Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-11-17
\ RISE IN TROUSERS.

was about 10 leave my office to go out to breakfast when the office boy brought nc leaf torn from the block which is always to be found i'll the ante room of newspapers offices and upon which was written, Louis Demare. = knew the man well. We were fellow townsmen and had come up to Paris to- gethcr. Fortune had drowned upon him. | I would like to say that I was out, but the fellow knew what he was doing, coming at such an hour. He would only have to wait on the sidewalk until hun ger should drive mo out. IrCSigned my self to admitting him.
 show him ill. Martini" said to the ! bow As the gentleman has probably | cOrlc to borrow. here Is some money. If ring and ask you to lend me some, ! give this to me and say that it is all you 1 have
 ..You'rc dead right to be fly with him. answered the boy. He looks as | ii Lc WAS on his uppcrs, and his pants is t"rroT<.
 ! D.tnarc came brisllly into the office Well, old boy" he said before I | had time to open my lips, II have come l to borrow. But this iS an exceptional case. 1 am not going to say that l have not had q good meal for a week. nor | that I need J0 louis to pay a debt of honor nor 1O francs to pay for car riagc ride for two. I want just 1 louis, for I need precisely that amount. Just one and twenty francs. I have enough to match that and pay for my breakfast ill l the bargain" and he really showed me tlIrr,. 2a fg.Inr pieces. This louis 1 will return tr vnu this evening before dinner | time A, ily demand may seem al little extr.Iv;,,-;,:3t. I will help you out by l pro:ni>iii- that if 1 do not bring the mon, V back I;.tu-C tonight you may in StrJ.Ct ynur bays to kick me uf the prem | i>l.S if 1 ever show myself here again. Shall sign that agreement? You know tilat I would not for the world cut off | tEC source of so many benefits by not | keeping my word I regret that 1 can | not tell you exactly what disposition 1 am to make of your louis. I can only | tell y0u that am to use it ill commcr- cial enterprise that is daisy-yOu hear, jim dandy!''
 The fellow made me laugh in spite of myself I w;,s, completely diSarmed. gave him his louis. and truly believe I should have invited him to breakfast with me if he had not been so mcanlv dressed But with such trousers it was an impo>>;bility.
 Promptly at o'clock the boy an- nouuctd. with a show eff respect:
 MT D,1nAr,..
 Faithful to l.Iv agreement" said he gayly, 'Hrrr k yuur yellow boy. As know you are busy. will go, but not without thanking you most heartily"
 Was your jim dandy succcss:" inquired,
 ..Dccidc,lly. = said he. showing me q handful of money.
 Allow me to compliment you. said ''Yuu must have been playing tho ra,',.S.
 II am not foolish enough for that. : he replied.
 1 noticed he wore new trousers, whicl must have cost him S-f or $5 That cx plainCd the increased respect of the of flee boy. Surely the fellow had no wasted his day.
 , The next day he brought me an ar ticly on some of our city institutions waS interesting. and I accepted it When he went out, 1 noticed that h.
 
 from these he had worn the day before Two days lat, he called for the pay fo his article. It. came up to shake hand with III" on going away. Mechanical. I glanced at his trouS2rS-hc had on third pair. and they were perfectly new
 met him often i'll the succecding day in the office and outside. and on ever, occasion ic wur,' d fresh pair of trousers ~. T. I. .1- .l same coat, which Was shabby in tn extreme
 I gradually contracted the habit q looking at men trousers. After q vagu examination, lasting for several succc> siye days, pf the neither garments of al the employees about the office from tn proofrcaderS down to the janitorS,
 discovered to my ssupcfactiOn that non of these persons of slender incomes wor the same pair of trousers two days i succession. Some of them even change twice a day.
 l became convinced that l was tn | victim of special llallucinatiOn, and resolved carefully to conceal my ma
 adv, as it would have rendered me eS = tremcly ridiculous. Still felt that would affect me greatly, as it would il
 ducc melancholy and become q mono = mania
 , Still the trousers filed before my eye.
 They were of all cOlorS and of all shapes
 Some fitted their wearers, others were
 little too small or a little too largu
 They were evidently ready made good
 but what an enormous quantity of troI
 sers my diseased imagination seemed n have seen!
 -e I seriously thought of Tuaking ID o will; but, persuaded of my infirmity, knew 1t would be worthless and woul A only lead to exposure. With the grea . est secrecy l consulted q specialist-n,
 a specialist ill trousers, but in ment; disorder. He showed no surprise at tn ; form of mental disorder, talked of nel
 rasthenia, overwork and so on, a1
 charged me 3 louis.
 "A began to feel that my days we ht numbered. Every one remarked u
 change ill ny health. One of the col
 tributors brought me curious articl
 it being history of trousers, past al
 present. I threw the article into Il
 wastebasket and came near breakiI , with the unlucky author. ,, Just as was about to arrange II
 business for long vacation, having d cided to make a sea voyage and trav ,o in foreign lands, where my nightma
 would not appear to haunt met
 highlands of Scotland, for instance,
 in central Africa-the office boy v. wore a fresh pair of trousers-usher
 Demare into my presence with the mo ! profound difference without even a
 nouncing him
 At the first glance saw that he VIC
 hitherto unpublished'' pair of tro
 sers- Of course I expected that, b
 what I considered as sudden aggray g ton of my malady was that he HEore