nisters.

The second floor of the building contains the genealogies of the French
families. They are deposited in boxes, which are labelled with the
several family names. They are considered as public records, and are
only producible in the courts of justice, in order to determine the
titles to real property. No one is allowed to copy them except by the
most special permission, which is never granted but to histriographers
of established name and reputation. The cabinet of antiques is stated to
be very rich, and, to judge by appearances, is not inferior to its
reputation. The collection was made by Caylus. It chiefly consists of
vases, busts, and articles of domestic use amongst the Romans. The
greater part of them have been already copied as models, in the
ornamenting of furniture, by the Parisian artists. This fashion indeed
is carried almost to a mania. Every thing must be Greek and Roman
without any reference to Nature or propriety. For example, what could
be so absurd as the natural realization of some of these capricious
ornaments? What lady would chose to sleep in a bed, up the pillars of
which serpents were crawling? Yet is such realization the only criterion
of taste and propriety.

The cabinet of engravings detained us nearly two hours. The portfeuilles
containing the prints are distributed into twelve classes. Some of these
divisions invited us to a minute inspection. Such was the class
containing the French fashions from the age of Clovis to Louis the
Sixteenth. In another class was the costume of every nation in the
world; in a third, portraits of eminent persons of all ages and nations;
and in a fourth, a collection of prints relating to public festivals,
cavalcades, tournaments, coronations, royal funerals, &c. France is the
only kingdom in the world which possesses a treasure like this, and
which knows how to estimate it at its proper value.

From the National Library we drove to the Athenee, a library and lecture
institution, supported by voluntary subscription. It is much of the same
nature as an institution of a similar kind in London, termed the British
Institute; but the French Athenaeum has infinitely the advantage. The
subscription is cheaper, being about four Louis annually, and the
lectures are more elegant, if not more scientific. There are usually
three lectures daily; the first on sciences, and the other two on
belles lettres. The lecture on science is considered as very able, but
those on