To Me This Column Is The Most Striking Thing Of Its Kind
That I Have Hitherto Seen.
It is of bronze and of the most beautiful
workmanship, cast from the cannon taken from the Austrians in the war of
1805, and on it are figured in bas-relief the various battles and
achievements, winding round and round from the base to the capital.
It is
constructed after the model of the Column of Trajan in Rome.
The next place I visited was the Chamber of Deputies. It is a fine building
with a Doric facade and columns; it is peculiarly striking from its noble
simplicity. On the facade are bas-reliefs representing actions in
Napoleon's life. The flight of steps leading to the facade is very grand,
and there are colossal figures representing Prudence, Justice, Fortitude
and other legislative virtues. The Chamber itself where the Deputies hold
their sittings is in the form of a Greek theatre; the arch of the
semi-circle forms the gallery appropriated to the audience, and comprehends
in its enclosure the seats of the deputies like the seats in a Greek
theatre; on the chord of the semi-circle where the proscenium should be,
is the tribune and President's seat. The whole is exceedingly elegant. The
Orator whose turn it is to speak leaves his seat, ascends the tribune and
faces the Deputies. The anti-rooms adjoining this Chamber are fitted up
with long tables and fauteuils and are appropriated to the sittings of the
various committees. These antichambers are hung round with pictures
representing the victories of the French armies; but they are covered with
green baize and carefully concealed from the public eye in order to stifle
recollections and prevent comparisons.
PARIS, August.
I mounted on horseback and rode out to St Cloud to breakfast, passing
through the Champs Elysees, the Bois de Boulogne and the little town of
Passy, and returned by the Quai, as far as the bridge of Jena, which I
passed and went to visit the Hotel des Invalides, le Champ de Mars, the
Pantheon or Church of St Genevieve and the Palace of the Luxembourg. This
was pretty good work for one day; and as you will expect some little
account of my ideas thereon, I shall give you a precis of what most
interested me.
In the Champs Elysees are quartered several English regiments who are
encamped there, and this adds to the liveliness of the scene; our soldiers
seem to enjoy themselves very much. They are in the midst of places of
recreation of all kinds, such as guinguettes, tennis-courts, dancing salons
and cafes, and besides these (places of Elysium for English soldiers), wine
and brandy shops innumerable; our soldiers seem to agree very well with the
inhabitants. In the Bois de Boulogne are Hanoverian troops as well as
English. At Passy I stopped at the house occupied by my friend, Major C. of
the 33rd Regt.,[38] who was to accompany me to St Cloud.
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