418 



PARIS (HISTORY.) 



Bice'tre, where criminals condemned to death and 

 perpetual imprisonment, are confined temporarily. 



Various estimates of the population of Paris have 

 been made at different periods. In 1590, although 

 tlu- population had been reduced by religious wars, 

 it was about 200,000. In the latter part of the reign 

 of Louis XIV., it was about 510,000; in 1762, it 

 was 576,000; in 1791, it was 610,620; in 1805, it 

 was 547,750; in 1817, 713,906; in 1827,890,431 ; 

 in 1831, 774,338 ; in 1836, about 1,000,000, so that 

 it has been almost doubled in the course of thirty-one 

 years. 



Paris is divided into twelve arrondissements , over 

 each of which presides a mayor (maire); each arron- 

 dissement is divided into four quartiers ; in each 

 quarter is a commissary of the police, and in each 

 arrondissement & justice of the peace. The munici- 

 pal council of Paris is the council-general of the de- 

 partment of the Seine, at the head of which is the 

 prefect of the department, who, previous to the late 

 revolution, was appointed by the crown. A prefect 

 of the police, whose jurisdiction extends over the 

 whole department, has the charge of the public 

 safety and of the health department ; he has under 

 him a municipal guard, and a corps of sapeurs-pom- 

 peurs (firemen.) The national guard maintains the 

 public peace of the city, preserves order, and defends 

 the national liberties ; their number is about 80,000. 



The consumption of some articles of food for 1829 

 was as follows : 72,590 oxen ; 14,500 cows ; 66,580 

 calves ; 380,730 sheep ; 85,180 hogs ; and others in 

 proportion. The expenditure for the city, in 1829, 

 amounted to 51,748,117 francs; the revenue was 

 51,748,547. Since the beginning of the present cen- 

 tury, the manufactures of Paris have rapidly in- 

 creased, and it is now the principal manufacturing 

 city in the kingdom. The value of exports for 1829 

 was 42,493,341 francs. Among the principal articles 

 manufactured are. 



Francs. 



Salts acids, and oxides, to the amount of 3,500,000 



Rf fined sugar, .... 28,300,000 



Cotton goods, ..... 18,200,000 



Silks and cashmeres, . . . 12,500,000 



In horology, .... 19,765,000 



In typography, .... 8,800,000 



Bronzes, ...... 5,250,000 



&c., &c. All sorts of articles of luxury and fashion 

 are made with the greatest elegance and taste. It is 

 estimated that 40,000 letters leave Paris daily, and 

 30,000 arrive during the same period. Numerous 

 diligences (900) run to all quarters of the kingdom, 

 and a ready communication between all parts of the 

 city is kept up by the fiacres, omnibuses, favourites, 

 cabriolets, &c., &c. 



Those who suppose Paris to be merely a theatre of 

 frivolity and amusement will find themselves much 

 mistaken. That, in a population of about 1,000,000, 

 of which above 50,000 are strangers who resort to 

 Paris merely for pleasure, there should be a great 

 number of licentious individuals, is to be expected ; 

 but who would judge of the character of the Pari- 

 sians from the public promenades of the Palais 

 Royal ? The truth is, that, in these haunts of vice, 

 the greatest number of visitors are the strangers. In 

 the higher classes, there is little difference in the 

 character of society throughout Europe. In Paris, 

 however, it is distinguished for delicacy, polish, re- 

 finement, and ease. The middling class in Paris, as 

 in all France, is strongly characterized by the strict- 

 ness and elevated tone of its manners. The lower 

 class is industrious, but improvident, and shows none 

 of that ferocity which the excesses of the revolutions 

 of 1789 lead some people to expect ; and the events 

 of the revolution of July, 1830, exhibit the Paris po- 

 pulace in a very favourable light. Gayety, wit, in- 



telligence, with decency and politeness of manners, 

 are common to all classes of the French, particularly 

 of the Parisians. The women in France have a great 

 influence on the character of society, and are dis- 

 tinguished for their grace and fascination of manner. 



Annum the test French works on Paris are Du- 

 laure's Histoire civile, physique et morale de Paris (3-1 

 edit.. 8 vols., with plates, Paris, 1825) ; the Descrip- 

 tion de Paris, by the same ; Mercier's Tableau de 

 Paris, well done, and witty, but antiquated ; Jouy's 

 Mwurs de Paris, under the titles of L'Hermile de la 

 Chuussee d'Antin, Le franc Parleur, &c. ; Landon's 

 Description de Paris ; Lachaise's Topographic Medi- 

 cate de Paris (Paris, 1822) ; count Chabrol's Recherchea 

 stutistiques sur la faille de Paris, &c. ; the annual 

 Itineraires, &c. 



Paris, history of. A Gallo-Celtic tribe, the 

 Parisii, built the ancient Lutetia, on a swampy island 

 in the Seine, before the birth of Christ. The name 

 Lutetia, or city of mire, is said to have been given to 

 the place on account of its muddy character. The 

 inhabitants burned it when the Romans invaded Gaul. 

 The latter rebuilt Lutetia, fortified the place, erected 

 an aqueduct leading to it, and founded warm baths 

 (thermal). But Lutitia remained insignificant until 

 the emperor Julian (360 A. D.) went into winter 

 quarters there, and built a palace for himself. In 

 486, the Franks conquered it, and made it, in 508, 

 the capital of their kingdom. Clovis embraced the 

 Christian faith, and lived in the palace of the thermos, 

 of which ruins are found to this day in the street La- 

 harpe. Clotilda, his wife, completed the church Ste. 

 Genevifcve, which he had begun. About 550, Childe- 

 bert commenced the building of Notre Dame ; 100 

 years after, St Landry founded the hospital Hotel 

 Dieu. Towards the end of the eighth century, 

 Charlemagne instituted the schools from which at a 

 later period sprung the university. In 845, the Nor- 

 mans besieged the city, and burned it about 857. Af- 

 ter Hugh Capet, count of Paris, the first king of the 

 third race, ascended the throne, in 987, Paris remain- 

 ed the residence of the kings, until Louis XIV., whom 

 the Fronde (q. v.) had driven from the capital in 

 1649, made Versailles the royal residence. Hugh 

 Capet resided in the present Palace of Justice. The 

 place increased, and was divided into four quarters. 

 Under Louis the Fat, not more than about twelve 

 francs of taxes were collected monthly at the northern 

 gate, in the neighbourhood of the present street St 

 Martin. In 1163, bishop Maurice de Sully erected 

 the cathedral of Notre Dame, as it is still to be seen. 

 In the same century, the Templars built their palace 

 on the square, where at present is the market du 

 Temple. In 1190 Philip Augustus, who had caused 

 Paris to be paved, ordered a third enlargement, and 

 divided the city into eight quarters. Until that period 

 it had but three gates ; now, it received fifteen. In 

 the thirteenth century, St Louis founded the hospital 

 of the Quinze Vingts for the blind, and a number of 

 convents. After the abolition of the order of the 

 Templars, in 1312, Philip the Fair, in 1314, caused 

 the grand master Molay and several knights to be 

 burned in the Place Dauphine (so called at least be- 

 fore the revolution of 1830 ; whether the name has 

 been since changed, as inconsistent with .the new or- 

 der of things, we know not). Under Philip of Valois, 

 Paris contained 150,000 inhabitants. The black death, 

 so called, which ravaged Europe about the middle of 

 the fourteenth century, destroyed half of the inhabi- 

 tants. About this time, the Hotel de Ville, on tho 

 Place de Greve, was begun. In 1367, the fourth en- 

 largement of Paris took place, under Charles V. 

 Paris was now divided into sixteen quarters. Twenty 

 years later, the Bastile was begun. Until that time 

 Paris had two bridges ; one towards the north, Le 



