nts. De
L'Omelette placed his hand upon his heart.

They play. The Duc counts. The hand is out. His Majesty counts heavily,
smiles, and is taking wine. The Duc slips a card.

"C'est a vous a faire," said his Majesty, cutting. His Grace bowed,
dealt, and arose from the table en presentant le Roi.

His Majesty looked chagrined.

Had Alexander not been Alexander, he would have been Diogenes; and
the Duc assured his antagonist in taking leave, "que s'il n'eut ete De
L'Omelette il n'aurait point d'objection d'etre le Diable."

THE OBLONG BOX.

SOME years ago, I engaged passage from Charleston, S. C, to the city of
New York, in the fine packet-ship "Independence," Captain Hardy. We were
to sail on the fifteenth of the month (June), weather permitting; and
on the fourteenth, I went on board to arrange some matters in my
state-room.

I found that we were to have a great many passengers, including a
more than usual number of ladies. On the list were several of my
acquaintances, and among other names, I was rejoiced to see that of Mr.
Cornelius Wyatt, a young artist, for whom I entertained feelings of
warm friendship. He had been with me a fellow-student at C-- University,
where we were very much together. He had the ordinary temperament of
genius, and was a compound of misanthropy, sensibility, and enthusiasm.
To these qualities he united the warmest and truest heart which ever
beat in a human bosom.

I observed that his name was carded upon three state-rooms; and, upon
again referring to the list of passengers, I found that he had engaged
passage for himself, wife, and two sisters--his own. The state-rooms
were sufficiently roomy, and each had two berths, one above the
other. These berths, to be sure, were so exceedingly narrow as to be
insufficient for more than one person; still, I could not comprehend why
there were three state-rooms for these four persons. I was, just at that
epoch, in one of those moody frames of mind which make a man abnormally
inquisitive about trifles: and I confess, with shame, that I busied
myself in a variety of ill-bred and preposterous conjectures about this
matter of the supernumerary state-room. It was no business of mine,
to be sure, but with none the less pertinacity did I occupy myself in
attempts to resolve the enigma. At last I reached a conclusion which
wrought in me great wonder why I had not arrived at it before. "It is
a servant of course," I said; "what a fool I am, not