The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-01-13

Guide to Inris.
II may be said without qualification that
the best book on the French capital which
has appeared in many years-perhaps the
best of its kind ever written-is Paris"
by the late Grant Allen. The author was
a man of wonderful versatility, and it is
to be noted that whatever he did he did
at least passably we'll But this guide
book, as it may perhaps be called, is more
than passable; it is as good as it can be-
After reading it one has the sensation of
having seen Paris, and it is not only
graphic in descriptions, but packed with
information of an extremely useful kind.
To anyone who contemplates a visit to
Paris and wishes to become acquainted
with the art and historical monuments of
the city this will undoubtedly be the most
valuable guide either to take upon the
journey or to read beforehand.
One of the features in which this book
differs from some other books of a like
nature is explained in the preface as fol-
lows:
single instance will show the method upon
which intend to proceed better than any amount
OF general description church, rule, Is
built over the body OF relics Of u particular
saint, in whose special honor it was originally
erected That saint usually one of great
local importance al the moment Of its erection
or was peculiarly imp.ored against plague, for
ei-n enemies, or some other pressing and dread
ed misfortune. In dealing with such a church,
then, l endeavor to show what were the circum-
stances which led TO its erection and what
memorials OF those circumstances il still retains.
In other cases il may derive its origin from some
special monastic body enedictine, Dominican
FrGnciscan-and may therefore be full Of the pecu-
liar symbolism ana historical allusion OF the order
who founded 1t. u herever ! have TO deal witt.
such church / Try as far possible to
hibit the effect which its origin had upon its
architecture and decoration; 10 trace the image
of the patron saint in sculpture stained glass
throughout the fabric and to set forth the CON
nection Of the whole design with time and place,
with order and purpose. In short, instead OF
looking upon monuments of the sort mainly as
the product OF this or that architect, look upon
them rather as material embodiments OF the spirit
Of the disqualification, it were in stone,
and bronze in form and color, Of great popular
e1thusiasris
Mr.. Allen then goes on to say that in
his guide book little space will be devoted
to modern constructions or to the excur
sion in the Paris sewers. He is writing
the book for the benefit of people who are
interested in Paris and It's history; not
for curiosity hunters.
This author. as may be evident to those
who have read his Colin Clout's Calen-
dar" and some other works on nature, is
half poet. and one sees throughout this
book the desire to lead his readers to
perceive the hidden relations OF things,
the key to this form of art or that to oc-
cupy themselves not so much with the ma
terial work as with the spirit which ere
ated il. While he explains thoroughly the
difference between various schools of
architecture painting and sculpture, and
does not omit any of the details which are
useful in a guide book, he is constantly
pointing cut the reasons why such and
y, 4.-l.. to fGV
chapel being erected in a certain place,
the reason why one picture is in a place
of honor, and another ''skied," and why
one painting is bad and another good. OF
course, to the thorough student OF art and
history many of these things are already
known, but 1t must be admitted that not
many of the Americans who go TO Paris
are thorough students, though a great
many OF them would like to be. Unfor-
tunately, the books which really explain
what such seekers for knowledge want to
know are few and far between. Most
guide books are catchpenny affairs, and
books of travel are too frequently indef-
mite and unsatisfactory when ii comes to
real informs ton or the books which give
really valuable information, some are too
technical in their language and some are
so expensive as to be inaccessible to peo-
pie who have not the access to large libra
ries or long purses OF their own. More
over, the information needed is scattered
through SO many books that it takes time
to get at all that is wanted, even If one
knew where to find IT. Therefore this lit
tie work of Mr.. Grant Aliens should be
welcome to the public 1t is in two small
volumes-a most reprehensible arrange
ment for novel, but not SO bad for a
guidebook The illustrations are not the
least part of its attractiveness, particu-
larly for those readers who are not going
to Paris. but wish merely to study the art
and architecture of the city. There are
innumerable photographers of buildings,
paintings, sculptures, and interiors. The
book should find place in every public
library and in many private collections.
II is particularly well adapted for a gift
book, being dainty enough in appearance
to please the most fastldious taste and Of
great value in itself Boston: L. c. Page
& Co. s2.50)