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"Say nothing about it," said the king; "I am the accomplice of the theft, for it is I who held the ladder while he was removing it."

XCVII.

EUGENE SUE.

Eugéne Sue and Romieu were great friends. One evening when they had dined together at the Café de Paris, and had become very merry, Romieu stumbled and hurt his leg.

Quickly, in his quality of ex-surgeon of the Navy, Eugéne Sue begins to dress his friend's leg; then he carries him into his carriage, takes him home, and passes the night in an arm-chair at the head of his bed.

The next morning he hastens to examine the sore leg, and to take off the dressing. O surprise! O laughter! On the previous evening in dressing the wound he had mistaken the leg!

XCVIII.

LOUIS XVII.

Louis XVII., while studying his lesson one day, had begun to whistle: his tutor reproved him for it. The queen came unexpectedly and reprimanded him. "Mama," replied he, "I repeated my lesson so badly that I hissed myself."

This young prince was very fond of his tutor, l'abbé Davaux, who, more than once, had occasion to remark the wit and sensibility of his pupil. One day, the Dauphin, remembering one of his history lessons, secretly lighted a lantern, and pretended to seek for something which he had lost. Suddenly he turned to the Abbé Davaux, and said to him, taking his hand, "I am more fortunate than Diogenes; I have found a man."

XCIX.

THROW THE PAINTER INTO THE WATER.

In the rigging of a vessel one distinguishes, in English, under the name of "painter," a certain rope which serves to fasten a small boat on board the vessel to which it belongs.

One day, a painter being occupied in painting the figure-head of a vessel, moored near the Tower of London, the captain, who was coming on board her in the long-boat, called out to the cabin-boy: "Throw the painter into the water." The cabin-boy, who did not yet know this kind of rope, ran to the painter, who had his body. half out of the vessel, and threw him into the river.

The captain, not seeing the rope fall on his side, repeated, with an oath, "Throw then the painter." "I have thrown him," replied the

other, "with his pot and his brush." The captain fortunately thought that it might be his workman, and caused him to be fished out immediately.

C.

CENTENARIANS.

North America is pre-eminently the homeland of longevity. One can judge of it by the following annecdote, which is popular in the United States :

One day President Lincoln, who was on a tour, saw an old man weeping before the door of a farm-house, and another old man who appeared to be reprimanding him.

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Why are you crying?" asked the President. "Because papa, whom you see there, has given me a box on the ear."

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Certainly! I gave him a box on the ear," said the second old man, "and he deserved it." "What has he done, then?"

"He was wanting in respect to his grandfather."

The disrespectful grandson was seventy years old. You may judge of the age of the grandfather.

END OF PART FIRST.

PART II.

CI.

KILLED OR CURED.

The wife of a Norman peasant falls dangerously ill. A doctor is called in; he questions, examines, and while talking, shows that he is afraid of not being sufficiently remunerated for his pains.

"Sir," says the husband, "I have there five louis, and whether you kill or cure my dear wife, the sum is yours."

The sick woman died. Some time afterwards the doctor appears to claim his hundred francs. "Doctor," says the poor afflicted man, "I am quite ready to keep my promise. Allow me to put to you only two little questions in the presence of these worthy witnesses:

"Have you killed my wife?"

how killed! most assuredly not."

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"Killed her!

"So much the better. Have you cured her?" Alas, no!"

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'Well, if, as you have owned, you neither killed nor cured her, you are out of the conditions of our agreement, and can legally demand nothing from me."

CII.

LAW STUDENTS.

Three law students are undergoing an examination. The examiner asks one of them: "Sir, how is one to enjoy the usufruct?"

student hesitates, and . . . nition of the word usufruct.

The

gives the defi

"You do not answer my question," says the examiner. "You, sir," adds he, looking at the second pupil, “answer: how is one to enjoy the usufruct? No answer.

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The professor addresses the same question to the third candidate, who remains silent like the others.

The examiner loses patience.

"How! you are ignorant of such an elementary thing? Come, let us try an example. Suppose I have before me three asses. How shall I enjoy the usufruct?"

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Suddenly memory comes back to one of the candidates:

"Like a good father of the family!" exclaims he.

That is, in fact, the answer of the code.

D

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