Arcueil and brought the
waters of Rungis,[8] Paray and Montjean to the baths of the imperial
palace and the public fountains, they would discern on the hill of
Lutetius to their right, the Roman camp, garrison and cemetery. Lower
down to the east they would catch a glimpse of a great amphitheatre,
capable of accommodating 10,000 spectators.[9]

[Footnote 8: The water supply of Paris is even now partly derived from
these sources, and flows along the old repaired Roman aqueduct.]

[Footnote 9: Part of this amphitheatre was laid bare in 1869 by some
excavations made for the Compagnie des Omnibus between the Rues Monge
and Linne. Unhappily, the public subscription initiated by the
Academie des Inscriptions to purchase the property proved inadequate,
and the Company retained possession of the land. In 1883, however,
other excavations were undertaken in the Rue de Navarre, which
resulted in the discovery of other remains of the amphitheatre which
have been preserved and made into a public park.]

[Illustration: REMAINS OF ROMAN AMPHITHEATRE.]

On their left, where now stands the Lycee St. Louis, would be the
theatre of Lutetia, and further on, the imposing and magnificent
palace of the Caesars, with its gardens sloping down to the Seine. The
turbulent little stream of the Bievre flowed by the foot of Mons
Lutetius on the east, entering the main river opposite the eastern
limit of the _civitas_ of Lutetia, gleaming white before them and
girdled by the waters of the Seine. A narrow eel-shaped island,
subsequently known as the Isle de Galilee, lay between the Isle of the
Cite and the southern bank; two islands, the Isles de Notre Dame and
des Vaches, divided by a narrow channel to the east, and two eyots,
the Isles des Juifs and de Bussy, to the west. Another islet, the Isle
de Javiaux or de Louviers, lay near the northern bank beyond the two
eastern islands. Crossing a wooden bridge, where now stands the Petit
Pont, they would enter the forum under a triumphal arch. Here would be
the very foyer of the city; a little way to the left the prefect's
palace and the basilica, or hall of justice;[10] to the right the
temple of Jupiter. As they crossed the island they would find it
linked to the northern bank by another wooden bridge (the Grand Pont)
replaced by the present Pont Notre Dame.[11] In the distance to the
north stood Mons Martis (Montmartre), villas nestling on its slopes
and crowned with the temples of Mars and Mercury