Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1904-04-07

In reality but one and the same man.
who took his place in the morning In the
rue des Martyrs and in the afternoon IN
the rue Saint jacques, merely changing
his costume and shifting his blindness
to the other eye. I was convinced was
not mist aiken; the attitude, the gestures,
the voice, and especially the appearance
of the good eye, were, with both beggars,
identicalIy the same.
The ono good eye had a most extraor-
binary look. Whether 1t was the lott or
the right the expression remained the
sar1c, at once crafty and hooking ENi-
IDENTITY the eye of the rue des Martyrs
and that of tho rue Saint JACQUES con-
stitutcd a pair of eyes inhabited by SIN
sic soul.
There was no doubt that this pre-
tended blind man was a clear case of
make-up, a clever scoundrel. / did not
bear him any ilI-will however. for his
cleverness; I even thought he was so IN
renious that I gave him two sous In
stead Of one, deeming that he had earned
them we'll.
But what was his reason, I wondered
for changing his blind eye? The prob
lon bothered me, for l could not see any
plausible explanation. Doubtless you
wonder why l did not go and ask him
directly. But why should l give PAIN
to Il miserable wretch by telling him that
had discovered the fraud by which he
|
| that felt secret JOY in saving to
myself when I gave him the two sous:
| II suppose he takes me for iocl.
Well he is one. not /. since have found
out all about it."
! One day, however. could not restrain
myself and felt must tell the old beg
gar that had learned his secret. Let me
add. however, that ] robbed the act OF
/ its brutality by giving him at the same
! time gift of a hundred sous and wish
| ing him friendly good-morning.
| We'll" / said to the beggar. give M"
the key to this riddle that has been tor
menting me for three weeks. Why tn
| dickens are YOU blind first in one eye ana
| then in the other?"
| Sir" he answered, ''you seem to be
a very good sort OF a fellow and not the
kind to spoil my industry. Consequently
I will be perfectly frank with you. Inis
| Is the whole root of the matter. OR
business, you see. is just like any other;
the more you practice. the more expert
encc you gain and you learn by obserH-
ing. Now. have found out in the III st
place, that the blind mars business Is
not so good as that of the one-eyed man
! Why? I don't know, but that is the way
il is In the second place. | have OBJ
! served that there are people who are
more charitable to those who are blind
in the right eye and others who ara
equally more charitable to the left eye
Why? | don I Know mat cNncT, OUT IL
lust the way it is. Finally, and this Is
where I have been the slyest; I have
discovered and l don't know the reason
any more than for the other things, thai
a man blind in his right eye does better
work on the left bank of the Seine ans
a man blind in his left eye succeeds bet
ter on the right bank. You can find on
the reason why if you have time ant
think you can do it, AS for me- have
given it up. | am satisfied TO profit b.
my discovery and play the right-eNe(
man on the rue Saint Jacques and thu
left -eyed man on the rue des Martyrs
He looked at me, with glance tina
was more crafty and hooking than ever
and then added:
1.-THE joke of it Is. you know. that II
not one-eyed in either my right or II,
left eye"
"rhc dickens I cried. you cont nect
to tell me that. What are YOU chucklinl
over? DO I look as ii | were greene"
II don't know how you look he an
swercd How do you suppose I can see
! am blind in both eyes"
copyrighted. 1908 by the Foreign Story
Syndicate Co, burlington, Nt)