quet on alighting from the train.

[Footnote 75: In 1782, when Heurtier, the architect, submitted
his plan of the building which was intended for the Italian
singing-actors, the latter offered a determined opposition to
the idea of the theatre facing the Boulevards, lest they should
be confounded with the small theatres on the Boulevard du
Temple and in the direction of the present Boulevard des
Filles-du-Calvaire. This extraordinary vanity was lampooned on
all sides, and especially in a _quatrain_, which I forbear to
quote even in French.--EDITOR.]

By a very delicate attention, the private apartments of the Queen had,
in many ways, been made to look as much as possible like those at
Windsor Castle; and where this transformation was found impossible by
reason of their style of decoration--such as, for instance, in the
former boudoir of Marie-Antoinette,--the mural paintings and those of
the ceiling had been restored by two renowned artists. In addition to
this, the most valuable pictures had been borrowed from the Louvre to
enhance the splendour of the reception and dining rooms, while none but
crack regiments in full dress were told off for duty.

The day after the Queen's arrival being Sunday, the entertainment after
dinner consisted solely of a private concert; on the Monday the Queen
visited the Fine Arts' Section of the Exhibition, which was located in a
separate building at the top of the Avenue Montaigne, and connected with
the main structure by beautifully laid-out gardens. The Queen spent
several hours among the modern masterpieces of all nations, and two
French artists had the honour of being presented. I will not be certain
of the names, because I was not there, but, as far as I can remember,
they were Ingres and Horace Vernet.

While on the subject of art, I cannot help digressing for a moment. I
may take it that in 1855 a good many Englishmen of the better middle
classes, though not exactly amateurs or connoisseurs of pictures, were
acquainted with the names, if not with the works, of the French masters
of the modern school. Well, in that same year, the English school burst
upon the corresponding classes in France like a revelation--nay, I may
go further still, and unhesitatingly affirm that not a few critics, and
those of the best, shared the astonishment of the non-professional
multitude. They had heard of Sir Joshua Reyn