La 
commodious. 
1802.) 
tainly robbed the peony of all its colour : 
a clean long-frilled cap made no preten- 
fions to conceal the good-humoured ro- 
tundity of her countenance, which is per- 
fettly fleek and unwrinkled: the modett 
hankerchief might have efcaped notice if 
one’s obfervation had not been attracted 
by a gold crofs, fuipended under the 
double chin, which, from her fituation in 
the church probably, the good dame 
might think it no more than decorous to 
wear of a larger fize than conmnon. The 
crofs feems to be very generally worn by 
females of all ranks in Paris, and perhaps 
in all parts of France: there is {carcely a 
fifh-woman, a ballad-finger, an oyfter- 
wench, or a fille-de-joie, who is without 
it; how curious it is that Fafhion fhould 
have borrowed one of her moft favourite 
ornaments from Religion! 
Notre-Dame (the living one I mean) 
received us with many a curtfey, and 
introduced us to her hufband, as we ima- 
gine him to be: poor fellow, he could 
{carcely get a word in by its edge! R 
and myfelf took compaffion on him, and 
whilft his ‘better half’? was holding 
forth with an untired tongue on fome of 
the curiofities fhe was exhibiting, we 
liftened to his account of the vat fum of - 
money which the four Jarge circular win 
dows of painted glafs had cof. Thefe 
are extremely beautiful, and have a fine 
effect, having tortunately efcaped the fury 
of the deftroyers. 
La Maifon des Invalids has been de- 
fcribed a hundred times: this hofpital 
for wounded and fuperannuated foldiers 
is doubtlefs a very grateful afylum for 
thofe who have bled in the fervice of their 
country: the Library was prefented by 
Bonaparte ; we entered fome of the kitch- 
ens, and apartments where the linen is 
depofited ; thefe offices were neat and 
What a proud feeling muit 
come acrofs the veterans who have ho- 
nourably earned the protection of thefe 
walls, when a ftranger is conducted into the 
Temple of Mars! In this lofty and mag- 
nificent faloon are fufpended the enfigns 
of victory, which in various ages France 
has won, by the valour of her foldiers, 
from almoft every nation. It is unne- 
ceffary to fay, that the conquefts of the 
Republic over her confederated foes have 
added much to this dilplay of fplendour 
and of triumph: eighteen hundred ftan- 
dards are here hung up, which have been 
taken in the prefent war! Our friend 
R — exprefled an honourable pride, 
that, amidft the uncounted trophies which 
adorn this hall of Viétory, two Britifh flags 
4a Excurfion through France to Geneva. 
413 
alone contribute to enrich its oftentatious 
garniture. He and I mounted to the ball 
of the building: for my own part, I was 
heartily tired before I reached the fummit 
of my elevation, and was fo giddy as to 
be under the neceffity of refting two or 
three times on the fteps, and of fupport- 
ing myfelf on the arm of our guide, who 
was very attentive that [ fhould make no 
falfe ftep. We were certainly repaid for 
our labour, as it was the firft, and indeed 
the only, view we took of Paris from fuch 
a fituation. The floor under the dome is 
extremely beautiful: it is formed of teffel- 
lated marble, and is exquifitely finifhed. 
Le Louvre.—* At jaft! after running 
over the city for hoipitals, and churches, 
and f{chools, you have at length found 
your way to the Louvre!” Leis hafty, my 
good Friend !—a man has lets difficulty in 
finding his way hither than he has in get- 
ting home. I have been deliberating and 
deliberating again; whether to attempt 
any de{cription of the celebrated paintings 
which furround me: but that very cele- 
brity, even if no other reafon had fug- 
gefted itfeli, would have fufficed to deter 
me. Iam utterly unacquainted with the 
principles of the art of painting, but 
fhould not, on that account—‘‘Like moft 
ignorant people,’ I hear you fay in one 
ot your farcaltic humours,—have taxed 
myfelf with any unwarrantable arrogance or 
prefumption if I had dared to give you an 
opinion of the merits of fome of thefe pic- 
tures. It is moft true, that a well-practiled 
and a well-cultivated eye wiil detect many 
minor faults, and difcover many latent 
beauties, which efcape vulgar obiervation: 
there may be fomething tncorrect in the 
drawing, fomething falfe in the colouring, - 
5? oS 
which an artift will, and perhaps no one 
but an artift is likely to, difcern; ftill, 
however, I mutt be allowed to imagine, that 
any one of common tafte, cominon feeling, 
and commen accuracy, in noticing the 
features, attitudes, and expreflion, cf his 
fellow-creatures, under peculiar circum- 
ftances, and in ftriking fituations, may 
give his opinion of a painting without 
danger of rendering himfelf. ridiculous. 
You would allow a man, endued with the 
ordinary intellects and fenfibilities of na- 
ture, toenjoy the beauties of one of Shakes 
fpear’s plays:—-you. would probably think 
him very competent to point eut many of 
itsexcellencies and many of its defects, al- 
though he had never heard the name of 
Ariftotle in his life. Thofe very delicate 
touches of nature in which Shakelpear fo 
pre-eminently excels, might be more rea- 
dily remarked, and more acutely felt, >y 
3H 2 Jou 
y 
ae 
