Ell«jiiffl !il!lirora»itf mm M Ex Libris BEATRIX FARRAND The Gift of Beatrix Farrand to the General Library University of Calif ornia,Berkeley :'^rf-' THE CHURCHES OF PARIS THE CHURCHES OF PARIS FROM CLOVIS TO CHARLES X BY S. SOPHIA ^EALE Author oi *■'■ A Complete ami Concise Handbook: to the Museum of the J^OHvre " etc With Illustrations by the Author from Original Sketches Photographs and Engravings LONDON W. H. ALLEN & CO LIMITED 13 WATERLOO PLACE SW 1893 Ail rii^hts reserved WVMAN AND SONS, LTD.. PRIXTKR9, LONDON AND RKDHILL. Farrand Gift D0773 DRDICATED TO ONE WHOSE HELP WAS INVALUABLE BUT WHO IS NOW TO US ONLY A MEMORY 242 Digitized by the Internet Arciiive in 2008 witii funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation littp://www.arcliive.org/details/cliurcliesofparisfOObealricli La nef vagant dessus la mer galicque Porte dedens soy richesse inestimable Justice y est pour patron magnificque Raison y sert de Lieutenant notable, Gens de scauoir par ceuure treslouable Sent galliotz qui lamenent a port, Marchans y ont tresasseure support. Prebstres, Bourgeois, nobles, Clercz et gen-darmes. Icelle nef de se'fertile apport, Cest de Paris le beau blazon des armes.'" PREFACE In a book of this kind, it is difficult to prevent oneself becoming a guide, more or less complete. Dates and facts, architectural details and descriptions, all savour of the handbook ; but having determined to keep to the historical and archaeological, rather than the architec- tural side of the churches, I have tried to rake up quaint and legendary lore, and so add to the interest of an ordinary guide book. I would also pray my readers to bear in mind that, as the work is not intended to be an architectural treatise, I have simply walked in the paths of Viollet-le-Duc and Guilhermy, whenever I have been compelled to describe the technical details of the churches. My thanks are due to the Editor of the American Architect, for his courtesy in allowing me to build these ecclesiastical monographs upon the foundation of some articles which have appeared from time to time in a condensed form in the Boston (U. S. A.) paper ; and also to the Editor of the Magazine of Art, for a similar kindness. I should also like to acknowledge my indebtedness to the following authors and their works : " Histoire de la Sainte-Chapelle." Morand. " Histoire de Saint-Denis." Dom Millet. PREFACE. " Histoire de Saint-Eustache." L'abb6 Koenig. " Inscriptions du Diocese de Paris." F. dc Guil- hermy. " Itineraire Arch^ologique de Paris." F. dc Guil- hermy. 'M'figlise Saint Julien-le-Pauvre." A. Le Brun. " Monographic de I'figlise Royale dc Saint-Denis." F. de Guilhermy. " Sacred and Legendary Art." Anna Jameson. " The Early British Church." J. Ycowell. CONTENTS. page Saint-Antoine des Quinze-Vingts I Les Carmes Dechaussees I La Sainte-Chapelle 2 Saint-Denis ... ... 30 Sainte-Elizabeth ... 100 Saint-Etienne du Mont ... 100 Saint-Eustache ... 116 Saint-Fran(50is Xavier ... 158 Sainte-Genevieve ... 158 Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois ... 177 Chapelle du Chateau de Saint-Germain-en r-LAYE. 189 Saint-Germain des Pres 190 Saint-Gervais ... 209 La tour Saint-Jacques ... 213 Saint-Jacques du Haut-pas ... 215 Saint-Jean-Saint-Fran^ois ... 215 Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre ... 215 Saint-Laurent ... 232 Saint- Leu-Saint-Gilles •• 235 Saint-Louis d'Antin .. 237 Saint-Louis en l'Ile ... ••• 237 Saint-Louis des Invalides ••• 237 Sain IE-Madeleine ... 239 XI] CONTENTS. Sainte-Marguerite ... Saint-Martin de.s Champ.s Saint-Medard Saint-Merri Saint-Nicolas des Champs ^AINT-NlCOLAS DU ChARDONNET Notre-Dame (cath^drale) Notre-Dame de l'Assomption ... Notre-Dame de l'Abbaye aux Bois Notre-Dame des Blancs-Manieaux Notre-Dame des Champs Notre-Dame de Lorette Notre-Dame des Victoires L'Oratoire Saint- Paul-Saint- Louis Saint-Philippe du Roule Saint-Pierre de Chaillot Saint-Pierre de Montmartre Saint-Roch ... Saint-Severin La Sorbonne ... Saint-Sulpice ... Saint-Thomas d'Aquin L'ancien Abb a ye du Val-de-Grace La Chapelle du Chateau de Versailles La Chapelle du Chateau de Vincennes Saint-Vincent de Paul PAGE 243 244 248 251 256 259 260 299 300 300 301 302 303 303 304 305 306 306 307 310 319 321 326 326 328 329 331 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. SAINT-ANTOINE DES QUINZE-VINGTS. Saint Louis, always careful in helping his suffering subjects, founded this hospital for the bhnd in 1260, upon a piece of ground abutting on the Louvre, now traversed by the Rue de Rivoli. In 1780 the hospital was transferred to the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, and took up its abode in the old dwelling place of the Black Musketeers, whose chapel also served as a parish church. It is a little building of no beauty nor interest, although a few inscriptions relating to pious foundations still remain in the chapel, the oldest being dated 1481. One of these tells us of the institution, in 1667, of a somewhat early Mass by one Marie Lambert, maid to the queen mother. It was to be said at 4 a.m. in order that the poor blind people should be able to sally forth a-begging \d' alter a la qtiete) fortified with the Bread of Life. LES CARMES d6CHAUSS6eS The old church of the barefooted Carmelites in the Rue de Vaugirard was commenced in 1613, and dedicated to S. Joseph in 1625. It is now served by the Dominicans. The crypt is the only interesting part of the church, and is a curiosity, as it contains innumerable bones piled up on every side, the remains of the ghastly September massacres of 1792. The frescoes painted by a Li^ge artist, Bartholet Flamael, are very much esteemed. Some of the chapels are richly decorated in the gaudy style of the 17th century. The altar is em- bellished by a 14th century bas-relief in marble representing the Last Supper. A few epitaphs still remain : that of Car- 2 THE CHURCHES OF PARTS. dinal de Beausset, the historian of Fenelon and Bossuet ; one of Cardinal de la Luzerne ; and a marble, covering the heart of Archbishop Affre, who was shot on a barricade in 1848, while endeavouring to make peace with the insurgents. I.A SAINTE-CHAPELLE. The origin and foundation of this most lovely example of mediaeval art is so much a part of S. Louis' life that it may not be out of place to give some account of the Saint's character and habits before proceeding to describe the history of the chapel. Louis IX. was pious and practical, and inconvenienced his courtiers as much by his punctuality and the assiduity with which he conducted his business, as by his religious duties. These he considered a part of his daily work, hearing all the canonical offices with the same regularity as he attended to the grievances of his subjects. Often, like our own George Herbert, was he found prostrate before the altar wrapped in prayer. Even Gibbon allowed that he united the virtues of a king, a hero, and a man — he might have added those of a just judge and a lawgiver ; and Voltaire sums up his character as follows : " II n'est gu^re donn^ ^ I'homme de pousser la vertu plus loin." When his more worldly friends cavilled at his austerities, he made his case good by retorting : " Si je passais deux fois autant de temps a jouer, ou a courir les bois, pour m'occuper de la chasse, personne n'en parleroit." As in the case of nearly all excep- tionally good men, he probably owed everything to the extreme care that his mother had bestowed upon his education — a care which he repaid by a life-long devotion to her memory. Of good Queen Blanche's character we get a glimpse in the follow- ing touching anecdote. It is related that one day at Court, the Queen noticed a beautiful youth with long, fair hair, and asking his name, was answered, " Prince Herman, the son of the sainted Elizabeth of Hungary." On hearing this. Queen Blanche rose from her seat, and, gazing at the boy, said to him, " Fair youth, thou hadst a blessed mother ; where did she kiss thee ? " Whereat Herman, blushing, placed his finger on his fore- head between his eyes, and the Queen, reverently pressing her lips upon the spot, looked up to Heaven and breathed the invo- cation : Sancta Eltsabetha, Pairoiia nostra dulcissima^ ora pro nobis. That a mother so imbued with admiration for the fmwmm THE SAINTE-CHAPELLE FROM THE PONT SAINT-MICHEL. B 2 4 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. sainted Elizabeth should have a son who walked in the Hungarian queen's steps, is not very remarkable in those ages of faith. S. Louis' faith was simple, loving, and inextin- guishable; and so it came about that when he heard of the Emperor Baldwin II.'s financial difficulties, he decided to purchase the relics which had been given more than once, it is said, as pledges for temporary loans. The Emperor's letter upon the subject would lead one to suppose that it was an act of generosity to faire passer the relics to S. Louis ; but we know that the King paid very handsomely for them. "Je desire," said the emperor, "ardemment de vous faire passer cette pr^cieuse relique ^ vous, mon cousin, mon seigneur, et mon bienfaiteur, et au royaume de France ma patrie." Other purchasers seem to have been in the field ; for S. Louis only obtained, at that time, the Crown of Thorns and some portion of the True Cross. One of his rivals was our Henry HL, who in 1247 summoned all his nobles to London to witness the reception of some of the Holy Blood which had been brought from the East in a crystal vase, by one of the Knights Templars. It was sent by the Master of the Tem- plars and Hospitallers, its genuineness being attested by the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the abbots of the Holy Land. On the 13th October, being the feast of S. Edward the Confessor, the King, after prayer and fasting, carried the reliquary from S. Paul's to Westminster, where it was deposited in the Abbey church. The Bishop of Norwich preached, and celebrated mass; and in his sermon took pains to impress upon his hearers that the Holy Blood was more precious even than the True Cross possessed by the King of France — an argument which points to one of the causes of rivalry between the nations during the Middle Ages. Naturally the assembled prelates ac- corded indulgences to the faithful who should visit the shrine ; but this much coveted privilege seems to have caused certain murmurings among some of the assistants ; they objected that, whereas our Lord had ascended into Heaven in the body. He could not have left His blood upon the earth. But Robert Grossetete, Bishop of Lincoln, was equal to the occasion, and replied, that Joseph of Arimathea, having saved it from the precious wounds, more especially from the one in His side, had given some of it to Nicodemus, and thus it had been treasured up, and had passed from father to son, until it came into the possession of the Patriarch Robert of Jerusalem. These dis- LA SAINTE-CHAPELLE, 5 putes seem to have been pretty common in those days, in spite of the unquestioning faith of the multitude. In 1357 we read of a squabble which took place between the Domini- cans and the Franciscans, one Frangois Baile of Barcelona affirming that the blood being separated from the Divinity of our Lord was therefore not adorable. Often, indeed, these wranglings became so violent that the Popes were obliged to interfere in order to settle the matter. The bringing home of the relics reads like a royal pageant. They were carried to Venice by the " Deputes de Saint Louis et les ambassadeurs de I'Empire, accompagnes des plus nobles d'entre les Venitiens. Le convoi mit a la voile dans le tems de Noel, saison ou la mer est le plus orageuse. La confidence des Deputes eleva leur ame au dessus de la crainte des perils, et elle fut justifiee ; ils arriverent a Venise sans avoir essuye de tempetes. Vatace, Empereur Grec, avait detache plusieurs galeres qui croisoient aux differens detroits ou les Frangois devoient passer, pour leur enlever ce precieux butin. Sa vigi- lance fut trompee ; Dieu veilloit sur eux.""* "Arrivee a Venise la Relique fut mise en d^pot dans le Tresor de la Chapelle de Saint-Marc. Le roi instruit du succes de la negociation de ses deputes, envoya, ainsi que Baudouin, des Ambassadeurs avec I'argent necessaire pour se I'approprier. De leur cote les Marchands FranQois etablis a Venise, plus riches encore des dons de la foi qu'avantag^s de la fortune, ouvrircnt leur bourse pour payer la somme stipulee. Les Venitiens auroient bien desire garder cette Relique, mais retenus par la foi du traite ils la restituerent quoique a regret." " Les Ambassadeurs apres avoir reconnu les sceaux se mirent en route, et quoique la saison fut pluvieuse ils n'essuy^rent pas une goutte d'eau. Arrives en Champagne, le Roi partit aussi-tot pour les joindre. II etoit accompagne de la Reine, de ses Freres, de I'Archeveque de Sens, de I'Eveque du Puy, et des Seigneurs les plus distingu^s de sa cour. II rencontra la Relique pr^s de Sens; elle etoit enfermee dans une triple cassette. La premiere ^toit de bois. On I'ouvrit, et on v^rifia les sceaux des seigneurs Francois et du Due de Venise apposes sur la cassette d'argent dans laquelle se trouva un vase d'or, * I suppose no apology is needed for giving my quotations in the origi- nal language. Now that everyone is a good French scholar, it is obviously unnecessary to spoil good work by translations. 6 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. contenant la Ste.-Couronne. L'ayant d^couverte on la fit voir a tous les Assistans, qui fondirent en larmes s'imaginant voir reellement Jesus Christ couronne d'^pines. Puis le Roi mit son scelle sur la cassette. Tant de precautions ecartent assure- ment tout soup^on d'infidelit^." " Le lendemain la Relique fut portde \ Sens dont on avoit tendu toutes les rues. A I'entr^e de la Ville, le Roi et le Comte d'Artois, I'aine de ses Frbres, la porterent sur leurs epaules, les pieds nuds. Le Clerg^ alia au-devant, et les principaux Seigneurs charges k leur tour de ce fardeau honor- able la placferent dans I'Eglise Metropolitaine de Saint- Etienne. On se mit ensuite en route pour Paris, ou la reception de la Relique se fit avec la plus grande solennit^. Tout le Clerg^ regulier et seculier fut convoqu^ a cette c^r^monie. Les Religieux de Saint-Denis d^s la pointe du jour se rendirent a I'cndroit qui avoit ^t^ indiqu^ hors de Paris du cot^ de Vin- cemies ; tous ceux qui assist^rent a cette Procession marcherent nuds pieds. On avoit dresse un magnifique reposoir prbs de I'Abbaye Saint-Antoine, ou la Chasse fut expos^e aux yeux du peuple. Guillaume, Chantre de Saint-Denis, entonna tout ce qui fut chants pendant la marche et TAbb^ eut place a la droite de I'Autel, avec les Archeveques, Eveques et les autres Abbes, tous en habits pontificaux. Enfin le i8« jour d'Aoilt la Re- lique arriva, et fut placee au Palais dans la Chapolle de Saint-Nico- las."* A medal was struck to com- memorate this event, with the legend : h^ec regis regum toto PRETiosiOR AURo, and S. Louis kneeling before an altar uponwhich is the crown of thorns. As to the particular tree of which the crown was composed, there was much difference of opinion. Clement of Alexandria calls it ex nibo, a sort of thicket ; other writers a different sort of shrub or bush, called nerprun^ or wild plum ; and others, the white thorn. The antiphon used every day in the offices of the Sainte- Chapelle began: Ecce Crux e^ Corona Spinea Artiia Regis * Histoirc de la Sainte-Chapelle. Morand, canon of the cliapel. LA SAINTE-CHAPELLE. 7 Gloriae tibi cominendaniur ; and the seal consisted of a cross with the crown of thorns intersecting it, and on each side a fleur-de-lys^ with the King's crown at the top. Having ac- quired the holy relics, it was most seemly that a shrine should be constructed wherein they should rest — a shrine worthy the sanctity of such treasures. And so S. Louis commissioned his architect, Pierre de Montereau, to build him a chapel which should be a marvel of lightness and colour, embellished with windows which should glitter like precious stones, and con- taining a chdsse, resplendent with enamels, and gold and silver — a shrine, as it were, within a shrine. That the architect was worthy the confidence of his royal master, the chapel testifies to this day, and Maitre Pierre's immortal work remains the most perfect example of 13th century architecture in France; one might say, the most exquisite architectural gem which the world has yet seen, or is ever likely to see. Pierre de Montereau, or Montreau, as it is sometimes written, lived eighteen years after the completion of his chef-d^ xiivre^ and doubtless assisted at some of the splendid ceremonies held in it. He died March 17th, 1266, and was buried in the chapel of the Virgin belonging to the religious of S. Germain des Pres, where a splendid monument was erected to his memory. Some of the finest of the buildings attached to the monastery were his work, and up to the last century a stone was to be seen over his burial-place, upon which he was re- presented with a rule and compass in his hands. His epitaph gives him the titles of fleur pleine de bonnes mceiirs, and of docteur des architectes : FLOS PLENUS MORUM, VIVENS DOCTOR LATO MORUM, MUSTEROLO NATUS JACET HIC PETRUS TUMULATUS QUEM REX COELORUM PERDUCAT IN ALTA POLORUM CHRISTE MILLENO, BIS CENTENO DUODENO CUM QUINQUAGENO QUARTO DECESSIT IN ANNO. Another stone recorded the name of his wife Agnes, and on that he is termed, in old French, mestre Pierre de Montereul. The chapel has disappeared, and with it all trace of the tombs ; but one at Reims, erected in honour of Hugues Libergier, architect of the celebrated abbey church of S. Nicaise, who died in 1263, gives some idea of what those of Pierre de Montereau and his wife must have been. The first stone of the church was laid by S. Louis in 1245, 8 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. and three years later, on the Sunday after Easter, Quasimodo^ 25th April, 1248, it was consecrated by the Pope's legate, Eudes de Chateauroux, Bishop of Tusculum, as the Chapel of the Holy Cross and the Holy Crown. On the same day, Philippe Berruyer, Archbishop of Bourges, celebrated the like ceremony in the lower church, putting it under the patronage of the Blessed Virgin. It seems strange that Joinville should not speak of this event, and yet it must have been an imposing sight ; but he does not once mention the Sainte-Chapelle in his life of S. Louis. Perhaps this may be accounted for by what he thus relates : " At Easter-tide, in the year of grace 1248, I summoned my vassals and retainers to Joinville, and on the Easter-eve . , . was born John, my son, Sire d'Ancarville. . . . We had feasting and dancing all that week, in the course of which my brother, the Sire de Van- couleurs and other rich persons who were there, gave banquets one after the other on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday." And then he goes on to say that he went to Metz on business before he started for the Holy Land ; therefore we may suppose that private affairs kept him away from Paris, and that not being present himself at the consecration, he did not consider it necessary to give an account of the ceremony. Two charters dated Paris, 1245, and Aigues-Mortes, 1248, respectively give the terms of the endowment by the king. The number of ecclesiastics who first formed the college was fixed at twenty-one ; five principal priests or maitres chapelains^ each having an assistant chaplain (a priest), and a deacon, and three beadles who had as many clerks under them. The num- ber was modified from time to time, during five centuries, and latterly it consisted of a treasurer, twelve canons, and nine- teen chaplains. The office of treasurer was generally filled by some important personage, and he had the privilege of wearing the mitre and other insignia of the episcopate, and of giving the Benediction upon great festivals ; but he was not allowed to bear the crozier. The most important event of the 13th century connected with the Sainte-Chapelle was the translation of some of S. Louis' bones from S. Denis, in which church they had been laid twenty-seven years previously upon their arrival from Tunis, where the king had died of fever on the 25th August, 1270. Feeling his last moments to have arrived, he caused his body to be placed upon a bed of ashes, and wearing the habit of the LA SAINTE-CHAPELLE. 9 third order of S. Francis, his noble spirit passed away. He was embalmed, according to the fashion of the day ; or rather, his bones were relieved of their outer casements, by boiling in wine and water; other parts of his body, which it is un- necessary to specify, being given by his son to the King of Sicily, who placed them in the church of Monreale, Palermo. The young Comte de Nevers had died just before S. Louis ; and Alfonso de Brienne, Comte d'Eu, son of John de Brienne, King of Jerusalem, and the Chevalier Pierre, the King's chamberlain, had also succumbed to the unhealthy climate. The funeral procession set out, and wended its way towards France under the care of S. I,ouis' son, PhiHppe le Hardi. ■^^?P^fimvm^]fi^^^' kneel when the bell rings ; how they must needs sit, and even gossip, during the short quarter of an hour occupied by a low mass ; how they take 30 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. snuff and bear themselves generally, and then go out and stand about for the greater part of the day at their business. S. Louis ordained, in his foundation charters, that the offerings received by the priests at the altar should be devoted to the reparation of the glass, and that if it should be in- sufficient, the necessary funds should be taken from the Royal Treasury deposited at the Temple, The restoration of the windows is now complete, this being the work of MM. Steinheil and Lusson. These artists have done their work so well, and matched the colours so perfectly, that it is difficult to distinguish the new from the old. The rose-window is of the 15th century, the others of the 13th century. The subjects are from the Old and New Testament, and from the life of S. Louis. Some of these latter are original, and, as it is probable that the artists assisted at the ceremonies held in the chapel, it is also probable that the pictures may be true portraits of the personages represented. The subjects of the rose-window are all taken from the Apocalypse. Such is the chapel which was so dear to the King that he felt a " malaise " when he heard divine service elsewhere, and of which the troubadour Rutebeuf sings the praises in a poem written after the death of the Saint, entitled, Les Regrh au roys Loeys : Chappie de Paris ! bien ^res maintenue La mort, ce m'est aduis, t'a fet desconvenue Du miex de tes amys, t'a laissee toute nue De la mort, sont plaintifs et grant gent et menue." — {^MS. BibliotlUque Nationale.) SAINT-DENIS. Although the Benedictine abbey church of S. Denis is some miles from Paris, it is so mixed up with the history of the capital that it ought not to be omitted in a series of " Paris Churches." Moreover, as it is by far the finest church in, or near, the metropolis, and one of the grandest examples of French 13th century architecture, no one ought to grudge the tiresome journey by train or tram in order to see it, even if his stay in Paris be limited to a few days. The only thing required to make it perfectly beautiful is new stained glass in the windows of the clerestory to replace that put up during the early years of this century, a horrible example of the execrable taste of the period. SAINT-DENIS. 31 S. Denis was oneof the sacred spots of mediaeval Europe — a species of Christian Mecca. " Si les lieux sont reputez aincts," says one of its children, Dom Millet,* "a cause des THE ABBEY CHURCH FROM THE GRANDE PLACE. choses sainctes faictes ou aduenues en iceux, comme ont este est sont encores, les montagnes de Thabor et de Caluaire, ou * Religious, Benedictine of the convent (congregation) of S. Maiir, Order of S. Benedict. 32 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. bien a cause des choses sainctes qu'ils contiennent, comme estoit I'Arche d'Alliance, et le Sancta Sanctorum des Juifs ; je croy qu'il n'y a personne qui n'aduoiie que I'Eglise de S. Denys en France ne soit vn lieu tres-sainct en toutes ces con- siderations, puis qu'elle a este dediee des propres mains de nostre Sauueur Jesus-Christ, descendu expr^s du Ciel auec vne grande multitude d'Anges et de Saincts, et qu'elle contient en soy tant des choses sainctes, et des Reliques si precieuses et rares." It was a poor but worthy leper who saw this strange vision. He had been left shut up in the church, when in the dead of night he was startled by a dazzling light ; and then he beheld the Saviour, His Apostles, multitudes of Angels, and S. Denis and his companions. Our Lord sprinkled the church with holy water, and S. Denis and his companions served Him; and then He said to the leper : " Go aiid tell le bon roy Dagohort what thou hast seen" ^^ But hoiv can a poor leper penetrate the presence of the King?" said he. Then a wondrous miracle was performed; the Saviour touching him with his finger, made the leper clean. Then he went to the King, and they all believed. Not only was S. Denis specially favoured by this miraculous dedication, but it was privileged by Charlemagne in a charter, as the chief and mistress of all the churches in the kingdom ; and its abbot as the Primate of all the prelates of France. This great man was allowed to have six deacons vested in dalmatics whenever he officiated, an honour conferred upon him by Pope Stephen III. when he consecrated the High Altar in 753, and at the same time anointed and crowned King Pepin and Queen Bertrade, and their two sons Charles and Carloman. People, high and low, from all the ends of the earth, flocked to the famous abbey as we now rush to the World's Fairs; and the great ones of the earth, princes, nobles, and ambassadors, considered that they had seen nought of the civilised world if they had not paid their respects to the relics at S. Denis. Some went for love, some out of sheer curiosity to see the riches of the treasury: divers crosses, reliquaries, statues, vases, chalices, and other vessels for the altars; S. Denis' mitre, chalice, and rings ; the famous head of solid silver gilt, con- taining his skull, and presented to the abbey by Marguerite de France in 1360; a wonderful golden cup enriched with precious stones which had belonged to King Solomon, and a rock crystal vase from the Temple of the wise man — both the SAINT-DENIS. 33 gift of Charles the Bald. He, being abbot, made it his custom to attend " the duties of his station at the Abbaye, on the solemn festivals, passing the day in pious conversation with the monks and in religious observances." He also made considerable donations,* added to the many lamps which are kept continually burning before the shrines, and increased the number of wax tapers employed in the services of the church. Then further, amongst, the curiosities, were the nail of a griffin upon a silver- gilt animal ; a unicorn's horn six feet high, sent by Aaron King of Persia to Charlemagne; the hunting horn of Roland, nephew of Charlemagne; and the lantern which was used at the betrayal of our Lord in the Garden, called the Lantern of Judas. The latter was of copper, embellished by rock crystal, through which the light shone. (This was also the gift of Charles the Bald). The mirror of the prince of poets, Virgil, which was of jet; the sword of the genereuse Amazone, /ean?ie la Pucelle. Of the beauty of the croziers and pastoral crosses, the mitres and episcopal rings, Dom Millet's description leaves no doubt; and of the magnificence of the abbots, and the splendour of their monastery, we have more than ample evidence. As an old epigram puts it : All terns passe du siecle d'or, Crosse de bois, Eveque d'or, Maintenant changent les lois, Crosse d'or, Eveque de bois. The Huguenots destroyed many of the church ornaments, ruined chapels, and worse still, " ces impies la pillerent (S. Denis) et dissiperent entierement, sans y laisser aucune chose, sinon ce qu'ils ne voulutent point. lis ne pouuoient faire pis, sinon mettre le feu par tout le Monastere, comme ils firent en tant d'autres par la France." It was supposed that the " Prince de Conde, leur chef," was not present at these little pastimes of his valiant soldiers, for when he heard what had been done "il fit pendre vne douzaine, pour monstrer comment il detestoit leur sacrilege : mais pour cela les pertes ne furent pas reconnettes." In a History of the Royal Abbaye of Saint Denis, published in London in 1795, we have some curious details connected with the churcK " Every Sunday and Holy Day at mass, the Deacons and Sub-deacons, after having received the ' precious * All the river Seine from the ru de S'eve (Sevres) near S. Cloud, to S. Germain-en -Laye. D 34 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. body of Our Lord/ repaired to ?. side altar to suck up through a reed, enclosed in a tube of enamelled gold, the * precious blood,' according to a very ancient custom adopted in the church of S. Denis, which is retained without any variation to this day." Whether this was so, or whether it was the result of the anonymous writer's imagination, I cannot say, as I find nothing about it in other books that I have studied. The same author speaks of the " miraculous silver keys of S. Denis which they apply to the faces of those persons who have been so unfortunate as to be bitten by mad dogs, and who receive a certain and immediate relief by only touching them." Alas, that these keys should have been melted up; for here was a cure for hydrophobia without any of the vicarious suffering which M. Pasteur's discovery has caused. The legend of S. Denis, the patron of France, is exceedingly picturesque. By some ecclesiastical authorities he is said to have lived in the ist century, by others in the 2nd or 4th, but by most he is one and the same person as Dionysius the Areopagite. Hilduin, abbot of S. Denis at the beginning of the 9th century, seems to have had no doubt upon the subject, and in art the Saint and the disciple of S. Paul have always been looked upon as the self-same personage, although tradition records the existence of another S. Denis, a bishop of Paris, in the 3rd century. Dionysius was an Athenian philosopher named Theosophus. Travelling in Egypt to study astrology with a companion named Apollophanes, they were surprised by a strange darkness that came over the heavens, and were natu- rally much troubled thereby. Returning to Athens, Dionysius heard S. Paul preach, and thereupon being converted to Chris- tianity, he understood that the darkness which he had seen at Heliopolis was none other than that which fell upon the earth for the space of three hours when the Blessed Redeemer was crucified. Baptised and ordained priest, Dionysius subsequently became bishop of Athens ; and in some of the writings attributed to him he relates that he travelled to Jerusalem to see the Blessed Virgin, whom he found continually surrounded by a dazzling light, and attended by a company of Angels. He also gives an account of her death at which he was present with certain of the Apostles. After this, he returned to Athens and was subsequently present at S. Paul's martyrdom in Rome. Thence he was sent by S. Clement to preach the Gospel, together with a priest named Rusticu?, and a deacon Eleutherius. SAINT-DENIS. 35 Arrived at Paris, an exceeding great city full of people and pro- vided with all the good things of the earth, they found it so attractive that it seemed to them another Athens, and so they sojourned there, teaching the people, vi^ho were learned in all things but the way of truth. S. Denis then sent missionaries into other parts of Gaul, and into Germany. But these successes were not pleasing unto Satan, and so he stirred up the nobles against the good bishop, who was accused before the Emperor Trajan. Some say it was Domitian, but in either case the result was the despatch of one Frescennius, a pro-consul, from Rome, with orders to throw Denis and his companions into prison. This was done, and finding that they would not retract, they were put to death upon the Hill of Mercury (who was so much honoured by the Gauls), and which was subse- quently called Montmartre {Mons Martyruiri), " Le Saint eveque Denis, et ses deux compagnons, le pretre Rustique et le diacre Eleuthbre, souffrirent leur memorable et tres-glorieuse passion, a la vue de la cite des Parisiens, sur la colline qui se nommait auparavant Mont de Mercure, parce que cette idole y etait particulierement honoree de Gaulois, et qu'on appelle aujourd'hui le Mont des Martyrs en memoire des saints du Seigneur qui accomplirent en ce lieu meme leur martyre triomphal."* Then a stupendous miracle took place. S. Denis not desiring, or not being permitted, to become food for wolves, took up his decapitated head in his hands, and walked for the space of two miles, Angels singing by the way. Accompanied by this celestial body-guard, the Saint marched over the plains beyond the city, and signified, in some way unrecorded, that he desired burial where now stands the church dedicated to his memory. This was accomplished by a pious woman named Catulla, who had ministered unto the three blessed martyrs in their prison, and who now laid their mutilated remains in her own field. Paris formerly, even as late as the last century, contained many spots sacred to the memory of S. Denis and his three companions. At Notre-Dame-des-Champs a crypt used to be shown where they preached to their first disciples. At S. Benoit, now destroyed, there was formerly an oratory, on the wall of which was an inscription recording that S. Denis first * Hulduin, abbot of S. Denis, commencement of 9th century, who took possession the same day as that upon which Charlemagne died — Les A reopag itiques . D 2 THE CHURCHES OE PARIS. invoked the name of the Most High on that spot. Al S. J )enis-de-la-Chartre was the prison where the martyrs were visited by our Lord, and where He administered His Blessed Body and Blood to them. At S. Denis-du-Pas was the ground upon which they suffered their first tortures ; and upon Mont- martre the church of S. Pierre records the spot upon which they were decapitated. The way across the plain from Montmartre to the place of burial was marked by a suc- cession of crosses, and the field where the Saint's re- mains were laid subsequently became the precincts of the famous abbey. The first church is said to have been erected before the invasion of the Franks, but this had fallen into ruins in the 5th century, and it was through the piety of S. Gei:e- vieve and the people of Paris that it was rebuilt. This Saint, like all good Parisians, held S. Denis in great esteem ; and it was during a visit paid to his shrine that her taper, maliciously blown out by the arch-enemy, was successfully relighted through the fervour of her prayers. Gregoire de Tours relates many wondrous miracles which took place in the new church for the benefit of the faithful and the chastisement of the wicked. But the magnificence with which Dagobert reouilt and en- dowed S. Denis completely eclipsed the work of the maid of Nanterre ; and so effectually was the king looked upon as the founder of the abbey that, up to the dissolution of the monas- teries, the monks celebrated his festival upon the 19th of January with great solemnity and splendour. It was about the year 630 that Dagobert undertook the rebuilding of the church. SILVER STATUETTE FORMERLY IN THE TREASURY. SAINT-DENIS. 37 which is said to have been decorated with precious marbles, magnificent bronze doors, and gold and silver vessels enriched with precious stones. These latter, and the shrine of the Saint, as well as the great cross at the entrance of the choir, were the work of the famous artificer in metals, S. Eloy, who was also the maker of the shrines of SS. Martin, Germain, and Gene- vieve. These, and, in fact, all this great smith's works (as far as is known) have perished ; but his memory is still preserved by pictures and sculptures representing some of the legendary incidents of his life. In the Firenze Academy is a picture by Botticelli, and at the church of Or San Michele is a statue and a bas-relief, both of which represent one of the great events of the Saint's life. A horse having been brought to him to be shod, the animal proved restive, and the Saint being exercised in his mind as to how he should keep the beast still, bethought him of an excellent plan. He calmly cut off the leg, and placing it upon his anvil, fastened on the shoe ; this done, he replaced the leg upon the horse, to the amazement of the beast and the edification of his owner. Another picture, painted for the Company of the Goldsmiths, represents S. Eloy under the form of Benvenuto Cellini, presenting a shrine to King Dago- bert, who figures in the costume of Francois P*"- In 754, Pepin and his queen Berthe, after being anointed at S. Denis by Pope Stephen II., began the reconstruction of the Merovin- gian church which Charlemagne finished and dedicated in 775. From that year until the 12th century, little is known of the history of the abbey. Like all churches and monasteries in the north of France, it was probably destroyed, and its lands laid waste by the invasions of the Northmen and the disastrous civil wars which characterised the end of the Carlovingian dynasty, for nothing remains of the magnificence of the churches of Dagobert and of Charlemagne but a few columns and marble capitals in the crypt. The third and present church was commenced by the great Abbot Suger, and is considered by many French architects to be the earliest example of Pointed architecture. Suger erected the tower, the portals, the nave, and the choir in rapid succession, and subsequently the chevet and chapels ; he filled the windows with the most exquisite jewel-like stained glass, and loaded the shrines and altars with precious stones. Some of the sacred vessels formerly belonging to the church are now in the Salle d'Apoilon of the Louvre, and testify to the exqui- 38 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. site artistic taste as well as to the religious enthusiasm of the good abbot. " As it is our duty to Present unto God oblations TOMB OF HENRI II. IN THE VALOIS CHAPEL BUILT BY PHILIBERT DELORME. of gems and of gold^ /, Suger^ offer this vase unto the Lord^^ is the inscription upon an antique sardonyx amphora which he converted into a vessel for the altar. The dedication of this SAINT-DENIS, 39 church took place twice, in 1140 and 1144, but it was only to remain intact some 70 years. In 12 19, the day after the feast of the nativity of the Virgin, its Jleche was struck by lightning, and a few years after, the church itself was partially destroyed. Abbot Eudes Clement replaced the wooden fleche by a stone one, and raised the interior of the apse; and his third successor, Matthieu de Vendome, finished the transept and the nave. The chapels of the nave upon the north side were built in the 14th century, and a few unimportant additions were made in the succeeding century. Of the magnificent circular chapel of the Valois erected for Henri II. and Catherine de'Medici, nothing remains but a beautiful colonnade, now forming a sham ruin in the Pare Monceau. The chapel was situated upon the north of the apse, near the steps, and was destroyed during the regency of Philippe d'Orleans, in 17 19. It is generally supposed that the destruction of churches and the despoiling of monasteries in France were the work of the enemies of religion in the form of the "people." But the kings did not hesitate to rob the church when they could drain no more money out of their long-suffering subjects. To Francis I.* and Louis XIV. the eighth commandment was no more binding than the seventh; laws, divine or otherwise, were made for the vulgar herd, not for their most Christian Majesties; and so, when the "Grand Monarque" saw fit to please Mme. de Maintenon by founding St. Cyr, he suppressed the abbacy of S. Denis, and relieved the monastery of the abbot's revenues for an endowment. This was the beginning of the downfall, and in 1791, the Benedictines were dispersed after an occupation of twelve centuries. In the memoirs of the organist attached to the abbey at the time, there is a touching account of the last mass celebrated by the prior upon the day of departure. But the church remained intact, and * See the Inventory of the Treasury of Laon, from which we cull the following: In 1523, when Fran9ois I. wanted money to carry on his war against Charles V. and Henry VIII., we read in \he Journal d'un Bourgeois de Paris, his manner of getting it. " Le roy envoya aussi querir trois ou quatre appostres d'or qui estoient ^s-reliques en I'eglise episcopale k Laon, en Picardie, dont il y en avoit douze, mais les aultres n'estoient que d'argent, parquoy furent delaissez ; et valloient iceux III. ou IIII. appostres environ quatre mille escus ; et fit ce le roy pour subvenir et ayder en ses guerres de Picardie qu'il avoit contres les Anglais." Louis XIV. also, when his star had paled a little, put various cathedral chapters under con- tribution ; the church of Notre-Dame de Liesse sending silver to the royal treasury to the amount of 28,600 livres. 40 THE CHURCHES OP PARIS. was even made the depot of the relics of the Sainte-Chapelle,* after the suppression of the chaplains belonging to the latter. The Mo7iiteur of 3rd September, 1791, gives an account of the sittings of the commission of savants^ established at the Bibliotheque des Quatre-Nations, for the consideration of the preservation of works of art. This commission was appointed by the National Assembly after the passing of the law for the appropriation of the property of the clergy by la chose publique. M. De Larochefoucauld was the president of this " Commission des Monuments," assisted by many artists and connoisseurs. They first of all chose certain places as receptacles for the works of art, and then decided what to keep and what to destroy. The former quarters of the Petits-Augustins became the museum of tombs and sepulchral sculptures ; and to the Capucins, the Grands-Jesuites, and the Cordeliers were sent the books and manuscripts. A descriptive catalogue was drawn up by Alexandre Tenoir,t who was appointed curator in 1790. Unfortunately, much was destroyed, as, for instance, at the abbey of Royaumont, where two Benedictines, Poirier and Puthod, were sent by the commission to superintend matters. The mausoleum of the princes of S. Louis' family was ^^ demoli avec adresse,^ says the Mo7iiteur ; the coffins were opened ^^ avec circonspection" the ashes taken up with care, and then, ticketed and sealed, sent to S. Denis. Les sieurs Puthod and Poirier carried off the remains of seven princes and six monu- ments, which arrived just in time to be packed off to the museum of the Petits-Augustins. Many of the seventy-three abbots, from Dodon, the first (living in 637), to the last, Jean-FranQois-Paul de Gondi, Cardinal de Retz, were distinguished for their piety, for their learning, their greed, or their vices. Amongst them we find the names of Fulrad, Hilduin, Suger, Mathieu de Vendome, the Emperor Charles the Bald, the Kings Eudes, Robert and Hugues Capet,! the Cardinals de Bourbon, de Lorraine, de Guise, and Mazarin. The conventual buildings were all de- * See pages 18, 19. f Aliisee des Monuments Fran^ais. % It seems that one object in electing the king as abbot was to have some lay element in the chapter, and thus disarm the enemies of the Church. Charles le Chauve was abbot for about sixteen years ; he chose his provost, treasurer, and dean, and gave into their keeping all the working of the monastery, with the exception of the military contingent, which was given over to the inaire or avoiic. Adjoining the abbey was a palace for the use of the kings. SAINT- DENIS. 41 stroyed in the reign of Louis XV., and during the Revolution the church suffered in the same way as Notre- Dame and S. Eustache, by being secularized in the most revolting manner. But if the Revolutionists destroyed and carried away monu- ments, the Imperial architects did worse, for they began a restoration in their own hideous taste and " style " ; and it wijs not until a few years ago that the old church was restored to its pristine beauty. Perhaps few churches have seen more changes than the silent walls of S. Denis have witnessed. The burial place of most of the kings of France, it was also upon its High Altar that Louis le Gros deposited the oriflamme^ the famous stan- dard of France,"^ while some seven centuries later, its tombs were only preserved from utter ruin by the wit of Alexandre Lenoir. Even the church itself was threatened with destruc- tion, and was only saved by an architect seriously suggesting that it should be turned into a market, the side chapels forming shops. By turns a Temple of Reason, a depot of artillery, a theatre of acrobats, a flour warehouse, and a granary, its desecration was not consummated until the glass was removed, and the leaden covering of its roof converted into bullets. Napoleon saved what remained, and began restoring it as a resting-place for the defunct members of his dynasty. The Concordat guaranteed it a chapter, and religious services were restored.! But the 19th century proved as disastrous as wars * The oriflamme^ or enseigne^ derived its name from being made of scarlet silk, and covered with flames of gold. When it was to be taken from its depository, the king and princes first went to Notre-Dame and offered up some prayers to the Blessed Virgin ; then they proceeded to the abbey, where, after being solemnly received by the religious, they descended {^'- sans chaperon et sans ceintnre") into the crypt, where the bodies of the holy martyrs lay, and where the orifatmne was kept. The abbot then delivered the flag into the king's own hands, and the king presented it to the Count de Vesin, who carried it to the altar. The standard-bearer was always a Chevalier of undoubted loyalty, courage, and piety. Previously to receiving the charge, he confessed his sins, obtained absolution, received the Holy Eucharist, and took a solemn oath to be faithful to his trust, and never to suffer the flag to be torn from his hands, except at the cost of his life. But at the battle of Rosbec it mysteriously disappeared. And to think that the red flag is now the emblem of all that is Revolutionary, Communistic, and Anarchist ! Perhaps if the Government gave it the old name, we might see it burnt in the Place de la Republique. t The Chapter formerly consisted of a Priniicier, Chanoines cvcqties^ non-resident ; and Canons residentiary. The office of Primicier was, I think, abolished only a few years ago, and now the chapter simply consists of canons in residence. THE NORTH-WEST DOORWAY. SAINT-DENIS. 43 and revolutions. Lightning once more brought down the flkhe in 1837, and again in 1846; and scrapings and cleanings carried away all the old surfaces of the walls. Still, through the talent and learning of Viollet-le-Duc, it is one of the finest of 13th century churches, and now that the tombs have all been replaced in their former positions, one of the most interestmg. The facade has three doorways, which are rich in the some- what rude sculpture of the time of Suger. The subject of the central tympanum and votissure is The Last Judgment. Christ is pronouncing the last sentence, surrounded by the dead who are rising from their graves. His Blessed Mother is interceding for sinners, and Abraham is receiving the elect into his bosom. The Apostles, and the four-and-twenty elders, holding musical instruments, and vases for the reception of the prayers of the just as a sweet-smelling incense, are there, looking on at the damned tossed into hell. Upon the stylobate of the portal we read the parable of the Wise and foolish Virgins. The southern doorway is decorated with the Martyrdom of S. Denis, and the appearance of our Blessed Lord to the holy martyrs while in prison. Unfortunately, much of these bas- reliefs is modern. Some statues on one of the transept doorways are curious examples of how a fraud may be perpetuated. They represent, without doubt, some members of the royal house of David, but at some period they were said to be kings of the Capetien line, and as such, casts were taken and sent to Versailles, where they figured as portrait statues of Hugues Capet, Robert, Henri, Philippe, Louis VL, and Louis VII. The capitals of the columns and the foliage ornament of these portals are vastly superior in style to the figures. On each side of the western rose-window are some bands of black and white marble, after the manner of the churches of Pisa and Genoa, souvenirs^ probably, of Suger's travels in Italy. Indeed, he tells us in the account of his administration that he took much trouble in preserving a mosaic which he had brought home and placed in the tympanum of one of the doors. This was unfortunately replaced, in 1774, by a bas- relief of the meanest possible workmanship. The interior consists of a nave and two aisles, with a chevet of seven chapels at the east end, considerably raised above the level of the nave. Access to these chapels is gained by a flight of steps on each side of the High Altar, and under them 44 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. is the royal crypt. The whole of the east end of the church, the double aisles, with their single-shaft pillars, the chapels, the vaulting, and the glass, form a mass of colour, and a most beautiful coup d'oitlf indeed, there is but one eyesore in the whole building, the aforesaid series of windows representing Louis Philippe's heroic deeds. Blue swallow-tailed coats and white trousers scarcely form a costume which is either effective or appropriate as designs for church windows. The wood carving of the stalls is of the 15th century, and was brought from the abbey of S. Lucien-lez-Bcauvais ; the in- laid marquetry work at the backs of the seats is from the Chateau de Gaillon, built by Cardinal d'Amboise. Many of the misereres have the usual quaint conceits which one sees everywhere. Portions of the old glass were preserved by Lenoir in the museum of the Petits - Augustins during the stormy period, and were after- wards replaced in the windows of the apse. They consist mainly of fragments of a tree of Jesse, and may be found in the chapel of the Virgin. There are in all eleven lozenge- shaped medallions representing scenes in the life of Moses, and mystical subjects from the Apocalypse, bearing inscrip- medallion of the Annunciation, portrayed prostrate before the ~-jk. .s. i ■^.'■^ r- m^^ ^KH^;UHf|^ ■ii ■ kw-kA i^m^NM^^^ ir mli\ IlilV^ \ 'fa! ' ^H|fllJ|Uirr, \-u. jS/sSi^ .m ■^• ^^ te »►,- .^•'- ■ l'r.>>ii \^m ■■^m 1 1 i THE LADY CHAPEL. tions by Suger. Upon the the good abbot himself is Blessed Virgin. In one or two of the other chapels there are a few fragments of the legend of S. Laurence. Of the early kings of France Dagobert was the first to be buried at S. Denis, and his memorial tomb (much restored) still stands on the right of the High Altar. Clovis and Clotilde were buried in the crypt of the first church erected upon * IIow fine the effect must have been when the great cross of S. Eloy stood upon \hQ grille, shutting off the nave from the choir! It was of gold, enriched with precious stones and pearls. r SAINT-DENIS. 45 the site of S. Genevieve, then called the Church of the Holy Apostles. Childebert was laid in the church of the Abbey of S. Vincent (founded by him), afterwards called S. Gcrmain-des- Pres. Chlodoald was buried at S. Cloud ; S. Radegonde, wife of Clotaire I., at Poitiers ; Chilperic and Fredegonde laid the body of one of their children in the first church of S. Denis. Besides Dagobert I., his queen, Nanthilde, and their sons, Sigebert II. and Clovis II. were buried at S. Denis; and although it is thought that other Merovingian princes also received burial there, many repose at Chelles, S. Waast d'Arras, S. Bertin, S. Etienne de Choisy, Metz, Angouleme, S. Romain de Blaye, Jumi^ges, and S. Cr^pin de Soissons. The monuments of Charles-Martel, Pepin and Berthe, Carloman, Charles the Bald, Ermentrude, Louis, Carloman, and Eudes were all at S. Denis. Charlemagne was buried at Aix-la-Chapelle, where the magnificent chdsses containing his skull and some of his bones may still be seen. His descendants were distributed all over Europe: at Koln, Mainz, Priim, Regensburg, Loresheim, Oettinghen, Reichenau, Audlau, Verona, Milan, and Piacenza ; those in France, at Metz, Sens, Bourges, S. Laurent, S. Sulpice, Tours, Angers, Lyon, Portiers, Compiegne, Reims, Peronne, and Soissons. From Hugues Capet to Louis XV. most of the kings were interred at S. Denis; but it must be borne in mind that almost all the tombs of the earlier sovereigns are modern, either wholly or in part. In the 13th century the strange cus- tom came into fashion of dividing the bodies of royal per- sonages, and burying the parts in different places. The Bene- dictine monks of S. Denis protested against this division of valuable property, asserting their right to possess the'entire re- mains of the kings ; but the Dominicans and the Cordeliers contested these claims, and subsequently gained permission for their own churches to share in the spoil. Later on, other reli- gious orders obtained the same privileges ; and the ladies of Val-de-Grace were distinguished by the possession of the hearts of nearly all the royal princes and princesses from Anne d'Autriche, the founder of the monastery. Naturally, when each defunct sovereign was divided into three portions — the body, the heart, and the intestines — great opportunties were afforded to architects and sculptors; and we thus find three marble monuments with recumbent figures erected for the remains of Charles V., that at S. Denis containing his body, -^ URN SCULPTURED FOR THE HEART OF FRANCOIS I^r. SAIAT-DENIS. 47 while Rouen and Maubuisson respectively possessed his heart and his et ceteras.* Francis I.'s heart was placed in an exquisite urn in the church of the nuns of Haute-Bruy^re ; while his body was buried in the grand monument at S, Denis. The urn was the work of Pierre Bontems, and is now in the same chapel as the tomb, which was the joint work of Philibert Delorme and Bontems. The beautiful group of the Three Graces^ by Ciermain Pilon, formerly in the church of the C^lestins, and now in the Renaissance Museum of the Louvre, supported an urn containing the heart of Henri II. ;t the hearts of the 13th and 14th Louis, enveloped in shrines in the form of silver Angels, being the property of the church of the Jesuits. The number of monuments erected at S. Denis to the memory of the families of the sovereigns was small ; and none of them were to be compared, as works of art, to the beautiful tombs of the Dukes of Bourgogne and of Bretagne at Dijon, at Bruges, and at Nantes. Most of the princes of the different families, the Condes, the Contis, the Valois, the Bourbons, &c., had founded chapels or monasteries where they were afterwards buried ; as, for instance, the Orleans chapel at the Celestins, which was celebrated for its mag- nificence, t * This custom of dividing bodies is of very ancient date, and was sanc- tioned by the Church in order that the remains might benefit, by their miraculous powers, as many places as possible. Sometimes the superiors of divers monasteries agreed to exchange " a rib of one saint for a cubit bone of another, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, &c." At other times these fragments had to be purchased for very considerable sums. — History of S. Denis. t The original urn was cast in bronze by Benoist Boucher from the design of Domenico da Firenze, who also designed the relief on the pedestal. + Some of its sculptures are now in the Renaissance Museum of the Louvre. The recumbent alabaster statue of Philippe de Chabot, by Jean Cousin ; a white marble column and three Genii, by Etienne Lehongre, from the tomb of Louis de Coss^, due de Brissac, and of his brother, J. A. de Cosse ; a column with allegorical statues, &c. , in bas relief, by Prieur Bar- thelemy, from the monument erected for the reception of the heart of Anne de Montmorency ; sepulchral Genii, by Jean Cousin, from the tomb of Philippe de Chabot ; a Fortune, by the same sculptor and from the same tomb ; sepulchral monument of the Dues de Longueville, by Fran9ois Anguier ; and the recumbent statue of Anne de Bourgogne, daughter of Jean-sans-Peur, wife of the Duke of Bedford. In the same museum of the Louvre is a bas-relief from S. Denis of the 14th century with traces of colour, the subject being the three martyrs, SS. Denis, Rusticus, and Eleutherius. 48 THE CHURCHES OE PARIS. None of the monuments of the early kings are anterior to the 13th century; consequently, even the original portions of the effigies which remain cannot be looked upon as in the slightest degree portrait statues. On the other hand, the magnificent THE CHOIR AND SANCTUARY tombs in bronze, and the brasses which adorned them, erected to the memory of Philippe Auguste, S. Louis, and his father, and which were destroyed centuries ago, were most probably as valuable as contemporary portraits as they were for their SAINT-DENIS. 4^ workmanship; likewise the 13th century effigies which remain are remarkable for the beauty of their workmanship. Louis IV. was the last prince who was laid under a simple stone monu- ment. The last tomb erected was that of Henri II., the sovereigns who followed him having had no memorials. They were laid together in one great crypt, and when disturbed by the Revolu- tionists for the sake of the lead of their coffins (" of the coffins of our old tyrants let us make bullets to hurl at our enemies"), there were fifty-four bodies arranged upon iron trestles side by side, Henri IV.* heading the list, and the Dauphin, elder son of Louis XVI., ending it. The monuments now occupy the same position that they did before the Revolution ; and if we stand upon the raised platform of the apse behind the High Altar we can gaze down upon what may be called the history of France, from the artistic point of view, during four or five cen- turies. On the left, the 13th century tomb of Dagobert stands erect; beyond it, the Renaissance mausoleum of Francis I., one of the chefs-d'ceuvres of that grand sculptor, Philibert Delorme. On the right, the enamelled brasses of the children of S. Louis and the tomlD of Henri II. A mosaic effigy of Fredegonde, the Orleans monument, and the tomb of Louis XII. by the brothers Juste, of Tours, complete the list of important works, while all about are recumbent figures upon arcaded monuments. The resting-places of the abbots were simply marked by inscriptions or flat slabs. The historian of the Abbey, Dom Michel F^libien, records the number of thirteen stones of grand priors with effigies, besides the abbots' tombs. Among the distinguished men buried at S. Denis were the following: — Pierre Chambellan, of whom Joinville writes, "Messire Pierre Chambellan fut le plus loial homme et le plus droicturier que je veisse oncques en la maision du roi . . . . I'homme du monde en qui le roy croirit plus"; and Alphonse, son of Jean de Brienne, King of Jerusalem and uncle of S. Louis, whose epitaph designates him as "moult saige et moult loial cheva- liers." Both of them died "au service de Dieu et de Monsieur Loys, roy de France, dessous Cartaige Tan de I'incarnation de Nostre-Seigneur MCCLXX," and were "enterres en I'^glise Monsieur Saint Denis" in the year MCCLXXI, "le vendredi devant la Penthecoste le jour et I'heure quand Monsieur le roy * Henri IV. also abjured " his accursed heresy" at S. Denis. 50 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS, Loys fut enterre " ; indeed, the old chronicler says, " aus pieds du bon roys tout en la mani^re qu'il gisoit a ses pieds quand il estoit en vie." Pierre accompanied S. Louis in the disastrous cru- sade which terminated his reign. No doubt his tomb was of metal, destroyed with many others long before the Revolution, as for example, that of the Comte d'Eu, in gilt copper, enriched with enamels, which succumbed to the greed of the Hugue- nots. Close to the tomb of Charles V. were those of Duguesclin, Louis de Sancerre, Bureau de la Riviere, Arnaud de Guilhem seigneur de Barbazan, who, before Bayard, was called le cheva- lier sans reproche, and who, with six others, was victorious over seven English knights in 1404. Near Duguesclin Charles V. had marked the spot for the burial place of Jean Pastourel, one of his principal councillors, whose wife was laid at S. Denis in 1380, but having, sick of the world, retired to the Abbey of S. Victor towards the end of his life, he desired to be buried there rather than amidst the splendours of the royal tombs. He was the only civilian who was offered this much-coveted privilege. Guillaume de Chastel was another non-royal personage whom it pleased his master, Charles VIL, pour sa grande vaillance et la services qui lui avoit faiz en maintes manieres, to bury at S. Denis. The warrior held the town of Pontoise against the English, and died during the siege, 20th July, 1441. Another vaillant capitaine de gendarmes^ the chevalier Louis de Pontoise, fell by the side of Louis XL at the assault of the town of Crotoy, and was rewarded by being laid to rest amongst the Royalties. Louis XIV. of course accorded burial at S. Denis to his great commanders. First, the Due de Chatillon, for his mag- nificent services. Feu nostre trh-cher cousin was killed at the taking, in 1649, of Charenton, that peaceful suburb of Paris just outside the Bois de Vincennes ; and the King, wishing to tesmoigner le ressentimeni que nous avons d'une si grande perte^ honoured the valiant Due with burial at S. Denis. The service was to be at the King's expense, which looks as if the honour were sometimes a costly one to the relatives ; and no pomp or ceremony was to be omitted — such were the in- structions of his most glorious majesty. The Marquis de Saint Maigrin seems, according to the King's epistle, to have been of a valeur extraordinaire^ datis SAINT-DENIS. 51 toutes les occasions ou il s'est trouve; his majesty felt avec beaucoup de douleur la perte que ?ious en avons faite au dernier combat qui s' est fait dans les fauxbourgs de nostre bonne ville de Paris; and so he, too, was to rest with the great ones, socially, of the earth. Louis seems to have been a sort of complete letter writer ; the note in which he eulogises Turenne might serve a« a model for those masters of style amongst us who delight in long sen- tences and a scarcity of full-stops; but, unlike the moderns, "la grande monarque" never gets involved, he only causes a slight shortness of breath to his readers. Witness the following page : " Chers et bien amez, les grands et signalez services qui ont este rendus a cet Estat par feu nostre cousin, le vicomte de Turenne, et les preuves eclatantes qu'il a donnees de son zele, de son affection a nostre service, et de sa capacite dans le commandement de nos armees que nous luy avons confiees avec une esperance certaine des heureux et grands succes que sa prudence consommee et sa valeur extraordinaire ont procure a nos armes, nous ayant fait ressentir avec beaucoup de dou- leur la perte d'un aussi grand homme et d'un sujet aussi neces- saire et aussi distingue par sa vertu etpar sa merite, nous avons voulu donner un tesmoignage public digne de nostre estime et de ses grandes actions, en ordonnant qu'il fust rendu a s^ memoire tous les honneurs qui peuvent marquer a la posterity I'extreme satisfaction qui nous reste, et le souvenir que nous voulons conserver de tout ce qu'il a faict pour la gloire de nos armes et pour le soutien de nostre Estat ; et comme nous ne pouvons en donner des marques plus publiques et plus certaines qu'en prenant soin de sa sepulture, nous avons voulu y pour- voir en telle sorte que le lieu ou elle seroit, fust un tesmoignage de la grandeur de ses services et de nostre reconnoissance ; c'est pourquoy, ayant r^solu de faire bastir dans I'eglise de Saint-Denys une chapelle pour la sepulture des rois et des princes de la branche royale de Bourbon, nous voulons que, lorsqu'elle sera achev^e, le corps de nostredit cousin y soit transfere, pour y estre mis en lieu honorable, suivant I'ordre que nous en donnerons ; et cependant nous avons permis a nos cousins le cardinal et le due de Bouillon, ses neveux, de mettre son corps en depost dans la chapelle de Saint-Eustache de ladite ^glise de Saint-Denys, et d'y eslever un monument a la memoire de leur oncle, suivant les desseins qui en ont este arrestez ; c'est de quoy nous avons bien voulu vous donner £ 2 52 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. avis, et vous dire en mesme temps que nous voulons que vous executiez ce qui est en cela de nostre volonte, en faisant mettre ledit corps dans la cave de ladite chapelle et en laissant la liberte aux ouvriers de travailler audit monument jusqu'a son entiere perfection. Si n'y faictes fautes ; car tel est nostre plaisir. Donne a Saint-Germain en Laye, le xxii® jour de Novembre 1675. Signe^ Louis. Et plus bas, Colbert, Et sur le reply : A nos chers et amez les abb^, prieur et religieux de I'abbaye royale de Saint- Denys, en France." The projected Bourbon chapel was never built, and the Revolution found the monument of Turenne in the same chapel, that of S. Eustache, whence it was trundled out as late as April, 1796, and transported to the Petits-Augustins ; for up to that time Turenne, not being a royal person, had been left in peace. The demolition of the tombs seems to have gone on fitfully from 1793 to 1795, ^^a little diversion between more exciting events. After the emigration of the nobility in 1790; the flight of the King to Varennes, and his false swearing to uphold the constitution in 1792 ; and his treachery in carrying on a correspondence with the enemies at the frontier; the popular anger waxed strong, and led to the storming of the Tuileries on the loth August,* which event was to be celebrated the next year by the demolition of the tombs of S. Denis. Louis XVI. had paid the penalty of his crimes ; and like his forerunner, Charles I., had shown that if he did not know how to live, he at least had learnt how to die ; but his ancestors had got off scot-free. Why should they be allowed to rest peace- fully, what remained of them ? Besides, lead was wanted for ammunition ; and, just as the church bells were in requisition for guns, and gold and silver vessels for coinage, so the leaden coffins and roofs of churches could be melted up into cannon bills. Imagine the stampede of Parisians along that paved road that led from Paris to S. Denis. Only the other day, when the trams were instituted, were those great rough stones taken up. At Versailles you may still see the like ; the paved * That Louis XVI. was not simply weak-minded and vacillating, but treacherous and double-faced, there can be little doubt. A print exhibited at the Exposition Historique de la Revolution, held in the Salle des Etats of the Tuileries in 1889, represents the opening of an iron closet after the slaughter of the loth of August, and the display of numberless documents — letters to Pitt, asking for help to reinstate the monarchy ; plans and pro- jects for a counter-revolution ; and correspondence to and from the emigris and foreign princes. SAINT-DENIS, 53 part of the road very much curved, with mud paths on each side — side walks for the people, while the centre pavement was reserved for the quality. They radiate from the palace, and enabled the " Roi Soleil " to visit his satellites at Bellevue, the Trianon, Meudon, and S. Germain, without danger of his lumbering coach sticking in the mire, to which he and his belonged. Many must have been the journeys from the capital to S. Denis, which the decree of the Convention sanc- tioned — journeys accompanied by crowbars and pickaxes for the better destruction of the tombs. It was a ghastly idea, but in no wise an exaggerated revenge for the kingly brutalities perpetrated upon the living bodies of Ravaillac, Damiens, and such like canaille* We have a full account of the whole affair from the pen of an eye-witness, one Dom Poirier, the custodian of the archives of the monastery, who was present when the commission carried out the decree of the Convention of the 31st July, 1793. The report of this commission is so curious that I will quote it in full. After assigning to the children of Louis le conspirateur\ the portion of simple citizens, Barrbre continued as to the proposed arrangements to be carried out at " la Franciade " : " Enfin, le comit^ a pens^ que, pour celebrer la journde du 10 aotit, qui a abattu le trone, il fallait, dans son anniversaire, detruire les mausolees fastueux qui sont a Saint-Denis. Dans la monarchic, les tombeaux meme avaient appris a flatter les rois. L'orgueil et le faste royal ne pouvaient s'adoucir sur ce theatre de la mort ; et les porte-sceptre qui ont fait tant de maux \ la France et a I'humanite semblent encore, meme dans la tombe, s'enor- gueillir d'une grandeur ^vanouie. La main puissante de la republique doit effacer impiloyablement ces epitaphes superbes et demolir ces mausolees qui rappeleraient des rois Feffrayant souvenir." Thereupon a discussion ensued. One member suggested that the nation being in peril, and wanting guns to carry on its defence, a commission should proceed to Fran- ciade, otherwise S. Denis, in order to commence " I'exhumation * The prods verbal of these villanies, giving the most hideous and disgusting details, and the names of the distinguished persons who were present at the entertainments, were to be seen and read in the prison department of the Centenary Exhibition of 1889, together with accounts of some of the doings within the walls of the Bastille in the happy days when lettres de cachet were kept ready signed for distribution, t See note, page 52. 54 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS, des ci-devant rois et reines, princes et princesses, dont les corps dtaient renfermes dans les caveaux de cette eglise." Their coffins were to be broken, the lead and the bronze to be melted up, and sent to the arsenals for conversion into arms and munitions of war. The former Benedictine Dom Poirier was nominated commissioner for the Institut, and ordered to be present at the performance. Some days after, the Moniteur triumphantly records the commencement of the business. Then there must have been a lull, for on the 7th September the Conventionnel Lequinio cried from the Tribune : " Je d^nonce I'inex^cution du d^cret qui ordonne I'entibre demolition des tombeaux de nos anciens tyrans k Saint-Denis. Sans doute, en ddtruisant ces restes du despotisme, il faut conserver les monuments des arts ; mais il faut qu'au lieu d'etre des objets d'idolatrie, il ne servent plus qu'a nourrir I'admiration des amis des arts, I'^mulation et le g^nie des artistes." The notes taken by Dom Poirier are full of interesting details, told with a certain naivete ; as, for instance, " in the morning, after dinner, they descended into the tomb." Or ''early in the morning they began the work, but left off while they went to dejeiuier'^ It must be remembered, also (to quote M. Guilhermy), that the destruction " des tombeaux et Textraction des corps ont €\.€ deux operations distinctes. Au mois d'aoClt, 1793, pour cdl^brer Tanniversaire de la victoire du peiiple (10 aoClt), on fit disparaitre de I'^glise la plupart des tombeaux et des statues; mais le temps pressait, on ne profana que les restes d^pos^s dans les massifs des monu- ments. Au mois d'octobre, on acheva I'oeuvre commencee, en fouillant toutes les fosses et tous les caveaux qu'il fut possible dc retrouver. On n'^pargna ni le temps ni les recherches." The work went on merrily. Marble tombs were smashed up as effectually as the bodies, which were thrown into a pit dug upon the site of the demolished Orleans chapel. Quick-lime helped the business as far as the kings were con- cerned, but to the assistants it was of no use \ and so they had recourse to the burning of strong smelling powders, and the firing of guns, in order to purify the air. Here is one of Dom Poirier's notes : — " Nota. — Ri^n n'a ^te remarquable dans I'extraction des cercueils faite dans la journde du mardi 15 Octbre, 1793 : la plupart de ces corps ^taient en putrefaction ; il en sortait une vapeur noire et ^paisse, d'une odeur infecte, qu'on chassait a force de vinaigre et de poudre qu'on eut la precaution de SAINT-DENIS, 55 brfller ; ce qui n'empecha pas les ouvriers de gagner des devoiements et des fievres, qui n^ont pas eu de mauvaises suites.''^ What say the modern sanitary authorities to that ! The body of Henri IV. was found in a perfect state of preservation ; and he was kept some time in the church lying-in-state, as it were, while a cast was taken of his face ; but it may be noted that Dom Poirier makes no allus'fen to the story of a soldier cutting off his beard and sticking it on his own face. The names of the princes and princesses were engraved upon Httle brass plates attached to the covers of the coffins ; and a few years ago three or four of these brasses were found in the shop of a coppersmith, that of Louis XIV. having served as the bottom of a stewpan. How are the mighty fallen ! Let me quote some more of Dom Poirier's jottings : — Remarques. — In Charles V.'s coffin they found a crown in silver, gilt, in a good state of preservation, a hand of justice of silver, a sceptre 5 feet in length surmounted with acanthus leaves in silver, exquisitely gilt, the gold possessing all its freshness and brilliancy. " Ce sceptre etait sur- nionte d'un bouquet en feuillage, an milieu duquel s'^levait une grappe de corymbe, ce qui lui donne a peu pres la forme d'un thyrse, tel qu'on en voit dans Monfaucon, article de sceptres ; morceau d'orfevrerie assez bien travaille pour son epoque." (Alexandre Lenoir, Mush des Monuvients fratt^ais. " Remarque. Une singularity de I'embaumement du corps de Charles VII., c'est qu'on y avait parsem6 du vif-argent, qui avait conserve toute sa fluidity. On a observe la meme singularite dans quelques autres eml)aunie- ments de corps du XI V^ et du XVe si^cles." The following may interest some persons : — "Le mercredi, 16 Octobre, 1793. " Towards 7 o'clock in the morning the work was continued in the vault of the Bourbons. They began with the coffin of Henriette Marie, daughter of Henri IV. and wife of the unfortunate Charles I., King of England, d. in 1669, aged 60 ;* and continued with Anne Stuart, her daughter, the wife of Monsieur^ only brother of Louis XIV. d. in 1670, aged 26." The body of Louis VIII., the father of S. Louis, had almost disappeared. A cross was sculptured upon the lid of the stone coffin ; in it was found a sceptre of rotten wood, and * Bossuet's panegyric upon the queen reads like a satiric ode : " Elle va descendre a ces sombres lieux, k ces demeures souterraines pour y dormir dans la poussiere avec les grands de la terre, comme parle Job ; avec ces rois et ces princes aneantis, parmi lesquels k peine peut on la placer, tant les rangs y sont presses, tant la mort est prompte k remplir ces places." 56 THE CJJURCHES OF PARIS, a skull-cap of satin surrounded by a band of gold woven stuff, forming a diadem. The body had been enveloped in a winding sheet of gold tissue, some pieces of which were in a good state of preservation. Remarques. — His body thus enveloped had been sewn up in a strong leather covering.* " 11 est vraisemblable qu'on ne I'a fait pour lui que pour que son cadavre n'exhalat pas au dehors de mauvaise odeur, dans le transport qu'on en fit de Montpensier en Auvergne, od il mourut k son retour de la guerre contre les Albigeois." *' Ce cuir avait conserve toute son ^lasticit^. . . Dans les fouilles de Saint-Germain-des-Prbs, on trouva un corps ^gale- ment envelopp^ dans un cuir. (Alexandre Lenoir, Musee des Monuments Fraufais.) Nous pourrions citer quelques autres exemples. Les corps de plusieurs princes de la maison des Plantagenets, au douzi^me si^cle, furent apport^s k Rouen, cousus dans una enveloppe de cuir; c'^taient ceux de Henry I., de Henry-le-Jeune, de Richard-Coeur-de-Lion. Hugues de Grantemaisnil, mort k Londres en 1098, ayant demande a etre inhum^ a I'abbaye de Saint-Evrould, en Normandie, son corps y fut transf^r^ sal^, et cousu dans une peau de boeuf. En fin on salt que saint Bernard fut enseveli dans un sac de cuir " (v. B. de Peterborough ; Orderic Vital ; Histoire de Saint Bernard^ &c.) (Guilhermy). There are notes upon the height of Frangois I., by Alex- andre Lenoir : — " Le corps de Fran9ois \^^- portait une taille extraordinaire et une struc- ture tres-forte; I'un des femurs de ce prince que j'ai mesure portait 53c (20 pouces) des condiles \ la tete de I'os." And upon the beauty of another gentleman's locks : " Le conn^table Louis de Sancerre avait de forts beaux cheveux ; lors de I'exhumation des corps \ St. Denis, il fut trouvd ayant encore trois longues tresses d'environ 40 centimetres " (Alex. Lenoir). The proch-verbal makes no mention of the heart of Cardinal de Bourbon, nor of the graves of Chatillon and the Marquis de Saint-Maigrin, nor of the abbots, and grand priors ; their remains probably still rest in the soil under the church, for vaults have several times been discovered in all parts during the restorations of the building. It will be seen that the amount of valuables found was not great : Five silver-gilt and * Alexandre Lenoir made a coloured drawing of the body at the time, representing the entire skeleton wrapped up in white stuff embroidered in gold. SAINT-DENIS. 57 five copper-gilt crowns, two silver-gilt sceptres, four of copper- gilt, and three of wood ; one silver hand of justice, one silver-gilt, and one broken; (the baton d^ebene was pos- sibly the stem of a hand of justice belonging to Charles le Bel) ; the upper part of a crozier ; four rings, two silver and two gold; the silver seal of Constance of Castille bearing che effigy of the princess and an inscription (now in the Biblioth^que) ; remains of spindles and distaffs ; four chains of bracelets ; two clasps and a silver buckle ; a good many fiajments of stuffs, tissues, and embroideries ; a winding-sheet of gold tissue, a silver one ; a chasuble ; a satin belt ; shoes ; a Carmelite habit, and some gold thread. What became of these things, many of them of no value but for a museum, is not known. Such was the result of this disgusting entertainment, which was principally a search for valuables to keep up the struggle for life. Empty coffers, starving multitudes, an enemy crying at the frontier ; such was the legacy left by the \vanton waste o'. a profligate court, and a debased race of kings. The terrible revenge which followed did them little harm ; could they have been made to suffer in their life-time, it would have been better than mauling about their dead bodies and rummaging in their tombs; but unfortunately the last of the race was the least guilty, although he had much heartlessness and treachery to answer for ; and had he felt the storm which had been threatening for some time, the hurricane might have passed over. But selfishness is always blind ; and so the flood carried the poor thing away ; and the skeletons, the lead, the gold and the silver, were all swept into their respective lime-strewn pits and melting pots. Here is the epilogue. In 181 5 the " Sous- pr^fet et le maire de Saint-Denis firent Clever un tertre couvert de gazon, de lis et de cypres sur les deux fosses dans lesquelles avaient ete jet^s les restes des rois et des princes." (Gilbert, Description historique de Feglise de Saint-Denis.) "On se proposait d'eriger en ce lieu un monument expiatoire ; mais il parut plus convenable de r^integrer dans I'eglise les ossements que les deux fosses contenaient encore." (Guilhermy.) The metal of the monuments, with the exception of two enamelled brass slabs which came from Royaumont, was all melted up. In the Moniteur of 14th August, 1792, may be read a list of the tombs destroyed, furnished by the town of S. Denis. The monument of Charles le Chauve must have 58 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. been magnificent. The effigy of the emperor reposed on a slab supported by four hons. Two Angels censed the defunct ; and four bishops sat at the corners. We know the style of tomb from the description given by Richer, a monk of Senone, who wrote a chronicle during the reign of S. Louis, and who saw it soon after it was set up. Charles had been a great patron of the abbey and had given it the Holy Nail and a thorn from the Holy Crown, besides part of the course of the Seine and the domain of Ruel. The tomb of "la noble royne de france Marguerite qui fu fame monseigneur Sainct Loys, jadis roy de France" is engraved in Montfaucon's Monuments de la Monarchie frangaise. The tomb of Arnaud de Guilhem, seigneur de Barbazan, was canopied, the warrior being represented in full armour. The whole was in bronze, with an inscription, at the end of which was the name of the artist : fait d paris par Jehan Mora?it. The monument of Charles VHI. was of gilt copper. The king's effigy, praying, was upon the platform, with little Angels at the corners also kneeling and holding shields. Charles VIH. died of apoplexy, at Amboise, praying, ^^ Mon Dieu et la glorteuse Vierge, Motiseigneur saint Claude^ ei Monseigneur sai?it Blaise me soient e?i ayde." He was a pious king and had been holding " quelques discours spirituels avec la reyne et autres assistans," when he was struck down, being only twenty-eight years of age. His tomb was said to be the finest in the choir. He was regretted by all his subjects " sp(^cialement de ses domestiques," for he was generous, magnanimous, and decorated with all kingly virtues. The queen was much afflicted, and thought she would die of grief, " demeurant deux jours et deux nuicts sans reposer ny prendre aucun aliment." Thus Dom Millet. Phihppe de Commynes says the chamberlains " le feirent ensevelir fort richement, et sur rheure luy commencea le service, qui jamais ne failloit ne jour ne nuict." For a whole month the chamberlains and others watched the corpse, the entire expense amounting to " quarante-cinq mil francs." The tomb was the work oi Paganini of Modena, no doubt one of the " ouvriers excellens en plusieurs ouvraiges comme tailleurs et painctres " whom the king brought from Naples,* together with a large collection ♦ Philippe de Commynes. SATNT-DENIS. 59 of works of art, for the carriage of which, and for " la nourri- ture de XXII. hom- ines de mestier, de XXXIII. jours a la raison de XL. sous par jour," the king had to pay his tapis- sier ordinaire 1594 livres ; the collection weighing 87,000 liv- res. Many marble tombs were also de- stroyed, some cano- pied, some resting upon columns, others recumbent, the frag- ments of which were built up into a pe- destal for a figure of Liberty in the Place d'armes opposite the church, a barbarous proceeding, surely ; but forget not that the slabs and broken tombs in our old burial grounds are treated much in the same fashion, and piled up into pyra- mids to ornament the gardens. The transportation of what was saved from the wreck to Paris was no mean work. Think of the huge monument of Fran- 9ois I., and about MONUMENT OF FRANCOIS l^' 6o TIJE CHURCHES OF PARIS. eighty statues ! The Convention had no cash to spend upon art \ with its fourteen armies defending the frontiers, it had enough expense without paying for the carriage of monuments and such like. And so Lenoir conceived the idea of stopping the mihtary as they returned with empty waggons. Arrived in Paris the difficulties did not end. Statues were chopped about to enable them to fill certain spaces in the museum of the Petits-Augustins, recumbent figures found themselves standing upright ; fragments of one tomb were taken to decorate another. But taking it all in all, the museum arranged by Lenoir must have been very imposing. The magnificent tomb of Frangois L stood in a chapel of the church, now occupied by casts of the works of Michael-Angelo. Louis XIL had a place of honour in another salle. But no sooner was all arranged, indeed before the huge Henri IL monument had been set up, a royal decree of i6th December, 1816, ordered the museum to be closed, the building to be turned into the I^cole des Beaux-Arts, and all the kings and queens to be marched back to S. Denis and the other churches whence they came. So swiftly was the order carried out, that the poor old sovereigns became still more mutilated ; some were stowed away in the cellars, others were re-erected upon prmciples of the greatest economy. If the revolutionists tore down the monuments, the restored monarchists did not take the trouble to set them up again ; and those who went to study art in the new schools were enabled to see the respect with which Mediaeval art was treated. Statues, canopies, columns, were tossed about anywhere ; until Louis XVI IL decided that they should be reinstated at S. Denis. Then strange things occurred. The effigies were matched indiscriminately, and every king was placed by the side of a queen, whether his own or another's. Hence " singuliers incestes de pierre, et des adulteres de marbre de la pire esp^ce. On n'imaginerait jamais ce qui se commit d'immoralites archeologiques sous les voutes obscures de Saint-Denis."* The monuments \vere all arranged, museum fashion, in the crypt until our own day, when they were once again removed, and replaced in their old positions in the church, to be left, let us hope, at last in peace. The following is a list of the monuments returned to S. Denis : * Guilhermy. SAINT-DENIS, Gi Monuments formerly at S. Denis ... •■•52 from S. Germain-des-Pres ... ... ... ... 6 , , Notre-Dame de Corbcil ... 2 ,, S. Genevieve ... ... ... ... ... i ,, S. Catherine-du-Val ... ... ... 2 ,, des Cordeliers ... ... ... . . ... 3 ,, des Jacobins ... ... ... .. ... 7 ,, des Celestins ... ... ... 12 ,, des Minimes ... ... ... .. ... 2 ,, des Grands-Jesuites ... ... ... ... i ,, I'abbaye de Royaumont ... ... ... C ,, I'abbaye de Maubuisson ... ... ... 2 ,, I'abbaye de Poissy ... ... ... ... i ,, I'abbaye de Notre-Dame a Soissons i ,, I'abbaye de Haute Bruyere ... ... ... i ,, la colleglale de Saint-Cloud ... ... ... 2 of origin unknown ... ... ... .•• 13 new or made up of fragments 53 167 By far the most beautiful tomb is that of Louis XII. " Sur le lieu de la sepulture de Louis XII. et de la reyne Anne, le roy Frangois leur gendre et successeur a la couronne, leur a fait dresser un tres-somptueux mausolee de fin marbre blanc, a deux estages, qui est une des belles pieces de I'Europe, pour ne pas dire la plus belle."* Dom Jacques Doublet and Germain Millet both attributed the work to Ponzio; but Felibien, reading a passage in a Latin commentary printed by Jean Breche in 1550, discovered the true author :" Voyez le monument" (says Breche) "de marbre consacre a Louis XII., travaille avec un artifice admirable et plein d'elegance, dans notre tres-illustre cite de Tours, par Jean Juste, statuaire du plus grand talent." The discovery of an order for payment of 400 ecus to Juste in a letter from the king to Cardinal Duprat, sets the matter at rest if the date of Ponzio's arrival did not also do so.f The tomb was taken to S. Denis in 1527 ; whereas Ponzio did not arrive in France until about 1530. This way of attributing all that is good in art to Italy was formerly very common. Even in our own time all branches of French art were looked upon by our fathers as frivolous and trivial. Italian Renaissance was trivial enough, but French * G. Millet. t In the Cathedral of Del the remains of a monument by Juste are signed : Magister Johannes cujus cognomen est Justus et Florentinus, possibly indicating that the Justes were of Italian origin (Giusto). TOMB OF LOUIS XII., AND COLUMN OF FRANCOIS II. SAINT-DENIS. 63 Renaissance utterly meretricious. To the insane worshippers of the " Gothic style," it alone was pure. The sumptuous grandiosities of Louis XIV. were tolerable, because they aimed at being Classic. The portico of the Pantheon or the colon- nade of the Louvre were considered fine; but the elegancies of Jean Goujon were wanting in severity. Even Watteau, though admitted to be graceful, was " meretricious " ; Berlioz amongst musicianswas only "noisy and claptrap ;" and sculpture and architecture were criticised in like manner. And yet the designs upon the tomb of Louis XIL, especially the pilasters which support the canopy, could not be surpassed in beauty by the artists of any country. Jean Juste, Philibert Delorme, Jean Goujon, Michel Colomb, Jean Cousin, and Germain Pilon formed a group of men scarcely surpassed by Sansovino, Riccio, Desiderio da Settignano and the Rossellini. The Italians led the way, but the French proved themselves very apt pupils. It is not my intention to describe the tomb of Louis XIL, or, indeed, any of the others, minutely. Descriptions without illustrations are mostly dry and dreary. Nor have I tried to illustrate the details of ornament in the churches or their contents— in a book of this size it would be impossible; my aim has rather been to give the general effect of their styles ; of their everyday appearance; of the life which goes on in and around them ; and of the position, especially in the case of S. Denis, of their tombs and furniture. A large photograph and a manifying glass will show the beauty of the sculpture of the tombs far better than any drawing of mine ; for such subjects photography is unique. But for artistic effect, for general impressions of buildings it mostly fails, and all artists will agree with me that, for some reason or other, photographs of buildings seem generally to have been taken from the worst point of view, and are nearly always wanting in impressiveness. Jean Juste had a brother Antoine, and they seem together to have been the authors of the beautiful tomb of the children of Charles VIII. at Tours; of the fountain called de Beaune, also at Tours ; of the two monuments of the famille Gaudin ; and the tomb of the general des finances, Thomas Bohier. In 1530, one Juste de Just, tailleur en marbre, living at Tours received 102 Irvres 10 sous from the king for a Hercules and a Leda. This Juste was probably the same as Jean. The bas-reliefs round the base of Louis XI I. 's tomb ^^dUK,^-.: TOMB OF HENRI II. AND CATHERINE DE MEDICI, SAINT-DENIS. 65 represent various campaigns of the king; the figures at the four corners are the Cardinal Virtues, those within the arcades are the twelve Apostles. Within are the king and queen, entirely nude, lying upon a mattress in the last agony of death ; while above, upon the platform, they are praying before a cushioned faldstool, for their own departed souls. Such is the motive of this and the other two tombs of the same character, those of Henri II. and Frangois I*^*"- The former of these is the work of Germain Pilon, and was originally placed under the dome of Philibert Delorme's mag- nificent chapel erected for the Valois family. It is of marble with bronze figures. The king and queen pray, upon the housetop ; at each end are openings through which are to be seen the figures of the defunct in the sleep of death. The terrible side of death, which is prominent in the expression on the faces of Louis XII. and his queen, is here absent ; and Catherine is represented young and beautiful as she appeared at the death of her husband, whom she survived thirty years. At the four corners are bronze figures of the Cardinal Virtues ; and the kneeling figures of the sovereigns upon the canopy are also in bronze. The tomb has always been justly es- teemed as a magnificent work, and even Bernini admired it. "Z^ cavalier Bernin" says Sauval, *'« admire le tombeau de Valois^ qui voulait ne rien tr Oliver de passable en France,^' The Virtues ornament this tomb also, and present a note- worthy point for Total Abstainers, the figure of Temperance bears two cups; can this be meant for wine as well as water ? or for two sorts of water, aerated and mineral ? When the tomb was reconstructed it was found that many of the marbles had antique sculptures upon the back, showing that they had been taken from works of Classic origin. The monument of FranQois P*"- and Claude de France is the largest of these splendid tombs. It was erected about 1552 by Philibert Delorme with the assistance of several sculptors. Pierre Bontems was the author of the bas-reliefs upon the stylobate and some of the kneeling figures upon the canopy ; Germain Pilon sculptured the statues of children under the canopy, allegorically representing Fortune, and Ambroise Perret, the Four Evangelists; while the details of ornament were the work of Jacques Chantrel, Bastien Galles, Pierre Bigoigne, and Jean de Bourges. The recumbent figures have been attributed to Jean Goujon, from the exceptional beauty 66 THE CHURCHES OF FARIS, of the workmanship, but without any positive proof. The ... ,^, tomb is of white marble, with a Uttle black and grey introduced for some of the mouldings ; the bas-reliefs represent the king's cam- paigns in Italy. In the bas- reliefs of the Louis XII. monument many of the cos- tumes are more Roman than French ; but those upon the tomb of FranQois I^*"- are treated with more historical truth, and represent the fashion of the day. The faces of the recumbent i statues are beautifully mod- I elled ; that of the queen i bearing an expression of the ; sanctity with which she was : accredited. S. Denis is rich in columns erected as memorials, often bearing urns upon the lop containing some worthy heart. That of Frangois II. was for- merly at the church of the C^lestins. It is the work of Germain Pilon, and was con- sidered by Sauval and ^Ues habiles gens " to be as beauti- ful as the "Three Graces " or "Charitds" which bore the urn containing the heart of Henri II. The pedestal is triangular, of white marble; so, too, are the three little Genii who guard the corners. One weeps for the defunct; the other two seem to take the matter philosophically. The shaft of the column is COLUMN OF HENRI III. SAINT-DENIS. 67 dotted over with flames, said to be symbolic of the pillar of fire which marched before the Hebrews ; may they not rather mean the flames of purgatory?* The gilt bronze urn which formerly surmounted it, and the winged child holding a crown, were both consigned to the melting pot. This column was an act of fraternal homage on the part ot Charles IX. The column of Henri IH. was originally erected in the church of S. Cloud by the secretary of Henri HI., Charles Benoise. The shaft is of red marble, twisted, with ivy twirling round it — the work of Barth^lemy Prieur. The column of the Cardinal Louis de Bourbon formerly bore the effigy of the great man, if honours and emoluments can make a man great. He was naturally a peer; bishop of Laon, of Saintes, of Mans, of Lugon, and of Treguier; arch- bishop of Sens; abbot of S. Denis, of Corbie, of Saint- Vincent-de-Laon, of Saint-Faron-de-Meaux, of Ainay, of Saint- Amand, of Saint-Crepin-le-Grand, of Soissons, and of Saint- Serge. And yet some people profess to be scandalised at the excesses of the unprivileged classes ! The cardinal was, however, a great patron of art; at Sens and at Laon, monuments testify to this and all his other magnificences. His body was buried in the cathedral of Laon ; the Benedictines of S. Denis only having succeeded in obtaining his heart. The column, like many other beau- tiful works of art, is by an unknown artist. It is of red marble with a white alabaster base and capital, which is exquisitely sculptured with little figures of children bathed in foliage. The history of some of the recumbent statues of the kings is curious. Having been made to lie down, they were, after the dispersal of the Musee des Monuments Frangais, stuck up against the wall of the crypt ; and others were rebaptised and renamed. Thus, at the museum, Charles V. and Jeanne de Bourbon became S. Louis and Marguerite de Provence ; and so named, when they were trotted back to S. Denis, they received the homage of the faithful. To make matters worse, a copy of S. Louis' statue was sent to Tunis for the church which was built in memory of the saint, and the head became the authentic type for his portraits. The same may be said * Through the flames of purgatory, we attain the crown. See page 62. F a 68 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. of the false Marguerite ; she wears a costume more than a hundred years too late. The elaborately enamelled brass slabs of the children of S. Louis, Jean and Blanche, came from Royaument. The design is rude, but the colouring good ; the figures are in relief upon a ground incrusted in enamel ; the heads and hands, the lions at the feet, and the Angels swinging censers are of polished brass ; while the feet and the draperies are in coloured enamel. To see these brasses, permission must be obtained from the architect of the church, as they are upon one side of the High Altar, a part which is not generally shown to ordinary visitors. The motto upon the tomb of Jean is as follows : HIC JACET : lOANNES : EXCELLENTISSIMI LVD avici regis francorvtn filivs qui in etoUe infatuie migra VIT AD XPM ANNO GRACIE : MILLESI MO: DVCENTESSIMO: QVADRAGESIMO: SEPTIMO: SEXTO: IDVS: MARTII The body of Turenne did not have much peace after it was routed out of its tomb. Not being royal, it was put aside in a chapel until the Convention should decide its fate ; when thinking so great a man a worthy object as a specimen of natural history, and deeming it profitable for students of various " ologies," it was put into a glass case by the side of stuffed birds, bottled snakes, criminal curiosities, and monstro- sities. Then it was transferred to the Petits-Augustins, where it found a niche to repose in ; but when Consuls reigned supreme, it was marched with great pomp, with drums and guns and all the paraphernalia of a military funeral, to the church of the Invalides, where it was placed in its old house or the remains of it rebuilt — the S. Denis tomb. The epitaphs of some of the Kings remain, or have been restored ; — Icy gist le Roy charles le quint sages ET ELOQUENT FILS DU ROY IeHAN QUI REGNA SEIZE ANS CINQ MOIS ET SEPT JOURS ET TRESPASSA l'AN DE GRACE MCCCLXXX LE XVI® JOUR DE Septembre. Ici GIST LE RoY Charles sixiesme tres ame large et debonnaire FILS DU ROY Charles le quint qui regna quarante kt it ans ung MOIS ET six jours ET TRESPASSA LE XXI® JOUR DOCTOBRE LAN MIL CCCC VINGT ET DEUX : PRIES DiEU QUEN PARADIX SOIT SON AME : CY GIST LA ROYNE ISABEL DE BaUIERE ESPOUSE DU ROY ChARLES Vje BT PILLB DE TRES PUISSANT PNC.E KSTIENNE DUG DE BaUIERE COTE SAINT-DENIS, 69 PALATIN DU RiN QUI REGNA AUEC SOND ESPOUS ET TRESPASSA LAN M : CCCC ET XXXV LE DERNIER JOUR DE SePIKMBRE : PRIES DiEU I'OUR ELLE : Cy GIST LE Roy Charles Septiesme tres glorieux victorieux et BIEN SERUY FILS DU ROY CHARLES SIXIESMES : QUI REGNA TRE.VTE NEUF ANS NEUF MOIS ET I JOUR ET TRESPASSA LE JOUR DE LA MAGDELAINE XXVII^ JOUR DE JUILLET LA M : CCCCLXI : PRIES POUR LUY : Icy GIST LA ROYNE JeHANNE DE BOURBON ESPOUSE DU ROY CHARLES LE QUINT ET FILLE DE TRES NOBLE PRINCE MONS*" PIERRE DUC DE BOURBON QUI REGNA AUECQS SONE ESPOUS XIII ANS ET DIX MOIS ET TSPASSA La'm : CCCLXXVII LE DERN JOUR DE FEUER Cy gist LA ROYNE MARIE FILLE DU ROY DE SICILE DUC DANIOU ESPOUSE DU ROY CHARLES VII^ QUI REGNA AUECQS SOND ESPX ET TRES- PASSA LE PENULTIESME JOUR DE NOUEMBRE LAN MIL : CCCCLXIII : PRIES DIEU POUR ELLE. After the restoration of the tombs a tablet was set up to the memory of Jeanne-d'Arc, bearing the representation of some armour of the i6th century, and the following epitaph : — CE QUE ESTAIT LE HARNAIS DE JEHANNE PAR ELLE BAILLE EN HOM- MAGE A MONSEIGNEUR SAINCT DENIS. Several portraits of the great Abbot Suger existed in Dom Millet's time : " On voit encores aujourd'huy en la partie supe- rieure de I'eglise Saint-Denis que nous nommons le chevet, une vieille tapisserie 011 le roy Louis VII. est repr^sentd avec les habits royaux, et la couronne en teste, qui donne son sceptre et sa main de justice au susdit abb^ Sugere reprdsente en habit pontifical, et au-dessus y a une inscription contenant ceste escriture: Lud. rex franc Sugg^erium abbatem et reaedificatorem hujus templi, viceregem constituit, anno 1140. Mais le tapissier, ou ceux qui ont fourny le mdmoire se sent trompez ; car ceste commission ne fut donnee ^ Sugbre que I'an 1147, auquel an le roy partit de France, au mois d'aoust, pour un voyage de la Terre-Sainte." "II y a en ceste royale abbaye plusieurs figures de I'abb^ Sugbre, deux desquelles sent en veue a toutes personnes. L'un est sur I'un des battans de la grande porte de I'dglise,* Tautre en une vitre de la Chapelle Notre-Dame, en la partie sup^rieure que nous nommons le chevet t II est repr^sent^ en tous les deux endroits, non revestu d'un rochet ou d'un camail, non avec la perruque ou le bonnet carr^ sur la teste, • Unfortunately, this being metal, was melted up in 1793. t This still exists. 70 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. mais au plus simple habit et en la plus humble posture, qu'on puisse representer un pauvre religieux, scavoir est avec un froc plisse* (approchant fort de celuy dont nous usons maintenant) et la tonsure monacale, couch^ k plate terre; en la vitre, devant une image de la sacr^e Vierge, avec ces mots : Suggerius abbas ; surla porte, devant I'image de Notre-Sauveur, assis a table avec les p^lerins d'Emmaiis. II n'a en Tune ny en Tautre figure aucune marque qui le puisse distinguer d'avec le moindre novice de son monast^re, sinon la crosse abbatiale qu'il tient d'une main, pour marque de sa dignity, et pour monstrer que c'est luy qui est 1^ repr(^sente." " Or, comme il est tr6s-certain que c'est luy-mesme qui a fait faire ces figures, aussi est-il tr^s-asseur^ qu'il n'avoit garde de les faire representer en autre habit que celuy qu'il portoit publiquement et continuellement, sp^cialement depuis la reformation \ car autrement c'eust par une hypocrisie trop grossi^re se sacrifier ^ la ris^e de tout le monde." This description of the portrait is most interesting ; we can see the great abbot as Dom Millet paints him upon the glass which he himself devised, if he did not absolutely design it. The tomb of Dagobert is an enormous canopied structure, originally of the 13th century, but so much restored that it is practically modern. Dagobert died in 638, and was embalmed and buried in the church of his foundation; but of the style of this first tomb we have no knowledge whatever. Of the existing tomb, the principal part is the legendary history of the king taken from the " Gesta Dagoberti',^ told in three alto-reliefs. Below these, the king sleeps upon his left side in a rather uncomfortable fashion ; standing on one side is his wife Nantilde, or Nantechilde ; on the other, one of his sons, Clovis II. or Sigebert. At the apex of the arch is Our Lord giving the benediction, with SS. Martin and Denis on each side. These two saints, with S. Maurice, had the kind- ness to hear the prayers of Dagobert, when he was held in bondage by devils, dunng a voyage in a boat, on the waters of the great gulf fixed between Abraham and Hades. The story was told by a hermit to Ansoald, on his way back from Sicily, and by the 9th century had been worked up into a fact, as it is mentioned in a letter from Louis le D^bonnaire to * This is curious as showing the antiquity of the fashion of plaiting Fi\rplices which is customary in France. SAINTDENIS. 71 Hilduin, abbot of S. Denis. May it not have been originally a dovetailing together of the story of Charon and le bon roy Dagobert, a m'elavge of Classic myth and Christian legend which was very common in the early centuries of the Christian era ? The sculptures, although, as regards the drapery, sufficiently graceful, are very curious and quaint, especially the boat and its contents. The three saints coming to the rescue, Dagobert pressing the hand of the foremost, the discomforted demons, and the soul of the king standing upon a napkin held by S. Denis and S. Martin, are all vigorous to a degree, if some- what rude ; but the Angels round the voussure carry- ing censers, are charming. In the account of the le- gend given by Guillaume de Nan- gis, quoted by Alexandre Lenoir, we seem to have another reading of the opening part of the story of Job. " Mais monseig- neur sainct Denis, qui n'oblia mie son bon amy le roy iXstreSeigneur Jesus-Crist qui luy donast congi^ d'aler secourre la dicte ame; laquelle chose comme Nostre Seigneur luy eust ottroi^, sainct Denis sen ala et mena avecques luy Sainct Morise et aultres aniys que le roy Dagobert avoit moult honorfe en sa vie, et avecques eulx orelt des anges qui les conduirent jusques en la mer e quan ils vindrent ll oMes deables tenoient et ammenoient a grant feste I'ame du roy Dagobert, si le misrent entre eulx et se TOMB OF DAGOBERT. 72 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. combattirent encontre les deaHes." It was all done because of Monseigneur S. Denis' love ol '• le bon roy,'' who had founded the abbey in honour of the martyr ; and if you doubt these facts, and "ne me croyez, alez a Sainct-Denis en France, en I'eglise, et regardez devant I'autel ou Ten chante tous les jours la grant messe, la ou le roy Dagobert gist. La verrez vous audessus de luy ce que vous ay dit, pourtrait et de noble euvre richement enlumin^e." From this, there can be no doubt that the whole mass of sculpture was originally coloured ; indeed, a close inspection shows a little still visible in the folds of the drapery. Lenoir, whose depreciation of Mediaeval sculpture as compared to that of the Renaissance was considerable, speaks of the draped figures as pour le style conune pour le goilt^ comparable aux belles inventions de Raphael. Upon the platform of the apse is the mosaic effigy of Fr^d^gonde, not earlier than the 12th century. It is composed of a stone slab of the form of the early stone coffins. The design is marked out by thin bands of metal between which are incrustations of very small pieces of porphyry, serpentine, and white marble. This, like several of the early tombs, was originally in the abbey of S. Germain-des-Pr^s. The central part of the crypt was formerly the depository for the relics — a sort of sanctuary dedicated to S. D^metre. Another part of the crypt became the burial place of the Bour- bon family. All the princes were buried in vaults underneath their tombs. " Tous le roys, reynes et autres ensepulturez a Saint-Denys reposent dans les caveaux qui sont sous leurs tombeaux, sans qu'il y en ait aucun ailleurs, ce que je dis pour d^sabuser plusieurs personnes (mesmes des gens de quality) qui s'imaginent qu'il y ait une grande cave dans laquelle sont tous les roys, en chair et en os, et demandent qu'on la leur monstre, dont je me suis souventefois estonn^, veu mesme que plusieurs qui vivent encores ont peu voir mettre les cinq derniers roys d^c^d^z non en ceste cave imaginaire, mais dans le tombeau des Vallois, sgavoir, Henry II. et ces trois fils, et Henry IV., dans le caveau commun des rois, oil il est encore. On en peut dire autant de FranQois I^^- etde Louis XIL, et de tous les autres; car quant a la grotte qui est sous le chevet, il n'y a, ny eut jamais, corps ny sepulture d'aucune personne.* The day of the funeral the body was placed in the vault, "sur des barres de fer, devant une statue en marbre de Nostre-Dame." ♦ Dom Millet. SAINT-DENIS- 73 There it remained for a year, aftT which it was deposited in the tomb of the sovereign's ancestors. This curious arrangement became a custom by pure accident. Henri IV. not having signified any desire as to his place of burial, was left in this vault, "/^ caveau des cerhfionies,^' while his widow and les Etats discussed the question of erecting a monument ; and thus, by force of habit, the succeeding Bourbons being placed by the side of Henri, the "caveau " became the mauso- leum of the family. But the Bourbons were a prolific race, and before very long the overcrowding became too great to admit of any more inhabitants ; so upon the burial of Marie-Ther^se, the wife of Louis XIV., it was decided to tunnel a long passage to connect it with the central part of the crypt. It was a difficult and dangerous proceeding : "On per9a," says Felibien, "par-dessous le chevet, a I'endroit ou estoit une ancienne chapelle de Saint-Demetre, un petit corridor de la largeur de trois pieds sur sept de haut. Les ouvriers votitoient a mesure qu'ils avan9oient ; et dans le poursuite de leur ouvrage, ils de- couvrirent quelques tombeaux dont on ne reconnut que celui de I'abb^ Antoine de La Haye, par une inscription qu'on y trouva. Enfin, aprbs avoir pousse environ sept toises et demie, les ouvriers arriv^rent a I'ancien caveau ; de sorte qu'il a ^t^ ais^ d'y joindre, par ce corridor de communication, un caveau specieux qui occupe aujourd'huy, dessous le chevet, I'ancienne crypte ou estoient autrefois les corps des saints martyrs. La place est de neuf toises de long sur environ deux toises et demi dans sa plus grande largeur." The new vault was consecrated the 31st August, 1683. This accounts for the apparent want of an entrance to the centre of the crypt ; as all visitors to the church are aware, you look through little apertures to the place where a few post-revolution burials have taken place. I com- mend all these particulars, which exemplify the horrors of burial above ground, with the rifling of tombs and coffins perpetrated by the officers of the Convention, to the opposers of cremation. Had all these poor royalties been converted into ashes, no such doings could have taken place. The entrance to the Bourbon vaults still exists, close to the altar of S. Maurice, to the right of the High Altar looking eastwards ; but visitors enter by some steps farther east, by the side of the ascent to the apse. It is a miserably gloomy hole, with a few coffins upon trestles, shed- ding their violet coverings. Can any sort of burial equal in horror this of open vaults ? 74 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. ■^f r^ 1,1' ^.rf" :s i The statues of the early kings were erected by S. Louis. Ordered by him as commemorative effigies of his an- cestors, it does not seem to have been within the wit of the 13th century sculptors to vary the physiognomy of the early sovereigns. Thus there is a strong likeness between Charles Martel* and P^pin, and Louis and Carloman. There is a curious diver- gence in the opinions passed upon Louis in. The chronicle of S. Denis calls him a " Aoms plains de toutes ordures et toutes vanitez;'^ whereas the annals of Metz say, " Tons les peuples des Gaules pleurlrent sa mort avec une extrhne douleur. II fut en effet homme de rare merite^ et defendit cou- rageusement et virilevient contre les in- cursions des payens le royau?ne qui lui etait soujnisy So we see that it is not only the 19th century which vaunts and cries down a man, according as he belongs to the political sheep or the goats, Carloman, at his eighteen years, has the appearance of a man of forty, and many years older than his brother. The statue of Charlemagne's brother Carloman has had a queer history. * "Ensepouture fut en I'eglise Saint-Denis en France a cui il avoit donnez maint biau don, mis fu en cost^ le mestre autel en un riche sarcu d'alebastre. " (Chronicle of S. Denis.) And yet, soon after Charles's death, S. Eucher is sujjposed to have seen, by revelation, the sufferings of the Maire du Palais in Hell, where for his sins he was precipitated before the Day of Judgment. The tomb was opened in the presence of Bishop Eucher, Boniface the legate, and Fulrad, abbot of S. Denis, when behold ! a great dragon jumped cat, and the coffin had the appearance of ha\ i.ig been burned. SAINT-DENIS, 75 It was marched to the Petits-Augustins with the rest, and there christened Charles le Chauve, but when sent back to S. Denis it was rebaptised Henri I. Hugues Capet was buried at S. Denis close to his father, the great Hugues ; his last words addressed to his son Robert prove him to have been possessed of piety, a proper notion of justice, and a large amount of common sense. " Bon fils, je t'adjure, au nom de la sainte et indivisible Trinity, de ne pas livrer ton ame aux conseils des flatteurs et de ne pas dcouter les voeux de leur ambition, en leur faisant un don empoisonn^ de ces abbayes que je te confie pour toujours. Je desire ^galement qu'il ne t'arrivc point, conduit par la legerete d'esprit ou ^mu par la colbre, de distraire ou enlever quelque chose de leurs biens. Je te recommande surtout de veiller 4 ce que, pour ancune raison, tu ne deplaises jamais a leur chef commun, le grand saint Benoit, qui est un acc^s certain aupres du sou- verain juge, un port de tranquillite et un asile de surety apres la sortie de la chair."* His particular friends to whom he commends his son are the Blessed Virgin, S. Benedict, S. Martin, S. Aignan, and SS. Cornelius and Cyprian, and above all S. Genevieve. Queen Adelaide, like most Middle-Age ladies, did much embroidering as she sat up in her tower, and naturally S. Denis was her first thought. She gave the great statue of S. Martin (I do not know in what part of the church this was placed) a wondrous cope, embroidered between the shoulders with a '■^ Pontife kterneV^ and adonng Cherubim and Seraphim. In the front was the " Lamb of God " and the Four Beasts of the Apocalypse, f Robert must have profited by the good advice given him by his father, for we find the monk Helgand giving him a tremen- dous panegyric in the account of his death. " Peu de temps apres avoir regu le saint et salutaire viatique du corps vivifiant de notre Seigneur J^sus-Christ, Robert alia au Roi des rois, au Seigneur des seigneurs, et entra heureux dans les celestes royaumes. II mourut le vingti^me jour de juillet (1031) au commencement de la journ^e du mardi, au chateau de Melun, et il fut port^ a Paris, puis enseveli a Saint-Denis, pres de son pbre. II y eut la un grand deuil, une douleur intolerable ; car la foule de moines g^missait sur la perte d'un tel pbre, % et une *■ Helgaud, Vie de Robert le Pieux, t Idem. + Robert was abbot of S. Denis. 76 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. multitude innombrable de clercs se plaignait de leur misbre que soulageait avec tant de pi^te ce saint homme. Un nombre infini de veuves et d'orphelins regrettait tant de bienfaits r^9us de lui. Tous poussaient de grands cris jusqu'au del, disant d'une commune voix : ' Grand Roi, Dieu bon, pourquoi nous tuer ainsi en nous otant ce bon pere et I'unissant a toi ! ' lis se frappaient avec les poings la poitrine, allaient et venaient au saint tombeau, r^p^taient encore les paroles marquees plus haut et se joinaient aux priferes des saints afin que Dieu e6t pitid de lui dans le si^cle dternel. Dieu 1 quelle douleur causa cette mort. Tous s'^criaient avec des clameurs redoubl^es : * Tant que Robert a regnd et command^, nous avons vecu tranquilles, nous n'avons rien craint ; que Tame de ce pbre pieux, ce p^re du senat, cepfere de tout bien, soit heureuse et sauvde ! qu'elle monte et habite pour toujours avec J(^sus-Christ, Roi des rois !'.... Dans tout cela, nous avons un grand siijet de douleur, en voyant qu'un tel et si grand homme repose sans une pierre orn^e d'inscriptions, sans monument, sans dpitaphe, lui dont la gloire et la mdmoire ont ^t^ en benediction ^ toute la terre." As late as the i6th century Robert's tomb was enriched with colour, and even now a small amount remains. Another king's death, that of Louis le Gros, is recorded by Suger : " Apres avoir regu en communion le corps et le sang de jesus-Christ, le roi rejetant loin de lui toutes les pompes de I'orgueil du sifecle, s'^tendit sur un lit de simple toile. M'ayant vu pleurer sur lui qui, par le sort commun aux hommes, etait devenu si petit et si humble de si grand et si dleve qu'il etait, il me dit : * Ne pleure pas sur moi, tr^s-cher ami, mais plutot triomphe et rdjouis-toi de ce que Dieu, dans sa mis^ri- corde, m'a donn^, comme tu le vois, les moyens de me preparer ^ paraitre devant lui.' . . . Un peu avant de mourir, il ordonna qu'on dtendit un tapis par terre, et que sur ce tapis on jetat des cendres en forme de croix ; puis il s'y fit porter et deposer par ses serviteurs, et fortifiant toute sa personne par le signe de la croix, il rendit Time le jour les calendes d'ao0t (I'"' aoftt 1 137), dans la trentibme ann^e de son rbgne et presque la soixantifeme de son age. Son corps fut ^ I'heure meme enveloppd de riches ^toffes pour etre transport^ et enterr^ dans I'eglise des saints martyrs." Suger mentions the finding of the remains of Carloman when they were about to bury Louis VL, and how the former were removed to a spot between the altar of the Holy Trinity and SAINT-DENIS. 77 that of the Martyrs : " On I'y deposa done avec le ceremonial J d'usage pour les rois, au milieu de chants nombreux, d'hymnes et de pri^res, apr^s lui avoir fait de pieuses et solennelles fune* railles. C'est la qu'il attend d'etre admis a jouer de sa resur- rection future, et qu'il est d'autant plus pres de se reunir en esprit a la troupe des esprits celestes, que son corps est plus voisin des corps des saints martyrs et plus a portee d'en etre protege." "Felix qui potuit mundi nutante ruina Quo JACEAT PR^>SCISSE LOCO . . " " Puisse le Redempteur ressusciter I'ame de ce roi A I'interces- sion des saintes martyrs pour lesquels il avait un si pieux devouement ! puisse cette ame etre placde au rang des saints par celui qui a donne la sienne pour le salut du monde, notre seigneur Jesus-Christ qui vit et rbgne, Roi des rois, et maitre des puissances, aux siecles des si^cles. Amen."* Of the burial of Louis VII. the monk Rigord gives some interesting details : " L'annee 1181, le jeudi dix-huitifeme jour de septembre, mourut d Paris Louis, roi des Fran9ais. Son corps fut honorablement enseveli et couvert d'aromates dans I'eglise de Sainte-Marie de Barbeau, qu'il avait fondde. C'est la qu'en I'honneur de notre seigneur Jesus-Christ et de la bicn- heureuse m^re de Dieu, Marie toujours vibrge,de saints religieux cel^brent jour et nuit les offices divins pour I'ame du defunt roi, pour celles de tons ses predecesseurs et pour le salut du royaume de France. C'est aussi dans cette dglise, ct sur le lieu meme de la sepulture du roi, que I'illustre reine des Fran- 9ais, Adelef son epouse et mere de Phillippe-Auguste, roi des Fran^ais, fit construire un tombeau ou I'art le plus exquis avait fait un heureux melange des matiferes les plus brillanles, d'or et d'argent, d'airain et de pierres pr^cieuses. Jamais chef- d'oeuvre aussi etonnant n'avait paru dans aucun royaume depuis le rbgne de Salomon." In 1182 Philippe Auguste decreed that a taper should always be kept alight before the tomb of his father. What became of the monument is not known. At the Revolution it consisted of a sarcophagus which had been renovated in 1695 by the Cardinal de Furstemberg, abbot of Barbeau % and prince bishop of Strasburg. When Charles IX. * Suger, Vie ik Louis le-Gros. t Adele ou Alix, daughter of Thibaut le Grand, comte de Champagne, third wife of Louis VII. \ Near Melun. 78 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. was at Fontainebleau he had the curiosity to open this latter tomb of Louis. 1 he body was nearly entire ; but the sceptre, some silver seals and ornaments, were partially destroyed. The king had rings on his fingers and a gold cross on his neck ; "le roi et les princes du sang qui se trouv^rent la presents, les prirent pour les porter en m^moire d'un si bon est religieux pr^d^cesseur."* One would like to know why ignorant, poverty- stricken fisher and peasant folk should be anathematized for robbing the dead after a wreck or a battle, when such a pious prince as the author of the massacre of S. Bartholomew pilfered the rings from his ancestor without a word of protest — on the contrary, his relations and friends " du sang" aided and abetted him. But then, of course, a few centuries had elapsed in the latter case, and poor Louis was reduced to a state of dry bones; it was robbing a skeleton, not a body. In the reign of Napoleon the abbey of Barbeau was converted into a school for the daughters of members of the Legion of Honour, and in 1817 the remains of Louis VIL were transported to S. Denis. Why does it happen that children who die young seem to be so superior to those who survive ? Would the Due de Bour- gogne, Philippe, son of Louis VL, Edward V., or Prince Arthur have made better sovereigns than their relations who reigned in their stead ? Suger gives apicturesque account of the death of Philippe, " un enfant dans la fleur de I'age." This "malheur Strange" happened on the 13th October, 1131. " Le fils ain^ du roi Louis Philippe, d'une grande douceur, I'espoir des bons et la terreur des mechants, se promenait un jour k cheval dans un faubourg de la cit^ de Paris ; un detest- able pore se jette dans le chemin du cheval ; celui-ci tombe rudementj renverse, toase contre une pierre le noble enfant qui le montait, et r6touffe sous le poids de son corps. Ce jour- Ik meme on avait convoqu6 Tarm^e pour une expedition ; aussi les habitants de la ville et tout les autres qui apprennent cet ev^nement, constern^s de douleur, crient, pleurent, poussent des sanglots, s'empressent k relever le tendre enfant presque mort, et le portent dans une maison voisine. O douleur ! a Tentrde de la nuit il rendit Tame. Quelle tristesse et quel desespoir accablbrent son p^re, sa mere et les grands du royaume ! Hombre lui-meme ne pourrait Texprimer. On I'en- terra dans I'dglise du bienheureux Denis, dans le lieu reserve ♦ Mezeray. SAINT-DENIS. 79 a la sepulture des rois et a la gauche de I'autel de la Sainte- Trinite, avec tout le ceremonial usite pour les rois, en pre- sence d'une foule d'eveques et de grands de I'Etat."* Philippe's was the last statue that S. Louis gave to the church, and the crown and sceptre show that the young prince had been crowned by his father at Reims during the latter's life — pro- bably in order to share the duties of kingship. Although three abbeys were the happy possessors of the remains of Blanche of Castille (Maubuisson, Lys, and Saint- Corentin-lez-Mantes), no tomb exists of the sweet mother of S. Louis.t Upon the monument at Maubuisson the queen was attired in the habit of the Cistercian order, which she assumed in her last moments ; the crown was placed over the veil, the royal robes over the nun's habit, and so she passed away, and was thus buried. In 1793 various tombs, armorial bearings, and the like aliments de torgueil^ were transported from Maubuisson to Pontoise ; some were broken, some burnt; golden vessels and silver saints were thrust into the melting- pot j and Blanche of Castille, with the help of a prince perhaps, or a warrior, became transformed into an instrument of war. But the museum of the Petits-Augustins wanted an efifigy of the mother of Monsieur Saint Louis ; and so they set up a black marble image of Catherine de Courtenay, empress of Constan- tinople and wife of Charles of Valois, who had lately, and all alone, journeyed from Maubuisson; and, thinking it a joke to turn a black empress into a white queen, they wrote upon the slab, in 13th century characters, that it was the true monument of Madame la royne Blanche mere de Monsieur Saint Loys. After twenty years Madame Catherine-Blanche became divorced from her other half, and the white queen faded away in favour of the black empress. One of the most beautiful tombs is that of Philippe, the brother of S. Louis, which was formerly at Royaumont. The prince lies upon a sarcophagus, round which are niches filled with little figures of monks, bishops, and angels, full of charac- * Vie de Louis-le-Gros. t " If zealous love should go in search of virtue, Where should he find it purer than in Blanche ? Such as she is, in beauty, virtue, birth, Is the young Dauphin every way complete." Shakespeare. King lohr. bo THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. ter and expression. One of these represents a king : " On y voyait le cercueil de Louis porte par les barons de France et par le roi d'Angleterre.* Une figure couronn^e porte sur I'epaule un des batons ; c'est le roi anglais "f — proving the sovereignty of France over England. There is a curious engraving by Boulogne representing this procession. The church is in the distance ; a string of monks are zigzagging across the plain, and in the foreground we see this crowned head and others bearing the reliquary ; behind are bishops ; the whole in the grandiose style of the 17th and i8th centuries — drapery flying in the wind, bishops and monks prancing, and all the faces turned to the spectator. S. Louis had always held the abbey in most respectful esteem. He visited it before he started upon his various expeditions; and in 1267, when he had con- ferred the order of chivalry upon his son Philippe and sixty other young noblemen,- he rode to S. Denis on horseback to implore the blessing of God, accompanied by a large concourse of courtiers and princes. The monuments of the battle of Bouvines came from the church of S. Catherine-du-Val-des-6coliers. They are incised stones, coloured and gilt, bearing the following inscriptions :— A LA PRIERE DES SERGENS DARMES MONS' SaINT LoYS FONDA CESTE EGLISE ET Y MIST LA PREMIERE PIERRE ET FU POUR LA JOIE DE LA VITTOIRE QUE FU AU PONT DE BOUINES LAN MiL. CC. ET.XIIII. LeS SERGENS DARMES POUR LE TEMPS GARDOIENT LEDIT PONT ET VOUERENT QUE SE DIEU LKUR DONNOIT VITTOIRE ILS FONDEROIENT VNK EGLISE EN LONNEUR DE MADAME SaINTE F.ATHERINE ET AINSI FU IL. Another epitaph to Blanche de France came from the Cor- deliers : Icy GIST Madame Blanche fille de monseigneur sanct LOYS ET FEME DE MONS. FERDINAND DE LACERD E RO Y DE CaSTILLE QUI TRESPASSA DU CEST SIECLE LAN DE GCE ♦ Millin, Antiqidth Nationaks. t Le corps de Saint-Louis fut porte une partie du chemin depuis Saint- Denis par Henri III., roi d'Angleterre, et par les barons de France et d'Angleterre sur leurs epaules, ceremonie qui est representee sur le tom- beau, oil le prince est convert d'un drap d'or borde d'une bande d etofTe bleue, semee de fleurs de lis d'or. la tete soutenue par le roi saint Louis, et les pieds par le roi d Angleterrc' — P. Anselme, Histoire de la Ma'son de Frattce. SAINT-DENIS. 8i MCCCXX LE DIX SEPTIESME JOUR DE JUN Pries pour lame delle Q. deu bonne merci li face, amen. When Isabelle d'Aragon died at Cosenza, in Calabria, her husband, Philippe le Hardi, wrote to the abbot and religious of S. Denis to commend her soul to their prayers, for her life etait aimable a Dieu et aux homines. Her epitaph begins : Dysabel. lame. ait. parauys, etc. Louis XI. was not buried at S. Denis; he desired to be laid in the church of Our Lady of CMry, "for which the Heretics (meaning the Huguenots and Calvinists) had not the same respect which they inviolably entertained for the holy and royal tombs of S. Denis.* But inspired by the Devil, with an abominable and hellish spirit of rage and profanation, they tore the king's remains from the tomb, and, together with the queen's, burnt them and scattered their ashes to the winds. Thus he who would not let his body rest under the protection of the Holy Martyers found no rest in the grave."t This monument was of bronze, but another was erected in 1622 by an Orleans sculptor, Michel Bourdin. La Fon- taine described the latter as follows, in a letter to his wife, dated 1633 : " Nous nous arretames a Clery. J'allai aussitot visiter I'eglise ; c'est une collegiale assez bien rentee pour un bourg. Louis XL y est enterre. On le voit a genoux sur son tombeau, quatre enfants aux coins ; ce seraient quatre anges, si on ne leur avait pas arrache les ailes. Le bon apotre du roi fait la le saint homme, et il est bien mieux pris que lorsque le Bourguignon le mena a Lidge. Je lui trouvai la mine d'un matois : Ainsi I'etoit ce prince dont la vie Doit rarement servir d'exemple aux rois, Mais pourroit etre en quelques points suivie. "A ses genoux sont ses heures et son chapelet, la main do justice, son sceptre, son chapeau et sa Notre-Dame. Je ne * This does not quite agree with Dom Millet's account of thejHuguenot depredations already given upon page 33. + He could not have found much more rest at S. Denis, for which he had a great respect, although he desired to be buried at Cl^ry. Many a time this king perambulated from Paris to S. Denis barefooted, for he held the Saint to be the " Holy Protector of his dominions, the Guide of his S2 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. sais comment le statuaire n'y a pas mis le prevot Tristan; le tout est en marbre blanc etm'a paru d'assez bonne main." This monument suffered some mutilations during the Revolution, the head being chopped into three pieces"*" ; but in 1817 it was repaired. It is, in style, very similar to the descriptions of the bronze monument of Charles VIII. TOMB OF THE HOUSE OF ORLEANS. The tomb of the house of Orleans was erected by Louis XII. in the centre of the magnificent chapel of the family, in the church of the Celestins. It contained besides, the statue * This was a sort of posthumous decapitation. Cardinal Richelieu's statue at the Sorbonne was treated in the same way. SAINT-DENIS. 83 of Philippe de Chabot, by Jean Cousin ; Germain Pilon's Three Graces; the columns of Anne de Montmorency, of Fran^^ois II., and of Timoleon de Brissac ; the obelisk of the Longuevilles ; the tombs of Renee d'Orleans, and of the due de Rohan, by Michel Anguier. The destruction of this chapel and the dispersal of its contents was one of the greatest acts of vandalism of modern times ; although a good deal has been preserved, the loss of the rest cannot but be bewailed. Charles, due d'Orleans, was a lettered man and given to verse writing ; he was made prisoner at the battle of Agincourt, and passed more than twenty years of his life in England. The little porcupine at the king's feet (upon the tomb) symbolized the order of chivalry which he founded, and which adopted that animal as its emblem. The beautiful marble monument of Ren^e d'Orleans recalls those of Santa Croce, and other Italian churches, and it is a magnificent example of French Renaissance sculpture. The epitaph to Marguerite de Valois, first wife of Henri IV., attributed to the queen's authorship, is taken from a manu- script in the Bibliotheque : Ceste brillante fleur de I'arbre des Valoys En qui mourust le nom de tant de puissans Roys, Marguerite, pour qui tant de lauriers fleurirent, Pour qui tant de bouquets chez les Muses se firent. A vu fleurs et lauriers, sur sa tete secher, Et par un coup fatal, les lys s'en detacher. Las ! le cercle Royal dont I'avoit couronnee En tumulte et sans ordre un trop prompt him^nee, Rompu du meme coup devant ses pieds tombant La laissa comme un tronc degrade par les vents. Epouse sans espoux, et Royne sans royaume, Vaine ombre du pass^, grand et noble fantosme Elle traisna depuis les restes de son sort, Et vist jusqu'a son nom raourir avant sa raort. The epitaph upon Henri's second wife, Marie de' Medici, is in a very different style. Marie, after having built the splendid Luxembourg palace, and filled it with Rubens' sparkling magni- ficences of colour, died in exile at Koln ; Le Louvre de Paris vit eclater ma gloire ; Le nom de mon epoux, d'immortelle memoire, Est place dans le ciel comme un astre nouveau. Pour gendres j'eus deux rois, pour fils ce clair flambeau, Qui par mille rayons brillera dans I'histoire. Parmi tant de grandeur (le pourra-t-on bien croire ?) G 2 TOMB OF RENEE D ORLEANS-LONG UEVILLE. SAINT-DENIS. 85 Je suis morte en exil ; Cologne est mon tombeau 1 Cologne, oeil des cites de la terre Allemande, Si jamais un passant curieux te demande Le funeste recit des maux que j'ai soufferts, Dis : ce triste cercueil chetivement enserre La reine dont le sang coule en tout Tunivers, Qui n'eut pas en mourant un seul pouce de terrc.* Louis XIIL, or rather, part of him, was buried at the Jesuits' church ; and Anne d'Autriche erected therein a fine monument sculptured by Jacques Sarrazin. Two colossal angels in bronze and silver supported a silver-gilt heart ; but its magnificence only made it of greater use to the mint for coinage. This good king, the thirteenth of his name, was a great devotee of S. Denis. He had instituted reform in the abbey by introducing the congregation of S. Maur ; and we are told that he acquired " strength and spirits in his last illness, as he lay languishing upon his bed, as often as he thought of S. Denis. At such times he would remark to his attendants, with a smile of pious serenity, how much he felt himself reconciled to his near approaching dissolution, and fortified against all the usual desires of life or dread of death ; in a sweet anticipation of the happiness he should enjoy by reposing near the tombs of the Holy Martyrs, in whom he placed the most sacred and unbounded confidence." There is one more exquisite work of art which ought to be mentioned, the beautiful urn from the abbey of Haute-Bruyere, which contained the heart of that magnificent profligate, Francois I*^""- It is of white marble, of perfect form, with the most delicious little Genii sitting on the top. The bas reliefs represent the Arts and Sciences, Faith, and the Church. It is the work of Pierre Bontems. Some of the kings were crowned at S. Denis after having been anointed and consecrated at Reims ; some, like Philippe Auguste, were re-invested at the abbey. Philippe le Hardi, * There is a queer story told by Felibien of Marie's desire to possess some marbles left at S. Denis, after the building of the Henri II. tomb by Catherine de' Medici. Marie was about to build her a house, and she demanded of her son permission to carry off the marbles ; but the monks objected, and appealed to the Parliament. The king, however, having quarrelled with his mother, was not sorry to make peace at another's cost, so he commanded the monks to deliver the marbles ; but the latter were not to be conquered so easily, and another appeal was made which ended as fruitlessly as the first, and the poor convent eventually lost its marbles. r6 TI*E CHURCHES OF PARIS. Charles VIII., Louis XIL, FrariQois P"*" and Louis XIII., were all anointed at Reims and crowned at S. Denis. An account in an old book of the coronation of Louis XIII. is so quaint, and gives so graphic a picture of some of the manners and customs of the period, that it is, I think, worth quoting in full.* The description of the magnificent ceremony was extracted from a chronicle of the reign of Louis XIII. , and translated into English a hundred and fifty years ago : — " The royall ornaments, which are kept in the Abbey ^Saint Denis, being caryed to Rheims, on the 14th October, 1610, the King made his entrie into the towne, where his Maiestie was received with greate pompe and magnificence ; the particularities whereof I am forced, for brevities sake, to omit. The day before the ceremonie, the King went vnto the Cathe- drall, to assist at Euensong, and to heare a sermon made by Father Coton, vpon the diuine institution of the unction of the Kings of France^ and of confirmation, which he received from the hands of the Cardinall of Joyeuse, to whom he was presented by Queen Marguerite and the Prince of Cond^. "On Sunday, the 17th of October, the King sent foure Barons vnto the Abbey of Saint Remy, to fetch the holie oyle. They parted earlie in the morning, with their Esquires and Gentlemen ; either of them having a banner, with his armes, caried before him, causing a white hackney to be led, for the Prior of Saint Remy, who was to carry the said holie oyle. "The Cardinal of Joyeuse, who was to represent the Archbishop of Rheims, and to doe the office, at the ceremonie, came soone after into the church, with eight Bishops to assist him,. where, attending the comming of the Peeres, he sat him downe in his pontificall robes. Two of these Bishops were attired like Deacons, with mitres j two like Sub-Deacons, with mitres ; and foure with copes and mitres. Soon after arrived the ccclesiasticall Peeres, in their pontificall robes At the same instant there came, from the King's lodging, the Princes of Conde and Conty .... who were deputed by the King to hold the places of . . . . attyred in their robes and coronets, according to their quali- ties. Having done their devotions, and saluted one another, they sent the bishops of Laon and Beauuais to fetch the King, in their pontificall habits [having certaine reliques of the holie Saintes hanging about their mckes)^ conducted by the Master of the Ceremonies ; all the Prebendes of oure Ladies church marching in goodlie procession before them. Being come to the King's chamber, and finding it shut, the Bishop of Laon knocked three several times, to either of which the greate Chamberlaine demanded, * What -would ye ? ' The Bishop answered, ' Le^vis the Thirteenth^ son to Henrie the Create''', whereunto the Chamberlaine replied, ^ He sleepeth' ; then knocking againe, he had the like answere. But at the third time the Bishop answered, ' Lewis the Thirteenth, which God hath given us for King^'y then the door was opened, and the Bishops entered with the * " History and description of the Royal Abbaye of St. Denis, and of the vast riches which have been accumulating for ages in the celebrated abbaye. Extracted from the records of S. Denis," London, 1795. SAINT-DENIS. Hy clieife chauntcr of Rheims, &c. , where they found the King laid on liis bed, having his shirt slit before and behind^ to receive the holie Vnction, and uppon it a waistecoat of crimson sat tin, slit fed in like maner, and thereon a long robe of cloih-oi-siluer. The Bishop of Laon having finished a prayer, kissing their hands, they lifted the King from his bed, with all shewes of honour^ and then led him, singing, to the church doore. Before him, there marched, first the greate Prouost, with his archeres ; then the Clergie which had accompanied the two Prelates ; the hundrede tall Swissers of his guard : the drummes, haultbois, and herauldes ; the nobilitie ; the great Master of the Ceremonies ; the Knights of the Holie Ghoste, with their great order hong about their neckes, in the middest of two hundred Gentlemen of the King's house ; and the Scottish Cuai-ds, in their own proper habiliments. Before his Maiestie went the Mareschall la Chastre, representinge the Constable, carying a naked sworde, &c. &c. After some ceremonies at the church doore, the King approacheth nearc untoe the high altar, where he was presented, by the Bishops of Laon and Chalons, untoe the Cardinal Joyeuse, who said many prayers, whilest the King was at his deuotions. After this he was led untoe his seate, with his Noblemen and officers about him. In the meane tyme, all the religious men of Saint Remy came solemnlie in procession, being accompanied by the cheife of the towne, caryinge torches of virgines waxe in their hands : Their Prior was mounted upon the white hackney, having a foote-cloath of cloath-of-silver, carying the violl of holie oyle, in a pixe, hanginge about his necke, being under a canopie of cloath-of-silver, borne hy foure Monkes. The Cardinall being advertised of the arrivall of the said oyle, hee went, in his^ pontificalibus, to meet it, with the eight Bishops which assisted him, and all the singinge men and quiristeres. But before they would deliver it unto the Cardinall, they made him (according to the custome) binde him- self to restore it untoe them againe. After saying a praier, hee shewed the holie oyle untoe the people ; and then set it down vpon the high altar, with all the Godlie reuerence. (The coronation oath and some ceremonies are here omitted for brevity). The King having taken the oathes, with inuoca- tion of the name of God, laying his handes vpon the Gospel, which he kist with greate reuerence. The King's ornaments . . . were layd upon the altar ; and on the left hande side, neere vnto them, stoode the Prior of Saint Denis, who hath the keeping of them ; and on the right side stoode the Prior of Saint Remy, looking sharplie to the holie oyle. * The Bishops of Laon and Beauvais, hauing conducted him vnto the altar, Mons. de Belgarde tooke off his roabe of cloath-of-silver. Being in his waistecoate of sattin, when the Cardinall had made certaine prayers and blessings, the Duke of Esguillon put on his buskins, and the Prince of Conde put on his spurres (in the place of the Duke of Bourgundie) and presentlie took them off againe. After this, the Cardinall blessed the royale sworde, it being in the scabberd, and girt the King therewith, and presentlie ungirted him againe. Then he drew it out of the scabberd, and kissed it, saying manie praiers, whilest that the Quier sang certaine anthems. The King kist the sworde also ; and layd it upon the altar, in testimonie of his zeale and affection to the defence of the holie church. The Cardinall delivered it * The holy oil was brought from heaven by a dove, in the very same phial in which it is kept. It has continued unwasted and unimpaired from the time of Clovis, for whose use it was sent, a.d. 500. 88 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. into his hande againe ; which his Maiestie tooke reuerentlie vpon his knee, and gave it to the Mareschall la Chastre. The Cardinall returning to the altar, to prepare the sacred vnction, after this manner : * Hee drewe out of the forenamed holie violl, with a ntedell of gold, a small quantitie of liquor ^ of the bignesse of a pease, and mingled it, with his finger^ with the holie creme prepared in the couer of the chalice. •* This vnction being thus ordered, the tyinges of the King's garments were let loose both before and behinde, by the Cardinall and the two Bishops ; after which his Maiestie kneeled down in his oratorie, and the Cardinall with him, to crave the assistance of God for the preseruation of France. The Lettanic being sung, the Cardinall stoode up, to saye certaine praiers ouer the King, who was yet kneelinge. Then the Cardinall sett him downe, as in the consecration of a Bishop, and holding in his hand the patenne whereon the heavenlie oyle was layd, he beganne, with his right thumbe, to anoynte the King, in divers places, viz., on the crowne of the head, on the stomacke, betwixte his shouldere blades, on bothe shoulderes, and on the bendinges of his armes. The consecration praiers being ended, the Cardinall, with the two Bishops, closed vp his shirte, waistecoate, and other garmentes, in reverence of the sacred Vnction. Then the high Chamberlaine presented the three habitts accustomed to be worne, in the lyke ceremonies, viz. , a long jackett, representinge a Sub-Deacon, a surplis for a Deacon, and a royall cloake, insteade of a coape, representinge a Prieste ; which ended, the Cardinall anoynted the paltnes of his handes, and then put him on thin gloues, lest, peradventure, hee should touche anie thinge with his bare handes, for reverence of the vnction, which gloues he blest, and sprinkled with holie water ; the royall ringe being alsoe blest by the Cardinall (a symbole of loue, whereby the King was wedded untoe his realme), he put it on the fourthe fingere of his Maiesties right hande, with all the accustomed ceremonie. This done, hee tooke the sceptere from the altar, and put it intoe his right hande, for a mark of the Soueraigne power : then he tooke the hande of Justice, which hee put into liis lefte hande, it being a wande, hauing, on the top thereof, a hande of mylke white iuorie. " Then the Chancelloure of France came vp, with his face towarde the King, and, with a stoute voyce, did call vp the Peeres, according to their dignities, to assist at the coronation. When as, this ceremonie being ended, the Cardinall took the great crowtie from the altar, and lifting it with bothe his handes, did poise it over the King's heade ; the Peeres did then come to support them, and the Cardinall blest it ; and then he alone sett the crowne upon the King's heade, whereantoe all the Peeres did incontinentlie put their handes. The Cardinall then said manie praiers, and blest the King ; the which being ended, hee took him bie the right sleeve, and conducted him to his royall throne, the which was builded on high at the bottome of the quier, forasmuch as that he might be scene of all the people, holdinge still in his handes the royall sceptere and rod of Justice. The Queen Regent, the whilst she beheld all these cere- monies, was sorely disquieted, not being able to endure, with patience, to see his Maiestie bare headed, vnder the crowne, havinge his capp taken from him ; which shewes that crownes and greatness have their discomodities, as well as the most ordinarie thinges, and the poorest cottages. The King being come to his royall throwne, attended bie the Princes, Peeres, and Officers, according to their degrees, the Cardinall, holding him by the hande. caused him to sit downe, and praied untoe God to confirme him in SAINT-DENIS. 85 his throne, and to make him invincible and inexpugnable against his enemies. After which, having sayd a praier, being bare-headed, he made a low obeysance untoe the King, and kissed him, saying thrice, with a loude voyce, ' GoJ save the King ' ; and at the laste, he added, ' God save the King eternallie.'' All the Peeres did the lyke obeysance, one after the other, and kist him, with the lyke acclamation, and then returned untoe the seates that were prepared for them on either hand." The treasury of S. Denis was one of the richest in Europe. Commenced by the reHgious enthusiasts of the time of Charle- magne, it increased year by year, through the donations of the RELIQUARY CONTAINING THE HEAD OF S. DENIS. grateful patients who had been cured, or whose sufferings had been relieved, by the intercession of S. Denis and his com- panions. For every wax arm or leg, which we see hanging up in bunches at the side of a shrine in these days, the ages of Faith could have produced a valuable plaque, gem, cross, reliquary, or altar vessel. Thankfulness was then more costly in its expression. Doubtless poor offerings were also made, 90 THE CHURCHES OE PARIS. but the richness of the churches and their contents, as com- pared with the difficulty of obtaining a few thousands at the present day, shows that gratitude was more practical than in modern times. Charles le Chauve was a great donor to the monastery. It was he who gave the magnificent anie-petidium^ besides some jewelled Gospels and altar-vessels. Philippe- Auguste bequeathed all his jewels to the abbey, including a cross of gold valued at 400 livres, this benefaction being for the maintenance of twenty additional monks; but his son, Louis, repurchased some of the valuables at the estimated price of 11,600 livres^ a little business transaction which was not unprofitable to the convent. Louis le Gros established the custom of leaving the royal ornaments to the abbey at the decease of the kings. Matthieu de Vendome, one of the regular abbots, gave the marvellous chef of S. Denis, a gold reliquary in the form of a head, with a jewelled mitre, and silver-gilt supporting Angels, and a young Child-angel holding another reliquary containing a portion of the Saint's shoulder- blade. Gilles de Pontoise, another abbot, presented a beau- tiful reliquary, containing the under-jaw of S. Louis — a marvel of goldsmithy in the form of statuettes of gold, jewelled and enamelled. The great Suger gave a number of magnificent objects of all kinds ; the huge gold cross, six feet in height, placed over the altar, and another which stood upon the grille dividing the choir from the nave. These probably were made at S. Denis, as Suger set up a great school for the fashioning of gold and silver, as well as for writing and painting ; and so famous did it become, that brethren from other monasteries flocked to the monks of S. Denis to perfect themselves in these arts. There is a representation of Charles le Chauve's mite-peiidium in the picture formerly in the Dudley collection, and now in the possession of Mr. Edward Steinkopff, and generally known as the " Mass of S. Giles." The altar stands as at present; on the right we see a portion of the tomb of Dagobert ; and behind are the windows of the apsidal clerestory. The only difference in the sculptures, as represented in the picture, and the actual monument, is that the head of Nantilde is bent in the modern statue, but is erect in the old one ; and the feet of Daf:;obert seem to have nothing to rest upon. A priest is before the altar ; on his left is a king ; behind are some assis- tants, one holding a tall candle; and above is an Angel bearing SAINT-DENIS. 91 a paper, alluding to the legend, that as S. Giles was once saying mass before a king with some hidden sin he dare not confess, an Angel descended with a written pardon. The THE "mass of s. Giles" (fragment). question is, Who is the king? May it not be Charles le Chauve, the donor of the retable ? Charles was abbot of S. Denis; and his devotion to the Saint was so great that he attended the offices of the church on all solemn days, and 92 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. passed the rest of the time in pious conversation with the monks. The crown the king wears is of the time of Charles V., but it has upon it the Imperial circle, which seems to point to Charles the Bald ; and the later style of the crown may be accounted for, as it has evidently been copied from one in the treasury of S. Denis (see F^libien). Moreover, it very much resembles the one worn by Charles le Chauve in a miniature of a Latin Bible in the Biblioth^que ; on the other hand, the king wears a moustache in the latter, whereas in the picture he is bearded. Another question is this, Does the picture represent a mass ? It probably has gained its title as much from being the com- panion volet to Lord Northbrook's S. Giles as to the incident of the scroll-bearing Angel. But there is not the slightest resemblance between the hunting personage in Lord North- brook's picture and the king in the " Mass." In the former, the kneeling hunter appears in a cap, and has no beard ; may not this be Charles Martel? We are told in the legend of S. Giles that the king of France was one day hunting in the South, near Nismes, when, in the pursuit of a hind, the hunters came upon S. Giles living hermit-wise in a cave. Charles Martel was never actually sovereign, although governing the kingdom ; therefore a cap would be an appropriate head covering for the Maire du Palais. And the dates correspond. S. Giles died in 725 ; Charles Martel in 741. Is there any evidence that the S. Denis picture represents the S. Giles legend ? There is no reason why each volet of a triptich should be decorated with incidents in the life of the same saint. Again, does the picture represent a mass ? There are no lights upon the altar, which is contrary to the almost in- variable custom of the church from all time. Two lights were used from the earliest period ; whereas a single light, either taper, torch, or lantern, borne by an assistant kneeling behind the celebrant, generally denotes a communion of the faithful, after, or out of, mass. It is true there is a picture by van der Weyden in the National Gallery of the " Mass of S. Hubert," with no lights, and there is no doubt about the subject, as the vessels requisite for a mass are visible upon the altar ; but in the " Mass of S. Giles " there are no evidences of the celebra- tion of mass, except that the priest is elevating the Host while facing the altar, and reading from a book placed thereon ; whereas at a communion the celebrant turns his back to the SAINT-DENIS. 9^ altar when elevating the consecrated wafer. Now may not the picture represent either the communion of Charles ie Chauve, or his induction as abbot, or his presentation of the retablc ? I have not lost sight of the difficulty of the Angel. But if it be really the sin-forgiven scroll which he holds, there is no reason why this particular king should not have had a hidden sin, pious man though he may have been ; indeed, that would be a reason for his thinking ill of himself. And must the subject be necessarily that incident, when we know that in Mediaeval times Angels were constantly in the habit of flying about with all kinds of objects of celestial manufacture — stoles, girdles, chalices, crowns, palms, &c. (In van der Weyden's picture, mentioned above, an Angel is descending with a stole). These are merely suggestions of a theory, which others, more qualified than myself, may be able to solve. Suger is said to have added to the ante-pendium given by Charles le Chauve, and placed it over the altar as a retable ;* therefore there would be nothing extraordinary in the 15th-century artist placing Charles kneeling as the original donor, and Suger celebrating, as the founder of the new altar, or reredos. Has the abbot Giles de Pontoise, who died in 1325, caused any confusion in naming this picture ? There is another curious resemblance in the crowns borne by the Angels upon the retable, and the crowns of Guarrazar in the Hotel Cluny. The latter are supposed to be of Byzantine workmanship, the largest bearing the name of Reccesvinthus, king of the Visi- goths, who reigned from 649 to 672. Charles le Chauve died in 823 ; but, according to Gregoire de Tours, when Childebert returned from a campaign against the Visigoths in Spain, he brought away divers gold and silver treasures, including a gold cross from Toledo ; therefore there must have been an ex- tensive school of goldsmithy in Spain at that time, and Toledo is the very spot near which the Guarrazar spoils were discovered. Were they made there some 100 years or so after Childebert's death ? Gregoire de Tours also speaks of the king setting up * VioUet le Due, who attributes the picture to van Eyck, states that the cross was given by Suger (it is engraved in F^libien). In the Diction- naive raisonne (T Architecture, le Due has engraved the altar. Dom Doublet also gives a minute description of the gold retable with its ornaments of precious stones. The reliquary behind was destroyed by the Huguenots. 94 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. workshops in the Parvis Notre-Dame, doubtless in imitation of the Spanish school ; and in his Notice dc t Orfcvreriey M. Alfred Darcel points out a similarity between the Merovingian and the Spanish style of work. " Ce qui ressort de la plupart des passages que nous venons de citer, c'est que I'orfevrerie merovingienne a pour principal caract^re I'alliance des pierreries aux m(^taux prc^cieux. Ce caract^re se retrouve dans rornamen- tation des couronnes de Guarrazar . . . et dans I'orfevrerie Byzantine." Is it possible, then, that the ante-peiidimn pre- sented by Charles le Chauve to S. Denis was made at the workshops set up by Childebert in the Parvis Notre-Dame, in imitation of those he had seen at Toledo ; and that the work- manship was also an imitation of the Spanish goldsmithy of a hundred years earlier ? But of all this beauty, of all this wealth, what have we now? Marvellously little; still, considering the robbers, royal and plebeian, the fires, the wars, and the undisciplined mobs, we ought to be thankful that so much has been preserved. That even the great churchmen were not above suspicion we see by the account of the coronation of Louis XIII. ; the cardinal being obliged "to binde himself " to restore the "holy oyle" before the monks would let him take it into his hands ; and the Prior of S. Remy, who had the custody of it, standing by and " looking sharplie to the holie oyle." Of the few things which remain from the wreck, the following will be found in the Louvre and the Biblioth^que Nationale, commencing with the former.* The beautiful Egyptian Amphora of porphyry transformed by Abbot Sugerf into an eagle for service as an altar vessel. It is silver-gilt, and bears an inscription round the bird's neck : Jnddudi Gettwiis lapis ista itieretur et aicro — 7narmor erat sed i?i his 7tiar7nore carior est. % Suger himself thus describes it : " Un vase de porphyre, chef-d'oeuvre de taille et de sculpture ; depuis longues ann^es il dtait sans emploi dans I'^crin ; d'am- phore qu'il etait, nous I'avons transforme en un aigle, au moyen de I'or et de I'argent, nous I'avons adapts au service de I'autel, et sur ce vase nous avons fait inscrire les vers qui suivent." * See Notice de Emaux et de t Orfevrerie^ by Alfred Darcel. Gemmes et Joyaux^ by Barbet de Jouy. Handbook of the Louvre ; S. Beale. t In the Salle d'Apollon ; one of the centre cases. t. Suger was abbot from 1122 to 1 151. S/ilNT-DENIS. 95 Another antique sardonyx* set by Suger, with a mounting of silver-gilt filagree and precious stones ornamenting it. Suger's account of this vase is as follows : *' Nous avons achete, pour le service du meme autel, un calice precieux de sardonyx ; nous y avons joint, en guise d'amphore, un autre vase de la meme mati^re, mais de forme diiferente, sur lequel sont ces vers : Du??i libare Deo geimnis debe?nus et auro — Hoc ego Siigerius offero vas Domino.'' . . . "II etait de ce senti- ment que Ton doit employer a la decoration des autels tout ce que Ton a de plus precieux ; il disait que si les juifs se sont servis dans I'ancienne loi de vases et de fioles d'or, pour ramasser le sang des animaux, a plus forte raison doit-on moins epargner, dans la nouvelle, Tor et les pierreries pour tout ce qui a rapport au saint sacrifice du corps et du sang de Jesus Christ/' Twenty-four plaques which deco- rated a book of the Gospels, in cloisofine enamel, are of the 9th century. Some of them are or- namented with foliage, others with the four Evangelists. They belonged to the gold book-cover bearing the legend : Beatrix 77ie in honor e Dei omnipotentis et otnnium sanctorum eius fieri pre- cepit ; which probably refers to Beatrix, grand-daughter of Hugues Capet and sister of Robert, king of France, wife of Ebles L, count of Reims. A 13th century reliquary in champkve, enamel. The psalter of Charles le Chauve. The beautiful antique rock-crystal vase, bearing the name of Alienor d'Aquitaine. It was given by her to Louis VII., who presented it to Suger, who, in his turn, offered it to the Saints, as saith the inscription upon the foot : " This vase was given by Alienor to Louis, her husband. Mitadol gave it to her grafidfather, and the King to me, Suger ; and /, Suger, to SS, Rusticus and Eleutherius." The paten belonging to Suger's lost chalice. It is a serpen- tine disc incrusted with golden fishes. • Salle d'Apollon, centre case. VASE DE SUGER. 96 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS, A rectangular plaque of gold, repoussee and gilt, bearing inscriptions in Greek. A statuette of the Blessed Virgin, in silver, repoussee^ chased, and parcel gilt and enamelled. The Virgin holds ^ Jleur-de-lys^ enriched with precious stones, in her right hand. It was given to the abbey by Jehanne d'Evreux, in 1334. A sceptre with a statuette of Charlemagne upon a lily, of the reign of Charles V. Another statuette of the Blessed Virgin in silver repoussee and parcel gilt ; with a little rock-crystal reliquary enclosing a piece of the swaddHng clothes. In the Biblioth^que : A cameo (sardonyx) head of Augustus, formerly one of the gems of the reliquary containing the skull of S. Hilary. The reliquary was in the form of a mitred head, after the manner of that of S. Denis. The shoulders were vested in a cope, and this cameo set in the centre of the orphrey. The reliquary was made during the administration of Jerome de Chambellan, grand prior from 1583 to 1606, but part of the mounting holding the pearls and stones seems to be of earlier date. There are three sapphires and three imitation rubies, separated by six bouquets composed of three pearls.* A little chalcedony bust of Annius Verus as Bacchus, in- scribed : Veriniis consulis probat tempora. The bust bears a striking likeness to some medals and coins of the little son of Marcus Aurelius. It was the custom of the Roman consuls to send presents upon their appointments ; thus, in sending this bust to a friend, some consul engraved the inscription, which signifies : The little Verus will remind you of my consulate. In the list by Dom Felibien of the treasury at S. Denis, this is called : THe d^tm enfant faite d'luie agate orientate. One of the most precious of the treasures was the Bacchic cantharus, called the Cup of the Ptolomies. It is a sardonyx cup upon a pedestal, with handles of vine stalks, and covered with bas-reliefs. It is supposed to have gained its name from having belonged to Ptolomy XL, the husband of Cleopatra, who bore the surname of Dionysos or Bacchus. From the subjects of the bas-reliefs, it was undoubtedly consecrated to Bacchus. It has also been called the Cup of Mithridates, as having perhaps belonged to the celebrated collection of vases * Catalogue des Cam^es, by M. Chabouillet, SAINT-DENIS. 97 formed by the famous King. Singular though* it may appear, this cup dedicated to Bacchus was given to S. Denis by one of the Carlovingian Kings ; was it some blundering over the names, Dionysos and Dionysius ? The gold foot was added to give it the form of a chalice, says Tristran de Saint-Amant, and the " grossier distique latin," placed upon this foot, " etait profondement grave sur Tor et la gravure remplie d'email de couleur d'acier braze." The following inscription is easily read in the engraving in Felibien's history, but not the date : Hoc vas Christ e tibi 7nente dtcavit tertius in Francos regmine Karlus* It has been thought that it was Charles the Simple who made the donation, but Felibien remarks that Charles le Gros as well as Charles le Chauve were also designated Charles III. In any case, it is known to have been in the treasury as early as the 9th century. In 1790, it was placed in the Cabinet de Medailles, but some years after it was stolen with the great cameo and other valuables. The thieves were arrested in Holland, and the cup and the cameo restored to the Biblio- theque; but the mounting of the latter and the foot of the cup had been melted up. According to a tradition referred to by Marion de Mersan, the queens of France drank consecrated wine from this cup upon their coronation day. Another tradition asserts that Henri III., in direful need of money, borrowed the cup, and pawned it to the Jews of Metz for a million of livres tournois. A beautiful aqua-marine bust is the authentic portrait of the daughter of Titus, wife of Flavius Sabinus. It is signed Evodus, the name of a Greek artist known by two other signed gems. It formed part of the reliquary known as escrain or oratoire de Charlemagne. Felibien speaks of it thus : " Ce reliquaire n'est qu'or, perles et pierreries. Sur le haut est representee une princesse que quelques uns estiment etre ou Cleopatre, ou Julie, fille de I'empereur Titus." Some of the stones are gone, but one of the remaining sapphires is an antique intaglio representing upon one side a dauphin, and upon the other a monogram surmounted by a cross of the 5th or 6th century. The letters of the monogram are MA0Y, possibly the initials of the owner, or the designation of the Virgin : MAPI A MHTHP 0EOY {Marie, mere de Dieu). * O Christ, Charles III. of the name upon the throne of Trance con- secrates this cup to thee ! H 98 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. The Coupe de Chrosroes I., King of Persia, of the dynasty of the Sassanides (531-579) is of transparent rock-crystal, en- graved with a representation of the King sitting upon his throne. In the history of the abbey, pubhshed in 1625, by F. I. Doublet, we find this cup mentioned as having been in the treasury, under the name of Solomon's cup, for more than STEPS I-EADING TO THE APSE. ten centuries, " et donnee par I'Empereur et Roy de France Charles le Chauve." How it got into the hands of the King is not known. Chrosroes was defeated by Justinian, general of Tiberius Constantine, Emperor of the East; so that possibly the cup found its way to Constantinople after the battle. Felibien's description of it is : " Esp^ce de sous-couppe SAINT-DENIS. 99 d'or ornee de crystaux de differentes sortes de couleurs. Au milieu Ton y voit un Roy assis dans son trone." Such are a few of the treasures formerly at S. Denis. The church is lovely now, garnished only with its tombs and glass ; what it must have been upon a great festival a couple of hundred years ago, or still farther back, imagination must be left to picture to itself. Even now, upon the fete of the Saint (October 9th), the effect of the procession, as it winds up and down the aisles and steps, is very fine, and quaint, too ; for the Suisses wear black hats and feathers, cloaks, breeches, and stockings, after the style of Lawrence's "Kemble as Hamlet " ; indeed, they seem to be the Dane, according to the courtly painter, personified. The costume of the boys, also, is different to that of the other churches. They wear violet cassocks, white cottas, scarlet capes with yellow edges, and red skull caps. The whole affair, the old canons bearing the relics, the boys in their quaint attire, the old-world vergers and beadles, the lights few and far between in the great dim church, the vistas of arched aisles ending in darkness, and the sparse con- gregation, give the impression of some period long before the end of this prosaic 19th century. The chasses are in their old places upon the raised apse behind the altar ; but they are of no artistic value. The setting of the jewels is there, but the jewels are gone. The church remains one of the grandest of its date, but its contents have been mended, patched, and re-made. Still, it is an exquisitely beautiful relic, left us by the ages of Faith. S. Denis still goes barefoot, but not for love. Stern necessity keeps it so, or thrusts its cold feet into wooden shoes. It carries its red flag also, and waves it menacingly at all who love peace and quiet. Likewise, it perambulates in processions ; but its relics are rags and hungry children. From a haven of rest, raised up with perhaps some grains of foolish superstition ; from an artistic centre of all that was beautiful ; from the trysting place of enthusiasts, diluted probably with a certain amount of bigotry, S. Denis has become faithless, hopeless, and restless ; bigoted in its excessive Communism, unjust in its perversion of true Socialism, flaunting its An- archic oriflamme in the face of law and order. It is a strange contrast; but perhaps the cause and effect are nearer allied than is generally supposed. H 2 loo THE CHURCHES OF PARIS, SAINTE-ELIZABETH. Situated in the Rue du Temj)le, the church dedicated to the great Hungarian princess formerly faced the entrance to the grim fortress of the Templars, where the poor little Dauphin sighed out his infant life. The church was built for the nuns of the third order of S. Francis, of which S. Elizabeth was a member; and the first stone was laid in 1628 by a very dif- ferent sort of Queen, Marie de' Medici. The exterior, with its Doric pilastered doorway, and the interior, with its poor glass and indifferent sculptures, are alike utterly uninteresting ; but the white marble font, bearing the date of 1654, and the wood- work which ornaments the aisle of the sanctuary, are worth a visit. The latter consists of a series of little panels repre- senting scenes from the Old and New Testament in bas-relief, of the end of the i6th century, and are suid to have been originally in a church at Arras. There is nothing in the building worthy of its patron, that most perfect of saints, whether we think of her as woman, as queen, or as mother. ** AVE GEMMA SPECIOSA ! MULIERUM SYDUS, ROSA ! EX REGALI STIRVE NATA, MUNDO LICET VIRO DATA NUNC IN COELIS CORONATA ; • ClIRISTO TAMEN DESPONSATA. UTRIUSQUE SPONSALIA, SIMUL SERVANS ILLIBATA ; SARAM SEQUENS FIDE PIA, ET REBECCAM PRUDENTIA, O DILECTA ! O BEATA ! NOSTRA ESTO ADVOCATA, ELIZABETH EGREGIA ! * SAINT-6TIENNE DU MONT. Upon the summit of the hill which rises up from the Seine, opposite and on the south side of Notre-Dame, is the church of S. ^tienne du Mont. Some few years ago this "mountain" was an interesting hunting ground to the archceological explorer and the collector of bric-a-brac ; but it has been so cut through by new streets and boulevards that it has almost been improved out of existence. At the foot of it, in a little street turning on *From a German breviary, printed at Nurnberg, 1515, quoted by Mrs. Jameson : Sacred and Legendary Art. SAINT-ETIENNE DU MONT. lOl from the Quai de la Tourelle, is all that remains of the famous college of the Bernardins, now used by the sapeurs-potnpiers. The college was founded by an Englishman, Stephen of Lex- ington, Abbot of Clairvaux, in 1244, upon some ground belong- . / h iiijjfy ■^::^/ 'm^fS^ SAINT-ETIENNE DU MONT. ing to the rich abbey of S. Victor; Alphonse, the brother of S. Louis, being the titular founder and protector of the establish- ment. The great church, begun in 1338 by Pope Benedict XIL and Cardinal Curti, to replace the one built by Stephen I02 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. Lexington, was never finished, but was considered, in the 14th century, to be of great beauty. (Pope Benedict, as Jacques Fournier, was professor of theology in the college.) But more fortunate than the church, the refectory has remained intact in all its beauty until our own time, though unfortunately, in 1845, it was sadly mutilated in order to adapt it for use as a barrack. A portion of the cloister may still be seen in the Rue de Poissy, a pointed arch built into the modern wall of a house with square windows in between. It is time the municipaHty of Paris or the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Buildings bestirred itself to restore the few fragments of old Paris which yet remain. The Revolution did much damage, but often it only put the conventual buildings to secular uses without destroying them, leaving for later governments, and those moreover pro- fessedly religious, to utterly demolish the mutilated monasteries and churches, in order to make straight streets and spacious boulevards, which, beautiful as they are, do not prevent us from regretting the past. The convent of S. Genevibve was founded by Clovis, and so extensive were its lands and dependencies that ere long it drew to it a large population of workmen and labourers for the cul- tivation of its land. A priest, one of the monks of the abbey, was appointed to take spiritual charge of these people ; and from this commencement grew the parish of S. Etienne. Originally the congregation met and worshipped in the crypt of the abbey church, which was dedicated to Our Lady ; then the chapel was placed under the protection of S. John the Evangelist, and called St. Jean-du-Mont. But at the beginning of the 13 th cen- tury the congregation outgrew its chapel, and in 1 224 the Bishop of Paris authorised the building of a church by the side of the abbey, to be consecrated to the memory of S. 6tienne, the proto-martyr. This first church, in fact, was only a part of the abbey; having had no separate entrance of its own, it could only be entered by a doorway from the choir of S. Genevieve. The reason for changing its name for the third time was probably the demolition of a church dedicated to S. Stephen to make space for Notre-Dame. The memory of the first of martyrs being dear to the citizens, nothing would be more appropriate than the naming of a new church to take the place of the old one, although upon a different site. The first mention of S. Etienne is in the History of Guillaume le Breton, in the year 1221. This first church lasted three hundred years, and then again, SAINT-ETIENNE DU MONT. lo^ the population having increased enormously, S. 6tienne was found to be too small for its congregation, and another and finer church was projected. In 1491 it was deemed better to rebuild than to patch up and enlarge the church ; but many years passed in projects and delays, and it was only in 1 5 1 7 that the work was actually commenced. Abbot Philippe Lebel finished the choir in 1537, and in 1541 the Bishop of Megare consecrated the altars in the name of the Bishop of Paris ; but that the church was not finished in 1552, or even in 1563, the diocesan permission to apply the Lenten offerings to the work is sufficient proof. The jude was commenced in 1600, the porches nine years later, and the chapel of the Virgin (re- built) was only finished in 166 1. It was Queen Marguerite de Valois, the lady who so strangely prances about Paris upon a white palfrey at dead of night in the much-admired contro- versial opera, who laid the first stone of the great portal in 1610 ; and, moreover, she gave a sum of three thousand /wres to aid the work ; but what was this when so much was wanted? All was not complete until 1626, and meanwhile the alms during Lent were appropriated to the building fund. How- ever, a glance at a slab of black marble on the north wall of the nave will tell us that on the 25th February, 1626, the Sunday called Sexagesime, under the pontificate of Urban VIIL, and in the reign of Louis XIII. of gracious memory, the church and the high altar were dedicated to the glory of God and of the Virgin Mary by the " reverendissime 7nessire Jean- Francois de Gondi" archbishop of Paris. Another inscrip- tion informs the reader of a wonderful accident which took place on this occasion : — "Et pendant les cerimonies de la dedicace, devs filles de la paroisse tomb^rent dv hauvlt des galleries du coevr, avec I'appvy et devx des bal- Ivstres, qui fvrent miraculeusement preservees, comme les assistants ; ne s'etant rencontre personne sovbs les rvines, vev I'affluence dv pevple qvi assistaient avs dites cerimonies. " Before the Revolution the cure was always one of the regular canons of S. Genevieve. At the end of the i6th century he was assisted in his duties by a community consisting of twenty-four priests. In 1791, when the parishes of the city were re- organized, it was determined to remove the relics, the orna- ments, and the monuments of the abbey church to S. 6tienne, and to re-name the latter after the maid of Nanterre; but the decree was never carried out. Reforms and resolutions fol- ro4 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. lowed each other so rapidly that there was no time to put them into execution. S. ]j^tienne is a cruciform buildinrij, very much leaning to the right (as is so common in old churches), with anave, two aisles, and nineteen chapels. The transepts scarcely project beyond the nave. The exterior is a mass of elegant ornamentation, and on the north side, under the windows, is a passage which connects the porch of the second bay with the charnier^ a sort of cloister, built at the end of the Lady Chapel, exterior to the church. The enclosure within this cloister was formerly the little burial ground ; the great cemetery being situated in the square which fronts the church. There is something extremely coquettish and fascinatmg about the building, with its high-pitched roof, springing from a SAINT-KTIENNE AND THE OLD CHURCH OF SAINTE-GENI'VlfeVE. Renaissance facade, and its 15th century tower surmounted by a pepper-box lantern. ^ The old church of the abbey, which completely joined S. Etienne, has been entirely swept away to make room for the Rue Clovis ; but the refectory and the tower still form a part of the Lyc^e Henri IV., a little turret at the easternmost angle of S. Etienne indicating the extremity of the monastery's domains. Above the great doorway is a bas-relief of the stoning of S. Stephen and the legend : Lapis lejuplum Domifii desiruit, lapis astruit. Right and left are statues of S. Etienne and S. Gene- vieve, the two patrons; above are Angels bearing torches. Upon the pediment is the Resurrection, and under the lintel we read : Siephano archimartyro sacrum. Two Angels above SAINT-ETIENNE DU MONT, lO! the great rose window bear the arms of Marguerite de Valois, and at the summit are the statues of S. Hilary and S. Bene- dict, patrons of two churches in the parish, now demohshed. The interior of S. Etienne is no less singular than the ex- THE SCREEN LOOKING TOWARDS THE CHOIR. terior. The side aisles are nearly as high as the nave, and have enormous windows. The shafts which support the vault of the nave are of great height, and the bays are of the same eleva- tion as the side aisles. Above these bays is a clerestory, the windows of which are as broad as they are high, with depressed io6 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. pointed arches. In order to diminish the enormous height of the bays, the architect conceived a curious device. At about one-third of the height of the shafts he has thrown a depressed arch from pillar to pillar, which forms an elevated passage round the church. It is arrested at the transepts, but taken up again round the choir. The passage encircling each pillar is just wide enough to enable a person to walk. These touruees^ as the old records call the gallery, and the splendid jube form a distinctive feature of the church. On the side of the nave the tournee has an open pilaster balustrade, and at the entrance of the choir it joins the jubL On each side of this is a spiral staircase leading up first to the jube, and then, a second flight to the choir gallery, the former being formed of a single flying-arch supported by two pilasters. The whole screen is ornamented with rich carving; an Angel with palm leaves is in each spandrel, and above all is a huge crucifix, completing this beautiful and original specimen of French Renaissance, the only y///^\y"'-'\:i.''^ 1; , in Glory, with S. Lucretia ^ ' '^ ^ and S. Radegonde, queen of France, and afterwards a nun at Poitiers, kneeling at His feet. The Saints appear with the donors, aforesaid, clad respectively as chevalier, priest, and bourgeois. Here were buried Marguerite Duval, Jean Lesecq, and a Seigneur de Bridevalles, Nicolas Lesecq, who was the king's chafe-wax, and sealer of the chancellery, and who, worthy man, left twelve sous to the organist, and three to the bellows blower. Fran9oise- Madeleine Lesecq, who lived in the Hotel de Gesvres, Rue Coq-Heron, since incorporated into the Caisse d'Epargne, was also buried here. Formerly, before Louis XIV. admitted them to the Louvre, the Guild of Painters and Sculptors held its meetings in the Rue Trainee, and its fit(s and funeral masses in the chapel of S. Andre in S. Eustache; in consequence of which the king, to do honour to the Academy, allowed its rector, Antoine Coysevox, to add the royal lily to his arms, and to place them in this chapel, thus honouring Coysevox at the same time as his fellow sculptors and painters. The guild was founded by Lebrun, and held its meetings at the Sieur Martin de Charmois' house. I'his THE CROSS BEARER OF S. EUSTACHE SAINT-EUSTACHE. 137 Seigneur de Laurc was secretary to Marshal Schomberg ; and full of zeal for art and artists, was the author of the scheme of a guild. Signed by Lebrun, Sarazin, Perrier, Bourdon, de la Hire Corneille, Juste d'Egmont, Vanolstat, Hause, de Guernier, Errard, Van-Mol, Guillier, and Eustace Lesueur, the petition was presented to the king, and supported by chancellor Seguier and de la Veilliere, it obtained the royal assent. Like our later foundation, the Academy made several moves before it was finally settled. First in Charmois' house, it migrated to the Hotel Clisson, Rue des Deux-Boules, where it held its meetings . until the squabbles of the rival artists subsided, and accommoda- tion was found for the members at the Louvre. Most appropri- ately, the decoration of this chapel was given in 1850 to Isidore Pils, one of the great painters of the latter part of this century, so well known by his Battle of the Alma, the Mort d'une ScBur de Charite, and La Priere a rHospice. The subjects are from the life and death of the titular saint, Andrew ; on one side, his crucifixion upon the transverse cross which bears his name ; upon the other, Angels bearing him to heaven. In the latter, a more delicious little group of children, sci-disant Angels, has rarely been painted, even by that master of chubby and graceful babies, Prud'hon. Pils, says M. I'abbe Koeneg"^ loved children, and he certainly painted them as none but a lover of childhood could have done. The chapel Richelieu was founded by the great cardinal, and is the burial place of the Vrilliere fiimily, whose hotel is now the Banque de France. The door close by is called the Porte de la Misericorde by reason of its paintings, which represent the Sevefi Works of Mercy. They are by M. Biennourry. The Chapelle des Catechismes is a very ancient foundation, having been erected in the old church by Louis d'Orleans, the brother of Charles VI., in honour of S. Michael. Two cen- turies later, the Orleans family sold it to President Forget, and a chapel was built out of it to serve, first as a sacristy, and then as a room for confraternities to hold their meetings in. The staircase is very elegant, with its handsome wrought-iron grille and balustrade of the time of Louis XVI. The chapel seems to be used now as a boys' vestry, and the effect of the acolytes in their red cassocks and wliite albs passing up or down this beautiful flight of steps is picturesque in the extreme. * Histoire de Saint- Eusl ache. 138 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. S. Eustache is one of the few churches in Paris which has not adopted the Roman use as regards the dress of the acolytes, who still wear the long alb plaited or trimmed with lace, and the sash, red, white, or pale blue, according to the season. Years ago, before the Parisian rite was superseded by the Roman, there were many little differences in the ritual ; to wit, the two precentors sitting near the chancel grille^ vested in copes, and at certain times during mass marching up and down the choir. Then again, on great festivals, six men holding censers stood in a row, and throwing them up, knelt upon one knee to catch them. The effect of this during Benediction was grand in the extreme ; the Roman practice of two boys gently swinging the censers bearing no comparison to the Parisian. The Lady chapel, known as Notre-Dame de Bon-Secours, served in the 17th century as the assembling place of various charitable societies, and notably of the Societe de Bons-Secours, which was so much patronised by the noblesse and the rich tradespeople. The chapel is in the same style as the side ones, and is a mass of colour, the decorations being by M. D^nuel. The frescoes were originally undertaken by Ary Scheffer, who, perhaps fortuntately for posterity, was so long working out his subject that he gave the matter up, Couture taking his place. But great artist as he was. Couture was hardly the man to decorate a church ; his work and his sympathies were so eminently Classic in style, that it is difficult to feel that his paintings illustrate pages of Gospel history and legendary lore. There is no more religious senti- ment in Couture's work than in the Eclectic decadence of Italy, or the i8th century French school. Many persons object to our latest group of religious painters ; but the feeling expressed in the pictures of M. Lhermitte, of Bastien-Lepage, of Mr. C. Pierce, of M. Dagnan-Bouveret, and even in M. Beraud's Crucifixion^ to say nothing of Herr Uhde's work, is far more religious than in many, one might almost say, in most of the frescoes and pictures by modern artists in the various churches. Sentimentality is not religious sentiment, and cast-up eyes do not necessarily express devotion. Again, the light is so bad in this chapel that it is very difficult to judge of Couture's work, even from the aesthetic point of view ; and therefore we cannot think this picture equal to the grand Romaiffi de la Decadence in the Louvre. The altar is a hand- some specimen of the reign of Louis XIIL, but the statue SAINT-EUSTACHE. 139 which surmounts it, by Pigalle, has the usual sentimental character of i8th century sculpture. A plaque informs the faithful that it was blessed by Pius VII. in 1804; but, unfortunately, a pope's blessing will not turn a piece of marble into a fine work of art. The chapel of S. Louis de Gonzague was the property of the Colbert family, and contains the tomb of the great minister. The monument was executed from a design by Lebrun, and, although of the usual type of that period, it is not without a certain grandeur. A black marble sarcophagus supports the kneeling figure of Colbert, arrayed in the robes of the order of the Saint-Esprit. The hands, joined in prayer, are exquisitely modelled. The expression of the face is fine, and the flow of the draperies is well executed. At the foot of the monument are figures of Religion by Tubi and Abun- dance by Coysevox; the latter a good example of the sculptor's style. This was one of the monuments saved from the Vandal mob in 1792, by Lenoir, who marched it off to the museum of the Petits-Augustins, where it remained until 1801, when it was returned to S. Eustache. More relics are to be seen in the next chapel, those of S. Pierre I'Exorciste, a saint who suffered in the neighbourhood of Rome, having obligingly dug his own grave previously to being beheaded. The authenticity of the relics are vouched for by the sign manual of Cardinal Caprara. One requires faith to believe in the authenticity of these, or any other relics; not that one doubts their preservation by loving hands after the martyrdoms, but there is a great gulf of time which is not easily bridged over. Take, for instance, the relic of the True Cross kept at Notre-Dame. It is not at all improbable that the cross might have been preserved by the friends of Our Lord ; and the same remark applies to many of the other relics with which S. Louis and others adorned the Sainte- Chapelle — the Spear, the Handcuffs, the Crown of Thorns, even the linen stained by the precious blood. That the Apostles, or S. Joseph of Arimathea, or Nicodemus, or S. Mary and her sister Martha, would have done their best to gain possession of these relics of their dear Master, is not only possible, but probable. We are all relic-mongers at heart ; our forefathers gathered together the remains of saints and martyrs ; we our- selves keep locks and curls of hair, babies' teeth, bits of clothing, rings, and photographs. Where is the difference? I40 rriE CHURCHES OF PARIS. If the lost first-born's only tooth is precious to its mother, why should not S. Holocaustus' toe-nail be equally so to those who live in the Saint's parish or commune ? We have Charles I.'s hair, and Queen Elizabeth's stockings ; and there is no reason why a thousand years hence they should not still be in their cases. But if a great upheavement took place, such as the siege of Jerusalem, or the first French Revolution, the saving of such relics would be difficult, although not by any means impossible. Take the finding of the True Cross by S. Helena early in the 4th century. If this be true, it is by no means impossible that it was preserved up to the time of S. Louis. Nor is it impossible that someone connected with the church of S. Denis should have secreted the relic before the desecra- tion of the tombs in 1793. Rumours precede acts; and having a valuable relic, why not hide it away when dangers lurk in the distance ? But if so, why did not this person pre- serve the vessels in which the relics were kept? Why not have buried all those costly chalices, crosses and reliquaries ? Why have left them to be seized upon by profane hands and melted up, if there were time to save their contents? But the chief difficulty is to account reasonably for the gap between the Crucifixion and the finding of the Cross ; and it requires such a long bridge of faith to traverse this space of three hundred years that one feels reluctantly obliged to take the ''Invention" of the Cross in its most literal sense. The arms over the chapel of the Sainte-Madeleine are those of Prance hatre^ commemorating the foundation (in the old church) by Charles, Comte de Valois, due d'Angouleme, a natural son of Charles IX., that most excellent Christian king and zealous son of the Church, who persecuted and slaughtered heretics for the good of their souls, thereby converting them (in the next world) from the error of their ways, and so cover- ing his own multitudinous sins and wickednesses. There is a handsome confessional of carved wood, period Louis XV., in this chapel ; and in the next, the relics of S. Vincent de Paul are enclosed in a fine Louis XIV. chasse. Lest any reader doubts the correctness of my translation, let me give the list of these relics in the original. " Les reliques de St. Vincent de Paul se composent d'une image teinte du sang du saint pretre retrouvee legerement coagule quand on a ouvert son tombeau, de deux medailles formees de sa chair et de ses os mis en pate, d'une parcelle de sa chair, de fragments de son SA INT-E USTA CHE. 1 4 1 suaire, de la soutane qu'il portait de son vivant, de la soutane dont il a (^te retrouve vetu dans sa biere, enfin d'un morceau de cette biere. Le tout est muni du cachet de la Mission et accompagne de quatres authentiques signes par MM. les superieurs de Saint-Lazare." This and the S. Madeleine are the oldest of the chapels, and are both architecturally fine, with wrought-iron grilles of elegant and cunning workmanship. The paintings (1634), attributed to Simon Vouet or his Italian pupils, represent scenes in the life of S. Anne, to whom the chapel was originally dedicated by Anne de Monsigot, dame de Bourlon, who may be seen humbly sitting upon the stairs of the temple, with hf r two children standing by her side ; while above, the high priest Zachariah is receiving the Blessed Virgin, who is presented by her mother and father. Very beautiful are the Angels bearing the instruments of the Passion, which are painted upon the eight compartments of the ceiling. The founder of the chapel of S, Genevieve was one Jehan Brice, a merchant, whose desire that it should be richly de- corated was carried out by the widow, Guillemette de I'Arche, in 1546, who is said to have been the heroine of a tale, which has been made familiar to us through the Italian opera of La Gazza Ladra. It appears that an old MS. in the possession of M. Boblet gives the list of foundation masses in the parish, and amongst them is one entitled La Pie Voleuse^ which was said daily for the poor servant unjustly accused of stealing the spoon, found later on in the roof of the church. But the unwonted hour fixed for the mass, 4 a.m., and the name thereof, seem rather to point to the magpie than to the maid. May not the mass have been for the thief rather than for the innocent damsel ? And was it not made thus early to assure the attendance of all the feathered tribes (who are wont to rise betimes), and to be unto them at once a warning and a duty paid to their cousin-german, the mean and wicked mngpie? A Tobias a?id the Angei, by Santi di Tito, belonging originally to Louis XV., and ascribed to Andrea del Sarto, is of a certain interest. The frescoes, taken from the life of S. Louis in the chapel bearing his name, are amongst the best in the church. M. Barrias has thrown much grandeur into his subject, S. Loins carrying the Cro7vn of Thorns to the Sainte-Chapelle ; but no one has so thoroughly depicted the ascetic beauty of the King, his true piety and unflinching faich, as M. Olivier-Merson in the wall-paintings of the corridor of the Cour de Cassation, 142 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS, in the Palds de Justice. In all the works of the latter painter the truest religious sentiment is invariably to be found; and if he errs upon the side of ugliness, is it not an infinitely smaller fault than the sentimental upturned eyes and radiant beauty of the German religious painters of the Cornelius and Hesse schools ? The tribune over the sacristy door was put up by the Duchesse d'Orldans, Adelaide, the mother of Louis Philippe, in 1778, that she might enjoy privacy when she was present at the offices. It is a noble example of the finished style of Louis XVI. Amongst the treasures of S. Eustache are an ivory crucifix in the sacristy : a bone of the patron Saint, from the cemetery of S. Priscilla, given in 1660 by Pope Alexander VII. to Sieur Chauvin ; a tooth, formerly in the church of S. Jacques- THopital; and some bones of S. Eustache and his wife and children, said to have been formerly amongst the treasures of S. Denis ; but I find no record of them in Dom Millet. The frescoes in the chapel of the patron Saint were painted by M. le Hdnaff, in imitation of those found in the catacombs of Rome, the painter having copied the incorrect drawing as well as the fervent feeling of the early painters. One or two more pictures by Vouet may be seen; and in the chapel of the Redemption are the frescoes of M. Glaize, one of the few pamters who seems to have understood the spirit in which a church should be decorated. S. Eustache was a royal parish up to the great crash at the end of the last century; its domain extended from the Chauss^e des Gaillons to the Rue S. Denis, and being in the centre of the great world, it was very fashionable. Hard by were the royal palaces, and the new and "magnifique basti- ment de I'hostel royal dit des Tuileries lez Paris, pour ce qu'il y avoit anciennement une tuilerie audict lieu," the chef- (Tmivre of Philibert Delorme, built by order of Catherine de' Medici to outrival the Chateau d'Anet, erected by the same great artist for the irregular queen, the lovely Diane. Not far from the Place Royale, and in the centre of a nest of hotels belonging to great and noble personages, S. Eustache became the praying-place of the living and the burial-place of the defunct notabilities. The great ministers of Henri III., Louis XIII., and Louis XIV. lived in the parish : the Due d'Epernon, in the Rue Platri^re (now Jean-Jacques-Rousseau, by reason SAINT-E USTA CHE. 143 of the sage having occupied the 4th efage of No. 49, in the year 1770); Cardinnl Richelieu, in the Rue St.-Honore, au I/ADORATION PERPETUELLE AT SAINT-EUSTACHE. Palais-Cardinal, otherwise the modern tourist's hunting-ground, the Palais-Royal ; and Mazarin, the Rue Neuve-des-Petits- F44 ^^^" CHURCHES OF PARIS. Champs. The cures were naturally much in vogue as con- fessors and directors to these high personages and their swarms of followers and appendages — men and women. One of the rectors, preaching in 1537, before the King (Francois I.), the Cardinal de Lorraine, brother of the Due de Guise, the Cardinal de Tournon, and ladies and gentlemen of the court, seems to have been shaky in his theology, according to some of his hearers, but esion?iant de veritc^ quoth others. Even the royal mind itself was unquiet for several days, but upon per- suasion by the Cardinals it became reassured. It was a time of troubles, civil and religious. The church work was stopped, and horrors were around, for in 1558 a poor student, denounced as a Lutheran by an old zealot of the weaker sex, was dragged out of the church and massacred upon the steps. But to return to Messire Jean Lecoq, the aforesaid cure. In the choir is his tomb, where he was buried with several of his relatives. His epitaph, bearing his arms cfazur au coq cTor, is as follows : Nob ill s venerahilis D. Magister Joannes Lecoq. Hujus ecclesicc pastor — 1 568. Ant. Lecoq, sek;. d'Esgrenay et de Corbeuil (frere du cur^), 1566. F. Pajot, seigneur de Bury, mari d'Estiennette Lecoq, 1563 Y. Pajot, seig. d'Auteuil, leur fils, 1583. A story is told of this reverend cur^ by Bonaventure Deperriers, in his Joyeux Devis, which, if not authentic, is characteristic of the times. A certain popular actor and head of a wandering dramatic company, one Jean de I'Espine, called Pont-Allais^ was one day beating his drum near the church, to announce the commencement of his entertainment. Within the church the cure was preaching, but alas, his voice could not be heard above the rattle outside. Exit the preacher from his pulpit. He hurries out, and addresses the comedian upon the stage of his booth : " How can you dire to strum while I am preaching?" "And how can you dare to preach while I am drumming ? " retorted the actor. The cure^ enraged at this impudent reply, broke the drum ; but Jean Pojit-Allais^ with the swiftness of a man of action, seized the priest, and popping the drum upon his head, pushed him into the church. Whether the discourse was continued, with or without the coiffure^ history does not relate. Jean Lecoq died in 1568. Rene Benoist, born at Angers, and a member of the school of theologians calling itself the Societe Royale de Navaric, was. SAINT-E USTA CUE. 145 when quite young, the confessor of Marie Stuart, whom he fol- lowed to Scotland. Upon the dt atli of the queen he became cure of St. Pierre-des-Arcis, and afterwards of S. Eustache. At the commencement of his career he was a Ligueur, and by reason of his great influence was nicknamed le roi des Halles. In 1588 he pronounced a funeral oration upon the assassinated Guises at Blois : Escoute, peuple, dit-il, par Isaie : Auferam a vobis fortem et virum bellatoj-em, Jiidicem et prophetam. Quand Dieu veut punir un peuple, il oste les personnes genereux et le conseil, car comme disait Ciceron en son premier des Offices : Non valent arnia foris nisi sit consiliiun domi. Nous avions tous les deux en ce bon prince le due de Guise : il etait fort comme un Samson, prudent et advise comme un Salomon. . . . Les anciens disaient un exercite estre plus fort quand le chef est lion que quand les soldats sont lions et le chef cerf. . . . Cette balafre qu'il portait, c'etait en conservant la religion et I'etat en France qu'il I'avait enduree. Cela devait faire peur aux mechants, non est viilniis aversiun sed adversnm. Faut des hommes vaillants, balafres, qui ne fuient pas et ainsi que Notre Seigneur a porte ses cicatrices au ciel pour montrer ce qu'il avait endure ainsi il a porte sa balafre pour le temoignage de sa vertu. II ne faut pas perdre courage, la maison en est seulement escornee. (Then he concluded thus :) Prions Dieu pour les echevins d'icelle, qu'ils aient la crainte de Dieu et une bonne prudence. Ce mot d'echevins veut dire chefs de la ville, sicnt capita Urbis. Je les compare aux quatre parties qui conservent la sante de I'homme et aux quatre elements qui sont les choses les plus necessaires au monde. Paris a pour ses armes un navire qu'est Mare populi, ceux la sont les pilotes ; ils queront a Dieu qu'il leur donne son saint vSperit, mais surtout a eux et a nous I'union, faut que Civitas soit Civium unitas. However, going over to the enemy, like many a better man, Benoist became the butt of I'Estoile : De trois B B B garder se doit on, De Bourges, Benoist et Bourbon. Boiirges croit Dieu piteuse/nent, Benoist le prhhe finement, Mais Dieu nous gard^ de la Jinesse Et de Bourbon et de sa messe. Another preacher of the time, Master Rose, gave Benoist the nickname of le Diable des Halles ; but nevertheless he remained faithful to the king's party, and controverted those who refused to receive the royal heretic, even if he were to be converted. These views of the cure^ coming to the ears of the Due de Mayenne, caused Benoist to be sent for when the time came for Henri to abjure Protestantism, and he was present at S. Denis on the memorable 25th of July, 1592, when the king heard the mass which he bargained for the city of Paris. L 146 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. This, of course, angered the Ligueurs yet more, and one said publicly that Benoist deserved to be hanged; and a poor woman of the parish (one of the forerunners of the celebrated "Dames de la Halle" who more than once defended \k\€\\ cures at all costs) was mauled and mangled by a Spanish soldier for having stood up for her parish priest and pronounced him a worthy man. Later on, being named bishop of Troyes by the king (whose confessor he became), the Ligue refused him obedience. Benoist was not only a fervent politician ; he was also a writer of no mean merit, a learned preacher, an erudite theologian, and, above all, a friend beloved of his parishioners. He left his mark upon the church, embellishing the great door with a representation of his patron S. Ren^, and composing an anthem, which was performed upon his^^/^day. Some authori- ties, Launoy to wit, give the number of his works as 154, Niceron 159. He was forty years at S. Eustache, and ten years dean of the Faculty of Theology. He died on the 7th March, 1608, at the ripe old age of eighty-seven, and just two years before the assassination of Henri, which took place at the very doors, one may say, of S. Eustache, in the Rue de la Ferronnerie. After the death of Ren^, Benoist's successor, we find the " Dames de la Halle " coming to the fore and asserting their importance. It appears that the appointment by the arch- bishop of a new curate (I use this term in its proper sense : the occupier of a cure) to succeed M. Tonnellier, led to a three day's revolt. The nephew of the latter, having been promised the cure by his uncle, opposed the new appointment, and, assisted by the market women, repulsed the soldiers — sent them flying, says tradition. However that may be, there was a vast commotion, which lasted three days, and wns only ended by a species of armistice. " Les Dames de la Halle " consented to send a deputation to the queen (although it is not very apparent what her majesty could do in the matter), and after giving an account of the cause of the trouble, the envoy went on as follows : — Notre cure qui est mort etait si bon, si humain que nous I'avons tous pleure. En mourant il a designe son neveu pour son successeur et Ton a voulu nous en donner un autre. Ce n'est pas juste, n'est-ce pas, madanie la Reine ? Les Marlin, voyez-vous, depuis bien longtemps, sont cures de Saint-Eustache, de pere en JilSy et les paroissiens n'en souffriront pas d 'autre. SAINT-EUSTACHE. 147 The curious argument advanced by the deputy in favour of Marhn no doubt amused the queen, and she promised to do what she could. But "Les Dames" would have no evasive answers ; they wanted their curate and intended to have him ; and so, on their return, chains were put across the streets barricades were commenced, and the revolt waxed stronger. At this juncture, the archbishop gave way, and the nephew was installed amidst enthusiastic cries of Vive Varcheveque ! Vive la reine ! While upon the church some wag placarded a notice : Avis. Le cure de Saint-Eustache est a la nomination des Dames de la Halle. This little tale seems to have been the origin of the romantic story trumped up in 1783, in which Marie Antoinette is said to have given a flower-girl her bracelet in recognition of some interview between them ; which story was added to and amended later on, to the effect that the queen, upon her way to the guillotine, recognising the girl by her bracelet, betrayed her, and thus inadvertently caused her arrest and execution. This Marlin was curate when Louis XIV. made his first communion at S. Eustache, that being his parish church at the time he was living in the Palais-Royal with his mother. Louis' last wife was also a parishioner of S. Eustache before her marriage with Scarron. As Frances d'Aubigne she seems to have been as much of a devote as in her later days, for she arose at midnight, and attended matins at two of the clock. At that time she was in receipt of alms from a charitable lady of the parish, and her extraordinary career had scarcely com- menced. Funeral orations abounded at S. Eustache. In 1666 Anne of Austria was eulogised by a celebrated preacher, pere Senault, in no mild terms : — Souffrez que je vous dise que si elle a vaincu la douleur et la mort, si elle a procure la paix a l' Europe, si elle a heureusement gouverne I'Etat pendant sa regence, si elle a obtenu des enfants du Ciel, ce n'a ete que parce qu'elle se confiait en Dieu et qu'elle I'a oblige de faire cent miracles en sa faveur parce qu'elle esperait en sa bonte, spera in eo et ipse faciei. Ten years later a greater preacher, the eloquent Flechier, was called upon to sing the praises of Turenne, all the world following in the train of the king to hear him : Quelle matiere fut jamais plus disposee a recevoir tous les ornements d'une grave et solide eloquence, que la vie et la mort de tres-haut et tres- puissant Prince Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, vicomte de Turenne, L 2 148 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. marechal general des camps et armees du roi et colonel general de la cavalerie legere ? Ou brillent avec plus d'eclat les effets glorieux dc la vertu militaire : conduite d'armees, sieges de places, prises de villes, passages de rivieres, attaques hardies, retraites honorables, campements bienordonnes, combats soutenus, batailles gagnees, ennemis vaincus par la force, dissipes par I'adresse, lasses et consumes par une sage patience ; ou peut-on trouver tant et de si puissants exemples que dans les actions d'un homme sage, modeste, liberal, desint^resse, devoue au service du prince et de la patrie, grand dans I'adversit^ par son courage, dans la pros- p^rite par sa modestie, dans les difficult^s par sa prudence, dans les perils par sa valeur, dans la religion par sa pi^t^. Yet another celebrated orator, Massillon, was often heard at S. Eustache, and in 1704, preaching upon the small number of the elect, so terrified were his hearers that they all rose as one man, when he pronounced the words of the Supreme Judge. A lesser man, who rose to be a Cardinal, perhaps more by intrigues than anything else, was Guillaume Dubois. He was born at Brives-la-Gaillarde in 1657, and coming to Paris, he entered, while still quite young, the service of the cure of S. Eustache. Thence he obtained engagements as tutor to the great person- ages of the neighbourhood ; entering the house of the Due de Chartres, he managed to obtain the abbey of Saint-Just, in the diocese of Beauvais. A grand monument by Coustou was erected to his memory in the church of S. Honore, with an epitaph composed by Couture, which seems to be a slight satire upon the worldly-minded who love the rich things of this nether world. After giving the titles of the defunct, the lines go on : " Quid autem hi titulis nisi arcus coloratus et funms ad modicum parens Viator, stahiliora, solidioraque bo?ia inortuo apprecare, etc., et:. Mais que sont ces dii^nites'l nuages hrillants, fumee qui s'evapore. Passatit, demande a Dieu pour ce fiiort des hiefis plus stables et plus sol ides.'" S. Eustache is still famous for its processions, and few churches are so fitted for grand ceremonial ; but what are the functions of to-day compared with those of the i8th century? Here is an extract from the archives giving an outline of the procession upon the Fete Dieu, 20th June, 17 16, during the minority of Louis XV. : — Several lacqueys bearing torches. Footmen of M. le due de Charot with lights at the top of their weapons. Sixteen footmen of M. le Comte de Toulouse. Six pages of my lord count. The preceptor of the pages of M. the due d'Orleans, the Regent, in long k SAINT-EUSTACHE. 149 cassock and surplice ; their tutor bearing a taper ; twelve pages of His Royal Highness, and two sub-tutors. The banner of the confraternity of the Holy Sacrament. The cross of the clergy of S. Eustache. An officer bearing a cushion for His Royal Highness. The Suisses armed, carrying halbards upon their shoulders and torches in their hands, the officers at their head accompanied by drums and fifes. The dais of the Holy Sacrament, borne by high personages. The cure under the dais. Monseigneur le due d'Orleans carrying a taper, preceded by several officers of his house, and two chaplains in surplices. An officer bearing a bouquet of His Royal Highness. Forty of the body-guard, the councillor of Parliament, and the church- wardens. A coach belonging to His Royal Highness, followed by eight guards on horseback. The archers of the town bringing up the rear. The watchmen of Paris arranged in a line from the church door to the Hotel de Soissons, on both sides of the Rue Coquilliere, with flags and officers at their head ; drums to be beaten when His Royal Highness arrives at the church in his coach, and on his return. In 1736 the reposoir* in the Palais-Royal was constructed from the design of Servandoni, the architect of S. Sulpice ; and its importance attracted multitudes of curiosity-hunters from all parts of the town. In 1729 Jean-Frangois-Robert Secousse succeeded his uncle, and was the author of a pamphlet which he gave away to his parishioners entitled : Lettre d'un Cure a N an sujet des Spectacles. His successor, Jean-Jacques Poupart, was for some time confessor to Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. When the storm arose, he took the oath to the Constitution ; but, finding the lengths to which it carried him, he retracted, went into hiding, and administered to his flock in secret. During the early years of the Revolution, no church suffered more than S. Eustache. Situated in the midst of a populous district, it became the scene of untold horrors. But it was also the resting place for Mirabeau's body on its way to the Pantheon, on the 4th April, 1791 ; and had nothing worse than the funeral oration by Cerutti, pronounced from the da/ic- (Vceiivre^\ taken place, the sacrilege would have been but small. Trouble was looked for in the following May, when * An altar erected at various points along the route taken by the procession, at which a pause is made for prayer, and the benediction given. 7 The pew for clergy and officials during sermon. ISO THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. the hairdressers' assistants caused a service to be said for the great orator; but instead of the church being invaded by 10,000 persons, as was expected, a poor 600 were all that put in an appearance, and these were well conducted. Not so the Women's Club which was held in the building, if Lamartine's Histoire des Girondins * is to be trusted : La societe r^volutionnaire siegeait a Sain t-Eust ache ; elle etait com- posee de femmes perdues, aventurieres de leur sexe, recrutees dans le vice, oil dans les reduits de la misere, ou dans les cabanons de la demence. Le scandale de leurs seances, le lumulte de leurs motions, la bizarrerie de leur Eloquence, I'audace de leurs petitions importuna le Comite de Salut Public, qui ferma le club. On peut juger par \k ce qu'il devait en etie de la pauvre ^glise. Pres de la siegeait aussi le fanieux club de la rue Mauconseil. Another club for women, founded by an actress named Lacombe, was dissolved after a speech of Robespierre's, in which we find that " Cette reunion de vraies sans-culottes ne saurait durer plus long-temps, parce qu'elle prete au ridicule et aux propos malins." In 1793 the Feast of Reason was celebrated with as much profanity and indecency here as at Notre-Dame, as witness Mercier's account, told in the forcible language of Carlyle : The corresponding festival in the church of S. Eustache offered the spectacle of a great tavern. The interior of the choir represented a land- scape decorated with cottages and boskets of trees. Round the choir stood tables overloaded with bottles, with sausages, pork-puddings, pasties, and other meats. The guests flowed in and out through all doors ; whosoever presented himself took part of the good things ; children of eight, girls as well as boys, put hand to plate, in sign of Liberty ; they drank also of the bottles, and their prompt intoxication created laughter. Reason sat in azure mantle aloft, in a serene manner ; cannoneers, pipe in mouth, serving her as acolytes. And out of doors (continues the exaggerative man) were mad multitudes dancing round the bonfire of chapel-balustrades, of priests' and canons' stalls ; and the dancers — I exaggerate nothing — the dancers nigh bare of breeches, neck and breast naked, stockings down, went whirling and spinning, like those Dust-vortexes, forerunners of Tempest and Destruction, f S. Eustache was re-opened for divine service sooner than many of the other churches, M. Poupart coming out of his hiding in June, 1795; ^"^ ^e had to share his church for rome time with the philanthropists and the municipal coun- * Vol. vii p. 35. \ Carlyle, French Revolution^ vol. in. p. 194. SAIN7-E USTA CHE. 1 5 1 cillors, who held their meetings there upon certain days. An I the church was, moreover, but four walls and a roof; nearly all the contents had vanished. The altars, the bronze statues, the pulpit, the pictures, the tombs, the slabs and epitaphs, all but the banc-d'ceuvre^ had gone to the museum of the Petits-Augustins ; happily, for otherwise they would have gone into the fire. In 1804, Pius VII., dragged to Paris by Napoleon to per- form the coronation ceremony, was invited to visit S. Eustache and bless a statue of the Blessed Virgin ; which he did with " tine bonte paternelle.'' The occasion naturally called forth all the ceremonial of which the church was capable : Suisses (beadles), vergers, MM. les maires^ and MM. les ?tiargiiilliers^ magistrates, juges de paix, clergy, M. le cure Bossic, and his eminence the cardinal archbishop. His Holiness was received at the church door by the archbishop, M. de Belloy, and divers other bishops and dignitaries of church and state ; who had to submit to hearing a Latin oration by the cure. The music was brilliantly executed by a large choir, and the cere- monial of an imposing character ; peculiarly touching was the moment when the archbishop, an old man of ninety-six, who had to be supported by two prelates, mounted the steps of the altar, and presented the linen cloth to his Holiness for wiping his hands. After mass a reception took place in one of the chapels, and a number of the faithful had the honour of " kissing the papal slipper," says the account of the cere- mony signed by a number of the dignitaries present. Among the celebrities buried in the church or the burial-ground hard by are the following: Bernard de Girard, Seigneur du Haillan, historian, who died in 1610; Marie Jars de Gournay, the adopted daughter of Montaigne, and the editress of his essays; Vincent Voiture, poet and wit, who died in 1650; the Academician Francois de la Motte-le-Vayer ; the poet Isaac Benserade ; another Academician Furetiere ; the grace- ful music-maker, Rameau ; the painter, Lafosse ; a superin- tendent of finance, Claude de Bullion (a curiously appropri- ate name); Phelippeau, duke of la Vrilliere; the chancellor d'Amenonville ; a peer and marshal, Francois d'Aubusson de la Feuillade, who worshipped his king, the fourteenth Louis, and elevated a wondrous monument to his glory, the prancing steed and man in the Place des Victoires ; and a medicine man of the same kingr a member, too, of the Academy, 152 THE CHURCHES OF PARTS, Martin Cureau de la Chambre, aged seventy-five when he died in 1669. The physician is said to have been the consulter- general of the king, and they carried on a secret correspon- dence, in which the former thought that the sovereign would " court grand risque de faire a Pavenir de viauvnis choix de ffiimstres" if he survived Cureau. The last curate buried in the church was Poupart, in 1796. What is now the market of S. Joseph was formerly the burial-ground dedicated to that Saint. It belonged to the parish of S. Eustache, and in 1630 Chancellor Siguier built a chapel therein at his own expense. Here Moliere and I^ Fontaine were buried, but the monuments were carried off to the museum of the Petits-Augustins, where they remained until 18 1 8, when they were re-erected at P^re-la-Chaise. Moliere was also born in the parish, at a house, since pulled down, which occupied the site of the corner of the rue St. Honor^ and the rue du Pont Neuf, formerly de la Tonnellerie, The following epitaphs used to be in the church, and are interesting; the two first for their quaintness; the last as a record of an architect of S. Eustache, if not the original builder: BARTII^L^MI TREMBLET, sculpteur du rov, deced^ a l'age DE 61 ANS, EN 1629. Louvre me donna I'etre et Paris la fortune. J'eus I'honneur d etre au roy, St. Eustache a nies os ; Passant, au nom de Dieu, si je ne t'importune, Durant ce mien sommeil, pries pour mon repos. Le monde n'a ^ste a Frattfoise Gallois que passage a I'eternite ; EUe y a demeure comme toujours Preste d'en sortir, Les xxiii annees De son age, n'ont estees qu'innocence, Les quarte de son mariage, que paix Et Concorde, les vertus furent ses Exercices, la piete son contentetnent, La crainte de Dieu la conduite de Sa vie qu'elle finit le xxviie Aoust MDCXVL Si chrestiennement, Que Richard Petit, son mary, Consf"*" secret, du roy, M. et C. de Fr. ne console Taffliction de son Absence que par la souvenance De sa mort. Cy-devant git le corps D'honorable hoinnie Charles David, vivant sujet du Roy Es-oeuvres de maconnerie, doyen des jures et bourgeois SAINT-EUSTACHE. 153 De Paris, architecte et conducteur du batiment de I'Eglise De ceans, lequel apres avoir vescu avec Anne Lemercier Sa femme I'espace de 53 ans, il deceda le quatrieme jour De decembre 1650 age de 98 ans. S. Eustache has suffered much of late years by fire and the doings of wicked men. In 1844 fire attacked the organ, and smoke and water destroyed a great portion of the church. L'abbe Duguerry, who was shot in 187 1 by the Communists, was ai?'e at the time of the conflagration ; and in order to re- build the organ, he instituted a lottery, and appealed for aid to the whole country. Ten years later the new organ was built, and inaugurated under a new cure, Gaudereau, Duguerry having been appointed to the Madeleine. It was an exquisite instrument, of delicious tone and with a large number of stops. But alas ! during the Commune it suffered again, several bombs having exploded in the church. Glass was smashed, organ pipes pierced, and a great deal of damage done to the roof; and it was several years before the church was restored to its pristine beauty. In 1879 the organ was finished, having been reconstructed and very much enlarged by J. Merklin, under a committee of organists and musicians ; other instru- ments may be larger, but few are so beautiful in tone. Several of the Paris organs are fine, and the French school of organists is of all the least conventional. One is not bored by Rinck and his fellows ; one does not hear choruses by Handel in- tended to be sung, or solos by the same master upon flute and clarionet stops with a poor tum-tum accompaniment, or sonatas written for the pianoforte or violin. That, to some of us, peculiarly irritating form of composition, the fugue, is rarely heard (except at the Madeleine), and Batiste, I think, must have held them in holy horror as did Berlioz, and, was it Chopin ? Many a time for years I heard Batiste " touch " the S. Eustache organ, and surely no more divine sounds (if organ notes can be divine ?) have ever been drawn from an mstrument than when he played some soft, tender, pathetic melody upon the voix celeste or vox huinana with accompaniment upon the far-off stops and tremolo ; it was, in effect, what one might conceive a chorus of Angels accompanying some beauti- ful human voice. I know all the principal Paris organs, and most of them have been played upon by distinguished musi* cians ; I also heard Lefebure-Wely frequently in former days; but no one seemed to equal or to excel Batiste in taste. His soft 154 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. passages were perfection ; and when he made the instrument thunder forth in all its fortissimo^ it was grand in the extreme. Such an admiration had I for the musician, that I looked upon him as an invisible master, and my enthusiasm led me one day to waylay him as he came down the stairs. Query, if one admires an artist or an author, a poet or a musician, is it wise to see him in the flesh? Some painters and pianists, some violinists or singers, have been appropriately built, so to speak. Nature, sometimes unassisted, more often aided and pruned, has turned out bodies which are fitted to become the cases of distinguished minds. But everyone knows instances of actors and actresses who are nought minus their war-paint ; of painters who might be grocers, and of poets as un-ideal in appearance as any publican or butterman. On the other hand, there are ex- quisites behind the counters, ethereal-looking butchers, and poetic vendors of cooked ham and beef. It is as if nature had made a number of bodies and minds, and shuffling them like a pack of cards, had tossed them together without any thought or heeding. Such seemed to have been the case with Batiste, for he was the exact model of the French Mossoo so dear to Punch — the Mossoo one so rarely sees out of that sportive periodical. Nevertheless, the soul within that commonplace body was able to peal forth in most sublime sounds which touched the hearts of all who heard them. Batiste's was essen- tially emotional playing of the highest order. Never shall I forget the thrill which went through the crowd when he played Chopin's " Funeral March " at the funeral of the dear old cure^ I'abbe Simon — the very type of the courteous, fine-gentleman priests of other days, without their vices. When, years ago, the abbe Simon and Duguerry his friend, sat side by side, their finely chiselled features and longish hair, their elegant manner, and courteous bearing, reminded one of the portraits of Fl^chier, Massillon and Bossuet. It may interest musicians to know the composition of the S. Eustache organ, and as many of the stops are French, I may as well give them in their original names. It has four manuals, and 72 stops; 4356 pipes and 20 pedals. Grand Orgue 54 notes, 16 stops. Positif. 54 „ 14 „ Recit expressif 54 ., 16 ,, Clavier Bombarde 54 ,, 11 ,, Pedales 30 „ 15 „ TOTAL 72 SAINT-E USTA CHE. 155 1ST MANUAL, ft. 1 Montre 16 2 Montre 8 3 Flute a pavilion 8 4 Bourdon 8 5 Flute harmonique 8 6 Viole de Gam be 8 7 Gemshorn 8 8 Rohrflute 4 9 Prestant 4 2ND MANUAL ft. 1 Montre 8 2 Bourdon 8 3 Keraulophone 8 4 Flute harmonique 8 5 Bourdon 16 6 Flute harmonique 4 7 Fugara 4 8 Doublette 2 — GREAT ORGAN. ft. 10 Nasard 2 11 Doublette 2 COMBINATION STOPS. 12 Furniture et Cymbale . 3 13 Cornet 8 14 Trompette 8 15 Clarinette 8 16 Clairon 4 -CHOIR ORGAN. ft. 9 Clochette i COMBINATION STOPS. ID Plein jeu 2 11 Clarinette 16 12 Cromhorn 8 13 Trompette 8 14 Clairon 4 3RD MANUAL.— SWELL ORGAN. SOLO STOPS. ft. 1 Viole de Gambe 8 2 Voix celeste 8 3 Bourdon 8 4 Piccolo I 5 Basson-Hautbois 8 6 Voix humaine 8 COMBINATION STOPS. 7 Cornet 8 8 Trombone 16 4TH MANUAL. ft. 1 Bourdon 16 2 Gambe 16 3 Gambe 8 4 Salicional 8 5^Quintaton 8 6*^ Dulciana 4 9 Trompette harmonique. 10 Clairon ft. JEUX DE FOND. Bourdon 16 Principal 8 P'lute harmonique 8 Flute octaviante 4 Prestant 4 Flageolet 2 — SOLO ORGAN. COMBINATION STOPS. ft. 7 Cornet 16 8 Bombarde 16 9 Trompette 8 10 Cor anglais 8 11 Clairon 4 PEDALS. ft. 1 Principal 32 2 Flute 16 3 Sous-Basse 16 4 Contrebasse 16 5 Grosse Flute 8 6 Quinte 12 7<'Violoncelle 8 S^Bourdon 8 j 15 ft. Ulite 4 COMBINATION STOPS. Bombarde 32 Bombarde 16 Basson 16 Basson 8 Trompette 8 Clairon 4 156 THE CHURCHES OF PA BIS. COMBINATION STOPS FOR THP: SWELL. SOLO I ANCHES I FONDS TREMOLO TREMOLO | TREMOLO COMBINATION II 1 Tonnerre. 2 Tirasse du i^' clavier sur le pedalier. 3 Tirasse du 2™' clavier sur le pedalier. 4 Tirasse du 3™<= clavier sur le pedalier. 5 Tirasse du 4"'"= clavier sur le l^edalier. 6 Reunion du m^anisme des jeux du 1"=' clavier sur le levier pneumatique. 7 Accouplement du 2'"= clavier sur le I^■^ 8 Accouplement du 3'"« clavier sur le !*=% a I'unisson. 9 Accouplement du 4"'« clavier sur le I". 10 Accouplement du 4"'"^ cla- vier sur le 3""=. PEDALS. Accouplement du 3""^ clav- ier a r octave grave sur le i*"^ clavier. F orte general. Introduction des jeux de combinaisons du pedalier. Introduction des ' jeux de combinaisons du i^"" cla- vier. Introduction des jeux de combinaisons du 2'"« cla- vier. Introduction des jeux de combinasions du 4"*^ cla- vier. Expression sur le 3""= cla- vier recit. No one should omit visiting S. Eustache on S. Cecilia's day (November 22), when a grand mass is always performed, with full orchestra, in aid of the Society of Musicians ; and indeed, any Sunday the music is quite well worth hearing, and the ceremonial is the finest in Paris. At the same time much has been lost by the substitution of the Roman for the Parisian rite, which took place in 1876. In the former, two acolytes swing the censers ; in the latter, four or six acolytes standing in a row threw them up on high six times, the last time catch- ing them while kneeling on one knee. As has been said, the grand effect of this use can never be forgotten by those who saw it. The church owes the new marble pavement to its good curt I'abbe Simon, one of the heroes of the Commune, and, almost, one of its victims. So much has been related (and with jus- tice) against the Commiauirds^ that an incident connected with S. Eustache ought not to be forgotten. The day the abbe Simon was arrested he had three thousand /Artwcj- in his pocket, which were destined to pay for the pavement of the choir. Of course upon his arrival at the prison they were given up to the SAINT-EUSTACHE. 157 police, and were not restored when the cure was released through the intervention of his cheres paroissiennes^ les Dajues d^. la Halle, who went en masse to demand his freedom. On Easter Monday, however, Raoul Rigault's secretary went to the sacristry, asked M. Simon if the money had been returned, and finding that it had not, he left the church, to return in an hour's time, with the three thousand /r^^^i" intact. In the south transept is a little Gothic statue of S. John, and on the wall is a sad memorial of the names of all the hostages who suffered death under the Commune, headed by the arch- bishop (Darboy) and the cure of the Madeleine, Duguerry, who was formerly cure of S. Eustache. S. Eustache, like most large churches, looks grandest in the evening, when the altar is ablaze with lights, and long vistas fade away into the darkness ; but under all conditions it is a splendid church, a mass of harmonious colouring from floor to ceiling. At the evening services during Lent, it is seen to advantage ; or again on Christmas Day at vespers, when it is resplendent with lights ; those curious and unchurchlike glass chandeliers filled with candles, and clusters of gas jets round the walls. Another great day is Good Friday, when Rossini's " Stabat Mater " is performed. It is always beautifully rendered, but for three-fourths of the crowd which assembles — and the church is always crammed — for most of the people it is a mere per- formance. So is the midnight mass on Christmas Day. Religious enthusiasm carries one away upon one or two occasions ; the sentiment is exquisite ; the emotions which are aroused are of the purest, and we feel almost that we are by the veritable manger listening to the heavenly Host : " Glory to God in the Highest." But alas ! human beings are but mortal ; and so upon experience we find that the crowds who attend the mass do so mainly as a pastime before the reveillon ; that is the function of the night ; eating and drinking, junk- ettings and merrymakings ; and just a little church-going to fill up the time until the hour of feasting commences. Car- dinal Manning in his wisdom saw this many years ago, and stopped the practice of saying midnight mass, a measure he probably regretted as much as any of us ; for apart from its being a very ancient custom, it is a most poetic idea, appeal- ing strongly to our best emotions and our most vivid imagi- nation. 158 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. SAINT-FRAN9OIS XAVIER. Until quite lately, the only church in Paris dedicated to the memory of the great Jesuit was the little chapel belonging to the Missions ^trangSres in the Rue de Bac. The first stone was laid in 1683 by the archbishop of Paris, in the name of the king. It is a double chapel with a flight of steps leading from the lower to the upper church. SAlNTE-GENEVlfeVE (LE PANTHtoN). As we walk up the Rue Soufflot and see the great domed Pantheon facing us in its Classic glory, it is difficult to realise that the space occupied by the modern building is but a small portion of what was formerly the domain of the important abbey of S. Genevieve belonging to the Augustinian canons. When the religious orders were suppressed in France, Paris con- tained nine abbeys : S. Genevieve, S. Victor, belonging to the Augustins ; S. Germain des Pr^s to the Benedictines ; Val des Grace to the nuns of S. Benedict; Port-Royal, Pantemont, I'Abbaye aux Bois, and S. Antoine to the Cistercian nuns ; and the Cordeli^res to the order of the Poor Clares. An inspection of a pre-Revolution map of the city shows us that a large part of it was swallowed up by these abbeys and other monastic lands and properties. The foundation of the abbey of S. Genevieve was due to the desire of Clovis to celebrate his victory over the Visigoths in the plains of Vouill^. Having overrun a great part of Gaul, and annexed it to the kingdom of the Franks, what was more natural than that he should offer his thanks for robbery, violence, and slaughter, by the building of a church upon the hill over- shadowing his Palais des Thermes ? He dedicated it to S. Peter and S. Paul, and put it under the charge of some monks who were succeeded later on by secular canons, and eventually in the 12th century, by regular canons of S. Augustin. Clovis died ere the church was terminated, but Queen Clotilde was able to carry the work on, and it became the resting place of both sovereigns, as well as of the children of Clodomir, who were done to death by their loving relatives after the man- ner of some modern Africans. In the nth century, the church was put under the patronage of S. Genevieve in consequence of the numberless miracles performed at her tomb. SA INTE- GENE Vik VE. 159 for the maid of Nanterre had been laid to rest in this church. The legend of S. Genevieve is picturesque in the extreme, affording endless subjects for the artist, as witness the wall paintings in the modern church. Born in 421 at Nanterre, a litde village situated upon the plain over which the fort of Mt. Valerien now frowns, she was employed, as are many of her compatriots of the present day, in tending sheep. A graceful, if somewhat affected picture by Guerin, represents her with a SAINTE-GENEVIEVE FROM THE RUE SOUFFLOT. distaff in her hands. When about seven years old, S. Germain, bishop of Auxerre, passed through Nanterre on his way to Britain. A crowd assembled to receive the good bishop's blessing, and among them were S. Genevieve and her parents. La pucelette was already famed for her piety and humility, and S. Germain, wise man, had no sooner cast his eyes upon her than he became aware of her future glory ; and finding that she desired to be a handmaiden of Christ, he hung round her neck a small coin marked with the symbol of the cross, thus con i6o THE CHURCHES OF PARIS, secrating her to God's service. Many were the miracles which she wrought by prayer, even in her childhood ; as for instance, when her mother, being struck blind for boxing her little Saintship's ears, recovered her sight through the prayers of the daughter. Some say that Genevieve prayed for her hasty parent after a year and nine months had elapsed ; but surely it is better to believe that the prayers were unanswered for that length of time, than that the daughter, whose intercession was so effica- cious, should have omitted to help her mother for so many months. At fifteen, Genevibve renewed her vows, but remained with her parents until their death. She then took up her abode with an old kinswoman in Paris, where, from her piety and devotion, she became the subject of disputes between those who venerated her as a saint, and others who considered her sanctity and benevolence mere hypocrisy and sham piety. And so it came about that at night, when she kept her vigils, the arch enemy, not content with putting into the hearts of men the desire to slander and vilify the godly maiden, set himself to worry her, by extinguishing her candle. But she had a tinder- box in her faith and prayer, and so she was never left in dark- ness. This is a favourite subject of the old artists ; one frequently sees the Saint holding her taper, while a demon is blowin^^ it out, sometimes using a pair of bellows, as at the doorway of S. Germain I'Auxerrois, S. Nicholas, and other French churches ; and it is obvious that the legend grew out of the promise that God never leaves those in darkness who pray for light. So, too, the holding up of the re-kindled taper in the face of the fiend, and his consequent flight, symbolises the Light of the World chasing away evil. Another legend relates that when a storm overtook her and some friends on their way to S. Denis, and blew out their tapers, an Angel descended to relight them in answer to Genevieve's prayers. The Saint was a sort of early Jeanne d'Arc, inasmuch as she delivered the city from its enemies ; but Genevieve depended only upon her prayers ; and yet, simply by these means, she caused the Huns, who were besieging Paris under Attila, to flee. On another occasion, when the city was invested by Childeric, she took command of some boats which were sent up the river to Troyes for succour, and brought them back laden with pro- visions. When the city wa« taken, Genevieve was treated with great respect by Childeric, and it was through her influence SAINTE'GENEVIEVE. i6i that Clovisand his wife, Clotilde, were converted to Christianity, and the first Christian church was erected in Paris."^ Genevieve died at the ripe old age of eighty-nine, and was buried in what was then called the church of SS. Peter and Paul; and it was in consequence of her miracle-working tomb that the patronage of the church was given over to her, the Apostles falling into complete oblivion. Among these miracles was a cessation of a terrible visitation of the plague called the 7fial ardent^ which raged in Paris in the reign of Louis le Gros ; hence the dedi- cation of a church to S. Cienevieve-des-Ardents, situated near the cathedral, and long since destroyed. Most painters of modern times have depicted the Saint as a shepherdess, somewhat after the Chelsea china pattern, and a few have given her the suggestiveness of the nymphs of Boucher. Watteau's is a charming picture, but the graceful maiden scarcely comes up to our ideal of the pious little peasant girl of Nanterre. Guerin's is pure and refined, if somewhat affected, but one feels inclined to hail our old friend with the fiend behind her puffing or blowing the bellows as a more worthy reading of the character of S. Genevieve. In the church of S. Merri there is a very curious picture representing the maid surrounded by her sheep, and enclosed by a circle of huge stones after the manner of those at Stonehenge. The legend of feeding the besieged Parisians is said to be the origin of the pain b'enit of the Paris churches, a custom peculiar to the old Parisian rite, and almost the only one kept up since that use was superseded by the Roman, some few years since. This blessed bread is a large brioche offered by some of * Hincmar (Archbishop of Reims, 9th century) tells us that S. Remy, who was at Reims at the time, received a spiritual revelation from the Holy Spirit, at the very moment of Clovis' death. Many early sculptures and frescoes commemorate the life and deeds of Clovis, at Reims, at Rome, and at Siena, but they are all of much later date than the king. Gregoire of Tours gives a picturesque account of the last days of Clotilde : •' La reine Chrotechilde apres la mort de son mari, vint a Tours : et la ser- vant Dieu dans la basilique de Saint-Martin, avec une grande chastete et une extreme bonte, elle demeura en ce lieu tous le jours de sa vie, et visita rarement Paris. . . . Pleine de jours et riche en bonnes ceuvres, elle mou- rut a Tours du temps de I'eveque Injuriosus. Elle fut transportee a Paris, suivie d'un choeur nombreaux qui chantait des hymnes, et ensevelie par ses fils, les rois Childebert et Clotaire, dans le sanctuaire de la basilique de Saint- Pierre, k cote du roi Clovis. Elle avait construit cette basilique ou repose aussi la tres bienheureuse Genevieve." M i62 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. the parishioners, and brought into church in procession during the offertory. It is usually piled up on a stage and decorated with flowers and lights, the whole being carried on the shoulders of acolytes. Preceded by the beadle and donor, it is taken to the altar and sprinkled with holy water ; some prayers are said, the donor is presented with a pax to kiss, and the procession then returns to the sacristy, where the bread is cut up and put into baskets, which are then carried round the church, and the brioche distributed among the congregation. One often sees strangers refuse this, thinking it something peculiarly popish ; indeed, I was once assured by a friend that he had been offered the Sacrament, " which of course he had refused." But we may be certain that if the pain benit were considered so exceedingly holy, promiscuous strangers would not get the chance of partaking of it. It rather figures a sort of amicable meal after the manner of the early Agapae, and is a very pretty ceremony ; besides, it is always refreshing to witness any little peculiarity in ritual, instead of the dull uniformity which recent papal decrees have enforced over western Europe. In the 9th century S. Genevieve became the patron of the abbey ; and some of the capitals of the church of that period are now in the court of the Ecole de Beaux- Arts. In the 13th century the church was rebuilt, but gradually falling into decay, it was condemned in the reign of Louis XV., and demolished in 1 80 1-7 to make way for the Rue Clovis. When the crypt was destroyed a large quantity of stone cofifins, medals, pottery, shields and lances of Gallo-Roman and Merovingian workman- ship were found. The early capitals mentioned above are rude in treatment, and the personages, Adam and Eve, and other Old Testament worthies, are coarse, but the scraps of ornament are quaint, and the carvmg of the foliage is vastly superior to that of the figures. The crypt of the church was the largest of any in Paris, and being the burial place of so many holy and regal persons, was interesting in the extreme ; but to the men of the i8th century what mattered it that 13th century work should be swept away ? The street was required as a short cut, a deviation of five minutes more or less had to be rectified ; and so all that remains of the abbey church is its tower. But from the ruins many precious fragments were saved. The stone coffin of S. Genevieve SAINTE-GENEVIEVE. 163 was carried off to S. Etienne hard by, and there enveloped in a gorgeous shrine ; which, besides being a work of art, had the advantage of being portative, and so could be marched about when processioning was resorted to as a remedy for city troubles. In the Statistique Monumentale de Paris, published by Albert Lenoir, may be seen some plates representing this motley crew of fragments. Portions of stone coffins, sculptured with crosses and monograms, were sent to the museum of the Petits- Augustins, but do not seem to have survived the dissolution of the collection ; they were similar to those at the Hotels de Cluny and Carnavalet. The reliquary of the Saint was in the form of a church, and was executed by order of the abbot, Robert de la Ferte-Milon, in 1242. The craftsman was one of the most cunning gold- smiths of the city, Bonnard. It contained 193 marks of silver and 7 y^ marks of gold ; and kings, queens, and commoners vied with each other to cover it with precious stones. Marie de' Medici crowned the front with a mass of diamonds ; and Germain Pilon was engaged to sculp a group of four women standing upon a marble pedestal to support the chdsse. This graceful work of art was all that was saved in 1793 : being of wood it was of little value to a starving and poverty-stricken mob. Or, had the municipality any reverence for it as an art treasure ? Certain it is that, whereas the reliquary was melted up into coin, and the jewels sold, the part which was really the most precious was saved, and is now in the Renaissance Museum of the Louvfe. But in spite of the value and beauty of the chdsse, the Conventionel Gregoire, in his report, gives 21,000 livres only as the sum obtained by its destruction. Some of the monuments of the church were saved ; that of the Cardinal Frangois de la Rochefoucault, abbot of S. Genevieve, and High Almoner of France, who died in 1645, sculptured by Philippe Buister, being placed in the chapel of the Hospital for Incurable Women, of which he was the founder. The statue of Clovis, renewed in the 12th century, is now at S. Denis, owing to the accident of its having been replaced in the 17th century by a superior one in white marble, which was destroyed in 1793.* Another tomb, that of a chancellor of * The finding of the statue of Clovis was the reward of well-doing. The Cardinal de la Rochefoucault, desiring to honour the old king and the founder of the abbey, set up a fine marble image in the place of the old stone one ^^ mange et difforme d^aniicjuite." This the Revolution destroyed ; M 2 1 64 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS, Notre-Dame de Noyon, who died in 1350, is now in the ifecole des Beaux-Arts. The monument of Rene Descartes was less fortunate, for, after having been transferred to the museum of the Petits-Augustins, it was dismembered, and dispersed or destroyed ; but the remains of the great philosopher were re- buried at S. Germain des Pre's. Some of the conventual buildings remain and form part of the Lycee Henri IV. The tower is Romanesque at the base and pointed at the upper stories — 14th and 15th century respectively. The cloisters and refectory form part of the school buildings, but they have been much modernized. The latter is an elegant structure of the 13th century, and now serves as the school chapel. In the sacristry is a large stone statue of the patroness (13th century) which formerly formed part of the central pillar of the principal doorway of the abbey church ; it represents her with a demon on one shoulder blowing out her candle, and an Angel on the other relighting but the old stone statue, which was shunted to the crypt, was found later on, and sent to S. Denis — an ilkistration of the exaltation of the humble ; in this case, a clumsy gentleman with long hair, with his feet uix)n a feeble- looking lion. Although not contemporary with Clovis, the work and design prove it to be not later than the 12th century. A Latin epitaph once accompanied the statue in its old resting-place : Hic EST illustrissimus rex Ludovicus qui et Clodoveus ante baptismum est dictus Francorum rex quintus sed verus christianus qui ab Anastasio imperatore consul et Augustus est creatus Hunc sanctus Remigius baptisavit et in baptismate ejus angelus ampullam sacri chrismatis detulit Vi Aquitania arianos expulit et totani illam terram usque ad montes Pirenaeos subjugavit Iluic per Viennam fluvium cervus mirs magnitudinis viam ostendit Post quem rex ac milites vadum transienmt et in ejus adventu muri Angolismae civitatis corruerunt Alamanniam Tornigiam et Burgundiam tributarias fecit et terram adjacentem transivit Parisiis sedem regni constituit ecclesiam istam fundavit in honore apostolorum Petri et Pauli monitis sanctissimae et non satis commendandae Clotildis uxoris suae et beatae Genovefae quam sanctus Remigius dedicavit in qua post laudabilia opera Rex sepultus est A quatuor filiis suis regibus Theodorico Clodomiro Childeberto et Clotario Anno Domini V4 XIII regni sui XXX. Il SAINTE-GENEVl'kVE. 165 it. What was formerly the library is a series of galleries upon the plan of a cross, with a cupola at the intersections. It is no longer used for this purpose, all the books having been placed in the new building on the other side of the square. " Contiguous to the Sorbonne church there stands, raising its neatly-constructed dome aloft in air, the Nouvelle Eglise Ste. Genevieve, better known by the name of the Pantheon. The interior presents, to my eye, the most beautiful and perfect specimen of Grecian architecture with which I am acquainted. In the crypt are the tombs of the French warriors. From the gallery running along the bottom of the dome, the whole a miniature representation of our S. Paul's, you have a sort of panorama of Paris, but not a favourable one. The absence of sea-coal fume strikes you very agreeably, but I could not help thinking of the superior beauty of the pa^iorama of Rouen from the heights of St. Catherine. "='' This "perfect specimen of Grecian architecture " owes its birth, it is said, to Madame de Pompadour ; and if this be so, it must have been one of the last of that lady's contributions to art, as she died in April, 1764, the foundation stone being laid in the following Septem- ber. It is curious how artistic the French kings' handmaidens were, and, with the exception of the daughters of the house of Medici, how little we owe to the queens in the way of fine works of art. Whether this particular handmaiden obliged the king to decide upon the rebuilding of the old church, which had been tumbling into decay for a long period, or whether it was the king's fright lest he should fall ill again if he did not propitiate the Saint who had cured him of a sinking fever, it is impossible to decide. Very likely it was the king's own fears. He had all but died at Metz ; he had appealed to the patroness of Paris ; she had answered his prayers, some- what unwisely perhaps, in the interest of his hapless subjects ; and in sheer gratitude, thus proving himself far more honest than many a holier and more godly man, he decided that the muchtalked-of church should be set going, and that it should be worthy of the maid of Nanterre. And so it is. Soufflot was the architect, and his design is one of the happiest of its class. But what a strange life the church has had ! And what an extraordinary jumble of Christianity and philosophy the great dome has witnessed ! Emblems of the Roman Re- public and the religion of Christ stand side-by-side. Cardinals * Dibden. 1 66 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS, repose in the crypt by the side of Voltaire and Jean-Jacques. At one time masses are said for the repose of the souls of defunct Christians; at another, funeral allocutions are delivered by laymen. And the chopping and changing about ! Scarcely finished in 1791, the Constitutional Assembly decreed that the new church should become a Temple of Fame, and be known as the Pantheon. The cross was taken down from the sum- mit of the dome, the inscription, Aux grands hojiwies^ la Patrie recoHiiaissante, was substituted for D.O.M. Sub i?ivocatio7ie sajictae Genovefae sacrum ; and under the peristyle was written : Patitheon fran^ais, Van III. de la Liberie. The words of the report issued, describing the changes to be adopted in the building, are in the accustomed grandiloquent language of the First Republic : . . . " en un moment oii tout doit con- tribuer a renforcer dans Tame des citoyens toutes les sensations que I'enthousiasme de la liberty fait puiser dans I'amour de la Patrie, &c." Mirabeau, Marat, and Lepelletier Saint-Fare:eau were laid to rest in the crypt. One of Napoleon's first acts was to decide that "I'dglise Sainte-GeneviSve serait rendue au culte, conformement i rintention de son fondateur, sous I'invocation de Sainte Genevieve, patronne de Paris." But it was also to preserve the destination ascribed to it by the Constituante, that of being the burial-place of senators, oflficers of state, dignitaries, officers of the Legion of Honour, and of citizens who had rendered eminent service to their country. The divine oflfices were to be conducted by the canons of Notre-Dame, and to this end they were increased by six members. With the restoration of Louis XVIIL all homage to "great men" dis- appeared, and the old inscription was restored. Baron Gros was commissioned to paint the dome with the Apotheosis of S. Genevieve, a work described by an old writer in not over flattering terms : " On one of the cupolas of the dome, which is surrounded by a colonnade of Corinthian pillars, is painted the Apotheosis of St. Genevieve. Her saintship is in the costume of a shepherdess, breathing all peace, all happiness, all immortality. Nothing of earth is in her composition. Beside her is Louis XVHL and little winged angels. They are very busy — the angels — in scattering flowers about the saint. Above her is Louis XVL and his queen, as elegant as she was upon the threshold of Versailles, and Louis XVH., all surrounded by celestial glory. Before her are the persons the most illustrious of each race ; SAINTF.-GENE Vlli VE. 167 Clovis, who looks very savage ; St. Clotilde, very pretty ; Charlemagne, very heroic ; and St. Louis and Queen Margarite, who look very pious. . . . The floor of this temple^ in- crusted with various-coloured marble, is very remarkable and very beautiful. It is exclusively occupied by Voltaire and Rousseau, at opposite extremities. Who would have thought that these two cham- pions of Infidelity, who were refused Christian burial, would one day have assigned to their remains the first church of France, and one of the first in Christen- dom, as their mauso- leum ? I wonder if Jean-Jacques, in his prophetic visions, fore- saw this ? Why did they not lay them at the side of each other, that we might all learn how vain are the jeal- ousies, the petty com- petitions and animos ities of men so soon to come to this appointed and unavoidable term of all human conten- tions ? It was once the custom of these old countries to multi- ply a man by burying him piecemeal, — his heart at Rouen and his legs in Kent, — be- cause the world was then on short allowance of heroes ; but modern times have reversed this practice; and Bonaparte has laid up together a whole batch of them in the basement of this church, for eternity, as you lay up potatoes in your cellar for winter. Here are the names graven overhead in a catalogue, on the marble, (^ i IHK PANTIltoN FROM CHARENTON. i68 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. of men famous for giving counsel to the Emperor (who never took any) in the Senate, and of men who gained a great deal of celebrity by having their brains knocked out on the fields of Austerlitz and Marengo. When Marat was deified by the Convention he was interred here in 1793, and in 1794 he \yas disinterred and undeified, and then thrown into his native element, the common sewer, in the Rue Montmartre — to purify him."* In 1830 another bouleversement took place, and the law of the Constituante was promulgated once more ; but inasmuch as some former heroes had found their way, through change of opinion, into the sewers, it was decreed that nobody's ashes should be considered worthy of burial in the national Walhalla until ten years had elapsed from the time of death. Thus citizens could be turned into les grands hommes in a compa- ratively short period, as compared to the years often required for beatification or canonization. The second Republic also busied itself with lowering the cross, and replacing the inscription Aux grands hommes^ la Patrie reconnaissante. It was used as an ambulance during the 1848 troubles, but restored to divine service by that devoted son of the Church, Louis-Napoleon, soon after his iniquitous massacre of the people in the streets of the city ; and then, having endowed himself with Imperial honours, he obtained the aid of the archbishop to create a number of chaplains to serve at the altar of S. Genevieve. The decree of 1851, which took "ulterieure- ment des mesures pour regler I'exercise permanent de culte catholique," only lasted nineteen years. When the city was besieged, the permanency of the services exploded like the bombs from Mont Valerien, and the crypt became a powder- magazine. The church was shored up, the windows were bricked, and the interior was filled with some 30,000 bundles of straw, as a precaution against the enemy's artillery. But the German invasion left the building as it found it, and the troubles in the immediate future were the work of the Comite central. The soldiers were replaced by National Guards, who began their occupation by industriously sawing off the arms of the crosses upon the pediment, and at the summit of the dome, and converting the emblems of Christianity into flagstafifs for the red flag of the Commune. From the 26th March until the 24th May it waved aloft in all its pride ; but upon the latter * Thfi American in Parisy 18^8. SATNTE-GENEVIEVE. 169 day it saw the church occupied by the Versaillais, who entered just in time to save the building from the vengeance of the Federes, who had threatened it with fire. Like all the other churches and public buildings, the Pantheon suffered far more from the shells of the Communists than from those of the enemy; and it took some years before all the repairs were executed, and '''■ le plus beau gdteait de Savoie qu^07i est jamais fait en pierre " "*■ was restored to its former condition. Some few years ago the Republic suppressed the chaplains, and re- converted the church into what the Parisian press fondly calls *' their Westminster " ; and the next grand hovwie who was laid in "the most lovely gateau de Savoie''' was, oddly enough, Victor Hugo himself. He was buried there immediately after his death ; but it is not likely that posterity will ever wish to reverse our judgment of the poet's greatness, or look upon him as anything but one of France's noblest sons. The sculptures of the pediment, representing that sentimental personage La Patrie accompanied by Liberty and History, are by David d' Angers. I^ Patrie is throwing crowns about to its great men ; Liberty is fabricating the crowns, and History is religiously writing up the names, that there may be no mistake. Civilians stand on the right, messieurs les militaires are rele- gated to the left, while several young men and youths are labouring vigorously in order to attain in the future their right to be amongst the elect. It is no case of Angels and scales, no weighing of good and bad deeds ; the services of Madame la Justice are not even required ; it is simply Patriotism which selects and serves up for glory those who have deserved well of their country. The bas-reliefs of the peristyle are by Nanteuil. Here I^ Patrie, holding a palm in one hand, is guiding with the other one of her sons who has died in her service ; while Renown is puffing away at a trumpet to herald forth the deeds of this devoted hero. In another bas-relief Art and Science are honouring the country by their works; a warrior is, one knows not why, refusing the crown tendered to him ; and a woman, representing Study and Intellect, is propounding the advantages of Education to the mothers who have brought their children to Madame la Patrie. The bronze doors are the work of Destouches, and recall, in style of ornamentation, those of Ghiberti at Florence. The interior is, no doubt, grand. Originally lighted by * Victor Hugo, I70 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. windows in the walls, it is now somewhat dark and sombre, suitable to a temple for the repose of the dead. The walls have been covered with paintings, which partially relieve the dull monotony of the stone ; but a building devoid of sunlight must of necessity be gloomy in a city the sky over which is, for half the year, grey and colourless. Although the first of the 425 steps leading to the summit of the dome is upon the level of the top of the towers of Notre- Dame, the view is not nearly so interesting as from the latter. There is no river winding at our feet, and none of those guardian monsters who gaze at the city from the heights of the cathedral. The decoration of the interior is now almost completed, and, whether for good or for evil, it is irrevocable. It was not probable that so artistic a nation as the French would allow such a building to remain in an incomplete state ; they would rather run the risk of perpetuating failure than leave the work undone. We English are different. S. Paul's is double the age of the Pantheon, and we are still squabbling over its decoration ; we hang up designs and drag them down again, we lay out enormous sums in the embellishment of the altar, and then we spend ever so much more in trying to circumvent our neigh- bours, and get rid of the ornament. It is a fate not necessarily peculiar to our country or this city, because at Brompton a magnificent church has been designed, built, and decorated in a few years, a model of refinement, beauty, and grandeur. But the embellishment of S. Paul's is attempted by spurts only, and up to the present time has left much to be desired.* That may perhaps be an advantage ; if nothing is done, there can be nothing to regret. But the French have acted otherwise, and the Pantheon embellishment is almost an accomplished fact. With one or two exceptions, the painting of the church has been confided to artists with reputations, wearers of the palm- embroidered coats ; the procession of decorators being led by Baron Gros and Gerard, who covered the dome with pictures in the false, pretentious style of the First Empire, leaving it a glowing mass of bad taste, as a warning to their successors. Baron Gros was a great painter, an early naturalist, as witness his Battlefield of Eylau^ in the Salle des Sept Chemin^es of the Louvre. There is an amount of realism in the painting of * Of Mr. W. B. Richmond's work, undertaken since the above was written, it is as yet impossible to form an opinion. SAINTE-GENEVIEVE. 171 the dying and the dead, of the snow and the "man of bronze," that is not surpassed by the realists of the day. But when he set to work upon Saints and Angels, he must fain idealise and sentimentalise; and so, instead of having a S. Genevieve in modest dress as befits a village maiden, we see a sprawling lady in flowing garments of silk and satin, receiving her guests of kings and queens in a cloudy apartment of the seventh heaven. The first, or one of the first walls attacked by the decorator was Alexander Cabanel's. Here we have the Great works of S. Louis treated in the academic fashion. Learned in com- position and refined in style, with a good deal of historical truth in costume and character, it is nevertheless crude and harsh in colour, unharmonious, stagey, and completely undeco- rative. The best of the panels is S. Louis learning to read at his mother's knee, which has a certain pathos in the fair child's expression. The Coronation of Charlemagne by Leo LLL. in the old basilica of S. Peter, by Henri Levy, looks as if it had lost its way, or had been taken to the Pantheon until a suitable dwelling could be found elsewhere. Like Cabanel's S. L.ouis, it is neither Classic, nor Mediaeval, nor Modern — simply weak and smooth, respectable and historic, after the manner of the Delaroche school. It is a pity, for, in other hands, these subjects would have been a treasure. Think of the charming frescoes by Olivier-Merson in the gallery of the Cour de Cassation of the Palais de Justice, how exquisite is the sim- plicity of the boy king, and the grave beauty of his mother. The Corofiation of Charlemagne is composed as an academician would be sure to conceive the subject. A flight of steps, with the emperor sitting at the top ; churchmen and laymen adoring, and an Angel swooping down with a crown. At the bottom of the steps, a warrior standing with sword and shield, and a sitting monk instructing some children from an open book. Completely opposed to these works are the panels of Puvis de Chavannes, one of the first decorative artists of our time. His painting is vague, and somewhat foggy ; his figures are clumsy, thick of ankle, neck, and wrist, but otherwise attenu- ated to the last degree ; and were it not that the far-off" people are smaller than those near the spectator, no one would know that they are on different planes, for of aerial perspective there 172 THE CHURCHES OE PARIS, is none. Yet there is a certain purity of sentiment about this, as in all M. de Chavannes' work, which is almost Archaic. The very dulness 'of the surface and the opacity of the medium employed render these pictures a suitable wall covering for Soufflot's grandiose classicality. The treatment is dignified, poetic, refined, but at the same time intensely modern and realistic— witness a hen and chickens picking up some grain in the foreground, and the charming vistas of landscape back- ground. The colour is tame, and all the members of the (ienevi^ve family are remarkable for plainness, not to say ugliness of face and clumsiness of figure; but the feeling which pervades the whole work is that of a sort of Pagan Renais- sance, suitable to Soufflot's ^'■gateau de Savoie^ The first of the series, properly en- titled La jeunesse et la vie pastorale de Sain te- Genevieve re- presents the maiden praying, while a woodcutter and his wife are looking on. The centre and prin- cipal compartment is occupied with the discovery by S. Germain of her little saintship, surrounded by her father and mother and a small and admiring crowd. On the left, boatmen are contemplating the scene from the river bank, while upon the right is an old man trying to bend his knee to receive the good bishop's blessing. A youth, sick unto death, and a poor little beggar are being led to the man of God, and two women hurry up from milking to see what is going on. The Seine flows through the pastures of Nanterre, and Mont Valerien smiles down upon the company, not having yet learned the art of war. This is all delightfully pastoral and naive. PUVIS DE CHAVANNES (FRAGMENT). SAINTE-GENEVIEVE. 173 The little maid's face, as she looks up at the good bishop, is sweetness itself; the parents bend their heads, and a neighbour holds up her wee swaddled babe ; but the e7isembie is marred by the parrot-like profile of S. Germain and the general ugliness of the company. Ugliness is a veritable passion with Puvis de Chavannes, a gospel which he never loses faith in, a partner allied to eccentricity in all his works. In another panel we see Faith, Hope, and Charity watching over the child's cradle, by which is a lamb, the emblem of in- nocence, purity, and the pastoral life. Above is a frieze of saints, illustrating the national religious history of France ; SS. Paterne of Vannes, Clement of Metz, Firmin of Amiens, Lucien of Beauvais, Lucain of Beauce, Martail of Limoges, Solange of Berry, Madeleine and Marthe of Provence, Colombe of Sens, Crepin and Crepinien of Soissons, Saturnin of Tou- louse, Julien of Brioude, Austremoine of Clermont, Trophime of Aries, and Paul of Narbonne. The picture by Th. Maillot is equally wanting in aerial per- spective, but instead of an obscuring fog overwhelming the good citizens of Paris who are pouring down the "mountain" with S. Genevieve's chdsse, a glaring sun cuts out the figures from the background. The scene represents a procession through what is now the market of the Place Maubert. It was the T2th of January, 1496 ; so says a manuscript in the Bibliotheque Nationale. Rain had been pouring down incessantly for an unnatural period, although there was then no Eiffel tower upon which to lay the blame. What was to be done ? Clearly an appeal must be made to the patron Saint, and her intercession supplicated to stay the flood. And so the bishop, the abbot, and the canons regular and secular, trudged barefooted down the ftiontagne^ bearing the chdsse containing the relics of the maid of Nanterre. An account of the event is given in a letter from Erasmus to his friend Nicholas Werner. The sage was ill of a fever at the time, but that did not prevent him from taking part in the procession, and we easily recognise his familiar physiognomy in the foreground of M. Maillot's work. " II y a trois mois qu'il pleut ici, sans cesse. La Seine etant sortie de son lit, a inonde la campagne et la ville. La chasse de Sainte Genevieve a etedescendue et porteeen procession a Notre-Dame. L'eveque, accompagne de son clerge et du peuple, est venu au- devant. Dans cette auguste ceremonie, les chanoines reguliers, precedes de leur abbe marchant nu-pieds, conduisaient les 174 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. reliques et quatre porteurs en chemise (^taient charges de ce precieux fardeau. Depuis ce temps le ciel est si serein qu'il ne peut I'etre da vantage." The bishop is represented with a gilt mitre, the abbot wears a white one. Behind them are the provosts, the military, the magistrates, the canons, and the people, the procession termi- nating with the king's drummers and trumpeters. The crowd of people seem to be walking, or rather tripping down a very perpendicular street, to cross a zigzag wooden bridge with no side rails. The horizon is close to the top of the frame, so that the chasse appears to be falling off the shoulders of the men who are carrying it, and the people seem to be stepping down a steep incline. The colour is bright, and the costumes are picturesque, the whole picture having the effect of an early Flemish work, or of a page torn out of an old manuscript ; so early is it in style that it is as incongruous in its place as would be a van Eyck, or a van der Weyden. Imagine Raffaello and Michael Angelo decorating S. Peter's after the manner of Giotto, Botticelli, or Ghirlandajo, and you have no greater incongruity than Maillot's fresco in S. Genevieve. Placed in S. Germain I'Auxerrois, or Notre-Dame, the picture would be in keeping with the architecture; in the Pantheon one feels that the decoration preceded the building. Totally different in style, but equally out of keeping with the building, are the noble pictures of J. P. Laurens, The last mometits and the funeral of the Saint. The artist has en- deavoured to depict the semi-barbarous Gallo-Roman period. S. Genevifeve, old and dying, is surrounded by women who are bringing their children to receive her last blessing. Rich and poor, nobles and serfs, old men and children, matrons and young girls, priests and soldiers — all are tearful at their approaching loss. Splendidly drawn and full of vigour and dramatic power (which are the characteristics of all M. Laurens' works) the pictures are somewhat black in colour; and, by reason of their very strength, they look completely out of harmony with the cold, grey purity of this Classic temple. M. J.-P. Laurens is a grand artist, a lover of dramatic effect and movement, but in the Death of S. Genevieve he is subdued and reposeful. The grouping of the figures round the bed of the Saint, the wistful gaze of the children, and the prayerful expression of the mothers, are all most truthfully rendered ; but might not the Saint have had a little more beauty ; might she not have been a little idealised ? SAINTE-GENE VIE VE. 175 M. Bonnat's Martyrdom of S. Denis is well known. The Saint, just decapitated, clutches at his head ; upon the block blazes a nimbus of the sun tribe ; above is an Angel, hurrying down with a palm and crown ; general consternation is depicted upon the faces of the assistants, as might be expected. It is a masculine work, full of power, but over dramatic and heavy in colour. Of J. E. Delaunay's work we can form no idea yet awhile ; he began it, but death cut him off too soon, and another must finish it. One of France's greatest artists, the painter of the Fesfe a Rom in the Louvre, is not likely to have failed in his designs for the Pantheon. Baudry was also commissioned, but he, too, went all too soon, or we might have had some panels which would have been fit pendants to those of Puvis de Chavannes. The Return of Clovis from Tolbiac^ by M. Joseph Blanc, is also academic and correct ; superb in drawing, and sober of colour, its chief interest is in the fact that it contains contem- porary portraits — Gambetta, Arago, Lockroy ; and Coquelin figuring as a monk. Jeanne d'Arc is no more fortunate here than elsewhere ; it seems as if she were an impossibility in art. When one con- templates the number of painters, sculptors, poets, and musicians who have essayed her history and sung her praises, one is appalled by the results. One of the most sublime pages of history ; the finest character among heroines ; the grandest of women, of patriots, and of dreamers ; the most modest, the most saint-like, the most unselfish of warriors, la Piicelle seems to oppress everyone who tries to depict any scene from her life. Perhaps the greatest success of modern times is Fremiet's fine Renaissance statue in the Place des Pyramids. Very beautiful also is Bastien-Lepage's Jeanne as a whole ; but the figure does not possess the nobleness which one attaches to the militant maiden. Certainly M. Lenepveu's compositions form no exception to the general failure of Jeannes d'Arc. The maid is tied to the stake surrounded by a goodly assem- blage of faggots ; one monk reads, another flings a cross into her hands — as if the poor maid had objected to the cross 1 Soldiers are all about, and old Rouen at the back is picturesque with its gabled houses, and the cathedral in the distance. A man is just seizing a torch, and you know the end is near ; but you are not impressed ; you either do not care, or you do not realise the horror. But it is popular with the populace, and so 176 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. serves one purpose for which it was painted — that of pointing a moral of patriotism and unselfish devotion almost unique but for the recent example of Garibaldi. Last, but not least, charming in design, refined, and quite in harmony with the style of the building, are the mosaics of A. E. Hebcrt, which are among the best works of the artist, and quite exempt from the affectation and sentimen- tality which, somewhat too often, mar his pictures. These compositions oc- cupy the apse. In the centre Le Christ montre (t fafige de la Fratice ies grandes destinces du peuple dont il lui confia la garde. Below this are the words : Christus viftcif^ Christus regnaf, Chris/us imperat. At the side of the Saviour is the Blessed Virgin in- terceding for France ; near her, the patroness, clad as a shepherdess, with a lamb under her arm, is praying for the city under the symbol of a ship. Above are the following subjects, The baptism of C/ovis by S. Remi in the presence of S. Clotilde ; S. Louis seated between Justice and Potver ; Jeatifie d^Arc listeni7ig to the voices. The ornamental fram- ing of the several pictures has been executed by a master of decorative art, the late V. Galland. The borders are formed of garlands of flowers in a low scale of colour, which are divided at regular intervals by tablets bearing inscriptions and monograms. On the whole, the deco- ration of the Pantheon gives little encouragement to other LA JEUNESSE I)E SAINTE-GENEVIEVE, I'UVIS DE CHAVANNES. SAINT-GERMAIN VAUXERROIS. 177 nations who are desirous of covering large surfaces of wall in their public buildings. The art seems to be lost ; for if the greatest of the French painters have, from one reason and another, failed to produce an harmonious scheme of decoration, who is likely to succeed? At best, the church presents a sort of pot-pourri. No schools are so dramatic as the French ; and yet these wall paintings fail to impress us in the same way as do those, for example, of the Riccardi Palace, by Benozzo Gozzoli. It is probably the religious spirit which is wanting. We can draw better and paint better than the early Italian or Flemish artists — but the sentiment is lacking ; and thus, whether we turn to Paris or Miinchen, to Berlin or London, we find the decoration of large buildings, and particularly of churches, more or less a failure. Perhaps the worst examples are the terribly dismal, cold, maudlin Nibelung series at Miinchen, compared to which the Pantheon is Raffaelesque. Had Puvis de Chavannes been allowed to do the whole church, the result would have been certainly more harmonious, and possibly more edifying ; but though gaining in harmony, the frescoes might possibly have lost in variety. Sometimes too much of a good thing results in a wearisome monotony. Sculpture will also be represented later on by a group of the Revolution, by Falguiere ; and doubtless we shall have monu- ments to Victor Hugo, Renan, and other grands /lonu/ies, from their grateful country. Let us hope the decoration may always be as Catholic as heretofore ; for S. Louis, Clovis, Genevieve and Jeanne d'Arc form as much a part of the history of France as do Voltaire, Mirabeau, Danton, and Dumouriez. We may not care to sing the " Marseillaise " with Camille Desmoulins, and we may wish we could forget the fourteenth Louis and all the Napoleons ; but it is as foolish to deny their influence upon the nation as to sponge out the fact recorded on a door-head that Louis-Napoleon joined the Louvre and the Tuileries. SAINT-GERMAIN L'AUXERROIS. Between the years 420 and 430, the ancient British church became infected with the heresy of Pelagianism, "which budded forth afresh into this island," as Camden says ; and the orthodox clergy, being unable to stay its progress, sent to Gaul desiring assistance. Thereupon a synod of the Gallican church was held, and it was determined to send Germanus, 178 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. bishop of Auxerre, and Lupus, bishop of Troyes, to confute the heretics. The date assigned to this event by Prosper, a contemporary writer (and also Camden), is 429 ; but he makes no allusion to Lupus, whose participation in the mission rests upon the evidence of Constantius of Lyons, the biographer of S. Germanus. This Lupus was a brother of Vincent of Lerins, a famous teacher, and the author of A De/cfice of the Catholic Faith, a book which was of much use to Cranmer and Ridley at the time of the Reformation. The meeting appointed for the public disputation with the Pelagians is supposed to have taken place at Verulam, now S. Albans, Hertfordshire, in 429; and according to the Venerable Bede's account, the heretics came to the council in great pomp, and advocated their cause with much "inflated rhetoric." But to no end. Germanus and Lupus silenced them with overwhelming arguments, and they were utterly discomfited. Bede's account is so quaint, and shows so great a difference between a 5th and a 19th cen- tury council that it is worth while to quote it in full : "An immense multitude was there assembled with their wives and children. The people stood round as spectators and judges ; but the parties present differed much in appearance. On the one side was divine faith, on the other human presumption ; on the one side piety, on the other pride ; on the one side Pelagius, on the other Christ. The most holy priests Germanus and Lupus permitted their adversaries to speak first, who long took up the time and filled the ears with empty words. Then the venerable prelates poured forth the torrent of their apostolical and evangelical eloquence. Their discourse was interspersed with scriptural sentences, and they supported their most weighty assertions by reading the written testimonies of famous writers. Vanity was convinced, and perfidiousness con- futed ; so that at every objection made against them, not being able to reply, they confessed their errors. The people, who were judges, could scarce refrain from violence, but signified their judgment by their acclamations." It is worth noting that at this time the people were the judges in matters theological. Rather a different state of things from that which now prevails at Rome and other places ; but per- haps a return to primitive custom might not tend to increase peace, or help us out of our theological troubles. When the meeting of the synod was over, Germanus and his companion seemed to have helped the Britons in a war against SAINT-GERMAIN nAUXERROIS. 179 a wandering contingent of Pagan Saxons and Picts, and by a simple stratagem, worthy a better cause, routed the enemy. Germanus assembled the British troops in a hollow surrounded by hills, and enjoined his followers to shout "Alleluia " three times. This they did, and the echo taking up the sound, pro- duced such an effect upon the enemy that they took flight for SAINT-GERMAIN AND THE MAIRIE. k fear of the multitude which they thought had come out against them. The battle took place, as Constantius relates, "when the sacred days of Lent were at hand, which the presence of the divines rendered more solemn, insomuch that those in- structed by their daily preaching flocked eagerly to the grace N 2 i8o THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. of baptism. For the great multitude of the army was desirous of the water of the laver of salvation. A church formed of interwoven branches of trees is prepared against the day of the resurrection of our Lord, and though the expedition was encamped in the field, is fitted up like that of a city. The army wet with baptism advances, the people are fervent in faith, and neglecting the protection of arms, they await the assistance of the Deity. In the meantime, this plan of pro- ceeding, or state of the camp, is reported to the enemy, who, anticipating a victory over an unarmed multitude, hastened with alacrity. But their approach is discovered by the scouts ; and when, after concluding the solemnities of Easter, the greater part of the army, fresh from their baptism, were preparing to take up arms and give battle, Germanus offers himself as the leader of the war." Such is Constantius' account of the open- ing of the battle, which may be completed with Fuller's : "God sent a hollowness into the hearts of the Pagans ; so that their apprehensions added to their ears, and cowardice often re- sounded the same shout in their breasts, till beaten with the reverberation thereof, without striking a blow, they confusedly ran away; and many were drowned for speed in the river Alen, lately the Christians' font, now the Pagans' grave. Thus a bloodless victory was gotten, without sword drawn, consisting of no fight, but a fright and a flight ; and that ' Alleluia,' the song of the saints after conquest achieved, was here the fore- runner and procurer of victory ; so good a grace it is to be said both before and after a battle." Although this " Alleluiatic victory," as we have seen, is re- lated by Bede (who copied it from Constantius) and Fuller, it does not appear that the Welsh MSS. take any notice of it, and its truth is doubted by Dr. Whitaker in his Ancient Cathedral of Corfnva/l; but, says Mr. Yeowell, " that a battle was fought at Maesgarmon, in the parish of Mold, Flintshire, under circumstances which were afterwards improved into a miracle, is not improbable ; and there are names of places in that neighbourhood which show that the district has, for some reason or other, been tenacious of the memory of S. Germain."* Pelagius himself was a Welshman given to travel — he visited Italy, Africa, and even Palestine ; and it was at Rome that the evil communications of one Rufinus, a man deeply imbued with the principles of Origen, corrupted his good faith in regard * Chronicles of the Amieni British Church. James Veowell. SAINT-GERMAIN LAUXERROIS. i8i to the doctrine of original sin. But the heresy appears to have been introduced into Britain by Agricola, a GaUic bishop, and Celestius. After this victory the good bishop returned to his own country ; but in 447, the Pelagians again becoming aggressive, he took a second journey to Britain, and this time not only baffled the heretics, but banished them. " News is brought out of Britain," says Constantius, "that the Pelagians' perverse- ness is again diffused by a few preachers. The supplications of all are once more conveyed to this most blessed man that he would come and preserve the cause of God, which he had formerly won. With this petition he hastily complies, being delighted with the labour, and willingly spending himself for Christ." This time Germanus was attended by one of Lupus' scholars, "a man of all sanctity, who, being then consecrated bishop of Treves, was preaching the word of life to the inhabi- tants of Germania Prima." On their arrival, they were again met by a great multitude, whom they blessed ; and then preach- ing the word of God, discomfited the heretics and banished them from the island. Germanus seems to have reformed the British Church, and modelled it upon the Gallican ; for it was about his time, and no doubt through his influence, that parochial churches were founded in country places ; the rural populations having pre- viously depended upon missionaries from the towns and monasteries for their spiritual teaching. But in 442, the council of Vaison, in Gaul, decreed that presbyters should be attached to country parishes as well as to the city churches. Germanus is thought by some authorities to have introduced the Gallican liturgy into Britain ; he certainly established schools of learning, colleges and monasteries, where study was the principal work accomplished. During the Roman occu- pation of the country, there were no doubt professors of Greek and Latin in all the chief cities, possibly at London, York, and Caerleon ; for it is not probable that the edict of Gratian, which required all the chief cities of the Empire to maintain such professorships, should not have been in force in Britain. But after the withdrawal of the Roman legions, it became difficult to keep up these professorships ; and hence the foundation of monasteries, as schools of learning for the training of youths for the service of the Church, was suggested by Germanus ; and to this end he consecrated Dubricius archbishop of i82 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS, Llandaff, and Daniel bishop of Bangor, besides appointing Iltutus to a place which took his name — Llan Iltut. The former founded colleges at Hentland-on-the-Wye (where he had a thousand pupils), and Llancarfan, or Llanfeithin, Caerwor- gorn, and Caerleon. The word bangor in Welsh is simply a name for any college ; and towards the end of the 5th century all Christian societies began to assume that epithet, ban^ high ; cor^ circle or congregation. The word is written variously (in MSS.), "Ban Cor," "Banchor," and "Bangor." Bangor Garmon, or the College of Germanus, at Llanveiltrin, in Glamorgan, was founded by him in 460. The congregation instituted by the Emperor Theodosius in Caer VVorgorn having been destroyed by the Irish in the middle of the 5th century, was restored by Germanus, who placed Iltutus over it. This is now called in Welsh, " Llanilltyd Vawr," in Glamorganshire. According to the Triads, it contained no less than two thousand four hundred members, one hundred being employed every hour in order that the praise and service of God might be continued day and night without intermission. Gildas, the historian, and Talhaiarn, the bard, are said to have been educated there ; and S. Cadvan and S. Padarn, the companions of S. Germanus, were among the members of the college until their appoint- ment to similar work elsewhere. The College of S. Cadoc was also founded under the direction of Germanus and Catog, who preferred a life of study and religion to succession to his father's principality. Little is known of the internal regulations of these colleges, but the dicipline instituted by S. Columba, about a hundred years later, was very severe. Religious offices were held three times during the day, and as often during the night. Each day office consisted of prayers and three psalms, and in the night ones, from October to February, the monks were to chant thirty- six psalms and twelve anthems at three different times ; but on Saturday and Lord's Day nights, twenty-five psalms and as many anthems. That such training raised up a set of men who went by the names of " Ordo Apostolicus,'' " Ordo Divi Colombce^' is not astonishing, although by themselves they were called " Famuli Dei" the servants of God. That S. Germanus was a remarkable man there is no doubt, as we also owe the discovery of S. Genevieve to his foresight ; for when he saw her at Nanterre, on his way to Britain, he was so impressed by her piety that he consecrated her to the service of God. SAINT-GERMAIN L'AUXERRO/S. 83 The church in Paris was probably founded in commemoration of some miracle performed by the bishop during his sojourn in that city, perhaps by his namesake S. Germain of Paris, who held the memory of his brother of Auxerre in great esteem and veneration. That its origin was very ancient is shown by the record of certain gifts from King Childebert and Queen Ultrogothe. It was probably a round church in its early days, as in 866, when it was pillaged and destroyed by the Normans, it was called S. Germain-le-Rond, and it must have been in that edifice that S. Landry, bishop of Paris, was buried. For- merly a chapter composedof a dean, a precentor, thirteen canons, and eleven chaplains, served the church, and it ranked SAINT-GERMAIN, FROM AN OLD ENGRAVING. immediately after the cathedral; but in 1744, its chapter was merged into that of Notre-Dame, and it became a simple parish church. The Quai and Place de I'^cole, situated near S. Germain, owed their names, as early as the 13th century, to a public school of great celebrity, which was established about, or soon after, the time of Charlemagne. S. Germain was rebuilt by King Robert, and again in the 12th century, to which period the tower belongs. The principal door, the choir, and the apse are of the 13th century ; the porch, the greater part of ih^ facade, the i84 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. nave and aisles, and the chapels of the chevet^ are of the 1 5th and 1 6th centuries. The cloister which surrounded the church has disappeared, as also the dean's house which stood in the space between the church and the Louvre. It was in traversing the cloisters of S. Germain that Admiral Coligny was shot, and it was the great bell of this church which gave the signal for the massacre of S. Bartholomew. S. Germain was the parish church of the Louvre and the Tuileries, and some of the royal children were baptised there ; and many a time the kings went there in great state to perform their paschal duties. The portico projects in front of the three principal West doors, and is the work of Master Jean Gaussel. It was constructed in 1435, ^J^d 'S a mass of very beautiful carving. Some of the corbels are examples of the grotesque imagery of the period. The interior was decorated with frescoes some years ago, but they are in a parlous, peeling, condition. Two of the statues are old, S. Francis of Assisi, and S. Mary of Egypt holding the three little loaves which nourished her in the desert. The central doorway is of the 1 3th century, the two side ones are of the 1 5th. The whole is decorated with statues of various Saints — amongst others S. Germain, S. Vincent, and S. Genevieve holding her candle, which a hideous little demon is trying to extinguish. Round the tympanum, the subject of which is the l^st Judgment, are the Wise and Foolish Virgins, the Apostles and the Martyrs. Abraham sits on one side holding a napkin on which are three little souls ; while upon the other is a caul- dron from the lower regions containing three lost souls (one mitred), and two horrible demons — one tormenting a soul with a whip, the other throwing a poor creature into the flames, having already torn his flesh into shreds. The gargoyles are peculiarly grotesque : a grinning savage is being ejected from the jaws of a hippopotamus ; a man carries a hooded ape on his shoulders ; and a showman is making a monkey dance. A corbel shows us a quantity of rats persecuted by a cat — the rats being the wicked who encumber the earth; the cat, the demon who awaits their souls. The plan of the church is cruciform ; the entire length is 240 ft., and the width at the transepts 120 ft. The interior is very plain, that is to say, what remains of the old church after the embellishments of the renovating architects of 1 745. These gentlemen fluted the pillars of the choir, and converted the mouldings of the capitals into garlands and flowery festoons, INTERIOR OF SAINT-GERMAIN L'aUXERROIS. i86 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. giving the whole a grandly Classic appearance. Happily they left the arches pointed, instead of filling them in with round- headed ones as at S. Severin ; and, likewise, we may be thankful that the nave was not " improved," and that the bosses and the ornament of the Lady Ciiapel were allowed to remain in their primitive beauty. Among the subjects of the bosses may be cited a S. Christopher crossing a torrent with the infant Christ on his shoulder ; and a S. Germain in episcopal vestments, painted and gilt, may be seen upon an openwork ground in the Lady Chapel. In 1744 the choir was enclosed by a magnificent screen, the combined work of Pierre Lescot and Jean Goujon ; * but the cure and churchwardens, upon the suppression of the chapter, lost no time in destroying this work of art, in order to open up the east end of the church to the congregation — not the only case of its kind. Had the modern improvers of the church only pulled this down they might have been forgiven, but they did not rest until they had appointed an architect named Bacarit to "purify" the church of its ^^barbarie Gothujue" Unfortunately for the repu- tation of the academicians of 1745, the project submitted to, and approved by them, appears to us, so far as it was carried out, to be a decided barbaric Classique ; and even in the beginning of this century, when the Empire had introduced a sort of pseudo Classic style, and made it fashionable, people of taste were no less severe upon the re-dressing of the old pillars and capitals in Greek garments : " Nearer to my residence, and of a kindred style of architecture, is the Church of S. Germain Auxerrois. The west front is yet sound and good. Nothing particular strikes you on the entrance, but there are some interesting specimens of rich old stained glass in the windows of the transept. The choir is completely and cruelly modernised. In the side chapels are apparently several good modern paintings ; and over an altar of twisted columns, round which ivy leaves apparently composed of ivory are creeping, is a picture of three figures in the flames of purgatory. This side chapel is consecrated to the offering up of orisons * for the souls in purgatory.' It is gloomy and repulsive. Death's heads * Some of the bas-reliefs by Jean Goujon are now in the Renaissance Museum of the Louvre : a Deposition from the Cross, and the four Evan- gelists, the latter having been discovered in 1850, eml^edded in the wall of the staircase of No, 4, Rue S. Hyacinthe-S.-Honore. SAINT-GERMAIN LAUXERROIS. 187 and thigh bones are painted in white colours upon the stained wall ; and in the midst of all these fearful devices I saw three young ladies intensely occupied in their devotions at the railing facing the altar." * The chapels of the chevet have niches in the wall surmounted by round-headed arches, and containing statues. There are in all thirteen chapels, but four of them have been converted into a sacristy and the north door, the exterior of which is a good specimen of Renaissance work. The abbe Lebeuf attributed some of the glass of the choir to the commencement of the 14th century, but not a vestige of this remains ; there is nothing earlier than the two following cen- turies. Here also the good gentlemen of the i8th century " improved " much ; the church was dark and gloomy, and so, forsooth, the stained glass of the nave was taken out, and the colour, and goXd^n fleurs-de-lys of the vaults and columns, were scraped off or whitewashed over. Thus was lost the history of S. Germain which formed the subject of the windows. But happily the rose-windows of the two transepts, four lights in the south aisle and two of the north aisle, still remain; but these being only of the i6th century, are consequently not in the best taste. Some have Gothic and some Renaissance sur- roundings, but the colour is, if rather bright, clear and rich. Unfortunately, time has obliterated many of the heads and hands ; but enough remains to make out the subjects. In the north rose, the Eternal Father, in a Papal tiara, is surrounded by Angels, Cherubim, Martyrs, and Confessors ; amongst whom may be recognised SS. Catherine, Vincent, Margaret, Agnes, Martha, Germain, and King Louis. Above and below are the four Fathers of the Latin Church. In the north transept the subjects are taken from The Passion, The Acts of our Lord, Scenes in the Life of the Patriarch Abraham, a gentleman donor accompanied by his sons, and a lady followed by her daughters, a S. Peter, and S. Anne instructing her daughter, and patronising another donor. In the southern rose, the Holy Spirit descends from Heaven in the form of a dove ; The Blessed Virgin and The Apostles receiving light from above, with enthusiastic ex- pressions upon their visages. In the southern transept : The Incredulity of S. Thomas ; The Ascension ; The Death of the Virgin ; and The Assumption. Above, the Coronation of the Virgin and a well, recalling the attribute "Well of living water " * Dibden. 1 88 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. given to her by the Fathers. There are a great many modern windows, but except those in imitation of the glass in the S. Chapelle, by MM. I^ssus and Didron, they are of Httle artistic value. M. I^ssus was the architect who superintended all the later restorations and decorations. The chapel of the Blessed Virgin is a little church in itself, with stalls, organ, pulpit, screen and altar, all richly decorated. The reredos is the tree of Jesse which surrounds the Virgin with its branches. This is in stone, of the 14th century, and conies from a church in Champagne. Some restorations in 1838 brought to light a curious i6th century wall painting, re- presenting a cemetery with the graves giving up their dead to the sound of the Angels' trumpets. Three statues were also found of the same date as the chapel, and serve as the retable of the altar: they represent the Blessed Virgin sitting, and S. Germain and S. Vincent (who are united in all the decora- tions of this church), standing on each side of her. The baric- d'ceuvre was executed in 1648 by Mercier, from drawings by Lebrun. It is handsome in its way, and excellently carved, but utterly out of keeping with the rest of the church. It is composed of Ionic columns supporting a huge baldachino ; and probably looked its best when it was filled with royal personages on high festivals and state occasions. Another exquisite example of wood carving may be seen in the chapel of Notre-Dame de Compassion, forming the retable. It belongs to the latest Gothic period, and is covered with a multitude of figures, representing the Genealogy and History of the Virgin, and the Life and Death of Christ. This came from a Belgian church. The organ, pulpit, and stalls are part of the old furniture, but are not remarkable in any way. S. Germain was formerly a museum of tombs of the i6th and 17th centuries ; but the only remaining ones are the re- cumbent marble figures by Laurent Magnier, of Etienne d'Aligre, and his sons, both chancellors of France, who died respectively in 1635 and 1677 ; two statues and several marble busts which belonged to the mausoleums of the house of Rostaing, formerly situated in S. Germain, and in a chapel of the monastery of the Feuillants ; and an epitaph of a lady of Mortemart, Duchess of Lesdiguiferes, who died in 1740.* Under the church is a * The fine recumbent statues of Louis de Poncher, conseilleiir et I'eceveur- trhoricr dit roi Frainois /''', and his wife Roberte Legende, now in the Re- naissance Museum of the Louvre, were formerly in S. Germain. SAINT-GERMAIN-EN-LA YE. 189 crypt full of bones, symmetrically arranged as in the cata- combs :jt was excavated in 1746-7 as a burial place for the parishioners. Amongst the tombs of a crowd of courtiers and statesmen were those of Malherbe, the poet ; Andre Dacier, the savant ; the painters Coypel, Houasse, Stella and Santerre; the sculptors Sarazin, Desjardins, and Coyzevox ; the medallist Warin ; the goldsmith Balin ; the engraver Israel Sylvestre ; the architects Louis Levau and Francois Dorbay ; the geographer Sanson ; and the Comte de Caylus, the distinguished antiquary ; but they have all disappeared. The grandest tomb was that erected by Charles V. to his jester. Says Sauval, in his History of Paris {\fhic\\ was not published until after his death, in 1670) : " Charles ne s'est pas contente d'avoir des fous et des plaisants; il leur a encore dresse des mausolees, presque aussi superbes que celui du connetable Du Guesclin. Car j'apprends des registres de la chambre des Comptes, qu'il en fit enterrer un dans I'eglise de Saint-Germain I'Auxerrois. Sur une grande tombe de marbre noir etait couchee de cote une figure peinte et grande comme nature, dont la tete et les mains etaient d'albatre, les cuisses, les jambes, les pieds et le corps de marbre blanc, et qui servit de modele au mausolee qu'il fit faire en 1375, a Thevenin, autre fou, dans Teglise de Saint-Maurice (de Senlis), par Hennequin de la croix." But even in the time of Sauvel this curious work of art was no more. A few fragments of former monuments have found a quiet resting-place in the Louvre, in the Renaissance Museum. Calvin lived near S. Germain ; and at the dean's house, between the Louvre and the church, a celebrity of another kind died suddenly on Easter-Eve, 1599 — "la belle Gabrielle d'Estrees." The Marechal d'Ancre (Concini) was also buried at S. Germain after his assassination ; but the body was torn from the grave the next day by an infuriated mob, who drew it through the street on hurdles, then hung it, and finally burnt it. SAINT-GERMAIN-EN-LAYE. The Chateau of S. Germain has existed since the time of Charles V., and has received additions during the reigns of Fran9ois L, Henri IL, Henri IV., and Louis XIII. It was given over to James II. of England, and in the church is his 190 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. monument, gazed at, if bronze eyes can penetrate stone walls, by M. Thiers, who sits in an arm-chair outside. THE CHAPEL OF THE CHATEAU OF SAINT-GERMAIN. SAINT-GERMAIN DES PR6s. The Abbey of S. Germain-in-the-fields, of which nothing remains but the church and the abbot's palace, was, after Notre-Dame, the oldest foundation in Paris. It dates back to SAINT-GERMAIN DES FEES. 191 the earliest period of the French monarchy, and its history is interwoven with that of some of the best and noblest sons of France. The Saint to whom this church is dedicated was an early bishop of Paris, and must not be confounded with S. Germain of Auxerre, whose legend is described on page 178. The foundation of the abbey was in this wise. Childebert I. having made a second expedition against the Visigoths in Spain, returned in 543 with much loot of various kinds : S. Vincent's tunic ; a rich gold cross ornamented with precious stones, from Toledo ; some vases which had belonged (so said tradition) to King Solomon ; and a quantity of chalices, patens and golden covers for the Gospels. What could be more natural, in the 6th century, than to consult a holy man as to the future destination of such valuables ? Accordingly, Chil- debert communed with S. Germain on the subject, and the bishop suggesting the foundation of a church as a fitting home for the treasures, the king laid the first stone amid the green fields and woods of what is now the densely populated Fau- bourg S. Germain. The enclosure extended from the Rue Jacob on the north, to the Rue Ste. Marguerite on the south, while upon the east and west the boundaries were the present Rue Lachaude and the Rue Bonaparte. The buildings within the precincts were very numerous, almost forming a city in themselves, enclosed by walls and surrounded by a moat filled by the waters of the Seine. There were three gates : the Petit-Bourbon, Ste. Marguerite, and St. Benoit. The church was originally dedicated to the Holy Cross and S. Vincent, the consecration taking place upon the very day of Childebert's death in 558.* It was cruciform in plan ; the roof, which was * " Apres avoir," says Gregoire of Tours, "ete longtemps malade k Paris, le roi Childebert y mourut et fut enseveli dans la basilique de Saint-Vincent qu'il avait lui-meme construite." The bones of Childebert and of his queen, Ultrogothe, were deposited (in 1656) in the centre of the choir. The re- ligious placed them in a new marble tomb, and surmounted it with the antique one which had been repaired in the nth century, when the church was restored by abbot Morard and his successors. Ultrogothe was a French S. Elizabeth : " Elle etait lameredes orphelins, la consolatrice des pupilles, la bienfaitrice des pauvres et des serviteurs de Dieu, le secours des moines fideles." Another lady much vaunted by Gregoire de Tours was Ingoberge, the widow of Cherebert. She called in the aid of Gregoire in her last moments, and made many donations to churches ; and what was better, " elle donna la liberte ^ beaucoup de personnes." She was a woman " d'une grande sagesse, vouee a la vie religieuse, assidue aux veilles, aux prieres, aux aumones." 192 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS covered with plaques of gilt copper, was supported by enormous marble columns ; the walls, decorated with paintings upon gold grounds, were pierced with numberless windows ; and the pavement was laid in mosaic. At the end of the church was the chapel of S. Symphorien, which in 576 became the burial-place of good Bishop Germain, and was subsequently the scene of many wondrous and miraculous cures, so many indeed that the original patrons, S. Vincent, S. Symphorien, and the Holy Cross, drifted into almost complete oblivion ; and S. Germain, getting the credit of the cures, became the acknowledged and chief patron of the famous abbey. Before the foundation of S. Denis by ie bon roy Dagobert^ S. Germain served as the burial-place of the Mt^rovingian kings and their consorts. Thus, during the 6th and 7th centuries, the follow- ing princes were interred there : the Kings Childebert I., Cherebert,* Chilp^ric I., Clotaire II., and Childeric II. ; the queens Ultrogothe, Fredegonde, Bertrude, and Bilihilde ; the sons of Merovee, Clovis, and Dagobert ; the princesses Chro- desinde and Chrotberge, daughters of the first Childebert. Some of these tombs were opened in the time of Dom Bouil- lart (1655), who gives an account of the performance in his Histoire de VAbbaye. The bodies were swathed in shrouds of silk and other precious stuffs ; some of them reposed on beds of odorous herbs, others were surrounded by phials of aromatic scents. The coffins were of stone, without any ex- terior ornament, and contained, besides the bodies, fragments of drapery, of crossbelts, and foot gear.f Some of these stone coffins may be seen at the Hotel Carnavalet, which, besides having been the dwelling-place of Madame de Sevigne, is most * In 1704, a tomb was found which Montfaucon, a Benedictine of the congregation of S. Maur, considered to be that of Cherebert, but the General of the order would not consent to its being opened. However, in 1799, less reverent hands searched the spot, found the coffin, and opened it, only to discover a skeleton vested in a tunic and mantle, its feet shod in leathern shoes, and by its side the fragments of what may have been a crozier, thus proving the remains to have been those of an abbot rather than of a sovereign, but whether of the 6th or the 9th century it was im- possible to decide. t " Les tom beaux les plus considerables furent ceux du roy Childeric 11. , de Bilihilde, son epouse, et du jeune Dagobert, leur fils, qui furent tuez par Baudillon, dans le foret de Liori. On trouva ces tombeaux dans Ie choeur." In cleaning the coffin " Childre rex " was found engraved by the side of the head. SAINT-GERMAIN DES FRES. 193 interesting on account of its unique collection of curiosities. But we have been anticipating. When the abbey was finished, S. Germain sent to its name- sake, S, Symphorien at Autun, for some monks to serve it. At first they followed the rules of S. Anthony and S. Basil ; but shortly after the foundation, they joined the order of the great legislator of the monks of the west, S. Benedict. In the 17th century a second reform took place, and they adopted the rule of S. Maur ; and it was after this return to primitive discipline that the monks of S. Germain became famous throughout Europe by the works of Jean Mabillon, Bernard de Mont- faucon, and other members of their order. The abbots were formerly all-powerful, exercising spiritual and temporal juris- diction over the whole Faubourg S. Germain ; but jealousies occurring there as elsewhere, between the ecclesiastical and the lay element, and squabbles arising between the bishops and the mitred abbots^ it came about that the kings, uniting their forces with those of the bishops, were enabled to restrict the power of the abbots to the immediate precincts of their abbey. Among the famous persons who bore the dignity of abbot of S. Germain were Hugues Capet, Jean Casimir, King of Poland, several princes of the House of Bourbon, and many cardinals. When the Normans swooped down upon France, Paris was their goal, and the monasteries and churches their desire. Over and over again they came ; pillaging, burning and destroying all they could not carry off. Once in, or near Paris, S. Germain lay at their feet ; its fame, its riches, its magnifi- cence, made it a mark for attack ; and upon one occasion, when King Eudes had driven out the barbarians, all that was left of chtirch and monastery was a heap of ruins. But Ivlorard, the twenty-ninth abbot, who ruled the community from 990 to 1 014, undertook the entire restoration, or rather the rebuilding of the abbey ; and it is to hrni that we owe the oldest portions of the nave of the actual church. Whether Morard left the work unfinished, or whether the monks resolved to improve upon his design, we know not ; but about a hundred and fifty years later we find the choir being rebuilt upon a plan of great magnificence. Situated as it was, amidst what was termed the Fre-aux- Clercs^ the resort of students and other bellicose persons, it became necessary to guard against assaults and incursions, by surrounding the monastic buildings with fortified walls and a moat, strong gates and watch-towers, from whence to keep an o 194 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS, eye upon dangerous neighbours. Later, when students at the University had become more civiHzed, when danger of civil war had faded away, and the Huguenots had been suppressed, streets took the place of the moat, and houses occupied the site of the fortifications. At the commencement of the last century the monks built several large houses from plans by Victor d'Ailly, for artisans and labourers ; but for the privileges obtained by living within the abbey precincts they paid a heavy rental. These habitations formed the Rues Childebert, Ste. Marthe, Cardinale, Abbatiale, and de Furstemberg — all within the walls. Originally there were two cloisters situated to the north of the church, but with the exception of a portion of the larger one, which has been converted into dwelling-rooms, they have been completely destroyed. The round arches and Doric pilasters belong to the 1 7th century ; the older part, which was built by Abbot Eudes, was cut through and improved away, for the completion of the Rue de I'Abbaye. The same streets, and the houses thereof, have also to answer for the destruction of the refectory, the chapter-house, the great sacristy, and the Lady Chapel, to which the little cloister gave access. The refectory was a large hall constructed during the life of Abbot Simon by the celebrated architect of the Sainte-Chapelle, Pierre de Montereau. It was filled with stained glass bearing the arms of France and of Castille, some fragments of wliich may be seen in the church. The stone statue of Childe- bert, that stood at the entrance gorgeous with painting and gilding, is now in the Renaissance Museum of the Louvre. l)om Jacques Bouillart, describing the refectory as built between 1239-44, speaks of this statue as " apparently modelled upon a more ancient one,"* De Montereau was also the artist-builder of the chapel of the Virgin, commenced under abbot Hugues dTssy, who died in 1247, and finished under Thomas de Mauldon, who resigned his dignities in 1255. This chapel had but one rival, the chef-d' cBiivre of its architect ; but * *' L'on a place a la porte du refectoire une statue de pierre qui represente Childebert, laquelle a ete faite apparemment sur le modele d'une autre plus ancienne. Elle est haute de cinq pieds et demi. Childebert a une couronne orn^e de trefles et une sceptre en la main dont I'estremite d'en haut est cassee. II a une robe qui descend jusqu'a la cheville du pied ; sa ceinture est ornee, d'espace en espace, de petites roses fafon d'orfevrerie ; son manteau, qui ne le couvre que par derriere, est attache au devant par un cordon qu'il tient de la main gauche ; ses souliers, pointus par le bout, sont echancres en ovale par le dessus, depuis la moitie du pied jusqu'a la ligature." SAINT-GERMAIN DES PRES. 195 all authorities speak of the beauty and gracefulness of the Lady Chapel, and its similarity to the Sainte-Chapelle in style antl plan. When the great architect died, in 1266, the then abbot Gerard de Moret, desiring to perpetuate the memory of him who had done so much to beautify the convent, caused a magnificent tomb to be erected in the chapel of his creation. Pierre was represented with a rule and compass in his hand, and the epitaph describes him 2i^Flos plenus moruiji and Doctor latofHorum* Gerard be Moret was the builder of the chapter house, an oblong edifice divided into two naves by a row of four central columns, paved with encaustic tiles and illuminated with stained glass. Passing behind the church down the Rue de I'Abbaye, is the abbot's palace, a handsome stone and red- brick building erected by the Cardinal de Bourbon, about 1586. At the summit of one of the pavilions is a figure of a woman bearing the arms of the founder upon an escutcheon. Fragments of the chapel of Our Lady, columns, capitals, gargoyles, balustrades, and other remains of ornament which were found in a garden hard by, have been placed in the grounds of the Hotel Cluny ; but the statue of the Virgin and Child, which was formerly upon a pier, was sent some years ago to S. Denis. The gaol was rebuilt in the 17th century, and was flanked by four turrets. It was the scene of many horrors from time to time, the abbots possessing the power of punishing as well as of trying criminals ; and during the Revolution it was filled with priests and nobles, who suffered for the crimes of their forefathers, as well as for their own, being the scene in 1792 of the hideous September massacres. It was afterwards used as a military prison, and in 1854 was pulled down. The library was justly celebrated for its manuscripts, printed books, and other objects of value; but was destroyed by fire at the commencement of the Revolution. The only part of the church which contains any remains of Childebert's structure is the apse, into the triforium of which are built some early white marble capitals and some various coloured marble shafts ; but inasmuch as they have been painted over, all interest in them is destroyed. The earliest part of the present church dates from the beginning of the nth century, the choir and apse from the second half of the 1 2th century. The best view of the apse * The entire epitaph will be found upon page 7. O 2 lyO THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. with its flying-buttresses is to be obtained from the garden of the abbot's palace ; but since the clearing away of the houses which formerly were almost built on to the church, and the ^iJi X -- - SAINT-GERMAIN DES PRES. planting of gardens round it, the view is very picturesque from any point. An insignificant 17th century porch leads to the west door, which is underneath the tower, and has, in its tympanum, a much mutilated bas-relief of The Last Supper. SAINT-GERMATN DES PRES. 197 The tower has been so much restored and renovated from lime to time that little of the original remains. It has a high, but stumpy spire covered with slates. Dom Bouillart relates that on the 2nd November, 1589, Henri IV. mounted to the top of it (accompanied by only one ecclesiastic) to examine the situation of Paris ; and, continued the monk, " He afterwards walked round the cloisters, and without speaking one word, departed." Of the other two towers which were formerly at the angles of the choir and transepts, nothing remains but the bases, which were considered necessary for the support of the church. It seems that they were pulled down about 1822, to save the expense of their restoration ! a piece of vandalism which destroyed the originality of the building and the raison d'etre for its nickname of " P^glise aux Trots Clochers." The building is 265 feet long, 65 feet broad, and 59 feet high. The nave is divided into five bays, the choir into four, and the apse into five ; but these latter are much narrower than those of the nave. In the 17 th century, the timber roof of Abbot Morard gave place to a stone vault, the transepts were rebuilt, and the nave much altered ; but quite recently it has been restored to its primitive condition and decorated with frescoes by Hippolyte Flandrin. The church having been used during the Revolution as a saltpetre manufactory, the corrosive waters had so undermined the foundations of the pillars that they were obliged to be supported by enormous scaffoldings while the bases were repaired. The choir and" the apse are surrounded by square and polygonal chapels. The lower arches are round, the upper pointed ; the intermingling being in no way inharmonious. Most of the present capitals are copies of the twelve remaining original ones which were transferred to the garden of the Hotel Cluny; but they are of very inferior workmanship. The subjects treated are various : Angels, Saints, the Lamb of God, Daniel surrounded by the lions, priests celebrating the Holy Mysteries, Samson breaking the jaw of the lion. The old capitals are rough, but full of character, whereas the modern ones are utterly devoid thereof. A few of the old ones may bo studied embedded in the walls of the aisles ; the subject?? being : The Visitation, The Birth of Christ, Warriors costumed as Roman soldiers. Syrens, male and female, surrounded by fish, interlaced serpents, hippopotami holding smaller beasts between their paws, and other quaint imagery peculiar I9S THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. to the Romanesque period. In the Hotel Cluny may also be seen the upper part of an early ivory crozier belonging to the abbey, which was found in a coffin during some excavations in 1854 — and some fragments of stone coffins. The choir, beautiful in its vigorous simplicity, remains as the 1 2th century left it. It was dedicated by Pope Alexander III., on the 2 1 St of April, 1163; and on the same day Hubald, bishop of Ostia, assisted by three other bishops, consecrated the apsidal chapels. On entering the church at the west end, and looking towards the altar, it will be seen that the building deviates considerably from a straight line, which M. Guilhermy ascribes rather to difficulties of construction, which al- ways occur when a new building is placed amongst older ones of which it is to be a part, than to the legend which attributes this arrange- ment (so common in Mediaeval churches) to the position of our Lord upon the Cross. S. }5^tienne a 1 Mont is even more out of a straight line — it turns more than any church I have seen. The columns resemble those of Notre-Dame in their massiveness. All the arches of the choir and chapels are round, but those of the apse and clerestory are pointed. The capitals of these choir pillars are all worthy of study, being in the best style of the i:)eriod, and full of the quaint symbolism of the Middle Ages : human heads of a grotesque style, lions, harpies, birds pecking vigo- rously at the heads of men and women, griffins, and winged animals. The bases are all ornamented with foliage ; but between the second and third chapels on the south side is an example of ornament which is probably unique, viz., two slippers, one embroidered and one plain, evidently those of a bishop or abbot. A CAPITAL OF THE CHOIR. SAINT-GERMAIN DES PRES. 199 The original High Altar, renovated in 1704, has been destroyed since 1792, up to which time it had existed in all its pristine beauty and splendour. The frontal was of gilt copper, with silver-gilt figures under canopies ; and upon the retable rested the chdsse of S. Germain, a magnificent specimen of smithcraft enriched with precious stones. It was made in the time of Abbot Guillaume III., about 1408 or 1409, and contained twenty-six marks two ounces of gold, 250 marks of silver, 260 precious stones, and 197 pearls. One would like to know what became of so many gems. Six of the cipolin columns of the baldachino, which were brought from the ruins of a Roman town upon the African coast in the reign of Louis XIV., are now doing duty in the gallery of paintings of the Louvre. The tomb of S. Germain, which was the scene of so many miracles and wonders, has been suppressed and covered up by the pavement. It was sunk below the level of the church, near the fourth column of the choir on the north side, and for centuries was a favourite spot for prayer and meditation. The chapel of S. Symphorien, at the end of the nave on the south side, is modern, having been consecrated by the great teacher, S. Frangois de Sales, on the 27th April, 1619 ; the monument which marked the first burial-place of S. Germain being no longer in it. The chapels of S. Marguerite and of S. Casimir, in the transept, are ornamented with marble columns. That of the Blessed Virgin is modern, and in wretched taste ; and the High Altar, the first stone of which was laid by Pius VII., is equally out of keeping with the rest of the church. In an apsidal chapel are some fragments of 13th century glass, representing SS. Anna and Joachim, The Annunciation and the Marriage of the Virgin. In the south side of the nave is a large marble statue, called Notre-Dame la Blanche, given in 1340 by Jeanne d' 6vreux to the Abbey of S. Denis. Placed at the Revolution in the Musee des Petits-Augustins, it was afterwards transferred to S. Germain. The marble statue of S. Marguerite is by one of the brothers of the convent, Jacques Bourlet ; and that representing S. Fran9ois Xavier is by Coustou the younger. The following tombs were partially restored in 1824 : Jean Casimir, King of Poland, who, having renounced his throne, became abbot in 1669, and died in 1672 (the kneeling figure is by Marsy, the bas-relief by Jean Thibaut, of the Congregation of S, Maur) ; Olivier and Louis 200 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. de Castellan, killed in the service of the king in 1644 and 1669 (the figures and medallions are by Girardon) ; William Douglas, eighteenth Earl of Angus, who died in 161 1, and his grandson James Douglas, killed in 1645, near Douai, aged twenty-eight. The epitaphs, which the Academy set up in 1 819 to the memory of Nicholas Boileau, of Rene Descartes,* of Jean Mabillion, and of Bernard de Montfaucon, which were formerly at the Musee des Petits-Augustins, were placed here on the dispersal of that museum. Boileau reposed formerly in the Sainte-Chapelle, and Descartes at S. Genevieve. What remained of the royal tombs was transferred to S. Denis. Of the riches of the Treasury nothing whatever was saved ; it was all pillaged and dispersed. The whole church has been painted in polychrome ; red shafts andgilded capitals, a])lue-and-gold starred vault. All round nave, transepts, and choir, just below the clerestory, are the exquisite frescoes by Flandrin, one of the few 19th century religious painters who has shown the possibility of uniting the sentiment of the early Florentine and Flemish schools with the, in some respects, superior knowledge of the mo Jern. His work is so purely religious, and yet so essentially modern, that one wonders whence he drew his inspiration. There is nothing of the Archaic in his pictures ; his figures are never attenuated, and yet the sentiment is as full of piety as in the work of Angelico : it is as if the Frenchman had drunk in th.i beauty of form of the Greeks, and amalgamated it with the faith of the Early Christians. And yet there is none of the false sentimentality of the modern school, the Saints who simper, and the milk-and-water misses bearing palm branches and crowns, and calling themselves martyrs. Flandrin's is essen- ti illy a masculine type of art ; it is powerful as well as graceful, vigorous as well as refined. His Saints and Angels have all the sweet expression of those of Fra Angelico and Filippo * Descartes dont tu vois icy la sepulture, a dessille les yeux des aveugles mortels, Et gardant le respect QUE l'on doit AUX AUTELS, LeUR a DU MONDE ENTIER D6MONTr6 LA STRUCTURE. Son nom par mille escrits se rendit glorieux ; Son esprit mesuront et la terre et les cieux, En PENkTRA l' ABISME, en PER9A les-nuages. CePENDANT COMME UN AUTRE IL CEDE AUX LOIS DU SORT, LUY QUI VIVROIT AUTANT QUE CES DIVINS OUVRAGES, Sl LE SAGE POUVOIT s' AFFRANCHIR DE LA MORT^ SAINTGERMAIN DES PRES. 201 Lippi ; while they are as perfectly modelled as a Greek Apollo, or the figures of Buonarroti and Raffaello. But Flandrin was not ashamed of calling himself a believer in the doctrines and mysteries of the Christian faith, and in the Biblical subjects which he was called upon to illustrate. The man who considered religious painting to be "the height of Art, and the most worthy employment of genius," and who wrote upon the door of his studio, " Thou, Lord, hast made me glad through Thy work, I will triumph in the works of Thy hands, " could not have been, as a Christian, on a much lower level than Fra Angelico, who is said to have painted while assuming the attitude of prayer. Flandrin was the favourite pupil of Ingres, and won the Grand Prix de Rome of 1832. Humble-minded, gentle, courageous, he worked for love rather than for fame or money. His early struggles when he first arrived in Paris from his native place were terrible. He lived in a veritable garret with his brother, sacrificing any- thing in order to work at painting. Often in winter they went to bed at 5 o'clock in the afternoon to escape the cold of their attic. Their dinner was frequently some fried potatoes bought at stalls in the streets and squares ; and it is probably to the privations endured for love of art that his bad health and early death may be attributed. But his enthusiasm carried him on ; and he lived long enough to count his sacrifices as nothing compared to his successes. He stands out in this 19th century an example to all artists, and as the one man who can be compared to the blessed monk of Fiesole. Like so many artists, he had to surmount many a home obstacle; and, being the fourth of a family of seven children, with two brothers devoting themselves to their father's calling, it is no wonder that the good mother wished Hippolyte to try some trade by which he could live. The father had been ambitious; but had been obliged to give m^ gejireiox miniature painting. The boys, however, plodded on, and sketched all that came in their way, which seems to have been mainly soldiers ; and when a sculptor named Fayatier, happening to see their drawings, gave them a little encouragement, the mother's opposition melted, and they entered the studio of Magnin at Lyons. There and at the Beaux-Arts, they re- mained seven years, selling drawings and lithographs where- with to gain a little nest-egg to enable them to go to Paris, ]:he goal then, as now, of ambitious students. It was little 202 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. enough, but the journey, being taken upon foot, the whole hoard was reserved for household expenses and lessons. Once in the capital, the brothers resolved to put themselves under M. Ingres, if he would allow them, and so encouraging was his welcome, that a friendship soon sprang up between master and pupils. Many traits in Ingres' character which came out in the history of the Flandrins' early artistic career prove him to have been sympathetic to the highest degree ; and not a little pleasant is it to find that, when he heard of his pupils' forced asceticism, he exclaimed, "And I was taking their money ! " Indeed, there are many anecdotes which prove as much the love of the master for the pupils as the devotion of the pupils for the master. He was inconsolable when Hippolyte failed to gain the Prix de Rome. " You have no notion how hard it is for a young man's hopes to be dashed to the ground ! " he said to his wife ; and he spoke of him as the " Lamb which had been slaughtered." He knew that it was unjust, and he felt the injustice as much as if it had been done to himself. The account Hippolyte gives his brother Auguste of the whole affair is most touching.* " Mon bon ami, mon cher Auguste, I have experienced the last trial in competing for the Grand Prix, but it has been dreadful ! The subject was a figure in painting, three feet high. I executed it, and yester- day was the day of the decision. I was satisfied with myself, and was hopeful, mais tu verras. M. Ingres, M. Guerin, M. Granet, and three other members of the Institute, on enter- ing the exhibition hall, wished to place me first. Mais non : M. Gros and his party carried it otherwise ; and instead oi first, I have been voted last. M. Ingres, in despair, at length left the room, protesting with all his might against the proceedings of the meeting ; and I have not been received. You may imagine what I felt when I heard I was excluded. ... I dared not call upon M. Ingres ; still I could not reproach myself; my figure was far the best ; I can say so without pride. At last, in the evening, I determined to go. I found him at dinner, but he ate nothing. Several members of the Institute had come to comfort him, but he would not be consoled. He received me with, " Behold the lamb they have slaughtered ! " . . . And all this with the accent of a heart so deeply moved that tears filled his eyes. He made me sit at his table, * See Les Lettres ei Pensks cf Hippolyte Flandrin, par H, Delal)orde, SAINT-GERMAIN DES PRES. 203 dine with him, and at last embraced me as a father would his son. I went away and was comforted. Oh ! what do not I owe to this man who has already done so much for us, and who, on this occasion, has perhaps done more. . . . But sometimes regret seizes me, for this would have been the means of taking a great step. . . And then it was the only way to show my gratitude to M. Ingres ; for to you, my brother, I can say that my good master had founded great hopes on my picture." The next year the same difficulties (want of money to pay for models, &c.) made him almost give up the idea of com- peting ; but getting some portraits to do, and knowing that his master was keen upon the matter, he sent in his name. One of his sitters happened to be a gen-d'arme, whom he had pro- mised to paint for 30 fs. When the portrait was finished, the man was so pleased that he said to the painter, '■^ I pro- mised you 30 /jr., but here are 35 fs.l^^ Flandrin often said that he never was so pleased as when he received those ad- ditional 5 fs. But a greater enemy to work than poverty appeared — cho- lera, the scourge of 1832. One of the competitors for the Prix de Rome died on his way to the school, and Hippolyte was attacked. He struggled against it, and, weak though he was, he went on working ; but at length he had to give way, and for a whole month he was in bed. A few days before the time for sending in the pictures, he returned to work, and managed to finish his subject, which was at once pronounced as having the Gra7id Prix, At Rome, Flandrin was in his element ; he studied the great masters, and drank in all their wisdom, work- ing almost entirely upon religious subjects. Even Ary Scheffer, then at the height of his fame, felt the extreme beauty of his young rival's art. " No, I know nothing, nothing at all," he said to Hippolyte, on seeing the latter's picture oi Jesus ivith the Little Chtldre?i. Flandrin's first commission for Church decoration was in his native city, S. Severinus of Lyon ; his second, S. Germain ; but his greatest work was the mural painting of S. Vincent de Paul, which he accomplished some years later. On the 2 1 St of March, 1864, Flandrin died at Rome of small-pox, whither he had gone for his health. He was buried at Pere-la-Chaise ; but the funeral service was held in the church he did so much to embellish ; and, two years after, his friends placed a monument by M. Oudine to his memory, upon the 204 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS, wall of the north aisle. It is composed of white marble, four columns supporting a pediment, and resting upon a freize. Below the bust is an epitaph which is little in keeping with the man or the place : A hippolytp: flandrin. SES AMIS, SES ELEVES, SES ADMIRATEURS, LYON, 22 MARS, 1809, — ROME, 21 MARS, 1864. ISot one word of what he loved above all things, his home, his country, his art, and his God ; and yet his friends, his pupils, and in fact everyone acquainted with him, must have known that such a man would have liked a few words upon his tomb which would have borne witness to the depth of his religious feelings. Here is an extract from a letter to his eldest brother which breathes through it his piety and his love of home : " You cannot imagine how I long to see you and embrace you, as well as the mother and father. Almost every night I fancy myself at Lyon, and yesterday I was really angry with Paul (his brother, helper, and fellow-student), because he awoke me just at the moment when I thought I was kissing you. I was crying for joy. . . . Remember that we agreed to pray for each other every evening. I never f;iil to do so, and I feel sure our poor mother never forgets : she loves us so much, and she is so far off. Pauvre phe, la bon?tc mere^ vous n'etes plus entoiirn'cs par tons vos enfantsP The choir was the first part of S. Germain which was decorated, and it is the most successful, the nave pictures being somewhat flat, and faded in colour ; but without the use of gold it was impossible to make the subjects effective with the bright polychrome surroundings, and Flandrin justly con- sidered that the nave should be subordinate in splendour to the choir and sanctuary. On the right and left of the com- mencement of the choir are two large compositions : Christ entering into Jerusalem, and The Way of the Cross, both upon gold grounds. Above these are the twelve Apostles clothed in white, and the allegorical Virtues; and higher still are the founders of the church, Childebert and S. Germain, with the patron S. Vincent, Queen Ultrogothe, and abbot Morard. All these works are full of intense feeling, and the group of the Blessed Virgin and S. John have rarely been surpassed, from the pathetic point of view, by any religious painter. There is a certain modern ness about them ; the figures seem to empha- SAINT-GERMAIN DES PRES. 205 size the human element in our Lord's person, the sympathy, the love, and the sorrow ; there is no weak sentimentality depicted — and yet the treatment adheres to the conventional traditions. The richness of the gold around, too, enhances the beauty of the compositions, and makes them almost as gorgeous as mosaics. The frescoes of the nave occupy the space between the arches and the clerestory windows — in all, twenty composi- tions. The subjects are taken from the history of our Lord, and the corresponding Old Testament types. The two pic- tures forming one subject in each architectural division, show how perfectly the arts of painting and architecture may be made to harmonize, to be welded together as it were, although seven centuries separate the builder from the decorator. Except for a certain modernness of style, P'landrin might have lived and worked with the original architect, for his plan is that so often seen in the works of the Mediaevalists, as for instance in the Biblia Paiiperum. In the first arcade on the left, on entering the church, we see The Annunciation and the Burning Bush, and under the window the text: ''"' Domine initte quern missures es''"' (Exodus iv. 13). The characteristic of the first of these pictures is the simplicity of the Virgin's expression, as she hears the Angels' message. Next comes The Nativity and its type, The Fall, with the legend, Per ho7ninem mors, per hominem resurrectio (i Corinthians xv. 21). The figures of Adam and Eve are excel- lent examples of the purity of form so commonly found in Flandrin's work. The Nativity is treated in the conventional manner, except that three Angels watch the child and its mother (who lie upon a rustic bed) ; while behind them, a Seraph bears a banner upon which is written : " Gloria in, Excehis DeoT This is followed by The Adoration of the Magi and Balaam, the text being : Habitaniibus in regione umbrae .... lux orta e^V (Isaiah ix. 2). The Old Testament subject depicts the moment when Balaam, taken to the top of Pethor by Balak, blesses instead of curses the enemy. Before them is the altar; around them are the princes of Moab, angry and threatening ; in the background are the tents of the children of Israel. The victims are ready for the sacrifice, but to the astonishment of the king and his followers, Balaam lifts up his voice and blesses those he was brought to curse. How goodly are thy tents, O 2o6 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. Jacobs and thy tabernacles^ O Israeli This is one of the finest of the series. In The Baptism we see the ascetic figure of S. John the Baptist pouring water upon Our Lord's head, while three Angels kneel upon the bank of the river, doing homage. Above is the descending dove and the verse : Erit Sanguis Vobis iti Signum (Exodus xii. 13). In the Passage of the Red Sea, the majestic figure of Moses stands upon the shore, his hair and drapery blown by the wind. He raises his hand, and the waters close over the Egyptians, while the Israelites lift up their voices in triumphant songs, Miriam leading them to the sound of the timbrel : Sing ye to the Lordyfor he hath triumphed gloriously : the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. The Institution of the Eucharist is treated from the purely Roman Catholic point of view. Our Blessed Lord is standing, holding up the wafer for adoration, while He places the other hand upon His side, symbolical of the gift of the sacred heart combined with His precious body. The Apostles form two groups, one on each side : Novi Testamenti Mediator est (Hebrews ix. 15). The Old Testament type is Melchizedek appearing to Abram : And Melchizedec King of Salem brought forth bread and ivine ; and he was tlie priest of the most high God. The next pictures, close to the choir, are badly lighted, but both are very fine. The Treason of Judas, and Joseph sold by his Brethren: Pro salute vestra misit 7ne Deus (Genesis xiv. 5). And now we come to a subject into which Flandrin threw all his strength — The Crucifixion — which is not inferior in feel- ing to the great Angelico in the Convent of San Marco at Firenze. The divine expression of the dying Saviour, the heart-rending sorrow of the Mother, and the passionate grief of the Magdalen^ are all exquisitely portrayed. So, too, The Sacrifice of Isaac, which is its type, is full of pathos and true religious sentiment. Proprio filio non pepercit (Romans viii. 32) is the text. In the treatment of Jonah, the type of The Resurrection, the painter has avoided what must always be a difficulty — the great fish. Those who saw this tableau years ago at Ober- Ammergau must remember that even the good souls of that village could not divest the subject of the ludicrous element, and they did well, in 1890, to omit it. But Flandrin has got over the difficulty by making his prophet walking upon a SAINT-GERMAIN DES PRES. 207 beach, with waves breaking upon the shore around him. He has been ejected from the whale, and is giving thanks for his deliverance. Signum JoncB Prophetce (Matthew xii. 39). That the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs and of the same body, and partakers of his proinise in Christ by the Gospel, is the legend of the charge to Peter. Gentes esse cohaeredes . . . promissionis in Christo (Ephesians iii. 6). In the foreground kneels S. Peter, to whom Our Lord gives the keys of '^^,:^ \ :2^^^^ heaven and hell: but the rest of the Apostles stand around, and form part of the group : Feed my sheep. The type is The Dispersion of the Nations subsequent to the building of Babel ; and Flandrin has most graphically described the f i f "jife • ^^l ',j wonder and amazement of ' the crowd, who, not being able to converse any longer, leave the town and scatter themselves over the face of the earth. Above the frieze of sub- ject-pictures are numerous personages in the panels which surround the win- dows, all from the Old Testament : Adam and Eve, Jacob Blessing his Children, Job, Samson, Aaron, Joshua, Miriam, Deborah, Judith, and ending with John the Baptist. Adam and Eve ^^^^^ ^^^ eve are, perhaps, the finest of these figures. Adam stands erect, thoughtful, repentant, and ashamed ; but his clasped right hand seems to indicate steadfastness of purpose to retrieve the past. Eve abandons herself to sorrow, and leans upon her husband's shoulder as if resolving in the future to depend upon him. The treatment is at once almost Classic in its simplicity, and realistic in its 2o8 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS, naturalism ; the only discordant note being a something in the way in which Eve's hair falls upon her forehead, an echo, as it were, of the model, and the ugly fashion of dressing the hair peculiar to the thirties and forties, which so often shocks us in the Nymphs and Venuses by Etty, and gives them an unclothed appearance. Formerly, judging from Dibden's account of the church, there was great display in the religious functions at S. Germain : "The immediate vicinity of S. Germain is sadly choked by stalls and shops — the West front has been cruelly covered by modern appendages. It is the church dearest to antiquaries, and with reason. I first visited it on a Sunday, when that part of the service was performed which required the fullest intona tions of the organ. The effect altogether was very striking. The singular pillars of which the capitals are equally massive and grotesque, being sometimes composed of human beings, and sometimes of birds and beasts, especially towards the choir — the rising up and sitting down of the congregation, and the yet more frequent movements of the priests — the swinging of the censers— and the parade of the vergers, dressed in bag wigs, with broad red sashes of silk, and silk stockings— but above all, the most scientifically-touched, as well as the deepest and loudest toned organ I ever heard — perfectly bewildered and amazed me ! Upon the dispersion of the congregation — which very shortly followed this religious excitation — I had ample leisure to survey every part of this curious old structure, which reminded me, although upon a much larger scale, of the peculiarities of S. Georges de Bocherville and Notre-Dame at Guibray. Certainly, very much of this church is of the twelfth century, and, as I am not writing to our friend N., I will make bold to say that some portions of it yet ' smacks strongly ' of the eleventh." I cannot say that I have ever noted much ceremonial, or any fine music, at S. Germain. Times have changed pro- bably ; certainly, its chief beauty now is the building itself— its grand architecture and beautiful decoration. SAINT-GER VAIS-SAINT-PROTAIS. SAINT-GERVAIS-SAINT-PROTAIS. 209 que ce m Y^jxttfe There can be no doubt that the quaint inscription in- forming "les bonnes gens" that the church of Messeigneurs Saint Gervais et Sai7it Prothais was dedicated in 1420, refers to an earHer building than the present one. The Saints were twin-brothers, and are repre- sented here as elsewhere, vested as deacons, although there is no evidence in their history of their having been in holy orders. The full inscription is as follows : — BONNES GENS PLAISE VOUS SAUOIR QUE CESTE PRESENTE ESGLISE DE MESSEIGNEURS SAINT GERVAIS ET SAINT PROTHAIS FUT DEDIEE LE DIMANCHE DEUANT LA FESTE DE SAINT SIMON ET SAINT JUDE, l'aN MIL QUATRE CENS ET VINT PAR LA MAIN DU REUEREND PERE EN DIEU MAISTRE GOMBAUT, EVESQUE d'a- GRENCE, ET SERA 5\ TOUSJOURS LA FESTE DE LA SAINTE DfiDICACE LE DIMANCHE DEUANT LA DICTE FESTE DE SAINT SIMON ET SAINT JUDE. SI VOUS PLAIS Y VENIR, GANGNIER LES GRANS PARDONS ET PRIEZ POUR LES BIENS-FAICTEURS DE CETTE ESGLISE ET AUSSI POUR LES TRESPASSEZ. PATER NOSTER AUE MARIA. The twins were discovered as martyrs by S.Ambrose at Milano, when, in 387, he was desirous of founding a new church. The people called upon him to consecrate the building by placing some holy relics therein ; and he, good bishop, was only too eager to gratify their wish. And so he had a dream, or a trance, or something between the two ; for, while possessed of this desire to gratify the piety of his children, he, like a good shepherd, went to the church of S. Nabor and S. Felis to pray for his sheep ; and as he knelt, he saw a vision of two beauteous 2IO THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. young men clothed in white, standing with S. Peter and S. Paul. And it was revealed to S. Aml)rose that these two young men were holy martyrs, whose bodies had been buried where he knelt. So he called his clergy-folk, and they all searched, and found two bodies of gigantic size separated from the heads, with much blood, and some writing recording their names. They were Gervasius and Protarius, who had suffered martyrdom under Nero. Having been sent bound to Milano, together with Nazarus and Celsus, they were brought before Count Artesius and accused of being Christians. Upon being commandedto sacrifice to Artesius' idols, they refused and were condemned, Gervasius to be beaten to death with lead-loaded scourges, Protarius to be beheaded. Thus they died, and a good man named Philip took up their bodies, and buried them in his own garden, where they rested until discovered by S. Ambrose. On the second day of the discovery, the bodies were borne with great solemnity to the Basilica ; and many persons, touching the pall which covered the Saints, were cured of divers diseases, and of evil spirits. One man who had been blind for many years, Severus by name, and who had lived upon the alms of the wealthy, obtained permission to touch the bones of the holy martyrs, and was restored to sight ; and then all the people rejoiced, for the man's infirmity being well known to everyone m the city, there could be no doubt that the cure had been effected through the intercession of the blessed saints. And this being so, S. Ambrose laid their bones under the altar, saying : " Let the victims be borne in triumph to the place where Christ is the sacrifice ; He upon the altar, who suffered for all ; they beneath the altar, who were redeemed by His suffering ! " Then came the Arians, and scoffingly accused S. Ambrose of bribing Severus and others to aid and abet him in his miraculous performances \ but the bishop defeated their wicked ways, and the church was dedicated to the twin brothers. S. Ambrose was buried in the same church, and subsequently its name was changed to that of Sant' Ambrogio Maggiore. In Italy the brothers were held in little rupute as time went on ; but S. Germain, bishop of Paris, having in 560 carried some of their relics to France, they became exceedingly popular, and the patrons of several cathedrals and parish churches, besides being favourite subjects with some of the PVench school of painters, Le Sueur, Philippe de Champagne, and Nicholas Poussin. SAINT-GER VAIS-SAINT-FROTAIS. 2 1 1 In the History of S. Germain by Fortunat, a church dedicated to the twin brothers is mentioned, the door of which, when the good bishop desired to enter the building, flew open of its accord. S. Germain entered the church, and after much praying, restored his sight to a bHnd man, and worked other wondrous miracles through the intervention of the martyrs. The present church is of Pointed and Classic architecture, the portal and facade being in the latter style.* Louis XIII. laid the first stone in 16 16, Jacques de Brosse being the architect. A not very favourable, but tolerably just, opinion is passed upon it by our old friend Dibden : "The next Gothic church to Notre-Dame in size and importance is that of S. Gervais, situated to the left, in the Rue de Mongeau. It has a very lofty nave, but the interior is exceedingly flat and divested of ornaments. The pillars have scarcely any capitals. The choir is totally destitute of eff"ect Some of the stained glass is rich and old, but a great deal ha been stolen or demolished during the Revolution. There is a good large modern picture in one of the side chapels to the right, and a yet more modern one much inferior on the opposite side. In almost every side chapel, and in the con- fessionals, the priests were busily engaged in the catechetical examination of young people previous to the first Communion on the following Sabbath, which was the Fete Dieu. The Western front is wholly Grecian — perhaps about 200 years old. It is too lofty for its width — but has a grand efi'ect, and is justly much celebrated. Yet the situation of this fine old Gothic church is among the most wretched of those in Paris. It is preserved from suffocation only by holding its head so high." The last remark is no longer applicable, as the church is now quite disencumbered from secular excrescences. The interior is cold, dull, and dreary, almost the only part that relieves its monotony being the organ tribune, which is quaintly ornamented with Angels and Corinthian columns, a device of the 17th century. The statues of the Saints upon the altar are the work of Bourdin, a sculptor of the 17th century. The six candelabra and the cross of gilt bronze, * The statues of the four Evangelists were the first important works of Simon Guillain, the sculptor of the fine bronze figures of Louis XIII., Anne d'Autriche, and Louis XIV. as a child, which adorned the Pont au Change, and which are now in the Renaissance Museum of the Louvre. P 2 212 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. belonging formerly to the abbey church of S, Genevieve, are among the bronze chefs-cTain're of the i8th century. The stalls are finely carved, and bear various designs upon their bas-reliefs ; but especially notable are the little histories upon the misereres : a writer at his desk ; an architect measuring some blocks of stone, accompanied by his workmen ; a baker putting his bread in the oven ; a man stooping down with a fool's cap on his head ; the vinedressers in a vat ; a Ocnus sleeping upon a grave with his head resting upon a skull ; two men scjuabbling ; a shoemaker at his last, surrounded by a fine collection of foot-gear ; two men roasting ; a Syren, a crowned Salamander, a grotesque nnimal, a lion, and a pig gobbling in a gluttonous fashion ; and finally a man in a boat traversing a river. Some of the glass is fine, but much has been destroyed ; and only the other day the Anarchists did their best to demolish the liltle which remains. In the choir the story of Lazarus, and the Pilgrimage to Mont Saint-Michel, were painted by Robert Pinaigrier, as well as the windows of the Lady Chapel ; and another great vitrier, Jean Cousin, embellished S. Gervais with some beautiful golden-toned glass — The Martyrdom of S. Laurence, The Good Samaritan, and The Judgment of Solomon. On one fragment of the latter is the date 1 53 1. The story is told most quaintly ; Solomon sleeps surrounded by his books ; and it is thus that he drinks in the wisdom which the Queen of Sheba, in the next panel, comes to enjoy. Among the other subjects, we see S. Peter baptising Cor- nelius, surrounded by divers Scripture events. In the I^dy Chapel a Tree of Jesse has survived, and also the Legend of S. Anne, attributed to Pinaigrier ; but the latter is filled in with much that is modern — clever, but wanting in the vigorous drawing of the old glass painters, and the glorious transparency of the colours. One of the old panes shows us the Virgin weaving a curtain for the Temple, and being fed by an Angel. In this chapel there is a remarkable boss which descends from the vault. If is 6ft. in diameter, and falls 3ft. ; and although iron has been used in its fabrication, it is, notwithstanding, a wonderful piece of masonry of the brothers Jacquet. It is a mass of carving^emblems of the Blessed Virgin ; a fortified town (the Tow-r of David), and the Morning Star; attributes found in the offices of Our Lady. A good many distinguished people were buried at S. Gervais : LA TOUR SAINT-JACQUES. 213 Scarron, more celebrated as having been the first husband of the notorious Mme. de Maintenon than for his writings ; that excellent, but insufficiently appreciated painter, Philippe de Champaigne ; Ducange, the antiquarian and historian ; the chancellors Le Tellier, Louis Boucherat and Charles Voysin ; archbishop Le Tellier of Reims, son of the chancellor and founder of the library of S. Genevieve ; and the poet Cre- billon, author of Rhadamisttis^ Electra^ Catiline^ and other tragedies. The only monument which remains is that of Le Tellier, who reposes in white marble upon a black marble mattress, with allegorical figures watching over his slumbers. It was the work of Mazeline and Hurtrelle, members of the Academy, but not otherwise celebrated, as is occasionally the case. In one of the chapels of the nave is a 13th century bas- relief of Our Lord receiving His mother's soul as she expires, surrounded by the Apostles ; a fine old picture painted upon wood, of various scenes from the Passion, formerly attributed to Albrecht Diirer, but more probably by some master of the Flemish school. Many of the pictures by Lesueur, Bourdon, and Philippe de Champaigne, formerly in this church, are now in the Louvre. LA TOUR SAINT-JACQUES. This tower is all that remains of the church of S. Jacques de la Boucherie, which had to be demolished to make way for the Rue de Rivoli. It was commenced in 1508, and finished in 1522. The figure of S. James upon the little turret, and his friends the Evangelistic animals, by Rauch, were thrown down in 1793 ; but in 1836, when the municipality saved the tower by purchasing it, the statues were repaired and replaced. The church contained many tombs and slabs, some of which have found a home in the Hotel Cluny. One of the most famous persons buried at S. Jacques was Nicholas P'lamel, a member of the University, and librarian, who died in 141 7, leaving large sums of money to the church. His effigy, and that of his wife, were to be seen kneeling at the Virgin's feet in the tympanum of the porch. He was venerated as their patron by the alchymists, for having, as was affirmed, discovered the philosopher's Stone; and several times his house in the Rue des l^crivains was rummaged in order to find some indication 214 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. of his secret. His funeral tablet has the following epitaph engraven upon it, and is numbered 92 in the collection of the Hotel Cluny : LA TOUR SAINT-JACQUES, LOOKING TOWARDS THE HOTEL DE VILLE FEU NICOLAS FLAMEL JADIX ESCRI VAIN A LAISSE PAR SON TESTAMENT »V LEUSORE DE CESTE EGLISE CERTAINES RENTES ET MAISONS QU'lL AVOIT ACQUESTEES ET ACHETEES >V SON VI- SAINT-JACQUES DU HAUT-PAS. 215 VANT POUR FAIKE CERTAIN SERVICE DIVIN ET DISTRIBUCIONS D'ARGENT CHASCUN AU PAR AUMOSNE TOU- CHANS LES QUINZE VINS : LOSTEL DI EU ET AULTRES ]£gLISES ET HOSPITEAUX W PARIS. — SOIT PRIE POURS LES TREPASSES. The Tour S. Jacques is an excellent example of what may be done with the remaining portions of demolished buildings. As it stands, surrounded by gardens, it is a most beautiful object, an oasis in the desert of streets, and trams, and omni- buses, a quiet spot where children may skirmish, and mothers can sit in the open air and knit their stockings. Why cannot we do likewise in London ? If churches must be felled to the ground, why cannot we leave their towers as a centre to the burial-ground gardens, or remove and re-erect them in our parks ? We might with advantage follow the example of Paris, both in the preservation of the old tower of S. Jacques, and in the arrangement of the garden of the Hotel Cluny, where, also, fragments of churches are set up as ornaments. It was from the top of the tower of S. Jacques that Pascal made certain experiments of the density of the air ; and in memory of this, his statue, in white marble, was placed under the porch. SAINT-JACQUES DU HAUT-PAS. In no way remarkable, this church need only be mentioned as having been built between 1630-1684, in the Italian fashion. It is in the street of the same name. SAINT-JEAN-SAINT-FRAN9OIS. Founded in 1623, in the Rue Chariot, as a chapel for the Capuchins, S. Jean contains a statue of S. Francis of Assisi, by Germain Pilon, and a S. Denis, sculptured by Jacques Sarazin for the Abbey of Montmartre, by order of Anne d'Autriche. SAINT-JULIEN LE PAUVRE. In a little back street not far from S. Severin is the old church of S. Julien, a fragment only of its former self, and all that remains of the ancient priory. Its locality is described in Guillot's Diet, des Rues de Paris^ which gives a description 2l6 THE CffURCHES OF PARIS. in verse of the principal houses and streets in the city at the end of the 13th century, as follows : — Puis la rue de Saint-Julien Qui nous gart de mauvais lien, M'en revinsa la Buscherie Et puis en la Poissonnerie. And it appears that " il y avait jadis, pres du Petit-Pont et la prison du Petit-Chatelet, une ruelle appelee ruelle du Carneaux,* qui conduisait au marche au poisson d'eau douce." This fish-market evidently occupied the site of the old annexe of the Hotel-Dieu, and doubt- less was in great requisition when the priory was inhabited by its fifty brethren. Some years ago, when S. Julien was used as the chapel of the Hotel-Dieu, it formed a picturesque object from the hospital garden, and no doubt was often a great comfort to some of the patients, who found within its walls a peace- ful spot where they could be alone, and out of turmoil of sick wards and their accom- paniments. But when the old hospital was pulled down, the church's very existence was threatened, and for some years it seemed as if Paris would have one more vandalism to lament. Happily its demolition was prevented, and it has been restored to God's service, for the use of members of the Greek branch of the Church. Many were the Julians canonized by the Early Church, and it is difficult to say to which saint this edifice was dedicated, although the fact of the relics of S. Julien de Brioude, who was mnrtyred in 304, having been placed upon the left-hand side of the High Altar, seems to point to him as the patron. * The word is probably derived from crJncaux, as the battlements of the Petit-Chatelet abutted upon one side of the street. INTERIOR OK SAINT-JULIEN. SAINT-JULIEN LE PAUVRE. 217 S. Julien was born at Vienne in Dauphine about 270, and became a distinguished soldier in the Roman army ; but having embraced Christianity, he was beheaded during the reign of Dio- cletian in 304, at Brioude in Auvergne, where he had taken refuge from his persecutors. There his remains were discovered by S. Germain d'Auxerre in 431, and forthwith the town became celebrated for the many cures performed at its miraculous well. " Est enim ad hunc fontem virtus exiniia,'' said S. Gregoire of Tours ; and Sidonius Apollinaris, who died in 489, also bears witness to the Saint's burial place in a letter to a friend who was travelling in Auvergne : ^^Hic te suscipiet l)enigna Brivas Sancti quae fovet ossa Julianir S. Gregoire, in his life of the Saint, gave a list of the churches dedicated to his memory ; and although S. Julien le Pauvre is not enumerated, it would seem that it must have been one of them, as he speaks of lodging in a house attached to the little basilica, when he cime to Paris, and called it S. julien the Martyr: ^^ His diebus Parisius advenerani et ad Basilicam Beati Juliani martyris metain hadeba??i." Another S. Julien was a confessor, and first bishop of Mans. He was a Roman by birth, and upon being consecrated, was sent by Pope Clement to convert the Cenomans. He arrived at Suindinum (Le Mans) while the town was besieged and deprived of water. Entering it, he caused water to spring from the ground, and henceforth the well was called Sanct-nomius, or fountain of S. Julien. The bishop worked in his diocese over 40 years, and then retired to S. Marceau, where he died in 117, his decease being revealed in a vision to his first convert, a Gaul, surnamed Le Defenseur, who caused the Saint's body to be carried back to Le Mans, and buried with great pomp at Notre-Dame du Pre. In 840 it was translated to the cathedral, where many miracles were wrought. S. Julien is generally represented destroying a dragon, symbolizing paganism, or accompanied by a young girl carrying a pitcher of water, an allegory of the miraculous well. This connection of diffe- rent Saints of the same name with wells is curious, and makes it difificult to decide the patronage of S. Julien le Pauvre; for there also are two wells, one the so- called "miraculous," just outside the eastern apse of the church, and another outside one of the windows of the 17th century facade. If, as many authorities think, the old 13th century west front occupied a space in advance of the present 2i8 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. one, this well may have been originally inside the church, an arrangement frequently adopted by Mediaeval architects, and still existing in some of our old churches. There is one of exquisite beauty in the south aisle of Regensburg Cathedral, and at Coutances there are two in the transepts. S. Germain des Pres also had its miraculous well, but it is now closed up. There is yet another one at the corner of Rues S. Jacques and 1 ^^^^^1 1 H^^B p'JMKEfH^^^^^BIIH ^^^^^^^eCV^^ * ^^^^^H [1 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^■^"*i^^"V^^^^^^^^^^| 1 ^s^^ TO •''■^'■--■^"''''''™^!*5Ht ■^ J CHAPEL OF THE SOUTH AISLE. S. Severin, which formerly bore the name of Julien, but is now re-christened S. S(^verin. It was re-constructed in the 17th century and bore the following inscription by the poet Santeuil : DUM SCANDUNT JUGA MONTIS ANHELO PECTORE NYMPHS, HIC UNA E SOCIIS VALLIS AMORK SEDET. SAINT-JULIEN LE PAUVRE, 219 Which is prettily rendered by d'Amaury Duval : " Tandis que les nymphes, haletantes, montent vers le sommet de la mon- tagne, I'une d'elles, eprise de la beaute du vallon, y fixe sa demeure." The third saint who disputes the patronage of this particular church is S. Julian Hospitator, who watches over travellers, ferrymen, boatmen and travelling minstrels. He was a noble- man much given to the chase, and one day, while pursuing a deer, the frightened creature turned round, and cried out, " Thou followest me, thou who wilt one day kill thy father and mother."* Thereupon Julian rushed away to a far country, where he was made a knight, and much honoured by the king. But his parents, grieved at his loss, set off to try and find him, and coming to his castle, they made themselves known to his wife, who put them in their son's chamber, and left them for the night. In the morning she went to early mass to give thanks for this great mercy, and during her absence, Julian, finding the old people in his room, and not recognizing them in the dim light of dawn, turned upon them and slew them, as it seems, somewhat hastily. Then Julian resolved to depart and devote himself to some good work ; but his wife would not let him go alone, so they journeyed until they came to a great river, where many people were drowned in trying to ford it, and there they set up a hermitage and a hospital, and a ferry boat for travellers free of charge. One day, when a leper presented himself, Julian not only ferried him over, but carried him in his arms to his own bed, and tended him with the aid of his good wife. And in the morning the leper arose, transformed, and saying, " Julian, the Lord hath sent me to thee ; thy penitence is accepted, and thy rest and that of thy wife is near at hand," vanished out of their sight. And shortly after, both Julian and his wife fell asleep. f The Cathedral of Rouen possesses a window presented by the * In the quaint old P'rench of the Lei^ende Doree of Jacques de Voragine : ' ' Til 7ne suys, ioi qui occiras ton pere et ta mere. t " Tout aussitot, il apprend de sa femme, qui revenait de la messe, qui 11 a tue." ' ' Et quand il ouyt ce, il fut a bien peu demy mort et commenca a plorer tres amerement et a dire : *' ' Las ! chetif, que feray-je, car j'ay occis mes tres doulx pere et mere, et ores est la parole du cerf accomplie. " 'Adieu, ma tres aimee sceur, car je ne reposerai, dores en avant, devant que je sache que Notre-Seigneur aura recue ma penitence.' Elle lui repondit : ' Loin de moi, 6 mon tres affectionne frere, la pensee de t'aban- 220 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. company of bateliers-pecJieurs in the 14th century, upon which this legend of the ferry is represented. There can be httle doubt that the church was originally dedicated to Julian the Martyr, as recorded by Gregoire de Tours, and that later the culte of the other two Julians was added ; particularly as we find upon one of the houses of the Rue Galande, which abuts upon one side of the church, a curious 13th century bas-relief of this very legend of the ferry. BAS-RELIEF OK THE FERRY. donner : puisque j'ai parttOge tes joies, je partagerai aussi tes souflTrances et ta penitence.' " Et alors, sa femme et lui s'en allerent ensemble delez {vers) un moult grand fleuve, ou moult de gens perissaient, et firent un hospital en ce desert pour faire penitence et pour porter oultre tous ceulx qui y voudraient passer, pour recevoir en hospital tous povres. '* Et moult de temps apres ce, quant Julien se reposait tout lasse, environ minuyt, que la gelee etait griesve, il ouyt une voix qui plorait piteusement, et appelait Julien pour passer, a voix piteuse. " Et quant il se leva tout esmeu, il trouva icelluy qui mourait de froit, il le porta en sa maison, et alluma du feu, et se estudia 4 le chauffer, et comme il ne le pouvait eschauffer nuUement, il se doubta qu'il ne defaillit par froit, et le porta en son lict, et le couvrit dilligemment. Et, un peu apres, celui qui lui etait apparu comme malade et lepreux monta tres re- splendissant es cieulx et dit a son oste : 'Julien, Notre-Seigneur m'a envoye a toi et te mande qu'il a receu ta penitence, et tous deulx reposerez en Notre-Seigneur dedans un peu de temps.' Tantost celluy s'evanouit {(iisparut). Et lors, un peu apres, Julien et sa femme, pleins de bonnes oeuvres et d'aulmones, reposerent en Notre-Seigneur." — Ligende Dorh. SAINT-JULIEN LE PAUVRE. 221 S. Julian and his wife are rowing the boat, apparently in opposite directions, and standing up is the passenger, no other than Our Lord Himself, as we see from the cruciform nimbus. Is it not probable that at some time, when repairs were going on, this bas-relief was removed from the church, and does not the situation of S. Julien le Pauvre, or des pauvres, close to a river and a fish-market, seem to be further proof that the Hospitator was one of the later patrons of the church ? There are said to be nearly sixty" saints of this name, and as a proof of their popularity in France, we find no less than one hundred and sixty-two villages called after them. In Spain they were still more popular. Saint-Julien le Menetrier, or des Mene- triers, was a hospital founded in 1330 by Jacques Grare and Huet le Lorrain, for fiddlers, jugglers, and acrobats. It was situated near the Rue S. Martin. One of the attributes of S. Julian Hospitator is a mask. He is thus seen on some of the windows at the cathedrals of Chartres and Rouen, the latter of the 14th century. His name also seems to have had virtue in it as an expletive, for in the Chronique des Dues de Normettdie et des Rots d'Engleiierre the following exclamation occurs : " Par Saint Julian ! ' dist Hubiers Gau tiers li bons archevesque de Chantorbire (Canterbury)." S. Julien was also invoked by travellers : (Saint Ylaire) saint Juliens Qui heberge les Crestiens, was a rhyme of the Moustiers de Paris ^ written in 1270; and a document of 1325 upon the Churches a?id Monasteries of Paris thus confirms the usefulness of S. Julien-le-Pauvre : Or m'en iray outre le pont Pour des autres moustiers trouver Que Ton ne puisse reprouver, Quar s'en mon dit faille de rien, Premiers trouverez saint Julien Le Povre, et bien ai regarde Que maint compagnon a garde De mort, ce n'est pas mesprison Et d'estre en vilainne prison ; II les heberge et si les tence De heberger a la poissance. * L'abbe Guerin : Les Pet its Bollamiists. 222 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. The early history of S. Julien is similar to that of all the other churches of Paris. Destroyed in 886 by the Normans,* it fell into lay hands, but was rebuilt in the 12th century, and became the property of Etienne de Vitry and Hugues de Monteler, who, in consequence of a vow made during sick- ness in the Holy I^nd, gave it over to the monks of Longport, near Monthery, who rebuilt the church and erected a priory for fifty brothers. The 13th and 14th centuries were periods of great intel- lectual activity. Students flocked to Paris from all parts of Europe, and the left bank of the Seine became a colony of colleges. According to Victor Hugo, there were no less than forty-two in 1465.! S. Julian was in the midst of these schools, and in the streets surrounding it were dwellings for the students of the various nationalities. The little Rue du Fouarre takes its name ixom fourrage^ the straw upon which the students sat during the lectures ; and so large was the atten- dance in 1535, that the authorities were obliged to erect two gates to prevent the circulation of carriages during the lessons. Brunetto Latini, Dante Alighieri, Petrarca, and Rabelais, were among the students of the Rue du Fouarre; the three last referring to it in their writings. Dante, especially, mentions his old master Sigier de Brabant in his Divinia Cotnmedia : Essa la luce etenia de SigietH Che, leggeitdo nel vico degli Strami, Sillogizo invidiosi veri, {II Paradiso, cax\\.o \.) The poet also bears witness to the violent discussions which took place in the street, and adds that he found comfort in going to S. Julien to say his prayers. Ambroise-Firmin Didot speaks of Dante living in the Rue du Fouarre, /;/ vico stravi- i/ieo ; and Mezi^res adds his testimony : "II est alle chercher la science a Bologne et entendre a Paris, dans la Rue du Fouarre, de la bouche de Sigier, ces le(^ons hardies qui effrayaient ces contemporains." The colleges and dwelling-houses of the students, together with the buildings of the priory, formed a small town. In an old plan of the church, and its dependencies in the precincts, * So terrible were the Northmen, so outrageous the atrocities which they committed, that the canons of S. Genevieve chanted a line in their Litanies : "-^ A furore Normannoruin, libera 110s, Dotnine.^'' t In 1648, there were 50 colleges, 16 hospitals, and 190 churches and convents for the education of a population of 232,030 inhabitants. SAINT-JULIEN LE PAUVRE. 223 during the 14th century, we find a number of most curious names attached to the houses : Maison d'Angleterre, de la Hure, de Picardie, de Normandie, de I'Ymaige Notre-Dame, du Paon, de I'Escu de France, de la Nef* d'Argent, du Sabot, du Soufflet vert, du Papegaut, des Carneaulx, des Deux Cygnes, des Lyons, de la Heuze, des Trois Boittes, des Quatre filz Hemon, de la Corne de Daim, du Lievre cornu, de la Cuiller, des Trois Canettes, du Poing d'or, de la Main d'argent, du Turbot, les 6tuves de la Queue du Reynard, I'Escouvette d'or, and la ruelle du Trou-Punais ; la maison des Sept-Arts, a la nation d'Angleterre ; les Escolles du Cheval Rouge a la nation de Picardie, et la maison de la Corne de Cerf ; these are only a few of the names. Many of the houses were demoHshed quite recently to make way for the Rue Monge. Much as I love Paris and admire it, I sometimes wish a new street were not obliged to proceed upon its way in a perfectly straight line, thereby destroying all that comes in its path. A remnant of the houses attached to S. Julien may be seen in the Rue Galande, No. 42, maison de la Heuze et de Saint-Jtilien — the bas-relief of the old portal, mentioned above. For several centuries the old church was the seat of the general assemblies of the University; and by a decree of Philippe le Bel, the Provost of Paris was obliged to go there every two years, to take an oath to observe the privileges of the students, who were under his jurisdiction. He bore the title of Conser- vateur de V Universite with much pride ; but he must have had a troublous life, for the students were always quarrelling with the citizens ; and in the reign of Charles VI., the then Provost, Hugues Aubriot, rebuilt the Petit-Chatelet (which was close to S. Julien), in order to defend the city against the nocturnal incursions of the scholars. To such a pass had matters come in 1 60 1, that the Parliament issued the following decree : " La court a faict inhibitions et defences aux diets escolliers porter espees et dagues sur le quay de la Tournelle ny commettre aucune insolence." There were several classes of students, Bcursiers and Pensionnaires (Convicteurs ou Portionnistes) living with the masters ; Carneristes, rich young men who lived without * Nefs or Navettes were vessels in the shape of boats used by the church for incense — hence incense-boat. Later on, they took the form of com- plete ships, with ropes, yards, &c., often upon wheels, and placed in the centre of the table at banquets. They contained spices, wine, drinking- cups, and spoons, in order to giiard the guests against that bugbear of the Middle Ages, poison. 2^4 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. control and were only provided with teaching and firing; Externcs libres, or Martinets, troublesome students who gained their name because they rarely appeared before tlie Principal except for punishment with the rod or martinet ; and the Galochcs, who lived out of college {externes), and were named after the clogs {patins ox galoches) with great nails which they wore to keep their feet dry in traversing the muddy or snowy streets. These were often older men whose presence at lectures flattered the professors. Up to the i6th century, S. Julien was also the scene of the election of the Rector of the Faculty of Arts, Rector Magnifiais de VAlma Parens ; and upon these occasions, notably in 1524, the students seemed to have amused themselves, after their kind, by breaking doors and windows, wrenching knockers, and such like playful imbecilities. The next year Parliament decreed that the elections should take place elsewhere ; the new localities chosen being, first the Mathurins, and then the College Louis-le Grand. The University of Paris was established in 1200, but the word was not commonly used until the time of S. Louis. In the time of Philippe Auguste there were three schools in Paris, at Notre-Dame, and at the abbeys of S. Victor and S. Gene- vibve. Naturally to keep so many students in order was no easy task, and we can easily understand that upon every excuse, every small discontent of the citizens, the scholars were only too glad to help in the scrimmage. They were at first classified in nations, or Societe de Maitres ; thus in 11 69 we read of la nation de France, surnamed Hojioranda ; la nation de Picardie, Fidellissima ; la nation Normande, Veneranda ; and la nation d'Angleterre, Constantissima. In the " town and gown " rows between students and citizens, the members of the University were only amenable to the Provost of Paris, who gloried in the title of Conservateur de /' Universite ; and when this gentle- man found the gownsmen in the wrong, the University sus- pended its lectures. But S. Julien was not simply the centre of the University ; it was also the head-quarters of many guilds and corporations, such as the Confraternity of Notre-Dame-des-Vertus, the Paper- makers, the Ironfounders, and Roof-tilers. Even before the Revolution, church property was not entirely exempt from taxation. The abbeys and other eccle- siastical communities possessed enormous privileges ; but they were not enjoyed without certain obligations, as witness requi- SAINT-JirUEN LE PAUVRE. 225 sitions from the sovereigns to furnish supplies to carry on their little warlike pastimes. Sometimes the amount was sent in money, but more often in kind ; a few silver saints, some golden shrines, and so on. S. Julien possessed a good revenue in the old days, but in the i6th century the priory had begun to decline in position and in wealth. The colleges moved up the " mountain " of S. Genevieve ; teachers and scholars deserted the old quarters; the houses, which had been the greatest source of revenue, had begun to fall into decay ; and the priors became indifferent to their business affairs, and were often absentees. At last things became so bad that, in 1643, ^ W^^^ named E. Thiboust had to be de- posed, and replaced, nomi- nally by Pierre de la Valette, practically by Pierre Meliand, who accused his predecessor "d'avoir laisse deperir Teglise depuis I'an 161 2 qu'il etait entre en jouissance du prieure. Et pendant cette jouissance, qui a dure 18 ans, le sieur Thiboust a laisse tomber une grande partie de I'eglise en ruine." Not only did prior Thiboust allow the buildings to fall into decay, but he must have kept back part of the revenues ; for the next step was a petition to the King's procureur-general to beg him to oblige Thiboust to pay 16,500 livres^ the repairs requisite having been estimated at that sum by the King's judges Villedo and Monnard. But notwithstanding this, Thiboust took upon himself to grant a lease to Nicolas Brossier and Edme Porrion for a certain stone quarry situated at Croix Faubin ; and although the King con- firmed Meliand in the priory, the audacious Thiboust pleaded youth at the time of his appointment, and subsequently shuffled out of payment of the whole sum. The church was in a parlous state when prior Meliand began his repairs. The roof was in a miserable condition. THE SANCTUARY. 226 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. with a temporary covering over the altar to keep out the rain and tlie door was ahuost in the last state of decay ; so Messire Claude Menardeau was called in (he was a councillor of the King's, Sind a. commissat're), and he decided "que des r(^parations seraient faites au plus tot, d'autant que I'^glize desperit journelle- ment par la pluye et autres injures du temps, qui y tombent, comme en plaine campagne." Unfortunately the master mason, Bernard Roche, to whom the work was given, began by de- stroying the Gothic west front and portal, to make room for lodgings for the ecclesiastics. Then we read of plasterings, and a new front with pediment and Ionic columns, and all the Classicisms so much beloved in the 17th and i8th centuries. In 1655 the priory and its possessions were made over to the Hotel-Dieu ; and thenceforth, until the demolition of the old building a few years ago, it was used as the hospital chapel. But previous to this. Cardinal Mazarin had turned over an annual payment of 2,500 /ivres to the Hotel-Dieu from the revenue of his abbey of Saint-6tienne at Caen, and in his capacity of abbot in chief of the order of Cluny, he made a bargain which put an end to the independence of S. Julien. The prior was to resign, and all the revenues of the convent were to go to the establishment of a convalescent hospital ; the Hotel-Dieu undertaking, in return, to carry on Divine service in the church, and to fulfil the conditions of the different foundations belonging to it. At this time, 1660, the property of S. Julien consisted of thirty-eight houses and gardens in the neighbouring streets, besides certain lands in the Faubourg S. Jacques, at Montmartre, at Vitry, Villeneuve and Versailles, together with revenues in kind — corn and fodder, and dona- tions made at burials ; altogether amounting to about 2,400 /iz'res. It appears that the misfortunes of S. Julien were not over when it lost its independence, for Louis Roche required pay- ment for his various " improvements," and so the poor church had to sell its plate. Nor could services be held there without the permission of the archbishop, as the c>/re of S. Severin seems to have objected : " Defense lui (the chaplain of S. Julien) est faite de celebrer des messes hautes, de faire I'eau benite, la benediction du pain, de re^evoir offrande, faire quete, chanter I'office et le salut, ni meme exposer le Saint-Sacrament en ladite ^glise, sans la permission de Son Eminence.'' In 1705 an inventory of the furniture, vestments, and plate SAINTJULIEN LE PAUi^RE. 227 was taken, and a very poor collection it seems to have been ; indeed, at that time, even the hospital revenues were only about a sixth of the expenses. The inhabitants of Paris had largely increased, and famines and wars had brought many of them to the Hotel-Dieu ; so full was it that seven or eight patients were packed into one bed, which, even considering the width of an 18th-century sleeping place, must have been rather unpleasant crowding. At the Revolution, the revenues passed over to the State, and God's House was converted into the " House of Hu- manity." The old church became a salt warehouse, the asile EXTERIOR OF SAINT-JULIEN. was pulled down, and it was only in 1826 that S. Julien was restored to its right use. The first time I visited the church was before the Franco- German war, when I was taken over the hospital by one of the Augustinian sisters. Two or three patients were there pouring out their sorrows, or giving thanks for mercies received. Outside, in the garden, were a few more sitting about among the trees, making a charming picture, such as Fred Walker would have delighted in. All this is now changed, and the sisters are gone with the old hospital build- Q 2 228 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. ings and the quaint covered bridge — a second Ponte Vecchio. Whether the poor have gained anything by being nursed by lay-women instead of reUgious, we cannot say ; but no one will deny that the sisters were devoted to their work — kindly, patient, sweet-tempered, of the same spirit as when, in the old time, they not only nursed, but " au plus fort de I'hiver," they broke the ice of the river, " qui passe au milieu de cet hopital, et y entrer jusqu'i la moiti^ du corps pour laver les linges." It was in S. Julien that the White Sisters took the veil, and devoted themselves specially to the service of Ciod and the care of His poor. The Miraculous Well and some of the foundations are all that remain of the first Carlovingian church ; the arcades of the nave and some of the columns date back to the commence- ment of the 1 2th century, but the rest of the building belongs to the end of that period. The tower, like the portal, was improved away by Master Bernard Roche, and the old bell has at present to content itself with a little pointed roof as a cover- ing. Its inscription is dated, and is in French : J. H. S. MARIE SUIS NOMM^E PAR M. JEAN BOURLON, CONSEILLER DU ROY ET GREFFIER EN SA CHAMBRE DES COMPTES, ET PAR DAME MARIE PAJOT, FEMME DE M. ALEXANDRE REBOURS, CONSEILLER DU ROY EN SON CONSEIL d'£TAT ET PRIvi, ET PRESIDENT DE LA COUR DES AYDES DE PARIS ET V« DE BARTHELEMY TOUSSAINCT MOUSSIER GOUVERNEUR DE l'^GLISE DE CEANS DELAUNAY. 1640. The plan of the church was originally a nave and aisles of six bays, each terminating in an apse, but in 1675 two bays were demolished with the entire west end, to make room for a forecourt. (It is said that, of all the churches of Paris, the two which stand most truly East and West are Notre-Dame and S. Julien.) Although parts of the interior have suffered from " improvements " and neglect, the two bays of the choir and the apsidal terminations have lost nothing of their original beauty. The single-shaft pillars, recalling upon a small scale those of Notre-Dame, the clustered columns which support the vault, and the little columns of the windows ; the capitals, the bosses, and the mouldings are all in the best style of the end of the 1 2th century. The sculpture of the details is treated with the greatest care, and the ornamentation of the capitals (about one hundred and fifty in all) has all the variety of foliage and SAINT-JULIEN LE PAUVRE. 229 imagery so dear to the Mediaeval artists. The most curious example is on the south side of the choir. Springing from a mass of foliage are four figures of birds with female heads, bodies of feathers, outspread wings, and clawed feet. Some of the foliage is the acanthus, but still more represents the water plants which probably, in those early days, grew in the Seine ; for it must be remembered that the sculptors of the Middle Ages were in the habit of taking their inspiration from the types of Nature which surrounded them. It is curious that one of the capitals in Notre-Dame, in the same position (the south side of the choir) is almost identical with the one just described. On the right side of the altar is the piscina^ which is said to communi- cate with the Mi- raculous Well ; the water having been held in great vene- ration, people came to fetch it from far and near. The church con- tains no monuments of any artistic value. A curious bas-relief with a very long inscription was erected to the memory of Honorable et saj^e Maistre Henry Rousseau, jadis avocat en Par lenient^ seigneur de Chaillaut {Chat /lot) . . . lequel trepassa Van 1445 le IXeJour de novenilre. JDien en ait fame. Amen. The defunct left money to endow masses, and also for the Hotel-Dieu. He is represented enveloped in a winding-sheet, addressing a prayer to our Lord, which is written upon a streamer. The words in italics are lost : Peccavi super numer \uin arene maris et multiplicata sunt peccata mea non sum Dignus videre altidinem \^Celi pre imiltitudine iniqtiitatis mee qm irrita] ram tuam. 230 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. Et malum coram te feci qm ini [quitate mea ego cognosce et'\ delictum meum Coram me est semper. Tibi soli pecca \yi ideo deprecor] majestatem tuam _ Ut tu deleas iniquilatem meam miserere mei \seaiiuiuni magna niiseri- cordia'\ tuam. The epitaph is in Gothic letters, and in an excellent state of preservation. Above the bordering we read : Cy devant gist honorable homme et sage mafstre Henry Rousseau, Jadis advocat en Parlement, seigneur de Chaillaut et de Within the framing : Compans en partie, lequel des son vivant a fonde en cest hostel trois messes Par chascune sepmaine qui sont et doivent estre dites et c^l^br^es a I'autel et Chapelle de Mons. S. Loys, jadis Roy de France, situ^e et assise au milieu de cest Ostel, aux jour de Mercredi, Vendredi et Dimenchc. Cest assavoir au mercredi De Requiem, au vendredi de la Croix et au dimenche de la Solennite du jour, ou A la voulente du celebrant, et en la fin de chascune messe qui ne serait ditte De Requiem, le celebrant est tenu de faire memoire des Trespassez et pour ce Faire a fond^ le dit Deffunct et donn^ a cest hostel XII livres de Rentes que il ou ses hoirs Doivent faire admortir, situ^es et assises sur une maison et estuves assises \ Paris Devant le Palais, ^ I'image Saint Michel, et, pour avoir la sepulture en cette chapelle Below the border : a donn^ la somme de cent francs que aussi en son vivant il a payiez en six Livres Parisis de Rente assises sur'plusieurs maisons a Paris declaires es, Lettres sur ce faictes^ tout pour le salut de son ame et des ames de ses pere et mere, parents et amis, lequel trepassa I'an 1445 t^ ^^^ 'our de novembre. Dieu en ait I'ame. Amen. The bas-relief was originally coloured, and at the corners of the border were armorial bearings. The slab was formerly in the church of S. Blaise and S.Louis, which was destroyed in 1765, and which belonged to S. Julien, only having been separated from it by a narrow passage. It is supposed to have been either a refectory or a private chapel. In 1476 the masons and carpenters of Paris made it the seat of their guild, SAINT-JULIEN LE PAUVRE. 2^1 and built the portal in the Rue Galande; in 1684 it was re- constructed. Another monument, or rather statue, by Bosio, of Antoine de Montyon, was removed from the old Hotel Dieu when it was pulled down, and placed over the last burial-place of the philanthropist. Originally interred at Vaugirard, M. de Montyon'^ body was afterwards placed under the peristyle of the hospital, where it remained until the demolition. M. de Montyon is principally known by his prix de vertu given annually by the Immortals of the Institut. But he left other legacies for prizes: to whomsoever should discover the means of rendering certain industries less unhealthy ; to a poor French subject who should write a book the most conducive to morals ; for the advancement of medical science or surgery ; also for the poor who require aid on leaving the Paris hospitals. All the prizes are distributed by the Academy, and the whole sum left amounted to some seven millions of francs, a con- siderable fortune seventy years ago (1820) when M. de Montyon died. The principal prize, pour raction la plus vcrtueuse, generally falls to the lot of some obscure person, who has passed years of self-sacrificing devotion to the old, the sick, or the poor ; virtuous actions, in M. de Montyon's opinion, being those unrecorded works of love and charity which are done in simple homes, without excitement or glamour ; works which become great because of their very monotony and which prove the patience and unselfishness of the true Christian. A LA MEMOIRE D'aNTOINE J. B. ROBERT AUGET DE MONTYON, BARON DE MONTYON, CONSEILLER d'^TAT, DONT L'INEPUISABLE BIENFAISANCE ET l'iNG]£NIEUSE CHARITE ONT ASSURfi APRES SA MORT, COMME DURANT SA VIE, DES ENCOURAGEMENTS AUX SCIENCES, DES RECOMPENSES AUX ACTIONS VERTUEUSES, DES SOULAGEMENTS A TOUTES LES MISERES HUMAINES. NE LE 23 D^C. 1733. — MORT LE 29 DEC 182O. ICI REPOSE SA DEPOUILLE MORTELLE TRANSPORTEE DE LA COMMUNE DEMEURE DES MORTS i\ l'ENTREE de L'aSILE DES PAUVRES, SOUFFRANTS ET SECOURUS, COMME A SA PLACE LEGITIME, PAR LA PIEUSE RECONNAISSANCE 232 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. DE L'AUTORITjfe MUNICIPALE ET DE L'aDMINISTRATION DES HOSPICES AUXQUELLES SE SONT ASSOCIEES l'ACAD^MIE FRAN9AISE ET L'ACADlfeMlE DES SCIENCES, XXVI MAI M.D.CCC.XXXVIII. M. de Montyon was a remarkable man, in that he refused the exalted office of Keeper of the Seals offered him by Louis XVI., for fear of his moral character deteriorating : " Dites a Sa Majesty que je suis confus de ses bontes. Si je fais un peu de bien dans la place que j'occupe, c'est que je ne suis pas en evidence. En acceptant celle que Ton me propose, je serais exposd a toutes les intrigues, ^ toutes les cabales de I'envie ; je n'aurais peut-etre ni le talent ni la force ndcessaires pour y rt^sister ; dans le doute, je dois m'abstenir." SAINT-LAURENT. There is nothing in the present somewhat spick-and-span church to recall its former state in the 6th century. The patron of Niirnberg, of the Escorial, and of Genoa ; the young martyr, who from the earliest beginnings of Christian art has been one of its most popular subjects ; the saintly deacon, who, as painted by Fra Angelico, charms us by his expression of sweet sanctity, and who, when depicted by the disciples of horrors, makes us shudder and close our eyes — S. Laurence, the deacon, has always been a favourite, and many are the churches dedicated to him. He was a native of Osca or Huesca, in Aragon, and acted as deacon (although a priest) to Sixtus II., bishop of Rome, in the middle of the 3rd cen- tury. He had the care of all the precious vessels of the church, and of the money. Times were bad, and Sixtus was denounced as a Christian; then Laurence, following the example of S. Stephen, petitioned the good bishop to allow him to share the captivity. Before Sixtus died he ordered Laurence to distribute all the money and treasure amongst the poor, and predicted his disciple's martyrdom as worse than his own. Laurence went about the city and distributed the alms, which, when the tyrant heard thereof, caused him so much anger that he thrust the deacon into prison, where he con- verted his gaoler. But the Prefect ordered him to give up his treasure. Then Laurence gathered together the poor and the sick, and presented them to the Prefect; and he being enraged, concocted a new and terrible torture. He made a sort SAINT-LAURENT. ^ZZ of gridiron bed, upon which the young deacon was laid, and fire being placed underneath, the victim was roasted to death. " Seest thou not, O thou foolish man, being roasted on one side, thou shouldst turn me over, that the other be well SAINT-LAURENT cooked," are the words recorded to prove his steadfastness. Then he lifted his eyes to Heaven, and said, "I thank Thee, O my God and Saviour, that I have been found worthy to enter into Thy blessedness " ; and so he passed away into bliss, and was buried in the Via Tiburtina. 2 34 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. Gr^goire de Tours speaks of a monastery of S. Laurence in Paris; and S. Domnole, bishop of Le Mans, who died in 581, had been previously its abbot. This abbey has long since disappeared, and been lost to memory ; and the parish, which since the 13th century has taken its place, became a depen- dency of the priory of S. Martin. The facade of the present building is no older than 1622; the nave and transept were erected in the i6th, the choir and apse in the 15th century. A niche containing a statue of S. John Baptist is commend- able, and some of the details of corbels, gargoyles, cornices, and other exterior decoration are quaint and often grotesque : little beasties jumping about in foliage ; small children in fool's caps tumbling about in grotesque attitudes ; one little imp being whipped by the schoolmaster ; Angels with animal con- tinuations ; a hunter shooting arrows at a salamander, and divers other monstrosities. The interior is cold and uninteresting, the bosses being the best part of the decoration. They are of all manner of devices : S. Nicholas blessing his children ; crowns, garlands. Angels' heads ; foliage and draperies, and a mass of ornament and little personages — the Virgin and Child, S. John Baptist with his cross, S. Laurence and his gridiron, the scenes from the Passion, and many other conceits. The apse has been disfigured, after the manner of S. S^verin and S. Germain I'Auxerrois, by Corinthian columns, pilasters, monograms, and trophies — the work of Lepautre. The jubk has gone, and divers other Gothic "excrescences," and the church remains a grand example of the last century barbarism. Well has Victor Hugo described those gentlemen, so-called artists, who fell down and worshipped Fashion, as set by its 1 8th century votaries : " Les modes ont fait plus de mal que les revolutions. Elles ont tranche dans le vif, elles ont attaque la charpente osseuse de I'art \ elles ont coupe, taille, desorganise I'edifice, dans la forme comme dans le symbole, dans sa logique comme dans sa beaut^. Et puis, elles ont refait ; pretention que n'avaient eue, du moins, ni le temps, ni les revolutions. Elles ont effrontement ajuste, de par le bon gout^ sur les blessures de I'architecture Gothique leurs miserables colifichets d'un jour, leurs rubans de marbre, leurs pompons de metal : veritable lepre d'oves, de volutes^ d'entournements, de draperies, de guirlandes, de franges, de flammes, de pierre, de nuages, de bronze, d'amours replels, de cherubins bouffis, SAINT-LE U-SAINT-GIL LES. 235 qui commence a devorer la face de I'art dans I'oratoire de Catherine de Medicis, et le fait expirer, deux siecles apr^s, tourmente et grima^ant, dans le boudoir de la Dubarry." SAINT-LEU-SAINT-GILLES. About the year 600, the town of Sens was besieged by Clotaire's general, Blidebodes, and grievous was the pain and suffering to which the inhabitants were subjected. But the bishop, Lupus,* Leu, or Loup was a holy man, and while the warriors fought he passed his time in prayer. Then he be- thought him of a little stratagem. Ostensibly for the object of collecting the citizens for prayer, he set to, and vigorously pulled the church bell. The crowd rushed from all parts of the town, and following the example of their spiritual father, they threw themselves on their knees. Presently came the news that the siege was raised ; at the sound of the bell, the enemy had fled precipitately. This, all but miracle, may be accounted for by the fact that bells were first introduced into France about this time (615); and if Clotaire's soldiers, coming from the north and west, had never heard any before, they may have felt much the same sort of terror as was said to have been instilled into the natives during the Ashantee war by the Scottish bagpipes. Considering that the church has two patrons, it ought surely to be in some way remarkable ; but the fact is, it is a very in- significant little building, and devoid of beauty of any kind. It formerly belonged to the Abbey of S. Magloire from which it was separated by only a small space of ground ; the abbey having been situated in the Rue S. Denis, and the church in what is now the Boulevard Sebastopol. The latter must have been built in the 13th century, as the abbe Lebeuf found a notice in the archives of S. Magloire to the effect that some little bells had been placed in S. Leu. The church has been so repaired, so cut about (the east end was lopped off when the new boulevard was pierced) ; it has been so mutilated and travestied, that little remains of the old building. Some of the bosses are elegantly and curiously carved. We see S. Giles and his hind, and S. Loup in episcopal vestments; the 17th century marble bas-reliefs illustrating the Passion ; quaint * There was another Lupus, bishop of Troyes, who accompanied S. Germain of Auxerre to Britain, to confute the Pelagian heretics. 236 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. emacialed bodies and large heads are the characteristics of the crowd. In one of the chapels, the first on the south, is a curious picture commemorating a terrible event, which led to a miracle. The inscription reads thus : CETTE IMAGE A ESTE FAITE l'AN 1 7/2 EN l'HONNEUR DU SIGNALE MIRACLE ARRIV6 JV I'ARIS W LA RUE AUX OURS I'AROISSE I)E ST. LEU ST. GILLES LE 3"« JUILLET LAN I415 EN MEMOIRE DE QUOY. LES BOURGEOIS DE LA DITE RUE TOUS LES ANS K FARCIL JOUR BRULENT l'eFIGIE DU MALFAICTEUR QUI MALHEUREUSEMENT FRAPPA L'IMAGE DE LA SAINCT VIRGE DE LA QUELLE SORTIT DU SANG ET FUT PUNI PAR ARREST DE LA COUR DE PARLEMENT COME IL EST REPR6sENt£ CY DESSOUS. The picture represents the Virgin and Child sitting under an elegant baldachino, the curtains of which are borne by Angels, who are holding, at the same time, a crown over the head of the holy mother. The following description by P^re Du Breul* gives the story of the miracle : "Le troisi^me du mois de juillet 1418, veille de sainct Martin, t Bouillant, un soldat ou goujat sortant d'une taverne qui estoit d^s lors en la rue aux Ours, d^sespere d'avoir perdu tout son argent et ses habits a jouer, jurant et blasphemant, frappa furieusement d'un couteau une image de la Vierge Marie qui estoit au coin de ladite rue. Laquelle image rendit du sang en abondance ; de quoy estant advertie la justice, il fut mene par devant Timage, fut frappe d'escourgees depuis six heures du matin jusques au soir, tant que les entrailles luy sortoient, et eut la langue percde d'un fer chaud. Au mesme lieu, tous les ans et a tel jour, on fait un feu pour souvenance de ce miracle. . . . Audit lieu se voit encores une image (le Nostre Dame enfermee d'un treillis, aupres de laquelle, contre la parvy, le jour que ce faict ledit feu. Ton attache une tapisserie ou est represente I'histoire susdite." Horrors of this kind were common enough in the 14th and 15th centuries; indeed, when we think of Damiens' tortures, even the i8th century was no more humane or decent. In the account of the Black Death in 1348, when 500 persons were * A Religious of the abbey of S. Germain des Pres. t The summer festival of the Saint, being the day of his ordination, and also of his translation, 4th July. SAINT-LOUIS DES INVALIDES. 237 l)uried daily, and Jews were tortured and burnt for poisoning the people (as the populace affirmed), an order of Philippe IV. was issued that all blasphemers should have their lips or tongues cut off, as a sanitary measure to dispel the plague. It is curious that such doings should be commemorated in a church dedicated to S. Giles, that gentle hermit who screened the wounded hind from its pursuers, and gave an eternal reproof to the votaries of the hunt. One can imagine what the hermit- Saint would have thought of thus torturing a man, being not only the protector of hunted animals and woodlands, but also of those specimens of human misery, the lepers. Yet for many years the hideous cruelty described above was celebrated as a sort of Guy Fawkes festival, with fireworks, and mannikins of gigantic size, which were marched about the neighbourhood to the terror of all the youthful inhabitants. SAINT-LOUIS D'ANTIN. Little need be said of the church which formerly belonged to the Capuchins who were transferred from tiie Faubourg S. Jacques to the new quarter of the Rue d'Antin in 1783. The church was built by Brongniard, but is of no importance whatever. It now forms a part of the Lycee for those con- nected therewith who do not find science and literature all that is requisite to their souls' weal. SAINT LOUIS EN LTLE. This church stands upon the little island of the same name, and was commenced by Louis Levau in 1664 ; Gabriel Leduc continued the work, and Jacques Doucet finished it in 1726. Men are said to be happy if they are minus a history. Not so churches ; without it they are anything but interesting. And so we will pass on from the second S. Louis, just noting some of the modern woodwork as respectable. SAINT-LOUIS DES INVALIDES. Built by Liberal Bruant from 1671 to 167 9, this church has a certain grandeur, and could the dome be seen from it by taking away the intervening partition of ugly painted glass, it would be very imposing. The latter, the burial-place of 238 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. Napoleon and of some of his generals, contains also monu- ments and statues of other military heroes. This part, the cupola (or Tombeau as it is generally termed), was built by Jules Hardouin Mansard, and dedicated by the Cardinal de Noailles in 1706. The exterior is very fine, and, with its gilding, forms a beautiful landmark for all parts of the city and suburbs. The interior, if somewhat pompous, and over addicted to LE TOMBEAU DE NAPOLfeON. yellow glass, is nevertheless very grand ; and the general effect of the magnificent baldachino over the altar (just such an ar- rangement as was wanted in S. Paul's), and the subdued light, make a decidedly striking coup d^oeiL The statues of Charlemagne and of S. Louis are by Coy- zevox and Nicolas Coustou ; the cupola was painted by Charles de Lafosse and by Jouvenet. The statue of Turenne, which has LA SAINTE-MADELEINK, 239 at last found a resting-place, after having been shunted about since its departure from S. Denis, is the work of Tuby and Marsy. In the centre, under the beautiful dome, is Napoleon's tomb, sunk some feet below the surface. In the chapel proper are rows of flags of all nations sus- pended from each side of the roof; but beyond these there is little that is picturesque except during the military mass on Sun- day morning. Then, when the pensioners line the aisle, bearing their swords and halberds ; when the drums beat at the Eleva- tion, and the old men present arms, the effect is both grand and intensely pathetic. Formerly the military band played throughout the offices ; now the duty is done by the organ. LA SAINTE-MADELEINE. If good materials and excellent workmanship can make a building interesting, assuredly the Madeleine ought to be so. Commenced in 1764 as a church, its fate was somewhat similar to that of S. Genevieve, for, in 1806, Napoleon, then busy in Posen, sent his orders that it should be finished as a Temple of Glory. The pediment was to bear the following inscription : — " L'empereur Napoleon aux soldats de la grande armee ; " and the 5th article of the decree was thus composed : " Tous les ans, aux anniversaires des batailles d'Austerlitz et d'l^na, le monument sera illumine, et il y sera donne un concert precede d'un discours sur les vertus necessaires au sol- dat, et d'un eloge de ceux qui perirent sur le champ de bataille dans ces journees memorables. . . Dans les discours et odes, il est expressement defendu de faire mention de l'empereur." Pierre Vignon carried on the work, and the building grew into a magnificent temple, planned upon the Maison Carree of Nismes. The results of Waterloo turned it again church ways, but it was not finished until 1842. The bronze doors are perhaps the best work of Baron de Triqueti ; and the group of the Magdalen over the altar may be no more mundane and meretricious than is usual in Marochetti's performances. The picture in the vault over the altar is a jumble by Ziegler of sacred and secular personages, from the Magdalen and her Master down to Napoleon the arrogant. It is supposed to be an allegory of the history of Christianity, which Clovis intro- duced to France, and Napoleon patted on the back by means of the Concordat. The most important position in the 240 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. picture is occupied by the last-named brigand — the poor Pope even being in a secondary place, somewhat inferior to the imperial eagle. The group in the baptistry is by Rude ; the one opposite, in a chapel dedicated to marriage, by Pradier. It was in the Madeleine that some of the Communards were massacred in 187 1. At the end of the struggle, about 300 of them were driven into the church ; and there, before the altar where their victim, the abbe Duguerry had officiated, they were mown down in terrible retribution, with no more mercy shown them than they had accorded to the hostages. In the interior fittings of the church, no expense has been spared, and what it lacks in beauty as regards sculpture and painting it possesses in its marble walls and its carved wood- work. The pulpit is an excellent piece of modern wood- carving ; the details of the ornament are in the best style ; and so are most of the worshippers ; for it is one of the fashionable churches of Paris. There, especially at the lazy mass (as the old writer has it, "la messe des paresseux," which was said at " la plus haute heure du matin," at " unze heures,") you see " des vwndaines " by the dozen ; only the lazy eleven o'clock has become one in the afternoon. What in the world would the old chronicler have said to the swarms of fashionables who just save their souls by hurrying off after a comfortable dejeuner to those one o'clock masses ? But there is a mixture at the Madeleine; old ladies of the fwblesse ; 7iouveaux riches ; a few soldiers who like the music; half-a-dozen husbands who go as a duty to their wives ; an old Bretonne gorgeous in chains and muslin, and velvet bodice ; and two or three black women, charming in the yellow silk handkerchiefs which swathe their heads. It is a mixture, and what brings them ? Probably the music, for at no church in Paris, and few elsewhere, do you hear such refined, soft, emotional strains as there. Sometimes the boys' voices are not of the best ; but the artistic taste with which they sing is always there. S. Roch has a reputation for its choir, gained many years ago by its execution of the masses of Mozart and Haydn ; but it no longer deserves it. S. Eustache also is celebrated for its music. But there is a special tone about that of the Madeleine one meets with no- where else ; it aims at raising one's soul from the earth upon which it is supposed to grovel ; it certainly never interrupts prayer or disturbs thought. Even on Good Friday, when the old Passione by Haydn, or the new one by Dubois, is per- LA SAINTE-MADELEINE. 2\\ formed, refinement, not clatter, is the distinguishing characte- ristic. If only some of our London organists would take a leaf out of the Madeleine music-book ! Just think of the noise at a certain West-end church, which is the model of all that ritual should be. From its foundation, what we all loved was the refinement of its music ; it was the exponent of Gregorian chants and Plain song. Now the most elaborate compositions are performed for the edification and vanity of the choir. Church music ought certainly to be an aid to prayer, not a dis turbing force ; but what else can it be, when organ and choir are all shrieking Haydn's Imperial Mass, or Beethoven in C, and each man or boy is trying to get the mastery? It is a ^ . bitter duel between organ and voices. All the great masters' masses are sung at the Made- leine ; but you can devote your- self to your own prayers all through them without being dis- turbed, if you so wish. More- over, one hour suffices in Paris for what in London endures an hour and a half, or more. And is not the long, elaborate credo answerable for the objection- able Roman practice of sitting through the greater part of it? Of course church music should be of the most perfect kind ; but perfection is sure to be greater where less is attempted ; and pere hyacinth preaching at the mere repetitions of words, the Madeleine. and the placing of the accent upon the wrong note in the English translation, make these elaborate masses unsuitable in our churches. The ceremonial at the Madeleine always gives strangers the impression of having been over-rehearsed. The black-clothed beadles walk about with measured steps, par ticularly the frog faced one ; the Suisses in their cocked hats leisurely saunter about with their halberds looking the essence of flunkeyism, and never issue from their stereotyped expression of im- portance and unmixed boredom, except upon occasions when R 242 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. a foreigner fails to kneel at solemn moments. Why need the good Protestant remain sitting when the bell rings, feigning a kneeling posture by a sort of zigzag attitude ? Up comes the Suisse, and shaking the back of his chair, tries to jerk him out of it. Why not stand, if rags of popery and scarlet women prevent you kneeling ? Or why go at all, if you cannot do at Rome as Rome does ? I confess to feeling a sensation of distress, and am much upset when that chair-tipping begins. And the worst of if is that, although the victim is innocent of what lies in store for him, we, who know the ways of the Suisses, anxiously anticipate the fatal moment. Sometimes, too, the British-born struggles to look pious, while he furtively reads his Baedeker, never dreaming that the benighted foreigner knows that Classic by its blood red exterior. We are a great people, and are justly proud of our institutions ; but we should be no less great if we had a little more respect for other folks, and other folks' manners and customs. It is curious how the church beadle varies. At the Made- leine he is pure flunkey. His cocked hat is high and broad, like the old Bumble of our childhood ; he is whiskered, but not bearded ; he has an arrogant way with him as he precedes the priest who makes the collection ; and as he carries the bag into which the alms are emptied from time to time, he looks the essence of important officialism. Likewise, when he demands, in a commanding voice, " Pour les pauvres, s'il vous p/ait ! " few persons would say him nay. Not so the Suisses of S. Eustache ; they have the military air ; the cocked hat is low, and worn as by the Marshals of France. Such are they also at S. Roch, and at both churches they salute at the Elevation, a la militaire. It has always seemed to me that the author of Motisieur, Madame et Bebe, pictured the Madeleine in his scenes of Madame at church ; at all events I have often seen the like. She kneels on her velvet-covered prie-Dieu, and tells her beads ; and then, between a Pater Noster and a new batch of Ave Marias, she turns round to a neighbour, " Ah ! chere madame, comment allez vous ? et monsieur votre mari ? Et la ch^re petite Bebe ? " " Merci, ch^re baronne, mon mari ne va pas trop mal ; il a la migraine, voila tout. Et Bebe, c'est un ange ; elle est ravissante, le petit chou. Mais moi, je souffre, oh, comme je souffre ! je suis tellement dreintee que . . . Je vous salue Marie, pleine de grace." ..." How SAINTE-MARGUERITE, 243 adorable is the Madeleine," said Dibden ; but he meant its exterior at twilight, when the lights spring up on the neighbour- ing boulevards. And so it is in its way ; but its way is to some of us not the most beautiful way. Many are the functions which take place there ; marriages and funerals by the score. At the latter, it affords ample room under its portico for that terrible French custom which forces all the family of the deceased to stand by the door and receive the condolences of their friends and acquaintances. How do they ever survive it ? And why do they not rebel against the conventionality, and give it up ? Because they are at once the most conventional of nations, added to the most revolutionary. The funeral terror is greater in France that here at home ; it is one of the few things in which we a e ahead of our neighbours. We do not waste quite so much upon putting our friends under- ground, although we too are compelled to pay twice as much as we ought. But in some respects the French are far more decent. Men raise their hats at passing funerals, and I have never seen the undertakers sitting in the open car when returning from the cemetery; an indecent proceeding like the one immortalized in Figaro. " Mon Dieu ! What strange people, ces Anglais ! When they return from a funeral, the friends of the deceased ride upon the top of the hearse with their legs hanging over it ! " One of the beauties of the Madeleine is the flower-garden at its feet, and the tree-planted boulevards which surround it. How pleasant it is to be able to sit down in the air upon a warm evening ; would that we could do likewise ! Here, sunset is the last moment when we can breathe the air of most of the parks, without perpetually tramping round and round upon our weary legs. But in Paris we may sit and gaze upon the buildings by moonlight if we like ; and certainly, that is the most flattering time for the Madeleine. Its portico, lighted up by the moon with the dark shadows thrown behind it, has a decidedly grand appearance. SAINTE-MARGUERITE. The church, dedicated to Mild Margarete, that was God's maid ; Maid Margarete, that was so meke and mild, in not of much importance. The popularity of S, Margaret was so great in the Middle Ages that it seems strange so little R 2 244 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. notice has been taken of her in Paris. Only think what a lovely dragon the sculptor of the monsters upon the towers of Notre- Dame would have contrived ! We have only to look upon them to picture to ourselves the dreadful worm. Maiden Margrete tho [then) Loked her beside, And sees a loathly dragon Out of an him i corner) glide : I lis eyen were ful griesly, His mouth opened wide, And Margrete might no where flee, There she must abide. Maiden Margrete Stood still as any stone, And that loathly worm, To her-ward gan gone, Took her in his foul mouth, And swallowed her flesh and lx>ne. Anon he brast — (hurst) Damage hath she none ! Maiden Margrete, Upon the dragon stood ; Blyth was her harte. And joyful was her mood.* The church of S. Marguerite is in the Rue S. Bernard, Fau- bourg S. Antoine. The chapel of the Souls in Purgatory is a curious composition by Louis, dated 1765 ; and still more curious was the burying, in 1737, of the tomb of Antoine Fayet, one of the atres^ because of the indecent nudity of the white marble Angels, a piece of astounding prudery in that peculiarly indecent period of French history. Some pictures illustrative of the life of S. Vincent de Paul are remarkable from the truthfulness of the portraiture; they were formerly in the Lazarists' Church. A marble Desce7it from the Cross, designed by Girardon, and sculptured by his pupils Le Lorrain and Nourrisson for the church of S. Landry, found its way to S. Marguerite in 18 17, where it accompanies anoihex Descent painted upon wood, and very excellent in its way. SAINT-MARTIN DES CHAMPS. Situated upon the east side of a square which lies between the Rue S. Martin and the Boulevard Sabastopol is the Con- Metrical legend in the Auchinleck MS. quoted by Mrs. Jameson. SAINT-MARTIN DES CHAMPS. 245 servatoire des Arts et Metiers, formerly the rich priory of S. Martin. As its name indicates, it used to be surrounded by fields and gardens ; now it is an oasis of antiquity, built up upon every side but the square with huge modern houses. Its old walls enclose a museum ; its chapel contains hydraulic machines, and its refectory is a public library. One of the twenty or more turrets which surmounted the wall at intervals still remains ; but the chapel of S. Michel, which old Nicolas Arrade founded in the 13th century as a tomb-house for him- self and his descendants, the chapter-house, the tower, the Lady- Chapel, and several statues of royal personages, have all been demolished — not by Revolutionists, but by the latter-day monks, who also saw fit to rebuild their cloisters, and orna- ment them with handsome Doric columns. These acts of barbarism were perpetrated some hundred and fifty years ago. But in spite of adversity, S. Martin still gives us some idea of a conventual foundation, and in Paris it is the only one which has survived improvements by friend and foe. It still has its gate leading into a large courtyard, with church, refectory, and a portion of the cloisters. Although the priory ranked after all the abbeys of Paris, it was well-nigh as importaiit, and as rich. The prior enjoyed a revenue of 45,000 livres^ and had the right of nomination to sixty benefices, twenty-nine priories, and many curacies and chapels. The legend of S. Martin bestowing half his cloak upon a beggar is well known, and a frequent subject for painters. But he was given to other works of mercy, and one, healing the leper, is said to have taken place upon the site of this particular convent. S. Martin is the patron of soldiers. Born in the reign of Constantine the Great, at what is now Stain, in Hungary, Martin early became a Christian, but his parents being Pagans, he was not baptized until comparatively late in life. His father was a Roman soldier and tribune, and the son was enrolled in a cavalry legion. Obliged to leave his native country for Gaul, we find him in the year 332 quartered at Amiens ; and here it was that he performed the act which has made him so famous in literature and art — the cutting of his cloak in two to clothe a starving , beggar. His namesake, Martin Schoen, gives him such a voluminous mantle that one feels the act of cutting it in half to have been that of a highly- practical mind — enough for you, and enough for me. But 246 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. other painters, on the contrary, depict the cloak as of such very small dimensions that one can only marvel that the Saint did not give it all to the beggar ; for a portion of the garment could scarcely have benefited either party. This act brought him, however, praise from Heaven, and he hastened to receive baptism, being then twenty-three years of age. At forty he left the army, and was elected Bishop of Tours ; and again we read of a similar story of clothing the naked, this time with his sacerdotal vestment during the celebration of mass. S. Martin founded several churches and monasteries, and many more were dedicated to him after his death. Marmou- tier, near Nantes, was a very celebrated convent ; and in Eng- land there are a great many churches of which he is the patron. S. Augustine, when he came to Britain, found a chapel in the neighbourhood of Canterbury, which had been dedicated to S. Martin as early as the 5th century, and there he baptized his first converts. The church is certainly one of the earliest in England, and the font cannot be later than the nth century; but whether it be the identical one at which King Ethelbert stood to be baptized in the 7 th century is considered doubtful. Still, though much restored from time to time, the building retains numbers of Roman bricks incorporated into its walls ; and that Queen Bertha worshipped in a church upon the same spot, or close by, is certain, tradition also pointing to a stone coffin in which she lies. To return to S. Martin, the legend relates that when he was entering Paris, as Bishop of Tours, he met a wretched leper at the gate, and, filled with compassion and love, he embraced him, and thus healed him of his leprosy. This was the act which King Henri I. commemorated by founding the priory in 1060. His son Philippe I. dedicated the church in 1067, placing the new foundation under the patronage of the abbot of Cluny, of which monastery S. Martin des Champs was the third daugh- ter. Its domains originally consisted of several acres of land, which, as time went on, became more and more valuable ; and probably, in consequence of its great wealth, it was governed by a long succession of illustrious men ; at first regular, and subsequently, titular abbots, of which class was his eminence the Cardinal Richelieu. It is owing to the cession of the last of the turrets, built by prior Hugues IV. tu the town in 17 12, and to the erection oi a SAINT-MARTIN DBS CHAMPS. 247 fountain at its base, that we now possess this fragment of the old wall. The principal gate, dating 1575, and ornamented with statues of the two royal founders, was unfortunately de- molished at the same time. The church belongs to two distinct periods. The nave was built about the middle of the 13th century, and is without aisles or pillars. It is lighted by pointed windows, and covered by a pointed timber roof. The choir and apse belong to the middle of the 1 2th century, and are peculiar in their arrangement. The choir is raised from the nave, and round it on a lower level are double aisles, divided by clustered columns which sup- port the vaulting. Thus, the choir is approached from the nave by steps in the usual manner ; but to enter the apsidal chapels one has to descend three or four steps from the nave. There are a few fragments of tombs with effigies of the priors, and some mutilated stone coffins. All the rest of the contents of the church have disappeared ; it is in fact, architecturally, an empty shell. The statue of the Blessed Virgin sculptured in wood, and held in great veneration by the faithful worshippers at S. Martin, was taken to S. Denis. The whole building has been gorgeously decorated in colour, and, if restored to its proper use, would be, after the Sainte-Chapelle, the most interesting church in Paris ; but the desecration grates upon our religious sentiments, and the noise of the machinery in motion distracts one's nerves. The study of architecture is not rendered easier by the rattle of a dozen or more steam engines, compared to which the confusion of tongues must have been a very small clatter. Tradition gives Pierre de Montereau as the architect of the refectory, which is a chef -cT cBuvre of the 13th century. It isan oblong building with seven tall, elegant, single-shaft pillars down the centre, dividing it into two equal parts longitudinally. Upon the side walls are an equal number of columns reaching about half-way down, and supported by foliated corbels to match the capitals ; the vault, springing from these and the pillars, divide the length into eight bays. The windows consist of two lights surmounted by a rose ; but upon one side they have been blocked up. The reading pulpit, which is built into the wall, is a beautiful specimen of its kind. It is lighted from the back by three little windows, and ap- proached by a staircase in the wall, with open arcading to give light upon the refectory side. The building has been deco- 248 THE CHURCHES OE PARIS. rated with colour, and a painting representing S. Martin dividing his cloak, mediaevalized by M. Steinheil — the whole sufficiently harmonious. The rest of the buildings are modern, or have been modern- ized ; most of the destruction having been perpetrated by the monks, who, like all authoritative Paris of the last century, had Classicism on the brain. At S. Martin, as at S. Nicolas des Champs, S. Germain I'Auxerrois, and S. S^verin (not to mention other churches), Doric columns have taken the place of the old work — they must have been sculptured by the hundred. The chapel of the Virgin, the chapter- house, the old cloister, which, according to Pig- aniol de la Force, had not the like in Paris, and the statues of divers Kings and Saints, were all swept away to make room for modern improvements ; but the refectory was left intact, and having been used as the library, the transformation of the con vent into a museum has affected it less than the chapel. As we pass into it from the outer world of trams and omnibuses, with all the va-et-vient of a great city, we seem to be suddenly transported into the olden time — into a world which, if not a better, was certainly a more artistic and a quieter one. THE REFECTORY. saint-m6dard. The French S. Swithin shares with his brethren on the opposite bank of the Seine, les freies Gervais et Protais^ a predilection for drenching us on and after his/r/^ day ; so that, what with S. Medard's 8th of June, S. Gervais' and S. Protais' 19th June, and S. Swithin's 15th July, we who live upon our SAINT-MEDARD. 249 respective sides of the ditch may reckon upon a good three weeks of wet, over and above the forty days, if unhappily it rains upon the earUer of those unlucky festivals. S'il pleut le jour de Saint-Medard, II pleut quarante jours plus tard ; S'il pleut le jour de Saint Gervais et de Saint Protais, II pleut quarante jours apres. But if S. Medard was vindictive in his ways, he compensated us for his downpours by inventing that handy instrument without which life would be unbearable. The French say that an Englishman goes to bed in his hat, clutching his umbrella, which is a polite way of reproving him for his peculiar and insular practices ; but how could he live without his umbrella ? and kind Medard, foreseeing the state of damp- ness to which our northern atmosphere was leading us, turned to account an accident which befel him. In was in this wise. On a certain hot day in a certain hot summer, Medard and his friends went a picnicing, when suddenly a storm disturbed their innocent junketings. All were thoroughly soaked through from head to foot, with the exception of the host, who suddenly found himself protected from the rain by the outspread wings of an eagle which hovered over his head. This was the birth of the umbrella, which, as everyone knows, is of French, and not of oriental origin. In Belgium the rainy Saint is one Godelieve ; in Germany the character is undertaken by the Seven Sleepers, showing the wisdom of the Teuton in slum- bering through his miseries. Amongst the flowers, the money- wort is dedicated to S. Medard. At the commencement of the last century, Jansenist pilgrim- ages and divers miracles took place at the little church, curing those suffering from convulsions ; young girls had fits which gave them "comical twitchings of the nerves. Some would bark all night, and others leaped about like frogs. Sister Rose sipped the air with a spoon, as your babies do pap, and lived on it forty days; another swallowed a New Testament, bound in calf. Some had themselves hung, others crucified, and one, called Sister Rachel, when nailed to a cross, said she was quite happy. In their holy meetings, they beat, trampled, punc- tured, crucified, and burnt one another without the least sentiment of pain."- All this was done under Louis XV., and attested by thousands of witnesses, until at last the archbishop, 25© THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. by means of a strong military guard, put an end to the folly. Thereupon some wag wrote upon a wall : De par le roi defense a Dieu De faire miracle en ce lieu. Large packages of the earth were exported to work miracles in the provinces and in foreign countries. One of these marvellous cures is related, scofifingly, in a song of the Duchesse de Maine : Un decrotteur a la royale, Du talon gauche estropi^, Obtint par grace speciale D'etre boileux de I'autre pied.* The church of S. Mt^dard is in the Rue Mouffetard, and originally the ground belonged to the abbey of S. Genevieve. At first the monks only erected a small chapel, which they placed under the protection of the great Bishop of Noyon, who was the friend and chancellor of the early Merovingian Kings. In the 1 2th century the chapel is designated as a church in the bulls of the popes, and up to the Revolution it was served by the regular canons of the abbey. The church is of no importance, dating only from the 15th century. The pillars are without capitals; but, as in many of the other churches, the keystones and bosses are elaborately carved. Some of them represent the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Descent of the Holy Spirit, and other Scriptural subjects, besides monsters, griffins, and garlands of foliage. In one of the chapels a Httle glass of the i6th century remains ; and a retable, upon which a Notre-Dame de Pitie is painted, is also worthy of note. In 1784 an architect named Petit- Radel conceived the idea of transforming S. Medard into a modern temple of Jupiter, with not much success. Doric and Corinthian columns, palms and personages, adorn the sanctuary and the chevet. Better are the fragments of old glass which are interspersed with the new in some of the windows ; a S. Fiacre, patron of cabs and coaches, a Holy Family, S. Michael, a Calvary, and many Angels ; but they are the merest scraps of former grandeur. The chapel of the Virgin was built by the " artist " who mutilated and distorted the choir, and is in the same grandiose style. The academician, Olivier Patru, and Pierre Nicole, the theologian, were buried at S. Medard. * Tlu American in Paris. SAINT-MERRL 251 SAINT-MERRI. At the bottom of the Rue S, Martin, close to the Rue de Rivoli, is a spot which, during the ages of faith, was much reverenced for its miracle-working powers. In the 7th century, the whole district was a forest, and doubtless the King and courtiers hunted there ; for are we not told that the Louvre, hard by, was in early days but a royal hunting-box. As is well known, Paris, the Lutetia of the Gauls, consisted only of the present Cite, the island upon which stands the cathedral. All around were forests, well stocked with game (animals more or less wild); and here and there, probably, small outlying settlements which we should now call villages and hamlets. In the midst of the wood stood a little chapel dedicated to S. Peter, which was as much surrounded by trees and shrubs as the present church of S. Merri is by streets and houses. Adjoining this chapel was a cell, or hermitage, and it was there that S. Merri, and his disciple, S. Frodulphe, sojourned when on their way from Autun to the shrines of S. Denis and S. Germain. S. Merri was abbot of Autun, but he seems to have been glad of a change to the great city ; for so it befel, that instead of returning to his abbey, he stayed in this little wooded retreat, undisturbed by aught but the singing of the birds and the sighing of the trees, for the space of three years. Then, on the 29th of August, about the year 700, he died, and was buried in the chapel. Many and wondrous were the miracles wrought at his tomb ; and so famous did it become that S. Peter's patronage was forgotten, and the church was looked upon by the people as being under the exclusive protection of S. Merri. About the end of the 9th century, a redoubtable warrior, Eudes de Fauconnier, desiring to celebrate his part in the expulsion of the Normans from the neighbourhood, erected a new church on the site of the little chapel, or in its immediate neighbourhood. This was dedicated to the two saints, S. Merri being placed before S. Peter. When this church, in its turn, was demolished in the time of Fran9ois P", the remains of the founder were found in a stone coffin, the bones of his legs and feet being still shod in his gilt leathern boots. The coffin was re-buried in the choir, and an inscription placed upon a white marble slab : Hie jacet vir honae viemoriae Odo Fal- conarius, huius ecdesiae, or a pro eo. In the opinion of the 252 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. abbe Lebeuf, this Odo was the famous warrior who with Godefroi defended the city against the Normans in 886. The surname Falconarius may come from Odo having been made the King's falconer, or from the kind of lance which he used, falco^ because it was bent ; just as Charles, the grandfather of Charlemagne, was known by the surname of Martel. The gilt leather boots denote a personage of the 9th century ; similar chaussures may be seen in miniatures of the Carlovingian period. One of the monks of S. Germain des Pres, Abbon, has cele- brated the heroic deeds of Odo, and testified to the ability of the surgical instrument makers of the 9th century : — UNA DIES ISTUM VOLUIT SIC LUDERE LUDUM, HIS DUCIBUS, GODOFREDO NEC NGN ET ODONE ; BELLIGERI FUERANT UDDONIS CONSULIS AMBO. IDEM ODO PRAETEREA OPPOSUIT SE SAEPUIS ILLIS ET VICIT JUGETER VICTOR. HEN ! LIQUER UT ILLUM DEXTRA MANUS BELLO QUONDAM, CUJUS LOCA CINXIT FERREA, PENE VIGORE NIHIL INFIRMIOR IPSA.* S. Merri was made into a parish church in the 12th century, and in the early years of the following century it became collegiate. It was called the third daughter of Notre-Dame, a title given to churches which were served by the clergy of the mother church, its chapter consisting of a chefcier^ who filled the position of the cure^ six canons, and six chaplains. The present church was commenced in 1520 or a few years later, and finished in 1642 ; the architects adhering to the original plan, without any change of style, which is not often the case in churches that were so long in course of construction. The beautiful west front is a mass of rich ornamentation ; its three portals, the pinnacles, corbels, niches, etc., being carved with various conceits— animals, human heads, flowers, vine- leaves, and so on, one little head having a cap such as is worn by the peasants of Auvergne. The statues, large and small, are modern, having been put in position in 1842, replacing those destroyed during the Revolution. Those round the voiissure are copied from one of the portals of Notre-Dame, an.l consequently are two centuries too early for the church. Another blunder of the modern architect is the placing of a demon in the centre at the point of the arch, where the Medieeval artists invariably put the figure of Christ or of Our Lady. The lower part of the tower is contemporary with the * De Bellis Parisiacae urbis (M. F. de Guilhermy, Imcriptiom), SAINT-MERRL 253 church, but the upper stories have been rebuilt in the lyih century, and consist of Renaissance arches and shafts. Upon the opposite side is a httle turret of open woodwork, and from the roof some old gargoyles stretch themselves out. The church is cruciform ; unfortunately it is partly hidden by the Presbytery and other buildings. Indeed, like many Con- tinental churches, it is so built about by surrounding houses that one only gets a view of it here and there. It is extra- ordinary that in such a city as Paris this is tolerated. At S. Germain I'Auxerrois there is (or was, not long ago) an extra- ordinary little wooden hut (presumably the dwelling of the sacristan) built in between the buttresses of the east end, and completely filling up two windows of the apse. The whole erection being in wood, it could easily be taken down ; for it is only supported on great wooden piles, and approached by a sort of ladder. Such a state of things only exists in Catholic countries, and the more Catholic — as, for example, Belgium — the more complete is this sort of desecration. The havoc made in the interior of the church by the 18th century architects is deplorable. Windows have been destroyed, piers have been stuccoed over, and pointed arches turned into round ones. The pillars are late Perpendicular, or rather Flam- boyant, shafts without capitals ; and round the nave, between the arches and the clerestory, runs a little frieze of foliage and quaint birds and beasts, a feature which is not common. All the bosses of the choir and apse are very richly decorated, and the vaulting is good, but both the choir and the chevet have been sadly "improved." About 1753 the brothers Slodtz were commissioned to convert the thirteen pointed arches of the choir into round ones, and to encase the pillars in panellings of stucco, which was marbled and gilt, the last bay being profusely decorated with golden sun-rays. One of these un- fortunate brothers, Michel-Angelo by name, designed the pulpit, a mass of palm-tree decoration, surmounted by a female figure of Religion ; and to place this wondrous production, a whole bay of the nave had to be demolished. The year follow- ing three chapels were destroyed to make room for the new square, barn-like Chapel of the Communion ; which, besides being beautified by the Slodtz brothers' sculptures, was further embellished with a picture by Charles Coypel. The modest sum paid to these miserable, so-called artists, for hacking the church to pieces, was 50,000 ecus. SAINT-MERRI; NORTH-WEST DOOR. SAINT-MERRL 255 The crypt is most interesting, and is said to have been a reproduction of the original one which contained the tomb of S. Merri. It was used for some time as a workshop by the cleaners of the church, and was the depository of brooms, brushes and lamps. It has a stumpy central column, from which spring the ribs of the vault, the capital being orna- mented with vine-leaves. It is square, and divided into four parts. A few remains of recumbent tombs can be seen in the pavement; but of the monuments of Arnaud de Pomponne, ambassador of Louis XIV., and of Jean Chapelain, the author of La Puceile, nothing remains. The crypt, with its solid central pillar, resembles that in the Louvre of the time of Philippe Auguste, which has lately been brought to light. Much of the old glass has gone, the central portion of each window having been taken away, to throw more light upon the marbled stucco. What remains is in good i6th century style, the work, probably, of Heron, Jacques de Paroy, Chamu, and Jean Nogare, whom Levieil records to have been the artists employed. The subjects are from the history of SS. Peter, Joseph, John the Baptist, and Francis of Assisi ; but it is most difficult to follow the designs, as not only are there the gaps of plain glass, but what was taken out has been used for repairing the other windows. Still a few subjects can be traced ; the Raising of Lazarus ; an Angel bringing food to the Virgin as she works in the temple ; the Magdalen preaching to the people from a pulpit ; the Beheading of S. John. In one of the chapels the history of Susannah figures — also Joseph and Jacob, and other Old Testament worthies. Three persons, identical in form and features, represent the Holy Trinity ; they hold each other's hands in a circle, upon which is inscribed, Ego sum alpha ei omega, primus et novissimus. On another window are the Sybils carrying the emblems of the Nativity and the Passion, the Cradle, a lantern, the Scourge, and the Cross. The church possesses a very curious holy-water stoop of the time of Louis XII. It is about three feet high, more like a baptismal font than a stoop in size ; it is octagonal, and stands upon a pedestal with a square base. The upper part is decorated with the arms of France and of Bretagne, and the instruments of the Passion. A small amount of carved wood- work of the Renaissance period remains — fragments of sculp- tured columns, pilasters, children, birds, and trophies. But a 256 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. most remarkable picture of the i6lh century arrests the visitor's attention as he saunters round the aisles, .S". Genevik'e sitting in a sort of Druidical circle surrounded by her flock of sheep- a rare combination of mystic Paganism and Christian legend. A mosaic tablet of the Virgin and Child now in the Hotel Cluny (No. 1795) was formerly in this church. It was given by Jean de Ganay, first president of the Parliament. Piganiol de la Force gave the continuation of the inscription as " Opus magistri Davidis, Florentini, Anno M.CCCC.LXXXXVI." Jean de Ganay went to Italy with Charles VIII., and took part in the campaign of 1494 and 1495, and for some time he was chancellor of the kingdom of Naples ; but as he was not first president until 1505, the mosaic mu.st have been sent to Paris subsequently to his sojourn in Italy. His epitaph runs thus : CYGIST LE CORPS DE NOBLE CHEVALIER JEAN DE OANNY DE FRANCE CHANCELIER ET ZELATEUR DE LA CHOSE PUBLIQUE. TARDIF A NUIRE ET PREST W CONSEILLER DU BIEN DAUTRUY CAR CESTOIT LE PILLIER, PHILOSOPHAL VRAY ARLSTOTILIQUE, POURTANT HUMAINS UN CHACUN SE APPLIQUE .PRIER JESUS PAR MESSES ET PAR DITS QUIL LUY PARDONNE ET DONNE PARADIS. OBIIT ANNO I512. M. de Sommerard attributes this mosaic to David Ghir- landajo. SAINT-NICOLAS DES CHAMPS. The patron saint of children, of schoolboys, of poor maidens and travellers, of merchants, and, above all, of pawnbrokers, was popular in Paris as elsewhere, and thus we find three churches dedicated to him. S. Nicolas was a performer of stupendous miracles. Thus it happened that during a time of famine, while he was visiting his flock, he discovered that a certain disciple of the Evil One murdered little children, and, cannibal- like, feasted on them. And so audacious was this fiend in human shape, that he impudently served up the dismembered limbs of a young babe for the good bishop ; who, seeing this wickedness, went to the tub where the children's remains were being salted down, and making the sign of the cross over them, the" babes all stood up. This is a favourite subject in art ; and not the least beautiful of all the saints and martyrs SAINT-NICOLAS DBS CHAMPS. ^S1 in the processional frieze in S. Vincent de Paul is Flandrin's conception of S. Nicholas.* Why the Saint's three balls, which TORCH OF SAINT-NICOLAS. seem to have been purses given to three poor maidens, should * See page 335 258 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. have become the sign of pawnbrokers, seems doubtful. Perhaps simply as being emblems of gold lent by merchants to im- pecunious customers. The story of the children is probably an allegory of the conversion of sinners, the tub being the baptismal font and the wicked host, the evil state in which all men are born. S. Nicholas is also the guardian of property, and in that form figures upon the windows of the cathedral of Chartres. The Saint's image was stolen by a Jew, and placed in guardianship over his treasures. Then came robbers, who carried off the property, which, the Jew discovering, led to the chastisement of the bishop's effigy. But S. Nicholas was equal to the occasion, and reproving the Jew, ordered the robbers to restore what they had stolen ; and when the Hebrew saw the miracle, he became converted, he and his whole house. This, too, may be the reason for. S. Nicholas' patronage of pawnbrokers, who are many of them, indeed most of them, Jews. In the 1 2th century S. Nicolas des Champs was but a chapel built upon the domain of the priory of S. Martin. Two cen- turies later it was rebuilt; but in the i6th century, being too small for its parishioners, it was widened by turning the chapels of the nave into an aisle, and erecting fresh chapels outside it. Later on it was again enlarged, until it has become one of the longest of the Paris churches. 1l\^q facade in the Rue S. Martin is in the Flamboyant style, and not without some beauty, with its pinnacles and turrets, its niches and statuettes : but the most striking part of the church is the richly-sculptured doorway in the Rue Aumaire, a mass of niches, figures of Angels, and Flamboyant ornament of the most elaborate kind — birds, baskets of flowers, borne by pious little personages, and every kind of foliage, reminding us of the works of Germain Pilon. The interior shows the change of style from shafts without capitals to the latest development in the way of Doric columns. The High Altar is ornamented with Corinthian columns, some stucco Angels by Jacques Sarazin, and a picture of Me As- suinpHon by Simon Vouet. The best picture in the church is M. Bonnat's early work of S. Vincent de Paul. An old panel of a Calvary is a very good specimen of one of the unknown artists of the i6th century. A few celebrities were buried in S. Nicolas; the savant Guillaume Bud^, who died in 1 540 ; the philosopher Pierre SAINT-NICOLAS DU CHARDONNET. 259 Gassendi ; the historians Henri and Adrian de Valois; and Mdlle. de Scudery ; but their monuments have vanished. On the pavement are some stones bearing the names of Roche- chouart, Crillon, Labriffe, Potier de Novion, Mesmes, and several others. Here is one of the many curious epitaphs : LE CIEL l'ESTIMENT TROP POUR LA LAISSER PLUS LONTEMPS MORTELE, LAISSANT A SON EPOUX UNE FILLE POUR GAGE DE LEUR ETROITE ET INMORTELE AMITIE, DANS LAQU'ELLE IL SURVIT POUR PLEURER LE RESTE DE SES JOURS SA DURE SEPARATION D'aVEC CETTE CHERE ]fePOUSE, QUI' ETOIT RECOMANDABLE, PAR SA TRES GRANDE DOUCEUR, SA VIE PURE ET INOCENTE, ET SA PRUDENCE AU DESUS DE SON AAGE, QUI LUY ONT OUVERT LE CHEMIN DE l'iMORTALITE. REQUIESCAT IN PACE. In the 1 6th century the acolytes of Notre-Dame celebrated their well-known fetes at S. Nicolas, performing various antics en route ; but as their disorderly conduct was great, and the '-^fdceties " practised led to divers troubles and various abomi- nations, the ceremony resolved itself latterly into a simple Benediction which the enfauts de chceur chanted in honour of their patron. SAINT-NICOLAS DU CHARDONNET. This is an ugly church, with traditions going back to the 13th century, but with nothing thereof now to be seen, in the Rue S. Victor. The present building dates from 1656 to 1709. A picture by Lebrun, of The Miracle of Moses, adorns one of the chapels ; and the tomb erected by him to his mother's memory, by Tuby and Callignon, is to be found in another. Lebrun's own tomb is by Coyzevox ; Jerome Bignon's, by Girardon. There are also pictures by Le Sueur, Coypel, Corot, Desgoffes, and Mignard. Suzanne Butay, widow of Lebrun, was a generous body, and left a number of legacies to the poor of the parish, and divers other church institutions, which are recorded thus : s 2 26o THE CHURCHES OE PARIS. LADITE DAME SUZANNE BUTAY VEUVE DUDIT FEU S'* LEBRUN PAR SON TETA""^- OI.OGRAPHE I)E XIII SEl'TEMBRE MDCXCVI RECONNU DEVANT VATRY, ET TORINON NOT'*^-''- ... a LEGU£ AUX PAUVRES HONTEUX, ET AUX PAUVRES MALADES DI CETTE PARROISSE la SOME DE DEUX MIL LIVRES UNE FOIS PAYjfe, PLUS A LEGU6 MIL LIVRES DE RENTE A AYDIR n MARIER DE PAUVRES FILLES, ET A METTRE EN APPREN- TISSAGE DE PAUVRES CARBONS NtS DANS LA PARROISSE ■^>sa^^^- NOTRE-DAME. Sauval likens the island upon which the cathedral stands to a ship : "L'ile de la cite est faite comme un grand navire en- fonc^ dans la vase et echou^ au fil dc I'eau vers le milieu de la Seine;" and perhaps the Ship of Paris upon the Gallic sea may have owed its origin as the city arms to some idea of this sort. The origin of Notre-Dame is enveloped in mystery. Whether its first bishop, S. Denis, or Dyonesius, was the Areopagite converted by S. Paul's preaching at Athens, and sent by S. Clement to preach the Gospel to the Parisians, or whether he was another personage of the same name who was sent into Gaul in the 3rd century and martyred dur- ing the persecutions under Decius, it is impossible to say, as there is no evidence of any value. Certain it is, however, that the first bi- shop of Paris bore the name of Denis, and that he suffered martyrdom with his two companions Rusticus and Eleutherius, on the summit of the hill now called Montmartre. Tra- dition went so far as to point out the spot where they f rst gathered their followers together — the crypt of Notre-Dame des Champs ; also the prison where Our Lord appeared to them and VIEW FROM THE SOUTH TOWER. • ',' J :|>|i:'M'i#=iS\ 262 THE CHURCHES 01^ PARIS, strengthened them with His Holy Body and Blood, at S. Denis de la Chartre ; the place, at S. Denis du Pas, where they suf- fered their first tortures ; and, lastly, Montmartre, where they were beheaded. But, with the exception of the latter, all these holy spots have disappeared. So, too, have the crosses which marked the route taken by the Saint, when he carried his head to the place chosen for his burial, at S. Denis. An ancient church covered the remains of the three Saints until the present splendid building was erected in the reign of Dago- bert I. Under the Roman dominion, Paris was comprised in the fourth Lyonnaise division, of which Sens was the metropolis. Hence the bishops of Paris acknow- ledged the archbishop of Sens as their primate, until 1622, when, at the request of Louis XHL, Pope Gregory XV. raised the see to an archbishopric. The succession has consisted of one hundred and nine bishops and fifteen archbishops, eight of whom have been raised to the dignity of Cardinal. Besides S. Denis, six have been vene rated as Saints : Marcel, in the 5th century; Germain, in the 6th century; Ceran, Landry, and Agilbert in the 7th, and Hugues in the 8th century. No less Saints, although un- canonized, are the three martyrs of our own time — Sibour, who was stabbed by a discontented priest in the church of S. 6tienne-du-Mont; Affre, who was shot upon a barricade in 1848, while negotiating with the insurgents, and whose last words pronounced him a true follower of his Master : " Puisse mon sang etre le der- nier vers(^ ! " and Darboy, the liberal-minded and large-hearted, who was shot as a hostage by the fanatics of his own party. In former tunes the entry of the new bishop into his episcopal city was accompanied by much gorgeous ceremonial. All the municipal officers, mounted on horses, went to meet him at the Abbey of S. Victor. Thence they processioned, accompanitd ARCHBISHOP UARBOY. NOTRE-DAME. 263 by the bishop, seated on a white palfrey, to the church of S. Genevieve, from which he was chaired by his vassals to the Rue Neuve-Notre-Dame, where he was met by the dean and canons of the cathedral, and after taking an oath upon the Gospels to uphold the privileges of the church, and to observe the engagements entered into by his predecessors, he was in- stalled, and received the homage of the chapter. Mass was then said, and at the conclusion, the prelate was conducted to his palace, where he gave a sumptuous entertainment to all who had assisted at the ceremonies. In 1674 Louis XIV. conferred the lands of S. Cloud, Creteil, d'Ozouer-la-Ferriere, and d'Armenti^res upon the archbishopric, a donation which was valued in the last century at a revenue of 140,000 livres. The old episcopal palace was situated between the cathedral and the river, and the whole must have been an imposing mass of buildings ; but what remained of it twenty years ago was mostly 18th-century work, with the exception of a fragment of the chapel which was consecrated by bishop Maurice de Sully at the end of the 12th century. The chapter of Notre-Dame was one of the most important in the Kingdom. Its revenue amounted to 180,000 livres, and its jurisdiction extended beyond its own clergy and officers, to the Hotel-Dieu, and the churches which were called les filles de Notre-Dame. These were the collegiate bodies of S. Merry, the Holy Sepulchre, S. Benoit, and S. Etienne-des-Gres. Four other colleges, S. Marcel, S. Honore, and S. Opportune, bore the title oi filles de r Archeveque. Of the cloisters not the slightest vestige remains to deter- mine their position or size. What was latterly termed the doitre was only a collection of narrow tortuous streets, with two or three houses and doorways which may have dated from the 15th century. One of these houses bore the reputation of having been the abode of Canon Fulbert, the uncle of Heloise ; but it could only have been built upon the site of the original one, which may possibly have existed in the 12th century, as some Roman foundations were discovered when it was demolished a few years ago. The enceinte of the cathedral enclosed two churches, S. Aignan and S. Jean-le-Rond, and a garden at the eastern end of the church, which the chapter called Le terrain, but to which the people, in their original lingo, gave the name of Motte aux Papelards. The cathedral is now open on all sides, and the coup-d'ceil is 264 THE CHURCHES OE PARIS. fine when seen from the Place du Parvis-"*Notre-Dame, or from the garden at the east end; but to obtain these fine views many buildings of interest have been sacrificed,— the cloisters, the churches of S. Jean-le-Rond and S. Christophe, the epis- copal palace, the oldest parts of the hospitals of the Hotel-Dieu THE EAST END, FROM THE GARDEN. and Les Enfants-Trouves, and the chapel constructed in the 14th century by Oudart de Mocreux. It may not be uninteresting to give the number of religious institutions in the city of Paris before the end of the last * From time immemorial, the space to the West of the church was called Paii'is/'araifisus, the terrf:strial paradise which led by the celestial Jerusalem. NOTRE-DAME. 265 century: 12 chapters; 59 parishes; 4 abbeys for men, and 6 for women; 11 priories; 124 monasteries and communities; 90 chapels (exclusive of those in Notre-Dame) ; and 5 hos- pitals ; in all, 311 ecclesiastical establishments. When it is considered that all these corporate bodies possessed lands, were all exempt from direct taxation, and enjoyed other privi- leges, the storm that brought about their suppression is not to be wondered at, however much we may regret the results from an artistic point of view. Even at the commencement of the 1 8th century the suppression of a certain number of convents and the demolition of several churches was deter- mined upon ; but it was not until the Revolution burst that the main destruction took place. Had there been more men of the type of the citoyen Chaumette, who saved the sculptures on one of the doors of Notre-Dame by affirming that the astronomer Dupuis had discovered his planetary system therein, there would have been less loss to art to lament. As it is, the only remnant of all this ecclesiastical wealth besides Notre- Dame is a portion of the priory of S. Martin des Champs (occupied at present by the Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers), 12 parish churches, the Sainte-Chapelle, and the little church of S. Julien le Pauvre, which belonged to the old Hotel-Dieu. These are the only buildings which have come down to us from the Middle-Age or Renaissance periods. Some remains of altars dedicated to Jupiter, of the time of Tiberius, which were found under the choir of the cathedral, and are now in the Palais des Thermes, seem to suggest that the Christian church was built upon the site of the Roman temple, or that the latter was converted into a church by the early Christians, as at Rome, Ravenna, and other places. The earliest authentic record of a Christian church in Paris is in the life of S. Marcel, where it is related that at the end of the 4th century one stood at the Eastern extremity of the island of the Cite. This is supposed to have been rebuilt by Childebert I. at the instance of S. Germain, for it is not pro- bable that the building described by Fortunat, bishop of Poitiers, as rich in marble columns, glass windows, and magnificent ornaments, could have been the original edifice. Indeed, a discovery, made in 1847, seems to prove this. During some excavations which were made in the Place du Parvis it was found that some Roman houses had been demolished to make way for the foundations of Childebert's church ; and, togetlier 266 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. with the Roman remains, were marble cubes which formed the pavement, three columns in Aquitaine marble, and a Corin- thian capital in white marble. The Christians of the 5th century adhered in their church architecture to the style of building adopted by the Romans for their basilicas ; in fact, in many cases the secular basilica was adapted to the purpose of Christian worship. Hence it is but probable that Childebert looked to Rome for the design of his church. These remains are in the museum and gardens of the Hotel-Cluny. From the 6th to the 12th centuries there is no record of Notre-Dame, but Grt^goire de Tours and d'Aymoin, towards the end of the 6th century, speak of two churches close together, but distinct from one another — the one, S. Etienne, to the south of the present church ; the other, S. Marie, towards the north-east. A rather doubtful tradition attributes certain works of construction in the church to bishop Erchenrad I. during the reign of Charlemagne. But it is known that in 829 the cele- brated Council of Paris was held in the nave of S. Etienne ; and in 857 the other church, S. Marie, was burned by the Normans, the bishop, 6nde, only being able to save the former church. In the 12th century, archdeacon Etienne de Garlande, who died in 1142, made some important restorations to Notre- Dame, and Suger, the great abbot of S. Denis, gave it a stained glass window of great beauty — probably similar to those in his own church. So, too, the early Cap^tien monarchs frequently visited this nova ecdesia (as it was called to distinguish it from S. Etienne), and presented it with valuable ornaments. We now come to the building of the present church. Mau- rice de Sully, the seventy-second bishop ( 1 1 60-96), had scarcely mounted his episcopal throne when he determined to rebuild his cathedral by joining the two existing churches, and upon his epitaph in the abbey church of S. Victor he was accredited as the builder of Notre-Dame. Bishop Maurice was the son of a poor woman named Humberge, who lived in a humble cottage on the banks of the Loire, under the shadow of the feudal castle of the Sullys ; and, like many of the Churchmen of those times, he seems to have had only one parent ; at all events his father was unknown, and consequently Maurice was obliged to go from chdteau to chdteau, and from convent to convent, to beg for bread and alms, for himself and his mother. On April 21st, 1163, at the instance of Abbot Hugues de NOTRE-DAME. 267 Mone^-aux, Pope Alexander III. consecrated the recently-con- structed apse of S. Germain des Pres ; and it is also affirmed that he laid the first stone of the new cathedral in the same year. In 1182, the High Altar was consecrated by Henri, the pope's legate, and three years later, Heraclius, patriarch of Jerusalem, who had come to Paris to preach the third crusade, officiated in the choir. Geoffi^ey, son of Henry II. of England, w-^m. ^gS %t- "^a^9^9^v<> y y'^^^^i^ ONE OF THE MONSTERS OF THE TOWERS. and Count of Bretagne, who died in 11 86, was buried before the altar of the new cathedral, and towards the end of the cen- tury the wife of Philippe-Auguste, Isabelle de Hainault, was laid near the same place. When Maurice de Sully died, the church could not have been completed, as he left 5,000 livres towards the leaden roofing of the choir. Indeed, the western 268 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. fa9ade was only commenced towards the end of the episcopate of Pierre de Nemours, 1208-19, although the work had been continued during the time of his predecessor, Eude de Sully, 1 197-1208. According to I'abbe Lebeuf, the remains of the old church of S. Etienne were demolished towards the end of the year 1 2 1 8 to make room for the southern part of the facade, and, amongst other finds, were some fragments of the Saint's tomb. It is probable that the West front, as high as the gallery which connects the two towers, was terminated about the time of the death of Philippe- Auguste, 1223; and that the rich ap- pearance of this facade decided the reconstruction of the portals of the transepts. An inscription at the base of the southern porch attests that on the second day of the Ides of February, 1257, Master Jean de Chelles commenced this work in honour of the mother of Christ, S. Louis being then king of France, and Renaud de Corbeil, bishop of Paris ; and, in spite of certain documents amongst the archives, there is no doubt that the little Forte Rouge and the first chapels on both sides of the choir belong to the same period and were the work of the same architect, for they are quite similar in style and are built of the same stone. The history of Notre-Dame is in a great measure the his- tory of France. It was there that the Te Deuin was sung after successful battles, and where the standards which were taken from the enemy were sus- pended during the continuance of the wars. There, too, in the early part of the 13th century, S. Dominic preached from a book given him by the Blessed Virgin, who appeared to the Saint after an hour's silent medi- tation, radiant with beauty, and dazzling as the sunlight. Some fifty years ago, the cathedral, and, indeed, all Paris, was stirred by the con- ferences held there by one of S. Dominic's own children, Pere Lacordaire, who with his friends ^.^^ lacordaire. Lamennais and Montalembert, made an effort to free the Roman branch of the Catholic Church from the fungi which had grown on to it, an effort which was 270 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. as fruitless as that undertaken by his predecessor Savonarola, 400 years before him. On Easter Eve, the 12th April, 1229, the Count of Toulouse, Raymond VII., was absolved of the crime of heresy in Notre- Dame. As the old chronicler Guillaume de Puylaurens relates : " Et c'dtait piti^ de voir un si grand homme, lequel par si long espace de temps avait pu r^sister \ tant et de si fortes nations, conduit nu, en chemise, bras et pieds d^couverts, jusqu'a I'autel." Here is a pleasant little example of some of the doings of the "good old times": Pierre Bonfons tells us that in 1381 the prevdt of Paris, one Hugues Aubriot, accused and found guilty of heresy and other crimes, was, through the instrumen- tality of the University, " presch^ et mitr^ publiquement au Parvis-Notre-Dame, et aprSs ce, condamn^ k etre en I'oubli- ette au pain et k I'eau." On the 27th November, 143 1,* the child, Henry VI. of England, was crowned King of France in the choir of the cathedral. But the pomp of this ceremony was soon effaced, for, on the Friday in Easter week, 1436, a Te Deuvi was sung to celebrate the retaking of Paris by the troops of Charles VII. In the 13th century the Feast of the Assumption was cele- brated with great pomp ; the whole church was hung with valuable tapestries, and the pavement covered with sweet- smelling flowers and herbs ; but two centuries later, grass from the fields of Gentilly seems to have sufficed to do honour to Our Lady on her fete day. The same custom prevailed here as at the Sainte-Chapelle and other churches, of letting fly pigeons, and throwing flowers and torches of flaming flax from the windows in celebration of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost ; and every year, on the 22nd March, the chapter went in procession to the church of the Grands-Augustins, where a mass was sung in memory of Henri IV. 's entry into Paris in 1594. The original design of the church did not comprise the chapels which flank the nave and somewhat spoil the effect of the exterior. In this respect, the cathedral of Paris cannot be compared to those of Reims and Chartres, which have no chapels between the buttresses. They were added to Notre- * This is the date given by M^zeray. Il^naut gives it as the 17th December, NOTRE-DAME. iji Dame in 1270, Jean de Paris, archdeacon of Soissons, having bequeathed 100 /wres for their construction. The chapels of the c/ieve^ were finished at the end of the 1 3th or begin- ning of the 14th century. An inscription at the entrance of one of them, S. Nicaise, placed upon the pedestal of a statue of PIERRE DE FAYET. Simon Matiffas de Buci, recorded that this chapel and the two next were founded by the bishop in 1296, and that the others were added subsequently. This precious relic was discovered at S. Denis among a number of others from different churches. One of these gives the name of Canon Pierre de Fayet* as the * This slab is now in the Renaissance Museum of the Louvre. It is dated 1303, and bears the following inscription : " Maitre Pierre de Fayet, 272 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS, donor of 200 Hvres towards the histoires which surround the choir, and some new glass ; and another gives the names of the sculptors of these same histoires^ the Masters Jean Ravy and Jean le Bouteiller, who carved them in 1351. It must be remembered that the great churches of the Middle Ages were more the work of the people than of the nobility, and thus we find that the armorial bearings upon old glass or upon the pedes- tals of statues are mostly those of the different trades-guilds, such as the bakers, the butchers, the woollen-drapers, the furriers, the shoemakers, and the like. These, either as individuals or as corporate bodies, enriched the old churches in money or in kind. It must not be forgotten that the great churches of the Middle Ages were, in a sense, the schools of the period. The people, not being able to read, were instructed through the medium of sermons and stage plays ; they saw the histories of Saints, the story of the Gospel, and legendary and historical matter carved in wood or stone upon all sides of them, and they learnt their moralities by picture tales and clerical dis- courses. Art was literally the handmaid of Religion, and the great teacher ; and being enriched by divers gifts, the churches became receptacles for all kinds of treasures. Guillaume Durand, in his Rational des Divins Offices^ speaks of rare things, such as stuffed crocodiles, ostrich eggs, and skeletons of whales, besides gold and silver vessels, intagli^ and cai/ieii, as attractions for the people, on the principle that he who comes to see may stay to pray. Churches were, in fact, museums, and places in which to transact business ; the naves constantly being thus used. Notre-Dame has two towers at the west end, and ajlkhe over the intersection of the nave, choir and transepts. This is modern ; and why? Because, in 1787, an architect was found chanoine de Paris, a donne deux cens livres parisis pour aider a faire ces histoires et pour les nouvelles verrieres qui sont sur le choeur de ceans." In the account of the church in 1763, the slab is thus described : " Avant la construction du nouveau chceur (par le roi Louis XIV.) on voyait autour de I'ancien choeur et en dedans les histoires de I'Evangile et des Actes des Apotres en statues de pierre isolees avec des inscriptions au bas, et au-dessous I'histoire de la Genese en bas-relief. A cote etait un chanoine a genoux, dont la mort arriva en 1303, aussi ce bas-relief avail cette inscription derriere lui : * Messire Pierre Fayet ' . . . Mais dcpuis la construction du nouveau chaur, on a mis sa statue a la porta collaterale, vis-a-vis la porte rouge." NOTRE-DAME. 273 who considered it well to " amputate " the old one. Listen to Victor Hugo : " Un architect de bon gout Ta amput^, et a cru qu'il suffisait de masquer la plaie avec ce large emplatre de plomb, qui ressemble au couvercle d'une marmite " — doubtless that strange species of turret so common in London, familiarly termed a pepper-box. The western fa^ade^ though not so rich as that of Reims, is nevertheless exceedingly beautiful. It is divided into three parts in its width, and into four stories in its elevation. Here is what our old friend Dibden says of it in his time : " Of Notre-Dame, the West front, with its marygold windows, is striking both from its antiquity and richness. It is almost black from age " (would it were so now !) — " but the alto-relievos, and especially those above the doors, stand out in almost per- fect condition. These ornaments are rather fine of their kind. There is, throughout the whole of this West front, a beautiful keeping, and the towers are here somewhat more endurable, and therefore somewhat in harmony. Over the North transept door, on the outside, is a figure of the Virgin — once holding the infant Jesus in her arms. Of the latter only the feet remain. The drapery of this figure is in perfectly good taste, a fine specimen of that excellent art which prevailed towards the end of the Xlllth century. Above is an alto-relievo sub- ject of the Slaughter of the Itmocefits. The soldiers are in quilted armour. I entered the cathedral from the Western door, during service-time. A sight of the different clergymen engaged in the office filled me with melancholy, and made me predict sad things of what was probably to come to pass ! These clergymen were old, feeble, wretchedly attired in their respective vestments, and walked and sung in a tremulous and faltering manner. The architectural effect of the interior is not very imposing, although the solid circular pillars of the nave, the double aisles round the choir, and the old basso- relievo representations of the Life of Christ upon the exterior walls of the choir, cannot fail to afford the antiquary very singular satisfaction. The choir appeared to be not unlike that of S. Denis," Notre-Dame should be visited by lovers of plain song. To hear forty men and boys chant Gregorian tones, with ad libitum accompaniments upon a small organ, is a treat net to be forgotten. And note, the sfiinll organ, for the large one at the end of the nave is only used for voluntaries ; thundering accompaniments to the voices being unknown in Pan's. T 274 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. All the six doors of Notre-Dame bear distinctive names — the Porte du Jugement, the Porte de la Vierge, and the Porte Ste. Anne, at the west end ; the Porte du Cloitre, the Porte NOTRE-DAME DURING SERMON. St. Marcel and the Porte Rouge, at the east end Each of these is divided into two openings by a central pier, sup- porting a figure and surmounted by a tympanum ; over which NOTRE-DAME. 275 is a deep voussure, peopled with sculptures innumerable. Tradition formerly recorded a flight of thirteen steps rising to the west front; but the excavations made in 1847 proved this to have been a mistake. If steps existed anywhere, they were probably on the side of the episcopal palace near the southern tower and leading down to the river. At the same time there is no doubt that the church would gain in effect were it raised above the roadway as is the case at Amiens. At present it is even a little lower than the place, but allowing for the rising of the ground during seven centuries, it is quite possible that the cathedral originally had not the sunken appearance it has at present. In the niches upon the great buttress are four figures ; S. Denis and S. 6tienne at the extremities, and two women crowned in the centre. These represent a very common con- ceit of the Middle Ages, the Church and the Synagogue, the one triumphant, the other defeated. Above the portals is the gallery of the Kings of Judah, the ancestors of the Virgin, and perhaps typical of the sovereigns of France. The gallery of the Virgin is still higher, and upon it in the centre stands the queen of Heaven with attendant Angels, Adam and Eve being above the side doors. Higher still we come to the tower galleries presided over by delightful monsters of various zoological tribes. Nothing gives a visitor to Notre-Dame a better notion of the richness of its sculptures than mounting to this gallery, whence he obtains a full view of the roof and the towers, with their numerous pinnacles, crockets, finials, gargoyles and statues. Unfortunately the great central portal was hopelessly wrecked by Soufflot in 1771 in order to increase its width for proces- sions ; it is one of the many examples which prove the fact that the "stupidity of man" has done more harm to old buildings than time or even disastrous riots and revolutions. In 1773 and 1787, so-called restorations, by architects who ought to have known better, still further mutilated the church. Listen to Victor Hugo once more : " II est difficile de ne pas soupirer, de ne pas s'indigner devant les degradations, les muti- lations sans nombre, que simultanement le temps et les hommes ont fait subir au venerable monument, sans respect pour Charlemagne, qui en avait pose la premiere pierre, pour Philippe-Auguste, qui en avait pose la derni^re. Sur la face de cette vieille reine de nos cathedrales, a cote d'un vide on trouve toujours une cicatrice. Tempus edax homo edacior : le T 2 276 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS, temps est aveugle, rhomnie est stupide." Sixty years have passed since this was written, but the great poet lived to see a restoration which he probably sighed over as much as over the THE ROOF AND FLECHE. mutilations cf former times, Viollet-le-Duc did his work better than most restorers ; but of the old church nothing NOTRE-DAME. 277 remains but the shell — even the surface of the stone has been scraped and scrubbed, giving the building as new an appearance as that of the churches of S. Augustin and La Trinite. Hugo's words in 1832, directed against the architects of Louis XIV. and Louis XV., apply equally to those of our own time : "Si nous avions le loisir d'ex iminer une a une avec le lecteur les diverses traces de destruction imprimees a I'antique eglise, la part du temps serait la moindre, la pire celles des hommes, surtout des hommes de I'art." The great destruction occurred between 1699 and 1753. Louis XIV., the great destroyer of men and of their works, in order to carry out the " Vceu de Louis XII !:\ mide away with the old carved stalls, the ANIMALS ON ONE OF THE TOWERS. v/^i, thi cloiitero, the high altar with its numerous chdsses and reliquaries, its bronze columns and silver and gold statuettes, the tombs, and the stained glass. In 1771, the statues above the great west doors disappeared when Soufflot began his evil work of widening them. Another great loss to the church was the destruction of the statue of S. Chris- topher, a huge colossal figure as celebrated in the Middle Ages as the relics of the Sainte-Chapelle. It stood at the entrance of the nave, and was the work of Messire Antoine des Essarts in 1443, in gratitude to the saintly giant for having saved him from the Burgundians. Miracle-working Virgins, Philippe-Auguste posing as S. Simon Stylites, and two 278 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS, bishops of Paris, likewise upon columns, were amongst some of the former treasures. Whether three great figures in wax of Gregory XL, his niece, and nephew, which tumbled into decay in 1599, are equally to be regretted, is doubt- ful ; but the description of an equestrian statue which stood in the nave, the man in armour, and the horse in emblazoned trappings, sounds fascinating. It was a Louis VL, or a Philippe le Bel — who knows ? Perhaps the latter, erected as a thank offering to Our Lady for the vic- tory at Mons, for Philippe founded solemn commemorations of that battle at Notre-Dame, at Chartres, and at S. Denis. But in spite of this evidence, Pere Montfaucon pronounced in favour of Philippe de Valois, who rode into the church equipped and armed to give thanks for the victory of Cassel, and fulfil a vow made in front of the enemy. This same Philippe's effigy also rode a stone horse upon thQ facade of the Cathedral of Sens. Du Breuil cites some quaint verses explaining the dimensions of the church, which were written upon a picture hanging near the statue of S. Christopher by the doorway : Si tu veux s9auoir comme est ample De Nostre-Dame le grand temple : II a dans oeuure, pour le seur, Dix et sept toises de haulteur, Sur la largeur de vingt et quatre ; Et soixante cinq sans rabattre, A de long. Au tours hault monteSs Trente quarte sont bien comptees, Le tout fonde sur pilotis, Ainsi vray que ie le te dis.* When the revolutionary period began, little remained to be done in the way of destruction, but that little the votaries of Reason did pretty well as regards everything pertaining unto royalty ; for to be just, we must remember that anything that could be construed into philosophy or art was spared. In August, 1793, it was decided that eight days should be allowed for the destruction of the '■'' gothiques simulacres'' of the kings upon the portals. Later on the Saints were ordered to share the same fate, but Citizen Chaumette, as we have seen, stepped in and saved the sculpture by assuring his colleagues that the astronomer Dupuis had discovered his planetary system on ♦ Thidtre Jes Antiqiiites de Paris. NdfRE-ifAME. 279 one of the portals. Thereupon the Citoyen Dupuis was put upon the council for the preservation of public buildings, and in consequence much was saved from complete and hope- less destruction. We all know how a goddess of the class so dear to the kings of old, a vulgar Gabrielle or Pompadour in sabots and a Phrygian cap, was set upon the altar and worshipped in derision, a ceremony followed by others that *'we leave under a veil which appropriately stretches itself along the pillars of the aisles — not to be lifted aside by the hand of his- tory."* Robespierre and his friends must have been utterly wanting in a sense of humour, or they never would have instituted these curious ceremonies. In an old printf representing the great Feast of the Supreme Being upon the Champ de Mars, we see the President of the Convention in a fine blue coat, and bearing an enormous bouquet of flowers, discoursing to the multitude ; and, after burning the statue of Atheism, sticking up Wisdom in its place. Young girls in' the inevitable white of church pro- cessions, beadles, and singing men, with all the paraphernalia of the dethroned ecclesiastical pomp, are depicted : but only one man seems to have seen how ludicrous it all was : ^^ Tit commence a nous ennuyer avec ton Eire Suprhfie ! " said he to Robespierre, somewhat profanely. *Carlyle. t Exhibited at the Exhibition of Documents relating to the Revolution, held at the Tuileries in 1889 HOTEL-DIEU AND NOTRE-DAME 28o THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. The prelates and sovereigns who succeeded to these stormy days endeavoured to restore Notre-Dame ; but the ignorance which prevailed at the commencement of the present century with regard to Gothic architecture rather added to the destruc- tion than mended it ; and it was not until the Christian art and Liberal Catholic revivals led by Montalembert and his friends that a thorough and rational restoration of the church was commenced by the eminent architects, Viollet-le-Duc and Lassus. The central portal is a mass of wonderful sculpture. The lower part of the stylobate bears lozenge-shapen compartments enclosing roses and lilies. Above this are the Virtues arid Vices* the former being figures of women bearing their emblems; the latter, little scenes describing each particular vice. It is interesting to see that the Virtues should be por- trayed as women, Guillaume Durand giving the reason that they are men's nursing mothers ; but Eve, having been sup- posed from all time to have been man's temptress, how comes it that the Mediaeval sculptors exempted her and all other women from personifying the vice, for example, of curiosity? Courage our first mother undoubtedly had, and so this virtue on the front of Notre-Dame is represented by a woman with a shield bearing a lion. Equally certain is it that Adam was mean and cowardly, and so we find Cowardice painted as a man running away terror-stricken from a harmless hare. Amongst the vicious we see Judas in despair, an iniquitous Nero, an impious Mahomet, and a funny little Nimroud throw- ing a javelin at the sun, symbolic of that great warrior's attempt to build a high tower in order to attack Heaven itself. Above the Virtues and Vices are the Twelve Apostles, place d over the Virtue which in their lives they especially displayed. Nothing in tliese sculptures was done without a purpose ; thus S. Paul stands over Courage, and S. Peter above Faith ; indeed the whole doorway was designed to carry out a particular idea, * The twelve Virtues, according to Hennas, are Faith, Temperance, Patience, Magnanimity, Simplicity, Innocence, Peace, Charity, Discipline, Chastity, Truth, and Prudence. The counting of twelve Virtues lasted a long time, for we find in 1454 at a fete given at Lille by the Due de Bourgogne, Philippe le Bon, that twelve Virtues dressed in crimson satin danced at the ball with the many knights who were present. They were the great ladies of the town ; and perhaps the knights personated the Vices, as they were not improbably able to do with a considerable amount of truth. NOTRE-DAME. and to illustrate the main doctrines of Christ, whose statue stands upon the central pier, giving the benediction to all who enter. On each side of the doorway are the Wise and Foolish Virgins, and in the tympa- num, which is divided into three zones, is the Resur- rection of the Dead. Souls are being weighed; and under one scale a mean little demon may be seen pulling it down with a hook, in case the poor soul's sins should not be sufficient to weigh it down. It may be noted that the Mediaeval theologians evidently considered the nails which pierced our Blessed Lord's body of more honour than the tree unto which he was bound ; for here we see an Angel holding the cross with bare hands, while another en velopes the nails in a nap- kin. In the Voussure are rows of personages; the lower ones belonging to the Judgment, the upper ones to the Resurrection. Then come the Angels, Prophets, and Doctors of the church (taking pre- cedence at Notre-Dame of the Martyrs, by reason of Paris being a great seat of learning). Following them are the Martyrs and Virgins. Didron* gives an account by an Armenian bishop of a visit 10 Paris i'l 1489-96, in which he describes these sculptures * Annades arckeologiques. ONE OF THE PINNACLES. 282 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. exactly as they now appear, and speaks of the beauty of their colouring and gilding. The sculptures of the other two doors are of the same character as the Porte du Jugement, but the subjects are taken severally from the histories of the Blessed Virgin and of S. Anne. In the Porte de la Vierge, the Mother and Child hold the central place, and in the tympanum are the Assump- tion and the Glorification of xhc Virgin. In the stylobate are saints, a conspicuous one being 6". Denis carrying his head, with Angels upon each side, to prevent anyone damaging his headless body. In the bas-reliefs, amongst other subjects is an almanac in stone representing the earth and the sea, the twelve signs of the Zodiac, and the occupations, mostly agricultural, of each of the months. Corresponding to these are the idlings of the season. The industrious man is warm- ing himself by the side of his well-cured hams and sausages ; the idle man is sitting enveloped in fur, enjoying a sleep by the fire. For April we see a personage with two heads, one asleep and one awake ; and, showing that the climate was much the same in the 13th century as it is now, we see one side of him clad in the airy costume of our first parents, while the other is well wrapped up in warm raiment. May only wears pyjamas, while June prepares for a bath. The signs of the Zodiac follow the ecclesiastical year, which up to the reign of Charles IX. commenced at Easter. The custom of carving them on the exterior of churches is a very ancient practice, as it may be seen on the Catholicon at Athens, which is as old or older than the time of Justinian. Nearly all the great churches of France possess them On S. Denis there are three : one is mosaic; another, a bas-relief on the exterior; and the third, an incised stone upon the pavement of one of the apsidal chapels. The Porte S. Anne is the oldest of the three portals, and the sculptures being the most ancient of the church, it has been assumed that they were brought from an older edifice. The central figure is S. Marcel, ninth bishop of Paris, who died in 436. He is here seen standing upon a strange and venomous beast with a tail ending serpent-wise, issuing from a winding sheet — the vestment of an unfortunate rich and wicked woman whom the beast had consumed in punishment for her vices. Marcel, in spite of this just retribution, seems to have pitied the poor soul, and went forth to the forest to reprove the NOTRE-DAME. 283 dragon ; who, listening to the holy man's words, became repentant and showed his contrition by bending his head and flopping after the Saint for the space of three miles, wagging his tail like a dog. But S. Marcel could not forgive him. " Go forth," said the Saint, " and inhabit the deserts, or plunge thyself into the sea " ; which he seems to have done, for no more was ever heard of the monster from that day forth. The tympanum is ornamented with the History of Joachi7n and Anna J the Marriage of the Virgin and the Budding of S. Joseph's staff. Angels and a kneeling king complete the composition ; the latter probably being Louis VII., the friend of Suger and the father of Philippe- Auguste, as he is presenting a charter of donations and privileges. On the other side is a bishop, bearded, mitred, and vested, but unlike the king, the prelate stands ; he is probably the builder, Maurice de Sully. The older part of this doorway is similar in some respects to the facade of S. Denis. Abbot Suger, its builder, had only been dead about ten years when Maurice de Sully reconstructed the cathedral ; and we see in the figures upon the Porte S. Anne the same Romanesque character as at S. Denis. The beautiful ironwork of the doors of Notre-Dame are worthy their reputed origin ; they are said to have been finished in a single night by his Satanic Majesty in consequence of the dilatoriness of Biscornette the blacksmith. The legend has probably grown from the design of a part of the ironwork, a little man with horns and the tail of a fish, who sits upon the branch of a tree. It appears that Biscornette was charged to forge the ironwork of the doors in a given time ; but finding himself behind-hand in his work, he determined to call in the aid of the Devil. This personage arrived, put on the leathern apron, and set to work so vigorously that by dawn it was finished. Biscornette thanked his assistant, who politely, in recognition of the blacksmith's gratitude, presented him with his horns. Popular opinion always held that Biscornette could not forge the central door by which the Blessed Sacrament passed ; and that a curse rested upon that of S. Anne, as it was never opened ; but in these latter faithless days it has been found to do so as easily as the others. The sculptures of the tympanum of the Porte du Cloitre represent the Legend of S. Theophilus, the deacon, who lived in the 3rd century. This Saint was troubled in his mind, and abjured Christianity through the instrumentaUty of a Jew ; thereupon he fell into 284 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. the hands of the Father of Lies, and we see him on his knees between the hoofs of the demon. But he was reinstated in the good books of his bishop, in spite of the tempting whisper- ings of a little demon by his side. Then the Virgin enters upon the scene, and tears up the contract signed by S. Theo- philus with his blood ; and the demon enraged has the im- pertinence to seize the raiment of the Virgin, in order to profane her. But Theophilus is forgiven, and the bishop displays the contract, which is now hallowed by the episcopal seal, and upon which is written in Gothic letters : Carta Theophili. At the foot of the Southern facade is the inscription which gives the name of the architect and the date of the church : ANNO. DNI. M. CC. LVII. MENSE. FEBRVARIO. IDVS. SECUNDO. HOC. FUIT INCEPTUM, CRISTI. GENITSIS, HONORE. KALLENSI. LATHOMO. VIVENTE. JOHANNE. MAGISTRO : John de Chelles was wise in his generation, for had he not thus taken care of his own reputation, we should have known nothing about him, there being no record of any other works by him. Chelles, the place of his birth, was celebrated for the abbey founded by S. Bathilde ; and like Montereau, Bonneuil, and Lusarches, which gave birth to some of the most famous architects of the 13th century, it was situated in the diocese of Paris. The beautiful little Porte Rouge is of the end of the 13th century. In the tympanum a king and queen are represented kneeling at each side of our Lord and His Mother, very probably S. Louis, and his wife, Marguerite de Provence. Formerly, in front of the grand portals there was a pillory, described by P^re Du Breuil in the i6th century as raised upon a platform. The culprit knelt upon this with a paper, stating his offence, affixed to him ; and then he stayed long- temps mocque et itijiirie du peiiple. Du Breuil lamented that this object of the spiritual justice and power was no longer to be seen at the abbey of S. Germain. The interior of Notre- Dame is imposing, though somewhat heavy in character; and although the nave and choir were sixty years in construction, there is scarcely any difference in style, except in the details. There ils a certain clumsiness about the great round shafts of the nave, but the carving upon the angles of the plinths and of the capitals helps to relieve this effect. Most of the capitals are ornamented with examples of LA PORTE ROUGE. 286 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. the flora of Parisian fields. At the west end is a gallery now occupied by the great organ, but which formerly was the stage upon which miracle-plays were performed. The choir is by far the most beautiful part of the church ; and being filled with stained glass, it has not that painfully cleaned-up appearance which is the result of over-restoration. Some parts of it, the bays which separate the side-aisles from the crossings, are of the 14th century; and the little Angels blowing trumpets which surmount the archivolt are beautiful specimens of sculpture of that period. The capitals of some of the choir columns being the oldest in the church (the early part of the 1 2th century) are very rich in the quaint style of decoration delighted in by Mediaeval artists — masses of foliage, with heads of grotesque animals peeping out, and biting off the leaves and flowers. One capital (between the seventh and eighth southern chapels) is interesting as showing the transition between the use of personages and animals, and that of foliage only, which was customary in the later period. The subject is very unecclesi- astical, as was so often the case in the 12th and 13th centuries — two Harpies, male and female, with human heads and bird bodies, issuing out of the foliage. Much of this is treated in the most realistic manner, and we find specimens of the oak, the ivy and the trefoil. In many of the chapels are double piscince. From one, the water in which the priest washes his hands before mass, is ejected by a pipe ; from the other, used after mass, the water descends into the ground. They are both ornamented with carved canopies. The Lady chapel, or chapel of the Compassion, and the two on either side, are painted and gilded, a good deal of the old colouring having survived as a guide. There is some good carving, and in front of the tabernacle hang seven lamps of elegant design. These, added to the beauty of the old stained glass, make this end of the church by far the most beautiful part.* The chapel also contains an inscription, bearing the name of the founder, bishop Simon Matiffas de Bucy, who died in 1304. In the chapel of S. George is the fine marble statue of the martyred archbishop Darboy, shot in 187 1 by the Communists. The alto-reliefs alluded to above, by Jean Ravy and Jean le Bouteiller, are supported upon an arcade of clustered columns * For a detailed account of the cathedral see ViolIet-le-Duc's Dirtion- naire raisontt^ (f Architecture, FOUNTAIN IN THE I-ITTLE CLOISTER, 288 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. and pointed arches fixed against the back of the stalls. Formerly they were continued across the jube and all around the choir; but unfortunately, when the sanctuary gates were constructed, these sculptures were sacrificed. The subjects are : i, the Visitation ; 2, the Appearance of the Star of Bethlehem to the Shepherds ; 3, the Nativity ; 4, the Adora- tion of the Magi ; 5, the Massacre of the Innocents ; 6, the Flight into Egypt ; 7, the Presentation in the Temple ; 8, Christ disputing with the Doctors ; 9, the Baptism of Christ ; 10, the Marriage in Cana ; 11, the Entry into Jerusalem; 12, the Last Supper; 13, Christ washing S. Peters Feet; 14, the TWO OF THE ALTO-RELIEVOS WHICH SURROUND THE CHOIR. Mount of Olives. The mysteries of the Passion and Resur- rection were on the jube., the destruction of which we owe to the Cardinal de Noailles. On the South side the sub- jects are of later date (14th century) : i, Christ appearing to the Magdalen ; 2, to the Three Maries ; 3, the Apostles running to the Sepulchre ; 4, the Journey to Emmaiis ; 5, Christ appearing to the Disciples ; 6, to S. Thomas ; 7, to S. Peter on the Sea of Tiberias ; 8, another Appearance to the Disciples ; 9, the Charge to preach the Gospel in all Lands. Jean Ravy was represented kneeling with joined hands in the last of these alto-reliefs. The whole was finished by Jean le NUTRE-DAME. 289 Bouteiller in 135 1 ; and it is recorded that a part was a votive offering in honour of God, of the Virgin Mary, and of Monseigneur S. Etienne, given by Guillaume de Melun, Arch- bishop of Sens — one of two bishops of the name who occupied the see in 1317-29 and 1344-96 respectively. The sculptures are all coloured and gilt, and a very good cast of them may be seen at the Crystal Palace. The choir remained intact until 1638, when Louis XIII., puttmg his kingdom especially under the protection of the Blessed Virgin, registered that unfortunate vow that he would consecrate the sanctuary of Notre-Dame to the fulfilment of it. " Afifi que la poster it e tie puis se inanquer a suivre nos volotites a ce S7ijetj pour tnonument et marque incontestable de la consecration presente que nous faisons, nous ferons construire de nouveau le grand autel de feglise cathedrale de Paris, avec une image de la Vierge qui tienne entre ses bras celle de son precieux fils, descendu de la croix, et oic nous serons representes auxpieds dufils et de la mere,comme leur o^rant notre couronne et notre sceptre.^^ Louis XIII. died in 1643, before he was able to carry out his mar- vellous design; but unfortunately, his son, Louis XIV., was only too ready to embellish buildings in the miserable taste of his time, and so the altar is disfigured by a Descent from the Cross by Nicolas and Guillaume Coustou, and a pair of kneehng kings (the 13th and 14th Louis) by Coysevox. In themselves these sculptures are fine examples of the art of the period, but they and the eight bronze Angels by Cayot, Vancleve, Poirier, Hur- trelle, Nagnier and Anselme Flamen, are all equally out of place in a 13th century church. The bas-reliefs of the altar were by Vasse, and Uu Goulon was the sculptor of the beautiful wood- work representing scenes from the life of the Virgin. The altar was destroyed in 1793, in order to erect a symbolic " montagne " upon " les pompeux debris de V antique im- posiureP The present one was reconstructed in 1803, the Entombment, in gilt copper, from designs by Vancleve, being conveyed from the chapelle des Louvois, in the old church of the Capuchins in the Place Vendome. The cross and cande- labra belonged to the cathedral of Arras before the Revolution ; and the beautiful bronze lectern, as exquisite in design as in workmanship, is signed and dated, "Duplessis 1775." The statue of the Virgin, on a pillar at the entrance of the choir, had the reputation of working miracles. It was thrown down at the Revolution, but was found later at S. Denis and replaced u 290 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS PART OF THE STALLS. in Notre-Dame. Such is the history of the statue, but whether it is the identical figure, it is impossible to say. In any case it is mainly of the same date as the church, which cannot be said of the reliquaries in the treasury, that are also supposed to have survived the Revolution. The choir is raised three steps above the transepts. The two arches which separate the side aisles from the crossings show evidences of a later style. As we have seen, many sculp- tures were saved by the deputy Chau- mette, and by Alex- andre Lenoir, as works of art worthy of preservation ; but unfortunately, reli- quaries were of more value as metal, and most of them passed through the melting- pot into coinage for the bankrupt National treasury. The reliquaries shown at the cathe- dral are mostly NOTRE-DAME. 291 modern imitations of those which were formerly in the Ste. Chapelle. One, however, is said to be the veritable Croix Palatine. This is a double-armed gold cross of Byzantine workmanship, formerly belonging to S. Germain-des-Pres, to which church it was left in 1684 by Anne of Cleves, princess of Mantua and of Montferrat, widow of Edouard von Baiern. The prince received it from Jean Casimir, King of Poland, when he took refuge in France; it having been given to a King of Poland in the 12th century by Manuel Comnenus, Emperor of Constantinople. The princess and her daughter, the Duchess of Brunswick, attested to having seen the cross upon one occasion encircled by flames and coming out of the fire unhurt. In 1793 the constitutional cure took the cross and preserved it until his death in 1827, when he remitted it to the archbishop of Paris. The in- scription is in Greek and covers the length and the two arms ; Jesus Christiis cruci affixus qui exaltavit hominuiii naturuui^scribit Comnenus Manuel coronatus. The following are some of the enormous number of valuables which formerly filled the treasury. In the inventory of 1763 there were no less than four busts and two statues in gold, silver-gilt, and jewelled ; six silver reliquaries, two of gold, and five of silver-gilt ; a gold cross attributed to S. Eloi, six silver-gilt crosses, and a whole closet full of silver candlesticks ; besides a number of chalices, patens, ciborium, pax, censers, cruets, and other vessels for the altar ; but very few were anterior to the i6th century. Of these the following remain : the Holy Crown from the S. Chapelle (imitation) ; the Holy Nail from S. Denis, given to Charle- magne by Constantine V., placed in the treasury of Aix-la- Chapelle, whence it was carried by Charles le Chauve to France ; the golden cross of the Emperor Manuel Comnenus, 1 2th century, which was bequeathed by the Princess Anne de Gonzague to the monks of S. Germain des Pres in 1683 ;* two silver-gilt chalices of the 13th century; the relic of the True Cross sent in 1109 to Galon, bishop of Paris, by Anseau, pre- centor of the church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem ;t * This passed through miraculous adventures at the Revolution and was restored to the cathedral by M, de Quelen. t Its preservation is said to have been in this v^^ise. Louis XVx. sent it to S. Denis to be in safe keeping, and in 1793 it was oflFered by the Con- vention to the municipality. Thence it passed into the hands of M. Bonvoisin in 1804, and in 1808 it was placed in its present crystal reliquary by Cardinal de Belloy. U 2 292 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. . the crozier of Bishop Eudes de Sully, of wood and copper ; the crucifix belonging to S. Vincent de Paul, which he pre- sented to Louis XIII. upon his death-bed ; the ''discipline" of S. Louis ; portions of this king's raiment ; ?indi \hQ soutanes of archbishops Affre, Sibour, and Darboy. The high altar as originally arranged had brass bars at the sides from which hung draperies. Behind it was another altar, that of the Holy Trinity, or les ardents^ raised so that it could be seen above the first one. Steps led up to this, and between them was a depository called the conditoire^ where all the sacred vessels used at mass were kept. There was no taber- nacle ; as in most churches in the old times, the host was enclosed in a ciborium which hung in front of the aliar. A figure in alabaster of the Virgin surmounted the auiel des ar dents. Above all were three rows of chdsses, one above the other, as it were upon shelves, containing relics of S. Gendulphe, S. Severin, S. Germain, bishop of Paris, S. Justin, S. Lucain, S. Ursula's young friends, and other martyrs. The reliquary of S. Marcel was behind the high altar, resplendent in gold and pearls and precious stones,^ an elaborate and beautiful work of art, by, said tradition, S. Eloi, the bishop of Noyon ; but unfortunately, it was too valuable to escape the melting-pot, and its 436 marcs worth of gold found their way into coin of the Republic. The church was rich in glass up to the year 1741, when a demon in human shape, one Levieil, the author of a treatise upon the art of glass-painting, set to work to re-adorn Notre- Dame. He describes the matter himself; what he found and what he transformed. In the choir and the apse the windows were ornamented with colossal figures 18 ft. high, representing bishops, vested and bearing pastoral staves, without the usual crook termination. A border of lozenge-shapen coloured glass framed the figures and filled up the divisions of the compart- ments. These windows Levieil dated no later than 1182, and he adds that there were many fragments of much older glass, probably emauating from the ancient basilicas, which preceded the present church, interspersed between the grisaiile of the 1 2th century. In the tribune of the choir were windows given by a little personage whose eflfigy knelt at the bottom of one, Michel de Darency by name, chaplain of Saint-Ferreol, who died in 1358. The abbot Suger also gave some of the glass in the tribune, resembing that of his own church, S. Denis, which NOTRE-DAME. 293 is so rich in resplendent sapphire blue. In some of the chapels were subjects such as the Beheaiing of S. John Baptist, a king STEPS IN THE LITTLE CLOISTER. and queen, possibly Philippe le Bel and Jeanne de N-ivarre, kneeling. All this, or most of it, was improved away, or re-ar- 294 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS, ranged into floriated borders and armorial bearings upon white glass. A little remains of the 14th century : some small Angels holding the instruments of the Passion, a Pelican and its chicks, a Christ draped in red, and a little figure of the Virgin. This is all in the chevet. But the glory of the church is the glass of the rose-windows, which continue the subjects portrayed upon the sculpture of the doors over which they are placed. In the western rose the Virgin is in the central compartment, crowned and bearing a sceptre ; on her left arm is the infant Christ giving the benediction. The twelve prophets surround her, and we see again the Signs of the Zodiac, and the work special to each month during the year. Virtues and Vices, Judges, Priests, Prophets, and Kings of Judah ; Saints and Martyrs with the instruments of their martyrdom, or palms, decorate these exquisite windows, masterpieces of the art ; equal to the windows of Metz and Strasburg, and contemporary with the stone walls which surround them. Formerly the pavement was a mass of tombstones, erect or prostrate, bearing portraits of the defunct in brass or marble ; but Louis XIV.'s architects thought well to improve many of them away, and substitute a marble pavement costing 300,000 francs. Many brass tombs had been melted up with the lectern some years previously. Among the celebrities who had formerly either effigies or epitaphs in the choir were the follow- ing. Princes and Princesses : Philippe, Archdeacon of Paris, son of Louis VL, 1161; Geoffroy, due de Bretagne, son of Henry II. of England, 1186 ; Isabelle de Hainault, first wife of Philippe- Auguste, 1189 ; Louis, dauphin, son of Charles VL, 141 5 ; Louise de Savoie, mother of Francois I"-, 1531 (only her heart was buried here); Louis XIII. , 1643. Bishops of Paris: Eudes de Sully, 1208; 6tienne II., called Tempier, 1279; Cardinal Aymeric de Magnac, 1384 ; Pierre d'Orgemont, 1409 ; Denis Dumoulin, patriarch of Antioch, 1447. Arch- bishops of Paris : Pierre de Marca, 1662 ; Hardouin de Pere- fixe, 1671 ; FranQois de Harlay, 1695 ; and an archbishop of Sens, who was also High Almoner of France, Renaud de Beaune, who died in 161 6. The few statues which are now in the church are modern : the marble monument by Pigalle, of the Comte d'Harcourt ; of Cardinal de Belloy giving alms to a woman and child, by De- seine ; and those of the three murdered archbishops, Sibour, Affre, and Darboy, who are buried in the crypt. The epitaph NOTRE-DAME. 295 of Monseigneur Affre is as follows : Le Ion pasteur donne sa vie f)Oiir ses brebis. . . . Que man sang soit le dernier verse. The bells of Notre-Dame were justly celebrated ; but of the thirteen which were formerly in the towers, only one remains, the great bourdon^ heard all over the city on great occasions ; as, for instance, on Holy Saturday, when at High Mass, during GARGOYLES. the Gloria^ it peals forth, giving the signal for all the other church bells to break their forty-eight hours' silence. It was given by Jean de Montaigu* in 1400, who named it Jacqueline, after his wife Jacqueline de La Grange; and in 1686 it was refoundered and re-baptised — Emmanuel-Louise-Ther^se, in honour of Louis XIV. and Marie-Th^r^se of Austria. * Jean de Montaigu, beheaded in 1409, was a councillor, grand master pf the palace, and brother of Gerard, 95th bishop of Paris. 296 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. The exterior decoration of Notre-Dame is very rich. Gar- goyles, monsters of the most grotesque type, called also tarasques and 7nagots^ are there, encircling the towers, and dis- puting their importance with the Angel of the Judgment. The monsters stand, as they did centuries ago, gazing down upon Paris and its doings for good or for evil. Think of the events they have witnessed from the burning of fifty-four Tem- plars in a slow fire by Philippe IV., to the horrors of the Com- mune. They must have seen the flaming villages and chateaux during the Jacquerie, and witnessed those useless sorties during the last war, when the Parisians vainly endeavoured to escape from the city and gain one of the outside army corps. They seem to look down in scorn upon humanity, whether in the form of the coronation of Henry VI. of England, so mean an affair that " un bourgeois qui marierait ses enfants ferait mieux les choses," or the misery of the famine of 14 19-21. "Vous auriez entendu dans tout Paris des lamentations pitoyables, des petits enfants qui criaient, ' Je meurs de faim.' On voyait sur un fumier 20-30 enfants gar^ons, filles, qui rendaient Tame de faim et de froid. One enterrait 100,000 personnes. Des bandes de loups courraient les campagnes et entraient meme la nuit dans Paris pour enlever les cadavres." And all the ages through, the brutes have had the same expression of scorn, of spite, of diabolical ugliness, that one feels it to be a comfort that they are fixed safely to the gallery of the towers, out of the way of working mischief. Amongst the great ceremonies which have taken place in the cathedral are: The marriage of Marie Stuart with Francois II., of France, in 1552; the marriage of Henri of Navarre and Marguerite de Valois upon a platform erected outside the great porch, to prevent Protestant contamination of the church. This was upon the eve of S. Bartholomew, the 1 8th August, just six days before the great work of massacre on the 24th. The coronation of Napoleon by Pope Pius VII., in 1804; the marriage of the Due du Berry, and the baptism of the Due du Bordeaux (Comte de Chambord) in 1816 ; the funeral of the Due d'Orleans, son of Louis Philippe, in 1853; the marriage of Louis-Napoleon in 1853; the baptism of his son in 1857, and a certain number of episcopal consecrations. There was a great procession organized in 1590, during the siege of Paris by Henri IV. Sermons were preached against NOTRE-DAME. 297 " Le Bearnais," the clergy took up arms, and the pope's legate promised the palm of martyrdom to all who fell in the holy cause. The day after the first assault, the procession took DEMON WATCHING THE FIRES OF THE COMMUNE. place. The principal heroes of the League, after shaving head and face, marched first, vested in ^^ caniail and rochet,' and 298 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. bearing sword and '"^partisan." Then came a number of monks in order of battle, shouldering their axes and arquebuses, " dans un accoutrement moitie religieux et moiti^ militaire qui avait quelque chose de burlesque et de terrible a la fois. L'Eglise militante chantant des hymnes entremelees de salves de mousqueterie. lis defil^rent devant le legat, qui les traita de vrais Machabees ; pour que quelques-uns meriterent a la defense des remparts." But it did not save them from starva- tion. There was at one time a mass said for the idle at " la plus NOTRE-DAME BY MOONLIGHT. haute heure du matin. Ainsi qu'en d'aucunes paroisses de Paris, il y a la messe d'unze heures." This was suppressed in 1722 by the Cardinal de Noailles, archbishop of Paris. It was founded by the kindly regular canon, Jean Le Moyne, and its revenues were applied to the bhieficiers viachiiots and clercs du matitis. The viachicots were officers of the church ot Notre-Dame inferior to the bhieficiers^ and superior to the simple wage-singers. " The word inachicotage se dit de certaines additions des notes, suivant une merche diatonique avec lesquelles on remplessait dans le plain chant les imervalles du tierces et autres." A number of corona hang from the vault, NOTRE-DAME DE nASSOMPTION. 299 and in the crossing of the transepts is a huge one recalHng that of Hildesheim. When Hghted during the services of Holy Week, just giving a gentle diffused glimmer, the effect is very fine ; never, indeed, are these great churches so grand as at the evening services. The mass of men sitting in the nave (it is reserved for them), the deep roar of their voices as they sing the Miserere^ the intense silence during the eloquent dis- courses of Pbre Monsabre or some other Dominican, the procession, dimly lighted, of old canons in every stage of decrepitude, the small boys, followed by a crowd of the most unharmonious specimens of humanity, carrying tapers, are elements forming a picture which is uniquely picturesque. In the old days before the war, the graceful, sweet-expressioned archbishop, bending to this side and that, while the faithful kissed his episcopal ring and received his blessing, added to the beauty of the scene. Had we known what was in store for him, it would have added also to the pathos. NOTRE-DAME DE L'ASSOMPTION. This building may be described as a dome and a portico, built from 1670 to 1676, by Charles Erard, director of the Academy of France at Rome, and decorated by Charles de la Fosse. The cupola is graceful, and if it were as well decorated as the Allerheiligen church of the palace at Miinchen, or the Apollinarus-Kirche at Remagen on the Rhine, it would be an imposing edifice ; as it is, it seems under a cloud, and is only used as a succursale or dependance of the Madeleine. It belonged to the convent of Augustinian nuns, now turned into barracks, but still showing a few remains of the cloister. It is strange that no one in these days should desire to build a round church under a dome ablaze with mosaic decoration. It might have a sanctuary as at Aix la Chapelle for the Divine of^ces, with a pulpit in the dome, which would have the advantage of being placed so that all the congregation could see the preacher. I am thinking at this moment of the beautiful Russian church in Paris, which is gorgeous with colour and gilding. Such a building upon a large scale, built in the sumptuous style of the Brompton Oratory, of marbles and mosaic, and in the form of the church of the Assumption, would be a refreshing change from red brick and Doulton tiles, which seem to be inseparately mixed up v/ith elaborate 300 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. ritual, and are as infallibly correct as clothing for an Anglo- Catholic service as is chocolate colour for dressing up pseudo- Grecian temples surmounted by pepper-box turrets, which delighted the architects at the beginning of this styleless century. NOTRE-DAME DE L'ABBAYE AUX BOIS. If I say that the little church and cloister, which are all that remain of a monastery of Cistercian nuns, built in 1718, are situated in the Rue de Sevres, hard by the Bon March^, my readers will immediately picture their whereabouts. At the beginning of this century, the Abbaye became a genteel boarding-house for fashionable ladies who played at being weary of the world ; but, although they retired into a monastic building, their vionde followed them; and thus we find Madame Recamier receiving her admirers in her cloistered salon^ and listening to their philosophical sophistries while she elegantly reclines upon a satin sofa with straight legs and curling arms. NOTRE-DAME DES BLANCS-M ANTE AUX. When the white-mantled religious, the servants of Mary, came to Paris about the year 1258, they set up housekeeping in the street which is now named after them, the Rue des Blancs-Manteaux. Everyone who has been to Florence knows the chapel of the Annunziata, where during mass one day, the general of the Servites, Filippo Benozzi, saw a vision of the Virgin sitting in a chariot, and heard her voice calling upon him to draw near, and join himself to her servants, who, some fifteen years earlier, had banded themselves together. There were seven of them, all of noble family, and they gained their name from their especial devotion to the Virgin. As they wandered out to the church of the Annunciation to sing their Aftgelus, the women and children used to point at them and cry out, " Giiardate i Servi di Maria " ; and so, when they formed themselves into a community, they became known as the "Servi" or "Serviti." Benozzi was a medicine man of benevolent disposition, who, tired of witnessing suffering (perhaps of operations performed without anaesthetics), gave up his work, and retired, like another S. Benendict, to Monte Senario. His power in smoothing down the ruffled-up bncks of the Tuscans in their many family squabbles was so great that he NOTRE-DAME DES CHAMPS, 301 became a renowned moral healer ; and in 1285, when he died, his order was flourishing all over Italy and France. It was soon after his beatification, about 167 1, that Andrea del Sarto was called upon to decorate part of the cloisters of the Annun- ziata \ and, as a result, we have the lovely Madonna del Sacco. At the end of the 13th century the hermits of Saint-Guillaume replaced the Servites at the monastery of the Blancs-Manteaux, and in 1618 the house was united to the Reformed Benedic- tines who erected a new church. The habit of the monks was then changed to black, but as the name of Blancs-Manteaux was still retained, the people called the fathers les nial nomnies. The conventual buildings are now occupied by the Mont-de- Piete, another kind of service of the poor, in the shape of official and honest pawnbroking. If anyone wishes to study character, let him go into the great hall, and look at those rows and rows of physiognomies sitting upon the benches awaiting their turn to be served. Young, old, poor, and, apparently, rich, all go there for loans upon their goods ; and you may pile upon the mountain anything you like, from a bundle of rags to a diamond butterfly. NOTRE-DAME DES CHAMPS. Legendary history records an assemblage of the first Chris- tians of Lutetia in the fields where now runs the Rue S. Jacques, listening to the preaching of S. Denis, and strengthen- ing themselves against the persecution which loomed in the distance. And legend further relates that a chapel was built upon this spot. But leaving the realms of tradition, we find an authentic account of a church in the 8th century which, in the next hundred years, was served by the Benedictine monks of Marmoutier. This remained the headquarters of a priory for about six hundred years. In 1604, Cardinal Berulle intro- duced the Carmelite order as reformed by S. Theresa, and the nuns began to rebuild. The church they left intact with its 13th century porch, and its great statues of S. Denis, Moses, Aaron, David, and Solomon. This building disappeared, and a modern one arose in its stead, more to the West ; but the crypt is supposed to be under the level of the street ; and according to the abbe Lebceuf, a second subterraneous burial- ground of Gallo-Roman origin was discovered still lower down, witii fragments c^ tombstones, slabs, pottery, and the like. 302 THE CHURCHES OF PARTS. The present church contains a few debris of its former grandeur, a statue by Sarazin, of Cardinal de Berulle, being the principal one. The monastery was celebrated, during the 17th century, as the asylum of many distinguished ladies who sought a refuge from their troubles ; amongst others, of the blessed Soeur Louise de la Mis^ricorde, who died there in 17 10, in the odour of sanctity. In her mundane career this Madeleine da la Cour was Mdlle. de la Valli^re, and she is said to have posed to Le Brun for his terrible picture of La Madeleine penitente renonce a toutes les vanites de la 77V, which was painted for M. de Camus as an adornment of this Carmelite church. It is now in the Louvre, which it in nowise adorns. Lebrun, as a decorative artist, painting allegories and battles, is bearable; but his religious pictures are only gross exaggerations of the Italian Eclectics. This Madeleine de la Valli^re is in a tortuous state of agony at the thought of the vanities she enjoyed. With eyes turned up, with her flowing locks, and swathed in rich satin garments, which are blown by a gust of wind coming in at the open casement on the top of a cloud, she looks thunder- struck ; it is astonishment at the discovery of her sinfulness, revealed by the heavens opening, and the Divine voice addressing her. Surely the moderns, the Berauds, the Lhermites, the Dagnan-Bouverets, Uhde, Hitchcock, Pierce, and their followers, have far more religious feeling, although they clothe their personages as Parisian workpeople, and paint their Madeleines, like Henner, in the pastures (apparently) of the Bois de Boulogne — backgrounds, considering the subject, not altogether inappropriate. NOTRE-DAME DE LORETTE. An utterly uninteresting exterior encloses some good mural paintings by Orsel, Perin, and Roger. The church was com- pleted in 1836 by Lebas, and were the weather always bright, the interior would not fail to impress the visitor ; but it is too dark for a Northern clime, and it is therefore difficult fully to appreciate the frescoes. That over the altar is by Picot ; the subjects from the life of the Virgin are by Dubois, Langlois, Vinchon, and Hesse ; the choir is the work of Delorme ; the Presentation in the Temple, and Christ disputing 7vith the Doctors^ are by Heim and Drolling. They are all inspired by a NOTRE-DAME DES VICTOIRES. 303 reverent feeling for the subjects, and are resplendent with gold NOTRE-DAME DES VICTOIRES. Louis XIII. laid the first stone of this church in 1629, and dedicated it to Our Lady of Victory, in memory of the famous battle of I^ Rochelle. It was part of the convent of bare- footed Augustins, who were nicknamed the Little Fathers, by Henri IV., on account of the diminutive stature of some of the friars, and consequently the church was as often called Notre- Dame des Petits Peres as Notre-Dame des Victoires. Pierre Lemut was its original architect ; and before it was completed, in 1740, by Cartaud, two other architects. Liberal Bruant and Gabriel Leduc, lent their aid. The cupola is decorated with an Assumption ; pictures by Vanloo adorn the choir, and other chapels contain some by Perrault. Those by Vanloo represent the thanksgiving of the King and the Cardinal for the mighty victory aforesaid, the taking of La Rochelle. But the interest of, or the objections to, the church, according to the point of view from which we start, consists in the innumerable ex- voto tablets which cover the walls, and proclaim the answers to prayers by mothers, wives, husbands, sons, fathers, and daugh- ters. They are emblems of the faith which saves. But would not the same earnest prayers, put up on other spots, produce the same results? Is it not a narrow notion that we are more likely to be heard in the Place des Victoires than in the Halles ? Such is not the view of the devots and devotes, as the statue of the Virgin proclaims, for it is hung all over with costly jewels and ornaments ; and whatever time of the day we may enter the church, we find it almost filled with troubled souls who come to gain an indulgence at its privileged altars, which are to those of a different sort of mind examples of what to avoid. For those persons having leanings to superstition, let me commend this church as an antidote ; to others, it is neither aesthetically interesting nor, from a religious point of view, particularly edifying. To musicians it has one attraction, as being the burial-place of Jean-Baptiste Lulli, the charming fiddler, who died in 1687, and whose bronze statue by Cotton is in the transept. L'ORATOIRE. Built for the Oratorians, this elegant circular church is now 304 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. given ovf r to Protestant gloom of the least decorative order. It was constructed by Francois Mansard, and dedicated to Notre- Dame-des-Anges in 1634, upon the site, some authorities say, of the Hotel of Gabrielle d'Estrees ; it may therefore be said to have passed from the good Gabrielle, through the better fathers, to the best Protestants ; or, contrariwise, from the bad Demoiselle to the worse Catholics, and, worst of all, Calvin- ists. However, now all is calm, and passions have subsided ; and a fine statue of Admiral Coligny is fixed to its wall, facing the scene of his murder on that fearful feast of bloodshed which S. Bartholemew must have been scandalized to find attached to his name. SAINT-PAUL-SAINT-LOUIS. In the Rue Saint-Antoine is the old church of the Jesuits, gor- geous in marbles, gilding and stucco, as is the wont of the architects employed by those wary fathers. It was built from the designs of Francois Derraud from 1627 41. The remains of the conventual buildings are now occupied by the College Charlemagne. The expenses of the building were defrayed by Louis XIII. and Richelieu, who celebrated his maiden mass there. It was the second cupola erected in Paris, the first being that belonging to the Carmelite church. It is Italian in style, the facade being very similar to that of S. Gervais, recalling the Gesu and S. Ignacius at Rome, and is adorned with statues of S. Louis, by Lequesne ; of S. Catherine, by Auguste Preault ; and of S. Anne, by Etex. Bourdaloue and archbishop Huet of Avranches are buried there, and in a crypt below lie the Jesuits who have died in the convent from its foundation until the suppression of the order. The numerous monuments were swept away at the Revolution : a rich sculp- tured coffer for the heart of Louis XIII., and another by Coustou le jeune, containing Louis XIV.'s heart. The taber- nacle was of silver gilt, but it is no more. The only contents now of any interest are a picture representing the abbey of Longchamps, attributed to Philippe de Champaigne, and a fine work by Delacroix, Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, Although his first known picture, it is an example of his splendid colouring and grand composition. Victor Hugo's first child was born in the parish, and baptized at S. Paul's, and to commemorate the event the poet presented two holy-water stoops, in the shape of shells, very beautiful in design. 305 SAINT-PHILIPPE DU ROULE. " This church presents you with a single insulated row of fluted Ionic pillars, on each side of the nave ; very airy, yet consequential, and even imposing. It is much to my taste, and I wish such a plan were more generally adopted in the interiors of Grecian-constructed churches. The choir, the altar . . . the whole is extremely simple and elegant. Nor must the roof be omitted to be particularly mentioned. It is an arch constructed of wood, upon a plan originally invented by Philibert Delorme— so well known in the annals of art in the sixteenth century. The whole is painted in stone-colour, and may deceive the most experienced eye. This beautiful church was built after the designs of Chalgrin, about the year 1700, and is considered to be a purer resemblance of the antique than any other in Paris. Perhaps the principal front may be thought to be too close or servile a copy. It was erected upon the site of an ancient Gothic chapel, of which latter the author of the three quarto volumes of Parisian topography has given a vignette from the only known design of it, in aquatint, but very indifferent. This church, well worth your examina- tion, is situated in a quarter rarely visited by our countrymen, in the Rue du Faubourg du Roule, not far from the barriers." * I give this criticism of S. Philippe because it shows how taste has changed in architecture, as indeed in all else. From most persons' point of view the church is quite uninteresting ; indeed the only object in going there is, except to a certain number of fashionables, to hear some celebrated preacher. It was from the pulpit of S. Philippe that Pbre Didon poured forth those eloquent and learned discourses, stocked with liberal ideas, which brought him into disgrace and forced retirement, until quite recently. It is curious, too, that the quarter should have so changed. It is now the centre of the English and American colonists, and withal well filled with persons who delight in the one o'clock mass. It is so convenient ; they can saunter in after dejeuner^ say a few prayers, step into their carriages again, and go straight off to the races. Perhaps S. Augustin has bereft S. Philippe of some of its fashion ; but it has still plenty to spare ; it may be said to swarm with elegant toilettes, and not much else in the way of beauty. Let us walk on. * Dibden. 3o6 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. SAINT-PIERRE DE CHAILLOT. " Chaillot, tr^s ancien village de la banlieue de Paris edge en faubourg, sous le nom de la Conference, par arrets du conceil du mois de Juillet 1659. Le nom de ce faubourg lui fut donne a cause de la porte de la Conference, situde sur la rive droite de la Seine, vers Textremite de la terrasse du jardin des Tuileries." The apse of this church is the only part that is old ; the rest is Italian, and very poor of its kind, which makes the groined vault of the apse all the pleasanter to contemplate. Lately a new chapel has been added on in the Avenue Marceau, something between a Swiss chalet and a cafe^ all ablaze with gilding and tawdry decoration. The abbey of Sainte-Perrine de Chaillot was founded by Philippe le Bel about 1 300, in the forest of Compi^gne for the canonesses of the order of S. Augustin ; and in 1646 it was transferred to La Villette. Later, the monastery was united to another community of the same order which was established at Chaillot in 1659. In 1760 the abbey ceased to exist, and the buildings gradually disappeared, with the exception of a few fragments belonging to some school buildings. Augustin's sisters may still be seen at Chaillot, working in the parish of S. Pierre, and observable by their quaint head-gear and their quainter clogs worn over spotless white stockings. By the way, why do Anglican sisters and nurses wear long gowns trailing about the wards of our hospitals? Are they not possibly receptacles for the germ and microbe population ? SAINT-PIERRE DE MONTMARTRE. The first church of S. Peter is said to have been founded by Louis VI. and Alix de Savoie his wife, upon the site of a still older edifice ; and its most remarkable event in those early days was the presence of S. Bernard at its consecration. Little remains earlier than the 15th century, except two verd afiiique columns and some of the pillars of the choir. Upon a slab may be read an inscription bearing upon the martyrdom of S. Denis and his companions, who suffered here upon the mountain ; and in the open ground outside is a Calvary to which the pious world resorts. A splendid new church dedi- cated to the Sacre Coeur is being built hard by, to which a SAINT-ROCH, 307 vast number of processions and pilgrimages now industriously and toilfully wend their way. SAINT-ROCH. Built by Jacques Lemercier, after the first-stone-laying by the Grand Monarque, this church became fashionable and much affected by the great ones of the City. Bossuet lived hard by in the Rue S. Anne, and was placed in the church he had often preached in, previously to being removed to his cathedral of Meaux. Another celebrity, Marie Anne de Bourbon, Princesse de Conti, daughter of Louis and his hand- maiden La Vallibre, was buried in the chapel of the Virgin ; and the sculptors Francois and Michel Anguier also found their rest here. The portico was commenced in 1736 from the designs of Robert de Cotte. It is in no wise beautiful ; but it is cele- brated as having been the scene of the terrible 1 3 Vendemiaire An IV. (5 October, 1795). In the "cul-de-sac Dauphin" against the church walls the " young bronze Artillery Officer " set his guns. " The firing was with sharp and sharpest shot ; to all men it was plain that there was no sport." * In a couple of hours it was all over ; insurrection quelled ; and the "Whiff of Grapeshot" proved so successful that it became the active power in subsequent doings of the dynasty of the " Man of bronze." S. Roch is a vast edifice mainly conspicuous by its ugliness ; but it contains much furniture that is worth noting. Over the altar is a fine crucifix by Michel Anguier, formerly in the Sorbonne. The group of the Nativity brought from Val de Grace is by Francois Anguier. Saint-Jean-en-Greve has con- tributed the Baptism of Our Lord, by Lemoine ; the Latin Fathers were sculptured for the Dome of the Invalides ; the figure of S. Roch on the right of the choir is by one of the Coustou brothers ; a dying Christ by Falconet. The bust of Lenotre, by Coyzevox, was part of a monument ; so was the statue of Cardinal Dubois by Gillaume Coustou. Mignard was buried here and has a memorial bust by Desjardins. Medallions also abound: the Marechal d'Asfeld, the Due de Lesdigni^res, the Comte d'Harcourt, and the Due de Cerqui ; also a monu- ment to Maupertius, I'abbe de I'Epee ; and an epitaph to * Carlyle. X 2 3o8 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. Pierre Corneille. Madame de Feuquieres, in white marble, was treated after the manner of the kings and queens at S. Denis. Lemoine made her kneeling at her father, Mignard's feet; some one improved upon this^ and turned her into a Madeleine at the foot of the cross. Behind the choir is the chapel of the Virgin, with the Cruci- fixion lighted up after the manner of that terrible tomb at Windsor erected to the memory of the Princess Charlotte ; but they vie with each other in popularity from the many sight- seers who pass by. There is also an en- tombment which, on Good Friday, is visited by thousands of people ; and in the chapel of the S. Sacrament, a reproduction of the Ark of the Covenant with the Mercy Seat and the Cherubim — about the most inter- esting part of the church ; it is I believe, used as the tabernacle. " S. Roche is doubtless a very fine building, with a well propor- A SISTER OF SAINT-ROCH. ^ioncd front and a noble flight of steps ; but the interior is too plain and severe for my taste. The walls are decorated with unfluted pilasters, with capitals scarcely con- formable to any one order of architecture. The choir, how- ever, is lofty, and behind it, in Our Lady's chapel, if I re- member accurately, there is a striking piece of sculpture of the Crucifixion, sunk into a rock, which receives the light from an invisible aperture, as at S. Sulpice. To the right, or rather behind this chapel, there is another — called the Chapel of Calvary — in which you observe a celebrated piece of sculpture, of rather colossal dimensions, of the entombment of Christ. The dead Saviour is borne to the sepulchre by Joseph cf SAINT-ROCH. 309 Arimathea, St. John, and the three Maries. The name of the sculptor is Deseine, Certainly you cannot but be struck with the effect of such representations — which accounts for these two chapels being a great deal more attended in general than the choir or the nave of the church. It is, right, how- ever, to add, that the pictures here are preferable to those of S. Sulpice, and the series of bas-reliefs, descriptive of the principal events in the life of Christ, is among the very best specimens of art, of that species, which Paris can boast of."* The music at S. Roch gained much renown some years ago, and although it is not now in any way remarkable, its reputation is still great. People assure you that the best music in Paris is at S. Roch. True, we may hear the masses of Haydn and Mozart very fairly performed there ; but neither voices nor organ equal the refinement of the Madeleine. In one respect, however, we may prefer S. Roch. The boys sit upon their little stools in the choir, and when they have to sing, group themselves with the singing men round a huge lectern, which stands out in the centre of the chancel. Thus they stand before the old noted service book, and in their picturesque costume of red cassocks, white albs, and blue or red sashes, they form a most pictu- resque coup-d'cEil^ very different from the other churches. At the Madeleine the choir sits behind the altar, and you hear the singing from invisible voices, — very charming if you did not see the boys in their collegien uniform pass round before the commencement of the service ; but this gives a somewhat theatrical effect. At S. Roch the grouping of the men and boys and the double basses round the lectern gives the whole affair such a delightfully old-world appearance that it is most refreshing, and the effect of the huge service-book, with its plain-song notation up above the heads of the boys, takes one back hundreds of years. That S. Roch was much esteemed in the early years of the century our American's letter shows. His criticism of the sermon might apply very well to many a one in this year of grace, more especially here at home. The French preachers almost always speak well, and are eloquent, even if their matter be indifferent, dull, or twaddly. Englishmen unfortunately despise the manner, and think their hearers ought to be content with good matter only; and so it comes about that in a life-time only two or three great preachers stand out in one's memory — a Henry Parry Liddon and a Samuel * Dibden. 3IO THE CHURCHES OF PARIS, Wilberforce. However, the "American," is of a diverse opinion. "Yesterday, being Sunday, I went to S. Roch's; I had the luck to hit upon the fashionable church ; but the preacher was the god of dulness. The world, he says, is growing worse and worse ; our roguish ancestors begot us bigger rogues, about to produce a worse set of rogues than ourselves. The Antichrist is already come. If he had said the antichrist of wit, anybody would have believed him, and yet this is the very pulpit from which the Bossuets and Bourdaloues used to preach. The church was filled almost entirely of women; one might think that none go to heaven in this country but the fair sex " (or perhaps the men require no help, he might have added). " The worshippers seem intent enough upon their devotions, but the wide avenues at the sides are filled with a crowd of idle, curious, and dis- orderly spectators. Give me a French church ; one walks in here booted and spurred, looks at the pretty women and the pictures, whistles a tune if one chooses, and then walks out again. They have not spoilt the architectural beauty (!) of S. Roch's by pews and galleries. The walls are adorned splen- didly with paintings; and here and there are groups of statuary, and the altar being finely gilt and illuminated, looks magnificently. When I build a church I shall decorate it somewhat in this manner. It is good to imitate nature as much as one can in all things ; and she has set us the example in this. She has adorned her great temple, the world, with green fields, and fragrant flowers, and its superb dome the firmament with stars."* The trotting about at S. Roch is the same to this day, which makes it the least restful of churches. SAINT-SEVERIN. The church of S. Severin is particularly interesting as show- ing a gradual development from the 13th to the 1 6th century. Founded upon the site of an oratory by Henri I. in 1050, it was first rebuilt at the end of the nth century. There were two saints of this name; one, the founder of the Abbey of Chateaulandon, who miraculously cured Clovis I. of some sickness by placing his chasuble upon him ; and the other, the patron of this church, a monk, or rather a hermit, who lived during the reign of Childebert I., in a cell near Paris, and was of course much given to prayer and supplications, and * American in Paris > SAINT-SEVERIN. 3" other pious exercises. Considering the brutal manners and customs of the early sovereigns and their companions, it is a blessed sign that human nature, even in those dai-k ages, was not completely diabolical ; and to find that some men and women cared for other matters than fire and sword and pil- lage. S. Severin was one of these more peaceful souls ; and Br- SAINT-SEVERIN FROM THE TOWERS OF NOTRE-DAME so well did he preach his pacific faith, that S. Cloud, or Clodoaldus, the grandson of Queen \ Clotilde, became one of his disciples, and received the religious habit of the Benedic- tine order from him. S. Cloud was the youngest of the sons of 312 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. Chlodomir, one of three brothers who suffered from the mur- derous indinations of wicked uncles. What brigands they all were ! Imagine a woman being asked in all seriousness whether she preferred death or the tonsure for her grandchil- dren. No wonder monasteries and convents flourished, for where else was there any culture, enlightenment, civilization, or even safety to life and limb? And yet Clotilde must have had some reason for her passionate answer, " Better they were dead than shaven monks!" for she must have foreseen that such an exclamation could only lead to assassination, and thus we find that S. Cloud alone of the brothers escaped death, and became a shaven Benedictine. S. S^verin was probably buried near the oratory, and what would be more natural than that the disciple should consecrate the spot to the memory of his master ? In 1050 Henri I. gave the patronage, which had been up to his reign in the hands of the kings, to the then Bishop of Paris, Imbert. At the end of the Tith century, it became an enormous parish, extending almost over the whole of the southern part of the city. It is now the centre of the Italian legion, models, organ-grinders, white-mice men, and plaster-image vendors; and it is a pretty sight on Sundays and fete days to see the church packed with emigrants from the sunny South decked out in all the splen- dour of their holiday attire. How a group of people can alter the whole aspect of a building, was once demonstrated to me in S. Paul's cathedral. Walking down that dismal and gloomy nave upon an afternoon to which the same adjectives might be appropriately applied, it seemed suddenly to become bright and light by the entrance of a group of three or four Italian women with their children, dressed in the familiar, and upon any other human beings, hideously crude violet, emerald-green, and raw-blue coloured garments ; colours which are totally wanting in beauty and harmony of themselves, but allied to the snow-white chemises and trimmed with gold braid, and partially covered with silver ornaments, they seemed to drop into harmony with the church, and to completely change the general appearance of the melancholy background, as even a ray of sunshine fails to do completely. S. Paul's is so essen- tially Italian that its usual congregations, clad in blacks and browns, form an utterly inharmonious foreground to the architecture, and give one the idea that the building is depayse^ SAINT-SE VERIN. 3 1 3 The present church of S. Severin was rebuilt in the 13th century, in great part by money obtained by indulgences, which Clement VI. in 1347 accorded to the generously inclined among the faithful. In the next century this system was revived, and the churchwardens, with shrewd foresight, bought up more ground, with a view to the enlargement of the building. The first stone of the new part was laid in 1489, the chapel of S. Sebastian being built three years later. In 1490 the chapel of the Conception, which was situated near the east end, was demolished to make way for the lengthening of the north aisle. Five years later, Jean Simon, Bishop of Paris, consecrated the new portions of the church, including the high altar, and several of the chapels of the chevei. In 1498 the chapels on the south side were commenced by Micheaul le Gros ; the sacristy and treasury being added in 1540, and the chapel of the Communion in 1673, to make an entrance to which the chapel of S. Sebastian had to be destroyed. Thus for four hundred years, more or less, the church was undergoing constant change and development. Then began the downward path, commencing with the destruction of the iube and the " ornamentation " of the sanctuary to suit the taste of the devotees of Classic art. Originally, many of the Paris churches had jubes (rood-screens), but the only one now remain- ing is that of S. jtL,tienne du Mont. A brass attached to one of the pillars gives the names of the donors of the screen, Antoine de Compaigne (illuminator) and his wife Oudette. Were it not for the elegant little tower and spire, few persons would know of the existence of S. Severin. It is out of the beaten track, beyond Notre-Dame and the " monuments " of the Faubourg S. Germain. It has to be hunted up; but it is well worth the trouble, and any one visiting the remains of the Roman amphitheatre of Lutetia, in the Rue Monge (now laid out as a public garden) can see S. Severin at the same time. The portal is profusely carved and bears an inscripition upon the stylobate (the letters of which are of the 13th century), giving the various duties of the grave-diggers, amongst others the cleansing of the vaults of the roof as well as the lower part of the church on the feast of S. Martin, in order to be tidy for the dedication festival which fell two days later. As in many other churches, there are two lions on each side of the arch, probably the supports formerly of some heraldic shields. This, no doubt, is the origin of the formula, which terminates certain ecclesi- 314 THE CHURCHES OF PARIS. astical judgments pronounced at the threshold of the temple, Datum inter duos leones. The tympanum bas-relief has been restored. It represents the charity of S. Martin, who is one of the patrons of the church, and whose mutilated mantle, or a portion of it, has been one of the cherished relics of S. S^verin since the 14th century. There is also a chapel dedi- cated to the venerable bishop of Tours, which was formerly completely covered with ex voio horse-shoes, the gifts of thankful travellers ; for S. Martin having been on horseback when he divided his cloak, became the patron of the travelling comnmnity. The western /> >> », Burial of, 9, 80. XI 81 -^ ,'! Xli!, Tomb of, 49, 61, 62. „ Xin.,85, 86, 303, 304. „ ,, Vail de, 277, 289. INDEX, 341 Louis XIV., great generals of, 50, 51- Louis XV., 165. Lulli, 303. Lupus, S., 235. Lutrin, Le, 12. M. Madeleine, S., 239. Maid and the Magpie, The, 141. Maillot, T., 173. Maintenon, Madame de, 147. Marcel, S., Legend of, 282. Marguerite, S., 243. ,, de Valois, ^-t,. Marie de' Medici, 83, 85, Martin des Champs, S., 244. ,, S., Legend of, 245. " Mass of St. Giles," 90. Massillon, 148. Medard, S., 248. „ Legend of, 249. Merri, S., 251. ,, ,, Legend of, 251. Mignard, 125, 259, 307, 327. Millet, Dom, 31, 61, 69, 72. Mirabeau, 149, 329. Moliere, 125, Montereau, P. de, 194, 195, 247. Montyon, A. de, 231. Music, 153, 240, 309, 324. N. Nangis, Guillaume de, 71. Nefs or Navettes, 223. Nicolas des Champs, S., 256. ,, S., Legend of, 258. Nicolas du Chardonnet, S., 259. Notre Dame, Cathedral of, 260. ,, ,, Ceremonies at, 270, 296. Notre Dame de I'Assomption, 299. ,, ,, de Lorette, 302. ,, ,, des Champs, 301. ,, ,, des Victoires, 303. ^^ »> ,, Tombs of, 294. ,, ,, Treasury of, 291. O. Oratoire, L', 303. Oriflamme, L', 41. Orleans, Tomb of the House of, 82, 83, 84. P. Pantheon, 158. Paris, University of, 224, Pascal, B., 108, 109, 215. Paul, S., 304. Philippe, brother of S. Louis, 79. Philippe, S., 305. Pierre de Chaillot, S., 306. Pierre de Montmartre, S., 306. Pilon, G., 47, 65. Pils, 137. Pius VIL, Pope, 151. Poirier, Dom, Notes by, 54, 55, 56. Pressoir Mystique, 1 10. R. Rameau, 151. Ravy, J., 272, 286. Relics, 4, 5, 6, 17, 18, 19, 139, 142. Renaissance Museum of Louvre, 47, 132, 186, 188, 189, 211, 271. Richelieu, Cardinal, 319. Rigord, 'JT. Robert, King, 75. Robespierre, 279. Roch, S., 307. Rochelle, La, 303. Sauval, 109, 189, 260. Scarron, 213. September massacres, i, 195. Servandoni, 321. Servites, 300. Severin, S., 310. „ Legend of, 311. Sibour, Archbishop, 112, 262. Simon, L'Abbe, 129, 156. I Sorbonne, La, 319. ' Soufflot, 165, 275. Suger, Abbot, y], 69, -](), jj, 78. ,, Vase of, 95. Sully, Bishop Maurice de, 266. Sulpice, S., 321. 342 INDEX. T. Thomas d'Aquin, S., 326. True Cross, Relic of, 4, o, 6, 17. Turenne, 51, 68, 147, 238. V. Val (le Grace, 45, 326. Valliere, M"«. do la, 502. Valois, Marguerite de, 83. Vase of Suger in Louvre, 95. Versailles, 328. Vincennes, 329. Vincent de Paul, S., 321. Voragine, J. de, 219. \V. Winepress, Allegory of the, III. V. Veowell, J., 180. 14 DAY USE RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN ^. , , ^ LIBRARY This book IS due on the last date stamped below, or on the date to which renewed. 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