Star.
London, England, 1802-07-24 00:00:00

PRIVATE LETTER.-PARIS, JULY 19.

" Pleafure and amufement are the great obje&s
of purfitit hem, and their votaries are gratified by
every variety of enjoyment. Notwithltanding the
refloration of tch i.tn, Sunday continues to he the
day pectiliarty dedicated to fettivity, and a lb-an-
ger who was told that Sunday was the day appro-
priated to the lervice of the Deity mutt conclude
tl:at, if the Parilians are faithful to the obfcrvances
enjoined, they mull have the Bei hum9ured religion,
as Lend SHAFTSBVItY calls it, that could he de-
fired. Yeaerday afforded a treat to the people of
this city, which for many years they have nut en-
joyed. This was the fpeftacle of the water works
in the gardens of Verfailles, all in full play. No
Inch grand exhibition of there water works has
taken place (ince the revolution.
• Verfailles has ftiffeied by the revolution as
much as any other place in Fiance. The over-
throw of the Court, of which it was the iefidence,
has converted it almoa into a &fart. The arects
and houfes bear evident marks of decay and deco-
ration. number of inhabitants, it is laid, is
not a firth of what it was. The lupe' b palace has
Coffered little in its appearance beyond what ne-
gUt may n 'totally have produced. The heavy
hand of the revolution is to be fern, not to much
in its immediate violence, as in its effeds. The
principal fuite (drowns in the centre of the palace
te int;t rk:.€lmt• o Illevy aanraari.i•rti for ;

of painting and cculpture, not to mention the paint-
ings on the cieling, ice- which remain entire. In
there which are well known. Lotus XIV. is exhi
bited in a great variety of fititations, and in all tile
vanity of this tyrant is gratified by the molt ful.
fume flatteries which the protlitutcd pencil could
devife. _ _

" The rooms of the palace, among which will
be dillinguifhed the bed chamber of the OLIITEN,
where the Royal Family were finally arrefled pre-
vious to their being fent to the Temple and to the
fcaffold, have foffered no material injury. The
gilding and decorations, indeed, are fomewhat
tided. Wherever the Crown appeared it has been
effaced. The Theatre is Bill entire, and is occu-
pied by detachments of the company of the Thea-
tre Francais. The fuper% ball of the Opera, which
muff have prefented fo magnificent a fpeaaclewhen
brilliantly lighted up and adorned by the fplendour
of the Court, is juft in the nate in which it was left.
" In a private room, to which the public are
not indifcriminately admitted, are feveral family
piaur:s of the Honk of Bourbon. Those that now
attract moil notice are Louis XVI. and his unfor-
tunate QyEEN. The sFEN hasher three children
betide her. There arelikewife piaures of Louis
XV. his Outsa, &c. Thefe pidures are eagerly
vifited, and exhibited by Health.
There is in the apartments of the palace a
Mufeum of Natural Hillory, open to thole who
are fond of this branch of feience.

" The gardens arc in much better prefervation
than I expeded. The walks, fhrubberies, &c.
are in pretty good order. The grand objeCt of
attraCtion yellerday, however, was the difplay of
water works. Several of the jet: d'eaa in the dif-
ferent hafins played all the morning, and had a
very agreeable efFeCt. The balms have been neg.
leeted, and fermi of them are covered with
grafs. About fix o'clock the grand exhibition be-
gan. Catarads,jetr d'eau, &c. in the various rural
amphitheatres, which the luxury of the Court
had created, were put in motion. The infinite
number of people affembled went round the diffe-
rent scenes, and the works played in fucceffion,
upon a fignal given. The water was thrown to
an immenfe height, and appeared in the (lupe of
various columns, pyramids, &c. Tice Sun (billing
on them produced refleetions of light, the died
of which was very pleating. The whole termi-
nated with a grand concert, if I may fo call it, of
an infinite number of inftruments at once, in the
great bafin co the right of the palace on the fide
of the gardens. Columns of living water fur=
rounded the lake. Neptune and his Tritons, and
the whole holt of Water Deities, poured forth the
&cam in infinite variety of ()tapes. The number'
of fpeelators in the Amphitheatre around, could
not, according to every ehimate, be lets than
00,000 pet fons. This was one of the molt agree-
able fhows I had ever Peen, as it was quite new.—
Indeed the company in general were no lets enter-
tained than myfelf. Jult as one of the jets began
to play, the water, before it acquired its full force,
fometimes foie, fometimes feebly declined. A
well dreffed Frenchman near me Paid to his com-
panion, Ii s'eleve et it t'nkre, et air le ',sonde. To
thofe who hail been contemplating the ruins of
Verfailles, and moralifing on the viciffitudes of
human affairs, the trite refleetion appeared to
be fingularly pat. What ups and downs has
this country exhibited for the laft twelve years,
and who is to be up and who down in the twelve
years to come, I Ihall not at prefent attempt to
prediet ! _ _ _

" The populace fecm to be proud of the right
to parade at will over the fuperb palace and plea-
lure grounds of their ancient Kings. What
would- Louis the Fourteenth have laid had he
known that his drawing-rooms, his gardens, his
grottos, his walks, fhould he laid open to the pro.
lane rabble, and that the rude hind fhould
" tread on them daily with his clouted fhoon."—
It muff be confeffed, however, that the admillion
of all claffes indifcriminately is attended with no
injury to the objthc expofed. Throughout the
gardens boards are put up with a notice, " Reftett
aux protrides nalionakt," and i do not think that the
injimetion is difobeyed.
" The number of carriages at Verfailles was im-
menfe. The file really reached to Paris. This
day, certainly much more than the 14th, deferved
the nanie of a fete.

" BONAPARTE, upon the Parade on the ,4'h
July, was drelled in a plain blue coat, with two
gold epaulets, but as form as be returned to the
Palace, he drelfed himfelf in one of the molt rich-
ly embroidered filk coats imaginable, of a kind of
marone colour, white lilk waificoat and breeches,
and to add to his magnificence, be wore a fword
ornamented with the indlimable diamond, known
by the name of the Regent's Diamond.
.‘ My Lord HOLLAND and fluke arrived at
Pails on the evening of the 13th, and his Lord-
in) was at the Parade in the bottle of Citizen
MAR LT, the Secretary, but he was not preknted
at Inc Levee.

4‘ Lord EGREMONT, Lord STAWELL,Mr. Cocx•
ENELL, Mr. Ktmst.E, and a great number of
Englifh Gentlemen, have lately arrived at Paris.
The Marquis dc LIMA, and the Count STAHREM•
SkRG, are difiinguilhed amongß the Foreigners
who have lately appeared in the polite circles. •
" The 13th Thermidor, or 3d Augull, is fixed
upon for the FIRST Coasves removing to St.
Cloud, which has been repaired and fitted up in a
Rile fplendour and magnificence fcarcely to be
imagined ; the Theatte has been pulled down,
and a new one erected, according to the mite of
FONTAINF, the Architat, who has placed it at
the end of the•Orangtrie, fo that RoNAPARTE may
go to it front his apartments without being Peen.
No Palace in Europe can vie with St. Cloud, in
elegance or richnels of decoration ; Igo men are
(Lilly employed in -gilding the Canons, &c. and the
Mufetim of Piaures at Vertlilles is to be (tripped
!Or the purpofe of ornamenting this feat of luxury
and refinem;:nt ; the estimate of expences for re-
paiting and beautifying it, amounts to the enor-
mous lam of 3,g00,000 hvres, ,and when the fur-
niture is included, the valuation will exceed lix
r•••••Ce•i Lqe nreig•rol irWI.CICICI livres