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Page 20
The day was very fine, and the whole party seemed to enjoy it. It was
said that there were more than one hundred thousand persons at
Versailles during the day. The company appeared to lose themselves with
the pleasure of walking among the trees, flower beds, fountains, and
statues. I met more than one wife seeking a lost husband, and _vice
versa_. Many persons were separated from their friends and did not meet
them again till at the hotels in Paris. In the train returning to Paris,
an old gentleman who was seated near me said, "I would rest contented if
I thought I should ever see my wife again!"
At four o'clock we were _en route_ to St. Cloud, the much loved and
favourite residence of the Emperor Napoleon. It seemed that all Paris
had come out to St. Cloud to see how the English and Americans would
enjoy the playing of the water-works. Many kings and rulers of the
French have made St. Cloud their residence, but none have impressed
their images so indelibly upon it as Napoleon. It was here he was first
elevated to power, and here Josephine spent her most happy hours.
The apartments where Napoleon was married to Marie Louise; the private
rooms of Josephine and Marie Antoinette, were all in turn shown to us.
While standing on the balcony looking at Paris one cannot wonder that
the Emperor should have selected this place as his residence, for a more
lovely spot cannot be found than St. Cloud.
The palace is on the side of a hill, two leagues from Paris, and so
situated that it looks down upon the French capital. Standing, as we
did, viewing Paris from St. Cloud, and the setting sun reflecting upon
the domes, spires, and towers of the city of fashion, made us feel that
this was the place from which the monarch should watch his subjects.
From the hour of arrival at St. Cloud till near eight o'clock, we were
either inspecting the splendid palace or roaming the grounds and
gardens, whose beautiful walks and sweet flowers made it appear a very
Paradise on earth.
At eight o'clock the water-works were put in motion, and the variagated
lamps with their many devices, displaying flowers, stars, and wheels,
all with a brilliancy that can scarcely be described, seemed to throw
everything in the shade we had seen at Versailles. At nine o'clock the
train was announced, and after a good deal of jamming and pushing about,
we were again on the way to Paris.
LETTER VI.
_The Tuileries--Place de la Concorde--The Egyptian Obelisk--Palais
Royal--Residence of Robespierre--A Visit to the Room in which Charlotte
Corday killed Marat--Church de Notre Dame--Palais de Justice--Hotel des
Invalids--National Assembly--The Elysee._
PARIS, _August 28_.
Yesterday morning I started at an early hour for the Palace of the
Tuileries. A show of my card of membership of the Congress (which had
carried me through so many of the public buildings) was enough to gain
me immediate admission. The attack of the mob on the palace, on the 20th
of June, 1792, the massacre of the Swiss guard on the 10th of August of
the same year, the attack by the people in July 1830, together with the
recent flight of king Louis Philippe and family, made me anxious to
visit the old pile.
We were taken from room to room, until the entire building had been
inspected. In front of the Tuileries, are a most magnificent garden and
grounds. These were all laid out by Louis XIV., and are left nearly as
they were during that monarch's reign. Above fifty acres surrounded by
an iron rail fence, fronts the Place de la Concorde, and affords a place
of promenade for the Parisians. I walked the pleasing grounds, and saw
hundreds of well dressed persons walking under the shade of the great
chestnuts, or sitting on chairs which were kept to let at two sous a
piece. Near by is the Place de Carrousel, noted for its historical
remembrances. Many incidents connected with the several revolutions
occurred here, and it is pointed out as the place where Napoleon
reviewed that formidable army of his before its departure for Russia.
From the Tuileries, I took a stroll through the Place de la Concorde,
which has connected with it so many acts of cruelty, that it made me
shudder as I passed over its grounds. As if to take from one's mind the
old associations of this place, the French have erected on it, or rather
given a place to, the celebrated obelisk of Luxor, which now is the
chief attraction on the grounds. The obelisk was brought from Egypt at
an enormous expense; for which purpose a ship was built, and several
hundred men employed above three years in its removal. It is formed of
the finest red syenite, and covered on each side with three lines of
hieroglyphic inscriptions, commemorative of Sesostris--the middle lines
being the most deeply cut and most carefully finished; and the
characters altogether number more than 1600. The obelisk is of a single
stone, is 72 feet in height, weighs 500,000 lbs., and stands on a block
of granite that weighs 250,000 lbs. He who can read Latin will see that
the monument tells its own story, but to me its characters were all
blank.
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