coins, weights, and measures, and, backing and
supporting all, like a substantial buttress, a solid
tome, entitled Manuel du Négotiant, Traite,
théorique et pratique des Sciences Commerciales.
For this learned treatise the name of
the author, L. Rothschild, inspired me with a
certain awe. I left it untouched, and turned
over with bewilderment the pages of the
metamorphosed arithmetical record.

While so doing, a light step bounded
upstairs. It was Harry, who thus caught me in
his sanctum, rummaging his private shelves,
and surrounded by his precious documents
tossed about in disorder. The boy looked
astonished, but not in the least abashed or
ashamed. He stood his ground like a man.
After the first surprise at seeing me there, he
seemed flattered rather than otherwise by the
curiosity I was manifesting.

"And how did you come by all this
rubbish?" I asked.

"By exchanges with correspondents, uncle,"
was his reply, in justification, "and also with
my pocket-money."

"You were at liberty, certainly, to spend it
on this, as well as on any other harmless
nonsense; still it is a pity to throw money into the
street."

"I beg your pardon, uncle; it is not thrown
away at all. I have made a good investment.
My stamp album is worth twenty pounds, if it
is worth a single shilling."

"When you have proved that it is worth a
shilling, I will believe that it will fetch twenty
pounds."

"That is easily done. You know, uncle,
there are two sorts of collections of stamps,
the maculate and the immaculate. Maculate
stamps, or such as have passed through the
post, are marked, to prevent their being used
again. I do not claim any value for those,
because you, perhaps, will not admit that they
have any value."

I nodded my perfect assent to this.

"And yet I have a Neapolitan stamp—here
it is—of the late King Bomba, which I would
not part with, for five shillings. Besides, as
each country has different postage-stamps, so
has each a different mode of defacing them.
Just look, uncle. England does it by black
bars, Hesse Darmstadt by concentric circles,
France by a number of little black spots. Now,
as it is possible that the rarity of certain
discontinued stamps will tempt forgers to imitate them,
if they commit any error in the mode of defacement,
they will be caught most assuredly.
Therefore, an authentic postmark on a stamp
confirms its genuineness and increases its
worth——"

"Which I ignore."

"I must tell you a true story, which I heard
at the lycée. A maid-servant, who made use
of a postage-stamp for the first time in her life,
had noticed that all the letters she took in for
her master were dotted with black over the
stamp, like this head of the Republic. She
supposed it was done to make the stamps stick
better, and imitated it as well as she could with
a pen. At the post-office, it was at first
suspected that some one had used an old stamp, to
cheat the government. Inquiries were made,
and learned ' experts' set to work, who proved
the girl's innocence of intentional wrong. She
got off with an admonition, lucky enough to
escape further trouble."

"Is it possible she could have been so stupid?"

"There are more stupid things done than that.
Among the curiosities found in letter-boxes are
unstamped letters in considerable quantities, and
mingled with them, though not exactly in the
same proportion, single loose postage-stamps.
There are people ignorant enough, after they
have written and directed their letter, to buy a
stamp at the office, and then, instead of sticking
it on the letter, to throw it into the box at the
same time with the letter, supposing that to be
the mode of prepayment. The clerks do the best
they can to distribute justice, in the shape of
stamps, amongst the unprovided letters; but
their utmost impartiality may not prevent some
letter-writers from reaping what they have not
sown."

"Beautiful simplicity! But you were to prove
that your album is worth a shilling."

"Instantly, uncle. My collection is, for the
most part, maculate, consisting of old stamps.
I am not rich enough to procure unused stamps
of all the countries in Europe—not to speak of
the colonies—nevertheless I have a few. Now
you must acknowledge, uncle, that unused stamps
are worth their cost price. Here is a Würtemberg
stamp for six kreuzers; here, a Swiss one
for forty rappen, a Belgian one for forty
centimes, a Norwegian one for eight skilling, and a
Prussian one for four silbergroschen, all unused.
Their joint value is more than a shilling English."

"I don't know," I demurred, speaking the truth.

"Again, here are French immaculates for
eighty, forty, twenty, ten, five, and one centime
respectively; that's more than a shilling. And
here are English ones for sixpence, fourpence,
threepence, twopence, and one penny. Do they
make a shilling? Eh, uncle?"

"I suppose they do, and that you have the
best of the argument."

"Yes. And I am in hopes, uncle, that I
shall be able to make you entertain a higher
opinion of postage stamps. They are a great
discovery; and if so, their history is well worth
studying. The man who invented them deserves
as much honour as he who invented coin for
cash transactions. By sticking a bit of paper,
with a government mark, on a letter, you
command its delivery, as soon as may be, at any
place you choose to name. All the formalities
and delays of money payments are avoided,
including those connected with the money
exchange of the foreign countries which a letter
may have to traverse."

"That is, you mean to say that postage-stamps
are a simple and convenient form of paper
money?"

"I beg your pardon. Postage-stamps are