Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1871-11-30

cry moment to the falling shells, which
have broken the pavement in several
places. They describe the period thus
spent as one of fearful horror. During
the daytime the view of the besiegers'
batteries was much obscured by smoke,
but at night the scene was terrific.
linen. particularly, was it feared the
spire might be overthrown. and when
fragments of its outer decorations were
knocked oil, and fell with a crash to
the pavement below, the men living up
on the church top thought the dreaded
moment had arrived. But observed
one OF them. Struggling his shoulders,
what was to be done! Que rouiez
rousf 1t was our duty to stay up here,
and NO staved."
To this platform hundreds Of per-
sous come daily. the fee being but fif-
teen centimes. To go TO the top Of
the other tower itself costs half franc
more, while another franc must be paid
II you wish to ascend TO the top Of the
spire, or rather To the little balcony
Just below the topmost final.
"s 'auteu auioitiOn TOOK me To the
very top, and came near leaving me up
there The journey up the staircase,
through the square part of the tower,
WAS only fatiguing without being in
the least degree dangerous, and it AZ
forded an excellent opportunity for OBJ
serving the apparently frail character
OF the structure, through whose OPEN
work lnterstices the wind blew iiercely.
The exquisite carving and decoration
up here Is seen by but very few, yet it
Is elaborate, and is As beautiful as any
IN the lower part OF the church.
At last came to the balcony. where
two flags-thc black and white of
Prussia and the tricoler of Germany
had been dung TO the breeze irnmedi-
ately after the Prussian occupation Of
the city. The breeze had not received
these banners very kindly, but had re-
duced them 10 long, stringy tat,ers, so
that from below they looked like
punches of preposterous shoestrings.
very uncomfortable and very much out
Of place.
At this point begins the inclination
OF the spire. which appears from the
platform below 10 be a series OF steps
leading to the top Of an elongated pyr-
amic, while from the street it looks like
a number of tiny projections orna-
meniing 4 rather short steeple. These
apparent steps or projections are. how
eyer, each rs large as an ordinary man.
and the little staircase winds in and
about them in 4 manner which, howev-
cr ingenious, il By no means reassuring
70 the nervous. By felicitous archi-
tcctural arrangement. person in
mounting this staircase is at one step
inside the splre. and ut the next step
outside Of 1t. with the great round
! globe Nsclf Seemingly several miles
below. a hy would probably not be
pcrturbed in this position; and crca-
lures like Quasimodo, who had had
long practice on the precipitous towers
Of Notre Dame, might even feel at
! ease.
| have heard it said that individuals
in such an elevated sphere of duty As
this have often felt almost irresistable
yearnings to let 90 their hold, launch
out into space, and fling themselves
down 10 earth. such, can conscien-
tously say, was not my experience.
On the contrary, felt an utterly ire.
sistible inclination TO cling 10 the stee-
pie itself and To avoid, As far as posi-
bic, any typographical observations Of
the earth beneath; what time nv blood
was frozen in my veins by the horrible
antics Of the guide, who hoped up the
spire from projection TO projection, Ike
an agile fowl, without any apparent APP
probation OF the awful yssiblities
contained in the law of gravitation.
To get upon the final narrow balco-
nv which encircles the steeple just be-
low its top (and from the street looks
only like a graceful little ornamenp
one has to take step which requires
the faith of Abraham himself. The
spire up here has grown SO small you
can almost put your arms around il,
while it seems absolutely certain that
it must blow over in the very next
blast of wind. Yet, ut such moment,
YOU are asked To stick out one foot in
the direction of the Rhine, and then
land it on point of stone about on
level with your forehead; to bring the
other foot somewhere else, and TO
clutch hold with both hands to some
thing which the guide SAYS is just
above you and all this on the outside
Of the. highest spIre in existence, with
the wind blowing like mad, the whole
world many miles below your feet, and
comfortable people on safe sidewalks
looking at you through their opera
glasses.
When it is all done according to
Hoyle, you find yourself on a narrow
ledge protected by low stone balus-
trade. The houses Of the city of Stras-
burg lie clustered about the base of the
cathedral, with their roofs dotted with
innumerable dormer windows, the
burnt district presenting a hideOus
gap in the fair symmetry of the town,
and the ruins of the theatre, museum,
prefecture and library conspicuous for
their extent and desolation. On three
sides stretches the vast, fiat, Alsatian
plain, and on the fourth lies the Duchv
of Baden. Quite near are the two vii
lagos between which the Prussians
planted their most destructive batter
les, and far beyond lies that France
which year ago claimed Strasburg as
her own.
In descending the spire there is a
; variety in the nature Of the sensations
aroused. Climbing up you can cling
to the stone work. Coming down you
: seem at every step to be about launch.
ing yourself into space. You feel as
if in your own person you were exem.
plifying by some inconceivably uncom'
Portable process the theory of centri
fugal force, and once down to earth
again the thought how sweet it is te
, grovel here below suffuses your coun
/ tenance with grateful glow Of loving