ident's desk.

There are altogether in this palace so many statues, apartments,
sculpture and galleries to describe, that it would monopolise far too
much space in my little volume if I were to attempt to do it justice. I
must therefore content myself with advising the reader to take the first
opportunity of viewing it with its beautiful gallery of pictures, many
of which are the chefs-d'oeuvre of the best living French artists. In
the new divisions which have been lately constructed there are some fine
specimens of painting from the pencils of Messrs. Delaroche, Scheffer,
Boulanger, Roqueplan, etc., and the chambers voted 800,000 fr.
(32,000_l._) for the artistical decorations of the recent erections
added to the original building.

Le Petit Luxembourg is a large hotel contiguous and may be considered as
a dependency of the great palace, it was built by Cardinal Richelieu who
made it his residence whilst the Palais Royal was building, when he
afterwards gave it to his niece the Duchess d'Aiguillon. It is now
occupied by the Chancellor of France, as President of the House of
Peers; it also contains a small prison for persons committed for
political offences, and tried by the Court of Peers: the ministers of
Charles X were here confined in 1830. In the same street, No. 70, is the
Convent of the Carmelite Sisters, already mentioned, a portion of the
building is still devoted to sacred purposes, the chapel is dedicated to
St. Joseph, and of the Tuscan order, it was founded by Marie de Medicis.
Here first began the massacres in Paris of the 2nd of September, 1792,
when a number of priests here imprisoned were murdered. This is the
convent which has long been famed for the _Eau de Melisse_ and _Blanc
des Carmes_, which are still sold here.

At the southern gate of the Garden of the Luxembourg is the _Jardin
botanique de l'Ecole de Medecine_, where every medicinal plant agreeing
with the climate is raised, and ticketed as classified by Jussieu.

The Odeon Theatre which is near the Luxembourg has been twice burnt
down, but was finally restored in 1820; it is situated fronting the
street, and in the _place_ of the same name; it is certainly a very
handsome building both as to the exterior and the interior, which is
fitted up in a most superior style, but all exertions to render it
successful seem in vain, although the present director has it rent free
from the government; dramatic pieces in general are here represented,
but