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HON. S. G. GOODRICH.

done to talent, and genius, and high patriotic spirit. On his arrival in the French metropolis, Mr. Goodrich found his countrymen next door to being without any representation. Instead of shutting himself up, and keeping his fellow-citizens at an unapproachable distance, and aping an etiquette which a British plenipotentiary would hardly establish, he at once made his residence a pleasant resort for all his countrymen, and every Friday evening he had a soirée for his friends, where the New Englander, Pennsylvanian, South Carolinian or Louisianian, was sure to meet with a hearty welcome, and where, for the evening, an American felt sure that he had one representing his country in Paris to whom he could look with pride and pleasure, and on whom he could rely for advice and assistance in any emergency. There, too, American ladies, when in Paris, met with friendly and serviceable attentions from Mrs. Goodrich and her accomplished daughters. Americans abroad felt the importance of having such a man retained at this post. Numerous signatures were attached to a representation of the earnest desire of men of all parties that Mr. Goodrich might be retained. His services in having greatly extended the business of the office, and his merits, were urged upon the attention of the powers that be; but in vain. The operation of such a measure abroad is injurious. No other country displays such antics, and plays shuffle-board in this style. I have no doubt that Mr. Goodrich's successor is a most worthy man, and he will be a fortunate and enviable one if, at the termination of his consular life in Paris, he shall possess one-half the reputation which Mr. Goodrich has acquired with all who have witnessed his labors and the spirit in which they have been discharged.

At the time of our arrival in Paris there was a large delegation of American ladies and gentlemen in the very pleasant to meet some intimate friends. Crocker, of Providence; Lamson, of Dedham; Krebbs, of New

city, and it was The Rev. Drs.

REVIEW

REV. MR. LOVETT.

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York; Vinton, of Boston; Bishop McIlvaine, of Ohio, and Rev. Messrs. Kirk, Jameson, Cook and Bidwell, were all here.

A party was made up to visit Versailles, in the vicinity of which a great review was to take place. The excursion was exceedingly agreeable, and the pleasure of the day was enhanced by the company of my valued friend and former pupil, Robert Schell, Esq., his lady and her sister. The emperor was not present, as expected, but a large body of soldiers was under arms, and the Minister of War, with other generals, conducted the operations of the day. A sham fight followed. The ladies were very much interested in the various manoeuvres of the skirmishing parties. A very large company of spectators was on the ground. Departing from this gay and one-sided view of war, we betook ourselves to an excellent café, and enjoyed our dinner; after which, the party had a delightful stroll through the palace grounds and gardens, and then, resuming the carriages, returned to Paris, having passed an exceedingly pleasant day. amination of the palace was deferred for another day. with great pleasure that I met my friend, Mr. Henry T. Parker, of Boston, with whom I had been in Europe in 1851. A pleasant day spent with him in the Palais Royal, I shall not soon forget. On the Sabbath day I attended divine service at the Episcopal church, in the Marbœuf chapel, the minister of which is the Rev. Robert Lovett, chaplain to the Right Honorable the Earl of Rosse. This gentleman has occupied this important post about twenty-five years. The congregation was large and very respectable; every seat was occupied, and I think the audience was between five and six hundred. The service was read in a very

impressive manner. better read,

The ex

It was

ever heard it

I do not recollect that I the prayers were prayed, not said. The text was Psalm 93: 5, 66 - Thy testimonies are very sure; holiness becometh thy house, O Lord, forever." The sermon was delivered without notes, it was simple, earnest, evangelical, and adapted to usefulness. We were very much gratified, and, if we were to

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CONFERENCE OF AMERICANS

LOUVRE.

remain in Paris, I think I should seek no further for a Sabbath sitting. After service, I had a pleasant interview with Mr. Lovett in the vestry; he told me that on the last Lord's day "Bishop McIlvaine had preached a most excellent sermon in his pulpit. I would strongly recommend travellers, when in Paris, to attend the ministry of this "good minister of Jesus Christ." In the afternoon I met a number of American ministers and friends at the residence of Mrs. Deming, to consult upon the advisableness of the establishment of an American chapel in Paris. I have no doubt that this is a desirable measure; and, if a place of worship could be procured, and a suitable minister placed in it, I think the advantages which would result from the institution would be numerous and certain. A large number of young business men are always in Paris, and a minister, with a home, would be of incalculable service to the hundreds of Americans who sojourn in this great city. In the evening I officiated at the English Methodist chapel, in the Rue Royale, very near the Church of the Madeleine. The congregation was as large as the chapel would hold, but it is quite a small one.

We devoted a day to the Louvre, which is now in fine condition, having undergone entire reparation; the gildings are fresh, and the frescoed ceilings are looking as if they were just executed.

The great picture of Murillo's, which was purchased from Marshal Soult's estate, and cost more than one hundred and twenty thousand dollars, is now in this gallery; it is a wondrous production, and it is difficult to believe that it is not a new picture, the colors are so very brilliant. The subject is the Assumption of the Virgin. Here are some glorious pictures, but I miss many that charmed me long years ago. I am always pleased with the pictures of Philippe de Champaigne; his portraits have an individuality about them, and I feel that they must have been likenesses. Two of his portraits of old French royalty were once in New York, and I remember them offered somewhere

JARDIN DES PLANTES.

169

If I am

for sale, and wondered that they were not taken up. not mistaken, they were at the Clinton House when it was kept by its fine old host, Mr. Hodges. The chefs-d'œuvre of this great collection have been so often engraved, that the enumeration of the sources of pleasure connected with the originals seems unnecessary. The apartments devoted to sculpture are immense, and the arrangement was made chiefly by Denon. In them are about fifteen hundred statues, busts, bas-reliefs, altars, brackets, candelabras, sarcophagi, &c. I was pleased with some exquisite gates of steel, finely carved, belonging to the days of Henry II. In the Musée Grecque et Egyptien are vast treasures of mosaic, chalices, porcelain; and here, or in some other part of the building, I was charmed with a bas-relief, the production of Benvenuto Cellini, executed for Francis I. In this part of the Louvre are about thirty saloons, into many of which strangers rarely enter. Our friend Dr. Linsly was exceedingly laborious during our stay in Paris. Every morning he was up at five and off to the hospitals, where, through the courtesy of the professors and surgeons, he was taken through the daily walks, and had a fine opportunity to see the treatment of hundreds of patients by the renowned physicians and great surgeons of this celebrated medical school. We had a very delightful occasion on one day here, when Dr. Linsly and I had the pleasure to have Mr. Goodrich and his family as our guests, and we sat down quite a large party. Our visit to the Jardin des Plantes was on a fine day, and this noble institution appeared, I thought, more attractive than I had ever beheld it. We went to it by crossing the fine iron Bridge of Austerlitz, - it has five arches. The garden was established in 1635 by Louis XIII., and the talents of the greatest naturalists of Europe have been placed under contribution to make it what it is, the most famous garden on the continent. It has been the scene of labor for Herouard, De la Brosse, Tournefort, Vaillant, Jussieu and his son, Buffon, and more recently the illustrious Cuvier has devoted to it his great talents. When

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PALAIS DE JUSTICE.

revolutionary barbarism devastated the city, this spot fortunately escaped destruction, and Bonaparte took it into his special favor. The care of this garden and its valuable adjuncts is in the charge of the Minister of the Interior.

The Botanical Garden, its noble conservatories, museum of natural history, anatomical gallery, laboratories, lecture-rooms and menagerie of animals, birds, &c., constitute a combination of advantages for study that no other capital in the world presents to the enthusiast in natural science. The menagerie was brought here from Versailles, by Louis XVI. The palm-trees are in fine condition, and date back to the days of Louis XIV.; and the tropical plants are in conservatories, kept warm by steam-pipes. I was glad to see again the glorious cedar of Lebanon planted in 1734. One gallery, that of natural history, is more than four hundred feet long; and in the cabinet of comparative anatomy are more than fifteen thousand specimens, all arranged by Baron Cuvier. Haydon was quite right when he said that the Jardin des Plantes was 66 a place of Roman magnificence." On our return we saw the Halle aux Vins, or great wine-dépôt; here are about five hundred and fifty thousand casks of wine, and two thousand casks frequently come in during a single day. This is the custom-house for wine, and the excise duties on wine are here paid on the sale of the article.

Our visit to the Palais de Justice was very interesting. This building is as old as Notre Dame, and was formerly the royal residence; indeed, as late as the days of Francis I. The present front was built in 1760. Here is a vast gallery of more than two hundred feet by about eighty, in which the clients may perambulate whilst their cases are going on in court; and here is a monument to the courageous Malesherbes, the advocate of Louis XVI. The courts of law are venerable halls, but too small for the demands of the city. The Conciergerie was the prison used for state purposes when the Palais was a royal mansion. It was from this place that Lavalette escaped, aided by his heroic

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