Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1895-12-27
THE GOLDEN LOUIS.


croupier and rose from the rou ett(
table where he had juSt lost The
remains Of his little fortune, hC
felt as if the earth was spinning
and as if be could not hold him
self up.
Completely upset, he threw him.
self down upon the leather covered
Settee which extended arOunl the
room. For a few moments he look
ell vaguely around the gambling
room i0 which he had WASTED tlC
best years Of his life, realized
that he was hOpelesSly ruined
remembered that a cOmmode held
pistol with whlcA his father,
General Be Hem, then only a cap
tam, bad used so we'll at the at
tack on ZAtcha; theu, overcome
by fatigue, he felli adtep sleep
When he awoke, he judged
after glanclDg at the clock, that he
had slept scarcely half an hour
and he felt an lnperous desire to
breathe the fresh night air. The
hand of the clock showed that it
was a quarter to IA,
Rising and stretching out his
arms, Lucien suddenly remembered
that it weS CHRISTMAS eye, and as
if in irony his memory carried BIN
back to the days Of his Childhood
and he saw himself putting his
shoes by the fireplace before going
to bed.
Just at this moment old DrOnsbl
a aevotee Of the gambling table,
come up TO Llclen mambling
something behind his dirty gray
beard,
"Leul me ) ira,cs, sir. l have
not stirred from here for ,wo days
and ia that two days the ~ has
not come up. Laugh or not, a
you Please, but l would give my
hand if tonight t midnight thai
number does not win"
Lucien De Ham shrugged hi'
shoulders. He did not baveenoug}
iu his pockets to make the con
tribution which the inmates Of The
place STYLED "the POlandel's 1OO
sous He went into the cloakroou
put on his wraps and descend tn
staircase with feverish agility
D4iiog tie four hours thai Laciel
had been IN the place it had snow
ed steadily, aud the streets were
white. TIE ruined gambler shivtr
, ed under his flrs and walked
quickly along. HIS steps wet
soon arrested by a pltiable spec.a
Gle.
O, a stone fence covered wit
snow, which, according to tb'
ancient custom, stood before tht
opening of a hotel, a little girl 6 o
Z years old, scarcely covered by a
ragged, black dress, was sitting
t She had fallen asleep In spite 0
the bitter cold in an attitude o
fatigue and abandonment, and he
p0orlittle head and delicate shOIl
ders we're bent in an angle in th
wall and rested against the ic
/ stone. One of the sabots the chile
wore bad slipped of her foot an(
was lying in front OF her.
With a m cllnich gestur
, Llcien De Hem put his hand int
his pocket. Then he remembere
that moment before he had no
been able to Gud a single piece t
give the errand hoy at the club.
| Urged 10y an instructive feelin
D of pity, however he went up 9TH
child, and was about to take he
5 IN his arms, perhaps, and carr
her TO a place of shelter for th'
night, when, in the sabOt lying /
the snow; be saw 5 me hing glitte
ing. 1t was a gold louis!
a benevolent person, a woman
doubtless, passing by, had see
the shoe lying btt)re the sleepin
child on this Christmas eve, an
recalling the touching legend ha
given munlcfently so that I'll
abandoned child might still belieN
in gifts made by the infant Jesu
and in spite of her misfortune hay
some confidence and hope In gOot
ness of Providence.
A lOIisl That meant seyer
days of rest and ease for Il
begger. Luien was about to wake
her and tell her about 1t when |
heard close to his ear, as IN
r dream, voice-the voice of Il
d Polander-murmurlDg tLese word