BOOK VI.

"I will bring fire to thee--I reek not of the place."
--EURIPIDES: _Andromache_, 214.



CHAPTER I.

. . . THIS ancient city,
How wanton sits she amidst Nature's smiles!

. . . Various nations meet,
As in the sea, yet not confined in space,
But streaming freely through the spacious streets.--YOUNG.

. . . His teeth he still did grind,
And grimly gnash, threatening revenge in vain.--SPENSER.

"PARIS is a delightful place,--that is allowed by all. It is delightful
to the young, to the gay, to the idle; to the literary lion, who likes to
be petted; to the wiser epicure, who indulges a more justifiable
appetite. It is delightful to ladies, who wish to live at their ease,
and buy beautiful caps; delightful to philanthropists, who wish for
listeners to schemes of colonizing the moon; delightful to the haunters
of balls and ballets, and little theatres and superb _cafes_, where men
with beards of all sizes and shapes scowl at the English, and involve
their intellects in the fascinating game of dominos. For these, and for
many others, Paris is delightful. I say nothing against it. But, for my
own part, I would rather live in a garret in London than in a palace in