forty million pun

[MASCARO at HUMnet.UCLA.EDU]

>Paul M. clarifies:
>
>Got to be that famous "For De Mille, young fur-henchmen can't be
>rowing." (Forty million Frenchmen can't be wrong) on p 559.
>
>Didn't think it took 15 pages to set up though.
>
>					P.

Thanks for Paul's erudition on the pun.  BTW, what is the source of the original 
famous statement about the forty million frenchman?  The statement is so well 
known, but I don't know what it refers to.

ignorant john m