The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1892-08-22
THEBARON'SPRESENI1

u
his well waxed iron gray mustache with
less satisfaction than he would probably
have felt had not his mind been otherwise
preoccupied- 4.
zone short December day." he went on
after pause, land 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 bachelor, not so much
from choice as from his inability hitherto
to discover a suitable party. Tall. thin and
just turned fifty, he WIS sufficiently good
tempered when nothing occurred to put
him out of hunlor, and as notorious
miser as ever existed since tho days Of
Harpagon and John ELVES. Without go
ing SO fur as some of his particular friends,
who affirmed him to be the original of
Garvnrni's famous type, the gentleman
qui coupait les lizards en- quntre, It may
safely be said that whenever he could in
tlulge 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 Ito him) utterly ineSplicable Gus
! tom of celebrating the advent of New
| Years day Ey n distribution of etrenues:
a drain on his purse which, although he
took care to connne his liberality within
the narrowcst limits, was, even in its modi
fed form, inexprcssibly painful to him.
The twenty franc piece he felt bound to
offer his concierge caused him an annual
pang, and the guer,lon OF two francs to 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 appropriatips TO his own use
which no orc bat himself ever dreamed Of
doing-the cigar tied up with pink ribbon,
presented to him as Il reminder" and in
tended by its owner to be offered in turn to
!
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
mental perplexity on the morning Of his
| introduction to the reader.
! In the course of the preceding six months
he had made the acquaintance of the
Countess de FraDchimont, Belgian wild
i ow with two daughters, who had re-
Gently settled in Paris, and WAS, according
to report, in possession of IA handsome for
tune. Naturally partial to society when
it cost him nothing, he had by degrees be-
come n hahitual frequenter of her pretty
apartments in the Rue de Marignnu, and
had established himself there to Il certain
extent as l'ami de In maison.
1 Whether he entertained any Interior
| views respecting either mother or dauah-
tiers We ere not in 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 Franchimont was barely forty
and did not look her agc; MS for Mile
Berthe, the brunette, and Mile Louise, the
blond, they were both charming, and per.
feetly aware of the fact. In this pleasant
circle the baron soon made himself entirely
at home. When he did not diue there, and
we may be sure that he never refused an
| invitation unless he had better one In
prospect, he generally dropped In of az,
evening, or occupied spare seat in theii
box at the opera.
This continued intimacy, with it's nlany
contingent advantages, he had hitherto
enjoyed without scruple; but the time was
at hand when, in accordance with Parisian
usages, the hOspitnlttics lie had received
must be adequately returned New Years
day was approaching with rapid strides.
and his Offering on the occasion must, as
he dolefuly acknowledged, be proportion.
ately liberal
For days and weeks he had wandered
from place to place like perturbed shirt
in quest Of some object suitable for his
purpose He had dived into obscure pas.
sagcs and emerged at the other end with
the disheartening consciousness OF failure.
and had poretl over the stock Of half the
curiosity shops in the capital without un.
earthing single pearl Of price within the
limits of his own. Bonbons were Of
course out Of the question, even If the
tariff of Messrs. Boissier and Gouache DER.
United such nm investment of his money
and ms for jewelry, the bare idea made him
shudder
In short, the worthy baron was at his
wits end, and as last resource resolved
to explore the refuge Of the destitute, the
quay from the Point Royal to the Pont
des Arts, whittier we may as we'll follow
him.
He had already exhausted the Quai Vol
taire and the Quai Malaquais, and was on
the point Of reiracing his steps, when the
recollection of an old bric-l-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 hand the object of his search,
and entered the shop. A few minutes ex-
animation and n question or two sufficed
to convince him that his unlucky star was
still in the ascendant, and he was about to
resume his walk when some broken pieces
of china lying In corner caught his eye
what is thatth he asked the dealer
"Ah, monsieur, ne micn parlcz pas!" eX-
claimed the individual addressed. in n dis.
consulate tone which seemed to forbid fur.
ther Ilusion to the painful subject.
But what is III" persisted the baron.
what it is now, YOU see, NJ lie Baron,
out what 1t was before my shopmen let it
TALL and smashed it TO bits you can have
no idea. | never saw ii finer vase; real old
It was worth a SOU. They say IT once
clonged to Mime. DubRrry."
"a hi" said the baron, looking atteatiyely
It the heap of fragments, and polting at
hem with his cane "Capnot it be re.
pairedY
impossible, monsieur" replied the
other. "The cleyerest workman in France
would make nothing of il now"
Have you triedt" asked the baron.
"Of what use, monsieuri Who would |
buy vase dissected like map of France"
what are you going to do with the |
pieces" inquired NJ de Croix- Martel, in |
whose fertile brain "happy thought" was |
gradually terminating.
What can do but throw them awayP |
growled the irate tradesman. "They are |
fit for nothing else Even a chiffonier |
would hardly nick them nm -