The notary's nose;

208 UNCLE AND NEPHEW.
to wrong nobody. With a moderation almost absurd in the manufacture of articles
of luxury, he limited his profits to five per
cent. over and above the general expenses
of his establishment: consequently he had
gained more respect than money. When
he made out a bill, he went over the addition three times, so fearful was he of misleading somebody to his own advantage.
After thirty years of this business, he
was just about as rich as when he left his
apprenticeship. He had made his living
like the humblest of his employees, and he
asked himself, with a touch of jealousy,
how M. Thomas had managed to lay up
money. His brother-in-law looked down
on him a little, with the vanity characteristic of parvenus, but he looked down upon
his brother more effectually, with the pride
of a man who never cared to become a
parvenu. He made a parade of his mediocrity, and said with plebeian self-conceit,