, etc., who paid their
respects to the King and the Duke of Orleans, made considerable display
in the Place du Carrousel and in the court of the Tuileries.

"At an exhibition of manufactures of porcelain, tapestry, etc., in the
Louvre, where were some of the most superb specimens of art in the world
in these articles, we also saw the Duchesse de Berri. She is the mother
of the little Duc de Bordeaux, who, you know, is the heir apparent to the
crown of France. She was simply habited in a blue pelisse and blue
bonnet, and would not be distinguished in her appearance from the crowd
except by her attendants in livery.

"I cannot close, however, without telling you what a delightful evening I
passed evening before last at General Lafayette's. He had a soiree on
that night at which there were a number of Americans. When I went in he
instantly recognized me; took me by both hands; said he was expecting to
see me in France, having read in the American papers that I had embarked.
He met me apparently with great cordiality, then introduced me to each of
his family, to his daughters, to Madame Lasterie and her two daughters
(very pretty girls) and to Madame Remusat,[1] and two daughters of his
son, G.W. Lafayette, also very accomplished and beautiful girls. The
General inquired how long I intended to stay in France, and pressed me to
come and pass some time at La Grange when I returned from Italy. General
Lafayette looks very well and seems to have the respect of all the best
men in France. At his soiree I saw the celebrated Benjamin Constant, one
of the most distinguished of the Liberal party in France. He is tall and
thin with a very fair, white complexion, and long white, silken hair,
moving with all the vigor of a young man."

[Footnote 1: This was not, of course, the famous Madame de Remusat;
probably her daughter-in-law.]

In a letter to his brothers written on the same day, January 7th, he
says:--

"If I went no farther and should now return, what I have already seen and
studied would be worth to me all the trouble and expense thus far
incurred. I am more and more satisfied that my expedition was wisely
planned.

"You cannot conceive how the cold is felt in Paris, and, indeed, in all
France. Not that their climate is so intensely cold as ours, but their
provision against the cold is so bad. Fuel is excessively high; their
fireplaces constructed on the worst possible plan, looking like great
ovens dug four or five fee