Parisian Sights and French Principles Author:James Jackson Jarves Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II. SITES AND SUICIDES. In the heart of Paris, in the centre of the Seine, connected to either bank by a series of bridges, which makes it resemble... more » a spider within its web, is a quarter of the city a stranger's foot seldom enters. I mean the " He Saint Louis." I had often gazed from a distance upon its antique-looking mansions, all apparently of one character, height, and color, and wondered what sort of a race they sheltered. My curiosity grew until I determined upon its exploration. The suspension-bridge " De la Cite" took me to the Rue St. Louis en 1'Ile, which traverses the island lengthwise. The sombre appearance which characterized its exterior became even more apparent in the interior. The houses were high, streets narrow, clean, and quiet; there was no trace of commerce, and the few shops that were to be seen, seemed to be there because they were too poor to move elsewhere. There were no carts or carriages; the few persons in the streets seemed to know each other ; to be in reality neighbors. They appeared cheerful and contented. I looked about to detect if there were apartments to let. Although all appeared so quiet, there was scarcely a sign indicating room for newcomers. Had it been at the same hour in a tropical climate, I should have explained the universal calm by the afternoon siesta. But there were 7500 inhabitants on a very small spot of land to 'be accounted for in some way. I am certain I did not see one hundred. The greatest sign of life was the passageof an omnibus through its narrowest part, on its route to the extremity of the external city. The streets were scrupulously clean—every thing was old and faded, but neat. The quaint, polygonal spire of open stone-work attracted me into the church, the only public edifice on the island. Its interior ...« less