Thus the legend. But the chapel is mentioned for the first time in authentic documents of the year 1213, when it is described as situated on the vast territory belonging to S. Germain l'Auxerrois (the eldest daughter of Notre-Dame), at a little distance from the cemetery of the Holy Innocents, upon the road leading from the capital to Montmartre. Whoever may have been the founder, it is mentioned in this same year (1213) as a parish, for the curé appealed to the abbot of S. Geneviève, and the dean of Notre-Dame de Chartres, in the matter of a squabble between himself and the dean of S. Germain l'Auxerrois. Ten years later, it is called the church of S. Eustache, in a charter giving the sentence delivered by the bishop of Paris and two of his canons in another squabble between Simon, prestre de l'église Saint-Eustache, and the dean of S. Germain, who seems to have been of a combative temperament. This curé's name figures at the head of the list of rectors of the church, which ends with another of the same name, the grand abbé Simon who was seized by the Communists, and all but received martyrdom with Archbishop Darboy and the curé of the Madeleine, Duguerry. L'abbé Le Beuf records the increase of population, and the necessary want of a larger church; consequently some relics of S. Eustache preserved at S. Denis were brought to Paris, and became the reason for the substitution of the Roman warrior for the gentle maiden Agnes as patron of the church. But later, the two Saints were combined in the patronage, probably from the crypt under the Lady Chapel bearing Agnes' name—a crypt that would be more truthfully called a cellar, from the use it is, or was, put to by a neighbouring fruiterer. The lease may have run out lately, in which case it now belongs to the church; as the clergy had determined to regain possession as soon as possible.
What appearance the first church presented, we know not, but in 1429 the high altar was advanced a foot into the chancel, and the altar of S. Gregory destroyed, to make a passage to the crypt of S. Agnes. In 1434, the church was enlarged "pour la multiplication du peuple"; and again in 1466, an addition required the demolition of the greater part of a house in the Rue de Séjour (now Rue du Jour), next to the Hôtel de Royaumont. Thirty years later the bishop gave the churchwardens a little piece of ground situated at the corner of Pont-Alais, in the Rue Montmartre, in order to extend the building still farther.
Here a slight digression may not be out of place to relate the legend of S. Eustache, whose fête day occurs on September 20th, a day, among several others, when the church is visited by crowds, some of whom go to pray, and others to hear the exquisite music for which S. Eustache is famous. When the 20th falls on a weekday, the festival is transferred to the following Sunday.
S. Eustache was a Roman soldier and captain of the guards of the Emperor Trajan. His name in early life was Placidus, and he had a beautiful wife and two fine sons. He lived in great style, practised all the heathen virtues, notably those of charity and loyalty, and was not only a brave warrior, but withal, a great huntsman. Now it happened one day, while sporting in the forest, that a beautiful white stag appeared before him, having a cross of radiant light between its horns, and on the cross an image of the Redeemer. Being astonished and dazzled by the vision, he fell upon his knees, and lo! a voice came from the crucifix and cried to him: "Placidus, why pursuest thou Me? I am Christ, whom thou hast hitherto served without knowing Me? Dost thou now believe?" And Placidus fell with his face upon the ground and said, "Lord, I believe!" And the voice said: "Thou shalt suffer many tribulations for my sake, and shalt be tried by many temptations; but be strong and of good courage, I will not forsake thee." To which Placidus replied, "Lord, I am content. Give thou me but patience to suffer!" And when he looked up again, the wondrous vision had faded away. Then he arose and returned to his wife, and the next day the whole family was baptised, Placidus adopting the name of Eustatius.
But it came about as was foretold by the vision. All his possessions were spoiled by robbers, and his beautiful and loving wife was taken away by pirates; poverty stared him in the face, and affliction pursued him. Then one day, as he wandered forth with his children, he came to a swollen river which he was obliged to cross; and being troubled as to his means of fording the torrent, he took one child in his arms and swam across, leaving the other on the bank. Having placed the little one in a safe nook, he returned for the other; but when in mid-stream he saw a wolf come out of the forest, and carry off one child, while a lion appeared upon the opposite bank, and seizing the other babe, carried it off and made away with it! Then the wretched father tore his hair and gave way to weeping and lamentations; but remembering his promise to suffer for Christ's sake, he dried his tears and prayed for patience and resignation. So he came to a village where he lived peacefully for fifteen years by the labour of his hands; but at the end of that time, the Emperor Adrian being on the throne, sent out messengers to all parts of the Empire to seek for Placidus, as he had need of him; and at length they found him, and he was restored to his former position, and led his troops to victory. But although the Emperor loaded him with honours and wealth, his heart was sad for the loss of his wife and children. Meanwhile the latter had been rescued from the jaws of the wolf and the lion, and his wife had escaped from the hands of the pirates; so it came about, after many years, that they all met again and were re-united; and Eustace said in his heart: "Surely all my sorrows are now at an end." But it was not so; for the Emperor desiring to celebrate a mighty victory over the Barbarians by a great sacrifice to the gods, and Eustace and his family refusing to offer incense, they were shut up in a brazen bull, and a fire being kindled under it, they all perished together. Such is the legend, which, like all the stories of the lives of Saints and early martyrs, shows forth the steadfastness with which they clung to their faith, and the simplicity with which they practised the virtues of fortitude, patience, resignation, and courage. There is a certain similarity between the legend of S. Eustace and that of S. Hubert; but in art they are easily distinguished, as the former is in Classic or warrior costume, and the latter is represented either as a huntsman or a priest. Pictures of S. Eustace are not uncommon; in the Pitti Palace there is one by Soggi; and somewhere I have seen one by Domenichino. The traditional date of the martyrdom of S. Eustace is 118, which is much earlier than that of the other patron of the church, the simple maiden Agnes, who suffered in 304, and whose fête day is January 21st. The legend of this Saint is one of the most authentic, and one of the oldest, being mentioned by S. Jerome, in the 4th century, as popular throughout the world. Hymns and homilies had been written in her honour from the earliest times; and her youth and beauty, added to her innocence, had combined to invest her person with a charm and a fascination which few of the Saints possess.
Agnes was a Roman maiden of thirteen, filled with all the good gifts of the Holy Spirit, having loved and followed Christ from her infancy, and being withal most beautiful, when the son of the Prefect passed her way. Whether the name was given to her because of her lamblike innocence or otherwise, is not recorded. The young man no sooner beheld her than he loved her passionately, and asked her in marriage. But Agnes repelled him, even though he came laden with gold and gems, and costly ornaments; and, unlike poor Gretchen, she cried: "Away from me, tempter! for I am already betrothed to a lover who is greater and fairer than any earthly suitor. To him I have pledged my faith, and he will crown me with jewels compared to which thy gifts are dross.... The music of His divine voice has sounded in mine ears; He is so fair that the sun and moon are ravished by His beauty, and so mighty is He that the Angels are but His servants."
Hearing these words the youth naturally felt consumed by jealousy and rage; and he went home, only to fall ill of a fever, and to be sick almost unto death. The wise medicine men immediately discovered the cause, and told the Prefect that the illness being unrequited love, their potions could avail nothing. Then the great man questioned his son, who replied: "My father, unless I can take me Agnes to wife, I die." Now the Prefect, Sempronius, loved his son tenderly, and so he went weeping to Agnes' parents, and besought them to intercede for the youth. But Agnes made the same answer, and Sempronius was much angered that she should prefer another to his son, and asked who this great prince might be to whom Agnes was betrothed. And some one said: "Knowest thou not that the maiden hath been a Christian from her infancy; and her husband of whom she speaks is none other than Jesus Christ?" When the Prefect heard this, he rejoiced greatly, for he knew he could force Agnes to marry his son, by threats of imprisonment; for an edict had gone forth against the Christians. And so he sent for Agnes, and told her that since she was resolved not to marry, she must enter the service of the goddess Vesta. But Agnes replied: "Thinkest thou that I, who would not listen to thy son, who is yet a man and can hear and see and move and speak, will bow down to vain images, which are but senseless wood and stone; or, what is worse, to the demons who inhabit them?"
When Sempronius heard this he fell into a fury; he loaded Agnes' limbs with chains, and threatened her with death; and as nothing would prevail, he ordered her to be exposed to the most degrading outrages; but being stripped of her garments, she fell on her knees and prayed, and immediately her hair became so thick and long that it formed a complete covering. Then, although the onlookers were dismayed, they shut her up in a chamber, and left her. And suddenly she saw a bright and glistening garment, with which she clothed herself, praising God and saying: "I thank thee, O Lord, that I am found worthy to put on the garment of Thine elect!" And the whole place was filled with miraculous light, brighter than the sun at noonday.
Then the young man thought that if he visited her, Agnes would give way; but as soon as he entered her chamber he was struck blind, and fell into convulsions. And the mother and father appearing, and falling into lamentations and weeping, Agnes was moved with compassion, and prayed that their son might be restored to health; and her prayer was granted. Then Sempronius would have saved Agnes; but the people caused a tumult, and cried out that the maid was a witch and a sorceress, and therefore worthy of death. And so she was judged and thrown into the fire; but the flames, refusing to touch her, severely scorched the executioners, which still more irritated Sempronius and the people. Then the wicked Prefect commanded the executioners to slay her; and she, looking up to Heaven, yielded up her pure spirit to her God. And it happened that when her friends were one day praying at her tomb, in the cemetery on the Via Nomentana, she appeared unto them arrayed in white, with a lamb whiter than snow. And she said: "Weep not, dry your tears, and rejoice with exceeding joy; for me a throne is prepared by the side of Him who on earth I preferred to all others, and to whom I am united for ever in Heaven." And having thus spoken, she vanished.
As we have seen, the devotion paid to S. Agnes is of so early a period that it is quite possible the first chapel in the Halles dedicated to her memory may date back to the 8th or 9th century; but nothing authentic is recorded before the 13th century, and no part of the present church of S. Eustache and S. Agnes is earlier than the 16th century, when it was commenced during the reign of François Ier. L'abbé Le Beuf gives the name of the architect as Charles David, and undoubtedly one of that name was attached to the church, as the fact is recorded upon an epitaph. But as he died in 1650, at the age of ninety-eight, he must have been born in 1552; and, the church having been commenced in 1532, this David could only have been a master of the works, carrying out the design of some predecessor. A theory has been propounded that this may have been Dominico da Cortona (Boccadoro), the architect of the Hôtel de Ville, or one of his pupils, who followed him from Italy; the evidence brought forward being the similarity of some of the details of the two buildings. S. Eustache was commenced, as we have seen, in 1532, the Hôtel de Ville in the following year; but beyond this and a resemblance between the niches for statues of the two edifices, there is absolutely no evidence for the supposition, and the name of the architect of S. Eustache remains a hidden mystery. That he was an accomplished artist, a man having an eye for great effects, with a first-rate sense of proportion, the church bears witness, although it has had its detractors ever since it was finished. Too Gothic for the men patronized by Louis XIV., its Renaissance element shocked the artistic taste of their successors; called a barbarous style by the first, because of its Gothic plan, its Renaissance detail was pernicious to the æsthetic instincts of the latter. It is amusing to read Mr. Dibden's opinion of the church in his Picturesque Tour,[66] as it is that of a cultured traveller, and probably is an example of the judgment passed upon S. Eustache by the artists of his day. "Next in importance to S. Gervais is the Gothic church of S. Eustache; a perfect specimen, throughout, of that adulterated style of Gothic architecture (called its restoration!) which prevailed at the commencement of the reign of Francis I. Faulty, and even meretricious, as is the whole of the interior, the choir will not fail to strike you with surprise and gratification. It is light, rich, and lofty. This church is very large, but not so capacious as S. Gervais, while its situation is, if possible, still more objectionable." How the good parson could compare the two churches, apparently to the advantage of S. Gervais, seems extraordinary; for no unbiassed person can fail to be impressed by the beauty of the proportions of S. Eustache, its length and height, its effective choir, and its grand, but simple, altar. With the exception of its glass chandeliers, all the furniture and accessories are in keeping with the building; there is nothing tawdry, nor in bad taste; and it lends itself more effectively than even Notre-Dame to processions and grand ceremonials.