It is kept up and improved by yearly outlays, and these very
considerable expenses are confided to Mr. J. Mackenzie-Grieves, so well
known for his horsemanship to all the promenaders of the Bois.
The race-course at Longchamps enjoys advantages of situation and
surroundings superior, beyond all question, to those of any other in
the world. The approaches to it from Paris are by an uninterrupted
succession of the most charming drives--the Champs Elysees, the grand
avenue of the Bois de Boulogne, and finally through the lovely shaded
alleys of the Bois. Arrived at the Cascade, made famous by the attempt
of Berezowski upon the life of the czar in 1867, the eye takes in at a
glance the whole of the vast space devoted to the race-course,
overlooked to the right by a picturesque windmill and an ancient
ivy-mantled tower, and at the farther extremity by the stands for
spectators. To the left the view stretches over the rich undulating
hills of S[\e]vres and of Meudon, strewn with pretty villas and towers
and steeples, and rests in the dim distance upon the blue horizon of
Les Verrieres.
The elegant central stand or tribune, of brick and stone, is reserved
for the chief of the state.
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