civic architecture. The Palace of the Tuileries,
on the right bank of the Seine, dates from the 16th
century, and was the royal residence till the Revolution.
Connected with it is the Louvre, a series of galleries
of painting, sculpture, and antiquities, whose contents
form one of the richest collections existing, and
include the peerless “Venus de Milo.”
The Palais Royal encloses a large public garden, and
consists of shops, restaurants, the Theatre Francais,
and the Royal Palace of the Orleans family. South
of the river is the Luxembourg, where the Senate meets,
and on the Ile de la Cite stands the Palais de Justice
and the Conciergerie, one of the oldest Paris prisons.
St.-Germain-des-Pres is the most ancient church, but
the most important is the cathedral of Notre Dame,
12th century, which might tell the whole history of
France could it speak. Saint-Chapelle is said
to be the finest Gothic masterpiece extant. The
Pantheon, originally meant for a church, is the burial-place
of the great men of the country, where lie the remains
of Voltaire, Rousseau, and Carnot. The oldest
hospitals are the Hotel Dieu, La Charite, and La Pitie.
The University Schools in the Quartier Latin attract
the youth of all France; the chief are the Schools
of Medicine and Law, the Scotch College, the College
of France, and the Sorbonne, the seat of the faculties
of letters, science, and Protestant theology.
Triumphal arches are prominent in the city. There
are many museums and charitable institutions; the
Bibliotheque Nationale, in the Rue Richelieu, rivals
the British Museum in numbers of books and manuscripts.
The Palace of Industry and the Eiffel Tower commemorate
the exhibitions of 1854 and 1889 respectively.
Great market-places stand in various parts of the
city. The Rue de Rivoli, Rue de la Paix, Rue du
Faubourg St.-Honore, and the Rue Royale are among
the chief streets; beautiful squares are numerous,
the most noted being the Place de la Concorde, between
the Champs Elysees and the Gardens of the Tuileries,
in the centre of which the Obelisk of Luxor stands
on the site of the guillotine at which Louis XVI.
and Marie Antoinette, Philippe Egalite, Danton, and
Robespierre died. Boulevards lined with trees
run to the outskirts of the city. The many roads,
railways, canals, and rivers which converge on Paris
have made it the most important trading centre in
France, and the concourse of wealthy men of all nations
has given it a high place in the financial world.
It is a manufacturing city, producing jewellery, ornamental
furniture, and all sorts of artistic “articles
de Paris.” The centre of French, and indeed
European, fashion, it is noted for its pleasure and
gaiety. The concentration of Government makes
it the abode of countless officials. It is strongly
fortified, being surrounded by a ring of forts, and
a wall 22 m. long, at the 56 gates of which the octroi
dues are levied. The Prefect of the Seine, appointed
by the Government, and advised by a large council,