Laughing Torso

PARIS REVISITED

came up to the Cafe Parnasse, which has now be-
come part of the Rotonde. This was at that time
much the most amusing cafe in Montparnasse. He
was delighted to see me and had with him a young
man called Marc Allegri, who, a year or two ago,
went to the Congo with Gide and made a wonderful
film of the natives there. Several English officers
who had been at the Peace Conference were still in
Paris and used to come to the Parnasse in the even-
ings. They knew many songs and we found an
American who sang too, and we would spend the
evenings singing. Andre Gide would come up and
listen. He spoke English almost perfectly and I
think enjoyed our singing, although it got very loud
and noisy as the evening wore on. I had left the
Hotel Victor and was living in a hotel opposite the
Gare Montparnasse. Marc Allegri said that he
would like to see some of my work, some of which
I had at my hotel He had seen it at Cambridge
and had come with Gide to my studio in Fitzroy
Street on one occasion. I arranged to meet him
on the terrasse of the Cafe Parnasse and waited for
some time. Presently I saw Gide by himself walking
by. He waved to me and came and sat beside me.
I said, " Where is Marc? " He said that he did not
know, but as he had nothing to do for an hour or
two, could he come himself and see my pictures.
We went back to my room and he liked some of my
drawings very much. Seeing my guitar hanging on
the wall he asked me to sing some English songs,
and I spent the whole afternoon singing to him.
He was a charming man, elderly, very good-looking