a common man or a man of genius. The public always judges by
results. Birotteau passed for a superior man, commercially speaking; all
the more because he compiled a prospectus whose ridiculous phraseology
was an element of success. In France they only made fun of things which
occupy the public mind, and the public does not occupy itself with
things that do not succeed. Though Birotteau perpetrated this folly in
good faith and not as a trick, the world gave him credit for knowing how
to play the fool for a purpose. We have found, not without difficulty,
a copy of this prospectus at the establishment of Popinot and Co.,
druggists, Rue des Lombards. This curious document belongs to the class
which, in a higher sphere, historians call _pieces justificatives_. We
give it here:

THE DOUBLE PASTE OF SULTANS

AND CARMINATIVE BALM

Of Cesar Birotteau.

MARVELLOUS DISCOVERY!

Approved by the Institute of France.

"For many years a paste for the hands and a lotion for the face
offering superior results to those obtained from Eau-de-Cologne in
the domain of the toilet, has been widely sought by both sexes in
Europe. Devoting long vigils to the study of the skin and cuticle
of the two sexes, each of whom, one as much as the other, attach
the utmost importance to the softness, suppleness, brilliancy, and
velvet texture of the complexion, the Sieur Birotteau, perfumer,
favorably known in this metropolis and abroad, has discovered a
Paste and a Lotion justly hailed as marvellous by the fashion and
elegance of Paris. In point of fact, this Paste and this Lotion
possess amazing properties which act upon the skin without
prematurely wrinkling it,--the inevitable result of drugs
thoughtlessly employed, and sold in these days by ignorance and
cupidity. This discovery rests upon diversities of temperament,
which divide themselves into two great classes, indicated by the
color of the Paste and the Lotion, which will be found _pink_ for
the skin and cuticle of persons of lymphatic habit, and _white_
for those possessed of a sanguine temperament.

"This Paste is named the 'Paste of Sultans,' because the discovery
was originally made for the Seraglio by an Arabian physician. It
has been approved by the Institute on the recommendation of our
illustrious chemist, Vauquelin; together