their feet, every day; and in spite of this overworked life without a
moment's respite, or a minute for rest, he succeeded in restoring
monastic discipline, and sowing wherever he might the Benedictine seed,
saving the headlong world by the vigilance of his Order.

Though he was not a martyr like Saint Clement, he died nevertheless for
Christ, of exhaustion and fatigue, after living in the constant
suffering of a frame undermined by disease, and weakened by voluntary
maceration and fasting.

"This, no doubt, is the reason why the face of his statue is so sad and
thoughtful," said Durtal to himself. "And yet he is listening to the
dove, the symbol of inspiration which is speaking in his ear, dictating
to him, the legend says, the antiphonal melodies, and undoubtedly
whispering his dialogues, his homilies, his commentaries on the Book of
Job, his pastoral letter--all the works which made him so immensely
famous in the Middle Ages."

As he made his way home, Durtal, still reflecting on this array of the
Righteous, suddenly was struck by this idea: "There is no portrait in
Chartres of a Saint whose present help was of yore desired above all
others: Saint Christopher, whose effigy was usually to be found at the
entrance to a cathedral, standing alone in a spot apart.

"It stood thus, formerly, at the door of Notre-Dame de Paris, and is
still to be seen in one corner of the principal front at Amiens; but in
most places the iconoclasts overthrew it, and the churches where the
statue of Christopher is now to be seen may be easily counted. It must
once have existed at Chartres--but where? The monographs on this
cathedral never allude to it."

Thus, as he walked on, he dreamed of the Saint whose popularity is
easily accounted for, since our forefathers believed that they had only
to look at his image, whether painted or carved, to be protected for a
whole day from disaster, and especially from violent death.

So he was always placed outside in a prominent spot, and very large, so
that he might easily be seen by the wayfarer, even from afar. In some
cases his effigy was found on a gigantic scale, inside the church. Thus
he is represented in the Dom at Erfurt, in a fresco of the fifteenth
century, too much restored.

This colossal figure, five storeys high, extends from the pavement of
the church to the roof. Christopher has a beard which flows in a stream,
and legs as thick as the pillars of the nave. Bending and adoring,