Amy Neally

That evening after Nellie had told her mamma some of her pleasant experiences, Mr. Winter said, "Now we have just five days to spend in Paris, and you must decide what you would most like to do. Mr. Ford and I are entirely at your disposal."

Guidebooks were brought out and studied, and after many discussions their plans were settled for each day.

On Thursday morning they went to the Louvre, feeling there would be so many pictures to see they had better visit it first.

How tired they did get sliding around on those slippery floors, trying to see the nine miles of pictures, many of which were quite uninteresting to them all.

In the afternoon Mr. Winter took his wife and the girls in a carriage, and started for the Bois de Boulogne. When the Place de la Concorde was reached, with its monolithic obelisk of Luxor, and fountains and statues, with the gardens of the Tuileries one side, and the Champs ÉlysÉes on the other, the girls both exclaimed, "How beautiful!" but Nellie added, "When I think of all the horrors that have taken place here it loses some of its loveliness to me."

PLACE DE LA CONCORDE.

The drive through the Champs ÉlysÉes they thought very beautiful, and when they reached the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, the most beautiful in the world, their admiration knew no bounds.

Mr. Winter said, "Alice, what do you know about this?"

Alice answered that "It was commenced by NapoleonI. in 1806 and finished by Louis Philippe, and cost over two millions of dollars. It is about one hundred and fifty feet high, and the same in breadth, and the central arch is ninety feet high."

"Very good, my dear; you know that lesson very well," said her papa.

From there to the Bois everything was full of interest to them, and the drive around the Cascade Alice thought particularly lovely.

Nellie said, "It is not kept up as nicely as I like to see a park. They had better make Central Park a visit, and see its nicely cut lawns and trimmed bushes."

On their way home they were driven through the Place VendÔme, with its magnificent column in the centre. Nellie said, "I can tell you a little about that, Mr. Winter, if you would like me to."

"Of course I should," said Mr. Winter.

"It is one hundred and forty feet high, and was also built by NapoleonI. It was pulled down by the Communists in 1871, but has since been restored."

The girls felt quite at home historically in Paris, as all these interesting things were very fresh in their minds.

In the evening, being very near the Palais Royale, which was built for Cardinal Richelieu, they thought it would be a pleasant way to pass their evening to go and walk around and gaze into the shop windows. The ladies were too tired, so the gentlemen took the girls, and they had a delightful time. Alice told her mamma on her return that she enjoyed it, but did not care to go again; she had seen so much jewelry, all alike, that it was actually tiresome.

Friday morning they drove to the Palais du Luxembourg, which has been prison, palace, senate-house, and is now noted for its sculptures and paintings. Our party enjoyed it much more than the Louvre, as the paintings were so many of them modern and very familiar to them.

At the back of the garden they saw the statue of Marshal Ney, on the very spot where he was shot.

Being on that side of the river, they visited the Church of the HÔtel des Invalides to see the tomb of NapoleonI. It was directly under the dome, and the softened lights all around made it very beautiful.

After being driven home and having lunch, they walked to the Madeleine, the most magnificent of modern churches.

Mrs. Winter said, "This is very beautiful, but I do like the solemnity of some of the older churches I have seen very much better."

Leaving there, they walked through some of those wide and interesting boulevards, watching the people and carriages and gazing into the fascinating shop-windows.

Mr. Ford said, "I thought I had seen in New York some florists' windows that could not be improved, but I find I was mistaken. Never have I seen such windows as these."

When too tired to walk any farther, carriages were called, and they were driven to the Cathedral of Notre Dame, built on an island in the Seine; from there to the PanthÉon, which Alice said "looked like a barn, and was cold and inhospitable."

The most interesting thing about it was, that such celebrated men as Victor Hugo, Marat, Voltaire, Mirabeau, and Rousseau had been buried there. The HÔtel de Ville, recently restored, they passed on their way home.

The evening was given to the Hippodrome, which is quite the thing to do in Paris, and is wonderfully fine.

The drive there was like a picture of fairyland, with the bright lights and trees and glimpses of the river.

Saturday was devoted to shopping, a great deal of it being done at the Magasin de Louvre and the Bon MarchÉ. The buildings are immense, and there is everything to be found in them that one could possibly desire.

That evening it was decided to go to the opera at the Grand Opera House, the most beautiful one in the world. The girls were so excited they could not eat any dinner, for it was their first appearance.

Faust was the opera given, and a wonderful ballet followed it. Between the opera and ballet they all went outside and looked down at the men on horseback, stationed like sentinels outside the building.

Before them was the whole length of the Rue de l'Opera a blaze of light. Alice said, "Nothing yet has been as delightful as this evening."

Sunday was bright and clear, much to the delight of our sight-seers, as they were going to Versailles. They decided on Sunday, as the fountains were advertised to play, and all were very anxious to see them.

They drove there and enjoyed every moment, especially when passing St. Cloud. They saw all it was possible to see in one day, but felt as if it was very little, after all. They went through the palace as fast as they could, but any one knows who has been there that with those glossy floors it took time.

The room devoted to war pictures they did not care for, but were much interested in Marie Antoinette's private rooms, which were so very small, and also in the place where the Swiss Guards were killed in defending her.

The state apartments were very elegant, especially the Galerie de Glace, where the German emperor was proclaimed emperor in the late war.

Of course the girls were eager to get to the Great and Little Trianon. They were disappointed in the size and simplicity of their furnishings. The rooms, however, were so full of historical interest that their disappointment was forgotten, and they thought they could have spent all their time in the two houses.

In the coach-house were seen some very curious old state coaches used by CharlesX. and NapoleonI. and many other sovereigns.

The man in charge was almost as much of a curiosity as the coaches, he told his stories in such an interesting manner, laughing heartily at his own jokes.

The drive home was delightful, but they were all too tired to say very much. After a good dinner, the two girls talked as fast as magpies over the delights of the day. Being like most girls, Marie Antoinette was one of the most interesting characters in French history, and they talked of her and her sad life, feeling almost as if they had lived a portion of it with her, in the quiet retreat and lovely gardens of Versailles.

Mr. Winter said to his wife, "I have really finished my business this side of the water, and unless you would like to remain in London three or four more days for the 'Etruria,' we can catch the 'Teutonic' next Wednesday."

Mrs. Winter said she would like to go home on the "Teutonic" very much, but did not like to leave Mr. and Mrs. Ford, as they had made all their arrangements to go home together.

Mr. Ford said, "We are delighted to shorten the trip, as I ought to be at home now; but we did not like to break up the party."

"Very well," said Mr. Winter. "We will go out and telegraph to Liverpool for state-rooms."

Alice said to her mamma, "I wonder if we can like the 'Teutonic' as well as we did the 'Etruria' that brought us over the seas so safely." Monday was devoted to visiting the Salon, where they saw so many pictures that they came away with a very vague idea of what they had seen, but all agreed they preferred the English pictures of the present day to those of the French.

Tuesday night saw our party again in London, but at the Savoy Hotel, where they had delightful rooms overlooking the river.

Wednesday at eleven o'clock our happy party took the special train which connects with the fast steamers, and at four o'clock were on the "Teutonic" and starting for home.

A lovely night down to Queenstown, where the steamer stops for the mails. While waiting the next morning, Mr. Winter and Mr. Ford took Alice and Nellie on shore in the tug, and gave them a nice drive in a jaunting car.

The girls did not enjoy the drive very much, but were glad of the experience.

The ladies were very much interested in the boats which came out to the "Teutonic" with women who had laces and small articles to sell. The things were sent up to the deck in baskets, on ropes, which were tossed up for the passengers to catch. Some of the Irish girls were very bright, and made very good sales.

At last the tug with the mails arrived, and was attached to the steamer at once. Both went down the harbor until the passengers, among them our party, and the mails had been transferred. The girls were uneasy until they were with their mothers.

At two o'clock the tug left them, and then, indeed, it seemed as if they had started for home.

One bad stormy day, some foggy and some delightful ones, fell to their share. No one of their party was sick, and they thought the steamer delightful. Much as they had liked the "Etruria," it was decided by all that the "Teutonic" would be their steamer in the future.

New York was reached on Wednesday afternoon, and at night the entire party was at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, feeling very glad to get safely across the ocean again. They had become such good friends it was very hard to separate.

However, a promise was made by the Fords to visit Mr. and Mrs. Winter before the summer was over.

Thursday night the Winters could have been found in their own home, all very happy, and feeling that the following years would be fuller of interest in every way for the experiences, most of them pleasant, of their charming trip to Nuremberg and back.