THE TOURIST IN HISTORY
Mr. Thomas Bahington Macaulay visits Paris. (Iowan!, Paris, Feb. 2. 1839.)
resolved to go to Versailles. The palace is a huge heap of littleness. On the side towards Paris the contrast be- tween the patches of red brick in the old part and the attempt at classical magnificence in the later part is simply revolting. Enormous as is the size of the Place des Armes, it looks paltry beyond description. In the middle of the court is an equestrian statue of Louis XIV. He showed his sense, at least. Sin putting himself where he could not see his own architectural performances. I was glad to walk through the Orangerie. . . . The snow was several inches deep: but I saw enough to satisfy me that these famous grounds, in meanness and extravagance. sur- passed my expectations; and my expectations were not moderate.
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