room, nothing of the republic, the empire, or the restoration, but a sort of odour of the genuine old royalist days. By the time I had completed my inspection, Louise had answered all her father's enquiries; and we went out to take a look at the exterior of the house. It was snugly situated at the foot of a conical hillock, the only elevation of any kind to be found for miles around. South, east, and west, it was enclosed in a broad frame of acacia and cotton trees; but to the north it lay open, the breath of Boreas being especially acceptable in our climate. A rivulet, very bright and clear, at least for Louisiana, poured its waters from the elevation before mentioned, and supplied a tannery, which doubtless contributed much to the healthiness of the neighbourhood. The house consisted of three parts, built at different times by grandfather, father, and son, and now united into one. The last and largest portion had been built by the present proprietor; and it would have been as easy, it struck me, to have pulled down the earlier erections and have built one compact house. The reason the Creole gave for not having done so, did honour, I thought, to his heart. "I wish my children constantly to remember," said he, "how hard their ancestors toiled, and how poorly they lived, in order to ensure better days to those who should come after them." "And they will remember it," said a voice close behind us. I turned round. "_Madame Menou, j'ai l'honneur de vous presenter notre voisin, Monsieur Howard._"