, 1877-11-09
"La Belle France"

III Is uU WODuCl
light in the above atfectionate comph-
ment to their land. The exclamation OF
stranger will most naturally be, "How
pretty.n Greater solidity, broader enter
prise, wider knowledge, may be found
elsewhere; but for neat arrangements
pleasing to the eye, and for graceful and
even picturesque grouping, there is moth,
ing to rival France. Already in some OF
our American cities we have taken Leaf
out of the Gallo book. The removal Of
the black and repellent ratings from
parks and squares, the construction, and
even the name, "Boulevards," the fur
nishing of seats in open places of resort,
and the introduction of the finest flowers
to the gaze of the poorest of the people
these are points in which London, New
York, and other great capitals, wisely
initiate Paris. 1t is not, surely, an un-
likely thing that eyes habituated to fresh
ness, order and beauty in the streets, will
more readily crave it in the home than
will those whose doors open on unsightly
heaps of dirt, or piles of decaying rubbish,
The features of Paris have been so Of
ten described that it is useless to dwell
on them. The only objects that strike
one unpleasantly are the Hotel de Vile
and the Tuileries, in ruins, a new street
to run in front of the latter, of which the
only portion undestroyed is that which
the late emperor had restored for the
Prince Imperial, which still stands-a
hopeless omen to the minds of the Bona
partists of the restoration of the family
to power. There are the same clean
streets, the same level drives, the same
rivulets of clear water each morning
flowing down what is no longer a
"gutter" (Salt Lake City has like ar
rangement), the same clean looking
working people in the blue blouses, and
the same courteous civility as of old.
Your coachman, starting in the evening,
finds himself withouta a match to light
his lamps; he stops at a stand, asks for
one and receives it with as much polite
ceremony as if giver and receiver were
dukes. 1t is little matter, but tits one
in which the Anglo-Saxons have some
thing to learn.
The features of rural scenery in France
have been less noticed than the attrac.
tions of Paris. Indeed French country
life is hardly known at all to mere tour
lists, who pass hastily from great city to
great city, many never stopping after
they have Quilted the capital. In con-
trast with English and American fields,
there are practically no fences. Multi
tudinous farms lie alongside, with their
crops disposed in narrow ribbons OF
wheat, oats, sanfoin, potatoes, turnips,
hemp, and, in the South, vines, with no
boundary that catches the eye. The va
riety of color is great, and the effect to
the eye is pleasing, but the arrangement
suggests the smallness of tbs farms and
the multiplicity Of proprietors. Ma
chinery does little, the hand does most.
In ride of nine hours by rail, in harvest,
only one reaping- machine was seen. One
consequence of this arrangement is the
utilization of every foot of the soil. Earl
Russell once described Irish fences as
earthen Notifications, along the road tops
of which carriage might be driven.
There is an improvement in this respect,
but there is room for more. No such
waste occurs here. A mans wheat
drops its heavy heads over the carrots OF
his neighbor, without bit of unsightly
or useless soil between.
The absence OF cattle from the fields is
less agreeable feature. From Paris to
Dion, run Of over three hundred miles,
in only two Instances we're cattle seen
feeding. One could understand the
heavy backloads of grass, vine-leaves,
and the like, being carried home by the
women, who certainly take their full
share, apparently, in the labors of the
field. The cattle have to be provided for
in their sheds. In few cases focks of
sheep were seen in patches from which
the crop had been removed, q man on one
side, and dog on the other defending
the crops from them. Poor things they
looked embarrassed and uncomfortable
very like \ company of Saxons making
believe to be at their ease in the dreary
interval that precedes a public dinner
One would rather see them ranging freely
over the green expanse, as on the Eng