t a few memorable days in it--I mean Horace Greeley of the
_Tribune_. France is not sufficiently enlightened yet to abolish
imprisonment for debt, but the time will soon come. Such a barbarity
cannot for any great length of time disgrace the history of any
civilized nation.

The prison of St. Pelagie, in Rue de la Chef, was formerly a prison for
debtors, but is now used for the imprisonment of persons committed for
trial, or those persons sentenced for short terms. Nearly six hundred
persons are confined in it.

Connected with the prisons of Paris are two benevolent institutions, the
object of which is to watch over and educate the young prisoners of both
sexes during their terms of imprisonment, and after they have left
prison. As soon as they have left prison they are cared for, and if they
conduct themselves well, they are generally furnished with good places.
Prisoners are also taken from the Correctional House before their terms
have expired, in cases of excellent conduct, and the government pays the
society a sum toward the expenses of such persons until the time of
their sentence shall have expired. Lamartine, the poet, was at one time
president of one of these truly benevolent societies.

The prisons of Paris, take them as a whole, compare favorably with those
of any city in the world. Their administration is characterized by an
enlightened liberality and philanthropy, and though it may seem strange,
yet it is true, that Paris abounds with the most self-sacrificing
philanthropists. The prisoner, the deaf and dumb, the blind and the
idiotic, are cared for with a generosity and skill not surpassed in any
other land.

* * * * *

FOUNDLING HOSPITALS.

There are at least one hundred and fifty foundling hospitals in France,
and Paris has a celebrated one in the Rue d'Enfer. It was established by
St. Vincent de Paul, in 1638, but has been very much improved since.
The buildings are not remarkable for their architectural beauty, for
they are very plain. The chapel contains a statue of the founder. It is
now necessary for a mother who desires to abandon her child, to make a
certificate to that effect before the magistrate. The latter is obliged
to grant the desire of the woman, though it is a part of his duty to
remonstrate with her upon her unnatural conduct, and if she consents to
keep the child, he is empowered to help her to support it from a public
fund. The infants rece