"The fine stone employed in the construction was brought from quarries

in Sweden, Scotland, Italy, Algeria, Finland, Spain, Belgium and

France. While work on the exterior was in progress, the building was

covered in by a wooden shell, rendered transparent by thousands of

small panes of glass. In 1867 a swarm of men, supplied with hammers

and axes, stripped the house of its habit, and showed in all its

splendor the great structure. No picture can do justice to the rich

colors of the edifice or to the harmonious tone resulting from the

skilful use of many diverse materials. The effect of the frontage is

completed by the cupola of the auditorium, topped with a cap of bronze

sparingly adorned with gilding. Farther on, on a level with the towers

of Notre-Dame, is the gable end of the roof of the stage, a 'Pegasus',

by M. Lequesne, rising at either end of the roof, and a bronze group by

M. Millet, representing 'Apollo lifting his golden lyre', commanding

the apex. Apollo, it may here be mentioned, is useful as well as

ornamental, for his lyre is tipped with a metal point which does duty

as a lightning-rod, and conducts the fluid to the body and down the

nether limbs of the god.

"The spectator, having climbed ten steps and left behind him a gateway,

reaches a vestibule in which are statues of Lully, Rameau, Gluck, and

Handel. Ten steps of green Swedish marble lead to a second vestibule

for ticket-sellers. Visitors who enter by the pavilion reserved for

carriages pass through a hallway where ticket offices are situated.

The larger number of the audience, before entering the auditorium,

traverse a large circular vestibule located exactly beneath it. The

ceiling of this portion of the building is upheld by sixteen fluted

columns of Jura stone, with white marble capitals, forming a portico.

Here servants are to await their masters, and spectators may remain

until their carriages are summoned. The third entrance, which is quite

distinct from the others, is reserved for the Executive. The section

of the building set aside for the use of the Emperor Napoleon was to

have included an antechamber for the bodyguards; a salon for the

aides-de-camp; a large salon and a smaller one for the Empress; hat and

cloak rooms, etc. Moreover, there were to be in close proximity to the

entrance, stables for three coaches, for the outriders' horses, and for

the twenty-one horsemen acting as an escort; a station for a squad of

infantry of thirty-one men and ten cent-gardes, and a stable for the

horses of the latter; and, besides, a salon for fifteen or twenty

domestics. Thus arrangements had to be made to accommodate in this

part of the building about one hundred persons, fifty horses, and

half-a-dozen carriages. The fall of the Empire suggested some changes,

but ample provision still exists for emergencies.




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