On my departure from the Tuilleries my friend conducted me to a famous glass manufactory, where I saw several mirrors of very large dimensions, and also a _staircase of glass_, which had a splendid effect, and was the first thing of the kind I had ever seen. The balustrades were of glass, supported by steel, and had a particularly handsome appearance. The number of theatres in Paris have of late years much increased, and amount at present to eight or ten. The Opera Italien is justly celebrated as the best in Europe; but I received more entertainment at the Theatre Francois, in witnessing the representation of one of the admirable comedies of Moliere. The Theatre de l'Odeon is curious from its construction, but the minor theatres on the Boulevards, de Gaiete, and des Varieties, are in general the most frequented; and, except on extraordinary occasions, the Theatre Francois is by no means fully attended. A stranger in Paris is surprised at the number of _bureaux d'ecrivains_, or offices for writing, which abound in all parts of the town, where all materials for writing are provided for a few sous, and where persons attend to write letters, in any language, to the dictation of such as are not skilled in the graphic art.

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