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1 ^ M A G A 2 1 N E ofMAGA21NE^,
yield to the favourite German^ bishop
of Paris and abbot of the monastery,
who was buried here.
The portal of this ancient fabric
Supplied me with several houis contemplation.
The stile is Gothic; and
tho' it mutt be rank'd amongst the
poorest remains of that architecture,
and its ornaments are barbarous, even
to a degree of contempt ; yet in the
midst of this rudeness it exhibits the
only remaining monument in Paris of
the Alerovignian times. This only efcaped
the destructive bands of the
Normans in the reign of Charles /e
Chauve. The top of this entrance is
adoni'd with the feven statues of dovis,
and his queen Cloli/ele ; their sons
Thierri, dodamrr, Childibert, Clotair the
first, and SS/tragoiha the wiseos Childibert.
On most of them l obferved the
g^rry, or as the antiquarians term it,
the nimbus, round their heads ; such
rays as are now ufed about the heads
of our saviour, the virgin Mary, the
apostles, &c. And here it may be
worth observation, That this piece of
ornament about the heads of the christian
Saints was very earlv copied from
the Pagan custom ; but with this difference,
the nimbus of the christian
.figures is made simple, that of the Pagan
heroes has the radii, or rays issuing
from it. Clevis and his .Son Chile/then
carry tokens oS the consular dignity,
which the emperor AnallasiUs conferred
on them by way of complement.
There is an eighth figure on this
portal, it is St. Remi or Some other
bishop trampling upon the devil.
Witnin this edifice they shew the
tombs and monuments of these royal
personages t that of queen Ferdegoud
has been an elegant structure, but
much decayed by time and accidents.
The body has been fbrm'd in mosaic,
and the hands and Sace oS Silver. The
remains prove tiais to be an original.
I can't believe the Same of the
other tornbs ; which are easily discovered
to be of ^ much more modern
date. And indeed one of the compa-
ny informed us that they are no oldef
than the last century.
I was introduced to the Mansoletem
of the Polish king Ciifirnir, who a locating
his crown retired to France, in
the reign os Lewis K1V. and was endowed
by that monarch with an abbey,
and many other benefices. This
is an elegant pile, and Splendid to the
highest degree : contains the heart of
that royal reSugee, and is placed in St.
Casimir's chapel, which takes up. one
end oS the cross. This king is represented
on a tomb os black marble, oS-
Sering his crown to our Saviour on his
knees, and dressed in his royal robes,
with a very pompous inscription, trophies,
and many figures in his bus relief
on the fides of the monument.
On the opposite fide of the crerSs stands
a chapel dedicated to St. Margaret, in
which ts strewn another Sepulchral monument
os an abbot os the illustrious
house oS Furstiniberg in Germany, of
much better deSrgn and workmanship,
than that last mentioned, tho' not So
magnificent in shew. Behind the choir
in another chapel, l Saw the tombs of
one Dong/i5 Earl of Angus, and of his
grandSon, who perished in the field of
battle . As to the tomb or shrine of
St. Germain, the patron of this church,
it carries nothiiig in its design or ornament
worth the attention of a virtuofi,
except tire epitaph, which does
great credit to the learning of king
Chiloeric the Second, who is Said to be
the author of it. It stands near the
entrance into the church.
But the greatest iiches, as in most
other cburches of this nation, are in
the Sacristy. Here is a crucifix of
masly gold, loaded with gems, &c. of
infinite value. In the centre of this
cross 1 was extremely pleated to find
a head oS Adrian. on an oriental Sapphire,
an intaglia, of exquisite workmanship.
And f was greatly entertaincd
with a picture of one William,
an abbot of this houfe about 35o years
old. He is represented in the company
of several owners paying their devotions