The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-11-30
English and French Cities.


which must present itself TO any one who goes
through any considerable part of England aud
France with his eyes open, that there Is hardly
any city in England which can trace the same
unbroken historical existence which can be
traced by nearly every French town that can
boast of enough of early Importance to have
been the seat of an ancient Bishoprio. The
history of great number Of French towns
follows a single type. The site has been
place of human habitation, and the centre OF
more or less organized society, as far back as
history or trustworthy tradition can take us.
1t was a post, most usually fortress over
looking a river, which formed the stronghold,
the capital, If We may so call 1t, OF Gaulish
tribe. From those times till now it has never
ceased to be, in one form or another seat OF
habitation and of dominion. The Gaulish hill
fort became the Roman town. 1t was fenced
about with Roman walls, and 1t received
Roman municipal constitution. In the
South il retained, and still re-
tains, it's original ante-Roman name.
Burdgala and Tolosa keep to this day.
with but slight changes, the names which
they have borne from the beginning of things.
In the North the name of the town was most
commonly forgotten; it was supplanted by the
name of the tribe. Lutetia Parisiorum, the
town of the tribe of the PARISH, retains, as
Paris, not its own name, but that of its inhabi-
tants. In either case the continuous existence
of the town was not interrupted, and in either
case an ancient Gaulish name, either of the
town itself or of the tribe, remains to this day.
Next, under the Roman domination a new
element comes in, destined to be as lasting as
the other. Christianity is preached at an early
time converts are found, persecution follows,
some sanity and martyred Bishop connects
his name for ever with the city. As Chris
tanity becomes the recognized faith Of the
Empire the local church emerges from its
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never destined to lose. Except when it has
been tampered with by recent changes, the
episcopal succession in French city has gone
on uninterruptedly since the third or fourth
century; the present cathedral stands on the
site of a church of those primitive times; the
extent of the diocese marks the extent OF the
Roman civil division of which the city was the
head. Then came the Teutonic inroads, those
of the Franks in the north, those OF the Goths
and Burgundians in the south. The connection
with the seat of Empire, with Rome Old or
New, first became nominal and then was
wiped out. altogether, till the day when the
Roman diadem was set on the brow Of q
Frankisb king. But the Gaulish hill-fortress,
the Roman city, lived through the storm. 1t
remained seat Of habitation and Of dominion;
it retained its name, its position as the head
of district, in the south it even retained
large traces OF its Roman municipal organiza-
tion. Above ALL it retained its character as
seat of spiritual rule, the seat of q chief
church and its chief pastor. The cities OF
Gaul have lived on uninterruptedly from the
days of Sextius and Cesar till now. The
episcopal churches of Gaul lived on uninter-
ruptedly from the days of primitive Christen-
dom to the great Revolution. And with most
of them the great Revolution itself was only
passing eclipse. The chief towns of France,
in short, are places which have been abodes
OF man, seats of mans industry and govern
ment, such as industry and government have
been at various times, for eighteen hundred
or two thousand years, and tor as many more
prehistoric centuries as any one chooses to
add. Dynasties, governments, nations, Ian
guages, all have changed; but to this day the
chief fort Of each tribe overrun by Caesar
commonly remains the cathedral city of
diocese, and is often also the capital OF an
ancient province or modern department.
Now this is the history not of one or two
cities only, but Of whole class. When any
place of any Importance deviates from the
type, it is at once noticed as an exception. 1t
is in no way interfered with by the fact that
many French bishOprics have been divided,
and some in modern times united. The pro-
cess which is really destructive of continuity,
that of translation from one seat to another is
exceedingly rare. And we may add that in
France it is the old cities the immemorial
ecclesiastical and civil capitals, which are, to
very great extent, the seats Of modern CON-
merce and manufacture. We need not speak
OF the age of Massalia, the Hellenic common
wealth which braved the might of Cesar, the
Free City of the Empire which braved the
might of Charles of Anjou. But Lyons, Rouen,
Bordeaux, Amiens; Nantes, are all examples
of modern industry ana commerce finding
their homes in the abodes of anciSnt counts
and bishops. Cherbourg, Brest, Toclon,
though not equalling the associations of the
others, are all ancient and historic towns.
Havre alone is modern, but it has lived three
centuries, and three centuries, in the eyes of
many people, is very respectable antiquity.
Turn to our own country, and, instead of
whole class of immemorial Gaulish cities, we
shall find at most two or three which make
distant and doubtful approach to an analogous
character. Many English towns stand on the
site of Roman towns, but very few, if any,
English towns can trace the same uninter-
rupted connection with primitive times which
is still plainly written on the ancient cities Of
France. 1t is by no means clear that the Ro-
man towns in Britain so generally occupied
Celtic sites as they did in Gaul it is quite GER
tain that few or no English towns can show
the same continuous existence from Roman
times which 80 many French towns can. A
great gulf, an interval of historic darkness, a
period given up to the conjectures and infer
ences of ingenious men, divides their latest
recorded Roman existence from their earliest
recorded English existence. No existing Eng
lish, or even Welsh, Bishopric pretends to
trace an uninterrupted Episcopal succession
further back than the sixth century. That any
English towns retain traditional, or even
an initiative, Roman constitution, is a
mere dream without shadow of proof.
Nay, it is not even certain that the sites OF
the ancient Roman towns were continuously
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