It Would
Have Been Better To Have Made It In The Style Of The Triumphal Arch Of The
Porte St Denis.
On this arc of the Carrousel are bas-reliefs both outside
and inside, representing various actions of Napoleon's life.
He is always
represented in the Roman costume, with the imperial laurel on his brows,
with kings kneeling, and presenting the keys of conquered cities. On the
outside are statues, large as life, in modern military costume,
representing the different armes which compose the French army.[37] On
the top of this Arc du Carrousel is an antique car of triumph, to which are
harnessed the four bronze horses which were taken from the facade of the
Church of San Marco in Venice. They are of beautiful workmanship and of
great antiquity. What various and mighty revolutions have these horses
witnessed! Cast in Corinth in the time of the glories of the Grecian
commonwealths and removed by conquest to Rome, they witnessed the
successive fall of the Grecian and Roman states; transferred to
Constantinople in the time of Constantine, and from thence removed to
Venice when Constantinople fell into the hands of the French and Venetians;
transferred from thence to Paris in 1798, they have witnessed the
successive falls of the Eastern and Western Empires, of the Republic of
Venice and the Napoleonic dynasty and Empire. Report says they are to be
restored to Venice; and who knows whether they may not be destined one day
to return to their original country, Greece, under perhaps Russian
auspices?
The Gardens of the Tuileries which lie at the back part of the palace are
very spacious, well laid out in walks and lined with trees. Large basins
inlaid with stone, fountains and statues add to the grandeur of these
gardens; they extend from the Tuileries as far as the Place Louis XV
parallel to the Seine, and are separated by a wall and parapet and a
beautiful cast iron railing from the Quai, and on the other side from the
Rue de Rivoli, one of the new streets, and the best in Paris for
pedestrians. On the side opposite the palace itself is the Place Louis
XV, called in the time of the republic Place de la Revolution, and where
the unfortunate Louis XVI suffered decapitation. The Place Louis XV is by
far the most magnificent thing of the kind I have ever seen and far exceeds
the handsomest of our squares in London. On one side of it is the Hotel du
Garde Meuble, a superb edifice. On the other the Quai, the river; and on
the other side of the river is the Palais du Corps legislatif, now the
place where the Chamber of Deputies hold their sitting, and which has a
magnificent facade. In front of this place are the Champs Elysees and
avenue of Neuilly and behind the gardens and palace of the Tuileries.
My next visit was to the Place Vendome, where stands the majestic column
of the Grand Army.
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