The notary's nose;

THE NOTARY'S NOSE. 47
tracted his attention the least, now riveted
it with irresistible power. To his eyes,
nature was illumined with a new light,
clearer, more penetrating, fuller than the
usual light of the sun. His preoccupation
emphasized, so to say, everything that fell
under his eyes. At a turn of the path he
noticed a cat moving stealthily between
two rows of currant-bushes. It was such
a cat as one sees a great many of in villages-a long, thin cat, with a whitish skin,
spotted in dusty brown; one of those halfsavage animals whose masters feed them
liberally with all the mice they are smart
enough to catch. This one had undoubtedly found that the house where it lived
did not sufficiently abound in game, and
was endeavoring to eke out his pittance in
the open field. M. l'Ambert's eyes, after
casually wandering toward him several
times, felt attracted and, as it were, fascinated by the aspect of that cat. He watched