THE SQUARES, PLACES^ CHURCH GARDENS, ETC. 89 



home sickness. We do not mean to say that the city_, for 

 instance^ or the other parts of the town^ are completely un- 

 provided with squares, but simply that they are so small 

 and mean that they give one the idea of having been 

 blown into their position by the wind. But the head- 

 quarters of misery that we spoke of a short time ago — 

 those masses of crumbling houses — those networks of dark 

 alleys, — in a word, all that most needs pure air and daylight 

 has been forgotten, or rather neglected while the richer 

 parts have been improved. In Paris the squares are open 

 to every one; in England they are locked up, surrounded 

 by a railing surmounted with spikes, and planted with 

 bushes so as to impede the view of all that is going on 

 inside. By the payment of a small sum, generally a pound 

 a year, each inhabitant of the houses forming the four 

 sides of the square has the right to a key of the gate. So 

 that for a poor man to walk with his family in any of these 

 gardens^ he must first live in a square and pay a high rent 

 for the privilege, and then contribute a pound a year to- 

 wards the expense of maintaining it. Practically these 

 squares are useless, and nearly always deserted. In 

 London the squares are private property with which 

 the State cannot meddle. With us, on the contrary^ 

 it is the Government that takes the initiative in these 

 municipal improvements. It is to the city of Paris 

 that we owe their construction ; they have cost a great 

 deal, and the Imperial idea has only as yet been partially 

 carried out. We have already transformed the Bois de 

 Boulogne, the Bois de Vincennes, and we shall soon have 

 many more public promenades in different parts of the capi- 

 tal. Before long Paris will be one vast garden. 



It is only necessary to walk in the neighbourhood of any 

 of the squares of Paris towards the middle of the day to see 

 with what pleasing readiness they are patronized by the 

 working classes. To give only an example, the Square des 

 Arts et Metiers is so crowded with people after four o^ clock 

 that it is impossible to pass through it. It was at one time 

 said that the establishment of a public garden was an idea 

 that was perfectly practical in London, but not in Parisj 



