I went into the Cathedral with two charming young married ladies, whose
acquaintance I had made during my stay, and, leaving them devoutly on
their knees, inspected the beautiful and quaint stalls in carved wood of
the choir; these are worth a day's study, and unfortunately are not to
be had in photography, for some reason or other no photographs being
permitted. Here the spirit of the Renaissance has had full play, and you
find comedy mixed with pathos, practical good sense with Biblical
solemnity, quaintness, beauty, grace, drollery, all in one. The middle
statues in bold relief are those of the early Kings of France and the
Abbots of St. Claude, besides many noteworthy saints and martyrs, among
these St. Denis with his head in his hand, St. Sebastian pierced with
arrows, and others. The upper series, on a smaller scale, represents
allegorical subjects, some of which are treated in a curiously homely
and practical manner, for instance, the figure of Adam holding the apple
in his hand with a look as much as to say, "This is what has ruined me;"
Eve, in the next compartment, looks somewhat nonchalant, rather a
coquette than a penitent. In some of these Biblical scenes the figures
are naively dressed in mediaeval garb, but many of them have great
beauty and pathos.
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