In front of the great square of the Tuileries where the troops exercise, stands the Arch of Triumph erected by Napoleon, commonly called l’Arc du Carrousel.  It is a beautiful piece of architecture, but is far too small to tally with such a vast mass of buildings as the Palace and offices of the Tuileries.  By the side of them it appears almost Lilliputian.  It would have been better to have made it in the style of the triumphal arch of the Porte St Denis.  On this arc of the Carrousel are bas-reliefs both outside and inside, representing various actions of Napoleon’s life.  He is always represented in the Roman costume, with the imperial laurel on his brows, with kings kneeling, and presenting the keys of conquered cities.  On the outside are statues, large as life, in modern military costume, representing the different armes which compose the French army.[37] On the top of this Arc du Carrousel is an antique car of triumph, to which are harnessed the four bronze horses which were taken from the facade of the Church of San Marco in Venice.  They are of beautiful workmanship and of great antiquity.  What various and mighty revolutions have these horses witnessed!  Cast in Corinth in the time of the glories of the Grecian commonwealths and removed by conquest to Rome, they witnessed the successive fall of the Grecian and Roman states; transferred to Constantinople in the time of Constantine, and from thence removed to Venice when Constantinople fell into the hands of the French and Venetians; transferred from thence to Paris in 1798, they have witnessed the successive falls of the Eastern and Western Empires, of the Republic of Venice and the Napoleonic dynasty and Empire.  Report says they are to be restored to Venice; and who knows whether they may not be destined one day to return to their original country, Greece, under perhaps Russian auspices?

The Gardens of the Tuileries which lie at the back part of the palace are very spacious, well laid out in walks and lined with trees.  Large basins inlaid with stone, fountains and statues add to the grandeur of these gardens; they extend from the Tuileries as far as the Place Louis XV parallel to the Seine, and are separated by a wall and parapet and a beautiful cast iron railing from the Quai, and on the other side from the Rue de Rivoli, one of the new streets, and the best in Paris for pedestrians.  On the side opposite the palace itself is the Place Louis XV, called in the time of the republic Place de la Revolution, and where the unfortunate Louis XVI suffered decapitation.  The Place Louis XV is by far the most magnificent thing of the kind I have ever seen and far exceeds the handsomest of our squares in London.  On one side of it is the Hotel du Garde Meuble, a superb edifice.  On the other the Quai, the river; and on the other side of the river is the Palais du Corps legislatif, now the place where the Chamber of Deputies hold their sitting, and which has a magnificent facade.  In front of this place are the Champs Elysees and avenue of Neuilly and behind the gardens and palace of the Tuileries.