nd of
ancient Roman fabric, the vase of the Ptolemies, the famous cameo
representing the apotheosis of Augustus, the seal of Michael Angelo, and
the armour of Francis I, and the admirers of _vertu_ must be delighted
with the collection of exquisitely beautiful intaglios and cameos. Two
globes, twelve feet in diameter, being the largest extant, cannot be
overlooked. Mount Parnassus in bronze, which the French poets and
musicians are ascending with Louis XIV on the summit, is a fine piece of
workmanship; there is also a model of the Pyramids of Egypt, with
figures and trees to denote their height. There are a few very good
paintings, and many objects calculated to excite the highest interest,
which it would take years properly to examine and appreciate. The
prayer-books of St. Louis and Anne of Brittany, and one which belonged
in succession to Charles V Charles IX, and Henri III, bearing their
signatures are exceedingly curious. Amongst the books and manuscripts
may be found some of every known language which has characters. This
noble institution is open daily for students; authors; etc., from ten
till three, except Sundays and festivals; and those who merely wish to
view the establishment may be admitted from ten till three on Tuesdays
and Fridays; except during the vacation, which is from the 1st September
to the 15th October.

In the same street, a little farther southward, at the corner of the Rue
Traversiere, the preparations will be observed for a statue to Moliere,
on the spot where stood the house in which he died, and nearly opposite
is a small passage which passes under a house; and takes one opposite
another of a similar description, which leads into the Palais Royal:
suddenly emerging from the little dark alleys into a beautiful area, has
a most extraordinary and pleasing effect; you see before you a
parallelogram of 700 feet by 300, completely surrounded by a beautiful
building with arcades, and having flower-gardens; statues, and a
splendid fountain in the centre. To see this extraordinary scene to the
greatest advantage, the first visit should be by night, and the
impulsive coup-d'oeil tempts the beholder to imagine that he has
around him the realization of some gay dream of a fairy palace, the
immense glare of light glittering on the falling waters, the brilliance
of the illuminated shops; the magnificence and richness of the articles
therein displayed, with reflecting lamps so contrived as to throw a
po