The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1874-01-25
Almost An Entire Absence of Conf1agrations
and the Causes of Such Absence.

Paris is a spectacle, n show piece, theatre, |
an opera, n circus, IA panorama, ali combined.
For more than 4 century the rulers of France
have sought to make it the worlds fashion !
able headquarters, where all the idle and |
peasure-lovinSm men and women with necuniary
means would come and spend their leisure and
their money-especially their money. And
they have achieved their purpose, although it
has cost hundreds of millions.
The natural tastes OF the people of Paris
ucite with their interests. and peculiarly
qualify them to eclipse all rivals in catering
to the fashionable, extravagant, and butterfly
classes of society.
Thus it is that Paris, without any natural
advantages whatever, has made herself the
second city of the world in population and
wealth, and the first in point OF beauty and
art. Paris is not q seaport, and has no direct
foreign commerce.. There are no great de-
posits of coal or other valuable mineral in the
vicinity to furnish steam-power or materials
of manufactures; not even fertile country, for
the soil 10 thin and poor, and requires good
culture to make reproductive. There is no
water power, and the water itself is inferior
and scarcely fit to drink But Paris has tri-
umphed over all these disadvantages of stu
alton and den ais OF Nature, and has fairly
eclipsed all her rivals and carried off the
PRICE
Paris owes its particular location to little
island formed by the river Seine, which in
closed within it's embrace abont 80 acres of
land, on which wandering tribe, some 500
or more years ago, built their huts and lived
Of this patch of ground, swept on all sides by
strong, deep cure MT, rendered it o natural
fortress difficult of invasion by any other
tribe. And hereon was founded the city of
Paris; and when it was covered with houses,
villages grew up on the opposite shores, and
in time great city was constructed around
this little kernel Ihis lsiana, Tor Thousand
years more, has been called LA Cite"-The
City.
Upon the conquest of Gaul by Julius C;nsar,
he found q braEch of the tribes calling them
selves PARISH occupying this river stronghold,
which they named Lutetia. Bot it was not
until the time of the Emperor Julian, AID. 800,
that Lutetia changed its name to Paris, and
obtained political franchises and the dignity
of Roman colonial city. On tho island is the
famous Notre Dame Cathedral, which is the
Westminster of Psris. 1t was first built about
A. D. 1852, was burned down and rebuilt sew
eral times. The present walls have been
standing about $50 years. .,
One way of describing Paris is comparing it
with London or New York. 1t contains a little
more than half the population of the former,
and q little less than double that Of the latter
A city almost twice as populous as the com
mercial capital of America must strike the
reader as avery large city,
Paris covers an erea of 1921 acres or trife
e-32 square miles, of compactly built ter
eggshaped, miles in longest and miles in
shortest diameter, and 81 miles in circumfer-
ence. 1t has no suburbs, properly speaking,
but is wholly contained within the wall, erect
ed during the reign of Louis Philippe, between
1871 and 1913. In military parlance, the EN-
ceinte" Cor wall) consists of ninety-four fronts
of $40 yards each, with a ditch of the average
depth Of 20 feet and breadth of 60 to 1G0 feet.
There are sixty. five public entrances, vix.
ifty-one highways, ten passages for railways,
and four posterns. The W alls average 40 feet
in height from the bottom of the ditch to the
parapet. They are strengthened by sixteen
powerful detached casemated forts, present
ing ninety-three fronts which defend the ap-
proac hes and are connected Herewith by q SER
les of underground strategical roads. During
the seige of Paris the Germans were unable
to silence or capture q single one of the forts
and never got near the walls until after the
city surrendered by force of famine.
The main value of these walls Of circumval.
lation in time of peace is to prevent the SNUG.
Cling of food or drink into the city without
first paying heavy octroi duty thereon, from
which tax is derived the chief revenue of the
city government. Nothing can enter the city
except at one of the gates, which are guarded
by police and soldiers.
The first system of Notifications of Paris
were erected in the days of the crusades
They were called the Boulevards Cor bulw arks)
they embraced q circuit of about seven miles
and extended just about n mile in each direc
ton from Notre Dame cathedral, on the island
In the course of time this space of four square
miles became completely filled up with poPu
lation.
About the year 1870 the government pulled
down the walls and towers and filled up the
bitches, and laid off a grand highway, about
goo feet wide, in the space formerly occupied
by the wall and ditch. Two rows of trees
were planted around this circle, or the greater
part of it, leaving n wide roadway between
them, and sidewalks 30 or 40 feet wide, which
now swarm with pedestrians. Many of these
trees are still standing, especially those plant
Lat the Ssnth bouievards about 100 yeart
\. This wide, sweeping driveway retained
general name of the boulevards, though il
q score of sub-names. For instance, com
nee at the Madeleine church-which is
lgnifcent structure, built exactly in the
Ffe of the Temple of Jupiter at Athens-ths
st section is called the Boulevard de Ia Mad
zine; next the Boulevard des Capuciuet
fronting which 1 sit); next, the Boulevard
es Italiens then, tho Boulevard Montmartre
ext, POissonnieIe; then, Bonnie Nouvelle
fhs brinps us around to the Arch of st. DeniG
Ind the Arch of st. Martin, where two promi.
bent streets intersect the boulevard, about 9
mile from where we started. The next change
Of name is the Boulevard st. Martin; teen
1.-THE Boulevard du Temple then, the Boulevard
ties Files da Colverie; then, the Boulevard
4 Eeaumarchais; then, Place de la Bastile bein9
3 the place where stood the old bastile of the
revolution. at this point n dozen or more
streets converge from every direction. The
distance from the bastile to the Madeleine is
something over two miles, and in that space
the street. it will be observed, changes its
name ten timesi 10 the remainder of the cir
cult it changes its name ten times more, ma
king twenty in all. Between the Madeleine
and tho Bastile is the Broadway of Paris, on
which is founded the best class of buildings
hnnaaa and fhentrRa. the