July 17,18,19

July 17,18,19


Here and there we hurried or sauntered, as occasion required, in Paris. Our party broke up into groups of two, as we pleased. We wandered among parkways, alleyways, boulevards, in fact all kinds of city stretches, to see public buildings, etc.; as the great Madeleine Bousse, a home of Hugo's, Place de la Bastille where that fortress was stormed in 1793, the church of St. Etienne sur Mont - where St. Genevieve , patron saint of the city, was anciently buried, and where some noted moderns also lie,- to the Pantheon. The mural paintings held us here, especially those depicting the legends of St. Genevive, and four scenes from the life ofJoan of Arc. Hugo , and other famous men, are buried in the structure. (61) Then to the Luxembourg, with its old and modern art, painting and sculpture, especially Rodin.

In the afternoon the Louvre again, and in the evening, “Romeo and Juliet” at the great Opera House.

Thursday, Charles Brown and I went to Versailles, the others going their chosen ways, Mr. S. concerned mainly with business.

The glories of this great palace, with its great pictures and magnificent gardens, were not lost upon us. Wearied with our continual tramping through long galleries and stretching forest paths, we took a carriage after lunch, to inspect the Grand Trianon, and the Petite Trainon, with the stables of the first named secondary palace. Napoleon had most unpretentious rooms in the G.T. Marie Antionette. (62) especially delighted in the Petit T., and here her court pretended to farm in a Swiss village she had constructed.

By dint of careful listening, with previous help from the guide book, we could catch the story the guide rid himself of.

Friday, C.F.B. and I again set out together. We surveyed Paris from the Arc de Triomphe, where a really better view is to be had of the city than from the Eiffel tower. Then an hour at the Louvre, with still more time among these famous galleries later in the afternoon. A visit to Sainte Chapelle, back of the Palais de Justice, revealed a marvelous gem of a church. It is merely a small chapel, but its harmonious lines, and gorgeously illuminated traceries and colored windows, make it distinct. (63)

Late in the afternoon I wandered through the fashionable shopping districts.