age in his refusal when too hardly pressed,
because, by his own admission, he was superstitious enough to believe
that, if he went home without it, something terrible would happen to him
during the night.

[Footnote 20: Curiously enough, he belonged to the same
department, and died almost on the very spot where Marin
Plessis was born.--EDITOR.]

M. Lautour-Mezerai was, however, something more than a mere man of
fashion. To him belongs the credit of having founded--at any rate in
France--the children's periodical. For the comparatively small
subscription of six francs per annum, thousands of little ones received
every month a number of the _Journal des Enfants_, stitched in blue
paper, and with their own name on the wrapper. It flattered their pride
to be treated like their elders by having their literature despatched to
them in that way, and there is no doubt that this ingenious device
contributed, to a certain extent, to the primary and enormous success of
the undertaking. But M. Lautour-Mezerai was too refined a litterateur to
depend upon such a mere trick, and a look at even the earlier numbers of
the _Journal des Enfants_, would prove conclusively that, in the way of
amusing children while instructing them a little, nothing better has
been done since, whether in France, England, or Germany. The editor and
manager succeeded in grouping around him such men as Paul Lacroix (_le
bibliophile Jacob_) and Charles Nodier, both of whom have never been
surpassed in making history attractive to young minds. Emile Souvestre,
Leon Gozlan, Eugene Sue, and even Alexandre Dumas told them the most
wonderful stories. The men who positively kept the adult population of
France spellbound by their stirring romances seemed to take a delight in
competing with women like Virginie Ancelot, the Duchesse d'Abrantes, and
others on the latter's ground. As a consequence, it became the fashion
to present the young ones on New Year's Day with a receipt for a
twelvemonth's subscription, made out in their names, instead of the
everlasting bag of sweets. At one time the circulation of _Le Journal
des Enfants_ was computed at 60,000, and M. Lautour-Mezerai was said to
make 100,000 francs per annum out of it.

In a former note, I incidentally mentioned Auguste Lireux. He is
scarcely remembered by the present generation of Frenchmen; I doubt
whether there are a hundred students of French literature in England who
know his n