444 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



law, had made a serious reduction of the revenue. And now ap- 

 peared the wisdom of the mayor's original suggestion. What 

 Issoire needed was prosperity along the whole line. A partial 

 octroi means only partial prosperity. A universal octroi insures 

 prosperity which is unbounded and universal.- 



And so the schoolmaster took a copy of Littrd's " Unabridged 

 Dictionary " and the " Dictionary of the Academy/' and from these 

 he drew up a list of three thousand eight hundred and seventy- 

 two articles on which the city government might levy the octroi. 

 And the mayor and the City Council sat up half the night to de- 

 cide just how much octroi each one of these articles should bear, 

 in order to secure the best results to the community. 



The list began : 



Absinthe octroi one franc per bottle. 



Accoutrements " five francs per set. 



Acids " one franc per litre. 



Alcohol " five francs per litre. 



Alligators , " five francs each. 



Animals (not otherwise specified) " ten centimes per kilogramme. 



Arnica " five centimes per liilogramme. 



Artichokes " five centimes each. 



And so on, down to zinc and zoophytes. 



The general effect of this law was like that of a refreshing rain 

 upon a thirsty field. Everybody took heart, and general con- 

 fidence in the future is the chief element in financial jDrosperity. 

 But the law had some curious results. 



The octroi on elephants was so high as to be i)rohibitory^ and 

 the Italian organ-grinder thanked his stars that he and his monk- 

 ey were well inside the city gates before the law went into effect. 

 The combined tax on quadrumana and musical instruments was 

 more than he could pay. Once within, however, he enjoyed a full 

 monopoly, and this, so the schoolmaster told him, was just what 

 the law originally intended, for octroi is spelled in Latin " aucto- 

 ritas," " by authority," an authorized monopoly. The manufact- 

 urers of dolls were much encouraged. Christmas was coming 

 on ; the children must have dolls ; and the pauper doll-makers of 

 Jonas, with whom Saint Nicholas had been in the habit of trad- 

 ing, were by no means able to pay the octroi. 



But, on the other hand, the trade in looking-glasses was nearly 

 ruined. The octroi on glass, quicksilver, wood, tin, varnish, and 

 glue, drove the mirror-maker distracted. The people took to pol- 

 ishing up tin pans, and to looking into dark windows or down 

 into deep wells, in search for the truth that is metaphorically said 

 to be lying there. Then the law offered some curious anomalies. 

 For instance, a sheep with the wool on went through the city 

 gates for fifteen francs. If the wool was taken off, it was charged 



