'We shall see,' bowed and retired.

"The American thought little more of the matter till, going to the
Prefecture to obtain his vise for Borne, he discovered that his passport
had been stopped, and a detainer put upon him for this debt. He hastened
at once to his Minister, who referred him to the law-adviser of the
Legation for counsel. The man of law looked grave; he neither heeded the
angry denunciations of the enraged Yankee, nor his reiterated assurances
that the whole was an infamous fraud. He simply said, 'The case is
difficult, but I will do my best.' After the lapse of about a week, a
message came from the Prefect to say that the stranger's passport was at
his service whenever he desired to have it.

"'I knew it would be so!' cried the American, as he came suddenly upon
his lawyer in the street. 'I was certain that you were only exaggerating
the difficulty of a matter that must have been so simple; for, as I
never owed the money, there was no reason why I should pay it.'

"'It was a case for some address, notwithstanding,' said the other,
shaking his head.

"'Address! fiddle-stick! It was a plain matter of fact, and needed
neither skill nor cunning. You of course showed that this fellow was a
stranger to me--that we had never interchanged a word till the day he
made this rascally demand?'

"'I did nothing of the kind, sir. If I had put in so contemptible a
plea, you would have lost your cause. What I did was this: I asked what
testimony he could adduce as to the original loan, and he gave me the
name of one witness, a certain Count well known in this city, who was at
breakfast with him when you called to borrow this money, and who saw the
pieces counted out and placed in your hand.'

"'You denounced this fellow as a perjurer?'

"'Far from it, sir. I respect the testimony of a man of station and
family, and I would not insult the feelings of the Count by daring to
impugn it; but as the plaintiff had called only one witness to the loan,
I produced two just as respectable, just as distinguished, who saw you
repay the debt! You are now free; and remember, sir, that wherever
your wanderings lead you, never cease to remember that, whatever be
our demerits at Naples, at least we can say with pride, The laws are
administered with equal justice to all men!'"

The entrance of the gendarme at this moment cut short the question I
was about to ask, whether I was to accept this story as a fact or as a
parable.

"He