It consists of a large tract of ground on the slope of a hill, was celebrated for the beauty of its situation in the fourteenth century, and under Louis the XIV as the abode of Père-La-Chaise, having for 150 years been the favourite country house of the Jesuits, and at present the favourite burying place of the Parisians. In the 14th century a house was erected on the spot by a rich grocer, named Regnault, and was by the people named La Folie Regnault; after belonging to different parties, it was purchased for 160,000 francs, for its present purpose. Its extent is nearly 100 acres; all that trees, shrubs, plants, and flowers can avail towards embellishing a spot, has been effected; the sculptor's hand has also been contributed in a most eminent degree, and fancy seems to have exhausted her caprices in conceptions of forms and fashions with regard to the monuments here assembled, and some are as highly picturesque as can be well imagined; others are grand and imposing, whilst a few there are, whose simplicity render them the most interesting, so much is there in association that perhaps none is more touching than that of Abelard and Heloïse; it is formed of stones gathered from the ruins of the Abbey of Paraclete, founded by Abelard, of which Heloïse was the first abbess. Amongst the number of monuments here assembled, there will be found those whose names have lived and will live in history: marshals, admirals, generals, authors, travellers, senators, and celebrated characters of all nations, in fact what with the extreme beauty of the scene, the splendid view that expands before one, and the tone of reflexions that are engendered by the many affecting appeals there are to the heart, upon the different monuments, I know of no spot that one can visit, calculated to excite deeper impressions. We have imitated near London the same description of cemetery, but they will be long before they can arrive at the same beauty; it has been observed, that Père-La-Chaise is not kept in such nice order as those in England, and the remark is just, but I am not quite sure but that I prefer the degree of wildness which there is in the former, and although it may not be so neat and trim as the latter, yet on the whole there is infinitely more of the sublime, aided no doubt from the extreme beauty of the position, and the greater number of splendid monuments, than an infant establishment can be expected to possess.
On quitting this delightful spot, we must pass by the Prison de la Roquette, destined for the reception of prisoners condemned to the galleys or to death; the excellent system that is here followed with regard to the airiness, cleanliness, and strict order, is such that it is styled the model prison; 318 is the number of prisoners that it can contain. Just opposite to it is the Prison pour les jeunes Détenus, or for juvenile offenders, and is a most extraordinary establishment; its exterior has the air of a baronial castle, and the interior is so arranged that it might answer the purpose of an hospital, as well as that of correction; it has circular turrets at the angles, and the central building is isolated from the others, and only approachable by iron bridges; the whole of the upper part of the building is a chapel, so contrived, that when the prisoners enter it from the different divisions, although they are all together, they can only see the individuals composing their own section, and the pulpit and altar; the prisoners are arranged in the different wings, according to their ages, and the degree of morality; there are about 500, and the different regulations are so meritorious, and the plan of the building so curious and ingenious, that the stranger will derive much pleasure from visiting this singular establishment. Just by, is the Abattoir de Popincourt, or de Ménilmontant, which is considered to be the largest and finest of all the five immense slaughter-houses round Paris, and for those who are curious of regarding such buildings, this should be the one they ought to visit. At a few steps from the Abattoir, in the Rue Popincourt, is the church of St. Ambroise, which was built for a convent of nuns called the Annonciades in 1639; some tolerable pictures are the only attractions it possesses for a stranger; a few doors from it is a large barrack, and an ornamented Fountain. We must now descend the Rue du Chemin-Vert, until we come to the Canal St. Martin, and just pause a minute and notice its neat quays, and the good order in which its locks are kept, and all arrangements connected with it, and then proceed to the Boulevards: a short street, called Rue de la Mule, will take us into the Place Royale, which stands upon the site of the celebrated Palais de Tournelle, the court and offices of which extended to the Rue St. Antoine, and over several of the neighbouring streets, but was pulled down by order of Catherine de Medicis in 1565, on account of her husband Henry II having been killed in one of the courts in a tournament.
The Place Royale, as it now stands, was built in 1604, under Henri IV (vide page 92), it is now inhabited by persons of small incomes who like to have spacious and lofty apartments without incurring the expence of such; in the more fashionable quarters, the arcades all round the square, the fountains, the trees, and the handsome railing, give it a very fine though curious appearance, and the houses have a most venerable aspect. We will now leave the Place Royale by the southern gateway, and enter the Rue St. Antoine, and nearly opposite to No. 143, is the Hôtel de Sully; being the work of the celebrated architect Ducerceau, and the residence of the noble character whose name it bears. It is well preserved, and its court is richly adorned with sculpture. At No. 120, in the same street, is the Collége de Charlemagne, formerly a college of the Jesuits, founded in 1582, the buildings are only remarkable for their extent. The Passage Charlemagne, No. 102, leads through the court of the Hôtel de Jassau, or d'Aguesseau, 22, Rue des Prêtres St. Paul, said to be the site of a palace, and a turret of the time of Francis I still remains at the corner of the court, as also some ornaments and figures. At the corner of the Rue St. Paul, and the Rue des Lions, is a small square turret of the time of Henri IV, and a little eastward, part of the church of St. Paul embodied in the house, No. 29, Rue St. Paul. By the side of the College of Charlemagne is the church of St. Paul and St. Louis, it was began in 1627, and finished in 1641, and within it Cardinal Richelieu performed the first mass in the presence of Louis XIII and his court. The noble front rising from a flight of steps, is adorned with three ranges of corinthian and composite columns, and the interior is decorated with ornaments even to profusion; a fine dome with figures of the Evangelists and four kings of France give it altogether a very handsome appearance. Opposite the College of Charlemagne, is the Fontaine de Birague; consisting of a pentagonal tower, with a dome and lantern. Above a pediment supported by doric pilasters is an attic with a naiad. At the corner of the Rue Culture Ste. Catherine, is the Hôtel de Carnavalet, where resided Madame de Sévigné and her daughter, a fine mansion of the 16th century, having been erected in 1544; most of the sculpture is from the chisel of the celebrated Jean Goujon, and is of a most interesting description; the cabinet in which the letters of that highly gifted woman were written is still shown, also a marble table upon which she and her daughter used to dine under the sycamores in the garden, two of which remain. M. Viardot occupies this Hôtel, and with pleasure shows it to strangers; he keeps an academy and has written a history of the edifice, which may be had of the porter. It was at the corner of this street that the Constable de Clisson was assailed and severely wounded by 20 ruffians, headed by Pierre de Graon, Chamberlain of the Duke of Orleans, who was murdered by the Duke of Burgundy.
In the Rue du Roi de Sicile is the prison of La Force, containing 700 prisoners, and excellent regulations, but another, in a more retired part of Paris, is soon to be constructed. This building was formerly the Hôtel of the Duc de la Force, hence the origin of its name. In the Rue Pavée, which is on one side of the prison, will be found, at No. 3, the Hôtel de la Houze, and in the same street stood the Hôtels de Gaucher, de Châtillon, and d'Herbouville, or de Savoisi. We will now go a little out of our way to see the fine long and broad street of St. Louis, which we shall soon reach by keeping straight on along the Rue Payenne, and then turning to the east by the Rue Parc Royal, shall proceed to one of the ornaments of the Rue St. Louis, the Church of St. Denis du Sacrement; it is quite modern, but is conceived according to good taste; the order is ionic, which is consistently preserved both throughout the exterior and the interior, much chasteness of design, in fact has been observed in the construction of this simple but elegant edifice. The Fountain of St. Louis is worthy of attention en passant. Formerly this street was filled with nobility, as even so late as the beginning of the reign of Louis XV it was rather a fashionable quarter, at present it is the cheapest in Paris.
We must now retrace our steps, which will bring us to the Rue Francs Bourgeois; No. 25 is an hôtel of the time of Henri IV, No. 7, Hôtel de Jeanne d'Abret, of Louis XV's days, and No. 12, the former residence of the Dukes de Roquelaure, and at the corner will be observed a little turret belonging to a house, one side of which is in the Vieille Rue du Temple; there is some curious work upon it, and it is supposed to have been standing at the time the Duke of Orleans was murdered by order of the Duke of Burgundy, which was just about this spot, in 1407. At No. 51, Rue Franc Bourgeois, is the Hôtel de Hollande, so called from its having belonged to the Dutch Ambassador, in the reign of Louis XIV; amongst the sculpture is perceived the date of 1660; this handsome hôtel was once the residence of Beaumarchais. At the corner of the Rue Pavée is the Hôtel de Lamoignon, one of the handsomest mansions of the ancient nobility. It is of the sixteenth century, some of the carved work is most curious, and merits attentive examination; a picturesque turret and balcony must excite the attention of every observer. A few steps further is the large central establishment of the Mont de Pieté, No. 18, Rue des Blancs Manteaux, lending money on pledges, much the same as our pawnbrokers, only on more advantageous terms for the borrowers. In the same street is Notre Dame des Blancs Manteaux, once the chapel of a religious house, so called from their dress consisting of white garments; there was formerly a monastery here, of which there may be discovered some remains to the east, and evidently in the left wing of a house at No. 25; the chapel remaining has a plain exterior, but the corinthian style of the interior is handsome, and worth attention; there is also a very admired picture of the Burial of St. Petronilla, which is eighteen feet by eight, it is of the school of Guercini, but it is not known by what means it came to be placed in this church. Facing this street is the Market des Blancs Manteaux.
At the corner of the Rue Vieille du Temple, and that of the Rue de Quatre Fils, is the Palais Cardinal, now the Imprimerie Royale; it was erected in 1712, and is named after its owner, the Cardinal de Rohan, whose intriguing spirit so much involved Marie Antoinette; in this hôtel the scenes occurred concerning that extraordinary affair; the front of the building is quite plain, towards the garden it is ornamented by columns, and as a mansion, is one of the largest in Paris. It is now occupied as the Royal Printing Establishment, and it is impossible to surpass the order and regularity with which it is conducted; 750 men, women, and children, are employed in it. It is considered to possess the richest collection in the world of matrices and fonts of types, having them in every written language, and when Pope Pius VII visited the establishment, he was presented the Lord's Prayer in 150 languages. A library with specimens of typography, executed on the premises, is an object of the highest gratification to every visiter, even if they be not connaisseurs in the art. For admission to this establishment, application must be made a few days beforehand to M. le Directeur de l'Imprimerie Royale, who appoints a fixed hour on Thursdays. Almost facing one part of the Imprimerie Royale, in the Rue d'Orléans, is the Church of St. François d'Assise. Neither the exterior nor the interior possess any striking beauty; it was founded and erected in 1623. It contains some very good paintings, and the kneeling figure of the saint of the church in his monastic dress; the hands and head are of white marble, and it is supposed to be Egyptian; one of St. Denis is opposite to it.
Adjoining to the Imprimerie Royale, is the Hôtel des Archives du Royaume, which is entered by the Rue du Chaume, No. 12. It was formerly a palace of the Prince de Soubise and the family of the Rohans. The south and western part of the edifice is of the 15th century, the turret is probably what belonged to the gatehouse. The decorations of the apartments are extremely rich with gilt cornices and paintings, some of them possessing great merit. In the petits appartements is a boudoir which belonged to the Duchess de Guise, with a window looking into the Rue du Chaume, from whence it is asserted that her lover precipitated himself at the approach of the Duke. A new building has been added, the first stone having been laid in 1838, which has cost a million of francs. Under Napoleon the whole edifice was appropriated to the preservation of the national archives. Amongst them are documents of diplomas granted to different monastic institutions, by Childebert, Dagobert, Clothaire and Clovis II. The collections of the different acts, deeds, charters, administrative, domanial, historical, judicial, legislative, etc., fill 60,000 portfolios. There is besides a library of 14,000 volumes, amongst which are the Records Commission of England, presented by the British Government. There are also in an iron chest, the golden bulls and papal decrees, most of the keys of the Bastille, the wills of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI, with his journal, autograph letters of Napoleon, one written by him to Louis XVIII, with a variety of other most interesting objects. For admission apply (post paid) to M. le Garde General des Archives du Royaume, No. 12, Rue du Chaume.
The Fontaine de la Naiade in the same street, has a clever bas-relief by Mignot. By the Rue des Vieilles-Haudriettes we pass into the Rue Ste-Avoye; No. 63 is worth notice, several of the houses here having been the hôtels of nobility. No. 57 is the Hôtel St. Aignan, built by Le Muet; on its site stood the Hôtel de Montmorency, it is an extensive noble building, but has been spoiled by having had two stories added. Henry II often resided in it when it was called Hôtel de Montmorency.
Taking the Rue Ste. Croix de la Bretonnerie, we shall find that the first turning in it is the Rue des Billettes, where stand the Lutheran Church; it was built in 1745, and belonged to the Carmelite Friars. In 1808, it was bought by the city of Paris, and given about four years after to the Protestants of the Augsburgh confession. It is a plain neat building. The Duchess of Orléans attends service here when in Paris, which is in German at 2 and in French at 12. From hence we cross the Rue de la Verrerie, and proceeding by the Rue des Mauvais Garçons, we arrive at the Church St. Gervais; an inscription under the first arch of the northern aisle of the choir, states the church to have been dedicated in 1420, although other parts of the building would indicate a more recent construction, but with all its incongruities, from its having been built at various periods, it excites a deep interest; the light gleaming through the painted glass gives a rich though rather sombre effect, the windows behind the altar have a most imposing appearance. The western front was began in 1616, Louis the XIII laying the first stone, and is not equal to other parts of the building; some of the chapels of this church are particularly fine. Amongst the pictures, of which there are many very good, is one by Albert Durer, with the date upon it of 1500. Scarron, the husband of Mme. de Maintenon, lies buried here, as also the celebrated painter Philippe de Champagne, and one of his performances is amongst the pictures which decorate the church, being that of Jesus with Martha and Mary in the chapel of Ste. Geneviève; there are several other objects in this noble edifice so interesting, that no person who visits Paris should omit seeing it. We may now take the Rue de la Tixéranderie where at the corner of the Rue du Coq is a house and turret of the 15th and 16th century, most probably the former, according to the statements of M. Dulaure.
