Phenix Gazette

Extract of a letter from an officer of the U. S. Ship Delaware.

PARIS, Sept 28, 1833.

I have a picture in my eye, dear D——, the image of which I should be happy to transmit to you by letter, were it in my power,—that of the family of the King of the French as seen at St. Cloud.

In the hasty scrawl of the 28th instant, I mentioned the cordial and flattering reception given to Captain Ballard and his officers by Louis Philippe Ist, on that day at the Tuilleries. It was not without good reason, that in reference both to ourselves and our country, we were delighted with it. The palace of the Tuilleries is, at present, entirely inaccessible to citizens or strangers from the improvements and repairs making previous to the return to it of the royal family for the winter. And aware that we could only have seen the rooms through which we made our way to the King, he, before leaving the throne room, directed Gen. Bernard and Count St. Maurice to exhibit the entire building in its principal parts to us.

I had no idea, till my visit to Paris, that a regal residence here could so far exceed all the magnificence and splendor of the palaces of England, as those of France do. In the whole display they fully meet the imagination of the luxury and gorgeousness of the highest "pride of life." The throne room, which we had approached from the grand stair case to the Pavillon de Flore through a guard room, the Gallery of Diana and an ante room, communicates on the north with the Hall of Peace, a long and splendid apartment in white and gold, having at one end the colossal figure, in silver, of Peace represented in a sitting attitude, holding a golden cornucopia in one hand, and an olive branch of the same material in the other. This magnificent and beautiful piece of art was presented by the City of Paris to Bonaparte after the splendid victories of his early career.

But I cannot now attempt a detail of any one of the rooms of the successive suites through which we passed—the saloon of Mars, the hall of the Marshals of France, the theatre and chapel, with their vestibules, &c. &c.

A suite on the garden front is interesting, as that is usually occupied as the family apartments. In it is the bed room of Bonaparte on taking possession of the palace—the same in which Louis the 18th died, and now elegantly fitted in blue and gold; that in which her present Majesty receives evening company on ordinary occasions during the winter. Adjoining it are a writing room, library, and the King's Council room communicating with the grand room through which we entered the Hall of Diana.

On returning to the room of the Aides de Camp we met General Rumigny, who is also an Aid of the King; and while waiting some half hour for arrangements in reference to keys, &c. for a further view of the pile in its connection with the Louvre, had much interesting conversation with him. He is one of the finest looking and handsomest men I have ever seen—speaks English fluently, and appears full of intelligence and character.

A description of the Gallery of the Louvre, which we entered from the palace under the guidance of Gen. Bernard, is not needed by you. We had spent a morning in viewing its treasures before; and we only walked through it to a set of apartments fitting up by the King beyond it;—but until passing through in this manner at a rapid step, with the eyes of hundreds of spectators fixed upon us in full dress, I had no conception of its immense length, or the sublimity of perspective it exhibits when looked upon without having the attention fixed on any one of its numberless paintings.

The apartments of the Louvre, which are being renovated, and filled with the treasures of the arts in Antique—the Egyptian Hall, the Grecian Hall, &c. &c. and the Naval Museum, when thrown open to the public, will add doubly to the interest and celebrity with which it is invested, and will constitute a monument of honor and lasting remembrance to Louis Philippe, at whose private expense they are being completed, which will be worthy the character which it is hoped will be traced for him in his history.

The view of them made a fatiguing morning to General Bernard, but one in which we were happy to see him take pleasure in shewing kindness to us; and it was near five o'clock when we again joined our carriages to complete the incidents of the morning by an interview with Marshal Soult, the Duke of Dalmatia, who as President of the Council is Prime Minister to the King; a call on the Duke de Broglie, Minister for Foreign Affairs, and our friend Mr. Livingston and the ladies of his family.

When I took my seat, I thought only of giving you some little account of our dinner at St. Cloud; and must now haste to it, or lose the opportunity of sending my letter by the present.

We had scarce reached our hotel on the day of our presentation, before the verbal invitation to dinner received from the King, was followed by official notes to each of our party from the Aid de Camp in waiting, according to the etiquette of the Court on such occasions, stating that he had the "honor to inform us that we were invited to dine at the palace of St. Cloud on the 27th inst. at 6 o'clock." A quarter to 6, therefore, last evening found us alighting at that favorite residence of the Monarchs of France, beautifully situated on the Seine some four or five miles west of Paris, beyond the woods of Boulogne. Mr. Harris was of the party, and led the way from Paris in his chariot with Captain Ballard.

There is nothing very imposing in the exterior of St. Cloud, and this is a favorite more from the beauty of its situation, its gardens, cascades and parks, and the convenience of its interior accommodations than its architectural splendor. The evening was damp and chilly too, and our carriages being closed, we had little opportunity in the approach of the night, to observe much that was around us till we drew up at the entrance.

This is a vestibule paved with marble and ornamented by a magnificent stair case to apartments on the second floor, with an exposure in the direction of Paris. Servants of the household in full livery were stationed in the vestibule, stair case, and landing above, the last of whom ushered us into an antiroom of great magnificence and beauty in the painting of its ceiling, the walls and furniture, at the farther door of which we were received by Generals Bernard and Rumigny, and by them led into the principal saloon or drawing room, in which we were not sorry to perceive a bright fire blazing; Admiral de Rigny, the Count St. Maurice, and three or four Aids of the Generals, were the only persons in the apartment. The central window commands an extensive and beautiful view, in the midst of which the domes and towers of the principal buildings of Paris are seen to fine effect, and while admiring it we were told that in the revolution of July 1830, Charles the Xth was amusing himself with cards on the spot in which we were standing during the hottest of the fight, little believing how soon he would be in flight from this place and his throne.

At the end of a few minutes, while clustered near one of the windows, footsteps were heard in the ante-room, and, "Le Roi—" to the King, in an under tone, was pronounced by the Aid of his Majesty and the Count St. Maurice, and in turning in the direction according to this intimation, we perceive him approaching, unattended, in the full dress of a Major General—scarlet pantaloons, and blue coat richly embroidered in gold, with the decorations of his rank—having his sister the Princess Adelaide upon his arm—

Our salutations were received by him with the simplicity of a private gentleman, and with all the affability, vivacity and kindness, which we had so much admired on the preceding day, and after presenting each to the Princess, who speaks English with equal fluency, entered indiscriminately into conversation with those who happened nearest to him.

In a few moments afterwards, the Queen entered from the same direction, accompanied by the Marchioness of Chanteret, the principal lady of the Court, followed at a short distance by the eldest daughter the Princess Mary and Madame Malet a maid of Honour—while the youngest daughter, the Princess Clementina, entered from the opposite door, attended by the lady of the household who is her governess and guardian, and followed by the third Son of the King, the Prince de Joinville a midshipman in the navy of sixteen or seventeen. Thus completing the party.

The dress of the ladies is always a point of some importance on such occasions, especially to those of your sex and age, dear D—— and I may as well make mention of that of the principal personages at this place as at any other. It did not differ from that of ladies of rank and wealth on any occasion of ceremony in private life. The Queen, Princess Adelaide, and Madame Malet, wore hats of white chip ornamented with plumes—those of her Majesty being pink, that of the Sister from a bird of Paradise, and those of the lady of honor white The queen was in a dress of straw colour, of light material, sprinkled with gold; the Princess Mary in a silk of a similar hue and a pelerine of black lace beneath epaulettes like her dress; and the princess Clementina in simple white muslin, with blue trimming, and scarf of gauze. The hair of both was arranged with great simplicity and neatness, and neither wore jewelry except a small chain of gold round the head of the elder, with a pearl drop pendant from an emerald attached to the centre of the forehead.

Is this being sufficiently particular to gratify your curiosity? It must at all events answer; for I was too much interested in the amiable and kind manners, intelligence and conversation of the whole household, and with the youthful beauty, loveliness and naivete of the daughters to make any note to my memory that will allow me to be more minute. The elevation of high rank and princely birth generally add fresh charms to every gift of nature, and throw an 'aerial perspective,' if I may be allowed the expression, around those possessing it, that tend greatly to an illusion of the imagination; but aside from this, I think the Princesses of the French Court would be conspicuous for beauty and loveliness in any station of life.

The benevolence and amiable affections of the Queen are well known, and she rendered herself to all our party quite as interesting as his Majesty. The princess Adelaide too is perfectly accessible, and contributed equally with others to make the entertainment one long to be remembered with pleasure.

All remained standing in a kind of circle around the most illustrious of the group, till the distant breathings of the sweetest music announced the dinner in readiness; and Capt. Ballard, conducted by the King to the Queen, led her Majesty through a Saloon furnished as a billiard room into the dinner hall—the King following with his eldest daughter, and Mr Harris leading the Princess Adelaide, succeeded by the Prince de Joinville and the Princess Clementina. Every thing was so admirably arranged, that not the slightest confusion or embarrassment in being seated occurred, and notwithstanding the number of officers in our party, each I believe received a chair according to his rank. The Queen occupied the centre of the table on one side, with Captain Ballard, the Princess Clementina and the Prince de Joinville, one of the Ladies of the Household and Lieut. Macomber of Marines, on the right; and Admiral de Rigny, the Marchioness Chanteret, and Lieutenants Seton and Lee on the left. The King sat immediately opposite with the Princess Mary, Lieut. Buchanan, Madame Malet, and myself, on the right; and the Princess Adelaide, Mr. Harris, one of the Maids of Honour, and Lieut. Magruder on the left, while General Rumigny and his Aid, and the Count St. Maurice, were at the head, and General Bernard and his suite at the foot—making about thirty plates.

The dining room is a magnificently painted and lofty hall, with an admirable representation of Bonaparte on horseback crossing the Alps as a chief ornament at one end, and the table in its plateaus of gold, its vases, various figures of the same material holding baskets and bouquets of flowers, its lofty candelabra and entire display, all that could be anticipated in the festal board of the Monarch of a nation yielding precedence to scarce any other in the world. There was a servant at each chair—one half in full livery of scarlet and lace: with powdered head, small clothes, stockings and shoes, and the other in plain dress, in the same style of plain black, each wearing white gloves and holding a napkin in his hand, and all uncommonly fine looking men.

I will mention one dish only of the hundred passed round during the two hours we were at the table—and that expressly ordered by the King, in compliment to his guests and in remembrance of fare which he had met with in our own country. It was a preparation of Indian meal, very excellent in its taste, but differing from any of which I had before partaken.

The music formed one of the most delightful parts of the entertainment. It was the most perfect performance of some of the finest compositions of Masters in the art, on a band stationed at the extreme end from the table of a magnificent gallery or ball room—adding to, rather than interfering with the pleasure of conversation.

Fortunately for our party, one only of whom speaks French, almost every one of the company spoke English: and I was fortunate in having a most intelligent and interesting companion at table, in Madame Malet, possessing this acquisition so difficult to a foreigner. In rising from the table, the King gave a complimentary toast, which I lost at the time, to Captain Ballard and our country, and each presenting an arm to the lady beside whom he had been seated, returned to the drawing room I supposed that we should at once take leave; but the most interesting and charming part of our visit was still in reserve.

Coffee was served, of which all partook standing. The Dukes of Orleans and Nemours, the eldest sons of the King, are at present in Belgium; but the two youngest Princes, the Dukes D'Aumale and Montpensier, eight or ten years of age, now entered, each running to the King, who was at the time conversing with me in the recess of a window, and kissing him, hastened with the same salutation to their mother.

This seemed a signal for the domestic amusements of the evening. The ladies became seated at a work table, and each, from the Queen to the youngest Princess, produced some fancy article, which she was completing for a fair, or something of the kind, for the benefit of a charity. The gentlemen became grouped around, conversing with the ladies whilst at work, or falling into clusters with each other; and in the perfect simplicity of every thing in view, we forgot almost that we were the guests of one of the most brilliant Courts of Europe and the world, and not in the midst of some long known and well beloved circle of elegance and refinement in private life.

No hauteur, no frivolity, no affectation of dignity; but the highest dignity itself, with sweetness, intelligence, amiability, kindness of heart, and every domestic virtue. The whole scene was a most charming and moral picture; and a proof that monarchs and their families may fully share all the choicest blessings of domestic and social life with those around them, without compromising their dignity or endangering their thrones.

It is but justice to ourselves to say, that all seemed gratified with the opportunity of shewing to us the attentions we received; and both the Queen and her daughters expressed equal regret with the King, that the Delaware had not arrived at Cherbourg while they were there.

It is customary, I believe, for the King to receive his Cabinet Ministers every evening after dinner, with such of their ladies as may have it in their power, or feel at liberty, to visit the Queen; and about half past nine the Duke and Duchess of Dalmatia, the Duke de Broglie, and others, came in. The interchange of salutations, as we followed Mr. Harris and Captain Ballard through the circle, from the Queen to the ladies of the Court, in taking leave, did not differ from those in private life—both their Majesties and the Princess Adelaide saying it would give them pleasure to see us on any future visit we might make to Paris.
In our columns to day will be found a very pleasing and interesting description of the handsome manner in which some of our countrymen, in France, have lately been treated by Louis Philippe, the King of that nation. It was communicated, by an officer onboard the Delaware, for the Journal of Commerce.