Laughing Torso

P ARIS

dwarf was certainly not younger than thirty-five.
He is an excellent actor and I have seen him in
several French films. I knew him quite well and
one day he came to the Dome in a pair of check
plus-fours with a little gun. He said that he had
been shooting sparrows on his estate; he looked
very funny,
My friend Marie was staying at Foyot's and intro-
duced me to a rich man who bought pictures and
had a magnificent collection of old Masters and
sculptures. He was a great friend of Augustus
John's. He asked us to dine with him and we took
him afterwards to see some friends of Marie's,.
George Adam and his wife, Pearl, at their flat.
Marie's rich friend came to my studio and bought
some drawings. He knew a great deal about food
and drink and whenever one dined with him it was
a wonderful experience. I took him to see the
Countess A. They got on very well, but I think she
found him a little out of date. One day I dined with
him and we decided to go to the Swedish Ballet. It
was not supposed to be very good but some of the
dtcor was interesting and also the music. During the
interval we went to the bar where everyone met. I
found the Countess A., Lady Michelham, and, in a
corner, James Joyce. I introduced them. Joyce
was rather frightened of them at first, but not so
astonished as when, a few minutes later, Valentino
came in and I introduced them both. They were
the last people in the world who I should think
would have met in the ordinary way, and they were
almost speechless.
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