, 1880-11-26
Cured.

who had never hinched before the enc
my, but who also, alas, never hinched al
an oath. And what terrible oaths they
were when housed They were worse
and more frequent as he grew older.
The General was advanced in years, he
was losing his health, his strength and
the activity OF his youth, but he pre-
served the habit of swearing And this
began to trouble him. he saw how
wrong it was, for he had stiQ some
Christian feelings left at the bottom of
his heart, which age and suffering had
| revived
At this time he was attacked by q
violent fit of gout, which caused him
cruel sutferings, and made it necessary
for him to have continued attention for
several days. He decided to send for
one Of those good women who in France
devote themselves to the care of the
sick, and that evening Sister of Char
ity was installed near the old Generals
arm chair. 1t was not long before, ac.
cording to habit, he began to utter
dreadful oaths. The good Sister felt as
if she would fall to the ground. She
had never heard anything like it in all
her life before. st e.
Nevertheless, like sensible woman.
she quickly recovered herself, and gave
him regular scolding t.
"What do you wish good Sister y said
the General, little confused. 81 can't
help swearing 1t is q habit of thirty
years, and it is impossible to get rid of
it."
"Come, come" said the Sister, smil-
ing, ~ think ] have heard it said that
the word impossible is not French. At
all events it is not Christian word
when it concerns duty that has to be
done. Now, General, if you seriously
wish to be cured Of your wicked, ugly
habit, assure you that yo7 may succeed.
| Well, will youq
eyes; certainly l will"
"Promise me that you will submit to
the prescription which shall impose in
| order 20 cure you
| 81 promise you."
son the word Of General q
"On the honor Of soldier"
"Wel, this is what l order you as
the one and only remedy Every time
that you happen to swear or blaspheme
you will give me five francs Zone dollar)
for my poor"
"Five francs for every oath p cried
the General; "you wish to ruin me, Sis
ter"
"You have given me your word, Cen
eral," replied the Sister laughing, "and I
shan't give it back to you. Moreover,
it only depends upon yourself So do
not swear and you will have nothing to
pay"
r".Don't swear Don't swear That is
all VERY easy for you TO say. A pretty
remedy, indeed, you have discovered !
Thanks to your invention, you will see
that / shall have to die in the poor
house p
The General said a great deal more
about it; but he had promised on the
honor cf soldier, and he had nothing
to do but keep his promise. At the first
acute pain which the gout caused him, he
launched forth terrible oath, according
to his custom.
| "You owe mefye francs, General"
said the Sister quietly. Where do you
keep your money!
| The General showed her the key Of his
desk, and while the good sister was tax
ing the five franc piece for the poor, he
scratched his head and murmured be-
tween his teeth:
,tThere, 1 have already forgotten the
agreement / must he more attentive
another time" Half an honr later an
other twinge brought out the second
oath, but this time he did not get to the
end Of it, but stopped short half way,
thinking of the francs he would lose.
Nevertheless he had to pay the five
francs agreed on. AT the third twinge
he found that ten francs lost in one
evening was enough, and he restrained
himself SO well that he scarcely began
the first syllable of the fatal oath.
The next and the following days it
still happened that he forgot himself
from time to time; but as he had al
ways to pay for his forgetfulness, the
oaths were fewer and farther between;
and the fourth day he did not swear at
all. He lost forty or Fifty francs which
the Sister had gained for the poor, but
he was cured of swearing.
Where the Profit Is,
A German gentleman who keens q