LETTER XXVI. Dinner at General _A----y's_--Difference in the duration of such a repast now and before the revolution--The General's ancestor, _François A----y_, planned and completed the famous canal of Languedoc--_Dépôt de la guerre_--Such an establishment much wanted in England--Its acknowledged utility has induced Austria, Spain, and Portugal, to form others of a similar nature--Geographical and topographical riches of this _dépôt_. LETTER XXVII. _Boulevards_--Their extent--Amusements they present--_Porte St. Denis_--Anecdote of Charles VI--_Porte St. Martin_--_La Magdeleine_ --Ambulating conjurers--Means they employ to captivate curiosity. LETTER XXVIII. French funds and national debt--Supposed liquidation of an annuity held by a foreigner before the war, and yet unliquidated--Value of a franc. LETTER XXIX. Grand monthly parade--Etiquette observed on this occasion, in the apartments of the palace of the _Tuileries_--_Bonaparte_--His person --His public character in Paris--Obstruction which the First Consul met with in returning from the parade--_Champs Elysées_--Sports and diversions there practised--Horses, brought from Marly to this spot, the master-pieces of the two celebrated sculptors, _Costou_ --Comparison they afford to politicians. LETTER XXX. _Madonna de Foligno_--Description of the method employed by the French artists to transfer from pannel to canvass this celebrated master-piece of _Raphael_. LETTER XXXI. _Pont Neuf_--Henry IV--His popularity--Historical fact concerning the cause of his assassination brought to light--The Seine swollen by the rains--It presents a dull scene in comparison to the Thames--Great number of washerwomen--_La Samaritaine_--Shoe-blacks on the _Pont Neuf_--Their trade decreased--Recruiting Officers--The allurements they formerly employed are now become unnecessary in consequence of the conscription--Anecdote of a British officer on whom a French recruiter had cast his eye--Disappointment that ensued. LETTER XXXII. Balls now very numerous every evening in Paris--_Bal du Salon des Étrangers_--Description of the women--Comparison between the French and English ladies--Character of Madame _Tallien_--Generosity, fortitude, and greatness of soul displayed by women during the most calamitous periods of the revolution--Anecdote of a young Frenchman smitten by a widow--An attachment, founded on somewhat similar circumstances, recorded by historians of Henry III of France --Sympathy, and its effects.