Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1916-06-09
One Shot of Thousands Hit Verdun's
Cathedral
BY HERBERT COREY.


bishops reception That afternoon the sun
fell upon it at precisely the right angle. Ihat
point of burning light must, we thought, newt
ably be seen by the German cannoneers-
We were on the way 20 see the Cathedral OF
Notre Dame, through which shell crashed the
other day. It had not been completely destroyed
the soldiers told us. They spoke almost with an
air of reverence, although reverence does not
come happily to a soldier. 1t seemed as though
a miracle had happened That church should
have OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES town was oelng
battered to pieces around it,
1.-THE Cathedral of Notre Dame" says Baedeker,
dates from the centuries out
has been much altered in the fourteenth-seveh-
tnon+b osnaciaIlv the interior The
bishops palace and the grand semlnalre auJolh ING
We keep step with falling shells all the way
nm tae hill The German gunners seemed to De
enioving a slight burst of activity. No shell 1ell
near u.s. it is true. But as we mounted toward tlle
top of this hill in which the citadel has Deen nor
lowed and which the cathedral crowns we couI9
hear them detonate in the city below. Now and
then we turned a corner and glanced down stIees
which led to the lower towns Sometimes we G T,a
see fresh cloud OF smoke and Dust rlsins. my
fell two minutes apart. Washburn timed tnem.
big Shells" said the French othcer WIN uS
mot 3Ss, however. The 27O's' tnlnA c,o. o,,or
The streets absolutely empty. Not even
a soldier kept ward at the corners Wneh tne
good people of Verdun had been driven out OF tnell
homes by their military guardians tney nau birds
their pets with them. But usually one heaIs uilus
singing in the streets-even in the most uesoIaIe
and lonely streets. We had heard them slhslne
in the shell fire in the forest OF tne tbts
Here there was nothing. No sound TO oreak this
oppressive silence except the perloolc crushing -
shells. ,. ., eta mo
s0Tbere is that mirror saw shining, SAID my
comnanion con the wall of the bishops room
We turned an acute corner and came INTO the
little three-cornered place where the ca'neuI" 49,
the seminary and the bishops palace JOIN otber
walls Those who have known Verduh III o.lloi
wears said that the bishops palace nad Deen Jew
81 of medieval architecture. They spoke Vi ~ ~,
terms of rapture we coulG oniy go the outer
had riddled it. The roof had gone ue , Uueod
walls were shattered, the whole front nao sIlppJ
down into the street An inner wall reiila Ie
of what had apparently been a stately ana seVeI1
S;brorE on the second floor In front OF that wall
we're heaps of white and battered stone me! n
nerhaps been put in place before men lousnI WI
aaunnouyder On that wall great gola IIdhou
mirror glistened neither broken nor scratcnea' ,t
seemed a frivolous thing, this mirror II was 0"'
of place in tragedy. ssu5 &c had
.bo bisbon,s palace 1t had been struck perhaps
a score of times perhaps only dozen uln n4 S S
shells We only glanced at the noI H I o go
bnen torn through these old walls loi We "A &c
an1,ious to enter the cathedral Our gulaes leu us
through one of the most charming clolsters 70 o9
Sound even in this charming land. Inc slotnon
and yaulted roof of stone-the worn worn pon 6 their
ol 1e;oh generations of brothers had reau 'noi-
breviaries-an old sundial in the warm HL g +In
Garden to which the seminarlsts escaPeu JinniTv
Eli 90 etone-al these spoke OF peace anu ulsnoy,
- loving care The cloisteT had Deen ueSClo' %
in mart One shell had torn through q ~, the
the heavy cathedral clock tower anu V j{o the
arched stone floor OF the &col0'o
stone floor beneath: , NJ. 18th ma "On1v
a 27O." o,ot ,r,nression Of
tho damage done by that single she'll. 1t seeneu
that il had not even been DETECTED by STRIKING Tue
corner of the cathedral tower. Inc wall was 20 Pc
hans two feet thick at that polnt' Oh solIu o'o
nth walls had been torn out at the corner.
RAGGED tear appeared in the tower as thoush
savage animal had bitten it. rms may seenI az az
-
orr little party simultaneously. me sheh ndu
then penetrated the stone roof OF the cIolser aS
exploded on the stone floor below. nole pei Iis
twentv feet in diameter had been torn IN the Clo
fer roof but so solidly did those archltects Oh L
Middle Ages put up their buildings InaS t tn &c
nlosions which followed had not lhJueu .nI 80
mainder. To destroy such pullulhs % W
must follow blow. ~ =.
we were taken into the cathedral itself. just
one she'll had struck the cathedral during the
homhardment 1t is difficult to say why, Tor IL
Glands upon the very top of the hill which makes
the heart of Verdun. It's noble lines can be seen
for miles in any direction from the slopes tnat
hold yerdun as in a cup. 1t had obviously been
sheled. for the bishops palace had been DESTROYED
and the grand seminaire was as full OF holes as d
colander and they are practically paris OIL 'nS
same building. No artillerist is precise enough VI
aim to do such shooting to order.
eft is an internal shame said my American
companion. .,..., A.
GREAT stone roof of this magnificent edifce had
torn hole perhaps fifty feet in diameter One or
two of the pillars tnat support the WonueIluA
arched roof had fallen. The sun shone down into
the cavern on the floor where the shell had ex-
ploded Most of the superb stained glass windows
had been shattered but bits of color stll clung IN
the lead frames. The more valuable paintings ana
altar vessels had been removed, but Few stll re-
NAMED in the various chapels that we're ranged on
either side the nave. The silver was already dis
coIored Dust filed the air and sparkled in the
beams of vivid light from the crushed WINDOWS
The soldiers took off their shrapnel heimeCs as
thew clattered through this desolate church. .
ShaI fell
high altar" said, as though ne lounu III IhlS
significance.
It seemed as though the storm of she'll outside
was ouickening They came faster than each
two minutes now. During the time that we walked
through the cathedral and In awed way looked
at the hole made by the shell and surveyed what
remained of the fine old stained windows eighteen
shells had fallen. The crashes seemed to be COM
ing nearer, as though they were creeping up the
hill So that we left the church We all breathed
moro freely when we were out from beneath that
stone roof and those heavily vaulted arches