The notary's nose;

28 THE NOTARY S NOSE.
the conversation, offered to take his scimitar, and go and kill M. l'Ambert.
Ahmed-Bey thanked him for his good
disposition, and kicked him out of the
room.
" And now," said he to the good Ayvaz,
" what shall we do?"
"That's simple enough," replied the
other. "I'll cut his nose off to-morrow
morning. The lex talionis is written in
the Koran:'an eye for an eye, a tooth for
a tooth, a nose for a nose.' "
Ahmed remonstrated that though the
Koran was certainly a good book, it had
grown a little out of date. Maxims on
points of honor had changed some since
Mahomet. Moreover, on the ground that
the law should be applied to the very letter, Ayvaz would have to strike M. l'Ambert on the nose with his fist.
" What right have you got to cut off his
nose, since he has not cut off yours? "