obtained from the theatre, and a pair of goloshes had to do duty as sandals. I also borrowed a dark-blue sleeveless mantle, which could be thrown over as a toga. As Napoleon practised before his coronation, I may confess that I tried my toga and rehearsed my prayer to Jupiter in my modest attic beforehand.

An American lady very coolly expects you, when you have white trousers and kid gloves on, to climb up trees and look for birds'-nests, or carry her trunk to the station, or do other porter's work, and our female commander-in-chief was in this respect not at all backward: she gave orders right and left, and I could not help wishing her at the head of the army of the Potomac. More than once I had been induced to request her to engage two or three servants and a carriage, who could perform all her commissions, and I had frequently thwarted the Bostonian in his arrangements. The natural and first result was, that Pygmalion, which was third on the list, was removed to nearly the end, so that, as a most dissatisfied Greek, I had to remain for hours in the little dressing-room, and had great difficulty in protecting my blue mantle from the clouds of flour raised by two marble gladiators. I was compelled, too, to keep sedulously out of the way of our female general, for she was indefatigable in powdering. At our first performance the angels looked in the bright light like celestial millers, and in the last I was lying in my chair as the expiring painter, and gazing fondly at my Cecilia; the Bude light was already turned on, and the curtain-raiser was spitting on his hands, when the lady rushed forward with her tub, and dashed a handful of flour into the face of the poor saint. I sprang up with horror, and hastily restored the natural roses of my masterpiece with a pocket-handkerchief.

At length Pygmalion was announced, but instead of arranging the scene as it was at the morning's rehearsal, our female chief said that we had had statues enough, and only one should stand on a box covered with white canvas, in front of which I could kneel. I rather savagely answered that I should do what I thought proper, and the curtain rose. I came in, sighed at my statue, expressed to the best of my ability my love and despair at the coldness of my statue, prayed most earnestly to that old roué Jupiter, was amazed, alarmed, delighted, as my statue opened her eyes with great difficulty and smiled-while doing so she had to raise half a pound of flour on her eyelids-and when she prepared to fall into my arms I thought it advisable, on behalf of my blue mantle, to evade this catastrophe by a species of fainting-fit. The applause was very faint, and the tableau was not re-demanded. I was greatly annoyed at this, and could not laugh at the Peak Family-a ridicule of Puritan formality and stiffness, very neat, but a little too long.

The whole affair was a great success, however; the Americans were delighted, and the treasury of the fair was several thousand dollars the richer.

I must confess that on this occasion I learned to like the Americans much better than I had previously done. The men were sensible, jolly, and good humoured; in that they behaved with the greatest propriety. The same must be said of the lady performers. They were simple, natural, very merry, and entirely unpretending. Each did all in her power to ensure success, and not one refused to accept a subordinate or disagreeable character. The ladies, who all belonged to the highest

classes, accepted all the arrangements with the greatest cheerfulness. I had heard a great deal about American prudery, but on this occasion, when the ladies were obliged to dress so quickly, and under such awkward circumstances, I did not notice a trace of prudery-rather the contrary.

On the appointed day the fair was opened in the Patent-office. The home secretary had granted an unfinished immense hall, whose floor was already covered with slabs of black and white marble for the undertaking, and the government architects had beautified it. At the end-fancy the entrance-a stage was erected, the rear of which was tastefully decorated withal. It was used by the orators, who delivered speeches at the opening, among them being the Honourable L. E. Crittenden, and Mr. B. B. French, the president of the fair. The space on either side of the stage was occupied by refreshment-stalls, decorated with every possible flag. The opposite road and entrance were adorned with arms and flags, while over the door hung a very fair oil painting, representing the death of General Lyon.

Along the side-walls were tastely-arranged stalls, amply provided with contributions of every description. Here everything could be found that is to be seen at a fair. Here you could be electrified, there weighed : here was a wheel of fortune, there were stereoscopes to peep through. In the centre of the hall was a Temple of Flora, and by its side another temple, in which was a very clever panorama of a landscape with a fort. Farther on were pond-like hollows, into which you could throw a line for two cents, and catch a packet containing all sorts of trifles. Ice-shops, a lemonade-fountain, with a nymph, &c., were of course to be found.

The most costly stall was the one presided over by the wife of our mayor, Mrs. Wallack. It glittered with plate, handsome dresses, laces, shawls, and other expensive articles. The wealthy mercer, Stewart of New York, presented very valuable gifts to the fair: among them an Indian shawl, ticketed at several thousand dollars. There were many pictures, too; and a saint, an original drawing by an American lady, was remarkably good. Relics of Washington, "the father of the Republic," and of various battle-fields, were also offered for sale. One of the most attractive spots was the Temple of Flora, where Countess Elise Pourtalès and Mrs. French, with a bevy of lovely young ladies, sold the most splendid bouquets, baskets, birds, and goldfish.

A ticket for the whole duration of the fair cost a dollar, a single one a quarter-dollar. The fair was open from mid-day till eleven o'clock P.M., and was so crowded every evening with well-dressed persons, that it was almost impossible to breathe. In order to reach the hall, it was necessary to pass through the model-rooms, whose broad marble passages afforded sufficient space for those who were tired of the turmoil of the fair. Close to the entrance of the fair was a railed-off space, whence monotonous singing could be heard. For fifteen cents we entered a New England kitchen, which is rarely to be met with at the present day. Here old women were sitting and spinning, while the young ones were engaged with other domestic tasks, and a quaintly-dressed body, with a short pipe in her mouth, stirred up the kitchen fire. A venerable dame sang from a hymn-book.

Not much is purchased at night, for the wealthy people who intend buying do so by day. Valuable articles, as well as bouquets and baskets of flowers, are raffled for, the ticket costing, according to the article, from

two dollars down to ten cents. Young ladies with lists in their hands press through the mob in order to induce friends and strangers to invest in tickets, which is not allowed, it is true, as it drives visitors away, but still cannot be entirely prevented. Before you can look about you, these pretty gipsies have bewitched a couple of dollars out of one's pocket.

The fair was intended to last a month, but the business was so good that the closing was put off. Convalescent soldiers filled a stall with their handiwork, among which were many pretty and curious things.

As I said, I shall talk about the theatre another time, and there is not much to say about the different parties and receptions that would interest the reader, as he does not know the persons. The parties are all exactly alike, and the same people are nearly always to be met at them. A new appearance at them is Count Georgi, the Austrian envoy, who relieved Hülsemann. Everybody is pleased at the change, for Count Georgi is a delightful bachelor, who has already made numerous friends.

Smaller parties are at times very pleasant, but they are spoiled for Europeans by the fact that no general conversation is got up. Generally the visitors sit in pairs and talk together; a stranger can yawn himself to death. This season there has been any quantity of lectures of every description. Professor Agassiz was here a few months back, and delivered three lectures on glaciers at the Smithsonian-an excellent institution, which we shall visit hereafter-which were paid for by the institution, and the public were admitted gratis. The lecture-room was crowded, in spite of snow and wind, and Agassiz has rarely spoken before a more attentive or thankful public. It consisted not merely of the first people in Washington, but also of tradespeople, working men, and soldiers. Agassiz is a handsome man, with a pleasing manner; his English accent is excellent, and his extempore delivery most clear and interesting. Still, he cannot condense the wealth of his material into the short time allotted him, and at the close of the third lecture he still owed us the promised explanation of many important questions. He has just returned here, and I am looking forward to his lectures with delight.

The brothers Davenport are giving performances at Willard's Hall, which are said to be very curious. The bill reads madly enough, and is well adapted to excite curiosity, but has not yet been able to tempt me. The Davenports are celebrated Mediums, who stand on the most intimate terms with the spirits. The brothers allow themselves to be securely bound by some spectator; then the light disappears for a few seconds, and when it returns, the cords are lying on the floor and display no trace of the flour which was placed in the hands of the brothers, and which they still hold on the appearance of the light. Spirits play abominable tunes on instruments scattered about, and violins flying about the room at times strike doubters and mockers. One of the latter suddenly lit a lucifer-match; the brothers could be seen bending forward with their hands at liberty, but in an instant they returned to their old posture, with their hands fastened on their back. The brothers also give private representations, at which wonderful, or at least inexplicable, things take place. On the bill they promise to show how Jacob wrestled with the angel, how Peter was liberated, and so on.

My yarn has grown longer this time than I intended, and so I will break off here.

268

A BALL AT THE BARRIER.

In the last number of the Miscellany I promised to continue the account of my adventures during the last Parisian Carnival. To tell the truth, I had more than half made up my mind to conclude with my visit to the Salon de Mars, for too much of a good thing is good for nothing, and even though a little folly is permissible at such a season, sapienti sat should be the motto of the cosmopolitan; but, as the French so admirably put it, "l'homme propose," &c.

Well, then, I was sitting quietly in my rooms with a young medical friend, who was supposed to be attending lectures at the Hôtel-Dieu, and whom I will call Jones, when there came a knock at the door. On my shouting "Entrez," a young man came in, dressed in a blue woollen blouse, black cap, blue linen trousers pulled over his cloth ones, white cotton gloves, and a white shirt-collar with a red silk tie—a Parisian ouvrier in his Sunday clothes, but a smart one. Even the cigar in a long silver mouthpiece was not missing. As he had a rather large bundle under his arm, I took him for a workman to whom my tailor had given a commission, or else he might have made a mistake in the house and door.

As I could not by the lamplight distinguish my strange visitor, I removed the shade, and, to my utter amazement, found the friend who had accompanied me to the previous balls standing before me in a workman's dress. In a second it all became clear to me-I was, namely, regularly in for it.

My friend had during the last few weeks repeatedly proposed to me a visit to the Barrier balls, but had not found any great willingness on my part. To tell the honest truth, after the visit to the Salon de Mars I had had enough of it, at least for this year, and I remembered, not without some degree of satisfaction, the imminent approach of Ash Wednesday, which puts an end to all the fun of the carnival.

"And then, again, the Barrier balls," I added, in order to have a practical excuse for my refusal, which otherwise my friend would have refused to accept, "are of such a peculiar nature; a gentleman is regarded with suspicion there, so that"

"there

"The coat and the hat, you mean," my friend interrupted me; you are in the right; but that can be easily altered. We need only put on a blouse and a cap in order to pass muster at the Barrier."

The matter had rested for the moment with this argument, and I had quite forgotten the entire project, when Saville suddenly entered my room on this evening in the garb of an ouvrier. And I therefore claim an apology for having shouted in my vexation, "Confound it all!" "You will soon change your mind," Saville said, as he opened his bundle and arranged various articles on the sofa. "Just look here; could you desire a handsomer blouse or neater trousers? Now that I have brought you all these smart things, you must say yes; and then, too, the blue tie and the white plaid cap. Why, you will make any amount of conquests."

"Oh!" suddenly exclaimed Jones, "if no one else is willing, I am

ready to take the costume. The most respectable persons disguise themselves at carnival time, and besides, I hear that there is lots of fun at the Barrier balls."

"That is your sort," Saville answered him triumphantly; "a man, a word. At No. 7, Rue Lamartine, twenty yards from here, you will find everything you require. Make haste and fetch a dress; in the mean while we will dress here."

The doctor was out of the room before this speech was ended, and I was compelled to yield, nolens volens.

"You can keep on your patent leather shoes," Saville said, while I was undressing," for all smart ouvriers wear them, c'est le chic. But no upstanding shirt-collar, for that is proscribed at the Barriers."

"But I have no others," I answered, in some embarrassment.

"Leave me to act," Saville said; and walked to my writing-table, and cut a collar with practised hand out of a sheet of paper. Then he bent it to shape, placed the blue tie inside it, and fastened it to my shirt with a few pins. It looked first rate, and could deceive the most practised eye. The blouse fitted me equally well; the linen trousers were rather short, it is true, but on that account displayed the cloth ones underneath all the better. "C'est encore le chic," said Saville. Next the gloves, the cap, and the polished leather belt, with the broad steel buckle, and the metamorphosis was complete.

"Just have a look at yourself in the glass," my Mephistopheles remarked; "don't you look ever so much better like that, than in the stupid tail-coat and a white choker? Put some cigars and a few franc pieces in your pocket, although we shall manage as well there with one franc as at the Grand Opéra with a louis d'or."

There was a ring at the bell, and Jones reappeared. He saluted us with much gravity, and posted himself in the centre of the room, for the purpose of being admired. He had dressed in the shop, and chosen the most suitable articles: a white blouse, and a blue Scotch cap with long black streamers-extremely distingué, but perfectly in order.

Then we set out on our expedition.

"Let us buy false noses," Saville said, "as a precautionary measure, in case of our desiring to render ourselves less easily recognisable; no one can tell."

The noses were purchased, and we then clambered on to the roof of the first passing omnibus proceeding in the direction of Montmartre ; for the most celebrated Barriers are there, and the Elysée Montmartre is the Grand Opéra of the Parisian working world. We soon reached the Barrière des Martyrs, where we got down, in order to walk to the Petit Ramponneau, which, according to the evening's programme, was to be our first halting-place.

"Let us try whether our disguise suits us, and if we are able to behave in accordance with it," said Jones, as he pointed to a marchand de vins opposite, where a number of workmen, dressed in their best, happened to be assembled.

We walked in, and called for a glass of Curaçoa, which was immediately served, without any attention being paid to us. The hostess alone gave us a side-look, which did not escape me. Then she asked, curiously: