Rock Island daily Argus., 1892-07-20
A LUNCH IN PARIS.
MRS. CHESTER'S REMARKABLE Ex-
PERlEkCE WHILE ABROAD.

the Fashionable Thoroughfares of the
Gay City and Lunched with Him.
Interesting adventures have not been
numerous in my existence" Mrs. Chester
remarked from the corner of the sofa,
placing a large, soft cushion behind her
and crossing her feet comfortably; but
can tell you one that happened only last
summer and which l think is somewhat
out of the ordinary run. Wewere in Paris
at the time. One morning 1 went alone to
my bankers in the Rue - and drew some
money for my sister. As l came out /
recognized Mr.. Fairman, who was passing
/ bowed, and he Immediately joined me,
asking if would allow him to accompany
me to my destination, whatever that might
be- l had known Arthur Fairman slightly
for a number of years, and probably would
never have become better acquainted with
him had we not met in foreign land.
There seems to be a fraternal feeling be-
tween Americans abroad that in many
cases would not exist at home.
AT any rate, l gave him the desired
permission, and we strolled along, enjoy
Eg the life and gaiety so peculiar to the
Paris boulevards. At the Maison D.
where had expected him to leave me. he
remarked that he would be glad to wait
while l tried on several hats. Must con-
feSs that / was pluming myself upon
having made something of a conquest of
formerly indifferent acquaintance? His
patience was angelic, for after three-quar-
ters of an hour he greeted me in the same
amiable manner, and asked me to lunch
with him at the Cafe Cambon. Charming
mani 1 reflected a moment, then accepted,
as knew returning home would mean a
solitary meal-at the best hurried, un-
satisfying repast.
LAS it was, l had an extremely pleasant
time. We secured a table in one of the
windows, and Mr.. Fairman almost imme-
diately inquired if had ever been to Rus
sa. / think this was our principal topic
of conversation. I surprised to find
him such a travelled, cultivated man and
SO interesting talker. The lunch was
excellent, also the company, and when he
bade me adieu at the hotel l am sure it
was with sincere regret on both sides, par
ticularly as he was about leaving Paris for
London, and renewed acquaintance
would have to be suspended until we met
In New York.
'fNy sister returned from a shopping ex-
pedition later in the afternoon, and l gave
her n graphic account of how / spent the
morning, concluding, And here is the
money you wanted my hand gliding into
my pocket. 1t was empty! My purse had
disappeared without a tear in the material
to mark it's exit. l had not taken it out
after leaving the bankers; of that was al
most certain; therefore my pocket must
have been picked en- route. I remembered
a crowd Of people in the Rue Daunou,
which jammed the narrow sidewalks, but
Mr.. Fairman had been behind me the en-
tire way Could he help me, wondereds
Ny sister advised me to write to him at
once.
Perhaps we could stop him before he
left the city. l looked at the clock; it
was striking 4. He leaves at g. muir
INJURED hopefully. 1 will send for him inn
mediately.' Then, remembering: But l
don't know his address. Is it not provok-
ingr l went over to the window and
gazed absently out 1 had been watching
passers by for some time, feeling deeply de-
pressed. when suddenly l caught sight of
Mr.. Fairman hurryin9 along on the oppo-
site side. What luckl Without word
of explanation to my sister, l ran to the
door, down the staircase and into the
street.
I'm a few seconds 1 had overtaken him.
and, while trying to regain my breath,
managed to tell him of my loss. He was
most sympathetic and much distressed
over the occurrence.
"T am mortified at not having been
able to take better care of you,' he kept re-
peating apologeticaliy; You cannot inn
agine how badly / feel. However, | Will
go to the police station and report the
theft on my way to the depot, so that your
interests will be well looked after when
am gone
He walked with me back TO the hotel
entrance, and | gave him minute de-
scription of my pocketbook and its con-
tents, after which he excused himself, as
he said he must return to his apartment
before going to the train. In spite of his
kindly interest, as is usual in such cases,
the money was never heard of again.
"A few days ago. Mrs. Chester con-
tinued drawing n long breath and sitting
more erect, Il met Mr.. Fairrnan on Fifth
avenue and stopped to speak to him.
How have you been since / saw you last
summer in Paris / exclaimed cordially.
He shook my hand rather mechanically, l
thought, and seemed somewhat puzzled
DO you know went on, we never found
any trace of that money that was stolenY
And / added, laughing, we almost &C
cused you of petty larceny
"Mr. Fairnan's face wore an extraordi-
nary expression. 'Paris2 Petty larceny
he stammered, looking blankly at me; but,
my dear Mrs. Chester, have not been
abroad for three years.
For a moment there was dead silence,
each gazing at the other. Not been
abroad9' 1 gasped unbelievingly. But
saw you; lunched with you
"T can prove an alibi whenever you
please Mr.. Fairman replied seriously.
spent August and September with my SIS
ter Carrie in Newport
"Then the truth flashed over me. The
small differences 1 had not noticed before
became only too clear now. The clever
duplicate had traded on his mistaken iden-
tity, and had calmly lunched me and rif1ed
my pocket to pay for the spree. Well. it
was a good lunch, but it cost me LOCO
francs IN. R McVickar in Harper's
Weekly.
Young Green Turtles.
The Tortugas islands are a favorite