Washington sentinel., 1853-10-09

chapels on this right side of the church, made
! into one, is called the Chour d'Hver, and is
not open to the public. The Suisse opens the
door Of the railing, and we follow him into the
transept. See the effigies of the warriors Du-
gereschir, Turenne, Sancerre, lying side by side.
See those monumental pillars to the memory Of
Henry w to Cardinal de Bourbon! (who,
you may remember, was declared king by the
Catholics, with the title of Charles x, to the
exclusion of Henry W. And that one erected
by Mary Stuart to her husband Francis III
See, too, that catafalque, or dark canopy, with
its black plumes-beneath which, covered by
that velvet pail emblazoned with the enormous
feurs de lis, rests each monarch as he arrives,
until his successor pushes him into the vault
below. That little fame-painted banner, with
the letters IS. D." in the centre, which hangs
against the rose-window behind the high altar
was the original banner Of the Abbey, which
has superseded the cloak of st. Martin, and be.
come the national flag.
We must stop-I can go no further-I will
not enter the choir or its chapels to display
their wealth of paintings, statues, and relics.
In our country we read history. Here was
seen around you everywhere the statues, pill.
lars, bas-reefs, pictures, stained glass, to tell
some story of the kings or church Of France, or
recall some interesting fact in her history.
There, in that portico, in the presence Of
princes and peers, Henry Nv gave in his adhe-
sion to the Catholic church--the act of his life
which most entities him to the title of great
the act in which he rises above his age, puts an
end to civil war, and saves his nation from utter
ruin. On that column, nearest the high altar,
the Maid of Orleans that miracle of France,
after she had performed her mission, raised the
siege of Orleans, crowned the king at Rheims,
hung up her armor dedicated to the patron
Saint Of France; here she kneeled before the
king whom she had created, Charles VIZ
and begged to be dismissed to her focks, which
that selfish monarch refused, promising her
protection, and that, if taken prisoner, as she
foretod, he would redeem her at the price Of
half his kingdom. And yet, within the year,
he permitted her to be burnt, and never in
quired for her fate! Go into the crypt. A
quarry of kings and queens from Dagobert to
Louis XVI is there, sitting, lying, standingt
The genius Of love is the genius of the history
of France. AS Frenchman would say, "Here
the guardian spirit of France kneels weeping
before the genius of history, and consigns to
her keeping her most precious relics" Or, as
Yankee would express it, "Here history keeps
registry office, the branch for France, where
her kings, bundles of the history of their own
times, are neatly labelled and fled away"
The history Of the Abbey itself, is not unlike
mented Cole was here to paintitl First epoch
Before the PARISH, who procured a yagabond
subsistence by fishing in the Seine and plunder-
ing their neighbors, had extended their huts be-
yond their island. Shortly after the martyrdom
of St. Denis on the heights of Montmatre, about
the year 250, a few Christians built humble
chapel and dedicated it to the memory and
called it by the name of their martyred brother.
Their humility was their protection. No lofty
spire, no ostentatious professions arrested the
attsntlon ct their prosecutors, and they were
Christians. Second epoch--Turn over 500
years; the Christian religion has become the
religion Of the kings of France. Pepin, the
warrior and devotee, is king. Dagobert has
converted the humble chapel into rich and
noble church. St. Denis, the martyr, has become
the patron saint, and his banner the orifamme
of France, and his chapel the burial place of
kings. Third epoch--Another 500 years, the
noble structure of Dagobert has given place to
the more magnificent and ample edifce of its
regal Abbot Sujer, who was the regent Of
France during the absence of Louis VII in the
Holy Land. St. Louis surrounded by the glo.
rious chivalry of Europe, kings, dukes, and
princes, kneel before the high altar to receive
from the hands Of the abbot the consecrated
orinamme, which is to lead them to the con.
quest Of the sepulchre of Christi Fourth
epoch--Again 500 years. The revolution has
burst out like volcanol The lead covered
roof of st. Denis is stripped! The sculptures
and paintings fill the museums Of Paris! The
fury against kings pursues their senseless ashes;
the tombs are broken open and emptied Of their
contents; the skeletons Of kings and heroes are
exhibited about the streets of Paris, and the
dismantled walls are offered for sale by the
convention for the bare value of the materials.
Dilapdated and desolate, it was fast going
to ruin, when the work of restoration com.
menced by Napoleon ! was prosecuted by
Louis XVIII. Paintings, statues, relics before
restorcd-and they divide between them the
honor of presenting again to France the sem
blance Of the church which had grown up with
her from infancy, which was 50 identified with
her history and endeared to her by so many re-
collections of former glory!