It is in vain that the law has endeavored to shield private life
from prying eyes. The scribes who pander to Parisian curiosity
surmount all obstacles and brave every danger. Thanks to the
"High Life" reporters, every newspaper reader is aware that twice
a week--Mondays and Thursdays--Madame Lia d'Argeles holds a
reception at her charming mansion in the Rue de Berry. Her guests
find plenty of amusement there. They seldom dance; but card-
playing begins at midnight, and a dainty supper is served before
the departure of the guests.
It was on leaving one of these little entertainments that that
unfortunate young man, Jules Chazel, a cashier in a large banking-
house, committed suicide by blowing out his brains. The brilliant
frequenters of Madame d'Argeles's entertainments considered this
act proof of exceeding bad taste and deplorable weakness on his
part. "The fellow was a coward," they declared. "Why, he had
lost hardly a thousand louis!"
He had lost only that, it is true--a mere trifle as times go.
Only the money was not his; he had taken it from the safe which
was confided to his keeping, expecting, probably, to double the
amount in a single night. In the morning, when he found himself
alone, without a penny, and the deficit staring him in the face,
the voice of conscience cried, "You are a thief!" and he lost his
reason.
The event created a great sensation at the time, and the Petit
Journal published a curious story concerning this unfortunate
young man's mother.
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