New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1876-04-29
CUARTRES PORTRAYED.
r-rrD rpou HENRY JAMES. JR.


-Dov , REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF TIE iHnoSI
rs All o-The Spring in Paris, since IL mas
-, has been enchanting. The sun ana
-, have been blazing in emulation, ana the
s:s,rance between the blue sky of day ana Oh nigi'
-. hon rs slight as possible. There are no ciouos
lac d., lint there are little thin green clouds,
ms If raw. tender verdure, caught and sus-
's.,Iod ,,non the branches of the trees. All inc
,orld il in tho streets the chairs aud tables whieh
80 Stood empty all Winter before the cafe doors
>. at premium the theaters have become ih'oi-
rsbly close-the puppet-shows IN the oh"inP'
.lvs6es are the only form of dramatic eh'er''',i
oent which seems consistent with the season. Dy
CAV Of doing honor, at a small cost, to thiS e'ieiv"'
nildness, | went out tho other Gay " Wy
nciont town of Charities, where spen' 81.
IA hours OF the pureSt felicity "i0
tv in this hard world, always deserves W 10
ecorded, and | cannot deny myseI 'ho pio%'"'o ~
COMMUNICATING nv admiration OF one Oh Inc hoS'
o'''l' ~ !, r.Ios IN France If one has not been
o,;,, for long time there is, TO an appreciatlVe
-, . oort of intoxication in the mere fact OF
,a,,,,inc mis- Mace and if one does so ON lovely
-, dov undcr picturesque circumstances, the
ot;sfoction is nj il; highest To this perhaps rather
ri,,olous emotion must confess myseH extremely
useentible and the effect of it was tosend me down
. Cbortre, in a shamelessly optimistic state oil
lind. | was so prepared to be entertained ana
1a,se5 with everything that it is only mercy that
10 cotbadral bsppens 10 be really fine building
It;t had not leen should still have admired it III
Ultimately and rendered myself guilty of heaven
knows what objectionable aesthetic error But
AZ, almost ashamed to say how soon my entertain
mept began. II began, think, with my halllhg a
little open carriage on the boulevard ana causing
mv.ef 70 be driven to the Western Railway station
Tho mo
., art-stnient memories, and along the big
straight sRue dc Rennes to the Boule-
card Moutparnasse OF course, at this rate,
by the time reached Chartres-the journey is OF
couple of hours-I had almost drained the cup OF
pleesure. But it was repenished at the Station, at
the Juea from the very good bottle of wine drank
with my breakfast. Here, by the way, is another
excellent excuse for being enchanted with any days
excursion in France-wherever you are, you may
breakfast we'll There may, indeed, If the s,atlon Is
very small be no buffet but if there IS batd, you
NAV he sure that civilizaton-in the persons OF
sympathetic young woman in wel-made piacN
dress and rapid Jealous, grateful #aiter-presldes
Mt ii. It was quite the least as the French say
that after my breakfastl should have Thought the
Cathedral saw it from the foot of the steep hill
On which the town stands, rising high above the
clustered houses and seeming to make Of their red
rooted aggomeratiOu mere pedestal for its I'M
mepse beauty, promised remarkably we'll You see
II so "a you emerge from the station, and then, as
you climb slowly into town. You lose sight OF IT. You
perceive Charities 10 be rather shabby little rue ne
proriace with few sunny empty open places, ana
crooked shady streets, in which two or three times
you lose your way, until at last, after more than
once catching a glimpse, high above some slit be-
tween the houses of the clear gray towers shining
II. Il. 4. ard
another short cut turn another interp0sng corner,
and stand before the goal of your pilgrimage.
spent long time looking at Charities Cathedral;
Ircvolved around it, like a moth around candle
went away and came back chose twenty differ
ent s;andponts / observed it during the different
hours OF the day, and saw it in the moonlight as
well as the sunshine gained, in word, a certain
sense of familiarity with it; and yet | despair of
giving any very coherent account OF it. Like most
French cahcdrals, it rises straight cut Oh the street.
and it Is without that setting OF turf and trees and
deanerics and cauonres which contribute largely
H. the npressYeness Of the great English churches.
Thirty years ago a row of old houses was glued to
It, base and made their back walls OF its sculptured
sdos. These have been plIckci away, and. rcla-
lively speaking the church is fairly isolated. But
the little square that surrounds it is regrctfuIly
narrow and you fatten your back against the oppo-
sit houses in the vain attempt to stand of and sur
yey the towers. The proper way to look a. tne tow
ers would be 10 go up III balloon and hang poised,
face u face wish them in the blue ar. There is.
however, perhaps an advantage in bclsg forced to
stand so directly under them for this position gives
you an overwhelming impression of their hight. l
have seen, suppose, churches beautiful as this
one but do not remember ever to have been so
touched and fascinated by architectural beauty.
The endless upward reach Of the great west front,
the clear silyery tone OF its surface. the way few
magnificent features are made to occupy its
vast serene expanse, its simplicity, majesty, and
dinity--theSe things crowd upon ones sense with
eloqucnce that must not attempt to translate
into words The impressions produced By arcLitec-
ture lend themselves little to Interpretation by
another medium as those produced by music. Ger
tainy there is something Of the beauty Of music in
the sublime proportions of the facade Of Charities.
The doors are rather low, as those of the English
cathedrals apt to be, but standing three TO-
geiherl axe set in deep framework of sculpture
rows Of archng grooves, filled with admirable little
images. standing with their heels on each others
heads. The church as il how exists, except the
northern tower. dates from the middle Of the thr-
teenth century, and these closely packed figures are
full Of the grotesqueness of the period Above the
triple portals Is a vast Handicapped window, in
tree divisions of the grandest dimensions aud the
sate,.est effect. Above this window il a circnlar
window Of immense circumference, with double
row Of sculptured spokes radiatng from its center
and looking on its great lofty field Of stone,
passive and symbolic as If il The wheel Of Time
Itself Higher still is little gallery with a delicate
balusiradc, supported on a beautiful cornce and
stretching across tie front from tower TO tower and
above this is a range Of niched statues Of kings
hf.een believe in number. Above the statues IS a
gable, wi.h image Of the Virgin aud Child on It's
front, AID another Of Christ on its apex In the