The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1895-07-07
THE OLD PALAIS ROYAL.
SOME INTERESTING OBSERTATIONS
AND REFLECTIONS.
years Agone Saw the Highest Point oil
All Thy Greatness; and From the run
Meridian, the High Noon OF Iby
Glory, Sorrow Now To Be-
hold Thy Setting"

| hOld my Sf'tihs'
OF the many notable places IN PARIS
particularly its palaces ! do not know
1 OF any one possessing more interest OF
that IS stnl dearer to me than the now
poor and almost forsaken subject OF thls
sketch. Dear old Pala.s Royal. many
years you revealed In regal splendor' hu-
merous. strange, and grand enough were
the scenes enacted within your pflhceiy
walls since first Cardinal Ricnelieu. more
than two centuries ago, held royal court
in vopr marble halls with tho richest ana
! nroudest in all the land. / ask you 10
pause. II you please, amid the runs Oh
this in perial palace, built by the great
Cardinal of France, beneath whose ehui-
eont light Of other days tile solemn
tides of Empire ebbed and flowed stron
through this proud palace where Nea'c'
and bourbon held high revel. only De-
bold and reflect on the change
when the trcmrets Of fame
nave ceased sounding thy name.
| - us during my hrst visit, only Ten
Years back, that feared you "eIv u'.u
| The ban of desertion. and was then 1oi,
NV aprrehensicns were even 10" W"
ea,,,ded as the ten succeeding years also
bear additional evidence so lhae ~" -.
tho mast decade IL pains me- 20 adnllt tnal
,h,s efatoiv old pile has neen slowly rad
ing 10 the complexion Of the sere' 'he
yellow leaf. socially speaking, ana no"
ie I had the honor questionable honoI)
| 90 tho acquaintance OF NJ. le NicoHlle
! Satin des GommeuX. OF the Jockey 'iup'
o- N 1eCeneral Rog7iet de la Poguerie
~ the Corcle des Mirlhons. either OF
those gentlemen ION his return from '-a'
ritz or Trouvile) might. II quesuon'u
concerning That which was once the NOS
fashionable and which VIII al"ays oe Wv
! mos, famous resort I'm the metropolis
rcnlv with a gentle elevation Of the shoul-
dors and a family perceptible move OF as
! daf, m his patrician counterance, lie
palais ROYAL, Voulcz vous dire ceiui de
Pekin: lie Palais Royal! Mais' mon cher
on ny'va plus"
Have YOU not often noticed. dear read
ers how. I'm the growth and the history
OF all cities great and small, the 'lne
OF business. the tendency or every III
| crease is always sooner or later west
| v-ardo Why. every village end town IN
! tbfe broad land OF ours has It's west
| End as a synonym for rapidly or CROWN
| THAT noble old man Of the Tribune peace
~ his ashes). only saw with propheuc
ken when he uttered those pregnant
words Of advice. far more true 'hah
trite. eco West young man. his piaD-
| teal wisdom at the sunset or ne 'oln
| him that the course OF Empire was west
ward. and that there the brave hearts
and The strong arms Of youth were need
ed most.
WESTWARD THE COURSE OF EMPIRE.
The irrevocabIe tendency of civilization
| is from the east TO the west we nave
heard that axiom before. The move
mont is from sunrise 10 sunset, so thal
when "all earthly things shall come 10
gloom" and. "the sun himself snail ne
as the poet Campbell gloomily sings IL
! will be in the remotest Of occldents una,
eoebion will expire. The Paiais Royal
has only experienced the application or
! a universal law. Fashionable civihza-
tion what a grand. indesruou-
HE monument to fashionable clVl-
| uzationi Surely such deVolee
never bowed az her Shrine III
all the dark ages that are past; such
| eieht was reserved for this era OF HshI)
| This Questionable civilization spreading
westward. spreading and reaching 10
,nnuuerable new boulevards, stretching
out 10 the Pare MOnceauN. oV'rruIhln5
| the Champs Elysces. and Threatening 10
! overlap the Bots de Bouloshe' mas con
t,mntuouslv pronounced the Palais Royal
! TO be situated, as things 60 aahs uh
pavs impossible. Such Is the ultimatum
as bv business and civilization-a
! nax,inp business and fashioh-
ahie civilization. both heraldns the
irresistible march OF progress III
the evening of this nineteenth century
4. D. So now this dear, grand ola falals
| Roval is TO longer 4 place 10 clhe' 20
nromenade. 10 nirt. or even 10 conspire
| in. a Ia mode. 1t is too far away. IL
| IS fashionably considered al Pekln. Inc
| Great restauratours. Velour excepted nave
| deserted the enceinte Of the falals hoydl
| for the Western Tsulevards The cafes
are socially ana Intellectually only the
shadows Of their former selves. and final
! Is. the cdidce has. ten porarily perchance.
lost the slight political Importance which
| under the Second Empire is possessed
Most Of us who know anything or Frencn
/ history also know the transtory and al
most mythical character Of French poll
tics. The origin and result. the cause and
effect OF a French revolution may al
most be told in The scope 81 newspaper
| paragraph. except. perhaps, the great
! Revolution that eliminated during the
I
much space in the worlds history. with
little effort at an abridgement or an cpl
tome we might give you an illustration
| here.
The side OF the vast quadrangle facing
! the Rue 81. HOnoro IS, as most people
know. a magnificent palace. erst the
! town residence OF the Duke or orleans
! Thither did tho pronigate cynic Philippe
Fralite turn sad eyes as the death trm-
bril- bore him through a hooting mob,
past the old splendid home OF his fore
| fathers, to where the guillotine awaited
| him IN the Place de la Revolution, now
/ the Place ~ Concord. And in july, lNH,
| from the windows Of that self-same Pai-
| ais Royal did the son OF Esalite look
wis.fully nalf fearfully. half hopefully.
on another mob. pouring yelling ana
| triumphing. from the Louvre which they
| had just sacked. screening the Mar
seillaise roaring give Ia Charte.
| give Ia Republique" "Nive laiay-
| ettei" "Vive Louis Philippe" The
| last cry won the day. and Louis Pnil-
| lime. Duke Of ORLEANS went forth from
| the Palajs Royal a citizen king Eigh-
teen Years afterwards the mob came
back to his house 10 turn II out OF win
| dows.
SCORE OF YEARS OF sPIFNDoR.
Again. after an interval OF twenty-five
years. long time IN France. in the Sep
tefnber Of 1870. the multitude were IN a
| Datrotically honest mood and forebode 70