Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1873-04-04
BECAIRE, NEE BAKER, IN PARIS.
A FISH STORY.

FISH STORY.
BECAIRE is an Americas; so and; else
Ishuuld not put him inso printers ink.
That Is to say, hels an American, If 8
mans nationality depends on his birth
place.
Becaire was born on the border of Gas
co Bay, where the Atlantic swashes with
its everlasting stomach, casting its waits
upon the granite shores of Maine; where
they grow republicanism which ought to
wash and iron well in any climate, some
of which he would have Inherited, per.
haps, had not nature profusely stinted
him as to intellect.
You see, he was born all right, but he
aspired to be thought Partisan.
Becaire's grandfather was born in the
same neighborhocd-his name was John
Baker.
How Becaire's grandfather could have
been plain John Baker you don't quite
see, perhaps, but you will soon.
John Baker was a flsherman-and
monger; he decoyed the cod, sllured the
mackerel, and seined the pogie, all of
which he sold at the highest market
rates for cash.
He started in the fish business with one
dory, acquired other dorys, smacks and
nets; then died full of years and fish.
bones, and affluent for his times.
He left one son, Charles Baker-Be.
caire's father.
Charles Baker got better send-off In
life than was vOuchsafed to John; in
stead of starting with one dory, he
started with the smacks and bank &C.
count John Baker was unable to take
with him to the happy fishing grounds;
instead of drawing lobster pots he drew
bank checks, and the Bakers came to
be of the very first families of Casco Bay.
Charles Baker was scooped up by the
death angel at the age of fifty, leaving
much affiuence, widow and Becaire.
Becaire had none of the scaly inclina-
tions of his ancestors, and the daisies had
hardly fiuttered a single season over the
grave of the deceased Charles before his
hopeful progeny quilted his ancestral
halls and pogie pots for Paris.
Once in Paris, he began to look with
scorn on the fish traffic, and on every one
connected with that or any other traffic;
and he sought the society of the aristo.
cratic and noble, which he had no partic.
ular difficulty in finding, because he was
willing to pay for it.
'Baker! Bakerw said marquis whom
poverty had marked for its own-did it
ever occur to you that this is good sea-
son for poor marquises?-and who kindly
consented 10 take most Of his meals with
our pet-"Baker, do you know you have
a very common way of spelling your
name? Call it Becaire."
He saw the raise
"Fwedahwickl Fwedahwick!" said
another diluted nobleman from over the
channel.
"It's an awful boah to say Fwedah-
oh WI hu
He saw that raise, and since then has
been known to the fashionable world of
Paris as Fwed Becaire.
Now you see how John Baker came to
be the grandfather of Fwed Becaire.
The original Baker, when he was not
out in his dory fishing, breakfasted at
four all the year round, dined at twelve,
supped at five, and went to bed at eight (;
he had no regular hour for meals when in
his dory; fish, you know, are so uncer-
tain.
Fwed breakfasts at two, and dimes at
nine, and his hour OF retirement depends
entirely on the bottle capacity Of his
noble friends.
The original Baker had one suit of
homespun each year, and one suit of
store clothes at the taking Of each
census.
Fwed has two suits for each day of the
week.
The original Bakers visual organs
were powerful; it used to be said of him
John Baker can see school of pogies
further nor any man on the beach"
Fwed is weak in his left eye, over
which he wears piece of glass
ls 1t not singular how, when one gets
to be aristocratio and noble, he frequent
ly loses the sight Of one eyer
What-a commercial panic it would
create If our American nobility should
go blind in both eyesl
some families will vary in three genera
tions, state it as fact that Fwed, with
out his eye-glass, 'could not tell a pogie
from twout."
The original Baker never kept a horse;
excepting on the Sabbath he had no use
for that noble animal, and then he and
mother Baker used to toddle to church
on foot.
He was a square-toed Christian, was
John Baker, and never made 8 practice
of seining pogies on Sunday.
Fwed! well, you ought to see Fwed's
turnout.
saw it day or two since in front of
a diamond store in the Rue de la Paix.
Since, In my juvenile hippodrome days,
l saw the band-wagon of Dan Rice's cir
Gus, have seen nothing in the horse and
vehicle line to compare with Fwed's.
: The horses are chestnut in color, and
chopped squarely off as to their tails.
In America 1t is not commonly believed
that you can improve much on natures
arrangement of horses tail; here the
nobility seem to be of another opinion;
Fwed goes with the nobility because
it Is easier for him to go back on nature
than II would be TO go back on the no.
bility.
The harnesses are of gold trimmed with
leather; as nearly as could reckon, the
bits must have cost as much as John
Baker ever made in two of his best sea-
sons of mackerel fishing.
The chariot was originally intended for
the use of the nearest relative mourners
at first. class funerals-you may see one
very much like it almost any afternoon
at Pere la Chaise; Fwed selected 1t be-
cause Il cost more than any other he
could find.
And his flunkeysl
make no manner of doubt they are
the funkeyest flunksys ever seen in
Paris.
They were raised in England, where
the climate is favorable TO the growth of
a breed OF tlunkeys, which, as yet, no
other nation has been able to equal.