The notary's nose;

THE NOTARY'S NOSE. 109
and the unctuous Master Bontoux, and all
the nestors of the notarial profession.
The young masters held pretty near the
same language, with certain variations inspired by jealousy.
" We don't want to say anything against
Master l'Ambert; he is an honor to us
certainly, although he does compromise us
a little. Any one of us would have shown
just as much pluck, and possibly less awkwardness. An officer of the law ought
not to permit himself to be trodden under
foot; at the same time, he ought not to
give the first offence. He ought to fight
only for reasons that can be talked about
anywhere. If I were father of a family,
I would rather entrust my business to a
steady fellow, than to a knight-errant,"
etc., etc., etc.
But the opinion of the ladies, which
makes law, was decidedly in favor of
the hero of Parthenay. Possibly it would