Rollo in Paris

by Jacob Abbott

Rollo finally concluded to give the girl a sou, thinking that he was in some measure bound to do it, after having stopped so long to look at her chapel; and then he and Carlos walked on as before. As they went on they continued to talk together, from time to time, Rollo in English and Carlos in Spanish, neither of them, however, paying any attention to what the other said. This was a very good plan, for there was a sense of companionship in this sort of conversation, though it communicated no ideas. They took the same kind of pleasure in it, probably, that birds do in the singing of their mates. In fact, it often happens, when a group of children are talking together in a language which they all understand, that each one talks for the pleasure of talking, and none of them pay any attention to what the others say.

Presently the two boys reached the Boulevard. It was a very broad and magnificent street, and the sidewalks were very wide. The sidewalks, wide as they were, were thronged with foot passengers, and the street itself was full of carriages. Very soon an omnibus came along; but it was full. There are a great many curious contrivances about a French omnibus; one of which is, that there is a sign, with the word complete, in French, painted upon it in large letters. The sign is placed directly over the door of the omnibus behind, and is attached to the top of the coach by a hinge at the lower edge. When the omnibus is full, the conductor who rides on the step behind pulls up this sign, by means of a cord attached to it, and then all the people on the sidewalks can see that there is no room for them. When any passengers get out so as to make room for others, then the conductor lets this sign down, and it lies flat upon the top of the coach, out of sight, until the omnibus gets full again, when it is drawn up as before.

"Complete," said Rollo, pointing to the sign, which was up and in full view. "That omnibus is full."

"Yes," said Carlos, "I see him. His cap is so high that he can't wear it in the omnibus, and so he has to take it off."

"But there will be another one pretty soon," said Rollo.

"If I were a soldier," said Carlos, "I would never get into an omnibus at all. I would have an elegant black horse with a long tail, and I would go galloping through the streets on my horse."

At length an omnibus came along which was not full, and Rollo and Carlos got into it. After meeting with various adventures on the way, and changing from one omnibus to another, according to the system which prevails in Paris, they finally reached the gates of the garden. There was a sentry box on each side of the gates, and soldiers, with bayonets fixed, guarding the entrance. There were, however, a great many people going in. The soldiers did not prevent them. They had orders to allow all persons who were quiet and orderly, and had no dogs with them, to enter freely. So Rollo and Carlos passed directly in.

Rollo's first feeling was that of astonishment at the extent and variety of the scenes and prospects which opened before him. Instead of a small garden, laid out in gravel walks, and beds of flowers, as he had imagined, he found himself entering a perfect maze of winding walks, which were bordered on all sides by an endless variety of enclosures, groups of shrubbery, groves, huts, cabins, yards, ponds of water, and every other element of rural scenery. The whole, as it first burst upon Rollo's eye, formed a most enchanting landscape, and extended farther than he could see. The walks meandered about in the most winding and devious ways. The spaces between them were enclosed by neat little fences of lattice work, and were divided into little parks, or fields, in each of which some strange and unknown animals were feeding. There were ponds, with a quantity of birds of the gayest plumage sailing upon them; and green slopes, with goats, or deer, or sheep, of the most extraordinary forms and colors, grazing in them. At one place Rollo stopped to look at a small basin of water, with a broad stone margin all around it, which was completely covered with turtles and tortoises of all colors and sizes. The animals were lying there asleep, basking in the sun. A little farther on was a beautiful little yard, almost surrounded with trees and shrubbery, where three or four ostriches, with long necks, and heads higher than Rollo's, were walking about with a very majestic air. And farther still there was a little field, the occupants of which excited the astonishment of the boys to a still higher degree. They were three giraffes. One of them, with his head twenty feet in the air, was cropping the leaves from the top of a tall tree. The second was standing still, quietly looking at the groups of visitors that were gazing upon him from without the paling; while the third was amusing himself by galloping about the yard, with a sort of rolling motion that it was most astonishing to see.

Rollo and Carlos advanced among these scenes, drawn from one to the other by the new objects which every where presented themselves to view, and uttering to each other continual exclamations of astonishment. In fact, they talked incessantly to one another as they walked on, pointing out, each to the other, whatever attracted their attention, and making all sorts of comments upon what they saw.

Presently a low, bellowing sound was heard among the trees at a little distance.