■ I. ...... I.. , I I I... ■ ■■III . I M l b l.l MH »| III I I W\Tm ram 1 ■« — I ■ ■MH'l l i n i li nn ■ i I i i I nil ■■■■■ mi ii ■■■ « pi S.J/J' i\*r J lliy^ ^ORk IK iss *%kf^f$> • :;■•' '■ LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. Shelf ..£_£?/ f- UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. OUR TRAVELLING PARTY IN PARIS AND AMSTERDAM BY iS DANIEL C. EDDY. ILLUSTRATED. BOSTON D. LOTHROP & COMPANY, FRANKLIN ST., CORNER OF HAWLEY. 6^ \« \the library Ij OF C ONGR ESS WASHINGTON COPYRIGHT 1882, By DANIEL C. EDDY. PlilNTF.D BY G. W. STL'DLEY 4 CO. ELECTROTYPED AT THE BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY. NOTE. The author is pleased to find that the first two numbers of this series of books meet with an appre- ciation beyond his expectations. The next number — " The Baltic to Vesuvius " — will take our travellers through the countries of Central Europe, into Italy. They will spend the winter in Rome, and journey northward in the early spring, meeting the storm of battle on the plains of Lombardy in midsummer. (71 CONTENTS. CHAP. PAGE I. Landing at Calais 11 II. Paris from the Triumphal Arch 23 HE. Ride along the Boulevards 39 IV. From the Morgue to Pere la Chaise. . . 59 V. Glimpses at French Royalty 75 VI. Paris by Sun Light and Gas Light. ... 95 VH. Three Ways for Sunday 121 Vm. Versailles and the Country 135 IX. The Belgic Capital 149 X. The Field of" Waterloo 162 XI. Views from Antwerp Steeple 183 XH. Fun in Rotterdam . 204 XHI. Mementos of the Pilgrims . 223 XIV. The City on Legs 241 (8) ENGRAVINGS. PAGl The Gates of Delft 2 John Robinson's Prayer 10 Paris under Ground 47 The Presentation 91 Scene on the Boulevards 107 The New Depot 137 The Cathedral of Brussels 157 The Church. 213 Delft-haven. . 226 Pilgrim Costume 247 The Dutchman Fishing 255 (9) JOHN ROBINSON'S PRAYER. PAEIS TO AMSTERDAM. Chapter I. LANDING AT CALAIS. IN England the American traveller feels at home. The people speak a language with which he is familiar ; the habits and customs, the religious observances, the social develop- ments, resemble the styles of life seen in his own land. His sympathies move on with the steady march of English ideas, and constantly he finds something to remind him of the great nation on the other shore of the broad At- lantic. But when he crosses that narrow channel, and steps out upon the continent, he feels that he is among strange people, in a land of strange cus- toms. The language of the inhabitants is un- intelligible jargon ; the form of government is repulsive to his republican prejudices ; the fea- tures of common life differ widely from any thing CH) 12 THE PERCY FAMILY. he sees at home, and he is ever conscious that he is a stranger in a strange land. Thus it was with the travellers whom we have followed across the Atlantic, through Ireland, Scotland, and England. The gentlemen were but imperfectly acquainted with the French lan- guage ; Walter had studied it but a single term, while little Minnie could not understand a word of it. They reached Calais late at night, and be- neath a cloudy, moonless sky, stumbled ashore, Mr. Tenant holding Walter firmly by the hand, and Mr. Percy taking care of Minnie. At the landing they met several soldiers, and five or six armed policemen ; one of whom shouted hoarsely as our friends came up, — " Passports ! passports ! passports ! " " What does he want, pa?" asked Minnie. " He wants our passports." " What for ? " " To examine them, to see who we are, where we are from, and what we want." So Mr. Percy took charge of the children, and Mr. Tenant went with the passports into a large room, where several men were sitting with piles of papers before them. They examined the doc- uments very hastily, and gave them back again ; and the party passed through the building, LANDING AT CALAIS. 13 00^0° which in the darkness of the night they could not inspect, not knowing whether it was a police office, custom house, or depot, and found the cars on the other side, and were soon on their way for Paris. The cars were very comfortable, and our trav- ellers were able to get asleep. They had a whole carriage to themselves, and as the seats were sumptuously cushioned, and the road a very smooth one, they were as much refreshed as if they had been in a hotel. Minnie was the first one to awake ; and as she rubbed her eyes, she said, with a yawn, — "I say, Walter." "What?" " It is morning." "Well — yes." " We ought not to lose our views of the coun- try," said Mr. Percy, letting down the window near him, and looking out. " We have all slept soundly in this car, w^hich is fitted up with as much elegance as a lady's boudoir," remarked Mr. Tenant, who was gazing about. They conversed in an easy, desultory manner for some time, riding by villages, near vine- yards, and along through a fine country, rarely making any stops. As the day advanced, 14 THE PERCY FAMILY. the party felt the need of refreshments, and Walter said, — " The first depot we come to, I will get some- thing to eat, if the cars stop." " We would hardly trust you out of our sight," replied his father. " You would want a valet-de-place to help you buy your breakfast, Walter," said Mr. Tenant. " A Y&letr&e-place ! What is that ? " cried Minnie. " Walter will tell you." " Well, Walter, what is it ? " "A servant, I believe. But I should not need him. Pa, shall I try when we stop again ? " " Try what ? " " To purchase some refreshments ? " " Yes, my son, if you will keep within sight of us." " All right, sir." Just then the cars stopped at a place about fifty miles from Paris, and Walter sprang out, and hurried into the depot, and soon returned, bringing in a piece of paper a number of sand- wiches, French sausages, and other specimens of French cookery. LANDING AT CALAIS. 15 " How did you make the change, Walter ? " asked his father. " Why, I gave him some English money, and he would not take it. Then I took out the five franc piece you gave me yesterday, and let him make his own change." " Have you the right change back ? " "I don't know." " A pretty boy to buy things. I'll try next time," shouted Minnie. " Well, he gave me some small pieces, and 1 did not know what they were, and so hurried back as quickly as I could." " Well, let us see what you have got," said Mr. Tenant. So Walter displayed the articles he had bought, and soon they had made a hearty breakfast. The conversation turned on French cookery, and Minnie declared that she should be delighted with it, and indeed with every thing French. " Ah, Min, you will not know what you do eat over here — whether frogs or dogs," said Walter. " Hum ! frogs and dogs ! " " Well, I have heard of the delightful manner in which French cooks serve up dogs, cats, and frogs, so that the most experienced will hardly 16 THE PERCY FAMILY. ^o^oc distinguish them from the choicest dishes ever craved by the appetite of the epicure.'' " Nonsense ! ain't it, Mr. Tenant ? " " I do not know, child, how it is here ; but I have heard the story of a distinguished Ameri- can, who, in China, sat down to a sumptuous feast, and ate voraciously of a delicate dish which was set before him. When his dainty meal was finished, and he sat wondering what the food could be which had tempted his appe- tite to such an extent, a servant entered, and, wishing to have his curiosity gratified, and yet being entirely unacquainted with the language, he pointed to the dish, and said, ' Quack, quack,' meaning to ask if it was duck. The servant re- plied, ' Bow wow, bow wow,' intimating that the delicious food was not duck, but dog." Just at that moment Minnie had a sandwich to her lips, and with an exclamation of disgust, she threw it out of the window, much to the amusement of her friends, who teased her a lit- tle for her admiration of French cookery. " Minnie," said her father, " what we eat is much a matter of taste." " How so, pa ? " "Why, we laugh at the French for eating frogs — " " Ugh ! " LANDING AT CALAIS. 17 " Yet we eat many things not as delicious." " Delicious ! How you talk ! " " Have you ever tasted turtle soup, Minnie ? " " 0, yes, many a time." " And how do you know the frog is not as good ? and as clean ? " " Well, I declare ! " " In some countries dogs are eaten, and we think it very disgusting ; yet we kill the filthy hog, and deem his flesh excellent." " I am glad frog is not my taste." " And who can say that your taste is better than that of the dog-eating Russian, or the frog- eating Frenchman ? " " I don't know, pa, but I wish Mr. Tenant would help me argue it." A hearty laugh greeted the little girl, who felt some disposition to pout, but wisely con- cluded to laugh with the rest, at her own dis- comfiture. " But, pa," said she, " this conversation an- noys me — talking about frogs and dogs for food ! " " I know it does, my dear child ; and I in- troduced it for a special reason." " What was it ? " " I wished to show you that many things are mere matters of taste. You are now in a strange VOL. III. 2 18 THE PERCY FAMILY. country, and will see many strange and unusual things. Your first impulse will be to condemn them because you have never seen them before. I wished to impress upon you the idea, that in much you will see, the difference is not so greatly in your own favor." " I will think of that." "Do so, and remember that you must not condemn what you see because it does not ac- cord with your taste. Perhaps the taste of the people around you is best, after all ; and you should be thoughtful ere you venture your opin- ion in condemnation." " Thank you, pa, for the caution. I will endeavor to look at things on both sides." The forenoon was half gone when the train reached Paris. The baggage of our travellers, which had been ticketed through from London, and thus escaped an examination at Calais, was here overhauled. A very civil, polite officer asked the children to unlock their bags, which they did, and he merely laid his hand upon the top, and passed on. The two gentlemen were not so fortunate, for a consequential personage persisted in taking out their clothing, and un- rolling the packages, at which they were quite indignant, as the operation seemed to be un- necessary. LANDING AT CALAIS. 19 On entering a carriage, they drove to Hotel Meurice, in Rue de Rivoli, and were soon ac- commodated with a suit of elegant and spacious apartments, overlooking the garden of the Tui- leries. Minnie's room opened into her father's, and Walter's into that of Mr. Tenant ; and the view from all of them was very pleasant. A little circumstance occurred just after their arrival which amused them very much. Break- fast was ordered, though it was late in the fore- noon ; and Minnie, who completed her toilet before the others, ran down before them. The building being very large, the windings numer- ous, and the passages long, she lost her way, and became somewhat bewildered, until she could not tell where to go. At length a very fine- looking gentleman came along the passage, and she appealed to him. " Sir, can you tell me the way to the dining room ? " The man looked at her in astonishment. " Monsieur, (sir,) I mean, where is the — the dejeuner (breakfast) room ? " The man smiled, and shook his head. " Can't you understand me ? " The man shook his head. Minnie thought again for some French word that she had heard Walter repeat, and then 20 THE PERCY FAMILY. stammered out, " La table, monsieur ? " (the table, sir.) The man shook his head again ; and finally, seeing her look at his jewelled watch chain, pulled out his watch, and thinking she might wish to know the hour, said, — " 11 est midi" (it is twelve o'clock.) "Hum! Stupid!" said the child to her- self. Just now Walter came along, and relieved Minnie of her embarrassment, by asking, very properly and in tolerable French, the way to the dining room, which they soon found, Walter in- dulging in a pleasant, good-natured laugh at Minnie's use of the language of which she scarcely knew a word. When they were seated at the table, they found that the servants could all speak English, that the food was cooked in English style, and that the house had every appearance of an Eng- lish hotel. This made them feel at home, and their anticipations of a delightful time increased as the day wore on. The children were amused with every thing they saw. The streets, the people, the houses, were all so different from those seen in London, that they could not restrain their exclamations of pleasure and surprise. As they sat at their LANDING AT CALAIS. 21 ooj^oo windows, they saw crowds of people on the side- walks below ; soldiers were marching along the streets ; the gendarmes were standing on the corners, or moving about among the masses ; the garden of the Tuileries across the street was thronged with happy men, women, and chil- dren, who were lounging on seats, walking under the trees, drinking beer at the stands, or engaged in some kinds of amusement. Walter and his sister did not go out that evening, but rested for the work before them on the following days. They spent the evening in writing letters to friends at home. Walter penned a long letter to his mother, in which he told her all he had seen since he last wrote, what adventures he had met, what curious inci- dents had transpired, and all the news he could think of. Minnie wrote to Charlie a very curi- ous letter, full of fun and nonsense, just like herself, over which Charlie doubtless had many a laugh when he read it. They also found letters for them at the hotel, from home ; and that well-known handwriting, from that dear mother, was read again and again, blotted with tears, and finally kissed, as a precious memento of fond maternal love. That night they slept sweetly — those honest, truthful, intelligent children, across whose young 22 THE PERCY FAMILY. lives no shadow had ever yet fallen, and whose guileless hearts knew no great and sorrowing sin, and who, though young, trusted devoutly in the great God, whom they daily addressed — " Our Father, who art in heaven." How beautiful the trusting confidence of chil- dren who can lie down to sleep, dreaming of no injury or danger, because they meditate no in- jury to others ! no visions but happy ones flit- ting through the night-watch, because they only think of ministering to the happiness of others. The more we come in contact with the heartless world, its great wrongs, its amazing sorrows, its corroding cares, the more do we lose what always we might wish to keep — the trust and unsuspecting confidence of childhood. VIEW OF PARIS. 23 Chapter II. PARIS FROM THE TRIUMPHAL ARCH. I^HE morning after their arrival in Paris, - Walter, rushing into his father's room be- fore sunrise, cried out, " Bon jour, Monsieur ," (good morning, sir.) " Good morning, my son." " I have ordered breakfast, and a carriage, — got a guide, and helped Mr. Tenant mark out the work for the day." " Very well ; I am glad of it." " And my opinion was not consulted," cried Minnie, from the room adjoining. " Of course not." " Why not ? " " We set you down as a child, who had no opinion." u Hoity, toity ! No opinion, indeed ! We'll see ! " " Where do you propose to go first, my son ?" asked Mr. Percy. " Mr. Tenant thinks we had better take a view of the city from the Triumphal Arch." 24 THE PERCY FAMILY. 90^00 " That would be wise." So after breakfast they all left the hotel, and, passing along Rue cle Rivoli, entered Place de la Concorde, famous in the history of Paris. " 0, what a beautiful place ! " cried Minnie, in delight. " See those fine fountains, pa, and that pillar, and those statues. I never saw so lovely a spot ! " said Walter. " What is that pillar, pa, that Walter is run- ning up to ? " asked Minnie, seeing Walter direct his steps towards the column to which she pointed. "That," replied Mr. Percy, "is the Luxor Obelisk, an Egyptian shaft, at least three thou- sand years old, and which is covered with un- read Egyptian characters. It was brought from Egypt during the reign of Louis Philippe." " What are those great drawings I see on the base ? " " Those are engravings and diagrams of the machine by which it was raised to its present elevation." " Was it much trouble to raise it ? " " Yes, it was a great work, and it is said that t!ie engineer who had charge of the work felt the most extreme solicitude as to his success ; and as thousands gathered to see the obelisk rise VIEW OF PARIS. 25 to its position, he moved among them with a charged pistol protruding from his vest, with which he had determined to commit suicide, if, by any accident, he should fail in his at- tempt." " He must have been a foolish man to have meditated such a dreadful deed as that." " Yes, a man must be dreadfully blinded, to commit suicide." " How nobly it looks in the centre here ! " "It is in a very showy position, and stands where the guillotine stood in the time of the revolution, and where the wretched Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette, and their unfortunate friends, met a dreadful fate." " Please tell me about it, pa." " The story is a long one, my child, and you must read it for yourself." " Just enough for me to understand about these things." " Well, Louis XVI. was king of France, and Marie Antoinette was his queen." " Who was she ? " " She was the daughter of Francis I., Emperor of Germany, and Maria Theresa, his wife. She was married to the King of France, and in the revolution was executed on this spot, her hus- band having been executed previously." 26 THE PERCY FAMILY, " Was she a good woman ? " " Much too good for such a fate." " Why did they kill her then ? " " Because the people thought she had influ- enced her husband to oppress them." " Was it not a dreadful fate ? " " Yes, the beautiful queen was confined in the Conciergerie, where in a few weeks her head became prematurely gray, and — " " What is the Conciergerie ? " " It consisted of a series of subterranean dun- geons. The queen was taken from this horrid prison, and executed, October 14, 1793. She was carried to the place on a cart rude in structure, and hard to ride in. As she rode along, many of the women of Paris gathered around the cart, and reviled the fallen queen, crying out, l Down with the Austrian ! down with royalty ! ' As the poor creature was thrown about in the cart, unable to stand or sit, the wretches shouted in merriment. At length they arrived at this spot, just where they had killed her husband." " Was she calm ? " " Yes ; so it is said." " How could she be ? " " Sometimes people who are naturally very timid have fortitude in times of such severe trial." VIEW OF PARIS. 27 oo^oo "Well, goon." " There is but little more. She was taken from the cart to the scaffold, bound to the plank, and the axe descended. The head dropped into a basket placed for it, and the executioner caught it up, and held it aloft, while the people shouted coarsely, i Vive la Repiiblique ! ' " " Can you describe the guillotine to me, pa ? " " Some time at the hotel, or elsewhere, I will ; not now." " Had the queen any children ? " " Yes, a boy and girl." " Poor, dear children ! " " One was the dauphin, seven years old." " What became of them ? " " The young dauphin was killed probably by harshness and severity. Simon, his brutal jailer, had orders to get rid of him. He was neglected, half fed, and abused until his reason tottered ; and he is said to have died June 9, 1795, in his tenth year." " Is said to have died ? " " Some have questioned whether he died, or whether he was taken away, and carried to America. One or two persons have pretended to be the dauphin." " What became of the princess ? " 28 THE PERCY FAMILY. " The sister, Maria Theresa, named for hei grandmother, was permitted to go to Austria. On the fall of Napoleon, after she had become a beautiful and gifted woman, and the Duchesse d'Angouleme, she returned to Prance, lived a checkered life, and died not long ago somewhere in Germany." " What a terrible tale is this ! " " You must read it all carefully. You will find it to equal in thrilling interest the sad tale of Mary, Queen of Scots." " Where can I find it ? " " When you return home I will obtain the account in some instructive historical work, and you can read it." Leaving this spot, so consecrated with blood, the theatre of so many terrible scenes, the party entered the Elysian Fields. " What place is this, father ? " asked Walter. " This is the famous Champs Elysees." " 0, yes, I have heard of it." They found the place a fine promenade, strik- ing out from Place de la Concorde one and a quarter miles, laid out with foot and carriage paths, and forming a beautiful resort for the gay and fashionable crowds, who sit and walk by hours, hearing sweet music and witnessing gay scenes. Trees finely trimmed, and hedges VIEW OF PARIS. 29 carefully trained, give shelter from the sun, while thousands of chairs and benches furnish seats when the people are weary. These grounds are let for panoramic and other exhibitions, from which an income is derived of about twenty thousand francs per annum. On the afternoon or evening of any pleasant day, thousands of persons are seen moving about under the trees, or resting themselves on the benches, or enjoying some of the sports of the place and occasion. " Why, pa, I should think it was a muster ground," said Minnie, as they entered the shaded walks. " So should I," replied Walter. The scene was a very interesting one. All kinds of amusements seemed to be in progress. Beneath the trees, young men, in large numbers, were engaged in the various games calculated to give strength and vigor to the muscular system. On both sides of the Avenue de Neuilly, which is twelve feet wide, and paved with bitumen, were pavilions richly decorated and finely illu- minated, radiant with all the colors of the rain- bow, and flowing with banners, ribbons, pennants, and laces. Some of these were open on one side, and filled with singers, and in others vari- ous fancy articles were exposed for sale. The party wandered about for some time, and then passed on towards the Triumphal Arch, 30 THE PERCY FAMILY. CHD^OO " From this Arch we shall get a fine view of the city," remarked Mr. Tenant, as they ap- proached. " Who built it, Mr. Tenant ? " asked Walter. " It was commenced by Napoleon, and com- pleted in 1836, at a cost of more than ten mil- lion francs." " It does not look as if it was so costly a structure." " No, but we shall find, when we reach it, that it is very imposing. It consists of a grand cen- tral arch, ninety feet high and forty-five feet wide, through which passes a traverse arch, scarcely less bold and magnificent in its pro- portions." " How high is it ? " " One hundred and fifty-two feet, and sinks its solid stone foundation twenty-five feet below the surface of the ground." They reached the Arch, paid a woman a franc, and went up to the top. " How many steps did you make, Minnie ? ' : asked Walter. " Two hundred and sixty." " I counted two hundred and sixty-one." " Grand, grand ! " exclaimed Mr. Tenant, as he caught a view of the city. " Eureka ! Eureka ! " shouted Walter* VIEW OP PARIS. 31 And the view was indeed one of the finest in the world, and long they stood gazing down upon it. The Champs Elysees, with the spa- cious avenue, was thronged with people. Be- yond, the palaces were glistening in the sun ; old Notre Dame and the Pantheon lifted up their towers and domes, like monuments amid a sea of habitations ; the ornamented columns pointed upward, like the fingers of a giant ; the broad, flat roof of La Madaleine stretched out like a plain ; while all around, a beautiful country was spread out in every direction. " Pa, will you point out to us some of the objects of interest ? " asked the children. " Yes, after we have swept our gaze about, and taken a general view." When they had stood some time looking out upon the sea of shining roofs and stately build- ings, Mr. Percy said to the children, — " Now I will tell you what prominent objects we can see, as near as I can from this map of the city I have in my hand." " Well, father," said the lad, " Minnie and I have been wondering what that tall pillar is which we see yonder." " 0, that is near our hotel." " What is it ? " " It is a pillar erected by Napoleon to com- 32 THE PERCY FAMILY. memorate his German victories. It stands in what is called Place Vendonie." " What is that figure on top ? " " That is the bronze figure of Napoleon him- self, who is looking out from his dizzy elevation upon the passing multitudes below." " Is it a very fine pillar ? " " Yes. It is an imitation of the Trajan Pillar at Rome, and surpasses it in grandeur, and in the heroism of the deeds which it commemo- rates." " What is it made of?" " It is made of stone, and covered with bronze bass-reliefs, formed entirely of cannon taken in the battles of the conqueror. The bass-reliefs are spiral, and display the most noted events in the German campaigns." " And what is that dome I see out there, looking so nobly, as it rises above the flat roofs ? " " That is the dome of the Hotel of the Inva- lids, a building we shall visit in a few days, where we shall see many old soldiers." Mr. Percy also pointed out the various objects of interest all over the city, a general view of which was obtained by each member of the party ; and they all descended, having enjoyed themselves finely, and feeling fully repaid for the tiresome ascent. VIEW OF PARIS. 33 *o>^oc At the base they found an old woman who had views of Paris to sell, and our party pur- chased several of them to take home to their friends. Walter took the roll of engravings under his arm, and they all went slowly down the broad and spacious avenue, looking at the people as they swept by, or gazing in at the windows upon the rich goods and rare articles displayed to view ; and when they reached their rooms, the children were ready to throw them- selves on their beds and rest. In the afternoon of the same day, Mr. Percy said to Walter, — " My son, I think you had better not go out again to-day." " I do not wish to ; I prefer to rest." " How will you spend the time here ? " "In writing letters." "Did you not promise Mr. Falkner, your teacher, that you would write to him ? " " Yes, sir, and I will do it to-day." "That would be well, for Mr. Falkner has done much to improve your mind, and give you a thorough training in your studies as far as you have gone." " I will write a long letter." " Write it well ; be careful of your sentences, vol. m. 3 54 THE PERCY FAMILY. and show him how well you can write, and with what skill you can compose." Mr. Percy and Mr. Tenant then went out, and Walter was left with Minnie as his charge. The little girl, however, preferred to have an afternoon nap, and Walter wrote the following letter to his school teacher : — Paris, 1858. Dear Sir : I promised to write you during my absence, and I improve the present time to do so. We are now in one of the great cities of the world, and though we have had but a general and very imperfect view of it, I wish to state the impres- sions made on my own mind by what I have seen since we have been here. Up to this time, our tour has been of the utmost interest to us all. We have seen many of those things which have long been partially familiar by our reading, and now we have come to scenes of new and strange fascination for us all. The city of Paris is one of the most beautiful on the globe, in some respects excelling in the elegance of its public buildings, and the taste of its people, any other. London is the great mart of commerce. Every where are seen the evi- dences of industry, and the tokens of successful business. You do not think of looking for VIEW OP PARIS. 35 beauty there ; but every street and lane, thronged with hurrying, driving people, force upon you the conviction that you are in the world's great exchange, the vast market place of nations. You expect to be jostled, trodden upon, spattered with mud, lose your temper, and perhaps your purse. But Paris strikes you differently. The streets are wide and clean ; the houses are neat and gay colored; the people are quiet, courteous, and gayety comes borne upon every blast. No two cities could present a more striking con- trast, and in no two do the forms of life more widely vary, and appear more strikingly dis- similar. Our first view of the place was from the Tri- umphal Arch. This is a magnificent monument erected by order of Napoleon, to celebrate his victories, and is one of the most imposing and elaborate structures of the kind in the world. It stands on elevated ground, on the outskirts, and overlooking the city. It is sixty feet front and twenty feet thick, and forty-five feet high. Father thinks that from the top of this Arch the most beautiful city view in Europe is obtained. On looking from the Golden Gallery of St. Paul's, in London, though the view is a very fine one, the houses are dingy and the streets irregular ; the public buildings are so located 36 THE PERCY FAMILY. as not to be seen with any great degree of dis- tinctness, and over the whole hangs the perpet- ual London fog, obscuring the vision and spoil- ing the view. The prospect from the dome of St. Peter's, in Rome, father tells me, is very- fine ; but Rome is small in its extent, and one of course must conjure up the memories of the past, to give him an idea of the sublimity of the view he is taking. But standing on the top of the Napoleon Arch, the whole city of Paris is spread before the eye in one direction, while in an opposite direction a most magnificent country is spread out for many miles around. Looking down from the Arch, the Ely see Avenue is before you, one and one fourth miles long, a magnificent street, with its sidewalks of bitumen, its rows of trees, and gas lights on both sides, and always filled with gay people, and splendid equipages, running through the Champs Elysees, and terminating in the Place de la Concorde, against which the Palace of the Tuileries fills the view. All over the city the streets and parks can be seen, not narrow and crooked, but straight and wide ; the house-tops not covered with the red, dingy tiles, but clean and white ; the public buildings rising distinctly, the palaces all in view, as if they were all located and placed to look towards the Arch VIEW OF PARIS. 37 on which you stand, doing homage to the mighty genius of Napoleon, which hovers over the work of his hands. The tower of the Invalides, the dome of the Pantheon, the Corinthian glories of the Madeleine, the antique outlines of the Louvre, and the curious forms of the many churches, are all clearly seen, while the very heavens, as if to shame the murky, humid atmosphere of its mighty rival London, are clear ; the skies are bright, and not a vapor seems to float in the transparent atmosphere. Descending from the Arch, we walk down the beautiful avenue to the heart of the city. The Arch leads into the Champs Elysees, one of the most noted places in Paris. It is a public pleas- ure ground, laid out in 1616, by Marie de Me- dicis, improved by the notorious Madame de Pompadour, and covers an area of several acres, beautifully laid out with streets, and set with trees, and furnished with the various facilities for out-of-door pleasure. Here every day, espe- cially on the Sabbath, we are told, may be seen thousands of the gay Parisians, in all kinds of costumes, civil and military, whiling away the time with their children and friends. The grounds, about a hundred yards wide at one end, and seven hundred yards at the other, form the play ground and breathing place of the city, 88 THE PERCY FAMILY. and the people crowd here in large numbers to enjoy themselves. Thus I have endeavored to describe the first view we had of the city of Paris. When we have seen more, I will write you more. You must excuse my haste and brevity, and trust that I may make more improvement before I return to your school. I remain your pupil, Walter Percy. When his father returned, Walter had folded his letter, and, weary with his long walk in the morning, had fallen asleep, his head resting on the table. Minnie also was in the land of dreams. THE BOULEYAEDS. 39 »oXKoo Chapter III. A RIDE ALONG THE BOULEVARDS. THE next morning a carriage was taken, and the company entered it for a ride about the city. " Where shall we go ? " asked Walter. " Let us ride along the Boulevards first," replied Mr. Tenant. " What are the Boulevards ? " asked Minnie. "They are wide, fine streets, nicely paved, and having wide sidewalks. They are the favorite resort of promenaders, and all along them are rich stores." " But why are they called ' Boulevards ' ? " " Because these stores are on the foundation of the ancient fortified wall of the city." " When was the wall demolished ? " " In 1670." "Are the Boulevards — how do you pronounce it? — far distant?" " The word is pronounced c Boo'le-var : ' we are just turning into Boulevard des Capucins." " See the people sitting on the sidewalks, eat- ^0 THE PEKCY FAMILY. ing their breakfast out of doors," cried Minnie, as the carriage drove on. " You will see much of that before we finish our ride." " What shops are those I see ? " " They are the cafes you have often heard of, my child." " But what is going on now, that they are all so full of people ? " " Probably nothing unusual. The Frenchman sometimes loves his coffee more than he does his home, and often spends more time in the cafe than in the bosom of his family. In these Bou- levards, at almost any hour of the day or even- ing, may be seen scores and hundreds of men and women sipping coffee and eating ices in the open street. In front, as you see, are large numbers of little tables, with one or two chairs to each, each occupied, while within the cafe are busy waiters, hurrying to and fro, to receive or- ders and supply the wants of their patrons." " How strange ! " " To us it is, but it is customary here. In some parts of the city, and along the Boule- vards, as we shall see as we ride about, little arbors are fitted up with hanging lamps ; foun- tains abound, and cool retreats, and hither resort hundreds to eat, drink, and enjoy. The enchant- THE BOULEVARDS. 41 ments which art throws around these fairy spots render them the favorite resorts of men of all classes and conditions. The visitor must pur- chase some article, or pay two or three sous for the use of the chair and table. Thus the keepers make good livings, and are enabled to embellish their premises in very gorgeous style. " Here," said Mr. Tenant, " is the church we saw yesterday from the Triumphal Arch." " What church ? " asked Walter. " The Madeleine." " 0, let us go in ! — see, the doors are open." They ascended the steps, and entered the noble structure, where they found many people bowing in various places, or gazing on the dec- orations, while at the altar were lights burning, and a priest bowing. " 0, how magnificent ! " whispered Minnie. " Yery grand ! " replied Walter. " When was it built, pa ? " " In 1764 it was commenced, and finished in the time of Louis Philippe." 11 Why did it take so long to build it ? " asked Walter of his father. " Because in the troublous times of France, the work was often suspended. Louis XV. origi- nated it, and selected the designs of Constant d'lvry. When Napoleon I. came to the throne, 42 THE PERCY FAMILY. oo^jejcx) he determined to go on with the work, and instead of a church, convert it into a Temple of Glory." They walked about this wonderful building, and the admiration of the children seemed to know no bounds. And indeed the Madeleine is well worthy of admiration. Few of the children who read this book have ever seen one half so beautiful. In form it is a parallelogram, — the meaning of which the young reader will see by turning to his dictionary, — and is finely lighted from the ceiling. The magnificent structure is built in the Grecian style of architecture, and cost the immense sum of thirteen million and seventy-nine thousand francs, or more than two million six hundred thousand dollars. It is three hundred and twenty-eight feet long, and one hundred and thirty-eight feet wide. It is surrounded by Corinthian pillars about fifty feet high and sixteen and a half in circumference. The light comes in through the ceiling, which is beautifully painted, and makes a very fine display. When they had admired this church, they again entered the carriage and drove on. The day was beautiful, and the people were out in large numbers, and the Boulevards looked very gay and cheerful. At length they came to a THE BOULEVARDS. 43 place where several men were at work upon the sidewalk. " What are they doing ? " asked Minnie. " Mending the sidewalk," replied her father. " But the sidewalks are solid granite, and these men are at work with tar and gravel." " Are you sure the sidewalks are granite ? " " Yes, sir, they were composed of granite in the Place de la Concorde, and the Avenue de Neuilly, and also in Rue Royale." "But — " " And it is granite here ; and what are they putting on tar for ? " " You are too certain of the matter, my child. These sidewalks, that look so beautiful and form so fine a promenade, are not of granite, but of a sort of composition, made up of pitch and gravel, and which, being put on hot, soon hardens and becomes firm, thus making noble sidewalks at a very trifling expense. If you get out of the carriage and go and stamp your foot on it, you will find that the impression will be left on what you thought was granite." Minnie sprang from the carriage, which was drawn up against where the men were at work, and with all her strength, stamped with her foot. " Why, pa," she cried, " I have left the whole impression of the heel of my boot." 44 THE PERCY FAMILY. " I thought you could do so ; the hot sun is acting on the pitch." Minnie stood looking at the men, observing how quickly a square of several yards was cov- ered over, and what a nice walk it made as soon as it hardened, and she came back to the carriage much pleased with what she. had seen. " Why don't they have such sidewalks in Bos- ton ? " she asked ; " they would be so much finer than the hard, coarse, brick pavement." " There are good reasons why they do not have such pavement in Boston." " What are they ? " " Can you not guess ? " " No, I am sure I cannot." " Can Walter ? " " I have been thinking." " Well." " I think, sir, that the frosts in winter would soon throw it all up, and crumble the walks to pieces, so that we should be obliged to lay them every spring." " Yes, that would be so ; such composition spread on our streets could not stand the sever- ity of a New England winter." " Go on, driver," cried the little girl. The driver cracked his whip, and his horses started at a brisk rate, but soon fell into a gait THE BOULEVARDS. 45 O-O^JCK) little faster than a walk ; but our friends did not wish to ride fast, so they were satisfied. As they went on looking at the people, the stores, the elegant carriages that passed them, and all the objects of interest, Minnie espied a man run- ning on before them, with a long ladder on his shoulder ; and while she was watching him, she saw him stoop down and open a trap door in the middle of the street, and putting his ladder down, descend over it, and drawing on the cover, leave the street as before. " Well, I declare, that is funny ! " " What ? " said Mr. Tenant. " Why, didn't you see that man descend into the earth, just at the spot we are now riding over ? " " Yes ; but what is there funny about that ? " " A good deal that is funny — where did he go to ? " " Perhaps he has gone down through to come out on the other side." " Don't plague me, Mr. Tenant, but tell me." " Well, child, there is an under ground and an above ground to Paris." " A what ? " "A city above the surface, which you see, and — " A glorious one too." u 46 THE PERCY FAMILY. " And one under ground, which you do not see." " Tell us what you mean." "I will tell you. Underneath the city are immense excavations, used for the purpose of drainage, water works, and bones from the cem- eteries, and other useful purposes." " Were the excavations made for these pur- poses ? " . " No ; they are much more extensive than they need be for this. They were probably made to get the stone of which the early build- ings were erected." " Are these street passages all there are ? " " No ; many years ago a house called Tombe- Issoire, out on the old Orleans road, was bought for a grand entrance to the catacombs." " How deep do they go down ? " " About seventy-seven steps." " Whew ! " " How extensive are the catacombs ? " asked Walter. " From north to south they extend from Rue de l'Ecole de Medecine to Barriere Vaugirard, and out east they go to the Jardin des Plantes." " Are the excavations arched ? " " Yes ; but you will go down into them and see them, and judge for yourselves." THE BOULEVARDS. 49 The young reader will find on the opposite page a good view of a section of Paris under- ground, which is as wonderful, if not as fascinat- ing and beautiful, as Paris above ground. As they advanced farther along, they met a carriage driving slowly, in which sat a ven- erable looking man in military attire, and at whose appearance the people seemed to be very enthusiastic. He was a noble looking man, and his breast was covered with sparkling ornaments. " Who is he, father ? " asked Walter. " I do not know, my son." " What were those ornaments on his breast ? " " One I suppose to be the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor." " I have often heard of it. What is it ? " " The Legion of Honor is an institution founded by Napoleon, which distributes honors to worthy men, civil and military." " Please tell me more about it." " Well, all nations have honorary titles to be- stow on favorites. In England there are various orders, and it is esteemed a great distinction to have them conferred. Under the old regime in this country, there was the order of St. Louis, and the king bestowed the cross of the order on persons whom he deemed worthy. At the time VOL. III. 4 50 THE PERCY FAMILY. of the revolution the order was abolished, and the cross was no more distributed. But Napo- leon, understanding the weakness of men, and their desire for honors, determined to establish a new order, that should be connected with his own name. When the time came, Napoleon proposed it, and declared that the ' Legion of Honor ' would be the commencement of the reorganization of France. Many of his court opposed it as a remnant of the old royalty. But the persevering emperor carried his pur- pose." "I should like to examine the cross," said Minnie. " Perhaps you will have an opportunity before we leave Paris. Here, Walter," continued Mr. Percy, handing his son a little book which he took from his pocket, "is an account of the inauguration of the order ; read it aloud ; it is interesting." " Yes, sir," replied Walter. " Please, driver, walk the horses." u Oui" (yes,) replied that personage, who could understand a little English, but could not speak it. Walter took the book, and read low but dis- tinctly, so that all in the carriage could hear, and yet not so as to attract attention outside, THE BOULEVARDS, 51 — — oo^oo the following statement of the establishment of the Legion of Honor : " On the 14th of July, 1804, at the very hour when the old constitu- tion had fallen with the walls of the Bastile fifteen years before, the new one rose with the Legion of Honor. As the 14th fell on a Satur- day, the ceremony was put off to the next day. It took place in the Chapel of the Invalides, where the ashes of the emperor now rest. After a grand review, the emperor arrived on horse- back at the Invalides, coming through an innu- merable crowd of eager observers. He ascended the throne in the choir. In a gallery opposite were the Empress Josephine and her daughter Hortense, who was afterwards married to Louis Bonaparte." " 0, I should like to have seen Josephine and Hortense ! " broke in Minnie. " Hush, child ; let me read. ' Besides these, there were eighteen marshals of the empire, only four being away on the field of battle. After mass had been performed by Cardinal Caprara, and the gospel read, M. de Lacepede, of the Institute, the grand chancellor of the order, rose from his seat. Napoleon had re- solved to honor intellect by placing him at the head of the Legion of Honor. Lacepede pro- nounced the inaugural discourse, and called 52 THE PERCY FAMILY. oyer the names of the grand officers, who took the oath required by the statutes before the throne. Then the emperor delivered a speech such as none but he could deliver, and, reading the oath to the legionaries, asked them in a loud voice whether they would take it. All, with one voice, answered in the affirmative. Two large basins were brought, one of gold, containing the gold crosses for the officers, and the other of silver, containing the silver crosses for the sim- ple members. The symbols and the device were the same for both classes : a number of stan- dards collected together, the effigy of Napoleon, and the words ' Honor and Country,' borrowed from the old monarchy. M. de Segur, grand master of the ceremonies, took a cross of each metal, and gave them to M. de Talleyrand Peri- gord, grand chamberlain ; he passed them to Louis Bonaparte, constable of the empire, who placed them on the breast of Napoleon. At this moment, three rounds of applause reechoed through the building. Then the distribution commenced. First came the members of the Institute, comprising all the most distinguished ohilosophers, literary men, and artists of the lay, and headed by Monge, the very man who lad previously ridiculed honorary distinctions ,s mere playthings. After these, the military THE BOULEVARDS. 53 officers of high rank received the new decora- tions at the hands of the emperor. A Te Deum by-'" " A what ? " asked Minnie. "A Te Deum." " What is that ? " " It is a song of praise, to be sung in churches, I believe." " But why is it so called ? " " I do not know. I often see it in print, and know that it means a song of praise. Perhaps father can tell us why it is so called." Mr. Percy, on being appealed to, told them that the hymn of praise called Te Deum derived that name from its first words, " Te Deum laudamus." Thee, God, we praise. "Read on, Walter." " Don't interrupt me again. ' A Te Deum, by Lesueur, followed the distribution of the crosses ; and in the evening there was a concert at the Tuileries, a general illumination of the city, and a grand display of fireworks on the Pont Neuf. " ' But the army not having been able to be present at the Invalides, Napoleon went to them at Boulogne, where a second fete, equal in splen- dor to the first, was celebrated. On the 16th of August, at ten o'clock in the morning, the emperor, in the simple uniform of the light 54 THE PERCY FAMILY. oOj^OC horse, appeared in the camp on horseback, and took his seat in the bronze chair of Dagobert, which is still to be seen at the Museum of Sov- ereigns. From this elevated position he com- manded a view of the harbor, the two camps, the batteries, the harbor of Vimeux, and the coasts of England. Salvos of artillery thundered forth, and the crosses were placed in helmet and cuirasses. At the sound of eighteen hundred drums, sixty thousand men began to march, and the legionaries, leaving their ranks, came one after the other to receive the cross from the hand of the emperor.' " " Now, children," said Mr. Percy, "remember this account, and it will add interest to the cross when you see it sparkling on the breast of any one who has nobly earned it." " I have heard of the ' Order of the Garter/ What is that, father ? " asked Walter. " That is an English order, instituted by Edward III." " Why is it called the Garter ? " asked Minnie. " There are various accounts of the origin of the order. The most plausible one is that re- lated on the authority of English historians, that the king one day found a garter belonging to the Countess of Salisbury, and displayed it before THE BOULEVARDS. 55 his courtiers, who smiled at it. The king, on seeing their smiles, replied, ' Honi soit qui mal y pensef which became the motto of the order, which he at once founded." " What does that motto mean ? " 11 Evil to him that evil thinks hereof." " Is this order reputable and influential ? " " Certainly ; its knights are made from the princes and peers." " Well, the origin is low enough." " Many of these orders have low and frivolous origins, but they have great influence." " What is the — the — sign of the order ? — you know what I mean." " The insignia ? " "Yes, sir." " A garter, mantle, cap, George, and collar." " What do they do with the garter ? " "It is worn by the knight on the left leg, between the knee and the calf." " What does it look like ? " " Why, a garter, to be sure." " How is it made ? " " I can hardly tell ; but the motto is on it." " Can you tell us about any other orders ? " " Yes, at some leisure time, I will tell you about several English, French, and Austrian orders. We had better now pay our attention 56 THE PERCY FAMILY. to the Parisians ; we can talk about the orders any time. We ought not to lose any of the ben- efit of our fine ride to-day." " See, Walter, how many women there are in the streets with little night caps on," said Minnie. " They are not night caps." " What are they ? " " They are caps that are worn, father tells me, by the low classes of females to save the expense of bonnets." " Well, they look queer." " Because we are unaccustomed to the sight." The reader probably knows that the streets of Paris, at all hours of the day, are filled with young women who wear a comfortable linen or muslin cap, instead of a bonnet ; and after the odd look ceases to affect the mind, the costume seems to be very tidy and pretty. Minnie at length came to like it so well, that without mak- ing allowance for the difference of climate, she wished the Bostonians would adopt it. Indeed, she soon fell in love with all the Parisian forms and customs. She was determined to like every thing she saw in that beautiful city. " Now," said Mr. Percy, " it is about time for us to return to the hotel. We have been driv- ing about some time in the Boulevards, and I THE BOULEVARDS. 5t o-ojsKoo propose that we draw up at one of the cafes, and take some French coffee, and other refresh- ments." " That is it," cried Minnie. " Glorious idea," said Walter. "I approve the plan," added Mr. Tenant. The driver was directed to take them to a well-known cafe in the Boulevard des Italiens ; and they all alighted at a well-furnished restau- rant, where many gentlemen and ladies were sitting sipping coffee and other dishes. " Now, Walter," said his father, " put your French in exercise, and see if you can get us what we want." Walter thought a moment, and then uttered a most unintelligible sentence, in which viande, (meat,) hibou, (owl,) and les gateaux, (the cakes,) figured conspicuously. The servant looked dolefully at the company ; the gentlemen began to laugh ; Minnie, under- standing that Walter had made a mistake, clapped her hands. " What did I say ? " asked Walter, reproach- fully. " Say ! You did not say much of any thing." " What did I come nearest to saying ? " " You came nearest to ordering owl instead of chicken. Do not try to put it all in one sentence. Ask for articles separately." 58 THE PERCY FAMILY. Walter thought a moment, and then, looking at the servant, said, — " Caft," (coffee.) " Oui," (yes.) " Hibou," (owl.) " No, no ! " said Mr. Percy. " Dindon" (turkey,) said Walter " No, no ! " said his father. " Poulets" (chickens,) cried Walter, almost vexed. " Oui" (yes,) said the servant. Thus with considerable difficulty they obtained refreshments ; and, having partaken of them, they all rode to the hotel, where, after resting a while, they went out and walked in the Champs Ely sees, which they found filled with happy appearing people, in holiday attire. VISIT TO PEEE LA CHAISE. 59 Chapter IV. FROM THE MORGUE TO PERE LA CHAISE. THERE are two places in Paris that one can- not enter without a feeling of sadness. In one, the scenes witnessed repulse and disgust the spectator : in the other, the sadness is allur- ing, captivating, and inviting. One is a low, death visited building on the banks of the Seine ; the other is a beautiful garden of graves on an eminence, from which the living city is full in view. " What is the Morgue, pa ? " asked Minnie, one morning as they were riding out. " The city dead house, my child." " Shall we see it ? " " Yes, we are riding in that direction. There it is, just before us." On reaching the Morgue, the gentlemen, who knew something of the character of the place, endeavored to persuade Minnie not to go in ; but she, determined to see all she could, per- sisted. The Morgue is the house where dead bodies, found in the river or streets, are brought 60 THE PERCY FAMILY. oO>€^C>o to be identified by their friends, and few persons care to visit it a second time. There are two large rooms, separated by a partition of glass, in one of which the bodies are laid in view of those who gaze in from the other. The corpses are divested of their clothing, and laid on in- clined tables of shining brass, so that the whole person, with whatever scars and marks, or other distinguishable things there may be about it, may be seen. The clothing is hung up over the body, that it may serve as a means of iden- tification. " Shall we see any bodies ? " asked Minnie, as she held closely to Walter's hand. "We will see soon," replied Walter, in a whisper. They all drew near the window, and looked in, and the children, with a low cry of horror, sprang back and covered their eyes with their hands. Three ghastly corpses were there, and the terrible look had sent a cold chill all through their quivering frames. " Come, let us go," said Minnie, drawing Walter away. " Awful sight ! " whispered Walter. Of the three persons, the first was a fine, manly-looking form, a handsome countenance, which even in death was not destitute of attrac- VISIT TO PERE LA CHAISE. 61 tion, but fearful sores covered the whole body, and rendered the spectacle as loathsome as if he had died of leprosy. The second was a man about forty-five years old, who had been killed in some kind of fight. His face was bruised and blackened ; his eyes seemed as if they had been nearly gouged out, and there were several stabs from which the blood was still oozing. The spectacle was hid- eous beyond description ; and almost every one who looked on turned away aghast from that sad and sorrowful looking scene. The third was a woman, about twenty-two years of age, fair and beautiful in the lasting sleep. She appeared to have been beaten to death ; several wounds being visible on her per- son, her arms and shoulders bruised and black- ened, and one side of her face gashed, as if with a sharp knife. Her dark hair lay back, leaving a fine forehead bare, and the clothes hanging over her indicated a person in comfortable cir- cumstances. " brother, do let us go ! " cried Minnie. "Terrible sight, Minnie ! J ' replied Walter. " Come out, come out ! " " Hush, Minnie ; you are drawing attention." " Do come ! " They were all glad to get away from the aw- 62 THE PERCY FAMILY, 0-0£#40C ful scene, and soon were seated in the carriage, Minnie with her face buried in her perfumed handkerchief. " pa," she said, " why did you take me to such a place ? " " I urged you, child, not to enter." " But I did not know what was there." " You should have taken my advice." " But I didn't know." " Certainly you did not know. I would have saved your nerves this shock, but you persisted in going in." " But, pa, why did you wish to go ? ' : " Because I came here to see all that was to be seen. I have often heard of the Morgue, and wished to see it. Now, if in future you will take my counsel in such cases, you will be saved some pain." " pa, do tell me whenever you are going to such a place again ! Why, I tremble now." " It was a sight, my child, enough to make one shudder." " See ! I believe it has struck Walter dumb." They all looked to the lad, who, in one corner of the carriage, was sitting with a very grave look and a very sober face. " What are you thinking about, Walter ? " asked Mr. Tenant. VISIT TO PERE LA CEAISE. dS u I was thinking that any one of us might get separated from the rest, fall a victim to death, and be brought here, unrecognized and un- known." " The thought is a natural one on leaving such a place. We should be careful and not be separated in this strange land." " Yes ; and we should remember," added Mr. Percy, " that the great and holy God watches over us here, as well as at home. The unseen hand of the heavenly Father holds and protects us. We are not the children of fate, nor chance, but the children of Providence." " I remember that mother has often spoken to me of this Providence," said Walter. " Did I not hear her repeating some lines to you the night before we left home ? " " Yes, sir." " What were they ? Can you repeat them ? " " I do not know — perhaps I can : — 1 All nature is but art unknown to thee ; AU chance, direction, which thou canst not see ; AU discord ' I forget the other words." Mr. Tenant added the rest : — " harmony, not understood; AU partial evil, uniyersal good," 64 THE PERCY FAMILY. " Who was the author of the lines, Walter ? " asked his father. " Pope ; they are in his ' Essay on Man.' Mother was reading from that when you heard her." Minnie, whose spirits were very elastic, soon recovered her cheerfulness ; and, as the carriage passed through the gay streets of Paris, which were all alive with marching soldiers, gay wo- men, and polite men, the whole company soon forgot the sad scene they had witnessed. But as they rode along they were suddenly arrested ; a crash occurred, a shout from the driver, and a roll of the carriage, which for the instant seemed to threaten the occupants with sudden disaster. " Hold, driver, hold ! " cried Mr. Percy, for- getting that the poor fellow could not under- stand him. " Keep your arms from the doors, children," cried Mr. Tenant " 0, dear, what is the matter ? " asked Minnie. " The matter is all over now," replied her father, as the carriage, relieved of its pressure., righted, and drove on. " What was it, pa ? " " Why, did you not see ? Our careless driver VISIT TO PERE LA CHAISE. 65 0-0>@>®@ " Here, pa, what is this ? " cried Minnie, pointing to a somewhat remarkable tomb. " That is the famous tomb of Abelard and Helo'ise." " And who were they — monks, nuns, kings, or queens ? " " Perhaps Walter can tell you." " Can you, Walter ? " " I have read something about them," replied the lad, " and if you will wait until we get home, I will tell you." " I can't wait." " Can't ? " " No. The story will be out of date then." " Well, then, stop breaking that bush, and walk around the tomb with me, and I will tell you all I know." " Go on ; I am all attention." " Abelard was a — " " Was that all his name ? " " No. His name was Peter Abelard. He was a monk of St. Benedict, and a famous scholar. He was distinguished as a teacher and a man of science. In the city of Paris he met Helo'ise." " Who was she ? " " A young lady of great beauty, niece of a 72 THE PERCY FAMILY. distinguished personage. With her he fell in love, and — " " Bah ! " " A secret marriage took place, which, to save her husband from the consequences, the lady denied under oath. Her friends proceeded to wreak vengeance on Abelard, and his prospects of usefulness and happiness were blasted. The monks pursued him with untiring ferocity for years, but he bore it all as a patient sufferer. He became Abbot of — of — Pa, can you tell me what Abelard was Abbot of? " " Of St. Gildas de Rays," my son. " Heloi'se became the head of a religious sis- terhood ; and in connection with their sacred duties, they often saw each other. Abelard died at the age of sixty-three, venerated for his vir- tues. Heloi'se begged his body, and at her death, which occurred soon after, was buried beside him. About sixty years ago their ashes were brought to this place and entombed." " Well, well ; why did Heloi'se deny the mar- riage ? " " To shield Abelard." " Why to shield him ? What shield did he need ? " " He was an ecclesiastic, and according to the laws of the Romish church, could not marry." VISIT TO PERT, LA GU AZZU. 7S " Ah." " So it was, I believe," " But how did you know so much about them ? " " Did you sec me conversing with that old French valet-dc-place, at the hotel, last night ? " "Yes." " Well, he told me all I have toicl you 5p " What else did he say ? " " He said that the affecting letters of Abelard and Heloi'se had been published, and could not be read without tears." " I will get them and read them. 5 ' "Walter," said Mr. Tenant, "here is a spat you will want to see." " What, that bunch of weeds with a rough fence around it ? " " Yes." " Who lies there ? " " Marshal Ney, whose only crime was that he loved his country too well, is here. After hav- ing fought the battles and avenged the wrongs of France, he was condemned and shot as a traitor ; and his ashes are here, without a mon- ument." " I have read a sketch of him. He was a here." " Yes \ but the fates of war decided his case. 74 THE PERCY FAMILY. Ho was shot to appease the allied powers, and now sleeps in a dishonored grave ?? They wandered about a long time in the cem- etery, and from the highest point obtained a fiie view of the city in the distance. It seemed as if the children never would be tired, and long after the gentlemen were ready to return, Walter and Minnie sat on the brow of the hill, gazing off upon the gay, lively city, admiring what they saw, and begging permission to stay and enjoy the fine view, and the pleasant walks a little longer. FRENCH ROYALTY. 75 Chapter V. GLIMPSES AT TRENCH ROYALTYc THE French people have often changed their form of government, and sometimes have had no government at all. Now it is king, and then emperor, and anon president. To- day it is Bourbon, and to-morrow Orleans. The fickle French, in their love of change, do not make the throne an easy seat ; but under their restless desires for something new, the Tuileries often change occupants. "I have seen the emperor," cried Walter, running into his father's room one evening, as the gentlemen of the party sat conversing together. " Where, Walter ? " asked Minnie, starting up from the bed in her own little apartment, upon which she had thrown herself. " He was on horseback, and returning from some excursion, escorted by some mounted soldiers." " How did he look ? " " Like any other man, I believe. I only had i glimpse as he rode by*" 76 THE PERCY FAMILY. " Shall we see the emperor and empress ? " he asked, turning to his father. " I think we shall." " How ? " " 0, I have means of obtaining a sight of these illustrious persons, that you will find out soon." " I would like to know something about the French government before I see the emperor/ 3 said Minnie. " What would you like to know, my child ? " " Well, about the kings and queens." " That history is long and full. This country has had many noted sovereigns. The illustrious Charlemagne once ruled here, and — " " Who was he ? " " He was one of the earlier sovereigns, under whose reign France increased in power, literary culture, and social importance. He was born in 742, was crowned king of the Franks at the age of twenty-six ; and after many brilliant ex- ploits, died in 814." " Was he buried in Paris ? " " No ; in Aix-la-Chapelle, a place you will visit while we are on the continent, when I will give you some further particulars of this king." "I have heard, father," said Walter, "that Charlemagne was buried in a sitting posture." FRENCH ROYALTY. 77 »-o>3^oo " Yes ; lie was seated on a throne of gold ; his crown was put on his head, his sceptre in his hand ; by his side were his shield and sword, and on his knees were the Gospels according to the four evangelists. An arch of triumph was erected over the vault, and on it an inscrip- tion placed." " What was it ? M " As near as I remember, it was in these words : ' Here lies the body of Charles, the great and orthodox Emperor, who gloriously enlarged, and for forty-seven years happily gov- erned, the Empire of the Franks.' " " I have read, pa, the history of France, down to the revolution, and I have often wondered why the people should drive away so good a king as Louis Philippe." " There were many reasons for it, my son. Louis Philippe came to the throne in 1830, in the midst of the existence of several distinct parties. The republicans were clamorous for a democracy ; the legitimists for the restoration of the elder branch of the Bourbon family ; while a middle class looked to the house of Orleans as the only hope of their blood-drunken nation. Lafayette presented Louis Philippe as the representative of a liberal government; and he was accepted by the people, and crowned 78 THE PERCY FAMILY. accordingly. But he was not a warlike man, and failed to satisfy the thirst of the people for military glory." " Was his reign, while it lasted, peaceful ? " " Not for him. From the day of his corona- tion up to the year 1848, he continued to reign, his throne ever surrounded by traitors, frequent attempts made upon his life, and storm and tem- pest continually howling around him. The poor man did not have much comfort on his throne." " He was a good king — was he not ? " " Yes, he was, on the whole, a good king, a man of tolerable intellect, with a good knowl- edge of human nature, and an instinctive love of peace and order. During his administration, public buildings were erected, the arts flourished, and the nation was prosperous and happy. But, overlooking all these considerations, the people thirsted for revolution." " Why could he not have crushed out this revolution ? He had soldiers enough." " He might have done it. While the bells were tolling, and the people were gathering in the street, the Tuileries was filled with counsellors, M. M0I6, M. Thiers, M. Guizot, and others having been called in to consult with the perplexed king. These all advised immediate and decided action ; but the peaceful king was unwilling to shed FRENCH ROYALTY. 79 blood, and hesitated. The commandant told him that the revolution could be stayed ; that one broadside would drive back the masses who were filling the Place de la Concorde. Still the king wished to avoid the slaughter, and refused the counsel. At last the monarch gave orders to have the soldiers fire upon the mob. But the officer shook his head, and exclaimed, ' Too late ! ' " " What did the king do then ? " " He abdicated." " What is that ? "■ asked Minnie. " A resignation of the kingly office. Louis Philippe abdicated in favor of the Count of Paris." "Who was he?" " He was grandson of the king, the oldest son of the Duke of Orleans." " Did he become king ? " " No ; his mother, the Duchess of Orleans, went to the Chamber of Deputies, with her two children, and pleaded for their rights, while over her hung the sword, and around her shouted the infuriated madmen. She was a widow, and ar- rayed in mourning for the sad death of her hus- band, who was thrown from his carriage and killed a while before, about which sad accident I will tell you at some future time." 80 THE PERCY FAMILY. o-0«ag^oo " What did the deputies do ? " " At first they were touched with her appeal, and seemed about to acknowledge the young count as king ; but a crowd of assailants burst into the chamber, and looked with glaring eyes upon the beautiful duchess and her children^ and began to cry, 4 Why is she here ? ' The tide which was setting towards royalty began to roll back again, and the defenceless woman was soon obliged to flee for her life. A butcher's boy, with a long knife in his hand, ran towards the duchess, crying, ' The spawn of royalty — we must make an end of them.' " " Did he strike her ? " " No ; he was held back by a brave son of old Marshal Soult, who hurled him down into the crowd with just indignation and abhorrence." " And then ? " " She was forced out of the hall, and left in the crowd without. Here she was separated from her children, and, covered with a veil which concealed her countenance, she was dashed about by the swarms of people, until she fell against a glass door, which yielded, and she was borne away to a place of safety." " What became of the young count ? " " He was recognized, and a brawny man was about strangling him in the streets, when he FRENCH ROYALTY. 81 was rescued by a national guard, who carried him, at the risk of his own life, to his mother." " You say there were two children ? " "Yes." " What was the name of the other ? Who was he ? " " The young Duke of Chartres." " What became of him ? " " He fell in the street, and was trodden down by the mob. Rescued at length, he was taken away, and for several days his mother remained, without any knowledge of his safety, in the most distressing anxiety." " Where were the rest of the family all this time ? " " The king, with the queen and their children, had fled as far as Dreux, where he heard that his abdication had not saved the throne to his grand- son. He now began to fear for his own safety. The sad fate of Louis XVI. was before his mind, and he resolved to escape at once to England. Under the name of Theodore Lebran, he suc- ceeded in the attempt, while his youngest son, the Duke of Montpensier, with his wife fled to Brussels." " Did they all get to England ? " " Yes." " Is the Count of Paris now alive ? " VOL. III. 6 82 THE PERCY FAMILY. " Yes ; and some think he will yet be king." " When did Louis Napoleon appear ? " " Very soon after these events transpired." " Father, will you tell me something aboiu his early life ? " " It is a very curious history." " That is why we want to hear it." " The present emperor, Charles Louis Napo- leon, is the son of Louis Bonaparte, ex-king of Holland." " Who was he ? " " He was Napoleon's brother, the fourth son of Charles Bonaparte. When his brother became emperor, he was made king of Holland." " Who was the present emperor's mother ? " " She was Hortensia Beauharnais, the step- daughter of Napoleon. Thus the present mon- arch is nephew of the great emperor, and grand- son of Josephine." " Yes, I understand." " The marriage between Louis and Hortensia was forced on by Napoleon against the wishes of the parties most interested, but they found it impossible to resist the pressure. Louis himself, describing the marriage, says, " Never was there a more gloomy ceremony ; never had husband and wife a stronger presentiment of the bitter- ness of a reluctant and ill-assorted union." FRENCH ROYALTY. 83 o-o>g^oo " And the present emperor was their son ? " " Yes ; but the world heard little of him, though he was created Grand Duke of Berg, and was a great favorite with the old em- peror." "What next?" " He first presented himself to the world in an insurrection at Strasburg, which was badly planned, and resulted most unfavorably. The garrison, consisting of several regiments, and the people, were enthusiastic in his favor. But ow- ing to the most unskilful generalship, he lost his cause. Scarcely a blow was struck, or a gun fired, or a drop of blood shed. A stern royalist ran in among his own soldiers, and declared to them that the person calling himself Louis Na- poleon, nephew of the emperor, was only an impostor. They became clamorous at once, and demanded that Louis Napoleon should prove his identity ; and before he could do this, his camp was in complete disorder, and he was taken prisoner. " Louis Napoleon thus describes the scene : ' A single word from myself, or Colonel Tail- landier, would have led to a regular massacre. The officers around me repeatedly offered to hew me a passage through the infantry, which could have been easily effected ; but I would not 84 THE PERCY FAMILY. consent to shed French blood in my own cause ; besides, I could not believe that the 46th regi- ment, which a moment previously had mani- fested so much sympathy, could have so prompt- ly changed their sentiments. At any risk I determined to make an effort to recover my influence over it, and I suddenly rushed into their very midst ; but in a minute I was sur- rounded by a triple row of bayonets, and forced to draw my sabre to parry off the blows aimed at me from every side. In another instant I should have perished by French hands, when the cannoneers, perceiving my danger, charged, and carrying me off, placed me in their ranks. Unfortunately, this movement separated me from my officers, and threw me amongst sol- diers who doubted my identity. Another strug- gle ensued, and in a few minutes I was a prisoner.' " " Did he originate this insurrection in order to overturn the king and get the throne ? " " Yes ; but it proved a miserable failure." " And then?" " He instigated an insurrection at Boulogne, which was as badly managed, and resulted as disgracefully as the other ; and he was shut up by the French government in the citadel of Ham, where he remained until he was made president, FRENCH ROYALTY. 85 which office he held, you know, before he was made emperor." " Have you ever seen the emperor, pa ? " " Yes, I have seen him once." " How does he look ? " "Well, you will see him before you leave Prance, so that you can judge for yourself." " His life is a strange one." " Very. He was once a poor fellow in New York, wandering about living by his wits. He was also at one time a menial in the employ of the London police department." " Were you ever at Hoboken, Minnie ?" asked Mr. Tenant. " No, sir," replied the little girl. " What of Hoboken ? I know where it is." " In that place is a small, mean hotel, built of wood, that is called ' Hotel Napoleon.' There at that hotel, now kept by a Frenchman, Louis Napoleon lived when he was in America. When you visit your friends in New York again, ask them to take you over and see it." " I will, certainly ; but was he poor at that time ? " " His means were quite limited, and it has been hinted that he could not pay his bill when he left." " Ha ; ha ! that is good for an emperor ! " 86 THE PERCY FAMILY. " But, father," asked Walter, " how did Louis Napoleon become emperor ? You said he was made president." " He was president for some years, until all became convinced that a republic could not ex- ist in France. Indeed it was a republic only in name. The press was proscribed, the people crushed, and the whole nation was dissatisfied. A.t length, the famous coup d'etat put an end to the republic, and — " " Coo-de-tah ! What does that mean ?" asked Minnie. " Why, it means," replied Mr. Percy, " a mas- terly stroke of policy, which I will explain. Na- poleon found that the officers of his army were plotting against him — that the republican leaders were bent on his overthrow. So by one grand blow he determined to consummate his ambitious schemes.. On the night of the first of December, 1851, a public reception was given by the presi- dent, which was attended by the most distin- guished men of the chamber of deputies, and of the army. It was the day before the blow was to be struck against Napoleon, and late at night the lamps were extinguished, and the foes of Napoleon departed to dream of success the next day. They had all been deceived by the bland manner of the president. But no FRENCH ROYALTY. 87 sooner were they gone, than he issued an order for their arrest ; and before morning, every one of them was imprisoned." " Were they not brave men ? " " Yes, of course." " Why did they allow themselves to be ar- rested ? " " They were taken at a disadvantage, and resistance would have been useless. Some of them did make a show of opposition. General Changarnier, as the officials entered, snatched up a brace of pistols, and exclaimed, 'I am armed.' The officer told him it was of no use to resist, and he soon surrendered." " What others ? " " Colonel Charras, being captured in bed, re- fused to get up, refused to dress himself, and declared that they should take him as he was, if they took him at all." « Did they ? " " Yes ; they bundled him up in some blankets, and thus conveyed him to prison." " Were there any others ? " " Several ; and among them General Cavai- gnac, who was soon to be married to a Mademoi- selle Oclier. He dressed himself very politely, and went to the prison." 88 THE PERCY FAMILY. " How did the lady — Mademoiselle — what did you call her — feel about it ? " " She acted like a true lady. Cavaignac at once wrote to her as follows : ' You have youth, beauty, accomplishments, wealth ; a throng of admirers, young, and more meritorious than I am, surround you. Choose from among them, and you will be nearly as happy as you deserve to be — happier than I can make you.' " " What did the lady reply ? " " That her love for him was changeless." " Were they ever married ? " " Yes ; when the general was liberated, he and the lady went to the Archbishop of Paris to be married. The bride was a Protestant, and the ecclesiastic would not perform the service unless she would promise to have the children educated in the Catholic faith. She refused, and they went to Holland and were married there." " But, father," said Minnie, " you have not told us any thing about the empress. I am more interested in her." " I have wondered that you have not asked about her before." " Who is she ? " " She is a descendant of an ancient Scotch family, tracing her ancestry back to Sir Roger Kirkpatrick, who was intimately associated with FRENCH ROYALTY. 89 oo^Q^Oo Robert Bruce. A descendant of Sir Roger, set- tled in Spain, married a daughter of Baron Gri- vegn^e, of Malaga. By this marriage he had three children, one of whom was married to Count de Teba, who afterwards inherited the title of Count Montijo. The youngest daughter of the Count and Countess de Montijo is now empress of the French nation, Eugenie Coun- tess de Teba." " How did the emperor become acquainted with her ? " " She was educated at the convent of Sacre Coeur, in Paris, and thus fell in the way of tho emperor." " I would like to know how she looks." " I can tell you," said Mr. Tenant. " Can you? If so, you shall have my thanks." " I saw to-day, in a London paper, a descrip- tion of her person," said Mr. Tenant, turning over the newspapers on his table. " Ah, here it is ; read it, Walter." Walter took the paper and read. " The em- press is about thirty years of age ; she possesses considerable personal attractions, but more in the style of English than of Spanish beauty. Her complexion is transparently fair, her fea- tures regular, yet full of expression. She is of middle stature, or a little above it, with, as no 90 THE PERCY FAMILY. doubt Louis Napoleon has found to be the case, manners extremely winning ; her education is superior to that received generally by Spanish women who do not travel, and she is said to be what the Spaniards term graciosa, the French spirituelle. Her paternal fortune is, without be- ing considerable, yet suitable to the rank her family holds in Spain — that of grandees of the first class. Her mother, the Countess of Mon- tijo, has been for years at the head of the havt ton of Madrid, and her house has on more than one occasion been honored by the presence of royalty ; and those who are acquainted with Spanish manners well know such an honor, from its rare occurrence, is most appreciated in Spain. Formerly it was the custom to suspend a chain across the doorway of the house the king had visited, and the haughtiest hidalgo of Castile pointed to that most expressive symbol of devotedness with pride. The receptions of the Countess de Montijo at Madrid comprised all that was most select and distinguished in rank and eminence in Spanish society.'' " This is not very definite. What queen is she most like, Mr. Tenant ? " asked Minnie. " She is said to resemble Josephine more than any other royal personage." FRENCH ROYALTY. 93 " Come, children," said Mr. Percy, " it is time you were both in bed." " What o'clock is it, father ? " " Nearly ten." Soon both children were in profound slum- ber, — kings, queens, and emperors being for- gotten. The next morning the whole party visited the Tuileries. Just as they were entering the yard, the emperor drove out with a mounted escort. The children both waved their hand- kerchiefs, and the monarch, observing it, saluted them in token of recognition, which pleased them very much. As they advanced, they saw a group of ladies on the Grand Stairs, and Mr. Percy whispered, " The empress ! " And so it was — Eugenie in company with the Queen of Holland and the ladies of the court. The gentlemen passed on, of course, but the chil- dren lingered, which the empress observing, kindly addressed them, and seemed quite in- terested when they told her they were Ameri- cans. She also pointed to the prince imperial, who was amusing himself with his nurse at a little distance. Then they ran after the gen- tlemen, who were waiting for them, Minnie exclaiming, — 94 THE PERCY FAMILY. cx£*fc£oo " How beautiful she looks ! " Walter was as enthusiastic in his expressions of admiration, and both coincided with the gen- tlemen who thought the kindly recognition of the empress a very gracious act of courtesy. All day the children were talking about the empress, and their older friends were almost wearied with it. After this, they often saw the royal family riding out, though the emperor was seldom with the empress. Before they left the city, they also had the honor of a presentation to the royal family. In company with several others, some of whom were military officers, they paid their respects to the royal family, and saw the young prince imperial, who was born March 16, 1856, and who is an object of much interest to the French people. PARIS BY DAY AND NIGHT. 95 Chapter VI. PARIS BY SUN LIGHT AND GAS LIGHT. IT would take a long time to tell all the places visited by our party, for there are few cities in the world that have so many objects of in- terest, and so many attractive features. The children expected much pleasure, and so were pleased with almost every thing they saw. Sometimes, when they felt a little homesick, and failed to receive a letter from mother, or any of the friends at home, they would say, that to them Paris was not half so beautiful as Boston, and that they would give more for Boston Common than for all the pleasure grounds of France ; but those feelings would soon be lost in delight at the beautiful scenes and charming prospects that every where pre- sented themselves. One evening, Mr. Percy said to them, " Now we have been in Paris two weeks, and have seen many things of interest, and there remain many more to be seen. I propose that we be as systematic as possible in seeing what remain. 96 THE PERCY FAMILY. Walter, what have you on your list, that we must visit ? " " Several places we have not seen yet, and some we have seen we must go to again." " Read your list down." " He probably has a whole list of tombs, or ruins, or catacombs, or something." " Certainly, I have something, Min. Let me read. "The Invalides, the — " " Invalids ? What, hospital patients ? " " Hush, Minnie ! The Gobelins, the — " " What Goblins — turkeys ? " " Be still, and let me read." " Minnie," said Mr. Percy, " be quiet while Walter reads. Your conduct annoys us as well as him." Walter read over a long list, and it was con- cluded to go out and see the various objects as soon as possible. So the next morning they started. They gave the driver of the carriage the names of the places to which they wanted to go, and he, taking the most distant first, drove out to the abattoirs of Montmartre. " What are the abattoirs ? " asked Minnie, as they rode along. " They are immense places for the slaughter of animals. We wish to go in and see them ; PARIS BY DAY AND NIGHT. 97 oO^JOo but we will leave you in the carriage, if you wish." " I wish to see, though the sight may not be a very pleasant one." " You had better not go in ; it is not a very proper place for a little lady like you." " Why, pa, I can stand any thing." " Remember the Morgue, my child." " Ough ! " " I am glad we are going there," said Walter, " for ever since I have been here, I have desired to know how these thousands of people are fed." " It is a matter of some wonder, I admit. I have seen it stated that last year there were consumed sixty-two million pounds of meat of the various kinds." " Whew ! " " There were also drank here, last year, three million two hundred thousand gallons of wine, one hundred and seventy-seven thousand gallons of alcohol, forty-five thousand gallons of cider." " What drinkers ! " " There was also eaten four hundred thousand dollars' worth of oysters, one million seven hun- dred and fifty thousand dollars' worth of fish, fresh and salt, three million five hundred and fifty thousand dollars' worth of poultry, and three million seven hundred and eighty thou- VOL. III. 7 98 THE PERCY FAMILY. sand dollars' worth of butter, besides many other things." " Well, pa, how does the consumption agree with the use of the same articles in New York and other American cities ? " " I have not statistics at hand to tell, but have seen it stated that there were consumed the same year in New York one hundred and fifty million pounds of beef alone, against sixty-two million pounds of all kinds of meat in Paris." " What is the difference in the population of the two cities ? " " Paris has one million five hundred thou- sand inhabitants, and New York has less than a million." They had now arrived at the abattoirs, and Minnie remained in the carriage while the gen- tlemen and Walter went in. They were pleased with the skill with which the cattle were killed and prepared for market, and with the extent of these sources of public sustenance ; and Mr. Tenant, as they returned to the carriage, declared that no per- son interested in sanitary matters of a city should neglect visiting these abattoirs when in Paris. They then drove to a very different place — the Hotel Royal des Invalides, or royal home for invalid soldiers, where there are several thousands of old soldiers, with some of whom PARIS BY DAY AND NIGHT. 99 the children conversed, they being able to speak English. As they entered, they found a com- pany of Napoleon's old soldiers drawn up for review. Some had legs, and some had eyes ; but the majority of them were in some way disabled. " Who are these ? " asked Minnie. Her father told her ; whereupon she was much interested, and asked, " Did they fight beneath Napoleon's eye ? " " Yes ; and it is an affecting sight to see these old soldiers, whose faces will now kindle up with enthusiasm at the mention of Waterloo, Auster- litz, and Lodi." " Who is that, pa ? " cried the child, pointing to an elderly officer who was advancing. " It is Napoleon I. himself," cried Walter, turning in the direction in which his sister was pointing. " Hush, children ! " said Mr. Percy ; " that is Jerome Bonaparte, Napoleon's brother, the Ex-King of Westphalia." As he approached, he courteously saluted the party, recognizing them as strangers. Walter was much pleased, and could hardly believe that he was not in the presence of the great emperor himself, so much does Jerome look like the pic- tures of his illustrious relative. 100 THE PERCY FAMILY. o-O^gtJCX) They all then began to look about the noble edifice. It was originally a magnificent church, and several buildings have been added to it, forming a grand hospital for disabled soldiers. In the centre beneath the dome is the tomb which is being prepared for the remains of Na- poleon. This tomb is a circular apartment sunk in the floor, forming a crypt which is open to the view from above, and a marble balustrade allows the spectator to go and look down upon the spot where the hero is to lie. This spacious and elegant gallery beneath the ground is worthy of the hero's fame. Statues, monuments, beau- tiful bass-reliefs, all vie with each other to add beauty to the sepulchre of imperial greatness. The coffin into which the body is to be put is of porphyry, a single block twelve feet long and six wide. The remains are not yet placed in this receptacle, but are in one of the chapels on the side of the building. There the conqueror lies in a black ebony coffin, his old hat that you see in all the pictures, and the sword he wore at Austerlitz, are lying on the coffin. Several stands of bullet-riddled, faded, blood-stained col- ors hang over the coffin, and these are all that remain of that mighty man ! this is the end of the conqueror ! The party wandered about the structure, en- PARIS BY DAY AND NIGHT. 101 tering the tombs of Duroc and Bertrand, gazing 0:1 the grand altar, or looking through elegant iron and bronze railing that separates the dome from the church, and admiring all they saw. " Why were Duroc and Bertrand thus hon- ored in being allowed a resting-place in such pomp here ? " asked Walter. " On account of their distinguished services to the emperor." " Who were they, pa ? " asked Minnie. " Duroc was a grand marshal, a strong friend of the emperor, and was killed at Bautzen, in 1813. While he was dying, he was visited by Napoleon, to whom he said, ' My whole life has been devoted to you, and I only regret that I am about to lose it, because it might still be of service to you.' ' Duroc/ replied Napoleon, 4 there is another world after this, and there it is that we shall one day meet again.' Duroc and Napoleon have met." " Who was Bertrand ? " " Why, Minnie, have you never heard of him ? Walter can tell you about him, I know." " Can you, Walter ? " " Yes ; he also was a grand marshal, as well as aid-de-camp to the emperor." " What is an aid-de-camp ? " 102 THE PERCY FAMILY. " He is one who receives from a general the orders, and transmits them to others." " Yes, I see." " Bertrand followed Napoleon to Elba, and also to St. Helena, and was with him in his dying struggles, and closed his eyes when he was dead." They spent some time at the Invalides, and then rode to the armory, or Artillery Museum, where they saw an immense number of models of all sorts of military articles, from a rifle to a huge fortification ; the real weapons, some old and rusty, dug up from battle fields, and some inlaid with gems, the gift of kings, and all the military ensigns usually found in such a place. Walter, as they left, declared that the Museum looked very much more like real, practical war- fare, than the armory in London Tower. With the remark the gentlemen coincided. " One place more let us go to to-day," said Walter, as they left the armory. " Where, my son ? " asked his father. " Hotel de Cluny." " Well." " I wonder what kind of a place that can be ? " said Minnie, half to herself, and half aloud. " You will see, sis." PARIS BY DAY AND NIGHT. 103 S>§^oo quelling the fury of the misguided populace. But at length, while climbing over a barricade hi one of the streets, a random shot was fired, which killed him." " And what does that group of statuary repre- sent ? " said Minnie, pointing to a piece over a tomb. " That statuary," said the guide, " is of ex- traordinary origin. The wife of an Austrian no- bleman had a singular dream. She saw her hus- band in a coffin, and engaged in a fearful struggle with embodied death. He called for her to help him ; but she was powerless, and the monster performed his work. She awoke, and her dream was over ; but in a few days she learned that, at the very hour of her sleep, her husband was accidentally killed. She had a group of stat- uary made to represent her dream ; and here it stands, to remind every beholder of his own con- flict with the powers of death." They saw many other things which interested them very much ; and when they went out they saw several men, with long brushes, well wet with holy water, to touch those who might desire the application. They also went to St. Germain PAuxerrois, founded by Childeric, in 580, and which has been sacked and rebuilt several times since ; — it was the bell on this church that 112 THE PERCY FAMILY. sounded the signal for the commencement of the massacre of St. Bartholomew's day ; — to St. Eu- stache, one of the most beautiful in Paris, and in the vaults of which many eminent personages are buried ; to St. Koch, the richest parish in the city, which is distinguished for many revo- lutionary scenes, and to many others of interest to the stranger. " Let us go to the palaces to-day," said Minnie one morning, just as they were starting out. " What palaces ? " asked her father. " All of them." " Well, if that is agreeable to the rest of the company, we will." In accordance with this, they directed their steps to the Tuileries, the residence of the French monarchs, and for an hour revelled in the halls of kings. The children were delighted with the elegance of the apartments, the gold and silver hangings, the silk and damask dra- pery, the immense chandeliers that light as the sun these halls at night, and make one feel, as he walks through the palace, like one in an enchanted castle. But the memories of the past are grander than these ancient halls them- selves. Here Napoleon and Josephine — that greatest of heroes, that most amiable but moet PARIS BY DAY AND NIGHT. 113 unfortunate of wives — lived and walked. In this chamber they slept ; in that they formed together those plans which made the name of Bonaparte famous in all lands. Here, when the empire was overthrown, and the republic of an hour was stranded, lived Louis Philippe. Here on that fatal day when anarchy surged around his throne, and innumerable voices were shout- ing for his blood, met Thiers, Barrot, Emile de Girardin, and a company of true men, to con- sult with the perplexed and agitated king ; and it was from these halls that one of the best of kings, the father of his people, went forth, re- peating as he crossed the Place de la Concorde, " Une grande infortune ! " Then the palace was turned into barracks ; coarse, rough citizens thronged the sleeping and dressing rooms of the queens and empresses ; and for ten days the filthy herd revelled in their beastliness be- neath columns which had echoed with the merri- ment of nobles and kings. The present emperor now resides in this palace. The private apart- ments of Louis Philippe are used as the bed chamber and dressing rooms of the empress, and in her absence are shown to strangers. They are the same rooms which once were occu- pied by Marie Antoinette, and are consecrated VOL. ni. 8 114 THE PERCY FAMILY. O-O^®^ 00 by several affecting scenes in the life of that gifted but unfortunate woman. Then they went to the Louvre, near by, where they walked through the various halls and gal- leries, some silent and deserted, some gorgeous with splendor and life-like with pictures. " What room is this ? " asked Walter, as they entered a most magnificent apartment, in which were crowds of admiring people. " This is the famous Apollo Gallery," replied his father. " Famous for what ? " " Why, among other things, for its size — one hundred and eighty feet in length, and twenty- eight in breadth ; and lighted, as you see, by twenty-one great windows. You also see how beautiful the ceiling is." " Then, Walter," said Mr. Tenant, " there are many historical reminiscences connected with this room. It is associated with the old Bourbon monarchs, with Louis Philippe, with Napoleon, with Marie Antoinette, with Josephine, and with the present emperor and empress. It was in this room that the empire was given to Louis Napoleon by the French senate." They admired it very much, and then passed into other galleries, but lingered longest among the works of art which they found. Minnie PARIS BY DAY AND NIGHT. 115 made the acquaintance of a lady artist, who, in the immense picture gallery, was painting from one of the old pictures, and found her to be an English girl, who was passionately fond of this art. They stood in the balcony where, it is said, Charles IX. stood and fired at Protestants, at the massacre of St. Bartholomew's day, which the young reader would do well to read about in some reliable historical work. From the Louvre they went to the Palace of Luxembourg, built by Mary de' Medici, a struc- ture finished in the most elaborate and elegant style, where there were galleries of paintings, halls of sculpture, and schools of art. About a year after the Percy family visited the palace, a fire broke out, and various parts of the edifice were consumed — the beautiful senate house, with its dome of glass, fell in. As they stood looking upon the finished walls and elegant ceiling of this palace, Minnie re- marked, — "Walter, Harry St. Clair would not believe you, if you should give him a description of this magnificent place." " Why not, sis ? " " I know he would not." " What makes you think so ? * 116 THE PERCY FAMILY. " Because # the day before we left home, I met him in the street, and told him what beautiful buildings we expected to see abroad, and he said that we should not see any such elegant buildings as we thought we should ; and he also told me that the Music Hall was more elegant than any building in the old world." "Ha, ha, ha!" " He said a Mr. Somebody told him so." " Ha, ha, ha ! that is good for Harry St. Clair ! " One day, when the party were riding out, they came to the Chapel of St. Ferdinand, a little church-like looking structure, into which they entered. "I believe, children, I promised to tell you something about the Duke of Orleans, father of the Count of Paris — did I not ? " " Yes, yes, you did, pa ! " said Minnie. " 0, yes, you so promised," said Walter. " Well, I will now redeem the promise." " We should be glad to hear how he died." " The story is one of much interest. He was out, riding in his carriage, when the horses became unmanageable ; and, in endeavoring to leap to the ground, his foot was entangled, and, being precipitated to the earth, his skull was fractured. He was taken up and carried into a PARIS BY DAY AND NIGHT. 117 »0>©<00 grocery on the spot where the chapel now stands." " Did he die alone ? " " No ; his father, Louis Philippe, and the other members of the royal family, were soon on the ground ; but the unfortunate young man died in a few hours after." " In a grocery, did you say ? " " Yes ; and afterwards the grocery was taken down, and a chapel, dedicated to St. Ferdinand, was erected on the spot." They looked about the chapel, which has seats for about fifty persons, and is fifty feet long, built in Gothic style. Opposite the doorway is the altar, and over it a statue of the Virgin and Child. On the left side of the chapel is another altar. On the right is a beautiful group of stat- uary, representing the prince on his death bed, with an angel kneeling over him. This angel was the work of the Princess Marie, the deceased sister of the duke, who little dreamed that she was fashioning the marble for the monumental tomb of her brother. Behind the altar is the little room in which the prince died, remaining nearly as at that time. A few rough chairs, a confessional and crucifix, constitute the only furniture. On one side is a mournful picture representing the death scene as it actually oc- 118 THE PERCY FAMILY, curred. The duke is stretched upon a bed, pale and bleeding. The king holds his hands, with a countenance full of the deepest grief; the queen and many of the nobles are looking on, weeping in the most abject sorrow ; while a robed priest, with a benign countenance, adds to the effect of the scene. There was also another chapel visited by the children, which interested them very much — the Chapelle Expiatoire. " What is this, pa ? " asked Minnie. " I will tell you. When the revolution had beheaded Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette, they were put into coarse coffins, and buried in a lit- tle cemetery belonging to the church of La Madeleine. On the records of that church is now a charge like this : ' For the coffin of the ividoiv Capet, seven francs ; ' and this was the whole sum laid out for the interment of the gifted, beautiful, and high-born queen, whose word once made nobles tremble." "0, how sad!" " The ground was afterwards purchased by a stern royalist, who planted it as an orchard, that the traces of the graves might not lead to a dis- covery, fearing that, in some wild and terrible moment, the populace might dig up the bones, and insult even their decay." PARIS BY DAY AND NIGHT. 119 " Would they have done that ? " " They might, and he wished to guard against it. When monarchy was restored, the ground was purchased by the government, and a neat chapel erected over the spot where the king and queen were interred*" " What an interesting spot ! " " Yes ; and let me tell you, children, some- thing about a person whom I met in this chapel some years ago." " Who was it ? " asked the two children in one breath." " The Duchess of Angouleme, who, within a few years, has been called from earth. She was the daughter of Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette." " Do tell us about her." "I do not know much except the general facts. At the time of the murder, she was but a child, and, with her brother, the dauphin, about whom I have told you, then only seven years old, was shut up in a dark and gloomy dungeon. The boy was soon let out to a brutal keeper, who had orders not to kill him, but to get rid of him. Hence every indignity was heaped upon him. For a whole year his clothes were not changed ; and for six months his bed was not made. Under such treatment the 120 THE PERCY FAMILY. »O^OC young dauphin died in June, 1795. His sister was at length allowed to go to Austria, and she lived until a few years since." There were a great many places visited by the party while they were in Paris ; and among others, Hotel de Ville, the magnificent town hall, or city hall, the Palace of Industry, the building erected for the world's exhibition in the Champs Elysees, the Royal Library, several public gardens, and many other places and ota jects, all of which Walter wrote down a descrip-. tion of in his journal, that by this time hac| become a very portentous volume. fffrfl THREE WAYS FOR SUNDAY. 121 Chapter VII. THREE WAYS FOE SUNDAY. A PERSON accustomed to New England hab- its, who has been educated to revere the Sabbath and respect religion, finds little in a Parisian Sunday congenial with his feelings and tastes. The public squares and pleasure grounds are thronged with people, soldiers are marching in the streets, shops are open, and workmen are employed as usual, and the quiet solemnity of the Sabbath day, as observed in New England, is not known. Walter and Minnie, who at home were accustomed to the utmost circumspection on the Sabbath, were shocked at what they saw and heard. They found it almost impossible to comply with the request of their kind mother to spend the day abroad as religiously as they were accustomed to at home. Whether they kept in their rooms or went out, it was all the same ; and their young hearts were often pained at the wanton desecration. One evening, as they sat conversing with the gentlemen of their party, Walter exclaimed, — 122 THE PERCY FAMILY. " I must write a letter to my Sunday school teacher. I told him I would." " Well, why don't you, and not be always talking about it ? " chimed in Minnie. " I must ; but I have seen so many things that I don't know what to write about." " Why don't you tell him what we saw the other Sunday afternoon, when we were out ? " " I guess I will." So when the gentlemen went out to spend the evening with some friends whom they had found that day, Walter locked the doors, and went to writing, while Minnie threw herself on the lounge, and began to think about home — sweet home. What Walter wrote will be found in the following letters. Paris, 1858. Mr. Edwards : — A conversation I have had with father and Minnie to-night reminded me that I promised to write you a letter during my absence. The long-neglected promise I sit down to fulfil. I have seen so much, that I can hardly tell what will interest you most. My sister suggests that I write you an account of what we saw one Sab- bath day in the Champs Elysees, as illustrating Parisian life. You must not think, from the THREE WAYS FOR SUNDAY. 123 OO^OC account I give, that I have learned to violate the Sabbath. We were passing through the grounds, and what I saw I could hardly help seeing, and the view has only made me love the New England Sabbath more. Sunday is the great day for this place ; and from two o'clock till midnight these gardens are full of people. I can give you no better idea of them than to describe what I saw on the first Sabbath afternoon I was in Paris. Imagine a spot larger than the Boston public garden, flat and level, well gravelled, and finely shaded with trees of all kinds. Running through the grounds from Place de la Concorde on one side to the Triumphal Arch on the other, is one of the most beautiful drive-ways on the globe. In vari- ous parts of the grounds, magnificent fountains are playing in the sun, sending their jets high into the air, and forming rainbows in the spray. The drive-way is full of carriages. I made an estimate, and found that two thousand pass by a given spot in an hour, several abreast some- times — cabs, hacks, noblemen's carriages, and vehicles of all descriptions. Wandering through the grounds, or sitting on chairs, — iron chairs, let at a cent apiece, — or airing themselves in different ways, are from twenty-five thousand to thirty thousand people. The amusements are 124 THE PERCY FAMILY. very singular and very superficial. There are several pavilions, open in front, with a stand which is all decorated with mottoes, and banners, and flowers. On these stands are gayly dressed girls, and exquisitely furnished young men, who are singing, in operatic style, to all who may come to hear. A rope was stretched around an area one hundred feet square, and within this area are a larger number of chairs and little tables. A liquor house is near at hand, and as soon as any one enters the area and takes a seat at the table, a servant will go and ask what kind of drink is wanted, the person being expected to drink to pay for his seat. Any one can stand outside, in full view of the sing- ers, without paying or drinking. The singers are extravagantly dressed, both as to richness and style, and some of them are very fine singers. There are three or four of these places in full exhibition, in different parts of the grounds. We pass along and come to a number of wooden ships, which are passing up and down, over and over, round and round, moved by ma- chinery — the machine being a human being hold of a crank. There are. a dozen of these in different parts of the grounds, all at work in fandango fashion. Then we come to the wooden THREE WAYS FOR SUNDAY. 125 horse crank, turned in the same way, and the rider is permitted to go round several times for a sou — one cent. The ships and horses are all gayly decorated with flags. Then we meet troops of children, boys and girls, with air balls, trundling hoops, and play- ing at various games. Then we see little mimic theatres, where automaton figures come out and dance, or have a stage play, while a great coarse fellow below does the talking for them. Chairs at a cent a piece are let, and an old woman oc- casionally passes round the plate to get the cop- pers. A dozen of these theatres are seen, with about one hundred persons, including priests and soldiers, gathered before each of them. And all through these crowds, men are passing with bright cans of coffee on their backs, which they sell to all who wish that beverage, ringing a bell as they pass from group to group. Then we move on and find here and there little stalls decorated gayly for the sale of fancy articles, from a prayer book to a jewsharp. As we turn from looking at these, a little carriage with a child in it, drawn by eight goats, crosses our path, the owner of the establishment keeping it company, letting it to parents who wish, by the hour or half hour, to amuse their children by 126 THE PERCY FAMILY. o-o^S^oo giving them a ride. There are several of these about the grounds. Then we see a table with gingerbread placed on it ; the table being raised, the gingerbread is placed at the edges, the cakes, some larger, some smaller, about two inches apart. Over the table is a revolving shaft. By paying a sou, one can give the swivel a shove, and if the end stops over a piece of cake, the winner can take it ; if it stops over a vacant place, the man loses his sou. Then there are billiard tables where men and women are playing for toys of the value of one or two cents. Sometimes pieces of cake, or a cigar, is the stake. Then there are men pitch- ing quoits ; shooting matches, where the shooter uses a wooden gun, and the object to be shot at, a few feet distant, a number of pipes, or a pitch- er, or some plaster image. Here are little eat- ing houses, and there machines for weighing people, and lifting machines, and breathing apparatus for the expansion of the lungs. And thus all over these grounds are these light, foolish amusements, which would satisfy no other people on the face of the earth ; and these are engaged in, not by children merely, but by hundreds and thousands of adults, not on one day of the year, but on every Sabbath, THREE WAYS FOR SUNDAY. 127 — and almost every day of the year. My heart sickened at the sight of so much frivolity and nonsense. Now, Mr. Edwards, I would like to have you read this letter to the class, and tell them that though I walked with father through these grounds on a holy day, and saw as much as I have described, I did not entertain any desire to mingle with those sports, for I constantly felt a sensation of pity and sorrow, thinking of Him who said, " Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." Walter Percy. " Min, wake up," said Walter, as he finished his letter. " Wha — I can't," yawned the child. " You must." " Don't plague me, Walter." " Well, wake up. I have finished my letter, and want to read it to you." " What letter ? " " To Mr. Edwards." And Walter commenced reading, but had not proceeded far before Minnie was sound asleep ; and he laid aside the sheet, and took another, and commenced a letter to the clergyman of the church where his father attended. We will read it, 128 THE PERCY FAMILY. Paris, 1858. Dear Mr. K. : — I have just finished a letter to my Sabbath school teacher, telling him what I saw one Sab- bath afternoon in the Champs Elysees ; and as father has gone out and left me at the hotel, I spend a part of the evening in writing to you. I presume it will interest you most, if I tell you how I spend the Sabbath day. I will tell you something about it. One Sabbath we went to church at the Amer- ican chapel, in Rue de Berri, a comely little edifice near the Triumphal Arch. Rev. Mr. Seely, an American clergyman, preached an excellent discourse ; and we saw among the people present several Americans who came over in the ship with us. We also saw Mr. Mason, the minister of our government ; and it seemed good, after being in Paris several days, and hearing so little of our own tongue, to listen to a service conducted in English. Another Sabbath we went to the Oratoire, and heard the famous M. Coquerell, who, though an old man, is very eloquent. I could not understand much of his sermon, but I saw that the people were very attentive. Then we went one day to hear Frederick Monod, whose sweet and gentle tones ring in my ears even now. As we returned THREE WAYS FOR SUNDAY. 129 »o>©fcx> from this church, father gave us a long account of Adolphe Monod, the brother of the preacher, who dijd two years ago, universally lamented by the Protestants of France. There is much in Paris that I like, and much that I do not like. The intense frivolity of this nation strikes a matter-of-fact traveller with great force. The avocations, pleasures, and gayeties of the inhabitants seem to be so frivolous, that of the most dazzling show one tires in a short time. And yet this is doubtless one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and presents such a contrast to London, that the change seems pleasant. In London the clouds are generally hanging low, the atmosphere filled with smoke and dust, the houses black, the streets narrow, the windings intricate, and the lanes filthy and unclean. Here the skies are bright, the streets clean and wide, the buildings bright and lively looking ; the squares, columns, arches, and dec- orations numerous, and instead of long, winding lanes and avenues, we have the broad, beautiful Boulevards, which stretch all around the city. In London, the plague-breeding Thames fright- ens the traveller from its bridges, banks, and waves ; in Paris, the Seine, blue and rapid, in- vites the stranger to gaze upon and bathe in its rippling bosom. vol. in. 9 130 THE PERCY FAMILY. But England has the Sabbath and the Anglo- Saxon mind, and I know you would like it bet- ter than France. But I am forgetting that you have been in Europe, and know much more than I do about both of these countries. So I need write no more. Walter Percy. " Now, a little letter to Charlie," said Walter to himself, as he took up a new sheet of paper. " What did you say about Charlie ? " asked Minnie, half awake and half asleep. " I said I was going to write to him." " Well, write away. I wish I had the little fellow here." " So do I ! Wouldn't I hug him ? " Walter wrote to his little brother as follows : Little Charlie : — How are you, my boy ? Are you tired of waiting for brother and sister to come home ? Well, we shall get back soon, and have a great many things to tell you that will make you stare. We have seen about every thing here, and expect to see the rest before we get back. We have been into palaces and prisons, seen kings and paupers, and have had enough to keep us laughing or crying ever since we left home. THREE WAYS FOR SUNDAY. 131 We expect to have an addition to our party when we leave Paris. Colonel Sanborn, of Ohio, with his wife, are here, and wish to travel north with us ; so tell mamma that Minnie will have a lady to counsel her. Colonel Sanborn is a fussy old gentleman, who runs to the door or window every time he hears a drum and fife ; who says he came over here to see the trainers, and who seems to be a military enthusiast. His wife is like him, keeps her smelling bottle in her hand, and seems to be very conscious of her impor- tance. Minnie, two or three times, has been detected laughing at her curls, and ribbons, and ruffles, and at her fussy ways. The other day we went to the Madeleine church. The service was nearly done when we entered. The church was all occupied by chairs, and these were let. If a person went and sat down, he was expected to pay one sou for it — a sou is one cent. So Mrs. S. crowded herself into a chair, and left the rest of us far in the rear. The man who had the care of the chairs soon saw her. He was a man very small in stature, but very large in dignity. He began to jabber to the old lady in French, and she replied in English. She did not understand him, nor did he understand her ; and the faster he talked in one language, the faster she talked to him in another. 132 THE PERCY FAMILY. o-o>8>^OC Chapter VIII. VERSAILLES AND THE COUNTRY. " /^fc^E week more remains for Paris," said VJ Mr. Tenant, one morning, as our friends were sitting at the table in the hotel. " And what have we to do ? " asked Mr. Percy. " We must ask Walter. What say you, Walter ? " " Well, we have pretty nearly i done ' the city, as some say, and we have all our excursions into the country to make yet." " True, and I move that we go to Versailles to-day," replied Mr. Tenant. " I agree," replied Mr. Percy. " So do I," said Walter. " So do I," added Minnie, putting down her coffee cup. " Agreed," said they all. So, having finished breakfast, they all went to the cars, which start from a very fine depot, nearly new, and were soon on their way to Versailles, that retreat of royalty and art. The 136 THE PERCY FAMILY. ride through the country was delightful, and the whole party were in excellent spirits. On leav- ing the cars, Colonel Sanborn and lady, who had come on in the same train, joined them, and to- gether they pursued their way to the attraction of the place — the palace. As they went along, Walter said, — "Mrs. Sanborn, do you know that there are seven miles of pictures in one pile of buildings, and whoever should give two minutes to the examination of each individual work of art, would require eight days to complete hk task ? " " 0, dear me ! " said the lady ; "I shall die going through. Why, I feel all tired out already." Here she stumbled a little against a stone> and launched out into a tirade against the abominable French pavements, declaring that if she was in power at Versailles she would have the streets in better order. " She would do a good deal — wouldn't she, Walter ? " said Minnie, aside ; and the laughter that spread over the face of the lad was checked by a stern look from his father. They reached the palace, and went through the various galleries, and exhausted the day in looking about at the sculpture and paintings. VERSAILLES. 139 They noticed that Napoleon figured very con- spicuously in many of the paintings. He is seen at the battle of the Pyramids ; distributing the cross of the Legion of Honor at Boulogne ; making a triumphal entry into Paris ; receiving the deputies of the government which proclaimed him emperor ; haranguing his army previous to battle ; receiving the delegates and keys of the city of Vienna ; giving orders before the battle of Austerlitz ; having an interview with Francis II. ; entering triumphantly into Berlin ; bidding adieu to Alexander ; being married to Maria Louisa ; crossing the Alps over the winding Simplon ; guiding his army at St. Bernard ; storming the bridge of Lodi ; at Marengo, at Wagram, and in a hundred scenes and places calculated to fire the beholder with military enthusiasm. The children admired the gardens, that are laid out with the most exquisite taste. They saw bowers with bronze groups, water-spouts, cas- cades, marble grottoes and cool retreats, all exe- cuted with the utmost skill. " What are these ? " asked Walter, approach- ing a group of edifices embowered in the deep foliage. " The Great and Little Trianon." " 0, yes, I know." 140 THE PERCY FAMILY. o-o>s>3^0o . somewhat annoyed by the conduct of the officer, who thought it was brandy, and wanted some. "Bon" (good,) said the man, putting the bot- tle to his lips. But he had no sooner done so, than he dropped it with an angry exclamation, and for a few moments he flew about like a crazy man, sputtering and scolding. " What is the matter ? " asked Mr. Tenant. Again the man sputtered out a whole volume of French words, which to our travellers had no meaning, so rapidly and vehemently were they uttered. " Served him right," said Mrs. Sanborn, who came up at the moment ; " for see how he has tumbled my clean dresses. He ought to drink something." They were, however, all soon in the cars again, riding on towards Brussels, at which place they arrived about the middle of the afternoon. " What hotel have you on your list, Walter ?" asked his father. " Hotel Bellevue." 44 Hotel Bellevue," said Mr. Percy to the driver, whose hack they had taken ; and on they rode, Colonel Sanborn and lady following in another carriage. THE BELGIC CAPITAL. 153 They found the hotel to be one of the best they had yet found in Europe, and were soon comfortably situated, in large, airy rooms, hav- ing from the windows very fine views ; and our travellers unanimously voted that it was well named. On descending to the table d'hote, (the common table,) they found the young ladies, who sat at the first table in the Niagara on her ocean voyage, and soon Minnie was having a fine chat with them. In ten minutes she had told them what she had seen, and how much she had enjoyed herself. When evening came, our party, with Colonel Sanborn and lady, walked out around the king's palace into the public parks, and through many of the streets. As they stood before the royal palace, the king came out, and rode by them. They uncovered their heads, and the king re- turned the salutation. " What is his name, pa ? " asked Minnie. " Leopold." "Is that all?" " No — George Christian Frederick Leopold." " What a name ! " " He is a good king, my child." " Tell me about him — will you ? " " Well, dear, I do not know much about him. Perhaps Mr. Tenant can tell you." 154 THE PERCY FAMILY. " What say, Mr. Tenant ? " " All the knowledge I have of him is at your service. You know we told you when we were at Windsor Castle of Princess Charlotte, whose monumental tomb you saw." " Yes, you said you would tell me, but you have never done it yet." " Then we have not fulfilled our promise — have we ? " "No." " Well, let the princess go now. This king was her husband. He is the brother of the Duchess of Kent, and — " " Who is she ? " " Is it possible that you have forgotten ? " " 0, 1 remember ; the mother of Victoria." " Yes ; and this king is the queen's uncle." " I should think the English people would es- teem him on account of the Princess Charlotte." " They do not esteem him much." "Why not?" " When he married the princess, he received a pension from the British government of fifty thousand pounds per annum. The princess lived about a year, and then died, and the Eng- lish wish him to relinquish the pension ; but he will not." " How long has he been king of the Bel- gians ? " THE BELGIC CAPITAL. 155 " Since 1831. He was, for a year or two, king of Greece." " These facts are very interesting, and I will try to remember them. Perhaps I shall know enough to tell Walter something by and by." "You must learn fast then, Min," replied Walter, who overheard the remark. " I am learning fast. I feel as if my head would burst with the knowledge I have been crowding into it for the past three months. You put all your knowledge into your journal ; I put mine into my head." " Goody ! what a head you must have ! " In walking about Brussels, they found the city to be a miniature Paris, reminding them at every step of the gay, beautiful capital of France. They found the same out-of-door habits, the same cafe system, the same language, and, as far as they could see, the same social habits and customs. As they went into the public pleasure grounds, they found drinking and playing of all kinds ; and at bedtime, they all returned to Bellevue, tired and ready to sleep. The next morning they were up early, and all took breakfast together, Colonel Sanborn and lady being with them at the table. They all agreed to ride out together, Mrs. Sanborn de- claring that she did not like the Bulgians, and 156 THE PERCY FAMILY. wanted to see all there was of their city in the shortest time possible. They went first to the Cathedral, a large edi- fice with considerable attraction, and spent an hour there very profitably. While they were pres- ent a religious service was held, and a gorgeous ceremony took place, in which the children were very much interested. A view of this Cathedral will be found on the opposite page. Its massive and elegant towers only indicate the elegance of the interior ; and as they came out, Walter lingered after all the rest had passed on, gazing upon the noble proportions of this edifice, erected for the worship of the great God. They also went to Hotel de Ville, a very old building, with a very high and elaborately- wrought spire, and to many other buildings of note and interest. As they were riding about, Minnie all at once exclaimed, — " Pa ! " " What, child ? " "Is not this the place where lace i* manu- factured ?" " This is one place where it is made." " What, Brussels lace ? " "Yes." " 0, why can't I see it made ? " " You can." THE CATHEDRAL OF BRUSSELS. THE BELGIC CAPITAL. 159 " How ? " " We will go to some lace manufactory, where you can see how it is done." They rode to the banker, to whom Mr. Percy had letters, who gave them the address of several lace manufacturers, and also letters of introduc- tion to them. They found one of the factories very readily, and entered the exhibition room. A lady who was in attendance was very kind, and gave them all the facilities they wanted for viewing the goods. " 0, what a beautiful shawl ! " exclaimed Minnie, as the lady held up an elegant fabria before them. " It be goot," said the woman. " What does it cost ? " " Eight hundred francs." " How much is that, Walter ? " " About one hundred and fifty dollars." " About ! You may well say about ! You are some way from the exact amount," said Mr. Tenant to the lad. " What a price ! " exclaimed Minnie. " It be long to make him," said the woman. " How long did it take to make it ? " " It take une femme (one woman) year and half year." " 0, a year and a half ! " 160 THE PERCY FAMILY. »o>e@®<00 of the carriage, throwing in their cards, and beg- ging for employment. They were neatly dressed with blue frocks, and almost all of them pre- tended to be the sons of old soldiers. " Now, Walter," said Mr. Percy, " select a guide for us." " Well, let me look at them," replied the lad. " Why don't you take, that one ? " said Min- nie, pointing to an interesting young man who ran along, jabbering in a tongue they could not understand. " He does not speak plain English." " Well, that one over on the other side." " I don't like his eye." " Fudge ! Don't like his eye ! " " There is my man, pa." " Where ? " " That one. Come here, my good fellow." The man came, and handed the following card : — WATERLOO GUIDE. Sergeant J. MUNDA, AN ENGLISHMAN, Late 1th Hussars, THE OUNTLY G-TJIIDE WHO SERVED IN TEE BATTLE. THE FIELD OF WATERLOO. 167 " What do you ask ? " said Walter. " How long do you propose to stay ? " " I cannot tell. We wish your services for the day." " That will be five francs." " Cheap enough ; climb up with the driver." The man did so, and they were soon entering the village of Waterloo. They left the carriage and driver at a mean inn, and with Munda went towards the field. " Now, pa, as we walk along, I want you to tell me about the battle of Waterloo. Walter has told me some things, and I want to know more, so that I shall understand what I see." " You know when the battle took place." " Yes ; June 18, 1815." " It is an interesting story, Minnie. On the night before that battle, the English army was encamped on the field, and the officers were enjoying themselves in the city of Brussels. A magnificent ball was held in the capital that night ; and just as the assembly was gathering, word was brought to Wellington, who com- manded the English army, that Napoleon was approaching. Without informing his officers of the fact, he commanded them to retire from the festivities at an early hour. But in the evening, while the dancing was going on, and mirth and 168 THE PERCY FAMILY. merriment abounded, the intelligence spread that the French were advancing. At once a feeling of seriousness, if not of consternation, spread over the assembly, and the ball soon ended." " Yes, pa, I remember to have read something about that in the reader at school." " What did you read ? " " I cannot tell ; but I know it was some poetry about ' Belgium's Capital,' and 'a ball/ but what it was I do not remember." " Walter, do you remember any thing that she refers to ? " " Yes, sir. I think she means Lord By- ron's description of the Duchess of Richmond's ball." " Can you repeat any of it ? " " I'll try, sir. 1 There was a sound of revelry by night, And Belgium's capital had gathered then Her beauty and her chivalry, and bright The lamps shone o'er fair women and brave men ; A thousand hearts beat happily ; and when Music arose with its voluptuous swell, Soft eyes looked love to eyes that spoke again, And all went merry as a marriage bell : But hush, hark ! a deep sound strikes like a rising knell ! ' " " Pa, what was that knell ? " asked Minnie. THE FIELD OF WATERLOO. 169 oo^Xoo " Can you tell her, Walter ? " " Yes. ■ But hark ! that heavy sound breaks in once more, As if the clouds its echo would repeat ! And nearer, closer, deadlier than before ! Arm ! arm ! It is — it is — the cannon's opening roar ! ' " " Good, Walter ! " said Mr. Tenant. "Now, pa, proceed with the battle," added Minnie. " Let me see — where did I leave off? 0, 1 know. The whole night before the battle, the rain poured down in torrents. The French army was drawn up in front of Hougoumont, and the English fronted on a small county cross road, on higher ground, and in a much more favorable position. On the ground, the guide tells me, it will be easy to see that Na- poleon went into the battle under many disad- vantages, and exposed to many serious difficul- ties growing out of the marshy and wet ground on which his forces were stationed. Each army had a considerable reserve force which was to be brought on, and each general knew about the time he should want it. Blucher with the Prussian army, and Grouchy with a tried French force, were held back, to be ready at any moment to turn the tide of battle." 170 THE PERCY FAMILY. " How many soldiers did Napoleon have ? ' : tl Sixty-seven thousand men, and two hundred and forty pieces of artillery." " How many had Wellington ? " " About sixty thousand men." " Did Napoleon really expect to conquer ? " " Yes ; the hero entered upon the conflict with the highest hopes. ' The enemy's army,' he said, ' is superior to ours ; there are, how- ever, nine chances in our favor to one against us." On the morning of the 18th, Wellington rode over and had a full conference with Blu- cher, unwilling to trust to a messenger ; and that general was made fully aware of the plans which were that day to be carried out. The purpose of Napoleon was to overwhelm the Eng- lish before the Prussians arrived. Early in the forenoon the terrible engagement commenced, and soon became general along the whole line of both armies. The Chateau of Hougoumont was taken and retaken ; the trees in the forest of Hougoumont were riddled with balls, and the two finest armies the world ever saw were engaged in mowing down each other. Napoleon had never fairly tried his skill with an English army, and often during the day expressed his admira- tion of the noble bearing of the English troops. As the day wore on, the advantage was decidedly THE FIELD OF WATERLOO. 171 with the French. The Duke of Wellington, as if conscious that he could hold out but little longer against the terrible assaults of the French, was heard to say, ' that Blucher or night would come ! ' About sundown the Prussians appeared in sight. For a while, neither army knew what the new force was ; Wellington believing it to be the advance of the army under the Prussian field marshal, and Napoleon thinking it was Grouchy. The conduct of Grouchy cannot now be explained. He had thirty-eight thousand men under his command. He could hear the can- nonading of Waterloo ; he had received orders from Napoleon to hurry to the scene, but waited in his encampment, toying with a handful of Prussians, until the fate of France was decided. In Grouchy Napoleon had always placed the most implicit confidence ; he had ever found him true, and had no idea of being deserted now. The army under Grouchy knew that they were ex- pected on the field. General Yandamme and others asked permission to advance, but were not allowed to do so. Grouchy doubtless proved a traitor, though most historians have charged him with imbecility, rather than treachery. " When Napoleon knew that it was the Prus- sians, instead of the French, that had arrived, and that Grouchy was not at hand, he at. once 172 THE PERCY FAMILY. gave up all for lost, but continued fighting like a madman. His great mind could foresee the results of his defeat, and he determined to be victorious or die on the field. His last resource was the famous charge of the French Guard. ' This, gentlemen,' he said to them, as he pointed towards the British lines, ' is the road to Brus- sels ; ' and though they knew they were rushing to instantaneous slaughter, they answered with a shout, ' The emperor forever ! ' which was heard as far as the British lines. But the die was cast, and that noble Guard rolled back bit- ing the dust in agony ; and soon the whole French army, wounded and cut to pieces, was flying in disorder from the field. Had Blucher not arrived for another hour, or had Grouchy appeared simultaneously with him, the result of the contest might have been different, and Napoleon might still have been master of the field." " Do not the results show us that the defeat of Napoleon was for the best ? " asked Walter. " Yes, children, men generally believe it best that Napoleon was defeated, and his stupendous disaster is regarded as a wise act of Providence ; but not a*few of the greatest and best men of the world have felt that the result of that battle was a misfortune." THE FIELD OF WATERLOO. 173 " I remember," said Walter, " reading that even Robert Hall, an Englishman, said, ' When I heard of the result of the battle of Waterloo, I felt as if the clock of the world had gone back six ages.' " They had now reached the field, and passing by the cottage where relics are sold, they stood upon the spot where that dreadful battle was fought. " This does not look as I thought it would," said Minnie. " I had no idea formed of the looks of the field," replied Walter. That the young reader may know how the field looked on the day when our visitors saw it, we give the following extract from Walter's journal : — " The field of Waterloo, at the present time, presents a unique and singular appearance. A huge mound two hundred feet high, the top of which is reached by a rude flight of steps, is in the centre of the field. This mound is com- posed of earth taken from the surface of the field, which has been dug down for this pur- pose several feet. Hence, the huge pyramid is literally composed of bones, skulls, pieces of armor, cannon balls of friends and foes. The 174 THE PERCY FAMILY. pyramid is surmounted by a huge Belgic lion, on a pedestal which reaches to a depth of two hundred and fifteen feet. The circumfer- ence of the mound at the base is one thousand six hundred and eighty feet ; and the whole structure cost four million francs, and required the labor of two hundred men for four years to build it." The children climbed up to the top of the mound, although when they reached the summit Minnie was panting for breath. Walter went higher than the rest of the party : he climbed up and sat on the back of the lion, and while there made quite a patriotic speech to those who were on the mound below. As they stood on the mound the whole field was in view before them, and the guide pointed out to the eager party the noted localities. The situation of the Chateau of Hougoumont, the farm house of Haye Sainte, the position of the respective armies, the spots where notable events occurred, were described with minuteness and accuracy ; and they stood for some time gazing in the different directions, and talking over the events of that day of blood. Then they de- scended the hill, and went to the different THE FIELD OF WATERLOO. 175 oo>@@0>©#XKoo bag again. I wonder they did not arrest me for having a razor with me, and charge me with taking murderous weapons into the country." "You can't complain of these people here." " No ; I never complain until forbearance ceases to be a virtue." All this time the cars were rolling on, leaving custom-house annoyances far behind. At some distance beyond the frontier, the cars were ex- changed for a steamer, and a river journey of an hour on the winding Meuse was a refreshing change from the dusty railroad. " How romantic ! " " What is romantic ? " asked Walter of his sister, who uttered the exclamation. "This river, and our position." " I don't see any thing very romantic." "You don't?" "No, sis." " Well, I do. Here we are on board a little steamer, not as big as the ' Maid of the Mist,' that we saw at Niagara Falls last summer. We cannot understand what these jabbering people say, and we do not know what plans there may be formed to rob us, and — " " That is romantic, surely ! " " And then look off — how narrow the stream is ! what castles in ruins we have passed ! how 206 THE PERCY FAMILY. many windmills there are! and — and — 0, dear, how the sun beats down upon my head ! " " In consequence of which you will have a very romantic headache." " Come, children," said Mr. Percy, " the folks are going down to dinner. You must be hun- gry by this time." " Yes, sir," said the lad. " Yes, sir," cried the little girl. They went down below, and crowded, with a considerable company of persons in various con- ditions of life, into a little cabin, and took their seats at the table. The air was close, the ap- pearance of many at the table was offensive ; and when the food was brought on, it was any thing but palatable. " I can't go this," said Mr. Tenant, leaving the table, and paying the steward of the boat four francs as he went out. Mr. Percy remained with the children, but could not eat any thing. " Will you have any thing ? " said the waiter to him. " A cup of tea." " No tea, to-day." " Coffee, then." " No coffee, sir." " A glass of water, then." FUN IN ROTTERDAM. 207 " No water — water very hot." " What have you to drink ? " " Vin, vin, vin ! " " What does he mean by that, pa ? " asked Minnie. " He means that they have nothing to drink but wine." " Singular that they have no water on board." " They probably have a plenty of it." " Then why don't they let you have some ? " " Because, if I drink water, they do not get any pay for it. They want me to use wine, or vin, as they call it." " We must have some drink, pa." " You shall have. I will get some water by and by, if I am obliged to pay for it." " Pay for it ! " " Yes, a little silver will bring it fast enough." " Well, get some now." " No, wait until after dinner. We shall suc- ceed better when fewer persons are present." " Father, father ! " said Walter. " What, my son ? " " This meat is bad." " Don't eat it, then. Take an orange or two, or some other fruit, and when we get to Rotter- dam we will have a good dinner." 208 THE PERCY FAMILY. oO^(X They soon left the table, glad to get out upon deck, where they could feel a breath of air. " Guess you have been eating hard," said Mr. Tenant, who was sitting comfortably in the after part of the boat. " Why, what makes you think so ? " " You look red and hot, as if you had been hard at work. The perspiration stands in great beads upon your forehead." " You would sweat if you had tried for half an hour to eat tainted meat without a mouthful of tea, coffee, or cold water to wash it down." Colonel Sanborn and lady now joined them. The former was as dignified, the latter as fussy, as ever. They had been trying to make a din- ner, but had succeeded very poorly. " It's an imposition on travellers ! " squeaked Mrs. Sanborn at the top of her voice. " Wife, you will be overheard," said her husband. " I don't care if I am. It's outrageous ! it's wicked ! it's — it's too bad ! " " Hush, Mrs. Sanborn ! " said the colonel, gravely. " I cannot hush ! — four francs for such a dinner ! One dollar and sixty cents for what you and I ate." " Hush, wife ! " FUN IN ROTTERDAM. 209 " It is too bad ! And don't you think that impudent servant told me I was taking up as much room at the table as three persons ought to ! " " Ah ? that is the rub ! " said Minnie to Wal- ter, aside. " I thought there was something besides bad food in the way." " Yes, yes ; let us go forward to the other part of the steamer." " To the bows, why don't you say ? " " Well, to the bows ; " and forward they went. A sudden turn in the river brings the city of Rotterdam full into view ; and soon the whole company were gathered in the bows of the steamer, gazing upon the vision that had so suddenly burst upon them. " How large a place is Rotterdam ? " asked Walter. " It has about eighty thousand inhabitants, and is in the form of a triangle — so I am told." They soon landed from the steamer, and, entering a carriage, told the driver to take them to the best hotel in the city ; and in a few minutes they found themselves in front of an elegant public house, over the door of which, in large gilt capitals, Walter read aloud the words, " Hotel des Bains." yol. ni. 14 210 THE PERCY FAMILY. " What does that mean, bub ? " "I don't know. Can you tell us, Mr. Tenant ? " " This is the New Bath Hotel, said to be a very good one." They entered, and ordered dinner at once. Mr. Percy, as well as his knowledge of the lan- guage would allow, told the servants what was wanted, and invited Colonel Sanborn and lady to dine with them, which invitation was ac- cepted . Toilet duty was attended to, and the travellers gathered in the garden, where a foun- tain was playing, and flowers were casting their fragrance on the air. Long did they wait, and the evening shadows began to deepen, but they were not called. Colonel Sanborn began to grow more and more impatient every moment. Hunger was seen in his face, and he quickened his step as he strode up and down the gravelled walks. At length, his patience being exhausted, he exclaimed, — " You have tried to order dinner ; I will show you what a military man can do." " So do, Thomas," said his lady. " Waiter, waiter ! " shouted the colonel. The waiter was not at hand. " Waiter, wait-a-r-r ! " " Vot ish that you want ? " cried an aston- FUN IN ROTTERDAM. 211 OO^CK) ished servant, running into the garden, and look- ing almost as much frightened as if the house was on fire. " What shall we call you ? " asked the colonel. " Vat ish that ? " " Your name — what is it ? " "Van Pelt." " Well, Van Pelt, get some dinner for us as quick as possible ; we are as hungry as bears ; " and the man tried to tell what he wanted. The servant, with a look of consternation, nodded assent, and hurried away, " Now," said the colonel, " we shall see how early dinner will be served," and his counte- nance was covered with smiles. But they waited and waited ; servants came and went ; guests were served and departed ; and, after a long time, poor Van Pelt announced that dinner was ready, and they hurried to the table, the colonel forgetting the military precis- ion with which he was accustomed to do every thing. But he had no sooner taken his seat, than his face looked black as a thunder cloud at the spectacle that met his gaze. On the table was a pot of weak tea, bread and butter, and a large dish of pickled beans. All but the unfortunate hero began to laugh ; and even his wife, hungry as she w^s, could not 212 THE PERCY FAMILY. fail to be amused at the ludicrousness of the farce. The colonel was in a rage, and poured out his wrath on the head of the poor servant, who knew so little of English that he had mis- taken the order given him. But the more he was stormed at the more placid he became, and at length, looking in the face of the excited man, asked, with a drollery that convulsed with laughter all the others, — " Vat's der matter mit you ? " This only made the poor man more furious, and Mr. Tenant was obliged to interfere, or the servant might have received severe treatment. No one knew better than this gentleman how to get along with the case. He pacified the colo- nel, who, on the whole, was really a good man, and gave such orders as soon spread the table with a fine dinner, which was eaten almost silently, as the scene which had just transpired had made all feel any thing but pleasant. When the colonel and his lady had retired from the table, the servant, who had stood aloof, returned, and seemed very anxious to please the rest of the party. Mr. Tenant said to him, — " Your friend has gone." " Yaw ! goot, goot ! He feels petter pi and pi ! " The children laughed to hear him talk, and ** .7fe£T^> THE CHURCH. PUN IN ROTTERDAM. 215 Minnie declared that he was a " right down good fellow." The evening was spent in a short walk in the vicinity of the hotel. In the morning they all went out again to look about the place, and the children were much amused at what they saw. It was some kind of a fete day, and the streets were thronged by thousands of people. " Why, father," said Minnie, " the streets are half of them filled with water." " Yes," replied the gentleman addressed ; " there are as many canals as streets in the city, and it is amusing and odd to see vessels moving along through the city, tall masts pass- ing by the windows of the hotels, and boats scudding along, propelled by the merry boatmen, and churches setting almost in the water." See engraving on page 213. " And how do the people cross these canals ? " " Look, and you will see." " 0, yes, I see ; bridges are thrown across for foot passengers and travellers." " I notice," said Mr. Tenant, " there are some peculiarities to the houses not seen elsewhere. The ends of the roof are very peculiar in their construction, and the houses are built so as to hang over into the street two or three feet." "Yes," zm& Walter, "they hang over so much 216 THE PERCY FAMILY. 00*^00 in some of the narrow streets we have passed, as almost to shut out the sunlight." " Walter, Walter ! " cried Minnie. " What, sis ? " " Do look ! " " Look at what ? " " At those women ; instead of having on bon- nets, they have brass head-dresses, with horns in them." " Sure enough ! " Mr. Percy explained that these brass head- dresses were very common, and worn on festi- val occasions, and sometimes on the Sabbath. They give the wearer a very novel and mascu- line appearance. " What strange taste ! " added Walter. " What a contrast, Walter," said his sister, " between those brass ornaments, and horns, and pendants, and the heavy wooden shoes worn on the feet ! " " The whole dress is ridiculous as any thing we have yet seen." " And look, Walter, at those things on the sides of the houses." " What things ? " " Those mirrors." " Yes, the people here seem to keep their look ing glasses on the outsides of the houses**" FUN IN ROTTERDAM. 217 " Father, what is that for ? " " In going through almost any town in Hol- land," said Mr. Percy, in explanation, " you will notice a mirror to almost every window. The object of these mirrors is the same which is accomplished by our bay windows, to see up and down the street. Thus a lady sitting in her room, if the door bell rings, can look in a little mirror, which is so placed as to show who is on the doorstep. If she wishes to see the person, she can go down ; if it is a beggar, she can let him ring to his heart's content ; and if it is an unwelcome caller, she can direct the maid to say, .as some American ladies do, ' En- gaged.' She can sit at the window, and, by a glass on the side, see who is in the street below, and the whole length of the sidewalk is full in her view. Sometimes three of these glasses are fixed to one window, one to look up street, one to look down street, and one to see who stands at the door. Some houses have these mirrors to all the front windows, and a very simple yet good arrangement it is." " I should think it might be," said Walter ; " and should the people in some of the long, narrow streets in Boston, where nothing can be seen but a brick wall opposite, have such an 218 THE PEBCTf FAMILY. arrangement, it would be a great addition to the rooms on the street." " I don't know. I should hardly wish to see our houses thus fixed out with mirrors." " There is a statue, pa," said Minnie. " Yes, I see." " What is it ? " " The statue of Erasmus." "Who was he?" " He was a learned man, and a great theolo- gian. Up to his ninth year he was a poor sing- ing boy in the Cathedral of Utrecht, and from this small beginning he rose to eminence. He died in 1536, and was buried at Bale, leaving behind him several theological and literary works, and a great name." " Why was his statue put here ? " " Because he was a native of Eotterdam." " He was gifted," said Mr. Tenant, adding his word to the conversation, " with great conversational powers ; so much so, that it is said that on one occasion, when he visited incog. — " " What does incog, mean ? " " Incognito is a word for unknown, or in dis- guise ; incog is a contraction of it." " 0, yes, I understand — go on." "When Erasmus visited Sir Thomas More, FUN IN ROTTERDAM. 219 90^00 then lord chancellor, in disguise, the latter was so struck with the brilliancy of his con- versation, that he said, impulsively, ' Who are you ? You must be Erasmus, or an evil spirit.' " In the after part of the day they drove to the house where Erasmus was born, which they found used as a vegetable and flower store. The whole day was occupied in looking about the city ; and it was very amusing to see the people stop and look after them, they being recognized as strangers. When they reached the hotel at night, they secured dinner, and then went to their apartments, and spent two or three hours in pleasant, interesting conversation upon the manners of the people, and the things they had seen. " Don't you think Holland is the strangest country we have yet seen ? " " Yes, there are many queer customs here." " The country itself is peculiar ; I am told that it is lower than the level of the sea." " Yes, it is so ; and the water is kept out by dikes." " I should think it would sometimes be over- flowed." " There is great danger of it, and nothing but ceaseless vigilance can prevent it." 220 THE PERCY FAMILY. " What are the dikes made of ? " " They consist of a sort of willow thatch-work, inlaid and overlaid with clay, and need con- stant repair. It is said that the amount ex- pended every year in dikes, and water levels, and canals, reaches the immense sum of three million dollars." " Has the country ever been inundated ? " " It has been partially inundated several times." " Well, how are the canals dug ? " " There is no difficulty with that, as there are windmills all over the country to pump the water out and drain the land. Should an inundation take place, the water would soon be pumped out again." " I remember what some poet says about this country." " What is it ? " " As near as I can remember, the lines run as follows : — ' A country that draws fifty feet of water, In which men live as in the hold of nature, And when the sea doth in upon them break, And drown a province, does but spring a leak.' " " You know where that came from, don't u?" « No, sir." you ? " PUN IN ROTTERDAM. 221 "The author of Hudibras is responsible for it." " Who was he ? " " Samuel Butler — a distinguished English poet." " And I remember some other lines, written by the same poet, upon this country, so open to satire in consequence of its oddities." " Repeat them, pa ; 0, do, if they are funny ! " cried Minnie, looking up from several views she had that day purchased. " I will try. Butler speaks of the Dutch as people 1 Who always ply the pump, and never think They can be safe, but at the rate they sink ; They live as if they had been run aground, And when they die are cast away and drowned ; That dwell in ships like swarms of rats, and prey Upon the goods all nations' fleets convey ; And when their merchants are blown up and cracked, Whole towns are cast away in storms and wracked ; That feed like cannibals on other fishes, And serve their cousin germans up in dishes ; A land that rides at anchor and is moored, In which they do not live, but go aboard.' " " Father, you said some of the customs of this people were very queer. What are they ? " inquired Minnie. " Well, one custom that prevails in some towns is this : if a person is sick, it is common ¥ # 222 THE PERCY FAMILY. oO^tJOo to keep a bulletin on the door, so that those who wish to know how the person is, may not disturb the sick one by the knock or the ring, nor the family by his presence." "That's curious," remarked Walter. " What other strange customs have this strange people ? " " When, in some towns, a babe has been born in any family, a silk pin-cushion, covered and fringed with plaited lace, is exposed at the door; the sex of the infant is marked by the color — if a boy red, if a girl white" " Why, father, who tells that story ? " asked Minnie. " I do, my child." " 0, yes ; but on what authority ? " " No less than the noted maker of the Euro- pean hand-books — Mr. Murray." "That is good authority, Mr. Tenant says. But what is the object of putting out this pin- cushion ? " " I give you the exact words of Mr. Murray on the subject. The house which shows in this manner that the number of its inhabitants has been increased, enjoys, by ancient law and cus- tom, various immunities. For a certain number of days, nothing which is likely to disturb a lady who is sick, is allowed to approach it. It is FUN IN ROTTERDAM. 223 protected from legal executions ; no bailiffs dare molest its inmates, and when troops pass it on the march, the drums cease to beat." " In what towns, father, does this silly custom prevail ? " " In Haarlem and Enckhuysen." " Is there any other custom that is pecu- liar ? " " Yes, many of them." " Do tell what they are." " The Dutch girls here once a year have a festival, at which they hire sweethearts if they have none of their own. When a person dies here, they send about a man curiously dressed to tell the relatives ; and other odd customs prevail, some of which you will see as we go on." " I begin to see the significance of the expres- sion that old Mr. Howard, who lives near us at home, uses so frequently — ' That beats the Dutch.' " " Whatever beats the Dutch for oddity must be unique indeed." " Come, children," said Mr. Percy, " it is time for you to go to bed. You will see enough of Holland before we leave it." " I am ready to retire," said Walter ; " but I never have had enough of any country we have 224 THE PERCY FAMILY visited yet, and if I should get enough of this, it will be the first. Good night, father." " Good night, my son." " Good night, Mr. Tenant." " Good night, Walter." The door closed on two retreating forms, the children sleeping in two little bed rooms that led out of the larger room occupied by the gentlemen. MEMENTOS OF THE PILGRIMS. 227 <*>>*SC>C Chapter XIII. MEMENTOS OF THE PILGRIMS. " /"^ ahead, conductor," exclaimed Walter, VJ as he saw that official pass the window of the car in which the party had taken seats. The conductor looked up with a smile, and mumbled something in an outlandish tongue, which Walter could not understand. " Where now, pa ? " asked Minnie, as the train started. " We stop first at Delft." " What have I heard about that place ? " " I do not know." " Well, I have heard it mentioned, or have read about it." " Very likely." " What is it noted for ? " " Delft-haven was the place from which the Pilgrims sailed to America." The reader will find one of the last acts of that heroic band before sailing, described in the picture on page 10, and a view of Delft-haven is on page 226. 228 THE PERCY FAMILY. They soon reached the town, which is only a few miles from Rotterdam. They could stop but a few hours, and were obliged to make the best use of their time. They found the streets narrow and ill-looking, the canals filled with stagnant water, and the people stared at them as if a stranger had never visited the place be- fore. Entering a carriage, they prepared to see all there was to be seen. " Where do you wish to go ? " asked the driver. " To the Stadthouse first," replied Mr. Percy. " I wonder what the Stadthouse is ? " said Minnie to herself. " The town hall, I believe," said Walter, over- hearing her. They found the Stadthouse to be an old build- ing with a very curious front, and containing some fine old pictures, though Minnie declared that she did not see much in that building to pay for visiting it. " Where next, pa ? " the little girl asked, as they drove away. " To the Oude Kerk." " What is that ? " " I told you." " Please don't plague me." " The Old Church we are on our way to — so MEMENTOS OF THE PILGRIMS. 229 called because of its age, and to distinguish it from another here, known as the New Church." " Have you not seen churches enough yet ? " " No ; the churches will be the chief attrac- tion of some places we shall visit." "Mercy!" exclaimed the child; " see that tower tumbling over ! " " Ha, ha, ha ! " was the answer she obtained to the exclamation. " What do you laugh at ? " " At you, sis." " What for ? " " For supposing that tower is tumbling down." " What is the matter with it ? " " It is the leaning tower connected with the old church we are to visit." They alighted at the foot of the leaning tow- er, which did, indeed, look as if it was coming over. " What are you coming here for ? " was Min nie's question. " To see old Van Tromp's monument, father says," replied Walter. " Who was Van Tromp ? " " I don't know." " Let us ask Mr. Tenant ; " and that gentle- man coming up at the moment, she inquired,— 230 THE PERCY FAMILY. »oXKoc " Mr. Tenant, who was Van Tromp ? " " 0, Yan Tromp was a Dutch admiral. He swept a Spanish, and then an English, fleet from the face of the waters, and gave the navy of Holland great distinction. The King of France conferred upon him a title of nobility, in conse- quence of his valor." " Is this the naval officer who fastened a broom to his mast ? " asked Walter. " Yes, the same." " What did he do that for ? " asked Minnie. " After having defeated the English fleet in the Downs, he had a broom fastened to the mast of his ship." " What for ? " " As a sign that he had swept the Channel of English vessels." " He was a trump, wasn't he ? " " He was a brave man." " How did he die ? " " He was killed on the deck of his vessel in a naval engagement. He died shouting, ' Courage, my boys ! ' " " His name was ' Yan,' you say ? " " No ; his name was Martin Harpertzoon Tromp." " You called him < Yan.' " " Yes ; Yan is a Dutch prefix to a man's MEMENTOS OV THE PILGRIMS. 231 name indicative of some rank, as at home we say John Brown, Esq. The Van often means nothing here, as Esq. does with us. Do you understand ? " " I think I do." They were now in the church, and standing before Van Tromp's monument, on the base of which is a picture of a naval battle, most ex- quisitely wrought. They then went to the New Church, in the public square, which they had no sooner entered than a large, ornate monument was seen, the most conspicuous object in the house. " Whose monument is that ? " asked Walter. " Van Tromp's, I guess," said Minnie. " No," replied Mr. Percy ; " that is the monu- ment of William I., Prince of Orange." " Who was he ? " " Perhaps you know that the heir apparent of the Dutch throne bears the title of the ' Prince of Orange,' as the heir apparent of the English throne bears the title of ' Prince of Wales.' " " I have heard so." "William I., the heir to the throne of the Netherlands, was a brave man and a hero, who, in the troublous times about the middle of the sixteenth century, contended for the liberties of Holland, that was then overrun by foreigners. 232 THE PERCY FAMILY. Several attempts were made to assassinate him, and at length his enemies were successful." " Did they kill him ? " " Yes, after several unsuccessful efforts. Once, when he was at Antwerp, a Spaniard shot him with a pistol ; the ball entered his right cheek, destroyed several of his teeth, but did not kill him." " What did they do with the Spaniard ? " "They slew him on the spot. Afterwards a Spaniard and an Italian tried to kill him, but both were convicted, and one was executed; the other committed suicide." " How was he assassinated at last ? " " He was here at his palace in Delft, and a young Burgundian shot him." " What did he do it for ? " " He said that a Franciscan monk persuaded him to do it, promising him, in God's name, eternal life, William being a Protestant." " But," said Walter, " I see on the monument something about a dog — what is that ? " " Ah, I forgot to tell you about the dog. On one occasion the Spaniards had planned an attack upon him, when his dog, knowing that they were enemies, leaped upon his bed, tore the clothes from him, and aroused his master in season for his escape." MEMENTOS OF THE PILGRIMS. 233 ooI^Koc They looked at the monument of Grotius, who was born in Delft ; at the tombs of the royal family of Holland, that are in this church ; and then went over to see the house where the young prince was assassinated, the spot where the mur- derer stood, the bullet holes in the wall, the place where the poor man fell, dying, in the arms of his wife. " Who was his wife ? " asked Minnie. " The daughter of Admiral Coligny." " What, he who was slain on St. Bartholo- mew's day ? " " Yes, his daughter. She seemed to have had blood to drink. " " Is there a Prince of Orange now ? " " Yes ; a wild young fellow, that report says is betrothed to the English Princess Alice." " Hum ! that little girl betrothed ? " " So it is said." The party then entered the carriage again, and drove about the town, which they found to be neat and dull, and at the expiration of four hours, took cars for the Hague, where they ar- rived after a short ride, and at which place they proposed to stop a day or two. This city is one of the most pleasant in Holland, and contain? galleries of Dutch art, royal cabinets of curiosi- ties, and many fine buildings, which exhibit art 234 THE PERCY FAMILY. and taste, luxury and wealth. There is at the Hague one of the largest collection of Japan curiosities in the world. Figures in ivory, bronze, metal, and wood, costumes, Japan ware, furni- ture from their houses, and deities from their temples, weapons of war, and the peaceful in- struments of agriculture, and many other things throwing light upon the habits and customs of the people of Japan. Our travellers took lodgings at a very quiet hotel, and for two days amused themselves by looking about the place. They spent much time in the picture gallery, where they saw a very fine collection of paintings, mostly from Dutch artists ; they went to the royal palace of the King of Holland, and were presented to his majesty ; they visited the collection of Japan ware, the private collections and cabinets, and saw all they could of interest. They also rode out to Scheveningen, on the sea shore, where the children were amused with the costumes of the fishwives, and the customs of the fishermen, who were seen drawing their fish over the beach, or launching their boats. The nobility of the Hague often come here and take a fish breakfast, and it forms one of the watering places of the coast. A little circumstance occurred when they left MEMENTOS OF THE PILGRIMS. 235 the Hague, that unpleasantly affected them. It seems that, on arriving at the hotel, they found no soap on their washstands, and at once or- dered it. After the bills had been settled, and the whole party were seated in the carriage, Mrs. Sanborn occupying the back seat, and Wal- ter on the driver's seat, a servant came running out, and crying, — " Stop, stop ! " " Hold on ! " cried Mr. Tenant to that per- sonage, who had just started his horses. " Stop, stop ! " said the servant, out of breath. " What is the matter now ? " " You have not paid for the soap." " The soap ! What soap ? " " The soap was not put in the bill, sir," said the servant in broken English. " What soap ? " " The soap you washed your hands with." " 0, ah ! How much is it ? " " Four cakes — four francs." " But we did not use it." " You washed with it once." " Well — eighty cents for soap to wash our faces with two or three times." " They charge that at all hotels in this country." " Do they ? Then it is extortion." 236 THE PERCY FAMILY. »o^oc " Gentlemen should not order it." "Here is your money/' said Mr. Tenant, counting out four francs. In the mean time, Walter had gone into the hotel, and returned bearing the four cakes of soap. " They are ours," he said — " we have paid for them." " Ye-ye-s," said the servant, with a lugubrious grin ; and the carriage drove away. " I don't know about the propriety of your course, Walter," said his father. " Why not, pa ? We buy the soap, and pay for it double the charge made at the stores. It is ours most certainly." " Perhaps it is." " Now, the candles we paid for at Brussels we have used ever since, and I have estimated that we have already saved seven dollars on lights, and they are not half gone." "Walter is right, friend Percy," said Mr. Tenant. " We pay for the articles fully, and we have as much right to take them with us as we should have to take a half dozen oranges that we had ordered to our rooms, and paid for." " But I do not wish my son to fall into penu- rious habits." MEMENTOS OF THE PILGRIMS. 237 u It is not an evidence of penuriousness to be economical. True economy would lead Walter to do as he has done, and then he has saved something to be charitable elsewhere." " Why, father," said the boy, " if we should allow these people to take advantage of us on every occasion, your purse would not be long enough to get us all home again." " Yes ; but I must think this matter over before you repeat the process. I want you to be prudent and economical, but I also want you to be perfectly upright and frank in your deal- ings. I want you to grow up a generous as well as an economical man. But we will talk about it at another time." " And then you will confess," added Mr. Ten- ant, " that the boy is right, and your scruples are wrong." 11 Perhaps so." They were soon at the depot, and on the way to Leyden, at which place they arrived that day at about the hour of noon. It has about forty thou- sand inhabitants, and is a very pleasant place. " What is the town noted for ? " asked one of the children of Mr. Tenant. " To all Americans it is associated, like Delft, •with imperishable memories of the Pilgrims." " Did they once live here ? " 238 THE PERCY FAMILY. " Yes ; and here the faithful pastor, John Robinson, preached to them those doctrines that they planted at length on the shores of Plym- outh Bay." " What else is it noted for ? " "There are some historical reminiscences of the place." " Please tell us, and we shall better remember our visit." " On one occasion, — to give you a single fact, — the town was besieged by the Spaniards, who called on the people to surrender. The mili- tary commandant of the place was John Van- derdoes, and he sent word to the Spaniards that he would defend the town at all hazards ; and when their provisions were gone, his soldiers would eat their left hands, reserving the right to fight with." " Noble answer ! " " The town held out four months, and for half of that time bread was not seen. At length the people came to the burgomaster, and urged him to give up." " Did he do it ? " " No. He said to them, ' Here is my body ; tear that to pieces, and eat it, but do not ask me to surrender.' " " Three cheers for him ! " shouted Minnie. MEMENTOS OF THE PILGRIMS, 239 "How did it turn out ? " asked Walter. " A storm came and drove in the waters upon the Spaniards, and drowned so many of them, that the rest were conquered. Help also ar- rived, provisions came, and the people were saved." While our friends were in Ley den, they vis- ited the ancient university, the museums, and other objects of interest. The children noticed that the place was all surrounded by windmills, and Walter made a note of it in his journal, as the " windmill town." " Pa, you seem to be very thoughtful," said Minnie, as Mr. Percy sat looking out of the windows of the hotel, in the latter part of the day. 11 1 was thinking." "Of what?" " Of the Pilgrims." " 0, 1 don't care any thing about them." " What of the Pilgrims, pa ? " asked Walter. " I was thinking, that for twelve years they here found an asylum, and enjoyed the liberty of worship ; along these streets they walked, gazing on the same heavens ; and here they banded together to people an unknown conti- nent, and plant deep in the soil of the new world, the Protestant faith." 240 THE PERCY FAMILY. About the Pilgrims they conversed until the time arrived for them to take the cars for Am- sterdam, the next place on their route, where they soon were, having seen the wonders of Haarlem, among winch was the mammoth or- gan in the great Church of St. Buvon. Mr. Percy gave Walter many interesting facts con- cerning the history of that strange people, and also told him that the Percy family traced their way directly back to some of that noble band. ^f^wmmim^^) THE CITY ON LEGS. 241 »oXKoc Ohapteb XIY. THE CITY ON LEGS. " fWTY on legs," said Mr. Tenant, as they VJ approached Amsterdam. " Why do you call it so ? " asked Minnie. 11 Because it is built on piles driven into the soft mud." " What, all the houses, and stores, and church- es, built on posts driven into the ground ? " " Almost all of them. The earth into which the piles are driven, and over which the city is built, is nothing but a bog; and the piles reach the hard soil below, or the building will not stand." " The number of piles must be enormous." " Yes, you may well judge so when I tell you that the royal palace, a large structure, rests upon over thirteen thousand, six hundred of them. How large, then, the number must be that support a city containing over two hundred thousand inhabitants ! " " Is the city all cut up by canals, as Rotter- dam was ? " vol. m. 16 242 THE PERCY FAMILY. " Yes, more so. The canals divide it into about one hundred islands ; and the canals are spanned by about three hundred bridges." " I should think the houses would tumble down sometimes, and that the streets would cave through." " They do. In 1822, an immense warehouse, containing seventy-five thousand hundred weight of corn, sunk down into the mud." " Are not the people afraid to live there ? " " They do not seem to be, though no heavy burdens are allowed to be carried along the streets for fear of the jar." " How do they get heavy burdens through the city — into and out of it ? " " By water, through canals." " How deep are the canals ? " " About ten feet." " How deep down do they drive the piles ? " "For the heavy buildings, they drive them down seventy or eighty feet." " Is the city built right on the sea ? " " No ; it lies at the confluence of the Amstel and the IJ." " The Eye, did you say ? " " It is pronounced Eye ; but the characters that represent it are IJ." " Are there carriages in the city ? " THE CITY ON LEGS. 243 " 0, yes ; and omnibuses, I am told." They reached the city, and found a hotel, and were soon about wondering at the curious city and the curious people. " What is there to see here, father ? " asked Walter. " There is not much in-door work to do, I believe. The palaces and galleries of art need not occupy much time. What we want to see most, is the structure of the city, the cus- toms of the people, the ways and modes of life." " I would like to go into some of these boats on the canals," remarked Mr. Tenant. " I un- derstand the people live in them." "Yes, pa, let us go into them," cried both of the children at once. So when they came to some large boats on the canals, they went on board, where they found the family, with their dog, hog, and hens, living as comfortably as persons could under the circumstances. The Dutch are a very neat peo- ple, and some of the apartments on board the boats were as tidy as the rooms in the houses on the land, and not a few of the industrious women had flowers growing, and other evidences of taste observable. Walter tried to talk with some of th<* people, but he was not able to sue- 244 THE PERCY FAMILY. o-o>@ ceed much, and Minnie laughed at him for the uncouth sounds he made. Leaving the boats, they walked through some of the principal streets, the children asking ques- tions all the way along. " Where do the people get water, father ? " "Water, water!" interrupted Minnie. "I shouldn't think you would ask such a question as that." " Why not ask such a question ? " " There is water enough — too much of it. The whole city is cut up with canals, and I should sooner think you would ask where they get dry land to walk on." " Yes, there is water enough, I see — water to float canal boats on, to extinguish fires, and wash clothes with ; but where is the water to drink ? " " Ah, I was not thinking of that ; but I sup- pose they have wells." " You do ? " " Yes, Master Walter, I do." " Well, that shows just as much as you know about it." " Know about it ! How you talk ! Don't they get water here the same as they do every where else ? " " Not exactly, sis." THE CITY ON LEGS. 245 "Why not?" " Because in such a soil it must be difficult, if not impossible, to get it. The water cannot be good for any thing at all here." " Well, how do they get it ? " " Ah, that is just the question I asked fa- ther, when you put your oar into the long-boat of our conversation, and interrupted the an- swer." " I'll not say any more, if father will tell us." " The water," said Mr. Percy, on being ap- pealed to, " is brought from Dunes." " Where is that ? " " A place near Haarlem." " How is it brought in ? " " By piles laid through the principal streets, by a company of British capitalists." " How long since it was first brought in ? " " I do not know — certainly not many years." " What did they have previously ? Did they drink this filthy canal water ? " " No ; the water was brought in boats from the River "Vecht." " How far ? " " Twelve miles." " What kind of boats did they bring it in ? " " A large, heavy barge, called legger" " But how did the people get it ? " 246 THE PERCY FAMILY. " They went and bought it, just as you would go and buy milk." " Singular ! " " Yes ; when the legger arrived, a pump was set in the deck, and the people came until the dirty hold was pumped dry." " Was it expensive ? " "Yes, very expensive, especially so in the winter, when the canals were frozen. The price at such seasons was often exorbitant." " I should not like to live in such a country." " Nor should I." A peculiar kind of costume worn by a woman attracted Minnie's attention, as she pointed out two persons, a man and a woman, in the street. " These people dress very much as the Pil- grims did nearly two centuries and a half ago," said Mr. Percy, in reply to a remark of his daughter. "How did the Pilgrims dress?" " In a singular costume. These persons are doubtless from the country, where the habits, customs, and dress of the people are less affected by strangers." On the next page this costume is seen. " What do strangers have to do with the dress of the Dutch?" PILGRIM COSTUMB THE CITY ON LEGS. 249 »0>fc<0o " Very much. The English and French come here, and give their tastes to the people, and the fashions of those visitors are followed in the large cities, while out in the country, the habits and customs change less, and are more primi- tive." A long conversation ensued on the costumes of different nations, some of the statements in which the children could hardly credit. In the Oude Kerk (old church) they saw the fine organ, which, in the opinion of the Dutch, rivals any other in the world ; and as they looked at it, and listened, Walter noted all the particu- lars in his little book. " How many stops has it ? " he asked. " Sixty-eight, and three rows of keys." " Is this as large as the organ we saw at Haarlem ? " " Not quite as large, but said to be as fine toned." " How many stops has that ? " " Sixty stops, and five thousand pipes." " Is that the largest ? " " No ; the organ at Birmingham is larger, and more full. One at Friburg is also of greater capacity." " Friburg ? " queried Minnie. " Yes, Friburg, in Switzerland. yy 250 THE PERCY FAMILf. 11 1 should think, by this church, that the peo- ple here might be very rich." " They are very rich. Immense wealth is treasured here by these grave, pipe-smoking Dutchmen." " Are there any Jews here ? " " Yes, one tenth of the whole population are Jews." " Are they rich ? " " They are said to be." " Father, is there any thing besides what we have seen, that Amsterdam is famous for ? ' : " It is a city noted for its benevolent institu- tions, its schools of art, and the perfection of Dutch life. Any one who would get an idea of Dutch customs could do so here." " I was told," said Walter, " before coming here, to go and see the Rasp-house. What is that ? " "It is nothing now but a sort of police station." " What was it formerly ? It must have been something, for Mr. Lingard, who was here some years ago, told me not to fail to go there." " There is a building known as the Rasp- house, I believe. Some years ago it was used to imprison small offenders, but its character is changed." THE CITY ON LEGS. 251 " Why call it the < Rasp-house ' ? " " Because the prisoners were employed rasp- ing logwood." " There must have been something else, or he would not have been so particular to have me go there." "I do not know ; perhaps Mr. Tenant can tell." "Mr. Tenant," said Walter to that gentle- man, who was walking on ahead with Minnie, " can you tell me what the Rasp-house was noted for ? " " When a prisoner was confined, he was set to rasping logwood." " Yes, so father says." " And if he was ugly, and would not rasp, he was put into a cell, and the water let in upon him, and he was forced to pump to keep from drowning." " That is a curious punishment." " It was less as a punishment than to make him work." " I guess there could be no trouble about his working under those circumstances." " No, indeed." While the party were in Holland, they visited all the noted places ; went into the boats on the canals, and enjoyed themselves very much. The 252 THE PERCY FAMILY. »o^oo children enjoyed it all, because every thing was so new, strange, and unlike any thing they had seen in England, France, or Belgium. Walter had an adventure while in Amsterdam, that caused Minnie to laugh at him. It seems that one afternoon he asked permission to go out and make some little purchases, and was allowed to do so, on his declaration that he knew the city so well that he could find his way about. He went out into one store, and then into another, until he had lost his reckoning ; and, on turning to go to the hotel, he took the wrong street, and was soon in a portion of the city with which he was entirely unfamiliar. He tried to find a store where Trench was spoken, but could not. He asked several men the way to the hotel, but could not make them compre- hend what he wanted. The women laughed at him, the children gathered around him, and the men seemed to his excited mind to be of a very desperate kind, and he was very much fright- ened. In the mean while, the party at the hotel had become somewhat alarmed at his prolonged ab- sence. One, two, three hours passed away, and he did not come ; and leaving Minnie in the care of Mrs. Sanborn, the three gentlemen went out iu different directions, agreeing to return in THE CITY ON LEGS. 253 half an hour and report. At the expiration of the time, they all met at the hotel, but no Wal- ter was to be found. Mr. Percy then went to the landlord and procured the assistance of seven or eight trusty servants, all of whom had seen "Walter, and would know him again. Just as these servants were about to start out, Walter, pale and tired, came running in, much to the relief of his father and sister. " Where have you been, Walter ? " asked the former. " I got lost." " Lost ? " " Yes, sir. I turned into the wrong street, and every turn made it worse. I was sure to come out nowhere." " You should not have gone so far." " I couldn't help it. I wanted to find my way back, but the more I tried the more I was lost." " How did you succeed in finding the way ? " " You know, father, the two volumes of trav- els you bought me just before we left home." "Yes." " They were Column's Familiar Letters ; and in one of them I read that he was once lost in a Dutch city — in Haarlem." " Well, how did that help you ? " 254 THE PERCY FAMILY. " You shall hear." " Well, talk on." " He wanted to get to Leyden that night. His friends and luggage were there, and he had only- come down to hear the great organ. In travel- ling about he lost the way, and did not know how to get to the cars. He tried English, but in vain. He used French with no more success. He attempted German and Italian, of which he knew a little, but all to no purpose. The men laughed, the women pitied him, and the children thought they had found a crazy man. Some thought he was begging cold victuals, and some took him for a drunken man." " How did he get out of it ? " « I'll tell you." " I do not see that his dilemma could help you much, only on the principle that misery loves company," said Mr. Percy, laughing. " You will see that it did. At length, he recollected seeing over the railway station the word Spoorweg, which, he thought, might be the Dutch for railroad station; so he began to shout, ' Spoorweg ! Spoorweg ! ' and, to his de- light, found that, by crying it all along, he was enabled to arrive in season to take the cars for Leyden ; and he declared, that he should bless the word ' Spoorweg' all his life." THE CITY ON LEGS oo>o=:oc 255 " Well, what did you do ? How did you profit by that ? " I shouted ' Spoorweg ! ' " You did. What good did that do ? " " It helped me out of my plight. Had it not been for ' spoorweg,' I might have been two miles from here now." a u THE DUTCHMAN FISHING, 256 THE PERCY FAMILY. " But I don't understand." " Why, you see I know the way from the sta- tion to the hotel, and by being directed to the station, I found my way to you." " Very good ; but you must not venture so far away from us again, in these strange cities. You may get into trouble from which you can- not so easily extricate yourself." "I don't fear it." " Perhaps you do not fear it ; but you are young, rash, and venturesome, and must be careful, or you will have trouble." " Well, father, I'll try to keep out of trouble." That night they packed their carpet bags, preparatory to starting away from the country of windmills and canals. A Dutchman who one day sat fishing from his own kitchen door, told Walter that in that little countrv there were about ten thousand windmills, and that it costs annually millions of dollars to keep them turn- ing ; and they visited one large windmill, with sails one hundred feet long, situated just outside of the city on legs, as Walter termed Amsterdam in his journal.