1^4 LETTERS FROM 



lowed to none but fuch as are of noble birth ; and 

 even the illegitimate children of the nobility are not 

 admitted. Neither is the inflitution open to any but 

 natives ; foreigners are indeed oftentimes received : 

 this however cannot happen but by a particular order 

 from the king. The building does not indeed dis- 

 play fo much magnificence as the Ecole Militaire at 

 .Paris : but it is perfectly adapted to its deflgn ; and 

 the apartments allotted to the teachers are far more 

 commodious than they commonly are in fuch edifices. 

 In general the fcite is very fpacious, and we are there- 

 fore furprifed at finding no lefs than four or five per- 

 foiis always fleeping together in the fame chamber ; and 

 that fo little attention is paid to cleanlinefs throughout 

 the whole. The prefent number of fcholars is 236. 

 It is very remarkable, that the king absolutely will 

 not have it known what falaries are paid to the tutors : 

 it is forbid them m the fevereft terms to mention it to 

 any one even in confidence. 



Whenever the arfenal is fpoken of, it is commonly 

 faid to be not worthy of much notice, and it is as well 

 not to fee it, as it does not repay the trouble and the 

 drink-money to the man that fhews it, fince it contains 

 nothing but a great fcore of arms. I, however, reckon 

 •it highly interefhing to fee the principal military maga- 

 zine of a king whofe army is on the beft footing of all 

 the troops in the world ; and then one gains at the 

 fame time this advantage from it, that we are able to 

 pafs a judgement on the accuracy of the accounts of 

 thofe in other countries. When we here fee what a 

 large fpace only fmalbarms for 150,000 men take up, 

 we begin to doubt whether the quantities we hear men- 

 tioned 



