of song! such splendid powers of mimicry!  I kept him with me a week to test his gifts, and I began to envy Cornelia her treasure,—­he was so tame, so bold, so intelligent.  In that week, by whistling to him in my leisure hours, I taught him to perform almost perfectly that lively aria of Meyerbeer’s, ’Folle e quei che l’oro aduna,’ and also to mimic beautifully the chirping of a cricket.  Well, I sent Don Juan out, and received due information of his safe arrival.  The medicine acted like a charm.  Cornelia wrote me a grateful letter, full of enthusiastic praises of ’her pet, her darling, the dearest, sweetest, cutest little bird that ever anybody owned.’  And I was more than rewarded by the heartfelt thanks of my noble John Meavy. Diantre! had I only wrung the thing’s neck!

“Eh, bien! The period upon which I calculated for my grand speculative coup had nearly arrived.  Owing to a variety of circumstances, the cotton-market had for some months been in a very perturbed condition; and I, who had closely scrutinized its aspects, felt sure that before long there would be some decided movement that would make itself felt to all the financial centres.  This movement I resolved to profit by, in order to achieve riches at a single stroke.  I had recommended John to increase his observations, and keep me carefully preadvised of every change.  But I did not tell him how extensively I meant to operate, for I knew ’t would make him anxious, and, moreover, I wished to dazzle him with a sudden magnificent achievement.  Well, things slowly drew towards the point I desired.  There was a certain war in embryo, I thought, the inevitable result of which would be to beat down the price of cotton to a minimum.  Would the war come off?  A steamer arrived with such news as made it certain that another fortnight would settle the question.  How anxiously, how tremulously I watched my telegraph then,—­noting down all the fluctuations so faithfully reported to me by John Meavy,—­all my brain on fire with visions of unwonted, magnificent achievement!  For two days the prices wavered and rippled to and fro, like the uncertain rippling of the waters at turning of the tide.  Then, on the morning of the third day, the long-expected change was announced, and in a way that startled me, prepared though I was,—­so violent was the decline.  Down, down, down, down to the very lowest! reported my faithful snails.  I did not need to consult the sympathetic paper, for the agonized writhings of the poor animals spoke plainly enough to the naked eye.  I seized my hat, rushed to my office, and began my grand coup.  Eh, bien! I shall not go into details.  Suffice it to say, for three days I was in communication with cotton men all over the country; and, without becoming known abroad as the party at work, I sold ‘on time’ such a quantity of ‘the staple’ that my operations had the effect to put down the prices everywhere; and if John Meavy’s report were correct, our profits