Page:Repertory of the Comedie Humaine.djvu/115

This page needs to be proofread.

and on her account, in 1821, he counterfeited the banker's name on a letter of credit for a considerable amount. John Melmoth, an Englishman, got him out of this scrape by exchanging his own individuality for that of the old officer. Castanier was thus all-powerful, but becoming promptly at outs with the proceeding, he adopted the same tactics of exchange, transferring his power to a financier named Claparon. Castanier was a Southerner. He had seen service from sixteen till nearly forty. (Melmoth Reconciled)

CASTANIER (Madame), wife of the preceding, married during the first Empire. Her family—that of the bourgeoisie of Nancy—fooled Castanier about the size of her dowry and her "expectations." Mme. Castanier was honest, ugly and sour-tempered. She was separated from her husband, to his relief, and for several years previous to 1821 lived in the suburbs of Strasbourg. (Melmoth Reconciled)

CASTERAN (De), a very ancient aristocracy of Normandy; related to William the Conqueror; allied with the Verneuils, the Esgrignons and the Troisvilles. The name is pronounced "Cateran." A Demoiselle Blanche de Casteran was the mother of Mlle. de Verneuil, and died Abbess of Notre-Dame de Seez. (The Chouans) In 1807 Mme. de la Chanterie, then a widow, was hospitably received in Normandy by the Casterans. (The Seamy Side of History) In 1822 a venerable couple, Marquis and Marquise de Casteran visited the drawing-room of Marquis d'Esgrignon at Alencon. (Jealousies of a Country Town) The Marquise de Rochefide, nee Beatrix Maximilienne-Rose de Casteran, was the younger daughter of a Marquis de Casteran who wished to marry off both his daughters without dowries, and thus save his entire fortune for his son, the Comte de Casteran. (Beatrix) A Comte de Casteran, son-in-law of the Marquis of Troisville, relative of Mme. de Montcornet, was prefect of a department of Burgundy between 1820 and 1825. (The Peasantry)

CATANEO (Duke), noble Sicilian, born in 1773; first husband of Massimilla Doni. Physically ruined by early debaucheries,