THE FATE OF ICIODORUM. 201 
Absinthe . . . . . . . octroi one franc per bottle. 
Accoutrements ..... ‘““ five francs per set. 
Acids: gg @ we oe % “one franc per litre. 
Alcohol] . « «oe @ a ao “five francs per litre. 
Alligators... 2... “five francs each. 
Animals (not otherwise specified) “ ten centimes per kilogramme. 
Amica . . 6 6 6 @ 6 “five centimes per kilogramme. 
Artichokes . . 1... “five centimes each. 
And so on, down to zinc and zodphytes. 
The general effect of this law was like that of a 
refreshing rain upon a thirsty field. Everybody 
took heart, and general confidence in the future is 
the chief element in financial prosperity. But the 
law had some curious results. 
The octroi on elephants was so high as to be 
prohibitory, and the Italian organ-grinder thanked 
his stars that he and his monkey 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 “ auctoritas,” “ by authority,’ an authorized 
monopoly. The manufacturers 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 trading, 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 
