This is exquisite! Each mute is allowed the sum of £436 sterling per annum, with permission to talk during eight months of the year. Such is the best account I can give of this marvellous assembly. It is called a Legislative Council, but this designation is an improper one. In the French, as well as the English language, the word _council_, derived from the Latin _concilium_, signifies a body of men met together for the purpose of consultation. Now, except in “Dean Swift’s Voyage to Laputa,” I have never heard or read of a number of men assembled together only to _think_, not even at a Quaker meeting. The hall where these thoughtful meetings take place was constructed during the Directorate; it is now pompously called “The Palace of the Legislative Bodies,” and it merits the name of palace, for it is one of the most elegant and beautiful rooms in Europe. It is semicircular, with benches rising one upon the other, for the convenience of members. Above the uppermost bench, and extending along the semicircle, are a number of arcades of fine marble, the capitals composed of bronze. Within these persons who have obtained cards of admission are stationed, and considerably above them, nearly at the top of the ceiling is a gallery, for spectators. Opposite to the benches of the members, and in the middle of its diameter, is the chair of the President, a little below him the place of the secretaries and the tribune from which the orators of the Government, viz., the Council of State and those of the Tribunate harangue the assembly. These are all made of solid mahogany, inlaid with gold, and the pedestal of the tribune has a beautiful relief in marble, filched from Italy. On the right of the President there are three niches, within which are the statues of Lycurgus, Demosthenes and Solon, on the left three others, in which Brutus, Cato, and Cicero are fixed. The floor, which forms the area between the tribune and the benches of the members, is of marble. We were never present at the opening of the _séance_, so I cannot say whether the drums beat as at the Tribunate, but I think it likely this assembly has also a guard of honour. There is a semicircular bench on the floor opposite to the President appropriated for those tribunes and orators of the Government who are detached for the purpose of discussing the laws. They are preceded by huissiers at their entrance into the hall, and the doors are always opened as if by magic and with a crash. The mutes wear the same uniforms as the tribunes, except that their clothing is embroidered with gold; they are by no means so slovenly in their appearance as the gentlemen of the lower chamber. A great many general officers are among their number.