New-York tribune., 1921-06-19
6 VI.

II
Ii II see that you are ready to &C
out to dinner and that am de-
tanning you. shall not initiate the Orientals,
who wait till they get to the door before dis
closing the object Of their visit have troubles,
my dear godfather-troubles of kind you
must have had, too when you were q young
man. In short, need fifty louis"
"Put it in more familiar figures. Fifty
louis. that makes how much?"
ga thousand frances
"You don't eat with the back Of your spoon,
my boy.''
"It is trife 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 and full blooded,
with enormous hands, huge feet and round,
vulgar, sleek, smooth-shaven head, like that
Of convict. He wore strange looking coat
"a cross between smoking jacket and a
Prince Albert-and white tie.
you'll not get centime from me-" he de-
clared. "After my death, everything. Till
then, nothing at all. You take me for miser.
know that people think I am miser. But
am not. Pm afraid Of dying of hunger
that's all. Does that astonsh you? I have
been afraid for the last forty-f years of
dying of hunger. That fear has enabled me
to acquire my fortune, which is good thing,
and to keep it intact, which is still better
thing"
My dear godfather, everybody appreciates
your good qualities. That's so, believe me.
But it's getting late"
Wait minute. I am in confidential
mood. That doesn't happen often. Profit by
1t. You will learn something. Forty-fve
years ago was about your age But I was
an orphan. And a poor looking specimen in
the bargain. Not like you see me to-day.
have improved considerably. ! was no sue
cess with the ladies, you can imagine didn't
know how to dance the mazurka, which was
the shimmy of that period. Ah! I forgot. I
was poet and an intransigeant. / said to
myself If it comes to the worst and have
to earn money, shall write novels I had
$4,000 francs, left me by my parents Then I
made the acquaintance Of Alexis Rebureau"
''The metallurgst?'
Yes. He wasn't metaurgist then. He
was designer. Emulatng Constantin GUYS.
he intended to become the depicter of the ele-
gances of Paris fashions But what con-
trast! He wore frayed linen, shabby shoes
and shocking dress suit Yet he was yerv
keen about the good form of tilburys. Act
resses' coiffures interested him and he ruined
himself buying sketch books and pencils. He
was type like Privat d'Anglemont, except
Tor the stacks Of gold pieces which privat re-
celved three times year from his family and
winch ne often squandered in single night.
Alexis would also have liked to serve Panta-
grueilan dinner in some cabaret to all the poor
women who had gone without breakfast some
1ast day. But he had quarreled with his
father and mother.
Wnen one is ill-favored like me he knows
now TO be a friend. became a brother to this
artist, who was the sort of artist that was
poet. Alexis installed himself in nv lodp-
ines, In rnansard overlooking the central
market. We laughed at the odors Of fresh fish
ana rcttlng cabbages. What insoucance! NV
money didn't last long. But Alexis remained
carefree. AS for me, was young Ahl that
evening OF fate, the 18th of Decerber
1882 eo'ioer'
DID DID some accident happen to you?'
me most ignoble of all. was hungry
on the 10th of December Alexis and bsd
only hve centimes between us Wo h.a
heither relative nor comrades on whom we
could call for assistance. December ,s tho
worst OF all months for borrowers On the
10Th we got along with cake, bought for
sou--a sort of roll with little caramel IN
q.