The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1932-10-21
Continued from last week.

The first day most of the party
went shopping but the plumpel
members, feeling that Paris styles
we're not for them-the Paris wo
mel being as slim as their break
fasts-(went) spent the day at the
Notre Dame cathedral and the
Louvre.
The cathedrals are the glory
and charm of Europe. Most OF
them were started in the eleventh
and twelfth centuries by those who
were unable to take part in the
Crusades but wanted to show their
devotion to God by erecting in His
honor churches as beautiful as
human genius could made them.
Hundreds of years, millions of dol
lars. untold labor and sacrifice
we're spent in the construction of
anv one of these lofty and insplr-
ing buildings. The cathedrals are
designed in the form of a Latin
cross. The long beam of the cross
forms the nave OF main aisle of
the cathedral; the o beam
forms the transept with an en-
trance at either end. The high al
tar and choir are placed near the
head of the cross beyond the in
tersection of the nave and transept.
The beauty of the choir stalls, so
magnificiently tall and so exquisite
lv carved, beggars description. Be
hind the high altar and along the
sides of the cathedral are many
small chapels. Each is a little
GEM. suitable for special services,
prayer or meditation. Marble col
umns of surprising grandeur line
the aisles and support the high
yaulted ceilings. High placed, gor-
geous, stained-g1ass windows bring
a soft light and a pious thought
at the same time.
The main altar of Notre Dame
is marked by its simplicity. Grace
full columns Of porphory support a
carved canopy over the altar whose
sole decoration is six tall candles.
At this altar Mary, Queen of Scots,
was married to the short-lived
Francis | of France, and Napoleon
was crowned Emperor of France.
Nearby is the memorial tablet that
England has placed in memory of
the million British subjects who
died in France during the World
War.
Leaving the interior OF the build
ing, we proceed to study the exter-
ior portions, equally beautiful but
grimy with the dust of ages. Deep,
richly ornamented entrances are
characteristic of Gothic cathedrals
and Notre Dame was no exception.
The bronze doors of the main en-
trance have a series of panels de-
picting stories of the various kings
of the Bible. One way of empha-
sizing the divine right of kings!
Above the door are tall, medieval ]
figures showing Christ and the
apostles at the Last Supper. The
towers of the cathedral rise I
hundred feet high. I
The other walls of the cathedral |
are braced by supports called lily 1
ing braces which add beauty as I
we'll as strength. Grotesque animals {
known as gargoyles adorn edges v
Of the roof and serve as ave
spouts. Figures of angles on the v
,oof guard it and the island in the Il
Seine on which it is situated. Along L
lhe Seine we noticed the book S
shops so often mentioned in the C
of Paris. Il
Tearing ourselves away from I
Iotre Dame we made way to $
he Louvre after convincing the ~
axi driver that we wanted to go p
o the Art Gallery and not to the le
Ouyre hotel or to the Louvre n
department store). The II
louvre Palace is as old as Notre o.
Dame and like it represents the +
accumulated wealth of centuries. ii
t had long been the residence OF re
he royal family of Frank, each 10
monarch adding to it until it was pl
ruly magnificent by the time of dt
.ouis XIV. The walls and ceiling
f each room are panelled with tn
yood richly carved and overlaid &c
18th gold. Each panel frames a gor- 81
eous painting, usually either al til
,gorical or historical in character. gr
Je walked for hours, thru room pc
Cter hour, m%arvelling at the TIL
eauty of the paintings, especially pc
on the ceilings. We learned co
le sad story of one Of the artists TO
no worked on one ceiling for re
lree and a. half years and then tn
,mmitted suicide on the refusal of an
ouis XIV to even pay for the ma tn
riaIs used. 1t is easy to see how we
lie way was paved for the Revo- viz
tion. co
At the time Of the French Revo- de
ton the Louvre Palace became FIR