ould be published in some newspaper, together with an account
of the robbery perpetrated by Pierre, when he had compelled his mother,
driven out of her senses by debauchery, to sign a receipt for fifty
thousand francs. This letter was a heavy blow for Rougon himself.
Felicite could not refrain from reproaching her husband with his
disreputable family; for the husband and wife never for a moment doubted
that this letter was Antoine's work.

"We shall have to get rid of the blackguard at any price," said Pierre
in a gloomy tone. "He's becoming too troublesome by far."

In the meantime, Macquart, resorting to his former tactics, looked round
among his own relatives for accomplices who would join him against the
Rougons. He had counted upon Aristide at first, on reading his terrible
articles in the "Independant." But the young man, in spite of all his
jealous rage, was not so foolish as to make common cause with such
a fellow as his uncle. He never even minced matters with him, but
invariably kept him at a distance, a circumstance which induced Antoine
to regard him suspiciously. In the taverns, where Macquart reigned
supreme, people went so far as to say the journalist was paid to provoke
disturbances.

Baffled on this side, Macquart had no alternative but to sound his
sister Ursule's children. Ursule had died in 1839, thus fulfilling her
brother's evil prophecy. The nervous affection which she had inherited
from her mother had turned into slow consumption, which gradually killed
her. She left three children; a daughter, eighteen years of age, named
Helene, who married a clerk, and two boys, the elder, Francois, a young
man of twenty-three, and the younger, a sickly little fellow scarcely
six years old, named Silvere. The death of his wife, whom he adored,
proved a thunderbolt to Mouret. He dragged on his existence for another
year, neglecting his business and losing all the money he had saved.
Then, one morning, he was found hanging in a cupboard where Ursule's
dresses were still suspended. His elder son, who had received a good
commercial training, took a situation in the house of his uncle Rougon,
where he replaced Aristide, who had just left.

Rougon, in spite of his profound hatred for the Macquarts, gladly
welcomed this nephew, whom he knew to be industrious and sober. He
was in want of a youth whom he could trust, and who would help him to
retrieve his affairs. Moreover, during the time of Mouret's prosperity,
h