PARIS 



of |iolieo U at the head of the civic guard or gem- 

 ilarun-. tin- lire brigade, and the scrgents de ville 

 or city |>olico, who arc anned with sword*. The 

 cleaning, sewerage, and water-supplies of Paris are 

 utiili-r the charge of the prefect. Paris in now 

 abundantly supplied with pun- ami wholesome 

 water ; and the sewers liave been greatly extended 

 Midi the street improvement*. The name may be 

 said in regard to the paving of the city, and' the 

 street-lighting by gv ami electricity. In ISIS 

 public MMflitar-noaMt, or abattoirs, were estab- 

 lished at dim-rent sul.iirhw. where alone animals 

 are allowed to be slaughtered. Iarg<- cattle- 

 markets are held near the licensed abattoirs. 

 There are in tin- In-art of the city numerous kallet, 

 or wholesale, and mnrrhfn, or retail market*. The 

 principal of thotie is the Halle* Centrales, near the 

 church of St Eustoche, covering nearly 20 acres. 



History. The earliest not in- of Paris occurs 

 in drear s CinHinenlaria, in which it is described, 

 under the name of Lutetia, as a collection of 

 mini Inn-, coiniKwing the chief settlement of the 

 Parisii, a (Jallic tribe, conquered by the Romans. 

 Lutetia soon acquired great strategic importance, 

 due to its lines of defence the windings and 

 marshes of the Seine and Marne to the east and 

 west, and the forest-clad hills on the north and 

 south. It lav midway lietween the chief enemies 

 of Koine in Haul, the Germans on the east and the 

 uii-ulxliied Celts of Anuorica on the west. In 

 ">.'t ii. r. , accordingly, Cu-sar assembled there the 

 delegate* of the Gallic tribes, and it became an 

 important Roman town. Two ruins of this ]x-riod 

 lemain south of the Seine, One formed part of 

 the Calais des Thermes, the abode of the Roman 

 governors of Lutetia and afterwards of the Mero- 

 vingian kings of France. The other ruin is that 

 nl the Hi-fin :* or amphitheatre of the Roman city. 

 The foundations ami parts of the old wall were dis- 

 covered in 1870, and since then excavations have 

 laid them bare. In 1891 they were enclosed in a 

 small park and thrown open to the public. The 

 amphitheatre was 180 feet long by 163 feet wide. 

 It is estimated that it could contain 10,000 spec 

 tat.. i of the gladiatorial shows. Lutetia began in 

 the 4th century to he known as I'arisia, or Paris. 

 In the nth century I'aiis was chosen by Clovis 

 as the seat of government ; and after having 

 fallen into decav under the Carlovingian kings, 

 who made Aix-la-Chapelle their capital, and in 

 whose time it suffered st-veiely ftoiu frequent inva- 

 sion- of the Northmen, it finally became in the 10th 

 ceiiturv the residence of Hugh Ca|>et, and the 

 capital of tin- French monarchy. From this pciiod 

 Paris continued rapidly to increase, and in two 

 centuries it had doul.led in si/.e and imputation. 

 The reign of PUlippe-Aogn>t(1180-lU8) is the 

 great epoch in the media-val history of Paris. It 

 was then that were erected masterpieces of Gothic 

 art, including the nave, the choir, and the chief 

 facade of N'otie I lame ami the Sainte Chapelle. 

 Then wan founded the I'niversily of Paris, the 

 great theological school of the middle ages, wield- 

 ing a power over the church second only to that of 



Lome, ami Mil. (ding from all parts of We-tcrll 



Kuio|K- \:it crowds oi htmlents, who, on returning 

 to their homes, spread abroad a knowledge of the 

 art ami culture of Paris. Philippe Augnsic built a 

 icUted wall and thinking towers, one of which, 

 i he Tour de Neslc (<j.v. ), stood on the site of the 

 Palace of the Institute. Outside the wall he 

 erected the castle of the l<otivr<; on the site of 

 the present jialao-. It Wame the renlie and 

 stronghold of feudalism and the citadel of Paris, 

 which was now, after ( 'onstnntinople, the greatest 

 ciiv of Kiiro|H-. In the Ilitli eontuiy the castle was 

 still used as a royal n-sidencc, lull lifter the n-cop 

 tion of < harles V." there by Francis I. it was pulled 



down to make way for the new palace. Luckily 

 the walls were not levelled to their foundation-. 

 A few years ago they were discovered to exist. 

 Galleries have I .eon excavated, and extensive ruins 

 have been laid bare, which now form the mo-i 

 interesting sight of underground Paris. 



In the middle ages Paris was divided into three 

 distinct parts the Cite, on the islands; the Ville, 

 on the right liuk ; and the Quartier Latin, or 

 Iniversity, on the left bank of the river, ami on 

 the Montague St Genevieve. In KJ.'.s. broke out 

 the first of the long series of Paris revolutions. It 

 was headed by Eticnne Marcel, the famous provost 

 of the Paris merchants, who for a time ably ruled 

 the town. Louis XI. did much to enlarge Paris 

 and to efface the disastrous results of its hostile 

 occupation by the English during the wars under 

 Henry V. and Henry \ I. of England; but its pro- 

 gress was again checked during the ware of the 

 last of the Valois, when the city had to sustain 

 several sieges. On the accession of Henri IV. of 

 Navarre, in 1589, a new era was opened for 

 Paris. The improvements commenced in his reign 

 were continued under the minority of hi- son, 

 Louis XIII. Louis XIV. converted the old ram- 

 parts into public walks or boulevards, organi-ed a 

 regular system of police, established drainage and 

 sewerage works, founded hospitals, almshouscs, 

 public schools, scientific societies, and a lil.rary, 

 and thus renewed the claim of Paris to be regarded 

 as the focus of European civilisation. 



The terrible days of the Revolution caused a 

 temporary reaction -. but the improvement of Paris 

 was recommenced on a new and grander scale 

 under the first Napoleon, when new quays, bridges, 

 markets, street*, squares, and public gardens were 

 created. All the treasures of art and science 

 which conquest placet! in his power were applied 

 to the eml.ellishment of Paris, in the restoration 

 of which he spent more than 4,000,000 sterling 

 in twelve years. His downfall again arrested 



(>rogres8, and in many respects Paris fell be- 

 lind other European cities. Renovation was re- 

 commenced under Louie- Philippe | but as lately 

 as 1834 much of the old style of things remained ; 

 the gutters ran down the middle of the streets, 

 there was little underground drainage from the 

 houses, oil-lamps were suspended on cords over the 

 middle of the thoroughfares, and, except in one or 

 two streets, there were no side-pavements. It was 

 reserved for Napoleon III. to reconstruct Paris. 

 When he commenced his improvements Paris still 

 consisted, in the main, of a labyrinth of narrow, 

 dark, and ill-ventilated streets." He resolved to 

 pierce broad and straight thoroughfares through 

 the midst of these thus putting an end to the 

 po-siliility of forming barricades to preserve and 

 connect all the finest existing squares ami boule- 

 vards, especially those surrounding the monuments 

 of the lionaparte family, ami, in lieu of the old 

 houses pulled down in the heart of the town, to 

 construct, in a ring outside of it, a new city in the 

 most approved style of modern architecture. With 

 the assistance of liaron Haussmann (q.v.),the Prefect 

 of the Seine, his schemes were earned out with rare 

 enei gy ami good taste. With a fresh supply of water, 

 trees, parterres, and fountains were introduced e\ cr\ - 

 ami Paris ceased to produce on visitoi- I ho 

 impression that it stands in the midst of a chalky 

 desert. It was converted into one of the greenest 

 and shadiest of modern cities. Two straight ami 

 wide thoroughfares, parallel to and near each oilier, 

 crossed the whole width of Paris from north to 

 south through the Cite; a still greater thorough- 

 fare was made to run the whole length of the town, 

 north of the Seine, from east to west. The old 

 lionlevards were completed so as to form outer ami 

 inner circles of spacious streets the former chiefly 



