St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1901-01-12

for he knows that he could have dined
decently and in a decent place for
two-t thirds of the charge, not count
ing the street car fares.
Huddersfeld's house is jammed full
of bargains. He has a Chinese chest
of camphor in the hall that
looks like an i1aln grants trunk, His
laundryman had not the faintest con-
ception of the value of the thing from
an artistic point: of view, and allowed
him to take it for. SIS, but bargain
hunter has absolutely no shame and
would just as soon take advantage. of
confding and innocent Chinaman as
not. Not very long after the sale OF
the camphor-wood chest, which the
ianitor contends is plain deal and
wormy at that, Huddersfeld discoy-
cred lovely little cloisonne vase on
shelf just over Hop Sings ironing
table beneath the shrine of the God
of Most Happy Destiny and he was
constituencies enough to buy that
vase for five dollars.
Since that time several other little
articles of bric-a-brac have been
seen careless1y scattered around Hop
Sings laundry, but Huddersfeld has
bought none of them since Burk-
holder rubbed the bottom of the
cloisonne and deciphered the stamped
| legend: "Made in Germany"
But, as Huddersfeld says, anyone
is likely to get fooled once in awhile
and the fact that the fifteenth CEN
tury Florentine intaglio that he
stumbled on by accident in a pawn
| brokers' shop on the West side was
| duplicated in a shop in the Palais
Royal by a friend who has returned
! from Paris did mot discourage him.
He has found beautiful specimen of
Flemish wood carving, for which he
thought at the time he paid almost
what it was worth, to have been
stamped by steam at Racine, Wis,
and that did not sdampen his ardor.
His cigar bargain, however, left a
deep and lasting effect on him.
| Wasserman was over at Hudders-
fields house one evening. Hudders-
| field dived into his chiffonier and
brought out a handful of cigars and
| threw them on the table. AT first
Wasserman was little suspicious,
He said he had few cigars of his
own in his pocket and was a creature
| of habit in the matter of tobacco, but
Huddersfeld insisted and he lit one
| of the handful.
After the first few puffs Wasser-
mans face assumed an expression OF
surprise, and he looked at the cigar
respectfully. Another Whit or two
and he said in startled tone: sThis
| is really a mighty good cigar, Hud-
dersfe1d; where did you get it ?s
Huddersfeld smiled complaeently
and leaned back in his chair with his
| thumbs in the armholes of his waist
| coat. "Why, I'll tell you," he said.
| .sI got those cigars at a bargain
stumbled on them quite by accident.
It was in little out-of-the-Way cigar
stand away over on the South side.
I stepped in there to get a cigar
never dreamed of getting anything
fit to smoke. but had to have some
| thing. The proprietor was an old
chap who acted. as if he was half
/ baked. too.
| "Well, ] was looking over the show
cases and I saw a box away over in
| the corner that looked as if it hadn't
| been tapped much and I thought I'd
try one of them on suspicion, It was
a little dry, but { knew at the first
| draw that it was the right stuff.
We don't sell many of them
there, says the old man; they don't
seem to suit our trade. I guess I got
! stuck on them
| ga little. rank, but it makes
smoke / said: What will you make
me these by the hundred? I point
ed to another kind, of course.
wasn't going to let on that wanted
the one / was smoking. He made me
a figure and then 7 priced something
else and went on until I came to the
corner box, and in a casual way asked
| the price of them. He said he would
sell me hundred for $3.50, and took
him up. That's the second box you're
smoking now"
sWell,' / swami" exclaimed Wasser-
| HAL. lndb WdS one LllAC5 .yoIa UIu
strike it. It's a pity he hadn't more
Of them"
sAs for that" returned Hudders-
field, .I guess can get all / want of
them. I guess the old boy has got
5000 or 1000 of them in his cellar.
I'd have taken the lot, but I'm pretty
well stocked up with some Havanas
my wife's brother got for me. He's
an importer and ought to know a
good cigar, but T don't like. his as
| well as. my $3.50 ones and guess
they stand me in something like $12
| wholesale.
4 don't suppose you'd care to give
me chance at them?" asked Wasser-
man, 81 don't know when smoked
| anything that suited me better and
fatter myself T know good
cigar
Huddersfeld said he would be de-
lighted and he really was. Here was
one time that his bargain was appre-
ciated. Wasserman asked if a thou
sand would be hitting him too hard;
| he replied Certainly not, my boy
| and took Wasserman's $35 with en-
| thusiasm and when he went away in
sisted that he should put some of the
cigars in his pocket. Later he dis
| covered that he had dipped into the
wrong box and that he had engaged