cent church.

The proximity of the sees of Beauvais, Amiens, and Paris perhaps
accounts for the lack of importance attached to this cathedral. As for
the structure itself, among the minor cathedrals of France, Senlis, with
Seez and Coutances, must ever rank as the peers of that order, with
respect to the grace and beauty of their spires. It may be doubted if
even the spires of Chartres are to be considered as more beautiful than
the diminutive single example to be seen here, particularly when grouped
with its surrounding environment. Individually, as well, its grace and
beauty might even take that rank. The demarcation between the base of
the tower and the gently dwindling spire is almost entirely eliminated,
without the slightest tendency toward debasement in the steeple, which
too often is merely a series of superimposed, meaningless, and
unbeautiful details. Latter-day builders, who want a model for the spire
of a moderate-sized Gothic church, could, it would seem, hardly do
better than to make a replica of this graceful example.

In its facade, the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Senlis partakes largely of
the characteristics of the primitive lowland types, reminiscent, at
least, of Noyon or Soissons, and, as such, it may properly be considered
and compared with them.

The transepts of the north and south are not grand members, but they are
compact and graceful, and the facade of the southern arm is of a highly
ornate character, bespeaking a wealth of ambition, if not of ability, on
the part of the architect.

The interior, in spite of the lack of sculptured ornament, shows no
paucity of style, and, except that it is of the bijou variety, might
take rank at once as representative of Gothic style at its best. Under
these conditions, the nave is naturally confined, and lacks a certain
grandeur both as to width and height.

The choir is of true, though not lofty, proportions, the aisles
appearing perhaps too low, if anything, for the height of the nave,
which otherwise appears exceedingly generous with respect to the extent
of its triforium and clerestory.

The transepts, though shallow, are possessed of unusually amplified
aisles, there being, as a matter of fact, two in that portion which
adjoins the nave on the west, a sufficiently unusual arrangement to
warrant comment. The rose windows of the transepts have graceful design
and good framing, though the glass is not of the splendour which we
associate with the mos