cemetery to be closed in 1732. A picture of St.
Genenieve, by Watteau, in the chapel of that saint, must be admired,
having much merit. In the Rue de l'Oursine, No. 95, is an hospital which
is a refuge for sinning and afflicted females (something in the nature
of the Magdalen, in London), containing 300 beds. To the fountain of
Bacchus, at the corner of the Rue Censier, we will give a look _en
passant_, as also to the School of Pharmacy, formerly a convent, in the
garden of which was formed the first botanical garden, in 1580; there is
here a cabinet of specimens of drugs and a collection of mineralogy
worthy of examination; it is situated in the Rue de l'Arbalete, No. 13.

The Hopital Militaire and Church of the Val de Grace is in the Rue St.
Jacques (vide page 96) and is one which particularly merits attention of
the visiter; the vault of the dome is painted upon the stone by Mignard,
and is justly celebrated as one of the most splendid frescos in France;
the heart of Anne of Austria, the foundress of it, was sent here, as
also those of many succeeding members of the Royal Family. The interior
of the church is much admired for the richness of its architecture. At
No. 3, Rue de la Bourbe, is the Lying-in Hospital, formerly the Abbey of
Port Royal, containing 445 beds; any woman, eight months advanced in
pregnancy, is admitted, if there be room to receive her, without an
inquiry, if she be in distress; she enters into an engagement to support
the child, and if she cannot fulfil it, she must make a declaration and
it is sent to the Foundling Hospital, but if she retain it, clothing and
a small sum of money is given her on quitting the hospital. A school for
midwifery is established here, the practitioners being females, who,
when considered competent, receive a diploma from the physicians who are
appointed judges.

Just by this establishment is the Observatory, erected in the reign of
Louis XV; it is a most curious piece of architecture, having in it
neither wood nor iron; it is not a large building, but has a fine
appearance, and Perrault was the architect; it is vaulted throughout,
and a geometrical staircase, having a vacuity of 170 feet deep, merits
particular notice. There is a circular universal chart upon the pavement
of one of the apartments. By means of mechanical arrangements the roof
and cupola open, and every night, the weather permitting, astronomical
observations are taken. M. Arago, the most celebrated as