According to my view of the matter, the Cashmere shawls, marked at 1500 francs each, were very dear, and I saw nothing in the room which is not publicly exposed in the shops in Cheapside and Oxford-street. With respect to the shawls, however, if I am to pronounce an opinion from mere complaisance and politeness towards others, with a deference at the same time towards public opinion, which I have never been remarkable for paying when in opposition to the evidence of my senses, but which, nevertheless, it is proper I am told that I should begin to shew, even though I may not feel it, I must confess that they are probably very beautiful and very excellent, since a great number of very well dressed persons, and who were of course judges of the matter, since they hesitated not to express themselves very decidedly and loudly pronounced them to be magnificent and incomparable; one of them adding, with much emphasis, voyez si l'angleterre peut produire des pareils. Of the woollen cloths, I must say, that many of them are very beautiful, and, considering the fineness of the quality, cheap. There are black cloths of superior texture and rich colour at fifty to sixty francs per yard, similar to which is not to be obtained in England at less than five pounds per yard; but, on the other hand, I consider that our black cloths at twenty-eight, or twenty-nine shillings per yard, are very superior to the French cloths of the same quality at forty francs. It is to be remembered, however, that the French yard is longer than ours, which brings things nearly equal. Perhaps if the use of very fine black cloth were to be general in England, it would be manufactured at as cheap or even at a cheaper rate than the French, since we have so many advantages of machinery; the only thing in favour of France is the lowness of wages,

but this is much more than counterbalanced by the superiority which we derive from our engines; and it is a well-known fact, that for so much of the wool that enters into the manufactory of cloth as is native product, the English have a superiority, which may be estimated at the very lowest at twenty per cent. Eur. Mag. Sept. 1823.

Agriculture has been too much depressed, and there is too little spirit in France, speaking in a general sense, to give any reasonable prospect of seeing such a cultivation of the growth of wool from crossing the breeds, &c. as would place France, for at least fifty years to come, upon a footing with Great Britain. In articles manufactured from fine Merino wool the French are evidently our superiors, but they are much dearer than similar articles would be in England if they were there general. There are many specimens in the Louvre for ladies' dresses, which are really beautiful, but the prices are from forty to fifty francs per yard, making a dress amount to more than five pounds sterling. It is a difficult thing to make comparisons between two countries in articles for which each is so exclusively famous. Take, for instance, our poplins; a poplin at ten shillings per yard, which is of course of very fine quality, is superior to the best that they have here at eighteen or twenty francs per yard. It is the same with our muslins, and with many other of our fine articles; but the difference is still more perceptible when we descend to articles of ordinary use, either in linen or cotton. Calicoes, for instance, which in London may be purchased at eightpence per yard, would here cost twenty-six sous, although at this moment they are nearly forty per cent. lower than they were a few years ago, in consequence of the great depression of manufactured property. In cotton handkerchiefs we get an article very good and pretty at about one shif fing and sixpence to one shilling and ninepence; here cotton handkerchiefs, which are sold as low as three francs, are very common.Even in silks I do not hesitate to assert, that the French are very little, if at all superior to the English; no good silk can be purchased here at less than seven or eight francs per yard; and after allowing the difference of measure it will be no falsehood to say, that this is not ten per cent. under the London price. Then, if we come to articles of mixed manufacture, the beautiful shawls, which are manufactured in England, from silk and cotton or

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worsted, or other materials, are much cheaper than similar produc tions in Paris; the advantage in favour of England may be stated at thirty per cent. without at all offending against truth. In dimities there is nothing at the Exhibition which can be at all compared with those of England, either for price or for quality; and in cotton stockings at least twenty per cent. difference may be set down in favour of our own country. It is not to be denied, however, that some of the fine linen in France is very good, and perhaps a little cheaper than with us; but, on the other hand, they have nothing for general wear so cheap or so good as the English. It would be very curious, and, indeed, I think useful, if some person, partially acquainted with these things, were to devote a few days to an examination of the articles manufactured from wool, cotton, and linen, and furnish the public with a faithful estimate of the comparative improvement of the two countries. Such a proceeding might be attended with advantage to the government and to the manufacturers.

In the saloon where the articles above alluded to are exposed there are two or three exhibitions of hats, but nothing amongst them denotes much improvement in the manufacture of those articles. Generally speaking, the French are just where they were fifty years ago as to hats; and perhaps there is no nation on the Continent where they are so badly made. In the whole of Paris there are only two hatters who make decent hats, which are sold at twenty-nine and thirty francs each. These men, however, are far from rich, for hat improvement is not encouraged here as in England.

Passing from the woollen drapery and hats, we proceed to a saloon devoted to luxury and taste. On every side, and at every turning, splendid candalabras, services of porcelain and crystal, jewellery, and plated articles meet the sight. I should not be credited if I were to say that the porcelain and crystal are other than beautiful. France has been too long celebrated for these objects, which are among the few in which they carry on a trade with other countries profitably to

themselves, to dread a successful rivalry; but it is worthy of remark, that there is little of improvement in the patterns or execution. It has long been matter of surprise that the French porcelain should continue to be so superior to the English, particularly as England is said to contain the primary substance necessary for the manufacture, and French artists are to be had at a very low rate for the decorative part of the preparation, which is so much admired. Persons who understand more of the subject than I do may probably afford you some information, but it may be as well to caution the public against the old answer, "There is quite as good in this country." It is this spirit of prejudice and foolish pride which has kept France so long in the back ground as to some manufactures, which they might with care have imitated from the English; and, although not to the same extent, the feeling exists frequently amongst many of my own countrymen, whose education and habits ought to have protected them from a prejudice which is destructive to the interests of a commercial country. Wedgewood has probably come nearer to the French porcelain than any English manufacturer; but there is still a vast difference between that which

he produces and the French. The white Wedgewood ware, in imitation of French white porcelain, has not the chaste transparency and delicate whiteness of the latter, and it is, besides, less useful under the hands of an artist, as he can never rely with certainty upon the action of the colours during the process of baking. Whilst England continues superior to France in all the essential manufactures, few men will, perhaps, be found to insist with much fervor upon the necessity of her being also superior in the ornaments and luxuries of mankind; but it should be remembered, that a commercial country can never be too superior to her neighbours in any of the articles, which bring trade and reputation to the national character.

The most beautiful articles in the Exhibition are several specimens of mahogany and other furniture. Oakley, and the most celebrated upholsterers and cabinet-makers,

excellent as the articles which they manufacture may be, are completely eclipsed by some of the Parisians. Angry at the success with which the English have imitated the French polish for mahogany furniture, so long a valuable secret in France, the Parisians have now introduced an entire new mode of polishing, which is called plaque, and is to wood precisely what plating is to metal. The wood, by some process of which I am ignorant, is made to resemble marble, and has all the beauty of that article with much of its solidity. I am even assured by persons who have made trial of the new mode that, with the exception of the actual strength of marble, it has no qualities superior to the imitation, upon which water may be spilled without staining, and the same attempts made to scratch it without success, as would be resisted by marble. But it is not only in the polish that French furniture is improved; its appearance is considerably altered for the better; the form in which they make their articles being a happy medium between the French and English style. Amongst the articles exhibited at the Louvre are two arm-chairs, one of which is of mahogany, inlaid with pearl. I shall not attempt a description of this splendid ornament, because justice cannot be done to the manufacturer without personal inspection. It has all the elegance and grandeur of a throne, with the lightness and neatness of a common drawing-room chair. The cost, however, from the nicety of execution rather than the expensive nature of the materials, must have been considerable.

The articles of jewellery are not very numerous, and upon the whole they are infinitely inferior to some of English manufacture. The French jewellers, for many years, enjoyed an exclusive reputation for their jewellery, whilst the English could boast of nothing but strength in their manufactures. Things are now quite different. There are hun. dreds of English jewellers who work as neatly, and with more solidity than the French; and the complaints at one time so general of bad gold can now only be directed against manufacturers who have no

reputation to lose, and who are comparatively few in number. I still, however, consider that the French law, prohibiting the manufacture of gold articles under à certain standard, is very excellent. Here we purchase with safety; in England only upon the reputation and assurance of the jeweller. If I purchase a gold chain in Paris, I inquire the price of the gold apart from the manufacture, and the vender is bound to give me a true answer. Thus I know what I am paying for the intrinsic material, and its preparation; and at any time the old gold will, according to the standard stated, call for its market value. Foreign governments are much more rigid in this respect than the English; but no where is it carried to a greater extent than in Holland. There, in order to discourage as much as possible (with out an absolute decree of prohibition, which would be disgraceful) the importation of articles manufactured from inferior gold, a duty is levied, which is higher or lower according the quantity of alloy in the article. An Englishman, a few months ago, made a purchase of gold watches in Paris, which he took to Amsterdam on speculation. On arriving there his property was taken to the Assay-office, where it was subjected to the usual trial, and found to be manufactured from gold at the Swiss standard, which had been smuggled into Paris. In consequence of this circumstance, of which the Englishman was ignorant, he having purchased the watches at the Paris price, he had duties to pay of such an enormous amount, that, after getting rid of his goods at the best market in Amsterdam, he was a loser of more than thirty per cent., besides the expenses of his journey. The French government, aware of the extent to which the contraband trade in watches, between Paris and Geneva, has been carried, have very wisely adopted precautions which render the commerce more difficult, and, therefore, protect the public.

Amongst the jewellery articles in the Louvre there a few imitations of precious stones of recent invention, but they are inferior to articles of the same kind in England. A

few years ago a jeweller in the Palais Royal had, however, succeeded so far in imitating the diamond as to venture the sale of his false stones in the wholesale market amongst regular dealers in diamonds. As he acted with prudence, and took care to offer his articles only so far under price as would induce a purchaser to speculate upon the implied want of cash of the vender, he had carried on trade to an extraordinary amount; no less, it is said, than two millions of francs before the fraud was discovered. When the cheat was exposed he had still the presumption to insist upon these stones being real, and defended an action for the recovery of the money paid by a merchant for a tiara of these pretended diamonds On the trial more than twenty dealers in the article were called, who gave different opinions, so admirably had the inventor succeeded in his imitation. By order of the judge, one of the false diamonds was ordered to be broken, and then only was the real state of the case clear enough for a decision, which was of course against the vender. From that period imita tion stones made upon the same principle are only allowed to be sold, with a full explanation of their being unreal; but their resemblance to the real diamond has much damped the market.

Two of the most curious and beautiful articles in the Exhibition are a drawing-room, in spun glass, or what is here called fil de verre (glass thread) and the model of a three masted-ship in steel, gold, and sil

ver.

The first-mentioned article is of extraordinary manufacture. In size it is about two feet square. The interior of the drawing-room is all shewn; on a glass table in the centre is a vase filled with flowers; on the chimney-piece are a dial and a set of ornaments; twelve armchairs in glass stand round the room, and in one part is a fine portrait of the reigning Monarch. In this manufacture, I may say, that the French are unrivalled. It is only a pity that so much ingenuity and industry should be bestowed to so little purpose as it respects any use to which the article could be applied. The model of a ship is superb.

The hull is of gold, the cannons are of silver, and the deck of the highest polished steel. The masts and rigging are of gold and silver intermingled with pearls, for pullies and blocks; the sails are of silver, rendered beautifully transparent, and bent before the wind. The manu facture of this article must have taken at least six months, and the materials also are of no slight value.

On leaving the saloon in which these curiosities and elegancies are shewn, we enter the salon des mathematiques, which, to a contemplative mind, is of all the most worthy of attention; here are a great number of mathematical clocks, and some apparatus of a curious nature; but orreries and planetariums are the chief objects of attraction. In one part is a planetarium, which, when in action, would require a room for its exhibition of more than sixty feet square; and at another, one in a clock, beautifully made, which does not occupy the space of a common sized saucer. It is gratifying to see things of this nature so exhibited to the public, as the circumstance is calculated to instil a taste for the study of astronomy, which is very much wanted. In England, thanks to the spirit of the age, and the number of transparent orreries which have been shewn round the country, there are comparatively few persons ignorant of the first principles of this delightful and necessary science, but in France it is speaking more favourably of the intellectual endowments of the people than they merit to say, that one only in 20,000 knows any thing about astronomy. This is not to be wondered at when we consider that no attempt has been made by persons in power to inculcate this knowledge; on the contrary, indeed, the very essence of the government is opposed to its progress. Here every thing is in the hands of the priesthood, who sedulously contrive to monopolize all knowledge for themselves, and their fellow-labourers in the art of rendering the bulk of the people slaves in body and in intellect. A few good transparent orreries, like that which was exhibited at the English Opera House, in London, and a few lecturers, like Bartley, would do much to enlighten