New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-09-24
Correspondent Finds 1t
Still Remains an Archi-
tectural Whole.
TWO NOBLE TOWERS
STANDING INTACT
Building Will Always Show
Scars of Battle, but Photo.
graphs Will Aid in Repairs.
fry Gable to The Tribune. !

BY Cable to The Tribune.
London, Sept. 24.-"The Daily Chron-
icle" publishes the following dispatch,
sent Sunday by its correspondent at
Rheims:
During last evening and night all
those who remained in the unfortunate
city of Rheims we're under the impress
sion that the beautiful cathedral had
been completely destroyed by the bonn
bardment. Indeed, the spectacle was
calculated to unbalance the mind Of
the coolest observer. The cathedral
seemed 10 be surrounded and filled
with flames, and great columns OF
smoke arose around it. From time to
time we heard the crash of timber and
store and saw sheets of fire licking the
great left tower of the church.
Through the open doors we got
glimpses of a real inferno Of flames
and smoke, into which great charred
pieces of wood fell with a roar. |
cannot describe the horror of this
scene.
But. happily, the monstrous at
tempt to destroy this marvel OF archl--
lecture. which has been the JOY and
inspiration Of centuries, has not COM
pletely succeeded The Rheims Cattle
dral is still standing. 1t is damaged
and il will forever bear the wounds OF
this Infamous outrage, but, as an archl-
tectural whole, it remains.
AT daybreak this morning we could
sec that the frightful crashes which
gave rise last night to the impression
that the cathedral was destroyed and
was rapidly sinking into mass OF
ruins chiefly related to high scaffoldlny
standing at the time Of the lombard
ment at several points around the
building. These scaffolds had on their
different levels large blocks Of stone,
and when the wooden poles caught fire
these blocks came laundering to the
ground. Moreover, when the flames
caught the timbers Of the roof they
brought some pieces Of sculptured
stone down.
"The large and beautiful archiepis-
copal palace. south Of the cathedral,
a part Of which dates from the thir-
teenth century, was entirely destroyed.
The fine old Gothic roof is lost, but
whether the tapestries and portraits
had been removed I do not know.
Facade Uninjured.
Happily, after revisiting the cathe-
dral this morning. ! can testify that
the splendid facade with its three
doors, its great rose window above
and its two noble towers is not only
standing, but seems to be intact. At
least its value as an historical monu-
mcnt is saved. The Red Cross flags
still float above two of the towers, and
we could not perceive that they had
suffered at all from the bombardment
or the fire that resulted. Some OF the
statues of saints standing around the
top of the left portico have been dam
aged, several have lost head or an
arm. The whole bust of one was
broken off. Fortunately, photographs
and detailed descriptions Of nearly
every ornamental part Of the cathe-
dral exist, so that these can be re-
stored.
after walking around the building
and getting the impression that other
chief parts of the exterior were not
seriously damaged. we went inside.
The FIRE was still burning. and | was
wondering if it were safe to enter,
when / noticed two persons inspecting
the place. They had to jump over piles
of ashes and broken stone to get about,
but otherwise there seemed to be no
difficulty and their conclusion was APP
say to the other: That can be re-
placed
"Yet il was grievous wreckage that
lay before me. Smoke and hickers of
flame still rose from remains of chairs,
stalls. beams and straw, which had
been brought into the vast nave as
beds for the German wounded who
were lodged there. Nothing could b.
more shocking than this foul mass in
the midst of this great sanctuary.
The atmosphere was sitting. A
number of pillars were blackened with
the flames. inquired as TO the ia
nous tapestries which are among the
treasures of Rheims. I was told that
some had remained in the cathedral at
the time of the bombardment. II that
be so. it seems to me an incompre-
hensible blunder. But, while rem
nants of the coverings of the German
wounded, some quite unchanged, lay
about. | could not find any trace Of
the tapestries. Perhaps they were
taken away after all, before the bonn
bardment.
Roof Apparently Whole.
THE roof Of the cathedral. like the
pillars, seemed to be intact. The fire
was brought inside, not through the
main roof but through some weak
point Of the upper side, and | DO not
think repairs in this direction will be
very difficult. The heat made IT impos-
sihie for me to make any thorough ex-
animation of the interior. and. for the
same reason, cannot speak of the
condition of the stained glass win
dows as a whole. Some ] saw this
morning seemed unchanged; others
seemed to be broken. saw also two
pictures which seemed blackened but
whole. cannot say whether they