The chapels of the chevet have niches in the wall surmounted by round-headed arches, and containing statues. There are in all thirteen chapels, but four of them have been converted into a sacristy and the north door, the exterior of which is a good specimen of Renaissance work.
The abbé Lebeuf attributed some of the glass of the choir to the commencement of the 14th century, but not a vestige of this remains; there is nothing earlier than the two following centuries. Here also the good gentlemen of the 18th century "improved" much; the church was dark and gloomy, and so, forsooth, the stained glass of the nave was taken out, and the colour, and golden fleurs-de-lys of the vaults and columns, were scraped off or whitewashed over. Thus was lost the history of S. Germain which formed the subject of the windows. But happily the rose-windows of the two transepts, four lights in the south aisle and two of the north aisle, still remain; but these being only of the 16th century, are consequently not in the best taste. Some have Gothic and some Renaissance surroundings, but the colour is, if rather bright, clear and rich. Unfortunately, time has obliterated many of the heads and hands; but enough remains to make out the subjects. In the north rose, the Eternal Father, in a Papal tiara, is surrounded by Angels, Cherubim, Martyrs, and Confessors; amongst whom may be recognised SS. Catherine, Vincent, Margaret, Agnes, Martha, Germain, and King Louis. Above and below are the four Fathers of the Latin Church. In the north transept the subjects are taken from The Passion, The Acts of our Lord, Scenes in the Life of the Patriarch Abraham, a gentleman donor accompanied by his sons, and a lady followed by her daughters, a S. Peter, and S. Anne instructing her daughter, and patronising another donor. In the southern rose, the Holy Spirit descends from Heaven in the form of a dove; The Blessed Virgin and The Apostles receiving light from above, with enthusiastic expressions upon their visages. In the southern transept: The Incredulity of S. Thomas; The Ascension; The Death of the Virgin; and The Assumption. Above, the Coronation of the Virgin and a well, recalling the attribute "Well of living water" given to her by the Fathers. There are a great many modern windows, but except those in imitation of the glass in the S. Chapelle, by MM. Lassus and Didron, they are of little artistic value. M. Lassus was the architect who superintended all the later restorations and decorations.
The chapel of the Blessed Virgin is a little church in itself, with stalls, organ, pulpit, screen and altar, all richly decorated. The reredos is the tree of Jesse which surrounds the Virgin with its branches. This is in stone, of the 14th century, and comes from a church in Champagne. Some restorations in 1838 brought to light a curious 16th century wall painting, representing a cemetery with the graves giving up their dead to the sound of the Angels' trumpets. Three statues were also found of the same date as the chapel, and serve as the retable of the altar: they represent the Blessed Virgin sitting, and S. Germain and S. Vincent (who are united in all the decorations of this church), standing on each side of her. The banc-d'œuvre was executed in 1648 by Mercier, from drawings by Lebrun. It is handsome in its way, and excellently carved, but utterly out of keeping with the rest of the church. It is composed of Ionic columns supporting a huge baldachino; and probably looked its best when it was filled with royal personages on high festivals and state occasions. Another exquisite example of wood carving may be seen in the chapel of Notre-Dame de Compassion, forming the retable. It belongs to the latest Gothic period, and is covered with a multitude of figures, representing the Genealogy and History of the Virgin, and the Life and Death of Christ. This came from a Belgian church. The organ, pulpit, and stalls are part of the old furniture, but are not remarkable in any way.
S. Germain was formerly a museum of tombs of the 16th and 17th centuries; but the only remaining ones are the recumbent marble figures by Laurent Magnier, of Etienne d'Aligre, and his sons, both chancellors of France, who died respectively in 1635 and 1677; two statues and several marble busts which belonged to the mausoleums of the house of Rostaing, formerly situated in S. Germain, and in a chapel of the monastery of the Feuillants; and an epitaph of a lady of Mortemart, Duchess of Lesdiguières, who died in 1740.[83] Under the church is a crypt full of bones, symmetrically arranged as in the catacombs: it was excavated in 1746-7 as a burial place for the parishioners.
Amongst the tombs of a crowd of courtiers and statesmen were those of Malherbe, the poet; André Dacier, the savant; the painters Coypel, Houasse, Stella and Santerre; the sculptors Sarazin, Desjardins, and Coyzevox; the medallist Warin; the goldsmith Balin; the engraver Israël Sylvestre; the architects Louis Levau and François Dorbay; the geographer Sanson; and the Comte de Caylus, the distinguished antiquary; but they have all disappeared. The grandest tomb was that erected by Charles V. to his jester. Says Sauval, in his History of Paris (which was not published until after his death, in 1670): "Charles ne s'est pas contenté d'avoir des fous et des plaisants; il leur a encore dressé des mausolées, presque aussi superbes que celui du connétable Du Guesclin. Car j'apprends des registres de la chambre des Comptes, qu'il en fit enterrer un dans l'église de Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois. Sur une grande tombe de marbre noir était couchée de côté une figure peinte et grande comme nature, dont la tête et les mains étaient d'albâtre, les cuisses, les jambes, les pieds et le corps de marbre blanc, et qui servit de modèle au mausolée qu'il fit faire en 1375, à Thévenin, autre fou, dans l'église de Saint-Maurice (de Senlis), par Hennequin de la croix." But even in the time of Sauvel this curious work of art was no more.
A few fragments of former monuments have found a quiet resting-place in the Louvre, in the Renaissance Museum. Calvin lived near S. Germain; and at the dean's house, between the Louvre and the church, a celebrity of another kind died suddenly on Easter-Eve, 1599—"la belle Gabrielle d'Estrées." The Maréchal d'Ancre (Concini) was also buried at S. Germain after his assassination; but the body was torn from the grave the next day by an infuriated mob, who drew it through the street on hurdles, then hung it, and finally burnt it.
SAINT-GERMAIN-EN-LAYE.
The Château of S. Germain has existed since the time of Charles V., and has received additions during the reigns of François I., Henri II., Henri IV., and Louis XIII. It was given over to James II. of England, and in the church is his monument, gazed at, if bronze eyes can penetrate stone walls, by M. Thiers, who sits in an arm-chair outside.
