88 The Public Gardens and Parks of Paris. 



bably ever seen in a park — the water in one direction looking like 

 an interminable inlet, beautifully fringed with green and trees, and 

 in the other several charming views are opened up, showing the 

 hilly suburban country towards Boulogne, St. Cloud, and that 

 neighbourhood. Then, by turning to the right and coming again 

 to Paris by the other side of the water, he will have a good idea of 

 what a noble promenade, drive, and garden this is. It is in all re- 

 spects worthy of its grand approaches, of the width and boldness of 

 which people connected with English parks and gardens, and who 

 have not seen those of Paris, can have no conception. There is some 

 bold rockwork attempted and well done about the artificial water ; 

 and very creditable pains are taken to make the vegetation along 

 it diversified in character, so that at one place you meet conifers, at 

 another rock shrubs, in another magnolias, and so on ; and not the 

 eternal repetition of common things which one too often sees at 

 home. If you have time, go across the Bois as far as Longchamps, 

 not for the sake of seeing the race-course, which attracts half 

 Paris to this part of the wood on fine Sundays, but a large and 

 beautiful cascade which faces it. Above the " spring " or shoot 

 of the large cascade is an arch of rustic rocks, over which fall ivy 

 and rock shrubs, the whole being backed with a healthy rising 

 plantation. The fault of the most gardenesque part of the Bois de 

 Boulogne is that the banks which fall to the water are in some 

 parts a little too suggestive of a railway embankment, and display 

 but little of that indefiniteness of gradation and outline which we 

 find in the true examples of the real " English style " of laying 

 out grounds. But you do not notice this from the position above 

 described, from whence indeed the scene is charming. The fault 

 just hinted at is common to almost every example of this style 

 to be seen about Paris; and in most of their walks, mounds, 

 and the turnings of their streams, you can detect a family like- 

 ness and a style of curvature which is certainly never exhibited by 

 nature, so far as we are acquainted with her in these latitudes. But 

 it is only justice to say that, taking the parks on the whole, they are 

 far before our London ones in point of design. We have nothing 



