s, and Guises at his back. His homme
d'affaires brought his papers in a sack, and displayed the plans of his
estates, and the titles of his glorious ancestry. The widow's lawyers
had her money in sacks; and between the gold on the one side, and the
parchments on the other, lay the contract which was to make the widow's
three hundred thousand francs the property of the Count de Grinche. The
Count de la Grinche was just about to sign; when the Marshal de Villars,
stepping up to him, said, "Captain, do you know who the president of the
court of Arras, yonder, is? It is old Manasseh, the fence, of Brussels.
I pawned a gold watch to him, which I stole from Cadogan, when I was
with Malbrook's army in Flanders."

Here the Duc de la Roche Guyon came forward, very much alarmed. "Run me
through the body!" said his Grace, "but the comptroller-general's lady,
there, is no other than that old hag of a Margoton who keeps the ----"
Here the Duc de la Roche Guyon's voice fell.

Cartouche smiled graciously, and walked up to the table. He took up one
of the widow's fifteen thousand gold pieces;--it was as pretty a bit of
copper as you could wish to see. "My dear," said he politely, "there is
some mistake here, and this business had better stop."

"Count!" gasped the poor widow.

"Count be hanged!" answered the bridegroom, sternly "my name is
CARTOUCHE!"

ON SOME FRENCH FASHIONABLE NOVELS.

WITH A PLEA FOR ROMANCES IN GENERAL.

There is an old story of a Spanish court painter, who, being pressed for
money, and having received a piece of damask, which he was to wear in a
state procession, pawned the damask, and appeared, at the show, dressed
out in some very fine sheets of paper, which he had painted so as
exactly to resemble silk. Nay, his coat looked so much richer than the
doublets of all the rest, that the Emperor Charles, in whose honor the
procession was given, remarked the painter, and so his deceit was found
out.

I have often thought that, in respect of sham and real histories, a
similar fact may be noticed; the sham story appearing a great deal more
agreeable, life-like, and natural than the true one: and all who, from
laziness as well as principle, are inclined to follow the easy and
comfortable study of novels, may console themselves with the notion that
they are studying matters quite as important as history, and that their
favorite duodecimos are as instructive as the biggest quartos in the
world.

If then,