76 



Travels in France 



gate, and a French roof. The hotel des Monoies is a fine 

 building, and the fafade of the Louvre one of the most elegant 

 in the world, because they have (to the eye) no roofs; in pro- 

 portion as a roof is seen a building suffers. I do not recollect 

 one edifice of distinguished beauty (unless with domes) in which 

 the roof is not so flat as to be hidden, or nearly so. What eyes 

 then must the French architects have had to have loaded so 

 many buildings with coverings of a height destructive of all 

 beauty ! Put such a roof as we see on the parliament-house or 

 on the Tuileries upon the facade of the Louvre, and where 

 would its beauty be? — At night to the opera, which I thought 

 a good theatre, till they toTd^'rheTr was built in six weeks; and 

 then it became good for nothing in my_^eyes, for I suppose it 

 will be tumbling down in six years. Durabilityjs one of the 

 essentials of building; what_ pleasur e woujd a beautiful front 

 of p ainte d past^Foard give? The ATceste of Gluck was per- 

 formed^ thar"part"lDy Mademoiselle St. Huberti, their first 

 singer, an excellent actress. As to scenes, dresses, decorations, 

 dancing, etc., this theatre beats the Haymarket to nothing. 



i^th. Across Paris to the rue des blancs Manteaux, to Mon- 

 sieur Broussonet, secretary of the Society of Agriculture; he 

 is in Burgundy. Called on Mr. Cook from London, w'ho is at 

 Paris with his drill-plough waiting for weather to show its 

 performance to the Duke of Orleans; this is a French idea, 

 improving France by drilling. A man should learn to walk 

 before he learns to dance. There is agility in cutting capers, 

 and it may be done with grace; but where is the necessity to 

 cut them at all ? There has been much rain to-day ; and it is 

 almost incredible to a person used to London how dirty the 

 streets of Paris are, and how horribly inconvenient and dangerous 

 walking is without a foot-pavement. We had a large party 

 at dinner, with politicians among them, and some interesting 

 conversation on the present state of France. The feeling of 

 everybody seems to be that the archbishop will not be able 

 to do anything towards exonerating the state from the burthen 

 of its present situation ; some think that he has not the inclina- 

 tion; others that he has not the courage; others that he has 

 not the ability. By some he is thought to be attentive only 

 to his own interest; and by others, that the finances are too 

 much deranged to be within the power of any sj'stem to recover, 

 short of the states-general of the kingdom; and that it is im- 

 possible for such an assembly to meet without a revolution in 

 the government ensuing. All seem to think that something extra- 



