Paris: With Pen and Pencil: Its People and Literature, Its Life and Business — John Shaqi
Paris: With Pen and Pencil: Its People and Literature, Its Life and BusinessBartlett, D. W. (David W.)
History
Paris: With Pen and Pencil: Its People and Literature, Its Life and Business
Bartlett, D. W. (David W.)
Paris (France) -- Description and travel; Paris (France) -- Social life and customs
"Are you master of your horses?" asked the duke.
"Sir, I guide them," was the reply.
"I am afraid you cannot hold them," again cried the duke.
"I cannot, sir," was the reply.
The duke then endeavored to get out of the carriage, but his feet became
entangled in his cloak, and he was thrown with great force to the
ground, his head striking first. It was dreadfully fractured, and he was
carried into the house of a grocer near at hand, where he expired at
four o'clock the same day, entirely unconscious. The royal family were
with him when he died. The house with the adjacent property was bought,
and two distinguished architects were commanded to erect a commemorative
chapel on the place. In July, 1843, it was consecrated by the
archbishop, in the presence of the royal family.
The building is fifty feet long, twenty in height, is built in the
Lombard-Gothic style, and resembles an ancient mausoleum.
Opposite the entrance there stands an altar to the Virgin, on the very
spot where the duke breathed his last, and over it there is a strikingly
beautiful statue of the Virgin and child. Beyond, there is a Descent
from, the Cross in marble. On the left, is another altar dedicated to
St. Ferdinand, and on the right a marble group, which represents the
duke on his death-bed. An angel kneels at his head, as if imploring the
Divine Mercy upon the sufferer. It is a fine figure, and is doubly
interesting from the fact that the Princess Marie, sister of the duke,
with her own hands wrought it, long before he was still in death.
Beneath this marble group there is a bas-relief, representing France
leaning over, and near, the French flag drooping at her feet. There are
four circular windows of stained glass, with St. Raphael, Hope, Faith,
and Charity, upon them. There are fourteen pointed windows, stained with
the patron saints of the royal family. Behind the altar the very room is
preserved in which the duke died--the sacristy of the chapel now. The
oaken presses, chairs, and prayer-desk are all clothed in black, giving
an air of gloom to the whole apartment. Opposite the entrance there is a
large painting by Jacquard, representing the death of the duke. He is
lying upon a couch with his head supported by physicians; his father is
opposite, apparently stupefied by his deep emotions. On the left is a
group, consisting of the queen and Princess Clementine, the Dukes
Aumale, and Montpensier, Marshals Soult, Gerard, and the cure of Mery.
The picture is a touching one. There is a small apartment detached from
the chapel, which was fitted up for the accommodation of the royal
family--the family now exiled from the land. In another room there is a
clock with a black marble case, on which France is represented as
mourning for the death of the duke. The hands of the clock mark ten
minutes to twelve, the exact moment when the prince fell; and in another
apartment there is a clock with the pointers at ten minutes past four,
the moment when he died.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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