of providing sufficient space east of the
intersection of the transept for all the clergy.

The rectangular choir of Toledo is closed at the east by a magnificent
iron screen; at the west, by a wall called the "Trascoro," acting as a
background to the archbishop's seat. A doorway once pierced its centre
but was blocked up for the placing of the throne.

If the position of the choir is unfortunate, its details are among the
most remarkable and glorious of their time and country. The only
entrance is through the great iron parclose or reja at the east. This,
as well as the corresponding grille work directly opposite, closing off
the bay in front of the high altar, are wonderful specimens of the
iron-worker's craft, splendid masterpieces of an art which has never
been excelled since the days of its mediaeval guilds. The master Domingo
de Cespedes erected the grille in the year 1548. The framework seems to
be connected by means of tenons and mortices, while the scrolls are
welded together. The larger moldings are formed of sheet iron, bent to
the shape required and flush-riveted to their light frames. Neither the
general design nor the details (both Renaissance in feeling) are
especially meritorious, but the thorough mastery of the material is most
astonishing. The stubborn iron has been wrought and formed with as much
ease and boldness as if it had been soft limestone or plaster. It is
characteristic of the age that the craftsman has not limited himself to
one material. Certain portions of the smaller ornaments are of silver
and copper. Originally their shining surfaces, as well as the gilding of
the great portion of the principal iron bars, must have touched the
whole with life and color. It was all covered with black paint in the
time of the Napoleonic wars to escape the greedy hands of La Houssaye's
victorious mob, and the gates still retain the sable coat that protected
them.

Even a more glorious example of Spanish craftsmanship is found in the
choir stalls which surround us to the north and south and west as soon
as we enter. Here we are face to face with the finest flowering of
Spanish mediaeval art. Theophile Gautier, generalizing upon the whole
composition, says: "L'art gothique, sur les confins de la Renaissance,
n'a rien produit de plus parfait ni de mieux dessine." The whole
treatment of the work is essentially Spanish.

The stalls, the "silleria," are arranged in two tiers, the upper reached
by little flig