The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-06-20
m FORTY yrEES IF HAD SHNT TIE GREATER RAET or Ills @ brSaelY lNcOi1E Eoe REAUTIrM. EiN0oG

limited that the poor musician was forced to confine his evolutions to the family circle His passion for eating led him to give an over-Iiberal defni- ton to the word family"
 Pons had been cousin to the first wife of a wealthy silk mercer. M. Camusot. When M. Camusot married second time, Pons considered him. self the cousin of the silk mercer's children by, bis second wife. She had been e MademoiseiIe Cardot. Pons promptly introduced himself into the extensive ext. family YYo af thsn SRra0ts As, A ssfiieSH had extsnmveds bsAAehss. sf6r the sboutgeoist famillssi were power ful in that epoch. Following in the wake Of the Camusots and the Car dots, Pons planteda hAmself upon the family Of Count Popinot. who had. ad- vanced to the rank of e peer Of France from an honorable career in the wholesale drug G trade.tssy.
 Of this whole array of, tribes the only real relative of Pons was the younger Camusot, thei son of Camu- sot seniors first marriage. And even he was a cousin twice removed.
 The younger Camusot was president of one of the divisions of the Court Royal of Paris, and mighty man in his own estimation. He had added to his own name that of his estate, and called himself the President de MarVi1le.
 Madame the President never gave a cordial reception to her husbands dour! Proud as king, he hurried to her daughter. CeciIe. a rude young wo- man of twenty-three, were eager to rid themselves of him. The old gen. tleman tried with many pathetic wiles to mollify these, terrible relatives. One day he found glorious thing a fan painted by Watteau. which Pons recognized at once as one that had been owned by Madame Pompa- dour! Proud as king, he uhrried to the Presidents house to offer his prizS to Mdame Camusot.
 Unhappily, that lady never had hear of Watteau. She listened contemptu- ously to the old collectors delighted account of how he had found the price, less object; and when he was done she told Pons that she had ordered dinner for him, but that he must eat it alone, as they were going out
 7 Pons bowed and withdrew. He put on his overcoat with tears blinding his old eyes and descended the staircase signing to himself "The world hates old age and poverty-two ugly things Tn the future I will go nowhere with out an invitation"
 He poured his woeful tale into Schmucke's ear, anr Schmucke heir his hand. Thus the two old men sat for a long time.
 The German, who knew as much about brio-a -brac as a fish does. and who concealed his crass ignorance only out of love for Pons, went to the length of promising that he would help in collecting the queer things if only Pons would dine with him every day For his friends sake, Schmucke threw aside his simple tastes and ordered a better dinner every day than he could afford.
 Pons bore 1t for three months; but he grew gaunt and wretched. He miss that only great chefs can 1give mans eyes and stomach. He brooded. Pons was suffering from nostalgia.
 He was more than ready to forget all the affronts of society and to re- member only its delights, when Camu- sot and Popinot, in @ generous moment insisted on -re-introducinE him into their houses. In his gratitude, Pons tried to supply Cecile with a husband in the shape of rich German friend of Schmuek's Fritz Brunner. Mme. Camusot was in the seventh heaven of joy; for the family was living up to it's income. and a little more. and CecIlO was growing a bit elderly.
 Fritz. however, was a gentleman who had tasted the world carefully. Hu considered Madomiselle's mature charms deliberately and declined to make them his. Mime. Camusot, who had begun already to address the Ger man as a son, Immediately charged Pons with having planned the humilla- tion deliberately in revenge for the insult which he had received threo months beforA-
 Pons looked at the woman's baleful eyes, which resembled two fountains os green bile, and stood speeches.. listen ing to a torrent of cruel, hideous abuse Then he went away like one demented.
 For a month he lay in bed with a nervous fever. nursed by SchmuekA While he lay i'll. Mime, Camusot hastiI- ly cooked up a match between her poor Cecile, and the son of Count Popinot: and the two families lndustriously re-