John LintlcBr* proposed to Henry IY., the construction of a pumping machine in the Seine, to be set in motion by the flow of its current, and, being engaged to perform the work, he succeeded in raising the water above the Pont Neuf, and thence, in distributing it to the Louvre, and the Tuilleries. This machine, or pump, was called the Samaritan, from the metal figures which decorated it. The success of this experiment led to the construction, in 1670, and 1671, of two similar machines at the Pont Neuf. It was not

1778 that steam engines superseded this more cumbrous, and less efficient machinery. till

In that year, M. Perier erected two engines, one at Gros Caillou, the other at Chaillot, which forced up water in greater abundance, and supplied both fountains and other public and private establishments.

Various schemes were from time to time put forth, to add to the supply of Paris, but without any result, till, in 1802, M. Girard, an eminent engineer, proposed to bring to the city, the waters of the river Ourcq, in an open canal. Bonaparte, then first consul,

warmly approved this project, and a decree for its execution was signed in 1S02, and M. Girard was charged with the work. The water is taken from the Ourcq, at sixty miles from Paris. In its course, the canal receives the tribute of the Grisette, the Mai, the

Therouanne, and the BeuvronneJ all which streams flow into its channel, which

terminates in a spacious reservoir, near the Barrier de la Villette, This basin is about 3660 feet long, 366 broad, and 7 deep. Its banks are ornamented with a double row of trees.