The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1919-01-27

looked like graveyard in the moonlight.
There were more crows in the air, cir
Scling over the ruined town, than there
were human beings below in the Uttered
streets.
Cardinal Lucon, archbishop Of Rheims,
who stood steadfastly by his charge for
four years, during which time scarcely a
day passed without a German shell hurl-
ing death into the city, met the presi-
dent at the fence Of rough boards which
now excludes curiosity seekers and en-
closes the rubbish into which this most
historic edifce has been reduced. The
cardinal conducted Mr.. Wilson to the
nave Of the cathedral, where in 1914
the Germans during their short occupa.
ton of the city, placed their wounded
burned their men to death by incendiary
shells that fired the roof, but did not
damage the vault.
All over the tagging, worn smooth
through the years by millions of feet
bringing FrenchmeR to an hours deyo-
tion, were piled heaps of rubbish, rem.
nants Of statuary and freseoes and frag.
ments of columns and sculptures which
We're accounted the most perfect and
complete examples of Gothic art As the
president and the cardinal stood togeth.
er looking upward, while the prelate
BRIEFLY recounted the story of four years
of constant destruction, they looked
straight through TO the clouded sky. The
snow furry. that was covering the bare
ruins Of the city outside was laying a
blanket inside the cathedral
The Chalty stone of the Champagne Of
which the cathedral was built, was seal.
ing off from effects of German fire and
the falling snowfiakes were mixed with
an almost constant dropping of frag-
ments. Pauslng moment before the
scene of the crglcifxion over the north
door and before the painting of the coro-
nation of the Virgin over the central
door, Mr.. Wilson silently viewed the de-
struction wrought upon those master.
pieces by the burning of the scafolding
when the Germans set fire to the roof OF
the ediice.
The president followed the cardinal ia
the ruins of the chapel, where old-time
kings watched through the night at the
time Of amounting, and to the ruins
of the museum where pricesless Flemish
tapestries were ruined. He was shown
where thousands Of shells thrown from
German batteries on two sides burst
among the buttresses which support the
main structure and where forests OF
sculptures which ornament the STRUCTURE
have been SCARED, nicked and torn by
fragments from the big shells.
Then the cardinal took him outside
and they could view the shell-ridden
painting of the Last Judgment, above
the south door; the Symbols from Noah's
Ark about the great shattered rose win.
dow; the statue of St. Anne and dozens
Of other works of art of which virtually
none escaped.
As they left the cathedral, the cardi.
nal gave the president a stained glass
panel from one Of the windows taken
down in time to save il. The panel is
unscarred, it is circular and about three
feet in diameter. 1t shows a figure Of
the Savior done in many eolored glass
of the early centuries. From the cathe-
dral the president drove to view the
ruins Of the town hall, spacious speci-
men of the Renaissance style Of archi-
lecture, and the Palais Royale, an 18th
century ediiee. These two, with the
cathedral comprised the most celebrated
historical memorials Of Rheims, and not
one has escaped.