480 
PARIS. 
Fame. Immediately below the prefident are defks for 
the fecretaries ; and one or two benches, covered with blue 
leather, are appropriated to fuch of the king’s mini (hers as 
may have occafion to attend the alfembly. The de(k and 
feat of the prefident are formed out of folid mahogany, 
decorated with gilt bronze. The centre has a marble 
pavement floor, in compartments ornamented with alle¬ 
gorical attributes and emblems. The two great doors 
which open into the hall are of folid mahogany, with ftars 
. of gold; their furrounding frames are in fine white mar¬ 
ble, with rich fculpture. 
The members do not rife and fpeak from their places, 
but the perfon who willies to addrefs the affembly is 
obliged to crofs the floor, and afcend a kind of roftruin 
or tribune ; a ceremony which mud tend much to damp 
the fpeaker’s fire. 
Adjoining the hall is the robing-chamber, conftrufted 
in 1 what was formerly called the Pavilion Valois. It com¬ 
municates with the hall by a gallery. On the right of the 
prefident is a chamber ufed for conferences ; to the left 
is the Saloon of Liberty, formerly appropriated to thofe 
wdio had petitions to prefent. 
The library of the Palais Royal is now appropriated to 
the ufe of the members of the tribunate, and the chief 
officers of ftate. It was formed in the eighth year of the 
Revolution, with books collected from the literary depots 
at Paris. It has been fince augmented by the contribu¬ 
tions of many living authors. This collection was placed 
in the Tuileries, but afterwards removed to the Palace of 
Bourbon. 
The terrace of this palace, more than 300 feet in length, 
overlooks the Quai d’Orfai; and the view from it is one 
of the mod beautiful and varied that Paris affords. A 
confiderable part of the city, a long reach of the Seine, 
the garden and palace of the Tuileries, the bridge and 
fquare of Louis XV. the Elyfian Fields, the road to Ver- 
failles, and the villages of Chaillot, Paffy, and Auteui!, 
are diftinfUy feen. 
Palais de Justice, the PalaCe or Hall of Juftice.— 
Theiterm palace is Hill applied to this building becaufe it 
was formerly the refidence of the kings of France ; but 
its origin is loft in the obfcurity of time. It is fuppofed 
to have been built by Eudes, in the ninth century; and 
it was theufual refidence of the kings till the reign of 
Charles V. who left it for the Hotel St. Paul. About the 
year 1000, king Robert began to build its firft galleries 
and towers ; and its garden then extended as far as La 
Cour Lamoignon. St. Louis built the bedchamber which 
dill bears his name, as well as the grand chamber and 
the Holy Chapel. Philip le Bel made confiderable aug¬ 
mentations in 1313 ; and it again became the ufual abode 
of the French monarchs. It merely confided, however,’ 
offeveral enormous towers, which communicated with 
each other by means of long galleries. The grand hall 
is frequently fpoken of by the French liidorians. The 
kings there received the ambafiadors of foreign nations, 
and it was the fcene of their mod fplendid entertainments. 
It was adorned by the ftatues of the fucceffive monarchs 
from the time of Pharamond. At the upper end was a 
marble table of enormous and almoft incredible dimen- 
fions. The princes of the blood were alone admitted to 
the honours of this table. In 1618, the palace was de- 
droyed by fire, and the ftatues of the kings and the mag¬ 
nificent marble table diffappeared for ever. 
Defuroffes, the architeil of the Luxembourg, w'as em¬ 
ployed to rebuild the edifice. An iron palifade, 120 feet 
in length, enclofes an immenfe court, furrounded on 
three fides by buildings. The centre gate of the palifade 
is a curious proof how eafily beauty and effedl may be de- 
droyed by multiplicity of ornament. At the bottom of 
the court is a grand flight of deps, which gives affair of 
magnificence to a buildingotherwife not remarkable. At 
the fummit of the deps are four noble Doric pillars, fur- 
mounted by a baluftrade ; and on the entablature are 
four gigantic upright ftatues, reprefenting Juftice, For¬ 
titude, Plenty, and Prudence. A quadrangular dame 
crowns this mafs of buildings. At the bottom of the 
deps, on each fide, are two arcades, one of which leads to 
the Conciergerie. The reft of the palace i<> conftrudled 
of arcades, fupporting two floors of the Doric order, fur- 
mounted by an attic. 
The Sainte Chapelle, or Holy Chapel, is one of the mod 
beautiful Gothic edifices in Europe. It is now filled with 
the archives ol the kingdom. An exquilite painting by 
Germain-Pilen, fomefuperb painted glafs, and a few mag¬ 
nificent relics, are diown here. 
A ftaircafe on the right condufts to the grand hall. It 
is compofed of two immenfe parallel naves, arched with 
done, and feparated by a range of arcades. The light is 
received from enormous windows at the extremities. Al¬ 
though the centre is thus rendered fomewhat obfcure, 
yet this difpofition of the light gives to the hall an air of 
religious and awful grandeur. The Doric order prevails 
in the decorations of the hall; and the architedlure does 
honour to the period in which it was executed. 
This hall is now devoted to the fittings of the Court of 
Caffation ; and the other parts of the palace are appropri¬ 
ated to the other tribunals. 
Since the reftoration of the Bourbons, the French go¬ 
vernment has evinced an anxiety to adminifter juftice 
in a fimilar manner to that pradlifed in England, particu¬ 
larly as it refpedls trial by jury: but the difficulty of 
forming proper juries is fuch, that a fenfe of ftiame alone 
prevents the inftitution being given up in defpair: it 
certainly is not popular. (Edinb. Rev. N° lxvii.) 
Cour cle Cajjation, or Court of Appeal.—This court 
does not judge refpedjing the rights of the parties, but 
only reveries or confirms the decrees of other courts, 
either on account of informality in the proceedings'or 
mifapplication of the laws, and refers the proceedings 
to the fame or any other court at its difcretion. This 
court is cornpofed of a prefident, three fub-prefidents, 
forty-five counfeilors, a procurer-general, four general 
advocates, and a recorder. It has no vacations, and is 
divided into three fedtions. 
The Court of Requefts determines upou or rejects the 
applications made; and the hearings are on Tuefdays, 
Wednefdays, and Thurfdays. Here is likewife a civil 
and a criminal department. A college of fifty advocates 
enjoy the excluftve right of pleading before the court. 
Cour des Comptes .—Court of Audit. It receives the 
affidavits, and audits the accounts, of the receivers ge¬ 
neral, paymafters, &c. It is compofed of three chambers. 
The fittings are held five days in the week, and com¬ 
mence at nine in the morning. Here are no vacations. 
Cour Roi/ale, or Royal Court.—This court confifts of 
five chambers; three for civil adlions, one for appeals 
from the correftional police, and another for accufations. 
The firft chamber gives audiences on Mondays'and Tuef¬ 
days at nine in the morning, and on Fridays and Satur¬ 
days at noon. The grand audiences of the firft and fe- 
cond chambers united, are held on Monday at noon ; and 
thofe of the firft and third, on Saturday at noon. They 
open the day after the firft Sunday in December, and 
clofe on the 15th of Auguft. This court has it vacation 
from the firft of September to the fird of November; but 
the criminal chambers, and the courts of aflize, have no 
vacations. A numerous college of advocates, celebrated 
for their talents and underftanding, enjoy the right of 
pleading before the court; and feventy-four’folicitors are 
alfo exclufiyely admitted into the Cour Royale. 
Tribunal de Premiere lnjiav.ee , or Initiatory Court.—This 
is compofed of thirty-fix judges, a prefident, five vice- 
prefidents, &c. and is divided into fix chambers, five of 
which take cognizance of civil and the fixth of corredlional 
affairs. Audience is given every day not a holiday, Mon¬ 
days excepted. An hundred and fifty folicitors have an 
exclufive privilege of being employed in this court. 
There are 114 notaries in Paris, who write all agree¬ 
ments, wills, life-certificates, leafes, mortgages, fales.of 
eftates, 
