* * * * *
In S. I made the acquaintance of the barrister Z.—a sort of Nika, The Fair … He has several children; with all of them he is magisterial, gentle, kind, not a single rude word; I soon learn that he has another family. Then he invites me to his daughter's wedding; he prays, makes a genuflection, and says: "I still preserve religious feeling; I am a believer." And when in his presence people speak of education, of women, he has a naïve expression, exactly as if he did not understand. When he makes a speech in Court, his face looks as if he were praying.
* * * * *
"Mammy, don't show yourself to the guests, you are very fat."
* * * * *
Love? In love? Never! I am a Government clerk.
* * * * *
He knows little, even as a babe who has not yet come out of his mother's womb.
* * * * *
From childhood until extreme old age N. has had a passion for spying.