altar, was placed there by the superstitious and timid Louis XI., in order
that he might behold the elevation of the Host and the sacred relics
without being exposed to the danger of assassination. The visitor should
also notice the inlaid stone pavement, with its frequent repetition of the
fleur-de-lis and the three castles. The whole breathes the mysticism of
St. Louis; the lightness of the architecture, the height of the apparently
unsupported roof, and the magnificence of the decoration, render this the
most perfect ecclesiastical building in Paris.

In returning from the chapel, notice on the outside, from the court to the
south, the apparently empty and useless porch, supporting a small room,
which is the one through whose grated window Louis XI. used to watch the
elevation.




The Hotel de Ville and the Conciergerie

By Augustus J. C. Hare


[Footnote: From "Walks In Paris." By arrangement with the
publisher, David McKay. Copyright, 1880.]



It was Etienne Marcel, Mayor of Paris, who first established the municipal
council at the Place de Greve, at that time the only large square in
Paris. In July, 1357, he purchased as a Hostel de Ville the Maison aux