criminate him, and he
had _found nothing_ missing in consequence of their scrutiny. I had the
pleasure of reading this aloud to an assemblage of elderly ladies, not
one of whom could see to read it, as it was placed out of their _focus_,
or too high, as they said.

[Note 34: _Poco mas o menos_,(a little more or less) as the
Spaniards say when they are complimented with _Viva V. S. mil anos_ (may
you live a thousand years.)]

Before the 10th I saw several dancing parties of the _Poissardes_ and
_sans-culottes_ in the beer-houses, on the _Quai des Ormes_ and the
_Quai St. Paul_, and have played the favourite and animating air of _ca
ira_, on the fiddle, to eight couple of dancers; the ceiling of these
rooms (which open into the street) is not above ten feet high, and on
this ceiling (which is generally white washed) are the numbers 1 2 to 8,
in black, and the same in red, which mark the places where the ladies
and gentlemen are to stand. When the dance was concluded I requested the
ladies to salute me (_m'embrasser_) which they did, by gently touching
my cheek with their lips. But a period was put to all these amusements
by the occurrences of the 10th; after which day, most of my time was
employed in endeavouring to obtain a passport.

On the _Quai des Augustins_, at six or seven in the morning, may be seen
a market of above a quarter of a mile long, well stocked with fowls,
pigeons, ducks, geese and turkies: these birds are all termed
_Volaille_. Rabbits are likewise sold in this market. I also saw here a
few live pheasants, red-legged partridges and quails in cages, for
sale.

I did not see a _louis d'or_ this time in Paris, it is probable that a
new golden coin may be struck of a different value and name, and
_without_ the name of the die-engraver.

There are few, if any, _tables d'hote_ (ordinaries) in Paris at present,
except at the inns. I have not seen any for many years, because the hour
of dining at them is about one o'clock, and that is customary to be
served in those coffee-houses which are kept by _restaurateurs and
traiteurs_ (cooks) after the English manner, at small tables, and there
are bills of fare, with the prices of the articles marked. The most
celebrated of these houses is called _la Taverne de Londres_, in the
garden of the _Palais-Royal_: here are large public rooms, and also many
small ones, and a bill of fare printed on a folio sheet, containing
almost every sort of provision, (carp, eels,