MOUTON, a cat which belonged to the Quenus, and was a favourite of little Pauline. Le Ventre de Paris.
MUCHE, the name by which Louise Mehudin’s son was known in the market. He was befriended by Florent, who taught him to read and write. Le Ventre de Paris.
MUFFAT (MAMAN), wife of General Muffat de Beuville, who was created Comte by Napoleon I. She was an insufferable old woman, who was always hand-in-glove with the priests, and had an authoritative manner, which bent every one to her will. Her daughter-in-law, Comtesse Sabine, was entirely under her dominion, and was forced by her to lead an almost cloistered existence. Nana.
MUFFAT DE BEUVILLE (COMTE), son of the preceding and of General Muffat de Beuville. Brought up in the strictest manner by his mother, his life was one of cold and severe propriety, and being regarded with favour at the Court, he was appointed Chamberlain to the Empress. He married Sabine de Chouard, by whom he had one daughter, Estelle. For seventeen years of married life his career was a pattern of all the virtues, until a chance meeting with Nana led to an infatuation amounting to mania. Everything was sacrificed to her, and no degradation to his self-respect seemed too high a price to pay for her favour. Disgusted for a time by her liaison with Fontan, he left her, and turned for amusement to Rose Mignon, but the infatuation for Nana reasserted itself, and he recovered her good graces by inducing Bordenave to give her a part which she greatly desired in La Petite Duchesse, a play by Fauchery. He spent vast sums upon Nana, giving her a magnificent house in the Avenue de Villiers. Her influence over him became complete, and he even accepted Daguenet, her former lover, as his son-in-law. He overlooked too his wife’s numerous liaisons, as he required her signature to enable him to raise still more money for Nana. Muffat’s means were coming to an end, however, and the scandal reached such a height that he was forced to resign his position at the Tuileries. It was only when he learned that Nana was carrying on a liaison with his own father-in-law, the aged Marquis de Chouard, that he finally broke with her, and coming once more under the influence of Venot, he sought forgetfulness of the past in an exaggerated devotion to the service of the Church. Nana.
MUFFAT DE BEUVILLE (COMTESSE), wife of the preceding. See Sabine de Chouard. Nana.
MUFFAT DE BEUVILLE (ESTELLE), daughter of the preceding. At sixteen she was thin and insignificant, seldom speaking, but after her marriage to Daguenet, she exhibited a will of iron, and completely dominated her husband. Nana.
MULLER (BLANCHE), a favourite actress at the Theatre des Varietes. La Curee.
MUSSY (M. DE) was an admirer of Renee Saccard, and aspired to be her lover. He received an appointment on the staff of the London embassy. La Curee.