as the prices diminish), and spouters of Racine, and Corneille, and Victor Hugo; scarcely a day clapses, says he, that they do not have Théramène's récit, Augustus's soliloquy, Athalie's dream, or the soliloquy of Charles V. Then the names of the dishes are, or rather were, before the coup d'état, very odd; there was soup à la Robespierre; beef à la Marat; mutton ragout la fraternité; chicken à la Republique, and heaven knows what other democratical names. You had but to ask one of the frequenters for his favorite dishes to divine his politics: tell me your dinner, I tell you who you are. You saw there, as you see at places like it in Paris, all the stone-masons and plasterers of the neighborhood; one would think their trades indurated their bellies as hard as their hands, for the 'serpent' says they partake freely of all the dishes of the place, without giving immediate symptoms of discomfort."

"The restaurant you and Louis dined at the other day," said Madame," was a very different sort of place from the gargotte of the Barrière de Mont Rouge, wasn't it?" "Yes, indeed! And you must some day dine at the Trois Frères with us. It is more than worth the vulgar money you pay for the dinner, large as is the amount of the bill. The Trois Frères is unquestionably the best eating-place in the world; it occupies the rank the Rocher de Cancale, Very's, and Véfour's held some twenty years ago. You remember the account Tom Moore gives of them in the book from which I read to you the other night-and De Balzac's description of the Rocher de Cancale, may be justly applied to a dinner party in the salon up stairs of the Trois Frères: at 'half-past seven, a magnificent service of plate, made expressly for the dinners, where vanity pays the bill with bank notes, shone upon the table of the handsomest salon of the establishment where all Europe has dined. Torrents of light made cascades on the edges of the carvings of the silver and the glass. Waiters-a stranger would have taken for diplomatists, but for their age-behaved themselves with all the seriousness of people who know themselves to be extra paid.' We will all dine there together New Year's Day. I will go there in the morning and order a soup parée du gibier (the only thing we need order beforehand), and retain one of those cosy little rooms on the entresol so well sofaed, and cushioned, and lighted, and at night I'll introduce you to all their delicate luxuries, from the soup to the grapes. without omitting a bechamel de

turbot, their famous fricandeau, their cocks' combs, their truffles, their wonderful salmis of game, and those thousand other made dishes the genius of Vatel and Careme have given to their successors. You may judge then for yourself of the splendor of the service, and the excellence of the viands, and the genius of the cooks, and the polished obsequiousness of the carefully dressed waiters. But-for the privacy of the cabinet de société has some drawbacks—you must consent to lose the splendor of the ground-floor room, and the bril liant company generally assembled there.""

"I will pay for the dinner on condition you tell me all the news about the fashions-I want to hear all the news, and I shall be exacting, for Louis has told me that you live with the best mantuamaker of Paris."

The return of

"Ah! most willingly. necklaces is spoken of as certain this winter in the fashionable circles, and hair ornaments are much sought after for necklaces, ear-rings and bracelets. The workmanship is beautiful, and the effect extremely good. Fichus, worn with redingotes, and high dresses, have almost invariably the cal mousquetaire trimmed with Mechlin or Valenciennes lace. Small tucks are much in favor for tulle or muslin chemisettes; but whilst there can be nothing prettier when new, they are generally spoilt in the washing; to obviate this, narrow flat braid is run into each tuck, which gives firmness, and keeps them in their straight lines. Lace berthes are much in favor; application, guipure, or Alençon, are most in demand, they are fastened with narrow ribbons or ends of lace, called bons hommes: the trimmings to the sleeves and flounces match the lace, of which the berthe is composed. Brooches are much worn, to fasten the berthe on the front of the body. Winter-pardessus are occupying the attention of our most skilful artists, but nothing very definite has been as yet decided on. It may, however, be mentioned, that velvet trimmed with deep lace will be worn for full dress, the pelisse for morning dress, the Talma cut on the bias, and the manteau Baridant, in cloth and trimined with velvet braids for promenades. The sorties de bal are very elegant; the most distinguées are made of white poult de soie, lined with pink or blue satin. A large hood lined with plush to match the satin, with a full bow and long ends, is indispensable, and Illyrian sleeves complete this useful and beautiful manteau. Taffetas glacés dresses, with three skirts

or three deep flounces, are much in favor. Bows of ribbon are placed upon the flounces. Small beautiful coins de feu of velvet and satin, with deep basques, and back like the paletot, richly embroidered with braid mixed with jet, are very popular. Feuille morte colors are the favorite shades for dresses. Bonnets for negligé or promenade, are composed of velvet. either green, violet, blue, or soft brown drab trimmed with black Venetian lace, mixed with flowers and foliage, or feathers the same color as the velvet. Visiting bonnets are the demi-capotes composed of bands of pink or blue terry velvet, separated by rows of white blonde frills. The trimmings of these capotes are often a single flower, the shade of the terry velvet with long foliage in blonde or crape; or small white feathers tipped with the color of the velvet. Have I earned my dinner at the Trois Frères? Tiens! it is twelve o'clock."

"Yes, indeed, you have! But staydon't go yet; the porter expects his fee, and as you have to pay him, you should get the worth of your money. Come, pour out some coffee; I want to read you the impressions Paris made upon an Arab of the Sahara. Don't you like to hear how they regard a civilization, which is so different to theirs? and to remark how singular many of our luxuries and customs appear, when seen by eyes whose observation has not been blunted by long and daily familiarity with them?

፡፡ You do not pray-you do not fastyou do not perform ablutions-you do not shave your heads-you are not circumcised-you do not bleed the animals which you eat-you eat hog's meat-you drink fermented liquors, which transform you to beasts-you are guilty of the infamy of wearing a hat different from that worn by Sidna-Aïssa (our Lord Jesus Christ); these are the vices for which you have to reproach yourselves. But then, you make excellent powder; your aman is sacred; you are guilty of no exactions; you are polite; you do not lie a great deal; you like cleanliness. If, with all that, you could once say with sincerity, "There is no other God but God, and our Lord, Mahomet, is God's angel (messenger)," none would enter Paradise sooner than you. What I especially admire in France, is that there is a severe government established. One may travel there by day and by night without fear. Your buildings are beautiful; your lighting is admirable; your carriages are comfortable; your smoking boats and your iron roads are unsurpassed by any

thing in the world. One finds there food and pleasures for all ages, and for every purse. You have an army organized like steps, this man above that. All of your cities have foot-soldiers: your foot-soldiers are the ramparts of your country. Your cavalry is badly mounted, but wonderfully armed and equipped. Your soldiers' iron shines like silver. You have water and bridges in abundance. You understand agriculture: you have crops for every season. The eye is as little fatigued looking at your vegetables and your fruits, as your soil is tired producing them. We have found, in your Garden of the Baylic (the Garden of Plants), animals, and plants, and trees, which even our old men have never heard of. You have enough to satisfy all the world in silks, in velvets, in precious stuffs, and in precious stones. And what the most astonishes us is the promptness with which you know what takes place in the most distant places.

"Mais there's one o'clock ! Good night! good night!"

After my lively guests had gone, I returned to a book which I have been reading, M. Roederer's Memoirs, and in the course of the evening I remarked several reports of his conversations with Napoleon, which appear so interesting to me that I will transcribe a passage or two. During the first days of Brumaire, and while the confidential circle were discussing with detail the Revolution which was to be made the Eighteenth, Bonaparte said to Roederer: "No man is more pusillanimous than I am when I am fraining a military plan: I exaggerate to myself all the dangers, and all the possible evils which may arise under the circumstances. I am in a painful agitation. This does not prevent my appearing serene before the persons around me. I am like a girl on the eve of child-birth. And when my resolution is taken, all is forgotten except that which can make it succeed." In 1804, on the eve of the establishment of the Empire, Bonaparte, talking with him in the Tuileries, thinking aloud, and expressing his impatience of the injustice of Parisian opinion at that moment, and his annoyance of the obstacles thrown in his way, even by some of his nearest relations, said: "Besides moi, I have no ambition (and then correcting himself)or, if I have some, it is so natural to me, it is so innate in me, it is so intimately attached to my existence, that it is like the very blood in my veins, like the air I breathe. It does not make me go more quickly or differently than the natural

springs in me. I have never had to combat, either for or against it; it does not go faster than I do; it only goes with the circumstances and the ensemble of my ideas." At another time, led to speak about war, of "that immense art which includes all the others," of the innumerable talents it requires, and which are very different from personal courage, and which cannot be given at will: Mili

taire, je le suis moi, I am a soldier," exclaimed Bonaparte, "because it is the particular gift I received at my birth; it is my existence it is my habitude. Wherever I have been, I have commanded; I commanded, when I was twentythree years old, the siege of Toulon-I commanded in Paris, in Vendémaire; I carried away the soldiers in Italy, as soon as I appeared to them. I was born for that. I always know how I stand. I have my accounts always present to my mind. I cannot get by heart a single Alexandrine line; but I never forget a syllable of the accounts of my situation. I like tragedies; but if every tragedy in the world were there, on one side, and the accounts of my situation on the other, I would not even glance at a single tragedy, and I would not omit a single line of the accounts of my situation, without having read it attentively. To-night, I shall find them in my chamber, and I shan't go to bed until I have read them. (It was then nearly midnight.) Perhaps it is a misfortune that I command in person; but it is my essence, my privilege. I have more mind... What do I care about talents! What I want is the ésprit of the thing. There is no fool who is not good for something-there is no mind which can do every thing. The love of kings is not a nurse's tenderness. They should make themselves feared and respected. The love of nations is only esteem. I love power, moi; but it is en artiste that I love it... I love it as a musician loves his violin, to draw from it sounds, accords, harmony. The military art is a freemasonry; there is among all of them a certain intelligence which enables them, without mistake, to recognize

each other, seek each other's company, and understand each other; and I am the grand-master of all their lodges. There is nothing about war that I cannot do myself. If there is nobody to make gunpowder, I know how to make it; if cannons are wanted, I know how to cast them; I can teach all the details of tactics, if there is nobody else to teach them. In administration, I alone arranged the finances, as you know... There are principles, rules which should be known. I work always; I meditate a great deal. If I appear always ready to guarantee every thing, to meet every thing, it is because, before undertaking any thing, I have long meditated, I have foreseen what might happen. It is not a genius which suddenly reveals me secretly what I have to say or to do in circumstances which, to others, are unexpected; it is my reflection, my meditation. Í am always working, at dinner, at the theatre; I get up during the night and work. Last night I got up at two o'clock. I sat in my long chair before the fire, to examine the accounts of the situation the Minister of War gave me last night. I found out and noted twenty faults, and I have sent my notes to the Minister, who is now busy in his office correcting them." I am persuaded you will read with interest Napoleon's opinion on the contested question of the unities. Benjamin Constant had just published his tragedy, Walstein. "Benjamin Constant has written a tragedy and some poetry. Those people try to write when they have not even made their first literary studies. Let him read Aristotle's Poetics. Tragedy does not limit the action to twentyfour hours arbitrarily; but it is because it takes the passions at their maximum, at their very highest degree of intensity, when they can neither bear any distraction, nor support a long time. He makes them eat during the action: cat, indeed! when the action commences, the actors should be agitated; at the third act, they should sweat; at the last, every body should be bathed in perspiration."

MY

Y first view of Hayti was from off the "Mole St. Nicholas," the northwest point of the island. We were perhaps twenty miles east of the point to be doubled in order to enter the bay of Port au Prince. A bold, mountainous shore presented itself as far as the eye could reach, and far in the interior we could see the cloud-capt summit of "Monte au Diable," towering more than five thousand feet above us. Being awakened suddenly from sound sleep it was as if the island had sprung in an instant, by magic, from the depths of the wide waste of waters by which we had been for many days surrounded.

The scenes of that early morning hour are engraved indelibly upon my memory, and are among the most pleasing reminis cences of my life. Daylight had but just dawned, and the bold shore towered before me draped in the gray morning mist, and covered with a wealth of verdure such as I had never seen before. There is a luxuriance, we can almost say a prodigality in the robes with which nature here decks herself, that amazes and bewilders one who, for the first time, opens his eyes upon a tropical scene. The air was more delightful than I had ever imagined that of the most genial climes to bc. I stood hatless, near the stern of the ship, gazing spellbound upon the scene before me; and as we were borne along by a gentle breeze, the mild soft winds played with my, as yet, uncombed locks, and fanned me with a gentle dalliance, even the memory of which is delicious.

Doubling the "Mole" we sailed in a southeasterly direction down the bay, about a hundred miles, to the city of Port au Prince. A range of bold highlands skirts the shore, now with bald and jagged summits, burning and glowing under a tropical sun, and now retreating farther into the interior, and covered with the most rank and luxuriant vegetation.

In going down the bay we pass a beautiful little island about twenty miles in length, called Gonare. Nature has lavished upon it her bounties with the same rich profusion that characterizes all her works here. Mahogany, logwood, tropical fruits, and other productions abound, and it seems a fit residence for fairies; yet no human being is allowed to dwell upon it. Passing this island we were in full view of both shores of the bay, which present the same magnificent appearance. Near the city of Port au Prince the bay

is dotted with several little islands, which, however, add more to its beauty as a scene for a painter, than to its convenience or safety for purposes of navigation. The mountain ranges terminate nearly with the bay, and a level country opens up beyond the city which lies at its head.

Thus much for Haitian scenery; now for an introduction to the people. As we near the city a boat approaches, rowed by two blacks, hatless and with a scanty allowance of clothing, bringing a more respectably attired personage not less black. It is the pilot. As soon as a pilot touches the deck of a vessel, he is in full command; the responsibility of the captain is at an end, and he is only as a passenger. It was very amusing to watch the queer and comical expressions upon the faces of our sailors when their new superior came on board, took his station, and gave his orders, "Port," "Steady,' "Starboard," &c. It was evidently not easy for them to yield him all the respect due to his station; but certain significant looks from the captain kept all in order, and we were taken safely to the harbor. Soon another boat came alongside, and we were boarded by three other officials. These were the captain of the port, rather a short stout man (a thorough black), in military dress, composed of a flat crescentshaped cap, epaulet, blue broadcloth coat with figured gilt buttons, &c. Next came the captain of the pilots, a tall well formed man, in official dress. He had spent some time in the United States and now acts as interpreter, the French being the language of the country. And last, the clerk of the port, a young man several shades lighter, in citizen's dress of the latest Parisian style. Broadway does not often furnish a more perfect "exquisite." These received the ship's papers, went through the forms of entry to the custom-house, and placed a black soldier on board as a guard against smuggling. The captain and myself (the only passenger) were then conducted ashore to "La Place," the office of the governor of the city, where after registering our names, and going through a brief form, we were dismissed and at liberty to go on shore when and where we pleased.

The first few hours spent upon any foreign shore will not easily be forgotten. When after an hour or two I was again on board of the vessel for the night, my mind seemed to have been moved and excited by more new and strange emotions,

than in whole years before. Every thing, animate and inanimate, was new and strange the people and their habits, the animals and their equipage, the style of the buildings, the trees, plants, vegetation, fruits, and various productions of the earth. All were new and consequently sources of mental excitement and pleasure. I had travelled many, many months and miles in our own southern climes, in the precarious search for health, until wearied with my wanderings by land, I had gone on board this vessel simply for the benefit of a voyage at sea; not knowing, or caring for what particular island or port we were bound. I was glad that night that the monotony of my life had thus been broken, and that I had fetched up just where I had; a place so rarely visited * by travellers, and affording, though so near home, so fresh a field for observation and study.

I have described our entrance to Port au Prince. This city contains from twenty to twenty-five thousand inhabitants. These, with the exception of a few foreigners, are natives of the island, and are always distinguished as blacks"-those of unmixed blood-and "colored"-those of every tinge from "snowy white to sooty." To one accustomed to the state of things in our own country, and especially to one who has spent a good deal of time in the southern States, it seemed singular, to say the least, to see only black senators, judges, generals, and all the various grades of civil and military officers, necessary to conduct the affairs of government, and these all presided over by a black emperor. This remarkable personage is the great object of curiosity, for which sailors, captains, and all others inquire, and however much there may be to interest the stranger passing before his eyes, all are on the qui vive until he is seen. I have gathered the following facts in regard to his previous history.

The present Emperor of Hayti, Faustin Soulouque, or as he is officially known, "His Majesty, Faustin the First," had, previously to his election as president, been unknown to fame save as a military chieftain. His first connection with the army was in the capacity of a servant to a distinguished general. He has ever been regarded by those who have known him as a man of moderate abilities and acquirements, but of undoubted bravery.

My first view of him was as he was riding through the city of Port au Prince,

as his custom is on every Sunday morning. His color is the dingiest coal black; he has not the thick lips and other characteristic features that usually accompany this color. He rode a fine gray horse imported from the United States, and was accompanied by a hundred or more of his lifeguards on horseback, preceded by cavalry music, and passed through the principal streets of the city, uncovering his head and dispensing his bows and his smiles to the crowds as he rode rapidly past them. He was dressed, as he has always been when I have seen him, far more richly than I have ever seen any of our military officers dressed. He wore the common crescentshaped military cap, with rich plumes and heavy golden trimmings. His coat was blue broadcloth with standing collar; and the entire front, the collar, the seams of the sleeves and the back, the edges of the skirts, &c., were overlaid with heavy golden trimmings. Besides this, various figures were wrought in gold upon the back and other parts of the coat, so that a large part of the cloth was covered. But a part of his vest could be seen, as his coat was buttoned with one button near his neck; but all that did appear showed nothing but gold. His trowsers were white, trimmed on each side of the seams with gold lace. He was not, however, in full dress, as he had on common boots, instead of a pair most richly trimmed with velvet and gold that he sometimes wears. His age is a little above fifty, his form erect, near six feet in height, and well proportioned. His horsemanship is of the most accomplished character. This attracts the attention of all foreigners, and their universal remark is that in this respect he is rarely equalled. He usually rides to the Bureau of the Port, the custom-house, and through several of the principal streets of the city, attended by a few of his guards, twice during the week. As I had seen him thus riding rapidly through the city, I was perplexed to reconcile his face, which seemed amiable and benignant, with what I knew of his character; but subsequently, as I stood near him, when he dismounted at church, and then sat within a few feet of him during a long service, I have been relieved of this difficulty, for I could see in his face when in repose an index of his stern and merciless heart. Those familiar with the circumstances of his election as president of the republic (the present Emperor of France, be it re