St. Nicholas Vol XIII. No. 8 June 1886: An Illustrated Magazine for Young FolksVarious
General
St. Nicholas Vol XIII. No. 8 June 1886: An Illustrated Magazine for Young Folks
Various
Children's literature -- Periodicals; Children's periodicals, American
The river Seine runs through Paris, and winds and doubles so much that
there are seven miles of it within the city walls. It is crossed by
twenty-seven bridges, and from one of these, the Pont de la Concorde, we
shall start on our tour through Paris. The upper part of this bridge is
built of stones taken from the Bastille prison after its destruction by
the enraged people. Thus the Parisians can feel, when they cross this
bridge, that they are treading under foot a portion of the building they
so greatly abhorred. The view up and down the river is very fine, and
gives us a good idea of the city we are about to explore. As we cross to
the northern side of the Seine, on which lies the most important part of
Paris, we have directly in front of us, the great Place de la Concorde, a
fine open square, in the center of which rises an obelisk brought from
Egypt. Here are magnificent fountains, handsome statuary on tall
pedestals, and crowds of vehicles and foot-passengers crossing it in
every direction, making a picturesque and lively scene. This was not
always as pleasant a place as it is now, for during the great French
Revolution the guillotine stood in this square, and here were executed
two thousand eight hundred persons, among whom were Queen Marie
Antoinette and her husband, Louis XVI. To the east of this square extends
for a long distance the beautiful garden of the Tuileries, which belonged
to the royal palace of that name, before it was destroyed. This garden is
shaded by long lines of trees, and adorned with fountains and statues. On
its southern side is an elevated walk, or terrace, very broad and
handsome, and about half a mile long. In the reign of the Emperor
Napoleon the Third, this walk was appropriated to the daily exercise of
the Prince Imperial. Here the young fellow could walk up and down without
being interfered with by the people below; and underneath was a covered
passage in which he could take long walks in rainy weather.
[Illustration: ONE OF THE BRIDGES ACROSS THE SEINE,--SHOWING THE PLACE DE
LA CONCORDE AND THE TUILERIES IN THE DISTANCE.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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