mile and a quarter, and the garden or park of
which it is the grand thoroughfare, is, in one place, about a third of a
mile in width. The buildings are consequently a considerable distance off
from this carriage-way; but in the boulevards, nothing except the pavement
intervenes between the street and the houses. The boulevards of Paris are
its widest as well as its noblest streets. The pavements on each side of
them, are, in many instances from twenty-five to thirty feet in width.
Thick rows of large and elegant shade-trees border them on both sides, and
under these are placed numerous wooden settees for the accommodation of
the public. Many of the 6,000 cafes which are strewn over Paris, grace
these boulevards with their glass fronts. During the summer season, most
of the refreshments and meals are served in front of the cafes on the
pavements, and grand is the sight of seeing ten thousand gay Parisians
seated along these splendid streets, chattering away over their wine and
coffee! Paris is about five miles long by four miles wide, and few are the
houses in the entire city that are less than five or six stories high. A
few only of the outer streets have as low as four and five story houses.
These houses are mostly built of stone, having stone floors, even. Each
room is arched over from the four walls; upon these arches are placed the
flagstones constituting the next floor, and it is in consequence of this
arching that each story is so very high. The white sandstone of the Paris
basin constitutes the principal building stone. The city is divided into
seven sections, and each section is required by law, to either scrape the
fronts of their houses once every seven years, so that the walls look new
again, or to paint them anew. No proprietor can choose his time, but when
the year is come for his section to repair their houses, it must be done.
In consequence of this regulation, the streets never look _checkered_ by
old and new houses contrasting with each other, but the external
appearance of the buildings is made to harmonize, and each street is a
unit in appearance. In the finest part of Paris there are few alleys or
stables, but splendid rues and boulevards lined with magnificent buildings
with elegant fronts, have taken their places. This section is over three
miles in length, nearly two in width, and presents scenes of beauty,
grandeur and magnificence which are _unrivaled_ by anything that the first
other cities of th