ption of relics bought of the emperor of
Constantinople. The Chapelle consists of an upper and a lower
chapel--the upper communicating with the old palace of the ancient kings
of France. It was formerly appropriated to the king and court. The lower
chapel opens into the lower courts of the palace, and was appropriated
to the use of the common people in and around the palace. The interior
has of late undergone extensive repairs, and it is now thoroughly
restored.

The entrance is unpleasant, for it is very narrow--so much so that a
good view of the front cannot be had. It has a portico of three Gothic
arches with intersecting buttresses, and in connection with lateral
buttresses there are two spiral towers with spiral stair-cases. Between
the towers there is a splendid circular window, which was constructed by
Charles VIII. The spires of the church are octagonal, and are adorned
with mouldings and traceries, and also at about half-height with a crown
of thorns. The different sides of the Chapelle are in the same
style--with buttresses between the windows, gables surmounting these,
and a fine open parapet crowning all. The roof is sloping, and the
height is over a hundred feet. The spire measures, from the vaulting,
seventy feet. We entered by a stair-case the upper chapel, and an
exquisite view presented itself. A single apartment, a half-circular
chair, with fine, large windows, detached columns with bases and
capitals, and fine groining--these all strike the eye of the visitor as
he crosses the threshold. The whole is gorgeously painted and
interspersed with _fleur de lis_. In the nave there is a carved wooden
stair-case of the thirteenth century. The windows are filled with
stained glass of 1248, which has escaped destruction during two great
revolutions.

Near the altar there is a side chapel, to which access is had from
below. Here Louis XI. used to come, amid the choicest relics, and say
his prayers. Some of the relics are still preserved, and consist of a
crown of thorns, a piece of the cross upon which Christ was crucified,
and many antique gems. The Chapelle and the relics cost Louis two
millions eight hundred thousand francs--the relics alone costing an
enormous amount.

There was a richly endowed chapter in connection with the Chapelle and
what is a little singular, the head of it became renowned for his
litigous disposition. The poet Boileau, in _Lutrin_, satirized this
character--and was, after death, bu