Vanished Halls and Cathedrals of France — John Shaqi
Vanished Halls and Cathedrals of FranceEdwards, George Wharton
History
Vanished Halls and Cathedrals of France
Edwards, George Wharton
Cathedrals -- France; Cities and towns -- France; France -- Description and travel
Entrance to the town was through the gate called "Porte Robert," near
which was the citadel. There was a large and impressive square called
the "Esplanade," where statues had been raised to "Batiste" and the
historian "Enguerrand de Monstrelet." Then followed the "Place aux
Bois," lined with handsome trees, and large "Place d'Arms," on which was
the "Hôtel de Ville," which, while of comparatively modern construction
and rebuilt in the last century, was sufficiently interesting even to a
student of ancient Flemish architecture. Its most elaborate façade was
sculptured by one Hiolle of Valenciennes. The tower bore two gigantic
statues, much venerated by the townspeople, named respectively "Martin"
and "Martine," but curiously enough there was a wide difference of
opinion as to which was which, some saying that the left hand giant was
Martin, and others protesting the contrary. The figures dated from the
time of Charles V, and were presented by him to the town in 1510.
On the square at the opening of the Rue St. Martin was a fine Gothic
belfry dated 1447, and attached to the church of that name. This
contained a notable chime of bells, a carillon, the work of the Hemonys.
* In the Rue de Noyon was the Cathedral of "Notre Dame," part of which
had been rebuilt since a fire which consumed it about sixty years ago.
The interior contained notably the fine marble and bronze monument of
Fénelon, and a statue to this celebrity, the work of David d'Angers, all
worth a considerable journey to see. The body of the church was of
the eighteenth century and while of purity in detail, offered no very
striking features. There were eight very large mural paintings "en
grisaille" after the works of Rubens, by Geeraerts, a modern artist
of Antwerp, but these, despite the obvious merit of the work, seemed
somehow out of key with the interior.
* See "Vanished Towers and Chimes of Flanders,"
for chapter on bell founding.
Wandering about, we came upon a small street in which we found a
remarkable collection of paintings of the Netherlands School owned by
a private collector, who was pleased to show them, and delighted by our
enthusiasm over their qualities. This gentleman insisted upon becoming
our guide about the town, and showed us so many attentions that my Lady
Anne became bored with him, and this led to our leaving Cambrai before
the time we had set--but we left a letter of appreciation and thanks
addressed to him.
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