STRASBURG.

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been raised, and the place where it sliould liave stood is nowoccupied by a low sbed which migbt be mistaken for a photo-grapbic studio, but which is really the residence of the watch-man, who, in true German fashion, sits perched up in thesteeple, on the look-out for fires.

The tower consists of a tall octagonal turret, pierced withopen, " laneet-shaped" Windows, through which the lightshines in long white streaks, and from each of the fourcorners of whose rectangular base Springs a high thin tube ofstone, open at the sides, and with a spiral staircase seen wind-ing up the centre,—thus giving an exquisite lightness to thestructure, and delighting the eye with the fine variety of theoctagon set within the Square colonnade.

Above this, again, rises the open spire, arranged in Steps,like a tall, narrow pyramid, and ornamented at the basewith an exquisite " eornice ä Vaiguille" which at the heightlooks positively as if it were a mere balustrade of needles.

The Strasburg spire is hardly so open, or so much likeantique point-lace work as that of Freiburg, still the lightsparkies through it as if it were a basket of stone; and suchis the extreme height of the tower, that the lighthouse-liketop looks hardly bigger than the stamen to a lily.

Those who delight in mere exaggerations of size, and findbeauty in unusual vastness or height, admire Strasburg princi-pally because it is the tallest bit of mason-work in the World—■with the exception of the pyramid of Cheops, though it is onlynine feet less than this, and just one-third higher than ourown St. Paul's.*

* For the convenience of comparison, we subjoin a list of the heights ofdifferent monuments in Europe :—

Pyramid of CheopsTower of StrasburgSteeple of St. Etienne at Vienna

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