Passy, and returned by the Quai, as far as the bridge of Jena, which I
passed and went to visit the _Hotel des Invalides, le Champ de Mars_, the
_Pantheon_ or Church of St Genevieve and the Palace of the Luxembourg. This
was pretty good work for one day; and as you will expect some little
account of my ideas thereon, I shall give you a _precis_ of what most
interested me.

In the Champs Elysees are quartered several English regiments who are
encamped there, and this adds to the liveliness of the scene; our soldiers
seem to enjoy themselves very much. They are in the midst of places of
recreation of all kinds, such as guinguettes, tennis-courts, dancing salons
and cafes, and besides these (places of Elysium for English soldiers), wine
and brandy shops innumerable; our soldiers seem to agree very well with the
inhabitants. In the Bois de Boulogne are Hanoverian troops as well as
English. At Passy I stopped at the house occupied by my friend, Major C. of
the 33rd Regt.,[38] who was to accompany me to St Cloud. St Cloud is an
exceedingly neat pretty town, well and solidly built, and tolerably large.
There are a great many good restaurants and cafes, as St Cloud with its
Palace, promenades and gardens forms one of the most favourite resorts of
the Parisians on Sundays and _jours de fete_. Diners _de societe_ and
_noces et festins_ are often made here; and there is both land and water
conveyance during the whole day. There are two roads by land from Paris:
the one on the Quai the whole way; the other through the Bois de Boulogne
and Champs Elysees. The gardens of St Cloud are laid out something in the
style of a _jardin anglais_, but mixed with the regular old fashioned
garden; it abounds in lofty trees, beautiful sites and well arranged vistas
commanding extensive views of Paris and the country environing. St Cloud
was the favourite residence of Napoleon; and the furniture in the palace
here shows him to be a man of the most refined taste. All is elegant and
classic; there is nothing superfluous; the furniture is modern, but in
strict imitation of the furniture of the ancients and chiefly in bronze.
There are superb vases and candelabras in marble, magnificent clocks of
various kinds, marble busts, and busts in bronze of great men, and bronze
statues large as life holding lamps. The chairs and sofas too are in a
classic taste, as are the beds and baths. We were informed here that
Blucher, who passed one night here, tore with