The Tomahawk. [volume] (White Earth, Becker County, Minn.) 1903-192?, 1920-03-18

a WANDERER coming from
~ Provence, westward, to the
historic capital of Languedoc,
and looking for the first
time VI ION the ancient towers Of
Toulouse, may we'll wonder whether
they are indeed old, so modern Is
the appearance of the red brick, after
the gray-gold stones of the Roman
Provence. Old, nevertheless, they are,
though differing In style, as in color,
from any thing to be seen In other
parts Of Paris.
The Toulousain gothic has a char
acter all it's own; for the true spirit
of northern architecture-tha Of the
soaring line-never became indigo
nous here says a writer in the Christian
Science Monitor. These southerners
accepted it only as fashion Of the
day, to which concessions must be
made; that granted, they proceeded at
cnce to modify the. style, to suit the
local traditions of a people that at
heart loved a horizontal line better
than an aspiring one. So they de-
clined to build interior vertical pill
lars-which, moreover, needed large
stones and were very expensive-and
instead they threw great vaults over
wide spaces, broke up their towers
into bays, generally mingled, in "a
very curious fashion, the spirit OF the
gothic and the Romanesque. These
are points that strike one about the
great cathedral Of st. Sernin in Tou-
louise, the largest and finest building
Of tile southern style that is to be seen
in France today.
Cathedral Of st. sernln.
AS usual in churches hereabouts,
the building is dark. being lighted by
windows behind the triforium, and not
from a clerestory above. The Roman
esque manner did not relieve its main
walls by distributing part of the
weight along flying buttresses to the
aisles; therefore it dared not build
them very high, nor weaken them by
piercing large windows. Toulousain
congregations, however, never cared
for much light within their churches,
There was already more than enough
without.
Very interesting was my walk round
the church, with the sacristan beside
me, a handsome, kindly man, gentle
and courteous, yet with certain dig
nifty in his manner, as Of one who.'
though in humble station, knew well
how to command. liked the quiet
firmness with which he rebuked the
old women who would chatter too
loudly in the transport.
AS we did the round Of the church
we talked together. He told me how
deeply he cared for knowledge and
learning, how much he regretted that
such things meant SO little to so many
people of his country. "They are liz
ards who love to lie in the sun; and
it Is the sun we must blame"-he
smiled at his jest-"f my fellow
townsmen are neither savants nor
workers, and are too idle to follow up
the idea that their minds seize upon
so quickly. That is why when we
have energy we do SO well. 1 say
often that some of our best presidents
have come-Mr. Fa1lieres among them
from the left bank of the Garonne."
And with bow the sacrlstan left me,
to continue my studies" he was the
most eloquent of the many who have
deplored to me the meridional dis
inclination to hard work. There Is a
proverb extant: "The men Of the Midi
use what the men of the north pro-
duce." The men Of the north. sup
pose, produced that proverb.
sHouses are Fascinating.
After the churchesEperhaps even
before the churches-her renaissance
hotels are the greatest charm Of
Toulouse. And by "hotels" I mean
houses, not hostels. Certainly they
are most fascinating, both as speci-
mems Of architecture Of their time,
and as affording an idea Of the mag
nificence in which the merchant
princes of that day lived. Almost all
styles Of renaissance are to be seen,
from that Of the Hotel Bernuy-tranS-