appearance, or as if the inmates did not belong to them; as no care
appears to have been taken to give them some degree of neatness and
comfort; in fact, to bestow upon them an air of home; the stranger
continues rattling over the stones between these great lumbering-looking
dwellings, until his eye is attracted by the Porte St. Denis, which is
a triumphal arch built by Louis the Fourteenth, and certainly presents a
most imposing mass of sculpture, which, although blackened by time, is
an object well worthy the attention of the observing traveller; and here
he crosses the Boulevards, by which he gets a little peep at the
inspiring gaiety of Paris, but is soon hurried into noisy streets until
his brain feels in a whirl; and on his arrival at the Diligence-yard,
when he hopes to obtain a little repose, he is annoyed by being asked
for the keys of his trunks, for the Custom House officers, to make
believe to look into them to ascertain that you have not smuggled any
liquors or other material within the walls of Paris. Those who are
fortunate enough to travel in their own carriages, are exempted from
such tiresome ceremony. Some of the other entries to Paris are somewhat
better, but none of them sufficiently so, to be worthy notice; perhaps
the best amongst the bad is by the Faubourg St. Antoine, the Barrières du
Trône, at the commencement and summit of the street, presenting a most
noble appearance; indeed, as far as the barriers are concerned, there
are many which are well worthy of notice, being mostly handsome stone
buildings with columns that give them an imposing effect, particularly
when we recollect the little turnpike gates at the principal entrances
of London, with the exception of the recent erections at Knightsbridge,
which sink into nothingness when compared to the Triumphal Arch at the
entrance already described; and, except foreigners, particularly the
English, enter by that quarter, the first aspect of Paris mostly
excites disappointment; the generality of the streets wanting that
straight line of regularity so prevalent throughout London, the French