The glory of the glass is thus
enhanced. Owing to the great portions of masonry which have been
rebuilt, this varies in its tints, but the old was, and has remained, of
such an exquisitely delicate creamy color that the new interposed
stonework merely looks like a lighter, fresher shade of the old. The
restoration has been executed with rare skill and artistic feeling.

In studying the inner organism and structure of the edifice, one soon
sees how recklessly the original fabric was constructed and in how many
places it had to be rebuilt, strengthened and propped,--indeed,
immediately after its completion. Here, as was the general custom in the
greater early Gothic cathedrals, the building began with the choir and
Capilla Mayor, to be followed by the transepts, the portions of the
edifice essential to the service. The choir was probably temporarily
roofed over and the nave and side aisles followed. The exterior facades,
portals, and upper stories of the towers were carried out last of all by
the aid of indulgences, contributions, alms and concessions.

In old manuscripts and documents which record the very first work on the
cathedrals we find the one in charge called "Maestro,"--or _magister
operis_, _magister ecclesiae_, _magister fabricae_, but not till
the sixteenth century does the appellation "arquitecto" appear.
His pay seems to have varied, both in amount and in form of
emolument,--sometimes it was good hard cash, often a very poor or
dubious remuneration, handed out consequently with a more lavish hand;
sometimes grants, and again royal favor. Generally the architect entered
into a stipulated agreement with the Cathedral Chapter, both as to his
time and services, before he began his work. We find Master Jusquin
(1450-69) receiving from the Chapter of Leon not only a daily salary but
also annual donations of bushels of wheat, pairs of gloves, lodgings,
poultry, other supplies, and the use of certain workmen.

Leon's unquestionable French parentage is, if possible, even more
obvious in the interior than in the exterior. The piers between nave and
side aisles are cylindrical in plan, having in their lowest section on
their front surface three columns grouped together that continue
straight up through triforium and clerestory and carry the transverse
and diagonal ribs of the nave. They have further one column on each side
of the axis east and west and, strange to say, only one toward the side
aisles, which thus lac