nmark, Hungary, Bohemia, and Italy all sent their deputations.
France was represented by Pierre d'Ailly, Archbishop of Cambrai, and
Jean Gerson, the chancellor of the University of Paris.

The Council of Constance was the most numerous body which had ever been
called together on behalf of the Church. It opened its sessions on the
5th of November, 1414, and continued until the 12th of April, 1418.

John XXIII. declared that he would abdicate if his two competitors would
agree to follow his example. Gregory XII. agreed to this and sent his
abdication to the council by an ambassador, Carlo Malatesta; but Benoit
XIII. fled to Spain and still clung tenaciously to the title of Pope.
Finally, at a conclave composed of thirty-two cardinals, Othon Colonna
was, in 1417, elected Pope under the name of Martin V.

The council held at Constance which condemned John Huss, who was a
Wyclif disciple before he was one of Luther's, took place in 1414. Huss
was condemned to be burned alive in 1415, and "he mounted the pile,"
says history, "with the courage of a martyr."

One may see in the Place Bruehl, a kilometre from the centre of
Constance, the very spot where the "pile" was erected.

The present customs warehouse (Kaufhaus) formed Constance's famous
council-chamber, and to-day it is one of the most interesting
curiosities of the city.

The grand council-chamber is situated on the first floor of the
building, and was erected in 1388. Its length approximates two hundred
feet, and it is perhaps one hundred in width with a height of twenty
feet.

The ceiling is held aloft by fourteen wooden pillars, and there are
twenty-three windows.

There are no traces of wall decorations, and the opinion is hazarded
that the walls and pillars were, at the time of the council, hung with
draperies.

From the windows there is a fine view of the Lake of Constance, and but
a little distance away is the Franciscan convent, now transformed into a
factory, where was incarcerated John Huss previous to his martyrdom.

_Schaffhausen_

Of the falls of Schaffhausen, Victor Hugo wrote: "_Effroyable tumulte_."
This is the first impression. The four grand, overflowing channels of
the cataract tumble, rise and redescend in an eternal tempest of rage.

A musical German once said that the only way to express the tumult of
Schaffhausen's fall was to "put it to music." He probably had Wagner in
mind, and perhaps there are persons who could conjure up a pic