n temple. Its impression upon me was by no means a
pleasant one, for the style of its architecture is not sufficiently
solemn to suit my ideas of a place where God is publicly worshiped. It
is, however, one of the finest specimens of modern architecture in the
world, and is so widely known that I can hardly pass it over without a
slight sketch of it.

An edifice was erected on the spot where the Madeleine stands, in 1659,
by Mademoiselle d'Orleans. That building was soon found to be too small
for the accommodation of the people in its neighborhood, and in 1764,
the present building was commenced by the architect of the duke of
Orleans. The revolution put an end for a time to the work upon the
church, but Napoleon, after his Prussian campaign, determined to
dedicate the Madeleine as a Temple of Glory, "to commemorate the
achievements of the French arms, and to have on its columns engraved the
names of all those who had died fighting their country's battles." The
necessary funds were given and architects were set at work immediately
upon it. But Napoleon's plans were frustrated, and in 1815 Louis XVIII.
restored the building to its original destination, and ordered that
monuments should be erected in it to Louis XVI., Marie Antoinette, Louis
XVII., and Mme. Elizabeth. The revolution of 1830, however, interrupted
this work, and it was not till the reign of Louis Phillippe, that it was
completed. The entire cost of the Madeleine was two millions six hundred
and fifteen thousand and eight hundred dollars. It stands on a raised
platform, three hundred and twenty-eight feet long and one hundred and
thirty-eight broad, and has at each end an approach consisting of
twenty-eight steps, the entire length of the facade. The architecture is
Grecian, a colonnade of fifty-two Corinthian columns entirely
surrounding the building, giving to it a grandeur of appearance to which
few structures in Europe attain. Between the columns there are niches,
and a row of colossal statues stand in them. They represent St. Bernard,
St. Raphael, and a score of others. The colonnade is surmounted by a
beautiful piazza, and a cornice adorned with lion's heads and palm
leaves.

The pediment of the southern end contains a large altorelievo by
Lemaire. It is one hundred and twenty-six feet long and twenty-four feet
high. In the center is a figure of Christ; the Magdalene is beneath in a
suppliant attitude; while HE is pardoning her sins. On the
right han