The notary's nose;

THE NOTARY'S NOSE. 17
had been taken to see some elegant establishments sold out, and they could descant
most agreeably on Mlle. X's emeralds, and
Mlle. Z's pearls. The elder, Mlle. Irma
Steimbourg, copied the toilettes of Mlle.
Fargueil with passionate enthusiasm.
The younger had sent one of her friends
to Mlle. Figeac to ask the address of her
dress-maker. Both were rich and would
have good dowries. M. l'Ambert took a
fancy to Irma. The handsome notary
occasionally said to himself that half a
million dowry and a woman who knows
how to dress are not things to be sneezed
at. He was to be seen there pretty often,
almost once a week, even up to the early
November frosts.
After a mild and pleasant autumn,
winter came down like an avalanche-a
circumstance common enough in our climate. But M. l'Ambert's nose at this
time manifested a sensibility not quite so