The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1874-01-25

Paris at an average distance of mile beyond
the old bulwarks pulled down in 1870. As be-
fore stated, another system of works was COM
menced in 1S4l, about mile still farther out,
which yet stand. while those of 1914 were lev
elled, and great circular street established on
the space occupied by them. This second cir
Gle is called the Boulevards "Exteriur," while |
the other one is called the I" Interieur," and
the outer walls are called the Fertilization
roadway encircling the present city, twenty
one miles in length and few hundred yards
inside of that is military RAILROAD, also en-
circling the city, and intended to handle troops
and munitions with celebrity in time of seige.
From the centre of the city irradiate irreGu-
larly other wi de streets called boulevards, like
the spokes of u wheel from it's hub to its tire
(the tire representing the aforesaid line of for.
tiications). The general appearance of Paris
on map is that of spiders web; but its
streets, other than the boulevards and few
wide rues," are a tangled maze of incOmpre-
hensibie narrow lanes and alleys, which only
tho cabmen are supposed co know or under
stand whence they come or whittier they. 60
At hundreds of points six eight of those
streets converge and end. Where they go from
those points of intersection, no fellow can
find out" for there is not a straight line in
any direction but for short distance Follow
one of them for u few minutes, and you come
to u =" fork of the roads, Take either hand,
| and you come to another fork, or several of
| them, or suddenly reach a blind wall, and are
out of street. Then undertake to retrace your
steps, and, in n few hundred yards travel, you
| are in some other street not seen before. Fol
low that in any. direction, and it brings you
speedily to a focus of half dozen streets.
Then take your choice and start ahead, and
You are lost, no matter which one you select.
The finest thing in the street system of Paris,
along the Seine, on either side thereof. The
river makes grand curve through the city for
| distance of eight or nine miles. The road
| ways laid out on either bank average $50 feet
| in width, and arc planted with trees. The
slopes of the river are walled up with solid
masonry from the bottom to the top, height
of perhaps forty feet-for the whole distance,
except the upper part of the river, where land
ngs or levees have been graded and paved for
the reception of the commerce of the river,
consisting of wood, stone, brick, sand, gravel,
hay and other country produce.
There can be no more beautiful drive imag-
| Unable than on one of those river bank road
ways. On one side is seen many of the finest
public buildings in Paris; on the other hand
is the curying river as it sweeps through the
| city, with half o dozen magnificent arcbed
bridges spanning the Seine always in sight,
each bearing its stream of vehicles and people
On the opposite shore Is the other great drive
tiful gardens; while floating up and down the
river itself is a fotilla of steam omnibus
battereaux," which carry passengers from ono
landing to any other within the walls for three
The streets of Paris are all paved, and kept
clean continually. Such nuisance as street
dust whisking about into shops and dwellings,
known in Paris. Every day the streets are
sprinkled and swept, and those which are
paved with asphalt are washed as we'll as
swept, and kept rs bright aud clean the
marble floor of the Grand Pacific hotel. The
usual pavement material is composed of hard
compact sandstone of blue color, nearly as du
rable as granite 1t is prepared in cubes Of
about six to eight inches in diameter, and laid
SO as to present q Lowell surface. 1t lasts n long
time, but is hard on horses, and very noisy un.
der street traffic. The length of paved streets
in Paris is about 600 miles, of which not faI
from 100 miles are asphalt, which seems to be
quite durable and more popular than stone
block pavement. But there are serious objec
tions to it one of which is, that it affords nc
hold for horses feet and. where it has beer
laid down on streets having any grade or &C
clivity, horses can draw but little load up the
, incline, but slip and fall, and, having fallen
, can rise again with great difficulty. On levo
streets it does very WELL but the surface mus
: be nearly fiat; for if crowned more than feN
, inches tho horses, in wet weather, slip and fal
and ruin themselves in efforts to rise.
} observed the same objection was made t.
the nse of the asphalt pavement in London
where there is perhaps twenty miles of it
or two feet in one hundred, the horses coult
|, not hold their footing with any greater loat
, than o cab and two or three persons in it. o.
a wet day one might see dozen horses dowr
!, in the distance of half dozen squares, will
gaping crowds standing around each watching
the struggles of the poor brute to arise will
the help of the driver and several policemen
The cabmen of London recently held grea
, meeting, at which they passed resolution
) condemning the asphalt pavement, opposing
, the laying down of any more, and demanding
it's removal from all streets that were not al
most level.
In both Paris and London. asphalt is comm,
into general use for sidewalks. For this par
i: of the street nothing has been fs .n'
: equal to it, and it is destined to suppressed
every other material for that purpose in Euro
pean cities.
a The city government of Paris pay tn
contractors $500, 900 o year for keeping TIN
streets clean, removing all garbage and dirt
/ and sw ping the streets daily throughout thu
a year. The contractors deliver this rubbish t.
+ other parties outside of the walls, for which
/ they receive about 100000 The purchaser
of it, after having rotted it in pits sell it t.
the farmers and gardeners at from sixty cent
! to one dollar per cubic yard, and realize there
/ from S750O00 to 100000 per annum. Thu
a number of scavongers in the city employed il
: cleaning the streets ond cartipg off the aocu
mutations average 5000, divided into sevcra
! legions and companies, each having its owl
I district of territory to clean. The wage
: paid to the scavongers-a large number o
\ whom are women, and the rest old men AM
a boys-range from to cents per hour, or 81
q to 80 cents per day. But what a contrast be
tween the street-cleanliness of Paris and tina
of any American city! 1t is almost the differ
i ence between parlor and pigsty. There i
not the slightest particle of dust in the street
to aoil or RDoil the delicate and dainty display