PARIS, the capital of the kingdom of France; is situated on the river Seine, in the Isle of France, being one of the largest and finest cities in Europe. It derived its modern name from the ancient Parisii; and is supposed by some to have had the Latin name of Lutetia, from Lutum, "mud," the place where it now stands having been anciently very marshy and muddy. Ever since the reign of Hugh Capet, that is, for near 800 years, this city has been the usual residence of the kings of France; it is of a circular form, and, including the suburbs, about five French leagues, or 15 English miles, in circumference. The number of its inhabitants is computed at about 800,000; that of its streets 912; and that of its houses upwards of 20,000, exclusive of the public structures of all sorts. Its greatest defect, according to some, is the want of good drinking water; but others tell us, that very fine water is brought by an aqueduct from the village of Arcueil, not far from Paris, but own that the water of the Seine, and the city, is not good. The streets are of a proper breadth, well built, paved, and lighted. There is a great number of tribunals, and offices here; most of which are kept in the Palais, situated on an island, to which it gives name. The number of churches, convents, hospitals, market places, fountains, gates, and bridges, in this city is very great; besides the university, several academies, public libraries, royal palaces and castles, and above 100 hotels, some of them very stately. But to be more particular, that part called la Cité, lies in the centre, and consists of three islands formed by the Seine, viz. 1. l'Île de Palais, 2. l'Île de Notre Dame, and 3. l'Île Louviers. It is the principal of the three parts into which the city is divided, and contains the following remarkable structures: 1. Several bridges; of which some are of wood and others of stone, and have most of them a row of houses on each side. The chief of these are the Pont-neuf and Pont-royal: the first consists of 12 arches, which, properly speaking, make two bridges, the one leading from the suburb of St Germain to the city, and the other from thence to that part called la Ville: there is a carriage way in the middle 30 feet broad, and footwalks on each side, raised two feet high; and in the centre stands a brass statue of King Henry IV. on horseback. On this bridge is also the building called La Samaritaine, from a group of figures upon it representing our Saviour and the Samaritan woman, standing near Jacob's well. Here is a pump to raise the water, which through several pipes supplies the quarter of the Louvre, and some other parts of the town. The Pont-royal, which leads to the Thuilleries, was built by order of Lewis XIV. in the room of a wooden bridge that was carried away by the current in 1684. 2. The cathedral of Notre Dame, or our Lady, being dedicated to the Holy Virgin, which is a large stately Gothic structure, said to have been founded by King Childeric, and built in the form of a cross. Here, besides other great personages, are interred the cardinals de Retz and Noailles. From the two square towers belonging to it, is a noble prospect
of the city and neighbouring country. Here is a vast quantity of gold and silver plate, rich tapestry, and fine paintings; and the number of the canons is no less than 50. Near it stands the palace of the archbishop, in which is the advocates library: the revenue of the archbishop amounts to about 180,000 livres; and his taxation to the court of Rome is 4283 guilders. 3. The priory and parish church of St Bartholomew; the last of which is the most beautiful in all this part of the city, and stands near the Palais. 4. The Palais, which gives name to an island, and in which the parliament, with a great many other courts, are held. It was anciently the residence of the kings; but was given to the officers of justice by Philip the Fair, who also settled the parliament here in 1302. The parliament, consisting of several chambers, each of which has its department, is opened the day after Martinmas with a solemn mass, celebrated by a bishop, and continues sitting till the 8th of September, when a vacation chamber is appointed during the interval, for criminal causes, and others which require despatch. The jurisdiction of this court is of great extent. There is a beautiful chapel belonging to the Palais: in which is also the prison, or jail, for the jurisdiction of the parliament, called in French La Conciergerie. 5. The Hotel Dieu, the most ancient and largest hospital in Paris, in which 8000 sick and infirm poor are taken care of, and attended by the nuns of the order of St Augustine. 6. The hospital of St Catharine, where poor women and maidens are entertained three days, and attended by the above-mentioned nuns. 7. The Grande Chatelet, where some of the inferior courts of justice hold their sessions. 8. Fort l'Eveque, in which is the mint and a prison. It stands in or near the street La Ferroniere, in which Henry IV. was stabbed by Ravilliac. 9. St Germain l'Auxerrois, which is called the royal palace church; because the palaces of the Louvre and Thuilleries stand in its parish. 10. The Louvre, an ancient royal palace, of which a part was rebuilt by Lewis XIV. Had it been completed on the same plan, it would have been a most magnificent structure. On one of its gates is the following inscription, Dum totum impleat orbem: the meaning of which is, "May it last till the owner of it hath extended his sway over the whole world?" which implies what the French kings have constantly aimed at. Another inscription shows, at the same time, the vanity of the nation, and their abject flattery of their grand monarque. It may be rendered in English thus:
Louvre is a palace for great Louis fit:
God him alone exceeds, as heaven does it.
This palace is joined to the Thuilleries by a gallery, in which are 180 models of fortresses, some situated in France, and some in other countries, executed with the utmost accuracy. Here is a valuable collection of paintings, the king's printing house, the mint where the king's medals are struck, together with a prodigious quantity of rich tapestry hangings, and a collection of ancient arms, among which are those worn by Francis I. at the famous battle of Pavia. Here also the French academy, the academy of inscriptions and belles lettres, the royal academy of sciences, the academy of painting and sculpture, and the royal academy of architecture, have their meetings. The first
of these was founded for the improvement of the French language; and as for the others, their names explain the design of their institution. 11. Le Palais Royal, which was built by Cardinal Richelieu, in the year 1636, and belongs to the duke of Orleans. It is said to contain pictures to the value of four millions of livres, which were purchased by the regent of that title, and of which a part belonged to Christina queen of Sweden. 12. The palace of the Thuilleries, so called from a tile or brick kiln which stood there formerly. This palace, as we observed above, communicates with the Louvre by a gallery. Behind it are exceeding pleasant gardens, adorned with fine walks, planted with evergreens and other trees, and with beautiful parterres, where are to be seen, all the year round, every flower according to its season. There are also three fine fountains in the garden, and a canal. Behind the Thuilleries, on the bank of the river, are pleasant walks, composed of four rows of lofty elms, to which vast crowds of people resort in the fine weather, as well as to the gardens. In the palace is a spacious and magnificent theatre; and hard by it are the Elysian fields, where a surprising number of coaches are to be seen in fair weather; not far off is the church of St Roche, where the celebrated poet Corneille is interred. 13. La place de Louis le Grand, a very beautiful square, in the centre of which is an equestrian statue of that king, which is justly accounted a masterpiece. 14. The Place or Square des Victoires, which is round, and contains a statue of Louis XIV. of gilt brass, erected to him by the duke de la Feuillade, with this inscription, Viro immortalis. 15. The Royal Library in the Rue Vivien, which contains 94,000 printed books, 30,000 manuscripts, and a prodigious collection of copperplates and medals. Near this, in the churchyard of St Joseph, lies the famous comic poet Moliere. 16. The parish church of St Eustace, which stands in the quarter of the same name, and contains the tomb of the great minister Colbert. 17. The gate of St Dennis, which was erected as a triumphal arch in honour of Louis XIV. 18. The gate of St Martin, erected also in form of a triumphal arch, in honour of the same king. Not far from hence, in the churchyard of St Nicholas des Champs, Peter Gassendi, and other learned men, are buried. 19. La Greve, an open place, where all public rejoicings are celebrated, and malefactors executed. 20. The Hotel de Ville, which is a large building of Gothic architecture, though adorned with columns of the Corinthian order. 21. The arsenal in the quarter of St Paul, consisting of many spacious buildings, among which are a foundry, and a house for making saltpetre. Here is a musketoon of two barrels, which it is said will pierce a thick board at the distance of six miles; and for discerning an object at that distance, has a telescope fixed to the barrel. 22. The Bastille, now demolished, was a kind of fortress like the Tower of London, and used as a prison for state criminals, and for such as were taken up by lettres de cachet, i. e. by warrants signed by the king, and sealed. 23. Le Temple, a commandery of the knights of Malta, which gives name to a quarter, wherein, being a privileged place, artificers that are not freemen may carry on their business without molestation. The temple is the residence of the grand prior of the French nation. 24. That formerly called La Maison professe des Jesuites, in the quarter of St Anthony, in the church of which
the hearts of Louis XIII. and XIV. are preserved, each in a casket of gold, supported by two angels of massy silver, and as big as the life, hovering with expanded wings. In the same quarter is a fine looking glass manufacture, where above 500 persons are employed in polishing plates cast at St Gobin; with a convent of Franciscans, the monks of which are called Pique paces, for Prick fleas.
In that part of the city called the University, the principal places are,
1. The university, which gives name to it, and which was first founded, as it is said, by Charles the Great: all the arts and sciences are taught here, particularly law, physic, and divinity. There are above 40 colleges; of which the chief are those of Sorbonne, of Navarre, of the faculty of physic, and of the four nations; but lectures are read only in eleven of them. The head of the university is the rector, who is chosen every three months, but sometimes is continued several years. All the professors have settled salaries; the whole annual income of the university amounting, it is said, to about 50,000 livres. 2. The Gobelins a house or palace, where a great number of ingenious artists, in various manufactures and handicrafts, are employed by the government. The most curious tapestry of all sorts is made here. 3. The General Hospital, a most noble foundation for the poor of the female sex, near 7000 objects being taken care of and provided for. The sick are carefully tended; and those that are in health are obliged to work; different wards being allotted for foundlings, for girls who sew or knit, prostitutes, idiots, and poor women: of the last, some are kept gratis, and others pay a small matter. In the caille of Bicetre, belonging to this hospital, and consisting of many large buildings, are near 4000 persons of the other sex, among which are persons disordered in their senses, and such as are afflicted with the venereal disease. To this hospital are also sent children who abuse their parents, and lead dissolute lives. The fund for the maintenance of it, and the hospital de la Pitié, where poor children are brought up, together with the Hotel Dieu, amounts to about two millions of livres per annum. 4. The King's Physic Garden, in which are an infinite variety of plants and trees, a certain sum being allotted by the king for keeping the garden in order, and improving it, and for lectures on botany, anatomy, chemistry, and the materia medica. A curious collection of natural curiosities is kept here. 5. The abbey of St Victor, in which is a public library, containing some very ancient and scarce books, several curious manuscripts, and a prodigious collection of maps and copperplates. 6. The College of Physicians, to which belong five professors. 7. The Little Chatelet, an old fortress, now used for a prison. 8. The Rue St Jacques, chiefly inhabited by bookfellers. 9. The Royal College, and that of Louis the Great: to the former belong twelve professors. 10. The Abbey of St Genevieve, in which is the marble monument of King Clovis, the shrine of St Genevieve, a large library, with a cabinet of antiquities and natural curiosities. 11. The Royal Observatory, a most stately edifice, built on the highest part of the city. Several astronomers are maintained here by the king. 12. The Royal Academy of Surgery, instituted in 1721. 13. The Convent of Franciscans.
ciscans, in the quarter of St Andrew, the richest in France. In the same quarter are some remains of the palace of Julian the Apostate, in which Childebert, and some other kings of the Franks, afterwards resided. 14. The Playhouse. 15. The Convent of Carthusians, in the quarter of Luxembourg, containing fine paintings. 16. The palace of Luxembourg or Orleans, a magnificent structure, containing also some fine paintings by Rubens, and embellished with a noble garden. In the Hotel des Ambassadeurs, ambassadors extraordinary are entertained for three days, and those of remote countries all the time they stay at Paris. 17. The Abbey of St Germain des Prez, which contains a very valuable library, the manuscripts alone making 8000 volumes: here also is a cabinet of antiquities. 18. The Hotel Royal des Invalides, erected by Louis XIV. in which lame and superannuated officers and soldiers are maintained. The buildings take up no less than 17 acres. The number of common soldiers here amount to about 3000, and of officers to about 500. The chapel is very magnificent. Hard by is a military academy, in which 500 young gentlemen are instructed in the art of war.
Our readers from the above account will be able to conceive what Paris was. For an account of the changes which have taken place in that city during the progress of the revolution, see FRANCE; and for a more particular detail of those events we must refer to the numerous works which have appeared since the peace of Amiens, in the form of tours and descriptions, some of which are in the hands of every reader.