The story closes in Paris in January 1871, at the height of the siege, and introduces the main character, Monsieur Morissot, a watchmaker who has enrolled in the National Guard. Morissot, who is bored, hungry, and depressed, is walking along the boulevard when by chance he bumps into an old friend,...
A shy but resourceful seller of corks helps a young man get married by passing himself off as a wealthy uncle in the eyes of the mother of the future bride, a marquise hostile to any misalliance.
