hould be forgiven.
They unsuccessfully aim at doing a correct thing. But a Frenchman
dubbing himself "Mons." publishes a certificate of his ignorance.

[14] "_Mons._, a familiar and contemptuous abbreviation of
Monsieur."--LITTRE, "Dictionnaire de la Langue Francaise."

The house was a double-fronted one.

On the right window there was the inscription:

"French Classes for Ladies."

On the left one:

"French Classes for Gentlemen."

The sexes were separated as at the Turkish Baths.

On a huge board, placed over the front door, I read the following:

"_French Classes for Ladies and Gentlemen.
Greek, Latin, and Mathematical Classes.
Art and Science Department.
Music, Singing, and Dancing taught.
Private Lessons given, Families waited upon.
Schools attended.
For Terms and Curriculum, apply within._"

What a saving of trouble and expense it would have been to this living
encyclopaedia if he had only mentioned what he did not teach!

Since I have called your attention to the expression _Mons._, and
reminded you of its proper meaning, never send a letter to a Frenchman
with the envelope addressed as _Mons._

I know, dear American reader, that _you_ never do. But you have
friends. Well, tell them to write _Monsieur_ in full; or, as cobblers
in their back parlors are now addressed as _Esquires_, rather confer
the same honor upon a Frenchman. He will take it as a compliment.

Democracy is making progress in England. Where is the time when only
land-owners, barristers, graduates of the Universities, were addressed
as Esquires?

All ladies and gentlemen in England now.

* * * * *

Not all, though.

A young lady friend, who visits the poor in her district, called one
day at a humble dwelling.

She knocked at the door, and on a woman opening it, asked to see Mrs.
----.

"Oh! very well," said the woman, and, leaving the young lady in the
street, she went inside, and called out at the top of her voice:

"Ada, tell the _lady_ on the second floor that a _young person_ from
the district wants to see her."

_Apropos_ of "Esquire" I should like to take the opportunity of paying
a well-deserved compliment to the Postal Authorities in England.

Some eight years ago, I lived in the Herbert Road, Shooter's Hill, near
London.

After three weeks of wonderful peregrinations, a letter, addressed in
the following manner, duly re