Prince Louis Napoleon Murat has just entered the French Navy as a common sailor; I daresay his promotion will not be slow. He is the youngest son of Prince Lucien Murat and Miss Georgina Fraser, and brother to the Princess Anna Murat, who married the Duke de Mouchy a little while ago. There is an anecdote related of his father, Prince Lucien, who, meeting the Marquis de Boissy at a fancy ball dressed as a Marquis in Louis XV. style, maliciously accosted him by asking him if that was his grandfather's coat he had on. "Monseigneur," replied the Marquis, "if everyone here wore his grandfather's coat, it would not be I that would be the most embarrassed." Monseigneur's father was the son of a village innkeeper. The biter got bit. sumptuous manner. A fête in the forest of, men. Half his parishioners being catholics and Alem-Dagh, in Asia, was marvellous-a banquet half protestants, he said mass in the morning served hot in the middle of the forest. and read prayers in the afternoon, but united The service in gold and silver, which the them for the sermon, in which he took care to Sultan had made in Paris for the grand dinners preach good morals, without a word on dogmas to be offered to the Empress, cost nine hundred that might displease either part of his congregathousand francs (£36,000); and our journalists, tion; and he pretended that one might be catholic being always very generous with other people's in the morning protestant in the evening, withmoney, gave the Sultan a hint to give it to the out ceasing one moment in the day to be a Empress, but I have not heard that the hint Christian. has been taken. Monsieur Borel, chief engineer at the Isthmus of Suez, has just died in Paris, the day after a cold caught while driving in the Bois de Boulogne. Death has also robbed Paris of one of her glories-Sainte Beuve, the critic, the philosopher, and the senator. He requested, in his will, to be conveyed to the tomb without any ceremony, either religious or otherwise, and was accordingly buried by the "commissaire de police." Though several thousand persons accompanied the corpse to the grave, not a word was said, as is the custom here, in honour to the deceased: it was Sainte Beuve's particular wish. Sainte Beuve's mother was an Englishwoman of great piety, and brought up her son in the rigid observance of the Roman faith. How he afterwards arrived to be a freethinker I know not, but thus it often happens. They say that Sainte Beuve always went into mourning when he found out that he had been mistaken in anyone he admired, and that when he was named senator, he put a crape band on his hat, the first time he took his seat in that august assembly. It was Sainte Beuve who in '52, being professor at the Sorbonne, displeased the students by his adhesion to the Emperor; and they, not being able to show their disapprobation in any other way on account of the police, dressed in black, and went to his lecture, and when the lecture was finished, followed him two and two, several hundreds of them, each one holding his pocket-handkerchief at his eyes, as if crying at his funeral, and thus forced him to send in his resignation. A marriage of a freethinker was announced in the paper the other day. A marriage "civil"citizen Jules Bouy with citizen Louise Houdan; grand banquet followed by a ball, six francs and a half admission; democrats are invited to come to this fête of freethought-methinks rather too free. A wonderful discovery has just been made and put into execution in Brazil, on the person of a man named Carines. In joining with care the heads of those who have been decapitated, and in putting them in contact immediately with an electrical pile, life returns, and the person is as well as ever. Of course I would not stake my head for the veracity of the thing, as I was not there to see; but science makes such strides now, particularly in America, that one is astonished at nothing. There is one thing, however, that must be carefully avoided in the operation; that is, if there be several headless bodies at a time, not to make a mistake in the head, as that would be awkward. In Carines's case this happened; they put on him the head of a man executed with him. However, that did not prevent him being up and about seven months and a half afterwards. Of course it took longer to diffuse the vital spark through parts that were strangers to each other. I repeat 1 vouch for nothing in the case, and my opinion is: better not try the experiment, on one's self at least, A malicious friend might give you the wrong head, or leave you headless altogether. Monsieur Traupmann, I feel sure, would be of my opinion. This person remains impenetrable; and the body of poor John Kinck is not yet found. He tells those who are with him in prison, that he is sorry he has said as much as he has, that he has compromised himself. But his chief occupation seems to be to make money by the sale of his photograph. Many here are of opinion that there will not be sufficient evidence to condemn him to death. Poor Father Hyacinthe, after being on the pinnacle of glory, is fallen to the bottom of the edifice. The ultra catholics are enraged with him. He who had gained all hearts by his eloquence, a renegado! for some say that the celebrated orator is a protestant in heart. He has left us for America-" refugium peccatorum," as Louis XVIII. used to call England. Those who will not believe in his truth, say he will soon return and ask forgiveness of the Holy Father: we shall see. Some liken Father Hyacinthe, or The Austrian ambassador, the Prince de rather l'abbé Loyson now, to the "curé" Metternich, has just been wounded in a duel by Tchudi, who undertook the functions of Roman- the Count de Beaumont, but not dangerously catholic priest and protestant pastor at the same so. It seems the prince imagined Monsieur de time, to save his parish the expense of two clergy-! Beaumont as easy a husband as he is himself, day. but has found out that he is not. The Count | signed the contract with the Queen the other has just punished in the same way one or two other gallants who boasted of their exploits, or quizzed M. de Beaumont's coolness towards his wife. The young men in the linendrapers' shops are on strike; they have organized asociety as in England. The English association has forwarded money to them and promised support. They have held several meetings, and are resolved to resist until the masters agree to accord them a holiday on Sundays, and reduce their daily work to twelve hours a day. The miners at St. Aubin's, in the south, are also up in arms. The préfet had the imprudence to call out the soldiers, 70 soldiers to 1,200 rioters. Of course their appearance in such a small number, instead of frightening the miners, only served to irritate them, and the soldiers were obliged to fire on the rioters to defend their own lives, which made matters much worse. The Queen of Spain appears resigned to her lot. Report says that the King of Portugal will accept the vacant throne. Isabella has just bought a small property at Bonneuil, near Gonesse, Seine et Oise, where sister Patrocinio is to be established, with twenty-five runs and a priest. Her Majesty has reserved rooms for herself in the new convent, to be enabled now and then to retire these for religious exercises. This property belonged to a rag merchant, who M. Wilson, the deputy in the department of Indre et Loire, and who spent so much money to insure his election, has just been called on by his electors to take off the toll across a new bridge, which he had promised to do; so he has to placed a man on either side of the bridge with great quantities of "sous," and who returns the "sou" paid by those who pass over. "Cocher!" cried two young wits to a "croquemort" man, who drives a hearse, and making the sign as for an omnibus, "have you room?" "All right, young men," answered croquemort," but don't think yourselves so wise for your time will come as well as the rest. I have buried those that were in better health than you are before this !" The statue of Monsieur de la Martine, by Adam Solomon, is just finished; it is to be placed before the Hôtel de Ville. It represents the famous poet-politician in a scene at the Revolution, opening his cloak and showing his naked bosom, and pronouncing those words that are 60 well-known in contemporary history. The statue of Voltaire in bronze is also ready to be placed as soon as it can be decided where. We might let out for hire a few statues to different nations, if requisite; for we have so many, that we cannot find room for them.-Adieu, and au revoir, S. A. LEAVES FOR THE LITTLE ONES. moment to take a peep at the little show-case on the counter next the door to see if its scanty stock of jointed dolls (three for a shilling, otherwise sixpence a-piece), side-combs, perfumery buttons, etc., had been increased or diminished. Or if the artificial flowers in little red pots which looked so natural then, and seem so stiff and unlike real flowers now), had been appreciated and bought by some admirer of the "works of nature." On cool days the outside door of the little shop was closed, and when opened would bump against a sharp-toned little bell, that seemed to say, "Look out there, I expect thieves!" And then from out the still darker little back room would pop the little dark mistress, with a Jack-in-a-box movement, with her little black eyes full of interrogation points, and perhaps a half-finished "artificial" or dress-cap in her hand. Since then I have likened her to a little black spider, who sits all day in his shady den to pounce out upon unsuspecting flies should they stray into his web. This may seem harsh, but was not I (alas! poor fly !) a pitful victim? Sometimes, when fear of being late at school would lend unusual quickness to my naturally lingering feet, I would just flit in, take one look, flit out again with one "longing, lingering look behind," and hasten on. If the doom which fell upon Lot's wife had been visited upon me at any of those times, I fear there would have been a melancholy little "pillar of salt" standing, a solemn warning to loitering school children, in the quiet street of that well-remembered village. One lazy spring day, when the blood circulated sluggishly through my veins, and my feet felt less inclined to "move on" than usual, I paid my customary visit to the little shop on my way to school. Something unusual was going on. The little mistress was “rubbing up "the show-case, preparatory to putting into it a new supply of the before-mentioned articles. I paused to look, of course. They weresoon arranged in tempting display, and, forgetful of school and all outside the show-case, I dreamed and lingered. The voice of the mistress aroused me. "Wouldn't you like to buy something to-day ?" at the same time holding up a diminutive jointed doll. Now if I had a passion, or failing worse than day-dreaming and thoughtlessness, it was dolls -and she knew it. Long, short, thick, thin, broken or whole. The very sight of a doll would fill my heart with a tender longing-the germ of the mother love, I am sure, which since has filled my whole life with a joy "which earth before had not given." When possession crowned desire, no child so happy as I! So, balancing myself first on one foot, then on the other, I looked at the tempting wooden bait, then at the temptress, and said, meekly, as if it were a crime, with such an object concerned, to be so situated-" I haven't any money!" "It is only a sixpence, and you can hand it to me to-morrow," she blandly answered. probably not be home for some time, as she had been called to the bedside of a sick neighbour. So I ate my supper, and then took my stool, and, withdrawing to the rear, and in the shade of grandma's chair, I took my possession from my pocket. I didn't tell grandma what I had done, as she had an old-fashioned notion that money spent in dolls and such useless things, was "just so much money thrown away!" And then when one had one and hadn't yet paid for it-wheu! I wouldn't tell her for anything! So I put dolly back again into my pocket with a sigh. Growing weary at length of the click of grandma's needles and mother's absence, I gave a sudden jerk, when crack! went something in my pocket. It sounded like a pistol shot to me, but it evidently did not appear so to grandma, for she knitted on as unconsciously as ever. I cautiously put my hand into my pocket and felt for the poor dolly, and my worst fears were realized-it had been broken against the arm of my chair. Then the thought occurred to me for the first time, perhaps mother would not be willing to furnish money for a jointed doll-much less a poor broken one! Bed-time came, and still not mother. With a sigh I crept into bed, hoping the morning would see an end to my troubles. I said my prayers as usual, but when I got to "Forgive us our debts," I broke completely down, and cried aloud. Fortunately, no one heard me, or I should have been obliged to confide to other ears what might have a patient hearing and lenient judgment when poured into my mother's. I was awakened next morning by the summons "Come, it is most school-time." After all, I had slept more soundly than people with heavy consciences are wont to. I went down to meet a new disappointment. Mother had been home and gone again before I was awake. Had gone and I was still in debt, with no means of paying my liability! I took the poor maimed doll from my pocket and looked at it. All possibility of taking it Little persuasion was needed; I took the back, as had occurred to me I might do before doll, and was soon on my way, not actually re- the accident, was past, and perhaps mother joicing, for I already felt the weight of the debt would refuse to give me the required money. -my first debt! Oh, how litle I thought it Heart-sick, I contemplated my situation. The would prove a perfect "Old Man of the poor doll had suddenly become changed in my Sea" to me, ere I had done with it! But I eyes. From the fascinating being I had first said to myself, "I will ask mother for the money deemed her, besides being mutilated, she had to night, and pay it in the morning." become actually ugly! She had no profile, and looked more like a half-starved Chinese (begging pardon of their celestial highnesses!) than anything else, and she had no nose, to speak of, and only two little black dots for nostrils. And such limbs! I wondered what I had ever seen in the miserable little thing to admire, and my tears flowed afresh. The shadow of the debt had fallen over the once-loved charms, causing the graces and symmetry, which before had enticed me, to vanish. Somehow, I could not study as well as usual that day. The figures in the multiplicationtable would all crook up, like my jointed doll's legs and arms, and I said " Five times one are five," five times too often, because I knew that, and had only to study on the rest of the line. But the figures five and one tormented me all the afternoon. I went home at night hungry and tired. I thought I would go to mother at once and ask for the money, but, after seeking her in vain, I was told by my grandmother she was not at home, and I had best keep quiet, for she would That morning I took the opposite side of the street to school. How I passed the day I do not remember, being in such a state of suspense. It seemed as if the hands of the clock never moved so slowly, and I fancied they pointed towards me, while the clock ticked out "she owes-a sixpence-for a-broken-dolly." But four o'clock came, and I went home-again on the opposite side of the street. I remember thinking perhaps I would not find mother at home, and began to feel as if I could never tell her; and finally began to hope she would be away, though I could see no real help or comfort in that. She was at home, and very busy, as company had come, and tea was in progress. A sudden spasm of frenzy seized me as I approached her and twitched her sleeve. "What do you want?" she asked, pausing a minute. "I"-my courage failed, and I only asked, "How is Mrs. Lake ?" (the sick neighbour). "Better-a great deal-but don't trouble me now!" I turned sadly away, and, looking back, saw mother's eyes fastened upon me, no doubt thinking how soft-hearted her little girl was to be so moved at Mrs. Lake's illness. but that I intended paying it at my earliest possible chance, but I had begun to be accustomed to its existence; and, like many other burdens which we feel at first we cannot bear up under, I found I could not only bear it, but was beginning to look upon it almost with indifference. So I abandoned the canal and its dusty path, and once more resumed my walks down the wide, shady street, though even yet on the side farthest from the scene of my temptation. At last there came a day, a happy day for me! In return for some light service, my grandma gave me a bright, new sixpence! An unbounded treasure it appeared to me-a perfect mine of wealth. I How I danced over the side-walk again! As neared the shop, my mind full of the words I should say and the manner of saying them, my eyes caught a glimps of a tempting row of oranges, in a grocer's window. Instinetively my mouth watered, and my first impulse was to buy one; but, "No," I thought, "I will deny myself and pay my debt." I took a few steps onward, then something inside seemed to whisper, "No harm to go in and ask their price-you need not buy one now." Slowly the days crept along. Suns rose and set, and rose and set again, and still I kept my secret locked up in my heart. Often it balanced So in I went, and found they were just twoon my tongue's end, so near was I parting with pence each. The shop-boy held one in his hand, it, but something would always happen to tip expecting me to take it, and again the voice inthe scale, so the secret would fall back again in-side whispered, "So mean to pretend you were to my heart, wearying with its weight, which going to buy, and not do it!" seemed to grow every day. "I'll take it," I said, and hurriedly giving Never before in my life had I known money the boy the money, ran out of the shop and to be so scarce. No capitalist, keeping daily down the street, the orange in my hand and watch on the rising and falling in the money only fourpence in my pocket. But all my market, ever suffered more in mind from "hard happy thoughts had left me with my money. times" than did I then. In vain I solicited I tried to silence the whispers of the inward errands to run, in hopes of a few pennies for re- voice (which, now that I had obeyed it, began ward, for, though every one accepted my services, to be reproachful) by saying, "I will tell doubtless thinking me wondrously accomoda- mother to-morrow, and I know she will help ting and thoughtful, no idea of pay for value me." I could not eat my orange then, and received" seemed to enter their minds. When concluded to share it with some one at night, sent to the market or shop, the change always thereby partially atoning for my fault. I must was "even," or too large for me to hope or ex- have been in an unusually dreamy state on my pect to keep. At last the weight grew so bur-way home from school that evening, for suddensome, that I no longer dared to go down the street, even on the opposite side, pass the dreaded fancy store; so I took" to the towingpath of the canal. Sometimes I met with roughlooking men and a great many rude boys, who stared at me but seldom spoke, seeing, doubtless, how frightened and forsaken I looked. Once a rough-looking but, I am sure, kindhearted driver lifted me upon his horse for a ride. It is needless to say I have had many a ride since, when I felt prouder of my horse and attendant. "Time," it is said, "is a healer," and so it proved in the case of my wounded conscience. After a few weeks constant travel upon the towing-path-and some narrow escapes from savage dogs attendant upon the boatmen, and once from being swept into the canal, by getting between the rope and the water while the boat was passing-I found my debt no longer appeared in so terrible a light as at first. Not denly raising my eyes, I found I was close to he dreaded shop before I was aware, and there, in the doorway, stood the object I had been eluding so long! She smiled grimly, as I stopped, my face burning, and wished her "good evening." "Where've you been so long?" she asked; then, without waiting for an answer, she asked me to come in. Impelled onward, as if by a resistless and relentless Fate, I obeyed. When once inside, the various articles from which I had almost become estranged, again began to assume familiar appearances, and I soon felt the old charm coming back, and myself drifting away in an old-time dream, over the show-case. "See anything there you like?" fell upon my ears, dispelling my dreams. Not liking the expression of her keen eyes, I burst out nervously: "Yes-but I can't buy today, for I have no money." "You are generally in that fix, arn't you? By the way, don't you owe me a little for a dolly you got here once-some time in the spring?" I told her I believed I did. 66 Well, I have been making a cap for an old lady, Mrs. White, and if you will take it home for me, I will forgive you the debt." Gladly I consented-yes, I knew the lady in question, and clasping my arms around the band-box, which was larger than any cap-box I ever saw before or since, I started on my errand. It was a long, hot walk to the top of that steep hill, right in the face of the sun, and the band-box, though not heavy, was difficult to manage. But the white cottage, perched on the very top of the hill, cheered my vision even as I glanced, half-blinded, upward; for it was to me the goal where I should, like Christian, in "Pilgrim's Progress," drop off my burden, forever. I almost fancied that on my arrival at the top, "shining ones" might come to me, even as they did to him, and say " Peace be to thee." Heated and panting, I arrived at the cottage, and presented the box with a sigh of relief to Mrs. White. Words cannot express the surprise of the good lady, or my disappointment! She was the plainest dressed of all plain-dressed Quakeresses, and she looked aghast as she lifted the gaudy cap from the box, and stood still in astonishment. The flowers and ribbons with which it was decked were of all possible hues, and before her quiet tones assured me it was not for her-I knew it. "Thee has made some mistake, daughter," she mildly said, and replaced the cap. "She said Mrs. White," I answered meekly. "It may be the Mrs. White who lives over by the meeting-house," she suggested. So I again took up my burden and started forth. The other Mrs. White lived at the extreme end of town, in the opposite direction, and I despaired of ever being able to go so far and back home again before dark. I hoped, too, in consideration of what I had tried to do, my creditor might be merciful, and "forgive" me the debt, without exacting anything further. My temples throbbed, and my throat was dry and hot, and before I reached the shop again, I felt, Verily, the way of the transgressor is hard."" As I entered, the little woman bounced in, in response to the bell. "I went to the wrong Mrs. White," I stammered, "and I don't think I have time to do the errand to-night." "Well, then, I suppose you can pay the money soon?" I could only say, faintly, I hoped I could, and crept out of the shop, and homeward. I feared my face would show I had been under some unusual excitement, and so it proved, for when I met my mother in the hall, she laid her hand upon my flushed forehead and said: "Why how hot your head is-where have you been since school?" Then the flood-gates of my sorrow burst open, and my tears flowed through. I told her all then. How hard it had seemed before, and how easy it really was to tell her then! I was consoled and chided in one breath, and assured that the following morning I should pay the debt. "I have fourpence toward it now," I said; but mother only laughed, and made me promise I would never contract another debt. And I did promise, and have kept my word. I enjoined secrecy upon my mother and shared my orange with her. I afterwards found the poor dolly tucked away where I had put her, long weeks ago, and, patching her up as well as I could, made a fancy pen-wiper of her. Long years have passed since then, and I have arrived at the part of life's journey when jointed dolls, or in fact any dolls, please no longer, perhaps because that place in my heart once devoted to them has been filled by a living, breathing, black-eyed jointer, and for whom I pray that in the years to come, the horizon of his youthful sky may never be darkened by even such a tiny cloud as-my First Debt. OUR LIBRARY TABLE THE LIFE-BOAT:-JOURNAL OF THE LIFEBOAT INSTITUTION (London).—Of all the great benevolent institutions that England possesses, and they are as numerous as they are great (in the philanthropical sense of the term), covering every conceivable form of misery and suffering, none comes more close to our national sympathies or stirs the heart of individual benevolence more deeply, than the one the quarterly journal of whose services lies before us--the National LifeBoat Institution. From her Majesty-its proper patroness to the humblest subject in her realm, there is an earnest, active desire to en |