This church contains some extremely curious antiquities. The first,
without doubt, is the monument of the archbishop Saint-Romain, which is
of granite, and forms, if I may say so, the high altar in the choir, as
the top of the high altar covers the monument, which is elsewhere very
plainly seen. It was formerly in the crypt of Saint-Godard, where
Saint-Romain was buried. It was brought afterwards to this church on the
20th february 1804. The ashes of the illustrious prelate had been
dispersed by the calvinists, in 1562.
We may also admire the beautiful painted glass windows, which were
brought partly from Saint-Maur, Saint-Etienne-des-Tonneliers, and
Saint-Martin-sur-Renelle. The following is an explanation: In the first
chapel, _a Transfiguration_, to the left on entering. In the next chapel
_a holy Family_. This chapel contains also a beautiful small marble
statue _of Saint-Louis_, and a bas-relief, by Jadoulle, representing
_Tobit burying the dead_. The firsts chapel to the right, contains the
font: there is a remarkable painted glass, divided into six partitions,
which represents _the history of Adam_. It is in this chapel that we
find a very curious cover of some baptismal-fonts, which was brought
from the ancient church of Saint-Etienne. The bas-reliefs, which
ornament it, represent _the Passion of Jesus-Christ_. In the sort of
lantern, which surmounts the cover, is _a Resurrection_. These
sculptures on wood, which are of great beauty, are of the beginning of
the XVIth century. At the farther end of the chapel, is a fresco
painting by Pecheux representing _the baptism of Jesus-Christ_.
In the next chapel, which is dedicated to Saint-Theresa, we see
_Sainte-Genevieve_, the patroness of Paris. In her left hand she holds a
book, and in her right a lighted taper. Satan tries to blow it out with
a pair of bellows, while, behind the saint, an angel is ready to light
it again. These different painted glasses were brought from Saint-Maur.
In the chapel of Saint-Joseph, is a painted window representing
_Saint-Stephen before his judges_. In the chapel of the Virgin, which is
opposite, we see _Saint-Stephen stoned_; these two painted windows
belonged to the church of Saint-Etienne-des-Tonneliers.
Some glasses of the higher windows, brought from
Saint-Martin-sur-Renelle, represent _the passion of our Lord_.
In the choir, in the chapel to the left, _Tobit burying the dead_,
above we see _the resurrection of Lazarus_; in the same window _Job on
the dunghill_; and underneath, _the Lord's supper_.
In another chapel of the choir, opposite to the former, is _Jesus-Christ
in the temple, overthrowing the tables of the money-changers_; beside
it, is _the rich man at table_; Lazarus is at the outside of the door.
The stained glass of these two chapels belonged to Saint-Maur. Most of
them, from the richness of their coloring, and the perfection of their
execution, are very remarkable.
Under the dome at the lop of the nave, are five different fresco,
paintings which represent different acts relative to the life of the
patron of the church. One represents _the consecration of Saint-Romain
as bishop_; in another, _he overthrows the pagan temples_; farther on,
is _the miracle of the dragon or Gargouille_; next to it, is the
procession of the shrine to obtain the deliverance of a prisoner, a
ceremony which was instituted after the miracle of which we have already
spoken. The _apotheosis of Saint-Romain_ crowns these four paintings.
At the top of the sanctuary, behind the high altar, there is also
another fresco by Pecheux, _representing the agony of Jesus-Christ_. The
painting receives the light from above, by an opening made expressly for
that purpose.
The organ, which was made by Mr Lebreton, of Rouen, was received on the
11th july 1830. It is composed of four keys, forty two registers, and
one pedal. Although modern, the church of Saint-Romain, merits as we
see, to be examined in all its details.