“It forms, in fact, three deep bays or gulfs.

“The central portal, before which we are standing, and which leads to the middle door, has for its subject the Glorification of the Virgin.

“The left-hand bay contains the life and virtues of the Virgin.

“The right-hand bay is devoted to images of Mary Herself.

“According to another interpretation, put forward by Canon Davin, this porch, which was built at the time when Saint Dominic instituted the Rosary, is a reproduction in images of its mysteries.”

“On that theory, the left-hand arch, containing the scenes of the Annunciation, the Visitation, and the Nativity, answers to the Joyful Mysteries; the central bay, containing the Assumption and Coronation of the Virgin, to the Glorious Mysteries; and that to the right, where we find a presentment of Job, precursor of the Crucifixion under the ancient law, to the Sorrowful Mysteries.”

“There is a third interpretation,” said Durtal, “but it is ridiculous.  That of Didron, who regards this front as the first page of the Book of Chartres.  He opens it at this porch, and asserts that the sculptors began to render the Encyclopedia of Vincent de Beauvais by representing the creation of the world.  But if so, where are those wonderful representations of Genesis hidden?”

“There,” said the Abbe, pointing to a row of statuettes lost in a hollow moulding at the very edge of the porch.

“But to ascribe so much importance to tiny figures which, after all, are there merely to fill up, as stop-gaps—­it is preposterous!” cried Durtal.

“No doubt.  But now let us examine the work.

“You will observe in the first place that, in opposition to the ritual observed in most of the great churches of the time—­those of Amiens, Reims, and Paris, to name but three—­it is not the Virgin who stands on the pillar between the two halves of the door, but Her Mother, Saint Anne; and inside, in the windows, we find the same thing:  Saint Anne, as a negress, her head bound in a blue kerchief, holds Mary in her arms, as brown as a half-caste.”

“Why is this?”

“No doubt because the Emperor Beaudouin, after the sack of Constantinople, bestowed that Saint’s head on this cathedral.

“The ten colossal statues placed on each side of Her in the niches of the porch are familiar to you, for they attend Our Lady in every sanctuary of the thirteenth century—­in Paris, at Amiens, at Rouen, Reims, Bourges, and Sens.  The five to the left are a series figurative of the Son; the five on the right symbolize Our Lord Himself.  They stand in chronological order:  the prototypes of the Messiah, or the Prophets who foretold His birth, death, resurrection, and everlasting priesthood.

“To the left, Melchizedec, Abraham, Moses, Samuel, and David; to the right, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Simeon, Saint John the Baptist, and Saint Peter.”

“But why,” remarked Durtal, “is the son of Jonas in the midst of the Old Testament?  His place is not there, but in the Gospels.”