charm for me; as to the natives, hairy and noisy, with a blue bar under
their nostrils if they shave, I flee from them!"

"Here, in short, we are face to face with a fact which no discussions
can alter. This side of the church is dedicated to the Virgin. Shall we
now examine it, first as a whole, and then in detail?

"This portal, brought forward like an open porch, a sort of verandah in
front of the doors, is an allegory of the Saviour showing the way into
the heavenly Jerusalem. It was begun in the year 1215 under Philip
Augustus, and finished by about 1275, under Philip the Bold; thus it was
nearly sixty years in building, the greater part of the thirteenth
century. It is divided into three parts, corresponding to the three
doors behind it; there are more than seven hundred statues grouped here,
large and small, representing, for the most part, personages from the
Old Testament.

"It forms, in fact, three deep bays or gulfs.

"The central portal, before which we are standing, and which leads to
the middle door, has for its subject the Glorification of the Virgin.

"The left-hand bay contains the life and virtues of the Virgin.

"The right-hand bay is devoted to images of Mary Herself.

"According to another interpretation, put forward by Canon Davin, this
porch, which was built at the time when Saint Dominic instituted the
Rosary, is a reproduction in images of its mysteries."

"On that theory, the left-hand arch, containing the scenes of the
Annunciation, the Visitation, and the Nativity, answers to the Joyful
Mysteries; the central bay, containing the Assumption and Coronation of
the Virgin, to the Glorious Mysteries; and that to the right, where we
find a presentment of Job, precursor of the Crucifixion under the
ancient law, to the Sorrowful Mysteries."

"There is a third interpretation," said Durtal, "but it is ridiculous.
That of Didron, who regards this front as the first page of the Book of
Chartres. He opens it at this porch, and asserts that the sculptors
began to render the Encyclopedia of Vincent de Beauvais by representing
the creation of the world. But if so, where are those wonderful
representations of Genesis hidden?"

"There," said the Abbe, pointing to a row of statuettes lost in a hollow
moulding at the very edge of the porch.

"But to ascribe so much importance to tiny figures which, after all, are
there merely to fill up, as stop-gaps--it is preposterous!" cried
Durtal.

"No doubt.