It was twenty years ago when I was living in an apartment overlooking a cemetery. I was just living from hand decide to marry e remains busy all day long 21. to mouth. At that time a lady wrote a letter to me praising one of my writings just published in the newspaper It made me so excited that I sent her a letter of thanks. Immediately after that she wrote her second letter saying that she was passing through Paris and would like to have a chat with me; but her time was limited and the only free moment she had was on the following Thursday, she was spending the morning at Luxembourg. In the letter she wrote to take a little luncheon at Foyot's afterwards. Foyot's is a restaurant at which the French senators eat and it was so far beyond my means that I had never even thought of going there. But I was flattered and I was too young to have learnt to say 'no' to a woman. I i.ad eighty francs to last me the rest of the month and a modest luncheon should not cost me more than fifteen. If I could cut out coffee for the next two weeks, I could manage well enough. I answered that I would meet my friend, by correspondence, at Foyot's on Thursday at half past twelve. She was not so young as I expected and in appearance imposing rather than attractive, She was in fact, a woman of forty. She gave me the impression of having more teeth, white and large and even than were necessary for any practical purpose. She was talkative but since she seemed inclined to talk about me I was prepared to be an attentive listener.
was startled when the bill of fare was brought for the prices were a great deal higher than I had anticipated But she reassured me saying that she never ate more than one thing. Actually it was a courtesy of saying so. She took salmon, caviar asparagus, champagne, ice-cream, peach and coffee. But I took only a mutton chop which was the cheapest dish on the menu. The bill came and when I paid it I found that I had only enough for a quite inadequate tip While shaking hands, she advised me not to eat more than one thing for luncheon. In reply I told her that I would do better than that. I added that I would eat nothing for dinner tonight. I was heavily exploited by the lady guest Of course, I got very happy when I found that she became very fat and looked very repulsive next time.
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