In the Paris Sewers.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 308, 17 October 1888, Page 6

In the Paris Sewers.

Pi, u'l dit CiiATKiiET, a quarter to one J u^fc in fi out of the fountain, a ti nn little tent over a ivised trap-door, a crowd ot gazers, an employe clad all in white. This must be it. 'Va carles demands an official, in a frock-coat, with &e\eral god bands on his caj). emeiifing from Hie trap-tiooi. We descend about 40 steps. How very strange ! a wo! Id of it" Ovvn : electric ligut-;, od lamp«, colouicd lanterns ; a h<.s>t ot iw{>loye\ clad ai 1 in white, a hosr i>f oilicials in frockcoats v ith gold b iiicls on then ca,is ; a hue of open cai^ with bi jxiifcly polished nickelpi tied fitting-!. Aliead. behind, to the right, as far a*, the eye can reach, endless tunnels-. The ofricials aie b.nving one to another and to Ihe Indies a=> they assist the latter on to the car. Our car is the last but one. ' (Juaiul com vomlrc. !' Foul* men in white seize the poles : they push and pull : we aie of)', beneath the Boulovnrd Si'ba-topol. Suddenly a ie\olving movement phes us rather a t-liAko on a turntable. Now we follow the Rue de Rivoli at a trood speed, more smoo'hly than in any drawing room car. Everything l"* to clean, that were it not for the miniature canal immediately beneath the car, we should fancy om selves anyw here but in a sewer. The afc mosphcre ifc soft and tresh — not the .slif, f hte-t unpleasant smell. Our conductor — ono of the oifici.ils— is doing the honours in tiue French style, explaining everything: as we wheel on : — 'The stream is about a metie and a half deep lust now, but when freshets occur it ri^es consideiably, and cir cnlation i& oflen intcri npteel \ r ou may have noticed on your invitation caids thar visits are liable to be postponed. These bio; pipe" along the ceiling are fresh-water conduits. Here we have telegraphic wiies ; and hei o, telephonic and pneumatic tubes, for working office clocks and for sending: messages.' ' Can you tell what is in them?' inquiies one of our fail 1 tiavellevs, with a laugh. ' Can you tell whether my dressmaker's message, informing me that my light pink dress is ready for to-night's ball, is on its way to my house ?' A smile is the only eplv ' Look out for your heads, !' complacently shouts someone from a front car. V.'c duck in time to av.dd the lantern, but leceive a slight fchow.er from a leak. ' What is the total length of these subterranean artci io.n ?' I venture to ask. 'At the present time there are about 830 kilometres, thi ec-fourt hs of which were made during the past 30 yeaiv. Thank you, sir, I prefer a cigarette to a ciga ».' A noise like that of thunder is heaid o\erhead ; a stone cart is passin.. Plates bearing the numbers of corresponding buildings in the street tell us our whereabouts. A pretty little parasol points out a very familiar number, '221.' A few moments more, and our ride is over. Now for a cruise under the Rueßoyale. A licet of loner flat-bottomed boats are moored. We embark The horn is blown, and the men in white tow us — very slowly, that our pleasure may be prolonged.- Even here, though we arc on the water it«olf, there is a lotal absence of unpleasant smell. Ten minutes, and our cruise is also over. Another staircase, another iron trap-door, an employe, clad all in white, under a tent, to bow us out on to the Boulevard Male sherbes, on the light sido of the Madeleino We had pa&sed tinker a regiment of cavalry ' W ho would suupose, observo« Galignani.the oloanest city in the world to be so clean and attractive underneath ? We cannot but advise our friends, who aro fond of novelty and would like a, ' change of air ' without going too far and without spending any more than a sheet of letter-paper, an envelope, a three-sous stamp — we cannot but advise them to while away an hour in the sewers. Admission is to be obtained in the same way as for the catacombs, by merely writing to the Prefecture.