Paris as It Was and as It Is A Sketch Of The French Capital, Illustrative Of The Effects Of The Revolution

The variety of matter which crowds itself on the mind of a man who attempts to describe this immense capital, forms such a chaos, that you will, I trust, give me credit for the...

VANHOVE. This king of the _Théâtre Français_ neither has majesty nor nobleness of manner. His countenance is mean, and his make common. His monotonous and heavy utterance is som...

Much has been said of the general tone of immorality now prevailing in this capital, and so much, that it becomes necessary to look beyond the surface, and examine whether moral...

If Paris affords a thousand enjoyments to the man of fortune, it may truly be said that, without money, Paris is the most melancholy abode in the world. Privations are then the...

The author is recalled to England--Mendicants--The streets of Paris less infested by them now than before the revolution--Pawnbrokers --Their numbers much increased in Paris, an...

The observation with which I concluded my last letter, might explain why the votaries of Thalia gain so little augmentation to their number; while those of Melpomene are daily i...

Independently of the general organization of Public Instruction, according to the new plan, of which I have before traced you the leading features, there exist several schools a...

Divided as Paris is by the Seine, it seldom happens that one has not occasion to cross it more than once in the course of the day. I shall therefore make you acquainted with the...

Often as we have heard of the extraordinary number of places of public entertainment in Paris, few, if any, persons in England have an idea of its being so considerable as it is...

On reaching Paris, every person, whether Jew or Gentile, foreigner or not, coming from any department of the republic, except that of _La Seine_, in which the capital is situate...

Such a crowd of different objects present themselves to my mind, whenever I sit down to write to you, that, frequently as I have visited the Grand French Opera since my arrival...

No part of the engagement into which I have entered with you, so fully convinces me of my want of reflection, and shews that my zeal, at the time, got the better of my judgment,...

I was highly gratified the other day on finding myself in company with some of those men whom (to borrow Lord Thurlow's expression, in speaking of Warren Hastings,) I have known...

An almost uninterrupted succession of wet weather has, of late, precluded me from the regular enjoyment of a morning walk. But, with the new year, we had a heavy fall of snow, w...

The more frequently I visit the CENTRAL MUSEUM OF THE ARTS, the more am I inclined to think that such a vast number of pictures, suspended together, lessen each other's effect....

The _Louvre_, the _Tuileries_, together with the _National Fête_ in honour of Peace, and a crowd of interesting objects, have so engrossed our attention, that we seem to have ov...

As after one of those awful and violent convulsions of nature which rend the bosom of the earth, and overthrow the edifices standing on its surface, men gradually repair the mis...

In order to confer handsome pensions on the men of science who had benefited mankind by their labours, and who, under the old _régime_, were poorly rewarded, in 1795, LAKANAL so...

Great preparations for the _fête_ of to-morrow have, for several days, employed considerable numbers of people: it therefore becomes necessary that I should no longer delay to g...

The exaggerated accounts of the interior state of France which have reached us, through various channels, during the late obstinate struggle, have diffused so many contradiction...

At the grand monthly parade of the 15th of last Brumaire, I had seen the First Consul chiefly on horseback: on which account, I determined to avail myself of that of the 15th of...

When we travel back in idea for the last ten years, and pass in review the internal commotions which have distracted France during that period, and the external struggle she has...

Dancing, like the other arts in France, has, during the revolution, experienced the vicissitudes of this new order of things; but also, like the other arts, it has made a progre...

If the culture of the arts, by promoting industry and increasing commerce, improves civilization, and refines manners, what modern people can boast of such advantages as are now...

When you expressed your impatience to be informed of the dramatic amusements in Paris, I promised to satisfy you as soon as I was able; for I knew that you would not be contente...

Referring to an expression made use of in my letter of the 16th of December last,[1] you ask me "What the sciences, or rather the _savans_ or men of science, have done for this...

Enriched, as this capital now is, with the spoils of Greece and Italy, it may literally be termed the repository of the greatest curiosities existing. In the CENTRAL MUSEUM are...

You desire that I will favour you with a particular account of the means employed to transfer from pannel to canvas those celebrated pictures which I mentioned in my letter of t...

The mode of life of the persons with whom I chiefly associate here, precludes me from reading as much as I could wish, either for instruction or amusement. This, you will say, I...

In this gay capital, balls succeed to balls in an almost incredible variety. There are actually an immense number every evening; so that persons fond of the amusement of dancing...

This house, which is situated in the _Rue Feydeau_, near the _Rue de la Loi_, was opened for the first time in January 1791. The entrance to it is by a circular vestibule, exter...

The civil hospitals in Paris now form two distinct classes. The one comprehends the hospitals for the sick: the other, those for the indigent. The former are devoted to the reli...

Whatever changes may have been introduced by the revolution, in one respect at least, the Parisians still preserve towards foreigners that urbanity for which they were remarkabl...

I rise much later to-day than usual, in consequence of not having gone to bed till near seven o'clock this morning. Happening to call yesterday on a French lady of my acquaintan...

Circumstances have at length occurred to recall me to England, and as this will, probably, be the last letter that you will receive from me before I have the pleasure of taking...

"Of all the bridges that were ever built," says Sterne, "the whole world, who have passed over it, must own that the noblest--the grandest--the lightest--the longest--the broade...

Conceiving how interested you (who are not only a connoisseur, but an F.A.S.) must feel in contemplating the only repository in the world, I believe, which contains such a chron...

After having traversed the _Pont Neuf_, from the north side of the Seine, you cannot avoid noticing a handsome building to the right, situated on the _Quai de Conti_, facing the...

Having, in my last letter, described to you the outside of the _Louvre_, (with the exception of the Great Gallery, of which I shall speak more at length in another place), I sha...

I plead guilty to your censure in not having yet furnished you with any remarks on the origin of this capital; but you will recollect that I engaged only to give you a mere sket...

Yesterday being the day appointed for the opening of the session of the Legislative Body, I was invited by a member to accompany him thither, in order to witness their proceedin...

From particular passages in your letter, I clearly perceive your anxiety to be introduced among those valuable antiques which now adorn the banks of the Seine. On that account,...

An establishment at once deserving of the attention of men of feeling, particularly of those who, in cultivating literature, apply themselves to the science of metaphysics and g...

Of all the public edifices in this capital, I know of none whose interior astonishes so much, at first sight, and so justly claims admiration, especially from those who have a k...

In this season, when the blasts of November have entirely stripped the trees of their few remaining leaves, and Winter has assumed his hoary reign, the garden of the _Tuileries_...

About thirty years ago, a public insult offered to human nature, in the person of some unfortunate blind men belonging to the Hospital of the _Quinze-vingts_, and repeated daily...

But if the _ci-devant Palais Royal_ has been the mine of political explosions, so it still continues to be the epitome of all the trades in Paris. Under the arcades, on the grou...

In visiting a foreign country, and more especially its capital, the traveller, whose object is instruction, enters into the most minute details, in order to obtain a complete kn...

I have already observed that the general effervescence to which the revolution gave birth, soon extended to the seminaries of learning. The alarm-bell resounded even in the most...

In one of your former letters you questioned me on a subject, which, though it had not escaped my notice, I was desirous to avoid, till I should be able to obtain on it some pre...

In the richness of her territory, the abundance of her population, the activity of her inhabitants, and the knowledge comprised in her bosom, France possesses great natural adva...

The number of divorced women to be met with here, especially among the more affluent classes, exceeds any moderate calculation. Nothing can more clearly manifest the necessity o...

In all great cities, one may naturally expect to find great vices; but in regard to gaming, this capital presents a scene which, I will venture to affirm, is not to be matched i...

On the evening of the 8th, there was a representation _gratis_ at all the theatres, it being the eve of the great day, of the occurrences of which I shall now, agreeably to my p...

I have spoken to you of palaces, museum, churches, bridges, public gardens, playhouses, &c. as they have chanced to fall under my observation; but there still remain houses of m...

As no city in Europe presents so many advantages as this for the cultivation of literature, arts, and sciences, it is not surprising that it should contain great numbers of lite...

After the beautiful theatre of the old _Comédie Française_, under its new title of _l'Odéon_, became a prey to flames, as I have before mentioned, the comedians belonging it wer...

I have already spoken to you of the _Pont Neuf_. To the east of it, as you will see by the Plan of Paris, the small islands in the middle of the Seine are connected to its banks...

To judge from the records of the Old Bailey, one would conclude that, in proportion to the number of its inhabitants, London must contain a greater number of dishonest persons o...

Whenever the pen of an impartial writer shall trace the history of the French revolution, through all its accompanying vicissitudes, it will be seen that this country owed its s...

In speaking of the interior of the _Louvre_, in one of my former letters, I think I mentioned the various learned and scientific societies, which, under the name of Academies, f...

Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to be always able to answer your inquiries without hesitation. Considering the round of amusements in which I live, I flatter myself...

Knowing you to be an amateur of Italian music, I am persuaded that you will wish to be made acquainted with the theatre where you may enjoy it in full perfection. It is distingu...

What fortunate people are the Parisians! Yesterday evening so thick a fog came on, all at once, that it was almost impossible to discern the lamps in the streets, even when they...

What a charming abode is Paris, for a man who can afford to live at the rate of a thousand or fifteen hundred pounds a year! Pleasures wait not for him to go in quest of them; t...

An object which must infallibly strike the eye of the attentive observer, who has not visited this capital within the last ten years,g is the change in the style of

This establishment, formerly called _Le Jardin du Roi_, and now more commonly known by the name of _Le Jardin des Plantes_, received its present denomination by a decree of the...

On approaching this capital, my curiosity was excited in the highest degree; and, as the carriage passed rapidly along from the _Barrière_, through the _Porte St. Denis_, to the...

In answer to your question, I shall begin by informing you that I have not set eyes on the _petit caporal_, as some affect to style the Chief Consul. He spends much of his time,...

Going the other day to call on M. S----i, I stopped by the way, to examine an edifice which, when I first visited Paris in 1784, engaged no small share of public attention. It w...

In one of your recent letters, you interrogated me respecting the changes which the revolution had produced in the ceremonies immediately connected with the increase and decreas...

Here I am safe arrived; that is, without any broken bones; though my arms, knees, and head are finely pummelled by the jolting of the carriage. Well might Ducrocq say that the r...

As I foresee that my private affairs will, probably, require my presence in England sooner than I expected, I hasten to give you an idea of the principal public edifices which I...

One of the private entertainments here in great vogue, and which is understood to mark a certain pre-eminence in the _savoir-vivre_ of the present day, is a nocturnal repast dis...

My impatience is at length gratified. I have seen BONAPARTE. Yesterday, the 6th, as I mentioned in a former letter, was the day of the grand parade, which now takes place on the...

Since my arrival, I have been so much engaged in paying and receiving visits, that I really have not yet been able to take even a hasty view of any of the grand sights introduce...

Fast locked in the arms of Morpheus, and not dreaming of what was to happen, as Lord North said, when the king caused him to be awakened, in the dead of the night, to deliver up...

As the period of my stay here is drawing rapidly towards a conclusion, I find much less leisure for writing; otherwise I should, in my last letter, have made you acquainted with...

I have already said that such is the profession of my landlady. Whenever I am disposed for a little lively chitchat, I have only to step to the next door but one into her _magaz...

It has been repeatedly observed that civilized nations adhere to their ancient customs for no other reason than because they are ancient. The French have, above all, a most deci...

Had you not made it a particular request that I would give you the earliest account of my debarkation in France, I should, probably, not have been tempted to write to you till I...

As to the mechanical arts, if you are desirous to view some of the modern improvements and inventions in that line, you must accompany me to the _Rue St. Martin_, where, in the...

Among the customs introduced here since the revolution, that of women appearing in public in male attire is very prevalent. The more the Police endeavours to put a stop to this...

By his will, dated the 6th of March 1662, Cardinal MAZARIN bequeathed this library for the convenience of the literati. It was formed by GABRIEL NAUDÉ of every thing that could...

_Vive la danse!_ _Vive la danse!_ seems now to prevail here universally over _"Vive l'amour!_ _Vive la bagatelle!_" which was the rage in the time of LA FLEUR. I have already in...

Having fully described to you all the theatres here of the first and second rank, I shall confine myself to a rapid sketch of those which may be classed in the third order.[1]

From the account I have given you of the Public Schools here, you will have perceived that, since the revolution, nothing has been neglected which could contribute to the mental...

This general repository of maps, charts, plans, journals, and archives of the Navy and the Colonies, is under the direction of a flag-officer. It is situated in the _Rue de la P...

Last night I received yours of the 20th ult. and as Mr. M----y purposes to send off a dispatch this morning, and will do me the favour to forward this, with my former letters, I...

_Pont au Change_--_Palais de Justice_--Once a royal residence --Banquet given there, in 1313, by Philip the Fair, at which were present Edward II and his queen Isabella--Alterat...

_Museum of French Monuments_--Steps taken by the Constituent Assembly to arrest the progress of Vandalism--Many master-pieces of painting, sculpture, and architecture, destroyed...

Urbanity of the Parisians towards strangers--The shopkeepers in Paris overcharge their articles--Furnished Lodgings--Their price--The _Milords Anglais_ now eclipsed by the Russi...

_Palais Royal_, now called _Palais du Tribunat_--Its construction begun, in 1629, by Cardinal _Richelieu_, who makes a present of it to _Lewis_ XIII--It becomes the property of...

Paris the most melancholy abode in the world for a man without money --_Restaurateurs_--In 1765, _Boulanger_ first conceived the idea of _restoring_ the exhausted animal functio...

Regulations of the Police to be observed by a stranger on his arrival in the French capital--Pieces represented at the _Théâtre Louvois_ --_Palais du gouvernement_ or Palace of...

Hospitals and other charitable institutions--_Hôtel-Dieu_--Extract from the report of the _Academy of Sciences_ on this abode of pestilence--Reforms introduced into it since the...

_Jardin des Tuileries_--This garden now kept in better order than under the monarchy--The newly-built house of _Véry_, the _restaurateur_--This quarter calls to mind the most re...

_Pont National_, formerly called the _Pont Royal_--Anecdote of Henry IV and a waterman--_Coup d'oeil_ from this bridge--Quays of Paris --Galiot of St. Cloud--_Pont de la Concord...

Progressive aggrandisement of Paris--Its origin--Under the name of Lutetia, it was the capital of Gaul--Julian's account of it--The sieges it has sustained--Successively embelli...

Schools for Public Services--The Polytechnic School, the grand nursery whence the pupils are transplanted into the Schools of Artillery, Military Engineers, Bridges and Highways...

_Bureau des Longitudes_--Is on a more extensive scale than the Board of Longitude in England--National Observatory--Subterraneous quarries that have furnished the stone with whi...

_Hôtel des Invalides_--It was projected by Henry IV and erected by Lewis XIV--Temple of Mars--To its arches are suspended the standards and colours taken from the enemy--Two Bri...

Conservatory of Arts and Trades--It contains a numerous collection of machines of every description employed in the mechanical arts --_Belier hydraulique_, newly invented by _Mo...

Divorce--The indissolubility of marriage in France, before the revolution, was supposed to promote adultery--No such excuse can now be pleaded--Origin of the present laws on div...

_Museum of French Monuments_ continued--Tombs of _Francis I_, of the _Valois_, and of _Diane de Poitiers_--Character of that celebrated woman--Statues of _Turenne_, _Condé_, _Co...

_Théâtre des Arts et de la République_, or Grand French opera--Old opera-house burnt down, and a new one built and opened in 72 days --Description of the present house--Operas o...

National Institution of the Deaf and Dumb--France indebted to the philanthropic _Abbé de l'Épée_ for the discovery of the mode of instructing them--It has been greatly improved...

Society for the encouragement of national industry--Its origin--Its objects detailed--Free Society of Agriculture--Amidst the storms of the revolution, agriculture has teen impr...

The _Louvre_ or _National Palace of Arts and Sciences_ described --_Old Louvre_--Horrors of St. Bartholomew's day--From this palace Charles IX fired on his own subjects--Additio...

Balls now very numerous every evening in Paris--_Bal du Salon des Étrangers_--Description of the women--Comparison between the French and English ladies--Character of Madame _Ta...

_Pont Neuf_--Henry IV--His popularity--Historical fact concerning the cause of his assassination brought to light--The Seine swollen by the rains--It presents a dull scene in co...

Dinner at General _A----y's_--Difference in the duration of such a repast now and before the revolution--The General's ancestor, _François A----y_, planned and completed the fam...

The studies in the colleges and universities interrupted by bands of insurgents--_Collège de France_--It is in this country the only establishment where every branch of human kn...

Grand monthly parade--Etiquette observed on this occasion, in the apartments of the palace of the _Tuileries_--_Bonaparte_--His person --His public character in Paris--Obstructi...

The _savans_ saved France, when their country was invaded --Astonishing exertions made by the French on that occasion--Anecdote relating to _Robespierre_--Extraordinary resource...

Public gaming-houses--_Académies de jeu_, which existed in Paris before the revolution--Gaming-houses licensed by the police--The privilege of granting those licences is farmed...

Present State of Society in Paris--In that city are three very distinct kinds of society--Description of each of these--Other societies are no more than a diminutive of the prec...

Dancing improved in France--Effect of some of the ballets--_Noverre_ and _Gardel_ first introduce them on the French stage--Rapid change of scenery--Merits of the dancers of bot...

Object of the different learned and scientific institutions, which, before the revolution, held their sittings in the _Louvre_--Anecdote of Cardinal Richelieu--National Institut...

Objects which first strike the observer on arriving at Paris after an absence of ten or twelve years--Tumult in the streets considerably diminished since the revolution--No live...

Public places of various descriptions--Their title and number --Contrast between the interior police now established in the theatres in Paris, and that which existed before the...

Public women--Charlemagne endeavours to banish them from Paris--His daughters, though addicted to illicit enjoyments, die universally regretted--_Les Filles Dieu_--_Les Filles p...

National Institution of the Industrious Blind--Circumstance which gave rise to this establishment--_Valentin Haüy_, its founder, found his project seconded by the Philanthropic...

New year's day still celebrated in Paris on the 1st of January --Customs which prevail there on that occasion--_Denon's_ account of the French expedition to Egypt--That country...

French Furniture--The events of the revolution have contributed to improve the taste of persons connected with the furnishing line --Contrast between the style of the furniture...

_Palais du Sénat Conservateur_, or _Luxembourg_ Palace--Mary of Medicis, by whom it was erected, died in a garret--It belonged to _Monsieur_, before the revolution--Improvements...

_Théâtre Louvois_--_Picard_, the manager of this theatre, is the _Molière_ of his company--_La Grande Ville, ou les Provinciaux à Paris_--Principal performers at this theatre--_...

On the ratification of the preliminary treaty of peace, the author leaves London for Paris--He arrives at Calais on the 16th of October, 1801--Apparent effect of the peace--Afte...

Museum of Natural History, or _Jardin des Plantes_--Is much enlarged since the revolution--One of the first establishments of instruction in Europe--Contrast between its former...

French literature--Effects produced on it by the revolution--The sciences preferred to literature, and for what reason--The French government has flattered the literati and arti...

Journey from Calais to Paris--Improved state of agriculture--None of the French gun-boats off Boulogne moored with chains at the time of the attack--St. Denis--General sweep mad...

The _Palais du Tribunat_, an epitome of all the trades in Paris --Prohibited publications--Mock auctions--_Magazins de confiance à prix fixe_--Two speculations, of a somewhat cu...

Principal performers in comedy at the _Théâtre Français_--_Vanhove_, and _Naudet_--_Molé_, _Fleury_, and _Baptiste_ the elder--_St. Fal_, _Dupont_, _Damas_, and _Armand_--_Grand...

French women fond of appearing in male attire--Costume of the French Ladies--Contrast it now presents to that formerly worn--The change in their dress has tended to strengthen t...

Academy of Fine Arts at the _ci-devant Collège de Navarre_ --Description of the establishment of the _Piranesi_--Three hundred artists of different nations distributed in the se...

_Halle au Blé_--Lightness of the roof of the dome--Annual consumption of bread-corn in _Paris_--Astrologers--In former times, their number in _Paris_ exceeded _30,000_--Fortune-...

Police of Paris--Historical sketch of it--Its perfections and imperfections--Anecdote of a minister of police--_Mouchards_ --Anecdote which shews the detestation in which they a...

_Théâtre Français de la République_--The house described--List of the stock-pieces--Names of their authors--_Fabre d'Eglantine_--His _Philinte de Molière_ a _chef-d'oeuvre_--Som...

_Gallery of the Louvre_ in continuation--French School--Flemish School--The pictures in the _Saloon_ are seen to much greater advantage than those in the _Gallery_--_Gallery of...

Public instruction--The ancient colleges and universities are replaced by Primary Schools, Secondary Schools, Lyceums, and Special Schools--National pupils--Annual cost of these...

Milliners--_Montesquieu's_ observation on the commands of the fair sex--Millinery a very extensive branch of trade in Paris--_Bal de l'Opéra_--Dress of the men and women--Advent...

_Théâtre de l'Opéra Comique_--Authors who have furnished it with stock-pieces, and composers who have set them to music--Principal performers at this theatre--_Elleviou_, _Gavau...

The Carnival--That of 1802 described--The Carnival of modern times, an imitation of the Saturnalia of the ancients--Was for some years prohibited, since the revolution--Contrast...

Description of the _Gallery of Antiques_, and of its _chefs-d'oeuvre_ of sculpture continued and terminated--Noble example set by the French in throwing open their museums and n...

_Bonaparte_--Grand monthly parade--Agility of the First Consul in mounting his charger--Consular guards, a remarkably fine body of men --Horses of the French cavalry, sorry in a...

Present state of public worship--Summary of the proceedings of the constitutional clergy--National councils of the Gallican church held at Paris--Conduct of the Pope, _Pius VII_...

Principal performers in tragedy at the _Théâtre Français_--_Vanhove_, _Monvel_, _St. Prix_, and _Naudet_--_Talma_, and _Lafond_--_St. Fal_, _Damas_, and _Dupont_--Mesdames _Rauc...

Coffee-houses--Character of the company who frequent them--Contrast between the coffee-houses of the present and former times--Coffee first introduced at Paris, in 1669, by the...

Climate of Paris--_Thermolampes_ or stoves which afford light and heat on an economical plan--Sword whose hilt was adorned with the _Pitt_ diamond, and others of considerable va...

National fête, in honour of peace, celebrated in Paris on the 18th of Brumaire, year X (9th of November, 1801)--_Garnerin_ and his wife ascend in a balloon--Brilliancy of the il...

_Opéra Buffa_--The Italian comedians who came to Paris in 1788, had a rapid influence on the musical taste of the French public--Performers of the new Italian company--Productio...

_Hôtel de la Monnaie_--Description of this building--_Musée des Mines_--Formed by M. _Sage_--The arrangement of this cabinet is excellent--_Cabinet du Conseil des Mines_--Princi...

_Palais du Corps Législatif_--Description of the hall of the sittings of that body--Opening of the session--Speech of the President--Lord _Cornwallis_ and suite present at this...

Paris a charming abode for a man of fortune--Summary of its advantages--_Idalium_--_Tivoli_--_Frascati_--_Paphos_--_La Phantasmagorie_ of _Robertson_--_Fitzjames_, the famous ve...

Pickpockets and sharpers--Anecdote of a female swindler--Anecdote of a sharper--Housebreakers--_Chauffeurs_--A new species of assassins --_Place de Grève_--Punishment for thieve...