Soon thereafter he
married Felicite Puech, the daughter of an oil dealer in Plassans. The
firm of Puech and Lacamp was not prosperous, but the money brought by
Pierre Rougon retrieved the situation, and after a few years the two
original partners retired. Fortune, however, soon changed, and for
thirty years there was a continual struggle to make ends meet. Three
sons and two daughters were born, and their education was a heavy drain
upon their parents' means. In 1845 Pierre and his wife retired from
business with forty thousand francs at the most. Instigated by the
Marquis de Carnavant, they went in for politics, and soon regular
meetings of the reactionary party came to be held in their "yellow
drawing-room." Advised, however, by their son Eugene, they resolved
to support the cause of the Bonapartes, and at the time of the _Coup
d'Etat_ of 1851 Pierre was the leader of that party in Plassans. Having
concealed himself when the Republican insurgents entered Plassans, he
avoided capture, and after they retired he led the band of citizens
which recaptured the town hall. This bloodless victory having been
somewhat minimized by the townspeople, Pierre and his wife, with a view
to establishing a strong claim for subsequent reward, bribed Antoine
Macquart to lead the Republicans left in Plassans to an attack on
the town hall.
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