To be sure, the sharp, frosty air brought a more
brilliant colour than usual into the cheeks of the fair members of the
troupe, but no one could say that it detracted from their charms; and
even when it extended, as it did sometimes, to their pretty little
noses, it could not be found serious fault with, for everything is
becoming to a young and beautiful woman.
At last they drew near to the capital--following the windings of the
Seine, whose waters flow past royal palaces, and many another edifice of
world-wide renown--and at four o'clock of a bright winter afternoon came
in sight of its spires and domes. The smoke rising from its forest of
chimneys hung over it in a semi-transparent cloud, through which the sun
shone, round and red, like a ball of fire. As they entered the city by
the Porte Saint Bernard, a glorious spectacle greeted their wondering
eyes. In front of them Notre Dame stood out in bold relief, with its
magnificent flying buttresses, its two stately towers, massive and
majestic, and its slender, graceful spire, springing from the lofty
roof at the point of intersection of the nave and transepts. Many other
lesser towers and spires rose above churches and chapels that were lost
amid the densely crowded houses all about them, but de Sigognac had
eyes only for the grand old cathedral, which overwhelmed him with
astonishment and delight.
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