# Repertory of the Comedie Humaine/F

F
FAILLE & BOUCHOT, Parisian perfumers who failed in 1818. They gave an order for ten thousand phials of peculiar shape to hold a new cosmetic, which phials Anselme Popinot purchased for four sous each on six months' time, with the intention of filling them with the "Cephalic Oil" invented by Cesar Birotteau. (Cesar Birotteau)
FALCON (Jean), alias Beaupied, or more often Beau-Pied, sergeant in the Seventy-second demi-brigade in 1799, under the command of Colonel Hulot. Jean Falcon was the clown of his company. Formerly he had served in the artillery. (The Chouans) In 1808, still under the command of Hulot, he was one in the army of Spain and in the troops led by Murat. ​In that year he was witness of the death of Bega, the French surgeon, assassinated by a Spaniard. (The Muse of the Department) In 1841 he was body-servant of his old-time colonel, now become a marshal. For thirty years he had been in his employ. (Cousin Betty)
FALCON (Marie-Cornelie), famous singer of the Opera; born at Paris on January 28, 1812. On July 20, 1832, she made a brilliant debut in the role of Alice, in "Robert le Diable." She also created with equal success the parts of Rachel in "La Juive" and Valentine in "The Huguenots." In 1836 the composer Conti declared to Calyste du Guenic that he was madly enamored of this singer, "the youngest and prettiest of her time." He even wished to marry her—so he said—but this remark was probably a thrust at Calyste, who was smitten with the Marquise de Rochefide, whose lover the musician was at this time. (Beatrix) Cornelie Falcon disappears from the scene in 1840, after a famous evening when, before a sympathetic audience, she mourned on account of the ruin of her voice. She married a financier, M. Malencon, and is now a grandmother. Mme. Falcon has given, in the provinces, her name to designate tragic "sopranos." "La Vierge de l'Opera," interestingly delineated by M. Emmanuel Gonzales, reveals—according to him—certain incidents in her career.
FALLEIX (Martin), Auvergnat coppersmith on rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, Paris; born about 1796; he had come from the country with his kettle under his arm. He was patronized by Bidault, alias Gigonnet, who advanced him capital though at heavy interest. The usurer also introduced him to Saillard, the cashier of the Minister of Finance, who with his savings enabled him to open a foundry. Martin Falleix obtained a brevet for invention and a gold medal at the Exposition of 1824. Mme. Baudoyer undertook his education, deciding he would do for a son-in-law. On his side he worked for the interests of his future father-in-law. (The Government Clerks) About 1826 he discussed on the Bourse, with Du Tillet, Werbrust and Claparon, the third liquidation of ​Nucingen, which solidly established the fortune of that celebrated Alsatian banker. (The Firm of Nucingen)
FALLEIX (Jacques), brother of the preceding; stock-broker, one of the shrewdest and richest, the successor of Jules Desmarets and stock-broker for the firm of Nucingen. On rue Saint-George he fitted up a most elegant little house for his mistress, Mme. du Val-Noble. He failed in 1829, the victim of one of the Nucingen liquidations. (The Government Clerks, The Thirteen, Scenes from a Courtesan's Life)
FANCHETTE, servant of Doctor Rouget at Issoudun, at the close of the eighteenth century; a stout Berrichonne who, before the advent of La Cognette, was thought to be the best cook in town. (A Bachelor's Establishment)
FANJAT, physician and something of an alienist; uncle of Comtesse Stephanie de Vandieres. She was supposed to have perished in the disaster of the Russian campaign. He found her near Strasbourg, in 1816, a lunatic, and took her to the ancient convent of Bon-Hommes, in the outskirts of l'Isle Adam, Seine-et-Oise, where he tended her with a tender care. In 1819 he had the sorrow of seeing her expire as a result of a tragic scene when, recovering her reason all at once, she recognized her former lover Philippe de Sucy, whom she had not seen since 1812. (Farewell)
FANNY, aged servant in the employ of Lady Brandon, at La Grenadiere under the Restoration. She closed the eyes of her mistress, whom she adored, then conducted the two children from that house to one of a cousin of hers, an old retired dressmaker of Tours, rue de la Guerche (now rue Marceau), where she intended to live with them; but the elder of the sons of Lady Brandon enlisted in the navy and placed his brother in college, under the guidance of Fanny. (La Grenadiere)
FANNY, young girl of romantic temperament, fair and blonde, the only daughter of a banker of Paris. One evening at her father's house she asked the Bavarian Hermann for a "dreadful German story," and thus innocently led to the death of Frederic Taillefer who had in his youth committed a secret murder, now related in his hearing. (The Red Inn) ​
FARIO, old Spanish prisoner of war at Issoudun during the Empire. After peace was declared he remained there making a small business venture in grains. He was of Grenada and had been a peasant. He was the butt of many scurvy tricks on the part of the "Knights of Idlesse," and he avenged himself by stabbing their leader, Maxence Gilet. This attempted assassination was momentarily charged to Joseph Bridau. Fario finally obtained full satisfaction for his vindictive spirit by witnessing a duel where Gilet fell mortally wounded by the hand of Philippe Bridau. Gilet had previously become disconcerted by the presence of the grain-dealer on the field of battle. (A Bachelor's Establishment)
FARRABESCHE, ex-convict, now an estate-guard for Mme. Graslin, at Montegnac, time of Louis Philippe; of an old family of La Correze; born about 1791. He had had an elder brother killed at Montebello, in 1800 a captain at twenty-two, who by his surpassing heroism had saved the army and the Consul Bonaparte. There was, too, a second brother who fell at Austerlitz in 1805, a sergeant in the First regiment of the Guard. Farrabesche himself had got it into his head that he would never serve, and when summoned in 1811 he fled to the woods. There he affiliated more or less with the Chauffeurs and, accused of several assassinations, was sentenced to death for contumacy. At the instance of Abbe Bonnet he gave himself up, at the beginnng of the Restoration, and was sent to the bagne for ten years, returning in 1827. After 1830, re-established as a citizen, he married Catherine Curieux, by whom he had a child. Abbe Bonnet for one, and Mme. Graslin for another, proved themselves counselors and benefactors of Farrabesche. (The Country Parson)
FARRABESCHE (Madame), born Catherine Curieux, about 1798; daughter of the tenants of Mme. Brezac, at Vizay, an important mart of La Correze; mistress of Farrabesche in the last years of the Empire. She bore him a son, at the age of seventeen, and was soon separated from her lover on his imprisonment in the galleys. She returned to Paris and hired out. In her last place she worked for an old lady whom ​she tended devotedly, but who died leaving her nothing. In 1833 she came back to the country; she was just out of a hospital, cured of a disease caused by fatigue, but still very feeble. Shortly after she married her former lover. Catherine Curieux was rather large, well-made, pale, gentle and refined by her visit to Paris, though she could neither read nor write. She had three married sisters, one at Aubusson, one at Limoges, and one at Saint-Leonard. (The Country Parson)
FARRABESCHE (Benjamin), son of Farrabesche and Catherine Curieux; born in 1815; brought up by the relatives of his mother until 1827, then taken back by his father whom he dearly loved and whose energetic and rough nature he inherited. (The Country Parson)
FAUCOMBE (Madame de), sister of Mme. de Touches and aunt of Felicite des Touches—Camille Maupin;—an inmate of the convent of Chelles, to whom Felicite was confided by her dying mother, in 1793. The nun took her niece to Faucombe, a considerable estate near Nantes belonging to the deceased mother, where she (the nun) died of fear in 1794. (Beatrix)
FAUCOMBE (De), grand-uncle on the maternal side of Felicite des Touches. Born about 1734, died in 1814. He lived at Nantes, and in his old age had married a frivolous young woman, to whom he turned over the conduct of affairs. A passionate archaeologist he gave little attention to the education of his grand-niece who was left with him in 1794, after the death of Mme. de Faucombe, the aged nun of Chelles. Thus it happened that Felicite grew up by the side of the old man and young woman, without guidance, and left entirely to her own devices. (Beatrix)
FAUSTINE, a young woman of Argentan who was executed in 1813 at Mortagne for having killed her child. (Jealousies of a Country Town)
FELICIE, chambermaid of Mme. Diard at Bordeaux in 1823. (The Maranas)
FELICITE, a stout, ruddy, cross-eyed girl, the servant of Mme. Vauthier who ran a lodging-house on the corner of Notre​Dame-des-Champs and Boulevard du Montparnasse, time of Louis Philippe. (The Seamy Side of History)
FELIX, office-boy for Attorney-General Granville, in 1830. (Scenes from a Courtesan's Life)
FENDANT, former head-clerk of the house of Vidal & Porchon; a partner with Cavalier. Both were book-sellers, publishers, and book-dealers, doing business on rue Serpente, Paris, about 1821. At this time they had dealings with Lucien Chardon de Rubempre. The house for social reasons was known as Fendant & Cavalier. Half-rascals, they passed for clever fellows. While Cavalier traveled, Fendant, the more wily of the two, managed the business. (A Distinguished Provincial at Paris)
FERDINAND, real name of Ferdinand du Tillet.
FERDINAND, fighting name of one of the principal figures in the Breton uprising of 1799. One of the companions of MM. du Guenic, de la Billardiere, de Fontaine and de Montauran. (The Chouans, Beatrix)
FEREDIA (Count Bagos de), Spanish prisoner of war at the Vendome under the Empire; lover of Mme. de Merret. Surprised one evening by the unexpected return of her husband, he took refuge in a closet which was ordered walled up by M. de Merret. There he died heroically without even uttering a cry. (La Grande Breteche)
FERET (Athanase), law-clerk of Maitre Bordin, procureur to the Chatelet in 1787. (A Start in Life)
FERRAGUS XXIII. (See Bourignard.)
FERRARO (Count), Italian colonel whom Castanier had known during the Empire, and whose death in the Zembin swamps Castanier alone had witnessed. The latter therefore intended to assume Ferraro's personality in Italy after forging certain letters of credit. (Melmoth Reconciled)
FERRAUD (Comte), son of a returned councillor of the Parisian Parliament who had emigrated during the Terror, and who was ruined by these events. Born in 1781. During the Consulate he returned to France, at which time he declined certain offers made by Bonaparte. He remained ever true to the tenets ​of Louis XVIII. Of pleasing presence he won his way, and the Faubourg Saint-Germain regarded him as an ornament. About 1809 he married the widow of Colonel Chabert, who had an income of forty thousand francs. By her he had two children, a son and a daughter. He resided on rue de Varenne, having a pretty villa in the Montmorency Valley. During the Restoration he was made director-general in a ministry, and councillor of state. (Colonel Chabert)
FERRAUD (Comtesse), born Rose Chapotel; wife of Comte Ferraud. During the Republic, or at the commencement of the Empire, she married her first husband, an officer named Hyacinthe and known as Chabert, who was left for dead on the battlefield of Eylau, in 1807. About 1818 he tried to reassert his marital rights. Colonel Chabert claimed to have taken Rose Chapotel out of a questionable place at Palais-Royal. During the Restoration this woman was a countess and one of the queens of Parisian society. When brought face to face with her first husband she feigned at first not to recognize him, then she displayed such a dislike for him that he abandoned his idea of legal restitution. (Colonel Chabert) The Comtesse Ferraud was the last mistress of Louis XVIII., and remained in favor at the court of Charles X. She and Mesdames de Listomere, d'Espard, de Camps and de Nucingen were invited to the select receptions of the Minister of Finance, in 1824. (The Government Clerks)
FERRAUD (Jules), son of Comte Ferraud and Rose Chapotel, the Comtesse Ferraud. While still a child, in 1817 or 1818, he was one day at his mother's house when Colonel Chabert called. She wept and he asked hotly if the officer was responsible for the grief of the countess. The latter with her two children then played a maternal comedy which was successful with the ingenuous soldier. (Colonel Chabert)
FESSARD, grocer at Saumur during the Restoration. Astonished one day by Nanon's, the servant's, purchase of a wax-candle, he asked if "the three magi were visiting them." (Eugenie Grandet)
FICHET (Mademoiselle), the richest heiress of Issoudun during ​the Restoration. Godet, junior, one of the "Knights of Idlesse" paid court to her mother in the hope of obtaining, as a reward for his devotion, the hand of the young girl. (A Bachelor's Establishment)
FINOT (Andoche), managing-editor of journals and reviews, times of the Restoration and Louis Philippe. Son of a hatter of rue du Coq (now rue Marengo). Finot was abandoned by his father, a hard trader, and made a poor beginning. He wrote a bombastic announcement for Popinot's "Cephalic Oil." His first work was attending to announcements and personals in the papers. He was invited to the Birotteau ball. Finot was acquainted with Felix Gaudissart, who introduced him to little Anselme, as a great promoter. He was previously on the editorial staff of the "Courrier des Spectacles," and he had a piece performed at the Gaite. (Cesar Birotteau) In 1820 he ran a little theatrical paper whose office was located on rue du Sentier. He was nephew of Giroudeau, a captain of dragoons; was witness of the marriage of J.-J. Rouget. (A Bachelor's Establishment) in 1821 Finot's paper was on rue Saint-Fiacre. Etienne Lousteau, Hector Merlin, Felicien Vernou, Nathan, F. du Bruel and Blondet all contributed to it. Then it was that Lucien de Rubempre made his reputation by a remarkable report of "L'Alcade dans l'embarras," a three act drama performed at the Panorama-Dramatique. Finot then lived on rue Feydeau. (A Distinguished Provincial at Paris) In 1824 he was at the Opera ball in a group of dandies and litterateurs, which surrounded Lucien de Rubempre, who was flirting with Esther Gobseck. (Scenes from a Courtesan's Life) In this year Finot was guest at an entertainment at the home of Rabourdin, the chief of bureau, when he allowed himself to be won over to that official's cause by his friend Chardin des Lupeaulx, who had asked him to exert the voice of the press against Baudoyer, the rival of Rabourdin. (The Government Clerks) In 1825 he was present at a breakfast given at the Rocher de Cancale, by Frederic Marest in celebration of his entrance to the law office of Desroches; he was also at the orgy which ​followed at the home of Florine. (A Start in Life) In 1831 Gaudissart said that his friend Finot had an income of thirty thousand francs, that he would be councillor of state, and was booked for a peer of France. He aspired to end up as his "shareholder." (Gaudissart the Great) In 1836 Finot was dining with Blondet, his fellow-editor, and with Couture, a man about town, in a private room of a well-known restaurant, when he heard the story of the financial trickeries of Nucingen, wittily related by Bixiou. (The Firm of Nucingen) Finot concealed "a brutal nature under a mild exterior," and his "impertinent stupidity was flecked with wit as the bread of a laborer is flecked with garlic." (Scenes from a Courtesan's Life)
FIRMIANI, a respectable quadragenarian who in 1813 married the lady who afterwards became Mme. Octave de Camps. He was unable, so it was said, to offer her more than his name and his fortune. He was formerly receiver-general in the department of Montenotte. He died in Greece in 1823. (Madame Firmiani)
FIRMIANI (Madame). (See Camps, Mme. de.)
FISCHER, the name of three brothers, laborers in a village situated on the extreme frontiers of Lorraine, at the foot of the Vosges. They set out to join the army of the Rhine by reason of Republican conscriptions. The first, Pierre, father of Lisbeth—or "Cousin Betty"—was killed in 1815 in the Francstireurs. The second, Andre, father of Adeline who became the wife of Baron Hulot, died at Treves in 1820. The third, Johann, having committed some acts of peculation, at the instigation of his nephew Hulot, while a commissary contractor in Algiers, province of Oran, committed suicide in 1841. He was over seventy when he killed himself. (Cousin Betty)
FISCHER (Adeline). (See Hulot, d'Ervy, Baronne Hector.)
FISCHER (Lisbeth), known as "Cousin Betty"; born in 1796; brought up a peasant. In her childhood she had to give way to her first cousin, the pretty Adeline, who was pampered by the whole family. In 1809 she was called to Paris by Adeline's ​husband and placed as an apprentice with the well-known Pons Brothers, embroiderers to the Imperial Court. She became a skilled workwoman and was about to set up for herself when the Empire was overthrown. Lisbeth was a Republican, of restive temperament, capricious, independent and unaccountably savage. She habitually declined to wed. She refused in succession a clerk of the minister of war, a major, an army-contractor, a retired captain and a wealthy lace-maker. Baron Hulot nick-named her the "Nanny-Goat." A resident of rue du Doyenne (which ended at the Louvre and was obliterated about 1855), where she worked for Rivet, a successor of Pons, she made the acquaintance of her neighbor, Wenceslas Steinbock, a Livonian exile, whom she saved from poverty and suicide, but whom she watched with a jealous strictness. Hortense Hulot sought out and succeeded in seeing the Pole; a wedding followed between the young people which caused Cousin Betty a deep resentment, cunningly concealed, but terrific in its effects. Through her Wenceslas was introduced to the irresistible Mme. Marneffe, and the happiness of a young household was quickly demolished. The same thing happened to Baron Hulot whose misconduct Lisbeth secretly abetted. Lisbeth died in 1844 of a pulmonary phthisis, principally caused by chagrin at seeing the Hulot family reunited. The relatives of the old maid never found out her evil actions. They surrounded her bedside, caring for her and lamenting the loss of "the angel of the family." Mlle. Fischer died on rue Louis-le-Grand, Paris, after having dwelt in turn on rues du Doyenne, Vaneau, Plumet (now Oudinot) and du Montparnasse, where she managed the household of Marshal Hulot, through whom she dreamed of wearing the countess' coronet, and for whom she donned mourning. (Cousin Betty)
FITZ-WILLIAM (Miss Margaret), daughter of a rich and noble Irishman who was the maternal uncle of Calyste du Guenic; hence the first cousin of that young man. Mme. de Guenic, the mother, was desirous of mating her son with Miss Margaret. (Beatrix) ​
FLAMET. (See la Billardiere, Flamet de.)
FLEURANT (Mother), ran a cafe at Croisic which Jacques Cambremer visited. (A Seaside Tragedy)
FLEURIOT, grenadier of the Imperial Guard, of colossal size, to whom Philippe de Sucy entrusted Stephanie de Vandieres, during the passage of the Beresina in 1812. Unfortunately separated from Stephanie, the grenadier did not find her again until 1816. She had taken refuge in an inn of Strasbourg after escaping from an insane asylum. Both were then sheltered by Dr. Fanjat and taken to Auvergne, where Fleuriot soon died. (Farewell)
FLEURY, retired infantry captain, comptroller of the Cirque-Olympique, and employed during the Restoration in Rabourdin's bureau, of the minister of finance. He was attached to his chief, who had saved him from destitution. A subscriber, but a poor payer, to "Victories and Conquests." A zealous Bonapartist and Liberal. His three great men were Napoleon, Bolivar and Beranger, all of whose ballads he knew by heart, and sang in a sweet, sonorous voice. He was swamped with debt. His skill at fencing and small-arms kept him from Bixiou's jests. He was likewise much feared by Dutocq who flattered him basely. Fleury was discharged after the nomination of Baudoyer as chief of division in December, 1824. He did not take it to heart, saying that he had at his disposal a managing editorship in a journal. (The Government Clerks) In 1840, still working for the above theatre, Fleury became manager of "L'Echo de la Bievre," the paper owned by Thuillier. (The Middle Classes)
FLICOTEAUX, rival of Rousseau the Aquatic. Historic, legendary and strictly honest restaurant-keeper in the Latin quarter between rue de la Harpe and rue des Gres—Cujas—enjoying the custom, in 1821-22, of Daniel d'Arthez, Etienne Lousteau and Lucien Chardon de Rubempre. (A Distinguished Provincial at Paris)
FLORENT, partner of Chanor; they were manufacturers and dealers in bronze, rue des Tournelles, Paris, time of Louis Philippe. (Cousin Betty, Cousin Pons) ​
FLORENTNE. (See Cabirolle, Agathe-Florentine.)
FLORIMOND (Madame), dealer in linens, rue Vielle-du-Temple, Paris, 1844-45. Maintained by an "old fellow" who made her his heir, thanks to Fraisier, the man of business, whom she perhaps would have married through gratitude, had it not been for his physical condition. (Cousin Pons)
FLORINE. (See Nathan, Mme. Raoul.)
FLORVILLE (La), actress at the Panorama-Dramatique in 1821. Among her contemporaries were Coralie, Florine, and Bouffe, or Vignol. On the first night performance of "The Alcade," she played in a curtain-raiser, "Bertram." For a few days she was the mistress of a Russian prince who took her to Saint-Mande, paying her manager a good sum for her absence from the theatre. (A Distinguished Provincial at Paris)
FOEDORA (Comtesse), born about 1805. Of Russian lower class origin and wonderfully beautiful. Espoused perhaps morganatically by a great lord of the land. Left a widow she reigned over Paris in 1827. Supposed to have an income of eighty thousand francs. She received in her drawing-rooms all the notables of the period, and there "appeared all the works of fiction that were not published anywhere else." Raphael de Valentin was presented to the countess by Rastignac and fell desperately in love with her. But he left her house one day never to return, being definitely persuaded that she was "a woman without a heart." Her memory was cruel, and her address enough to drive a diplomat to despair. Although the Russian ambassador did not receive her, she had entry into the set of Mme. de Serizy; visited with Mme. de Nucingen and Mme. de Restaud; received the Duchesse de Carigliano, the haughtiest of the Bonapartist clique. She had listened to many young dandies, and to the son of a peer of France, who had offered her their names in exchange for her fortune. (The Magic Skin)
FONTAINE (Madame), fortune teller, Paris, rue Vielle-du-Temple, time of Louis Philippe. At one time a cook. Born in 1767. Earned a considerable amount of money, but previously ​had lost heavily in a lottery. After the suppression of this game of chance she saved up for the benefit of a nephew. In her divinations Mme. Fontaine made use of a giant toad named Astaroth, and of a black hen with bristling feathers, called Cleopatra or Bilouche. These two animals caught Gazonal's eye in 1845, when in company with De Lora and Bixiou he visited the fortune-teller's. The Southerner, however, asked only a five-franc divination, while in the same year Mme. Cibot, who came to consult her on an important matter, had to pay a hundred francs. According to Bixiou, "a third of the lorettes, a fourth of the statesmen and a half of the artists" consulted Mme. Fontaine. She was the Egeria of a minister, and also looked for "a tidy fortune," which Bilouche had promised her. (The Unconscious Humorists, Cousin Pons)
FONTAINE (Comte de), one of the leaders of the Vendee, in 1799, and then known as Grand-Jacques. (The Chouans) One of the confidential advisers of Louis XVIII. Field marshal, councillor of state, comptroller of the extraordinary domains of the realm, deputy and peer of France under Charles X.; decorated with the cross of the Legion of Honor and the Order of Saint Louis. Head of one of the oldest houses of Poitou. Had married a Mlle. de Kergarouet, who had no fortune, but who came of a very old Brittany family related to the Rohans. Was the father of three sons and three daughters. The oldest son became president of a court, married the daughter of a multi-millionaire salt merchant. The second son, a lieutenant-general, married Mlle. Monegod, a rich banker's daughter whom the aunt of Duc d'Herouville had refused to consider for her nephew. (Modeste Mignon) The third son, director of a Paris municipality, then director-general in the Department of Finance, married the only daughter of M. Grossetete, receiver-general at Bourges. Of the three daughters, the first married M. Planat at Baudry, receiver-general; the second married Baron de Villaine, a magistrate of bourgeois origin ennobled by the king; the third, Emilie, married her old uncle, the Comte de Kergarouet, and after his death, Marquis Charles de Vandenesse. ​(The Ball at Sceaux) The Comte de Fontaine and his family were present at the Birotteau ball, and after the perfumer's bankruptcy procured a situation for him. (Cesar Birotteau) He died in 1824. (The Government Clerks)
FONTAINE (Baronne de), born Anna Grossetete, only daughter of the receiver-general of Bourges. Attended the school of Mlles. Chamarolles with Dinah Piedefer, who became Mme. de la Baudraye. Thanks to her fortune she married the third son of the Comte de Fontaine. She removed to Paris after her marriage and kept up correspondence with her old school-mate who now lived at Sancerre. She kept her informed as to the prevailing styles. Later at the first performance of one of Nathan's dramas, about the middle of the reign of Louis Philippe, Anna de Fontaine affected not to recognize this same Mme. de la Baudraye, then the known mistress of Etienne Lousteau. (The Muse of the Department)
FONTANIEU (Madame), friend and neighbor of Mme. Vernier at Vouvray in 1831. The jolliest gossip and greatest joker in town. She was present at the interview between the insane Margaritis and Felix Gaudissart, when the drummer was so much at sea. (Gaudissart the Great)
FONTANON (Abbe), born about 1770. Canon of Bayeux cathedral in the beginning of the nineteenth century when he "guided the consciences" of Mme. and Mlle. Bontems. In November, 1808, he got himself enrolled with the Parisian clergy, hoping thus to obtain a curacy and eventually a bishopric. He became again the confessor of Mlle. Bontems, now the wife of M. de Granville, and contributed to the trouble of that household by the narrowness of his provincial Catholicism and his inflexible bigotry. He finally disclosed to the magistrate's wife the relations of Granville with Caroline Crochard. He also brought sorrow to the last moments of Mme. Crochard, the mother. (A Second Home) In December, 1824, at Saint-Roch he pronounced the funeral oration of Baron Flamet de la Billardiere. (The Government Clerks) Previous to 1824 Abbe Fontanon was vicar at the church of ​Saint Paul, rue Saint-Antoine. (Honorine) Confessor of Mme. de Lanty in 1839, and always eager to pry into family secrets, he undertook an affair with Dorlange-Sallenauve in the interest of Mariannina de Lanty. (The Member for Arcis)
FORTIN (Madame), mother of Mme. Marneffe. Mistress of General de Montcornet, who had lavished money on her during his visits to Paris which she had entirely squandered, under the Empire, in the wildest dissipations. For twenty years she queened it, but died in poverty though still believing herself rich. Her daughter inherited from her the tastes of a courtesan. (Cousin Betty)
FORTIN (Valerie), daughter of preceding and of General de Montcornet. (See Crevel, Madame.)
FOSSEUSE (La), orphan daughter of a grave-digger, whence the nick-name. Born in 1807. Frail, nervous, independent, retiring at first, she tried hiring out, but then fell into vagrant habits. Reared in a village on the outskirts of Grenoble, where Dr. Benassis came to live during the Restoration, she became an object of special attention on the part of the physician who became keenly interested in the gentle, loyal, peculiar and impressionable creature. La Fosseuse though homely was not without charm. She may have loved her benefactor. (The Country Doctor)
FOUCHE (Joseph), Duc d'Otrante, born near Nantes in 1753; died in exile at Trieste in 1820. Oratorian, member of the National Convention, councillor of state, minister of police under the Consulate and Empire, also chief of the department of the Interior and of the government of the Illyrian provinces, and president of the provisional government in 1815. In September, 1799, Colonel Hulot said: "Bernadotte, Carnot, even citizen Talleyrand—all have left us. In a word we have with us but a single good patriot, friend Fouche, who holds everything by means of the police. There's a man for you!" Fouche took especial care of Corentin who was perhaps his natural son. He sent him to Brittany during an uprising in the year VIII, to accompany and direct Mlle. de ​Verneuil, who was commissioned to betray and capture the Marquis de Montauran, the Chouan leader. (The Chouans) In 1806 he caused Senator Malin de Gondreville to be kidnapped by masked men in order that the Chateau de Gondreville might be searched for important papers which, however, proved as compromising for Fouche as for the senator. This kidnapping, which was charged against Michu, the Simeuses and the Hauteserres, led to the execution of the first and the ruin of the others. In 1833, Marsay, president of the ministerial chamber, while explaining the mysteries of the affair to the Princesse de Cadignan, paid this tribute to Fouche: "A genius dark, deep and extraordinary, little understood but certainly the peer of Philip II., Tiberius or Borgia." (The Gondreville Mystery) In 1809 Fouche and Peyrade saved France in connection with the Walcheren episode; but on the return of the Emperor from the Wagram campaign Fouche was rewarded by dismissal. (Scenes from a Courtesan's Life)
FOUQUEREAU, concierge to M. Jules Desmarets, stock-broker, rue Menars in 1820. Specially employed to look after Mme. Desmarets. (The Thirteen)
FOURCHON, retired farmer of the Ronquerolles estate, near the forest of Aigues, Burgundy. Had also been a schoolmaster and a mail-carrier. An old man and a confirmed toper since his wife's death. At Blangy in 1823 he performed the three-fold duties of public clerk for three districts, assistant to a justice of the peace, and clarionet player. At the same time he followed the trade of rope-maker with his apprentice Mouche, the natural son of one of his natural daughters. But his chief income was derived from catching otters. Fourchon was the father-in-law of Tonsard, who ran the Grand-I-Vert tavern. (The Peasantry)
FOY (Maximilien-Sebastien), celebrated general and orator born in 1775 at Ham; died at Paris in 1825. (Cesar Birotteau) In 1821, General Foy, while in the shop of Dauriat talking with an editor of the "Constitutionnel" and the manager of "La Minerve," noticed the beauty of Lucien de ​Rubempre, who had come in with Lousteau to dispose of some sonnets. (A Distinguished Provincial at Paris)
FRAISIER, born about 1814, probably at Mantes. Son of a cobbler; an advocate and man of business at No. 9 rue de la Perle, Paris, in 1844-45. Began as copy-clerk at Couture's office. After serving Desroches as head-clerk for six years he bought the practice of Levroux, an advocate of Mantes, where he had occasion to meet Leboeuf, Vinet, Vatinelle and Bouyonnet. But he soon had to sell out and leave town on account of violating professional ethics. Whereupon he opened up a consultation office in Paris. A friend of Dr. Poulain who attended the last days of Sylvain Pons, he gave crafty counsel to Mme. Cibot, who coveted the chattels of the old bachelor. He also assured the Camusot de Marvilles that they should be the legatees of the old musician despite the faithful Schmucke. In 1845 he succeeded Vitel as justice of the peace; the coveted place being secured for him by Camusot de Marville, as a fee for his services. In Normandy he again acted successfully for this family. Fraisier was a dried-up little man with a blotched face and an unpleasant odor. At Mantes a certain Mme. Vatinelle nevertheless "made eyes at him"; and he lived at Marais with a servant-mistress, Dame Sauvage. But he missed more than one marriage, not being able to win either his client, Mme. Florimond, or the daughter of Tabareau. To tell the truth De Marville advised him to leave the latter alone. (Cousin Pons)
FRANCHESSINI (Colonel), born about 1789, served in the Imperial Guard, and was one of the most dashing colonels of the Restoration, but was forced to resign on account of a slur on his character. In 1808, to provide for foolish expenditures into which a woman led him, he forged certain notes. Jacques Collin—Vautrin—took the crime to himself and was sent to the galleys for several years. In 1819 Franchessini killed young Taillefer in a duel, at the instigation of Vautrin. The following year he was with Lady Brandon—probably his mistress—at the grand ball given by the Vicomtesse de Beauseant, just before her flight. In 1839, Franchessini was a leading ​member of the Jockey club, and held the rank of colonel in the National Guard. Married a rich Irishwoman who was devout and charitable and lived in one of the finest mansions of the Breda quarter. Elected deputy, and being an intimate friend of Rastignac, he evinced open hostility for Sallenauve and voted against his being seated in order to gratify Maxime de Trailles. (Father Goriot, The Member for Arcis)
FRANCOIS (Abbe), cure of the parish at Alencon in 1816. "A Cheverus on a small scale" he had taken the constitutional oath during the Revolution and for this reason was despised by the "ultras" of the town although he was a model of charity and virtue. Abbe Francois frequented the homes of M. and Mme. du Bousquier and M. and Mme. Granson; but M. du Bousquier and Athanase Granson were the only ones to give him cordial welcome. In his last days he became reconciled with the curate of Saint-Leonard, Alencon's aristocratic church, and died universally lamented. (Jealousies of a Country Town)
FRANCOIS, head valet to Marshal de Montcornet at Aigues in 1823. Attached specially to Emile Blondet when the journalist visited them. Salary twelve hundred francs. In his master's confidence. (The Peasantry)
FRANCOIS, in 1822, stage-driver between Paris and Beaumont-sur-Oise, in the service of the Touchard Company. (A Start in Life)
FRANCOISE, servant of Mme. Crochard, rue Saint-Louis in Marais in 1822. Toothless woman of thirty years' service. Was present at her mistress' death-bed. This was the fourth she had buried. (A Second Home)
FRAPPART, in 1839, at Arcis-sur-Aube, proprietor of a dance-hall where was held the primary, presided over by Colonel Giguet, which nominated Sallenauve. (The Member for Arcis)
FRAPPIER, finest carpenter in Provins in 1827-28. It was to him that Jacques Brigaut came as apprentice when he went to the town to be near his childhood's friend, Pierrette ​Lorrain. Frappier took care of her when she left Rogron's house. Frappier was married. (Pierrette)
FREDERIC, one of the editors of Finot's paper in 1821, who reported the Theatre-Francais and the Odeon. (A Distinguished Provincial at Paris)
FRELU (La Grande), girl of Croisic who had a child by Simon Gaudry. Nurse to Pierrette Cambremer whose mother died when she was very young. (A Seaside Tragedy)
FRESCONI, an Italian who, during the Restoration and until 1828, ran a nursery on Boulevard du Montparnasse. The business was not a success. Barbet the book-seller was interested in it; he turned it into a lodging-house, where dwelt Baron Bourlac. (The Seamy Side of History)
FRESQUIN, former supervisor of roads and bridges. Married and father of a family. Employed, time of Louis Philippe, by Gregoire Gerard in the hydraulic operations for Mme. Graslin at Montegnac. In 1843 Fresquin was appointed district tax collector. (The Country Parson)
FRISCH (Samuel), Jewish jeweler on rue Saint-Avoie in 1829. Furnisher and creditor of Esther Gobseck. A general pawnbroker. (Scenes from a Courtesan's Life)
FRITAUD (Abbe), priest of Sancerre in 1836. (The Muse of the Department)
FRITOT, dealer in shawls on the stock exchange, Paris, time of Louis Philippe. Rival of Gaudissart. He sold an absurd shawl for six thousand francs to Mistress Noswell, an eccentric Englishwoman. Fritot was once invited to dine with the King. (Gaudissart II)
FRITOT (Madame), wife of preceding. (Gaudissart II)
FROIDFROND (Marquis de), born about 1777. Gentleman of Maine-et-Loire. While very young he became insolvent and sold his chateau near Saumur, which was bought at a low price for Felix Grandet by Cruchot the notary, in 1811. About 1827 the marquis was a widower with children, and was spoken of as a possible peer of France. At this time Mme. des Grassins tried to persuade Eugenie Grandet, now an orphan, that she would do well to wed the marquis, and that this ​marriage was a pet scheme of her father. And again in 1832 when Eugenie was left a widow by Cruchot de Bonfons, the family of the marquis tried to arrange a marriage with him. (Eugenie Grandet)
FROMAGET, apothecary at Arcis-sur-Aube, time of Louis Philippe. As his patronage did not extend to the Gondrevilles, he was disposed to work against Keller; that is why he probably voted for Giguet in 1839. (The Member for Arcis)
FROMENTEAU, police-agent. With Contenson he had belonged to the political police of Louis XVIII. In 1845 he aided in unearthing prisoners for debt. Being encountered at the home of Theodore Gaillard by Gazonal, he revealed some curious details concerning different kinds of police to the bewildered countryman. (The Unconscious Humorists)
FUNCAL (Comte de), an assumed name of Bourignard, when he was met at the Spanish Embassy, Paris, about 1820, by Henri de Marsay and Auguste de Maulincour. There was a real Comte de Funcal, a Portuguese-Brazilian, who had been a sailor, and whom Bourignard duplicated exactly. He may have been "suppressed" violently by the usurper of his name. (The Thirteen)