Strasburg Cathedral to the top of the
vane 71¾
St. Peter's at Rome, to the summit
of the cross 68
Church of the Invalids at Paris to
the vane 54
St. Paul's Cathedral, London, to
the top of the Cross 53
The interior of the dome of the Invalids is handsomely painted; but the
exterior exhibits what I must consider as a very misplaced species of
decoration for a place of this nature, being _completely gilt_, pursuant
to an order of Buonaparte, dated, as I have been informed by good
authority, from _Moscow_. This decoration has, as can well be supposed,
cost vast sums, but it probably obtained for the ex-Emperor that
_eclat_, by which he constantly sought to please the vanity of the
Parisians. Many of his decrees for the embellishment of their city,
being dated from Vienna, Berlin, and Madrid, he sought to astonish the
multitude, by attempting to accomplish in a few years, what it would _in
general_ require an _age_ to effect. Perhaps, calculating on the
instability of his power, he hastened the construction of whatever might
render it famous. A French writer observes, "Il vouloit courir à cheval
à la postérité."
Near the Invalids there is a _Military School_ for 500 children; and
near the _Champ de Mars_ are two large barracks. Indeed, Paris abounds
with them, as the military power has long been predominant in France.
The _Champ de Mars_ is only celebrated in the history of the Revolution;
its present appearance is by no means interesting. In this vicinity is
the _Place de Grenelle_, famous for being the spot where military
executions used to take place. One of the last victims who perished
here, was the unfortunate _General Mallet_, who whilst the oppressor of
his country was still contemplating the devastation which he had
occasioned in Russia, sought to deliver France from so galling a yoke;
and he is said to have been possessed of many of the qualities
necessary for so honourable and arduous an undertaking; but the reign of
Buonaparte was still to continue for eighteen months longer; and he who
had the resolution to attempt, had not the satisfaction of seeing, its
subversion. In his way to the place of execution, being assailed by a
hired mob with cries of 'Vive l'Empereur,' "_yes, yes_!" said the
General, "_cry "long live the Emperor" if you please, but you will only
be happy when he is no more_." He would not suffer his eyes to be
covered; and displayed in his last moments a fortitude, that will cause
his memory to be long revered by the enemies of despotic power.
The _Museum of French Monuments_ is one of the numerous institutions
produced by the Revolution. This place contains a collection of those
_tombs_ which escaped the fury of a _Revolution_ that at once proscribed
both _royalty_ and _religion_. They were deposited here as models of
art, which did honour to the republic, by proving the genius of its
statuaries and sculptors, (the works being classed according to the
centuries in which they were made;) and as the busts of the most
celebrated and declared enemies of Christianity, are every-where
interspersed, the design seems obviously to have been to inculcate the
principles which they inculcated; if, indeed, they acted upon any
principle, each fearing to acknowledge the superiority of the other. To
_doubt_ was their criterion of wisdom (but although Hume said, that even
when he doubted, he was in doubt whether he doubted or not, he does not
appear to have once doubted that he was wrong in his attacks on
religion,) and they only united in ridiculing that _belief in a Supreme
Being_, which has been received, as it were instinctively, by all
nations, however savage, and which has been the consolation of the best
and wisest of mankind.
Any believer in religion, or any one who has not by perverted reasoning,
brought his mind _really_ to doubt its divine truths, (for men are but
too apt to admit even the arguments of absurdity, when they tend to
absolve them from duties, which they would avoid,) cannot but
experience a sentiment of regret at this violation of the ancient
consecrated burial places, (where the contemplation of these emblems of
mortality was calculated to inspire a beneficial awe;) and of sorrow,
that as religion is by law restored in France, these monuments, many of
which have been taken from the royal burying place of St. Denis, should
not be replaced in the churches from which they were taken in those
calamitous times.
I here saw the tomb of Cardinal Richelieu, which was originally in the
college of the Sorbonne. It is the work of the celebrated _Gerardin_,
and is a fine piece of sculpture. Many of the other monuments are very
elegant; but it would be tedious to enter into further details.
In walking through the Rue Colbert, a French gentleman of my
acquaintance pointed out to me the house in which _Louvois_ had resided,
and declared his opinion, that that minister had proved one of the
greatest causes of the ruin of France; he followed up his assertion by a
declamation of such length, that I shall not attempt to collect his
arguments, but leave my readers to come to their own conclusions on the
subject.
I had intended visiting those vast _catacombs_ which extend under a
great part of Paris, and which now serve as burial places, but was
induced to desist from the undertaking by the advice of a person who had
made the experiment, and had suffered much more from the state of the
air in those caverns, than he had been gratified by the curiosity of the
scene. I was in the evening induced to visit a scene of a very different
nature, and accompanied a party to the _Gardens of Tivoli_, in the Rue
Lazare. This was, before the Revolution, the property of M. Boutin,
formerly treasurer of the marine, who had spared no expense in it's
decoration. The extent is about fourteen acres, and it much resembles
Vauxhall.
The vast proportion which the military officers bear in all companies,
and in all the public places here, cannot fail to be remarked by a
stranger, and proves the success of the ex-Emperor, in his endeavours
to render the French merely a military people. Under the _old regime_,
no military uniforms were permitted to be worn in public places; but at
present such a regulation would be quite impracticable. At present the
military take a great lead in society, which has, perhaps, suffered more
than is generally thought by the civil commotions of the state.
Wishing to be able to form some idea of the military events which led to
the capture of Paris, I went by the gate of St. Martin to the other
places which were connected with those memorable operations. It was on
the 30th of March, 1814, that the allied armies, consisting of nearly
200,000 men, attacked the heights of Bellevue, St. Chaumont, and
Montmartre; the cannonade continued from six in the morning until half
past three o'clock in the afternoon, and after a bloody combat in the
plains of Villette, where they were opposed by 30,000 French troops, a
suspension of arms was signed a little after five o'clock. The next day
about noon, the Emperor of Russia and King of Prussia entered Paris by
the barrier of Villette, at the head of 50,000 men. A French writer
remarks, that Montmartre is rendered famous by the gallant-stand made
there by a _small body_ of French troops against the _whole_ of the
allied army. The French cannot bring themselves to allow that their
nation has the worst in any contest. They are now, however, sensible
that they have been defeated, which no doubt conduces greatly to their
present ill humour. Vanity is their domineering passion, and this
Buonaparte always contrived to flatter so successfully, by concealing
unwelcome truths, and exaggerating success, that he is _still regretted_
by a large number of persons, who hate the present government for the
openness of their conduct, as 'after being so long accustomed to the
_fabulous histories_ with which they were amused by their late ruler,
they have a contempt for that candour which informs them of their
_actual_ situation, and which would excite the approbation of a nation
possessed of a less degree of vanity. A great love of novelty is also
very conspicuous in the French character. I think it was Frederic the
Great, who observed in writing to d'Alembert, 'that to please the
French, they should have every two years a new king.'
From the heights of Montmartre, a vast and magnificent panorama is
presented to the view. Nearly the whole of Paris is seen from thence,
and a great extent of country terminated by distant mountains. Those who
wish to have a good general idea of Paris, should not fail to ascend
this eminence. In point of size, Paris does not appear to me to be more
than half the extent of London, when seen from Hampstead or Greenwich.
It was from this situation that the Emperor Alexander first surveyed
Paris, and he probably was struck with the shewy appearance of the
_gilded_ dome of the Invalids, but perhaps was uninformed that it was
from the _Kremlin_, and whilst surrounded by the flames of Moscow, that
Buonaparte, gave orders for the commencement of this new and
_extravagant decoration_ to increase the splendour of Paris. But the
magnanimous perseverance of Alexander in the contest, was at last
rewarded, and he saw from Montmartre that proud city, which had so often
exulted at hearing of the capture of the other capitals of Europe, lying
in his power. Without the capture of Paris in its turn, the triumph of
Europe for the injuries which were inflicted in most parts of it, by the
French, so long the willing instruments of Buonaparte's tyranny, had
been incomplete.
Alexander's entry into Paris was haired as a liberation from that
despotism, which its inhabitants, had not themselves the energy to shake
off, and which they had acquiesced in or abetted for so many successive
years.
That Alexander should have triumphed over Buonaparte, was fortunate
for the _liberty_ of _France_, but it was also indispensable to the
_peace of Europe_.
The establishment of M. Delacroix, Rue Croix-des Petits Augustins, to
remedy the defect of nature by a gymnastic process, is unique in France.
I shall give the prospectus a place here; and feeling my inability to
_do it justice_, shall not attempt to translate it.
"Dans la Rue des "Vieux Augustin" est l'établissement de _M.
Delacroix_ Mécanicien Bandagiste Gymnastique pour redresser les
défauts de la nature, particulièrement chez les femmes. On y
remarque _Le Mât_ qui est une Colonne en forme de Mât, autour
duquel se trouvent des echellons servant à monter pour developer
les hanches et la poitrine; _les Colonnes_ ou piliers, exercice
servant à mettre le corps droit. Le _Balancier_ sert à redresser la
Colonne vertébrale ou épine du dos. Les _Barilles_ pour redresser
la tète les épaules et les hanches. Le _Balançoir_ est pour
maintenir la tète et les reins droits quand on est assise. Le puits
la _balle_ et la _manivelle_ pour donner de la force à une épaule
faible. _L'Echelle_ pour redresser les épaules. Le _Cheval_ pour
apprendre à y monter, et tenir le corps dans un état naturel.
Le _Jube_ pour redresser la tête et donner des grâces; lès _Plombs_
pour apprendre à marcher avec grâce. Le _Fauteuil_ pour lever un
coté de la poitrine qui seroit plus bas que l'autre; le soufflet
pour donner un exercise régulier à toutes les parties du corps.
Ce mécanicien habile fait des mains dont les doigts ont les
mouvements naturels; et son éstablissement est l'unique en France."
To judge, from this description, it should seem as if those to whom
nature has not been propitious, or those who have been deprived by
accident of a limb, are culpably negligent if they do not apply at an
institution which professes to remedy some of the most desperate
calamities incident to human nature. With what probability of success,
however, such an application would be attended, it is not possible for
me to determine. I copy the prospectus of the Professor without being
able to judge myself of his proficiency.
I accepted one morning a proposal to accompany a gentleman to the
Tuilleries to see the King go to mass (which he had been prevented by
the gout from doing, at least in public for some time); we found a great
number of spectators had assembled on the occasion in the hall through
which his Majesty was to pass, and which was lined with his _corps de
garde_. We had a considerable time to wait before he made his
appearance, and had ample leisure to survey the portraits of the
marshals of France, with which the apartment is decorated, as well as
with paintings representing many of Buonaparte's victories. His Majesty
appeared to be in excellent health, and received with much affability
several papers which were handed to him, and which he gave to a
gentleman in waiting. He was greeted repeatedly by cries of _Vive le
Roi_! and there is no doubt that by far the most respectable portion of
the French sincerely wish him prosperity. Ï trust they may prove
sufficiently strong to keep under those, who I fear are at least as
numerous a class, and who have not learned, by the experience of so many
years of confusion, to value the blessings of tranquillity when they
have at last obtained it, attended with the advantages of a mild
government.
I believe it is agreed by all that the King has a good heart. His regard
for England, which has done so much for his family, is highly to his
honour; and I hear he testifies it upon all occasions. Lately, at a
consultation of his physicians, one of them having said he feared a long
residence in a damp climate, had contributed to increase the attacks of
the gout, the King interrupted him by saying, "Ah! Monsieur P----, ne
dites pas du mal d'Angleterre." The conduct of his Majesty, since his
restoration to the crown of his ancestors, proves him not to be
deficient in either ability or resolution; and there perhaps never was a
period which called for a greater exertion of both than the present. The
other day Paris was thrown into considerable alarm by the arrival of
intelligence from Nevers, that the garrison there had declared for
Buonaparte. In consequence every precaution was resorted to on the part
of government, and the guards in Paris were doubled; but happily nothing
occurred to disturb the public tranquillity. The number of discontented
spirits which the Revolution has left afloat, and which it would not
require any very considerable share of artifice to raise against any
government, will require for a long time the exertion of the utmost
vigilance on the part of the present administration. Louis might have
been addressed with propriety, on his arrival in France, in the
admonitory words of Galba to Piso:
"Imperaturus es hominibus, qui nec totam servitutem pati possunt
nec totam libertatem."
On my departure from the Tuilleries my friend conducted me to a famous
glass manufactory, where I saw several mirrors of very large dimensions,
and also a _staircase of glass_, which had a splendid effect, and was
the first thing of the kind I had ever seen. The balustrades were of
glass, supported by steel, and had a particularly handsome appearance.
The number of theatres in Paris have of late years much increased, and
amount at present to eight or ten. The Opera Italien is justly
celebrated as the best in Europe; but I received more entertainment at
the Theatre François, in witnessing the representation of one of the
admirable comedies of Molière. The Theatre de l'Odéon is curious from
its construction, but the minor theatres on the Boulevards, de Gaieté,
and des Variétiés, are in general the most frequented; and, except on
extraordinary occasions, the Theatre François is by no means fully
attended. A stranger in Paris is surprised at the number of _bureaux
d'ecrivains_, or offices for writing, which abound in all parts of the
town, where all materials for writing are provided for a few sous, and
where persons attend to write letters, in any language, to the dictation
of such as are not skilled in the graphic art.
* * * * *