  We find the spectrum and wave functions of the heavy-light mesons in $(1 +
1)$-dimensional QCD in the 't Hooft limit, both in the rest frame, using the
Coulomb (axial) gauge, and on the light cone. Our emphasis is on the effects of
chiral symmetry breaking on the spectrum. While dynamical equations in both
cases look different, the results for the spectrum are identical. The chiral
symmetry breaking is clearly seen from the gap and Bethe--Salpeter equations in
the laboratory frame. At the same time, while vacuum is trivial on the light
cone (no chiral condensate), the effects of the spontaneous breaking of the
chiral symmetry manifest themselves in the same way, as it follows from the
coincidence of the spectra obtained from the laboratory-frame Bethe--Salpeter
equation on the one hand, and the light-cone 't Hooft-type equation on the
other.
