The Public Gardens and Parks of Paris. 79 



THE TUILERIES. 



Let us next go to the west end of the palaces to see the gardens 

 of the Tuileries, which stretch from the western face of the 

 palace to the Place de la Concorde, bounded on one side by that 

 fine straight street the Rue de Rivoli, on the other by the river. 

 Being nearly in the centre of Paris these gardens are the most fre- 

 quented of all perhaps. The garden is very large, and laid out in 

 the plain geometrical style by Le Notre, wide straight walks, 

 borders round grass plots dotted with little lilac bushes, and flowers 

 below them. About one-fourth of it near the palace is cut off for 

 the Emperor's private use, but this part is merely divided from the 

 public one by a sunk fence and low railing, so that the view of the 

 private garden is enjoyed by all. In it they simply plant good 

 evergreens and plenty of deciduous flowering shrubs, while the grass 

 plots are belted by borders, and one runs right along under the 

 palace windows with the usual round bushes of lilac, but these 

 borders are kept pretty gay all the year round. The private garden 

 of the Emperor is quite open to the public when he is not living at 

 the Tuileries. It is well worth visiting should an opportunity occur, 

 if only to see the way the ivy edgings are used. There are no beds, 

 only borders these touching the gravel walk, and being edged with 

 box. Then on the bright gravel itself, or apparently so, they lay 

 down a beautiful dark green band of the Irish ivy, of course allow- 

 ing in the laying down of the walk for the space thus occupied. 

 The effect of the rich green band adds much to the beauty of the 

 borders. The flowers are kept a good deal subdued, and some 

 trouble is taken to develope the shrubs and stronger vegetation dis- 

 tinctly and well. The effect is very good from the windows and 

 the interior. Here again we see the ivy edging, twenty inches 

 wide, well used ; and Cannas afford a very charming effect in mixed 

 borders. A very wide walk crosses the garden just outside the private 

 division j at about its centre are a large basin and fountain, from 

 which another wide walk goes straight towards the Place de la 

 Concorde, and by looking in that direction you see the whole length 



