ilitary attack made
by a regiment or two of French soldiers. It was interesting to see how
they attempted to carry these well-defended, Gibraltar-like heights.

After passing through the public gardens, and crossing the dock basin in
a small ferry-boat, we walked to the church of St. Nazaire, which stands
on high ground almost immediately opposite to Notre Dame de la Garde.

It is a finely restored Byzantine church, a copy on a large scale of
the little mosque-like temple at its side, which latter was once the
Cathedral church of the town. It is built of alternate blocks of black
and white marble, and the interior is something after the style of Notre
Dame at Paris. Fortunately, we caught the workmen just leaving the
building, and so obtained permission to view it.

But the little Moorish temple under its lee, as a sailor would say,
interested me far more than its imposing and grand-looking child
alongside. It has a low dome, square facade with small cupolas, and
circular chancel. We ascended some steps to its low doorway, almost
stooping as we entered. It was dimly lit by a few oil-lamps; its quaint
arched dome, little galleries, altar, crypts, and organ all within the
compact compass of a circle, or rather, as it seemed to me, of a Maltese
cross--tiny aisles forming the sides of the cross, where there were
shrines and tombs, though scarcely distinguishable in the gloom. The
dome and aisles are supported by wonderfully strong Byzantine arches and
arcades. It struck me that the Maltese cross may have been the shape of
the most ancient Christian temples, the more orthodox Latin cross shape
being afterwards developed by the lengthening of the nave. The date of
this unique little church is said to be very ancient, and probably
stands on the site of the temples of Diana.

Perhaps the place was made even more interesting to me, by the fact of
my thoughts being brought back from the dark ages by observing a
christening going on in one of the dimly lighted aisles; after which a
number of little Sunday school children went through an examination of
the catechism.

* * * * *

In the early part of the evening we sallied forth to visit the Exchange
and Bourse at the end of the principal street near the harbour,
receiving yet another impression as to the commercial greatness of
Marseilles by a careful survey of this building, which is well worthy of
a great city. I can now better understand why