mamma: she cried when she heard of his mishaps, and that he had lost too
much money at the green table; and when Sir Thomas went away, the good
little soul brought him five louis; which was all the money she had:
for you see she paid her mother handsomely for her board; and when her
little gloves and milliner's bills were settled how much was there left
out of two hundred a year? And she cried when she heard that Hicks had
lent Sir Thomas money, and went up and said, "Thank you, Captain Hicks;"
and shook hands with the captain so eagerly, that I thought he was
a lucky fellow, who had a father a wealthy attorney in Bedford Row.
Heighho! I saw how matters were going. The birds MUST sing in the
spring-time, and the flowers bud.

Mrs. Milliken, in her character of invalid, took the advantage of her
situation to have her husband constantly about her, reading to her, or
fetching the doctor to her, or watching her whilst she was dozing, and
so forth; and Lady Kicklebury found the life which this pair led rather
more monotonous than that sort of existence which she liked, and would
leave them alone with Fanny (Captain Hicks not uncommonly coming in to
take tea with the three), whilst her ladyship went to the Redoute to
hear the music, or read the papers, or play a game of whist there.

The newspaper-room at Noirbourg is next to the roulette-room, into which
the doors are always open; and Lady K. would come, with newspaper in
hand, into this play-room, sometimes, and look on at the gamesters.
I have mentioned a little Russian boy, a little imp with the most
mischievous intelligence and good humor in his face, who was suffered by
his parents to play as much as he chose, and who pulled bonbons out of
one pocket and Napoleons out of the other, and seemed to have quite a
diabolical luck at the table.

Lady Kicklebury's terror and interest at seeing this boy were extreme.
She watched him and watched him, and he seemed always to win; and at
last her ladyship put down just a florin--only just one florin--on one
of the numbers at roulette which the little Russian imp was backing.
Number twenty-seven came up, and the croupiers flung over three gold
pieces and five florins to Lady Kicklebury, which she raked up with a
trembling hand.

She did not play any more that night, but sat in the playroom,
pretending to read the Times newspaper; but you could see her eye
peering over the sheet, and always fixed on the little imp of a Russian.