Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1896-09-03

sous for bread, two for milk and three
for cold meat kept me from dying of
hunger and my mind in a state of
peculiar lucidity. | have observed, as
you know, the wonderful effects pro-
dused by diet upon the imagination.
My lodgings cost me three sous daily;
/ burned three sous more in oil at
night; did my own Homework, and
wore flannel shirts so as to reduce the
laundress' bill to two sous per day.
During the first ten months OF Sc
clusion | led the life OF poverty and
solitude that | have described to you;
used to steal out unobserved every
morning to buy my own provisions for
the day; | tidied my room; | was at
once master and servant, and played
the Diogenes with incredible spirit.
But afterwards, while my hostess and
her daughter watched my ways and be
havior, scrutinized my appearance and
OWNED by poverty, there could not
but be some bonds between us; perhaps
because they were themselves so very
poor. Pauline, the charming child,
whose latent AMI unconscious grace
had, in manner, brought me there,
did me many services that | could not
we'll refuse.
"One evening Paullre told me her
story with touching simplicity. Her
father had been major in the horse
grenadiers of the Imperial guard. He
lad been taken prisoner by the Cos
sacks at the passage of the Berseina;
and when Napoleon later on proposed
an exchange the Russian authorities
made search for him in Siberia in vaIl /;
he had escaped with a view of reach
ing India, and that since then Nm.
Gaudin, my landlady, could hear no
news of her husband. Then came the
disasters of 1914 and 1875; and left
alone and without resources, she had
decided to let furnished lodgings in
order to keep herself and her daugh
ter.
Until last winter | led the unevent-
full studious life of which / have given
you some faint picture. In the earliest
days Of December, 1929 | came across
Rastignac, who, in spite Of the shabby
condition Of my wardrobe, linked his
eTm in mine and inquired into my
affairs with quite a brotheriy interest.
Caught by his engaging manner, l gave
him brief account Of my life and
hopes he began to laugh and treated
me as mixture of a man of genius
and fool. According to him | ought
to go into society. to aceustom people
to the sound Of my name and to rid
myself Of the simple title Of monsieur
which sits but i'll on great man in
his lifetime.
Come here tomorrow evening by
way of a beginning. will Introduce
you to house where all Paris goes,
all our Paris, that is-the Paris of eX-
quisites, millionaires celebrities. all
the folk who talk gold like Chrysos-
tom When they have taken up book
that book becomes the fashion, and if
it Is something really good for once,
they will have declared 1t to be work
of genius without knowing it, IL you
have any sense, my dear fellow, you
will insure the success of your 'theo-
ny" by better understanding of the
theory of success. Tomorrow evening
you shall go to see that queen of the
moment-the beautiful Countess Fee
dora y
~ have never heard of her =
NJ oil
mac; you do not know Fedora? A
great match with an income of nearly
$4,000 livres, who has taken a fancy
to nobody or else nobody has taken a
fancy to her. A sort of feminine enig-
ma, half-Russian Parisienne or a
half-Parisian Russian. Good
by, till tomorrow.
Fortunately | owned fairly cred
table black coat and white waist
coat; of all my fortune there now re-
NAMED about thirty francs. This scar
city Of specie will give you some idea
of the value of that squandered upon
gloves and cab hire: months bread
disappeared at one fell swoop.
"Rastignac, punetual to his appoint
ment, smiled at the transformation
and joked about it. On the way he
gave me benevolent advice as to my
conduct with the countess; he describ-
ed her as mean, vain and suspicious:
but though mean she was ostentatious,
her vanity was transparent and her
mistrust good-humored.
II found woman of about twenty
two years of age; she was of average
height, was dressed in white and held
a flre-screen in her hand; a group Of
men stood around her. She rose at
the sight of Rastignac and came to-
wards us with a gracious smile and a
unsteady uttered compliment, prepared
no doubt beforehand. for me- Our
friend had spoken of me IS a rising
man, and his clever way Of making the
most Of me had procured me this fiat
tering reception
The rooms were furnished in excel
lent taste Each apartment had a
character of its own, as in wealthy
English houses, and the silken hang
ings the stylp of the furniture and the