The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-03-21

Crew hurt himself one day on the eve of unloading. Everything in life all ways had gone wrong with the Crew He was one of those unhappy human beings. school fellow had knocked out an eye for him. An axe had lamed him in a saw mill. A vat had scalded him in a sugar refinery. He had lost a leg in some other accident. Louveau, who always saw things at a glance. had found him starving in a ditch and had taken the invaluable fellow on at once.
 Hardly had the Crew succumbed to reg ular fate before unusual fate struck Mother Louveau. For the first time in her life she became i'll. Victor nursed her day and night, while Louveau sor- rowfully set forth to buy lumber by himself.
 He had a famous way of measuring trees. He lapped a string around a trunk and then he multiplied by-he multiplied blythe fatal thing was that 1t was Moth CT Louveau who always remembered what one had to multiply by. He got all be- wildered and confounded. and made a dreadfully poor bargain with swindling dealer.
 And then La Belle Nivernaise, the brave Belle, the faithful, the overlooking and never sinking La Belle Nivernaise began to succumb to her honorable wounds. Barely did they succeed in keeping her aioat.
 It was time for M. Maugendre . a poured the white wine. Francis Louveau | had kept his VOW faithfully against drink | ing too much, although at first 1t had l required masterly steering to keep La | Belle Nivernaise from turning. into the I bank at the riverside taverns. for the old boat had acquired habits with years. He drank the white wine with the pleas ure of one who deserves feast. "Once l had much happiness, my dear l Louveau," said Maugendre. T had a | wife and 6 child-and I lost all through | my own fault"
 | Louveau said; My dear Maugendrei'' l to give the wood dealer chance to | swallow a sob.
 | 'I was stingy am yet. The idea came into my head to send my wife to Paris | to take a nurse's place that was offered to her. She did not wish to go. She | begged me to be content with what we had I insisted They died there. Now | I cannot bear this loneliness any more Give Victor to me. I will pay you al you have laid out for him and I will make a gentleman of him." I That night Francis sat in the cabir and laid the matter before the wife witt the headpiece. Mother Louveau listened began to cry and said:
 God help us, Francis. we will keer himP
 Mother Louveau, who had alway. been forced to do unheard- of things tc make ends meet" now did things tha even she would have deemed impossi
 ble. Francis Louveau and the Crew
 did equally wonderful things to keeI La Belle Nivernaise together. Away,
 on the verge of disintegration, she stil
 held. The people of the river inns dit
 not even raise their heads when the,
 saw her approach, for she had quit,
 lost her remarkable habit of turnins
 in shore.
 Thus Vivtor became nearly Is year
 old and La Belle was still under hin
 and his benefactors. He was a grea
 fellow now, with broad shoulders anc
 quiet carriage. Like the able barge
 man that he had become, he wore
 red waistband and could steer the Bell as well as the best of them. One spring the Seine. swollen b.
 great rains. tore away wcirs and dam
 and hurried the barges toward Pari
 as they never had moved before. l
 was wild work running down. an, wilder still entering Paris and tyinl
 up above the bridges through whicl