[Illustration: THE LEFT BANK OF THE SEINE, FROM NOTRE-DAME.] To get a complete idea of the vastness and variety of Paris, it should be seen from the towers of Notre-Dame, the Pantheon, the July Column of the Place de la Bastille, the tower of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie, the Vendôme Column, the Triumphal Arch, and, finally, the Eiffel Tower. From these different points panoramic views may be obtained which together would form a complete picture of Paris. The shape of Paris is oval. The longest diameter--east to west--would be drawn from the Gate of Vincennes to the Gate of Auteuil; and the shorter--north to south--from the Gate of Clignancourt to the Gate of Italy. Paris is divided longitudinally by the course of the Seine, whose windings are scarcely noticed by the observer taking a bird's-eye view. The river looks like a silver thread between two borders of green. These are the plantations of the quays, whose trees, during the last five-and-twenty years, have become as remarkable for their luxuriant growth as for their beauty of form. From the height of our observatory we see the Island of the City, looking like a ship at anchor, with its prow towards the west. On all sides the summits of religious edifices present themselves: the towers of Notre-Dame, the dome of the Pantheon, the turrets of Saint-Sulpice, the steeple of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the gilded cupola of the Invalides, and the lofty isolated belfry of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie. Following the course of the Seine with careful eye, one may see its twenty-one "ports"--eleven on the right bank, and ten on the left--from Bercy to the Tuileries; also, like slender bars thrown across the river, the twenty-seven bridges connecting the two banks, from the Pont-National to the viaduct of the Point du Jour. The double line of quays--quadruple, where the islands of St. Louis and of the City divide the river in two--presents an incomparable series of stately structures; such as the Hôtel de Ville, the Palais de Justice, the Louvre, the Mint, the Institute, the Palais Bourbon, and a number of magnificent private mansions. [Illustration: RIGHT BANK OF THE SEINE, FROM NOTRE-DAME.]