han a gate, and that he
would have much preferred one constructed in the style of the porte
Saint-Denis.

After visiting in detail the various works begun or carried on since his
departure, his Majesty one morning sent for M. Fontaine, and having
discoursed at length on what he thought worthy of praise or blame in all
that he had seen, informed him of his intentions with regard to the plans
which the architect had furnished for joining the Tuileries to the
Louvre. It was agreed by the Emperor and M. Fontaine that these
buildings should be united by two wings, the first of which should be
finished in five years, a million to be granted each year for this
purpose; and that a second wing should also be constructed on the
opposite side, extending from the Louvre to the Tuileries, forming thus a
perfect square, in the midst of which would be erected an opera house,
isolated on all sides, and communicating with the palace by a
subterranean gallery.

The gallery forming the court in front of the Louvre was to be opened to
the public in winter, and decorated with statues, and also with all the
shrubbery now in boxes in the garden of the Tuileries; and in this court
he intended to erect an arch of triumph very similar to that of the
Carrousel. Finally, all these beautiful buildings were to be used as
lodgings for the grand officers of the crown, as stables, etc. The
necessary expense was estimated as approximating forty-two millions.

The Emperor was occupied in succession with a palace of arts; with a new
building for the Imperial library, to be placed on the spot now occupied
by the Bourse; with a palace for the stock-exchange on the quay Desaix;
with the restoration of the Sorbonne and the hotel Soubise; with a
triumphal column at Neuilly; with a fountain on the Place Louis XV.; with
tearing down the Hotel-Dieu to enlarge and beautify the Cathedral
quarter; and with the construction of four hospitals at Mont-Parnasse, at
Chaillot, at Montmartre, and in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, etc. All
these plans were very grand; and there is no doubt that he who had
conceived them would have executed them; and it has often been said that
had he lived, Paris would have had no rival in any department in the
world.

At the same time his Majesty decided definitely on the form of the arch
of triumph de l'Etoile, which had been long debated, and for which all
the architects of the crown had submitted plans. It was M. Fontaine
whose opinio