of Sirach prefigures the Messiah as a Prophet and a
Doctor. As to the figure next to him, it may equally well be Judith or
Esther: her identity is doubtful; there is nothing that can help us to
determine it.

"At any rate, as I told you but now, each is a harbinger of the Virgin.
As to Joseph persecuted and sold, a slave raised almost to the throne,
the merciful protector of his people, he is the prototype of Christ."

Durtal paused to gaze up at the beardless face, with curling hair cut
close round. The youth wore a tunic under a surcoat embroidered round
the neck, and he stood motionless, a sceptre in his hand. He might be a
very young monk, humble, simple, and so far advanced in the mystic road
that he was unconscious of it. This statue was undoubtedly a portrait,
and it seemed certain that some refined and innocent novice had served
as a model to the artist. It was the work of a chastened and happy soul
superior to the crowd. "This one, even more than the St. John, is a
perfect dream," said Durtal to the Abbe, who assented with a nod, and
went on,--

"The sculptures over the arches are practically invisible, for you must
dislocate your neck to see them. Nor is the art they display exciting.
Only the subjects are interesting. Besides a row of angels bearing stars
and torches, they represent the achievements of Gideon; the story of
Samson, who, when a prisoner, rose in the night, and carrying away the
gates of Gaza, escaped from the town, as Christ broke the gates of
death, and escaped alive from His sepulchre; the history of Tobit, as a
divine paragon of mercy and patience; and finally, in the corner we find
a replica of the grand porch, the signs of the zodiac, and a calendar in
sculptured stone.

"The tympanum, as you see, is divided into two portions.

"In the upper part we see the Judgment of Solomon, as figuring the Sun
of Justice, Christ Himself.

"In the lower half Job lies stretched on his dunghill, and the Messiah,
of whom he is a prototype, comes, supported by two angels, to give him a
palm-branch.

"To complete the elucidation of the symbolism of these doorways, it now
only remains to glance at the three arches of the porch that precedes
them. Here we see chiefly the benefactors of the cathedral and the
saints of the See; also, mingled with these, certain prophets for whom
there was not room in the arches of the doors. This vestibule is, so to
speak, a postscript, a supplement added to the work.