ps it perfectly firm and steady; the
plane (on which he writes or draws) being attached to the part on which
he sits, rises before him, capable of accommodating itself to such
elevation as may be desired; its principal utility is for sketching from
nature, but as females could not make use of this desk in the same
manner as men, M. Tachet has also such as are adapted to their
accommodation, the base lying on the lap, and fastened by a band round
the waist, which keeps it perfectly firm. M. Tachet has also devoted
much time and attention in forming a collection of angular and carved
pieces of wood, shaped and finished with extreme neatness, describing
almost every form that can well be imagined, and composed of such wood
as has been so well seasoned that it can never warp, either ebony, box,
pear-tree, or indeed of every different country which produces the
hardest woods; they are particularly used by engineers and architects,
for drawing plans or elevations of buildings, as every curve or angle of
any dimensions which can be required, may be traced by these curved and
angular rulers. In French, on account of the form resembling that of a
pistol, the curved pieces are called _pistolet_, which comprehends a
complete set, and great demands for them come from England. At the
establishment of M. Tachet will also be found almost every article that
is required by the artist, and it is in fact the only house in Paris
where there is any certainty of procuring _real English_ colours, as
there are so many counterfeits of them exposed in almost all the
colour-shops in Paris, with the names and arms upon them of some of the
most eminent English colour manufacturers. But I can assure my
countrymen that those they obtain from M. Tachet are genuine, and that
they may deal with him in the same confidence as they would with what we
call a true Englishman; he has likewise a most complete collection of
mathematical instruments; his shop is situated at No. 274, Rue St.
Honore, at the bottom of the court-yard, and although it has not so
brilliant an appearance as many establishments of the same nature, it is
not the worse for its quiet exterior, but on the contrary, the same
articles will be found with him at a more moderate charge than they ever
can be procured of his dashing rivals.

Another branch of industry which has risen into extreme importance
latterly is that of producing such exquisitely beautiful objects in cut
glass, for which th