And shaking me warmly by the hand, he helped me into the conveyance that was to take me back to home and freedom.  I have never seen him since.

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[Illustration:  ALL-ROUND POLITICIANS.—­HARTINGTONIANA.]

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A COY COLOSSUS.

PARIS, June 15.—­It is stated here, on no authority whatever, that when the CZAR was recently visiting the French Exhibition at Moscow, his Imperial Majesty was heard to remark, “This makes me desire to see the Boulevards again.”  A visit of the ruler of Russia to Paris during the Summer is therefore considered to be certain.  An offensive and defensive Alliance between the two countries is said to be on the point of signature.

A few evenings ago, in a low cafe in Belleville, M. NOKASHIKOFF, who left St. Petersburg lately to escape his creditors, and who conceived the happy idea of raising a little money by walking to Paris in a sack composed of the French and Russian national flags stitched together, was entertained to supper by his Gallic admirers.  The proceedings, especially towards midnight, were very enthusiastic.  Throughout the festivities, constant cries of “Vive l’Alliance Franco-Russe!” were raised.  This incident is said to have placed the immediate signature of the Treaty between the CZAR and President CARNOT beyond a doubt.

Last evening a foreigner, who by appearance would have been taken for a Muscovite, was walking along the asphalte, when he was surrounded by a crowd of persons crying “Vive la Russie!” The foreigner seemed both surprised and annoyed by these attentions, and at length began to use his fists and his boots liberally on the ringleaders of the mob.  This treatment, however, seemed only to increase their Russophil ardour, and the stranger was soon hoisted on to the shoulders of some of his foremost admirers, struggling violently.  On the arrival of a gendarme, he explained that he was an English book-maker, and that “this bloomin’ mob of boot-lickers had taken him for a bloomin’ Russian!” The crowd shortly afterwards dispersed.  The completion of the formal alliance between France and Russia is considered less certain than it was a few days ago.

The Frenchman, M. TETE-BOIS, who recently attempted to walk on his head from Paris to Moscow, in order to show the sympathy felt in France for the Muscovite Empire, did not succeed in carrying out his design.  He was stopped shortly after crossing the Russian frontier, imprisoned, and heavily ironed.  After suffering in this way for a week, he was told that he must leave Russian territory within twenty-four hours, or else continue his journey to Siberia.  On being appealed to, the CZAR graciously extended the time given for quitting Russia to forty-eight hours.  This Imperial clemency has caused the widest feeling of gratitude and satisfaction in France, and the signature of the definitive Alliance between the two countries is confidently expected at an exceedingly early date.