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thence remove to the triumphal arch of Conftantine, from which he carried them to his own capital.

They are faid to be compofed of bronze and gold, which much refembles the famous compofition of the Corinthian brafs. Although these ftatues are of an enormous fize, they are too diminutive for the vaft pile of building which they adorn. The fame remark applies to the entrance gates, of maffy iron, which have just been raised by the directions of the firft conful. The tricolored flag, mounted upon the centre dome of the palace, is alfo too small. From the court yard I entered the gardens, which are very beautiful, and about feven o'clock in the evening, form one of the favorite and fashionable walks of the Parifians, They are difpofed in regular promenades, in which are many fine cafts from the ancient ftatues, which adorn the hall of antiques, and on each fide, are noble orange trees, which grow in vaft moveable cafes; many of thefe exotics are twenty feet high. Until lately many of the antiques were placred here, but Bonaparte, with his accustomed judgment and veneration for the arts, has had them removed into the grand national collection, and has fupplied their places by these beautiful copies, amongst which I particularly distinguished thofe of Hippomanes, and Atalanta, for the beauty of their proportions, and the exquifite elucidation of their story.. Here are alfo fome fine bafins of water, in the middle of which are jets d'eau. The gravel walks of the]

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gardens are watered every morning in hot weather, and centinels are ftationed at every avenue, to preferve order: no perfon is admitted who is the carrier of a parcel, however fmall. Here are groups of peo ple to be feen, every morning, reading the prints of the day, in the refreshing coolness of the fhade. For the use of a chair in the gardens, of which there are fome hundreds, the proprietor is thankful for the fmallest coin of the republic. At the bottom of the fteps, leading to the terrace, in front of the palace, are fome beautiful vafes, of an immenfe fize, which are raifed about twelve feet from the ground: in one of them, which was pointed out to me, an unpopular and perfecuted Parisian saved nearly all his property, during the revolution. A fhort time before the maffacre of the 10th of Auguft, 1792, when the domiciliary vifits became frequent and keen, this man during a dark night, ftole, unobserved by the guards, into the garden, with a bag under his arm, containing almost all his treasure; he made his way to the vafe, which, from the palace, is on the right, hand, next to the Feuillans, and after fome difficulty, committed the whole to the capacious bofom of the faithful depofitory: this done, he retreated in fafety; and when the time of terror was paffed, fearful that he should not be able to raise his bag from the deep bottom of the urn without a discovery, which might have rendered the circumstance suspicious, and perhaps hazardous to him, he prefented himself be

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fore the minifter of the police, verified the narrative of the facts, and was placed in the quiet poffeffion of his property, which in this manner had remained undisturbed during all that frightful period. From the gardens I went to the exhibition of David's celebrat→ ed painting of the fufpenfion of the battle between the Sabines and the Romans, produced by the wives of the latter rufhing, with their children in their arms, between the contending warriors. David is defervedly confidered as the first living artist in France; and this fplendid picture is worthy of his pencil. is upon an immenfe fcale. All the Figures (of which there are many) are as large as life. The principal female raising her terrified infant, and the two chief' combatants, are inimitable. I was informed, by good authority, that the court of Ruffia had offered 70001. fterling for it, an unexampled price for any modern painting! but that David, who is very rich, felt a reluctance in parting with it, to the emperor, on account of the climate of Ruffia being unfavora ble to color..

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From this beautiful painting, I went to pay my refpects to Mons. O, who refided at the other end of Paris, upon whom I had a letter of credit. my arriving at his hotel, I was informed by the

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ter that his mafter was at his chateau, about ten miles

in the country, with his family, where he lay extremely ill. This news rendered ibneceffary for me to leave Paris for a day and night at least..

From Mons. OI went to Mr. Perregaux, the rich banker and legislator, to whom I had letters of introduction. He lives in the Rue Mont Blanc, a ftreet, the place of refidence of the principal bankers, and is next door neighbor to his rival Mons. R, whofe lady has occafioned fome little converfation. Mons. P's hotel is very fuperb. His chief clerks occupy rooms elegantly fitted up, and decorated with fine paintings. He received me in a very handsome manner, in a beautiful little cabinet, adorned with fome excellent and coftly paintings. After many polite expreffions from him, I laughingly informed him of the dilemma in which I was plac ed by the unexpected abfence of Mons O; upon which Mons. P in the most friendly manner told me that the letters which I had brought were from perfons whom he highly efteemed; and that Mons. O was alfo his friend; that as it might prove inconvenient for me to wait upon him in the country, he begged to have the pleasure of furnish ing me with whatever money I wanted, upon my own draughts. I felt this act of politenefs and liberality very forcibly, which I of courfe declined, as I wished only to take up what money I wanted in a regular manner, but I was defirous of seeing Mons. O, who was reprefented to me as a very amiable man, and his family as elegant and accomplished. I was much charmed with the generous conduct of Mons. P, from whom I afterwards received great

attentions, and who is much beloved by the English. I felt it a pleasurable duty not to confine the knowledge of fuch an act of liberality to the spot where it was fo handfomely manifefted. The feflions of the legislative affembly had closed the day before my ar rival, a circumstance I much regretted, as through his means I fhould have been enabled to have attended their fittings. The bankers of France are im-. menfely rich, and almoft command the treafury of the nation. Mons. P, with the well-timed, filent fubmiffion of the flexible reed, in the fable, has furvived the revolutionary storm, which by a good, but guiltlefs policy, has paffed over him, without leaving one stain upon his honorable character, and has operated, like the flime of the Egyptian inundation, only to fructify, and increase his fortunes. He once however narrowly efcaped. In the time of Robefpierre, the Marquis de Chatelet, a few nights before his execution, attempted to corrupt his guards, and told them, if they would releafe him, Mons.. Pwould give them a draft to any amount which they might choofe then to name. The centinels re jected the bribe, and informed their fanguinary em→ ployer of the offer, who had the books of Mons. investigated: he was in no fhape concerned in the attempted efcape; but hearing, with extraor-. dinary swiftnefs, that the marquis, whofe banker he had been, and to whom an inconfiderable balance was then due, had implicated him in this manner, he

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