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BACK   TO    PARIS    AND    CELEBRITIES
empty, as it rolled round the ice bucket and made a
clattering noise.   We thought that Little Tich had
had enough attention and devoted our time to trying
to hit a fat blonde.   After a time we got tired of
Pigalle's and decided to move on.    Tommy's pet
place  was   La   Perle,  in  the  Rue  Pigalle,  quite
close to the Pigalle.    We went to see Angele, an
incredible old woman, who must have been a great
beauty in her youth.   At the door was a small page-
boy dressed in red with brass buttons.   We found
Angele, who was dressed in a magnificent evening
dress of corded purple silk.   She was very fat and the
dress was very low.   When she leant over the table
the front displayed to view a very fat paunch.   She
was delighted to see us and bought us a bottle of
champagne.   Suddenly a row started between one
of the ladies, a very tall, fat one, and the page-boy.
They had a battle and finally fell on to the floor and
rolled over and over.   This was a really funny sight
and I wish I had been able to do a drawing of it.
It was now about two a.m. and we thought that we
would see if the " Boeuf" was still open.   We wan-
dered down a side street in search of a taxi.   The
street was very dark, there appeared to be no street
lamps at all.   We saw a dark shadow which turned
out to be a taxi, and, standing beside it, was an
upright form, completely black.   On our approach-
ing it we found that it was a negro chauffeur.   At
this time "Batouala" was having an enormous
success and we had the brilliant idea of hiring the
chauffeur and bringing him to the Boeuf and intro-
ducing him as Batouala himself.   We took his taxi,
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