Jack

The story of "Jack" is well-known. It is a beautiful story of a natural child. His mother, Ida de Borancy, worships the dear little nameless and fatherless being whom she decides, as he is getting on in years, to place in a boarding school. The child's professor of literature is a certain Amaury D'Argenton, a failure of the faculty, and an uninspired poet. During one of her visits to the institution, Mme. de Borancy is attracted by D'Argenton, and falls in love with him. The "Ne'er-do-Well" soon gives up his starving position and makes his abode with her, exercising over her absolute control. He soon learns to hate little Jack and forces her to leave him permanently at school. The poor child, unaccustomed to the separation, runs away, only to find, when he arrives at his former home, that his mother has moved and is now living thirty miles away. He undertakes the journey on foot, and reaches his mother's house completely exhausted. Here he meets Dr. Rivals and his daughter, Cecil. One day Jack, while out for a stroll, meets a peddler on the road, a Mr. Belisaire, worn out with fatigue and privations. Greatly moved, the boy takes him home and is giving him food, when D'Argenton arrives, throws out the peddler and sends Jack away as an apprentice. A new life now opens to Jack, and for two years he labors diligently in the iron works of Indret, living with his foreman, Father Roudick. The latter's nephew, a gambler, steals a small fortune that was to constitute his cousin's dowry, and Jack is charged with the theft, cruelly beaten and dragged before the Magistrate. . Filled with remorse, the real culprit acknowledges his guilt and returns the money. The unpleasantness of that adventure, coupled with the insufficient wages he receives, impels Jack to seek another position. He makes for the seacoast, and ships aboard a trans-Atlantic steamer as a stoker. One night a collision takes place. The boat is struck below the water lines and every man makes a wild, frantic rush to save himself, every man for himself. As by a miracle Jack is saved and returns to his old home, irresistibly attracted by a desire to see his mother. Thanks to the devotion of good old Dr. Rivals, Jack, who has gone through a terrible illness, is restored to health. The two young people fall in love with one another, which is encouraged by the doctor, provided that Jack will study to take his place. Jack goes to Paris to take up his studies, rents a room, where his mother seeks refuge when mal