TWO YOUNG NATURALISTS. 



friends L , with the ' three charming young 



daughters,' as we used to hear repeated regularly 

 every Saturday by an ' echo of the shore.' " 



"No, all gone," replied Leon. "The three charm- 

 ing young daughters are passing the season at Biarritz; 



Count T is detained in Paris by a domestic 



calamity and will not appear this year ; and as for 



Colonel D , we shall not see him again : he has 



been promoted and is gone to Tunis." 



The Parisian's face became more and more serious. 



"But your Villers is really a country of Hurons 

 and Apaches, then ! " But immediately aware of his 

 rudeness he added : " Never mind that ; we two 

 are together- all three together," he said, looking 

 at his uncle. " We shall be sure to find something 

 to do. Come now, make a proposal, you the elder. 

 Mr. Le*on," added he with comic gravity, " I call on 

 you ! " 



"Well, to tell the truth, I don't see much, unless 

 we occupy ourselves with natural history, zoology." 



On hearing this word the other started as if he had 

 received an electric shock. 



" Is that all .you can think of? " cried he. " Zoo- 

 logy, natural history that is you all over ; and you 

 think that is amusement ! tardigrades, plantigrades, 

 digitigrades, and other grades that I have forgotten. 

 Now see, and I will give you once for all a definition 

 of your science : Zoology is just like botany, which a 



