Commune. It
was he who drew up the certificate of death of Antoine Macquart from
spontaneous combustion.

MAZAUD, a broker on the Paris Bourse, who succeeded on the death of his
uncle to one of the largest businesses in the city. He was young and
pleasant-looking, with such remarkable activity and intuition that he
soon came into the first rank. He was also assisted by the fact that
he did business with all the great bankers, and was reputed to have a
second cousin employed at the Havas News Agency. After the foundation of
the Universal Bank, he became the official broker of that institution,
and the great gamble in its shares resolved itself into a duel between
him and Jacoby, the one buying for Saccard and the other selling for
Gundermann. Mazaud did not speculate on his own account, but the failure
of the bank led to so many of his clients being unable to meet their
differences that he was ruined. After putting his affairs in order so
far as possible, he committed suicide. L'Argent.

MAZAUD (MADAME), wife of the preceding. She married for love, and
brought to her husband a considerable fortune. She had two children, a
girl and a boy. The suicide of her husband completely overwhelmed her
with grief. L'Argent.

MAZEL, a famous master at the School of Arts, and the last rampart of
elegant conventionality. The first year that the Hanging Committee of
the _Salon_ was elected by the artists themselves, Mazel was chosen
president. In the selection of pictures he was susceptible to influence,
and was guided more by the name of the artist than by the quality of the
work. L'Oeuvre.

MECHAIN, proprietor of a racing-stable. Hazard, one of his horses, ran
in the Grand Prix de Paris. Nana.

MECHAIN (MADAME), a woman in the employment of Busch, the money-lender
and debt collector. She assisted him in tracing debtors, and in the
purchase of securities of bankrupt companies. She was a cousin of
Rosalie Chavaille, mother of Victor Saccard, on whose death she was left
with the boy to bring up. On discovering the paternity of Victor some
years later, she and Busch attempted to blackmail Saccard, but without
success, though they had previously got a considerable sum from Caroline
Hamelin, who wished to save Saccard from annoyance. L'Argent.

MEGOT (JUSTINE), a young maid-servant of Renee Saccard. She had a son
to Maxime Rougon in 1857, and was sent to live in the country with the
child on a small annuity. La Curee.

Three years