Patty in Paris Part 18

But the Personal Conductor discovered that time was flying, and that if he let all of his charges delay over the post-cards, other sights must be omitted.

So he scurried them along through the various galleries and salons, pausing in the Library and the Chapel. The Chapel awed Patty, as the impressive burial places of kings always did, and especially was she interested in a Cippus, which was a receptacle for the hearts of several of the princes of Conde.

"It seems wonderful," she said to Elise, "to take out their hearts and put them all away together like that, but they had strange ways in the times of my friends, the Condes."

"I'm beginning to be very much interested in your friends, the Condes,"

replied Elise, "and I think, after all, I shall join your French history cla.s.s this winter."

Then they proceeded to the beautiful park of Chantilly, which was laid out by the same landscape gardener who afterward designed the gardens of Versailles.

The park was enchanting, and the many buildings in it most interesting.

"There's one thing certain," said Patty, "I shall come here some day and camp out for the day in this park and wander around without being personally conducted."

"And I shall do myself the honour to accompany you," said Elise; "I'm sure I can persuade father to send us out here in the car some day and let us play around by ourselves."

All too soon the megaphone's voice called them to start on their homeward trip. Patty and Elise were among the first to take their seats in the great motor car, and as Patty was looking over her beloved post-cards, she suddenly discovered that she had no portrait of her friend, the Grand Prince.

But by good luck she saw a woman standing near, and suspended by a strap round her neck was a tray of post-cards.

Calling the woman to her, Patty made known her desire for a picture of the Grand Conde.

"Oui, oui," exclaimed the woman as she offered various portraits of other members of the Conde family.

"Non, non," cried Patty, shaking her head, vigorously, "le Grand Prince,-le Grand Conde!"

At length the woman discovered the proper card, and when Patty accepted it, and paid her for it, she burst into voluble thanks and begged her to buy more.

Remembering Elise's alb.u.m, Patty bought another copy of the same picture for that, and then, thinking she would like to take one to Marian, she asked for a third copy.

This the woman did not have in stock, but anxious to please her pretty young patron, she flew over to another post-card vender, of which there seemed to be several near by, and demanded the required card from her.

But a search through her stock proved unavailing, and both women, chatting volubly in French, tried to procure one from a third post-card seller.

Patty and Elise became much amused at the excitement they had created, and suddenly to their surprise one of the tourists expressed her desire also for a portrait of the Grand Conde.

Patty surmised at once that she had no particular reason for desiring it save an idea that if it was in such great demand it must be of a special value.

And then following the example of the first, several other tourists set up a clamour for the same picture, and the scene became one of great excitement. The post-card venders put their heads together, and still jabbering rapidly, produced all sorts of portraits which they endeavoured to foist upon the buyers as portraits of the Grand Prince.

But the tourists were shrewd, and they knew what they wanted, though they had no idea why they wanted it.

The natural result of this situation was a rise in price of the desired picture. The original price of ten CENTIMES was doubled and then quadrupled, and finally the tourists began to bid for the picture until the affair became an auction.

Patty and Elise were convulsed with laughter at the absurdity of it all, and finally the motor man whizzed away, leaving the Frenchwomen chuckling over their marvelous sales, and carrying some excited tourists, who wondered why they had paid so much for ordinary post-cards.

Patty's recital of the affair at dinner that night greatly amused the Farringtons, and Mr. Farrington declared that the whole scene was typical of human nature.

"As you had cornered the market, Patty," he said, "why didn't you sell your Conde pictures at top prices, or else put them up at auction?"

"For the very good reason that I wanted them myself," replied Patty, "and if I had sold them, perhaps I never could get any more."

"Well, we, too, have achieved an important success to-day," went on Mr.

Farrington; "we have secured a foothold in this somewhat uncertain city, and we shall soon have a roof over our heads that we can call our own, for a time, at least."

"Oh, you took the house, then," exclaimed Elise; "how jolly! and when are we going there to live?"

"As soon as it can be made habitable," said Mrs. Farrington; "they call it a furnished house, but it is not at all my idea of furnis.h.i.+ng. It's about as well appointed as a summer cottage might be at home. The drawing-room is all right, and the dining-room is fairly good, but the bedrooms must be almost entirely refurnished. Some day, my children, you shall go shopping with me to select things for your own rooms."

This shopping expedition took place soon, and Patty, with her usual happy enthusiasm, thought it was quite as much fun as any other mode of entertainment.

Mrs. Farrington and the two girls, driven by the chauffeur, went flying around in the automobile, stopping now at one beautiful shop, and now at another, and buying lovely things.

"It seems foolish," said Mrs. Farrington, "to buy a lot of furniture for a rented house, but we must be comfortable through the winter, and then the prettiest of the things we'll take back to America with us."

The girls were allowed to make their own selections, and Patty decided that her room should be green and white, while Elise chose pink.

The girls had not yet seen the house, but Mrs. Farrington told them that two large rooms adjoining each other on the third floor were to be for their use, and though the princ.i.p.al articles of furniture were already in them, they might choose some pretty appointments, such as writing-desks, work-tables or book-racks.

Also, they selected some little French gilded chairs and queer-shaped ottomans, Patty thinking the while how pretty these would look when transported back to her New York home.

After about a week more of hotel life the Farringtons moved to their own home.

It was a good-sized house on the Bois de Boulogne, and stood in a small but well-laid out park or garden.

There were stone porticos on which opened long, French windows, and the high ceilings and winding staircase with broad landings gave the house an attractive, though foreign air.

Like all French houses, the decorations were elaborate, and mirrors were everywhere, and crystal chandeliers and painted panels abounded.

It was all of great interest to Patty, who dearly loved home-making, and who saw great possibilities for the unusual combination of American cosiness in a Paris house.

Mrs. Farrington was delighted when she discovered Patty's capabilities in domestic matters, and declared that she would not wish for a better a.s.sistant.

It was Patty's deft fingers that transformed stiff and formal rooms into apartments of real comfort and homelikeness. It was very often Patty's taste that selected simple decorations or ornaments which toned down the gorgeousness of the original scheme.

The two girls' own rooms were greatly successful.

Patty had bought a number of pictures and statuettes and various Parisian ornaments, which she was delighted to arrange in a room of her very own. She helped Elise with hers, too, for though Elise had good taste and a fine appreciation of the fitness of things, she had not Patty's capability of execution and facility of arrangement.

As they sat for the first time around their own family dinner table, Mr. Farrington exclaimed, "Now this is what I call comfortable! It's unpretentious, but it's way ahead of that gorgeously dressed-up hotel, which made one feel, though well taken care of, like a traveller and a wayfarer. But I expect you were sorry to leave it, eh, Patty?"

"No I wasn't," said Patty; "I liked it tremendously for a time, as it was a novel experience for me; but I'm quite as pleased as you are, Mr.

Farrington, to be in a home once more."

"And the next thing to do," said Mrs. Farrington, "is to get masters for you girls."

"Shall we go to school, mother?" asked Elise.

"No, I think not. I don't like the idea of your going to a French school, and, too, I think you'd enjoy it better, to study a little at home. You needn't have a great variety of lessons. I think if you study the French language and French history, it will be enough for you in the way of school books. Then Patty ought to take singing lessons, and if Elise wants to learn to paint pictures, she will probably never get a better opportunity to do so."

This plan seemed to suit perfectly the young ladies most interested, and Mr. Farrington said he would take it upon himself to find the right masters for them.