579 
PARI S. 
the pride of Paris, and the delight of every obferver, was 
vacant! It feemed as if a foul had taken its flight from 
a body.” 
On the fubjeft of the ftatues, we mull now liften to 
Mifs Williams: “ A chill fenfation came acrofs my heart 
when I d'efcended to the halls of the fculpture, and faw 
the vacant pedeftal on which had flood the ftatuc that en¬ 
chants the world. I gazed on the pedeftal. One of the 
old liveried attendants of the hall, interpreting my looks, 
faid to me, in a forrowful tone, ‘ Ah ! madam, flie is gone ; 
I lhall never fee her again !’—‘Gone !’ faid I.—‘ Yes, ma¬ 
dam, flie fet out this very morning, at three o’clock ; el 
Jbus bonne ejcorte.' The old man feemed to mourn over 
the Venus as if flie had been his daughter. 
“The adjoining hall prefented, a few days after, a moft 
melancholy fpeftacle. There lay the Apollo on the floor, 
in his coffin. The workmen were bufied in preparing him 
for his journey, by wedging him in his fliell; and an artift 
was tracing his celeftial features, when the trowel, with 
its white pafte, palled acrofs his divine vifage. His arm 
was ftill majeftically ftretched out. The French artifts, 
who were prefent, wept over it j they prefled his hand to 
their lips, and bade him a laft adieu ! The fcene was now 
clofed on that perfedt image, worthy of almoft divine ho¬ 
nours. He was going to add a new glory to Rome, and 
draw new pilgrims to his ihrine; but to Paris he was loft 
for ever, and (he might well deplore her calamity. She 
had indeed feized him as her captive, but flie had gazed 
on him with unwearied admiration ; flie had hailed him 
as the moft fplendid trophy of viftory; and (he would 
have purchafed his flay with her treafures, even with her 
blood, had not refiftance been unavailing. 
“ In the package of thefe divinities much apprehenfion 
was felt of their fuftaining fome injury. The neceflary 
aid and tools were wanting. No rewards, no menaces, 
however, could prevail on the French crocheteurs, porters 
and labourers, plying in the ftreets for employment, to 
lend their aid. The French, of the loweft clafs, were too 
indignant to be the abettors of fuch fpoliation. The 
ladders of the mailer of an exhibition of Jinges Javans, 
“ learned monkeys,” in the neighbourhood of the Louvre, 
were at length put in requifition to unhang the pidlures. 
The Pythian divinity of Olympus lay in the ftreets all 
night, and might have fuffered from any accidental tu¬ 
mult ; and the Venus de Medicis was fated, like an aban¬ 
doned female, to take up her abode for fome hours in a 
common guard-houfe.” 
But tiio bitterell mortification of the people of Paris 
yet remains to be defcribed.' The well-known horfes, 
taken from the church of St. Mark in Venice, had been 
peculiarly the objects of popular pride and admiration. 
Being expofed to public view on the Triumphal Arch 
in the Place du Caroufel, which is one of the moft public 
Jituations of Paris, this was elieemed the nobleft trophy- 
belonging to the capital; and there was not a Parifian 
vender of a pailful of water, who did not look like a 
hero when the Venetian horfes were fpoken of. “ Have 
you heard what has been determined about the horfes ?” 
was every foreigner’s queftion : “Oh ! they cannot mean 
to take the horfes away,” was every Frenchman’s remark. 
On the morning of Thurfday the a6th of September, 
however, it was whifpered that they had been at work 
all night in loofening them from their faflenings. It was 
foon confirmed that this was true; and the French then 
had nothing left for it, but to vow, that, if the allies were 
to attempt to touch them in the day-light, Paris would 
rife at once, exterminate its enemies, and refcue its ho¬ 
nour. On Friday morning, (fays Mr. Scott,) I walked 
through the iquare: it was clear that fome confiderable 
change had taken place ; the eft'eft of the forms of the 
horfes was finer than I had ever before feen it„ While 
looking to difcover what had been done, a private of the 
Britifti ftaff corps came up: “ You fee, fir, we took away 
the harnefs laft night,” faid he. “ You have made a great 
improvement by fo doing,” I replied: “ but are the Bri- 
tiffi employed on this work ?” The man faid that the 
Auftrians had requefted the afliftance of our ftaff-corps, 
for it included better workmen than any they had in their 
fervice. I heard that an angry French mob had given 
fome trouble to the people employed on the Thurfday 
night, but that a body of Parifian gendarmerie had dif- 
perfed the multitude. The Frenchmen continued their 
fneers againft the allies for working in the dark: fear and 
fliame were the caufe's affigned. “ If you take them at 
all, why not take them ill the face of day ? But you are 
too wife to drag upon yourfelves the irrefiftible popular 
fury, which fuch a light would excite againft you !” On 
the night of Friday, the order of proceeding was entirely 
changed. It had been found proper to call out a ftrong 
guard of Auftrians, horfe and foot. The mob had been 
charged by the cavalry; and it was faid, that feveral had 
their limbs broken. I expected to find the place on Sa¬ 
turday morning quiet and open as ufual; but, when I 
reached its entrance, what an impreffive fcene prefented 
itfelf! The delicate plan, for fuch in truth it was, of 
working by night, was now over. The Auftrians had 
wiflied to fpare the king of France the pain of feeing 
his capital difmantled before his palace-windows, where 
he pafled in his carriage when he went out for his 
daily exercife. But the feelings of the people rendered 
feverer meafures neceflary. My companion and myfelf 
were flopped from entering the place by Aullrian dragoons: 
a large mob of Frenchmen were collected here, Handing- 
on tip toe to catch the Arch in the diftance, on the top 
of which the ominous fight of numbers of workmen, bufy 
about the horfes, was plainly to be diftinguiflied. We 
advanced again to the foldiers : fome of the French, by 
whom we were furrounded, faid, “ Whoever you are, you 
will not be allowed to pafs.” I confefs I was for retiring; 
for the whole aflemblage, citizens and foldiers, feemed to 
wear an angry alarming afpedt. But my companion was 
eager for admittance. He was put back again by an 
Aullrian hufl'ar: “ What, not the Engli/h /” he exclaimed 
in his own language. The mob laughed loudly when they 
heard the foreign foldier fo addrefled ; but the triumph 
was ours ; way was inftantly made for us; and an officer, 
on duty clofe by, touched his helmet as we pafled. 
The king and the princes had left the Tuileries, to be 
out of the view of fo mortifying a bulinefs. The court 
of the palace, which ufed to be gay with young gardes 
du corps and equipages, was now fiient, deferted, and flint 
up. Not a foul moved in it. The top of the Arch was 
filled with people ; and the horfes, though as yet all there, 
might be feen to begin to move. The carriages, that 
were to take them away, were in waiting below; and a 
tackle of ropes was already affixed to one. The fraall 
door, leading to the top, was protected by a ftrong guard : 
every one was llriving to obtain permiffioh to gratify his 
curiofity, by vifiting the horfes for the laft time that they 
could be vifited in this fituation. Permiffion, however, 
could neceffarily be granted but to few. I was of the 
fortunate number. In a minute I had climbed the narrow 
dark Hair, afcended a fmajl ladder, and was out on the 
top, with the moft pidlurefque view before me that can 
be imagined. An Engiilh lady aiked me to affift her into 
Bonaparte’s car of victory : his own ftatue was to have 
been placed in it, when he came bach a conqueror from his 
Rujian expedition! I followed the lady and her hulband 
into the car, and we found a Pruilian officer there before 
us. He looked at us, and with a good-humoured fmile, 
faid, “The emperor kept the Engl i fh out of France, but 
the Englifti have now got where he could not!” This 
paflage reminds us, that, at p. 4.52, we have erroneoufly 
defcribed the triumphal car as having contained the ftatue 
of Napoleon : the ftatue was certainly intended to be fo 
placed, but it never reached its deftination. To the ac¬ 
count there given, we will juft add, that the Arch is of 
hard Italian freeftone, very fine in the grain ; the co¬ 
lumns of red marble, the frize of Italian griote ; the in- 
fcriptions in letters of gold. The two figures of Vic¬ 
tory 
