Telegram-herald., 1890-08-12
NEGLECTED. CALAIS
Many Pass Through Ii, But Few
Stop 70 View II.
FOURTEESTH CENTURY TOWs.
Narsos Streets. Tau HsassS. waaaIns
Passages &na ola wslis-fhs sasisa
III and A - ss' s'Assa1ep eptlsas-A
Naiushi< Van Dgk<

constantly passing through bat which no
one ever dreams Of stopping at. Tins
: not surprising, lnasmueh as il has be
come the common thing 10 SAY that
there is nothing ia CALAIS worth seeing.
The oid French town. indeed, has SUI.
fered rather thsn gained IN reputation
and sttractiveness by beng on the high
way between London and Paris. Amer
leans usually have 20 time 10 spend
Tor the minor sights of the journey,
and 50 they have passed Cslais by form
ing OF Il the impression that would be
gained from q mere eursory glance al
tie town as II appears from the quay
or the railway station. Now, 10 do this
is 10 do Calais great injustice. There
arc no noble streets or spacious boule-
wards, nor Is there any ARCHITECTURAL or
artistic feature TO demand attention;
bat for ali that il is highly character
istic French town, and has lost few of
It's original features from contact with
Eugland and the English.
When you abght from the steamboat
the eye has nothing 10 rest upon save
the new docks, which spread them
selves over the sandy plain, upon which
Calais is built, except that IN the near
distance there are a few struggling
houses forming the extremetles of the
street, and then a little further off the
curiously-shaped spire of the Cathedral
and the still more curious tower of the
Hotel de Vile. But walk across the
| drawbrldges, and, making your way 10
the Rue de Tnermes, proceed
10 the market place, large
square surrounded by moderately nlgh
buildings, and containing IN the center
varied assortment Of stalls whereon
fruit, vegetables. fish and other COM
modlties are exposed for sale, you will
at once get an idea Of what an ancient,
| frowsy, old world place Calais is, ana
! be transported from the hustle and ac-
tivjty of the Nineteenth century. rs ex-
ealplified ut the harbor, into the Four
| teenth century, as eXemplltied by the
town hall. the surrounding houses, and
the sleepy habits OF the people. Yet
even here the Nineteenth century crops
up, for CALAIS boasts an extensive tram
way system, connecting the old town
with the suburb Of II. Pierre-the
suburb being good deal larger than
the parent city-and the starting pont
of the line is IN corner OF the Grande
| Place. Not a vehicle OF any kind is
TO be seen, except a tram car. Appar-
emily there are no cabs, for these that
| the town possesses are all huddied to-
gether at the station; nor Is there any
wheeled traffic to be seen, except few
hand -barTows truncled along by blue
bloused boys.
Now strike off into any OF the little
streets that run northward from the
square, and you Will come upon as
quaint a locality rs can be found any
where III Europe. The narrow streets.
the tall houses, the winding passages,
remind me Of those old Italian towns,
which wire built practically in one
| mass for the threefoid purpose OF pro-
tecting the Inhabitants against be-
seigeIs, heat and earthquakes. | can
not say that this quarter of Calias is in
a state of the highest sanitary perfec-
ton, for it Is not. What you see is SIM
ply fourteenth century town, which
! likely to alter until, out of sheer decay,
it falls TO pieces. Here and there you
get glimpses OF the old walls winch with
stood so many gatherings from French
and English, every stone of which is
hallowed with romantic and historical
associations.
This archway was formerly the prln-
cipal gate of the city. There are no
gates here now, bat the most blood
curdling stories are kept alive by tradl-
ton of the fearful struggles which took
place here in the days wnen Calais
was bone of contention between ma
tons which, even at that time, regarded
themselves as natural enemies 10 each
other. There Is not much to describe
IN the walls. They are mere crumbling
masses of masonry, serving no useful
purpose, and impeding as much as they
can the growth and improvement OF the
town. Their charm is IN their history,
and that history, If II were written IN
full, would fill volumes.
From the southeast of the central
square tiny street leads towards the
cathedral. 1t difficult TO get an idea
of the structure from the outside, be-
cause II is hemmed IN by other build
ings, and on the north side more par
tlcularly II has kInd.Of excrescence,
looking for All TIE world ike a little
eaOl. You enterhowevers and areIsi once
struck, not only with the lsrgeness of
the building, but with It's lightness and
It's freedom from that depressing gloom
which chaTacteTizys most Of the old ca
thedrals. The walls. the pillars, and
even the roof are whiteued, while the
windows are brightly, If not gsudily,
colorsd. il Is said that the stained
glass Of CALAIS Cathedral is among the
finest in Europe. bat that judgment
must have been based upon the purity
and bTii.isncv of the col0ring, and not
uuOn the artistic merits Of the des En
or on the harmonious grouping Of
bues. The Jed psues burn ike rubes,
and the blue ones arc 0f tho Ialrest
and deepest uitTaiuarine; bat whether
80 bright red and 50 intense a blue
belong artIstfcally SIDE by sde j. an
orcn question. The general efIect is -
n7a ke the interior somewhat gsrIsh.
but one should not be hvDeTCrIticsl
when there u so much here TO delight
the eve and employ the mind. The
glory Of the cathedral q Eubens
g. 4 Sumption one Ct the masters
s+arpleccs IL = set IS AZ = tar
piece. n ? magnificent framework q
hIack ard PINK and green marble
/ Thls stupe nGons p-ece q masonry has
+ been stand irg in "a present pisce nearly
I've hundred Years. Ihr0a1h All
/ the storms and troubles ~ that
reriod g h7s come without =
Srrsfca. Il "a peTfert to-
dav. 81 wren e wss erected Bat the
= sf.ers is not the onlr treasure The
( rfurca POSSESSES. There = valuable
f Van Dyke, I'D there = huge canvas.
refaahe rot - mrrH for - ART e.
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