e paintings; the afternoon at Sevres among glass and
porcelain; have won a game at dominoes after dinner in Paris; and have
heard the last polka at the Salle Vivienne in the evening. Paris is a
city of extremes; the young Theophile who works by my side, and is an
ingenious fellow and a clever workman, you will meet next Sunday in the
Louvre discoursing energetically on the comparative merits of the French
and Italian schools of painting; yet this same Theophile shall be the
Titi of the gallery of the Porte St. Martin in the evening, who yells
slang at his friend on the opposite side; and the Pierrot or Debardeur of
the next opera masquerade.

With the vivid impressions of many Sundays abroad upon my mind, I have
been wondering whether, after all, the practices of the continental
Sunday have anything to do with the opening of a museum or
picture-gallery in London; and, after profound study, in the laborious
course of which I have several times fallen asleep, I have come to the
deliberate conclusion that there is no connection between the two things.
In the first case, as regards Germany, seeing that they there almost
sedulously close all that relates to art or science, and give full
licence only to beer and tobacco, to music and dancing on the
Sunday--where is the parallel? In the second, as regards France or
Paris, although it must be admitted that there is unfortunately no
comparison between the Louvre and the National Gallery, it can at least
be claimed that there is no resemblance between the British Museum and
the Bal des Chiens in the Rue St. Honore. I take it that to preserve the
English Sunday as a day of greater rest than French or German Sundays
ever were, and to add to it such rational and instructive recreation, as
a Museum or a Picture-Gallery, or a place of innocent recreation could
supply, might be a good thing in the eyes of religious men; and I have
not yet heard of any society or association in any part of the United
Kingdom, which proposes to open a Sunday evening ball at the Pig and
Tinderbox, or to grant licences to the theatrical performances at the
Penny Gaff in the New Cut.

NOTE.

{173} This is incorrect; the Picture Gallery is open during the mid-day
hours on Sunday.

***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A TRAMP'S WALLET***

******* This file should be named 28320.txt or 28320.zip *******

This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
http://www