The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1873-09-20
Pho1s nI1 d arSps an CoirriesPPo ssSe.

r1sssiI EsiTaspasalai tooiT:Ii.ssip;si1sidssys.
h PARIs. September 8. 1873.
In looking over Paris. dpd that
:paahy pnblio-buildingsTdestrpy BY its
late civil contest, are beingptorn. down
g. .ec.;.ed. P.lncinalsamong thesai is
the palace of the Tuilleries.of which,
thoughrtoo weltknown 10 need any his
toriaal description, > general outline
would not beYout of place. It was
under the famous, or rather Infamous,
Oatharins de Medicis. that the celn-
brated architect, Philibert Delorme.
ool1auosd &c cree: this magnificent
palace. The site chosen was that OF an
old brick-yard; hence it's name, Tuille.
ries. To give an idea of it's magnitude,
it is sufficient to say, that the front mea-
sures over 1000 feet, and the court
yard. partly enclosed by the Louvre, is
over third OF mile in length and
300 yards in width It was formerly
sort of city resort for the kings OF
France, who never dwelt hero any length
of time; bat in the consulate of the frst
Napoleon, it was made the permanent
residence Of the reigning power. After
his coronation, he added greatly to its
attraotion-one Of the main features Of
which is the Arch de- Triomphe du Car
rousal, which was formerly surmoupted
by the celebrated hor.es OF Lyeippus,
which, on the capture of Paris by the
AIliss, in 1914. were restored to their
original position over the portal OF st.
Marc at Venice, whence they had been
taken by tho Emperor's troops. These
have been replaced by IL quad,'iga. or
chariot, with four horses-a group in
bronze by Bosio. The arch. forty-eight
feet high. fifty one feet wide and two
feet iu thickness, was built by the En-
peror, in imitation of the triumphal
srch Of Severus at Rome. But it was
reserved for frances greatest architect.
the lat. Emperor, Napoleon Ill, whose
unhappy fate all deplore. hut so few
pity, to give to this mass Of stone that
symmetry of form and exquisite airiness
of beauty which seemed to settle upon
everything he has touched, and for
which he has made Paris so celebrated. !.
The palace, facing upon the Tuilleries
gardens. overlooks the Place do Ia Con-
corde, where Marie Antoiuette and King
Louis XVI were beheaded Over the
exact spot where the guilotine once
drank the blood of frances nobility,
now stands the expiutory monument of
the obelisk, which have described in
previous letter. The gardens themselves
are the most beautiful in the city. They
were designed by Louis Quntorze, but,
like the palace, they have been improved
by every subsequent mouarch. In the
recent struggles, they were very much
injured by the shells, and mauy of the
trees were destroyed, but others have
been planted, and in few years, all
traces Of the damage sustained will be
effaced No ediice in Paris is SO rich in
historical associations as the Tuileries,
and none. save the Hotel de Vile, has
been overtaken by SO terrible fate.
1t was the night Of the Goth of May,
1871, that the Communists, aware of
their desperate position aud impending
danger, resolved to wreak their revenge
on the illfated oity, by setting on fire all
the public buildings. The order, pro-
Tossing to be issued by the Committee
Of Public Safety, was, in reality, the
work OF Dombrowski, Eudis and Dele
scluze, whose names it bore. The
Tuilleries, being, as it was, the finest
building in Paris, and the residence of
power 80 hateful to them, was the first
to suffer the consequences Of such an
order. The work of destruction was
commenced on the 22d and 23i Of May.
after the Versailles troops had effected
an entrance into the city; but before
they could obtain possession, the whole
West side. facing the gardens. was
pile Of smoking ruins, and it was only
by the energy and bravery of General
Douai and his troops, that the flames
were prevented from extending to the
Louvre. The clock continued to strike
the quarters until 12. 80. when it, too.
sank beneath the power Of the flames.
While writing of the Tuilleries, the
sad fate which likewise befell the Hotel
de- Vile, naturally suggests itself to the
mind. 70 quote the words of some
anthor, "No edifice in Paris was SO in
teresting. architecturally aud historical
~, none has passed through such varied
vicissitudes, and none has ever been
overtaken with such utter ruin as this
noble pile" The hotel was the work Of
Henry ~, but was not finished until
1G2S. when it WAS placed in the hands
Of the Italian architect, Domenico do
Cortona. The reception and bull rooms
were fitted up in SO gorgeous style rs
to completely eclipse the splendor Of
the most sumptuonsiy furnished palace
in Europe, and the frescoing by the
DointiOO of tho ap,iDnpt ortiefo D,lo