this noble row, and at its end you see the
pride of the city, the Madeleine. There it is, all white, and its
stately columns tell of Greece. Now, if you turn your back upon the
Tuileries, you will gaze upon the open space of the Champs Elysees, and
look down along through that splendid avenue, and there see the finest
thing in France--Bonaparte's triumphal arch. One word about this arch.
It is the work of the emperor, who ordered its erection in 1806, when
the foundation was laid. In 1814 it was suspended, but in 1823 it was
resumed in honor of the Duke d'Angouleme's victories in Spain. In 1830
its original intention was adopted, and in 1836 it was completed, and
its cost was nearly eleven millions of francs. It is a vast arch, ninety
feet high and forty-five feet wide, with entablature and attic. Its
total height is one hundred and fifty-two feet, breadth one hundred and
thirty-seven feet, depth sixty-eight feet. On the fronts are colossal
groups, in which the figures are eighteen feet. All these are
historical, and tell of the great man in his fields of glory. You ascend
this wonderful work of art by two hundred and sixty steps, and get the
best view of Paris. Close by is the Hippodrome, of which some of us have
told you, I suppose, during our last visit.

At less than a mile from this place is the Chapel of St. Ferdinand,
built on the spot where the Duke of Orleans died, by a fall from his
carriage, in 1842. It is a small building of stone, fifty feet long, and
is of Gothic style. Here are many interesting objects--the marble group
descriptive of the dying prince, and at his head an angel in
supplication; this angel was the sculpture of his sister, the Princess
Marie. The painted windows are exquisite representations of the patron
saints of the royal family. Behind the altar is the room in which the
duke died, now used as the sacristy of the chapel. Here, too, is a
picture of the death bed. I am glad that I saw this, as the rest of the
party were not able to be there.

The great National Library is in the Rue Vivienne. The building is a
dark-looking affair, five hundred and forty feet long and one hundred
and thirty feet wide. Inside is a court three hundred feet by ninety,
and that is flanked with buildings. The library is in five sections:
first, manuscripts; second, printed books; third, engravings; fourth;
medals, &c.; fifth, marbles. Perhaps the best collection of early
printing that Europe can show is in this