The late P. G. Hamerton has well expressed a feeling of vague disappointment which many persons who are not experts in Gothic construction and decoration feel on seeing the west front: “May I confess frankly,” says Mr. Hamerton, “that until I had carefully studied it under the guidance of Viollet-le-Duc, the front of Notre Dame never produced upon me the same effect as the west fronts of some other French cathedrals of equal rank? I believe the reason to be that Notre Dame is not so picturesque as some others, and does not so much excite the imagination as they do. It is well ordered, and a perfectly _sane_ piece of work (which Gothic architecture is not always), but it has not the imaginative intricacy of Rouen, nor the rich exuberance of Amiens and Reims, nor the fortress-like grandeur of Bourges, nor the elegant variety of Chartres.... The truth is that the virtues of the west front of Notre Dame are classic rather than romantic. Everything in it seems the result of perfect knowledge and consummate calculation. There are none of those mistakes which generally occur in a work of wilder genius.” [Illustration: CARVED FOLIAGE FROM THE PORTAIL DE LA VIERGE. [_From Viollet-le-Duc._]] [Illustration: _Photo_] [_Ed. Hautecœur, Paris._ PORTAIL DE LA SAINTE VIERGE.] The sculptured decoration of the three great portals exceeds, if not in actual ornateness, at all events in real beauty, that of any cathedral in the west of Europe. Much of it has suffered at the hands of the iconoclast, but, looking to the vicissitudes through which Notre Dame has passed, it is wonderful that so much of the original sculpture has been preserved. The recent restoration has been carried out with a skill which is simply marvellous, and the uninformed observer may easily be betrayed into the belief that he is looking at an unaltered ancient work. Whether this is a gain or a loss each of us must decide for himself. Some able writers have urged that the success with which ancient work has been imitated shows that modern artists are capable of the triumphs of the middle ages. Others dismiss the new work as an unpardonable forgery. It is outside the scope of this book to attempt to describe in detail the wealth of statuary and carving which the thirteenth-century craftsmen and those of modern times have lavished on these portals. For such a description we must refer the reader to the voluminous accounts of Viollet-le-Duc and other writers. The sculptures of the north door, called the _Portail de la Saint Vierge_, have been described as constituting a complete poem in stone. Viollet-le-Duc considered the portal as the masterpiece of French carving of the early thirteenth century. I adapt the following description of the chief sculptures from Mr. Lonergan: On the pedestal of the central pier are bas reliefs representing the Creation of Eve, the Temptation in the Garden of Eden, and the Ejection from Paradise. Above is the