Evening star., 1927-09-21

e1ss e1,., in issa ~. e.. famous scottish nov:
land" kidnapped" etc. The present story aSI
has been acclaimed as the greatest short
,sods in the life Of Fransois villOn; q French
Se daSs pos' Of snd fh. one eeDb ho Pas In
1t was late in November, 1856. The
snow fell over Paris with rigorous,
relentless persistence; sometimes the
wind made sally and scattered it
in flying vortices; sometimes there
was a lull, and flake after flake
descended out of the black night air.
silent, circuitous. interminable. To
poor people, looking up under moist
eyebrows, 1t seemed a wonder where
1t all came from. Master Francois
Villon had propounded an alterna-
tive that afternoon, at a tavern win
dow: Was it only Pagan Jupiter
plueking geese upon OLYMPUS; Or
were the holy angels moulting?
He was only a poor master of
arts, he went on; and as the ques
ton somewhat touched upon divin-
tty, he burst not venture to conclude.
Villon had Joined a gaming crew
in q shack behind an old cemetery,
where there had been gambling and
q bottle to pass around. One of the
group had been stabbed, murdered
it meant hanging for all of them
IL caught. They shared the booty
found on the dead mans person, and
villon. the absent minded artist, had
his pocket picked of his share by one
Of his companions. Anxious to be
rid of him, they had let Villon go
forth hrst, and the rest soon scat
tered.
1t had stopped showing. Villon
cursed his fortune. Would it were
still showing! Now, wherever he
went, he left an indelible trail be-
hind him on the glittering streets;
wherever he went he was still teth-
cred to the house by the cemetery
of St. John; wherever he went he
must weave, with his own plodding'
feet, the rope that bound him to the
crime and would bind him to the
gallows.
He avoided a dark clump OF NOV
ing people with lanterns-it was
patrol; he took refuge in a great
doorway, but was startled by dark
bundle on the floor. 1t was the body
of a woman, frozen to death. He
searched her-robbing was his in
stinct-and found two tiny coins in
her stocking. About to put them in
his purse, he discovered that he,
too. had been robbed, The feeling
xripped his throat and parched his
lips All his projects for rousing
night in some wild tavern vanished.
Positive discomfort positive pain, at
tackled him. Although the wind had
fallen, a binding frost was setting in
stronger with every hour and he felt
benumbed and sick at heart. What
was TO be done?
Villon passed all his chances un-
der review. He was on bad terms
with some old friends who might
otherwise have taken him in. Still.
he might try them in turn.
But on his way he fell in with the
track OF a patrol. and walked in it
for some hundred yards. although
1t Law out Of his direction. And this
spirited him up; at least he had con-
fused his trail. Then he tried at the
house of one old acquaintance, and
those same spirits were deplorabiy
dampened, for when he announced
himself a pail of slops was splashed
down beside him, drenching him be
low the waist. His hose began TO
freeze almost at once. Death from
cold and exposure stared him in the
face.
But the gravity of the danger
steadied his nerves. He stopped q
few hundred yards from the door
where ne had been so rudely used,
and reflected with his finger TO his
nose. He could see only one way Of
getting a lodging, and that was TO
lake ii. He had noticed house not
far away which looked as If 1t might
he easily broken into, and thither he
hetook himself promptly. entertain
ing himself on the way with the idea
of a room still hot, with a table still
loaded with the remains of supper,
where he might pass the rest of the
black hours and whence he should
issue. on the morrow, with an arm
ful of valuable plate.
The house in question looked dark
at first sight; but as Nillon made a
preliminary inspection in search OF
1hs handiest point to attack a little
twinkle of light caught his eye from
behind the curtained window.
''The devil"' he thought. People
awake" Then he reassured himself,
and went boldly to the door and
knocked with an assured hand. ON
both previous occasions he had
knocked timidly, but now knocking
At door seemed a mighty simple
and innocent proceeding. The roar
of his blows had scarcely died away
before a measured tread drew near,
a couple of bolts were Withdrawn,
and one wing was opened broadly,
as though no guile or fear OF guile
were known TO those within. You
knock late, sir" said an old man, in
resonant. courteous tones. You are
cold" he said. "and hungry. Wei,
step in You will pardon me
4 90 In 'front.'" he said, and he pre-