A few celebrities were buried in S. Nicolas; the savant Guillaume Budé, who died in 1540; the philosopher Pierre Gassendi; the historians Henri and Adrien de Valois; and Mdlle. de Scudéry; but their monuments have vanished. On the pavement are some stones bearing the names of Rochechouart, Crillon, Labriffe, Potier de Novion, Mesmes, and several others.
Here is one of the many curious epitaphs:
LE CIEL L'ESTIMENT TROP POUR LA
LAISSER PLUS LONTEMPS MORTELE,
LAISSANT A SON ÉPOUX UNE FILLE
POUR GAGE DE LEUR ÉTROITE ET
INMORTELE AMITIÉ, DANS LAQU'ELLE
IL SURVIT POUR PLEURER LE RESTE
DE SES JOURS SA DURE SEPARATION
D'AVEC CETTE CHERE ÉPOUSE, QUI ÉTOIT
RECOMANDABLE, PAR SA TRES GRANDE
DOUCEUR, SA VIE PURE ET INOCENTE,
ET SA PRUDENCE AU DESUS DE SON
AAGE, QUI LUY ONT OUVERT LE
CHEMIN DE L'IMORTALITÉ.
REQUIESCAT IN PACE.
In the 16th century the acolytes of Notre-Dame celebrated their well-known fêtes at S. Nicolas, performing various antics en route; but as their disorderly conduct was great, and the "facéties" practised led to divers troubles and various abominations, the ceremony resolved itself latterly into a simple Benediction which the enfants de chœur chanted in honour of their patron.
SAINT-NICOLAS DU CHARDONNET.
This is an ugly church, with traditions going back to the 13th century, but with nothing thereof now to be seen, in the Rue S. Victor. The present building dates from 1656 to 1709. A picture by Lebrun, of The Miracle of Moses, adorns one of the chapels; and the tomb erected by him to his mother's memory, by Tuby and Callignon, is to be found in another. Lebrun's own tomb is by Coyzevox; Jérôme Bignon's, by Girardon. There are also pictures by Le Sueur, Coypel, Corot, Desgoffes, and Mignard.
Suzanne Butay, widow of Lebrun, was a generous body, and left a number of legacies to the poor of the parish, and divers other church institutions, which are recorded thus:
LADITE DAME SUZANNE BUTAY VEUVE DUDIT FEU SR LEBRUN PAR
SON TETAMT.
OLOGRAPHE DE XIII SEPTEMBRE MDCXCVI RECONNU DEVANT VATRY, ET
TORINON NOTRES.... A LEGUÉ AUX PAUVRES HONTEUX, ET
AUX PAUVRES MALADES DI CETTE
PARROISSE LA SOME DE DEUX MIL LIVRES UNE FOIS PAYÉ, PLUS A
LEGUÉ MIL LIVRES DE RENTE
À AYDIR À MARIER DE PAUVRES FILLES, ET À METTRE EN APPREN-
TISSAGE DE PAUVRES GARÇONS NÉS DANS LA PARROISSE....
NOTRE-DAME.
Sauval likens the island upon which the cathedral stands to a ship: "L'ile de la cité est faite comme un grand navire enfoncé dans la vase et échoué au fil de l'eau vers le milieu de la Seine;" and perhaps the Ship of Paris upon the Gallic sea may have owed its origin as the city arms to some idea of this sort.