The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1900-03-02
~ --------sas 49,
TRICKS WITH MONEY
TOURISTS TO EUROPE MUST
HAVE A SHARP EYE.

Worse When You Get to ParIs-lhe
Bad Five Francs.
"In England" the woman wrote
back from Paris, Iii is the half crown
you have to LOOK after and the two
shilling piece. There is so little differ
ence, you see, in appearance, ut least,
though there is the difference of SIX
pence in value. The half crown is two
shilling and six. There is cross on
one of them; but when you are i'll Il
hurry who il going TO stop to look Tor
crosses? Nobody. And that's where
they get you.
"rhis is their little game. You lay
a half crown down on the counter and
unless you keep your finger glued to
ii, saying meantime in a loud voice,
This is a half crown they snatch II
before you can blink an eye and de
clare you have given them two shil-
ling piece, which naturally being tw"
shillings only, leaves you siXpence
short The trick 10 an Old one. 1t is
played principally on Americans, those
rich Americans who come over here,
scattering their money broadcast and
leaving the trail 50 difficult for us
poor creatures who have to look out
for the pennies while the pounds fly
at is bad enough in London, but
here in Paris you must keep your eyes
skinned all the time. The town is
flooded with bad money. There are
bad francs and bad half francs; there
are francs dated before the Republic
that are consequently no good and
there are francs dated after the Re
public that are verse. If Napoleon the
Third has crown on the money is ali
right; if he hasn't 1t is all wrong
"They nailed me, toe; but not at 3
o'clock in the morning. This was how
it happened: You see, | spend all my
spare change and more on that kodak
of mine. 1t is strange the hold a ko-
dak gets on you Many time ! have
walked miles to save up sufficient cab
fare for a set of films. | rarely take
cab. | 90 on top Of those elephant
'busses, where it is cheap. or | foot
1t for the sake Of the kodak. | had
paid out so much money for tOning
baths that l put in mild complaint
TO the girl who waited on me at the
Place Nendome.
" The machine will break me, l
said. This is the third time in three
weeks that | have bought toning
baths at one franc fifty the bath. At
this rate | shall shortly become a
financial wreck. | wish | had never
seen the thing
"Aware of the fact that a small for
tune had passed from my hands to
hers, she put on a look that was
grieved. She thought awhile, then
suggested a remedy. There was tom
ing bath that could mix myself, she
said, very reasonable toning bath.
Imagine my delight Now I could af-
ford a canded pear, maybe, or one
of those little cherry pies in the win
dow Of the delicatesSen near the pen
sion that are worth their weight in
gold. She gave nae the address Of
chemist In the Rue de la Pepeniere.
That little old chemist, l went gaily
along the boulevard, buoyed up by
hope turned the corner and entered
his shop. light Of step and joyful of
heart. You see. l Didn't know. He put
the gold up in BEETLE about the size
of my thumbnail. the hypo in a small
square paper, and charged me two
francs fifty. I knew about that fifty
1 expected it, Like the poor it Is al
ways with you In Paris, just as in
England. everything is one and six,
two and six, FIVE and six or seven and
six. They couldn't take off the six if
they tried. If you descend to pence it
is slXpence and three farthin9s Those
farhings!
81 handed the little old wretch ten
francs in gold. He gave me large
and festive hve-franc piece with
few other francs, and l went on my
way rejoicing. Later, at the Bon
Marche the five-franc piece was re-
jected with scorn.
Nest pas bon,' said the man at
the desk with a shrug that brought
his shoulders up somewhere about his
ears. Nest pas bon,' said another,
taking it and peering at the lady with
mistruStful eye. A crowd gathered
The atmosphere thrilled with: Nest
pas bons.' | trembled in my bottines;
for they cast suspicious glances on
me. l looked around cautiously fearful
Of gendarmes, ana l had reason for
fear. 1t is against The law to pass bad
money in France if you get caught
"The man at the desk gave me back
the money without calling the gen
darme, for which l was thankful.
Hastily Offering hin the contents of
my purse retired to a quiet corner
and took look at the five francs my
self. True. 1t was bad. In fact it was
just about as bad as 1t could be. The
lady was sitting down. On the way
home | counted up the cost of the
cheap tOAing bath that was to last
me forever almost Tive francs fifty
and five bad francs made seven francs
fifty. l groaned. But l was to groan
some more. According to directions |
had filISd two large bottles with wa
ter, put the precious gold into one and
the inexpensive hypo into the other
Both had dissolved so | couldn't tell
totker from which. Then | had hidden
them under the bed out of hargn'S
way; for Mademeiselle, young thing
of sixty, who keeps the pension. looss
with eyes askance upon the various
and sundry bottles containing my ton
ing baths, my developing baths and
other baths belonging to the outfit of
that kodac of mine.
Upon my arrival | found that the
femme de chamhre- that's what they
call the girl who pretends to clean
your room over her-had knocked
over one of the bottles and broken it.
OF course it was The bottle of gold
On the bottom of it | found floating
three undissolved grains Seven francs
fifty for nothing! And the time have
had trying TO get rid Of that la ii
franc piece If YOU it will TO me
give said Maiden oiselle, whose Eng
fish is as bad as NV French I will