The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-11-21
FROM THE SEA.
BY FRANK H. SWEET.
Copyright 1901. by Daily Story Pub. Co

;s $ @
 the fishermen on the beach. he was a 1 great man, but at home It was Elise "ho
 Alter time the children began to 1 struggle in from the parish school at st. l Vaiery- two miles away. F1rst, tneFe | was Guillaume, of the strong limbs, Who | loved the sea and hated books. Then | there were Francois and Henri. who could
 race along the beach like the wind; anu
 Sophie and Helene. whose hair was the | color of the waves when the storm | clouds are shadowed in them, and whose
 faces were tanned and roushened by the | wind and sea, and, like Guillaume. all or | them abhorred the little school room at
 St. Valery. And then there was little Jean.
 But, curiously enough, Jean was not
 so small as one would think. Indeed,
 he was of the same age and almost as ] large as Guillaume himself. And he | loved the sea- and the open air, and the | games; but far, far above all the rest. | he loved his books. So the neighpors lowered their voices and spoke of him 1 compassionately as pauvre garcon, and 1 mauvais, mauvsis! And it was not so | very long before that even Elise herself
 had shared their opinion and thought or
 her precocious boy with missivings. l called on her and he had spoken so
 warmly of little Jean and the possible I honor in store for him that she felt al- | most oppressed by the sudden rush Of
 affection and pride which had overwhelm- | ed her.
 After the good man left she had gone
 out on the beach and given herself up to | meditation until she was aroused by the | children coming from school. And after | that she had always mentioned Jean first | instead of. last But as the days went | by and unspoken dread began to trouble | her. At the end of the year Jean and c,,stt f,A TnA nlA fn
 parish school. Then there would be
 nothing for them but to come home and | help their father with the fishing. It
 was all right and proper for Guiilaume' | But Jean?
 | In the evening she called Jean from
 his books and asked him to explain the | marks. The boy gazed at them intensely
 for some time. then G speited out ris non Jacques raised his head angrily. ,,
 You will be a fool If you give 1t up, he said, sharply.
 | Elise did not answer. but the next day
 she wrapped the box carefully in her | shawl and carried it to Monsieur Ie Cure at St. Valery.
 And now the days and weeks went
 smoothly by. Jacques recovered his good | humor, and smoked and sang and told | stories. and now and then sauntereo
 down to the beach and caught few | fish, or made himself the center Of group of admiring friends
 One day as they sat down to dinner the
 .Bien. 1 am just in time!' he cried. gayly, as they placed chair for nim l at the table. "I have good news for you. The box is in the possession of it's owner"
 Jasques looked anything but pleased. and even Elise seemed a little embar-
 rassed. But the Cure did not appear to l notice. , l II had a letter from the owner this
 morning" he continued as he took a roll of bills from his pocket. .@he writes | that the box is very valuable, and that the finder must accept this as slight reward" handing the bills to Elise. T congratulate you, Madame Jacques. Four | hundred francs is good days work Jacques caught his breath sharply and | half rose to his feet: then he sank back and tried to turn off his elation in a laugh. But after the Cures departure | he allowed his enthusiasm to again break forth.
 -Four hundred francs!" he cried, joy, ously. "Four--hundred-francs Bien!
 bien! It will buy me a new boat, and l a seine, and two kegs of wine; and-and you can get new dress. Elise, ma chere.
 Four hundred francs! Vrainment, we are rich.
 II found the box, Jacques" said Elise
 quietly.
 dress and-and what else, ma cheTe?' Let me see," said Elise. counting
 on her fingers, ''I shall use one hundred francs to buy new clothes ana SaDots TOT
 the children. and a dress for myself and
 some hens for the henyard.'
 ""vrai?" impatiently. but the three
 hundred francs?"
 'sThey are to buy a scholarship for
 little Jean at Beauvais. I have spoken to Monsieur le Cure about 1t. Three hundred francs will pay for his educa-
 ton at the good Home. He will have to l leave us, of course but he will come back man. Surement, Jacques. we | have had good luck from the sea. But 1t l is le bon Dieu who knows our needs