we were assailed by garçons de place, with cards in their hands, intreating us to put up at their respective hotels. We had somehow got a recommendation to the Hotel Royal in the Place Royale-and such a union of royal adjuncts was irresistible.-Accordingly, we resolved upon moving thither. In a trice our trunks were placed upon barrows; and we marched behind " in double quick time," in order to secure our property. The place appeared to improve as we made our different turnings, and gained upon our hotel, «Le voilà, Messieurs,"-exclaimed our guides and baggage conductors, as we got into a goodly square, and saw a fair and comely mansion in front. The rush of landlord, waiting maids, and garçons de place, encountered us as we entered. "Messieurs je vous salue"-said a huge, ungracious looking figure-which said figure was nothing less than the master of the hotel-ycleped Lagouelle. We were shown into a small room on the ground floor to the right-and ordered tea; but had scarcely begun to enjoy the crackling blaze of a plentiful wood-fire, when the said ungracious figure took his seat by the side of us..to tell us "all about THE DUEL.

He went through his narrative with a method, emphasis, and energy, rendered the more striking from the obesity of his figure and the vulgarity of his countenance. But he frankly allowed that "Monsieur l'Anglois se conduisoit bien."

*

About three weeks only before our arrival, a duel was fought between a young French law student and a young Englishman, the latter the son of a naval captain. I will mention no names; and so far not wound the feelings of the friends of the parties concerned. But this duel, my friend, has been "the duel of duels”. -on the score of desperation and of a fixed purpose to murder. It is literally without precedent, and I trust will never be considered as one. You must know then, that Caen, in spite of all the "bouleversemens” of the Revolution, has maintained its ancient reputation of possessing a very large seminary, or college for students at law. These students amount to nearly six hundred in number. Most young gentlemen under twenty years of age are at times riotous, or frolicsome, or foolish. Generally speaking, however, the students conduct themselves with propriety: but there had been a law-suit between a French and English suitor, and the Judge pronounced sentence in favour of our countryman. The hall was crowded with spectators, and among them was a plentiful number of law-students. As they were retiring,' one young Frenchman either made frightful faces, or contemptible (contemptuous ?) gestures, in a very fixed and insulting manner, at a young Englishman-the son of this naval captain. Our countryman had no means or power of noticing or resenting the insult, as the aggressor was surrounded by his companions. It so happened that it was fair-time at Caen; and in the evening of the same day, our countryman recognised, in the crowd at the fair, the physiognomy of the young man who had insulted him in the hall of justice. He approached him, and gave him to understand that his rude behaviour should be noticed at a proper time and in a proper place: whereupon

the Frenchiman came up to him, shook him violently by the arm, and told him to "fix his distance on the ensuing morning." Now the habit of duelling is very common among these law-students, but they measure twenty-five paces, fire, and of course..miss-and then fancy them. selves great heroes, and there is an end of the affair! Not so upon the present occasion. "Fifteen paces, if you please," said the student sarcastically, with a conviction of the backwardness of his opponent to meet him." FIVE rather"-exclaimed the provoked antagonist"I will fight you at FIVE paces:"-and it was agreed that they should so meet and fight on the morrow, at five paces only asunder. Each party was under twenty: but I believe the English youth had scarcely attained his nineteenth year. What I am about to relate will cause your flesh to creep. It was determined by the seconds, as one must necessarily fall, from firing at so short a distance, that only one pistol should be loaded with ball: the other having nothing but powder :and that, as the Frenchman had been challenged, he was to have the first choice of the pistols. They parted: the seconds prepared the pistols according to agreement-and the fatal morning came. The combatants appeared, without one jot of abatement of spirit or of cool courage. The pistols lay upon the grass before them; one loaded only with powder, and the other with powder and ball. The Frenchman advanced: took up a pistol, weighed and balanced it most carefully in his hand, and then laid it down. He seized the other pistol, and cocking it, fixed himself upon the spot from whence he was to fire. The English youth was necessarily compelled to take the abandoned pistol. Five paces were then measured..and on the signal being given, they both fired..and the Frenchman fell..DEAD UPON THE SPOT! He had, in fact, taken up and laid down the very pistol which was loaded with the fatal ball, on the supposition of its being of too light a weight; and even seemed to compliment himself upon his supposed sagacity upon the occasion. But to proceed. The ball went through his heart, as I understood. The second of the deceased, upon seeing his friend a reeking corpse at his feet, became mad and outrageous, and was for fighting the survivor immediately! Upon which the lad of mettle and courage replied, that he would not fight a man without a second-" but go, "said he, (drawing his watch coolly from out of his fob) "I will give you twenty minutes to come back again with your second." He waited with his watch in his hand, and by the dead body of his antagonist, for the return of the Frenchman; but on the expiration of the time, his own second conjured him to consult his safety and depart; for that, from henceforth, his life was in jeopardy. He left the ground; obtained his passport, and quitted the town instantly; but he had scarcely lost sight of the field of action a dozen minutes, ere a multitude of students came, determined to avenge the death of their countryman by that of his destroyer!.. The dead body of the duellist was then placed upon a bier: and his funeral was afterwards attended by several hundreds of his companions-who, armed with muskets and swords, threatened destruction to the civil and military authorities if they presumed to interfere..for the Mayor had, in fact, prohibited the funeral rites to be performed within consecrated ground.'

Caen contains the most beautiful church in all Normandy,' St. Pierre de Dernetal. The volume before us exhibits an excellent representation of its principal front, with the tower and spire rising like a structure built by preternatural hands.' In his visit to the ancient abbey of the Holy Trinity, now occupied, in part, by a manufactory of cordage, Mr. Dibdin was in great personal danger while groping his way in the dark to the summit of the central tower. Ascending a wooden temporary staircase, he had reached the highest step, and was in the act of raising his foot to

a supposed higher or succeeding step ...... but there was none! A depth of eighteen feet at least was below me. The guide caught my coat, as I was about to lose my balance and roared out "Arretez- -tenez !" The least balance or inclination, one way or the other, is sufficient upon these critical occasions; when luckily, from his catching my coat, and thereby pulling me slightly backwards, my fall....and my life....were equally saved!'

In his descent, the Rev. Mr. Dibdin took 'especial care to avoid all temporary wooden staircases.' At Caen, he made some pleasant acquaintances, among whom were the Abbé de la Rue, an interesting ecclesiastic of seventy, the great archæologist of Normandy; the naturalist Lamouroux; and Pierre Aimé Lair, described as the life and soul, not only of the society, but

of the very town in which he moves,' This amiable and accomplished man has originated a series of medals in memorial of the most distinguished characters of French Literature and Art. A few pages are occupied with the biography of Moysant, the original compiler of the Bibliothéque Portative; but it should have been stated, that the much increased value of the second edition arose from the superior taste and judgement of Levizac. The Public Library of Caen contains a fine copy of the Commentaries on St. Paul by Chrysostom, from the press of the Sabii, in three folio volumes.

I well remember,' writes Mr. Dibdin, at this moment, that this was the very work, of which, when residing at Worcester,commencing my career in life as a provincial Counsel-I had the misfortune to lose the third volume; and the loss so affected me, that, to recover it, I left the profession, and became bibliographer and divine. But the long sought after, and deeply regretted object, has ever continued to elude my research.'

The talents of M. Martin Rollin, the pastor of the Protestant congregation at Caen, are spoken of in terms of eulogy; but the description of his action, conveys no very favourable impression of its simplicity. In fact, he imitates Talma, and the tremulous movement of his hands, while his arms are at their full extension, is nothing else than the transference to the pulpit,

of some of the worst gesticulations of the stage. Mr. Dibdin's wanderings led him one morning to the Place (Palais?) de Justice, where, he tells us,

I saw two or three barristers en pleine costume, pretty nearly in the English fashion, walking quickly to and fro with their clients, in the open air, before the hall; and could not help contrasting the quick eye and unconcerned expression of countenance of the former, with the simple look and yet earnest action of the latter. One of these barristers might have been mistaken for an Englishman: but I will not say wherefore, for fear a Frenchman should be looking over your shoulder when you read this. I entered the Hall, and to my astonishment, heard only a low muttering sound. Scarcely fifteen people were present. I approached the bench; and what, think you, were the intellectual objects upon which my eye alighted? Three Judges......all fast asleep! Five barristers, two of whom were nodding: one was literally addressing the bench...... and the remaining two were talking to their clients in the most unconcerned manner imaginable.'

At Bayeux, Mr. D. witnessed, with much complacency, the mummery of a Catholic ordination, explored the library, and obtained leave minutely to inspect the celebrated tapestry.

At St. Gilles, Mr. Dibdin made an unsuccessful attempt to purchase an interesting fragment of sculpture. He was very sanguine in his expectation, but it is clear from his own statement, that the Curé was only quizzing the Traveller. At Vire, he procured, through the liberality of M. la Renaudiere, a copy of the privately printed edition of the Vaudevires of Olivier Basselin. Falaise, the birth-place of the Norman William, afforded much gratification to the Travellers. The remains of its castle are not uninteresting, though they have not the advantage of a commanding site. The Abbé de la Rue had directed Mr. D.'s particular attention to a head of the Conqueror which was to be seen at Falaise; and our Author lost no time in searching out this valuable fragment. It was at length discovered in the wall of a narrow and gloomy staircase leading to the first floor of a common tavern, covered with the innumerable coatings of ochre and white-wash which had at various times been laid upon the surface of the wall itself. No labour was spared in applying the necessary processes of scraping and scrubbing; the result was, the production of a head and face of exaggerated and disproportioned features, assuredly not the vrai portrait de Guillaume le conquerant. The Count de la Fresnaye, a man of letters, contributed to make Mr. Dibdin's short visit to Falaise, a pleasant one; and the heart of the amiable Abbé Langevin was melted by the purchase of three copies of his local Recherches Historiques, and by the promise that his portrait, drawn by Mr. Lewis, should be engraved and published in England.

At length, Mr. Dibdin entered Paris, and revelled amid its libraries and savans to the full gratification of all his bibliomaniacal sensualities. The following spirited description will, however, shew that his eyes were actively engaged in marking the peculiarities of the scenes of every day life with which he was surrounded.

Perhaps the most interesting feature about Paris are (is) the BOULEVARDS. I speak here only of the principal,-those extending from la Madelaine to St. Antoine; which encircle nearly one half the capital. Either on foot, or in a carriage, they afford you a singular gratification. A very broad road-way, flanked by three rows of trees on each side, within which the population of Paris seems to be in eternal agitation-lofty houses, splendid shops, occasionally a retired mansion, with a parterre of blooming flowers in front- all manner of merchandise exposed to the open air-prints, muslins, kaleidoscopes, (they have just introduced them,) trinkets, and especially watchchains and strings of beads, spread in gay colours upon the groundthe undulations of the chaussée-and a bright blue sky above the green trees-all these things irresistibly rivet the attention and extort the admiration of a stranger. You may have your boots cleaned and your breakfast prepared, upon these same Boulevards..

But the preceding is only a hasty sketch of what may be called a morning scene. AFTERNOON approaches: then the innumerable chairs, which have been a long time unoccupied, are put into immediate requisition: then commences the "high exchange" of the loungers. One man hires two chairs, for which he pays two sous: he places his legs upon one of them, while his body, in a sea-saw or slanting position, occupies the other. The places where these chairs are found, are usually flanked by coffee-houses. Incessant reports from drawing the corks of beer bottles resound on all sides. The ordinary people are fond of this beverage; and for four or six sous they get a bottle of pleasant, refreshing small beer. The draught is usually succeeded by a doze-in the open air. What is common excites no surprize; and the stream of population rushes on without stopping one instant to notice these somniferous indulgences. Or, if they are not disposed to sleep, they sit and look about them: abstractedly gazing upon the multitude around, or at the heavens above. Pure, idle, unproductive listlessness is the necessary cause of such enjoyment. EVENING approaches: when the Boulevards put on their gayest and most fascinating livery. Then commences the bustle of the ICE MART: in other words, then commences the general demand for ices while the rival and neighbouring caffés of Tortoni and Riche have their porches of entrance choked by the incessant ingress and egress of customers. The full moon shines beautifully above the foliage of the trees; and an equal number of customers, occupying chairs, sit without, and call for ices to be brought to them. Meanwhile, between these loungers and the entrances to the caffés, move on, closely wedged, and yet scarcely in motion, the mass of human beings who come only to exercise their eyes, by turning them to the right or to the left; while, on the outside, upon the chaussée, are