Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1884-11-07
THE REAL CITY or CHURCHES.

montreal a City Where Churches are Nu-
marcus and Beautiful Description Of
the Great Church Of Notre Dame.
A Montreal correspondent Of the
Hartford Times writes that The rea
CITY of Churches is Montreal. Here
the Mother Church rules and reigns.
Not in Rome itself would one find a
much greater preponderanee Of the Ro-
man Catholic religion and its temples,
it's symbols, and its constant obser-
vances. Montreal is largely built of
gray ssranites 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
know not: but those We have visited
greatly impressed our 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 strange looking round tower
(of granite) can already be seen from
distant parts Of the city. But the
prandest, most remarkable of all the
solid church buildings of Montreal is
unquestionably the great church Notre
Dame, wtose 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 distance Of
thirty miles. They rise to height of
227 feet above the paye1nent-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 an
enormous BELLE gros Bourbon the
largest bell, [ think, in America; atany
rate, it weighs $4,000 pounds, is six
feet high, and nearly nine feet in diam.
eter across it's mouth, It's tongue is
correspondingly pondrous. Its sound
is said to be magnif cent in its fullness
and grandeur; but is rarely rung.
When we saw it yesterday, part Of its
weight was supported on big beams and
lack screws; but when it is rung these,
of course, are removed. When this
great bell is rung, it is rung-not
pounled with 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
to-day, and once more to- morrow; but,
unluckilv for US, we shall not be here
to hear it. This great bell, as an elab-
crate Latin inscription on 1t testifies,
was cast in London in 1647, and paid
for "by the merchants, the farmers, and
the mechanics" of Montreal-or "Vllle
Marie" as the inscription puts it Getty
of Mary.)
In The other tower hangs chime.
It is composed of ten bells, beautifully
toned, and in such perfect harmony that
the most varied musical airs can be ex-
ecuted while they peal. The first bell
alone weighs 5000 pounds, aud has a
deep and very musical tone. The ten
bells mako a fine chime, as we can tes-
tify, after hearing the chimes rung re-
peatealv They are given with all the
parts, aud it is not always easy, when
near by, to catch the air. 1t sounds
something like the Joy peal of all the
Fourth of July bells at sunrise in Hart
ford, but it is more rhythmical and far
more musical. When on grand festival
days the great "Bourdon' joins it's 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
nnd'so11l of the people by its liberal pat
ronage of all the arts that best appeal
20 the religious sense-the most impress
sive parts of the science of a noble
Church architecture, of1nuslc, of sculpt-
IRE and of painting How bare and
lifeless seem our Protestant churches
in the comparison!
But let us enter this grand church.
It's vast nave, its broad side alsles, its
spacious two storied galleries, its charm
ing stained glass skylights, it's lofty and
beautiful nlazes of groined arches its blue
sky studded with golden stars, the paint
ings on the walls, the prevalent gildings
that everywhere suggest the religious en-
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 enormous and be-
wildering blaze Of gold throughout the
sanctuary, where the throne-llke great
altar is; and. to complete the effect, the
Illuminated windows, filling all the
galleries and all the church with Mil
tons dim religious light" this is
we'll fitted to impress even 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
220 feet in length. Looking up to the
points of the great gllttering arches
and the star studded sky Of The ceiling,
we see it at height Of eighty feet above
I the floor. In width, the nave and side
aisles measure, as make it, 100 feet.l
The galleries, two stories of them, ana
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 church
. are said to be very good. To this end
the architect made his study---and for
once at least, such a study has proved
successful. :'E.".
A lofty organ and a large choir Of
male voices complete the grand effect of
a service in this church. M, .4,tg9 as5sl &
a. series Of beautiful chapelS erected