re is another--called the _Chapel of Calvary_,--in which you
observe a celebrated piece of sculpture, of rather colossal dimensions, of
the entombment of Christ. The dead Saviour is borne to the sepulchre by
Joseph of Arimathea, St. John, and the three Maries. The name of the
sculptor is _Deseine_. Certainly you cannot but be struck with the effect
of such representations--which accounts for these two chapels being a great
deal more attended, than the choir or the nave of the church. It is right
however to add, that the pictures here are preferable to those at St.
Sulpice: and the series of bas-reliefs, descriptive of the principal events
in the life of Christ, is among the very best specimens of art, of that
species, which Paris can boast of.
Very different from either of these interiors is that of _St. Philippe du
Roule_; which presents you with a single insulated row of fluted Ionic
pillars, on each side of the nave; very airy, yet impressive and imposing.
It is much to my taste; and I wish such a plan were more generally adopted
in the interiors of Grecian-constructed churches. The choir, the altar ...
the whole is extremely simple and elegant. Nor must the roof be omitted to
be particularly mentioned. It is an arch, constructed of wood; upon a plan
originally invented by Philibert Delorme--so well known in the annals of
art in the sixteenth century. The whole is painted in stone colour, and may
deceive the most experienced eye. This beautiful church was built after the
designs of Chalgrin, about the year 1700; and is considered to be a purer
resemblance of the antique than any other in Paris. This church, well worth
your examination, is situated in a quarter rarely visited by our
countrymen--in the _Rue du Faubourg du Roule_, not far from the barriers.
Not very remotely connected with the topic of CHURCHES, is that of the
SABBATHS ... as spent in Paris. They are nearly the same throughout all
France. As Bonaparte had no respect for religion itself, so he had less for
the forms connected with the upholding of it. Parades, battles, and
campaigns--were all that he cared about: and the Parisians, if they
supplied him with men and money--the _materiel_ for the execution of these
objects--were left to pray, preach, dance, or work, just as they pleased on
the Sabbath day. The present King,[12] as you well know, attempted the
introduction of something like an _English Sabbath_: but it would not do.
When the French read an
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