_May 5th._[13]--We took a walk in the gardens of the Tuileries. The
palace was founded by Catherine de Medicis, and derives its name
from having been erected on a piece of ground appropriated to the
manufacture of tiles. The front consists of five pavilions, connected
with four ranges of buildings. The whole façade is adorned with Ionic
pillars placed on pedestals. All the pillars are formed of brown and
red marble. The portico of the centre pavilion towards the court
is decorated by columns, and on each side of the gate are statues
of Apollo and a Faun. The portico towards the garden is similarly
ornamented. On the galleries are eighteen marble statues of Roman
senators clad in the toga, and in other parts of the façade are
twenty-two busts of Roman emperors and generals. The extraordinary
height of the roof in front towards the garden gives an air of
heaviness to the façade. An iron palisade encloses the coachyard of
the palace. The principal entrance to the court of the Tuileries is by
a most beautiful triumphal arch. It was erected by Napoleon, and was
built on the plan of that of Septimus Severus at Rome, and is said not
to be inferior to the original. It is sixty feet wide and forty-five
feet high. The centre arch is fourteen feet wide, the others eight and
a half. Each front is decorated with four columns, supporting marble
figures, representing different soldiers. On the outside are, on the
right, the arms of France, supported by Peace and Plenty; and on the
left the arms of Italy, sustained by Wisdom and Strength. Four other
bas-reliefs are over the smaller arches. The inside of the arches is
beautifully carved. Over the centre arch was formerly the statue of
Napoleon. The gardens are the work of Lenostre; the principal walk
extends through the whole length of the garden. The trees are all cut,
which gives it a formal look. In the parterres of flowers are statues
and basins of water; in one were two swans, and in the others some gold
and silver fishes. From the terrace of the garden towards the Seine
we had a very fine view of the river; and on the opposite terrace, of
the Place Vendôme, the triumphal column, and the Boulevards beyond.
Along the walks are rows of chairs, for which you pay two or three
sous: there are also stone seats. In the afternoon these gardens are
crowded by a gay assembly. In returning we passed through the Place
Vendôme. The buildings which enclose the square on three sides are
uniform. In the middle is a beautiful column 130 feet high, formed on
the model of that of Trajan at Rome. It is entirely covered with brass,
furnished by the artillery taken from the Austrians. The pedestal is
fitted with bas-reliefs, and at each angle is an eagle grasping a
crown of laurel. At the foot of the column commences another set of
bas-reliefs, which trace in chronological order the principal events
of the campaign of 1805: a spiral line separates each row. On the top
of the column is a gallery, and above the gallery is a small dome on
which is a white flag. There were a great many carriages in the square,
so that we had to skip first to one side, then the other. There are no
pavements for foot passengers in the streets of Paris, which makes it
very disagreeable to walk; the coachmen drive close to the very doors
of the houses, and if it were not for the _portes cochères_, one would
be run over by the carriages. The streets are narrow and dirty, and the
shops in general very shabby. There were a good many people about with
nosegays; we bought a bunch of lilies-of-the-valley and ranunculuses
for two or three sous. The flower-girls are quite troublesome; they
follow one and throw the flowers into one's hand.
_May 6th._--We were very much surprised at having a very good
plum-pudding at dinner, and on enquiry we found that they had one every
Sunday. The servants complained terribly of not having enough to eat;
they said that sometimes they could not each get a potatoe: and other
things in proportion. A great many troops passed by the door.