The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1918-06-23

after the parties had gestieulated a good
deal, Cupillat Owed into his little wooden
theatre and slammed the door with deri-
sion
by the powers. it is war;" swore Ssn-
quereau, gritting his teeth.
ct is war to the knifel" asseYerated
Tricotrin vengefully.
after his be shall take her. or VIII
hound him and his troupe out Of the
pIacel"
81 win burst his Internal show up"
vowed the bard. And then. as they began
to recover their mental balance: But
butt say! Precisely-er-what is It that
we can dor"
Sanquereau looked blank:
1--WE shall have to consider-another
council must be summoned. One thing IL
certain. the question Of expense must not
be allowed to deter usl Personally, !
would pawn my shoes for chance to get
even with the rufhan-"
And that was the view taken by the as.
sembIy. In his stirring appeal for fund,
Didier cried:
Gentlemen. to-day we have to bear In
mind more than the rights Of an artistic,
more than the sufferings Of comrade.
Obloquy has been heaped on our ambassa-
doris, and nothing less than the honor Of
the Quarter Is at stake! Had ! jewels,
would strip them from me In the sacred
cause. guarantee two francsi"
II illustrates the fervor Of the convoca-
ton when It Is stated that as much as
twenty-nine francs forty-ive confines was
subscribed even before anybody had the
least idea how the fund would advance
matters.
At this crisis. a reputation was brilliant
ly enhanced. Beginning in firm yet
modest voice Monsieur Ie President. and
other rotters. I would direct attention to
the fact that our strongest ally Is the
weather." a member proceeded to outline
a proposal which first puzzled, then eapti-
waited. and finally swept the house to en-
thusiasm- He resumed his seat amid
salVos Of applause. The member was n.
Gustave Tricotrin, the poet.
Truth to tell, II was more like an even
ing in March than June. the evening on
which the lamps OF the Theatre Sous Bots
at Ville-Nogent were lit at last. Neverthe-
less, the spot being as dismal as any other
suburb Of Paris, a sparse audience had
risked colds in the head to seek distrac-
ton. They wore stout boots because the
ground was damp. The depressed Cup!l
lat, in the pay-box between two gloomy
poplars, was not kept too busy to observe
that score Of strangers filtered into the
cheaper seats-young men who in no wise
resembled the respectable boEr0eotsie OF
-Nogent; he concluded that there must
be an art school somewhere in the vicinity,
and was encouraged by the prospect Of its
continued patronage. The programme an
nounced:
SPECTACLE vARIE EN- TOUS GENDRES
Coincide, Vaudeville
Romance
Chansonnettes. Duos, Recits
Danses
Scenes Comidues
The little curtain rose jerkiiy, and 8
lady of mature age advanced toward the
six footlights to recite.
In the middle of the final stanza, one Of
the strange young men in the front row
sneezed with such alarming violence that
heads turned to him. The reciter looked
Disconnected, and several people in his
neighborhood, who had appeared fairly
cheerful hitherto. shivered from sympathy.
The lady retired And the young man
got up, and stamping hard, commenced to
restore circulation by a swift arm-and-leg
exercise. Some minutes later an equally
tremendous sneeze exploded from a young
man in the centre benches. Two matrons.
sitting behind him, exchanged an apDre-
hensiVe glance, and a solicitous parent
folded a pocket handkerchief around his
offspring's neck. Zone must, my little one,
It makes cold, royoHs!" he said in urgent
tones.
At the expiration Of half an hour the
number of artistic young men who were
shuddering turbulently was so extensive,
and the reports Of Brobdingnagian sneezes
were so continuous, that all the spectators
had hunched their shoulders in misgiving.
During the sprightly vaudeville, racking
cough from Sanquereau was succeeded by
a paroxysm from Pitou. and before the
duos were reached, Lejeunie was stumb-
ling. with chattering teeth. over a dozen
pairs Of feet in his haste TO. fee from fur
Their danger.
His prudence was emulated at brief in
tervals, by nineteen other young men obvi-
ously chilled to the bone. The solicitous
parent decided that it was no place for bis
offspring, and the child was dragged forth.
protesting loudly. Fear had now spread
like an epidemic, and vacant seats dis
played themselves every minute.
The next evening the audience was more
exiguous still But it contained twenty
young men who again demonstrated to the
public the severity of the maladies that
they were likely to contract by patronizing
this entertainment
When the exodus began, Messieurs Tri-
cotrin and Sanquereau found their way
barred by a raging manager:
'You bandits!" foamed CupfI1at, beware
of the police. Do not figure yourselves you
d thir dnr-il,r -.-nrl 70 r,n--n-.- nhnIl