OLD-TIME MANSIONS OF THE RIVE GAUCHE
ARRONDISSEMENT VII. PALAIS-BOURBON
The word Varennes is a corruption of Garennes: in English the Rue de
Varennes would be Warren Street, a name leading us back in thought to
the remote age when the district was wild, uncultivated land full of
rabbit-warrens. Another street joined to Rue de Varennes in 1850, and
losing thus its own name, made it the long street we enter. No. 77 is
the handsome mansion and park built early in the eighteenth century by
Gabriel for a parvenu wig-maker. Later it was l’hôtel de Maine, then
hôtel Biron, to become in 1807 the well-known convent of the
Sacré-Cœur. From its convent-days dates the chapel--now the Musée
Rodin. Other dependencies of the same date, built to house the nuns,
were razed after their evacuation in 1904, when educational
congregations were suppressed. The State, in possession of the domain,
let it out for a time in _logements_, used it for a brief period as a
National School, then let the whole property to the great sculptor,
Rodin, who always had his eye on fine old buildings threatened with
degradation or destruction. “I could weep,” he once said to me, “when I
see fine historic walls ruthlessly razed to the ground.” The disaffected
chapel became his studio and he set about maturing the plan, faithfully
carried out after his death, of organizing there a national museum. He
offered the whole of his own works and all the precious works of art he
had collected to the State for this purpose. A clause in the treaty
stipulates that in the possible but unlikely event of the restitution of
the chapel building, after a lapse of years, to religious authorities,
it be replaced as a museum by a new structure in the grounds. No. 73 is
hôtel de Broglie, 1775. No. 69 hôtel de Clermont, 1714. No. 80 is the
Ministère du Commerce. No. 78 the Ministère de l’Agriculture, built in
1712 as the habitation of an _actrice_. No. 65 began as l’hôtel de la
Marquise de la Suze, 1787, to become l’hôtel Rochefoucauld-Doudeauville.
No. 72 l’hôtel de Dufour, 1700. No. 64 was an eighteenth-century inn.
No. 57, l’hôtel de Matignon, made over by the duchesse de Galliera after
her husband’s death to the Emperor of Austria, became the Austrian
Embassy--till 1914. Numerous have been the persons of historic name and
note who stayed or lived at this grand old mansion. It was owned at one
time by Talleyrand, whose home was next door at No. 55; by the comte de
Paris, who on the marriage of his daughter Amélie and Don Carlo of
Portugal, in 1886, gave there a fête so magnificent that it led to the
banishment of the Orléans and other princely families of France on the
ground of royalist propaganda. Nos. 62-60 are ancient. No. 58 l’hôtel
d’Auroy, 1750; l’hôtel Rochefoucauld in 1775. No. 56 l’hôtel de
Gouffier, 1760. No. 55 l’hôtel d’Angennes. Nos. 52-52 _bis_ l’hôtel de
Guébriant. No. 47 l’hôtel de Jaucourt, 1788, later de
Rochefoucauld-Dundeauville. No. 48 the hôtel de Charles Skelton.
Monseigneur de Ségur was born here in 1820. No. 45 is l’hôtel de
Cossé-Brissac, 1765. No. 46 the petit hôtel de Narbonne-Pelet. Nos.
43-41 l’hôtel d’Avrincourt. At No. 23 are vestiges of l’hôtel
St-Gelais, 1713. No. 21 is l’hôtel de Narbonne-Pelet. No. 22 l’hôtel de
Biron, 1775. No. 19 l’hôtel de Chanterac. In its passage here as
elsewhere Boulevard Raspail has swept away venerable buildings.
The Esplanade on the northern side of the hôtel des Invalides, once
Plaine-des-Prés-St-Germain, stretches between three long and old-world
streets--Rue de Grenelle, Rue St-Dominique, Rue de l’Université--all
crossing the 7th arrondissement in almost its entire extent.
Rue de Grenelle, in the fifteenth century Chemin de Garnelle, then
Chemin des Vaches, a country road, has near its higher end where we
start two ancient streets leading out of it, Rue de la Comète (1775),
named to record the passage of the famous comet of 1763, where at No. 19
we see a curious old courtyard, and Rue de Fabert with an ancient
one-storied house at its corner. No. 127 hôtel de Charnac, abbé de
Pompadour, was the palace Mgr. Richard was forced to give up in
1906--now Ministère du Travail. Nos. 140-138, a fine mansion built in
1724, inhabited till the eighteenth century by noblemen of mark, is now
hôtel de l’État-Major de l’Armée and Service Géographique de l’Armée. At
No. 115, formerly l’hôtel du Marquis de Saumery, the _actrice_ Adrienne
Lecouvreur died and was secretly buried. The short Rue de Martignac,
opening at No. 130, showing no noteworthy feature, was built in 1828 on
the ancient grounds of the Carmelites and the Dames de Bellechasse. No.
105 belonged to Berryer, the famous lawyer, 1766, then to Lamoignon de
Basville. No. 122, l’hôtel d’Artagnan, to Maréchal de Montesquieu. At
No. 101 l’hôtel d’Argenson, 1700, where Casimir Perier died of cholera
in 1832; now Ministère de Commerce de l’Industrie. No. 118 l’hôtel de
Villars, etc., has very beautiful woodwork. No. 116, the Mairie since
1865, an ancient _hôtel_ transformed and enlarged in modern times. No.
110 l’hôtel Rochechouart, built on land taken from the nuns of
Bellechasse, inhabited at one time by Marshal Lames, duc de Montebello,
is the Ministère de l’Instruction Publique. At No. 97 Saint Simon wrote
his diaries and in 1755 died here. No. 106, in 1755 Temple du
Panthémont, the abode of a community of nuns from the Benedictine abbey
near Beauvais, was sold in lots after the Revolution; its chapel was
taken for a Protestant church. No. 87, known in a past age as hôtel de
Grimberghe, has a fine staircase. No. 104 formed part of the Panthémont
convent. No. 85, l’hôtel d’Avaray 1718, abode, in 1727, of Horace
Walpole when ambassador. No. 83 hôtel de Bonneval, 1763. No. 81, Russian
Embassy, was built by Cotte in 1709 for the duchesse d’Estrées. No. 102
was built by Lisle Mansart in the first years of the eighteenth century.
At No. 90 we turn for an instant into Rue St-Simon to look at the Latin
inscriptions on Nos. 4-2, dating, however, only from 1881. No. 77, École
Libre, originally l’hôtel de la Motte-Houdancourt, was inhabited in
recent times by marquis de Gallifet. No. 75, seventeenth century, built
by Cardinal d’Estrées. No. 88 l’hôtel de Noailles. No. 73, Italian
Embassy, built by Legrand in 1775. At No. 71, annexed to the Italian
Embassy, the duke of Alba died in 1771.
The fine Fontaine des Quatre Saisons, dating from 1737, erected by
Bouchandon, was inaugurated by Turgot, Prévôt des Marchands in 1749.
Here, at No. 59, Alfred de Musset lived and wrote from 1824 to 1840. No.
36, “A la Petite Chaise,” dates from 1681; No. 25, hôtel de Hérissey,
from 1747. No. 15 is on the site of an ancient hôtel Beauvais. No. 20
Petit hôtel de Beauvais, 1687. The modern house and garage at Nos. 16-18
are on the site of a house owned by a nephew of La Fontaine and which
was inhabited by the Beauharnais. At No. 11 we find vestiges of the
_hôtel_ of Pierre de Beauvais, a fine mansion, where the Doge of Venise,
come to Paris to make obeisance to Louis XIV, stayed in 1686; a convent
subsequently, then the Mairie of the district till 1865, when the
lengthening of Rue des Saints-Pères swept it away.
Rue St-Dominique, like Rue de Grenelle in ancient days a country
road--“Chemin aux Vaches,” then “Chemin de la Justice”--grew into a
thoroughfare of fine _hôtels_, some still standing, others swept away by
the cutting of the modern boulevard St-Germain or incorporated in the
newer _hôtels_ there. It is the district of the Gros Caillou, the great
stone, which once marked the bounds of the abbey grounds of
St-Germain-des-Prés. The fountain at No. 129, dating from the early
years of the nineteenth century, is by Beauvalet. The Hygia healing a
warrior we see sculptured there reminds us of the military hospital
recently demolished. The church St-Pierre du Gros-Caillou dates from
1738, on the site of a chapel built there in 1652. In the court at No.
94 we find an old pavilion. A curious old house at No. 74, an old
courtyard at No. 66. At No. 81 an ancient inn had once the sign “Le
Canon ci-devant Royal.” No. 67 was the “Palais des Vaches laitières.”
No. 32 l’hôtel Beaufort. No. 57 l’hôtel de Sagan, built in 1784 for the
princesse de Monaco, _née_ Brignole-Salé, now in the hands of an
antiquarian. No. 53 l’hôtel de la princesse de Kunsky, 1789. At No. 49
we find an eighteenth-century _hôtel_ in the court. The fine _hôtel_ at
No. 28, 1710, was at one time the Nunciate. No. 47 l’hôtel de
Seiguelay, where at the beginning of the nineteenth century gas, newly
invented, was first used. No. 45 hôtel Comminges. No. 43 hôtel de
Ravannes. No. 41 is ancient. At Nos. 22-20 we see the name of the street
” ... Dominique,” the word saint suppressed in Revolution days. No. 35
l’hôtel de Broglie. Nos. 16-14, built in 1730, now the War Minister’s
official dwelling (1730), in Napoléon’s time the Paris home of his
mother, “Madame Laetitia.” In the first of these two _hôtels_, joined to
make one, we see Louis XV woodwork decorations, “Empire” decorations in
the other. No. 33 l’hôtel Panouse.
The church Ste-Clotilde, 1846-56, is built on the site of a demolished
Carmelite convent. The fine bas-reliefs by Pradier and Duret are the
best work there. Nos. 12, 10, 8, Ministère de la Guerre since 1804, was
once the couvent des Filles de St-Joseph, founded 1640. No. 11, site of
the Pavillon de Bellechasse, the home of Mme de Genlis. Nos. 5-3 l’hôtel
de Tavannes. Gustave Doré died at No. 5, in 1883. No. 1, _hôtel_ of duc
de Mortemart, built 1695, where we see an oval court.
Rue Solférino, No. 1, the chancellerie de la Légion d’Honneur (see p.
205).
Rue de l’Université, so long and interesting a thoroughfare, recalls the
days when the Pré-aux-Clercs through which it was cut was the classic
promenade of Paris students. It was known in its early days as Rue de la
Petite-Seyne, then as Rue du Pré-aux-Clercs. The seventeenth century saw
a series of lawsuits between the landowners and the University, the
latter claiming certain rights and privileges there. The University was
the losing party, the only right conceded to Alma Mater was that of
giving her name to the old street. No. 182, an ancient _garde-meuble_
and statuary _dépôt_, was in recent days Rodin’s _atelier_. No. 137 was
built about 1675 with the stones left over at the building of les
Invalides. No. 130, Ministère des Affaires Étrangères, is modern. No.
128 the official dwelling of the président de la Chambre. No. 126 Palais
Bourbon (_see_ p. 304). No. 108, Turgot died here in 1781. No. 102 was
the abode of the duc d’Harcourt in 1770. The side of the Ministère de la
Guerre we see at No. 73, a modern erection, is on the site of several
historic _hôtels_ demolished to make way for it and for the new
boulevard. Lamartine lived at No. 88 in 1848, after living in 1843 at
No. 80. No. 78 was built by Harduin-Mansart in the seventeenth century.
No. 72 was l’hôtel de Guise (1728). Mme Atkins (_see_ p. 205) lived at
l’hôtel Mailly, in what is now Rue de Villersexel, in 1816. The
remarkably fine hôtel de Soyecourt at No. 51 dates from 1775. No. 43
l’hôtel de Noailles. Alphonse Daudet died at No. 41 (1897). No. 35 was
the home of Valdeck-Rousseau. The Magasins du Petit-St-Thomas, built on
the site of the ancient hôtel de l’Université (seventeenth century),
inhabited at one time by the duc de Valentinois, by Henri d’Aguesseau,
etc., have been razed to make way for a big new bank. Montyon, the
philanthropist, founder of the Virtue prizes given yearly by the French
Academy, died at No. 23 in the year 1820 (_see_ p. 225). No. 15 built in
1685 for a notable Fermier-général. No. 13 was in 1772 the site of the
Venetian Embassy. At No. 24, in the court, we see a fine old
eighteenth-century _hôtel_ built by Servandoni. The houses No. 18 and
No. 20 were built upon the old gardens of la Reine Margot, which
stretched down here from her palace, Rue de Seine. From the Place du
Palais-Bourbon, due to Louis de Bourbon, prince de Condé, we see one
side of the Chambre des Députés, built as the Palais-Bourbon by a
daughter of Louis XIV (1722). It was enlarged later by the prince de
Condé, confiscated in 1780 and renamed Maison de la Révolution, almost
entirely rebuilt under Napoléon. Its Grecian peristyle dates from 1808.
In 1816 a prince de Condé was again in possession. The Government bought
it back in 1827 and built the present Salle des Séances. In Rue de
Bourgogne, on the other side of the _place_, we find several
eighteenth-century _hôtels_. No. 48 was hôtel Fitz-James. No. 50 has
been the archbishop’s palace since 1907. Mgr. Richard died there in
1908.
The Champ-de-Mars, wholly modern as we see it, surrounded by brand new
streets and avenues, stretches across ancient historic ground. Not yet
so named, the territory was a veritable _champ de Mars_ more than a
thousand years ago when, in 888, the warrior bishop Eudes, at the head
of his Parisians, faced the Norman invaders there and forced them to
retreat. Towards the close of the eighteenth century the great space was
enclosed as the exercising-ground of the École Militaire. The Fête
Nationale de la Fédération was held there on 14th July, 1790, presided
by Talleyrand; a year later, 17th July, 1791, La Fayette-Bailly fired
upon the mob that gathered here, clamouring for the deposition of the
King. At the corner where the Avenue de la Bourdonnais now passes the
guillotine was set up for the execution of Bailly in 1793. On June 8th,
1794, the people from far and near crowded here for the Fête de l’Être
Suprême. In 1804 the Champ-de-Mars was called for a time Champ-de-Mai.
But it remained, nevertheless, the site of military displays. Napoléon’s
eagles and the new decoration, la Légion d’Honneur, were first bestowed
here, and when, in 1816, Louis XVIII mounted the throne of France, it
was on the Champ-de-Mars that soldiers and civilians received once more
the _drapeau blanc_.
Horse-races took place here. Here, so long ago as 1783, the first
primitive airship was sent up. Also, later, a giant balloon. The great
exhibition of 1798 and all succeeding great exhibitions, as well as many
smaller ones, were held on the Champ-de-Mars. The park we see was laid
out in 1908.