It was the lack of that in me--it appears it is my weak point--that has led to these repeated shocks.

By the commercial imagination the financier forecasts the destiny of his investments, marks the falling house--' 'Egad,' interrupted Casimir: 'our friend the stable-boy appears to have his share of it.' The Doctor was silenced; and the meal was continued and finished principally to the tune of the brother-in-law's not very consolatory conversation.

He entirely ignored the two young English painters, turning a blind eyeglass to their salutations, and continuing his remarks as if he were alone in the bosom of his family; and with every second word he ripped another stitch out of the air balloon of Desprez's vanity.
By the time coffee was over the poor Doctor was as limp as a napkin.
'Let us go and see the ruins,' said Casimir.
They strolled forth into the street.

The fall of the house, like the loss of a front tooth, had quite transformed the village.

Through the gap the eye commanded a great stretch of open snowy country, and the place shrank in comparison.