A Tour through some parts of France, Switzerland, Savoy, Germany and Belgium | Page 8

the arches of which are of iron, opposite the gallery of the
Louvre, which is open only to foot passengers, each person paying two
sous for the privilege of being admitted on this promenade, which is
often much crowded with company. Very soon after my arrival at Paris
I came to this conclusion, that although Paris far exceeds London,
Dublin, or Edinburgh, in the splendour of its public buildings, and often
in the handsome appearance of many of its houses, yet those cities are
far preferable in point of all essential comforts. And after spending a
considerable time in Paris, I saw no reason to change the opinion which
I had first formed; that opinion however cannot, I should apprehend, be
questioned by a Frenchman, as it admits fully the magnificence of
many parts of his favourite city, and this is sufficient for his vanity.
With us cleanliness and comfort are preferred to shew, we find them in
most of our own cities, but those who know most of Paris will not deny
that they are rarely to be met with there.
I had been recommended to the Hotel de Pondicherry, by a gentleman
who had for some time lodged there; but I found there were no vacant
apartments. After making application in vain at many of the hotels in
the Rue de Richelieu, I at last succeeded in meeting with good

accommodation in the Hotel des Prouvaires, which was in a convenient
situation, and had the advantage of having been lately painted. I found
the people of the house very civil and attentive, and produced my
passport from the Secretary of States' Office, signed by Lord
Castlereagh, to satisfy them that I was no avanturier, a very numerous
class here. The expence I found differed but little from, that of most of
the hotels in London; but the French hotels are in fact more what we
should call lodging-houses, as they do not supply dinners, &c. which
must be procured from a restaurateur's, of which there are a vast
number; and I have heard it stated, that there are no less than 2500
coffee-houses in Paris.
The population of Paris is stated by Marchant, in the last edition of his
Guide to Paris at 580,000; the number of houses is estimated to be
29,400; this would give an average of nearly twenty persons to each
house. This I do not consider as too great a proportion to allow, if we
consider the vast number of hotels that can contain at least double that
number of persons; and that in many parts of the town each story is
occupied (as in Edinburgh) by a separate family.
The population of Paris has undoubtedly decreased since the revolution;
Dutens, who published his Itinerary about thirty years ago, tells us, at
that period the inhabitants of Paris amounted to 650,000: but even
supposing him to have over-rated them, still there remains a great
disparity in the two calculations, and it is reasonable to conclude, that
the present statement by Marchant is accurate, from the facilities which
the system of police affords in forming a just calculation on the subject.
Paris, including all its suburbs, is said to be about eight leagues in
circumference, and, except London and Constantinople, exceeds all the
other cities of Europe in extent.
The markets of Paris are remarkably well supplied with provisions of
every description, and at a price which appears moderate to an
Englishman. I have been told, that fuel is sometimes at a very high
price in the winter; but not being there at that season, I cannot speak
from my own experience. What I had most reason to complain of
during my stay, was scarcity of that great essential to health and
cleanliness, good water. The city is for the most part supplied with this
first of necessaries from the river Seine. Adjoining to one of the bridges
is a vast machine, which raises its waters, which are conducted to all

parts of the town, and also supply several public fountains. They have,
however, an extremely bad taste from the numerous establishments for
washing for all Paris, which are established in boats on all parts of the
river, which is thus strongly impregnated with soap-suds, and its
cathartic qualities have been experienced by many strangers on their
first arrival in Paris.
The French never drink this water without mixing in it a proportion of
sugar, and then call it _eau sucré_, which is often called for at the
coffee-houses. Most houses have reservoirs of sand for filtering the
water before it is used for drinking; but those who have been
accustomed to the luxury of good water, cannot be soon reconciled to
that of the Seine. The water of the _Ville d'Arblay_ is sold in jars in