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If it could be granted to us, the ht with those Parisians of the fifteenth century, and to enter with them, jostled, elbowed, pulled about, into that immense hall of the palace, which was so cramped on that sixth of January, 1482, the spectacle would not be devoid of either interest or chars that were so old that they would seem new

With the reader's consent, ill endeavor to retrace in thought, the impression which he would have experienced in corand hall, in the midst of that tumultuous crowd in surcoats, short, sleeveless jackets, and doublets

And, first of all, there is a buzzing in the ears, a dazzleive vault, panelled ood carving, painted azure, and soith golden fleurs-de-lis; beneath our feet a pave A few paces distant, an enormous pillar, then another, then another; seven pillars in all, down the length of the hall, sustaining the spring of the arches of the double vault, in the centre of its width Around four of the pillars, stalls of lass and tinsel; around the last three, benches of oak, worn and polished by the trunk hose of the litigants, and the robes of the attorneys Around the hall, along the lofty wall, between the doors, between the s, between the pillars, the inters of France, fros, with pendent ars, with heads and ar, pointed s, glass of a thousand hues; at the wide entrances to the hall, rich doors, finely sculptured; and all, the vaults, pillars, walls, ja, doors, statues, covered froold illumination, which, a trifle tarnished at the epoch e behold it, had almost entirely disappeared beneath dust and spiders in the year of grace, 1549, when du Breul still admired it from tradition

Let the reader picture to hi hall, illuht of a January day, invaded by athe walls, and eddies round the seven pillars, and he will have a confused idea of the whole effect of the picture, whose curious details we shall make an effort to indicate with more precision

It is certain, that if Ravaillac had not assassinated Henri IV, there would have been no documents in the trial of Ravaillac deposited in the clerk's office of the Palais de Justice, no acco the said docued, for lack of better means, to burn the clerk's office in order to burn the documents, and to burn the Palais de Justice in order to burn the clerk's office; consequently, in short, no conflagration in 1618 The old Palais would be standing still, with its ancient grand hall; I should be able to say to the reader, "Go and look at it," and we should thus both escape the necessity,--I of , a description of it, such as it is Which dereat events have incalculable results