Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1873-10-21
ong stone staircase to the first stHeet.

nae night that WOuiu n lave done UOQOI
} 10 Hell's Half-Acre. The palsied arms
and sore legs did work worthy Of bet
ter cause. After passing this miserable
, squad ! began slowly TO climb to the
! 4ruined palace. Every step opens up
some new beauty, until you stand in
front of this once royal residence, that
commands view all over Paris and its
Qualifications. ] have asked frequently
why this palace was destroyed. The
French say the Prussians burned il; the
Prussisns say the French destroyed it to
prevent its being taken One thing is
certain; like the charge at Balakla-
va, somebody blundered. The gar
dens and grounds are still kept in
perfect order, which means, in France,
the highest artistic skill. Everything
that nature aud man could DO has been
done here to give picturesque beauty
being built on q succession of hills, gave
the opportunity for novel mbeliishment
Each eminence is leveled of TO a
plateau on the top, and the sides are
walled up in solid masonry fIOm twenty
to forty feet high, perhaps more in some
/ instances. These walls are covered
thickly with ivy, so old that it has seen
/ many a revolution and been under
many an imperial eve. There are grand
avenues through old forest trees for
/ driving, and still more charming ones
walking, where one comes uDsuspect-
ingly on some rare group OF statuary or
| fountain, or lovely arrangement Of
/ flowers. Every step brings q delightful
change of scene, frequently you come to
a stone stairway leading you upward 30
other beauties. / found q fellow here
! selling broken bits of china, real Serre,
/ that had the imperial \ and crown on
/ it, that had once furnished the table
/ Napoleon, hut had so far outlived my
| days of play-hOuses and doll-babies"
Z that l could not get up an appreciation
/ for this kind OF wares, and refused the
/ investment. Another enterprising in
dividual with a telescope offered an en-
chanting view Of Fort Naler5in
and all the other Notifications
around Paris for the modest sum
of half q crown a peep. This out
! lay of his met with no success with
me, for had made up my mind TO
never fight these places either at long
or short range, and my eyes were quite
sufficient without the aid Of glass for
any other purpose.
1t seems to be the one great specially
now of ST. Cloud to sell the debris Of
the seige. Judging from what / saw, l
should say they make lucrative bust
ness of it. But to have the French war
brought before you in aetual reality, is
to 90 and see what is called the "PanO
rama of the Seige Of Paris. Do not for
q moment imagine that it is anything
like an American moving panorama
that can be set up at any crossroads
aud unwOund, nothing of the Kind, but
it Is one of the most complete illusions
[ ever witnessed. You seem to be stand
ing in the center of a fort. You look
around on all sides and see the distant
Notifications and the intervening views
of Paris, and then at the embankments
surrounding you men are at work
with cannon, and otherwise IN the
most natural manner. All the active /
Iabors of defense and fight are going on, |
and YOU almost fancy you can hear the |
shot and bursting shell. The distance 4
seems reasonably great to the outside 1
earthworks, but look near you; Al /
your feet is real gravel, and little far 1
Lher away j. bona fdc cannon pointing /
through embankmentsO of "sure enough
ssnd-bags and wicker work. You know
most certainly that the perspeetives
are painted, but if it were, TO save your
life YOU could not tell. And here the
picture begiRs, and the real thing leaves
Off So mathemsticaly correct has
distance been measured, with its atm0s-
pberic effect in color, that nature ana
art stand side by side, without the O6-
server being able TO distinguish one
from the other. Even the heavens above
YOU have that far-away appearance
Of real sky. The only reason that !
have for believing that il was not, was
that was certain OF having entered
covered building. This letter seems to
be a sight seeing one, as there are no
events of importance transpiriDg here
now, outside of the trial Of Marshal Ba-
zaine, which appears as interminable as
''Jarndiee rs. Jarndice,n of "Bleak
House" nOtoriety. 'Tis too weaTisome to
follow with interest. The autumn has
set in with a soft and charming atmOs-
rhere, that induces one out all day. In
this sunshine am "making hay by /,
taking views Of Paris on foot, the only
true way to get a correct idea of this in
teresting city. Yesterday IN my search
es for the curious, ] found the "Palais
POmpeieri,n the nesiden built for
Pripce Napoleon on the ,O3el of the
ones discovered at POmpeii. Visitors
are seldom admitted TO see it, but the
being a chatty old woman, !
managed with the aid of a frauc to get
her enough interested in me to show me
over the house. At present there Is nO
one living in it. The court or front yard
is very prettily Ornamanted with shrub
berry, and the fountain in the center.
Under the massive columns at the en-
rance is a tesselated pavement of black
and white marble, with dog in mosaic ,
al hnv- 81 10 ra-1Hh fh.a mi ]
Ter them. Care CdnelH, that IS, beware
IF the dog. On the threshold on open
ing the door is also in mosaic the wei,
come word iSdiUC. This first entrance
chamber like all the balance in the
house, has q floor Of different cOlOred
marbles, but each is made in different
designs In the center Of this room is
formed a basin in the floor, of six o.
eight feet in diameter 10 let in water for
fish or any other ornamental purpose.
The ancients used these basins for bath
ng the feet on entering. Around this
are columns passing up through ,
he secOud-stOTy, supporting the roo !
which is mostly glass. This skylight !
gives 8 strangely beautiful effect TO thf |
bright red painted walls that form tn,
back groundon which is painted legOT-
cal pictures of the seasOn. Red seems
20 be the principal decorative color Of the
house. The doors are carved oak with /
bronze reliefs Of the finest workmanship !,
The letter 80 n" is in conspicuous relief
lu all the doOr-handles aud medallion ,
of walls and fire-plsces
The bathroom is an expensive wonder A.,
being entirely of marble, top, bottom J
md sides. The old coRciergeS insisted /,
hat the sides We're onyx; but / con /
.luded that she might be little mis- Z
AIKEN as to name. 1t certainly is very :
and highly polished; but ! /,
hink it is a kind OF marble, of very .
lelicate pinkish tint, by far too pretty t. !
,e shut up in a room and only seen at +
,ath.
This peculiar house, with all its an !
ique decorations, has the comforts Of +
modern life - drawing-roOm, library, /
greenhouse, billiard !
Oom and gymnasium. The latter has :
very large and fine mosaic in the floor \
hat once belonged 10 Napoleon the First. :
The old woman showed with a great =
ceiling of pride the chamber OF Princess n
'lotilda. The walls and doors ar II
raped with blue silk, lined with yellow h
ilk. The bed and furniture were Ordi-
lsry mahOgOny modern in style. The !
lOOfS NllhONV Car pets was lne same mar p,
lie mO,sic rs the other apartments. As n
gem Of miniature art this paiaiS j. r
worth nay moment Of trouble -
o visit it, even keep the old woman
hating by hattery and the sight of Z,
title silver. II
MARY !. HOLMES Of Memphis. q
-~S~ u
A dispatch from Rome says, the gen n
raj o. the society OF tesuits waS yesterday l.
otihed Or The government that the order q
,usf ifnul -iiately vacate th, premises occu- ii
- nv fbar1 in that CITY. q