Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1868-04-01
Extracts Of Letter from DIR. Lord.
WRITTEN TO MS FAMILY.

PARIS, March 2.
This has been busy day first went ia
The Jardin des Plantes. Here are the cele-
brated geological Gardens, Museum and Gu
riosties. We found birds Of all kinds Aying
about among the trees or confined in large
cages. Beasts Of every variety were also
roaming about in their respective provinces,
and exhibiting their various pecularities.
The visitors pass salong beautiful walks through
the immense gardens, and look upon lions, IT,
gers, bears, elephants deer, &c. &c, All in
their large enclosures, and enjoying the liber-
ty Of earth, air, and sunshine II was very
interesting sight.
The Gallery of Anatomy contains all sorts
Of skulls, bones, Skeletons and monstrosities,
and representations of fish, flesh, and fowl.
There is no admission to this gallery but by
ticket from a Government official. had pro-
cured no ticket but told the guard " Je suis
Anericaia,' aud slippeda franc into his hand,
whereupon his face became smiling and when
he found | was an American and not an Eng
lishman he took me round to back door and
admitted us to the Museum
| then went on to the Pantheon or the
church of ST. Geneyieye It has passed through
many revolutions, now CHURCH, and now a
memorial edifce for great men. 1t is now
used as a church. In the vaults We saw the
tonbs Of Noltaire, Rousseau, and many dis
tinguished and extngiished men Of French
history. The building itseIfis quite splendid.
The dome is three hundred feet high.
climbed to the top of it aud had remarkably
fine view of Paris Its streets, river, boulo-
wards, churches, monuments and arches, and
population, all were at our feet | have new
er seen anything like it. Here is the great
Babylon Of the world London bears no COM
parison to it. Still the beauty aud the glory
are all superficial The shops aud cafes are
not twenty feet deep Everything Is crowded
in at the windows and into the streets and
the outside show Is marvellous But the in
terror is dreary and uncomfortable There is
no homo in Paris The Frenchman lives in
apartments, furnished or unfurnished, as the
ease may be. lie hires BY the month, and
eats in the cafe The cafe. line al the streets,
and IN the evening they are full and crowded.
Ladies aud gentlemen, and those who are ne-
ther ladies nor gentlemen, occupy the seats
along the sidewalks, and drink their ices and
their sherbet, or eat their pates, in the face Of
the ever moving crowd. II is a strange life,
and yet they are as gay and lively as you can
conceive | am amazed at the size of the
Parisians. | had imagined them petite but
the proportion of the small is less than in any
other city Lhave seen.
We then threaded the streets and finally
came to Saint ROGUE, curious and highly
ornameuted church
Our church does not remind u,n OF the Ca
thelrals Of Europe at all. They are ,ornbs
Of the dead aud tombs OF the living. No hu-
man voice could sound through them. Their
archie and domes rise hundreds of feet--their
columns in double and triple rows cut of all
the parts of the building from each other.
They were never made to preach the Gospel
in, but to minister to human pride, TO hold
the ashes of the dead, aud to resound with the
worship Of a paganized ritualism
Different services can be held in them at
the same time without mutual interference.
saw in one, funeral, mass, and we'd
ding, all going on together at the same mo-
ment visitors and guides wandering through
the idle spaces. No Heaven save Us from
ever building churches in which to bury our
faith and to quench the voices of our preach
,rz