when one of the females wheels round on the toes of one
foot, holding her other limb nearly in a horizontal position--he breaks
out into extravagant exclamations of astonishment and delight: "Quel a
plomb! Ah diable! Sacre Dieu!" &c.

But although the principal dances at the Opera, and those on which the
French chiefly pride themselves, are much injured, in point of beauty,
by this artificial taste, the execution of the less laboured parts of
these dances, and of nearly the whole of their common national dances,
is quite free from this defect, and is, we should conceive, the most
beautiful exhibition of the kind that is any where to be seen. It is
only in a city where amusements of all kinds are sought for, not merely
by way of relaxation, but as matters of serious interest and national
concern, and where dancing, in particular, is an object of universal and
passionate admiration, that such numbers of first-rate dancers can be
found, as perform constantly at the Academie de Musique. The whole
strength of the company there, which often appeared on the stage at the
time we speak of, was certainly not less than 150; and there were hardly
any of these whose performance was not highly pleasing, and did not
present the appearance of animation and interest in the parts assigned
them.

Many of the serious operas performed here are exceedingly beautiful;
they are got up, not perhaps at more expense, nor with more
magnificence, than the spectacles in London, but certainly with more
taste and knowledge of stage effect. Tie scenery is beautifully painted,
and is disposed upon the stage with more variety, and in such a manner
as to form a more complete illusion, than on any other stage we have
seen. The music and singing are certainly inferior to what is heard at
the Odeon, but the acting, where it is not injured by the effect of the
recitative, is very generally excellent; and the number and variety of
dances introduced, afford opportunities of displaying all the
attractions of this theatre.

The pantomimes are uniformly executed with inimitable grace and effect.
We were particularly pleased with that called L'Enfant Prodigue, in
which the powers and graces of Mademoiselle Bigottini are displayed to
all possible advantage. One of the most splendid of the serious operas,
is that entitled Le Caravansera de Cairo, the scenery of which was
painted in Egypt, by one of the artists who accompanied Napoleon
thither, and is beyond compa