I have seen comparisons between the Seine and the Thames; but they are pointless. You cannot compare them: one is a London River, and the other is a Paris river. The Seine is a river of light; the Thames a river of twilight. The Seine is gay; the Thames is sombre. When dusk falls in Paris the Seine is just a river in the evening; whan dusk falls in London the Thames becomes awonderful mystery, an enchanted stream in a land of old romance. The Thames is, I think, vastly more beautiful; but on the other hand, the Thames has no storied quais, and fewer bridges and none so beautiful as the Pont Royal, and none so wonderful as the single-span Pont d'Alexandre III. The Seine has all the advantage when we come to the consideration of what can be done with a river's banks in a great city. For the Seine has a mile of old books and curiosity stalls, whereas the Thames has nothing.

E. V. Lucas