CALAIS ROYAL. 493 



if the theatre fran?ois is always at prefent fo thinly fre- 

 quented, the caufe of it is partly owing to the Palais 

 royal, as people do not chufe to live far from it; be- 

 s caufe in the other parts of the town they mull go and 

 look out fingly for what they here find all together in a 

 narrow fpace. 



Dearnefs of commodities is a fecond confequence of 

 of this fafhionabie inftitution. Not only the elegancies, 

 but the neceffaries of life that are inquired for in the 

 other parts of the town, are gradually rifen in price. 

 . The fhopkeepers already tell you, on their afking three 

 times more for their commodities than heretofore, if In 

 the Palais royal you muft pay dearer for it," as an excufe 

 for their unreafonablenefs. At the houfes of the reftau- 

 rateurs and traiteurs in the other parts of the town, for 

 inftance, on the Boulevards, in the champs elifees, in 

 the gardens of the Tuilleries, one dines very little 

 cheaper than in the Palais royal, though they have not 

 - one third of the rent, to pay ; and the fame obfervation 

 holds good in all other particulars. 



Many commodities and pieces of workman fliip, that^ 

 formerly, though of the fame quality as they are at pre-\ 

 fent, met with a great fale, are now no longer in re- 

 queft ; becaufe the fame fort of wares have been feen in 

 the Palais royal, more mining and better finifhed, and 

 therefore the eye and the fancy are not content with the 

 former. This, for example, is the cafe with the gold 

 -and lilver works, for which the fheet St. Honore and 

 the Quay des orfevres, were formerly fo famous. The 

 fhops in both thefe places continue to fhew the fame 

 fine work as formerly ; but they are not fo glittering as 

 in the Palais royal, where the dearnefs of rent compells 



3 the 



