before his eyes, agreed so well with the facts alleged by the Marquise
that the judge, in spite of his impartiality, could not help believing
them.

"There you are, gentlemen," said the porter's wife; "there is the
manifactor, where the Chinese swallow up enough to feed the whole
neighborhood."

The clerk looked at the judge with a smile, and Popinot found it hard
to keep his countenance. They went together into the outer room, where
sat an old man, who, no doubt, performed the functions of office
clerk, shopman, and cashier. This old man was the Maitre Jacques of
China. Along the walls ran long shelves, on which the published
numbers lay in piles. A partition in wood, with a grating lined with
green curtains, cut off the end of the room, forming a private office.
A till with a slit to admit or disgorge crown pieces indicated the
cash-desk.

"M. d'Espard?" said Popinot, addressing the man, who wore a gray
blouse.

The shopman opened the door into the next room, where the lawyer and
his companion saw a venerable old man, white-headed and simply
dressed, wearing the Cross of Saint-Louis, seated at a desk. He ceased
comparing some sheets of colored prints to look up at the two
visitors. This room was an unpretentious office, full of books and
proof-sheets. There was a black wood table at which some one, at the
moment absent, no doubt was accustomed to work.

"The Marquis d'Espard?" said Popinot.