detention, if the proper forms are not scrupulously gone through. We
were not certain whether it would be necessary to present ourselves
in person at the Bureau des Passeports, Quai des Orfèvres, in Paris,
after having sent them to the British embassy; but we thought it
better to avoid all danger of delay, and therefore drove to a quarter
interesting on account of its being a place of some importance as
the original portion of Paris, and situated on the island. In this
neighbourhood there are also the famous Hotel Dieu and Notre Dame,
to both of which places we paid a visit, looking _en passant_ at the
Morgue. The gentleman who accompanied us entered a building, with
whose melancholy celebrity all are acquainted; but though it did not
at that precise moment contain a corpse, the report did not induce us
to follow his example: a circumstance which we afterwards regretted.
It may be necessary to say, that at other places we sent our passports
to the Hotel de Ville; but at Paris there is a different arrangement.

Although the journey up the Seine from Havre proved very delightful to
me, I do not recommend it to others, especially those to whom time is
of importance. There is always danger of detention, and the length of
the sea-voyage, especially from London, may be productive of serious
inconvenience. For seeing the country, it is certainly preferable to
the diligence, and my experience will teach those who come after me to
inquire into the character of the steam-boat before they enter it.




CHAPTER II.

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