Show feeing france with uncle john by ANNE WARNER YVONNE to her MOTHER abt by the century to dearest well we paris are ar aved it is paris at last but I 1 thought we should surely die in tran sit I 1 don t know what uncle would have said it he had known that lee was in bouen he was dreadfully up set over mrs Bray tree s telling him that she saw lee in havre we arrived last night and the only drawback is that mrs clary isn t here she left a note and M sibilee s wife is his mother and has a place out at neuilly and they were invited there tor three days she will be back to morrow and she left word for us to go straight to the bon marche and look at the white suits so we did so we told uncle it was all right for us to go alone and he had just gotten his mail so he only said hum and we went just as were taking the cab who should we see but mr chop stone it was so lovely to see him again and he got into the cab and went with us we went to the bon maiche but it gasn wasn t much fun with a man so we came out after a little and he proposed taking the subway and go ng to the trocadero just then we met a man that mr chop stone knew and he had red hair and eye glasses mr Chop stone introduced him and invited him to go along but he said it was no use because it was the wrong day and we coulden couldn t get in when we got there by this time we were down in the subway and mr Chop stone suggested that we go to the bols so as not to have to go back up the stairs again wl ie we were tall ing the train came and v ent in a terrible hurry and we got aboard in between after we were oft we found that mr Chop stone gasn wasn t on we dian didn t know wl at to do because of se it was he that we knew and i not the red haired man the red haired man said he would do what ever we pleased and edna thought we had better get right off but I 1 thought we ought to go right on we know what to do and so we kept on to the bois the bois was just lovely all auto mob les and babies and who do you think we meta betty burleigh we were so surprised tor I 1 thought she was in california for her lungs but it seems that she s been in dresden tor 1 er m isic all winter and now she s here for her clothes she was with an elderly french lad and I 1 don t think that the elderly french lady liked to have her stop and talk to us I 1 thought at arst that perhaps it wa u t proper on account ot the red haired n an but in a second I 1 saw the real betty glanced around and a d oh madam ou est fakiri V hereupon tl e eldr french lady looked absolutely te rifled and tore ma ily off V e had quite a long talk beto sie came back with the epst a etui little black dog wl ich they evi gently had no string to she put him do va and begin to look displeased again and betty just glanced about and said calmly oh madam ou es fak ra he 1 ad absolutely vanished again and tie elderly fience lady of threw up her eyes and rusl ed wildly away tie red haired man said why don t you buy a chain for hima betty shrugged the French lest k nd of a ahr g and said I 1 don t have to chabe hm tre red haired nan said I 1 should ahli k she would buy tl e chain tl en and betty shrugged a m ich french er shrug and said I 1 a ilan t allo v it hile he is running after him I 1 can do as I 1 please the red haired man laughed poor madame came panting up with the creature just then and betty said sweetly laissez lul courar she had to put him down but I 1 could see that she meant to keep a sharp eye on him betty wanted us all to come to the and lunch with her but of course we refused because you wo ilan t have liked it and anyway we had to go back to uncle she wanted the red haired man to stay any I 1 ow and was quite put out when he declined just then two men in an automobile came up and asked her to go and see the balloon ascension they dian didn t invite the elderly french lady and she protested about comme 11 taut but betty said ou est fakiri and it you 11 believe me that 1 atle beast was gone again and poor madame dashed off in pursuit betty made short work of bidding us good by then and at once got into the au to mobile and was off we came slowly along back with the red haired man and at the arc de we ran into mr Chop stone it seems he went a station too far be cause he met some people he knew in the car behind us and he says we must all go to the chatelet with him to night to make up he said uncle too so we accepted then we took a cab and came back to the hotel where we found our beloved relative with his feet on t center table reading the paris hebald he looked over the top at us and announced that he d done the louvre I 1 think w e must have looked startled tor he went cm to say at once that he knew that it ft as something that had got to be done and that he t enjoy and so ha bad thought it best to go at it he took hold of our hands as if she s been our long lost mother for years the first thing on the first morning and get it off his mind at once we had to go to lunch and uncle doean doesn t like the food very much he saya it strikes him as flummery and he Is really very much vexed over mrs clary s being at neuilly edna Is axed because harry Is there too and I 1 very much vexed indeed be cause she thoughtlessly gave uncle the letter at lunch and when he read about monsieur Sibl lets wife being his mother he was more put out than ever he said we could look out for ourselves this afternoon as he had to go to the bank edna suggested that we go to the louvre and he said yes that would be wise because then we would all be free to enjoy our selves uncle speaks of the louvre exactly as it it were the semi annual siege at the dentists but he was kind enoich to offer to leave us there on his way to the bank and when we took the cab he arranged with the cabman and the hotel porter exactly what the fare was to be and held it in his hand ohp whole way edna and I 1 were mighty glad to get to the louvre without uncle especial ly with the way he feels today and we were wandering along in a speech lees sort of ecstasy when all ot a sudden I 1 heard some one calling my name I 1 whirled around and it it gasn wasn t mrs Merrl legs in a state of collapse on one of the red v elvet benches e went to her and she i took hold of our hands as it she d been our long lost mother tor ears she looked very white and tired and almost ready to faint and we sat down on each side of her in real sin cere sympathy and she held our hands and told us how it was it ms that they left home the last of last n onal and they ve been all through th ints ja holland and belgium and they are going to felsh europe an be home the first of next month she could hardly speak for tears she says mr Merri legs made out the itinerary be fore they sailed and that they have lived up to it every day except just one when he ate some lobster cross ing the irish sea and they lost a day i that night she says they drive a great deal because they can hardly walk any more and that she believe that there will be a museum or palace in europe that they won t be able to say that they have driven by when they go home she said they had come to the louvre to see what pictures they wanted for their new house and that they never meant to take more than 20 minutes tor the be lection and that they had been there an hour already she felt badly because the itinerary had them visit notre dame the aldel tower as high as the elevator goes and versailles this afternoon she said they wanted to try and call on the american con sul too to ask abai t a masseur she said mr Merri legs said he thought it they could get hold of a good masseur and keep him right with them that they could manage to rub through to the end edna and I 1 felt dreadfully sorry tor her but there did not seem to be any thing to do except look sad and we did that as heartily as we knew how until in a minute or two mr merri legs hove in sight with a funny little frenchman dancing round and round him mr Merri legs looked almost as exhausted as his wife and called edna by my name and me by hers his wife asked him it he had ordered the pictures and he said no I 1 haven t any more time to waste here I 1 ve given clarette Cla the paper with the sizes of the spaces marked on it an he s to go through and measure till he finds a famous picture to match each space mrs Merri legs sort of nodded faintly and said but we dont want any martyrs in the dining room you know and her husband said yes yes he understands and he says he 11 find a susanna to fit your bath too mrs Merri legs stood up then with a very audible groan and they both shook hands with us in a ft ay that quite wrung our hearts then they limped away with the 11 frenchman spinning gaily about them and we went on alone in the very next room we met mr Chop stone lie was awfully glad to see us and said with our permission he d join us but as he seemed joined anyway we dian didn t even dream of ye fusing he asked it we dold uncle about the chatelet and then we remembered that we had forgotten he said he was so glad because he coulden couldn t get any seats except balg noirs and they looked queer because no one can see yo i he asked if we would like to go to the opera instead and we were just discussing it when we turned a corner and ran right on to getty burleigh and the red haired man his name is potter and did you ever they looked so upset that it can t have been an accident their be ing together but how aoud they 1 ave arranged if if they dian didn t arrange it why did they look upset detty had on a bright green cloth dress and a violet hat and the red haired man heightened the general effect so much that we moved on as quickly as bios sible mr Chop stone said very round ly better fight shy of her I 1 think and edna said dryly of him too don t you thinks I 1 waited a minute and then I 1 said it seemed droll to think that we were all english we d be pleased to call poor cletty a typical american we came home when the louvre closed and found uncle back with his feet on the center table he had had a big fire built for he said it gave him chills to look at the nymph over his bed he had put in a true merri aleglan afternoon having been to the de justice sainte chapelle notre dame and driven by the hotel de ville and around the opera house completely around he says there won t be a thing left for him to look at by monday he saya it he waa pressed for time he d hire a cab for one whole day and lump the business but that seeing that we have the time it really doean doesn t seem necessary mrs clary will be back tomorrow and w e re very glad for uncle Is awful peppery and and says II 11 im when we least expect it edna sent mr Chop stone a petit bleu asking him please not to ask us to go any where to night mr edgar sent me some violets but I 1 had time to give them to the chambermaid before un cle came in it doean doesn t seem possible that uncle could really care for mrs clary but he s so cross if she talks to any one else that I 1 almost wonder if he doean doesn t we talk italy and mark brittany every chance we get but uncle says hum to atily the samo as ho doe to everything else theae days 1 m sure I 1 don i see what we 11 do it he takes the rest of europe as hard as he docs this much put of course I 1 don t irean that were not having a lovely time and we never forget tor a min ute how kind he was to bring us |