gayety, grace and accomplishment which they displayed in their
performances, as they have been astonished at their sudden and almost
miraculous appearance.



At a Ball.


Dancing is the favorite amusement in Paris, and these exercises are
conducted on a grand scale, even during the summer season. I attended a
Public Ball one evening, when almost the entire floor (covering nearly
three fourths of an acre) and the adjoining garden of about the same area,
were thronged by thousands of gay and jovial dancers, all wild from the
excitement produced by the rhythmical motions and music of that playful
exercise.



Incidents.


The reader can not be more curious to know how one that is unacquainted
with the French language can get along in Paris, than I was when I first
took up my residence there. The first morning I went out to seek some
place where I might get fresh milk; _Lait_ is the French name of it as I
found it in my conversational guide book. I soon found that name upon a
card of pasteboard hanging at the door of a shop where bread and fruits
were displayed in the window. On entering the store a clever Frenchman
politely addressed me, but he soon discovered that I was none of the