at his ticket and discovered that fate had proved propitious to him. It was not a very large sum, yet it made him feel that he had conquered his dreaded antagonist.
However, that did not seem sufficient proof, so he bought another ticket, No. 12, but this time the largest prize was) drawn by No. 13. For some time he was completely prostrated by this blow, and did not dare to undertake any new schemes. At every turn No. 13 appeared like a ghost before him, defeating his hopes and frustrating his plans.
His friends noticed that he was taciturn and morose and that he often talked to himself. But after a while, with the elasticity of youth, he finally recovered his spirits. There is always some ray of light which sheds its beneficent beam on the young, dissipating the fantastic shadows which sometimes cloud their minds.
What had happened to Simon? He had seen a pair of black eyes, audacious and beaming with fun, capable of dispelling any sorrow; smiling-red lips, two cheeks like roses, and a beautiful slender figure, as straight as a reed. This beautiful creature was the personification of joy and was full of mirth and mischievous as a sprite. Simon could not help noticing that she gave him sweet glances and smiled on him with favor. Therefore he began to grow animated, like a flickering wick newly fed with oil. He became a new man and more hopeful as a new horizon opened to his view, while he said to himself:
"Yes, Mariana is really a treasure, for she
