Nothing can be more fair or honourable than the conduct of the Marquis de L——­, for he laid before us the offer of the Duc de N——­; but as we do not intend to remain more than two or three years more in Paris, we must leave this charming house, to our infinite regret, when the year for which we have hired it expires.  Gladly would we have engaged it for two, or even three years more, but this is now impossible; and we shall have the trouble of again going the round of house-hunting.

When I look on the suite of rooms in which I have passed such pleasant days, I am filled with regret at the prospect of leaving them, but it cannot be helped, so it is useless to repine.  We have two months to look about us, and many friends who are occupied in assisting us in the search.

A letter from Lord B——­; better, but still ailing.  He presided at the Covent Garden Theatrical Fund Dinner, at the request of the Duke of Clarence.  He writes me that he met there Lord F. Leveson Gower[5], who was introduced to him by Mr. Charles Greville, and of whom he has conceived a very high opinion.  Lord B——­ partakes my belief in physiognomy, but in this instance the impression formed from the countenance is justified by the reputation of the individual, who is universally esteemed and respected.

Went again to see the Hotel Monaco, which Lord B——­ writes me to close for; but its gloomy and uncomfortable bed-rooms discourage me, malgre the splendour of the salons, which are decidedly the finest I have seen at Paris, I will decide on nothing until Lord B——­’s return.

Went to the College of Ste.-Barbe to-day, with the Duchesse de Guiche, to see her sons.  Great was their delight at the meeting.  I thought they would never have done embracing her; and I, too, was warmly welcomed by these dear and affectionate boys, who kissed me again and again.  They have already won golden opinions at the college, by their rare aptitude in acquiring all that is taught them, and by their docility and manly characters.

The masters paid the Duchesse the highest compliments on the progress her sons had made previously to their entrance at Ste.-Barbe, and declared that they had never met any children so far advanced for their age.  I shared the triumph of this admirable mother, whose fair cheeks glowed, and whose beautiful eyes sparkled, on hearing the eulogiums pronounced on her boys.  Her observation to me was, “How pleased their father will be!”

Ste.-Barbe is a little world in itself, and a very different world to any I had previously seen.  In it every thing smacks of learning, and every body seems wholly engrossed by study.

The spirit of emulation animates all, and excites the youths into an application so intense as to be often found injurious to health.  The ambition of surpassing all competitors in their studies operates so powerfully on the generality of the eleves, that the masters frequently find it more necessary to moderate, than to urge the ardour of the pupils.  A boy’s reputation for abilities soon gets known, but he must possess no ordinary ones to be able to distinguish himself in a college where every victory in erudition is sure to be achieved by a well-contested battle.