small end of an English clay tobacco-pipe; a long roll, and,
on the first day, one pat of butter of about the size of a
Spanish dollar, and as thick as the skin of a mushroom.
"More butter!" I exclaimed in French.

“Shall I bring another portion?" said the garçon.
"No! half a dozen of them!" I answered.

"Bien, Monsieur !" he gently and politely replied, to an order as preposterous, I dare say, in his mind, as if I had ordered for my dinner half a dozen legs of mutton.

Just within the entrance of my porte-cochère lived in a small room my concierge, his wife, and his daughter. The first time I descended my staircase, the old woman, who was nearly seventy years of age, made a sign she wished to speak to me. On going into her room, she asked me to be so good as to give her my passport, that she might take it to the police to apprise them of my residence in the house. Happening to have it in my pocket-book, I instantly complied with her request, and was about to leave her, when she very politely asked for my card, in case any person should call to see me. I immediately put one into her hands. She looked at it-handed it to her old husband, who looked at it too. They then both looked first at me-then at my card-then at each other. They were evidently quite puzzled. I had no gender! I was not a monsieur, a madame, a mademoiselle, an admiral, a general, colonel, captain, or lieutenant! My name they could not pronounce; and so, after turning it into exactly twice its number of syllables, they bowed, and, with a very slight shrug, placed the enigma on their little mantelpiece, to speak for itself.

By the time I left Paris I had become thoroughly acquainted with my staircase.

Within the porte-cochère, and immediately opposite to the tiny residence of the concierge, were two steps, leading to a swinging glass door, behind which, on the right, were ten steps, rising to a landing-place, on which was a mat. From it twelve steps led to another landing-place, in which, close to the ceiling, was a high window of two panes. Then came seven steps, leading to a landing-place, on which was a door marked A Then, again, ten to a landing-place, on which, apparently for variety's sake, was a small window of two panes close to the floor, also two panes touching the ceiling

(the one too high to look out of, the other too low). Then came seven to a landing-place, on which was a mat and three doors, on one of which was inscribed "ler Etage," on first floor. By a similar series of steps, passages, and odd windows, I ascended to floors 2, 3, and eventually to my aërial paradise, No. 4.

Within the door marked "1er Etage" every lodger throughout the house was expected to deposit, on a hook numbered consecutively, the key of his room, which, whenever negligently left in the door, was invariably brought to this rendezvous by any of the servants of the house, or by "Madame," the instant they or she discovered it. Under the arrangement just described it of course became necessary for every lodger to call at this point for his key. I found it, however, quite impossible during my short residence in Paris to learn this French rule, and accordingly, when after a heavy day's walk, I had ascended, quite tired, to my door, I almost invariably had to descend three stories to get my key, which I had negligently passed in my ascent. As soon as it became dark every one of these keys were taken from their hooks and deposited, according to their respective numbers, each on the brass bed-room candlestick that belonged to it. One evening, at twilight, I was looking among this row for my candle, which, like all the rest of the lot, was about the thickness of my fore-finger.

"Ionsieur," said a servant, popping out of a small room adjoining, and making me a low bow, "votre flambeau n'est pas encore descendu." *

On the "premier étage," or first floor, was a spacious drawing-room, very handsomely furnished, open to every lodger in the house. I, however, never entered it, and only once peeped into it.

On taking my first prescription from Dr. S. to the chemist, I ascertained that the ointment with which I was to rub my forehead and temples four times a day was as nearly as possible as black as new ink. This affliction, which was indeed a very great one, and which lasted almost the whole of the time I was at Paris, seemed at first not only to forbid my seeing any sights, but to make me a sight for any one else

* Sir, your flambeau has not been brought down yet.

to see; however, after sitting in my sky-parlour for some minutes in an attitude of deep reflection, I determined to dispose, and accordingly I did dispose, of my misfortune as follows:

At five I used always to get up, and, after my usual ablutions, I obediently blackened myself in the way prescribed; and, ornamented in this way. I occupied myself for an hour and a half in writing out the rough notes which, while walking, talking, and often while rumbling along in 'buses, I had taken on the preceding day. At a quarter past seven I unsmutted myself, and walked about the streets until eight, when, on returning to my lodging, I rubbed my forehead black again, and sat down to breakfast. At a quarter before ten I-what maid-servants call-" cleaned myself," and, like Dr. Syntax, went forth in search of the Picturesque. At six I returned, and dressed for dinner, that is to say, I anointed myself again. After my repast I unniggered my brow and went out. At ten o'clock P. M. I be-devilled myself again, and, after a sufficient interval, ended the strange process of the day by going to bed.

While I was seated at breakfast or at dinner, painted like a wild Indian in the extraordinary way I have described, it repeatedly happened that, after a slight tap, my door was opened, sometimes by a shopman with a band-box, inquiring if I had ordered a hat; sometimes by a boy, bringing a letter addressed to he knew not whom; and two or three times by a lady, sometimes an old one, and sometimes a young one, who called on me, intending to call on somebody else. In all these cases a long apologetic dialogue ensued; and although my visitors had thus abundant opportunity to observe my grotesque appearance, which in England would, I truly believe, have made even the Bishop of London bite his lips or smile, yet such is the power of politeness in the French people, that in no one instance did any one of my visitors allow me to perceive from his or her eyes, or from any feature in his or her countenance, that he or she had even observed the magpie appearance of my face.

While I was following my prescription I explained to the concierge that in case anybody called-I had no acquaintances in Paris-I was not at home. When it was over, which was only two days before I returned to England, the

old woman walked up stairs to congratulate me, and then, addressing me and my tiny apartment, as if we were of vast importance, she said to me, "A présent, Monsieur, que vous pouvez recevoir votre monde !"*

On the day I left Paris I received from my obliging landlady her account, in which in no instance was there the slightest departure from the agreement I had verbally made with her. I gave the servants and concierge what I chose, but no demand whatever was made upon me. And," Adieu, Monsieur! bon voyage!!" were the last words of the old wife, as she waved her shrivelled hand to a foreigner whose occupations were incomprehensible, whose appellation was doubtful, and whose name was unpronounceable.

IMPRIMERIE NATIONALE.

In the year 1552 Francis I. first established in the Louvre an Imprimerie Royale, a portion of which, under the appellation of Imprimerie des Bulletins des Lois, was in 1792 transferred to the Elysée Bourbon, inhabited at present by Prince Louis Napoleon. In 1795 these two establishments were united in the Hôtel de Toulouse, now the Bank of France, and in 1809 they were finally transferred to their present locality.

This public establishment is shown to visitors every Thursday, and accordingly, at ten minutes before the hour "precisely" indicated in the ordinary printed permission which, in compliance with the advice contained in Galignani's guide-book, I had obtained, I knocked at its gate, and walking across a court and up a staircase, I was directed to go to the waiting-room, in which I expected to have found a hard stool or two to sit on, and sundry drops and slops of ink on the floor to look at. However, on reaching the landing-place I was shown into a drawing-room handsomely carpeted, con

*Now, Sir, that you can receive the world!
Good bye! a good journey to you!

taining four pier-glasses, one on each wall; a scarlet damask ottoman; a scarlet cloth sofa; fourteen scarlet chairs; scarlet curtains; white blinds; and in the middle a fine mahogany table covered with green cloth.

As I was the sole monarch of all I surveyed, I reclined on the sofa, and was admiring the arrangements made everywhere in Paris for the reception of strangers, when the door opened, and in walked a gentleman with two young ladies, who had scarcely looked at themselves "vue et approuvée" —in the glass almost immediately above me, when in walked four more young ladies and a gentleman, then three middleaged ladies and two gentlemen.

As soon as the clock of the establishment struck, there stood at the door a porter, making dumb signals to us to advance, and accordingly nine bonnets and five black hats hastened towards him into the passage, where we found waiting, and ready to conduct us, an exceedingly pleasinglooking intellectual young man of about twenty years of age. Everybody, excepting myself, appeared to be in tiptop spirits; but as the object of my visit was solely to make myself acquainted with a very important establishment, I could not help for a few moments inwardly groaning when I reflected that a guide of twenty years of age for thirteen peoplewere he even to be fairly divided among them all-would be equal only to a sucking tutor rather more than a twelvemonth old for each; besides which, it was but too evident that as my nine sisters, in the exercise of their undoubted prerogative, would very probably not only constantly encircle the young guide, but would each and all at once be continually asking him questions of different degrees of importance, I should not only have no instruction at all, but should be obliged to go through the establishment exactly at the unequal rate the nine ladies might prescribe; that I should have to stop whenever they stopped, and, what was still worse, to hurry by whatever they happened at the moment to feel indisposed to notice.

As the disorder, however, was evidently incurable, I resolved to join in and get through the merry dance as well as I could. I therefore introduced myself to a partner, who, in return for the confidence I reposed in her, very obligingly teazed the young guide until he told her whatever I wanted;