VOLUME III - BOOK SECOND - THE GREAT BOURGEOIS - CHAPTER VII. Rule: Receive No One except in the Evening

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_ Such was M. Luc-Esprit Gillenormand, who had not lost his hair,--
which was gray rather than white,--and which was always dressed in
"dog's ears." To sum up, he was venerable in spite of all this.

He had something of the eighteenth century about him; frivolous and great.

In 1814 and during the early years of the Restoration, M. Gillenormand,
who was still young,--he was only seventy-four,--lived in the
Faubourg Saint Germain, Rue Servandoni, near Saint-Sulpice.
He had only retired to the Marais when he quitted society,
long after attaining the age of eighty.

And, on abandoning society, he had immured himself in his habits.
The principal one, and that which was invariable, was to keep his
door absolutely closed during the day, and never to receive any one
whatever except in the evening. He dined at five o'clock, and after
that his door was open. That had been the fashion of his century,
and he would not swerve from it. "The day is vulgar," said he,
"and deserves only a closed shutter. Fashionable people only light up
their minds when the zenith lights up its stars." And he barricaded
himself against every one, even had it been the king himself.
This was the antiquated elegance of his day. _

Read next: VOLUME III: BOOK SECOND - THE GREAT BOURGEOIS: CHAPTER VIII. Two do not make a Pair

Read previous: VOLUME III: BOOK SECOND - THE GREAT BOURGEOIS: CHAPTER VI. In which Magnon and her Two Children are seen

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