BOURGES. THE CATHEDRAL, BOURGES. Built in far other times, those sculptured walls THE MINSTER. 19 ELEVATED above a vast plain, traversed by the railway from Paris to the central departments, the ancient city of Bourges appears conspicuous and solitary. Its situation, at the meeting of the rivers Auron, Yvres, and Yevrette, is peculiarly agreeable; and the noblesse of Cher have long given a preference to its silent streets and solemn squares, over those of more populous and prosperous places. The foundation of this city is involved in obscurity; but, that it was of importance at an early age, and that its name is inseparable from the military history of the nation, there is ample proof. At first called Avaricum, then Evre, it is identical with that stout citadel of the Bituriga, the capital of Celtic Gaul, which offered such an obstinate resistance to Cæsar's veteran legions. Under the earlier Bourbons, it was the chief place in Berri; under the later, in Cher. The city was formerly surrounded by a strong embattled wall, with eighty flanking towers; the former, like the ramparts of Chester, and other old English fortifications, is converted into a public promenade; of the latter, not more, than five or six survive time's insidious mode of attack. The enceinte of the city, which has now a circuit of three English miles, has progressed with the march of time, while the population has as gradually decreased. Although many families of independent fortunes have fixed their winter-residences here, the streets have a deep air of melancholy and desertion, their width rather adding to this character of sadness. Private mansions are enclosed within inhospitable walls, and only approached by portes cocheres; many dwellings stand detached, in the midst of flower-gardens; and a large portion of the space within the walls lies wholly waste and unoccupied. Possibly the complete absence of manufactures, and the stateliness and retirement of this ancient place, attracted so many wealthy inhabitants thither; one of the consequences of whose choice is the assemblage of a most unusual number of lapidaries, silversmiths, and other operators and dealers in jewels and gold. On the very summit of the hill around which the city wall is drawn, stands the venerable Cathedral of St. Etienne, the noblest ecclesiastical edifice in France. similar sentiment seems to pervade all tourists of taste, on the first view of this sublime production, or at least when the grand spectacle of its quintuple aisle bursts upon the astonished sight-that feeling is silence. Breathe not a thought, nor let a sound be heard; A broad flight of gently-ascending steps leads to a noble plateau, from which the grand west front appears to rise; and here five sumptuous Gothic porches, with deep and profusely-enriched soffits, give entrance to as many aisles. The central front, more spacious and lofty than the others, includes two doorways, with valves of carved-wood, above which is a bas-relief representing the Day of Judgment. The design it is unnecessary to criticize the execution cannot be too highly applauded. Christ appears surrounded by archangels, while the Virgin and St. John are kneeling before him ; St. Peter is conducting the righteous into Paradise, on one side; while indescribable agents are engaged in throwing the wicked into caldrons on the other. Forty-eight panels in the Gothic arch above are filled with pictures, in stone, of angels, and apostles, and patriarchs, all executed with a degree of mastery honourable to any period of the arts. In the soffits of the portals, on either side, designs from Scripture are introduced similarly. One series of panels is occupied with the preachings of St. Ursin and St. Just, in the province of Berri, of which Bourges is the capital; another, with the martyrdom of St. Stephen; a third, with the death of the Virgin Mary; and the life and acts of St. Ursin fill up several. These sculptures sustained much injury during the religious strifes of the sixteenth century, but they have since been restored with considerable care and ingenuity. The material, a plastic clay, has yielded so entirely to the wishes of the artist, that no traces of mutilation are observable. The north and south porches differ altogether, in style and decoration, from those of the west front. They are circular-headed, with chevron ornaments, and other emblems of pure Norman. Hence it is, that this glorious edifice illustrates the transition of ecclesiastical architecture from Norman into what is now named Early English or Gothic. The north tower, less venerable in aspect than its companion, was built from a design of Pellevoisin, in 1530. It is called the "Butter Tower," the funds for its erection having been raised by the sale of indulgences to permit the eating of butter in Lent. The first view of the interior is esteemed not only unequalled in sublimity, but overpowering in effect. "Its five naves, with their gigantic pillars, the extraordinary elevation of its bold roof, the streaming glories of its jewelled windows, the countless ranges of its reedy columns, its sombre recesses, illuminated chapels, galleries, and arcades—all fill the senses with rapt admiration. Every part of this wondrous church, every capital and pillar, is full of details, all amazing and exquisite in their execution; the painted glass of all the chapels is entire, and richer in its hues than any we had seen, though nearly similar to that at Rheims; it would seem that the same artist who painted the unrivalled rose there, had thrown the same luxury of colour over every pane of these enormous windows. I have felt the same delight in looking on the chefd'œuvres at Rouen, but my sensation of admiration on seeing St. Etienne were not surpassed even there."* Sixty pillars, with foliated capitals, sustain a vaulted roof, groined, and adorned with sculptured bosses, the latter placed at a height of 120 feet from a flooring of coloured marbles. The centre nave is lighted by a clerestory, beneath which is a triforium, that embraces the choir also. Jacques Cœur, the prince-merchant of Bourges, adorned the sacristy, and built the beautiful Gothic chapel called from his name; the other chapels are dedicated to the memories of their respective illustrious founders. The high altar is of marble; the stalls in the choir exquisitely carved; and the great organ suited, by the boldness of its tones, to the area through which they are so solemnly poured. Beneath the choir and the apsis of the cathedral, is a subterranean chapel with extensive catacombs. Here is the tomb of John the Magnificent, first duke of Berri, uncle of Charles VI., from which all the little mourners have been removed, and the effigy left alone on its marble couch. At the prince's feet is placed the figure of a bear, an emblem assumed in compliment to his princess, who belonged to the Ursine family. This was not his original resting-place; he built the "Holy Chapel" for his mausoleum, and on its destruction, his broken tomb was carried hither. Marshal Montigny's monument is also preserved here, together with several pieces of sculpture that once occupied the aisles above, but, being injured either by the Protestant iconoclasts of 1562, or the enraged republicans of 1792, they have been removed into an atmosphere whose grey light throws a partial veil over all evidences of violence and error. Don Carlos, whom king Ferdinand's will deprived of the Spanish throne, being placed in involuntary exile at Bourges, was observed to be a constant attendant at divine service in the cathedral. "We went to hear mass one day," writes Miss Costello, "when Don Carlos and his party attended, and were rather struck with the style of attention shown him. The bishop officiated, and all the priests in their richest robes; throughout the ceremony, all the honours paid to the altar were shared in by the ex-king; the incense thrown towards those sacred objects was liberally bestowed on him; the reverences paid to the altar were repeated as each priest or chorister passed the raised seat on which the royal party sat; and to one uninitiated it would have been difficult to discover whether the saint or the king was the object of worship. Don Carlos appeared very devout, and never ceased crossing himself, with vehement gestures. He is gloomy-looking, and by no means distinguished; his queen has a majestic air and an agreeable countenance; but the whole business was depressing and sad enough to witness." A pilgrimage to Auvergne, vol. i. p. 347. This distinguished prince has been compared to John of Gaunt, from the remarkable similarity in their fortunes and dispositions. Jean de Berri was son, brother, uncle, and nephew of kings. John of Gaunt was son of Edward I., son-in-law of the king of Castile, father of Constance queen of Castile, and of king Henry IV. of England. Neither ever ascended a throne, but both exhibited in their style of living all the splendour of royalty. PASS BETWEEN VOIRON AND THE GRAND CHARTREUSE. Such is the scene, mid which the traveller falls In a sheltered hollow, several thousand feet above the level of the sea, and where the pinnacles of the Alps become first capped with perpetual snows, St. Bruno founded a monastery after rules of the strictest obligation. It was in the year 1086, that the venerable man retired to his cell amidst the summits of Isere, and his sanctity soon found imitators so numerous and devoted, that at last he laid the foundation of that magnificent establishment "the Grand Chartreuse," some few miles from the road leading from Grenoble to the Sardinian States. Difficult of access as it still remains, the brotherhood have expended vast treasures, at various periods, in cutting roads in the solid rock, in joining together. opposite mountains by arches of tenacious masonry, and in overcoming obstacles which indefatigable energy, and unbounded expenditure, could alone have subdued. Along this steep ascent of many miles, the pilgrim wends his solitary way, to bow before a shrine consecrated by antiquity, at least; and hither also numerous visitors direct their steps, to indulge curiosity, or carry away the recollection of having witnessed such entire devotion to the world to come, and such absolute resignation of the present, without being influenced by the force of example. Setting out from Grenoble towards the village of Voiron, only remembered by its trifling manufactures, the mountains are soon approached, and the toil of ascent commenced. It is of this beautiful tour, that Gray, the poet, wrote, It is "the most solemn, most romantic, and most astonishing scene I ever beheld." The road at first traverses the valley of the Isere, then, entering the mountain-passes, changes its character almost at every step, becoming, as it is paced along, more magnificent, yet more terrific. At the foot of the mountain, the noise of the falling waters is heard like distant thunder; and the song of the bird, or the voice of the traveller, is no longer audible by human faculties. As a greater height is attained, the hollow sounds increase, and the actual danger of the journey also. At length, the mountains close, and form a deep ravine; there the road is hewn in its rocky side, appearing at a distance like a stripe or band along its length, or, more closely viewed, as the frieze or cornice of some colossal structure overhanging its base. And now the opposing masses, as if by reciprocal attraction, seem to approach each other, while their summits become lost in the heavens, and darkness reigns everywhere, save in a single contracted opening. There a torrent descends, |