The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-01-15

breeding of the gentleman. l couldn't help
noticing, too, that although his clothing
was quite up to the standard of shabbiness
usual in heggn,s, there was n deficiency in
dirt. He began at me in French.
"Pardonnez moi, monster, parlez vous
Francais?"
His bearing. his gestures. his accents
were all SO confoundedlv polite that / felt
almost ashamed to tell him that l didn't
speak French. as though that would be
equivalent to a confession of infsriority.
But then / remembered in time to save my
self that pollteness is a trick that all
Frenchmen have, 80 l told kim, in an ap-
propriately brutal Saxon sort of a way that
I didn't speak French, and that if he want
ed to get anything out of me he would
have to spin his warn in English and be
quick about it. too.
He did spin his yarn in English, which
improved wonderfully RS he got along; but
so many French mannerisms did he mix
with it thas | did not a. preciate the signifi-
canoe of that fact until afterwards. He said
that he WIS a dentist, that he had come
from Franco some nine months previous
with a little money, which he had saved up.
expecting to win fame and fortune in the
New World, But he found neither one nor
the other: his last penny was spent. and for
the past week he had been under the pain
full necessity of begging to keep himself
from starving, and, as q gentlemen. | could
unuGTbLHIu now kS6uly Lag lelG LEo QQmllla
tion of his position.
All of which l listened to with proper
skepticism. l asked him why he hadn't
been to the French consul. He had been
there. but the French consul could do moth
ing for him.. Why didn't he 60 to tho
French societies. then?
'Ah. monsieur, l go to zis society and l
20 Eat society, and zis society send me-
zere. and Eat society send me here. and I
find nozzin zere. and ! find nozzin here, an
l have no money, an l walk, an l walk till
re tired feeling and ze hungaire make me
stop or l must die"
His voice quavered. there were traces of
cumb. l had met beggars before who could
have made H good living as actors if some
one had started them on the light track.
"Ah, monsieur" he continued, pathet-
ically. II am no more young; re SHOWS of
70 wintaire zey come on my head" He
raised his hat with a despairing gesture.
showing his scanty gray locks. But, mon
%sieur," he added, "zere is somezin worse
zen re hunRaire of re body. | hat no
friends; I hat no home; l am a stranger ia
70 strange land; l hat re heart huneaire.'
1t was that. to use q slang phrase. that
fetched me. l couldn't stand that thought
of the heart hunger Of a friendless and
unfortunate Frenchman in a foreign land.
My sksptic ism vanished and l reioiced to
think that | hadn't entirely lost faith in
that instinct which teaches a man TO dis
eliminate between a bother man in dis
tress and Il vulgar lmposter. | tool my
beggar to a restaurant, treated him to a
good dinner. and though | wasn't hungry
ordered something myself just to keep him
comuany and save him from feeling en-
barrAssed. And when | shook hands with
him, wishing him good luck and bidding
him keep q stout heNrt, i slipped q dollar
Hill into his hand.
All TINT n1Uht VIVA on aXrnlant fnynp
with myself. | found that ] had risen in
my own estimation Just 80 per cent. |
never before obtained SO much satisfac-
ton out of so small an expenditure of cash.
] had made an exec lent investment. /
only regretted that | hadn't given him nv
address and told him to come and sea me
whenever he found 'Ae heart hungaire''
getting The better of him.
At frequent intervals during the next
week INDUCED in ppaSps of s~elf-laudatlon
whenever | thought OF how ] had treated
my beQgar. In Imagination | saw my dol
lar turning to a fortune i'll his hands. But
those spasms ceased very suddenly. At the
end of the week | ran ACROSS my beggar
again. 1T was on Third hvenus and quite
late Mt night. Ye gods! YVES ii posslble2
He had actually forgotten me!
"Pardonncz moi" he began just as he
had before.
was too indignant for A moment to say
anything. My pride was deeply hurt. In
stead of beng able to pat myself on tho
buck and congratulate myself on being q
downright, good natured, charitable SO t of
fellow. ] should have to confess to myself
that | had been most e2reRiousiy sold"
While rejecting how l could best make
him realize the unutterHble loathing and
contempt which felt for him a magnificent
scheme of revenge occurred to me. / got
him to spin his yarn to me III English again.
He told 1t just as nttectlugly rs he told il
before, but this time re heart hur gairs'
didn't touch any responsive chord i'll Ivy
breast. 1t WINS just ali that | could do tc
keep my opinion of him to myself. l in
vIted him to accompany me to M all night
restaurant near by, where the ~victuals sold
were exceedingly cheap and Of correspond
ing!y e&eerable quality. He didn't e4actly
jump Mt the invitation, but still he oIdu'i
decline it. ! ordered "a bow of something
for him which according to the bill of fare
IVES clam cLowder. But it would huve re
quirod Ii chemical analysis 10 determine
Just what it WAS made of. My beggar founl
he hunger had entirely vanished when h.
had consumed less than half OF it. ana pc
liteiy asked "mons'uer" to e1cuGe him.
That was my oppot tunity.
"See here, you miserable old swindier."