_June 16th._--A very fine day. After breakfast we went in a coach to
the flower-market. We walked down it: the women had on large straw
hats. There were rows of flower-pots down each side, the prettiest
collection I ever saw. There were roses, carnations, myrtles,
beautiful campanulas, geraniums, Madagascar periwinkles, etc.:
there were also strawberries, currant, apple and orange trees, all
in pots. The apple-trees were a a very small kind, the branches of
which were covered with fruit; there were likewise little oranges on
the orange-trees. From this we drove to the Church of St. Sulpice.
There is a picture over the altar on which the light falls from the
top. There was a wedding going on in it when we entered. They were a
curious-looking pair that were married. I was not near enough to see
plainly what the priest was doing, but when the ceremony was over he
passed close by us muttering to himself all the way; he was dressed
very finely, but he was the most horrid-looking old man I ever saw; he
reminded us of the Inquisition and everything horrible.
Near the church is the Fontaine de St. Sulpice; it is a very plain
little fountain. From this we went to Notre Dame, where we saw the end
of a christening. After that we went to the Fontaine des Innocents; it
is a large, high fountain, with several lions' heads, which were not
playing when we saw it. From this we drove to Tivoli. In going to it we
passed through the narrowest streets I was ever in. I do not think two
carriages could possibly have passed. They were very dirty and close,
and had such disagreeable smells; I was not sorry to get through them.
We got out at Tivoli, and walked under a kind of trellis-work up to the
house where you pay. Tivoli is not near so nice, or so large as Sydney
Gardens at Bath. There are several winding walks bordered with Austrian
roses, box, etc. There are a great number of swings and roundabouts
of ships, swans, and horses. We saw a man playing at a kind of game;
to a long wooden box was fastened a string with a wooden bird at the
end of it; he threw it so as to fire a pistol, and then Cupid came out
of the top. At one part of the garden there is a steep hill; at the
top is a temple, and near the bottom a sort of grotto; at the top are
kinds of carriages, and whoever wants to ride down gets into one; they
slide in grooves down the hill and under the grotto. I should think
it would be a frightful thing. After we had walked over the garden we
went into a café and got some cakes and wine. We then left Tivoli and
walked up to Montmartre; it is very steep up to it, but when one gets
to the top near some windmills one has a view of the whole of Paris
and the country round it, quite like a panorama. On our way home we
stopped at several shops to buy a cap; but they asked us very dear, and
had nothing particularly nice. At some shops there is written 'English
spoken here,' and on one 'English _spiked_ here.' It requires a great
deal of bargaining to get things for a right price. At some shops there
is written 'prix fixe.' The people in the shops are remarkably plain,
and plainly dressed.
[Illustration: THE FOUNTAIN WITH THE ANIMALS]
[Illustration: THE CUPID AT TIVOLI]
[Illustration: LATONA'S BASIN]