The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-11-26

sees me with four hundred francs he will have no pretext for not giving me other fifty"
 q wish Prosper had followed my ad- vice and taken the omnibus" mur- mured Adele to herself as she walked slowly away.
 On arriving at his destination, Chal- umeau was informed that Monsieur Brandus was engaged on some impor- tant business in his private room, but would see him presently, At that mo- ment young man who was on the point of leaving the shop, hearing his voice, turned round and Prosper recog- nized one of his brother artists.
 "Tiens," he exclaimed, "Adolphe! Why, how pale you look!" he contin- ued; what has happened?"
 The other grasped his hand convul- sively. Tt was my last hope" he said, land it has failed me! A hundred francs would have enabled me to save from seizure the few wretched articles of furniture still in my possession, and give bread to my wife and child. We have not tasted food for eight and forty hours!'
 'Hush!" interrupted Chalumeau, talk ing him aside into comer of the shop, and hurriedly untying the canvas bag.
 You have kept me waiting a long time" said Adele, when her husband at length rejoined her in the Passage des Panoramas.- "Did Monsieur Brandus give you the money?"
 Mot exactly" he replied, and related to her what had passed She would have done the same herself, and there
 fore had not the heart to reproach him;
 but there was no denying 1t, their posi-
 tion had become extremely embarrass-
 ing and the clock at a watchmaker's on
 the boulevard marked twenty minutes
 to four.
 If we only knew what sort of man
 this M Dufour was!" reflected Adele.
 However, there is but one thing to be
 done; we must take him the three hun
 dred francs, and propose fresh bill for
 the remainder. see no other way.
 "Nor IT. said Chalumeau.
 They had now reached the Boulevard
 Nouvelle, and while the musician was
 mechanically glancing toward the
 Gymnase theater opposite, and wishing
 he could get a little operetta of his
 composition played there, his wife was
 intently examining the novelties ex-
 posed in a haberdashers window.
 "What pretty dress!" she suddenly
 exclaimed, nudging her husbands arm.
 Look, Prosper, exactly the color that suits me. You promised me a new one year ago, and you really ought to
 keep your word"
 Hum! And what will Dufour say?" "Dufour must be satisfied with two hundred instead of three, little more
 or a little less comes to very nearly the
 same thing"
 The argument, though fallacious,
 proved irresistible; the dress was pur- chased and the bill made out. "Bless mel" cried Chalumeau, in tone of dismay. Where's the bag? I must have left it at Brandus' Stay here till come back; shan't be many minutes" he added, rushing out of the shop.
 When he arrived at the Rue Richeleu he discovered that the object of his search had been carefully put on one side by the music-seller's assistant, and in the first transport of his delight in- sisted on treating the latter to a glass of punch at an adjoining cafe. In the meantime Adele, having nothing better to do, amused herself by selecting for ty or fifty francs worth of collars, cuffs and such like trifles. You won't scold me. Prosper?" she whispered on the prodigaPs return. "Scold you, ma chatte!' he replied, "Why, see here" And he showed her a pair of sleeve buttons he had bought for himself on his way back. Six o'clock struck as they came to the Boulevard du Temple. Chalumeau was unusually silent, and mechanically jin- gled the canvas bag, now three parts empty, as he walked along. Suddenly he stopped short.
 What are you thinking about?" in- quired Adele.
 q am thinking that I invited Fatout to dine with us. :"
 "Who is Fatout?"
 "Brandus' assistant, who put the bag by for me- couldn't do otherwise than ask him to dinner-oh, don't be alarmed" he went on, noticing her look of annoyance, "quite quietly, you un- derstand; no extras-nothing of the sort. He was to meet me at Bonvalet's 8 at six"
 | OUJGClGu AuGl6. "Dufour will be in better humor after dinner than before, and more ligely to hear reason I shouldn't be surprised if l he consented to renew the bill" q should" thought his wife, but pru- dently held her peace, and dutifully fol- lowed her liege lord into the restaurant. Notwithstanding Chalumeau's previ- ously expressed intentions, the dinner, simple enough at the outset, gradually began to assume the proportions of a Gargantuan feast; their guest, though he said little, and that not particularly to the purpose, ate enormously, and professed a peculiar liking for rare
 and expensive vintages. The potage Crecy was succeeded by 8 variety of dishes which M. Fatout, who had obligingly volunteered to act as caterer, recommended with all the enthusiasm of a gourmet; and the appetizing odors of which little by little overcame the few remaining scruples of his enter tainer. The modest bottle of ordinaire was unanimously voted unworthy of the occasion, and superseded by richly favored chambertin and more than one sample of "la veuve clicquot," and by the time that coffee and liquors were
 handed around, and the bill discharged (thereby reducing the contents of the bag to four five franc pieces), Chalu- meau discovered that it was eleven