glorious fretwork of stone, including the tracery of the rose window,
was once refulgent with gold and azure and crimson, and the finished
front in its mediaeval glory has been compared to a colossal carved
and painted triptych.

[Illustration: NOTRE DAME--PORTAL OF ST. ANNE.]

On the central pier of the greater portal of the N. transept, called
of the Cloister, we note a fine ancient statue of the Virgin, famed
for its grace of expression. The smaller Porte Rouge, further
eastward, is remarkable for some well-preserved antique sculpture: a
Coronation of the Virgin in the tympanum and six scenes in the life of
St. Marcel in the archivolt: some old gargoyles and reliefs may be
seen on either side of the door.

We pursue our way by the east end of the cathedral, where in mediaeval
times was an open waste, the Motte aux Papelards, the playground of
the cathedral servants, the graceful outlines of the apse and the bold
sweep of the flying buttresses ever varying in beauty as we pace
around. The south portal (ill seen through the iron railings) called
of St. Stephen or of the Martyrs is decorated with statues of the
saint and of other martyrs, with scenes of their martyrdom. The
inscription (p. 88) may be seen at the base to the R.

[Illustration: NOTRE DAME--SOUTH SIDE.]

[Illustration: NOTRE DAME--SOUTH SIDE--FROM THE SEINE.]

We may now enter the noble and harmonious interior, unhappily bared of
its rich old decorations, its tombs and statues cleared away, its fine
Gothic altar destroyed by clerical and royal vandals to give place to
renaissance and pseudo-classic pomposities (p. 252). We approach the
choir from the right aisle, noting a fourteenth-century statue of the
Virgin and Child on the left as we reach the entrance, perhaps the
very statue before which _povre Gilles_ did his penance (p. 142) and
proceed to examine all that remains of the "histories" in stone on the
choir wall round the ambulatory, twenty-three in number, begun in 1319
by Master Jean Ravy, mason of Notre Dame, and finished (_parfaites_)
by Master Jean le Bouteiller in 1351, all _dorez et bien peints_.
Those on the choir screen were destroyed by the Cardinal Archbishop de
Noailles in 1725. On the north side are twelve reliefs drawn from
earlier New Testament history: on the south are nine from later
episodes in the life of Christ. These naive mediaeval sculptures of
varying merit will repay careful examination. The gilding and
colouring are m