Having the highest recommendations, he easily obtained as much employment as he wanted, and devoted himself to giving conversational lectures to a circle of collegiate establishments lying in different parts of London, which he visited bi-weekly, or so, in turn. Amongst these was one in our suburb; hence, first an acquaintance and then a lasting friendship sprung up between him and the vicar, both taking to each other immensely through their large-hearted philosophy; thus, too, I also got acquainted with one of the brightest, cheeriest, kindest Gauls of many that I have had the happiness of knowing. At the time of which I write, Parole d'Honneur was a very happy emigre, despite his enforced exile in the land of fogs. Indeed, he was an exile no longer in the strict sense of the word, as he had received permission to go back to France whenever he pleased; a permission of which he had already availed himself, having paid a visit, in company with me, to Paris, the previous month, at the time when I had been so miserable and despondent about not meeting Min again. However, he had become so fond of England and things English, from his long enforced residence here, that he avowed his determination of living and dying amongst us--that is, unless his country and "the cause" should have need of his services. On the evening of Miss Pimpernell's little party, this patriotic gentleman, in the presence of ladies, whom he reverenced with a knight- errant's devotion and homage, was the life of our circle. He carried an aroma of fun and light-heartedness about him that was simply contagious. He sang Beranger's ditties with a verve and elan that brought back bonny Paris and student days to those of us who were acquainted with them. One moment he played exquisite bits from Mozart on his violin, to the accompaniment of the vicar's violoncello, that were most entrancing; the next, scraped away at some provoking tarantella that almost set the whole of us dancing, in defiance of the proprieties generally observed at the vicarage. We were asking each other riddles and conundrums. Monsieur Parole suddenly bethought him of one. "Ah, ha!" he said, "I heard one good reedel ze ozer day. A leetle mees at one of my academies told it me. Young ladies, why is ze old gentlemans, le diable, zat is--" "O-oh! Monsieur Parole!" ejaculated Miss Pimpernell. "Your pardon, Mees Peemple," said Monsieur Parole--he never could give her the additional syllable to her name--"Your pardon, Mees Peemple; but we wiz call hims somesing else. Why is--ah, ha! I have got hims. Why is Lucifers like, when riding sur un souris, on a mouse, like the very same tings? You gives him up? Ah, ha! I t'ought you would never guess him!" he continued, on our professing our ignorance of the solution. "Because he is synonime!--vat you calls sin-on-a-mouse! Ha, ha, ha!" and he burst into a chuckle of his merry laughter.