noon
He paused in the wide space that fronts the heavy doors , and caught his breath as the fugitive of old might have caught breath at sight of sanctuary . Here was a place of shade and magnitude -- a place untouched by memory ! Blindly he moved toward the door , entered the church , walked up the aisle . Few sight-seers disturbed the sense of peace , for outside it was high noon and Paris was engrossed in the serious business of _ déjeuner _ ; no service was in progress ; all was still , all dim save where a taper of a lamp glowed before a shrine or the sun struck sharp through the splendor of stained glass . There are few churches -- to some minds there is no other church -- where the idea of the profound broods as it does in Notre Dame . The sense of dignity , the curious ancient scent compounded by time , the mystic colors of the great windows breathe of the infinite . Max , walking up the aisle , looked at the dark walls ; Max -- modern , critical -- looked up at the wondrous rose window , and felt the overshadowing power of superhuman things .