Out of charity the company allowed the afflicted woman to
go underground again, though she was past the usual age, and found
employment for her in the manipulation of a small ventilator. Germinal.
MAHOUDEAU, a sculptor. The son of a stonemason at Plassans, he attained
great success at the local art competitions, and came to Paris as the
_laureat_ of his town, with an allowance of eight hundred francs per
annum for four years. In the capital, however, he found his level,
failing in his competitions at the School of Arts, and merely spending
his allowance to no purpose; so that in order to live he was obliged at
the end of his term to enter the employment of a manufacturer of church
statues. Later, however, he met with Claude Lantier and other companions
from Plassans, and under their influence his ambitions revived. He
installed himself in a studio in Rue du Cherche-Midi, and there set
about the production of a colossal work entitled _La Vendangeuse_ (the
Vintage Girl), for which Madame Mathilde Jabouille served as model. For
a time Chaine, who also came from Plassans, lived with Mahoudeau, but
they quarrelled over Mathilde, and ultimately separated.
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