THE SQUARES, PLACES, CHURCH GARDENS, ETC. 85 



of itself, but greatly enhanced by being set so sweetly in a 

 green and brilliant garden. At every step the tower pre- 

 sents a fresh face, and the square a new charm. People 

 who sneer at what they call Haussmannization would do well 

 to ponder on such facts as this : a little reflection might lead 

 them to discover numerous objects more worthy of satire. 

 About this Tour St. Jacques were tried for the first time 

 the Wigandias, now the admiration of so many in both 

 French and English gardens, the Cannas, the Musas, Palms, 

 Ficuses, and others of the better kinds of what may be 

 termed the flora of Parisian gardens. What a change from 

 the filth and consequent unwholesomeness of its ancient 

 state ! How diff'erent from the small squares around our 

 churches and monuments with their naked slimy earth and 

 doleful aspect ! Surely they might as well bloom with 

 verdure and life as be so suggestive of all that is opposite ! 

 A visit to the Tour St. Jacques and its surroundings, 

 especially if accompanied by some idea of what the spot was 

 before the improvement was carried out, could not fail to 

 leave a deep impression of the great advantages to be 

 derived from the execution of similar improvements in our 

 cities. The old tower belonged to the ancient church of 

 St. Jacques, which was built in 1508. It is 175 feet high, 

 and affords a fine view of the greater part of the capital. 

 It was this tower that was used by Pascal in his experiments 

 on the variation of the barometer at diff'erent heights. The 

 works belonging to the garden were executed in 1856, the 

 total cost being nearly 6000/. for the alterations and planting. 



Although so far in advance of our own squares in 

 every way, it is interesting to note that the idea was first 

 taken from London ; but while we still persist in keeping 

 the squares for a few privileged persons, and usually without 

 the faintest trace of any but the very poorest plant orna- 

 ment, they make them as open as our parks, and decorate 

 them with a variety and richness of vegetation with which 

 it is only fair to say the choicest spots in our own great 

 gardens, public or private, cannot be compared. The whole 

 subject is treated of in such a judicious way by M. R. 

 Mitchell in the " Constitutionner^ that his remarks may be 



