ming up from the
centre of the grounds. In front was the long, broad, flashing roadway of
the Champs Elysees, one blaze of light and busy life; for Paris does not
awake until after dark. Far away the Arc de Triomphe is just discerned
where commences the Bois de Boulogne. On the left, across the Seine, is
outlined against the sky the twin towers of St. Clotilde, with the
glittering dome of the Invalides; and to the eastward are seen the dual
towers of Notre Dame. The brain is stimulated as by wine, till one grows
dizzy. Proceeding through the Rue Rivoli we turn towards our hotel by
the Place Vendome, looking once more upon that vast and beautiful
monument, the finest modern column in existence, and then to bed--not to
sleep, but to revel in the intoxication of that bitter-sweet--memory!

After a few weeks passed in Paris, the journey homeward was renewed by
way of Antwerp, a city which owes its attraction almost solely to the
fact that here are to be seen so many masterpieces of painting. The
great influence of Rubens can hardly be appreciated without a visit to
the Flemish capital, where he lived and died, and where his ashes rest
in the Church of St. Jacques. This is considered the finest church in
Antwerp, remarkable for the number and richness of its private chapels.
Here are the burial-places of the noble and wealthy families of the
past, and among them that of the Rubens family, which is situated just
back of the high altar. Above the tomb is a large painting by this
famous master, intended to represent a Holy Family, and the picture is
in a degree typical of the idea. But its object is also well understood
as being to perpetuate a series of likenesses of the Rubens family;
namely, of himself, his two wives, his daughter, his father, and
grandfather. The painting is incongruous, and in bad taste, being quite
open also to criticism in its drawing and grouping. The whole production
appears like a forced and uncongenial effort. Vandyke and Teniers were
also natives of this city, where their best works still remain, and
where the State has erected fitting monuments to their memory. Jordeans,
the younger Teniers, and Denis Calvart, the master of Guido Reni, were
natives here.

The famous cathedral, more picturesque and remarkable for its exterior
than interior, is of the pointed style, and of about a century in age.
Did it not contain Rubens' world-renowned pictures, the Descent from
the Cross, the Elevation of the Cro