The poor people will never enrich you." The idea of succeeding in life, of seeing all her family attain to fortune, had become a form of monomania with Felicite.

Pascal, in order to be agreeable to her, came and spent a few evenings in the yellow drawing-room.

He was much less bored there than he had apprehended.

At first he was rather stupefied at the degree of imbecility to which sane men can sink.

The old oil and almond dealers, the marquis and the commander even, appeared to him so many curious animals, which he had not hitherto had an opportunity of studying.