2.M.2.7. 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.