uchardon, in the reign of Louis XV, began 1739
and finished in 1745; it is most richly adorned by statues and
allegorical subjects. At No. 120, Rue du Bac, is the church of St.
Francois Xavier, or of Foreign Missionaries, it was built in 1683,
consisting of two parts, one on the ground floor, and the other above,
the lower is perfectly plain, the upper is of the ionic order; there are
some good paintings of the French school of the period. Behind is the
seminary for the instruction of young men intended as missionaries in
the requisite sciences and languages. The worthy Abbe Edgeworth, the
attendant of Louis XVI in his last moments, was one of the members of
this institution.

Just by in the Rue de Babylone is a barrack for infantry, famed for the
attack and defence carried on in the Revolution of the three days. In
the rue Vanneau is a recently built house, a complete type of the style
of Francis I. In the Rue de Varennes are several grand hotels of the
nobility of France, with their family names inscribed over the immense
gateways; it is in fact one of the most interesting streets in Paris;
amongst others, at No. 23, is the hotel of the late Duchess de Bourbon,
now belonging to Mme Adelaide d'Orleans. No. 35, is the hotel d'Orsay,
recently restored and embellished, and several others of the same
description. At the north-west corner of the street stands the hotel de
Biron, now converted into the celebrated convent and seminary of the
Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart), where so many daughters of the French,
English and Irish catholic nobility have been brought up. No. 16, the
offices of the Minister of Commerce, and No. 10, Rue Hillerin-Bertin, is
the Ecole royale des Ponts-et-Chaussees, established in 1747. The
pupils, who are all taken from the Polytechnique, are instructed in
every thing connected with the projection and construction of bridges,
canals, ports and public works. Their collection of plans, maps, and
models relative to these operations is very rich. But a few paces
southward bring us facing the ancient convent of Panthemont, now used as
a barrack for cavalry, forming the corner of the Rue de Belle-Chasse and
that of the Rue de Grenelle; the chapel, which has a dome, is an
interesting architectural object.

This is one of the aristocratic streets of Paris, where the most
ancient families of France have their town residences; the Rue St.
Dominique is of the same description, and many others in this
neighbourho