he was to walk off without being fleeced.

Then again he reflected that he must, somehow, raise money to pay
Schlunkel. He would try one piece, and put the rest of his money into
his right pocket, where he never put his hand.

He played: he did put his hand into his right pocket; and he walked
away with empty pockets. With inexpressible grief and self-accusation,
he now ran about the market: thousands of things were offered for sale,
but he could not stretch forth his hand to take them. A terrible curse
against the world rose to his lips: he longed to turn every thing
topsy-turvy.

We might be tempted to ask, "What reason has a man like Florian to rave
at the world? The world has done him no harm: he is himself the cause
of his own distress." But then people like Florian--whether they belong
to the class of society which wears gloves, or to that which wears them
not--are never ready to think: when in bad luck they scold.

His only comfort was that he was firmly resolved never to touch a
die again as long as he lived. To-be-sure, it was easy to shut the
stable-door after the horse was stolen: still, there was some comfort
in a virtuous resolution.

He met his father looking very happy. "Have you any money, father?"
said Florian, running up to him.

"Yes: I've earned three six-creutzer pieces, selling some oxen. See!"

"Give me two of them."

Without waiting for an answer, he disappeared with the money. He now
walked up and down among the booths in good spirits, sustained by the
consciousness of possession. He no longer cast a look upon the
gambling-tables.

But soon he began to think that he had been very stupid in skipping
about from one number to another: how could he help losing them? Should
the rascally sweat-cloth fellows have the satisfaction of keeping it?
But then he had sworn never to touch a die again! Well, he would keep
his vow: he would go where the croupier made the die roll through the
coils of a snake, and where he might play without touching any thing.

At first he played for creutzers, like the others. He used great
circumspection, taking care to remember the numbers which had won
frequently, and betting upon the others. For some time he neither lost
nor won. Finding this tedious, he staked larger pieces, and tried
several numbers at a time, and with success. Seeing some of his
acquaintances, he beckoned to them to come up and join him.

[Illustration: The croupier made the die roll through