The most prejudiced will not deny that Paris is beautiful; or that there is about her streets and broad, tree-lined avenues a graciousness at once dignified and gay. Stand, as the ordinary tourist does on his first day, in the flowering square before the Louvre; in the foreground are the fountains and bright tulip-bordered paths of the Tuileries-here a glint of gold, there a soft flash of marble statuary, shining through the trees... -from "The City Beautiful," by Anne Warwick From the era from a trip to the Continent was rarer but more deeply appreciated comes an enchanting literary travelogue assembled from the hearts and minds of some of the greatest wordsmiths in the English language. A Grand Tour in 10 volumes, these delightful volumes, first published in 1914, gather little-seen essays from famous erudite explorers in compact collections that will inspire those who've never been abroad to make the journey, and move those who have to pack their bags again. Volume III explores France and the Netherlands, viewed through the eyes and prose of a panoply of extraordinary writers: Victor Hugo waxes rhapsodic on the cathedral at Notre-Dame, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow visits the P re La Chaise, Charles Dickens journeys to the papal palace at Avignon, and much more by such notable voices as Augustus J.C. Hare, William Makepeace Thackeray, and others. Beautifully illustrated with charming photographs, it is a work to treasure... and to take along on your next trip. OF INTEREST TO: armchair travelers, readers of classic literature American journalist and historian FRANCIS WHITING HALSEY (1851-1919) was literary editor of The New York Times from 1892 through 1896. He wrote and lectured extensively on history, and also edited the two-volume Great Epochs in American History Described by Famous Writers, From Columbus to Roosevelt (1912).