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Article UNCLE CHARLES'S STORY. ← Page 2 of 4 →
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Uncle Charles's Story.
la Grand Ville ! Vive Paris ! ' With the Baron of Bradwardine , I could ever repeat , ' et dulcis morions reminiscitur Argos , ' Avhich has been freely translated by a rising poet of tbe day : " Where ' er I go , o ' er land or sea ,, Pleasant Paris , I think of thee ! I joy in thee in health ami breath : I cling to thee in Jife and death !"
" At one of tho Cafes Avhere I used to dine very often , ( Avhere , matters not ) , and Avhere at my little table I enjoyed my good ancl Avell-cooked dinner off the modest' carlo du jour , " my nearest neighbour was a foreigner—I will not say a foreigner of distinction —but ho was a foreigner . There are , you ICUOAV , 'foreigners , ancl foreigners . ' He spoke several languages , and seemed not averse to ' liquoring up . ' He appeared to knoAv everything ancl everybody , but there Avas a restlessness in his eyes , and a general shakiness in his habits , which did not strike me favourably , ancl I often felt inclined to
say to ' Thomas , ' ' Mon garcon , prenez garde ! ' or to the smiling ' dame do comptoir , ' ' Ma chore , look out for the spoons ! ' His English was the most wonderful English I ever heard in my life : it was partly spoken through the nose , ancl it was a jargon which put you in mind of that interesting soi-disant Baron , of dubious antecedents , AVIIO was so agreeable at the Table d'Hote , who spoke such bad English , whose hands were so dirty , and Avho , you learned afterwards , was particularly Avanted by the Parisian police , For some reason , moreover , my attention Avas attracted by the movements and tho manners of my neighbour , ancl , to use a detective ' s phrase , I ' kept my eye upon him . '
" One evening I Avas comfortably eating my little plat , which , it I remember rightly , Avas ' Bifstoak au petits pois , ' ancl I was sippmg a demi-bouteille of ' La Bose , ' when all of a sudden I saAv my neighbour enter with a companion , and after they had sat down at the table , I heard that they Avere speaking English . "My neighbour ' s table was so close , as the Cafe was very crowded that evening , that I could have touched him , and hence I heard almost every word of their striking convernation
. " Hiinmel , ' said my neighbour to his companion , who Avas a very queer-looking chap , ' Himmel , vot veather ! I've done noting to-day . De bisiness is no goot , Everyting is very slack , ancl de money is very scarce . ' " Hallo , says I to myself , Avhat's up ? There ' s more than meets the eye in those apparently innocent remarks ! " Just at that moment my eyes caught the eyes of a very sharp-looking chap , who
I had often seen in the Gale , ancl AVIIO appeared to regard my neighbour and his friend with the most lively interest . " * Looks like a Detective ! ' says I to myself ; ' I'll pay attention . ' At this moment my neighbour poured out a glass of champagne for Ms friend ancl himself , though not Avith a very steady hand , and after looking at each other , and nearly emptying their glasses , in a little he began again to speak .
" ' Vat times close vere ! and they both chuckled ; and then filling again , they clicked their glasses , as foreigners sometimes do , and then for the first time I heard his companion ' s voice . . "' Yes , ' he said , ' I'm blowed if ever Ave shall see the like again . Them was the clays , and that Avas the Avay of doing business !' " They both laughed inwardly , A \ drieh is always unpleasant to hear , and I looked across the Caf 6 . There I saAv the sharp-eyed man Avas eating very calmly his dinner ,
but keeping a steady look-out all the AA'hile on my neighbours . " '• Veil , ' said my first friend again , ' I do not tink dat ve can do any more business in Paris . ' " ' No , ' says the other' ' I thinks we hacl better go home . I know of a nice litfcle job , Avith lots of ready . ' " ' Ah ' . ' said the other ; vere ? ' That ' s tellings ! ' replied his friend , who evidently Avas getting Avhat the young ladies call' chippy ' .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Uncle Charles's Story.
la Grand Ville ! Vive Paris ! ' With the Baron of Bradwardine , I could ever repeat , ' et dulcis morions reminiscitur Argos , ' Avhich has been freely translated by a rising poet of tbe day : " Where ' er I go , o ' er land or sea ,, Pleasant Paris , I think of thee ! I joy in thee in health ami breath : I cling to thee in Jife and death !"
" At one of tho Cafes Avhere I used to dine very often , ( Avhere , matters not ) , and Avhere at my little table I enjoyed my good ancl Avell-cooked dinner off the modest' carlo du jour , " my nearest neighbour was a foreigner—I will not say a foreigner of distinction —but ho was a foreigner . There are , you ICUOAV , 'foreigners , ancl foreigners . ' He spoke several languages , and seemed not averse to ' liquoring up . ' He appeared to knoAv everything ancl everybody , but there Avas a restlessness in his eyes , and a general shakiness in his habits , which did not strike me favourably , ancl I often felt inclined to
say to ' Thomas , ' ' Mon garcon , prenez garde ! ' or to the smiling ' dame do comptoir , ' ' Ma chore , look out for the spoons ! ' His English was the most wonderful English I ever heard in my life : it was partly spoken through the nose , ancl it was a jargon which put you in mind of that interesting soi-disant Baron , of dubious antecedents , AVIIO was so agreeable at the Table d'Hote , who spoke such bad English , whose hands were so dirty , and Avho , you learned afterwards , was particularly Avanted by the Parisian police , For some reason , moreover , my attention Avas attracted by the movements and tho manners of my neighbour , ancl , to use a detective ' s phrase , I ' kept my eye upon him . '
" One evening I Avas comfortably eating my little plat , which , it I remember rightly , Avas ' Bifstoak au petits pois , ' ancl I was sippmg a demi-bouteille of ' La Bose , ' when all of a sudden I saAv my neighbour enter with a companion , and after they had sat down at the table , I heard that they Avere speaking English . "My neighbour ' s table was so close , as the Cafe was very crowded that evening , that I could have touched him , and hence I heard almost every word of their striking convernation
. " Hiinmel , ' said my neighbour to his companion , who Avas a very queer-looking chap , ' Himmel , vot veather ! I've done noting to-day . De bisiness is no goot , Everyting is very slack , ancl de money is very scarce . ' " Hallo , says I to myself , Avhat's up ? There ' s more than meets the eye in those apparently innocent remarks ! " Just at that moment my eyes caught the eyes of a very sharp-looking chap , who
I had often seen in the Gale , ancl AVIIO appeared to regard my neighbour and his friend with the most lively interest . " * Looks like a Detective ! ' says I to myself ; ' I'll pay attention . ' At this moment my neighbour poured out a glass of champagne for Ms friend ancl himself , though not Avith a very steady hand , and after looking at each other , and nearly emptying their glasses , in a little he began again to speak .
" ' Vat times close vere ! and they both chuckled ; and then filling again , they clicked their glasses , as foreigners sometimes do , and then for the first time I heard his companion ' s voice . . "' Yes , ' he said , ' I'm blowed if ever Ave shall see the like again . Them was the clays , and that Avas the Avay of doing business !' " They both laughed inwardly , A \ drieh is always unpleasant to hear , and I looked across the Caf 6 . There I saAv the sharp-eyed man Avas eating very calmly his dinner ,
but keeping a steady look-out all the AA'hile on my neighbours . " '• Veil , ' said my first friend again , ' I do not tink dat ve can do any more business in Paris . ' " ' No , ' says the other' ' I thinks we hacl better go home . I know of a nice litfcle job , Avith lots of ready . ' " ' Ah ' . ' said the other ; vere ? ' That ' s tellings ! ' replied his friend , who evidently Avas getting Avhat the young ladies call' chippy ' .