Page:History of Architecture in All Countries Vol 1.djvu/569

 Bk. II. Ch. IX. FRENCH GOTHIC CATHEDRALS. 537 lieight only 106. With the great length of such buildings found in England such j^roportions were tolerable, but in the shorter French cathedrals it gives an appearance of depression which is far from being pleasing; and, as the painted glass has been almost entirely removed from the nave, a cold gjare now pervades the whole, which rendei-s it extremely difficult to form an ojnnion of the original effect. 390. Plan ofKheims Cathetlra!. 391. I'laii of Amiens Cathedral Scale 100 ft. to 1 In. (From Chapuy.) Scale 100 ft. to 1 in. Most of those defects were avoided by the builders of the cathedral at Rheims, and nothing can exceed the simple beauty and perfection of the arrangement of the plan, as well as of the general harmony of all the parts. The proportion, both in width and height, of the side- aisles to the central nave, and the absence of side chapels and of any subsequent additions, render the nave one of the most perfect in