Mais enfin, sur l’aile du temps,
  On arrive au but du voyage,
  Et l’on voit la glace des ans,
  Couronner nos fronts a cet age;
  S’il fut sensible a la pitie,
  S’il cultiva la bienfaisance,
  Entre les bras de l’amitie
  L’homme finit ... sans qu’il y pense

You must know that they are here great lovers of royalty, and of course great supporters of the Bourbon Family.  The King’s printer is a Mons. BREE l’Aine.  He is a very pleasant, well-bred man, and lives in the Place Trinite.  I have paid him more than one visit, and always felt additional pleasure at every repetition of it.  My first visit was marked with a somewhat ludicrous circumstance.  On entering the compositors’ room, I observed, pasted upon the walls, in large capital letters, the following well known words: 

  GOD SAVE THE KING.

Both Monsieur Bree l’Aine—­and his workmen were equally gratified by my notice and commendation of this sentiment.  “It is the favourite sentiment, Sir, of your country,”—­remarked the master.  To this I readily assented.  “It is also, Sir, the favourite one of our own,” replied M. Bree l’Aine—­and his men readily attested their concurrence in the same reply.  “Ah, Sir, if you would only favour us by singing the air, to which these words belong, you would infinitely oblige us all” ... said a shrewd and intelligent-looking compositor.  “With all my heart”—­rejoined I—­“but I must frankly tell you, that I shall sing it rather with heart than with voice—­being neither a vocal nor an instrumental performer.”  “No matter:  give us only a notion of it.”  They all stood round in a circle, and I got through two stanzas as gravely and as efficiently as I was able.  The usual “charmant!” followed my exertions.  It was now my turn to ask a favour.  “Sing to me your favourite national air of ROBERT and ARLETTE.”  “Most willingly, Sir,” replied the forementioned “shrewd and intelligent-looking compositor.”  “Tenez:  un petit moment:  je vais chercher mon violon.  Ca ira mieux.”

He left the house in search of his violin.  The tune of the National air which he sung was both agreeable and lively:  and upon the whole it was difficult to say which seemed to be the better pleased with the respective national airs.  M. Bree shewed me his premises in detail.  They had been formerly a portion of an old church; and are situated on the edge of the great fosse which encircles the town.  A garden, full of sweet blooming flowers, is behind them; and the view backwards is cheerful and picturesque.  There are generally five presses at work; which, for a provincial printing office, shews business to be far from slack.  Mons. B. sells a great number of almanacks, and prints all the leading publications connected with the town.  In fact, his title, as Imprimeur du Roi, supposes him to take the principal lead as a printer.  This agreeable man has a brother who is professor of rhetoric in the College Royale at Paris.