The Press.
London, England, 1858-08-28 00:00:00

ties. But he has waited so long that others appear
likely to bid for some portion of that large amount
of public favour which awaits any writer who,
without the shackles of local prejudice, and with
a sufficient amount of antiquarian knowledge
and travelling experience, comes fbrward to com-
pile a sensible, readable, and trustworthy guide-
book. Among the most promising of these are
the writers whom Mr. Stanford has induced to
cater for the public wants, if we may judge by
the works placed at the head of this article,
which for cheapness, portability, and extent,
combined with conciseness of information, surpass
any we have hitherto met with. They do not
I apparently profess to aim at the great elaborate-
ness of Murray, and, as they have chosen ground
as et unselected by him, no invidious compari-
sons need be made; but they seem to contain
everything which an ordinary traveller is likely
to want to know, and are in every respect a
wonderful advance beyond the old class of guide-
books which by the absurdity of their style and
the inadequacy of their matter have so often
excited our alternate ridicule and despair.
Mr. Stanford has not, like Mr. Murray, been
deterred from publishing a Paris Guide by the
existence of Galignani ; whose work, though
excellent and copious, does not after all conde-
scend quite enough to the ignorance of the raw
John Bull on his first invasion of our neighbours
capital,—when lie is far too much perplexed
about where he shall sleep, and how he shall
dine, and what theatre he shall go to, to care
very much about histories of charitable institu-
tions, or architectural criticisms upon public
buildings. In Mr. Stanford's Guide the traveller
is engagingly led by the hand, from the first mo-
ment when he conceives the adventurous thought
of crossing the Channel, up to the time when he
feels sufficiently at home in Paris to enter an
omnibus for a ride into the suburbs. First of all,
there are instructions for obtaining the passport,
with all the requisite forms,—the trouble of com-
plying with which in person may be avoided by
anyone who chooses to pay four or five shillings
to a passport agent. Then we have tables of
French money, weights and measures, hints re-
specting the douane, and a full description of four
different routes from London to Paris, with their
comparative expenses, and a note of the objects
of interest occurring on the way. These are il-
lustrated by a map, in which the routes being
distinguished by different colours, enable the ad-
vantages of each to be seen at a glance. On our
" arrival at Paris" we have a chapter teaching
us how we may be housed and fed. The latter of
these subjects occupies about a dozen pages, and
is so fully treated that the provident traveller
may settle, before leaving London, where he will
dine, what he will have for dinner, and what he
will have to pay, without being very far out in
his calculations. In case the unwonted luxuries
of a Parisian meal should tempt to excess, the
writer has, with grim satire, subjoined in the
next page the names of a number of English
physicians, surgeons, and chemists, who may
avert the threatened dyspepsia. After this come
omnibus routes, cab fares and regulations, and
railways.
The historical part consists of a list of French
kings, with dates, and a short sketch of the suc-
cessive augmentations and improvements of Paris.
The topographical information is arranged partly
in three " itineraries," describing successively
the Boulevards, the palaces, and the public mo-
numents ; and this is succeeded by an account of
the administration, and of the religious, educa-
tional, and charitable establishments. Amuse-
ments are by no means forgotten, and, besides a
tabular synopsis of the prices of admission to
every part of each theatre, the compiler is
obliging enough to escort us to Mabille and the
Salle Valentino. The environs of Paris—more
cursorily treated—close the book. There is a
map of them, and also one of Paris itself, con-
taining the latest alterations.
The other two works on our list offer a very
favourable contrast to the genus of English
guide-books characterized in our preceding re-
marks. The one of the Channel Islands is on
the same plan as that just noticed, the same kind
of practical information being placed in the
foreground, and very fully detailed. The
remainder consists of " excursions," all. of
which appear to have been described from
fresh personal observation ; and there is a use-
ful chapter on the laws affecting person and