The third, called the Ile Louvier, is used only as a depôt for
fire-wood. The parts of the town on the opposite sides of the river
are connected with each other, and with these islands, by nineteen
bridges, thirteen of which are constructed of stone, and two of stone
and iron: of the others two are chain-bridges, one is built of wood,
and two of wood and iron. Several of these structures, especially the
Pont des Arts, the Pont Louis XVI., and the Pont de Jena, or de
l'Ecole Militaire, all of which are to the west of the Ile du Palais,
are distinguished by their majesty or elegance, and add much beauty
and picturesque effect to the vista of the river. Excepting at one
place where the two branches enclosing the Ile du Palais unite,
immediately to the west of that island, the breadth of the Seine at
Paris is no where greater than about 550 English feet, and at some
points it is not more than half that distance from the one bank to
the other. The bridges, therefore, by which the Seine is traversed,
are not to be compared in point of magnitude with those of the Thames
at London. Even the Pont Neuf, which connects the Ile du Palais with
both the northern and the southern divisions of the city, and
comprehends in fact two bridges, with an intermediate street, is
shorter taken altogether, than Waterloo bridge by more than 200 feet;
and the Pont Louis XVI., which next to the Pont Neuf is the longest of
the Parisian stone bridges, measures only about 485 feet between the
abutments, while Westminster Bridge measures 1223, and Waterloo Bridge
1242 feet. It is in the _number_ of its bridges alone, therefore, that
the Seine is superior to the Thames.

_The Boulevards._

The most remarkable feature in the general appearance of Paris, is the
inner inclosure formed by the celebrated road called the _Boulevards._