764 



PARIS 



rich decorations and the frescoed portal, restored 

 at the wb.li of Margaret of Valoi. Among modern 

 churches U the Madeleine (1800-42), built in ill- 

 of a Corinthian temple, and originally in- 

 t. udeil by Napoleon I. to lie a monument to the 

 Grande Arm**-. It forms 1111 oblong huildin 

 feet long bv 138 wide, independently of tin- (lights 

 of steps. The height of the column- U 62 feet, 

 tint of the entablature 14 feet, and the entire 

 height from tin- ground 110 feet. There are in all 

 fifty two columns. The niof is of iron ami cop|ter. 

 The interior U elaWately decorated with gold, 

 white marble, paintings, and sculptures ; but in 

 spite of their religious subjects the building Mill 

 produce* on northern eyes the impression of a pagan 

 temple rather than of a Christian church. The I'an- 

 theon (1764) was begun as a chun-li, Imt con- 

 verted by the Constituent Assembly of republican 

 France into a temple dedicated to the great men of 

 tin 1 nation, next restored to the churrli by Na|Mileoii 

 III. and rededicated to St Genevieve, but 

 more, on the Oceanian of the funeral of Victor Hugo 

 (1885), reconverted into a monument, with the old 

 inscription ' Aux grands homines la pat rie recon- 

 naisonnte.' The Pantheon has been s|mken of as 

 rivalling St Peter's at Rome and St Paul's in 

 London. The frescoes of the interior are very fine. 

 In the crypt are the toinl of Voltaire, Rousseau, 

 ami Victor Hugo. Notre Dame de Lorette, er. 

 in 1823, is * flagrant specimen of the meretricious 

 taste of the day ; and St Vincent de Paul, com- 

 pleted in 1814, is somewhat less gaudy and more 

 imposing in style. Among the few Protestant 

 churches, 1'Oratoire is the largest and the best 

 known. For the great church of Sacre Cojur at 



Montmaille, MX SACKED IlEAKT. 



Paris abounds in places of amusement suited to 

 the tastes and means of every claw, including over 

 forty theatres. The leading houses are the Opera, 

 the Theatre Francais (chiefly devoted to classical 

 French draiiia ; it was burned down in 1900), the 

 Opera OoniqM, and the Odeon. which are assisted 

 by government. The new opera-house i 1S75) is 

 one of the most magnificent buildings of this 

 ury. costing, exclusive of the site, 1,120,000. 

 Cheap concert , equestrian MffonMUMM, anil pub- 

 lic balls. held in the open air in summer, supply a 

 constant round of gaiety to the burgher and work- 

 ing classes at a moderate cost, and form a char- 

 acteristic feature of Paris life; while, in addition 

 to the noble garden* of the various imjH-i ial palaces, 

 the must densely crowded parts of the rity have 

 public gardens, shaded by trees and adorned with 

 fountains and statues, wliich afford the means of 

 h'Mlth and recreation to the poor. lieyond the 

 fortification* at the west of Paris is the Hois de 

 lloulogne. converted by Napoleon III. from a wood 

 covered with stunted trees into one of the most 

 beautiful gardens in Kunme. It takes the place 

 of the London parks for the fashionable world of 

 Paris. East of Paris U the Hois de Vincennes, 

 an admirable recreation ground for the working- 



Paris has three large and twelve lesser ceme- 

 teries. of which the principal one is Pere- la Chaise 

 (tee LACHAISK), exten<ling over 200 acres, and 

 filled in every- part with monument* erected to 

 the memory of the countless numlier of celebrated 

 persons buried there. The Moigue (n.v.) at the 



wliich the builiiMi of unknown jx-nuini found in the 

 e are placed temiMirarily for recognition. The 

 southern part* of Paris a're built over beds of 

 limestone, which have been no extensively quarried 

 as to have become a network of vast caverns. 

 These qnarries were first converted in 1784 into 

 eatacnmlw. in which are deposited the bones of the 

 dead, collected from the ancient cemeteries of Paris. 



It has Iwen frequently remarked that Paris con- 

 tains few important civil buildings of the middle 

 ages, which is t.i -. .>,,. r\ient due tn tin 1 reckless 

 n which improvements have been carried out. 

 What Paris has lost in picturesque interest and 

 architectural variety from this cause was brought 

 home to all by the large imitations of the Tour de 

 Nesle and other buildings erected for the exhibition 

 of 1889. A government i ommission now watches 

 over the historic monuments of Paris, so that 

 further destruction is checked. Two most intend- 

 ing civil buildings of the l.'ilh century still exist. 

 One is the H6tel de Clnny (see CLI/ONV), one of 

 the finest existing monuments of the Gothic 1'lam- 

 hovant style. The other is the Hotel de Sens, the 

 old palace of the archbishops of Sens, formerly 

 metro|K)litans of Paris. It is unfortunately buried 

 among narrow streets north of the Seine ami 

 opposite the Cite. In 1890 its most interesting 

 part was advertised ' to let for business purposes? 

 It had Ix-en last used as a sugar-refinery. 



The I<oiivre, the greatest of the modern palaces 

 of Paris, forming a square of 576 fed by .ViS feet, 

 was erected on the site of an old castle of the 13th 

 century (see below). The first part, the south- 

 west wing, was erected in 1541 on the plans of 

 Pierre Lescault. It remains a masterpiece of 

 architectural design anil monumental sculpture. 

 The principal portion of the great square was 

 completed under Louis XIV. in the latter part of 

 the 17th century, the physician Claud Pcrraiilt 

 being the architect. The colonnade of the eastern 

 facade is more admired than any other part of the 

 building. 



The Palace of the Tnileries was begun in 1566 

 by Catharine de Medicis, and enlarged by suc- 

 cessive monarchs, while used as a royal residence, 

 until it formed a structure nearly a quarter of a 

 mile in length, running at right angles to the 

 Seine. It was connected with the Louvre, which 

 lay to the west, by a great picture-gallery over- 

 looking the Seine, and 14.T6 feet in length. North 

 of the picture-gallery, and between the two palaces, 

 lay the Place du Carrousel, in the midst of the 

 must magnificent palatial structure in the world. 

 The Tuileries continued to be occupied as the resi- 

 dence of the imperial t'amilv ; but the Louvre proper 

 formed a series of great galleries filled w ith pictures, 

 sculptures, and collections of Kgyptian, Greek, and 

 Unman antiquities. The Commune attempted 

 to burn the whole pile, but only succeeded in 

 destroying the Tuilenes and a corner of the Louvre. 

 The Place du Carrousel enclosed bet ween them and 

 the Louvre is now thrown into the great line of 

 gardens stretching west to the Arc de 1'feloile. In 

 the midst of the old palaces a statue of GambettA, 

 surrounded by allegorical figures, has l>een erected. 

 North of the Louvre is the Palais Royal. It forms 

 a mass of buildings, including the old palace of the 

 Orleans family, t he Theatre Francais, and a quad- 

 rangle of shops, restaurants, and cafes, enclosing a 

 large park or garden open to the public, 700 feet 

 long by 300 feet wide. With its avenues and 

 paiterres it was long one of the liveliest and 

 most frequented spots in Paris. Its cafes had a 

 orid-wiw reputation, which has faded, however, 

 since the great improvements of Napoleon III. sent 

 the current of life into other quarters. The most 

 valuable part of the palace, fronting the Hue St 

 Honore, was set fire to by order of the Commune 

 in 1871. The Palace of the Luxembourg, on the 

 south side of the Seine, was built by Marie de 

 M edicts in the Florentine style. It contains many 

 m.Mgnificent rooms, and in 1879 became the meet- 

 ing place of the French senate. Close to it a 

 gallery has lieen constructed for the reception of 

 the works of living artists acquired by the state. 

 On the north bank of the Seine, opposite the Island 



