marrying a rich merchant's son,
she by far preferred a peasant whom she could use as a passive tool,
to some lank graduate who would overwhelm her with his academical
superiority, and drag her about all her life in search of hollow
vanities. She was of opinion that the woman ought to make the man. She
believed herself capable of carving a minister out of a cow-herd. That
which had attracted her in Rougon was his broad chest, his heavy frame,
which was not altogether wanting in elegance. A man thus built would
bear with ease and sprightliness the mass of intrigues which she
dreamt of placing on his shoulders. However, while she appreciated her
husband's strength and vigour, she also perceived that he was far
from being a fool; under his coarse flesh she had divined the cunning
suppleness of his mind. Still she was a long way from really knowing her
Rougon; she thought him far stupider than he was. A few days after her
marriage, as she was by chance fumbling in the drawer of a secretaire,
she came across the receipt for fifty thousand francs which Adelaide
had signed. At sight of it she understood things, and felt rather
frightened; her own natural average honesty rendered her hostile to such
expedients. Her terror, however, was not unmixed with admiration; Rougon
became in her eyes a very smart fellow.

The young couple bravely sought to conquer fortune. The firm of Puech
& Lacamp was not, after all, so embarrassed as Pierre had thought. Its
liabilities were small, it was merely in want of ready-money. In the
provinces, traders adopt prudent courses to save them from serious
disasters. Puech & Lacamp were prudent to an excessive degree; they
never risked a thousand crowns without the greatest fear, and thus their
house, a veritable hole, was an unimportant one. The fifty thousand
francs that Pierre brought into it sufficed to pay the debts and extend
the business. The beginnings were good. During three successive years
the olive harvest was an abundant one. Felicite, by a bold stroke which
absolutely frightened both Pierre and old Puech, made them purchase
a considerable quantity of oil, which they stored in their warehouse.
During the following years, as the young woman had foreseen, the crops
failed, and a considerable rise in prices having set in, they realised
large profits by selling out their stock.

A short time after this haul, Puech & Lacamp retired from the firm,
content with the few sous they had just secured