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RULE:
RECEIVE NO ONE EXCEPT IN THE EVENING
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.
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