THE GARDEN OF PLANTS.
Rollo and Carlos had not gone far before they came to a place where two
children had set up what they called a _chapel_, under the archway which
led to the interior of the house where they lived. A real chapel, in
Catholic countries, is any consecrated place, large or small, containing
an altar, and a crucifix, and other sacred emblems, where masses are
said and other religious services are performed. Real chapels are made
in the alcoves of churches, in monuments over tombs, and in other
similar places, and children have toy chapels to play with. There are
little crucifixes, and candlesticks, and communion cups, and other
similar things for sale at the toy shops. Sometimes the children buy
these things and arrange them on a small table, in a corner of the room,
for play, just as in Protestant countries they arrange a pulpit and
chairs for a congregation, and so make believe have a meeting. Sometimes
the children bring out their chapel and set it near the sidewalk, by
the street, and then hold out a little plate to ask the passers by for
contributions. There are almost always some people more good matured
than wise, who will give them a sou or two; and thus they often made up
quite a little purse of money.
In this case, as Rollo and Carlos were passing along, the little girl,
who was very nicely dressed in holiday costume, held out a small plate,
saying,--
"One sou, gentlemen, if you please, for the little chapel."
Rollo and Carlos stopped to look at the chapel.
"What pretty little candles!" said Rollo, talking half to himself and
half to Carlos, "and how tall! I wish I had some of them for Jennie."
"I have got a chapel at home," said Carlos.
"She wants us to give her a sou," continued Rollo. "Would you?"
"And I will show it to you if you ever come to Barcelona," said Carlos.
"I don't know whether to give her a sou or not," said Rollo. "Would you,
Carlos?"
"My candlesticks are of real silver," said Carlos, "but these are not."
Rollo finally concluded to give the girl a sou, thinking that he was in
some measure bound to do it, after having stopped so long to look at her
chapel; and then he and Carlos walked on as before. As they went on they
continued to talk together, from time to time, Rollo in English and
Carlos in Spanish, neither of them, however, paying any attention to
what the other said. This was a very good plan, for there was a sense of
companionship in this sort of conversation, though it communicated no
ideas. They took the same kind of pleasure in it, probably, that birds
do in the singing of their mates. In fact, it often happens, when a
group of children are talking together in a language which they all
understand, that each one talks for the pleasure of talking, and none of
them pay any attention to what the others say.
Presently the two boys reached the Boulevard. It was a very broad and
magnificent street, and the sidewalks were very wide. The sidewalks,
wide as they were, were thronged with foot passengers, and the street
itself was full of carriages. Very soon an omnibus came along; but it
was full. There are a great many curious contrivances about a French
omnibus; one of which is, that there is a sign, with the word
_complete_, in French, painted upon it in large letters. The sign is
placed directly over the door of the omnibus behind, and is attached to
the top of the coach by a hinge at the lower edge. When the omnibus is
full, the conductor who rides on the step behind pulls up this sign, by
means of a cord attached to it, and then all the people on the sidewalks
can see that there is no room for them. When any passengers get out so
as to make room for others, then the conductor lets this sign down, and
it lies flat upon the top of the coach, out of sight, until the omnibus
gets full again, when it is drawn up as before.
"Complete," said Rollo, pointing to the sign, which was up and in full
view. "That omnibus is full."
"Yes," said Carlos, "I see him. His cap is so high that he can't wear it
in the omnibus, and so he has to take it off."
"But there will be another one pretty soon," said Rollo.
"If I were a soldier," said Carlos, "I would never get into an omnibus
at all. I would have an elegant black horse with a long tail, and I
would go galloping through the streets on my horse."
At length an omnibus came along which was not full, and Rollo and Carlos
got into it. After meeting with various adventures on the way, and
changing from one omnibus to another, according to the system which
prevails in Paris, they finally reached the gates of the garden. There
was a sentry box on each side of the gates, and soldiers, with bayonets
fixed, guarding the entrance. There were, however, a great many people
going in. The soldiers did not prevent them. They had orders to allow
all persons who were quiet and orderly, and had no dogs with them, to
enter freely. So Rollo and Carlos passed directly in.
Rollo's first feeling was that of astonishment at the extent and variety
of the scenes and prospects which opened before him. Instead of a small
garden, laid out in gravel walks, and beds of flowers, as he had
imagined, he found himself entering a perfect maze of winding walks,
which were bordered on all sides by an endless variety of enclosures,
groups of shrubbery, groves, huts, cabins, yards, ponds of water, and
every other element of rural scenery. The whole, as it first burst upon
Rollo's eye, formed a most enchanting landscape, and extended farther
than he could see. The walks meandered about in the most winding and
devious ways. The spaces between them were enclosed by neat little
fences of lattice work, and were divided into little parks, or fields,
in each of which some strange and unknown animals were feeding. There
were ponds, with a quantity of birds of the gayest plumage sailing upon
them; and green slopes, with goats, or deer, or sheep, of the most
extraordinary forms and colors, grazing in them. At one place Rollo
stopped to look at a small basin of water, with a broad stone margin all
around it, which was completely covered with turtles and tortoises of
all colors and sizes. The animals were lying there asleep, basking in
the sun. A little farther on was a beautiful little yard, almost
surrounded with trees and shrubbery, where three or four ostriches, with
long necks, and heads higher than Rollo's, were walking about with a
very majestic air. And farther still there was a little field, the
occupants of which excited the astonishment of the boys to a still
higher degree. They were three giraffes. One of them, with his head
twenty feet in the air, was cropping the leaves from the top of a tall
tree. The second was standing still, quietly looking at the groups of
visitors that were gazing upon him from without the paling; while the
third was amusing himself by galloping about the yard, with a sort of
rolling motion that it was most astonishing to see.
Rollo and Carlos advanced among these scenes, drawn from one to the
other by the new objects which every where presented themselves to
view, and uttering to each other continual exclamations of astonishment.
In fact, they talked incessantly to one another as they walked on,
pointing out, each to the other, whatever attracted their attention, and
making all sorts of comments upon what they saw.
Presently a low, bellowing sound was heard among the trees at a little
distance.
"Hark!" said Rollo, in English, putting his hand upon Carlos's shoulder.
"What's that? I hear a roaring."
"Hark!" said Carlos, in Spanish. "What's that? I hear a roaring."
Neither of the boys understood the words which the other spoke; but they
knew very well that they were both listening to and talking about the
roaring.
"Let's go and see what it is," said Rollo.
"We'll go and see," said Carlos.
So off they started together in the direction of the sound. They walked
along a short distance, passing several beautiful little enclosures,
where quiet and gentle-looking animals, of various forms, were grazing
in their mimic pastures, or lying at rest before the doors of the
thatched-roofed cabins that had been built for them instead of barns,
until at length they came to a place where a long range of buildings
opened to view before them, the fronts of which, instead of showing
doors and windows, were formed of gratings of iron. The interior of this
range was divided into compartments, each one of which formed an immense
cage. These cages were all filled with lions, tigers, panthers,
leopards, hyenas, and other ferocious beasts of prey. Some were walking
to and fro restlessly in their narrow prisons; others were lying down;
and others still were crouched in a corner of their cage, where they
remained motionless, gazing with a sullen air upon the visitors who
stood looking at them from without the grating.
Rollo and Carlos walked back and forth in front of these cages several
times, looking at the animals. They admired the beauty and grace of the
tigers and leopards, and the majestic dignity of the lions. There were a
lion and a lioness together in one cage. The lioness was walking
restlessly to and fro; while the lion sat crouched in the back part of
the cage, with an expression upon his countenance in which the lofty
pride and majesty of his character, and the patience and submissiveness
which pertained to his situation, were combined.
"Poor fellow!" said Rollo; "if I had you and your cage in Africa, where
you belong, I would open the door and let you go."
Just at this moment the attention of both Rollo and Carlos was suddenly
arrested by a most unearthly sound at a little distance from them, which
seemed to be intermediate between a scream and a roar. It was so loud,
too, as to be truly terrific.
"What's that?" said Rollo, suddenly, in English.
"Ah, what a dreadful bray that is!" said Carlos, in Spanish.
"Would you go out there and see what it is?" said Rollo.
"Hark! Let's go there and see what it is," said Carlos.
So the boys started together to go in the direction of the sound.
It is impossible, however, for a stranger in the Garden of Plants to be
sure of going any considerable distance in any one direction, for the
walks are meandering and circuitous beyond description. They wind about
perpetually in endless mazes; and the little fields, and parks, and
gardens that are enclosed between them are so enveloped in shrubbery,
and the view, moreover, is so intercepted with the huts and cabins
built for the animals, and with the palings and networks made to confine
them, that it is impossible to see far in any direction. Besides, there
is so much to attract the attention, and to excite curiosity and wonder,
at every step, that one is continually drawn away from one alley to
another, till he gets hopelessly bewildered.
The huts and cabins which were made for the animals were very curious,
and many of them were so pretty, with their rustic walls and thatched
roof, that Rollo was extremely pleased with them. He stopped before one
of them, which was the residence of a pair of beautiful lamas, and told
Carlos that he meant to ask his uncle George to take particular notice
how it was made, and so make one for him for a play-house when he got
home.
"And I wonder," said he, "where my uncle George and Jennie are. I don't
see how we are ever to find them. I did not know that this garden was so
large and so full of trees and bushes."
"Look there!" said Carlos, pointing through an opening in the shrubbery
along the winding walk. "What are they doing there?"
Rollo, understanding the gesture, though not the words, turned in the
direction that Carlos indicated, and saw that there was quite a crowd
of men, women, and children at the place, all engaged, evidently, in
looking at something or other very intently.
"Let's go and see," said Rollo.
So the boys went along that way together. They soon came in view of a
very high and strong palisade, which, though it was half concealed by
trees and shrubbery, evidently enclosed quite a considerable area, in
the centre of which was a large stone building, like a castle, with
projecting wings and towers, and immense gateways opening into it on
various sides. This building was the residence of all the
_monsters_--the elephants, the giraffes, the rhinoceros, and the
hippopotamus. Each of these species had its own separate apartment in
the castle; and the ground surrounding it, within the great palisade,
was divided into as many yards as there were doors; so that each kind of
animal had its own proper enclosure. In one of these enclosures the
rhinoceros was walking about, clothed in his plated and invulnerable
hide; and in the next there were two elephants. The crowd of people were
chiefly occupied in looking at the elephants. The palisade was very
heavy and strong, being formed of timbers pointed at the top, and nearly
as high as the elephants could reach. These palisades were, however,
not close together. They were far enough apart to allow of the elephants
putting their trunks through to the people outside, and also to give the
people a good opportunity to look. Though these timbers were thus set at
some distance apart from each other, they wore still connected together,
and all held firmly in their places, by two iron rails which passed
through them all, one near the top, and the other near the bottom, of
the palisade, all along the range. They thus formed a fencing so heavy
and strong that even the elephants could not break it down.
The visitors could not come quite up to the elephants; for outside of
this great palisade, at a distance of about three feet from it, there
was a high paling, made expressly to keep the spectators back. At the
time when Rollo and Carlos came to the place the elephants were putting
their trunks through to the people, in order to be fed with nuts, cake,
gingerbread, and other such things which the people had ready to give
them. Sometimes they would order the elephants to hold up their trunks
and open their mouths, and then the men would try to toss pieces of
gingerbread in. The elephants were always ready to do this when ordered,
though their mouths, when they opened them, were so small that the
people very seldom succeeded in aiming the missile so that it would go
in.
Rollo and Carlos looked about among the crowd that were assembled at
this place to see if Mr. George was among them; but he was not; and so,
after amusing themselves for some time with the elephants, they walked
along to see what else there was in the garden.
There were a great many people in the garden besides those who seemed to
have come to see the animals. There were groups of children, that seemed
to belong in the vicinity, playing in the _walks, some jumping ropes,
and others_ building little houses of gravel stones. There were women
seated on benches in various little shady nooks and corners, some
sewing, others taking care of babies; while others, at little stands and
stalls, sold gingerbread and cakes. At one place Rollo stopped to look
at two little children that were playing in the gravel and throwing the
little pebble stones about. Their grandmother, who was sitting near,
said something to them in French.
"What does she say?" asked Carlos.
"She says," replied Rollo, "you must not throw gravel in your little
sister's face."
The question in this case and the answer fitted each other very well;
but it was a mere matter of accident, for neither of the boys
understood what the other had said.
Pretty soon the boys came to a place where a great number of people were
standing on a sort of parapet, and leaning upon an iron railing, where
they seemed to be looking down into some cavity. They hurried to the
place, and, stepping up upon the parapet, they looked down too, and
found there a range of dens below the surface of the ground, all full of
bears. These dens were sunken yards, six or eight feet deep, and
enclosed with perpendicular walls all around, so that the bears could
not possibly get out. There were iron railings around the top, and a
great many people were standing there looking down to the bears. There
were four or five of these yards, all in a row; and as there were many
great trees overshadowing them, the place was cool and pleasant. Some of
the bears were walking about on the stone pavement which formed the
bottom of the dens; others were sitting on their hind legs, and holding
up their fore paws to catch the pieces of gingerbread which were thrown
down to them by the people above. There were a number of little birds
hopping about there, picking up the crums that were left, though they
took care to keep out of the way of the bears. Rollo and Carlos bought
some cakes of gingerbread of a woman who kept a stall near by, and,
breaking them into pieces, they threw them down to the bears. They threw
the most to a great white bear that was in one of the dens, and who
particularly attracted their attention. Rollo told Carlos that he
supposed this bear must have come from the north pole. The boys were
both by this time rather hungry; but they were so much interested in
seeing the bears try to catch the pieces of gingerbread that they did
not think to eat any of it themselves, but threw it all down to them,
all except one piece which Rollo gave to a little girl who stood beside
him, to let her throw it, because she had none of her own. For this
kindness the girl thanked Rollo, in French, in a very polite and proper
manner.
After being satisfied with seeing the bears, the boys wandered on
wherever they saw the most to attract them, until at length they came to
what is called the palace of the monkeys, which pleased them more than
any thing they had seen. This palace is an enormous round cage, as high
as a house, and nearly a hundred feet in diameter, with a range of stone
buildings all around it on the back side. These buildings have little
rooms in them, where the monkeys live in the winter, and where they
always sleep at night. They go out into the cage to play. The cage is
formed of slender iron posts and railing, so that the people standing
outside can see the monkeys at their sports and gambols. They play with
each other in every possible way, and frolic just as if they were in
their native woods. They climb up the smooth iron posts, pursuing one
another; and then, leaping across through the air, they catch upon a
rope, from which they swing themselves across to the branch of a tree.
Some of these branches have bells attached to them; and the monkey, when
he gets upon such a one, will spring it up and down till he sets the
bell to ringing, and then, assisted by the return of the branch, he
bounds away through the air to some rope, or pole, or railing that he
sees within his reach. The agility which these animals display in these
feats is truly astonishing.
Rollo and Carlos watched their evolutions with great interest. There was
an excellent place to see, for the land opposite the cage ascended in
such a manner that those more remote could look over the heads of those
that were nearer. Besides this, there were quite a number of chairs
under the trees, at the upper part of this ascent; and Rollo, perceiving
that several of them were vacant, sat down in one, and made a sign to
Carlos to sit down in another. They could now look at the monkeys, and
rest at the same time. Presently a woman came along and said to Rollo,
in French,--
"Please pay the chairs, sir."
Rollo recollected immediately that at all such places in Paris chairs
were kept to be let, those who used them paying two sous apiece for the
privilege. So he took out four sous and gave the woman.
"I did not think of there being any thing to pay for these chairs," said
he to Carlos. "But then, I don't care. It is worth four sous to get a
good rest, as tired as I am. I'm pretty hungry, too. I wish I had not
given all my gingerbread to the bears."
Carlos made no reply to this suggestion; though there is no doubt that
he would have readily assented to what Rollo said, if he had understood
it. The boys remained some time looking at the monkeys, and then
strolled away into other parts of the garden. Very soon they came to a
place where Rollo spied at some distance before him, under some immense
old trees in a sort of a valley, what he thought was a restaurant.
"See these monstrous big trees!" said Carlos; "and there are tables
under them."
The boys made all haste to the spot, and found to their great joy that
it was a restaurant. There was a plain but very picturesque-looking
house, antique and venerable; and before it, on a green, under the
spreading branches of some enormous old trees, a number of small tables,
with seats around them.
"Now, Carlos," said Rollo, "we will have some bread and butter and a
good cup of coffee."
[Illustration: THE RESTAURANT.]
So they sat down at one of the pleasantest tables, and very soon a
waiter came to see what they would have. Rollo called for coffee and
bread and butter for two. In a short time the waiter came, bringing two
great cups, which he filled half with coffee and half with boiled milk.
He brought also a supply of very nice butter, and a loaf of bread shaped
like a stick of wood. It was about as large round as Rollo's arm, and
twice as long. The waiter laid this bread across the table for Rollo and
Carlos to cut off as much from it as they might want. This is what they
call having "bread at discretion."
The boys enjoyed this banquet very much indeed. Besides the coffee, they
had water, which they sweetened in the tumblers with large lumps of
white sugar. They talked all the time while they were eating, each in
his own language, and laughed very merrily. "After all," said Rollo,
"this is the very best place in the whole garden. Feeding the bears is
very good fun; but this is infinitely better."
After remaining for half an hour at the table, and eating till their
appetites were completely satisfied, they concluded to go back and see
the monkeys again.
In the mean time, Mr. George and his friend, with Jennie, had been
engaged in an entirely different part of the garden; for the whole
enclosure is so large that it takes many days to see the whole. On one
side, bordering on a street, there is a long row of houses and gardens,
occupied by professors, who give courses of lectures on the plants and
animals which the garden contains. On another is a magnificent range of
buildings, occupied as a museum, containing endless collections of dried
plants, of minerals and shells, of skeletons, and the stuffed skins of
birds and beasts. Then there is a very large tract of level land,
between two splendid avenues, all laid out in beds of plants and
flowers, forming a series of parterres, extending as far as the eye can
reach, and presenting the gayest and most beautiful combination of
colors that can be conceived. Jennie was very much delighted with all
these things, as she walked about in these parts of the garden with her
uncle, though she was somewhat uneasy all the time because she could not
see any thing of Rollo.
"I don't believe," said she at last to her uncle, as they were standing
on the margin of a beautiful little artificial pond, full of lilies and
other aquatic plants, "I don't believe that we can find him at all in
such a large garden."
"Yes," said Mr. George; "there'll be no difficulty. There is one
universal rule for finding boys in the Garden of Plants."
"What is that?" asked Jennie.
"Go to the places where they keep the monkeys and the elephants," said
Mr. George; "and if you don't find them there at once, wait a few
minutes, and they'll be pretty sure to come."
It was as Mr. George had predicted; for, on going to the palace of the
monkeys, there they found Rollo and Carlos laughing very heartily to see
a big monkey holding a little one in its arms as a human mother would a
baby.
The party, when thus united, went together once more over the principal
places where the two divisions of it had gone separately before, so that
all might have a general idea of the whole domain; and then, going out
at a different gate from the one by which they had entered, they went
home, all resolving to come again, if possible, at some future day.