Odd Bits of Travel with Brush and Camera

by Charles M. Taylor

The Place de la Concorde is the most beautiful square in Paris. From its centre are magnificent views of the grand boulevards and many of the handsome public buildings, and here are the great bronze fountains marking the historic spot upon which stood the guillotine during the French Revolution. The lovely walks, the sparkling waters, and the statues and monuments, the obelisk, the merry strollers, and picturesque tableaux seen at every turn are positively enchanting. Up the broad vista of the Champs Élysées the eye rests upon the wonderful Arc d’Etoile, one of the most conspicuous monuments in Paris. It stands in the Place d’Etoile, one of the most fashionable sections of the city, and is surrounded by elegant residences and pleasant gardens. From this point radiate twelve of the most beautiful avenues in Paris, and from the summit of the arch one can see for miles down these grand boulevards. The magnificent arch of triumph, commenced in 1806 by Napoleon, was not finished until 1836. It is a vast structure, rising one hundred and fifty feet from the ground. The great central arch is ninety feet high and forty-five feet wide, and is crossed by a spacious transverse arch. Upon the outside of the arch are groups of splendidly executed statuary, representing scenes of conquest and allegorical figures. A spiral staircase leads to the platform on top, where one beholds this superb prospect which well deserves its world-wide celebrity.

We come upon the Place Vendome through the Rue de la Paix, and here stands the great historic column, erected by the first Napoleon in commemoration of his victories over the Russians and Austrians. The monument is constructed of twelve hundred pieces of cannon, captured in the campaign of 1805. Upon the pedestal and around the shaft which is one hundred and thirty-five feet high, are bas-reliefs representing warlike implements and the history of the war from the departure of the troops from Boulogne to its end on the famous field of Austerlitz.

In front of the central entrance to the court of the Tuileries, in the Place du Carrousel, is the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, also erected by Napoleon I., in 1806, in imitation of the triumphal arch of Severus at Rome. In the garden of the Tuileries, with its old-time atmosphere, its statues, fountains and pillars, its groves and terraces, its historic ruins, its lovely flower-beds, we find a quaint and charming picture of a past age; yet when these groves and paths resound with the hum of human voices, when the many chairs and benches are filled with joyous human beings, the link between the past and present is established, and we are in one of the favorite resorts of the Parisians of to-day.

Between the Tuileries and the Louvre is Napoleon’s triumphal Arc du Carrousel—or rather between the courtyards of the two famous piles, which now form one continuous structure of magnificent architectural design, whose façade is adorned with Corinthian columns, elaborate sculptures and lofty pavilions. Groups of statuary, representing the most distinguished men of France, allegorical figures, floral designs and other decorations on a vast scale ornament these magnificent pavilions. The space enclosed by the old and new Louvres and the Tuileries is about sixty acres.

Some of the most beautiful of the architectural designs of the Louvre were completed by Napoleon I.,—to whom it owes much of its restoration,—from the drawings of Perrault, the famous author of Bluebeard, and the Sleeping Beauty.

We cross a square and quickly find ourselves in the garden of the Palais Royal, once the Palais Cardinal, and the home of Richelieu. The ground floor of the palace is occupied by shops. The garden which is enclosed by the four sides of the square, is about a thousand feet long and nearly four hundred feet wide. Here is a quadruple row of elms, also long flower-beds, shrubbery, a fountain and some statues. A military band plays here in the afternoon, but the garden presents the gayest scene in the evening, when it is brilliantly illuminated, and the chairs under the elms, as well as the long walks are filled with gay pleasure-seekers.

There is a magnificent opera house near the Grand Hotel, whose vast exterior is ornamented with beautiful statuary, medallions, gilding and other rich decorations.

In the Church of the Invalides we find the tomb of Napoleon I., who in his will expressed a desire that his ashes might rest on the banks of the Seine, in the midst of the French people whom he had loved so well. The open circular crypt is beneath the lofty dome, whose light falls upon it through colored glass, and with a wonderful effect. The pavement of the crypt is a mosaic, representing a great crown of laurels, within which are inscribed the names of Napoleon’s most important victories; and twelve colossal figures symbolizing conquests, surround the wreath. The sarcophagus rests upon the mosaic pavement within the crypt, which is twenty feet in depth. This is an enormous block of red sandstone, weighing more than sixty tons, which surmounts another huge block supported by a splendid rock of green granite. The scene is solemn and grandly impressive, the faint bluish light from above, producing an effect wholly indescribable. In the higher of the two cupolas, directly over the crypt, is a painting, with figures which appear of life-size even at this great distance, of Christ presenting to St. Louis the sword with which he vanquished the enemies of Christianity.

Here is Versailles, with its “little park of twelve miles in extent, and its great park of forty,” with its beautiful fountains and grottos, its wonderful groves and flower-beds. Here are velvety lawns adorned with fine statuary, green alleys, shrubberies and terraces, in which art and nature are so cunningly intermingled that they are often mistaken for each other. The fountains are representations of mythological characters, and the figures are carried out in their immediate surroundings. Apollo is in his grotto, served by seven graceful nymphs: while close by the steeds of the sun-god are being watered by tritons. Again, the basin of this god appears surrounded by tritons, nymphs and dolphins, with Neptune and Amphitrite in the centre, reposing in an immense shell.

Latona, Apollo and Diana are represented by a fine group: the goddess is imploring Jupiter to punish the Lycian peasants who have refused her a draught of water, while all around her, in swift answer to her appeal, are the peasants, some partially transformed, others wholly changed into huge frogs and tortoises, condemned here to an endless penalty of casting jets of water toward the offended deity.