Suddenly the sailor said:  “The fog is coming up, M’sieu Pierre.  We must go in.”

He looked up and saw to the northward a gray shade, filmy but dense, blotting out the sky and covering the sea; it was sweeping down on them like a cloud fallen from above.  He tacked for land and made for the pier, scudding before the wind and followed by the flying fog, which gained upon them.  When it reached the Pearl, wrapping her in its intangible density, a cold shudder ran over Pierre’s limbs, and a smell of smoke and mould, the peculiar smell of a sea-fog, made him close his mouth that he might not taste the cold, wet vapour.  By the time the boat was at her usual moorings in the harbour the whole town was buried in this fine mist, which did not fall but yet wetted everything like rain, and glided and rolled along the roofs and streets like the flow of a river.  Pierre, with his hands and feet frozen, made haste home and threw himself on his bed to take a nap till dinner-time.  When he made his appearance in the dining-room his mother was saying to Jean: 

“The glass corridor will be lovely.  We will fill it with flowers.  You will see.  I will undertake to care for them and renew them.  When you give a party the effect will be quite fairy-like.”

“What in the world are you talking about?” the doctor asked.

“Of a delightful apartment I have just taken for your brother.  It is quite a find; an entresol looking out on two streets.  There are two drawing-rooms, a glass passage, and a little circular dining-room, perfectly charming for a bachelor’s quarters.”

Pierre turned pale.  His anger seemed to press on his heart.

“Where is it?” he asked.

“Boulevard Francois.”

There was no possibility for doubt.  He took his seat in such a state of exasperation that he longed to exclaim:  “This is really too much!  Is there nothing for any one but him?”

His mother, beaming, went on talking:  “And only fancy, I got it for two thousand eight hundred francs a year.  They asked three thousand, but I got a reduction of two hundred francs on taking for three, six, or nine years.  Your brother will be delightfully housed there.  An elegant home is enough to make the fortune of a lawyer.  It attracts clients, charms them, holds them fast, commands respect, and shows them that a man who lives in such good style expects a good price for his words.”

She was silent for a few seconds and then went on: 

“We must look out for something suitable for you; much less pretentious, since you have nothing, but nice and pretty all the same.  I assure you it will be to your advantage.”

Pierre replied contemptuously: 

“For me!  Oh, I shall make my way by hard work and learning.”

But his mother insisted:  “Yes, but I assure you that to be well lodged will be of use to you nevertheless.”

About half-way through the meal he suddenly asked: