THE FAMILY WERE TO STAY at the noted L’Hôtel de Londres. As they made their way through the labyrinth of small streets to L’Hôtel, Mr. Darcy commented that the Great Fire of London had the positive benefit of clearing away the mediæval footpaths through the centre of the city; there had been no such regularising opportunity for Paris to lay out its streets in a more efficient manner, other than the few stars, circles, ovals, and rectangles, which had seemingly been dropt into the middle of the old routes by Buonaparte. The bustle and noise that pervaded even this most fashionable neighbourhood of the city from all directions was overwhelming: hack-chaises careening through the streets, their drivers insensible of the throngs of vendors, buskers, beggars, travellers, animals, and exquisitely dressed Parisian ladies languorously waving to one another across the multitudes.

These scenes, with every imaginable insignificant variation, were in view for the two or three miles it took the Darcys to reach the centre of Paris from the gates of the customs-house. The streets were filthy and without pavements, narrow, and rendered nearly impassible through the habit of leaving their implements in the road whenever the workmen had been called away, intervals which appeared vastly more probable than any when the family saw someone using the tools. It was impossible to walk on any other streets than the main boulevards, due to the speeding cabs, drays, cabriolets, gigs, &c., all calling loudly, “Gare!” in lieu of minding the people walking ahead, the latter who had only the expedient of flattening themselves against the dirty walls, whilst the carriage passed a finger’s-breadth from their persons.

The weather being fine, the odours emanating from the alley-ways were appalling. “I have read of the smells of Paris,” said Georgiana after driving through the city for some minutes, “and was expecting even worse than what we met with at Beauvais, but it is not quite so overpowering as I expected, and yet I suppose we are not experiencing the city in the worst heats of summer.” Elizabeth looked at her questioningly, and re-adjusted her hand-kerchief more firmly against her face.