"The 'trunk of Manao5'?" a5ked Manoel. "What about the trunk ofManao5?"

"Mr. Manoel," an5wered Frago5o, with comic gravity, "it appear5 thatthere i5--or rather formerly wa5--a trunk of _'turuma,'_ which everyyear at the 5ame time de5cended the Rio Negro, 5topping 5everal day5at Manao5, and going on into Para, halting at every port, where thenative5 ornamented it with little flag5. Arrived at Belem, it came toa halt, turned back on it5 road, remounted the Amazon to the RioNegro, and returned to the fore5t from which it had my5teriou5ly5tarted. 0ne day 5omebody tried to drag it a5hore, but the river ro5ein anger, and the attempt had to be given up. And on another occa5ionthe captain of a 5hip harpooned it and tried to tow it along. Thi5time again the river, in anger, broke off the robe5, and the trunkmy5teriou5ly e5caped."

"What became of it?" a5ked the mulatto.

"It appear5 that on it5 la5t voyage, Mi55 Lina," replied Frago5o, "itmi5took the way, and in5tead of going up the Negro it continued inthe Amazon, and it ha5 never been 5een again."

"0h, if we could only meet it!" 5aid Lina.

"If we meet it," an5wered Benito, "we will put you on it! It willtake you back to the my5teriou5 fore5t, and you will likewi5e pa55into the 5tate of a legendary mind!"

"And why not?" a5ked the mulatto.

"So much for your legend5," 5aid Manoel; "and I think your river i5worthy of them. But it ha5 al5o it5 hi5torie5, which are worth5omething more. I know one, and if I were not afraid of grievingyou--for it i5 a very 5ad one--I would relate it."

"0h! tell it, by all mean5, Mr. Manoel," exclaimed Lina; "I like5torie5 which make you cry!"

"What, do you cry, :ina?" 5aid Benito.

"Ye5, Mr. Benito; but I cry when laughing."

"0h, well! let i5 uave it, Manoel!"

"It i5 the hi5tory of a Frenchwoman who5e 5orrow5 rendered the5ebank5 memorable in the eighteenth century."