be discovered there? Is not his rosy complexion the healthiest of colors, the complexion of a man without any rancor, with a well-balanced temperament as far removed from consumption as it is from apoplexy? Daelmans-Deynze does not even wear spectacles. A little folding eyeglass is suspended from a cord worn around his neck. But that is but a simple fad. It renders him as little service as the charms that hang from his watch chain. His clothes are sober and fashionable. Very dark suits and very white linen are his sole indulgence in the matter of dress. Tall, large of shoulder, he holds himself as straight as a die, or rather, as we have already said, as a pillar upon which reposes the interests of one of the oldest houses in Antwerp.
Worthy Daelmans-Deynze! In the street, he has to bow at every step. From children on their way to school to factory hands, everyone doffs their hat to him. Even to the old and aristocratic Baron Van der Dorpen, who salutes him, often the first, with a friendly, "Good morning, Monsieur Daelmans." It is because his commercial escutcheon has never borne the slightest stain. If you claim his acquaintance, no door in the great business city, from Tête de Grue to Astruweel, will ever be closed to you.
In a matter that threatens litigation, it is with him that both parties prefer to consult before seeking attorneys. How many times has not his arbitration staved off ruinous lawsuits, or his intervention and guarantee prevented disastrous failures! You ask after his wife? … "She is very well, thank heaven! I shall take you in to see her. You will take luncheon with us, won't you? And in the meanwhile we shall have a glass of sherry."
