, non pas venge," said a Parisian; "il
parait qu'il y a des accommodements avec les rois, aussi bien qu'avec le
ciel."

As a matter of course, we did not leave Boulogne much before three--the
original arrangement had been for half-past one,--and when we reached
Paris it was dark, too early for the illuminations which had been
projected along the line of boulevards from the recently open Boulevard
de Strasbourg to the Madeleine, not so much as a feature in the
programme of reception, as in honour of the Queen generally. On the
other hand, there was not sufficient daylight for the crowds to
distinguish the sovereign's features, and a corresponding disappointment
was the result. The lighted carriage lamps did not improve matters much.
But the Parisians--to their credit be it said--knowing that Queen
Victoria had expressed her wish to be conveyed to St. Cloud in an open
carriage, instead of the closed State one used on such occasions, took
note of the intention, and acknowledged it with ringing cheers. Victor
Hugo has said that the Parisian loves to show his teeth--he must either
be laughing or growling; and at the best of times it is an ungrateful
task to analyse too thoroughly such manifestations of enthusiasm. There
are always as many reasons why nations should hate as love each other.
The sentiment, as expressed by the sailor and soldier alluded to just
now, did exist--of that I feel sure; but amidst the truly fairy
spectacle then presented to the masses that crowded the streets, it may
have been forgotten for the moment.

For, in spite of the gathering darkness, the scene was almost unique. I
have only seen another one like it, namely, when the troops returned
from the Franco-Austrian War; and people much older than I declared that
the next best one was that on the occasion of the return of the Bourbons
in 1814.

Though the new northern station, erected on the site of the old, had
been virtually finished for more than a twelvemonth, the approaches to
it were, if not altogether magnificent projects, little more than
magnificent mazes, stone and mortar Phoenixes, in the act of rising, not
risen, from Brobdignagian dust-heaps, and altogether unfit for any kind
of spectacular procession. Consequently, it had been decided to connect
the northern with the eastern line immediately after entering the
fortifications. The Strasbourg Station did not labour under the same
disadvantages; the boulevard of that name stretched unin