Chapter II: Preface: To the Second Edition

The first edition of this work appeared anonymously. Its rapid sale and the favourable manner in which “The Rough Sketch,” has been received induce the Author, as a mark of respect and gratitude to an indulgent Public, to affix, his name to this second impression. In doing so, he begs leave to apologize for the typographical errors found in the first edition, and which he can only correct in that which is now issued, by means of an errata. These faults may, perhaps, be pardoned, when it is known that the Author was in the most distant part of Italy at the time of the first publication, and that most of the sheets which compose the present impression, were struck off previously to his return.

In reading the following pages the Public will also have the goodness to remember the period at which they were written. When the Author speaks of Bonaparte, he speaks of him in other days. In May, 1802, when these letters were concluded, the First Consul was the elected first magistrate of France, the professed friend of England, and the acknowledged pacificator of Europe. He had not at that time overturned the form of government which he had solemnly sworn to maintain, by assuming for life the reins of power. He had not then violated the laws of nations and the rights of a free, virtuous, and independent people by the subjugation of Switzerland. He had not then insulted his Majesty and the British nation in the person of our ambassador. He had not yet dared to ask for changes in the most valuable and purest parts of our excellent constitution, nor had he sunk the dignity of his character by a conversation which at once betrayed his vanity, rashness, and unbounded ambition. In one word, the laurels of Marengo were yet unfaded. He was then a great man. Without enquiring what he now is, one may be permitted to apply to him what Virgil said of the Trojan hero after his defeat:

⸺Heu quantum mutatus ab illo
Hectore, qui redit exuvias indutus Achillis!

_Upper Seymour Street, Sept. 21, 1803._

_CONTENTS._

LETTER I.

Reflections on landing at Calais.—Custom house
officers, municipality, commissaires, Dessein’s,
theatre.—Montreuil.—L’hôtel d’Angleterre at
Amiens.—Chantilly.—State of the roads.—Difficulty of getting
lodgings at Paris.—M. Peregaux. p. 1.

LETTER II.

The palace and gardens of the Thuilleries.—The
Louvre.—The _musée central des arts_, or picture
gallery.—_Maria Cosway._—Gallery of antiquities.—Apollo
Belvidere.—Laocoon.—List of pictures. p. 10.

LETTER III.

The _fête_ of the 18th of brumaire in honour of the
preliminaries, and of the anniversary of the consular
government.—Apathy of the people.—Fireworks.—Accident which
happened to an english gentleman.—_Postscript._—The death of
the gentleman last named. p. 40.

LETTER IV.

State of society at Paris.—The three sets, _l’ancienne
noblesse_, the governmental class, and _les parvenus ou
nouveaux riches_.—Description of a house belonging to one of
the latter. p. 53.

LETTER V.

Opening of the legislative body.—Election of the
president.—Lord Cornwallis.—Reflections of the people in the
gallery. p. 63.

LETTER VI.

The abbé Sicard, and the institution in behalf of the deaf and
dumb.—His favourite pupil, Massieu.—Examination of a young
woman, who had become deaf at six years old.—Reflections on
the establishment. p. 69.

LETTER VII.

A _thé_ or evening party.—French remarks on Shakspeare and Mr.
Fox.—Dullness and pedantry of parisian society. p. 74.

LETTER VIII.

Bonaparte.—The monthly review or parade in the court of the
Thuilleries. p. 81.

LETTER IX.

The tribunate.—Speech of _Portalis_ on presenting the _code
civil_ in the corps législatif.—Debate in the tribunate on the
same subject. p. 87.

LETTER X.

_Bal des étrangers_, (a public subscription ball).—Thinness of
the ladies’ dresses. p. 92.

LETTER XI.

New year’s day.—The Palais royal. p. 98.

LETTER XII.

_L’institution des travaux des aveugles_, or establishment
for the support and employment of the blind.—Their different
occupations.—The plate glass manufactory.—Description of
another meeting at the hospital of the deaf and dumb.—Massieu
taught _galvanism_ and stenography. p. 103.

LETTER XIII.

The young savage, or wild boy of Aveyron.—His history.—The
state in which he was found, and the means used to restore him
to the use of his senses.—The success with which these efforts
have been attended. p. 109.

LETTER XIV.

Detailed account of all the theatres or _spectacles_. p. 116.

LETTER XV.

The play of _Henry_ IV, read by le Texier. p. 133.

LETTER XVI.

Party at a _fournisseur’s_.—Ball at a _ci-devant_ noble’s. p. 137.

LETTER XVII.

A play acted for the first time, called “Edouard en Ecosse,”
the hero of which was the english pretender, full of royalist
sentiments, performed twice, and highly applauded; “God save
the King,” played on the French stage; plot of the play, which
was forbidden on the third day. p. 146.

LETTER XVIII.

The _carnival_.—Masks in all the streets.—Account of the
different characters, processions, &c.—Masqued ball at the
opera house. p. 152.

LETTER XIX.

Bonaparte’s audience.—His address to the english gentlemen
presented to him.—First appearance, this season, of
_Vestris_.—Madame de St—l’s concert. p. 158.

LETTER XX.

The antichamber of the _Musée Central_, now filled with
an additional collection of fine pictures.—Account of the
wonderful recovery of some chefs-d’œuvre.—List of pictures
in this room. p. 166.

LETTER XXI.

_Bois de Boulogne._—Account of that promenade.—Order
of the police against english footmen wearing laced
cocked hats.—Cannon fired in honour of the definitive
treaty.—Illuminations in the evening.—Little effect
produced at Paris by the peace. p. 175.

LETTER XXII.

The palais du _Luxembourg_.—_Théâtre d’Odéon._—The pantheon
or St. Généviève.—Tombs of Rousseau and Voltaire. p. 181.

LETTER XXIII.

_Concordat_ with the Pope ratified by the legislative body
after an eloquent speech by _Lucien Bonaparte_.—Madame
Bonaparte’s first drawing room.—Appearance of Dehayes at the
opera, after a long absence. p. 188.

LETTER XXIV.

Versailles.—St. Cloud.—Sèvre.—Petit Trianon.—Specimen
of an extravagant bill.—Curious trial.—St.
Germain.—Malmaison.—Waterworks of Marly. p. 192.

LETTER XXV.

_Long Champ_, account of that annual promenade, date of its
origin, and of the great preparations made this year for
attending it.—The bustle and gayety which it produced at
Paris. p. 205.

LETTER XXVI.

_Te Deum_ sung at _Notre Dame_, in honour of the peace and the
reestablishment of religion.—Military insolence.—Account of the
ceremony.—Illuminations in the evening.—Indifference of the
people. p. 213.

LETTER XXVII.

_Palais de Justice._—Account of the different tribunals or
courts of law. p. 222.

LETTER XXVIII.

The gardens and walks of Paris. p. 227.

LETTER XXIX.

The manufactory of _Gobelins_, the observatory, _les Enfans
trouvés_, _Champ de Mars_, les _Invalides_, and the temple of
Mars, containing the colours taken from different nations,
and the tomb of _Turenne_.—_Le Musée des Monumens françois_,
or collection of monuments.—List of the most esteemed of
these.—Note to this letter contains the account of a dinner at
the first consul’s. p. 235.

LETTER XXX.

General account of literary establishments at Paris.—National
library.—Manuscripts.—Memoirs of his own times, by Lewis
XIV.—_Fac simile_ of a love letter of Henry IV.—Cabinet
of medals.—Cabinet of engravings, &c.—Library of the
Pantheon.—Mazarine library.—Library of the Institute. Libraries
of the senate, the legislative body, and tribunate.—The
_Lycées_, now called _les Athénées_.—Admirable lectures
given at one of them.—Professors _Fourcroy_, _Cuvier_, and
_la Harpe_.—L’Institute national.—_Jardin national des
Plantes._—Collection of birds, plants, fossils, and insects,
in the house attached to the _Jardin des Plantes_.—Cabinet
de l’École des Mines, _à l’Hôtel des Monnoies_.—Great
opportunities afforded at Paris of cultivating science and
literature in all their various branches. p. 249.

LETTER XXXI.

Calculation and estimate of expenses at Paris.—List of hôtels,
traiteurs, &c. p. 266.

LETTER XXXII.

General view of Paris, principally taken as compared with
London. p. 282.

A ROUGH SKETCH OF MODERN PARIS.