&20 THEATRE AT PARIS, 



deferve as circumftantial a defcription as the palais 



xoyal. 



At the fight of the Baftille I fiarted with horror, and 

 on coming clofe up to it I perfectly fhuddered. With 

 gentle fteps I walked all round it in a pretty large circle, 

 and my tremor increafed on finding myfelf all at once 

 before the firft draw-bridge, which leaves one in doubt 

 whether it is there for the purpofe of preventing any 

 one from going in, or from coming out. This dread- 

 ful fortrefs is all walls and towers, and feems to crufh 

 itfelf together with its own black piles, for being the 

 fole horrible object of its kind. I breathed more freely 

 on turning my back upon it. The people who live 

 round it were eating, drinking, laughing, and ringing, 

 as if they lived contiguous to the palais-royal ; but this 

 furprife lafted with me no longer than for the moment 

 that the fight of this fearful grave of the living acted 

 upon me, with all the ideas and impreffions I had al- 

 ready imbibed from my infancy. If the railing of 

 companion and terror be the proper object and effect 

 of tragical reprefentations, the fight of the Baftille was 

 a real tragedy to me : for I never recollect to have had 

 thefe fentiments excited in my breaft fo pure and un- 

 mixed, and accompanied with fo fedate a terror, before. 

 I had already left it behind at fome diftance, when it 

 fxrft occurred to me, that I had entirely forgot the ar- 

 fenal with its beautiful garden, which extends quite to 

 the walls of the Baftille # . 



* Little did I dream of what was to happen to it in fome what 

 lefs than four weeks afterwards. 



For 



