Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/92

 82 PARIS Neuf, des Arts, du Carrousel, Royal, de Sol- ferino, de la Concorde, des Invalides, de 1' Al- ma, d'lena, and de Crenelle, besides a railway bridge. Among the finest of them are the seven shown in the accompanying illustration, those from the pont d'Arcole to the pont Royal, inclusive. The so-called passages form a noteworthy class of Parisian thoroughfares ; they are narrow streets or alleys, roofed with glass, intended for foot passengers only, and lined with shops, &c. The best known are the passage des Panoramas, the passage Vivienne, View of the Seven Bridges. and the passage Choiseul. Besides boulevards, avenues, streets, &c., the great quais along the banks of the Seine must not be forgotten in naming the Parisian public ways. These are too numerous to particularize here, but all afford wide promenades along the river, and are among the most lively and pleasant of the city thoroughfares. The streets throughout the city are paved with asphalt, which has proved remarkably successful as to durabil- ity and convenience. It is said that another motive to the use of this pavement, like the arrangement of the streets in radii easily com- manded by artillery from a central point, was found in strategic reasons ; the square stones of the old paving furnishing great facilities for barricade building, as proved on several occasions. Among the most remarkable pub- lic works of Paris is its great system of sew- erage. The main sewers, resembling enor- mous subterranean canals, are of recent date, nearly all the present ones, with most of their branches, having been constructed since 1855. In general the network of sewers cor- responds to that of thoroughfares, the small sewers passing into the large ones as the streets into the boulevards and avenues, and the con- tents of the whole finally passing into a few enormous mains, like that under the rue de Rivoli. These again empty into two subter- ranean canals, which carry the sewage away from the city and debouche into the Seine 7 m. below. The aggregate length of main drainage in Paris now reaches the surprising extent of more than 250 m. For details of their con- struction, &c., see SEWEBAGE. The enormous quantity of water consumed by the city is drawn from the Seine and the canal de 1'Ourcq, the aqueduct of Arcueil, and the immense artesian wells of Crenelle and Passy. (See ARTESIAN WELLS, vol. i., p. 775.) Great aqueducts, begun in 1863, are still in progress, by which it is de- signed to supply in addition water from the Dhuys and the springs in the valley of the Vanne. There is now under the streets of Paris a total length of about 92 m. of water pipes, and the water brought by them is dis- tributed through more than 200 public foun- tains, about 60 ornamental fountains, nearly 4,500 hydrants, and about 4,000 drinking places, watering troughs, public washing places, and other similar channels. Of the 220,000 cubic metres daily distributed, 135,000 are used for watering the streets, washing out sewers, &c., and for the public fountains; 15,000 are re- served for government and official uses; and 70,000 are used for the ordinary supply to citi- zens. In 1874 there Vere employed in Paris 10,000 hackney coaches, owned and directed by several large companies, 725 omnibuses, and about 250 railway omnibuses, besides a con- siderable number of horse cars. A line of rail- way encircles the city (the ligne de ceinture), affording important strategic as well as popu- lar facilities for communication. Among the beautiful or famous buildings of Paris, proba-