The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-06-17
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Q oid boltelle made speciality Of dis
agreeable work. II there was q ditch to
Wy Jug, y cram 10 DC cleaned out. or any
o'hef dlrty >ob 10 be done. he was sent
1or. lie would come with his shoes mud
coated ana MS tools over MS shoulder.
ana set 70 work moaning ceaselcssly
oyer oyer. ms tfade' II you asked him why
ne chosc this repulsive occupation, he
Moula reply resisnedly: "Pardi. for my
castt''f is' whom 1t Is necessary to sup
port. II pays better than anything
e'se'
IN tact, he had fourteen children, and
Won" Sf''l tell you inadvertently that, There
aFe only eight at home. One Is In ser
vice. ana I'VE arc married" But II you
inquired whether they were happily
married or hot'he would reply vivaclous-
~: i have never opposed them ut all.
Ihey have married as they pleased. You
can't oppose their ideas without making
trouble. II | am no better than I am 1t
Is because my folks went against me.
Otherwise should have been laborer
IKE the others" l.&.r
This Is his story. He was serving In
the army at Havre. soldier like the
rest, neither stupided nor more clever
but rather simpie-hearted. During his
leisure hours his greatest pleasure was
to walk up and down the quay, where
The bird-sellers were gathered. He
would walk slowly along by the cages
where, the parrots from the Amazon,
with green necks and yellow heads; par
rots from Senegal with gray necks and
red heads. great birds which looked as
II they had been raised In q greenhouse,
with their brilliant feathers. their
plumes, and their turfts; parroquets OF
all sizes. colored with minute care as
though by creator who had taken inf
mite pains. and the little ones, oil the
tiny, hopping birdlings, red. yellow, blue
and varigated. mingling their cries with
the noise Of the quay, Of ships unload
ing, Of passers-by and carriages, pro-
duced strange uproar sharp wailing,
mutllcd as Of far-away and super
natural forest.
Boitelle would stand laughing, his eyes
and mouth open. showing his teeth to
the Imprisoned cockatoos who nodded
their white or yellow turfts at his bright
red trousers and coppcr-3tudded belt.
When he found n bird that talked, he
would ask II questions. and II it felt
disposed to reply or converse with him.
he was contented and happy for the rest
Of the day.
The monkeys also were source OF
great delight to him, and he could
scarcely Imagine q greater luxury for a
rich man than the possession OF one Of
these little animals domesticated like Il
cat or dog. This love for the exotic
was In his blood as another might have
a love for hunting or medicine or the
ministry. The minute the doors OF the
US though drawn thither by an Irresti-
Bile impulse. as
But one day az he stood In ecstacy be-
fore n monstrous parro. which pulled
out its feathers, bowed. and nodded as
IL making n courtly obeIsance OF the
parrot country, the door OF n neighbour
negress in a red bandanna sweeping the
sand and cork from the establishment
into the street. -Boitelle's attention was
equally divided between the bird and
the woman. and he would have been un-
able to say truly which he regarded with
more establishment and pleasure. The
negress having swept the dirt from the
cafe, raised her eyes and remained mo-
tiorlcss dazzled by the uniform of the
Young soldier, She stood still, looking
at him, her broom held as II she were
CARRYING arms. while the parrot contin-
l.cd to nod,
The trooper soon became embarrassed
by this attention and moved away slow
w so as not to seem TO be beattng q re-
treat, But he came again, He passed
by the Cafe dcs Colonies almost every.
DIV, and often saw through the win
doves the little barmasd with the black
skin. who served the sailors from the
mort With beer or brandy n sometimes
happened that she would come forward
when he anpeared. md indeed. before
long. without ever having spoken they
smiled like acnuaintances. and when he
saw her white teeth shine from under
her dusky lips Boitelle's heart would be-
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