The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1870-11-12 00:00:00

THE LOUVRE AS 1T NOW is.

A ourreepowleut thul writes of the noted places of
Paris :

-
The dererted look of the entrance to the picture gallery,
with Its closed gates, at rinst gives one the idea tart it is
Monday, on a blob day it w. always closed, tut a company
of Mobiles befog equipped for the whiter soon hausys the
truth ; paseing through the gateway leading to the Pout du
Carrousel, the elguincant worm Liberle, Egaiiie, Crater-
II ite," " Pr. pr'e.6 Nationale," only tend to mark the lull of
the Empire, which Is ten times more strongly indicated by
the ineerip3on "Itepublique Freuesise Dennicrathme, Cue
et Indivtatifie, Lii.rte. Egailte, Fraternlie,. which tills the
space loft empty by the destrm Lion ,d :he burettes of Napo-
leon 111. on horseback. A liAle farther towards the Rue
du Louvre, the windows banked up with bags of sand to
protect the interior from the teento of exploding bombshells,
prove that not only has the empire ceased to mist, nut that
the foe he at the gate. Le Alai., Royal —ln some respects
the amuse that bas taken place to the general mptct of
this palace is not so great as in many others; noisy boys
continue their giunes, nurscuidds Fe4lll to be even more
numerous thou before; however, if one takes the trouble to
make the round of the arcades, a greet want of snow Is
noticeable tic the jewellers' windows, some even IWO entirely
shut. The door of the theatre Is guarded by a StiP Una in a
brown uniform, the usual advertisement of the night's per-
formance Is replaced by the military order, for the day, and
the entrance-Lail la filled with the rifles belonging to the
Legooda Armia de Is E'rence.

La Bourse, contrary to the English Stock Exchange, Is open
to the public, who lean over the parapet of the spacious
gallery which runs yound the ball, Ilitennig to the unintel-
ligible shouts of the crowd beneath. The only noticeable
difference lithe small number of members In attendance, a
diminution hi the vehemence of the shouting, and a general
dulness Ana wtht of excitement only a very short time
since the "agents de change" might have beau seen hurry-
ing to and frost their offices, the windows of which were
crammed with securities of all descriptions; now the few
that remain loiter on the pavement or &nuke cigarettes at
their office doom, and them wrapt In the cont.rinplat,on of
their own toe., and ever and aeon throw wiatfol glances at
their now empty windows and the half-deserted building In
trout.

Lea Boulevard,—llero the co,trast is great; not that the
blare has a deserted look; on the contrary, the bustle kind
notes are quite as great as in erdinary times. however, the
'Petit crest no longer figures in its animated scene;
gay women in their extensive toll,ts are more rare, and
the milts formerly crowded with bourgeois now find their
customers among the officers, Mobiles, and National Guards.
who laugh. talk, and Jest as if it were all a farce, and the
soldier's uniform but • mi-Carense disguise There are more
newspaper vendors, and lee hears be Soir, L'Eleaeur, La
;Wire, La Lilecrte, eie., screamed out ix every possline pro
vincial accent. As one walks towards the Madeleine one
finds • large proportion of the shops abet, and a notice on
the shutter "ch•ed on ace rnt of military duty." At eleven
o'clock all is quiet, sod the dintly.lit streets and the
solitary foot.fali which from time to time resounds on
the pavement and is echoed back by the dark.looking
houses produce the impromion of a deserted city.

dorm, General Uhrien, formerly Avenue do l'hupers-
trice —lt I. very doubtful if an Englishman transported from
his London house and placed in this avenue would be able to
recognise the spot ; here where in the season the tide of the
population In their splendid equipages formed but one un-
interutted line, gong and returning from the "hole," from
an early hour in the afternoon till !ate In the evening, the
road Is now boned by three barricades—one at each end and
one In the middle; on each side of the carriage road the
avenues preserved for pedestrians and «mestrlans and the
trtrob -kept gardens are riddled with pits, and the deserted
houses on each side add to the gloom that stems to hang
over the desolation and destruction.

Champs de Macs—No vestige now remains of the ugly.
looking guometer-shaped building, nor of the crowded
gardens that surrounded It, In the open space which has the
Ecole Militairo et one extremity ; and the ham of the
thousemdi of visitors lions all nations has died away Two
rows of barrack, on each side, containing 9,000 men, a troop
of hones. and a large number of fieldpiece., now occupy the
around where stood the hxpo.ition Unirerselle," which
was to be the forerunner of a lasting pcooe. All night
the near wed tread of the sentinel is heard, ral at
the break of day the bugle sounds to arm.; the
battalions either tan their nay to the city gates, to
the battle-told, or go through thorn exercises which are to
render them more expert in the art of killing men.

Joint do Jour—Situate.l as tho Point du Jour is, at the
very outskirts of Paris, it is in ordinary times but little fre-
quented. At present, however, citizens flock in croak's to
this commanding situation to stare at rho " Lmterne do
Diogenes," around which. cleerance has been made by the
Prussians, and a gattery placed; indeed some people sty
thst•with the aid of a good glass the mouth of the cannon
can be disthictly see. menace g the very spot. If this he
net true, at least the Pros im flag is visible to tl.e naked
eye. On the iiver etach It"ws beneath gun boats are kept
in readiness for immediate action, with their tires banked
up, and the sailor's song, softened by the dutsbee, is wafted
across the waters, and mingles with the sound of the
cannon.

Leo Remparts.—Euglishmen who have nal, seen them Ps
tine of pewco can form but little idea of their prtsent aspect
crowned with frovruirg cannons and guarded si ith the
utmost vigilance. The formerly harmless looking wall now
presents a formidable appearance. The discharge of a few
rides Is baud in the neighbouring a °ode the recall Is sounded
and the men but live minutes ego were playing at pitch
audio/is are assembled, and wait in anxious silence till the
din of the skirmish hes ceased.

Lou Males —This m•-rket continues to present a very ani-
mated scene; the merchandise has, however, somewhat
changed in character. Fahmongers no longer offer fresh
soles, turbot, selmln, aro., as of )ore, but endeavor to Ii 01
customers for hone liver. A little further on, in the Pavillon
formerly dedicated to the sale of veal, whole carcase@ of this
same animal are hung out, decked most gaily with paper-
w erg ; again, In the butter market, their Is nothing but
huge lumps of grease and large beef, horse, and donkey
sausages.

Cla-minsde durty carriages, motionless engines,
deserted platforms, empty waiting-rooms, foal closed
booking-offices, bear a gloomy tertimony to the st...te of
siege. however, a new life seems to have sprung out of the
suspended animatiom : in the large luggage-room of the
Northern Railway enormous half-inflated balloons have
taken the piece of the pile.'-up hoses, sad toroth, 'sing
mechanics, inspecting every inch of their vast surfaces.
with the t reatest ettnlloe, have supplanted those troable.
some donanierr who persisted in fumbling in every corner
of your carefully packed portmanteaus in the 4.loNi:qr.
saloon. Where fr, many oft. Laic wafted shivering In the.
cold for cur bang...tee dor,. of active searmtresses Bre occu
pied in joining immense pieces of cit.