note-book, and entering the fact upon the spot. "A saint with one
leg--and a lady, too! Wouldn't m--m--miss that for the world!"

I looked round, puzzled by the gravity of my new acquaintance.

"Is this all true?" I whispered. "You told me the treasury was a
humbug."

"And so it is."

"But the snuff-box of Clovis, and...."

"Pure inventions! The man's a muff, and on muffs I have no mercy. Do you
stay long in Rouen?"

"No, I go on to Paris to-morrow. I wish I could remain longer."

"I am not sure that you would gain more from a long visit than from a
short one. Some places are like some women, charming, _en passant_, but
intolerable upon close acquaintance. It is just so with Rouen. The place
contains no fine galleries, and no places of public entertainment; and
though exquisitely picturesque, is nothing more. One cannot always be
looking at old houses, and admiring old churches. You will be delighted
with Paris."

"B--b--beautiful city," interposed the stammerer, eager to join our
conversation, whenever he could catch a word of it. "I'm going to
P--P--Paris myself."

"Then, sir, I don't doubt you will do ample justice to its attractions,"