302 FRENCH 



CHAP. XXVI. 



expenditure, introduced by the imperial court 

 and followed by the fortunate generals, restored 

 to Paris a considerable portion of the trade which 

 had previously existed in it, but which had been 

 shared with the places before mentioned. 



On the return of the ancient family under whom, 

 and under whom alone, a degree of liberty was 

 enjoyed, and when private property was in se- 

 curity, the manufactures of the several branches 

 of the precious metals partook in a large degree 

 of the general prosperity, and of the universal 

 progress which French industry exhibited. 



As early as 1819, within five years of the 

 restoration, according to Chaptal, who had been 

 minister under the republic and the empire, and 

 whose evidence may therefore be viewed as that 

 of an unwilling witness, the number of watches 

 made in France had risen from two hundred 

 thousand in the year 1789, to upwards of three 

 hundred thousand 1 . According to the statement 

 of this author, the number of gold and silver 

 watches is now equal. The metal in the watches 

 he values at fifty-seven francs for the gold, and 

 six francs for the silver, making the whole amount 

 of the two precious metals appropriated to this 

 branch to be nine million four hundred and fifty 

 thousand francs. Besides these, there were ma- 

 nufactured five thousand pendulums or cabinet 



1 Chaptal de 1'Industrie Fran$oise, vol. ii. p. 162. 



