was possible of construction. To attempt to bring the
compound microscope up to such a pitch would have been commencing at
the wrong end; this latter being simply a partially successful endeavor
to remedy those very defects of the simple instrument which, if
conquered, would leave nothing to be desired.

It was in this mood of mind that I became a constructive microscopist.
After another year passed in this new pursuit, experimenting on every
imaginable substance,--glass, gems, flints, crystals, artificial
crystals formed of the alloy of various vitreous materials,--in short,
having constructed as many varieties of lenses as Argus had eyes, I
found myself precisely where I started, with nothing gained save an
extensive knowledge of glass-making. I was almost dead with despair. My
parents were surprised at my apparent want of progress in my medical
studies (I had not attended one lecture since my arrival in the city),
and the expenses of my mad pursuit had been so great as to embarrass me
very seriously.

I was in this frame of mind one day, experimenting in my laboratory on
a small diamond,--that stone, from its great refracting power, having
always occupied my attention more than any other,--when a young
Frenchman, who lived on the floor above me, and who was in the habit of
occasionally visiting me, entered the room.

I think that Jules Simon was a Jew. He had many traits of the Hebrew
character: a love of jewelry, of dress, and of good living. There was
something mysterious about him. He always had something to sell, and
yet went into excellent society. When I say sell, I should perhaps have
said peddle; for his operations were generally confined to the disposal
of single articles,--a picture, for instance, or a rare carving in
ivory, or a pair of duelling-pistols, or the dress of a Mexican
_caballero_. When I was first furnishing my rooms, he paid me a visit,
which ended in my purchasing an antique silver lamp, which he assured
me was a Cellini,--it was handsome enough even for that, and some other
knickknacks for my sitting-room. Why Simon should pursue this petty
trade I never could imagine. He apparently had plenty of money, and had
the _entree_ of the best houses in the city,--taking care, however, I
suppose, to drive no bargains within the enchanted circle of the Upper
Ten. I came at length to the conclusion that this peddling was but a
mask to cover some greater object, and even went so far as to believe
my