Liberty. Busts of Robespierre, Voltaire, and Rosseau were erected.
This church was closed to worship 1794, but was reopened by Napoleon
1802. It was desecrated by the Communards 1811, when the building
was used as a military depot. The large nave, 417 feet long, 156 feet
wide, and 110 feet high, is the most interesting portion of this massive
structure. The vaulting of this great nave is supported by seventy-five
huge pillars. The pulpit is a masterpiece of modern wood-carving. The
choir and sanctuary are set off by costly railings, and are beautifully
adorned by reliefs in wood and stone. The organ, with 6,000 pipes, is
one of the finest in Europe. "The choir has a reputation for plain song."
On a small elevation, in the center of London, stand the Cathedral of
St. Paul's, the most prominent building in the city. From remains found
here it is believed that a Christian Church occupied this spot in the times
of the Romans, and that it was rebuilt by King Ethelbert, 610 A.D. Three
hundred years later this building was burned, but soon it was rebuilt.
Again it was destroyed by fire, 1087, and a new edifice begun which was
200 years in completion. This church, old St. Paul's, was 590 feet long,
and had a leaden-covered, timber spire, 460 feet high. In 1445 this
spire was injured by lightning, and in 1561 the building was again burned.
Says Mr. Baedeker, whose guidebook is indispensable in the hands of a
traveler, "Near the cathedral stood the celebrated Cross of St. Paul, where
sermons were preached, papal bulls promulgated, heretics made to recant,
and witches to confess, and where the pope's condemnation of Luther was
proclaimed in the presence of Woolsey." Here is the burial place of a
long list of noted persons. Here occurred Wyckiff's citation for heresy,
1337; and here Tyndale's New Testament was burned, 1527. It was
opened for divine services, 1697, and was completed after thirteen years
of steady work, at a cost of three and a half millions of dollars. This sum
was raised by a tax on coal. The church is in the form of a Latin cross,
500 feet long, with the transept 250 feet in length. "The inner dome is