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Otago Witness, Issue 2299, 24 March 1898, Page 56

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VIA AUSTRALIA, CEYLON, SUEZ, NAPLES, ROME, FLORENCE, BOLOGNA, &c.

By John Clegg. :

xv. The next morning I took the train for Paris, arriviag at about 2 o'clock. The following general description of this, the queen of modern cities, ia taken from " Beautiful Paris." So ancient is the city of \ Paris that, like London, history gives us no ; information as to when cr by whom ifc was i founded. When Julias Csesav invaded the ; west, 50 years before Christ, he found it a | place of considerable size, but composed j cbiefly of mud huts, that were distributed I like Indian tents in a large encampment, no : su-sets having been laid out. The city was called Lutetia, signifying "water-dwellers," bscause it was confined co a single island of the Seine, and was the capital of the Parieii, osie of the 64 confederated Gallic tribes. Cassar's entry was stoutly resisted, but finding themselves unable to cope with the superior arms arid soldiery of the Romans, the patriotic inhabitants applied the torch to their homes, preferring to destroy rather than surrender the place to invaders, Cseaar took possession of the ruins, and alter defeating the Gauls, set about rebuilding the city. In AD. 464 Paris was designed by Childeric I, King of the Franks. Eoman power in Paris was broken by Ohilderic, and his son Clovis embraced Christianity. Under bis administration it rose rapidly to both wealth and power. Between the years 885 and 1000 Paris had grown from the capital of a Frankish independency to the chief metropolis of a nation, and thenceforward she took rank as one of ths greatest cities of the world — great not only for her wealth, power, and population, but also because she was a centre of learning. Her schools alone would have made her famous, her museums would have made her the pride of the earth. On December 1, 1848, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was elected President of the French Republic for a period of four years. He had in him the spirit of the great Napoleon, and by a stroke of policy ! in December 1851 he brought about a revolui tioa, which ultimated inhia ra-electiou for a period of 10 years, with a change in the ! constitution that gave him monarchial i powers, which he did not fail to utilise. His [ life was a stormy one, and not without mistakes, but more was done during his reign to make Paris the magnificent city that it is than by the administration of any one of his predecessors. But the enormous improvements thus inaugurated and. completed I daring the administration of Napoleon 111 l - did not equal the destruction wrought under

the reign of anarchy that prevailed dnring and following the for ever memorable sieges of 1870-71. On September 20, 1870, the Germans had completed their investment of fche city. The siegs continued without apparent advantage to either side until 1 October 31, when open revolts broke out in i Paris that served to reader the condition of | the populace deplorable and hopeless. Ths fighting was furious, and the people were j i educed to the direst extremities. On I January 28 articles of o^oiuuation signed, and on March I, I^7 i the Germans entered ths city. The ll > r'-p>-:arib did not long remain ia i*.\r!&. sv# ifrrzua [of peace were soon cor.ciuded ; can their departure was almost immediately followed by a second siege, by a commune which consisted chiefly of the National Guard. It now became a fight between the National Guard and the regular army, and a reign of terror was inaugurated that reddened the streets of Paris and carried death among the defenceless in all the suburban towns. The fury of fire was added to the madness of murder. They procured casks of petroleum, by means of which they sefc in flames the Palais of Justice, Hotel de Ville, the T uilerieß. Ministry of Finance, the Council of State, Paiace of the Legion of Honour, &c. Preparations bad been made to blow up the Pantheon and the Cathedral of Noire Dame, which would have been speedily carried into effect had it no 6 beec for a crowning victory obtained by the regular troops in May 28, by which the power of the insargints was completely forokea. The blows r&ceivod by Paris in 1870-71 were ssvere enough to destroy the dignity and prospects of any other city, and for a time it wss believed that she could never re- i cover. Gloomy predictions, however, were | not to be verified — confidence was speedily | restored, and Paris once more progressed j with unexampled rapidity. But the Paris of j to-day is not the- Paris of the empire : in the ! days of L:>uis Napoleon there was a rsgal magnificence which gave a tone to society and an encouragement to trade aad commerce which at present is sadly wanting; tbere ia a commonplace samaness about, everything that was entirely absent in the days of the empire, when all was !ifs and energy and progress. The ftmparor no doubt hud great fault?, but for 20 years ha ruled the French people with cobsj/h-.uous wisdom a'Qd {ability, and made P^ria the wonder aad envy of the whole world. I had the privilege 'of spending several weeks there prior to the Franco-Prussian war, and never shall I forget tba impressions of artistic refinement; that I then received ; there is a style and a finish about all Freach productioas which we Eng- : Msh would do well to' imitate. . j The 10/liesfc and most wonderful of the ! modern erections in Par^s is the Eiffel Towe^. ; Tbe foundations of this extraordinary steel structure are 46£t m depth on one side and : 26|ft on the other. A unique feature of this remarkable tower, exhibiting the maivellons scientific precision o£ the dasignsr, is the fact ♦hat by means of hydraulic rams fcbafour legs, or uprights, can be raised or lowered several feet. Tbe double lantern is 904ffcfrom the ground, below which is a balcony 13ft wide all round, and capable of accommodating 800 persons. The view from this balcony is incomparably grand, coinmandisg as ifc does an eiteut of 90 mile?. There are 1792 3tep3 from base to summit, aad 2 500,000 bolts and rivets were used in its conatructioa. Lofty as is the structure, fche oscillation is so slight as to be almost imperceptible even when the wind is blowing hard. Tha electric light, which revolves and shows alternately red, whita, and blue, may be seen en a clear nigbt a distance of 45 miles. A charming beauty spot of wood, flower beds, and lakes well witbin the city boundary is the Park Moacean, comprising some 22£ acres of exquisitely kept grass and flower bads. The avenus or boulevard of the Champs Ely sees, planted with beautiful tress, is the fashionable drive of Paria, and with its wellkept roadway of the finest gfavel and ccrtiauous procession o£ magnificent equipages and gaily- caparisoned horses presents a scene of outdoor life and gaiety never bo be forgotten. A contiauatiou of this fashionable boulevard ia the Bois de Boulogne, & beautiful park just outside the city, wbers you can : roam at your own sweat will amid the mosi charmittg sylvan scenery. The Paris Opera House is one of the finest buildings in Paris and the grandest theatre in the world. Officially designated the National Academy of Music, ife was bsgun in 1861 and finished in 1874. The area covered is nearly three acres, in tha heart o£ the business district of the city Thougb the largest structure devoted to opera in the world, its seating capacity is only for 2156 psreons, which is less than many theatres in the large cities of America. But for magnificence the Opera House has oositiveJy no eqaa,), the whole of Europe having bean laid voder contribution for its materials and decoration. There are innumerable other buildings of surpassing interest in Paris, but space is limited, and I must harry on to London, travelling by the evening mail and reaching the great metropolis at 6 a.m. ths next morning, where I secured comfortable quarters near to Pancras railway station, and employed several days in looking tip old friends and getting a general idea of the various localities comprising this huge hive of human industry, some five millions of human beings toiling and moiling from morning till eve, and in many cases knocking life out in order to keep it in. I never feel so much alone as I do in London, where everyone is so intent upon his own business that he has not time for a word o" welcome co a stra«g°r from the antipodes. So great is the traffic that I have often waited five minutes at the Mansion House before I could get across to the opposite corner. On London Bridge ifc is the same, or even worse. A friend who was hurrying along in a cab in order to catch a train was blocked here for ten minutes at 9 o'clock in the morning. Notwithstanding this immenea traffic, however, it is admirably managed by 'che police, who have absolute power to stop all vehicles when and where they like. I saw one of these invaluable officers stop the whole of the wheeled traffic opposite the Mansion House in order to conduct a helpless woman and her three children safely across. One of the little ones was in a perambulator, which the policeman himself 1 wheeled over. The London police are the

j most civil and, so far as local information is j concerned, the best-informed body of men that I ever met with. Omnibus guards, and in a lesser degree the railway officials, also deserve complimenting in this respect. Whilst speakUig of railway officials I may meritioii i very pieh.3<»gfiittle incident that happ*** id to me at Psadington BtatioD, the' termiru3 of —the Gxeat Western Railway Company. Whilst #si ti&g fcr a train a dog walked up to njp wsgg^g'&is tail. He had a money Dag strapped ."« ucd bis »eck with ! too ineodpfcjon painted o<vx ii f :"Findly ! Jf.r£ae<nber the B\ J j«7.vy Offiei&ia 1 Aid 1 f3;>cie#y.' f »js »<wj,4(ihicg to that effecs. I r«ry promptly and heartily ronpoaded io ixjy canine friend's mute -*nfi ttsAketvs appeal. The dog has bnen trained fry cae of tha railway men, and collectß a large sum oC money in the course of the year. May his faithful and self-denying life be spared for many a long year.