The Captain, who belonged to the second company, had a self-satisfied expression which cast a glow over his ruddy complexion and his rather chubby face. One could see from the halo that wealth sets upon the brows of retired shopkeepers that he was an elected member of the Paris administration, a former deputy mayor of his district at the very least. So you may be sure that the ribbon of the Legion of Honour was not missing from his chest, which bulged out swaggeringly in the Prussian manner. Proudly ensconced in a corner of the milord, this member of the Legion of Honour let his glance wander over the passers-by, who, in Paris, thus become the recipients of pleasant smiles intended for the bright eyes of absent beauties.

Basic set-up:

Célestin Crevel (the "Captain") is on his way to the house of Baron Hulot. Crevel's got the hots for Hulot's wife, the Baroness, and he intends to put the moves on her.

Balzac is describing a character here, but he's also telling us all about the dynamics of class structure in 19th-century French society. We know that despite his upper-class status (check out that fancy uniform), the Captain used to be a shopkeeper. Uh oh. Well, okay, this guy's climbed way up the social and economic ladder, and now he has all of these titles and ribbons on his chest, plus a fancy carriage (a "milord") to take him around town.

This guy's newly rich, and he wants to show everybody how awesome he has become.

Like a good Realist, Balzac uses detail here to convey all kinds of information to the reader. We can see the Captain's uniform, his carriage, his "ruddy complexion" and "chubby face." And all of these details are working to tell us something about how far this guy has come—as well as how happy he is with his new status.