which was to be seen the old gentleman in a white tie surrounded by his
daughters in various groups; he went upstairs again in his turn, and the
calm which succeeded immediately upon this little morning uproar left
one to imagine that the "father" and his young ladies had re-entered the
case of photographs, where they remained smiling and motionless until
evening.

From the Rue Saint-Ferdinand to the establishment of Hemerlingue &
Son, his employers, M. Joyeuse had a good three-quarters of an hour's
journey. He walked with head erect and straight, as though he had feared
to disarrange the smart knot of the cravat tied by his daughters, or his
hat put on by them, and when the eldest, ever anxious and prudent, just
as he went out raised his coat-collar to protect him against the
harsh gusts of the wind that blew round the street corner, even if the
temperature were that of a hothouse M. Joyeuse would not lower it again
until he reached the office, like the lover who, quitting his mistress's
arms, dares not to move for fear of losing the intoxicating perfume.

A widower for some years, this worthy man lived only for his children,
thought only of them, went through life surrounded by those fair little
heads that fluttered around him confusedly as in a picture of the
Assumption. All his desires, all his projects, bore reference to "those
young ladies," returned to them without ceasing, sometimes after long
circuits, for M. Joyeuse--this was connected no doubt with the fact that
he possessed a short neck and a small figure whereof his turbulent
blood made the circuit in a moment--was a man of fecund and astonishing
imagination. In his brain the ideas performed their evolutions with the
rapidity of hollow straws around a sieve. At the office, figures kept
his steady attention by reason of their positive quality; but, outside,
his mind took its revenge upon that inexorable occupation. The activity