that river to the north, as far as the heights of Montmatre and La Villette,—he can scarcely believe that so lovely a picture is not the vision of a dream, that a view so noble and so perfect can be a busy crowded city, the centre of busy traffic, and swarming with two millions of busy, hard-working men and women!
But the distinguishing and unique beauty of Paris consists not so much in her numerous palaces and noble churches and fine public buildings and streets, as in the harmony and proportion in architecture which strikes the observer in every street that he turns into. There are grander hotels in the world than the Grand Hotel of Paris,—but it is only in Paris that the Grand Hotel is matched and fronted in every direction by houses which in style and architecture correspond with the hotel. The new Opera of Paris though one of the most magnificent buildings in Europe has its rivals in other cities,—but it is only in Paris that such a building is set off by lines of buildings on every side, six or seven storeys high, worthy of the Opera. The Place de la Concorde is perhaps the finest square in Europe—but its beauty consists not only in its fine statues and fountains and the Egyptian obelisk in the centre, but on the perfect symmetry of architecture in every direction. The gardens of the Champs Elysé to the west correspond with the gardens of the Tuileries to the east, and the beautiful Church of Madeleine to the north corresponds with the Chambre des Deputés across the Seine to the south! And this is what strikes the visitor everywhere in Paris. In every street and Boulevard there is a uni-
