at present that Custom is alter'd It ought to be observ'd that the famous Erasmus of Roterdam did for some time dwell in this Colledge Next to this Quarter we ought to go into the Rüe Saint Jacques which Street begins at the Little Châtelet at the end of the Petit Pont. The Little CHATELET THis is a kind of antient Fortress composed of a great mass of Buildings open in the middle and served formerly as one of the Town-Gates as did also the great Châtelet this was when Paris had no greater Extent than the Isle of the Palais This Building was repair'd by King Robert under whom France enjoy'd a Peace of two and forty years during which that good Prince had convenient time to amass a very great Treasure which he deposited in this Fortress notwithstanding the great Bounties which he bestowed upon Churches and his great Charities with which he relieved the Poor Some Antiquaries will not allow this place to be so Antient but say that it was Built by Aubriot Provost of Paris the same person who Built the Bastille and that he did it to restrain the Insolences of the Scholars of the University who often used to make Invasions on the Townsmen and thereby occasioned very great Disorders THE RUE SAINT JACQUES THis Street is almost all inhabited by Booksellers by reason of the Neighbouring University The first thing of Note that you observe here is The Church of Saint Severin which is very Antient and one may think so in regard the Patron himself was the Founder Who lived in the Reign of Clovis and was by him invited out of Savoy where he was at that time a Hermite to come into France and cure him of a grievous Fever with which that King was afflicted and was at last cured through the Prayers of this Holy Man During his abode at Paris he dwelt in this place at that time very solitary where there had been already built a small Chappel in a Wood Dedicated to St. Clement Having remain'd here some time he resolved to return to his former dwelling but as he past by Château-Landon a small Village in Gatinois he met with two Priests who dwelt there in the reputation of Sanctity he stopt his Journey and after two years abode with them he dyed there Childebert caused a Church to be built in the same place which is at present an Abby of St. Augustine's Order of the Congregation of St. Geneviéve It is not well known when this Parish-Church was built but according to Appearance it is not above 200. years old There is nothing to be seen in it of Curiosity it being but an old Gothick Building not very regular and very dark in some places The great Altar was finisht but a while ago it is composed of eight small Marble Pillars disposed in form of a Semi-Circle which support a Dome cut in half as it were with some Ornaments of Brass gilt which shew very handsomly it is the Workmanship of Monsieur le Brun. In the Church-Yard the side next the Church is raised a Tomb upon which in a demicumbent Posture is the Figure of a Young Lord of East-Friseland who dyed here being a Scholar of this University His Name was d'Embda The Tomb was built by his Mother's Order a Lady extraordinarily afflicted at his Death he being her only Son and the Presumptive Heir of Friseland The two Epitaphs on his Monument are as follow Nobilitate generis Comitum Orientalis Phrisiae animi corporisque doâ—ibus praeclaro D. Ennoni de Embda Civitatis Embdensis Praeposito ac electo Satrapae propter certam hujus corporis resurrecturi spem ac in amoris sinceri testimonium avia materque pia unico suo filio qui bic ex studiorum â—ursu patriae ac amicis omnibus magno cum luctu anno aetatis suae XXIII morte praereptus est hoc monumentum statuerunt ANNO DOMINI 1545. 18 JULII To Enno d'Embda of the Noble Family of the Earls of East-â—riseland and of a beautiful Mind and Body Provost of the City of Embden and Chief Magistrate elect in sure hope of the Resurrection of the Body and in Testimony of their sincere Love his Grand-Mother and Mother to their only Son who was here snatch'd by Death from his Studies to the great Grief of his Country and Friends in the XXIII Year of his Age erected this Monument In the Year of our LORD 1545. 18. of July On the other side of the Tomb are these Verses Quid fuerint nostra haec recubans commonstrat imago Quid sim quam teneo putrida calva docet Peccati hanc poenam nobis ingenuere parentes Cujus sed Christus solvere vincela venit Hunc miht viventi spes qui fuit morienti Aeternam corpus quale habet ille dabit Peccati fidei Christique hinc perspice vires Vt te mortisices vivisicetque Deus What once I was this Image doth disclose And what I am the Carcase under shews This said reward of Sin our Parents gave But our deliverance from Christ we have He 's now my Hope when dead as when alive A Body Glorious like his own he 'll give Of Sin Faith Christ this Tomb the force displays Who mortifies himself him God will raise On the other side of the Rüe Saint Jacques as you enter into the Rüe Galande which Street butts upon the former there stands a very antient Church named Saint Julien le Pauvre which doubtless was formerly an Hospital Gregory of Tours in the ninth Book and the ninth Chapter of his Works mentions it and tells us That coming to Paris on certain private affairs he Lodged in this place at such time as they had taken a Notorious Cheat who pretended he had brought from Spain certain precious Reliques among others some of St. Vincent and St. Felix with which no doubt he would have abused the Credulity of the Parisians But when his pretended Reliques came to be examined they found in his Bag nothing but the Roots of divers Plants the Teeth of Moles the Bones of Mice with the Fat and Claws of Bears Which things being apprehended to serve only for some Magical use or other they were all thrown into the River The Cheat himself was committed close Prisoner and put in Chains according to the Custom of those times This happen'd in the Reign of Chilperic who was unhappily slain just entering into his Palace at Chelles as he return'd from Hunting about the Year Five hundred Eighty four A little further on in the Rüe Saint Jacques is The Church of Saint Yves built in the year 1347. at the Charge and Care of a â—amous Confraternity of Bretons at that time residing at Paris and who caused Divine Service to be there Celebrated daily by certain Ecclesiasticks whom they hired On the side of this Chappel lyes The Rüe des Noïers which hath been of late enlarged and thereby render'd much more commodious than formerly The MATHURINS THE Convent of these
Parisiensis referuntur in festo Assumptionis B. Mariae Virginis in 12. 1662. Traditio antiqua Ecclesiarum Franciae seu totius Imperii Occidentalis quae in ipsius Martyrologio ad festum Assumptionis B Mariae Virginis referuntur Vindicata 1672. There are also some other Books ascribed to him Entituled Recüeil de Maximes veritables importantes pour l'institution du Roi. Codicille d'Or ou petit Recüeil tirè de l'Instution du Prince Chrâ—tien composé par Erasme mis en Francois sous le Roi Francois I. a present pour la deuxiéme fois aves d'autres petites pieces 1665. in 12. Traitè de la restitution des Grands precedé d'unâ— Lettre touchant quelques points de la Morale Chrètienne 1665. in 12. De Reformandis horis Canonicis ritâ— constituendis Clericorum muneribus Consultatio 1643. in 12. This last mention'd Book is a most curious piece He hath also compiled together the Works of Monsieur Guy Coquille containing many Curious Tracts relating to the Liberties of the Gallican Church in two Volumes in â—olio He had a numerous Library but gave it away to the Chapter about two years since on Condition that it be publick and that all sorts of People may have liberty to come and study in it freely It is at present in a house in the Cloifter behind the Draw-wells on that side next the Church and we may e're long see it considerably augmented some other of the Canons having promised to add their â—ooks to it It ought to be observed that the Canons of this Church rise at midnight to go to Matines which they still say at that hour according to the ancient usage of the Church There are some antient Men among these hanons who for 30. or 40. Years together have not omitted one single time and this is almost the only Church in the Kingdom that hath Religiously continued this pious Custom tho' so painful and troublesom especially in Winter The Canons places are of no great Revenue yet they are much esteem'd because they are very honourable On Festival days you may see here very rich Ornaments Their Silver Vessels or Altar Plate is of the best Workmanship It consists of six great Candlesticks and a Cross made by Monsieur Baslin Over the Copper Pillars behind the great Altar is the Shrine of St. Marcel one of the first Bishops of Paris It is of Silver gilt adorn'd with precious Stones and Enamel of a delicate Colour On Whit-sunday they expose here a Suit of Ornaments of Crimson Sattin Embroidered with Pearls some of which are very large This was the gift of Queen Isabel of Bavaria Wife of Charles VI. Which Present she made in order to obtain of God her Husbands Cure being afflicted with a troublesom Distemper The fair Suit of Tapistry which they display here on the great Festivals representing the Life of the Holy Virgin is the gift of M. le Masle Prior of Roches Chanter of this Church and Secretary to the Cardinal de Richelieu the same who gave his Library to the Sorboune The Statue which we see on a Pillar on the left hand of the great Altar represents Philip Augustus whose Wife is interred here in the Quire as is also a Son of Lewis the Gross who refused to be Bishop of this Church because he would not by his own promotion hinder that of the famous Peter Lombard who was chosen in his stead The Tomb of Copper raised about one Foot from the Ground near the Quire Door belongs to a Bishop of Paris named Odo de Sulli in whose Pontificate this Church was finish'd he lived in the Reign of Philip Augustus and died in the year 1208. In the Chapels behind the Quire there are more Tombs the most considerable of which are those of the House of Gondi originally of Italy who came into France with Catharine de Medicis the Cardinal de Retz who died about 3. years since Abbot of St. Denis and had been Arch-Bishop of Paris was the second Cardinal of this Family The Chapel of the Virgin which is on one side of the Door that leads into the Quire is adorn'd with many Silver Lamps and abundance of other curious Offerings that have been made here Some years ago they placed before the great Altar that huge Lamp of Silver given by the late Queen-Mother which weighs 120. Marks a Mark is 8 Ounces and is six Foot in Diameter This Chapel of the Virgin has been sometimes called the Sluggards Chapel because of the very late Masses which were said here for such as lay long a bed It was the only place in Paris that enjoyed this priviledge contrary to the Custom of the past Ages when it was forbid to say Mass after 10. a Clock Over against this is the Statue of Philip de Valois on Horseback Armed and Caparison'd as the fashion was in his time He is represented in such manner as when he came into this Church to return his Thanks for a Battel gain'd over the Flemings near Cassel a Battle so Bloody that he saw 22000. of his Enemies dead upon the place Near this is a great Picture representing Lewiâ— XIII in his Royal Robes kneeling at the Feet of Christ taken down from the Cross it is the Vow of that King made in a dangerous fit of Sickness I shall say nothing of the several Chapels round the Nave all well Wainscotted and Painted nor of the Galleries over the sides capable of holding a vast number of People for this would be to engage too far into particulars I shall only say that Paulus Aemilius that famous Historian is interr'd in this Church on the North side but the precise place is not known However you might have read this Epitaph not long since PAULUS AEMILIUS VERONENSIS hujus Ecclesiae Canonicus qui praeter eximiam Vitae sanctitatem quantâ quoque Doctrinâ praestiterit judex atque testis erit Historia de rebus â—estis Francorum posteris ab eodem edita OBIIT A. P. 152â— DIE 5. MENSIS MAII Paulus Aemilius of Verona Canon of this Church of whose great Learning besides his extraordinary Sanctity his History of France will be a sufficient testimony to Posterity He died in the Year 1526. the 5. of May. In the Sacriâ—ty you may see an excellent Bust of Cardinal de Richelieu made by Cavalier Bernin which the Dutchess of Aiguillon gave to this Church by her Testament On the South side of this Church stands the Archiepiscopal Palace on the bank of the River Seine The House makes no very handsom show on the outside but is within very commodious and neat Here is very handsom Furniture and a Cabinet of choice Books The Garden is but little and consists only of one or two Alleys along the River Behind the Church of Nostre-Dame stands another little one very ancient call'd St. Denis du Pas because the first Torment that they inflicted upon that Saint was in this place where they put him into a hot Oven
and at present serves for their School But that which is more Beautiful is the Structure of their Church which ought to be considered as one of the fairest Gothick Buildings in all France its Roof is of an extraordinary heighth with Chappels on each side True it is that but part of this great Work is finisht by reason of the Holy Father's Death which happened too soon however by his Last Will be appointed That what he had begun should be compleated and to that end he left a Summ of Money but that falling into the Hands of Robbers on the way as they conveyed it into France during those Troubles which happened in the Reign of Charles VI. the Work remained imperfect as it now is One the side next the Sacristy you ought to ask to see a little turning Stair-Case very curiously contrived in which two People may at the same time ascend and descend without being seen to each other This is by two winding Ascents like a Snails Shell managed one upon the other in the same round Space or Room Thâ—s piece is admired by such Curious Persons who have seen it in regard there are but very few Parallels When the General of the Cistertians comes to Paris he usually makes his abode in this House We ought to observe that several Religious Orders have a right to have Colledges in this University whose Members may take Degrees and pass Doctors but some others have neglected this advantage or the University hath not granted it to them for special Reasons As you go out of the Bernardins on the left Hand you find the Church of St. Nicolas du Chardonnet newly Rebuilt of a very handsom Design This Church is so called in regard it stands on a piece of Ground formerly over-run with Thistles in French called Chardons Which Ground the Monks of Victor gave for the building of a Parish Church much wanting in this Quarter The Church is not yet quite finisht All that is Curious here is a Chappel where Monsieur le Brun hath begun to Work You may here see the Tomb of his Mother designed by himself and wrought in Marble by the Sieur Baptiste on which there are very delicate Figures All this Quarter hath nothing very remarkable From hence you go to the Carmes at the Entry of St. Geneviéve's Hill near the Place-Maubert which is one of the greatest Markets of all Paris The Carmes of the Place-Maubert I Have already said when I treated of the Celestins that the Carmes or Carmelites were Founded there by Saint Lewis which Order he brought with him out of Palestine But in regard that place was so far distant from the University and in respect of the overflowings of the Seine they thought it convenient to come and Inhabit in this Place in the Reign of Philip the Long whose Queen Jane did by her Testament in the Year 1349 leave them great Riches among other things she gave them her Crown of Gold set about with divers Precious Stones of considerable Value also the Flower-de-Lys of Gold which she received at her Coronation her Girdle set with Pearis and all her Silver Vessels together with the Summ of Fifteen Hundred Florins of Gold which in those days amounted very high They made use of all this to build their Church and their Covent which have nothing very handsom There is in this Church a great Devotion to our Lady of Mount-Carmel to which resort a very great number of People who are devoted to the Holy Virgin in order to gain certain Indulgences and this is every second Sunday of the Month. Not long ago they Rebuilt their Great Altar after a design very singular it is supported with Pillars of Free-stone Painted like Marble which make a very handsom shew On St. Geneviéve's Hill as you go to the Abby of that name you pass before The Colledge of Navarre the Fairest and most Spacious of all Paris it was Founded by Queen Jane of Navarre Wife of Philip the Fair as appears by the Inscriptions under the Statue of that King and Queen on the side of the great Gate which are as follows PHILIPPUS PULCHER CHRISTIANISSIMUS Hujus DOMUS FUNDATOR PHILIP the Fair the most Christian King Founder of this House Under the Queen's Statue JOANNA FRANCIAE ET NAVARRAE REGINA CAMPANIAE BRIAEQUE COMES PALATINA HAS AEDES FUNDAVIT 1304. Jane Queen of France and Navarre Countess Palatine of Champaign and la Brie Founded this House 1304. In the middle are these two Verses Dextra potens lex aequa fides tria lilia Regum Francorum Christo Principe ad astra forunt Valour just Laws Religion Flowers of France Christ being the guide to Heaven's top advance This Colledge was formerly the most renown'd of all the University The Sons of the greatest Lords of the Kingdom were here put to Pension and that their Commerce with other Schollars might not waste their Allowance they then received none but Pensioners But this Method is changed at present and now they admit to their Exercises all sorts of Scholars indifferently Divinity is taught here as hath been already said and four Professors have Salleries to read their Lectures two in the Morning and two in the Afternoon Monsieur the Arch-Bishop of Auch is Provisor of this Colledge They have here a Library given by Queen Jane of Navarre which was formerly of great Reputation before the use of Printing It contains several very curious Manuscripts This Colledge has produced more Famous Men of Learning than any other The Chief of whom is Pierre d'Ailly Cardinal by the Title of Saint Crisogon and Arch Bishop of Cambray who was a great Benefactor here as is to be seen by an Inscription in the Chapel He is interred at Cambray In the middle of the same Chapel is the Tomb of the illustrious Thomas de Clemengis a Famous Doctor in Divinity and on it is this Inscription Qui Lampas fuit Ecclesiae sub Lampade jacet A Light o' th' Church under this Lamp doth lye John Textor is also here interr'd The other Famous Men are Gerson Joannes Major Almainus de Castro Forri Papillon Gelin de Villers and Pelletier The last of which was the great Master of this Colledge and was present at the Council of Trent Of late they have had Monsieur de Launcy a Famous Critick who hath Composed several Volumes of the Ecclesiastic History and who perhaps hath best understood of all of this Age the Annals of the Church as appears by his Works so much sought after by the Learned He hath also writ the History of this Colledge Note that this Hill was formerly called Mons Locutitius but for what reason is not known Higher on the Hill where this Colledge stands is the Abby of St. Geneviéve and next to it The Church of St. Estienne du Mont a Parish Church This Church is of so old a Foundation that it is not certainly known in what time it was first Built That Building which we
big and so high that it may be easily discover'd a great way off After you have seen Val de Grace you ought next to go to The Convent of the Capuchins behind which there lies a very great enclosed piece of Ground which extends a great way into the Fields and serves in Summer for a very delightsom Walk their Cloister is but small according to the manner of building used by those good Friers Within it on the Walls they have set up several Inscriptions in French Verse to excite the Devotion of such as walk there In the Street over against the Capuchins going into the Rue d'Enfer stands The Convent of the Bernardin-Nuns according to the Reform of Port Royal. Their Church is very neat it was designed by the Steur le Pautre tho' it be but small yet it hath some Beauties which are not found in greater The late Queen-Mother brought these Nuns from the famous Abby of Port Royal des Champs near Versailles in the Year 1625 in which place they were very numerous and of great Reputation and placed them here this House being then called the Hôtel de Clagni They have in this Church a great Devotion by reason of one of the Holy thorns of our Lords Crown in favour of which some great Miracles have been done Their Altar-piece representing the last Supper was painted by Monsieur Champagne They have also here an antique Amphora or Waterpot which as some pretend was one of those which were made use of at the Marriage of Cana. There remains nothing more that is remarkable in this Faux-bourg but The Observatory ROYAL THE King who takes no less care to make the Arts flourish than to extend the Limits of his Kingdom caused this Structure to be erected in the Year 1667. for the Habitation of Mathematicians It consists of a great Body of Stone-work two Stories high the Windows of which are round at the top and about fourteen Toises high a Toise is Six Foot The forepart of the Building is made with Towers Eight Angular of the same height with a great Esplanade in manner of a Tarrass with fronts about the whole Building The Tower on the East side is open at the top and without any Roof that so one may see the better from the bottom Between these two Towers are several great Rooms which are not yet furnisht with such things as are to be there But that which is most remarkable in this Building is that there is not used about it either Iron or Wood and yet the Roof of it is extreamly solid The Stair-case is the finest that can be imagined it is all of Stone laid after a way extraordinary hardy and bold from the bottom to the top and the Iron Rail that winds the whole length of these Stairs is very well wrought It is 156 Steps high and leads to the Tarrass In regard this Building consists of several stories it hath several vaulted Roofs one over the other the uppermost of which consists of an Arch of a large extent flat on the outside and paved with Hint-stones cut exactly and bound together with Cement that the Rain may not penetrate and damnifie the Vaults beneath The Curious may if they please go down into the Caves or Grotto's which are extream deep since the Stair-case that leads down contains One hundred threescore and eleven Steps in the middle of which they have contrived a void hollow space in manner of a Well which pierces through all the Rooms and extends up to the top of the Tarrass so that through this hole you may see the light to the very bottom of the Cave It is said that this was made on purpose to see the Stars at Noon-day But it seems it fails of effect for no body has yet seen them tho' it hath been often endeavour'd This place which they call le Puits the Well contains 28 Toises 56 yards from the bottom of it to the vent at the top In the several Apartments especially in those belonging to M. Cassini are several curious Mathematical Instruments as Globes Pendulums and chiefly Glasses of very great Dimensions with which these Learned Men observe the course of the Stars There are only Four Mathematicians who lodge in the Observatory part of those who compose the Academy of Sciences established at the King's Cabinet as we have formerly noted and they are M. Cassini originally an Italian and formerly one of the great Dukes Academy at Florence where he had attain'd great Reputation He takes here a great deal of pains in Astronomy and hath made many discoveries in that Art for which the King gives him a considerable Pension M. de la Hire M. Couplet who teach the Mathematicks to the Pages belong-to the great Stable the Deceased M. the Abbot Picard was one of those but his place is not yet supply'd and M. Hugens a Hollander hath here also an Apartment tho' he doth not commonly abide in it These Gentlemen meet together upon certain days and communicate the Observations which they have severally made and sometimes they Print them also for publick satisfaction Every Year M. Cassini publishes about Newyearstide a small Volume called La Connoissance des temps by which one may know the Course of the Planets and other Curiosities of that nature much more exact and regular than any thing hitherto seen on the subject They have here a small square Chamber over the forepart of the Tarrass in which those who speak at the opposite Corners may easily understand one another and yet those in the middle not perceive it This is occasion'd by reason the Roof is Vaulted hollow and the Angles are continued along the Roof from one side to the other without any obstruction After you have seen the Observatory as you go out you ought to take notice of The Water-House which stands near the Gate as you go out next the Ruë d'Enfer This House was built to receive the Water that comes from the Village of Rongis in that Curious Aqueduct which Queen Mary of Medicis caused to be built at Arcüeil which the Curious ought to visit as one of the finest in all France You ought to know that most of the Fountains in Paris come from this Receiver or Conduit which makes its first discharge at Luxembourg-House from whence afterwards the Waters divide themselves to all parts of the City As you return back to the Town again through the Ruë d'Enfer you first come to The House of the Fathers of the Oratory which they call The Institution and serves them as a Novitiate The Church is well built but there is nothing here of singular Note From hence you go to The Convent of the Carthusians THis Monastery was built by the King St. Lewis who gave to the Religious of St. Bruno's Order the old House or Château of Vauvert where at that time as Historians say Devils did inhabit and caused there so many disorders that by Arrest of Parliament the Town Gate
belonging to the Colledge of Clugni It takes up almost one side of this Court and makes no unhandsom Show although it be of Gothick building but gives the Beholder occasion to observe with pleasure the difference between that gross and Rustick sort of building in the Ages past and the regular and studied manner now used in this As you enter into this open place or Court and cast your Eyes upon the Portal of the Church you cannot desire a finer object The proportions are so true and the points of the view so well contrived that the distant parts of this Edifice seem to stand over the Portal and to be placed in the standing where they are to serve for a greater Ornament to the Front The Dome is none of the highest It is accompanied like that of Val de Grace with Four little ones with Statues with bands of Lead gilt and with a Balustrade of Iron about the little Lanthorn which is on the top of all the work All these different things do agree so well one with another that one cannot wish to see a more beautiful piece of Architecture The Portal of the Church consists of Two orders of Pillars Corinthian and Composite The second Story are only Pilasters Both above and below between the Pillars are Niches in which are placed Statues of very good Workmanship as also are those on the outside and those within between the Corinthian Pilasters that support the Roof The inside of the Church is but small and is not altogether so light as it might have been however all things there are well disposed The Pavement is of Marble The Dome is very well painted and so are the Four Fathers of the Church which are between the Arcades that sustain it these are in Fresquo and of colours very shining The great Altar is not yet begun but doubtless it will be magnificent if they follow the designs which are shewn It is to be all of Marble composed of Six great Pillars of Jasper with their Capitals and other Ornaments gilt The lesser Altars which are already finished do promise that if the great Altar be of the same gust one cannot see any thing more delicate The Altar of the Virgin was finish'd not long ago it is of white Marble with Ornaments of Brass gilt which shew admirably From hence we ought to go into the inward parts of the House in the midst of which is a square Court encompast about with Buildings part of which are higher than the rest which gives an air of Grandeur and Majesty to the Portico of the Church As you see it on this side hardly can any thing appear better At the bottom of this Court it appears raised upon Fifteen steps and consists of ten great Corinthian Pillars distant from the building more than Six Foot These Pillars support a Fronton in which are the Armes of Cardinal de Richelieu with two Statues on each side On the Freese you read this Inscription ARMANDUS JOANNES CARD DUX DE RICHELIEU SORBONAE PROVISOR AEDIFICAVIT DOMUM ET EXALTAVIT TEMPLUM SANCTUM DOMINO M. DC XLII Armand John Cardinal and Duke of Richelieu Curator of the Sorbonne built this House and erected a Holy Temple to the Lord. M. DC XLII Under this beautiful Portico you see the Door into the Church which is of the same disposition with that of the Rotundae in Rome The Architect has imitated it as near as he could All the Apartments about this Court are inhabited by the Doctors of this House who have a particular right to dwell here Some of these Doctors have very pretty Libraries of their own but these are not so easie to be seen as the great Library which is common to all the House where all the Doctors study It is very long and very high and runs over the head of two great ground Rooms in which the Sorbonnists maintain their Theses and Disputations M. le Masle Prior des Roches and Secretary to Cardinal de Richelieu gave the greatest part of the Books you see here which are very good ones Monsieur the Cardinal gave his also among which are some very rare Manuscripts distinguisht from others by his Armes on the Covers among the rest there is one of Titus Livius in two great Folio Volumes written in Parchment it is of an old Translation into French about the Reign of Charles the Fifth adorn'd with Mineatures at the beginning of every Chapter and with Flourishes in the Margin which are curiously Painted with that delicate Gold colour the secret of which has been lost for these two last Ages it having been formerly used as an ordinary Colour and is of such an admirable brightness that it never sullies Besides this there are many other very rare Manuscripts in one of the Presses at the end on that side next the Chimney most of them bound in red Turkey Leather In this Library are a greater number of Divinity Books than of any other sort Besides you may may see here a great quantity of Bibles of different sorts which have been Collected together with great care At each end there is a Chimney over which are placed the Pictures of Monsieur the Cardinal in his Ceremonious habit and of Monsieur le Masle both in their full length over that next the door is a Bust of the Cardinal in Brass wrought by the Sieur Varin which came from among the Goods of the Dutchess of Aiguillon who after her death bequeath'd this with other Goods to this House she having had the use of them during her Life by the Will of the Cardinal de Richelieu her Uncle There is also another lesser Library in a private place of the House but it contains only those Books of which there has happen'd to be two of a sort in the great Library or such as the other Library cannot hold in regard the number does increase daily because most Authors present their Works here The King himself hath presented to this place all the curious Prints which he has caused to be graved of which there are four or five great Volumes in Folio neatly bound which are the Carousel the Tapistries the curious Dissections which have been made at the Academy of Sciences and some others in such sort as this Library ought to be esteem'd as one of the best and most numerous that can be seen tho' it be not yet quite perfected But it is with this as with others which are in greater esteem it being almost impossible to render any one Library compleat because of the difficulty of recovering some scarce Books which oftentimes make the chief beauty of a Library and which cannot be met with without mighty pains Besides since Printing the number of Books is so increast and there are so many publisht in all parts of the World that all cannot be had Over the Church Door on that side next the Place is the following Inscription DEO OPT. MAX. ARMANDUS CARDINALIS DE RICHELIEU To Almighty