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THE ENGLISH CHANNEL

CHAPTER I.

THE GREAT HOTEL.

THE largest and the most celebrated of the hotels in Paris, that were much frequented by Americans, at the time when Florence went to that city, was the Louvre Hotel; or, as it is called by the French, the Great Hotel of the Louvre, Le Grand Hotel du Louvre. This hotel is immensely large. It occupies a whole block, as they say in New York, that is, it has four fronts each facing a different street.

The entrance to the hotel, as is the case with most of the palaces, hotels and large establishments in Paris, is not directly from the street, but from a court in the interior of the edifice. The structure is so large that there is a court left open in the centre. There are two or three courts in fact. It is in the largest one however, which is called the Court of Honor, that are

placed the grand staircases which form the principal entrances to the hotel.

When Florence was in Paris, with her mother and Grimkie, the party had lodgings at this establishment. Florence's father was with them when they came to the hotel, but he had now gone away and had left Mrs. Morelle and the children there by themselves.

Mrs. Morelle was now going to return to England. She told Florence and Grimkie that there were several ways of going from Paris to London, and that if they would find a map, and study out the various ways, and learn the advantages and disadvantages of each, and the comparative cost, she would allow them to decide which route they should take.

Mrs. Morelle made this proposal to Florence and Grimkie in a carriage, as they were returning to the hotel after a drive.

"We like that plan very much, Auntie,” said Grimkie; "and I know where there are plenty of maps and railway guides. Florence and I will study out the routes as soon as we get home."

When they reached the hotel, the carriage drove in under the arched passage-way which led to the court of the hotel. This passage i in four parts, the parts being separated by columns. One of these passages is for carriages

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