I hold industrious citizens in the highest esteem." Mr.Boltay was not the sort of man to accept indiscriminate laudation from any one, so he somewhat curtly interrupted this eulogistic flux of words.
"To whom have I the pleasure of speaking, pray?
and what are your honour's commands ?" "I am Abellino Karpathy," replied the stranger.
It was only the armoury behind him that prevented Mr.Boltay from falling flat.

On such a surprise as this he had not counted.
The great gentleman did not condescend to observe the expression of the artisan's face, opining, as he no doubt did, that an artisan's face has no business to have any expression whatever; but he continued as follows:-- "I have come to you to bespeak an order for a whole _etablissement_, and I have come personally because I hear that you draw very fine, artistic specimens of furniture." "Sir, it is not I who draw, but my head apprentice, who lives at Paris." "That doesn't matter.

I have come myself, I say, that I may choose from these patterns, for I should like something particularly neat, and at the same time a simple middle-class production, quite in the middle-class style, you understand.

And I'll tell you why.

I am about to marry, and my future wife is a young girl, a citizen's daughter.