SEGAUD, solicitor at Angouleme, was successor to Petit-Claud, a
magistrate about 1824. [Lost Illusions.]
SELERIER, called the Auvergnat, Pere Ralleau, Le Rouleur, and
especially Fil-de Soie, belonged to the aristocracy of the galleys,
and was a member of the group of "Ten Thousand," whose chief was
Jacques Collin; the latter, however, suspected him of having sold him
to the police, about 1819, when Bibi-Lupin arrested him at the Vauquer
boarding-house. [Father Goriot.] In his business Selerier always
avoided bloodshed. He was of philosophical turn, very selfish,
incapable of love, and ignorant of the meaning of friendship. In May,
1830, when being a prisoner at the Conciergerie, and about to be
condemned to fifteen years of forced labor, he saw and recognized
Jacques Collin, the pseudo-Carlos Herrera, himself incriminated.
[Scenes from a Courtesan's Life.]
SENONCHES (Jacques de), a noble of Angouleme, a great huntsman, stiff
and haughty, a sort of wild boar; lived on very good terms with his
wife's lover, Francois du Hautoy, and attended Madame de Bargeton's
receptions. [Lost Illusions.]
SENONCHES (Madame Jacques de), wife of the preceding, bore the given
name of Zephirine, which was abbreviated to Zizine. By Francois du
Hautoy, her adored lover, she had a daughter, Francoise de la Haye,
who was presented as her ward, and who became Madame Petit-Claud.
[Lost Illusions.]
SEPHERD (Carl), name assumed by Charles Grandet in the Indies, the
United States, Africa, etc., while he was in the slave-trading
business. [Eugenie Grandet.]
SERIZY, or Serisy (Comte Hugret de), born in 1765, descended in direct
line from the famous President Hugret, ennobled under Francois I. The
motto of this family was "I, semper melius eris," so that the final
_s_ of _melius_, the word _eris_, and the _I_ of the beginning,
represented the name (Serizy) of the estate that had been made a
county. A son of a first president of Parliament (who died in 1794),
Serizy was himself, as early as 1787, a member of the Grand Council;
he did not emigrate during the Revolution, but remained in his estate
of Serizy, near Arpajon; became a member of the Council of Five
Hundred, and afterwards of the Council of State. The Empire made him a
count and a senator. Hugret de Serizy was married, in 1806, to
Leontine de Ronquerolles, the widow of General Gaubert. This union
made him the brother-in-law of the Marquis de Ronquerolles, and the
Marquis du Rouvre. Every honor was alloted to him in course;
chamberlain under the Empire, he afterwards became vice-president of
the Council of State, peer of France, Grand Cross of the Legion of
Honor, and member of the Privy Council. The glorious career of Serizy,
who was an unusually industrious person, did not offer compensation
for his domestic misfortunes. Hard work and protracted vigils soon
aged the high functionary, who was ever unable to win his wife's
heart; but he loved her and sheltered her none the less constantly. It
was chiefly to avenge her for the indiscretion of the volatile young
Oscar Husson, Moreau's godson, that he discharged the not overhonest
steward of Presles. [A Start in Life.] The system of government that
succeeded the Empire increased Serizy's influence and renown; he was
an intimate friend of the Bauvans and the Grandvilles. [A Bachelor's
Establishment. Honorine. Modeste Mignon.] His weakness in matters
concerning his wife was such that he assisted her in person, when, in
May, 1830, she hastened to the Conciergerie in the hope of saving her
lover, Lucien de Rubempre, and entered the cell where the young man
had just committed suicide. Serizy even consented to be executor of
the poet's will. [Scenes from a Courtesan's Life.]
SERIZY (Comtesse de), wife of the preceding, born Leontine de
Ronquerolles about 1784, sister of the Marquis du Ronquerolles;
married, as her first husband, General Gaubert, one of the most
illustrious soldiers of the Republic; married a second time, when
quite young, but could never entertain any feeling stronger than
respect for M. de Serizy, her second husband, by whom, however, she
had a son, an officer, who was killed during the reign of Louis
Philippe. [A Start in Life.] Worldly and brilliant, and a worthy rival
of Mesdames de Beauseant, de Langeais, de Maufrigneuse, de Carigliano,
and d'Espard, Leontine de Serizy had several lovers, among them being
Auguste de Maulincour, Victor d'Aiglemont and Lucien de Rubempre. [The
Thirteen. Ursule Mirouet. A Woman of Thirty.] This last liaison was a
very stormy one. Lucien acquired considerable influence over Madame de
Serizy, and made use of it to reach the Marquise d'Espard, by
effecting an annulment of the decree which she had obtained against
her husband, the Marquis d'Espard, placing him under guardianship. And
so it was that, during Rubempre's imprisonment and after his suicide,
she suffered the bitterest anguish. Leontine de Serizy almost broke
the bars of the Conciergerie, insulted Camusot, the examining
magistrate, and seemed to be beside herself. The intervention of
Jacques Collin saved her and cured her, when three famous physicians,
Messieurs Bianchon, Desplein, and Sinard declared themselves powerless
to relieve her. [Scenes from a Courtesan's Life.] During the winter
the Comtesse de Serizy lived on the Chaussee-d'Antin; during the
summer at Serizy, her favorite residence, or still more at Presles,
and sometimes near Nemours in Le Rouvre, the seat of the family of
that name. Being a neighbor, in Paris, of Felicite des Touches, she
was a frequent visitor of that emulator of George Sand, and was at her
house when Marsay related the story of his first love-affair, taking
part herself in the conversation. [Another Study of Woman.] Being a
maternal aunt of Clementine du Rouvre, Madame de Serizy gave her a
handsome dowry when she married Laginski; with her brother
Ronquerolles, at his home on the rue de la Pepiniere, she met Thaddee
Paz, the Pole's comrade. [The Imaginary Mistress.]
SERIZY (Vicomte de), only son of the preceding couple, graduated from
the Ecole Polytechnique in 1825, and entered the cavalry regiment of
the Garde Royale, by favor, as sub-lieutenant, under command of the
Duc de Maufrigneuse; at this time Oscar Husson, nephew of Cardot,
entered the same regiment as a private. [A Start in Life.] In October,
1829, Serizy, being an officer in the company of the guards stationed
at Havre, was instructed to inform M. de Verneuil, proprietor of some
well-stocked Norman "preserves," that Madame could not participate in
the chase that he had organized. Having become enamored of Diane de
Maufrigneuse, the viscount found her at Verneuil's house; she received
his attentions, as a means of avenging herself on Leontine de Serizy,
then mistress of Lucien de Rubempre. [Modeste Mignon.] Being advanced
to the rank of lieutenant-colonel of a cavalry regiment, he was
severely wounded at the disastrous battle of Macta, in Africa (June
26, 1835), and died at Toulon as a result of his wounds. [The
Imaginary Mistress. A Start in Life.]
SERVAIS, the only good gilder in Paris, according to Elie Magus, whose
advice he heeded; he had the good sense to use English gold, which is
far better than the French. Like the book-binder, Thouvenin, he was in
love with his own work. [Cousin Pons.]
SERVIEN (Prudence), born, in 1806, at Valenciennes, daughter of very
poor weavers, was employed, from the age of seven years, in a
spinning-mill; corrupted early by her life in the work-room, she was a
mother at the age of thirteen; having had to testify in the Court of
Assizes against Jean-Francois Durut, she made of him a formidable
enemy, and fell into the power of Jacques Collin, who promised to
shelter her from the resentment of the convict. She was at one time a
ballet-girl, and afterwards served as Esther van Gobseck's
chamber-maid, under the names of Eugenie and Europe; was the mistress
of Paccard, whom she very probably married afterwards; aided Vautrin
in fooling Nucingen and getting money from him. [Scenes from a
Courtesan's Life.]
SERVIN, born about 1775, a distinguished painter, made a love-match
with the daughter of a penniless general; in 1815 was manager of a
studio in Paris, which was frequented by Mademoiselle Laure, and
Mesdemoiselles Mathilde-Melanie Roguin, Amelie Thirion and Ginevra di
Piombo, the last three of whom were afterwards, respectively, Mesdames
Tiphaine, Camusot de Marville, and Porta. Servin at that time was
concealing an exile who was sought by the police, namely Luigi Porta,
who married the master's favorite pupil, Mademoiselle Ginevra di
Piombo. [The Vendetta.]
SERVIN (Madame), wife of the preceding, remembering that the romance
of Porta and Ginevra's love had been the cause of all his pupils'
leaving her husband's studio, refused to shelter Mademoiselle de
Piombo when driven from her father's home. [The Vendetta.]
SEVERAC (De), born in 1764, a country gentleman, mayor of a village in
the canton of Angouleme, and the author of an article on silkworms,
was received at Madame de Bargeton's in 1821. A widower, without
children, and doubtless very rich, but not knowing the ways of the
world, one evening on the rue du Minage, he found as ready listeners
only the poor but aristocratic Madame du Brossard and her daughter
Camille, a young woman of twenty-seven years. [Lost Illusions.]
SIBILET, clerk of the court at Ville-aux-Fayes (Bourgogne), distant
cousin of Francois Gaubertin, married a Mademoiselle Gaubertin-Vallat,
and had by that marriage six children. [The Peasantry.]
SIBILET (Adolphe), eldest of the six children of the preceding, born
about 1793; was, at first, clerk to a notary, then an unimportant
employe in the land-registry office; and then, in the latter part of
the year 1817, succeeded his cousin, Francois Gaubertin, in the
administration of Aigues, General de Montcornet's estate, in
Bourgogne. Sibilet had married Mademoiselle Adeline Sarcus (of the
poor branch), who bore him two children in three years; his selfish
interest and his personal obligations led him to gratify the
ill-feeling of his predecessor, by being disloyal to Montcornet. [The
Peasantry.]
SIBILET (Madame Adolphe), wife of the preceding, born Adeline Sarcus,
only daughter of a justice of the peace, rich with beauty as her sole
fortune, she was reared by her mother, in the little village of
Soulanges (Bourgogne), with all possible care. Not having been able to
marry Amaury Lupin (son of Lupin the notary), with whom she was in
love, in despair she allowed herself, three years after her mother's
death, to be married, by her father, to the disagreeable and repulsive
Adolphe Sibilet. [The Peasantry.]
SIBILET, son of the court clerk, and police commissioner at Ville-aux
Fayes. [The Peasantry.]
SIBILET (Mademoiselle), daughter of the court clerk, afterwards Madame
Herve. [The Peasantry.]
SIBILET, son of the court clerk, first clerk of Maitre Corbinet,
notary at Ville-aux-Fayes, to whom he was the appointed successor.
[The Peasantry.]
SIBILET, son of the court clerk, and clerk in the Department of Public
Lands, presumptive successor of the registrar of documents at
Ville-aux-Fayes. [The Peasantry.]
SIBILET (Mademoiselle), daughter of the court clerk, born about 1807,
postmistress at Ville-aux Fayes; betrothed to Captain Corbinet,
brother of the notary. [The Peasantry.]
SIBUELLE, a wealthy contractor of somewhat tarnished reputation during
the Directory and the Consulate, gave his daughter in marriage to
Malin de Gondreville, and through the credit of his son-in-law became,
with Marion, co-receiver-general of the department of Aube. [The
Gondreville Mystery.]
SIBUELLE (Mademoiselle), only daughter of the preceding, became Madame
Malin de Gondreville. [The Gondreville Mystery.]
SEYES (Emmanuel-Joseph), born in 1748 at Frejus, died in Paris in
1836, was successively vicar-general of Chartres, deputy to the
States-General and the Convention, member of the Committee of Public
Safety, member of the Five Hundred, member of the Directory, consul,
and senator; famous also as a publicist. In June, 1800, he might have
been found in the Office of Foreign Relations, in the rue du Bac,
where he took part with Talleyrand and Fouche, in a secret council, in
which the subject of overthrowing Bonaparte, then First Consul, was
discussed. [The Gondreville Mystery.]
SIGNOL (Henriette), a beautiful girl; of a good family of farmers, in
the employ of Basine Clerget, a laundress at Angouleme; was the
mistress of Cerizet, whom she loved and trusted; served as a tool
against David Sechard, the printer. [Lost Illusions.]
SIMEUSE (Admiral de), father of Jean de Simeuse, was one of the most
eminent French seamen of the eighteenth century. [Beatrix. The
Gondreville Mystery. Jealousies of a Country Town.]
SIMEUSE (Marquis Jean de), whose name, "Cy meurs" or "Si meurs," was
the motto of the family crest, was descended from a noble family of
Bourgogne, who were formerly owners of a Lorrain fief called Ximeuse,
corrupted to Simeuse. M. de Simeuse counted a number of illustrious
men among his ancestors; he married Berthe de Cinq-Cygne; he was
father of twins, Paul-Marie and Marie-Paul. He was guillotined at
Troyes during the Terror; Michu's father-in-law presided over the
Revolutionary tribunal that passed the death-sentence. [The
Gondreville Mystery.]
SIMEUSE (Marquise de), wife of the preceding, born Berthe de
Cinq-Cygne, was executed at Troyes at the same time with her husband.
[The Gondreville Mystery.]
SIMEUSE (Paul-Marie and Marie-Paul), twin sons of the preceding
couple, born in 1773; grandsons on the father's side of the admiral
who was as famous for his dissipation as for his valor; descended from
the original owners of the famous Gondreville estate in Aube, and
belonged to the noble Champagne family of the Chargeboeufs, the
younger branch of which was represented by their mother, Berthe de
Cinq-Cygne. Paul-Marie and Marie-Paul were among the emigrants; they
returned to France about 1803. Both being in love with their cousin,
Laurence de Cinq-Cygne, an ardent Royalist, they cast lots to decide
which should be her husband; fate favored Marie-Paul, the younger, but
circumstances prevented the consummation of the marriage. The twins
differed only in disposition, and there in only one point: Paul-Marie
was melancholy, while Marie-Paul was of a bright disposition. Despite
the advice of their elderly relative, M. de Chargeboeuf, Messieurs de
Simeuse compromised themselves with the Hauteserres; being watched by
Fouche, who sent Peyrade and Corentin to keep an eye on them, they
were accused of the abduction of Malin, of which they were not guilty,
and sentenced to twenty-four years of penal servitude; were pardoned
by Napoleon, entered as sub-lieutenants the same cavalry regiment, and
were killed together in the battle of Sommo-Sierra (near Madrid,
November 30, 1808). [The Gondreville Mystery.]
SIMONIN let carriages on the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore, Cour des
Coches, Paris; about 1840, he let a berlin to Madame de Godollo, who,
in accordance with the instructions of Corentin, the police-agent, was
pretending to be taking a journey, but went no further than the Bois
de Boulogne. [The Middle Classes.]
SIMONNIN, in the reign of Louis XVIII., was "errand-boy" to Maitre
Derville on the rue Vivienne, Paris, when that advocate received
Hyacinthe Chabert. [Colonel Chabert].
SINARD, a Paris physician, was called, in May, 1830, together with
Messieurs Desplein and Bianchon, to the bedside of Leontine de Serizy,
who had lost her reason after the tragic end of her lover, Lucien de
Rubempre. [Scenes from a Courtesan's Life.]
SINET (Seraphine), a celebrated lorette, born in 1820, known by the
sobriquet of Carabine, was present at Josepha Mirah's house-warming on
the rue de la Ville-l'Eveque, in 1838. Five years later, being then
mistress of the wealthy F. du Tillet, Mademoiselle Sinet supplanted
the vivacious Marguerite Turquet as queen of the lorettes. [Cousin
Betty.] A woman of splendid appearance, Seraphine was one of the
marching chorus at the Opera, and occupied the fine apartment on the
rue Saint-Georges, where before her Suzanne du Val-Noble, Esther van
Gobseck, Florine, and Madame Schontz had reigned. Of ready wit,
dashing manners, and impish brazenness, Carabine held many successful
receptions. Every day her table was set in magnificent style for ten
guests. Artists, men of letters, and society favorites were among her
frequent visitors. S.-P. Gazonal was taken to see her, in 1845, by
Leon de Lora and Bixiou, together with Jenny Cadine of the Theatre du
Gymnase; and there he met Massol, Claude Vignon, Maxime de Trailles,
Nucingen, F. du Bruel, Malaga, Monsieur and Madame Gaillard, and
Vauvinet, with a multitude of others, to say nothing of F. du Tillet.
[The Unconscious Humorists.]
SINOT, attorney at Arcis-sur-Aube, commanded the patronage of the
"Henriquinquistes" (partisans of Henri V.) in 1839, when the district
had to elect a deputy to replace M. Francois Keller. [The Member for
Arcis.]
SOCQUARD, during the Empire and the Restoration, kept the Cafe de la
Paix at Soulanges (Bourgogne). The Milo of Crotona of the Avonne
Valley, a stout little man, of placid countenance, and a high, clear
voice. He was manager of the Tivoli, a dancing-hall adjoining the
cafe. Monsieur Vermichel, violin, and Monsieur Fourchon, clarinet,
constituted the orchestra. Plissoud, Bonnebault, Viallet, and Amaury
Lupin were steady patrons of his establishment, which was long famous
for its billiards, its punch, and its mulled wine. In 1823, Socquard
lost his wife. [The Peasantry.]
SOCQUARD (Madame Junie), wife of the preceding, had many thrilling
love-affairs during the Empire. She was very beautiful, and her
luxurious mode of living, to which the leading men of Soulanges
contributed, was notorious in the Avonne valley. Lupin, the notary,
had been guilty of great weakness in her direction, and Gaubertin, who
took her away from him, unquestionably had by her a natural son,
little Bournier. Junie was the secret of the prosperity of the
Socquard house. She brought her husband a vineyard, the house he lived
in, and the Tivoli. She died in the reign of Louis XVIII. [The
Peasantry.]
SOCQUARD (Aglae), daughter of the preceding couple, born in 1801,
inherited her father's ridiculous obesity. Being sought in marriage by
Bonnebault, whom her father esteemed highly as a customer, but little
as a son-in-law, she excited the jealousy of Marie Tonsard, and was
always at daggers drawn with her. [The Peasantry.]
SODERINI (Prince), father of Madame d'Argaiolo, who was afterwards the
Duchesse Alphonse de Rhetore; at Besancon, in 1834, he demanded of
Albert Savarus his daughter's letters and portrait. His sudden arrival
caused a hasty departure on the part of Savarus, then a candidate for
election to the Chamber of Deputies, and ignorant of Madame
d'Argaiolo's approaching second marriage. [Albert Savarus.]
SOLIS (Abbe de), born about 1733, a Dominican, grand penitentiary of
Toledo, vicar-general of the Archbishopric of Malines; a venerable
priest, unassuming, kindly and large of person. He adopted Emmanuel de
Solis, his brother's son, and, retiring to Douai, under the acceptable
protection of the Casa-Reals, was confessor and adviser of their last
descendant, Madame Balthazar Claes. The Abbe de Solis died in
December, 1818. [The Quest of the Absolute.]
SOLIS (Emmanuel), nephew and adopted son of the preceding. Poor, and
of a family originally from Granada, he responded well to the
excellent education that he received, followed the teacher's calling,
taught the humanities at the lyceum at Douai, of which he was
afterwards principal, and gave lessons to the brothers of Marguerite
Claes, whom he loved, the feeling being reciprocated. He married her
in 1825; the more fully to enjoy his good fortune, he resigned the
position as inspector of the University, which he then held. Shortly
afterwards he inherited the title of Comte de Nourho, through the
house of Solis. [The Quest of the Absolute.]
SOLIS (Madame Emmanuel de), wife of the preceding, born Marguerite
Claes, in 1796, elder sister of Madame Felicie Pierquin, whose husband
had first sought her hand, received from her dying mother the
injunction to contend respectfully, but firmly, against her father's
foolish efforts as inventor; and, in compliance with her mother's
injunctions, by dint of great perseverance, succeeded in restoring the
family fortunes that had been more than endangered. Madame de Solis
gave birth to a child, in the course of a trip to Spain, where she was
visiting Casa-Real, the cradle of her mother's family. [The Quest of
the Absolute.]
SOLONET, born in 1795, obtained the decoration of the Legion of Honor
for having made very active contribution to the second return of the
Bourbons; was the youthful and worldly notary of Bordeaux; in the
drawing up of the marriage contract between Natalie Evangelista and
Paul de Manerville, he triumphed over the objections raised by his
colleague, Mathias, who was defender of the Manerville interests.
Solonet paid the most devoted attentions of a lover to Madame
Evangelista, but his love was not returned, and he sought her hand in
vain. [A Marriage Settlement.]
SOLVET, a handsome youth, but addicted to gaming and other vices,
loved by Caroline Crochard de Bellefeuille and preferred by her to
Monsieur de Granville, her generous protector. Solvet made
Mademoiselle Crochard very unhappy, ruined her, but was none the less
adored by her. These facts were known to Bianchon, and related by him
to the Comte de Granville, whom he met, one evening, in the reign of
Louis Philippe, near rue Gaillon. [A Second Home.]
SOMMERVIEUX (Theodore de), a painter, winner of the prix de Rome,
knight of the Legion of Honor, was particularly successful in
interiors; and excelled in chiaro-oscuro effects, in imitation of the
Dutch. He made an excellent reproduction of the interior of the Cat
and Racket, on the rue Saint-Denis, which he exhibited at the Salon at
the same time with a fascinating portrait of his future wife,
Mademoiselle Guillaume, with whom he fell madly in love, and whom he
married in 1808, almost in spite of her parents, and thanks to the
kind offices of Madame Roguin, whom he knew in his society life. The
marriage was not a happy one; the daughter of the Guillaumes adored
Sommervieux without understanding him. The painter often neglected his
rooms on the rue des Trois-Freres (now a part of the rue Taitbout) and
transferred his homage to the Marechale de Carigliano. He had an
income of twelve thousand francs; before the Revolution his father was
called the Chevalier de Sommervieux. [At the Sign of the Cat and
Racket.] Theodore de Sommervieux designed a monstrance for Gohier, the
king's goldsmith; this monstrance was bought by Madame Baudoyer and
given to the church of Saint-Paul, at the time of the death of F. de
la Billardiere, head clerk of the administration, whose position she
desired for her husband. [The Government Clerks.] Sommervieux also
drew vignettes for the works of Canalis. [Modeste Mignon.]
SOMMERVIEUX (Madame Theodore de), wife of the preceding, born
Augustine Guillaume, about 1792, second daughter of the Guillaumes of
the Cat and Racket (a drapery establishment on the rue Saint-Denis,
Paris), had a sad life that was soon wrecked; for, with the exception
of Madame Roguin, her family never understood her aspirations to a
higher ideal, or the feeling that prompted her to choose Theodore de
Sommervieux. Mademoiselle Guillaume was married about the middle of
the Empire, at her parish church, Saint-Leu, on the same day that her
sister was married to Lebas, the clerk, and immediately after the
ceremony referred to. A little less coarse in her feelings than her
parents and their associates, but insignificant enough at best,
without being aware of it she displeased the painter, and chilled the
enthusiasm of her husband's studio friends, Schinner, Bridau, Bixiou,
and Lora. Grassou, who was very much of a countryman, was the only one
that refrained from laughing at her. Worn out at last, she tried to
win back the heart that had become the possession of Madame de
Carigliano; she even went to consult her rival, but could not use the
weapons supplied her by the coquettish wife of the marshal, and died
of a broken heart shortly after the famous ball given by Cesar
Birotteau, to which she was invited. She was buried in Montmartre
cemetery. [At the Sign of the Cat and Racket. Cesar Birotteau.]
SONET, marble-worker and contractor for tombstones, at Paris, during
the Restoraton and Louis Philippe's reign. When Pons died, the
marble-worker sent his agent to Schmucke to solicit an order for
statues of Art and Friendship grouped together. Sonet had the
draughtsman Vitelot as partner. The firm name was Sonet & Co. [Cousin
Pons.]
SONET (Madame), wife of the preceding, knew how to lavish attentions
no less zealous than selfish on W. Schmucke, when he returned,
broken-hearted, from Pere-Lachaise, in April, 1845, and suggested to
him, with some modifications however, to take certain allegorical
monuments which the families of Marsay and Keller had formerly refused,
preferring to apply to a genuine artist, the sculptor Stidmann.
[Cousin Pons.]
SOPHIE, rival, namesake and contemporary of the famous Sophie, Doctor
Veron's "blue ribbon," about 1844, was cook to the Comte Popinot on
the rue Basse-du-Rempart, Paris. She must have been a remarkable
culinary artist, for Sylvain Pons, reduced, in consequence of breaking
with the Camusots, to dining at home, on the rue de Normandie, every
day, often exclaimed in fits of melancholy, "O Sophie!" [Cousin Pons.]
SORBIER, a Parisian notary, to whom Chesnel (Choisnel) wrote, in 1822,
from Normandie, to commend to his care the rattle-brained Victurnien
d'Esgrignon. Unfortunately Sorbier was dead, and the letter was sent
to his widow. [Jealousies of a Country Town.]
SORBIER (Madame), wife of the preceding, mentioned in Chesnel's (or
Choisnel's) letter of 1822, concerning Victurnien d'Esgrignon. She
scarcely read the note, and simply sent it to her deceased husband's
successor, Maitre Cardot. Thus the widow unwittingly served M. du
Bousquier (du Croisier), the enemy of the D'Esgrignons. [Jealousies of
a Country Town.]
SORIA (Don Ferdinand, Duc de), younger brother of Don Felipe de
Macumer, overwhelmed with kindness by his elder brother, owing him the
duchy of Soria as well as the hand of Marie Heredia, both being
voluntarily renounced by the elder brother. Soria was not ungrateful;
he hastened to his dying brother's bedside in 1829. The latter's death
made Don Ferdinand Baron de Macumer. [Letters of Two Brides.]
SORIA (Duchesse de), wife of the preceding, born Marie Heredia,
daughter of the wealthy Comte Heredia, was loved by two brothers, Don
Ferdinand, Duc de Soria, and Don Felipe de Macumer. Though betrothed
to the latter, she married the former, in accordance with her wishes,
the Baron de Macumer having generously renounced her hand in favor of
Don Ferdinand. The duchess retained a feeling of deep gratitude to him
for his unselfishness, and at a later time bestowed every care on him
in his last illness (1829). [Letters of Two Brides.]
SORMANO, the "shy" servant of the Argaiolos, at the time of their
exile in Switzerland, figures, as a woman, under the name of Gina, in
the autobiographical novel of Albert Savarus, entitled "L'Ambitieux
par l'Amour." [Albert Savarus.]
SOUCHET, a broker at Paris, whose failure ruined Guillaume Grandet,
brother of the well-known cooper of Saumur. [Eugenie Grandet.]
SOUCHET (Francois), winner of the prix de Rome for his sculpture,
about the beginning of Louis XVIII.'s reign; an intimate friend of
Hippolyte Schinner, who confided to him his love for Adelaide
Leseigneur de Rouville, and was rallied on it by him. [The Purse.]
About 1835, with Steinbock's assistance, Souchet carved the panels
over the doors and mantels of Laginski's magnificent house on the rue
de la Pepiniere, Paris. [The Imaginary Mistress.] He had given to
Florine (afterwards Madame Raoul Nathan) a plaster cast of a group
representing an angel holding an aspersorium, which adorned the
actress's sumptuous apartments in 1834. [A Daughter of Eve.]
SOUDRY, born in 1773, a quartermaster, secured a valuable friend in M.
de Soulanges, then adjutant-general, by saving him at the peril of his
own life. Having become brigadier of gendarmes at Soulanges
(Bourgogne), Soudry, in 1815, married Mademoiselle Cochet, Sophie
Laguerre's former lady's-maid. Six years later, he was put on the
retired list, at the request of Montcornet, and replaced in his
brigade by Viallet; but, supported by the influence of Francois
Gaubertin, he was elected mayor of Soulanges, and became the
formidable enemy of the Montcornets. Like Gregoire Rigou, his son's
father-in-law, the old gendarme kept as his mistress, under the same
roof with his wife, his servant Jeannette, who was younger than Madame
Soudry. [The Peasantry.]
SOUDRY (Madame), wife of the preceding, born Cochet in 1763.
Lady's-maid to Sophie Laguerre, Montcornet's predecessor at Aigues,
she had an understanding with Francois Gaubertin, the steward of the
estate, to make a victim of the former opera singer. Twenty days
after the burial of her mistress, La Cochet married the brigadier,
Soudry, a superb specimen of manhood, though pitted with small-pox.
During the reign of Louis XVIII., Madame Soudry, who tried awkwardly
enough to imitate her late mistress, Sophie Laguerre, reigned supreme
in the society of Soulanges, in her parlor which was the meeting
ground of Montcornet's enemies. [The Peasantry.]
SOUDRY, natural son of Soudry, the brigadier of gendarmes; legitimized
at the time of his father's marriage to Mademoiselle Cochet, in 1815.
On the day on which Soudry became legally possessed of a mother, he
had just finished his course at Paris. There he knew Gaubertin's son,
during a stay which he had at first intended to make long enough to
entitle him to be registered as an advocate, and eventually to enter
the legal profession; but he returned to Bourgogne to take charge of
an attorney's practice for which his father paid thirty thousand
francs. However, abandoning pettifoggery, Soudry soon found himself
deputy king's attorney in a department of Bourgogne, and, in 1817,
king's attorney under Attorney-General Bourlac, whom he replaced in
1821, thanks to the influence of Francois Gaubertin. He then married
Mademoiselle Rigou. [The Peasantry.]
SOUDRY (Madame), wife of the preceding, born Arsene Rigou, the only
daughter of wealthy parents, Gregoire Rigou and Arsene Pichard;
resembled her father in cunningness of character, and her mother in
beauty. [The Peasantry.]
SOULANGES (Comte Leon de), born in 1777, was colonel of the artillery
guard in 1809. In the month of November of that year, he found himself
the guest of the Malin de Gondrevilles, in their mansion in Paris, on
the evening of a great party; he met there Montcornet, a friend of his
in the regiment; Madame de Vaudremont, who had once been his mistress,
accompanied by the Martial de la Roche-Hugon, her new lover; and
finally his deserted wife, Madame de Soulanges, who had abandoned
society, but who had come to the senator's house at the instigation of
Madame de Lansac, with a view to a reconciliation, which was
successfully carried out. [Domestic Peace.] Leon de Soulanges had
several children as a result of his marriage; a son and some
daughters; having refused one of his daughters in marriage to
Montcornet, on the ground that she was too young, he made an enemy of
that general. The count, remaining faithful to the Bourbons during the
Hundred Days, was made a peer of France and a general in the artillery
corps. Enjoying the favor of the Duc d'Angouleme, he was allowed a
command during the Spanish war (1823), gained prominence at the seige
of Cadiz and attained the highest degrees in the military hierarchy.
Monsieur de Soulanges, who was very rich, owned, in the territory of
the commune of Blangy (Bourgogne), a forest and a chateau adjoining
the Aigues estate, which had itself once belonged to the house of
Soulanges. At the time of the Crusades, an ancestor of the count had
created this domain. Soulanges's motto was: "Je soule agir." Like M.
de Ronquerolles he got on badly enough with his neighbor Montcornet
and seemed to favor Francois Gaubertin, Gregoire Rigou and Soudry, in
their opposition to the future marshal. [The Peasantry.]
SOULANGES (Comtesse Hortense de), wife of the preceding, and niece of
the Duchesses de Lansac and de Marigny. In November, 1809, at a ball
given by Malin de Gondreville, acting on the advice of Madame de
Lansac, the countess, then on bad terms with her husband, conquered
her proud timidity, and demanded of Martial de la Roche-Hugon a ring
that she had received originally from her husband; M. de Soulanges had
afterwards passed it on to his mistress, Madame de Vaudremont, who had
given it to her lover, M. de la Roche-Hugon; this restitution effected
the reconciliation of the couple. [Domestic Peace.] Hortense de
Soulanges inherited from Madame de Marigny (who died about 1820) the
Guebriant estate, with its encumbrance of an annuity. [The Thirteen.]
Madame de Soulanges followed her husband to Spain at the time of the
war of 1823. [The Peasantry.]
SOULANGES (Amelie de), youngest daughter of the preceding couple,
would have married the Comte Philippe de Brambourg, in 1828, but for
the condemning revelations made by Bixiou concerning Joseph Bridau's
brother. [A Bachelor's Establishment.]
SOULANGES (Vicomte de), probably a brother of the preceding, was, in
1836, commander of a squad of hussars at Fountainebleau; then, in
company with Maxime de Trailles, he was going to be second to Savinien
de Portenduere in a duel with Desire Minoret, but the duel was
prevented by the unforeseen death of the latter; the underlying cause
was the disgraceful conduct of the Minoret-Levraults towards Ursule
Mirouet, future Vicomtesse de Portenduere. [Ursule Mirouet.]
SOULAS (Amedee-Sylvain-Jacques de), born in 1809, a gentleman of
Besancon, of Spanish origin (the name was written Souleyas, when
Franche-Comte belonged to Spain), succeeded in shining brightly in the
capital of Doubs on an income of four thousand francs, which allowed
him to employ the services of "Babylas, the tiger." Such discrepancy
between his means and his manner of living may well convey an idea of
this fellow's character, seeing that he sought in vain the hand of
Rosalie de Watteville, but married, in the month of August, 1837,
Madame de Watteville, her widowed mother. [Albert Savarus.]
SOULAS (Madame Amedee de), born Clotilde-Louise de Rupt in 1798, stern
in features and in character, a blonde of the extreme type, was
married, in 1815, to the Baron de Watteville, whom she managed with
little difficulty. She did not find it so easy, however, to govern her
daughter, Rosalie, whom she vainly tried to force to marry M. de
Soulas. The pressure, at Besancon, of Albert Savarus, who was secretly
loved by Mademoiselle de Watteville, gave a political significance to
the salon of Rosalie's parents during the reign of Louis Philippe.
Tired of her daughter's obstinacy, Madame de Watteville, now a widow,
herself married M. de Soulas; she lived in Paris, in the winter at
least, and knew how to be mistress of her house there, as she always
had been elsewhere. [Albert Savarus.]
SPARCHMANN, hospital surgeon at Heilsberg, attended Colonel Chabert
after the battle of Eylau. [Colonel Chabert.]
SPENCER (Lord), about 1830, at Balthazar Claes's sale, bought some
magnificent wainscoting that had been carved by Van Huysum, as well as
the portrait of President Van Claes, a Fleming of the sixteenth
century,--family treasures which the father of Mesdames de Solis and
Pierquin was obliged to give up. [The Quest of the Absolute.]
SPIEGHALTER, a German mechanician, who lived in Paris on the rue de la
Sante, in the early part of Louis Philippe's reign, made unsuccessful
efforts, with the aid of pressure, hammering and rolling, to stretch
the anomalous piece of shagreen submitted to him by Raphael de
Valentin, at the suggestion of Planchette, professor of mechanics.
[The Magic Skin.]
SPONDE (Abbe de), born about 1746, was grand vicar of the bishopric of
Seez. Maternal uncle, guardian, guest, and boarder of Madame du
Bousquier--_nee_ Cormon--of Alencon; he died in 1819, almost blind,
and strangely depressed by his niece's recent marriage. Entirely
removed from worldly interests, he led an ascetic life, and an
uneventful one, entirely consumed in thoughts of salvation,
mortifications of the flesh, and secret works of charity. [Jealousies
of a Country Town.]
STAEL-HOLSTEIN (Anne-Louise-Germaine Necker, Baronne de), daughter of
the famous Necker of Geneva, born in Paris in 1766; became the wife of
the Swiss minister to France; author of "l'Allemagne," of "Corinne,"
and of "Delphine"; noted for her struggle against Napoleon Bonaparte;
mother-in-law of the Duc Victor de Broglie and grandmother of the
generation of the Broglies of the present day; died in the year 1817.
At various times she lived in the Vendomois in temporary exile. During
one of her first stays in the Loire, she was greeted with the singular
formula of admiration, "Fameuse garce!" [The Chouans.] At a later
period, Madame de Stael came upon Louis Lambert, then a ragged urchin,
absorbed in reading a translation of Swedenborg's "Heaven and Hell."
She was struck with him, and had him educated at the college of
Vendome, where he had the future minister, Jules Dufaure, as his boon
companion; but she forgot her protege, who was ruined rather than
benefited by this passing interest. [Louis Lambert.] About 1823 Louise
de Chaulieu (Madame Marie Gaston) believed that Madame de Stael was
still alive, though she died in 1817. [Letters of Two Brides.]
STANHOPE (Lady Esther), niece of Pitt, met Lamartine in Syria, who
described her in his "Voyage en Orient"; had sent Lady Dudley an
Arabian horse, that the latter gave to Felix de Vandenesse in exchange
for a Rembrandt. [The Lily of the Valley.] Madame de Bargeton, growing
weary of Angouleme in the first years of the Restoration, was envious
of this "blue-stocking of the desert." Lady Esther's father, Earl
Charles Stanhope, Viscount Mahon, a peer of England, and a
distinguished scholar, invented a printing press, known to fame as the
Stanhope press, of which the miserly and mechanical Jerome-Nicholas
Sechard expressed a contemptuous opinion to his son. [Lost Illusions.]
STAUB, a German, and a Parisian tailor of reputation; in 1821, made
for Lucien de Rubempre, presumably on credit, some garments that he
went in person to try on the poet at the Hotel du Gaillard-Bois, on
the rue de l'Echelle. Shortly afterwards, he again favored Lucien, who
was brought to his establishment by Coralie. [A Distinguished
Provincial at Paris.]
STEIBELT, a famous musician, during the Empire was the instructor of
Felicite des Touches at Nantes. [Beatrix.]
STEINBOCK (Count Wenceslas), born at Prelie (Livonia) in 1809;
great-nephew of one of Charles XII.'s generals. An exile from his youth,
he went to Paris to live, and, from inclination as much as on account of
his poverty, he became a carver and sculptor. As assistant to Francois
Souchet, a fellow-countryman of Laginski's, Wenceslas Steinbock worked
on the decorations of the Pole's mansion, on the rue de la Pepiniere.
[The Imaginary Mistress.] Living amid squalor on the rue du Doyenne,
he was saved from suicide by his spinster neighbor, Lisbeth Fischer,
who restored his courage and determination, and aided him with her
resources. Wenceslas Steinbock then worked and succeeded. A chance
that brought one of his works to the notice of the Hulot d'Ervys
brought him into connection with these people; he fell in love with
their daughter, and, the love being returned, he married her. Orders
then came in quick succession to Wenceslas, living, as he did, on the
rue Saint-Dominique-Saint-Germain, near the Esplanade des Invalides,
not far from the marble stores, where the government had allowed him a
studio. His services were secured for the work of a monument to be
erected to the Marechal de Montcornet. But Lisbeth Fischer's
vindictive hatred, as well as his own weakness of character, caused
him to fall beneath the fatal dominion of Valerie Marneffe, whose
lover he became; with Stidmann, Vignon, and Massol, he witnessed that
woman's second marriage. Steinbock returned to the conjugal domicile
on the rue Louis-le-Grand, towards the latter part of Louis Philippe's
reign. An exhausted artist, he confined himself to the barren role of
critic; idle reverie replaced power of conception. [Cousin Betty.]
STEINBOCK (Countess Wenceslas), wife of the preceding; born Hortense
Hulot d'Ervy in 1817; daughter of Hector Hulot d'Ervy and Adeline
Fischer; younger sister of Victorin Hulot. Beautiful, and occupying a
brilliant position in society through her parents, but lacking dowry,
she made choice of husband for herself. Endowed with enduring pride of
spirit, Madame Steinbock could with difficulty excuse Wenceslas for
being unfaithful, and pardoned his disloyalty only after a long while.
Her trials ended with the last years of Louis Philippe's reign. The
wisdom and foresight of her brother Victorin, coupled with the results
of the wills of the Marechal Hulot, Lisbeth Fischer, and Valerie
Crevel, at last brought wealth to the countess's household, who lived
successively on the rue Saint-Dominique-Saint-Germain, the rue Plumet,
and the rue Louis-le-Grand. [Cousin Betty.]
STEINBOCK (Wenceslas), only son of the preceding couple, born when his
parents were living together, stayed with his mother after their
separation. [Cousin Betty.]
STEINGEL, an Alsatian, natural son of General Steingel, who fell at
the beginning of the Italian campaigns during the Republic; was, in
Bourgogne, about 1823, under head-keeper Michaud, one of the three
keepers of Montcornet's estates. [The Gondreville Mystery. The
Peasantry.]
STEVENS (Miss Dinah), born in 1791, daughter of an English brewer,
ugly enough, saving, and puritanical, had an income of two hundred and
forty thousand francs and expectations of as much more at her father's
death; the Marquise de Vordac, who met her at some watering-place in
1827, spoke of her to her son Marsay, as a very fine match, and Marsay
pretended that he was to marry the heiress; which he probably did, for
he left a widow that erected to him, at Pere-Lachaise, a superb
monument, the work of Stidmann. [A Marriage Settlement. Cousin Pons.]
STIDMANN, a celebrated carver and sculptor of Paris at the times of
the Restoration and Louis Philippe; Wenceslas Steinbock's teacher; he
carved, for the consideration of seven thousand francs, a
representation of a fox-chase on the ruby-set gold handle of a riding
whip that Ernest de la Briere gave to Modeste Mignon. [Modeste
Mignon.] At the request of Fabien de Ronceret, Stidmann undertook to
decorate an apartment for him on the rue Blanche [Beatrix.], he made
the originals of a chimney-piece for the Hulot d'Ervys; was among the
guests invited by Mademoiselle Brisetout at her little house-warming
on the rue Chauchat (1838); the same year he was present at the
celebration of Wenceslas Steinbock's marriage with Hortense Hulot;
knew Dorlange-Sallenauve; with Vignon, Steinbock and Massol, he was a
witness of Valerie Marneffe's second marriage to Celestin Crevel;
entertained a secret love for Madame Steinbock when she was neglected
by her husband [The Member for Arcis. Cousin Betty.]; executed the
work of Charles Keller's and Marsay's monuments. [Cousin Pons.] In
1845 Stidmann entered the Institute. [The Unconscious Humorists.]
STOPFER (Monsieur and Madame), formerly coopers at Neuchatel, in 1823;
were proprietors of an inn at Gersau (canton of Lucerne), near the
lake, to which Rodolphe came. The same village sheltered the
Gandolphinis, disguised under the name of Lovelace. [Albert Savarus.]
SUCY (General Baron Philippe de), born in 1789, served under the
Empire; on one occasion, at the crossing of the Beresina, he tried to
assure the safety of his mistress, Stephanie de Vandieres, a general's
wife, of whom he afterwards lost all trace. Seven years later,
however, being a colonel and an officer in the Legion of Honor, while
hunting with his friend, the Marquis d'Albon, near the Isle-Adam, Sucy
found Madame de Vandieres insane, under the charge of the alienist
Fanjat, and he undertook to restore her reason. With this end in view,
he arranged an exact reproduction of the parting scenes of 1812, on an
estate of his at Saint-Germain. The mad-woman recognized him indeed,
but she died immediately. Having gained the promotion of general, Sucy
committed suicide, the prey of incurable despair. [Farewell.]
SUZANNE, real given name of Madame Theodore Gaillard.
SUZANNET was, with the Abbe Vernal, the Comte de Fontaine, and M. de
Chatillon, one of the four Vendean chiefs at the time of the uprising
in the West in 1799. [The Chouans.]
SUZETTE, during the first years of Louis XVIII.'s reign, was
lady's-maid to Antoinette de Langeais, in Paris, about the time that
the duchess was receiving attentions from Montriveau. [The Thirteen.]
SUZON was for a long time valet de chambre for Maxime de Trailles. [A
Man of Business. The Member for Arcis.]
SYLVIE, cook for Madame Vauquer, the widow, on the rue
Neuve-Saint-Genevieve, during the years 1819 and 1820, at the time
when Jean-Joachim Goriot, Eugene de Rastignac, Jacques Collin,
Horace Bianchon, the Poirets, Madame Couture, and Victorine Taillefer
boarded there. [Father Goriot.]
T
TABAREAU, bailiff of the justice of the peace in the eighth ward of
Paris in 1844-1845. He was on good terms with Fraisier, the business
agent. Madame Cibot, door-keeper, on the rue de Normandie, retained
Tabareau to make a demand for her upon Schmucke for the payment of
three thousand one hundred and ninety-two francs, due her from the
German musician and Pons, for board, lodging, taxes, etc. [Cousin
Pons.]
TABAREAU (Mademoiselle), only child of Tabareau, the bailiff; a large,
red-haired consumptive; was heir, through her mother, of a house on
the Place Royale; a fact which made her hand sought by Fraisier, the
business agent. [Cousin Pons.]
TABOUREAU, formerly a day-laborer, and afterwards, during the
Restoration, a grain-dealer and money-lender in the commune of Isere,
of which Doctor Benassis was mayor. He was a thin man, very wrinkled,
bent almost double, with thin lips, and a hooked chin that almost made
connection with his nose, little gray eyes spotted with black, and as
sly as a horse-trader. [The Country Doctor.]
TAILLEFER (Jean-Frederic), born about 1779 at Beauvais; by means of a
crime, in 1799, he laid the foundations of his fortune, which was
considerable. In an inn near Andernach, Rhenish Prussia, Jean-Frederic
Taillefer, then a surgeon in the army, killed and robbed, one night, a
rich native tradesman, Monsieur Walhenfer, by name; however, he was
never incommoded by this murder; for accusing appearances pointed to
his friend, colleague and fellow-countryman, Prosper Magnan, who was
executed. Returning to Paris, J.-F. Taillefer was from that time forth
a wealthy and honored personage. He was captain of the first company
of grenadiers of the National Guard, and an influencial banker;
received much attention during the funeral obsequies of J.-B.
d'Aldrigger; made successful speculations in Nucingen's third venture.
He was married twice, and was brutal in his treatment of his first
wife (a relative of Madame Couture) who bore him two children,
Frederic-Michel and Victorine. He was owner of a magnificent mansion
on the rue Joubert. In Louis Philippe's reign he entertained in this
mansion with one of the most brilliant affairs ever known, according
to the account of the guests present, among whom were Blondet,
Rastignac, Valentin, Cardot, Aquilina de la Garde, and Euphrasie. M.
Taillefer suffered, nevertheless, morally and physically; in the first
place because of the crime that he had previously committed, for
remorse for this deed came over him every fall, that being the time of
its perpetration; in the second place, because of gout in the head,
according to Doctor Brousson's diagnosis. Though well cared for by his
second wife, and by his daughter of the first wife, Jean-Frederic died
some time after a sumptuous feast given at his house. An evening
passed in the salon of a banker, father of Mademoiselle Fanny,
hastened Taillefer's end; for there he was obliged to listen to
Hermann's story about the unjust martyrdom of Magnan. The funeral
notice read as follows: "You are invited to be present at the funeral
services of M. Jean-Frederic Taillefer, of the firm Taillefer &
Company, formerly contractor for supplies, in his life-time Knight of
the Legion of Honor and of the Golden Spur, Captain of the National
Guard of Paris, died May 1st, at his mansion, rue Joubert. The
services will be conducted at --, etc. In behalf of----," etc. [The
Firm of Nucingen. Father Goriot. The Magic Skin. The Red Inn.]
TAILLEFER (Madame), first wife of the preceding, and mother of
Frederic-Michel and Victorine Taillefer. As the result of the harsh
treatment by her husband, who unjustly suspected her of being
unfaithful, she died of a broken heart, presumably at quite an early
age. [Father Goriot.]
TAILLEFER (Madame), second wife of Jean-Frederic Taillefer, who
married her as a speculation, but even then made her happy. She seemed
to be devoted to him. [The Red Inn.]
TAILLEFER (Frederic-Michel), son of Jean-Frederic Taillefer by his
first wife, did not even try to protect his sister, Victorine, from
her father's unjust persecutions. Designated heir of the whole of his
father's great fortune, he was killed, in 1819, near Clignancourt, by
a dexterous and unerring stroke, in a duel with Colonel Franchessini,
the duel being instigated by Jacques Collin, in the interest of Eugene
de Rastignac, though the latter knew nothing of the matter. [Father
Goriot.]
TAILLEFER (Victorine), sister of the preceding, and daughter of
Jean-Frederic Taillefer by his first wife; a distant cousin of Madame
Couture; her mother having died in 1819, she wrongfully passed in her
father's opinion for "the child of adulterous connections"; was turned
away from her father's house, and sought protection with her
kinswoman, Madame Couture, the widow of Couture the ordainer, on the
rue Neuve-Saint-Genevieve, in Madame Vauquer's boarding-house; there
she fell in love with Eugene de Rastignac; by the death of her brother
she became heir to all the property of her father, Jean-Frederic
Taillefer, whose death-bed she comforted in every way possible.
Victorine Taillefer probably remained single. [Father Goriot. The Red
Inn.]
TALLEYRAND-PERIGORD (Charles-Maurice de), Prince de Benevent, Bishop
of Autun, ambassador and minister, born in Paris, in 1754, died in
1838, at his home on the rue Saint-Florentin.[*] Talleyrand gave
attention to the insurrectional stir that arose in Bretagne, under the
direction of the Marquis de Montauran, about 1799. [The Chouans.] The
following year (June, 1800), on the eve of the battle of Marengo, M.
de Talleyrand conferred with Malin de Gondreville, Fouche, Carnot, and
Sieyes, about the political situation. In 1804 he received M. de
Chargeboeuf, M. d'Hauteserre the elder, and the Abbe Goujet, who came
to urge him to have the names of Robert and Adrien d'Hauteserre and
Paul-Marie and Marie-Paul de Simeuse erased from the list of
emigrants; some time afterwards, when these latter were condemned,
despite their innocence, as guilty of the abduction and detention of
Senator Malin, he made every effort to secure their pardon, at the
earnest instance of Maitre Bordin, as well as the Marquis de
Chargeboeuf. At the hour of the execution of the Duc d'Enghien, which
he had perhaps advised, he was found with Madame de Luynes in time to
give her the news of it, at the exact moment of its happening. M. de
Talleyrand was very fond of Antoinette de Langeais. A frequent visitor
of the Chaulieus, he was even more intimate with their near relative,
the elderly Princesse de Vauremont, who made him executor of her will.
[The Gondreville Mystery. The Thirteen. Letters of Two Brides.]
Fritot, in selling his famous "Selim" shawl to Mistress Noswell, made
use of a cunning that certainly would not have deceived the
illustrious diplomat; one day, indeed, on noticing the hesitation of a
fashionable lady as between two bracelets, Talleyrand asked the
opinion of the clerk who was showing the jewelry, and advised the
purchase of the one rejected by the latter. [Gaudissart II.]
[*] Alexander I., Czar of Russia, once stayed at this house, which is
now owned and occupied by the Baron Alphonse de Rothschild.
TARLOWSKI, a Pole; colonel in the Imperial Guard; ordnance officer
under Napoleon Bonaparte; friend of Poniatowski; made a match between
his daughter and Bourlac. [The Seamy Side of History.]
TASCHERON, a very upright farmer, in a small way, in the market town
of Montegnac, nine leagues distant from Limoges; left his village in
August, 1829, immediately after the execution of his son,
Jean-Francois. With his wife, parents, children and grandchildren,
he sailed for America, where he prospered and founded the town of
Tascheronville in the State of Ohio. [The Country Parson.]
TASCHERON (Jean-Francois), one of the sons of the preceding, born
about 1805, a porcelain maker, working successively with Messieurs
Graslin and Philippart; at the end of Charles X.'s reign, he committed
a triple crime which, owing to his excellent character and
antecedents, seemed for a long time inexplicable. Jean-Francois
Tascheron fell in love with the wife of his first employer, Pierre
Graslin, and she reciprocated the passion; to prepare a way for them
to escape together, he went one night to the house of Pingret, a rich
and miserly husbandman in the Faubourg Saint-Etienne, robbed him of a
large sum of money, and, thinking to assure his safety, murdered the
old man and his servant, Jeanne Malassis. Being arrested, despite his
precautions, Jean-Francois Tascheron made especial effort not to
compromise Madame Graslin. Condemned to death, he refused to confess,
and was deaf to the prayers of Pascal, the chaplain, yielding
somewhat, however, to his other visitors, the Abbe Bonnet, his mother,
and his sister Denise; as a result of their influence he restored a
considerable portion of the hundred thousand francs stolen. He was
executed at Limoges, in August, 1829. He was the natural father of
Francois Graslin. [The Country Parson.]
TASCHERON (Louis-Marie), a brother of the preceding; with Denise
Tascheron (afterwards Denise Gerard) he fulfilled a double mission: he
destroyed the traces of the crime of Jean-Francois, that might betray
Madame Graslin, and restored the rest of the stolen money to Pingret's
heirs, Monsieur and Madame de Vanneaulx. [The Country Parson.]
TASCHERON (Denise), a sister of the preceding. (See Gerard, Madame
Gregoire.)
TAUPIN, cure of Soulanges (Bourgogne), cousin of the Sarcus family and
Sarcus-Taupin, the miller. He was a man of ready wit, of happy
disposition, and on good terms with all his parishioners. [The
Peasantry.]
TERNNICK (De), Duc de Casa-Real, which name see.
TERRASSE AND DUCLOS, keepers of records at the Palais, in 1822;
consulted at that time with success by Godeschal. [A Start in Life.]
THELUSSON, a banker, one of whose clerks was Lemprun before he entered
the Banque de France as messenger. [The Middle Classs.]
THERESE, lady's-maid to Madame de Nucingen during the Restoration and
the reign of Louis Philippe. [Father Goriot. A Daughter of Eve.]
THERESE, lady's-maid to Madame Xavier Rabourdin, on the rue Duphot,
Paris, in 1824. [The Government Clerks.]
THERESE, lady's-maid to Madame de Rochefide in the latter part of
Charles X.'s reign, and during the reign of Louis Philippe. [Beatrix.]
THERESE (Sister), the name under which Antoinette de Langeais died,
after she had taken the veil, and retired to the convent of
bare-footed Carmelites on an island belonging to Spain, probably the
island of Leon. [The Thirteen.]
THIBON (Baron), chief of the Comptoir d'Escompte, in 1818, had been a
colleague of Cesar Birotteau, the perfumer. [Cesar Birotteau.]
THIRION, usher to the closet of King Louis XVIII., was on terms of
intimacy with the Ragons, and was invited to Cesar Birotteau's famous
ball on December 17, 1818, together with his wife and his daughter
Amelie, one of Servin's pupils who married Camusot de Marville. [The
Vendetta. Cesar Birotteau.] The emoluments of his position, obtained
by the patronage that his zeal deservedly acquired, enabled him to lay
by a considerable sum, which the Camusot de Marvilles inherited.
[Jealousies of a Country Town.]
THOMAS was owner of a large house in Bretagne, that Marie de Verneuil
(Madame Alphonse de Montauran) bought for Francine de Cottin, her
lady's maid, and a niece of Thomas. [The Chouans.]
THOMAS (Madame) was a milliner in Paris towards the latter part of the
reign of Charles X.; it was to her establishment that Frederic de
Nucingen, after being driven to the famous pastry shop of Madame
Domas, an error arising from his Alsatian pronunciation, betook
himself in quest of a black satin cape, lined with pink, for Esther
van Gobseck. [Scenes from a Courtesan's Life.]
THOMIRE contributed to the material splendors of the famous
entertainment given by Frederic Taillefer, about 1831, at his mansion
on the rue Joubert, Paris. [The Magic Skin.]
THOREC, an anagram of Hector, and one of the names successively
assumed by Baron Hector Hulot d'Ervy, after deserting his conjugal
roof. [Cousin Betty.]
THOREIN, a carpenter, was employed in making changes in Cesar
Birotteau's apartments some days before the famous ball given by the
perfumer on December 17, 1818. [Cesar Birotteau.]
THOUL, anagram of the word Hulot, and one of the names successively
assumed by Baron Hector Hulot d'Ervy, after his desertion of the
conjugal roof. [Cousin Betty.]
THOUVENIN, famous in his work, but an unreliable tradesman, was
employed, in 1818, by Madame Anselme Popinot (then Mademoiselle
Birotteau) to rebind for her father, the perfumer, the works of
various authors. [Cesar Birotteau.] Thouvenin, as an artist, was in
love with his own works--like Servais, the favorite gilder of Elie
Magus. [Cousin Pons.]
THUILLIER was first door-keeper of the minister of finance in the
second half of the eighteenth century; by furnishing meals to the
clerks he realized from his position a regular annual income of almost
four thousand francs; being married and the father of two children,
Marie-Jeanne-Brigitte and Louis-Jerome, he retired from active duties
about 1806, and, losing his wife in 1810, he himself died in 1814. He
was commonly called "Stout Father Thuillier." [The Government Clerks.
The Middle Classes.]
THUILLIER (Marie-Jeanne-Brigitte), daughter of the preceding, born in
1787, of independent disposition and of obstinate will, chose the
single state to become, as it were, the ambitious mother of
Louis-Jerome, a brother younger than herself by four years. She began
life by making coin-bags at the Bank of France, then engaged in
money-lending; took every advantage of her debtors, among others Fleury,
her father's colleague at the Treasury. Being now rich, she met the
Lempruns and the Galards; took upon herself the management of the
small fortune of their heir, Celeste Lemprum, whom she had selected
specially to be the wife of her brother; after their marriage she
lived with her brother's family; was also one of Mademoiselle
Colleville's god-mothers. On the rue Saint-Dominique-d'Enfer, and on
the Place de la Madeleine, she showed herself many times to be the
friend of Theodose de la Peyrade, who vainly sought the hand of the
future Madame Phellion. [The Government Clerks. The Middle Classes.]
THUILLIER (Louis-Jerome), younger brother of the preceding, born in
1791. Thanks to his father's position, he entered the Department of
Finance as clerk at an early age. Louis-Jerome Thuillier, being
exempted from military service on account of weak eyes, married
Celeste Lemprun, Galard's wealthy granddaughter, about 1814. Ten years
later he had reached the advancement of reporting clerk, in Xavier
Rabourdin's office, Flamet de la Billardiere's division. His pleasing
exterior gave him a series of successes in love affairs, that was
continued after his marriage, but cut short by the Restoration,
bringing back, as it did, with peace, the gallants escaped from the
battlefield. Among his amorous conquests may be counted Madame Flavie
Colleville, wife of his intimate friend and colleague at the Treasury;
of their relations was born Celeste Colleville--Madame Felix Phellion.
Having been deputy-chief for two years (since January 5, 1828), he
left the Treasury at the outbreak of the Revolution of 1830. In him
the office lost an expert in equivocal jests. Having left the
department, Thuillier turned his energies in another direction.
Marie-Jeanne-Brigette, his elder sister, turning him to the intricacies
of real estate, made him leave their lodging-place on the rue
d'Argenteuil, to purchase a house on the rue Saint-Dominique-d'Enfer,
which had formerly belonged to President Lecamus and to Petitot, the
artist. Thuillier's conceit and vanity, now that he had become a
well-known and important citizen, were greatly flattered when Theodose
de la Peyrade hired apartments from him. M. Thuillier was manager of the
"Echo de la Bievre," signed a certain pamphlet on political economy,
was candidate for the Chamber of Deputies, purchased a second house,
in 1840, on the Place de la Madeleine, and was chosen to succeed J.-J.
Popinot as member of the General Council of the Seine. [The Government
Clerks. The Middle Classes.]
THUILLIER (Madame), wife of the preceding; born Celeste Lemprun, in
1794; only daughter of the oldest messenger in the Bank of France,
and, on her mother's side, granddaughter od Galard, a well-to-do
truck-gardener of Auteuil; a transparent blonde, slender,
sweet-tempered, religious, and barren. In her married life, Madame
Thuillier was swayed beneath the despotism of her sister-in-law,
Marie-Jeanne-Brigitte, but derived some consolation from the
affection of Celeste Colleville, and, about 1841, contributed as far
as her influence permitted, to the marriage of this her god-daughter.
[The Middle Classes.]
TIENNETTE, born in 1769, a Breton who wore her native costume, was, in
1829, the devoted servant of Madame de Portenduere the elder, on the
rue des Bourgeois (now Bezout), Nemours. [Ursule Mirouet.]
TILLET (Ferdinand du), had legally a right only to the first part of
his name, which was given him on the morning of Saint-Ferdinand's day
by the curate of the church of Tillet, a town near Andelys (Eure).
Ferdinand was the son of an unknown great nobleman and a poor
countrywoman of Normandie, who was delivered of her son one night in
the curate's garden, and then drowned herself. The priest took in the
new born son of the betrayed mother and took care of him. His
protector being dead, Ferdinand resolved to make his own way in the
world, took the name of his village, was first commercial traveler,
and, in 1814, he became head clerk in Birotteau's perfumery
establishment on the rue Saint-Honore, Paris. While there he tried,
but without success, to win Constance Birotteau, his patron's wife,
and stole three thousand francs from the cash drawer. They discovered
the theft and forgave the offender, but in such a way that Du Tillet
himself was offended. He left the business and started a bank; being
the lover of Madame Roguin, the notary's wife, he became involved in
the business scheme known as "the lands of the Madeleine," the
original cause of Birotteau's failure and of his own fortune (1818).
Ferdinand du Tillet, now a lynx of almost equal prominence with
Nucingen, with whom he was on very intimate terms, being loved by
Mademoiselle Malvina d'Aldrigger, being looked up to by the Kellers
also, and being further the patron of Tiphaine, the Provins Royalist,
was able to crush Birotteau, and triumphed over him, even on December
17, 1818, the evening of the famous ball given by the perfumer; Jules
Desmarets, Benjamin de la Billiardiere, and he were the only perfect
types present of worldly propriety and distinction. [Cesar Birotteau.
The Firm of Nucingen. The Middle Classes. A Bachelor's Establishment.
Pierrette.] Once started, M. du Tillet seldom left the Chaussee
d'Antin, the financial quarter of Paris, during the Restoration and
the reign of Louis Philippe. It was there that he received Birotteau,
imploring aid, and gave him a letter of recommendation for Nucingen,
the result of which was quite different from what the unfortunate
merchant had anticipated. Indeed, it was agreed between the two
business men, if the i's in the letter in question were not dotted, to
give a negative answer; by this intentional omission, Du Tillet ruined
the unfortunate Birotteau. He had his bank on the rue Joubert when
Rodolphe Castanier, the dishonest cashier, robbed Nucingen. [Melmoth
Reconciled.] Ferdinand du Tillet was now a consequential personage,
when Lucien de Rubempre was making his start in Paris (1821). [A
Distinguished Provincial at Paris.] Ten years later he married his
last daughter to the Comte de Granville, a peer of France, and "one of
the most illustrious names of the French magistracy." He occupied one
of the elegant mansions on the rue Neuve-des-Mathurins, now rue des
Mathurins; for a long time he kept Madame Roguin as his mistress; was
often seen, in the Faubourg Saint-Honore, with the Marquise d'Espard,
being found there on the day that Diane de Cadignan was slandered in
the presence of Daniel d'Arthez, who was very much in love with her.
With Massol and Raoul Nathan he founded a prominent newspaper, which
he used for his financial interests. He did not hesitate to get rid of
Nathan, who was loaded down with debts; but he found Nathan before him
once more, however, as candidate for the Chamber of Deputies, to
succeed Nucingen, who had been made a peer of France; this time, also,
he triumphed over his rival, and was elected. [The Secrets of a
Princess. A Daughter of Eve.] M. du Tillet was no more sparing of
Maxime de Trailles, but harassed him pitilessly, when the count was
sent into Champagne as electoral agent of the government. [The Member
for Arcis.] He was present at the fete given by Josepha Mirah, by way
of a house-warming, in her mansion on the rue de la Ville-l'Eveque;
Celestin Crevel and Valerie Marneffe invited him to their wedding.
[Cousin Betty.] At the end of the monarchy of July, being a deputy,
with his seat in the Left Centre, Ferdinand du Tillet kept in the most
magnificent style Seraphine Sinet, the Opera girl, more familiarly
called Carabine. [The Unconscious Humorists.] There is a biography of
Ferdinand du Tillet, elaborated by the brilliant pen of Jules
Claretie, in "Le Temps" of September 5, 1884, under title of "Life in
Paris."
TILLET (Madame Ferdinand du), wife of the preceding, born Marie-Eugenie
de Granville in 1814, one of the four children of the Comte and
Comtesse de Granville, and younger sister of Madame Felix de
Vandenesse; a blonde like her mother; in her marriage, which took
place in 1831, was a renewal of the griefs that had sobered the years
of her youth. Eugenie du Tillet's natural playfulness of spirit could
find vent only with her eldest sister, Angelique-Marie, and their
harmony teacher, W. Schmucke, in whose company the two sisters forgot
their father's neglect and the convent-like rigidness of a devotee's
home. Poor in the midst of wealth, deserted by her husband, and bent
beneath an inflexible yoke, Madame du Tillet could lend but too little
aid to her sister--then Madame de Vandenesse--in the trouble caused by
a passion she had conceived for Raoul Nathan. However, she supplied
her with two powerful allies--Delphine de Nucingen and W. Schmucke. As
a result of her marriage Madame du Tillet had two children. [A
Daughter of Eve.]
TINTENIAC, known for his part in the Quiberon affair, had among his
confederates Jacques Horeau, who was executed in 1809 with the
Chauffeurs of Orne. [The Seamy Side of History.]
TINTI (Clarina), born in Sicily about 1803; was maid in an inn, when
her glorious voice came under the notice of a great nobleman, her
fellow-countryman, the Duke Cataneo, who had her educated. At the age
of sixteen, she made her debut with brilliant success at several
Italian theatres. In 1820, she was "prima donna assoluta" of the
Fenice theatre, Venice. Being loved by Genovese, the famous tenor,
Tinti was usually engaged with him. Of a passionate nature, beautiful
and capricious, Clarina became enamored of Prince Emilio du Varese, at
that time the lover of the Duchesse Cataneo, and became, for a while,
the mistress of that descendant of the Memmis: the ruined palace of
Varese, which Cataneo hired for Tinti, was the scene of these
ephemeral relations. [Massimilla Doni.] In the winter of 1823-1824, at
the home of Prince Gandolphini, in Geneva, with Genovese, Princesse
Gandolphini, and an exiled Italian prince, she sang the famous
quartette, "Mi manca la voce." [Albert Savarus.]
TIPHAINE, of Provins, brother of Madame Guenee-Galardon, rich in his
own right, and expecting something more by way of inheritance from his
father, adopted the legal profession; married a granddaughter of
Chevrel, a prominent banker of Paris; had children by his marriage;
presided over the court of his native town in the latter part of
Charles X.'s reign. At that time an ardent Royalist, and resting
secure under the patronage of the well-known financiers, Ferdinand du
Tillet and Frederic de Nucingen, M. Tiphaine contended against
Gouraud, Vinet, and Rogron, the local representatives of the Liberal
party, and for a considerable time upheld the cause of Mademoiselle
Pierrette Lorrain, their victim. Tiphaine, however, suited himself to
the circumstances, and came over to Louis Philippe, the
"revolutionist," under whose reign he became a member of the Chamber
of Deputies; he was "one of the most esteemed orators of the Centre";
secured his appointment to the judgeship of the court of first
instance of the Seine, and still later he was made president of the
royal court. [Pierrette.]
TIPHAINE (Madame), wife of the preceding, born Mathilde-Melanie
Roguin, in the early part of the nineteenth century; the only daughter
of a wealthy notary of Paris, noted for his fraudulent failure in
1819; on her mother's side, granddaughter of Chevrel, the banker, and
also distant cousin of the Guillaumes, and the families of Lebas and
Sommervieux. Before her marriage she was a frequent visitor at the
studio of Servin, the artist; she was there "the malicious oracle" of
the Liberal party, and, with Laure, took sides with Ginevra di Piombo
against Amelie Thirion, leader of the aristocratic group. [The
Vendetta.] Clever, pretty, coquettish, correct, and a real Parisian,
and protected by Madame Roguin's lover, Ferdinand du Tillet,
Mathilde-Melanie Tiphaine reigned supreme in Provins, in the midst of
the Guenee family, represented by Mesdames Galardon, Lessourd, Martener,
and Auffray; took in, or, rather, defended Pierrette Lorrain; and
overwhelmed the Rogron salon with her spirit of raillery. [Pierrette.]
TISSOT (Pierre-Francois), born March 10, 1768, at Versailles, died
April 7, 1854; general secretary of the Maintenance Commission in
1793, successor to Jacques Delille in the chair of Latin poetry in the
College de France; a member of the Academy in 1833, and the author of
many literary and historical works; under the Restoration he was
managing editor of the "Pilote," a radical sheet that published a
special edition of the daily news for the provinces, a few hours after
the morning papers. Horace Bianchon, the house-surgeon, there learned
of the death of Frederic-Michel Taillefer, who had been killed in a
duel with Franchessini. [Father Goriot.] In the reign of Louis
Philippe, when Charles-Edouard Rusticoli de la Palferine's burning
activity vainly sought an upward turn, Tissot, from the professor's
chair, pleaded the cause of the rights and aspirations of youth that
had been ignored and despised by the power surrendered into the hands
of superannuated mossbacks. [A Prince of Bohemia.]
TITO, a young and handsome Italian, in 1823, brought "la liberta e
denaro" to the Prince and Princess Gandolphini, who were at that time
impoverished outlaws, living in concealment at Gersau (canton of
Lucerne) under the English name of Lovelace--"L'Ambitieux par Amour."
[Albert Savarus.]
TOBY, born in Ireland about 1807; also called Joby, and Paddy; during
the Restoration, Beaudenord's "tiger" on the Quai Malaquais, Paris; a
wonder of precocity in vice; acquired a sort of celebrity in exercise
of his duties, a celebrity that was even reflected on Madame
d'Aldrigger's future son-in-law. [The Firm of Nucingen.] During Louis
Philippe's reign, Toby was a servant in the household of the Duc
Georges de Maufrigneuse on the rue Miromesnil. [The Secrets of a
Princess.]
TONNELET (Matire), a notary, and son-in-law of M. Gravier of Isere,
whose intimate friend was Benassis, and who was one of the co-workers
of that beneficent physician. Tonnelet was thin and pale, and of
medium height; he generally dressed in black, and wore spectacles.
[The Country Doctor.]
TONSARD (Mere), a peasant woman of Bourgogne, born in 1745, was one of
the most formidable enemies of Montcornet, the owner of Aigues, and of
his head-keeper, Justine Michaud. She had killed the keeper's favorite
hound and she encroached upon the forest trees, so as to kill them and
take the dead wood off. A reward of a thousand francs having been
offered to the person who should discover the perpetrator of these
wrongs, Mere Tonsard had herself denounced by her granddaughter, Marie
Tonsard, in order to secure this sum of money to her family, and she
was sentenced to five years' imprisonment, though she probably did not
serve her term. Mere Bonnebault committed the same offences as Mere
Tonsard; they had a quarrel, each wishing to profit by the advantages
of a denunciation, and had ended by referring the matter to the
casting of lots, which resulted in favor of Mere Tonsard. [The
Peasantry.]
TONSARD (Francois), son of the preceding, born about 1773, was a
country laborer, skilled more or less in everything; he possessed a
hereditary talent, attested, moreover, by his name, for trimming
trees, and various kinds of hedges. Lazy and crafty, Francois Tonsard
secured from Sophie Laguerre, Montcornet's predecessor at Aigues, an
acre of land, on which he built, in 1795, the wine-shop known as the
Grand-I-Vert. He was saved from conscription by Francois Gaubertin, at
that time steward of Aigues, at the urgent request of Mademoiselle
Cochet, their common mistress. Being then married to Philippine
Fourchon, and Gaubertin having become his wife's lover, he could poach
with freedom, and so it was that the Tonsard family made regular
levies on the Aigues forest with impunity: they supplied themselves
entirely from the wood of the forest, kept two cows at the expense of
the landlord, and were represented at the harvest by seven gleaners.
Being incommoded by the active watch kept over them by Justine
Michaud, Gaubertin's successor, Tonsard killed him, one night in 1823.
Afterwards in the dismemberment of Montcornet's estate, Tonsard got
his share of the spoils. [The Peasantry.]
TONSARD (Madame), wife of the preceding; born Philippe Fourchon;
daughter of the Fourchon who was the natural grandfather of Mouche;
large, and of a good figure, with a sort of rustic beauty; lax in
morals; extravagant in her tastes, none the less she assured the
prosperity of the Grand-I-Vert, by reason of her talent as a cook, and
her free coquetry. By her marriage she had four children, two sons and
two daughters. [The Peasantry.]
TONSARD (Jean-Louis), born about 1801, son of the preceding, and
perhaps also of Francois Gaubertin, to whom Philippe Tonsard was
mistress. Exempted from military service in 1821 on account of a
pretended disorder in the muscles of his right arm, Jean-Louis Tonsard
posed under the protection of Soudry, Rogou and Gaubertin, in a
circumspect way, as the enemy of the Montcornets and Michaud. He was a
lover of Annette, Rigou's servant girl. [The Peasantry.]
TONSARD (Nicolas), younger brother of the preceding, and the male
counterpart of his sister Catherine; brutally persecuted, with his
sister's connivance, Niseron's granddaughter, Genevieve, called La
Pechina, whom he tried to outrage. [The Peasantry.]