Our chimney is again inhabited by a family of
swallows; they say that is a good sign: maybe it means that we
shall have fire all the winter long."
To this letter was added a postscript which one of the dogs was supposed
to have written:--
"My dear lady,--They say here we are going to see mighty hard
times. My master talks of suppressing my breakfast, and he wants
to hire me to a shepherd in order that I may earn some money for a
living. But as I have the reputation of loving mutton-chops,
nobody will hire me to keep sheep. If you see anywhere in Paris a
pretty diamond collar which does not cost more than
five-and-twenty cents, bring it to
"DOG MIRZA.
"_14th March, 1855_."
Hope dawned upon him in 1856. He was promised a pension of three hundred
dollars from the Government out of the literary fund of the Minister of
Public Instruction's budget. It would have been, from its regularity of
payment, a fortune to him. It would have saved him from the anxiety of
quarter-day when rent fell due. But the pension never came. The
Government gave him the decoration of the Legion of Honor, which
certainly gratified him.
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