The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-03-08
IN HE LATIM QUARTER.
COMEDY OF 4 PARIS STUDENT
WITH HIS LANDLORDS.

and Always Demanded a nuhhH 10
Move-IIis One Failure Caused His
Downfall.
From the Philadelphia Times.
Paris. Feb. 10.-There are French stu
dents in the Latin quarter Of Paris who
have not paid any rent for years They
remember time when they paid first
quarter. three months. This was the price
of their being well housed the rest Of their
student days or until their pictures began
10 sell. After the first quarter always
they had no money. Whether the con-
cierge sought them and demanded the
rent on a morning when they were sober
or on a night when they were drunk. al
WAYS they had no money. When sober
they softly stroked their mOustache, turn
el lazily and viewed themselves in the
looking glass. and had no money; when
drunk they made a speech setting forth
the trials and troubles of a poor artist.
told the concierge that she bore her years
as lightly as "a silken veil, sang verse
of a song. danced and had no money. At
length the day came when the concierge
ordered them to move out. But they
would not leave. Where could they go?
They had no money.
In France the landlord cannot eject even
an unmarried tenant that has no money
because he is behind in his rent In or
der 10 get rid of the mOneyless tenant
he is required TO invoke the ald OF the
law, which in this case costs luO francs
So the landlord finds II cheaper 70 give
the delinquent . or 30 francs 10 engage
new quarters with.
The moor students know this and always
have no money until the twenty-five francs
are hatefuy counted out to them by the
concierge. Then they shunt through many
streets for a new room being very haf9 70
suit and driving the very closest tfdde tneg
may. OF course, they pay the tlrst quarter
in advance. OF cOursei-and the new land
lords rub their hands at the thought OF
getting a paying tenant Each time the
Door students hold on until the twenty-five
francs are paid to them, and rent Is not
one Of their items of expense. II must not
be inferred that there are many OF theSe-
All the world over there are men VINO
waste their lives in making and then dodg-
ing debts aud probably they are no more
numerous in the Latin quarter IMAM III
There was Varlet He might have been
great and good. but he close 10 DE great
and bad. For ten years he paid no rent ana
rose to be a well-known character. and one
must be very remarkable, indeed, 10 at
tract general attention in the Latin quar-
ter. Toward the end Narlet could drop
into nearly any students cafe in the quar-
ter, and tWo-thirds of those at the tables
would know him well enough not to lend
him any money.
TO begin with. Varlet was a cloak cutter,
and good wages were handed him every
pay day, but there was not enough art IN
this for him, and he dropped it for paint
ing. When he first appeared at a Latin
quarter atelier he was only heaVy-set
Frenchman, not worth looking at Twice,
though a glance showed that he had none
of the terrible earnestness or nervousness
of most nOuveauX. II anyone remembered
his face when he came in the second day ~
was because of his prongy moustache ana
his nose with the impudent red bump upon
it.
Variet heard a strange language about
him, and he saw that those who spoke
that tongue had money. To move among
these people probably he must learn their
language, for he inferred from their
French" that they would never be able
TO speak that. SO at once he set to work
in the English language. Seemingly to
him the simplest and quickest way would
be to learn a standard English book by
heart He chose Robinson Crusoe" and
went diligently to work, but he like the
hero, was shipwrecked. He got this far
in Robinson Crusoe:' Il was born at
York of respectable parentage." However,
Narlet did not realize how much more
there was in the book, for ever afterward
he boosted of working knowledge of
"Oui. oui." he would say, 'I spik In
gliee, was born at York of respecta-
bic parentage.
about, Narlet became known as a wonder
ful man at getting something for moth
ing For ten years he had not paid his
tribute to his support. He never heard a
better joke than whenever he was dunned
for his rent. The concierge was so droll.
He intended never to pay, he told her, and
had decided to spend the rest of his days
right there. and strOked his square jaw.
The room just suited him; he liked every
thing about the place, especially the con-
cierge, still strolSing his iron jaw.
Narlet did not offer to move for money.
ANY proposition Of this kind must come
from the other side. And when ii did he
set the figure al 80 francs; but he would
rather not go, understand. he would rather
not 60 Forty francs! The concierge left
the room in fury. But the concierge cool
ed. and in time returned with the money.
He compared her to lake between two
mountains
On such occasions Varlet lost no time
in going out and giving good news to
his friends They rented two push carts
and returned to his room. Loading the
furniture on, they went dancing, shout
ing and singing through the streets. A
crowd followed after and it became a side
street triumph. Narlet took the lamp,
which one of his friends was carrying,
tossed 1t twistingly in the air, caught
II as deity as any juggler and bowed
low to the applause. He sang a song
and while the increasing crowd was APP
plauding this he snatched a stewpan
from enc of the carts and passed il
around for money. AS he slipped any
sous that had been dropped into the
pan into his pocket, he signaled his friends
TO move on. The next stop was at a
cafe Leaving the carts in the street
prince, and old wine was not good enough
for him or too good for his friends. After
an hour or more at the cafe they made
q wilder procession Of ii to his new
quarters, and the night that followed was
an orgie of the kind that causes the pc.
hceman to await at the door for develop
ment S.
Varlet was much sought after by the
poor students whom uncomfortable cir
cumstances forced to move. He was al
ways startling in his methods. Once
called upon, he proposed a daylight 'mov
ing bee. How? Pack up the things and
he would show When all was ready he
said he would so and fix it up with tn,
concierge. A moment later he signaleC
TO the men with the loads to come on
As they passed the concierge's door the!
heard some one beating furiously upoi
It and calling for help. Narlet had locked
her in. After pleasant good morning
he had nimbly transferred the key tC
the outside of the door, turned it, an,
then carried it off with him. All safely
out, Yarlet returned, unlocked the dool
and bade the concierge a hasty good
day"
Once Varlet clashed with a landlord al
square-jawed as he. Varlet was offere,
twenty-five francs to clear out. This, o
course, he refused, saying he was n
cheap man. Forty francs or he wouiC
not bulge. AT length the landlord cam
10 see him in person.