From the very beginning of reading and writing--nay, doubtless from
the very beginning of speaking,--TRUTH, immortal TRUTH has been the
object of ostensible worship to all who read and to all who listen;
and, in the abstract, it is unquestionably held in sincere veneration
by all: yet, in the detail of every-day practice, the majority of
mankind often hate it, and are seen to bear pain, disappointment, and
sorrow more patiently than its honoured voice when it echoes not their
own opinion.
Preconceived notions generally take a much firmer hold of the mind
than can be obtained by any statement, however clear and plain, which
tends to overthrow them; and if it happen that these are connected
with an honest intention of being right, they are often mistaken for
principles;--in which case the attempt to shake them is considered not
merely as a folly, but a sin.
With this conviction strongly impressed upon my mind, it requires some
moral courage to publish these volumes; for they are written in
conformity to the opinions of ... perhaps none,--and, worse still,
there is that in them which may be considered as contradictory to my
own. Had I before my late visit to Paris written a book for the
purpose of advocating the opinions I entertained on the state of the
country, it certainly would have been composed in a spirit by no means
according in all points with that manifested in the following pages:
but while profiting by every occasion which permitted me to mix with
distinguished people of all parties, I learnt much of which I was--in
common, I suspect, with many others--very profoundly ignorant. I found
good where I looked for mischief--strength where I anticipated
weakness--and the watchful wisdom of cautious legislators, most
usefully at work for the welfare of their country, instead of the
crude vagaries of a revolutionary government, active only in leading
blindfold the deluded populace who trusted to them.
The result of this was, first a wavering, and then a change of
opinion,--not as to the immutable laws which should regulate
hereditary succession, or the regret that it should ever have been
deemed expedient to violate them--but as to the wisest way in which
the French nation, situated as it actually is, can be governed, so as
best to repair the grievous injuries left by former convulsions, and
most effectually to guard against a recurrence of them in future.
That the present policy of France keeps these objects steadily in
view, and that much wisdom and courage are at work to advance them,
cannot be doubted; and those most anxious to advocate the sacred cause
of well-ordered authority amongst all the nations of the earth should
be the first to bear testimony to this truth.
London, December 1835.
CONTENTS
TO
THE FIRST VOLUME.
LETTER I.
Difficulty of giving a systematic account of what is doing
in France.--Pleasure of revisiting Paris after long
absence.--What is changed; what remains the same. Page 1
LETTER II.
Absence of the English Embassy.--Trial of the Lyons
Prisoners.--Church of the Madeleine.--Statue of Napoleon. 7
LETTER III.
Slang.--Les Jeunes Gens de Paris.--La Jeune France.
--Rococo.--Décousu. 12
LETTER IV.
Théâtre Français.--Mademoiselle Mars.--Elmire.--'Charlotte
Brown.'--Extract from a Sermon. 17
LETTER V.
Exhibition of Living Artists at the Louvre.--The
Deluge.--Poussin and Martin.--Portraits.--Appearance of the
company. 22
LETTER VI.
Society.--Morality.--False Impressions and False Reports.
--Observations from a Frenchman on a recent publication. 32
LETTER VII.
Alarm created by the Trial of the Lyons Prisoners.--Visits
from a Republican and from a Doctrinaire: reassured
by the promises of safety and protection received from the
latter. 41
LETTER VIII.
Eloquence of the Pulpit.--L'Abbé Coeur.--Sermon at
St. Roch.--Elegant Congregation.--Costume of the younger
Clergy. 50
LETTER IX.
Literature of the Revolutionary School.--Its low estimation
in France. 59
LETTER X.
Lonchamps.--The "Three Hours' Agony" at St. Roch.--Sermons
on the Gospel of Good-Friday.--Prospects of the Catholics.
--O'Connell. 66
LETTER XI.
Trial Chamber at the Luxembourg.--Institute.--M. Mignet.
--Concert Musard. 76
LETTER XII.
Easter-Sunday at Notre Dame.--Archbishop.--View of
Paris.--Victor Hugo.--Hôtel Dieu.--Mr. Jefferson. 83
LETTER XIII.
"Le Monomane". 91
LETTER XIV.
The Gardens of the Tuileries.--Legitimatist.--Republican.
--Doctrinaire.--Children.--Dress of the Ladies.--Of the
Gentlemen.--Black Hair.--Unrestricted Admission.--Anecdote. 101
LETTER XV.
Street Police.--Cleaning Beds.--Tinning Kettles.--Building
Houses.--Loading Carts.--Preparing for the Scavenger.--Want
of Drains.--Bad Pavement.--Darkness. 112
LETTER XVI.
Preparations for the Fête du Roi.--Arrival of Troops.--Champs
Elysées.--Concert in the Garden of the Tuileries.--Silence
of the People.--Fireworks. 120
LETTER XVII.
Political chances.--Visit from a Republican.--His high
spirits at the prospects before him.--His advice to me
respecting my name.--Removal of the Prisoners from
Ste. Pélagie.--Review.--Garde de Paris.--The National
Guard. 130
LETTER XVIII.
First Day of the Trials.--Much blustering, but no riot.--All
alarm subsided.--Proposal for inviting Lord B----m
to plead at the Trial.--Society.--Charm of idle conversation.
--The Whisperer of good stories. 141
LETTER XIX.
Victor Hugo.--Racine. 151
LETTER XX.
Versailles.--St. Cloud. 170
LETTER XXI.
History of the Vicomte de B----. His opinions.--State
of France.--Expediency. 180
LETTER XXII.
Père Lachaise.--Mourning in public.--Defacing the Tomb
of Abelard and Eloïsa.--Baron Munchausen.--Russian
Monument.--Statue of Manuel. 189
LETTER XXIII.
Remarkable People.--Distinguished People.--Metaphysical
Lady. 196
LETTER XXIV.
Expedition to the Luxembourg.--No admittance for
Females.--Portraits of "Henri."--Republican Costume.--Quai
Voltaire.--Mural Inscriptions.--Anecdote of Marshal
Lobau.--Arrest. 206
LETTER XXV.
Chapelle Expiatoire.--Devotees seen there.--Tri-coloured
flag out of place there.--Flower Market of the Madeleine.
--Petites Maîtresses. 220
LETTER XXVI.
Delicacy in France and in England.--Causes of the
difference between them. 227
LETTER XXVII.
Objections to quoting the names of private individuals.
--Impossibility of avoiding Politics.--_Parceque_ and
_Quoique_.--Soirée Antithestique. 237
LETTER XXVIII.
New Publications.--M. de Lamartine's "Souvenirs, Impressions,
Pensées, et Paysages."--Tocqueville and Beaumont.--New
American regulation.--M. Scribe.--Madame
Tastu.--Reception of different Writers in society. 249
LETTER XXIX.
Sunday in Paris.--Family Groups.--Popular Enjoyment.
--Polytechnic Students.--Their resemblance to the figure
of Napoleon.--Enduring attachment to the Emperor.
--Conservative spirit of the English Schools.--Sunday in
the Gardens of the Tuileries.--Religion of the Educated.
--Popular Opinion. 257
LETTER XXX.
Madame Récamier.--Her Morning Parties.--Gérard's
Picture of Corinne.--Miniature of Madame de Staël.--M.
de Châteaubriand.--Conversation on the degree in which
the French Language is understood by Foreigners.--The
necessity of speaking French. 269
LETTER XXXI.
Exhibition of Sèvres China at the Louvre.--Gobelins and
Beauvais Tapestry.--Legitimatist Father and Doctrinaire
Son.--Copies from the Medicean Gallery. 281
LETTER XXXII.
Eglise Apostolique Française.--Its doctrine.--L'Abbé Auzou.
--His Sermon on "les Plaisirs Populaires." 290
LETTER XXXIII.
Establishment for Insane Patients at Vanves.--Description
of the arrangements.--Englishman.--His religious madness. 307
LETTER XXXIV.
Riot at the Porte St. Martin.--Prevented by a shower
of Rain.--The Mob in fine weather.--How to stop Emeutes.
--Army of Italy.--Théâtre Français.--Mademoiselle Mars
in Henriette.--Disappearance of Comedy. 319
LETTER XXXV.
Soirée dansante.--Young Ladies.--Old Ladies.--Anecdote.--The
Consolations of Chaperones.--Flirtations.--Discussion upon
the variations between young Married Women in France and in
England.--Making love by deputy.--Not likely to answer in
England. 329
LETTER XXXVI.
Improvements of Paris.--Introduction of Carpets and
Trottoirs.--Maisonnettes.--Not likely to answer in Paris.
--The necessity of a Porter and Porter's Lodge.--Comparative
Expenses of France and England.--Increasing Wealth of the
Bourgeoisie. 347
LETTER XXXVII.
Horrible Murder.--La Morgue.--Suicides.--Vanity.
--Anecdote.--Influence of Modern Literature.--Different
appearance of Poverty in France and England. 358
LETTER XXXVIII.
Opéra Comique.--"Cheval de Bronze."--"La Marquise."
--Impossibility of playing Tragedy.--Mrs. Siddons's
Readings.--Mademoiselle Mars has equal power.--_Laisser
aller_ of the Female Performers.--Decline of Theatrical
Taste among the Fashionable. 371
LETTER XXXIX.
The Abbé de Lamennais.--Cobbett.--O'Connell.--Napoleon.
--Robespierre. 381
LETTER XL.
Which Party is it ranks second in the estimation of
all?--No Caricatures against the Exiles.--Horror of a
Republic. 389
LETTER XLI.
M. Dupré.--His Drawings in Greece.--L'Eglise des
Carmes.--M. Vinchon's Picture of the National Convention.
--Léopold Robert's Fishermen.--Reported cause of his
Suicide.--Roman Catholic Religion.--Mr. Daniel O'Connell. 400
LETTER XLII.
Old Maids.--Rarely to be found in France.--The reasons
for this. 408
EMBELLISHMENTS
TO
THE FIRST VOLUME.