Photo by Emil P. Albrecht 



A FRENCH VALHALLA : THE PANTHEON, PARIS 



Standing over the tomb of St. Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris, the Pantheon is 

 one of the noble buildings of a noble city. First a church, it was transformed into a temple 

 of fame for the burial of the nation's great men in 1791, when Mirabeau's body was borne 

 there, followed during the same year by that of Voltaire. After fifteen years it was trans- 

 formed into a church again, remaining such until 1830, when it became a temple of fame 

 once more, with the words, "To great men by a grateful country," inscribed upon its 

 pediment. Once more it was transformed into a church in 1851, remaining a place of worship 

 until 1885, when it was secularized again for the obsequies of Victor Hugo. 



409 



