pe as though it were his birthplace; with the churches,
the galleries, their monuments, and their history. He must know the
delicacies of each land, and every rarity it can produce for the palate
of the epicure. He must be a connoisseur in wine, pictures, china,
cuisine, statuary, engravings, armor, ancient furniture, manuscripts,
horseflesh, the drama, and Bohemian glass; able to pack a trunk,
or expatiate upon a Titian; to illustrate a fresco, to cheat a
custom-house, to bully a prefect, make an omelette, ride postilion.
These, with a running knowledge of international law and the Code
Napoleon, and some skill in all the minor operations of surgery,--these
are a brief summary of a courier's qualifications."

"And do you tell me, friend," said he, earnestly, "that you can do all
this?"

"Indifferent well," said I, carelessly. "There are, doubtless, others
who have gained a higher proficiency in the craft; but as I am still
young, I'll not despair of future eminence."

He heaved a deep sigh, and leaned his head upon his hand.

I fancied I could read what was passing in his mind, and, at a
haphazard, said, "You are contrasting the catalogue with that of your
own acquirements, and perhaps asking yourself, to what end all the
midnight toil of scholarship? Why have I labored hard, with aching brow
and fevered heart, when one with vulgar attainments like these,--the
scattered fragments, the crumbs that fall from the table of real
knowledge,--can secure a better livelihood and more real independence
than myself; and the reason is, mine are marketable wares that find
purchasers in every class, and among every gradation of society. 'My
lord' must have his courier; so must the rich cotton-spinner or the
barrister on his wedding-tour. The wealthy dowager, the blooming widow,
the ex-minister travelling for 'distraction' the young heir journeying
for dissipation, the prelate, the banker, the ruined duke, the newly
enriched mill-owner,--all, however differing in other points, agree in
this one want, and must have one who will think for them and speak
for them, bargain and bully for them, assert their rank and importance
wherever they appear; so that of the obstacles of travel, its
difficulties and contrarieties, they should know as little as though
their road lay between London and Croydon."

"Still, it is a puzzle to me," sighed the young man, "how these
people achieve the attainments you speak of. Even a smattering of such
k