1. 1.
     That season the entire Paris business world assembled for lunch at Hotel Majestic. Men of all nations were to be met there, with the exception of the French.Business talks were conducted between couples and contracts were signed to the accompaniment of orchestral music, the popping of corks and the chattering of women.

    A tall, grey-headed, clean-shaven man, a relic of France's heroic past, paced the priceless carpets of the hotel magnificent hall with its gleaming plate-glass revolving doors. He was dressed in a loose-fitting black frock-coat, silk stockings and patent-leather shoes with buckles, and wore a silver chain of office on his chest. This was the chief commissionaire, the personification of the company that operated the Majestic.

    His rheumatic hands clapped behind his back, he came to a halt in front of the glass partition behind which the guest were lunching amidst palms and blossoming trees in green tubs. He looked for all the world like a biologist studying plant and insect life through the glass wall of an aquarium.

    The women looked lovely, there was no denying it. The young ones were seductive in their youth, in the flash of their eyes - the Anglo-Saxon blue, the French dark violet, the South Amerian black as night. The elder women were toilets that served as a piquant sauce to their fading beauty.

    As far as women were concerned all was well. The chief commissionaire, however, could not say the same about the men seated in the restaurant.

    From what weed-bed had these fellows emerged in the postwar years - fat, short of stature, with beringed hairy fingers and flush cheeks that defied the razor?

    From morning to night they busied themselves with the consumption of all manner of drinks. Their hairy fingers spun money out of the air, money, money, money... In the majority of cases they came from America, that accursed country where people waded up to their knees in gold and were going to buy up the good Old World at a bargain price.

    GLOSSARY:
    accursed  = accurst: very annoying
    amidst: in the middle of or surrounded by; among
    assemble: to come together in a single place or bring parts together in a single group.
    buckle: a piece of metal at one end of a belt or strap, used to fasten the two ends together
    chatter: to talk for a long time about things that are not important
    commissionaire: a person wearing a uniform who stands at the entrance of a hotel, theatre, etc. and whose job is to open the door for guests and generally be helpful to them when they arrive
    cork: a short cylindrical piece of cork, or sometimes plastic or rubber, which is put into the top of a bottle, especially a wine bottle, to close it
    defy: to refuse to obey, or to act or be against, a person, decision, law, situation, etc
    fading: lose colour, brightness or strength gradually
    frock-coat: a short coat with a skirt which reaches the knees, worn by men, especially in the past
    gleaming: to produce or reflect a small, bright light
    halt: stops moving
    partition: a vertical structure like a thin wall which separates one part of a room or building from another
    patent-leather: leather that has a very shiny surface
    personification: a perfect example of something
    piquant :     interesting and exciting, especially because mysterious
    plate-glass: large sheets of glass used especially as windows and doors in shops and offices
    pop: make a short explosive sound, often by bursting something
    relic: an object, tradition or system from the past which continues to exist
    rheumatic: stiffness and pain in the joints or muscles of the body
    seductive: persuade someone to have sex
    spin money out of the air: purchase
    stature: 1/ the good reputation a person or organization has, based on their behaviour and ability. 2/ height
    stockings: a pair of tight-fitting coverings for the feet and legs made of light material
    wade up to their knees in gold: (idm) very prosperous