III. The South Bank.
We begin our account of southern Paris from the extreme west, and commence with the Champs de Mars which from the most ancient times, has been the scene of military exercises in Paris. Champs de Mars.It is an immense rectangular piece of sandy ground on the banks of the Seine. In more recent times it was here that the unfortunate Louis XVI. and the members of the National Assembly swore fidelity to the constitution of 1789. The constitution did not last very long and many successive scenes in the drama of the Revolution were enacted here, until Napoleon assumed the imperial power, and held his fetes and demonstrations on this extensive ground. The exhibitions of 1867 and 1878 were also held here, and it was at the latter exhibition that the superb palace of Tracadero was built on the opposite bank of the river. It is of magnificent and unique construction in white stone, and its two lofty towers 230 feet high are visible from miles beyond the limits of Paris. I went up one of these towers in a lift and had a splendid view of Paris from there.
Not far from the Champs de Mars, and to the east is a spot which Frenchmen of all sects and denominations regard with mingled feelings of pride, and of sorrow. Napoleon's Tomb.The gilded dome of the Hotel des Invalides can be seen from miles outside the limits of Paris, and under this dome rest the ashes of the greatest of warriors and of conquerors. The "Hotel" was founded by Louis XIV.
