New-York tribune., 1910-06-12
THE CATHEDRAL.
Continued from third page.

candleStiCkS that ShOOt ou' '
branches several feet above our heduS wv"
wrested from perhaps more cohSeliei D
ground in the ballroom of some Italian palace,
And +beee branching candIesticks are not all
that Italy contributes for the celeoFdteu %
horipi +anestries now in the Metropolitan Nu-
so,ro of Art but destined some day to hahs oi
.he dull gray cathedral walls, were mace III
Rome nearly three hundred years ago 0e' i
the floor before the high altar, and frameo III
rim of hammered brass, Will be d llie hio0
thirteen centuries old from the antique ''i
at Ephesus where, as tradition tens u'' " 49,
the Divine was buried. .
Truly as the eye rOVeS from color to N0
from stone to metal and glass, the fancy rice
on the winds and stories of the far places WIN"
have contributed to the wonderful asseiie"
and even catches of the native songs ol '0'
,7is+art countries. strike across ones memory
Something else that appeals 10 lhe i9
t;op though the eye is at a loss to detect II, -"
~ eoa. .t,o+ MANY Of the measurements of the
cathedral would prove irregular II one "'''.NN
- b,,r+ tben, down with tape and rule for III
stance the choir arcades that give the aPpe"
anca' of being parallel are really not p"i az
They converge slightly. Nor are Ile po'"'N
level from which the arcades spring Inc 'p"
ing of the arches of choir ana aihoul"'o'
Uneven The floor of the cathedral' llld' oi
1youId he sure was level as sun po
actuarv slants upward toward the east Anu
hardest Of all to believe, the elSht hu6e 81
columns the most conspicuous IedIul0 0
building are unequaly spaced Inc li'ei .,
.bino ahout these measurements is tha' my
hove heen deliberately made uneven 50 '
t,,,, will annear to the eye to be even.
,Torv other things detain the one WHOSE
sr,o.,ination has been awakened by the pahhS
Df Gothic angels that rise before the eaS'ei" j"
chanel playing on their Oriental lnstr ruhlen''
or whose interest is attracted by hotlclhs .lIa
electricity is to be the only means ol hs
the snnnlementary gas being evidently no ioneeI
necessary. - ooir,
Az the sun gets low and its slant rays coiiliii9
through the pale western windows gro" ion5|
a,a roeIIower the moment has come to chmp,
Once or twice already we have paSSeo 'le my
twisting stairway that winds its way up through
. projecting turret, and at every laholhs 'neie
Is on one side an open balustrade looking over
tba interior of the church, and on the other a
narrow poipted window set into eight foot thlch
walls Through the window one can peer down
over Morningsde Heights and the tremendous
sweep of the cty's dull red roofs
1t is by this stairway that the explorer gains
access to the choir galleries, where the pohoer-
ous organs will be placed next fall JUST peloIe
the cathedral is opened for use These galleries
are high enough to give commanding We" VI
all the spaces, both above and below ana loFIh
tbe choicest spot from which to view a stately
pageant.
But people viii not them as they "oI"u
have in the old centuries, when cathedralS were
built TO he the peoples forum, the centre Oh
tbei, civic as well as their religious life; when
they gathered there to rejoice over victory or
to be taught whatever they knew Of the "orld
stories or to be audience to the first dramas
the mystery or miracle plays and the later
rnoraIties. Those dusky cathedrals of Europe
are monuments to the first effort Of people IN
the Dark Ages toward Proclaiming their rights
against the despot lords, and were built to pro
vide a common meeting place not only Tor
worship but for law and learning and for pleas
ure. To-day we build city halls instead and
theatres and courthouses.
It gives one a sense of strangeness to STAND
in that big, empty gallery and think of all the
uses Of which the great cathedral mas been
shorn: and yet the form remains the same
Tradition comes to our rescue. without tfaul-
ton and the knowledge of the history of the OLD
cathedral building days should be at q loss
to know what to make of this huge creature
I'M whose mighty sides climbing for, STE!
as we pass this pointed window there is fan
tastic silhouette the glass-eVidentIy the
shadow of a gargoyle which shoots out its head
from a nearby lead. We do not believe III eVli
spirits in these days, or at least we do not SUI