The National tribune., 1898-12-01

you go there you must go to the boarding
house where was; it's real cheap, and you
get two kinds of dessert, and the landlady s
son, he's real nice; he's got consumption, l
guess. And there's a lady there, an actress
I think her hair is dyed, and if You find out
you must write me all about it, for l am
dying to know. We gadded about awfully
all the time and nearly died. And you must
go to some tower or other where all the
Queens were beheaded-its awful. And
there's the Museum. One has to go, but it
amt interesting"
As usual, we haunted the Cathedral. We
found beautiful arches and windows. a won
derful chime of bells-a little doll Virgin in
robes of stiff brocade of silver embroidered
with red roses, and a tinsel crown above her
face. Another doll was the Babe, and it was
also attired in stiff robes of silver CLOTH
Both were black with age. and very unpre-
possessing to an unbelieving eye The little
doll stands on a red velvet platform that has
gilded handles, and in the Spring of every
year she is carried about through the streets
Of the town with long train of priests
acolytes with candles, and penitents, to inspire
the people with renewed piety and alteration
AS we watched her two women in black
frocks and heavy walls brought her bouquet
of artificial flowers done up in a great paper
lace handkerchief The offering was prob
ably meant to lessen the pangs of someone
newly gone to purgatOry.
In this cathedral we saw the most wonder
full Woodworking that had ever delighted our
eyes. There were saints smiling from the
oak all about the church, and the confession
ais were presided over by beautiful oaken
beings The pulpit was marvel, and must
have meant many years of patient work on
the part of the artist. 1t was no work of a
day, or a week, or month, nor yet year, but
a great design for holy work, evidently
carved by one whose religion and worship in
spired his fingers, and gave him patience
through the years to perfect the whole. 1t is
said there is more beautifully carved pulpit
in Brussels, but it was difficult for US to be-
lieve when we saw this The medallions
around the pulpit are the heads Of Christ, the
Virgin, and Saint Francis d. Assist. The
saint, whose eloquence is said to have held
even the birds and beasts mute and listening,
is supposed to be speaking and all about in
the boughs and leaves and branches of the
hedge that guards the stairway and circles
the pulpit are birds and squirrels listening
ntently. The figures that support the pull
pit represent the great countries Europe,
Asia, Africa and America. A flying Angel
Gabriel holds the canopy, aided by crowd
of dimpled, joyous little angels. All this is
carved so that beauty, grace, dignity, joy,
alteration and holiness speak from the dark
oak.
We were told that at noon, with the aid Of
a franc or two, we might see the Rubens
pictures They were hanging about the
church, but closely vailed with green beige.
So we bought our tickets of thin, melon
choly, pious-looking old priest His face
was so full of valleys and ridges that he
seemed to have lived on the scantest of food
and the most abundant penitence all his
DAYS; but he gave US q bad frame in change,
and refused to take it back, and as the chimes
were saying noon, and we did not want to
miss the pictures too, we had to give him the
victory.
sacristan drew the vail from the altar
piece, 1.-THE Ascension Of the Virgin As
we gazed at the wonderful color, the lips that
really smiled, limbs that seemed to tremble,
eyes that were adoring, we were profoundly
impressed, as was sweet and commendable in
us. Then the sacristan began his explana-
tons The Virgin is Rubens's second wife;
the Mary in the corner is his first wife; the
Magdalen his sister. You see that particu-
larly fine blue appears seven times in the
picture-once in the robe of the Virgin, again
in the garment Of Saint Peter,' etc. We
saw The Descent from the Cross" one Of
the worlds great pictures, under similar
difficulties, though the sacristan did refrain
from saying who had posed for the Christ
Even his glibness was held little in check by
this vivid picture of tie darkest hour of
human life
When the "Christ Carrying the Cross y
was unvailed, he explained whose the dog
was, and that the OLD woman was Rubens's
own grandmother.
Besides the sacristan were voluble Eng
lish woman and her meek husband, whose
manner denied the checked clothes ne wore
This woman explained everything after the
sacristan was done; saying: 8 Marvellous
color, ah ~ Marvellous movement, all -
Marvellous muscle, ah !" There is no use
trying to comprehend anything with such
people about, SO we took kubens for granted
and He'd.
ELSIE PoMERoY MCELRoY.