The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-06-17

many of the gardens lesser master
pieces will be protected soon.
!, The emotion of those art lovers wont
to contract a sort of "blues' at this I;
war time dissertation of Paris is further
by night -time glance up the
Avenue Champ d'Elysee from the Place
de la Concorde The bright lights that
used to show in faring circles at fire.
quent intervals from decorative bronze
lamp posts on both sides for a full mile,
at the horizon line before
the Are de Triomphe, are now them
selves painted blue. What is worse, the
winged horses of Marty, registering ii
tense action, at either side of the Con
corde entrance to, the avenue, are Ar-..
cased in sandbag stables for the first
time since their sculpiured inception at.
the country palace of Louis XIV mid
way between st. Germain and Yer:
sailles. At the other end of the avenue,
the Are de Triomphe is beginning to
look like one of the pyramids after the
first 10 years. work. The eternal sand
bags already completely hide the i'm
mortal !" Marseillaise Group on the
right hand pillar of the arch.
Not unlike the Arc de Triompie in
general construction, only smaller, is
the 'sPorte Saint Denis" the gateway
through which all the old kings used to
make their official entry into Paris.
Wooden structures and sandbags have
disguised the carved face of this arched
gateway until its most ancient admirers
wouldn t recognize it.
s1L Are de Triomphe de Carrousel,
| in the Gardens of the Louvre, also SIM
| liar, in design to the great Are de Tri-
omphe at the Etoile is another of Paris s
historic art Jewels to hide its face un-
til peace takes down the sandbags. 1t
| is this arch that commentaries Napole-
ION IS overthrow of the coalition. If Ma.
lpoleon could see it now, as one French
man said today, he would probably wish
he had allowed the coalition to WELD
the sandbag instead of stopping al
plans for the invasion of England in or
der to turn and WELD the sandbag or
1.-THE coalition at Austerlitz. In short
Napoleon's minor Arc de Triomphe il
today properly sandbagged.
Two of the great round windows il
the Louvre palace, the enormous value
of which Cook s guides themselves have
always failed to note during the palmy
days of tourists are now wearing earth
bag sunbonnets that reveal their past
These two windows are the original an(
lonly genuine. So far as Cook IS guides
are concerned guileless tourists of peace
times have been led to believe that al
the Louvre windows were the origina
and only genuine.
As In the case of the Marshal Ne,
statue, mere sandbags have not bee
leHtrusted with preservation of the price
less stained glass windows of the fam
Gus chapel of the saint on the lie de l
Cite, near the palace of Justice. Thes
have been entirely removed and only
chosen few know where. The aneien
chapel, built on the small pumpkin seed
shaped island in the Seine, where Par
llgot dts start as few fisher huts. is cor
sidered one of the most perfect spec
mems of Gothic architecture in Franc
lit was only because the CRUSADER
lcouldn t find what they sought, or, a.
, !cording to well authenticated histor
the body of Jesus Christ would rest /
/ Iday in this little chapel. 1t was bui
flor thia-rurpose. >a,r
. Sandbags are giving protection /
, famous Carpeaux group of dancers
!. front of the National Opera and to Il
lgreat carved doors of Notre Dan
Cathedral.
SThe lesser art gems of Paris will
iput under cover in due time, but Il
lwefld may know that the most prieele
are now outside serious danger. In a
dition, the secret is out. Every tour
guide after the war will be able to t,
the honest truth.