and the absence of side chapels, either
here or in the nave, produces a regularity of outline unusually
convincing.

The nave piers, of which there are ten on either side, with two window
piercings, are of a manifestly heavy order, the capitals unusually so,
being very deep and weighty with carving in high relief. The triforium
is severely plain, being a mere shallow gallery of small pointed arches.
The nave itself is, moreover, somewhat gloomy, when contrasted with the
brilliant lighting of the aisles, caused by the peculiar arrangement of
plain and coloured glass, the former filling the windows of the
clerestory and the latter those of the aisles, the reverse being the
case with the opposite ranges. The aisles have no chapels between the
rather low windows, but groups of clustered columns against the walls.
The vaulting is deep, with simple ribs, coloured with a blue ground
spangled with stars and _fleurs-de-lys_. The choir is surrounded by
seven chapels.

There are ten columns in the choir, all with beautifully wrought
capitals. The pavement here is composed of marble taken from Libergier's
abbey church of St. Nicaise, from which edifice, since destroyed, was
transferred the tomb of Jovinus, the Roman prefect of Reims, who became
converted in 366 A. D. The sarcophagus consists of a huge block of
marble, nine feet by four, with a figure of Jovinus, "lion hunting on
horseback," carved in high relief. The roof of the choir is curiously
constructed of wood, of chestnut, say the authorities, as no spiders are
found. The high altar, as reconstructed by Poncelet Paroissien in 1550,
was a very beautiful affair if old prints, usually none too reliable as
to detail, are regarded. It was, however, destroyed during the middle of
the eighteenth century.

The glass of the rose window dates in part from the period of the
greatest richness (thirteenth century).

The sepulchral monuments, aside from the sarcophagus of Jovinus, are
to-day practically _nil_, having been swept away during the terrors of
the Revolution. Two interesting effigies still remain, however, near
the western doorway, a figure of a mailed knight and an abbess.

Among the real riches of the Cathedral are the remarkable and unique
tapestries; well preserved, and of the finest quality of design and
texture. Fourteen, by Lenoncourt, date from 1530-70; those in the south
aisle, the Pepersacks, the gift of Abbe Lorraine, from 1640; and the
modern Gobelins of the