Fairhaven herald. [volume] (Fairhaven, Wash.) 1890-????, 1892-08-26
THEBARON'SPRESENT

only one day more" soliloquized the
Baron de CroiX-Martel, MS he put the fin
ishing stroke to his toilet, and contemplated
his well waXed iron gray mustache with
less satisfaction than he would probably
have felt had not his mind been otherwise
preoccupied.
Zone short December day." he went on
after a pause, ''and every likely place al
ready explored twice over except the quay.
| wonder who the idiot was who first in
vented New Years giftsl Not one of my
ancestors, I'll engage The Croix- Martels
date from the Crusades, and | dare say
have been guilty of follies enough since
then, but / won't do them the injustice of
supposing that they ever threw away more
money than they could possibly help"
With this comforting reflection the
baron took up his hat gloves and cane
and sailed forth from his little apartment
in the Rue Godot on the errand for which
he was bound.
Our hero was n bachelor, not so much
from choice rs from his inability hitherto
TO discover a suitable party. Tall, thin and
just turned fifty, he was sufficiently good
tempered when nothing occurred to put
him out of humor, and as notorious
miser as ever existed since the days OF
Harpagon and John Elves Without go
ing so far rs some of his particular friends,
who affirmed him TO be the original of
Garvarni's famous type, the gentleman
qui coupait les lizards en- quatre, IL may
safely be said that whenever he could in
dulge in his favOrite weakness without
compromising himself he invariably did
so, and adhered strictly TO the time hon
ored maxim of taking care Of the pence
and letting the pounds take care Of them
selves.
But perhaps Of all the disagreeable ne
cessities to which he was periodically COM
PEELED to submit, the most obnoxious to his
feelings was the obligation of complying
with the 10 HIM utterly inexplicable Gus
tom Of celebrating the advent OF New
Years day by a distribution of etrennes;
drain on his purse which, although he
took care to conhne his liberality within
tie narrowest limits, was. even in It's modi-
fed FORM inexpressibly painful to him.
The twenty franc piece he felt bound 10
offer his concierge caused him an annual
pang, and the guerdon Of two francs 20 the
waiter Of the little restaurant where he
was in the habit Of dining when not in
vited elsewhere lay heavy on his conscience,
even after aIPropriating 20 his own use
which no one but himself ever dreamed Of
doing-the cigar tied dp with pink ribbon,
presented to him as reminder" and in
tended by its owner to be offered in turn TO
every customer in the room.
These, however were minor grievances
compared with what he was suffering on
the last day Of the year Of grace, 1874, and
only those who knew him could by any
possibility understand or appreciate his
.eulV Il.
introduction to the reAler
In the course Of the preceding six months
be had made the acquaintance OF the
Countess de Franchmont, "A Belgian wild.
ow with two daughters, who had re-
Gently settled in Paris, and was, according
to report, in possession OF a handsome for
tune Naturally partial 70 society when
it cost him nothing, he had by degrees be-
come a habitual frequenter Of her pretty
apartments in the Rue de Marignan, and
had established himself there to certain
extent as i ami de la maison.
Whether he entertained any Interior
views respecting either mother or daugh-
tiers we are not in n position to state; IL he
did he kept his own counsel, and all that
can be limited ON the subject is that he
might have done worse.
Nine de Eranchimont was barely forty
and did not look her age; as for Mile.
Berthe, the brunette, and Mile Louise, the
blond, they were both charming, and per
fectly aware Of the fact. In this pleasant
circle the baron soon made himself entirely
at home. When he did not dine there, and
we may be sure that he never refused an
invitation unless he had better one in
prospect, he generally dropped in of an
evening, or occupied n spare seat in their
box at the opera.
This continued intimacy, with It's many
contingent advantages, he had hitherto
enjoyed without scruple; but the time was
az hand when in accordance with Partisan
usages, the Inequalities be had received
must be adequately returned. New Years
day was approaching with rapid strides,
and his Offering on the occasion must, as
he dolefully acknowledged, be proportion
ately liberal.
For days and weeks he had wandered
from place TO place like perturbed spirit
in quest Of some object suitable for his
purpose. He had dived into obscure pas
sages and emerged at the other end with
the disheartening consciousness Of failure
and had pored over the stock Of half the
curiosity shops in the capital without I'M
earthing single pearl Of price within the
limits Of his own. Bonbons were Of
course out Of the question, even IL the
tariff Of Messrs. BOLSTER and Gouache per-
mitted such an investment Of his money,
and as for jewelry, the bare idea made him
shudder.
In short, the worthy baron was at his
wits end, and as n last resource resolved
to explore the refuge of the destitute, the
quay from the Pont Royal to the Pont
des Arts whittier we may ms well follow
him.
He had already exhausted the Quai Vol
taire and the Quai Malaquais, and was on
the point Of retracing his steps, when the
recollection Of an old bric-a-brac establish
ment in the adjoining Rue de Seine struck
him as a hitherto uninspected locality.
Taking therefore the turn opposite the
Mazarim library, he speedily discovered
ON his right band the object Of his search,
and entered the shop. A few minutes ex-
animation and question or two sufficed
- A. T.. u