pieces of 10 louis, each of the reign of Louis
XIII, very large and beautiful. A medal of Charlemagne of most exquisite
execution, and others of almost every country or celebrated monarch or
chief, with a collection of the ores in their mineral state, every
instrument used for coining and in fact every object appertaining to
such an establishment, which would demand much space and time to
describe, and a work is written solely on the subject. This interesting
museum is open to foreigners with their passports on Mondays and
Thursdays, from twelve till three.

Contiguous and on the western side stands the Palais of the Institute,
or as we should call it the Royal Academy. It was founded by Cardinal
Mazarin in 1661, from designs by Levau. The segment of a circle
describes the front, whilst pavillions upon open arcades terminate the
extremities, a portico in the centre with corinthian colums surmounted
by a pediment, whilst a dome crowns the summit, and vases upon the
entablature combine to give it a fine effect. In the great hall of this
building the members of the Academy hold their sittings; the vestibules
are adorned by marble statues of men whose intellectual powers have
rendered their names renowned throughout the world, as Montesquieu,
Moliere, Corneille, Racine, Sully, etc., etc. The Mazarine library is
attached to this institution and contains 120,000 printed volumes
besides 4,500 manuscripts. There is also under the same establishment
the library of the Institute, which includes 115,000 volumes; in the
gallery in which they are contained is a marble statue of Voltaire, by
Pigale, highly celebrated for its execution. This building was for some
time called the Palais des Quatre-Nations, as the founder at first
designed it for natives of Roussillon, Pignerol, Alsace, and Flanders.
The subjects discussed within the halls of this institution are the
Belles-Lettres, the fine Arts, moral and political Sciences, etc.
Persons desiring tickets for the meetings of the members must inscribe
their names at the office of the secretary of the Institute. Directly
opposite is a light elegant bridge, called the Pont-des-Arts, it is
constructed of iron and is merely for foot passengers.

Passing to the Quai Voltaire we turn into the Rue des Petits-Augustins,
and stop before the front of the Palais and Ecole des Beaux-Arts, or
School of fine Arts; this is one of the many institutions which exist in
Paris requiring a volume to descr