Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-08-17
Special Cable to Evening Public Ledger

Special Cable to Evening Public Ledger
Copvri0ht, 1918. bp Nc,o York Times Co.
WITH the British Armies, Aug. 16.
At $3.50 o'clock Thursday morning
solemn thanksgiving was celebrated in
Amiens Cathedral for the preservation
or that most beautiful church. The
present building was designed just 700
years ago and finished almost in its
present form within the short space
or sixty-eight years, so that in itself 1t
represents the architecture of nearly
the whole thirteenth century, the
noblest period Of medieval art and life.
The two towers were finished later
and are rather small, and the thin,
leaden feche, also rather feeble, was
not added till the sixteenth century,
and some of the interior decorations,
such as Gloria, above the high altar.
remain as specimens of the eighteenth
century. emanating frlgid hideous-
ness. But the cathedral as a whole
stands as one of the finest memorials
of medieval religion, and all who
read Ruskin's Bible OF. Amiens know
It's significance in history of art and
thought.
During last April its destruction ap-
peared almost certain. The enemy was
hardly more than seven, miles away.
His heavy shells crashed into the
town; the streets and public buildings
on every side fell into ruin. One large
group of houses. less than 200 yards
from the church. was consumed by
fire. The inhabitants fled the town
and no one but few civilians and oc-
cational visitors moved upon the
streets. 1t appeared inevitable that
the cathedral would share the fate of
Rheims, its rival, but Its defeated rival
in beauty.
Enemy Driven Away
Now the change has come. The
powers of ruin have been driven back
to an average distance Of more than
.wenty miles. Nothing but their re-
turn need cause any anxiety, unless,
indeed, the enemy's airplanes concen.
trate some night for its destruction by
bombs as mere display of useless spite.
But that is unlikely.
1t, indeed, is possible that the Ger
man command urged its gpnners to
spare the church. just as the Kaiser's S
father ordered them to spare Strass-
burg Cathedral in 1870, though the ex-
amples of Rheims and Albert and Ar
ras contradict this idea. But in any
case, I can find evidence of only three
direct hits upon the cathedral itself
and six months labor would restore
the building pretty much to its for
mer glory.
None of the best glass has been
shattered The beautiful sculptures
and designs in porches have been pro-
tected by sandbags, as have the famous
stalls in the choir, so carefully and
elaborately wrought by the sixteenth
century carpenters. The fine bronze
statues of the two bishops under whom
the church was built have been with
drawn from their tombs for security.
The west front is entirely uninjuved
and so are the nave and the tran
sept, splendid in their simplicity and
absence of adornment.
No wonder that Amiens. and all
of France, celebrates 30 hazardous an
escape with joy. To the whole world
the fact is evident that the destruc-
tion of Amiens Cathedral would have
been a loss hardly surpassed by the
destruction of the Parthenon in Ath-
ems when the Venetian bombardment
blew up the Turkish powder magazine
in its midst.
AlIleu rags ONef htai
The service was attended by a con-
gregation which included few French
Sisters of Mercy and British nurses,
and a small crowd of the townspeople
who had hurried back from their places
of refuge to express their joy and
have a look at their old homes. over
the eighteenth century altar piece the
flags of France, England and America
waved gently in the breeze Whlcf
come through the shattered windows
to the east end. There were no otner
decorations.
The service began upon a keynote
of 10Y with the singing of "Laudamus'
"Gloria in Excelsis" and "Hallelujah.'
The sermon was conspicuous Tor lts
restraint, for the preacher hardy men
toned the war, but dwelt fondly ano
minutely upon the history ana ths
beauties Of the building itself.
He compared 1t with other famous
cathedrals in France, Chartres, Beau
yais, unhappy Rheims, and few more
to each of which he gave distinctive
praise. but for the Church of st. Fir
min. in Amiens, he kept the rather
peculiar word "savants," by which N
meant simple and exact in design
stable and thorough In construction
perfect almost as a mathematical fig
ure is perfect. But he went on t.
show that by this he did not NEAR
cold or academic. There was nothing
chilly and abstract about the religion o
the Individual people as expressed II
the cathedral. All was practical. dra
matte, intimate and abounding in hu
man affection.
Especially since this was the Feas
of the. Virgins Assumption, he dwell
upon the medieval reverence. for WON
an and motherhood, as illustrated b!