With respect to sculpture, it is so far more encouraged in France than in England, that of course the numbers who profess it are far more numerous in the former country, and there is a great deal of talent to be found amongst the present French sculptors, but perhaps not quite of the highest class.  I never have seen anything which I considered so beautiful as Bailey’s Eve, and I doubt whether there are any of them who could produce a work equal to Gibson, or that could surpass Cockerill in the representation of a horse, still most of their statues which have been executed for the government, are certainly better than many of those which have been placed in different parts of London.

There is a great taste for sculptural subjects in general throughout Paris, numbers of houses which have been recently built are adorned with statues, and an immense variety of devices and ornaments of different descriptions, all of which afford employment for the young sculptor; in fact there exists now quite a mania for decoration, and those mansions which still remain of the middle ages present the same predilection for rich carve-work and elaborate ornament which is now revived, and undoubtedly it gives a very picturesque richness to the aspect of a city.  As a department of sculpture I certainly must not omit to state to what a high degree the French have wrought the art of casting in bronze, and I am sure I shall be procuring my readers a treat in directing them to the establishment of M. De Braux d’Anglure, No. 8, Rue Castiglione; they will there find an infinite variety of very splendid subjects, some executed with the most exquisite delicacy, others in fine broad masses, as animals the size of life, and some equestrian figures of the middle ages after the first masters displaying the full merit of the original designs.  But that which is still more interesting is to visit M. De Braux’s foundry, and atelier, No. 15, Rue d’Astorg, where he takes a pleasure in explaining the whole process requisite in casting the different objects, and showing them throughout the various stages through which they pass before they are completed.  The French have brought this art to a high perfection, which it appears is facilitated by their having a peculiar sort of sand near Paris (which they cannot find elsewhere), particularly serviceable for the purpose of casting.  The orders which come from England for works in bronze is immense; whilst I was at M. de Braux’s he was at work upon a bust of the Duke of Wellington, which was part of what was to be a figure the size of life, destined as a national monument (as M. de Braux understood) for some part of London.  The great art which he now practises, is that of casting whole masses at once, instead of small bits which were joined together according to the former method.  Every amateur of the arts will find the highest gratification in viewing the number of interesting objects which present themselves in various forms at M. de Braux’s atelier.