The Churches of Paris Part 16

Even before the Revolution, church property was not entirely exempt from taxation. The abbeys and other ecclesiastical communities possessed enormous privileges; but they were not enjoyed without certain obligations, as witness requisitions from the sovereigns to furnish supplies to carry on their little warlike pastimes. Sometimes the amount was sent in money, but more often in kind; a few silver saints, some golden shrines, and so on. S. Julien possessed a good revenue in the old days, but in the 16th century the priory had begun to decline in position and in wealth. The colleges moved up the "mountain" of S.

Genevieve; teachers and scholars deserted the old quarters; the houses, which had been the greatest source of revenue, had begun to fall into decay; and the priors became indifferent to their business affairs, and were often absentees. At last things became so bad that, in 1643, a prior named E. Thiboust had to be deposed, and replaced, nominally by Pierre de la Valette, practically by Pierre Meliand, who accused his predecessor "d'avoir laisse deperir l'eglise depuis l'an 1612 qu'il etait entre en jouissance du prieure. Et pendant cette jouissance, qui a dure 18 ans, le sieur Thiboust a laisse tomber une grande partie de l'eglise en ruine." Not only did prior Thiboust allow the buildings to fall into decay, but he must have kept back part of the revenues; for the next step was a pet.i.tion to the King's _procureur-general_ to beg him to oblige Thiboust to pay 16,500 _livres_, the repairs requisite having been estimated at that sum by the King's judges Villedo and Monnard. But notwithstanding this, Thiboust took upon himself to grant a lease to Nicolas Brossier and Edme Porrion for a certain stone quarry situated at Croix Faubin; and although the King confirmed Meliand in the priory, the audacious Thiboust pleaded youth at the time of his appointment, and subsequently shuffled out of payment of the whole sum.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE SANCTUARY.]

The church was in a parlous state when prior Meliand began his repairs.

The roof was in a miserable condition, with a temporary covering over the altar to keep out the rain and the door was almost in the last state of decay; so Messire Claude Menardeau was called in (he was a councillor of the King's, and a _commissaire_), and he decided "que des reparations seraient faites au plus tot, d'autant que l'eglize desperit journellement par la pluye et autres injures du temps, qui y tombent, comme en plaine campagne." Unfortunately the master mason, Bernard Roche, to whom the work was given, began by destroying the Gothic west front and portal, to make room for lodgings for the ecclesiastics. Then we read of plasterings, and a new front with pediment and Ionic columns, and all the Cla.s.sicisms so much beloved in the 17th and 18th centuries.

In 1655 the priory and its possessions were made over to the Hotel-Dieu; and thenceforth, until the demolition of the old building a few years ago, it was used as the hospital chapel. But previous to this, Cardinal Mazarin had turned over an annual payment of 2,500 _livres_ to the Hotel-Dieu from the revenue of his abbey of Saint-etienne at Caen, and in his capacity of abbot in chief of the order of Cluny, he made a bargain which put an end to the independence of S. Julien. The prior was to resign, and all the revenues of the convent were to go to the establishment of a convalescent hospital; the Hotel-Dieu undertaking, in return, to carry on Divine service in the church, and to fulfil the conditions of the different foundations belonging to it. At this time, 1660, the property of S. Julien consisted of thirty-eight houses and gardens in the neighbouring streets, besides certain lands in the Faubourg S. Jacques, at Montmartre, at Vitry, Villeneuve and Versailles, together with revenues in kind--corn and fodder, and donations made at burials; altogether amounting to about 2,400 _livres_.

It appears that the misfortunes of S. Julien were not over when it lost its independence, for Louis Roche required payment for his various "improvements," and so the poor church had to sell its plate. Nor could services be held there without the permission of the archbishop, as the _cure_ of S. Severin seems to have objected: "Defense lui (the chaplain of S. Julien) est faite de celebrer des messes hautes, de faire l'eau benite, la benediction du pain, de recevoir offrande, faire quete, chanter l'office et le salut, ni meme exposer le Saint-Sacrament en ladite eglise, sans la permission de Son Eminence."

In 1705 an inventory of the furniture, vestments, and plate was taken, and a very poor collection it seems to have been; indeed, at that time, even the hospital revenues were only about a sixth of the expenses. The inhabitants of Paris had largely increased, and famines and wars had brought many of them to the Hotel-Dieu; so full was it that seven or eight patients were packed into one bed, which, even considering the width of an 18th-century sleeping place, must have been rather unpleasant crowding.

[Ill.u.s.tration: EXTERIOR OF SAINT-JULIEN.]

At the Revolution, the revenues pa.s.sed over to the State, and G.o.d's House was converted into the "House of Humanity." The old church became a salt warehouse, the _asile_ was pulled down, and it was only in 1826 that S. Julien was restored to its right use.

The first time I visited the church was before the Franco-German war, when I was taken over the hospital by one of the Augustinian sisters.

Two or three patients were there pouring out their sorrows, or giving thanks for mercies received. Outside, in the garden, were a few more sitting about among the trees, making a charming picture, such as Fred Walker would have delighted in. All this is now changed, and the sisters are gone with the old hospital buildings and the quaint covered bridge--a second _Ponte Vecchio_. Whether the poor have gained anything by being nursed by lay-women instead of religious, we cannot say; but no one will deny that the sisters were devoted to their work--kindly, patient, sweet-tempered, of the same spirit as when, in the old time, they not only nursed, but "au plus fort de l'hiver," they broke the ice of the river, "qui pa.s.se au milieu de cet hopital, et y entrer jusqu'a la moitie du corps pour laver les linges." It was in S. Julien that the White Sisters took the veil, and devoted themselves specially to the service of G.o.d and the care of His poor.

The Miraculous Well and some of the foundations are all that remain of the first Carlovingian church; the arcades of the nave and some of the columns date back to the commencement of the 12th century, but the rest of the building belongs to the end of that period. The tower, like the portal, was improved away by Master Bernard Roche, and the old bell has at present to content itself with a little pointed roof as a covering.

Its inscription is dated, and is in French:

J. H. S.

MARIE SUIS NOMMeE PAR M. JEAN BOURLON, CONSEILLER DU ROY ET GREFFIER EN SA CHAMBRE DES COMPTES, ET PAR DAME MARIE PAJOT, FEMME DE M. ALEXANDRE REBOURS, CONSEILLER DU ROY EN SON CONSEIL D'eTAT ET PRIVe, ET PReSIDENT DE LA COUR DES AYDES DE PARIS ET V^{E} DE BARTHeLEMY TOUSSAINCT MOUSSIER GOUVERNEUR DE L'eGLISE DE CeANS DELAUNAY.

1640.

The plan of the church was originally a nave and aisles of six bays, each terminating in an apse, but in 1675 two bays were demolished with the entire west end, to make room for a forecourt. (It is said that, of all the churches of Paris, the two which stand most truly East and West are Notre-Dame and S. Julien.) Although parts of the interior have suffered from "improvements" and neglect, the two bays of the choir and the apsidal terminations have lost nothing of their original beauty. The single-shaft pillars, recalling upon a small scale those of Notre-Dame, the cl.u.s.tered columns which support the vault, and the little columns of the windows; the capitals, the bosses, and the mouldings are all in the best style of the end of the 12th century. The sculpture of the details is treated with the greatest care, and the ornamentation of the capitals (about one hundred and fifty in all) has all the variety of foliage and imagery so dear to the Mediaeval artists. The most curious example is on the south side of the choir. Springing from a ma.s.s of foliage are four figures of birds with female heads, bodies of feathers, outspread wings, and clawed feet. Some of the foliage is the acanthus, but still more represents the water plants which probably, in those early days, grew in the Seine; for it must be remembered that the sculptors of the Middle Ages were in the habit of taking their inspiration from the types of Nature which surrounded them. It is curious that one of the capitals in Notre-Dame, in the same position (the south side of the choir) is almost identical with the one just described. On the right side of the altar is the _piscina_, which is said to communicate with the Miraculous Well; the water having been held in great veneration, people came to fetch it from far and near.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

The church contains no monuments of any artistic value. A curious bas-relief with a very long inscription was erected to the memory of _Honorable et sage Maistre Henry Rousseau, jadis avocat en Parlement, seigneur de Chaillaut (Chaillot) ... lequel trepa.s.sa l'an 1445 le IXe jour de novembre_. _Dieu en ait l'ame. Amen._ The defunct left money to endow ma.s.ses, and also for the Hotel-Dieu. He is represented enveloped in a winding-sheet, addressing a prayer to our Lord, which is written upon a streamer. The words in italics are lost:

Peccavi super numer [_um arene maris et multiplicata sunt peccata mea_] non sum Dignus videre altidinem [_Celi pre mult.i.tudine iniquitatis mee [=qm] irrita_] ram tuam. Et malum coram te feci [=qm] ini [_[=qu]it[=ate] mea ego cognosco et_] delictum meum Coram me est semper. Tibi soli pecca [_vi ideo deprecor_] majestatem tuam Ut tu deleas iniquitatem meam miserere mei [_secundum mag[=n]a misericordia_] tuam.

The epitaph is in Gothic letters, and in an excellent state of preservation. Above the bordering we read:

Cy devant gist honorable homme et sage maistre Henry Rousseau, Jadis advocat en Parlement, seigneur de Chaillaut et de

Within the framing:

Compans en partie, lequel des son vivant a fonde en cest hostel trois messes Par chascune sepmaine qui sont et doivent estre dites et celebrees a l'autel et Chapelle de Mons. S. Loys, jadis Roy de France, situee et a.s.sise au milieu de cest Ostel, aux jour de Mercredi, Vendredi et Dimenche. Cest a.s.savoir au mercredi De Requiem, au vendredi de la Croix et au dimenche de la Solennite du jour, ou A la voulente du celebrant, et en la fin de chascune messe qui ne serait ditte De Requiem, le celebrant est tenu de faire memoire des Trespa.s.sez et pour ce Faire a fonde le dit Deffunct et donne a cest hostel XII livres de Rentes que il ou ses hoirs Doivent faire admortir, situees et a.s.sises sur une maison et estuves a.s.sises a Paris Devant le Palais, a l'image Saint Michel, et, pour avoir la sepulture en cette chapelle

Below the border:

a donne la somme de cent francs que aussi en son vivant il a payiez en six Livres Parisis de Rente a.s.sises sur plusieurs maisons a Paris declaires es, _Lettres_ sur ce _faictes_, tout pour le salut de son ame et des ames de ses pere et mere, parents et amis, lequel trepa.s.sa l'an 1445 te IXe jour de novembre.

Dieu en ait l'ame. Amen.

The bas-relief was originally coloured, and at the corners of the border were armorial bearings. The slab was formerly in the church of S. Blaise and S. Louis, which was destroyed in 1765, and which belonged to S.

Julien, only having been separated from it by a narrow pa.s.sage. It is supposed to have been either a refectory or a private chapel. In 1476 the masons and carpenters of Paris made it the seat of their guild, and built the portal in the Rue Galande; in 1684 it was reconstructed.

Another monument, or rather statue, by Bosio, of Antoine de Montyon, was removed from the old Hotel Dieu when it was pulled down, and placed over the last burial-place of the philanthropist. Originally interred at Vaugirard, M. de Montyon's body was afterwards placed under the peristyle of the hospital, where it remained until the demolition. M. de Montyon is princ.i.p.ally known by his _prix de vertu_ given annually by the Immortals of the Inst.i.tut. But he left other legacies for prizes: to whomsoever should discover the means of rendering certain industries less unhealthy; to a poor French subject who should write a book the most conducive to morals; for the advancement of medical science or surgery; also for the poor who require aid on leaving the Paris hospitals. All the prizes are distributed by the Academy, and the whole sum left amounted to some seven millions of francs, a considerable fortune seventy years ago (1820) when M. de Montyon died. The princ.i.p.al prize, _pour l'action la plus vertueuse_, generally falls to the lot of some obscure person, who has pa.s.sed years of self-sacrificing devotion to the old, the sick, or the poor; virtuous actions, in M. de Montyon's opinion, being those unrecorded works of love and charity which are done in simple homes, without excitement or glamour; works which become great because of their very monotony and which prove the patience and unselfishness of the true Christian.

a LA MEMOIRE D'ANTOINE J. B. ROBERT AUGET DE MONTYON, BARON DE MONTYON, CONSEILLER D'eTAT, DONT L'INePUISABLE BIENFAISANCE ET L'INGeNIEUSE CHARITe ONT a.s.sURe APReS SA MORT, COMME DURANT SA VIE, DES ENCOURAGEMENTS AUX SCIENCES, DES ReCOMPENSES AUX ACTIONS VERTUEUSES, DES SOULAGEMENTS a TOUTES LES MISeRES HUMAINES.

Ne LE 23 DEC. 1733.--MORT LE 29 DEC. 1820.

ICI REPOSE SA DePOUILLE MORTELLE TRANSPORTeE DE LA COMMUNE DEMEURE DES MORTS a L'ENTReE DE L'ASILE DES PAUVRES, SOUFFRANTS ET SECOURUS, COMME a SA PLACE LeGITIME, PAR LA PIEUSE RECONNAISSANCE.

DE L'AUTORITe MUNIc.i.p.aLE ET DE L'ADMINISTRATION DES HOSPICES AUXQUELLES SE SONT a.s.sOCIeES L'ACADeMIE FRANcAISE ET L'ACADeMIE DES SCIENCES, XXVI MAI M.D.CCC.x.x.xVIII.

M. de Montyon was a remarkable man, in that he refused the exalted office of Keeper of the Seals offered him by Louis XVI., for fear of his moral character deteriorating: "Dites a Sa Majeste que je suis confus de ses bontes. Si je fais un peu de bien dans la place que j'occupe, c'est que je ne suis pas en evidence. En acceptant celle que l'on me propose, je serais expose a toutes les intrigues, a toutes les cabales de l'envie; je n'aurais peut-etre ni le talent ni la force necessaires pour y resister; dans le doute, je dois m'abstenir."

SAINT-LAURENT.

There is nothing in the present somewhat spick-and-span church to recall its former state in the 6th century. The patron of Nurnberg, of the Escorial, and of Genoa; the young martyr, who from the earliest beginnings of Christian art has been one of its most popular subjects; the saintly deacon, who, as painted by Fra Angelico, charms us by his expression of sweet sanct.i.ty, and who, when depicted by the disciples of horrors, makes us shudder and close our eyes--S. Laurence, the deacon, has always been a favourite, and many are the churches dedicated to him.

He was a native of Osca or Huesca, in Aragon, and acted as deacon (although a priest) to Sixtus II., bishop of Rome, in the middle of the 3rd century. He had the care of all the precious vessels of the church, and of the money. Times were bad, and Sixtus was denounced as a Christian; then Laurence, following the example of S. Stephen, pet.i.tioned the good bishop to allow him to share the captivity. Before Sixtus died he ordered Laurence to distribute all the money and treasure amongst the poor, and predicted his disciple's martyrdom as worse than his own. Laurence went about the city and distributed the alms, which, when the tyrant heard thereof, caused him so much anger that he thrust the deacon into prison, where he converted his gaoler. But the Prefect ordered him to give up his treasure. Then Laurence gathered together the poor and the sick, and presented them to the Prefect; and he being enraged, concocted a new and terrible torture. He made a sort of gridiron bed, upon which the young deacon was laid, and fire being placed underneath, the victim was roasted to death. "Seest thou not, O thou foolish man, being roasted on one side, thou shouldst turn me over, that the other be well cooked," are the words recorded to prove his steadfastness. Then he lifted his eyes to Heaven, and said, "I thank Thee, O my G.o.d and Saviour, that I have been found worthy to enter into Thy blessedness"; and so he pa.s.sed away into bliss, and was buried in the Via Tiburtina.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SAINT-LAURENT.]

Gregoire de Tours speaks of a monastery of S. Laurence in Paris; and S.

Domnole, bishop of Le Mans, who died in 581, had been previously its abbot. This abbey has long since disappeared, and been lost to memory; and the parish, which since the 13th century has taken its place, became a dependency of the priory of S. Martin. The _facade_ of the present building is no older than 1622; the nave and transept were erected in the 16th, the choir and apse in the 15th century. A niche containing a statue of S. John Baptist is commendable, and some of the details of corbels, gargoyles, cornices, and other exterior decoration are quaint and often grotesque: little beasties jumping about in foliage; small children in fool's caps tumbling about in grotesque att.i.tudes; one little imp being whipped by the schoolmaster; Angels with animal continuations; a hunter shooting arrows at a salamander, and divers other monstrosities.

The interior is cold and uninteresting, the bosses being the best part of the decoration. They are of all manner of devices: S. Nicholas blessing his children; crowns, garlands, Angels' heads; foliage and draperies, and a ma.s.s of ornament and little personages--the Virgin and Child, S. John Baptist with his cross, S. Laurence and his gridiron, the scenes from the Pa.s.sion, and many other conceits.

The apse has been disfigured, after the manner of S. Severin and S.

Germain l'Auxerrois, by Corinthian columns, pilasters, monograms, and trophies--the work of Lepautre. The _jube_ has gone, and divers other Gothic "excrescences," and the church remains a grand example of the last century barbarism. Well has Victor Hugo described those gentlemen, so-called artists, who fell down and worshipped Fashion, as set by its 18th century votaries: "Les modes ont fait plus de mal que les revolutions. Elles ont tranche dans le vif, elles ont attaque la charpente osseuse de l'art; elles ont coupe, taille, desorganise l'edifice, dans la forme comme dans le symbole, dans sa logique comme dans sa beaute. Et puis, elles ont refait; pretention que n'avaient eue, du moins, ni le temps, ni les revolutions. Elles ont effrontement ajuste, de par _le bon got_, sur les blessures de l'architecture Gothique leurs miserables colifichets d'un jour, leurs rubans de marbre, leurs pompons de metal: veritable lepre d'oves, de volutes, d'entournements, de draperies, de guirlandes, de franges, de flammes, de pierre, de nuages, de bronze, d'amours replets, de cherubins bouffis, qui commence a devorer la face de l'art dans l'oratoire de Catherine de Medicis, et le fait expirer, deux siecles apres, tourmente et grimacant, dans le boudoir de la Dubarry."

SAINT-LEU-SAINT-GILLES.

About the year 600, the town of Sens was besieged by Clotaire's general, Blidebodes, and grievous was the pain and suffering to which the inhabitants were subjected. But the bishop, Lupus,[99] Leu, or Loup was a holy man, and while the warriors fought he pa.s.sed his time in prayer.

Then he bethought him of a little stratagem. Ostensibly for the object of collecting the citizens for prayer, he set to, and vigorously pulled the church bell. The crowd rushed from all parts of the town, and following the example of their spiritual father, they threw themselves on their knees. Presently came the news that the siege was raised; at the sound of the bell, the enemy had fled precipitately. This, all but miracle, may be accounted for by the fact that bells were first introduced into France about this time (615); and if Clotaire's soldiers, coming from the north and west, had never heard any before, they may have felt much the same sort of terror as was said to have been instilled into the natives during the Ashantee war by the Scottish bagpipes.

Considering that the church has two patrons, it ought surely to be in some way remarkable; but the fact is, it is a very insignificant little building, and devoid of beauty of any kind. It formerly belonged to the Abbey of S. Magloire from which it was separated by only a small s.p.a.ce of ground; the abbey having been situated in the Rue S. Denis, and the church in what is now the Boulevard Sebastopol. The latter must have been built in the 13th century, as the abbe Lebeuf found a notice in the archives of S. Magloire to the effect that some little bells had been placed in S. Leu. The church has been so repaired, so cut about (the east end was lopped off when the new boulevard was pierced); it has been so mutilated and travestied, that little remains of the old building.

Some of the bosses are elegantly and curiously carved. We see S. Giles and his hind, and S. Loup in episcopal vestments; the 17th century marble bas-reliefs ill.u.s.trating the Pa.s.sion; quaint emaciated bodies and large heads are the characteristics of the crowd.

In one of the chapels, the first on the south, is a curious picture commemorating a terrible event, which led to a miracle. The inscription reads thus:

CETTE IMAGE A ESTe FAITE L'AN 1772 EN L'HONNEUR DU SIGNALE MIRACLE ARRIVe a PARIS a LA RUE AUX OURS PAROISSE DE ST. LEU ST. GILLES LE 3^{ME} JUILLET L'AN 1415 EN MEMOIRE DE QUOY.

LES BOURGEOIS DE LA DITE RUE TOUS LES ANS a PARCIL JOUR BRULENT L'EFIGIE DU MALFAICTEUR QUI MALHEUREUs.e.m.e.nT FRAPPA L'IMAGE DE LA SAINCT VIRGE DE LA QUELLE SORt.i.t DU SANG ET FUT PUNI PAR ARREST DE LA COUR DE PARLEMENT COME IL EST REPReSENTe CY DESSOUS.