ix,
the victim of the battle of Marengo, and next we will turn on to the
Quai de l'Horloge and view the north side of the Palais de Justice; it
presents two round towers, which have the appearance of being very old,
and I was assured by an architect who employed much of his time in
poking about after such morsels of antiquity as he could find, that they
were built by the Romans, but I doubt it.

We must not miss the Tour de l'Horloge, which is certainly of the middle
ages, and the clock is I believe considered the oldest in Paris; turning
to the right we view the grand front of the Palais de Justice, a very
handsome iron grating in part gilded, decorates the entrance to the
front court, and you ascend a bold flight of steps to the principal
door; four doric pillars with figures representing Justice, Fortitude,
Plenty, and Prudence, adorn the grand facade of the building; an immense
hall to the right, in which is a noble statue of the good and venerable
Malesherbes, well worth attention, and is the apartment where formerly
ambassadors were received and the nuptial ceremonies of princes were
celebrated, but now the rendez-vous of lawyers, barristers, and their
clients.

Several other halls, chambers, galleries, corridors, etc, are worth
notice, and that which is beneath them, has a shuddering kind of
interest; it is called the Conciergerie, and if its victims were there
consigned by the harsh decree of rigid justice, surely mercy and charity
were not allowed to enter, whilst it formed the prison of the hapless
Marie Antoinette and the brave Pichegru, but we will draw a veil over
those scenes which are but fraught with sad reminiscences. Many of these
dark covered alleys, belonging to this extraordinary building, have been
long occupied by venders of shoes, slippers and a variety of articles
which remind one of the old Exeter Change.

This singular edifice which almost resembles a town is considered to
have been founded by Eudes, count of Paris, about the year 890, but the
most ancient part now standing, was built by Saint Louis who founded the
chapel, which is considered to be a complete type of the _pure_ gothic
architecture, and which in that respect is not exceeded by any other in
Europe; it has the most decided air of antiquity, with a richness and
elegance which certainly characterise it as the beau ideal of that
period. It is termed the Holy Chapel and now appropriated to the
conservation of ancient records. From