BelAmi The History of a Heart Author:Guy de Maupassant General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1910 Original Publisher: The Pearson Publishing Co. Subjects: Fiction / Literary Fiction / Short Stories Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of th... more »is book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: CHAPTER II An Important Dinner Party " Monsieur Forestier ? " " Third floor, the door on the left," the janitress had replied, in an amiable tone which betokened consideration for her tenant, and George Duroy ascended the stairs. He felt somewhat abashed, awkward and ill at ease. He was wearing a dress suit for the first time in his life, and was uneasy about the general effect of his toilet. He felt it was altogether defective, from his boots, which were not of patent leather, though neat, for he was naturally smart about his footgear, to his shirt, which he had bought that very morning for four francs fifty centimes at the Magasin du Louvre, and the limp front of which was already rumpled. His trousers, rather too loose, set off his legs badly, seeming to flap about the calf with that creased appearance which second-hand clothes present. The coat alone did not look bad, being, by chance, almost a perfect fit. He was slowly ascending the stairs with beating heart and anxious mind, tortured above all by the fear of appearing ridiculous, when suddenly he saw in front of him a gentleman in full dress looking at him. They were so close to one another that Duroy took a step back and then remained standing inamazement; it was himself, reflected in a tall mirror on the first floor landing. A thrill of pleasure shot 'through him to find himself so much more presentable than he had imagined. Only having a small shaving-glass in his room, he had not been able to see his whole figure at once, and as he o...« less