The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-01-24


 convincing proof that the story was the brilliant Frenchmans own.
 "Gil Blas' Is a treasury of witty say ings wise proverbs and stories that H. lustrate humanity. Innumerable phrases anecdotes and allusions are used today in the literature and conversation of the world that are taken from "Gil Bias though generally the users do not know it.
 4 LTHOUGH the parents of Gil Bias
 "A were only humble folk, his father 4 A being a major domo and his moth- CT a chambermaid. they gave their son an excellent education. He learned to know the Greek poets a little bit and the Latins very passably.
 He devoted himself to logic, and soon began to stop acauaintances and strangers on the street to debate with them. Very often he found men who liked it as well as he did. Then there was fiery action, they made wondrous grimaces, the eyes sparkled with fury, and in cases of truly great arguments, they frothed at the mouth a bit.
 Thus he soon earned the reputation in his native town of Oviedo of being an enormously learned man, and at the age of r he started with mule and 40 ducats to make his way to the University of Sal amanca.
 It was the wise young mans first ven- ture into the wide world that lay outside of Oviedo. He wondered how soon the world would be dazzled by him, and this pleasant speculation occupied his 
 prise him at all when he was accosted with great marks of respect at the first village at which he stopped.
 Very cheerfully he paid for the food and drink of the most fulsome fiatterer of all and told him all about himself. His re- ward after the feast was that the fiat terer bowed when there was nothing left to eat and drink, and said: "Senor Gil Blas, I will repay your hospitality with good counsel Hereafter do not trust folk whom you do not know. Beware of praise from strangers. You are not the eighth wonder of the world"
 Gil Bias thought that he might die with shame, the more so since he already had sold his mule to another fiatterer at a ridiculous price. He hastened to escape from the place, and joined muleteer who was escorting a party toward Salamanca. Unfortunately the muleteer was person of violent behavior, and got into battle with the police in the very next village
 They fell on the entire company with such fierce outcries that Gil Bias, who knew a great deal of Latin philosophy but very little of police persons, thought it best to flee. When he reconsidered this first impulse, his minimizing legs already had carried him so far into the woods that he could not find bis way out.
 However, he was saved from worry about this time by the arrival of two gen. tlemen on horseback, who produced large pistols to emphasize their urgent invita- tion to him to go with them. They led him to a cave. where he was received with joy by band of outlaws who need ed just such young gentleman for a servant
 After a few months he tired of this menial work and begged the robbers to permit him to join their forays. He hoped to be able to escape, but the band took precautions that made this difficult, and Gil Bias had to help them rob in order to allay their suspicious. His first essay was to pfllage a venerable prior, who sur- rendered a heavy purse after having begged Gil Bias to turn from evil. The band congratulated him till the purse was opened and disclosed mass of copper coins and other worthless stuff.
 Then their pleasure changed to annoy ance. and they administered jokes and blows. Gil Bias was not sure which he relished least; but he was quite sure that the world was full of guile, when even a man of the church would not hesitate to cheat poor robber.
 He determined to depend on guile him self and pretended to feel such delight in a bandits life that the robbers soon trust ed him. Within a few weeks they at lacked a cavalcade, killed all the men Donna Mencia of Burgos. Gil Bias man. aged to escape with her. and did not for get to stuff his pockets well with pistols and doubloons from the outlaws treasure chamber.
 His pleas sure over re-entering honest life did not last long, because he was thrown into 1ail in the first town they reached on suspicion of having stolen the gar nents he wore and the horse he rode.
 Donna Mencia's testimony cleared him, but the servants of justice kept him in tail despite everything, and did not turn him loose till they had stripped him lit- eraily to the skin. for they seized not only horse and money, but even his gar ments under pretense of holding them as evidence.
 When Gil Bias was freed at last, clad in dirty linen kittle, he had gained two pieces of knowledge in exchange for his worldly goods. One was that to take a rnan.s money from him was to trim his wings most completely. And the other was that justice may be just, but her ser wants are not.
 Donna Mencia was grateful, however. and gave him a heavy bag of ducats The first thing he did was to purchase mag nificent costume of blue velvet embroid- cred with gold. full of slits and puffs, a plumed hat, good sword and all else necessary for cavalier. "I shall not go to Salamanca" said he to himself ad- miring himself like peacock. T will seek wealth instead of empty scholarly inonors'
 His decision was applauded by the tav- ern-keeper, to whom he confided his whole story. At that worthy's suggestion he