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
Another Gothic bas-relief, which is seen on the left, in entering by
the great door, undoubtedly represents that condemned soul who,
tradition says, rose from his bier, during divine service, in order
to pronounce his own damnation.
None of the forty-five chapels have preserved the smallest vestige of
their ornaments. Those which escaped the destructive rage of the
modern Vandals, have been transported to the MUSEUM OF FRENCH
MONUMENTS. The most remarkable are the statue of Pierre de Gondi,
archbishop of Paris, the mausoleum of the Conte d'Harcourt, designed
by his widow, the modern Artemisia, and executed by Pigalle, together
with the group representing the vow of St. Lewis, by Costou the
elder. Six angels in bronze, which were seen at the further end of
the choir, have also been removed thither.
The stalls present, in square and oval compartments, bas-reliefs very
delicately sculptured, representing subjects taken from the life of
the Holy Virgin and from the New Testament. Of the two episcopal
pulpits, which are at the further end, the one, that of the
archbishop, represents the martyrdom of St. Denis; the other,
opposite, the cure of king Childebert, by the intercession of St.
Germain.
Some old tapestry, hung scantily round the choir, makes one regret
the handsome iron railing, so richly wrought, by which it was
inclosed, and some valuable pictures, which now figure in the grand
Gallery of the CENTRAL MUSEUM OF THE ARTS.
The nave, quite as naked as the choir and the sanctuary, had been
enriched, as far as the space would admit, with pictures, twelve feet
high, given for a long time, on every first of May, by the
Goldsmiths' company and the fraternity of St. Anne and St. Marcel.
On the last pillar of the nave, on the right, was the equestrian
statue of Philip of Valois. That king was here represented on
horseback, with his vizor down, sword in hand, and armed cap-à-pié,
in the very manner in which he rode into the cathedral of
_Notre-Dame_, in 1328, after the battle of Cassel. At the foot of
the altar he left his horse, together with his armour, which he had
worn in the battle, as an offering to the Holy Virgin, after having
returned thanks to God and to her, say historians, for the victory
he had obtained through her intercession.
Above the lateral alleys, as well of the choir as of the nave, are
large galleries, separated by little pillars of a single piece, and
bordered by iron balustrades. Here spectators place themselves to see
grand ceremonies. From their balconies were formerly suspended the
colours taken from the enemy: these are now displayed in the _Temple
of Mars_ at the HÔTEL DES INVALIDES.
The organ, which appears to have suffered no injury, is reckoned one
of the loudest and most complete in France. It is related that
Daquin, an incomparable organist, who died in 1781, once imitated the
nightingale on it so perfectly, that the beadle was sent on the roof
of the church, to endeavour to discover the musical bird.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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