e suburb of France, and cannot he
annexed too soon. The Emperor shook his head as if he
was not of my opinion. Does he entertain peaceful
designs? I do not wish to dwell upon this idea; it would
kill me!

"He asked me what impressions I had formed regarding the
appearance of the changes which had been made in Paris.
I answered, with the sincerity of a lofty soul, 'Sire,
the new Paris is the great work of a great reign; but I
entertain the hope that your improvements have not yet
had the finishing touch.'--'What is left to be done,
now, in your opinion?'--'First of all, to remedy the
course of the Seine, whose irregular curve is positively
shocking. The straight line is the shortest distance
between two points, for rivers as well as boulevards. In
the second place, to level the ground and suppress all
inequalites of surface which seem to say to the
Government, 'Thou art less powerful than Nature!' Having
accomplished this preparatory work, I would trace a
circle three leagues in diameter, whose circumference,
marked by an elegant railing, should be the boundary of
Paris. At the centre I would build a palace for your
Majesty and the princes of the imperial family--a vast
and splendid edifice, including in its arrangements all
the public offices--the staff offices, courts, museums,
cabinet offices, archives, police, the Institute,
embassies, prisons, bank of France, lecture-rooms,
theatres, the _Moniteur_, imperial printing office,
manufactory of Sevres porcelain and Gobelin tapestry,
and commissary arrangements. At this palace, circular in
form and of magnificent architecture, should centre
twelve boulevards, a hundred and twenty yards wide,
terminated by twelve railroads, and called by the names
of twelve marshals of France. Each boulevard is built up
with uniform houses, four stories high, having in front
an iron railing and a little garden three yards wide,
all to be planted with the same kind of flowers. A
hundred streets, sixty yards wide, should connect the
boulevards; these streets communicate with each other by
lanes thirty-five yards wide, the whole built up
uniformly according to official plans, with railings,
gardens, and specified flowers. Householders should be
prohibited from allowing any business to be conducted in
their establishm