The morning news., 1889-01-18
THE WICKED PARIS MAN.
A DAY WITH A BANKER BARON
OF THE FRENCH CAPITAL.

|
| a Gambler.
From the Ne,r York Sun.
When the baron's servant entered his
| chamber at o'clock in the morning the
elQerly nobleman was sitting up in bed
! figuring industriously on the back of a
dinner card with small gold pencil The
gray light of drizzling Paris morning
creptiu through the heavy curtains of the
/ big mansion at SO Boulevard Malesherbe
and revealed the face of a man who had
lived hard and fast for more than half acen-
tury. The ravages of dissipation we're deep
and savagely outlined, the sharply pointed
beard snow white, and the throat scanned
| and thin.
"MadamW muttered the baron, in
| quiringly, as he took a sip of the iced
mineral water that the man held out to
| him.
Madam the baroness" said the valet,
twill take her coffee in her bourdoir."
"Humphr"
The servant maintained suggestive 81
| lence.
The baroness said: "Humph" again, and
added:
what is it. Adolpha"
There was an unfortunate meeting yes
terday at o'clock. The Mignonne was
| here
Dear childn said the baron, parentheti-
cally.
The Mignonne was reigning divinity of
the stage, who lived in a superb house on
the Champs Elysee, where she spent about
$50 900 year. The bills went to the baron.
The baroness and her mother started
| into the conservatory just as the Mlgonne
and her friends from the Gymnase theater
had finished looking at the house. They all
came together in the passage, and madame
| stalked upstairs. She was very angry"
WAS she indeed!" said the baron, looking
at his old servant surprisedly. "Well, upon
| my word women in these DAYS are growing
rather high strung when they object to a
little thing like that. Why should not my
house be seen? Where's my gownW
Hepulled the gown over his attenuated
| form, thrust his feet into his slippers, stuck
fez on his head, and s alked into hisapart-
ments with fire in his dissipated eye
| Meanwhile the servant laid out the coffee.
rolls and morning paper, and began to pre-
pare the baron's clothes softly, while he
| kept his ears open. A moment later the
row was in full swing. 1t was evident that
| the temper of the baroness was on a war
footing. She did not object to strangers
visiting the picture gallery and conserva-
! tory, since she had the misfortune to occupy
one Of the show houses of Paris, she
screamed, but she drew the line at the Mig
| nome.
The baron came back from the tiff in
| fine form. There was bit of color in his
! cheek.
1T walked me up" he said, comfortably.
''Almost as good as a jog on horseback in
| the morning"
Half an hour later he stepped into his
brougham and drove to the bank of which
| he was managing director. The business of
| the bank was already under way The
| no a1xr ha
tered, and he plunged at once into business.
| For two hours there was not the slightest
cessation at work. Then an erect military
| looking servant entered the bankers private
room, where be sat at a large table, reeling
| Off his orders TO his assistants, coughing
continually and occasionally taking sip of
| cognac from the sideboard in the corner.
When the baron saw the servant he made
an expressive grimace and said hotly:
''Give me the no5e.n
"There is no note,' said the servant,
quietly. Gen. Boulanger said that he
would call personally and see you"
mop yelled the baron at the top of his
lungs.
The clerks turned and stared at him for
moment and then continued their work
The servant looked rather abashed.
| why, if he came here" the baron said,
| in an explanatory uudertone to the servant,
1.-The street would be blocked for hours, and
we would be cabled all over the world as
| Boulanger's hackers. He can have the
money this time, if it is secure, just as on
the last occasion, but for heavens sake don't
| let him come to the bang"
| Perhaps you will call on the general"
| suggested the servant, timidly.
| mop yelled the banker again. THAT
would be quite as bad as his coming here"
Then the servant hurried out, and a half
hour later perfectly attired calm. and
| .F d..
| type came in, nodding to the different
officers of the bank whom he knew, and
| shook hands with the baron. 1t was Count
| Dillon, who was known to be very close to
| BoulaIger, and who was a figure in the
| commercial world because of his connection
with the Commercial Gable Company. The
| talk between the two men was short crisp
and business-hke. Then the baron assumed
his overcoat, and he and Count Dillon
| jumped into the latter's broughham and
| drove rapidly over to the MagaZin de
| Louvre. They avoided the tremendous
crowd that was surging about the ground
| floor Of the big dry goods house, and hur-
| rying into private entrance, were shown
| into the office of the man who ran the big
place. He was thick set curly and common
| looking, but he arose to greet the two
| tinanclers with evidence of extreme cour-
tesy. A coarse and rough-looking woman,
who was dressed to pitch approaching the
| grotesque IN hnery, had Just lett MIN. She
| turned and stared hard at the new comers
Both Of them bowed TO her with the utmost
suavity and respect She was formerly the
cook of the owner of the Louvre. He mar
ried her, and as the wife of one of the
richest men in Paris she strove hard to get
into society. Sic was and is still the laugh
ing stock of the wits of the Boulevard but
there was nothing but respectful admira-
tion in the demeanor Of the count and the
baron as they bowed her out
They turned to the dry goods prince, and
| Dillon explained hurriedlY that Gen. Bou-
| langer's canvass was getting lower. and that
money was needed. The bank was willing
| to give it to him if the owner of the
| Louvre said so. The owner of the Louvre
had been backing the Boulanger canvass
with possible idea, it is said, of having his
ex-cook made a duchess wnen the general
assembled to the throne. The new call for
| funds caused him 10 knit his eyebrows
heavily and beat a tattoo on his teeth with
| a pencil which he had held in his left hand.
| The count spoke in a low tone, but rapidly,
and with confidential intonation in his
voice. The baron apparently lost all inter
est in the conversation, and was staring at
pretty girl bookkeeper in the office through
his single class. Nobody who knew the
baron, however, was deceived for an in
slant, and not detail of the conversation
escaped him. The dry goods prince pulled
his waistcoat down, settled his collar with
u