water upon Our Lord's head, while three Angels kneel upon the bank of
the river, doing homage. Above is the descending dove and the verse:
_Erit Sanguis Vobis in Signum_ (Exodus xii. 13). In the Passage of the
Red Sea, the majestic figure of Moses stands upon the shore, his hair
and drapery blown by the wind. He raises his hand, and the waters close
over the Egyptians, while the Israelites lift up their voices in
triumphant songs, Miriam leading them to the sound of the timbrel: _Sing
ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his
rider hath he thrown into the sea._
The Institution of the Eucharist is treated from the purely Roman
Catholic point of view. Our Blessed Lord is standing, holding up the
wafer for adoration, while He places the other hand upon His side,
symbolical of the gift of the sacred heart combined with His precious
body. The Apostles form two groups, one on each side: _Novi Testamenti
Mediator est_ (Hebrews ix. 15). The Old Testament type is Melchizedek
appearing to Abram: _And Melchizedec King of Salem brought forth bread
and wine; and he was the priest of the most high God._
The next pictures, close to the choir, are badly lighted, but both are
very fine. The Treason of Judas, and Joseph sold by his Brethren: _Pro
salute vestra misit me Deus_ (Genesis xiv. 5).
And now we come to a subject into which Flandrin threw all his
strength--The Crucifixion--which is not inferior in feeling to the great
Angelico in the Convent of San Marco at Firenze. The divine expression
of the dying Saviour, the heart-rending sorrow of the Mother, and the
passionate grief of the Magdalen, are all exquisitely portrayed. So,
too, The Sacrifice of Isaac, which is its type, is full of pathos and
true religious sentiment. _Proprio filio non pepercit_ (Romans viii. 32)
is the text.
In the treatment of Jonah, the type of The Resurrection, the painter has
avoided what must always be a difficulty--the great fish. Those who saw
this _tableau_ years ago at Ober-Ammergau must remember that even the
good souls of that village could not divest the subject of the ludicrous
element, and they did well, in 1890, to omit it. But Flandrin has got
over the difficulty by making his prophet walking upon a beach, with
waves breaking upon the shore around him. He has been ejected from the
whale, and is giving thanks for his deliverance. _Signum Jonæ Prophetæ_
(Matthew xii. 39).
_That the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs and of the same body, and
partakers of his promise in Christ by the Gospel_, is the legend of the
charge to Peter. _Gentes esse cohaeredes ... promissionis in Christo_
(Ephesians iii. 6). In the foreground kneels S. Peter, to whom Our Lord
gives the keys of heaven and hell: but the rest of the Apostles stand
around, and form part of the group: _Feed my sheep._ The type is The
Dispersion of the Nations subsequent to the building of Babel; and
Flandrin has most graphically described the wonder and amazement of the
crowd, who, not being able to converse any longer, leave the town and
scatter themselves over the face of the earth.
[Illustration: ADAM AND EVE.]
Above the frieze of subject-pictures are numerous personages in the
panels which surround the windows, all from the Old Testament: Adam and
Eve, Jacob Blessing his Children, Job, Samson, Aaron, Joshua, Miriam,
Deborah, Judith, and ending with John the Baptist. Adam and Eve are,
perhaps, the finest of these figures. Adam stands erect, thoughtful,
repentant, and ashamed; but his clasped right hand seems to indicate
steadfastness of purpose to retrieve the past. Eve abandons herself to
sorrow, and leans upon her husband's shoulder as if resolving in the
future to depend upon him. The treatment is at once almost Classic in
its simplicity, and realistic in its naturalism; the only discordant
note being a something in the way in which Eve's hair falls upon her
forehead, an echo, as it were, of the model, and the ugly fashion of
dressing the hair peculiar to the thirties and forties, which so often
shocks us in the Nymphs and Venuses by Etty, and gives them an unclothed
appearance.
Formerly, judging from Dibden's account of the church, there was great
display in the religious functions at S. Germain: "The immediate
vicinity of S. Germain is sadly choked by stalls and shops--the West
front has been cruelly covered by modern appendages. It is the church
dearest to antiquaries, and with reason. I first visited it on a Sunday,
when that part of the service was performed which required the fullest
intonations of the organ. The effect altogether was very striking. The
singular pillars of which the capitals are equally massive and
grotesque, being sometimes composed of human beings, and sometimes of
birds and beasts, especially towards the choir--the rising up and
sitting down of the congregation, and the yet more frequent movements of
the priests--the swinging of the censers--and the parade of the vergers,
dressed in bag wigs, with broad red sashes of silk, and silk
stockings--but above all, the most scientifically-touched, as well as
the deepest and loudest toned organ I ever heard--perfectly bewildered
and amazed me! Upon the dispersion of the congregation--which very
shortly followed this religious excitation--I had ample leisure to
survey every part of this curious old structure, which reminded me,
although upon a much larger scale, of the peculiarities of S. Georges de
Bocherville and Notre-Dame at Guibray. Certainly, very much of this
church is of the twelfth century, and, as I am not writing to our friend
N., I will make bold to say that some portions of it yet 'smacks
strongly' of the eleventh."
I cannot say that I have ever noted much ceremonial, or any fine music,
at S. Germain. Times have changed probably; certainly, its chief beauty
now is the building itself--its grand architecture and beautiful
decoration.
SAINT-GERVAIS-SAINT-PROTAIS.
[Illustration]
There can be no doubt that the quaint inscription informing "les bonnes
gens" that the church of _Messeigneurs Saint Gervais et Saint Prothais_
was dedicated in 1420, refers to an earlier building than the present
one. The Saints were twin-brothers, and are represented here as
elsewhere, vested as deacons, although there is no evidence in their
history of their having been in holy orders. The full inscription is as
follows:--
BONNES GENS PLAISE
VOUS SAUOIR QUE CESTE
PRESENTE ESGLISE DE
MESSEIGNEURS SAINT GERVAIS ET
SAINT PROTHAIS FUT DEDIÉE LE
DIMÂNCHE DEUANT LA FESTE DE
SAINT SIMON ET SAINT JUDE, L'AN
MIL QUATRE CENS ET VINT PAR LA
MAIN DU REUEREND PERE EN DIEU
MAISTRE GOMBAUT, EVESQUE D'A-
GRENCE, ET SERA A TOUSJOURS LA
FESTE DE LA SAINTE DÉDICACE LE
DIMÂNCHE DEUANT LA DICTE FESTE DE
SAINT SIMON ET SAINT JUDE. SI
VOUS PLAIS Y VENIR, GANGNIER LES
GRANS PARDONS ET PRIEZ POUR LES
BIENS-FAICTEURS DE CETTE ESGLISE ET
AUSSI POUR LES TRESPASSEZ. PATER
NOSTER AUE MARIA.
The twins were discovered as martyrs by S. Ambrose at Milano, when, in
387, he was desirous of founding a new church. The people called upon
him to consecrate the building by placing some holy relics therein; and
he, good bishop, was only too eager to gratify their wish. And so he had
a dream, or a trance, or something between the two; for, while possessed
of this desire to gratify the piety of his children, he, like a good
shepherd, went to the church of S. Nabor and S. Felis to pray for his
sheep; and as he knelt, he saw a vision of two beauteous young men
clothed in white, standing with S. Peter and S. Paul. And it was
revealed to S. Ambrose that these two young men were holy martyrs, whose
bodies had been buried where he knelt. So he called his clergy-folk, and
they all searched, and found two bodies of gigantic size separated from
the heads, with much blood, and some writing recording their names. They
were Gervasius and Protarius, who had suffered martyrdom under Nero.
Having been sent bound to Milano, together with Nazarus and Celsus, they
were brought before Count Artesius and accused of being Christians. Upon
being commanded to sacrifice to Artesius' idols, they refused and were
condemned, Gervasius to be beaten to death with lead-loaded scourges,
Protarius to be beheaded. Thus they died, and a good man named Philip
took up their bodies, and buried them in his own garden, where they
rested until discovered by S. Ambrose. On the second day of the
discovery, the bodies were borne with great solemnity to the Basilica;
and many persons, touching the pall which covered the Saints, were cured
of divers diseases, and of evil spirits. One man who had been blind for
many years, Severus by name, and who had lived upon the alms of the
wealthy, obtained permission to touch the bones of the holy martyrs, and
was restored to sight; and then all the people rejoiced, for the man's
infirmity being well known to everyone in the city, there could be no
doubt that the cure had been effected through the intercession of the
blessed saints. And this being so, S. Ambrose laid their bones under the
altar, saying: "Let the victims be borne in triumph to the place where
Christ is the sacrifice; He upon the altar, who suffered for all; they
beneath the altar, who were redeemed by His suffering!" Then came the
Arians, and scoffingly accused S. Ambrose of bribing Severus and others
to aid and abet him in his miraculous performances; but the bishop
defeated their wicked ways, and the church was dedicated to the twin
brothers. S. Ambrose was buried in the same church, and subsequently its
name was changed to that of Sant' Ambrogio Maggiore. In Italy the
brothers were held in little repute as time went on; but S. Germain,
bishop of Paris, having in 560 carried some of their relics to France,
they became exceedingly popular, and the patrons of several cathedrals
and parish churches, besides being favourite subjects with some of the
French school of painters, Le Sueur, Philippe de Champagne, and Nicholas
Poussin.
In the History of S. Germain by Fortunat, a church dedicated to the twin
brothers is mentioned, the door of which, when the good bishop desired
to enter the building, flew open of its accord. S. Germain entered the
church, and after much praying, restored his sight to a blind man, and
worked other wondrous miracles through the intervention of the martyrs.
The present church is of Pointed and Classic architecture, the portal
and _façade_ being in the latter style.[91] Louis XIII. laid the first
stone in 1616, Jacques de Brosse being the architect. A not very
favourable, but tolerably just, opinion is passed upon it by our old
friend Dibden:
"The next Gothic church to Notre-Dame in size and importance is that of
_S. Gervais_, situated to the left, in the Rue de Monçeau. It has a very
lofty nave, but the interior is exceedingly flat and divested of
ornaments. The pillars have scarcely any capitals. The choir is totally
destitute of effect. Some of the stained glass is rich and old, but a
great deal has been stolen or demolished during the Revolution. There is
a good large modern picture in one of the side chapels to the right, and
a yet more modern one much inferior on the opposite side. In almost
every side chapel, and in the confessionals, the priests were busily
engaged in the catechetical examination of young people previous to the
first Communion on the following Sabbath, which was the Fête Dieu. The
Western front is wholly Grecian--perhaps about 200 years old. It is too
lofty for its width--but has a grand effect, and is justly much
celebrated. Yet the situation of this fine old Gothic church is among
the most wretched of those in Paris. It is preserved from suffocation
only by holding its head so high." The last remark is no longer
applicable, as the church is now quite disencumbered from secular
excrescences.
The interior is cold, dull, and dreary, almost the only part that
relieves its monotony being the organ tribune, which is quaintly
ornamented with Angels and Corinthian columns, a device of the 17th
century. The statues of the Saints upon the altar are the work of
Bourdin, a sculptor of the 17th century. The six candelabra and the
cross of gilt bronze, belonging formerly to the abbey church of S.
Geneviève, are among the bronze _chefs-d'oeuvre_ of the 18th century.
The stalls are finely carved, and bear various designs upon their
bas-reliefs; but especially notable are the little histories upon the
_misereres_: a writer at his desk; an architect measuring some blocks of
stone, accompanied by his workmen; a baker putting his bread in the
oven; a man stooping down with a fool's cap on his head; the
vinedressers in a vat; a Genus sleeping upon a grave with his head
resting upon a skull; two men squabbling; a shoemaker at his last,
surrounded by a fine collection of foot-gear; two men roasting; a Syren,
a crowned Salamander, a grotesque animal, a lion, and a pig gobbling in
a gluttonous fashion; and finally a man in a boat traversing a river.
Some of the glass is fine, but much has been destroyed; and only the
other day the Anarchists did their best to demolish the little which
remains. In the choir the story of Lazarus, and the Pilgrimage to Mont
Saint-Michel, were painted by Robert Pinaigrier, as well as the windows
of the Lady Chapel; and another great _vitrier_, Jean Cousin,
embellished S. Gervais with some beautiful golden-toned glass--The
Martyrdom of S. Laurence, The Good Samaritan, and The Judgment of
Solomon. On one fragment of the latter is the date 1531. The story is
told most quaintly; Solomon sleeps surrounded by his books; and it is
thus that he drinks in the wisdom which the Queen of Sheba, in the next
panel, comes to enjoy.
Among the other subjects, we see S. Peter baptising Cornelius,
surrounded by divers Scripture events. In the Lady Chapel a Tree of
Jesse has survived, and also the Legend of S. Anne, attributed to
Pinaigrier; but the latter is filled in with much that is
modern--clever, but wanting in the vigorous drawing of the old glass
painters, and the glorious transparency of the colours. One of the old
panes shows us the Virgin weaving a curtain for the Temple, and being
fed by an Angel. In this chapel there is a remarkable boss which
descends from the vault. If is 6ft. in diameter, and falls 3ft.; and
although iron has been used in its fabrication, it is, notwithstanding,
a wonderful piece of masonry of the brothers Jacquet. It is a mass of
carving--emblems of the Blessed Virgin; a fortified town (the Tower of
David), and the Morning Star; attributes found in the offices of Our
Lady.
A good many distinguished people were buried at S. Gervais: Scarron,
more celebrated as having been the first husband of the notorious Mme.
de Maintenon than for his writings; that excellent, but insufficiently
appreciated painter, Philippe de Champaigne; Ducange, the antiquarian
and historian; the chancellors Le Tellier, Louis Roucherat and Charles
Voysin; archbishop Le Tellier of Reims, son of the chancellor and
founder of the library of S. Geneviève; and the poet Crébillon, author
of _Rhadamistus_, _Electra_, _Catiline_, and other tragedies. The only
monument which remains is that of Le Tellier, who reposes in white
marble upon a black marble mattress, with allegorical figures watching
over his slumbers. It was the work of Mazeline and Hurtrelle, members of
the Academy, but not otherwise celebrated, as is occasionally the case.
In one of the chapels of the nave is a 13th century bas-relief of Our
Lord receiving His mother's soul as she expires, surrounded by the
Apostles; a fine old picture painted upon wood, of various scenes from
the Passion, formerly attributed to Albrecht Dürer, but more probably by
some master of the Flemish school. Many of the pictures by Lesueur,
Bourdon, and Philippe de Champaigne, formerly in this church, are now in
the Louvre.
LA TOUR SAINT-JACQUES.
This tower is all that remains of the church of S. Jacques de la
Boucherie, which had to be demolished to make way for the Rue de Rivoli.
It was commenced in 1508, and finished in 1522. The figure of S. James
upon the little turret, and his friends the Evangelistic animals, by
Rauch, were thrown down in 1793; but in 1836, when the municipality
saved the tower by purchasing it, the statues were repaired and
replaced. The church contained many tombs and slabs, some of which have
found a home in the Hôtel Cluny. One of the most famous persons buried
at S. Jacques was Nicholas Flamel, a member of the University, and
librarian, who died in 1417, leaving large sums of money to the church.
His effigy, and that of his wife, were to be seen kneeling at the
Virgin's feet in the tympanum of the porch. He was venerated as their
patron by the alchymists, for having, as was affirmed, discovered the
philosopher's Stone; and several times his house in the Rue des
Écrivains was rummaged in order to find some indication of his secret.
His funeral tablet has the following epitaph engraven upon it, and is
numbered 92 in the collection of the Hôtel Cluny:
[Illustration: TOUR SAINT-JACQUES, LOOKING TOWARDS THE HÔTEL DE VILLE]
FEU NICOLAS FLAMEL JADIX ESCRI
VAIN A LAISSÉ PAR SON TESTAMENT À
LEUSORE DE CESTE ÉGLISE CERTAINES
RENTES ET MAISONS QU'IL AVOIT
ACQUESTÉES ET ACHETÉES À SON VI-
VANT POUR FAIRE CERTAIN SERVICE
DIVIN ET DISTRIBUCIONS D'ARGENT
CHASCUN AU PAR AUMOSNE TOU-
CHANS LES QUINZE VINS: LOSTEL DI
EU ET AULTRES ÉGLISES ET HOSPITEAUX
À PARIS.--SOIT PRIÉ POURS LES TRÉPASSÉS.
The Tour S. Jacques is an excellent example of what may be done with the
remaining portions of demolished buildings. As it stands, surrounded by
gardens, it is a most beautiful object, an oasis in the desert of
streets, and trams, and omnibuses, a quiet spot where children may
skirmish, and mothers can sit in the open air and knit their stockings.
Why cannot we do likewise in London? If churches must be felled to the
ground, why cannot we leave their towers as a centre to the
burial-ground gardens, or remove and re-erect them in our parks? We
might with advantage follow the example of Paris, both in the
preservation of the old tower of S. Jacques, and in the arrangement of
the garden of the Hôtel Cluny, where, also, fragments of churches are
set up as ornaments.
It was from the top of the tower of S. Jacques that Pascal made certain
experiments of the density of the air; and in memory of this, his
statue, in white marble, was placed under the porch.
SAINT-JACQUES DU HAUT-PAS.
In no way remarkable, this church need only be mentioned as having been
built between 1630-1684, in the Italian fashion. It is in the street of
the same name.
SAINT-JEAN-SAINT-FRANÇOIS.
Founded in 1623, in the Rue Charlot, as a chapel for the Capuchins, S.
Jean contains a statue of S. Francis of Assisi, by Germain Pilon, and a
S. Denis, sculptured by Jacques Sarazin for the Abbey of Montmartre, by
order of Anne d'Autriche.
SAINT-JULIEN LE PAUVRE.
In a little back street not far from S. Séverin is the old church of S.
Julien, a fragment only of its former self, and all that remains of the
ancient priory. Its locality is described in Guillot's _Dict. des Rues
de Paris_, which gives a description in verse of the principal houses
and streets in the city at the end of the 13th century, as follows:--
Puis la rue de Saint-Julien
Qui nous gart de mauvais lien,
M'en revins à la Buscherie
Et puis en la Poissonnerie.
And it appears that "il y avait jadis, près du Petit-Pont et la prison
du Petit-Châtelet, une ruelle appelée ruelle du Carneaux,[92] qui
conduisait au marché au poisson d'eau douce." This fish-market evidently
occupied the site of the old annexe of the Hôtel-Dieu, and doubtless was
in great requisition when the priory was inhabited by its fifty
brethren.
Some years ago, when S. Julien was used as the chapel of the Hôtel-Dieu,
it formed a picturesque object from the hospital garden, and no doubt
was often a great comfort to some of the patients, who found within its
walls a peaceful spot where they could be alone, and out of turmoil of
sick wards and their accompaniments. But when the old hospital was
pulled down, the church's very existence was threatened, and for some
years it seemed as if Paris would have one more vandalism to lament.
Happily its demolition was prevented, and it has been restored to God's
service, for the use of members of the Greek branch of the Church.
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF SAINT-JULIEN.]
Many were the Julians canonized by the Early Church, and it is difficult
to say to which saint this edifice was dedicated, although the fact of
the relics of S. Julien de Brioude, who was martyred in 304, having been
placed upon the left-hand side of the High Altar, seems to point to him
as the patron. S. Julien was born at Vienne in Dauphiné about 270, and
became a distinguished soldier in the Roman army; but having embraced
Christianity, he was beheaded during the reign of Diocletian in 304, at
Brioude in Auvergne, where he had taken refuge from his persecutors.
There his remains were discovered by S. Germain d'Auxerre in 431, and
forthwith the town became celebrated for the many cures performed at its
miraculous well. "_Est enim ad hunc fontem virtus eximia_," said S.
Grégoire of Tours; and Sidonius Apollinaris, who died in 489, also bears
witness to the Saint's burial place in a letter to a friend who was
travelling in Auvergne: "_Hic te suscipiet benigna Brivas Sancti quae
fovet ossa Juliani._" S. Grégoire, in his life of the Saint, gave a list
of the churches dedicated to his memory; and although S. Julien le
Pauvre is not enumerated, it would seem that it must have been one of
them, as he speaks of lodging in a house attached to the little
basilica, when he came to Paris, and called it S. Julien the Martyr:
"_His diebus Parisius adveneram et ad Basilicam Beati Juliani martyris
metam habebam._"
[Illustration: CHAPEL OF THE SOUTH AISLE.]
Another S. Julien was a confessor, and first bishop of Mans. He was a
Roman by birth, and upon being consecrated, was sent by Pope Clement to
convert the Cenomans. He arrived at Suindinum (Le Mans) while the town
was besieged and deprived of water. Entering it, he caused water to
spring from the ground, and henceforth the well was called
_Sanct-nomius_, or fountain of S. Julien. The bishop worked in his
diocese over 40 years, and then retired to S. Marceau, where he died in
117, his decease being revealed in a vision to his first convert, a
Gaul, surnamed _Le Défenseur_, who caused the Saint's body to be carried
back to Le Mans, and buried with great pomp at Notre-Dame du Pré. In 840
it was translated to the cathedral, where many miracles were wrought. S.
Julien is generally represented destroying a dragon, symbolizing
paganism, or accompanied by a young girl carrying a pitcher of water, an
allegory of the miraculous well. This connection of different Saints of
the same name with wells is curious, and makes it difficult to decide
the patronage of S. Julien le Pauvre; for there also are two wells, one
the so-called "miraculous," just outside the eastern apse of the church,
and another outside one of the windows of the 17th century _façade_. If,
as many authorities think, the old 13th century west front occupied a
space in advance of the present one, this well may have been originally
inside the church, an arrangement frequently adopted by Mediæval
architects, and still existing in some of our old churches. There is one
of exquisite beauty in the south aisle of Regensburg Cathedral, and at
Coutances there are two in the transepts. S. Germain des Prés also had
its miraculous well, but it is now closed up. There is yet another one
at the corner of Rues S. Jacques and S. Séverin, which formerly bore the
name of Julien, but is now re-christened S. Séverin. It was
re-constructed in the 17th century and bore the following inscription by
the poet Santeuil:
DUM SCANDUNT JUGA MONTIS ANHELO PECTORE NYMPHÆ,
HIC UNA E SOCIIS VALLIS AMORE SEDET.
Which is prettily rendered by d'Amaury Duval: "Tandis que les nymphes,
haletantes, montent vers le sommet de la montagne, l'une d'elles, éprise
de la beauté du vallon, y fixe sa demeure."