THE SPY SYSTEM IN FRANCE.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] Sur,—The "Twenty Years' Resident" who refers in the Spectator of May 20th to the punctuation an French coins after the words "Liberte,Egalite, Fraternite," must evidently hale heard Of an' old play upon words which used to be indulged in by Royalists and other malcontents after the establishment of the RepUblic in France. The same punctua- tion can be found on nearly all the' silver coins that have been strucklince the• fall :of the Empire, and the same joke on'the 'double meaning of the word " Paint " was made, so far back as the early seventies, but together with the following clever feu de snots, drawn from some other features .of the coin. The. head of the Republic on. these coins (and they form the bulk of the silver money now in circulation) is that of a rather stout-looking female, with a bountiful supply of hair fastened up in "tresses." Above this head is a star, and below it appears the name of the master of the Mint, or of the artist who designed the figure. (I. forget which), " Oudinet." The. joke I refer to, and which was a very . popular one amongst all adversaries of the Republic, consisted in pointing. to one face of' the coin and saying "Liberte, 'point ; Egalite, point ; Fraternite, point ; " and then adding, after turning the coin round, " Sous la Republique en Detresse" (des Tresses), !` Ou diner ? " (Oudinet),." Ala belle Etoile" (referring to the star above the head). Any of . your readers, acquainted with the French language will know the meaning of :dining a la belle Etoile, and appreciate the sarcasm which this (mistaken) reference to the poverty existing under Republican institu- tions, is meant to express.—I am, Sir, drc.,
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