The stranger in France : $b or, a tour from Devonshire to Paris illustrated by engravings in aqua tint of sketches taken on the spot.Carr, John, Sir
History
The stranger in France : $b or, a tour from Devonshire to Paris illustrated by engravings in aqua tint of sketches taken on the spot.
Carr, John, Sir
France -- Description and travel; Paris (France) -- Description and travel
From this place we went to Frescati, which is the promenade of the first
beauty, and fashion of Paris, who generally assemble about half past ten
o'clock, after the opera is concluded. No admission money is required,
but singular as it may seem, no improper intruder has yet appeared, a
circumstance which may be accounted for by the awe which well bred
society ever maintains over vulgarity. Frescati is situated in the
Italian Boulevard; was formerly the residence of a nobleman of large
fortune, and has also undergone the usual transition of revolutionary
confiscation. The streets leading to it were filled with carriages.
After ascending a flight of steps, from a handsome court yard, we
entered a beautiful hall, which was lined with pier glasses, and
decorated with festoons of artificial flowers, at the end of it was a
fine statue of Venus de Medicis. On one side of this image was an arch,
which led into a suite of six magnificent apartments, which were
superbly gilt, painted, and also covered with pier glasses, and lustres
of fine diamond cut glass, which latter, looked like so many little
glittering cascades. Each room was in a blaze of light, and filled with
parties, who were taking ices, or drinking coffee. Each room
communicated with the others, by arches, or folding doors of mirrors.
The garden is small, but very tastefully disposed. It is composed of
three walks, which are lined with orange and acacia trees, and vases of
roses. At the end is a tower mounted on a rock, temples, and rustic
bridges; and on each side of the walks, are little labyrinth bowers. On
the side next to the Boulevard, is a terrace which commands the whole
scene, is lined on each side with beautiful vases of flowers, and is
terminated at each end by alcoves, which are lined with mirrors. Here in
the course of an hour, the astonished, and admiring stranger may see
near three thousand females of the first beauty and distinction in
Paris, whose cheeks are no longer disfigured by the corrosion of rouge,
and who, by their symmetry and grace, would induce him to believe, that
the loveliest figures of Greece, in her proudest era, were revived, and
moving before him.
CHAPTER XIV.
_Convent of blue Nuns.--Duchesse de Biron.--The bloody Key.--Courts
of Justice.--Public Library.--Gobelines.--Miss Linwood.--Garden of
Plants.--French Accommodation.--Boot Cleaners.--Cat and Dog
Shearers.--Monsieur S---- and Family._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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