Вокруг света за 80 дней / Around the World in 80 Days

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Mr. Phileas Fogg[1] lived in 1872, at No. 7, Saville Row[2]. He was one of the most noticeable members of the Reform Club[3]. Certainly an Englishman, it was more doubtful whether Phileas Fogg was a Londoner[4]. He was never seen on Change[5], nor at the Bank, nor in the “City”; no ships ever came into London docks of which he was the owner; he had no public employment; nor had his voice ever resounded in the Court of Chancery[6]. He certainly was not a manufacturer, nor was he a merchant or a gentleman farmer. His name was strange to the scientific and learned societies. He belonged, in fact, to none of the numerous societies in the English capital. Phileas Fogg was a member of the Reform, and that was all.

Was Phileas Fogg rich? Undoubtedly. But those who knew him best could not imagine how he had made his fortune[7], and Mr. Fogg was the last person to whom to apply for this information. He was not lavish, nor avaricious; for, whenever he knew that money was needed for a noble, useful, or benevolent purpose, he supplied it quietly and sometimes anonymously. He talked very little. His daily habits were quite open to observation.

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