places to be stopped at by leisurely tourists.

The fair, the _triste_ city of Nancy! There is an indescribable charm
in the sad yet stately capital of ancient Lorraine. No life in its
quiet streets, no movement in its handsome squares, nevertheless Nancy
is one of the wealthiest, most elegant cities in France! Hither
flocked rich Alsatian families after the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine,
and perhaps its proximity to the lost provinces in part accounts for the
subdued, dreamy aspect of the place as a whole. A strikingly beautiful
city it is, with its splendid monuments of the house of Lorraine, and
handsome modern streets bearing evidence of much prosperity in these
days. In half-an-hour you may get an unforgettable glimpse of the Place
Stanislas, with its bronze gates, fountains, and statue, worthy of a great
capital; of the beautiful figure of Duke Antonio of Lorraine, on
horseback, under an archway of flamboyant Gothic; of the Ducal Palace and
its airy colonnade; lastly, of the picturesque old city gate, the Porte
de la Craffe, one of the most striking monuments of the kind in France.

All these things may be glanced at in an hour, but in order to enjoy
Nancy thoroughly a day or two should be devoted to it, and here, as at
Chalons-sur-Marne, creature comforts are to be had in the hotels. In the
Ducal Palace are shown the rich tapestries found in the tent of Charles
le Temeraire after his defeat before Nancy, and other relics of that
Haroun-al-Raschid of his epoch, who bivouacked off gold and silver plate,
and wore on the battlefield diamonds worth half a million. In a little
church outside the town, commemorative of this victory, are collected the
cenotaphs of the Dukes of Lorraine--the _chapelle ronde_, as the
splendid little mausoleum is designated--with its imposing monuments in
black marble, and richly-decorated octagonal dome, making up a solemn and
beautiful whole. Graceful and beautiful also are the monuments in the