XV. LONDON TO PARIS. WE started from London on the South-western Railway, one morning just as the sun was clearing away the mist which hung over the metropolis. It was pleasant, after being shut up for weeks in the city, to get out into the clear atmosphere of the country, where the green fields and fresh breezes seemed more delicious than ever. "Adieu, the city's ceaseless hum ! The haunts of sensual life, adieu! To spend this bright spring day with you." The car in which we rode was an uncushioned lumber box, scarcely as good as our baggage cars, and inhabited by several Irish people, with crying babies, market women, and some well-disposed country folks, from whom we derived much valuable information. The country through which we rode was not as fine as that in some other portions of England; and as we passed along, few objects of interest presented themselves. We arrived at Dover, after a ride of four hours, and commenced at once an examination of the town. It proved to be hardly what I expected, and I soon discovered that a few hours would make us well enough. acquainted with it. The principal object of interest is an old, dilapidated castle on the hights. As we went climbing up the steep ascent, a tinkling bell sounded at our side, and on looking around, we saw a large box, with "Remember the poor debtor" inscribed upon it. Over it was the bell, which connected by a string with the cell of the debtor, who, as he saw the stranger passing the box, would call his attention to it by ringing the bell. On the hights which command the harbor and channel is the famous cannon known as "Queen Elizabeth's Pocket-piece," and which was given by that queen to the garrison. It bears the date of 1544, is twenty-four feet long, and is now so corroded as to be unfit for use. We looked in vain for the inscription which we always supposed was upon it: "Scour me bright and keep me clean, And I'll send a ball to Calais green.' The old fort is governed by a company of dull uniformed soldiers, who were very civil to us. They live a life of lazy inactivity, deriving their support from the hard-earned wages of the poor. At the foot of the hill, and along the shore, was spread out the little town, which seemed to give very few signs of life and industry. At three o'clock we took a little steamer for Calais, leaving behind us the white cliffs of Dover, and all we had seen of merry England. The passage across the channel was performed in about two hours. The day was a delightful one, and the channel gave none of its usual signs of commotion, and we went skipping on, "O'er the glad waters of the dark blue sea, Our thoughts as boundless, and our homes as free; Behold our empire and survey our home!" On arriving at Calais, we found the cars ready for Paris, and we entered them and were soon on our way. Of Calais I have no impression. I did not remain there long enough to get a single idea of the place. All I know is, that for the first time I was in a country where I could understand scarcely any of the language, and where the orders of the custom-house officers, and the yells of the cabmen, and the shouts of the porters, were all as unintelligible as the diction of the moon. It was a relief to get into the cars, out of the way of officious and meddling hangers-on, who, seeing our greenness, gave us any quantity of unsought advice, for which we did not even thank them; though one man, who showed us where we could purchase our tickets, demanded a franc as his fee, which we paid, as the shortest way of getting rid of him. The country to Paris is very fine, but indifferently cultivated.. The farms around were unfenced, and the residences of the tenants were very poor, many of them being built of mud, and thatched with straw. The unusual sights gave evidence that we were on foreign soil; and the constant jabbering of the Frenchmen who were with us in the car, and whose speech was as unintelligible to us as ours was to them, kept us constantly aware that we were out of the province of good round Saxon speech, and good wholesome Saxon habits. The cars in France are much better, and the expense of traveling less, than in England. The second-class cars on the continent are nearly equal to the first in Britain, and the first class are fitted up in a style of surpassing elegance. Our fellow-passengers were very civil and well-disposed persons, but had on most disagreeable beards, as black as your boot, and almost as long, and all the way to Paris kept up a continual smoking of the worst cigars a non-smoking traveler ever had to endure. On getting out of the cars at a station on the way, I tried to purchase some refreshments, but found the keepers knew as little of English as I did of French, and, for a while, the prospect of securing a supper seemed dark; but I at length laid hold of what appeared to be a nice pie, and, as I could not understand the price, pulled from my pocket all the change I had, and allowed the damsel in charge to take as much as she chose. But on seating myself in the cars, and opening my pie, I found it to contain nothing but a sausage. I had not learnt to love French cooking; and this roll of meat, done up in so suspicious a manner, brought to my mind all the stories I had ever heard of the delightful manner in which French cooks serve up dogs, cats, and babies, so that the most experienced will hardly distinguish them from the choicest dishes. ever craved by the appetite of the epicure; and some one very kindly began to tell the story of a distinguished American, who, in China, sat down to a sumptuous feast, and ate voraciously of a delicate dish which was set before him. When his dainty meal was finished, and he sat wondering what the food could be which had tempted his appetite to such an extent, a servant entered, and, wishing to have his curiosity gratified, and yet being entirely unacquainted with the language, he pointed to the dish, and said, "Quack, quack," meaning to ask if it was duck. The servant replied, "Bow wow, bow wow," intimating that the delicious food was not duck, but dog. My roll was thrown out of the window, to the great astonishment of the Frenchman, who seemed not to comprehend my motive, and to be shocked at my waste. XVI. VIEW OF PARIS-CHURCHES-CHAPELS. WE reached Paris about midnight, and fell at once into the hands of custom-house officials, who rummaged our baggage to find what valuable goods we had stored away among our dirty linen, wherewith to defraud the great and glorious French nation out of the revenue due its not too well-filled purse. At length, getting clear, we went to one hotel; but it was full, and we started for another, and at length drew up at Hotel de Paris, and, after considerable noise, aroused somebody who answered to the call of landlord. There were but two or three spare apartments, and there were some five. or six to occupy them; and a contest ensued as to who should sleep, and who should keep watch. At length, the landlord decided the case by taking several of us up over one, two, three, four-I know not how many flights of stone stairs, higher than I was ever up before, and higher than I have ever been since, into a room with a stone floor, cheerless as a tomb, and so far above terrestrial objects, that it became a matter of some speculation whether we should ever get down again. The next morning, the sun arose clear and beautiful, so different from the damp, wet, cold fogs of London, that we soon forgot the perplexities of the night. We found private lodgings at a moderate price, and, in a few hours, began our rambles over the city. I knew that Paris was a gay, beautiful city; but my expectations |