DELORME, a relation of the Quenus. On the suggestion of Madame Chanteau he was nominated a member of the family council of Pauline Quenu. He consented to her emancipation. La Joie de Vivre.
DENEULIN, a cousin of the Gregoires. Like his cousin, he inherited a denier in the Montsou mines, but being an enterprising engineer, tormented by the desire for a royal fortune, he had hastened to sell out when the value of the denier reached a million francs. His wife possessed through an uncle the little concession of Vandame, on which were two abandoned pits—Jean-Bart and Gaston-Marie—and he invested all his money in the reopening of these pits. He was a bad manager, however, and after his wife’s death he was pillaged by every one. The great strike at Montsou completed his ruin, and he was ultimately compelled to sell his pits to the great company which had already acquired all the neighbouring mines, himself receiving a situation as divisional engineer. Germinal.
DENEULIN (JEANNE), second daughter of the preceding. Having lost their mother when very young, she and her sister were brought up alone, somewhat badly, being spoiled by their father. Jeanne was fond of painting, and had already had three landscapes refused by the Salon. Her sister and she remained cheerful in the midst of their father’s loss of fortune, and proved themselves excellent managers. Germinal.
DENEULIN (LUCIE), elder daughter of Deneulin. She was fond of music, and at one time talked of going on the stage. Like her sister, she showed an admirable spirit at the time of her father’s downfall. Germinal.
DENIZET, examining magistrate (juge d’instruction) at Rouen. The son of a cattle-breeder, he studied law at Caen, but had entered the judicial department of the Government late in life; and his peasant origin, aggravated by his father’s bankruptcy, made his promotion slow. After being substitute in various places he was sent to Rouen, where he acted as examining magistrate. He was fond of his profession, and at the beginning of the inquiry into the murder of President Grandmorin allowed himself to be carried away by his desire to elicit the facts of the case. He received, however, a hint from Camy-Lamotte, the secretary to the Minister of Justice, that caution must be exercised, and his desire to be decorated and removed to Paris was so great that he sacrificed the interests of justice, and caused the case to be hushed up. Later, the murder of Severine Roubaud reopened the Grandmorin inquiry, and Denizet was allowed a free hand in dealing with the affair. By a masterpiece of logical deduction he set out to prove the complicity of Cabuche and Roubaud, a complicity, however, which had no existence in fact, and the demonstration of which by Denizet produced a gross error of justice. La Bete Humaine.
DEQUERSONNIERE, an architect with whom Louis Dubuche served his apprenticeship. He was a former winner of the Grand Prize, and was architect of the Civil Branch of Public Works, an officer of the Legion of Honour, and a member of the Institute. His principal production was the church of Saint-Mathieu, a building which shared the characteristics of a pastry-cook’s mould and a clock in the style of the First Empire. L’Oeuvre.
DESBAZEILLES, President of the Assize Court at Rouen on the occasion of the trial of Roubaud. He was a bachelor, and an old friend of Madame Bonnehon; a friendship which still continued, notwithstanding his sixty years. He was the literary glory of the Court, and his cleverly turned sonnets were well known. La Bete Humaine.
DESFORGES, a stock-broker. The friendship of his wife with Hartmann, the great financier, had been very useful to him. He died leaving a fortune, the amount of which was minimized by some and exaggerated by others. Au Bonheur des Dames.
DESFORGES (MADAME HENRIETTE), daughter of a Councillor of State and widow of a stock-broker, who left her a small fortune. “Even during her husband’s lifetime, people said she had shown herself grateful towards Baron Hartmann, whose financial tips had proved very useful to them; and later on, after her husband’s death, the acquaintance had probably continued, but always discreetly.” Octave Mouret, having met her at the house of a mutual friend, made love to her, chiefly with a view to gaining Baron Hartmann’s assistance through her influence. Madame Desforges was extremely jealous when she learned of Mouret’s affection for Denise Baudu and the probability of his marrying her. In order to injure him, she introduced Bouthemont to Baron Hartmann, who lent him money to start an opposition establishment called “The Four Seasons.” Au Bonheur des Dames.
DESIR (VEUVE), an elderly woman who kept a ball-room known as Bon-Joyeux. She called all the miners her children, and grew tender at the thought of the flood of beer which she had poured out for them during the last thirty years. She gave her ball-room to the miners to hold a meeting during the strike, and when the police arrived to break it up she held the door long enough to allow those present to escape. Germinal.