DELANGRE (LUCIEN), son of M. Delangre, mayor of Plassans. He was a young barrister of four-and-twenty, short and sharp-eyed, with a crafty brain, and pleaded with all the coolness of an old practitioner. On the suggestion of Abbe Faujas he took a leading part in starting the Club for Young Men at Plassans. La Conquete de Plassans.
DELAROCQUE, a stockbroker who was married to the sister of Jacoby. L’Argent.
DELCAMBRE, Public Prosecutor, afterwards Minister of Justice. Having been for some time the lover of Baroness Sandorff, he was much annoyed at her subsequent intimacy with Saccard, and after the failure of the Universal Bank he instigated the proceedings which led to the conviction of its officials. L’Argent.
DELESTANG (M.), son of a wine merchant at Bercy, was himself a retired attorney and owner of a model farm. He was a man of great wealth, but of foolish and shallow character. Having got into political trouble at the time of the _Coup d’Etat_ of 1851, he was helped out of an awkward position by Eugene Rougon. Acting on the suggestion of Rougon, he married Clorinde Balbi, and soon after was appointed Minister of Commerce and Agriculture. After Rougon’s second retirement from office Delestang was appointed to succeed him as Minister of the Interior. Son Excellence Eugene Rougon.
DELESTANG (MADAME), wife of the preceding. See Clorinde Balbi.
DELESTANG (HENRIETTE), sister of Delestang, the Minister, and wife of M. de Combelot, Chamberlain to Napoleon III. She had a passion for the Emperor, who, however, would not look at her. Son Excellence Eugene Rougon.
DELEUZE founded, along with his brother, in 1822, the drapers’ shop in Paris known as _Au Bonheur des Dames_. When he died, his daughter Caroline, who was married to Hedouin, succeeded to his share in the business. Pot-Bouille.
The beginning of the business was exceedingly modest; there was only one window in the shop, and the stock was a small one. At that time the principal shop in the neighbourhood was the _Vieil Elbeuf_, of which Baudu afterwards became proprietor. Au Bonheur des Dames.
DELEUZE (UNCLE), one of the founders of the shop known as _Au Bonheur des Dames_. After the death of his elder brother he continued the business along with his niece Madame Hedouin. He became much affected by rheumatism, and left the management in the hands of Hedouin. Pot-Bouille.