* *^' 0^*.: M«* ^o-" V-^tT'* ilf* "> A*' • "^ A* 'X^V \> ^ »^fe*' -^ .' **"»^ • ••• aV ,,. ^-i, ^^.^»*''.. .4?^ »: Ao^ '. ,^^°^_ V o ^4q ^^-nK PARIS THE MAGIC CITY BY THE .SEIlsrE PARIS The Magic City by the Seine BY GERTRUDE HAUCK VONNE THE NEALE PUBLISHING COMPANY 440 FOURTH AVENUE, NEW YOR] MCMXVIII Copyright, 1918, by The Neale Publishing Company "/ 18 itiiB n : Gi.A5fl8635 DEDICATED TO THE FRENCH PEOPLE AND TO THE AMERICAN SOLDIERS TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE Preface 9 CHAPTER I. From Brussels to Paris. First Impressions . 15 II. The Moulin Rouge. Other Diversions . 26 III. The Morgue. Parisian "Cabbies." The Arc De Triomphe. The Bois De Boulogne . 33 IV. Paris by Moonlight. A Students' Cafe . , 42 V. Memories of Napoleon. Hotel Des Invalides 47 VI. A Trip to Suresnes. Souvenirs of Voltaire. Table Manners 57 VII. The Luxembourg Gardens. Free Amusements. Workmen 67 VIII. The Venus of Milo. The Louvre ... 74 IX. The Bourse. A Rainy Day .... 84 X. En Pension. Bathing in Paris. The Julien Atelier. Nursemaids 87 XI. L'lLE De La Cite. The Conciergerie. Sainte Chapelle. Notre Dame loi XII. Old Parisian Streets. Jean Valjean . 116 XIII. The Pantheon. Voltaire's Funeral . 128 XIV. Church of Saint Severin. Saint Gervais. Other Churches. The Madeleine. The Markets 132 XV. A MusicALE. French Friendliness. Anec- dotes 151 XVI. Cafe-Concerts. Cab Horses. Paris Crowds . 157 XVII. The Tomb of Marie Bashkirtseff . .163 XVIII. The Luxembourg Gallery 171 XIX. Picnicking in the Bois De Boulogne. French Customs 176 XX. Art-Student Life. Ecole Des Beaux Arts. Sevres. Saint Cloud 181 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE XXI. The Sorbonne. A Visit to the Jardin Des Plantes 189 XXII. The Mona Lisa. The Message of Leonardo Da Vinci. The Paintings in the Louvre . 192 XXIII. Saint Germain-L'Auxerrois. The Gardens of THE Tuileries. The Gobelin Industry 214 XXIV. Church of the Sacred Heart. Buttes-Chau- MONT. MONTMARTRE. PeRE-LaCHAISE 220 XXV. A Sunday Jaunt in the Environs. An Old- World Inn. Malmaison 240 XXVI. Versailles 247 XXVII. The Two Trianons 257 XXVIII. The Humbert Affair 263 XXIX. Notre Dame De Consolation. The Musee De Cluny. French Women. The Chatelet 265 XXX. Window Shopping. Kid Gloves and Mobs. The Church Schools and the Government . 274 XXXI. French Hospitality. Chatou . 283 XXXII. Life in a French Home, Church Affairs. Charenton. The Bois De Vincennes. Choos- ing A Gown 289 XXXIII. The Grand Opera. Le Theatre Franqais 297 XXXIV. The Humbert Auction. Military Mass at Les Invalides. Meudon. St. Germain XXXV. Cafe Du Neant. Other Cafes 312 XXXVI. The Palais Royal. Fairs. The Races. The French "Fourth of July" XXXVII. Musee Carnavalet 333 XXXVIII. The Salon. Church of Saint Vincent De Paul. National Library 340 XXXIX. Saint Denis. Fontainebleau 344 —— PREFACE My thoughts were the farthest possible from war when I was last in Paris, shortly before the war was declared. Had I had an inkling of the fate that was even then in preparation for humanity, I would have looked at life there from a different angle, and would have written my book from that angle. But I had no such knowledge. Who had? During the three years that I spent in Paris the greater part of my time was devoted to viewing the beautiful things to be seen in that wonderful city, the exquisite works of art, the churches, the the- aters, and all the splendid works produced by the hand of man. These things were all seen in the time of peace; this book was written in time of peace; hence the spirit of war is far removed from its pages. There were other things to be seen in Paris. Per- haps there is a disagreeable side to life even in glori- ous France; but I felt that I, a stranger, had no right to seek it out and bring it back with me to dole out to my friends. Hence there is very little of the disagreeable to be encountered in my book. My book concerns those things of history, of art, of beauty, that are of interest to every intelligent American. War is being waged over there now, fearful war, full of terrible deeds. But France is lo PREFACE France, and Paris Is Paris. They have not changed,—only conditions have. Our men are going over to France by the thou- sands,—are going valiantly into the conflict. Know- ing what has already taken place at the front, they would be more than human not to shrink inwardly and momentarily from that which they are about to face. But our brave men, even with that momentary shrinking, appreciate to the fullest extent the mean- ing of liberty, democracy and "My Country"; and in answer to the world's call, they go ! They go that our friends and brothers across the sea may also come to have the same appreciation of the meaning of liberty and democracy as have we, but we assume that they will come back to us once again. Most of them will,-—very likely. Immediately upon leaving the shores of America our men will plunge into quite a different atmos- phere. The first feeling of regret over, eagerly will their minds travel the leagues that lie between these shores and the fascinating land of France. The very name fascinates. What is the fascination of France,—of Paris? We all love them, yet we seem unable to explain our attachment. Some knowledge of France, of how the French people live, of their religious ideas, their amuse- ments, cannot fail to be of interest to those who are about to set out for that land. In this world there are things infinitely more beautiful than the acquisi- PREFACE II tlon of dollars or the pursuit of those things repre- sented by dollars. A visit to France might easily be considered one of those things, and let us hope that that is what their going will mean to most of our men : merely a visit to France. They are going, let us hope, to Paris, too. Not alone are they going to fight but to see and learn all they possibly can of that wonderful life that through ages has pulsated on French soil. Only the man who finds pleasure in the works of man can find pleasure in man himself. Man is wonderful! And wonderful are the works of man ! Life in France is itself a work of art; there is nothing in the world finer. What a privilege for our men! Thousands and thousands of them are going over,—men who have never been away from their own shores; and now they are to see France ! What a privilege for them, indeed. One cannot fail to be impressed with the beauti- ful boulevards of Paris, with its tree-lined streets, its historical churches, its art, its life. The city, the whole land, is filled with things that are of im- mense interest to humanity, especially to that portion of it that travels about in the world with seeing eyes and hearts attuned. A glance at Notre Dame, at the Place de la Concorde, at the Arc de Triomphe, and at a thousand other places, will aid them to re- construct the bygone scenes of the marvelous his- tory of France. It probably would not be possible 12 PREFACE to go to France,—to Paris,—and not give some thought to the past. A stroll about the ancient thoroughfares,—many of which are soon to be cut away and replaced by new, modern boulevards, avenues, and streets,—will provide an abundance of material for the imagina- tion of our men. It will be a very difficult matter for men to detach themselves sufficiently from the excitement of war- fare to appreciate to any great degree much of what is to be seen ; but I hope that many of them will im- prove the golden opportunity that is to be given them, because of the pleasure it will be to them in the after years, when they are back once more in their own land. There are places in which one glance will do more for the onlooker than any amount of reading and musing over books, and such a place I believe Paris to be. In no instance have I attempted to speak with the air of the historian, or of one with acknowledged authority; but it would be a great pleasure to me if I could reproduce in the minds of our men some- thing of the impressions I myself derived from my visit to the beautiful city of Paris,-—if I could con- vey to them some slight impression of the magnifi- cence of the city, of its art, its intellect, and its pleas- ures. My journey to Paris was started from Brussels, which was then an exquisite city. To-day I cannot imagine how it looks. PREFACE 13 Arras, Amiens, and other places that I have slightly mentioned have been wrecked. A great bat- tle has been fought at Arras since those exquisite, peaceful days that I knew. It is difficult for me to imagine how things over there now look, but, at any rate, I hope that what I have written in my book may prove interesting to many of our men and may be to them the means of acquiring considerable more knowledge than they would otherwise have gained. If I have excited any curiosity in their minds, this will undoubtedly be the result, Gertrude Hauck Vonne. — PARIS CHAPTER I FROM BRUSSELS TO PARIS. FIRST IMPRESSIONS I EXPERIENCED a feeling of depression, if not of actual sadness, at leaving beautiful Brussels, even though, looming fairylike through the mists of the unknown, the unseen, was Paris—Paris!—where, it is said, all good Americans go when they die.