in witnessing the representation of one of the admirable comedies of Moliere.  The Theatre de l’Odeon is curious from its construction, but the minor theatres on the Boulevards, de Gaiete, and des Varieties, are in general the most frequented; and, except on extraordinary occasions, the Theatre Francois is by no means fully attended.  A stranger in Paris is surprised at the number of bureaux d’ecrivains, or offices for writing, which abound in all parts of the town, where all materials for writing are provided for a few sous, and where persons attend to write letters, in any language, to the dictation of such as are not skilled in the graphic art.

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CHAP.  V.

I resolved not to take my departure from Paris without visiting some of the numerous royal palaces situated in its vicinity.  St. Cloud first claimed my attention, both from its proximity to Paris, and from its having been for a considerable time the favourite residence of the ex-ruler of France.  Its situation is certainly one of the most striking near the capital, and the views from it are both diversified and extensive.  The improvements made here by Buonaparte render it a most agreeable residence, and display an extremely good taste.  This palace is at present occupied by the Prince of Conde.  The approach to it from Paris is very striking, through avenues of elms, with lamps at regular distances.

I also visited Marli, which is chiefly remarkable for the machine which raises water from the Seine to the height of five hundred feet.  St. Cyr was the retreat of Madame de Maintenon, and Malmaison was the residence of Buonaparte, when first consul; but it is far inferior to St. Cloud.  The palace of St. Germain is in a situation inferior to none I had seen.  My expectations had however been particularly raised by the accounts I had heard of Versailles, which has at all times been the object of the admiration of the French; and it is certainly better suited to their ideas of grandeur than to ours.

This palace is about four leagues distant from Paris.  The approach to it has nothing of that magnificence that I had been led to expect, and the road is in bad repair.  On my arrival, I found it was impossible to gain admittance into the palace, which was undergoing a thorough repair, rendered indispensable by neglect during the last twenty years.  The number of workmen employed is stated to amount to two thousand.  It is a vast pile of building, and certainly one of the most famous royal residences in Europe.  A Frenchman tells you with exultation of the vast sums which have been expended in its construction, and thinks that a sufficient proof of its magnificence.  An Englishman, however, will very naturally be out of patience at the praises bestowed on gardens laid out in that taste which has been so long exploded in England, and cannot help exclaiming with the poet—­