_Curious Method of raising Hay.--Lucien Bonaparte's
Hôtel.--Opera.--Consular Box.--Madame Bonaparte's Box.--Feydeau
Theatre.--Belle Vue.--Versailles.--The Palace of the Petit
Trianon.--The Grounds._
The people of Paris, who keep horses in stables at the back of their
houses, have a singular mode of keeping their hay in the lofts of their
dwelling houses. At the top of a spacious and elegant hotel, is to be
seen a projecting crane in the act of raising loads of winter provision
for the stable. When I first saw this strange process, my surprise would
scarcely have been increased, had I beheld the horse ascending after the
hay.
I must not forget to offer some little description of the opera, where,
during my stay, through the politeness of Madame H----, I had free
access to a private box.
This spacious and splendid theatre is lighted from above by an immense
circular lustre of patent lamps. The form of this brilliant light is in
the antique taste, and it is said to have cost two thousand pounds
sterling. The effect which it produces in the body of the theatre, and
upon the scenery, is admirable. It prevents the sight from being
divided, and distracted by girandoles. This establishment is upon so
vast a scale, that government, which is the proprietor, is always a
loser upon balancing the receipts and disbursements of each night. The
stage and its machinery have for many years occupied a great number of
the subordinate classes of people, who, if not employed in this manner,
would in all probability become burdensome, and unpleasant to the
government. To this circumstance is attributable the superiority of the
machinery, and scenery, over every other theatre which I ever saw. In
the english theatres, my eye has often been offended at the
representations of the internal parts of houses, in which not a chair,
or table is introduced, for the purpose of carrying on the ingenious
deception. Upon the stage of the french opera, every scene has its
appropriate furniture, and distinctive appendages, which are always
produced as soon as the scene drops, by numerous attendants. From this
attention to the minute circumstances of the drama, the illusion becomes
enchanting. The orchestra is very fine, and is composed of ninety
eminent musicians. The corps de ballet consists of between eighty and
ninety fine dancers, of whom Monsieur Deshayes is the principal. His
movements are more graceful, his agility more surprising, and his step
more light, firm, and elastic, than those of any dancer whom I have ever
seen. He is very justly considered to be the first in Europe. The first
consul has a private box here, on one side of which, a lofty, hollow,
decorative column rises, the flutes of which are open, and through which
he views, [printing unclear: unseen,] the audience and performers. The
beholder might be almost inclined to think that this surprising man had
borrowed from our immortal bard, his notions of exciting the impression
of dignity, by a rare, and well timed display of his person.
"Thus did I keep my person fresh, and new;
My presence like a robe pontifical,
Ne'er seen but wondered at: and so my state
Seldom, but sumptuous shewed, like a feast
And won by rareness such solemnity."
Madame Bonaparte's box is on the left side of the stage, over the door,
in which the hapless queen has frequently displayed her beautiful person
to the enraptured audience.
The Feydeau theatre is very elegant; and on account of its excellent
arrangements, good performers, and exquisite machinery, is much resorted
to, and is in general preferred to the fourteen other dramatic
spectacles which, in this dissipated city, almost every night present
their tribute of pleasure to the gay, and delighted parisians. A
frenchman once observed to me, that a Sunday in London was horrible, on
account of there being no playhouses open at night! The decorum and good
manners which are even still observed in all the french places of public
amusement, are very impressive, and agreeable. Horse and foot soldiers
are stationed at the avenues, to keep them clear, to prevent
depredation, and to quell the first indications of popular commotion.
I was much gratified by an excursion to Versailles, which had been some
time planned by the charming family of the S----'s. We set off early in
the morning, in one of the government carriages, and after a delightful
ride, through a very rich, and luxuriant country, of about twelve miles,
the vast, and magnificent palace of Versailles, opened upon our view, at
the end of a street nearly two miles long, lined on each side with noble
hotels, and gardens. It was on a Sunday, the day on which the palace is
opened to the public. On the road, we passed several hundreds of persons
in carriages, cabrioles, or walking; all with merry faces, in showy
clothes, and adorned with bouquets, on their route to this spot of
favourite delight.
About four miles from Paris we saw Belle Vue, formerly the residence of
Mesdames; soon afterwards we passed the noble palace, and park of St.
Cloud, which was preparing for the reception of the first consul.
At the entrance of the village of St. Cloud, on the left, after we had
passed the bridge, we saw a very pretty house, and grounds, belonging to
a tanner, who had amassed considerable wealth by a discovery of tanning
leather in twenty-four hours, so as to render it fit for the currier.
Whether he possesses this faculty or not, I cannot from my own
experience say, but I can venture to affirm, that the leather of France
is very bad. In the village is a very noble porcelain manufactory, which
unfortunately we had not time to inspect.
Whilst our horses were refreshing themselves with a little water, we
were beset by the agents of the different hotels, and restaurateurs of
Versailles, who presented us with little cards, announcing in a very
pompous manner the superiority of their employers accommodations.
The stables of Versailles, to the right, and left, are from the designs
of Mansart, in the form of a crescent, and have the appearance of
princely residences. Here the late King kept in the greatest style six
hundred of the finest horses. On the left of the grand gateway, is a
military lodge for the accommodation of cavalry. It represents in shape,
an immense turkish marquee. After we had passed the pallisades of the
first court, we more distinctly saw this amazing pile of irregular
buildings, which consists of the old castle, the new palaces, the houses
of the ministers of state, and servants, two opera houses, the chapel,
military schools, museums, and the manufactory of arms, the whole of
which are now consolidated, and form one palace.
The beautiful pavement of black and white marble in the court yards, is
much defaced, and their fountains are totally destroyed.
The first place we visited was the manufactory of small arms; the
resident workmen in which exceed two thousand men. Here we saw all the
ingenious process of constructing the musket, pistol, and sabre, of
which there are an immense collection; and also several carbines, and
swords of honour, intended as presents from the first consul to officers
and soldiers of distinguished merit.
From the manufactory of small arms, we returned to the grand court, and
entered a suite of rooms, which contain the relics of the former
valuable cabinet of curiosities. Several of those which we saw, were
worthy of attention. From these rooms, we passed to the late king's
private opera house, which surpasses in magnificence, and costly
decoration, every thing of the kind I ever beheld. The facing of the
whole of the inside is of carved wood, richly gilt. The dome is
beautifully painted. Upon the scenery of the stage being removed, and
temporary columns, and galleries raised; all of which can be effected in
twenty-four hours, that part of the theatre presents a counterpart of
the other, and the whole forms a most splendid oblong ball room, very
deservedly considered to be the finest in Europe: it used to be
illuminated by ten thousand wax lights. The concert rooms, and retiring
apartments are also very beautiful. From the opera, we visited the
chapel, which is very fine, and costly, in which there are many large,
and valuable paintings. After leaving this deserted place of royal
worship, we passed through the Halls of Plenty, Venus, Mars, Mercury,
Apollo, and the Hall of the Billiard Table, finely painted by Houasse,
le Brun, Champagne, and other eminent artists, to the grand gallery,
which is seventy-two yards long, and fourteen broad, and has seventeen
lofty windows on one side, which look into the gardens, and seventeen
immense pier glasses on the opposite side to correspond. In this
gallery, the kings of France were accustomed to receive ambassadors, and
ministers of state.
We next entered the bedroom of the late queen and beheld the door,
which, on the night of the 6th of October, 1789, the frantic, and
sanguinary mob, headed by the infamous Legendre, burst open, for the
purpose of dispatching her with daggers, in her bed, on that frightful
night, which preceded the return of the royal family to Paris, under the
protection of the marquis de la Fayette, through an enraged multitude,
which extended itself from Versailles to Paris.
The miserable queen saved herself by escaping into an adjoining
apartment. Her bed was pierced through and through with poignards. The
door is nailed up, but the marks of that horrible outrage still remain.
In this, and in the adjoining chambers, are some very beautiful and
valuable paintings. I must not omit to mention, although the sentiment
which it inspires is not very pleasant, the representation of the
capture of an english frigate, by la Bayonne, a french corvette, after a
desperate engagement, in which victory for once decided in favour of the
enemy, who opposed, on this occasion, an inferior force. This is a
picture of infinite merit, and possesses a novelty of arrangement, and
strength of colouring, which I never saw equalled in any other naval
representation. The subject seldom admits of much variety. The french,
of course, are very much pleased with it. There are here also some
curious old clocks.
It was in one of these apartments, that Prior, the celebrated poet, when
secretary to the earl of Portland, who was appointed ambassador to the
french court, in the year 1698, made the following memorable answer.
One of the french king's household was showing the bard the royal
apartments and curiosities of this palace, and particularly pointed out
to his notice, the paintings of le Brun, now removed to the museum of
the arts, in which the victories of Lewis the XIVth are described, and
asked him, whether the actions of king William were to be seen in his
palace? No, sir, replied the loyal wit, "the monuments of my master's
glory are to be seen every where but in his own house."
Through the interest of Monsieur S---- we were admitted into a private
room below stairs, in which several portraits of the late royal family
have been preserved from destruction, during the late revolution. That
which represents the queen and her young family, is very fine, and
displays all the bewitching beauty and vivacity of that lovely and
unfortunate personage. Into this room no one was admitted with us. Here
is a very curious piece of mechanism: it is a painting, containing two
hundred little figures, in the act of enjoying the various pleasures of
rural sport, which are separated from the back ground of the picture,
and are set in motion by springs; and admirably imitate all the
movements natural to their different occupations. A fisherman throws in
his line, and draws up a little fish, a regular chase is displayed, and
a nuptial procession appears, in which little figures, riding in tiny
carriages, nod to the spectators. There are also many other curious
figures. It is glazed and framed, and at a distance, when its motion has
ceased, it has the appearance of a tolerably good painting. We next
quitted the palace, and entered upon the grand terrace, from which it
makes the finest appearance.
This enormous pile of building is here united by a centre, and
corresponding wings, of great extent and magnificence.
From this elevated spot, the beholder contemplates the different
waterworks, walks, and gardens, which cover several miles.
The orangery is a beautiful specimen of tuscan architecture, designed by
le Maitre, and finished by Mansart. It is filled with lofty orange trees
in full bearing; many of which, in their tubs, measure from twenty to
thirty feet high. Amongst them is an orange tree which is upwards of
four hundred years old. The cascades, fountains, and jets d'eau, are too
numerous to admit of minute description. They are all very fine, and are
supplied by prodigious engines across the Seine, at Marli, about three
miles distant. The Trianon is a little marble palace, of much beauty,
and embellished with the richest decoration.
It stands at the end of the great lake, in front of the palace; and was,
by its late royal owners, considered as a summer house to the gardens of
Versailles. The whole of this vast building and its grounds, were
improved and beautified by Lewis XIVth, for the well known purpose of
impressing his subjects, and particularly his courtiers, with the
highest opinion of his greatness, and the lowest of their comparative
littleness. Amongst the lords of his court he easily effected his
wishes, by accommodating them in a manner unsuitable to their dignity.
[Illustration: _Ruins of the Queen's Farm-house in the Petit Trianon._]
After being astonished at such a display of gorgeous magnificence, I
approached, with increased delight, the enchanting little palace and
grounds of the late queen, distant from Versailles about two miles,
called the Petit Trianon, to which she very justly gave the appellation
of her "little Palace of Taste." Here, fatigued with the splendours of
royalty, she threw aside all its appearances, and gave herself up to the
elegant pleasures of rural life. It is a princely establishment in
miniature. It consists of a small palace, a chapel, an opera house, out
offices and stables, a little park, and pleasure grounds; the latter of
which are still charming, although the fascinating eye, and tasteful
hand of their lovely but too volatile mistress, no longer pervade,
cherish and direct their growth and beauty. By that reverse of fortune,
which the revolution has familiarized, the Petit Trianon is let out by
the government to a restaurateur. All the rooms but one in this house
were preoccupied, on the day of our visit, in consequence of which we
were obliged to dine in the former little bed room of the queen, where,
like the idalian goddess, she used to sleep in a suspended basket of
roses. The apertures in the ceiling and wainscot, to which the elegant
furniture of this little room of repose had once adhered, are still
visible.
After dinner we hastened through our coffee, and proceeded to the
gardens. After winding through gravelled walks, embowered by the most
exquisite and costly shrubs, we entered the elegant temple of Cupid,
from which the little favourite of mankind had been unwillingly, and
rudely expelled, as appeared by the fragments of his pedestal.
Thy wrongs little god! shall be revenged by thy fair friend Pity. Those
who treated thee thus, shall suffer in their turn, and she shall not
console them!
From this temple we passed through the most romantic avenues, to a range
of rural buildings, called the queen's farm, the dairy, the mill, and
the woodmens cottages; which, during the queen's residence at the Petit
Trianon, were occupied by the most elegant and accomplished young
noblemen of the court. In front of them, a lake terminated on one side
by a rustic tower, spreads itself. These buildings are much neglected,
and are falling into rapid ruin.
In other times, when neatness and order reigned throughout this elysian
scenery, and gracefully spread its luxuriant beauties at the feet of its
former captivating owner, upon the mirror of that lake, now filled with
reeds and sedges, in elegant little pleasure boats, the illustrious
party was accustomed to enjoy the freshness of the evening, to fill the
surrounding groves with the melody of the song, which was faintly
answered by the tender flute, whose musician was concealed in that
rustic tower, whose graceful base the honeysuckle and eglantine no
longer encircle, and whose winding access, once decorated with flowers
of the richest beauty and perfume, is now overgrown with moss, decayed,
and falling piecemeal to the ground.
Near the farm, in corresponding pleasure grounds, the miller's house
particularly impressed us with delight. All its characteristics were
elegantly observed. A rivulet still runs on one side of it, which
formerly used to turn a little wheel to complete the illusion. The
apartments, which must have been once enchanting, now present nothing
but gaping beams, broken ceilings, and shattered casements. The
wainscots of its little cabinets, exhibit only a tablet, upon which are
rudely penciled, the motley initials, love verses, and memorandums of
its various visitors.
The shade of the ivy, which, upon all occasions, seems destined to
perform the last offices to the departing monuments of human ingenuity,
has here exercised its gloomy function. Whilst we were roving about, we
were obliged to take refuge from a thunder storm, in what appeared to us
a mere barn; upon our entering it, we found it to be an elegant little
ball room, much disfigured, and greened over by damp and neglect. In
other parts of this _petit Paradis_, are caves of artificial rock, which
have been formed at an immense expense, in which were formerly beds of
moss, and through which clear streams of water glided, Belvidere
temples, and scattered cottages, each differing from its neighbour in
character, but all according in taste and beauty. The opera house, which
stands alone, is a miniature of the splendid one in the palace of
Versailles.
The sylvan ball room, is an oblong square, lined with beautiful
treillages, surmounted with vases of flowers. The top is open. When the
queen gave her balls here, the ground was covered by a temporary
flooring, and the whole was brilliantly lighted. As we passed by the
palace, we saw, in the queen's little library, several persons walking.
Could the enchanting beauty of Austria, and the once incensed idol of
the gay, and the gallant, arise from her untimely tomb, and behold her
most sacred recesses of delight, thus rudely exposed, and converted into
scenes of low, and holiday festivity, the temples which she designed,
defaced, their statues overthrown, her walks overgrown and entangled,
the clear mirror of the winding lake, upon the placid surface of which
once shone the reflected form of the Belvidere, and the retreats of
elegant taste covered with the reedy greenness of the standing pool, and
all the _fairy fabric_ of her graceful fancy, thus dissolving in decay;
the devoted hapless Marie would add another sigh to the many which her
aching heart has already heaved!
It would be a very desirable thing if Bonaparte would make this his
country palace instead of St. Cloud. Upon our return, as we approached
Paris, the illuminated bridges of the Seine looked very beautiful, and
we were much pleased with some fireworks, which had a singular effect
upon the water.
In the evening, we had some music at Monsieur S----'s, where we were
joined by general Marescot, a brave and distinguished officer, much
esteemed by Bonaparte. He informed us that he was on the point of
setting out to view and report the condition of all the maritime
fortifications in the republic. "You must go with me as my
aide-de-camp," said the general to Mademoiselle D----. "I am not fierce
enough for a soldier," replied the fair one, with a bewitching smile.
"Well then," observed the sun-browned general, "should the war ever be
renewed, you shall attend me to charm away its calamities."
Madame S----, like a true french mother, was delighted with the little
compliment, and presenting her snuff box to the gallant Marescot, she
said, "thank you, my dear general, the brave always think generously of
the fair."