Those of Paris, of every description, still retain their former
pre-eminence. The most elegant are the _Bains Chinois_ on the north
Boulevards, where, for three francs, you may enjoy the pleasure of
bathing in almost as much luxury as an Asiatic monarch. Near the
_Temple_ and at the _Vauxhall d'Été_, also on the old Boulevards, are
baths, where you have the advantage of a garden to saunter in after
bathing.
On the Seine are several floating baths, the most remarkable of which
are the _Bains Vigier_, at the foot of the _Pont National_. The
vessel containing them is upwards of 200 feet in length by about 60
in breadth, and presents two tiers of baths, making, on both decks,
140 in number. It is divided in the middle by a large transparent
plate of glass, which permits the eye to embrace its whole extent;
one half of which is appropriated to men; the other, to women. On
each deck are galleries, nine feet wide, ornamented with much
architectural taste. On the exterior part of the vessel is a
promenade, decorated with evergreens, orange and rose trees,
jasmines, and other odoriferous plants. By means of a hydraulic
machine, worked by two horses, in an adjoining barge, the reservoirs
can be emptied and filled again in less than an hour.
The _Bains Vigier_ are much frequented, as you may suppose from their
daily consumption of two cords of wood for fuel. Tepid baths, at
blood-heat, are, at present, universally used by the French ladies,
and, apparently, with no small advantage. The price of one of these
is no more than 30 _sous_, linen, &c. included.
If you want to learn to swim, you may be instructed here in that
necessary art, or merely take a look at those acquiring it, at the