Repertory of The Comedie Humaine, Complete, A — ZCerfberr, Anatole
General
Repertory of The Comedie Humaine, Complete, A — Z
Cerfberr, Anatole
Balzac, Honoré de, 1799-1850. Comédie humaine
of the "Echo de la Bievre," and undertook the management of a theatre
with Ridal, the author of vaudevilles. [A Distinguished Provincial at
Paris. A Bachelor's Establishment. Scenes from a Courtesan's Life. A
Daughter of Eve. Beatrix. The Muse of the Department. Cousin Betty. A
Prince of Bohemia. A Man of Business. The Middle Classes. The
Unconscious Humorists.]
LUIGIA, young and beautiful Roman girl of the suburbs, wife of
Benedetto, who claimed the right of selling her. She tried to kill
herself at the same time she killed him, but did not succeed. Charles
de Sallenauve--Dorlange--protected her, taking care of her when she
became a widow, and made her his housekeeper in 1839. Luigia soon left
her benefactor, the voice of slander having accused them in their
mutually innocent relations. [The Member for Arcis.]
LUPEAULX (Clement Chardin des), officer and politician, born about
1785; left in good circumstances by his father; who was ennobled by
Louis XV., his coat-of-arms showing "a ferocious wolf of sable bearing
a lamb in its jaws," with this motto: "En lupus in historia." A shrewd
and ambitious man, ready for all enterprises, even the most
compromising, Clement des Lupeaulx knew how to make himself of service
to Louis XVIII. in several delicate undertakings. Many influential
members of the aristocracy placed in his hands their difficult
business and their lawsuits. He served thus as mediator between the
Duc de Navarreins and Polydore Milaud de la Baudraye, and attained a
kind of mightiness that Annette seemed to fear would be disastrous to
Charles Grandet. He accumulated duties and ranks, was master of
petitions in the Council of State, secretary-general to the minister
of finance, colonel in the National Guard, government commissioner in
a joint-stock company; also provided with an inspectorship in the
king's house, he became Chevalier de Saint-Louis and officer of the
Legion of Honor. An open follower of Voltaire, but an attendant at
mass, at all times a Bertrand in pursuit of a Raton, egotistic and
vain, a glutton and a libertine, this man of intellect, sought after
in all social circles, a kind of minister's "household drudge," openly
lived, until 1825, a life of pleasure and anxiety, striving for
political success and love conquests. As mistresses he is known to
have had Esther van Gobseck, Flavie Colleville; perhaps, even, the
Marquise d'Espard. He was seen at the Opera ball in the winter of
1824, at which Lucien de Rubempre reappeared. The close of this year
brought about considerable change in the Secretary-General's affairs.
Crippled by debt, and in the power of Gobseck, Bidault and Mitral, he
was forced to give up one of the treasury departments to Isidore
Baudoyer, despite his personal liking for Rabourdin. He gained as a
result of this stroke a coronet and a deputyship. He had ambitions for
a peerage, the title of gentleman of the king's chamber, a membership
in the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-lettres, and the commander's
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account