“No, no! my dear doctor,” replied Madame C——­; “your merit must have, in time, acquired you the great fame you enjoy.”  The Doctor laughed heartily, but persisted in denying this; and the lady urged him to relate to me the plan he had so successfully pursued in abridging his road to Fortune.  He seemed flattered by her request, and by my desire for his compliance with it, and commenced as follows:—­

“I came from the country, Mesdames, with no inconsiderable claims to distinction in my profession.  I had studied it con amore, and, urged by the desire that continually haunted me of becoming a benefactor to mankind—­ay! ladies, and still more anxious to relieve your fair and gentle sex from those ills to which the delicacy of your frames and the sensibility of your minds so peculiarly expose you—­I came to Paris with little money and few friends, and those few possessed no power to forward my interest.

“It is true they recommended me to such of their acquaintance as needed advice; but whether, owing to the season being a peculiarly healthy one, or that the acquaintances of my friends enjoyed an unusual portion of good health, I was seldom called on to attend them; and, when I was, the remuneration offered was proportioned, not to the relief afforded, but to the want of fame of him who lent it.

“My purse diminished even more rapidly than my hopes, though they, too, began to fade; and it was with a heavy heart that I look my pen to write home to those dear friends who believed that Paris was a second El Dorado, where all who sought—­must find—­Fortune.

“At length, when one night stretched on my humble bed, and sleepless from the cares that pressed heavily on my mind, it occurred to me that I must put some plan into action for getting myself known; and one suggested itself, which I next day adopted.

“I changed one of the few remaining louis d’or in my purse, and, sallying forth into one of the most popular streets, I wrote down the addresses of some of the most respectable-looking houses, and going up to a porter, desired him to knock at the doors named, and inquire if the celebrated Doctor P——­ was there, as his presence was immediately required at the hotel of the Duc de ——.

“I despatched no less than twenty messengers through the different streets on the same errand, and having succeeded in persuading each that it was of the utmost importance that the celebrated Doctor P——­ should be found, they persuaded the owners of the houses of the same necessity.

“I persevered in this system for a few days, and then tried its efficacy at night, thinking that, when knocked up from their beds, people would be sure to be more impressed with the importance of a doctor in such general request.

“My scheme succeeded.  In a few days, I was repeatedly called in by various