Travels through the South of France and the Interior of Provinces of Provence and Languedoc in the Years 1807 and 1808Pinkney, lieutenant-colonel (Ninian)
History
Travels through the South of France and the Interior of Provinces of Provence and Languedoc in the Years 1807 and 1808
Pinkney, lieutenant-colonel (Ninian)
France -- Description and travel
From the National Library we drove to the Athenee, a library and lecture
institution, supported by voluntary subscription. It is much of the same
nature as an institution of a similar kind in London, termed the British
Institute; but the French Athenaeum has infinitely the advantage. The
subscription is cheaper, being about four Louis annually, and the
lectures are more elegant, if not more scientific. There are usually
three lectures daily; the first on sciences, and the other two on
belles lettres. The lecture on science is considered as very able, but
those on the belles lettres were merely suited, as I understood, to
French frivolity. The rooms were so full as to render our stay
unpleasant, and we thereby lost an anatomy lecture, which was about to
commence. I should not forget to mention, that all the Parisian journals
and magazines, and many of the German periodical works, were lying on
the tables, and the library seemed altogether as complete as it was
comfortable. The subscribers are numerous, and the institution itself in
fashion. How long it will so last, no one will venture to predict.
The library of the Pantheon and that of the Institute finished our
morning's occupation. They are both on the same scale and nearly on the
same general plan as the National Library. The library of the Institute,
however, is only open to foreigners and the members of the Institute.
The Institute holds its sitting every month, and, according to all
report, is then frivolous enough. I had not an opportunity of being
present at one of these sittings, but from what I heard, I did not much
regret my disappointment.
We returned home to dress for dinner. Mr. Younge informed, me, that he
expected a very large party in the evening, chiefly French, and as his
lady herself was a French woman, and had arranged her domestic
establishment accordingly, I felt some curiosity.
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