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 the world have ever brought forth.

Its beautiful balconies, as numerous as the windows, constitute another
very charming feature of Parisian scenery. The streets are always kept
clean and wet by sweepers and sprinklers, and the broad smooth pavements
along the boulevards, free from dust and all manner of rubbish or
obstructions, afford a suitable promenade for gayety, wealth and fashion
to roam. Here beauty's feet may stray, arrayed in the most showy colors or
the stateliest attire, without fear of encountering nasty crossings or of
being splashed over and soiled by teams upon muddy streets. Ladies
attired in gaudy ball-room dresses with long trails, would scarcely
present a contrast in dress with the average promenaders. All dress
equally well, on Sundays, and on week-days, so that Paris presents to the
foreigner, the appearance of a city celebrating an eternal Sabbath. Even
when it rains, the pedestrian can walk _for miles_ about the city, without
being in want of an umbrella. In that event he need only confine his
course to the



Arcades and Passages.


Webster defines an arcade as "A long, arched building or gallery lined on
each side with shops." May the reader not be misled by this definition;
for the arcades of Paris do not have shops on _both_ sides. They are a
uniform system of porticoes generally from twenty to thirty feet in width.
Those on Rue de Rivoli are about a mile in length, and the houses to which