Royal residences and palaces should be considered as dwelling places of the greatest importance, and as such have not been able to enter into this collection; with the result that we have restricted ourselves to presenting the designs of a grand hotel, a dwelling which is of primary importance after palaces and royal residences. We will merely state here that royal residences differ from palaces only in so far as the latter are usually built in capital cities and royal residences in the countryside. For this reason, the layout of royal residences and the arrangement of the fa çade, should not be decorated so soberly nor display so complete a rigidity in the parts of which they are composed. Palaces should be seen to represent the monarch, royal residences merely as the prince's abode, where in the summer months he takes his family and courtiers in order to relax from the cares of the government.

In palaces a noble character and an imposing magnificence should prevail, in royal residences grandeur and attractiveness suffice. For the rest, the attractiveness to which we refer should be understood here to emanate less from the arrangement of the decoration than from the favourable position of the site, the attractive environs, the suitable outbuilding, and the extent of the landscaped gardens; the Ionic order may be preferred for the exterior, and the Corinthian order for the interior. These orders seem to allow for a certain repetition in the forecourts and the exterior pavilions, and a certain elegance in the apartments, which give these buildings their designated style.

Trianon could be considered as quite a beautiful royal residence, if it was not situated so near to Versailles. It is not that one cannot permit the existence of several floors in a building of this type; but the abolition f the lofts of Trianon, the Ionic order which presides there, the beauty of its gardens all contributes to give us an idea of the attractiveness which we recommend.

Marli can also be considered as a royal residence rather than as a castle, since nothing at Marli reflects the character of the latter.

It would be even more difficult to cite a number of examples of palaces in Paris. The Luxembourg and Palais-Royal are weighty in bulk and have such minute details that they cannot serve as an authority. The Tuileries palace, although containing more than one masterpiece, is made up of such unmatching architecture → that it almost resembles the former case. As for the Bourbon palace, it is so mean in its arrangement, and contains so many inappropriate details, that it is less capable than any other of serving as a model for imitation. For want of such examples, let us refer to a few of our beautiful hotels, and say a word about the arrangement which should characterize them.

Hotels, the dwelling place of the nobility, are erected in capitals, and are where the nobility generally reside. The decoration of these buildings requires a beauty in keeping with the birth and rank of those who have them constructed; nevertheless they should never display the magnificence reserved solely for kings' palaces.

It is from this diversity of rank, for the monarch to the great princes, and from these to the subjects, that the different characters of buildings necessarily emerge; the indispensable knowledge of which can only be acquired through the study of art, and particularly through savoir-faire; it is by means of the latter, without a doubt, that propriety is gained, decorum observed, judgment acquired, that idea become ordered, taste is purified, one learns to recognize with certainty the proper character which should be given to each building. It is surely the authority of the architect [rang au personage qui fait batir] which is the source of the different styles to which we refer: how then can such knowledge be acquired without savoir-faire which teaches us to distinguish all the needs and the style suitable for one residence or another, erected for this or that proprietor?

For example, should not the dwelling of a prince (a) destined by birth to be commander-in-chief of the armies, that of a prelate (b) called to pontificate after a long experience of the priesthood, that of a principal magistrate (c), that of an enlightened minister charged with government, all display different characteristics, and differ particularly from that of a French marshal or some other general officer, from that of a bishop or another church dignitary, from that of a High Court president, etc.? - for as these personages do not hold the same rank in society, the arrangement of their residences should reflect the superiority or inferiority of their different estates.

The first type of residences, for example, will be palaces, though admittedly only of second class; the former with certain modifications, will display the character we have assigned to the residences of crowned heads; the latter will reflect a simpler arrangement: but in both, for the dwelling of the soldier, a martial character should prevail, characterized by rectilinear buildings, by solid parts approximately equaling hollow parts and by an architecture → based on the Doric order. For the residence of the ecclesiastic, a less severe character will be chosen, reflected in the layout of its principal members, its repose and harmony, and an elevated style, which should never be contradicted by frivolous ornaments; finally, the character of the magistrate's residence will be displayed in the general layout of its forms, and the distribution of its parts, the only means of succeeding in designating unequivocally, for the exterior of the building, the qualities of merit, piety, and urbanity.

Moreover, we repeat, one should remember to avoid in the different types of composition the grandeur and magnificence which are the properties of kings' palaces; grandeur, because since the interior of apartments belonging to less exalted people is necessarily smaller than the interior of apartments belonging to the great, the floor-height will produce a lower elevation on the exterior; less magnificence, because it is agreed that ornamentation should be more abundant in royal residences than in any other type of building.

We have just stated that the hotel of an officer (d) should display a martial character; for which purpose the Doric order may be chosen, because, since it is considered to be the order of manliness, it is appropriate that it should provide all the members of architecture → used in the hotel's arrangement. We have also stated that residences of prelates (e) should reflect a less serious character; for this purpose the Ionic order, which is less solid than the Doric order, should be chosen, thereby designating the affability which should characterize the residence of an ecclesiastic. Finally we recommended that urbanity be reflected in the decoration of the façade of magistrates' residences (f); to gain this effect the Composite order should be used, which, because of the double application of its ornaments and the fact that its proportions are less virile than those of the Doric and the Ionic orders, seems suitable for bringing to mind the different functions of the magistrature.

This is not to suggest that the Doric order would be inappropriate if used for the arrangement of these three hotels, but apart from the fact that it seems necessary to introduce a kind of variety into the arrangement of our edifices, it is also important to utilize the style of different orders, to try and introduce through the means of the diverse productions, members of architecture → and ornaments which, belonging to these orders, help to make particular use of each of the buildings of the same category more unequivocally recognizable; without mentioning at this point those of different categories, in which case it is even more important that each should have its own distinctive character, which is the source of the real success of the decoration of all types of productions in architecture → .

We shall now move on to consider the proposal for a grand hotel of our own composition, into which we have tried t introduce the greatest number of parade rooms, society rooms and relaxation rooms with their necessary outbuildings.

Plate XXIII: Architecture → , Ground floor plan of a large hotel from the designed by Jacques François Blondel, architect to the King.

Plate XIV: Architecture → , Elevation of the entrance side of a large hotel with its outbuildings, from the design of Jacques François Blondel, architect to the King.