Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 07.djvu/161

LEFT PARIS 117 PARIS university "faculties" (see France, sec- tion Education) of literature and science, ■while those of law and medicine are in separate buildings. There are, be- sides, numerous courses of lectures in science, philology, and philosophy de- livered in the College de France, and courses of chemistry, natural history, etc., in the museum of the Jardin des Plantes. Among other Parisian schools are the secondary schools or lycees, the most important of which are Descartes (formerly Louis le Grand), St. Louis, Corneille (formerly College Henry IV.), Charlemagne, Fontanes (formerly Con- dorcet), De Vanves; the Ecole Polytech- nique for military and civil engineers, etc.; Ecole des Beaux- Arts; School of Oriental Languages; Conservatoire des Arts-et-Metiers, and the Conservatoire de Musique. Of the libraries the most important is the Bibliotheque Nationale, the largest in the world. The number of printed volumes which it contains is estimated at 2,500,000, besides 3,000,000 pamphlets, manuscript volumes, histor- ical documents, etc. The other libraries are those of the Arsenal St. Genevieve, Mazarin, De la Ville, De I'lnstitut, and De rUniversit6 (the Sorbonne). There are also libraries subsidized by the mu- nicipality in all the arrondissements. Among museums, besides the Louvre and the Luxembourg, there may be noted the Musee d'Artillerie, in the Hotel des In- valides, containing suits of ancient ar- mor, arms, etc.; the Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers; the Trocadero Palace, containing curiosities brought home by French travelers, casts from choice spe- cimens of architecture, etc.; and the Cluny Museum, containing an extensive collection of the products of the art and artistic handicrafts of the Middle Ages. The chief of the learned societies is the Institute of France. Hospitals. — There are many hospitals in Paris devoted to the gratuitous treat- ment of the indigent sick and injured; and also numerous establishments of a benevolent nature, such as the Hotel de Invalides, or asylum for old soldiers, the lunatic asylum (Maison des Alienes, Charenton), blind asylums; the deaf and dumb institute (Institution des Sourds- Muets) ; two hospitals at Vincennes for wounded and convalescent artisans; the creches, in which infants are received for the day at a small charge; and the otiyroirs, in which aged people are sup- plied with work. Theaters. — The theaters of Paris are exceedingly numerous. The most im- portant are the Opera House, a gor- geous edifice of great size; the Opera- Comique, the Theatre Frangais, the Odeon; the Theatre de la Gaite, for vaudevilles and melodramas; Theatre des Folies Dramatiques, Theatre du Chatelet, Theatre du Vaudeville, Theatre des Varidtes, Theatre de la Porte-St.- Martin, and the Theatre de I'Ambigu Comique. Industries and Trade, — The most im- portant manufactures are articles of jewelry and the precious metals, trinkets of various kinds, fine hardware, paper hangings, saddlery, and other articles of leather, cabinet work, carriages, various articles of dress, silk and woolen tissues, particularly shawls and carpets. Gobelin tapestry, lace, embroidery, artificial flowers, combs, machines, scientific in- struments, types, books, engravings, re- fined sugar, tobacco (a government mo- nopoly), chemical products^ etc. That which is distinctively Parisian is the making of all kinds of small ornamental articles, which are called articles de Paris. _ A large trade is carried on by the Seine both above and below Paris, as well as by canals. Population. — According to approxi- mate estimates the population of Paris was, in 1474, 150,000; under Henry II. (1547-1559), 210,000; in 1590, 200,000; under Louis XIV. (1643-1715), 492,600; in 1856 (before the annexation of the suburbs), 1,174,346; 1861 (after the an- nexation), 1,667,841; 1881, 2,269,023; 1886, 2,256,050; 1896, 2,536,834; 1906, 2,763,393; 1911, 2,888,110; 1920, 3,- 300,000. History. — The first appearance of Paris in history is on the occasion of Cjesar's conquest of Gaul, when the small tribe of the Parisii were found inhabiting the banks of the Seine, and occupying the island now called He de la Cite. It was a fortified town in A. D. 360, when the soldiers of Julian here summoned him to fill the imperial throne. In the beginning of the 5th century it suffered much from the northern hordes, and ultimately fell into the hands of the Franks, headed by Clovis, who made it his capital in 508. In 987 a new dynasty was established in the person of Hugo Capet, from whose reign downward Paris has continued to be the residence of the kings of France. In 1437 and 1438, under Charles VII., Paris was ravaged by pestilence and famine, and such was the desolation that wolves appeared in herds and prowled about the streets. Under Louis XI. a course of prosperity again commenced. In the reign of Louis XIV. the Paris walls were leveled to the ground after having stood for about 300 years, and what are now the principal boulevards were formed on their site (1670). Only the Bastille was left (till