The Washington herald., 1921-01-02
Domestic Economy
A la Paisienne
The Story of a Dancing g
Girl, a Lad, and a
Bundle of Shirts
By WYTHE WILLIAMS.

her imagination and her time. But qa'eSt-ee
que Vons VoaleT, the wage of fguronte
La Cigale is rather depressing upon am
bition. But this account has to do only
with Suzanne. That is to say with Suzanne
and with Reginald.
. Reginald, despite the flossy name, is
rough-neck. But l have noted that men
with pompous handles such as Junius
Brutus often turn out little squiffs, with
voices that squeak. Reginald, although
rough-neck' and possessing a rough voice,
has a heart. He is big, husky, hard on his
clothes, has wandered considerably over
the world and about thirty years ago he
took his first squint at life in South Bend.
There is a squint now in one eye, but this
is because of too close intimacy with bull
let that was. once coming due west across
the User. Reginald was then travelling on
Canadian passport as a member Of the
Princess Pats" He was invalided out sew
eral times, but managed to stick it through.
And he still fingers, now on regular pernlis-
sion, renewed few months ago, with. the
signature of Bainbridge Colby. He prefers
it here he says, to the hardware industry
in South Bend; and then, of course, there
is Suzanne.
Reginald ought to know about women,
experience, when it comes to women he is
well, in order to be polite, let us say
that he is naif. They kind of get at him
he explains, and although he cannot tell
you just how the getting is accomplished,
the first thing he knows he has once more
tumbled from the high pedestal of his re-
solve, and there's general trouble
Poor old Reginald" his friends said,
when for days and days he was absent
from his corner in the Cafe Napolitain, at
that hour before dinner when friends gather
in every Paris cafe to sip their aperatif and
expatiate upon the present exigencies of life,
"She lives in the same street." they also ex-
planned, "the same street as Reginald-the
Rue des Abbesses. And her name is Su-
zanne."
Perhaps it was proximity of residence, in
the street that rambles along just under the
heights of Montmartre, that made Reginald
persist in his task of saving Suzanne; but
there was another reason, too, or reasons,
which l shall only attempt to explain. For
this is altogether story of fact-of life
being lived today, and has nothing whatever
to do with fiction. Therefore the final
denonement is yet to come happy or other
wise, only the gods-yours, mine or those
of Reginald and Suzanne, can foretel.
+ 4 4
Reginald first saw Suzanne at the end of
the front row at La Cigale, and he remarked
that she was a pretty girl. She couldn't
dance. Let US be honest about it, she
couldn't dance, and Reginald remarked that,
too. But she could smile. Ali how she
could smile-a wide dazzling smile, that
made Reginald go all squishy, and then
started him raving. He raved all during
the entr'act until his bldSe companions grew
weary, and then he, too, smiled. During
the last act the smile became concentrated
from both sides of the footlights-so at
the end of the performance Reginald hurried
around to the alley stage exit and forgot
all about his friends. Now, in Paris the
stage door Johnny is not so numerous as
with us. Over here the next-door cafe is
the waiting place and the rendezvous, so
Reginald found the alley quite deserted and
Suzanne had no trouble finding him as she
came out the door.
She was only kid. She wasn't quite so
pretty off stage, on account of circles under
her eyes, but the smile was just the same,
and the alley was enchanted place. A
few minutes later they were seated at
corner table of a cafe, and she was laugh
ing, chattering and Struggling her shoulders
until they almost were shrugged out Of her
gown. She was just eighteen, she told him,
and her father was doctor in small town
near Paris, where she was born. Only he
got killed during the war and then her
mother died so she came to Paris ct Voild
She smiled again as she pounded a small
fist on the table to attract the waiter, and
Reginald subtracted six from eighteen. He
thus concluded that in 1914, when the war
broke out, she was only twelve years old
He shivered little as he glowered at her
and said "hell" in English, all of which
made her laugh at her grand enfant," as
she called him. Then she said, with mock
solemnity, that he mustn't use naughty
Angleeche words" because she understood
And when he glowered again she shrugged
her shoulders and said "ntois cest Ia Vfe-
what will you?"
So that was what started it-her youth,
her smile and the fact that life had already
taught her so much, including philosophy
The fact that his hotel was almost directly
opposite her boarding house made the situa-
ton still less complicated.
+ +
Suddenly one day Reginald reappeared in
the Cafe Napolitain. His clothes were un-
tidy and he was both noncommunicatiye
and morose. He had the cafard he ex-
planned, and he ordered another drink After
sufficient drinks Reginald always insisted
upon talking French. He did it much better
then, he explained, even though explanation
was unnecessary. So we didn't protest if
he wanted to have the eGfard instead of Just
ordinary blues,
He returned the next day and this time
adopted manner stern and uncompromis-
brushed his clothes, although his shirt
needed changing He conhded, little, to
me Suzanne hadn't wanted saving at all
l gathered. On the contrary, she had flirted
outrageously with a "yap" she had met at
La Cigale, and he wouldn't stand for it.
and all was finished and that was all. AS
l said, his air was uncompromising and
stern. 1t was so the next day and the day
following, and his morale seemed quite re-