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
There was a curious small building called the Grange aux Dimes, divided
into two parts, one subterranean, the other on the level of the soil.
Two staircases, one inside, the other outside, led to a hall on the
first floor. This was divided by two ranges of pillars, with ornate
capitals of foliage. The door to the subterranean passage was unfastened
and we ventured down into the darkness and must for a short distance.
I am convinced that we might have had some adventures below had we
explored the tunnel. Near this was "Le Puits," supposed to be the
entrance to other vast vaults, a subterranean town extending beneath the
hill for miles, and formerly used for many purposes in the Middle Ages.
These vaults were to be found in many of the towns hereabouts, and
during the occupancy of the country by the Germans since the invasion of
1914, the soldiers have used them to store away ammunition and supplies.
Over these small towns for three years now have raged battles the like
of which for fierceness and bloody loss the world has never seen.
The small town of Marcoing, about five miles from Cambrai, had one of
these wonderful caverns of refuge dating from the Middle Ages, and there
were others at Villers-Guizlain and at Honnecourt, where there were
the ruins of a Roman town, and an immense church with a porch of
the eleventh century. This was said to have been a famous place of
pilgrimage in the twelfth century. Tradition has it that in that century
three brothers of the family of Courcy le Marchais were taken prisoners
during the crusades. In the power of the Sultan they languished, until
at length he bethought him to send his young daughter to their dungeon,
where they lay in chains, thinking that she might by the power of her
beauty and eloquence bring them to the faith of the Mussulmans. But
strange to relate, she it was who succumbed to the arguments of the
three fair-haired brothers, and finally promised to become a Christian
provided that they show her an image of the Holy Virgin of whom they
had so eloquently told her. Now the three brothers had no image of the
Virgin, everything having been taken from them when they were cast
into the dungeon. But all at once, says the Chronicle, the image of the
Virgin bathed in golden Celestial light appeared miraculously before
them in a niche on the wall, so the Sultan's daughter, thus convinced,
not only set the three fair-haired brothers free, but accompanied them,
bearing in her bosom the sacred image, which henceforth was enshrined
here on the altar and venerated.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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