Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1900-12-25
VIEW sERIEs. Vol. xxxv. I've. 3.

on scale of marvellous beauty. Here
are shown Napoleon's apartments his
bed, a marvel of gold work, a clock
adorned with antique canoes given him
by Pope Plus VII. The small round table
on which he signed his abdication is there
and the guide showed US the door out OF
which he passed to take tic last adieux
OF his soldiers and generals IS he Went
hence to St. Helena 1t was here the
sentence of divorce was pronounced
AGAINST the Empress Josephine in 1900.
Was founded by Louis VII in 1862. Fran
CTS however converted the old fortress
OF Louis VII into a grand Palace. Henri
~ added considerably to it, since which
time it has undergone few alterations.
Alter The Restoration it was much neg
lected. Then Louis PHILIPPE and Napoleon
III spentHvast sums in restoring it. The
forest of FonGinebleau is about fifty
miles in circumference aud contains ~
500 acres. now vast game preserves.
In Paris, the Louvre and Tuileries to-
gether cover an area of about IS acres.
forming one of the most magnificent
palaces in the world, and lie along the
banks of the Seine. The palace is built
along two sides of a court, which must be
400 feet wide, and the length of the struc-
ture on each side of said court is $50 steps,
making 1910 steps on the two sides or
about mile long. At the west end of the
court stands the equestrian statue of
General Lafayette, given to the city OF
Paris by the school children of America.
1t isequally beautiful. as It is appropriate.
The picture galleries of the Louvre are
over half mile long, and contain about
25oo select works, almost every school be-
ing represented by numerous master
pieces. There are also there, very many
pieces of rare sculpture, among them the
famous Venus de Milo. .whichit is claimed
represents the the highest type of Grecian
at. 1t was found in 1920 by a peasant,
in the island of Melos at the entrance TO
the Greek Archipelago. and sold to the
French Government for 6ooo francs. We
saw there thousands of old carvings in
stone, marble and bronze, old tombs,
bas reliefs of battle scenes, images of
animals, and partsot columns, vases, spears
and ali kinds of implements of war, which
We're found in the ruins of old temples
and palacesin Italy, Egyptand the islands
of the Mediterranean. In one of the
great rooms IN the Louvre is a large glass
show case. in which is kept the supgrb
sword which the first Napoleon had, made
for himself. and is soid to have cost =. goo
600 francs or 5000 600. The entire handle
and guard is a mass of diamonds set in
platinum. 1t must contain several hun
dred diamonds, several of which arc very
large. In the same case are the crown
jewels Among these are the " Regent. "
perhaps the finest diamond in the world.
and weighs I36 carats and worth about
FIVE million dollars; the .Mazarin, F." a rose
dlsmond- of immense value; the Dragon
shaped ruby the crown of Napoleon in
imitation OF Charlemagne's a watch
presented to Louis XIV by the Dey of
Algiers a beautiful diamond chatelaine
which belonged TO Catherine de Medici.
a guard stands at this case all the time.
In the Louvre on the 10Th of Aug. 1892,
Marguerite of Valois was married to
Henry of Navarro, afterwards Henry "
of France. Five days later the Massacre
of St. Bartholomew tool, place the signal
being given in this palace. This attack
on the French Protestants, instigated, as
we all know, by Catharine de Medici
and her weak son Charles TX, took for
its first victim the venerable Admiral
coligny, and a beautiful monument was
erected to his memory in church yard
near by. Yours truly.
wM. w. RoUss.