4 



THE CHAMPS ELYSEES. 



earnest and alert in duty^ and apparently witL. many sliades 

 more of self-respect ttian their London brethren. They keep 

 the strictest order in these public gardens^ the whole of 

 ■which are as open and unprotected by fencing as the beds 

 on the lawn of a country seat. There are no railings 

 higher than six inches ; and yet no flowers at Kew or the 

 Crystal Palace are more valuable than these suflice to 

 protect day and night. No dou.bt this results to some 

 extent from the prompt measures of the grave policemen 

 when occasions for their interference do occur. It is in- 

 structive and amusing to reflect that some years ago, 

 when it was first proposed to green the heart of Paris 

 with such beautiful open gardens as this, most wise French 

 people considered it a foolish idea, saying : " Squares, &c., 

 are possible in London, but not in the midst of our rough 

 excitable people V 



Most of the stems of the trees are covered with ivy ; the 

 wide belts of varied shrubs are encircled with the choicest 

 flowers ; the grass, ever-welcomest of carpets, spreads out 

 widely here and there j great clumps of Rhododendrons and 

 trees shroud buildings, not completely to hide them, but to 

 prevent them from staring forth nakedly in the midst of 

 the quiet sweetness of the garden. These buildings are 

 chiefly for concerts, cafes, &c., and presently we come to a 

 restaurant very agreeably situated. The plan of having 

 restaurants in like places might be extended to London 

 with great advantage — in such places as Kew or any of our 

 great parks or gardens. Some captious individuals may 

 object to such places being turned into tea-gardens ; 

 but tea-gardens must exist somewhere, and why not have 

 them respectably conducted under control, and well 

 arranged to meet the public wants ? By so doing you 

 might prevent the people from resorting to musty, and 

 perhaps not very elevating, eating and drinking-places, and 

 perhaps take from the charms of the lower type of music- 

 hall entertainments now not considered so edifying as 

 popular. On flrst consideration, the introduction of com- 

 fortable restaurants in a place like Kew might seem to 

 interfere with the quietness, which is one of the best features 



