thousand five hundred pounds, and his income
is twelve thousand a year. Our bore is also
great in mystery. He believes, with an
exasperating appearance of profound meaning,
that you saw Parkins last Sunday? — Yes,
you did. — Did he say anything particular?—
No, nothing particular. — Our bore is
surprised at that.—Why?—  Nothing. Only he
understood that Parkins had come to tell
you something. — What about? — Well! our
bore is not at liberty to mention what about.
But, he believes you will hear that from
Parkins himself, soon, and he hopes it may
not surprise you as it did him. Perhaps,
however, you never heard about Parkins's
wife's sister?—No. — Ah! says our bore, that
explains it!

Our bore is also great in argument. He
infinitely enjoys a long humdrum, drowsy
interchange of words of dispute about nothing.
He considers that it strengthens the mind,
consequently, he "don't see that," very often.
Or, he would be glad to know what you
mean by that. Or, he doubts that. Or, he
has always understood exactly the reverse
of that. Or, he can't admit that. Or, he
begs to deny that. Or, surely you don't mean
that. And so on. He once advised us; offered
us a piece of advice, after the fact, totally
impracticable and wholly impossible of acceptance,
because it supposed the fact then
eternally disposed of, to be yet in abeyance.
It was a dozen years ago, and to this hour
our bore benevolently wishes, in a mild voice,
on certain regular occasions, that we had
thought better of his opinion.

The instinct with which our bore finds out
another bore, and closes with him, is amazing.
We have seen him pick his man out of
fifty men, in a couple of minutes. They
love to go (which they do naturally) into a
slow argument on a previously exhausted
subject, and to contradict each other, and to
wear the hearers out, without impairing their
own perennial freshness as bores. It
improves the good understanding between them,
and they get together afterwards, and bore
each other amicably. Whenever we see our
bore behind a door with another bore, we
know that when he comes forth, he will
praise the other bore as one of the most
intelligent men he ever met. And this
bringing us to the close of what we had
to say about our bore, we are anxious to have
it understood that he never bestowed this
praise on us.

WHOLESALE DIVING.

THE first of September! All the world is
gone out a sporting this morning, for the
purpose of killing time and partridges;
though the Restaurant has given us the
latter for the last two or three days, and
though most of us complain of the shortness
of human life. The weather is magnificent;
but, alas! I am no shot. Having once
in my life blazed away at covey after covey
the livelong day without touching a single
feather, the birds would be insulted by being
popped at by such a bungling hand as mine.
But, never mind; other resources are at hand.
The waters are blue and calm under a gentle
breeze, so we will go a fishing instead; and I
promise you such sport as you cannot light
upon every day. Not that I am any great
adept in that art either; but I delight to see
it practised, especially on a grand scale, or in
a remarkable locality.

To give you some idea of what to expect;
our haul this morning might be a sunken
ship's cargo, a forgotten piece of old-fashioned
ordnance, a waggon-load of pearl oysters, a
few bushels of coral, or, if you like it better,
a genuine sample of Cancale oysters, which
now are honestly and truly edible seeing that
the month has at last got an r in its name. I
say, we might catch any of these, but shall not
on the present occasion, because our fishing
tackle happens to be engaged on special
service. Dr. Payerne says that he must first
finish his job of stubbing up rocks at Chantereine;
but he kindly adds, that if we like to
walk with him and take part in that amusement,
we are perfectly at liberty so to do.

Thanks, good Doctor. I could run full
gallop to the spot; but that would rather
prevent our chatting by the way. And these
men, these nine reckless fellows, are they
really going to the bottom of the sea,
maintaining no communication whatever with the
upper air?

Yes, certainly, at nine o'clock the boat
plunges, and they are only awaiting our
arrival.

And have they no apprehensions about the
consequences?  Have you no difficulty in
getting hands?

At that moment, for answer, a man
advances to the Doctor, takes off his hat, and
begs for a job of work in the Diving Boat.
He is not wanted: the list is full. A few
steps further bring us in sight of the wonder,
which lies floating in the sea, ready to
perform its duties.

Chantereine, I ought to tell you, is a suburb
of Cherbourg—  the Plymouth of France—
occupied by dockyards and arsenals, which is
said to owe its name to the circumstance of
the Empress Maude "singing out" in a
storm at sea, and building a chapel here
afterwards in obedience to the vows made during
her fright. The mouth of one of the basins
opening into the sea is obstructed by
submarine rocks. It is in the task of removing
the rock at this spot that Dr. Payerne's
Diving Boat is now employed; and that is
the day's fishing which is offered to your
acceptance.

The Auguste—  the name of the first Diving
Boat, and therefore worthy to be recorded—
the Auguste lay, on the first of September in
this present year of grace one thousand eight
hundred and fifty-two, moored by four anchors