A great number of elogant fountains adorn 

 and purify the streets and markets. An 

 immense fountain, in the shape of an ele- 

 phant, in bronze, was begun by Napoleon 

 on the spot occupied by the Basiile, but 

 still remains unfinished. 



The church of Notre Dame is a noble 

 golhic edifice, 390 feet in length, with tow- 

 ers 204 feet high. It was 200 years in 

 building, and was finished about the year 

 1200. It stands in the most ancient part 

 of Paris, on the island in the Seine, called 

 la cite. The church of St. Genevieve is 

 now called the Pantheon, and is designed 

 as a mausoleum for the ashes of celebrated 

 men ; it is a magnificent edifice in the mod- 

 ern style. The Hospital of Invalids is an 

 immense building, designed for the residence of 

 disabled soldiers. It is surmounted by a splen- 

 did gilt dome, which alone was 30 years in 

 building, and is esteemed one of the master- 

 pieces of French architecture. 



The Jardin des Plantes is the noblest collec- 

 tion of interesting objects in Natural History, 

 that has ever been formed. The public build- 

 ings in Paris, which deserve notice for their size 

 and magnificence, are too numerous even to be 

 mentioned here. In this respect, Paris is far 

 above London. The Tuileries form an exten- 

 sive and somewhat irregular pile, nearly one 

 fifth of a mile in front, which has a noble effect. 

 The Louvre is a model of symmetry, and is 

 thought to make the nearest approach to perfec- 

 tion of any modern building. It contains 1,000 

 paintings, 1,500 statues, and 20,000 drawings. 

 Here the whole population of Paris are admitted 

 on Sundays, and it is thought, that the refined 

 and polished manners of the Parisians are in a 

 great degree owing to the familiar contemplation 

 of these masterpieces of art. The Palace of 

 the Luxembourg is chaste and elegant, but less 

 ^ striking than the Tuileries. The 

 Palais Royal, in the busiest part of the 

 J% city, is an immense quadrangle, sur- 

 rounding an open garden or court, and 

 constitutes a grand assemblage of shops, 

 galleries, coffee-houses, and saloons, 

 in a style of magnificence that aston- 

 ishes a stranger. In these brilliant 

 purlieus, the visiter will find, com- 

 bined with the utmost elegance and 

 taste, whatever man has been able to 

 invent for the satisfaction of his lux- 

 ury and pleasure. Here fashion has 

 established her empire, and here she 

 reigns over Paris, France, and the whole 

 civilized world. Here are crowded 

 together, merchandise of every kind, 



