Part 10 (1/2)

CHAPTER XIV

A DRIVE THROUGH PARIS

Through Paris in a fine motor car! How often Jeanne had seen these same sights! But now how splendid it all seemed to the little girl, as she sat beside Margot, with Pierrot firmly clasped in her hand! For Pierrot had been invited, too. I doubt whether Margot would have welcomed Jeanne as heartily without Pierrot. Pierrot was half of the performance.

They rode through Paris. They pa.s.sed the Place de la Concorde (plas de la kon-kord'), that most beautiful of city squares, where a sight not so beautiful once stood. It was here that the guillotine had stood.

It is the terrible instrument which beheaded so many people in those frightful, stormy days of old.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THEY Pa.s.sED THE PLACE DE LA CONCORDE]

The square was then called Place de la Revolution (plas de la rev-o-lu'-syon). But now the name, ”Place de la Concorde,”

means ”Place of Peace.”

They crossed bridges. There are thirty-two bridges in Paris. Some of these are very beautiful. Curiously, the oldest of these, a bridge begun in 1578, is called Pont Neuf (pon nf), which means ”New Bridge.”

They pa.s.sed the Louvre (loo'-vr'), once a palace. It is now the largest museum in the world. Here such famous works of art as the Venus de Milo (ve'-nus de me'-lo) and the Mona Lisa (mo'-na le'-za) are to be seen.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE LOUVRE--THE LARGEST MUSEUM IN THE WORLD]

The Arc de Triomphe (ark de tre'-onf') stands as a memorial to the great victories of the French general, Napoleon I. It is an arch of splendor set in the center of branching wide avenues.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE ARC DE TRIOMPHE]

For Paris is a city noted for beauty. It was planned and built and dreamed, while most other cities, like Topsy, the colored girl, ”just growed.”

Paris, with its avenues lined with trees, its wide streets and s.p.a.cious parks, did not ”just grow.” It was a dream before it was built, and now it is that dream realized.

The little girls pa.s.sed the spot where the Bastille once stood. This was the famous prison into which people were thrown by the French kings, usually without fair trial. But one day the Parisians marched against the Bastille and burned it to the ground.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE SPOT WHERE ONCE STOOD THE BASTILLE]

The little girls pa.s.sed the Tuileries (twel-re'), which are fairy-like gardens. They are a children's paradise, and part of the dream that Paris is.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE TUILERIES--FAIRY-LIKE GARDENS AND CHILDREN'S PARADISE]

Margot and Jeanne watched the people sitting outside of cafes on the streets. They watched the fas.h.i.+onable strollers along the boulevards.

For Paris is well dressed, both inside and out. French cooking is an art, as is everything that these art-loving people attempt.

At the end of their happy day the little girls drove to the park. They sat upon a bench beneath shady trees and they watched a Guignol play.

They had chatted and laughed and now were the very best of friends.

Margot was a happy little girl that day. She had learned from Jeanne how to play.

”Sit still, Pierrot,” scolded Jeanne softly so that only Margot might hear.