MISCELLANEO US 



893 



English dinner. Soup, fish, poultry 

 and ragouts, succeeded each other 

 in almost endless variety. A fruit- 

 basket was served round by the 

 servants, together with the |bread- 

 basket, and a small case of liqueurs 

 was placed at every third plate. 

 Some of these were contained in 

 glass figures of cupids, in which 

 case, in order to get at the liqueur, 

 it was necessary to break off a 

 small globule affixed to the breast 

 of the figure. The French con- 

 fectioners are more ingenious than 

 delicate in these contrivances; but 

 the French ladies seemed better 

 pleased with such conceit in pro- 

 portion to their intelligible refer- 

 ences. Some of these naked cu- 

 pids, which were perfect in all 

 their parts, were handed from the 

 gentlemen to the ladies, and from 

 the ladies to each other, and as 

 freely examined and criticised, as 

 if they had been paintings of birds. 

 The gentlemen, upon their parts, 

 were equally as facetious upon the 

 naked Venusses ; and a swan af- 

 fixed to a Leda, was the lucky 

 source of innumerable pleasant 

 questions and answers. Every 

 thing, in a word, is tolerated 

 which can in any way be passed 

 into an equivoque. Their conver- 

 sation in this respect resembles 

 their dress — no matter how thin 

 that covering may be, so that there 

 be one. 



.So much for a French assembly 

 or fashionable rout, which certainly 

 excels an English one in elegance 

 and fancy, as much as it falls short 

 of it in substantial mirth. The 

 French, it must be confessed, in- 

 finitely excel every other nation in 

 all things connected with spectacle, 

 and more or less this spectacle per- 

 vadesall their parties. They dance, 



they converse, they sing, for exhi- 

 bition, and as if they were on the 

 stage. Their conversation, there- 

 fore, has frequently more wit than 

 interest, and their dancing more 

 vanity than mirth. They seem in 

 both respects to want that happy 

 carelessness which pleases by being 

 pleased. A French-woman is a 

 figurante even in her chit-chat. 



It may be expected that I did 

 not omit to visit the theatres. Mr. 

 Younge accompanied me succes- 

 sively to nearly all of them — two 

 or three in an evening. Upon this 

 subject, however, I shall say no- 

 thing, as every book of travels has 

 so fully described some or other of 

 them, that nothing in fact is far- 

 ther required. 



I had resolved not to leave Paris 

 without seeing the emperor, and 

 being informed that he was to hold 

 an audience on the following day, 

 I applied to Mr. Younge to pro- 

 cure my formal introduction. With 

 this purpose we waited upon ge- 

 neral Armstrong, who sent my 

 name to the grand chamberlain 

 with the necessary formalities. — 

 This formality is a certificate under 

 the hand of the ambassador, that 

 the person soliciting the introduc- 

 tion has been introduced at his 

 own court, or that, according to 

 the best knowledge of the ambas- 

 sador, he is not a merchant — a 

 negociant actuel. It may be briefly 

 observed, however, that the French 

 negociant answers better to the 

 English mechanic, than to the ho- 

 nourable appellation, merchant, 

 general Armstrong promised me a 

 very interesting spectacle in the 

 imperial audience. " It's the most 

 splendid court in Europe," said 

 he, " the court of London, and 

 e\en of Vienna, will not bear a 



comparison 



