Works of Honore De Balzac

by Honoré de Balzac

  LA HAYE (Mademoiselle de). (See Petit-Claud, Madame.)

  LAMARD, probably a rival of Felix Gaudissart. In a cafe in Blois, May, 1831, he praised the well-known commercial traveler, who treated him, nevertheless, as a “little cricket.” Gaudissart the Great.

  LAMBERT (Louis), born in 1797 at Montoire in Loire-et-Cher. Only son of simple tanners, who did not try to counteract his inclination, shown when a mere child, for study. He was sent in 1807 to Lefebvre, a maternal uncle, who was vicar of Mer, a small city on the Loire near Blois. Under the kindly care of Madame de Stael, he was a student in the college of Vendome from 1811 to 1814. Lambert met there Barchon de Penhoen and Jules Dufaure. He was apparently a poor scholar, but finally developed into a prodigy; he suffered the persecutions of Father Haugoult, by whose brutal hands his “Treatise on the Will,” composed during class hours, was seized and destroyed. The mathematician had already doubled his capacity by becoming a philosopher. His comrades had named him Pythagoras. His course completed, and his father being dead, Louis Lambert lived for two years at Blois, with Lefebvre, until, growing desirous of seeing Madame de Stael, he journeyed to Paris on foot, arriving July 14, 1817. Not finding his illustrious benefactress alive, he returned home in 1820. During these three years Lambert lived the life of a workman, became a close friend of Meyraux, and was cherished and admired as a member of the Cenacle on rue des Quatre-Vents, which was presided over by Arthez. Once more he went to Blois, journeyed over Touraine, and became acquainted with Pauline Salomon de Villenoix, whom he loved with a passion that was reciprocated. He had suffered from brain trouble previous to their engagement, and as the wedding day approached the disease grew constantly worse, although occasionally there were periods of relief. During one of these good periods, in 1822, Lambert met the Cambremers at Croisic, and on the suggestion of Pauline de Villenoix, he made a study of their history. The malady returned, but was interrupted occasionally by outburts of beautiful thought, the fragments of which were collected by Mademoiselle Salomon. Louis had likewise occasional fits of insanity. He believed himself powerless and wished, one day, to perform on his own body Origene’s celebrated operation. Lambert died September 25, 1824, the day before the date selected for his marriage with Pauline. Louis Lambert. A Distinguished Provincial at Paris. A Seaside Tragedy.

  LAMBERT (Madame), lived in Paris in 1840. She was then at a very pious age, “played the saint,” and performed the duties of housekeeper for M. Picot, professor of mathematics, No. 9, rue du Val-de-Grace. In the service of this old philosopher she reaped enormous profits. Madame Lambert hypocritically took advantage of her apparent devotion to him. She sought Theodose de la Peyrade, and begged him to write a memorial to the Academy in her favor, for she longed to receive the reward offered by Montyon. At the same time she put into La Peyrade’s keeping twenty-five thousand francs, which she had accumulated by her household thefts. On this occasion, Madame Lambert seems to have been the secret instrument of Corentin, the famous police-agent. The Middle Classes.

  LANGEAIS (Duc de), a refugee during the Restoration, who planned, at the time of the Terror, by correspondence with the Abbe de Marolles and the Marquis de Beauseant to help escape from Paris, where they were in hiding, two nuns, one of whom, Sister Agathe, was a Langeais. An Episode Under the Terror. In 1812 Langeais married Mademoiselle Antoinette de Navarreins, who was then eighteen years old. He allowed his wife every liberty, and, neither abandoning any of his habits, nor giving up any of his pleasures, he lived, indeed, apart from her. In 1818 Langeais commanded a division in the army and occupied a position at court. He died in 1823. The Thirteen.

  LANGEAIS (Duchesse Antoinette de),* wife of the preceding, daughter of the Duc de Navarreins; born in 1794; reared by the Princesse de Blamont-Chauvry, her aunt; grand-niece of the Vidame de Pamiers; niece of the Duc de Grandlieu by her marriage. Very beautiful and intelligent, Madame de Langeais reigned in Paris at the beginning of the Restoration. In 1819 her best friend was the Vicomtesse Claire de Beauseant, whom she wounded cruelly, for her own amusement, calling on her one morning for the express purpose of announcing the marriage of the Marquis d’Ajuda-Pinto. Of this pitiless proceeding she repented later, and asked pardon, moreover, of the foresaken woman. Soon afterwards the Duchesse de Langeais had the pleasure of captivating the Marquis de Montriveau, playing for him the role of Celimene and making him suffer greatly. He had his revenge, however, for, scorned in her turn, or believing herself scorned, she suddenly disappeared from Paris, after having scandalized the whole Saint-Germain community by remaining in her carriage for a long time in front of the Montriveau mansion. Some bare-footed Spanish Carmelites received her on their island in the Mediterranean, where she became Sister Therese. After prolonged searching Montriveau found her, and, in the presence of the mother-superior, had a conversation with her as she stood behind the grating. Finally he managed to carry her off — dead. In this bold venture the marquis was aided by eleven of The Thirteen, among them being Ronquerolles and Marsay. The duchess, having lost her husband, was free at the time of her death in 1824. Father Goriot. The Thirteen.

  * At the Vaudeville and Gaite theatres in Paris, Ancelot and Alexis Decomberousse at the former, and Messieurs Ferdinand Dugue and Peaucellier at the latter, brought out plays founded on the life of Antoinette de Langeais, in 1834 and 1868 respectively.

  LANGEAIS (Mademoiselle de). (See Agathe, Sister.)

  LANGLUME, miller, a jolly impulsive little man, in 1823 deputy-mayor of Blangy in Bourgogne, at the time of the political, territorial and financial contests of which the country was the theatre, with Rigou and Montcornet as actors. He was of great service to Genevieve Niseron’s paternal grandfather. The Peasantry.

  LANGUET, vicar, built Saint-Sulpice, and was an acquaintance of Toupillier, who asked alms in 1840 at the doors of this church in Paris, which since 1860 has been one of the sixth ward parish churches. The Middle Classes.

  LANSAC (Duchesse de), of the younger branch of the Parisian house of Navarreins, 1809, the proud woman who shone under Louis XV. The Duchesse de Lansac, in November of the same year, consented, one evening, to meet Isemberg, Montcornet, and Martial de la Roche-Hugon in Malin de Gondreville’s house, for the purpose of conciliating her nephew and niece in their domestic quarrel. Domestic Peace.

  LANTIMECHE, born in 1770. In 1840, at Paris, a penniless journeyman locksmith and inventor, he went to the money-lender, Cerizet, on rue des Poules, to borrow a hundred francs. The Middle Classes.

  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 classes of Parisian society, ignorant, though they were, of the count’s lineage. Lanty, who was a mysterious man, passed 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. Sar
rasine. 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 class 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 assent and the Duchesse 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 Phellion’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 circumvention. 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 Classes.

  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; passed 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 Classes.

  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 assistance 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 petitions. 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 Duchesse 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 embassy. Louis Philippe’s government honored M. de la Roche-Hugon by making him minister, ambassador, 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 associated 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 Classes. 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 Canalis, 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 THAUMASSIERE (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.