The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction - Volume 17, No. 494, June 18, 1831 by Various
page 39 of 51 (76%)
page 39 of 51 (76%)
|
moods of mind which the others want. Another road, planted in a
similar manner, has more recently been carried round the outside of the present walls of the city. It is distinguished from the inner Boulevards by the name of the _Boulevards Extérieurs._ _Streets._ To a person accustomed to the appearance of the streets of London, or indeed of any other English town, those of the interior of Paris will present considerable novelty of aspect. The extreme narrowness, in the first place, of those in the more ancient parts of the city, and the great height of the houses, with their windows in many cases fortified by bars of iron, would alone give them an air of gloom and precaution, almost sufficient to impress the Englishman who walks through them with the feeling that he has been transported, not only into another country, but into another age. Even where these indications of the more ancient evils of Paris are not visible, the general aspect of the town shows that it has not grown with the growth of a free people, amongst whom the inequalities of rank have been softened down by respect to the comforts of all classes. Under the ancient régime, which was in full activity half a century ago, there were only two classes in Paris, the _noblesse_, and the _bourgeoisie_; and the latter, being driven into the gutters by the carriage-wheels of their arrogant masters, went by the general name of the _canaille._ Few of the streets even now have any side pavement for foot passengers--that invaluable accommodation which gives such perfect security to the pedestrian even in our most crowded and tumultuous thoroughfare. The causeway itself, on which walkers and drivers are thus mingled together in confusion, is often most uneven and rugged. The stones of which it is formed, about ten inches square, present each a convex |
|