Madison times. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1884-1???, 1885-04-25
.hiel, hung down linn ana inert, and

" I'm 4 mechanical gesture IuclPn de
Hem raised his hand to his waistcnat
| pocket, but be remembered that MON.
ent before he bad not been allie to find
a twenty sous piece which he had for
gotten, and which he wished to give as
gratunty to the waitero the gambling
house. However, impelied by an in
stinctive sentiment of pity he approach
ed the little child, and perhaps, would
have taken her in his arms and carried
her to shelter for the night, when he
perceived shining object in the shoe
which had fallen ON the snow.
He .stooped and leoked. 1t was a
louis Dor
A charitable parson-a woman, no
doubt-had passed by, had seen on this
Christmas eve the allen shoe lying be-
fore the slmnbering child, anu, recalling
the touching legend, had dropped in it
with cautious hand a splendid gift, so
that the little, deserted creature, might,
on avail sning, stlll believe in the pres
ents made by the child Jesus, and pre-
serve, notwithstanding her misery. some
hope and trust in the goodness of Provi-
denee. .-f.F -..r..J I'm .. .,H
A louis That meant many days of
ease and comfort for the little beggar,
ard Lucien was on the point of arousing
anG telling her this, when close to his ear,
as it were in dream. he heard the voice
of the Pole with his drawling and Shiny
accent:
For two whole days have not stirred
from the cinle, aud fJr two days the
seventeen has not come out. Gou may
cut of. my right hand if now, in NOM
ent, at the stroke ofmidnight, that num-
Der does not appear" ,'.,.-;--,F
Suddenly the young man OF twenty
three, descended from an honorable race
which bore a splendid military name
without a stain, conceived frightful
| thought. He was seized with mad, )
hysterical, monstrous desire. By
glance he assured himself that be was
alone ia the deserted street, and ben ling
Fdown aud stretching forward his -trem-
bling hand, he stole the louis dor from
the Iallen shoe. Then running at full
speed, he returned to the gambling house,
bounded up the staircase, burst open
| with blow of his hand the door of the
crowded and accursed hall, and rushing
in at the very first moment when the
clock sounded the very first stroke of
midnight, he threw the vi ce of gold on
| the green cloth, and cried: .--.. .-
"AIl on the seventeen p"
The seventeen won. .'.-.
With a sweep of his hand Lucien
puThed the Sc. loupis; on the red; - "a !;
The red wo.i %. - I
| He left the 72 fouis on the same eofor.
7 TheIred agai II turIied up. 9E yissq
J. EHe made ltheEsame venture twice.
| three times, andalways with the same
success. lie had soon before him heap
i.of soFd shdbask ndess wishwhich in a
sort offrenzy he strewed the cloth. The
l''dizen~tb8 t'colhuin y tho ',number,"
every cof1lbinatien .sticeeecisd. tltwss a
teHperna t,lral and unheard.of -f1tnne.
1t seemed as if the little ball of ivory
lleaping into the compartments of the
| roulette table was magpetlzed and taScln-
| ated by the look of the player and obeyed
his will. He had rewon in dozen bets
the paltry. ban$note ofT00 francs, his
last RESOURCE, Which he had lost in the
4 beginning of fthe evening, snd now, wag-
efing 200 Or 369 louis atatime. and sus-
tanned by his fantastic bliss of luck, he
was on the way to more than regain the
hereditary fortune which he had dissi-
mated 10 30 short a TINT. llnfhis haste to
Fbesiirp play hehadf.t taken off his heavy
peli>se; already he had filled his large
.pock kets,with packages ot bank notes and
rouleaux of gold pieces, and, not know
ing where to put his winnings, he stuffed
!. with vpapsrmbney the inner and outer
H pockets ofhis 1rock, coat, the pockets OF
his wlis coat md trowserss his cigar case,
! his Iha handkerchief-in fact, everything
which would serve assl rceptacie And
] he playedlike madmap, like drunk
EN- man, md still won; and he threw
Ehandfb A. Of gold on ibe tablet tiat hazard,
without concern and with gesture OF
certainty and disdain. D..
l.. But allthe time he felt as it were a
revffct IRON Gin his heart, and his
thoughts turned to the little begIar
asleep in the snow-the child whom he
lTtSho ia still in the same place" he said
to himself Certainly she must be
there, still. In a moment. y Yes. When
it strikes 1. / swear it. / will leave
III will hasten to take her IN my arms,
fast asleep tfs she is 1wi,learrs ohef to
tmy home. yIwilf put her to steep IN my
own bed. | will bring her up. will
| give her dowy RviAlSve her a5my
ish her ;Epnaff- -Fforever1
L IDAI -lhC ChCh ESNNh oiAC, anu tuN
euartef, and thei hall, and the three.
susrters, and Lucien was still seated al
the frnernal table.
At ast-just before two o'clock-ths
d manager, rose abruptly and said with
1ond void:
THE bank is broken, gentleman Ii
|. in enough fdr tedsypN r{oTTnSE
With one bound Lucien sprang, to -hii
feet. Pushing aside without ceremony
the players who surrounded hin, anC
who watched him with envious admira
ton, he lett hastily, descended the stair
at fall speed, ala rsnt3 the stone bench
Tim sfar, blythe Hihtof the gas lamp
he saw the little child.
"God be praised" "he exclaimed. "Sh;
, lis stiHthesA" He approached and SELF
ed her hand.
,l "Oh,. how cold she is! Poor .littl,
$ creature" Ne 6urnnred. al 1'D'O
, He put his arms around her, and rsise'
her to carry her away. The head Of tn
!, Child fell back. but she did not awake.
i "Ah, how one sleeps at that age" h
\ said. HE pressed her to his breast t
: give her warmth, and then, seized wit
a vague uneasiness, and 10 arouse he
from ;ier heavy slunber he kissedyhe
7 on the eyes as he had many time kisse
v the woman whom he loved and cherish
S ed the most; .E.a5g..,.4, llis,Lga.,