Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1889-04-05
THREE WADS OF BREAD.
by E. c. WAGGENER,

Paul c. was ";olly good fellow, "
so every one said. Thirty years old,
perhaps a i artisan in every sense of the
word, with that courageous nature. lively
and a little inclined to teasing that is
the characteristic of the children of
Paris. Nevertheless he had an excellent
heart and was ready to throw himself
into the fire if necessary for the very one
whom an instant before he had made tt e
target for his jests.
1t was at Il, that pretty little
neighboring city to Puy, that Paul found
himself one morning for pleasure ana the
drinking of certain heathful waters, for
R, as every one knows IS a charm
ing resort, and filled, during the sum-
mer at least, with a crowd of guests
Paul and his friend Edouard Duchesne
were at the same hotel and took their
meals together at the table d'hote, where
they had for Il neighbor in front of them
an EngFshman. known to be very rich
and very eccentric, and whose life they
said, was but series of endless Journey
ings around the world.
If Paul betrayed himself a Partisan in
every act and feature, so did the stranger
betray the nativity OF his country Short
of stature and fat, the face broad and
beard blonde, the eyes blue as corn
flowers, he was truly the most perfect
type of an Englishman that it is possible
to imagine. More than once Paul had
caught himSe f smiling al the impossible
visage of Sir Arthur Jacobson-for such
was this strangers name. This evening,
then, when the events occurred that /
am going to tell you of. and, by the way,
Of Of ho
young men, as the dinner was drawing
to close, exhilarated doubtless by the
champagne they had taken, Paul amused
hi nself while talking to Edouard in roll
lng 6alls of bread crumbs and launching
them between thumb and finger, as
school children launch balls of paper, at
his neighbor the Englishman. 1t was
thoughtIcsS, not to say rude, exhibition
on the lart Of Paul, but then Paul was
not quite himself, and the temptation
was for the moment irresistible
AS the first pellet struck the arm of
Sir Arthur Jacobson, he slowly turned
his clear eyes upon Paul and his com
panion, but his broad physiognomy lost
nothing of its habitual placidity. One
would have supposed even that he had
seen and comprehended nothing, had it
not been for the fact that with an air of
the utmost Indifference and ph!egm he
lifted the mOrsel OF bread Crumb and
slipped it into the pocket of his vest
still, however, without uttering sylla-
lie.
The bearing of this man was we'll cal
Culated to excite the teasing humor of
the Partisan, and scarcely moment had
elapsed since the launching of the first
pellet when second followed it, and
taking the same direction as the first,
went to tlatten itself upon his shoulder,
and, like the other, to travel the road to
Sir Arthur's pocket. Angcred a little
by this systematic imperviousness, and
certainly for the time being blind to the
insult and inconvenience that such pleas
antry had for it's object, Paul believed it
his duty to repeat his pellet for the third
time. Il struck his vis-a-vis upon the
forehead Immediately between the eye.
brows And still he received it with
neither movement nor sign, though
the walters at the table could scarcely re-
press their hilarity on seeing him, with
the same stoical gravity, lift his hand,
remove it, and send it to Join Its com
rades in his pocket.
This amusement, in bad taste as you
are bound to admit, had lasted long
enough, and as the guests were quitting
the table, Sir Arthur rose and followed
their example, and Paul and his friend,
their heads decidedly heavy with wine,
got up in turn and went to smoke a
cigar on the terrace. Hardly, however,
had they made their appearance there
than Paul found himself confronted by
his recent victim, who regarded him full
in the face, and in excellent French