Since the revolution, their price is nearly doubled, and is extremely
high in the most fashionable parts of the town, such as the _Chaussée
d'Antin_, the _Rue de la Loi_, the _Rue de la Concorde_, &c. For
strangers that know not in Paris any friend who will take the trouble
to seek for them suitable apartments, the only way to procure good
accommodation is to alight at a ready-furnished hotel, and there hire
rooms by the day till they can look about them, and please
themselves.
For my own part, I prefer the quiet of a private lodging to the
bustle of a public hotel, and, as I have before mentioned, my
constant resource, on such occasions, has been the _Petites
Affiches_. If you go to the office where this Daily Advertiser is
published, and inspect the file, it is ten to one that you
immediately find apartments to your wishes.
A single man may now be comfortably lodged here, in a private house
with a _porte-cochère_, at from 5 to 8 louis per month; and a small
family may be well accommodated, in that respect, at from 12 to 16
louis. A larger party, requiring more room, may obtain excellent
apartments at from 20 louis a month upwards, according to the
situation, the conveniences, the taste and condition of the
furniture, and other contingencies. To prevent subsequent
misunderstanding, I would always recommend a written agreement.
The English have hitherto paid dearer than other foreigners for
whatever they want in Paris, because they generally trust to their
servants, and think it beneath them to look into those matters
connected with their own comfort. But the _Milords Anglais_ are now
entirely eclipsed by the Russian Counts, who give two louis where the
English offer one. A person's expenses here, as every where else,
materially depend on good management, without which a thoughtless man
squanders twice as much as a more considerate one; and while the
former obtains no more than the common comforts of life, the latter
enjoys all its indulgences.
With respect to the gratifications of the table, I have little to add
to what I have already said on that subject, in speaking of the
_restaurateurs_. If you choose to become a boarder, you may subscribe
at the _Hôtel du Cirque_, _Rue de la Loi_, and sit down every day in
good company for about seven louis a month; and there are very
respectable private houses, where you may, when once introduced, dine
very well for five livres a time; but, at all these places, you are
sure to meet either English or Americans; and the consequence is,
that you are eternally speaking your mother-tongue, which is a
material objection with those who are anxious to improve themselves
in the French language. For a man who brings his family to Paris, and
resides in private apartments, it might, perhaps, be more advisable
to hire a cook, and live _à l'Anglaise_ or _à la Française_,
according to his fancy.
No conveniences have been so much improved in Paris, since the
revolution, as