The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-01-11
(Boston American)

The most extraordinary defense ev-
er known i'll Il criminal trial was Of
fered by Paul Durand. the cashier of
one of the great Paris hotels, charg-
ed with robbing his employers Of $780,
600.
Durand's defense was hat his mind
and morals had been unbalanced by
mopolitan horde of p%otentates and
millionaires who throng to Paris.
The poor fellow, who was paid So
francs Gust 50 a Week, had to as
%sociate constantly with people who
"blew in" hundreds of thousands of
dollars for utterly useless things.
AS he described his experiences he
elected EXPLANATIONS of sympathy
from the Judge and spectators.
"One evening"" said Durand. IAN
American millionaire who had been
chatting with me at II desk. picked
up a match to light his five franc
cigar: He tried three matches in sue
cesSion without getting u light. Then
he remarked. 'Confound % French
government Matches and calmly pull
ed out Il thousand franc note. lighted
it at a gas Jet and then lighted his
cigar With it. That's one French
thing that will burn he remarked.
"Ah-h-h," exclaimed the spectators
with sympathy and Indignation.
Another day." continued Durand,
ing at the hotel stopped and said: oh
Mr.. Durand, you must see the dar-
ling little collar I've bought for dear
Toto She produced a horribly ugly
little dog from under her cloak. He
was wrapped up in Il silk and fur
garment like an opera cloak. When
she had removed this / saw that the
haas g had {, parp;fio,nk r,a,,l ,y,l
diamond collar around his neck.
THE American lady explained that
the collar only cost $50, 900. At that
moment L had n doctors bill for ten
francs in my pocket for attending my
child, which 1 IA unable to pay.
"Ah-h-h," said the spectators
again.
Sometimes these visitors treated him
with unexpected generosity and thus
helped to upset his ideas of money.
Imagine the usefulness of Il $500 gold
cigarette case to q man earning 81 q
week.
The caprices and eX~travaganccs of
the oriental potentates we're even more
maddening than those of the Amcri-
cans.
The climax of these cXtravagances
occurred when the M%allaraiah of Ba-
hawalpur arrived with an enormous
suite OF black men and Il pet giraffe
fifteen feet high.
1t was absolutely necessary that the
giraffe should stay in the same hotel
as the Maharaiah as his highness was
in the habit of spending hours in his
society. The prince was a misogynist
wives and sought the society of the
giraffe, an absolutely voiccless ami
NAL.
The giraffe was accommodated in
an apartment on the ground floor in
tended for u banking Office. The cell
ing had been cut through to the floor
above. Here the giraffe could sit or
stand in comfort. The apartment cost
! 900 francs d week. The giraffe had
day to keep his o a in good condi-
ton.
Then came the Nizam of Hyderabad,
with two superb dromedaries.
Among the other mind disturbing
episodes Durand mentioned were:
Persian satraps who spent $1,000
a day in the hotel and drank Hout
chiefs unused to chairs. who cooked
their outlets in the middle of their
drawing rooms and ate them squatting
about as if In the desert: E~nglishwo-
men with eighty trunks and tame al
ligators: foreigners from Africa with
young lions in a leash"
Poor Durand's idea of money value
and orthodox morality had already
been completely upset when a very
beautiful princess, one BORN on the
steps of the throne his counsel said,
smiled upon him graciously and cas-
ually asked for al advance of $4,000.
He gave her these out of the hotel
funds and many subsequent advances
which he concealed. Most of his de-
falcations We're explained in this way.