This is still more striking at Bourges, where the cathedral, though one of the finest and largest in France, covering 73,170 square feet, is still one of the shortest, being only 405 ft. in extreme length; yet, owing to the central aisle being wholly unbroken, it appears one of the longest, as it certainly is one of the most majestic of all. This cathedral possesses also another Southern peculiarity of more questionable advantage, in having five aisles in three different heights. The section (Woodcut No. 640) will explain this. The central aisle is 117 ft. in height, those next to it 66 ft. high, the two outer only 28. These last appear to destroy the harmony of the whole, for on an inspection of the building, the outer aisles do not appear to belong to the design, but look more like afterthoughts. At Milan, Bologna, and other places in Italy, where this gradation is common, this mistake is avoided, and the effect proportionably increased; and except that this arrangement does not admit of such large window spaces, in other respects it is not quite clear that, where double aisles are used, it would not always be better that they should be of different heights. This arrangement of the aisles was never again fairly tried in France; but even as it is, the cathedral of Bourges must rank after the four first mentioned as the finest and most perfect of the remaining edifices of its class in that country. It is singularly beautiful in its details, and happy in its main proportions; for owing to the omission of the transept, the length is exquisitely adapted to the other dimensions. Had a transept been added, at least 100 ft. of additional length would have been required to restore the harmony; and though externally it would no doubt have gained by such an adjunct, this gain would not have been adequate to the additional expense so incurred. [Illustration: 641. Section of Cathedral at Bourges. (From Drawings by F. Penrose, Esq., Architect.) Scale 50 ft. to 1 in.] The greater part of the western façade of this cathedral is of a later date than the building itself, and is extended so much beyond the proportions required for effect as to overpower the rest of the building, so that it is only from the sides or the eastern end that all the beauty of this church can be appreciated. As far as regards size or richness of decoration, the cathedral of Orleans deserves to rank as one of the very first in France, and is remarkable as the only first-class Gothic cathedral erected in Europe since the Middle Ages. The original church on this site having been destroyed by the Calvinists, the present cathedral was commenced in the year 1601 by Henry IV. of France, and although the rebuilding proceeded at first with great vigour, and the work was never wholly discontinued, it is even now hardly completed.