• -" .- ?rnted5'COUrde8 MiraCleS m°re ~sful!y ^^\^^^^ From every quarter burst forth the coarse laugh and the obscene song. Each did „i»v „..„ —™.»», """&¦ nacii uia just as he pleased, swearing and descanting, without listen ing to his neighbor. The pots jingled, quarrels arose, and broken mugs occasioned a destruction or rSrgs. . A lalIe !?og w?? seated on his haunches look- ing at the lire Young children were present at these orgies. The stolen boy was crying bitterly Another, a stout fellow about four year! old wa's sitting on a high bench, dangling his legs at the table, which reached up to his chin, and saying not a word A third was gravely spreading with his finger the melted tallow which ran from a candle upon the table. The last, a little urchin crouching in the dirt, was almost lost in a kettle which he was scraping with a tile, and from which he was extracting sounds that would have thrown Stradivarius into a swoon Near the fire stood a hogshead, and upon this hogshead was seated a mendicant. This was the png upon his throne. The three vagabonds who held Gringoire led him before the hogshead and for a moment the whole motley assemblage' was silent, excepting the kettle inhab- ited by the boy. Gringoire durst not breathe or raise his eyes. "Hombre, quita tu sombrero" said one of the three fellows i'n whose clutches he was, and, before he knew what was meant, one of the others took off his hat—a shabby covering, it is true, but still useful either against sun or rain. Grin goire sighed. " Whafvarlet have we here ? " asked the King. Gringoire shud- dered. This voice, though it now had a tone of menace, reminded him of another which had that verv morning given the first blow to his mystery, by drawling out amid the audience, "Charity, if you please !" Be raised his eyes. It was Clopin Trouillefou himself. Clopin Trouillefou, invested with the insignia of royalty, had not a rag more or a rag less than usual. The sore on his arm had disap- peared. He held in his hand one °l th?..w,hlpi «omposed of thongs of white leather, which were used by the vergers in those days to keen back the crowd. On his head he wore a cap of such peculiar form that it was difficult to tell whether it was a child's biggin or a king's crown-so much are the two things alike. Gringoire, however, had re- gained some hope, though without knowing why, on recognizing in toe King of the Cour des Miracles tedLPr mg beggarof the great "Master," he stammered forth, ,?ny lord71?re--what ought I to call you?'; he at length asked, haying arrived at the culminating Pnt. of his crescendo, and not knowing how to get higher or to descend again. Ja^1 m?. y.our majesty, or com- h *' or what you will. But make haste What hast thou to say in toy defense?" ' "In thy defense ! » thought Grin- was i—j.—i » be resumed, with «wh^îî? hesitation as before, who, this morning----- nin * " One of the crew." Canti?»UbJe0t °f the Ktagdomof ¦'.' ?fJhe Kingdom of Cant." "A Vagabond?" " A Vagabond." "With all thy soul?» " With all my soul." «ti'Takue,?°ticer" said the King, « S,?8halt nevertheless be hanged^' The devd!" ejaculated the poet. . "Only," continued Clopin with imperturbable gravity, "tnou shalt not be hanged quite so soon and with more ceremony, at the cost of the good city of Paris, on a fair stone gibbet, and by the hands of gonest men. That is some consola- îÀî.you 8ay'" replied Gringoire. ltiexe are some other advan- tages which thou wilt enjoy. As one of the crew, thou wilt not have to pay rates, either for lamp, scav- enger, or poor, to which the honest burgesses of Paris are liable." Be it so!" said the poet. «T am a Vagabond, a subject of the Kingdom of Cant, one of the crew, a man of Slang, any thing you please; nay, I was all these before, august King of Thunes, for I am a philosopher; et omnia in philoso- phy, omnes in philosophe- continen- tur, you know." The august King of Thunes knit- ted his brow. "What do you take me for, my friend ? What Hungary Jew gibberish are you talking now? I know nothing of Hebrew. One may be a ruffian without being a Gringoire strove to slip in an ex- cuse between these brief sentences cut short by anger. "I beg your but Latin." ma]esty s Pardon; it is not Hebrew, "I tell thee," rejoined Clopin furkrasly, "I am not a Jew, and I will have thee hanged varlet'a™ a"d that little Jew peddler beside the'e^hom^ hope some day to see nailed to a counter, like a piece of base coin as he is." As he thus spoke, he pointed to the little beard- ed Hungarian Jew, who, acquainted with no oth- er language but that in which he had accosted Gringoire, was surprised at the ill-humor which tne King of Thunes appeared to be venting unon him. At length King Clopin became somewhat more calm. •'Knave,s said he to our poet, "thou hast a mmd then to be a Vagabond ?" "Undoubtedly," replied Gringoire. _ Tis not enough to have a mind," said his surlv majesty; "good-will puts not one more onion into the soup. To be admitted into our brotherhood thou must prove that thou art fit for something' Show us thy skill at picking a pocket." ' Anything you please," said the poet. Clopin made a sign. Several of the Vagabonds left the circle, and presently returned. Thev brought two poles, each having aflat horizontal piece of wood fastened at the lower extremitv un on which it stood upright on the ground Into the upper ends of these two poles the bearers fit- ted a cross-bar, and the whole then formed a verv handy portable gibbet, which Gringoire had the satisfaction to see set up before his face inTa trice Nothing was wanting, not even the cord, which