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ing to the British Rofcius, than the thunder of that acclamation, which, in the crowded theatre, followed the flash of his fiery eye, or the clofe of his appalling speech. edil anoll

The English drama, however, has not escaped the animadverfions of a French critic, whofe taste and liberality are not very congenial with thofe of my charming, and generous friend. Their tragedies,” he fays, (fpeaking of the English) "it is true, though

interefting, and replete with beauties, are neverthe"lefs dramatic monfters, half butchery, and half farce.. "Grotefque characters, and extravagant pleafantry "conftitute the chief part of their comedies. In one

of them, (not named) the devil enters fneezing, and. fomebody fays to the devil, God bless you. They "are not, however, all of this ftamp. They have even fome in very good tafte."

Yes Monfieur Dourx, I agree with you, I think we have fome in very good tafte. I know not in what dramatic work the facetious Frenchman has difcovered the introduction of his fatanic majefty under the influence of a cold, and receiving, as he enters, the ufual deprecation on fuch occafions. I rather fufpect that the adventures of Punch, and his fickle lady,. who are always attended by a dancing demon, have afforded the materials for this fapient obfervation.

In the course of one of my morning rambles in Pa-. ris, I vifited the ruins of the celebrated Bastille, of which prifon, only the arfenal, fome fragments of its

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maffy walls, and two or three dungeons remain. The volcanic vengeance of the people, has swept away this 3mighty fabric, which the revolting mind of republican liberty denounced as the frightful den of defpotifm, upon the approach of which no marks of returning footsteps were imprinted, whilft, in her mad career, fhe coverted every private dwelling in the me tropolis into a revolutionary prifon : So much for popular confiftency!

In the mutations of time, to what different pur pofes are the fame places appplied! Where the confuming martyr expired, the unwieldy prize hog ist expofed to fale; and the modern Parifian deri ves the fources of warmth and comfort, from a place, the very name of which, once chilled the circulation of his blood. The fite of the Baftille is now a magazine of wood which fupplies the city with fuel.

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Every lover of pure liberty muft leap with delight upon the difincumbered earth, where once ftocd that gloomy abode of "broken hearts," and reflect upon the fufferings of the wretched Latude, and the various victims of capricious pique, or prostitute resentment. It was here that, in the beautiful lines of Cowper, the hopeless prisoner was doomed

"To fly for refuge from diftracting thought, bl "To fuch, amufements as ingenious woe! "Contrives, hard fhifting, and without her tools "To read, engraven on the mouldy walls,

Smithfield.

"In flagg'ring types, his predeceffor's tale,

owning

"A fad memorial, and subjoin his own-

"To turn purveyor to an overgorg'd

"And bloated fpider, till the pamper'd pefta
"Is made familiar, watches his approach, bavovoqu
"Comes at his call, and ferves him for a friend

The cells of the Baftile were constantly filled, during the fyren reign of la Pompadour over the gloomy affections of Lewis XV.

The overthrow of this dungeon has not rendered ftate prifons out of fashion in the republic, although it has mitigated the feverity of their internal government. The towers of the Temple, look down upon -the proftrate ruins of the Baftille.

From this memorable fpot of ground, I went to the Obfervatory. In the rooms, which open upon an ar tificial terrace, were fome prodigious aftronomical apparatus. A very ingenious frame was then conftructing, for elevating, or depreffing the aftronomer, and the telescope at the fame time, by an eafy, and fimple procefs of machinery. The Obfervatory is a noble :building, and contains libraries, ftudents' rooms, and *apartments for the various artificers, and mechinists.

who are occupied in fabricating the apparatus, and inftruments neceffary to the fcience of aftronomy. From the exterior of the dome, there is a fine view of the city furburbs, and country.

From the Obfervatory, I vifited the Confervative Senate, formerly the Palace of Luxembourg.

The

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back of this beautiful building is in the Rue de Vays girand, in the Fauxbourg of St. Germains. The gardens of this noble pile, are receiving great improve ment, and alteration, from defigns which have been approved of by the first conful, who in his wife policy, intends that they fhall, in time, rival thofe of the Thuilleries, for the purpose of affording an elegant, and fashionable promenade to the people who refide In this part of the capital, who are confiderably removed from the beautiful walks which adorn the confular palace. Here I faw the Hall of Deliberation, in which the Confervative Senate affembles. It is nothing more than a large, handsome drawing room, in which are placed upon rifing platforms, fixty armed chairs, for as many members, the chair of the prefident and the tribune. This magnificent palace is repairing, and fitting up for the residence, and accommodation of its members. Iwas introduced to the artift who has the care of the gallery here, and who, with his affiftants, was very bufily occupied in a procefs for removing the oil colors of a painting from wood, and transferring them to canvafs. He received me with great politenefs, and explained to me the mode of doing it, in which there appeared to be more toil, nicety, and steadiness required, than ingenuity.

The panting is laid upon a cloth ftretched upon a marble flab, and the wood behind is fhaved off until nothing but the picture, like a flat cake, or rather a feet of goldbeatery kin, remains, a piece of cativas

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coated with a cement is then placed upon it, to which it adheres, and presents all the appearance of having been originally painted upon it. The pictures from the fubject of St. Bruno, were then undergoing this operation.

The apartments in which thefe people were at work, prefented very convincing indications of the mutability of human ambition.

This palace was allotted to the celebrated Council of Five Hundred. During their ephemeral reign, these very rooms were defigned for their halls of audience, and levees, the rich mouldings, and cornices of which were half gilt, and covered with filver paper to preferve them: the poor council were never indulged in a house warming..

The pictures, which were collected by Henry IV. and depofited in the gallery there, which bears his name, are faid to be valuable. I did not fee them, on account of their having been removed into store rooms during the repairs of the palace.

It was late when I left the Luxembourg, and fomewhat exhausted for want of refreshment, I determined upon dining at the first reftaurateur's which I could meet with, instead of going to the Gardens of the Thuilleries. To find fuch an accommodation in Paris, is no difficult thing. A ftranger would naturally fup pofe, from the frequency with which the words caffé, limonade, and reftaurateur prefent themfelves to the eye, that three parts of the inhabitants had turned

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