1958-03-29 — Page 7

THE CHINA MAIL, SATURDAY, MARCH 29, 1958.

Page

P

COLLECTOR'S

PIECE

·HONGKONG TALES BY HONGKONG WRITERS

S. W. Rainbird

ends.

It must

She was amenable, decorative,

and didn't know how to cry. He was man-of-the-world, distinguished, and worn and ravaged by time.

I used to think that I'd like looked up in surprise and greet- to be like that-free of heart ed me like a brother.

having

silky golder

and

beurd.

month or two years before we

each other again. in Homburg I

ran across

AA%

Then he said: "London got a tile wucomfortable, old boy, so I found myself, in due course, I had to find a new base. And walking really one feels quite at home one evening along the Roper in Hamburg,"

fouls avokling

with masalve English disclaim (but

Paul looked a tle pit-out: "I hope for your salte not quite the same boat, old boy."

"What do you mean?": "I'm charged with bigamy!"

"With what!!" "Bigamy,

Too

gol. There, positively isn't my foreground to you,"

being collected. Elin eight wiver were in different cour.tries—invariably where there was an international airport. They apparently all" wanted' either to share his prefabricated glamour (and got duty free, girls, from foreign pörts); or, ilke Fellelty (ent tic to Jewish

girl in Malla) to mother him and make love nest for two.

1

Paul in a love-nest I couldn't see him settling down anywhere and living a routine sort of He, I couldn't see him doing any- "Well anyway," Poul con- thing except getting in and out tinued, "Mother started to look of planes, drinking champagne into things. The fact is, she and following fashion!

Faul just didn't want the sort of man

looked across at me: who worked in soft leathers to "Have another beer, my dear

old fellow.

marry her daughter. Well, one chap. 1orr Oberl" The waller came and while Paul wan order- thing led to another.. "But what do you mean 'n many women." in Barbados. (He sent me a litle genuine resolution). Then little uncomfortable"?"

ing I noticed pretty German snap: he looked very brown). I suddenly saw Paul going into

"You mean too many wives." The whole story came out girl como in and look around. I Thes, into as usual and hurrying n cafe. Naturally was over- "There's a warrant out for my

"Same thing with me my Paul who believed in travelling saw her eyes light on Paul and over to Marble Arch one day joyed: here was a friend in a arreal" he said it.ns though he dear chap." He went on "Do lightly through life and skim- her face brighten with recogni- in '54 for a rather Important foreign land and I hurried in were not really aware that 1 you remember Felicity?" I sald ming the surface of experience, tion. She came over and Paul,

There he engagement I met him in Green ufter

had smiling with pleasure, got up. him.

was, regarded arrest as a profesional I dia. "Well it was her blasted Paul the non-collector Park of all places walking with polsed and polished, ordering hazard.

mother who started everything managed to collect eight wives with all the courtesy of a citizen a girl. He contrived to look at from the waller.

oft: sald I had no background.”

or the world: "Wonds, how. once detached, distinguished and

Perhaps It would be more nice?" Then, turning to me ho involved. The girl was called

nccurate to say that he had been said: "I don't think you've met Fellelly Mend!p.

unable to prevent himself from my wite, have you?"

AUL is one of those people who fit in everywhere Paris, Rome-it was all one to la wire the deal and belong nowhere. He is a Pole in exilo-a him: home member of the minor nobility. Behind his little

have been eighteen shop in Bond Street there is a place where they make (in exquisite colours) the handbags and shoes which he so

aamall service flat in somehow, when I successfully designs. He has Kensington which doesn't really get used very much Budapest he was in Carseas and bahn during the year bermuse Paul's work entaila à grept deal when wus la Vienna he was of travelling. During the war, he had been in the RAF and it was while serving in the same fighter squadron that we first met.

danced and Paul leatherwork girls and business as a front for interna- showed them what Polish charm tional smuggling on the grand was like. scale. He had to follow fashion and thi took him about a good deal. have never quite been able to make out whether he

between-mant for clasa fence or what Is The American term?-an Independ- ent operator, Paul looked for the most money with the least fus--no questions taked.

110

War

used

hly

Не

ܐܐܐ in

was always quite old

manners and world especially so when melancholy n high drunk. Paul always gets melancholy when drunk: is apparently a characteristic of the minor nobility.

Then he told them he was a citizen of the world and they started pestering us for money because they thought that way

than even better American.

being

an

I can't say that I was very impressed: Paul could do better She was then that for himself. rather tail and lobked languidly through one, I put her down as lower-middle-class gone ritzy.

She told me in a thrilling voice Back in 1952 1 met him in

that she modelled for magazines Hongkong when he was just

and indeed she might have seen passing through.

me before at a party she rather Paul, was always just passing through

thought, looking up at me with places,

I thought to Immaculately well-

wide wide eyes. drussed (his trousers were By now We

both myself: were

yes and I bet they're sad and, since the only second division narrow) with intolerably

ladies' perhaps rather Bothing much to do. He had ouroplane engines had finally magazines at that which is why with him a selection of is gone from Pat's cars, we called you're banging on to Paul like lafest handbags with hees lo for rickshas and left, We

a constipated sunflower, match, Such colours: Sue arranged to see each other next taste! He was following fashion. morning at a suitably late hour. He left these beautifully worked pieces with another beautifully worked piers who

looked t

though she'd stepped straight out of Vogue. She was a buyer for a group of stores.

She soid distrigennusly thut she was particularly interested In what Paul had to offer; but he could ind bluse U surrepfible intry on less at will and elected not to rise to the bail.

Stelped him fil it time and we went to a night club to get the noise of the aeroplane cul of his mus. We found two Vury respectable

H

F

1

18 Months

I remember rightly he was to advise me about some skins wanted worked. When ne didn't show up I phoned his hotel, He'd gone they said, early that morning, to Bangkok, He left a message; something had turned up; would I kindly excuse his rushing off without warning? That was just like Paul-here today and gone to- morrow. Hongkong, Bangkot,

Симмная

TRUSSELL PRIESTLEY

SOPER

& Co.

**Mr. Macmillan! Take away that cage-can't you'

· see it's infuriating "that poor man-eating tiger ["

However, we exchanged plea- santries and all kept our bar- barous thought to attrseives except Paul who didn't have to because he wasn't thinking at all. He was turning over in his mind where we must all go for dinner. But I wriggled out of it; lehiness is bad for the digestion and I could see that Madame Felicity was all screwed up for Paul and didn't want the company of someonu who'd lown him so much longer than se hind-someone with mutual memories of high llvitg romantic places.

As the had never been further thun Boulogne on a day trip she fell at a disadvantage.

So they went on into the ustunn mists of London, she teetering on absurdly high heels. They were hollow and alled with coloured glass. I thought tu myself as I hurried on how strange that Paul should find at- tractive someone so vacuous,

+

She's Ideal

WE met next day for lunch, Just Paul and 1. I asked pollicly after Fallelty. He was quite happy to answer all my un. spoken questions, He said: "My dear fellow, I know she looks like a top fight tart but Y ke her. She's anonymous. She's

more or less buman replica

of her Jazzy photographs-all thigh end uplift. 1 like replicas belter than originals; they don't bite. Besides I must have something on my arm when I am in Town and I'd look a alssy corrying one of my own handbags, Anyway she's almost perfeet for me. She waves good-bye, doesn't know how to cry and doesn't smother EVIE She's amenable, unfeeling red quite decorative, I'd go to far as to say she's ideal. I might even marry her-make me more respectable."

End: The day you marry, Paul, give up crime!"

He smiled: "One never knows uld boy.

I said: "What does Feitelty gain from this arrangement?"!

"She requires me to look what she would call man-of-the- world and distinguished. And this, as you know, comes no- turally to a man of my back- ground. She also requires me to look "interesting"-thht le-worn and ravaged by life because she once read that men who had suffered were specially exelting and ammort. This is no trouble because I drink too much

and have only one kidney which doesn't work at all weli." Paul had it all buttoned-up.

I went round to his flat once

or twice. There was Felicity sipping pink gins, her legs curl-

her

ed up under her, showing knces. She had arrived: through Paul she belonged to interna- tional cafe-society which made Walton-on-Thames Expresso Bars seem very small cheese. -

ages

Love Nest!

LOST touch with Paul again and didn't see him again tor though I occasionally caught wind of where he'd been. To tell you the truth, my own litle trouble caught up with mo at loat and I had to leave Lon- don in rather a hurry. In my idle momenta, playing peck- n-boo with Interpol, -I used; to think sometimes of Paul and jus mannered, carefree existence: travel and discreet, gentle- manly, clean crime. No wor- | res, no tlos, no family,

I remembered him saying une, stroking that little blond goatee of lia; "Take life lightly, old boy. Don't gather, don't col- ject, don't - anticipate.~ Just, live for the moment and keép). 'it good."

I said: "Why Paul! What are you doing In Hamburg?" He

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