tunted towers of _Notre Dame_, were among
the chief objects to the right: while the accompaniment of the Seine,
afforded a pleasing foreground to this architectural picture in the
distance. But, my friend, I will frankly own to you, that I was
disappointed ... upon this first glimpse of the GREAT city. In the first
place, the surrounding country is flat; with the exception of _Mount
Calvary,_ to the left, which has nothing to do with the metropolitan view
from this situation. In the second place, what are the _Pantheon_ and
_Notre Dame_ compared with _St. Paul's_ and _Westminster Abbey_?--to say
nothing of the vicinity of London, as is connected with the beautifully
undulating ground about Camberwell, Sydenham, Norwood, and. Shooter's
Hill--and, on the other side of the water, Hampstead, Highgate and
Harrow: again, Wimbledon and Richmond!... What lovely vicinities are
these compared with that of _Mont Martre_? And if you take river scenery
into the account, what is the _Seine_, in the neighbourhood of Paris,
compared with the _Thames_ in that of London? If the almost impenetrable
smoke and filth from coal-fires were charmed away--shew me, I beseech
you, any view of Paris, from this, or from any point of approach, which
shall presume to bear the semblance of comparison with that of London,
from the descent from _Shooter's Hill_! The most bewitched
Frenchified-Englishman, in the perfect possession of his eye sight, will
not have the temerity to institute such a comparison. But as you near
the barriers, your admiration increases. Having got rid of all
background of country--as you approach the capital--the foregoing
objections vanish. Here the officers of police affected to search our
luggage. They were heartily welcome, and so I told them. This disarmed
all suspicion. Accordingly we entered Paris by one of the noblest and
one of the most celebrated of its Boulevards--the _Champs Elysees_. As
we gained the _Place Louis Quinze_, with the _Thuileries_ in front, with
the _Hotel des Invalides_ (the gilded dome of which latter reflected the
strong rays of a setting sun) to the right--we were much struck with
this combination of architectural splendour: indisputably much superior
to any similar display on the entrance into our own capital.[174]
Turning to the left, the _Place Vendome_ and the _Rue de la Paix_, with
the extreme height of the houses, and the stone materials of their
construction, completed our admiration. But the _B