ROUVRE (Marquis du), father of the Comtesse Clementine Laginska; threw
away a considerable fortune, by means of which he had brought about
his marriage with a Ronquerolles maiden. This fortune was partly eaten
up by Florine, "one of the most charming actresses of Paris." [The
Imaginary Mistress.] M. du Rouvre was the brother-in-law of the Comte
de Serizy, who, like him, had married a Ronquerolles. Having been a
marquis under the old regime, M. du Rouvre was created count and made
chamberlain by the Emperor. [A Start in Life.] In 1829, M. du Rouvre,
then ruined, lived at Nemours. He had near this city a castle which he
sold at great loss to Minoret-Levrault. [Ursule Mirouet.]
ROUVRE (Chevalier du), younger brother of the Marquis du Rouvre; an
eccentric old bachelor, who became wealthy by dealing in houses and
real estate, and is supposed to have left his fortune to his niece,
the Comtesse Clementine Laginska. [The Imaginary Mistress. Ursule
Mirouet.]
ROUZEAU, an Angouleme printer, predecessor and master of
Jerome-Nicolas Sechard, in the eighteenth century. [Lost Illusions.]
RUBEMPRE (Lucien-Chardon de), born in 1800 at Angouleme; son of
Chardon, a surgeon in the armies of the Republic who became an
apothecary in that town, and of Mademoiselle de Rubempre, his wife,
the descendant of a very noble family. He was a journalist, poet,
romance writer, author of "Les Marguerites," a book of sonnets, and of
the "Archer de Charles IX.," a historical romance. He shone for a time
in the salon of Madame de Bargeton, born Marie-Louise-Anais de
Negrepelisse, who became enamored of him, enticed him to Paris, and
there deserted him, at the instigation of her cousin, Madame d'Espard.
He met the members of the Cenacle on rue des Quatre-Vents, and became
well acquainted with D'Arthez. Etienne Lousteau, who revealed to him
the shameful truth concerning literary life, introduced him to the
well-known publisher, Dauriat, and escorted him to an opening night at
the Panorama-Dramatique theatre, where the poet saw the charming
Coralie. She loved him at first sight, and he remained true to her
until her death in 1822. Started by Lousteau into undertaking Liberal
journalism, Lucien de Rubempre passed over suddenly to the Royalist
side, founding the "Reveil," an extremely partisan organ, with the
hope of obtaining from the King the right to adopt the name of his
mother. At this time he frequented the social world and thus brought
to poverty his mistress. He was wounded in a duel by Michel Chrestien,
whom he had made angry by an article in the "Reveil," which had
severely criticised a very excellent book by Daniel d'Arthez. Coralie
having died, he departed for Angouleme on foot, with no resources
except twenty francs that Berenice, the cousin and servant of her
mistress, had received from chance lovers. He came near dying of
exhaustion and sorrow, very near the city of his birth. He found there
Madame de Bargeton, then the wife of Comte Sixte du Chatelet, prefect
of Charente and a state councilor. Despite the warm reception given
him, first by a laudatory article in a local newspaper, and next by a
serenade from his young fellow-citizens, he left Angouleme hastily,
desperate at having been responsible for the ruin of his brother-in-law,
David Sechard, and contemplating suicide. While walking along he
chanced upon Canon Carlos Herrera (Jacques Collin--Vautrin), who took
him to Paris and became the guardian of his future career. In 1824,
while passing an evening at the theatre Porte-Saint-Martin, Rubempre
became acquainted with Esther Van Gobseck, called La Torpille, a
courtesan. They were both seized at once with a violent love. A little
later, at the last Opera ball of the winter of 1824, they would have
compromised their security and pleasure if it had not been for the
interference of Jacques Collin, called Vautrin, and if Lucien had not
denied certain people the pleasure of satisfying their ill-willed
curiosity, by agreeing to take supper at Lointier's.[*] Lucien de
Rubempre sought to become the son-in-law of the Grandlieus; he was
welcomed by the Rabourdins; he became the protector of Savinien de
Portenduere; he became the lover of Mmes. Maufrigneuse and Serizy, and
the beloved of Lydie Peyrade. His life of ambition and of pleasure
ended in the Conciergerie, where he was imprisoned unjustly, charged
with robbing and murdering Esther, or with being an accomplice. He
hanged himself while in prison, May 15, 1830. [Lost Illusions. A
Distinguished Provincial at Paris. The Government Clerks. Ursule
Mirouet. Scenes from a Courtesan's Life.] Lucien de Rubempre lived in
turn in Paris at the Hotel du Gaillard-Bois, rue de l'Echelle, in a
room in the Quartier Latin, in the Hotel de Cluny on the street of the
same name, in a lodging-house on rue Charlot, in another on rue de la
Lune in company with Coralie, in a little apartment on rue Cassette
with Jacques Collin, who followed him at least to one of his two
houses on the Quai Malaquais and on rue Taitbout, the former home of
Beaudenord and of Caroline de Bellefeuille. He is buried in
Pere-Lachaise in a costly tomb which contains also the body of Esther
Gobseck, and in which there is a place reserved for Jacques Collin. A
series of articles, sharp and pointed, on Rubempre is entitled "Les
Passants de Paris."
[*] The Lointier restaurant, on rue Richelieu, opposite rue de la
Bourse, was very popular about 1846 with the "four hundred."
RUFFARD, called Arrachelaine, a robber and at the same time employed
by Bibi-Lupin, chief of secret police in 1830; connected, with Godet,
in the assassination of the Crottats, husband and wife, committed by
Dannepont, called La Pouraille. [Scenes from a Courtesan's Life.]
RUFFIN, born in 1815, the instructor of Francis Graslin after 1840.
Ruffin was a professional teacher, and was possessed of a wonderful
amount of information. His extreme tenderness "did not exclude from
his nature the severity necessary on the part of one who wishes to
govern a child." He was of pleasing appearance, known for his patience
and piety. He was taken to Madame Graslin from his diocese by the
Archbishop Dutheil, and had, for at least nine years, the direction of
the young man who had been put in his charge. [The Country Parson.]