The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1900-09-28
COSTLY PEACHES IN PARIS.
An Americans Experience Taught
Him That Fruit Is Costly
Sometimes.

He is not SO vely young, neither is
he without experience in the ways of
the world. He has been more or less
of rounder and the patches of gray
above his temples indicate that he is
no longer a boy. The fact that he is
a successful buyer for one OF the Iarg-
est retail houses in the city ought to
be evidence that he is not without
both shrewdnesS. and experience.
After some ten or a dozen trips
abroad in the interest of his business,
his friends say that he ought to have
known better. But that only adds
zest to the telling of the story and
they have told it often enough to
necessitate his paying for a good many
rounds" since his return from Paris
a few days ago. For he admits, a
little sorrowfully, perhaps, that it's
son him"
1t happened one hot night less than
a month ago. He had knocked off
work early in the afternoon, spent
couple of hours at the exposition, and
later dropped into an empty chair at
one of the many sidewalk cafes in the
gay French city.
1t may have been by accident, or it
may have been by design, that his
chair was in close proximity to two
occupied by couple of demure-look-
ing girls of English aspect. 1t is GER
tain, at least, that they spoke Eng
lish, whatever their nationality. He
saws that he was lonely; the demure
ones seemed similarly depressed. Shy
glances were followed by sympathetic
signs, and. as matter of course, con-
versation ensued. 1t was the most
harmless thing in the world. So, too,
was his invitation to them to partake
of some refreshment.
''We're just waiting for papa" lisped
one of the girls, and. the other said
that they couldn't think of accepting
such courtesy from stranger.
He insisted; they resisted, then con-
scented.
"I'm not the least little bit hun
gry," said demurs Miss One. Neither
am t. echoed bashful Miss Two.
A waiter was at their elbows.
'What will you have?" asked the
gallant New York man, and when one
of them said she thought a peach
would be about all she could eat, the
other agreed that it would be $50
nice"
The man congratulated himself on
the modesty of their demands. He
had vet to learn a thing or two about
the cost of the fresh fruit in Paris.
He insisted that they must have sand
witches, too, and a moment later the
waiter served the order. Six luscious
peaches reposed on the plate. Each
of the girls took one. Their appetites
were truly small, but while they
munched sandwiches they playfully
toyed with the remaining four
peaches. In fact, they pierced them
with their forks and gouged them
with their knives. The fruit was a
complete wreck.
Then one of the maidens remem-
bered papa, and suggested that they
go look for him. With pretty bows
and thanks galore they left, just as
the yaiter presented the bill. When
the New York man cast his eye over
the paper he read something like
this:
Three sandwiches at 2 francs each..... ST
Six peaches at 20 francs each............l2Of
He paid the bill, $500, and has
been wondering ever since if fruit
farming for the Paris market viii not
pay better than his business. Since
his return he has learned that de-
mure girls in Paris sometimes draw
commissions for gouging peaches, a
bit overripe. to please Americans who
are more than a bit green.-N. I.
Times.