet at the
Opera-Comique, and at the same time chief clerk under the Minister of
Finance, and, in additon, book-keeper for a merchant from seven to
nine in the mornings. Great on anagrams. Made deputy-chief clerk in
Baudoyer's bureau when the latter was promoted to division chief. He
was preceptor at Paris six months later. In 1832 he became secretary
to the mayor of the twelfth Arrondissement and officer of the Legion
of Honor. At that time Colleville lived with his wife and family on
rue d'Enfer. He was Thuillier's most intimate friend. [The Government
Clerks. The Middle Classes.]
COLLEVILLE (Flavie Minoret, Madame), born in 1798; wife of the
preceding; daughter of a celebrated dancer and, supposedly, of M. du
Bourguier. She made a love match and between 1816 and 1826 bore five
children, each of whom resembled and may actually have had a different
father: 1st. A daughter born in 1816, who favored Colleville. 2d. A
son, Charles, cut out for a soldier, born during his mother's
acquaintance with Charles de Gondreville, under-lieutenant of the
dragoons of Saint-Chamans. 3d. A son, Francois, destined for business,
born during Mme. Colleville's intimacy with Francois Keller, the
banker. 4th. A daughter, Celeste born in 1821, of whom Thuillier,
Colleville's best friend, was the godfather--and father _in partibus_.
(See Phellion, Mme. Felix.) 5th. A son, Theodore, or Anatole, born at
a period of religious zeal. Madame Colleville was a Parisian, piquant,
winning and pretty, as well as clever and ethereal. She made her
husband very happy. He owed all his advancement to her. In the
interests of their ambition she granted momentary favor to Chardin des
Lupeaulx, the Secretary-General. On Wednesdays she was at home to
artists and distinguished people. [The Government Clerks. Cousin
Betty. The Middle Classes.]
COLLIN (Jacques), born in 1779. Reared by the Fathers of the Oratory.
He went as far as rhetoric, at school, and was then put in a bank by
his aunt, Jacqueline Collin. Accused, however, of a crime probably
committed by Franchessini, he fled the country. Later he was sent to
the galleys where he remained from 1810 to 1815, when he escaped and
came to Paris, stopping under the name of Vautrin at the Vauquer
pension. There he knew Rastignac, then a young man, became interested
in him, and tried to bring about his marriage with Victorine
Taillefer, for whom he procured a rich dowry by causing her brother to
be slain in a duel with Franchessini. Bibi-Lupin, chief of secret
police, arrested him in 1819 and returned him to the bagne, whence he
escaped again in 1820, reappearing in Paris as Carlos Herrera,
honorary canon of the Chapter of Toledo. At this time he rescued
Lucien de Rubempre from suicide, and took charge of the young poet.
Accused, with the latter, of having murdered Esther Gobseck, who in
truth was poisoned, Jacques Collin was acquitted of this charge, and
ended by becoming chief of secret police under the name of
Saint-Esteve, in 1830. He held this position till 1845. He finally
became wealthy, having an income of twelve thousand francs, three
hundred thousand francs inherited from Lucien de Rubempre, and the
profits of a green-leather manufactory at Gentilly. [Father Goriot.
Lost Illusions. A Distinguished Provincial at Paris. Scenes from a
Courtesan's Life. The Member for Arcis.] In addition to the pseudonym
of M. Jules, under which he was known by Catherine Goussard, Jacques
Collin also took for a time the English name of William Barker,
creditor for Georges d'Estourny. Under this name he hoodwinked the
cunning Cerizet, inducing that "man of business" to endorse some notes
for him. [Scenes from a Courtesan's Life.] He was also nick-named
"Trompe-la-Mort."
COLLIN, (Jacqueline), aunt of Jacques Collin, whom she had reared;
born at Java. In her youth she was Marat's mistress, and afterwards
had relations with the chemist, Duvignon, who was condemned to death
for counterfeiting in 1799. During this intimacy she attained a
dangerous knowledge of toxicology. From 1800 to 1805 she was a
clothing dealer; and from 1806 to 1808 she spent two years in prison
for having influenced minors. From 1824 to 1830 Mlle. Collin exerted a
strong influence over Jacques, alias Vautrin, toward his life of
adventure without the pale of the law. Her strong point was disguises.
In 1839 she ran a matrimonial bureau on rue de Provence, under the
name of Mme. de Saint-Esteve. She often borrowed the name of her
friend Mme. Nourrisson, who, during the time of Louis Philippe, made a
pretence of business more or less dubious on rue Neuve-Saint-Marc. She
had some dealings with Victorin Hulot, at whose instance she brought
about the overthrow of Mme. Marneffe, mistress, and afterwards wife,
of Crevel. Under the name of Asie, Jacqueline Collin made an excellent
cook for Esther Gobseck, whom she was ordered by Vautrin to watch.
[Scenes from a Courtesan's Life. Cousin Betty. The Unconscious
Humorists.]
COLLINET, grocer at Arcis-sur-Aube, time of Louis Philippe. Elector
for the Liberals headed by Colonel Giguet. [The Member for Arcis.]
COLLINET (Francois-Joseph), merchant of Nantes. In 1814 the political
changes brought about his business failure. He went to America,
returning in 1824 enriched, and re-established. He had caused the loss
of twenty-four thousand francs to M. and Mme. Lorrain, small retailers
of Pen-Hoel, and father and mother of Major Lorrain. But, on his
return to France, he restored to Mme. Lorrain, then a widow and almost
a septuagenarian, forty-two thousand francs, being capital and
interest of his indebtedness to her. [Pierrette.]
COLONNA, aged Italian at Genoa, during the later part of the
eighteenth century. He had reared Luigia Porta under the name of
Colonna and as his own son, from the age of six until the time when
the young man enlisted in the French army. [The Vendetta.]
COLOQUINTE, given name of a pensioner who was "office boy" in Finot's
newspaper office in 1820. He had been through the Egyptian campaign,
losing an arm at the Battle of Montmirail. [A Bachelor's
Establishment. A Distinguished Provincial at Paris.]
COLORAT (Jerome), estate-keeper for Mme. Graslin at Montegnac; born at
Limoges. Retired soldier of the Empire; ex-sergeant in the Royal
Guard; at one time estate-keeper for M. de Navarreins, before entering
Mme. Graslin's service. [The Country Parson.]
CONSTANCE, chambermaid for Mme. de Restaud in 1819. Through her old
Goriot knew about everything that was going on at the home of his
elder daughter. This Constance, sometimes called Victorie, took money
to her mistress when the latter needed it. [Father Goriot.]
CONSTANT DE REBECQUE (Benjamin), born at Lausanne in 1767, died at
Paris, December 8, 1830. About the end of 1821 he is discovered in
Dauriat's book-shop at Palais-Royal, where Lucien de Rubempre noticed
his splendid head and spiritual eyes. [A Distinguished Provincial at
Paris.]
CONTI (Gennaro), musical composer; of Neapolitan origin, but born at
Marseilles. Lover of Mlle. des Touches--Camille Maupin--in 1821-1822.
Afterwards he paid court to Marquise Beatrix de Rochefide. [Lost
Illusions. Beatrix.]
CONYNCKS, family of Bruges, who were maternal ancestors of Marguerite
Claes. In 1812 this young girl at sixteen was the living image of a
Conyncks, her grandmother whose portrait hung in Balthazar Claes'
home. A Conyncks, also of Bruges but later established at Cambrai, was
granduncle of the children of Balthazar Claes, and was appointed their
vice-guardian after the death of Mme. Claes. He had a daughter who
married Gabriel Claes. [The Quest of the Absolute.]
COQUELIN (Monsieur and Madame), hardware dealers, successors to
Claude-Joseph Pillerault in a store on quai de la Ferraille, sign of
the Golden Bell. Guests at the big ball given by Cesar Birotteau.
After getting the invitation, Mme. Coquelin ordered a magnificent gown
for the occasion. [Cesar Birotteau.]
COQUET, chief of bureau to the Minister of War, in Lebrun's division
in 1838. Marneffe was his successor. Coquet had been in the service of
the administration since 1809, and had given perfect satisfaction. He
was a married man and his wife was still living at the time when he
was displaced. [Cousin Betty.]
CORALIE (Mademoiselle), actress at the Panorama-Dramatique and at the
Theatre du Gymnase, Paris, time of Louis XVIII. Born in 1803 and
brought up a Catholic, she was nevertheless of distinct Jewish type.
She died in August, 1822. Her mother sold her at fifteen to young
Henri de Marsay, whom she abhorred and who soon deserted her. She was
then maintained by Camusot, who was not obnoxious. She fell in love
with Lucien de Rubempre at first sight, surrendering to him
immediately and being faithful to him until her dying breath. The
glory and downfall of Coralie dated from this love. An original
criticism of the young Chardon established the success of "L'Alcade
dans l'Embarras," at the Marais, and brought to Coralie, one of the
principals in the play, an engagement at Boulevard Bonne-Nouvelle,
with a salary of twelve thousand francs. But here the artist stranded,
the victim of a cabal, despite the protection of Camille Maupin. At
first she was housed on rue de Vendome, afterwards in a more modest
lodging where she died, attended and nursed by her cousin, Berenice.
She had sold her elegant furniture to Cardot, Sr., on leaving the
apartment on rue de Vendome, and in order to avoid moving it, he
installed Florentine there. Coralie was the rival of Mme. Perrin and
of Mlle. Fleuriet, whom she resembled and whose destiny should have
been her own. The funeral service of Coralie took place at noon in the
little church of Notre-Dame de Bonne-Nouvelle. Camusot promised to
purchase a plot of ground for her in the cemetery of Pere-Lachaise. [A
Start in Life. A Distinguished Provincial at Paris. A Bachelor's
Establishment.]
CORBIGNY (De), prefect of Loire-et-Cher, in 1811. Friend of Mme. de
Stael who authorized him to place Louis Lambert, at her expense, in
the College of Vendome. He probably died in 1812. [Louis Lambert.]
CORBINET, notary at Soulanges, Burgundy, in 1823, and at one time an
old patron of Sibilet's. The Gravelots, lumber dealers, were clients
of his. Commissioned with the sale of Aigues, when General de
Montcornet became wearied with developing his property. At one time
known as Corbineau. [The Peasantry.]
CORBINET, court-judge at Ville-aux-Fayes in 1823; son of Corbinet the
notary. He belonged, body and soul, to Gaubertin, the all-powerful
mayor of the town. [The Peasantry.]
CORBINET, retired captain, postal director at Ville-aux-Fayes in 1823;
brother of Corbinet, the notary. The last daughter of Sibilet, the
copy-clerk, was engaged to him when she was sixteen. [The Peasantry.]
CORENTIN, born at Vendome in 1777; a police-agent of great genius,
trained by Peyrade as Louis David was by Vien. A favorite of Fouche's
and probably his natural son. In 1799 he accompanied Mlle. de Verneuil
sent to lure and betray Alphonse de Montauran, the young chief of the
Bretons who were risen against the Republic. For two years Corentin
was attached to this strange girl as a serpent to a tree. [The
Chouans.] In 1803 he and his chief, Peyrade, were entrusted with a
difficult mission in the department of Aube, where he had to search
the home of Mlle. de Cinq-Cygne. She surprised him at the moment when
he was forcing open a casket, and struck him a blow with her riding
whip. This he avenged cruelly, involving, despite their innocence, the
Hauteserres and the Simeuses, friends and cousins of the young girl.
This was during the affair of the abduction of Senator Malin. About
the same time he concluded another delicate mission to Berlin to the
satisfaction of Talleyrand, the Minister of Foreign Affairs. [The
Gondreville Mystery.] From 1824 to 1830, Corentin was pitted against
the terrible Jacques Collin, alias Vautrin, whose friendly plans in
behalf of Lucien de Rubempre he thwarted so cruelly. Corentin it was
who rendered futile the contemplated marriage of the aspirant with
Clotilde de Grandlieu, bringing about as a consequence the absolute
ruin of the "distinguished provincial at Paris." He rusticated at
Passy, rue des Vignes, about May, 1830. Under Charles X., Corentin was
chief of the political police of the chateau. [Scenes from a
Courtesan's Life.] For more than thirty years he lived on rue
Honore-Chevalier under the name of M. du Portail. He sheltered Lydie,
daughter of his friend, Peyrade, after the death of the old
police-agent. About 1840 he brought about her marriage with Theodose de
la Peyrade, nephew of Peyrade, after having upset the plans of the very
astute young man, greatly in love with Celeste Colleville's dowry.
Corentin--M. du Portail--then installed the chosen husband of his
adopted child into his own high official duties. [The Middle Classes.]