Without hazarding any vague conjectures, I may, I think, safely
affirm that Cæsar is the first historian who makes mention of this
city. In the seventh book of his Commentaries, that conqueror relates
that he sent his lieutenant Labienus towards Lutetia; this was the
name given by the Gauls to the capital of the Parisii. It was then
entirely contained within that island on the Seine, which, at the
present day, is called _l'Ile du Palais_.
In comparison to the capitals of the other provinces of Gaul,
_Lutetia_ was but a sorry village; its houses were small, of a round
form, built of wood and earth, and covered with straw and reeds.
After having conquered _Lutetia_, the Romans embellished it with a
palace, surrounded it by walls, and erected, at the head of each of
the two bridges leading to it, a fortress, one of which stood on the
site of the prison called _Le Grand Châtelet_; and the other, on that
of _Le Petit Châtelet_. The Yonne, the Marne, and the Oise, being
rivers which join the Seine, suggested the idea of establishing a
trading company by water, in order to facilitate, by those channels,
the circulation of warlike stores and provisions. These merchants
were called _Nautæ Parisiaci_. The Romans also erected, near the left
bank of the Seine, a magnificent palace and an aqueduct. This palace
was called _Thermæ_, on account of its tepid baths.
Julian, being charged to defend Gaul against the irruptions of the
barbarians, took up his residence in these _Thermæ_ in 360, two years
before he was proclaimed emperor, in the square which was in front of
this palace. "I was in winter-quarters in my dear _Lutetia_," says he
in his _Misopogon_. "Thus is named, in Gaul, the little capital of
the Parisii."--"It occupies," observes Abbon, "an inconsiderable
island, surrounded by walls, the foot of which is bathed by the
river. The entrance to it, on each side, is by a wooden bridge."
Towards the middle of the fifth century, this city passed from the
dominion of the Romans to that of the Francs. It was besieged by
Childeric I. In 508, Clovis declared it the capital of his kingdom.
The long stay which that prince made in it, contributed to its
embellishment. Charlemagne founded in it a celebrated school. A
little time after, another was established in the abbey of _St.
Germain-des-Prés_. In the course of the ninth century, it was
besieged and pillaged three times by the Normans.
Philip Augustus surrounded Paris with walls, and comprised in that
inclosure a great number of small towns and hamlets in its vicinity.
This undertaking occupied twenty years, having been begun in 1190,
and finished in 1211. The same king was also the first who caused the
streets of this city to be paved. The wars of the English required
new fortifications; and, under king John, ditches were dug round the
city; and the _Bastille_, erected. These works were continued during
the reigns of Charles V and Charles VI.
Francis I, the restorer of literature and of the arts, neglected
nothing that might conduce to the farther embellishment of this
capital. He caused several new streets to be made, many Gothic
edifices to be pulled down, and was, in France, the first who revived
Greek architecture, the remains of which, buried by the hand of time,
or mutilated by that of barbarians, being collected and compared at
Rome, began to improve the genius of celebrated artists, and, in the
sequel, led to the production of masterpieces.
The kings, his successors, executed a part of the projects of that
prince, and this extensive city imperceptibly lost its irregular and
Gothic aspect. The removal of the houses, which, not long since,
encumbered the bridges, and intercepted the current of air, has
diffused cheerfulness and salubrity.
You will pardon me, I trust, if I here make a retrograde movement,
not to recapitulate the aggrandisement of Paris, but to retrace
rapidly the progressive amelioration of the manners of its
inhabitants. The latter paved the way to the former.
Under the first kings of France of the third race, justice was
administered in a summary way; the king, the count, and the viscount
heard the parties, and gave a prompt sentence, or else left the
controversy to be decided by a pitched battle, if it was of too
intricate a nature. No colleges then existed here; the clergy only
keeping schools near the Cathedral of _Notre-Dame_ for those who were
intended for holy orders. The nobles piqued themselves on extreme
ignorance, and as many of them could not even sign their own name,
they dipped their glove in ink, and stamped it on the parchment as
their signature. They lived on their estates, and if they were
obliged to pass three or four days in town, they affected to appear
always in boots, in order that they might not be taken for _vassals_.
Ten men were sufficient for the collection of all the taxes. There
were no more than two gates to the city; and under Lewis surnamed _le
Gros_, from his corpulency, the duties at the north gate produced no
more than twelve francs a year.
Philip Augustus, being fond of literature, welcomed and protected men
of learning. It had appeared to revive under Charlemagne; but the
ravages of the Normans occasioned it to sink again into oblivion till
the reign of Lewis the Young, father of Philip Augustus. Under the
latter, the schools of Paris became celebrated; they were resorted
to, not only from the distant provinces, but from foreign countries.
The quarter, till lately called _l'Université_, became peopled; and,
in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, was covered by colleges
and monasteries. Philip the Fair rendered the Parliament sedentary.
He prohibited duelling in civil contentions; and a person might have
recourse to a court of justice, without being under the necessity of
fighting. Anne de Bretagne, great and majestic in every thing, was
desirous of having a court. Ladies who, till then, were born in one
castle only to marry and die in another, came to Paris. They were
unwilling to leave it, and men followed them thither. All these
circumstances increased its inhabitants to a thirtieth part beyond
their former number.
The wars of religion under Charles IX and Henry III rendered gold and
silver a little more common, by the profanations of the Calvinists,
who pillaged the churches, and converted into specie the sacred
vases, as well as the shrines and statues of saints. The vast sums of
money which the court of Spain lavished in Paris, to support the
League, had also diffused a certain degree of affluence among no
inconsiderable number of citizens; and it is to be remarked that,
under Henry IV, several handsome streets were finished in less than a
year.
Henry IV was the first of the kings of France who embellished Paris
with regular squares, or open spaces, decorated with the different
orders of architecture. After having nearly finished the _Pont Neuf_,
he built the _Place Royale_, now called _Place des Fédérés_, and also
the _Place Dauphine_.
Towards the end of the administration of Cardinal Richelieu, there no
longer existed in France more than one master; and the petty tyrants
in the provinces, who had fortified themselves so long in their
castles against the royal authority, were seen to come to court, to
solicit the most paltry lodging with all the servility of courtiers,
and at the same time erect mansions in town with all the splendour of
men inflated by pride and power. At last came the reign of Lewis XIV,
and presently Paris knew no limits. Its gates were converted into
arcs of triumph, and its ditches, being filled up and planted with
trees, became public walks. When one considers the character of that
monarch, it should seem that Paris ought to have been more
embellished under his reign. In fact, had Lewis XIV expended on Paris
one-fourth part of the money which he lavished on Versailles,[1] it
would have become the most astonishing city in Europe.
However, its great extent and population, magnificent edifices,
celebrated national establishments of learning and science, rich
libraries, curious cabinets, where lessons of knowledge and genius
present themselves to those who have a taste for them, together with
its theatres and other places of public entertainment, have long
rendered Paris deserving of the admiration of enlightened nations.
Before the revolution, Paris contained 46 parish churches, and 20
others answering the same purpose, 11 abbeys, and 133 monasteries or
convents of men and women, 13 colleges, 15 public seminaries, and 26
hospitals. To these must be added the three royal habitations, the
_Louvre_, the _Tuileries_, and the _Luxembourg_, also the _Hôtel des
Invalides_, the _Palais Royal_, the _Palais Bourbon_, and a great
number of magnificent hotels, inhabited by titled or wealthy persons.
Since the revolution, several of these buildings have been destroyed;
almost all the monasteries and convents, together with the churches
belonging to them, have been sold as national property, and either
demolished for the sake of the materials, or converted to different
uses. Fifteen principal churches, besides the _Pantheon_, the
_Invalides_, _Val-de-Grace_, the _Sorbonne_, and a few others, were
preserved as national temples, intended for the celebration of
_decadary fétes_, and for a time rendered common to every sort of
worship. Most of the old churches were of Gothic architecture, and
not much to be commended with respect to art; but several of them
were models of boldness, from the lightness of their construction.
The colleges, as I have before observed, are replaced by public
schools and private seminaries of every description. The number of
the houses in Paris, many of which are from five to eight stories in
height, has been estimated at upwards of 80,000. The number of its
inhabitants appears to have been over-rated. By an official
statement, in which foreigners are not included, it contains no more
than 630,000 souls.
During the last year of the republican era, the number of males born
in Paris was 9296; and that of females, 9177; making the general
total of births 18,473, of which the males, born out of wedlock,
amounted to 1792; and the females, to 1852. The number of persons
deceased, within the same period, was 10,446 males, and 10,301
females; making together 20,747. The annual decrease in population
was consequently 2274 souls. The number of marriages was 3826; and
that of divorces, 720; which is nearly 2 out of 11.
The ancient division of Paris consisted of three parts; namely, _La
Cité_, _l'Université_, and _La Ville_. _La Cite_ comprised all the
_Ile du Palais_. This is the parent-stock of the capital, whence have
extended, like so many branches, the numerous quarters by which it is
surrounded. _L'Université_ was bordered by the Seine, the _Faubourg
St. Bernard_, _St. Victor_, _St. Marcel_, _St. Jacques_, and the
_Faubourg St. Germain_. The number of colleges in this quarter, had
obtained it the name of _Le Pays Latin_. _La Ville_ comprehended all
the rest of the capital, not included in the suburbs.
At present, Paris is divided into twelve mayoralties (as you will see
by the _Plan_), each of which is presided by a central office of
municipal police. The _Faubourgs_ retain their ancient names; but
those of many of the streets have been changed in the course of the
revolution. The _Chaussée d'Antin_, which comprises the new streets
north of the _Boulevard Italien_, is now the most fashionable part of
the town. The houses here are chiefly inhabited by bankers and
persons living in affluence; and apartments in this neighbourhood are
considerably dearer than in the _Faubourg St. Germain_, which,
comparatively speaking, is deserted.
I have already described the _Porte St. Denis_ and the _Porte St.
Martin_, which are nothing more than arcs of triumph. In proportion
as the limits of the capital became extended, the real gates were
removed, but reappeared under the name of _barrières_. These costly
edifices were constructed during the ministry of CALONNE, under the
direction of LEDOUX, the architect, who has taken a pleasure in
varying their form and character. One represents an observatory;
another, a chapel; some have the appearance of rusticated buildings;
others, that of temples. Under the old _régime_ too, the
farmers-general had inclosed Paris with a high wall, the extent of
which has been estimated at upwards of 10,000 toises. This wall
displeased the eye of the Parisians, and, when they were out of
humour, induced them to murmur loudly. Whence the following
_jeu de mots_:
_"Le mur, murant Paris, rend Paris murmurout."_
During the revolution, it was by no means uncommon to shut the
_barrières_, in order to serve the purposes of party, and favour the
arrest of particular persons. To the number of sixty, they are placed
at the principal outlets of the suburbs, and occupied by custom-house
officers, whose business is to collect duties, and watch that no
contraband goods find their way into the city. Formerly, when every
carriage entering Paris was stopped and examined (which is not the
case at present), the self-importance of these _commis des barrières_
could be equalled only by their ignorance.
A traveller arriving from Egypt brought with him a mummy. The case
being long, he chose not to fasten it on to his post-chaise, but sent
it to Paris by water. When it was landed at the _barrière_, the
custom-house officers opened it, and, finding it to contain a
black-looking body, decided that this was a man who had been baked
in an oven. They took the linen bandages for his burnt shirt, and,
after drawing up a _procès-verbal_ in due form, sent the mummy to
the _Morne_, where dead bodies are exposed in order to be owned.
When the proprietor reached Paris, he went to the _barrière_ to
claim his mummy. The _commis_ listened to him and stared at him with
astonishment. He grew angry, and at length broke out into a violent
passion; when one of the searchers, in a whisper, advised him to
decamp, if he wished to avoid the gallows. The traveller, stupified,
was obliged to apply to the Minister of the Police, and, with some
difficulty, recovered from the _Morne_ his Egyptian prince or
princess, who, after having been preserved 2000 years, was on the
point of being buried in a catholic cemetery, instead of figuring in
a cabinet of curiosities.
[Footnote 1: The article of lead alone for the water-pipes cost
thirty-two millions of livres or £1,333,333 sterling; but
"Rich in her weeping country's spoils, Versailles!
May boast a thousand fountains, that can cast
The tortur'd waters to the distant heav'ns"--]