present rate of progress! I responded that we were a party corporate, and
that three fourths of what any one did was to the credit of the other
three. The train soon came, and we took our places on the top of the cars
and rode on to Versailles. This was the only ride I had in two-story
railway cars, but our trip was such a delightful one in the second story
of those cars, that I often wished for like accommodations again.

The National Assembly was in session when we reached Versailles, but we
could not gain admittance. We immediately went to the Palace, which is
devoted to the reception of a rich and splendid historical museum
unparalleled in Europe. There are altogether some 34 salles or galleries,
which require upwards of an hour to walk through. The paintings are
arranged chronologically, and it is this classification, as well as the
magnitude of the collection, that render the museum one of the most famous
in Europe. Adjoining this palace, are the gardens and park, upon the
establishment and improvement of which, Louis XIV., (1616) spent
$200,000,000! This immense sum would pay a tract of land 100 miles long
and 10 miles wide, bought at $300 per acre! Many millions have since been
spent upon it. It is at the present day one of the finest pleasure-gardens
in Europe. Its fountains are among the most magnificent in existence.
These are made to play only once (the first Sunday) every month; to supply
the water in sufficient aboundance for this magnificent display, costs on
each occasion $2,000! It is a source of the purest happiness for a party
of Republicans, as ours was, to see the very palace and gardens which
Napoleon III. once occupied as a royal mansion, now held as the common
property and the peaceful promenade of the pleasure-seeking masses. How
changed the scene! That which was prepaired for the king, is now enjoyed
by the common people. Such are the fruits of the French Republic, which
has now broken the fetters of royalty for the third time.