A Bibliographical, Antiquarian and Picturesque Tour in France and Germany, Volume Two | Page 5

on the south side of the
Thames, what could be more magnificent than the front of Somerset
House, rising upon its hundred columns perpendicularly from the sides
of a river... three times as broad as the Seine, with the majestic arches
of _Waterloo Bridge!_--before which, however, the stupendous
elevation of _St. Paul's_ and its correspondent bridge of Black Friars,
could not fail to excite the wonder, and extort the praise, of the most
anti-anglican stranger. And to crown the whole, how would the
venerable nave and the towers of _Westminster Abbey_--with its
peculiar bridge of Westminster ... give a finish to such a succession of
architectural objects of metropolitan grandeur! Although in the very
heart, of Parisian wonder, I cannot help, you see, carrying my
imagination towards our own capital; and suggesting that, if, instead of
furnaces, forges, and flickering flames--and correspondent clouds of
dense smoke--which give to the southern side of the Thames the
appearance of its being the abode of legions of blacksmiths, and glass
and shot makers--we introduced a little of the good taste and good
sense of our neighbours--and if ... But all this is mighty easily
said--though not quite so easily put in practice. The truth however is,
my dear friend, that we should approximate a little towards each other.
Let the Parisians attend somewhat more to our domestic comforts and
commercial advantages--and let the Londoners sacrifice somewhat of
their love of warehouses and manufactories--and then you will have hit
the happy medium, which, in the metropolis of a great empire, would
unite all the conveniences, with all the magnificence, of situation.

Of other buildings, devoted to civil purposes, the CHAMBER OF
DEPUTIES, the HÔTEL DES INVALIDES, with its gilded dome (a
little too profusely adorned,) the INSTITUTE, and more particularly
the MINT, are the chief ornaments on the south side of the Seine. In
these I am not disposed to pick the least hole, by fastidious or
hypercritical observations. Only I wish that they would contrive to let
the lions, in front of the façade of the Institute, (sometimes called the
_Collège Mazarin_ or _des Quatre Nations_--upon the whole, a
magnificent pile) discharge a good large mouthful of water-- instead of
the drivelling stream which is for ever trickling from their closed jaws.
Nothing can be more ridiculous than the appearance of these meagre
and unappropriate objects: the more to be condemned, because the
French in general assume great credit for the management of their
fountains. Of the four great buildings just noticed, that of the Mint, or
rather its façade, pleases me most. It is a beautiful elevation, in pure
good taste; but the stone is unfortunately of a coarse grain and of a
dingy colour. Of the BRIDGES thrown across the Seine, connecting all
the fine objects on either side, it must be allowed that they are generally
in good taste: light, yet firm; but those, in iron, of Louis XVI. and des
Arts, are perhaps to be preferred. The Pont Neuf, where the ancient part
of Paris begins, is a large, long, clumsy piece of stone work:
communicating with the island upon which Notre Dame is built. But if
you look eastward, towards old Paris, from the top of this bridge--or if
you look in the same direction, a little towards the western side, or
upon the quays,--you contemplate, in my humble opinion, one of the
grandest views of street scenery that can be imagined! The houses are
very lofty--occasionally of six or even eight stories--the material with
which they are built is a fine cream-coloured stone: the two branches of
the river, and the back ground afforded by Notre Dame, and a few other
subordinate public buildings, altogether produce an effect--especially
as you turn your back upon the sun, sinking low behind the _Barrière
de Neuilly_--which would equally warm the hearts and exercise the
pencils of the TURNERS and CALCOTS of our own shores. Indeed, I
learn that the former distinguished artist has actually made a drawing of
this picture. But let me add, that my own unqualified admiration had
preceded the knowledge of this latter fact. Among other buildings, I
must put in a word of praise in behalf of the

HALLE-AUX-BLÉ'S--built after the model of the Pantheon at Rome. It
is one hundred and twenty French feet in diameter; has twenty-five
covered archways, or arcades, of ten feet in width; of which six are
open, as passages of ingress and egress--corresponding with the like
number of opposite streets. The present cupola (preceded by one almost
as large as that of the Pantheon at Rome) is built of iron and brass--of a
curious, light, and yet sufficiently substantial construction--and is
unassailable by fire. I never passed through this building without seeing
it well stocked with provender; while its area was filled