The Semi-weekly leader. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1905-1941, 1919-04-19


seventy-two hours in Paris. Many o
us, realizing the educational valu
of this trip, are availing oursolve
Of this opportunity, for Paris is tn
most beautiful and most historical
city of the continent. 1t is city o
three million people, the capital ant
the home of the president, as well a
the home of more foreigners thar
any other city in the world. Sur
rounding it is wall and moat o.
the middle ages. although within it
one can md the highest achieve
ments of modern art and architec
ture. It is the heart of France ant
the goal of all true Frenchmen. Al
Caesar said of Rome; in France al
froads lead to Paris.
On Saturday, March /, 1919, at
a. M, / arrived at the railroad sta.
tion Care de Lyon. After success
fully passing the A. P. M. and r. T.
o. men with their necessary "red
tape" proceedings, with which al
army men are quite familiar, took
train at a nearby subway station
To the average American, am sure
that the transportation, as whole,
in France has not compared very
favorably with that of the United
States. The little trains, with such
keen whistles, have been overtaxed
| by continued service during the
past four years of war. However,
my conception of French transports
tion was elevated very much after
had become familiar with the effic-
lent subway system of Paris. II
compares very favorably with that OF
New York.
Soon after reaching the center of
the city, while walking down Avenue
lL'Opera, I chanced to meet Lieut.,
Kohn who came to Europe with me
on the French ship Lutetia. Pro-
ceeding to the Hotel Louvre, which
at present is being operated for
American officers, we sought lodg-
ing. However, this hotel@was crowd
ed, so we went to the Bellevue, on
the same avenue as the Louvre, and
approximately three blocks from the
Opera. Hence we were located in
the very heart of Paris.
A little farther than two blocks
from the Opera, on different street,
is the Hotel Richmond, which is un-
der the auspices of the Y. M. c.. A.
and is being operated for American
officers. Here we could secure good
meals for reasonable prices. At this
hotel sightseeing parties are formed
under the guidance of Y. M. G. A.
men who have accumulated quite a
bit of knowledge as to the historical
spots of Paris. A comfortable four
seated automobile was soon filled
with us, who were eager to view the
scenes of the city. This tour began
about an hour after we had finished
lunch. Soon all eyes were turned
toward the roof of a building which
showed marks Of destruction-the
result of an AFRAID by one Of "Jer-
rvs dVlatOTS.
Motoring a little farther, the
chauffer stopped the machine, and
before us was a massive building,
the Palace of Justice. The guide pi-
loted us in, calling attention to the
paintings and statues. In a large
room we noticed quite a number of
Rva .oIfR.ax Carao of xuhopa aunro
wearing black robes. He explained
that these peculiarly attired men
were lawyers soliciting clients.
Eventually, we entered the room of
the Supreme Court of Paris, which
serves all of France. Unques-
tionabfy this is among the most not
ed court rooms in the world. The
artist was we'll represented by the
beautiful paintings; the sculptor by
the marvellous gilded statues. I'm
lderfoot was a wonderful rug, worth
several thousand francs.
No doubt all tourists would en-
phasize the Importance Of visit to
L'Eglise Notre Dame, a famous
church, which is a magnificent mon
ument of Gothic architecture. The
windows are extremely beautiful,
the glass of which, 1t is said, cannot
be duplicated today. The chapel is
very large, and contains many fine
paintings. Numerous Biblical char
acters are portrayed. The statues, as
we'll as the pipe organ. are note
worthy. In the States our students
read about French art and architec-
ture, but at Notre Dame the eyes be-
hold the beauty of it all in reality.
| We went into another church the
name of which I do not recall, how
ever ! remember having seen scaf-
folds built in front Of it. presumably
for protection from air raids during
the war.
Continuing the tour, we passed
the Luxembourg Gardens. Later,
was talking to an American who had
just visited them, and who mention
ed the fact that they had been a vic
tim for the Iong-range German gun,
4
the "Big Bertha. The guard there
had given him piece Of shell, which
was supposed to have been discharg-
ed from this gun.
The guide next took TO La Tour
Eiffel. This world-famed tower II
1000 feet in height, and at the base
Icovers two or three acres Of ground
During the present war am inform.
led that it was used as lookout sta
ltipn to detect the approaching Ger
man aero-planes, and was the main
French wireless station. Near tt
this is the La Grande Roue. Ferris
wheel, which surpasses any have
lever seen.
During this present war, the read
Ter has often seen In print these
words, .The River Seine. Thil
Iriver passes so nearly through ths
Icenter OF Paris that 1t was used al
/ = o,,fNn ~ r,nnn1fuhf nights hv the