ese faithful sentinels are on duty behind the
scenes as well as before them, and even up in the "flies," where, before
the introduction of electricity, they were obliged to pass several
hours in a temperature of, frequently, thirty-five degrees Centigrade,
ninety-six Fahrenheit. At present, the fire department of Paris has
adopted most of the modern improvements common to other civilized
capitals, and the details of its service differ from those with which we
are familiar principally in the military character given it.

The regiment of Sapeurs-Pompiers is, in fact, a regiment of infantry,
lent to the city of Paris by the Minister of War. It is paid out of the
municipal budget, with the exception of the pensions of the Legion of
Honor, the military medal, and the retired list, which are the charge of
the State. The regiment is composed of two battalions, of six companies
each, with a total strength of seventeen hundred men. The pay of the men
and their indemnities are the same as for the regiments of infantry in
garrison in Paris, there are special privileges for the officers, and
the quality of the recruits, especially with regard to their physique,
is maintained at a very high standard. Their bravery, their efficiency,
and their devotion are equal to those which are displayed so frequently
by this well-organized service in other large cities, and are equally
appreciated by the public; when, at the annual review at Longchamps on
the day of the national fete, the regiment of sapeurs-pompiers defiles
before the reviewing-stand, the great wave of applause and recognition
which envelops it, drowning the other cheers in its roar, betokens the
intimate appreciation of the Parisian, of high and low degree, of these
unpretentious heroes.

By the new organization of this service, now in process of completion,
the city is divided into twenty-four "zones," in the centre of each of
which is a post of men and material, known as a _centre de secours_. The
smaller posts, scattered through the city, in case of fire, notify by
telephone these central stations and the etat-major of the regiment,
adjoining the Prefecture de Police; if the fire is of sufficient
importance, the centre de secours sends a reinforcement and the steam
fire-engine, the _pompe a vapeur_, but in very many cases the service of
the latter is not needed. Its appearance in the streets is comparatively
rare, and it is seldom driven at the mad gallop of the American
ma