A rough sketch of modern Paris

by J. G. Lemaistre

And ever musing Melancholy reigns,”

it might easily be mistaken for the working yard of a statuary, or the pleasure ground of a tasteless citizen, decked out with Cupids, Mercuries, and Fauns.

It must, however, be acknowledged, that “le Noir,” by whose care this establishment was formed, deserves great credit for the courage with which he rescued the many precious monuments here deposited, from the barbarous and undiscriminating fury of revolutionary vandalism, for the perseverance and attention which has marked his conduct in the arrangement, and for the plan (whether successful or not, I shall not pretend to examine) of presenting complete and exact representations of the art of building in the different ages. Among the innumerable tombs, crowded together in this collection, of which a catalogue, in large octavo, is sold at the door, I observed many of great beauty, taste, and symmetry. Kings, poets, belles, philosophers, and painters, torn from the graves, in which, for centuries past, their remains had tranquilly reposed, would have had no stone to record their past celebrity, if this institution had not existed. The arts, too, are highly indebted to the founder, for the specimens of sculpture, many of them chefs d’œuvre, which are here seen in all their original perfection. Models, too, of ancient and celtic buildings are added to those of french architecture.

Le Noir’s favourite plan of having a chapel for each century, ornamented with all the appropriate decorations, and containing the tombs of contemporary persons, is in part executed, and three or four ages have already their respective temples, completed in the taste of the times which belonged to them. These chapels have been much admired by persons, whose knowledge on such subjects entitle them to respect; and it would, therefore, be presumptuous in me to give a dissenting voice. I shall be pardoned, however, for remarking, that there appeared, in the whole arrangement, a kind of quackery, which prevented my feeling that unalloyed satisfaction which I had been led to expect; and that, in spite of my better judgment, I felt an inclination to laugh, when perhaps my tears ought to have flowed.

As every body must rejoice at the preservation of these monuments, whatever opinions he may entertain about the arrangement, I cannot help regretting, that they are not deposited in a place more worthy of containing them. Since the restoration of religion has removed every obstacle which could be started to such a project, would it not be worthy of the present government, decidedly the friend and protector of the arts, to order that all these precious specimens of sculpture should become the ornament of one or more of the principal churches of Paris, the present naked state of which is an additional argument in favour of the measure? What splendour would they not both receive and confer, in being removed either to Notre Dame, St. Sulpice, or St. Généviève?

To satisfy the curiosity which I know you entertain on such subjects, I examined, with attention, the principal objects, and marked in my catalogue those which seemed most deserving of notice. The following is the list:

No.	5.	The tomb of Dagobert, with the figures of Nautilda his wife, and Clovis his son.
	94.	The tomb of Lewis XII.
	99.	The Monument, or sepulchral Chapel, of Francis the First, with Claude his wife.—(Destroyed in the revolution, and restored by le Noir.)
	105.	Monument erected in honour of Ann of Montmorency.
	111.	A group of Graces.
	113.	Statue of Henry the Fourth of France, assassinated in 1610, clad in a military dress. The artist was Francavilla, or Francevelle, as he was otherwise called. The catalogue mentions, that judging from the body, found at St. Denys in 1793, and which was yet perfect, one should suppose that this was a striking likeness.
	115.	Statue of Claude Catherine de Clermont Tonnere.
	121.	Statue in black marble, representing David after the death of Goliath, by Peter Francavilla, in 1580.
	146.	Monument erected in honour of Charles the Fifth, taken from St. Germain-des-Prés. His medallion, in bronze, is by John Cousin.
	174.	The Mausoleum of the Cardinal de Richelieu, taken from the Sorbonne.—This celebrated group of figures, after a design by le Brun, was executed by Girardon, and considered as his chef-d’œuvre.
	187.	The Mausoleum of Cardinal Mazarin, taken from the college of that name. This monument, of white marble, is the work of Coyzevox.
	189.	Statue of Ann of Austria, taken from the Pont au Change. Executed by Guillain.
	200.	Monument, erected to John Baptiste Colbert, the celebrated minister.
	263.	Monument, in marble, erected to the memory of Charles le Brun, one of the most celebrated painters of the french school. Taken from St. Nicholas de Chardonnet.
	205.	A group of Figures in black marble, representing Francis Michael Letellier Marquis de Louvois, minister of state, who died in 1691.—This was the work of Girardon.
	207.	This Monument, called la Pyramide, or the pillar of Longueville, was erected by Anne Généviève de Bourbon, duchess of Longueville, and was meant in honour both of the first and second duke of that name.
	208.	This is a Monument formed by le Noir, from the ruins of that which formerly stood in la place des Victoires. He has placed on the pedestal a figure of Abundance and Equality.
	210.	A colossal Statue, taken from les Invalides, representing Charlemagne. Executed by Coyzevox.
	211.	A colossal Statue of Lewis the Eleventh, in black marble, executed by Couston. Taken from les Invalides.
	214.	A Statue of Lewis the Fourteenth, in black marble, by Michel Anguier. The king is in a Roman dress.
	218.	A much admired Statue, by Sarrasin, of St. Denys praying. Taken from the abbey of Montmartre.
	220	or 449. This fine Monument, executed under the immediate orders and design of the celebrated architect Bullant, was taken from St. Martin, at Montmorency, and was erected in honour of Ann de Montmorency.
	286.	The marble Bust of Lewis de Bourbon Condé, called the great Condé, from the chisel of Coyzevox.
	384.	This is a modern Monument, in honour of modern events, and of living characters. It is the work of Foucon, and it is meant to represent, allegorically, the peace of Luneville, and to record the glory of Bonaparte.
	448.	This is a beautiful Statue, in black marble, of Francis the First on his death bed. Two thousand modern goths, not content with mutilating this chef-d’œuvre, have ventured to record their barbarity in writing on the monument itself, or rather on what remains, their dishonoured names, several of which are still apparent. The convention, afterwards found it necessary to pass a law, condemning to ten years imprisonment, in chains, the mutilators or destroyers of the works of art.
The following are in the garden:
No.	467.	From the Chateau d’Anet, a beautiful group, representing Diana with a stag, accompanied by her dogs, Procyon and Sirius—supposed to be the work of John Gougeon, made for the fountain in the park of Diana of Poitiers, at Anet.
	471.	Statue, in black marble, and on his knees, of Lewis II. Taken from the church of Notre Dame de Cléry, where it was dreadfully mutilated by the fury of the inhabitants. It was the work of Michael Bourdin, of Orleans, who, not satisfied with the price which he received for it, stole a silver lamp from the church, for which crime he was afterwards executed at Orleans.
	507.	A sepulchral Urn, containing the ashes of the celebrated René Descartes, who died in Sweden, in the year 1650.
	508.	The Tomb of Molière, containing the body of that celebrated dramatic writer. The following inscription appears:
		“Molière & Thalie reposent dans ce tombeau[79].”
		The whole is surrounded with myrtles, roses, and cypress trees.
	509.	The tomb of J. de la Fontaine, containing his body.
	510.	This is a Monument with four fronts. It contains the busts of Molière, John la Fontaine, Boileau, and Racine, who were intimate friends, and sometimes lived together at Auteuil.
	511.	The Tomb which, for some time, contained the mummy of Turenne, first preserved in the Musée de l’Histoire Naturelle, then removed to this spot, and lastly placed, as I have before observed, in the Temple of Mars.
	555.	Sepulchral Urn, containing the ashes of the celebrated Boileau, with this inscription:
		“Nicholas Boileau est dans ce tombeau[80].”
		And above:
		“Ainsi que mes chagrins, mes beaux jours sont passés, Je ne sens plus l’aigreur de ma bile première, Et laisse aux froids rimeurs, une libre carrière[81].” Boileau, Epist. 5. à M. Guilléraques.

There are, doubtless, besides those which I have enumerated, many tombs deserving of notice; but I have specified these, on account of the celebrity of the artists, or that of the persons whose memory the monuments were intended to record. I send you a very imperfect account, yet it is the result of a six hours’ visit, made with no little care and attention.

Le Noir’s catalogue, which, I understand, is now translating into english, concludes with a curious account of the state in which the bodies of the former kings of France were found at St. Denys, when, in the year 1793, the national convention, with a savage disregard of decency, and with a contempt for departed grandeur scarcely credible, ordered that the kings, princes, and other great men, who had for fifteen hundred years lain in peace at St. Denys, should be dragged from their tombs, in order that the lead, of which their coffins were made, should be converted into ball.

You will be surprised to hear, that the celebrated Turenne, preserved like a mummy, was instantly recognized by the resemblance which he still bore to his busts and pictures; and Henry the fourth was yet so perfect, (though he died in 1610), that not a feature was altered.