day does not appear to be general in France. On the same day a
wretched-looking person begged of us, as the carriage was climbing a
hill. Nothing could exceed his transport in receiving a pair of old
pantaloons which were handed out of the carriage. This poor mendicant,
the postilion told us, was an _ancien Cure_. The churches seem generally
falling into decay in the country. We passed one which had been recently
repaired. I have noticed, however, several young persons, men as well as
women, earnestly employed in their devotions, in different churches,
both in Paris and elsewhere. Nothing which I have seen in this city has
interested me at all like the Jardin des Plantes, with the living
animals, and the Museum of Natural History which it includes. Scarcely
could I refrain from tears of admiration at the sight of this apparently
boundless exhibition of the wonders of the creation. The statues and
pictures of the Louvre affect me feebly in comparison. The exterior of
Paris is much changed since I last visited it in 1792. I miss many
ancient buildings, particularly the Temple, where the poor king and his
family were so long confined. That memorable spot, where the Jacobin
Club was held, has also disappeared. Nor are the additional buildings
always improvements; the Pont des Arts, in particular, injures the view
from the Pont Neuf greatly; but in these things public convenience is
the main point.

I say nothing of public affairs, for I have little opportunity of
knowing anything about them. In respect to the business of our Queen, we
deem ourselves truly fortunate in having been out of the country at a
time when an inquiry, at which all Europe seems scandalised, was going
on.

I have purposely deferred congratulating your Lordship on the marriage
of Lady Mary with Lord Frederick Bentinck, which I hear has been
celebrated. My wishes for her happiness are most earnest.

With respectful compliments and congratulations to Lady Lonsdale, in
which Mrs. Wordsworth begs leave to join,

I have the honour to be,
My Lord,
Your Lordship's
Obliged and faithful friend and servant,
WM. WORDSWORTH.[85]

[85] _Memoirs_, ii. 90-104.

51. _Shakespeare's Cliff at Dover_.

How strange that the description of Dover Cliff, in _King Lear_, should
ever have been supposed to have been meant for a reality! I know nothing
that mor