Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-07-17
MY NOBLE FRIEND


 brir-;;-br:c in the Uui:e,! States You see, whc!l q IaGn has money and no children he must turn bis a~rntiOn Ia som thing, and antique snuff boxes ;::ld old Sevrcs cost less, iE the long run, tlan stocks. and the Hotel Drouot IS Il far less ru:u,rIS lsllce to frequent | than Wall street always pay long visit to Paris every year. and thnk that is what keeps Mrs. Gray conten-d, and recuncilcs her to my taste us Ii collector For, bct ween ourselves, do not think she appreciates Il Louis XVI fan as highly as one in ostrich feathers and tortoiseshrll, ard to old Rouen ware, sine has more than once declared that shc would bake pies iu the plates if she had her own way However, she likes some of my acquisitions very much, especially when they take tla form Of old Venetian lnco or antique jewelry.
 It was my fond:css for hr;c-a-blac that | first lci to Ely mtkiuE tho acquaiut2nCe of my friend the visuount. lad news of q second hand shop at Colupegne where there were some real treasures, ln the way of old weapons and ecclesiastical embroitlcres. to | be had at bargain So, one day set off | by the midday train for that town. It was pleasant day ill early winter, and the cars were fairly well filled. b,it in the first class | compartment in which was installed there was but one other traveller. He was quite a | young man, not more than 23 or 2i. l should | think, well dressed and well hammered and decidedly good looking. We struck up an | acquaintance before we had gone many miles | through the medium of en exchange of news papers, he very kindly offering to let me have his copy of LIllustration for The | Figaro, that I had read through from the | first line to the last. T&en asked him some | questions relative to fine old chateau sur woods bp VII l ing, and fell into quite an ami mated conversion 1 found out that he | lived at Compiegne, and some questions re- | specting the hric-a-brac dealer to whose shop 1 I was bound elicited from him the informa | tion that he, too, was something of col l lector. He had a number of anecdotes to tell mo about the noted private collections of Paris, concerning which he seemed to be un- commonly well informed, and so the time passed very agrecably and rapidly till we reached our destination.
 l We had left Paris under the pale sunshine of pleasant winter day but on issuing from tho station at Compiegne we found the rain falling in torrents. Now if there is one thing that 1 dislike above another it is to carry umbrella, most unfortunate pecu- liarity for any person who comes often to l stay in Paris, where it usually rains some time ill every day from October to May l Still that is one of my peculiarities. and though Mrs. Gray has often lectured me con | corning it, saying that it is better to carry an umbrella for week when it does not rain l than to be without it one day that it does, always slip out with uiy cane whenever can contrive to do so ill tolerably pleasant weather 1 had got away cleverly, cane ill | hand on that especial day, and of course, it poured just to spite nle. My new acquaint- anco instantly unfurled his umbrella and offered to walk with me to the shop which formed my destination.
 But perhaps" he remarked, 'you had bet ter como home with me and wait till the rain has somewhat subsided. It cannot continue to pour after this fashion very long,"
 Then seeing that I hesitated little, he continued:
 After all, you do not know my name. 1 ought to have introduced myself to you be- fore asking you to become my guest"
 And he extracted from neat little port folio ill Russian leather, stamped with a monogram and c coronct, which he took from a side pocket, card which he presented to me, and on which was engraved the name, 'Viscount Roger de Chantauzy."
 gave him my card in exchange, and will ingly accepted his kind invitation, for the storm was increasing ill violence, and being | matis1l, 1 was glad to get under shelter for a while
 The house to which the viscount conducted me was situated on one of the side streets not far from the station. Its aspect rather dis appointed me l had pictured to myself an antique chateau with sl"cious grounds and q venerable aspect. But the home of my new friend was evidently not the ancestral hal of his race. It was small houSe--one of the | little modern villas wherewith the suburban towns of Paris abOuEd-fiM;hed on the ex terrier with brick and white stone, and re dolent of ncwress The garden was smal likewise, and boasteI at that season of tho year some three or four leafiess saplings fol sole garniture. A number of fowls were run ming about, pecking and scratching at tht bare grass .plat, unheeding the rain. The viscount opened the front door with his latcf key, and after installing me ill the drawing room he excused himself and went in searci of his wife.
 Left alone, l naturally proceeded to inves
 tigatc the apartment. 1 never saw so oddly
 furnished a room in my life. The carpe
 was showy, light colored moquette, of th,
 very cheapest character, and though it haC
 evidently not been long in use, It alreadv
 bore signs of wear The window curtain
 were in raw silk, worth, as 1 knew by fire
 Iuent VlSltS With my Wife to the Bon March
 and Magasin du Louvre, just SS the set Tn
 chairs and sofa were in stained black wood
 and were covered with common rel Utrech
 velvet. But on the mantelpieco stood q smal
 clock and pair of cande !ahra in antiqu
 and artistic enamel, which would hay
 brought, not hundreds, but thousands of dol
 lars at any of the great au"tion sales of th Hotel Drouot A small cabinet, placed be
 side the fireplace, held a heterogeneous collec
 tion of toys and knicllknacks in carved ivory gilt bronze, channels, etc, and aiso n,lmbc of old miniatures and snuff boxes Some o
 these objects were the veriest trash, whIs
 others were choice and costly rarites An , over the arm of the sofa was spread a squer
 of lace, which any connoiSseur could recoa nize as being antique Brugcs point, worth, i
 that quality, some hundreds of francs tn
 square inch.
 had not much time to look about me, fo
 in few minutes the viscount returned bring
 ing with him his wife 1 cannot say that was much prepossessed by the appearance C
 the viscountess She was undeniably pretty and welcomed me with infinite courtesy an cordiality. But, early in the day though was, her cheeks were rouged and her eye