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 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 AT LOS ANGELES
 
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 PARIS, 
 
 IK 
 
 1802 and 1814.
 
 Stralian and Pmtnn, 
 Print«r$-S(reci, l»fKlon
 
 PARIS, 
 
 EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND TWO, 
 
 EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND FOURTEEN. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 Rev. WILLIAM SHEPHERD, 
 
 THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PAINTED rOR LONGMAN, HURSX, REES, ORME, AND BROWN, 
 fAIERNOSTER-RO\V. 
 
 1814.
 
 m 
 
 DC 
 73/ 
 
 5:^4 -f 
 
 TO 
 
 WILLIAM ROSCOE, Esq. 
 
 MY DEAR SIR, 
 
 ^ Without the ceremony of 
 
 0) a previous solicitation for peiTtiis- 
 o sion, I inscribe the following pages 
 to you. To this I am impelled, by 
 the consideration that the journeys 
 which they record, were principally 
 occasioned by a love of Literature 
 and the Arts, which at an early pe- 
 riod of my life I imbibed under your 
 friendly instructions ; and that they 
 were made during; those intervals of 
 Peace, the obtaining of which was ever 
 the object of your political exertions. 
 You have been already apprised, 
 by pergonal communication, that I 
 
 ''7 C"'i.."P-''"7-0
 
 VI 
 
 was much pleased by my visits to the 
 French melropohs. Beheve me, how- 
 ever, when I declare that my obser- 
 vation of the condition of a foreign 
 land, only tends to confirm, in my 
 mind, that reverence for the Institu- 
 tions of my native country in which 
 I was educated ; and which has been 
 strongly confirmed, both by ^-our 
 precepts, as inculcated in the confi- 
 dential intercourse of friendship, and 
 by your example, as exhibited in the 
 whole tenor of your public life. 
 
 That national tranquillity and do- 
 mestic happiness may long continue 
 to gratify your truly honourable and 
 benevolent feelings, is die ardent 
 wish, of 
 
 Your obliged Friend, 
 
 WILLIAM SHEPHERD. 
 
 dat&acre, Aug. t^d. 1614.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 IN submitting this little work to general 
 perusal, I am anxious that it should, 
 be judged merely by the criterion of its 
 pretensions. It purports only to show 
 how an individual, limited in point of 
 time and property, may pleasantly and 
 profitably spend a few weeks in Paris. 
 A plain tale will account for its publica- 
 tion. As a means of enforcing accuracy 
 of observation, it has long been my habit 
 to note down in writing the most inte- 
 resting objects and circumstances, that 
 from time to time have occurred in the 
 course of the journeys which I have 
 undertaken either on business or in the 
 pursuit of pleasure. The memorandums 
 which I had made during my trip to
 
 Vlll 
 
 Paris in 1802, I reduced into the form of 
 a manuscript journal, which was, I may 
 say, for some years, in almost constant re- 
 quisition among my friends. When I 
 lately returned from the French metro- 
 polis, applications for a sight of my diary 
 became so numerous, that I foresaw much 
 trouble in superintending its circulation. 
 In this embarrassment I recollected to 
 have heard of an honest quaker, who re- 
 sided in the back settlements of America, 
 and who, finding himself absolutely eaten 
 up by transient passengers, set up the 
 sign of the Dun Cow, after which, 
 though he did not make any profit, he 
 enjoyed the comforts of a quiet house. 
 Upon this hint I have committed both 
 my Journals to the press. If any thing 
 more than what accrued to the American 
 accrues to me, " lucro apponam."
 
 PARIS, 
 
 IN 
 
 1802 and 1814. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 THE astonishing events, of which Paris 
 had been the theatre in the course of 
 the Revolution, having excited the atten- 
 tion, not only of the thinking classes of the 
 British community, but even of the igno- 
 rant and the indifferent, it was naturally 
 to be expected that, on the return of 
 peace, multitudes of the English would be 
 impelled, by motives of curiosity, to visit 
 that famous capital. To those who were 
 warmed by a love of literature and of the 
 liberal arts, the numerous and well-filled 
 libraries which were then opened to men 
 of letters, and especially the splendid as- 
 semblage of the finest specimens of sculp-
 
 ture and painting, the spoils of vanquished 
 Italy, which adorned the gallery of the 
 Louvre, presented a resistless temptation 
 to cross the channel. Sharing in the ge- 
 neral eagerness, I determined to spend 
 the greater part of the summer holidays 
 of 1 802, in the French metropolis. This 
 determination was no sooner announced 
 to my friends, than I found that I should 
 by no means be at a loss for w^ant of tra- 
 velling companions. In a very short time 
 a party of six was formed for the ex- 
 pedition ; and I was under the necessity 
 of informing new applicants, that our ar- 
 rangements were so far settled, that our 
 company could not conveniently admit of 
 any increase. By the accidents, how- 
 ever, which commonly intervene to 
 prevent the execution of preconcerted 
 schemes, my companions were, at length, 
 reduced, to three in number, namely, 
 Mrs. S., Miss R., and Mr. B. R. 
 
 Afiter a full discussion of the most con- 
 venient mode of travelling, we were una- 
 nimously of opinion, that, in so long a 
 journey as that which we were under- 
 taking, it would be matter of the utmost
 
 3 
 
 importance to avoid tlie delay and risk 
 incident to the removal of luggage from 
 one vehicle to another : with this view 
 we hired a stout and roomy carriage, at 
 the rate of five shillings per day. The 
 comfort which we purchased by this bar- 
 gain was, I am persuaded, the cheapest 
 commodity which we met with in the 
 whole course of our expedition. As the 
 aforesaid carriage could not conveniently 
 contain four persons, Mr. R. and myself 
 undertook alternately to ride post-horses. 
 This arrangement tended of course to 
 expedite our progress ; as the equestrian, 
 acting as avant-coiiriery got the horses 
 ready at every stage, so that we proceeded 
 with the least possible delay. 
 
 On Tuesday morning the 1 5th of June, 
 immediately after breakfast, we took our 
 departure from Gateacre. The circum- 
 stance of bur being attended by Mr. R.'s 
 father and his brothers, who accompa- 
 nied us for the space of a mile before they 
 took their leave, and the friendly atten- 
 tions of several of our neighbours, who 
 were waiting in the road to bid us fare- 
 well, gave our journey somewhat of a 
 B 2
 
 serious aspect. No doubt the idea of 
 visiting a foreign land includes more 
 of danger and difficulty than that of 
 an equal extent of peregrination in our 
 native country. But, in point of fact, a 
 trip to Paris is attended with less incon- 
 venience, and, perhaps, less peril also, 
 than many people now living have for- 
 merly experienced in travelling from 
 Lancashire to London. Even if balloons 
 and sub-aqueous boats are put out of the 
 question, we greatly excel our ancestors 
 in the arts of safe and expeditious loco- 
 motion. 
 
 At noon we arrived at Bostock-hall, 
 where we took up our quarters for the • 
 night. 
 
 On Wednesday morning, June i6th, we 
 left Bostock, about seven o* clock. In our 
 way to Newcastle we called at L. W., 
 where we spent an hour with Mr. C. and 
 his family. Then continuing our journey, 
 we proceeded, without any remarkable 
 incident, as far as Colesh ill, where we slept. 
 
 Leaving Coleshill at about six o*clock 
 in the morning of Thursday the 1 7th of 
 June, we stopped to breakfast at Coventry,
 
 As I was following the waiter up the 
 stairs of theKing's Head I was hailed by 
 a voice, which, though it seemed familiar 
 to my ear, I did not immediately recol- 
 lect. On turning round I was agreeably 
 surprized to see my friend Mr.F., who 
 was then on his return from Paris, ac- 
 companied .by Mr. T. C. Our parties 
 were instantly united at the breakfast- 
 table, and we spent a very interesting 
 half hour in receiving from these gentle- 
 men an account of divers of their adven- 
 tures. They were also so kind as to com- 
 municate to us some useful instructions 
 with regard to the mode of travelling in 
 France, and the style of living in Paris. 
 Having made the most of the time which 
 we could conveniently spend with these 
 unlooked-for friends, we hastened away 
 from Coventry, and about ten o'clock in 
 the evening we entered St. Alban's. The 
 principal inn of this town being full of 
 guests, we were obliged to lodge in a 
 mean tavern, where we met with very in- 
 different accommodations. By the smell 
 and general appearance of the room into 
 which we were introduced, I suspect that 
 B 3
 
 our arrival dislodged a club of smokers 
 and punch-drinkers. Our beds were far 
 from being of the first quality ; and upon 
 the whole I regarded this night's enter- 
 tainment as an excellent preparative for 
 the inconveniences which we expected to 
 experience on the continent. 
 
 We put ourseh es in motion at so early 
 an hour, on Friday June 18, that by 
 eleven o'clock a. m. we arrived in Lon- 
 don, where we procured good apartments 
 at Osborn's hotel in the Adelphi. My 
 first care, after we were settled in our 
 lodgings, was to procure the necessary 
 passports. With this view Mr. R. and 
 myself waited on Mons. Carenac, secre- 
 tary to Citizen Otto, the minister of the 
 French Republic. That gentleman re- 
 ceived us with the utmost civility, and 
 after filling the blanks of two passports 
 with the description of our persons, &c. 
 he desired us to call again the next day, 
 wJien they would be signed and ready for 
 delivery. From his house we went to 
 Lord Hawkcsbury's office in Downing 
 Street. Here we met with a reception 
 very different iiom that which we bad
 
 experienced from the agents of the Great 
 Nation. On my requesting one of the 
 people in waiting in the antichamber to 
 inform me to whom I must make appli- 
 cation for a passport to enable me to go 
 to France, the jack-in-office (who by the 
 by was no higher in degree than a porter) 
 measured me with his eye from top to toe, 
 and then said, " Where is your letter of 
 recommendation ?'* " Letter of recom- 
 mendation !'* said I, a good deal surprised, 
 " I did not know that any such document 
 was necessary." — " Sir, you can have no 
 passport without one." — <' And pray. Sir, 
 whose recommendation must 1 procure?'* 
 — " You must bring a letter from some 
 banker, — or" (laying mighty stress upon 
 the penultimate word) '* from some rich 
 man." — " Can I speak to Lord Hawkes- 
 bury's secretary ?" " No, Sir, he is not in 
 the office." Finding that I could not 
 penetrate beyond the threshold of the 
 Treasury, without stronger interest than 
 my business and my address, I made, 
 an ungracious retreat ; inwardly, and I 
 believe audibly, maledicting the new pi'i- 
 vilege which the wealthy seemed to have 
 
 B 4
 
 lately acquired, the privilege of judging 
 who were to be permitted to take a jour- 
 ney to Paris. I determined, however, to 
 return to the charge the next day, armed 
 with a letter from Joseph Denison, Esq., 
 who I trusted was rich enough in all con- 
 science to be possessed of the requisite dis- 
 cernment ; and who I was persuaded would 
 in consideration of a certain sum of mo- 
 ney, which our party had lodged in his 
 hands, deem us amply qualified to visit the 
 head-quarters of sedition without danger 
 of contamination. Calling, however, at 
 Messrs. Cadell and Davies's in my way to 
 the city, I found there a letter of recom- 
 mendation to Mr. Merry, which had been 
 procured for me by the kindness of Mr. 
 M. Emboldened by this instance of that 
 gentleman's politeness, I wrote to him 
 stating our difficulty, and requesting that 
 he would have the goodness to extend 
 his kindness so far, as to use his interest 
 to procure us a passport. With this 
 request he readily comphed, and favoured 
 me with a letter, informing me at what 
 time I must be at Downing Street the 
 next day, and naming a gentleman in
 
 the office, who at his instance would ex- 
 pedite my business. 
 
 In pursuance of Mr. M.'s directions, 
 I presented myself at the Treasury at 
 three o'clock on Saturday afternoon. On 
 mentioning the name of the gentleman 
 to whom I had been recommended by 
 Mr. M., I was without hesitation ushered 
 into his apartment by the same attendant 
 who had treated me so cavalierly the day 
 before. After a short conversation, the 
 clerk was proceeding to make out our 
 passport, when we were interrupted by 
 the appearance of a noble Lord, who 
 came personally to apply for a similar 
 document on behalf of one of his friends, 
 who had, like myself, been ordered to 
 produce a voucher for his good behaviour. 
 From a conversation which took place 
 between this peer and the secretary, I 
 found that His Majesty's ministers were 
 determined to be very scrupulous in 
 granting permission to British subjects 
 to go to France. The secretary observed 
 that this was absolutely necessary, as 
 of late many equivocal characters had 
 flocked from England to Paris, where
 
 10 
 
 they had conducted themselves very im- 
 properly. Whether the transgressions of 
 these offenders were of a moral or poli- 
 tical nature, or whether they were simply 
 sins against good manners, I could not 
 gather from the context of the secretary's 
 discourse. But when I considered that 
 the recommendation of a banker, or of a 
 rich man, was of itself a sufficient testi- 
 monial of character, I could not help 
 thinking that the discrimination of minis- 
 ters could not be very nice ; and when, 
 on receiving my passport, I was cliarged 
 2I. 4s. 6d. as a fee of office, I concluded 
 that the gens de bureau would not be very 
 industrious in putting obstacles in the 
 way of those who wished to procure these 
 costly licences. 
 
 In order that we might, from the fresh- 
 ness of memory, be enabled to make a 
 comparison between the magnificence of 
 the public vspectacles of London and of 
 Paris, we went in the evening to the 
 Italian Opera. The singing was of course 
 good, and the ballet very striking ; but 
 the indifference of the audience, and their 
 total inattention to the opera, gave a flat-
 
 11 
 
 ness to the exhibition, which I am per- 
 suaded no rehsh for exquisite music could 
 conquer. When it is evident that a large 
 assemblage of pfeople do not enjoy the 
 cause of their meeting together, the 
 general languor spreads its infection to 
 the performer and the amateur. The rude- 
 ness of the fashionable mob, which after 
 the close of the performance crowded the 
 avenues of the house, would have disgraced 
 Sadler's Wells or the Royalty Theatre. 
 
 On Sunday morning, June 20, at seven 
 o'clock, we left Osborn's hotel, and pass- 
 ing over Blackheath, proceeded by Dart- 
 ford, Sittingbourne, Rochester, and Can- 
 terbury, to Dover. The country through 
 which our route lay was very hilly, but it 
 presented us with many beautiful pros- 
 pects, particularly w^th occasional glimpses 
 of the Thames, and frequent views of the 
 Medway, both crowded wath shipping; 
 the views about Chatham were singularly 
 striking, being composed of the fortress, 
 the men of war lying in the mid-stream of 
 the Medway, and the town extending along 
 the banks of that river. In the neighbour- 
 hood of Canterbury the country presents
 
 12 
 
 a pleasant intermixture of hop grounds, 
 corn fields, rich meadows and pastures. 
 Beyond Canterbury we passed over a very 
 extensive tract of common land called 
 Barham Downs. These downs are ele- 
 vated, and command an extensive view 
 to the right : at the approach of evening 
 the road began to extend through a nar- 
 row winding valley, at the extremity of 
 which we discerned, through the gradu- 
 ally increasing gloom, the keep of Dover 
 castle, magnificently towering over the 
 subjacent town. 
 
 We arrived at the Ship Inn about eight 
 o'clock, and were immediately waited 
 upon by Mr. Sharp, captain of the Venus 
 packet boat, with whom we engaged our 
 passage at the price of one guinea for each 
 person, and two guineas for the carriage. 
 
 The whole of the morning of Monday, 
 June 2 1 , was employed in getting our bag- 
 gage passed at the Custom House, and 
 in superintending its embarkation, and 
 that of our vehicle. Having parted with 
 almost all our cash, we had no circulating 
 medium left, but Bank of England notes. 
 I expected, according to the information
 
 13 
 
 contained in Phillip's ** Guide to Paris," 
 that the Dover bankers would, upon re- 
 ceiving a proper premium, give us French 
 money in exchange for our paper. 1 was 
 therefore not a little surprised, when, on 
 my applying for that purpose at the house 
 of Messrs. Minet and Fector, I was in- 
 formed that no such thing as French coin 
 was to be had in Dover : and I waS a good 
 deal startled when, on my requesting them 
 to let me have cash for a twenty pound 
 Bank note, they observed that they de- 
 clined such transactions through fear of 
 •forgeries, but that I could pass the note 
 in question at Calais. It immediately 
 occurred to my mind, if these people who 
 are in the daily habit of examining Bank of 
 England paper, dare not receive it from a 
 stranger, d fortiori will the innkeepers of 
 Calais be apprehensive of fraud; and we 
 may possibly be detained till we can pro« 
 cure letters of credit on that town. 
 These reflections did not by any meana 
 tend to increase my veneration for those 
 paper pillars of British credit, the works 
 of Abraham Newland ; which, in my pre- 
 sent mood, appeared to me in no othep
 
 14 
 
 light but as the sources of embarrassment," 
 and guides to the gallows. In the midst 
 of my meditations on this subject, 1 
 received notice that the packet was 
 ready to sail ; and our party immediately 
 went on board. Captain Shai-p had a 
 very full complement of passengers, who, 
 while the vessel was working out of the 
 dock, were very talkative and noisy. But 
 no sooner did we get clear of the quay than 
 the motion of the vessel at once stilled 
 the uproar. Some of the most merry and 
 .clamorous, now looked wonderfully seri- 
 ous, and became as mute as the tenants 
 of the element upon which we were 
 journeying. In the course of a few mi- 
 nutes all the wash-hand basons on board 
 were put in requisition, and circulated 
 from patient to patient, with astonishing 
 rapidity. Mrs. S. and Mt. R. were among 
 the most violently indisposed, and were 
 soon obliged to quit the deck and retire to 
 bed. Miss R. and myself bore the voyage 
 very stoutly. When we were advanced 
 almost half way across the channel, I waa 
 pensively meditating on the state of our 
 iiuances, which I suppose clouded my
 
 15 • 
 
 countenance with more than usual gira* 
 vity. This circumstance attracted the no- 
 tice of a French gentleman, who observed 
 to me, that he was afraid by my looks that 
 I was beginning to be indisposed. I 
 assured him that he was mistaken. This, 
 commencement led to a long conversation, 
 in the course of which I was induced by 
 the politeness of his behaviour freely to 
 communicate to him the subject of my 
 anxiety, the signs of which he had mis- 
 taken for symptoms of illness. My new 
 acquaintance soon set my mind at ease, 
 by assuring me that he did not think we 
 should experience any difficulty in nego- 
 ciating our paper money at Calais ; but, 
 if that should happen to be the case, 
 he would with pleasure accommodate me 
 with money sufficient to carry us to Paris. 
 I must confess that this instance of friend- 
 liness to an utter stranger excited my 
 astonishment as well as my gratitude. It 
 was not till I had received from this good 
 Samaritan the above-mentioned generous 
 offer that I was even acquainted with his 
 iiame ; which, on my expressing to him a 
 wish to know to whom I was so signally
 
 16 
 
 <>bligecl, he informed me was Du B. ; 
 and it was with mutual pleasure that 
 we found, in the course of our ensuing 
 conversation, that he was in habits of 
 intimate correspondence with some of 
 my friends. 
 
 After a most favourable passage, we 
 arrived at Calais precisely at half past 
 four o* clock. On our entrance into the 
 harbour, the packet boat was instantly 
 crowded with the runners of the differ- 
 ent inns, each importunately inviting the 
 passengers to their respective houses. 
 M. du B. with considerate kindness had 
 advised us to fix ourselves in the samd 
 hotel with himself, in order, that if we 
 should meet with any embarrassments he 
 might be at hand to assist us. We ac- 
 cordingly most thankfully consigned our 
 luggage to the care of the servants of 
 Mons. Meurice, at whose house M. du B. 
 intended to fix his quarters. ^Vhen we 
 had landed, we were conducted by one 
 of our host's waiters to a small room on 
 the outside of the walls of the town, 
 where our passports were examined by a 
 municipal officer, dressed in an uni-
 
 17 
 
 fbriTd of blue, turned up with red, witli 
 a large cocked hat decorated with the 
 tri-coloured cockade. Thence we were 
 conducted to a kind of guard-house, close 
 to the gates ; where such part of our bag- 
 gage as was necessary for our immediate 
 accommodation was inspected by the 
 custom-house officers. This service was 
 performed very minutely, but without 
 any insolence or impertinence. We were 
 now permitted to enter the town, and 
 immediately repaired to our hotel, where 
 we ordered tea. As we were reposing our- 
 selves in the parlour which was assigned 
 us, we were all on a sudden besieged 
 by a number of porters, each of whom 
 most clamorously asserted that he had 
 carried a part of our baggage. Of these 
 we had no sooner got rid by giving them 
 some loose silver, than another shoal broke 
 into the room, the nature of whose de- 
 mand we could not comprehend. At 
 length one imposing silence on the rest 
 (for they were all speaking together) un- 
 dertook to explain their business in Eng- 
 lish, and repeated two or three times, 
 with great emphasis and violent action.
 
 18 
 
 lights light. To this I replied in French, 
 that we had been favoured with no light, 
 but that of the sun, for which I did not 
 conceive myself under any obligation to 
 pay them any fees. Here we had a 
 renewal of clamour, with still more vio- 
 lent gesticulation. At length I dis-'- 
 covered, that light was intended to sig- 
 nify ladder ; and that our visitors were 
 the proprietors of that convenience by 
 the aid of which we had ascended from 
 the packet-boat to the quay. We were 
 again obliged to put our hands into our 
 pocket? J but in order to prevent the in- 
 trusion of any more of these banditti, I 
 put our party under the protection of the 
 master of the house, and for farther se- 
 curity locked the door. 
 
 After this tumult had subsided, the 
 chief waiter came to inform me, that be- 
 fore our carriage could pass the custom- 
 house, we must give bond that we would 
 not dispose of it in France ; and that 
 as a security for the performance of our 
 covenant, we should be obliged to de- 
 posit at the custom-house, about one 
 half of its real value. This was a most
 
 19 
 
 unpleasant annunciation, as the payment 
 of one half the value of the carriage 
 would have entirely exhausted the sum 
 which I had reserved for our travelling 
 expences to Paris. In this exigency we 
 were reduced to the necessity of tres- 
 passing upon the goodness of M. du 
 B., who no sooner understood how we 
 were circumstanced, than by the medium 
 of a Mons. Quillet, one of his corres- 
 pondents in Calais, he lodged in the 
 custom-house the necessary pledge, and 
 about six o'clock we had the satisfaction 
 of seeing our vehicle arrive in the court- 
 yard of the hotel. 
 
 In the evening we w^alked in the town, 
 which is clean and neat, but does not 
 contain any remarkable public edifices. 
 The most conspicuous of these structures 
 is the Hotel de Ville, situated in the great 
 square. In this square -we saw the tree 
 of liberty, a young plant which seemed 
 sickly and drooping ; too faithful an em- 
 blem, I am afraid, of its prototype. Ii>. 
 the course of our walk we did not see 
 many very striking objects j but the 
 novelty of the scene kept our attention 
 c 2
 
 20 
 
 on the alert. The system of building 
 large houses in a quadrangular form, 
 with the windows of the best apart- 
 ments arranged round a court, gives an 
 air of dulness to the French towns, 
 which forms a striking contrast with the 
 sprightly aspect of those of England. 
 Our ladies were surprized to see the 
 women walking about without bonnets ; 
 and the men with their ears adorned with 
 large ear-rings presented a no less strange 
 spectacle to Mr. R. and myself. The 
 shops appeared to be well supplied with 
 goods, but did not present so brilliant 
 a spectacle as those of London, From 
 the ramparts we looked towards the 
 English coast, and then returned to our 
 hotel, where we soon sat down to a 
 good supper. The transactions of the 
 packet boat had however so quelled 
 our appetites, that we did not do much 
 honour to the French cookery, by the 
 copiousness of our meal. Our absti- 
 nence indeed greatly astonished the 
 waiter, a lad of a very ingenuous coun^ 
 tenance, who gave us a most lively 
 idea of Sterne's La Fleur. So much
 
 was he surprised when I desired him 
 to clear the table, that he exclaimed, 
 Vraiment vous etes de trespetits mangeurs. 
 After supper we were visited by the stew- 
 ard of the house, who brought with him 
 a folio book, in w^hich he desired us 
 to write our names, the place whence 
 we came, and whither we were going. 
 Upon enquiring into the reason why we 
 were required to do this, we were in- 
 formed, that all inn-keepers in the French 
 garrison towns are obliged every evening 
 to give in to the commandant a list of 
 their guests, and the above-mentioned 
 particulars of their history and desti- 
 nation. Soon after we had complied 
 with this military requisition, we retired 
 to our apartments, which we found neat 
 and comfortable. 
 
 On Monday morning, the 21st of June, 
 M. du B. favoured us with his company 
 to breakfast. Sterne beautifully observes, 
 in his Sentimental Journey, " You take a 
 withering twig and put it in the ground, 
 and then you water it, because you 
 have planted it." In the spirit of this 
 principle M. du B., having in a manner 
 c 3
 
 enabled us to proceed to Paris, proposed 
 to take us under his protection during 
 our journey thither. Fearing, that in con- 
 sequence of our evident ignorance of 
 French customs, we should be imposed 
 upon on the road, he invited us to travel 
 in company with himself and two of his 
 friends who were proceeding to Paris in 
 a voiture. Nothing could have been 
 more welcome to us than this invitation. 
 Finding that it would be necessary for 
 us to procure fresh passports from the 
 commissary of the district, we repaired 
 to the proper office as soon as it was open, 
 and at the end of two hours afiter our ap- 
 plication was made, we procured these 
 vexatious documents. This time was 
 employed in getting some little repairs 
 done to our carriage, and in fitting to it 
 a pair of shafts instead of the pole. By 
 the laws of posting in France, carriages 
 ■which are furnished with a pole are 
 obliged to take a greater number of 
 horses than those which are provided 
 with shafts ; so that the Louis which we 
 paid for a pair of shafts was money well 
 laid out, and was the means of saving us.
 
 23 
 
 considerable expence. Having received 
 our passports, and settled our account at 
 the hotel, we took our departure from 
 Calais, being assured by the femme de 
 chambre and the gargon that we should 
 find Paris a charming city. Our chaise 
 was drawn by three horses which were 
 harnessed abreast of each other. The 
 harness displayed very little leather, 
 being principally composed of ropes. 
 Calais appears to be strongly fortified on 
 the land side. Before we entered the 
 suburbs we passed through five different 
 gates. When we had proceeded about a 
 mile we passed a fort, the cannon or 
 which command a causeway elevated 
 above the low grounds, which extend to 
 the town, and which can, upon emer- 
 gency, be laid under water. After tra- 
 velling about an hour and a quarter 
 through a road which presented nothing 
 interesting except some occasional views 
 of the British channel, we changed horses 
 at Hautbuisson, a large solitary post- 
 house, situated on a considerable emi- 
 nence. From Hautbuisson we proceeded 
 to Beaupre, otherwise called Marquise 
 c 4
 
 24 
 
 a small and ill-biiill town. The next post 
 is Boulogne- sur-mer. On our approach 
 to the gates of this town we were stopped 
 by a municipal officer, who, after ex- 
 amining our passports, suffered us to pro- 
 ceed. As we passed rapidly on, only 
 stopping at the post-house to change 
 horses, we could make no particular ob- 
 servations on this town ; tlie old forti- 
 fications of which, however, appearing 
 through trees which skirt the outside of 
 the walls, have an ^ interesting air of 
 grandeur. From Boulogne we proceeded 
 through Samers and Cormont, two in- 
 considerable places, to Montreuil-sur- 
 mer, where we intended to pass the 
 night. Montreuil is situated on a com- 
 manding eminence, and must, in former 
 times, have been an impregnable fortress. 
 In this stage I was the avant-conrier, 
 and being charged with the important 
 commission of ordering supper, I re- 
 paired for that purpose to the Cour de la 
 Prance, the best inn which the town 
 afforded. As it was at least ten o'clock 
 when I arrived there, I caused no small 
 bustle in the house, by announcing my-
 
 25 
 
 self as the precursor of six hungry tra- 
 vellers. The host immetliately fell to 
 cookmg, while, having taken my station 
 in the chimney-corner, I watched the 
 process with all the interest naturally 
 excited on such an occasion by a very 
 keen appetite. At the end of about half 
 an hour after my arrival my fellow-tra- 
 vellers drove up to the door, when the 
 ladies were formally introduced to M. du 
 'B.'s friends, the one of whom was named 
 T., the other G. The latter was tall and 
 thin in person, and the paleness of his 
 countenance indicated a feeble constitu- 
 tion. T. was corpulent and stout, and 
 his round plump visage indicated that his 
 corporeal far exceeded his mental powers. 
 When I first beheld him, I immediately 
 classed him among the fruges consumere 
 natiy and his conduct on his arrival in the 
 inn confirmed me in my classification : 
 for he had no sooner alighted from the 
 voiture, than he enquired with earnest 
 impatience for his supper. Finding that 
 it was not ready, he expressed the ut- 
 most surprize, and -instantly darted into 
 the kitchen, and with considerable em-
 
 26 
 
 phasis of phrase, backed by the most 
 expressive gesticulation, began to give 
 directions to the landlord, who, under 
 his superintendance, soon served up a 
 very comfortable repast. To the excel- 
 lence of Mons. Varenne*s cookery our 
 fellow-traveller bore unequivocal testi- 
 mony. Inserting the comer of his nap- 
 kin in the upper botton-hole of his jacket, 
 he fell upon the soup, the omelette, and 
 the pigeons, with a voracity equal to that 
 of the parasite who favoured Gil Bias 
 with his company in the town of Penna- 
 flor, every now and then pressing the 
 ladies to follow his example. The ladies 
 were unfortunately too much fatigued to 
 enjoy their supper ; and Mons. T., who 
 regarded hearty eating as the sole indi- 
 cation of true enjoyment of life, ex- 
 pressed his concern at their want of appe- 
 tite in the most pathetic terms. Soon 
 after supper they escaped from the testi- 
 monies of his compassion by retiring 
 to rest. 
 
 In the course of this day's journey we 
 found the road very good. The country 
 through wliich we passed was hilly, but
 
 27 
 
 Dot being inclosed, and being almost des- 
 titute of wood, it did not present to the 
 eye that interesting variety which is af- 
 forded by the intersection of trees and 
 hedges. It was, however, well cultivated, 
 and was chiefly in tillage. The crop 
 seemed to be abundant ; but I learned, 
 upon inquiry, that the farmers expected 
 only a middling harvest. Very-few cottages 
 occurred on the road side. Those w^hich 
 we saw, by their stone window-cases, their 
 sash-panes, and by their general appear- 
 ance, put me strongly in mind of the 
 houses of the peasantry in Scotland. This 
 recollection was strengthened by the sun- 
 burnt countenances and hard features of 
 the lower orders of women, who appeared 
 to be almost exclusively employed, not 
 only in- the lighter, but also in the more 
 laborious departments of agriculture. 
 
 Mr. R. and I found the bidets or gallo- 
 ways, which are kept for the use of those 
 who ride post, much livelier, easier, and 
 safer than the worn-out post-horses of 
 England. 
 
 The ruined churches which we ob- 
 served in our route, indicated the ravages
 
 28 
 
 of a multitude eager to destroy the very 
 vestiges of a system of religion which had, 
 for so many centuries, reigned with abso- 
 lute sway over the human intellect. 
 
 The postillion, who drove us from 
 Calais, wore a pair of light boots ; whence 
 I concluded that the Age of Reason had 
 banished the old cumbrous jack-boots, 
 which are, in England, so copious a sub- 
 ject of ridicule. But at Hautbuisson, 
 and at all the other stages, the legs of 
 our drivers were cased in the ancient 
 armour. Indeed, the boots seemed to 
 increase in dimensions, in direct propor- 
 tion to ou' nearer approach to the 
 metropolis. 
 
 At six o'clock on Wednesday morning, 
 June 23d, we left Montreuil, and pro- 
 ceeded rapidly through Nampont, Bernay, 
 and Nomion, to Abbeville. As it hap- 
 pened to be my turn to have the honour of 
 being the outrider on this last stage, while 
 I was waiting for the arrival of the rest of 
 the party, I stept into a large church, 
 which was situated near the post-house. 
 I was surprized to find, that, though this 
 edifice, in other respects, exhibited evident
 
 29 
 
 marks of revolutionary rage, it contained 
 several pictures, which were not at all 
 damaged. This tenigma was, however, 
 explained to me by a woman, who offi- 
 ciously came to attend me ; and, among 
 other matters, informed me, that these 
 pictures had been lately presented to the 
 church by the cure, who had been ap- 
 pointed to do duty there since the restitu- 
 tion of religion. After conversing for some 
 time w^th this woman I dismissed her 
 with the gift of a few pence, wishing to 
 be left to my own meditations. These 
 were, however, soon interrupted by a 
 *« lean unwashed artificer :** who, pre- 
 suming that Monsieur was a stranger, 
 would with pleasure explain to him the 
 subjects of the paintings. This new ci- 
 cerone informed me, that, at the com- 
 mencement of the revolution, many great 
 seigneurs had fled from Abbeville ; but 
 that, during the whole course of that 
 awful political struggle, no blood had been 
 shed in that place. Whilst we were con- 
 versing together, I observed a gentleman 
 come out of a small cabinet adjoining to 
 the high altar, before w^hich he knelt 
 
 5
 
 30 
 
 down, and began his devotions. On my 
 asking my guide, whether this gentleman 
 was a priest, he answered no ; — but that 
 he was a private individual, who every day 
 spent the hours from eight till twelve 
 o'clock in repeating his prayers ; and who, 
 on Sundays, resumed his religious exer- 
 cise at two o'clock in the afternoon, and 
 continued it till midnight. Vraimenty 
 Monsieur, said my conductor, with every 
 token of admiration in his countenance, 
 — vraimenty c*est wi brave homme ! Tliere 
 was certainly something prepossessing 
 in the physiognomy and manner of this 
 devotee ; but I could not help thinking 
 that he would better discharge his duty 
 by abstracting a large portion of the * 
 above-mentioned time from prayer, and 
 dedicating it to more active exertion in 
 the cause of goodness. 
 
 My fellow-travellers being arrived, we 
 continued our journey, passing on to 
 Ailly, where we began to talk of dinner, 
 and determined to take that meal at the 
 next town, which is called Flixcourt. On 
 this important occasion the powers of 
 Mons. T. were roused into full activity.
 
 31 
 
 Justly entertaining strong doubts as to 
 my abilities in catering, he proposed to 
 take my post as avant-couriert to which 
 arrangement I readily consented. He 
 accordingly mounted the bidet^ which 
 happened to be the smallest which had 
 occurred in the whole course of our jour- 
 ney ; and cracking a large whip which 
 he had borrowed at the post-house, he 
 set off with great eclat and galloped away 
 to Flixcourt. At this place he played 
 the part of a truly active citizen ; lor, 
 though on his arrival the pigeons had to 
 undergo the operation of killing, (of 
 which circumstance he apprized us with 
 a most expressive gesture,) by the 
 time our carriages drove into the court a 
 most choice repast was ready to be set 
 upon the table.. Though the ladies to-day , 
 made a much better figure in the use of 
 their knives and forks than they had done 
 yesterday, Mons. T. still thought their 
 diet much too spare ; and, with great 
 emotion, declared his apprehensions that 
 they would absolutely expire on the road 
 through inanition. I assured him that I 
 would guarantee their holding out as far
 
 32 
 
 as Paris ; so we proceeded through Pec- 
 qiiigny to Amiens. At this city I stept 
 into a church, where I found about two 
 hundred people occupied in their devo- 
 tions. This church was spacious, and 
 elegant in point of architecture, but it 
 had been stript of its organ, and of all 
 its other ecclesiastical ornaments. I was 
 glad, however, to observe, that the fury of 
 the rabble had spared a very handsome 
 marble monument, which is situated 
 near the high altar. When, on my 
 entrance into Amiens, I gallopped up 
 to the post-house on my bidets I ob- 
 served five and twenty women sitting 
 and chatting very merrily on the sunny 
 side of the street opposite to that build- 
 ing. This coterie did not honour me 
 with any notice ; but when the carriages 
 appeared they rose with precipitation 
 — their cheerfulness was at once trans- 
 muted into misery, and in the most melan- 
 choly tones, they implored charity T^owr 
 r amour de DieUy declaring that they were 
 dying for want of bread. Would other 
 travellers give no more to these mendi- 
 cants than we did, they would soon give
 
 33 
 
 give up the trade of begging. Hasten- 
 ing from their yell, we rapidly passed 
 through Hebecourt to Flers. At the 
 latter place I had a long conversation 
 with an ancient dame, the mistress of a 
 tavern, where I prepared a little re- 
 freshment against the coming of our 
 party. On my assuring mine hostess, 
 among other things, that I thought the 
 French ladies tres belles^ et extremement 
 piquanteSy she made a very eloquent eulo- 
 gium on English cutlery, and concluded 
 her harangue by begging of me an 
 English pen-knife. I was really sorry 
 that I could not gratify her wishes in this 
 respect, but gave her something to pur- 
 chase such an article should an oppor- 
 tunity ever occur ; and in return for my 
 kindness she presented me with a pinch 
 of snuff. Whilst this ceremony was 
 passing, her husband entered the room. 
 Pointing to a tree wliich I observed in 
 the market-place, I asked the good man 
 if that was the tree of liberty ; to which 
 question, with a ghastly grin, he an- 
 swered in the affirmative. , Then looking 
 tlnough the window, I saw the church, 
 
 D
 
 34 
 
 which appeared to be dismantled. This 
 circumstance induced me t(f ask him 
 whetiier their new priest had yet fixed 
 his residence among them ? " Quit Mon- 
 sieur,** said Boniface. " I am afraid, my 
 friend," said I, "you now allow those 
 good folks but a scanty salary." " Those 
 who do not work, and are not in the way 
 of raising a family," replied the landlord, 
 " do not deserve a large one." As 1 
 coidd not controvert the abstract propo- 
 sition laid doA\Ti in this doctrine, I did 
 not attempt to argue the case. The 
 rattling of our carriage wheels, indeed, 
 now closed our conference. After the 
 ladies had taken a little milk, which I 
 had prepared for them, we continued our 
 route to Bretueil, where we took up our 
 lodgings for the night ; Monsieur T. 
 again assuming the weighty office of su- 
 perintending the cooking of our supper. 
 On Thursday moniing, June 24, after 
 a most refreshing sleep, we again com- 
 menced our labours, and hurried through 
 Wavigny and St. Juste to Clermont. As 
 we ascended the steep hill on which this 
 to'vvn is built, we found almost all the
 
 35 
 
 houses in the street through which we 
 passed in a manner covered with white 
 counterpanes j many of these were pro- 
 fusely ornamented with garlands of 
 flowers, whilst others were more simply 
 adorned with a few roses affixed to them 
 at equal distances. The street was lined 
 on each side with people, from one of 
 whom I enquired the reason of these 
 appearances of festivity, and was informed 
 that this day was tlie feast of St. John, 
 and that we should soon meet the pro- 
 cession of the host. We accordingly en- 
 countered that pious cavalcade about the 
 middle of the town. It was preceded by 
 a man holding a kind of flag or banner. 
 After him came a number of boys arrayed 
 in surplices. These boys were followed 
 by a man who sounded a deep key-note 
 upon a bourdoiiy a crooked instrument 
 whichresembled a serpent. Nextmarched 
 the chief priest, who, preceding the host, 
 borne under a. canopy, intonated the 
 prayers" in concert with several of his 
 brethren, who followed him in a group. 
 The procession was closed by a company 
 of women, who, whining in chorus, main- 
 
 D 2
 
 36 
 
 tained, with little interruption, a hollow 
 moaning kind of noise ; some with much 
 apparent devotion, others with evident 
 indifference. The respect which oiu* pos- 
 tillion paid to this religious ceremony, 
 in stopping the chaise till it had passed, 
 gave us an opportunity of seeing it to 
 the best advantage. From Clermont we 
 proceeded to Lingueville, and thence to 
 Chantilly. The rq^te from Chantilly to 
 Paris is very pleasant ; the road being 
 skirted on each side by lofty trees, and 
 the distant prospects affording a rich 
 variety of gentle hills, many of which 
 are adorned with phateaus embosomed in 
 woods. Here, too, we began to travel 
 through gardens and vineyards, which 
 seemed to be secured from depredation 
 by no other guard than the honest liabits 
 of the passengers. Passing through Lu- 
 zarches and Ecouen, we arrived at about 
 half past three o'clock at the pleasant 
 town of St. Denis, wliich, at the time of 
 the mortal antipathy which the Great 
 Nation all on a sudden conceived against 
 the whole army of holy men, was rebap- 
 tized by the name of Franciade. Here
 
 37 
 
 we had a view of the magnificent Gothic 
 catliedral, which was formerly the ceme- 
 tery of the kings of France. Few edi- 
 fices have suffered more by the active 
 hand of revolutionary violence than this 
 cathedral. In pursuance of a decree of 
 the Convention it was visited by a num- 
 ber of commissioners, who proceeded 
 systematically to strip it of the insignia 
 of the Gallic monarchy, which formerly 
 constituted its proudest ornaments. Un- 
 der the direction of these political Goths 
 the repose of deceased Royalty was vio- 
 lated. Not only were the monuments of 
 the kings demolished, but their coffins 
 were torn from their receptacles, their 
 remains were scattered abroad, and the 
 lead in which their bodies had been en- 
 closed was melted and converted into 
 bullets. When the barbarians who had 
 committed those outrages had finished 
 their work of destruction, they addressed 
 to their constituents a proces-verbal, de- 
 scribing the nature and extent of their 
 operations, which is not one of the least 
 interesting documents relating to the 
 period of revolutionary fanaticism. 
 
 D 3 
 
 «j» 
 
 0!s3Vo«.*
 
 38 
 
 At about five o'clock in the afternoon 
 we arrived at the walls of Paris. We 
 found the barriers guarded by soldiers 
 and officers of the police, two of whom 
 ordered our carriage to stop, and de- 
 manded our passports. As we were . 
 waiting whilst these documents were ex- 
 amined, I could not help reflecting on 
 the facility which the establishment of 
 such checks upon the liberty of ingress 
 and egress had afforded to revolutionary 
 murderers, in the perpetration of the 
 most atrocious crimes. V> hencver Robes- 
 pierre wished to destroy the virtuous 
 senators, or the generous citizens, whose 
 daring spirit prompted them to bear open 
 testimony against his crimes, he issued 
 the fatal mandate. — The g!iards sta- 
 tioned at the barriers were reinforced by 
 revolutionary agents — Paris was heiTne- 
 tically sealed — the victims of the tyrant's 
 rage were deprived even of the hope of 
 escaping. For, if when driven from their 
 asylums by tlie blood-hounds, who by 
 means of domiciliary visits hunted down 
 the devoted prey, they ventured to try 
 their fortune at the gates of the city, the 
 8
 
 . 39 
 
 strict scrutiny which they there under- 
 went almost infallibly betrayed them into 
 the hands of their executioners. How 
 many countenances have turned pale — 
 how many hearts have ached at the sight 
 of these horrid portals. So much w^as I 
 impressed with these considerations, that 
 though I was well assured that our pass- 
 ports were strictly regular, I felt a slight 
 degree of uneasiness, till we received 
 them from the examiners, wdth permis- 
 sion to proceed into the city. Mr. F. 
 had recommended to us the hotel de 
 Bretagne, Rue de la Loi; but, on our ap- 
 plying to the lai;idlord of that house, we 
 found that he could not accommodate us 
 v/ith lodging. We were equally disap- 
 pointed at. the hotel du Carousel, and at 
 two or three other places whither we 
 were directed by an English gentleman, 
 who, seeing our embarrassment, had the 
 politeness to send his servant to assist us 
 in gaining a settlement. At length re- 
 turning to the Rue de la Lot, we made 
 the necessary enquiries at the hotel de 
 Toscane, the handsome hostess of which 
 shewed me an elegant parlour, and two 
 D 4
 
 40 
 
 good lodging rooms, which she purposetl 
 to Jet for ten Louis per week. As I was 
 absolutely tired of running up and down 
 one pair of stairs after another, and as I 
 suspected that we might possibly go far- 
 ther and fare worse, I agreed to these 
 extravagant terms. As, however, the 
 apartments in question were occupied by 
 a party who were on the eve of their 
 departure, Madame intimated to me 
 that we could not enter upon tliem till 
 the next day, and that, in the mean- 
 while, we should be under the necessity 
 of taking up our quarters en liaut; — or, 
 in plain English, in the garret. We ac- 
 cordingly climbed up five pair of stairs, 
 and were shewn into apartments which, 
 notwithstanding the altitude of their 
 situation, were elegantly furnished, and 
 promised to weary travellers a consi- 
 derable degree of comfort. Our first 
 care was to send for dinner from a 
 neighbouring restaurateur*^. W hilst we 
 were occupied in this repast, the land- 
 lord came to suggest to us, that we 
 should find a valet de place extremely 
 iiselUi duriiig our residence in Paris.
 
 41 
 
 We cordially agreed with him in opinion ; 
 and at Jiis recommendation we hired a 
 smart young fellow of about twenty years 
 of age, the lobes of whose ears were dis- 
 tended by a pair of golden or gilded ear- 
 rings, of about the size of the circle of 
 ware in which prudent house-wives collect 
 their keys. Henri, for this was the name 
 of our new domestic, had been a great 
 traveller ; he had visited Italy, and had 
 served an English gentleman at the siege 
 of Porto Ferrajo — -and if his own word 
 could be taken as evidence, he could 
 speak Italian as well as his native tongue. 
 When we had dispatched our dinner, we 
 were conducted by Henri to the chateau 
 of the Tuilleries. As we approached 
 the front of this extensive edifice by the 
 Place du Carousel, I distinctly saw the 
 positions occupied by the Marseillois, 
 and the Swiss, on the eventful loth of 
 August, 1792, the day when Louis XVI., 
 driven by tiie fury of the populace into 
 the hall of the National Assembly, was a 
 w^itness of the debate which ended in his 
 deposition, and in the declaration that
 
 42 
 
 France was thenceforth a RepubHc, one 
 and indivisible. 
 
 The iron gates which lead into the 
 court of the chateau are flanked by two 
 standards of iron work, made after the 
 model of the Roman ensign ; differing in- 
 deed from it in no other respect, than 
 that a cock supplies the place of the 
 eagle ; and R. F. (^Republic Frangaise) 
 glitters on the tablet instead of S. P. Q. R. 
 On the front of the chateau I obsei-ved 
 the imposing inscription, LIBERTE 
 EGALITE' INDIVISIBILITE' DE 
 LA REPUBLIQUE. In the windows, 
 and in the balcony of a large apartment 
 under the dome, we saw several officers 
 and soldiers of the consular guard then on 
 duty, who appeared to be beguiling the 
 tediousness of their service, by observ- 
 ing the ever-changing multitude of pas- 
 sengers, who were proceeding through 
 the chateau, on their way to and from 
 the gardens. Following this multitude, 
 we entered the vestibule, where we saw 
 the grand stair-case, which on the loth 
 of August, 1792, was strewed with the
 
 4:3 
 
 dead bodies of its brave defenders, the 
 Swiss guards. We then pressed forward 
 into the gardens, which are very exten- 
 sive, and laid out in the old style, being- 
 composed of straight alleys, bordered by 
 trees and extensive terraces, ornamented 
 by statues. Among the principal curio- 
 sities of this place are, a great number 
 of orange trees, the beauty of which is, 
 however, completely destroyed by the 
 sheers of the tasteless gardeners, who 
 have completely trimmed away all the 
 interesting extravagances of nature, and 
 reduced them to the monotonous exact- 
 ness of so many vegetable globes. Vast 
 crowds of people were taking their even- 
 ing walk in the garden. The females 
 were well dressed ; but the males were 
 very slovenly in their apparel, and had 
 the appearance of journeymen barbers, 
 ratlier than of gentlemen. Directing 
 our course through the central alley, 
 we proceeded to the Place Louis XV., 
 alias Place de la Revolution, alias Place 
 de la Concorde. In the middle of this 
 square, the feeble and unfortunate Louis 
 XVI. terminated his wretched existence
 
 44 
 
 by the axe of the guillotine. Here, too, 
 the Brissots, the Vergniauds, the Giiadets, 
 the Carras, and the Sillerys, were taught 
 by sad experience, that ** the children of ' 
 tliis world are wiser in their generation 
 than the children of light" — that in 
 revolutionary struggles, those whose vir- 
 tue renders them scrupulous about the 
 means of preserving power, must sink in 
 a conflict with the hardened adventurers, 
 whose heaits are strangers to the emo- 
 tions of pity or of shame. Here also 
 Danton learnt, too late, that cowardly 
 despotism bears no brother near the 
 throne — and Robespierre beheld in the 
 countenances of the multitude who wit- 
 nessed his miserable end, the joy which 
 enlivens the heart of a whole nation, 
 when its oppressor is led forth to pay the 
 forfeit of his atrocious deeds. The spot 
 where the fatal engine of destruction has 
 been so frequently erected, is marked by 
 a wooden railing. I should like to dive 
 into the emotions of Bonaparte, when 
 he passes this *' field of Blood," where 
 so many revolutionary chieftains have 
 bowed their heads to the stroke of death.
 
 45 
 
 From the Place de la Concorde we di- 
 rected our course by the Quai de la Con- 
 ference to the Quai du Louvre. Here 
 our valet pointed out to us the balcony 
 whence Charles IX. fired upon his Pro- 
 testant subjects, who were flying from the 
 dacfirers of the assassins on the ever me- 
 morable day of St. Bartholomew. In tlie 
 heat of the Revolution an inscription was 
 placed under this gallery, recording an 
 anecdote so disgraceful to Royalty ; but 
 Buonaparte has lately caused this inscrip- 
 tion to be effaced. Irregular rulers, who , 
 esteem themselves established in power, 
 are not eager to propagate reflections 
 upon *' regular governments.'* From the 
 Quai du Louvre, we walked to the Palais 
 Royal. This is an extensive edifice, built 
 in the form of a parallelogram, inclosing 
 a large garden, which is ornamented 
 with trees and laid out in straight gravel 
 walks. It was formerly the property and 
 residence of the late Duke of Orleans,, 
 who converted the apartments on the 
 ground floor into shops, the rent of which 
 composed a considerable part of his over- 
 grown revenue. These shops are weU
 
 46 
 
 furnished, and by the skilful arrangement 
 of the commodities which they contain, 
 they make a very brilliant appearance. 
 As they are arranged under piazzas, they 
 are conveniently accessible in the worst of 
 weather. The crowds which are perpe- 
 tually bustling through these piazzas, and 
 the groups which occupy the gardens, 
 some lounging along the alleys, others 
 sitting in luxurious indolence in chairs, 
 which are let out for hire to the weary 
 pedestrian, form a very interesting specta- 
 cle. When we arrived at this resort of the 
 busy and the gay, it was just lighted up, 
 and appeared in all its glory. The hurry 
 and bustle which we could obsei-v^j 
 through the windows of the coffee-houses 
 and gaming-houses that occupy the 
 whole extent of the first story, indicated 
 that this was the time and place of the 
 high change of dissipation. 
 
 Returning to the hotel de Toscane, 
 we took some fruit for supper, and being 
 fatigued by our day's journey and our 
 walk, we retired at an early hour to bed — 
 to bed — but not to rest. I had not 
 slept above a quarter of an hour, before
 
 47 
 
 1 awoke and found myself in an abso- 
 lute fever, which I soon discovered to be 
 occasioned by the venomous bites of im- 
 mense hosts of bugs. During the whole 
 of the night " I was full of tossings 
 and turnings to and fro," and was truly 
 thankful to see the returning dawn. Mrs. 
 S. fully sympathized in my sufferings, 
 and we found on enquiry, that Miss R. 
 was no less disagreeably situated than 
 ourselves. As soon as I quitted my bed 
 of torment, I infonned myself by the 
 help of my French dictionary of the 
 French appellation of our troublesome 
 visitants ; and as soon as Madame was 
 stirring I exhibited a formal complaint 
 on the subject of this most alarming 
 grievance. When I begged her to ob- 
 serve how my face was swelled, assuring 
 her that it might be fairly taken as a 
 sample of the condition of my whole 
 carcase, Madame summoned into her 
 countenance a large portion of commi- 
 seration, and said that she was extremely 
 chagrined by the circumstance ; but if 
 Monsieur had been so good as to ring the 
 bell when he found himself annoyed, her
 
 48 
 
 people would have arranged a bed for him 
 on the floor of his apartment, where he 
 might have slept in perfect security. I 
 begged to be informed whether we must 
 consider this resource as our security in 
 the apartments to which we were soon to 
 be transferred, and was glad to hear her 
 assure us that we should not there find 
 the troublesome guests who had made 
 such inroads upon our comfort in the 
 higher regions. Balancing Madame's 
 positive assertion against tha probability 
 of the emigration of these insects from 
 one part of a house to another, I enter- 
 tained hopes that we might escape any 
 further annoyance, and determined to 
 bear the present inconvenience with all 
 the patience which I could muster. Soon 
 after breakfast on Friday the 25th June, 
 Mr. R. and myself, after conducting the 
 ladies to the gallery of the Louvre, went to 
 present our letters of credit to Mons. Pere- 
 geaux. We then repaired to the bureau of 
 the district, where our passport underwent 
 an inspection, in consequence of which we 
 received certain papers which we were or- 
 dered to carry as soon as possible to the
 
 49 
 
 praefecture of the police. After this busi- 
 ness was finished we returned to the gal- 
 lery of the Louvre. It is impossible for 
 language to do justice to the wonderful 
 coup (Tceil afforded by this magnificent 
 apartment, which forms a vista of 1300 
 feet in length, the sides of which are 
 richly ornamented by the most exquisite 
 productions of the pencil, selected by the 
 eye of taste from the vast repositories of 
 conquered Germany and Italy. Here 
 the chefs d'aeuvre of Raphael, Titian, 
 Caracci, Domenichino, Poussin, Rem- 
 brandt, in short of all the most illustrious 
 masters of the graphic art, are exhibited 
 in such rich profusion, that in wandering 
 through the maze of beauty, the eye 
 know^s not where to rest. A due exami- 
 nation of these inestimable pictures would 
 occupy the leisure of a whole life, — their 
 value can be justly appreciated only by 
 enlightened professors. It would therefore 
 be highly presumptuous in the unlearned 
 traveller to record more than the gene- 
 ral impression which he received from 
 this spectacle. I shall therefore only say, 
 that highly as my expectations had been 
 
 £
 
 50 • 
 
 wound up, by the perusal of the criticisms 
 made on many of these pictures by con- 
 noisseurs, who had travelled in the coun- 
 tries whence they had been lately re- 
 moved, the paintings tliemselves left the 
 conceptions of my imagination at an im- 
 measurable length behind. After taking 
 a survey of these treasures, I went into 
 the apartments appropriated to the recep- 
 tion of antique statues. Here, when I 
 found myself surrounded by the works of 
 Praxiteles and Xeuxis, works which, for 
 so many centuries before the Christian 
 aera, had excited the enthusiastic admi- 
 ration of enlightened Greece, and which 
 the bold spirit of the Romans durst not 
 aspire to emulate, I could hardly per- 
 suade myself of the reality of the scene 
 w hich was exhibited to my view, — and 
 when I proceeded to gaze with minute 
 attention on the Apollo, the Laocoon, the 
 Mirmillo-moriens, and the other pieces of 
 sculpture with which the engravings and 
 casts, that I had consulted in the course 
 of my classical studies, had made me 
 familiar, I soon found that no copy was 
 adequate to represent the spirit of the
 
 51 
 
 august originals. Wliat a lesson does tliis 
 collection give on the instability of human 
 things! These breathing marbles were 
 the splendid fruits of the victories gained 
 by the armies of Rome over the dege- 
 nerate Greeks. The Romans have dege- 
 nerated in their turn ; and the prize of 
 valour has been wrested from their feeble 
 hands, by the descendants of those Gauls, 
 whom they once compelled to submit to 
 the yoke of slavery. Who can deem it 
 an impossible supposition, that, in the 
 course of revolving years, it may be 
 transferred by the hand of victory from 
 t^e Seine to the Neva, from Paris to 
 Petersburgh. * 
 
 The administrators of the French go- 
 vernment exercise the greatest liberality 
 in facilitating the access to these galle- 
 ries, which are open, without fee or 
 reward, to strangers every day, from ten 
 in the morning to four in the afternoon, 
 and to the Parisians three days in tlie 
 week. On^these days they are crowded 
 
 * The reader will not fail to remark that this 
 supposition, which was made in 1802, was in 1844. 
 near being verified. 
 
 JE 2
 
 52 
 
 with visitants, many of which are of the 
 lowest classes of the community. For 
 the preservation of order, ccntincls are 
 stationed at tlie doors of the apartments, 
 and curators attend to prevent any one 
 from damaging the pictures. Inscriptions, 
 affixed at proper distances, warn the 
 visitors to respect the national property ; 
 and in order to prevent accidents, gentle- 
 men are obliged to leave their canes, and 
 ladies their iiins and parasols, at the door, 
 in the custody of a woman, who returns 
 them to their owners when they quit the 
 gallery. In order that the proprietor of 
 each of these articles may be readity 
 ascertained, the persons who deposit them 
 take a ticket, the counterpart of which 
 is affixed to their property, and on their 
 exhibiting this ticket, they receive the 
 cane or parasol which corresponds with 
 its number. 
 
 Leaving the gallery of the Louvre 
 about three o'clock, Mr. R. and I, after 
 conducting the ladies home, went to the 
 Palais Royal, where we read the English 
 newspapers at the Caffe d'Angleterre, 
 which house is regularly supplied with
 
 53 
 
 the Morning Chronicle, the Sun, and the 
 Times. From the Palais Royal we walk- 
 ed to the Tuilleries ; here I observed 
 some workmen employed in gilding four 
 bronze horses, placed at proper distances 
 on pedestals in the range of iron railing, 
 which separates the court of the chateau 
 from the Carousel. The destiny of these 
 horses is somewhat singular. They first 
 adorned a triumphal arch erected at Rome 
 in honour of Nero. After the lapse of up- 
 wards of two hundred years, they were 
 transported by Constantine the Great to the 
 newly founded capital of the Eastern em- 
 pire, where they constituted the princi- 
 cipal ornament of the hippodrome. When 
 the Venetians made themselves masters 
 of Constantinople in the twelfth century, 
 they took possession of these statues, 
 conveyed them back to Italy, and placed 
 them on the fa9ade of the church of 
 St. Mark at Venice, where they lately 
 became the prey of the Gallic invaders, 
 who removed them to Paris. 
 
 In the evening we took a box at the 
 Opera National, where we were grati- 
 fied by one of the most exquisite drama- 
 E 3
 
 54 
 
 tic performances which I ever attended 
 in my life. ^ The opera was CEdipe a 
 Colone, the words of which were com- 
 posed by Guillard, and the music by Sac- 
 chini. Considerable interest seemed to 
 be excited in the audience by the first 
 appearance of a new actor in the cha- 
 racter of PoHnice. This performer, whose 
 name I do not recollect, acquitted him- 
 self to the satisfaction of a crowded 
 house. The magnificence of the scenery, 
 the correctness of the costume of the 
 actors, the feeling manner in which they 
 delivered the recitative, and sung the airs, 
 and the excellence of the musie, con- 
 spired to make a most enchanting im- 
 pression on tlie senses. The dances were 
 truly astonishing ; the agility, the grace, 
 and the precision of the chorusses, me- 
 rited the loud encomiums which were 
 bestowed upon them by the amateurs. 
 But when Vestris gave to the most difficult 
 exertions of the limbs, all the elegance 
 of apparent ease, the spectators were ab- 
 solutely enraptured ; they sat in breathless 
 expectation, and all their faculties seem- 
 ed to be suspended on his ** light fantas-
 
 55 
 
 tic toe.** Indeed, the pleasure of the 
 scene was not a little enhanced by the 
 lively interest of the audience. I never 
 before witnessed in any theatre, such si-^ 
 lence, such attention, such evident sym- 
 pathy in the proceedings of the stage. 
 Every person present appeared to be a 
 critic. Every individual seemed to at- 
 tend for the purpose of being amused by 
 the drama ; and I am confident that if 
 any box-lobby loungers had ventured to 
 make the least disturbance, they would 
 have severely felt the effects of the ge- 
 neral indignation. To the disgrace of 
 Englishmen, it must be confessed, that 
 there is a striking contrast between the 
 decorum of a Parisian, and the tumult of 
 a London theatre. 
 
 On Saturday Mr. R. and myself, after 
 escorting the ladies to the gallery of the 
 Louvre, went to the praefecture of the 
 police, where we procured cartes de 
 suretSf a kind of licence to stay in Paris 
 for a limited time, and to travel in the 
 department of the Seine, and in the 
 communes of Sevres, Meudon, and St. 
 Cloud. In this licence the hotel where 
 
 E 4
 
 56 
 
 wc lodged was specified, and we wei'e 
 apprized, that if we changed the place 
 of our residence, we must immediately 
 give notice of our new abode to the prae- 
 fect of the police. This business being 
 concluded, I went to the hotel of Mr. 
 Merry, the English minister plenipoten- 
 tiary, in order to present to that gentle*- 
 man a letter of introduction, which had 
 been procured for me by Mr.M. Mr. 
 Merry being engaged in making up his 
 dispatches, I sent in my letter by the 
 porter, and received from the minister a 
 message, requesting me to call again in 
 an hour's time. With this request I com- 
 plied, but on my re-appearance I was 
 informed, that Mr. Merry had that mo- 
 ment received a courier from England, 
 and begged that I would call again to- 
 morrow. Taking my departure from 
 Mr. Merry's, I rejoined my companions 
 at the gallery of the Loiivre, where we 
 spent the time most luxuriously, till the 
 clock striking four warned us to depart. 
 The gallery was as usual almost crowded 
 with visitors, among whom I observed a 
 Turk or Moor, who seemed to be much
 
 51 
 
 interested by the paintings, and who was 
 conversing in English with some of my 
 countrymen, who paid him particular 
 attention. 
 
 In the evening we took a box at the 
 Comedie Fran9aise, where we attended 
 at the representation of Beaumarchais* 
 famous comedy, La Folk Joumee^ ou le 
 Mariage de Figaro. The acting ap- 
 peared to me to be in the first style. I 
 was particularly pleased with Figaro and 
 Suzanna ; but the rapidity of pronuncia- 
 tion incident to comic dialogue, caused 
 me frequently to lose the thread of their 
 discourse. On the whole, however, I 
 was much gratified. The chief consul 
 was present at the play, but he sat so far 
 retired in his box, that it was difficult to 
 catch a glimpse of him. Neither his 
 entrance, nor his exit, excited any emo- 
 tion in the audience, who w6re as decor- 
 ous in their manners, and as intent upon 
 the business of tlie drama, as the specta- 
 tors of last night's opera. 
 
 In the course of this day I sent to Miss 
 Helen Maria Williams two letters of "in- 
 troduction, which I had procured from
 
 58 
 
 Doctors Currie and Gregory. These 
 letters so far availed me that MissW. 
 immediately sent me a polite note, inti- 
 mating that she was sorry that the bustle 
 and confusion, occasioned by a change 
 of residence would not permit her for a 
 day or two to see company at her own 
 home ; but that she would give me the 
 earliest notice of her being settled in 
 her new house, where she would be then 
 happy to see me. 
 
 On Sunday morning, the 27th, we 
 went to hear high mass in the church of 
 Notre Dame. On our way to this vener- 
 able Gothic edifice, we observed that 
 about one half of the shops were open, 
 and the other half shut. If our obser- 
 vation was tolerably correct it would of 
 course ascertain the opinion of the boW' 
 geois of Paris, on the reverence due to 
 the Sabbath. 1 was amused with a kind 
 of compromise which some shopkeepers 
 seemed to make between religion and 
 avarice, by shutting their windows and 
 exposing their commodities at their doors. 
 On the whole there was little of the out- 
 ward and visible signs of Sunday. One
 
 59 
 
 distinguishing symptom (if the expres- 
 sion may be allowed) of this day was 
 totally wanting, — the ringing of bells. 
 I presume that these noisy annunciators 
 of prayers and curses, of weddings .and 
 deaths, of joy and sorrow, had been all 
 melted and converted into coin during 
 the Revolution. When we arrived _ at 
 the church, the procession of the host had 
 Just begun to move up one of the side 
 aisles. Penetrating the crow d which was 
 assembled in the nave, w^e proceeded to 
 the choir, and ascended into a gallery^ 
 whence we had a full view of almost the 
 whole extent of the church. Our atten- 
 tion was of course attracted by the pro- 
 cession, which was preceded by a num- 
 ber of boys, ckest in white vestments, 
 and bearing tapers. These were follow^ed , 
 by eight or ten priests, w^ho moved on in 
 slow and solemn state, singing as they 
 walked. Then appeared the distributors 
 of the incense, w^ho dispensed the grate- 
 ful odour from urns of silver, suspended 
 from their waists by a chain of the same 
 metal. The elegance and grace with 
 which they managed these sacred vases
 
 60 
 
 would well entitle them to the appella- 
 tion of clerical Vestris*s. In the centre 
 of the procession was borne the canopy 
 which covered the host. This canopy 
 was surrounded by ecclesiastics, and fol- 
 lowed by pious votaries, who chaunted 
 the service as they marched along. The 
 chorus which they formed was rendered 
 more deep by the sound of an instru- 
 ment, similar in tone to a bassoon. The , 
 voices of the priests were nicely in tune, 
 with this instrument, and the harmony 
 which they produced had a very fine 
 effect. The procession was flanked on 
 each side by a party of soldiers, who 1 
 presume attended for the purpose of 
 protecting the ceremony from the insults 
 of those who are dissatisfied with the 
 re-establishment of the Roman Catholic 
 religion. At the elevation of the host, 
 the commanding officer of the military 
 gave the word in a tone of voice, which 
 echoed through the vaulted roofs of the 
 church. At this signal the drums beat, the 
 swell of the organ mingled with the war- 
 like note — the soldiers kneeling on one 
 knee, fixed the butt-end of their muskets
 
 61 
 
 on the pavement, and continued in that 
 attitude till, on the cessation of the sound 
 of the drums and organ, the word of com- 
 mand was given, and they arose. After 
 the procession had made the circuit of 
 the inside of the church, the chief priests 
 advanced to the high altar, where they 
 performed the masss, their voices being 
 occasionally assisted by the organ. At 
 various^ intervals voluntaries were 
 played upon this instrument, some of 
 which were absolutely jiggs. . On the 
 whole our visit to Notre Dame presented 
 to us a strange mixture of religious so- 
 lemnity, military state, and levity. In 
 the course of the service two collections 
 of money occurred, the first for the 
 benefit of tlie church, the second for the 
 relief of the poor. Of the multitudes 
 which were assembled to-day in this vast 
 edifice, 1 do not believe that more than 
 two hundred repaired thither for reli- 
 gious purposes. The rest seemed to be 
 composed only of persons, who were 
 attracted by motives of curiosity. 
 When the mass was ended, we left the
 
 02 
 
 church of Notre Dame, and diove to 
 the spot where once stood the Bastille. 
 The towers and the outward walls of this 
 once formidable edifice are so com- 
 pletely rased, that not a trace of them 
 is to be seen. The two inner courts re- 
 main, and are converted into barracks. 
 Among the interesting reflections which 
 the contemplation of this memorable 
 spot must excite in every thinking 
 mind, the following appears to me the 
 most serious ; that however easy a. matter 
 it may be to destroy fortresses and pri- 
 sons, and all the implerrients of despotism, 
 it is a most difficult task to maintain the 
 principles of liberty in their full vigonr and 
 unsullied purity, and to organize a con- 
 stitution of government, which will pro- 
 tect the rights of citizens, and secure the 
 public happiness. For have not the iden- 
 tical people, who braved death in- com- 
 bating the long established power of 
 the Capets, cringed beneath the bloody- 
 sceptre of Robespierre ? And do they not 
 even now bow in dumb submission before 
 tlie throne of Bonaparte ? These reflec-
 
 63 
 
 tions were renewed and confirmed when 
 w^e proceeded to the Temple. This edifice, 
 which has acquired a melancholy fame, 
 in consequence of its having been select- 
 ed by the National Convention as the 
 prison of Louis XVI., is now used as a 
 place of confinement for state prisoners 
 of all ranks. If the information which 
 I obtained be correct, the mandate of the 
 second Cromwell is of itself sufficient 
 to cause those whom he deems enemies 
 to his domineering influence, to be ar- 
 rested, and immured within the walls of 
 this new Bastille. 
 
 From the Temple we drove along the 
 Boulevards to the church of St.Made- 
 laine, where the remains of Louis XVI, 
 were interred amidst the bodies of the 
 unfortunate people who had been crushed 
 to death in the Place de Louis XV. on 
 the day of his marriage, and of the 
 assailants who had fallen before the 
 Tuilleries, on the loth of August, 
 1792. 
 
 Soon after our return home I received 
 a visit from a gentleman, who w^aited on 
 me on the pait of Miss Williams, with
 
 64 
 
 an invitation to tea on Tuesday evening, 
 which I readily accepted. 
 
 After dinner we visited Frascati, which 
 is a kind of tea-gardens, situated on 
 the Boulevards, at the extremity of 
 tlie Rue de la Lot. This garden is not 
 very extensive, but it is laid out with 
 much taste ; and exhibits in its narrow 
 space a sui^p rising variety of objects. 
 At the entrance, a kind of gallery, lined 
 with mirrors, leads into a square build- 
 ing, divided into several apartments, all 
 of which are fitted up for the pui7)ose of 
 taking refreshments. The garden itself 
 is divided into two parts, by a central 
 walk or alley. On each side of this walk 
 are erected small pillars, round which 
 are entwined wood-bines, passion flowers, 
 and several other species of climbing 
 plants. The capitals of these pillars are 
 connected by rods of iron, to which are 
 attached the names of the most celebrated 
 ancient and modern poets ; among which 
 I particularly distinguished my country- 
 men Pope, Dryden, and Milton. At the 
 end of the central walk, there is a beauti- 
 ful piece of rock-work forming a grotto.
 
 65 
 
 over which is stretched a paviHon of 
 painted canvass. The remainder of this 
 extremity of the garden is judiciously 
 diversified with miniature eminences, 
 covered with shrubs, with shady walks, 
 and arbours; the whole adorned with 
 statues, each of which holds in its hand 
 a small lamp. This is a truly tasteful 
 mode of illumination, and I could easily 
 give credit to our valet's assertion, that 
 the lighting of these lamps produces a 
 very fine effect. No money is required 
 for admission into Frascati. The profits 
 of the proprietors arise from the sale of 
 ices and other refreshments. 
 
 On Monday, June 28, at 10 o'clock 
 in the morning, I went to the National 
 Library, which is situated in the Rue 
 de la Loif at no very great distance from 
 the hotel de Toscane. At the door of 
 this, ^§ of eveiy other public institution, 
 a centinel is posted. When I entered the 
 gateway, the soldier on duty civilly in- 
 formed me, that I could not be admitted 
 to-day, at the same time pointing out to 
 my observation an advertisement affixed 
 to the folding doors, announcing, that 
 9
 
 66 
 
 tlioLigh the library was every day open to 
 men of letters, those whose visits were 
 occasioned merely by motives of curiosity, 
 were admitted only on Wednesdays and 
 Fridays. When I had perused this 
 notice I turned to the centinel and said, 
 — ** But, my good friend, I am a man of 
 letters.'* On this annunciation of my 
 character, the guardian of literature put 
 his hand to his hat with a most respect- 
 ful air, and desired me to have the good- 
 ness to walk up stairs, where, he said, 
 he did not doubt that I should meet with 
 every accommodation. The honest sol- 
 dier was not mistaken. On my arrival 
 in the first apartment, I addressed myself 
 to a gentleman who was sitting at a 
 table, and was instantly informed by him 
 to which of the curators I must apply for 
 certain manuscripts, which I wished to 
 consult. This curator was the celebrated 
 La Porte du Theil, who received me 
 with the greatest politeness, and was no 
 sooner apprised of the object of my 
 visit, than he set about searching for the 
 manuscripts which I wished to examine. 
 The promptitude with which they were
 
 67 
 
 found was a satisfactory proof, that this 
 vast collection of literary curiosities is 
 kept in very good order. Mons. La 
 Porte's assistant having furnished me with 
 materials for writing, I seated myself at 
 a table, which was, soon after my arrival, 
 occupied by about a dozen students. 
 Here I read and made extracts from the 
 Journal of Paris de Grassis for an hour ; 
 at the expiration of which time Mr. R. 
 and the ladies interrupted my labours by 
 a summons to accompany them on their 
 morning's excursion. When I had joined 
 the party, we drove first to the hotel of 
 the British minister, who honoured me 
 with a short audience, in which he treat- 
 ed me with all civility, and said that he 
 should be glad to render me any service 
 which lay in his power during my stay .in 
 Paris. — He also advised me to be early 
 in my application for passports, when our 
 party intended to return to England, as 
 the French offices were not well orga- 
 nized, and the delivery of papers, which 
 must pass through them, was frequently 
 delayed and neglected. When I had 
 taken my leave of Mr. Merry, we went 
 
 F 2
 
 6S 
 
 to the Hopital des InvalideSy a spacious 
 and magnificent edifice, the asykim of 
 superannuated and disabled soldiers. 
 This building is composed of five courts. 
 In a large hall over the principal entrance 
 is a library, lately presented to the insti- 
 tution by Bonaparte. This collection of 
 books, by beguiling the wearisomeness 
 incident to decrepitude and gradual decay, 
 must add much to the comforts of such 
 of the inhabitants of this mansion, as 
 have acquired a taste for reading. This 
 gift of the First Consul does not seem to 
 be neglected. I was glad to find the 
 library occupied by about a score of re- 
 spectable looking veterans, who appeared 
 to be intent on their several studies. 
 From the library we were conducted to 
 the kitchen, which is a spacious apartment 
 well provided with the proper utensils. 
 We then ascended to the reservoir, which 
 is supplied with water by means of a 
 pump worked by four horses. Hence 
 \vc were conducted to the apartments 
 where tlie linen of the invalids is deposit- 
 ed, and delivered out after it has been 
 washed. Tlie skilful regularity with.
 
 69 
 
 which this department of the domestic 
 ceconomy is conducted, merits no small 
 degree of praise. From the examination 
 of the minutiae of this part of the esta- 
 blishment, we passed, by a violent transi- 
 tion, to the chapel, which, (during the 
 reign of infidelity, was designated by the 
 appellation of the Temple of Mars. This 
 is a spacious and elegant apartment of an 
 oblong form, paved with marble, and 
 ornamented with decorations which must 
 be highly interesting to the feelings of 
 the veteran, with pictures of the battles 
 in which the arms of France have been 
 victorious, and by the standards which 
 were taken from the enemies of the 
 Republic in the course of the late war. 
 Among these trophies of victory, which 
 are said to be eighteen hundred in num- 
 ber, I could discern only two belonging 
 to my native country. Over the entrance 
 into the chapel, there is a beautiful or- 
 gan, and at the opposite end is a kind 
 of pavilion, from the tesselated pave- 
 ment of which we saw, with pleasing 
 astonishment, the cupola of the great 
 dome. This cupola, as well as foin* 
 
 F 3
 
 smaller ones by which it is flanked, is 
 wonderfully lightsome, and richly adorned 
 with brilliant paintings. On the right 
 hand side of the pavilion is the monu- 
 ment of the great Turenne ; which, to- 
 gether with the body of that illustrious 
 general, was removed thither from the 
 abbey of St. Denis, at the time when, in 
 pursuance of the decree of the Conven- 
 .tion, the sepulchres of the kings of 
 France were consigned to destruction. 
 Upon the whole, I have seen few apart- 
 ments which appear to me comparable in 
 beauty to the chapel of the Invalides, 
 The front of the hospital has, however, 
 no pretension to elegance of architecture. 
 Near the principal entrance we saw the 
 four sculptured captives which formerly 
 appeared to writhe in agony at the base 
 of the statue of Louis XV. in the centre 
 of the Place de la Concorde. The ex- 
 cellence of their workmanship, I sup- 
 pose, caused these images to be preserved. 
 But the sentiment of veneration for the 
 arts was not sufficiently strong to rescue 
 from demohtion the effigy of the mo- 
 narch. When, indeed, the sternness of
 
 71 
 
 * 
 
 repubHcanism refused to spare the once 
 adored semblance of Henry IV., how 
 could it be expected that the statue of 
 the detested slave of Pompadour and 
 Du Barri could escape the general pro- 
 scription levelled against the insignia of 
 royalty ? 
 
 From the Invalides we proceeded to 
 the Ecole Militaire^ an institution which, 
 as its name imports, was formerly ap- 
 propriated to the education of military 
 officers, but which is now the principal 
 residence of the consular horse-guards. 
 At the gates of the building we found a 
 number of centinels under the command 
 of a sergeant, who demanded our tickets 
 of admission. As we were not provided 
 with these documents, he refused to let 
 us enter, but on our appealing to his 
 politeness by announcing ourselves as 
 English strangers, he sent a message to 
 the commandant, who, without delay, 
 dispatched a soldier, to announce to us 
 his permission to visit the interior of the 
 building, and who informed us that he 
 was ordered to attend us in our walk. 
 The Ecole Militaire consists of several 
 F 4
 
 72 
 
 courts, in which the various divisions of 
 the guards are commodiously lodged. In 
 one of these courts was a park of light 
 artillery. The inner front of the edifice 
 is constructed in a beautiful style of 
 architecture, and is surmounted by a 
 handsome dome. Our conductor in- 
 fonned us that he had accompanied 
 Bonaparte on his expedition into Egypt, 
 and had been taken prisoner by the Turks 
 in the island of Corfu. He said that he 
 had experienced very hard treatment 
 during the time of his captivity, having 
 been sent to Constantinople, where he 
 was chained to one of his fellow-prisoners, 
 and compelled to work as a slave. In 
 this situation he was seen by Sir Sidney 
 Smith, who spoke to him with great kind- 
 ness, and gave him money to provide him- 
 self with necessaries. ♦ 
 
 Our conductor having shewn us every 
 thing which was ' likely to be interesting 
 to us, we offered him a six-livre piece by 
 way of gratuity. This present, however, 
 he politely but peremptorily declined 
 accepting, observing that the consular 
 guards never expected any reward
 
 73 
 
 for shewing civility to strangers. This is 
 a punctilio which I beHeve influences the 
 conduct of few private soldiers in any 
 semce. At least, I greatly fear, that 
 in a British grenadier it would have been 
 completely drowned in the idea of a quart 
 of ale. 
 
 Almost every spot in Paris is revolu- 
 tionary classic ground. From the hos- 
 pital of the Invalides the insurgents of the 
 fourteenth of July procured the arms 
 which enabled them to take the Bastille. 
 Opposite to the front of the Ecole Mill- 
 taire is the Champ de Mars, where the 
 King and the people of France took the 
 famous oath of allegiance to the constitu- 
 tion — an oath, in the violation of which, 
 both parties Avere so precipitate, that it is 
 difficult to decide which led the way in 
 the guilt of perjury. The elevation ot 
 the ground, in the shape of an immense 
 amphitheatre, still marks the situation 
 occupied by the vast multitude which 
 performed and witnessed that striking 
 ceremony. 
 
 From the Ecole Militaire we drove to 
 the Louvre, where Mr. R. and I left the
 
 74 
 
 ladies in the picture-gallery, and went to 
 call upon General Kosciusko, to whom 
 I had been charged by one of his Enghsh 
 friends personally to deliver a packet of 
 letters. We found this great, though 
 unfortunate hero, in a small garden near 
 one of the barriers. He seemed to in- 
 form us, with some little pride, that he 
 cultivated this spot with his own hands. 
 The countenance of Kosciusko is open 
 and chearful — his manners are polished 
 and conciliating. On my expressing my 
 satisfaction at seeing him walk without 
 difficulty, he assured me that he was en- 
 tirely recovered from the wounds which 
 he received on that disastrous day on 
 which the fate of Poland was decided. 
 
 Aiter conversing with the General for 
 about twenty minutes, we returned home 
 to dinner. In the afternoon our party 
 accompanied me to the Salpetriere, a 
 large hospital situated at the south- 
 eastern extremity of the city, to the prin- 
 cipal physician of which, Monsieur Pinel, 
 I was furnished with a letter of introduc- 
 tion. As Mons. Pinel was gone into the 
 country, I left my letter with the porter,
 
 75 
 
 who understanding that I had brought 
 this epistle to the Medecin en Chef, from 
 one of his EngHsh friends, expressed his 
 regret at Mons.PinePs absence, but of- 
 fered to do the hospitaHties of the place, 
 by shewing us the lunatics, for whose ac- 
 commodation a large portion of this great 
 building is appropriated. I thanked him 
 for his kindness ; of which, however, I 
 declined to avail myself, telling him 
 that we had opportunities enough of see- 
 ing madmen in our own country. 
 
 At a small distance from the Salpe- 
 triere is the Jardin des Plantes, or Bo- 
 tanic Garden, which we visited on our 
 return home. This garden is of an ob- 
 long form, about a quarter of a French 
 league in length, by one-twelfth of the 
 same measurement in breadth. We had 
 not time to walk along its whole extent, 
 and we did not possess sufficient know- 
 ledge of botany to estimate the value of 
 the plants with which it is plentifully 
 stocked. It is laid out in a formal man- 
 ner, and its straight alleys seemed to be 
 frequented by people of all classes. I did 
 not, however, observe any signs of de-
 
 76 
 
 predation. This circumstance may, per- 
 haps, be atttributed as much to a very 
 impressive admonition inscribed on a 
 tablet which is fixed in a conspicuous 
 place in the entrance of the garden, as to 
 the ceptinels who attend to preserve or- 
 der. Many striking incidents recorded 
 by the pen of history, shew how easily 
 the Parisians are led by sentiment. In 
 the evening I went with Mr. R. to read 
 the papers in the Palais Royal, which 
 seemed to be more crowded and gay 
 than ever. 
 
 Tuesday, June 29. This morning from 
 ten o'clock till two I spent at the Na- 
 tional Library, in making extracts from 
 the Journal of Paris de Grassis. The 
 apartments were again occupied by a 
 great number of students, among whom 
 I observed a Turk intently occupied in 
 perusing an oriental manuscript. From 
 two o'clock till four I lounged in the 
 picture-gallery of the Louvre, and then 
 returned home. We had the pleasure of 
 M. du B.'s company to dinner, In the 
 evening I accompanied him and the R.'s 
 to the opera. The drama was Armide,
 
 n 
 
 a subject which affords full scope for that 
 maguificent stage effect for which the 
 French theatre is so justly celebrated. I 
 was so much pleased with the spectacle 
 and the music, that when the hour ar- 
 rived at which I was engaged to attend 
 Mrs. S. to Miss Williams's tea-party, I 
 heartily wished I could have divided 
 myself. Reluctantly leaving the fate of 
 Armida undetermined, I took a fiacre, 
 and after calling for Mrs. S. drove to 
 Miss W.'s house on the Quai Malaquais. 
 Here we found a numerous assemblage 
 of natives of various parts of Europe, 
 some French gentlemen, members of the 
 legislative body — the ex-director Carnot 
 
 — a Neapolitan Principessa — a Bishop 
 of the same country — a Polish countess 
 
 — the ci-devant viceroy of Sardinia — 
 several English gentlemen — and though 
 last, not least. General Kosciusko. This 
 party was soon divided into various 
 groups, each of which was engaged in 
 its peculiar subject of conversation. I 
 could not but admire the judicious po- 
 liteness with which our hostess equally 
 distributed her attentions among her
 
 78 
 
 numerous guests ; and I was not a little 
 gratified by her requesting me, after I 
 had the honour of two or three conver- 
 salions 'with her, to attend Mrs. S. to her 
 assemblies as often as we could make it 
 convenient, dunng our stay in Paris ; 
 and I thought that I was assured of the 
 sincerity of her invitation when, on my 
 intimating my fears, that the< attention 
 due to our fellow-travellers would prevent 
 us from availing ourselves of her kind- 
 ness, she begged that this objection might 
 be obviated by our fellow-travellers ac- 
 companying us on our future visits to the 
 Quai Malaquais. After spending a most 
 agreeable evening, we took leave of 
 Miss W. at about eleven o'clock. 
 
 On Wesnesday, June 30th, at ten 
 o'clock in the morning, I resumed my 
 seat at the National Library, which I 
 continued to occupy till two in the after- 
 noon. Whilst I was busy examining and 
 copying a manuscript of Poggio's dialogue 
 on the important subject, An sent sit uxor 
 ducejida ? Mr. R. escorted the ladies to 
 the Gobelins, the Botanic Garden, and 
 the palace and gardens oi the Luxem-
 
 79 
 
 burg. Ill tlie evening we went to a kind 
 of amphitheatre erected on the Boule- 
 vards, where we saw divers feats of 
 horsemanship performed by a company 
 of equestrians. As I had never attended 
 at Astley's exhibition of a similar nature, 
 I could not institute a comparison be- 
 tween the Parisian and London equita- 
 tion ; and I can only say, that I was 
 astonished by the dexterity with which 
 most of these performers, and especially 
 a young woman, daughter to the manager, 
 executed a variety of difficult manoeuvres. 
 The interest which my neighbour, a little 
 girl of about five years of age, took in 
 the spectacle, was also a great source of 
 amusement to me. At every new exer- 
 tion of skill her large black eyes were 
 strained to their full extent : — she clap- 
 ped her hands, and beat her feet against 
 the ground, and absolutely screamed with 
 pleasure ; but when, in the course of the 
 evening, one of the performers gave the 
 signal to his horse to lie down prostrate 
 on the ground, and stood on its body, I 
 was highly pleased to observe that she 
 shewed symptoms of great distress, cry- 
 
 10
 
 80 
 
 ing out aloud, Ah^ pauvre h^te ! and or- 
 dering the man to torment his horse no 
 longer. 
 
 On Thursday morning, July ist, while 
 I was as usual employed in the National 
 Library, the rest of the party went to 
 hear the Abbe Sicard read a lecture on 
 the instruction of the deaf and dumb. 
 The Abbe illustrated his doctrine by the 
 examination of two or three of his pupils. 
 His lecture was very numerously attended. 
 In the evening we went to the Comedie 
 Fran^aise, to see the Cinna of Comeille. 
 The performance of this drama was ex- 
 cellent. I had no idea that so much 
 interest could have been excited in my 
 mind by the representation of a French 
 tragedy. The pronunciation of the actors 
 was so distinct, and their action so just, 
 and so much feeling did they display, 
 that I absolutely overlooked the enormous 
 length of the dramatic harangues which 
 had so often annoyed me in my closet. 
 I was also much pleased by the strict at- 
 tention paid to the minutiae of costume 
 in the dresses of'the performers. Cinna, 
 liabited in his white toga, with his arm
 
 81 
 
 bare from the elbow, shod with sandals, 
 and his short and black hair simply combed 
 over his forehead, made a tridy Roman 
 appearance. The First Consul was pre- 
 sent, but, as usual, he kept himself retired 
 in the corner of his box, and was not 
 noticed by the audience. If the sentiments 
 of the frequenters of the Coinedie Fran- 
 ^aise may be regarded as an epitome of 
 the opinion of the nation at large, I should 
 conclude, from the observations which I 
 made this evening, that the people of 
 France are weary of the republican sys- 
 tem. One solitary plebeian made a few 
 attempts to excite an applause of divers 
 democratic sentiments ; but he was in- 
 dignantly silenced by the rest of the au- 
 dience. On the contrary, the following 
 lines were received with a thunder of 
 approbation : 
 
 " Mais quand le peuple est maitre on n'agit qu'en 
 
 tumulte, 
 " La voix de la raison jamais ne se consulte ; 
 ** Les honneurs sont vendus aux plus ambitieux, 
 ** L'autorite livree aux plus seditieux ; 
 »* Ces petits souverains qu'il fait pour un annee, 
 ** Voyant d'un temps si court leur puissance 
 
 bornee,
 
 8S 
 
 " Des plus heureux dcsseins font avorter le friiky 
 
 «« De peur de les laisser a celui qui les suit, 
 
 " Comme ils out peu de part au bien dont ils 
 
 ordonnent. 
 «* Dans le champ du public largement ils mois. 
 
 sonnent, 
 " Assures que chacun leur pardonne aifement, 
 ** Esperant a son tour un pareil traitement : 
 ** Le pire des etats c'est I'etat populaire." 
 
 The following speech also seemed to 
 kindle the general feeling : 
 
 " Le ciel a trop fait voir en de tela attentats 
 ** Qu'il hait les assassins et punit les ingrats, 
 " Et quoiqu'on entreprenne et quoiqu*on exe- 
 cute, 
 " Quand il eleve un tr6ne il en venge la chute ; 
 " II se met du parti de ceux qu'il fait regner: 
 " Le coup dont on les tue est long terns a 
 saigner.'* 
 
 Tlie tragedy of Cinna contains so many 
 passages strikingly applicable to the pre- 
 sent circumstances of the French nation, 
 that I am inclined to conjecture that Bona- 
 parte ordered it to be represented with a 
 view of feeling the pulse of the good 
 people of Paris. In this case the expe- 
 riment must have been perfectly satis- 
 factory to his feelings ; for the Pari- 
 sians seemed to be ripe for the eleva-
 
 83 
 
 tion of an Augustus to the Imperial 
 throne. * 
 
 Friday July 2d. This morning we 
 spent three or four delightful hours in the 
 Music National des Monumens Frangois, 
 — an institution which was projected and 
 organized by Citizen Lenoir. This en- 
 lightened artist, scandalized by the de- 
 struction of the monuments of antient 
 art, which modern barbarism had pro* 
 scribedin all the provincesof the Republic, 
 requested permission from the Convention 
 to collect and combine their scattered 
 fragments ; and, after restoring them as 
 nearly as possible to their primitive state, 
 to deposit them in a large convent situ- 
 ated in the Rue des Petits Augustines* 
 His petition was happily granted, and 
 sufficient funds were assigned him to en- 
 ter upon his meritorious undertaking, 
 which he began with spirit, and which he 
 has conducted with singular judgment 
 and success. To his industry and sa- 
 gacity the Republic is indebted for the 
 
 * In point of fact, two years after this was writ- 
 ten Bonaparte was declared, or rather declared 
 liimself, Emperor. 
 
 G 2
 
 84 
 
 restoration of upwards of fiv^e lunidred 
 Gallic monuments, which he has arranged 
 in the several apartments of the convent. 
 By classing these specimens of art accord- 
 ing to the ages in which they were respec- 
 tively produced, he has contrived to give an 
 excellent elucidation of the state of sculp- 
 ture in France, at every period, from the 
 decline of the Roman Empire to the end 
 of the reign of Louis XV. In the distri- 
 bution of the several classes Lenoir has 
 evinced a considerable degree of judg- 
 ment. Tlie dim religious gloom of the 
 apartments destined for the reception of 
 the recumbent figures of the saints and 
 warriors of the middle ages, lends the 
 rude efforts of art an interest which they 
 do not in themselves possess. The more 
 exquisite productions of the time of 
 Francis I. and the well-wrought sculp- 
 tures of the age of Louis XIV. are dis- 
 posed in the lightsome halls, where their 
 beauties w411 be best discerned. In the 
 garden of the convent, which is planted 
 with acacias and w illows, he has deposited 
 sev;^ral antient tomb-stones. Here the 
 English traveller will not fail to distin-
 
 85 
 
 tinguish the simple monument of Abelard 
 and Heloise. The windows and cloisters 
 are ornamented with painted glass, trans- 
 ported from the glowing windows of a 
 thousand churches, which the bigotted 
 intolerance of modern philosophy had 
 doomed to devastation and pillage. As 
 we found several workmeii employed in 
 sawing freestone, and preparing cement, 
 I presiime that^Lenoir has not yet com- 
 pleted the arrangement of his truly valu- 
 able relics of antiquity. To this, as to 
 the other public institutions of the French 
 metropolis, we were admitted gratis. On 
 our ringing a bell, the door of the con- 
 vent was opened by the porter, of whom 
 w^e purchased a catalogue of the monu- 
 ments, which, by the reference of num- 
 bers affixed to each, explained its design, 
 and traced its history. It is a truly plea- 
 sant circumstance, that in Paris the tra- 
 veller can, at his leisure, examine the 
 most interesting productions of art with- 
 out the fretful attendance- and interfe- 
 rence of a dirty showman, singing out his 
 ten thousand- times-told story,. and hurry- 
 ing him from object to object, impelled 
 
 G 3
 
 85 
 
 by an eager desire to finger his money 
 as soon as possible. The next time I 
 visit Westminster Abbey, or the library 
 and cathedral of Christ Church in Oxford, 
 I shall, I am persuaded, think, if not say, 
 — " they order tliese matters better in 
 France.'* 
 
 M. du B. having frequently rallied us 
 on the extravagance of our living, Mr. R. 
 and I agreed to-day to witness his su- 
 perior management in procuring a cheap 
 and good dinner. We accordingly ac- 
 companied him to a restaurateur* s in the 
 Palais Roval, where we were introduced 
 into a large room crowded with guests, 
 each party being accommodated with a 
 separate table. Here we ordered a din- 
 ner consisting of the following articles ; 
 I. soup, 2. houilliy 3. pigeons a la cra- 
 paudi :e, 4. veal cutlets, 5. beaf steak. 
 For this ample repast, together with a 
 plate of cherries, and two bottles of 
 common wine, generally known by the 
 iname of tin ordinaire^ or lin du pays 
 we paid 'n the whole, a six livre piece, 
 that is to say, twenty-pence English a 
 hSfd. In the evening M. du B. accom-
 
 87 
 
 panied our party, to see the opera of 
 Semiramis. The music of this opera, 
 wliich was composed hy a Frenchman, was 
 by Jio means excellent. The choruses 
 were superior to the solo airs, or to the re- 
 citative ; but the greatest interest of this 
 evening's amusement was derived from 
 the magnificence of the spectacle. The 
 dancing was as usual most captivating. 
 A Frenchman who sat in the next box 
 to ours, observed to me, with manifest 
 exultation of heart, that it was impossi- 
 ble to carry the art to a higher degree of 
 excellence, than that to which it had al- 
 ready attained on the French stage. 
 
 On Saturday morning, July 3, I spent 
 an hour in transcribing a manuscript in 
 the National Library. At eleven o* clock, 
 Mr. R. called upon me, and for the first 
 time I walked through all the rooms of 
 this magnificent establishment. The col- 
 lection of books is truly astonishing. It 
 is said to consist of three hundred thou- 
 sand volumes. One apartment is entirely 
 occupied by cabinets of medals, and 
 specimens of ancient armour, lamps, and 
 domestic utensils. Among the rest I 
 G 4
 
 88 
 
 distinguished tlie famous silver slifeld of 
 Scipio, which was found in the bottom 
 of the Rhone. An ancient bath of por- 
 phyry was also an object well worthy 
 the attention of the curious traveller. 
 In another part of the library we saw a 
 prodigiously large pair of globes, which 
 I suppose are kept nwre for show than 
 use. The long tables which are arranged 
 through almost the whole extent of the 
 first room, were surrounded by two or 
 three hundred students, among whom 
 were some ladies. 
 
 From the National Librar}% Mr. R. 
 and I went to Mr. Merry's, to enquire 
 what steps it would be necessary to take, 
 in order to procure passports to enable 
 us to return to England. On my show- 
 ing the secretary of legation, the pass- 
 port which we had procured from Lord 
 Hawkesbury, he informed us, that it was 
 of itself sufficient for our purpose, and 
 advised us by no means to make any ap- 
 plication at the French offices, where 
 we should experience every possible in- 
 convenience and delay. I was very 
 much rejoiced to hear that we were al.
 
 89 
 
 ready posfiesscd of a licence to revisit our 
 fire-sides ; but was somewhat alarmed, 
 when Mr. Secretary added to his declara- 
 tion, " If you meet with any difficulties 
 in this matter, apply to us.*' I thought 
 the word if had an ominous sound ; and 
 as the difficulties in question were not 
 likely to arise till we arrived at Calais, I 
 did not by any means relish the idea of 
 running the risk of being obliged to seek 
 redress against detention, by correspond- 
 ing with the British minister at the dis- 
 tance of two hundred miles. I deter- 
 mined therefore to consult some of my 
 friends on the subject. In the mean- 
 time, as I wished to witness the form of 
 legal proceedings in France, I went, ac- 
 companied by MnR., to the Palais de la 
 Justice, where my hair-dresser had this 
 morning informed me the courts of law 
 were open. The Palais de la Justice is a 
 very large building, consisting of an ele- 
 gant fa9ade, adorned with columns of the 
 Doric order, and two wings. Ascending 
 a handsome staircase, we entered a large 
 hall, where we found attornies and law- 
 yers, walking to and firo with bags full of
 
 90 
 
 papers, and a considerable number of 
 people of all descriptions, some of whom 
 were attracted thither by business, others 
 by curiosity. In short the scene here 
 presented, was exactly similar to that 
 which occurs during term time in West- 
 minster or Guildhall. After lounging in 
 this hall for a few minutes, we followed 
 a crowd which moved up a narrow stair- 
 case into the criminal court. Here the 
 first object which struck my eyes was the 
 culprit, who was seated between two 
 gens d'armeSy upon an elevated bench on 
 the left hand of the judge. I cannot 
 help thinking this arrangement better 
 than that adopted in the English courts 
 of judicature. It has often struck me as 
 a barbarous practice to compel a man^ 
 who is impeached of a capital crime, to 
 stand for hours together, and, gis is some- 
 times the case, with his limbs loaded 
 with fetters, at a time when he ought to 
 have every faculty of mind and body in 
 full command, in order to conduct his 
 defence. Nor am I aware of any good 
 reason, why a prisoner on trial should be 
 placed in such a position, as to concea)
 
 91 
 
 his countenance from the view of the 
 audience. It is surely proper, that the 
 ingenuous air of innocence wrongfully 
 accused, should be displayed in all its 
 dignity — nor should that lesson be lost to 
 the public, which may be learnt from the 
 tremulous distraction of the eye, the 
 shame and horror which so frequently 
 designate the consciousness of guilt. I 
 was surprized to observe, instead of a 
 jury, five judges sitting to try the offender, 
 who was accused of forging government 
 securities j and I was sorry to be inform- 
 ed by an intelligent man, who stood next 
 me in the crowd of spectators, that, with 
 respect to impeachments of this nature, 
 the legislative bodies had about a fort- 
 night ago abolished the trial by jury. 
 The French have certainly very crude 
 notions on the subject of criminal law. 
 On our entrance into the court we found 
 the judge busily employed in interro- 
 gating the prisoner, a mode of procedure 
 which opens a wide door for the intro- 
 duction of villainous artifice and juridical 
 oppression. After the interrogation was 
 ended, the public accuser, habited in a
 
 92 
 
 black gown, examined the witnesses for 
 the prosecution, and commented upon 
 their evidence. Then the counsel for the 
 prisoner made a speech in his defence. 
 When the pleadings were finished, the 
 judges withdrew into an inner-chamber, 
 wnence they soon returned into court 
 with a verdict of guilty. Silence was 
 then proclaimed, and the president pro- 
 ceeded to sentence the prisoner to six 
 years imprisonment in irons. From the 
 criminal, we adjourned to one of the 
 civil courts, where we heard an advocate 
 pleading with wonderful gesticulation and 
 noise, on the subject of a disputed ac- 
 count, litigated by two partners in trade. 
 This limb of the law, by his extravagant 
 action, and by the stentorian exertion of 
 his lungs, strongly recalled to my memory 
 the mock-trial in the marriage of Figaro ; 
 and the recollection was rendered still 
 more vivid, when a huissier, with a 
 " childish treble" voice, even and anon, 
 squeaked out his authoritative cry of 
 " silenee, ci toy ens.** 
 
 In the evening our whole party drank 
 tea at Miss Williams's, where we met.
 
 9S 
 
 among a variety of })leasing and intelli- 
 gent characters, the late Vice-master of 
 Malta, to whom the civil administration 
 of that island had been delegated by- 
 Bonaparte after its capture by the army 
 destined for Egypt ; a Neapolitan bishop, 
 who, having embraced the popular party, 
 had been driven from his native country 
 by the counter-revolution ; and Holcroft, 
 the author of Anna St. Ives and Hugh 
 Trevor. The conversation of such a 
 party could not fail to be amusing. The 
 evening of course passed very pleasantly. 
 One of her guests having presented Miss 
 Williams with tickets of admission to 
 the National Institute, for Tuesday next, 
 she was so good as to transfer one of them 
 to me. 
 
 Soon after breakfast, on Sunday July 
 the 4th, I called on my old friend and fel- 
 low-collegian Mr. T.S., who, having heard 
 of my arrival in Paris, had yesterday left 
 his card at our hotel. As ten years had 
 elapsed since we had last met, we had 
 many questions mutually to ask and an- 
 swer ; and in the remembrances of for- 
 mer times, in enquiries after the destiny
 
 94 
 
 of our quondam companions, and the 
 communication of the little adventures 
 which we had experienced in France, 
 time passed rapidly along. At twelve 
 o'clock I took my leave and returned to 
 the Hotel de Toscane, where I founa my 
 party equipped for a ride to the Bois de 
 Boulogne, the Hyde Paik of Paris, where 
 the fashionables of both sexes display 
 their equipages and their horsemanship. 
 I presume we were too early in our ap- 
 pearance in this place of gay resort, as 
 we met with very few equestrians, and 
 still fewer carriages. I did not, however, 
 much regret the absence of the crowd ; 
 the beauty of the verdure which enlivened 
 the trees of the forest, and the freshness 
 of the country air, afforded a delightful 
 contrast to the stone walls and empoi- 
 soned heat of Paris ; and the paucity of 
 visitors gave the scenery a much more 
 rural appearance than it would otherwise 
 have possessed. We drove through the 
 wood, which is, perhaps, two miles in ex- 
 tent, and alighted from our voiture at a 
 beautiful house called Bagatelle. This 
 channing place, which formerly belonged
 
 93 
 
 to the Count d'Artois, has, since the 
 Revohition, been converted into a kind 
 of inn, or tea-garden. It consists of a 
 small, but very neat mansion, beyond 
 which is an elegant pavilion, furnished 
 with a billiard-table and other instru- 
 ments of amusement. The grounds are 
 narrow in extent, but they are laid out 
 with considerable taste, in winding walks 
 bordered with trees and shrubs. These 
 walks are, in various places, intersected 
 by a rivulet, over which are thrown a 
 number of rustic bridges, which har- 
 monize well with the surrounding scenery. 
 In the middle of the grounds is an arti- 
 ficial mount, which is elevated to such a 
 height as to command an extensive pros- 
 pect over the circumjacent country. At 
 Bagatelle we had a dejeune of fricaseed 
 chickens, which, I think, would have 
 compelled the most fastidious traveller to 
 do justice to French cookery ; and as to 
 the champagne, it sparkled with a viva- 
 cious potency sufficient to charm and 
 subdue even the anti-GalHcan spirit of a 
 Windham. 
 
 In the evening we went to Tivoli, a
 
 96 
 
 place of public amusement situated at the 
 extremity of the city. After purchasing 
 our tickets at the gate, we ascended to an 
 elevated terrace, which conducted us to 
 a large garden. Here we found a vast 
 concourse of people engaged in such fri- 
 volous amusements, that I could almost 
 have imagined myself on a sudden trans- 
 ported to one of the lowest of our English 
 fairs. A number of elderly and genteelly 
 dressed people were riding on round- 
 abouts ; — many hundred couples were 
 arranged on the grass-plots playing at bat- 
 tle-dore and shuttle-cock ; — others were 
 balancing each other on boards, which 
 moved on a center ; — a large crowd was 
 enjoying thegrimacesof a Merry- Andrew; 
 — some bold adventurers were attempt- 
 ing to proceed along a pair of ropes at- 
 tached to the bases of two triangles, by 
 grasping a third rope extended from ver- 
 tex to vertex, the whole being so nicely 
 balanced on pivots inserted into two 
 frames about four yards distant from each 
 other, that tlie least deviation from the equi- 
 librium caused the machine to turn round, 
 and the adventurer fell to the ground, to
 
 97 
 
 the great amusement of the spectators. 
 In the middle of the garden there was a 
 platform, where about two hundred peo- 
 ple were dancing to the music of a large 
 band. I was greatly astonished with the 
 gravity of the French dances : a gravity 
 which, indeed, amounted to stupidity. 
 The German waltz, as performed by the 
 practitioners of Tivoli, was so far from an- 
 swering the description given of it by 
 Werter, that it excited no emotion in my 
 mind but that of ridicule, 
 
 Monday, July 5th. As we had de- 
 termined to leave Paris on Thursday next, 
 we thought it high time to make further 
 enquiries about the affair of passports. 
 For this purpose Mr. R. and I went to 
 the prsefecture of the police. Here we 
 found a considerable number of people 
 waiting in an anti-chamber for their turn 
 of audience, and were, of course, obliged 
 to submit to the general regulation ; 
 though I must observe that one of the 
 centinels stationed in the room to keep 
 order, observing that we ivere strangers, 
 seemed disposed to give us an earlier 
 admission into the office than was com- 
 
 H
 
 98 
 
 patible with the strictness of the law of 
 equality. Being at length introduced 
 into the inner apartment, I explained 
 our 'business to one of the clerks, who 
 asked us for the passports which we had 
 received from Mr. Otto. We informed 
 him that we had, at the requisition of Mr. 
 Mengaud, left them in that gentleman's 
 office at Calais. He then directed us to 
 apply to another clerk, to enquire whether 
 they were transmitted to the praefecture. 
 This gentleman, after looking twice or 
 thrice over a heap of papers, and 
 examining an index, declared that they 
 were not yet arrived, and intimated to 
 us, that till they were received we could 
 not possibly obtain passports to return, 
 from the praefect of the police. On our 
 asking him what steps we must take to 
 free ourselves from an embarrassment, 
 which, I observed, was not occasioned 
 by our own fault, but by the negligence 
 of Mengaud, he advised us to apply at 
 the office of the minister of police ; but 
 on my asking what could be done for us 
 there, he turned abruptly away, and 
 entered upon the business of another per-
 
 99 
 
 son. With no very pleasant sensations 
 we went to ask the advice of Mons. 
 Perregeaux, who reheved us from a good 
 deal of uneasiness, by informing us, that 
 as we were in possession of Lord Hawkes- 
 bury*s passport, we had fortunately nothing 
 to do with the praefecture of the police, 
 the proceedings of which office were so 
 intricate, that we might possibly be 
 detained ten days or a fortnight ; and 
 that nothing more was necessary than to 
 get our English passport countersigned 
 by Mons. Talleyrand. I accordingly sent 
 to the office of foreign affairs the passport 
 in question, inclosed in a not6, requesting 
 Mons, T. to affix the necessary signature. 
 When I had dispatched this note, I went 
 to renew my labours in the National Li- 
 brary, where I continued till two o'clock. 
 From two to four I enjoyed a pleasant 
 lounge in the gallery of the Louvre. In 
 the evening we were gratified by the com- 
 pany of Mr. Holcroft, whose conversation 
 indicated much shrewdness of remark, 
 and an amiable spirit of candour, which 
 the general strain of his writings had not 
 led me* to expect. 
 
 H 2
 
 100 
 
 In the morning of Tuesday, July the 
 6th, I spent three hours at the National 
 Library. After taking an early dinner, 
 Mr. R. accompanied me to the National 
 Institute. The hall in which this society 
 assembles, is a noble apartment, the sides 
 of which are ornamented with two 
 beautiful colonnades of fluted pillars of 
 the Corinthian order. Between the 
 columns are placed marble statues of 
 celebrated French statesmen and war- 
 riors. In the middle of the hall a kind 
 of area is railed off for the accommodation 
 of the members. Between this rail and 
 the wall are several rows of benches, 
 which on our entrance we found so much 
 crowded by spectators, that we experien- 
 ced no small difficulty in procuring seats. 
 Wliile we were waiting for the commence- 
 ment of the business of the day, I had 
 leisure to take a survey of the company, 
 among whom my attention was particu- 
 larly directed to the famous Abdallah 
 Menou, who sat near the president's 
 chair. In the fat stupidity of this war- 
 rior's countenance, I thought I could 
 discern a sufficient cause of the expulsion 
 6
 
 101 
 
 of the French from Egypt. Whilst 1 
 was meditating on the wonderful scenes 
 which the army of Egypt had witnessed, 
 the members of the Institute entered the 
 hall. Their costume was very odd. — It 
 consisted of a dark green coat, richly 
 embroidered with light green lace, a 
 yellow waistcoat, and green breeches. 
 This attire gave them the appearance of 
 a company of respectable old English 
 butlers. The president having opened 
 the sitting by a short speech, the cele- 
 brated Lalande mounted the tribune, 
 and read a memoir of certain astronomi- 
 cal observations, which, though I am 
 morally certain not one of his auditors 
 could understand it, was received with 
 thundering plaudits. He was succeeded 
 by other sgavans, who read their papers 
 like so many school-boys. So rapid aird 
 indistinct was their pronunciation, that I 
 soon found myself incapable of following 
 the thread of their discourses ; and their 
 enunciation was so monotonous, that it 
 at length lulled me into a kind of gentle 
 slumber, which was only interrupted 
 by the applauses that followed the 
 
 H 3
 
 102 
 
 termination of each memoir. In short 
 I found the proceedings of the National 
 Institute as tedious as those of the 
 Royal Society of London ; and I was 
 heartily glad to escape from an assem- 
 blage which, in my opinion, was charge- 
 able with a profusiye waste of time. 
 For what benefit can be derived from the 
 hearing of mathematical calculations, the 
 detail of chemical experiments, and long 
 series of profound argumentation, the 
 comprehension of which can only be the 
 result of patient study in the retirement 
 of the closet ? The wight who can satis- 
 factorily decide whether it is more irk- 
 some to listen to an incomprehensible 
 oration, or to harangue a listless and in- 
 attentive multitude, may solve the ques- 
 tion, whether the orators or the auditors 
 of the above-mentioned learned bodies 
 are doomed to the more disagreeable 
 task? 
 
 The ennui which I experienced at the 
 National Institute served, however, to 
 give addional interest to Miss Williams's 
 assembly, to which the whole of our 
 party repaired at eight o'clock in tlie
 
 103 
 
 evening. Here we had the pleasure of 
 meeting my friend S. and his wife and 
 sister, and Casti the ci-devant poet-lau- 
 reat to the Emperor of Germany. In 
 the course of the evening, a gentleman, 
 who is reputed one of the best readers in 
 Paris, recited two poems of his own 
 composition, which were of course re- 
 ceived with great applause. This gen- 
 tleman's voice was deep and melodious, 
 and his enunciation was so distinct, that I 
 could with ease understand every line of 
 his recitation. 
 
 Whilst I was at the National Library 
 this morning, Mr.R. called at Talley- 
 rand's office, and was informed by his 
 secretary that it was necessary that Mr, 
 Merry should verify Lord Hawkesbury's 
 signature affixed to tlic passport which I 
 had transmitted for Talleyrand's counter- 
 signature, for which purpose he would 
 take care to send it to the British pleni- 
 potentiary's hotel, and that we might 
 expect to receive it to-morrow. 
 
 Wednesday July 7th. As it would 
 have been regarded as a kind of high- 
 treason against laudable curiosity, not to 
 H 4
 
 104 
 
 avail ourselves of the facility which we 
 enjoyed of visiting Versailles, we resolved 
 to dedicate this day to an inspection of 
 that celebrated residence of the ancient 
 court of France. We accordingly got 
 into our voiture at half past eight o*clock, 
 and driving through the Champs Elysees 
 we quickly passed the barriers of Paris. 
 The road to Versailles is the most plea- 
 sant in the en\'irons of the capital. The 
 first half of it extends along, the banks of 
 the Seine, which presents an ever chang- 
 ing succession of beautiful situations 
 which are occupied by elegant houses. 
 Passing through St. Cloud, the famous 
 scene of Bonaparte*s dissolution of the le- 
 gislative assembly, and Sevres, renowned 
 for its manufactory of porcelain, we ar- 
 rived at Versailles at about half past ten 
 o'clock. After taking breakfast at a 
 handsome and well-regulated hotel, which 
 is situated near the entrance of the Royal 
 Gardens, we walked to the palace. Our 
 guide first conducted us by the outside of 
 the right wing to the marble court, which 
 is composed of that part of the chateau 
 which was erected by its founder Louis
 
 105 
 
 XIII. Here was pointed out to us the 
 stair-case by which the mob which had 
 repaired from Paris to Versailles on the 
 5th October 1789, ascended, with the 
 intention of murdering the Queen, who 
 had barely time to flee, almost naked, into 
 the apartmei^t of the King. Over the 
 principal gateway, in the front, is the 
 balcony where on that di*eadful day Louis 
 XVI., accompanied by his family, pre- 
 sented himself to the infuriate populace, 
 who, in savage triumph, dragged him to 
 his agitated capital, whence he was fated 
 never to return. From the marble court 
 we proceeded to the library, which oc- 
 cupied a suite of elegant apartments for- 
 merly appropriated to the transaction of 
 state affairs. In reference to their ancient 
 use, each of these apartments is named 
 after some political division of Europe, 
 and is adorned with perspective views of 
 the principal cities of those divisions. As 
 we found many people engaged in reading 
 and making extracts from the books con- 
 tained in the library, I presume it is 
 open to the public. When the person 
 who conducted us through this part of the
 
 106 
 
 palace was about to take his leave of us, 
 he assumed an air of great mystery, and 
 imlocking a receptacle which looked like 
 a small coffin, he produced a folio bound 
 in red morocco, which, on inspection, 
 we found to contain portraits of the late 
 King and Queen of France. From the 
 library we were couducted to' an exten- 
 sive range of buildings, which has of 
 late years been converted into a manu- 
 factory of arms. Mr. R. was of opinion, 
 that the specimens of art which are here 
 exhibited, are by no means equal, in 
 point of neatness and finish, to the ma- 
 nufactures of Birmingham. Leaving 
 the armoury, we followed our conductor 
 to the first court of the palace, several 
 apartments on the north side of which 
 are allotted to the central school of the 
 department. Here we were much gra- 
 tified by examining a very good col- 
 lection of philosophical instruments. 
 The person who acted as our cicerone in 
 this division of the palace, was a huge 
 overgrown clumsy fellow, whose soul 
 seemed to be smothered in the unwieldi- 
 ness of his carcase. Greatly, therefore.
 
 107 
 
 was I surprized to find, that he too had 
 tender recollections of the days of royal 
 magnificence. That this was the fact, 
 was evinced by the following incident. 
 When he had shewn us the philosophical 
 apparatus, he pointed, with a most sig- 
 nificant look, to two sorry engravings of 
 Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette, which 
 were hung up in a corner of the room ; 
 and on my saying, *' I suppose. Sir, you 
 had a great regard for that lady," he 
 shrugged up his shouldiers, summoned 
 into his countenance the deepest expres- 
 sion of woe, and sighing, said, *' Out, 
 Monsieur — en la perdant j*ai perdu tout 
 mon bonheur" From this sentimental 
 showman-we ^vere transferred to a female 
 royalist, who conducted us into an apart- 
 ment in which several portraits of the 
 late reigning family are kept with a 
 kind of superstitious care. Among these 
 the most interesting was a group con- 
 sisting of Marie Antoinette, the Dau- 
 phiness, and the Dauphin. A young 
 lady was employed in copying the portrait 
 of the Dauphiness, who is now married 
 to the Duke d'Angouleme. While these
 
 108 
 
 tndications of attachment to the Bour- 
 bons mark the sentiments of such of the 
 inhabitants of Versailles as have suffered 
 worldly loss in consequence of the down- 
 fall of royalty, their venturing to display 
 their feelings is a proof of the strength of 
 Bonaparte's government. Weakness is 
 vigilant, suspicious, and severe. In the 
 days of Robespierre, a sentiment of 
 attachment to the house of Capet must 
 have been cautiously repressed, or com- 
 municated ** in dreadful secrecy.** After 
 we had contemplated these relics of roy- 
 alty, we visited the state-apartments. 
 These consist of the salon d*Hercule — 
 the salle de PAbondance — the salon de 
 Diane — the salon de Mars — the salon 
 de Mercure — and the salon de la Gverre, 
 To enable ourselves to particularise the 
 decorations of these magnificent apart- 
 ments, would have required a minute- 
 ness of examination which we could 
 not possibly bestow. I can therefore 
 only say, that I was astonished by their 
 splendour. But the impression made 
 upon the mind of the traveller by this 
 suite of rooms is instantly forgotten, when
 
 109 
 
 he enters the grand gallery. This truly 
 superb vista extends to the length of 
 two hundred and twenty-two feet. It is 
 thirty feet in breadth, and thirty, seven 
 in height. It is lighted by seventeen 
 large windows, the pannels opposite to 
 which are lined with plate glass. The 
 roof is richly ornamented with paintings, 
 descriptive of the most glorious events of 
 the reign of Louis XIV. In this gallery 
 are arranged a rich abundance of pictures 
 of the French school, among which I was 
 highly gratified to see the famous portrait 
 of Madame la Valiere by Le Brun. It is 
 terminated by a handsome apartment, 
 called the salon de la Paia:, Returning 
 through the gallery and the other state- 
 apartments, we were conducted to the 
 Hall of the Opera ; which, though shorn 
 of its splendor, the superb decorations by 
 which it was once adorned being either 
 destroyed or sold, filled us with surprize 
 by its extent. We passed from the salle 
 de rOpera to the chapel, which is a su- 
 perb monument of the piety and magnifi- 
 cence of Louis XIV.
 
 110 
 
 Having now seen what is usually shewn 
 to strangers in the inside of the palace, we 
 were attended by our guide into the gar- 
 dens, which are, I suppose, the best ex- 
 isting specimen of the ancient style. 
 The disgusting uniformity of terraces and 
 of parallel close-clipt hedges is, however, 
 by no means compensated by the gran- 
 deur of the tout ensemble^ or by the de- 
 corations of the fountains and cascades. 
 In celebrating these gardens in such glow- 
 ing terms, in his beautiful poem Les Jar- 
 dins, the Abbe de Lille appears to me 
 to prostitute his muse, and to merge the 
 poet in the courtier. The orangerie is a 
 stupendous edifice crowded with trees, 
 some of which were conveyed to France 
 in the reign of Francis I. The flowers, 
 which were in full blow, diffused a most 
 grateful odour ; but the beauty of the 
 trees themselves is totally destroyed by 
 the mathematical precision with which 
 they are rounded and squared by the 
 sheers. As I contemplated this degrada- 
 tion, I feelingly recollected those happy 
 lines of De Lille :
 
 Ill 
 
 ** Mais les ciseaax cruels. — Prevenez ce-forfait, 
 Nymphes des bois, courez. Que dis-je ? e'en 
 
 est fait. 
 Li'acier a retranche leiir cime verdoyante, 
 Je n'entends plus au loin, sur leur tftte, ondoy- 
 
 ante, 
 Le rapide aquilon, legerement courir, 
 Fremir dans leurs rameaux, s'eloigner, et mourir. 
 Froids, monotones, morts, du fer qui les mutile, 
 lis semblent avoir pris la froideur immobile." 
 
 After we had made the tour of the 
 gardens, we walked through an avenue 
 of tall trees to the great Trianon, a 
 hunting seat, constructed by Mansard, 
 the favourite architect of Louis XIV. 
 Trianon, which is only one story in 
 height, consists of two wings, terminated 
 by pavilions, and united by a colonnade, 
 composed of twenty pillars of the Ionic 
 order. The weeds which overspread the 
 court, and the shattered state of the 
 windows, indicate that this edifice is 
 neglected and falling to decay. 
 
 From the greater we walked to the 
 lesser Trianon, the favourite retirement 
 of the unfortunate Marie Antoinette. 
 This beautiful edifice is a square of 
 seventy-two feet, the four fronts of which
 
 112 
 
 exhibit so many different specimens of 
 architecture. The gardens are divided 
 into two compartments, the one of 
 which is laid out in the French, and 
 the other in the English style. The 
 former of these compartments is orna- 
 mented by an orangery, a music gallery, 
 and a most elegant pavilion, lined with 
 mirrors, and paved with marble. The 
 Jar(Un Anglois is laid out with exquisite 
 taste. Here we passed through shady 
 walks, which wind about gentle declivi- 
 ties, till we reached a grotto, from which 
 a short subterraneous passage conducted 
 us to the top of an artificial mount. 
 Descending from this, we pursued the 
 course of a narrow streamlet, till we 
 arrived at the Hameau, which consists of 
 a farm house, a *mill, and a church, all 
 constructed in the true style of elegant 
 rusticity, enveloped in trees and almost 
 covered with ivy, vines, woodbines, and 
 other species of climbing plants. Before 
 the Hameau is a pool of water, fringed 
 with reeds and bull-rushes. Beyond this 
 is a gently sloping lawn ; and the view is 
 terminated by the trees which conceal the
 
 113 
 
 Avinding walks. What must have been 
 the sensations of the late owner of this 
 charming retreat, when she contrasted 
 the voluptuous days which she had spent 
 in its seductive seclusion, with the terri- 
 fying solitude of the Temple, and the 
 fetid dungeon of the Bicetre ? Evils are 
 certainly heightened by contrast ; and 
 though a king is but a man, and a queen 
 a very woman, yet the woes of Royalty 
 must be attended with an anguish pe- 
 culiar to themselves. The pleasure which 
 1 experienced in contemplating the de- 
 licious scenery of the Petit Trianon, 
 was intermixed with these serious re- 
 flections. I left its shades, however, 
 with reluctance. The day was far ad- 
 vancing, and we returned to Versailles, 
 where we gladly partook of a comfortable 
 dinner. — The fresh air which we had 
 breathed in the course of this day's ex- 
 cursion, and the neatness which reigned 
 in the spacious streets of Versailles, 
 formed a striking contrast with the heat 
 and slovenliness of Paris, to which we 
 returned at eight o'clock in the evening. 
 When our voiture arrived in the Place de
 
 114 
 
 la Concorde I alighted, and went to 
 bathe at the Bains \^igier. These are 
 a series ot' small bathing rooms, construct- 
 ed in a large hidk, wliich is moored in 
 the Seine, opj>osite to the Louvre. Here 
 I was accommodated with a warm bath, 
 which I found deliciously refreshing, and 
 tor the use of Avhich I paid six-pence 
 English money. Round the deck of this 
 vessel extends a kind of j)romenade 
 skirted by myrtles, rose-trees, and other 
 shrubs, planted in flower-j)ots, which 
 have a very pleasing effect. When I 
 arrived at the Hotel de Toscane, I was 
 chagrineil to find that our passport was 
 not arrived. 
 
 On Thursday morning, July 8th, Mr.K. 
 and I took a most toilsome walk, of a mile 
 in extent, to Mons. Talleyrand's office, 
 where. Oft our enquiring what had occa- 
 sioned the delay of the passport, we were 
 informed, that it had been sent to Mr. Mer- 
 ry, in order that he might verify the signa- 
 ture of Lord Hawkesbury, and that it was 
 not yet returned to Mons. Talleyrand's se- 
 cretary. On this we were obliged to walk» 
 in the midst of a burning heat, another
 
 11,) 
 
 long mile, to tlie British MiiiistcPs liotelj 
 where Mr. Merry's scribe received us very 
 cavaHerly, and expressed his high dis- 
 pleasure at our differing from him in 
 opinion, in thinking it advisable to get 
 our passport coimtcrsigncd by the French 
 Minister. Pie, l)owever, returned it to 
 us, backed by the requisite attestation — 
 fipitefullyremarking, itt the same time, that 
 after all, perhaps, we should be obliged 
 again to apply to Mr. Merry, who alone, 
 lie said, had authority to grant passports 
 to return to Euijland. If that be the 
 case, I observed, we have paid my Lord 
 Hawkesbury 2I. 4s. 6d. ta very little pur- 
 pose. I was persuaded, however, that 
 Mr. Secretary's remark was only intended 
 to alarm us; so I shook off the dust of my 
 feet against him, and posted back to M. 
 Talleyrand's office. The French secre- 
 tary said he would get the passport signed 
 and Sealed as soon as possible ; but ob- 
 served that Talleyrand was out of town, 
 and that we should in all probability be 
 obliged to wait three days longer. On my 
 attempting to remonstrate with him on 
 the inconvenience^ to which we shoidd be
 
 116 
 
 Rubjected by this delay, he observed, that 
 the delay did not originate in his office, 
 but in that of our own minister. This 
 I could not deny; but continued to 
 enlarge upon our grievances, till, per- 
 haps, in order to get rid of my importu- 
 nity, he said he would endeavour to get 
 our business finished against to-morrow 
 morning. Mr. R. and I then made our 
 bow, but as I was leaving the office I 
 recollected Mons. Talleyrand's trans- 
 action with X. Y. and the American 
 ambassadors, and I began to suspect that 
 if we might rely upon the old adage of 
 like master like man, we might profit by 
 the barefaced declaration of the episcopal 
 minister, " il faut de V argent, beaucoup 
 d^argent." — I accordingly returned to 
 the desk; and observing that we had 
 occasioned the office much trouble, which 
 in England we were always obliged to 
 acknowledge in a pecuniary way, I de- 
 posited a Louis d'or on the seal of our 
 passport, which lay open in the midst of 
 a heap of papers. At the sight of this 
 glittering stimulant Monsieur le Greffier 
 bowed, and saying that he would take
 
 117 
 
 care to give it to the gardens de bureau^ 
 he opened a drawer into which he threw 
 it with a jerk, which I thought (but of 
 course I may have been mistaken) indi- 
 cated the promptitude of habit. How 
 much of this premium the gar^ons de bu- 
 reau received, I had of course no oppor- 
 tunity of ascertaining. This I weU remem- 
 ber, that after the secretary had under^ 
 taken to distribute this little present, he 
 spoke with much more confidence of our 
 receiving our passport to-moiTow ; and 
 when we took our final departure, he 
 said, we did not need give ourselves the 
 trouble of calling again at the office, as 
 he would send it to the Hotel de Toscane, 
 at ten in the morning. 1 w^as so much 
 chagrined and^ fatigued by the business 
 of this morning, that on my return to our 
 hotel, I was glad to repose on the bed 
 till evening, when I so far recovered my 
 strength and spirits as to be able to attend 
 my party to Tivoli, where we had the 
 pleasure of meeting Mr. and Mrs. S. 
 The CO nrtpany t«^hich 'appeared here this 
 e^riirig^ were hiuch better dressed and 
 ihbi^ genteel inthdi* general appearance 
 
 I 3
 
 H8 
 
 than those wliicli we had seen on Sunday j 
 but tliey were entertained by the same 
 ridiculous anniseinents. The diversion 
 oi the night concluded by a grand dis- 
 play of fire- works. 
 
 On Friday morning, July tlie 9th, at 
 ten o'clock, oui* passport arrived accord- 
 ing to the promise of Mons. Talleyrand's 
 secretar)'. The requisite prc})arations 
 opcupied us. for three hours; an^lat pno 
 o'clock we left the Hotel de Toscane, and 
 passing the barriers without (luestioxi or 
 examination, proceeded to St. Denis. As 
 the weather was vj^ry hpt, and Mr,U. 
 w^s ppt quite well, in lieu of a bidpt wq 
 h^ provided a return cabriole, for the 
 \ise of which as far as Calais we paid four 
 Louis d*ors. At St. Denis we had a vio- 
 lent altercation with our postilions, who 
 ^empted to client us \ but we treated 
 t^em so very cavalierjy, th^t th^y found 
 themselves losers l)y tlieir ingfnui^y j a>i)4 
 perhj^ps the stormy natureiof^quf ,tir^p^ 
 cuniary s^tUcm^nt pfoc^j<<?<l "^^s tj^^^^u^ 
 
 Uty during th^ remain4ef}|U(|>i^ip^rp>eyfft' 
 ^t least we h^d no ftirt^He? !:rqi44p wi^l^it^ 
 IjEQights of the ja^-h9ff^. :fh^ei^^v,e^^igi
 
 119 
 
 we found excellent accommodations at 
 the i)ost-hoiise of Cliantilly. Early on 
 vSaturday morning we j)roceeded on our 
 journey, during which we did not meet 
 with any remarkable incident. We got 
 a hasty dinner at Amiens, and took 
 up our quarters for the night at Abbe- 
 ville. 
 
 On Suntlay afternoon about six o'clock 
 we arrived at Boulogne, and drove to tlie 
 Hotel d'Angleterre, an excellent inn 
 kept by an Englishman of the name of 
 Parker. Whilst our supper was pre- 
 paring, we walked down to the pier to 
 view the scene of Lord Nelson's attack 
 upon the gun-boats, which were moored 
 in the inside and on the outside of the 
 harbour. From the observations which I 
 made of the position of the attacking 
 and defending force, I can hardly con- 
 ceive of a more rash undertaking. The 
 entrance into the port was defended by a 
 fort, a battery on the pier, and by can- 
 non placed tier above tier, on the hills, 
 which extend in the form of a semicircle 
 on the east of the scene of action. Two 
 or three soldiers whom I questioned on 
 I 4
 
 120 
 
 the subject, agreed in declaring, that it 
 was impossible for the English to make 
 any impression on the line of defence ; 
 and our landlord, Mr. Parker, stoutly 
 asserted that the gun-boats, which it was , 
 Lord Nelson's object to destroy or to 
 carry away, were nothing but a fleet of 
 fishing smacks. . . t 
 
 Early on Monday morning we ascended 
 our vehicles, and after a very pleasant 
 ride we breakfasted at Calais. Here we 
 took a passage in a packet commanded 
 by a Captain Hedde, who engaged to set 
 sail at eight o'clock in the evening. In 
 the course of the morning, while our 
 passport was lying for examination at 
 Mengaud's office, I strolled through the 
 greater part of the town, and minutely 
 examined the exterior of the great church. 
 This spacious and handsome Gothic 
 structure, erected by the English, pre- 
 sented a melancholy picture of neglect 
 and dilapidation. Every pane of glas^ 
 in its windows was broken ; atid th^ 
 nettles and weeds' ^vhich^ grew in ratik 
 •luxuriance at every door,' sufficiently in- 
 dicated that fori several years past no
 
 121 
 
 Avorshippers had troubled its precincts. 
 Having obtained our permit to depart, 
 we embarked at eight o'clock, and sailed 
 out of the harbour with a light but 
 favourable breeze. Our fellow-voyagers 
 wer6 not numerous, and consisted prin- 
 cipally of a troop of comedians, whom 
 Mr. Astley had engaged in Paris to give 
 additional attraction to his amphitheatre. 
 Each of these sons of Thespis was ac- 
 companied by his dog. I asked one of 
 them whether they had procured pass- 
 ports for their canine associates. — " Out, 
 Monsieur i'' answered he, " bieri vises et 
 signes avec une description exacte de 
 leiirs visages." This witty stroller, eye- 
 ing me for some time after this con- 
 versation, asked me whether I had not 
 been once confined in the same apart- 
 ment with himself in the prison of the 
 Temple. I assured him that I never had 
 that honour ; on which he observed, that 
 a person very like me, an Anglo-Ame- 
 rican, had been for some weeks his fel- 
 low-prisoner. I asked him for what rea- 
 son he had been kept in custody?-^
 
 V2'J 
 
 «* C'cioit pour uiic affaire cVdiat^^* re- 
 plied he with an air of no small conse- 
 quence, " ./Vi etc suspect par Rol)eS' 
 pietre." At ten o*clock at night the light 
 hreeze which had taken us out of the har- 
 bour of Calais totally died away, and our 
 vessel lay almost motionless in the water. 
 AVeary with watching the flagging sails, 
 and the moon-beams playing on the sur^ 
 f^e of the channel, I went to bed about 
 eleven o'clock. Soon ixt'ier our embarka- 
 tion, Mrs.8. andMr.R. had been obliged 
 by sea-sickness to retire to tiieir beds, 
 where I now found them in a state of 
 woeful sufferance. Having secured a 
 vacant nest, 1 turned in, and with 
 little interruption slept till live o'clock 
 in the morning ; I then rose and re- 
 paired on deck, where great was my 
 mortification, on looking from the stern, 
 to behold the coast of France. My pa- 
 tience began to be rapidly exhausted, 
 and I felt doubts of the skill of our navi- 
 gators ; but about seven the wind began 
 tf> iVeshen, and at ten we were greeted 
 by the dock-master ol" Dover, with a
 
 123 
 
 G— d d — 11 your soal to liell. Soon 
 after the occurrence of this symptoni 
 of English urbanity, which I observed 
 was highly amusing to our French 
 comedians, who, no doubt, w^ere re- 
 minded by it of the speech of the bride- 
 groom in the marriage of Figaro, we 
 landed in the midst of no small bustle, 
 and went to the Ship inn. Soon after I 
 had breakfasted, I set of!' in a post-chaise 
 for London, in company with a gentle- 
 man who had that morning arrived from 
 l^rance by way of Boulogne. At one 
 o'clock in the ensuing night I was set 
 down at the York hotel in Bridge-Street, 
 where I engaged lodgings for my j)arty, 
 who arrived in London on Wednesday 
 morning. We staid in London till the 
 Monday following, when we set off for 
 Lancashire, resuming our first arrange- 
 ment of travelling ; that is to say, Mr. R. 
 and I alternately riding post-horses. 
 Taking the route of Oxford, where we 
 sle])t on Monday night, we arrived at 
 Bostock-hall on W'ednesday evening, at 
 supper-time. Plere our travelling part-
 
 124 
 
 nersliip was dissolved ; for on Thursday 
 the rest of the party leaving me to spend 
 a few days with Mr. France, set off for 
 Gateacre, where they arrived in safety, 
 and whither I followed them at the end 
 of a week. 
 
 END OF PART I. 
 
 I :U=-:i !■':;■• ' 
 
 ? • 
 
 . /' 
 
 'i.,;:-i'»!i 
 
 ■' i' i.f;iit - /.!/i} 'Ij.-^ .JiiL.-i Jm'.;.
 
 PARIS, 
 
 IN 
 
 1802 and 1814. 
 
 PART II. 
 
 TN consequence of the renewal of a san- 
 guinary war, which threatened the re- 
 vival of the ages of barbarism, the 
 English had for a long series of years been 
 excluded from France, and indeed from 
 almost the whole of the continent of 
 Europe. During this period, the press 
 had been so decidedly enslaved by the 
 tyranny of Bonaparte, that little could 
 be ascertained with regard to the actual 
 circumstances of the French nation. It 
 appeared, however, to be an indisputable 
 fact, that amidst the change of property, 
 and the wreck of private interests, which 
 had marked the progress of hostilities,
 
 126 
 
 the citv of Paris liad been the constant 
 siibject of tlie solicitude of the Emperor 
 Napoleon. Every annual expose of the 
 state of the dominions subject to the 
 sway of that extraordinary man, made 
 mention of new projects for the tnnbel- 
 lislnnent of the capital ; and year aftoi' 
 year was reported, the transfer, from con- 
 quered countries into its precincts, of ad- 
 ditional works of painting and sculpture, 
 and of curiosities of every description. 
 Paris might therefore be justly considered 
 as the depot of the Hue arts, as the vast 
 magazine of those productions of tran- 
 scendant genius, which had survived the 
 lapse of ages, and whose loss, should such 
 a circumstance unibrtunately take place, 
 would be irreparable. M'hen therefore in- 
 telligence arrived in England of the near 
 approach of the allied armies to the walls 
 of that city, I fielt (and I am not ashamed 
 to confess it) no small degree of uneasi.* 
 ncss in the apprehension, that by the ob- 
 stinacy of resistance it nnght be exposed 
 to the horrors, which, even in modern 
 times, await towns taken by storm ; and 
 that the works of the ancient masters on
 
 127 
 
 wliidi 1 had so frequently gazed with un- 
 diminished astonishment, woidd be laid 
 waste and destroyed. From tliis apprehen- 
 sion tlie lovers of the arts were relieved, 
 by the prudent magnanimity of the Allied 
 Sovereigns ; and though I was surprized, 
 ijpon the principle of selfishness I was 
 not displeased at the arrangement, whicit 
 })ermitted the French nation to retain 
 these monnments of successful warfare, 
 and tasteful rapine. To an Englishman 
 who can avail himself of periods of only 
 moderate leisure, Paris is easy accessible 
 
 — but a long space of time is necessary 
 to enable the traveller to pursue the tract 
 of arts from Schoenbrun to Monte di Capa 
 
 — from Vienna to Naples. 
 
 Still fearing that, by some secret or sub- 
 sequent agreement between Louis XVIII. 
 and the Allied Powers, a proportion, at 
 least, of the treasures of literature and 
 art, which had been accumulated in Paris, 
 might be withdrawn, I determined to 
 avail myself of the first opportiniity which 
 occurred after the signature of the treaty 
 of peace between England and France^ 
 to repeat my visit to Paris ; and once
 
 128 
 
 more to gratify myself by the contempla-' 
 tion of those breathing forms, the pro- 
 duce of the chisel and the pencil, which 
 had twelve years ago given me so much 
 delight ; and by the examination of those 
 stores of erudition contained in the Na- 
 tional, or, to speak in the dialect of the 
 day, of the Royal Library, which were 
 calculated to afford the most minute in- 
 formation, relative to the object of my 
 habitual attention, the revival of letters 
 in Europe. These were the primary ob- 
 jects of my projected journey ; but it was 
 my purpose not to neglect any opportu- 
 nity which might occur, of making in- 
 quiries into the condition and circum- 
 stances of the people of France ; and of 
 marking the tone and temper of mind 
 with which they bore their sudden transi- 
 tion from the pride of victory and con- 
 quest to the humiliation of disaster and 
 defeat, terminating in the occupation of 
 their capital by their enemies, and the 
 change of their government. Report 
 spoke loudly of peril in my projected 
 excursion ; but I knew too well the fal- 
 lacy of report to be deterred from my
 
 129 
 
 purpose. I was morally certain, that the 
 Allies would not have withdrawn their 
 troops from the French territory had there 
 been any likelihood of a revolution in 
 favour of Napoleon ; and, though I was 
 well aware of the probability that English- 
 men would not be super-abundantly po- 
 pular in France, I had sufficient confi- 
 dence in my own discretion, to be free 
 from any apprehension of being involved 
 in unpleasant altercations. 
 
 Had I been so inclined, I could, I be- 
 lieve, have accumulated a large company 
 of travelling companions ; but, even in 
 an English tour, a numerous party is sub- 
 ject to great inconvenience ; and this I 
 knew to be much more likely to be the 
 case on the continent. I therefore re- 
 stricted myself to one, of whose steadi- 
 ness, good temper, and ability, a long 
 and strict intimacy had given me the 
 fullest assurance. 
 
 In company with Mr. A. Y., then, I 
 left Liverpool, on the morning of Sa- 
 turday, June 1 8, 1814; and, without 
 any memorable occurrence on the road, 
 on the evening of the ensuing day 
 
 K
 
 130 
 
 we arrived in London. On making en- 
 quiries with respect to the requisite pjiss- 
 ports, we were informed that one from 
 Lord Castlereagh was absolutely neces- 
 sary ; and that, in order to obtain it, we 
 must present, at the Treasury, a letter of 
 recommendation. After losing some pre , 
 cious time in seeking for a man of suffi- 
 cient note to sign our testimonials, we 
 proceeded to Downing-street, and were 
 directed to call for our passport the next 
 day. On repeating our visit, we were 
 accordingly furnished with a shewy docu- 
 ment, signed by the minister for foreign 
 affairs and adorned with an elegant en- 
 graving of his coat of arms. For this we 
 paid the sum of 2I. 7s., besides a fee to the 
 porter. This was money absolutely thrown 
 away : as we soon found that the pass- 
 port was not of the slightest use. From 
 the Treasury we went to the residence of 
 the Duke de Chatres, the French envoy ; 
 who, though we were not furnished with 
 letters of recommendation, received us 
 with great politeness, and, at our request, 
 gave us a passport. I say emphatically, 
 gave us one, as we did not pay for it a
 
 131 
 
 single sous, either to the envoy or to any 
 of his clerks. 
 
 On Wednesday, June 22, we took coach 
 (or Brighton ; and, after a pleasant jour- 
 ney through an interesting tract of coun- 
 try,, we arrived at that town at about 
 eight o'clock in the evening. We took up 
 our residence at the Old Ship, where we 
 were fortunate enough to find very com- 
 fortable accommodations. On enquiring, 
 however, at what time a vessel would 
 sail for Dieppe, we were not a little mor- 
 tified to receive information, that all the 
 packets were gone with company to the 
 great naval review, which was to take 
 place on the ensuing day at Ports- 
 mouth, in honour of the Emperor Alex- 
 ander and the King of Prussia ; and that 
 there was not the slightest probability of 
 our being able to sail before Saturday. 
 On the receipt , of this unpleasant in- 
 telligence, I comforted myself by my 
 frequent experience, that the first infor- 
 mation received at a small sea-port, with 
 regard to the arrival or departure of ves- 
 sels, is generally false ; and after ascertain- 
 ing the fact that many passengers were 
 
 K 2
 
 132 
 
 waiting for a conveyance to the French 
 coast, I retired to rest, in the full per- 
 suasion tliat in the morning we should 
 hear of something to our advantage. 
 My persuasion was well founded. Early 
 on the 23d, I was awaked by the wel- 
 come tidings that a packet was arrived in 
 the course of the night, and would weigh 
 anchor for Dieppe soon after ten o'clock. 
 Mr. Y. and I immediately engaged two 
 births, for which we paid two guineas 
 each J and after taking a hearty break- 
 fast we passed our baggage at the Cus- 
 tom-house, where we experienced no- 
 thing but civiHty ; and afterwards depo- 
 sited it in a shallop, in which the passen- 
 gers were to be conveyed to the packet- 
 boat : for the strand of Brighton being 
 unprovided with a jetty, and the beach 
 shelving gradually, vessels of even light 
 burthen- are obliged to anchor at some 
 distance from the shore. As I was aware 
 from the position of the shallop, which 
 lay high up upon the strand, that we 
 could not sail at the hour indicated, I 
 took a walk into the town, on which I 
 sliall only remark, tliat, great indeed
 
 133 
 
 must be the attractions of bathing and sea- 
 air to induce persons of fortune to quit 
 their toomy mansions, and occupy the 
 petty cribs which I saw ticketed as lodg- 
 ing houses. On my return to the water- 
 side, I was accosted in the French lan- 
 guage by a well-looking gentleman, who, 
 after enquiring whether I was going over 
 the water, announced himself as a Parisian, 
 and an officer of the national guard. He 
 was just returned from London, on his 
 way home, and complained most bitterly 
 of the rudeness of the inhabitants of that 
 city : and indeed, if his representations 
 were true, he did not complain without 
 reason. He said, that when he went 
 into a coffee-house for refreshment, if, as 
 was often the case, the waiter could not 
 understand his attempts at speaking Eng- 
 lish, the company, instead of rendering 
 him any assistance, amused themselves by 
 laughing at his embarrasment. His wife, 
 too, had unfortunately made her appear- 
 ance in the street in a large Parisian hat, 
 and had been followed and insulted by a 
 mob. He had witnessed with surprise 
 and disgust the familiar approaches of 
 K 3
 
 134 
 
 the populace to the Sovereigns who had 
 lately visited the English metropolis. 
 But what had affected him with the 
 greatest astonishment was, that, at the 
 Review in Hyde Park, tlie spectators 
 had " actually pressed upon the soldiers 
 who kept the ground." Rudeness to a 
 lady, however strange her dress, I could 
 not possibly defend : but I endeavoured 
 to convince my Parisian, that familiarity 
 with monarchs, and elbowing a body of 
 military police, were the natural effects of 
 that general spirit of freedom, which, 
 though it may be occasionally inconveni- 
 ent in some modes of its exertion, is still 
 the legitimate subject of pride to the 
 British nation. Into these ideas, how- 
 ever, he could not enter. Nor was I sur- 
 prized at this circumstance, when I found 
 that he was an admirer of Bonaparte, 
 and that he spoke with enthusiasm of 
 the grandeur of the reviews which the 
 Emperor was accustomed to hold in the 
 Caiousel, and from any near approach 
 to which the populace were stiictly ex- 
 cluded. He had been engaged, he told 
 me, in the defence of Paris, and assured
 
 135 
 
 me, that had not Napoleon been betrayed 
 by Marmont and Victor, he would have 
 taken the whole of the allied armies 
 prisoners! Whilst I was amusing myself 
 with the credulity of my new acquaint- 
 ance, we were summoned to the shallop, 
 which was soon launched into the water. 
 Here I found myself surrounded by a 
 motley group of males and females, some 
 wearing countenances of cheerfulness, 
 and others of serious anxiety. High 6n 
 the bow was a personage, whon>> from the 
 habitual grin which broadened his phy- 
 siognomy, and which was set off by the 
 ordonnance of his travelling cap termi- 
 nating in a couple of flaps much resem- 
 bling ass*s ears, I took to be a travelling 
 mountebank ; but afterwards found to be 
 a priest who had been driven from his 
 country during the reign of Robespierre, 
 and was now, for the first time, returning 
 to his native land. In about twenty 
 minutes we arrived at the packet, when 
 much discontent was excited by the pas- 
 sengers being obliged to pay three shil- 
 lings a head for their conveyance, — a 
 charge which, as it had not been " nomi- 
 
 K 4
 
 136 
 
 nated in the bond** entered into witli 
 our captain, many of my fellow-travellers 
 were disposed to dispute. The sang- 
 froid of the boatmen on the occasion 
 evinced that tliey had been accustomed 
 to the remonstrances which burst from all 
 quarters of their vessel ; and in the so- 
 vereignty of their authority, (foi: on the 
 water a boatman is lord paramount,) they 
 levied their tax with less difficulty than 
 might have been antecedently expected. 
 At about twelve o*clock we were all 
 safely embarked, and weighed anchor 
 with a fair gale. Soon after we lost sight 
 of land, however, we were becalmed in 
 view of five Russian men of war, who 
 were steering for the straits of Dover. 
 In this state of disagreeable expectancy 
 our time was principally beguiled by the 
 shrewd remarks and the merriment of 
 the ecclesiastic, who occupied the top 
 of the cabin stairs, and diluted all his 
 cares, and heightened the effect of his 
 jokes, by a jug of punch, which, as his 
 spirits declined, he duly replenish- 
 ed. Some variety was also afforded 
 by divers political discussions which
 
 137 
 
 took place between an English beneficed 
 clergyman, and an operative weaver from 
 Stockport. This latter was a very sturdy 
 disputant, and alarmed and irritated his 
 antagonist not a little by maintaining, 
 that as the national debt of Britain was 
 equal in value to all the landed property 
 in the United Kingdom, and as it was 
 fair and reasonable that each individual 
 should bear his proportion of the said 
 debt, the most equitable mode of paying 
 it off, would be to make an equal division 
 of all property ; a scheme for the execu- 
 tion of which, he observed, the people in 
 the town and neighbourhood of Stockport 
 were fully ripe. At about ten, a stiff 
 breeze arose, which laid us gunwale 
 to, and speeded us at the rate of eight 
 knots an hour. During all this time I 
 kept the deck, on which, at two o'clock 
 in the morning, I lay down with my port- 
 manteau for my pillow : but did not sleep 
 long, before I was awaked by the patter- 
 ing upon my face of a heavy shower of 
 rain, which drove me to the discomfort 
 of the cabin, all the beds of which were 
 occupied by women and children. At
 
 138 
 
 four, however, we were summoned from 
 our purgatory, by the arrival of a pilot 
 boat, which, taking^us in tow, conducted 
 us towards Dieppe. The entrance into 
 the port of that city is formed by two fine 
 jetties or moles, erected at the mouth of 
 the river Arques, and projecting far into 
 the sea. At low water the haibour is 
 dry ; but we fortunately arrived at such 
 a state of the tide, that we were enabled 
 to sail right into the centre of the town, 
 opposite to the Hotel du Paqueboty where 
 Mr. Y. and myself took up our quarters. 
 At that early hour crowds were ready to 
 receive us ; and we instantly had occar 
 sion to verify the description, which we 
 had heard and read of the tall caps and 
 short petticoats of the Dieppaises, which 
 we found not to be at all exaggerated. 
 After getting a comfortable breakfast, we 
 sallied out and ascended the citadel, an an- 
 cient edi^ce situated on a high eminence, 
 which commands a fine view of the town, 
 the sea, and the adjacent country. On 
 my way thither, I saw four as interesting 
 youths of the age of eighteen and nineteen 
 as ever I beheld in my life, cloathed in the
 
 139 
 
 uniforms of coi'porals and Serjeants. They 
 were conscripts, and on my addressing 
 them, they answered me with an ease 
 and politeness, which indicated that they 
 were of good families and well educated. 
 They had served in the late bloody cam- 
 paign, and unanimously confessed that 
 they did not like the military profession, 
 and that they wished to return to the 
 bosom of their respective families. I trust 
 that their wishes may, ere this, have been 
 gratified. But had the reign of Napo- 
 leon been prolonged, no fond remem- 
 brances would have rescued them from 
 the hardships and perils of a military 
 life. Much eloquence has of late been 
 employed in depicting the miseries dif- 
 fused through the domestic circle by the 
 unbounded ambition of that restless man. 
 But the sight of these youths, lately torn 
 from their homes to fight his battles, and 
 even in the interval of peace, condemned 
 to that alternation of fatigue and indo- 
 lence, and to that low depravity of asso- 
 ciation, which must in quarters be the 
 lot of non-commissioned officers, affected 
 my feelings more than the most splendid
 
 140 
 
 oratory could have done. From the cita- 
 del we went to the church of St. Jacques, 
 where we found many people^ chiefly 
 women^ assembled at early prayers. The 
 nave of this churcli is very beautiful. The 
 east window is composed of very fine an- 
 cient painted glass, and the fret work on 
 the outside is of singularly delicate work- 
 manship. The great tower, constructed 
 of white free-stone brought from Caen, 
 is esteemed one of the handsomest struc- 
 tures of the kind in France. On walking 
 along the side aisles we were struck with 
 the succession of chapels with which they 
 are interspersed, and which are no less than 
 twenty in number ; and many of them 
 adorned with pictures of different degrees 
 of merit. The church of St.Remi, which 
 we next visited, is chiefly distinguished 
 by the massive solidity of its pillars, and 
 by the splendour of its altar-piece. The 
 covings of the windows at the extremity 
 of the choir had also a fine effect. At 
 ten o'clock we went to hear mass, which 
 was numerously frequented, as this hap- 
 pened to be a great festival- day, kept in 
 honour of St. John. The service was 
 
 6
 
 141 
 
 more curious than impressive. A bad 
 effect was produced by the lightness of the 
 airs which were occasionally played on the 
 organ ; and the perpetual passing of mere 
 gazers tended much to do away the idea 
 of devotion. The audience consisted, 
 almost exclusively, of females, the va- 
 riety of whose costume, and especially 
 the intermixture of brilliant colours with 
 white in their dress, was, upon the whole, 
 very striking and handsome. 
 
 Having arranged our business at the 
 Douane^ and obtained the necessary en- 
 dorsements of our passport, we took an 
 early dinner, and at about half past twelve 
 set off from Dieppe in a cabriolet, drawn 
 by two horses. For the use of this ve- 
 hicle as far as Rouen we paid no more 
 than twenty-five francs, horses, driver, 
 and the fo'od of both included. On quit- 
 ting Dieppe we found the former part of 
 the road excellent, the latter good, but 
 paved. Our route lay through a delight- 
 ful country, the prospect of which was 
 variegated by many neat farm-houses, 
 and a few chateaux. It was also ren- 
 dered picturesque by a considerable
 
 142 
 
 proportion of wood. The people were 
 walking about in great chearfulness, and 
 drest in their best attire in honour of 
 StJohn. We remarked a vast superiority 
 in the proportion of the number of wo- 
 men to that of men, but as this circum- 
 stance often occurs in holiday times in 
 England, I should be cautious of attri- 
 buting it to the waste of war. We 
 stopped to bait at a small village called 
 Totes. Here the landlady of the inn fell 
 so violently in love with my portable 
 knife and fork, a piece of Birmingham 
 manufacture, for which I had given in 
 England the sum of eighteen-pence, that 
 she asked if 1 would sell it. I told her 
 that I was neither a inarchand nor a nego- 
 ciant, and begged her acceptance of it. 
 This she politely declined, and I pro- 
 mised to bring her one the next time I 
 travelled that way. On several other 
 occasions I have been requested in France 
 to part with my penknife and scissars ; 
 I presume, therefore, that our cutlery is 
 superior to that of our neighbours. After 
 taking coffee I walked into the village. 
 Opposite the inn I saw a wounded sol-
 
 143 
 
 dier, who was very lame, knocking at 
 the door of a cottage, into which it ap- 
 peared that he could not obtain admis- 
 sion. Thinking he was begging his way 
 home, in the first impulse of my feelings 
 I went up to him with the intention of 
 giving him money. But when I came 
 near him, I found that he was a well-look- 
 ing youth of eighteen, and evidently su- 
 perior to the want of pecuniary aid. On 
 my asking whether I could be of any as- 
 sistance to him, he told me that the quar- 
 ters assigned him on his halt (he was on 
 his way to Dieppe) were in the cottage 
 at which I had seen him knock ; but that 
 its inhabitants were all gone out to enjoy 
 the festivities on the village-green. He 
 too was a conscript. He had been wound- 
 ed, he said, at the siege of Antwerp, 
 and had suflPered considerable pain ; but 
 observed, tliat if his emperor was en- 
 larged (Jlargi), he would again serve 
 him as faithfully as he had done be- 
 fore. Taking my leave of this enthusiast, 
 I proceeded to the church, a mean -look- 
 ing edifice, with a steeple cased in blue 
 slate. In the adjoining public walk.
 
 144 
 
 numbers of people were assembled playing 
 at bowls and nine-pins, and at other vil- 
 lage-games, but exhibiting no symptoms 
 of drunkenness or riot. On the win- 
 dows of the prasfect's house I remarked 
 two or three notices or banns of marriage, 
 by which 1 was apprised that matrimony 
 is considered in France as a civil rather 
 than as a religious contract. On return- 
 ing to oiu" inn, and asking our hostess 
 how she relished the late changes which 
 had taken place in the government of the 
 country, she observed, that the charac- 
 ter of Louis could not be pronounced 
 upon till it had been tried. This answer 
 did not smack much of enthusiasm ; but 
 it evinced a degree of good sense, which, 
 if generaUy prevalent, would tend to the 
 welfare of the community at large. Tlie 
 most dangerous snare to monarchs is the 
 idolatry of their subjects. I presume, 
 however, that the inhabitants of Totes 
 are no political idolaters : for the opinion 
 of a hostess is generally the representa- 
 tion of the sentiments of her guests. On 
 leaving this village I, for the first time in 
 my life, saw a child swathed to a board,
 
 U5 
 
 in the manner so eloquently deprecated 
 by Rousseau. It wiis, indeed, a disa- 
 greeable and painful spectacle, and drew 
 from me a remonstrance which was only 
 received with a smile of good-natured 
 contempt. 
 
 The road from Totes to Rouen is the 
 most beautiful I ever travelled, and was 
 rendered still more interesting by groups 
 of peasants, who in every village were 
 singing and dancing a la rondey in honour 
 of the saint of the day. The approach 
 to Rouen is delightful. Nature and art 
 have combined to adorn the prospect. 
 A country richly variegated with wood 
 and water, hill and dale, is studded with 
 chateaux, houses, and manufactories, 
 giving the most decisive tokens of com- 
 fort and affluence. The city is situated 
 in a valley, watered by the Seine, which 
 flows on the right hand j and the road 
 into it is bordered by foot-walks, which 
 extend into the country for upwards of 
 a mile, and are shaded by rows of flou- 
 rishing trees. 
 
 The di'iver of our cabriolet was a boy 
 of about thirteen years of age, who,^ on 
 
 L
 
 146 
 
 our arrival in Rouen, gave us a specimen 
 of his early talents. At the barrier I di- 
 rected him to take us to the Hotel de 
 France, to which he dutifully assented. 
 We had not proceeded far before he 
 stopped at the gate of a large building, 
 which he said was the place of our desti- 
 nation, and a servant or two instantly pro- 
 ceeded to unstrap our baggage. Though 
 it was almost dark, and though I had 
 never been at Rouen before, I suspected 
 some roguery, and asked a gentleman 
 who was passing by, whether that was the 
 Hotel de France. " No," said he, *♦ it 
 is the Hotel de la Marine.** With great 
 difficulty 1 drove the myrmidons off our 
 luggage, and compelled our postilion to 
 proceed. Before he started, however, 
 I observed the interchange of a glance 
 between him and one of the waiters, 
 which put me on my guard. He sacre- 
 dieued and lashed his horses, and after 
 passing what appeared to be a very in- 
 tricate route, he again stopped ; and 
 we were again surrounded by porters. 
 On one of the most active of these I laid 
 violent hands ; and again inquiring of a
 
 147 
 
 passenger where we were, received for 
 answer, " at the back front of the Hotel 
 de la Marine." My patience was now 
 exliausted. I tumbled the porter from 
 off tlie luggage, and threatening ven- 
 geance against our varlet of a driver, 
 , once more forced him to proceed. He 
 was now seriously frightened, and con- 
 ducted us according to my directions. 
 Being safely ai'rived, I alarmed him with 
 the prospect of a good discipline with a 
 horsewhip instead of his fee. At length, 
 however, I paid him as if nothing un- 
 toward had happened ; of which I im- 
 mediately repented, as from the ill-dis- 
 guised smile which took the place of terror 
 on his countenance when he handled his 
 iive franc piece, I am confident he would 
 embrace the earliest opportunity of 're- 
 peating his experiment upon the igno- 
 rance of travellers. 
 
 As we were a little fatigued, we retired 
 to bed at an early hour* We did not, 
 however, enjoy much repose. At about 
 eleven o'clock a most noisy band of 
 musical instruments struck up a concert j 
 
 L 2
 
 148 
 
 and with few and short intervals conti- 
 nued playing almost all the night. I con- 
 jectured it must be a military band, and 
 that it was playing in honour of some fete 
 either given or accepted by the national 
 guards of Rouen. My travelling com- 
 panion was of a different opinion ; and 
 maintained that such a disturbance as we 
 had experienced could only be occasioned 
 by the thoughtless folly of one of our 
 own countrymen. I was ashamed to find, 
 upon inquiry, that he was in the right. 
 An English baronet, travelling, I suppose, 
 for improvement, — he had great need of 
 it — had supped in state, and had drank 
 Burgundy all night to the sound of horns, 
 violins, and bassoons, which he had 
 collected from ftU quarters of the town. 
 Had I been aware of this fact at the 
 time of the performance, I should have 
 been violently inclined to disturb the 
 harmony of the concert by a remon- 
 strance J but " every thing is for the best, 
 in this best of all possible worlds." My 
 remonstrance would probably have been 
 moit annoying to myself. At an inn, the
 
 149 
 
 u\Mier ol" an equipage would have been 
 a formidable antagonist to one who tra- 
 velled in a sim})le cabriolet. 
 
 After breakfast we went to call upon a 
 Mr.M., a merchant of Rouen to whom Mr. 
 Y. had a letter of introduction. We found 
 him living in very good style, In the 
 rrmise I observed two cjirriages ; and the 
 rest of his establishment seemed to be 
 upon a proportionate scale. He received 
 us witli the utmost politeness, and 
 entered freely into conversation ; in the 
 course of which he remarked with ap- 
 parent jocularity, but I think with real 
 chagrin, upon the disposition of late 
 years, manifested by the English, to 
 monopolize all the trade of the world. 
 He acknowledged that our exertions, du- 
 ring a long series of hostilities, had been 
 wonderful ; but gave it as his opinion, 
 that we had arrived at the acme of our 
 glory as a nation, and that our commer- 
 cial prosperity would soon decline. He 
 founded this opinion upon the circum- 
 stance of the pressure of our national 
 debt, which, he said, would keep up the 
 price of labour in England, and enable
 
 150 
 
 the French and other nations to compete 
 with, and undersell us. In reply to him 
 I endeavoured to maintain the position 
 that supposing the continent of Europe 
 flourished according to his prediction, 
 that very circumstance would ultimately 
 prove favourable to the English ; as a set 
 of wealthy custojgiers was most desirable 
 to a trading community; — that as to the 
 rest, I relied much on the ingenuity of 
 my countrymen, and the difficulty of 
 removing staple manufactures from one 
 place to another ; and with regard to the 
 national debt, I had been so much accus- 
 tomed at home, to hear sinister prognos- 
 tics on that subject, that I really did not 
 regard them. Lastly, I observed, that 
 if we found that a state of peace was 
 injurious to our commercial interests, 
 though I should by no means vindicate 
 such a principle of action, pretexts were 
 never wanting for the kindling of war, 
 to the commencement of which English- 
 men were never adverse. Like doughty 
 disputants we both remained unconvinced. 
 But on one topic we cordially agreed, 
 namely, in reprobating the article in the
 
 1.51 
 
 treaty of Paris, which revived the African 
 slave trade. This article, Mr. M. said, 
 was not intended for the benefit of France; 
 the French merchants had not sufficient 
 capital to carry on the slave trade. It 
 was inserted for the purpose of gratifying 
 certain interests in England, which would 
 soon, by means of the easy intercourse 
 between the two countries, be deeply 
 embarked in the abominable traffic. I 
 hope this is one of those refinements in 
 speculation, in which Frenchmen are so 
 apt to indulge themselves. If Mr. M.*s 
 remarks are founded in truth, every 
 honest man will join, with aggravated 
 indignation, in reprobating all parties 
 concerned in an arrangement, calculated 
 to give rise to so much wickedness and 
 misery. 
 
 Under the guidance of a young friend 
 of Mr. M.*s we went to examine the 
 town. We were first conducted to the 
 church of the Hospice de VHumanite. 
 This edifice is situated close to the re- 
 ceptacle for the sick and wounded, from 
 which it derives its name. It is of the 
 Corinthian order of architecture, and is 
 L 4
 
 15'i 
 
 much celebrated as the chef d^cetwre of 
 an architect of the name of Lebru- 
 ment. The dome is remarkably bold and 
 light, and the choir and altar-piece are 
 strikingly elegant. After all, however, 
 I cannot yet reconcile my eye to Grecian 
 churches. The solemnity of the Gothic 
 appears to my feelings, much more con- 
 sonant to the awe and dignity connected 
 with religious emotions. 
 
 My admiration of this latter style of 
 architecture was amply gratified by the 
 cathedral of Rouen, the grand entrance 
 to which is one of the noblest specimens 
 of the Norman Gothic I ever beheld. 
 The inside is magnificently gloomy, the 
 pillars being massy, and the windows 
 dimmed by a profusion of richly painted 
 glass. Behind the choir was pointed out 
 to us the places where once stood the 
 tomb of our King Richard I. and the 
 monument of Rollo, the first Duke of 
 Normandy. But during the delirium of 
 revolutionary fury, these interesting me- 
 morials of ancient times were destroyed ; 
 and we were informed that the cathedral 
 itself was saved only in consequence of
 
 lo3 
 
 its having been formally dedicated as the 
 Temple of Reason. 
 
 On our way from the church of the 
 Hospice to the cathedral, we passed 
 through a market-place, where we saw 
 three malefactors, exposed on a scaffold, 
 and tied to stakes, with chains round 
 their necks, and labels over their heads 
 denoting their crimes, and the punishment 
 to which they had consequently been 
 sentenced. The offence of which each 
 had been guilty was burglary ; and one of 
 them was condemned to hard labour for 
 life, the other two for ten years. As far 
 as exposure is intended to constitute a 
 part of the penalty of the law, this mode 
 of exhibition is preferable to the painful 
 one of the pillory — and a few military at 
 once served to guard the culprits, and 
 to protect them from the mob, who, 
 however, shewed no disposition to mo- 
 lest shem. 
 
 From the cathedral we w^ent to the 
 neighbouring church of St.Ouen. This 
 too is of Gothic architecture ; but is 
 much more light and graceful than the 
 cathedral. The altar-piece of marble is
 
 154 
 
 particularly handsome. Over the great 
 gate, and in the two extremities of the 
 transverse window, are shewn three beau- 
 tiful roses ; the two latter were executed 
 in 1439, the one by Alexander lierneuil, 
 and the other by one of his apprentices. 
 A tradition has been handed down from 
 sacristan to sacristan, that the workman- 
 ship of the pupil being esteemed by con- 
 noisseurs superior to that of the master, 
 the latter was so maddened by envy that 
 he murdered his competitor. 
 
 We next repaired to the Hotel de Ville^ 
 which contains, besides the requisite mu- 
 nicipal offices, a library consisting of se- 
 venty thousand volumes ; and a grand 
 gallery, containing upwards of three hun- 
 dred paintings. The major part of these 
 were not of a class above mediocrity. 
 One Raphael, a few Paul Veroneses, and 
 two Salvator Rosas, however, are ex- 
 cellent. 
 
 From the Hotel de Ville we proceeded 
 to the celebrated bridge thrown over the 
 Seine, and formed of barges fastened upon 
 piles let through their extremities, which 
 rise and fall according to the state of the
 
 155 
 
 tide. Tliis bridge is paved and bordered 
 on each side with a footway ; — but, 
 upon the whole, it is said to be more 
 curious than convenient, and is kept up 
 at a considerable expence. On returning 
 to our hotel I called at a bookseller's 
 shop, which I found very respectably 
 furnished : — and as booksellers' shops af- 
 ford a tolerable criterion of the encourage- 
 ment given to literature, in their several 
 localities, I should conclude, j[i'om this 
 circumstance, that learning and science 
 are by no means neglected in Rouen. 
 
 After dinner we went to the theatre, a 
 large handsome building, the boxes of 
 which were crowded, principally by mili- 
 tary officers. The pit, according to the 
 fashion of old times, was unprovided with 
 seats, a circumstance which gave the 
 whole of the house an air of discomfort. 
 The play of the evening w^as the Cinna of 
 Corneille ; from which I expected much 
 amusement, especially as it abounds in 
 political sentiments, which I imagined 
 would, by the mode of their reception, 
 give an index of the present feelings of 
 tlie French nation. But I was disap-
 
 156 
 
 pointed. The acting was, upon the whole, 
 wretcliedly bad, and the audience seemed 
 to take no interest in the piece. The 
 part of Cinna was supported by a de- 
 butant^ who made a most hideous noise, 
 and excited universal merriment, which 
 his egregious vanity mistook for applause. 
 At the end of the third act we retired, 
 fully satiated with French provincial 
 theatricals. On our return to our hotel 
 we were better and more cheaply grati- 
 fied by a ballad-singer, who was enter- 
 taining a numerous audience with a song 
 in praise of the new order of things ; one 
 verse of which, promising, under the 
 peaceful auspices of Louis, husbands to 
 the young women, was received by the 
 females with unbounded applause. We 
 were also entertained by groupes of dan- 
 cers, who, till a late hour, kept up their 
 festivities in honour of St. John. 
 
 The town of Rouen is of considerable 
 extent, and its general air and aspect give 
 strong indications of the industry and 
 wealth of its inhabitants. Its population 
 is estimated at eighty thousand. Situated 
 on the Seine, which is navigable as far as
 
 157 
 
 the bridge of boats, by vessels of re- 
 spectable size, it enjoys a considerable 
 degree of commerce. It has long been 
 celebrated for its manufactories of linen 
 cloth and light stuffs. Of late years its 
 cotton factories have been in a state of 
 great activity ; and it formerly exported 
 considerable quantities of earthen- ware. 
 Half surrounded by hills, which guard it 
 from the more inclement winds, and 
 leave it open to the south, it is remark- 
 ably healthy J and nothing can exceed 
 the beauty of its environs. But, if I 
 may be permitted to form a judgment by 
 the criterion of our bill at the Hdtel 
 de France, Rouen is by no means to 
 be recommended to those who would 
 wish to live well at a reasonable rate of 
 expence. 
 
 Having hired, for 120 francs, a coach 
 and three horses to conduct us to Paris, we 
 rose early on Sunday morning, June 26th, 
 to take a last look at the grand entrance of 
 the cathedral. Not far from this edifice I 
 perceived a dilapidated building, which, 
 on examination, I found to be a ruined 
 church, which had been converted into a
 
 1j8 
 
 7-emise for the diligence, and into stabling 
 for post horses. In the range of small 
 windows over one of the side aisles, 1 
 remarked many fragments of painted 
 glass, of which my travelling-companion 
 procured a beautiful specimen ; and one 
 of the west windows remained entire, 
 though covered with dirt ; which, how- 
 ever, could not hide the rich colours 
 which glowed in its compartments. The 
 whole of this building is so neglected, 
 that I doubt not the window in question 
 may be bought extremely clieap. 
 
 At seven o'clock we took our depar- 
 ture from Rouen, and proceeded on the 
 road to Paris by St. Germain en Laye. 
 In the immediate vicinity of Rouen we 
 had bold cliffs of chalk on the left, and 
 on the right the Seine studded with islets, 
 and, by its windings, ever varying the 
 landscape. Tlie general prospect was ren- 
 dered grand by the abundance of wood ; 
 and all the crops exhibited a most luxu- 
 riant vegetation, and a pleasing promise 
 of plenty. About four miles from Rouen 
 we paused for some minutes, to examine 
 an interesting landscape, which burst
 
 lo9 
 
 suddenly on our view. On the left rose 
 a high eminence ; below us was the Seine, 
 bordered with villages ; and, in the dis- 
 tance, was a bold hill, which seemed to 
 dip its foot in the river. At the town of 
 St.Ouen, where we found the markets 
 arranged and the shops open, we crossed 
 the Seine, over a bridge of twelve arches 
 on which are constructed a couple of 
 mills. About a mile from thence we 
 ascended a high hill ; and, after pass- 
 ing through an extensive forest, pro- 
 ceeded to Louviers, where we took break- 
 fast. Louviers is a considerable town, 
 celebrated for its manufacture of wool- 
 len cloths, which we were told had of late 
 years been in a very flourishing con- 
 dition. Near the inn was a large church, 
 to which I went to hear mass. The ser- 
 vice was performed in a grand style by a 
 number of priests and choristers, aided 
 by a finely toned organ. The audience 
 filled the building ; and, I think, could 
 not amount to less than fifteen hundred 
 people, principally women. From their 
 occasional talking and laughing, however, 
 I was led to conclude their devotion rather
 
 160 
 
 mechanical than real ; and my feelings 
 were annoyed as they had been at Dieppe, 
 by the introduction of light, tripping airs 
 on the organ. After the conchision of 
 mass, notice was given that on the next 
 Sunday a solemn service would be per- 
 formed, and a sermon preached in com- 
 memoration of the martyrdom of the 
 late Louis XVI. I should be much in- 
 clined to question the prudence of these 
 exhibitions, the example of which was 
 given by the newly enthroned monarch. 
 On his accession he promised to dis- 
 courage all unpleasant retrospections; and 
 this promise he will do well to perform. 
 Any exasperation of the public mind 
 tending to the excitement of discord will 
 be dangerous to his imperfectly ascertain- 
 ed authority. 
 
 From Louviers we went through a rich 
 and highly cultivated country to Vernon. 
 Here, while dinner was preparing, I 
 lounged into the stable, where I found 
 a number of cavalry horses. Being struck 
 with the beauty of one of them I was 
 proceeding to examine it, when I was ac- 
 costed by its owner, who happened to be 
 6
 
 161 
 
 a captain of the Imperial Guard. We 
 discoursed some time upon cavalry equip- 
 ments. Though he was not unwilling to 
 do justice to the power of the British ca- 
 valry, he preferred, for the details of a 
 campaign, the lightness and activity of 
 the French. Turning from this topic, 
 which I did not feel myself qualified to dis- 
 cuss, I touched him on the subject of the 
 Emperor. This I did very gently, by ob- 
 serving, that Napoleon was a man of ex- 
 traordinary genius. On hearing his late 
 master thus characterized, the soldier's 
 eyes immediately glistened with pleasure ; 
 and he requested that I would do him the 
 favour to drink a glass of his wine, which 
 he had left to look after his horse. I told 
 him I had not yet dined j but that if 
 he would become my guest, I should be 
 happy to see him. He accordingly ac- 
 companied me to our apartment. On 
 his recurring to the subject of Bonaparte's 
 character, I thought it my duty to qua- 
 lify what I had said in commendation of 
 his talents, by remarking that his ambi- 
 tion was so unbounded, that while his 
 power lasted it was impossible for his 
 
 M
 
 163 
 
 neighbours to rest in security. This 
 drew from my new acquaintance a vehe- 
 ment philippic against Talleyrand and 
 the Senate, who, he said, had instigated 
 Napoleon to every mischievous act which 
 he had committed ; and after involving 
 him in tiifficulties had basely deserted 
 and betrayed him. " But the seizure of 
 the sceptre of Spain? " — That was the 
 suggestion of Talleyrand. — " And the 
 expedition to Russia? " — Was suggested 
 by Talle}Tand ; and after all it only failed/ 
 in consequence of the premature setting 
 in of the frost. In short, I found that 
 Napoleon could do no wrong; and that 
 for ev^ery error into which he had fallen, 
 and for every crime of which he had 
 been guilty, his minister was to be made 
 responsible. But on the contrary Louis 
 XVIII. could do nothing right. He had 
 falsified, said the plain-spoken soldier, 
 every promise he had made on his acces- 
 sion to the throne. He had accepted a 
 constitution, but had violated every article 
 of it. He had solemnly engaged to conti- 
 nue the constituted authorities as he 
 found them, but he had made the most
 
 163 
 
 capricious changes ; he had flattered the 
 army with assurances that he had the 
 most perfect rehance on their support, 
 and yet he had sent the Imperial Guard 
 away from Paris; he had diminished their 
 privileges and appointments, and intend- 
 ed to revive the old establishment of the 
 Gardes Sidsses. To say all in a word, he 
 had given himself up to the guidance of 
 " those rascally priests," whose ' evil 
 counsel had brought his brother to the 
 scaffold. He was also led into error by 
 the returning emigres, men who had de- 
 serted their country at a period when 
 their services were most needful, and 
 now had the audacity to lay claim to the 
 most distinguished honours. With con^ 
 siderable humour Monsieur le Capitaine 
 mimicked the air and manner of one of 
 these characters, an old man of seventy, 
 whom he had lately heard declare his in- 
 tention of serving under the new regime 
 in a military capacity, under the idea that 
 he could make his marches, and even his 
 charges in a cabriolet. He then asked 
 me w^hat we thought of Louis in England ; 
 to which I replied that he had lived so 
 
 M 2
 
 164 
 
 much in retirement, that little or nothing 
 had been said among us of his habits 
 or proceedings, till the late events had 
 summoned him from his retreat. " Je 
 vous coniprends" rejoined he, " il a bien 
 mange et bien domiiy et voild de grands 
 preparatifs pour condidre les affaires dhin 
 grand royaumeJ' In short he was full 
 of grief and bitterness of spirit ; and on 
 my suggesting to him the probability of 
 his incurring peril in consequence of his 
 freedom of speech, he said he had no 
 fears on that head, for he spoke the sen- 
 timents of t-housands, as I should find 
 when I arrived at Paris, which city he 
 said was very sad, and very discontented. 
 This man had undergone the horrors of 
 the campaign of Moscow ! 
 
 Taking our leave of him, we proceeded 
 by a delightful route, the beauties of 
 which were enlivened by groups of pea- 
 sants dancing, to Mantes, where we ar- 
 rived at a quarter before nine. Having 
 bes])oken and inspected our beds, we 
 walked into the town. Visiting the 
 church we found it hung with black, and 
 observed a catafalque erected in the choir.
 
 165 
 
 in honour of Louis XVI. Opposite to 
 the church door was a party of young 
 women busily employed in playing at 
 nine pins. We next looked into the 
 theatre, which we found crowded with 
 company. Here we did not stay many 
 minutes, but returning to our inn, got 
 supper and retired to rest. 
 
 On Monday morning, June 27th, we 
 left Mantes soon after five o'clock. ' At 
 the extremity of the town we crossed 
 the Seine by bridges thrown over two 
 streams formed by the intervention of an 
 island in the middle of the river. To 
 the right we saw a handsome Gothic 
 church. Beyond the bridge several 
 troops of British cavalry, which had con- 
 stituted a part of Lord Wellington's 
 army, were parading for a march to 
 Gisors, on their route to Boulogne. Our 
 countrymen in arms, who, after aiding, by 
 their valour, to conquer a peace, were 
 quietly pursuing their way home through 
 a country which had so lately been deter- 
 minedly hostile to them, afforded a new 
 and interesting spectacle j and I was 
 M 3
 
 166 
 
 happy to observe, that though all but the 
 officers had taken up their lodging on the 
 cold ground, both men and horses looked 
 remarkably well. We now proceeded 
 through a country which may be styled 
 a continued garden, the ground on the 
 left rising into gentle hills covered with 
 vineyards, corn, pease, and pulse of all 
 kinds. By the road side, which was 
 planted with chesnut trees, peasant chil- 
 dren were employed in watching their 
 cattle, to prevent them from straying from 
 the patches of grass ground, which were 
 intermixed with crops of grain. On the 
 left flowed the Seine, beyond which 
 was a tract thickly interspersed with 
 wood. On various occasions, as we went 
 s'lowly up eminences in the road, roses, 
 and branches of cherry trees, with the 
 fruitgrowing on them, were thrown into the 
 carriage by children, whom we of course 
 rewarded for their civility with a few 
 sous. As we stopped to give the horses 
 water at a considerable village, the name of 
 which I do not now recollect, we were not 
 a little amused by seeing a blacksmith at
 
 167 
 
 work with his hair fully powdered and 
 dressed en queue, and an enoimous pair 
 of gold rings pendant at his ears. 
 
 At the town of Poissy we again 
 crossed the Seine over a very long bridge, 
 in the middle of which are two or three 
 mills. Soon after, we entered, through 
 an iron gate, the forest of St.Germaine, 
 an extensive ti'act of wood divided by 
 strait avenues which penetrate it in all 
 directions. At the extremity of the fo- 
 rest we found the town of St.Germaine, 
 where we took breakfast, and then re- 
 paired to the terrace of the palace, which 
 commands a charming view of the ad- 
 jacent country. On the left and in the 
 centre of the prospect we saw St. Denis 
 and Paris ; and on the right Malmaison, 
 St. Cloud, and the district of Versailles. 
 On the ever memorable 30th of March, 
 this spot wascrowdedwith people, who dis- 
 tinctly saw,wdth various and undescribable 
 emotions, the battle which preceded the 
 surrender of Paris. We found the pa- 
 lace, which is a gloomy and inelegant 
 brick building, surrounded by stone walls 
 and a deep ditch, over which, opposite 
 M 4
 
 168 
 
 the gate, was thrown a draw-bridge. The 
 whole edifice had the air of a state- 
 prison ; and, on enquiry, we found, that 
 it might well class with buildings of 
 that description. It was Napoleon's 
 principal military school ; and his me- 
 thod of supplying it with pupils, af- 
 fords an instance of that tyranny in 
 detail, which was, no doubt, one of the 
 primary causes of his ruin. Whenever 
 he was apprised, by his agents, that any 
 individual of rank or wealtli had a son 
 who was strong, active, and spirited, 
 and the youth had attained the age of 
 sixteen or seventeen, the Emperor ad- 
 dressed a letter to the parent, congra- 
 tulating him on the early promise of his 
 child, and graciously offering, if he des- 
 tined him for the army, to admit him 
 into his school at St. Germaine ; and pro- 
 mising, on his good behaviour, to cause 
 him to make his way rapidly in the ser- 
 vice. This letter was well understood to 
 be a command. The young man was 
 accordingly severed from his domestic 
 connections. He was shut up in the 
 palace, where, for the space of three
 
 169 
 
 years, he was precluded from personal 
 conimiuiicatioii with his friends ; and 
 emj)loyed, from five in the morning till 
 ten at night, in studying, scientifically and 
 practically, the military art. At the 
 expiration of that time he w^as liberated 
 from confinement, and sent, with a com- 
 mission in his pocket, to join the regi- 
 ment to w^hich it was thought expedient 
 to attach him. When we consider the 
 waste of life which was occasioned by 
 Bonaparte-'s campaigns, we may easily 
 conceive that the pupils of his military 
 academies were regarded as for ever lost 
 to their relatives and friends. Four 
 hundred youths were at this time im- 
 mured in the palace, and were to be re- 
 stored to their parents on the breaking 
 up of the establishment, which we un- 
 derstood was to take place in two days 
 from the period of our visit. What a 
 subject must this gaol-delivery afford 
 to the pen of a sentimental traveller, 
 should any such character witness the 
 transaction ! Our guide, from whom we 
 obtained this information, was a retired 
 soldier who had an allowance as an in-
 
 170 
 
 valid, of eight sous a day. He acknow- 
 ledged that most of the military were 
 friendly to Bonaparte, but still was of 
 opinion, that the sentiments of the na- 
 tion at large would preclude his re-esta- 
 blishment on the throne. 
 
 At noon we left St. Germaine, and at 
 the extremity of the town descended a 
 hill by a road, bordered, as usual, with 
 trees. We still had the Seine on our left 
 hand, and a forest to the right. Passing 
 by the water-works of Marli, at the dis- 
 tance of about three miles from St. Ger- 
 maine, we skirted the house and grounds 
 of Malmaison, which latter seemed va- 
 riegated and extensive. In the neigh- 
 bouring town rises the spire of the church 
 in which the empress Josephine was lately 
 buried. The frequent occurrence of ta- 
 verns and chateaux now indicated our 
 near approach to the capital. We again 
 crossed the Seine, over a most magnifi- 
 cent bridge, opposite to which we passed 
 a triumphal arch, begun by Bonaparte, 
 but left unfinished. Soon after this, at 
 the extremity of a long avenue of trees, 
 I saw the white flag waving upon the
 
 171 
 
 central pavilion of the Tluiilleries ; and, 
 driving throiigli the Cham})s Elysees, we 
 entered Paris by tlie Place Louis XV., 
 and proceeding from thence to the Place 
 Vendome, we saw the column erected 
 by Napoleon, in commemoration of his 
 German campaign of 1805. ^^ the place 
 of his statue, which had lately been taken 
 down from the top of this column and 
 conveyed to Russia, is substituted the 
 ensign of the Bourbons. Having found 
 comfortable accommodations at the Hotel 
 de Mirabeau in the Rue de la Paii\ for- 
 merly Rue Napoleon^ which opens into 
 the Place Vendome, we engaged a suite 
 of apartments, and after enjoying the 
 refreshments of a warm bath in the 
 neighbouring boulevard, took a late din- 
 ner, and spent the evening quietly at 
 home, to recruit for the expected bustle 
 of the following day. 
 
 Tuesday morning, June 28th. Soon 
 after breakfast we w ent to the police of- 
 fice, where, on exhibiting our passport, 
 w^e obtained a licence to stay at Paris for 
 three months. In this document our 
 dimensions were stated, and our persons
 
 1?2 
 
 very particularly described. This process 
 is disagreeable to the feelings of an 
 Englishman, who has been accustomed 
 to travel without question or restraint; 
 but it must be acknowledged, that at the 
 Bureau de la Police he experiences no 
 unnecessary delay ; and that no tax is 
 levied upon his purse. 
 
 We next drove to the Post Office, and 
 thence proceeded in all haste to the 
 Louvre, which I entered in almost 
 breatliless expectation. After enjoying 
 for some time the astonishment of my 
 fellow traveller, on seeing the apparently 
 endless collection of pictures with which 
 the grand gallery is filled, I w^as happy to 
 remark a great improvement in their ar- 
 rangement. Most of the side windows, 
 which formerly gave such an imperfect 
 light, are now closed, and the light is 
 admitted through windows, pierced in 
 the covings of the arched roof. As it 
 would require years to study the whole 
 of this collection, I went round the gal- 
 lery, marking in my catalogue about a 
 score of paintings, which I thought most 
 worthy of future inspection ; and began
 
 173 
 
 my detailed examination with Rubens*s 
 celebrated Descent from the Cross, and a 
 Holy Family by Raphael. After spending 
 some time in this study, I descended the 
 grand stair-case^ and entered the reposi- 
 tory of statues. The general coup d'ceil 
 of these specimens of the perfection of 
 art, again aifected me with a kind of awe, 
 which strongly revived my recollection 
 of my last visit to this place. After 
 gazing at the Laocoon, I looked round 
 for the Venus de' Medici, which is one of 
 the numerous additions made to the 
 collection of statuary since the year 
 1802. But when I found this celebrated 
 piece of sculpture, I was disappointed. 
 My pre-conceived notions of grace and 
 beauty w^ere by no means fulfilled. The 
 execution of this statue seemed to me to 
 be so far from excellent, that I thought I 
 had seen some copies equal to the original. 
 And in this opinion I was confirmed by 
 frequent subsequent examinations. In 
 truth, the Venus fades into insignificance 
 when compared with the Apollo Belvidere. 
 The former is indeed beautiful ; but its 
 beauty is terrestrial. The latter in form, 
 
 5
 
 174 
 
 attitude, and countenance, appears to be 
 sonmething superhuman. 
 
 Quitting the Musee des Arts with re- 
 gret at four o'clock, the hour wlien it is 
 closed, I had leisure to examine the 
 exterior of the building, which has been 
 lately beautified by the scraping of the' 
 stone work, and is now restored to its 
 primitive state of whiteness. Many 
 houses are also cleared away, which 
 obstructed the view of the palace ; and 
 on the north side of the Carousel, a range 
 of buildings is in forwardness, which, 
 joining the Thuilleries, will, when it is 
 finished, correspond with the grand 
 gallery of the Louvre. When the plan 
 of improvement, which now clearly de- 
 V elopes itself, is completed, the Place dii 
 Carousel will constitute one of the finest 
 squares in Europe. 
 
 From the Louvre I went to the Biblio- 
 theque Royale where I delivered a letter 
 of recommendation to the chief librarian' 
 M. Van Praet, who received us with the 
 liberality of a gentleman, and a scholar. 
 Hence I hastened to the Palais Royal, 
 where, on looking for a Restaurateur's,
 
 175 
 
 Mr. Y. and I were fortunate enough to 
 stumble upon Beldame's, which from this 
 day we constituted our head quarters for 
 dining, as we found that we were pro- 
 vided with an excellent dinner, consisting 
 of soup, fish, and two plates of meat, a 
 dessert, and a bottle of vin de Became 
 for about five shillings a head. It was 
 here that I first observed ladies come 
 unattended by gentlemen and take their 
 dinners in a public room ; a custom which 
 would be reckoned grossly unbecoming 
 ill London, but is by no means uncom- 
 mon in Paris. 
 ^ In the evening we went to the Theatre 
 Francais to see the comedy of X« 
 Coquette Corrigee. We took our places in 
 the pit, for which we paid two francs, 
 twenty cents. As the play is a favourite 
 one, a crow^d was assembled at the door, 
 through which, Englishman like, I was 
 proceeding to make my way, when I 
 was peremptorily, but civilly stopped by a 
 soldier, who led me to the end of the 
 queue, and told me I must wait patiently 
 for my turn of admission. The admo- 
 nition of a man with a sword by his side
 
 176 
 
 and a musket in his hand is not to be 
 ilisregarded, so I acted according to his 
 instructions ; and was soon admitted into 
 a kind of pen, in whicli a convenient 
 number of persons were impounded to 
 take their order of introduction ; whence 
 after paying our entrance money and re- 
 ceiving our check- tickets mc were ad- 
 mitted singly into the hall of tlie theatre, 
 from which several doors conduct into the 
 pit. The use of military as officers of 
 police is unpopular in England — but it 
 cannot be denied that it tends to enforce 
 regularity in places of public resort. 
 
 La Coquette Corrigee is what we call in 
 England a genteel comedy ; and was ex- 
 tremely well performed. I was particu- 
 larly struck with the ease and graceful- 
 ness of Mademoiselle Mars, a beautifid 
 woman with fine dark and expressive 
 eyes, which spoke to the very heart. 
 There was nothing in the conduct of the 
 piece which was extravagant or carica- 
 tured. All was simple and jiatural, and 
 the ideas of the author were given by 
 every perfonner with the utmost accuracy 
 and delicacy.
 
 1T7 
 
 During the interval between the first 
 und second acts, Mr. Y. asked me which 
 was the royal box. I pointed it out to 
 him, and said, that twelve years ago I had 
 seen it occupied by the First Consul. Yes, 
 said a Frencli gentleman who sat on my 
 right hand, and three months ago you 
 might have seen it occupied by the 
 Emperor. *' In that space of time,'* said I, 
 " wonderful changes have taken place." 
 " True," replied my new acquaintance, 
 " and these changes have been princi- 
 pally effected by the persevering valour of 
 the English." On this, a person who sat 
 behind him, said in a surly tone — *' The 
 English are a presuming people ; they 
 arrogate much more to themselves than 
 thev are entitled to." As he seemed to 
 address this speech to me, I begged him 
 to recollect that his observations were to- 
 tally unprovoked on my part, as I had 
 arrogated nothing either to myself or my 
 country; and that I did not come to 
 Paris to involve myself in political dis- 
 cussions, since my principles led me to 
 wish that every country might manage its 
 own concerns. This appeal was cora- 
 
 N
 
 if 8 
 
 mended by the bye-standers, but did not 
 satisfy my antagonist, who drily repHed, 
 that it would have been well for France 
 and for all Europe if my countrjmen had 
 acted upon this princij)le in the year 
 1793. 1 was glad to retreat from this 
 discussion, into a conversation with ano- 
 ther gentleman upon the subject of 
 London actors ; but coidd hardly retain 
 tlie requisite gravity, when, suddenly di- 
 gressing from this topic, he asked me 
 whether it was true that the Princess 
 Charlotte had refused the hand of the 
 Prince of Orange, and that she was soon 
 to be married to the Duke de Berri ? I 
 answered him that the former circum- 
 stance was true ; but that the latter could 
 not possibly bo so, as such a match would 
 be contrary to our constitution : and, con- 
 tinued I, ** We English respect our con- 
 stitution." He understood the emphasis 
 with whicii I uttered these words, and 
 said that though my remark conveyed 
 an indirect censure on the fickleness of 
 the French, that censure was too well 
 merited by their conduct. 
 
 Wednesday morning, June 29th, whilst
 
 179 
 
 I was meditating before breakfast, upon 
 the wonderful embellishments which had 
 been made by Bonaparte in every part of 
 the city oi' Paris which I had visited 
 yesterday, my serv^ant brought me the 
 Joiaiial den Debats. On perusing this 
 paper, I was disgusted by a time-scr\'ing 
 diatribe, written by u certain Amanty 
 Duval, who, in an essay on Fountains, 
 has the meanness, in the very view of 
 the edifices which give a practical 
 and palpable contradiction to his asser- 
 tion, to state as matter of reproach, 
 that Bonaparte " n'avoit pas la passion 
 de hatir." Had this WTetched scribbler 
 called into question the good taste of 
 the Ex-emperor, he might at least have 
 found room for argument : but to say 
 that he had no passion for building out- 
 herods herod in point of hardihood ot 
 assertion. Throwing the journal aside 
 I w^alked to the Carousel, and took 
 a second survey of the improvements 
 which are now carrying on there, and 
 mimitely examined the triimiphal arch 
 erected opposite to the great gate of the 
 Tuilleries. TJiis arch, which is built 
 
 N 2
 
 180 
 
 of free-stone, consists, like that of Sep- 
 timius Severus at Rome, of three arcades. 
 Four columns of red marble on each of 
 the principal facades disfigure rather than 
 ornament the edifice. They have little 
 to support, and their glaring colour, as 
 contrasted with the free-stone, has a bad 
 effect. On the top of the centre arcade . 
 is a triumphal car, to which are harnessed 
 the celebrated Venetian horses. 8ix bas- 
 reliefs record the memorable events of 
 the cam})aign of 1805. — The first of 
 these represents the capitulation of the 
 Austrian army, under General Mack, at 
 Ulm — the second, the battle, or rather 
 the victory, of Austerlitz — the third. 
 Napoleon's tiiumphal entry into Vienna — 
 the fourth, the restoration of the King of 
 Bavaria to his capital — the fifth, the humi- 
 liating visit of the Emperor of Austria to 
 the head-quarters of the French army, 
 afler the battle of Austerlitz — the sixth, 
 the peace of Presburg. The minor com- 
 partments of the arch are occupied by 
 figures representing tlie different cos- 
 tumes of the French soldiery, and by 
 allegorical figures, of which a minute
 
 181 
 
 detail may be found in tlie Guide to 
 Paris. It is highly to the credit of the 
 discipline of the allied armies, that this 
 monument of successful vanity has not 
 sustained the slightest injury. In a time 
 of profound peace, the details of its com- 
 position must have been highly offensive 
 to the feelings of many a gallant man. 
 How must we then respect that military 
 system, which, in the moment of victory, 
 and, during a two months* occupation of 
 Paris, could check the^thousands of hands 
 which would gladly have been raised for 
 its destruction ! 
 
 At the opening of the Louvre gallery 
 I repaired thither, and continued my 
 study of the paintings and statues which 
 I had selected as principally worthy of 
 notice. Here I met and conversed with 
 a British officer, who complained that, 
 during the march of our cavalry from the 
 south of France, after the signature of 
 the treaty of peace, the horses and men 
 were not admitted into- quarters, but were 
 obliged to bivouac. This, I have been 
 since told, was not any extraordinary 
 hardship j but, from some circumstances 
 N 3
 
 182 
 
 Mhich liiktl occurred to my observation 
 since my arrival in Paris, I was prepared 
 to subscribe to the opinion of this officer, 
 that the French were not disposed to be 
 very civil to the English. 
 
 As wc were provided with a special 
 letter of recommendation to Sir Charles 
 Stuart, the British envoy at the court of 
 France, we this morning w^aited on His 
 Excellency, who received us with the 
 utmost politeness, and desired us freely 
 to apply to him, should there be any pro- 
 bability of his being able to facilitate the 
 accomplishment of any of the views whicli 
 brought us to Paris. From Sir Charles*s 
 hotel we went to call on Mons. Langles, 
 the celebrated Orientalist, with w horn we 
 spent some time in inspecting the curi- 
 osities of his cabinet, and from whom 
 we obtained much a aluable information 
 with regard to collections of engravings 
 and works of mmlern art lately executed, 
 or now in progress in the French metro- 
 pohs. From Mons. Langles' I went to 
 the Place Vendoirte, to examine the grand 
 colunm substituted by Napoleon for the 
 equestrian statue of Louis XIV., which
 
 18:3 
 
 was removed by the populace at the com- 
 mencement of the llevohttion. This co- 
 lumn is 133 feet in heiglit, and 12 in 
 diameter. In imitation of Trajan's pillar, 
 it is adorned by a course of bas-reliefs, 
 running in a spiral line, and representing 
 the principal events of the, celebrated 
 campaign in which Bonaparte destroyed, 
 apparently for ever, the power of the 
 House of Austria. These bas-reliefs are 
 not, however, cut in stone ; they are ap- 
 propriately cast in brass, produced from 
 the melting of the cannon taken at the bat- 
 tle of Austerlitz. At each angle of the pe- 
 destal stands an eagle in bronze supporting 
 a wreath of laurels. The four faces of the 
 pedestal are richly ornamented with sculp- 
 tures ; and on the south side is a tablet, 
 supported by two female figures, on which, 
 is engraved the following inscription : 
 
 NAPOLEO. IMP. AUG. 
 
 MONUMENTUM BELLI GERMANIC! 
 
 ANNO MDCCCV 
 
 TRIMESTRI SPATIO DUCTV SVO PROFLIGATI 
 
 EX AERE CAPTO 
 
 GLORIAE EXERCITVS MAXIMI DICAVIT>
 
 i84 
 
 On the capital oftliis column Ibmierfy 
 stood a statue of Napoleon ; but in its 
 place, as I have before observed, is now 
 substituted the white flag of the French 
 monarchy. 
 
 From the Place Vendome I went to 
 the Bibliotheque Royale^ where I em- 
 ployed myself in reading till four 
 o'clock. 
 
 After dining at Beldame's I accom- 
 panied Mr.Y. to the Theatre Frangais. 
 This was a night of more than common 
 interest, as, by order of the Court, there 
 was to be represented Voltaire's tragedy 
 of Merope ; the performance of which, 
 it is said, had been interdicted by Bona- 
 parte. On the appearance of the music, 
 the predominant feelings of the audience 
 were soon manifested, by their calling 
 for the airs of Henry IV. and Charmante 
 Gab) idle. They soon after again burst 
 forth in the opening speech of Ismenie, 
 when she says — 
 
 " Vous que tant de Constance et quinze ans dc 
 roisere 
 Font encore plus auguste, et nous rendent plus 
 chdr."
 
 185 
 
 And so excellent was the acting of 
 Merope, that I could not myself help ex- 
 periencing a kind of thrill, when, in de- 
 scribing the massacre which had taken 
 place at Messenia, she exclaimed-^ 
 
 *' J'entends encore ces voix, ces lamentable cris, 
 Ces cris — Sauvez le roi, son epouse et ses fils, 
 Je vois ces murs sanglans, ces portes em- 
 
 brasees, 
 Sous ces lambris fumans ces femmes ecrasees, 
 Ces esclaves fuyans, le tumulte, I'efFroi, 
 Les armes, les flambeaux, la mort autour de 
 
 moi." 
 
 If these lines made such an impression 
 upon my mind, what effect must they 
 have had upon the surviving French 
 loyalists who witnessed the horrors of the 
 loth of August, 1792 ? 
 
 The following speech was loudly ap- 
 plied to Bonaparte : 
 
 " La fiere ambition, dont il est devore 
 Est inquiete, ardente, et n'a rien de sacre, 
 S'il chassa les brigands de Pilos et d'Amphrise 
 S'il a sauve Messene, il croit I'avoir conquise. 
 II agit pour lui seul, il veut tout asservir : 
 II touche a la couronne ; et pour mieux la 
 
 ravir. 
 II n'est point de rempart que sa main ne ren- 
 
 verse 
 De loix qu'il ne corrompe, et de sang qu'il ne 
 
 verse."
 
 186 
 
 These and many other appropriate pas- 
 sages were received with enthusiasm by 
 a majority of the audience. But a kind 
 of desperate rally, which was made at the 
 occurrence of other sentiments, evinced 
 that the friends, or rather the partizans, 
 of IN apoleon, were still in sufficient force 
 to sliew themselves in public. The first 
 occurrence of this nature took place at 
 the following speech of Polifonte : 
 
 " Un soldat tel que moi peut justement pretcndre 
 A gouverner I'etat quand il I'a su dt'fendre. 
 Le premier qui fut roi fut un soldat heurcux." 
 
 And the most bitter sensation was 
 manifested by many people in all quarters 
 of the house, on the repetition of a 
 striking description of time-serving poll- 
 ticians. 
 
 " Non : la porte est livree a leur troupe cruellc .: 
 II est environne de la foulc infidelle 
 Des memes courtisans que j'ai vus autrefois 
 S'empresser a ma suite, et ramper sous nies 
 loix." 
 
 On Thursday morning, June 30th, we 
 repeated our visit to Mr.Langles', who 
 favouied us with a particular recom- 
 mendation to the curator of the extensive
 
 187 
 
 ct)llecti()n of })rii)ts deposited in the Bib- 
 liothcque Roijalc, After spending some 
 time in examining the works of a few of 
 the ancient masters of the art of engrav- 
 ing, I went to the library, where, by the 
 kindness of M. Van Praet, I was per- 
 mitted to inspect vohnne after volume 
 of the utmost rarity ; among the rest, 
 some of the earliest specimens of ty})o- 
 graphy, several Aldus's, and the Flo- 
 rentine Homer, printed on vellum, and 
 a copy of the famous Bocaccio, for the 
 fellow of which, the Marquis of Bland- 
 ford, in a fit of bibliomania, lately gave 
 upwards of 2000I. I next turned over 
 the catalogue of MSS. with a view of 
 ascertaining what this truly royal collec- 
 tion contains, illustrative of the literary 
 liistory of the 14th and 15th centuries. 
 At three o'clock I repeated my visit to 
 the gallery of the Louvre, where I exa- 
 mined several of the bas-reliefs whicli 
 are in wonderfully fine preservation, and 
 the Nointel marbles, which record the 
 names of Athenian officers and soldiers 
 who died in battle in the third year of 
 the 80th Olymjiiad. After dining at the
 
 188 
 
 l*alais Royal, I went with Mr. Y. to the 
 Odeon. Here, instead of the Italian 
 opera, which we expected, we were 
 treated with a very dull three-act French 
 comedy. This we found so tiresome, 
 that we quitted the theatre before the 
 termination of the first piece, and after 
 making some purchases at a warehouse 
 of philosophical trinkets, we returned to 
 our hotel. 
 
 Friday, July ist. We had this morn- 
 ing the pleasure of a visit from Mons. 
 T., a young gentleman of considerable 
 promise, who, after completing his edu- 
 cation in one of Bonaparte's military 
 schools, had lately obtained a lieutenant- 
 ship of artillery. He had been in 
 Paris when the allies presented themselves 
 before the city, and gave us a very lively 
 picture of the confusion which that event 
 occasioned. The Parisians had been kept 
 in such ignorance by the suppression of 
 all authentic intelligence in the pubhc 
 journals, that they could not believe, the 
 fact when they were informed that the 
 enemy were approaching. Many of the 
 incredulous mounted their hors#s and
 
 189 
 
 rode towards Meaux to make personal 
 enquiries into the real state of affairs. 
 In the course of two or three hours 
 after their departure they were seen 
 galloping back ; some of them wounded, 
 and all in the utmost consternatioil. The 
 Boulevards were so crowded with people 
 who were assembled to hear the news, 
 that the troops, ammunition-caissons, and 
 artillery which were perpetually passing, 
 could with difficulty force a way through 
 them : and in a short time dismay was 
 spread over every countenance by the 
 thunder of the ciumon, announcing the 
 connnencement of the engagement. Mr. 
 T.*s corps was ordered to the heights 
 of Montmartre, on their way to which 
 they met a line of waggons filled wuth. 
 their wounded comrades. Montmartre 
 was furnished only with a single bat- 
 tery of four or five pieces ; and in the 
 heat of the action the fresh balls which 
 were supplied to these pieces were found 
 to be of a wrong calibre. This circum- 
 stance w^as imputed to treachery on the 
 part of Marshal Marmont, who, our 
 young soldier informed us, was generally
 
 190 
 
 accused of betraying the cause of Bona- 
 parte, and was on that account regarded 
 with disHke by the great body of tlie army. 
 I mention this circumstance merely as 
 it was reported to me. In many con- 
 versations wliich I have hekl with military 
 men, and others in France, the downfall 
 of Bonaparte has been imputed totreitl^on. 
 But after all, I should be inclined to 
 doubt any such assertion. The j)eople 
 at large did not embrace the cause of 
 their Emperor ; and when the numerical 
 superiority of the Allies o\er any force 
 which he could bring into the field is 
 considered, the event of the campaign 
 may be accounted for upon other prin- 
 ciples than those of collusion between 
 Napoleon's marshals and Blucher or 
 Schwartzenberg. And in referring to the 
 opinion of the French on this subject, it 
 must be recollected that their pride can- 
 not brook the idea of their capital having 
 fallen into the hands of the enemy in 
 consequence of the ordinary operations 
 of war. 
 
 In speaking of the Bourbons, Mi*. T. 
 remarked, that their cause would be much
 
 191 
 
 more heartily espoused by the nation at 
 large, were the heads oftiiat family more 
 alert and active in body. He said that 
 the army looked up with ho])e to the 
 Duke de Berri, and lamented the death 
 of the Duke d'Enghien, whose execution 
 had given general disgust, and was by 
 no means approved of even by Bonaparte's 
 partizans. 
 
 At ten o'clock I w^ent to the Royal 
 Library, and employed myself till one in 
 reading some Latin MSS. of the fifteenth 
 century. At one we dined at Beldame's, 
 and at two went to attend a meetins; of 
 the Royal Institute. This learned body 
 now holds its sittings at the Palais des 
 Bcaffj: ylrts. whicli was formerlv known 
 by the appellation of the College des 
 Quatre Nations, and is situated on the 
 quai of the same name. The hall of the 
 Institute is a circular room, lighted by 
 a dome. On an elevated platform are 
 [»laced chairs for the president and two 
 other persons. The secretaiy and the 
 readers occupy a small desk before the 
 chair. The seats appropriated to the 
 -members are advanced somewhat more
 
 192 
 
 than lialf way into the room ; the re- 
 mainder of the area we found occupied 
 by strangers, who^re also admitted into 
 two ranges of galleries. The audience, 
 of which a considerable proportion con- 
 sisted of females, was numerous, well 
 dressed, and apparently very attentive ; 
 thougli the papers read to-day were very 
 recondite, and of course extremely dulk 
 After making some purchases in the 
 evening from a dealer in virtu, of the 
 name of Daval, who resides on the 
 Qtiai MalaquaiSf we went to the Academic 
 Royale de Miisiquey ahas the Grand 
 Opera, to see Jerusalem delhree, I say 
 to see it : for the charm of the Grand 
 Opera, this evening, consisted in the 
 spectacle. The music was wretched, 
 comparable only to the bellowing of bulls 
 and the screeching of owls. But the 
 scenery was grand — the machinery 
 astonishingly correct, and the dancing 
 beyond all praise. In one of the scenes 
 which represented the Christians assem- 
 bled at their devotions in the church of 
 the holy sepulchre, the effect of grouping, 
 and of the intermixture of colours in
 
 193 
 
 costmne was superior to any thing of the 
 kind 1 had ever before witnessed. The 
 price of admission into the Parquet, where 
 we sat, is 3 francs 60 cents. 
 
 Saturday, July 2d, in going this morn- 
 ing to tlie BibliotJicque Royale^ I saw the 
 front of the church of St. Rodie^ Rue 
 St. HonorSy hung with black. On enquir- 
 ing what was the occasion of this appara- 
 tus, I was informed, that a solemn service 
 was about to be performed for the Duke 
 of Massa, grand judge of the king- 
 dom. Having a curiosity to see the ce- 
 remony, I followed a crowd into the 
 church ; apd, in quality of a stranger, 
 was admitted by one of the attendants 
 into the choir. After waiting here for 
 some time, I heard the distant sound of 
 military music. This was the signal of 
 the approach of the funeral procession, 
 which soon after arrived, preceded by 
 about a score of drums and fifes, and 
 flanked by a guard of soldiers, which 
 advancing, lined the choir and the en- 
 trance of the church. Among the mourn- 
 ers were Marshal Macdonald, whose 
 daughter had married the deceased, Mar- 
 o
 
 J94 
 
 ^shal Oudinot, and Casa Bianca, a cou- 
 sin of Bonaparte. The procession movetl 
 round a magnificent catafalque covered 
 with black cloth, fringed with silver lace, 
 and lighted with a profusion of wax ta- 
 pers. At the foot of this catafalque was 
 deposited a small box, which I presume 
 contained the heart of the deceased, 
 whose body had previously been convey- 
 ed to the Pantheon. The service then 
 commenced, which was performed in a 
 very solemn and impressive manner. The 
 effect which it produced was, however, 
 occasionally impaired by the military 
 presenting arms at the orders of their 
 commanding officer. At the close of 
 the ceremony, the mourners in succes- 
 sion sprinkled holy water with a brush at 
 the foot of the catafalque, and took their 
 leave with a low reverence. This put me 
 in mind of the conclusion of a Roman 
 funeral, as described by Virgil : 
 
 ** Idem ter socios pura circumtulit unda 
 Spargens rore levi et ramo felicis olivae." 
 
 A Swiss gentleman, who sat next to me 
 in the choir, and with whom I had a good 
 deal of conversation before the com-
 
 195 
 
 menccment of the service, remarked to 
 me, that in wresting the Netherlands 
 from France, the AlHes had sown the 
 seeds of a new war ; that the French 
 were eagerly bent upon a renewal of hos- 
 tilities against Austria, the conduct of 
 which power was generally reprobated by 
 all parties in the kingdom, especially by the 
 army. He also said that nuich discon- • 
 tent had been excited against the English 
 by the prisoners of war who had returned 
 from our country, and loudly complained 
 of having suffered much ill-treatment 
 durhig the period of their captivity. As 
 he seemed to appeal to me as to the jus- 
 tice of these complaints, and as I knew 
 nothing of the fact from my own observa- 
 tion, I could only assure him, as I ho- 
 nestly did, that harshness to the unfortu- 
 nate was not a characteristic of our na- 
 tion ; that long captivity would naturally 
 render men impatient and irritable; and 
 that with regard to the private soldiers^ 
 whom we had taken in the course of the 
 war, and who were of necessity confined 
 in prisons, I had heard that in spite of 
 all remonstrance and interference on the
 
 196 
 
 part of our government, many of them 
 had reduced themselves to much misery 
 by their indulgence of a propensity to 
 gaming, which is one of the most striking 
 faults of the French character. 
 
 The funeral of the Duke of Massa de- 
 tained me till the repository of manu- 
 scripts in the Royal Library was shut ; so 
 I proceeded to that inexhaustible store- 
 house of elegant amusement, the Louvre, 
 and spent two hours in examining the pic- 
 tures and statues. Among the former 
 I particularly examined Titian's por- 
 trait of his mistress, Raphaers St. Ce- 
 cilia, and the Evangelist St. Mark, and 
 four other pictures, specimens of bold 
 design and masterly colouring, by Fra. 
 Bartolomeo. 
 
 After dining at the usual place I went 
 to a bookseller's shop, who, in consi- 
 deration of a few purchases of some va- 
 lue, permitted me to run over a collection 
 of the political pamphlets, which had 
 been published in Paris since the fall of 
 Bonaparte. These are truly ephemeral 
 productions. I have never met with any 
 thing more contemptible. The attempts
 
 197 
 
 of tlie French writers to avail themselves 
 of that liberty of the press, of which 
 they have been so long deprived, resem- 
 ble the awkward gait of a man, who, 
 after wearing heavy irons for a dozen 
 years, has suddenly got rid of his shackles. 
 The constraint of some evinced a latent 
 fear of the revival of the dynasty of Na- 
 poleon. The apologetic whining, and 
 outrageous loyalty of others, indicated a 
 desperate effort, on the part of their au- 
 thors, to atone for grievous offences of 
 ancient date against the house of Bour- 
 bon. One agent of the Bonapartean re- 
 gime attempted to demonstrate, that his 
 evil deeds were the result of compulsion: 
 another endeavoured to shift the blame 
 from himself to his partners in iniquity. 
 General principles were little understood, 
 or timidly applied to the incidents of the 
 moment ; and in the few publications, 
 which professed to contain narratives of 
 facts written by the principal actors, I 
 was disappointed, finding them full of 
 declamation or evident exaggerations 'and 
 falsehoods. The only work of merit which 
 I found, was entitled *' Les Memontrances 
 03
 
 198 
 
 du ParteiTe^ ou Lettre d*u?i Homme qui 
 7i*est rien a tous ceua: qui ne sont rien.*' 
 This pamphlet abounded in good sense 
 and good temper, and contained very 
 "wholesome advice as to the best mode of 
 building the public happiness upon the 
 restoration of the Bourbons. 
 
 A little before sun-set I went to the 
 Boulevards. The grdupes which were 
 assembled in these beautiful public walks, 
 afforded one of the most striking specta- 
 cles which I had seen since my arrival in 
 Paris. So numerous Was the assembly 
 which was here collected, that it seemed 
 as if the whole mass of the inhabitants of 
 the city were come out to lounge. In 
 many places the crowd was so great, that 
 it was difficult to move along. Both 
 males and females were in general well 
 dressed for this promenade, and they 
 seemed to be formed into family parties. 
 At one carrefour a concourse of people 
 were entertaining themselves by watch- 
 ing the tricks of a juggler ; at the next 
 an assemblage no less numerous, was de- 
 hghted by the agility of dancing dogs. 
 Here those who had music in their souls, 
 8
 
 199 
 
 listened to the strains of an Italian bal- 
 lad singer ; there the noise of a French 
 musician gratified the bad taste of his 
 countrymen. Fiddles, flutes, and vari- 
 ous other kinds of instruments succeeded 
 each other at short intervals, and added 
 to the gaiety of the scene. For those 
 who were tired of walking, chairs were 
 provided at the easy rate of one sous per 
 sitting. Hundreds of these were ar- 
 ranged in convenient situations, gene- 
 rally opposite to some restaurateur' '&^ or 
 to the booth of some vendor of lemon- 
 ade. The latter supplied a cheap and 
 sober refreshment, which was actively 
 distributed by waiters, whose alertness 
 and vigilance in serving their customers, 
 and collecting their dues, were truly as- 
 tonishing. On the whole I was much 
 gratified by the sight. The Boulevards 
 afford a promenade readily accessible 
 from the very centre of the city, the en- 
 joyment of which must conduce much to 
 the health and comforts of the inhabitants. 
 For want of some such accommodation, 
 the London tradesman is driven to relax 
 himself from the cares of business in a 
 o 4
 
 200 
 
 tavern, wliilst his family are left, perhaps 
 fretful and discontented, at home. 
 
 On the morning of Sunday July 3d, 
 we went to the church of Notre Dame 
 to hear high mass. The service was not, 
 however, performed with its usual gran- 
 deur ; and the singing was totally spoiled 
 by one ambitious youth in the choir, who, 
 wishing to distinguish himself, screamed 
 most unmercifully, and frequently out of 
 tune. The inside of the church is rich 
 in sculptures, tapestry, and paintings ; 
 and the high altar of white marble, or- 
 namented by a bas-relief of the interment 
 of,Jesus, is extremely beautiful. But to 
 the faithful, the most interesting portions 
 of the furniture of this church are the 
 identical crown of thorns, which was 
 placed on the head of our Saviour, and 
 a piece of the true cross, both which 
 are deposited in the sacristy. Under- 
 standing that a grand mass was to be 
 performed this morning, in honour of 
 St. Peter, at the church o^ St, Sulpice^.v^'e 
 left the noisy choristers of Notre Dame 
 and repaired thither. — The church of 
 St. Sulpice, tliough of Grecian architec-
 
 201 
 
 ture, is truly magnificent. The choir is 
 said to be 89 feet in length, 42 feet in 
 breadth, and 99 feet high. Two large 
 figures in bronze almost overshadow the 
 high altar ; and the choir is moreover 
 ornamented by statues of Jesus Christ, St. 
 Paul, St. Peter, and St. John the Evange- 
 list. The building was crowded to excess, 
 especially by women, of which sex many 
 of the chapels were absolutely full. 
 The ceremony was august, and the sing- 
 ing excellent and impressive. At the 
 upper end of the choir sat the Bishop of 
 Elvas in his pontifical robes. 
 
 In passing from the church of Notre 
 Dame to that of St. Sulj)ice we looked 
 into the Morgue, a receptacle for the 
 bodies of imknown persons, who are 
 killed by accident, or found dead, and 
 ;^re left here, as long as it is judged ex- 
 pedient, to be owned by their friends. 
 We found in it, laid on an inclined plat- 
 form, the corpses of a man and a young 
 woman, which had the night before been 
 taken out of the river ; and we were in- 
 formed that in consequence of the nar- 
 rowness of the streets fatal accidents are
 
 202 
 
 so frequent in Paris, that this melancholy 
 repository is seldom untenanted. This 
 evening we visited Mons. T., at whose 
 liouse we met a family party, consisting 
 of the mother, the widow, and other re- 
 latives of one of the most distinguished 
 leaders of the Revolution. For some 
 time, the individual to whom I allude,, 
 directed the affairs of France ; and had 
 the composition of his character con- 
 tained some portion of military energy, 
 he might have ascended the throne in- 
 stead of the scaffold. Reflections on 
 grandeur in prospect, but not attained, 
 did not, however, seem to weigh heavy 
 on the minds of his surviving relations, 
 who appeared to be perfectly happy in 
 an honourable mediocrity of circum- 
 stances, which is an evidence of the per- 
 sonal integrity of his administration. 
 
 Monday, July 4th, soon after breakfast 
 I received a visit from Mr. Parker, an ec- 
 clesiastic of eminence, who is at the head of 
 the Irish College, on the Montague St. Ge- 
 nevieve. In consequence of a letter of re- 
 commendation to him from a mutual friend, 
 I experienced from him the most polite
 
 203 
 
 attentions, and liberal offers of his assist- 
 ance in prosecuting my examination of 
 the curiosities of Paris. Wlien he took 
 liis leave I went to the repository of 
 manuscripts in the Royal Library, where 
 I was busily employed in reading till two 
 o'clock., I then adjourned to my place 
 of daily resort, the Gallery of the Louvre, 
 where I spent some time in contemplat- 
 ing Titian's incomparable portrait of 
 Alphonso d*Avalos Marchese del Guasto 
 and his mistress ; and Raphael's Transfi- 
 guration, and his celebrated groupe, con- 
 taining the portraits of Leo X., Julio de 
 Medici, afterwards Clement VII., and 
 the Cardinal de Rossi. At four I called 
 upon Mr. B., an English gentleman, who 
 was come to Paris in quality of deputy 
 from a number of merchants, who wished 
 to make some commercial arrangements 
 with the French government. This gen- 
 tleman, whom I well knew to be singularly 
 observant, intelligent, and active, and who, 
 from his frequent communications with 
 the public offices, enjoyed peculiar means 
 of obtaining information as to the state of 
 affairs in France, assured me that I was
 
 204 
 
 correct in my opinion, that the military 
 were in general dissatisfied with the new 
 order of things, and that he had himself 
 heard parties of the Gardes du Corps, 
 who had faintly and sulkily repeated, af- 
 ter their officers, " Vive le Roiy" at a 
 review on the Carousel, cry with enthu- 
 siasm, " Vive VEmpereur,'* as soon as 
 they had piled their arms at their casernes. 
 He also informed me, that a few days 
 ago a whole regiment, officers and men, 
 had mutinied at Nemours, and had set 
 off on a march to Paris, in full confidence 
 of being joined by the garrison of that 
 city in effecting a counter-revolution ~ 
 that afler proceeding on their way to the 
 metropolis about six hours, their hearts 
 had failed them, and they had marched 
 back to Nemours, whither Marshal Ou- 
 dinot had instantly repaired, and caused 
 three of the ringleaders to be shot. The 
 King, he said, with his characteristic 
 mildness, wished to have pardoned the 
 offenders ; but the Marshal, tliinking 
 a severe example was, in this case, ab- 
 solutely necessary, had over-rid ed his 
 opiniojl. This intelligence was not of
 
 205 
 
 tiie most pleasant description, as I was 
 well convinced, that in the event of* a 
 movement in favour of Napoleon, the 
 English in France would be in consider- 
 able danger. 
 
 After dining at the Palais Royal, I 
 accompanied Mr. Y. to the Opera Comique, 
 Rue Fey dean. The price of admission into 
 the parterre of this theatre is 2 francs 
 20 cents. The audience at the Opera 
 Comique had not so fashionable an appear- 
 ance as that which we had seen at the 
 Grand Opera ; but both the music and 
 the singing were of a far superior quality 
 to that which we heard at the latter. 
 Two pieces w^ere performed this evening, 
 Richard Cceur de Lion^ and Zemire et 
 Azor. During the jealous domination of 
 Bonaparte, the former, on account of the 
 Royalist air of *' O Richard, O mon Roiy'* 
 had been prohibited. It was now revived 
 with great spirit, and was certainly got 
 up in a most excellent style. I even 
 thought that the lady who performed An- 
 tonio, was, in some respects, superior to 
 Mrs. Jordan, who, some four or five and 
 twenty years ago, threw such interest into
 
 206 
 
 this character on the London stage. A 
 good singer, however, runs great risk of 
 being spoiled by a Parisian audience : 
 for I observed, that when Blondel, who 
 had evidently a delicate taste in music, 
 occasionally deviated into a roar, he was 
 rewarded for his condescension by loud 
 applause. Zemire et AzoVy it is well 
 known, is the piece which made the for- 
 tune of Marmontel. In its composition, 
 indeed, he exhausted his poetic fire ; or 
 rather, the irregularity of life into which 
 he was seduced during the popularity 
 which accrued to him in consequence of 
 its success, clouded his genius. None of 
 his subsequent dramas are comparable 
 to it. 
 
 Tuesday, July 5th. Soon after break- 
 fast we received a note from the secre- 
 tary of Sir Charles Stewart, informing us 
 that a couit would be held this morning, 
 and that if we wished it. His Excellency 
 would do us the honour to present us. 
 This intelligence put us instantly in 
 motion. My friend Mr. Y. hurried 
 away to procure a court-diess. As to 
 myself, I was informed by our domes-
 
 207 
 
 tiqiiey who, of course, knew every thing, 
 that as an ecck^siastic I luid only to put 
 on my black suit, and to equip myself 
 with shoe-buckles, as shoe-strings were 
 not admitted. At a quarter past eleven 
 w^e drove in a chariot, which w^e had 
 hired for the purpose, to the Tuilleries. 
 Being strangers to court arrangements 
 we proceeded directly up stairs, and pe- 
 netrated into the second anti-chamber, 
 where we found several officers of the 
 palace, and an eager crowd of specta- 
 tors. On making particular enquiries 
 from one of the former, we were told, 
 that we ought to repair to the Salle des 
 Amhassadeurs. It was wdth some diffi- 
 culty that we found this salle ; a low, 
 small, mean-looking room on the ground- 
 floor. In this room, however, were as- 
 sembled the ambassadors from Russia, 
 Prussia, and the other states of Europe, 
 and their respective proteges. Sir Charles 
 Stewart w^as not yet arrived. Soon after 
 my entrance, I perceived an officer of 
 state, who acted as a kind of master of 
 the ceremonies, eyeing me aside with an 
 air which boded me no good. When
 
 208 
 
 our ambassador made his appearance, this 
 gentleman accosted him, and soon after- 
 wards Sir Charles came up to me and ob- 
 served to me, that my coat was " en 
 fraCy* and that I could not possibly be 
 presented in that costume. Vexed that 
 my ignorance of forms, and my ill- 
 founded reliance on the superior know- 
 ledge of my domestiquey should have be- 
 trayed me into an impropriety, I instantly 
 withdrew. Being determined, however, 
 if possible, to pay my respects to Louis le 
 Desirey when I arrived at the great gate 
 of the chateau, I called for our servants, 
 who were luckily in waiting, and mount- 
 ing our carriage, I drove in all haste to 
 a taylor*s at the . Palais Royal, where in 
 a few moments I was correctly equipped. 
 I drove back to the Tuilleries like light- 
 ning, and arrived before the corps diplo- 
 ynatique were summoned into the royal 
 presence. Having once more passed in 
 review I was found completely en 
 regie, — and the master of the ceremo- 
 nies politely tendered me his excuses for 
 his interference, which, as I assured him 
 in all sincerity, needed no excuses, as
 
 209 
 
 lie had done no more than his duty. 
 By and by notice was given that His 
 Majesty was ready to receive us, on 
 which we proceeded between two files of 
 soldiers arranged along the grand stair- 
 case, and through a suite of magnificeiH 
 apartments, into the presence-chamber; 
 where each ambassador presented his 
 countrymen individually, announcing 
 their names from a card, which each 
 handed to him as he advanced in his 
 turn. The King received those who 
 were presented with a bow. When w^e 
 had passed him we arranged ourselves in 
 a circle, into which he came when the 
 presentations were finished, and, after 
 speaking a few words to some of the am- 
 bassadors, he made a general bow, on 
 which we witlidrew. Louis was dressed 
 in the uniform of the national guard, 
 and wore the cordon hleii. He was un- 
 comfortably corpulent, and seemed very 
 infirm in his feet ; but his countenance 
 is extremely pleasing, and, if any reliance 
 is to be placed on physiognomy, he is a 
 man of a very benevolent . disposition. 
 After the levee was over, Mr. Y. and I 
 p
 
 210 
 
 took a ride into the Bois de Boulogne / 
 and, after attempting in vain, to gain 
 admittance into Bagatelley which is now 
 restored to its .ancient possessor, Mon« 
 sieur, we returned home by Passy. 
 Passy is one of the most pleasant villages 
 in the environs of Paris. It consists 
 principally of a considerable number of 
 elegant chateaux, surrounded by gardens 
 and pleasure-grounds, and situated on a 
 gentle acclivity, at the bottom of which 
 flows the Seine. Not far from the road- 
 side the foundations of a new building 
 were pointed out to us, which, we w^ere 
 informed, was intended to have been ap- 
 propriated as the palace of the King of 
 Rome. At a little distance from this 
 building we passed by the bridge of Jena, 
 which was begun by Bonaparte in the 
 year 1 806 ; and yet its decorations were 
 not completed at the time of his deposi- 
 tion. It is a most beautiful structure, 
 consisting of five arches of equal size, 
 and the view from its western extremity 
 is terminated by the Ecole Militaire, at 
 the distance of about a mile. To the 
 right of this bridge we saw an extensive
 
 o 
 
 211 
 
 cotton-mill, which was said, however, not 
 to be in a very flourishing condition. 
 
 After dinner I drove to the Salpctriere. 
 Being informed that, in consequence of 
 the hospital being occupied by wounded 
 soldiers, Dr. Pinel had removed to a tem- 
 porary residence in the vicinity, I re- 
 paired thither, and had the pleasure to 
 find him, after so long an interval as had 
 passed since I had seen him before, look- 
 ing remarkably well, and highly gratified 
 by the renewal of communication w^ith 
 his friends in England. Returning home 
 in the evening, I went to read the English 
 papers at the caffe de Riche, on the 
 Italian boulevards. After so long a sus- 
 pension of intelligence from my native 
 country, it was quite a luxury to turn 
 over at leisure the files of the Courier and 
 the Times. The boulevards were as gay 
 and as crow^ded as usual. 
 
 Wednesday, July 6th. Early in tiie 
 morning, Lieut. T. called upon us to con- 
 duct us to the heights of Montmartre. 
 As the sun w^as already pow^erful, we 
 went to the foot of the hill in cabri- 
 olets, which were opened at the barrier, 
 p 2
 
 O [0 
 
 and examined by a dormnier, whose duty 
 it is to prevent the export or import of 
 contraband goods. Quitting our vehicles, 
 we ascended the eminence to tlie church, 
 a dirty and neglected building, beyond 
 which stands the celebrated telegraph, 
 which for so many years maintained a 
 rapid communication between Paris and 
 the extremities of Italy and Germany. 
 By favour of the keepers we were ad- 
 mitted into the galleiy of this edifice, 
 whence we enjoyed a most noble prospect. 
 On one side was visible the whole extent 
 of Paris, Passy, St. Cloud, St.Germaine, 
 and St. Denys. On the other, tlie exten- 
 sive plain, which, on the 30th of March, 
 was in a manner covered by the armies 
 of the Allies. Mons. T. pointed out to us 
 the positions respectively occupied by the 
 Russians, the Prussians, the Austrians, 
 and the French, at the commencement 
 of the engagement ; and related the vi- 
 cissitudes of the battle, with all . the 
 warmth of one who had shared in the 
 fortunes of the day, and who had so 
 strong an interest in its event. Of course 
 he did not neglect to shew us where his
 
 213 
 
 corps was posted, and to expatiate on 
 the execution they had done on tlie ene- 
 my. And, indeed, we afterwards ascer- 
 tained, by other testimony, that the divi- 
 sion to which he was attached had dis- 
 tinguished itself by the obstinacy of its 
 valour. During the engagement much 
 mischief was of course done to the neigh- 
 bouring villages, but it is now almost 
 completely repaired ; and, in the course 
 of a few days, the dead were all interred, 
 principally in a cemetery at the foot of 
 the hill looking towards the plain. This 
 warlike detail naturally led to a discussiqn 
 of the character of the marshals, who, 
 we found, are, in general, not by any 
 means popular with the army, who think 
 they betrayed the Emperor. This is a most 
 fortunate circumstance for the Bourbons. 
 The marshals must be to the newly re- 
 stored dynasty objects of jealousy ; and a 
 reasonable diminution of their influence 
 will render them less formidable, w^hile, 
 at the same time, their abilities will, when 
 forced into a proper direction, render 
 them very useful. The telegraph re- 
 minding us of the bulletins of the late 
 
 P 3
 
 214 
 
 Emperor, I found that our conductor 
 could say many of them by heart, and 
 understood from him that their style was 
 much admired by the young soldiery. If 
 this was the case, it could not with 
 truth be said, that they were in the way 
 of imbibing the principles of good taste 
 in composition. 
 
 From Montmartre I went to my stated 
 employment among the MSS. of the Royal 
 Library, and at two o'clock proceeded 
 to the Louvre. At the extremity of tlie 
 square, opposite the entrance into the 
 grand gallery, I had often observed a 
 kind of booth or tent, before nvhich was 
 collected a large crowd. To day I went 
 up to this booth, where I found a mounte- 
 bank amusing the populace with various 
 grimaces. Among other exploits he 
 fixed a huge pair of blank spectacles to 
 the end of his nose, or rather of his 
 proboscis, over the muscles of which he 
 had such command, that he twisted it so as 
 to move the spectacles in time to a violin, 
 which he scraped with more energy 
 than delicacy of bowing. After playing 
 a number of tricks he made a kind of
 
 215 
 
 proclamation, inviting the spectators to 
 hear a philosophical lecture on the mode- 
 rate terms of six sous a head. On hear- 
 ing this invitation I went to examine the 
 contents of some neighbouring book 
 stalls ; but soon after, seeing many people 
 enter the booth, I paid my six sous, and 
 making my way into the lecture room was 
 astonished to find my Merry-andrew des- 
 canting on the composition of atmospheric 
 air, and demolishing the phlogistic theory. 
 Ainsi dit le savant Priestley^ he was ex- 
 claiming when I entered, niais moije suis 
 d'un avis differoit. The air of his booth 
 not permitting me long to benefit by the 
 instructions of this laughing philosopher, 1 
 left him, and spent a pleasant hour among 
 the ancient statues. After dinner I 
 walked along half the extent of the 
 Boulevards to deliver a letter, which I 
 had engaged to convey to a celebrated 
 musical composer. From him I received 
 a dismal account of the situation of Paris 
 after Napoleon's last departure for the 
 army. Commercial confidence was totally 
 annihilated. No property was of value 
 except landed property. Every body 
 p 4
 
 216 
 
 anticipated disastrous tidings ; but it 
 was dangerous to give utterance to 
 doubts or fears. The police agents were 
 a perpetual object of dread, and each 
 individual was in awe of his neighbour. 
 Speaking of the horrors of the conscrip- 
 tion, he said he had a son of twenty years 
 of age, who had been ballotted and 
 ordered to join his regiment as a private 
 soldier. Unwilling to part with him, he 
 had paid three himdred pounds sterling 
 for a substitute. At the end of three 
 months a fresh summons arrived for his 
 son, in consequence of the substitute's 
 having been killed in battle. A second 
 substitute was procured, and six months 
 after that, the young man was again de- 
 manded, as this second substitute had 
 deserted. Rendered desperate by these 
 repeated acts of oppression, he sent his 
 son out of the kingdom ; and was hap- 
 pily relieved from his responsibility for 
 so doing by the late successes of the 
 Allies. Who will wonder at the fall of a 
 throne supported by such a system as 
 this ? Who will not rather wonder that it 
 shoiUd have stood firm so long as it did ?
 
 5217 
 
 n 111 rsday, July 7th, soon after breakfast 
 I accoiiipanictl Mr. Y. to pay a visit to 
 Matlanie !>., the wife of a merchant of 
 orcat respcctabiHty with whom he had 
 dined yesterday. I was very much pleased 
 with this lady, who appeared to me hap- 
 pily to unite the ease of the French with 
 tlie modesty of the English females. On 
 enquiry 1 found tliat in point of fact she 
 was a Swisse. Thence I w^ent to deliver a 
 
 letter of introduction to the Baron , 
 
 a member of the legislative body. Tl)e 
 street in which his house is situated is 
 narrow and incommodious ; and the house 
 itself, in its external appearance, is very 
 impromising. Its interior, however, is 
 spacious and elegant. This inconsistency 
 perpetually occurs in Paris. The Baron 
 not being at home, I left my credentials, 
 and hastened to the palace of the Corps 
 Legislatif; but was stopped, at the en- 
 trance into the court, by a file of soldiers, 
 whose Serjeant informed me that no sit- 
 ting would be held to day. I then walked 
 on to DavaPs, where I made some pur- 
 chases, and heard from a lady an elo- 
 
 5
 
 218 
 
 quent, and I believe a well merited eu- 
 logium on the^ conduct of the Russian 
 troops during their residence in Paris. 
 — Among other matters of commenda- 
 tion, she observed that the Russians are 
 the only foreigners who can accomplish 
 the speaking of the Frencli language 
 without a foreign accent. I next walked 
 along the banks of the river to the P,alats 
 de la Justice, with the intention of attend- 
 ing the courts of law, but was disap- 
 pointed on finding that they were not 
 open. A magistrate, however, was sit- 
 ting at the office of the Police Con-ec- 
 tionelle, to decide upon the complaints 
 which were laid before him by the offi- 
 cers of justice, or by private individuals. 
 The business of this office seemed to be 
 conducted w^th great decorum, which 
 was only interrupted by the irrepressible 
 laughter occasioned by an elaborate ha- 
 rangue, uttered by a man who stammered 
 most wretchedly, against one of his fe- 
 male neighbours. Before his complaint 
 was ended, I set off for the Jardin des 
 Plantes. On my arrival there the sun
 
 219 
 
 was so powerful tliat I could not endure 
 to walk upon the burning gravel ; so I 
 took shelter in a neighbouring caffe^ and 
 read the papers till three, when I 
 mounted a cabriolet and drove to Dr. 
 Pinel's, where I was engaged to dine. 
 The Doctor had been so kind as to invite 
 two literary gentlemen to meet me. 
 With this paity I spent a very pleasant 
 afternoon. On my way home in the 
 evening, I stopped at the Odeo?i, where 
 I saw a new piece in three acts per- 
 formed with much ease and elegance. 
 
 On the morning of Friday, July 8th, 
 I repeated my call on the Baron. He 
 was at home, and received me in a well 
 furnished library with great politeness. 
 In speaking of public affairs, I observed 
 to him, that I was aware, from the pro- 
 ceedings of the legislative body, that, like 
 the British government, the ministers of 
 Louis XVIII. could not immediately 
 proceed to alleviate the weight of tax- 
 ation. He said it was true, and that un- 
 pleasant consequences had arisen from 
 that circumstance — that many people 
 had foolislily flattered themselves, that
 
 220 
 
 , on getting rid of Napoleon they would 
 at once be relieved from all their griev- 
 ances, and tliat all taxes would be abo- 
 lished ; and that even with regard to 
 reasonable persons, much mischief had 
 been occasioned by a hasty proclamation 
 issued by Monsieur, in which he had classed 
 the ** droits reunis** with the conscription, 
 and had promised to abrogate both. On 
 mature examination, however, it was 
 found that the " droits reimis'* were too 
 essential a part of the revenue to be 
 spared ; and that the disappointment oc- 
 casioned by their continuance had given 
 rise to tumults in various parts of the 
 kingdom. It was expected, however, 
 that modifications could b6 applied to the 
 collection of these duties, by W'hich 
 their real grievance would be in a great 
 measure done away. These *' droits 
 reunis** are a species of excise laws ; and 
 on his questioning me on the subject, I 
 informed him, that, harsh and oppressive 
 as the English excise laws appear to be 
 in the letter, by long habit the system is 
 practically administered in such a manner 
 that the fair dealer has seldom any just
 
 cause to complain, lleferring to a pro- 
 posal on the part of tKe ministers of 
 Louis XVIII. to submit all pamphlets 
 under thirty sheets in extent to a cen- 
 sorship previously to their publication, I 
 took the liberty to hazard an opinion, 
 that in a state where the laws are duly 
 administered, the liberty of printing 
 might be put upon the same footing as 
 the liberty of carrying a cane, or wearing 
 a sword — that as e\'ery body in France 
 was allowed to carry the one or wear the 
 other, but was made responsible to the 
 law if he struck or w^ounded his neigh- 
 bour, so the law should not interfere with 
 printing except in case of public or pri- 
 vate injury, in which case the party of- 
 fending should, upon legal conviction, be 
 subject to a punishment proportionable 
 to the enormity of his offence. In this sen- 
 timent the Baron did' not concur. The 
 French, he said, were too easily" roused 
 to action — that at the present crisis 
 unrestrained printing would kindle end- 
 less animosities, and would be abused by 
 the enemies of peace and union. In fine, he 
 asked me whether, if a new order of things
 
 222 
 
 were now to be arranged in England, 
 our court would allow of unrestrained 
 printing ? I replied that if by the court 
 was meant the Prince Regent and his 
 private advisers, I could not presume to 
 have an opinion upon their \aews ; but 
 that if by that term was meant his re- 
 sponsible ministers, I was confident they 
 would be content to leave the press in its 
 present state ; for that such were the 
 changes pei'petually occurring in our ad- 
 ministration, that the extended inte- 
 rests of ministers were not disjoined from 
 those of the community at large; and that 
 even upon selfish principles, a British mi- 
 nister, who to-morrow may find himself 
 in the ranks of opposition, would not lay 
 any unnecessary restraint on the free- 
 dom of the press. I could have wished 
 to have conversed more u})on this im- 
 portant topic ; but knowing the Baron's 
 time was precious, I took my leave, and 
 went to join Mr. Y. at Daval's. Here 
 taking a fiacre we drove to the Ecole Mi- 
 litairCy into which, since the occupation 
 of Paris by the Allies, strangers are 
 not admitted. We could, therefore.
 
 003 
 
 only examine the exterior of the build- 
 ing, and view the Champ de Mars in 
 front, and the heights of Passy rising in 
 the distance. I was surprized to sec 
 still left over the great gateway the in- 
 scription QUARTIER NAPOLEON. 
 
 From the Ecole Militaire we drove to 
 the Hopital des Invalides, where we ar- 
 ri\'ed just at the time when the privates 
 were sitting down to a dinner, which seem- 
 ed to be plentiful and good. On going 
 tlirough the chapel I no longer saw the 
 standards, which were suspended there 
 in 1802. When I made enquiry about 
 them from the old soldier who had the 
 custody of the dome, he shewed evident^ 
 marks of chagrin ; and with reluctance 
 informed us, that when the day was lost 
 at Montmartre, these trophies of victory 
 had been committed to the flames. In 
 the library we found a number of vete- 
 ran officers assembled together, and 
 listening to one of their comrades, who 
 was reading to them this morning's Mo- 
 niteur. This we understood was his dai- 
 ly task. I observed that the monotony 
 of his voice, or the influence of a solid
 
 224 
 
 quarto which lay open before him, had 
 lulled to sleep a veteran student, who 
 grievously interrupted the praelector by his 
 snoring. On looking into several of the 
 volumes, I found them marked on the ti- 
 tle pages with the imperial eagle. In the 
 midst of the court was a pedestal intended 
 for a statue of Marshal Lasnes, but now 
 destined to support the eflUgy of Louis 
 XIV. The officers' dining room, into 
 which we looked, held twche tables, 
 each of which was calculated to accom- 
 modate twelve guests. Tlic service con- 
 sisted of silver plate, which was pie- 
 sented to the mess by the Empress Mariu 
 Louisa. The whole establishment of the 
 Invalides consists of 3,500 men, who 
 seem to be systematically well accommo- 
 dated, and rendered as happy as age, and 
 infirmities will permit. In our perambula- 
 tion, we met with an Irishman who had 
 lost an arm, and who, with characteristic 
 heedlessness, told us, that he had formerly 
 belonged to a regiment of British di'agoons j 
 that having been taken prisoner in Sir 
 John Moore's retreat to Corunna, he had 
 entered into the French service, and that
 
 ^25 
 
 ke had not lost his limb in battle but in a 
 iluel, the knowledge of which circum- 
 stance would infallibly occasion his ex- 
 pulsion from the Invaltdes. 
 
 We next proceeded to the Musee des 
 Monumens Fnmgois^ where we spent 
 about three hours with tlie greatest plea- 
 sure. The coolness of the halls and 
 cloisters of tiie monastery afforded a 
 grateful relief from the heat of the day ; 
 and the garden was extremely refreshing, 
 as the acacias and other trees with which 
 it was planted, yielded a welcome shade, 
 sitting under which we contemplated the 
 memorials of elder years. Many addi- 
 tions have been made to the collection of 
 monuments, since I was here before. In 
 the year 1802 the tombs of Abelard and 
 Heloise were simply deposited on the 
 grass-plot in the centre of the garden. 
 They are now removed to a little distance 
 from their former situation, and covered 
 by a kind of sepulchral arch, composed of 
 the ruins of the chapel of the Paraclete, 
 which has a very striking effect. In the 
 interior of the building the most beauti- 
 ful monuments are those of Francis I.
 
 226 
 
 and of Diana of Poictiers. The collec- 
 tion of painted glass with which the win- 
 dows of the monastery are ornamented, 
 at once affords a light well suited to the 
 concomitant scenery, and presents a his- 
 tory of the progress of an art which, 
 after being for some time lost, has lately 
 been revived. Of these specimens • of 
 ancient skill, the most exquisite occur in 
 the hall of the sixteenth century, which 
 contains five windows, three of which 
 were designed and executed by Jean 
 Cousin. The fourth represents Christ 
 crowned with thorns, after a drawing by 
 Albert Durer, and the fifth the nativity 
 and the circumcision of our Lord, design- 
 ed by Primaticcio. 
 
 In the principal gallery, the story of 
 Cupid and Psyche, represented in thirty- 
 two pictures, copied from the works of 
 Raphael, aflfbrds a specimen of the art 
 to which I have never seen any thing su- 
 perior. 
 
 To day we dined by appointment with 
 Mr. Y.'s friend Mr. B. The party was 
 not numerous, but very pleasant. I ob- 
 served that etiquette calls upon the prin-
 
 227 
 
 cipal guest, on the annunciation of din- 
 ner, to conduct the lady of the house to 
 tlie dining-room. The dinner consisted 
 of several courses, and was well-dressed 
 and elegantly served. At intervals Bur- 
 gundy and Bourdeaux wines were cir- 
 culated ; but almost immediately after 
 the cloth was removed, coffee and li- 
 queurs were introduced ; and at a very 
 early period tlie ladies withdrew, ac- 
 companied by the gentlemen. This 
 arrangement, which in England would 
 be dreadfully heretical, met with my 
 thorough approbation. After living so 
 many days as a bachelor, a dinner en 
 Jaynille, and female society, were to me 
 an extraordinary treat. I was therefore 
 highly gratified when, on our rising to 
 take our departure, Mr. Y. and myself 
 were invited to spend the evening with 
 Madame. New guests arriving, some 
 formed themselves into card parties ; 
 others inspected a collection of the cari- 
 catures of the day ; among which I par- 
 ticularly distinguished one representing 
 the leading French political characters 
 turning their coats. The principal figure
 
 228 
 
 is the Prince of Benevento, ^vho, holding 
 his garment before him, previously to 
 his making the decisive movement, looks 
 anxiously up to a vane, to see which way 
 the wind blows. But to me the chief 
 interest of the evening arose from the 
 conversation of a young French lady, 
 who, without the aid of a master, had 
 acquired a very competent knowledge of 
 many of our best authors. Her treasure 
 of English poetry was Knox's Elegant 
 Extracts in verse. 
 
 Saturday, July 9th. This day we de- 
 dicated to Versailles and the adjacent 
 palaces. Setting off at half past six in a 
 voiture, we passed through the Champs 
 Ell/sees^ where, at this early hour, groups 
 of the populace, and battalions of in- 
 fantry and troops, of cavalry, practising 
 military inanoeu\Tes, presented among 
 the trees an interesting ^'ariety. Leaving 
 tlue bridge of Jena on the left, we went 
 through Passy, in the neighbourhood of 
 which village the corn appeared to be 
 ready for the sickle. After proceeding 
 for some time, we saw, on our right, the 
 palace and to^\^l of St. Cloud, and on the
 
 229 
 
 left Bcllc-vue. Crossing the Seine by an 
 old bridge, that will soon be replaced 
 by a new one, which is in great forward- 
 ness, we drove through Sevres without 
 stopping to visit the celebrated manu- 
 factory of china. At about half ])ast 
 eight we arrived at Versailles. The 
 streets of this town, once crowded by 
 the ca/riages of the noblesse, still pre- 
 sent an air of desolation. We took our 
 breakfast at the Hotel du Grand Reser- 
 voit^ ; and having procured a guide, pro- 
 ceeded on our perambulation. We first 
 walked through the principal alleys of the 
 garden to the head of the great canal, 
 and after contemplating for some time 
 the grandeur of the ancient style of lay- 
 ing out pleasure-grounds, we proceeded 
 to the Great Trianon, into which we 
 were admitted by a kind of house-stew- 
 ard, who is appointed to shew it to 
 strangers. This elegant retreat, which 
 consists of various suites of apartments, 
 all situated on the ground floor, is very 
 conveniently arranged and handsomely 
 furnished. Among the curiosities we par- 
 ticularly admired an inlaid table, repre- 
 
 Q 3
 
 230 
 
 senti ng the twelve signs of the zodiac^ 
 made by a deaf and dumb artist, a pupil 
 of the Abbe Sicard — a cameo in agate, 
 found in the ruins of Herculaneum, which 
 far silrpasses in beauty any thing of the 
 kind that ever fell under my observation, 
 and a table and vase of Malachite of 
 copper, presented, in the days of their 
 friendship, by the Emperor of Russia to 
 Napoleon. Among a variety of picture* 
 which adoni the apartments, a Venus by 
 Guido is incomparably excellent. The 
 four periods of the -day by Vernet are alsa 
 executed in a masterly style — and the 
 portrait of Madame de Fontanges, mis- 
 tress to Louis XIV., has all the witchery 
 of life. 
 
 From the Grand we-extended our walk 
 to the Petit Trianon ; and I was glad to 
 find that this retreat of Royalty is no 
 longer disgraced by being the residence 
 of a Restaurateur. It was purchased by 
 Na})oleon, and now constitutes a part of 
 the property of the crown. In the French 
 garden I remarked one object of curio- 
 sity, which I did not remember to have 
 seen before ; namely, a kind of round- 
 8
 
 231 ' 
 
 about, level witli the ground, fitted with 
 double chairs, calculated to hold eight 
 persons, who can with ease be whirled 
 round by two servants. After lingering 
 for some time in the English garden, 
 which appeared to me to be laid out pre- 
 cisely as it was in 1802, we went into the 
 house, the furniture and decorations of 
 which have lost much of their splendour, 
 which will however be now, in all pro- 
 bability, renewed. Returning to Ver- 
 sailles we visited what our guide repre- 
 sented as the most striking object in the 
 precincts of the garden, viz. the baths of 
 Apollo. These baths consist of an im- 
 mense artificial grotto and rock, on which 
 are assembled a groupe, composed of 
 Apollo and the nine Muses, and in 
 two recesses, are horses taking shelter. 
 This is altogether a puerile affair.. Art 
 is so visible throughout, that the whole 
 has a paltry and insignificant appear- 
 ance. Again passing along the main 
 terrace to the point of view, whence 
 are seen the canal and the great jet- 
 d'eau, the whole bordered with innu- 
 merable statues of grand execution, we 
 Q 4
 
 232 
 
 went to the Orangerie ; and inspected 
 the cloisters, into which the trees are 
 removed in the winter months. Hence 
 we proceeded to the library, on our way 
 to which, we passed through the iron-gate, 
 where the Duke de Brissac, the Deputy 
 Barnave, and many other distinguished 
 characters were murdered during the 
 Revolution. On going through the 
 suites of" rooms, over the doors of which 
 are painted the capital cities of the prin- 
 cipal states of Europe, I foimd that Bona- 
 parte had personally visited every one of 
 these except Constantinople and London. 
 Into the body of the palace we could not 
 gain admittance, as two thousand work- 
 men were employed in refitting it for the 
 reception of the Court, an arrangement, 
 the prospect of which already gives um- 
 brage to the good people of Paris. At 
 dinner, however, we learnt from the de- 
 moiselle who waited on us, tliat the inha- 
 bitants of Versailles, on the score of their 
 persevering loyalty, advance great clainjs 
 upon the patronage of the Bourbons, and 
 particularly pride themselves upon the 
 fact, that tliey were so much the objects
 
 233 
 
 of dislike to Napoleon, that, whenever 
 he had occasion to pass through their 
 town, he always hastened on at full gallop. 
 On my asking this young person how the 
 ladies were affected towards the Emperor, 
 she said, they detested him. — " JEt pour- 
 qiioi done, Mademoiselle /"' Her answer 
 was prompt and pithy, — *' Parce qu'il a 
 fait tuer tons nos amans.** 
 
 Having hastily dispatched our dinner, 
 we mounted oiu' voiture and set off for 
 St. Cloud. After passing through Sevres, 
 we turned suddenly on our left, through 
 a road skirted by a beautiful wood. This 
 wood is laid out in walks ; and, at the 
 lower part of it, we saw a number of little 
 shops or booths, where we were informed, 
 that on certain days of the year a kind 
 of fair and Jete champelre are held. At 
 length, making another turn to the left, 
 we ascended a steep hill, at the top of 
 which are the iron-gates that guard the 
 entrance to the palace. Here, when we 
 presented ourselves, the porter, in a very 
 surly tone, refused us admittance. I re- 
 monstrated to him, that we were English- 
 men J — that our country had afforded
 
 234 
 
 shelter to the Bourbons, when they were 
 banished from all other states ; and that> 
 in consideration of our hospitality, we 
 claimed the return of civility when we 
 came to witness , their prosperity ; and 
 I desired him to go with our com- 
 pliments, and to state our request of 
 admittance to the officer on duty. 
 This remonstrance had an immediate 
 effect ; — the gate was opened ; — we 
 walked into the court ; — and one of the 
 household of Monsieur soon came for- 
 ward, to say that the King was at that 
 moment in the palace on a visit to his 
 brother ; but that if we would have the 
 patience to wait till he was gone (and 
 he w^ould not stay more than ten minutes 
 or a quarter of an hour), we should be 
 welcome to see the apartments. This 
 quarter of an hour we spent upon the 
 terrace, which commands a most charm- 
 ing prospect. Hence the eye wanders over 
 a district abounding in wood, and watered 
 by the Seine, and rests in the distance, on 
 Paris, bounded on the left by the hill of 
 Montmartre, while, on the right, the dome 
 of the Invalides J and that of the EcokMili-
 
 235 
 
 tairCy rise proudly over the circumjacent, 
 buildings ; and, to add to the beauty of 
 the picture, the horizon is not dimmed by 
 one streak of smoke. What an anxious 
 groupe must have been assembled on this 
 terrace to watch the events of the battle 
 of the 30th of March ? 
 
 As we were standing on the terrace, 
 the fountains on a sudden began to play, 
 and to diffuse all around a refreshing 
 coolness. This, we were told, was the 
 signal of the King's departure. Follow- 
 ing a few of the domestics into the east 
 garden, we soon saw two coaches pass, 
 the one di'awn by six, and the other by 
 eight horses. As they were followed by 
 about a dozen guards, we supposed, erro- 
 neously, as it afterwards appeared, that 
 they contained the King and his suite, 
 and immediately went to claim en- 
 trance into the palace. We were ad- 
 mitted, and were shewn through a few 
 rooms, when we were desired to with- 
 draw, as the King was passing through 
 the grand gallery. We accordingly re- 
 tired into a small room, from which, how- 
 ever, we were soon summoned to resume
 
 236 
 
 our promenade. I cannot call to my 
 recollection the series of these apart- 
 ments, nor am I competent to describe 
 their brilliancy. Lustres, gilding, rich 
 tapestry, pictures, mirrors, candelabras, 
 every thing united which can give an 
 idea of the union of grandeur and ele- 
 gance ! What exquisite taste has Napo- 
 leon evinced in providing accommoda- 
 tions for his successors ! The Empress 
 Maria Louisa's bed-chamber is a fairy pa- 
 lace ; her boudoir the cabinet of the 
 Graces. I doubt not that the recollection 
 of St. Cloud will give an additional pang 
 to the feelings both of her and her hus- 
 band when they reflect upon their reverse 
 of fortune. 
 
 Returning by Passy we arrived at our 
 hotel late in the evening, a little fa- 
 tigued, but highly delighted with our ex- 
 cursion. , 
 
 Sunday, July loth. Soon after break- 
 fast this morning I was honoured with 
 
 a visit from the Baron . In the 
 
 course of conversation with this gentle- 
 man, as the Moniteur of the day was 
 lying upon the table, I pointed to a speech.
 
 237 
 
 which had been made the day before in 
 the legislative body by one of the mem- 
 bers, on the occasion of tlie death of his 
 colleague ; and in which a vain attempt 
 at the pathetic had produced an effusion 
 triUy ridiculous. The Baron acknow- 
 ledged, that such exhibitions were dis- 
 graceful to a deliberative assembly. He 
 observed, that during the most enrage 
 crisis of the Revolution, the dead were 
 interred without any ceremony ; and that 
 at present, running into the other ex- 
 treme, the Co7ys Legislatif had adopted the 
 practice of eulogizing every one of its 
 members who happened to die ; and that, 
 as in ao large an assembly there must of 
 course be found many whose talents and 
 character were by no means of a superior 
 cast, the panegyrists of the defunct were 
 frequently reduced to great difficulties 
 in the composition of their eloges ; and 
 were tempted to deviate into bombast 
 and common-place. He also disapproved 
 of the practice of indiscriminately receiv- 
 ing all the books which authors were 
 pleased to present to the assembly, which 
 filled its archives with trash, and debased
 
 238 
 
 its journals by records of unmerited 
 thanks. In this respect, indeed, how 
 striking is the difference between the 
 customs of England and of France ! 
 What a sensation of mingled indignation 
 and mirth would be excited in the British 
 public, were the Honorable Mr. Spencer 
 to appear at the bar of the Lower House, 
 to present to the Commons of the United 
 Kingdom a copy of his " Year of Sor- 
 row;" or were Dr. Mavor to beg their ac- 
 ceptance of his Latin Grammar! But I 
 have seen recorded, with all gravity, jn the 
 proces verbal of the Corps Legislatif^ the 
 presentation of an " Ode on the Restora- 
 tion of the Bourbons; " and the proceed- 
 ings of August 9th were opened by "/7/(wn- 
 mage d*ime production destinee d V instruc- 
 tion de la jeunesse, et intitulee I* Abet lie 
 Franfaise, par M. VAbbe Cordier.** 
 
 On my remarking to the Baron, that 
 I had seen at St. Cloud two or three 
 equipages, which presented great incon- 
 sistency in their equipments, as they con- 
 sisted of old and shabby cabriolets, driven 
 by postilions in very splendid liveries, he 
 said that these equipages belonged to
 
 239 
 
 some of the old noblesse, who by the 
 events of the Revolution had been re- 
 duced to a pitiable state of poverty ; and 
 who, in consequence of the confirmation 
 lately made of all the sales of national 
 property were entirely dependent upon 
 the court. The circumstances of these 
 faithful adherents to their fallen fortunes 
 pressed strongly upon the feelings of the 
 Bourbons, who could not possibly provide 
 for them in a manner consonant to their 
 own wishes, or the expectations of the 
 applicants. He said, that in many cases, 
 whilst real merit was silent and modest, 
 time-servers and pretenders were impor- 
 tunately clamorous. The other day a 
 person presented himself to the Abbe 
 Montesquiou, advancing great claims 
 upon the justice and the generosity of 
 Loids le Desire. He had been the friend 
 of the Royal cause during the worst of 
 times, — the Bourbon family had always 
 had his wishes and his prayers for their 
 welfare — and he had been the most 
 earnest of all their adherents in longing 
 for their restoration. " Mais^ Monsieur ^^^ 
 said the Abbe Montesquiou, who had
 
 240 
 
 never heard of him before "Qu*est quevous 
 cvezfaitV* — ** 3/o?, Monsieur y** repHed 
 this ardent loyalist, " j*ai reste toujours 
 tranquille" — " Eh bieriy continuez done, 
 Monsieur, a rester tranquille,** was the 
 rejoinder of the minister, who was, no 
 doubt, happy to get rid of so troublesome 
 a petitioner by a bon mot. 
 
 In consequence of the horrors of the 
 Revolution, which had destroyed, or 
 driven into exile, so many thousands of 
 the ministers of religion, and the subse- 
 quent embarrassments which obstructed 
 the process of education, learning, the 
 Baron said, was at a low ebb among the 
 clergy, whose labours are at present but 
 scantily remunerated from the public 
 treasury. The revenues of a bishopric 
 do not average more than six hundred 
 pounds sterling per annum. On my 
 inquiring why such hard measure was 
 dealt to Cardinal Mauiy, who had de- 
 fended the cause of the Bourbons in the 
 most stormy periods of the Revolution, 
 and had not given it up to make his peace 
 'with the existing powers till it seemed 
 to be hopeless, he informed me, that His
 
 241 
 
 Eminence was sunk by the worthlessness 
 of his private character, which was so 
 indifferent, and his conduct so indeco- 
 rous, that neither the Pope nor the King 
 could possibly countenance him. He had 
 been patronised by Bonaparte, on ac- 
 count of his abilities, for that Napoleon 
 tried every expedient to win men of talents 
 over to his party. If they accepted his 
 overtures, they were rapidly promoted in 
 their several departments : but if they 
 declined furthering his views, or admini- 
 stering to his vanity, they became objects 
 of persecution. This the Baron illus- 
 trated in the history of a popular parish- 
 priest, whose name I do not recollect. 
 This ecclesiastic, who was celebrated as 
 a preacher, had, upon various occasions 
 in his public discourses, intermixed traits 
 of eloquence which seemed to be, ob- 
 liquely at least, directed against the Em- 
 peror. Far from resenting this, in the 
 first instance, Bonaparte sent for him to 
 the Tuilleries, and, after paying him 
 many compliments, intimated a msh to 
 enrol him among the number of his 
 friends. By these attentions the preju- 
 
 R
 
 242 , 
 
 dices of the sacred orator were subdued j 
 and for some time he became the pan«' 
 gyrist of Bonaparte ; and, in return for 
 his comphance, was remunerated by 
 ^considerable church preferment. But, 
 upon some unlucky occasion, reverting 
 to his old habits, and, in a sermon during 
 Lent, saying something to the disparage- 
 ment of His Imperial Majesty, he was 
 suddenly seized by order of government, 
 and shut up in a lunatic asylum, w^here 
 he was detained till he was convinced, 
 that it was not only heresy but madness 
 to impugn the proceedings of the powers 
 that be. Of all the men of abilities who 
 had figured upon the stage of the Revo- 
 lution, Carnot had been the most steady 
 in his opposition to Bonaparte. He had 
 voted against his being appointed Consul 
 for life ; and had declared his disappro- 
 bation of his assumption of the Impeiiai 
 dignity. His courage, however, had 
 won the respect of Napoleon, who had 
 suffered him to live in unmolested retire- 
 ment. But when the Allies had entered 
 France, and Bonaparte was surroumded 
 by difficulties, he addressed to him a letter,
 
 243 
 
 in which, after reminding liim that, in the 
 days of his si)lendor and prosperity, he had 
 studiously kept aloof from him ; he de- 
 clared that he was ready to render him 
 his best services in the season of his 
 distress. It is an instance of the deci- 
 sion of Bonaparte's character, that, in 
 consequence of this letter, he entrusted 
 the man, who had so long been his de- 
 clared enemy, with the defence of the 
 important city of Antwerp. 
 
 At noon I attended service at the Pro- 
 testant church, which is situated near 
 the Old Louvre. The building is a large 
 one of Greciari architecture. The order 
 of the service is, in almost all respects, si- 
 milar to that of the Church of Scotland, or 
 of the Protestant dissenters in England. 
 The minister, Mons. Marron, is, as his 
 cross denoted, a member of the legion of 
 honour. His discourse w^as eloquent, but 
 not profound. He did not speak extem- 
 pore, but read both his prayers and his 
 sermon ; in the delivery of the latter, he 
 used, with a good deal of management, 
 much appropriate gesticulation. The 
 singing was mean and drawling, though 
 
 R 2
 
 244 
 
 it was assisted by a well-toned organ. 
 Much decency of deportment was ob- 
 served by the audience, which appeared 
 to be composed of the middle orders of 
 the community. Towards the close of 
 the service, the preacher gave notice, 
 that an English sermon would be preached 
 in the evening, by a Mr. Smith, in the 
 Protestant church, me St.Antoine. 
 
 When Mons. Marron had dismissed his 
 congregation, I went to walk in the gar- 
 den of the Tuilleries. On my way 
 thither, I found the Carousel occupied 
 by several squadrons of cavalry, who were 
 passing in review. The spectacle was 
 very brilliant. As to the quality of the 
 troops I can say nothing, only that the 
 horses, though active, appeared to me to 
 be very slight. When the reviewing ge- 
 neral passed along the line, the officers 
 cried Vive le Roiy but this cry was 
 re-echoed by very few of the men ; the 
 great majority of whom maintained a 
 sulky silence. 
 
 After the troops were dismissed, with 
 some difficulty I penetrated to the gar- 
 dens, where I found a tolerably large
 
 245 
 
 groupe, principally composed of elderly 
 people, who were anxiously waiting to 
 catch a glimpse of their King on his re- 
 turn from mass. Whether they were 
 gratified I know not, as without stopping 
 I passed on to enjoy the coolness diffused 
 by the fountains, which were all playing 
 in honour of the day. The walks on the 
 right were crowded with people, among 
 whom, the brilliancy of their scarlet uni- 
 forms, soon attracted my attention to 
 three British officers. I was disgusted at 
 observing, that as these gentlemen passed 
 and repassed, they were stared at and 
 examined by the Parisians in a manner 
 which I thought very offensive ; and as 
 I moved in the crowd, at a little distance, 
 I heard many flippant and unhandsome 
 remarks made upon them, and my coun- 
 tiymen in general. Whatever may have 
 been the case in former times, good 
 breeding is not now the characteristic 
 even of well-di^essed Frenchmen, and 
 Englishmen are far from being popular 
 in this metropolis. 
 
 Having walked for two hours I went to 
 the Palais Royal to dine- On my way 
 
 R 3
 
 246 
 
 thither I found in the Carousel the fol- 
 lowing notice of cheap living: — **Au nu- 
 mero 5, rue St. Thomas^ pour 25 sous on 
 donne potagCy 3 plats d choij:^ dessertf 
 petite verre (Teau de vie. Ou im dessert, 
 pain, icn carafon de bon vin, ou une bou- 
 teiUe de bierre.^* 
 
 While I was at dinner there suddenly 
 came on a shower of rain, which de- 
 scended like a bursting water-spout. As 
 it occurred without any previous indica- 
 tion of its approach, it fell, without notice, 
 upon the motley crowds who were as- 
 sembled in the gardens of the Palais 
 Royal, who fled in all directions, to 
 tlie no amall amusement of those who» 
 like myself, enjoyed the '* suave nmri 
 magno" from the windows of the restau- 
 rateur. This incident prevented me 
 from attending, as it was my intention 
 to have done, to hear the English ser* 
 mon of Mr. Smith ; so, after reading the 
 London newspapers at Riche's, I re- 
 turned at an early hour to our hotel. 
 
 Monday, July nth. As I was well 
 aware, that, on my return home, my fe- 
 male acquaintance would ask a thousand
 
 247 
 
 questions, more than I could answer, 
 with respect to the French fashions, 
 and wishing to gratify the curiosity 
 of certain of my fair friends on this 
 most important topic, I purchased at a 
 print shop, in the Rue Neuve des Petits 
 Champs, twenty-four neatly executed 
 prints of the prevailing costume of the 
 Parisian belles. Among other engravings 
 which were here exposed to sale, I ob- 
 served a caricature of Bonaparte, taking 
 a lesson on dignity of manner from Talma. 
 In tliis print, the tall and well-propor- 
 tioned actor is represented standing in an 
 easy and graceful attitude ; in endea- 
 vouring to imitate which, the little Em- 
 peror twists his diminutive body into a 
 violent contortion. I asked the print- 
 seller how he would dispose of his stock 
 of this caricature, when Napoleon was 
 re-established upon the throne. He 
 turned pale at the very idea of this event, 
 and said, " Woe be to us if he should 
 ever return." After amusing myself 
 some time with this man's collection, I 
 proceeded to the library, where I em- 
 ployed myself in making out a catalogue 
 
 R 4
 
 248 
 
 of manuscript letters of Poggio Braccio- 
 lini, hitherto inedited, which I wished 
 to get copied. Thence I went to the 
 Palais Royal, and in passing, was not 
 a little amused on obsening, on one of 
 the pillars of the Theatre Fran9ais, the 
 following attempt at an English adver- 
 tisement, — ** Hardy Cook, living to the 
 Louvre on the West Gate un der the 
 vestibule, old emplacement of late M. 
 KoUiker. He will serve you with list, 
 and he has parlours and privates rooms, 
 receives Society, and has always some 
 Shoucroute and Disters of Caucale. Nota 
 he as wines of Bordeaux firts quality.'* 
 This elaborate qffiche did not, however, 
 seduce me from Beldame's, where I dined 
 as usual. After dinner, I called at a 
 jeweller's under one of the piazzas of the 
 Palais-Royal, and purchased a crotj: d*hon- 
 neuTy formerly given by Napoleon, a few 
 of which were exhibited for sale in the 
 window of the shop. When I had con- 
 cluded my bargain with Madame la Mar- 
 chande, who charged me only one-third 
 more than its value, a dark-visaged gen- 
 tleman who was present, took out his
 
 249 
 
 pocket-book, and producing from it a 
 cross, somewhat larger than that which 
 I had bought, said, with emotion, ** This 
 I received from the Emperor's own 
 hand ;'* and immediately commenced 
 an harangue in commendation of Bona- 
 parte. This harangue was by no means 
 approved by the lady, who reprobated 
 the anti-commercial system of Napoleon, 
 which, she said, would, had he not been de- 
 posed, have soon involved France in utter 
 ruin. She also animadverted, with severity 
 upon the spirit of plunder and devasta- 
 tion that he had infused into the French 
 troops, which, she observed, had drawn 
 down upon her countrymen the hatred of 
 all the countries in which they had carried 
 on military operations. This drew from her 
 ungallant antagonist a severe philippic 
 against tradesfolks of all descriptions, 
 whom he seemed to regard as born only 
 to supply the wants of the soldiery. He 
 commanded a company of foot, he said — 
 and what was a w^hole district of bour- 
 geoisie to him in comparison with his com- 
 rades. If the bourgeoisie fed and lodged
 
 250 
 
 them with a good grace — well. But, if 
 they refused to provide for their wants, 
 they should feel the visitation of free 
 quarters. It is impossible to describe the 
 horrible grimaces which were the appro- 
 priate accompaniment of these sentiments, 
 which have for so many years been the 
 principles of action of the French army. 
 On my opening my pocket-book to de- 
 posit my purcliase in it, I observed his 
 eye glance with ciu'iosity on a rouleau of 
 bank of England notes, out of which 1 
 selected a most superlatively dirty and 
 ragged one, and told him that this was 
 the index of England's prosperity — that 
 it was almost our only circulating me- 
 dium, by virtue of which we had with- 
 stood all the power of Bonaparte, and 
 finally hurled him from his throne. 'JTlie 
 soldier gazed on the filthy remnant with 
 stupid astonishment — but the lady, with 
 a degree of philosophy which would 
 have excited the applause of Mr. Van- 
 sittart, had he been present, said, " All 
 depends upon confidence. You cannot 
 eat gold any more than paper ;' and if
 
 251 
 
 the public faithfully agree that this p^per 
 shall represent so much provision, it is 
 all well." 
 
 After dinner I accompanied Mr. Y. 
 to the Theatre Francois, Two pieces 
 were represented this evening. The 
 first was Edoimrd en Ecosse, a serious 
 drama, founded on the adventures of 
 the Pretender, after the battle of CuUo- 
 den. The incidents of the story of 
 course gave rise to many speeches on the 
 subject of hereditary claims which were 
 loudly applauded. Abuse of the house 
 of Hanover did not, however, sound 
 grateful to English ears, and the play 
 was on the whole dull and monotonous, 
 like the Royal Oak and similar com- 
 positions, depending for success upon the 
 striking situations into which the charac- 
 ters are occasionally thrown, and upon 
 sentiments which suit the feelings of the 
 day. Edouard en Ecosse was followed by 
 the Plaideurs of Racine. This is one 
 of those works which will live for ever. 
 In it nature is pourtrayed in the most 
 lively colours, and satire is employed for 
 the noblest purpose, the correction of
 
 252 
 
 folly and the reformation of abuse. It 
 was performed in a capital style ; and 
 the liveliness of the audience, from its 
 commencement to its close, evinced the 
 deep interest which this ancient stock 
 piece still excites in a Parisian theatre. 
 
 Tuesday, July 12th. At ten o*clock 
 I went to the Royal Library, where I 
 had the pleasure to meet Mons. Langles, 
 who, with his usual politeness, made an 
 arrangement for the purpose of procur- 
 ing Mr. Y. a sight of the Royal col- 
 lection of Drawings, at present under 
 the care of the celebrated Mons. Denon. 
 Thence I drove to the Bureau de la 
 Police^ where, on my application, the 
 passport with which I had come to 
 France was restored to me. To enable 
 me to return to England this passport 
 was to be countersigned by the Prince 
 de Benevento. I accordingly hastened 
 with it to the office of Foreign Affairs, 
 and was directed to leave it till to- 
 morrow, when I was assured that, on 
 paying ten franks, I should receive it 
 with the proper endorsement. Here 
 I was joined by Mr. Y., who aceompa-
 
 253 
 
 nied me to the GobelmeSy into which, 
 however, we could not gain admittance, 
 as we were not provided with tickets from 
 the director of the manufactory, and 
 had arrived after the hour when it is 
 open to strangers. We therefore went 
 forward to tlie Ette des Pastes, where I 
 made a farewell call upon my friend the 
 veteran Pinel, and then proceeded to the 
 Jar din des Plantes. We first walked 
 down the main alley to observe the general 
 disposition of the garden, which appears 
 to be at once magnificent and convenient. 
 A variety of conservatories contain the 
 plants which require a climate still more 
 genial than that of France ; and a large 
 pond, supplied with water from the river, 
 Ibrms a receptacle for the aquatic plants. 
 Proceeding through a grove situated at 
 the bottom of a gentle acclivity, we saw 
 a fine cedar tree, which we were told 
 was planted by Jussieu. Thence we 
 proceeded to the Menagerie, Here we 
 were astonished to see the neatness and 
 comfort with which the different animals 
 are accommodated. Of course the 
 ferocious beasts are closely confined 5
 
 2H 
 
 but their dens are spacious, and kept 
 scrupulously clean. The tame quadrupeds 
 are kept in separate enclosures, in each 
 of which is a thatched shed or cottage, 
 to which at their pleasure they retire for 
 shelter. As these cottages are all of 
 different forms, and as the enclosures 
 are made in the midst of trees of dif- 
 ferent growths, the various species of 
 deer, sheep, goats, and horned cattle, all 
 seeming in their appropriate abodes to 
 enjoy their existence, constitute a singu- 
 lar and interesting picture. Round a 
 paddock secured by strong beams of tim- 
 ber, a crowd was assembled waiting for 
 the appearance of an elephant, who had 
 retreated into his castle, whence his 
 keeper at length summoning him, he 
 eyed the multitude with all the ap- 
 pearance of contemptuous indifference. 
 In another enclosure a collection of 
 monkies seemed, by their grinning and 
 diattering, to be quite at home in Paris — 
 and in two large areas sunk deep in the 
 ground, and well fenced with armed 
 rails, four or five bears, mounting up 
 knotted posts with an activity, whicli.
 
 contrasted with their clumsy make, was 
 truly astonishing, afforded an infinite fund 
 of amusement to the spectators. 
 
 Our conductor lamented that we had 
 visited the garden on a day when it was 
 open to the populace of Paris. To me, 
 however, this circumstance was no sub- 
 ject of sorrow, as in my view the various 
 emotions, manoeuvres, and contortions of 
 the spectators constituted a very amusing 
 part of the show. 
 
 Quitting the wild beasts we visited the 
 Museum of Anatomy. Here the first 
 object pointed out to us w as the skeleton 
 of the assassin of General Kleber. This 
 wretched enthusiast was impaled alive, 
 and though two of his lower vertebraewere 
 broken by the stake, he lived in torture for 
 some hours. His calcined bones too well 
 attest the ferocity with which his execu- 
 tioners burnt the flesh from the hand 
 which committed the murder, by which 
 he sought to avenge the wrongs inflicted 
 on his country. It becomes the policy and 
 the humanity of the French to remove 
 this memorial of their cruelty, which 
 tends only to preserve the remembrance
 
 256 
 
 of their disgrace, and to brutalize the 
 minds of the spectators. The most re- 
 markable object which I saw in this col- 
 lection was the skeleton of a Cameleo- 
 pardalis. It does not as yet possess any 
 of the bones of the Mammoth. 
 
 On leaving the Botanic Garden we 
 were struck with the beauty of the bridge 
 of Austerlitz, which stands opposite to 
 its principal entrance, and forms a com- 
 munication between this quarter and the 
 Boulevard Bourdon. This bridge, as its 
 name imports, was constructed by Na- 
 poleon. Its piers are of stone, but its 
 arches are formed of iron, and have a 
 lightsome air which produces a handsome 
 effect. 
 
 We now proceeded to the house of a 
 dealer in drawings, and looked over a 
 collection of designs of the ancient mas- 
 ters ; several of which were excellent in 
 point of execution, and in high preserva- 
 tion. We then dined at a restaurateur* s 
 opposite to the palace of the Luxembourg. 
 From the windows of the cabaret where 
 our couvert was served, we saw the break- 
 ing up of the Chamber of Peers, whose 
 
 lO
 
 257 
 
 costume and equipages constituted a 
 mucli more splendid shew than we had 
 witnessed e\en at the Court. In tlie 
 evening we attended at the Grand Opera. 
 The opera was Akeste ; — the music, as 
 usual, horribly loud and bad ; — the . 
 decorations and dancing excellent. The 
 ballet was the Danso7name, in which Ma- 
 dame Gardel and Vestris excited and 
 merited the applause of a most attentive 
 multitude of spectators. As nothing can 
 afford a more striking, and, at the same 
 time, a more amusing proof of the im- 
 portance which is attached, in this coun- 
 try, to the art of dancing, than the self- 
 satisfied and consequential preface pre- 
 fixed by the author to the prGgramme of 
 this Folie Pantomime, I will transcribe it 
 for the edification of my readers : 
 
 *' Depuls le 5 Mars 1793 (v. sJ) epoque 
 d laquelle J'ai dome mon dernier ouvrage 
 {le Ballet de Paris) je snis reste dans une 
 apparente oisivete. Je m'en sicis milk Jots 
 di'sespcrS ; mes amis s*en sont plaints j 
 d'autres personnes nfont denonce cojiime 
 coupable de sterilitc. Tai oppose a mon 
 desespoiry ma raison (c'est pen) ; aita: 
 s
 
 258 
 
 , plaintes de mes aviisy les motifs de cette 
 uisivete (c*est assez) ; ei j*ai laisse parkr 
 et ecrire les mitres (c*est beaitcoi/p'). Alois 
 eiijiriy arrive au moment de soinnetti-e une 
 de mes nouvelles productions muv himieres 
 du p2il>Ucy je lid dots totde la rerite; je 
 projite done de cette circonstance pour lid 
 assurer que^ penetre des encouragemens 
 qiCil n hien voulu me donner dans les dif- 
 ferens essais que je lid ai presentcs^ je me 
 seroisjuge moi-meme indigne de ses bontes, 
 sij'avois neglige de Jaire de ?iouvelles ten^ 
 tatives pour les meriter reellement. Je n*ai 
 done cesse de travailler, et malgre toutes 
 les difficultes qu'ime injinite de circonstajices 
 pourront pent-etre encore m^qffrir^ je tra- 
 vaillerai toNJours. D(jd rues travaux m^ont 
 valu qiiatre ouvrages remits par les direrses 
 administrations, indcpendamment de plu- 
 sicurs autres que gemissent en porte-Jeaille, 
 de leur inutilite. Cependant me voiln af- 
 ficlie : est-ce un ballet queje vais presenter ? 
 Non ; c*est une plaisanterie, une veritable 
 blitette, un 7ien ; sa?is autre espece de pre- 
 tention que cede d'offrir, sous le masque de 
 la gaietSy les graces et les divins talens que 
 le Public chcrit a tant de titres. Je lui
 
 ^59 
 
 demande justice pour eux^ et pour moije 
 reclame, toute so?i iiidulgence." 
 
 Wednesday, July 1 3tli. At ten o'clock 
 Mr.Y. accompanied me to the Bib/iotheque 
 Roijalcy where we were received by Mons. 
 Langlcs. Under his auspices we were 
 permitted minutely to examine the 
 HeureSy or Prayer-book of Louis XIV. 
 and that of Anne of Austria, both MSS. 
 in vellum, and enriched with illuminations 
 and miniature paintings of the most ex- 
 quisite execution. But more than these 
 I prized a sight of Petrarch's celebrated 
 MS. copy of Virgil, in which is inscribed 
 his note on Laura. This MS. is a folio, 
 very distinctly written, and in fine pre- 
 servation. It was formerly deposited in 
 the Ambrogian Library at Milan, but was 
 conveyed from thence by Bonaparte, as 
 one of the most precious spoils of war. I 
 w^as next admitted into the cabinet of Coins 
 and Medals, which, as it is well known, is 
 the most extensive and the most valuable 
 existing in the world. The whole of 
 these treasures of antiquity was offered 
 to my inspection; but I restricted myself 
 to the copper coins of the Roman Empire, 
 s a
 
 260 
 
 ill examining which I was aided by one 
 of the attendants, who acted in the dou- 
 ble capacity of curator and interpreter. 
 It would ill become me to forego this 
 occasion of publicly acknowledging the 
 friendly zeal with which this gentle- 
 man, when he found that I took an inte- 
 rest in the medallic science, aided my re- 
 searches, and pointed out to me the pieces 
 which were particularly worthy of obser- 
 vation on account of their rarity, or the 
 excellence of their preservation. 
 
 From the library wc went to the shop 
 of De Bure llie bookseller, which con- 
 .sists of a range of apartments retired 
 from the street, and on one side com- 
 manding theviewof awell-})lanted garden. 
 Here we made some purcliases at a very 
 reasonable rate. Books of all descriptions 
 are much cheaper in France than in Eng- 
 land, where, as M.de Bure observed, the 
 prices are become intolerable to people 
 of moderate fortunes. 
 
 Thursday, July 14. For some years 
 after the commencement of the Revolu- 
 tion, this day was observed as a high fes- 
 tival in commemoration of the taking of
 
 261 
 
 the Bastille. It is now marked in the 
 Court Calendar with an " euccidat ilk dies 
 
 I past the former part of the morning 
 at the Library. At noon Mr. Y. and I 
 went to attend a sitting of the Legisla- 
 tive Body. On our entrance into the 
 great gateway, we were stopped by a 
 military guard, but on our announcing 
 ourselves as Englishmen were permitted 
 to proceed. We then made our way into 
 an anti-room, when a door-keeper dressed 
 in livery told us we could not be ad- 
 mitted into the gallery without tickets ; 
 but on my observing to him, that my 
 
 friend the Baron had informed me 
 
 that tickets were not necessary, he open- 
 ed a door and introduced us into the body 
 of the hall. Here we found two or three 
 members of the Corps Legislatif, ^ijid about 
 half a dozen ladies. The hall is a very 
 handsome room in the form of an half 
 oval. It is ornamented with six statues, 
 representing Lycurgus, 8olon, Demos- 
 thenes, Brutus, Cato, and Cicero. Un- 
 der the president's chair are two figures 
 in bas-reHef of History and Renown. 
 S3
 
 262 
 
 Immediately below the president are 
 stools appointed for the huissiers. One 
 or two benches, cpvered with blue lea- 
 ther, are appropriated to such of the 
 King's ministers as may have occasion to 
 attend the assembly. On the entrance 
 of several members, clothed in their full 
 costume, a blue coat ornamented with 
 gold lace, we withdrew into the gallery, 
 the front bench of which was reserved 
 for the ladies. When the president had 
 taken his chair, he gave notice of the 
 commencement of business by ringing a 
 bell. The proces verbal of the last sit- 
 ting was then read, and the presentation 
 of two or three pamphlets was announ- 
 ced. A member then rose, walked across 
 the room, and ascending the tribune, 
 read a speech proposing a free import 
 and export of commodities into France, 
 which was received with murmurs of dis- 
 approbation. When the orator, if ora- 
 tor he might be called, had finished by a 
 motion, one or two members rose, and 
 waddling across the floor, mounted the 
 rostrum in succession, and said a very 
 few words, after which the question was
 
 '263 
 
 put, and it was almost unanimously 
 agreed, that " there was no room to 
 dehberate" upon tlie proposition which 
 had been just made. The president then 
 proceeded to read the result of several 
 ballots for committees, after which he 
 terminated the sitting. Though tliis 
 day's proceedings were tar from being 
 interesting, there was such a disposition 
 to tumult among the members, that the 
 president w^as obliged two or three times 
 to reduce them to order by ringing his 
 bell. The reading of speeches has a 
 very flat effect, and the transit from the 
 benches to the tribune must tend to 
 damp a speaker's fire. Many years must 
 elapse before theCorpsLegislatifof France 
 will emulate the well-regulated activity 
 and promptitude of our House of Com- 
 mons. 
 
 From the Corps Legislatif, we went 
 to the Luxembourg for the purpose of 
 viewing the chamber, in which the peers 
 hold their assemblies. Entrance was at 
 first refused us, but a little importunity 
 at length obtained us admittance. After 
 passing through a large hall, we arrived 
 s 4
 
 264 
 
 at the grand staircase, which is very 
 magnificent and handsome. We were 
 surprized to find it decorated by statues 
 of Vergniaux, Bainave, and Mirabeau, 
 upon which tlic Ex-emperor must have 
 looked with no friendly eye. Those of 
 Hoche and Kleber were no doubt erected 
 by his special order. After traversing a 
 spacious anti-room we entered the Cham- 
 ber of the Peers. Here the first object 
 which attracted our attention was the 
 throne, still supported by the imperial ea- 
 gles, highly gilt and ornamented. To the 
 right and left stood chairs, which are oc- 
 casionally occupied by the great officers 
 of state. The peers are alsa provided 
 with chairs covered with red velvet, 
 which occupy the body of the room. 
 On the pannels of the chamber are ar- 
 ranged immense pictures, the subjects of 
 which are the warlike exploits of Na- 
 poleon. These pictures are now, prepa- 
 ratory to their removal, carefully cover- 
 ed with green baize. Beyond the hall 
 of assembly are three committee rooms, 
 the furniture of which consists of blue 
 velvet. The whole range of these cliara-
 
 26:) 
 
 bers is worthy the nobihl y of a mighty 
 kingdom. In spleiulour and elegance 
 of decoration tiiey are only second to 
 St. Cloud. 
 
 From the Luxembqiii'g we proceeded 
 to the church of the Pantheon. This is 
 celebrated as one of tlie most classical 
 edifices in Paris. Its portico is iiTagni- 
 ficent, its dome grand and lightsome, 
 and its interior at once vast and simple 
 in its ordonnance. On an entablature 
 on the pediment of the portico is the 
 following inscription :— AVX GRANDS 
 HOMMES LA PATRIE RECON- 
 NOISS ANTE. According to the tenoiir 
 of this inscription the vaults underneath 
 the church are appropriated to the recep- 
 tion of the remains of men of distin- 
 guished merit. We descended into these 
 gloomy repositories, where I saw the 
 tombs of many " great men," of w^hom 
 I had never heard before. In one of the 
 arcades, our guide pointed out to us the 
 cenotaphs of Rousseau and Voltaire. 
 The position of these cenotaphs is cer- 
 tainly not the most happy. Consecrated
 
 126(5 
 
 precincts are by no means an appropriate 
 receptacle for a monument, erected in ho- 
 nour of the contemner of revealed reli- 
 gion ; and the Isle of Poplars is a much 
 more suitable resort for the departed spirit 
 of the enthusiastic admirer of nature, than 
 the dank gloominess of a catacomb. Two 
 priests who had joined the party and ac- 
 companied us in our visit to the mansions 
 of the dead, evidently contemplated the 
 memorials of these arch-heretics with 
 sentiments of alarm and disgust. 
 
 We dined to-day at our hotel, and my 
 passport being arrived, I took my place 
 in the diligence, w hich was to set out the 
 next day for Rouen, and spent the evening 
 in making preparations for my journey 
 home. 
 
 At five o'clock in the morning of Friday, 
 July 1 5th, having taken leave of Mr. Y., 
 who intended to return home by the way of 
 Holland, I took my seat in the Rouen dili- 
 gence, in which I had the good fortune to 
 meet with three very agreeable travelling 
 companions, whose conversation beguiled 
 the tediousness of the journey. Oiu" route
 
 267 
 
 lay througli St.Dciiis, Pontoise, Magny, 
 Boiirge-BuLidoin, andlbrgelerette. This 
 route is by no means so interesting as that 
 by Vernon and St.Germaine, which cir- 
 cumstance diminished the regret which I 
 experienced at the idea of being boxed up 
 in the moving dungeon of a French stage 
 coach. We arrived at Rouen in the even- 
 ing ; and early on the ensuing morning, Sa- 
 turday, July 1 6th, I proceeded to Dieppe. 
 This journey I made alone in a cabriolet, 
 in which post horses conveyed me at the 
 rate of seven English miles an hour. 
 At the gates of Dieppe my passport was 
 examined by the corporal of the guard, 
 and on its being found perfectly regidar 
 I was allowed to proceed to the Hotel du 
 VaquehoU where I was instantly recognized 
 and received with a landlord's welcome 
 by Mons. Roland. Nearly opposite to the 
 windows of my dining room lay a packet 
 boat, in which I took my passage. The 
 captain proposed sailing at nine o'clock 
 in the evening. At about seven, as I 
 was lounging on the quay in profound me- 
 ditation, I was awakened from my reverie
 
 268 
 
 by an acquaintance who had just arriveOl 
 from England, and who gratified me by 
 the communication of some interesting 
 news, both domestic and political. As 
 on my voyage to France I had experi- 
 enced the inconvenience of neglecting to 
 secure a birth, at nine o'clock 1 repaired 
 on board our vessel, and retired to bed, 
 where I soon fell fast asleep. At four 
 in the morning 1 awoke, and hastening 
 on deck to observe wliat progress v/c had 
 made, was astonished to fmd that we 
 were still moored in the dock of Dieppe. 
 Neither the captain nor any of his crew 
 were visible ; but 1 learnt from a custom- 
 house officer who was appointed to watch 
 the packet, in order to jirevent the in- 
 troduction of contraband goods, that as 
 the evening was rather stormy, it was not 
 thought advisable to pass the jetty till 
 this morning's tide. At five o'clock I 
 quitted the vessel, and amused myself 
 with attending the early parade of two 
 battalions of foot which constitute part 
 of the garrison. I next took a farewell 
 view of the churches, and after breakfast-
 
 '269 
 
 iiig at KoUnul's, I once more repaired to 
 the packet, which was towed out of the 
 harbour at about half past ten o'clock. 
 Tlie w ind was fair, but very light ; and in 
 the ai'ternoon we had nearly a dead calm. 
 We liad, however, a roomy boat and in- 
 telligent company ; so with the occa- 
 sional aid of a book I passed the time 
 \ery pleasantly. After sleeping another 
 night on board, I arrived at about three 
 in the afternoon of Monday, July i8th, 
 at Brighton, from wlience I proceeded 
 without loss of time, by way of London, 
 to Liverpool. 
 
 On my arrival in London I was inform- 
 ed by my friends, that many Englishmen 
 who had visited Paris since the peace, 
 had returned home extremely disappoint- 
 ed in the expectation of pleasure, which 
 had induced them to cross the Channel. 
 The experience of these individuals does 
 not, however, at all accord with -mine. 
 During my stay in the French metropolis 
 I spent my time most agreeably ; and I 
 shall ever look back upon this excursion 
 with sentiments of high satisfaction. As
 
 to many of my countrymen who are dis* 
 pleased with France, I cannot help think- 
 ing that the fault is in themselves. Un- 
 reasonable expectations are ever mor- 
 tified. One man finds no carpets on 
 the floors of the French inns, and he 
 instantly exclaims that on the continent 
 comfort is unknown. Another meets 
 with a dish to which he is a stranger — 
 he reconnoitres it, as if he were in fear 
 of poison — he just tastes and does not 
 li,ke it — and then curses the French 
 cookery by the hour. A third discovers, 
 after some pains-taking, that the wnne 
 of the country will sooner disorder his 
 bowels than his head, and he becomes 
 absolutely outrageous. Multitudes are 
 ignorant of the French language ; and, 
 too proud to set about learning it, they 
 make their w^ay through the public spec- 
 tacles of Paris by the aid of a valet de 
 place, who has a smattering of English ; 
 and when they return home they declare 
 that the metropolis of France furnishes no 
 good society. People of this character 
 would do well to stay at home, and 
 5
 
 271 
 
 delegate tlie emi)loyment of travelling to 
 men of moderate views. These will 
 acknowledge that on the route to Paris 
 either by Calais or Dieppe, they find 
 good apartments, clean beds, good wine, 
 and if they are not absolutely bigotted 
 to beef stakes — good cookery. In Paris 
 a man may live as he pleases. He may 
 dine at his pleasure for two louis or 
 for twenty-five sous. Lodgings also may 
 be had of various prices, according to the 
 views and the purse of the traveller ; 
 but it may be observed, that from time 
 immemorial, lodgings have, in Paris, beeTi 
 for their quality estimated as rather dear. 
 The j)ublic amusements of tliis metro- 
 polis have been so long and so loudly ce- 
 lebrated, that it is superfluous to re- 
 mark, they afford, for every unemployed 
 evening, a cheap and an elegant amuse- 
 ment. 
 
 To the man of letters, Paris is a most 
 eligible residence. The stores of its 
 public libraries, especially of the Biblio- 
 theque Royale, afford him an exhaustless 
 fund of materials for studv. The faci-
 
 572 
 
 lity of access to these treasures of know- 
 ledge claims tlie thankful acknowledge- 
 ment even of the transient visitor ; much 
 more so must it excite the grateful ap- 
 plause of those who, devoting themselves 
 to some special literary object, are in- 
 dulged with the free use of the most 
 })recious documents, and are aided in 
 their researches by the liberality of some 
 of the first scholars of the age. 
 
 Not less powerful is the charm which 
 attracts the lover of the hue arts to 
 the metropolis of France. Here is esta- 
 blished the public school of the world 
 for the study of painting and scidpture. 
 Here the man of liberal education con- 
 templates those forms which have been 
 depicted to his fancy in early life — and 
 the artist acquires those practical lessons 
 which are only to be obtained by minute 
 examination of the works of the most 
 distinguished masters. If the attracting 
 of multitudes of wealthy and ingenious 
 strangers to the capital of a great king- 
 dom, be at all conducive to public pro- 
 sperity, or diffusive fame, the transporta-
 
 273 
 
 tion of the reliqucs of art and of the 
 choicest paintings in Europe to Paris, 
 was not merely the work of vanity — it 
 was a master-stroke of policy. 
 
 As I slowly paced the gallery of the 
 Louvre, my attention was occasionally 
 abstracted from the wonders with w hich 
 I was surrounded by speculations upon 
 the probable duration of the period when 
 an Englishman will b^ able to visit these 
 repositories of taste in the character of a 
 friend and an ally. The pursuit of these 
 speculations leads to a wide field of 
 thought. The solving of the problem 
 will, in the first place, depend upon the 
 settlement of a preliminary enquiry : 
 Will the government of the Bourbons be 
 stable? And from every thing that I 
 could observe during my visit to France, 
 I am persuaded that the stability of the 
 Bourbon dynasty will depend entirely 
 upon the conduct of the heads of that 
 illustrious house, and that they have not 
 altogether an easy game to play. The 
 allegiance of the great body of the army 
 is more than doubtful. The troops are 
 generally disaffected to them. I under- 
 
 T
 
 274 - 
 
 stand also, that in consequence of their 
 confirmation of the sales of confiscated 
 property, the loyalty of the ancient no- 
 blesse toward them is much impaired ; 
 and with regard to the mass of the peo- 
 ple, the enthusiasm in favour of Louis 
 XVIII., of which we read so much in the 
 Moniteur, appears merely on paper. 
 Still, however, the mass of the people 
 are friendly to the Bourbons. They were 
 so oppressed by Bonaparte ; and the con- 
 scription, in particidar, made such in- 
 roads upon their domestic comforts, that 
 though their joy is by no means ex- 
 travagant, they are glad to see the 
 throne filled by a monarch of a mild 
 disposition, and a pacific character. It 
 is to this quarter, then, that Louis must 
 look for support. He must cherish his 
 people — he must foster their arts, their 
 commerce, and their manufactures. I 
 will further observe, that if he would 
 wish to establish liis throne upon a 
 lasting foundation, he will do well to 
 restrain notorious vices in his court, and 
 to avoid, as bis greatest bane, the scan-
 
 275 
 
 dal of pecimiiiry extravagance. The 
 follies of Louis XV. are not forgot- 
 ten, and the j)eo])le of France sliew 
 every disposition to revolt against un- 
 reasonable taxation. If any question 
 should unfortunately arise between his 
 people and himself, Louis XVIII. can- 
 not rely upon the support of the army. 
 Precluded then from governing by force, 
 he can only govern by influence. And 
 that influence is not to be maintain- 
 ed by a priesthood, who have as yet 
 no hold upon the public mind, but 
 by prudence of personal conduct, and 
 by wise and lenient measures of ad- 
 ministration. Now, as far as personal 
 character is concerned, it may be justly 
 expected, that the present monarch 
 will regulate his reign by these princi- 
 ples : and when it is considered that the 
 interest of the marshals is now strictly 
 united to those of the present dynasty ; 
 that the Peers also, and the Corps Legis- 
 latif have irretrievably committed them- 
 selves in the same cause, we may con- 
 clude, that the House of Bourbon enjoys 
 
 T 2 ,
 
 276 
 
 a reasonable prospect of swaying the 
 sceptre of France for some generations 
 to come. 
 
 But the prospect of the continuance of 
 peace is aifected by another circumstance, 
 namely, the disposition of the people of 
 France. And I am soiTy to state that 
 I did not perceive in them any due sense 
 of the blessings of public tranquillity. 
 The minds of the army, both officers and 
 privates, are bent upon violence and 
 rapine, and they care not upon whom 
 these are exercised. Their notions of 
 warfare are not modified by the chivalrous 
 spirit of modern times. They have even 
 little regard for the welfare of their coun- 
 try. Plunder and promotion are the main, 
 articles of their creed ; and they are 
 ready to draw the sword without enquir- 
 ing against whom. Nor are the bulk of 
 the people chastised into wisdom by the 
 events which have lately occurred to 
 humble them. They cannot be persuad- 
 ed that any of the ordinary occurrences 
 of war could have exposed the French 
 anns to disaster and defeat. Their
 
 277 
 
 language already begins to be lofty, and 
 the nation at large seems to wish for an 
 opportunity of redeeming the military 
 credit, which, though they are too proud 
 to acknowledge it, they are conscious they 
 have lost. The animosity both of the, 
 army and the people is most inveterate 
 against Austria, which power they loudly 
 accuse of treachery and cupidity, — poli- 
 tical vices which they, very consistently 
 no doubt, avow their wish to punish and 
 restrain. On England also they look 
 with an evil eye. They cannot bear "to 
 think of our naval power, and they con- 
 template with all the jealousy of rivalry 
 our commercial prosperity. The com- 
 plaints of the prisoners of war whom we 
 have lately dismissed in such numbers, 
 are too readily listened to, and aggravate 
 feelings in themselves sufficiently turbu- 
 lent. Upon the whole, then, I cannot 
 help fearing that the halcyon days, which 
 in the imagination of so many worthy 
 men lately followed each other in end- 
 less succession, will not be of so long 
 duration as has been expected. Where
 
 278 
 
 much inflammable matter is collected, 
 the smallest spark may produce an ex- 
 tensive conflagration. The ensuing con- 
 gress will constitute the most important 
 period ir^ the history of modern times. 
 Nothing but the most consummate pru- 
 dence on the part of the negociators, who 
 will be there assembled, can long pro- 
 tract the revival of the horrors of war.
 
 TRANSLATIONS OF TOE FRENCH PASSAGES. 
 
 P. 2 1. 1. 3. — Indeed you are very little eaters, 
 
 P. 25. L19. — Those born to consume pro- 
 visions. 
 
 P. 30. 1. 12. — Indeed, Sir, he is an excellent 
 man. 
 
 P. 33. 1. 10. — Very handsome and extremely 
 interesting. 
 
 P. 8 1 . 1.21. — Where reign the people, up- 
 roar lords it wide ; 
 Reason is dumb — honours are set to sale, 
 Sedition triumphs ; and the petty sovereigns, 
 Created for a year, blast the fair fruit 
 Of wisest enterprize, lest their successors 
 Should share the glory. Of the public harvest 
 Largely they reap, assured of ready pardon 
 From those who wait their coming turn of 
 
 rapine. 
 Of all the forms of civil sway the worst 
 Is a Repubhc. 
 
 P. 82. 1. 10. — By such events heaven has too 
 plainly shewn 
 It hates assassins — punishes the thankless ;
 
 28o 
 
 And, spite of every bold emprize, avenges 
 The fall of thrones, by power divine established. ' 
 Whom God anoints he ever will support ; 
 Long bleeds the wound by which their lives are 
 closed. 
 
 P. 107. 1. 14. — Yes, Sir. When I lost her, 
 I lost all my happiness. 
 
 P. 1 1 1. 1. 1. — But ah ! the cruel sheers ! — 
 
 Ye wood-nymphs, haste — 
 
 Avert the crime Alas, the deed is done ! 
 
 Their verdant shoots have felt the trenchant 
 
 steel. 
 No more the whispering wind with lightsome 
 
 breath 
 Waves their tall smnmits, murmurs through 
 
 their leaves. 
 And gently dies away. Cold, stiff, and dead, 
 They stand as motionless as the dull metal 
 WTiich laid their honours prostrate in the dust. 
 
 P. 1 16. Li 7. — I must have money, a deal of 
 money, 
 
 P. 121. 1.13. — Yes, Sir, properly checked 
 and signed, with an exact description of their 
 countenances. 
 
 P. 122. 1. 1. — It was for a state affair. 
 
 Ibid. 1.3. — I was suspected by Robespierre. 
 
 P. 164. 1.5. — I understand you. He has 
 eaten heartily and slept soundly. Fine prepa-
 
 28l 
 
 rations these for conducting the affairs of a great 
 kingdom ! 
 
 P. 179. 1. 14. — Had no fondness for build- 
 ing. 
 
 P. 1 84. 1. 24. — You, whose firm soul, and 
 fifteen years of sorrow 
 Render you more august and more beloved. 
 
 P. 185. 1.6. — Still in my ears resounds the 
 thrilling cry 
 
 Save — Save the King, — his Spouse, — his royal 
 offspring ! 
 
 I see the ensanguined walls, the burning portals, 
 The shrieking females crush'd 'neath smoking 
 
 ruins, 
 The flying slaves — whilst tumult and aifright, 
 Arms, brands, and death in ghastliest form, sur- 
 round me. 
 
 Ibid. l.ig. — The wild ambition which de- 
 vours his soul 
 Is restless, fiery, and holds nothing sacred. 
 If fi"om Amphrysus he has chased the robbers. 
 If he has saved Messenia, he regards them 
 As his by conquest. For himself alone 
 He draws the sword. He aims at tyrant power, 
 And grasps with hand unhallowed at the crown, 
 In quest of which he beats down every barrier. 
 Corrupts the laws, and sheds the purest blood, 
 u
 
 2*2 
 
 P. 1 86. 1. 1 1. — A chieftain such as I may sure 
 pretend 
 
 To rule the state which owes to him its safety. 
 The first of kings was a victorious soldier. 
 
 Ibid. 1.19. — No, no ! their cruel bands be- 
 set his gates. 
 He is surrounded by the faithless crowd 
 Of fawning courtiers, who in former days 
 Walked in my train, or crouched beneath my 
 sceptre. 
 
 P. 198. — Can-efauTf a place where four 
 streets cross. 
 
 P. 215. 1.12. — So says the learned Priestley ; 
 but I am of a diiFerent opinion. 
 
 P. 233. 1.6. — Why so, Miss? — Because he 
 got all our lovers killed. 
 
 P. 238. 1.17. — The homage of a production 
 designed for the instruction of youth, and en- 
 titled " The French Bee," by the Abbe Cor- 
 dier. 
 
 P. 240. 1. 1. — But, Sir, what have you done? 
 — I, Sir? I have always been quiet. — Well, 
 then, continue to be quiet. 
 
 P. 246. 1.2. — At No. 25, Rue St. Thomas, 
 for 25 sous gentlemen may have soup, three 
 dishes of their ovm choice, a dessert, and a 
 small glass of brandy. Or a dessert, bread,
 
 283 
 
 a small decanter of good wine, or a bottle of 
 beer. 
 
 P. 257. 1.20. — Since the 5tli of March, 
 1793, tlie epoch when I produced my last 
 work, " Tlie Ballet of Paris," I have remained 
 in an apparent indolence. I have been a thou- 
 sand times reduced to despair by this circmn- 
 stance ; my friends have complained of it ; Other 
 persons have denounced me as guilty of sterility. 
 I have opposed to my despair my reason — it is 
 a trifle ; to the complaints of my friends, the 
 motives of this indolence — that is sufficient; 
 and I have let others write and talk — that is 
 much. But at length being arrived at the 
 period when I am about to submit one of my 
 new productions to the enlightened criticism of 
 the public, I think myself obliged to speak the 
 whole truth. I avail myself, then, of this cir- 
 cumstance to assure the public, that, deeply 
 affected by the encouragement which they have 
 been pleased to afford me in the different essays 
 which I have presented to them, I 'should have 
 deemed myself unworthy of their kindness, had 
 I neglected to make new attempts really to merit 
 their indulgence. I have not then geased to 
 work, and in spite of all the difficulties which 
 an infinity of circumstances may perhaps still 
 throw in my way, I will continue to work. 
 My labours have already produced four pieces,
 
 284 
 
 received by the different administrations, inde- 
 pendently of several others which, shut up in 
 my port-folio, mourn over their inutility. In 
 the mean-time I am advertised, — Is it a ballet 
 which I am about to produce ? No ; it is a 
 piece of drollery, a hasty effusion — a nothing ; 
 devoid of ^ny other pretension than that of 
 bringing forward, under the mask of gaiety, 
 the graces and the divine talents which the 
 public have so many reasons to cherish. From 
 that public, for them I demand justice, and 
 for myself I crave indulgence. 
 
 P. 261. 1.2. — May that day be blotted from 
 Che records of time. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 Straliiiti niiii Piciton, 
 I'riiiiir.-Siri'ei, lyunJoi
 
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