Guy Wetmore Carryl

“ There was a lisp of grazed twigs, a long “A-ah!” from pelouse and pesage alike, a dull splash which sent the spray flying high in silver beads and then a jockey in a crimson blouse rolled heavily forward on the turf, arose, stamped his foot, and swore profusely in picturesque cockney at his mare, who had regained her feet and, with dangling rein and saddle all askew, stood looking back at him, as if uncertain whether to stop and inquire after his injuries or go on alone. ”

“ It’s absolutely inhuman of me to bet on a horse. And look at Mathias! He’s twenty metres ahead of the rest, and going better every minute. You’ve hit it this time, Vane. There’s one comfort. You’ll win back my louis, at all events. It’s something to know that the money’s not going out of the family.
The crowd was already shouting “Mathias! C’est Mathias qui gagne!” as Andrew bent forward to see the horses wheel again into the transverse cut. Mathias was far in the lead, and seemed to gain yet more at the hurdle. ”

“ The girl was talking with an officer of chasseurs, on the turf, a short distance away. She was tall and slender, very pale, with magnificent violet eyes and golden-bronze hair. From the gauze aigrettes on her hat to the tips of her patent-leather shoes, her costume was absolutely flawless. Her gown, of cherry-coloured crepe de Chine, pailleté with silver, breathed from its every fold the talismanic word “Paquin,” and the Lalique ornament of emeralds and ruddy gold which swung at her throat by a slender chain said as plainly “Charlier.” ”

“ That’s Mirabelle Tremonceau. Your ‘red’ is cerise, as a matter of fact, but that’s as near as the average man comes to the colour of a woman’s gown.”
“I can’t imagine one spending much time in learning such things.”
“Anywhere but in Paris, perhaps not. Here the knowledge is vital. It’s part of one’s education — like being able to distinguish a Louis Quatorze chair from a Louis Quinze, or a Fragonard from a Boucher ten feet away. If you want to meet Mademoiselle Tremonceau, I’ll be very glad to present you.”
“I might wait here while you ask her,” suggested Andrew. ”

“ The only place where I feel my age is in my knees. Since you’ve never occupied Mademoiselle Tremonceau’s strapontin, my dear Vane, you can have no idea of the physical discomfort attendant upon being a little lower than an angel. Think of my having won — even a placé! Shall we go now? I abhor the crush at the end. Give me a minute to cash my ticket, and then we’ll look up the carriage.”
“Do you speak French?” said Mademoiselle Tremonceau to Andrew, as Radwalader strolled off in the direction of the caisse. ”

“ Besides, a French race-horse is like the girl one elects to marry. The choice is purely a matter of luck, and there’s no depending upon the record of previous performances. I’ve always thought that if I had to choose a wife, I’d prefer to do it in the course of a game of blind-man’s buff. The one I caught I’d keep. Then the choice would at least be unprejudiced. Shut your eyes, my dear Vane, and stick your pencil-point through your programme. Then open them and bet on the horse nearest the puncture. ”

“ I am trying to adjust myself to new conditions, and I need all my energy for the task, without undertaking a strange language at the same time. You can have no idea how one’s first visit to Paris sends preconceived notions tumbling about one’s ears. So far, the Eiffel Tower is the only thing which looked as I expected it would. There’s a surprise at every turn. ”

“ It’s the finish that counts, and the finish of horse-racing is commonly the penitentiary. It’s the only profession where the hard labor comes at the end instead of at the beginning.”
“I think I’ll hang on to what I’ve won, then,” answered Andrew. “If you’ve nothing better to do, perhaps you’ll help me to spend part of it on a dinner to-night. You know all the best places. ”

“ The saddling-bell was whirring for the third race as Andrew and Radwalader slipped in at the main entrance of Auteuil, and made their way rapidly through the throng behind the tribunes, in the direction of the betting-booths beyond.
“We’ll just have time to place our bets,” said Radwalader, as he scanned the bulletins. “Numbers two, five, six, and eleven are out. Scratch them off your programme and we’ll take our pick of the rest.”
“You’ll have to advise me,” answered Andrew. “One couldn’t very well be more ignorant of the horses than I am.” ”

“ I’ve never been able to analyze the charm of the Champs Elysées at sunset, more nearly than to say that it seems to blot out one’s remembrance of everything in the world that is sordid and commonplace, and to bring boldly to the fore the significance of all that is sweet and gay. ”

“ And he went through this little performance himself with the utmost solemnity. “It’s Vivandière,” he added. “I shall stake a louis on Vivandière.”
“And I, for originality’s sake, shall choose Mathias, with my eyes open,” said Andrew, laughing, as they took their places in line before the booth.
“Well, you couldn’t do better,” observed his companion. “He’s a willing little beast, and not unlikely to romp home in the lead. I’d bet on him myself, except that I’m so damnably unlucky that it really wouldn’t be fair to you, Vane. I never back a horse but what he falls. ”

“ Even so far as my own town of Boston we know you’re beautiful, and beautifully gowned, although nothing short of personal experience can teach one to what an extent. But I’ve always been brought up to believe that you were so hemmed in by conventionality, so strictly watched, that a chap wasn’t allowed so much as to say ‘Good-morning’ to one of you, so long as you were unmarried, at least, except under the eyes of mothers and fathers and guardians. ”

“ It isn’t conventional, or even good form, to pry into a man’s finances, but we shall probably be going about together, more or less, during your stay, and in such a case I always like to know how a man stands in regard to expenses. ”

“ She runs the best possible chance of breaking her neck. If the jockey so much as suspected that I’d her number in my pocket, he’d probably have taken out a policy on his life. There’s Mathias — the little chestnut. He looks in rattling good form. I suspect you haven’t thrown away that louis.”
“It wouldn’t be a very ruinous loss, in any event,” said Andrew. ”

“ It appeared, when the figures snapped into place, that Mathias returned one hundred and ten francs, which meant a clear gain of ten louis. Andrew had “hit it” in good earnest.
“I think I shall adopt horse-racing as my profession,” he laughed, as they cashed the ticket at the caisse. “Let’s see: forty dollars a race, six races a day, seven days to the week — two-forty — twenty-eight — fourteen — sixteen — sixteen hundred and eighty dollars a week. ”