Repertory of The Comedie Humaine Part 28

LANTY (Comte de), owner of an expensive mansion near the Elysee-Bourbon, which he had bought from the Marechal de Carigliano.

He gave there under the Restoration some magnificent entertainments, at which were present the upper cla.s.ses of Parisian society, ignorant, though they were, of the count's lineage. Lanty, who was a mysterious man, pa.s.sed for a clever chemist. He had married the rich niece of the peculiar eunuch, Zambinella, by whom he had two children, Marianina and Filippo. [Sarrasine. The Member for Arcis.]

LANTY (Comtesse de), wife of the preceding, born in 1795, niece and likewise adopted daughter of the wealthy eunuch, Zambinella, was the mistress of M. de Maucombe, by whom she had a daughter, Marianina de Lanty. [Sarrasine. The Member for Arcis.]

LANTY (Marianina de), daughter of the preceding and according to law of the Comte de Lanty, although she was in reality the daughter of M.

de Maucombe; born in 1809. She bore a striking resemblance to her sister, Renee de l'Estorade, born Maucombe. In 1825 she concealed, and lavished care on her great-uncle, Zambinella. During her parents'

sojourn in Rome she took lessons in sculpture of Charles Dorlange, who afterwards, in 1839, became a member for Arcis, under the name of Comte de Sallenauve. [Sarrasine. The Member for Arcis.]

LANTY (Filippo de), younger brother of the preceding, second child of the Comte and the Comtesse de Lanty. Being young and handsome he was an attendant at the fetes given by his parents during the Restoration.

By his marriage, which took place under Louis Philippe, he became allied with the family of a German grand duke. [Sarrasine. The Member for Arcis.]

LA PALFERINE (Gabriel-Jean-Anne-Victor-Benjamin-Georges-Ferdinand-Charles-Edouard-Rusticoli, Comte de), born in 1802; of an ancient Italian family which had become impoverished; grandson on the paternal side of one of the protectors of Josephine-Sophie Laguerre; descended indirectly from the Comtesse Albany--whence his given name of Charles-Edouard. He had in his veins the mixed blood of the condottiere and the gentleman. Under Louis Philippe, idle and fast going to ruin, with his Louis XIII. cast of countenance, his evil-minded wit, his lofty independent manners, insolent yet winning, he was a type of the brilliant Bohemian of the Boulevard de Gand; so much so, that Madame de la Baudraye, basing her information on points furnished her by Nathan, one day drew a picture of him, writing a description in which artificiality and artlessness were combined. In this were many interesting touches: La Palferine's contempt shown at all times for the bourgeois cla.s.s and forms of government; the request for the return of his toothbrush, then in the possession of a deserted mistress, Antonia Chocardelle; his relations with Madame du Bruel, whom he laid siege to, won, and neglected--a yielding puppet, of whom, strange to say, he broke the heart and made the fortune. He lived at that time in the Roule addition, in a plain garret, where he was in the habit of receiving Zephirin Marcas. The wretchedness of his quarters did not keep La Palferine out of the best society, and he was the guest of Josepha Mirah at the first entertainment given in her house on rue de la Ville-l'Eveque. By a strange order of events, Comte Rusticoli became Beatrix de Rochefide's lover, a few years after the events just narrated, at a time when the Debats published a novel by him which was spoken of far and wide.

Nathan laid the foundation for this affair. Trailles, Charles-Edouard's master, carried on the negotiations and brought the intrigue to a consummation, being urged on by the Abbe Brossette's a.s.sent and the d.u.c.h.esse de Grandlieu's request. La Palferine's liaison with Madame de Rochefide effected a reconciliation between Calyste du Guenic and his wife. In the course of time, however, Comte Rusticoli deserted Beatrix and sent her back to her husband, Arthur de Rochefide. During the winter of 1842 La Palferine was attracted to Madame de Laginska, had some meetings with her, but failed in this affair through the intervention of Thaddee Paz. [A Prince of Bohemia. A Man of Business. Cousin Betty. Beatrix. The Imaginary Mistress.]

LA PEYRADE (Charles-Marie-Theodose de), born near Avignon in 1813, one of eleven children of the police-agent Peyrade's youngest brother, who lived in poverty on a small estate called Canquoelle; a bold Southerner of fair skin; given to reflection; ambitious, tactful and astute. In 1829 he left the department of Vaucluse and went to Paris on foot in search of Peyrade who, he had reason to believe, was wealthy, but of whose business he was ignorant. Theodose departed through the Barriere d'Enfer, which has been destroyed since 1860, at the moment when Jacques Collin murdered his uncle. At that time he entered a house of ill-fame, where he had unwittingly for mistress Lydie Peyrade, his full-blooded cousin. Theodose then lived for three years on a hundred louis which Corentin had secretly given to him. On giving him the money, the national chief of police quietly advised him to become an attorney. Journalism, however, at first, seemed a tempting career to M. de la Peyrade, and he went into politics, finally becoming editor of a paper managed by Cerizet. The failure of this journal left Theodose once more very poor. Nevertheless, through Corentin, who secretly paid the expenses of his studies, he was able to begin and continue a course in law. Once licensed, M. de la Peyrade became a barrister and professing to be entirely converted to Socialism, he freely pleaded the cause of the poor before the magistrate of the eleventh or twelfth district. He occupied the third story of the Thuillier house on rue Saint-Dominique-d'Enfer. He fell into the hands of Dutocq and Cerizet and suffered under the pressure of these grasping creditors. Theodose now decided that he would marry M. Thuillier's natural daughter, Mademoiselle Celeste Colleville, but, with Felix Ph.e.l.lion's love to contend with, despite the combined support, gained with difficulty, of Madame Colleville and of M. and Mademoiselle Thuillier, he failed through Corentin's circ.u.mvention.

His marriage with Lydie Peyrade repaired the wrong which he had formerly done unwittingly. As successor to Corentin he became national chief-of-police in 1840. [Scenes from a Courtesan's Life. The Middle Cla.s.ses.]

LA PEYRADE (Madame de), first cousin and wife of the preceding, born Lydie Peyrade in 1810, natural daughter of the police officer Peyrade and of Mademoiselle Beaumesnil; pa.s.sed her childhood successively in Holland and in Paris, on rue des Moineaux, whence, Jacques Collin, thirsting for revenge, abducted her during the Restoration. Being somewhat in love, at that time, with Lucien de Rubempre she was taken to a house of ill-fame, Peyrade being at the time very ill. Upon her departure she was insane. Her own cousin, Theodose de la Peyrade, had been her lover there, fortuitously and without dreaming that they were blood relatives. Corentin adopted this insane girl, who was a talented musician and singer, and at his home on rue Honore-Chevalier, in 1840, he arranged for both the cure and the marriage of his ward. [Scenes from a Courtesan's Life. The Middle Cla.s.ses.]

LA POURAILLE, usual surname of Dannepont.

LARAVINIERE, tavern-keeper in Western France, lodged "brigands" who had armed themselves as Royalists under the first Empire. He was condemned, either by Bourlac or Mergi, to five years in prison. [The Seamy Side of History.]

LARDOT (Madame), born in 1771, lived in Alencon in 1816 on rue du Cours--a street still bearing the same name. She was a laundress, and took as boarders a relative named Grevin and the Chevalier de Valois.

She had among her employes Cesarine and Suzanne, afterwards Madame Theodore Gaillard. [Jealousies of a Country Town.]

LAROCHE, born in 1763 at Blangy in Bourgogne, was, in 1823, an aged vine-dresser, who felt a calm, relentless hatred for the rich, especially the Montcornets, occupants of Aigues. [The Peasantry.]

LA ROCHE (Sebastien de), born early in the nineteenth century, was probably the son of an unpretentious, retired Treasury clerk. In December, 1824, he found himself in Paris, poor, but capable and zealous, as a supernumerary in the office of Xavier Rabourdin of the Department of Finance. He lived with his widowed mother in the busiest part of Marais on rue du Roi-Dore. M. and Madame Rabourdin received and gave him a.s.sistance by preparing a copy of a rare and mysterious government work. The discovery of this book by Dutocq unfortunately resulted in the discharge of both chief and clerk. [The Government Clerks.]

LA ROCHE-GUYON (De), the eldest of one of the oldest families in the section of Orne, at one time connected with the Esgrignons, who visited them frequently. In 1805 he sued vainly, through Maitre Chesnel, for the hand of Armande d'Esgrignon. [Jealousies of a Country Town.]

LA ROCHE-HUGON (Martial de), shrewd, turbulent and daring Southerner, had a long and brilliant administrative career in politics. Even in 1809 the Council of State employed him as one of the masters of pet.i.tions. Napoleon Bonaparte was patron of this young Provencal.

Also, in November of the same year, Martial was invited to the fete given by Malin de Gondreville--a celebration which the Emperor was vainly expected to attend. Montcornet was present, also the d.u.c.h.esse de Lansac, who succeeded in bringing about a reconciliation between her nephew and niece, M. and Madame de Soulanges. M. de la Roche-Hugon's mistress, Madame de Vaudremont, was also in attendance at this ball. For five years he had enjoyed a close friendship with Montcornet, and this bond was lasting. In 1815 the securing of Aigues for Montcornet was undertaken by Martial, who had served as prefect under the Empire, and retained his office under the Bourbons. Thus from 1821 to 1823 M. de la Roche-Hugon was at the head of the department in Bourgogne, which contained Aigues and Ville-aux-Fayes, M. des Lupeaulx's sub-prefecture. A dismissal from this office, to which the Comte de Casteran succeeded, threw Martial into the opposition among the Liberalists, but this was for a short time, as he soon accepted an emba.s.sy. Louis Philippe's government honored M. de la Roche-Hugon by making him minister, amba.s.sador, and counselor of state. Eugene de Rastignac, who had favored him before, now gave him one of his sisters in marriage. Several children resulted from this union. Martial continued to remain influential and a.s.sociated with the popular idols of the time, M. and Madame de l'Estorade. His relations with the national chief of police, Corentin, in 1840, were also indicative of his standing. As a deputy the next year M. de la Roche-Hugon probably filled the directorship in the War Department, left vacant by Hector Hulot. [Domestic Peace. The Peasantry. A Daughter of Eve. The Member for Arcis. The Middle Cla.s.ses. Cousin Betty.]

LA ROCHE-HUGON (Madame Martial de). (See Rastignac, Mesdemoiselles de.)

LA RODIERE (Stephanie de). (See Nueil, Madame Gaston de.)

LA ROULIE (Jacquin), chief huntsman of the Prince de Cadignan, took part with his master, in 1829, in the exciting hunt given in Normandie, in which as spectators or riders were the Mignons de la Bastie, the Maufrigneuses, the Herouvilles, M. de Ca.n.a.lis, Eleonore de Chaulieu and Ernest de la Briere. Jacquin la Roulie was at that time an old man and a firm believer in the French school; he had an argument with John Barry, another guest, who defended English principles. [Modeste Mignon.]

LARSONNIERE (M. and Madame de), formed the aristocracy of the little city of Saumur, of which Felix Grandet had been mayor in the years just previous to the First Empire. [Eugenie Grandet.]

LA THAUMa.s.sIERE (De), grandson of the Berry historian, a young land-owner, the dandy of Sancerre. While present in Madame de la Baudraye's parlor, he had the misfortune to yawn during an exposition which she was giving, for the fourth time, of Kant's philosophy; he was henceforth looked upon as a man completely lacking in understanding and in soul. [The Muse of the Department.]

LATOURNELLE (Simon-Babylas), born in 1777, was notary at Havre, where he had bought the most extensive practice for one hundred thousand francs, lent him in 1817 by Charles Mignon de la Bastie. He married Mademoiselle Agnes Labrosse, having by her one son, Exupere. He remained the intimate friend of his benefactors, the Mignons. [Modeste Mignon.]

LATOURNELLE (Madame), wife of the preceding, born Agnes Labrosse, daughter to the clerk of the court of first instance at Havre. Tall and ungainly of figure, a bourgeoise of rather ancient tastes, at the same time good-hearted, she had somewhat late in life, by her marriage, a son whose given name was Exupere. She entertained Jean Butscha. Madame Latournelle was a frequent visitor of the Mignons de la Bastie, and at all times testified her affection for them. [Modeste Mignon.]

LATOURNELLE (Exupere), son of the preceding couple, went with them to visit the Mignons de la Bastie, towards the end of the Restoration. He was then a tall, insignificant young man. [Modeste Mignon.]

LAUDIGEOIS, married, head of a family, typical petty bourgeois, employed during the Restoration by the mayor of the eleventh or twelfth ward in Paris, a position from which he was unjustly expelled by Colleville in 1840. In 1824 an intimate neighbor of the Ph.e.l.lions, and exactly like them in morals, he attended their informal card-party on Thursday evening. Laudigeois, introduced by the Ph.e.l.lions, finally became a close friend of the Thuilliers, during the reign of Louis Philippe. His civil statistical record should be corrected, as his name in several of the papers is spelled Leudigeois. [The Government Clerks. The Middle Cla.s.ses.]

LAURE, given name of a sweet and charming young peasant girl, who took Servin's course in painting at Paris in 1815. She protected Ginevra di Piombo, an affectionate friend, who was her elder. [The Vendetta.]

LAURENT, a Savoyard, Antoine's nephew; husband of an expert laundress of laces, mender of cashmeres, etc. In 1824 he lived with them and their relative, Gabriel, in Paris. In the evening he was door-keeper in a subsidized theatre; in the daytime he was usher in the Bureau of Finance. In this position Laurent was first to learn of the worldly and official success attained by Celestine Rabourdin, when she attempted to have Xavier appointed successor to Flamet de la Billardiere. [The Government Clerks.]

LAURENT, Paris, 1815, M. Henri de Marsay's servant, equal to the Frontins of the old regime; was able to obtain for his master, through the mail-carrier, Moinot, the address of Paquita Valdes and other information about her. [The Thirteen.]

LAVIENNE, Jean-Jules Popinot's servant in Paris, rue du Fouarre, 1828; "made on purpose for his master," whom he aided in his active philanthropy by redeeming and renewing pledges given to the p.a.w.nbrokers. He took the place of his master in Palais de Justice during the latter's absence. [The Commission in Lunacy.]

LAVRILLE, famous naturalist, employed in the Jardin des Plantes, and dwelling on rue de Buffon, Paris, 1831. Consulted as to the s.h.a.green, the enlargement of which was so pa.s.sionately desired by Raphael de Valentin, Lavrille could do nothing more than talk on the subject and sent the young man to Planchette, the professor of mechanics.

Lavrille, "the grand mogul of zoology," reduced science to a catalogue of names. He was then preparing a monograph on the duck family. [The Magic Skin.]

LEBAS (Joseph), born in 1779, a penniless orphan, he was a.s.sisted and employed in Paris, first by the Guillaumes, cloth-merchants on rue Saint-Denis, at the Cat and Racket. Under the First Empire he married Virginie,[*] the elder of his employer's daughters, although he was in love with the younger, Mademoiselle Augustine. He succeeded the Guilliaumes in business. [At the Sign of the Cat and Racket.] During the first years of the Restoration he presided over the Tribunal of Commerce. Joseph Lebas, who was intimate with M. and Madame Birotteau, attended their ball with his wife. He also strove for Cesar's rehabilitation. [Cesar Birotteau.] During the reign of Louis Philippe, having for an intimate friend Celestin Crevel, he retired from business and lived at Corbeil. [Cousin Betty.]

[*] The names of Virginie and Augustine are confused in the original text.

LEBAS (Madame Joseph), wife of the preceding, born Virginie Guillaume in 1784, elder of Guillaume's daughters, lived at the Cat and Racket; the counterpart, physically and morally, of her mother. Under the First Empire, at the parish church of Saint-Leu, Paris, her marriage took place on the same day that her younger sister, Augustine de Sommervieux, was wedded. The love which she felt for her husband was not reciprocated. She viewed with indifference her sister's misfortunes, became intimate in turn with the Birotteaus and the Crevels; and, having retired from business, spent her last days in the middle of Louis Philippe's reign at Corbeil. [At the Sign of the Cat and Racket. Cesar Birotteau. Cousin Betty.]

LEBAS, probably a son of the preceding. In 1836 first a.s.sistant of the king's solicitor at Sancerre; two years later counselor to the court of Paris. In 1838 he would have married Hortense Hulot if Crevel had not prevented the match. [The Muse of the Department. Cousin Betty.]

LEBOEUF, for a long time connected with the prosecuting attorney at Nantes, being president of the court there in the latter part of Louis Philippe's reign. He was well acquainted with the Camusot de Marvilles, and knew Maitre Fraisier, who claimed his acquaintance in 1845. [Cousin Pons.]

LEBRUN, sub-lieutenant, then captain in the Seventy-second demi-brigade, commanded by Hulot during the war against the Chouans in 1799. [The Chouans.]

LEBRUN, division-chief in the War Department in 1838. Marneffe was one of his employes. [Cousin Betty.]

LEBRUN, protege, friend and disciple of Doctor Bouvard. Being a physician at the prison in May, 1830, he was called upon to establish the death of Lucien de Rubempre. [Scenes from a Courtesan's Life.] In 1845 Lebrun was chief physician of the Parisian boulevard theatre, managed by Felix Gaudissart. [Cousin Pons.]

LECAMUS (Baron de Tresnes), counselor to the royal court of Paris, lived, in 1816, rue Chanoinesse, with Madame de la Chanterie. Known there by the name of Joseph, he was a Brother of Consolation in company with Montauran, Alain, Abbe de Veze and G.o.defroid. [The Seamy Side of History.]

LECHESNEAU, through the influence of Cambaceres and Bonaparte, appointed attorney-general in Italy, but as a result of his many disreputable love-affairs, despite his real capacity for office-holding, he was forced to give up his position. Between the end of the Republic and the beginning of the Empire he became head of the grand jury at Troyes. Lechesneau, who had been repeatedly bribed by Senator Malin, had to occupy himself in 1806 with the Hauteserre-Simeuse-Michu affair. [The Gondreville Mystery.]

LECLERQ, native of Bourgogne, commissioner for the vinters in the department to which Ville-aux-Fayes, a sub-prefecture of this same province, belonged. He was of service to Gaubertin, Madame Soudry, also Rigon, perhaps, and was in turn under obligations to them. Having arranged a partnership he founded the house of "Leclerq & Company," on Quai de Bethune, Ile Saint-Louis, Paris, in compet.i.tion with the well-known house of Grandet. In 1815 Leclerq married Jenny Gaubertin.

As a banker he dealt in wine commissions, and became regent of the National Bank. During the Restoration he represented as deputy on the Left Centre the district of Ville-aux-Fayes, and not far from the sub-prefecture, in 1823, bought a large estate, which brought thirty thousand francs rental. [The Peasantry.]

LECLERQ (Madame), wife of the preceding, born Jenny Gaubertin, eldest daughter of Gaubertin, steward of Aigues in Bourgogne, received two hundred thousand francs as dowry. [The Peasantry.]

LECLERQ, brother-in-law of the preceding, during the Restoration was special collector at Ville-aux-Fayes, Bourgogne, and joined the other members of his family in worrying, more or less, the Comte de Montcornet. [The Peasantry.]

LECOCQ, a trader, whose failure was very cleverly foretold by Guillaume at the Cat and Racket. This failure was Guillaume's Battle of Marengo. [At the Sign of the Cat and Racket.]

LEFEBVRE, Louis Lambert's uncle, was successively oratorian, sworn priest and cure of Mer, a small city near Blois. Had a delightful disposition and a heart of rare tenderness. He exercised a watchful care over the childhood and youth of his remarkable nephew. The Abbe Lefebvre later on lived at Blois, the Restoration having caused him to lose his position. In 1822, under form of a letter sent from Croisic, he was the first to receive information concerning the Cambremers. The next year, having become much older in appearance, while riding in a stage-coach he told of the frightful state of suffering, sometimes mingled with remarkable displays of intellect, which preceded the death of Louis Lambert. [Louis Lambert. A Seaside Tragedy.]

LEFEBVRE (Robert), well-known French painter of the First Empire. In 1806, at the expense of Laurence de Cinq-Cygne, he painted Michu's portrait. [The Gondreville Mystery.] Among the many paintings executed by Robert Lefebvre is a portrait of Hulot d'Ervy dressed in the uniform of chief commissary of the Imperial Guard. This is dated 1810.

[Cousin Betty.]