Evening star., 1921-06-12
Trnnslzted From the French by
WILLIAM l.. McPHERSON.


iy NJ. Capriel. Il see that
you are ready to go out
| to dinner and that / am OBTAINING you
/ shall not initiate the orientals, who
wait till they get to the door before
disclosing the object Of their visit
have troubles, my dear godfather
troubles of kind you must have had,
too. when you were a young man. In
short. l need fifty louis"
Put it in more familiar figures.
Fifty louis. that makes how much?'
"A thousand francs"
You don't eat with the back of your
spoon. my boy
1T is a trile to you"
How do you know it is?"
You are rich:'
NJ. Capriel meditated for a minute
or two. He was an old man. obese ana
full biooded, with enormous hands.
huge feet and round vulgar. sleek.
smooth shayen head. like that OF
| convict. He wore a strange-looklns
| coat--a cross between "A smoking jacket
i and A Prince Albert-and white tie.
You'll not get "A centime from me.
/ he declared. After my death. every
thing. TIL then. nothing at all. You
tax. me for a miser. | know that
| people think l am miser But am
not. I'm afraid of dying of hunger
that's ALL Does that astonish you?
i have been afraid for the last forty
i five years of dying of hunger. That
| fear has enabled me to acquire my
| fortune, which is a good thing. and to
| keep it intact. which is a still better
thing"
! My dear godfather. everybody ap
! y,reriofne pan1 onaiifity That's
| So believe me. But it's getting late.
! wait a minute. ] am in d conf
! dental mood That doesn't happen
often. Profit by it. You will learn
something. Forty-five years ago |
was about your age. But ! was an
| orphan. And a poor looking specimen
| in the bargain. Not like You see me
| today. have improved conSiderab bly,.
| ] was no success with the ladies. you
can imagine. didn't know how TO
! dance the nlazurka. which was the
shimmy of that period. All, l forgot.
! was a poet and an internsigeant.
| ] said to myself: If it comes to the
worst and | have to earn money. ]
! shall write novels l had 10000
| francs. left me by my parents. Then
] made the acquaintance of Alexis
| Rebureau.'
The metallurgist?"
leN6a ne WASH a metallufSlSt
| then. He was a designer. Emu
lating Constantin Guys. he intended
to become the depicter of the ele-
gances of Paris fashion. But what
a contrast, He wore frayed linen.
shabby shoes and a shocking dress
suit. Yet he was very keen about the
good form of tilburys Actresses Golf
| fures interested him and he ruined
himself buying sketch books and pen
| ellis. He was type like Privat
d 'AnglemontA except for the stacks
| of gold pieces which Privat received
| three times a year from his family
| and which he often squandered in a
| single night. Alexis would also have
liked to serve Pantagruelian dinner
in some cabaret to all the poor women
who had gone without breakfast some
fast day. But he had quarreled with
his father and mother
When one is ill-favored like me he
knows how to be friend I became
brother to this artist. who was the
sort OF artist that I was poet Alexis
installed himself in my lodgings. in a
mansard overlooking the central mar
ket. We laughed at the odors of
fresh Ash and rottins cabbages. What
insouciance. My money didn't last
long. But Alexis remained carefree.
AS for. me. | was young. All, that
lists
Did some accident happen to youo''
| The most ignoble of ALL i was
hungry. On the 10th of December
Alexis and 1 had only five centimes
between us We had neither relative
Tor assistance. December is the
worst Of all months for borrowers
On the 10th We got along with a
cake. bought for a sou-a sort OF
roll with little caramel on the tor
OF 1t. Two mouthfuls for each of us
failed to raise any funds We tried
in the army, but were rejected. To-
ward o'clock that evening we had
had our first spell of faintness. with
queer metallic taste on the tongue
We ate last morsel of sugar and
drank at a fountain. We were face
to face with the abominable specter
of starvation.
J NO appetite! 1t is mocking thing
, appetite. We say I am famished
We use stupidity a frightful word
Hunger. my boy. doesn't make the
. stomach writhe. 1t strikes you bru-
tally with club on the back of the
neck. You are stunned. You cam,
speak.
I'VE stayed in bed. We dreamed
and our dreams were much alike
, For Alexis a turkey with truffles. for
me a leg of mutton with flageolets
We understood each other. How
sweet it smells" murmured Alexis
in ecstasy. And / knew well that he
was talking about a turkey with
truffles. I. more modest, stuck to my
leg of mutton. 1 saw it before me
rosy. with a golden crust. the flag
eolets softened in an unctuous sauce
Good Lord! 1t was like thirst in a
desert with an exasperating vision OF
lemon sherbet. Full-blooded people
like me when they dream Of eating
almost have a paralytic stroke.
The next day. at 6 o'clock in the
afternoon, Alexis made me get up.
1--WE are not going to starve here.
he cried. Come! I know slightly a
certain NJ. Lefourgeix. who dimes
every. night in little place near
Madeleine. Well explain matters to
him. He won't let US perish. Be-
cause. you know. Francois. 1 swear
to you that we are going to die if
we don't get something to eat
Ieexx1E met NJ Lefourgeix as he was
w entering the restaurant. At
first he thought we were drunk.
When he looked at us more closely he
opened wide the door Of the paradise
and ushered US in, as you push sick
man into an apothecary's shop. He
called out: Serve them two warm
bouiIlons first The bouillon they
give to mendicants! We still had a
afexis il1e,s ptsGei petammered But the idea Of
swallowing cold oysters terrified us.
entrecote a la bourguignonne. And
that cheese! And that coffee! We
absorbed at the same time life and
wisdom. Before everything. else it