Show their new riches so you see gee ahls christmas christinas Is going to be a great grec op TWO for them they will send us a stunning present they are i a little parvenu wily why deny it to T take our breath away they will III give g us ak ar something extraordinary well I 1 dont want to be thrown in the thade shade IZI S yes yes I 1 understand said sa af mo urlene you are right I 1 advise 1 you to make a tour of the secondhand second hand shops you tali have good judgment you may lint something which looks look like a real antique and they will never know what it cost she shrugged her shoulders boulders ill find nothing at t all ai B they know all about prices jullin poses nowadays as a collector you can take it for granted that the they will investigate our gift and find out cheth er or not it has any value I 1 want w to I 1 give them something really good that Is indispensable the gift bliach aich aline Mo jourline urline vi A x 01 ov UP 3 72 aa no this christmas story from ak 0 all the e new york tribune was not written itten to the order of the slugs society siciely for the prevention of use I 1 less is giving it is a story from far fa ra away ay france translated from the r rench ench of frederic boutet boulet by wil U 1 liam m L mcpherson nevertheless the t are to be found in every ery american city and their name is legion slay may they come to a bet ter r understanding of the christmas spirit irit john dickinson clinson Di sherman by FREDERIC BOUTET J MD ID mine Mo jourline urline C and the lie cullins we must think of them what are we going to give them this year aline Mour lines question put a damper on oil the gaiety gayety of b vr 11 us L f band abanil and her daughter A chill seemed to settle doi down n in the dining room where they were all three still sitting ni about the table and hil hicking king il Mo jourline urline had just promised ills his wife nn an umbrella with an ivory handle and his daughter a coral necklace lie ile was as pleased with himself now he looked worried st sl mone Mo jourline urline aiho was vias eighteen and had set her lit lif art on oil the necklace also berame became uneasy Y yes ea mine aline repented repeated wit with emphasis what are we going to give the ohp Jul cullins lins right right what are we e going to ghe them M hour line murmured you understand it must be something nice this year well have to stand the extra cost somehow I 1 know it Is a nuisance this christmas season Is abominable we have all sorts of additional expenses but mamma e never spent mud on presents for the julling Jul lins simone interrupted last year their little basket cost only eighteen francs and it was perfectly good enough 1 I dont see it that way Slin onel you dont take into account that formerly when the jullens aare we w n apt better off than e are we could m make like them gifts without any particular value any little trifles such its as 11 ley gave ave us cut but that now when iben they hae bue an income of 1 francs As if to render homage to that sum suin she lind had raised her olce lolee the Jul bullins lins whose fortune dated buck back only a few months bere lie mur M ur alres best frion friends ds jullin nil und mour ilour une line fellow students at law school and b afterward ft erward employees in tile the same government department hai had met at the samo same entertainment the two oung women well brought up but bill without don dowries ries whom hoin A they had made their wives tile two households each had a single daughter possessed about the same resources and ihei in a similar manner for years they enjoyed a tranquil intimacy sharing the same modest pleasures and striving to be mutually sympathetic and agreeable an unexpected event had shattered this intimacy SI bullins Jul lins brother considered up to then a black sheep had suddenly acquired a fortune through some risky operations which bleb had succeeded beyond all expectation intoxicated hy by ills his wealth so miraculously attained attain d lie he wanted as he said to make up for lost time after two years of excesses lie died the jul lins hns his orly only heirs found themselves millionaires certainly they had remained the same to their dear friends the Mour lines al jullin exhibited no pride because lie ho wits was able to quit the service and spend ills days driving an automobile M mroe in e jullin avoided nil all ostentation in wearing her collar of pearls und and mile jullin always found Si simones simple dresses charming but the ni without wishing to show it or even to admit it suffered all the same from a feeling of inequality they no longor longer took any pleasure in ID associating with their old friends money had conic come between the two fal families billes like a barrier which neither nelt lier could ignore come mine jourline Mo urline began again addressing her husband you know I 1 am rig right br it Is a question of dignity we have lint to endure a good deal since they became rich I 1 dont envy them or criticize them but you roust must admit that it agreeable agreen ble to entertain them here in tills this little apartment with a single maid of all work and afterward to dine with them it their home where everything Is li la branti style N wilh ith a butler an and valet de dc chambre they illey do put on airs they lack inck tut tact it amuses them after having licen heen with us to overwhelm us with chased was a handsome it cost francs it put a great ln on the family budget but the mour lines bad the consciousness of havin having done the proper thing find on christmas morning they awaited alth peri per feet security the arrival of tile the pres pre ent from the bullins Jul lins there was a ring at the doorbell it was a message front from the jullas Jul lios with a package and a letter the letter read dear friends we send you only a little souvenir nothing at alit all we wa are sure that we shall give you pleas as aa ure in offering you as in the th past a knick knickknack nack which has no valse except that it represents an old and faithful in the package was aas a miserable litt dittli litt in painted porcelain worth about twelve and a half francs there was a silence charged with astonishment and indignation Is that the jutting Jul lins magnificent present said simone at last ame mme jourline Mo urline trembled with ith anger she seized the alie and dashed it to pieces on the marble hearth what I 1 care tor for their old friendship M jourline Mo urline made an ironic gesture meanwhile they have your jandla lere at francs M jullin in tact fact was unwrapping I 1 the tit at that very moment seeing it he gine gae a start and called his wife look at the present ahe alou have sent us they certainly are fools I 1 boor people murmured alme ame jullin they bled themselves white tor for tills 1 it pitiful in their situation I 1 tell you again adrien we wa cant associate with alth them uny tiny longer merely as a matter of consideration for them we cant out of sheer vanity they would impoverish themselves |