The mere sensation of the milieu is a placid happiness: it is like the sensation of a dream in which people greet us exactly as we like to be greeted, and say to us all that we like to hear, and do for us all that we wish to be done, - people moving soundlessly through spaces of perfect repose, all bathed in a vapoury light.

Lafcadio Hearn, Japan: an Attempt at Interpretation

These Arcades, a recent invention of industrial luxury, are glass-roofed, marble-paneled corridors extending through whole blocks of buildings, whose owners have joined together for such enterprises. Lining both sides of these corridors, which get their light from above, are the most elegant of shops, so that the arcade is a city, a world in miniature … in which customers will find everything they need.

Illustrated Guide to Paris, 1852