Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1897-05-25
FROM PARIS, MAINE, TO PARIS,
FRANCE.
No. "a.
CHURCHES AND PRISONS OF PARIS.
(From our Special Foreign Corrcspondcnt.)
PARIS, FRANCE, March 20, 1897.
"It IL not on the hattie. field
That all great deeds are done;
Not there Alone In ynlor shoWn.

That all great deeds are done;
Not there alone Is valor shown.
Not there all victories won"
All that Is left of that notorious prison,
the Bastile, Is the outline Of stones laid
In the streets and square where 1t for
merly stood. In the centre, now, rises
the July monument, erected to commeui-
crate the destroying Of It, that famous
July day, when the cry, Down with
the Bastile," rang out, and the prisoners
were triumphantly borne out on the
shoulders Of the crowd. History gives
this as one Of the most inhuman places
of torture the world ever knew. Dickens
.''rale Of Two Cities" gives good idea
Of II, as Il gives both sides Of the polit-
lcal question--both cruel and sickening
In their horror. Our sympathies must
always be with those that suffer, and It
Is hard to see any justice in cruelty.
The prison called the Conciergerie, Is
the only one now left to tell It's tale OF
woe. II was with indescribable emotions
that We fingered In the narrow cell where
Marie Antolnette spent that period OF
such agony as perhaps no mortal ever
knew. Her husband had been torn from
her and beheaded, and the little son
whom she idolized was snatched from
her arms and tortured till he died, and
the little daughter also separated from
her.
The character Of this unhappy queen
has been greatly censured, but we have
been told by authorities on the subject
that her reputation began to rise from
the time when the fortunes of France be-
gan 70 cloud over. She was no longer
the frivolous creature she had formerly
been, and when overwhelming troubles
came upon her, she showed what queens
were made OF, aud In all the concluding
trials Of her tragic life, even when led to
the guillotine, she showed heroic cour-
age and greatness of mind. Her cruci-
fix Is still here, and who can tell the
agonized prayers that have been poured
out to that symbol Of suffering, As we
stOop to 60 through the door, where
she struck her queenly head as she en-
tered ii, more than q century ago, we
can almost hear the tragic words she
uttered when the guard asked II she was
hurt-"Nothing can hurt me now" We
never see market woman, or hear their
hsrsh, coarse voices In the street, but we
think OF that infuristed, drunken mob
that drove her to her doom.
In another cell was Charlotte Corday
confined, and also the young man who had
been so inspired to love by her heroism
and marvellous beauty, that he begged to
die In her stead. He was executed soon
after, for nothing but being loyal TO her,
and bravely gave himself into the hands
OF the executioner with the words,
THUS die for thee, my beloved" The
French people now, go and weep over
the golden curls that were cut from the
little Dauphin's head, and the other relics
Of those whom thev killed, but now
make heroes Of. Thus Il u, that In or
der to appreciated, one must die.
Among the most interesting and beau
tiful things In Paris. are the ancient
churches. Notre Dame Is the most
famous, and most elaborate In external
architecture. IL was erected In 100,
and its history IL interviewer with the
greatest events OF the nation since Julius
Cesar. Victor Hugo In his Notre Dame
de Paris has given an admirable descrip-
tion OF It. During the Revolution the
ancient pile was doomed TO destruction,
and used for anything but religious pur-
poses but Napoleon restored 1t to Its
former dignity as a church.
Nearly all the churches In Paris are
Catholic, as that has been the city next
to Rome, where that religion has exclud-
ed all others, from time immem0rial.
Several centuries ago one Of the kings
undertook to allow the Protestants to
flourish, but the law was soon revoked.
The churches are kept open all the time,
and at any hour Of the day or evening.
as you enter may be seen many worship
pers at their devotions, kneeling before
the statue OF the Virgin, or the figure OF
some other saint whom they believe to
have more power to mitigate or relieve
any particular sorrow or grievance, or
grant any certain desire. At the en-
trance, r man sits with brush which he
dips In the font OF holy water at his
side, and holds out, which Is touched by
all, who make the sign Of the cross be-
fore entering.
In spite Of whether you believe In
their religion or not, you can't help hav-
ing respect, and hardly feel like daring
to breathe, and ii really seems sacrilege
for the crowds of sightseers to be walk
ing about, almost stumbling over the
kneeling figures Of the devout.
The ceiling of Notre Dame Is studded
with golden stars, and noble statues and
paintings of great value adorn the In
terror. A star In the marble floor marks
the spot where Napoleon and Josephine
stood at their coronation. The walls OF
NOtre Dame then resounded with such a
song Of triumph as never before, and
Paris beheld a spectacle OF such match
less splendor as the world never equal
led. For ten centuries no monarch had
been crowned by the Pope Of Rome
even Charlemsgne had to 90 to Rome to
receive the crown, but for Napoleon,
whose will was as resistless as inevitable
His Holiness had to come to Paris.
But the Oldest building in France Is
the church Of st. Genevieve. Ii has been
repaired and added TO at different times,
but there is part still left which was
built In the time of Clovis, about 4s5.
The decorations Of the interior are the
most beautiful In Paris. The church OF
st. Germsine rAuxerrios Is the next
oldest, founded In the 18th century. The
interior Of this also Is very brilliant with
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