gone through a large fortune in Paris. His racing-stable was famous, as
were his losses at the Imperial Club, while his ruin was completed by
the vast sums which he spent on Nana. His final hope was centred on the
race for the Grand Prix de Paris in which he was running two horses,
Lusignan and a filly named Nana. Lusignan was the favourite, but
Vandeuvres, having arranged his betting, caused the horse to be pulled,
so that the filly might win. The ruse was successful, and Vandeuvres
gained a large sum, but suspicions having been aroused, he was warned
off the turf and expelled from the Imperial Club. Driven to madness,
the Comte shut himself up in his stable, and, having set it on fire,
perished among his horses. Nana.

VANDORPE, the head stationmaster of the Western Railway Company at
Paris. La Bete Humaine.

VANPOUILLE BROTHERS, a firm of furriers in Rue Neuve-des-Petits Champs,
who were practically ruined when Octave Mouret added a fur department to
"The Ladies' Paradise." Au Bonheur des Dames.

VANSKA (COMTESSE), a well-known and rich _mondaine_ of the Second
Empire. La Curee.

VANZADE (MADAME), the widow of a general. She was an old lady, rich,
nearly blind, and practically helpless. At Passy she lived, in a
silent old house, a life so retired and regular that it might have been
actuated by clockwork. As she required a companion, her old friend, La
Mere des Saints-Anges, recommended Christine Hallegrain to her; but the
girl, stifling in that dwelling of rigid piety, ended by running off
with her lover, Claude Lantier. Madame Vanzade died four years later,
and the bulk of her fortune went to charities. L'Oeuvre.

VAQUEZ (JUDITH), an artist's model who lived in Rue du Rocher. She was a
Jewess, fresh enough in colouring but too thin. L'Oeuvre.

VAUCOGNE (HECTOR), husband of Estelle Badeuil. At the time of his
marriage, Vaucogne was a junior officer of customs, but when his wife's
parents retired he took over their _maison publique_. He left everything
to the care of his wife, and after her death the establishment ceased
to be prosperous. In the end he was turned out by his father-in-law, and
the business was given to his daughter Elodie, who showed all the family
capacity for management. La Terre.

VAUCOGNE (MADAME HECTOR), wife of the preceding. See Estelle Badeuil. La
Terre.

VAUCOGNE (ELODIE), daughter of the preceding, and granddaughter of M.
and Madame Charles Badeuil. She was seven years old when her p