The Dickinson press., 1884-11-08
THE REAL CITY OF CHURCHES.
Montreal q City Where Churches are Nu-
merous and OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES Of
the Great Church Of Notre Dame.

Montreal q City Where Churches are Nu-
merous ana OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES Of
the Great Church Of Notre Dame.
A Montreal correspondent of the
Hartford Times writes that the req
City of Churches is Montreal. Here
the Mother Church rules and reigns.
Not in Rome itself would n find q
much greater preponderance of the Ro-
man Catholic religion and lbs temples,
its symbols, and it's constant obser-
vances. Montreal is largely built of
gray granite, and the great cathedral
like churches, to say nothing of the con-
vents and other religious establish
ments, are of the same impressive and
fitting material. Howmany there are L
know not; but those we have visited
greatly impressed Jul party by their
splendor and size. The Cathedral is that
particular church, be it large or small,
in which the Bishop has his chair. In
Montreal the Cathedral is in process of
construction, and the lower part of its
vast and strengthening round tower
(of granite) can already be seen from
distant parts of the city. But the
grandest, most remarkable of all the
solid church buildings of Montreal is
unquestionably the great church Notre
Dame, wAose grand front, with its lofty
granite portico, and its massive towers,
rises from Notre Dame street, one of
the city's principal thoroughfares.
These noble towers, suggesting the
front of Westminster Abbey, can be
seen from the south at a distance of
thirty miles. They rise to a height Of
227 feet above the pavement-fnely
completing the grand effect Of a
stately front. in which the porti-
co itself is fully SO feet high.
One Of these great towers has All
enormous BELLE gros B~ourdon-the
largest bell, Think, in America; at any
rate, it weighs 25 200 pounds, is six
feet high, and nearly nine feet in diam.
eter across it's mouth. Its tongue is
correspondingly pondrous. Its sound
is said to be magnificent in its fullness
and grandeur; but is rarely rung.
When we saw it yesterday, q part of its
weight was supported on big beams and
jack-screws; but when it is rung these,
of course, are removed. When this
great bell is rung, it is rung-not
pounded with o clapper or hammer. 1t
takes twelve men to ring it. The last
time it was rung was at Easter, and
curiously enough, it is to be rung again
koIlow oo1 1r1n TOW orrNy,s 111%
unluckily for us, we shall not be here
to hear it. This great bell, as On elab-
crate Latin inscription or 1t testities,
was cast in London in 1S47, and paid
for "by the merchants, the farmers, and
the mechanics" of Montreal-or "Ville
Marie" as the inscription puts it (City
of Mary.)
In the other tower hangs a chime.
It is composed of ten bells, beautifully
toned, andin such perfect harmony that
the most varied musical airs can be e1-
ecuted while they peal. The first bell
alone weighs 5000 pounds, and has q
deep and very musical tone. The ten
bells make a fine chime, as we can ties.
tify, efter hearing the chimes rung re-
peatedly. They are given with all the
parts, and it is not always easy, when
near by, to catch the air. It sounds
something like the Joy peal of oil the
Fourth of July bells at sunrise in Hart
ford, but it is more rhythmical and fa1
more musical. When on grand festival
days the great "Bourdon' joins its sol
emn tones to the chimes of its ten sis.
tiers, the effect is such q concert as
never is heard elsewhere on this side OF
the Atlantic. / should like to be here
at Christmas or Easter. The Roman
Catholic Church deserves honor for
for what 1t does in lifting up the heart
and soul of the people by its liberal pat
ronage of all the arts that best appeal
to the religious sense-the most impress
sive parts Of the science of o noble
Church architecture, ofmusic, ofsculpt-
ure and Of painting. How bare and
~lifeless seem our Protestant churches
in the comparison!
But let US enter this grand church.
Its vast nave, it's broad side-alsles, its
spacious two-storied galleries, it's charm
ing stained glass skylights, its lofty and
beautiful mazes Of groined arches its blue
sky studded With golden stars, the paint.
ings on the walls, the prevalent gildings
tllaG oFciS WHERE BBe Cue IellSlOuS GU
thusiast's idea of the golden adornments
Of the New Jerusalem, the sculptured
sacred images, the numerous clustered
columns in red, green, blue and gold,
and especially the and be-
wildering blaze of gold throughout the
sanctuary, where the throne-like great
altar is; and, to complete the effect, the
Illuminated windows, filling all the
galleries and all the church with Mil,
toms "dim religious light"-all this is
we'll fitted to impress ever a non-be-
lever. If there is music and service
gong on the effect is further heighten.
I'd.
Think of the size of this building
The nave, including the sanctuary, is
300 feet in length. Looking UP to the
points of the great gl1ttering arches
and the star-studded sky OF the ceiling
we see it at a height of eighty feet above
the floor. In width, the nave and side
aisles measure, as I make it, 100 feet.
The galleries, two stories of them, an:
the grand aisle, are softly and beauti
fully lighted up by fourteen side win.
dows, each forty feet high.
The pulpit is in the midst of the nave
and the acoustic properties OF the churct
are said to be very good. To this enc
the architect made his study-and fo1
nee at least, such a study has proved
cuooaccfu1