to be
prosecuted most vigorously, and the new Opera House was put to new and
unexpected uses. During the siege, it was converted into a vast
military storehouse and filled with a heterogeneous mass of goods.
After the siege the building fell into the hands of the Commune and the
roof was turned into a balloon station. The damage done, however, was
slight.

"The fine stone employed in the construction was brought from quarries
in Sweden, Scotland, Italy, Algeria, Finland, Spain, Belgium and
France. While work on the exterior was in progress, the building was
covered in by a wooden shell, rendered transparent by thousands of
small panes of glass. In 1867 a swarm of men, supplied with hammers
and axes, stripped the house of its habit, and showed in all its
splendor the great structure. No picture can do justice to the rich
colors of the edifice or to the harmonious tone resulting from the
skilful use of many diverse materials. The effect of the frontage is
completed by the cupola of the auditorium, topped with a cap of bronze
sparingly adorned with gilding. Farther on, on a level with the towers
of Notre-Dame, is the gable end of the roof of the stage, a 'Pegasus',
by M. Lequesne, rising at either end of the roof, and a bronze group by
M. Millet, representing 'Apollo lifting his golden lyre', commanding
the apex. Apollo, it may here be mentioned, is useful as well as
ornamental, for his lyre is tipped with a metal point which does duty
as a lightning-rod, and conducts the fluid to the body and down the
nether limbs of the god.

"The spectator, having climbed ten steps and left behind him a gateway,
reaches a vestibule in which are statues of Lully, Rameau, Gluck, and
Handel. Ten steps of green Swedish marble lead to a second vestibule
for ticket-sellers. Visitors who enter by the pavilion reserved for
carriages pass through a hallway where ticket offices are situated.
The larger number of the audience, before entering the auditorium,
traverse a large circular vestibule located exactly beneath it. The
ceiling of this portion of the building is upheld by sixteen fluted
columns of Jura stone, with white marble capitals, forming a portico.
Here servants are to await their masters, and spectators may remain
until their carriages are summoned. The third entrance, which is quite
distinct from the others, is reserved for the Executive. The section
of the building set aside for the use of the Emperor Napoleon was to