"And yet, M. de ----, since we are conversing frankly, listen to what I witnessed, but the other day, in France. You know the situation of things at St. Ouen, and the rumours that are so rife. We had the _Fete Dieu_, during my residence there. You, who are a Catholic, need not be told that your sect believe in the doctrine of the 'real presence.' There was a _reposoir_ erected in the garden of the chateau, and God, in person, was carried, with religious pomp, to rest in the bowers of the ex-favourite. It is true, the husband was not present: he was only in the provinces!" "The influence of a throne makes sad parasites and hypocrites," said M. de ----, shrugging his shoulders. "And the influence of the people, too, though in a different way. A courtier is merely a well-dressed demagogue." "It follows, then, that man is just a poor devil." But I am gossiping away with you, when my Asmodean career is ended, and it is time I went to bed. Good night! LETTER XIX. Garden of the Tuileries.--The French Parliament.--Parliamentary Speakers.--The Tribune.--Royal Initiative.--The Charter.--Mongrel Government.--Ministerial Responsibility.--Elections in France.--Doctrinaires.--Differences of Opinion.--Controversy. TO JACOB SUTHERLAND, ESQ. NEW YORK. The Chambers have been opened with the customary ceremonies and parade. It is usual for the king, attended by a brilliant _cortege_, to go, on these occasions, from the Tuileries to the Palais Bourbon, through lines of troops, under a salute of guns. The French love _spectacles_, and their monarch, if he would be popular, is compelled to make himself one, at every plausible opportunity.