Rollo on the Rhine | Page 7

and lichens begin to grow first on the stones and
in the mortar. The roots of these plants strike in, and assisted by the sun
and rain, they gradually disintegrate a portion of the masonry, which, in
process of time, forms a soil sufficient for the seeds of other plants,
brought by the wind, or dropped by birds, to take root in. At first these
plants do not always come to maturity; but when they die and decay,
they help to increase the soil, and to make a better bed for the seeds that
are to come afterwards. Thus, in the course of centuries, the upper
surfaces of old walls and towers become quite fertile in grass and
weeds, and sometimes in shrubbery. I once gathered sprigs from quite a
large rosebush which I found growing several hundred feet above the
ground, on one of the towers of the cathedral of Strasbourg. It was as
flourishing a rosebush as I should wish to see in any gentleman's
garden.
What Rollo meant by the bears and wolves which he said he saw
looking down from these cliff-like towers, were great stone figures of
these animals, that projected from various angles and cornices here and
there, to serve as waterspouts.
There was an immense door of entrance to the church, at the end of a
very deep, arched recess in the middle of the wall, and Mr. George and
Rollo went up to it to go in. They were met at the door by another
commissioner, who offered his services to show them the church. Mr.
George declined this offer, and went in.

The feeling of amazement and awe which the aspect of the interior of
the cathedral first awakened in the minds of our travellers was for a
moment interrupted by a man in a quaint costume, who came up to
them, holding a large silver salver in his hand, with money in it. He
said something to Mr. George and Rollo in German. They did not
understand what he said; but his action showed that he was taking up a
contribution, for something or other, from the visitors who came to see
the church. Mr. George paid no attention to him, but walked on.
On looking above and around them, our travellers found themselves in
the midst of a sort of forest of monstrous stone columns, which towered
to a vast height above their heads, and there were lost in vaults and
arches of the most stupendous magnificence and grandeur. The floor
was of stone, being formed of square flags, all cracked and corroded by
time. Along the sides of the church were various chapels, all adorned
with great paintings, and containing altars richly furnished with silver
lamps, and glittering paraphernalia of all kinds. Parties of ladies and
gentlemen, strangers from all lands, were walking to and fro at leisure
about the floor, looking at the paintings, or gazing up into the vaulted
roofs, or studying out the inscriptions on the monuments and sculptures
which meet the eye on every hand.
All this was in the body of the church, or the nave, as it is called, which
is in fact only the vestibule to the more imposing magnificence of what
is beyond, in the ambulatory and in the choir. Mr. George and Rollo
advanced in this direction, and at length they came to a vast screen
made of a very lofty palisade of iron. They approached a door in the
centre of the screen, and looking through between the iron bars, they
beheld a scene of grandeur and magnificence wholly indescribable. The
carved oak stalls, the gorgeously decorated altar, the immense
candlesticks with candles twenty feet high, and the lofty ceiling with its
splendid frescoes, formed a spectacle so imposing that they both gazed
at it for some moments in silent wonder.
"I wish we could get in," said Rollo.
"I wish so too," said Mr. George; "but I suppose that this is a sort of
sacred place."

A moment after this, while Mr. George and Rollo were looking through
this grating, a sudden sound of music burst upon their ears. It was
produced evidently by an organ and a choir of singers, and it seemed to
come from far above their heads. The sound was at once deepened in
volume by the reverberation of the vaults and arches of the cathedral,
and at the same time softened in tone, so that the effect was
inconceivably solemn.
"Hark!" said Mr. George.
"Where does that music come from?" said Rollo.
"Hark!" repeated Mr. George.
So Mr. George and Rollo stood still and listened almost breathlessly to
the music, until it ceased.
"That was good music," said Rollo.
Mr. George made a sort of inarticulate exclamation, which seemed to
imply that he had