Barnum had preceded Tom Thumb to Paris, where he met Dion Boucicault, who was living there at the time. Boucicault gave Barnum much valuable advice and spent a day with him looking for a suitable exhibition hall. They finally selected the Salle Musard in the Rue Vivienne as the General’s French headquarters. Barnum issued preliminary paragraphs in the newspapers concerning “Le Général Tom Pouce” and returned to London to get the littlest star. Before his departure from Paris he called upon William Rufus King, American Minister at the Court of France, who assured him that after his success with Queen Victoria there would be no difficulty with Louis Philippe, the affable King, who was distinguished by his green umbrella when he walked unattended through the streets of Paris. Barnum returned to Paris with his entire party and the day after his arrival received a command to appear at the Tuileries on the following Sunday evening. When they arrived at the Palace, Barnum and General Tom Thumb were received by Louis Philippe, the Queen, and the Princess Adelaide, the Duchess d’Orléans and her son, the Count de Paris, Prince de Joinville, the Duke and Duchess de Nemours, the Duchess d’Aumale, and the editor of the _Journal des Débats_, the official journal. After his quaint performances, Louis Philippe presented Tom Thumb with an emerald and diamond brooch. The King was so genial that Barnum, who later wrote that he felt quite at home in the royal presence, decided to ask a favor. The Longchamps celebration, one of the gala days of fête and display for the new court and society, was to take place within a few days after Barnum’s arrival. He asked Louis Philippe if General Tom Thumb’s carriage might appear in the avenue reserved for the court and the diplomatic corps, for he feared that unless this favor was granted the small carriage with its tiny ponies would be crushed and the General hurt. The King arranged this small matter with one of his officials and told Barnum to call upon the Prefect of Police the next day for a permit. Other members of the court gave General Tom Thumb presents, and after a visit of two hours the entertainers left. The Queen had asked Tom Thumb how he spent his spare time. He answered, “I frequently draw and do it pretty well,” meaning that he drew audiences to his exhibition halls, but Her Majesty was not accustomed to Yankee puns, and several days later a mahogany paint box with a silver plate on which were the General’s initials was sent to him with the compliments of the Queen.