a kingdom--takes the
ladle, plunges it into the bowl, and transfers whatever it brings up to
his basin. It is contrary to the rules for any man to hesitate when he
has once made his plunge, though he has a perfect right to take his time
in a previous survey of the _ocean_--a privilege of which he always
avails himself. If he brings up one of the pieces of meat, the glisten
of his eye and the applauding murmur which goes round the assembly give
him a momentary exultation, which it is difficult to conceive by those
who have not witnessed it. In this the spirit of successful gambling is,
beyond all doubt, the uppermost feeling; it mixes itself up with
everything done by that class of society, and is the main reason of the
popularity of these places with their _habitues_; for when the customers
have once acquired the habit, they rarely go anywhere else."

[Illustration: Omnibus.]

A WALK AND GOSSIP.

One of my first days in Paris I sauntered out to find some American
newspapers, that I might know something of what had transpired in
America for weeks previous. I directed my steps to the office of Messrs.
Livingston, Wells & Co., where I had been informed a reading-room was
always kept open for the use of American strangers in Paris. The morning
was a delightful one, and I could but contrast it with the usual weather
of London. During months of residence in the English metropolis I had
seen no atmosphere like this, and my spirits, like the sky, were clear
and bright.

On my way I saw a novel sight, and to me the first intimation that the
people of Paris, so widely famed for their politeness, refinement, and
civilization, are yet addicted to certain practices for which the
wildest barbarian in the far west would blush. I saw men in open day, in
the open walk, which was crowded with women as well as men, commit
nuisances of a kind I need not particularize but which seemed to excite
neither wonder nor disgust in the by-passers. Indeed I saw they were
quite accustomed to such sights, and their nonchalance was only equaled
by that of the well-dressed gentlemen who were the guilty parties. I
very soon learned more of Paris, and found that not in this matter alone
were its citizens deficient in refinement, but in still weightier
matters.

I soon reached the American reading-room, and walked in. My first act
was to look at the register where all persons who call inscribe their
names, and I was surprised to notice the n