The Washington critic., 1890-02-17
Tickeis-One Franc.
DRAWING ON JUNE 10 NEXT.
No POstnOnenlenf J

". B.-AH prizes paid IN specie
Just underneath this enticing placard
there was glass shelf, on which, amidst
collection Of pipes. tobacco pouches and
amber mouth pieces, lay heap Of lottery
tickets.
At this moment 10 O'Clock sounded from
all the clocks in the neighborhoOd except
ing, of course, those that were not right
and from the lips of the confectiOner es-
capped thoughtful murmur.
"a hundred thousand francs!-that is
not probable but it is possible. And if
not hundred thousand, why not ten thou.
SANDY"
When anyone spoke to Madame Moulinier
about winning In lotteries she Invariably
remarked:
"Oh, yes, know how to do it; l have
discovele ed sure way Of making money IN
a lottery.n
Her unsuspecting hearer would generally
inquire:
''Iow do you do 1t, Madamegi and then
Eudoxia would reply, with mocklng
smile
81 never buy ticket, and then / make
the franc that it would have cost meP'
Naturally, her meek spouse had never
ventured to broach the subject to her, or to
invest on his own account; but now, rem
dered desperate by his losses at domino, lie
began to think seriously of raising franc
without her permission.
sin less than a months time my franc
will be increased hundred-fold, perhaps
ten thousand-fold, or even a hundred
thousand fold" continued Theophile, with
his eyes glistening; "my losses at dominos
will be more than covered without Eudoxia
knowing nything about them"
Without further mental struggle he
walked quickly into the tobacco store
Here he found Clorinde. the young woman
who presided in the absence of Nine. Val
mondois, the proprietor, seated on shabby
velvet stool behind the counter. She made
gesture Of surprise when she saw him,
| and exclaimed:
''Mohsieur Theophile Mouliniern'
"Flattered at being recognized by the
pretty brunette, the proprietor of the Bon
Bonbon smiled graciously.
"What can give your" she asked.
~ want toto buy "a" he stammered.
| "a cigar, sir?"
"No, thanks, want one of those lottery
tickets" and he pointed to the tempting
heap.
"Certainly," replied the young woman,
and going to the window she picked up one
of the tickets and handed it to him with a
charming smile, saying:
"Would you like anything else?"
"Yes, l would like the grand price" he
answered, laughing gleefully at his With
cism, as he put the ticket carefully, away in
his pecket-book, after reading aloud the
number, "0l3. OPS"
~ wish you good luck" she said, and as
he bade her good evening he glanced at the
clock. "Half-past 10! Eudoxia will be
furious" he thought, trotting home as fast
as he could 60.
The Bon Bonbon always closed at 6
o'clock, and few minutes after that hou,
| Madame Moulinier went to bed.
hnr h,tC antn ha he
sat up and said sharply: "This is a nice
time for you to come home. What have
you been doingYn
"Nothing at all, my dear" he answered
soothingly, ''my watch is slow, that is ALL
"Have you been losing at dominos?" she
snapped In a tone of suspicion, and hel
husband replied unhesitatingly, 81 lost
twenty-five cenJimes at first, but l made
them up again ami ten beside"
at is well for YOU" she muttered, aud
Theophile imprinted, as was his custom, q
kiss upon her forehead.
few minutes later duet of regular
and musical snoring seemed to indicate
that the loving pair had fallen into deli
cious slumber. We say seemed to indicate
advisedly, for indeed Eudoxia was the ONLY
one who was asleep, aud her husband wai
merely initiating her notes In order TO mis-
lead her in the event of her aw waking uneN
| pecIculy. llC COulu HOJ olttpi lOI BTOul
Of magic figures seemed to be dancing be
fore his eyes, the figures which formed thu
number of his lottery ticket, Ol3,O2S.
The next day, Mr.. Moulinier, true to hi
word, kept away from the Cafe du Com
merce; indeed, he had something more i'm
portant than domInos TO think of.
He had the store all to himself that day
for Eudoxia, beiug slightly indisposed, KEEP
her room, and Theophile was able to ap
proprate the price Of several candy stick
and three pounds of sugared almonds, ant
the amounts did not appear in the book o
sales In this way he contryed to cove
his losses, and the small deception weigheI
but lightly upon his conscience.
The confectloner waited anxiously for th
18th of June, the day Of the lottery draw
ing, for he was possessed with the desire +
be able to retTact his VOW and resume hi
favorite pastime.
On the 10th of June. therefore, he got nj
ut o'clock, opened the store himself an'
waited for the newsboy to bring the Pct
ROuenadis, In which the result of the draw
ing was always published. At last he hear
a harsh voice calling:
'Buy the Petit ROueRHdis-all the new
from Paris-murder Of Fontaines Court
The Lottery of Mezldon-n in another min
ute Mr. Moulinier had bought paper, an,
with his heart beating wildly, turned TO tn
third page, where he read:
DRAWING OF THE MEzIDoN LOTTERY.
Grand prize of 100000 francs has beel
drawn by ticket No. 22l ,527
Two prizes OF 10000 francs each by Nos
col 1916 and 0l3,02S.
lie uttered a stiled cry of Joy aud reat
no further