The Illustrious Gaudissart

This is another of Balzac's short stories that are more of an extended anecdote than a tightly focused event a la Hemingway or Henry James. In this case, a French salesman gets the best of a supercilious Englishwoman by appealing to her innate snobbery. It's good for a broad smile, but it's more of a piece of after-dinner conversation told by an expert raconteur.