49 a CALAIS ROYAL. 



here in their moft dreadful and cruel forms ; and tears 

 of joy, fhouts of joy, bonfires of joy, and caperings of 

 joy, clpfed the exhibition of traniient fcenes that here 

 prefented themfelves to the gazing and aftonimed eyes 

 of the beholders. 



We have now finifhed our perambulation, and I fhall 

 conclude my account of the Palais Royal with a few 

 general observations and remarks. 



As Paris devours the marrow of France, fo the 

 Palais royal devours the marrow of Paris. The heaps 

 of commodities and the vaft number of all kinds of 

 arnufements, that are preffed together in thefe precincts, 

 would otherwife be diftributed over all Paris, conveying 

 to all the markets, ftreets, walks, and quarters of it, 

 entertainment and life. A great multitude of artifts, 

 workmen, and dealers of all kinds, who moftly live by 

 foreigners, are obliged to live in the Palais royal, or in 

 the neighbourhood of it, in order to reap benefit from 

 the prejudices entertained in its favour ; but for this 

 advantage they muft pay five times more rent for fhop 

 and lodgings, and therefore raife their price in the fame 

 proportion, thus acting more like , jews than chriftian 

 tradefmen, in order to be paid for their work fo as to 

 enable them only to live creditably. The owners of 

 ready- fur nifhed apartments in the other quarters of the 

 town are eonliderable lofers on the fame account ; as all 

 foreigners flock together to the quarter of the Palais 

 royal, and many of them are forced to let out their 

 rooms to natives by the year, which does not bring 

 them the half of what they otherwife would get. The 

 fauxbourg St. Germains, which formerly ufed to 

 fwarm with foreigners, is now fcarcely inhabited : and 



if 



