we will state that the paper so officiously produced by M. Bourreux announced the death of Jaques Jasmin, merchant of New Orleans, where he had died of the yellow fever, on the eve of returning to his native country with a large fortune. As the deceased was a cousin of M. Jasmin, of whom he had not heard for several years, the golden consequences of this event chiefly struck M. Bourreux, who, when he saw the paltry light in which his friends beheld it, began to look upon them as more shallow and foolish beings than he had till then thought them to be. M. and Madame Jasmin were in the meanwhile relieving their grief by enumerating, as is usual in such cases, the manifold

virtues of the deceased.

'So good-tempered!' exclaimed madame. 'So willing to learn too!' observed her husband. The newspaper says he died immensely rich,' urged M. Bourreux.

'He deserved it,' warmly cried M. Jasmin. Poor lad! when he went away, ten years back, to seek his fortune, "Trust me, Cousin Jasmin," says he, "I shall make my way; and honestly too," he added proudly; for he was proud, poor Jaques was.'

'Ay, and don't you recollect how, when you slipped the piece of gold into his little trunk, he pressed your hand, and could not speak?' observed Madame Jasmin, wiping her eyes.

I declare,' replied her husband with surprise, 'I had forgotten all about that. Well, he was welcome to it; but it was a loan, not a gift; and indeed, if ever his children come to France, I shall remind them, in a polite manner of course, of the debt.'

.

Your cousin was never married, and has left no children,' sharply said M. Bourreux.

'Well, I might have known that,' replied M. Jasmin; for when he was going away," Cousin," says he, "I shall never marry but a pretty lively Frenchwoman like Madame Jasmin." Here the dancing-master tenderly glanced towards his wife, who positively blushed. 'Well, but do you also know,' impatiently exclaimed M. Bourreux,' that your cousin has left no will?'

'What about it?' calmly asked M. Jasmin.

What about it!' almost indignantly echoed his neighbour; 'why, if he died childless, and without making a will, does it not follow that his large fortune two millions of francs, the newspapers say-must be divided amongst his relations?'

M. Jasmin opened and rolled his eyes in a manner which showed that the thought now occurred to him for the first time. For a while he seemed lost in thought, then incredulously exclaimed it could not be; a sentiment in which his wife fully concurred. On hearing this, M. Bourreux became indignant, then satirical, and at last, by a natural transition, quite sentimental. He begged of his dear friends to believe him—what interest had he in deceiving them? The dancing-master and his wife at length allowed themselves to be convinced; and after giving a few more tears to the memory of Jaques, they agreed that the intelligence must be true. M. Bourreux having thus accomplished his errand, departed, leaving them to their own reflections. These were dismal enough; and what with their grief for the death of Jaques Jasmin, and their joy of becoming at once so rich, the worthy couple spent, upon the whole, a rather miserable evening.

By the next morning they were more composed, and had settled how to act. The whole family immediately went into mourning; for what less could be done to honour the memory of a man who left them a fortune?

Besides this, M. Jasmin had to write to his Norman cousin, M. Legros, who was the only other heir of the deceased. The next, and still more important step, was to remove from their present low neighbourhood to a more convenient residence.' So at least said Madame Jasmin, who had a secret taste for grandeur. A fashionable apartment in the Chaussée d'Antin was accordingly found. It was horribly dear; and though nominally consisting of four rooms, might be said to be all salon, every other convenience being sacrificed to that one room. The kitchen was a square hole, where daylight had never penetrated; the dining-room could hold only about four full-grown persons at a time; and well-proportioned, it unfortunately happened that the although the salon or drawing-room was handsome and only spot in which the sofa could possibly be put, was precisely against the only door that led into the bedroom. This door, which would otherwise have spoiled the symmetry of the room, was supposed to be there incognito, and was papered over like the rest of the walls, in order to keep up the delusion; but as the bedroom, like the kitchen, had no window, the architect had humanely caused a few panes of glass to be inserted into the highest portion of the door already mentioned; so that, with a little complaisance on the part of visitors, they might be supposed to be out of view altogether.

After a long consultation, M. and Madame Jasmin agreed that the sofa must be put against the door, and that, as the glass panes fortunately opened and shut like a real window, the aperture should serve to introduce them into their sleeping apartment. It is true it was somewhat narrow; but, as M. Jasmin wisely observed, you had only to step up on the sofa, pass your head through the opening, and you were sure to come down, most probably on the bed, and without being more than slightly grazed at the utmost.' Notwithstanding these advantages, the dancing-master and his wife soon grew dissatisfied with their apartment, which, they began to think, was not at all suited to them. Madame Jasmin's mind and cookery were perfectly be wildered by the dark and narrow kitchen; the unhappy children were cooped up night and day in the diningroom, lest they should soil the elegant paper of the salon; and it was found that, upon the whole, the manner of going in and out of the bedroom was anything but convenient, especially when it had to be repeated about a dozen times a-day. We shall get accustomed to it in time,' was M. Jasmin's comforting reflection. In the meanwhile, he discovered, to his great chagrin, that his pupils of the Rue St Denis refused to walk so far in order to take their lessons, and deserted him altogether; another source of mortification was to perceive that the fortune which he had expected would come to him of its own accord, delayed making its appearance; and the worst of it was, he could learn nothing more about it than what he had seen in the newspaper paragraph communicated to him by M. Bourreux.

The family had not been more than three days in their new apartment when they were surprised one morning by the sudden arrival of the country cousin, When the first greetings his wife, and his two sons. were over, M. Legros, who was short and stout, and a very abrupt, business-like little man, informed his cousin that, having learned living in a hotel was horribly dear in Paris, he had determined to give him a proof of his friendship by lodging and boarding with him during the whole time of his stay. He partly apologised for bringing his two boys; But the poor fellows,' he said, were so very anxious to come, that he Words could really could not leave them behind.' not describe the consternation which seized M. and Madame Jasmin on hearing this. The dancing-master made a feeble attempt to remonstrate, by urging want of room, and so forth; but M. Legros checked him in the very beginning, by vowing to hear no apologies, and that it would all do excellently well. He and Ma

M. Legros opened the conversation by asking if there were any news.

Why, none as yet,' answered M. Jasmin. 'None!' echoed M. Legros with an anxious frown, and as though he strongly suspected his cousin of having fraudulently abstracted the two millions for his own benefit. Well, do you know,' he continued with a look meant to be particularly cutting in case M. Jasmin was guilty-do you know I think this very strange?'

To say the truth, so do I,' ingenuously replied the dancing-master.

M. Legros coughed doubtfully, and in a manner to show that, for the present, he would not decide on so grave an affair; but that he would, nevertheless, keep his eye on M. Jasmin.

We will not attempt to describe the sufferings M. Jasmin and his family had to endure during the first week of the stay of their relatives. Matters went on, however, as M. Legros had predicted. The unfortunate Madame Jasmin cooked from morning till night; the children agreed or quarrelled as their fancy led them; and whichever they did, always made such a fearful noise, that the lodger who resided underneath offered M. Jasmin a certain sum on condition of his removing instantly, which, from a sense of dignity, he refused to do. But the worst of it was, that the luckless dancingmaster was compelled to show his cousins about not only over all Paris, but also over every portion of the surrounding country that had ever possessed the least celebrity. M. and Madame Legros were determined to make the best of their stay. As though to increase M. Jasmin's deep mortification, no tidings whatever could be had of Jaques Jasmin's fortune, a circumstance which caused M. Legros to hint, in a dark manner, that he strongly suspected the newspaper paragraph of being entirely groundless, and that he was not even far from considering his cousin as accessory to the fabrication, which had been the means of involving him in travelling expenses-and all in order to gratify M. Jasmin's selfish wish of enjoying the company of himself and his amiable family! M. Jasmin protested such an idea had never even entered his mind; but this of course only increased M. Legros's suspicions. But look ye, sir,' he added in a threatening tone, it would be better for you never to have made a dupe of me, sir; for I protest I shall leave neither this city nor this house, sir, until I have ascertained the truth of the whole affair.'

This was an awful threat, and M. Jasmin felt it in all its force. Legros was one of those suspicious men who are always imagining that all sorts of conspiracies are going on to cheat them, and who are resolved never to believe anything which is opposed to their own preconceived notions. His wrong-headedness on the present occasion was very perplexing, but what could the simple-minded Jasmin do? It was altogether against his nature to be rude.

During the whole of this time, M. Bourreux visited the family, and on learning that nothing was to be heard either of Jaques Jasmin or of his two millions, he appeared disappointed; but he soon grew accustomed to the circumstance, which even seemed to afford him peculiar pleasure, as was evident by the chuckle of satisfaction with which he alluded to it. One morning, when the whole family were at breakfast in the drawing-roomthe only room which could contain them-M. Bourreux made his appearance at an earlier hour, and with a

'Why, yes, there are,' answered M. Bourreux with great liveliness; and very good news too. What do you think now of your cousin Jaques not being dead?'

'Not dead!' echoed M. Legros, laying down his cup in indignant astonishment; not dead!'

'Yes; excellent, is it not?' chuckled M. Bourreux, rubbing his hands. But perhaps you don't believe it? Read this, my dear sir-read this!' and with the utmost complaisance he handed a newspaper to M. Legros. The paragraph to which he drew his attention merely stated that it was with the greatest pleasure the editor announced to the public that the merchant of New Orleans whose demise had been so deeply lamented a few weeks ago was still in the enjoyment of excellent health, the report having originated entirely through a mistake. As M. Legros read this aloud, M. Jasmin had his full benefit of the intelligence. It would be difficult to state exactly what the dancing-master's feelings were: he was rather disappointed at the loss of a fortune; but he was still better pleased to think that Jaques Jasmin was alive, observing aloud, in the simplicity and openness of his heart, that it was a great comfort.

And do you call this a comfort, sir?' cried M. Legros in a rage. Do you know, sir,' he continued, scowling upon him fearfully, that these words would lead me to suspect that you have agents in New Orleans by whose means you contrived to spread this report? But no!' he exclaimed, checking himself, I will not believe it; nor will I believe that Jaques Jasmin is alive: it is a moral impossibility; and as there is no name mentioned in this statement, I am authorised to believe either that it is utterly false-a scandalous fabrication-or that it does not in any manner relate to my deceased cousin.'

But supposing it is true?' observed M. Bourreux. 'I will suppose no such thing!' exclaimed the irascible M. Legros.

'Well, but it may be true,' persisted the other; 'and I ask how you would behave in case your cousin Jaques were to come home unexpectedly?'

'Sir,' gravely replied M. Legros, 'I should consider myself a deeply-injured man, and require a compensation; but admitting that my deceased cousin could come home, which I consider impossible, I should think myself justified in not recognising him, as I have a very faint recollection of his person.'

'Ah, but I remember him quite well,' here interposed M. Jasmin with a knowing look.

'I would not recognise him on your authority,' hastily exclaimed his cousin; indeed I should consider the whole affair so extremely suspicious, that I would turn my pretended cousin out of doors directly.'

'A very prudent course indeed!' observed M. Bourreux with a sneer. But,' continued he, changing the conversation, I have more news; and an excellent joke they will make too,' he shrewdly added. You must know, neighbour,' addressing M. Jasmin, that your old lodgings are let-you would never guess to whom? Well, not to keep you in suspense-to a dancing-master, who has now all your scholars: so you see you are fairly in for it;' and M. Bourreux chuckled very merrily at the idea.

This was pouring oil on M. Legros's wounded spirit: he laughed very long and very loud; so did his wife and his two boys. Madame Jasmin made a faint attempt to smile; her husband, seeing that his friends enjoyed the joke so much, thought it must be a capital one, though he could not exactly see where the point of it lay: he therefore laughed as much as he could; but his eyes glistened, and his lips quivered, as he thought

'Jaques!' cried M. Jasmin, sinking down on a chair in the height of his astonishment.

'Oh!' ironically observed M. Legros; 'I suppose, sir, you recognise him: very good, sir. I have a witness, mind you, who has heard you say you would; so that it is evidently quite premeditated!'

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Jaques! Jaques! can it indeed be you?' exclaimed the dancing-master, without heeding M. Legros. Jaques Jasmin for the strange visitor was no other-merely smiled in reply, and warmly shook his relative by the hand. M. Polydore Jasmin, with all his simple-heartedness, was somewhat of a formalist; and though his eyes were filled with tears as he gazed on the altered and sunburnt features of his long-lost cousin, he gravely folded him in his arms, and kissed him on each cheek, according to the old French fashion, which, though wearing away, is still in use among the middle and lower classes, and all the partisans of the old school.

Very well, gentlemen, very well,' indignantly exclaimed M. Legros, as he witnessed these friendly proceedings with very ferocious feelings- very well, you might have waited to kiss each other until I was gone! I shall soon rid you of my presence; but before I go, you shall hear some of my mind. You, sir'-to Jaques 'I look upon as a swindler, seeking to involve your unhappy relatives in expenses; and you, sir'-to M. Jasmin-are a mean hypocrite. I have the honour to bid you both good-morning: my innocent family shall no longer undergo the contamination of this roof.' With this M. Legros walked out of the room in a very stately manner. When he stood on the threshold of the apartment, however, he turned back to inflict a last blow. My dear fellow,' said he, smilingly addressing the dancingmaster, I must give you a friendly piece of advice before I go learn to dance, my dear sir-learn to dance!'

M. Jasmin had heard himself called a mean hypocrite; and being naturally good-tempered, and inclined to make allowances for the blighted hopes of a disappointed heir, he had borne this unjust treatment with the greatest equanimity. But there are limits to endurance; and when M. Legros ventured on making the audacious remark above recorded, M. Jasmin started to his feet in a fit of ungovernable fury, and seized on the object nearest to him, with the firm intention of throwing it at M. Legros's head. Although this object happened to be a large arm-chair, he lifted it up with the greatest ease, and would actually have accomplished his design, but for the interference of Jaques Jasmin, and the precipitate retreat of M. Legros, who rushed down the stairs in a state of great terror, calling out murder all the way, and followed by his screaming wife and children. As soon as M. Jasmin's momentary anger had subsided, he felt very much ashamed at having so committed himself. He would even have run after M. Legros, to apologise for his inhospitable hastiness of temper, but the terrified gentleman was already out of sight. This made M. Jasmin very uncomfortable. The only reflection that alleviated his distress was, that what he had done was merely in defence of his art, and so far excusable. By repeating this a number of times, he confirmed himself in the belief that personal feelings had in no manner influenced his conduct, and that his art alone had been insulted-an impression which Jaques Jasmin carefully refrained from removing. When the dancing-master's mind had recovered its usual equanimity, he hastened to introduce his cousin to his wife, who had rushed in from her post behind the door (where she had been listening till then) on hearing the altercation between M. Legros and her husband. Though not quite so astonished as M. Jasmin had expected her to be, she was nevertheless very hysterical, and might even have fainted away, if the continued whining which proceeded from the diningroom had not recalled her to the necessity of giving the children a good scolding. Jaques Jasmin having, however, interceded for them, they were forgiven, and at

his request allowed to enter the drawing-room immediately.

We will not dwell upon the manner in which the day which, notwithstanding the many disappointments it brought with it, was truly one of happiness-was spent by the family of M. Jasmin, nor on the long account which Jaques had to give of himself. His history was simple enough, and will be easily detailed in a few words. The first of the newspaper paragraphs, which had caused such a series of mistakes, turned out to be false in every respect. Jaques did not possess two millions of francs; he had not much more than one: worse still, he was married-to a Frenchwoman, however-and was the father of several children, so that all chance of inheriting his fortune was at an end; yet, strange to say, M. Polydore Jasmin seemed quite happy on hearing this, and actually rubbed his hands with glee. But the most singular portion of Jaques Jasmin's history was, that the piece of gold which he had received from his cousin at the epoch of their parting had partly been, he said, the means of making his fortune. This struck M. Jasmin as one of the most extraordinary circumstances he had ever heard, and made so deep an impression on his imagination, that for a long time afterwards he mentioned it to every one he knew as a great natural curiosity; for, he observed, there must have been some virtue in the gold: it could not have happened otherwise; so at least says Madame Jasmin.

As it had never occurred to the simple-minded dancing-master that he had anything to expect from his rich relative, he felt somewhat surprised when, on the second day which followed his first visit, Jaques Jasmin hinted that, as he had been the involuntary means of causing him to remove from his old quarters to a neighbourhood wholly unsuited to his circumstances, he felt it his duty to provide him with new lodgings. M. Jasmin would not at first hear of this; but he at length consented, and in a few days was comfortably settled with his family in a large and airy apartment in a part of the town equally removed from the commercial Rue St Denis and the fashionable Chaussée d'Antin. Here the dancing-master rapidly found scholars; but as they did not pay him very highly, he might still have repented leaving the Rue St Denis, if it had not occurred to Madame Jaques Jasmin, who turned out to be a very pretty and amiable woman, that, as her family was rapidly increasing, it would be a prudent and economical plan to settle a certain annual sum on their cousin, on condition of his engaging to teach his art to their children, with all the new pas that might come out. Her husband, who is partly suspected of having suggested it, immediately submitted this plan to his relative, who, after mature deliberation (for although he said nothing about it, the clause of the new pas was to him a great objection), adhered to it, and faithfully performed his part of the agreement, always being in mortal fear lest some new pas should come out without his knowledge, and render him guilty of what in his eyes would have been direct perjury.

It was shortly after these events that M. Jasmin wrote a long letter to M. Legros, in which, after tendering the most satisfactory apologies, he gave him a detailed account of Jaques Jasmin's marriage, his family, and what he had done for him personally. M. Legros, instead of being pacified, considered the dancing-master's epistle as a direct insult on his feelings. The only answer he condescended to return to it was, that he left Polydore and Jaques Jasmin to the workings of their own consciences; but that, for his part, he could never forgive them. Strange to say, M. Bourreux was glad to hear of M. Jasmin's good fortune: he might have been still better pleased, perhaps, had matters turned out otherwise; but he was pleased. As it has been discovered, in the Rue St Denis, that his only fortune consists in an annuity which must die with him, and that, consequently, he has no property to bequeath,

his importance is very much diminished; but it is pleasant to reflect that his temper is greatly improved.

The Jasmin family are happy and comfortable. M. Jasmin has been somewhat troubled by the Polka mania, but he is reconciled to it now. He thinks his wife prettier than ever, and idolises his children. Upon the whole, he may be described as that human curiosity--a happy and contented individual. He has entirely forgotten that he once thought himself rich, though it is said he still remembers the miseries he had to endure in his fashionable apartment.

TUITION OF IDIOTS.

Ar the conclusion of our last article on the tuition of idiots, we dwelt briefly on the methods of exciting the senses of taste and touch. We now proceed to consider the means to be adopted with a view of acting on the organ of vision. In devising expedients for this purpose, as also in every other proceeding respecting the object in hand, the condition of the young subject must be carefully regarded, and the appliances made to bear on the individual in greater or less intensity, according to the peculiarity of the case. In most idiots a vacant wandering gaze is observable; the first aim of the tutor should therefore be directed so as to fix the eye of the pupil on some object. This may, in general, be accomplished by holding up a small substance in the axis of vision, and causing it to follow the varying motions of the eyeballs. As soon as the regard is attracted to whatever is thus presented, and the eye is noticed to dwell upon the object, it should be kept stationary until the attention is fixed upon it; and then being slowly moved backwards and forwards, so as to draw the eye in a corresponding direction, a regular and voluntary action of the muscles of the eyeball becomes excited. In most instances this preliminary exercise will be followed by the desired result; but should a more powerful stimulus be found necessary, it may be advisable to employ a luminous body. If this prove insufficient, the room ought to be darkened, and a beam of light permitted to enter through a small circular aperture in the shutter. To this point the face of the pupil should then be directed for a longer or shorter time; and when the object of fixing the attention by means of this strong impression is obtained, the exercises on the organ of sight, already described, may be adopted at a subsequent period.

As soon as the efforts to fix the regard prove successful, attempts may be made to impart an idea of colour. To accomplish this, pieces of wood, of the same form and size, painted with the three primitive colours, red, blue, and yellow, as well as white and black, should be provided. These should be successively and slowly exhibited. In due time duplicates of each colour ought to be placed on the table; and the tutor, selecting a particular piece from the one set, intimates that the pupil should take a corresponding one from the other set which are placed before him. Whenever an indication of appreciation of colour is manifested by readiness in matching the portion presented by the tutor, it will be advisable to pronounce the name of each, so as to affect both the eye and the ear with a distinct impression in relation to the quality of the object held up for observation.

sensations produced by objects differently shaped. At a more advanced period, it may serve a good purpose to bring each sense into operation independent of the other, with a view of quickening them in a still higher degree. To accomplish this, a bandage should be lightly passed over the eyes, and then each figure should be placed in the hands, in order that the sense of touch may be exercised to discover the form of the object without the aid of sight; and so, in a similar manner, the eye may be encouraged to discriminate without the assistance of the hands.

The continued action of the senses of sight and touch may, after the lapse of a short interval, be made ser. viceable to communicate the separate ideas of size and number. This can be accomplished by pursuing the principle adopted to impart notions of colour.

To give instruction as to size of objects, procure several duplicate pieces of wood, some in the form of squares, others oblong, and another set in long pieces. Each set being successively placed before the pupil, his attention is to be directed to them; and if he has already | conceived the idea of shape from the previous exercise, he will become conscious that the objects before him have the same figure, but are different in another particular-namely, size. Whenever this conception is formed, the duplicate set may be produced, and the exercise pursued in the manner already described when speaking on the method of communicating ideas of colour, using the words large or small as the corresponding fragments are presented. In conducting this, as well as every other exercise, care must be taken that no objects except those in use are exposed to view, otherwise the attention will become distracted, and the ideas confused. It is equally important to avoid wearying or irritating the pupil by continuing any effort too long, or by an unnecessary repetition of performances in which he is tolerably perfect. A judicious variety of action, passing from the simple to the more advanced, by bringing into play the several functions of the mind, prevents irksomeness, and promotes improvement in a material degree.

Notions of number will be generated if twenty or thirty circular pieces of white card are exposed to view in two different quantities, distinguishing each by the words larger and smaller. As soon as this conception is created, equal numbers should be presented, using at the time the word same or like. Subsequently, a single portion should be held up, and indicated by pronouncing the figure one, then two, and so on. Whenever ideas of quantity and number are thus formed, attempts should be made to impress the mind with the corresponding symbol. To effect this, a black board should be provided, having white spots painted upon it of the same size as the pieces of card, and with the figure corresponding to the number placed at the extremity of each line, thus

10 200 3000

A single line should be exposed separately, so as to show only one figure and the corresponding circles at the same time.

When conducting this exercise, it is advisable to bring the sense of touch, as well as that of sight, into play. The hand should be caused to pass over the surface of each figure, so as to distinguish the different

faculties, and creating clear conceptions, so as to turn them to good account. We should therefore be especially guarded against the temptation of stepping beyond the bounds of utility: we should ever keep in mind what ought, rather than what can, be accomplished.

It is pleasing to discover, amidst much that is unattractive in these imperfect creatures, some peculiarities