The notary's nose;

LI.
IT now becomes necessary for me to
recount the antecedents of Franqois and
his uncle. Francois was the son of a late
toy dealer in the Passage du Saumzon,
named M. Thomas. Toy-selling is a
good business; a hundred per cent. is
cleared on almost every article. Since
his father's death, Francois had enjoyed
a competence of the degree called "honorable," undoubtedly because it obviates the
necessity of doing dishonorable things;
perhaps, too, because it makes practicable
the doing of the honors to one's friends:
he had thirty thousand francs income.
His tastes were extremely simple, as I
think I have told you. He had an innate
preference for things which are not glaring,
and naturally selected his gloves, vests,