Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1903-04-18
!: His Ruling Passion

Gilbert de Saumur had just re-
turned to Paris after ten years So
| journ in America. He had left his
country ruined and almost hopeless,
a victim to his passion for gambling.
He was quite young when he had
left France, but he had squandered
away a large fortune and so had
courageously decided to go into ex-
lie and try his luck in a new way
namely, by work. He had started
away with EGO in his pocket and
had now returned after ten years
slavery almost rich man again.
He was once more on the boule-
wards, once more gazing at the bril-
liantly lighted shops and at the gay
crowd of fashionable loungers who
were strolling along apparently
without care in the world. At
last, feeling a little tired, he sat
down at one of the tables outside
cafe, idly wondering whether any of
his former friends would recognize
him now.
Suddenly he felt hand on his
shoulder and, turning round, dis
covered an old acquaintance of his.
''De Saumur, is it possible? Why,
old fellow, how many years is it
since we met, or, rather, since we
parted ?"
''Ten years, Rouval-just ten
years since I started off with my
ego to try my luck over the sea-"
Sand what sort of luck have you
had, old fellow?"
every fair-better than I expect
ed. I've come back anyhow with
enough of the 'needfuP to go along
all right now. How have you been
getting on all these years ?"
swell, I've had some changes,
like every one else. I'm married
now and am getting on all right-at
least I should if l could only leave
the COMPOUNDED cards alone"
'Take care, Rouval, if you 60 in
for that still. | ought to have been
a warning to some of you. Why
don't you give that sort of thing up
once and for all?'
''That's easier said than done.
What is a fellow to do at the club?
And then if once you've won from
man you cannot refuse to let him
have his chance, and so you go on.
| say, you'll come home with me. I
want to hear all about your doings
and introduce you to my wife"
q should like to come very
much
"Well, it's settled then. Now tell
me something about your life over
yonder. How did you ever get a
start %
E'Well, I had bad time at first, I
confess. The motto of the country
there is, Every man for himself If
one cannot hold ones own in the
fierce competition that is waged,
then there is nothing to do but give
in and disappear. On the contrary,
if you've got some grip in you and
can hold on and have got just
enough money in your pocket to
keep you from starving till you get
YOUR foot on the ladder. Whv. there's
q chance for you.
81 stood of at nothing, as l did
not know soul in the whole coun-
try. AS | knew a good deal about
horses, | offered my services as
eoachman to a New York physician
and had the honor Of driving him
about all day to visit his patients. "
Ode Saumur, is it possible?''
ct was, Rouval. That was pre- |
sisely how l commenced. When /
mad got used to the life over there
and saw how things went, ven
5ured on other things, and | GER
5ainly had good luck, for everything |
touched succeeded. AS soon as I |
1ad scraped little money. together
[ put it into some shares in rail |
way company, and SO | went on UNI
ii had made what | considered |
enough to come back with
"It's been pretty rough on you,
Gilbert"
'It has, and / don't mind own
ng it now. The hardest thing of
III was to keep myself from gam
bling away the money as I made it.
t was easy enough to rough it as
egards other things, both luxuries
md the necessities of life, but it
vas confoundedly hard to keep
way from the gaming tables, which
'xist there just as much as here.
Thank heaven, | did resist though,
Il