n
belonging to the palace of the Louvre. For these rooms I paid the
moderate price of three livres a day. Here, after enjoying those
comforts which travellers after long journies, require, and a good
dinner into the bargain, about nine o'clock at night I sallied out to
the Palais Royal, a superb palace built by the late duke d'Orleans, who
when he was erecting it, publickly boasted, that he would make it one of
the greatest brothels in Europe, in which prediction he succeeded, to
the full consummation of his abominable wishes. This palace is now the
property of the nation. The grand entrance is from the Rue St. Honore, a
long street, something resembling the Piccadilly of London, but
destitute, like all the other streets of Paris, of that ample breadth,
and paved footway, for the accommodation of pedestrian passengers, which
give such a decided superiority to the streets of the capital of
England. After passing through two noble courts, I entered the piazza,
of this amazing pile; which is built of stone, upon arches, supported
by corinthian pilasters. Its form is an oblong square, with gardens, and
walks in the centre. The whole is considered to be, about one thousand
four hundred feet long, and three hundred feet broad. The finest shops
of Paris for jewellery, watches, clocks, mantuamakers, restaurateurs[8],
china, magazines, &c., form the back of the piazza, which on all the
sides, of this immense fabric, affords a very fine promenade. These
shops once made a part of the speculation, of their mercenary, and
abandoned master, to whom they each paid a rent after the rate of two or
three hundred pounds sterling per annum. This place presents a scene of
profligate voluptuousness, not to be equalled upon any spot in Europe.
Women of character are almost afraid to appear here at noon day; and a
stranger would conceive, that at night, he saw before him, one third of
the beauty of Paris.

[8] Restaurateur is now universally used instead of traiteur.

Under the roof of this palace are two theatres, museums of curiosities,
the tribunate, gaming houses, billiard rooms, buillotte clubs, ball
rooms, &c., all opening into the gardens, the windows of which threw,
from their numerous lamps, and lustres, a stream of gay and gaudy light
upon the walks below, and afforded the appearance of a perpetual
illumination. At the bottom was a large pavilion, finely illuminated, in
which were groups of people regaling themselves with lemonade,