Rollo and Carlos had not gone far before they came to a place where two children had set up what they called achapel, under the archway which led to the interior of the house where they lived. A real chapel, in Catholic countries, is any consecrated place, large or small, containing an altar, and a crucifix, and other sacred emblems, where masses are said and other religious services are performed. Real chapels are made in the alcoves of churches, in monuments over tombs, and in other similar places, and children have toy chapels to play with. There are little crucifixes, and candlesticks, and communion cups, and other similar things for sale at the toy shops. Sometimes the children buy these things and arrange them on a small table, in a corner of the room, for play, just as in Protestant countries they arrange a pulpit and chairs for a congregation, and so make believe have a meeting. Sometimes the childrenbring out their chapel and set it near the sidewalk, by the street, and then hold out a little plate to ask the passers by for contributions. There are almost always some people more good matured than wise, who will give them a sou or two; and thus they often made up quite a little purse of money.
In this case, as Rollo and Carlos were passing along, the little girl, who was very nicely dressed in holiday costume, held out a small plate, saying,—
"One sou, gentlemen, if you please, for the little chapel."
Rollo and Carlos stopped to look at the chapel.
"What pretty little candles!" said Rollo, talking half to himself and half to Carlos, "and how tall! I wish I had some of them for Jennie."
"I have got a chapel at home," said Carlos.
"She wants us to give her a sou," continued Rollo. "Would you?"
"And I will show it to you if you ever come to Barcelona," said Carlos.
"I don't know whether to give her a sou or not," said Rollo. "Would you, Carlos?"
"My candlesticks are of real silver," said Carlos, "but these are not."
Rollo finally concluded to give the girl a sou,thinking that he was in some measure bound to do it, after having stopped so long to look at her chapel; and then he and Carlos walked on as before. As they went on they continued to talk together, from time to time, Rollo in English and Carlos in Spanish, neither of them, however, paying any attention to what the other said. This was a very good plan, for there was a sense of companionship in this sort of conversation, though it communicated no ideas. They took the same kind of pleasure in it, probably, that birds do in the singing of their mates. In fact, it often happens, when a group of children are talking together in a language which they all understand, that each one talks for the pleasure of talking, and none of them pay any attention to what the others say.
Presently the two boys reached the Boulevard. It was a very broad and magnificent street, and the sidewalks were very wide. The sidewalks, wide as they were, were thronged with foot passengers, and the street itself was full of carriages. Very soon an omnibus came along; but it was full. There are a great many curious contrivances about a French omnibus; one of which is, that there is a sign, with the wordcomplete, in French, painted upon it in large letters. The sign is placed directly over thedoor of the omnibus behind, and is attached to the top of the coach by a hinge at the lower edge. When the omnibus is full, the conductor who rides on the step behind pulls up this sign, by means of a cord attached to it, and then all the people on the sidewalks can see that there is no room for them. When any passengers get out so as to make room for others, then the conductor lets this sign down, and it lies flat upon the top of the coach, out of sight, until the omnibus gets full again, when it is drawn up as before.
"Complete," said Rollo, pointing to the sign, which was up and in full view. "That omnibus is full."
"Yes," said Carlos, "I see him. His cap is so high that he can't wear it in the omnibus, and so he has to take it off."
"But there will be another one pretty soon," said Rollo.
"If I were a soldier," said Carlos, "I would never get into an omnibus at all. I would have an elegant black horse with a long tail, and I would go galloping through the streets on my horse."
At length an omnibus came along which was not full, and Rollo and Carlos got into it. After meeting with various adventures on the way, andchanging from one omnibus to another, according to the system which prevails in Paris, they finally reached the gates of the garden. There was a sentry box on each side of the gates, and soldiers, with bayonets fixed, guarding the entrance. There were, however, a great many people going in. The soldiers did not prevent them. They had orders to allow all persons who were quiet and orderly, and had no dogs with them, to enter freely. So Rollo and Carlos passed directly in.
Rollo's first feeling was that of astonishment at the extent and variety of the scenes and prospects which opened before him. Instead of a small garden, laid out in gravel walks, and beds of flowers, as he had imagined, he found himself entering a perfect maze of winding walks, which were bordered on all sides by an endless variety of enclosures, groups of shrubbery, groves, huts, cabins, yards, ponds of water, and every other element of rural scenery. The whole, as it first burst upon Rollo's eye, formed a most enchanting landscape, and extended farther than he could see. The walks meandered about in the most winding and devious ways. The spaces between them were enclosed by neat little fences of lattice work, and were divided into little parks, or fields, in each ofwhich some strange and unknown animals were feeding. There were ponds, with a quantity of birds of the gayest plumage sailing upon them; and green slopes, with goats, or deer, or sheep, of the most extraordinary forms and colors, grazing in them. At one place Rollo stopped to look at a small basin of water, with a broad stone margin all around it, which was completely covered with turtles and tortoises of all colors and sizes. The animals were lying there asleep, basking in the sun. A little farther on was a beautiful little yard, almost surrounded with trees and shrubbery, where three or four ostriches, with long necks, and heads higher than Rollo's, were walking about with a very majestic air. And farther still there was a little field, the occupants of which excited the astonishment of the boys to a still higher degree. They were three giraffes. One of them, with his head twenty feet in the air, was cropping the leaves from the top of a tall tree. The second was standing still, quietly looking at the groups of visitors that were gazing upon him from without the paling; while the third was amusing himself by galloping about the yard, with a sort of rolling motion that it was most astonishing to see.
Rollo and Carlos advanced among these scenes, drawn from one to the other by thenew objects which every where presented themselves to view, and uttering to each other continual exclamations of astonishment. In fact, they talked incessantly to one another as they walked on, pointing out, each to the other, whatever attracted their attention, and making all sorts of comments upon what they saw.
Presently a low, bellowing sound was heard among the trees at a little distance.
"Hark!" said Rollo, in English, putting his hand upon Carlos's shoulder. "What's that? I hear a roaring."
"Hark!" said Carlos, in Spanish. "What's that? I hear a roaring."
Neither of the boys understood the words which the other spoke; but they knew very well that they were both listening to and talking about the roaring.
"Let's go and see what it is," said Rollo.
"We'll go and see," said Carlos.
So off they started together in the direction of the sound. They walked along a short distance, passing several beautiful little enclosures, where quiet and gentle-looking animals, of various forms, were grazing in their mimic pastures, or lying at rest before the doors of the thatched-roofed cabins that had been built for them instead of barns, until at length they cameto a place where a long range of buildings opened to view before them, the fronts of which, instead of showing doors and windows, were formed of gratings of iron. The interior of this range was divided into compartments, each one of which formed an immense cage. These cages were all filled with lions, tigers, panthers, leopards, hyenas, and other ferocious beasts of prey. Some were walking to and fro restlessly in their narrow prisons; others were lying down; and others still were crouched in a corner of their cage, where they remained motionless, gazing with a sullen air upon the visitors who stood looking at them from without the grating.
Rollo and Carlos walked back and forth in front of these cages several times, looking at the animals. They admired the beauty and grace of the tigers and leopards, and the majestic dignity of the lions. There were a lion and a lioness together in one cage. The lioness was walking restlessly to and fro; while the lion sat crouched in the back part of the cage, with an expression upon his countenance in which the lofty pride and majesty of his character, and the patience and submissiveness which pertained to his situation, were combined.
"Poor fellow!" said Rollo; "if I had you andyour cage in Africa, where you belong, I would open the door and let you go."
Just at this moment the attention of both Rollo and Carlos was suddenly arrested by a most unearthly sound at a little distance from them, which seemed to be intermediate between a scream and a roar. It was so loud, too, as to be truly terrific.
"What's that?" said Rollo, suddenly, in English.
"Ah, what a dreadful bray that is!" said Carlos, in Spanish.
"Would you go out there and see what it is?" said Rollo.
"Hark! Let's go there and see what it is," said Carlos.
So the boys started together to go in the direction of the sound.
It is impossible, however, for a stranger in the Garden of Plants to be sure of going any considerable distance in any one direction, for the walks are meandering and circuitous beyond description. They wind about perpetually in endless mazes; and the little fields, and parks, and gardens that are enclosed between them are so enveloped in shrubbery, and the view, moreover, is so intercepted with the huts andcabins built for the animals, and with the palings and networks made to confine them, that it is impossible to see far in any direction. Besides, there is so much to attract the attention, and to excite curiosity and wonder, at every step, that one is continually drawn away from one alley to another, till he gets hopelessly bewildered.
The huts and cabins which were made for the animals were very curious, and many of them were so pretty, with their rustic walls and thatched roof, that Rollo was extremely pleased with them. He stopped before one of them, which was the residence of a pair of beautiful lamas, and told Carlos that he meant to ask his uncle George to take particular notice how it was made, and so make one for him for a play-house when he got home.
"And I wonder," said he, "where my uncle George and Jennie are. I don't see how we are ever to find them. I did not know that this garden was so large and so full of trees and bushes."
"Look there!" said Carlos, pointing through an opening in the shrubbery along the winding walk. "What are they doing there?"
Rollo, understanding the gesture, though not the words, turned in the direction that Carlosindicated, and saw that there was quite a crowd of men, women, and children at the place, all engaged, evidently, in looking at something or other very intently.
"Let's go and see," said Rollo.
So the boys went along that way together. They soon came in view of a very high and strong palisade, which, though it was half concealed by trees and shrubbery, evidently enclosed quite a considerable area, in the centre of which was a large stone building, like a castle, with projecting wings and towers, and immense gateways opening into it on various sides. This building was the residence of all themonsters—the elephants, the giraffes, the rhinoceros, and the hippopotamus. Each of these species had its own separate apartment in the castle; and the ground surrounding it, within the great palisade, was divided into as many yards as there were doors; so that each kind of animal had its own proper enclosure. In one of these enclosures the rhinoceros was walking about, clothed in his plated and invulnerable hide; and in the next there were two elephants. The crowd of people were chiefly occupied in looking at the elephants. The palisade was very heavy and strong, being formed of timbers pointed at the top, and nearly as high as the elephants could reach.These palisades were, however, not close together. They were far enough apart to allow of the elephants putting their trunks through to the people outside, and also to give the people a good opportunity to look. Though these timbers were thus set at some distance apart from each other, they wore still connected together, and all held firmly in their places, by two iron rails which passed through them all, one near the top, and the other near the bottom, of the palisade, all along the range. They thus formed a fencing so heavy and strong that even the elephants could not break it down.
The visitors could not come quite up to the elephants; for outside of this great palisade, at a distance of about three feet from it, there was a high paling, made expressly to keep the spectators back. At the time when Rollo and Carlos came to the place the elephants were putting their trunks through to the people, in order to be fed with nuts, cake, gingerbread, and other such things which the people had ready to give them. Sometimes they would order the elephants to hold up their trunks and open their mouths, and then the men would try to toss pieces of gingerbread in. The elephants were always ready to do this when ordered, though their mouths, when they opened them, were so small that the people veryseldom succeeded in aiming the missile so that it would go in.
Rollo and Carlos looked about among the crowd that were assembled at this place to see if Mr. George was among them; but he was not; and so, after amusing themselves for some time with the elephants, they walked along to see what else there was in the garden.
There were a great many people in the garden besides those who seemed to have come to see the animals. There were groups of children, that seemed to belong in the vicinity, playing in thewalks, some jumping ropes, and othersbuilding little houses of gravel stones. There were women seated on benches in various little shady nooks and corners, some sewing, others taking care of babies; while others, at little stands and stalls, sold gingerbread and cakes. At one place Rollo stopped to look at two little children that were playing in the gravel and throwing the little pebble stones about. Their grandmother, who was sitting near, said something to them in French.
"What does she say?" asked Carlos.
"She says," replied Rollo, "you must not throw gravel in your little sister's face."
The question in this case and the answer fitted each other very well; but it was a mere matterof accident, for neither of the boys understood what the other had said.
Pretty soon the boys came to a place where a great number of people were standing on a sort of parapet, and leaning upon an iron railing, where they seemed to be looking down into some cavity. They hurried to the place, and, stepping up upon the parapet, they looked down too, and found there a range of dens below the surface of the ground, all full of bears. These dens were sunken yards, six or eight feet deep, and enclosed with perpendicular walls all around, so that the bears could not possibly get out. There were iron railings around the top, and a great many people were standing there looking down to the bears. There were four or five of these yards, all in a row; and as there were many great trees overshadowing them, the place was cool and pleasant. Some of the bears were walking about on the stone pavement which formed the bottom of the dens; others were sitting on their hind legs, and holding up their fore paws to catch the pieces of gingerbread which were thrown down to them by the people above. There were a number of little birds hopping about there, picking up the crums that were left, though they took care to keep out of the way of the bears. Rollo and Carlos bought some cakes of gingerbread of a woman who kept a stall near by, and, breaking them into pieces, they threw them down to the bears. They threw the most to a great white bear that was in one of the dens, and who particularly attracted their attention. Rollo told Carlos that he supposed this bear must have come from the north pole. The boys were both by this time rather hungry; but they were so much interested in seeing the bears try to catch the pieces of gingerbread that they did not think to eat any of it themselves, but threw it all down to them, all except one piece which Rollo gave to a little girl who stood beside him, to let her throw it, because she had none of her own. For this kindness the girl thanked Rollo, in French, in a very polite and proper manner.
After being satisfied with seeing the bears, the boys wandered on wherever they saw the most to attract them, until at length they came to what is called the palace of the monkeys, which pleased them more than any thing they had seen. This palace is an enormous round cage, as high as a house, and nearly a hundred feet in diameter, with a range of stone buildings all around it on the back side. These buildings have little rooms in them, where the monkeys live in the winter, and where they always sleep at night. They go out into the cage to play. The cage isformed of slender iron posts and railing, so that the people standing outside can see the monkeys at their sports and gambols. They play with each other in every possible way, and frolic just as if they were in their native woods. They climb up the smooth iron posts, pursuing one another; and then, leaping across through the air, they catch upon a rope, from which they swing themselves across to the branch of a tree. Some of these branches have bells attached to them; and the monkey, when he gets upon such a one, will spring it up and down till he sets the bell to ringing, and then, assisted by the return of the branch, he bounds away through the air to some rope, or pole, or railing that he sees within his reach. The agility which these animals display in these feats is truly astonishing.
Rollo and Carlos watched their evolutions with great interest. There was an excellent place to see, for the land opposite the cage ascended in such a manner that those more remote could look over the heads of those that were nearer. Besides this, there were quite a number of chairs under the trees, at the upper part of this ascent; and Rollo, perceiving that several of them were vacant, sat down in one, and made a sign to Carlos to sit down in another. They could now look at the monkeys, and rest at thesame time. Presently a woman came along and said to Rollo, in French,—
"Please pay the chairs, sir."
Rollo recollected immediately that at all such places in Paris chairs were kept to be let, those who used them paying two sous apiece for the privilege. So he took out four sous and gave the woman.
"I did not think of there being any thing to pay for these chairs," said he to Carlos. "But then, I don't care. It is worth four sous to get a good rest, as tired as I am. I'm pretty hungry, too. I wish I had not given all my gingerbread to the bears."
Carlos made no reply to this suggestion; though there is no doubt that he would have readily assented to what Rollo said, if he had understood it. The boys remained some time looking at the monkeys, and then strolled away into other parts of the garden. Very soon they came to a place where Rollo spied at some distance before him, under some immense old trees in a sort of a valley, what he thought was a restaurant.
"See these monstrous big trees!" said Carlos; "and there are tables under them."
The boys made all haste to the spot, and found to their great joy that it was a restaurant. Therewas a plain but very picturesque-looking house, antique and venerable; and before it, on a green, under the spreading branches of some enormous old trees, a number of small tables, with seats around them.
"Now, Carlos," said Rollo, "we will have some bread and butter and a good cup of coffee."
THE RESTAURANT.
So they sat down at one of the pleasantest tables, and very soon a waiter came to see what they would have. Rollo called for coffee and bread and butter for two. In a short time thewaiter came, bringing two great cups, which he filled half with coffee and half with boiled milk. He brought also a supply of very nice butter, and a loaf of bread shaped like a stick of wood. It was about as large round as Rollo's arm, and twice as long. The waiter laid this bread across the table for Rollo and Carlos to cut off as much from it as they might want. This is what they call having "bread at discretion."
The boys enjoyed this banquet very much indeed. Besides the coffee, they had water, which they sweetened in the tumblers with large lumps of white sugar. They talked all the time while they were eating, each in his own language, and laughed very merrily. "After all," said Rollo, "this is the very best place in the whole garden. Feeding the bears is very good fun; but this is infinitely better."
After remaining for half an hour at the table, and eating till their appetites were completely satisfied, they concluded to go back and see the monkeys again.
In the mean time, Mr. George and his friend, with Jennie, had been engaged in an entirely different part of the garden; for the whole enclosure is so large that it takes many days to see the whole. On one side, bordering on a street, there is a long row of houses and gardens, occupied by professors, who give courses of lectures on the plants and animals which the garden contains. On another is a magnificent range of buildings, occupied as a museum, containing endless collections of dried plants, of minerals and shells, of skeletons, and the stuffed skins of birds and beasts. Then there is a very large tract of level land, between two splendid avenues, all laid out in beds of plants and flowers, forming a series of parterres, extending as far as the eye can reach, and presenting the gayest and most beautiful combination of colors that can be conceived. Jennie was very much delighted with all these things, as she walked about in these parts of the garden with her uncle, though she was somewhat uneasy all the time because she could not see any thing of Rollo.
"I don't believe," said she at last to her uncle, as they were standing on the margin of a beautiful little artificial pond, full of lilies and other aquatic plants, "I don't believe that we can find him at all in such a large garden."
"Yes," said Mr. George; "there'll be no difficulty. There is one universal rule for finding boys in the Garden of Plants."
"What is that?" asked Jennie.
"Go to the places where they keep the monkeysand the elephants," said Mr. George; "and if you don't find them there at once, wait a few minutes, and they'll be pretty sure to come."
It was as Mr. George had predicted; for, on going to the palace of the monkeys, there they found Rollo and Carlos laughing very heartily to see a big monkey holding a little one in its arms as a human mother would a baby.
The party, when thus united, went together once more over the principal places where the two divisions of it had gone separately before, so that all might have a general idea of the whole domain; and then, going out at a different gate from the one by which they had entered, they went home, all resolving to come again, if possible, at some future day.
Oneday, about one o'clock, after Rollo had been in Paris about a fortnight, he came into the hotel from a walk which he had been taking, and there found his mother and Jennie putting on their bonnets. He asked them where they were going. They said they were going to take a ride with Mr. George.
"May I go, too?" asked Rollo.
"Why—yes," said his mother, hesitatingly. "I suppose there will be room. Or you may stay at home here with your father. He is asleep in his room."
It is generally the case with children, both boys and girls, when they are young, that if they can get any sort of consent, however reluctant, from their parents, to any of their requests, they are satisfied, and take the boon thus hesitatingly accorded to them as readily as if it had been granted to them in the freest and most cordial manner. With gentlemen and ladies, however,it is different. They generally have more delicacy, and are seldom willing to accept of any favor unless circumstances are such that it can be granted in a very free and cordial manner. They will scarcely ever, in any case, ask to be permitted to join any party that others have formed; and when they do ask, if they perceive the slightest doubt or hesitation on the part of their friends in acceding to their proposal, they infer that it would be, for some reason or other, inconvenient for them to go; and they accordingly, at once, give up all intention of going.
Rollo, though still a boy, was beginning to have some of the honorable sentiments and feelings of a man; and when he perceived that his mother hesitated a little about granting his request, he decided immediately not to go and ride. Besides, he liked the idea of staying with his father.
"Well," said he, "I will stay here. My father may wish for something when he wakes up."
"I don't suppose, however, after all," added his mother, "that it is really necessary for you to stay on his account. His bell is within reach; and Alfred will come immediately when he rings."
"But I shouldliketo stay," said Rollo; "and besides, I can get ahead one more day in my French."
Rollo was writing a course of French exercises, and his task was one lesson for every day. The rule was, that he was to write this exercise immediately after breakfast, unless he had written it before; that is, either on the same day before breakfast, or on a previous day. Now, Rollo desired to be free after breakfast, for that was a very pleasant time to go out. Besides, there were often plans and excursions formed for that time, which he was invited to join; and he could not join them unless his lesson for the day had been written. So he took pains to write his exercises, as much as possible, in advance. Whenever there came a rainy day he would write two or three lessons, and sometimes he would write early in the morning. He was now nearly a week in advance. Instead of being satisfied with this, however, he began to be quite interested in seeing how far ahead he could get. This feeling was what led him to think that he would take this opportunity to write a French lesson.
Accordingly, when his mother and Jennie had gone, he seated himself at his table and began his work. The writing of the exercise took about an hour. When the work was finished, and while Rollo was preparing to put his books away, he heard a movement in his father's room.He got up from his seat and opened the door, gently, saying,—
"Father, are you awake?"
"Yes," said his father. "Are you there, Rollo?"
Rollo found his father sitting up in a great arm chair, by the side of his bed. He had a dressing gown on.
"How do you feel, father?" said Rollo.
"I think I feel better," said Mr. Holiday. As he said this he put on his slippers, and then stood up upon the rug that lay in front of his bed.
"Yes," said he, "I certainly feel better—a great deal better."
"I am very glad," said Rollo.
"Where is your mother?" asked Mr. Holiday, as he walked across the room to the glass.
"She has gone out to take a ride," said Rollo, "with uncle George and Jennie."
"That's right," said Mr. Holiday. "I am very glad that she has gone. And have you been staying here to take care of me?" he asked.
"Yes, sir," said Rollo. "I have been writing another French lesson. I have got them all written now to next Friday."
"Ah," said Mr. Holiday, "that's excellent. That's what the farmers call being forehanded."
"Now, Rollo," said Mr. Holiday, after a littlepause, "I feel so much better that I should like to go somewhere and take a ride myself. I don't care much where. If there is any where that you wish to go, I will go with you. Come, I will put myself entirely at your disposal. Let us see what you can do to give me a ride and entertain me."
Rollo was very much pleased indeed with this proposal. He decided instantly what he would do. He had seen that morning anaffix, as the French call it, that is, a placard posted on a wall among a hundred others, setting forth that there was to be a balloon ascension that afternoon at the Hippodrome, at three o'clock, to be followed by various equestrian performances. Rollo immediately mentioned this to his father, and asked him if he should be willing to go there. His father said that he should; adding, that he would like to see the balloon go up very much.
"Then when we come home," said Rollo, "you must ride slowly along through the Elysian Fields, and let me see the booths, and the games that they are playing there."
"Very well," said his father; "I will take some newspapers with me, and I will sit still in the carriage while you go and see the booths and the games."
This plan being thus resolved upon, and allarranged, Alfred was summoned and ordered to get the carriage ready, and to put the top down. When Alfred reported that the carriage was at the door, Mr. Holiday and Rollo went down and got in, and were soon in the midst of the stream of equipages that were going up the grand avenue of the Elysian Fields. They arrived at the Hippodrome in time to get an excellent seat, and they remained there two hours. They saw the balloon, with a man and young girl in the car below it, rise majestically into the air, and soar away until it was out of sight. The fearless aeronauts seemed entirely at their ease while they were ascending to the dizzy height. They sat in the car waving banners and throwing down bouquets of flowers as long as they could be seen.
After this there was a series of performances with horses, which delighted Rollo very much. Troops of men came out upon the arena, mounted on beautiful chargers, and armed with lances and coats of mail, as in ancient times. After riding their elegantly caparisoned horses round and round the ring several times, they formed into squadrons and attacked each other with their lances in sham battles. After this, fences of hurdles were put up across the course, in various places, and girls, mounted on beautifulwhite horses and elegantly dressed, rode around, leaping over the fences in a surprising manner. These and similar performances continued until near five o'clock, and then the immense assembly broke up, and the people, some in carriages and some on foot, moved away over the various roads and avenues which diverge from the Star.
Rollo and his father got into their carriage, which had been waiting for them all this time, and passing the Triumphal Arch, they entered the Grand Avenue of the Elysian Fields, on their return to the city.
They descended the slope which led down to the Round Point at a rapid rate. Here, after passing the Round Point, the road became level, and the region of groves and booths, and of games and frolicking, began.
"Now," said Rollo, "I should like to drive slowly, so that, if I come to any thing that I wish to get out and see, I can see it."
"Very well," said his father; "give Alfred your orders."
"Alfred," said Rollo, "draw up as near as you can to the sidewalk on the right hand, and walk the horses, so that I can see what there is."
"And in the mean time," said Mr. Holiday, "I will read my papers."
So Mr. Holiday took his newspapers out ofhis pocket and began to read them, while Rollo, standing up in the carriage, began to survey the crowd that filled the walks and groves that bordered the avenue, in order to select some object of attraction to be examined more closely.
"Only I wish, father," said Rollo, "that I had somebody here with me to go and see the things—Jennie or Carlos. I wish Carlos was here."
"It is very easy to go and get him," said his father, with his eyes still on his newspaper.
"May I?" said Rollo.
"Any thing you please," said Mr. Holiday. "You are in command this afternoon. You may give Alfred any orders you please."
"Then, Alfred," said Rollo, "drive to the Hotel Louvois as fast as you can."
As he said this, Mr. Holiday folded up his paper and Rollo took his seat, while Alfred, turning the horses away from the sidewalk, set them to trotting briskly along the avenue.
"Only, father," said Rollo, "I shall prevent your reading your papers."
"No matter for that," said Mr. Holiday. "I shall like a good brisk ride along the Boulevards quite as well."
The horses, kept always by Alfred in the very best condition, trotted forward at a rapid rate,leaving scores of omnibuses, cabs, and citadines behind, and keeping pace with the splendid chariots of the French and English aristocracy that thronged the avenue. Presently Rollo observed a peculiar movement among the carriages before them, as if they were making way for something that was coming; and at the same time he saw hundreds of people running forward from the groves and booths, across the side avenues, to the margin of the carriage way.
"The emperor!" said Alfred, drawing in his horses at the same time.
An instant afterward, Rollo, who, on hearing Alfred's words, started from his seat and stood up in the carriage to look, saw two elegantly dressed officers, in splendid uniforms, galloping along toward them in the middle of the avenue. They were followed at a little distance by two others; and then came a very beautiful barouche, drawn by four glossy black horses, magnificently caparisoned. Two gentlemen were seated in this carriage, one of whom bowed repeatedly to the crowd that were gazing at the spectacle from the sides of the avenue as he rode rapidly along. Behind this carriage came another, with a gentleman and a lady in it, and afterward two more troopers. The whole cavalcade moved on sorapidly, that, before Rollo had had scarcely time to look at it, it had passed entirely by.
"The emperor!" said Alfred to Rollo. "He is going out to take a ride."
"Is that the emperor?" exclaimed Rollo. "He looks like any common man. But if I had four such beautiful black horses as he has got, I should be glad. I would drive them myself, instead of having a coachman."
The movement and the sensation produced by the passing of the emperor and his train along the avenue immediately subsided, and the other carriages resumed their ordinary course. Alfred's horses trotted on faster than ever. A thousand picturesque and striking objects glided rapidly by—the trees and the booths of the Elysian Fields; the tall, gilded lampposts, and the spouting fountains of the Place de la Concorde; omnibuses, cabs, wagons, chariots, and foot passengers without number; and, finally, the tall column of the Place Vendome. Winding round in a graceful curve through this magnificent square, the carriage rolled on in the direction of the Boulevards, and, after going rapidly on for nearly half a mile in that spacious avenue, it turned into the street which led to the hotel. It stopped, at length, before the door, and Rollo got out, while Mr. Holiday remainedin the carriage. Rollo went up stairs, and after about five minutes he came down again, bringing not only Carlos with him, but also his uncle George. Mr. Holiday invited Mr. George to go with them for the remainder of the ride. This invitation Mr. George accepted; and so the two gentlemen taking the back seat, and Rollo and Carlos the front, Alfred took them all back to the Elysian Fields together.
They remained nearly an hour in the Elysian Fields. During this time Rollo's father and his uncle George staid in the carriage by the roadside, talking together, while Rollo and Carlos went in among the walks and groves to see the various spectacles which were exhibited there. They would come back from time to time to the carriage, in order that Rollo might describe to his father what they found, or ask permission to take part in some amusement. For instance, at one time he came and said, very eagerly,—
"Father, here is a great whirling machine, with ships and horses going round and round. Carlos and I want to ride on it. The horses are in pairs, two together. Carlos can get on one of them, in one of the pairs, and I on the other. We can go round twenty times for two sous."
"Very well," said his father.
So Rollo and Carlos went back to the whirling machine. It was very large, and was very gayly painted, and ornamented with flags and banners. The vessels and the horses were attached to the ends of long arms, which were supported by iron rods that came down from the top of the central post, so that they were very strong. The horses were as large as small ponies, and the vessels were as big as little boats—each one having seats for four children. When Rollo and Carlos went back, the machine had just taken up its complement of passengers for one turn, and was then commencing its rotation. There were a great many persons standing by it, pleased to see how happy the children were in going round so merrily. There was an iron paling all around the machine, to keep the spectators at a safe distance, otherwise they might come too near, and so be struck, and perhaps seriously hurt, by the horses or the boats, when they were put in motion.
As soon as the twenty turns had been taken the machine stopped, and the children who had had their ride were taken off the horses and out of the boats, all except a few who were going to pay again and have a second ride. Rollo and Carlos then went inside the enclosure, and, going up some steps placed there for thepurpose, they mounted their horses. Very soon the machine began to revolve, and they were whirled round and round twenty times with the greatest rapidity. The arms of the machine, too, were long, so that the circle which the horses and the vessels described was quite large, and the whole twenty revolutions made quite a considerable ride.
After finishing their circuit and dismounting from their horses, the boys next came to a whirling machine, which revolved vertically instead of horizontally; that is, instead of whirling the rider round and round near the level of the ground, it carried them up, over, and down. There was a great wheel, which revolved on an axis, like a vertical mill wheel. This wheel was double, and between the two circumferences the seats of the passengers were hung in such a manner that in revolving they swung freely, so as to keep the heads of the people always uppermost. These seats had high backs and sides, and a sort of bar in front for the people to take hold of, otherwise there would have been great danger of their falling out. As it was, they were carried so swiftly, and so high, and the seats swung to and fro so violently when the machine was in rapid motion, that the men and girls who were in the seats filled the ear with their screams and shouts of laughter.
Rollo and Carlos, after seeing this machine revolve, went to the carriage to ask if they might go in it the next time.
"No," said Mr. Holiday. "I am not sure that it is safe."
So the boys went away from the carriage back under the trees again, and walked along to see what the next exhibition might be. The carriage moved on in the avenue a little way to keep up with them.
The boys strolled along through the crowd a little while longer, looking for a moment, as they passed, now at the stalls for selling gingerbread and cakes, now at a display of pictures on a long line,—the sheets being fastened to the line by pins, like clothes upon a clothes line,—now at a company of singers, singing upon a stage under a canopy, and now again at a little boy, about seven or eight years old, who was tumbling head over heels on a little carpet which he had spread on the ground, and then carrying round his cap to the bystanders, in hopes that some of them would give him a sou. At length their attention was attracted by some large boys, who were engaged at a stand at a little distance in shooting at a mark with what seemed to be small guns. These guns, however, discharged themselves by means of a spring coiled up withinthe barrel, instead of gunpowder; and the bullets which they shot were peas. Rollo had seen these shooting-places before, when he went through the Fields on the first Sunday after he came; so he did not stop long here, but called Carlos's attention to something that he had never seen before, which was going on at a place a little under a tree, a little farther along. A large boy seemed to be pitching quoits. There were a number of persons around him looking on. There was a sort of box placed near thetree, the bottom of which was about two feet square. It had a back next the tree, and two sides, but it had no front or top. In fact, it was almost precisely like a wheelbarrow without any wheel, legs, or handles.