The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1893-05-13

that barmaid I don't know, but a lot of
us used to get in there in the evenings
and sit around and smoke. | was in
there one night with the usual crowd.
and Miss Dee was dispensing smiles and
hot drinks with impartiality when she
was called to the outer bar. This was
separated from the parlor by a screen.
Pretty soon Miss Dee came back with a
rather mystifed look on her face. and,
coming across to me, whispered:
There's a person in the bar wants
to see YOU
with more misgivinys thar I can re-
member | peeped around that screen.
There, in the bar, radiant with smiles
stood Cookie. Under her arm she car
ried something wrapped in a newspa-
per. | knew its shape only too well.
My fate had followed me. 1t was
another bread pudding.
81 went out because | felt that If
didn't Cookie would probably bring
that cold, remorseless pudding in
amongst a lot of ribald fellows, but it
was bitterer than quinine to see how
Miss Dee looked at me. Cookie was glad
to see me-; very glad. She said SC. She
had felt that | should miss her and the
bread buildings of which l was so fond,
SO she had made me q nice one and
brought it down. What could / do with
the aff~ectionate creature? | took that
horrible. squashy, repulsive bundle and
carried it home quietly and without os-
tentation. That pudding weighed eight
pounds, but the load on my heart was
greater than that, for | felt that that
pudding wa but the precursor of many.
And my fears proved true.
There was another place in town
where men were won't to congregate.
1t was a cigar store kept by three
mighty pretty girls. One night / was
| sitting in there-I had forsaken the
hotel for fear of another visit-when an
unforgetable face was thrust through
the open door and | knew hat my time
had come. | went out amid the audible
comments of the fellows. 1t was anoth-
er pudding and | had got to carry it
home. said some things which seemed
pertinent, but they shocked Cookie. In
myanxlety to get out of sight / dropped
the parcel and the pudding burst into
pieces. Cookie burst into tears. Then
the boys came to the door of the cigar
store and made remarks about Jacks
mash That finished me.
For a week / kept away both from
the hotel and the cigar store Then l
went around to see Miss Dee. She didn't
seem particularly glad to see me, but
said she had something for me. 1t was
a bread pudding three days old, and the
grease had soaked through the news
paper it was wrapped in. l carried it
home.
Needing consolation, I went down
to the cigar store. There was an
other pudding waiting for me there and
the girls were not a bit cordial about
it either. i permanently forsook those
two places. Then Cookie really rose to
the occasion and l honestly believed
she hired a bakers oven and made
those buildings in patches, for she
aged it SO that wherever l went I found
a bread pudding. She sent them by
boys to the house and she left them at
nearly every store in the town. By
and by the tradespeople, wishing to be
obliging, got to sending those parcels
up to the house. That broke my spirit.
| had lost all my friends; l was haunted
by bread buildings all day, and at night
| dreamed of them. Finally, / decided
that there wasn't Don in the town for
both me and the buildings, so l got out
quietly, intending to go to London. /
had to wait for my train and went into
the mnch-room to get a sandwich. My
satchel, with label on it, rested on the
counter. One of the mattresses looked
at the label and then said, brightly:
30, I've got a package here for you;
a woman left it two days ago. Then
she handed out something wrapped in a
newspaper.
Il thanked her-strictly in words
and l took that greasy pudding and
walked sadly out.
THAT night I went to France
| Chicago Tribune.