New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1879-07-24
!. SLEEPY CITY OF FRANCE.
,prprs AMI IT'S CATHEDRAL.

= I
49,, p, ACE TO LIVE OR DIE IN-THE EDIFtCk
,rrrH MAKES A DULL TOWN FAMoUs-GLlNpsEs
or 1IFr IN CHARITIES.
-, AZ occ AsroNAL CORRESPONDENT OF THE TltlDONE-l
Cr,prRrs, July 5.-Some one once relnalAo"
49, f ever be should reach point IN lle "noio
la = t,,l5 ne his sole ambition lie would go to
strotford-on-Avon; for, Of all places upon ear'n'
:. ms the stillest place TO die in IL that personase
~ not vet come TO his end IN peace ne may DC e'"'
a. no informed that choice of quiet retreats
% him. Ifhe should happen to be ii arts "i''n
this feeling that " there is 10 JOY ~ 800.
s,,os unon him. he may die, or i've for that mat
a,,jatIv enough by taking two hours raliroau
ss5.and aIiobtipg al Charities If he should ehanoc
Ia vrol-,tocked with French history, he VIII hlu
Gov hints along the road TO keep him nom dOS'-
Int stagnation as for example, AT NerS"l'io'' ''
Pambouillet and at Maiutenon with lts IeiL'",'ol
% T o,is XlVth's unfinished aqueduc'' INC H"o
o-cbos Of which may be seen from the caItl"se
,,,,dovr. Then he will find the country Oh eA,n
side Of the line not interesting and the WHO
asuecr of things growing more prml'lVe d. no
rears Bretagne. Then that harsh cA"s -
the train over the turntables when ai"a9S AH'4t
the approach to a place Of some Importance VIZ
,noucntsry hustle of the large station ana ne Is III
Cbartres and steps out into "hl'e' ho''
r,eDtr of commonplace and quiet.
m yuide book gives fair warning that the hotels
g., Cbartres are all poor, but names the Hotel de
rrapce rs the least Of evils But the HoteI ue
rro,ce had such a desperately shabby look, hike an
Jrish village inn, that abandoned "Bsedeker' Tor
rown instincts, and turned into place which,
,,tvardlv. promised better things, and where
smiling female invitingly suggested Deeisteah;
vbicb steak appearing in due time, swimming IN
,,oc;d butter. and flnked by formidable loaf OF
-. brood and a coarse napkin, which might have
.erved the purpose Of the absent table-cioth-
awakened longings for the Hotel de France.
AID So il was good to get away from the musty
r+rle pllce with its sawdust and billiards, and
oInb the narrow, crooked street to the Cathedral
80 whence rises one of the nOblest churches IN
1sra,ce the first dedicated to the worship OF the
Virgin and where Henry ". received his crown
and Bernard preached the second crusade. Quiet
4 n luxury here. 1t was pleasant to SIT
.lovp on a shaded doorstep, with word
of apology TO an lnqulSiuye-looklng mat
yon and amid silence broken only 0y the
cawiuc of the rocks 70 let the superb old building
take rbe sense captive. How that north tower on
the front climbs by great reaches-paln' long
sveeps of smoothly-cut stone-Up the level OF the
gallery over the rose window of the facade, as II
impatient to get above the sordidness and petu-
ness of little Chartres. Then as if it had reached
n height where II could pause and work out some
cherished thought with leisure and painstaklng,
beginning 20 blossom into beautiful details grow
ing richer as it slowly creeps upward, until at last
II flowers out into the rich mass Of plunacles.
arches. inches. statues little buttTesses and win
dows which heap themselves together for the spire
TO take It's last upward leap from them into tic
clouds
That earI.er. southern tower. nevertheless. has
more OF true aspiration than the other. Like It's
ueirhb0r. it hastens TO rise, disdaining the eab
o., d., .1rrf1I
the very first courses of tler ades but tie long
upward sweeps with which it begins its ascent
are prolonged to the very summit. The other
tower mounts like a soul which begins IN
dead earnest but is gradually beguiled and stayed
by the seduc,iOus of earthly beauty. must resist
the temptations of architectural detail though one
nigh be pardoned for desiring to convey to reader
some sense Of the beauty and grandeur of that
southern side which, by its infinite variety grace
freedom and richness more than makes up for the
slight pr1mncss Of the main front. That southern
portal. rising on the richly carved pillars; those
1rIe tiers of Hving buttresses the first and second
courses beautifully joined by series Of little arches
and columns; those bewlderug glimpses Of seq
roents of rose windows, or edges of final or but
1ress. caught through spri1Ving arches, that won
drous Len5 Of the choir and aise-ls IL any Won
der that Lowell wrote The Cathedral" after that
"harpy " down-sAod day amid such beauties
The June sun does not spare Charities. 1t was grow
ing too warm for outdoor musings. but the old
church was in other than a spiritual sense, " "a
shadow from the heat" Within the vast choir, with
its sixteen clustered columns AID graceful relieves
a company Of priests were comfortably in
toniuz afternoon service, their sonorous voices
borne I'D by an OPhicleide or other
brazen instrument in the skllul hands of one of
their fraternity, and answering each other across
TIE magnificent iuclcsure. They had II all 10 them
selves There was no critical audience; only one or
two Old women kueeng at the chapels in the am
bua+orv and retO-chOr and another stroller beside
myself who had dropped ia 10 see and not to HOr-
ship. But he good fathers sang on with no less
JUNCTION tiIl the final Amen" when they retired
through suudrv doors into their mysterious sacris
ties and left me alone with the great columns and
arches and with the echoes Of Their braZen trump
still rev.rberatiug through the long-drawn aises,
No train until 7 o'clock. and prisoner in Char
tres for four hours has abundance CT time TO ex-
plore its streets which for crookedness can be sur
passed only by those Of ancient Boston But when
one is thirsty in Charities, on such day as this
he may expect to be frequently let him not sit down
in the strip Of shade which the watchful publican
always occupies with a table and chair and call,
] did, for beer. For then tle garcon will
stare at him w0nderingly, and perhaps
summon a more experienced garcon, 10 read
The riddle; and he. III his turn, will politely
inform the unsophsticated stranger that he
has noHe Of the beverage IN question Or, per
haps when the weary traveller shall have gone on
20 the next ca t. a tawdTy imitation of the genuine
Paris article and shall have mOdestY preferred the
same request. be will DE- answered by the produc-
tOu OF 70 suspicious looking bottle labelled Byrrb,'
which further investigation viii show 10 be the vile
Eeruoufb with which a. many Freuchmpu are
eating ont their brains Let him call boldly for
"Buck -" whereupOu the gaTcon's face viii flash our
into Intelligence and the wayfarers thirst viii be
apptas.d.