In some parts of this country are large herds of zebras, antelopes, and giraffes, which are usually preyed upon by lions, obliging the shepherds to watch their flocks, and the farmers to ride about with loaded guns. A strange mode, my little readers will think, of being shepherds. [Illustration] There have been no scarcity of French contributions; rich silks, velvets, satins, linens, fruits, woods, herbs, statues, machinery, furniture, iron-work, glass, plate, and a heap more of industrial products; and such splendid carpets. In the "Arabian Nights' Entertainments" we read about the Palaces of Fairies and Genii, with the floors covered with the richest carpets, and divans and cushions or gorgeous tapestry, and we long to see these carpets in reality; and so we shall at the Exhibition, for there are some so magnificent, that I do not think the Princess Badroulboudour, or the Fairy Queen Pari Banou, ever sat on finer. And charming little models of ships; and such beautiful fans. Do you know how many persons it takes to make a fan? Fifteen; and although those fans at the Exhibition are each worth several guineas, yet, in France, tens of thousands are sold at not more than a halfpenny a-piece. The French fan-makers get two shillings and six-pence a-day each, for their labour. The people of France are our next-door neighbours, almost; and from being our bitterest enemies they have now become our most intimate friends, and exchange visits constantly with us; steam vessels and railways having made the journey one of only a few hours. Paris is the capital of France, and it is the gayest city in the world; there are theatres, balls, processions, feast-days, fairs, and more amusements than I can remember. But there are also numbers of very poor people, who almost live in the streets, and get food and clothing as they best can. Some, who are called cheffoniers, go about with a fork and a basket, to pick up pieces of iron, rags, bones, or any stray valuables, if they can find them, from holes and corners in the streets, and from the dust heaps; others look for the ends of cigars, and sell them to be made into pieces of tobacco for the common people; and a number, I am very sorry to say, either beg or steal. Among the peasantry there is a great deal of industry displayed. As they are all desirous of having a cottage and some land of their own, lads of fifteen or sixteen years of age, hire themselves as labourers to the farmers, and receive wages, out of which, and their mode of living, they save enough money in a few years, to buy a piece of land. If the land is fit for it, they plant it with vines; for the vineyards of France yield an abundant harvest, and well repay the labour bestowed on them. The French wines are among the finest and most expensive in the world. [Illustration]