Paris As It Was and As It Is

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1. The cabinet of natural history, containing the animal kingdom,
divided into its classes; the mineral kingdom; the fossils, woods,
fruits, and other vegetable productions, together with the herbals.
This cabinet, which occupies the buildings on the right, on entering
from the street, is open to students on Mondays, Wednesdays, and
Saturdays, from eleven o'clock till two, and to the public in general
every Tuesday and Friday in the afternoon.

2. The library, chiefly composed of works relating to natural
history, contains, among other valuable articles, an immense
collection of animals and plants, painted on vellum. Three painters
are charged to continue this collection under the superintendance of
the professors. The library is open to the public every day from
eleven o'clock to two.

3. The cabinet of anatomy, containing the preparations relative to
the human race and to animals. It is situated in a separate building,
and for the present open to students only.

4. The botanical school, containing the plants growing in the open
ground, and the numerous hot-houses in which are cultivated those
peculiar to warm countries.

5. The _ménagerie_ of foreign animals. At the present moment, they
are dispersed in various parts of the garden; but they are shortly to
be assembled in a spacious and agreeable place.

6. The chemical laboratory and the collection of chemical
productions.

To these may be added a laboratory for the preparation of objects of
natural history, and another for that of objects of anatomy.

Notwithstanding the improved state to which BUFFON had brought this
establishment, yet, through the united care of the several scientific
men who have since had the direction of it, the constant attention
bestowed on it by the government, and even by the conquests of the
French armies, its riches have been so much increased, that its
collection of natural history may at this day be considered as the
finest in being. The department of the minerals and that of the
quadrupeds are nearly complete; that of the birds is one of the most
considerable and the handsomest known; and the other classes, without
answering yet the idea which a naturalist might conceive of thenm,
are, nevertheless, superior to what other countries have to offer.

Among the curious or scarce articles in this Museum, the following
claim particular notice:

In the class of quadrupeds, adult individuals, stuffed, such as the
camelopard, the hippopotamus, the single-horned rhinoceros, the
Madagascar squirrel, the Senegal lemur, two varieties of the
oran-outang, the proboscis-monkey, different specimens of the indri,
some new species of bats and opossums, the Batavian kangaroo, and
several antelopes, ant-eaters, &c.

In the class of birds, a great number of new or rare species, and
among those remarkable either for size or beauty, are the golden
vulture, the great American eagle, the Impey peacock, the Ju[]
pheasant or argus, the plantain-eater, &c.

Among the reptiles, the crocodile of the Ganges, the fimbriated
tortoise of Cayenne, &c.

Among the shells, the glass patella, and a number of valuable,
scarce, or new species.

The collection of insects has just been completed through the
assiduity of the estimable LAMARCK, the professor who has charge of
that department.

In the mineral kingdom, independently of the numerous and select
choice of all the specimens, are to be remarked as objects of
particular curiosity, the petrifactions of crocodiles' bones found in
the mountain of St. Pierre at Maëstricht, and the collection of
impressions of fishes from Mount Bolca, near Verona.

At the present moment, the _ménagerie_ contains a female elephant
only, the male having died since my arrival in Paris, three
dromedaries, two camels, five lions, male and female, a white bear, a
brown bear, a mangousta, a civet, an alligator, an ostrich, and
several other scarce and curious animals, the number and variety of
which receive frequent additions. In other parts of the garden are
inclosures for land and sea fowls, as well as ponds for fishes.

The denomination of _Jardin des Plantes_ is very appropriate to this
garden, as it furnishes to all the botanical establishments
throughout France seeds of trees and plants useful to the
p[]ess of agriculture and of the arts; and hence the indigent
poor are supplied with such medicinal plants as are proper for the
cure or relief of their complaints.

LETTER LXXV.

_Paris, March 3, 1802._

It has been repeatedly observed that civilized nations adhere to
their ancient customs for no other reason than because they are
ancient. The French have, above all, a most decided partiality for
those which afford them opportunities of amusement. It must therefore
have been a subject of no small regret to them, on the annual return
of those periods, to find the government taking every measure for the
suppression of old habits. For some years since the revolution, all
disguises and masquerades were strictly prohibited; but, though the
executive power forbade pasteboard masks, its authority could not
extend to those mental disguises which have been occasionally worn by
many leading political characters in this country. No sooner was the
prohibition against masquerading removed, than the Parisians gave
full scope to the indulgence of their inclination; and this year was
revived, in all its glory, the celebration of

THE CARNIVAL.

Yesterday was the conclusion of that mirthful period, during which
Folly seemed to have taken possession of all the inhabitants of this
populous city. Every thing that gaiety, whim, humour, and
eccentricity could invent, was put in practice to render it a sort of
continued jubilee. From morn to night, the concourse of masks of
every description was great beyond any former example; but still
greater was the concourse of spectators. All the principal streets
and public gardens were thronged by singular characters, in
appropriate dresses, moving about in small detached parties or in
numerous close bodies, on foot, on horseback, or in carriages. The
_Boulevards_, the _Rue de la Loi_, and the _Rue St. Honoré_,
exhibited long processions of masks and grotesque figures, crowded
both in the inside and on the outside of vehicles of all sorts, from
a _fiacre_ to a German waggon, drawn by two, four, six, and eight
horses; while the _Palais Royal_, the _Tuileries_, the _Place de la
Concorde_, and the _Champs Elysées_ were filled with pedestrian wits,
amusing the surrounding multitude by the liveliness of their sallies
and the smartness of their repartee. Here S[]pins,
Scaramouches, Punchinellos, Pierrots, Harlequins, and Columbines,
together with nuns, friars, abbés, bishops, and _marquis_ in
caricature, enlivened the scene: there, sultans, sultanas,
janissaries, mamlûks, Turks, Spaniards, and Indians, in stately
pride, attracted attention. On one side, a Mars and Venus, an Apollo
and Daphne, figured under the attributes of heathen mythology: on
another, more than one Adam and Eve recalled to mind the origin of
the creation.

To the eye of an untravelled Englishman, the novelty of this sight
must have been a source of no small entertainment. If he was of a
reflecting mind, however, it must have given rise to a variety of
observations, and some of them of a rather serious nature. In
admiring the order and decency which reigned amidst so much mirth and
humour, he must have been desirous to appreciate the influence of
political events on the character of this people. In a word, he must
have been anxious to ascertain how far the return of our Gallic
neighbours to their ancient habits, announces a return to their
ancient institutions.

It is well known that the Carnival of modern times is an imitation of
the Saturnalia of the ancients, and that the celebration of those
festivals was remarkable for the liberty which universally prevailed;
slaves being, at that period, permitted to ridicule their masters,
and speak with freedom on every subject. During the last years of the
French monarchy, the Parisians neglected not to avail themselves of
this privilege. When all classes were confounded, at the time of the
Carnival, the most elevated became exposed to the lash of the lowest;
and, under the mask of satire, the abuses which had crept into
religious societies, and the corruption which prevailed in every
department of the State, escaped not their bold censure. From a
consciousness, no doubt, of their own weakness, the different
governments that have ruled over France since the revolution, dreaded
the renewal of scenes in which their tottering authority might be
overthrown; but such an apprehension cannot have been entertained by
the present government, as manifestly appears from the almost
unlimited license which has reigned during the late Carnival.
Notwithstanding which, it is worthy of remark that no satirical
disguises were met with, no shafts of ridicule were aimed at the
constituted authorities, no invective was uttered against such and
such an opinion, no abuse was levelled against this or that party.
Censure and malice either slept or durst not shew themselves, though
freedom of expression seemed to be under no restraint.

Formerly, when the people appeared indifferent to the motley
amusements of the Carnival, and little disposed to mix in them,
either as actors or spectators, it was not uncommon for the
government to pay for some masquerading. The _mouchards_ and
underlings of the police were habited as grotesque characters,
calculated to excite curiosity, and promote mirth. They then spread
themselves, to the number of two or three thousand, over different
parts of the town, and gave to the streets of Paris a false colouring
of joy and gladness; for the greater the misery of the people, the
more was it thought necessary to exhibit an outward representation of
public felicity. But these political impostures, having been seen
through, at length failed in their effect, and were nearly
relinquished before the revolution. At that time, nothing diverted
the populace so much as _attrapes_ or bites; and every thing that
engendered gross and filthy ideas was sure to please. Pieces of
money, heated purposely, were scattered on the pavement, in order
that persons, who attempted to pick them up, might burn their
fingers. Every sort of bite was practised; but the greatest
attraction and acme of delight consisted of _chianlits_, that is,
persons masked, walking about, apparently, in their shirt, the tail
of which was besmeared with mustard.

At the present day, these coarse and disgusting jokes are evidently
laid aside, as some of a more rational kind are exhibited; such as
the nun, partly concealed in a truss of straw, and strapped on the
catering friar's back; the effect of the galvanic fluid; and many
others too numerous to mention. No factitious mirth was this year
displayed; it was all natural; and if it did not add to the small sum
of happiness of the distressed part of the Parisian community, it
must, for a while at least, have made them forget their wretchedness.
With few exceptions, every one seemed employed in laughing or in
exciting laughter. Many of the characters assumed were such as
afforded an opportunity of displaying a particular species of wit or
humour; but the dress of some of the masquerading parties, being an
excellent imitation of the rich costumes of Asia, must have been
extremely expensive.

To conclude, the masked balls at the Opera, on the last days of the
Carnival, were numerously attended. Very few characters were here
attempted, and those were but faintly supported. Adventures are the
principal object of the frequenters of these balls, and I have reason
to think that the persons who went in quest of them were not
disappointed. In short, though I have often passed the Carnival in
Paris, I never witnessed one that went off with greater _éclat_. As
the Turkish Spy observes, a small quantity of ashes, dropped, the day
after its conclusion, on the head of these people in disguise, cools
their frenzy. From being mad and foolish, they become calm and
rational.

LETTER LXXVI.

_Paris, March 5, 1802._

As I foresee that my private affairs will, probably, require my
presence in England sooner than I expected, I hasten to give you an
idea of the principal public edifices which I have not, yet noticed.
One of these is the _Luxembourg_ Palace, now called the

PALAIS DU SÉNAT CONSERVATEUR.

Mary of Medicis, relict of Henry IV, having purchased of the Duke of
Luxembourg his hotel and its dependencies, erected on their site this
palace. It was built in 1616, under the direction of JACQUES DE
BROSSE, on the plan of the _Pitti_ palace at Florence.

Next to the _Louvre_, the _Luxembourg_ is the most spacious palace in
Paris. It is particularly distinguished for its bold character, its
regularity, and the beauty of its proportions. The whole façade is
ornamented with coupled pilasters: on the ground-floor, the Tuscan
order is employed, and above, the Doric, with alternate rustics. In
the four pavilions, placed at the angles of the principal pile, the
Ionic has been added to the other two orders, because they are more
elevated than the rest of the buildings. Towards the _Rue de
Tournon_, the two pavilions communicate by a handsome terrace, in the
middle of which is a circular saloon, surmounted by a dome of the
most elegant proportion. Beneath this dome is the principal entrance.
The court is spacious, and on each side of it are covered arches
which form galleries on the ground-floor and in front of the upper
story.

The twenty-four pictures which Mary of Medicis had caused to be
painted by the celebrated RUBENS, for the gallery of the
_Luxembourg_, had been removed from it some years before the
revolution. At that time even, they were intended for enriching the
Museum of the _Louvre_. Four of them are now exhibited there in the
Great Gallery. They are allegorical; with the other twenty, they
represent the prosperous part of the history of that queen, and form
a striking contrast to the adversity she afterwards experienced
through the persecution of Cardinal Richelieu.

To gratify his revenge, he ordered all the furniture, &c. belonging
to Mary of Medicis to be sold, together with the statues which then
decorated the courts and garden of the _Luxembourg_, and pursued with
inveteracy the unfortunate queen who had erected this magnificent
edifice. Being exiled from France in 1631, she wandered for a long
time in Flanders, and also in England, till the implacable cardinal
prevailed on Charles I, to command her to quit the kingdom. In 1642,
she took refuge at Cologne, and, at the age of 68, there died in a
garret, almost through hunger and distress.

Before the revolution, this palace belonged to MONSIEUR, next brother
to Lewis XVI. It has since been occupied by the Directory, each of
whose members here had apartments. No material change has yet been
made in it; nor does any thing announce that the partial alterations
intended, either in its exterior or interior, will speedily be
completed.

"----_Pendent opera interrupta minæque, &c._"

At the present day, the _Luxembourg_ is appropriated to the
Conservative Senate, whose name it has taken, and who here hold their
sittings in a hall, fitted up in a style of magnificence still
superior to that of the Legislative Body. But the sittings of the
former are not public like those of the latter; and as I had no more
than a peep at their fine hall, I cannot enter into a description of
its beauties.

However, I took a view of their garden, in which I had formerly
passed many a pleasant hour. Here, workmen are employed in making
considerable improvements. It was before very irregular, particularly
towards the south, where the view from the palace was partly
concealed by the buildings of the monastery of the Carthusians. By
degrees, these irregularities are made to disappear, and this garden
will shortly be laid out in such a manner as to correspond better
with the majesty of the palace, and display its architecture to
greater advantage. Alleys of trees, which were decayed from age, have
been cut down, and replaced by young plants of thriving growth. In
front of the south façade is to be a tasteful parterre, with an
oblong piece of water in its centre. Beyond the garden is a large
piece of ground formerly belonging to the Carthusian monastery, which
is now nearly demolished; this ground is to be converted into a
national nursery for all sorts of valuable fruit-trees. Being
contiguous to the garden of the Senate, with which it communicates,
it will furnish a very extensive promenade, and consequently add to
the agreeableness of the place.

The present Minister of the Interior, CHAPTAL, who cultivates the
arts and sciences with no less zeal than success, purposes to make
here essays on the culture of vine-plants of every species, in order
to obtain comparative results, which will throw a new light on that
branch of rural economy.

A great number of vases and statues are placed in the garden of the
Senate. Many of these works are indifferently executed, though a few
of them are in a good style. Certainly, a more judicious and more
decorous choice ought to have been made. It was not necessary to
excite regret in the mind of the moralist, by placing under the eyes
of the public figures of both sexes which are repugnant to modesty.

If it be really meant to attempt to mend the loose morals of the
nation, why are nudities, which may be considered as the leaven of
corruption, exposed thus in this and other national gardens in Paris?

* * * * *

_March 5, in continuation_.

St. Foix, in his "_Essais historiques sur Paris_" speaking of the
Bastille, says, "it is a castle, which, without being strong, is one
of the most formidable in Europe." In their arduous struggle for
liberty, the French have scarcely left a vestige of this dread abode,
in which have been immured so many victims of political vengeance. I
will not pretend to affirm that such is the description of prisoners
now confined in

LE TEMPLE.

But when the liberty of individuals lies at the mercy of arbitrary
power, every one has a right to draw his own inference.

This edifice takes its name from the Templars, whose chief residence
it was till they were annihilated in 1313. Philip the Fair and
Clement V contrived, under various absurd pretences, to massacre and
burn the greater part of the knights of this order. The knights of
St. John of Jerusalem were put in possession of all the property of
the Templars, except such part as the king of France and the Pope
thought fit to share between them. The _Temple_ then became the
provincial house of the Grand Priory of France.

The Grand Priory consisted of the inclosure within the walls of the
_Temple_, where stood a palace for the Grand Prior, a church, and
several houses inhabited by shopkeepers and mechanics; but, with the
considerable domains annexed to it, this post, before the revolution,
yielded to the eldest son of the Count d'Artois, as Grand Prior, an
annual revenue of 200,000 livres. The inclosure was at that time a
place of refuge for debtors, where they enjoyed the privilege of
freedom from arrest.

The palace was erected by JACQUES SOUVRÉ, Grand Prior of France. Near
it, is a large Gothic tower of a square form, flanked by four round
turrets of great elevation, built by HUBERT, treasurer to the
Templars, who died in 1222.

It was in this building, which was considered as one of the most
solid in France, that Lewis XVI was confined from the middle of
September 1792 to the day of his execution. From the 13th of August
till that period, the royal family had occupied the part of the
palace which has been preserved. This tower, when it had been
entirely insulated and surrounded by a ditch, was inclosed by a high
wall, which also included part of the garden. The casements were
provided with strong iron bars, and masked by those shutters, called,
I believe, _trunk-lights_. As for the life which the unhappy monarch
led in this prison, a detailed narrative of it has been published in
England, by Cléry, his faithful _valet-de-chambre_.

I have not been very anxious to approach the _Temple_, because I
concluded that, if fame was not a liar, there was no probability of
my having an opportunity of seeing any part of it, except the outer
wall. The result was a confirmation of my opinion. Who are its
occupiers? What is their number? What are their crimes? These are
questions which naturally intrude themselves on the mind, when one
surveys the turrets of this new Bastille--for, whether a place of
confinement for state-prisoners be called _La Bastille_ or _Le
Temple_, nevertheless it is a state-prison, and reminds one of
slavery, which, as Sterne says, is, in any disguise, a bitter
draught; and though thousands, in all ages, have been made to drink
of it, still it is not, on that account, less bitter.

LETTER LXXVII

_Paris, March 8, 1802_.

Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to be always able to
answer your inquiries without hesitation. Considering the round of
amusements in which I live, I flatter myself you will readily admit
that it requires no small share of good-will and perseverance to
devote so much time to scribbling for your entertainment. As for
information, you will, on your arrival in Paris, know how much or how
little you have derived from the perusal of my letters. You will then
have it in your power to compare and judge. With the originals before
you, you cannot be at a loss to determine how far the sketches
resemble them.

Some of your inquiries have been already answered in my former
letters. Among the number, however, you will find no reply on the
subject of the

PRESENT STATE OF THE FRENCH PRESS.

This question being of a nature no less delicate than that concerning
the police, you cannot but commend my discretion in adopting a
similar method to gratify your curiosity; that is, to refer you to
the intelligent author whom I quoted on the former occasion. If
common report speaks the truth--_Sit mihi fas audita loqui?_--the
press here is now in much the same state in which it was before the
revolution. I shall therefore borrow again the language of MERCIER,
who is a famous dreamer, inasmuch as many of his dreams have been
realized: yet, with all his foresight and penetration, I question
whether he ever dreamt that his picture of the French press, drawn in
the interval between the years 1781 and 1788, would still be, in some
respects, a true one at the beginning of the year 1802. But, as
Boileau shrewdly remarks,

"_Le vrai peut quelquefois n'être pas vraisemblable._"

"The enemies of books," says our author, "are the enemies of,
knowledge, and consequently of mankind. The shackles with which the
press is loaded, are an incitement for setting them at defiance. If
we were to enjoy a decent liberty, we should no longer have recourse
to licentiousness. There are political evils which the liberty of the
press prevents, and this is already a great benefit. The interior
police of States requires to be enlightened by disinterested
writings. There is no one but the philosopher, satisfied with the
esteem alone of his fellow-citizens, that can raise himself above the
clouds formed by personal interest, and set forth the abuses of
insidious custom. In short, the liberty of the press will always be
the measure of civil liberty; and it is a species of thermometer,
which shews, at one glance, what a people have lost or gained.

"If we adopt this maxim, we are every day losing; for every day the
press is more restricted.

"Suffer people to think and speak; the public will judge: they will
even find means to correct authors. The surest method to purify the
press, is to render it free: obstacles irritate it: prohibitions and
difficulties engender the pamphlets complained of.

"Could despotism kill thought in its sanctuary, and prevent us from
communicating the essence of our ideas to the mind of our
fellow-creatures, it would do so. But not being able quite to pluck
out the philosopher's tongue, and cut off his hands, it establishes
an inquisition, peoples the frontiers with searchers, spreads
satellites, and opens every package, in order to interrupt the
infallible progress of morality and truth. Useless and puerile
effort! Vain attack on the natural right of general society, and on
the patriotic rights of a particular one! Reason, from day to day,
strikes nations with a greater lustre, and will at last shine
unclouded. It answers no purpose to fear or persecute genius: nothing
will extinguish in its hands the torch of truth: the decree which its
mouth pronounces, will be repeated by all posterity against the
unjust man. He wished to snatch from his fellow-creatures the most
noble of all privileges, that of thinking, which is inseparable from
that of existing: he will have manifested his weakness and folly; and
he will merit the twofold reproach of tyranny and impotence.