The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1896-06-26

enters.
"The cahman is below But he only
promises to take You there, not to wait
for YOU
VERY well. | can get another cab
to bring me back.
So monsieur departs. after slamming
the door, while Charlotte, hlushing and
trembling, recounts to her old friend
Gertrude how she is much better ac-
quainted with Agenor than she darcs
to confess to her father; that for a
month at least she and he have taken
the omnibus at the same time. each
evening, and that, without seeming to
do so, she, Charlotte, has noticed. and
so forth and so forth
A fine affair indecd!'' eXclaims the
astonishcd servant, all in tremor of
excitement
Agenor is in his bachelor apartments,
and in Il sentimental mood is gazing at
the hand that his charming nei9hhor
in the omnibus has touched while tax
ing the card he gave her.
Suddenly there comes knock at the
door, which opens abruptly. a large
man out of breath, his hat over his
ears, his cane in his fist, enters unccrc-
moniously.
Sir" he exclaims, ''to say the least
of it, your conduct is unworthy Of a
French gentleman. A gallant man
does not thus take advantage of the in
nocencc, the imeXperience, the artless-
ness, the embarrassment of young
girl. To profit by the absence of Il
father and a pocketbook, to brutally
offer to a young person who is alone,
not onl Y thirty centimes, but visiting
card may he good investment, but it
is very bad manners. But here they
are, sir-your six SOUS My daughter
and | wish nothing further in common
with YOU"
And the large man, after peroratinG
with such volubility. begins to search
in his pockets; but before Agenor, who
. is literally dumbfoundcd. can utter Il
word, new actor appears upon the
scene. 1t is the cahman, who comes
in furiously hrandishing his whip.
This is fine! | tell you will bring
, YOU here. but not wait for you and
YOU accept the terms. You even ord
er me to make haste. and when | az
rive YOU shoot of like a zebra rs slip
perry as an eel, without paying me and
calling me to wait. That won't 90
down, tell you! | mean what | say
One trip means one trip, nothing else
, Come, hurry up. citizen! Nopo"rborr
if that worries you, but | want my
thirty sous, and be quick about it,
AgenOr does not understand: but the
large gentlemen, who has precipitately
dived into each pocket, then success
lively turned them all wrong side out
without appreciable result, grows pink
and white, then crimson. then violet
and now shades off into green-a rain
bow in plug hat and ovcrcoat.
, II have forgotten my-my pocket
| book
That's an old trick roars the cab
man. "but YOU can tell that to the com
missary 1t won't answer with me-
and he prepares to seize the arm ofthe
unfortunate, who, in despair, on tho
verge of appoleXy, meekl V submits
But Agenor, Il veritable providence tC
. the family, gives the cabman the nee
! essary amount, and orders him away
"Permit me-" the young man says
with exquisite politeness to Monsieur
. Chapoulot, who barely has strength tc
| articulate:
) "CertainIy, my dear sir, with pleas
} ure. but give him only twenty-five cen
: times pourLoire-no more"
The father of MadcmoiselIe Char
lotte, who but recently could not un
: derstand that person has not always
as much as thirty centimcs about one
: to pay in an omnibus, now admits that
he is very happy to have some one at
vance the sum of thirty sous t" st"l
l the mouth of Il pitileSS cahman.
Thus. notwithstanding the divers,
aud unusual emotions he has just eN-
!. perienced. it is with an almost gracious
| smile that he says to A@cn"r:
"MonSieur-M Monsieur Raluchot. !
believe | now owe YOU torty-one SOUS.
If YOU will Ito me the pleasure of din
/ inc with me this evening, we will set
tie this little affair \ merchant does
/ not like old debtS-hrSidcS short reck-
: onin"s make good friends"
~
, places an extra plate on the table of
the Chapoulots. It's still placed there
every day. for the next month the bans
of Mademoiscllc Charlotte and Mon
sieur Agenor were published. And
Papa Chapoulot says to amy one who
cares to listen to him:
'Never borrow, q We fathers ntlami-
lies: it costs too dear | once owed Il
debt of tortv-one SOILS, and IN order to
pay it | had not only v to give away my
daughter, but eighty thousand francs
as her dot.
\ fool learns from no one. \ wise
man learns from everybody.