The celebrated Jacobins are a club, consisting at present of about 1300 members, and so called, because the place of meeting is in the hall which was formerly the library of the convent of that name, in the Rue St. Honoré, about 300 yards distant from the National Assembly. The proper name of the club is, Society of the Friends of the Constitution. There are three or four other societies of less note.
The Quai, which was formerly called des Theatins is at present named Quai Voltaire, in honor of that philosopher, who died there in the house of the Marquis de Villette, in 1778.
The street which was formerly called Platriere, and in which the general post-office is situated, is called Rue Jean Jaques Rousseau, in honour of this writer, who resided some time in this street. I found him here in 1776, and he copied some music for me; he had no other books at that time than an English Robinson Crusoe and an Italian Tasso's Jerusalem. He died 1st July, 1778, very soon after Voltaire, at the country seat of le Marquis de Girardin about ten leagues from Paris; and is buried there, in a small island.
And the street which was formerly called Chaussée d'Antin is now named Rue de Mirabeau, in honour of the late patriot of that name.
The church des Innocens was pulled down in 1786, and the vast cimetiére (burying ground) was filled up. Every night, during several months, carts were employed in carrying the bones found there, to other grounds out of Paris; it is now a market for vegetables. Very near this place was a fountain, which is mentioned in letters patent so long ago as 1273. It was rebuilt with extraordinary magnificence in 1550, repaired in 1708, and at last, in 1788, carefully removed to the center of the market, where it now stands.
The new Quai de Gesvres was constructed in 1787, and all the shops which formed a long narrow alley for foot passengers only, were destroyed.
At this time no person was permitted to walk in any other part of the Tuileries gardens than in the terrace of the Feuillans, which is parallel to the Rue St. Honoré, and under the windows of the National Assembly; the only fence to the other part of the garden was a blue ribband extended between two chairs.
Hitherto cockades of silk had been worn, the aristocrats wore such as were of a paler blue and red, than those worn by the democrats, and the former were even distinguished by their carriages, on which a cloud was painted upon the arms, which entirely obliterated them, (of these I saw above thirty in the evening promenade, in the Bois de Boulogne:) but on the 30th of July, every person was compelled by the people to wear a linen cockade, without any distinction in the red and blue colours.