The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1889-07-25
MASTER ANp MFN.

their wine after dinner. There was a
strong contrast between the two. The
father was stout pompous, and heavy;
his clothes were precise, but old fash
ioned, The sob, on the other hand, was
slight, with a Iakish countenanee, an
eye-glass, and an attire which bespoke
the last fashion. r...t ...
Theodore, !" said Mr.. Aurelius, az he
leisurely fl led his glass and pushed the
decanter across to his son. "Ihaye Civ
en- you, as you know, every educational
advantage that money has been able to
afford, and nowsk consider 1T Is high
time that you should enter my counting
house and help me in my business. In
order, however, to impart final polish
to your education and to afford you
last fling Of enjoyment b foreyou begin
the routine of office work, have deter
mined that you shall make a three
months tour of the Continent
Thanks, awfu Iy. Governor" replied
Theodore, his face growing vastly more
cheerful with the concluding part Of the
sentence. There is nothing l SHOULD
like better" ~. d.' .as sl t..p,..
'Lst me see. Today Is Monday con-
tinued Mr. Aurelius, "Why should you
not start this week r
II am ready to start whenever you
please" said Theodore, who not only
looked forward to the possible dissipa
tions of foreign travel, but was also glad
to embrace any offer that might delay
his entry into the counting-house.
"Yuu will need for your tour" said
Mr.. Aurelius, can experienced valet
one well acquainted with foreign lam
guages and accustomed to Continental
travelling. You shall have Ambrose.
This final offer was made'in tone of
conscious ununificence. .r.. nj
Ambrose was Mr.. Aureliuo' own valet,
and had Travelled with his master over
Europe twenty years ago. when Theo-
dore was an infast in arms.
"Yout offer is most generous y an
swered his son-incllned secretly to a
younger, smarter and less old-fashioned
servant--"but do not like TO rob you of
the valuable services ofsuch a treasure"
Mr. Aurelius waved his hand magnif-
icently, and lying back in his chair
composed himself for his evenings nap.
This was sign that the dialogue had
come to an end. ..r
s In due course of time, that is to, say,
on the following Saturday, Theodore left
by the light mail with Ambrose in his
service and a hundred pounds ($50O) in
his pocket. Mr.. Aurelius promlsed to
forward bis son more money as he might
require it. 1t WAS better that he should
not have too much at time,
Now, the worthy merchant, knowing
nothing of the classics himself, had
profound veneratiOn fol the classical
cities, and stipulated with his son that
he should spend at least week in
| Rome.
Theodore, for his part. fancied Paris,
Vienna, Berlin, st, Petersburg or Con
stantinopIe IN preference to Rome; but
dutifully determined 10 get over the
least enjoyable part OF his tour at the be-
ginning,
On the way to the capital of the an
cient World he stopped at Monte Carlo.
1t was his intention to stay there one
night, and proceed on his journey next
day. Having no idea of doing things
except on the most magnificent style, he.
engaged fine suite of apartments at the
hoteI.''T 80 3 Hf- ...
After recherche little dinner, washed
down bottle of Duo de Braban," he
ldeterminei TO stroll out and amuse him
self. r'. fNy ... .....
Ambrose, ,"he said to his servant, as
the latter helped him into his ulster, 81
don't know at precisely what time l
shall be back; but stay up'for me"
"Yes,- cir" replied Ambrose. Not
muscle of his face moved to show
whether he was pleased with the injunc-
tion or not. He had all the, impenetra-
bility of an excellent servant.
AS soon as.Theodore had gone, Am
| l. g =, 20 lya l 10 IN
dinner off the remnants Of his masters,
Then he mixed himself a tumhler of
brandy and water. and composed him
self TO read until Theodore should re-
turn. .t ,......
The hours dragged on, and Ambrose
began to grow weary lie had already
three times done what, in his masters,
presence, nothing would have induced
him TO do-nameIy,, awned. The hands
of the clock were pointing to ga. nj. ,and
Ambrose was yawning for the fourth
cime, when at last Theodore entered.
| Both his manner and look showed him
to be much excited, while from his thick
voice and unsteady gait he appeared to
have been drinking.
Theodore flung off his ulster and hat,
and sinking into chair, plunged his
hands into his pockets and sat regarding
space with a maudlin sef-satished smile.
Twill master please to retire to bed,
now ?'inquired Ambrose. .a7yE
"Bed p cried Theodore. Bed be
hanged shan't go to bed tonight.
Get me some brandy ~ ..u.
As his master appeared 10 have too
much brandy already, Ambrose affected
not to hear the command.
"Brandy dye hear ?" repeated 1heo'
dore with maudlin irritation.
Brandy! Yes, SIR" the valet an
swered, not venturing to be deaf any
longer. And, setting on the table a
large soda water glass, he began 10 pour
a small quantity of spirit into it. ;;,.o
"GIve me the bottle, you fool " said
Theodore, snatching it from his hand;
and pouring out a liberal supply, he
tossed off half of it raw.
"Monte Carlo" he muttered in thick
indistinct voice, holding his glass high
in the air.. Here - sh very good
health-sh Excellent place-sh Stay
here rest-sh of life-sh. Break-sh bank
tomorrow sh. Fortune made-sh. No
counting-house.sh No confounded Of
flee. Roulette forever-sh J.
Ambrose looked and listened gFavely.
His face was perfectly immovable.
Shortly after Theodore's head began
tonod and fall forward on his breast,
and few minutes later loud snore
testified that he was asleep. Y Y.a
Ambrose scanned his master cautious
lly,, cleared his throat several times, then
approached him and inquired, "Will
master go to bed now 2" j. ..ly III. .
/ Another snore was the sole, reply
Ambrose waxed bolder and touched his
masters arm, then positively shook him.
The sleeping man gave an impatient
shrug. and muttered something, but did
not wake up. He'had fallen into the
heavy sleep of inebriatiOn. ...s,..-.. :
Ambrose paused awhile and scratched
bis head in perplexity. If his master
woke up in the morning and found him
self in that position IN the chair, there
would be he knew, a rumpus. And yet
to put him properly TO bed while in that
state, was scarcely possible. he would
take off his masters coat, collar and
shoes, lay him on the bed ,and cover him
with q rug. -.-f.r .r..t. ..
This purpose he was able to effect-in
spite of some drowsy protests and few
feeble struggles; and he left Theodore
lying on the bed to sleep off his intoxi-
cation, .-. a. .f.EH s..t ....
But as he was folding up his masters
coat roll of papers fell from his breast
pocket. Ambrose picked them up and
looked at them. They were bank-no'
Glancing once more at the sleeper's face
10 make sure that he was buried in
slumber,' Ambrose examined the notes
carefully HIS eyes sparkled aud fingers
trembied as he counted; They amount
ed TO nearly 40, 900 francs Is, ,0OO). That
then, was the meaning of his masters
drnhkan uoTd5 .TheodoTe had p'ainly