The daily citizen. [volume] (Asheville, N.C.) 1889-1890, 1889-09-06
EUROPEAN LETTERS.
GAY PARIS, THE PRIDE AND
GLORY OF FRANCE.
The Tomb of Napoleon and the
Remains of the I-Ouvre-Grand-
eur of NOtre Dame and the Old
Cemetery OfPere La Chaise.


Editor Citizen :-"Je desire que mes Gin
oIrcs reDOscnt sur les bordcs de Ia Seine
au mefcu de ce peupIe FrancaiS que ia
taut aine.
To-day we read these last wishes of one
of the worlds grandest men, as we stoot
within few feet of his mortal remains
resting as he desired, on the banks of tho
beautiful Seine, and surrounded by every
evidence that the French people loved him
whether his professed love for them was
sincere or not.
The tomb of Napoleon is in all respects
appropriate to be the resting place of the
great general Its brightly gildcd dome
flashes in the sunlight, as though to com.
memorate the splendor of his wonderful
achievements, while the sombrc colorcd
marble of which the mausoleum is com
posed cxcmplihes the sad ending OF a llte,
in exile, far away from his home and his
people.
We could not but ask ourselves, how
many of the thousands who flock to this
spot and gaze down at all that is left OF
Napoleon Bonaparte reflect that this is
but a sermon on the text of King Solo
mon, "All is vanity
For the past fortnight we have enjoyed
the most marvellous works OF God, as
seen in the mighty SHOW capped Alps,
overlooking the calm peaceful lakes at
their feet. To-day we have been engaged
In the consideration of the most beautiful
works OF man, as they abound on all
sides of this, the most beautiful city Of
the world.
Although we have all heard Paris so
described again and again, it is impossi-
BILE to realize its exquisite beauty short OF
personal visit One is impressed by
this upon first arrival-thcre seem no
"sums" to greet the traveller, such as
usually abound near the railroad sta
tions. Even the older portions of the city
are made of well built houses, while the
newer parts we do nos think can else
where be equaled.
We cannot tell the impression the Tuil-
1erirs might have made upon our mind
could we have seen them, but what is
left, the Louvre, in all of its mighty ex-
panse of building, fills us with amaze
incnt nearly approaching awe, and teaches
us how little we knew when we used to
think that our public buildings in Wash
ington were marvels i'll architecture.
For description of this palace of mar
velous beauty we are at loss at what |
point to begin. Naturally we are dis
posed to enter into statistics, so many |
feet or metres, but that would never sat
isfy us, and how could it you? While it |
is surely the largest building we ever
saw, it size is a secondary thought. Its |
admirable proportions seem to draw
every part near to the beholder, and the |
distant statnary seems just at hand, but |
when approached by many hundreds OF
PAGES, the perfections i'll detail of each |
piece are brought to view, one begins to
realize the marvellous skill of the designer |
The beautiful gardens which now take
the place of the Tuillerics, which the Com
mune destroyed, make lovely fore
ground to the magnificent rectangle OF
which three sides remain perfect, and
extend to lie Place de Concorde, once the
site of the dreadful guillotine, of which
the exact spot is marked by an Egyptian
obelisk, not so large as ours in Central
Park, but much better preserved, as to
its heoroglyphics, and equally out OF
place, as we think, in spresent position.
These works of antiquity would pos
sess great interest, if restored to their
original pedestals, and would there be
visited by scholars who would appreciate
them, but here as in New York, gaping
crowd, of whom we are one, surround
them, and their flimsy jokes seem almost
sacrilege. Surely some more suitable
work could be suggested to preserve the
spot on which the poor Queen Marie An
toinette was murdered.
1t is curious what an effect is produced
upon the imagination as one stands upon
the very spot made famous by history
and fiction. Perhaps we had not thought
of THE Tale of Two Cities" for months,
and vet as we stood at this place we fan
cied we could hear the roll of tumbrills
and see brave Carton descend. holding
fast the hand of his poor rlittle companion
and offering her comfort to the very last,
and then stepping forward to give his life
for that of his sweetheart's husband, and
Madame Defarge's companions counting
the guillotines fall as they did their knit
ting, "Twenty-onc! twenty-five twenty
three! Yirc Ia Rcpubfque'
These French are curious people. In
the eyes of the women one can see the
spirit which produced the Revolution
and the horrible Commune, while crowd
of urchins follow our carriage for squares
crying aloud "Kivc LAngLaiS," " in hopes
that an American may reward their pa
triotisln with a centime.
If the French people do not impress us
favorably, we must accord them the Just
praise OF having produced the most won
derfully beautiful buildings. We have this
moment emerged from Notrc Dame and
are full of its grandeur, so full is our
weak brain, that we i'll vain try to write
our thoughts. We can only say that we
feel not the oppression which attended
our visit to Westminster Abbey, but have
sensations of delight, although inexplica-
BILE.
An ascent of the tower is made by
climbing three hundred and seventy
eight steps of stone and in places they
are as dark as Egypt, but the view OBJ
tanned from the top amply rcpays the
fatigue. The most attractive to us is the
graceful curve of the flying buttresses,
rising from either side to support the
Donderous roof of the nave. Tosee these
to advantage one must look down from
above, as otherwise only one side can be
seen at time, but from the tower both
sides are taken in at a glance, and the
tout ensemble is wonderfully, exquisitely
beautiful.
The whole city, too, is spread out below
NJ md we see no cause to climb the dlz-
Nv height of the Eiffel Tower, although
4 is indeed wonderful exempliication
of engineering skill The panorama as
we have just seen it is truly lovely. The
bright silvery waters Of the Seine divide
to take, as it were, this grand old church
into its arms, and reunite above and be-
low the island on which it is located,
while beyond its line the Hotel de Vile is
seen, around which we have just driven,
amazed at its wondrous loneliness.