rs. Two or three pillows,
piled up at the head of the bed, complete this singular edifice.

"When a Frenchman gets into a bed of this kind, as he does not think
of taking any particular precautions, in about five minutes the
pillows fall on one side, the coverlet on the other; the sheet rolls
itself up and disappears; so that the aforesaid Frenchman finds
himself with one side of his body uncovered and frozen, and the
other side sunk in the feather bed and perspiring profusely. This
arises, say the Germans, from the circumstance of the French being
so impetuous and lively. With a calm and phlegmatic German the case
is quite different. The latter raises the counterpane very
cautiously, creeps underneath, and places himself with his back
against the pillows, and his feet against the bottom of the bed,
screwing himself up into the shape of the letter Z: he then draws
the covering over his knees, shuts his eyes, goes to sleep, and
awakes the next morning in the same position. To do this it is
necessary to be a German, and as I am not one, I had not slept a
wink since I had been in the country; I was growing as thin as a
lath, and I had a cough that seemed to tear my chest open. This is
why I asked for a bed _a la Francaise_. Mine host had fortunately
six of them. When I heard that, I could have embraced him with
pleasure."

The villages of Winnebourg and Metternich near Coblentz, the former the
birthplace, the latter the property, of Prince Metternich, lead M. Dumas
into a little digression on the subject of the celebrated diplomatist.
The family name, we are informed, was originally Metter, but received
the addition of the last syllable in the following manner:--

"In one of the great battles of the fifteenth century, the emperor
of Germany saw an entire regiment take to flight with the exception
of one man, who stood his ground and defended himself gallantly,
till he fell covered with wounds. The emperor enquired his name. It
was Metter."

That night at supper the emperor said, talking of the regiment in
question--"They all fled, but Metter _nicht_." Every body knows that
"nicht" is the German for not. The family adopted the additional
syllable, and hence the origin of the name of Metternich.

M. de Metternich, it appears, is a great collector of autographs, and of
course his position has facilitated the gratificat