Source note

CHESNEL, or Choisnel, notary at Alencon, time of Louis XVIII. Born in 1753. Old attendant of the house of Gordes, also of the d'Esgrignon family whose property he had protected during the Revolution. A widower, childless, and possessed of a considerable fortune, he had an aristocratic clientele, notably that of Mme. de la Chanterie. On every hand he received that attention which his good points merited. M. du Bousquier held him in profound hatred, blaming him with the refusal which Mlle. d'Esgrignon had made of Du Bousquier's proffered hand in marriage, and another check of the same nature which he experienced at first from Mlle. Cormon. By a dexterous move in 1824 Chesnel succeeded in rescuing Victurnien d'Esgrignon, though guilty, from the Court of Assizes. The old notary succumbed soon after this event. [The Seamy Side of History. Jealousies of a Country Town.]