Though Paris possesses better points of view from its immediate vicinity than most capitals, it is little seen from any of its ordinary approaches until fairly entered. We descended to the river by a gentle declivity. The chateau and grounds of Neuilly, a private possession of the Duke of Orleans, lay on our left; the Bois de Boulogne, the carriage promenade of the capital, on our right. We passed one of those abortions, a _magnificent_ village, (Neuilly,) and ascended gently towards the unfinished Arch of the Star. Bending around this imposing memorial of--Heaven knows what! for it has had as many destinations as France has had governors--we entered the iron gate of the barrier, and found ourselves within the walls of Paris. We were in the Avenue de Neuilly. The Champs Elysees, without verdure, a grove divided by the broad approach, and moderately peopled by a well-dressed crowd, lay on each side. In front, at the distance of a mile, was a mass of foliage that looked more like a rich copse in park than an embellishment of a town garden; and above this, again, peered the pointed roofs of two or three large and high members of some vast structure, sombre in colour and quaint in form. They were the pavilions of the Tuileries.[4] A line of hotels became visible through trees and shrubbery on the left, and on the right we soon got evidence that we were again near the river. We had just left it behind us, and after a _detour_ of several leagues, here it was again flowing in our front, cutting in twain the capital. [Footnote 4: Tuileries is derived from _Tuile_, or tile; the site of the present gardens having been a tile-yard.] Objects now grew confused, for they came fast. We entered and crossed a paved area, that lay between the Seine, the Champs Elysees, the garden of the Tuileries, and two little palaces of extraordinary beauty of architecture. This was the place where Louis XVI. and his unfortunate wife were beheaded. Passing between the two edifices last named, we came upon the Boulevards, and plunged at once into the street-gaiety and movement of this remarkable town. LETTER V. Paris in August 1826.--Montmartre.--The Octroi.--View of Paris. --Montmorency.--Royal Residences.--Duke of Bordeaux.--Horse-racing. --The Dauphine.--Popular feeling in Paris.--Royal Equipage.--Gardes du Corps.--Policy of Napoleon.--Centralization. To R COOPER, ESQ., COOPERSTOWN. We were not a fortnight in Paris before we were quietly established, _en bourgeois_, in the Faubourg St. Germain. Then followed the long and wearying toil of sight-seeing. Happily, our time was not limited, and we took months for that which is usually performed in a few days. This labour is connected with objects that description has already rendered familiar, and I shall say nothing of them, except as they may incidentally belong to such parts of my subject as I believe worthy to be noticed.