The Museum library contains six hundred thousand volumes; the reading-room
is vast, circular in form, and covered with a cupola, so that no one is
far from the central office, and no one has the light in his eyes. All the
lower stage of shelves is filled with works of reference--dictionaries,
collections of biographies, classics of all sorts--which can be consulted
on the spot, and are excellently arranged. Moreover, a small plan placed
on each table indicates where they are placed and the order in which they
stand.

Each seat is isolated; there is nothing in front but the woodwork of the
desk, so that no one is annoyed by the presence of his neighbor. The seats
and the tables are covered with leather, and are very clean; there are two
pens to each desk, the one being steel, the other a quill pen; there is
also a small stand at the side, upon which a second volume, or the volume
from which the extracts are being copied may be placed. To procure a book,
the title is written on a form, which is handed to the central office. The
attendant brings the book to you himself, and does so without delay. I
have made trial of this, even in the case of works seldom asked for. The
holder of the book is responsible till he has received back the form
filled up when he applied for it. For ladies a place is reserved, which is
a delicate piece of attention.

What a contrast if we compare this with our great library at the Louvre,
with its long room, with half of the readers dazzled by the light in their
eyes, the readers being packed together at a common table, the titles of
the books being called out in loud tones, the long time spent in waiting
at the central office. The French Library has been reformed according to
the English model, yet without being rendered as convenient. Nevertheless,
ours is the more liberally conducted; its doors are opened to all comers.
Here one must be a "respecable" person; no one is admitted unless vouched