Source note

SAINTOT (Astolphe de), one of the frequenters of the Bargeton salon at Angouleme; president of the society of agriculture of his town; though "ignorant as a carp," he passed for a scholar of the first rank; and, though he did nothing, he let it be believed that he had been occupied for several years with writing a treatise on modern methods of cultivation. His success in the world was due, for the most part, to quotations from Cicero, learned by heart in the morning and recited in the evening. Though a tall, stout, red-faced man, Saintot seemed to be ruled by his wife. [Lost Illusions.]