ARTISTS' STRANGE FREAK.

Colonist, Volume LI, Issue 12420, 9 December 1908, Page 1

ARTISTS' STRANGE FREAK.

A NIGHT'S KEYEL AND THE SEQUEL. Whether twelve despairing artists who held a night's revel, which, it is alleged, they intended to fee tho last, really contemplated suicide will probably never be known (wrote tho "Daily Telegraph's" Paris correspondent ;ifc iho end of .September), lmt what is quitfi clear is that they, have all iucurio'i' tho -terrible Rrt'itcli I'iOfivs verbal, and him? laid them-' selves open to police prosecution. All twelve lui'iiod up at a restaurant near the cent-re df.-sed in black, with top-hats, and after asking for a room to themselves, ordered a ph-j.ti-i'ul dinner. They paid for <-v<>yything in ndvance. and after Ik L=ir served. inMstod that no strange:, and not oven a waiter, s)->r,ld "liter the room. The owner of tho establishment had soon a lot of qu<>:>r customers before, but Uie.se tuelv men in black, most of them still young, and with the appearance of artists, were thb- strangest he had ever encountered. When left to themselves, they- seemed to carry on a tremendous revel for hours, singing and shouting, and at two in the morning they opened the door and ordered several dozens of chami&iina. They were going to sontimie their revel all night. After receiving the champagne and paying lor it, they handed a letter to tho proprietor, which lie was not to open until they- had left his establishment. I Th»y Mien shut themselves up again* and their songs and shouting con* tinued. About five o'clock in the morning, when every sound had died out, the owner of the establishment became rather uneasy, and knocked at the door. There was no response, and he then wondered what the letter which they had given him might mean.^ Not daring to open it, ho took it to the police station, whoro his suspicions were confirmed. The twelve artists had selected his establishment as the most suitable place in which to commit suicide after a whole night's revel. Tho letter read as follows : — * "The undersigned painters, poets, writers, sculptors, and musicians, disheartened by the proceedings of the prevalent commercialism of selfadvertising parvenus, and disgusted with society, have resolved to separate themselves violently from them, and to go of their own accord forward to better days. Please to notify our relatives as gently as possihK" This strange letter was followed !>v t'.vflvj. signatures. When tho door whs U>vml open the room pro-fiunt-'d :• vJuistiy si;j;ht. The tvolv. 1 | revellers y.-fi-e lying oil -the. floor npiioniiflv (it'iitl. nnd <iv(-v iho ';nnd;'---iibr.-i iii iih' ceil! re riiorn was a hhx ii»>i-i ij,i ion to ilio fVJlowiug . efTft-i : ! ■"'!':;;• j):ii.-o:i cif iii'--iea.ds to otli.-r | lvii.-on.--..'" The foor was . rovers 'i j v.iili i lie ri'iunants of the feast, aiifl i 1 1 • • r, ■ and ;)ien> ">v<-ro suiall .'.xitiiiv. "ivhivJi an idej) Hint t)io men had iKvisnnod themselves. Carriages -,v; r>' rolled, nnd all twelve were hastily roiivoyed to a liospitf.l. whoro, af'rr nov.-erful rubbing and shokinc: aw). fhn admiTVKtratioTi of octivc ai'tirlnt^s, nil iwclvi- were restored to life, and wi^vc astonisihod to' find th?msoh-op togeiher in. the same hospital. Tt finally .leaked out th':fc none of tlioni had artually taken any poison, though earh mny have ima^iufd that his noi^hbour really intended to commit suicide. At any rate the champagne, u-hieh they had imbibed in over-abundant quantity, had taken effect before they had been able to carry out their intention.