Paris as It Was and as It Is: A Sketch Of The French Capital, Illustrative Of The Effects Of The RevolutionBlagdon, Francis William
History
Paris as It Was and as It Is: A Sketch Of The French Capital, Illustrative Of The Effects Of The Revolution
Blagdon, Francis William
Paris (France) -- Description and travel
CHURCH OF SAINT EUSTACHE.
This church, which is one of the most spacious in Paris, is situated
at the north extremity of the _Rue des Prouvaires_, facing the _Rue
du Jour_. It was begun in 1532, but not finished till the year 1642.
Notwithstanding the richness of its architecture, it presents not an
appearance uniformly handsome, on account of the ill-combined mixture
of the Greek and Gothic styles: besides, the pillars are so numerous
in it, that it is necessary to be placed in the nave to view it to
the best advantage.
The new portal of _St. Eustache_, which was constructed in 1754, is
formed of two orders, the Doric and the Ionic, the one above the
other. At each extremity of this portal, rise two insulated towers,
receding from all the projection of the inferior order, and decorated
by Corinthian columns with pilasters, on an attic serving as a socle.
These two towers were to have been crowned by a balustrade; one alone
has been finished.
Several celebrated personages have been interred in this church.
Among them, I shall particularize one only; but that one will long
live in the memory of every convivial British seaman. Who has not
heard the lay which records the defeat of Tourville? Yes--
He who "on the main triumphant rode
To meet the gallant Russel in combat o'er the deep;"
Who "led his noble troops of heroes bold
To sink the English admiral and his fleet."
Though considered by his countrymen, as one of the most eminent
seamen that France ever produced, and enjoying at the time of his
death the dignity of Marshal, together with that of Vice-admiral of
the kingdom, Tourville never had an epitaph. He died on the 28th of
May 1701, aged 59.
Some of the monuments which existed here have been transferred to the
Museum in the _Rue des Petits Augustins_, where may be seen the
sarcophagus of Colbert, Minister to Lewis XIV, and the medallion of
Cureau de la Chambre, physician to that king, and also his
physiognomist, whom he is said to have constantly consulted in the
selection of his ministers. Among the papers of that physician there
still exists, in an unpublished correspondence with Lewis XIV, this
curious memorandum: "Should I die before his majesty, he would run a
great risk of making, in future, many a bad choice."
It is impossible to enter one of these sanctuaries without reflecting
on the rapid progress of irreligion among a people who, six months
before, were, on their knees, adoring the effigies which, at that
period, they were eager to mutilate and destroy. Iron crows and
sledge-hammers were almost in a state of requisition. In the
beginning, it was a contest who should first aim a blow at the nose
of the Virgin Mary, or break the leg of her son. In one day,
contracts were entered into with masons for defacing images which for
centuries, had been partly concealed under the dusty webs of
generations of spiders.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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