Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1885-12-27
NUMBER 3,333,333.
BY GUsTAyE GoETCHY.
copyrighted 1885.


the four and twenty friends OF Theodore
each found in his morning post note
running thus:
"Old Dear-Sincc yesterday the live.
Hest 10y illumiues the soul of thy friends
he has won prize OF 500 600 francs IN the
Franco-Spanish lottery. Howf ThGt IL
for me to tell you this evening at Brants
between slice OF foe gras and bottle
with a green seal Know whilst waiting
that at the present hour thou hast for thy
friend the most fortunate OF mortals, who
presses thee to his heart.
"rnEoDoRE.n
This letter, extravagant in substance as
IN words, plunged into an abyss OF aston
ishment Theodorc's tour and twenty
friends.
"IIeno," they all say, at the same time,
after casting around their forty eight eyes
in search of a solution Of the mysterious
affair; "here's precious 90. Our poor
friend has either gone crazy or Is trying
to play us n trick Whence came the
500, 900 francs he talks of, and how has he
won them, since the drawing Of the lot
terry has not yet taken place?'
IIereupon the four aud twenty friends
yainly rack their four and twenty brains,
dress themselves in hot haste and proceed
TO the nearest telegraph ONCE, where they
simultaneously send to each other the
following message;
"Receiycd letter from Theodore; am
anxious, as have not understood IT, Hast
thou received one also2'
TO which one Immediately answered;
'Rcceiycd it, but do not understood IL
either. Ace soir."
The pneumatic clocks of the boulevard
had Just sounded siX-thc little needles
were still pointing to the hour, when the
four and twenty friends of Theodore
gathered one by one at Brauts famous
restaurant each one salutlng IL humbly,
for they reyered it like temple. Thco-
dore was already there, seated before a
Widespread table.
AS each one entered and shook hands
with him they regarded him out of the
corner of their eyes. He did not seem to
have gone mad, or TO be nourishing any
dark design of diabolic mystidcation
against them. The greeting he gave
them was simple and cordial, and the joy
he showed at receiving them had nothing
in it either false or affected.
"My friends" said he, 81 am very
happy" and as they began to question
him he arrested them by gesture, show
ing them the oysters lauguishing in their
shells, their brilliant mother-of-pearl tints
Illuminating the plates beneath them.
When each OF them had settled himself
comfortably at table and profound ST.
lcncc had succeeded the noise Of the
moving chairs, Theodore began his story,
and addressing himself to his four and
twenty friends, said: "You will not have
TO wait long for the recital Of my hap
plhess, AS Tor the prize OF 10000 francs,
/ won u thus Zen days ago ] was pass
ing uI4the Champs Elysees, at the hour of
promenade, with no other object than
that OF walking up to descend again, when
opposite Lcdoycn's ! was attracted by
the patter Of two little feet before me,
attached to two coqucttish ankles, such
ankles as only pretty woman can
possess and which one follows without
knowing why, all around Paris, If the
fancy takes them to lead You,n
"Thcre Is too much ankles In vnur
story,n cried in unison the four and
twenty friends. ,syye hurn vith i'm,
patlence, arrive at the hctsn
81 am thcre - renlied Theodore ur
Won win have the Kindness MT IN intnr,
rupt me. followed mechanically under
the palc rnys Of tho fret snring e1nsbinc
the COMING and pDiDH Of those tyvn adore -
ble ankles. / saw tHrm tnrn to thc Inft
and direct Themselves towords fine nortbe
cast nov,Iion of the PALMS de- rIndmstrin
where as Won know are cynosad "t ,bis
nomeDt the tickets of the I5ronro, Snonisb
lottery,p
wv SNOW an about Them" sad the
i'l,F 4uu twenty LrIeuuS we nave AT
"' S,rr, .neIc W sVe mem ,.,
ne ankles Oh WHlch speak went lherc
81 found tbis on by ,,atjn,, thc,,, to
,.argo +Lo a,onro sSl,,,I'sida a., m'Iot"
and ,,onatratn henooth m to,t ,',,,
800 tba notr,Dc,. thnt eido "''To,'
tratod Nth t%n, o V I'm fWd o"v
tha o,r,nd stono staircasa ,,bi"b Ioa,t, w." w.
10 ~ ~ tho oynasI,iC N'Tl 'r'''9 W
~ ne t,,s ,,,,,r,, H., gI,i a.,
ticl,ats so'w hon stnS ava gtoT',,d3
Iis,,.jso t'o ,oTc,, 1,oP, a." ''"ppru
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49,, - f"'O s0'N' az" wv
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