120 



THE BOULEVARDS. 



them all. Looking souths he would see a somewhat sparsely 

 populated district between him and the Louvre^ although 

 the Marais to the east was gradually extending itself 

 towards the fortifications. The boulevards then under 

 Louis XIV., formed a long promenade some 150 feet wide^ 

 and planted with rows of trees^ beneath which the Parisians 

 could enjoy the double sight of the city and country in the 

 midst of rural silence and quiet. The ancient buildings of 

 that epoch, from the Porte St. Honore at one end to the 

 castellated Bastille, have long been swept away, and nothing 

 is left to remind one of the Grand Monarque but the 

 Portes St. Martin and St. Louis — both heavy masses of 

 classicalism — and a few names that have been bestowed on 

 the neighbouring streets. 



The memory of the old fortifications is still preserved in 

 the Eue Basse des Bemparts, which forms the north side 

 of the Boulevard de la Madeleine. But it vfill not do to 

 linger over the recollections of the past when the present 

 has such pressing claims on our attention. During the 

 following reigns the city gradually crept up to the boule- 

 vards, absorbing numerous convents, monasteries, and noble 

 domains in its progress. The Bevolution precipitated 

 matters by confiscating the remaining monastic and aristo- 

 cratic lands in the neighbourhood, both within and without 

 the walls. The boulevards soon became the favourite 

 resort of all that was noble, witty, or pretty in Paris. 

 Restaurants began to lift their heads above the small guin- 

 guettes that were first erected along the line, and house by 

 house, tree by tree, the boulevards gradually assumed their 

 present aspect. 



The boulevards, par excellence, stretch from the Made- 

 leine to the Place de la Bastille ; and a ride outside an omni- 

 bus from one point to the other will well afibrd a sight not 

 to be witnessed in any other part of Euj-ope. The roadway 

 and footpaths are more spacious than any in London. 

 The latter are usually thoroughly well asphalted, shaded 

 with rows of trees, and furnished with numerous seats. 

 In the more fashionable portion — that between the Boule- 

 vard de la Madeleine and the Porte St. Martin — nearly 



