Paris and northern France :: :: University of Virginia Library

Between the Louvre and the Tuileries extends an open space,
1600 ft. in length, bounded on the N. side by the new structure
above mentioned. The E. and narrower portion (400 ft. broad)
of this space, contiguous to the Palais du Louvre, is termed the
Place Napoléon III. It is intended to adorn these large squares
with equestrian statues of Napoleon I. and Louis XIV.

The space in front of the Tuileries, the Place du Carrousel,
is of double the width, and derives its name from a tournament
held here in 1662 by Louis XIV. Here, in front of the central
entrance to the court of the Tuileries which is separated from
the Place by an elegant iron railing, rises the *Arc de Triomphe
du Carrousel, 45 ft. in height, 48 ft. in width and 26 ft. in
thickness, and consisting of three lateral and one transversal
arcade. This structure was erected by Napoleon I. in 1806 in
imitation of the triumphal arch of Severus at Rome. Handsome
as it undoubtedly is, its proportions do not harmonize with the
vast dimensions of the surrounding palaces.

The Marble Reliefs on the front of the arch represent the
battle of Austerlitz (r.) and the capitulation of the Austrian
General Mack at Ulm; those in the rear the conclusion of peace
at Tilsit (r.) and the entry into Munich; those on the N. side
represent the entry into Vienna, S. side the conclusion of the
peace at Pressburg.

The Marble Statues over the columns represent soldiers of the
empire in their respective uniforms; in front: a cuirassier, dragoon,
chasseur à cheval and carabinier; in the rear: a grenadier, carabinier,
artillery-man and sapper.

The arch is surmounted by a Quadriga, or chariot with four
horses, a group in bronze designed by Bosio, replacing the celebrated
horses of Lysippus which formerly occupied the summit,
but were restored by the allies in 1814 to their original position
over the portal of St. Mark's at Venice.

The Parade of the Imperial Guard, with military music,
takes place daily at 12 o'clock in the railed off court of the
palace.

From the latter a passage leads towards the S., whence on the
28th of June, 1836, Alibaud fired a pistol at Louis Philippe who
was on the quay, on the point of starting for Neuilly. On the
N. side the palace-court possesses another entrance, where Feb.
28th, 1848, the royal carriage was waylaid and the attendants
murdered by the infuriated populace.

The Palais des Tuileries was founded in 1564 by Catharine
de Medicis and designed by the architect Philibert Delorme. It
occupies the site of a former brick or tile-yard, whence its
appellation. Additions were made to the palace at various periods:
it is now upwards of 1000 ft. in length and 105 in width, and
its dimensions alone entitle the exterior to inspection. It was
not till the year 1856 that the principal façade towards the garden
acquired some degree of symmetry.

In former times the Tuileries was never employed by the
sovereigns of France as a permanent residence. On Feb. 1st,
1800, it became the principal abode of Bonaparte when first consul,
since which period it has been regarded as the official residence
of the reigning monarch.

The N. wing, the Pavillon Marsan, was during the reign of
Louis Philippe occupied by the Duchess of Orleans. The S. wing
is termed the Pavillon de Flore. Between these two is situated
the Pavillon de l'Horloge. The latter contains the Salle des
Maréchaux, a hall occupying the entire width of the building and
two stories in height, adorned with portraits of eminent French
marshals and generals. Adjoining this hall are the Throne-room,
the Galerie de Diane, the Salon du Premier Consul and the other
state-apartments employed for the celebration of great court festivals.
The chambers occupied by the imperial family are situated
on the S. side, between the Pavillon de l'Horloge and the Pavillon
de Flore. The latter, together with the contiguous portions
of the Louvre, were taken down in 1861 and are now in process
of re-erection. In the N. half of the palace are the chapel and
the theatre. In this portion of the building the Convention held
its meetings.

Within the last 12 years the apartments of the Tuileries have
been fitted up in a style of almost unparalleled magnificence.
They cannot perhaps lay claim to numerous works of high art,
but contain hangings, carpets, mirrors and decorations of the most
gorgeous description. The private apartments are not shown,
but in the absence of the imperial Family access may be obtained
to the others on application by letter to the "Ministre de la maison
de l'Empereur".

No edifice in Paris is so rich in historial associations as the
Tuileries. On Oct. 5th, 1789, Louis XVI. was conveyed from
Versailles to Paris by the "Dames de la Halle" and took up his
abode in this palace. Successes had emboldened the revolutionists.

The well known manifest of the Duke of Brunswick was used
as a pretext for deliberating on the dethronement of the ill-fated
monarch. On Aug. 10th, 1792, an armed mob appeared in front
of the palace. The fidelity of the national guard posted in the
palace yard and garden began to waver The king, yielding to
the earnest solicitations of his friends, quitted the palace with
his family about 8 p. m. and repaired to the Manège or riding-school,
situated on the N. side of the garden (in the present Rue
de Rivoli), where he passed the night.

The withdrawal of the king at first appeared likely to avert
the impending contest. The maddened populace, however, soon
found some pretext for commencing hostilities. After a fierce
contest the palace was taken by storm, and the greater number
of its gallant defenders, consisting of a number of French nobles
and the Swiss guard, mercilessly butchered. Of the latter alone
800 men and 26 officers fell victims to their unwavering constancy,
"ne sacramenti fidem fallerent" (lest they should become
perjured), as the inscription under the Lion monument at Lucerne
records.

On Aug. 13th, the king was conducted as a prisoner to the
Tour du Temple the ancient residence of the knights Templar
in the Rue du Temple, now removed to make way for a new
market-place. The 10th of the month had already sealed the
fate of the kingdom.

The kingdom of the Restoration was also here terminated,
July 29th, 1830, by the capture of the Tuileries and by the flight
of Charles X. from St. Cloud to Rambouillet.

The July kingdom, likewise, met with its death-blow in a similar
manner, Feb. 24th, 1848. The conflict between the insurgents
and the royal troops gradually approached the Tuileries. To defend
the palace would have been no difficult matter. Louis
Philippe, however, trusted by making concessions to secure the
throne to his grandson, the Count of Paris. He preferred abandoning
the palace to the popular fury. About 1 p. m. he quitted
the Tuileries by the garden and repaired with his family to the
Place de la Concorde whence two fiacres conveyed the fugitives
to St. Cloud.

The capture of the palace was succeeded by the most frightful
scenes of devastation. The royal carriages and furniture were
burned in the palace yard, the throne at the foot of the July
Column (p. 35). The apartments of the Duchess of Orleans
(d. 1858) alone were spared.

On Feb. 26th, 1848, the Provisional Government (Dupont de
l'Eure, Lamartine, F. Arago, Ledru-Rollin etc.) decreed that the
Tuileries should be converted into an asylum for invalid artizans.
Although this decree was never carried into effect, the palace
served during several months as a hospital for the wounded.

The *Garden (Jardin des Tuileries), 2230 ft. long and 870 ft.
broad, retains the same general features as when it was first
designed in the reign of Louis XIV. by the celebrated landscape-gardener
Le Nôtre. Some alterations took place in 1858:
the smaller garden laid out by Louis Philippe was extended as
far as the central basin and separated from the public garden
by a ditch and an iron railing. Several of the sculptures, which
formerly constituted one of the principal ornaments of the public
garden, are now placed in the imperial garden (jardin reservé),
to which access cannot be obtained except during the absence
of the imperial family.

The entrance to the public garden from the river (S.) side
is by an archway under the Terrasse du Bord de l'Eau, once the
playground of the King of Rome, then of the Duke of Bordeaux
and afterwards of the Count of Paris. At the end of this terrace
are the Orangeries. Passing under the terrace, the visitor enters
the "parterre" (flower-beds and lawns), on which the utmost care
is bestowed, bounded on the W. side by a shady grove of lofty
trees. The public garden is surrounded on the three other sides
by terraces which (especially that on the W. side) afford a beautiful
prospect of the Seine, the Place de la Concorde and the
Champs Elysées as far as the Arc de l'Etoile.

The Terrasse des Feuillants on the N. side derives its appellation
from a Benedictine monastery of the "Feuillant" order
which stood here previous to the revolution and where the republican
club founded by Lafayette in 1791 held its sittings.
A public tennis-court now occupies the site (entrance for spectators
on the S. side). The riding-school mentioned at p. 76 1 was
in the immediate vicinity.

A number of marble and bronze Statues adorn the garden.
The following are arranged along the railing which separates
the Jardin Reservé from the public garden: 1. The Listening
Slave, a bronze cast, executed in 1688, from the well-known
original in the gallery at Florence; 2. Phidias, by Pradier; 3. Dying
Warrior, by Cortot; 4. Pericles, by Debay; 5. Truth triumphant;
6. Boreas carrying off Orythia, by Regnaudin; 7. Themistocles,
by Lemaire; 8. Theseus killing the Minotaur, by Ramey jun.;
9. Spartacus, by Foyatier; 10. Laocoon, a copy in bronze of the
celebrated antique in the Vatican; opposite to it Ugolino with
his sons (?); at the E. extremity of the Allée des Orangers stands
a Hercules, by Bosio; at the opposite extremity, a Meleager;
other statues surround the basin.

In each of the groves to the r. and l. of the broad central
walk is a semi-circular space with a white marble enclosure.
These are termed Carrés d'Atalante and were constructed in 1793,
from designs by Robespierre, as seats for the council of old men

who were to preside over the floral games in the month of Germinal
(March 21st to April 19th).

At the W. extremity of this small grove is an octagonal basin
300 yds. in circumference, with a fountain in the centre. Beyond
it are four fine groups in marble: S., The Nile, by Bourdot, The
Rhine and Moselle, by Van Cleve; N., The Rhone and Saone, by
G. Coustou, The Tiber, by Van Cleve. The 16 children which
surround the Nile are emblematical of the fertility occasioned by
the inundations of the river which usually rises at these periods
to a height of 16 ells above its usual level. The Nile is a copy
of the antique in the Vatican, the Tiber of one in the Louvre
(p. 55).

The pillars at the entrance from the Place de la Concorde
are surmounted by two handsome groups (by Coyzevox) of Mercury
and Fame on winged steeds. This outlet derives its appellation
of Porte du Pont-tournant from a swing bridge which
formerly existed here.

"La Petite Provence" is a term applied to this W. side of the
garden from its sunny aspect. It is a favourite resort of nurserymaids
and children, as well as of elderly persons, who repair
hither to avail themselves of the shelter and warmth which this
spot affords.

The garden of the Tuileries is, indeed, the favourite resort
of Parisians of all classes, more especially the N. side, sometimes
termed the Côté des Chaises from the numerous chairs which
stand here and may be hired for 10—20 c. The other portions
of the garden are furnished with wooden benches for the accommodation
of visitors. The Allée des Orangers (the older trees
250—300 years old, the younger 100 years), which in summer
here diffuse the most delicious fragrance, occupies the ground
which during the reign of terror (1793) was a potato-field Here,
too, is one of the inevitable Parisian cafés.

The garden of the Tuileries is opened soon after daybreak
and is closed in winter at 4, in summer at 9 o'clock. Visitors
are apprised of the closing of the gates by the beat of a
drum. The sentinels here, as well as those at the Louvre and
the Palais Royal, are usually soldiers of the imperial guard or
Zouaves.