ed to call on a
charitable errand at Maheu's house, and unfortunately was left alone for
a few moments with Bonnemort, who was now supposed to be helpless. The
sight of her seemed, however, to waken memories in the old man, for in
an accession of madness he found strength to throw himself upon the poor
girl and strangle her. Germinal.

GREGOIRE (EUGENE), grandfather of Leon Gregoire. He inherited the share
in the Montsou mine bought by his father, but the dividends at that
time were small, and as he had foolishly invested the remainder of
the paternal fortune in a company that came to grief, he lived meanly
enough. The share passed to his son Felicien. Germinal.

GREGOIRE (FELICIEN), son of the preceding and father of Leon Gregoire.
The family fortune began with him, for the value of the share in
the Montsou mine had greatly increased, and he was able to buy the
dismembered estate of Piolaine, which he acquired as national property
for a ludicrous sum. However, bad years followed; it was necessary to
await the conclusion of the revolutionary catastrophes, and afterwards
Napoleon's bloody fall. The little fortune of Felicien Gregoire passed
to his son Leon. Germinal.

GREGOIRE (HONORE), great-grandfather of Leon Gregoire. He was in 1760
steward on the estate of Piolaine, a property which belonged to Baron
Desrumaux. When the Montsou treaty was made, Honore, who had laid up
savings to the amount of some fifty thousand francs, yielded tremblingly
to his master's unshakable faith. He gave up ten thousand francs, and
took a share in the Montsou Company, though with the fear of robbing his
children of that sum. When he died his share passed to his son Eugene.
Germinal.

GREGOIRE (LEON), great-grandson of Honore Gregoire. It was he who
profited at a stupefying rate of progress by the timid investment of his
ancestor. Those poor ten thousand francs grew and multiplied with the
company's prosperity. Since 1820 they had brought in cent for cent ten
thousand francs. In 1844 they had produced twenty thousand; in 1850,
forty. During two years the dividend had reached the prodigious figure
of fifty thousand francs; the value of the share, quoted at the Lille
Bourse at a million, had centrupled in a century. Six months later an
industrial crisis broke out; the share fell to six hundred thousand
francs. But Leon refused to be alarmed, for he maintained an obstinate
faith in the mine. When the great strike broke out he would not be