The Henson Journals

[6]

Monday, August 12th, 1901.

Before breakfast we spent half an hour in finding the post office & losing our way. The town looked clean & the air was fresh after the thunderstorm last night. Breakfast over we went to the Cathedral, or rather to its relics, for it exists only in two large fragments – the choir & transepts, & the tower. The nave was blown down in the 17th century & has wholly disappeared. The fragments are grand & piteous – grand in their gaunt beauty, piteous in their unparalleled desolation. The barbarians who own them have actually cut through the beautiful columns of the choir in order to erect a hideous gallery for their hideous worship. There are some interesting tombs: on one, that of ^[Space left blank in the journal at this point]^ there was a table of mass fees, & a copious rubric carved on the ends. Under inscriptions in the sanctuary lie buried the hearts of Henry V and Conrad II. We ascended the tower, which is more than 300 feet high, square below & an octagonal lantern above. There is a splendid view from the platform & on the way up the numerous & (some) heavy bells may be seen. The late Gothic cloisters connecting the Dom with the University are excellent, & excellently restored. The aspect of Utrecht in a bird's eye view is striking. The numerous churches, the canals bending their course, the tree lined roads, the old, tile–roofed houses & the rampart of verdure provided by the Maliebaad are notable features & blend in an impressive effect. About 11 a.m. we left Utrecht for Bremen, which we reached at 8 p.m. At the first change, I lost my overcoat, a new & costly one, much to my chagrin. The rest of the journey was without incident, save for the splendid sunset which escorted us into Bremen, & the lofty rainbow which preceded it. Before a movement of the Primal Artist all the hoarded treasures of the galleries seem to shrink to pigments and canvas, the toys of infants at play in their parent mind. We went to the Hotel Victoria.