is told by M. Ernest Blum, the veteran vaudevillist, apropos of Chateaubriand, the fiftieth anniversary of whose death is being celebrated. M. Blum had read somewhere that when Chateaubriand wanted to stimulate his flow of ideas, he used to take off his shoes and stockings and walk over a brick floor. The congestion of his lower extremities, Chateaubriand found increased the activity of the other end of him. M. Blum repeated this story innocently enough to. brother dramatist who thanked him and promised to try the experiment. A few days later M. Blum again met his confrbre. The latter was in the throes of a colossal and monumental cold. He shook his fist at M. Blum and shouted: *Cod-foud you, whad yon mead by playing this trick od me? I've sneezed about fifteen hundred tibes to-day and by doctor says I shall be like this for a ford ight trying your idferdal scheme for stibulatig the idtellect!"s 15th July.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.