This garden, which is the most magnificent in Paris, was laid out by
the celebrated LE NOTRE in the reign of Lewis XIV. It covers a space
of three hundred and sixty toises[1] long by one hundred and
sixty-eight broad. To the north and south, it is bordered, throughout
its length, by two terraces, one on each side, which, with admirable
art, conceal the irregularity of the ground, and join at the farther
end in the form of a horse-shoe. To the east, it is limited by the
palace of the _Tuileries_; and to the west, by the _Place de la
Concorde_.
From the vestibule of the palace, the perspective produces a most
striking effect: the eye first wanders for a moment over the
extensive parterre, which is divided into compartments, planted with
shrubs and flowers, and decorated with basins, _jets-d'eau_, vases,
and statues in marble and bronze; it then penetrates through a
venerable grove which forms a beautiful vista; and, following the
same line, it afterwards discovers a fine road, bordered with trees,
leading by a gentle ascent to _Pont de Neuilly_, through the
_Barrière de Chaillot_, where the prospect closes.
The portico of the palace has been recently decorated with several
statues. On each side of the principal door is a lion in marble.
The following is the order in which the copies of antique statues,
lately placed in this garden, are at present disposed.
On the terrace towards the river, are: 1. Venus _Anadyomene_. 2. An
Apollo of Belvedere. 3. The group of Laocoon. 4. Diana, called by
antiquaries, _Succincta_. 5. Hercules carrying Ajax.
In front of the palace: 1. A dying gladiator. 2. A fighting
gladiator. 3. The flayer of Marsyas. 4. VENUS, styled _à la
coquille_, crouched and issuing from the bath. N. B. All these
figures are in bronze.
In the alley in front of the parterre, in coming from the terrace
next the river: 1. Flora Farnese. 2. Castor and Pollux. 3. Bacchus
instructing young Hercules. 4. Diana.
On the grass-plot, towards the _manège_ or riding-house, Hippomenes
and Atalanta. At the further end is an Apollo, in front of the
horse-shoe walk, decorated with a sphynx at each extremity.
In the corresponding gras-plot towards the river, Apollo and Daphne;
and at the further end, a Venus _Callypyga_, or (according to the
French term) _aux belles fesses_.
In the compartment by the horse-chesnut trees, towards the
riding-house, the Centaur. On the opposite side, the Wrestlers.
Farther on, though on the same side, an Antinoüs.
In the niche, under the steps in the middle of the terrace towards
the river, a Cleopatra.
In the alley of orange-trees, near the _Place de la Concorde_,
Meleager; and on the terrace, next to the riding-house, Hercules
Farnese.
In the niche to the right, in front of the octagonal basin, a Faun
carrying a kid. In the one to the left, Mercury Farnese.
Independently of these copies after the antique, the garden is
decorated with several other modern statues, by COYZEVOX, REGNAUDIN,
COSTOU, LE GROS, LE PAUTRE, &c. which attest the degree of perfection
that had been attained, in the course of the last century, by French
sculptors. For a historical account of them, I refer you to a work,
which I shall send you by the first opportunity, written by the
learned MILLIN.
Here, in summer, the wide-spreading foliage of the lofty
horse-chesnut trees afford a most agreeable shade; the air is
cooled by the continual play of the _jets-d'eau_; while upwards of
two hundred orange-trees, which are then set out, impregnate it with
a delightful perfume. The garden is now kept in much better order
than it was under the monarchy. The flower-beds are carefully
cultivated; the walks are well gravelled, rolled, and occasionally
watered; in a word, proper attention is paid to the convenience
of the public.
But, notwithstanding these attractions, as long as it was necessary
for every person entering this garden to exhibit to the sentinels the
national cockade, several fair royalists chose to relinquish its
charming walks, shaded by trees of a hundred years' growth, rather
than comply with the republican mandate. Those anti-revolutionary
_élégantes_ resorted to other promenades; but, since the accession of
the consular government, the wearing of this doubtful emblem of
patriotism has been dispensed with, and the garden of the _Tuileries_
is said to be now as much frequented in the fine season as at any
period of the old _régime_.
The most constant visiters are the _quidnuncs_, who, according to the
difference of the seasons, occupy alternately three walks; the
_Terrasse des Feuillans_ in winter; that which is immediately
underneath in spring; and the centre or grand alley during the summer
or autumn.
Before the revolution, this garden was not open to the populace,
except on the festival of St. Lewis, and the eve preceding, when
there was always a public concert, given under a temporary
amphitheatre erected against the west façade of the palace: at
present no person whatever is refused admittance.
There are six entrances, at each of which sentinels are regularly
mounted from the grenadiers of the consular guard; and, independently
of the grand guard-room over the vestibule of the palace, there is
one at the end of the garden which opens on the _Place de la
Concorde_, and another on the _Terrasse des Feuillans_.
But what is infinitely more interesting, on this terrace, is a new
and elegant building, somewhat resembling a _casino_, which at once
unites every accommodation that can be wished for in a coffee-house,
a tavern, or a confectioner's. Here you may breakfast _à l'Anglaise_
or _à la fourchette_, that is in the most substantial manner, in the
French fashion, read the papers, dine, or sup sumptuously in any
style you choose, or drink coffee and liqueurs, or merely eat ices.
While thus engaged, you enjoy a full view of the company passing and
repassing, and what adds beyond measure to the beauty of the scene,
is the presence of the ladies, who not unfrequently come hither with
their admirers to indulge in a _téte-à-téte_, or make larger parties
to dine or sup at these fashionable rendezvous of good cheer.
According to the scandalous chronicle, Véry, the master of the house,
is indebted to the charms of his wife for the occupation of this
tasteful edifice, which had been erected by the government on a spot
of ground that was national property, and, of course, at its
disposal. Several candidates were desirous to be tenants of a
building at once so elegant and so centrical. Véry himself had been
unsuccessful, though he had offered a _pot de vin_ (that is the
Parisian term for _good-will_) of five hundred louis, and six
thousand francs a year rent. His handsome wife even began to
apprehend that her mission would be attended with no better fortune.
She presented herself, however, to the then Minister of the Interior,
who, unrelenting as he had hitherto been to all the competitors, did
not happen to be a Scipio. On the contrary, he is said to have been
so struck by the person of the fair supplicant, that he at once
declared his readiness to accede to her request, on condition that
she would favour him with her company to supper, and not forget to
put her night-cap in her pocket. _Relata refero_.
Be this as it may, I assure you that Madame Véry, without being a
perfect beauty, is what the French call a _beau corps de femme_, or,
in plain English, a very desirable woman, and such as few ministers
of L'n. B--------te's years would choose to dismiss unsatisfied. This
is not the age of continence, and I am persuaded that any man who
sees and converses with the amiable Madame Véry, if he do not envy
the Minister the nocturnal sacrifice, will, on contemplating the
elegance of her arrangements, at least allow that this spot of ground
has not been disposed of to disadvantage.
Every step we take, in this quarter of Paris, calls to mind some
remarkable circumstance of the history of the revolution. As the
classic reader, in visiting _Troas_, would endeavour to trace the
site of those interesting scenes described in the sublime numbers of
the prince of poets; so the calm observer, in perambulating this
garden, cannot but reflect on the great political events of which it
has been the theatre. In front of the west façade of the palace, the
unfortunate Lewis XVI, reviewed the Swiss, and some of the national
guards, very early in the morning of the 10th of August 1792. On the
right, close to the _Terrasse des Feuillans_, still stands the
_manège_ or riding-house, where the National Assembly at that time
held their sittings, and whither the king, with his family, was
conducted by ROEDERER, the deputy. That building, after having since
served for various purposes, is at present shut up, and will,
probably, be taken down, in consequence of projected improvements in
this quarter.
In the centre of the west end of the garden, was the famous _Pont
tournant_, by which, on the 11th of July 1789, the Prince de Lambesc
entered it at the head of his regiment of cavalry, and, by
maltreating some peaceable saunterers, gave the Parisians a specimen
of what they were to expect from the disposition of the court. This
inconsiderate _galopade_, as the French term it, was the first signal
of the general insurrection.
The _Pont tournant_ is destroyed, and the ditch filled up. Leaving
the garden of the _Tuileries_ by this issue, we enter the