The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1870-10-15
he Strasbourg Cathedral Clock and
Library.

One of the most lamentable results
of the siege of Strasbourg, leaving out
of view the loss of human life. is the
Injury which the bombardment has in
flicted upon the noble cathedral and
its wonderful astronomical clock. The
vast cathedral, which, perhaps, more
than any other one thing, has made the
name Of Strasbourg celebrated, is one
of the finest Gothic buildings in Eu-
rope. It was founded A. d. 5O4. The
choir was built by Charlemagne, prob
ably A. d. 600, though it was not COM
pleted until 1439. The material of
which the cathedral is built is brown
stone, very much resembling our Con-
necticut Portland freestone, so extern
sively used in Fifth avenue. 1t was
obtained from q quarry at Wassebonne
in the valley of Couronne, q few miles
from Strasbourg. The architect of the
existing edifice was Erwin yon Stein.
bach, Of Baden. One John Huells, of
less tower. Its spire is the loftiest in
the world. Its height, 466 feet, sur
passes St. Peters, and is about equal
to that of the great Pyramid. The
crater part of the entire structure was
destroyed by lightning in 1907, and the
restored edifice was begun in 1O15 and
completed in 1439. The cathedral is
|in every part richly decorated with =
sculptures; and the western front, ris-
fine with its wealth Of stat
|ues, ornamented carvings, and bas-re-
Qiefs. It has a circular window 38 feet
|in diameter. The Prussian heavy ar
|tillcry has made, it is said, u ruin of
part of the vast building.
The astronomical clock, the produce
|of a German clockmaker, in about the
year 1850, is a marvel of ingenuity and
skill, and has no counter
part. It performs not only the e-cina-
|ry service of clock, but exhibits the
the process of the seasons, the signs of
the zodiac, and the names and move
|ments of the heavenly bodies. At each
quarter hour an angel comes out and
strikes one stroke on bell; ut every
hour an angel comes out and strikes
twice, and at IL, meridian, q figure of
Christ appears, accompanied by the
twelve Apostles, all of whom move
around a central point and pass in, out
|of sight, by another door, the stroke of
his wings and crows. The clock is en-
|ormous in size, like everything else con
{nected with the vast cathedral, and is
Invisible from the outside street.-the
spectator passing through the nave of
the cathedral to see it. 1t has suffered
from FIRE and violence before the pres
ent year, having been out of repair nnd
motionless since the revolution of 1898,
until the year 1842, when it was re-
paired by a matchmaker of Bas-Rhin,
and has been in operation since. It is
ito be hoped that this ingenious piece
Of mechanism has not been irreparably
injured by the present bombardment.
The loss of the Strasbourg library
Ia vast collection of SOC, 900 volumes,
including many collections of rare and
curious monkish parchments-is total
and irreparable. It can never be re-
placed by any collection hereafteg made.
1t was the slow result of thousand
years; and its destruction by fire, caused
by the Prussian hot shot, is like the
of the Alexandrian library in
this, that of u great number of the
works destroyed, no duplicates can ever
be obtained.-Hartford Times.