JOSSERAND (SATURNIN), younger son of M. Josserand. He was a powerful
young man of twenty-five, whose mind had been seriously affected by an
attack of brain fever; though not actually insane, he was subject to
fits of blind fury whenever anybody annoyed him. When his sister Berthe
was a little girl, he nursed her through a long illness, and since
he saved her life he adored her with a deep, passionate devotion. The
preparations for her marriage to Auguste Vabre affected him so seriously
that his removal to an asylum became necessary, and he remained there
for some time. On his release he went to live with his sister and her
husband, but domestic trouble having arisen, his mind again became so
unhinged that he made an attempt on the life of his brother-in-law and
had again to be taken to an asylum. Pot-Bouille.