Two of these women were very pretty. One resembled Mme. Rey, who played the Queen in “Ruy Blas” in 1840; it was this one who represented Venus. She was admirably shaped. Another was more than pretty: she was handsome and superb. Nothing more magnificent could be seen than her black, sad eyes, her disdainful mouth, her smile at once bewitching and haughty. She was called Maria, I believe. In a tableau which represented “A Slave Market,” she displayed the imperial despair and the stoical dejection of a nude queen offered for sale to the first bidder. Her tights, which were torn at the hip, disclosed her firm white flesh. They were, however only poor girls of London. All had dirty finger nails. When they returned to the green room they laughed as freely with the scene shifters as with the authors, and talked broken French while they adjusted all kinds of frightful rags upon their charming visages. Their smile was the calm smile of perfect innocence or of complete corruption. AT THE ACADEMY. Session of November 23, 1843. CHARLES NODIER.--The Academy, yielding to custom, has suppressed universally the double consonant in verbs where this consonant supplanted euphoniously the _d_ of the radical _ad_. MYSELF.--I avow my profound ignorance. I had no idea that custom had effected this suppression and that the Academy had sanctioned it. Thus one should no longer write _atteindre, approuver, appeler, apprehender_, etc., but _ateindre, aprouver, apeler, apréhender_? M. VICTOR COUSIN.--I desire to point out to M. Hugo that the alterations of which he complains come from the movement of the language, which is nothing else than decadence. MYSELF.--M. Cousin having addressed a personal observation to me, I beg to point out to him in turn that his opinion is, in my estimation, merely an opinion and nothing more. I may add that, as I view it, “movement of the language” and decadence have nothing in common. Nothing could be more distinct than these two things. Movement in no way proves decadence. The language has been moving since the first day of its formation; can it be said to be deteriorating? Movement is life; decadence is death. M. COUSIN.--The decadence of the French language began in 1789. MYSELF.--At what hour, if you please? October 8, 1844. This is what was told to me at to-day’s session: Salvandy recently dined with Villemain. The repast over, they adjourned to the drawing-room, and conversed. As the clock struck eight Villemain’s three little daughters entered to kiss their father good night. The youngest is named Lucette; her birth cost her mother her reason; she is a sweet and charming child of five years. “Well, Lucette, dear child,” said her father, “won’t you recite one of Lafontaine’s fables before you go to bed?” “Here,” observed M. de Salvandy, “is a little person who to-day recites fables and who one of these days will inspire romances.”