A Walk Through the Streets of Paris

Later that morning Brother Garside came and escorted her and her company on a short walking tour of Paris. Apparently they were near the Stock Exchange and climbed into a second-floor gallery where they could look down into the room where the stock-exchange business was exploding before them.EGWE 229.1

Mrs. White wrote about the grand melee:EGWE 229.2

“Men were pushing and crowding one another, screeching at the top of their voices. Many were hoarse, and yet they shrieked on louder than ever. Hundreds were there and men were coming and going, wrestling and crowding one another like mad men. And what was all this for? Trading in stocks. Some would gain, others lose. And it was all for a little of the inheritance in this life.... I thought of the scene when the day of judgment should take place. What confusion would come to all who have not made God their dependence and were not prepared for the great day of final decision. Let us make our calling and election sure.”—Manuscript 70, 1886.EGWE 229.3

The visit to the Exchange was followed by a carriage trip to Versailles and a tour of the exquisite home of French monarchs. Ellen White called it “the palaces of the kings.” She was impressed by the grandeur and elegance of the expensive and richly adorned halls, bedrooms, and chambers. She was unhappy with certain paintings, however, which according to her understanding of Bible history depicted Biblical scenes inaccurately. She wrote:EGWE 229.4

“Earthly-minded men may be skilled in their science of art, but how utterly unable they are to approach the Divine model.”—Manuscript 75, 1886.EGWE 229.5