The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1884-10-02
N.FOREIGN LANDS.
Correspondence of the lnteuigeneer.

M.FOREIGN LANDS.
Correspondence of the Intcuigencer.
The observing tourist will find much t.
admire in the French people. In spit
oftheir faults and follies, in spite of thei
fcklsness and frivolity, they are indus
trious and frugal, clean and neat in thei
personal habits, courteous and obligint
to one another and to strangers, as vel
as patriotic to the last degree, and possess
ing unbounded faith in "la belle France
We left Geneva in the evening, ant
going by way of Lausanne and Pontar
lier, we passed over the mountains of th'
Jura range aud before daylight were ta
on cur way to Paris, which we reached a
about 800 o'clock in the morning. Tht
region through which we pass before
reaching the city is evidently one of thu
most fertile and best cultivated sections
of country which can be found in an,
land. The neat farm houses, the vel
trimmed hedges, the fine growing crops
the thriving villages, all give evidence o
q thrifty, prosperous and happy people.
aParis is France" says the proverb
but although this may be true to Ger
tain extent. it is also true that the French
man the provinces possesses the nation
al virtues in a far greater degree thar
does the Psrisian, while the nationa
vices crop ont more prominently in th'
dweIlers in Che national metropolis. Th'
contrast between the cities of London ant
Paris are very great, and in not on,
point, not even on the score of visible
wickedness, is the comparison unfa7ora
bic to the continental city,
The French Metropolis is located OF
both sides of.the river Seine, aud on the
islands of the City and st. Louis, by fal
the larger portion being upon theiN North
.ern bank. Its population is about twe
and quarter millions, and its walls are
twenty-five. miles in extent, and have 65
gates. The annual receipts of the muni.
.cipals government ara about S25,000,000
The central point of the city is the Place
Royal, along which passes the great
sthoroughfare Of the city, from Southeast
to Northwest. This grand avenue, from
the Place de Ii Nation, on the Southeast
margin Of the city, to the Place de Ia
,Bastile, is known as the Rue de Faubourg
st. Antoine; from the Place de Ia Bastile
to the Hotel dc Vile, it is called Rue st.
Antoine; from the Hotel de Vile past
the Louvre to Place de la Concorde it is
the Rue de Rivoli; from the Place de la
Cenco-de to the Arc de-, Triomphe, the
Avenue des Champs Elysees, and beyond
the arch, the Avenue de 10 Grande
.Armee; all North of the Seine. To the
North as well as on the South beyond
the river, the original boulevards, broad
avenues constructed on the old forti6ca-
.tions, approximate to a semi.circle in
form.
Among the numerous points of inter-
est in the city, it s'somewhat difficult to
decide what should be seen first; but the
Place de la Concorde, on the North bank
of the Seine, is not surpassed in interest
by anything either within or beyond the
walls. It is one of the most historic 10.
caljties in France and is the most mag.
,nifeent Place" or public square in the
world. In the centre stands the obelisk
of Luxor, one of the most perfect and
beautiful monoliths ever designed. 1t
was presented to Louis Philippe By Me-
hemet Ali, and was brought from Egypt
in 1886. Its inscriptions refer to the
time of Sesostris, nearly 3,400 years ago.
On either side of the obelisk is fine
bronze fountain and surrounding the
Place are statues representing eight of
the principal cities of France. To the
East are the gardens and palace Of the
Tuiieries, with the Louvre beyond; to
the West the. Champs Elysees with the
Arc de Triomphe in the distance; on the
South is the Seine, with the Pont de Ia
.Concorde connecting with the buildings
of the Corps Legislatif on the other bank,
and on the North are the Offices of the
Marine Department, and at the end of
Rue Royal, the Mamalaine. This square
has had bloody history. Here at the
marriage of Lonis XVI and Marie An
toinette in ITO panic resulted in the
death. Of more than one thousand persons.
Here in 1898 the guillotine was set up
and numbered among ils thousands Of
victims, the King Louis XVI, Charlotte
Corday, Marie Antoinette, Danton,
Robespierre and others. Here also
occurred one of the most desperate strug-
gles Of the Commune in 1871. Three
times have foreign armies encamped
here. The Russians in 1914, the English
il 1916 and the Prussians in 1871; and
yet to see the Place de la Concorde of to.
day, filled with the life, the beauty, the
fashion of this gay capitol, one would
never dream of the sanguinary scenes it
has witnessed in the past.
East Of the Place de Ia Concorde, be-
yond the gardens, is the palace of the
Tuileries, which was destroyed by the
Communists of 1871. The place is now
occupied by temporary structures used by
the Post Office department until the COM
pletion of their new building. Beyond
this is the palace of the Louvre, also par
TALLY destroyed by the Commune, but
since rebuilt. It is an immense pile Of
buildings, with frontage of nearly half
a mile on the Rue de Rivoli, and lying
between that avenue and the river. The
Eastern portion of the palace was occu.
pied in 1872 by Catherine de Medici and
her son, Charles TX. and here that weak
and bigoted monarch consented to the
horrible massacre of st. Bartholomew, the
great bell of the church of st. Germaine
IAuxerrois, just opposite, tolling forth
the dread signal throughout that awful
night. The Louvre is vast store-house
of both ancient and modern art. It's gal.
leries Of sculpture contain an immense
collection of the best work Of the Grecian
masters, including the Venus de Milo,
the Borghese Gladiator, the Apollo
Sauroktonos and many others, as we'll as
q large number of the best works of more