[Footnote A:  From “A Bibliographical, Antiquarian and Picturesque Tour,” published in 1821.]

[Footnote B:  Ulm has now (1914) a population of 56,000.]

AIX-LA-CHAPELLE AND CHARLEMAGNE’S TOMB[A]

BY VICTOR HUGO

For an invalid, Aix-la-Chapelle is a mineral fountain—­warm, cold, irony, and sulfurous; for the tourist, it is a place for redouts and concerts; for the pilgrim, the place of relics, where the gown of the Virgin Mary, the blood of Jesus, the cloth which enveloped the head of John the Baptist after his decapitation, are exhibited every seven years; for the antiquarian, it is a noble abbey of “filles a abbesse,” connected with the male convent, which was built by Saint Gregory, son of Nicephore, Emperor of the East; for the hunter, it is the ancient valley of the wild boars; for the merchant, it is a “fabrique” of cloth, needles, and pins; and for him who is no merchant, manufacturer, hunter, antiquary, pilgrim, tourist, or invalid, it is the city of Charlemagne.

Charlemagne was born at Aix-la-Chapelle, and died there.  He was born in the old place, of which there now only remains the tower, and he was buried in the church that he founded in 796, two years after the death of his wife Fastrada.  Leo the Third consecrated it in 804, and tradition says that two bishops of Tongres, who were buried at Maestricht, arose from their graves, in order to complete, at that ceremony, 365 bishops and archbishops—­representing the days of the year.  This historical and legendary church, from which the town has taken its name, has undergone, during the last thousand years, many transformations.  No sooner had I entered Aix than I went to the chapel....  The effect of the great “portail” is not striking; the facade displays the different styles of architecture—­Roman, Gothic, and modern—­without order, and consequently, without grandeur; but if, on the contrary, we arrive at the chapel by Chevet, the result is otherwise.  The high “abside” of the fourteenth century, in all its boldness and beauty, the rich workmanship of its balustrades, the variety of its “gargouilles,” the somber hue of the stones, and the large transparent windows—­strike the beholder with admiration.

Here, nevertheless, the aspect of the church—­imposing tho it is—­will be found far from uniform.  Between the “abside” and the “portail,” in a kind of cavity, the dome of Otho III., built over the tomb of Charlemagne in the tenth century, is hid from view.  After a few moments’ contemplation, a singular awe comes over us when gazing at this extraordinary edifice—­an edifice which, like the great work that Charlemagne began, remains unfinished; and which, like his empire that spoke all languages, is composed of architecture that represents all styles.  To the reflective, there is a strange analogy between that wonderful man and this great building.

After having passed the arched roof of the portico, and left behind me the antique bronze doors surmounted with lions’ heads, a white rotundo of two stories, in which all the “fantasies” of architecture are displayed, attracted my attention.  At casting my eyes upon the ground, I perceived a large block of black marble, with the following inscription in brass letters:—­