There is one good square, which might be fine if, as seldom happens in France, the intention had been carried out, or success had attended it.

There are two rows of good houses, with paved colonnades, but very few of the shops, which should have made it a _Palais Royal_, are inhabited; consequently, the appearance of poverty and desolation is peculiarly striking.

One or two houses are taken, and some windows filled with goods, very different from those, doubtless, originally expected to appear; grocers, sadlers, and wine-merchants occupy the places which should have been filled by _marchandes de modes_, jewellers, toysellers, and ornamental merchants.

The Place Henri Quatre is, therefore, a half-executed project, and impresses the stranger with no admiration.

Another large, desolate space, called the Place Grammont, contains the Champ de Mars, and is dedicated to the military, whose barracks form one side of the square.