The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1891-06-06
AN AWFUL EXPERIENCE.
The Memorable Ride Took in a
Paris Omnibus.

AS | think of it now, though it oc-
Cured six months ago, / grow for a
moment quite red with Indignation and
righteous anger at the thought that Joe
should have caused me to be the laugh
ing stock and amusement of all that
crowd of grinning Frenchmen and
Frenchwomen.
This feeling soon disappears, how
ever, and the righteousness of the whole
situation comes over me. / can see the
puzzled conductor and the highly
amused countenances of the whole bus
full, and 1 just lie back in my chair and
laugh until the tears roll down nv face.
1t is no more than just compensa-
ton that should be able to laugh at it
now; for am sure that at the time,
while others evidently thought the oc-
currence very funny. could not see
anything but that had been frightfully
outraged, and that others were making
sport of me-all through Joe's forget
fulness, too; that was the hardest part
of it all.
l am not going to exaggerate or color
my account of what took place. a single
bit--it is not in the least necessary; and
though to some it may seem that have
done SO, want to state that such is not
at all the case; the following is simply
a literal rendering of funny expert
ence that Joe and had in a Paris bus
when we were over to see the ''exposi-
ton"
We were on our wedding-trip. 1 only
mention this as showing, think, that
j. was all the more culpable to SO COM
pletely forget all about me; if we had
been married longer, / do not think
that l should have taken the matter
nearly so much to heart. Still, / sup
pose ought to have remembered that
Joe was given to fits of deep abstrac-
ton; he is an artist, you know.
1t was a Porte Maillot omnibus, that
starts near the gate of the same name
and proceeds straight down the Champs
Elysees, that j. and 1 boarded one
lovely morning in June. We were in a
great hurry to get down into the city,
and as there only happened to be one
seat vacant downstairs, j. suggested
that take it, and he would climb on
top. In Paris, the outside as well as
the inside of the conveyances is utilized
for carrying passengers; and very novel
and pleasant riding it is when the
weather Is warm, as you canssee sc
much of the city from your elevated pc
sition.
Pretty soon the conductor came
around to collect the fares, and when
he asked for mine / told him in my
very best French that my husband, who
was upstairs, would pay it. When he
had finished his collections downstairs
he mounted zen hdut," as the French
would say, but in a few moments re
turned to me saying he could find nc
man on top who would acknowledge tc
having wife downstairs whose fare il
was his duty to pay; he declared he had
asked everyone in turn.
Suddenly it came over me that o.
course poor j. did not understand wha
the conductor had said to him, as
thorough knowledge of the French
tongue was not one of his accomplish
ments. Iopened my purse and found ,
five-franc piece, which offered for M
fare. saying thought it possible tina
my husband did not comprehend his de
mand. Whether it was that the sigh
of my five-franc piece appalled, the con
ductor at the thought of having to max
change to that amount, or whether i
was the spirit of gallantry that they sa.
is. inherent in evsry Frenchman'
breast, never knew; but he suddenl,
turned on his heel, at the same tim
saying, loud enough for everybody il
the bus to hear him:
''Msdame, you do not look like al
impostor If you say you have hus
band upstairs, / believe you, and vii
!and him and compel him 70 pay you