8 SOUTH AFRICA. 



Place Vendome on to the boulevards, he could not 

 but feel that he was gazing on a charming picture. 

 The rest of the vast city consisted mainly of very 

 narrow streets, bordered by high houses, and were 

 without any foot-pavement for the comfort and 

 protection of the pedestrian. Down the middle 

 of each street was a malodorous sewer, and at 

 distant intervals dingy-looking oil-lamps swung 

 on cords, and by night served only to make 

 darkness visible. 



Coming from England, one missed the numerous 

 neat and well-finished carriages, splendidly horsed, 

 common then with us. In Paris, rope traces 

 generally formed part of the harness of the few 

 carriages to be seen, and the horses were either 

 round, chubby Norman cobs good enough in 

 their way, but decidedly out of place in anything 

 but a country cart or were lean, gaunt equine 

 specimens of a washy nondescript breed, un- 

 attractive and dejected in aspect. To compensate 

 for these things, every one seemed light-hearted 

 and cheerful, with little to do and doing that 

 little rather as if acting in a drama than as a 

 serious matter of business. " Vive la bagatelle ! " 

 seemed to be the universal motto ; young as I 



