Versailles is four leagues from Paris, and the road leading to it is perhaps the finest and most elegant in the world. I was prompted by curiosity to pass two or three days in a city formerly the seat of government and pleasure, and which now presents a striking contrast with its ancient splendour. When I last saw Versailles it was the pride and boast of the French nation. What a change does it now exhibit! how silent are those streets, formerly the scenes of gaiety, bustle and delight! In consequence of the events of the Revolution and the removal of the Court, its population is reduced from 80,000 to 18,000 souls. It is now, therefore, the cheapest town in France, and to those who are fond of sequestered walks and retired scenery offers a most enchanting residence. There are excellent libraries, quiet and good society, plenty of rational amusements, and the disgusting orgies of vice and sensuality so prevalent in the capital are here unknown. [Sidenote: EXCURSION TO VERSAILLES] The Palace is built on an elevated site, and is a gorgeous and massy pile. The following is the account given of its origin. Louis XIII. purchased the land of John de Soissy[1] in 1627, and erected upon it a hunting lodge. Louis XIV. was delighted with the site, and decided to erect a magnificent Palace upon this spot. He collected skilful architects and artists, converted the village into a city and the hunting lodge into the finest royal residence in the world. The work commenced in 1673, and was completed in 1680. The artists employed were Mansard[1] for the architecture, André le Nostre[1] for the arrangement of the gardens, and Charles le Brun[1] for the department of painting, sculpture and design. The stables were planned by Mansard, commenced in 1679 and completed in 1685, they are remarkable for the regularity of their structure, and relieved by some good pieces of sculpture. The entrance to the interior of the Palace by the grand marble staircase is closed. It was the original design of the Government to have converted this Palace into a museum of the French School, by retaining the paintings and ornaments it contained. But since the whole of the Republic is now squeezed to furnish wealth and splendour to the Metropolis, the greater part of those paintings have been removed to Paris. The Cabinet of Natural History has also been stripped of all its beauties for the benefit of the Parisians. We entered by the last staircase on the North Terrace, into the Saloon of Hercules, sixty-four feet long by fifty-four feet broad, superbly decorated. The ceiling is painted with a representation of Olympus and the apotheosis of Hercules. In the middle of this saloon is the marble Cupid formerly in the Temple of Love at Trianon.