flight through Austria, the female part of the family were obliged to assume the guise of English travellers, in order to elude the vigilance of their enemies. As they had some knowledge of the language, to which was added a similarity of national dress, they succeeded tolerably well among strangers. At length they were thrown in contact with an English waiting-maid, who had emigrated to the continent some years before. Serious fears of detection were here apprehended. But the poor girl entertaining no doubt, that the ladies were really English, although she found difficulty in understanding them; and as they were supposed to have left her native country at a much later period than herself, she came to the melancholy conclusion, that by a long residence abroad, she had lost her mother tongue!

In the midst of walks, conversations, and enjoyments like these, the hour of dinner again came round. By this time, our places at table had been as perfectly learned, as if we had become permanent inmates of the Chateau. Another evening of music and social pleasure was added to the sum of our happiness. At 8 or 9 o'clock, an intention was again signified to go to Rosé, in readiness for the Diligence the next morning. But "it would be madness to go to the hotel that night, where the accommodations were not good; besides, it was snowing, and the weather was unpleasant: a servant should be sent to engage places for us, and it would be easy to reach the village by 8 o'clock, the hour for the departure of the coach on the following day." In vain were any suggestions opposed to these kind persuasions and at 10 o'clock, we retired for the third night to the chambers of the Chateau.

The next morning at 7, we found both the General and his son in the drawing-room before us, with coffee upon the table, and his own coach at the door, in readiness to take us to Rosé. In a few minutes more, a cordial grasp of the hand and the parting benediction of the patriarch, produced a state of feeling, which on our part admitted of few words; and we left La Grange with a full conviction, that if there is a paradise on earth, it must be found in the domestic, unsophisticated and innocent delights of such a family, and if unalloyed happiness be the portion of any mortal, it must consist in the luxury of such feelings, and in the practice of such virtues, as are possessed by General La Fayette.*

* In justification of the foregoing sketch, it may not be improper to remark, that my sole object was to present a domestic picture of La Grange.

LETTER XXXIX.

OF

PARIS CONTINUED--PANTHEON--OBSERVATORY--STYLE OF FRENCH DINNERS-CHURCH OF ST. SULPICE-SCHOOL MEDICINE-ANATOMICAL MUSEUM-NATIONAL INSTITUTEGREAT MEN-PHILOSOPHICAL, CHEMICAL, AND MEDICAL LECTURES.

January, 1826.-Several calls were made at the Pantheon, now the church of St. Genevieve, which presents a noble front, surmounted by a dome little inferior in grandeur, and fully equal in the beauty of its proportions to that of St. Paul's at London. A lofty porch. 11 feet in length, and supported by twenty-two Corinthian columns, each fifty-eight feet in height, and five feet and a half in diameter, form the entrance. The dimensions of the church are 337 feet by 253, in the form of a cross. Long ranges of 130 Corinthian columns support the galleries of the interior; and the dome rests on a rotunda of fifty-two additional pillars, each fiftyfour feet in height. the whole forming a specimen of architectural magnificence seldom surpassed. Some innovations have been made upon the simplicity of the dome, by the necessity of giving it a firmer support, and an attempt to conceal the alterations by splendid gildings and paintings. This edifice was designed as a temple dedicated exclusively to the great men of France, where their ashes were to be de

The events in the military and political life of General La Fayette-his character as a soldier, a statesman, and a philanthropist-his public services and private virtues, are so universally known through the medium of books of history, biography, and travels, that I have studiously avoided an allusion to any of these topics, on which nothing new could have been advanced, or presented to my readers in a more acceptable form, than may be found in the writings of others. Such a picture of domestic life as I have attempted to draw, must necessarily be made up of little items and incidents, which in some instances may seem trifling and unfit to meet the public eye. But it is enough for me to know, that a sketch of objects, which I supposed would be interesting to the people of the United States, has not forfeited the friendship of the best of men and the most estimable of families; while it has had the good fortune generally to meet the approbation of the American public.

posited in a gallery of vaults below, and their names recorded as a testimonial of public gratitude for their services. As the religious edifices of Paris were already sufficiently numerous, and the design of this building was unique, it is to be regretted, that its original character has been changed. The priests have manifested such a hostility to the plan, as to disturb the ashes of the dead, and to remove the remains of Voltaire and Rosseau to an obscure vault.*

In the afternoon of a bright day we paid a visit to the Observatory, which occupies an eminence near the garden of the Luxembourg. A broad avenue opens in a direct line with the Palace. This lofty structure, which covers a large area, and is built entirely of stone, even to the vaulted roof, without the aid of either wood or iron, stands precisely in a north and south direction, the meridian of Paris passing through the centre. In altitude, it may be said to extend from the lower regions to the skies; for a shaft opens from the top, through all the stories, and thence pierces the crust of earth into the catacombs beneath the city. It is used for measuring the accelerated velocity of falling bodies, as well as for astronomical observations. We climbed to the top of the edifice, and had a charming view of the city and its environs, just at evening. Four lines of telegraphs were in sightone running over Montmartre to the English Channel; another south, to the Pyrenees and the Peninsula; a third to the north of Europe, by Strasbourg; and a fourth to Italy. The signals changed once in a minute or two, and bulletins from Madrid were passing directly over our heads, like "sightless couriers of the air." Intelligence is communicated with almost the rapidity of lightning. In my opinion, telegraphs might be much more extensively introduced into our country to advantage. The Observatory is furnished with an extensive apparatus, consisting of excellent glasses and instruments of all kinds requisite for making observations with the minutest accuracy. Three astronomers are

It

* In November, 1826, I paid another visit to this church, in company with the author of the Spy, on the great festival of Toussaint, when the aisles were thronged with votaries, clouds of incense rose from the altars, and the chorus of a thousand voices was reverberated from the dome. was rather an impressive spectacle; though the Pantheon, both in external grandeur and the splendour of its internal decorations falls infinitely short of St. Peter's at Rome, to which it has by some been likened. All temples made with hands must suffer by a comparison with the glories of the Vatican.

constantly employed, as sentinels of the heavens, being on the alert, and noting every phenomenon, even to the changes of the wind and weather, whence precise meteorological tables are deduced.

On our return towards home, curiosity prompted us to call and examine an unique establishment, which was nothing less than a hospital for sick dogs. The surgeon, who acted also in the capacity of physician, was very polite, taking us through the wards, and describing the diseases of his numerous patients, some of which were from a distance, attracted by the celebrity of his mode of treatment. Each of them occupies a separate cell, furnished with a couch and vessels for food and drink. The doctor had just been the rounds for the night, dressing wounds and administering medicine. Some of the animals were bundled up in such a way as to present a most fantastic and ludicrous appearance.

The delivery of a large package of letters of introduction, had soon after our arrival made us acquainted with a numerous circle of friends, whose attentions have greatly contributed to the pleasure as well as the instruction derived from our visit to Paris. From the American Minister and his family, we received a liberal share of their characteristic hospitality, urbanity, and kindness, manifested on all occasions to citizens of the United States. With a palace for his residence, a fortune at his command, and a lady for his partner, whose accomplishments peculiarly qualify her for the sphere of social and fashionable life, our ambassador is enabled to show those attentions to his countrymen, as well as to the extensive circle of his friends abroad, which some of his predecessors could either not afford, or had not the disposition to manifest.

As I have had an opportunity of witnessing a perfect specimen of Parisian style and fashion, it may be pardonable so far to violate the privacy of the social circle, as to dwell for a moment on the etiquette of a dinner. The hour of dining is about 6 o'clock. All the guests enter the drawingroom, wearing their hats and gloves. During the greater part of our visit, black has been necessary, as a badge of mourning for the Emperor Alexander. At the door of the apartment, the name of each person is announced by the servant, and he receives no other introduction to any of the company. In going to the table, there is no formal allotment of places, but each one must look out for himself, and

for the lady of his charge. The French, although fond of good living, make a business instead of a pleasure of eating, and the great object is to get through as soon as possible. An hour and a half is the longest time occupied in a fashionable dinner, during which the guest tastes perhaps of thirty different kinds of food, and as many varieties of wine. A succession of dishes is constantly circulated by a train of waiters, and each person, even the ladies, help themselves to what is presented ready carved at their side. Another train of ser

vants bear round all varieties of wine, naming them as they pass. There is no drinking of bealths—no loud talk across the table-and none of that noisy festivity, observable at an English or American dinner. Each guest converses in a low tone of voice with the persons who happen to sit next to him. A Parisian would think it extremely rude to attract the attention of the table, or to disturb the almost whispered colloquies of others. Ladies and gentlemen retire from the table to the drawing-room at the same time, where coffee is served up, and in the course of the evening a dish of tea sometimes follows. No refreshments are subsequently sent round as with us; and I have passed five or six hours in fashionable French circles, without either eating or drinking.

By being obliged to leave town on an excursion to the environs of Paris, it was my misfortune to lose an opportunity of seeing all the first circle of Paris together at a diplomatic soirée. The party consisted of upwards of one thousand persons, embracing the public functionaries, military and naval officers of distinction, men of scientific and literary eminence, together with a large share of the beauty, taste, and fashion of the metropolis.

From others we received civilities more important, and not less acceptable, than the hospitalities of the table, although these were occasionally intermingled with their favours. The former Consul, who is not less distinguished for his scientific and literary attainments, than esteemed for his amiable virtues and unassuming worth, afforded us every facility in visiting the institutions of Paris, between which and his country, he may be considered as the connecting link. On one day he accompanied us to the Church of St. Sulpice, and thence to the School of Medicine. The former

is one of the grandest religious edifices in the metropolis. Its front is composed of double ranges of columns, placed one above another. The first are of the Doric order, forty