The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-01-15

I exclaimed, II am going to tcnch Won = les
son. You got a dinner out of me when you
first unloadei your pack of lies on me-, and
II ID was worth a dinner then it ia worth q
dinner now. I'm going to order a big one
for YOU and II YOU don't swallow it all and
polish the bones clean I'll call in a police
man and have you arrested and sent to the
island for six months"
His eyes flashed aud he Kissed ont some
choice French oaths. For a moment he
that he intended TO show fight. l didn't
wish to get into a physical encounter with
him, because that would have involved me
in disgrace inevitably. however 1t terml-
mated. Therefore, ! was very much re-
lieved when. with a sh-ug OF his shoulders,
he became again the beggar-my beggar.
told the proprietor what my scheme
was. n he entered into IL with great zest
and spirit. and told several of tho custo-
mers what WAS going on. They !arried TO
see the thing through, and declared that 1t
was as good rs any 10-cent show on the
Bowery. Before that unfortunate French
man, it was evident that he was a French
man, was permitted to leave that restau-
rant he was made to stow away an Irish
stew, a plate Of corn-beef hash, > plate Of
beef and beans, a dish Of stewed trlpe, and
an oyster pie. so called. He must have
suffered tortnres. But nobody felt a bit
sorry for him. He was jeered and scofed
CV MI SAkoNHA IL oANCo SSV~
were ~jocosely made as to whether he would
succeed or bust" And when at last he
gulped down the last mouthful he was
roughly hustled into the street by the vir-
tuous proprietor to the accompaniment OF
many profane maledictions
The affair paid me very we'll. / wrote a
funny story about it styled IA Gastronomic
Revenge" which went all over the country
and netted me many times over the price of
the two dinners with the dollar thrown in.
1t was then that | began to feel that l had
a sort Of proprietary interest in the French
man. and fell into the habit of referring to
as 'my beggar."
ran across him several times after that.
and by introducing variations succeeded in
making three more fairly good stories
about him. But the fact that he had be-
come a source of revenue to me did not i'll
any way diminish the feeling of virtuous
indignation with which / continued to re-
gard him. Next to doing somebody a good
turn there is nothing SO we'll calculated to
put one on good terms with himself as in
indulgence in a feeling of virtuous indig-
nation. l never let slip an opportunity of
letting my begRar know what l thought of
him.
he had succeeded in making hits with his
plausible story and was about to receive a
substantial reward. Each time my inter-
ference prevented him from getting it. and
that afforded me much satisfaction. 1t is
q duty one owes to society to expose an i'm
Iostor. In my moments of virtuous indig-
nation my conscience pricked me a bit be-
cause l hadn't had him arrested and put
through the police court mill. l made.
amends by threatening him with such pro-
ceedlngs several times.
As the years won't BY I noticed with much
satisfaction that my beggar, notwithstand-
ing the fact that he was such an accom-
plished artist, did not seem to thrive in his
profession. Instead of growing fat he
steadily waxed thinner. His features be-
came pinched and haggard looking. his
scantv gray locks turned snow white: he
became stoop shouldered. and at last took
to use II stick. But one thing puzzled me
about him. Instead OF Sinking off abashed
and ashamed on the occasions when l ran
across him and t Gated him to a bit of my
mind, he actually had the impertinenoe to
resent my remarks in language which,
though l could not unde stand it because it
was French, | am sure was not olite. More
than that, instead OF quailing before my in
dignant g%lsnces, he made me feel uncom-
Portable by steadily glazing at me with an
expression of scornful contempt. He really