7-8-

THROUGH NORMANDY

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THROUGH BRITTANY. By Katharine S. Macquoid.

With numerous Illustrations by Thomas R. Macquoid.

" Tourists who propose visiting Brittany this summer may be advised
to take Airs. Macquoid's volume with them.."— Pall Mall Gazette.

Square 8vo, cloth extra, 7s. 6d.

THROUGH NORMANDY. By Katharine S. Mac-
quoid. With 90 Illustrations by T. R. Macquoid.

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PICTURES AND LEGENDS FROM NORMANDY AND

BRI ITANY, By Katharine S. Macquoid. With numerous Illus-
trations by Thomas R. Macquoid.
"An attractive volume, which is neither a work of travel nor a collec-
tion of stories, but a book partaking almost in equal degree of each of
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NORTH ITALIAN FOLK. By Mrs. Comyns Carr. IUus-
trated by Rant^olph Caldecott.
" A delightful book, of a kind which is far too rare. If anyone wants
to really know the North Italian folk, we can honestly advise him to omit

the journey, and sit down to read Mrs. Carr's pages instead

Description with Mrs. Carr is a real gift It is rarely that a book is

so happily illustrated." — Contemporary Review.

CHATTO & WINDUS, PICCADILLY, W.

1P-

i W [\

\v.

'-i', I

THROUGH NORMANDY

By KATHARINE S. MACOUOID

AUTHOR OF "THROUGH BRITTANY"

ILLUSTRATED BY THOMAS R. MACQUOID

CHATTO AND WINDUS, PICCADILLY

JAMES ROUSE, Esq.,

FELLOW OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS OF ENGLAKD,
IN

HEARTFELT ACKNOWI^DGMENT

FRIENDSHIP THAT HAS NEVER FAILED.

M5n5447

CONTENTS.

PAGH

Introduction i

ROUEN.

CHAP.

I. Entry into Rouen — Its History — Bureau des Finances —
The Cathedral — Place de la Vieille Tour — Les Halles
—Old Streets— St. Maclou and the Aitre— St. Vivien
and St. Nicaise — The Museum of Antiquities . . i8

II. St. Ouen — La Bouille — St. Eloi — Place de la Pucelle —
Hotel Bourgtheroude — St. Gervais — St. Patrice — St.
Romain — Tour Jeanne d'Arc — St. Godard ... 52

in. The Palais de Justice — The Grosse Horloge — St. Vincent
— St. Sever — The Bridges — Bon Secours — The Cote St.
Catherine — Canteleu . 80

THE SEA-COAST OF UPPER NORMANDY.

IV. Dieppe 99

V. St. Valery-en-Caux — Valmont — Fecamp — Etretat . .126
VI. Le Havre 152

THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

VII. Tancarville — Lillebonne 171

VIII. Caudebec— St. Wandrille 203

IX. Jumieges — St. Georges Boscherville .... 235

X. La Cote de deux Amants — Gaillon — Les Andelys — Cha-
teau Gaillard — Vernon . . . . . .257

CONTENTS.

THE OLD TOWNS SOUTH OF THE SEINE.

tHAP.

XI. Louviers— Evreux— Bemay — Pont-Audemer

. 278

CALVADOS.
XII. Honfleur— Trouville— Villers— Lisieux

XIII. Caen

XIV. A great Norman Charity

XV. Caen

XVI. Falaise

307

366
390
415

THE BESSIN.
XVII. Arromanches — Bayeux

434

LA MANCHE.
XVIII. St. L6 — Coutances — Granville — Avranches

XIX. ,

MONT ST. MICHEL.

. 461
. 480

THE BOCAGE COUNTRY.
XX. Vire— Mortain

519

ORNE.
XXI. Domfront — Argentan — Seez — Alen9on .

540

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE

Frontispiece : The Birthplace of William the Conqueror, Falaise.

r. Market-women with Melons I

2. Group of Market Vegetables, &c 9

3. Part of the Tomb of the Cardinals of Amboise ... 18

4. Entresol, Bureau des Finances, Place de la Cathedrale,

Rouen 27

5. The Tomb of Louis de Breze, Rouen Cathedral , . 35

6. Cathedral Tower and Halles, Rouen ..... 40

7. Rue Damiette, Rouen 46

8. Tower of St. Ouen 56

9. Castle of Robert le Diable 63

10. Porch of St. Maclou, Rouen 80

11. La Grosse Horloge, Rouen 83

12. General View of Rouen 93

13. Fishwomen, Dieppe » . , 99

14. L'Avant Port, Dieppe 103

15. The Church of St. Jacques, Dieppe 108

16. The Old Castle, Dieppe iio

17. Chateau d'Arques, near Dieppe 1 20

18. Manoir d'Ango, near Dieppe 124

19. L' Aiguille, Etretat 126

20. Old Doorway, Fecamp 131

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

21. Abbey Church and Town of Fecamp
*22. Porte d'Aval, Etretat ....

23. Boats used as Storehouses, Etretat .

24. Capital, Nave of Abbey Church, Graville .

25. Spire of Church, Harfleur ....

26. Entrance to Abbey Church, Graville

27. Old Cross, Churchyard, Graville

28. The Abbey Church, Gra\dlle .

29. Gate-house, Tancarville Castle .

30. The Tour de I'Aigle, Tancarville

31. Ruins of Chateau, Tancarville .

32. Ruins of Roman Theatre and Old Castle, Lilleb

33. Part of Mosaic, Lillebonne . .

34. In the Market, Caudebec ....

35. The Double Avenue on the Quay, Caudebec

36. Rue de la Boucherie, Caudebec

37. Old Houses, Caudebec ....

38. The Grande Rue, Caudebec — Church of Notre

Distance . . . . .

39. A Street in Caudebec ....

40. St. Wandrille

41. Tomb of Les Ener^'es, Jumieges

42. Ruins of the Abbey of Jumieges (exterior)

43. Ruins of the Abbey of Jumieges (interior)

44. Hotel du Grand Cerf, le Grand Andely

45. Chdteau Gaillard and le Petit Andely

46. Washing beside the Rille, Pont Audemer .

47. Archbishop's Palace, Evreux

48. Women washing in a Street, Bemay

49. Old Houses on the Rille, Pont- Audemer .

onne

Dame

in the

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Xlll

50. Old Tower of La Lieutenance, Honfleur ,

51. The Market-place, Honfleur

52. Ruins of Church, Criqueboeuf .

53. Beans drying under the Eaves, Touques

54. Part of Lisieux Cathedral .

55. Rue aux Fevres, Lisieux . . .

56. Staircase Tower, Orbec

57. Bracket, Rue aux Fevres .

58. Ancient Costume of Women of Caen (after Stothard)

59. Spire of St. Pierre, Caen ....

60. The Abbaye aux Dames, Caen .

61. Porch of the Church of St. Gilles

62. Hotel des Monnaies, Caen
•63. The Abbe Jamet of Le Bon Sauveur

64. Spires of the Abbaye aux Hommes, Caen .

65. Window in old House, Rue St. Pierre, Caen

66. Maison des Gendarmes, Caen .

67. Stone Medallion, Rue de Geole, Caen
*68. Bronze Statue of William, Falaise

69. La Ste. Trinite, Falaise ....

70. Window in the Castle of Falaise

71. Washing-place beside the Ante, Falaise .

72. Dragon of St. Vigor, Bayeux Cathedral .
•73. A Gossip on the Beach, Arromanches

74. Milk-cans .......

75. Harold swearing on the Relics (Bayeux Tapes

76. Old Houses, Bayeux ....

77. Egg-seller, Market, Granville .
*78. Church of St. Jean, Avranches .

79. Principal Street, Mont St. Michel

try)

PAGB
310

3^9
325
328

332
333
337
342
352
357
359
366

372
390
394
399
415
422

427
430
434
440
442

447
456
470
478

480

9l ]jb Kka^esBs ....

i?t

X15

Cai=ri7. A.

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ire ^reL^^ntL itre tt ^^is^h - ^ ^ sismiEis. ir x x ens:: Tt -g^a^— -^ ^

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3<ni>i~vllgl. -J^^tMiMHii, '^CTK^ ^jpf omtt^ r'Alrxr:

^ShaL x[ Uigurs, isrra^ ~

xvi INDEX FOR TRAVELLERS,

Steamboats for La Bouille, daily, 7 and 10.30 a.m. ; Sundays and
fetes, 6 and 10 a.m., 2 and 6 p.m. For Havre, every second day
between June ist and September 30th.

Bathing Places.

Dieppe (Seine Inf^rieure), page 99. Omnibus, day, 30c. ; night, 50c.

Hotel Royal, good ; table d'hote, 5f. ; Grand Hotel des Bains.

Theatre, Place de la Comedie.

Diligences, Arques, 6k., 12.15 A.M., 3 P.M. ; returns to Dieppe at
3 and 6 p.m. ; if. 60c. there and back. Treport, 30k., and
Eu, 34k., at 6.15 A.M., 2 and 5 P.M. ; coupe, 4f. ; interieur and
banquette, 3f.

Les Petites Dalles (Seine Inferieure). Diligence from Yvetot, 30k.
Hotel des Bains, board and lodging 6f. and 7f. per day. Write
beforehand.

Fecamp (Seine Inferieure), page 130.
Hotel Chariot d'Or, Omnibus, 25c.
Diligences, Etretat, 5.50 a.m., i p.m. ; i6k.

Etretat (Seine Inferieure), page 138.

Hotel Blanquet. Hotel Hauville, pension, yf. per day; table

d'hote, 10.30 a.m. and 6 P.M., 2f. and 3f. ; write beforehand.
Post Office, Rue du Havre, open from 7 till 2, and 4 to 7 ; closes

at 2 on Sundays,
Diligences, Le Havre, 27k., 7.15 a.m., 4 P.M. Fecamp, i6k.,

starts twice a day from Hotel Blanquet.

Le Havrk (Seine Inferieure), page 152.
Omnibus, day, 30c. ; night, 40c.
Hotel Frascati, table d'hote and restaurant; a very large hotel

close to the sea, and casino. Hotel des Armes de la ViUe, Rue

d'Estimauville ; landlord speaks English fluently ; table d'hote,

II and 6, 2f. 50c. and 3f.
Theatres —
Le Grand Theatre, Place Louis Seize.
L'Ambigu Huvrais, 160, Corns de la Republique.
Rail to St. Romain, 1st class, 2f. loc. ; 2nd class, if. 75c.; 3rd

class, if. 25c.
Carriage from St. Romain to Tancarville and Lillebonne, I5f.

INDEX FOR TRAVELLERS. XVll

Steamboats — Honfleur, twice daily, if. 25c. and 75c. Trouville,
twice daily, if. 50c. and if. Caen, once daily, 6f. and 5f.
Rouen, every second day, 5f. and 4f. Cherbourg, Sunday and
Thursday; Morlaix, Wednesday and Saturday, lof. and 8f.

Tancarville (Seine Inferieure), page 180.

Hotel du Havre, kept by M. Toutain, who keeps the key of the
castle, and sends a guide with strangers. M. Toutain will send
a carriage to St. Romain to meet travellers, if written to some
days in advance. There are two comfortable bedrooms in the
clean little inn.

LiLLEBONNE (Seine Inferieure), page 189.
Hotel du Commerce, not recommended.
Carriage to Caudebec, I2f.

Caudebec (Seine Inferieure), page 203.

Hotel de la Marine, tables d'hote, 11 and 6.30, 2f. and 2f. 50c.
Diligence for Yvetot, to meet the trains, ii|k., 70c. and 50c.
Rail, Yvetot to Rouen, ist class, 5f. 50c.; 2nd class, 4f. ; 31 d

class, 3f.
Diligence to Rouen, 35k., 6.15 a.m., 3f.
Carriage to Jumieges, about lof.
Rail, Rouen to Gaillon, ist class, 6f. ; 2nd class, 4f. ; 3rd class,

3^- 25c.
Omnibus to Les Andelys and boat, if. 20c.

Le Grand Andely (Eure) , page 268.
Omnibus to Chateau Gaillard.
Hotel du Grand Cerf, table d'hote, 1 1 and 6.
Omnibus to St. Pierre de Vauvray, if. soc.

Rail from St. Pierre to Louviers, 1st class, if. 25c. ; 2nd class, if. ;
3rd class, 75c.

Louviers (Eure), page 278.
Omnibus, 25c.
Hotel du Mouton.

Rail to Evi-eux, ist class, 3f. 30c. ; 2nd class, 2f. 45c. ; 3rd class,
If. 85c.

xviii INDEX FOR TRAVELLERS.

EVREUX (Eure), page 281.

Omnibus, day, 40c. ; night, 50c.

Hotel du Grand Cerf, good ; table d'hote, 2f. 500. and 3f.

RaU to Bemay (it is possible to stop at Conches and to go on

thence to Vemeuil), ist class, 6f. 50c. ; 2nd class, 5f. ; 3rd

class, 3f. 50c.

Conches (Eure), page 287.
Hotel de la Croix Blanche.
Diligence to Vemeuil, 26k., four times a day.

Bernay (Eure), page 289. Buffet at station.
Omnibus, day, 25c. ; night, 30c.
Hotel du Cheval Blanc, clean and comfortable ; tables d'hote, 1 1

and 6, 2f. 50c. and 3f.
Rail by Serquigny and Glos-Montfort (it is possible to stop at

Brionne for Bec-Hellouin) to Pont-Audemer, ist class, 5f. 50c. ;

2nd class, \i. ; 3rd class, 3f.

PONT-AuDEMER (Eure), page 298.

Hotel Pot d'Etain, not recommended ; Lion d'Or.
Diligence to Honfleur, 24k. ; to Rouen, twice a day.
Steamer every second day by the Rille to Le Havre.
Carriage to Honfleur, I5f.

Honfleur (Calvados), page 309.

Omnibus, 30c. ; with luggage, 50c.
Hotel Cheval Blanc.

Diligences, Pont-Audemer, Trouville, 15 or i6k.
Steamers, Littlehampton, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday,
1st class, I5f ; 2nd class, I2f. ; 3rd class, 8f. Southampton,
Le Havre, and Rouen.

Bathing Places.

Trouville (Calvados), page 316.

Hotel des Roches Noires, and many others, all dear.
Diligences for Cabourg, 19k., Villers, 8k., Houlgate, 15k., Hon-
fleur and Caen, 42k.
Rail to Lisieux, ist class, 4f. 75c. ; 2nd class, 3f. ; 3rd class,

2f. 50c.
Steamer for Le Havre twice daily.

INDEX FOR TRAVELLERS. xix

Villers-sur-Mer (Calvados), page 320.

Hotels du Casino, du Bras d'Or, board and lodging from 6f. to ^L
per day. A furnished house may be had here at & much
cheaper rate than at TrouvUl^-

LisiEUX (Calvados), page 323.

Omnibus, day, 40c. ; night, 50c.

Hotel de France.

Rail to Caen, ist class, 6f. 50c. ; 2nd class, 5f. ; 3rd class, 3f. 35c.

Diligences for Orbec, 22k., 7 A.M., 2 and 4 p.m. ; coupe, 2f. ;

interieur, if. 60c. ; Vimoutiers, 28k., 1. 40 A.m., i and 3 p.m.,

3f- 50c.

Caen (Calvados), page 338.

Omnibus, day, 50c. ; night, 70c.

Hotel d'Angleterre, good and very comfortable; table d'hote,
6 P.M., 3f.

Theatre, Place de la Prefecture.

Post Office, Hotel de Ville, from 7 A.M. to 7 P.M. ; Sundays, open
till 5.

Telegraph, Rue Singer, open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Booksellers, Le Blanc-Hardel, Rue Froide ; and Lemonnier, Rue
St. Jean.

Rail to Bayeux, 1st class, 4f. ; 2nd class, 3f. ; 3rd class, 2f. 25c.

Diligences to Courseulles, 25k., and Lion-sur-Mer, 15k., 3.30,
7.30, 10.30 A.m., and 4.30, 5.30 p.m., if. 80c. and if. 50c. ;
Luc-sur-Mer, i8k., twice a day, 2f. and if. 80c. ; La Delivrande,
i6k., Douvres, 14k., Bemieres, 20k., St. Aubin, i8k., Lan-
grune, i6k., twice a day ; price to all these places, 2f. 25c. and
2f. Trou\'ille, 42k., 4f. 50c. and 3f. ; Villers-sur-Mer, t^{. 50c.
and 3f. ; Houlgate-Beuzeval, 2f. 50c. and 2f. ; Cabourg-Dives, 2f.
and if. 50c. ; at i a.m., from the Hotel de Normandie. Vire, 59k,,
by Villers-Bocage, 25k. (a charming journey), 5 A.M., 7f. and
5f. 50c.; Bayeux, 27k., ii A.M. and 4 P.M.; Creully, i8k.,
3.30 A.M., 3f. ; Honfleur, 56k., 4 p.m.

Steamboat for Le Havre, every day at high tide.

XX INDEX FOR TRAVELLERS,

Bathing Places.

Beuzeval (Calvados), page 321,

Hotel de la Mer ; breakfast 2f. ; dinner 3f.
Cabourg-les-Bains (Calvados), page 304.

Grand Hotel de la Plage, breakfast I'i.^ dinner 4f. ; board and
lodging, everything included, July and September, 8f. to lof.,
August, lof. to I5f. per day. There are three much cheaper
hotels. Lodgings are to be had at Cabourg, and at almost all
Norman bathing-places.
Diligences to Trouville and Caen.

Luc-sur-Mer (Calvados), page 409.

Hotel de la Plage, and others. In all these hotels board and
lodging are from 6f. to /f. per day.

Langrune (Calvados), page 412.
Hotel de Belle Vue.

Lign-sur-Mer (Calvados), page 409.

Hotel du Calvados ; tables d'hote, 2f. and 2f. 50c,

St. Aubin-sur-Mer (Calvados), page 401.
Hotel de St. Aubin ; pension, of. per day.

Falaise (Calvados), page 415.

Omnibus, day, 30c. ; night, 40c.
Hotel de Normandie.

Bayeux (Calvados), page 436, 442.

Omnibus, day, 30c. ; night, 40c.

Hotel du Luxembourg ; table d'hote, 6 P.M., 3f.

Post Office, Rue Royale.

Telegraph, near the Hotel de Ville.

Railway to St. L6, 46k., ist class, 6f. ; 2nd class, 5f. ; 3rd class,
3f. 50c.

Diligences, Arromanches, 12k., every two hours, if. from railway-
station, 60c. from the town ; Asnelles, 12k., three times a day,
if. 25c. ; Port-en-Bessin, lok., eveiy two hours; Balleroy, 15k.,
9 A.M., 3 and 7 P.M. This is on the way to St. L6, to which
town a carriage may be taken through Cerisy la Foret, seeing
the Abbey of Cerisy on the way.

INDEX FOR TRAVELLERS. XXi

Arromanches (Calvados), page 437. Bathing.

Hotel Etoile du Nord, Auberge Chretien, about 5f, 50c. or 6f. per
day. Rooms should be bespoken. Tents for the sands, 5f. per
week. Lodgings are to be had.

St. L6 (Manche), page 461.

Omnibus, day, 30c. ; 50c. with luggage.

Hotel du Cheval Blanc.

Post Office, Place des Beaux Regards.

Telegraph, Rue du Neufbourg.

Diligences, Coutances, 28k., 6 a.m., noon, 9 P.M., 3f. 50c. and 3f. ;

Granville, by way of Coutances, 57k., 6 a.m., 9 p.m., 7f. and 6f. ;

Vire, 39k., 10.45 A.M., 4f. ; Avranches, 56k., 6 A.M., noon, 6f.

Coutances (Manche), page 464.

Hotels de France, d'Angleterre ; not recommended.

Diligences for St. L6, 28k., 4.30 A.M., 2.30 p.m., 3f. 50c. and 3f.,
also at 4 p.m. ; Carentan, 34k., 4.30 a.m., 2.30 p.m., 3f. 50c. and
3f. ; Granville, 29k., half an hour after midnight, lo a.m., 3
P.M., 3f. 50c. and 3f.

Granville (Manche), page 468. Bathing.

Omnibus, 40c. ; with luggage, 50c.

Grand Hotel du Nord, Rue Lecampion ; write beforehand.

Post Office, Rue Lecampion.

Telegraph, Rue Lecampion.

Railway to Paris.

Diligences, Avranches, 26k., 5 and 10 A.M., 4 P.M., 3f. 50c. and
2f. 50c. ; Dol-de-Bretagne, 67k., by Pontorson and Avranches,
10 A.M., lof. 50c. and 9f. 75c. ; Coutances, half an hour after
midnight, 11.30 a.m., 4 p.m., 3f. 50c.; St. L6, 57k., byway
of Coutances, twice a day ; Carentan, by way of Coutances, twice
a day.

Steamboats for Jersey and the Channel Islands, every other day
at high tide, once a day, 1st class, lof. , 2nd class, 6f. 2.qc.

Avranches (Manche), page 473.
Hotel de Londres, good.
Post Office, Rue Valhubert.
Telegraph, Rue Belle-Etoile.

Xxii INDEX FOR TRAVELLERS.

Diligences, Dol-de-Bretagne, 41k., by Pontorson, for the St. Malo
Railway, 8 A.M., i p.m., 6f. and 5f. ; Granville, 7 a.m., noon,
4 p.m., 3f. and 2f. 50c. ; Coutances, 47k., Tuesday, Thursday, and
Saturday, 9 A.M., 5f. ; Fougeres, 40k., 2.30 p.m. ; St. L6, 56k.,
by Vdledieu, 5.30 A.M., noon, 7f. and 6f. ; Villedieu, 22k. (this is
the best way of reaching Vire from Avranches), 5.30 a.m., noon,
4 P.M., 3f. and 2f. 50c. A carriage with one horse to Mont St.
Michel should not cost more than l8f.

Pontorson (Manche), page 480.
Hotel de la Poste.

Diligences for Dol, 19k., 9.40 A.M., 3 p.m., 3f., 2f. 50c. ; Avranches,
Mont St. Michel, lok., 10 a.m., 4 p.m., 2f. there and back.

ViLLEDiEU-LES-PoELES (Manche), page 519.

Rail to Vire, 1st class, 7f. 75c. ; 2nd class, 5f. 50c. ; 3rd class,
3f. 25c.

Vire (Calvados), page 521.

Omnibus, 30c., without luggage ; 50c. with, to 30 kilogrammes.

Hotel Saint Pierre.

Post Office, Rue Neufbourg.

Telegraph, Rue ChenedoUe.

Rail to Argentan, ist class, 9f. 25c. ; 2nd class, yf. ; 3rd class,
Sf. 85c.

Diligences to Mortain, 24k., 5 A.M., 3.30 p.m., 2f. 50c. and 2f. ; St.
L6, 39k., 12.45, 4^' ; Caen, 59k., by Villers-Bocage, 1.30 p.m.,
5f. ; Avranches, by the malle-poste, 5 a.m., 5f. (but this only
takes a few passengers). Carriages for Mortain, &c., may be
hired at Poupion's, just opposite the Hotel du Cheval Blanc.
A carriage to Mortain, 24k., may be had for i6f.

Mortain (Manche), page 534.
Hotel de la Poste.

Diligences for Flers and Vire. A carriage may be had for Dom-
front.

Domfront (Orne), page 540.
Hotel de la Poste.

Diligences for Flers, 22k., 8 and 11 a.m., 6 P.M., 2f. 50c. and 2f. ;
Alen9on, 62k., 2.30 p.m., 6f. and 5f.

INDEX FOR TRAVELLERS. XXIU

Flers (Orne), page 540.
Hotel de I'Europe.
Diligences for Domfront and Mortain,

Argentan (Orne), page 543.
Omnibus, 30c.
Hotel des Trois Maries.
Rail to Alen9on, ist class, 6f. 25c. ; 2nd class, 4f. ; 3rd class,

2f. 45c-

Alencon (Orne), page 545.
Hotel du Grand Cerf.

Rail to Paris, ist class, 25f. 95c,; 2nd class, igf. 50c. ; 3rd class,
I4f. 30c.

There are English Church services at

Avranches. Dieppe.

Caen. Havre (Le).

Deauville. Honfleur.

London; ChaA

"so

Ics Ptates Dalles^

DIEPPE.

«feZa'^fVf/r^ ja^yjj*;S Itc-.P^'^— ^^^^^ ^'^>< TTiMaicuuniivj.

,p^%n^le

4-9

INTRODUCTION.

ANY English travellers
have doubtless visited
Normandy; that is to
say, they have been to
Dieppe or to Rouen,
perhaps they may have
stopped at both towns
on their way to Paris ;
others have passed
through Havre and
Caen, and others have
gone as far as Mont
St. Michel, through the
Bocage country, and
also through the Bessin, on their way to or from Cherbourg.
But very few visit the smaller towns, and of late years
Normandy seems to have been somewhat neglected. In
comparison with the travellers who go eastward and south-
ward on their autumn holiday, very few stop to visit the
picturesque old towns and charming scenery of the ancient
and beautiful province so closely linked with English
sympathies, so nearly resembling some of the loveliest

2 NORMANDY.

landscape districts of England. Doctor Ducat el, who
writes in 1767, says, ''Indeed, Normandy doth so much
resemble old England that I could hardly believe myself
to be in France." We can go to Normandy any day,
and so the day is deferred, and we live on in ignorance
of some of the most interesting and picturesque towns, and
some of the most exquisite river-scenery in Europe — for
Normandy possesses all the charms of our green Devon-
shire and Kentish landscapes, with the addition of being
much better watered. The lesser Norman rivers, from the
Epte to the Sees, from the Arques to the Rille, are as
numerous as they are lovely; and they meander through all
the fair province.

The usual access to Normandy, either by Dieppe or
Havre, is of course unpleasant for those who suffer at sea ;
but it takes very little longer time to go by way of Amiens
from Folkstone, making Rouen a starting-point.

There are several distinct points of interest to be con-
sidered by the traveller in Normandy.

The seaboard and its numerous charming bathing-places,
which, thanks to the j^ictures of Isabey and others, and the
writings of Alexandre Dumas, Alphonse Karr, &c., have
become known to the Parisian world, and have sprung, in
a very brief period, from fishing villages into delightful little
nestling towns like Etretat, or into grand bathing-places
like Trouville and Deauville ; each, almost without excep-
tion, with its casino and ctahlissemcnt des baijis, whether it
belongs to the first or second order in point of luxury and
grandeur. One does not always find a casino at those quiet,
secluded nooks, so dear to Parisians of moderate means,
and which are almost unknovrn to English travellers, such as

INTRODUCTION. 3

Pourville, Les Petites Dalles, Villerville, Beuzeval, St. Aubiiij
Courseulles, Lion, Langrune, Arromanches, Port-en-Bessin,
Asnelle, and many others.

Another point of interest is in the towns, the names of
which alone conjure up ancient and feudal historic associa-
tions, and make us English live again among our Norman
and Plantagenet kings and warriors.

And then to the full as interesting — for it, too, is gemmed
with historic memories — is the voyage up the river Seine
from Graville Ste. Honorine, perched half-way up its lofty
cote, to Chateau Gaillard, standing out so boldly on a
projecting rock that it commands the river for miles. The
subjoined route will show that all these objects of interest
may be comprised in a single journey, with scarcely any
need of going over the same ground twice.

The mistake often made is that of seeing only the principal
towns — Rouen, Caen, Havre, Dieppe, and a few more, and
then of fancying we have seen Normandy ; these are, indeed,
full of interest, but the chief beauties of the old country lie
in the less frequented places, along the banks of the Seine,
where there is scanty communication between the villages ;
and again in the west, the neighbourhood of Vire and Mortain.
Vire, where the exquisite tree-shaded valleys, or Vaux,
wander beside the brawling river, now, alas 1 no longer left
to play at will among the mossy stones in its bed or round
the feet of the lofty hills which overshadow it, but forced to
labour hard on every working day in the service of numerous
factories and fulling mills. Ollivier Basselin was himself a
mill-owner, but he could hardly have foreseen the stacks of
tail red chimneys, and gaunt slate-roofed factories, that now
disfigure the exquisite Vaux de Vire ; — and ^Mortain, which

4 NORMANDY.

trade has scarcely reached, — the Switzerland of France, as
it is called — with its foaming cascades and frowning, pine-
clad rocks.

There are towns, too, of great interest to the lovers of
picturesque antiquity, in which we heard the English were
rarely seen — Bernay, Pont Audemer, and others, and yet not
only these towns, but the places of interest near them, are well
worth a visit from lovers of the beautiful and the curious.

There have been many modern books written on Nor-
mandy, but only treating of parts of the country. Of
these, the rather discursive "Rambles in Normandy," by
Mr. Musgrave, is perhaps the most faithful. Miss Cos-
tello, in her " Summer among the Bocages and the Vines,"
gives an interesting account of Vire, Mortain, and several
other places ; and Mrs. Craik has a very faithful account of
Mont St. Michel and its neighbourhood in " Fair France."

Mr. Freeman, in his delightful and valuable " History
of the Norman Conquest," relates much that is most inte-
resting about the Dukes of Normandy and their country ;
his History and Cotman and Gaily Knight's Norman books
should all be studied by the lover of architectural anti-
quities. Wace's " Roman de Rou " should also be read by
those who see the tapestry at Bayeux. There are several
modern French archaeological works on the old chateaux,
Jumieges, Bayeux, Evreux, &c., well worth reading; but
these are best procured in Rouen, as they are mostly
published by Le Brument, in the Rue Jeanne d'Arc. Some
of the towns, however, have as yet found no special his-
torian, and it has been difficult to learn much about them.

A thorough and exhaustive description of Normandy
woul.l of necessity fill several volumes; this book is only

INTRODUCTION. 5

meant as a guide to the towns best worth visitmg, and to
some parts of the country which seem to he out of the
ordinary track of the tourist.

The following line of route includes almost all that is
worth seeing, except Cherbourg and the peninsula of the
Cotentin ; and these lie so completely out of the way, and
require so much time for themselves, that it is better to
leave them for a separate visit.

Formerly, when a diligence ran between Dieppe and
Fecamp, the best starting-point for a traveller in Normandy
was Rouen, and even now Rouen seems to hold the key
to almost all that is mteresting in the province, and for this
reason, as well as for others, it is worth more than one visit ;
the statues and tombs and many of the buildings them-
selves, acquire a deeper interest when we have visited the
actual places where the princes and bishops and barons, with
whose memories they are associated, ruled, or /ought, or died.

Rouen to Dieppe by rail —

Dieppe to

Fecamp by a carriage, or, Avhich is simpler, to

Dieppe via Newhaven — rail to

Rouen — rail to

Fecamp — diligence twice a day, or carriage, to

Etretat — diligence to

Havre, Harfleur, &c. — rail from Havre to

St. Romain — carriage to

Tancarville and

Lillebonne — carriage to

Caudebec — carriage to Jumieges, St. Wandrille — rail by way of

Yvetot ; or diligence or steamer to
Rouen — rail to

Gaillon — omnibus to (rail from Gaillon to Yernon)
Les Andelys and to
Chateau Gaillard — rail from St. Pierre de Vauvray to

6 NORMANDY,

Louviers — rail to

Evreux— rail to (Verneuil and Conches)

Bernay — rail to

Pont Aiidemer— diligence or carriage to

Honfleur— rail or diligence, or by way of Havre by steamer, c?

walk to
Trouville — rail to
Lisieux — rail to
Caen — rail or carriage to
Falaise, and back to Caen— rail to
Bayeux — diligence to
Arromanclies and back to Bayeux— rail to
St. L6— diligence to
Coutances — diligence to
Granville — diligence to
Avranches — carriage to
Mont St. Michel, and back to
Avranches — diligence to Ville Dieu— rail to
Vire — carriage to
jNIortain — diligence to (or carriage and back from Vire to Mortain,

and from Vire by rail to Argentan)
Domfront — diligence to
Flers — rail to
Argentan — rail to
Alen9on— to Paris, or, for those who wish to return by way of

Brittany, from Alen9on to the junction at Le Mans, and into

the Breton line of railway.

This journey requires at least three months (it can, of
course, be done in half the time), and to enjoy it thoroughly,
and examine all the interesting ruins and ancient citie?
with which this province is literally sown, would occupy six
months. But it is easy to do it at twice, to break off at
the end of the Seine journey, and go from Les Andelys to
Paris by way of Vernon and Mantes, and to begin the other
half at Louviers at another time. Only, the plan to be
avoided is that of leaving out the small towns, for some a?
these are unrivalled in some one special interest.

INTRODUCTION. 7

There is so much worth visiting in every part of the
country, and it offers such a variety of interest in its world-
famous cities, its churches, cathedrals, and old buildings,
so closely linked to the history and domestic life of our
Norman and Plantagenet kings ; its lovely wooded valleys
and castle-crowned hills ; its silver-grey rivers, winding round
lofty cotes, sometimes chalky, sometimes half clothed with
graceful beech or birch trees, or taking a straighter course
through bright green meadows and orchards full of fruit-
jewelled trees \ its charming villages, where the vines cluster
round the windows and climb even to the many-coloured
thatched roof above, that one wonders at the absence of
English travellers, in out-of-the-way nooks and corners.

In England one is eager to visit a real old Norman
church, and yet within a few hours of our homes, often
nestling out of sight in these little, outlying Norman villages,
such churches are frequent ; and some of them contain trea-
sures as yet overlooked by the people who frequent them.

The last few years have done a great deal for Normandy
in the way of research. M. de Caumont, the Abbe Cochet,
the late Frere Piel of Lisieux, M. Deville, M. Pottier,
and many others, have worked hard to rescue much that
is valuable from neglect and destruction. But it would
be well if some power could check the ignorant progress
of restoration. Many of the French clergy, in their zeal
against whitewash, have with it suffered delicate stone-
carving to be scraped away. In the cathedral of William
the Conqueror, at Caen, some sculptured corbels have been
scraped into the form of the cap of a leaden water-pipe !

Normandy abounds in quaint legends and superstitions
(these are still more plentiful in Brittany) ; in the Bessin and

8 NORMANDY.

Bocage country of Normandy there are legends attached to
most of the old casdes and manor-houses, besides the cur-
rent fables of the Fourolle and Letiche, Loupgarou, &c.

The costumes of Normandy have almost entirely disap-
peared, except at Granville and Vire, and a few of the
western towns, but there are still quaint caps to be seen
westward of Caen on fetes and at the grand Easter fairs ;
at a baptism too, when some old country farmer's wife
drives into town to fulfil the important office of god-
mother, she is most likely to appear in the lofty glory of
a bavolette or a bonnet rond. Among very poor women the
snowy bonnet de coton is universal, and among others a close-
fitted dimity-cap, with large round ears, fastened by strings
going round the head, and pinned or tied in a bov/ in front ;
or the Caennais cap, close-fitting and short-eared, with a
cockscomb frill over the forehead, are the most often seen.

But, although the quaintness of form in costume is passing
away, there is always a wonderful feeling for fitness of
colour in the Norman peasant-woman ; and this shows itself
not only in the harmony of the greys and blacks, and browns
and yellows of her clothing, but in the piling up of fruit and
vegetables in even the smallest Grande Place on market-day.

It is pitiful, in the way of taste, to visit Covent Garden
when we come home, and picture to ourselves the effect
which a handful of Norman peasants would have produced
with such a wealth of material. In their markets the piles
of golden carrots, with their lovely tender green fringe, are
made to contrast so admirably with the snowy turnips, just
freshly washed at the fountain hard by, and the rich crimson
of cabbages and radish, the glowing citroiiilks gashed and
showing golden flesh, beside tufts of silver leeks with delicate

INTRODUCTION. 9

green stripes, cauliflowers with creamy heads placed tempt-
inj^ly in rows, garnished with scarlet tomatoes and heaps of
the white satin-skinned beans, which we know are such
good eating in France.

It is a great mistake to travel on market-day, for on
market-day a private carriage is hardly to be had, and a most

Market Veg-etables, &c.

picturesque scene is lost sight of. j\[arket-day is usually
on Saturday in the smaller towns. IMeat, fish, vegetables,
fruit, clothing, sabots, hardware, crockery, are all oftered for
sale chiefly by laughing, chattering, merry-faced women, who
will cheat you if they can, but who give you plenty of amuse-
ment in return. One notices here, as well as in other parts
of France, the universal employment of women. At railway-
stations, in the fields, in the shops, they seem to do the
work of men. In some towns they sweep the streets, and
along much of the line of railway the Norman signal-woman
is an institution.

The Norman peasant is very intelligent ; he is much

10 NORMANDY.

more reserved than most of his countrymen, but he is
remarkably well-informed, and he has considerable depth
of feeling ; in many ways he is far more like an Englishman
than a Parisian. But in driving a bargain he is unrivalled ;
he will fight over a sou ; and he not only gets the better of
his customer, but he makes him feel for the time that he is
laid under an obligation. But the Norman is confiding
withal — he will trust an Englishman implicitly ; and if he
is treated with courtesy, his kindness and obligingness are
very great. The traveller who mixes with the people as he
journeys on from town to town, in the streets, at the markets,
at railway stations, and who enters into conversation with
his fellow-passengers on the banquette of a diligence, and
above all with the driver, will learn more about the real nature
of the French people in a few weeks than he \vill by years
of reading, or by the rapid transit from one large town to
another, which is too often the custom of most English people.
The simple kindness of even the very poor, the
happy leisure of their lives, and, above all, their perfect
freedom from discontent, are a sure panacea for worry ;
the round, often unmeaning browned faces, have kept a
permanent hold on some of the sunshine which has so
bronzed them. It is easy to provoke a merry smile on the
most wrinkled, toil-worn face ; only one regrets, as they are
so given to mirth, the almost total absence or else disfigure-
ment of teeth both in men and women throughout Nor-
mandy. They attribute this defect to the cider ; whatever
may be the cause, it is rare to find a Norman of the lower
ranks with a good set of teeth. But for this they are rather
English than French in looks, well-grown, blue-eyed and
fair-haired, especially in the Pays de Caux, the western

INTRODUCTION. n

half of the department of the Lower Seine, and in the
Bessin. The women of Caen and of Granville are very-
attractive and well-featm-ed, and both men and women are
much better grown than Parisians are. The Norman accent
in speaking is detestable — so very harsh and broad.

It is better to go to the best hotels, for there is almost
always a choice. Some corners of Normandy are still in
want of civilisation, but all through the province good beds
and good cookery are to be had. Living is very reasonable
at Caen and in the smaller towns, although much dearer
than it was before the war ; except in Rouen, cider is always
placed on the table without charge for those who drink it,
but it is universally thin and bad.

No one should travel in Normandy without Joanne's
pocket or diamant guide, '^ La Normandie." It can be had
in English, and is entirely to be trusted for its recommen-
dation of hotels — except that at Pont Audemer we cannot
recommend the Pot d'Etain, and that at Caudebec we can
heartily recommend the Hotel de la Marine, rough in some
of its ways, but kept by such kind, honest people. M.
Joanne's information about diligences, steamboats, voihires,
Szc, is entirely trustworthy ; altogether it is a most useful
little book. The two best hotels in Normandy are the
Hotel de France in Rouen, and the Hotel d'Angleterre in
Caen. There is an hotel at Havre which is very comfortable
and clean, and which has an excellent table d'hote, and is
moderate in its charges ; but as it is in a street behind the
Rue de Paris, it is overlooked by English travellers — it is
the Hotel des Armes de la Ville.

The hotels at Dieppe, Trouville, &c., are all dear alike,
and at any of these fashionable bathing-places it is necessary

12 NORMANDY.

during the month of August to write for rooms several days
in advance, or you may have to sleep in a grenier!

Some readers may be interested in tracing out the origin
and early history of the ancient province of Normandy, over-
run by so many hordes of conquerors, preserving traces of
nearly all the races that have in turn ruled it, and yet keeping
through all its Celtic identity, and keeping those cities as
some of its chief towns which, centuries before Christ, com-
posed the Armorican confederacy, and of some of which the
names still retain a stamp of antiquity. In some instances,
notably at Lillebonne, the Roman remains are still sub-
stantial, and have outlasted the work of William the Con-
queror.

The first people who seem to have inhabited Normandy
are the Galls. All that is known about them is that, like
all primitive Western races, they came from Upper Asia.
They called their country Arm.orica. It comprehended
Normandy and Brittany, and extended along the sea-coast
southward as far as the Gironde.

About eleven centuries before the Christian era, it is
supposed that some bands of the wandering hordes of
Cymri, which at that period passed like a tribe of destroying
locusts over the greater part of Europe, always on the wing,
brought the first mixture of race into the north-western part
of France.

But in the seventh century before Christ, a sudden wave
of eastern tribes came rolling westward, pushing before it,
with the force of an avalanche, Scythians and Teutons, till
they in their turn forced westward the Cymri, who had
established themselves in Europe, in the territory lying
between the Crimea and Denmark. The Cymri again

INTRODUCTION. 13

spread westward, crossed the Rhine, and specially directed
their invasion against Armorica, where they finally settled,
driving most of the original inhabitants southward.

The Cymri, then, is the real original people of Neustria
— the Celt, as he was called by ancient writers to distin-
guish him from the Belgse, the tribes of Cymri who re-
mained beyond the Rhine. The Belgse, however, crossed
the Rhine in the fourth century B.C., and invaded Gaul,
but the Cymri, or Celts, opposed so powerful a resistance,
that they kept the invaders beyond the Seine and the
Marne.

During the three centuries which intervened between this
last invasion and the conquest of Gaul by the Romans,
Armorica, which at this time comprised strictly the country
between the Seine and the Loire, was inhabited by seven
tribes.

The Unelli, who inhabited the country of the Cotentin,
and whose capital was first Alauna, near Valognes, and then
Constantia, now Coutances.

The Abrincatui; chief city, Legedia, now Avranches.
The Sagii, or Saii, first capital unknown, unless Oximum,
afterwards the present Se'es.

The Bajocasses, who inhabited the Bessin country, capital
Aregena, since replaced by Bayeux.

The Viducasses, near neighbours of the Bajocasses, with
whom they seem to have been confounded, capital city on
the banks of the Orne, rather above Caen, on the site of
the village of Vieux.

The Lexovii, occupying the territory near the mouth of
the Seine on its southern side ; capital city, Neomagus, or
Noviomagus, now Lisieux.

14 NORMANDY.

On this side of the Seine was a seventh tribe — the Ebu-
rovices \ capital city, Mediolanum Aulercorum, Avhich, after
being placed for many years by the learned at Vieil Evreux,
is now considered to have been Evreux itself. This people
formed part of the Confederation of the Aulerques, which
reached from Evreux to Le Mans.

These seven districts, all lying south of the Seine, were
inhabited by Celtic Gauls ; but Neustria, north of the Seine,
was inhabited by two tribes of Belgic Gauls — the Caleti,
inhabitants of the Pays de Caux, whose capital city was first
Caletum, then Julia-bona, now Lillebonne ; and the Velo-
casses, who bordered the Seine as far as the mouth of the
Oise, and part of whose territory represented the Norman
Vexin, chief city Rotumacus, Rothomagus — Rouen.

In the year 58 B.C. Julius Csesar resolved to conquer
Gaul, but he met with so fierce a resistance that the con-
quest occupied eight years. Augustus, when he divided
Gaul into provinces, seems to have included the Celtic
tribes north of the Seine with those between the Seine and
the Loire, and to have called the province Lugdunensis, or
La Lyonnaise, with Lyons for capital ; but at the beginning
of the fourth century Diocletian divided it into two. Premiere
and Seconde Lyonnaise, and of this last Rouen was capital.
At the end of the fourth century came another subdivision,
which reduced the Seconde Lyonnaise very nearly to the
Normandy of the feudal epoch. About the period of this
division came Christianity, and Rouen became an arch-
bishopric. Several of the other Armorican towns then
erected into bishoprics are still the suffragan dioceses of the
metropolitan see of Rouen.

At this time the other ancient cities clianfied their names

/INTRODUCTION. 15

for those which they now bear, except Rouen, which con-
tinued to be Rothomagus.

In the fifth century after Christ, two new scourges poured
destruction over Normandy. First, the Franks, under their
warHke chief, Clodion; and then the Huns, under Attila.
But the sagacious Roman general Aetius repulsed both
attacks, and succeeded in uniting against the savage Huns
even the unsubmissive tribes of Armorica, the turbulent
inhabitants of the peninsula of the Cotentin, and the Saxon
tribe of Otlings, who, about the middle of the fourth cen-
tury, coming from the Elbe and the Rhine, had made
incursions into the Lyonnaise, and had destroyed the cities
of Vieux (which was never rebuilt), Avranches, Lisieux, and
Lillebonne. They had now been for some time masters
of the Bessin, and of the land along the coast, from the
mouth of the Seine to the Vire.

But after this repulse, the power of Rome no longer
asserts itself in Gaul. The tribes seem to recover inde-
pendence, and the chief power is in the hands of the
bishops.

About this time, in a tribe of Franks inhabiting the terri-
tory since called Flanders, was a young ambitious chief
called Clovis, who proposed to himself to conquer Celtic
Gaul. He began by invading the Soissonnais and the Ver-
mandois. He was at last successful in establishinsr a kins;-
dom extending from the Seine to the Loire, and he made
Paris his chief city. But the seafaring inhabitants of the
western part of Armorica refused to submit to a pagan
prince, and it was not until Clovis consented to receive
Christian baptism that they acknowledged him as their
sovereiqrn.

!0 NORMANDY.

After this Neustria, as it was called, became the favourite
residence of the Merovingian kings. They founded, too,
or aided in the founding of, more than forty monasteries,
among which were St. Ouen, Jumieges, St. Wandrille,
Fecamp, St. Evroult, Montivilliers, Ste. Croix, St. Taurin
d'Evreux, Cerisy, Mont St. Michel.

Thierry, the last titular king of the line of Clovis, finished
his days in the cloister of St. Wandrille.

There is little trace of Neustrian history under the Car-
lovingian kings; but in 841, Danish pirates sailed up the
Seine, plundered and demolished Jumieges, and burned
and pillaged Rouen. In 859 or 890 they again appeared,
and ravaged all the country of the Bessin. The following
year they came back, and again sailed up the Seine and
took Paris. Charles le Chauve, too feeble to resist them,
bought their departure with 7,000 livres of silver.

From this time the invasions of these northern pirates seem
to have been frequent, and the province was one continual
field of battle and plunder. There was a notable invasion
in 885, but we get no certain mention of Rollo, or Rolf, till
912, when Charles the Simple, King of Paris, seems to have
ceded the province to him entirely. It is also said that he
gave him his daughter Gisela in marriage, but it is certain
that Charles could not at that time have had a marriageable
daughter. It may be well here to append a table of tht
Dukes of Normandy, from the time of Rolf till the cession
of the province to France, in the time of Philip Augustus.

Normandy is now divided into five departments —

Seine Inferieure, comprising the Pays de Caux — chief town,

Rouen, and the Pays de Bray.
Eure — chief town, Evreux. These nearly represent La Haute

Normandie.

OF THE

1st DnU

mnor, a Dane.

A\\i og(eady, King of ungland, ioo2; Two other

;d, Cnut. daughters.

ardyknute, King of England.

rtii 1027.'^^^'^^^ ^^^ Confessor of

di^ England.

Nicholas,
Abbot
at Roue:

gth — io87.i^'^> Abbess Constance. AHce.
^he Abbaye

j Dames. | , — I

Agatha. Adela.

nt of Anjou, and loth Duke of Normandy,

:e of Normandy.

\To face fa^e ifi.

INTRODUCTION, 27

Calvados — chief town, Caen.
Manche — chief town, St. LG.

Orne — chief town, Alen9on. These comprise La Basse Nor-
mandie.

My best thanks are due to the authorities of the Reading-
room in the British Lluseum, and also to those of the
Public Library of Rouen, for much ready courtesy and help.
This book also owes much to the light thrown on the
character of William the Conqueror by Mr. Freeman in his
*' History of the Norman Conquest of England."

It has been suggested to me that a traveller sometimes
likes to form an estimate of his expenses before he sets out
on a journey. A single traveller may, by travelling rapidly,
visit all the places named in this journey, in a space of six
weeks, for the sum of ;£"4o, staying at the best inns. It is
always cheaper and pleasanter to travel by diligence than
by railway ; but a private carriage is best of all, for, although
it costs more money, it really saves time, as so much can be
seen en route.

ROUEN.

CHAPTER I.

Entry into Rouen.

Its History.

Bureau des Finances.

The Cathedral.

Place de la Vieille Tour.

Les Halles.

Old Streets.

St. Maclou and the Aitre.

St. Vivien and St. Nicaise.

The Museum of Antiquities.

HE best first impres-
sion that a traveller
can get within Rouen
is, supposing him to
liave come by way
of Amiens, to walk
into the city from the
railway station in the
Faubourg Martainville
— first sending on his
luQ-ra^e to the hotel
he means to lodsie at.

We will hope that the
air is full of sunshine, and of that sparkling atmosphere which
makes each overhanging gable and clustering vine-leaf and
crocketed pinnacle stand out crisp and clear against the

ROUEN, 19

blue sky above, and the mouldering grey stone and wood
below.

It is quite possible to enter Rouen and to remain for
several hours blind to its wonderfully picturesque beauty.
The approach to the city from the Rue Verte station down the
Rue Jeanne d'Arc, spite of occasional glimpses of towers and
spires that point to hidden treasures, is so intensely modern
that it is hard to believe that the Rouen painted by Samuel
Prout and extolled by so many travellers, is still in existence.
Very much of the ancient city has been removed to make
room for the large modern streets which run northward from
the Seine, and for others which intersect these, traversing
the city from east to west. But the traveller who starts
from the Gare d' Amiens will find enough to take him back
centuries, and to enable him to picture Rouen to himself
much as she must have appeared to the knights and dames
of the Middle Ages.

Some little time before our arrival, we had got a glo-
rious peep at the old grey city, and had recognised the
spires and towers of the Cathedral and of St. IMaclou, but
quickly after this the hills conceal it; and when we left
the station, and crossed the Boulevard to the top of the
Rue d'Amiens, we seemed to get quite a fresh view of the
towers and spires of St. Ouen and the Cathedral grouped
together, the tower of St. Ouen relieved white against the
lofty iron fleche of the Cathedral. We saw on our right a
square garden planted with trees, and we went straight
down the Rue d'Amiens, passing the Hospice General and
the Caserne. This hospital receives in all two thousand per-
sons ; it is for the aged and infirm, and also for foundlings.
Five or six hundred infants are deposited here every year.

20 ROUEN.

Just beyond the Caserne, through the trees, we see in the
distance a beautiful central church-tower, with a triple crown
of pierced masonry, and twin spires rising in front. We
recognise these as St. Ouen, but the general effect is injured
by a factory chimney which rises up almost in front. On
the right, at the bottom of the Rue Ambroise Fleury, is a
picturesque group of old houses, half-timbered, with nod-
ding gables atop.

And now right and left we come to narrow streets of old
houses, the roofs closing over on either side, so that the sky
scarcely appears between. Rue Ruissel, on the left, is a very
characteristic old street, full of shops of chiffoniers, with
fruit and vegetable-sellers sitting out at the doors. The Rue
Ruissel leads into the Rue Martainville, and a little way
on is the Rue des Arpents, about the quaintest and most
curious of the streets of Rouen. There is hardly a hori-
zontal line among the massive moulded beams which divide
the first floor from the ground floor, some go up, some
down, and the nodding gables above hang their heads now
a little on one side, now on the other, and sometimes so
far forward that it seems perilous to walk in the street
below. There are numerous half-timbered houses both
here and in the Rue Martainville ; and, indeed, we found
afterwards, in all the little, narrow, dirty-looking streets that
abound in this the oldest quarter of Rouen.

We have strayed out of our course, tempted by the
glimpses of old houses ; let us go back to the Rue d' Amiens,
noting for future exploration the Rue Martainville, which
runs almost parallel with it from east to west, and the Rue
des Arpents, which runs from north to south, and ends on
the Quai Napoleon.

ST. OUEN. 2.^

A little beyond the Rue Ruissel, along the Rue
d' Amiens, a mountain ash full of scarlet berries groups
richly with the distant tower and spires of St. Ouen ; and
indeed all the way, this church makes continual pictures :
now rising above the projecting dormers of some olO
wooden house on one side, now appearing on the other over
a nodding gable with some massive sign — a key or a huge
tea-kettle hanging in the air — while in the street itself there
is an ever-varied foreground. Not far from the end a priest
is stopping to speak to two sisters of charity, with their
flapping white headgear and blue skirts ; they have between
them a blushing young country maiden, and they are soli-
citing the good offices of Monsieur le Cure in finding her a
place. Monsieur le Cure is so very stout that he quite
blocks up the footway, but he has a kindly thoughtful look,
and the two sisters have evidently great faith in the help he
promises. A little way on, a load of fresh yellow pine-
wood has just been thrown down before the shop of an
epicier, and a man in a blouse and patched blue trowsers is
chopping it up for use, chatting merrily all the while with a
blue-eyed girl in a snowy cap who stands in the doorway.
There comes a ringing of numerous little bells, and a team
of Norman horses drags a long heavy cart full of large stones
along the street; the white, clumsy-looking horses have a
gay scarlet fringe to their collars, and each has a chime of
little bells ; the driver, in a blouse and sabots and a straw
hat, walks beside them, making strange sounds and cracking
his whip.

Suddenly, on the left, appear the graceful spire and part
of the tower of St. Maclou, rising above a group of tumble-
down houses. We conjure up a wonderful picture in think-

sj ROUEN.

ing what this street must have been a few years ago, for
several modern houses have crept in here and there, and
doubtless every year nov/ will make a change. A few yards
further on is a curious old house-front in carved oak, dated
1646 ; the carving of the lower frieze is very quaint. How
glorious it must have been when the street was filled with
such houses, and probably not one of them exactly like
another ! One of the lessons to be learned in Norman cities,
although it shows itself more impressively in such towns as
Bernay and Lisieux than in Rouen, is the originality of mind
in their builders ; if one of them could rise up and see some
of the Parisian streets, with every house as alike and un-
special as a 7'ouleau of newly coined napoleons, what would
he think ? He would smile scornfully at the notion that
the dwelling which suited Peter would suit Paul and Philip
equally well, although he would hold it as a matter of course
that Peter and Paul's children would each live in their
respective father's house from generation to generation.

We have reached the end of the Rue d' Amiens, and we
come to the Place Eau de Robec. Here, on the right, is
a view of St. Ouen, on the left, of St. Maclou. Here, too,
is the quaintest-looking street, the Rue Eau de Robec,
with a little stream — the river Robec — running through it ;
poor little river ! a mere slave now to the numerous wheels
and engines which it helps to work. The footway is raised,
and on it are displayed old furniture of every age and style,
and in the windows of the houses on both sides a goodly
display of china and crockery and curiosities of every sort,
at ruinous prices.

The Rue de la Chaine is a continuation of the Rue
d' Amiens : here too are some quaint old houses. It leads

MARCH E AUX FLEURS. 23

on into a broad, handsome, perfectly modern street, now
called the Rue de la Republique. We cross this, and a little
way on find ourselves in the Marche aux Fleurs. This market
is a charming sight : rare plants and flowers under the
shelter of canvas sheds, hardier ones in admirably arranged
groups; white-tasselled fuchsias backed by dark myrtles
covered with starry blossoms ; everywhere sweet-smelling
mignonette and the tender green of verbena and basil ;
and, towering over the rest like the plumes of some oriental
bird, flame-coloured gladioli, or softer-coloured lilies in
pink and white ; then there are huge bouquets of cut
flowers at absurdly low prices. But we have only to go
straisrht on along: the street which leads from the market-
place and we come to the Rue des Carmes, and almost
opposite the comfortable hotel to which we are bound,
standing back from the street in its shady court-yard full of
evergreens and flowers.

It is not difficult to find one's way about Rouen. The
Seine, which is wide here and spanned by two handsome
bridges, divides the city ; or rather, on the north bank of the
river lies the city of Rouen, with its cathedral and churches,
and treasures of antiquity, surrounded by the tree-shaded
Boulevards, reaching in a semicircle from one end of
the town to the other, and backed by the lofty hills, up
the sides of which Rouen has crejDt ; and on the south
bank is the modern suburb of St. Sever, with its useful
manufacturing population and its factory chimneys. Two
handsome bridges connect St. Sever Vv'itli Rouen itself, and
it is worth while to cross these for the sake of seeing the
city from the opposite side of the river.

Although the Cathedral and almost all the ancient stones

24 ROUEN.

of Rouen are of later date than the churches of Caen, yet
Rouen as a city is of older date ; in the first part of the
second century it is spoken of as Rothomagus. It was the
capital city of the Gahic tribe of Velocasses; but Ptolemy is
the first ancient author who speaks of it. Caesar does not even
mention it. The Romans appear to have been the first to
fortify Rouen; remains of Roman walls still exist in the
cellars of a sugar refinery in the Rue des Carmes, and these
probably extended eastward as far as some other remains in
the Rue de la Chaine.

According to French arch^ologists, in the Roman period
the Seine came as high as the line reaching from the present
Rue dcs Bonnetiers to the extremity of the Rue aux Ours,
and formed the south boundary of the city ; the northern
limit was from the river Robec on the east, to the Rue de
la Poterne on the west ; the western, from the Rue de la
Poterne to the Rue aux Ours ; the eastern limit being made
by the river Robec. Rouen seems to have been a well-
known town under the Romans, but some of the earHest
history we get of the city is from the records of its bishops.
We find some of the very early Christian fathers staying at
Rouen when they visited Celtic Gaul.

St. Nicaise appears to have been the apostle of Rouen,
but St. IMellon seems to have been its first bishop. He
was a native of Great Britain, and was consecrated by the
Pope-bishop of Rouen in 260. He either built or conse-
crated the first church in honour of the Blessed Virein
and that seems the most important event recorded in con-
nection with him.

The next bishop of whom there is special mention is St.
Victrix. During his episcopate the town extended its limits,

ROLF. 25

the population increased, and many churches were built ;
ihe bishop himself is said to have laboured with his own
liands in their erection. About a hundred years after St.
Victrix came St. Godard, who died in 529. In his time
the Franks, under Clovis, invaded and conquered the pro-
vinces north of the Seine, and wrested Rouen from Roman
dominion.

Rouen now became a French town, and about 540 its
first great church, the abbey of St. Peter, now St. Ouen,
was founded by Clotaire I. After this, with the exception
of the murder of Archbishop Pretextat in the Cathedral, by
order of Fredegonde, and the episcopates of St. Romain and
St. Ouen, in the seventh century, we hear very little of Rouen
till the Norse invasion in 841. From this time till the
country was finally subjugated by Rollo, or Rolf, early in the
tenth century, a reign of anarchy seems to have prevailed —
burned cities, deserted villages, a whole population mas-
sacred, one horror succeeds another ; but when once Rolf is
declared Duke of Normandy, he establishes peace and order,
and Rouen soon becomes a populous and thriving city.
Isl. Deville seems to think that Charles the Simple only
ceded to Rolf a part of Neustria Maritima and the town of
Rouen, with its dependencies Evreux and Lisieux, and that
the towns of Bayeux, Sees, Coutances, and Avranches, were
only gained by fresh concessions to Rolf and his son,
William Longsword. Duke Rolf and his son, William
Longsword, extended the southern limits of Rouen by
uniting to terra firraa the islands on which stood the
churches of St. Eloi, St. Etienne, St. Cle'ment, and St.
Martin de la Roquette, so called because it was built on a
little rock in the middle of the river. The Porte Cauchoise

26 ROUEN.

was built in the eleventh century, in the reign of Duke
Richard II. ; this extended the western boundary.

When Philip Augustus took Normandy from King John
in the thirteenth century, he built the old castle, the
Chateau de Bonvreuil, of which only the Tour Jeanne d'Arc
now remains j and St. Louis added to the city the ground
on which stand the churches and parishes of St. Patrice,
St. Nicaise, St. Vivien, and St. Maclou.

Formerly Rouen was surrounded by walls and towers
and deep ditches, and was in every way strongly fortified.
In 949, during the minority of Richard the Fearless, it was
besieged by Louis IV. of France and the false Arnulf of
Flanders, also by Otho, the German emperor; in 1204, by
Philip Augustus; and in 141 8, by Henry V. of England;
by Charles VIL, who retook it from the English; by
Charles IX., when it was in the possession of the Calvinists ;
and lastly, in 1594, it was besieged by Henri Quatre.

Excepting the high tower, which once formed part of the
castle of Philip Augustus, all the fortifications were destroyed
during the Revolution of 1789. The tower formerly belonged
to the convent of the Ursulines, but it is now the property
of the town.

Before the Revolution there were thirty-seven parish
churches and numerous religious communities. There are
now only six parish churches and eight chapels, and a
church which is used for English service. Many of the
churches remain, but they are either shut up or desecrated.

The Place de la Cathedrale is in the Rue des Carmes,
just where that street changes into the Rue Grand Pont, on
its way to the suspension bridge across the Seine. We
learn from the drawings of Samuel Prout how picturesque

BUREAU DBS FINANCES. 27

this Place must have been when it was surrounded by old
houses, and used as a market-place. Facing the Cathedral
there is still a very interesting house — the ancient palace
of the Cour des Aides, usually called the Bureau des
Finances. It is a richly sculptured stone building of the
Francois I. epoch, widi curious medallions and other orna-
ments in bas-reliefs. The palace is now divided into two
houses; on the ground-floor are shops, and the upper

Bureau des Finances.

rooms are used for club meetings. The house stands at
the corner of the Rue du Petit Salut, and the side front in
that street is also curious.

The best time to see the west front of the Cathedral is
just after sunset, when its details are somewhat obscured
and broadened by the absence of brilHant light. Then the
effect of the grand mass of picturesque building filling up
one side of the open square is most imiDressive. On the

28 ROUEN.

right is the lofty Butter Tower, on the left the Tower of
St. Remain, and in the centre the magnificent west front.

One stands a long time looking at this grand church.
The detail is so luxuriant that one's eyes get tired of trying
to examine its elaborations. The doorways under the three
entrances to the porch are ornamented with bas-reliefs, but
these were greatly injured by the Calvinists in 1562. The
great central design is a Jesse tree, and that on the left the
beheading of John the Baptist, where the daughter of
Herodias seems to be dancing on her head ; but the accumu-
lation of sculpture in images, canopies, galleries, crocheted
pinnacles, is bewildering, and we looked up at the richly
carved mass, with the luxuriant Butter Tower on the right,
and the graceful tourelles in the centre, feeling that it
was impossible to examine it in any detail, and that its
massive proportions and its marvellous effects of light and
shade, as the light touched the outermost portions, leaving
those under the porches in deep shadow, were its most
admirable features, except some part of the towers.

The northern tower, or the Tower of St. Romain, is the
most ancient part of the building. Before the Revolution
it contained eleven bells. It is in a far purer, severer style
than the rest of the Cathedral. The upper part is much
more recent than its foundation, and was probably finished
in the year 1477. It is very beautiful, and is worth a care-
ful study.

The west front itself was built by the first cardinal, the
famous Georges d'Amboise. It was begun in 1509 and
finished in 1530. The Butter Tower on the right (so called
because it was built with the alms of the faithful who
purchased leave to eat butter during Lent) is 230 feet high.

THE CATHEDRAL. 29

Robert de Crolxmare, Archbishop of Rouen, laid the first
stone in November, 1485 ; it was consecrated in 1496, and
finished in 1507. It was for this tower that Cardinal
d'Amboise caused the famous bell to be cast, which was
christened Georges d'Amboise. The circumference of this
bell was thirty feet, its height ten feet, and it weighed
36,000 lb. Its founder, John le Machon, is said to have
died of joy twenty-six days after the casting of this bell.

When Louis XVI. visited Rouen, in 1786, the bell was
runs: so loud that it cracked. At the Revolution it was
melted down into cannon. Some few pieces were made
into medals bearing this inscription —

" ]Monument of vanity,
Destroyed for utility,
The second year of Egalite."

Before entering the Cathedral we went round the Rue
St. Romain, and examined the northern portal, flanked on
each side by beautiful open towers. It is called the Portail
des Libraires, from the number of booksellers' shops for-
merly in the court leading to it. The sculptures over the
entrance-door seem to have been left unfinished. They
are part human, part beasts, taken from Ovid's Metamor-
phoses. The porch was begun in 1280, and not finished till
1478. It was used by great personages on their visits to the
Cathedral, only kings and princes of the blood being ad-
mitted by the great western door. The court in front of
the Portail des Libraires seems to have been used as a
burial-ground for some time. " They ceased interring in
it," says Monsieur Licquet, " because a murder was com-
mitted there, and the ground was left unpurified."

30 ROUFN.

We get a good view of the northern side of the Cathedral
here. There are nine windows among the side chapels, all
ornamented in different ways. It is probable, too, judging
by the round-headed windows in the lower portion of the
Tower of St. Romain, that this story formed part of the old
building in which Duke Rolf was baptized, and which was
not burned down with the rest in the year 1200. The
fierce old Dane was baptized by Francon, Archbishop of
Rouen, and his godfather was Count Robert of Brittany.

We prefer to follow Monsieur Licquet's history of the
Cathedral, as the present very courteous authorities in the
great Bibliotheque of Rouen told us that his account is to
be fully trusted.

There seems to be no doubt that the first chapel was
founded by St, Mellon; and there is also no doubt that
the river Seine, in the time of this bishop, in the middle of
the third century, and in the beginning of the fourth, and even
for many centuries after, reached as high as the place now
occupied by the southern porch of the Cathedral — the Porte
de la Calende ; it is most probable, therefore, that the first
Christian church of Rouen stood somewhere about the site
of the Tower of St. Romain, which gives abundant evidence
of having been founded on the remains of one of the many
churches built here before the actual cathedral in which
Rolf was baptized.

Monsieur Licquet thinks that the Cathedral was pil-
laged but not destroyed in 841, as the country and its
inhabitants were engaged in such perpetual struggles with
these northern pirates in the interval, that there would
scarcely have been time or means to eftect a rebuilding
before the period of Duke Rolf's baptism in 912, and

THE CATHEDRAL. 31

there is evidence that he was baptized in this the principal
church of the city. Rolf seems to have offered magnificent
gifts to the Cathedral after baptism, and there is clear proof
that the building \Yas then in existence. Rolf's grandson,
Richard 1., the fearless son of William Longsword, enlarged
the Cathedral about the end of the tenth century; and
Archbishop Robert, one of the sons of Richard the Fear-
less, went on with the work. Richard's great-grandson,
William the Bastard, gave the see of Rouen — after his uncle
]\Ialger, the successor to Robert, had been deposed in 1055
— to Maurilius, formerly Abbot of St. Mary, in Florence,
then a simple monk in the Abbey of Fe'camp. Maurilius
finished the Cathedral, begun by Archbishop Robert, and
in the year 1063 dedicated it to Notre-Dame in the pre-
sence of Duke William and the suffragan bishops of the
diocese of Normandy — the bishops of Bayeux, Avranches,
Lisieux, Evreux, Sees, and Coutances.

In 1200 the whole edifice, with the exception of some
of the lower parts, was burned down, and it is perhaps the
only meritorious action on record of our King John that in
his character of Duke of Normandy he assigned funds for
the building a new cathedral in the town of Rouen. But it
is evident that the Cathedral as a whole is the work of
several centuries. It does not seem to have been completed
till the sixteenth, and, as may be seen, there are still un-
carved blocks of stone bodi at the western and northern
entrances. Its architect in 1214 is said to have been
Ingelram, the architect of the Abbey of Bee.

The first sight of the interior of the Cathedral is disappoint-
ing. Although the length of the building from the door to
the end of the Lady Chapel is four hundred and fifty feet, the

32 ROUEN,

massive effect of the whole is frittered away by a second tier
of arches opening into the aisles. These dvv'arf the principal
arches, and destroy simplicity of effect. The modern screen,
too, is in a very bad and inharmonious style; but the stainer
glass windows are beautiful, and are well worth a careful study.
In the left aisle of the nave there is a window with sub
jects taken from the life of John the Baptist. In the left aisle o
the choir there is another very remarkable window, and thert
are two others near the Lady Chapel on the life of Joseph.
On the right side of the choir are two remarkable windows :
one represents the Passion. All these and some others are
of the thirteenth century. There is also some fine glass of
the Renaissance period.

Two altars stand in the nave, just opposite the choir-
screen; that on the right hand, with a statue of Our Lad;
by Lecomte, is still called the altar of the Vow. In 1637
there was a grand procession to this altar to implore
cessation of the plague which at that time desolated th
city. On the left-hand altar there is a statue of Saint Cecil-
There are twenty-five chapels round the cathedral, ai
some of these contain most interesting monuments. T
first to the right is the chapel of St. Stephen, once the pari
church of Notre-Dame. It contains the monuments of i
President Goulard, the first President of the Exchequer
Normandy, and his wife, once in the Salle des Pas Perc
at the Palais de Justice. But at the end of this aisle is \
tomb of greatest interest in the Cathedral, for here, in t
chapel of Petit St. Romain, is the tomb of the great Dul.
Rolf, removed from its first place behind the high alt;;
when in enlarging the Cathedral the altar was set furthc
back, in the time of William the Bastard.

THE CATHEDRAL. 33

The inscription is on a black marble tablet above the
arcade which contains the tomb : —

^' Here lies Rolf, the first duke and founder and father of
Normandy, of which he was at first the terror and scourge,
but afterwards the restorer. Baptized in 912 by Francon,
Archbishop of Rouen, and died in 917. His remains were
at first deposited in the ancient sanctuary, at present the
tipper end of the nave. The altar having been removed,
the remains of the prince were placed here by the blessed
Maurille, Archbishop of Rouen, in the year 1063."

Exactly opposite, on the other side of the nave, the
remains of Rolf's son, William Longsword, lie in the chapel
of St. Anne. This is the duke whose assassination by
Amulf, Count of Flanders, is so touchingly told in Miss
Yonge's charming story of " The Little Duke." The "Ro-
man de Rou " is full of quaint and interesting anecdotes of
the Dukes of Normandy, from Rolf to William the Con-
queror. The inscription on this tomb is much the same as
the latter part of that to Duke Rolf. Neither the tomb of
Rolf or that of William Longsword are older than the four-
teenth century.

In the choir itself are eighty-five curiously carved stalls of
fifteenth-century work, and in the north transept is a carved
Gothic staircase leading to the library of the Cathedral. The
lower story of this staircase is fifteenth-century work, but the
upper part was built in 1789, to reach the new story built by
command of the chapter for the church records.

We went on from the tomb of Rolf through the gates
which shut off this part of the church, and came to a door
leading into the sacristy : it is of wrought iron, and both it
and the carved stone screen are of fifteenth-century work.

34 ROUEN.

Against the railings of the choir is the tomb of Richard
Coeur-de-Lion, with his long-lost effigy. There had been in-
scriptions signifying that Richard, and his brother Henry, and
John Duke of Bedford, lay buried in the choir ; but not until
the 30th of July, 1838, did it occur to the authorities to try to
ascertain the exact place of burial. On the 30th July, thanks
to the perseverance of Monsieur Deville, they began to dig at
the spot indicated by the inscription to Richard, and soon
discovered his effigy, buried, it is supposed, to escape the
fury of the Huguenots who pillaged the Cathedral in 1562.
It is an immense recumbent statue of thirteenth-century
work, more than six feet and a half in length, roughly hewn
out of a single block of limestone ; the crowned head is
supported by a square cushion ; the feet rest on a lion
couchant ; the left hand has evidently held a sceptre, the
right hand has disappeared. He wears a close-fitting tunic,
bound round the waist by an embroidered belt, of which one
end hangs down in front ; over this is a long mantle which
nearly reaches to the ankles. Richard was buried at Fonte-
vrault, but it was known that he had bequeathed his heart
to the city of Rouen on account of his great love for the
Normans ; and on the day following the discovery of this
effigy, was found a double box of lead, with this inscrip-
tion in black letters on the box —

"Hie : jacet : cor : Richardis : regis : "

Inside, enclosed in a green silk bag, was found the heart
perfect : it is now in the Museum of Antiquities.

Exactly opposite, on the other side of the choir, is the
tomb of Henry Plantagenet, the eldest son of Henry II.,
but the statue here is modern ; and behind the high altar is

THE CATHEDRAL.

the tomb of John, Duke of Bedford : these, with the heart of
Charles V., have all been discovered within the last few years.
On the left, before going into the Lady Chapel, is a tomb
in the thickness of the wall, on which lies a recumbent
figure. It is now said that this is the monument of Archbishop
Maurice, who died in 1235. The popular legend is an absurd
one : it is supposed that
it is the tomb of a bishop
who, in a passion, killed
his servant with a soup-
ladle. The bishop re-
pented, and when he
died bade his servants
not to bury him in the
church, neither to put
him outside j so, to solve
the difficulty, they put his
tomb in the thickness of
the wall. But the Lady
Chapel contains the real
treasures of the Cathe-
dral. On the left is a
stone monument to the
memory of Peter de
Breze', Count of ]\Iaule-
vrier, Grand Seneschal
of Anjou, Poitou, and
Normandy; killed at the
battle of Montlhery, 1465, The figures of Peter de Breze
and his wife Jeanne du Bee Cretpin, are no longer on the
tomb ; but the arcade above, and the columns which support

The Tomb of Louis de Breze.

36 ROUEN.

it, are exquisitely sculptured ; one sees the initials P. B. in
the tracery. Peter de Breze was a famous general; he was
the first to enter the city when Rouen finally surrendered to
Charles VII. Next to this monument is the tomb of Louis
de Breze, also Grand Seneschal of Normandy, and grandson
of Peter and husband of Diana of Poitiers. She caused
this monument to be erected in 153 1. It is supported by
four black marble columns, with capitals and bases in white
alabaster : below, on a kind of sarcophagus, lies a white
marble figure of Louis de Breze ; the figure is quite naked,
the left hand is on the breast, at the head kneels Diana in a
widow's dress, and at the feet stands the Blessed Virgin
with the Holy Child. There are two inscriptions, one in
prose and one in verse, and on the left side is a third inscrip-
tion in Latin verse —

"Hoc, Lodoice, tibi posuit Brezoee sepulchrum,
Pictonis amisso moesta Diana viro,
IndivTilsa tibi quondam et fidissima conjux
Ut fuit in thalamo, sic erit in tumulo."

But Diana was buried at Anet. Above these is an equestrian
statue of the seneschal in white marble, under an arch, the
entablature supported by four caryatides representing Pru-
dence, Glory, Victory, and Faith. Above, again, is an ala-
baster figure holding a sword, and over it a frieze with this

inscription —

*' In virtute tabernaculum ejus."

It seems to be uncertain whether Jean Cousin or Jean
Goujon is the architect of this splendid monument.

But the most elaborate tomb in the Cathedral is that of
the Cardinals of Amboise ; the architect was Roullant
Leroux, who also designed the great western porch of the

THE CATHEDRAL. 37

Cathedral, and was one of the creators of the Palais de
Justice. This grand monument was finished in 1525 by
tlie second cardinal, or rather archbishop, Georges d'Am-
boise, for he had not then received investiture. At the
base are the six virtues — Faith, Charity, Prudence, Power,
Justice, and Temperance, represented by exquisite white
marble figures. The tomb itself is of black marble, and
on it kneel the two cardinals, uncle and nephew, both
Georges d'Amboise ; they kneel on cushions, and their
hands are joined ; the expression of the faces is exquisitely
given : there is, as background, a bas-relief of St. George
and the Dragon ; statues of the Virgin, of St. Remain, and
many other saints are grouped at the sides, and above are
statues of the Apostles placed two and two.

At the foot of the monument is buried Cardinal Cam-
baceres, and opposite it is the tomb erected in 1857 to
the memory of the cardinal-prince of Croy, Archbishop of
Rouen. The altar-piece is the Adoration of the Shepherds,
by Philippe de Champagne ; but the chefs-d'oeuvre of the
Lady Chapel are the tombs on either side : the efl:ect of
that of the cardinals when the light falls full on it is most
striking. In the Lady Chapel is also buried Archbishop Odo
Rigault ; he died in 1275. He was the first archiepiscopal
possessor of the domain of Gaillon. Jean le Machon, the
founder of the bell, is said to lie buried in the lower part of
the nave. We did not see his tomb, but Miss Costello
speaks of it as a small tomb, on which is the figure of a bell
with this inscription : —

" Ci dessous Gist Jean le jMaclion
De Chartres Homme de Fachon
JLequel fondit George D'Amboise
* Qui 'itente six milles Livres poise

38 ROUEN.

Mil cinque cens un jour d'Aout dixieme
Puis mourut le vingt et unieme."

Every step that one takes in Rouen Cathedral Is full
of interest. It was here that the emissaries of Frede-
gonde murdered Archbishop Pretextat in his pulpit, because
two years before he had officiated at the marriage of the
revengeful queen's step-son, Merovee, to her rival and sister-
in-law, Brunehaut ; Brunehaut having been banished to
Rouen by King Chilperic, father of Merovee and husband
of Fredegonde.

We came out of the Cathedral by the great western door-
way, and stood once more examining the stupendous
amount of work displayed upon this building. It has
suffered much both from decay and mutilation, so that
some of the richly carved canopies have now the effect of
a fleece of grey v/ool ; but more than enough is left to tell of
the labour and skill that have been expended in producing
such a luxuriant mass of richly carved stonework. Its
great fault is redundancy; for, of course, purity of style is
rarely found in work of so late a date as some of this
portion of the Cathedral. If the Butter Tower had been
built rather sooner, it would have been a magnificent struc-
ture. We could not leave the Cathedral by the Porte de la
Calende, for the whole south side of the nave was under
repair, and even the portal itself was blocked up. This
porch is very beautiful. It is only to be hoped that the work
of restoration will not be carried too far; restoration is pro-
bably necessary, but it too often destroys picturesque effect.

Above this porch are two square towers, with pointed
windows ; the door itself is a mass of richly carved stone,
divided into three subjects. The uppermost is our Lord on

SPIRES OF THE CATHEDRAL, 39

the Cross ; next to this is the Funeral of Jacob ; and the
lower one is supposed to be Joseph sold by his Brethren.
On each side of the porch are several statues and some bas-
reliefs, relating mostly to the history of Joseph. From the
Place de la Calende we got a view of the central tower of
the Cathedral. Till the year 1822, this tower was crowned
by a beautifid spire, built in 1542 — 1544 by the architect
Robert Becquet, at the cost of Cardinal d'Amboise II. It
was 396 feet high, but it was destroyed by fire in a few
hours. The first spire had been of stone, destroyed by
lightning in in 7. After this two successive wooden filches
were destroyed by fire, and therefore the authorities deter-
mined on erecting the present unsightly spire of open cast-
iron work, nearly 500 feet high, " only 13 feet lower than the
highest pyramid of Egypt," says Monsieur Licquet, in anti-
cipation of its coming stupendousness. The least that one
can say of it is, that it is a lasting blot on the beauty of the
fair city of Rouen, its immense height making it perpetually
obtrusive.

We crossed the Place de la Calende, and went down the
steep slope into the Place de la Haute Vieille Tour. It
will be reniGLiibered that the Seine is supposed to have
flowed nearly to the Place de la Calende, and here on its
banks Richard the Fearless, third Duke of Normandy,
built a palace in the shape of a large tower, which served as
one of the defences of the town. It also served as a state
prison. It was here probably that William the Bastard was
staying when the news was brought to him in the forest of
Rouen, where he was hunting, of the treachery of Harold : —

** En Roem ert li Dus el Pare
Entre ses mainz teneit un arc."

Roman de Rou.

ROUEN.

Later on, when some forts were added to it, the tower
was called La Vieille Tour. It is generally thought that
it was in this tower, in 1203, that John imprisoned his
nephew, Arthur, and afterwards murdered him. It is cer-
tain that it was afterwards destroyed by Philip Augustus.

Cathedral Tower and Halles.

The Halles cover the site of the palace, and also that of
the Vieille Tour. The covered market, on the north side of
the Place de la Vieille Tour, forms a very picturesque fore-
ground, with its lofty roofs, quaint, time-stained dormers,
and shops for old clothes, to the view of the Cathedral.
The Halles themselves are vast warehouses, of great

THE HALLE S. 41

extent ; the oldest of them was built in the time of
Louis XI. They divide the Place into two parts, which
communicate by an archway underneath the monument
of St. Romain. The Halles of Rouen are about the most
important in France. The oldest part of the building
is devoted to the sale of linen cloths. It is 288 feet Ions:
and about 52 feet broad, and the roof is supported by
two rows of stone pillars. There are two other Halles, not
quite so long — one for cotton and one for worsted stuffs.
Rouen is considered the Manchester of France, and is
specially famous for the manufacture of rouennerie, striped
and checked linen.

The monument of St. Romain does not belong either to
the old palace or to the Halles. It was built in 1562, and
when the new Halles were built in 1774 this was left
standing; it replaces the ancient chapel of St. Romain,
which was of older date than the Halles of Louis XI. It is
of classical architecture, quaint, but uninteresting. A double
flight of steps leads to a sort of open portico, and on this
took place the celebrated old custom called the Levee de
la Fierte de St. Romain, when every year one prisoner under
sentence of death was set free. From the top of these steps
a good view is obtained of the Cathedral. We passed
through the archway into the other market-place, called
Place de la Basse Vieille Tour, which seems devoted to a
poor kind of fish and vegetable sale, and is surrounded by
shops full of common crockery.

Going round again outside the Halles, we came to a quiet
house standing back from the street : in front was a garden
full of small pear-trees laden with fruit, and some standard
roses, on one of which was a beautiful white rose. While we

42 ROUEN.

stood looking at this unexpected sight in the midst of the
busy city, a Httle old woman, with a bonnet on, darted out
of the open entrance-door as nimbly as a spider after a fly,
and greeted us with bows and smiles.

" Monsieur and madame like flowers ? they admire my
rose ? Ah ! I perceive it ; I know it. Yes, yes, I know it ;
and madame shall have a bouquet, the best I can offer, if
she will give herself the trouble to carry it."

We protested and apologized, but it was useless. She
gathered a small bunch of flowers, and then, before we
could prevent it, she had darted to her rose-tree and had
actually gathered its one beautiful blossom. She presented
the bouquet with much grace, and in reply to our thanks
she said, "Ah, but it is nothing. I love the English, and
I am glad to show my love. I am an indigo merchant,
and I make much money by the English ; they are honest
people." Almost before she had ended, she ran to the door,
crying, "Marie! Victor! come quick; you are waited for."

A heavy-looking lad of sixteen, and a girl younger, an-
swered the summons. They were civil, but they evidently
did not share their mother's enthusiasm.

" Ah," she said, " I must also show you my husband.
Pierre, Pierre ! " — this was screamed — " where art thou, my
friend?" After a little delay, a good-looking young man,
much nearer the age of his step-son than that of his wife,
came out of the house. He bowed and smiled, and said,
"Yes," to all madame's praises of the English. He also
looked at the bouquet, and we explained his wife's great
kindness to us.

" Ah, yes," he said, " it is all right ; that gives her
pleasure."

RUE DU NOUVEAU MONDE 43

They all took quite a friendly leave of us, and we came
away charmed with the old lady's courtesy and kindness to
wandering strangers. From this we turned into the Rue
de la Republique, and then going up again from the rivei
followed the street which branches out on the right, the Rue
Malpalu. On the right was a picturesque-looking, disused
church. Houses have been built against each side of it,
so that only the entrance-doorway is left, and that is encum-
bered by huge barrels placed in front. Close by, at the
corner of a street, we came to a cooper's : it was a kind of
open shop, with a long vista of background, and the sunlight
coming in from side windows and an open door behind, fell
on the casks, on rusty iron hoops, and on the figure of the
master seated on a barrel in the midst, and made an effec-
tive picture. We went a little way down the street at the
side of this shop, Rue du Nouveau Monde, and found our-
selves between two high walls; but, on the right hand,
suddenly we caught sight of a most quaint carved oak
staircase, with galleries and twisted balusters, placed outside
the house we had just been noticing. We went back into
the Rue Malpalu, and the cooper most courteously got oft
his barrel, and took us over his house. He showed us not
only the staircase, which is a quaint specimen of what
doubtless there were hundreds of a few years ago, but he
took us along a gallery to a room occupied by his lodger,
in which is a very handsome chimney-piece of the time of
Francois I. We saw some wonderful oak beams in this
house.

It is worth while going to the end of the Rue Nouveau
Monde. After manifold turns and twists, full of picturesque
bits of very old houses, we found ourselves in the Rue des

44 ROUEN.

Arpents, certainly about the oldest and most interesting
street in the city. Such dirty, narrow streets were doubt-
less plentiful in the time of that apostle of the common-
place, Arthur Young, who, writing in 1793, says of Rouen,
" The m.erchants are right to have country villas, to get out
of this gi'eat, ugly, stinking, close, and ill-built town, which
is full of nothing but dirt and industry. What a picture of
new buildings does a flourishing manufacturing town in
England exhibit!" We stood lingering much by the way,
and turning to the left we reached the Rue Martainville,
where we found ourselves close to St. Maclou.

St. Maclou used to be called the eldest daughter of
Monseigneur I'Archeveque. It is an exquisite little jewel
of a church, in the most elegant style of the fifteenth cen-
tury ; the architect was Pierre Robin. In the middle of
the last century the spire became so ruinous, that it had to
be taken down, and it was not replaced till 1869, when the
present fleche was erected. During the Revolution the
leaden covering of the ancient spire was melted into bullets.

But it is the great triple porch of St. Maclou which is its
chief beauty. It consists of three arches, on plan like a
bow window, with lofty canopies filled with the most ex-
quisite tracery. There were formerly five entrances, but
now two of these are closed. The architecture of this porch
is most tasteful and elegant, and the carving on the three
remaining doors is wonderful — said to be the work of Jean
Goujon. The fountain against the north side of the church
is also attributed to him. The bas-relief on the central
door represents the Baptism of our Lord : it is finely
executed. The northern door, in the Rue INIartainville,
is also carved in bas-relief, representing the Death of

ST. MAC LOU. 45

the Virgin. Inside, the church is very curious, thougli
much disfigured by a gilt plaster baldacchino. The stained-
elass windows are all ancient, but much mutilated. There is
a winding staircase in exquisitely carved stone-work of later
style, leading to the organ-gallery ; but the full effect of this
can only be seen when the doors are set open, and the
Suisse most obligingly opened them for our benefit. We
came out of this lovely little church on its northern side.
A few years ago it was smothered up by quaint old houses,
but though many of these have been removed, the houses
still press so closely on it that it is difficult to get a good
sketch of the porch. The sacred oil-vessels were kept at
St. Maclou and were distributed hence through the diocese ;
and in general processions the cross of St. Maclou led the
way, taking precedence of all others. Not far from this
church, in the Rue Damiette, is an excellent view of
St. Ouen; and nearly opposite St. Maclou, in the Rue
St. Remain, adjoining the Cathedral, is the archiepiscopal
palace. This was begun in 146 1, by the Cardinal d'Es-
touteville; but he died before it was finished. The first
Cardinal d'Amboise seems to have completed the building.
Louis XII. and his queen stayed here in 1508 ; and the
dauphin Francois, eldest son of Francois I., lived in this
palace in 1531. It now contains, on the first floor, the
library belonging to the chapter of the Cathedral.

We went down the Rue Martainville in search of a cer-
tain cemetery we had been told of, looking in as we passec
at the quaint cluster of houses behind St. Maclou, the resi-
dences of the clergy and the officials. Nearly opposite the
Rue des Arpents, at No. 188, on the left side of the Rue
Martainville, we found a passage with large closed gates ai

ROUEN,

the end of it. We passed through these gates, and found
ourselves in a cloister planted with rows of lime-trees, and
surrounded by a quadrangle of ancient half-timbered, two-
storied buildings, with quaint dormer windows in the tiled
roof, and an external staircase at each corner. On these
buildings are fragments of carved stone figures. They sup-

Rue Damictte.

port a wooden frieze running round the wliole enclosure,
on which are carved scythes, shells, mattocks, and other
emblems.

There are seats beneath the trees, and some poor women
were seated here at needlework. Presently a sister came

THE AITRE OF ST. MAC LOU. 47

out of the building and joined them. We asked her the
name of the enclosure.

" It is called the ' Aitre of St. Maclou,' " she said ; " it
was anciently the parish burying-ground, but it was found
insufficient ; for St. Maclou is a very large parish, and, oh !
so very poor ; but I will show you what we use the buildings
for now."

She took us round the cloister, and, looking into the
rooms, we saw that they were all full of desks and benches.

" We teach our boys on this lower story," she said, " and
the girls above. We have a thousand children here, the
very poorest in Rouen ; but it is holiday time now, till the
end of September. That is their playground." She pointed
to the quiet tree-shaded court.

It looked so full of melancholy memories, with the few
feeble-looking, bent women sitting on the bench, and the
sad-faced sister with her long black garments, that the idea
of a thousand noisy children at play seemed incongruous,
and we said so.

The sister smiled. *^ It is pleasant and peaceful now,"
she said ; " and we have always the dead beneath our feet,
and those tokens," she looked at the frieze, '' to remind us
of death. We have death below, and death above."

And again it seemed wholly impossible to think of it as
a playground full of merry, romping children. We asked
the sister if she could tell us the history of the sculptures on
the walls; but she seemed scarcely to be aware of them,
and only anxious to impress on us the great poverty of the
parish of St. Maclou. She shook her head when we asked
for the history of this quaint secluded nook ; but we learned
afterwards that the Aitre of St. Tvlaclou was the finest of the

48 ROUEN.

eighty cloistered burial-grounds which once existed in the
c'ty of Rouen, and that the north, east, and west galleries
had been built in 1526, The fragments on the walls were
once two figures carved on each column — one living, the
other a skeleton dragging it to the grave, a Dance of Death,
or Dafise Maccabre.

We left the depressing atmosphere of this cloistered
court, and struck up a little side street, crossed the Rue
d' Amiens, then up another street, and then, a little way
on the right, up the Rue Eau de Robec, we came to the
Church of St. Vivien. AH these streets are more or less
picturesque, with old houses, &c. ; but they are exceed-
ingly dirty and unsavoury, and it is better to visit them in
full daylight. St. Vivien has been lately restored. It was
originally built in the twelfth or thirteenth century ; but in
1636 the roof was raised. There is some old glass, and
rather a remarkable spire of fifteenth or sixteenth-century
work. By the Rue Pomme d'Or and the Rue Poisson, we
reached St. Nicaise, w4iich seems to join on to the Grand
Seminaire.

This church was built on the site of the chapel of St.
Nicaise, founded by St. Ouen in the seventh century.
There are two curious old glass windows at the east end of
the aisles. The Rue St. Nicaise leads into the Rue de la
Roche, and on the left of this is the Rue de la Republique.
We asked our way to the Tsluseum of a neat-looking lady,
poorly dressed in black, with a huge batiste parasol lined
with green. She made a profound curtsey, and then, with
such a torrent of words that it was difiicult to follow her,
told us we were close by, waving her parasol over her head
and up the street behind her like a flag of triumph.

MUSEUM OF ANTIQUITIES. 49

The Museum of Antiquities is in a quaint old house sur-
rounded by a garden, formerly the Convent of Ste. Marie.
Some part of this convent seems still to exist in a building
on the other side of the road. The situation of the Museum
is delightful — we had been climbing steeply for the last
ten minutes, for the house is on the boulevard high above
the town — on one side are the spires of Rouen, and on
the other the green heights beyond the Boulevard.

We went up the staircase of the ancient convent, very
picturesque from its architecture and the quaint array of
sculptured relics that lie about here and there, as if they
did not feel at home, and found ourselves in the convent
cloister. Three galleries cf this cloister are devoted to
the Museum. The first is full of records and treasures of
the Middle Ages — the heart of Richard Coeur-de-Lion
(now a little heap of mouldy dust), the signatures of
various kings — a cross is the sign manual of William the
Conqueror; plaster casts of the fine bas-reliefs of the Hotel
Bourgtheroude, representing the interview on the Field of
the Cloth of Gold ; the coat of mail of Enguerrand de
Marigny, the reliquary of St. Sever, specimens of wood
and stone sculpture, and a model of St. Maclou with its
original spire, the door of Corneille's house, and many other
relics, including carved ba/iu/s, cofiers, &c., in oak and
ebony. The next gallery is full of Roman and Gallo-
Roman remains — tombs found in Rouen ; statues, fragments
of pottery, &c., discovered at Lillebonne, coins, mosaics, and
other excavated remains, especially a beautiful female figure
found at Lillebonne within the last few years. Along these
galleries are fifteen windows, filled with ancient stained glass,
chiefly from the churches of St. Eloi and St. Godard : the

50 ROUEN.

glass dates from the thirteenth to the seventeenth century.
These windows from the Church of St. Eloi relate the
history of the Jew and the consecrated wafer. But the
third side of the cloister is most interesting. It contains a
collection of Rouen ceramic art of the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries, amounting to more than a thousand
pieces, collected by Monsieur Andre Pottier. It is so
classified as to show the rise, progress, perfection, and decline
of Rouen ware ; so well illustrated, that those who are the
most ignorant of ceramic art can, if they choose to take
the trouble, become acquainted with the mysteries of this
faience. To collectors it offers the highest possible treat,
and makes a visit to Rouen, setting aside all the attrac-
tions of the town, almost a necessity to the lover of " blue
and white."

This manufacture began about 1640, in the last years of
the reign of Louis Treize, and was introduced by Poterat.
Poterat's establishment was successful, and was divided
among his children. Poterat's privilege or patent, granted
by Anne of Austria, expired at the end of fifty years, and
other factories grew up to the number of sixteen or eighteen
around the principal one in the suburb of St. Sever. The
decline seems to have begun about 1730, and to have
reached the full period of decadence by the middle of the
century; the commercial disasters of France, and then the
Revolution, gave a death-blow to Rouen ware, but the last
manufactory lingered till 1840.

There are masterpieces of old Rouen faience in this col-
lection. There is one set of three pieces in blue and
bistre said to be unrivalled. There are also a few speci-
mens of Nevers, Moustiers, Limoges, Strasbourg, &c., and

DELFT VIOLIN, 51

some Delft, notably one of the famous blue and white
violins.

The curator is an enthusiast in faience, and a very quaint
character in his way ; a gentleman of the old school, full of
small courtesies, but not at all above accepting the cus-
tomary franc, for, as he said, putting it in his pocket, ''It is
the income of the gardien.^'' The public are admitted to
this museum between eleven and four o'clock on Sundays
and festivals ; but artists and foreigners are admitted every
day, within the specified hours.

ROUEN.

CHAPTER II.

St. Ouen. St. Gervais.

La Bouille. St. Patrice.

St. Eloi. St. Remain.

Place de la Pucelle. Tour Jeanne d'Arc.

Hotel Bourgtheroude. St. Godard.

'T^HE Rue de la Republique is a steep descent until
it reaches the Place de I'Hotel de Ville. This is a
large handsome Place, with an equestrian statue of
Napoleon I. in the centre, and the beautiful Church of
St. Ouen towering above the Hotel de Ville. Many old
houses have been taken down here and their places have
ibeen left vacant, the ground leases not having expired ;
30 that for such a populous thriving town as Rouen the
effect of this very open Place is incongruous, with so many
gaps between the houses. Lofty green hills rise behind the
Boulevard, which crosses the top of the wide, handsome
Rue de la Republique, but on the whole the general
aspect is a deserted one. Voitures stand for hire on the
Place.

The Abbey of St. Ouen was the most ancient in all
Normandy. It was founded in the reign of Clotaire I. in
533, and flourished specially under St. Ouen, who gave up

ST. OUEN, S3

his patrimony to it. At that time it was called the Abbey
of St. Peter.

The Normans, as has been said, sailed up the Seine
and landed at Rouen on the 14th of May, in the year 841.
On the 15th they burned the abbey, and almost entirely
destroyed it.

When Rolf became a Christian and sovereign-duke of
Normandy he rebuilt the monastery, and caused the monks
to restore the relics which they had carried off to save them
from profanation at the hands of the Norman soldiers.
The new abbey was dedicated to St. Ouen, and both
Duke Richard I. and Richard II. w^ent on with the work
of restoration. By the time of Richard the Fearless, St.
Ouen was held in so great reputation that Otho, Emperor
of Germany, demanded a safe-conduct into Rouen in orde
to pay his devotions at the abbey.

Abbot Nicholas, the son of Duke Richard III., in the
reign of William the Bastard, caused the then-existing
church to be demolished, and in 1046 laid the first stone
of a new one. This was not completed till the time of
Abbot WiUiam in 1126, and it was dedicated on i-he 17th
of October of the same year by Geoffrey, Archbishop of
Rouen ; but there seems to have been a fate over these first
four churches, for in 11 36 the building was destroyed by fire
in one day.

The Empress Matilda and Henry II. again helped the
monks of St. Ouen to rebuild their church and monastery,
but in 1248 the church was once more burned down.

At last, under the twenty-fourth abbot, the famous Jean
Roussel Marc d' Argent, the first stone of the present church
of St. Ouen was laid in 13 18. The chief part of it was

54 ROUEN.

built in twenty-one years, and the rest was finished by
the beginning of the sixteenth century, except the west
front, which seems to have been left incomplete till 1846 —
52, when the two western towers and the great western
porch were built. The work has been well executed,
but it is easy to see the difference between this end and
the rest of the church ; for, excepting this western portion,
there is a unity of design in the exterior of St. Ouen
which at once gives it a special character. The central
tower, an octagon pierced by arched windows, and sup-
jDorted by flying buttresses, rises to the height of 260 feetj
it is very light and graceful, and is crowned by a circlet of
fleurs-de-lis. This tower was completed before the end of
the fifteenth century. The sculptures of the great western
front are very interesting. On the central gable is the
statue of St. Ouen, and in the gallery the abbot St. Wan-
drille; the Archbishops Flavins, Ansbert, Maurille, and
Geoffrey of Rouen, and the Abbot St. Germer, alternate with
the Dukes of Normandy, Richard I., Richard II., William
the Conqueror, Henry II., and Richard Cceur-de-Lion.

Above the great door is the Holy Trinity, on the central
pillar our Blessed Lord, and at the sides the twelve Apostles
with their emblems, only that St. Paul, with a sword, takes the
place of St. Matthias. On the side portals on the right are the
patron saints of the diocese and the monastery — St. Nicaise,
St. Remain, St. Benedict, St, Ouen, and the Abbots of St.
Ouen who aided in founding and rebuilding the abbey and
the church — Nicholas I., Jean Roussel, Hildebert, Antony
Bohier. On the left are four contemporaries and friends of
St. Ouen — Dagobert I., King of France, St. Eloi, Bishop of
Noyon, St. Philibert, Abbot of Jumieges, St. Austreberthe,

ST. OUEN. 55

Abbess of Pavilly ; and lastly, the secular founders and bene-
factors of the monastery, Clotaire I. of France, the Empress
jNIatilda, wife of Geoffrey Plantagenet, St. Clotilde, Queen
of Clovis, and Charles de Valois, son of Philip III., the
Bold.

The Portall des Marmousets, so called from the figures
of animals in the door-heading, is singularly beautiful ; it is
on the south side of the church, and is far more remarkable
than this western facade. The bas-relief above the door is
divided into three parts, representing the Burial of the
Blessed Virgin, her Assumption, and her Entrance into
Heaven. The architecture of this porch is indescribably
light and elegant, and has two very remarkable pendants.

It seems a great pity that the buildings of the monastery
of St. Oiien were entirely demolished in iSo6. The
monastery served as a residence for the kings of France
when they visited Rouen. Henry IL, Charles IX., Henry
III., Henry IV., and Louis XIIL, all stayed there, and
doubtless many other worthies of their time. Henry IV.
stayed three months in the monastery. It was from this
house that he addressed to the aldermen of his good town
of Rouen the famous words — ^'INIy friends, be good subjects
to me, and I will be to you a good king, and the best king
you have ever had."

St. Ouen stands partly in a very pleasant public garden,
which was once the garden of the monastery. There is a
curious old tower, of the eleventh century, at the angle
of the north transept, called the Chambre aux Clercs. It
seems to be a fragment of one of the churches v/hich pre-
ceded the present St. Ouen — that of 1136. In the garden
itself is a statue of Duke Rolf. Here Joan of Arc was

ROUEN.

forced to make a public recantation of her errors before the
citizens of Rouen ; and now there are platforms for a band
of music, and chairs which on fine afternoons are filled '.vith
the good citizens, as they sit listening to the performance.
But though it is easy to examine and describe in detail the

-i^a!

i \^

Tower of St. Ouen.

outside of St. Ouen. it is difficult to go on with the descrip-
tion when we enter the building. We stand rapt, absorbed
by the wonderful beauty, the spiritual loveliness, that per-
vades this most perfect church. The screen was destroyed
at the Revolution, and it may be the absence of anything
to break the exquisite vista, which the eye follows even

ST. OUEN. 57

into the Lady Chapel, or else the light and airy effect of
the triple rows of windows, and the large size of those in the
clerestory, or it may be the extreme loftiness of the roof, and
the absence of any tawdriness in the ornaments on the high
altar, or the union of all these qualities, that makes this
interior so powerfully impressive ; we were wonder-struck,
without any power to analyze the effect produced on us,
spell-bound by the almost angelic beauty of the marvellous
architecture of the interior. It is a long vista of lofty, mar-
vellously slender clustered columns, which first support
pointed arches of exquisite proportion, and then ascend
to the very roof of the nave. At the points of intersection
by the transept, the tower rests on four sheafs of pillars,
each composed of twenty-four slender shafts, perhaps the
most wonderful union of grace and strength ever beheld. As
the arches proceed eastward they narrow, and through them
from the windows of the surrounding chapels there comes
in a flood of jewelled light, glowing in a mellowed richness
that must be seen to be believed in.

On the right, close to us as we enter, is a black marble
henitier. A Sister, who had come in like ourselves to see
the church, pointed to this, and whispered to us to look
into tlie water with our eyes almost on a level with it, and
we saw indeed a marvellous picture — the church in minia-
ture, exactly reversed, \\'\\h every detail of carving, every
rich tint of colour softened and glorified in reflection.

We stayed in the church till late afternoon, and this is the
most exquisite time for seeing St. Ouen. The sun sent
level beams through the glories of the eastern windows,
and then the rich, many-coloured tints began to play over
the pure lines of the slender clustered shafts, and fell in

58 ROUEN.

broadening, bright-hued masses on the stone pavement,
flashing now on the silver image of St. Michael, now on
the votive lamps in front of the altar. After the long
view down the nave, the most wonderful is from about the
second chapel on the right of the Lady Chapel, looking
westwards. The effect of light and shade on the exquisite
groining of the aisles is here quite indescribable.

There are one hundred and twenty-five windows in the
church, exclusive of the three rose windows ; and two of
these last are especially beautiful. The sweet-faced, gentle-
voiced old sacristan showed us the " Apprentice's Window "
wth much admiration, and pointed out the pentalpha in it.
It is certainly very wonderful and beautiful; but it is a pity
that it is in the north transept, as the sun cannot come
streaming through it as it does through the rose window
opposite, the work of the master-mason, Alexander Berneval.
''Yes/' the old man whisjDered, ''it is beautiful — the pent-
alpha ; but the master thought it was too beautiful to be
done by any but himself, and he killed the poor boy, his
apprentice. But he rej^ented, and received the last rites,,
or the good fathers would not have laid him here." He
pointed to the second chapel on the left ; and there the
master and his pupil both lie side by side. There are
eleven of these chapels round the choir. The first on the
left contains the font ; the next, the tombs of Berneval and
his pupil, date 1440.

" Here lies Master Alexander Berneval, master of the
mason works of the king our lord, of the bailliage of Rouen
and of this church, who died in the year of grace 1440, the
5th day of January. Pray God for his soul."

Alexander Berneval was i^ublicly tried and executed for

ST. OUEN. 59

the murder of his pujoil from jealousy of his work, but the
monks, in consideration of his great services to the church,
buried him in consecrated ground.

In the Lady Chapel are two very interesting tombs — one
to the youngest son of Talbot, who is called in the inscrip-
tion Monsieur de Talbot, Marechal de France, date 1438 ;
and another with a Latin inscription to the celebrated
Abbot Roussel INIarc d'Argent, the real founder of St.
Ouen. The dear old sacristan told us legends about the
interior of the old portion of the north transept ; it is an
interesting little chapel, evidently much older than the rest
of the church ; and then we went up with him to see the
view from the roof of the nave. It is quite necessary to
do this to appreciate the fine details of the central tower,
especially the flying buttresses and the exquisitely carved
heads on the pinnacles surrounding the church.

At the first staircase landing our guide said em-
phatically, " Ah, que c'est beau ! " — at the next he made
the same exclamation, only he substituted magiiifique for
vcau ; but when we reached the roof of the nave and saw,
besides the beautiful church, the fair city of Rouen lying at
our feet, he exclaimed enthusiastically, ''C'est superbe !"

It is hard to define the charm of this church; but go to
St. Ouen when you will — at early mass, when a solemn repose
pervades the beauty of the building — at high mass, when
the pure simple style of the decoration is enlivened by
many-coloured vestments, and lighted tapers, and glittering
censers, and, above all, when the sweet solemn music
seems to linger caressingly among those wondrous aisles
— or in the evening, when the sunbeams come pouring in
and bring a flood of gold and warmth and colour on the

6o ROUEN.

cold grey stone — it is an eminently beautiful church, and it
lives ineffaceably in the memory.

Few, if any towns, possess three such remarkable
churches as the Cathedral, St. Ouen, and St. Maclou.
We went, next day, to high mass at the Cathedral — it
looks very grand and impressive filled with people; and
then we went on to get another look at St. Ouen, and
to see the Library and Musee, which are both in the Hotel
de Ville. This is a fine building, with a handsome staircase,
and the library is full of interest. There are 1200 MSS. in
the Library ; among these is " Norman History of William
of Jumieges." The Rouennais are very proud of their
picture-gallery ; but we did not see anything to justify
much expense of time there, and also we were anxious to
get the steamer for La Bouille.

Being Sunday, the quay was crowded with people : it
reaches from one end of the town to the other, and is a
handsome spectacle, with its forests of masts and steamer
chimneys, and its two fine, well-built bridges spanning the
beautiful Seine. Opposite is the suburb of St. Sever, full of
factories and tall red-brick chimneys ; while behind it rises
a crest of green hills.

The steamer for La Bouille starts from the quay some
little way below the suspension-bridge. As it is Sunday,
there is a large gathering of well-dressed people at the aft
end of the vessel ; children and babies are abundant, and
grandmammas and aunts and cousins in charge of flocks
of juvenile relations, with nurses and perambulators, evi-
dently going out to dine, or spend the afternoon on the
pleasant banks of the Seine ; an officer with a wife much
older than himself talks all the way to one of the pretty

STEAMBOAT TO LA BOUILLE. 6 1

young girls ; and the river is so pleasant, and the scenery
is so varied and pretty, that the journey would be a delight-
ful one, if the boat would not go at such a snail's pace.
Our Rouennais companions do not seem in a hurry ] they
evidently consider the journey itself a great pleasure, and
chat, and laugh, and make fresh acquaintances, and merri-
ment too out of the merest trifle, as only French people can.

We pass the islands Petit-Gay, Alexandre, and Grandin,
and the mouth of the little river Cailly. Soon the bank on
the right rises, and we see the charmingly placed Chateau
de Canteleu, with its wooded and terraced banks, and
nestling at its feet the little village of Croisset. Next is
Dieppedalle, where there are some curious caves in the
rocks.

And now there is a stir among some of the nurseries on
board. We are getting near the landing-place of Dieppe-
dalle, on the right bank, and we have passed Le Petit
Quevilly on the left some time ago; and a nurse, and a
perambulator, and several children, with their relations, go
ashore. Nearly opposite is Le Grand Quevilly. At Le
Petit Quevilly is the Romanesque chapel of St. Julien,
built by Henry IL, who had a park and a hunting-lodge
here. He made a gift of it to the female lepers of St.
Julien. The rest of the buildings have been destroyed ; but
the chapel still remains, and is very curious. A little way on
we come to a pretty house close beside the river, with three
ladies seated at a table before the open gate. There is a
general movement among the rest of our children, and the
ladies at the gate wave their handkerchiefs ; and when we
reach the landing-place there is a disembarkation of about
twenty. Our officer and his wife, so much older than him-

62 ROUEN.

self, and the pretty girl of sixteen he has been talking to
with such interest, her companions who went to see after
the comfort of one of the babies, the pretty girl's sisters, a
group of troublesome children, and some grown-up ladies,
all depart. They are evidently going to spend the afternoon
at the pleasant-looking house beside the Seine.

The river makes lovely curves here ; but we go on more
slowly than ever, and have plenty of time to observe the
very ugly column set up to commemorate the transference
at this point — Val de Haye — of the remains of Napoleon I.
from the steamer La N'o7'manclie to the vessel which con-
veyed them to Paris in 1840. We pass several other
villages — Hautot, Soquence, Sahurs — with noticeable
churches and chateaux, on the right bank of the river ; and
now we have come to Moulineaux on the left. But the
light has grown more level, and the colour of the water is
exquisite — a mingling of gold and steel-grey, like the
tint of a salmon. The sunlight plays, too, over the water-
flowers and weeds that nestle into the banks.

Presently we are told to look at that hill on the left, above
Moulineaux, for the ruins of the Castle of Robert le Diable
are there. We cannot see them very distinctly. There are
horrible legends about this castle, and no less than three
claimants for the name. An ancient chronicle ascribes all
these evil deeds to Robert, son of a governor of Neustria,
in the time of Pepin ; but some French historians assert that
Robert the Magnificent, the father of William the Basta-rd,
was really Robert le Diable, and others give the name to
his grandson, the unlucky Robert Courthose. There are
caves under the ruins, and it is said that from them sub-
terranean passages communicate with the Seine. These are

CASTLE OF ROBERT LE DIABLE.

haunted by evil spirits, and woe be to the traveller who, as
he climbs the hill on which the ruins stand, treads heed-
lessly on the little withered plant, " I'herbe qui egare ;" he
will certainly lose his way, and will go round and round
the castle till nightfall, when the whole place is filled with
the cries of the lost Robert. King John destroyed this
castle, which, according to Jules Janin, was the scene of the
murder of Arthur,

And now pressing forward into the river, as if it meditated

Castle of Robert le Diable.

a journey across, is the pretty village of La Bouille, built
on a projecting tongue of land, and clustering round its
church, backed by lofty cotes. We intended to have explored
the caves in these hills, which are said to be worth a visit ;
but already we have been two hours in reaching La Bouille,
and so violent a storm of thunder, lightning, and rain has
come on that we are glad to go back at once to the boat,
as it is to return without delay to Rouen.

Fortunately the storm ceased just as we came again in
sight of the city; and this sight is worth a journey to

€4 ROUEN.

behold. In the foreground an island, fringed with tall
poplars, divides the river into two. On the right St. Ouen,
the Cathedral, and St, Maclou rise up in grey majesty, the
numerous towers and spires of the city standing out dark
against the sky ; the houses below and the hulls and masts
of the ships are in broad sunshine, St. Ouen towering above
all, except the tall lantern of the Cathedral. Overhead is a
varied mass of rain and thunder-clouds, frowning down on
the green hills round the city ; for from this point Rouen
looks like a grey ruin set in the midst of a verdant forest,
with the river glinting across the view, now in a bold
curve of shining steel, now divided by one of the numerous
long, low, poplar-fringed islets that are set like emeralds on
its glittering bosom.

We were out early next morning, and Rouen is specially
lovely in the very early morning. We went down the Rue
Grand Pont (which is the name of the Rue des Carmes
when it has passed the Place de la Cathedrale) to the quay.
The Cours Boieldieu is the fashionable walk of Rouen ; it
extends along the quay, and is pleasantly planted with
trees ; on it is a statue of Boieldieu, who was a native
of Rouen. Just beyond we came to an open space also
planted with trees : it has a high iron railing round it.
This is the Bourse, or uncovered exchange, the ancient
exchange having been removed foi the sake of widening
the quay. Beside the exchange is the Consuls, or Tribunal
de Commerce. A little way farther along the quay stands
the custom-house, a modern building finished in 1838.

We turned up a little street beside the Douane, and soon
found ourselves in the old Church of St. Eloi. It is curious
to remember that this very Church of St. Eloi formerly

PLACE DE LA PUCELLE. 65

stood on an island of the Seine before these islands, of
which there were several, were united to the main-land
under the name of Terres-Neuves.

There used to be the three windows here, of sixteenth-
century work, now in the Museum of Antiquities ; but the
spaces have been walled up. There was also a well in the
choir, from which water was drawn up by a chain ; hence
the Rouennais proverb, " As cold as the chain of the well
of St. Eloi," From the beginning of the century this church
has been devoted to French Protestant worship, and in the
afternoon of Sundays there is an English service here.

A little way on the right from St. Eloi, and we suddenly
found ourselves on the most interesting ground in Rouen.
The old market-place, or Place de la Pucelle, which dates
from the eleventh century, is really the spot where Jeanne
d'Arc was sacrificed in the presence of the Bishop of Beau-
vais, the Cardinal of Winchester, the Abbots of Bee,
Jumieges, Fecamp, and many other priests. In the centre
is a hideous fountain, surmounted by a statue intended
to represent the INIaid of Orleans ; it is wonderful that
the princely town of Rouen can endure the presence of
such a libel as this statue is on the '' ]\Iaid." One is some-
times ashamed of one's countrymen abroad ; nowhere per-
haps so much as in the Place de la Pucelle, where one is
forced to remember all that the virtuous and heroic Joan
suffered at our hands ; and it is unpleasant to feel that our
chief motive in so outraging humanity was not justice, but
revenge. Formerly, the Place was surrounded by quaint
wooden houses, but these have disappeared.

From this Place de la Pucelle we turned into the court-
yard of the Hotel Bourgtheroade — an old green-grey, quiet

66 ROUEN.

place, with a quaint stone building round it. Facing us are
two elaborately sculptured dormer windows, and in the left
corner is an elegant hexagonal tower covered with bas-reliefs
of pastoral subjects in marble. From this tower extends a
lower range of building, and here above and below the
windows is a series of most exquisite bas-reliefs in marble :
those above represent the Meeting of Henry VIII. and
Francis I. on the Field of the Cloth of Gold, near Guines,
in Picardy. Wolsey's figure is very distinct. The sculpture
is marvellously delicate, and it is wonderful that it should
have escaped when so much else has perished. Above the
windows is a series of bas-reliefs of allegorical subjects.
At each corner is a flight of steps leading into the building,
which is now used as a banking-office; and against the
old grey walls are the graceful leaves and trailing vines
of an American creeper, making more vivid by contrast
the brilliant rosy blossoms of some oleanders growing in
great tubs below. Under one window a little trickling
fountain falls into an ancient moss-grown trough, and from
the window-ledge golden wreaths of moneywort stretch
down to the water, as if they were thirsty on this hot August
morning.

The old concierge, in his blouse and flat black cap, comes
out to have a chat. He is charmed that we admire his
flowers — the sweet peas in the corner. " Ah, but yes, they
are my own rearing ; and I was not quite sure they would
grow, because it is not a sunny corner, and flowers love
the sun.''

We answer that every one loves sunshine ; and we point
out to him an uncovered space of wall which the sun does
visit, for he shines fully on one side of the Hotel Bourg-

HOTEL BOURGTHEROUDE. 67

th^roiide. We humbly suggest that nasturtiums would look
very pretty trailing up that green-grey stone.

The old fellow is in ecstasy. *' Nasturtiums ! Ah, but
yes, there shall be some ; and when monsieur and madame
come another year to the Hotel Bourgtheroude they will
see them in flower."

He came with us to the entrance of the low-browed arch-
way, took off his flat cap, and bowed with an elasticity really
wonderful at his age. Certainly the ready smiling courtesy
and the cheerful quaintness of these Norman cicerones are
delightful, and add both charm and amusement to all one
sees.

The Hotel Bourgtheroude is one of the most interesting
of the secular houses of Rouen, and has greatly engaged the
attention of the learned. The most complete history of it is
that given by Monsieur de la Queriere in his " Historical
Description of the Old Houses of Rouen."

This hotel is supposed to have been founded about
i486 by Guillaume Le Roux, Lord of Bourgtheroude; but
it was completed in the sixteenth century by his son,
also Guillaume Le Roux, Abbot of Aumale and Valricher.
One looks vainly round the Place de la Pucelle for the
quaint old houses which used to abound between the old
market-place and the Marche Neuf in the Rue Jeanne
d'Arcj probably in the making of this wide, handsome
street, and in clearing the space for the market-place, they
have disappeared. Now the Rue Jeanne d'Arc and its
immediate surroundings form about the most modern part
of Rouen.

We went westwards up the Rue de la Pie to look at the
house No. 4, where Corneille was born in 1606, but found,

68 ROUEN.

alas ! that it is quite a modern erection. We then proceeded
northwards up the Boulevard Cauchoise, which is wide and
pleasant, and planted with trees, past the Prefecture ; and
turning northwards w^hen we reached the Rue du Crosne, we
came to the vast hospital of the Hotel Dieu and the Church
of La Madeleine. The hospital, except in very urgent cases,
is entirely devoted to the people of Rouen. Patients are
treated there for six months before they are declared in-
curable; and then if they can prove a ten years' residence
in the town of Rouen, they are received into the Hospice
Ge'neral.

The Church of the Ste. jMadeleine is modern (1781), and
is in the classical style. At the back of the high altar there
is a chapel for the Sisters of the Hotel Dieu.

We still went on northwards, getting always higher and
higher, till we reached the modern Church of St. Gervais, close
to the Paris and Havre line of rail. This new Romanesque
building has been only recently finished. It is in very good
taste, but is all modern, except the pillars of the apse and a
most remarkable crypt of the fourth century. There seems
to be some doubt as to the real date of the Church of St.
Gervais taken down when this one was built, but the story
of the building of the first church is interesting. St. Victrix,
Archbishop of Rouen in ■^'^6, received from St. Ambrose, of
Milan, a box containing the relics of St. Gervais. He
immediately set to work to build a church for the reception
of this precious gift, and so eager was he for its completion
that he worked with his own hands, and even helped to
carry stones on his shoulders. There seems little doubt
that the crypt now existing is a part of this ancient church.
We were very anxious to see this crypt, and waited all through

CRYPT OF ST. GERVAIS, 69

a most uninteresting marriage ceremony for the sacristan's
services.

The bride was not pretty. She had on white silk, with
a long tulle veil ; and the bridegroom appeared in even-
ing dress, which looked as if it had been hired for the
occasion, he seemed so ill at ease in it. The numerous
friends and relations, chiefly female, clearly belonged to the
working class, and wore bonnets covered with flowers of all
hues, more in English than in French taste, so utterly
unsuited were they to the complexions and faces of the
wearers. The great western doors of the church were opened
to let the bridal procession pass out ; its members seemed
to pack very closely into some smartly appointed carriages
waiting for them.

The great doors were closed again, and after a little delay
the sacristan, a short, stout man, with a flat bald head and a
fat square face, exactly like an Ingoldsby friar, came out of
the sacristy, and we told him what we wanted. He went
back, and presently returned with a bunch of keys and a
long thin tallow candle which he held between his fingers.

He stooped down beside where we stood and lifted up a
square trap-door : in the dark hole below appeared the begin-
ning of a flight of steps. Our conductor raised his candle,
looked grimly at us, and went down the steps ; just as he dis-
appeared into the darkness he muttered " twenty-eight," and
both he and the candle were lost to sight.

It seemed so like Aladdin's adventure with the magician
that we were quite excited during the descent. We counted
twenty-eight, and found ourselves, guide, candle, and all, in a
most curious subterranean chapel, thirty-five feet long, about
fifteen feet high and sixteen broad ; there is an arcade on each

70 ROUEN-

side; at the end is an apse, and a stone altar marked with five
crosses : above this is a very small window ; on each side arc
the holes left by the rails for the curtains which used to screen
off the altar. In the left arcade is the tomb of St. Mellon, and
on the right that of St. Avitien, the two first archbishops of
Rouen. There is, undoubtedly, Roman masonry in the walls
of this crypt, and the sacristan seemed only too eager to con
vince us of this fact, for he pulled out a piece of red tiling and
gave it to us, and regretted that the cement was too hard to
be broken away !

We came up into the church, glad to get to the day-
light again, and then went outside through the cemetery
to look at the ancient portions of the apse built above
the crypt ; it is very early Norman work, quite Romanesque
in character, and doubtless belonged to the church which
existed when William the Conqueror was taken to the
ancient Priory of St. Gervais to die. For in the midst of
the blazing churches and convents of Mantes, lighted to
revenge the insults which the French King Philip had
off'ered, the furious and mighty King of England, struck by
the pommel of his own saddle, received his death- wound,
and at once, struck too with sudden remorse, stayed his
hand and retired to his Palace of Rouen. But he could
not rest there, and he ordered himself to be carried to the
Priory of St. Gervais.

He lay here for many weeks, suffering greatly, but never
losing sense or the power of speech. He seems to have
been sincerely penitent, and to have tried to atone as much
as was possible for the woes he had wrought in Normandy.
He, especially, left a sum of money to rebuild the churches
which he had burned at the sack of Mantes.

DEATH OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR, 71

He sent to Bee for Anselm to help him to make his peace
with God j but, though the abbot reached Rouen, he did not
see the king, being himself struck down with severe illness.
William was attended by his own doctors, Gilbert, Bishop
of Lisieux (probably, from what we read of him, a better
physician of the body than of the soul), and Guntherd, Abbot
of Jumieges. The account of WiUiam's death in the " Roman
de Rou" is very interesting. It would seem as if he were
truly penitent. Orderic says that the king owned he had too
much hated the English. He expresses a wish that his son
William may succeed him, but he dares not bequeath him
the Crown of England.

"Engleterre cunquis a tort,
A tort i ont maint lioem mort,
Ses eirs en ai a tort ocis,
E a tort ai li regne pris ;
E 90 ke j'ai a tort toleit,
Ou jo n'en aveie nui dreit
Ne dei mie a mon filz doner,
Ne ^ tort nel' deit eriter."

Roman de Rou.

Still he gave William his blessing, and a letter to Lanfranc,
and bade him depart at once. He left his Dukedom of Nor-
mandy, with much sorrow and misgiving, to his rebellious
son Robert ; and to Henry five hundred livres in silver.
" What use is that to me," says Henry, " if I have no roof
to dwell under ? " '' Keep a good heart," says William,
" the time may come when you will be richer and more
powerful than your brothers." Henry seems after this to
have left his father's dying bed, although we hear of him
as present at the funeral.

William also desired the release of all prisoners — except

72 ROUEN.

one, his turbulent brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux. At last
he was pursuaded to consent to his freedom ; but he pre-
dicted that it would not be for the good of the dukedom.

At the hour of prime, on a Thursday in September, 1087,
the great king died, commending his soul to the prayers
of the Blessed Virgin.

Some Norman writers assert that the popular tradition of
the desertion of the body of William is untrue ; but it is
certain that his sons and relatives had left him, and that all
the barons, fearing that anarchy would return in the absence
of the master-spirit and iron will which had evoked from it
a reign of order, took horse, and rode away each to his own
castle, so as not to be taken unawares. Meantime, William
was left to menials, who plundered and left him. The
Archbishop of Rouen ordered that the king's body should
be borne to his own church of St. Etienne, at Caen ; but there
was no one to undertake this charge till a Norman knight,
Herlwin, offered his services, and himself accompanied the
body to Caen, and paid the expenses of the journey.

In the capital city of Normandy we take up first the
last chapter of the life of its mightiest Duke. After
this, in almost every town we find a link to some period
of his wonderful history. It is impossible carefully to
study the life of William the Conqueror without becoming
more or less interested in Normandy. It is impossible to
travel intelligently in Normandy without becoming fasci-
nated by the living interest which the records of his pre-
sence kindle as we journey from town to town. We go on
reading, though not always in sequence, one living chapter
after another of the story of the friendless Bastard, who
made himself Duke of Normandy and King of England,

ST. PATRICE. 73

till the dry bones of history become present realities.
The monks of St. Georges Boscherville seem to have
attended his body to Caen. There is a marble slab on the
outside of the Church of St. Gervais telhng the story of his
death in the Priory. A pretty cemetery surrounds two
sides of this church, which till lately must have been com-
pletely outside tlie town ; the old Roman road from
Rothomagus (Rouen) to Juliabona (Lillebonne) passes close
beside St. Gervais.

It is better to go down the Rue St. Gervais, across the
Place Cauchoise — a curious opening with some old houses
about it — into the Rue des BonsEnfans : here, Nos. 132 and
134, is the house in which Fontenelle was born; and from
this point the Rue Etoupe'e, crossing the Rue Hotel de Ville,
leads to the Church of St. Patrice. The stained glass is
very good in this church ; it is chiefly sixteenth-century
work, a later date than the windows in the Museum of Anti-
quities. ]\Iost of the windows are very remarkable both for
design and colour, especially " The Woman taken in Adul-
ery," from St. Godard, date 1549; "The Adoration of the
Wise Men," " The History of St. John the Baptist " (some
parts of these subjects are modern); "A Holy Family;"
"The History of Job," 1570— this is also from St. Godard;
" The Histories of St. Patrice and Ste. Barbe," 1540 ; " The
Annunciation," 1580, very remarkable; and the Lives of
St. Eustache, St. Louis, and other saints. Near the choir is
a window said to be painted by Jean Cousin ; it represents
" The Triumph of the Law of Grace." The Church of St.
Patrice, apart from this glass, is not very interesting ; it was
built in 1535, and the chapel of the Passion and some other
parts are more than a century later in date.

74 ROUEN,

Leaving St. Patrice we went northwards, and found our-
selves on the Boulevard Jeanne d'Arc, which extends along
the north of Rouen, between the Boulevard Cauchoise on
the west and the Boulevard Beauvoisine on the east. On
the left, a little way up a side street, is the Church of
St. Romain, anciently the chapel of the barefooted friars ;
the first stone of this present church was laid in 1679, by
M. Bec-du-Lievre, first President of the Cour des Aides. He
and his two sons after him built the church entirely out of
their own funds.

The high altar is the granite tomb of the Archbishop
St. Romain, and was found in the crypt of St. Godard, where
St. Romain is known to have been buried. There are also
some beautiful windows brought from the ancient churches,
now destroyed, of St. Maur, St. Etienne-des-Tonneliers, and
St. Martin-sur-Renelle. In the first chapel on the right
there is a very curious font-cover, brought from St. Etienne ;
it is ornamented with wood-carvings of the Passion, and
above the cover is a Resurrection, also in carved wood of
sixteenth-century work.

The dome in the nave is painted in fresco with the Acts
of St. Romain: his Consecration; his Destruction of the
Pagan Temples ; his Victory over the Gargouille (this is a
favourite subject in Norman painted glass) ; and the Pro-
cession to obtain the deliverance of a prisoner. At the top
is the Apotheosis of St. Romain. In a side chapel there is a
small marble statue of St. Louis, and a fresco — '' Tobit bury-
ing the Dead."

St. Romain was consecrated Bishop of Rouen somewhere
about the year 630. The precise date does not seem to be
known ; but, according to Monsieur Floquet, the celebrated

THE LEGEND OF THE GARGOUILLE. 75

miracle of the Gargouille was not publicly announced till
1394, when the Chapter of Rouen declared it in support of
the famous Leve'e de la Fierte de St. Romain.

St. Romain passed his early life at the court of Clotaire II.,
but as soon as he was consecrated Bishop of Rouen he
devoted all his energies to the extirpation of idolatry. His
efforts were crowned with success, the old chronicle says,
and God was pleased to testify to his sanctity by according
to him the power of working numerous miracles, one of
which by its enduring celebrity has surpassed all the others.

There was in those days, in a morass near Rouen, a pro-
digious dragon which devoured men and animals. Occa-
sionally it took a bath in the river, thereby flooding the
city ; it rubbed itself against a church, and down toppled
tower and spire ; it leaned against trees, and snapped the
strongest off at the root ; and it so persecuted the workmen
then engaged in building the tower of St. Romain, that they
dared not carve thereon the figure of a single monster. It
was also a beast fond of delicate food, for we are told it
specially devoured the young girls. The presence of this
fearful destroyer filled the city with panic, and filled St.
Romain with burning zeal day and night to devise the means
of releasing his people from their enemy.

At last he resolved on a direct attack, and he set forth in
search of the monster accompanied by a murderer already
condemned to suffer a shameful death.

As soon as St. Romain entered the dragon's den, the beast
advanced snorting and giving signs of fury ; but the saint
made the sign of the cross, and in an instant the furious
Gargouille was transformed into a peaceful animal. The
bishop passed a leash round its neck, and bade the criminal

76 ROUEN.

who had witnessed the miracle lead the monster back into
Rouen. In this manner the terrible beast was conducted into
the city, where it was publicly burned. Some chroniclers say
that the den of the Gargouille was in the forest of Rouvray,
on the other side of the river; others, that it was on the
site of the Champ du Jpardon (between the Porte Beau-
voisine and the Porte Bouvreuil) — so called because, when
the first solemn celebration of the feast of St. Romain
was instituted, in 1079, by William Bonne-Am e. Archbishop
of Rouen, so large a concourse of people assembled that
the sermon had to be preached in the open air, and so many
indulgences were then and there distributed that the field
received the name of the Champ du Pardon.

To return to the Gargouille : the murderer who led him
back obtained a free pardon, and in order that the memory
of this glorious miracle might never perish, King Dagobert,
by the advice of St. Ouen, gave permission to the Cathedral
of Rouen to deHver from death every Ascension-day a
prisoner, whomsoever the clergy might choose to select.

This custom, called La Levee de la Fierte de St. Romain,
was continued by the clergy of Rouen till the Revolution. It
still existed when Doctor Ducatel visited the city, in 1767,
and he gives the following quaint account of " the privilege
of St. Romain :" —

" The chapter, which consists of the archbishop, a dean,
fifty canons, and ten dignitaries or prebendaries, have ever
since the reign of Henry IL, King of England and Duke of
Normandy, enjoyed the extraordinary annual privilege of
pardoning, on Ascension-day, any person confined within
the jurisdiction of the city for murder, with his or her accom-
plices; if there happens to be no such prisoner, then any other

THE FIERTE DE ST. ROMAIN. 77

malefactor, however atrocious the crime he is charged with
may be, provided it is not high treason against his sovereign,
and that he is a native of the place, receives the pardon. On
the morning of Ascension-day, the chapter, having heard the
confession and examination of the prisoners read, proceeds
to the election of the person to be pardoned ; and the name
is transmitted by one of the chaplains to the parliament
which assembles on that day at the palace. The parliament,
having received the billet, walk in procession to the great
chamber (in the Palais de Justice), where the prisoner elect,
being brought before them in his fetters and placed on a stool,
is informed that he is entitled to the privilege of St. Remain.
Then the fetters being removed from his legs and fastened
to his arms, he is led to a place called the Old Tower,
where, in a small chapel dedicated to St, Romain, built on
the site of the ancient palace of the Norman dukes, he waits
the arrival of the procession of St. Mary. As soon as these
matters are notified to the chapter, the procession sets out
from the Cathedral, two of the canons in their albs bearing
the shrine in which the relics of St. Romain are supposed
to be preserved (called the Fierte de St. Romain). When
the procession arrives at the Old Tower, the shrine is placed
in the chapel opposite the criminal, who is kneeling bare-
headed, with the chains on his arms ; and the archbishop,
having made him repeat his confession, lays his hand upon
his head, and says the prayers commonly used at the time of
giving absolution. After this the criminal, still kneeling,
lifts the shrine three times amidst the acclamations of the
people assembled to see the ceremony. The procession
then returns to the Cathedral, followed by the criminal wear-
ing a chaplet of flowers on his head, and carrying in his arms

78 ROUEN.

the shrine of St. Romaiii as far as the high altar, where,
having deposited it, he sahites the chapter and then pro-
ceeds to the chapel of St. Romain within the Cathedral, and
then hears mass said by the chaplain of that fraternity.
The mass finished, he is conducted by the same chaplain to
someplace without the jurisdiction of the city, where, after a
most serious exhortation given to him by a monk particularly
appointed to that office, he is entertained with wine and
other refreshments, and then attended by the same chaplain
returns to the Cathedral, in some of the apartments belong-
ing to which a supper and a bed are provided for him, and
next morning he receives his plenary dismission."

There is not much to interest in the actual Church of
St. Romain, but it is specially interesting from the numerous
good windows and other ancient objects it contains.

We regained the Boulevard, and then went back a Httle
way along it till we reached the Rue Jeanne d'Arc. At the
corner is the old high tower, the last remains of the
Chateau Fort de Bouvreuil, built in 1205 by Philip Augustus.
There were originally seven towers. This last one is called
the Tour Jeanne d'Arc : it formerly belonged to the Con-
vent of the Ursulines j but as they proposed to demolish
it, a national subscription was set on foot, and the tower
is now the property of the town of Rouen. The tower
which served as prison to the Maid disappeared in 1780.
She was put to the torture in this only remaining donjon
tower.

We went along the Rue Morand to the Church of St.
Godard, famous for having once possessed the finest painted
windows in France; but at the time of the Revolution,
when the churches of Rouen were suppressed, all the rich

ST. GODARD. 79

windows of St. Godard passed to the churches of St. Ouen
and St. Patrice. Those windows at the Museum of Anti-
quities, representing the Story of St. Nicholas, formerly be-
longed to St. Godard. In 1806 St. Godard was reopened
for divine worship, and then its two finest windows were
restored — one in the chapel of the Blessed Virgin (the
Genealogy of the Blessed Virgin, 1506), and the other in
the chapel of St. Peter (a large window of the sixteenth
century on the Acts of St. Rornain).

There are two other very old windows, composed of sepa-
rate bits, which were formerly set in plain glass windows, and
are now put together and pieced out with some new glass.
One is in the chapel of the Blessed Virgin, and represents
episodes in her life ; and the other in the chapel of St. Peter,
representing the evangeHc apparitions. There are many
other very interesting windows, chiefly modern. The church
itself is very late Gothic. In the ancient crypt, now de-
stroyed, St. Godard was buried in 530 ; and in 646 St.
Romain — but his remains were afterwards removed to the
Cathedral in T079. The tomb of St. Romain was trans-
ferred, as has been said, to the church of St. Romain.

ROUEN.

CHAPTER III.

The Palais de Justice. The Bridges.

The Grosse Hoiioge. Bon Secours.

St. Vincent. The Cote St. Catherine.

St. Sever. Canteleu.

found our way back to
the Rue Jeanne d'Arc by
the Rue Hotel de Ville.
At the angle of these two
streets is a very pretty
square called the Jardin
Solferino, and from here is
a charming view of the grey
towers of St. Laurent and
of St. Ouen. St. Laurent
is one of the suppressed
churches, and is now used
as a warehouse for carriages.
We looked in, but were un-
courteously told this was not permitted. Its tower is beautiful
and very remarkable, 1490 — 1501, and is seen from a great
distance. It groups admirably with the exquisite grey
tower and spires of St. Ouen, the trees of the pleasant

PALAIS DE JUSTICE. 81

square Solferino in the foreground. St. Laurent was once
famed for its screen.

The shops in the Rue Jeanne d'Arc are so good and
attractive that it is as amusing a lounge as the Rue des
Cannes, which seems to be the Bond-street of Rouen for
shops. On the right, as we come down the Rue Jeanne
d'Arc, is the Post-office, a large, commodious building, but
where the officials are certainly not very skilful in decipher-
ing handwriting. A little way lower, on the left, is the
Marche Neuf, behind which, now used as a school, there is
another suppressed church, the ancient Church of St. L6.
Presently, on the left, we see the street we are in search of,
the Rue des Juifs, in which is the Palais de Justice.

The actual Palais de Justice forms one side of a square,
and faces the street ; but the older building of the Salle des
Procureurs joins it, forming awing on the left; the wing
on the right was rebuilt in 1S42 — 52, in very successful
imitation of the rest of the facade. The completed effect
is magnificent ; and although the ornament may be thought
redundant and mixed in style, it is marvellous in execution.
The statues, with their rich canopies and pinnacles, the balus-
trade rising over the roof, the crocketed arcades which form
a gallery along the entire front, the graceful ornamentation
of the dormer windows, and above all the beautiful little
pavilion projecting from the centre of the facade, are inde-
scribable in their mixture of Hghtness and richness. Louis
XIL built this palace in 1499, ^"^^ '^'^ great and ancient
Court of Exchequer of Normandy. Until this the Court of
Exchequer, of which mention is made in the time of William
the Conqueror, had been sometimes held at Rouen, some-
times at Caen, and sometimes at Falaise ; but Louis XIL

82 ROUEN.

fixed it permanently at Rouen, and Francis I. raised it into
a parliament on his accession to the crown, 15 15. The
little round room in the pavilion, with its funnel-shaped
roof, was occupied by both these kings when they came to
Normandy to preside at the solemn meetings of the Estates
of Normandy.

We went first into the building on the left, the Salle
des Procureurs ; this was built in 1393 as a place of meeting
for merchants ; it used to be called the Salle des Pas Perdus.
It is a very lofty and spacious hall, with a roof like an in-
verted ship, and it is not supported by any pillars. Be-
neath it are the Conciergerie and the prisons. A plaster
cast of the bronze statue of Corneille, on the stone bridge
over the Seine, is at the end of this hall. From the Salle
des Procureurs we passed into the ancient grand chamber of
the Parliament of Rouen ; it is a very fine hall, now called
the Cour d'Assises. The ceiling is of the Louis XII. period,
much sculptured and gilt, but it has been recently restored ;
it is carved in solid oak. The walls are ornamented with
bees and the cipher of Napoleon III., with eagles here and
there. From this hall we pass into the council-chamber.
There is a picture here of the Crucifixion, given by Louis
XII. In the Salle des Appels there is a Christ by Philip
de Champagne, and a Judgment of Solomon by Mignard.
The wing on the right contains courts of justice, and the
Cour Impe'riale held its sittings there.

Next to the Cathedral and the Place de la Pucelle, this
well-preserved Palais de Justice stirs more memories than
any other spot in Rouen. Especially interesting is the little
round room, unchanged since Francis I. sat there three hun-
dred and fifty-nine years ago.

LA GROSSE HORLOGE. 83

In the Rue des Juifs there is a stone house, late six-
teenth century, Nos. 47 and 49 ; and at No. 9 of this
street is the house in which Jouvenet was born, in 1644.

We came down a Httle narrow street from the Rue des
Juifs into the Rue Grosse Horloge, and found ourselves
close to this remarkable clock. It is, perhaps, with its

^^^^A. Ia\ 4 J 7 '■'\

La Grosse Horloge.

gate-house, and archway, and bas-reliefs, as picturesque as
anything in Rouen ; and going a little way beyond it, the
views of the street, seen through the stone archway from
either side, are full of picturesque effects of light and shade

84 ROUEN.

on the quaint old houses. At the foot of the tovrer is the
fountain of the Grosse Horloge ; it represents Alpheus and
Arethusa and their children. The archway itself was erected
in 1527, on the site of what was called the Porte Massacre.
Above it on each side are the huge clock-dials, in sculp-
tured frames ; underneath the vault is sculptured a shep-
herd tending sheep, and on the side walls are also bas-reliefs
of the same subject. On one side, facing the old market-
place, is the inscription —

** Animam suam ponit pro ovibus suis,"

and on the opposite side —

"Pastor bonu?."

There is a railed gallery at the top of the tower, which com-
mands a good view of the town. At the foot of tlie stair-
case of two hundred steps which leads to this, there is a
brass plate with this inscription in black letter — ■

"En Ian de lincarnation nre segnour mil.ccc.iiii et neuf . fu
commence cest berfioy : et Es ans ensuivas jusques en Ian mil . ccc . iiii
et xviii . fu fait et parfait . du quel temps noble home mess . Guille de
Bellengues chevallier chambellan du Roy nostre Sire estoit cappitaine de
ceste ville . honorable home pourueu et sage Johan de la tuille bailly .
et Sire Guillaume alorge, Johan mustel . Guill de gaugy . Richard de
sommery . Nicolas le roux . Gaultier campion . conseillers de ladicte
ville et Pierre hermes reseueur d'icelle."

At the top of the two hundred steps is the bell ; and here is
another inscription in black letter —

" t Je sui : nomme Rouvel : Rogier : le : Feron : me : fisa : fere :
Jehan : Damiens : me fisa f."

This bell is called the Cloche d' Argent, probably from
its sound, for there is no silver in it ; it rings every night at

ST. VINCENT. 85

nine o'clock, and also for public rejoicings or sorrows. It
was cast in 1447, and was then called the Horloge du
Beffroi.

The ancient town-hall used to stand in this street, near
the belfry tower, but only a bit of it remains facing the Rue
Thouret. We went quite along the Rue Grosse Horloge,
looking at its quaint old houses and the view of the Cathe-
dral in front, and then we came down the Rue Grand Pont
a little way, and turned into the Rue aux Ours. There is
much to interest in this street; at No. 46, Dulong, the
great chemist and natural philosopher, was born in 1785 ; at
No. 61, Boieldieu, the composer, was born in 1775. AtNos.
24 and 26, and at No. 81, are two towers of the sixteenth
century ; and at the corner of the street where it crosses the
Rue Jeanne d'Arc is the tower of the Church of St. Andre,
1526. This tower has been restored and surrounded by an
enclosure. Before we left the Rue aux Ours, we found the
Rue Nationale and the Rue des Cordeliers running side by
side. In the first of these streets is the tower of the ancient
Church of St. Pierre-du-Chatel, fifteenth century ; and in the
Rue des Cordeliers, Nos. 2, 4, 6, the former chapel of the
Cordeliers, thirteenth century, now used as wine vaults and
as a shop for theatrical decorations !

We went back into the Rue Jeanne d*Arc, and soon came
to the Church of St. Vincent. This is an original-looking
church, with its low square tower, high-roofed apse, and
flying buttresses ; it is also very elegant. There is some
fine painted glass, and the porch is most exquisitely sculp-
tured. The whole church, both for exterior and interior,
is remarkable. Above the chief entrance are the remains
of a bas-relief after Michael Angelo, and in a window of

86 ROUEN.

the right aisle looking towards the choir, a Blessed Virgin,
and Apostles kneeling, painted, partly on pasteboard, by
Albert Diirer. In the north aisle is a window representing
the story of St. John Baptist; the figures are very life-like,
and the colour excellent. There was once a window in this
church containing a view of St. Ouen, but unfortunately it
is now broken.

St. Vincent was formerly called St. Vincent-sur-rive,
because it stood on the bank of the Seine. The treasurers
of St. Vincent held possession of the salt-measures of the
town of Rouen : the measures were kept in a small tower
at the entrance of the church. As each boat laden with
salt passed up the Seine, it stopped at the church, and
gave a certain quantity to the parish of St. Vincent.
This toll is still levied, but it is paid by a yearly sum of
140 livres.

St. Vincent is being very well restored ; its services are
attended by the Norman aristocracy when they visit Rouen.
One side of this church is in the Rue Vicomte. No. 45
was the ancient hotel of the Vicomte de I'Eau, but it has
been lately rebuilt. No. 54 is an old sixteenth-century
house. There are very many of these old stone houses to
be found ; and many also of the wooden houses, with their
remarkable stripes of slate overlapping each other alter-
nating with broader stripes of plaster, resting on oak
beams of marvellous solidity, and capped by nodding
wooden gables above.

But those who wisli to see the Rouen of the past must
not delay to visit her; every year she becomes more
modernised. In the autumn of 1872 we saw a beautiful old
house in the Rue du Bac being pulled down from its pic-

ST. SEVER, 87

turesque gables to the ground. Already the three prin-
cipal streets running direct from the Seine to the Boule-
vards are bare, cold, and devoid of interest, except for
the churches that stand in them ; and every day the people
of Rouen take more and more pride in these well-to-do,
commonplace, and we suppose we must add useful,
streets, and grudge the room still occupied in the older
part of the town by the picturesque but tottering wooden
houses.

The Rue des Carmes is neither so broad nor so hand-
some as either of the modern streets on each side of
it — the Rue Jeanne d'Arc, formerly Rue de I'lmperatrice,
or the Rue de la Republique, once Rue Imperiale. There
used to exist behind the Rue Imperiale, on the site of
the ancient jMonastery of St. Amand, a square opening,
a perfect Cour des IMiracles. Poor artisans, workpeople
of all sorts — especially street-sweepers — lived here in pic-
turesque, tumble-down houses, in the midst of the charming
ruins of the old abbey ; it was dirty, doubtless, but it must
have been full of pictures. Now all that remains is No. 35,
in the Rue de la Re'publique, an old house, the Hotel
St. Amand, built on the site of the old abbey. A turret and
the room of, the abbess Guillemette are said still to remain
of the ancient abbey; they are to be seen at No. 25, Rue
Ronques, in the Faubourg Bouvreuil, near the Boulevard.

Travellers who have time to spare, and who are interested
in visiting manufactories, will like to cross the Seine and
visit the suburb of St. Sever. Besides the numerous manu-
factories, of which the tall chimneys form sufficient guide-
posts, are to be found the Church of St. Sever, a modern
building ; the wharves, barracks, docks, lunatic asylums

88 ROUEN.

at St. Yon and Quatremares, a reformatory school in the
ancient Priory of St. JuHen, a botanic garden, the Abattoirs
near Sotteville, and the gas-works in the island of Lacroix.
But, even to the mere antiquarian traveller, who cares only
for the past of Rouen and the associations that hang about
her ancient stones and medieval houses, there are interest-
ing memories in St. Sever. The church only dates from
1856, but it stands on the site of one built in 1538, and this
had taken the place of a much earlier building, of which
the following legend is narrated : —

In the reign of Richard the Fearless, grandson of Rolf,
first Duke of Normandy, two priests of Rouen made a
pilgrimage to a church built in a forest near Mont
St. Michel, for here was the sepulchre of St. Sever,
Bishop of Avranches. This church was only served by
one priest, who lived alone. The two pilgrim priests,
inflamed with excessive zeal, resolved to carry off the body
of the saint ; but the priest overheard them as they were
planning the attempt in the forest, and prevented them from
executing it. The two priests went back to Rouen, and
obtained the duke's permission to remove the holy relics ;
armed with this they returned to the church, and carried
off the body of St. Sever, amid the tears and remonstrances
of the priest and his flock. More than once during
the journey, the shrine which contained the body of the
saint became so heavy, that the priests could not remove it
until they had vowed to build a chapel on the spot where
the body rested ; and then immediately the weight was
removed, and they were able to begin their journey again.
But when they reached the village of Emendreville, not
even the usual vow would lighten the shrine : it remained

STATUE OF CORNEILLE, 89

rooted to the spot, and a church was built round it and
dedicated to St. Sever. The village itself was called Emen-
dreville for four centuries after, but at last it took the name
of St. Sever. The shrine of St. Sever in the Museum of
Antiquities can hardly be the original coffer of the journey ;
but it is of very ancient date, and doubtless stood once in
the first church dedicated to the saint.

The Caserne Bonne Nouvelle is the ancient priory of that
name, so called by Queen Matilda when she received the
news of her husband's victory at Hastings. These barracks
have accommodation for nine hundred men.

The asylum for female insane patients, in the Rue St.
Julien, was begun by the Brothers of St. Yon in 1708. They
seem to have built their own church themselves, without
the assistance of architect or workmen; and, in 1734, they
buried their founder, the venerable Pere Lasalle, in the
Church of St. Sever. At the Revolution this community
was suppressed; and, in 1821, the Consul-General of this
department purchased the monastery as an asylum foe
insane persons. It contains about one thousand insane
females, chiefly paupers : they are tended by Sisters of
St. Joseph of Cluny.

The suburb of St. Sever is reached either by the stone
bridge at the foot of the Rue de la Republique, or by the
suspension-bridge at the foot of the Rue des Carmes.

The famous bridge of boats, built in 1626, stood formerly
about 150 yards lower down than the stone bridge, nearly
opposite the Rue du Bac. This stone bridge, completed in
1829, forms two bridges, connected by the He de la Croix,
with the bronze statue of Corneille between them. This
statue is 1 2 feet high : it was cast by Honore' Gonon, of

90 ROUEN.

Paris, after the model by David. The first stone of the
pedestal was laid on the island by Louis Philippe, 1833.
There is this inscription on one side of the pedestal — •

A Pierre Corneille
Par Souscription

1834

The suspension-bridge, opposite the Rue Grand Pont,
was opened the same day that the bridge of boats was done
away with. There is a guard-house on one side of .the
bridge ; and on the right is the house of Brune, famous for
having saved the lives of more than thirty persons drowning
in the Seine. He is dead now, but the city of Rouen had
this house built as a reward for his numerous services.

Rouen is rich in fountains ; it possesses thirty-six. Of
these, the two most ancient are the Fontaine de la Croix de
Pierre, 15 15, erected by Cardinal d'Amboise, in the Carre-
four St. Vivien, and the Fontaine de Lisieux, 15 18, in the
Rue de la Savonnerie : it represents Mount Parnassus.
The Fontaine de la Crosse, at the corner of the Rue des
Carmes and the Rue de I'Hopital, was still older, but it has
been restored. The fountains of the Grosse Horloge and of
St. Maclou are also remarkable.

The only one of the old gates of Rouen which still exists
is the gate Guillaume Lion, on the quay, at the bottom of the
Rue des Arpents. It was built in the middle of the last cen-
tury. The sculptor was Claude le Prince, a native of Rouen.
It is chiefly worth seeing for the foreground it makes to
the picturesque view of the Rue des Arpents, which its
portal frames. We saw this on our way to Bon Secours,
and soon after we passed the Champ de Mars, where the
soldiers were very busy at drill, and came to the Church of

BON SECOURS. 91

St, Paul. Popular tradition says that this was an ancient
Temple of Adonis, but there seems to be no foundation for
such a belief. The three apses are very curious, and so arc
the grotesque heads outside them. The new church of St.
Paul is built close beside the old one. The Cours Dauphin,
planted with double rows of trees, makes a pleasant drive.
Indeed, all the way up the hill to Bon Secours the road is
charming, shaded with trees, diversified with hedges, and,
whenever a pause is made, affording a most exquisite view
of Rouen.

About half-way up the hill on the right is a curious-looking
house like a castle, on a projecting bit of cliff that juts out,
overlooking the Seine. This place, called Belle Vue, was to
let ; so we went over it. It had been taken possession of by
the Prussians during the war. They planted seven field-pieces
in the garden to overawe the town ; and when one sees how
near the city is, and how completely unsheltered, it seems
wonderful that Rouen escaped. Part of the house is built in
the shape of a round tower, and the rooms in the tower are
round. One of these has five windows, each of which com-
mands a charming view. The house is still very dilapidated.
The woman who had charge of it showed us the looking-
glasses smashed by the Prussians. Below is a large hall,
which the soldiers seem to have used as barracks. We
strolled out into the garden, so neglected that it is almost
a wilderness. A narrow path leads up through a little wood
to the projecting crag on which the cannon were planted,
and here we found ourselves at quite a dizzy height over
the Seine ; in the foreground the sparkling river, with its
emerald islands, and then the grey hoary-looking city, with
the heights of Canteleu beyond.

92 ROUEN.

But we did not linger long here. We were anxious to
see the view from Bon Secours, and also from Mont
St. Catherine, which is perhaps the most comprehensive
of all.' For, however beautiful and interesting Rouen
may be in detail, the grandest part of it is certainly its
position : it is so surrounded by heights that there are
many and varied views to be had of it ; and these heights
are easy of access, for, besides the voitures which abound
along the quays, there are numerous omnibuses which start
from the Place des Beaux Arts. The ordinary traveller
gives perhaps two or three days to Rouen, but the buildings
in the town alone demand a longer stay than this, and to
visit its charming suburbs and the many places of interest
within easy reach will take several days. The environs of
Rouen are well worth seeing, and it is quite possible to visit
Jumieges and St. Georges Boscherville from here, as they
are within a drive.

Just before reaching Bon Secours, the road becomes a
steep climb, and the horses go even slower than pedestrians ;
but the ascent is Avell worth making for the sudden burst of
prospect which greets us at the porch of the church.

The church is an excellent specimen of modern Gothic,
of thirteenth-century style. The doorways are richly
sculptured, and all the mouldings and details are well and
judiciously executed ; but we thought the colouring of the
interior painfully glaring and inartistic. There is no repose
for the eye anywhere ; even the pure white marble tablets
which line the walls are glaring with inscriptions to INIary,
in gilt letters; these are votive tablets erected as thank-
offerinofs for the intercession of Notre-Dame de Bon Secours.
We had business with Monsieur le Cure, and found out his

COTE ST. CATHERINE.

^)3

pleasant old-fashioned house and garden, near tne church
He was not at home ; but we saw what a peaceful, charmmg
nook he lives in, and had a chat with his old housekeeper,
a little wrinkled woman, with eyes as bright as a squirrel's.

La Cote St. Catherine is so near Bon Secours that it is easy
to walk there from the church. There are several roads ;
the i^leasantest way for walking is that on the north, by
the Petites Eaux Martainville. The path follows the river

-.•;if\':imivV\V\W\!',^^*l5iv^^jf

=$.&^s"-e^^

General View of Rouen.

Aubette, with its dyeing-houses and green meadows, for
some distance. Then we turned into a winding road, shaded
by the wood of Bois Bagnieres, and found ourselves on the
Cote St. Catherine. It is not so lofty as Bon Secours ; but
there is nothing here to intercept the view, and it is perfect,
as it commands both the valley of Darnetal and that of the
river. At our feet is the Seine, glittering in the exquisite
sunshine and sparkling atmosphere — an atmosphere in which
every grey spire and every green poplar-girt island stand out

94 ROUEN.

crisply and brilliantly. The city is girt on three sides by the
Boulevards, or rather by what looks at this distance a semi-
circular green belt, linked at each extremity by the steel-
like glimmer of the winding Seine, with its forest of masts
and funnels ; beyond it are vast green plains, bounded by
the dense forests of Rouvray and La Londe. But the eye
travels quickly round this setting, and comes back with
delight to the hoary city below; for at this distance, and
having in the foreground the ancient suburb of Martain-
ville, Rouen loses any modernness of aspect.

The gay glitter and movement of the river-side give it
sparkle and animation, or it might seem to be a phantom
city guarded by its three grand churches, the spire of St.
Maclou standing out in distinctive grace, and yet grouping
admirably with the towers of the Cathedral and the grey
mass of St. Ouen, which rises loftily above all except the
gridiron spire of Notre-Dame ; and from this distance the
hideous monster is inoffensive, and makes a grand feature
in the view — now telling black as ink against the blue sky,
now, as the light falls fully on it, revealing itself in pale grey.
Overhead a lark was singing what seemed to be a perpetual
hymn of praise, and some black and white goats were
browsing close by, looking as if they had come there on
purpose to complete the harmony of the picture.

From the Cote St. Catherine we see on the north-east the
valley of Darne'tal. An ancient tower stands here, called
Carville, from which it is said Henry IV. reconnoitred the
Leaguers when he besieged them. Some miles north-east of
Darne'tal are the ruins of the famous Abbey of Mortemer,
begun in 1154 by Henry II. of England. Still more to the
north are the hills of St. Hilaire and those of Les Sapins.

CANTELEU. 95

Beyond them is the hill of Bois Guillaume, full of charming
walks and views of the city. Next to Bois Guillaume is
St. Aignan, and rising from this is the Mont-aux-Malades :
but this is an excursion of itself. The church, twelfth cen-
tury, is worth a visit ; in it is a curious old tomb of the
time of St. Louis, and close by the church are some curious
Romanesque ruins — those of a church belonging to the
monastery of St. Jacques, endowed by Henry I. and
Henry II. The last king took much interest in the Leper
Hospital of the Mont-aux-Malades, and instituted a fair,
which used to be held on the hill every year, on the ist
of September. The history of the Mont-aux-Malades, by
Monsieur I'Abbe Langlois, is interesting. A road leads down
from the Cote St. Catherine along the Rue Mont Gargan
into the Rue Martainville.

But our most delightful excursion in the environs of
Rouen was to Canteleu. We were fortunate in having as
bright a day for this visit as for Bon Secours, and a bright
day in Rouen is marvellously beautiful; it is like looking
at nature through a diamond, the atmosphere is so crisp and
sparkling. As our driver, a brown-faced, blue-eyed Norman,
with a nose and chin singularly suggestive of the silhouette
of " Punch," turned round to volunteer numerous remarks
on the beauty of the road, his brick-dust coloured cheeks,
the curve of his nose, his shiny hat, and faded blue coat
stood out in metallic sharpness from the blue sky around
him. He stopped when we were beyond the barrier and
had fairly begun to climb the steep cote on this western
side of Rouen, and pointed with his whip to emphasize
his words : —

" Ah, and is it not then a fine city? I can see by the face

96 ROUEN.

of madame what she thinks. Madame has perhaps lived a
long time in Rouen."

Having got an answer, he burst into a peal of laughter,
shook the rein, and we moved slowly up hill. " Tie?is^^ he
went on, " and is it then possible that monsieur and madame
have taken a so strong love for our city after a stay of only
some days? and we say that the English are cold and
indifferent. Dame, but it something new for me."

The expression of his face, while he rattled on in this
way, was irresistible. He was plainly laughing at us the
whole time, and watching to see the effect ; and when he
saw us laughing too, he joined in, took off his hat and
wiped his face, which had got very red, with his handker-
chief, and rolled, as he sat, with delight.

All this time we were slowly mounting the terraced road
cut on the side of the steep green hill overlooking the Seine.
The driver told us not to look back till we were nearer
Canteleu, but we ventured to disobey him, and were glad
we did so ; for the river makes a sudden curve here, and the
view of the city nesthng in the bend, and backed by the
green Cote St. Catherine, with Bon Secours standing
out like a watch-tower on the hill above, was magical. A
few grey clouds had risen since we started, and one of
these now caused a strange effect on the scene below.
The grey green-belted city, the sparkling river, and the
border of white modern houses which line the quays were
in vivid light, and so was the curved green island, lying in
front of all, like a smiling sentinel ; but the three churches
rose up like black phantoms mourning over the departed
glory of their city. For it strikes one as a strange contrast
to the past history of Rouen — the capital city of a duke-

C ANTE LEU, 97

(Jom — and to the feudal and chivalric associations that ding
round the columns of the churches and the gables of its
houses, that its boast now is that it rivals Manchester, and
its aim is to be considered the first cotton-spinning town in
Europe. Once there were thirty-six churches in Rouen;
there are now not half the number ; and as church spires,
and towers, and religious houses have been swept away,
the tall chimneys, with their clouding smoke, have multi-
plied till every distant view of the city is marred by some
of these unsightly erections. Men no longer build houses
for God, only for themselves.

The owner of Canteleu, Monsieur Lefebure, is very kind
and courteous to strangers, and takes great pleasure in
showing his house and museum of curiosities ; he was unfor-
tunately absent on the day of our visit, and the house was
closed. But the grounds at Canteleu are exquisite, laid
out in natural wooded terraces overlooking the lovely
Seine, which curves again here on its way to Dieppedalle.
Nestling at our feet, among beautiful trees, is the little
village of Croissy, then comes the island-gemmed river,
and opposite is Rouen, just now lying half in shadow,
while the churches are bathing in a full flood of sunshine,
which succeeds in changing them to a grey filmy hue,
making them as phantom-like as before.

We stayed a long time at Canteleu. It is very well
planted ; the trees are skilfully varied, and many of them
very remarkable ; the steep cote rises high above the walks,
and the smooth turf beside these fringes the edge of another
descent, with another walk below. There is a curious
series of caves pierced in one of these cotes, with pillars of
solid crag left here and there to support the roof : they look

98 ROUEN.

as if they had been made for smugglers, but we could not
learn their history. We came out again and stayed till
sunset, watching the beech-wood till it quivered with red
gold, and the pine branches changed to glowing crimson
against their purple-green foliage; from among the group
of pines below, came up wreaths of blue smoke from the
village of Croissy; but the air grew suddenly chill, and
the beetles began to fly about in warning fashion. Most
reluctantly we took our way up the steep slopes and
through the avenue, and said good-bye to Canteleu, the
more sorrowfully because this was also our last day at
Rouen.

THE SEA-COAST OF UPPER NORMANDY.

CHAPTER IV.

DIEPPE.

O far as Malaunay
we travel along the
line of the Rouen
and Havre Railway.
On leaving the sta-
tion in the Rue
Verte, we pass
through the tunnel
of the INIont-aux-
Malades, and come
out beside the Ce-
metery of St. Gervais. Very soon we are overlooking the
valley of the Cailly. It is very pretty here ; the little river
winds along shaded by trees, but still everywhere there are
traces of industry. Presently we come doAvnhill beside the
little winding river, and pass Maromme, the birthplace of
Marshal Pelissier. Maromme is in a valley full of busy
factories : every moment we are reminded that we are
leaving a great commercial centre. The ruins and ancient

100 THE SEA- CO AST OF UPPER NORMANDY.

!iiemories of Normandy are buried under these thriving
villages, with their tall chimneys and long ugly factories ;
but it is a hopeful sign for France that in the midst of
political agitation her factories, and consequently employ-
ment for the peasantry, steadily increase. Year by year
as one visits Rouen, Vire, and other busy towns, one
grieves over fresh eye-sores in the shape of red chimneys
in the midst of lovely valleys, or in close conjunction with
some architectural relics of the past. Still these are hopeful
signs ; only one would be glad in Normandy, for the sake
of the picturesque, to confine the manufactories to Elbceuf,
Bolbec, Yvetot, and a few other of the uninteresting t )wns
which a traveller leaves unvisited, and rid the Vaux de Vire
and the country round Rouen of their presence.

At Malaunay we separate from the Havre line, and
climb the hill again, and once more look down on the
little osier-shaded river, winding its way through pleasant
meadows, backed by wooded hills. As we pass along, we
see the signal-woman beside the line, in her quaint blue
gown and black sailor hat, blowing her horn. The station
garden at Malaunay is charming. We stop long enough to
see that it is full of roses ; a group of very tall sunflowers
are burning in the light like glowing golden shields. In the
middle of the garden is a huge silvered ball on a pedestal.
There is a grand viaduct at Malaunay ; indeed, when one
notices the ups and downs of this charming country, and
its constantly intersecting rivers, one thinks with wonder of
the difficulties of constructing this railroad.

We soon come to Monville, destroyed by a storm in
1845, and now, thanks to the city of Rouen, rebuilt and
in greater prosperity than before. The Cailly and the

LONGUEVILLE. loi

Clbres unite at Monville. A Roman cemetery was dis-
covered here in 1847. A very interesting trip may be
made from Monville into the valley of the Cailly. Many
GalJo-Roman remains have been found near Cailly.

Nearer Dieppe the road becomes very beautiful; with
wide stretches of common backed bj romantic-looking
forests of picturesque trees. We boast of our English
trees, and they are certainly bigger, grander-looking than
French trees; but for real grace and beauty of form
the trees of Normandy are especially remarkable. Now
we are in a charming tree-shaded valley, and we pass
St. Victor I'Abbaye, which stands on a hill. The Morte-
marts founded a splendid abbey here in 1051, but there is
only a small portion left. The church was founded by
WiUiam the Conqueror, and has outside a statue of
him. We cross the Scie so frequently that it seems as
if our whole route was bridged over the little winding
river. We pass many villages where interesting remains
have been discovered : Auffay, where so lately as 1861
were discovered the ruins of the cloister of a priory,
thirteenth century; the wood of i\Iont Pinson, where there
are the remains of a chateau of the eleventh century ;
Longueville, with some stones of the walls once sur-
rounding the castle which Conde's sister made famous
during the wars of the Fronde. Longueville station stands
on the ground once occupied by the ancient Priory of
St. Fay, built in 1093 ; its ruins have helped to build most
of the houses of Longueville, and the only remaining por-
tion is now used as a cotton-mill.

Dr. Ducarel, writing in 1767, says, ''At Longueville,
in the Pays de Caux, half-way between Dieppe and Rouen,

102 THE SEA-COAST OF UPPER NORMANDY,

is a Cluniac priory founded by Walter GifFard, Earl of
Buckingham, who died in the year 1102, and lies buried
there. He granted several manors, churches, and lands
to this priory; among others, the manor of Newinton
Longueville, in Bucks, where a Cluniac priory was after-
wards founded as a cell to Longueville in Normandy."

Near St. Aubin-sur-Scie is the Chateau de Miromesnil,
built in the time of Louis Treize. Taking it as a whole,
the journey from Rouen to Dieppe is among the prettiest
of railway journeys — woods, hills, winding rivers, and
smiling green meadows (for it is chiefly pasture land)
make a sunny and picturesque landscape of endless change
and variety : there is always something to elicit admiration
and observation.

Perhaps the most direct route through Normandy is to
arrive at Dieppe from Newhaven, proceed to Rouen by rail,
and thence again by rail to Fecamp. But those travellers
who have time to spare can begin with Rouen, via Boulogne
and Amiens, thence to Dieppe, and so on to Fecamp by the
coast. The chief advantage of the first route is the charming
view of Dieppe from the sea, formed by its two projecting
piers, each surmounted by a crucifix, the busy harbour and
quaint houses surrounding it, with St. Jacques rising in the
centre and the castle-crowned heights behind. Our first
visit is to the west pier, which reaches far into the sea. In
rough weather the waves break with fury against the pier,
and leap up to dash against the white cliffs. I rom the pier
we can go along the plage to the Etablissement des Bains,
a substantially built, sheltered place, in the style of the
Crystal Palace, surrounded by a well-planted garden. There
is a casino here : in the centre is a large ball-room, and

GRANDE RUE.

103

on each side billiard-rooms, reading-rooms, and all the
necessary accompaniments of a fashionable seaside resort ;
for, next to Trouville, Dieppe is the watering-place, now-a-
days, where the greatest extravagance in dress is displayed :
the glass front of the casino makes a pleasant shelter
for invalids, who sit here reading and working in sight
of the sea. One wonders, as one saunters through the
quaint town up to the castle heights, and thence visits
the charming country around, how people can spend so
many hours in doing just what they could do in London or

;^^'^-'^^«-l^'

Avant Port.

Paris or Brighton, ignoring, as many of them do, the real
delights which the place has to offer. The chief features of
Dieppe are its casino life, its fishery, and its trade in carved
ivory ; and, mthout the town, its charming environs.

From the plage we go on to the Grande Rue, through a
small street in no way remarkable for its houses ; for Dieppe
has a painfully modern aspect, having been bombarded and
completely destroyed in 1694 by the English in revenge for
a repulse they had received at Brest. Spite of this Dieppe
is very picturesque : and although it has many English
among its visitors, it is as yet a purely French town.

104 THE SEA- CO AST OF UPPER NORMANDY.

As we go up the street we meet a bevy of fish-women, with
short black skirts and black stockings, red or blue necker-
chiefs, and white-cotton-stocking caps. They stand at the
corner of a street, near a dyer's, seemingly, for the ruisseau
rushing along the street is of a deep blue colour. Two of
them are young, with bright black eyes and bronzed, well-
featured faces. The others are old, wrinkled caricatures of
the younger faces ; their black eyes look small and hard in
the network of brown wrinkles in which they are set, and
their mouths are pinched and lifeless from the entire loss of
teeth. Neither young nor old show any hair; it is all
stowed away under the nightcap.

On each side of this street are small shops with glass
doors, and windows filled with freshly ironed muslin and
frilled caps hanging by the broad white strings. Let us
look into one of these shops. On one side, over the fire-
place, is a mantelshelf with clock in the middle, and a
moderator lamp on each side of it ; close by, a round table
is spread for dinner ; on the other side, a sort of counter,
where three or four young women are ironing with so much
earnestness that they scarcely look off their irons. The
white painted room is so small that it is filled with the
amount of work they have accomplished, and there is much
more yet to do. Almost every open doorway in the street
affords the same spectacle, and makes one think that, spite
of their extreme economy — and the Normans are the most
thrifty people imaginable — they are lavish in the matter of
washing. Certainly you never see a soiled cap or crumpled
cap-strings. Those snowy frills round all the faces above
the wearing of a cotton nightcap, always look as if they were
put on for the first time. Doubtless the absence of smoke

PLACE DU MARCH E. 105

helps much towards this snowy aspect, and much more the
good washing and the excellent soap of Marseilles, so
universal among Norman laundresses. One is apt to long
for the French bonne's cap in place of the horrible little
shams worn nowadays by English maid-servants ; but, in our
climate and with our washing, the French cap would be
either very expensive wear, or else unsightly.

The Grande Rue has some good shops, especially those
for ivory-ware — a trade which is almost peculiar to Dieppe,
and which is said to have taken its origin from the importa-
tion of elephants' tusks in the days — three centuries ago —
when Dieppe was the most flourishing seaport in France,
and one of the first in Europe, when the famous merchant
D'Ango, the friend of Francis I., was a sort of king on the
high seas, and his fleets and those of his successors brought
furs from Canada, and all the rich treasures of the East
Indies, to supply the luxurious courts of the Valois sove-
reigns. Besides the ivory shops, there are charming figures
and cameos in terra-cotta well worth looking at.

We go from the Grande Rue to the Place Royale, or Place
du Marche. It is market-day, and there is a most pictu-
resque array of countrywomen, who look as if they all be-
longed to the sea, they are so coarse and hard-featured.
Their dress is wonderfully full of low-toned colour, with
perhaps bright-coloured cotton handkerchiefs tied over their
heads, and blue and one or two black and scarlet striped
skirts. One wonders where painters have seen the gaudy
hues in which they sometimes depict Norman peasant-
women. Black, dark blue, and a sort of greenish grey are
almost the universal colours seen in skirts all over the
province ; the aprons black, grey, lilac, or blue. In La

ic6 THE SEA-COAST OF UPPER NORMANDY.

Haute Normandie the short loose jacket is worn by all,
and this is always of black or dark grey stuff. The colour
lies in the aprons, or where a bright-coloured square of
cotton is tied over the cap. In La Basse Normandie,
specially in Calvados and La Manche, where the necker-
chief is still worn across the shoulders in place of the jacket,
this is usuaUy bright-coloured scarlet or orange mingled
with black. The " indiennes " they wear for this purpose
cost often ^s. or ds., and are treasured for years, and worn
only on market-days and festivals ; but a scarlet petticoat
is not often seen. The Normans are much too thrifty to
wear any but dark-coloured gowns, unless indeed it be a
lavender cotton, and this is always of a pale, subdued tint.
It is the wonderful neatness and jauntiness which pervade
the whole costume of even the poorest, from the black
wooden sabots to the snowy bonnet de coton, with its tassel
a little on one side, that make the Norman peasant so admir-
ably suited as contrast and relief to the quaint rickety
wooden houses and mouldering grey stone wonders of past
times, among which she lives, the colours of her dress
always in harmony with the surroundings ; and the men
with their blue blouses and trousers, often faded to greenish
hues, with many patches of the same colour, but of different
tint, are just as harmonious objects as the women are.
Their skins, too, warm as if the sun had burned his own
reflection into them, their vivacious intelligent eyes and
ready smile, and the intensely brightening effect of the pure
atmosphere, make them quite salient enough against the
ancient, sombre backgrounds of these picturesque old
towns — the artist need not dress them up in colours which
their natural sense of the fitness of things would repudiate.

ST. JACQUES. 107

There are not many covered booths in the market-place of
Dieppe ; but vegetables in baskets and heaps on the ground,
and poultry, and sabots, and crockery- ware seem to be
driving a lazy trade. Thrifty housekeepers, with a little
bonne behinei in well-starched muslin frills and with a great
covered basket on her arm, are pinching the fowls and
ducks, and carefully poising in one hand the huge cabbages
like enormous half-blown green roses, examining them all
round, and rejecting every one that has the least breakage or
bruise on the outside leaf It is easily seen that the French
cook produces good food out of that which the English cook
throws away ; and perhaps nothing so evidences this as the
frugality with which the French one uses a cabbage. The
outer leaves, with a couple of onions, a few sprigs of petUes
heroes, as they say, make the foundation of a soup or a stew,
and the heart of the vegetable is cooked separately, and
served with the hoiiilli.

In the Place Royale is a statue of the Admiral Duquesne,
a famous sailor of Dieppe. Also here is the Church of
St. Jacques ; but the view is so unsightly from this side, that
it is better to go round to the east. Here the body of the
church is almost hidden by the richly decorated flying but-
tresses, which are mullioned like windows. The porch is a
handsome specimen of fourteenth-century style, and, seen
from a distance, this church is highly picturesque. Its
details are too redundant and late in style ; but, on close
inspection, its green-grey stone is full of colour. The Porch
of the Sibyls must have been remarkable before the niches
were robbed of the figures of the Twelve Sibyls. Inside,
the church has been sadly mutilated. The transepts and
part of the choir seem older in date than the rest, and the

io8

THE SEA- COAST OF UPPER NORMANDY.

screens in the side chapels are very curiously carved ; the
style is a sort of fusion of Gothic and Italian architecture,
probably of the date of Francis I. The Lady chapel is very
late Gothic : the roof is elaborately carved. Behind the choir
are two marble tablets — one in memory of D'Ango, 1551, and
the other to Richard Simon, priest of the oratory, in 1638.
There is a great deal of this curious sixteenth-century

St. Jacques.

carving about the church, and it has acquired that peculiar
green hue here and there which one remarks in the old
churches of seaport towns.

St. Jacques was restored in 1870 ; and there were then dis-
covered in the chapel of St. Andrew five coffins, supposed to
contain the bodies of the five Scottish ambassadors sent to

THE OLD CASTLE. 109

France to represent their nation at the marriage of Mary
Stuart with Francis II.

We go out from St. Jacques by the great door to St.
Remy, and we notice still more of the green stain on the
walls of this church. There is absolutely nothing to admire
here. The chill, forlorn aspect of the place suggests
that it has at some time or another been flooded by the
waves, and that these green stains are the traces of their
presence.

The Grande Rue runs direct from the harbour on its
way up to the old Castle; this is very picturesque. The
Castle, perched on the heights overlooking the town, looks
remarkable from below, with its narrow bridge spanning
a natural chasm in the cliff; and when w^e have toiled up
the ascent, passing on our way a quaint fountain with a
group of girls filling their red pitchers of Oriental shape,
we are delighted with one of the little courtyards inside the
Castle walls. There is no beauty of architecture, but there
is a vivid effect of light and shade through the entrance
to this inner court; and beside it clings a vine trying to
make its hold firm on the parapet above, and clustering
with graceful leaves, and fruit already purpling, round an
open lattice-window. The intense sunshine on the v.-hite-
washed wall makes the open space within the window
almost black, and on the sill are geraniums with glowing
scarlet blossoms, and yellow nasturtium wTeaths trailing
down and mingling their cold grey green with the tender
leaves of the vine.

The first Castle of Dieppe was built by Charlemagne, who
is said to have built Dieppe, and to have named it Berthe-
ville, in honour of his mother Bertha; but this Castle

no THE SEA-COAST OF UPPER NORMANDY.

dates from the fifteenth century, and has been completely
modernised. It is full of associations. D'Ango died here,
broken-hearted and beggared, in 1551. Some years later,
Henri Quatre took refuge here during the wars of the
League; and in the seventeenth century the restless Duchess
of Longueville fled to the Castle of Dieppe for safety, and
from thence made her escape to Holland. We find a trace,
too, of William the Conqueror at Dieppe. On his second
return to England, he set sail from " the mouth of the
Dieppe, near the town of Arques," on December 6, 1067,

The Old Castle.

and on his arrival at Winchester learned that the mother
church of Canterbury had been burned to the ground.

The view from the falaises of the town and harbour is
magnificent, and enables one to realise the ancient power
and splendour of Dieppe.

In the tenth century it seems to have been a small sea-
port. About 1 145, Philip Augustus, then at war with
Richard I., sacked and plundered Dieppe. Two years after
Richard, who had taken the rock of Andely, belonging to
the diocese, of Gaultier, Archbishop of Rouen, in order
to build Chateau Gaillard, ceded Dieppe in exchange. Its
commerce greatly increased under Charles V.; but in 1420

COUSIN'S DISCOVERY. ill

it was taken by the English. Its greatest prosperity seems
to date from 1433, when, in the reign of Charles VIL, the
Dauphin Louis XI. retook it from the English.

The archives of Dieppe were destroyed in the bombard-
ment of 1694; but \\Titers who had had the opportunity of
consulting these archives assert that the Dieppois were the
first to land in Guinea, at the Cape of Good Hope, and in
America. In 1402 Jean de Bethencourt, Lord of Grain-
ville-la-Teinturiere, attempted the conquest of the Canaries ;
his enterprise was successful, and at his request Pope Inno-
cent VIII. named Albert de Las Casas bishop of the
Canaries. The use of the mariner's compass was known in
Dieppe from the beginning of the thirteenth century. The
Dieppois assert that a young sailor named Cousin, a pupil
of Descaliers, took command of a ship in 1448, bound on
Atlantic discovery. In accordance with Descalier's instruc-
tions, the Dieppois captain avoided the coast of Africa and
sailed southward. The equatorial current drew him west,
andj after a journey of two thousand leagues, Cousin landed
in an unknown country, on the borders of a great river,
which he named Maragnon, since called Amazon. He then
sailed east, feeling sure he should reach Africa, and touched
at the Cape of Good Hope, whence he returned to Europe.
When, some years later, the renown of Christopher Colum-
bus and Vasco de Gama reached France, the navy of Dieppe
asserted their claim to a share in the glory of this discovery ;
but it was the period of the French expeditions against Italy,
and all public interest was centred in this foolish and fruit-
less enterprise.

There is, in the midst of this record, one singular coin-
cidence. Cousin's mate was a foreigner named Vincent

112 THE SEA-COAST OF UPPER NORMANDY.

Pingon, or Pinzon. On the return voyage to Dieppe this
man mutinied. He was tried, and sentenced to be dismissed
from the naval service of Dieppe.

The chronicle adds that the rebellious mate retired to his
native country, and was one of the three brothers Pinzon
who accompanied Columbus, and greatly aided him by their
advice and money.

Dr. Ducatel says of Dieppe : — " Though it was but a
mean village in the twelfth century, it grew into a consider-
able town soon after King Richard I. had granted it to
Walter, Archbishop of Rouen, and his successors in that
see, in exchange for Andeley, which he annexed to the
Duchy of Normandy."

The famous merchant, Jean D'Ango, contributed much
to the increase of its commerce. He was born at Dieppe in
1480 j his father seems to have been a man of small means,
who had begun to enrich himself by merchant seamanship.
The son, Jean D'Ango, has been called the Medici of
Dieppe ; the boldness of his enterprises, the energy and inde-
pendence of his character, the splendour of his luxury and
expenditure, his ardent and enlightened passion for art,
have shed round him a brilliant lustre, in the light of which
he seems almost to rival his king and friend, Francis I. In
his youth DAngo made several voyages, and then settled
at Dieppe. Here he soon established himself as a mer-
chant ; he equipped vessels for the Indies, and caused
himself to be made farmer-general of the chief lordships of
the country, of the Duchy of Longueville, the abbeys of
Fecamp and St. Wandrille, and of the Vicomte of Dieppe,
belonging to the Archbishop of Rouen. All these enterprises
succeeded ; his riches became immense, and he was able to

LE POLLET, 113

treat with princes on equal terms. When Francis L visited
Dieppe, D'Ango received him as his guest, and entertained
liim with much magnificence. In return, Francis I. gave
D'Ans:© the title of Viscount and Commandant of the
"Yovm and Castle of Dieppe. AVhen the King of Portugal
sent ambassadors to Francis to complain that a fleet
equipped by D'Ango had committed devastation in the
Tagus, the King of France sent the emissaries to D'Ango,
and bid him settle the matter as he pleased. But at the
close of his life ruin overtook him. All his property,
including even his splendid manor of Varengeville, became
the property of his creditors. D'Ango languished for two
years after, and died in the Chateau of Dieppe in 155 1. In
addition to the famous Manoir d'Ango, near Varangeville,
he had a beautiful house in the town, built of wood, and
elaborately carved, the site of which is now occupied by the
College. Besides its ruinous bombardment by the Enghsh,
the trade of Dieppe seems to have suffered a death-blow from
the rivalry of Le Havre, and the superior facilities offered to
the commerce of that port by its position on the Seine. Still,
during the last few years, Dieppe has revived from the ruin
which had overtaken it, and it is more and more frequented
as a watering-place. Its charming environs and the splendid
sea view commanded by its lofty faiaises make it very
attractive. The bathing, too, is excellent.

We came down from the chateau to find our way to the
Faubourg of Le Pollet, which is certainly the most interesting
part of the town. It was formerly a distinct village, and it
is still only inhabited by fishermen, who maintain the cus-
toms of their fathers. They seem quite primitive. The
women dress like the group of fish-women we met on our

114 THE SEA-COAST OF UPPER NORMANDY.

first arrival; and the men in the blue jersey and woollen
serge trousers and stocking cap universal among French
fishermen.

The houses of Le Pollet are very picturesque : fish of
all shapes and size hang on strings from the windows, at
which are drying maybe a pair of blue trousers and a scarlet
nightcap, or a regiment of dark-coloured petticoats. A little
farther on is a balcony with red geraniums and a small trail-
ing yellow flower, and below quite a festoon of large flat fish.

A girl in the inevitable very short black petticoat, but
with blue stockings and a blue handkerchief tied over her
white cap, was standing beneath an open window, set in a
bare blank wall. She looked up, shading her eyes with her
hand, at an old man, seemingly an ivory-carver, for he held
a small ivory figure between his thumb and finger. His
face was very like a walnut-shell in colour ; like it, too, in the
fine network of wrinkles, plainly visible as the sunshine
flamed on his brown face and scarlet worsted cap ; his keen
black eyes looked like slits as he laughed back at the girl ;
and as he laughed he showed that his loose lipless mouth
was quite devoid of teeth. Behind him the room was in
darkness, except that on a projecting shelf close by the
window was an ivory crucifix, beautifully carved. It was
strange to look at the poor squalid house, and at this rough
ignorant workman, and to think of him as the creator of
some of the exquisite little curiosities we had been admiring
in the Grande Rue.

The inhabitants of Le Pollet are full of superstitious
legends and observances. The famous Nain Rouge, the
Robin Goodfellow of Normandy, is said to play endless
tricks on fishermen who neglect to cross themselves with

LEGEND OF LE POLLET. US

holy water when they rise. The young fisher-girls may be
seen seeking along the shore for a white stone, of special
shape, which they call the stone of happiness, and to which
they attribute the power of ensuring their prosperity, deliver-
ance from danger, and in proper time a good husband.

There is one legend which must be related, as it is a
favourite among the Polletais, and it shows the gloomy
fervour which characterizes this strange people. The same
legend is told of St. Etienne Lallier, near Pont Audemer,
and of the churchyard of St. Martin-des-Champs, between
Falaise and Conde-sur-Noireau, but in less dramatic form
than in the story of Le Pollet.

There had been a terrible storm, which had kept the
inhabitants awake half the night. Peter, the sacristan of
Notre-Dame du Pollet, had just begun to enjoy the delights
of his first sleep, when he was awakened by the ringing
of the mass-bell. He jumped out of bed, thinking he had
overslept himself, and that the priest had bid some one else
ring the bell.

When he entered the church he saw the priest already
at the altar, and a great number of fishermen praying
fervently. But, as the sacristan gazed at some of the faces
around him, he was seized with terror, for he saw only the
faces of those who had died.

One of those kneeling near him had left home a
year and a half before, to go fishing, and had never
been heard of. The corpse of another had been washed
ashore : the sacristan remembered that he had assisted at
his burial. Peter was so transfixed with horror, that he
could neither speak nor move. Meanwhile the mass pro-
ceeded. When the time came for communion, the priest

ii6 THE SEA-COAST OF UPPER NORMANDY.

tried to put the Host to his lips, but It slipped from his
fingers.

Then he uttered an alarming cry of distress, which was
echoed by all the rest, and, turning to the sacristan, cried
out, " My poor Peter, my poor Peter, do you not recognise
me ? I am Regnaud, whose ship was wrecked on Monday
in Easter week, on the rock of Ailly. I had vowed a mass
in honour of Our Lady, and I forgot my vow. I try now
to say this mass myself, in order to keep my promise ; but
each time that I try to communicate, the Host escapes from
my lips, and I feel the torments of hell in my bosom. Oh,
my Peter, I suffer the tortures of the damned. Tell my
son, I implore you, never to forget the masses which he
may promise to Our Lady." *

Lejoiir des Morts is observed very religiously at Dieppe.
If a fisherman were to attempt to go out to sea on that day,
the belief is that he would be followed everywhere by his
double — a figure resembling him exactly. If he were to
attempt to fish he would find his net extra heavy, and on
drawing it in there would be only broken skeletons and
bones.

On that day, towards midnight, a funeral car is heard in
the streets of Le Pollet. It is drawn by eight white horses,
and white dogs run before it. As it passes by, one hears the
voices of those dead during the past year. Very few persons
have seen this apparition ; all those who do see it may
expect to die soon after. For this reason it is the custom to
close the windows when the procession is expected to arrive.

* " La Normandie Romanesque et Merveilleuse," par Mdlle. ^
Ameiie Bosquet.

LEGEND OF LE POLLET. II7

If the prayers and masses offered up on this anniversary
have been insufficient, or if some of the departed souls have
been forgotten by their friends and relatives, this is what
happens in the middle of the night. The sea howls, the wind
is furious, and a ship is seen out at sea, advancing with
alarming swiftness. It seems as if it must strike against the
pier, but it reaches it in safety. The spectators, looking at
this vessel, recognise with surprise one of those supposed
to have perished. There is no mistaking its rigging, its
sails, its mast; only the sail is torn, and the mast looks
injured and crooked.

However, the vessel must be helped, and the light-house
keeper throws out a hawser ; the crew seize it, and fasten it
to the ship. The women and children crowd round the
end of the pier, some full of hope, others despairing and
uncertain. One hears on all sides cries of '' There is my
father, my husband, my brother, my betrothed."

But the crew on board the vessel remain silent. At first
this does not occasion surprise, for sometimes the sailors
bind themselves by a vow not to speak till they have been
to church to thank God and Our Lady for their deliverance.

But the women and children have harnessed themselves
to the cable, and yet the vessel remains immovable. It is
in vain they strain, they strive — at last they pause,
terrified and exhausted, and give themselves up to despair.
The vessel seems anchored there by the hand of God foi
eternity. One o'clock strikes ; a slight mist floats over the
sea, and the ship has vanished. " Pay your debts," or in
other words, " Pray more earnestly," is all that the spectators
say to the sobbing widows and children who have been
striving to haul in the phantom vessel.

Ii8 THE SEA- CO AST OF UPPER NORMANDY.

It is said that the fishermen of Le Pollet, when out on
long expeditions, say mass daily among themselves, the
eldest of them, surnamed the cure, reciting both mass and
vespers from memory, although often he cannot read. At
the end of the herring fishery, as they return into port, the
fishermen intone the Te Deum ; but this is the only occa-
sion on which they sing this canticle at sea. They never
permit themselves to speak on board their vessels either of
priests or of cats, and they forbid the use of playing-cards.

In the fish-market we saw plenty of the inhabitants of Le
Pollet. The fish-women sit in a row on each side of the
covered market-place, behind their wares, looking, some
severe and some sleepy. Nearly all are clad in black, with
white-cotton nightcaps. The constant exposure to rough
weather night and day — for they are always on the alert to
meet a fishing-boat when it comes in — dries and wrinkles
their bronzed faces prematurely. We asked one old dame,
sitting still and silent, her arms wrapped in a pink cloak
with a hood, and looking very Hke a mummy, how old she
was. She looked between eighty and ninety, and, to our
surprise, she said she was only sixty.

Outside the market-house were several picturesque groups
of fish-sellers, seated beside the baskets on which the fish
were spread. As soon as it was discovered that one of these
groups was being sketched, a general rivalry was excited ;
one handsome young woman came up and remonstrated.

" Will not madame speak to monsieur ? " she said, grinning,
and showing that as yet she had not lost her white strong
teeth ; " look at him, he but wastes his time in drawing La
Mere Suchet. She is old, and see how ™nkled. It would
surely be better to draw some one younger, — me, for

CHA TEA U D'ARQUES. 119

instance." She waited a few minutes ; but finding monsieur
obstinate, she went away with a toss of her head.

From Le Pollet there is a pleasant walk along the
cliffs to Puys. Tliis is a sort of little bathing-place, and
there are several pleasant houses. Dumas yf/j- has a house
here, in which he spends the bathing season with his family ;
and Lord Salisbury has also built a chalet at Puys.

Beyond Puys is the Cite de Limes, also called Caesar's
Camp. It is supposed to be the remains of one of those
cities of refuge resorted to by the Gallic tribes when closely
pursued by their enemies ; but some writers think it is of
far more modern date.

The two chief attractions in the environs of Dieppe are
the famous Chateau d'Arques and the Manoir d'Ango.
In the season an omnibus goes to Arques from Dieppe at
12.15 ^"^^ 3 o'clock every day, and returns at 9.12 a.m.
and 8.12 p.]\r. There is also the St. Nicholas diligence,
which passes Arques, and which leaves Dieppe at six o'clock
in the morning.

But, for walking, the pleasantest way is to go to Arques
through the Valley de I'Eaulne, by the picturesque little
village of Martin I'Eglise. In the Church of Ancourt there
are seven good painted-glass windows. In the forest of
Arques-Archelles there is a pretty manor-house of the
Renaissance period.

The Chateau d'Arques stands well on a spur of high
ground in the wooded valley of the Bethune, above the
junction of the little river with the Arques. The ruins give
an idea of great extent, but they are so shapeless and
destroyed that they are far more picturesque at a distance.
The whole building lias suffered, as Jumieges and most of

I20

THE SEA- CO AST OF UPPER NORMANDY.

the famous Norman ruins have suffered, far more from the
plunder of moderns than from the wear and tear of ages.
The huge donjon built by William of Arques, lord of Talou,
uncle to William the Conqueror, still remains. Its pic-
turesque site and its historical associations make the chief
interest of Arques. The view from the castle is splendid :
below are the grey ruins, the wooded valleys and their
rivers ; and, beyond, the forest and the sea.

Arques was the ancient capital of the country of Talou.
Gunnor, wife of Richard the Fearless, was daughter to the
Forester of Arques. William the Bastard gave the county

to his uncle William,
one of the sons of
Duke Richard II. by
Papia. As soon as
Count William had
built a strong castle
at Arques, which he
fortified by an im-
mense fosse, still re-
maining, he entered into a secret conspiracy against his
nephew with his brother Mauger, Archbishop of Rouen,
Henry I. of France, and some of the rebellious Norman
lords. Duke William did not at first quarrel with his
uncle ; but, as he suspected him, he placed a garrison in
Arques. The garrison surrendered to Count William as
soon as he appeared before the gate of Arques, and at the
news William the Bastard, then in the Cotentin, hastened
to punish his rebellious kinsman. It was on this occasion
that William passed through Caudebec as he came from
Valognes by way of Bayeux, Caen, and Pont Audemer,

Chateau d' Arques.

SIEGE OF CHATEAU HARQUES. 121

in the flimous ride described in the " Roman de Rou."
When he reached Arques, he had only six men. But his
loyal townsmen of Rouen had sent out forces to check
Count William's treason, and the Duke, assaulting the
castle at the head of these auxiliaries, had nearly taken it
by a coup de maiti. Failing this, he blockaded the castle
and reduced it by famine. Count William was dismissed,
unpunished except by the loss of his county; and the
Castle of Arques became an appanage of the dukedom, and
was governed by William the viscount, also a kinsman of
the Duke of Normandy. Mr. Freeman, in his third volume
of the '' History of the Norman Conquest of England," gives
a most interesting account of the siege of Arques. After the
death of his father, Robert Courthose gave up the Castle of
Arques to Helie de St. Saens (who had married Robert's
illegitimate daughter), and appointed him guardian of his
son. Henry I. wrested the castle from Helie after the battle
of Tinchebrai. This Helie de St. Saens is memorable for
the faith and devotion he showed in guarding his young
charge, the son of the luckless Robert, from Henry's
treacherous attempts to get possession of him.

Our Henry I. repaired the fortifications of this almost
impregnable castle. King Stephen got possession of it by
treason, and it was the last castle in the province which,
in 1 145, yielded to Geoffry Plantagenet, the father of
Henry H. Louis VII., le Jeune, tried in vain to take it
from Henry II., and Richard Coeur-de-Lion was equally
unsuccessful against PhiHp Augustus, who had taken it
during Richard's captivity; but by the treaty of Louviers
Arques was ceded to Richard, and he kept it till his death.
The Chateau d' Arques was the last Norman castle wliich

122 7 HE SEA- CO AST <W UPPER NORMANDY.

Opened its gates to the French, 1204, when John fled from
Normandy, and gave up the inheritance of his fathers to the
King of France.

The glory of Arques fades with the extinction of Nor-
mandy as an independent kingdom. In 141 9 it yielded to
Henry V. of England, but it was retaken in 1449 by
Charles VII.

The French naturally attach far more interest to the
battle gained under the walls of Arques by Henri Quatre
than to the famous blockade of William the Conqueror.

This battle took place at the north-east of the village of
Arques. Henri Quatre had four thousand men against
Mayenne and his thirty thousand Leaguers. Before the battle
Henri made his memorable answer to the envoy of the
Leaguers, Count De Belin, who asked with what troops he
meant to oppose so immense an army. " You cannot see
them all," Henri answered, " for you cannot see God and
the right, and these are on my side." After the battle he
wrote to Crillon, "Hang thyself, brave Crillon, for we have
fought Arques without thee." A bas-rehef over the en-
trance gateway commemorates the date of the battle, Sept. 12,
1589, and represents Henri Quatre on horseback.

According to tradition, the Duchess Inde, the mother of
Robert le Diable, lived at the Chateau d'Arques ; and it
w^as here tiiat her wretched son, stained with every possible
crime, presented himself before her, sword in hand, and
threatened to take her life unless she revealed to him the
cause of his own wickedness. His mother confessed that
she had cursed him before his birth, and then she fell at his
feet and implored for death as an atonement for her crime.
But Robert was struck with grief; from grief he went on

THE MANOIR UANGO. 123

to penitence, and, according to the legend, lived a holy
life and died a penitent Christian. Some part of the re-
maining rains were built by Francis I. There is still
some part of a subterranean passage, which tradition says
at one time reached as far as Dieppe. Arques was once a
large, important town ; it is now only a charmingly placed
village on the river Arques. The church, sixteenth century,
is interesting and well-preserved.

The IManoir d'Ango is in the village of Varengeville.
There is a pleasant walk to this by way of Pourville, a
little fishing-village. But the pleasantest way is through the
Castle of Dieppe, and along the cliffs to Pourville. Here
you cross the river Scie, and climb to the pretty village of
Varengeville. The view all the way is charming, and the
jNIanoir d'Ango is well worth seeing. It now forms part
of a farmhouse. There is not much left of the ancient
splendour it must have possessed when it was visited by
Francis I. and Diane de Poitiers, and when D'Ango re-
ceived the ambassadors of the King of Portugal.

It seems only to have been one story high. A part of the
ground-floor forms a gallery, v/ith an open arcade supported
by columns, the capitals of which are carved with angels'
and women's heads. Above this is a frieze ornamented
with lozenges and medallions.

The windows above are square-framed, with arabesque
ornament. Another part of the building runs out from
this, but is joined to it by a graceful tower six stories high.
There is yet another building, not joined to the others, and
also a most quaint dovecot, circular in form ; the details of
this are curious. The whole manor-house is built of red
brick, diapered with flint ; the windows and mouldings are

124

THE SEA- CO AST OF UPPER NORMANDY.

in stone. Within there are fragments of good carving, espe-
cially a remarkable stone chimney-piece ; in the centre an
old man's bust, the hand holding a globe; and in 1857 the
fresco, Moses showing the Brazen Serpent, was discovered.
The building still enables one to form a good idea of a
wealthy house of the sixteenth century.

The Church of Varengeville is picturesquely placed, and
about a mile and a half beyond it, across the cliffs, is the

Manoir d'Ango.

lighthouse of Ailly. There is a fine view from the light-
house.

At Sainte Marguerite, which is separated from the lights
house by a stretch of waste land, some wonderful Roman
discoveries were made about thirty years ago. A Gallo-
Roman cemetery was discovered, and a Roman villa con-
taining a magnificent mosaic.

From Dieppe it is easy to visit Eu, and the chateau re-
built by Louis Philippe, where he received our Queen.

CHATEAU D'EU, 12$

The Chateau d'Eu has, however, far older associations, as
it was built by Henri de Guise, le Balafre, in 1578, on the
site of a much older castle, which had belonged originally
to the Lusignans, Near Eu is the fishing-village of Treport :
it is a quiet and cheap bathing-place, and the church is sin-
gularly well placed on the summit of the cliff.

THE SEA-COAST OF UPPER NORMANDY.

CHAPTER V.

St. Valery-en-Caux.
Valmont.

Fecamp.
Etretat.

HE journey from Dieppe to
Fecamp llong the coast used
to be an insufferably tedious
one of nearly seven hours, so
the diligence is now given
up. The best way for the
traveller who does not care to
go back to Rouen and thence
start afresh for FecamjD is to
take a voiture only as far as
St. Valery-en-Caux, a pleasant
and comfortable little bathing-
place, with some interesting environs, and a curious old
town some little way from the modern watering-jDlace. It is
interesting to English people, for it was here, according to
some writers, that William embarked on the 27th of Sep-
tember, 1066, for England; but, according to Wace, he
embarked at St. Valery-sur-Somme : —

EMBARKATION OF DUKE WILLIAM. 127

" Quan li nes furent atornees
En Somme furent aancrees
A Saint Valeri menees ;
Mut ont nes e batels en Some."

Rovian de Rou.

As soon as Harold tired of guarding the English coast,
the watchful William removed his fleet from the mouth of
the Dives, where it had assembled, to the mouth of the
Somme. Here was a great abbey dedicated to St. Walaric
or Valery, but scarcely any trace of this remains. But even
when the fleet was all assembled the wind remained con-
trary, though William prayed constantly in the church of
the abbey for the success of the enterprise. For a fortnight
the wind was obstinate, and then, with a long procession,
came the abbot and monks of St. Valery, bearing the shrine
containing the relics of their founder. This was set on a
carpet in front of the army, and William and his followers
knelt down and prayed earnestly for a favourable wind.

The shrine was soon covered with gold and silver coin,
the ofterlngs of the troops ; the presence of the holy relics
seems to have revived their hopes. Soon after the wind
changed ; it blew from the south, and William at once
ordered all to embark for England. All were now in eager
haste, and while the ships were getting ready, the Duke
repaired once more to the Abbey of St. Valery to offer
solemn thanks and earnest prayer for Divine help. He
then embarked in the Mora — the ship which was the special
gift of his queen Matilda.

About six miles from St. Valery-en-Caux is Cany, a pretty
little clean town, situated in a green valley. Cany is one
long street, with the cold, grey-looking church at the end of
it. Only the font remains of the church consecrated here

128 THE SEA-COAST OF UPPER NORMANDY.

by Archbishop Odo Rigault. The chateau of the Mont-
morencys is near Cany. It now belongs to the Duke of
Luxemburg, and only dates from the end of the seventeenth
century; but it has a good collection of old tapestry.

Not far from here is a very cheap little watering-place,
called Les Petites Dalles, but with only one hotel. The road
goes on straight from Cany to Fecamp, but it is more in-
teresting to go by way of Valmont. Between Cany and
Valmont is the Chateau of Fiquainville, where Cuvier first
began to study natural history. The road between Cany
and Valmont, like almost every part of Normandy, is rich
in village churches and antiquities, as at Therouldeville,
where there is some fine painted glass, or Gerponville, where
there is a Druidic grotto, or Hocqueville, where there are
some thirteenth-century remains.

Valmont is pleasantly situated in a picturesque valley.
It is worth visiting for the remains of its chateau, once the
house of Du Gueschn, and it was also the birthplace of the
Cardinal d'Estouteville. The ruins of the Abbey of Val-
mont are close by. The Gothic tombs of the lords of
Estouteville in this abbey are very remarkable. The nave
and cloister have been entirely destroyed, but part of the
choir and the Lady chapel remain, and are now taken great
care of by the present owner. These are of Renaissance
work. In the Lady chapel behind the altar there is a curious
sculptured representation of the Annunciation. The tombs
of the Estoutevilles are on each side of the chapel.

The Abbey of Valmont-en-Caux was founded in 1116 by
Nicholas d'Estouteville, to fulfil a vow which he had made
when in peril of his life in the Holy Land. But though he
sent to Germany for the best possible architects, builders and

MARIE D'ESTOUTEVILLE, 129

sculptors, SO that the abbey might be a splendid and worthy
offering, he was a wicked man, violent and harsh-tempered,
and besides this a miser. He made his vassals serve as
workmen, without pay and with bad food ; and there would
have been a revolt among them but for the interposition of
his young daughter, Marie d'Estouteville, who spent all her
money in procuring food for the starving workmen.

This story of " The Miracle of Roses" has been also told
of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Magot of Sauvigny, and of
other French and German saints. One evening, when Marie
d'Estouteville was carrying a store of provisions for the
workmen wrapped in her dress, and a vase of wine in her
hand, she met her father. He demanded furiously what
she was carrying so carefully.

" My father, they are roses," she said ; " and this is water."

The unbelieving father commanded her at once to open
the folds of her dress, and, behold, a cluster of roses fell at
his feet ; but, still full of suspicion, he upset the vase she
carried, and a stream, of clear water trickled on the turf.

Instead of being mollified, he overwhelmed her with
reproaches, and threatened that she should spend the rest
of her days in a cloister.

*' May your will be done, my father," said the maiden ;
and, as she spoke, a shining nimbus circled round her head.

The Sire d'Estouteville fell at the feet of his daughter ;
but when, at last, he raised his eyes, she had disappeared.
She was sought for diligently during many weeks, but she was
never found. About a year after, however, a pilgrim who
had received hospitality at the chateau declared that Marie
d'Estouteville had died in the odour of sanctity in a convent
^f Carmelites.

I30 THE SEA-COAST OF UPPER NORMANDY.

Valmont is only about six miles from Fecamp.

The railway journey from Rouen to Fe'camp is not very
interesting, chiefly through corn-land. The great feature we
remarked was the novel way in which each sheaf of corn was
tied near the top, so as to give the effect of a huge round
head. Some uncut fields glowed like burnished gold, with
a gleam of scarlet poppies flaming through.

The first impression of Fe'camp is not favourable. It is a
long, cold, unpicturesque town, crowned by the massive,
severe-looking abbey ; after we had visited some others
of the Norman bathing-places, we wxre quite at a loss to
guess its attractions ; and yet on the day of our arrival
the inns were full, and there was scarcely a bed to be had.
There is a good-sized harbour, and a bathing establishment,
casino, &c., at one end of the long, narrow town, which
extends uphill for about two miles in a valley made by two
steep ranges of cliffs. Fecamp presents the novel aspect of
a bathing-place and a manufacturing town in one. It is
reckoned the first port in France for the fishery of cod,
mackerel, and herring.

The river Fe'camp, as it descends the steep valley, is fed
by the Valmont and the Gangeville, and it works cotton,
oil, and tan factories, besides flour and saw mills.

The town is fittle more than one long street reaching from
the sea to the abbey, and beyond, whenever gaps occur
between the houses, we get glimpses of steep grey-green
falaises on each side.

The upper end of the town, near the abbey, would be
very quiet but for the continual traffic of small, noisy omni-
buses taking bathers to and from the sea from the various
hotels. Down at the port the visitors are very gaily dressed ;

THE ABBEY-CHURCH,

131

the men in strangely shaped hats with beehive crowns ending
in sharp points, and trimmed with bright red ribbon j the girls
in fantastic hats with low crowns, and bright-coloured scarves
round their waists. There are several groups of smartly-
dressed, coarse-looking people sitting outside the little cafes
drinking beer, &c. The harbour forms half a bay : on the
right the cliffs stretch along for some distance as chalky as the
cliffs of England ; in the midst is the port \ on the left the
headland stretching out into the sea, with a lighthouse and
church atop ; this is the Chapel of Notre-Dame de la Grace,
built by Henry I. of England. In this direction we saw a
party of men and women
flying kites. But our
pilgrimage to Fe'camp
was to the abbey, and
this is at the farther end
of the town. There is
not much to notice in
the streets beyond a few
quaint old stone houses
of the sixteenth century,
and the Place at the
upper end, which is a
picturesque opening,
and, as it was market-
day, was full of colour.
A little beyond this is
the abbey-church ; the

outside is not remarkable, and what remains of the monastery
has been built in and surrounded by the municipal offices of
the town. The church is still roofed with lead, spite of the

Old Doorway.

132 THE SEA-COAST OF UPPER NORMANDY.

Revolution, which spared so few of the leaden roofs of
churches.

The entrance to the church is in the street itself; you
go down twelve steps into the nave, divided into three by
two rows of eleven massive pillars. The first aspect is very
impressive. It has quite a Norman character from its mas-
sive strength ; but the nave is said to be early thirteenth-
century, and the south side of the choir much later. The
lantern is very remarkable. The chapels at the east end are
of very early date ; and the entire freedom of the whole
building from whitewash adds much to its effect.

The first abbey is said to have been founded by St. Wan-
ninge in 650; it was dedicated in 664, in the presence of
Clotaire III. ; St. Childemarca, a virgin-saint of Burgundy,
was placed at the head of the convent, which contained
three hundred nuns. The Normans destroyed this building,
and committed fearful ravages, in the ninth century, and
William Longsword rebuilt it. His son, Richard the Fear-
less, built a larger church and established a foundation of
secular canons at Fecamp in 990. These became unsatis-
factory, and in looi he sent for William, Abbot of St.
Benigne at Dijon, dismissed the canons, and established a
community of Benedictines. His son, Richard the Good,
completed this work at the beginning of the eleventh
century. Both these Dukes of Normandy dearly loved
Fecamp. They had both minster and palace there, and
both were buried beneath the eaves of the abbey-church.

Duke Richard the Good always kept the feast of Easter
with much solemnity at Fecamp. He and his two sons
waited on the monks at dinner-time. Sometimes, during
the night, the duke would rise to go and pray in the abbey.

WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR AT FECAMP. 133

One night he found the door of the church fastened, and,
pushing it open roughly, he awoke the sacristan. The
sacristan started up, and, being only half awake, he took the
duke for a thief, beat him and turned him out of the abbey.
Next day the duke sent for the sacristan, and, after giving
him a severe fright, pardoned him. Richard v/as called the
Father of the Monks. When he was dying, he repeated the
pious direction as to his own grave, which his father had
given to himself. " Bury me," he said, " beneath the eaves
of the church, so that the water trickling from the roof of
the holy house may cleanse my body from all impurity,"
His son William became a monk at Fecamp ; also his son
Mauger, and his grandson Nicholas.

Fecamp is specially interesting to the English, for, besides
the associations connecting it with William Longsword and
his son and grandson, there is much to remind us of early
Norman history. It was from Fecamp that Duke Robert
and Edward the Atheling embarked for England, but they
were driven ashore at Jersey. At Fecamp was buried Count
Alan of Brittany, one of the guardians appointed by Duke
Robert during the minority of William the Bastard. After
the Conquest, King William kept his first Easter with much
pomp at Fecamp, which, next to his own splendid church
at Caen, he seems to have loved best among the religious
houses of Normandy. In 1075 William again kept Easter
at Fe'camp, and during the same festival his daughter
Cicley took the veil and became a nun in the Abbey of the
Holy Trinity, at Caen. This was the only famous monastery
in Normandy north-east of the Seine ; the rest were either
in the valley of the river or west of it.

The Chapel of St. Thomas was built to honour the place

134 THE SEA-COAST OF UPPER NORMANDY.

where, in accordance with their wish, the pious Dukes
Richard I. and Richard II. were buried, under the eaves
of the church they had built ; their remains were afterwards
deposited near the high altar.

In the baptistery there are two small stone figures veiled ;
these are memorials of the nuns of Fecamp, "the pious
children of St. Childemarca," who, during the siege by the
Normans in 841, cut off their own noses and lips to escape
profanation.

Behind the choir is the great treasure of this Church of the
Holy Trinity j a small white marble shrine is fixed against
one of the pillars, with an inscription signifying that herein
is preserved a portion of the Precious Blood of our Lord.

The legend is that Nicodemus, when assisting in the
descent from the cross, collected in a glove the blood
which had gathered around the sacred wounds. He kept it
thus preserved during his life, but when he was dying he
confided the treasure to his nephew Isaac. Isaac was told
in a vision that the Romans were destroying everything that
came in their way, and, fearing for the safety of the precious
relic, he pierced a hole in a fig-tree and placed in it a leaden
box in which he had enclosed the relic, then he cut down
the tree and threw the trunk into the sea. The trunk v/as
carried by the waves to the valley of Fecamp. The children
of a Christian named Bozo, and his wife Merca, were play-
ing in the field where the trunk had been washed ashore,
and finding three shoots of an unknown tree bearing large
leaves, they carried one home to their father. Bozo
recognised the leaf as that of the fig-tree, and planted
the young shoots in his garden ; he tried to remove the
trunk there, but it was too heavy. The shoots grew into

LEGEND OF THE PRECIOUS BLOOD. 135

large trees ; and as the tree had never been seen before in
the country, the place where they had been found was
called " le Champ du Figuier."

Bozo died ; and one winter night an old, venerable-looking
man came and asked hospitality from Merca. The night
was cold, and Merca had little fuel.

" Ah," said the hospitable woman, " if my husband were
alive, we would have such a log of wood as we bum at
Christmas."

The children said to one another, *' Why should we not
bring hither the trunk of the fig-tree, if we could only find
some one to help us ? "

" It is useless,^' Merca replied ; " your father tried his
utmost, and he could not so much as move the trunk."

The stranger asked what the trunk was, and being told,
said he would go next morning to the Champ du Figuier.

Next morning the stranger, accompanied by the children
and servants of Merca, went to the field. The stranger
raised the trunk, which Bozo had found so stubborn, with-
out any difficulty, and placed it on the car which had been
made ready for it. The oxen drew the car easily till they
reached the place where now stands the Abbey of Fecamp,
but they could draw it no farther; and as they strove the
car fell to pieces, and at this the stranger fell on his knees
and remained some time in prayer. He then made the
sign of the cross on the trunk, and placed on it a heap of
stones in the form of an altar. " Happy province," he said,
'' happy place ! but thrice happy he who adores the price of
the world herein enclosed." He disappeared at these words ;
but some centuries passed before a church was reared in
honour of the relic. When Duke Richard caused his church

136 THE SEA-COAST OF UPPER NORMANDY.

of Fecamp to be rebuilt in honour of the precious reUc, now
lost under the ruins of the first abbey in which it had been
enshrined, on the day of its dedication an angel suddenly
appeared, bearing in his hands the Precious Blood, and,
having laid it on the altar, he said, " Here is the price of
the redemption of the world, which came from Jerusalem."
He then vanished, but left the impression of his foot on a
stone still to be seen ; it is enclosed in a shrine in the
Chapelle de la Dormition de la Vierge.

Another story says that the abbot, Henry de Suilly, found
the Precious Blood in 1440 under one of the pillars near

View of the Abbey and Town.

the high • altar, when he was rebuilding the church which
had been burnt.

From the Abbey of Fecamp came Cardinal la Balue, the
Cardinal of Lorraine, the Cardinal Francois of Joyeuse,
Henry II. of Lorraine, and the Archbishop Henri de
Bourbon. Jean Casimir, King of Poland, was Abbot of
Fecamp. The Abbey was exempt from all ecclesiastical
jurisdiction, except that of the Pope.

After Normandy was reunited to the crown of France,
Fecamp seems to have been a special favourite with the
French kings. From 1476 the Abbot of Fecamp was

PILGRIMAGE TO FECAMP. 137

always a member of the court. The last abbot was the
Cardinal de la Rochefoucault.

On the north-east side of the church are several chapels
with some very curious cinque-cento screen-work.

We were so tired that we were glad to go to the inn nearest
the abbey, a bustling place, so full of noisy bathers that
when we asked to wash our faces we were told to go into
the kitchen which opened into the courtyard — a quaint place
with stables on one side, and a wooden gallery running along
the other, with stairs leading down here and there. There
was a vine as usual clustering round the windows in the
gallery, and two girls gazing down out of this leafy bower
looked charmingly picturesque.

In the kitchen we found a tap over a clean white earthen-
ware sink, a clean towel, and some mottled soap. The
master and mistress sat close by, behind a glass partition, the
chef and the garcon sat eating in the kitchen itself, but all
were much too polite to stare at us while we washed in
public.

On the north-east side of the town is a fountain, said to
have gushed forth on the spot where the trunk of the fig-
tree was washed on shore, and here pilgrims resort yearly
on the first Tuesday in Trinity to drink the water of the
fountain, after having visited the shrine in the church. At
this season Fecamp literally overflows with the multitude of
pilgrims from all parts of France, who come to worship at
the shrine of the Precious Blood.

It appeared that the diligence for Etretat had started just
before our arrival, and that there was not a horse to be had
till evening. This was disheartening news, for we wished
to get on to Etretat ; but there was no help for it.

138 THE SEA- CO AST OF UPPER NORMANDY,

We did not start for Etretat till seven o'clock, as our
driver took at least an hour to arrange his harness and our
luggage.

We drove at a very leisurely pace. For some distance
the road lay over a plateau of waste land ; then appeared
orchards and harvest-fields, the shocks of reaped corn tied
together atop in much larger groups than we had seen them
before. In the waning light they looked like nodding
goblins against the broad expanse of sky ; for although we
could not see the sea we were following the line of cliffs, and
these fields stretched away to the edge. We watched the
sun set gloriously, leaving a broad border of golden light
above the edge of the fast-darkening cliffs. A little farther
on a team of Norman horses and three men loading a cart
stood out in giant largeness against the band of golden light.
Presently we came to a lovely wooded valley sloping down
on the left, and again the bare waste stretching out to the
cliffs on the right.

About three parts of the way to Etretat we passed through
a village with a church, which our driver told us was Les
Loges. It was too dark to see anything, but we heard that
numerous Roman antiquities have been discovered in and
about Les Loges.

It was quite dark by the time we reached Etretat. The
town seemed to be nestling between two dark hills, and the
lights from the houses below and those scattered up the
sides of the hills came twinkling through the trees like glow-
vvorms.

We drove through the narrow street to the Hotel Gustave
Hauville. It forms three sides of a little courtyard, and the
light from the windows showed us the landlady's pleasant

IN SEARCH OF A LED. 139

smiling face as she came out to meet us. But directly we
asked for rooms she threw uj) both hands in seeming
despair, though as she still smiled we felt she must be in a
state of inward satisfaction.

" Quel dommage ! but it is so much better to write. It
is always so about the 15th of August, here and elsewhere.
There is not a bed to be had in Etretat."

Cheerful news at nine o'clock at night, with the alternative
of a two hours' drive back to Fecamp !

We remonstrated and entreated ; but madame explained
that a large number of her guests, and also of those at the
other hotels, had to sleep in rooms in the town, and that she
had already sent away thirty people from Etretat that day,
after vainly seeking a bed for them.

We drove to one of the other hotels, but only heard the
same story ; so we told our driver that when he was rested
we would go back to Fe'camp, unless we could succeed in
finding a lodging at Les Loges.

Meantime we strolled about the town, having made a
solemn resolution never to venture to Etretat or any other
French watering-place in the month of August without
writing to secure a lodging. The town looked very sleepy ;
most of the shops were already shut, and the visitors were
doubtless congregated at the casino.

Presently we came to a shoemaker's shop which had not
closed so early as its neighbours. The door too stood wide
open, and revealed a most dazzling array of blue and yellow
shoes on its neat shelves. On the empty shining mahogany
counter was a large bouquet of China asters, and behind this
sat a quiet, simply dressed young woman with a sad pensive
face.

I40 THE SEA-COAST OF UPPER NORMANDY.

A faint hope came to us, and we went in and told her our
plight.

" I am afraid it is true," she said, smiling. " I have heard
there is not one bed to be had in Etretat."

Here came a pause. We felt that we would rather sleep
in her nice clean shop than go back in the dark to noisy
bustling Fecamp ; and after all Fecamp was perhaps as full
as Etretat.

All at once the sad face took a sudden look of intelligence.
*' Attendez," she said, "I will inquire;" and she vanished
out of the shop.

She soon came back with a little girl.

" Yes, I have been fortunate. There is a lady who has
a room cleaned and ready for occupation, if monsieur and
madame will go and see it."

We thanked her most heartily, and then followed the little
girl down two narrow, dark alleys — for there are no street
lamps in Etretat — to a small house. Over the door was a
swing-lamp, and a signboard with "Cafe Gemy" thereon.
Opposite was a blank wall. Altogether it was a most unin-
viting lodging, but still it was our only hope. We went in
through the cafe'. A rough-headed woman opened the door
of an inner room, and revealed the disorder on the four
bare deal tables we were passing — spilt beer and coffee and
dominoes scattered on each table.

The back room was a kitchen with a staircase in it. There
was a long table, on which the rough-headed woman had
been busy ironing, though it was nearly ten o'clock.

She was rather a pretty woman, with long narrow eyes ;
and she held up her one candle and examined us curiously
out of them, and then asked us to follow her up-stairs. Here

COTE D'AMONT ; COTE D'AVAL,

141

she threw open the door of a miserable little room. There
was a bed, a chair, a row of shelves, and a baby in a cradle
in it. The floor was certainly clean, but the whole aspect of
the place was squalid. However, having protested against
the absence and presence of one or two things, specially the
presence of the baby, which was carried off up-stairs, we
managed to sleep very comfortably at the Cafe Ge'my ; but
we had the satisfaction of paying for this wretched room a
larger price than we should have paid for capital accom-
modation at the hotel.

Porte d'Aval.

Next morning we went down to the plage^ and were de-
lighted with the view of Etretat. Its position is perfect. It
is placed at the opening and junction of the two valleys.
Grand Val and Petit Val, which find their way here to the sea
between two chalky cliffs nearly three hundred feet high. The
cliff on the right is called the Cote d'Amont ; at the top is
the little chapel of Notre-Dame ; and beyond on the farther
side, but not visible from the beach, is the Chaudron : this

142 THE SEA-COAST OF UPPER NORMANDY.

was a creek leading into a tunnel in the cliff, where the sea
roared and foamed furiously ; but it is now blocked by a fall
of the cliff. That on the left, by far the most beautiful, is
the Cote d'Aval. The two lofty cliffs, which descend precipi-
tously into the sea, are pierced through by a lofty pointed
arch, called the Porte d'Aval j through this the sea is visible,
and from a certain point on the plage is visible also the
Aiguille d'Etretat, a singular natural obelisk which rises
abruptly' from the seat ; its effect, when seen through the
arch, is most remarkable.

The effects of light and shade on these grass-topped cliffs
and the fantastic rocks below make constant and varied
pictures, and one is not surprised that artists find so much
charm in Etretat.

Etretat itself Hes below the sea-level. It has been, there-
fore, necessary to protect it by raising a steep beach of large
stones. All one end of this towards the Porte d'Aval is
given up to the fishermen, and was covered with boats when
we first saw it. Along the top of the beach is the bathing
establishment, with its rows of cabins ; and behind this the
casino, which has a ball-room, a theatre, and all the usual
accessories. Behind the fishing-boats is a range of thatched
boats with doors in their black sides, reminding one at first
sight of Yarmouth and of Mr. Peggotty ; only these are not
used for habitations, only as storehouses for fishing-nets and
apparatus. These boats, with their mossed thatch, make a
singularly quaint background to the groups on the beach.

Two centuries ago a river ran through Etretat into the
sea, but it has disappeared, and now only manifests its pre-
sence in pools of fresh water on the beach, in some of which
we saw women washing clothes.

ON THE PLAGE.

14^.

But besides the scenery there is very niiich to enjoy at
Etretat : there is such an utter freedom from restraint, and
from all the absurd conventionalities which bathers seem to
bring to almost all the other seaside resorts. People at
Etretat seem to be hard-workers who know the value of a
holiday, and are resolved not to encroach on its freedom by
any of the formalities necessary to life in a city.

Their system of bathing would not suit English taste, but
they seem very happy in it. The stony beach, however, is

^1''-^^^^^
'^.'

/fWr

i^!Ojlf!",J

Boats used as Storehouses on the Shore.

very unpleasant for the bathers. We saw a lady coming up
the path of planks which reaches from the top of the steep
beach to the sea, with her ankles bruised and bleeding. The
little dressing-cabins are at the top, and the bathers have to
make a long journey down and up the planks. There is no
special part of the bay set apart for bathing. There is a
large awning on the beach, and under the shade of this the
little community sit reading, sketching, embroidering, 01

144 THE SEA- COAST OF UPPER NORMANDY.

engaged in what seems by far the favourite occupation —
chatting ; and, to judge by the fragments of talk that reached
us as we sat in happy idleness in the bright sunshine — the
sparkling animated faces and the gentle laughter around us
— the chatting was very amusing, evidently often at the
expense of the bathers, who pass and repass close beside the
awning in full bathing costume, and over this a long white
wrapper. All of them, wear bathing-shoes, with soles made
of cord to protect their feet from the stones, and many of
them have large straw hats. When we first reached \)cit plage
the sea was a most animated spectacle. Groups of men and
women — for everybody bathes together at Etretat — were
dancing about hand-in-hand in the water ; while many were
swimming out at some distance, having taken headers from
a sort of spring-board which is wheeled down the beach close
to the water's edge. The more timid bathers are guided down
to the sea by one of the Brothers Maturin, or by Zephir ;
and when they reach the sea, a pail of salt water is poured
over the head before they venture in.

The laughter and life and sparkle of the whole scene are
indescribable. Every one looks happy and bright ; and each
makes fun of the other, as each in turn leaves the shade of the
awning, or a comfortable seat on the beach, to join the noisy
groups in the sea.

There seems, too, a sort of family life here that is almost
ludicrous. We watched a husband and wife leave the shelter
of the awning, go up to the cabins, and then descend the
planks in full array. When they reached the sea we saw that
they were accomplished swimmers. On they went side by
side till we began to feel nervous for their safe return ; but
presently they turned, and the lady's large Leghorn hat was

LIFE AT ETRETAT. 145

ahead. In a few minutes they came up the planks chatting
together, the lady so tired that half-way up she begged for
her husband's arm, and there seemed to be some little
difficulty in walking arm-in-arm in those immense white
wrappers.

There are plenty of comfortable chairs to be had
gratis. Fathers and mothers sit surrounded by children of
all ages, and seemingly spoil the latter to their hearts'
content. We watched one charmingly dressed little damsel
of about twelve disturb the comfort of her whole family by
crying and sobbing for at least an hour because she had missed
a friend with whom she was to have taken a walk. Several
attempts were made to soothe her, but neither father nor
mother seemed to think reproof needful.

We went to the Hotel d'Hauville to breakfast, and were
much amused by the life there. It was a repetition of the
happy gaiety of the beach. Many of the male guests were
artists, all French. Some of the gentlemen had blue yachting
suits and large bright scarlet flat caps ; but none of the ladies
showed any of the extravagance in dress we had remarked
at Dieppe. They seemed to have come to Etretat simply
for bathing and for enjoyment. Most lively conversations
were carried on after meals between groups sitting and
lounging about the yard, and other groups looking down
from the little outside wooden gallery which runs across one
side of the house, while below in a sort of open counting-
house sat the mistress ready to smile and chat with all.

The tone of life of Etretat, and of some of the smaller
bathing-places, such as Arromanches, Asnelle, Les Petites
Dalles, and many others, seems purely French. There is
scarcely any of the peacock display of Dieppe, Trouville,

146 THE SEA-COAST OF UPPER NORMANDY.

and some of the grander resorts, where Parisians and English
and American women strive to outdo one another, the for-
mer in bizarrerie, the last in extravagance. Nor do we see so
much of that flirting which seems to be now a chief element
of an English sea-side town. It is at Etretat and elsewhere a
thorough family holiday; and on Sunday especially, when
husbands and brothers who have travelled from Paris on
Saturday join the groups, the mirth and sparkle over the
whole scene are most delightful. This is doubtless increased
at Etretat by the fondness shown by artists, both in painting
and literature, for the beautiful little place ; and no one who
has ever visited it can wonder at their choice.

Bathing and breakfast over, some of the idlers disperse.
Another of the charms of Etretat is, that there are enchanting
walks within easy distance, and, for those who prefer them,
most delightful drives. The famous Cap d'Antifer is some
distance beyond the Ported' Aval, and the Roc-aux-Guiilemots
is near this. Yport, too, is a charming little bathing-place,
between Etretat and Fecamp, so exquisitely placed in a
valley running down to the sea that, but for the mud, which
is considered unhealthy, it would be a formidable rival to
Etretat. Also there is the excursion to St. Jouin. This is
generally made early, as it is customary to breakfast at
the Hotel de Paris, kept by Ernestine Aubourg, who is a sort
of celebrity among the artist-visitors of Etretat. There are
drawings to be seen here, and verses written by A. Dumas
/f/y, in praise of Ernestine. The cliffs at St. Jouin are
worth seeing, and the return by the valley of Bruneval is
charming.

It is also possible to drive beyond the Cote d'Amont to
Be'nouville and the Fontaine aux Mousses ; but this is far

THE CHAMBRE DES DEMOISELLES. 147

more delightful as a walk, as you can then descend the
valleiise of Benouville, a sort of spiral which circles round an
immense natural well. Below this are steps leading down
to the sea. Here is the farm of Father Isaac, to which
people often walk out to breakfast.

But the most charming walk is that of the Cote d'Aval.
Just before we reach the Porte d'Aval — the lofty arch in
the rock we had seen from the beach — we see a cave
in the cliffs we are scaling ; this is called the Trou de
I'Homme. As we get nearer the Porte d'Aval, the fantastic
forms of the cliffs reveal themselves more fully ; and as soon
as we have passed it, we stand in admiration of the sight
below. On the right is the Porte d'Aval, and beside it, sur-
rounded by a group of strangely shaped rocks, is the famous
Aiguille, rising in weird irregular grandeur more than 220 feet.
On the right, in a lofty cliff stretching out into the sea from a
semicircle of rocky coast, is the Manne Porte, another lofty
arched opening in the rock. From this point the cliff con-
tinues in a succession of rocky peaks to Cap d'Antifer.
From the cliff where we stand, between the two arches, a
narrow path, from which the cliff descends like a precipice
on each side, leads up to a rocky peninsula. On the summit
of this, at a height of 300 feet, is a fantastic-looking grotto,
called the " Chambre des Demoiselles." This is the
legend : —

The village of Etretat anciently belonged to the lords of
Frcfosse. There was once a chevalier of FreTosse so wicked
that he had no respect for female virtue. One day being at
church, he saw there three young and beautiful sisters, and
he ordered them to be carried off to his castle. But the
sisters were as good as they were beautiful, and they refused

148 THE SEA-COAST OF UPPER NORMANDY.

even to speak to him. Furious with rage, the chevalier
caused the three sisters to be carried to the top of the chff,
since called the Chambre des Demoiselles, and to be fluno;
down thence in a barrel spiked with sharp nails. From this
time the white phantoms of the three sisters were seen by
the fishermen on the summit of the cliff, and day and night
they followed the steps of their murderer. At length, ex-
hausted by their constant attendance on him, he died of
remorse, and since then the sisters have neither been seen
nor heard of. There is something in this legend which
reminds one of the story of the Discreet Princess.

The view from the point on which the grotto stands is said
to be magnificent, and is, no doubt, worth the attention of
fearless climbers ; but the path is narrow and broken, and
the wind is so high that we content ourselves with the pros-
pect from the cliff itself. In some ways it reminds us of
Lynton, Devon. It is, perhaps, not so grand, the cliff being
lower ; but it is, if possible, even more weird and picturesque.

The cliff itself on which we walk is covered with fine
grass, and we see in abundance the star-thistle and many
other wild flowers. The sun is shining gloriously; the
sea is an exquisite blue, except where it flings a mist of
spray against the cliffs and falls in snowy foam at their
feet. Sea-birds sail across the little bay with a calm, sus-
tained flight, as if they are not troubled by fears for the
weather ; and out at sea we can make out more than one
huge vessel on its way to Havre or Fecamp.

But we are not left long in peace. Up the cliff come,
smiling and chatting, a father and mother, an old aunt, and
a girl and two boys. One does not see large families at
Etretat

A FRENCH FAMILY. 149

The ladies sit down on the grass, declaring themselves
tired out already by the ascent from the beach ; and the
gentleman having stared at us, and ascertained that we
are — what is at that moment rare in Etretat — English,
declares he shall go across the perilous isthmus to the
Chambre des Demoiselles. His wife remonstrates, then
entreats, almost cries, and finally sulks, because he persists
in his adventure.

When he comes back he announces that it is not at all
dangerous, but that there is little to be gained by going
there; and then, looking at us, for he evidently rejoices in
an audience, he announces his intention of descending the
precipitous cliff to the sea. He reads aloud a passage from
his guide-book to prove that there is a way here, used by
revenue officers, and that it is therefore practicable for him.
Madame gets on her feet, wrings her hands, and shrieks
after him in agony ; but he goes plunging down among the
rocks in the most rash and alarming manner, declaring he
sees a rope to cling to.

Madame turns round and exclaims, " It is always so ;
there never was such folly ; and he will be killed — he w^ill
certainly be killed !" The children even leave off their play
on the grass, and look anxious. We walk on, feeling
ourselves de trop in this family discussion ; but, long before
we reach the Manne Porte, Monsieur comes rushing up
the cliff, looking rather crestfallen. He stops to inform
us that it is quite insignificant down there, and therefore
he has not thought it worth while to make the descent.
We smile, and go on along the cliff. For good walkers it
must be a delightful excursion to Cap d'Antifer, but it must
be more than six miles along the edge of the clifts.

I50 THE SEA- CO AST OF UPPER NORMANDY.

Etretat is a place where one seeks for natural beauty
more than for architecture or history ; but it has been called
the Norman Herculaneum from the amount of Gallo-Roman
remains found there, and Monsieur I'Abbe Cochet has written
an interesting treatise on it. Although it now contains nearly
two thousand inhabitants, it was till lately a mere fishing-
village. Thirty years ago Isabey, the painter, first discovered
its charms, and he soon induced other artists to frequent it.
Le Poitevin every year found subjects there for his pictures ;
and finally Alphonse Karr wrote up Etretat till he made it
famous. But the casino was not built till 1852, and not in
its present form till 1870. Spite of its newness, Etretat
possesses an old church of the transition period. It is
at some distance from the town, and is more interesting
than remarkable, except the lantern, which must have been
very good before it was restored. It is said to rank next
to the lanterns of Fecamp and Coutances. There is a
legend which accounts for the distance of the church from
the town.

A pious lady, named Olive, was bathing at a fountain near
the sea, when she was surprised by pirates. She took flight,
vowing if she reached home safely to build a church on the
spot where she fled away from her pursuers. Having reached
home in safety, she proceeded religiously to fulfil her vow, and
began to lay the foundation of a church close to the village ;
but the Evil One, who had great dealings in Etretat, thought
this would save too many souls, so every night he moved
all the workmen's tools and building materials to the Petit
Val, at the foot of the Cote St. Clair. As it became evident
that this interference would continue, and so much time
being wasted in the removal, after a few days Olive re-

FURNISHED HOUSES. 151

solved to transfer the site ; and the present church was
built on the spot designated by the Evil One.

Near the church, and, indeed, on each side of Etretat,
are pleasant furnished houses standing in gardens. We
went over one with three sitting-rooms and about ten bed-
rooms, full of old furniture and rare faience, with a wooden
balcony round the house, forming an outside communication
between the rooms. It was to be let at a very reasonable rate.
There are many private villas built up the sides of the cliffs,
belonging to Parisians, who flock here for the three holiday
months. August is the full month for Etretat ; in July or
September it is much easier to find room ; but it is always
wise to write beforehand, as there are only two good hotels.

The town is small : one street, with a few nice shops, and
another street crossing the end of it. is about the extep.t.

THE SEA-COAST OF UPPER NORMANDY.

CHAPTER VI.

LE HAVRE.

E were very sorry to leave
happy, sparkling Etretat,
for, spite of our misfortunes
on arrival, we had found so
much enjoyment there. We
had secured outside places
on the diligence for Havre,
as there was no room in the coupe, and also we wished to see
the country; but just before the time for starting it began to
rain heavily. We found, to our dismay, that instead of a ban-
quette on the roof, sheltered by a leather hood, there were two
outside seats on a bench fixed in front of the coupe^ with-
out any shelter ; and, to add to our discomfort, a third
passenger was crammed in, leaving about six inches of seat
for the unlucky coachman. He, however, seemed to be a
thorough philosopher ; and, while we tried to make a sort of
tent of umbrellas, he sat cheerfully soaking in the rain.
Even when his white horses fell into a walk, he never
touched them with his whip ; he only cracked it, and
shouted the invariable " He-gidi,'^ or whatever the word is,
which only a Norman driver has power to utter. Occa-

HAVRE A MODERN TOWN. 153

sionally he poured out a volley of these words, rising into a
shriek as he ended, but the horses took very little heed.

There is really nothing to see in the drive from Etretat
to Havre worth such a wetting, and we were heartily glad
when we clattered over the stones of the well-lighted, spa-
cious town. It was light enough to get a glimpse of the
Place Hotel de Ville and of the Hotel de Ville itself, and
then of the Place Louis Seize, with its brilliantly lit theatre ;
and then we came clattering down the Rue de Paris, full of
gay shops, on our way to the sea.

Among French towns, Havre is of modern origin —
till the fifteenth century it seems to have been little more
than a salt-marsh, and to have been English in the reign
of Charles VH. Louis XH. increased its fortifications ;
but it did not develop into importance till the reign of
Francis I. When Henry IV. visited Havre in 1603, he
said, " I have heard that you are preparing for me fetes :
employ the money that you destined to vain pomp to help
those who have suffered from war ; they will find their
account in it, and so shall I."

The old picturesque round tower of Francis I. has been
destroyed to make room for the pier. The citadel, too,
built by Cardinal Richelieu, in which the leaders of the
Fronde — Conde', Conti, and Longueville — were imprisoned
by Mazarin, has been demolished ; and in 1856 the ram-
parts, which went quite round the town,- were removed, and
the three towns of Ingouville, Graville, and Sanvic were
united to Havre, which now contains a population of up-
wards of 71,000. It is since the peace of 181 5 that the
prosperity of Havre has taken such a stride, and now every
year widens its commercial relations.

154 THE SEA-COAST OF UPPER NORMANDY.

As a town, except that it has handsome, well-paved,
well-lighted streets, some fine boulevards and squares, it is
not remarkable ; but its harbour and docks are among the
wonders of the world, and are well worth a visit. It is the
only entirely safe port for steamers on this side of France.

The tide in the Seine, at the mouth of which the town
stands, keeps high water in the harbour for about four hours
twice a-day, and during this time boats go across to Hon-
fleur and Trouville and back.

We went up next morning to the Place du Theatre, or
Place Louis Seize, in the centre of the town. The view
here of the shipping of all nations in the Bassin du Com-
merce, which occupies one side of the Place, is very fine.
There is an enormous iron apparatus fixed in the middle
of the Place for unloading vessels.

The Place itself is divided into two squares, planted with
trees ; that on the right is used as an open-air exchange,
and that on the left is a promenade, and, when we reached
it, was occupied as a flower-market. In the middle is the
statue of Louis Seize. It is a splendid opening, and gives
the impression that Havre is a powerful and wealthy city.
On the right, as one faces the quay, the Rue de Paris
stretches down to the harbour; and on the left to the
handsome modern Hotel de Ville, built in the style of the
Renaissance.

Havre oft'"ers the strongest possible contrast to Rouen :
it is all modern, of the newest type, with its streets full of
bronzed sailors ; and its forests of masts, which greet you at
the end of almost every street. It seems to be a city which
deals in the raw material of wealth, receiving the products
of all nations, and speeding them forth again on the broad

FRUIT MARKET, 155

bosom of the Seine to be utilised. Since the railway has
been estabHshed, however, the traffic on the Seine has
decreased; but still huge barge-loads float lazily up to
Rouen, Elbeuf, &c., though these are sometimes tugged
swiftly along by one of the rapid little river steamers.

We came down the Rue de Paris, looking into the win-
dows of its capital shops. On the left is a magnificent fruit-
market — piles of ta\\Tiy melons, baskets of velvet peaches,
royal purple and crimson plums, beside pyramids of scarlet
tomatoes, and above and among and everywhere bunches of
grapes that looked like embodiments of sunshine.

There are vegetables sold here also, though the great dis-
play is of fruit. There is a fish-market in the Place behind.
As we passed the market v\-e saw a proof of French thrift
in several women bargaining for apronfuls of the refuse
cabbage leaves, -which in England would be swept away as
rubbish, but of which our frugal neighbours make their
soup.

It is a sad disgrace to Havre, that while it has docks which
have cost millions, like the Bassin de I'Eure, it cannot
show a church worth looking at. There is no record left of
the chapel Notre-Dame de Grace, which stood once near
the sea, and from which the tov/n took its name of Havre-
de-Grace. The present church of Notre-Dame is most
unsightly, both inside and out.

We went on to the end of the Rue de Paris, to the
Musee. There are pictures here, but none of any interest ;
and a public library of 30,000 volumes — among these are
some eighth and ninth century manuscripts.

In front of the Museum are two handsome bronze statues
of Casimir Delavigne and Bernardin de St. Pierre, by David,

156 THE SEA-COAST OF UPPER NORMANDY,

both natives of Havre ; but the houses in which they were
born no longer exist. We went on along the quay to the
pier. There are two piers stretching out from the harbour,
and vessels enter between them ; but only this one on the
north seems to be frequented.

It was high water when we reached the lighthouse at the
end of the pier. The view here is very striking : on the
left, the mouth of the Seine ; opposite are Honfleur, or
rather the wooded cliff of Notre-Darae de la Grace, and
Trouville in the distance ; on the right are the bathers and
Frascati ; above are the heights of Ste. Adresse and the
lighthouses of Cap la Heve ; and in front is the sea. More
than one large vessel was in sight, and the whole made a
picture to be remembered.

For a residence of some days or weeks Frascati is the
pleasantest part of Havre; but for travellers pressed for
time it is very uncentral.

We came back to the Musee, and then went on along
the Grand Quai. Here are parrots of all kinds and colours,
screaming, chattering, turning the place into a perfect Babel
of feathered talk; and besides these the whole quay is
thronged with bales and barrels, and among them sailors
gesticulating and chattering almost as many tongues as the
parrots.

It is amusing to notice the names on the restaurants
which abound on this and the neighbouring quays — Hotel
de New York, de Suede, de Norvege — with many invita-
tions in foreign tongues to tempt the throngs of bronzed
sailors to fancy they are at home. The steamers for Caen,
Honfleur, and Trouville start from the Grand Quai, and the
departures and arrivals add to the universal bustle.

THE QUAYS, 157

We had to go rather in and out to find the bridges which
separate the different basins, and make a land passage
among them. There are twelve of these bridges, with
sluice-gates. Five of them open directly into the harbour,
and the others are between the different basins, so as to
make a thorough communication from one dock to another.
We turned to the left, up the Quai Notre-Dame, and crossed
the Bassin du Roi by the first bridge, then down the
quay opposite the Quai Notre-Dame, which was choked
by bales of cotton, and across another bridge dividing
the Bassin de la Barre from the harbour or avant-port.
Just opposite the Pont de la Barre we crossed another, called
the Pont de Sas. AVe followed a road which led beside the
harbour to another bridge, called L'Ecluse de la Citadelle. It
is about ICO feet wide, and it separates the harbour from the
great Eure dock, which is specially reserved for the Trans-
atlantic steamers. We went over another bridge, and all
round this huge Dock de I'Eure, which, except the Bassin de
la Floride, still nearer the pier, is the nearest dock to the
Seine. Its size is immense, 3,600 feet long by upwards of
600 feet broad : the huge red-chimneyed vessels lie quite at
their ease in this vast dock. We saw and admired among
others the unfortunate Ville die Havre, lying near the end
of the dock. Beside the basin is a sort of dock faubourg,
called Eure, where there are some very old walls. This is
the region of dock-houses and huge wooden sheds for mer-
chandise. One realises that specimens of the products of
the whole world lie here round and about.

We crossed two more bridges, and then the Pont de la
Barre, which brought us on to the Quai d'Orleans, beside
the Bassin du Commerce. Near here we passed the

158 THE SEA-COAST OF UPPER NORMANDY.

Morgue, and a floating dock, quite dry at that time, A
large vessel was lying heeled over, with about fifty car-
penters in blouses swarming up its sides like so many ants,
driving in lumps of tow with wooden beetles.

Perhaps, after all, the Bassin du Commerce is the
most interesting ; its position in the centre of the town is
very picturesque. It is interesting, too, from the variety
of the great vessels that lie within it — vessels of every
variety of build, from the huge unwieldy Norwegian, with
its profusely gilded figure-head and much-encumbered
rigging, to the slender, swift-looking New Yorker, without a
superfluous cable on her decks, her tall, tapering masts show-
ing bare beside many of her neighbours. It was cheerful to
see our flag frequently, and to notice the trim aspect of the
vessels beneath it. The British crews are, far away, the
best-looking among the sailors ; the others seem to be a
motley assemblage of nations, numbering among them
many men of colour. There is a life and animation in the
incessant occupation which is very amusing. It becomes
a sort of fascination after a time to watch the loading and
unloading of the different vessels, and the variety in the
crews.

The Quai d'Orleans reaches quite to the Place Louis Seize.
We went up the Rue de Paris, and came to the Hotel de
Ville, with its charming, well-planted garden in front. The
climate, doubtless, has much to do with the luxuriant
growth of plants and^ shrubs, but both here, at Rouen,
and elsewhere in Normandy, we were delighted with the
public gardens. They are small, except at Lisieux and
Coutances, but they are well kept, and the plants in them
are both rare and interesting.

STE. ADR ESSE. 159

The Hotel de Ville is very handsome. It was built in
1855, in the Renaissance style, with the high roofs and
dormer windows of that epoch.

Another interesting public garden is in the square of
St. Roch, once a cemetery. There is a Jardin des Plantes
here and an aquarium, of which the Havrais are very proud.
The square of St. Roch is a little way on the left of the
Hotel de Ville, along the Boulevard de Strasbourg.

Early next morning we went up to the Place Louis Seize,
and took the omnibus to Ste. Adresse. It is best to see this
in early morning ; the harbour and town are freer then from
smoke, and the view is much more extensive. The road is
very steep, and every now and then vre get peeps of the sea.
In about half an hour we reach the opening of the village,
and we leave the omnibus. At the corner of the road is a
pleasant-looking farmhouse ; beside this is a path which
leads up through a steep wood to the cliffs. About half-
way is a most charming view of the mouth of the Seine and
the opposite coast, with the hills of Calvados. Havre lies
below us, shrouded by its forest of masts ; and midway are
weeping willows among groups of poplars. But we have to
hurry on, for our fellow-travellers of the omnibus are far
ahead, and we may lose our way alone.

It is a delightful walk in the early morning, so fresh and
yet so still ; and when we finally leave the w^ood and cross
a huge field, the dew hangs still on the grass, and we see a
lark rising up to begin his morning hymn.

There is no danger here of missing our way. The light-
houses are before us — two huge white towers, which do not
seem in keeping with the scene, they look so realistic and
commonplace.

i6o THE SEA-COAST OF UPPER NORMANDY.

The little chapel of Notre-Dame des Flots is more inte-
resting, though it too is quite modern.

In going to the lighthouses we are warned not to go too
near the edge of the cliff, the ground is so very treacherous.
The view from here is magnificent. In clear weather, to
the south-west one can see the headland of Barfleur, the
scene of the shipwreck of the Blanche Nef in the time of
Henry I. ; to the south, much nearer than Barfleur, Dives
and the mouth of the Orne ; and to the north the Cap d'Antifer
and rocky peaks of Etretat. The immense expanse of sea
in the soft haze of morning light is a splendid spectacle of
colour ; the variety and beauty seem never-ending, sometimes
glittering, and then opalesque, with infinite change of soft
and tender tints, now, as some light mist floats over the sun,
mellowing into a greyish green, almost more lovely than
its former aspect, and, before the eye has time to tire,
sparkles of light flit across the broad expanse from one
curving ripple to another, as if the very water were conscious
of its Proteus-like power, and enjoyed the delight it is giving
us.

Ste. Adresse lies in a little valley, and is only a few
minutes' walk from the lighthouses. A legend gives the
origin of its name. Once upon a time, a merchant-ship was
carried away by the current to the foot of Cap de la Heve,
which at that time stretched much farther into the sea than
it does at present. The ship had nearly struck ; and the
sailors, instead of aiding the captain or the ship, flung them-
selves on their knees, and invoked St. Denis, the patron-saint
of the Pays de Caux. The captain looked at them, and
then he said, "My friends, you mistake ; you should not ask
help from St. Denis, but from Ste. Adresse : for Adresse is

HARFLEUR. i6l

the only saint who can bring us into port." The sailors took
courage, and • worked with a will; and the name of Ste.
Adresse was given to the little village of Cap de la Heve.

The scene from the heights of Ingouville, on the other
side of the town, is quite different in character from Ste.
Adresse. We were advised to take this route in the even-
ing to see the sunset, and it is very well worth seeing. The
view of Havre, of its harbour, and of the Seine from this
point is very remarkable. Ingouville is studded with villas
and gardens, and is reckoned extremely healthy.

Though Havre in itself is very commonplace and uninte-
resting, still it is a comfortable town to stay in ; and there are
so many places of interest within reach, that it is a very good
centre for travellers who have plenty of time before them,
and who do not care to stay in the smaller towns. Etretat,
Harfleur, Tancarville, Lillebonne, Honfleur, and Trouville
may all be reached in a day's excursion ; and Chateau
d'Orcher and Graville are close at hand.

The best way to reach Chateau d'Orcher is to take a
private voiture for the afternoon to Harfleur. The landlord
at our hotel shrugged his shoulders when we asked about
Harfleur. " There is nothing absolutely to see," he said,
"even for the EngHsh;" but, as we were obstinately bent
on seeing the town so associated with our English kings, we
started off for Harfleur.

The church alone is worth the journey. The spire is very
graceful, and both the portals are remarkable, especially the
northern porch, with richly sculptured pendants. The
eastern end of the church is much older than the tower
spire and northern aisle, which, according to English autho-
rities, were built by Henry V. The French deny this indig-

l62

THE SEA- CO A ST OF UPPER NORMANDY.

nantly, and say that these portions are of later date. It
is certain, however, that Henry, with thirty thousand men,
attacked and took the town in 141 5 ; the garrison, only four
hundred strong, resisted for forty days. Henry then walked
barefoot and bare-legged to church to offer up thanksgiving
for his victory ; after which act of piety he assembled the
inhabitants, about 8,000 souls, exiled them from the town,

and appropriated their pos-
sessions for the English,
with whom he re-peopled
Harfleur. Only the poor
and ignoble were left in the
town ; but, later on, four
hundred of these chased
the enemy from their walls ;
after this, at matins, four
hundred strokes on the bell
recalled the fame of the
unknown heroes of Har-
fleur.

It is difficult to realise
that Harfleur is spoken of
in old chronicles as the
chief seaport of Normandy.
It is now an inland town, on the choked-up river Lezarde,
about two miles from the Seine. During the w^ars between
the French and English for the possession of this town, the
harbour was neglected and became choked with sand, and
Havre has usurped the commercial prosperity of the more
ancient seaport.

Harfleur is charmingly placed at the foot of wooded hills,

Church, Harfleur,

CHATEAU nORCHER, 163

and there are still some curious houses left to vouch for its
antiquity. It is no longer " girded Harfleur." There is no
trace of the walls to which Henry urged his soldiers : " Once
more to the breach, dear friends;" but it is interesting, and
from several points the church groups in well with a very
picturesque foreground. One should visit Harfleur, if only
as a tribute to its ancient grandeur. Edward the Confessor,
Marguerite of Anjou, Henry of Richmond, all passed through
Harfleur on their way to England.

From Harfleur we drove up a steep road to Chateau
d'Orcher. For some way the road lay between high hedges,
with visions of pumpkin fields and vegetable gardens behind
them, but after a bit it became more interesting.

Before we reached the park gates, our driver turned into a
sort of orchard by the roadside, and said w^e had better
alight. He would await us there while we went on foot to
Chateau d'Orcher. There was a little auberge here, and a
party of men and women were drinking at a long table under
the trees. There seemed to be a good view of the Seine
through the trees ; but our driver hurried us off, assuring us
that we should want all our time at Chateau d'Orcher.

When we reached the park gates, the concierge^ a brown-
faced Norman woman, informed us that we were welcome
to walk about the park as long as we pleased, but no one
could see the house while the Marquis de Mortemer and his
family were en rhidence. It was unfortunate, she said, that
the marquis preferred coming to Orcher in August, as that
seemed to be the time chosen by English travellers for visit-
ing Le Havre.

Before us stretched a long avenue of beech-trees, and the
comierge told us that this reached to the famous terrace

1 64 THE SEA- CO AST OF UPPER NORMANDY.

overlooking the Seine. The trees are very lofty, making the
finest avenues we have seen in Normandy. The park itself is
very thickly planted, chiefly in huge stars, stretching out in
long leafy avenues, the trees having been trained aich-wise,
so that there is a constant succession of Gothic aisles. The
leaves were turning early, and the contrasts of colour were
exquisite, as we walked on the smooth grassed drive under
the shade of the trees. Presently we reached the terrace, a
broad grassed and gravelled walk extending the whole width
of the park, which forms itself into a close wall of verdure
as background. The terrace is bordered by a low hedge,
and from this the view is magnificent.

The falaise slopes down in front, covered with brambles,
furze, brake, and long grass dried up by the sun. Below
are meadows, partly under water, and between these and
the river are long lines of salt marsh left by the tide.
Opposite is Honfleur ; and on the right is the mouth of the
river, and the open sea beyond, glittering in the sunshine.

The smoke from the harbour and factory chimneys
obscures the town of Havre, but the port, with its tall array
of masts, stands forward boldly ; and midway, nestHng
between lofty cliffs, is the little village of Harfleur, crowned
by the tall elegant spire of its church. On the left the
course of the Seine can be traced for miles, till it takes one
of its sudden curves and disappears altogether. The chief
features of its banks this way seem to be wooded hills and
long stretches of meadow and sandy marsh along its edge ;
and this feature continues quite as far as Quillebceuf and
its opposite neighbour, Tancarville.

We walked along the whole length of the terrace till we
reached the chateau at its farthest end. It is a quaint, com-

CHATEAU D'ORCriER. 165

fortable-looking seventeenth-century house, built on the ruins
of the ancient fortress ; it is splendidly placed, and the view
from its windows must be quite equal to that on the terrace.

Each time we approach the Seine we meet with fresh and
marvellous beauties. The view from Chateau d'Orcher is
not perhaps so fairy-like in its loveliness as the view from
Canteleu, but is far liner ; next to the view of Mont St.
Michel from the terrace at Avranches, the finest sea and river
view we met with in Normandy. Perhaps the most special
feature in the beauty of this river is its never-ending variety.
It would be difficult to find more varied bits of river scenery
than those seen from Chateau d'Orcher, Villequier, Canteleu,
or Mount St. Catherine and Chateau Gaillard ; and all of
them so vivid with past associations.

We should have liked to spend a long day at Chateau
d'Orcher ; but we promised ourselves another visit in the
absence of the De Mortemers, and we found our way back
to the orchard where we had left our vehicle.

Our driver looked extremely sulky at our long delay. He
was very young ; he had a capital little Norman horse, and
was an excellent driver ; but he was the only sulky, ill-condi-
tioned Norman we met with in our wanderings. He either
did not or would not know anything about the way, except
to inform us that the new road by which he drove back to
Harfleur was a great boon to the country, being much shorter,
and that the Marquis de Mortemer had given up all the land
it traversed to the department in order that it might be made.

" But I never mount it," he said ; " it is much too steep
and rough at present : it does very well for the return."

It is a beautiful road, commanding a view of the river
for some distance, and has wild, picturesque banks, having

i66 THE SEA-COAST OF UPPER NORMANDY.

been cut on the side of a heath and gorse-covered slope ;
which will probably, in the neighbourhood of such a populous
town as Havre, soon be spoiled for the eye by cultivation.

We rattled through Harfleur, admiring its quaint aspect
still more than on our first view of it, and then drove along
the broad well-kept road which leads to Havre. The Nor-
man roads are certainly admirable. If they were not all
made by the Romans, the Roman idea has been scrupulously
imitated ; for the long dusty straight line, like a broad white
ribbon always mounting to the top of the hills in front, is a
feature that seems inseparable from memories of Normandy.

We soon reached Graville, or at least a turn out of the
road where our driver said it was the custom to descend.
" The road there," he pointed up the path with his whip,
" is much too steep for my voiture."

We did not believe this ; but his face was so intensely
mulish that we began to climb the hill, and found it very
steep indeed. In about ten minutes, at a sudden turn in
the road, we came in sight of a jDicturesque gateway, partly
overgrown with ivy. The rusty gates stood wide open, s.nd
within was an arched avenue of lime-trees. Coming slowly
up this alley, framed in by the leafage, were two Sisters, with
broad stiff white frills projecting from their black veils; one
of them was old and one young, but both had sweet and
earnest faces. We asked them if this was the Abbey of
Graville, and the elder smiled till she almost laughed,

" There is no longer an Abbey of Graville," she said. " If
you go up the avenue, you will find the church. There is
a presbytery and a school-house for boys, and there is also a
school-house for girls ; but that is separate — quite separate
from the presbytery, and is taught by Sisters."

GRA VILLE.

167

She made a curtsey here, and glanced at her young com-
panion ; then they said " Bon jour," and went quickly up
the road, which turned aside by the gateway terrace-fashion,
to scale a still steeper part of the cliff than we had mounted.

Going a little back to get a better view of the gateway, as
my companion wanted to sketch it, we came upon a grand
view of the Seine. A cloud was passing over the sun, and
while Honfleur and the opposite side of the river showed

Entrance to the Abbey of Graville.

dark olive and the hills beyond a leaden blue, and the
wooded slope in the foreground was also sombre in tint, the
low-lying marshy meadows were of the most brilliant emerald,
and the near side of the river shone like burnished steel.

While my companion sat sketching, I strolled down the
avenue. About half-way down I met a most venerable,
looking priest. He was bare-headed, except for a black silk
skull-cap ; and as he walked he read out of a richly bound
breviary, with crimson and gold markers hanging from it.

168

THE SEA-COAST OF UPPER NORMANDY.

It was so like an old picture, the grey presbytery now
visible through the trees as background, the leafy arcade, and
the peaceful leisure of the priest and his occupation, that I
was startled when he passed me with a courteous bow, and
brought me back to real life.

There is a curious old well in front of
the presbytery, and the church joins on
to the conventual buildings. It is a very
remarkable church of the last half of the
eleventh century ; the transepts have ex-
ternal arcades intersecting one another,
and along the edge of the parapet is a
succession of heads both of men and
animals. But you forget the church when
you reach its western end and turn the
corner of the building. It stands on a
spur of land projecting from the side of
the steep wooded cliff overhanging the
Seine. From its wooded churchyard
there is a perfect view of Havre and the mouth of the Seine.
It was near sunset; the red light came glowing through the
trees, and a soft grey haze came up from the green valley
below. On the right, near the porch, is a tall moss-grown
stone cross of exquisite proportions, and clearly of great age.
Through the soft haze smoke rose lazily from the village
below, and sent pale blue wreaths into the yew-trees that
clothe the up and down precipitous ground where rest the
ancient people of Graville Ste. Honorine, It was a scene of
enchantment. Below Cap la Heve the sea lay basking in a
flood of golden light, and the air was full of the soft slum-
berous murmur which tells that the day is going to sleep.

Old Cross

THE ABBEY-CHURCH.

i6(f

Inside, the church is very interesting and well preserved.
It was built in the last half of the eleventh century ; but
it has been badly restored. The capitals of the columns in
the nave are evidently old, and are most grotesque and ex-
traordinary ; one of them is at the beginning of this chapter.
In the aisle, on the left of the altar, is the tomb of St.
Honoria, discovered in 1867 ; it is a stone sarcophagus
with a large round hole at one end. According to the

Abbey-Church of Graville.

legend, the remains of St. Honoria were removea, at the
time of the Norman invasion, to Conflans; but when
peace was restored to the country the monks of Conflans
refused to restore the reHcs. Spite of this, so great was the
sanctity attached to the Abbey of Graville Ste. Honorine,
that the pilgrims continued to flock thither in larger num-
bers than to the Church of Conflans, where the body of the
saint actually lay.

Near the church, on the way up the hill, are several caves
in the rock, used as cellars. We looked into the school-

I70 THE SEA- CO AST OF UPPER NORMANDY.

rooms, and going up a little higher found ourselves above
the wall of the Sisters' garden, such a pretty, quaint sun-trap,
with plots of onion and cabbage and artichoke, and pear-
trees laden with fruit everywhere, and a gay show of scarlet
and golden and blue and white flowers near the school-house,
which made one boundary of the garden, and which was
covered with white climbing-roses and the crimsoning leaves
of a Virginia creeper.

From the outside of the enclosure, at a little distance, the
position of Graville is very striking : the church rising above
the old grey range of building gives the idea of a still-existing
monastery. It is only a short drive from Graville to Havre,
and we got several charming views of the church before we
quite lost sight of it.

Montivilliers is also an excursion from Havre. There
is an old church founded, in 682, by St. Philibert, Abbot of
Jumieges, but it was ravaged and destroyed by the Normans
in the ninth century. Richard the Good gave the Abbey of
Montivilliers to the monks of Fecamp. Beatrix, aunt of
Robert the Magnificent, got leave to restore the abbey to
its original purpose. Helped by St. Gradulph, Abbot of
Fontenelle (afterwards St. Wandrille), the holy woman re-
organized the noble abbey, and established a sisterhood
there. The Abbey of St. Taurin, at Evreux, was given to
the monks of Fe'camp in exchange for Montivilliers. The
Roman tower at the north angle of the entrance-doorway is
remarkable, and so is the porch and the fine fourteenth-
century window. The carved staircase leading to the organ
gallery is something like that at St. Maclou. There are a
few old houses at Montivillers, also a cloister; but the
church is certainly worth seein^i.

THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

CHAPTER VII.

Tancarville. — Lillebonne.

HE pleasantest way of seeing the
Seine as a whole is to leave Havre
by the little steamer, the Furet,
which runs on alternate days be-
tween Havre and Rouen ; but there
are several places on the banks
w^orthy of closer inspection than
can be made from the steamer, and
^ although it is possible to stop at
some of these, yet, as the steamer
does not go on to Rouen every
day, the stopping at every place of interest would make the
journey a long one. The best way is, perhaps, to take the
steamer from Havre to Rouen, or the contrary, so as to see
the banks of the river, and then make the journey by land
afterwards. The Seine is the chief feature of Normandy,
and it is impossible to gain a just idea of its varied and
lovely scenery unless one follows its course either by land
or water. Till it reaches Quilleboeuf it is nearly three miles

172 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

wide ; here it narrows very suddenly to little more than a
quarter of the width — and this part of the river is very
dangerous on account of the baive and the shifting sand-
banks.

The danger has been lessened since the invention of
steam-tugS; which now pull large vessels up even against the
wind, thereby saving time and risk. The baj're is caused
when the full tide of water, rushing up from the sea, meets
the current of the river, and the water, finding itself con-
tracted thus suddenly into so narrow an outlet, rises up in
fury, dashes over the quay and buildings of Quilleboeuf,
hurls vessels ashore, and sometimes submerges farmhouses
and cottages for miles along the banks. Its fury reaches as
high as Caudebec; but it is the period of the full moon
in spring and autumn when the i?iascaref, or the Jiof, as
the good people of Caudebec call it, is to be seen in its
height of wrath. The immense quantities of mud and sand
brought up the river by the fury of the bar?'e form the con-
tinually shifting sand-banks which are the chief peril of the
Seine.

The Seine, counting its windings, is about eighty-five and
a half miles from Havre to Rouen; but the land journey is
only fifty-three miles.

The following are the chief objects of Interest seen from
the river. The magnificently placed castle of Tancarville
frowning down from the top of a lofty perpendicular /tz/*^?/^'*?,
with the enormous rock, called Pierre Gante, crowning the
opposite side of the valley, is the first object of interest on
the left bank, after Harfleur and Graville Ste. Honorine. On
the right, after Honfleur, comes Quilleboeuf, with its church-
tower, and lighthouse projecting into the river. Quilleboeuf

VATTEVILLE, VILLEQUIER. 173

is the chief pilot-station on the Seine, but there is also a
small colony of pilots at Villequier. Just opposite Quilleboeuf
the lovely valley of the Bolbec opens on to the river ; and
up this valley, on a clear day, the Castle of Lillebonne is
visible.

After Quilleboeuf, on the right, is the forest of Brotonne ;
close beside the river is Aizier,with a curious old Romanesque
church. On the left is Norville, which may be reached by
land from Caudebec, and is worth a visit. It has a re-
markable church-spire ; and about a mile and a half from it
is the village of St. Maurice d'Etelan. There is a curious
fifteenth-century church here, and the ruins of a much older
one; also the Chateau d'Etelan. There is some good
glass in the chapel, and the chateau itself is remarkable.
On the right is Vatteville la Rue, a most fatiguing village,
about a mile and a half long. We were sent all the way
from Caudebec to see an oak here, said to be one of the
wonders of the Seine : when at last we reached it we found
a fine large tree, but nothing in any way remarkable to
English eyes. There is some good glass in the church at
Vatteville, and it is worth visiting for the sake of the view
of Villequier and the opposite banks.

And now, on the right, we have reached perhaps for
quiet beauty the most exquisite part of the river — the
bay of Villequier. The little village nestles in among the
trees on the side of a lofty cote, crowned by the Chateau
de Villequier; and above the clustering houses rises the
spire of a Gothic church, part of which was built in the
twelfth century. Villequier stands just where the river
bends round on its way to Caudebec, and the river curves
in and out between the two places in a series of little

174 "^HE VALLEY OF THE SEINE,

rippling bays, which wash the feet of the lofty wooded
crags above. Here and there the crag overhangs the
road in bare whiteness, but the coppice of beech-wood
clustering below tells that it will soon be covered again
with successors to the trees which have been removed.
Between the river and the cotes are green sloping meadows,
fringed sometimes with slender poplars, sometimes with
osiers ; and now, as we come opposite a huge cave which
opens in the rock, across the mouth of which ivy has
thrown itself in a long graceful wreath, tall silver-skinned
birch-trees bend down over the water, their pale foliage
telling out against the ivy-crowned cliff behind. As the
green sloping meadows become steeper, they change into
orchards, the trees rosy and golden with cider-apples.

A little way on a tongue of land projects into the water,
making a charming picture ; and from here is a grand view
of the curve of the river beyond Caudebec, and the dark
forest-clothed range of hills between it and St. Wandrille.
Caudebec itself lies a little back, but it can be seen from
Barre-y-va — a small chapel filled with the votive offerings of
sailors, standing on the river-bank half-way between Ville-
quier and Caudebec.

Before we reach Barre-y-va a curious-looking white house
stands high above the river. It is now a farm-house, called
La Maison Blanche ; but its walls are of immense thickness,
and there is a Norman staircase tower on one side : it is
said to date from the thirteenth century.

Now we come to pleasant gardens, and the bank changes
from sloping meadows to a walled quay. Next is a quaint
old house surrounded by a garden, with courtly hollyhocks
and glowing roses; and then the quay suddenly broadens.

CAUDEBEC. 175

A Stately double avenue of trees reaches along to its midst,
and we see the quaint town of Caudcbec, full of " striped '*
and gabled wooden houses grouped round its magnificent
church-spire — the Cathedral of Caudebec, as strangers often
call it; and the richness and beauty of the exterior merit
the name : the effect of this ma,ssive spire, rising just where
a street opens into the town at the end of the avenue, is
most remarkable. Caudebec is admirably placed at the
entrance of a valley, between two lofty and thickly wooded
hills. Two little rivers, the St. Gertrude and the Ambion,
find their way to the Seine through this valley j they take
their rise in the Caux, — hence the name of the to\vn;
or, as some writers say, Cold-beck, the original Celtic
name.

From Caudebec to Jumieges the scenery is enchanting ;
on both sides, the river banks are steep and wooded.

Just beyond Caudebec is the pretty little village of
Caudebecquet, with its lighthouse and long sand-marshes,
which year by year are being reclaimed from the river and
converted into green meadows. Behind Caudebecquet are
the ruins of St. Wandrille, one of the oldest of Norman
abbeys; and from this point, just before the river sweeps
round between its steep dark cotes and La Mailleraye,
there is a wonderfully beautiful view of Caudebec. The
grey church-spire rises between the hills on either side of it,
and in the distance is the Bay of Villequier. The steep
wooded hills cast broad olive tints over the shining river,
bright as a steel cuirass under the fleecy grey sky — that
exquisite pearl-grey tint which seems a specialty of Norman
skies. On the right, just ahead of us, is La Mailleraye.
The chateau here used to be seen from the water; but

176 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

during the war the Prussians dernoHshed it, and cut down
the trees in the park.

On the left is the forest of Le Trait : this is really part
of the forest of Maulevrier, which surrounds Caudebec and
St. Wandrille. The Church of Le Trait, with its white
spire, is a landmark ; and from here the river runs almost
due north and south till it reaches a peninsula of land, on
which are the magnificent towers of Jumieges. A little
way above Jumieges the Seine makes one of its bold curves,
and runs upwards again till it reaches Duclair; before
this it passes Mesnil. There is a house here, said to
have been the residence of Agnes Sorel : it is now a
peasant's cottage. Duclair is well placed between the steep
crags behind it and the river. On the left bank also is the
Abbey of St. Martin de Boscherville ; but this is not seen
distinctly. Between the abbey and Rouen the river makes
an immense horseshoe, eighteen miles long, the land dis-
tance to Rouen being about half the length.

Half-way between Duclair and Rouen, on the right bank,
is La Bouille, which we had already visited when we were
at Rouen.

In making the land journey, we wished to keep as near
the river as possible; and as we learned that some of the
localities could be reached from Caudebec, we determined
to make that town our head-quarters, as it is the pleasantest
and largest town between Rouen and Havre.

We found that there was no direct public way of reaching
Tancarville from Havre. The distance between Havre
and the castle is about ten miles : it is possible to go by
railway to Bolbec, thence by diligence to Lillebonne, and
there engage a private voiture for the excursion to the

ST, ROMAIN, \ii

Chateau de Tancarville; also the said dih'gence passes
within three miles of the chateau, and this, for good
walkers, is perhaps the best route. We had no wish to
visit Bolbec, an uninteresting, thriving manufacturing town ;
and we found that by taking the train from Havre to
St. Romain, about thirty-five minutes of rail, we could get
a voiture thence to Tancarville and Lillebonne. We were
told at Havre that there was no possibility of sleeping at
Tancarville, or of finding a horse there ; but in this, as in
many like cases, we found that "seeing is believing."

We left Havre at eight o'clock. We soon passed the
spire of Harfleur, which looked exquisite through the veil of
morning light. In about an hour we reached St. Romain
station, nearly three miles from the little town ; but we had
been told at Havre that there was an omnibus which met
the trains. However, after waiting nearly an hour at St.
Romain station in silent patience — and a large packet of
this virtue is necessary for travellers on the Lignede I'Ouest,
the worst-managed line in France — we learned that, as the
omnibus had not been there to meet us, it would not now
arrive till just before the next train from Paris; so that all
our calculation of time had been wasted, as the train from
Paris was not yet expected.

We were very hungry and weary by the time the omnibus
appeared ; and we got to St. Romain finally about an hour
and a half later than we had hoped to reach it.

We walked about the town, looked into the church, and
after some difficulty engaged a carriage to take us to Tan-
carville, and from thence on to Lillebonne.

We had ordered our vehicle half an hour sooner than we
wanted it, trusting to the universal unpunctuality of Nor-

178 THE VALLEY OF THE SELNE.

mans ; but for once we were mistaken, — while we were still
at breakfast we heard that our driver was waiting.

When we came to the door of the hotel, we saw a com-
mon, rough-looking 'cart, with a board tied across for seat,
and a shawl laid on this by way of cushion. Our driver had
arranged a portmanteau sideways as a seat for himself.

" But you promised us a voiture," we said, with some
disappointment; "we shall be shaken to pieces in that cart."

" Pardon, monsieur ; pardon, madame." He pulled off
his old cloth cap to each. " Monsieur has said he wanted
to go very easily; and my cart has the best of springs, and
my horse ! allez, monsieur will not beat him in Havre —
perhaps nowhere."

A bystander began to echo the praises of the horse and
of the cart-springs ; and as we had already been told that
there was no other horse to be had in St. Remain, we
mounted the cart and started at a rattling pace for Tancar-
ville. Our driver had looked a dirty old man when we made
the bargain for his vehicle ; but since then he had washed his
face and hands, put on a clean blouse and a snowy collar,
and tidied himself into respectability. His way of speak-
ing puzzled us, it was so very superior to his looks ; but he
soon informed us he had been in business in Paris, and, as
that did not answer, he had since been a courier, and knew
every inch of Normandy. If his cart had only had a hood,
it would have been a delightful vehicle for going about the
country in ; for it went very easily, and the horse deserved
all the praise we had heard of him. He was a small brown
anini il, and he never needed the whip ; the pace at which
he went down the hills reminded us of drives in Devon-
shire. Our driver chatted all the way. We passed through

MADEMOISELLE B. 179

Cerlangiie, which has a fifteenth-century church, and came
to a very large house standing in orchards ; it looked
dreary and deserted, and we asked our driver to whom it
belonged.

" Ah ! " he said, " it belongs to Mademoiselle B. : she
built it herself, and she is quite rich enough to afford to live
in it ; but she has too much sense, — she lives there, among
her people."

He pointed with his whip to some cottages near a range
of workshops : there were timber-yards on the other side of
the road, and not far beyond stacks of bricks.

I felt puzzled, and asked the age of mademoiselle.

*' Dame, she may be forty, or perhaps fifty," he said.
" She was here when I came to this country, and I do not
know how long I have been here." I asked if her parents
lived here before her, or if she had inherited the property
from some one else.

But the question vexed him.

*' Dame, did I not tell Madame she makes her money

herself. She builds houses, I say ; that she does, and stands

over her workpeople from morning till night j and she is

jood to them, and she lives with them, and they love her.

Ler father and mother, what signifies asking about them ?

do not remember ever to have seen them : they are dead ;
|but I believe they were poor people, like myself."

" But if Mademoiselle B. is so rich, I wonder she does
[not marry."

He looked at me, and winked his left eye deliberately.

*' She knows better. She knows that, though some of
I your courtly gentlemen may have soft tongues and pleasant
wa)^^ it would only be for the sake of her money. Bah!

i8o

THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

some gentlemen have empty pockets and the hearts of
wolves; and, after all, what does a woman of her age want
with a husband?"

He cracked his whip, and the little horse went ahead still
more rapidly. We felt sorry not to see Mademoiselle B. ; we
were curious to learn the true history of her riches, for they

must have had some
beginning.

The road became
charming as we drew
nearer Tancarville. It
seems to have been
cut round and round
the hills, through a
lofty and thick forest.
High trees crown the
banks on either side ;
but openings now and
then give glimpses of
the Seine, or vistas of
wooded valleys with
cotes rising one behind
another; it is a succes-
sion of varied scenery.
The first glimpse of Tancarville is very striking. The old
grey towers loom grandly above the forest which surrounds
them ; after this the road circles round so as to break the
steep, descent : it is very wild and picturesque. The village,
or rather the little inn and a few cottages, lie at the mouth
of a steep and richly wooded valley, opening on to the bank
of the Seine, just opposite Quilleboeuf. A lofty falaise

The Tour de I'Aigle.

TANCARVILLE. l8l

guards the entrance of the valley on either side : the cliff on
the right, the loftiest of the two, is surmounted by the castle,
of which the bold tower round on this side — the Tour de
TAigle — is the most salient feature ; the cliff on the right is
clothed with wood on the side of the valley, but fronting the
Seine is a huge white-topped rock overhanging the river, called
La Pierre Gante, — it is more than two hundred feet high.

We had been told to inquire at the inn for the keys of
the castle ; so we drove into an orchard at the back of the
house, where we found the landlord in his shirt sleeves,
mounted on a ladder, gathering some exquisite, large, rosy
cherries from a tree nailed against the house. He was a
tall, big, burly Norman ; and as he stood on the ladder,
wiping his bald head with a huge yellow handkerchief, we
fancied he did not look at us quite as hospitably as a land-
lord is bound to do.

However, by the time we had alighted he had come
down from his ladder, and we followed him into the kitchen
and made our request for the keys.

He looked thoroughly surly, and turned his back.

"It is not possible. It is the little bo?t7ie who always
shows the castle to strangers. We are all busy, and she, the
little Marie, has not had her breakfast ; it is quite impossible."
He growled this over his shoulder, and then walked away
from us in a puftet ; and we turned to a tall, elderly woman,
who must have been very handsome in her prime, and asked
what we were to do. She was very civil. She said the
household breakfast was just going to be served, and, if we
would not mind taking a little walk up the cliff, the bojzne
would soon be ready. We came through the house into the
garden, or rather grassed court, in front. Everything looked

1 82 THE VALLEY OF TIE SEINE.

SO clean and neat, that we wished we had waited instead of
having breakfasted at St. Remain. Over the door we read
the name Toutain, and wondered if our surly, burly host
was related to the faithful Toustain, chamberlain of Robert
the Magnificent, who, when his master died at Nikaia,
in Bithynia, brought the relics collected by the Duke of
Normandy in the East to his famous Abbey of Cerisy; or to
the more famous Toustain the White, the son of Rou, who
carried the Norman standard — a banner consecrated by
Pope Hildebrand — at the battle of Hastings.

The house is so exquisitely placed in the gorge of the two
steep cliffs, with the grey castle frowning over it, and the
Seine flowing in front, that in itself it makes a picture.
On the grass in front is a delightful round summer-house,
made of scarlet runners trained on osiers bent into the
form of a large weeping ash : some of these bean-blossoms
were of a most exquisite pale yellow. Inside was a good-
sized white deal table and some benches. It looked a
delicious nook to idle away summer days in, watching the
windings of the lovely Seine, the exquisite changes of light
on the castle-crowned hill frowning over the river above the
trees on one side, or the wooded valley of Pierre Gante.

While my companion sketched, I climbed up to the top
of Pierre Gante. It has a flat table of white rock on the
summit, like a bald head, fringed by the brushwood which
clothes it thickly up to this point. The view of the Seine is
extensive, but not so attractive as from many other points,
as the opposite banks are in comparison flat ; and, instead of
the graceful fringe of slender trees, there are sand-banks and
low-lying meadows half under water and cut through with
deep channels. But the view of the Castle of Tancarville

TANCAR VILLE. i Zl

is very fine from here : it is perhaps the best distant view,
except that from the middle of the Seine ; and that will be
much finer when the modern portion of the castle falls more
into decay — at present it hides the range of ancient towers.

By the time the sketches were finished, oar guide appeared
with a bunch of keys. She was a little damsel of about
twelve. Her full-bordered cap tied demurely under her chin
gave her a strangely quaint look. There was something
patriarchal in the big, rough Norman's solicitude that his
little maid's comfort should not be interfered with. So far
as we could see, she was the only maid-servant except the
daughter of the house.

The little creature went on in front, swinging her keys
backwards and forwards, and singing to herself as she went
up a steep path which wound up in and out among the
thickly planted trees. The sides of the path were bordered
with ivy and periwinkle wreaths, mingled every now and
then with shining fronds of bright green hart's-tongue.

Our little guide saw us gathering some of these wild
leaves.

'' It is forbidden " — she looked at us reprovingly — " to
gather flowers inside the castle court. There are beautiful
flowers there, but monsieur and madame must not gather
them."

Just after this we reached the gate-house. This is in
good preservation. The caged windows still exist, and
within the arched entrance are grooves for a double port-
cullis. There is another tower here, said to date from the
fifteenth century.

From the gateway we went into the enclosure of the ruined
castle, a large triangular space. At the foot of the triangle

1 84 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

on the right is the large tower which keeps guard over tlie
village — the Tour de I'Aigle. On this side it is triangilar
also. It is the only part which is still habitable, and is
occupied by the chatelain and his family when they visit
Tancarville. From the Tour de I'Aigle a broad terrace ex-
tends along the edge of the cliff, gay with scarlet geranium
beds ; and overlooking the Seine at the end of the ter-
race is a modern chateau, uninhabited and going fast to
decay; stretching from this at an acute angle are the
ancient towers of Tancarville, connected by curtain walls
which entirely enclose and form the two other sides of the
triangle. This, the ancient castle court, is now picturesque,
up and down, broken ground, full of ruins and bushes, and
weeds rampant over all. The cliff itself is more than one
hundred and sixty feet high, and of the same triangular form
in which the castle is built. There are the remains of three
principal towers commanding the three corners, and of seven
intermediate towers. The donjon was beyond the wall of
enclosure, and connected with it by a bridge. The Tour de
I'Aigle, as has been said, is round outside the walls, and
triangular within the enclosure. It contained the castle
archives. The twin towers of the gateway contained the
prisons, also the lodging of the captain of the castle. At
the angle nearest the Seine and the modern chateau is the
Tour Carree, four stories high, about the oldest part of the
building, and said to date from the twelfth century. This
was formerly decorated with frescoes ; among these are
found relics of the ancient device of the Tancarvilles, Be-
tween this and the Tour Coquisart are the ruins of the
ancient dwelling-house of the Tancarvilles, Harcourts, &c.
The walls of the towers have been torn down, the floors

TANCAR VILLE. \ 85

and staircases have disappeared, but still there is much left
of extreme interest. The chapel, with its graceful pointed
arches, the Salle des Chevaliers and its fire-places, may still
be made out. We found some fire-places too in the other
towers. The walls are so broken that we wandered in and
out among them and the bushes which threaten to overrun
the whole building.

We came suddenly on an awful subterranean dungeon
deeply sunk under the Tour du Lion — it is also called Tour
du Diable ; and a legend tells how the Evil One had to be
exorcised by the cure of the village when he had taken
possession of the subterranean. In the donjon, which is
behind the other towers, and detached from them, is a well
three hundred feet deep.

The small-leaved ivy creeps up the ruined walls, and
above and below, wherever the stone lets it flourish, is a
rampant waving growth of harebells and tufted grass, and
wreathing clematis with creamy blossoms, among which peep
bright-eyed yellow star-flowers. A coppice of nut-trees clusters
closely round the base of one of the ruined towers. Close
by us is the Tour Coquisart, sixty feet high, shaped like a
triangle with curved sides. There have been five stories
here, but all the roofs have fallen in ; only at the top three
groined ribs still remain, though the vaulted roof has fallen
through them, and there is the blue sky in exquisite contrast
against the creamy stone-work, and the long grass is waving
in sad mockery over all. This tower was restored and
nearly rebuilt in the fifteenth century : it forms the opposite
angle to the Tour Carree. The name Tancarville first
appears in a chart of Henry L, 1103 — William of Tancar-
ville, son and successor to Raoulthe chamberlain. M. Dep-

l86 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

ping considers that names of places ending in ville origi-
nated with the Norman followers of Rolf, who gave their
own names to the castles which they built and to the
villages which sprang up round these.

Tancarville is full of sad associations, and is especially
interesting to Englishmen, as it was the chief stronghold of
the Tancarvilles — the hereditary chamberlains of the duke-
dom of Normandy — till 1320; then it passed to the Har-
courts. After them came the Montmorencys and the family
of La Roche Guyon. But after this it fell into ignoble
hands. John Law, the South-Sea impostor, purchased Tan-
carville, and lived there for some years. It was greatly
destroyed and plundered at the time of the Revolution ; the
people named it Le Fort aux Bourreaux. It is now the pro
perty of M. Lambestye.

The ancient castle of Raoul de Tancarville was burned
down by Henry V. in 1437. He was certainly a mischievous
general in Normandy. Scarcely any part of the present
ruins is older than the fifteenth century.

Perhaps it is the perfect bits remaining that seem to make
home life real here \ but, as has been said, there is some-
thing inexpressibly sad in Tancarville. The hearths —
the chimney-pieces are still really there — round which
have gathered so many brave and gentle and chivalrous
spirits, are now exposed to every gaping sight-seer. In
the tower beside the gate-house the walls are nine feet
thick; and here are dungeons and the ancient torture-
room.

The ruins are so very interesting, that we thought they
would be worth much more than a day's visit ; and when we
went back to the inn, we ascertained that it possesses two

TAXCAR VILLE.

187

comfortable bedrooms, and can also furnish a horse and
carriage when required. jNladame Toutain, the landlady,
was much aggrieved when we told her the report of Tan-
carville we had gathered at Havre. She said they had
so many visitors in the summer that it was better to
give them a week's notice, and they would always send to
St. Romain to bring any visitors out to the little Hotel du

.35E9-.

Ruins of Chateau Tancan'ille.

Havre. Certainly the floors and staircase were cleaner than
any we saw in Normandy, and the beds .-looked most com-
fortable. The day was so bright, and the whole scene so
full of charm, that we were unwilling to leave Tancarville.
In the bean-vine arbour Madame Toutain arranged a charm-
ing little repast of bread, cream-cheese, butter, and cakes,
and the delicious cherries we had seen her husband gather-
ing, also some excellent wine. It was so very pleasant to

1 88 THE VALLEY OF THE ^EINE.

sit here looking at the lovely scene and shaded from the
sun, yet seeing the blue sky through the intertwining bean-
arms covered with their pale blossoms ; but the sun warned
us of the time, and we had still a long drive before us. More-
over, we began to reflect that it had possibly been injudicious
to leave our driver so long in the inn ; and the result was
what we might have expected. When he was summoned
to put his horse in the cart, he was in a garrulous state of
intoxication, and he was a long time getting ready to start.
Long before his fussing and fidgeting had ended, the sky
suddenly darkened ; a huge mass of grey vapour came down
from the direction of Rouen, and obscured every bit of
blue ; and in a few minutes, first a few heavy drops pat-
tered in between the bean leaves, and then such heavy
drenching rain that we were glad to escape to the house for
refuge.

The driver said it was only a shower, and would soon be
over, but Madame Toutain shook her head. However, as
she had more than once entreated us to stay a few nights at
the Hotel du Havre, we did not quite believe in her opinion.
It was, indeed, difficult to believe in so sudden a change of
weather; but this was almost our first introduction to the
banks of tlie Seine, and we had yet to learn the wonderful
faculty that otherwise charming river has of attracting rain.
As soon as the shower was over we started, and, happily for
us, the rain kept off at first.

The valley of the Bolbec is lovely; wooded hills rise
steeply on each side, and as the road is raised some
height above the river, and every now and then circles
round the side of the hills, the prospect is constantly
changing. One point is very remarkable : the road seems

LILLEBONNE, 189

almost to cross the valley high above it, and far off ai. the
extreme end, just where a blue vapour hovered over the
Bolbec, and melted into the varied foliage on each side, the
valley opened, and there was the Seine, and, as our driver
assured us — for those who could see them — the opposite cliffs
of Quilleboeuf. But now down came the rain again pelting
hard, and we had nothing but the shelter of our umbrellas.
Our little horse went like the wind, and our driver's tongue
never ceased till we got within two miles of Lillebonne;
then he sank into such sudden dumbness, that we feared he
was going to fall asleep.

We got a grand view of Lillebonne some time before we
reached it, as we drove down a steep descent cut on the
side of a hill. Lillebonne appeared on the side of the oppo-
site hill, its factories and river in front, and above these the
spire of the church and the castle of William the Con-
queror. Spite of the pouring rain, we greatly enjoyed our
drive, it was so very varied and full of beauty.

It was growing dusk as we drove into the town : it looked
dark and dirty, and the hotel, which our driver assured us
was the best, was most uninviting. However, we supped
and slept there, but with so little comfort that we much
regretted Tancarville and its clean inn and pleasant hostess.

Next morning it still rained, and we were told it had
been raining all night. We went out early to the Cirque,
as the Roman theatre is called at Lillebonne. Lillebonne
is charmingly placed on the river Bolbec, surrounded by a
circle of wooded hills ; we stood tracing the course of the
river among the hills for some distance by the fringe of slender
poplars along its banks. In front of us was the theatre, or
rather the semicircle allotted to the spectators ; the high road

190

THE VALLEY OF THE' SEINE.

crosses and occupies part of the portion that must originally
have been the stage, and above this, on the left, looking
down on the theatre, is the castle of William the Conqueror,
injured in effect by the modern house of the proprietor — a
red brick, fanciful erection, Behind us, in the centre of the
town, is the spire of Notre-Dame de Lillebonne ; it reminded
us of the^k/ie of Harfleur, but it is far less elegant.

Lillebonne is one of the most ancient cities in France.

* Ruins of the Theatre and Old Castle.

In the time of the Roman occupation of Normandy it was
called Julia Bona ; and Ptolemy says that on this site was
the capital city of the Caletes, the tribe who inhabited the
Pays de Caux. Julius Caesar is said to have built a town on
the ruins of the capital of the Caletes, and to have named it
from his daughter, Julia Bona. Other writers say it was built
by Augustus. The present town is supposed to be on the site

THE ROMAN THEATRE. 191

of the ancient one; and since 1840, when the theatre was
thoroughly excavated, there have been constant discoveries
of statues, bronzes, vases, tiles, and other objects in terra-
cotta, besides coins and other Roman treasures ; but the
search has been keen — the old woman who showed us
the theatre said she beheved the ground had been so
thoroughly ransacked that nothing more could be found.
We felt disposed to disbelieve this assertion when we after-
wards saw the splendid mosaic discovered in 1870.

The theatre, or rather the remaining part of it, is separated
from the road by an iron railing, and the gate of this is kept
locked. The old woman who keeps the key, and acts as
guide, is not very mtelligent. She seems to have more taste
for the natural beauties of the place — which are very re-
markable — than knowledge of its history ; but at Lillebonne
one does not seem to want a guide, it so thoroughly repre-
sents the various races which have dwelt in the fair valley —
the Roman (and, from some remains which have been
found, even the Celtic), the Romanesque or Norman, and
the Gothic or Plantagenet, possessors of Normandy.

The theatre of Lillebonne is supposed to date from the
second century, and to have been capable of holding three
thousand spectators. The rows of seats are cut in the rock
which rises behind ; there are eight divisions of these and
seven vomitories, and all round the outside of the semicircle
there is a passage which rises up in its midst to the highest
row of seats. From these, there is a fine view of the castle
opposite, of part of the town, and of the country surrounding
Lillebonne, on the side of the theatre. There are two wells in
front of the amphitheatre, and in these many treasures and
curiosities were discovered. The massive walls dividing and

192 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

surrounding the theatre are faced with Roman masonry,
bonded together at uneven distances by courses of thin red
tiles ; frequent buttresses support the walls : but the whole
is grass-grown, and although it is evidently cared for, it is
not kept too trim. Wreaths of clematis fling themselves
down from the topmost row of seats, and hang like a canopy
over our heads as we walk round the outside corridor, while
the turf at our feet is a carpet of wild flowers. Our guide saw
us gathering some of these, and asked if Madame would
accept a bouquet. Out of the clematis blossoms and a few
others, she arranged a charming nosegay, with a deftness and
rapid skill truly French, and presented it with a smiling grace
that seemed quite out of keeping with her short square figure
and wooden-looking face.

" I love flowers," she said simply, " and I am sorry when
they mow the grass and trim my bushes in the Cirque."

It is wonderful that this relic should have been so well
preserved for so many centuries, and also that it should
have lain undiscovered till i8i2. Lillebonne, or rather
Julia Bona, seems to have been a place of great importance,
judging by the remains which have been discovered of
numerous Roman roads, all starting from it in various direc-
tions ; but there is little mention of it in later Norman
times, and until William the Bastard held his famous council
there it becomes insignificant.

We had been told of a wonderful mosaic pavement
lately discovered at Lillebonne, and after some trouble we
got admission to it. While we waited for the key in the
cafe to which we had been directed, we amused ourselves
with the walls of the little room. From the wainscot to the
ceiling on each side, and also facing the windows, a canvas

THE MOSAIC, LILLEBONNE, 193

was stretched, and on two sides of it were represented six of
the marshals of the two Napoleons. There were Ney and
Pelissier, Macdonald and Soult — all painted in oil. life-size,
in full military costume. At the end a large space was
reserved for one portrait ; but of this only the scarlet legs
were visible, the face and body being concealed by a huge
framed lithograph of a young lady with abundant curls,
hugging a cat, with an inscription, " Ma petite cherie." We
were so inquisitive that we peeped behind the frame, and
there w^as a very good likeness of Napoleon III !

We found the mosaic in much better preservation than
we expected. A shed has been built over it, so that it is
sheltered from all injury. It is certainly a very important
work, about twenty-eight feet long by about twenty-two
broad. M. I'Abbe Cochet, in the Jour?ial de Bolbec of
April 16, 1870, published an interesting little account of its
discovery, from which we translate : —

*' Early in March, 1870, Monsieur Fagot, the proprietor
of a cafe at Lillebonne, was digging up a yard, intending
to convert it into a garden " (town talk says Monsieur Fagot
was making a bowling-green), ** whpn, at about a foot and a
half below the surface of the ground, he came upon an
ancient pavement. He communicated his discovery to
Monsieur le Docteur Pique, Mayor of Lillebonne, who at
once recognised the pavement as a mosaic.

"Sensible of the importance of this discovery, M. Pique' set
to work to disinter it with all possible care, and called round
him those most capable of aiding him in this delicate opera-
tion. I saw the mosaic first on the 15th and then on the
2 1 St of March, and I followed the whole process of discovery

194 THE VALLEY OF THE SELNE.

Monsieur Pique, Monsieur Brianchon, member of the Com-
mission of Antiquities, and M. Derarue,cantonalagent, worked
indefatigably themselves, and did not allow workmen to
touch the last layer of rubbish which rested on the mosaic.
The pavement was surrounded by walls, rather more than a
foot and a half in thickness, but nowhere more than a foot
in height. They must have fallen with the roofs, for their
ruins lay scattered over the pavement. These walls appear
to have been painted ; and there must have been marble
used in the decoration of the chamber, for numerous
marble slabs appeared among the rubbish. The roof had
evidently fallen in. We found the surface of the pave-
ment covered with ridge and pantiles : even the nails
of the roof were found. It was plain to us that this
ancient dwelling had been destroyed by fire. A black,
burnt surface, some inches thick, adhered to the face of
the pavement. On this we found several statuettes, some
broken, some entire, in terra-cotta. We recognised among
these the sitting figure known as Latona, and some Venus
Anadyomenes. These statues had become blackened by
their long stay underground in the burnt earth. I think
these are probably votive images, and I am inclined to
consider that the building of which we have discovered the
pavement was a temple consecrated to Diana and Apollo.

*' The mosaic has, first, a broad white border, edged with
black lines. After this come four hunting subjects, one on
each side of the mosaic, separated by a band of white and
red lozenges.

*' East Side. — In the compartment on the east side there
are men, horses, and dogs, but there is no prey to be seen.
The scene is a for^^st ; three men on horseback gallop one

THE MOSAIC, LILLEBONNE.

195

after another.* One of the horsemen holds a whip and a
leash ; a dog runs beside his horse : another holds a lance
or boar-spear; near his horse's foot is a very little dog,
beyond is a larger dog. It is possible that they are all
in pursuit of a fine ten-antlered stag in the next compart-
ment.

" South Side. — This is still a hunting scene in a forest.
The forest is represented by numerous trees. The chief per-

Mosaic, Lillebonne.

sonage here is on the right — a huntsman armed with a
quiver. He draws his bow to let fly an arrow at a ten-
homed stag running at full speed. Before the stag is
another huntsman, who stops its way and pierces its mouth
with a boar-spear. Behind this man is another stag, with
splendid antlers. This fine beast, which seems to come out
of a thicket, has a young doe close by, and is pursued by a
greyhound. We think that this last group "of animals

196 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

belongs rather to the huntsmen of the first division chan to
the archers we have just described.

" West Side. — In this scene there are four personages.
The first on the left holds a stag of ten antlers ; the stag
appears to be tranquil. Behind it is a man dressed in
Gallic fashion. In his right hand he holds a curved stick ;
with his left a circular cloak placed on his shoulders.
Behind are two coupled dogs, one tan, the other black.
These dogs have collars, and a cord fastens them together.
Behind them are two figures: one is on foot, and walks
beside a horse with a bridle ; the other personage is on
horseback, and holds in his right hand a whip and a leash,
as on the east side.

^^ North Side. — This is the finest and most remarkable
group. There are in it still the trees representing a forest,
also a stag; but besides these there are seven personages,
a goddess, and an altar. On the left a man holds a bridled
horse with his right hand, while with the left he wields a
club. Another man, in Gallic costume, holds a sharp lance
in his left hand ; with the right he leads a dog. The third
figure appears to be the most important. He is wrapped in
a large mantle, and is perhaps a priest or a sacrificer. He
points to the statue of the goddess in front of him. A
fourth figure stands between him and the image, but this
one appears young and very small ; he is perhaps a server.
The altar itself seems to be receiving from the young server
an offering or the sacred fire. The goddess crowns the
picture. She stands erect on a pedestal ; holding a bow in
one hand, the other. is raised to her head. She is evidently
Diana, the goddess of the chase.

*• This is certainly a sacrifice in the forest. The picture is

THE MOSAIC, LILLEBONNE. 197

completed by three persons, who assist at the sacrifice.
One of them holds in his left hand an elegant vase for liba-
tions; in the right he has a salver. Another personage
brings a young stag for the sacrifice.

" All the figures in these different scenes are from 31 to 35
inches hig^,?.

"jBetween this dramatic part of the mosaic and the centre
there is a second white band, about lo^- inches broad,
bordered, like the first, with black lines about an inch in
breadth.

" The centre of the mosaic is round, and in each of the
andes left between it and the corners of the white border
is a handsome basket, or antique vase, with two handles
and a foot.

" On the right and left of the basket are branches bearing
pointed leaves resembling laurel.

" The central picture of the mosaic, which I believe to be
perfectly round, is enclosed in a border of twisted circles of
various colours, about two inches broad. This portion, filled
by a group, is the important part of the design. All our in-
terest concentrates itself on this mysterious composition.

" Central Group. — We see here two personages — a man
and a woman, life-size. But for long scarves, they are nude.
The woman's scarf is black and white ; the man's white and
red. Unhappily the man is much less perfect than the
woman ; both are very well drawn. The man's legs are as
vigorous as those on a Greek vase. The man appears to
run after the woman ; the woman flies from the man, but she
seems to be falling on her knees, turning her left side to her
pursuer. The woman's hair is dressed, and among her plaits
of hair are some green beads. Some part only of the face

198 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

remains. The forehead, the eyes, and the nose are here ,
but the mouth and chin are wanting, and so is the neck.
The arms are perfect, and between the elbow and the
shoulder are armlets of green beads. The right hand tries
to rest on something round, which seems to fall from its
grasp. Is it a box or an urn ? That is what we cannot
discover. Stretching her left hand towards the man, she
seems to implore mercy. The man has lost the greater
part of his body : the two arms and the trunk, so far as the
hips, have disappeared ; there are only the two legs perfect.
The face is in profile, and has only the eyes and hair. The
hair is wreathed with a crown of laurel ; a scarlet scarf
floats behind the back, and is folded round the left leg.
He holds a long stick.

" M. le Baron de Witte, who is deeply versed in Greek
and Roman antiquities, thinks that the picture represents
Apollo pursuing a nymph, who is perhaps Daphne.

" Two inscriptions are preserved on the mosaic. Each
inscription contains two lines. The first is placed over the
head of the two personages in the central group ; the second
is beneath their feet. These inscriptions have no connec-
tion with the subjects : they simply relate to the artist and
the designer of the mosaic.

" Wonderful to relate, this beautiful mosaic appears to be
the work of an Italian artist of Pozzoli, a place celebrated
for this kind of work. The ancient workers in mosaic must
certainly have possessed a special secret for making the
cement in which the cubes are inserted, for we hesitated
at first as to whether this was an artificial composition or
natural rock. This hardness, doubtless, effectually resisted
the damp of the earth below ; and it is this which chiefly

THE MOSAIC, LILLEBONNE. 199

explains the good preservation of the pavement. The pave-
ment is not quite level, but is on a slightly indined plane,
so that water must necessarily have drained off its surface.
These are the two inscriptions —

T. SEN FILIX C PV
TEOLANVS FEC.

which stands for —

* Titus Cenius Felix, citizen of Pozzoli.'

The second inscription is more difficult to read and inter-
pret. However, we believe it runs thus : —

ET AMORCI or GI or GF
DISCIPVLVS,

which signifies 'pupil of Amorsus, or Amorgos.' Is this the
name of a master of a school ? We cannot tell. Our great
interpreter, M. Leon Renier, considers this maybe the Latin
translation of the Greek Amorgos. Amorgos was a Greek
island, one of the Cyclades, where there was a manufactory
of purple and of the best red dye. After all the researches
we have brought to bear on it, we are led to conclude that
the mosaic of Lillebonne is a work of the second century,
and that it is contemporary with the theatre and the great
prosperity of Julia Bona. It is the work of an Italian artist,
a mosaic-worker of Pozzoli formed in the best schools of his
epoch ; and we have every reason to think that it is the
pavement of a temple of Apollo and Diana, from the subjects
represented thereon and the statuettes discovered on its
surface."

We saw afterwards some photographs of the mosaic, which
gave a much clearer idea of these subjects than it is easy

200 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

to gain by looking at the pavement ; for the colour is rather
confusing, and the restorations (if they are restorations)
which appear here and there injure the clearness of the
whole. Still it is marvellously well preserved, and well
worth seeing.

Lillebonne is very well watered, and has become a manu-
facturing town. One of its manufacturers, a cotton-spinner,
has purchased and built himself a house in the castle
and enclosure of William the Conqueror. The massive
old walls still exist, enclosing the modern gardens and
orchards. Some of the old towers and the more modern
round tower yet remain; but the cotton-spinner entirely
demolished the great Norman hall in which William held
his great council previous to the invasion of England, when
he heard of the accession of Harold. When one reflects
that this noble and almost unique specimen of Norman
domestic architecture was removed in order to make room
for the mimic red-brick castle which we saw from the Cirque
below, it raises one's indignation as well as one's wonder.
This loss is irreparable ; for, from the drawing in Cotman's
" Norman Antiquities," it must have been a splendid
building.

However, the present proprietor is very courteous in
allowing strangers free access. We strolled up through a
pleasant garden, a little way beyond the theatre, to the old
tower. This is perhaps hardly so old as Duke William.
It is of hexagonal shape, and entirely ruined, far more so
than the Roman Theatre, perhaps eight hundred years
older, lying at its feet on the other side of the road.
The old castle of William the Conqueror was inhabited
in turn by William Rufus, the Empress Maud, and her

THE OLD CASTLE. 20l

son Henry II. The last held a council at Lillebonne.
In 1223 Louis VIII. yielded Lillebonne to his brother,
the Count of Boulogne, the son of Philip Augustus and
Agnes de Me'ranie. After this it belonged to the Har-
courts de Rieux. In 14 16 Lillebonne was taken by the all-
conquering Henry V. The lofty round tower near the house
is in perfect preservation. It is about two centuries later in
date than the ruined tower, and not older than the fifteenth
century. The masonry of this tower is marvellous work;
grass cannot find a chink to nestle among its evenly set stones.
There are three stories, each divided by a finely moulded
vaulted roof. The round walls are thirteen feet thick, and
fifty-five in diameter. It is completely surrounded by a fosse
crossed by a drawbridge. A little corkscrew staircase takes
you to the top of the tower, and the view is very extensive
and beautiful ; for, besides the valley of the Bolbec and the
surrounding hills, which gird Lillebonne with a belt of
exquisite green, the cliffs open suddenly nearly opposite
Quilleboeuf, and there is, about three miles off, a view of
the Seine. The inside of the tower is picturesque : its
narrow slits of windows are deeply splayed in the immense
thickness of the wall, and all around are stacked logs and
faggots, except where a space is reserved for huge cider-
casks.

It is easy to see how high the water in the moat formerly
reached, for the grass and wild plants have continued to
generate where its action has softened the mortar or
widened the interstices, and up this portion creep and
cling all manner of frail plants ; clematis even has con-
trived to niche itself, and hangs down in a hoary festoon
above a tuft of nestling harebells. Lillebonne contains so

202 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

much that is interesting, and belongs to such various periods
of history, that we should have liked to make a much longer
stay there, if we had been more comfortably lodged.

It is a deep regret for Englishmen that the baronial hall of
Duke William, in which the Conquest was first publicly
mooted, should have been swept away. It formed an im-
portant link among the buildings connected with his life in
Normandy, where every step we take seems to recall some
fresh memory of this wonderful man.

The opinion of the barons assembled at William's famous
council seems to have been much divided. The " Roman
de Rou " gives a most graphic account of the different
answers which William received : —

*' Mult se vont entrels dementant
Par tropeax se vunt cunseillant."

** Li altres dient ke pas n'iront,
Kar mult deibvent e povres sont."

Spite of the enthusiastic eloquence of the Duke's friend,
William Fitz-Osbern, the barons do not seem to have ac-
corded a general or even a public consent to the enterprise.
Each baron appears to have given a separate promise of the
number of men and ships which he would supply ; and this
promise was entered at once against their respective names

in a book : —

" E li Dus fist tot enbrever
Xes fist e chevaliers nombrere."

THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

CHAPTER VIII.

Caudebec. — St. WandriUe.

'\ 1 T'E found the only way
of getting from Lille-
bonne to Caudebec was by
private carriage, and we

bargained with our land-
lord for one for the after-
noon. He had commented
severely on the people of
St. Romain for not finding
us a better vehicle, so we expected something more respect-
able ; but, when it appeared, it was only a superior sort of cart,
with a bigger, showier horse, but which in reality was very in-
ferior in speed to our little fast-trotting friend. We had found
so much that is beautiful and interesting in Lillebonne, that
we should have made a longer stay there if the inn had been
cleaner and more comfortable : a greater number of English
travellers would certainly work reform in these points.

The road is pretty between Lillebonne and Caudebec, but
not so beautiful as between Lillebonne and Tancarville.
We passed through numerous orchards all fruit-laden, and at

204 "^HE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

last came to a road near the top of a steep hill, but with such
high tree-crowned banks on each side that, although we knew
we must be near the Seine, we could not get a peep at it.
Presently we came out on the high road. We overtook a
carriage heavily laden, and dashing along at a gallop ; but
our horse evidently knew the road, and that he was not far
from good quarters, and we soon passed these travellers.
We had not got much ahead, when there came a crash,
then shouts and cries, and, looking back, we saw that the
travellers had been suddenly stopped — their carriage-pole
had broken. This seemed an awkward accident coming
down hill, but our driver would neither stop nor offer to
help. He drove on as fast as he could. Just at the
opening of the road is a most exquisite view of Caudebec.
The little town lies at our feet, its quaint gabled houses
backed by the steep forest-covered hill behind; but the
grand spire of Notre-Dame rises up so impressively in the
midst that we seem only to have eyes for its beauties. It
is certainly a noble church. The architecture is perhaps
too late in style, and shows many blemishes on close inspec-
tion ; but the grouping of spire and tourelles is admirable,
and its position among the houses and trees, difficult as it
makes it to the artist in the way of subject, yet enhances its
picturesqueness when seen from a distance.

The position of Caudebec at the mouth of a valley that
opens widely on the banks of the Seine, between two lofty
thickly wooded hills, is truly exquisite, and the long double
avenue of lofty arched trees on the broad quay beside the
river gives it an indescribable quaintness. We drove into
the yard of our old quarters at the Hotel de la Marine, and
found landlord and landlady and the whole establishment

MUS grave's account. 205

ready to greet us with a heartiness of welcome that made
the old-fashioned, somewhat rough place seem quite home-
like. The view of the Seine is here perfectly exquisite,
with its poplar-fringed, low banks opposite, and the grand
bends it makes on either side, curving round on the right so
as to face Villequier, and girdled in on the left by the dark
hills of the forest of Maulevrier, as they sweep round to
St. Wandrille.

A bac, or very large ferryboat, is constantly plying across
the river to St. Nicholas and Vatteville ; diligences come in
once a day from Rouen, and more frequently from Yvetot ;
and the little Furet passes one day on its way from
Rouen, and the next day from Havre. Besides these
arrivals, the quiet of the little town is rarely interrupted,
except by the incomings or departures of commis-voyageurs,
with their traps ; and for them it must be said, for the matter
of arrival and departure and everything else, they are good
at announcing their presence.

]Mr. Musgrave's description of Caudebec is very graphic, and
comprises much of the chief information that is to be gained
about the charming, quaint little town : — " Joseph Vernet
considered the view from the quay at Caudebec one of the
finest in France, on account of the ellipsis which the Seine
forms above and below this point. The town itself seems
really to have been built on purpose to improve and perfect
the beauty of the prospect. The church itself is of the
fifteenth century, and uplifts its fine Gothic steeple from
amidst a group of fine trees and clustered old houses. This,
at any rate, is seen to great advantage from the water, which
commands a full view of a natural amphitheatre, covered
with dense groves, wide-extended gardens, and the prettiest

2o6 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

of villas; a fine quay, planted with trees, cut most inge-
niously into the form of an arched gallery; and an ever-
picturesque assemblage of vessels, lading, unlading, or wait-
ing for a wind." This was written in 1855. There are not
many vessels now-a-days in the port of Caudebec. William
the Conqueror was here, nineteen years before he paid us
his memorable visit, on his way to punish the revolt of the
Count of Arques, and Talbot, first Earl of Shrewsbury, was
governor here in the very year 1442 when, having left the
regent Duke of Bedford in Paris, he was elevated to the
earldom. Caudebec had surrendered by capitulation to
the Earl of Warwick, after a siege of six months, and
subsequently engaged in a sanguinary battle with the
English army at Tancarville, losing a thousand men on
the field. The frequent felling of oak trees in this neigh-
bourhood, for ship-building on the other side of the
river, gave rise to tanneries which now constitute the sole
manufacture of Caudebec. Previous to the Revocation of
the Edict of Nantes there was a thriving trade here in kid
gloves, so soft and fine that they could be enclosed in a
walnut-shell; and Xhefabrique de chapeaux)\2idi attained such
celebrity, that a Caudebec hat was essential to the outfit of
the dandies in the days of Louis XIV. Boileau says in his
" Epitre a Monsieur de Lamorguon " —

*' Pradon k mis au jour un livre centre vousi
Et chez le chapelier du coin de notre place
Autour d'un Caudebec j'en ai lu le preface."

Still at Caudebec one learns a little more about the town
than Mr. Musgrave has given us.

It seems there was once an island in front of Caudebec

HISTORY OF CAUDEBEC.

207

called Beleiniac. Three beautiful churches were built upon
it, but the barre at last submerged it. A century after, in
1 64 1, the island again rose above water, but the violence of
the ban-e soon swept it away again. In the ninth century
Caudebec was a mere fishing-village, and was granted with
its harbour by Charles le Chauve to the inhabitants of St.
Wandrille. In 1282 the monks of St. Wandrille built the
quay, and in the reign of William the Conqueror there was
on the quay a little church called St. Pierre des Planquettes.

The Double Avenue,

In the second half of the twelfth century a larger church
was built, dedicated to Notre-Dame, and consecrated by
Archbishop Odo Rigault. The arms of Caudebec at this
time were three silver whiting on a blue field. Louis XIV.,
with his usual want of good taste, substituted for the whiting
three salmon. When the English invaded Normandy in the
fifteenth century, Caudebec was in the hands of the Bur-
gundians, who offered to yield the town to the English, and
to recognise die authority of Henry V., if he should succeed

2o8 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

in taking Rouen ; but the loyal citizens of Caudebec refused
to submit to the invader, and they sustained a siege of six
months. During this siege the two armies interchanged
arrows and couplets beneath the walls'; but at length
Caudebec surrendered to Warwick and Talbot, and Talbot
remained in it as governor. In 1453 came the insurrection
of the Cauchois. After they had taken Harfleur, they asked
the generals of Charles VII, to help them to free Caude-
bec from the English, but the generals ref^ased on the ground
of weariness. The brave Cauchois then went on alone,
resolved to free the conquered town from the hated English ;
but when they reached the boundary formed by the river
St. Gertrude, they found it defended by English archers,
and they lost many men in trying to take it. While they
were still fighting, they were surrounded by English troops
sent out from Rouen, and a fearful massacre ensued.

Louis XI. paid frequent visits to Caudebec. He is said
on one occasion to have met Warwick the king-maker there.
He founded a mass in the chapel of Caillouville for the
royal family.

In the sixteenth century the Huguenots ravaged Caude-
bec, but it declared for Henri Quatre. After the Prince of
Parma had forced Henri to raise the siege of Rouen he
retook Caudebec, but he received a mortal wound there.
A memory of Henri still lingers in an old house in which
he is said to have lodged ; also his opinion that the church
was " la plus jolie chapelle que j'ai jamais vue."

Caudebec looks as if modern improvements had not yet
reached it — it is so full of the leisurely sunshine of life :
existence seems to go on as calmly as the flow of the bright,
broad river, except that there is no stich excitement in the

MARKET-DA Y. 209

life of the little town as that caused by the harr? on the
river at the time of the equinoctial full moon.

The Prussians occupied Caudebec for six months during
this last war, but they do not seem to have done any damage
to the to^vn. The only complaint we heard was that they
ate like horses.

The morning after our arrival was market-day, and we
were very early roused by the noise of arrivals and by tlie
buzz on the quay below our windows. We found that
manv of the wives of the farmers of the neighbourhood
and the shopkeepers of adjacent towns preside at their
own stalls in the market and come to the table d'hote of
the hotel as guests. When we went out, the market
had spread itself all along the quay; the huge waggons,
with lofty green tilts, filled up the arched avenue, and
grouped well with the quaint old house that stands in its
garden at one end of it. Just in front of the hotel was a
stall of woollen and linen goods ; here were merino and
flannel of very good quality, close to ready-made shirts and
jackets of the coarsest and cheapest make. Along the quay
beyond were fruit-stalls, with piles on piles of quaint, round
baskets ready to replenish the stalls. Up the street beside the
inn — the street up which one sees the exquisite view of the
church from the river — was a busy fish-market. We hurried
through this ; for the sight of huge congers, hake, and fish
strange to English eyes, was sickening. In the smaller
Place on the left, close to the convent, was a meat and
hardware market; we turned up a narrow street on the
right, and in a minute or two were in the Grande Place,
one end of which is entirely filled by the Church of Notre-
Dame.

2IO THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

The way to the church was crowded up with baskets
and straw, for it was so early that goods were still being
unpacked ; but finally we emerged into a little street which
goes round the church, and from which there is a view of
the west side. The quaint, half-timbered houses, however,
are built too close to it, and we found no means of seeing
this side from a sufficient distance. The west porch is
very rich, and perfect in its details. It is a triple portal,
the side porches curving backwards, profusely ornamented
with sculptured niches and foliage and statues ; above is
a balustrade, and a rose window of later work. The north
door is also remarkable. But the glory of Caudebec is its
church-steeple, 330 feet high ; the core is of brick incrusted
with perforated work, unfortunately now imperfect, as a
portion of it fell down a few years ago ; it is octangular, the
stone tracery takes the form of fleurs-de-lis. The flying
buttresses are graceful in design ; the staircase-tower ends
in a royal crown, and is also richly ornamented. The
perforated parapet over the west door is an inscription made
in stone letters nineteen inches high; it goes completely
round the church.

Inside, the appearance of the church is colder than might
be expected ; but there are some good painted sixteenth-
century windows. There are a nave and two aisles, no
transepts. In a chapel in the north aisle is a font, with
a curiously carved wooden cover, with subjects from the life
of our Lord. It was very interesting to see how many
market-women had come in to early mass ; and how others
kept on stealing quietly in, some of them, basket in hand,
just to kneel down and ask a blessing on the day's work;
then they went out quietly again to their business in the
Place outside.

THE MARKET. 2H

There is a remarkable stone pendant in the Lady chapel
behind the high altar. The roof of the chapel is groined,
and the vaulting ribs unite and form this pendant, which is
thirteen feet long, and ends in a carved boss. There is
also a piscina of sixteenth-century work, some old painted
glass, and the tombstone of Guillaume Letellier, the archi-
tect of Notre-Dame.

The atmosphere in the church was so still and peaceful —
the only sound being the muffled closing of the door as the
market-women passed in and out, or the quiet tread of a tall
priest who, when mass had ended, took a friend round the
church — that it was difficult to believe in the noise and bustle
when we came out again into the Place. Here is the life and
soul of the market. In the centre and along the sides are
large stalls, some with canvas roofs, others only sheltered by
umbrellas ; all around and about, wedged between the stalls
behind them, even reaching as far as the pavement before
the houses that surround the Place, are market-women with
baskets of eggs and of primrose butter, so exquisitely cool
and tempting as the vendor raises first the snowy cloth
that covers her basket and then opens the cabbage-leaves
which close over the butter. Some of the baskets are open
and full of poultry, set on the ground beside their sellers,
who stand in lively smiling gossip with a neighbour. As
we approach, we are asked to buy a duck, a chicken, or a
turkey, and to feel the breasts of the poor patient creatures,
sitting four in a row, two on each side the basket handle ;
if they move a wing or a leg, they are instantly tucked in
again with a sharp admonitory pat.

We have to push through these throngs of basket-women
to reach the fruit and vegetable stalls. The clatter, the

212 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

daughter, the gesticulation and harangues of a keen-faced,
dark-eyed man, in a blouse, who is selHng an immense pile
of melons by auction — all the merry sounds so indescribably
French, are bewildering, but they seem to fill the Place with
sunny mirth. It is a bright morning, too, after the rain,
and the sun seemingly revels among \h.e potiro7ts and citroiiiUes
lying about in front of the stalls, some of them with a slice
cut out, glowing with the delicate golden tint within.
Beside the stall is a heap of tin and wooden measures,
and on these lies an open sack of cornichons, another of
rosy onions ; in front is a basket of large white radishes,
a heap of orange carrots, glowing against their feathery
foliage, and a bunch of silver-skinned leeks ; cabbages,
not crammed out of sight in a basket, but arranged on
the stall so as to show their exquisitely veined leaves
to the best advantage ; a few creamy cauliflowers, placed
temptingly beside a pile of scarlet tomatoes ; and raised
higher, so as to be more under the shadow of the canvas
overhead, are plums and peaches and grapes. The pears are
not unpacked yet, but they lie brown and tempting in the
mouths of their open baskets. There does not seem any
attempt at effort, and yet everything is placed in such happy
harmonious contrast; the turnips and carrots have been
carefully washed at the fountain near the church ; everything
IS at its brightest and best ; no one seems to have a care or
a trouble on market-day.

The women have chiefly gowns of lilac cotton, or check or
dark green-grey stuff; most of the short jackets are black, and
several of the women are clad altogether in black, the collar
of the gown coming up round the throat, with lilac aprons^
The younger women wear the ordinary, full-bordered, grisette

A MELON-SELLER.

213

cap; but the older women wear a closer cap, the border usually
being a plain piece of dimity, cut somewhat deep at the
ears, with a band going round the head, the ends fastened
together by a pin over the forehead ; most of them have
black stockings and sabots, and one or two of the very
poorest wear a bomiet de coton, but these are rare on
market-day at Caudebec. The men have light-blue, many-
patched blouses ; some faded to an exquisite hue.

Our friend, the melon auctioneer, is having a fierce battle
with a woman as sharp-looking as himself. He has been
brandishing a clasp-knife so close to his own thin nose
that the effect has been alarming ; and now, as his customer
flattens her nose on the melon in the endeavour to test its
soundness, he snatches at the fruit and plunges the knife
into it, as if he were stabbing an enemy; he hands her the
slice, but she shakes her head.

"Gathered green," she says with a smile. She turns
away, and our friend stamps, swears, and catching sight of
us holds out the melon.

" Gathered green ! — ma foi ! — smell it," he screams ;
" taste, and then see if it is not the cheapest of cantaloups
— only one franc and a half for the best fruit in the
market."

But a vehement drumming makes us indifferent to the
auctioneer of melons.

A crowd has gathered on the other side of the market,
round a large square frame mounted on a pole. In this
frame are nine small pictures, representing the devastations
of the Prussians. Beside it stands a copper-faced, bare-
headed woman, holding in one hand a bundle of songs, m
the other a long wand. She points in turn to each of

214

THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

the nine pictures, and recites its story with much dramatic
effect. As she ends, the drum beats rat-d-plan, and then
she sings " Vengeance," &c., keeping time with the bundle
of songs.

She kept on repeating this performance all through the

morning, and proba-
bly it was not her
first visit to Caudebec
on market-day ; yet
the crowd at that end
of the Place listened
to her in breathless
silence, and we saw
tears in the eyes of
some of the women.
Some of the country-
men, too, bronzed,
rough-looking fellows,
seemed deeply stirred.
We did not see any
mockery shown at the
performance, though
the woman's voice was
so harsh that it was
not pleasing to hear.
Round the Place are some of the principal shops — M.
Vagnon, tailor and member of the town-council, and Mon-
sieur Patey, the jeweller and clockmaker, and others — all,
but especially Monsieur Vagnon, most kind and courteous
people, ready to give any information about their town and
its neighbourhood. The doctor of the town, too, M. Gue-

Rue de la Boucherie.

THE PROJECTED RAILWAY, 215

roult, is a distinguished antiquary, and has a charming
collection of treasures, gathered both in the neighbourhood
of Caudebec and elsewhere. He is very courteous in show-
ing his treasures to visitors ; from his pretty garden one gets
an excellent view of the church. There is plenty to amuse
and interest in the houses and people of the quaint little
town, without exploring the neighbourhood ; and yet that
should be seen, it is so full of rare beauty. It is the peace
and sunny leisure of the place that are so refreshing. As
the chief upholsterer, another quaint character, said —

" We sleep, we good folks of Caudebec, while the rest of
the world goes ahead."

He said this to us in reference to a projected railway
between Havre and Rouen along the banks of the Seine.
He, and a few of the more enterprising inhabitants, wish
the railway to follow the river-bank and pass in front of
their town, hoping by this means to restore prosperity to
Caudebec ; but others shake their heads : " We do very
well," they say ; *' why not let well alone ? "

And though such a railway would make the present rather
difficult access an easy one — for Caudebec is now six miles
from Yvetot, the nearest railway station — we yet felt in-
clined to agree with the sleepy townsmen, and to prefer
the dear primitive little place, with its utter want of luxury
and modem ways, to the change that a great influx of
travellers would create in its narrow streets, tottering houses,
and, above all, in the leisure of its sunny life beside the
lovely Seine. It is sad to think, too, how completely this
projected line of rail will change the whole aspect of the
river. The beautiful and varied banks of the Seine,
between Caudebec and Le Havre, will soon be a thing

2l6

THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

of the past ; and although opposition may for a time defer
its approach, the mercantile advantages of such a railway
are too obvious to be resisted in such a money-getting pro-
vince as Normandy.

We passed round the east end of the church, and found a
charming group of quaint, tumble-down gabled houses, half-
timbered in dark grey-
green oak, with a vine
flinging its festoons of
tender green foliage
across from one tiled
roof to the other;
going on past some
unsavoury tan-yards,
we found ourselves at
the end of the Grande
Rue and outside the
town. There is an im-
mense flight of steps
here leading into the
wood ; but it is worth
while to climb them,
for the view of the
church, rising above
the clusters of gables, is very picturesque. Then we came
down and sauntered along the Grande Rue, stopping every
moment to admire the pictures made by the old houses, now
nodding their gabled vine-crowned heads together in some
sunny nook, now revealing, through their open doorways,
visions of courtyard, so full of light and shade and colour
that an artist might well despair of reproducing them.

Old Houses.

RUE DE LA BOUCHERIE. 217

There is a large proportion of dark in these pictures, for the
oak walls and beams seem to absorb so much of the light,
that what is left only glints on freshly sawn timber, on
blouses hanging to dry, vine-sprays climbing up wherever
there is a chance, on nasturtium blossoms at a side window,
and most of all on the snowy, softly cooing pigeons w^hich
delight in Caudebec.

Near the top of the Grande Rue, just before it debouches
on the Yvetot Road, we came to the Rue de la Boucherie.
This is the most picturesque street in Caudebec. The little
liver Gertrude runs through it from end to end. On one
side some of the houses are built over the water ; and on
the other the upper stories project over the street, and
are supported by stone pillars resting on the pavement.
Below these, at No. 4 and No. 6, are two very curious
houses, called La Maison des Templiers, of real thirteenth-
century work, seemingly untouched by restoration : the
fireplace in one of these rooms, and the window-seats, are
very remarkable.

There are several other streets in Caudebec nearly as
picturesque as the Rue de la Boucherie, but they are fast
falling to aecay, and every year now threatens their entire
removal. It is too easy to picture Caudebec a few years
hence as unrecognisable, when the hand of the moderniser
has been laid upon it, as the Rue Jeanne d'Arc now is for
any ancient inhabitant of Rouen. At present, except Lisieux,
it is the quaintest, least-modernised town in Normandy, and
the most charmingly placed of any, unless it be Avranches.

At the end of the Grande Rue, beyond the top of
the Rue de la Boucherie, there is a picturesque opening.
Between the houses at the end of this are some remnants of

2i8 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE,

the old ramparts of Caudebec ; and in a garden not far off,
to which it is easy to obtain access, besides some curious
old ruins, there is a good view of the church. The garden
is terraced on the site of the old fortifications, which extend
here for some distance. The proprietor has died lately, and
the garden is in a wild, neglected condition, full of cabbage-
stumps and rampant vines clinging to the old walls. The
little river winds in and out, in green light and shade, and
the whole place is full of subjects for an artist. At one
end a woman was kneeling on a flat stone, washing her
clothes in the water, which, as it runs directly down from
the unsavoury tan-yards on the opposite side of the town,
cannot be fit for the purpose.

At the very end of the Grande Rue is the forge of a
blacksmith, or rather the blacksmith, for the big, grey-
bearded, kind man is popular in the town ; every one seems
to know M. Mathieu. From the rising ground beyond his
house there is a very picturesque view of the Grande Rue,
with its quaint gables and vine-clad windows, ending with the
steeple and tour elks of the church, and the wooded hill in
the distance ; and, by climbing up a little path which turns
off the road by the Gendarmerie, a good view may be got
of the town and the river, stretching away to Villequier.

At the opposite side of the town, near a large tan-factory,
is a little quiet Place. There are some curious old houses
here. One of these surrounds a small tan-yard, and has
an old oak gallery running round its first floor. This is
said to be the house occupied by Hfnry IV. after he had
routed the Duke of Parma, who lost his arm here in 1592.
In a cellar leading out of this tan-yfrd are some of the old
walls, of amazing strength and thickness. The woman who

LA MERE ROBILLARD.

219

showed them to us said that she shut herself in here with
provisions for a month at the first alarm of the Prussian
approach ; " but," she said, " if I could only have shut the
brigands in there under my thumb, dame ! they might have
stayed shut up till now."

She was a tall, gaunt woman, with lively black eyes — a

Grande Rue and Church.

certain Mere Robillard, and she looked quite bloodthirsty
at the notion of trapping the enemy. She took us through
the cellar to see a beautiful fruit-garden at the back of the
house, and sold us a quantity of excellent pears, that were
ripening on a south wall.

One evening, when we were sitting in the little Place (a
kind old woman always brought out chairs when she saw

220 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

that my companion was going to sketch — ihis chair-lending
is a kindness which we found unfaiHng throughout Nor-
mandy), some of the children who usually surrounded us
spied out in the sketch-book a likeness of La Mere Robil-
lard ; it was only a little pencil outline, but they recognised
it in an instant. There was a shout, a laugh, and out came
the elders from the houses round to ask leave to look at their
" gossip's " likeness. One foolish-faced, fat old woman, with
her face tied up in flannel, stood in front of the sketcher
gaping, with her arms a-kimbo, trying to understand the buzz
of merry laughter ; and in a moment our old chair-lender
had seized her by the elbows, and held her tight, crying —

" Thou shalt be drawn too, La Mere Manget, since thou
standest between monsieur and his sketch."

There was nothing for it but to sketch La Mere Manget;
and this fresh likeness was even more popular than the first,
and so increased the excitement that we began to expect
our stout friend, the chief gendarme, would come to know
what the shrieks of laughter meant.

There is a charming walk close to Caudebec, called the
Marais, but it is not easy to find, as we went to it through
some fields off the road at the end of the town by the
tanneries. It is chiefly through fields beside the little,
poplar-bordered river, and in the evening the reflections in
the water are most lovely : it is a walk full of beauty, and
from about here there is another charming view of the
church.

Another very pleasant walk is from Caudebec to the little
village of Ste. Gertrude. At first we go along the steep,
dusty high road leading to Yvetot ; but, when we get a little
way out, there is so grand a view of Caudebec and its

STE. GERTRUDE.

221

church, and of the charming green valley tliroiigh which the
Ste. Gertrude runs, that the walk has none of the dulness one
associates with a high road. It is cut on the side of one of
the hills which make the valley of Ste. Gertrude, at a con-
siderable height above the willow-shaded river. About two
miles on, the river curves round in a sudden bend, following

Street in Caudebec.

the course of the hills to the left, and a road opens on this
side, and takes its way through a green valley beside the
little stream. It was near sunset, and the tall, slender poplars
beside the water stood out, their delicate green clearly
defined against the darkness of the hill behind; against
this nestled a tiny church, with white tower and grey spire.
The sun was setting in a flood of golden glory just where

222 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

the two dark lines of hill cross one another. The purple
clouds seemed to hang lazily overhead, their edges gilded
with light from below, the purple hue partly bronzed by the
same cause. Along this pleasant road, with a bit of waste
land beside it, we came to the tiny village. A few houses,
with gardens gay with flowers, clustered round the church.
The village now numbers about one hundred and eighty
inhabitants, but it is said that at the time of the English
invasion the population was between seven and eight thou-
sand. The little church was once famous for its painted
glass, but this was destroyed at the Revolution. There is
a very remarkable stone tabern^^cle over the altar. The
church was nearly condemned a few years ago, but was
saved at the entreaty of its inhabitants, as it is considered
so good a specimen of its style — sixteenth century.

It seems as if one ought to be able to find one's way back
to Caudebec beside the river ; but the peasants we asked
declared there was no such way, and that the only path lay
along the high road.

We had been told that St. Wandrille was within an easy
walk of Caudebec ; but it is nearly five miles of walk beside
the Seine, on the way to Rouen, and there is so much to be
seen there, that it is much better to drive at least one way.
The village of Caudebecquet is worth exploring on foot, it
is so extremely picturesque.

The road to it, nearly three miles along the banks of the
Seine, is lovely. There is an upper and a lower road ; but
perhaps the lower is the most picturesque. We went one
way, and returned the other. In the upper road there is an
ancient pillar, with a round flat stone atop, on which a
cross is engraven. This is the old cross of the knights of

CA UDEBECQ UET. 223

St. John, and to this the monks of St. Wandrille used to
walk out each Friday, and place on the stone J>ain cheiifioi
the poor of Caudebec.

The upper road is cut in the side of the steep cote that
borders the Seine, and down its banks are market-gardens,
where hundreds of golden cit7'ouilles revel in the sunshine,
and orchards laden with scarlet-cheeked cider-apples.

Just before we reach Caudebecquet, in the lower road,
the foreground becomes marshy — long green lines of mea-
dow are being gradually reclaimed from the river which
intersects them. Here, tall reeds mirror themselves in the
water ; beyond, the wooded hills descend gently and meet in
the blue distance which bounds the farther bank. A narrow
tongue of land projects from the marsh into the river, and
on this is a small white lighthouse-tower; for the sudden
curve the river makes here, and the many sand-banks
cast up by the barre — which reduce the actual channel
within very narrow limits — make navigation extremely dan-
gerous ; beside the tower is the small brick dwelling of the
lighthouse-keeper of the Seine. We saw this on a dull
afternoon, when the river looked pale and grey, and the
osiers and poplars beside it wan and weird. It was a spot
where one could imagine a tragedy, for even the lighthouse
and the dwelling beside it seemed deserted, the only dis-
turbing sound being the harsh cry of some bird among the
reeds.

A little way off the road, on the left, we came to an ai.'l,
half-timbered mill ; the black wheel was lumbering noisily
round, the water from it gurgling over a heap of moss-
JTrown stones in the middle of the stream. There is a
bank on one side with a hedge of willows ; the other side

224 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

curves in and out, and is bordered by large mossy stones ;
over these are poplars, with a grass-topped wall beneath
them, on a level with the entrance to the mill. We heard a
cheerful greeting, and looked up. There was the miller at
a window, with bare arms and a huge white cap on his head,
his great round blue eyes stared at us out of a floury face ;
he was laughing heartily at our admiration.

" If it was in good repair, bon — it would be easy to under-
stand ; but tumbling down, that is another thing ; " and his
shoulders went up in protest.

However, as monsieur and madame cared for things
which wanted mending, they had better follow the mill-
stream a httle to the left, and they would find plenty ; and
we did find some deliciously picturesque old sheds, built
over the water, and fast falling to pieces. We rested here,
and then took the turning to St. Wandrille. The village
of St. Wandrille does not look attractive ; but the church
is very curious. The ruins of the abbey have been bought
and partly restored by an Englishman, calling himself
Marquis of Stackpoole ; but we regretted that we had not
seen the ruins before these attempts at restoration had been
made. This, one of the most ancient abbeys in Normandy,
was founded about 648, and called the Abbey of Fontenelle.

In the middle of the seventh century St. Wandrille, or
Wandregisilus, left the Merovingian court to give himself up
to establishing a monastery. He chose the district of Roth-
mar, in the canton of Jumieges, and built his monastery there.
It contained three or four hundred monks and six churches.
Among its inmates were St. Wulfran, the apostle of Friesland :
Thierry, the son of the last Merovingian king ; and Eginhard,
the historian of Charlemagne. The monastery was burned in

ST. WANDRILLE. 225

the eighth century, but King Pepin rebuilt it. At the first
Norman invasion it yielded ; but at the second the monks
fled with the remaining treasures of the abbey. The Nor-
mans laid it in ruins, and a century went by before any
one came forward to rebuild it. Then the Abbot May-
nard, of Mont St. Michel, who had formerly been a monk of
Ghent, rebuilt it ; and his successor, St. Granulph, dedicated
it to St. Wandrille in 1033, when it was consecrated by
Robert, Archbishop of Rouen, great-uncle of William the
Bastard. The abbey was again burned down in the begin-
ning of the thirteenth century, and this time it took nearly
a century to rebuild. There was a magnificent stone spire
to this last abbey, but it was allowed to decay ; and in 1631
the tower fell, crushing in nave, aisles, Lady chapel, the
stalls of the choir, and many precious ornaments. The
building was restored ; but there is little left of it except the
cloister, which is most picturesque. It has been painted as
the scene for the opera of " Robert le Diable." This cloister
is of the fourteenth and fifteenth century ; Jacques Hommel,
the last regular abbot, ordered the immense stone lavatory
to be constructed.

We went in through the garden, which looked pretty and
tasteful. The proprietor courteously allows strangers to see
his house, as well as the ruined part of the abbey. The
conventual buildings, in Italian style, have been converted
into a spacious mansion, with an unsuccessful attempt at
harmonious furnishing and decoration : behind the house are
the cloisters. There are some remains of pillars and arches
and tracery here, and most of the broken sculptured portions
have been restored or taken care of; it is evident that
the abbey has suffered much from pillage. Till 1863 it was

226

THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

partly a cotton manufactory, partly a tan-yard and mill, and
at that time the fragments of sculpture, &c., were abundant,
and were freely used to repair walls, &c. There is a
very curious lavatory in the cloisters, and the whole enclo-
sure is very interesting ; ivy and other creeping plants cling
to the ruined columns, and make constant pictures. The
church is said never to have been finished ; but some of it

St. Wandrille, near Caudebec.

yet remains — parts of the wall of the central tower, which
must once have been very lofty. The arches and columns
are very elegant in design, and give the idea of a very
beautiful building.

The best-preserved portion is the Norman refectory ;
this is made to communicate with the house. It is about
IOC feet long, and has a lofty vaulted roof. In the
centre of one side of this vast hall there is a fine collec-

VILLEQUIER. 227

tlon of blue and white faience and china, collected by
Monsieur Stackpoole.

The situation of St. Wandrille is admirably sheltered in
this wooded valley leading up from the side of the Seine.
The terraced gardens reached formerly to the top of the
hill behind, on which stands the little chapel of St. Saturnin.
This is a curious little Norman building of early date ; it
is now surrounded by a thick wood. We heard that pil-
grimages are often made to the little chapel ; it is a very
fatiguing walk to reach it.

We turned away from St. Wandrille, glad to think it was
rescued from the plunder of road and fence menders, and
yet with the feeling that a ruin loses much of its interest
when the hand of care is too apparent. There is too much
attempt here to bring these ruins into the daily life of the
inhabitants of St. Wandrille, and the effect is unreal and
discordant — an effect hardly to be defined, and yet which
makes itself felt at once.

The most charming w^alk is from Caudebec to Ville-
quier : the scenery is lovely from the river, but the walk
has such special charms that the journey is worth taking by
land as well as by water. We go along the quay past
some charming gardens with large plots full of balsams and
geraniums, standard roses wath softly tinted blossoms clus-
tering round small pear-trees laden with brown fruit. At the
end of these the quay ends, and the ground slopes in a
long green bank to the river. The road rises higher and
higher, and the sloping bank becomes an extensive orchard.
Apple-trees covered with fruit grow down to the water's
edge, and through them appears the poplar-fringed bank
of the opposite side. On the right side of the road the

228 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

white rock rises into steep crags, sometimes wooded up to
the top, sometimes showing patches of bare rock among the
close-growing beech-trees. Evidently there have been large
trees : few of these remain, but there is a thick undergrowth
of copse-wood.

About half-way to Viilequier is a Httle opening beside
the river. Here is a tall calvary, and behind this the
little chapel called Barre-y-va; it was originally founded in
1260, but rebuilt in the time of Louis Quatorze. The
walls of the little shrine are covered with the tablets
and offerings of sailors and their relatives. There is a
custom in Caudebec — no one seems to know of how Ions:
standing — that every newly married pair shall on their
wedding-day make a pilgrimage to Barre-y-va ; and in one
of our excursions to Viilequier, while we sat resting on a
pleasant shady seat beside the high road, we saw a bridal
procession pass. The bride, in a trailing white muslin
gown, a wreath, and tulle veil, led the way, her mother
walking beside her, and the bridegroom, looking rather
sheepish, came behind holding the bride's parasol ; after
these were about eight couples of friends and relations, not
wearing a very bridal air ; the bridegroom was a gendarme,
and several of his comrades were in the procession.

Near Viilequier the river curves into a lovely bay ; behind
this the dark wooded hill rises steeply; the little village,
nestling in its side, clustered round the white church-spire.
The Maison Blanche, a large stone house before reaching
Viilequier, surrounded by its garden and farmhouse, is not
so apparent from the road as it is from the river; but it
is worth a visit, if only to see the thickness of its wails and
a curious group in plaster in one of the bedrooms. We saw

CHATEAU VILLEQUJER. 229

a brown jug in the Maison Blanche with the date painted
on it. In most of these old Norman houses there is quaint
old crockery.

When we came out of the Maison Blanche it was growing
late in the afternoon : the glow of colour on the water was
exquisite ; Caudebec lay nestling beneath its steep cotes veiled
in tender purple mist. The moon was rising over the river ;
and as we turned again towards Villequier it lay shrouded
in sudden shadow — the water of the little rippling bay a
deep green.

A very sad occurrence happened here in 1843; on her
way to visit her father, Madame Vacquerie, the charming
daughter of Victor Hugo, was shipwrecked.

The village of Villequier is one long street. There is an
inn, but it has not an inviting appearance : just behind it
a steep straight road leads up to the church and the castle.
The church is interesting and well preserved; the choir
dates from the twelfth century, but the rest of the building
is much later. In it there is some good painted glass.

We went up the very steep hill till we came to the iron
gate of the Chateau de Villequier. The grounds are well
planted with fine trees, and the present proprietor, Monsieur
Musard, courteously allows the public free access. The
place looks melancholy and deserted. The trees are very
lofty, and seem to darken the air. On the right a little
stream, blue-green in tint, wanders through the deserted
place below the green slope which mounts towards the
chateau. A little way on in the valley stands a low, half-
timbered, thatched building with three bright green doors
and five green-shuttered windows. The concierge lives
here — an unhealthy spot, for the ground all round it is

23© THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

swampy, and the thatch is ominously green. A young
woman standing at one of the doors offered to conduct us
to the chateau; but when we had scrambled up a steep
path winding through the shrubbery that clothes the front of
the hill, and then the much steeper grassed slope on the left,
our guide said that, as her father was not in sight, she could
not show us over the chateau, as he only had the keys.

The chateau is a modern building of the first empire
epoch, but the view from it is magnificent. In front is the
steep grassed and wooded valley of the park, and beyond
this the course of the Seine can be traced for miles. On the
left is Caudebec, standing at the head of the sudden bend
which the Seine makes : beyond Jumieges the river again
makes another decided bend upwards on its way to
Duclair, while on the right it curves downward towards
Quilleboeuf ; but we had not much enjoyment of this splendid
prospect — heavy clouds had risen while we hurried up the
hill, and now the rain came down so heavily that we were
glad to shelter ourselves under a tree behind the chateau.

After a little the rain lessened, but the clouds grew heavier ;
darkness had come on rapidly, and by the time we were on
our way to Caudebec again the effect was awful. The moon
had risen high overhead, but she was struggling through
rolling masses of black and grey cloud. Through these a
ghastly light fell on the white stems of the birch-trees,
making them yet more weird, and on the white crag above
the cave, which looked black as ink in contrast. Suddenly
an owl flew across the road in front of us, and uttered a
sharp cry as he disappeared into the cave. Till now we
had seen the pale ghmmer of the river through the trees ;
but they grew higher after this, and the road was very dark.

THE MASCARET. 231

All at once, before we reached the Chapel of Barre-y-va,
we heard the murmur of the barre groaning and thun-
dering over the rocks below. At this point the road is
some forty feet -above the river.

The next day was to be, we heard, the grandest of the
mascaret. For about four days the effect is nearly the same,
but the last day but one is considered the finest ; so we
were on the quay early in expectation of its arrival. Although
this phenomenon happens twice every year, at the full moon
nearest the spring and autumn equinoxes, yet the sight
seems to be always full of excitement for the inhabitants of
Caudebec. Numbers of persons, too, come in from neigh-
bouring places and stay in the town to see the mascm'et.

It does not last more than ten minutes. The morning
tide was the grandest. The river was smooth as glass, till
suddenly just below Villequier there appeared first a speck of
foam in the midst of the stream, and then the water seemed
to rise in its whole width and to roll majestically up to Cau-
debec, the sides of the wave dashing stones and spray far
inshore on either side : the whole mass of water came on
roaring and thundering in a wave about six feet high, and
swept on as far as we could see ; two or three waves followed,
and these broke furiously over the quay. For about ten
minutes the broad calm river was like a stormy sea full of
raging foam, wave dashing against wave in struggling fury,
and then almost at once the tumult disappeared. The little
boats, which had moved up and down the river into safer
harbourage, came back and took up their usual stations,
and the Seine was as peaceful as ever. At the full moon
in October there is another mascaret^ but it is not so violent
as the September one,

232 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

It is possible that, to those who have witnessed the Bore
or the Eager, this phenomenon would not appear so marvel-
lous : to us who have not it seemed wonderful, rising out
of the peaceful river as if by magic. It happens twice in
the twenty-four hours with the turn of the tide j and for-
tunately for us, as the first mascaret happened about eight,
we saw it twice a day while it lasted.

Miss Costello gives a charming description of Caudebec
in her " Summer among the Bocages and the Vines," and a
curious version of the cause of the barre or mascaret.

" This charming little town is situated at the base of a
double mountain, in the midst of one of the deep windings
of the Seine : the small river of St. Gertrude here meets the
great stream and throws itself into its bosom, occasioning a
commotion in the waters, which, at certain periods, produces
a phenomenon which is an object of much curiosity, called
la barre, similar to the contention of the streams at the port
below Avranches."

It has been already said, in Chapter VII., that the actual
cause of the barre is the sudden narrowing of the river at
Quilleboeuf.

The port of Caudebec is said to be a thousand years old.

Caudebec is mentioned in the " Roman de Rou " as
having been visited by William the Conqueror : — •

•' Quand il vint a Punt Andumer
A Chaudebec ala passer
De Chaudebec as Bans le Cumte,"

This was when he came in hot haste from Valognes to the
taking of Chateau d'Arques.

Caudebec would be a charming spot to spend the summer

ON THE ROAD TO ROUEN, 233

in for those anxious to explore the antiquities of Normandy
north of the Seine; there is much worth visiting close at hand,
and within a day's excursion, and it is so easy of access by
the river both from Rouen and Havre : there are plenty of
pleasant villas to be had here, built high on the cliffs over-
looking the Seine.

But, to see all the beauties of Caudebec, it should either
be visited or quitted by diligence or voiture, on the road to
Rouen. This road is extremely beautiful throughout, but
the view of the little town as we leave it and look back
from a distance is most lovely. In the distance is Villequier
and its bay ; and nearer is the broad quay of Caudebec,
with its double-arched avenue and the antiquated houses
clustering up the sides of the steep cliffs that form the
valley in which it lies, its superb church towering hke a
cathedral and backed by the rich woods of Maulevrier.
It is a picture never to be forgotten, and we were fortunate
in a fine bright afternoon, after the rain which had fallen
heavily all the morning. The road is bordered on the
left by steep hills densely wooded, for the forest of Le
Trait begins soon after St. Wandrille is passed, and across
the river are green hills, behind which is- the renowned
forest of Brotonne. As we get nearer Jumieges this
forest approaches the Seine. The exquisite grey shining
river winds and curves constantly till it reaches Le Trait,
then it takes a bend southward, while the road rises higher
half-way up the hills : the long sloping banks below are
filled with orchards, apples hanging almost close to the
water's edge. There are some loose fleecy clouds moving
lazily, and the constant changes they effect in the lights and
shadows are marvellous in beauty. Sometimes the river

234 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE,

glistens silvery white, the forest trees and banks opposite
are deep olive, the orchards below us emerald green, and
then in a moment the picture is reversed; the jewel tint
fades from the meadows and leaves them ordinary grass
beneath the russet, fast-browning apple foliage, the river has
paled to cold steel, and the slender poplars across ra^ water
tell out in full relief against the mass of forest behind them.

We pass La Mailleraye before we come to Le Trait.
The chateau has been destroyed, but we see the village and
the church under the hill across the river.

Just before we leave the high road we get a view of the
twin towers of Jumieges. Then we turn to the right and
follow the course of the river on its way to the abbey.
The monastery is built on sunken ground and is not seen
much before you approach it ; but at last, at a tiun in the
road, it appears in stately grandeur.

THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

CHAPTER IX.

Jumieges. — St. Georges Boscherville.

T^HE view of Jumieges is most im-
pressive. The two lofty, slender
towers, shorn now of their spires, but
still looking strong and massive, the
remains of the central tower, which
once connected the transepts with
the nave and choir of this splendid
church, are surprising in their height
and vastness, and, placed as they
are on a wooded promontory of the
. Seine, are highly picturesque. One
specially remarks the exquisite colour the stone has re-
tained after so many years of exposure and ill-usage.

We approach the Abbey of Jumieges with a feeling of
almost deeper reverence for its renown than for any of the
ancient buildings of Normandy. It was once all-powerful.
Its founder St. Philibert passed his youth at the court of
King Dagobert, he was a man of position there; but he
found himself moved to adopt the monastic life, and retired
to the Abbey of Rebais. He was soon chosen abbot ; but

236 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

his rule was too holy and self-denying for the monks ; they
revolted, and Philibert was banished. He then visited many
of the monasteries of France and Italy, and finally came
to Neustria, searching a place in which he could spend his
days in solitude.

Between Rouen and Caudebec, the Seine forms a penin-
sula about four miles long from north to south, and about a
mile and a half broad from east to west. This peninsula
bore the name of Terre Gemitique. It now contains the
communes of Jumieges, Yainville, and Mesnil.

In this " Terre Gemitique ^' there stood, in those days, on
the banks of the Seine, a very ancient castle ; it had once
been a strong fortress, but it was now partly in ruins.
Clovis II. had succeeded his father Dagobert, and from him,
and from his pious queen, Bathilda, Philibert obtained a
grant of these ruins, and in 654 he laid the first founda-
tions of the Abbey of Jumieges. Very soon three churches
were built, and Philibert called round him seventy monks
selected from the various abbeys he had visited ; ten years
after its foundation, the number of the monks amounted to
eight hundred. They lived on fruit, vegetables, and fish
which they caught in the Seine. Many of these fish were
enormous: some traditions represent them 150 feet in
length, others 50 feet ! but there seems good reason to
believe that they were of great size, as they supplied the
monks with oil as well as with food.

The JNIerovingian kings enriched Jumieges, and held the
abbey in the highest esteem; but some years after the
establishment of the monastery Philibert gave offence to
Ebroin, mayor of the palace, about St. Leger, Bishop of
Autun. To revenge himself, Ebroin invented a shameful

LEGEND OF LES ENERVES, 237

calumny, and prevailed on St. Ouen, Archbishop of Rouen,
to depose his friend St. Philibert, and imprison him in the
Tower of Alvaredo, at Rouen.

After a time St. Philibert recovered his liberty, but he
was not allowed to return to Jumieges. He retired to the
island of Herio, now Noirmoutiers, where he erected a
new monastery. From thence he sent St. Aicadre as spiri-
tual pastor of Jumieges. But at the death of Ebroin, St.
Ouen and St. Philibert seem to have been completely recon-
ciled, and the latter returned to Jumieges. He does not
appear to have stayed there long. He built another monas-
tery at Montivilliers, near Havre, and then went back to
Noirmoutiers, where he died on the 20th August, 684, aged
sixty-eight. It seems to have been at the first period of his
residence at Jumieges that the semi-historic, semi-fabulous
event occurred, which is so important a part of the story of
Jumieges.

The old legend tells how, on the i8th May, 658, St.
Phihbert was informed that a boat without mast or rudder
had floated down the Seine, and had run aground at
Jumieges. On going down to the water's edge he saw two
handsome youths dressed in magnificent habits lying side
by side in the boat. He questioned them, but their answer
was to burst into tears ; and when the pitying monk Hfted
up their long robes, he saw their arms and legs still
bleeding from cruel mutilation. St. Philibert ordered
them at once to be borne into the monaster}^ and to
be carefully tended. Little by little the youths recovered
from their wounds, but not from their deep sadness ;
and as they persisted in keeping silence as to the origin
of their misfortune, they went only by the name of Les

238 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

Enervds. The Abbot Philibert was convinced tnat they
were illustrious personages, but he generously respected
their reserve. He himself instructed them in cloister dis-
cipline, and they proved such apt scholars that the abbot
considered he ought not to delay their profession.

When the solemn day arrived a great noise was heard at
the gates of the abbey. King Clovis II. and Queen Bathilda,
his wife, were there in great state, with a brilliant attendance
of courtiers and guards. They came to ask the hospitality
of the monastery.

The king and queen had no sooner entered than they
asked to speak with the abbot in private; and then St.
Philibert learned the real history of his guests.

Clovis II. had resolved to go on pilgrimage to the Holy
Land, and by the advice of his barons, before his departure,
had crowned his eldest son, and appointed him the guardian
of the saintly queen, his mother.

At first all went well, but soon the queen became aware
that the headstrong pride of her eldest son had led him to
despise her authority, and to incite the brother next him in
age to do likewise.

Queen Bathilda summoned her husband to return ; but
meantime the rebellious sons gathered troops, and the king
found the gates of his towns and fortresses closed against
him. Clovis tried conciliatory and even affectionate mes-
sages, but his sons did not even deign to answer him.
Then the king advanced with his handful of men, put to
flight the rebellious army, and took his sons prisoners.
The princes were brought into the presence of the king and
of Bathilda, their hands tied behind their backs. The lords
of the council unanimously refused to condemn the royal

LES ENERVES. 239

blood, and then the queen, moved, says the chronicle, by a
divine inspiration, rose and spoke, —

" Every one," she said, " must bear the punishment of his
own sins, either in this world or in the next ; and as the
pains of this world are less than those of the other, and also
in order that the other sons of the king may take example
and be prevented from undertaking so great a crime against
father and mother, and because these present have denied
their father, hear all : I judge that they lose for ever the
heritage that they would have had of the kingdom ; and
for that they have borne arms against their father, I adjudge
them to lose strength and bodily power."

The king confirmed the sentence of Bathilda. The two
unlxappy youths were hamstrung, their sinews being burned
in the presence of the assembly ; but even while this torture
was being enacted they were seized with repentance ; they
yielded their limbs without a murmur to this cruel suffering
in the hope of saving their souls from eternal torment.
One legend tells that they were placed at once in a
boat and sent adrift down the Seine, and were received
and carefully tended by Philibert j the other account
relates that from the day of their terrible punishment the
youths gave themselves up to piety and good works, but
that the king, their father, was overwhelmed with pity;
each time his eyes fell on his children, he saw that " they
never stood erect, but always sat." Clovis consulted his
wife to know how he should rid himself of this painful
spectacle. There is no mention of remorse felt by the
mother for this horrible cruelty, but the story relates that
Bathilda, having invoked divine light in continuous prayer,
at last aiivised her husband to have a boat made big enough

240 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

to contain a supply of food, linen, and clothing, to place
the princes therein, and to abandon them to the river with-
out oars or rudder, only accompanied by a single servant. .
This account says that the boat drifted into Neustria to
Jumieges, the abode of a holy man named Philibert, who
held rule there, with another monk ; that the princes told
the abbot their true story, and that he recognised that they
had been divinely guided to him.

The servant went back to the king and queen to report
the happy ending of the journey, and they, full of joy,
repaired at once to Jumieges to show- their thankfulness ;
and, in witness of their entire reconciliation with their sons,
they bestowed munificent gifts and great privileges on the
abbey. The princes remained at Jumieges, lived many
pious and exemplary years there, and died in a saintly
manner.

The difficulty of accepting this sad story lies in the fact
that Clovis II. died, some authors say, at twenty-two j others,
at twenty-seven, and that he was so completely a roi faineant
that he never went beyond the limits of his kingdom.

By the time of the second Abbot of Jumieges the number
of monks had increased to eight hundred, and the riches
and possessions of the abbey had become very great.

Pepin sent the Abbot of Jumieges as his ambassador
to the Pope in his famous negotiation respecting the real
and the nominal king of France. In 794, in the reign of
Charlemagne, and during the abbacy of Landric, the
creacherous Duke of Bavaria, Tassillon, and his son Theo-
don, were -sent shaven to be received as monks and pri-
soners for life in the Abbey of Jumibges.

An abbot of Jumieges was chaplain to Louis le Debon-

THE DANES AT JUMIEGES. 241

naire. All went royally with the magnificent abbey till the
ninth century, when Hasting and his Northmen came sailing
up the Seine. The monks of Jumieges had heard of the fiery
and murderous devastation that for some time past had
marked each step of these invaders, but they do not seem
to have reahsed the strength and warlike power of " the
pirates," as the Northmen were called even to the reign of
the third Duke of Normandy.

The monks felt secure in their own immense numbers,
the strength and thickness of the monastery walls, and on
the support of the surrounding inhabitants ; but they were
no match for the furious Danes, whose appetite for plunder
had been whetted by the treasures with which they had
been bribed at St. Wandrille. They burst open the gates and
massacred the monks, after having tortured them to make
them reveal hidden treasures ; they stripped the churches
of all that they could carry away, and then set fire to the
building; they also undermined the walls, and saw them
fall into the midst of the flames.

** Par la mer tant avironerent
En Saine vindrent, euz entrerent
A I'Abeie de Jumieges
Pristrent a els et as nes sieges.
Noef chenz moignes, tut en covL))t,
I out ja bien lungement.
Saint Philibert la compassa,
El terns ke Cloviez regna :
Bartent la Roine de France,
K.i ores ert de grant poissance,
/ist Jumieges et estora (endowed it),
Terres e rentes lor dona.
Por la poor e por le cri
De Hastainz, cil fel anemi,

242 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE,

Se sunt li mugties tuit fui,

Li mostier unt tot soul guerpi,

Paenz unt la vile alumee

E I'Abeie desertee."

Roman de Rou.

For nearly a century Jumieges remained a heap of ruins ;
the forest had grown nearer to it, and its stones were over-
grown with brambles and briars. When Rolf came up the
Seine, in 877, he did not injure the remains of the abbey.
At last two very old monks, named Baldwin and Gon-
drin, who had escaped from the Danish massacre, came
back one day to revisit their old home. They were so
touched by the desolation that they resolved to devote
themselves to the cleansing of the deserted shrine. With
the help of some peasants they built a little cabin, and
spent all their time in prayer for the departed souls of the
monks of Jumieges, and in rooting up the brambles and
weeds that had overrun the destroyed altars.

The legend says that one day when they were thus
employed a huntsman suddenly appeared among the ruins ;
he was splendidly dressed and of haughty aspect, but he
had lost his way in pursuit of a wild boar.

" Which way has it taken ?" he said hastily.

The old fathers assured him that they did not know, and
then hospitably asked him to share the dry bread which
served for their dinner.

The huntsman looked scornfully at the black bread and
gave them a rude refusal ; he then dashed into the forest.
Here he was at once attacked by a huge wild boar. He
aimed a blow at it with his hunting spear, but the wood
broke in his hand, and the monster sprang on him furiously
and hurled him to the ground. The huntsman commended

WILLIAM LONGSWORD AT JUMIEGES. 243

his soul to God, for the boar was ready to make a second
charge, and to pierce him with its deadly tusks, when sud-
denly it paused, turned, and fled away into the forest.

Meanwhile the huntsman, who was William Longsword,
son of the great Rolf and second Duke of the Normans, had
become insensible. When he recovered and found himself
safe, he considered the whole affair miraculous. The boar,
he said, had been sent to chastise him for his insolence
towards two holy men of God. He went back to them, and
expressed his contrition; and as soon as he returned to
Rouen he gave orders for the immediate rebuilding of
the Abbey of Jumieges. He caused it to be consecrated
in 930, and sent to Poitiers for Abbot Martin and twelve
monks. Afterwards he spent much time in the monastery,
and is supposed only to have been restrained from taking
the vows by the Abbot Martin. The dialogue between
the duke and the abbot is given very graphically in the
" Roman de Rou." It is certain that after his death a
monk's frock and cowl and scourge were found in a coffer
which he said contained his greatest treasures. He gave
to Jumieges, besides the country that lay round it, Joinville,
Duclair, the mill of Caudebec, the lordship of Norville, the
port of Quilleboeuf, and others on the Seine. But though
he rebuilt Jumieges, William Longsword was not so great
a benefactor to the church as his son Richard the Fearless
was. Abbot Annon, the successor of Martin, caused a poem
of two hundred verses to be written, telling the story of the
abbey, and to be inscribed as it was written on copper
plates, which were fastened on the cloister walls. It was in
the time of this Abbot Annon that King Louis carried off
the young Duke Richard the Fearless, and set as governor

244

THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

over the province Raoul Tourte, who did much injury to
Jumieges.

Richard greatly enriched Jumieges, and it soon rose to
more than its ancient fame and splendour. Richard the
Second was also a great benefactor to Jumieges. At one of
his visits, instead of the mark of gold or silver v/hich he
usually offered after his prayers in the church, he put a bit of
bark of tree into the alms-dish. This created surprise, which

The Village and Ruins of the Abbey of Jumieges.

the duke changed to delight by declaring that by that symbol
he gave to the abbey the woods and manors of Vimontiers,
in order that the monks of Jumieges might remember to
pray God for him and his posterity. He gave much land
to Jumieges, even so far oft" as Trouville, and Dives, and
Bayeux. Its renown for learning was very great. There
were various schools for arts and sciences, some for monks
and some day-schools for seculars, who were admitted without"
distinction of rich and poor, except that the poor scholars

JUMlkGES. 245

were often fed by the monastery. All the great families sent
their sons to Jumieges. When the Atheling Edward was left
behind in Normandy on Queen Emma's return to England,
after the accession of Canute, he was brought up at Ju-
mieges. It is said that the verses on the tablets on the
walls, lauding the munificence of the Norman dukes to
the Abbey of Jumieges, were impressed by the monks on
the young mind of Edward, and suggested to him the
necessity of appointing the Duke of Normandy his suc-
cessor on the throne of England, in compensation for the
hospitality he had received at Jumieges. Edward certainly
appointed Robert, who had been first prior of St. Ouen,
Rouen, and then Abbot of Jumieges, Bishop of London,
and afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury, one of the many
proofs of Edward the Confessor's want of judgment, for
Robert was an excellent and munificent abbot at Jumieges,
while in England he proved a firebrand. To his influence
may be traced the increase of Norman power at the court
of Edward and the decline of the Godwines. The chief
part of the Abbey of Jumieges was built by Abbot Robert
from 1040 to 1043, when Edward the Confessor summoned
him to England. He continued a benefactor to Jumieges,
and died there in 1056. The building was consecrated
in the presence of William the Conqueror by Archbishop
Maurilius, of Rouen, in 1067. William of Jumieges, the
historian of the Conquest, was a monk of the abbey. He
dedicated his famous work, " De Ducibus Normannise," to
William the Conqueror.

William had much affection for Jumieges. After the
Conquest he reserved the Isle of Helling, in Norfolk, for
the monks of Jumieges, which brought them a rent of 1,100

246 THE VALLEY OF THE SELNE.

gold crowns. The town of Pont de I'Arche also belonged
to them till they made a present of it to Philip Augustus.
WiUiam appointed the Abbot Gonthard, of Jumieges, his
physician. There is a legend that it was near Jumieges that
Harold took the oath.

A very saintly Abbot Richard was elected by the monks
in 1191. In his time the monks gave up a quarter of
their revenue to contribute to the ransom of their Duke
Richard Coeur-de-Lion ; after this the abbey sold all its
silver plate, and gave the price, with the rest of the money
it possessed, to obtain the release of the Archbishop of
Rouen and the other lords who had been left as hostages
for Richard with the German emperor, and who were being
harshly treated by him.

This abbot seems to have been full of good deeds. In
consequence of the incessant wars between Philip Augustus
and King Richard, there was a fearful famine in Normandy ;
and the Abbey of Jumieges succoured multitudes who other-
wise must have perished.

Jumieges did not escape during the invasion of Ed-
ward III. ; it was taken and pillaged during six days.

This attack seems to have given the monks a dread of
the English; for when they heard that Henry V. had landed
at Harfleur, they retired to Rouen ; the plague came at the
same time, and many of the monks died, and the abbey
was again pillaged.

Jumieges is full of memories of Charles VII., of his
residence there, and of his love for Agnes Sorel. The
king's hunting-lodge at Mesnil was only a mile and a half
from the abbey, and Agnes died there, poisoned, it is said,
at the instigation of the Dauphin, Louis XI., though other

JUMIEGES. 24/-

historians assign a more natural cause for her sudden death.
Her body was carried to Loches ; but her heart, at her own
express wish, was buried in the Abbey of Jumieges. The
monument raised over it was destroyed by the Calvinists.

In the reign of Charles VII., Nicholas, iVbbot of Jumieges,
was one of the judges of Jeanne d'Arc, and, next to the
Bishop of Beauvais, the most bigoted and determined on
her death.

Margaret of Anjou stayed here when she took refuge in
France.

In later times, two brothers of the famous Cardinal
d'Amboise were successively abbots of Jumieges. In the
time of the second, much irregularity seems to have crept
into the abbey.

The west front, with its two lofty hexagonal towers, as has
been said, is very stately in its severe simplicity ; the aisles
of the nave, though roofless, have their arches and columns
in wonderful preservation, and these are doubtless the
work of Abbot Robert ; early Norman in style — plain round
arches resting on alternate round and square piers, the
capitals of which still show traces of having been painted in
fresco. The central tower must have been of immense size
and strength ; only one side of it is left standing.

The east end, which was of later date, was partly destroyed
at the Revolution ; but it appears that its entire ruin was
caused by its late proprietor, who actually pulled down and
sold much of the abbey for building materials, and for stones
to mend the roads. There are some graceful arches and
clustered columns here, and one small chapel less ruinous
than the rest. Slender ash-trees mingle with the ruins in
the most exquisitely graceful fashion. Its present state

248

THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE,

of preservation is due to the indefatigable researches of
the antiquary, Monsieur de Caumont, and to the loving
reverence of the present proprietor, who inhabits the old
gatehouse, which forms a charmingly picturesque object
from the ruins of the abbey.

Through an arched doorway we went into the church of

Jumieges,

St. Pierre, of later date than the nave ; there is an interest-
ing arcade against the wall here ; but it is curious to see,
here and elsewhere, how the Norman part of the building
has outlived the later Gothic. After this we came to the
Salle des Chevaliers, the portion of the building specially

yUMIEGES. 249

inhabited by Charles VII. This is full of picturesque bits
of light and shade.

One is tempted to forget the architectural interest and
historical associations of Jumieges in admiration of its
exquisite beauty. It is at once so grand and so lovely.
The stones, more than eight hundred years old, have the
pure creamy tint they must have had at their first erection ;
and they stand high in air, towering grandly above the lofty
forest-trees which surround them, and in vivid contrast to
the sky above, which had cleared into an intense blue. The
aisles are paved with short soft turf, and up the ruined
columns had twined ivy and briar, while hoary-blossomed
clematis wreaths flung themselves down from the Gothic
arches still left beyond the central tower. The sun was
shining brightly, all the foliage looked exquisitely green and
fresh, in mocking contrast, with its young life, to the ruined
stone-work ; but the contrast was different from any we had
seen before. There is no sombre grey tint at Jumieges ;
the abbey looks destroyed but not decayed, and a feeling of
almost keen anguish rises as one remembers that it is
only within the present century that this magnificent building
has been so cruelly injured.

In 1557, however, the Bishop of Evreux robbed the
central tower of its magnificent leaden spire, and in 1560
the abbey was pillaged by the Calvinists, those universal
destroyers of the beautiful.

Usually one is not permitted to visit the abbey after four
o'clock, but our guide kindly allowed us to stay as long as
we pleased, and was most intelligent in answering questions.

Near the gatehouse, in a corner of the ruins, is a collec-
tion of the most remarkable relics which have been found

250 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE,

in the abbey. Here are capitals of columns, and fragments
of statues from tombs ; here, too, is the black marble slab
on which was once the effigy of Agnes Sorel; now there
only remains the inscription. This slab was at one time
built into a house in Rouen.

Here too are the broken figures, lying side by side, crowned
and in royal robes, which are called Les Enerves. There
seems no doubt that a mass was celebrated yearly on the
1 8th May, called the anniversary of the Enerves. A cloth was
spread over this tomb, the abbot himself being celebrant.
It has been said that the story of the Enerves is a fable, and
that this is the tomb of Tassillon of Bavaria. But the well-
known Norman antiquary, E. H. Langlois, in his ^'Essai
sur les Enerves de Jumieges," throws discredit on either
supposition, by proving that the style of the figures on the
tomb, and of its ornaments and accessories, is not of older
date than St. Louis ; and this assertion upsets, too, the con-
jectures of Monsieur Duplessis, who imagines the two
effigies to represent the two sons of Carloman, the eldest
son of Charles Martel.

There is a later essay on the Enerves of Jumieges, by
Monsieur A. Deville ; and in it he asserts that two skeletons
were found under the tomb — one that of a youth, the other
that of a man of advanced age. This discovery seems to
point to Tassillon and Theodon.

Near the tomb of the Enerves is the boldly sculptured
boss from one of the vaults in the Church of St. Pierre. Our
guide had previously shown us the chapel from which it had
been removed. It represents St. Philibert with a wolf lying
at his feet, in allusion to the tradition on which is founded
an annual fete at Jumieges. It is celebrated every year (or

LEGEND OF STE. AUSTREBERTHE. 251

was, until lately), on the 24th of June, by the name of Loup
Vert.

St. Philibert had appointed St. Austreberthe abbess of the
convent of Pavilly, about four leagues from Jumieges ; and she
and her nuns used to wash the linen of the abbey. But as
the distance was long and the linen heavy, the nuns employed
an ass, so intelligent as to walk the double journey without
a guide, to carry the baskets. It happened one day that the
ass was met by a hungry wolf, which, says the chronicle, had
respect neither for the patience nor the obedience of the
poor beast, but at once fell on him and ate him up.

No sooner had he ended than St. Austreberthe appeared.
She not only compelled the wolf to carry the linen baskets
at once to Pavilly, but ever after to take upon himself the
task of the poor ass — a task which the wolf performed with
willing docility. For this reason St. Austreberthe is always
represented with a wolf licking her hands. In the seventh
century a chapel was built in the forest, in memory of this
event, on the spot where the ass was devoured. When the
chapel fell in ruins, a simple stone cross was erected on its
site ; and this cross was not destroyed till about sixty years
before the Revolution. A large oak-tree which stood near
was chosen to perpetuate its memory, and several images of
the Virgin were placed on it. This oak is still called by the
villagers the Chene-a-V A7ie.

There is one more legend of Jumieges, so quaint and
touching that it must be told here.

St. Aicadre, the successor of St. Philibert, being very
infirm and aged, had a revelation of his approaching death.
Fearing that this great assemblage of eight hundred monks,
whom he knew to be in a state of grace, would make

2S2 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

shipwreck after his death, he prayed fervently for their
ultimate salvation ; and " the following night he saw an
angel walking about the dormitory where they all lay sleep-
ing, who touched with his wand four hundred among
them, and assured St. Aicadre that in four days their
Father, who grudged them to the earth, would transport
them to heaven, and that he was the guardian angel of this
house, and would protect it to the end. Of which the holy
abbot having advertised the monks, and they having pre-
pared themselves for this happy voyage, and having received
in church, being quite well and joyful, the most holy
viaticum of the Blessed Sacrament, they went to hold a
chapter with their aged abbot, who directed each of them
to sit between two others of the brethren, in order that their
so-glorious departure might receive comfort and honour.
These holy confessors, singing divine hymns with their
brethren, each began to take the hue and the light of an
angelic face, and keeping still in their seats with a celestial
demeanour, without trembling or giving token of any suffer-
ing, they all passed out of this life into the other in one day
— the first hundred at the hour of terce, the second at sext,
the third at nones, and the last hundred at vespers."

It is matter of history that four hundred monks of
Jumieges died in one day of the plague; and they died, as
the chronicle relates, with a heavenly demeanour, singing
holy hymns. They were buried in stone coffins in the
abbey cemetery, their abbot in the midst. This event was
recorded in a fresco, which still existed at the time of the
Revolution.

We had not much time to spare for St. Georges Boscher-
ville. It seemed dull after Jumieges, but it is a very an-

ST. GEORGES BOSCHERVILLE. 253

cient and perfect building. The church is now the parish
church of the village. It was founded in the eleventh
century, by Raoul of Tancarville, and was once a large
monastery. The portion that remains is singularly perfect.
It is specially interesting to the architect or archaeologist as
a landmark of Norman building, for the date of its founda-
tion is certain, and it has been wonderfully well preserved.
The church is entire, and the chapter-house is very perfect ;
there are also some remains of a cloister ; the colour of the
stone is remarkably pure. The building is well placed, and
the view from it is lovely ; but the style is very cold and
severe ; it should certainly, if possible, be visited before
Jumieges, it offers too trying a contrast afterwards in the
way of picturesqueness.

It was growing dark when we reached Duclair, where our
driver informed us we should certainly find a vehicle which
would take us on to Rouen. The crag called the Chair
of Gargantua is close to Duclair. Rabelais' famous giant
seems to have left traces of his footsteps in Normandy.
Besides the Pierre Gante at Tancarville, there is Mount
Gargan, near Rouen ; at Veulettes, not far from Trouville,
there is a Roman fort, surrounded by ramparts, which is
called the Tomb of Gargantua. M. Deville has discovered
mention of the Chair of Gargantua at Duclair in an ancient
chart of the eleventh century.

These legends are very interesting and very puzzling;
they are all of so old a date that it is impossible to reject
them altogether. If we entirely exclude them, we deprive
rivers and rocks of almost all interest, and bring them down
to the mere prosaic level of natural objects.

We found at Duclair only a small dirty-looking inn. We

254 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

asked for a voitiire, and the landlady said she would call her
husband, who we supposed was the Monsieur Georges we
had been recommended to. He was a very tall, broad
shouldered Norman, with a slow, honest face, in which we
thought we missed the habitual expression, perhaps best
described as " Norman," — an expression that at once puts
you on the alert in making a bargain.

He said he feared it was impossible for us to get on to
Rouen by voiture ; the 7nalle-poste was expected in half an
hour, and unless it was full it might take us on ; but it was
not pleasant travelling. Meantime he would try to get us a
horse; " but, on market-day, what will you?"

He left us at this, shrugging up his broad shoulders,
and we went into the great bare inn-kitchen, glad to get a
warming at an enormous wood fire blazing on the open
hearth, for the air was growing very cold. The kitchen
looked cleaner than we expected ; so we ordered some cutlets
and fried potatoes, which madame certainly knew how to
cook, although she charged an exorbitant price for them.
Presently Monsieur Georges came back. The malle-poste
had gone by ; but he could let us have a horse and cart, on
condition that we would only drive to Barentin, the nearest
railway-station, instead of to Rouen, the distance being six
instead of twelve miles.

" You have only just time to catch the last train," he
said ; " the cart is ready at the door."

There was no time to lose, unless we wished to sleep
at Duclair; so we left our potatoes half eaten, and paid
our simple-faced friend for the horse and cart to go to
Barentin very nearly as much as we had paid to M. Berne
for our k)ng, delightful drive from Caudebec, seeing Jumieges

A GALLOP FOR THE TRAIN. 255

on the way. The road seemed to be very uneven and
stony ; but the driver, having explained to us over his
shoulder that we were in great risk of losing the train,
went off at a break-neck pace. It had grown dusk; and,
as the trees rose high on each side of the road, it was soon
quite dark. On we went, swaying from side to side, unable
to see the road before us, at the mercy of our reckless
driver, who kept up a constant shouting of the inevitable
*' He-gi-di " and its following chorus, the horse seeming to
enter into his spirit and going along at a tearing pace.

It is certainly quite useless in France ever to believe that
a train will start punctually, or to inconvenience one's self in
order to reach a country station at the appointed time. At
a terminus or in the large towns, however unpunctual the
train may be in starting or arriving, still one has to be
punctual to register baggage. It seems strange that in so
short a distance as that between the two countries there
should be so great a difference in the regard paid to the value
of time. The only chance not to waste time in France is
to travel by express trains ; and even these on the Ligne
de rOuest, as the Norman and Breton line is called, are
not always punctual. Probably an influx of British travellers
may mend matters : at present this railroad is said to be
very badly managed.

We did not reach dear old Rouen till ten o'clock ;
and although we had written beforehand, there was not a
room vacant, and the landlord said he had been sending
people away all day. The Conseil General was sitting,
and its members had descended like a flood upon our
hotel. However, the landlord thought he could take us in
next day, and meantime he found a room for us near at

256 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

hand. We made a resolution to avoid in future Rouen
and all other large towns while the Conseil Ge'neral lasts \
its presence seems to turn a town topsy-turvy. We found
more quaint old streets in this second visit to the fine old
city, chiefly east of the Cathedral, and numerous exquisite
points of view both of it and of St. Ouen, with foregrounds
of tottering gables in the narrow streets.

THE VALLEY OF THE SEINK

CHAPTER X.

La Cote des deux Amants. Chateau Gaillard.

Gaillon. Vernon.

Les Andelys.

/^"\UR nexTt point was Les Andelys, the last Norman town
of interest on the Seine, except Vernon ; for Mantes is
not really a Norman town. It should, however, be visited as
a connecting link in the life of William the Conqueror, which
may literally be traced in this interesting province from the
cradle to the grave, the two points nearest together, Falaise
and Caen, containing the beginning and the end of his
wonderful story.

It is strange to find how real and vivid this great man
becomes after a few weeks of travel in Normandy — a king
among kings. At first the reiteration of Guiluiufjie le Con-
querantj which the French take delight in emphasizing,
becomes a trifle wearisome ; but as one studies his character,
and realises in his own land what he did and what he had
to overcome, this feeling fades.

William the Bastard would never have remained a mere
petty sovereign. If he had not conquered England, the
court of France would probably have been once more
banished to Laon, and the Duke of Normandy would have

258 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

been also Duke of Paris. He was a bom conqueror of
mankind.

It used to be possible to go by steamer from Rouen to
St. Germain, and the banks of the river are very interesting
here ; but it makes so great a bend to Elbeuf, that this route
must have made the journey a long one. The best way now
of reaching Les Andelys from Rouen is to take train to
Gaillon, whence an omnibus goes on to Le Grand Andely.

On our way to Pont de I'Arche we leave the Lower
Seine and pass into the Department of Eure. Rather more
than a mile from Pont de I'Arche is the Abbey of Bon
Port, a Cistercian foundation, built on a branch of the Seine
in 1 1 90 by Richard Coeur-de-Lion ; but none of the ruins
now remaining seem to be as old as this date. The church
has been entirely destroyed ; but the refectory (now a barn)
remains, and beneath it is the ancient kitchen of the abbey.
There are also a few other remains. It is said to have been
founded by King Richard in fulfilment of a vow made when
he narrowly escaped drowning when fording the Seine.

Pont de I'Arche is most picturesquely placed, and is full
of interesting remains. Beyond it we come in sight of a
lofty green hill, known as La Cote des deux Amants.
The mournful story of this hill has come down to us in the
Lais of " Marie de France." She is the first French female
poet on record. She lived in the thirteenth century, and
wrote about 200 fables, which she said she translated from
the English, but which are supposed to be founded on the
fables of Phsedrus; some of them are, very original. Though
she was born in France, she passed the greater part of her
life in England. Probably she first told this story, which
has been sung in so many ways since. Her Lais are very

LAI OF THE COTE DES DEUX AMANTS. 259

elegant and simple, and were once highly esteemed ; but, as
they are written in the Breton dialect, a rough translation is
made here of the —

" Lai of the Cote des deux Amants.

" Once in Normandy there came to pass an adventure well
known to those who love. Of this the Bretons have made
a lay, called the 'Lay of the two Lovers.' In Neustria,
which we now call Normandy, is a large and lofty mountain,
where lie the two children. Near this mountain was a city
built by the King of Pistreia; he named it from the Pis-
treians, and so he called it Pistre. The town still stands
there, and so do the houses ; we all know that the country
is called the Vale of Pistre. The king had a beautiful
daughter, a most courteous damsel ; she was much comfort
to him, for he had lost his queen. His people murmured
against him, even blasphemed, because he did not give his
daughter in marriage. When the king heard how they
spoke of him, he was sorrowful and heavy, and he began to
think how he could free himself, so that no one should rob
him of his child. He proclaimed that whoever would wed
his daughter must bear her up the face of the mountain
in his arms without stopping to rest. When this news was
spread through the country, many came to try the exploit.
Some of them got half-way up the mountain, but no one
reached the top ; and for some time the princess was not
sought in marriage.

*• There was in the country an amiable and handsome
youth, the son of a count ; he resolved to surpass all the
others. He lived near the king's court, and often sojourned
there. He loved the king's daughter, and begged her to

26o THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

love him in return. His valour, his courtesy, and the
friendship shown him by the king won the princess. They
spoke often together, and they grew more and more fond ; but
they concealed their love from all. Their passion increased
daily. Then the youth reflected that it was better to suffer
some evil than to lose all by rashness. This youth, so
wise, valiant, and handsome, came to his beloved, and asked
her to go away with him, for he could no longer bear
the torment of his love. He knew that, if he asked her of
her father, the king loved her too much to consent, and
would bid him win her by carrying her up to the top of the
mountain.

" The damsel replied, ' Friend, I know well that you
cannot carry me ; but, if I go away with you, my father wil]
be filled with grief and anger. It is martyrdom to him to
live without me, and I love him so much that I do not wish
to anger him : let us seek some other way, for I cannot
listen to that one. In Salerno I have a rich relative, who
for more than thirty years has studied the art of medicine ;
she knows the virtues of every leaf and root, and is full of
health-giving recipes. If you will take a letter from me,
and explain to her our adventure, she will provide the
remedy. She will give you fresh strength ; and when you
return to this country, you will ask me of my father. He
will treat you as a child, and will tell you that he gives me
to no man who cannot carry me in his arms to the top of
the mountain without stopping.' "

[The youth thanks the maiden, asks her leave to depart,
returns to his own country, and makes great preparations
for his journey. He arrives at Salerno, and presents his
letter to the aunt (spelt Aimie in the original). She gives

LA COTE DES DEUX AM A NTS. 261

him tonics and strengthening cordials, and when he leaves
Salerno presents him with a liquor which has the power of
at once removing fatigue, and refreshing the body, the
muscles, and bones. The youth, on his return, asks the king
for his daughter, offering to carry her up the hill. The king
is friendly, but he thinks the youth foolish ; the Count is
much too young, he says, and must fail where so many
strong and valiant men have not succeeded.]

" The day arrives ; each of the lovers has invited friends ;
the place is thronged with spectators. The damsel has
fasted severely, so as not to tax the strength of her lover
by her weight. The youth arrives first, not forgetting his
philter. When all the great company are assembled in the
meadow, the king brings his daughter, clad only in her
chemise.

" The youth took her in his arms, and gave her the phial
to carry, thinking he no longer needed it. His joy gave
him strength, and he mounted half-way rapidly. She felt
his pace slacken. * Friend,' she said, ' drink. I feel that
you tire : this will bring back strength.' The youth answered,
* No, dear one, I feel strong yet, and I do not wish to stop ]
if I drink, I must pause ever so little, and the crowd below
will cry out and stun me with their hisses, and I shall
perhaps fail.' When two-thirds were mounted he grew yet
fainter, and she entreated him many times, ' Friend, drink
the cordial.' He could neither see nor hear; a great
anguish overcame him ; he reached the top of the mountain
and fell. The damsel thought he had fainted. She knelt
beside him, and tried to give him drink ; but he died as I
tell you, and she mourned him with loud cries. Then she
threw far away the phial which held the cordial, and since

262 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

that time the place on which the Hquor fell has been noted
for health-giving plants. Now I will tell you how the
unhappy maiden, because she had lost her lover, lay down
beside him, pressed him in her arms, kissed his mouth and
his eyes, till grief striking into her heart, she died, this
damsel, so fair, so wise, so brave. The king, who waited
for them below, when he saw they did not come, climbed
up and found them, and he fell fainting on the ground. As
soon as he could speak, he broke into lamentations, echoed
by all the people. Three days after they brought a marble
tomb, and laid in it the bodies of the children. Every one
advised that they should lie on the top of the hill where
they died ; and, as soon as all was done, the people departed.
The hill is called ' The Cote des deux Amants,' and, as I
said before, the Bretons have made a Lai about it."

Gaillon itself is full of memories. Here was the famous
palace of the Archbishops of Rouen, now converted into a
penitentiary, or, as it is called, Maison centrale de Detention.

The remains still existing of the old chateau — the entrance-
porch with its four towers, the clock-tower, the chapter-
tower — belong to the palace built by the celebrated Cardi-
nal d'Amboise, in 1498, in the reign of Louis XII. But
the first archiepiscopal palace of Gaillon was of much older
date ; and there is a curious legend about its first possessor,
Odo Rigault, Archbishop of Rouen in the time of St. Louis.

Odo was a very wealthy prelate. He owned farms, mills,
fish-ponds, dairies, in the neighbourhood of Rouen ; his
cellars were filled with exquisite wines ; his coffers over-
flowed with gold ; his table was more splendidly served than
that of any baron of Normandy. But in the midst of all

LEGEND OF THE PALACE OF GAILLON. 263

this splendour Odo was the most unhappy person in his
diocese. While all the fierce unlettered barons of the pro-
vince had strong castles, from which they could torment
and plunder those weaker than themselves, he, the Prince-
Archbishop of Rouen, was the only man of position who had
not a strong fortress, in which he could secure his treasures
in the event of an English invasion, or secure himself
against the covetousness of his noble neighbours. No
one would cede him a castle, and each time he journeyed
through his province the sight of a conveniently placed
fortress would plunge him into deep sadness.

One day he set forth, attended by a numerous suite, to
visit the Bishop of Evreux, and was overtaken by a violent
storm. His attendants, getting wet to the skin, entreated
him to halt and take refuge in a chateau they saw close by,
situated on the brow of a hill overlooking the Seine. The
archbishop at first refused ; but when he found that this
Chateau of Gaillon belonged to the saintly king, instead of
to one of the marauding nobles, he consented ; " but the
visit is ill-omened," he said.

This palace of the thirteenth century was a very inferior
building to that of the fifteenth and sixteenth ; but still it
was well placed, and possessed of a very extensive terri-
tory. The captain, who held command of the chateau in
the king's absence, received the archbishop \^ith due reve-
rence, and conducted him through the deserted but richly
furnished apartments.

Odo expressed his surprise at the neglected state of the
palace, and asked whether the king 01 the Queen Blanche
did not sometimes reside at Gaillon.

No ; the king had come once, before his first departure

264 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

for the Holy Land, but he had never paid a second visit.
The royal chamber had been closed ever since.

The archbishop supped and passed the night at Gaillon ;
but he neither ate nor slept ; his mind was absorbed in one
idea, the possession of Gaillon. So strong, so well placed,
so convenient, it was the very chateau he longed for — ah, .
what would not he give to be able to say to the barons,
when they came back from Palestine, " I, too, have my
fortress, with towers higher than yours ; I, too, have my
crossbow-men and halberdiers : come and besiege me, if you
dare."

He left Gaillon next morning with a heavy heart, but the
doom of his life was sealed. From that day did the arch-
bishop, Odo Rigault, incessantly covet the king's chateau of
Gaillon. He did not again visit it ; but he frequently rode
within sight of its towers, and each time after a long lingering
gaze he went home still more heavy-hearted and covetous
than before.

Soon after, a summons came for the archbishop to
attend the king.

'' Messire," said St. Louis, " I have spent my all. I have
pledged all my plate and jewels. I have absolutely nothing
wherewith to maintain the holy war, and deliver the tomb
of our blessed Lord. I hear that your coffers are full of
golden crowns ; give some of them to me, and if there is
anything I can offer you in exchange, you have but to speak
and you will obtain all you desire."

" My lord and king," said the archbishop, " I desire but
one thing in the world ; and you can give it to me. Take
all I possess, and give me your palace of Gaillon."

But the king would not thus despoil the prelate. He

LEGEND OF THE PALACE OF GAILLON. 265

named the sum he required, and told Odo that henceforth
Gaillon should be the residence of the Archbishop of Rouen.

The old archbishop fell at the king's feet crazy with joy;
but St. Louis raised him, and said —

** And now, my lord archbishop, in order that our ex-
change may be acceptable to God, will you not go with me
on this crusade ? It is a pious work, which will stand you
in good stead hereafter."

Messire Odo Rigault turned pale, but he murmured an
assent.

Some days after the fleet set sail for Tunis, with king and
archbishop on board. Very soon St. Louis lay dead of the
plague, and Philip IIL brought back the army to France;
but just in sight of land a tempest arose and swallowed up
many of the ships, — among others, that of the archbishop ;
he managed, however, to cling to a bit of wreck till he was
picked up by a fisher-boat, which landed him in France.

He hardly waited to be recovered from his fatigues, he
was so impatient to take possession of his domain. At last
he was going to realise his great desire. It was in the
spring of the year, and he resolved to enter Gaillon with
the greatest pomp.

Early one morning a great procession filled the road to
Gaillon. A large number of the clergy, the metropolitan
chapter, deputations from abbeys, convents, communities, all
were there, with crosses and banners. In the midst was the
archbishop, superbly mounted, with his mitre and pallium :
beside him were his six suffragans, the bishops of Bayeux,
Evreux, Lisieux, Avranches, Sees, and Coutances, richly
robed.

He was ushered with great pomp into the chamber which

266 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

had once been occupied by Louis IX. When the archbishop
lay down on the royal bed, he exclaimed triumphantly —

*' At last I am castellan of Gaillon."

At that instant, from behind the bed-curtains, came back
a solemn voice, which repeated like a funereal echo, " It is
I who am castellan of Gaillon."

Next morning, when his chamberlains entered the room,
they found only the corpse of the Archbishop of Rouen.

In 1423, the soldiers of the Duke of Bedford surprised
the palace, set fire to it, and massacred the garrison.
It remained a heap of ruins till the reign of Louis XII.,
when Georges d'Amboise, recently installed in the see of
Rouen, passed by Gaillon, and stopped to look at the
ruins of the palace. He seems to have been so im-
pressed by the admirable site and the natural advantage
possessed by Gaillon, that he at once set to work to restore
the palace in a sumptuous style of magnificence. He sent
to Italy for the famous architect Giovanni Giocondo, and
associated with him Androuet du Cerceau, Pierre Pouce, and
the equally famous sculptor, Juste de Tours ; but just at the
same time the archbishop began his struggle for the pope-
dom, and it was not till his hopes and his efforts were frus-
trated by the election of Julius II. that he found leisure and
means to complete his superb chateau.

As he could not be pope, the Cardinal d'Amboise deter-
mined to rival the pope in splendour, and Louis XII. yielded
to his prime minister the tribute levied on the Genoese, in
order that the palace might be perfected. The descriptions
of its magnificence, and the beauty of its gardens and ter-
race, read like eastern fables. From far and near every
one came to visit this celebrated pile, and receive the

THE PALACE OF GAILLON. 267

blessing of the cardinal archbishop, Louis XII. and his
queen, Anne of Brittany, among the first. Georges d'Am-
boise did not long enjoy his splendid palace : he died in
1510, aged fifty, in the convent of the Celestins, at Lyons,
on his way to Italy. As he was dying, he said to Brother
John, the nursing brother, who sat beside his bed —
" Brother John, Brother John ! Alas ! why have I not been
all my life Brother John?"

The Cardinal of Bourbon, uncle of Henry IV., preferred
Gaillon to any of his other residences; and here in 1562,
as Archbishop of Rouen, he received Charles IX. and the
queen-mother, Catherine de Medicis, when they came to
superintend the siege of the city, which had been taken by
the Calvinists. Nicholas Colbert, son of the great minister,
was Archbishop of Rouen, and kept his court at Gaillon,
though in a quieter, more ecclesiastical style than some of
his gorgeous predecessors.

On the 28th June, 1786, on his return from Cherbourg,
Louis XVI. paid a visit to the last chatelain of Gaillon, the
Archbishop Dominique de la Rochefoucauld, and brought
with him the tidings that when the great bell of the cathe-
dral, Georges d'Amboise, had been rung in honour of his
royal progress through Rouen, it had uttered three sounds
and then had cracked. It was an omen of the doom which
was so soon to fall on the king and on the diocese of Rouen.

Ducat el says of the palace, which was still standing when
he visited Normandy : —

" The people of Normandy have formed to themselves
so high an opinion of the beauty and magnificence of this
palace, that when they endeavour to give you an idea of the
utmost elegance of any villa of which they are speaking,

268 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

they conclude their commendations by saying, ' In short,
sir, it is a little Gaillon.'"

The richly ornamented fagade which separated the outer
from the inner court is now in the courtyard of the Palais
des Beaux Arts at Paris.

At a distance there is a view of Chateau Gaillard rising
steeply above the Seine ; but we had not much time to
spend at Gaillon, for we heard that the omnibus was the
only means of reaching Les Andelys that evening.

On our way we passed a bridge, demolished to stop the
progress of the Prussians ; but they managed to cross
the river after all. The Seine winds in such a puzzling
manner, that one becomes confused as to which bank one is
on. The river seems to appear where one least expects it,
and the hills follow its course, so that the scenery changes
constantly. Near this destroyed bridge w^e had to alight, for
though a new bridge is building it is not yet complete ; and
we, and our omnibus, and the carriage of a gentleman,
which had also come by train, were taken across the river
on a huge raft, worked by chains under water. The moon
had risen out of a dense bank of clouds, and the whole
scene on the pale willow-bordered river was very picturesque.
It is a long drive to Le Grand Andely, and we had to find
our way in the dark to the inn we were so anxious to see ;
the omnibus stopping at the bureau.

Presently, at the top of the street, we saw in the gloom
a house with overhanging dormers. A cheerful red glow
shone out of the open doors ; and going in at one of these
we stood in sudden surprise ; we were in a sort of kitchen,
with walls panelled in dark oak, the huge, black, projecting
fireplace finished with a pent-house roof At the top of

LE GRAND ANDELY.

269

this is a carved wooden image of the Blessed Virgin, and
below the eaves of the roof is a carved border of most
elaborate workmanship.

On the roof of the fireplace, over the doors and over
the walls, hung plates and dishes in old faience ; and on
armoires and a low shelf which ran all round the room
were vases, fountains,
cups, bowls, &c., of old
Delft and Rouen ware,
chiefly in blue and
white. Before we could
look thoroughly at this
museum we were shown
into the saUe-a-manger^
and here the display
was even greater. There
were quaint metal
chandeliers and sconces
and antique drinking-
glasses ; but the faience
did not show so effec-
tively on the dark
orange paper of this room as on the black wooden walls of
the kitchen. We asked for a room ; but we were told we
must eat our supper first, as there were not many chambers
in the house, and the room we could have had been lately
occupied. When, at last, we were showm up the broad old
oak staircase, we saw that its walls and those of the passages
formed a continued museum of curiosities, among which
appeared some very quaint time-stained oil pictures and
stone bas-reliefs.

Hotel du Grand Cert

270 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

The chambermaid stopped to let us examine these, and
we noticed that she had an immensely long key, with an
elaborately worked handle. She told us that this was the key
of our bedroom ; and she presently turned into a very
narrow passage, unlocked a door, and threw it open.

She went in before us and lighted two candles that stood
on a table, but these only gave Hght enough to let us see
how very charming a room we w^ere in. It was about forty
feet long; the walls partly wainscoted with black oak,
partly covered with old Beauvais tapestry. Along two sides of
it were ranged seven armoires and coffers in carved oak, and
on these, and wherever space could be found on the walls, was
a quantity of faience — the plates and dishes suspended as
we had seen them below. The floor was tiled ; the chairs
were huge Louis Quinze fauteuils, rather out of harmony with
the rest, for the coffers were chiefly Gothic. At the end of
the room, opposite the door, were two windows with quaint
old-fashioned curtains ; between the windows came another
oak coffer ; and on the fourth side were two beds, perhaps
the most interesting part of the room. They were very
antique looking, of elaborately carved oak, with old-
fashioned striped hangings of rich red and buff cretonne,
like those in the windows.

There was so much to look at, the quilts even were a
work of art, that it seemed impossible we should be able to
go to bed for hours.

The chambermaid told us that the master of the hotel
had spent twenty-eight years in making this wonderful col-
lection, and had devoted all his gains to it, travelling over
different parts of France, and seeking everywhere for faience
and curiosities. He had died, she said, only a few weeks

HOTEL DU GRAND CERF. 271

ago ; and now his widow meant to sell the whole collection,
either in London or Paris. It seemed a great pity. This
old sixteenth-century house, with its massive walls, and
heavy beamed ceilings, and quaint mouldings, is a fit
home for the motley collection ; for although we suspected
that most of the oak furniture was " put together " by a
modern workman, and some of it entirely of modern fabri-
cation, still Le Grand Cerf is a really ancient house. Its
precise date is unknown ; but it was probably built in the
reign of Francis I., for the salamander and fleur-de-lis are
frequent in the ornament. In a genealogy of the Duval de
Viennois family, made in 1675, it appears that "the Hotel
du Viennois at Grand Andeli has been held from time
immemorial" by the lords of Viennois; and Monsieur
Brossard de Ruville believes that the founder of this house
was Nicholas Duval, a favourite of Francis I. The hus-
band of one of his descendants sold the house, in 1729, to
Nicolas Lefebvre, cuisiiiier patissier ! The purchaser turned
it into a public hotel, and made some alterations in the
building. Monsieur B. de Ruville gives an interesting
account of the original house. Many distinguished visitors
have stayed at the Hotel du Grand Cerf; amongst others,
Sir Walter Scott and Rosa Bonheur.

We started early next morning for Chateau Gaillard. An
omnibus from Le Grand Andely passes the foot of the hill
on which it stands. The air was delightful in the early
morning, and we much enjoyed climbing up the downs to
the castle. They are very steep and bare of trees ; and are
covered with short slippery grass, among which we gathered
some very curious wild flowers.

The castle rises up grandly. Perched on the very summit

272

THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

of a projecting cliff, it commands the river for miles. The
crag on which it stands is isolated on all sides, except one,
from the surromiding cliffs, and here the strip of connecting
land is cut through by a deep ditch. We could make out
clearly the three walls, one inside the other, with the fosses
between each. Richard Coeur-de-Lion is supposed to have
been his own architect, and the skill shown in the construc-
tion of this wonderful fortress is considered masterly.

The central donjon tower is of immense strength. It

Chateau Gaillard and Le Petit Andely,

is the most perfect remaining part of the castle, and the
walls are from fourteen to fifteen feet thick. The defences
extend even around the edge of the cliff, which descends a
sheer precipice to the Seine. On one side of the second
fosse are some curious crypts or caverns excavated in the
rock, and supported by masses of rock left as piers. In
these subterranean caves probably the unhappy Margaret
was strangled. The entrance into the castle still exists, but
here is not means of access to it ; so we climbed by a path

CHATEAU GAILLARD. 273

cut along the face of the rock, at a dizzy height above the
Seine, and entered by a flight of steps of evidently modern
erection. The view from the castle over the Seine is very
grand. On the right is the town of Le Petit Andely crouching
below, with two charming tree-covered islands in front ; and
on the left, the river is divided by another long narrow
island ; on the farther bank are smiling green meadows in-
terspersed with corn-land.

It lessens one's opinion of Coeur-de-Lion's chivalry to
reflect that he bound himself by treaty not to fortify the town
which he had built on the Seine, Le Petit Andely, so as not
to interfere with the commerce of Paris, and he dismantled
a fortress on one of the islands, of which some ruined walls
remain, and then built close by his Chateau Gaillard, which
gave him complete command over this important part of
the river, thus entirely dividing Paris from Normandy.
But as a matter of self-defence it perhaps was necessary, for,
by the treaty of Louviers, 1196, Richard ceded to Philip
Augustus the Norman Vexin, Vernon, and Gaillon, thus
giving him complete command over Rouen, and thence
over Normandy. As soon as the King of England per-
ceived his mistake, he set to work at once on the lofty
triangular rock which overhung his town of Le Petit Andely,
and within a year he had completed his strong castle of
Chateau Gaillard. But the territory of Les Andelys be-
longed to the Archbishop of Rouen ; and when he saw the
formidable castle in the heart of his domain, he protested
loudly ; and finding protest useless, he excommunicated the
King of England. The king appealed to the pope, who
decided in his favour, saving only that Richard was to make
compensation. Richard accordingly ceded the Castle of

274 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

Louviers, the mills on the river Robec, the town of Dieppe,
and the forest of Aliermont, with all the privileges of the
chase — a rich exchange for the barren rock of Andely.

When Philip saw Chateau Gaillard he was very angry,
and said, "I will take it if it is made of iron;" to which
Richard repHed, " And I would hold it if it were made of
butter." John signed a treaty at Chateau Gaillard ; but
when Richard died, Philip Augustus attacked the castle. The
governor, Roger de Lasci, feeling secure in its impregnable
strength, had consented to shelter within the castle walls
the inhabitants of Le Petit Andely. Philip, finding it im-
possible to take the castle by assault, blockaded it ; and the
governor, unable to feed so many mouths, chose out the
strong fighting men from among the devoted townspeople,
and turned the old men, the women, and children out of
the castle. The besieging army refused passage to the
unhappy fugitives, and drove them back upon the castle
walls. The poor creatures wandered up and down on the
bare rocks, starving and houseless : at one time they sub-
sisted on the dogs which had also been turned out of the
castle. Most of them perished before the end of the siege,
which lasted six months. It is said that when Philip arrived
before the castle at the end of the siege, he was much
afflicted by the spectacle of his starved subjects, and ordered
them to be fed. After this siege. Chateau Gaillard belonged
to France.

There are some historical memories attached to it. In
1 314, Marguerite de Bourgogne, the frail wife of Louis X.,
was strangled here with her own hair, by order of her
husband. David Bruce resided here during the time of his
exile. But Henry IV. considered the existence of so strong

CHATEAU GAILLARD. 275

a fortress undesirable, and he destroyed the fortifications of
Chateau Gaillard when he destroyed many other strong
castles of France. Its remaining walls and bastions are of
such prodigious strength that it is evident they might have
stood till now, if they had only suffered natural wear and
tear. Chateau Gaillard is certainly, to Englishmen, the most
interesting ruin in Normandy.

But, without this special interest, there is a wonderful
charm about the ruined fortress. Its name seems to suit
it perfectly : even in its ruined dismantled state, frosted with
lichen and overgrown with brambles and other clinging
plants, it seems to smile saucily down on the shining
river below, and on the green hills and valleys of Les
Andelys, which stretch away behind it. It may be that
these pleasant green slopes and undulating hills, with
glimpses of the two little towns nestling one behind the
hills, the other beside the river, add a present human
link to the past history of the place ; and the enchanting
beauty of the winding Seine itself lends a brightness to the
hoary ruin above. Certainly w^e came away from Chateau
Gaillard with much regret, for it would be delightful to
spend days on its sunny slopes overlooking the river as it
hurries on to Paris ; though as a ruin it creates none
of the mournful tenderness that such castles as Tancarville
and others awaken.

There are some quaint old houses in Le Petit Andely,
and the church is interesting. There is an altar here, once
in the abbey of IMortemer, and the pavement is full of
ancient gravestones. Beside the river is the Hospice Saint-
Jacques, founded in 1784 by the Duke of Penthievre.

As we walked back to Le Grand Andely, we remarked

276 THE VALLEY OF THE SEINE.

a bronze statue to Nicholas Poussin in the centre of the
Grande Place : he was bom in a neighbouring village in
1594. A party of Englishmen in blue knickerbockers and
scarlet caps, on a walking tour, arrived at Le Grand Cerf
while we were breakfasting : apparently they had not heard
of the treasures there, and were loud in their regrets at
being obliged to leave without seeing them all.

Near the church is the fountain of St. Clotilda. There is
a yearly pilgrimage here, on the 2nd of June, of sick and
infirm persons, who come to bathe in the fountain ; and as
most of these are too poor to pay for a night's lodging,
they are allowed to sleep in the church.

Before any of the pilgrims are allowed access to the
fountain, the cure of Les Andelys walks in procession at
the head of his clergy, and pours a certain quantity of wine
into the flowing water, in commemoration of the miracle by
which Queen Clotilda changed the water of this fountain
into wine for the benefit of labourers exhausted and worn
out with work.

There is a chapel of St. Clotilda also near the church, but
it is of late date. The church itself has been built at various
times ; but the restoration has effectually destroyed all purity
of style. In the Lady chapel is an ancient altar which once
stood in the Chartreuse of Gaillon, destroyed at the Revo-
lution. On one of the pillars of the nave is a rudely carved
representation of Chateau Gaillard. The nave is said to be of
the thirteenth century ; also the two towers. We liked the
church best outside ; it groups well with the trees and the
quaint houses close by. When we went back to the inn we
were shown another very quaintly furnished bedroom, but it
was not either so beautiful or so interesting as our own. Our
hosteis showed us a book on Les Andelys by M. Brossard

GREAT HOUSE OF LES AND ELYS. 277

de Ruville : there was in this a most interesting history of
Le Grand Cerf, and a drawing of the chimney-piece ; there
was also a picture of the great house of Les Andelys, the
Manoir de Radeval. This splendid house was built in the
Rue St. Jean by Jean Picard, lord of Radeval and Neubosc,
maitre d'hotel of Frangois I., and bailli of Gisors. In 1820
this house fell into the hands of the brokers, and from them
M. Ruville says it was purchased by Lord Stuart de Roth-
say, for the decoration of his manor-house of Highcliff,
near Christchurch, Hampshire. It seems a sad fate for so
splendid a specimen of the time of Frangois I.

It is better to go back to Gaillon, and take train thence
to Vernon. The church here is interesting, and contains
some remarkable monuments j but almost all trace of the
ancient fortifications of the town has disappeared, and the
famous Chateau de Bizy, not far off, was destroyed at the Re-
volution. The park of Bizy still remains, and a new chateau
has been built. It is easy to reach Paris from Vernon, by
way of Mantes ; but we wished to go on to Louviers from
Les Andelys, and drove off to St. Pierre de Vauvray along
the banks of the Seine. We drove some miles before we
lost sight of Chateau Gaillard, towering grandly over the
I winding river. Our only fellow-traveller — a polite but
toothless priest — was very anxious to inform us that that
was the famous castle built by an English king. He
seemed surprised to learn that we had visited it.

At last the road left the river, and we could no longer see
Chateau Gaillard. Losing sight of the Seine seemed like
taking a last leave of an old friend ; for we knew that we
should not see the lovely river again in the course of our
wanderings, except at Honfleur, and there the view is more
of sea than of river.

THE OLD TOWNS SOUTH OF THE SEINE

(department of eure).

CHAPTER XI.

Louviers. Bernay.

Evreux. Pont-Audemer.

nPHIS, the ancient country of
the Eburovices, is extremely
rich in Gallo-Roman remains, as
well as in mediaeval ruins and
churches ; it is full, too, of his-
torical interest. Besides Vernon,
Les Andelys, Chateau Gaillard,
Szc, there are in Eure Evreux,
Bec-Hellouin, Verneuil, Bernay,
Pont-Audemer, &c., seldom
visited by English travellers.
At St. Pierre de Vauvray we
toolv train for Louviers. When we reached the station, there
was no omnibus ; so we walked into the sleepy, peaceful
town. Like most of the towns in the department of Eure,
Louviers is charmingly situated in a valley surrounded by
richly wooded hills. The river Eure flows round and through
the town, which is constantly intersected by its branches.

THE CHURCH, LOUVIERS. 279

Louviers is a manufacturing town, and these river-canals
work many wool and cotton mills, and make, besides,
picturesque washing-places. The entrance into the town
is quaint and pretty.

The church is very remarkable. The east end is the
oldest portion, dating from the thirteenth century ; the tall
square northern tower had formerly a leaden spire, but one
hundred and fifty years ago this was struck down by a
thunderbolt. The southern side of the church is the most
picturesque, although the architecture is of late fifteenth-
century work, and much too redundant in its details.
Beyond the door there is a projecting porch of stone, with
very elaborately carved pendants ; this is the most character-
istic feature of the church. The upper part of the northern
side has been restored in such abominable taste, that one
would have preferred to see it in decay : the attempts to
imitate the old flying buttresses are simply laughable. In-
side, the five aisles give an imposing effect, but the details
are poor.

We had been told of a very ancient house of the twelfth
century, and spent much time in seeking it. At last we
found a very chatty hairdresser standing at his shop-door.
He shook his well-curled head when we asked for the
Maison des Templiers.

" Ah, yes, yes, many travellers have asked the same
question, but it no longer exists ; but," this with a most
complacent smile, " I will show monsieur and madame the
place where it stood."

We found, however, that our time had not been wasted.
At the farther end of the street, at the angle formed by
another street, is a most quaint gabled wooden house; the

28o OLD TOWNS SOUTH OF THE SEINE.

upper stories project the whole width of the pavement over
the lower ones, and are supported on stout, stumpy oaken
pillars, on which are displayed some of the toys and hard-
ware sold in the shop within; opposite is another very
curious house, but this has been so modernized that the
general effect is spoiled. There are several other pic-
turesque houses in the old part of Louviers. The more
modern part of the town is uninteresting ; but still Louviers
is very quaint and restful : spite of its manufactories, it
seems to be peacefully unconscious of the din and turmoil of
larger cities, and we fancied that there must be charming
walks in the green woods that surround it.

At Louviers, in 1 1 96, Richard signed the famous treaty
with PhiHp Augustus. Richard gave back to Philip, Gisors
(a very interesting town, but not strictly in Normandy),
which had been part of the dowry of Philip's sister Ahce,
and all the Norman Vexin ; also Vernon, Gaillon, Ivry, and
Nonancourt ; also the province of Auvergne. Philip gave
back to Richard, Eu, Aumale, Arques, Neufchatel, Beau-
voin, and all that he had taken during Richard's captivity
in Germany : Les Andelys was to belong to the church of
Rouen. As soon as this treaty was concluded, as we have
seen, Richard set to work on his "daughter," as he called
Chateau Gaillard, and built it in the short space of a year.

The journey from Louviers to Evreux is vefry pleasant.
We pass the junction of the Eure with the Iton ; and after
this the Iton follows our course, and we cross it several
times before reaching Evreux. The view of the city is one
of the most striking in Normandy. It lies in a green
plain, crowned by the spires of its cathedral, and sur-
rounded on all sides by rising ground. The river Iton

EVREUX. a8l

flows up to it, and then dividing into three branches tra-
verses the city, and continuing its course disappears in the
massive forest of Evreux, which forms a rich leafy back-
ground to the pleasant-looking town. Evreux seems to be
full of gardens ; for trees abound among its white and red
brick houses, and also along the banks of the Iton.

We reached Evreux while the Conseil General was
sitting ; and as the members were quartered in the Grand
Cerf, we had some trouble to get a room. Certainly the
cathedral towns are for this reason to be avoided while this
business is in progress. Landlords, waiters, even the shop-
keepers in the town, seem to lose their wits till the affair is
over. Doubtless Evreux is on ordinary occasions as decorous
and sleepy as it befits an episcopal town to be \ but we saw
it in a state of exceptional liveliness.

It is a pleasant, clean, well-kept city, built on the actual
site of the old capital Mediolanum Aulercorum, which
city was destroyed soon after the arrival of the Franks
under Clovis. At the end of the ninth century it was
again destroyed by the invading Norsemen. The new city
was burned down by our Henry I., with the permission
of the bishop, on condition that the king would rebuild
the churches. Philip Augustus burned it down again
at the close of the twelfth century, in revenge for John's
treachery ; and Richard Coeur-de-Lion seems to have rebuilt
it after wresting it from Philip Augustus. After this Evreux
appears to have changed masters frequently. It was a con-
stant theatre of warfare during the intrigues of Charles the
Bad, King of Navarre, the son-in-law and cousin of King
John of France. Froissart says, "In 1353, the King of France
took from Charles the Bad, King of Navarre and Earl of

282 OLD TOWNS SOUTH OF THE SEINE.

Evreux, all the lands belonging to him in Normandy, except
Evreux, Pont-Audemer, Cherbourg, Gavrey, Avranches, and
Mortain, which were garrisoned by men from Navarre, who
would not surrender themselves." The Evreux men seem
always to have been Navarrois at heart. " The inhabitants,"
says Froissart, " never perfectly Joved any other lord but the
King of Navarre, who held it in right of his mother." Since
1 44 1 Evreux has been the property of France. Some of the
old Norman chroniclers were born at Evreux : William and
Matthew of Evreux, one in the twelfth, the other in the
fourteenth century ; Simon Vigor, Archbishop of Narbonne,
in the sixteenth century ; also Simon Vigor the historian,
and many others ; our own English family of Devereux
takes its name from this city.

We were delighted with the Cathedral : it is small, but,
spite of its frequent demolitions and restorations, it has a
singularly complete effect — except, indeed, the west front,
which is Italian and quite out of keeping with the florid
Gothic spire or the Norman nave. The spire was erected
by Louis XL's luckless favourite. Cardinal la Balue.

The effect of the interior is very good. The piers and
arches of the nave are Norman, and probably formed part
of Henry L's building ; but the choir is of later date. It
is very beautiful, with its pointed arches and clustered
columns, and it is of great height. The clerestory windows
are large ; the triforium is also Early English, and is glazed ;
the apse of the choir is remarkably rich and elegant. The
Lady chapel and north transept are of the fifteenth cen-
tury ; the former is of exquisitely pure and simple design,
built by Louis XL ; there is some very curious glass
here, and the north doorway, though much injured at the

EVREUX CATHEDRAL.

283

Revolution, is still beautiful ; it must have been a mass

of elaborate work before the figures were removed. There

is a great deal of whitewash lingering about the interior,

which somewhat injures the effect, and gives a dirty

look ; the wooden screens to the choir chapels are very

interesting, and also some of the wooden screens to

the chapels in the nave

are good specimens of

the transition from florid

Gothic to the style of

Francois I. Both of the

rose windows are good ;

indeed all the work of this

part of the cathedral is

worth study. The glazed

triforium in transepts and

choir is very remarkable,

and there is some good

stained glass besides that

in the Lady chapel.

The Cathedral is well
situated in a large open
Place. Just behind is the
episcopal palace, a quaint

old fifteenth-century build- Archbishop's Palace, Evreux.

ing, with a picturesque

tower ; it seems to be kept shut in by huge gates from the
inspection of the curious ; by good fortune these gates were
open when we passed by : but when, after a little time, the
sentry passing up and down in front found that we were not
waiting for admission on business, but were simply examin-

284 OLD TOWNS SOUTH OF THE SEINE.

ing the palace, he roughly informed us that we were to go
away, and actually shut the gates on us.

The Church of St. Taurin is at some distance from the
Cathedral, and is well worth a visit j the famous shrine of
St. Taurin is still preserved here ; it has been robbed of
its jewels, but it is a very remarkable example of the gold-
smith's work of the thirteenth century; the tomb of the
saint, said to be very ancient, is in the crypt. Some por-
tion of the church, a very curious Norman arcade, seems
to have belonged to the ancient Abbey of St. Taurin,
founded by Richard the Good.

According to Orderic, St. Taurin, first bishop of Evreux,
sent from Rome to preach Christianity to the Celtic Gauls
and destroy idolatry, expelled from the temple of Diana
a horrible demon who had for some time dwelt in the
city.

The vulgar call him Gobelin, and assert that the merits
of St. Taurin have ever since prevented him from harming
any one. As the demon obeyed the orders of the saint and
broke his own statues, he was not immediately sent back to
hell j but he suffered his punishment in the place where he
had reigned, and saw the men he had so often tried to ruin
eternally — saved.

There are various legends about St. Taurin : he delivered
Evreux from a plague of adders and snakes ; and indeed
ever since his time venomous reptiles are unknown in the
city, or if they appear they die at once.

At the other end of the town, not far from the Cathedral,
is a Tour de I'Horloge, a picturesque building of the fifteenth
century. It contains a bell to which one of the sons of
Charlemagne is said to have been sponsor. Traces of the

A COLLECTOR OF FAIENCE, 285

ancient city walls (fifth century) are still to be seen : they
are of extraordinary thickness.

Le Vieil Evreux is only about four miles off; it is interest-
ing on account of the discoveries which have been made
there. Most of these are now in the Museum of Evreux, and
are worth seeing. The public library of Evreux contains
many curious old MSS., and has 18,000 volumes of books.

When one thinks how very old this city is, one of the
seven of the Armorican confederacy, it seems impossible that
the relics contained in the museum can in any way repre-
sent the treasures which must lie underground ; for Gothic,
Norman, even Roman periods are modern beside that of
the first possessors of Evreux. Walking along through the
old streets sighing for the quaint old wooden houses which
once filled the streets and which have been replaced by com-
monplace modern ones, we came upon a comic-faced old
woman standing at her door. She asked us how we liked
her city, and especially how did we like the Cathedral.

" It is fine, is it not ?" She put her head on one side, and
looked as if she thought there was no match to be found
for it. She then asked if we would walk in and look at her
faience, and we followed her into two rooms literally
crammed with bits of old Rouen, Nevers, &c. At first
sight this was tempting, but our old friend quite understood
the value of her possessions, and asked a large price for
them ; finally she told us, in a sort of stage whisper, that she
had a real treasure in her bedroom, if we would take the
trouble to mount the stairs. When we got there she showed
us a picture which she said was a genuine Nicholas Poussin,
and for which she wanted a purchaser. She was fairly old,
but her nimbleness was marvellous ; she ran up and down

286 OLD TOWNS SOUTH OF THE SEINE.

Stairs, jumped upon a chair like a bird to examine the back
of the picture, and finally told us that she was aware that
she was crazy, as she found herself the only one among all
her neighbours who cared for the beautiful and for rare
works of art.

" They," she said, '' save their money, or else spend it on
their meals or their clothing. I," here she snapped her
crooked fingers and twinkled her black restless little eyes,
" do not care for food, — a little potage, a slice of bread, and
I have finished ; and as for saving," we had reached the
entrance passage on our way out, and she pointed over her
shoulder at the rooms we had left, " there are my savings :
dame ! faience is worth more than bank interest."

She winked ; and considering the price she had asked
for a Rouen jug which we very much wanted, we thought
that, if she sold her treasures, faience in her hands was
certainly a profitable investment, and that her love for the
beautiful was not necessarily a proof of insanity.

We were on the whole disappointed in Evreux ; it is far
less interesting than Lisieux, or even than Bernay or Pont-
Audemer. We felt little desire to linger, and were glad
to find ourselves on the road to Bernay. The railway between
these two cities passes so many places of interest, that it is
quite worth while to stay and see some of them, or else to
make excursions from either Evreux or Bernay to them ;
and as the journey between the two cities is not a long one,
the distance is of course not very considerable. Gaily
Knight speaks of the Castle of Navarre, near Evreux, and
says it is worth a visit ; but we did not go there.

We pass Berengeville, where there was once an abbey
founded in the fourteenth century, and soon after we cross

CONCHES. z%i

the Iton. A little way farther is the village of Bonne-
ville, where is a fifteenth- century church with some good
stained glass, and some remains of the Abbey of St. Flo-
rentin, founded by the Empress Matilda; after passing this,
we cross the Iton again. We go through the wood, and cross
another tiny river, and then into a tunnel under a lofty hill,
on the summit of which is a church with a most exquisite
Gothic spire. This is the Church of St. Foy, at Conches
Station; the spire was rebuilt in 1851, in imitation of the
original of the fifteenth century. There are seven windows
in the church, with good sixteenth-century glass in excellent
preservation ; they chiefly relate to the legends of St. Foy.
The church groups charmingly with the ruins of the old
castle of the Counts of Conches ; it stands still higher than
the church, and was a strong fortress in the eleventh cen-
tury. It was built by Roger de Toesni, Lord of Conches,
a descendant of Malahulr, uncle of Rolf. This fierce old
Scandinavian had made a crusade into Spain against the
Moors in the lifetime of Duke Robert, and when on his
return he found the son of Arlette in possession of the
dukedom, he refused to own allegiance, saying, " A bastard
is not fit to rule over me and the Normans." He was,
however, vanquished and slain in battle by Roger of Beau-
mont. The Lord of Conches was, by right of birth, here-
ditary standard-bearer to the Duke of Normandy ; but at
the battle of Senlac, or Hastings, Ralph of Toesni, grandson
of the famous Roger, refused the office : he would not fill
his hands with anything which should hinder his prowess
in the battle. The view of the surrounding country from
the castle is charming : there are also some other ruins at
Conches of an old Benedictine abbey, also built by Roger ;

288 OLD TOWNS SOUTH OF THE SEINE.

it was called the Abbey of Chatillon, according to Orderic.
The abbot, Gislebert, was famous for sanctity.

In the reign of William Rufus there was war between the
Count of Evreux and the Lord of Conches, because their
wives, Havise of Evreux and Isabelle of Conches, quar-
relled. Isabella, a daughter of the Count de Montfort,
seems to have been charming, and also a very valiant
captain ; she came off conqueror in the last battle between
the warlike ladies.

A diligence goes direct from Conches to Verneuil, and
this is perhaps the most direct way of reaching the ancient
and curious town ; although Verneuil may be taken on the
road between Alengon and Paris. The canal still exists which
our Henry I. caused to be constructed a length of about
five miles, in order to bring the water of the river Iton to
Verneuil. Of the ancient castle there only remains the lofty
donjon, or totcr grise, sixty feet high, on the banks of the
Aure. But the Church of La Madelaine is most interest-
ing ; the architecture is of various periods ranging from
Norman to seventeenth century; and the famous tower is
very remarkable for the richness of its decoration. There
are some other churches here worth seeing, and some of the
old houses are exceedingly ancient and curious. Public
walks have been made on the remains of the old walls,
which are of the twelfth century.

Under these walls was a hard-fought battle in 1424,
between the Regent, John of Bedford, and the troops of
Charles VIL The English gained the victory. Among those
slain fighting for France were the Earls of Douglas, of
Buchan, and many other Scottish gentlemen. Altogether
Verneuil is an interesting town, and well worth a visit.

BERN A Y. 289

It is perhaps more direct to drive back to Conches than
to take train from Verneuil to I'Aigle.

Another halt is worth making at Beaumont-le-Roger, in the
lovely valley of the Rille. There are some interesting ruins
here of the Priory of the Holy Trinity, which are well worth
seeing, and a diligence goes every day to the ancient
chateau of Beaumesnil, about six miles distant, a fine
building of the time of Henry IV. This drive through the
forest of Beaumont is very pleasant.

The next station is Serquigny, a junction from which it
is easy to get to Paris or Havre, or Rouen or Caen ; but
the town itself does not look interesting. After this the
road crosses the river Charentonne, passes the forest of
Beaumont, and is full of interest till suddenly it reaches
Bernay, a small tov/n of white and grey houses, without any
remarkable church-towers, surrounded closely by wooded
green hills.

The station is on the boulevard close to the town, and
we seem to get to our inn in a lew minutes, being driven
by a very tall stout Norman, who, on our arrival at Le
Cheval Blanc, announced himself as our landlord. Such a
jolly host : no matter how rude and abrupt the behaviour of
the commis-voyageurs, the only travellers who seem to visit
Bernay, Monsieur Roussel, or iej>ere Roussel, as they called
him, managed to smooth them down into at least a show of
civility. And his wife was equally kind and civil, and as
thoroughly neat and clean in the ordering of her house as if
she had been an Englishwoman. It is marvellous that so
few English visit so interesting a town as Bernay, especially
when it possesses such a comfortable and clean inn as the
Cheval Blanc.

290 OLD TOWNS SOUTH OF THE SEINE.

Even as we drove that little bit from the railway, we
had been struck with the original look of the houses, and
we were impatient to get out and explore. A few steps
from the inn is a blacksmith's shop ; a vine had clambered
up its blackened gabled front ; on the pavement a man and
woman were talking ; two broad-backed grey Norman
horses stood waiting to be shod, and just inside the black-
smith was striking sparks rapidly from the heated iron on
his anvil, his grimy, powerful arm showing out vividly
against the glow in the furnace behind him.

On each side of us were quaint wooden houses ; and as
we looked down the streets, right and left, we saw much that
tempted us to explore them ; but we were bound for the
Church of Ste. Croix, and we had learned that this lay at
the bottom of the principal street.

Some little way down this broad street leading to the
church, is a quaint wooden house, gabled and standing
cornerwise, the upper story embraced by the graceful leaves
of a vine, its gnarled brown stem showing it to be an
old inhabitant of the pleasant sunny corner ; beneath the
vine-leaves, stretching up ambitiously to kiss them, and
opening richly tinted blossoms widely to the sunshine, were
many-coloured wreaths of garden convolvulus. We did not
find the Church of Ste. Croix very interesting. It was
rebuilt in 1372, and enlarged about a hundred years after.
Two of the marble altars are said to have belonged to the
Abbey du Bee; also the sculptures behind the high altar,
and the statues in the nave.

Coming up the street we saw several quaint half-timbered
houses of a different style from those of Rouen ; for the gable
atop was usually squared, n^ith a projecting tiled coif. The

THE ABBEY OF JUDITH OF BRITTANY. 291

beams separating the floors are singularly massive, and in
many instances their projecting ends are carved into grotesque
faces. At the corner of the Rue du Commerce there is a very
original-looking house, with the upper story projecting over
the lower, and supported on wooden pillars. We went on till
we reached the Grande Place. Here stands a huge grey build-
ing with a seventeenth-century front ; it is really the ancient
monastery founded by Judith of Brittany, wife of Richard II.,
surnamed the Good, the fourth Duke of Normandy. She
founded the abbey under the direction of the well-beloved
William of Dijon, Abbot of Fecamp, for Benedictine monks.
Judith died before her pious work was completed, June 17,
10 1 7, and her husband Richard completed the abbey.

It now contains the Hotel de Ville, the tribunal, the
prisons, the sous-prefecture, &c. But the church of the
abbey, which is entered from the Place, is the most inte-
resting portion of it. It is no longer a church ; the altars
have been removed, and it is used every Saturday as a
corn-market ; it is entirely desecrated, but it is a very
noble relic of the massive building of those times. It is
said to be one of the oldest Romanesque buildings in
Normandy, very large and perfectly simple in detail ; plain
round arches are supported by square stone piers : the
columns attached to the piers are doubtless more recent,
for the capitals are carved ; on one of them is, " Isambardus
me fecit." There is a vaulted stone roof, and each of the
transepts ends in an apse. In 1865, when the Norman
archaeologists visited Bernay, there was discovered, during
some excavations made in the nave, the skeleton of a tall
female figure, richly habited ; this the people say was the
skeleton of Judith of Brittany, but she seems certainly to

292 . OLD TOWNS SOUTH OF THE SEINE.

have been buried in the Abbey of Fecamp : other skeletons
were also found, one of them holding a crozier of fifteenth-
century work, carved and gilded. The first Abbot of Bemay
became Abbot of Westminster. In the sixteenth century the
Calvinists attacked Bemay, and made horrible havoc there.

We wandered on beyond the town to see the other church
— Notre-Dame de la Couture ; it is the resort of pilgrims at
certain seasons, and is a quaint and curious building ; the
slated spire, with its pigeon-house projections, is very sin-
gular and original. It completely escaped the fury of the
Calvinists, who confined their ravages to the town. This
church is pleasantly placed in the midst of a large grassed
cemetery. Going down the quaint old streets again, and
finding yet more picturesque old houses, we went into a
bookseller's shop to inquire for photographs, and found the
master a very intelligent and civil man, who offered to guide
us about the town. He took us first up on the heights
through a sort of hanging wood ; and seen from this wooded
height Bernay is lovely, its quaint houses seem completely
to nestle into the surrounding belt of trees ; it quite justifies
Madame de Stael's epithet of " Bernay est une corbeille de
fleurs." From this height we noticed a surprising number of
red-mud walls, thatched atop ; nailed against these were
fruit-trees in a flourishing condition. Why do not we build
mud walls in our English fruit-gardens for this purpose?

We came down into the town again, close to a most
picturesque scene. Stacks of old wooden houses occupy the
corner of two streets, up one of which flows a stream of
water bordered by flat stones, on which a group of washer-
women knelt soaping or beating linen. The houses were
of that exquisite green-grey tint which is prevalent in

A PICTURE.

293

Bernay, and which adds much to the effect of its old gabled
dwellings ; the water, too, was in shadow, and looked a
sombre olive ; all the light fell on the women's white cotton
nio-htcaps and the linen they were beating with their
wooden carrosses. The women washing were mostly young ;
but from an upper window was craned out the witch-like
face of an old dark woman with spiteful black eyes ; when she
saw that she was being sketched — and it is wonderful how

Women washing.

quick these Normans are in detecting such an attempt — she
looked more evil still, and began to gesticulate and chatter
in so alarming a manner that it seemed possible she might
lose her balance and come tumbling on the stones below.

Just opposite was a very remarkable house with a pointed
gable, and in it a quaint diamond-paned lattice, with pots
of scarlet geranium on the sill and bunches of rosy bean-
pods drying in the sun on either side. The moulded beam

294 OLD TOWNS SOUTH OF THE SEINE.

which divided the ground floor from the upper story was of
amazing thickness, and was supported by carved corbels :
below was a seemingly deserted tinker's shop ; as we looked
through the open lattice, we saw it was full of odds and
ends of rusty iron. Our friend the bookseller guided us all
over the town, showing much that we had already discovered,
and also a great deal that we had not as yet seen ; there is
very much to see in Bemay, for the lover of the curious and
the picturesque, as well as for the artist. Some of the early
morning and evening effects are most remarkable, and these
arise much from the narrowness of many of the streets and
the original way in which they curve round one out of
another. Here and there up the exquisite green-grey of the
old wooden houses, bright-leaved, vigorous young vine-arms
spread in an ambitious effort to reach the edge of the pro-
jecting roof, or in some instances the top of the gable.

Next day was market-day, and we went out very early.
The view from the old abbey was most picturesque ; the
market spreads no*^ only over the Place, which rises from the
abbey buildings, but also down the long street on the right
and across the way to the opposite street that winds in an
upward direction, full of dark wooden-gabled houses nod-
ding at one another above the bright fruit-stalls and snowy
caps below.

As we sauntered through the groups of market-women.
we noticed the well-to-do air of most of them. The fruit
was not as good here as at Evreux, where the peaches were
the finest we had ever seen ; but everything seemed cheap at
Bemay, which perhaps accounts for the reasonable charges
of the Cheval Blanc. We went down to the washing-place
to complete the sketch of the previous day. Some of the

THE BONNET DE CO TON. 295

girls were still washing, others had been to market and
were gossiping in a merry group of bright brown faces and
snowy caps beside the tinker's cottage, but every one looked
gayer and better dressed than usual. We missed our old
witch from the window ; but in a minute or two she came
up and laid her hand on my arm.

" Te7iez ! Madame is the little lady of the monsieur who
has put me in his picture yesterday."

Her patois was so broad that it was not easy to under-
stand, especially as she had lost all her front teeth ; but the
looks and signs of her companions, who at once gathered
round, somewhat helped my comprehension.

The old woman was evidently considered a wag, for at
every sentence the merry-faced girls had to turn aside to hide
their laughter ; they were too polite to laugh out, and one of
them tried to excuse the old woman's freedom. But she had
no idea of being silenced ; she shook her head at the inter-
ruption, and went on.

" Monsieur is then the husband of madame. Monsieur
can doubtless draw very well, but he has made a mistake."

I inquired what the mistake was.

*' Does not madame see ? " She touched her cap with her
forefinger — a plain dimity skull-cap, with a dimity bow
behind, but without any strings, and of the most dazzling
whiteness. " Monsieur should have drawn me to-day, when
I am de//e: yesterday I had my bonnet de coton, and a
bonnet de coton is not for a picture — mon Dieu ! I should
think not. I put it on to do my work or the washing ;
but for the market or for la messe, ma foi, non : it is only
poor diables, who have not a centime, who would be seen
in church or in the market in a bonnet de coton."

296 OLD TOWNS SOUTH OF THE SEINE.

This explained her excitement at the window yesterday.

She wanted to have the objectionable cap in the sketch
altered at once, to the great delight of her companions;
and she did not seem at all satisfied to be told that the
bonnet de coton was better for a picture, and was never
seen in England.

There are some good shops in Bernay, and there are
numerous cotton manufactories in the arrondissement. The
stuffs of Bernay were spoken of in the fifteenth century.
One of the most remarkable of the old houses is now a cafe.
It is easy to pass it without seeing it, the lower story having
been completely modernised ; but the upper portion is about
the most perfect specimen of its kind and date — sixteenth
century — that we saw in Normandy. But it is not only in
the town itself that there is so much to delight both the
artist and antiquary, as well as the ordinary lover of nature
— all around the country teems with interest. Not far off
is Orbec, a railway station ; but, as the town is nearly
six miles from the railway, it is, perhaps, better to visit
Orbec from Lisieux, from which city a diligence goes
direct three times a day to Orbec.

On the heights to the north of Bernay is a lofty Calvary,
and the view from this point is very beautiful. We have
lost the lovely Rille, with its shady banks and winding
valleys, but instead there is the sparkling little Charentonne.
Except when it rains — and it is rather fond of raining in
Normandy — the climate seems very dry and healthy; and
this is the more remarkable from the constant presence of
one or other of these graceful rivers, now grey, now shim-
mering bright as steel, or alive with the reflections of its
waving fringe of trees.

THE ABBEY OF BEC, 297

There is not much mention of Bernay in history, besides
the building of its abbey. In 1378 Pierre Dutertre, confi-
dant of Charles the Bad, King of Navarre, defended Bernay
against Du Guesclin, but was obliged to surrender to the
famous captain. Alexandre de Bernay, the poet, was born
in Bernay in 1 1 50 ; his chief poem was " Alexander the
Great of Macedon," written in lines of twelve syllables.

We were very sorry to say good-bye to Bernay, it is so
quaint and pleasant, and one leaves it with the feeling that
there is more to be discovered in it than would reveal itself
easily to the passing traveller.

At Bernay one feels the neiglibourhood of the Abbey of
Bee, for which the inhabitants evidently entertain much
reverence ; and we, who had read Dean Church's most in-
teresting account of it in his Life of St. Anselm, were eager
to visit the Abbey of St. Hellouin, the famous school of
Lanfranc and St. Anselm ; but illness frustrated our hopes,
and we had to go on direct to Pont-Audemer instead of
halting at Brionne, where we heard good lodging could
not be had. It is sad to learn that no relic remains of the
ancient Abbey of Bee : there is a ruined isolated tower of the
fifteenth century ; the great mass of the building, entirely re-
built in the seventeenth century, was almost all destroyed at
the Revolution, and that which remains is used as a cavalry
d^pot. In the parish church of Bee is the tomb of St. Hel-
louin, the saintly knight who founded the abbey in the days of
Duke Robert the Magnificent ; he was succeeded as Prior
of Bee by Lanfranc, who left the abbey to become Abbot of
St. Etienne at Caen, and then Archbishop of Canterbury.
Hellouin was succeeded as abbot by Anselm, who also left
Bee to succeed Lanfranc as Archbishop of Canterbury.

298 OLD TOWNS SOUTH OF THE SEINE,

At Bee Henry I. was reconciled to Anslem, who had retired
to his monastery from Canterbury sooner than yield to the
king's interference. At Brionne was held, in 1050, in the
presence of Duke William, the synod in which the tenets
of Berengarius were condemned. Berengarius was a native
of Tours, and Archdeacon of Angers ; his heresy seems to
have been provoked by envy of the success of Lanfranc's
teaching at Bee ; however, Berengarius repented eight years
before he died, and acknowledged his errors.

At Brionne there are some ruins of an old castle of the
eleventh century ; but this is not the castle on an island, to
which Guy of Burgundy fled after the battle of Val-bs-
Dunes, and which underwent the famous siege of William
the Bastard. At last, the garrison was reduced by famine,
and Guy surrendered. William seems to have been very
merciful on these occasions ; Guy was not even banished
the court.

We reached Pont-Audemer late in the afternoon — an ad-
mirable hour for seeing its wonderful effects of light and
shade. It is a marvellous little town, with its quaint gabled
houses, and the numerous branches of the lovely river Rille
running between its picturesque houses and forming washing-
places along the banks, and, above all, its grandly sombre
Church of St. Ouen. Not for beauty of architecture, but for
impressiveness of effect, we felt inclined to rank St. Ouen,
of Pont-Audemer, next to the churches of Rouen.

The chief street of Pont-Audemer is very wide, and we
soon saw the church before us. On each side hideous gar-
goyles project far beyond the building. Are these gargoyles
named from the monster Gargouille conquered by St.
Romain ?

THE BANKS OF THE RILLE. 299

We went into the church. It is very lofty, and has
lofty columns and arches along the nave. The effect was
striking in the gloom of evening ; except for some lights
near the altar, all was in deep shadow. We saw some
attempts at decoration, and heard that there would be a
special service for children next day.

Crossing the main street, we went up the Rue du Com-
merce to the river. On the side next to the town is a
broad quay, bordered by a low stone wall on one side and
by houses on the other ; here and there are flights of steps
in openings in the low wall, and girls w^ere busy filling
brass jugs and ancient-looking red pitchers, which they
seemed to find heavy as they came slowly up the steps
again. The opposite bank is charming : the green hill,
crowned with trees, lies behind — for the Rille runs through
a continual valley — and in front of this are, first, picturesque
red-brick houses, then an avenue of Hme-trees, and then
again houses set in sauntering, desultory fashion, as if they
were lingering to look at the river : very near the edge is
one which seems as if it would not stand much longer ;
it is of red brick, but the upper portion is half-timbered,
with a vine spreading over it. In the wall below is an
arched opening, with a flight of steps leading into the water ;
the lower step is much broader than the rest, and on this,
half in the shadow of the archway behind her, a woman was
beating a red petticoat with her carrosse ; farther on is a range
of wooden sheds, evidently for washing, bordered by flat
stones for the convenience of the laundresses ; and always
among the houses, and above the sheds, the graceful bending
poplars trembling in the evening light.

But the Rille is so lovely, that, besides the interest which

30D OLD TOWNS SOUTH OF THE SEINE.

Pont-Audemer possesses as a town, it is worth a visit of
some days for the sake of the walks beside its river ; the
walk up its tree-shadowed banks to the Castle of Montfort
is most lovely. The view across the river, of the surround-
ing country, from the terrace of Chateau Bonnechose, is also
very charming.

Mr. Musgrave, who gives a very good and interesting ac-
count of the old town, says justly : — " To ramble at noon-
tide or sunset in the valleys of the Rille, the Ante, and the
Vire, as at Pont-Audemer, Falaise, and Vire, is a privilege
to be gratefully remembered."

The river can be traced for some distance winding between
its wooded cotes. Pont-Audemer looks exquisite in the early
morning — though, alas ! pouring rain soon dimmed the
wonderful effects of light and shade on the picturesque bits
beside the water — for Pont-Audemer is full of pictures of a
special sort, and must be seen to be thoroughly appreciated.
It is full, too, of special characteristics, which mark it out
from every other town in Normandy.

In the bright morning light, before the rain came like a
veil to dim every view, we saw that the ends of the streets
running north and south are bounded by steep green hills ;
the hill on the south is called Mount Gibet, and that on the
north, which looks almost perpendicular, is Mount Carmel.
On the top of this a Monsieur Desson, a retired manufacturer,
has built an ugly yellow house, very conspicuous, and so
uninviting-looking that one wonders he should have chosen
so visible and so inaccessible a site.

Another characteristic of Pont-Audemer is in the branches
of the river, which run parallel to the Grande Rue, and
across which the side streets are carried on bridges, so that

OLD HOUSES ON THE RILLE.

301

at the openings between the houses you get sudden pictures
full of colour and light and shade. Old wooden houses, so
rickety and decayed that it seems as if the projecting gables
atop must quickly end their days in the stream below, go sheer
down to the edge of the olive-brown water. Some of the
houses have wooden pillars supporting the upper story, and
in the space left below are large flat stones, on one or other
of which there is always the inevitable washerwoman beating
or soaping linen
and then rinsing it
in the running
stream. Certainly
washing of clothes
seems much more
frequent in France
than in England;
and it must be
healthier to per-
form so large a
portion of it in the
open air, for la
lessive, properly so
called, takes only

a short time ; there is also a pleasant suggestion of clean-
liness in the process of dipping into the running water
instead of into the already soiled water of the tub. On the
other hand, in towns where fountains and pumps are not
plentiful, there is only river water for cooking and drinkipg,
and it cannot be wholesome, and must certainly be un-
pleasant to live lower down the river than your washing
neighbours. At Caudebec the little river Gertrude is com-

Old Houses on the Rille.

302 OLD TOWNS SOUTH OF THE SEINE.

pletely polluted by the numerous tanneries of which it re-
ceives the refuse, and yet the people who live near it drink
the discoloured water, and also wash their clothes in it.

At Pont-Audemer, up the sides of the river, high-water
mark can be traced by a green line on the brown walls, and
below this grow trailing plants trying to get a hold in the
brick foundation of the houses above. From some of the win-
dows sprays of vine hang down in graceful festoons, making
a kind of bower for nasturtium and moneywort, which come
trailing down from pots in the ancient casements. It is
chiefly up these canal-streets that the old houses still remain.
At first sight, Pont-Audemer has a far more modem aspect
than Bernay ; but there are plenty of old houses, if they are
looked for, set in most picturesque surroundings.

The town is supposed to date from the eleventh century,
and to take its name from a Baron Audemer, or Odemer,
who built a bridge over the Rille here.

Pont-Audemer belonged to Roger, Count of Beaumont,
who, although he refused on principle to accompany Duke
William on his invasion, fitted up sixty vessels for the
Norman fleet. He remained in Normandy as chief coun-
sellor of the Duchess Matilda. William gave estates in
England to the son of Roger. He is the ancestor of the
Earls of Warwick, Leicester, and Bedford.

It is curious to learn that in 1378, when the town was
attacked by Du Guesclin by land, and the Admiral Jean de
Vienne by sea, the sea flowed to the gates of Pont-Audemer.
In this siege cannon was first employed in France. The
garrison resisted so manfully that they were allowed to sur-
render with honour, and were sent off" to Cherbourg ; but the
fortifications were razed ; and although the ramparts existed

ST. OUEN, PONT-AUDEMER, 303

till the sixteenth century, no attempt was made to fortify
the town again. Three years after the battle of Agincourt,
Pont-Audemer was governed by Thomas of Lancaster, Duke
of Clarence, and the town belonged to the English till the
final annexation of Normandy to the crown of France.
There are a great number of English names to be seen in
Pont-Audemer, and there is a rough sturdiness about the
people that is very un-French.

We had been told yesterday that there was to be a special
service for children on the fete of St. Gilles, and that all
timid children were brought to church by their mothers on
this day to cure them of fear of being left in the dark.
Very early indeed, even before we went out, we saw a mother
carrying a smartly dressed child to church ; but by ten
o'clock the children's service was over, and only a few of the
little ones stayed for la grande messe.

St« Ouen is a grand church, although it has plainly been
left unfinished, and has also been injured by the ruthless
cutting away of the pillars in the choir for the erection of
seats. The choir, which has been badly restored, is said to
be of the eleventh century ; the nave is late Gothic, but is
very picturesque in eff"ect. The church was crowded by a
congregation singularly quiet and devout. The sermon
was most eloquent, chiefly on the life of St. Gilles.

Taken as a whole, that Sunday service at St. Ouen, of
Pont-Audemer, was the most impressive we attended in
Normandy. The richly painted windows made the church
dark, but heightened the effect ; and the preacher, in his white
surplice and black canon's cape, with his eloquent, refined
face, seemed to concentrate on himself the straggling rays of
light.

304 OLD TOWNS SOUTH OF THE SEINE.

Over the chancel arch is a huge picture of Abraham and
Isaac, but it is much too high for criticism.

We came in to breakfast, and then went to vespers at
the Church of St. Germain, on the southern side of the
town. It is a quaint old Norman church, with a steeple of
later date, and it stands like an English country church in a
grassed churchyard planted with trees and shrubs. Behind
it rises Mont Gibet. We climbed up this by a pretty shaded
road \ it was very steep, and we could see through the trees
how rapidly the country opened.

The view is splendid from the top of this hill ; it is so
high that one sees over a great extent of country. One feels
here, as one feels at Bernay, at Villequier, at Trouville, at
Falaise, at Vire, at Mortain, at Avranches, and in so many
other Norman towns, how much -lovely country one has to
leave unexplored. It would make an interesting tour to
follow some of the loveliest of these Norman rivers through
their entire course. The Rille and the Eure one meets with
more than once ; but one leaves the Ante at Falaise ; and
the Vire, of which we get a glimpse first at St. L6 and then
among its own lovely Vaux de Vire, must be very worthy
of closer examination ; and at Bernay one longs to follow
the Charentonne to its source, and to discover the site of
the once-famous Monastery of St. Evroul, the home of
Orderic, built originally in the sixth century, by the holy
hermit, St. Evroul, in the forest of Ouche, and restored in
1 1 50, by Hugh and Robert de Grandmesnil and the two
sons of William de Ge'roie. These famous old monasteries
were always built near forests, for the sake of fuel and for
the pasturage of the swine. We could not learn whether any
ruins of St. Evroul yet remain \ but on the map there is

ORDERIC, 305

Notre-Dame du Bois St. Evroult, and, lor Orderic's sake,
one would like to make a pilgrimage to his beloved monas-
tery. He was born in England in 1075, at Altringham, on
the banks of the Severn ; and his father Odelirius, a married
priest, took him over to Normandy when a mere child, and
placed him at St. Evroul. Orderic was only eleven years
old when he received the tonsure, but he was not ordained
till he was thirty-one. His History of Normandy is most
quaint and delightful, although many of his assertions are
entirely contradicted by other writers.

Almost all the Norman rivers are utilised ; at Pont-Aude-
mer the Rille works numerous tanneries, and cotton factories
besides ; but the tan-pits at Pont-Audemer keep more out
of sight than they do at Caudebec, and are less offensive.
As one walks beside the Rille, one hears the ceaseless din
of the tanning-mills, the wheels of which are turned by the
water, and one sees outside the tanneries, and, indeed, out-
side farmhouses and cottages too, in the neighbourhood of
all these tanning-mill towns, shelves full of mottes, or tan-
cakes, drying for fuel. It is the making of these mottes, or,
rather, the crushing the bark left in the tanning-tanks into
the powder of which they are made, which keeps the mills
so constantly at work. It seems surprising that in the
present scarcity of coal we should not try to burn these
7?iottes in London, as they appear to be made in the west
of England, and are used there instead of peat for fuel.
Near Pont-Audemer was a famous abbey called St. Pierre
des Pre'aux, founded in 1035 by Humphrey de Vieilles,
endowed by his son, the celebrated Roger de Beaumont,
the friend of William and the trusty counsellor of Matilda
during her husband's absence.

306 OLD TOWNS SOUTH OF THE SEINE,

The power of vision in some travellers is very remark-
able. We had been told that at Pont-Audemer we should
see plenty of specimens of the lofty Cauchoise cap ; but
although it was Sunday, and the feast of St. Gilles to boot,
we only saw one old lady in St. Ouen with a remarkable
cap. Hers was certainly marvellous — a lofty cone of white
muslin, with a pair of short stiff wings and a piece of muslin
tied round the top in a bow behind.

Now when one reads some books that have been written
on Normandy, one thinks of this power of vision. At Vire
and at Granville quaint caps are plentiful, but certainly they
are only rarely seen elsewhere ; very certainly they are rare
in the towns eastward of Caen, and even ten years ago they
were hard to find there. In Caen, ten years ago, a middle-
aged woman was describing to me the caps worn by her
mother and grandmother on fete days ; and when I asked
why she did not continue to wear this picturesque costume,
she answered with much disdain, '' Me ! is it likely I could
wear anything so ancient and pagan as a tall cap ? "

CALVADOS.

CHAPTER XII.

Honfleur. Viliers.

Trouville. Lisieux,

T is possible to go from
Pont-Audemer to Hon-
fleur by way of the Pointe
de la Roque. A steamer
goes down the Rille every
other day on its way to
Le Havre. The journey
is very picturesque : a
ferryboat takes one to
Conteville from a little
village called Bas de la
Roque, where the steamer will stop if it is told to do so ;
from thence one walks beside the sea to the lighthouse built
on the point. In front is Tancarville ; on the right, the
Marais Vernier ; on the left, Cap du Hode, la Pointe du
Hoc, and the mouth of the Rille. The view is very fine,
but not so grand as that from the Cote de la Grace at Hon-
fleur ; returning to Conteville, the distance thence is nearly
equal either to Honfleur or Pont-Audemer — fourteen miles

3o8 CALVADOS.

to the first, and thirteen to Pont-Audemer : a conveyance
can be got at Conteville for either place. The name Conte-
ville reminds one of the knight Herlwin of Conteville, who
married Arlette after the death oi Duke Robert, and by
her became the father of Odo of Bayeux and Robert of
Mortain, the half-brothers of William the Conqueror.

But the drive from Pont-Audemer to Honfieur is too
beautiful to give up for any other route.

We left the little town with much regret. The diligence
started very early in the morning; and as the mornings
of late had been rainy and the evenings dry, we preferred to
start in a private voiture about five o'clock, as we heard
it was not more than a two hours and a half s drive to
Honfleur. The road to Honfleur lies past the Church of
St. Germain, and for the first few miles is not remarkable ;
but after passing St. Maclou the country opens, and we get
a glimpse of the Phare de la Roque. Our road circles round
a steep hill, and on the left is a deep valley, which pre-
sently at an abrupt turn gives a lovely glimpse between the
hills.

About Fiquefleur a magnificent peep opens over the
mouth of the Seine, with Havre and its thread-like masts,
and the tall spire of Harfleur seen across the water in the
red light of the setting sun ; the hills on this side, through
which we see the picture as it were framed, are dark olive,
and every moment the glow is fading ; but the sight can
never be forgotten, and it comes so suddenly, and disappears
so quickly, as the road rounds the shoulder of a hill, that the
effect is magical.

Soon after this we enter Calvados, the most interesting
department in Normandy, the birth and burial place of

HONFLEUR. 309

William the Conqueror and one chief scene of struggle
between our Plantagenet princes and their French oppo-
nents, the site too of some of the most famous and in-
teresting buildings in the dukedom. In products Calvados
seems to be chiefly distinguished by its breed of horses and
its marble and stone quarries — the famous Caen stone comes
from Calvados ; also for its export of colza oil. It is not
nearly so rich in manufacturing towns as the department of
Eure, its chief trade being in the hands of the women — lace
and blonde making and the sprigging of tulle veils. In
Caen, the capital city of Calvados, and once the capital of
La Basse Normandie, we saw continually women seated at
the house-doors, as one sees them in Belgium, engaged either
in lace-making or much more frequently in embroidering
black tulle. It is wonderful to see even old women engaged
at this trying work, peering at it with un-spectacled eyes and
apparently quite adepts.

Honfleur looks best from the sea ; but it seemed a quaint
little town as we clattered into it soon after entering Calvados.
Near the harbour where the hotels are, and close to which is
the market, there is the constant bustle of steamers arriving
and departing, and of ships taking in or else unlading their
cargoes, the fisher-boats coming in with their glittering hauls
and merry crews, and the traffic of the railway omnibuses to
the station at the end of the harbour.

But next morning, when we went out to explore the town,
we found that its apparent liveliness is deceptive, and only
confined to the quays. The streets at first sight have little
that is picturesque. The town was built at the time of the Con-
quest, and seems to have belonged frequently to the English
till 1449. It suffered greatly during the wars of the League,

'iro

CAL VADOS.

but it was a considerable port in the time of Louis XIV.
Since then the rise of Le Havre has greatly injured its
prosperity, and Honfleur has now the atmosphere of a town
which has gone to sleep.

Its position between the sea — for the mouth of the Seine
here is seven miles across — and the wooded hill against

The Market-place, Honfleur.

\\ hich it is built is very striking. It has pretty environs,
and the sea view of it is most picturesque and charming —
its busy little harbour surrounded by old buildings, in
the centre the old tower of La Lieutenance, and beyond
it the quaint spire of St. Catherine ; this spire is very
original and striking, separated from the church by a street,

NOTRE-DAME DE LA GRACE. 311

but really a part of it. Close by is the little Place, where
the fruit and vegetable sellers were holding their market.
They seemed to give brightness and colour to the universal
groups clustered round their wares, with this quaint belfry
towering above them, and the town rising to the wooded
heights behind.

But the great charm of Honfleur — a charm which should
ensure it a visit from every traveller — is its Cote de Notre-
Dame de la Grace. Leading from the Place is a street
which mounts steeply towards the heights; we followed
this a little way, and then turned to the right into the
Rue des Capucins ; this led us to a path shaded by lofty
trees, which goes on to the top of the steep cote on the
side of which it is cut. Here is a large shop full of blue
and white faience, but it does not look very genuine ; below
on the right is the road to Trouville, and beyond this
we look dow-n on the opal-tinted mouth of the Seine,
showing between the trees of the ever-mounting path.
The trees are so large and lofty that the road is completely
shaded, except where the sunshine finds its way here and
there between them ; but the river is in full light, and so are
the numerous white villas which stand in their fruit-gardens
on the bank below the Trouville road.

About ten minutes' farther climb — a very steep climb too —
and we reach the top. It is a large open space surrounded
by trees, except at the brow of the hill. In the midst of the
space is a lofty Calvary ; and at the foot of this a woman
is kneeling, her black gown and white cap telling out clearly
against the vast horizon of blue sky beyond. Behind the
Calvary, half hidden among the large trees, is the chapel of
Notre-Dame de la Grace ; but we leave the chapel for the

312 CALVADOS.

present, and go to the brow of the cliff. The view here is
very grand and beautiful, certainly finer than the view from
Ste. Adresse on the opposite side. In front is Havre : its
town, its villa-covered cliffs, its vast harbour and forest of
masts are all clearly visible without a glass; and, by
means of the old sailor's telescope on the parapet, one sees
Cap de la Heve, and the cliffs which extend thence to
Cap d'Antifer and the jagged crags of Etretat ; far away to
the left is the boundless wide Atlantic ; and on the right the
broad estuary of the Seine, with its lofty wooded cotes ;
below is Honfleur, built in a kind of semicircle ; and with the
telescope can be seen the opposite spire of Harfleur, and
above this Chateau d'Orcher on its lofty cliff.

But no words can paint the water as we saw it on that
bright September morning. There were a few light clouds
near the sun ; and as these gave one another a kind of lazy
chase over his broad light, the changes of tint from pale,
quiet sea-green to luminous opal, and then again to vivid
blue set in lines of burning gold, seemed to exhaust our
power of admiration ; for on this broad expanse there was
such infinite variety : here the water was a pale oHve, then
grey, and then, chameleon-like, it glowed all over with the
soft ever-changing opal tint, in which blue, and rose, and
green, and purple, and gold strove for mastery as they do
on the skin of a newly caught mackerel.

The Cote de Notre-Dame de la Grace of Honfleur is a
place to linger on ; a pleasant spot for an early-morning
pilgrimage ; and behind, among the trees, a little higher up
than the chapel, there is a restaurateur, who provides a table
and chairs for travellers who like to breakfast in the open
air. Three Parisians, a gentleman and two ladies, were

CHAPEL OF NOTRE'DAME DE LA GRACE. 313

enjoying their breakfast under the trees with the bottled
cider for which this restaurant has a reputation ; and
cidre mousseux seems hardly to be got elsewhere in Nor-
mandy.

We went into the chapel, the object of so many pilgrim-
ages. The original building is said to have been built by
Duke Robert the Magnificent ; but the present one is, so far
as relates to architecture, quite insignificant, and was built in
1 606. It is a small building, but it is nicely kept, and the
walls are covered with votive pictures in oil — offerings from
sailors who have escaped shipwreck. In one picture a ship
is almost submerged ; above is a dark, stormy sky, —
all looks black and hopeless; but in the midst of the
darkness appears Notre-Dame de la Grace in a halo of
light, with the Saviour in her arms : underneath is this
inscription : — " Voue a Notre-Dame de la Grace par Alex-
andre Bemeval, et I'Equipage du Marquis de Bois Martin,

le " here follows the date. There are also models of

ships, rosaries, and flowers, the usual offerings one sees in
the shrines of pilgrimages. On the left of the choir is the
image of Notre-Dame de la Grace, richly dressed and
ornamented ; numerous lighted candles were burning round
her, and she was almost smothered with offerings of wreaths
of flowers and strings and chaplets of beads suspended
from her hands and feet. Candles seem to be the universal
offering of the very poor. We sometimes found fifty or sixty
of these slender lines of tallow burning before a special altar.
There is something touching in these votive ofterings, and
also in the intense devotion one sees in these out-of-the-way
pilgrimage-chapels.

On the top of the hill, near the Calvary, is another large

314

CAL VADOS.

shop for the sale of bkie and white faience and oriental
china ; also for votive offerings, shell boxes, &c. The shop
seems strangely out of place here, perched near the edge of
the cliff, and isolated from other houses. A little way down
the cote, on the way back to Honfleur, we saw a good brick
house in the course of building. We learned that an old
Parisian cure, who has saved some money, has purchased
the site, and is building a house in this lovely situation, in
which to end his days. Certainly he can never tire of
looking at the view before him ; but, if he is really old, it
is difficult to imagine that he will be able to make many
visits to the town below, for the descent is even more
fatiguing than the ascent, the street leading down into
Honfleur is so Ytry steep.

We looked with interest at the fruit-marlcet, for Honfleur
sends us our chief supply of apricots and other stone fruit ;
and certainly the apricots were very good. Honfleur sends
also enormous quantities of eggs to England. The most
picturesque part of the town is around the port. The inner
harbour was full of quaint fishing-boats ; and going through
the fish-market, we stood to look at the weather-beaten old
women selling salt fish and mussels ; some of them were
picking the finest live shrimps and prawns from the grey,
kicking heaps on their boards, and held them out to us with
a shrill cry of " Crevettes, les belles crevettes." Above the
tall houses we got glimpses of the surrounding green hills,
and overhead was a deep blue sky, flecked with white
clouds.

It is a very pleasant way of going to Trouville to take the
diligence, which leaves Honfleur about one o'clock, and
reaches Trouville at three o'clock. The first part of the road

RUINED CHURCH, CRIQUEBCEUF.

315

circles round the Cote de la Grace, and keeps the sea in
full view. Some miles on we pass Criqueboeuf — worth a
halt on account of its ancient and curious church of the
twelfth century, The church is covered with ivy, and is
most picturesquely placed beside a gloomy-looking pond.
Not very far off is the marsh of Criqueboeuf, where some
rare marine plants are to be found ; but Criqueboeuf is so

Ruined Church of Criqueboeuf.

near Trouville that it is within a walk or short drive, and
should not be left unvisited.

It is possible, too, to go to Trouville by train from Hon-
fleur, although there are only three departures a day ; but
the best way of approaching Trouville is by sea.

We left Honfleur by the steamer, and reached Havre in
plenty of time to go on by the Trouville boat \ but, as we
had business in the town, we stayed a few days, and took
another look at the wonderful Bassin de I'Eure, and paid
another visit to the charming churchyard at Graville. In the
afternoon we went by steamer to Trouville in less than an

3i6 CALVADOS.

hour. The sea was so rough, and the boat so small, that
it pitched in the most alarming manner ; but the pas-
sengers seemed used to the violent swinging motion, and
no one was ill, although most of the people on board were
French.

Perhaps the passengers were kept from thinking of them-
selves by the constant mterest of the prospect : it is very-
varied and charming. At first, one looks back at Havre
and its haven. On the left is Honfleur, and beyond it is
Villerville ; and after a bit Deauville seems to stretch out
m the midst of the sea before us. Trouville appears on
the left, and between it and Deauville the mouth of the
river Touques : on the right are Villers, Houlgate, and
Cabourg.

Trouville looks very charming from the sea : cliffs rise
behind the well-built, picturesque-looking houses, crowned
and clothed with trees ; and am.ong these nestle delightful-
looking villas, some Gothic, some Swiss, and some here and
there of richly decorated Moorish architecture. Everything
is dainty and luxurious, and of a most delightful freshness.
There is no soil of time or poverty on young and beautiful
Trouville ; for she is very young for a town, only forty years
old, and, like Etretat, she has sprung out of the sea at the fiat
of artists, both painters and writers. Trouville was a mere
fishing-village when M. Isbaey began to paint and Alexandre
Dumas to describe her, and now she can lodge twenty
thousand persons, — can lodge, we say ; for the first breath
of cold September weather acts like the striking of the
clock on Cinderella's ball-dress. The beautiful ladies and
their lovely children, the elaborate dresses, the music, the
dancing, the flowers and lights of the Casino, all disappear ;

TROUVILLE. 317

and Trouville is left to its fishermen and grumbling shop-
keepers, who try to persuade you that, if these Parisian
ladies would only have patience to make the experiment,
they would find Trouville an admirable winter residence !

The great building which seems to guard the entrance
to Trouville is the Hotel des Roches Noires. This is the
chief hotel, and the resort of the most gaily dressed of the
loungers ; it is worth seeing. We go on past this ; a bell
rings loudly, and we glide by the crowds of idlers on the
pier, and up the mouth of the Touques ; and amid a mob
of 'atiOw.iwLg facteurs we land.

The first impression of Trouville is very gay and charm-
ing ; the pier covered with gaily dressed people : white
parasols, lined with all colours, gleaming among costumes
the tints of a humming-bird ; then the long stretch oi plage,
with the gay bathing-establishment and Casino beyond ;
the innumerable little basket carriages with their light
umbrella tops, with the drivers' Babel of sound, beseech-
ing, urging, almost commanding, the newly landed arrivals
to " Montez, montez, monsieur, madame," to be driven to
hotels six yards off. There is not so much as a beggar to
destroy the illusion. Truly Trouville would have seemed a
paradise to that Eastern philosopher who wandered about
in search of happiness ; and the paradise would last — perhaps
till he was called on to pay his hotel bill.

We walked about the town, which is soon seen, and then
along the plage. The houses reach along the vast extent
of sand as far as Les Roches Noires ; and on the other side
of the high road, which runs parallel with the sea, are
pleasant villas perched here and there among the wooded
crags ; all is bright and elegant ; the trees even have a

3i8 CALVADOS.

light feathery character; and yet there is Uttle of the cock-
neyfied, hard, matter-of-fact modern look so vexatious in
English watering-places.

When we came out again, we met groups of ladies,
cloaked and hooded, with here and there a gentleman as
escort, on their way from the houses and the different
hotels to the Casino. Some of them were in voitures,
but the greater number walked.

The ball-room is very grand ; and the toilettes of the
ladies are a study, though they are less remarkable than
some that are to be seen earlier in the day.

We went down on the plage to see the bathing early next
morning ; it is quieter and more decorous than at Etretat,
and the sand is much pleasanter than the terrible stones;
but with these exceptions we give the preference to pleasant
Etretat. There is a formality, a conventionality, a self-
consciousness about the loungers on the //^^i? at Trouville
which takes away all sense of hoHday freedom. To begin
with, unless you subscribe to the Casino, you pay for sitting
down. The children even are far less natural and un-
conscious than the children are at Etretat ; but the ladies
of Trouville must have the greatest amount of praise for
industry. Such rolls of canvas, such borders in silk and
velvet embroidery ; slippers, smoking-caps and pouches,
are to be seen in progress ; and the ladies sit stitching,
chatting in soft low tones, rarely looking off their work in
this early-morning time, while their children play about ; a
bonne often sits near, knitting or sewing. The dress at this
early hour, though simple, is carefully studied, and often
very elegant. The ladies go in and breakfast, and re-appear
in quite different costumes.

TOUQUES.

319

We went oft" after breakfast by omnibus to Touques, on
our way to the Chateaux of Bonneville, Lassay, and the
Priory of St. Arnoult. The road is shaded by an avenue of
trees, which reaches the chief part of the way to Touques.

Touques is a long, picturesque, straggling village ; many of
the houses are half-timbered, and almost all clothed with
vines, on which there was an abundance of ripening fruit ;
here and there are beans, tied in bunches, and taking varied
colours as they hang under the eaves, drying rapidly in the
sun. At one end of the town
is the parish-church ; at the
other, an older-looking church,
closed at present for restora-
tion. Monsieur Joanne, in
his excellent Guide, seems to
have been dreaming about
Touques ; for he says gravely,
in describing the Church of St.
Thomas, " It was at the foot of
the altar of this church that
St. Thomas of Cantorbery was
assassinated in the year 1 1 7 1 ."

At the end of the village a
path on the left leads to the

remains of the Chateau de Bonneville. This was a favourite
residence of Duke William, and is specially interesting to
British travellers as being one of the places said to be the
scene of Harold's oath. There are still the . remains of the
prison-tower, and also that of the Tour du Serment ; from the
rmns there is a fine view of Trouville and Deauville. It is too
far to walk from Bonneville across the Touques to Chateau

Beans drying under the Eaves.

320 CALVADOS.

Lassay, but it is a very pleasant drive. Both the chateau and
the Priory of St. Arnoult below it are in ruins ; but the priory
is so overgrown and festooned with climbing foliage that it
is full of picturesque bits, and the view from the chateau
above is worth climbing the hill to see.

It is wonderful how in almost every walk on the soil of
Normandy one is taken back to English history, and one's
heart is stirred by the remembrance that this fair and fertile
province was at one time as much a part of England as one
of its own counties. William Rufus embarked at Touques
when he set out to claim his succession to England on his
father's death ; and years after, when the province had been
bequeathed to France by its cession to Philip Augustus,
Henry V. landed at Touques on his way to Agincourt, and
to the reconquest of the duchy of Normandy and the pro-
vinces of the Loire.

We were not attracted by Deauville : it seems a place of
deserted mansions. The houses are far beyond the reach of
ordinary sea-side visitors ; and since the death of the Due de
Momy, the great promoter of Deauville, a blight seems to
have fallen on it.

There are several other watering-places worth seeing, and
easily reached from Trouville. Villerville, on the right, is
within a walk ; it was formerly only inhabited by fishermen,
and visited by artists, but of late years it has begun to build
villas, and has now a regular bathing estabHshment. On
the way to Villerville is Hennequeville : there is a very ex-
tended view from the church.

Villers lies on the coast beyond Deauville : an omnibus
runs there daily from Trouville. It is a pleasant place to
spend the bathing season in. The country round is as

FILLERS, LES VACHES NOIRE S. 321

charming as at Trouville. the bathing excellent, the living
far cheaper, and the life far more independent.

There was an old church here of the tenth and eleventh
centuries; but it has been rebuilt, partly with the old
materials. There is also a remarkable chateau of the style
Louis Treize, formerly the property of the eccentric Marquis
de Brunoy, of the time of Louis XV.

Near Villers are the curious rocks called Les Vaches Noires,
very picturesque from a little distance, formed of stones,
shells, and petrifactions which have taken the most quaint
fantastic forms. Villers, Houlgate, Beuzeval, Dives, Cabourg,
seem to lead one from the other, with very little separation
between them. Houlgate and Beuzeval are so close that
they are served by one station. Houlgate is the most
fashionable; Beuzeval is chiefly resorted to by French Pro-
testants.

Between Houlgate and Villers there is a walk called the
Desert, a valley of rocks ; the whole line of the dark crags
called Les Vaches Noires is full of picturesque points of
view.

These watering-places can be reached easily from Caen
by those who do not wish to make a long stay at Trou-
ville.

From Trouville to the Chateau d'Hebertot there is a very
pleasant drive by St. Gatien through the forest of Touques.
The chateau belonged once to the family of the celebrated
D'Aguesseau ; the oldest part is of the time of Louis XIII.,
but the chief part of the building is Louis XIV.

There are also excursions from Trouville to the Chau-
miere Normande by the road called the Corniche des Roches
Noires, on the way to Villerville and Honfleur, and also to

322 CALVADOS,

the Chateau de Glatigny, a really interesting building, with
a carved wooden fagade of the sixteenth century.

Certainly there is no lack of amusement of every kind at
Trouville ; and as soon as bathing and breakfast are over the
little umbrella-covered carriages are seen driving about in all
directions, bringing their freights home in time to make a
fresh toilette for the pier before dinner. Certainly, also
there cannot be much laziness at Trouville : these charming,
exquisitely dressed loungers must get through very much
work in a day, if only in the way of dressing in so many
different costumes.

Trouville makes a bright, charming picture; but, on the
whole, we were glad to find ourselves at the station, waiting
for the train to Lisieux.

The train was, of course, much behind time ; but the
waiting was less weary than usual, we were so much amused
in watching a group of fashionable Parisians who were leaving
Trouville. As they walked up and down the dirty station,
we wondered how such delicate robes and bonnets would
bear the long, dusty journey ; they looked more as if they
were going to a wedding, than as if they were starting for a
journey home.

At Pont I'Eveque we joined the Honfleur line on its way
to Paris. Pont I'Eveque does not look interesting ; but one
has a regard for its cheeses, which, eaten new, are excellent.
It would be well if Norman hotel-keepers would give up a
perverse notion of keeping these cheeses till they are bitter
and mouldy. This town takes its name from a bridge built
by one of the first bishops of Lisieux over the Touques,
which joins the Calonne at Pont I'Eveque. The country is
fertile and well cultivated. All the way to Lisieux we passed

LISIEUX. 323

through a constant succession of orchards, the trees literally
gemmed with the rich colours of apricots, plums, and
apples ; also we noticed frequent farmsteads and snug
dwelling-houses surrounded with fruit and flower gardens.
The vines covering the fronts of the houses seemed to be
specially laden in Calvados with clusters of fast-ripening fruit.

Lisieux, the ancient Neomagus, was the chief city of the
Lexovii : it is now a good-sized manufacturing town, very
thriving and industrious. We had heard so much of its
ancient houses, that as we drove into the town we looked
eagerly for traces of them. We had travelled with a priest,
evidently a dignitary, as he wore a canon's dress, and the
omnibus went out of its way to put him and his trunks
down at \hQporte cochere of a blank-looking house opposite
the Church of St. Jacques. The church looked old and
interesting ; but the priest's boxes were a perfect study of an-
tiquity, such a long, narrow hair-trunk, beaded with brass nails,
could hardly have been made in this century ; and when the
little door in the middle of the dull green gate opened, there
was an ancient courtyard, surrounded, so far as could be
seen, by half-timbered buildings, and paved with green
damp-looking stones, between which the grass grew freely.

In a minute or two there was a sound of rusty bolts, the
big gates rolled back squeaking on their hinges, and in the
midst of the dingy old courtyard appeared the housekeeper
of Monsieur le Cure, laughing and crying alternately with
delight at seeing him at home again. She was a little old
woman, with hair nearly as white as her master's ; and it was
a pleasant coming-home scene to witness. The cure patted
her shoulder, and helped her to drag the boxes over
the sill of the door ; and then he nodded at the little girl,

324 CALVADOS.

who stood behind the housekeeper ready to help, and dis-
appeared into the house.

We did not see much of the town as we entered it, for
our driver took us along the Boulevard to the Hotel de
France ; we were told the house was full, — we could only
be lodged au second; but when we saw our rooms we
rejoiced, for the view from the window was pleasant, and
we overlooked the Cathedral. Lisieux is situated more
like one of the Eure towns than like those of Calvados,
at the bottom of a beautiful valley watered by the Touques
and the Orbiquet. The boulevard is on the highest side
of the town, and overlooks it.

Some remains of the ancient town have been discovered
not far off : it was destroyed either in the fourth or fifth
century, and rebuilt in the sixth. The Norsemen pillaged it
in the ninth century. After the battle of Tinchebrai, Henry I.
assembled the lords and bishops of Normandy at Lisieux,
and in 1204 it fell into the hands of PhiHp Augustus. In
1562 the Calvinists took the town and plundered the Cathe-
dral. Lisieux seems to have escaped the massacre of St.
Bartholomew, and to have given itself up to Henri IV.

We went first to the Cathedral, or, as it is called since
the diocese of Lisieux has become extinct, the parish-
church of St. Pierre. It is a very imposing building, well
placed at one corner of the very large market-place, which
is surrounded on all of its four sides by a double row
of trees ; the Cathedral is approached by a broad and
lofty flight of steps : one of the two western towers which
front the square has been rebuilt j that on the south side
is crowned with a spire ; the northern tower is roofed with
red tiles, — these contrast admirably with the exquisite
colouring of the stone, a sort of tawny green.

LISIEUX CATHEDRAL.

32?

The great west window is pointed, instead of the usual
circular form. The west end of the choir and part of
the transepts are the only parts remaining of the first church,
in which Prince WilHam, the son of Henry I., was married
to the daughter of Fulk, Count of Anjou, and in which
Henry II, married Eleanor of Guyenne, the divorced wife

Lisieux Cathedral.

of Louis VII. : the rest of the church was burned down in
1226. The style is very early thirteenth century — a sort of
transition between Norman and Early English ; the chapels
are of later work. But the whole interior is much disfigured
by whitewash. The general effect of the architecture is
good, though some of the mouldings are rather meagre : the
choir is very elegant, but the absence of painted glass

326 CALVADOS.

througnout gives a cold look; the glass was doubtless
destroyed by the Calvinists. In one of the chapels on
the south of the nave is a modern silver altar, very well exe-
cuted, and in another chapel on the north stands a very
ancient tomb ; above are two figures in niches, and five
very quaint heads are sculptured on the tomb below.

The Lady chapel is specially interesting : it was founded
in the fifteenth century by Pierre Cauchon, Bishop of Beau-
vais, as a fruit of his repentance for having helped in the
condemnation of Jealme d'Arc. The deed of endowment of
this building records his repentance and self-condemnation.

We came out of the Cathedral and passed through an
archway in the old building on our right, formerly the
bishop's palace, now converted into the sous-prefecture,
and containing a police tribunal and a prison. The arch-
way led into a quiet courtyard, with grass growing between
the stones, and surrounded by quaint red buildings with
window-mouldings and parapets of stone. The palace
was begun by Bishop Cospean, 1637 : the facade is of
the Louis Treize period. At the opposite side from
the archway is a very steep flight of stone steps, with
little landing-places every now and then, where we could
stop to take breath and admire the picturesque scene —
the quaint red walls in the foreground, the sombre
Cathedral and its brown-red roof towering above them,
and through the broad archway the square with its rows of
trees ; nearer are the stone steps of the Cathedral, on which
were seated two men in blouses, and a woman, in earnest
talk. The court was in shadow, but through the archway
the ground was yellow in the broad sunshine.

At Lisieux the blouses change colour 3 we say good-bye to

PUBLIC GARDEN, LISIEUX. 327

the light blue, washed-out, many-patched blouses of the Seine
and the department of Eure ; here they are of a very dark
Oxford blue or dark grey, and the patches on them are
scarcely noticeable. In Calvados and La Manche the
original colour of the linen is much darker, allowing for
the change effected by wear and tear ; this gives a more
sombre hue to the markets, &c.

At the top of the steps we found a broad terrace stretching
from end to end of the palace, and leading down by flights
of steps into one of the finest public gardens in France.

In the centre is a large pond, with a fountain : round
this are grass plots and charmingly grouped parterres of
flowers and rare-leaved plants, the grass of Palmyra waving
gracefully among the rest. On each side of the garden are
lofty double avenues, children were playing in the pleasant
shade or sitting on the benches beneath the trees, and beyond
the garden itself is an extensive view over the lovely country
round Lisieux. Altogether the public garden at Lisieux is
very remarkable — so spacious, so well placed and planted,
with such quaint and picturesque surroundings, and above
all with so delightful a prospect over corn-fields and wooded
valleys.

We crossed the large market-place, and went down the
Grande Rue. Lisieux seems to be a thriving town, judging
by its numerous manufactories and busy shops : there are
five small and picturesque bridges over the branches of the
rivers, which run in different directions through the town
to work the mills ; two of these, the Pont Mortain and the
Pont of the Rue aux Fevres, are very old.

The Grande Rue has been very much modernised, but
there are some old houses left j one block at the corner of

328

CALVADOS.

the Rue de Caen is very remarkable. Very near this is a
turning leading into the Rue aux Fevres, certainly the most
remarkable street in Lisieux ; it is very narrow, with wooden
houses on each side, with such overhanging upper stories
that there is only a strip of sky above, and that seems to

come in sHces between
the sharply peaked
gables. The heavy
oak beams that divide
the stories of these
houses are elaborately
moulded, and are sup-
ported by carved
brackets, in many in-
stances of most gro-
tesque design. Almost
every house is a study;
but about half-way up
the street we came
upon, as it is Called
par excelletice, the house
of the Rue aux Fevres •

Rue aux Fevres. its brackets are sup-

ported by wooden
figures about a quarter life-size, and in excellent preserva-
tion, though the house is more than four centuries old. All
the way up to the top, between every window, the wood
carving is most bold and original, and we heard that the
be3.ms of the rooms were also most curiously carved ;
unfortunately this wonderful house was to let, and no one
could tell us how to sret an entrance.

RUE AUX FEVRES. 329

But, besides the marvellous breadth of design and finish
of detail, this street of Lisieux is perfect in artistic effect.
Unfortunately its extreme narrowness makes it difficult
to sketch the fronts of the houses ; but the depth of
shadow which this narrowness creates doubles the brilliance
of sunlight that breaks in at the lower end of the street,
turning into a gem the scarlet geranium on a casement-sill
on the right, and glowing like a carbuncle on a hoop of
rusty iron hanging against one of the carved oaken posts of
the open blacksmith's shop below. With all its antiquity,
there is plenty of life in the street, plenty of dingy shops to
which customers appear to go ; and ancient signs are hang-
ing still from some of the house-fronts.

These houses must have been very splendid ; every detail
is so finished, and the proportions are so good and massive.
Doubtless, nobles and rich knights and gentlemen lived
here in the days of Louis XI. and Charles VIII., before
the troublous wars of the League and the Fronde came to
disturb the peace of Normandy. The men of Lisieux are
mentioned as fighting for William the Bastard in the battle
of Val-es-Dunes.

From the Rue aux Fevres we went on into the Rue de la
Paix : a great contrast. It is truly a peaceful street, grass-
grown, and looked into chiefly by the sides and backs of
houses. One of these, partly wooden, partly whitewashed,
had a vine clustering over its front. From the casement
opening in the midst of the clinging vine-leaves a pole
projected, and from this hung blue and white shirts drying
in the sunshine.

The street goes down hill to the Church of St. Jacques,
which seems lo close up the end of it, except that a broad

330 CAL VADOS.

band of golden light, just in front of the south'portal, tells
that a street crosses the end of the Rue de la Paix, and
comes between it and the church. A curious wooden house,
the lower part in brick, rises to some height at this end of
the street, and so does the wall opposite ; so that for some
way up, nearly reaching to where we stood, the end of our
street was in shadow. A veiled Sister, with a huge bunch
of keys jingling in her hand, passed us, and, stepping quickly
through the shadow, crossed the broad band of light at
the foot of the church-steps, and then in a moment she
mounted these, and her black robe was lost in the inky
darkness of the half-open door of St. Jacques.

We followed slowly into the church. It is a large un-
interesting building, with some very rich sixteenth-century
windows ; the bosses of the nave are curiously decorated,
and on the walls are some lately discovered paintings in
distemper. In the Chapel of St. Ursin is a quaint old
picture, representing how the relics of St. Ursin were
brought miraculously into this town in the year 1055.

We found a large but very dismal table (Thote at our hotel,
there being two parties of English travellers besides our
selves, each too reserved to speak to the other. Some
French people staying in Lisieux were enjoying themselves
very pleasantly, telling each other their adventures, each
gaining information from the others about the town and
the places worth seeing in the neighbourhood. The con-
trast was very striking.

It was a relief to miss the faces of the commis-voyageurs
we had seen so often in the Department of Eure, they are
very objectionable ; although certainly one of these persons
— a rare exception — we found very courteous and intelligent

MARKET-PLA CE, LISIE UX.

jj'

at Les Andelys. He gave us much useful information about
the country we were passing through.

Next morning there was market in the Grande Place, and
pouring rain ; there is plenty of rain always in Normandy,
and this rain has a most decided character of its own.
We took refuge in the Cathedral porch. From here the
market-place was a sea of umbrellas of every hue — blue,
green, brown, black, crimson, pale blue ; some of them
almost wrenched out of the owners' hands by the gusty
wind that came sweeping down from the Boulevard, but all
of much too sturdy make to run a chance of being turned
inside out. Business went on just as well under the
umbrellas as without them. We got used to the rain, and
went down into the muddy, sloppy Place. One remembers
that the sellers mostly wear wooden shoes, or one would
lose time in wondering why they do not all get rheumatic
fever, standing from early morning till four o'clock in such a
depth of mud and water ; seemingly they take no heed. The
whole scene is wonderfully full of life and colour. Long
rows of booths reach from end to end, and side to side,
parallel with the trees ; and in the centre of the great square
are hills of melons and gourds, and a tempting array of
vegetables and fruit placed on straw. There was plenty of
noise and chatter, and the women had a smile for every
one ; they wore chiefly blue, black, and grey gowns, with
black or white jackets, and the bonnet de coton, with its
tassel on one side, was much more general here than it was
at Bern ay ; but the quiet tone of colour contrasted well with
the glowing tints of the fruit and vegetables, and harmonized
admirably with the quaint and sombre buildings around.
The bustling, merry crowd made a wonderful picture

332

CALVADOS.

through the palace archway, from the steps we mounted
yesterday.

St. Thomas a Becket spent the chief part of his exile at

Lisieux, and probably resided in the palace. In the chapel of

the Hospice, opposite the top of the Grande Rue, are shown,

it is said, the vestments he ministered in while at Lisieux.

In the Rue des Boucheries we saw some curious old

houses ; and these old
houses are to be found
more or less in all the
streets of the old part
of Lisieux.

A week may easily
be spent in this town,
and there is plenty
to see for those who
care to examine these
houses in detail.

The walks and drives
round Lisieux are de-
lightful. We came
upon a charming bit
close at hand, at the
bottom of the Grande
Rue — a little bridge
over the river shaded
by weeping willows. There are several chateaux in the neigh-
bourhood worth visiting : Marolles, which has also a good
Romanesque church ; the Chateau de Mailloc, a quaint
house of the seventeenth century, now a farm, called Les
Pavements, and several others.

Staircase Tower at Orbec

ORBEC.

Ill

Orbec, about thirteen miles from Lisieux, is very into,
resting : an omnibus runs three times a day to Orbec and
back. The beffroi of the Hotel Dieu, which seems to be
crumbling into decay, is covered with essenfes, a sort of
wooden tiling like fish-scales, resembling the red-tiled fronts
of our old English cottages and manor-houses. These
essentes are becoming very rare. We saw much more of this
kind of work at Vire than elsewhere in Calvados. Besides
this tower, there are a few very curious
old houses at Orbec.

Except for the mere student of churcli
architecture, Lisieux is, in itself, by
far the most interesting town in Cal-
vados; it does not gain its interest
only from historical associations, it is
so full of quaint, rich, picturesque bits
— exquisite contrasts of grey bridges
with glistening water, old wood full of
all the hues which time has left on it —
with brilliant effects of golden light and
grey-green shadow; there is so little
of modern innovation in Lisieux, and
there is so much colour in the old oak-
fronted houses. It would be easy to
fill pages with descriptions of the marvellously carved crea-
tures on the corbels of these house-fronts — pigs blowing
whistles and bagpipes, dragons with huge serpents' tails,
and men and women in quaint fifteenth-century costumes
and head-dresses.

We were glad to find that the inhabitants of Rue aux
Fevres, and indeed most of the townspeople we spoke to,

Bracket, Rue aux Fevres.

334 CALVADOS.

seemed to be fully impressed with the exceeding precious-
ness and rarity of the bits of antiquity among which they
live ; so one hopes that the carved wooden house-fronts of
Lisieux have a longer lease of existence than the fast-dis-
appearing old houses of Rouen. And yet, wandering along
the valley of the Orbiquet, and noticing the whirring wheels
and tall chimneys of its manufactories, it grows hard to
hope this. It seems as if successful trade everywhere sets its
heel on the past, on every remnant of a feudal age, and erects
instead its square, dull, brick, flat-topped houses, or, worse
than these, its stuccoed villas with their attempts at taste.

If the Normans of old spent hundreds on the carved
woodwork of their beautiful dwellings, they spent thousands
on the sculptured stonework of churches and cathedrals ;
so that as one journeys through the province, one makes a
constant pilgrimage from one famous shrine to another. A
special amount of interest awakens as soon as we really begin
to journey through this province of Calvados.

William the Conqueror had a castle at Lillebonne ; he
even held councils there ; he received his death-wound at
Mantes, and he died at Rouen ; he often visited Fecamp
and Jumieges ; but the real story of his life does not seem
to begin till we enter Calvados, and then we are constantly
turning fresh chapters of exciting history as we visit Falaise
and Caen and Bayeux.

We started so early for Caen that we were surprised to
see the town of Lisieux so much astir ; it seemed like a
dream to get in the grey morning light that vision of bright
bronzed faces and white caps and blouses, backed up by
the grey-green of the Cathedral and the dark carved house
fronts of Lisieux.

JOURNEY TO CAEN. 335

On the way to Caen we pass Val-Richer — the country-
house of Monsieur Guizot. There was formerly an abbey
here, founded in the middle of the twelfth century ; but the
ruins which remain are of much later date. The country
here seems as fertile as between Trouville and Lisieux,
and the vines remarkably abundant, covering the roofs as
well as the walls of the houses, and trained across the
windows on small arches, from which rich purpling fruit
hangs in tempting clusters. There are no waste patches of
common, no bare stretches of ploughed brown earth ; all is
green and fruitful.

We cross some small rivers, and pass St. Crespin on the
right. Not far off is the Chateau de Grand Champ, very
curious and remarkable, of the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries.

The next station is Mesnil Manger ; and not more than
three miles from here is the Chateau de Crbvecceur, of the
fifteenth century.

We come next to Mezidon, a manufacturing town ; it is
easy, and perhaps better, to branch off here to Falaise,
instead of going on to Caen, that is, if the weather is fine ;
for Falaise is not to be attempted in wet weather, one of its
great charms being the walks in the valley of the Ante. As
we approach Caen the face of the country changes — spaces
of uncultivated stony land appear between the orchards,
the trees become stunted, the gentle ups and downs of
the landscape level themselves into flat, unvaried, stone-
covered fields, with an occasional fringe of tall, slender
poplars.

We pass near Vimont, where there is a column to com-
memorate the famous victory of William at Val-es-Dunes, in

336 CAL VADOS,

1047 ; and presently we come out of a cutting, on to a flat
plain, and we see, beyond poplar-fringed fields, in the dis-
tance the spires and towers of a large city.

We have been to Caen already, and we recognise the
graceful Jlkhe of St. Pierre, the spires of the Abbaye aux
Hommes, with their surrounding tourelles, and the massive
towers of the loftily placed Abbaye aux Dames. We see,
too, the masts rising above the houses : they are only those
of the small craft and barges which come up the Ome ;
but they suggest that we are nearer the sea than is really the
case, for it is ten miles away.

The entrance into Caen is not good. The railway ends
in the suburb of Vaucelles, on the south of the town, and
it is a long drive along the quay from thence to the Rue
St. Jean.

CALVADOS.

CHAPTER XIII.

CAEN.

/^^^SAR makes no mention
of Caen, and the first
Norman charter in which the
name of the city occurs is in
one of Duke Richard II., in
the year i o 1 5 ; it is there called
Cadon. It is called in the
old chronicles Cathim, Cadun
or Cadam, Cathom, Cahom,
and Cahem. Wace, writing
in the twelfth century, calls it
indifferently Cahem, Chaem,
Caem, Caam, and Caan. Some writers say the name is
derived from Cate-heim — house of the gate.

The chronicle of Guillaume le Tallens of Rouen speaks
of Caen about the year 945 — the epoch of the conflict be
tween King Louis and the young Duke Richard the Fearless.
Caen is supposed to be one of the cities founded by the
Saxon Otlings, who invaded Neustria between the third
and seventh centuries. The Otlings are said to have em-

338 CALVADOS.

braced Christianity in the middle of the seventh century, and
to have had for their apostle St. Regnobert, who seems to
have founded the four churches of St. Sauveur, Notre-Dame,
St. Pierre, and St. Jean, in the city of Caen. WilHam the
Conqueror built the castle to overawe his mutinous vassals
in the Bessin, and also to maintain a free passage for vessels
along the river Orne.

Robert Courthose caused the first canal to be made —
connecting the Orne with the Odon. The Orne waters the
south-east and south side of the city, and the Odon that of
the west. A new canal now runs parallel with the Orne to
the sea, as the river was found too narrow and difficult for
navigation : the great basin of the harbour is fed both by the
river and the canal.

The old city only contained the parish of St. Sauveur,
and part of the parishes of Notre-Dame, St. Pierre, St.
Etienne, St. Martin, and St. Julien. It was a walled city
with eight gates, which still existed in 1346. The Porte
St. Etienne was not destroyed till 1758. Robert Courthose
added to this enclosure the island of St. John ; and Henry
Beauclerc surrounded the chateau with walls in 11 23, and
built the donjon. But Caen was so badly fortified, accord-
ing to French writers, that it yielded at the first attack of
Edward III. in 1346.

Froissart says — '' The English then advanced towards
aen (from St. L6), which is a much larger town, stronger,
and fuller of draperies and all other sorts of merchandise,
rich citizens, noble dames and damsels, and fine churches.
In particular, there are two very rich monasteries — one
dedicated to St. Stephen, and the other to the Trinity.
The castle is situated on one side of the town : it is the

THE SIEGES OF CAEN. 339

handsomest in all Normandy, and Sir Robert de Blargny
was governor, with a garrison of three hundred Genoese.

'* The king took up his quarters for that night in the
fields, two short leagues from Caen, near a town called
Estreham,* where there is a haven."

According to Froissart, it was not only the weakness of
the fortifications, but the cowardice of the townsmen, which
made the conquest of Caen easy. The Earl of Tancarville
was taken prisoner in this battle.

At first Edward intended to destroy the town ; but he
yielded to the entreaties of Sir Godfrey de Harcourt, and
marched on to Rouen.

As soon as he had departed, the authorities of Caen got
permission from the king, Philip de Valois, to strengthen
the defences of their town. Spite of these precautions, in
141 7 Henry V. took the city after two assaults, and entered
by the ancient Porte des Jacobins, near the Pont St. Jacques.
The English kept possession of Caen for thirty-three years ;
but after the battle of Formigny, in 1450, it capitulated to
Charles VII., after a long siege.

Huet, the learned Bishop of Avranches, who was born at
Caen, 1603, speaks of twenty towers on the fortified walls of
the city. The tower of Guillaume le Roy was much more
ancient than the rest, and was ruthlessly pulled down only
a few years ago. Some remains of the old walls and towers
may still be traced, but they have nearly all disappeared.

We were much struck with the cleanness of the streets

* Ouistreham, at the mouth of the Ome ; but it is much more than
two leagues from Caen. Near Ouistreham are the remains of a Roman
camp.

340 CALVADOS.

and the wide pavements ; but even in these few last years
Caen has been modernised. In its best streets it has more
the handsome, common-place, well-to-do aspect of an English
town than the grace and picturesqueness of a French one.
But the market-place on the Place St. Pierre is very pictu-
resque, with its groups of flowers and richly laden fruit-stalls
and their keepers. Some of the surrounding houses are also
very quaint, with multiform gables. On the Place itself, just
before reaching the church, is the Hotel de la Bourse, formerly
the Hotel de Valois or d'Ecoville, built in 1 538. The sculp-
tured stone gables in the courtyard are remarkable, and so
is the sculptured tower and staircase ; and it is all in. good
preservation.

But the gem of the whole Place is its centre, the beautiful
Church of St. Pierre. Carved flying buttresses unite the
aisles to the nave, and produce a graceful effect ; but the
central tower and spire kept us standing before it in an
ecstasy of admiration. The tower is so exquisitely propor-
tioned, lighted on each side by four deeply recessed lancet
openings, enriched with tooth-ornament; from its summit
springs an octagonal stone spire, 242 feet high, built in
1 308, and surrounded by four tourelles ; it is pierced with
open trefoils. The effect, for lightness, elegance, and rich-
ness, is indescribable ; and, from whatever point one sees it,
it seems to give interest and importance to the view.

T\(\'s>jieche of St. Pierre is considered one of the most perfect
and exquisite of the fourteenth-century spires of Normandy
The original church was founded in the early ages, by ^^.
Regnobert ; but this tower, with its marvellous spire, was built
in 1308 under the auspices of the treasurer, NicoUe Langlois.
Unhappily the name Qi the architect is unknown. A tradi-

ST. PIERRE, 341

tion exists that there was once an inscription on the jjpire
ascribing it to Huet, a master mason, as architects were
called in those simple days ; and the tradition goes on to
assert that this Huet was an ancestor of the learned bishop,
of whom we are reminded at Avranches by the Place
Huet. The spire is an impersonation of pure and fervent
religion, as it springs heavenward without any support except
the walls of the tower, pierced by its long narrow lancets,
the flhhe itself perforated with the trefoil — emblem of the
Holy Trinity. This spire is open to the cross which sur-
mounts it, and yet the stones of which it is built are only
four inches thick. The outside of the apse is picturesque;
but both the portals have suffered from mutilation and con-
sequent restoration. The interior disappointed us greatly ;
we found the decadence of Gothic art in the vaulting
of the roof, said to be the masterpiece of Hector Sohier,
architect of Caen in 1521 ; ''pyramids turned upside down"
in the shape of pendants, like overgrown stalactites, depend-
ing from the roof of the Lady chapel; but they are by some
travellers considered triumphs of the art of the Renaissance
epoch ; Miss Costello and Mr. Musgrave are eloquent in
their praise.

There are some curious capitals on the pillars in the
nave, on subjects from the old romances — Tristram, Lancelot
du Lac, &c. ; also Aristotle on all-fours, ridden by his
mistress.

The service at St. Pierre is reverent, and the singing
is very good. We saw an old woman in a curious high-
peaked cap, embroidered in silver; and we heard that
she was a country farmer's wife, who had come into
Caen to assist at a baptism. The real Caennois cap — a

342

CAL VADOS.

close skull-cap, with a stiff cockscomb of lace just above the
eyebrows — was plentiful throughout the city ten years ago,
but it is much scarcer now. There were some specimens
in church ; but the smart modern muslin cap, with em-
broidered crown and full-quilled border and profuse ribbon
trimming, is universal on Sundays and fete days. The

younger women
wear these some-
times without a
crown, after the
fashion of the bon-
nets of a short
while ago. The
illustration at the
beginning of the
chapter is from a
drawing by S tot-
hard, and gives
the Caennois
costume of fifty
years ago — more
quaint than beau-
tiful.
We went into the
Rue Notre-Dame, and stopped a little way down it to turn
and look at St. Pierre, framed by the gables of some of the
few old houses left in the street, and we were obliged to own
that there is still something picturesque left in one of the
chief streets of Caen. This street of Notre-Dame changes
its name at intervals, and, just before it becomes the Rue
St. Etienne, is the Church of Notre-Dame, now called

St. Pierre.

CHURCH OF ST. SAUVEUR. 343

St. Sauveur. The apse, which comes quite into the street,
is very rich and picturesque.

This is one of the four churches founded by St. Reg-
nobert. The church has evidently been built at different
periods. The carved wooden panels on the great door
are in good preservation, and well executed. There are
two naves, opening one into the other by a broad arch, with
double altars in the middle of the two aisles. These naves
are connected at the choir by an immense arch ; the roof is
in wood. There is some valuable old painted glass, but it has
been much damaged by restoration. In Caen the restoring
process has been equally liberal and ignorant ; everywhere
one sees the hand of well-intentioned but irremediable
destructiveness. A curious fresco has been discovered on
the wall of one of the side chapels, but it has evidently been
injured. The double flight of stone steps leading up to
the organ gives a curious feature to the interior of this
church.

We came out, and went along the Rue St. Etienne till we
reached the Abbaye aux Hommes.

Caen seems to have been the favourite dwelling-place of
William the Conqueror ; and when the Pope commanded
him and his wife Matilda to build each a house to the glory
of God, to atone for the irregularity of their marriage, they
chose the city of Caen for these magnificent foundations.
The monks of the Abbaye aux Hommes were to be chosen
from noble houses, and preference was given to those who
had borne arms.

The Church of St. Etienne seems to have been begun in
1064. Its west front, nave, and towers were completed by
1077 ; and the building was solemnly consecrated in the

344 CAL VADOS.

presence of William, his queen, and his court. A com-
munity of monks must have been estabhshed here before the
buildings of the abbey were nearly completed, for William
summoned Lanfranc from the Abbey of Bee, of which he
was then prior, to be the first abbot of the new monastery
in 1066 ; but Lanfranc's rule was short. Within four years
he was summoned to a wider sphere of life ; WilHam sent
for him to England, and made him Archbishop of Canter-
bury.

The west front of St. Etienne is cold and severe, but
the towers are very fine. These, with the nave, belong to
the first part of the building. The spires above them are of
later date, and the choir later still. There was once a spire
on the central tower, but it was much injured by Henry V.,
who placed his cannon on the tower when he besieged the
town, and it was finally destroyed by the Calvinists in 1562.
It must have been very beautiful. The nave is most impres-
sive, so simple and severe, yet so spacious and lofty in its
proportions. One feels in the presence of a work of con-
summate genius, and one feels too instinctively that this
noble building is a fitting tomb for the conqueror of England.
The pillars and arches of the nave are of massive strength.
The arches of the triforium are as wide as those below, and
two-thirds their height. The clerestory windows are alter-
nately short and tall, as the points of their arched heads
meet the curves of the vaulted roof. The choir is of later
style — probably thirteenth century ; and here, under a grey
marble slab, was once the body of William the Conqueror.
There is on the marble a simple Latin inscription to the
" truly invincible William the Conqueror, Duke of Nor-
mandy, and King of England." It seems enough. The

GRAVE OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. 345

church itself is the mighty monarch's best monument ; ai.y
other would be superfluous. His first burial-place was,
according to Orderic, between the choir and the altar,
probably beneath the central tower, for no part of the pre-
sent choir belongs to William's foundation ; his church of
St. Etienne ended in a simple apse.

William Rufus and Henry, his two sons, erected a costly
monument, enriched with gold and jewels, with their father's
effigy thereon ; but this was destroyed by the Calvinists in
search of hidden treasures, and William's remains were
scattered among the ruins. A thigh-bone was discovered,
eight inches beyond the usual length, and after a long and
laborious search, conducted by Jean de Baillehache, the
rest of the skeleton was found and put together, and rein-
terred in 1642, with due funereal ceremony, under a simple
monument in the place now occupied by the inscription.
But at the outbreak of the Revolution the monument
was destroyed, and a few years later the grave was again
rifled.

Standing here beside the grave, we thought of William's
funeral and its strange and awful interruption. His son
Henry was chief mourner, as William had commanded
William Rufus to hasten to England and claim the crown
directly he should have expired. The Conqueror's tur-
bulent brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, was also present ;
also Geoffrey, Bishop of Coutances, and the two Gisle-
oerts, the Doctor-Bishop of Lisieux, and the saintly Bishop
of Evreux. There stood also beside the grave the king's
cousin Nicholas, Abbot of St. Ouen, Mainer of St. Evroul,
and many abbots besides. Greatest and hoHest of all was
Anselm, Abbot of Bee, at length recovered from the ill-

546 CALVADOS.

ness which had kept him from William's death-bed. The
interruption to the interment came in answer to the elo-
quent sermon of the Bishop of Evreux, while the body still
lay uncoffined on the bier before the high altar ; and there in
the church, the chief mourner, Henry, paid down sixty shil-
lings as payment to the knight Ascelin for his father's grave .
The belief that William's body was deserted seems to be
ignored by some of the early Norman chroniclers, although
they relate the panic caused by his death, and the retirement
of his barons to their estates in order to prevent the chances
of insurrection or of an invasion by the King of France.
In the sacristy, which is interesting in itself, is a like-
ness of William the Conqueror ; but we greatly prefer the
statue at Falaise. William bequeathed to the Church of
St. Etienne his body, his sceptre, the crown he wore upon
extraordinary occasions, his hand of justice, a cup made of
precious stones, and his golden candlesticks. He also pur-
chased for the monastery the skull of St. Stephen and
several other relics of the protomartyr.

The interior of St. Etienne presented a splendid sight
when we first saw it some years ago, in the days of the
Empire, on the Fete Napoleon, the 15th of August.
This was the only day in the year on which ladies were
admitted with gentlemen to the triforium, and, by going
early, we got excellent places near the altar. The grande
messe came first, and was crowded with worshippers ; and
when the service was over — even before the chairs could
be cleared away by the panting officials — an immense
crowd of men, women, and children straggled into church.
The triforium gallery was soon filled throughout its extent,
and the chairs left in a line in the aisles and nave were also

ST. ETIENNE. 347

filled by those who did not choose to pay so much for their
places. There was only a short pause, and then a file of
gendarmes came in through the western doorway, the sun-
light glittering on their scabbards and belts. They advanced
up the nave, and formed a line on each side of the space
left by the removal of the chairs. Next came a group of
gentlemen, escorted by the soldiers of the 75 th regiment,
which was then quartered at Caen. Then came the band
of the regiment, with its drum and tmmpets, playing a mili-
tary march, and then the prefet, the general, the mayor, and
other high officials walked up the nave, and took the chairs
placed for them on the steps covered with scarlet cloth in
front of the altar. A crowd of officers in ghttering uni-
forms, and of town-councillors in their long gowns, some
blue, some scarlet, and some orange, followed, and filled
up the space between these dignitaries.

As soon as these had taken their places, a line of priests
came gliding from the sacristy, splendidly robed in crimson
velvet richly embroidered in gold, with acolytes in white,
swinging magnificent censers. The band played louder and
louder, as if it was trying to drown the swell of the organ,
which now pealed through the aisles and galleries, till all
were in their places. The soldiers fell into rank along the
nave, in front of the gendarmes, leaving only a narrow
passage between the steps of the altar and the great western
doorway, up and down which paced the two officers on
duty, the drawn swords on their shoulders glittering in
the broad ribbon of sunlight which stretched down from the
eastern end of the clerestory to the pavement at the western
entrance, marking the vast height of the church, and bring-
ing into sudden clear relief, as it glanced across the pillars

348 CALVADOS.

in the nave, the sharp crispness of the Norman capitals.
Beyond this again, through the open doors, was a patch
of intense sunHght, quivering with the sparkle and colour
of the ever-swaying restless crowd outside, the glittering
epaulettes and bayonets mingling with the gay holiday
dresses of the women and children. And yet, although
the eagerness to see what was going on inside was intense,
there was perfect order in the crowd and in the congrega-
tion within. The organ rolled out its splendid music, the
drams beat, the trumpets brayed, while the priests went on
chanting the service, and the acolytes clattered the censers.
A stranger sound in a church to our English ears than even
the drums and trumpets was the word of command given by
the officer on duty, in sharp ringing tones, whkh seemed to
rebound from each column till they reached the last soldier
in the nave.

The grand old building is quite suited to a military fes-
tival. One seems able to picture William and his fierce,
turbulent barons keeping Easter there, and such prelates
as his half-brother, Odo of Bayeux, and Geoffrey of Cou-
tances, among the priests.

But the Abbaye aux Hommes soon grew to have a great
reputation for learning. It was a chief means of restoring
the love of learning and study throughout France, and
especially the revival of the study of the Latin tongue in
the province of Normandy.

Since 1800, the buildings of the monastery are occupied
by a lycee, or public school. Boys get a fair education
here at a very cheap rate. Close by are the Gothic re-
mains of a building, now used as a normal school, said
to be on the site of the old Norman palace, Le Grand

EDUCATION IN NORMANDY. 349

Palais, which William the Conqueror built within the
monastery.

Part of the ancient hall, Salle des Gardes, still remains.
This was in singularly good preservation till 1802, when
it was barbarously demolished by the prefect, Monsieur
CafarelU. The education of the people is much more
cared for in the French provinces than it is in England.
The Fr^res Chretiens, who now conduct the free scliools in
every town in France, are a very superior body of men to
our national schoolmasters ; they are higher toned and
better taught, and their teaching has an entirely religious
foundation. These Freres are not necessarily priests, but
laymen, who entirely devote their lives to the religious
education of the young ; and we found, in talking to the
boys, how very accurately they are taught. The girls, too,
who go to the convent day-schools, are most carefully and
admirably instructed. Talking to a child of twelve years
old, the daughter of a farmer at Bolbec, we were surprised
to learn that she gave up eight hours every day to educa-
tion, and that this time was nearly all spent in learning
lessons in geography, history, grammar, in reading, writing,
and arithmetic, very little time being reserved for needle-
work, none at all for music or any accomplishment.

Caen is one of the chief university towns in France. The
University, founded by our King Henry VI. in 1 431, is in
the Ruede la Chaine. There were several colleges here till
the time of the Revolution ; and we saw plenty of youths,
brass-buttoned up to the throat, who had come to Caen
from other provincial schools to take their degree in one of
the faculties.

There is also an Academy of the Arts and Belles-Lettres.

350 CALVADOS,

There is an excellent public library at the Hotel de Ville,
to which the public are admitted every day, from ten till
four o'clock, except during the month of September. The
first Hbraries were those of the Abbaye aux Hommes, the
Church of St. Sepulcre, and that of the University; and
some of the manuscripts having been carried off from the
University about 1480, a bull of excommunication was
fulminated against the perpetrator of the robbery, the said
bull being fixed up in the pubHc parts of the town.

In 15 15 the library only contained 278 volumes; it now
has upwards of 40,000. Among these are three volumes
from the library of Diane de Poictiers, in excellent pre-
servation.

From St. Etienne we went to the Abbaye aux Dames,
at the other end of the town. This was founded by Ma-
tilda, according to the Abbd De la Rue, in 1066, a few
months before William embarked for England ; but Bishop
Huet thinks the foundation earHer. Cicely, eldest daughter
of William and Matilda, was then a child; but she was
solemnly dedicated by her parents to God's service, and
she was afterwards abbess of the convent. When, in after-
years, Robert Courthose came back from the Holy Land,
he presented the Saracen standard to his sister as abbess of
the Abbaye aux Dames. This abbey was richly endowed
by all the Norman kings ; but nothing remains of the original
building, except the Church of the Holy Trinity.

This is one of the most interesting of the great churches
in Normandy. It is a perfect contrast to St. Etienne, and
in style very inferior ; but yet there is a harmony between the
two buildings. There is a strange interest in considering how
this noble pair, an example to their own age and to all ages

ABBA YE AUX DAMES. 351

of conjugal fidelity, must have planned out and then watched
the progress of these two monuments, destined, one may
hope, to last as long as the world itself. The date of their
foundation attests the religious faith of the Conqueror.
William and Matilda had been enjoined by the Pope to
build two houses for God, as an atonement for the irregu-
larity of their marriage ; and as soon as the conquest ot
England was resolved on, Matilda seems to have hastened
the building of her abbey, that it might be consecrated
before her husband set forth on his enterprise.

Mr. Freeman says —

" The champions of the Church must, as far as might be,
wipe out all memory of their former sin. William must set
out on his holy enterprise with perfectly clean hands; and
Matilda must be able to lift up hands no less clean, as she
prayed for his safety and victory before the altars which she
had reared.

" Indeed, even without this overwhelming motive, the eve
of so great and hazardous an undertaking was a moment
which specially called for works of devotion of every kind ;
and we have seen that it was so felt by others in Normandy,
besides the Duke and Duchess. At this time, therefore,
besides the organization of William's foundation, under its
first and greatest abbot, the material fabric of Matilda's
foundation was so eagerly pressed on, that the unfinished
Minster was hallowed three days after the appointment of
the two abbots.* As part of that great ceremony, the
ducal pair offered on the altar of God an offering more
costly than lands or buildings or jewelled ornaments. In

* Lanfranc of St. Etienne and Mainer of St. Evroul.

352

CALVADOS.

a milder sense than that in which the words were used by
the ancient prophet, they gave their first-born for their
transgression, the fruit of their bodies for the sin of their
souls.

"The Duke's eldest daughter, Cicely, now a child, but in
after-days to become a renowned abbess of her mother's
foundation, was dedicated by her parents as a virgin set

The Abbaye aux Dames.

apart for God's service. It was not, nowever, till nine years
later that her lips pronounced the irrevocable vows."*

The Abbaye aux Dames is built on an open space of high
ground, east of the Church of St. Pierre, in a direct hne
with the Abbaye aux Hommes; so that when Caen is
approached from the sea, the two abbeys appear in massive
grandeur, one on the right and one on the left of the town.
The Church of the Holy Trinity forms a Latin cross ; it has

"History of the Norman Conquest," vol. iii. p. 383,

THE HOTEL DIEU. 353

three square towers, and its west front is very remarkable :
except the top of the towers, which have been restored, the
church is a very pure specimen of Romanesque architecture.

We went in, and found ourselves just in time for vespers.
The singing was very sweet and musical, and the church
was quite full. Inside, it is much smaller and more ornate
than St. Etienne : instead of a triforium, there is a very low
and richly ornamented arcade above the circular arches of
the nave.

The choir is shallow, and only separated by the altar from
the Lady chapel. The sermon was so very long that we
came out before the end, as we were too far off to hear it
distinctly, and we went on to the Hotel Dieu. This is a
hospital, which existed formerly in another part of the town,
but is now estabHshed in the conventual buildings of the
Abbaye aux Dames. These stand just within a park to
which the public are admitted.

The porter at the outside lodge told us where to go, and
we found ourselves speaking through a window to a most
sweet-faced nun, in the picturesque dress of the Augustines
— white flannel and calico, with a black hood and black
stockings — a great bunch of keys at her girdle.

" Certainly monsieur and madame can see the Hotel
Dieu ; but, as it is Sunday, some of the girls are out walk-
ing, and the Sisters are engaged; but if monsieur and
madame will give themselves the trouble to sit down, some
one will be here directly."

We sat down, and she went on writing at her desk. She
had the happy, simple face one almost always sees in Sisters,
but she was less chatty than some foreign nuns are. There
was something indescribably interesting about her.

A A

354 CALVADOS.

Very soon a lay Sister appeared. She was dressed simply
in black, and she asked us what we wished to see. We said
the chapel; and she took us across a hall in which is a
handsome staircase. Two columns support the lofty roof
of this hall. They are of considerable height, and are ex-
quisitely worked from a single block of stone brought from
the quarries of Allemagne, not far from Caen.

From this we went into the chapel of the Sisters. Here
we found ourselves in the Lady chapel of La Sainte Trinite;
the chanting had begun again, and as the only barriers
between the church and the chapel are the high altar and a
low screen on each side of it, we did not like to move about
to examine the chapel.

Our guide came up and whispered —

" Do not be disturbed : our office is over ; it is quite dis-
tinct. That is only the parish-church, and there is some
parish festival to-day, which makes the service tiresomely
long"

More than half the chapel is railed off, and a curtain
hangs behind the grated screen. Our guide went up to this,
and drew aside a bit of the curtain that we might see the
tomb of Queen Matilda. It is only a plain sarcophagus,
having on the top a portion of the gravestone broken to
pieces at the Revolution.

The chapel was full of nuns, kneeling in meditation. The
effect was most striking . the exquisite architecture around ;
the nuns, with black flowing veils and white dresses, knelt
motionless as statues, their heads bent in prayer ; and from
the other side the sweet, full-toned music swelled through
the tall pillars and clung round the arches.

The altar in this chapel is placed at the back of the high

■^

QUEEN MATILDA'S TOMB. 355

altar, so that the nuns faced towards us as we looked. It
was more like a picture than reality — a picture of peace
and rest in the midst of an active toiling life, for the forty-
Augustine Sisters who now inhabit these buildings are most
devoted nurses to the Hospital of Hotel Dieu. The original
foundation of the Abbaye aux Dames was for ladies only
of the highest nobility of France, but this was entirely dis-
persed and broken up at the Revolution ; and in 1823
Louis XVIII. established here the great hospital of the
Hotel Dieu, which had already existed six hundred years in
the city of Caen, and a certain number of Augustine nuns
were permitted to exercise their tender and devoted care on
the sick and the afflicted.

Matilda was buried under a costly monument on this spot
in 1083; but the Calvinists, in 1562, rifled the tomb and
scattered the great queen's remains. The Abbess, Lady Ann
de Montmorency, caused them to be collected and replaced
in theii coffin, where they remained in peace till the Revolu-
tion. A new mausoleum had been raised over them in
1708 ; but this was thrown down by the revolutionists, who
did not, however, rifle the grave itself. At length, in 18 19,
the prefect of Calvados caused the coffin to be opened ; and
having ascertained that the royal dust remained there, he
erected the present monument, on which is a long Latin
epitaph.

Next we went down a staircase into the crypt. This is
evidently in its original state. It is supported by thirty-six
pillars set close together. It is very small, but in excellent
preservation.

This was once the burying-place of the abbesses of the
Abbaye aux Dames. The bones found there have been

356 CALVADOS,

collected, and are now buried at one side of the crypt, with
an inscription on the wall above.

Our guide seemed unwilling to show us the hospital, and
said it was not much to see. We thought she grudged her
holiday leisure, and did not urge ' our request, for, after all,
one hospital of this kind is much like another ; but after we
had left Caen we- learned the true reason of our guide's
unwillingness : there were several bad cases of cholera at
that time in the Hotel Dieu.

We saw the kitchen as we came out, and heard the mar-
vellous amount of food cooked on its immense stoves and
in its huge boilers. Then we went and chatted with the
sweet-faced nun, who had much more to say than at our
first arrival.

There was another nun standing beside the cook in the
kitchen, but she did not look so sweet as our first friend.
We asked our guide the name of the Sister with the keys,
and learned that she was called la Dame Jerome.

It must be very delightful for those poor patients that the
Park is close at hand, with its broad masses of turf and
shaded lime- walks ; but the Sisters seem to reap no advan-
tage from its nearness, — they never go outside the walls of
the Hotel Dieu. As we went down the steep street into
the town again we met some handsomely dressed Sisters
all in black, with long flowing veils ; they had some young
girls with them. We asked an old woman close by, in a
very original cap, what order those ladies belonged to, for
they seemed to be going towards the Abbaye de Sainte
Trinitd

" Oh, but no," she shook her head reprovingly ; " these
are Mesdames les Benedictines. They have a convent in

CHURCH OF ST. GILLES.

357

the town where they educate young ladies. See, they are
taking them for a walk. They are quite another thing from
les Dames des Augustines : elks ne sortent pas." And when
we proceeded to make further inquiry, we found this to be
an established fact. Once fully professed Sisters of St.
Augustine, these devoted women renounce even the sight of
the outside life, even the breath of the outside air. except
that which reaches the open
courts and spacious arched gal-
leries of the convent, or that
which they get in recreation-
time in the gardens of the con-
vent. There is a waxen tint
on their complexions, which
indicates that a less confined
life would be better for their
health, and would probably
prolong their powers of useful-
ness.

We crossed the road from
the Abbaye aux Dames to the
picturesque Church of St. Gilles.
This was originally a mortuary
chapel founded by William and

Matilda for the sepulture of the poor; but M. de Caumont
thinks that the nave, which is of much earlier date than
either the choir or the porch, is not older than the twelfth
century. It is full of interesting work, and it seems a pity
that it should be closed, like some others of the remarkable
churches of Caen.

Descending the steep street we came about midway upon

Porch of the Church of St. Gilles.

3S8. CALFADOS.

a striking view of St. Pierre, with a foreground of picturesque,
quaint houses, and, at the end of the long street beyond,
were the spires of the Abbaye aux Homines. Looking round,
we could still see Matilda's church distinctly. It seemed
to make the dry bones of history facts in the flesh, as we
pictured the Conqueror and the wife of his youth standing
half-way between their two creations in a sympathy of
admiration and joy that they had lived to see their work
accomplished. And in those after-years, when William was
left alone without the wife he loved so faithfully, and who
had sympathized in his vast project of conquest, and given
all the help she could to its execution, he must have looked
tenderly from his palace at the Abbaye below, to the height
on which her Cathedral stood, now her tomb.

" No contrast," says Mr. Freeman, " between two build-
ings so nearly alike in plan and style can be more striking
than the contrast between the Minster of WiUiam and the
Minster of Matilda. William was no more inclined to hurry
in this undertaking than in any other undertaking of his life.
His wife hastened to consecrate a fragment ; but WiUiam
knew how to bide his time as much in a work of architec-
ture as in a work of war or politics. Eleven years later
William and Lanfranc, now promoted to be the Caesar and
the Pontiff of another world, were present at the consecra-
tion of the great Abbey of St. Stephen, perfect from east
to west, save only that the addition of the western towers
was a later work, and was, probably, celebrated with a
second feast of dedication. And that mighty pile, perhaps
the noblest and most perfect work of its own date, shows
the spirit of the Conqueror impressed on every stone. The
choir has given way to a later creation ; but the nave of

HOTEL DBS MONNAIES.

359

William and Lan franc is still there — precisely such a nave
as we should expect to arise at the bidding of William the
Great. Erected at the moment when the Romanesque of
Normandy had cast aside the earlier leaven of Bernay and
Jumieges, and had not yet begun to develop into the more
florid style of Bayeux
and St. Gabriel, the
church of William,
vast in scale, bold
and simple in its de-
sign, disdaining or-
nament, but never
sinking into rude-
ness, is indeed a
church worthy of its
founder. The Min-
ster of Matilda, far
richer even in its
earliest parts, smaller
in size, more delicate
in workmanship, has
nothing of that sim-
. plicity and grandeur
of proportion which
marks the work of

her husband. The one is the expression in stone of the
imperial will of the conquering Duke ; the other breathes
the true spirit of his loving and faithful Duchess." *

We went a little way down the Rue Notre-Dame, and then

Hotel des Monnaies.

* " History of the Norman Conquest," vol. iii.

36o CALVADOS.

down a little covered alley on the right, into a courtyard
called the Cour de la Monnaie, surrounded on two sides
by very quaint and original buildings. This was the ancient
Hotel des Monnaies. The tower and little angle tourelle
are very quaint, and the oriel is elegant and original. Un-
happily some new buildings have lately been introduced in
this court, which have entirely destroyed the effect of it.
Close by is the Hotel Etienne Duval. There are inscriptions
on both these houses.

The Church of St. Jean is not in any way remarkable,
except that the calm stillness there was delightful in the early
morning; we went on thence to the Rue de I'Oratoire.
Here is a charming old house, the ancient convent of the
Oratoire, standing in a courtyard, overgrown with vine.
From the little court-yard at the back of the house we got a
good view of the chimneys and gable of the Hotel de Than.
This hotel has its entrance much nearer to the Hotel de
la Bourse : it is in the same style of architecture, but is
even more interesting. There are remains of several ancient
houses in the Rue* St. Jean, some of which have disap-
peared within the last few years, and some, as the Hotel
d'Aubigny, No. loo, have been modernised out of all
recognition. Catherine of Navarre, Henry IV.'s sister,
lodged here when she visited Caen ; also the Duke and
Duchess of Longueville.

The Hotel de Beuvron, No. 214, was anciently a college
belonging to the Abbey of Barbery; in 1589 it became
the property of Pierre d'Harcourt, Marquis of Beuvron.

No. 94 is a very curious wooden house, with the upper
stories projecting each over that beneath; but there does
not seem to be any history attached to it. Another very

THE CASTLE. 361

curious house is at the bottom of an alley in this street.
There is nothing left of the house where Charlotte Corday
stayed with her aunt : it stood on the site now occupied by
No. 148, nearly opposite the Rue des Carmes.

We stood looking at the spot, wondering what might have
been, with different teaching, the Hfe of this great-souled girl,
"to whom," in the words of a French writer, "it only needed
to have read the New Testament in place of Plutarch."
Till 1850 the house seems to have been perfectly pre-
served, even to the little back shop of the poor carpenter
whom Charlotte befriended ; but the proprietor who had
cared for it so lovingly sold it, and its purchaser demoHshed
it and built this new, uninteresting house.

We crossed the Place St. Pierre, and up the steep ascent
to the castle. Close to the entrance is the old chapel of
St. George ; but as we went on to look at this, we were
challenged by the sentry, and told to go up on the rampants
to the right. It was very pleasant on the grassy mound
above : the trees gave a pleasant shade ; below was the deep
fosse, which seems to be a little suburb in itself, so many
houses cluster between its outer walls and those of the
castle. A mountain ash, bright with scarlet berries, grew
half-way down the steep castle slope, and just below us
were innumerable butterflies, purple, brown, and scarlet,
gambolling in the early sunshine. We came round to the
town side of the battlements. Here there is a splendid
view of the town, with its towers and spires, its harbour
and shipping, and its poplar-bordered rivers and canals ;
but it is difficult to get both the Abbeys of William and
Matilda into one view, although all the other churches
group in admirably. We found that we could get round

362 CAL VADOS,

to the other side of the chapel of St. George without any
interference from the sentinel.

The castle itself was built by William, and fortified by
Henry I. ; but this chapel is nearly all of fifteenth-century
work, except the outer wall on one side, with its curious
ornaments, and a circular arch in the choir. Henry V.
kept the festival of St. George here in 1418, on April 23,
and also held a chapter, at which he created twelve knights
of the Bath. There is another and larger building, used as
a barn, of earlier date, and which is said to be the ancient
hall of the Exchequer of Normandy. Here, probably,
William assembled the Synod in 1061, when it was ordered
that a bell should be rung for prayer every evening, and all
people should retire into their houses and close their doors.
This shows that the curfew was established in Normandy
before WiUiam introduced it into England. About the
same time he established the Treve de Dieu as a means
of checking disorder and outbreaks, while he and his wisest
counsellors were engaged in debating the best methods of
establishing peace throughout the dukedom.

Both ancient and modern antiquarian writers have had
much discussion about these two buildings, M. De la
Rue having maintained that the larger building was the
church ; but this opinion was victoriously disproved by
Mr. Stapleton, whose judgment in the matter seems to be
now adopted by both French and EngHsh students of archi-
tecture.

It is so pleasant on the battlements of the old castle,
with the bright sunshine gleaming on all around, and the
intensely clear atmosphere giving a crispness and sparkle
to every spire and gable and lattice and clustering vine-

^7". ETJENNE LE VIEUX. 363

leaf on which it h'ghts, that one is only sorry the walls
are so high, and that one cannot lie under the trees enjoy-
ing the exquisite and varied prospect.

The rattling of muskets and the sharp word of command
on the drawbridge below roused us to the fact that the
sentinel was being relieved ; and, looking over the parapet,
we saw the file of blue-coated, crimson-trousered soldiers
moving off, tlie sun gleaming on their bayonets and accou-
trements. The new-comer was a tiny man, with a face
like a red cabbage ; it did not seem as if the sun could
heat him much, though it was blazing fiercely enough, on
the strip of ground up and down which he had to pace, to
turn an ordinary skin to crackling.

We went down again to the Place St. Pierre. The trees
have grown wonderfully here in a few years on the Boulevard ;
it extends from the fish-market on the east to the Place
de la Pre'fecture on the west ; on this stands the Prefec-
ture, and close by are the Hotel de Ville, containing the
library and museum of pictures, and the Post-oflice. These
face the Place Royale ; and on the other side of the
Boulevard are the Theatre, the Gendarmerie, and, farther
back, the public baths and lavatories. Near the Post Office
is the modern Jesuit Church of La Gloriette. From the
Place de la Prefecture, along the Boulevard de la Pre'fec-
ture, is a short way across the Park, and past the Palais de
Justice, to the Abbaye aux Hommes. Just here, opposite
the end of the Boulevard, we came upon a deserted church.
In a comer by a gateway an old man in a blouse sat, mend-
ing china. The deserted church is called St. Etienne le
Vieux. It is said by French antiquaries to be the oldest
parish-church in Caen ; but from its position, so near the

364 CALVADOS,

outer wall, it has suffered frequent demolition, and little of
the original building remains ; it is now filled with firewood,
old vehicles, and rubbish of all kinds, which effectually
prevent a close examination. There is a curious bas-reHef
of William in the wall of the choir, which is probably older
than the twelfth century. The western doorway is very
picturesque, though much mutilated; and the tower and
spire form a striking object from almost every point of dis-
tant view. Behind the door of this church were stacked
about a hundred birch brooms, belonging to the street-
sweepers, who are all women.

Except for this church and the Abbaye aux Hommes, this
is too modern a quarter of Caen to be interesting ; and we
turned down to the Boulevard de la Prefecture, and on
along the Petit Cours till we reached the Place Dauphine
on the quay, and crossed the river by the caserne.

It is a long, tiring walk in hot weather to Vaucelles ; but
we were anxious to see the Church of St. Michel. Near it,
sitting by the roadside, we found an old lace-maker hard at
work. She chatted merrily, and was quite amused that we
should consider the work trying for her eyes.

The tower of St. Michel is very old and curious ; the
long narrow windows in it are specially remarkable. M. de
Caumont puts its date either the eleventh or twelfth century ;
the rest of the church is probably of the sixteenth. The
carving of the north portal is very well executed, and, with
its gable, the portal is altogether picturesque.

On the opposite side of the river is the Grand Cours, a
pleasant walk, planted with double avenues of tall trees,
and looking on to the race-course. The races of Caen are
said to be very good; they take place in the beginning

'Ji

THE RACES, CAEN. 365

of August, and last four days. At this time the town is
most unpleasantly full, as people stop at Caen for the races,
on their way to Luc, Trouville, &c. We were too tired for
any but the shortest way home, and were rejoiced to find
that the end of the Rue St. Jean was actually on the Place
Dauphine.

CALVADOS.

CHAPTER XIV.

A GREAT NORMAN CHARITY.

P ROB ABLY most English
travellers, who are visiting
for the first time the capital
city of La Basse Normandie,
will carefully inspect the two
famous abbeys of William and
Matilda, St. Pierre, and the
other churches, and even make
a pilgrimage to the Abbaye
d'Ardaine, to the castle heights,
L'Abbejamet. and examine the quaint old

stone and wooden houses still left undisturbed in the
modernised streets. They will also go out and see Falaise
and the chateaux of Creully and Fontaine Henri ; they will
visit Cabourg and other watering-places, by way of refresh-
ment from so many dry piles of Caen stone ; and very
Hkely they will ignore and never take the trouble to go
near one of the most interesting institutions of the town —
the Hospital of Le Bon Sauveur, chiefly devoted to the care
of the insane and the instruction of the deaf and dumb.

THE RISE OF LE BON SAUVEUR. li>1

Some pages, therefore, are given to a description of this
great work.

If possible, Le Bon Sauveur should be visited on a fine
day ; for one cannot see all the arrangements of this grand
work of benevolence without at least an hour or two of
walking about in the open air.

There is no huge gloomy structure here ; so many sepa-
rate works are united in one large grasp of charity, that of
necessity they are conducted as far apart as may be. There
are separate ranges of large, airy buildings for each spe-
cial work, besides charming private houses for the insane
patients who can pay for such a privilege ; and all these are
dispersed round and about well-cultivated and extensive
walled gardens, full of apple and pear trees, the walls covered
with fruit and vines and American creepers.

Starting from St. Pierre, we go down a long street with
four names ; and when we reach the Abbey of St. Etienne,
we follow the left-hand division, instead of taking the branch
on the right, which leads to La Maladrerie and the Abbaye
d'Ardaine.

Before we reach the great gates of Le Bon Sauveur, a
few details of its origin, most kindly sent to me by the
present superior of the institution, must be given in her own
words.

" Our community," she says, " is truly that grain of
mustard seed spoken of by our Divine Saviour, which,
planted by the weakest hand, guided by heavenly inspira-
tion, has grown and increased till, spite of tempests and
persecutions, it has become a great tree, which shelters
many miseries, cures or consoles the most grievous of
maladies, and showers its fruits and its blessing on all

368 CAL VADOS.

those who are given to it, to sustain and help in the way of
sorrow and suffering. It was begun in 1720 by two poor
girls penetrated by the love of God and his poor : they set
to work in a poor house in one of the poorest parts of the
town; there they devoted themselves to teach little chil-
dren, to succour and visit the poor, to nurse and comfort
the sick among those whom they visited. Little by little
their number increased, and their works multiplied : they
bought a better house, and received children, female peni-
tents, and insane persons.

"In 1730 they succeeded in forming a community.
Though opposed and thwarted by those who should have
aided and protected them, their work went on providentially
increasing. Some contagious diseases having broken out
in Caen and the environs, the Sisters devoted themselves to
nurse and console the fever-smitten patients, and many of
them sank under the malady and fatigue. They went on
with their charitable works till the great Revolution in 1789,
which struck them as it struck every other religious and
charitable house. They are turned out of their convent,
plundered and dispersed, but not destroyed. They gather
together, a few here and a few there, in different houses, and
work for their living, and for the living of the poor they have
kept with them. M. I'Abbe Jamet, then a young priest and
their chaplain, escapes death and imprisonment, gets himself
put on the list of emigres, and conceals himself in the woods,
and, with a courage which only faith could have given,
continues the exercise of his holy ministry. He visits his
dispersed daughters, sustains and consoles them by the
administration of the sacraments, celebrates in their abode
the holy Eucharist. They persevere in these holy exer-

THE RISE OF LE BON SAUVEUR. 369

cises ; then when the revolutionary tempest subsides, when
the churches re-open, this confessor of the faith does not
rest till he has gathered together again the dear daughters
of the Bon Sauveur. After many delays and fruitless efforts,
he succeeds in purchasing a ruined Capuchin convent.
He is still on the list of emigres : he possesses nothing, and
cannot borrow. His daughters are without funds, and have
only their work to depend on for themselves and the poor
people they still succour. What does it matter ? God will
provide; he is carrying out His work. The poor Sisters
work with fresh zeal, and, on the 22nd of May, 1805, they
celebrate, with inexpressible joy and solemn festival, a
thanksgiving to their divine Saviour for the mercy he has
shown them. This festival is commemorated every year,
and will be so as long as Le Bon Sauveur shall exist.
Filled with ardent zeal, they work with their own hands in
repairing and enlarging their dwelling. New inmates flock
to them — children, insane persons.

" In 1817 and 1818, the department offers the sisterhood
the care of its female insane patients. The Bon Sauveur
accepts them, though as yet it has no settled resources. And
only then does the local government grant a loan for the con-
struction of buildings for these insane patients — a loan which
was paid back a few years after. The male insane patients
of the department are then consigned to the daughters of the
Bon Sauveur, who are resigned to accept them for the glory
of God and the good of His poor souls, spite of a well-
founded repugnance ; but the end has shown how pleasing
this sacrifice was to their heavenly Master. At the same
period M. I'Abbe' Jamet undertakes the instruction of the
deaf and dumb. By dint of research and study, he invents

B B

370 CALVADOS.

a method of instruction for them. There is a school for
girls, and also one for boys ; and they thrive rapidly.
Priests and Sisters from different parts of France — from
Ireland, even from the colonies — come to learn this
method, and return into the countries whence they came
to found schools, which have also had a ready success.

''At that first united gathering of the 22nd of May, 1805,
the daughters of the Bon Sauveur who had escaped the
persecution amounted to fifteen only. They had with them
about eighteen dependants. They bought with funds sent
to them by Providence the ground on which the asylum
stands, and erected all the buildings you have seen. There
are now two hundred and thirty-five Sisters, besides the
novices. They tend in this house at Caen about a thousand
mad patients, teach a great many deaf-and-dumb children,
and others. The population consists of from fifteen to
sixteen hundred persons.

" Three succursales have been founded. The first is at
Albi, Tarn : a much larger number of children are taught
here. Our Sisters also take charge of insane patients.
Their numbers increase every year ; they are between nine
hundred and a thousand. The second is at Pont I'Abbe, not
far from Cherbourg. The same works are carried on there :
there are about six hundred insane patients of both sexes.

" The third succursale, more lately founded, only receives
female insane patients, and teaches the children of the poor.
It is already a large community, situated in a very healthy
part of the country, in a well-placed and celebrated old abbey.
The venerable Superior, La Mere Lechasseur, who died at
the age of ninety, was the help and right arm of our good
father in his works of zeal and charity."

LE BON SAUVEUR. 371

The. ancient Capuchin monastery mentioned by the
superior had, till the Revolution, taken second rank among
the Capuchin houses in France : it had been founded in
1577 by some Roman fathers, sent at the express demand
of the French ambassador.

These fathers built their monastery on fifteen acres of land
belonging to the Priory of Brucourt, and granted to them
by Cardinal Farnese, at that time Abbot of St. Etienne ; this
land is very well placed between St. Etienne and the present
race-course.

In 1818, the plans of the institution being matured, the
buildings within the old convent walls were dedicated to
the following different objects : —

1. An asylum for insane persons of both sexes. (These
were at first limited to inhabitants of the department, but
now there is no such restriction.)

2. A dispensary for providing medicine and food, and
nurses if needed (but, as there are now other nursing institu-
tions in Caen, the Bon Sauveur Sisters do not go out to
nurse, unless specially required).

3. An educational and industrial school for deaf-and-
dumb boys and girls.

4. A school for young ladies, who pay for their educa-
tion.

5. A free school for poor little girls.

Our driver stopped before a huge pair of gates in the Rue
des Capucins, and rang the bell. The gate was soon opened
by a pleasant-looking portress in a Sister's dress. She
smiled at us, and then going back into her lodge, she asked
us to walk into the parlour, a little room on the right of the
open court into which we had entered. We went into the

372

CAL VADOS,

little room : there were only a few chairs in it, a crucifix
over the fireplace, and a religious print. We came out
again to admire the splendid myrtles ; about thirty standard
trees, in huge square tubs, stand ranged round the court,
many of them covered with exquisite starry blossoms j and

Abbaye aux Hommes, Caen.

seen above them, beyond the garden wall, is the best view
of the Abbaye aux Hommes that is to be had in Caen.
While we stood looking at the exquisite effect of its
cream-coloured spires against the intense blue sky, there
came along the path leading to the convent buildings a
very short, plump, and smiling old lady in a Sister's dress.

DEAF-AND-DUMB SCHOOL. 373

She had a large blue cotton umbrella in one hand, and a
bunch of keys hung at her waist ; her long black skirts were
fastened up by a strap on each side, and showed her white
stockings and low-cut easy shoes. She bowed to us very
courteously, with a pleasant smile of welcome on her gentle
old face, and asked what we wished specially to see at Le
Bon Sauveur.

We answer, " Everything that is permitted, and that
madame is willing to show us." This seems to please her
very much. She turns round and points to a large build-
ing on the left side of the court, and tells us that that is
the abode of the sourds-muefs , taught on the system of the
Abbe Jamet. We follow her across a little garden, trimly
kept, with a large bed full of standard roses in the midst
of a good-sized grass plot. On our way we pass a great
thorn-tree, loaded with berries : our guide says that this is
two hundred years old, and that nearly every year it bears
two crops of flowers and berries. Beyond the grass plot
there is a covered arcade, and this is full of stonemasons
and carpenters at work.

" We are in vacation now," says our dear old smiling
guide, " so we are doing reparations. Never mind ; you do
not see us at our best, but we have still some pupils who
have not gone home for vacation."

" How many deaf-and-dumb scholars are there ?" we
ask.

'' About one hundred and fifty, male and female. Some
of these are rich and some poor ; but they are all taught on
the same system."

" And who pays for the poor scholars, madame ?"

She shrugs her shoulders ever so little.

374

CALVADOS.

"Well," she speaks quite apologetically, "you see, our
numbers increase so rapidly, that it has been necessary to
represent to monsieur the prdfet of the department that a
small allowance must be made for our poor children ; and
it is made, but it is very small. For all that, we never
refuse to take in a poor scholar."

" And how long do you keep them here?"

**Ah," she says, "that depends quite on themselves.
They are welcome to stay here until they are thoroughly
able to earn a livelihood. We teach them whatever trade
they prefer. But this is the class-room."

She stands aside, and we pass into a long lofty room,
wainscoted with panels of slate reaching some way up the
walls.

" Here is one of our scholars."

She looks towards a tall young fellow about sixteen, with
a clever-looking head and bright, intelligent, dark eyes, and
then she turns to another Sister standing near a row of chairs
facing the slate panels.

" If you will sit down," our guide says, " my Sister will
explain your questions to her pupil."

She seats herself, and we follow her example ; and then
the other Sister, a dark-eyed, sorrowful-faced woman, smiles
and bows, and we ask —

" What is the capital city of England ?"

She repeats our question, but more as if she were saying
it to herself than to the pupil, and makes only a few ges-
tures with one hand. Instantly — it seems to us before he
can have gathered in her meaning — the deaf-and-dumb boy
nods, smiles, and writes on the slate, in a large, bold
hand —

A DEAF-AND-DUMB SCHOLAR. 375

" Monsieur et madame, la capitale de I'Angleterre c'est
Londres."

We then ask for the birthplace of William the Conqueror :
the question is signed to him, and again quite as rapidly he
writes —

" Guillaume le Conque'rant est n^ k Falaise."

Then he looks eagerly for another question, and we ask
what trade he wishes to follow when he leaves Le Bon Sau-
veur. This answer comes even more rapidly, with a smile
of delight. He has chosen the trade of a turner.

** It is a favourite trade with many of them," the Sister
said ; " and he shows also a taste for drawing."

We showed him some sketches, and his quick comprehen-
sion and effusion of delight were most interesting. It was
almost painful to see his intense efforts by look and gesture
to show his pleasure. At last he tapped his forehead, and
the Sister said he meant by this to express that the person
who had made the sketches had " beaucoup de moyens."

We said good-bye to him, and wished him success, and
then we followed our guide to another range of building.

*' He is very clever," the Sister said, " and he is a pious
child as well as a clever one ; he is always good."

" And he is one of your poor scholars. Are his parents
working people ?" The boy's manner was so very good and
graceful that he puzzled us. She shook her head, and looked
very grave.

" There is not much to be said about his parentage. His
mother is a servant, who has to work hard for her living."

We asked his name, but the Sister had forgotten it. As
we followed her, we puzzled over the future of our inte-
resting dark-eyed friend, who will have, humanly speaking,

376 CALVADOS,

to make his own way in life without even a tongue to help
him.

Our guide moved very slowly, answering our questions
and volunteering information in a most pleasant and ready
manner.

" This is our chapel." She unlocked a door, and we went
in. The building is not large, and is divided into two
portions by a curtained screen. Between this and the choir
are benches for the sourds-muets, and above the screened-off
portion is a gallery for the sourdes-tnuettes. The Sister
drew aside a bit of the curtain, and we saw several of the
community kneeling in prayer.

" It is our hour for meditation," she said.

We asked to what order the community belonged.

" We are only Sisters of Le Bon Sauveur," she answered ;
" we do not belong to any order. We began here only five,
and, by divine blessing, we are now three hundred, includ-
ing our novices ; and we have other houses in other parts of
France."

We had been following her along a paved passage, and
now we came into a large, airy, handsome room, with an
inlaid floor in parqueterie, and elaborately carved brackets
for gas-burners.

^' Those are carved by the sourds-muets,^'' the Sister said ;
and she seemed much to admire the work.

There was scarcely any furniture in the room but chairs,
and an immense number of these placed as close together as
possible.

" This is our recreation-room," she said ; " the Sisters and
novices all meet here for recreation."

She went on at the same slow, gentle pace across a large

LE BON SAUVEUR, 377

pleasant garden full of flower-beds. There were thirty or
forty Sisters strolling about, some reading, others with books
under their arms, but all apart. They looked much
healthier than the cloistered nuns of the Hotel Dieu. It
looked very sunny and peaceful to see them taking life so
leisurely. The clock struck twelve, a bell rang, and they
all disappeared into the building we had left.

Our guide stopped us, and asked us to admire the faQade
of the new buildings and the spire of the chapel.

" It is not yet complete," she said. " If you come and
see us next year, you will find that our church is very much
enlarged and beautified."

We doubted the last assertion; for although the work
done is handsome and substantial, the style of it is not
good. It is so wonderful that, with those exquisitely pure
and severe spires of St. Etienne looking over the garden-
wall, the architect of Le Bon Sauveur should not have been
moved to a better design.

She said that their numbers increased so rapidly that they
were always building. She led us into a second garden,
with a cloistered walk round it. This was half roofed over,
and the Sister said it would soon be completed.

" It will be good for your health," we said.

" It will be good for the processions," she answered ;
" they have now to be made without any shelter. We have
very good health here ; we are scarcely ever ill."

" You look as if you had excellent health."

" I have never yet been ill," she said, " and I am old too ;
an ! much older than you think," she smiled quite archly.
"Why, I have been a religious for fifty years."

We were startled, for she did not look more than sixtv

378 CALVADOS.

years old; but she went on to a corner of the cloistered
walk, and stopped before a little open chapel, with a prie-
dieu in front of it handsomely carved in oak.

She said that this was the first work of a poor deaf-and-
dumb scholar after his apprenticeship. He did it at odd
times, without his master's knowledge, as an offering to the
good Sisters who had done so much for him.

Next the cloister we came into a very large walled garden,
the beds bordered by marigolds in full blossom, the centres
filled with cabbages, onions, potatoes, and artichokes, and
the walls covered with fruit-trees. Among the vegetables
were plenty of pyramidal pear-trees. At one side of the
garden, instead of a border of marigolds, there were dwarf
espalier apples trained about a foot from the ground.

Just here we met several women walking with a Sister.
We noticed that our guide scarcely looked at them, as she
bent her head in acknowledgment of their greeting and passed
on. Some of the faces were smiling, others sad; but in
all there was a withered, craving expression, as if the mind
had been seared by some scorching blast and was thirsting
for refreshment.

" Those are quite harmless patients," the Sister said, as
soon as they were out of hearing. " They take so much
pleasure in the gardens, and they are allowed to walk in the
fields too, but always with a Sister."

"They do not go far?"

" Not to walk ; but we have several carriages, and they
drive out constantly when the doctors think it desirable;
the air is so good for them. We do all we can," she went
on, " to soothe and to brighten the dark lot of these afflicted
ones. Yo,\i do not know, until you have tended it, what an

LE BON SAUVEUR. 379

awful doom insanity is. Here we try, if possible, never to
thwart our patients. In some establishments it is considered
wise to have a regimen about food, but with us they eat
and drink as they please, and we do not find that this indul-
gence hurts them."

We asked if any of the poor patients helped in gardening ;
for the gardens are so beautifully kept, and so extensive,
that they must require much labour.

" We do not count on their assistance : we employ
twenty-four regular gardeners. If the patients like to work,
either in the garden or in other ways, we are always very
glad, but more for their sakes than for the benefit of the
institution. Their labour is so fitful and uncertain, that
there is little profit in it, and we never urge them to work;
in this, as in everything else, they do as they please."

Listening to the gentle voice, and seeing all around such
peace and sunshine and order, we thought that the poor
afflicted inmates of Le Bon Sauveur must be as happy as
their doom can allow ; but it makes the heart heavy to look
at the fair, well-ordered scene — the luxuriant, richly stocked
ground, the walls glowing with fruit, and then to meet these
strange, restless, scared, or vacant faces in the midst of all
that seems needful for a peaceful, happy life.

In a comer of this garden we came to the church for the
insane. It is very plain and simple.

The Sister said that only those are admitted who are
sufficiently quiet ; and these, it seems, are very few out of the
thousand patients who are now in Le Bon Sauveur. We
were surprised to hear there was so large a number ; it
seems wonderful that a thousand maniacs can be tended
and controlled by these quiet, gentle women.

38o CALVADOS.

The ranges of buildings behind the church are appro-
priated to the male patients ; those on the other side of the
grounds to the females and young children. It is very sad
to learn that there are many mad and idiot children here ;
also many more female than male patients. A little way
farther we came upon a kitchen opening on to this garden,
and saw the bread and portions of food being arranged for
the male patients.

" Who waits on them ? " we asked.

" We do." The Sister looked surprised at the question.
" We do everything for the female patients, and also for the
males, except the bathing and dressing and undressing of
those who cannot do it for themselves ; but we have for this
men we can trust. But we wait on our male patients at
meal-time, and we feed them if they do not like to feed
themselves."

A few yards beyond the chapel we came to a small neatly
kept enclosure, nearly full of turfed graves, with a path down
the middle leading to a small building.

" It is our mortuary chapel," she said. " Those are the
graves of our Sisters " — she pointed to the right ; " and these
on the left are the graves of our Superiors." The small
group on the left looked specially well cared for. The Sister
asked us to look at the central sod of these last graves.

" Our first Superior lies there, La Mbre Lechasseur," she
saidc " She was ninety when she died, and she was re-
elected three times."

We asked how often the election took place.

*' We choose a new Superior every three years, and she is
sometimes re-elected."

She went forward and unlocked the door of the mortuary

MONUMENT OF THE ABBE J A MET. 381

chapel. We entered a square stone room, with an altar at
one end, before which a lamp was burning.

In the centre is the large stone monument. The figure
is in marble.

" I will ask you not to examine the face till I have closed
the shutters," she said; and it was wonderful to see the
beautifying change in the marble countenance when day-
light was excluded, and the light of the lamp burning in
front of the little altar was concentrated on the exquisitely
regular features of the great benefactor of the institution.

" It is so much more like the Abbe Jamet in this light,"
she explained, '' it is such a perfect resemblance." And as
we stood gazing at the sweet, saint-like face — sweet and yet
full of calm resolution — it became easier to understand the
wonderful rise and development of this great work, and the
sorrow which is yet felt at the Bon Sauveur for the loss of
this wise and good man.

The tomb and the figure are exquisitely sculptured, and
are the work of a Caennais artist. A legend round the
monument records that it is to the memory of Pierre Jamet,
who died 1845, aged eighty-three. He watched over Le
Bon Sauveur and its fortunes from 1790 till his death. The
present Principal is also a Monsieur Jamet, a nephew of the
Abbe ; and there are several priests attached to the insti-
tution.

The mortuary chapel is built against a wall, over which
at a little distance can be seen the tower of the Church of
St. Ouen.

" You might think," the Sister said, " from its close
vicinity, that we are under parochial administration.
Strangers often think this, but it is a mistake. We bring

382 CALVADOS.

all our dead to the chapel here ; our Sisters are buried in
our own ground," she looked towards the graves, for we
had now come out of the chapel, " but our patients are
taken from us, through that door in the wall, and are buried
in the parish cemetery ; still, for all that, the authorities of
St. Ouen have no authority over us. We open the door,
and they bury our dead, and that is all." She looked
anxiously, to be quite sure we understood. It was plainly
grievous to her to be supposed amenable to alien autho-
rity. We asked the dear old lady if she had ever been
Superior. There was a gentle dignity about her, and a sort
of motherly, protecting manner, which seemed to imply that
she had held an important post.

She smiled.

" Oh no," she said, " I am nothing, and I am too old
now to be of real use to any one ; but I take strangers
about, because I have been here so long, and can answer
their questions."

She is certainly admirably suited for her post, and we
ventured to say so.

*' But I am very old," she said.

" But, madame, you are not much more than sixty ? "

" I am seventy-five," she answered, to our astonishment.

We begged that she would not take us any farther, as
we thought she must surely be tired.

" If madame is tired," she said very sweetly, " we will
return ; but I should much have liked to show you every-
thing. I am not at all tired."

And she looked so fresh and hale, and seemed so really
anxious we should proceed, that we followed her without
further protest. We had noticed a young woman bending

THE DRYING-HOUSE. 383

over the Sisters' graves ; we asked if she was one of the
insane patients.

*' Oh no ; she is a poor girl who was starving. We took
her in the hope of giving her employment ; but she is too
ill to work, so we shall keep her here till she dies."

At last we reached the end of the large garden, and
began to mount some rising ground on which stand the
laundry and drying-house. They are both on a large scale.

On our way we met several men with working tools in
their hands, who all saluted our guide. We were surprised
to hear that they were all mad patients. We had not sus-
pected it, as their faces were so much more peaceful than
those of the women we had seen ; one man especially, of
about thirty, had quite a handsome, fair, sunburnt counte-
nance.

" Ah, but these are very mild and reasonable," the Sister
said ; " they are some of our bo7is e7ifa7itsy

We noticed a few yards behind these men came a Sister.
She walked in a quiet, leisurely way, as if she were taking
the air for her own special benefit ; but evidently she was
not there by chance.

The drying-house is very large. They never light fires
in it y there are large windows on every side, which admit
a thorough current of air to the five floors, one above
another. Poles are fixed on wooden framework, about two
feet apart, and reach from side to side of the building.
On the day of our visit these poles were covered with linen
drying in the current of air that circulates freely from
the open windows.

Our guide asked us to mount to the third story, so that
we might see the extent of the land and buildings.

384 CALVADOS.

" If it will not gener you too much," the dear old woman
said ; and she slipped in between the poles and stood on
tiptoe to pull aside a row of damp shirts, so thai we might
pass up to the windows. It was not pleasant to squeeze
past the wet linen, but we found it quite worth whnc to do it
We saw very perfectly how charming is the situation of Le
Bon Sauveur, surrounded on two sides by its own fai'-stretch-
ing fields, fringed by poplars, and on the third by the grey
walls and spires of St. Etienne. The Sister pointed out a
windmill in the fields : she told us all their floarwas giound
there. From this point we saw, too, the great exient of the
hospital buildings; they are so admirably placed between
the leafy walls and shrubberies, and they nestle in such a
hidden way among them, that as you walk about you are
unable to realise the vast amount of ground they cover.

Close around the drying-house is the farmyard, sur-
rounded with its cow-houses and piggeries. There are plenty
of clean, well-kept cocks and hens, and ducks, strutting
and waddling about the spacious yard in the centre. Here,
too, are the coach-houses and stables.

"We often have pleasant drives — all of us," the Sister
said with animation.

The farmyard is on the rising ground on which the
drying-house is built; and we looked down on the large
extent of gardens we had traversed, and saw the ranges of
houses extending on each side in long semicircles, one
behind another, walled gardens and trees intervening, so as
to insure an amount of privacy to all. We noticed some
charming detached villas, only one story high, nearest the
central gardens, shut in by shrubberies ; and farther on a
range of still lower buildings.

LE BON SAUVEUR, 385

" These last are for our poor epileptics," the Sister said.
" The poor ladies used to fall down-stairs sometimes, and
hurt themselves, when they were taken ill suddenly ; so we
have built them houses without any stairs, and if they fall
they are not injured."

She had brought us to the drying-room by the right-hand
side of the gardens ; now she asked us to return along the
left-hand side.

Beau Brummell died at Bon Sauveur, but we did not care
to see his room ; it is shown to strangers who wish to see
it. He seems to have died very peacefully. How strange a
contrast between the haunts of London fashion and the
quiet asylum at Caen !

We went back through several beautiful gardens, but they
are all of the same character ; vegetables and pear-trees in
the midst, and the walls glowing with fruit ripening fast
under the intensely blue sky, a few late butterflies darting
out now and then unexpectedly.

Presently our guide stopped before a door in the wall ;
she took a key from the large bunch at her waist slowly,
almost unwillingly.

" I must ask you to look in quickly, when I open the
door," she said rather nervously : " if there is any one in
the garden, I must close it again at once. This is one of
the rich patients' enclosures, and they do not like to be
looked at."

But when she opened the door there was no one to
be seen; only a very pretty house built of Caen stone,
and before it a garden well screened on each side by
shrubs ; the lawn covered with flower-beds quite ablaze with
blossoms. Among the shrubberies we saw arbours and

c c

386 CAL VADOS,

pleasantly arranged nooks, with tables and chairs for
spending time out of doors.

" That is all right." She seemed quite relieved when the
door was shut again. *' Are they not pretty, the houses of
our rich patients ? Poor things ! they prefer to live alone,
though I think they must be very dull ; but a Sister is with
each one night and day, — only it is so arranged that she
does not intrude on them."

A little way on we came to another locked door in the
vine-covered wall.

" I will show you another of our private houses. These
patients are not so rich ; and here two ladies share a house
between them, but each has her own bedroom."

She opened the door, and there was another pretty bright
house and garden — only here the door opened into a covered
walk, where two ladies were seated at needlework.

One came running up when she saw us at the door ; she
spoke to our guide, and looked eagerly at us. She smiled
as we bowed.

It was very sad to see her smile. There was something
inexpressibly pathetic in her whole aspect. Her hair was all
awry, in little grizzled, dry curls on each side of her restless,
eager face ; and yet in the very eagerness there was a want
of purpose, as if she did not know what she was seeking ;
still she did not look unhappy. She began to talk with
volubility, but the Sister answered her with smiling courtesy
and shut the door again.

*' There is no harm done there," she said. "Both of
those are good reasonable patients ; our visit will not have
excited them."

We asked if cures were often eftected at Le Bon Sauveur.

LE BON SAUVEUR. 387

" Yes," she said slowly, " we have cures, but they are rare ;
and sometimes the patients who go away cured return, and,
if they return a third time, there is little hope that they
will ever leave us sane.*'

There was an indescribable depth of sadness in her voice.
At that moment the flowers, the fruit, the blue sky, and the
butterflies sporting in the sunshine seemed terribly out of
harmony with these thousand afflicted souls.

After this we walked along in silence. Our guide had
promised to show us the two wonderful cider-reservoirs,
each capable of holding eight hundred and ninety-eight
hogsheads — far more than the great tun of Heidelberg.
Just before we reached them, we came upon a Sister and
two poor little idiot children of about six and eight years
old. The eldest had a vacant look, but still she was
quiet and collected \ but the other child had a distorted,
grotesque face, and laughed wildly when we spoke to it.
One could feel in a moment the brain was empty. One of
us carried a Httle black leather bag, and this fixed the little
creature's attention. She kissed it, fingered it, and bit it,
moved it about, and tried to see her face reflected on it, till it
became terrible to watch her. We had some difficulty at
last in getting away gently from the poor mindless little
creature.

" There is no hope for her," the Sister said sadly. " She
will be always like that ; but the Bon Dieu loves her as
much as He loves his other children, and He will not expect
of her more than she can give."

We passed on to the cider-tanks. They are immense,
but they were not filled last year.

*' The apples failed with us," our Sister said ; " and they

388 CAL VADOS.

were so dear that we could not buy sufficient to fill both
our tanks, so we cannot give every one cider now. You
see sixteen hundred people consume a great deal of cider,
and we make all ourselves."

A little way on we came to the bakery. Two women
passed us here, wheeling barrows, and close behind them
came a Sister watching them attentively.

We looked at our guide for explanation — for the first had
a quiet, wooden, contented sort of face j the second looked
unhappy.

" Those are two dangerous patients," she said ; " they
may not be trusted out of sight at all."

What a life it seems for these two hundred and thirty-five
gentle, devoted women to keep a constant watch in these
asylums over the sad, afflicted creatures who, whatever may
be their behaviour, are treated tenderly and lovingly.

We said to our guide that we should like to see such an
institution in England, and we told her that our insane
patients are tended only by paid nurses.

" Ah," she said, " our work is quite difterent to any other
work. It is easy work to teach the ignorant, to nurse the
sick, to reclaim the fallen, even to give speech to the deaf
and dumb, compared with the self-abnegation required of
those who will tend the insane. No one can know what it is
without trying. It is a necessary work, but it is very diffi-
cult. In other work you have hope of progress, but hope
is almost impossible here."

Doubtless this Sister, who has spent fifty years among the
insane, must know how hard this task is, and yet she did
not speak as though she shrank from it, but only as if to
warn that such a charge must not be lightly undertaken. It

LE BON SAUVEUR, 389

may be that she thought so much self-denial was not to be
expected of heretics ; and yet our English sisters are as
pious and as gentle as their foreign sisters, and have there-
fore as much power to gild the daily life of their demented
brethren here. And how blessed and glorious a mission
it is I

Of all sights, a madhouse is the one we have always
shrunk from with the most intense avoidance, and yet we
left Le Bon Sauveur with a feeling of inexpressible joy and
thankfulness that so much soothing calm was bestowed on
its poor inmates by the sweet and holy atmosphere that
surrounds them. There was, too, a very peaceful and
sweetening influence in the talk of that dear old Sister,
and in watching the kindly greetings she gave and received.
Most heartily I advise all travellers in Normandy who
visit the fair city of Caen (of which Madame de Sevigne
says, in her charming French, that it is "the prettiest
town, the most inviting, the gayest, the best placed ; it has
the handsomest streets, the finest buildings, the most
beautiful churches, meadows, walks ; and, finally, it is the
cradle of all our wits ") to devote part of a day to a pilgrim-
age to Le Bon Sauveur

CALVADOS.

CHAPTER XV.
CAEN.

"EXT morning we went down to
the Place St. Pierre, and found
the lovely old spire rising out of the
midst of flowers. It was not market-
morning, but there was a fragrant
show of myrtles covered with starry
blossoms, beside fuchsias and fragrant
dark-red clove carnations, pots of
mignonette and double wall-flower.
There were, besides, huge bouquets,
some of choice flowers exquisitely
grouped, notably some of white jas-
mine and myrtle and dusky cloves ;

others, of enormous size, of China asters and marigolds.

These were sold from fifty centimes to a franc each.

A little way farther on the left is the fish-market ; and

this part of the town, with its canal in the middle and rows

of trees in front of the houses on each side, reminded us

much of Bruges,

MAISON DES GENDARMES, 391

We passed through the fish-market — not a pleasant sight
— and went along the Rue Basse for some distance, till we
reached the Maison des Gendarmes, or, as it is also called,
the Hotel de Nollent. It is a singular-looking building, built
in the reign of Louis XII. by Gdrard de Nollent, and called
in those days the Manoir des Talbotieres. It looks Hke a
little fortress, with its machicolated parapet and grated win-
dows, and is ornamented with sculptured medalHons and coats
of arms. The present name has been given from the two
figures on the roof of the tower. They represent two soldiers
originally armed, one with a bow and the other with a cross-
bow : they are now mutilated. Coming back we found
our way to the harbour, which is spacious, although after
Havre it looked insignificant, and crossing the bridge in the
middle of the quay, we went down the right-hand side of
the canal. This is bordered by a single row of trees on each
side, and runs nearly parallel with the river. Between the
trees is a long range of meadow land, on which numerous
cows were grazing.

There was a picturesque scene on the canal. All along
the steep banks were groups of anglers. One lad had five
lines at once in the water \ and farther on, at the bottom of
some steps cut in the bank, were busy washerwomen kneel-
ing in little wooden trays, set at the very edge of the water,
soaping clothes on a bit of board which they brought with
them, and then beating them with the flat wooden carrosse.

Behind us was the city ; on one side the Abbaye aux
Dames, on the other the lofty tower of St. Etienne le Vieux;
and in the midst, the lovely tapering spire of St. Pierre.

We found our way across the meadow on the right to the
Cours CaffareFi, beside the Ome. It is not very easy to

392 CALVADOS,

cross this meadow, as we found it was intersected by a
bog full of interesting flowering plants ; but the Cours is
delightful. On each side of the river — the opposite side is
called Cours Montalivet — are tall double avenues of trees,
chiefly elms and poplars, with seats beneath them. The
walks are perhaps straight and formal, but they are very
pleasant and shady in summer-time ; and it must be a great
boon to the inhabitants of Caen to possess so many of
them, for the Grand Cours at the south of the town is also
pleasant. The most charming time for the Cours Caffarelli
is the evening : then the place is lively with fathers and
mothers, and groups of little ones. Or farther on, where these
are scarcer, we come upon a pair of lovers sitting under a
tree ; then, as the light fades, and the stars begin to spangle
out one by one above the trees, turning back towards the
harbour, the lights of the town appear, too, one by one,
twinkling in the green gloom of the trees like glow-worms
on some mossy bank. On special occasions, when the band
of the regiment plays in the Place Royale, at the first note
of music the crowd moves quietly, but in a continuous
stream, eastwards, till the Cours is left to the stars and some
owls which hoot now and then among the opposite trees,
and to a few of the lovers who prefer solitude to music.

There is a very charming walk, beginning with the Gran-
ville road, getting a fine view of St. Etienne, and returning
along country lanes bordered by hedges — so like England
that it was suggested that probably Duke William took some
hedges over at the time of the Conquest — through Louvigny,
and by the Orne. There is a splendid view of the city from
the prairie on this side, but the view we prefer is on the road
to Luc. This is a steep walk of about tvvo miles in quite

VIEW OF CAEN. 393

another direction on to the heights overlooking the town.
There is a Calvary beside the road ; and from a field close
by you see the city.

It was sunset when we first saw it, and there were broad
lines of gold and crimson in the pale greenish sky above
the city stretched out so far below us ; the crimson changed,
while we stood gazing, into purple that mingled with the
grey of the long range of distant hills. The river, as soon
as it got beyond the forest of masts in the harbour, shone
out clearly in the golden light that fell on it, and we could
trace its windings among the poplar-fringed fields. The
light glittered, too, on the vanes on some of the churches,
and guided our eyes from William's minster to that of his
wife. We stood watching till the crimson glow dimmed,
and the sun sank slowly into a grey bank of cloud that rose
up behind Caen. As he sank, there came faintly and
sweetly up to us from some bell below, the sound of the
Angelus, and it swelled louder and louder till each church
had lent its voice to sound the death-hour of another day.

There is a quaint old street on the right of the Rue
Notre-Dame, called Rue des Fromages : it is very pictu-
resque, and has several old houses. It used to be called
Rue Mont-k-Regret, because criminals passed up it on
their way to execution, when the prisons were in the Rue
de Geole. It led us out on the Place St. Sauveur. Here
is the ancient Church of St. Sauveur, one of the churches
founded by St. Regnobert ; since the Revolution it has been
used as a corn-market. The interior is extremely interest-
ing ; the columns are of the twelfth century, but the nave
itself seems to be of later date ; the choir is still later ; and
the present portal of bad eighteenth-century work. The

394

CALVADOS.

church looks very picturesque on market-day, and the Place
is then very animated : there are still some old houses left.
At the end of it, facing the Place Fontette, is the Palais
de Justice. We went on beyond this, till we found our-
selves on the Cherbourg road. A little way before La
Maladrerie is the Calvary of St. Etienne. But we wantecf
to see the Abbaye d'Ardaine; and we had been told in

Maison des Gendarmes.

Caen that there was a short cut across the fields much
pleasanter than the high road, if we could only find it.

We stopped at the Octroi, and asked the way of the burly
Norman in charge.

" Yes, yes, there is a way ; but it is straighter to go along
the high road."

We looked. The road lay before us; waves of white
dust were driving along it ; and although it was near sunset.

THE ABB AYE D'ARDAINE. 395

and the day had grown cooler, still the wind blew towards
us, and, if we took that broad white track, we must be
smothered.

Before we could ask again, a shrill-voiced, skinny old
woman, in a white bonnet de coton, informed us that we had
only to follow her, and she would take us to the abbey in a
few minutee.

We objected that we did not wish to take her out of the
way.

" Dame," she smiled very pleasantly, " but monsieur and
madame have not understood. / am going to the abbey :
it is the shortest of ways — a little five minutes. We have
but to hurry our step, and there we are."

She looked possibly mad, certainly a vagrant ; but there
was something compelling in her cheery manner. Our stay
in Caen was nearly over, and it was near sunset; the
idea of reaching the Abbey d'Ardaine in a few minutes was
tempting. She went on at such a rapid pace that it was
not easy to follow her along the rough, uneven road. We
crossed some fields, and came out at last into a road
again. But many five minutes had passed, and the sun
had sunk before our chattering guide pointed out to us
a group of buildings nestHng like a farmstead among
trees.

At last, a turning appeared on the left, bordered by trees,
and at the end of this two ancient-looking gates.

Our guide told us these were generally open; and as
soon as we reached them she began to drum thereon with
her knuckles in a most vehement manner.

A pretty young woman, with long gold earrings, opened
a small gate cut in the large one. She said it was too

396 CALVADOS.

late for seeing the abbey; but, as it was still quite light
enough, we asked her to be so complaisant as to let us in.

The farmhouse is behind ; but all round the large yard,
into which the gates open, are farm-buildings, and in the
centre is the abbey-church — a beautiful nave, with four
comer turrets, each containing a staircase. It is well pre-
served, although entirely desecrated. The west front and
rose-window are very remarkable, and so doubtless were all
the windows. The whole of the interior is now filled with
hay, straw, and other stores ; we saw a waggon standing
lust within the western doorway. It is a most interesting
building ; and it seems strange that the authorities of the de-
partment should allow it to remain in this uncared-for state.

The abbey was founded by Aiulphe du Marche and Asce-
line his wife, in 1121 ; and among the names of its benefac-
tors are those of Richard I. and John Lackland, and other
well-known names of the period. Charles VII. lodged here
during the siege of Caen ; and from here, on July 6th,
1450, he made his triumphal entry into the town. In
memory of this event, Ardaine bore two fleurs-de-lis on its
shield.

On the left side of the yard is an enormous barn,
divided inside by arches resting on two rows of round pillars
into three aisles. Evidently the abbey was very wealthy.
There is a great extent of cellarage ; and the kitchens,
buttery, &c., covered half an acre.

The house, within another court, seems to be underlet to
a farmer, the proprietor living abroad.

When we came through the great gates again, we found
our guide waiting for us. She had refused any payment for
her services, as she declared it was delightful to get a talk

LA MALADRERIE, 397

as she walked along, and also that she was proud to show
English people so beautiful a building as the abbey. We
could not get rid of her ; she said, if we attempted to
return in the dark through the fields, we should certainly
be robbed ; and as she lived at La Maladrerie, and must
therefore go there, we had much better let her guide us to
the high road by way of La Maladrerie.

"As to that," she said, with the most ludicrous twist
of face imaginable, " it makes no difference " — here she
snapped her fingers ; — " if my home were the other side of
the abbey, instead of being, as by a most fortunate chance
it is, in the road of monsieur and madame, it would make
nothing. All the same I should not leave them till they
were safe on the high road."

We soon reached La Maladrerie, and had the greatest
difficulty in prevailing on the kind old woman to accept any
reward for her trouble ; and yet she must have been very
poor, her clothes were threadbare rags — in fact, she seemed
only to wear a cotton gown and a bonnet de coton, her bare
feet in black wooden sabots.

The name of La Maladrerie tells its story. Henry II., the
patron of lepers, founded a hospital here for that terrible
disease in 11603 but there are no remains of this building.
There is a little Romanesque chapel not far off, called the
Chapelle de Nombril Dieu. Henry's hospital was called
Beaulieu ; and the village that grew up round it was called
La Maladrerie. This hospital was so greatly esteemed that
many smaller ones were closed, and their revenues added to
its endowment.

The hospital continued to receive paiients till 1593, but
the disease had apparently died out during the next cen-

398 CALVADOS.

tury, for in 1696 all the hospital revenues were transferred
to the Hotel Dieu at Caen, and Beaulieu became a sort of
penitentiary for malefactors of various kinds. From 1784 to
1 81 8 a most strange system of things prevailed.

Till this date the lunatics of the department had been
confined in an old tower, the resort of bats, toads, rats, and
spiders, called La Tour Chastimoine, the most horrible of
dungeons; in 1784 they were sent to Beaulieu.

But in the third year of his restoration, Louis XVIII.
separated these poor lunatics from the depraved companion-
ship into which they had been thrown at Beaulieu, and
transferred them to the tender care of the admirable Sisters
of Le Bon Sauveur. Beaulieu, since 1820, has been the
central House of Detention for male prisoners of the three
departments of Eure, Calvados, and Manche. It is a very
large building, and it is said to be well managed.

There are charming nursery-gardens on the higher side of
the town, near the riding-school; and there is a public
garden, not very interesting, near the high ground behind
St. Julien. We had not yet seen this side of the town,
and we went up the Rue de Geole, a steep winding street
in a line with the Rue St. Jean, on the other side of
St. Pierre. There are two very curious houses here —
No. 17, and No. 31, Maison des Quatrans. Of No. 17 the
first and second stories remain in their original state. The
house is built of stone, and is of the Renaissance epoch.
There are four well-executed medaUions with inscriptions,
and a quaint bas-relief in the frieze of the doorway. A
rather doubtful tradition says that this was once the house
of the poet Jean Marot. The Maison des Quatrans is a
wooden house, almost too well preserved, for its freshness

THE RUE DE GEOLE,

399

gives it a modem aspect. It belonged in 1380 to Jean
Quatrans, of Caen. The gate was open, and we went in,
and found a charming courtyard, with trees on one side,
and against the house itself a curious octagonal stone tower.

In the Rue de Geole (so called because the prisons were
formerly in this street), and in almost all the old streets of
Caen, we came suddenly on arched doorways, the upper half
of the door a grating, and through this we got visions of green
trees and gleaming flowers massed in a parterre on either
side, in the midst a sparkling
fountain, in which most of
the sunbeams seemed to be
taking a bath together, the
rest mirroring themselves in
a huge glass ball placed at
one side of the garden or
of the old grey house be-
hind. These bits of light
and colour offer continual
refreshment; and even where
there are no sparkling visions
of gardens and fountains, it is impossible to go the length
of a street without being attracted by some picturesque
grouping of window-flowers, or a little out of the main
thoroughfare by the light and shade on the exquisite green
of vine-leaves clustering round a door or a window.

This Rue de Geole, anciently Cattethoule, is the most
ancient in Caen. It runs finally into the Courseulles road ;
but some way before this it opens into the Place and Prome-
nade St. Julien. The little grey church stands in one corner,
and is not remarkable. Inside, it is rather special and

StonevAIedallion, Rue de Ge61e.

400 CAL VADOb

original, but It has been spoiled by attempts at restoration.
A charter of Richard Coeur-de-Lion speaks of it as the
Monastery of St. Julien in 1189, but at that time the word
monasterium seems to have been used in speaking of
churches and even of chapels. St. Julien was in the gift
of the Knights Templars of Voismer; but at the suppres-
sion of their order, in 131 2, it was given to the Knights
of St. John of Jerusalem. This church preserved till the
end of the sixteenth century the ancient custom of liberating
a caged dove on the Festival of Pentecost, during the
chanting of the Veni Creator, Also, from openings made in
the vaulting, there were thrown over the assistants at the
service seven different kinds of flowers, and even flaming
torches.

The Promenade St. Julien is a shaded walk into the
town. About midway down there is a good view of
the Abbaye aux Hommes : the Promenade ends on the
Place St. Martin, and leads thence into the Rue Ecuyere,
just in front of Duke William's abbey ; but there is a sad
deserted look about this Promenade St. Julien. It is the
present site of public executions. These used formerly to
take place on the Place St. Sauveur, or Place au Vieux
Marche, where criminals are still publicly exposed.

Leaving the Promenade St. Julien, a turning on the right
leads us to the Ruede Bagatelle. There are several nursery-
gardens about here, filled, when we saw them, with exquisite
standard roses in full flower. The riding-school, a large
establishment, is in this street, and at the end of it is the
old Church of St. Nicholas. Excepting the tower, this is
considered by Monsieur de Caumont to be an entirely
unaltered church of the eleventh century. It is very sad to

THE BATTLE OF VAL-ES-DUNES. 401

see its present state ; it is used partly as a stable, and also
as a store for forage. It seems wonderful that, instead of
building modern churches, the authorities of Caen should
not restore this interesting church to its original destination.

Some very quaint and picturesque bits are to be found
rather above St. Pierre, near the streets I'Amontoir de la
Poissonnerie and Puis-es-Bottes. From herciibouts, in a low
light, the grey-green of the flhhe and upper part of the
tower of St. Pierre is most beautiful ; below the stone
assumes warmer tints. Beyond these streets is the Rue des
Chanoines, and from this street in the early morning a
charming view of St. Etienne is to be seen, the grey towers
framed between trees on each side of the street.

South-east of Caen, in a line with Allemagne, is the plain
on which was fought, in 1047, the decisive battle of Val-^s-
Dunes. It was the first pitched battle of William the
Bastard, and in it he taught the rebellious Saxons of the
Bessin, and his Danish subjects of Coutances, that hence-
forth he was their master. In this battle King Henry I. of
France espoused the cause of William, and fought bravely.
Wace gives a most spirited and interesting account of Val-
bs-Dunes in the " Roman de Rou."

Diligences go several times a day to Courseulles and
Douvres — where there is a very remarkable church, and
also close by the chspel of La Delivrande — of Berni^res,
St. Aubin, Lion, Langrune, Trouville, Villers, Houlgate,
Beuzeval, Cabourg-sur-Dives ; and many Caennais go out
to one or other of the smaller of these watering-places
several times in the week for bathing.

We were anxious to see Cabourg and Dives, and we drove
there in the grey of the early morning. The road lay beside

D D

402 . CALVADOS,

the river, from which a soft grey mist rose slowly, shrouding
the city behind us with a silver veil. Gradually the sun rose
higher behind the avenue of trees opposite, and now through
the mist, opal tinted as the sun's rays reached it, the spires
and towers of the grand old city seemed transfigured, loom-
ing gigantic through the silver veil which had already lifted
from the trees and shipping in the foreground.

Soon after this we quitted the river and its shady avenues,
and passed through a most fertile country, the road bordered
by hawthorn hedges and grassy banks, and shaded by the
tall trees growing up behind them. Every now and then we
came to a chateau, showing a high-pitched roof and rows ot
narrow windows, at the end of a long stiff avenue; but
everywhere, as far as eye could reach, were the inevitable
apple-orchards, laden with scarlet and golden fruit.

In some places the crop of barley or wheat below had
been cut, and the ground was being weeded by women for
another sowing, but generally the golden grain was waving
pleasantly beneath the fruit-laden trees. As we drew near
the sea, the trees became stunted and the ground sandy, and
soon we came to waste ground with sand-hills beyond it,
and beyond them the shining ocean.

We reached Dives about half-past ten o'clock. Our
driver had told us, when we engaged his voiture, that his
mother and daughter lived in a pretty cottage at Dives, and
that if we chose we could breakfast there more quietly and
comfortably than at the Hotel of Guillaume le Conqu^rant.

We agreed to do this, and he drove up to a pretty cottage
in sight of the river, with a garden in front. Great plots of
marigolds and clove pinks grew under the open windows.
Round one of them was a jasmine starred with blossoms,

BREAKFAST AT DIVES, 403

but on almost every other bit of wall hung peaches, nec-
tarines, and apricots glowing in the warm sunlight.

A pretty, blushing girl was opening the gate, smiling all
over in the delight of seeing us ; and an old woman, dressed
in black, came waddling up the grey garden path. She took
a motherly tone at once.

" Tiens," she said to our driver, after she had made us
each a dignified courtesy, " why, Pierre, my lad, thou art
before thy hour. I have not yet made the salad. Well, by
the time monsieur and madame have seen the garden and
looked at the apricots we shall be ready."

And by the time we had inspected the garden and been
taken by the pretty grand-daughter into every room upstairs
and down, of the charming cottage — which the old madame
was anxious we should take for the remainder of the season
— madame herself called from the foot of the stairs that we
were servis.

That little breakfast was charming, a picture to live in
memory like our open-air banquet on the banks of the Seine
at Tancarville. The old lady sat down with us and carved,
and her sweet grand-daughter waited.

There was a little round table daintily laid in the midst
of the room ; the windows were open, and the sweet, bright
sunshine and flower-scents came streaming in, and with
them thirsty bees from the hives in the garden, jealous for
the apricots which madame had gathered in our honour,
and which glowed in a nest of vine-leaves on our table.
Everything was delightful \ our soup, and cold chicken, and
salad, and vin ordinaire, seemed exquisite fare in such
surroundings.

After breakfast we walked along the straggling street ol

404 CALVADOS.

fishermen's cottages to the church. There is a little left of
the original eleventh-century building, but the chief part is
much later. There is the carved wooden Christ, said to
have been found in the sea, as well as the cross on which it
hangs ; and also the list of the barons and knights who
accompanied William on his expedition to England.

There are some curious sixteenth-century houses at Dives,
near the Place. The hotel itself is old, and in it is shown
the room occupied by Madame de Sevigne, with some of
the original furniture.

We went up a steep hill which lies on one side of the
village. Up the side of this cliff we saw quantities of sea-
buckthorn, with its sticky gold-coloured berries and grey-
green leaves. The cliffs are of a singular grey tint, sug-
gestive of river-mud deposit. There is a very extensive
view from the top; here stands the column which M. de
Caumont has erected to commemorate the conquest of
England. It is certain that William remained a month at
the mouth of the Dives, collecting his ships and his army.
In those days the sea was nearly a mile from the village.
The Point of Cabourg seems only to have formed the bay
that now exists since the beginning of the century. The
river divides and makes a figure of eight at low water ; the
harbour is too small now for any but fishing-boats. We got
ferried across the river by some picturesque fishermen, and
then had a pleasant walk over the wide-stretching sands
to Cabourg.

We found a pleasant, sociable gathering of Parisians
under the striped awning on the sands at Cabourg; the
ladies chatting merrily over their embroidery, the older
ones looking even stouter and more unwieldy than they

AT CAB OUR G. 405

had looked at Etretat. Gentlemen were scarce, and were
almost all in bathing costume, some seemingly fresh and
dripping from the water, in spite of which they were quite
content to sit chatting with the ladies under the awning
near the sea. There were more children here than we had
remarked at any of the other watering-places, and they
seemed extremely sociable and happy. There is a large
hotel and a grand casino, with a theatre in the middle of
it, and there are plenty of nice-looking, newly built houses ;
but one cannot say that Cabourg is a very attractive place,
although it is near much that is charming on the way
along the coast to Trouville : and the broad sands must
make the bathing very pleasant. Dives, though doubtless
not so healthy from the muddy state of its river, is yet
far more interesting than Cabourg.

We drove home in the cool of the evening, delighted
with our day. Caen seemed to look grander than ever in
the waning light, as we once more reached the poplar-
bordered Orne.

There is another delightful excursion to be made from
Caen, which may be accomplished in a day ; only it is a long
and fatiguing day's work. We leave Caen by its northern
side, and for some time the road mounts steeply. We pass
through St. Contest, which has an interesting old church,
several other villages, and then cross a little river, on the
left bank of which is Lasson.

There is a noble chateau here of the time of Francois I.,
but, like most works of the Renaissance period, it is more
remarkable in its details than as a whole. It is rich in
mouldings, medallions, and friezes ; the windows, chimneys,
the tourelle above, and the octagonal staircase tower, are

406 CALVADOS.

all full of effect. On the principal faQade is an inscription
in large letters, which no antiquary has as yet been able to
explain —

" Spero Lacon et asses perleu."

The river Orne flows round the park. Not far from
Lasson we come to the church of Thaon, or Than ; it is
very interesting, although it is no longer used as a church ;
it was built in the time of Henry I., and has one of the
oldest of the hollow stone spires of Normandy.

Two miles or more farther on is Le Fresne Camilly, with
its beautiful church ; but the chateau here has been lately
rebuilt.

We next come to Pierrepont. On the banks of a little
stream here is the Chateau de Lantheuil, of the time of
Louis XIII.

But the most interesting and complete of all these purely
domestic chateaux is the Chateau Fontaine-Henri, about a
mile and a half from Thaon. It seems to have been built
at various periods, and yet the effect is most complete and
perfect.

The right side dates probably from the fifteenth century ;
it is flanked by two square towers, one of which has
remarkable mouldings. The other side, that of Frangois I.,
has a very high roof and lofty chimney. There is an
elegant tourelle at the angle of the paviHon, and at the other
angle a loftier tower with a conical roof. On one of the
windows of the left wing is the inscription *' 1537, nescut."
The front of the building is covered profusely with ara-
besques, medallions, scrolls, friezes, canopies, statues in bas-
relief, worked with extraordinary care and skill. Above a

CHATEAU FONTAINE-HENRI. 407

door in the staircase leading to the apartments is a half-
length figure of Judith holding the head of Holofenvss in
her left hand ; her right hand rests on her sword : —

** On voit icy le pourtraict
De Judith La Vertueuse
Come par un Hautain faict
Couppa La Teste Fvmeuse
D'Holopheme qui L'Heureuse
Jerusalem eut defaict."

The style and delicacy of carving on this building
resemble those on the tomb of Cardinal d'Amboise.

Fontaine-Henri is a very fine building, and also a
delightful specimen of the dwelling of a French nobleman
in the latter part of the fifteenth century and the beginning
of the sixteenth. It was then in possession of the Har-
courts. The chapel is of the thirteenth century.

Farther on still is about the most interesting chateau
in Normandy — Creully, the Castle, as it called itself, par
excellence.

This was once one of the strongest fortresses in Normandy,
but it is now used as a dwelling-house. The Castle has
evidently been built at different periods, but some of it
doubtless belongs to the epoch of Robert of Gloucester.
Originally it seems to have been a square building. There
are still on its northern side some curious vaulted roofs,
reaching to the floor in a complete semicircle. The don-
jon is undoubtedly old, but there is sixteenth-century work
in the fa9ade ; the towers are not older than the fifteenth
century.

Seen from the river-side, Creully is most picturesque^
Its history is specially interesting to English people.

4o8 CAL VADOS.

Its first remarkable lord was Hamon of Morigny, sur-
named " Hamon aux Dents." Mr. Freeman says, " Hamon
Dentatus became the forefather of men famous in British
as well as in Norman history." Hamon, and his brother
Guillerin, were foremost in the famous revolt of the Bessin
against William the Bastard. They both fell, fighting
valiantly in the battle of Val - es - Dunes, near Caen.
Hamon's son, Robert Fitz-Hamon, remained faithful to
William, and, after the Conquest, was rewarded by a grant
of English land, and the earldom of Gloucester and Bristol.
He performed prodigies of valour at the battle of Hastings.
He built Cardiff Castle, and overawed the wild inhabitants
of South Wales. In one of the subsequent Norman battles
he was wounded by an arrow, and became imbecile, which,
says the chronicle, ''was a judgment for that he had con-
tributed with all his might to the taking of Bayeux when the
church was destroyed by fire with the rest of the town."
He fell at the battle of Tinchebrai in 1106; one of his
daughters, Mabel, married Robert de Kent, natural son of
Henry I. of England, and took to her husband the lord-
ships of Creully and Thorigny, as well as the earldom of
Gloucester.

This Robert de Kent was the famous Robert of Gloucester.
He fortified the Chateau de Creully, and made it one of the
strongest places in Normandy. In the fourteenth century the
English took possession of the Castle, although its lord,
Richard of Creully, had dismantled it in the hope that they
might pass it by. Some time after this, Richard, who seems
to have been a degenerate descendant of Hamon Dentatus,
retook the castle with the help of his neighbours, but it
did not remain long in the possession of its natural owners.

OYSTER-BEDS OF COURSEULLES. 409

In 1 41 7, when Henry V. overran Normandy, he gave the
manor of Creully to an English knight named Harcourt de
Vauclos, and the ancient lords of Creully only regained their
rights after the battle of Formigny. In 1678 the chateau
and the barony of Creully passed to Colbert, the minister
of Louis XIV. He seems to have delighted in this quiet
retreat on the banks of the river Seulles, and to have found
refreshment and solace here from the wearying anxieties
and perplexities which the intrigues of Louvois and the
ingratitude of Louis XIV. had caused him. There are
various legends of the crimes perpetrated by the ancient
possessors of Creully, although perhaps not more than
may be found attached to most of these very old Norman
houses.

Not very far from the chateau are the ruins of the Priory of
St. Gabriel. This was also founded by Robert of Gloucester,
and is said to be the finest ecclesiastical ruin in Calvados.
The donjon still remains, also a manor-house of the fifteenth
century, and the choir of the ruined church. The great
door is of the thirteenth century, but some of the ruin dates
from the twelfth. It must have been a very rich speci-
men of Norman work. It is possible to go on from Creully
beside the Seulles to Courseulles, a small bathing-place, not
very interesting, but famous for its oyster-beds ; there are
upwards of a hundred of these at Courseulles.

There are some very interesting Romanesque churches in
the small watering-places in the neighbourhood of Caen.
At Luc there is a nave of the twelfth century, and at Lion-
sur-Mer a remarKable and lofty tower of the same date. At
Lion, too, there is a charming chateau of the Renaissance
period : it is very elegant, with its tall slated roof and

410 CALVADOS.

picturesque tourelles, its bold staircase tower, and lofty
chimneys.

The famous pilgrimage church of La Delivrande, at
Doiivres, has been mostly rebuilt, but there is a little of the
old work left in the arcades north and west. On the 14th
of August, 1473, Louis XL went on pilgrimage to La
Delivrande, accompanied by Louis de Harcourt, Bishop of
Bayeux and Patriarch of Jerusalem, by Louis de Bourbon,
Admiral of France, and by the Sieur de Torcy, Grand
Master of the Cross-bowmen.

A quaint little book, dated 1642, says that ''Robert
Cenalis, Bishop of Avranches, affirms that the first chapel
of the Delivrande was built by St. Regnobert, the dis-
ciple and successor of St. Exupere, the first Bishop of
Bayeux, to which city he was also the apostle, being sent
there by his master, St. Clement, disciple and contem-
porary of St. Peter. But during the reign of Louis I., King
of France, Norman barbarians and idolaters came from
Norway, accompanied by the Danes, and made a descent
into Gaul in the year 830, and after this made several
other inroads, ravaging all Neustria. They profaned and
burned all churches. " It was in the midst of these burnings
and universal ravages that the chapel of the Delivrande was
burnt and entirely ruined by Hoistine, the first leader of
these infidels, who burned and pillaged the church of
Bayeux. These more than brutal cruelties have caused to
be inserted in the Litanies, the words, ^ a furore NormanorumJ

" Now the image of Notre-Dame, which was in the chapel
of La Delivrande, remained buried under the ruins of the
said chapel about two hundred years, that is to say, from the
year 830 till the time of William IL of this name, and

LA DELIVRANDE. 411

seventh Duke of Normandy, who began to govern the pro-
vince under the king of France, Henry I., at the beginning
of the eleventh century.

" There lived at that time a lord named Baldwin, Count
of the Bessin, who held his barony of Douvres of the Bishop
of Bayeux, the shepherd of which lord perceived that one of
his rams often retired from the flock and ran to a place near
the pasture, there with its foot and its horns struck and scraped
the earth, and then, being tired, lay down on the place where
is now the image of the Virgin in the chapel of the Deli-
vrande. This ram never ate, and yet it was the fattest of the
flock. The count, thinking that this was a warning sent
from heaven, went to the spot, together with the nobility,
with a holy hermit, and with a great crowd of people who
ran thither from surrounding places.

" He commanded that the trench which the ram had begun
to make should be laid open, and in it was found the image
of Notre-Dame, more than eight hundred years ago. This
image was carried in solemn procession with universal
joy by all the people into the church of Douvres, but was
soon taken back by an angel to the place where it had been
found.

" Then the count, understanding the Divine will, founded
and caused to be built on the spot the chapel, which
now exists, and gave it to messieurs of the chapter of
Bayeux."

The little book goes on to narrate the miraculous cures
wrought by Notre-Dame de la De'livrande ; also gives
reasons for the presence of images in churches — reasons why
they are venerable, and how they are to be regarded— reasons
why they are to be kissed and touched with devotion —

412 CALVADOS.

reasons for pilgrimages, &c., and ends with the quaint
quatrain —

" Si I'araour de Marie

En ton coeur est grave,

En tout temps ne t'oublie

De liii dire un Ave^

Overleaf is this notice from the printer to the reader —

" To my Reader. — As I finished printing this book in the
month of July, 1642, there came to the Delivrande, Isaac le
Gros, shipmaster, Etienne Deschamps, pilot, Pierre Relay,
Guillaume Roumission, and Guillaume le Gros, mariners,
who have attested that on Friday the nth of the said
month and year, they having been taken by the Turks, and
chained on board a galley for the space of three days, were
miraculously delivered by the grace of God and by the inter-.
cession of Notre-Dame of the Delivrande. In witness of
which they were come to the said place to return thanks to
God and to the Holy Virgin, and had brought the chains
with which they were bound, and have signed the aforesaid
attestation, and placed it in the hands of the chaplain of this
chapel."

La Delivrande is still a favourite shrine for pilgrimages,
and the church is filled with votive offerings and tablets.

At Langrune there is an interesting church of the thirteenth
century, with a lovely tapering spire ; and near Bernieres
there is a very curious sunken road.

The first feeling on arriving at Caen is that the town is
spacious and airy, but very dull ; and in truth, as soon as the
Abbeys of WiUiam and Matilda, St. Pierre, and the Castle are
visited, there seems little more to interest. Caen is certainly
not so interesting a town as some others to walk about m,

LIBRARY, PICTURES. 413

nor can the walks or country near at hand compare with
those of the towns farther west, still it is an excellent centre
to stop in — there is no town in Normandy from which so
much that is interesting can be so easily reached

It lacks the charm of Rouen, but it ^s much more restful
to the tired traveller ; the air is very healthy, and there is
more than one cheap and good inn. The traveller who
stays a day in Caen will leave it with comparative indiffer-
ence : the traveller who stays there a fortnight, and visits all
the marvellous churches and chateaux within reach, will
leave Caen with affectionate regret. There are plenty of
excellent shops, and there is a fine library to which the
public have free access. What a boon this last is ! In every
provincial town in Normandy we found there was an excel-
lent public library, and, in those we visited, most kind and
courteous ofhcials.

In Caen, too, there is a much better collection of pictures
at the public gallery than there is in Rouen ; specially one
said to be a Perugino. It is very interesting on Sunday
afternoons to see fathers and mothers showing their little
children these pictures ; the little girls in their full-bordered
caps crammed with white satin bows, much more intelligent-
looking than their close-cropped, bullet-headed brothers,
dressed in imitation of a soldier's uniform or in the eternal
grey blouse.

Picture - gazing over, the crowd streams out of the
Hotel de Ville, and divides itself for vespers among the
different churches, and then re-assembles later in the Cours
Caffarelli, or, should the band be playing, in the Place
Royale. If all the shops were but closed so that one could
beHeve every one was taking holiday, a French provincial

414 CALVADOS.

Sunday would be most delightful ; however, both last year
and the year before, we saw urgent notices in the churches of
La Haute Normandie, signed by the Archbishop of Rouen,
requesting all shopkeepers to give up Sunday trading.

Within a walk of Caen, dividing the commune of Baron
from that of Fontaine Etoupefour, is a well-preserved rem-
nant of the old Roman road that once traversed the arron-
dissements of Bayeux, Caen, and Falaise. At Fontaine
Etoupefour there is a chateau of the time of Louis XI.
or XII. : the pavilion over the entrance is said to be very
interesting.

CALVADOS.

CHAPTER XVI.

FALAISE.

T^HE most delightful ex-
cursion to be made from
Caen is to the ancient town
of Falaise, the famous birth-
place of William the Bastard.
The country between Caen
and Falaise is so lovely that
it is a pity to go there and
back by railway ; perhaps the
best way is to go by rail, sleep
at Falaise, and then drive back
next day to Caen. It is only
an hour's journey by rail.
We started early, and breakfasted at the little inn at
Falaise, and then set out on our pilgrimage to the castle ; for
we had been hving so long in an atmosphere of " Guillaume
le Conqu^rant," as the Normans call him, we had visited
so many of the places made famous by his exploits, that he
had become, especially in his own city of Caen, a hero to

■ .j»*im^ —

4i6 CALVADOS.

us, and we approached the scene of his birth with both
enthusiasm and reverence.

We visited first the picturesque Church of St. Gervais,
standing in a Place with a fountain in the centre, interest-
ing as having been consecrated in 1134 in the presence of
King Henry I., Duke of Normandy. The principal door-
way of the old Church of St. Gervais is most picturesque
and full of colour, quite worthy the attention of an artist.
Within, some of the pendants of the chapels are remark-
able ; but the church is being very badly restored ; at
present it is much disfigured with whitewash, and the archi-
tecture of the choir is very debased. After breakfasting at
the inn we passed on through the quiet, sleepy little town
to the Grande Place, where on one side is another spacious
church. La Sainte Trinite, and in the centre of the grey
open space, mounted on a high pedestal, the bronze statue
of the hero of Falaise.

William is on horseback. His charger a massive Norman
horse, is in the act of plunging forward, and the Duke, in a
suit of chain mail and a casque with open vizor, is looking
round at his imaginary soldiers, and waving them on with
lance and pennon grasped in his right hand ; his casque is
surmounted by the ducal crown.

It is a most powerful and spirited conception, and it im-
pressed us strangely. Gazing at this statue, one is able to
realise the gigantic mental power of the man, who, though
he could only sign his name at Rouen with a cross, could
quell the power of his fierce Viking barons as well as the
external foes of his dukedom, and conquer such a kingdom
as England. Mr. Freeman, in his " History of the Norman
Conquest," has so fully grasped and appreciated the cha*

CHARACTER OF THE CONQUEROR. i^\l

racter of this master of his fellows, that the best prepara-
tion for a visit to the Castle of Falaise is to read some
extracts from his *' Character of William the Conqueror."

" William, king of the English and Duke of the Normans,
bears a name which must for ever stand forth among the
foremost of mankind. No man that ever trod this earth was
ever endowed with greater natural gifts ; to no man was it ever
granted to accomplish greater things. If we look only to the
scale of a man's acts, without regard to their moral character'
we must hail in the victor of Val-es-Dunes, of Varaville, and
of Senlac the restorer of Normandy, the conqueror of Eng-
land — one who may fairly claim his place in the first rank of
the world's greatest men. No man ever did his work more
effectually at the moment ; no man ever left his work behind
him as more truly an abiding possession for all time. And
when we consider all the circumstances of his life, when we
judge him by the standard of his own age, above all, when
we compare him with those who came after him in his own
house, we shall perhaps be inclined to dwell on his great
qualities, on his many undoubted virtues, rather than to put
his no less undoubted crimes in their darkest light. As we
cannot refuse to place him among the greatest of men, neither
will a candid judgement incline us to place him among the
worst of men. If we cannot give him a niche among pure
patriots and heroes, he is quite as little entitled to a place
among mere tyrants and destroyers. William of Normandy
has no claim to a share in the pure glory of Timoleon,
-Alfred, and Washington ; he cannot even claim the more
mingled fame of Alexander, Charles, and Cnut ; but he has
even less in common with the mere enemies of their species,
the Nabuchodonosers, the Swends, and the Bonapartes,

£ £

4i8 CALVADOS.

whom God has from time to time sent as simple scourges
of a guilty world.

" Happily there are few men in history of whom we have
better materials for drawing the portrait. We see him as he
appeared to admiring followers of his own race ; we see him
also as he appeared to men of the conquered nation who had
looked on him and lived in his household. We have to
make allowance for flattery on the one side ; we have not

to make allowance for calumny on the other

Assuredly WilHam's English subjects did not love him ; but
they felt a sort of sullen reverence for the King who was
richer and mightier than all the Kings that were before him.
In speaking of him, the chronicler writes, as it were, with
downcast eyes and bated breath, as if he were hardly dealing
of a man of like passions with himself, but was rather draw-
ing the portrait of a being of another nature. Yet he holds
the balance fairly between the dark and the bright qualities
of one so far raised above the common lot of man. He
does not conceal his crimes and his oppressions ; but he sets
before us the merits of his government and the good peace
that he made in this land ; he judicially sums up what was
good and what was evil in him ; he warns men to follow the
good, and to avoid the evil ; and he sends him out of the
world with a charitable prayer for the repose of his soul.
And at the moment when he wrote, it was no marvel if the
chronicler was inclined to dwell rather on the good than on
the evil. The crown of William passed to one who shared
largely in his mere intellectual gifts, but who had no fellow-
ship with the greater and nobler elements of his character.

"To appreciate William the Conqueror, we have but to
cast our glance onwards to William the Red. We shall then

CHARACTER OF THE CONQUEROR. 419

understand how men, writhing under the scorpions of the
son, might look back with regret to the whips of the father.
We can understand how, under his godless rule, men might
feel kindly towards the memory of one who never wholly
cast away the thoughts of justice and mercy, and who, in
his darkest hours, had somewhat of the fear of God before
his eyes.

" In estimating the character of William, one feature stands
out pre-eminently above all others. Throughout his career
we admire in him the embodiment, in the highest degree
that human nature will allow, of the fixed purpose and

the unbending will Whatever the will of William

decreed, he found a means to bring it about. Whatever
his hand found to do, he did it with all his might. As
a warrior, as a general, it is needless to sound his praises.

Others beside him could have led the charge

at Val-es-Dunes ; others beside him could have chosen
the happy moment for the ambush at Varaville ; others
beside him could have endured the weariness of the long

blockade beneath the donjon of Brionne But none

in his own age, and few in any age, have shown themselves
like him masters of every branch of the consummate craft
of the statesman. Calm and clearsighted, he saw his object
before him ; he knew when to tarry and when to hasten, he
knew when to strike and how to strike, and how to use
alike the noblest and the vilest of men as his instruments.
Utterly unscrupulous, though far from unprincipled, taking
no pleasure in wrong or oppression for its own sake, always
keeping back his hands from needless bloodshed, he yet never
shrank from force or fraud, from wrong or bloodshed or op-
pression, when they seemed to him the straightest paths to

420 CALVADOS.

accomplish his purpose. His crimes admit of no denial,
but, with one single exception, they never were wanton
crimes. And when we come to see the school in which he
was brought up, and the men he had to deal with from child-
hood, our wonder really ought to be that his crimes were not
infinitely blacker. His personal virtues were throughout life
many and great. We hear much of his piety, and we see
reason to believe that his piety was something more than
the mere conventional piety of lavish gifts to monasteries.
Punctual in every exercise of devotion, paying respect and
honour of every kind to religion and its ministers, William
showed, in two ways most unusual among the princes of
that age, that his zeal for holy things was neither hypocrisy,
nor fanaticism, nor superstition. Like his illustrious con-
temporary on the Imperial throne, he appeared as a real
ecclesiastical reformer, and he allowed the precepts of his
religion to have a distinct influence on his private life. He
was one of the few princes of that age perfectly free from
the guilt of simony. His ecclesiastical appointments for
the most part do him honour ; the patron of Lanfranc
and Anselm can never be spoken of without respect. In
his personal conduct he practised at least one most un-
usual virtue : in a profligate age he was a model of con-
jugal fidelity. He was a good and faithful friend, an
aff"ectionate brother, we must perhaps add too indulgent
a father. And strong as was his sense of religion, deep as
was his reverence for the Church, open-handed as was his
bounty to her ministers, no prince that ever reigned was

less disposed to yield to ecclesiastical usurpations

While all Europe rang with the great strife of Pope and
Cassar, England and Normandy remained at peace under

CHARACTER OF THE CONQUEROR. 421

the rule of one who knew how, firmly and calmly, to hold his
own against Hildebrand himself. ....

" We are too apt to look on William as simply the Con-
queror of England ; but so to do is to look at him only in
his most splendid, but, at the same time, his least honour-
able aspect. WiUiam learned to become Conqueror of
England only by first becoming the Conqueror of Normandy

and the Conqueror of France He turned a jealous

over-lord (Henry I. of France) into an effective ally
against his rebellious subjects, and he turned those rebel-
lious subjects into faithful supporters against that jealous
over-lord. He came to his Duchy under every disadvan-
tage. At once bastard and minor, .... he was throughout
the whole of his early life beset by troubles, none of which
were of his own making ; and he came honourably out
of all. The change which William wrought in Normandy
was nothing less than a change from anarchy to good
order

" In the face of every obstacle, the mighty genius of
the once-despised Bastard raised himself and his princi-
pality to a place in the eyes of Europe such as Normandy

and its prince had never held before He. shared,

indeed, in the fierce passions of his race, and, in one
or two cases, his wrath hurried him, or his policy beguiled
him, into acts at which humanity shudders. At all
stages of his life, if he was debonair to those who would
do his will, he was beyond measure stern to those who
withstood it. Yet, when we think of all that he went
through, of the treachery and ingratitude which he met with
on every side, .... we shall see that it is not without reason
that his panegyrist praises his general forbearance and cle-

422

CAL VADOS.

niency The reign of William as Duke of the Normans

was prosperous and honourable in the highest degree. Had
he never stretched forth his hand to grasp the diadem
which was another's, his fame would not have filled the
world as now it does, but he would have gone down to his
grave as one of the best, as well as one of the greatest,
rulers of his time.

" If we turn from William, Duke of the Normans, to

William, King of the
English, we may, in-
deed, mourn that, in a
moral sense, the fine
gold has become dim ;
but our admiration for
mere greatness, for the
highest craft of the
statesman and the sol-
dier, will rise higher
than ever. No doubt
• he was highly favoured
by fortune — nothing
but an extraordinary

La Sainte Trinity, Falaise. combination of CVCntS

could have made the Conquest of England possible ; . . . .
but then none but such a man as William could have
conquered England under any circumstances at all. He
conquered and retained a land far greater than his paternal
Duchy, and a land in which he had not a single native
partisan : yet he contrived to put himself forward in the eye
of the world as a legal claimant, and not as an unprovoked-
invader. We must condemn the fraud, but we cannot help

CHARACTER OF THE CONQUEROR. 423

admiring the skill by which he made men believe that he
was the true heir of England, shut out from his inheritance
by a perjured usurper.

" Never was a more subtle web of fallacy woven by
the craft of man ; never did diplomatic ingenuity more
triumphantly attain its end. He contrived to make an
utterly unjust aggression bear the aspect, not only of
righteous, but almost of holy warfare

*^ And, landed on English ground, with no rights but those
of his own sword, with no supporters but his own foreign
army, he yet contrived to win the English crown with
every circumstance of formal legality. He was elected,
crowned, and anointed like his native predecessors, and he
swore at the hands of an English primate to observe the
ancient laws of England

" None but a man like him could have held down both
conquerors and conquered, and have made his will the only

law for Norman and Englishman alike He put

the finishing stroke to the work of Ecgberht, and made
England the most united kingdom in Western Christen-
dom

'' All opposition was quelled by fire and sword ; but when
it was quelled, whenever and wherever William's rule was
quietly accepted, his hand was heavy upon all smaller
disturbers of the peace of the world. Life, property, female
honour, stood indeed but a small chance while the process
of the Conquest was going on ; but, when William's work
was fully accomplished, they were safer under him than
they had ever been under England's native Kings

'^ Here, then, was a career through which none but one of
the greatest of mankind could have passed successfully. . .

424 CALVADOS.

At no time of his life does William appear as one of those
tyrants who actually delight in oppression, to whom the
infliction of human suffering is really a source of morbid
pleasure ; but human suffering was a matter about which he
was utterly reckless, — he stuck at no injustice needed to

carry out his purpose

" We may well believe that, when he swore to govern his
new subjects as well as they had been governed by their

own kings, it was his full purpose to keep his oath

But he could not govern England as he had governed Nor-
mandy ; he could not govern England as Cnut has governed
England ; he could not himself be as Cnut, neither could
his Normans be as Cnut's Danes. He gradually found that
there was no way for him to govern England save by
oppressions, exactions, and confiscations, by the bondage or

the death of the noblest of the land Northumberland

was hard to be kept in order, and Northumberland was made
a desert To lay waste Hampshire to make a hunting-
ground was a blacker crime than to lay waste Northumber-
land to rid himself of a political danger. He could still be
merciful when mercy was not dangerous ; but he had now
learned to shed innocent blood without remorse, if its
shedding seemed to add safety to his throne. The repeated
revolts of Eadgar were forgiven as often as they occurred ;
but Waltheof, caressed, flattered, promoted, was sent to
the scaffold on the first convenient pretext. It is hardly
superstitious to point out, alike with ancient and with
modern authorities, that the New Forest became a spot
fatal to William's house, and that after the death of Wal-
theof his old prosperity forsook him. Nothing, indeed,
occurred to loosen his hold on England ; but his last years

THE CASTLE OF FALAISE, 425

were spent in bickerings with his unworthy son, and in a
petty border warfare, in which the Conqueror had for the
first time to undergo defeat. At last he found his death-
wound in an inglorious quarrel, in the personal commission
of cruelties which aroused the indignation of his own
age, and the mighty King and Conqueror, forsaken by
his servants and children, had to owe his funeral rites
to the voluntary charity of a loyal vassal, and within the
walls of his own minster he could not find an undisputed
grave. "

It is curious to read this pendant to Mr. Freeman's
opinion in a French translation from an old English
chronicle : " He was a very wdse and very rich king, humble
towards God's servants, very hard to those who opposed
his will. He kept England in such order, that even a
weakly man could go everywhere in safety, with a bag of
gold ; but he caused every one who killed a stag or doe to
lose both eyes. He forbade the taking of a wild boar or a
hare. To see his love for game, one would have said he
was the father of it. This displeased his barons, but he
took no heed of their anger ; they had to obey his orders,
or they lost life, land, money, or the friendship of the king.
What a pity that a man should by pride put himself above
his fellow-men ! However, Almighty God granted him par-
don for his sins."

But, as we looked up at the warlike soldier on the grand
Norman war-horse, we thought only of William the Bastard,
the young, friendless Duke of Normandy, so strong in his
own might that when only a boy, not yet invested with the
ensigns of knighthood — and he received these from King
Henry of France at the earliest age allowed by the laws of

426 CALVADOS.

chivalry — he took his own Castle of Falaise by storm from
its treacherous governor, Thurston, who had garrisoned it
with French soldiers against his Norman sovereign. William
attacked it from the side of the town — it was impregnable,
till the discovery of gunpowder, on the other — and carried
it by a coup de main.

The part of the town which we had traversed is built on
raised ground, which continues to mount up till it reaches
the castle entrance. Here we went in through an arched
gateway, and were told by a girl to amuse ourselves on the
ramparts till her father, the concierge^ should arrive. The
view is most enchanting. The castle, which consists of a
square stone keep, faced with broad, flat buttresses, and the
huge, lofty round mass called Talbot's Tower, is built at the
extreme verge of the rocky promontory, so that the ramparts
seem to be part of the falaise itself, which descends from
them in a sheer precipice. At the foot of this winds the
lovely river Ante, shaded by trees, behind which rises
another ridge of steep hills. Exactly opposite the castle is
a yet steeper hill, detached from the others, and called
Mont Mirat. It was on this steep falaise that Henry V.
planted his cannon when he took the castle in 141 8, after a
siege of four months ; but Mont Mirat cannot be seen
from this side, for the keep rises from the rock itself, and
forbids any passage round its walls.

The ramparts form a pleasant grassed walk, shaded by
trees. There is a public day-school in the outside court of
the castle, and also in a curious old chapel said to date
from the twelfth century. By the time we had looked
round us, the concierge arrived. He was a solemn, sad-
looking man, but an enthusiast for the beauty of landscape.

ARLETTE'S FOUNTAIN,

427

He guided us first to the keep, of which only some of the
walls remain, the centre being filled with broken rubbish. It
was rather giddy work going up a plank without any hand-
rail, from the broken ground below to the top of the walls.
Round the inside of these there is a plank fixed with a
slight rail to prevent one from falling over ; but it is very
trying to the nerves.

We saw the little cell in which
Arlette is said to have given birth
to William, and read the absurd
inscription within ; and then, a
little farther on, we reached the
angle of the donjon, and looked
down out of a small double-
headed window, its circular arches
supported by a quaint Norman
pillar, at the identical fountain
where still the women and girls of ^^^^^^ j^ ^^^ Castle of'Faia.se.
Falaise come to wash in the stream,

and where Robert, then Count of Hiesmes, saw and grew
enamoured of Arlette. He was only eighteen, and did not suc-
ceed to the dukedom of Normandy till four years later ; but
tradition says that he sent at once to demand Arlette of her
father, the tanner, and that he, having taken counsel with his
brother, a holy hermit, yielded Arlette to her young lord.
Robert seems always to have been faithful to his first love.
She was treated as Countess of Hiesmes, and then as
Duchess of Normandy ; and although it is said that Robert
afterwards married Cnut's widowed sister Estritt, he never
had a child by her, nor does he seem ever to halve forsaken
Arlette, or Herleva. After Robert's death Arlette married

428 CALVADOS.

Herlwin of Conteville, and by him became mother of
William's two celebrated half-brothers Odo and Robert —
Odo, afterwards the famous warrior-bishop of Bayeux, and
Robert, Lord of Mortain, and, after the Conquest, Earl of
Cornwall. .

Looking down from that height into the green valley
surrounded on all sides by steep frowning rocks, and at
the little arched entrance to the washing-place beside
the Ante, it all seems like a fairy tale ; it is so hard to
believe that centuries have come and gone, and that still
the girls are washing in the self-same spot, and still there
is the glistening tree-shaded river beside which the young
prince beheld his love. But these thoughts are disturbed
when wise antiquarians and historians tell us that the
Falaise castle we stand in is not the castle-keep of William
•the Bastard ; and that even if he were born in the castle at
all — and there is a doubt about this — that Arlette's bower
would not have been in the donjon. Yet, even if these are
not the identical stones, there must have been a window
somewhere here, from which Robert was gazing when he
first saw Arlette ; and one looks from the window again
with faithful reverence down into the valley below, feeling
a strong indignation against the wise disturbers of the belief
of a lifetime.

Talbot's tower was founded by Henry V. after his conquest,
when he left the famous Talbot here as Lord Warden of the
Norman marches for about thirty years. The masonry of
this tower is as remarkable as that at Lillebonne. It is more
than a hundred feet high, and the massive walls are fifteen
feet thick. We went up a winding staircase leading on to
five stories : in the floor of each story there is a well, the

TALBOT S TOWER. 429

lowermost being a dungeon. On the top is a modem zinc
roof, utterly out of harmony with the rest ; but from this the
view of the surrounding country is magnificent — stretches of
forest, just embrowned with the first touch of autumn, rising
and faUing with the lofty hills over which they are spread,
opening here and there in vistas of grey mist — indications
of a valley with a river rippling over a stony bed, at the
foot of the rocky gorge almost hidden by the red-brown
trees. Beyond are exquisite blue hills, so far off that their
hue is of the tenderest, and melts into the sky-line far
away.

Our taciturn guide waked up at this scene, and began to
point out its beauties. He asked how we had come to
Falaise.

" Monsieur and madame were wrong, very wrong, to come
by rail," he said. " What is it by voiture ? — an hour or so
longer, perhaps. Bah ! what is an hour when people are out
pleasure-seeking ? And the road by Villers and Harcourt
is the road for travellers : there is nothing so fine in Nor-
mandy."

We had not heard of this route, having been told of two
others from Caen ; but our guide was positive, and when we
looked at the map we saw that it was a possible road, although
certainly not a direct one.

After this we came down from the tower, and went round
to the other side of the castle. Here is the breach made by
the cannon of Henri Quatre in 1559 : he took the place after
a siege of seven days.

This is a very picturesque point. Trees grow in what must
have been the inner moat ; and up the sides of the steep
grassed descent below the breach are ferns in profusion.

430

CALVADOS,

But the grandest aspect of Falaise is from outside. Sitting
at the foot of the falaise, from which the walls go up as if
all were solid masonry, it looks gigantic and of impregnable
strength. Gazing up at its frowning lofty walls, up the bare
rugged crag on which even furze and heather seem to find it
hard to keep a hold, one realises in a measure the savage
omnipotence of those Norman lords in their own domains,
and how their grasp of life and death over the dwellers in
the hamlets scattered here and there among the trees beside

the Ante was as much
a reality as their right
to slay the wild boars
and wolves and stags
in the forest land
around the frowning
rocks.

From here we went
down to the Ante, to
look at the washer-
women. Beside the
river, sluiced out of
its course for the con-
venience of the washers, is the arched entrance we had
seen from the top of the donjon; within it are huge
square tanks, filled. with bundles of clothes soaking, and
plenty of white-capped washerwomen, under the sheds
beside the tanks, bending over the water. They pay three
sous per day for the use of these sheds, each bringing her
own soap and cai-rosse to beat the soaped linen with. Some
of the water is sluiced into open-air tanks without the arch-
way, and at these the poorer women wash free of charge.

Washing-place beside the Ante.

ARLETTE. 431

The effect, looking through the archway, was very picturesque;
but, though we looked carefully, we could see no promise of
an Arlette among the broad good-humoured faces of the
washers. They all know the story, and talk about Arlette as
if she were a living acquaintance. Evidently they are very
proud of Duke William, and, like many of their countryfolk,
they seem to consider that Englishmen must shrink from
talking of the Conquest.

We found lovely nooks along the valley of the Ante,
where the child William may have rambled with his mother ;
for he does not seem to have been nursed in the castle, but
in the house of his mother's kinsfolk. It is said that Wil-
liam of Talvas, the fierce lord of Belesme, looked in at the
cottage door one day, and cursed the babe, who, he said,
would bring shame and ruin on him and his house. Three
of the picturesque old gates of the town still exist ; the
most perfect is the Porte des Cordeliers.

There is so much natural beauty in Falaise and its envi-
rons, that it is a pity to consider its castle the only point of
attraction. The Faubourg St. Laurent, built up and down
the valley of the Ante, is charmingly picturesque, far more so
than the Faubourg of Guibray, which used to be famous for
its fair ; but we heard last year that this had become quite
insignificant. There is a pleasant walk in the ancient castle
moat, and from the upper town one gets exquisite peeps
into gardens dotted here and there in nooks on the steep
rocks, with low stone walls overshadowed by huge fig-trees
laden with fruit.

There are several interesting excursions to be made from
Falaise to Longpre and other chateaux of the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries, and also to the Breche-au-Diable,

432 CAL VADOS.

a most remarkable rent in the granite rock, the entrance to
the gorge of St. Quentin.

The Httle river Laison flows at the bottom of this steep
valley. A legend gives this account of its presence there.

St. Quentin was the first apostle of this country; and
when he established himself, he built a church on the site
of the present one. But in those days the rock was entire.
Surrounded by the Laison, which flowed round its base, and
not being able to find a passage through the granite, it
spread its waters over the neighbouring plains in the shape
of a lake. St. Quentin lived alone on his rock, and very
rarely did any pious soul venture across the lake to pray in
the newly built church. St. Quentin did not murmur, but
he felt that his position hindered his apostolic labours. It
is said that Satan became aware of the saint's uneasiness,
and resolved to turn it to profit. One day he presented
himself before the saint, and, without circumlocution, pro-
posed to him to cleave the mountain in two, and thus give
a passage to the river, and by this means faciUtate the
access of the neighbouring inhabitants. St. Quentin was
surprised at the offer. " If I consent, O cursed one ! " he
answered, *' what dost thou demand as payment?" " The
soul of thine eldest daughter," said Satan. The saint
shuddered, and was about to give a determined refusal,
when he saw that the demon had already disappeared.
But Satan returned with fresh proffers ; and finally the saint
consented to the bargain, but added to it two essential
conditions : first, that as soon as the river flowed through
the rock, the Evil One should bleach a skin, the right of
naming which the apostle reserved to himself; and secondly,
that he should fill with water a vase belonging to St.

LA BRECHE-AU-DIABLE. 433

Qiientin. The bargain was struck, and the rock was rent ;
and then the saint produced a buckskin and a filter. Ever
since the prodigious cleft has been called La Breche-au-
Diable.

On the summit of the rock of St. Quentin is the monu-
ment of Madame Marie Joly, the actress.

F F

THE BESSIN,

CHAPTER XVH.
Arromanches — Bayeux.

HE country is much more richly
wooded south and west of Caen than
it is north and east. Towards Falaise
there seems to be more forest land ;
but on the road to Bayeux we came
to plenty of corn land largely inter-
spersed with the red sarrasin, the
grain (buckwheat) from which the
detestable bread is made which con-
stitutes so large a part of the food
of the French peasant. We tasted
this bread in little loaves, and thought
it exactly like putty, both in flavour
and texture. Sarrasin makes the flour used for gaieties, which
seem to take the place of bannocks in France, but are very
inferior; there is a galette of very superior quality to be found
in larger towns, but this is not made of sarrasin. It seems
wonderful that such large tracts of ground should be used
for such inferior produce — in even fertile districts, where one

THE CHURCH OF NORREY, 435

would think a little good farming would soon treble the land
in value, the cropping is poor — but of course the double
system of cropping, which is frequent throughout Nor-
mandy, must be a great drain on the soil ; and though the
richly laden apple-boughs form an exquisite contrast to the
waving fields of corn below, one fancies our grand, if mono-
tonous, expanse of golden grain must in the end produce the
most remunerative harvest.

It is possible to make a halt on the way to Bayeux to see
the famous church of Norrey. As there is a station close
by, the church is certainly worth seeing.

M. de Caumont says : — " The church of Norrey is in-
disputably one of the most remarkable in the department,
and one is astonished that so sumptuous a building should
have been erected in a parish, the population of which must
always have been inconsiderable." The tower of Norrey is
singularly beautiful with its tall narrow lancets. There is a
tradition relating to this church, similar to that of the appren-
tice's window in the Church of St. Ouen at Rouen. The
master or the father of the architect of Norrey had built the
tower of the church at Bretteville I'Orgueilleuse (a village
close by), and seeing the tower of Norrey make rapid pro-
gress, and fearing that it would throw his own tower into
the shade, he was seized with so violent a fit of jealousy
that he flung his pupil down from the top of the scaffolding.
This is said to be the reason why the tower of Norrey was
left unfinished.

On the high road to Bayeux, some way behind the great
prison of Beaulieu, are the famous stone-quarries of Alle-
magne, from which came the Caen stone of Westminster
Abbey and so many other of our ancient and modern

436 THE BESSIN.

Gothic buildings. There is a large stretch of corn land
near; but it strikes one with wonder that French farmers
should so often parcel out their ground in a variety of small
crops : one longs for the sight of a huge English corn-field,
for the sake of variety. But, on the whole, the country
between Caen and Bayeux is rich and fully cropped.

The country between Caen and Vire, or Les Bocages,
as it is called, is said to be very beautiful, and it is well
worth while to take the diligence from one town to the
other; but we wished to see Bayeux first, as it seems
to form a part of the history of William of Normandy.
The view of the Cathedral, as we approached the town,
is very impressive; but when we reached Bayeux station,
and saw an omnibus with Arromanches painted thereon,
a longing for sea-air and fresh breezes overcame our wish
to examine the Cathedral and the tapestry. We had
heard of Port-en-Bessin and of Asnelles, but not of Arro-
manches ; and there is something as good as a fairy tale
in a place one has never heard of; and as the day was
delightful, we left the bulk of our luggage at the station
and took our places in the little omnibus.

Long before we had really started on the road to Arro-
manches, we had grown well acquainted with the outside
of the Cathedral and with the town of Bayeux ; for we
seemed to make a pilgrimage up and down its chief streets
to take up passengers. At last we had taken up four,
besides ourselves, and seemed quite closely packed. The
omnibus could not be more than six feet long, four feet
wide, and four feet high ; presently, to our horror, it stopped
again, and two more passengers appeared. We remon-
strated, but the driver said eight was the complement of

TO ARROMANCHES. 437

passengers. The last-comer, a lady with both arms filled with
toys, had literally to force her way through the passengers'
knees to her seat. The laughter and joking were very merry :
only one French gentleman, of the ancient regime, squeezed
into the furthest corner, sulked and muttered that it was
insupportable; but the others, all well-clad, well-behaved
people, were most good tempered under the infliction,
although two of the ladies were too fat for their own
comfort or that of others. When we finally started, we
had eight people inside, five bags of various sizes on the
knees of the passengers, two huge baskets, toys, and sundry
small packages. There was quite a chorus of relief when
a fat lady and her buxom daughter got down at Tracy, or,
rather, extricated themselves, for the exit was difficult.

It is a well-planted and charming road from Bayeux
to Arromanches, and in spring it must be a perfect bower
of apple-blossoms. The country is flat \ the three spires of
the Cathedral form a landmark for several miles; but
the trees seemed larger, and the crops fuller, than any
we had yet seen. Presently we came to an old chateau
beside the road, standing back among its trees, and heard it
was the Chateau de Tracy : it seemed to us we had some-
where heard that name before. The sulky Frenchman was
disposed to be civil to us, and we asked him where we
had better lodge, as he told us he stayed every season at
Arromanches.

" Most of the inns are full," he said ; " but, if they can
take you in, you will be very comfortable at the Auberge
Chretien."

Chretien and Tracy — we began to reflect; and then, as
the road turned, and the little village, built chiefly on the

438 THE BESSIN.

cliff, came in full view, with the blue sea curving into a
bay between the outstretching points, right and left, we
began to feel that we knew all about Arromanches, and
should be quite at home there. So strong was this feeling
that, before we left the charming little village on the
cliff, we asked Madame Chretien if there was any one of
her people named Reine, as we had heard much in London
of a Mademoiselle Reine Chretien. But Madame Chretien
shook her head, and said she knew little of her husband's
relations ; he had some cousins at St. Aubin, she said, and
it might be one of them.

The omnibus stopped at the auberge, and we went, as we
were bid, into the kitchen, full of bright brass pans and a
fragrant flavour of soup herbs.

Oh yes, we could have a room. We were to follow Marie ;
and then, if we would amuse ourselves on the plage for a
little quarter of an hour, the room should be quite ready.
A meek-faced, smiling old woman, her arms full of sheets,
with such a quaint cap, close fitting, and a sort of white
penthouse over the forehead, led us into a yard, surrounded
on three sides by the white wooden inn ; a gallery ran
round the walls, leading down into the yard by a sort of
ladder staircase. The old woman tripped up this quite
nimbly, and opened one of the glass doors leading into
the gallery. One would prefer to stay at the Auberge
Chretien in warm weather, for the sleeping-rooms certainly
wear an al fresco character ; however, they are very clean,
most airy, and the one we occupied had an excellent bed ;
but our position reminded us of the Swiss family Robinson,
and the lodging in the giant tree-branches.

As we went out along the one street of Arromanches, a

THE SANDS AT ARROMANCHES. 439

young lady passed us in full bathing costume. She was walk-
ing down to the sea, with a waterproof cloak over her arm, to
throw on when she should emerge from the water. When we
had got down on to the plage — a steep descent, for Arro-
manches is nearly all built far above the sea — we saw groups
of ladies sitting reading or at needlework on the dry silvery
sand, under the shade of small red-and-white striped tents.
We heard that these tents could be hired for five francs per
week, and that in the morning they are used as dressing-
rooms or machines ; but, as the sea at high tide dashes up
against the wall of rock behind them, they can only be used
at low water. The sands are exquisite — such firm, delightful
walking. We stayed on them till the turn of the tide, watch-
ing the barelegged fisher-girls going out with their nets
gracefully poised across the shoulders, their lengthened
shadows glistening in the sand. Then we came back ; and,
climbing up at another point, found ourselves in the street
again — beside a garden full of huge sunflowers, burnished
by the glowing evening light, and beyond them appeared
the fishing-boats, drawn up on the shelving beach, the sea
glimmering like a quivering opal through the masts and
ropes. Groups of girls and fishermen were enjoying an
evening gossip among the boats.

We had tired ourselves out by this time; but we had
been told that, although there was no regular table d'hote
at the Auberge Chretien, dinner would not be ready much
before seven.

When we went in, no one else had arrived; but they
soon began to serve, lighting a candle for each group as
gradually the guests assembled, and giving the same fare at
different times to each — a good simple meal, admirably

440

THE BESSIN.

cooked. We asked Madame Chretien why she adopted this
scattered system, instead of the ordinary table d'hote.

" Ah/' she said, " it is much more trouble, but my cus-
tomers like it. What will you ? "

After dinner we took a walk along the cliffs towards
Asnelles. We heard that at low water the terrible Calvados
rocks can be seen from here. The lights in the little village^
below came twinkling through the gloom, and a sound of
merry voices. As we came back, we saw the women who

A Gossip on the Beach.

had been busy washing talking to some fishermen ; a young,
bright-eyed girl was teasing an old fisherman, and he was
threatening playfully to strike her with a huge red oar from
the boat near which they were all standing.

One notices at Arromanches the contrast between the
newly built village, which seems a creation of so few years
ago, and the old-world, simple manners of its people. There
is so much happy leisure ; all is so peaceful and quiet — a
different quiet fi-om the hushed solemnity of Bayeux. This
was more like the quiet of flowers, silent yet how eloquent.

BATHING A 7 ARROMANCHES. 441

As we passed the chief inn facing the sea, some one — a man
— began to sing a mournful German air, so tenderly, with
such a sad, heart-wrung accent, that it was not possible to
stand and listen : it seemed that no one could be simulating
such an anguish. One summoned up the stricken withered
look that must belong to such a voice, and a touch of human
misery came into the scene which we had been fancying a
new Eden — a place primitive and humble enough, but yet
we had thought full of peace.

Next morning we went down to see the bathing — a very
merry scene. Every one seems to come down, when the tide
is nearly high, to the sands in his or her bathing-dress, and
then, leaving a cloak just out of reach of the sea, runs into
the water ; before long it grew so very rough, that all but
the most adventurous retired, for swimming was almost im-
possible.

For those who really love bathing, and want a quiet yet
not quite dull spot to enjoy it in, I heartily recommend Arro-
manches — as yet seemingly unspoiled by English visitors.
Our hotel bill seemed to us a primitive curiosity, and
on the bill is a notice that M. Chretien takes pension-
naires — of course at a cheaper rate. M. Chretien keeps
the butcher's shop opposite, so perhaps he can afford to
charge more moderately; still, considering the present
price of food in France, the charges seem absurdly low,
especially as both dinner and breakfast were quite as good
as in the larger towns, and quite as plentiful, although there
were not so many courses.

We should have liked to linger in Arromanches; but
Bayeux was before us, and beyond that Mont St. Michel
and Vire — all dearly prized names, long treasured up as

442 THE BESSIN.

places of pilgrimage. So once more we took our seats in
the little stuffy omnibus, and said good-bye to the Auberge
Chretien, having first got a lesson from kind, dark-eyed
Madame Chretien in her kitchen on the art of cooking
" un oeuf sur le plat." Certainly no one that we met with
in Normandy equalled her in the production of this dish :
perhaps her excellent cream had something to do with its
goodness.

On our way back to Bayeux we overtook a milkwoman,
mounted on a donkey, with a huge brass can slung pannier-
wise beside her. Another woman walked along, carrying

the great brass vessel on her left
shoulder, slung by a rope which passed
over the head and round the right
arm. The milk-vessels in this part of
the country are very quaint in form.
As soon as we reached Bayeux, we
Milk-cans. ^cnt to the Cathedral. It is very splen-

did and impressive, seen from the open
space outside : the two western towers have still their spires
of the twelfth century \ but that on the central tower, also
old, was destroyed, and replaced, in the time of Louis XIV.,
by an unsightly dome. In the process of removing this, a few
years ago, under the guidance of an ignorant architect, the
central tower and its supporting piers were doomed to
destruction ; but, fortunately, before the plan could be
executed, another architect with more resources stepped
forward, and pledged himself to raise the new metal spire on
to the tower without injury to the building. This has been
done : the spire is now complete, and groups well with those
at the west end of the church.

BAYEUX CATHEDRAL. 443

The west front is fine, but has been much mutilated ;
but the south portal is magnificent in the richness of its
decorations. We went in at the west doorway : there
are steps down into the nave, as at Fecamp, Graville,
and elsewhere. It is difficult to describe the richness
of detail in the architecture of the nave. One stands
bewildered, pondering the immense labour and thought
that devised and executed this infinite variety of carved
stonework. Massive pillars, with richly worked capitals,
support round arches : the rich Norman archbands of these,
and the carving on the spandrels between them, are most
remarkable. There is no triforium gallery in the nave ;
instead is a trefoil-headed arcade ; the clerestory windows
are long narrow lancets. This part of the Cathedral was
probably built by Henry I. The first church is said to
have been built by St. Exupere. After him St. Regnobert
built a larger one. Then William's half-brother Odo built
a grand cathedral. He began it in 1047 ; it was conse-
crated in 1077, and nearly burned down by Henry I.
in 1 106. Of Odo's church only the lower part of the
western towers and the crypt remain. The columns of the
choir, and those at the east end of the nave, are very
beautiful, and the workmanship of the capitals is marvellous:
this part of the Cathedral was built by an Englishman,
Henry of Beaumont, Bishop of Bayeux, from 1183 to 1205.
It is said that in this cathedral there are 2,976 capitals, all
sculptured differently.

" Two thousand nine hundred and seventy-six," our little
wizen-faced, bright-eyed guide kept saying to himself. " Ah,
they don't build such churches nowadays ; but, then, there
never was such a cathedral as Bayeux."

444 THE BESSIN.

We echoed his admiration, and then asked if he had seen
Amiens.

He shrugged his shoulders.

** But, no. I have heard there is some good glass there ,
but so there is here ; and if our windows are modern, they
are of the best; and then two thousand nine hundred
and seventy-six capitals, all different — bah ! where is the
cathedral that has them ?"

We went down into the crypt, which is doubtless part of
the Cathedral, built by Bishop Odo. Some French authori-
ties assert that part of this crypt is of the seventh century :
it is very solemn and impressive, and is in excellent preser-
vation. The roof is supported on twelve pillars, with rough
capitals \ and on the spaces between the arches is a series
of groups in fresco — an angelic concert, each angel playing
on some musical instrument. There are several tombs
here of Bishops of Bayeux, with effigies sculptured thereon :
probably this crypt escaped spoliation at the Revolution.
One of these monuments is to Jehan de Boissay. It was
after the death of this bishop, on Easter-day, April 3, 1412,
that, in turning up the ground under the pavement of the
high altar, to dig his grave, the existence of the crypt was
discovered ; but there seems to be no record of the length
of time during which it had lain concealed. The youngest
daughter of the Conqueror, Agatha, was buried at Bayeux.
She was betrothed to Alfonso, king of Galicia \ but she
shrank from this marriage, and prayed that she might die a
virgin. She is said to have spent so much time in prayer,
that " her knees were brawned." She died half-way on her
journey to Spain, and was brought back to Bayeux.

There is a boldness of conception in this crypt which

THE TRESOR. 445

makes one regret the destruction of the rest of Odo's work ;
it is a striking contrast, in its rough-hewn simpHcity, to the
elabo' ate sculpture of the grand cathedral overhead. Doubt-
less the warlike bishop Odo, who reigned in the see of
Bayeux for fifty years, meant to have been buried in his own
cathedral ; but he never returned from his crusade against
the infidels, and was buried at Palermo, in Sicily.

Our lively little guide told us that he was not the real
sacristan : he had gone on a holiday for a few days, and had
taken with him the keys of the tresor. We could not, therefore,
see the famous ivory casket taken by Charles Martel from the
Saracens, or the chasuble, maniple, and stole of St. Regnobert ;
however, we could see the chapter-house and the sacristy
itself. The chapter-house is very light and graceful, of
thirteenth-century work, and there is a curious inlaid pave-
ment. Our guide then took us up a staircase at the east end,
unlocked a door, and we were in a vestiary, with priests'
and choristers' cassocks hanging round its dark wooden
walls ; from this a winding staircase took us up to a light, airy
room above, filled with much interesting lumber — a variety
of ecclesiastical curiosities. We were first shown the chartrier,
the pride of our little guide's heart — a huge oaken press of
the thirteenth century. He told us an English artist had
been days and days drawing it, the time consumed being
the strong point of the story. Many fragments still remain
of designs once painted on this press in colour ; the hinges
and locks are very remarkable.

There is a quaint bronze dragon of St. Vigor, drawn at
the beginning of this chapter, mounted on a worked brass
staff; this last is said to have belonged to St. Louis. The
dragon is borne in procession on Holy Thursday. There

446 THE BESSIN.

is also a curious iron folding-seat of the thirteenth century,
and a bronze candelabra of Louis-Treize work ; some
armour; wooden shrines that probably contained relics
before the Revolution ; at that time the reHcs of Bayeux
were brought forth from the Cathedral, publicly burned by
the heathen mob of republicans, and the ashes scattered
into the river Aure.

The relics of Bayeux bring up the memory of Harold,
who, according to the tapestry, took the oath of allegiance
to WiUiam at Bayeux, and, according to Wace in the
'* Roman de Rou,"took the oath onreUcs concealed on the
altars on which he swore. Some of the concealed relics on
which the EngHsh hero is said to have sworn were worn by
Wilham round his neck, on the famous 28th of September,
1066.

Wace — he seems never to have called himself Robert —

was born in Jersey in the twelfth century. He studied

at Caen, finished his studies in France, and came back to

Caen, where Henry I. held a brilliant court. In 1160 he

finished the " Roman de Rou," or of the Normans, and

dedicated it to Henry II., who, in recompense, gave him a

prebend's stall in the Cathedral of Bayeux. Wace died in

England in 1184. He relates minutely the taking of the

oath —

*« Quant Heraut suz sa main tendi,
La main trembla, la char fremi,
Poiz a jure et a promi
Li come homme ki eschari :
Ele la fille al Due prendra,
Et Angleterre al Due rendra."

Then, according to Wace, the Duke shows Harold the
awful nature of his oath by uncovering the relics —

HAROLD SWEARING ON THE RELICS.

447

" A Heraut a dedenz monstre,
Sor kels cors sainz il a jure.
Heraut forment s'espoanta
Des relikes k'il li monstra."

Roman de Rou.

The account in the " Roman " tallies with the picture ;
but Lord Lytton's description in " Harold " is not quite the
same.

'' On entering the lofty hall, he (Harold) beheld William

■//X3.//,

AA/'lIleLNO DVCI:

Bayeux Tapestry : Harold taking the Oath.

seated in state; his sword of office in his hand, his ducal
robe on his imposing form, and with that peculiarly erect
air of the head which he assumed upon all ceremonial
occasions. Behind him stood Odo of Bayeux, in aube and
pallium ; some score of the Duke's greatest vassals ; and at
a little distance from the throne-chair, was what seemed a
table, or vast chest, covered all over with cloth of gold.
Small time for wonder or self-collection did the Duke give
the Saxon.

448 THE BESSIN.

^' ' Approach, Harold,' said he, in the full tones of that
voice so singularly effective in command — ' approach, and
•without fear as without regret. Before this noble assembly
— all witnesses of thy faith and all guarantees of mine — I
summon thee to confirm by oath the promises thou hast made
me yesterday ; namely, to aid me to obtain the kingdom
of England on the death of King Edward, jny cousin ; to
marry my daughter Adeliza ; and to send thy sister hither,
that I may wed her, as we agreed, to one of my worthiest
and proudest counts. Advance thou, Odo, my brother, and
repeat to the noble Earl the Norman fonn by which he will
take the oath.'

'*Then Odo stood forth by that mysterious receptacle
covered with the cloth of gold, and said briefly, ' Thou wilt
swear, as far as is in thy power, to fulfil thy agreement with
WilHam, Duke of the Normans, if thou live and God aid
thee ; and, in witness of that oath, thou wilt lay thy hand
upon the reliquaire,' pointing to a small box that lay on the
cloth of gold.

" All this was so sudden — all flashed so rapidly upon the
Earl, whose natural intellect, however great, was, as we
often have seen, more deliberate than prompt — so thoroughly
was the bold heart, which no siege could have sapped,
taken by surprise and guile — so pai'amount, through all the
whirl and tumult of his mind, rose the thought of England
irrevocably lost, if he, who alone could save her, was in the
Norman dungeons — so darkly did all Harold's fears and
just suspicions quell and master him, that mechanically,
dizzily, dreamily, he laid his hand on the reliquaire,
and repeated, with automaton lips, — ' If I live, and if God
aid me to it- ' Then all the assembly repeated solemnly,

HAROLD. 449

* God aid him ! ' And suddenly, at a sign from William,
Odo and Raoul de Tancarville raised the gold cloth, and
the Duke's voice bade Harold look below. As when man
descends from the gilded sepulchre to the loathsome chamel,
so at the lifting of that cloth all the dread ghastliness of
Death was revealed. There, from abbey and from church,
from cyst and from shrine, had been collected all the
relics of human nothingness in which superstition adored
the mementoes of saints divine ; there lay, pell-mell and
huddled, skeleton and mummy— the dry, dark skin, the
white gleaming bones of the dead, mockingly cased in gold
and decked with rubies ; there grim fingers protruded
through the hideous chaos, and pointed towards the living
man ensnared; there the skull grinned scoff under the holy
mitre

" ' At that sight,' say the Norman chronicles, * the Earl
shuddered and trembled.'

" ' Awful, indeed, thine oath, and natural thine emotion,'
said the Duke ; ' for in that cyst are all those relics which
religion deems the holiest in our land. The dead have
heard thine oath, and the saints even now record it in the
halls of heaven. Cover again the holy bones.' " *

Wace tells the whole story of the Conquest in his
*' Roman," especially that of the battle, in a surprisingly
graphic manner ; but he makes no mention of the tapestry.
The earliest record of this is in a list of church furniture,
1476 : — *' Une tente tres-longue et etroite de toile a
broderie de ymages et eserptaux faisons representations
du conquist d'Angleterre ; laquelle est tendue environ la

* " Harold," vol. Hi., p. 32.
G G

450 THE BESSIN.

nef de I'eglise le jour et par les octaves des reliques." It
IS puzzling to guess how the French chroniclers have
invented the legend of Bonneville, near Touques, where you
see the Tour du Serment.

Near the Cathedral is a large open Place, grassed and
planted with trees. On one side of this is the Hotel de
Ville, where the tapestry is now kept — a long strip of linen,
twenty inches wide and upwards of 200 feet long, worked in
coloured worsted, stretched on screens along the room, and
under glass.

Mrs. Stothard, in her " Letters from Normandy," gives a
good description of the tapestry : —

" The tapestry is worked with different-coloured worsteds
upon white cloth, to which time has given the tinge of
brown holland. The drawing of the figures is rude and
barbarous ; no attention has been paid to connection of
colour in the objects depicted. The horses are blue, green,
red, or yellow. This circumstance may arise from the
limited number of worsteds employed in the work ; they
consist of eight colours only — dark and light blue, red,
yellow, buff, dark and light green. When Napoleon pro-
jected the invasion of England, he caused this memorial of
the Conquest to be brought to Paris, where it was exhibited
to the people. This curious memorial narrowly escaped
destruction at the Revolution : it was demanded for the
purpose of covering the guns ; a priest, however, con-
cealed it."

Mrs. Stothard's description of the tapestry ought to be
very exact, for we were shown a piece which it is said
she cut off it, and took to England, possibly to in-
spect at her leisure. It was afterwards returned to the

THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY. 451

Bayeux Library, where there is a written account of the
transaction.

The tapestry far surpassed our expectations in the interest
and variety of its pictures : they are wonderfully well executed,
although it must be owned they are extremely comic.
There are fifty-eight distinct subjects.

1. King Edward bids Harold go and tell Duke William
that he will one day be King of England. Edward sits on
his throne : he is a sickly-looking person. Harold is much
better favoured.

2. Harold on his march. Harold's dogs run on in front,
and he has a falcon on his wrist.

3. A church. Harold goes to pray for a favourable
voyage.

4. Harold at sea.

5. Harold driven by the wind on the land of Guy, Count
of Ponthieu.

6. Harold stands up in the boat to speak to Guy.

7. Guy arrests Harold.

8. Guy and Harold on horseback going to Beaurin : they
both have falcons on the wrist.

9. Interview between Guy and Harold.

10. Duke William, having heard of Edward the Confes-
sor's message, sends emissaries to the Count of Ponthieu.

IT. The messengers of Duke William menace Guy.

12. Duke William in his castle of Rouen receives a
messenger.

13. Guy takes Harold to Eu, where William receives him.

14. Wilham conducts Harold to Rouen, and gives him
audience,

15. A priest, and Elgive, the daughter of William.

452 THE BESSIN,

1 6. Duke William and his army reach Mont St. Michel.
(Conan, Duke of Brittany, has declared war against the
Duke of Normandy, and William asks Harold to join him
against Conan.)

17. They cross the river Couesnon, and Harold draws
some Normans out of the quicksand. Harold looks very
powerful in this picture, which in other respects is of a
decidedly comic character.

18. The Normans reach Dol, and Conan retreats.

19. Duke William's soldiers attack Dinan.

20. Conan surrenders the town. He holds out the keys
to William on the point of a lance. This is also a very
comic picture.

21. William knights Harold. They are both in armour,
and both look very like fish.

i2. Duke William comes to Bayeux.

23. Harold taking the oath. William is seated on his
throne. Harold is before him, bareheaded, between two
small altars, in which are the relics. This scene is said to
represent Bayeux Cathedral.

24. Harold's return to England.

25. Harold before Edward the Confessor, telling the
result of his embassy.

26. King Edward is being carried to the church of St.
Peter the Apostle. (Westminster Abbey, restored by Ed-
ward the Confessor, the restoration was completed a week
before his death.)

27. Edward in his last moments speaks to his nobles.
The queen weeps by his bedside.

28. And soon afterwards he died.

29. The crown is given to Harold.

THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY. 453

30. Harold enthroned as King of England.

31. His people pay homage.

32. The people gaze astonished at a star (the comet of
1066).

33. Harold ; but it might be called Harold the Uneasy.
It is doubtless meant to show his remorse.

34. hxi English ship on the coast of Normandy. This
ship takes the news of Harold's treachery.

35. Duke William give orders for the building of a fleet.
In this picture William looks majestic ; his indignation has
suddenly increased his size. Near him is a priest, his brother
Odo of Bayeux ; farther on men are cutting down trees,
and carpenters are making these into planks.

2^(i. The ships are drawn down to the waterside. This is
a very graphic scene. Some of the men stand in the water
barelegged, dragging down the ships.

37. They carry arms to the fleet, and a tun of wine.

38. Duke WiUiam with his fleet crosses the sea, and
arrives at Pevensey. Duke William's ship, the Mora, the
gift of his queen, has a standard bearing a cross at the mast-
head, and a boy blowing a horn at the stern of the boat ;
for they are all boats with one mast and a yard, carrying
one sail.

39. They disembark the horses. The soldiers have evi-
dently been already landed, as there are several empty
boats.

40. The soldiers hasten forward to Hastings in search of
food.

41. This is Wadar. Represents a horseman in the same
scaly armour as the others, carrying an immense shield and
a sword. He seems to be the overseer of the butchers and

454 THE BESSIN.

cooks, about to cut up the oxen and sheep which have been
brought in.

42. The cooks are cooking, and the serving-men are
carrying the viands to table.

43. Here they banquet, and a bishop gives the blessing.

44. Odo the bishop, Duke William, and Robert of Mor-
tain in council.

45. The last (Robert) gives orders to dig a trench round
the camp.

46. William hears of the approach of Harold.

47. A house is burned.

48. The army goes forward to meet King Harold.

49. Duke WilHam asks Vital if he has gained sight of the
troops of Harold.

50. This person announces William's advance to Harold.

5 1 . Duke William speaks to his army. His armour reaches
from head to foot. As far as this picture, the border of
the tapestry has been made of animals, monsters, birds,
&c. ; but it is now made of wounded men in various
altitudes.

52. Death of King Harold's brothers, Lewine and Gyrd
(Leofwine and Gyrth).

53. At this spot there was great havoc, both among Eng-
lish and Normans.

54. Bishop Odo encourages the troops.

55. The Duke William, who was thought wounded, re-
appears, raises his visor, and encourages the soldiers.

56. The army of Harold is cut to pieces.

57. Harold is killed ; but there is no appearance of his
having been shot by an arrow. A cruel knight is slashing
at his leg with a sword.

THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY. 455

58. The English are put to flight.

There was formerly half a yard more of the tapestry ; but
before it was secured under glass some unprincipled person
cut off the closing scene, which it is said represented the
coronation of William as King of England. Another story
is that Queen Matilda's death prevented her from com-
pleting the tapestry.

There has been so much doubt cast both by English and
French writers on the date of the Bayeux tapestry, that it is
delightful to find so painstaking and reliable an authority
as Mr. Freeman staunch in his belief that the tapestry is
nearly contemporary with the Conquest ; and it seems to
me that a strong proof of this, which he does not urge,
lies in the effect produced on the mind by a careful, orderly
study of the pictures in succession. You may be a devoted
adherent of Harold, but, as you examine the tapestry, by
the time you reach the Battle of Hastings you will be on
the side of William \ and this seems the strongest evidence
that it is the handiwork of Matilda herself. AVilliam through-
out is about the only person whose individuality is always
preserved, and who never looks ridiculous ; there is just the
calm dignity about him which such a Avife as the great
queen would delight in pourtraying. Afterwards, when
one looks back and recalls the interest excited by these
faded worsted figures, and the vivid pictures they enable
one to call up, one is surprised, but more than ever con-
vinced that no ordinary mind designed and superintended
the execution of the Bayeux tapestry ; its very short-comings
are so suggestive, and carry one so completely away to that
time when life must have been so much stronger and simpler
than it is now, that one cannot agree with Mrs. Stothard

456

THE BESSIN,

that " the drawing of the figures is rude and barbarous ; "
it may be incorrect, but it is full of spirit.

There are some remarkable old houses in Bayeux : one
especially in the Rue Saint Malo, a very quaint wooden
erection of the fifteenth century ; also in the Rue Franche
and the Rue St Martin there are remarkable wooden houses.

Old Houses, Rue St. Malo.

But the Rue St. Nicholas — '' le vieux Bayeux," as they call
it — is full of quaint old mansions of a later date.

They stand back in old stone-paved courtyards, behind
heavy porte-cocheres : one of these wa5 open. We looked
in, and saw a picturesque old house, with its semicircular
flights of steps in the middle and on the left. The dormer

A FRENCH DINNER FIFTY YEARS AGO. 457

windows had richly carved gables ; and charming climbing-
plants, roses, myrtle, and honeysuckle were clinging to the old
grey walls. In the right-hand corner of the yard was a huge
bottle-rack, with a tub beside it full of green-glass bottles —
the only thing suggestive of human presence in the still,
quaint nook. Bayeux is certainly a dull town, it seems
asleep ; but still there is a good deal to see in it, and there
is something restful in its quiet streets. It is, probably,
little changed since Mrs. Stothard gave her original descrip-
tion of a dinner with an abbe there fifty years ago, although
it is to be hoped the good people of Bayeux do not now
spend quite so much time in eating and drinking.

" We were seated at table at twelve o'clock, the usual
dining-hour in Normandy. The people here rise between
four and five in the morning ; and as they seldom take any
breakfast, unless it be a little fruit and bread, an early din-
ner is necessary. We did not rise from table till nearly six
o'clock. As I was the only foreign female of the party;
they treated me with great politeness, and with so much
liberality that it was almost painful ; for, lest I should seem
to slight their kindness, I was obliged to taste of all the
good things. Immediately after the soup came meats, fowls,
game, ragouts, stews, made dishes. The last course was
cold fish, without any sauce. We had a luxurious dessert of
the finest fruits in season from the abbe's garden, and many
nice preparations of pastry and cream, for which we were
indebted to the skilful Victorine, whose cream tarts might
rival those of Bedreddin Hassan. The cofiee and sweet-
meats came last ; the guests drank half the contents of their
cup, and then filled it up with brandy and sugar, which they
termed making their gloria. Various liqueurs followed,

45S THE BESSIN,

such as cassis, fleur d'orange, vespetro accompanied by eau
de cologne ; and a splendid gold snuff-box was handed round
the table. We had the choice of a dozen different kinds of
wine."

Mrs. Stothard's description of " an abbe of the period " is
also very graphic : —

" The abbe pays us a visit every night after his early
supper. He enters the room carrying his little lantern,
dressed in a long black gown and powdered perruque, his
plump rosy face smiling with kindness and gaiety. ' Madame
est-elle visible?' is the usual salutation."

During the long minority of Richard the Fearless, Hugh
of Paris occupied JBayeux. Harold Bluetooth also occupied
Bayeux when he came to the assistance of Richard in 945 ;
as soon as he had accomplished his purpose, he and his fol-
lowers sailed back to Denmark. His interference effectually
wrested Normandy from the French king, Louis d'Outremer.
There is no doubt that every visit of the Norsemen left a
fresh stamp of its presence, and kept up the Scandinavian
element in the west of Normandy, till the Romanesque
influence from the East, which had spread across the Epte,
gradually gained the ascendancy.

Mr. Freeman says of the Bessm : " Nowhere, out of the
old Saxon and Frisian lands, can we find another portion of
continental Europe which is so truly a brother-land of our

own The blood of the inhabitants of the Bessin

must be composed of nearly the same elements, and in nearly
the same proportions, as the blood of the inhabitants of the
Danish districts of England. To this day there is no
Romance-speaking region of the Continent in which the
Englishman feels himself so thoroughly at home as in this

THE MANOIR D'ARGOUGES. 459

old Saxon and Danish land. In every part of Normandy
the Englishman feels himself at home as compared wi^^h
France or Aquitaine ; but in the district of Bayeux he seems
hardly to have left his own country. The kindred speech is
gone ; but everything else remains. The land is decidedly
not French ; men, beasts, everything, are distinctively of a
better and grander type than their fellows in the mere French
districts : the general aspect of the land, its fields, its hedges,
all have an English look." *

But this specialty of landscape and hedges may be also
noticed of some of the country north of the Seine ; notably
the neighbourhood of Caudebec and Villequier.

The famous Manoir d'Argouges is within a drive of
Bayeux. Argouges was formerly a commune ; it is full of
memories of the celebrated lords of Argouges. The chateau
is very picturesque, with its quaintly shaped towers and
its moat still full of w^ater. One of the rooms is called
" the chamber of the Lady," and there is still a tradition
that sometimes the famous " fee d'Argouges " appears
dressed in a white and shining robe, hovering about her
ancient abode. When Henry I. was besieging Bayeux, a
German knight in his camp, named Le Brun, challenged one
of the besieged to single combat. Robert d'Argouges ac-
cepted the challenge, defeated and killed Le Brun, Before
this Robert d'Argouges had wooed a beautiful fairy, who
became his wife ; she warned him, however, that if he ever
spoke of death in her presence she should be obliged to leave
him. One day he was going to take a ride with her, and
she was so long getting ready that he lost patience, and for-
got her words.

* '* History of the Norman Conquest," vol. i.

460 THE BESSIN,

" Belle dame," he called from the foot of the stairs, " thou
wouldst be a good messenger to send in search of death, for
thou wouldst take so long on the journey."

There came in answer one long despairing wail, and the
fairy disappeared. It is said that, when she has been seen
she cries out, " Death, death !" just before she fades out of
sight.

Not far from Bayeux is Formigny. There is a chapel here,
built i486, to commemorate the victory of Formigny in 1450,
when the English troops, being attacked front and rear by a
very superior number of French, were defeated. This victory
finally recovered Normandy to the French crown, to which it
has ever since belonged.

Bayeux still has manufactories of porcelain and lace ;
real old Bayeux lace is very scarce. From Bayeux the
railway goes on through the Coten.tin, by way of Carentan
and Valognes, to Cherbourg; but there is so much that is
interesting in this peninsula, besides Cherbourg, that it makes
a journey in itself, and I propose to des-ribe it on some
other occasion.

LA MANCHE.

CHAPTER XVIII.

St. Lo. Granville.

Coutances. Avranches.

TT takes about an hour and a half by express, and nearei
three hours by ordinary trains, to get to St. Lo. It does
not take longer to go by carriage, by way of Balleroy, through
the thick forest of Cerisy, stopping at Cerisy la Foret, which
is not much out of the route, to see the finest ruin in the
Bessin — the famous abbey begun by Robert the Magnificent
and finished by his son. Robert had intended the Abbey of
Cerisy to contain his tomb ; but, as he died in the East, he
was buried at Nikaia in Bithynia. Toustain, his chamberlain,
brought back the reHcs which the Duke had collected in the
East for his church of Cerisy, and deposited them in the
abbey. It is a grand old church, in severe Romanesque style.

The approach to St. Lo is very imposing : the lofty spires
of the Church of Notre-Dame, perched on the summit of the
dark stupendous hill on which the town is built, frown down
on the river Vire, which is much wider here than at Vire
itself.

St. Lo is a very ancient town, and was fortified by Charle-
magne. It suffered much during the English invasions, and

462 LA MANCHE.

also during the religious civil wars ; but its fortifications were
not finally destroyed till 1811.

Mrs. Stothard says —

" The town of St. L6, beautifully situated in the midst of
a finely wooded country. St. L6 has an elegant cathedral ;
the town is piled on hills in the most picturesque manner.
The massive towers and walls of its defensive feudal times in
some parts exist ; towards the extremity of the town they
stand upon the verge of a lofty and perpendicular rock."

The exterior of the church is better than the interior,
but it is disappointing after the grand effect produced at
a distance. The porches are interesting ; and outside the
church is a curious large carved stone pulpit. Behind the
high altar near one of the chapels is a deep well. There
is some old painted glass, but it has been much injured, and
is much of it in a fragmentary state.

The celebrated Abbey of Ste. Croix, founded by Charle-
magne in the ninth century, has been swept away ; some
remains of the abbey exist, but of much more recent date
than the building of Charlemagne. The Church of Ste. Croix
has been recently restored : it is early Norman.

There is not much to see in St. L6, except its picturesque
position on the steep rocks frowning over the Vire. We
heard, too, that there are pleasant walks in the neighbour-
hood.

We had ample time to study the exterior aspect of the city
next morning, for with customary French unpunctuality the
diligence advertised to start at six o'clock got off at twenty-
five minutes to seven ; and while we sat shivering on our
luggage we could look our fill through the drizzling rain at
the city rising above its old green-clad walls. The towers

VIE IV OF ST. LO. 463

and spires of Notre-Dame stand grandly in the midst, above
all : in front is the river and its bridge ; and the views right
and left of the valley of the Vire are most charming, especially
that on the right. The low light of early morning toned
modern improvements into harmony, and the whole effect
was so charming that it consoled us for the delay.

At last our fellow-passengers assembled, and although we
had rather more room than we had at Bayeux, still the size ot
the diligence was a tight fit for six people. Two of our
fellow-travellers were young gendarmes, whose long legs and
trappings took up much room in the vehicle ; there was
neither a coupe nor any shelter for the outside passengers.
Three of the gendarmes' superiors accompanied us on horse-
back : one was very well mounted, but the other two had,
one such a small, and the other such a tall ungainly horse,
that the effect was most absurd ; occasionally these two last
would lag behind, and we lost sight of them, and then on
they came, appearing like specks at the far end of the long
line of straight chalky road which stretched like a white
ribbon to the top of the hill behind us, and reaching us at
last in a furious gallop and a huge clatter of swords and
spurs.

The excited discussion of the men inside as to the
respective merits of the horses was absurd, but still very
amusing, and helped to wile away a rather tedious journey.
The road lies chiefly through apple-orchards ; and although
it is well wooded, there is little variety in it, beyond the
constant ascents and descents, after we lose sight of the twin
spires of St. L6. Every now and then we saw the usual
amount of comfortable farmhouses, nestling among their
apple-tiees and clustered with vine-leaves. Rather more

464 LA MANCHE,

than half-way, we passed on the left the Chateau de Savigny ;
and about this time we came to a half-way house, where
the diligence stopped to change horses.

We thourht it was time ; for the steep ups and downs of
the last hour must have exhausted any horses but those of a
French diligence, especially as our driver had been using his
whip in merciless fashion.

The gendarmes waited until the cavalcade reached the
inn, and then they solemnly went in, and came out directly
each with a bit of bread in one hand and a glass of wine in
the other, and stood eating and drinking in the open air.

When we started again, our two long-legged gendarmes
got into the diligence with cigars in their mouths. They
looked anxiously at our faces as soon as they were seated,
and, reading signs of disapprobation thereon, each opened
the window behind him, and kept his head outside till the
cigars were ended.

Just before we reached Coutances we got a splendid view
of the Cathedral and its three lofty spires. It stands
proudly above the town, on the top of a steep and pointed
hill.

Coutances is one of the seven old episcopal cities, and
one of the most ancient in Normandy. It was entirely
destroyed by the Normans in 886, and it seems to have
suffered greatly from the excesses committed by the Hugue -
nots. We drove up its steep street to the inn, in the
pouring rain, and then went out to see the Cathedral.

The west front is very grand : the twin towers and spires
are of great height, and their sombre colour is most pic-
turesque.

Many French writers have asserted that the Cathedral is

COUTANCES CATHEDRAL. 465

that built by the famous Tancred de Hauteville and his six
valiant sons, and consecrated in 1056, in the presence of
William the Conqueror ; but this seems to be impossible ;
there is architectural evidence in the church of a later
period. During the captivity of King John of France, after
the battle of Poitiers, Geoffrey d'Harcourt ravaged that
part of the country near St. L6, Caen, Evreux, and Cou-
tances, and he so injured the Cathedral of Coutances that,
says Gaily Knight, " it must have undergone reparation and
alterations of importance enough for the disappearance of
all traces of any remainder of the original work." The
three estates of France sent troops against Sir Geoffrey, and
he was slain at the battle of Coutances, fighting valiantly.
The Lady chapel and many of the side chapels are of later
date than the rest of the church.

The interior of the Cathedral is very lofty and impressive.
The lantern is grand, and so is the apse ; and the double
columns of this last are specially remarkable. The mullioned
screens, like unglazed windows, between the side chapels
give an original and airy effect to the nave and aisles, and
enhance the contrast of subdued light among the lower
arches at the eastern end. There is something indescribable
in the solemn awe of this part of the church. Altogether
it is one of the grandest buildings of Lower Normandy,
and merits careful study. Some of the diapered painted
glass is very old and curious. There is said to be a fine
view of Jersey and Granville from the top of the lantern.
The Cathedral is of the same sombre colour as the Church
of St. L6.

From the Cathedral we went down a long, very steep
street, and came to the Church of St. Pierre, a picturesque

H K

466 LA MANCHE.

building, of the end of the fifteenth century, though some
parts are of the sixteenth and seventeenth. On the tower
over the west doorway there is the date 1550. There is a
curious spiral staircase in this church, and some good painted
glass of the sixteenth and the beginning of the seventeenth
century.

Just outside, suspended across the street, is one of the
old street lamps, which are fast disappearing from Nor-
mandy as the railway makes progress westward, and gas is
used in the streets. The old swinging lamps are not of
much use in the dark perhaps, but they are delightfully
quaint in daytime, reminding one of a huge spider pausing
in the midst of the first line of his web.

We had gone down this street in search of Les Piliers, a
little village just outside Coutances, in which are the ruins
of a Gothic aqueduct; but we soon found we had been
wrongly directed. Coming up the street again, we got a
glimpse of one of the spires of the Cathedral, with St. Pierre
and its quaint surroundings in the foreground. A little higher
up is a most excellent view of the Cathedral. Near this
we found a very pretty public garden, planted on the slope
of the hill, charmingly laid out and well cared for, and full of
dehghtful views over the surrounding country. The guar-
dian took us down to a little summer-house at the end of
the garden, and pointed out to us the remains of the ancient
aqueduct, overgrown with ivy, in the valley below. The
view of the wooded hill opposite is very pretty. The aque-
duct is on the Granville road, and formerly bridged over
the valley between the height on which Coutances stands
and the opposite hill. There were once sixteen arches, but
eleven of them have been destroyed : the piers still standing

THE ABBEY OF HAM BYE. 467

— Les Piliers, as they are called — are nearly twenty feet high,
and the buttresses which support them are more than six
feet thick. This aqueduct was built in the fifteenth century,
on the ruins of a Roman aqueduct destroyed by the Nor-
mans.

There is another church at Coutances — St. Nicholas,
remarkable for a statue of the Virgin said to be five hundred
years old, and one of the first in which she is seen holding
the Holy Child in her arms.

Mrs. Stothard, in her charming '* Letters," speaks of the
personal beauty of the women of Coutances, but we were
not fortunate enough to meet with it.

It is much better not to go by diligence to Granville, but
to take a carriage at Coutances, and make a little ddtour
on the road to Granville to see the ruins of the Abbey
of Hambye. There was formerly an old Castle of Hambye,
but it has been wantonly destroyed. The abbey is about
a mile and a half from the village of Hambye. It was
founded in 1145 by William de Pagnel, and restored by
his last descendant, Joan de Pagnel, wife of the Louis
d'Estouteville of whom we shall hear again at Mont St.
Michel. There were two fortified castles belonging to the
barons of Hambye. A baron of Hambye went with
Duke William to the conquest of England. Henry V.
gave the barony of Hambye to the Earl of Suffolk ; but in
1450 it was surrendered to the rightful possessors. The
donjon tower was of great height, and one of the finest and
best placed in Normandy ; it seems to have been wantonly
destroyed to mend the high road. But it is the position of
the ruined abbey which is its great charm. The road to it
is uphill, and from the hill-top we see the old grey buildings

%6S LA MANCHE,

nestling snugly below among the trees, in a valley watered
by the little river Sienne. The side chapels are of older
date than the central part of the ruined church ; but all the
ruins are overgrown with ivy and climbing plants, and are
highly picturesque. The chapter-house is much more per-
fect. There is also a mortuary chapel ; and there are some
remains of the abbey buildings, now occupied as a farm-
house. The tombs of Louis d'Estouteville and his wife
were destroyed at the Revolution.

Soon after leaving Coutances for Granville there is a
most magnificent view of the Cathedral ; after this the road
between Coutances and Granville is pretty and varied ; it
is again an orchard country. We passed many comfortable
stone houses, with vines clinging to the eaves. Every-
where the cows were tethered in the open fields : old
women, probably past harder work, appear to visit them
from time to time, and remove the tethering-peg to an-
other spot as soon as the cow has consumed all the pasture
round her.

It was milking-time, and as usual the cows were bei^g
milked in the fields, into the narrow-necked, round brass
jug of the country. The opening of this is so small that it
must require some practice, and skill too, to send the milk
into it.

As evening came on, we approached the sea. The
country had grown flatter and less thickly wooded. Pre-
sently we saw, over the flat downs on the right, a light
twinkling on the water.

It was from the cluster of dangerous rocks called Les lies
Chaussey. Some little way before we reached Granville, we
got suddenly a beautiful but most deceptive view of it.

GRANVILLE. 469

The upper town, surrounded by its fortified walls, and
crowned by its church and lighthouse, stands on a lofty pro-
montory of rock, with the sea stretching out behind it. On
the right is the Norman coast ; and on the left, curving in a
faint line round the Bay of Granville, is the coast of Brit-
tany. We saw clearly here the light on the Isles of Chaussey.
As we drew nearer, a deep valley opened between us and
Granville ; and there was the lower town spread out before
us, and the harbour beyond. It was growing dusk, and the
lights twinkled cheerily from the town as we approached.

But next morning was very disenchanting. It is true
that, when we had climbed up the steep ladders leading to
the walls of the upper town, we found endless pictures
among the bright and varied scenes of the market. It is
true also that the view of the Bay of Granville is charming ;
and the church, on the verge of the lofty prom.ontory,
although gloomy-looking — being built of dark granite — has
a solemn, impressive interior : but the smells and dirt of
the place are overpowering, even in the open air and in
the fresh sea breezes.

The women of Granville are singularly pretty, and their
costume is charming.

Except in the heat of summer, they wear a long black
cloak, very much like the Flemish /^///(? of Bruges; only the
hood is different, being larger, and not always worn over
the head. Shopkeepers, and those who can afford the
expense, wear this cloak of fine black cloth, lined with
white. The caps have quite an Eastern character, and seem
special to Granville. The back part covers the head, and
has flying wings ; but the upper part is formed by a piece
of thick muslin or cambric, rolled up over the forehead in

470

LA MANCHE,

somewhat the form of a loose turban, and forms a head-
dress as becoming as it is quaint and original.

From the promontory on which the church stands there
is a fine view of the port and the surrounding coast. A
good-natured French sailor pointed out to us the lies Chaussey,
which are indeed terrible-looking rocks. The coast is very
dangerous, and our friend told us that ships are sometimes

wrecked even after they
have reached the Bay of
Granville.

The fruit-market was go-
ing on in a long, straggling
street of old dark-coloured
stone houses.

One old woman sat,
with folded arms, fast
asleep. A man in a blouse,
near her, lay also sleeping
beside his heap of brilliant
carrots. Another woman
had put up a kind of tent, composed of canvas and an um-
brella, on the pavement; beneath this was stored a prodigious
pile of dehcious-looking eggs, and a pair of chickens lay
beside them tied in a basket. The melons were selling at
absurd prices : we were offered a very good-looking one for
50 centimes. To-day in the market the women wore black or
greenish-grey gowns, with large thin black shawls ; some of
the younger women wore these very gracefully — one end
under the arm, and the other end flung over the shoulder,
fastened in a knot at the waist ; all wore black stockings and
very short petticoats. Certainly very good looking, but very

In the Market, Granville.

THE ROAD TO AVRANCHES. 471

loud tongued and rough spoken, and, alas ! very dirty, are
these Granvillaises. They seem a race apart ; and when we
had come down from the walled and fortified upper town,
we found the lower town quite as dirty and unsavoury ; yet
if Granville could only be purified, and if its inhabitants
could be taught cleanliness, it would be most charming.
There is much life and movement caused by the constant
traffic of steamers between the port and Jersey and St. Malo ;
and this has doubtless been increased since the Paris Rail-
way has reached Granville. Through a cleft in the rock,
called the Tranch^e aux Anglais, there is a pleasant bathing-
place and a little casino ; but, except just hereabouts, the
presence of squalor in Granville is universally apparent.
We were very glad to leave it for Avranches. A castle and
a chapel on the rock seem to have been the beginning of the
town till Charles VII. enlarged it.

Louis XIV. demolished the fortifications, but they were
restored in 1720, and still further strengthened a few years
later.

Granville made a vigorous resistance in 1793 to the Ven-
ddans under La Rochejaquelin ; it also repulsed the Eng-
lish, who bombarded it in 1825. Its chief manufacture is
that of cod-liver oil.

We took the diligence for Avranches in the afternoon:
and as the weather was promising, though dull, we travelled
outside. The road is most interesting, full of lovely points
of view. It goes over a succession of steep hills, with
wooded valleys on each side of the way: the road is
made in the usual straight fashion of these western Nor-
man roads, the view ending in a broad white band. A
little while before reaching Sartilly, a few kilometres off the

472 LA MANCHE,

direct route, there is a very remarkable ruin — the Abbey of
Luzerne, founded in the twelfth century; but it is not difficult
to reach this from Avranches, which is a much pleasanter
resting-place to make excursions from than Granville.

Sartilly is a picturesque village ; the wooded valley beyond
it is lovely — very wild and diversified, and the tract of
distant landscape takes a bolder sweep. The road grows so
steep at one point, that it is cut round the hill to make it
less fatiguing; and at one of these turns the view opens
suddenly. Our driver muttered something indistinguishable,
and pointed with his whip. There, in the distance, was the
sea glittering in broad golden light, and rising from it,
looking more like a fairy creation than anything real, was
Mont St. Michel itself.

Only a momentary gUmpse, and we go back to hill and
valley. It was all so transient, that we could hardly believe
we had really seen the wonderful rock so well known by
sight to every one. And yet no picture or drawing, however
faithful, had prepared us for that first glimpse ; the mount
had glowed as if there were light within it. There was an
inexpressible weirdness of aspect, far more like a phantom
than a solid rock, and its sudden appearance and disappear-
ance set us thinking of the magic castle of St. John.

The road all the way, as has been said, till we came
to this turn, had been singularly straight and a succession of
ups and downs, The weather was brighter, but the sun
had begun to set, when we perceived Mont St. Michel ; its
parting glory was at full height when we came in sight of
Avranches. At about seven kilometres distance the road
again rose perpendicularly in front, bordered on each side
with trees, and crowned this time with wood, in the midst

A VRANCHES. 473

of which, standing on a bfty hill, was Avranches ; highest of
all appeared a large white building, which we found after-
wards is the new church of Notre-Dame, still unfinished.
The road before us seemed to run straight into the houses
of the town.

The tree-tops burned with gold, and the far-oflf town
smiled down at us bathed above in rosy light, deepening
into purple at the foot of the lofty hill. The changes of
light and shade and colour during the next two or three
miles were most varied and exquisite. By the time we had
entered the straggling suburb at the foot of the hill, the town
was shrouded in purple, and the trees had changed from
gold to oUve. The hill is so perpendicular, that the road
mounts on terraces cut round it ; and even these are so steep
that the diligence was more than ten minutes in climbing
into the town, which is built on the very summit of the
height. The view, all the way up this ascent, is most exquisite.

There is not much, perhaps, of great individual interest
in Avranches; but it is a delightful resting-place, and it
looked to us, as we entered it, emphatically healthy and clean
and bright. The town was so full when we reached it, that
we were only just in time to get the last bedroom in the
Hotel de Londres ; it was comforting to find such clean and
pleasant quarters.

Next morning was Sunday, and the town looked prettier
and brighter than ever. Before breakfast we had a charm-
ing view from a terraced walk outside the town, over the
valley of the Se'es. The country spreads out so widely, that
one can trace for miles the course of the sparkling river
through green meadows and wooded valleys. The Church
of St. Saturnin is in no way remarkable. We heard a

474 LA MANCHE,

sermon on the pilgrimage to Mont St. Michel, and among
the congregation we saw a peasant-woman in a very original
tall cap — a rarity nowadays.

In the afternoon we went into the public gardens. From
a walk here made on the old ramparts, the steep cliff is a
sheer descent of immense depth to the valley below ; and
the view is surpassingly beautiful, not to be equalled by any
other that we had seen in Normandy.

On the right is the extensive valley of the Sees, a bright
river, winding and twisting in and out among the trees that
border it closely ; the sides of the valley are chiefly wooded,
but here and there are glimpses of corn-land and meadow, and
beyond is the sea with a distant line of coast : to the left is
the valley of the S^lune, which takes a straighter course
through a rich extent of hilly wooded country, that melts
finally into the blue hills of Brittany. But it is the centre of
the picture that fixes attention — the Bay of Mont St. Michel ;
the right bank of the S^es stretches out, making a dark line
between the glittering treacherous sands and the almost
empty mouth of the river, with its curves and stretches of wet
and dry land ; and rising from the briUiant line of light on
the greves is the fortress-convent, as weird and phantom-like
as ever in its distinct mistiness.

Beyond it on the right, nearer to the coast, is the dark
crouching rock of Tombeleine, and far behind this is a faint
line of coast.

It is low water now — the season of ies eaux mortes, and
therefore it is possible to reach the Mount at any hour with-
out reference to the tide ; it is only at spring tides that the
sands are entirely covered by the sea.

In this garden, which once belonged to the old Capuchin

AVRANCHES CATHEDRAL. 475

convent close by, is the portal of the little Church of Bouill^,
now swallowed up by the sands. On our way to the site of
the old Cathedral we passed through the garden of the eveche;
there is a grand statue here, in white marble, to General
Valhubert.

The Cathedral stood formerly on the open space now called
Place Huet, which commands as extensive and magnificent a
view as that from the Jardin des Plantes. Judging by the
model still preserved in the public library, it must have been a
noble building, and one grieves to learn that it fell suddenly
in 1790. No trace remains of it except a few broken frag-
ments heaped together in front of the Prefecture : on one of
the stones is this inscription-
Last Remains
of the
Roman-Gothic Cathedral of Avranches,
Begun about 1090,
And consecrated
By the Bishop Turgis in 1 121.

Not far from this is a large flat stone surrounded by posts
and chains, close by what is said to be a portion of the door
of the north transept. This is the inscription —

On this stone,

Here at the door

Of the Cathedral of Avranches,

After the Murder of Thomas a Becket,

Archbishop of Canterbury,

Hemy II.,

King of England,

Duke of Normandy,

Received on his knees,

From the Legates of the Pope,

The Apostolic Absolution,

Sunday, May 22nd,

1172.

476 LA MAN CHE.

What a picture the scene calls up ! The unhappy king
forced to submit to public penance, surrounded by his
courtiers, and kneeling humbly before the richly robed
legates and the attendant priests, — not allowed even to pass
the threshold of the church till he is cleansed by absolution
from the curse of excommunication which has been laid on
him ; before him the open door of the splendid cathedral,
revealing the interior blazing with lights, rich music echoing
through its lofty aisles ; behind him the verge of the steep rock
and the Bay of Mont St. Michel. There on his knees Henry
acknowledged the supremacy of the Pope ; he also engaged
to wear the cross for three years, and to proceed to the Holy
Land to war against the infidels unless he should receive the
Pope's permission to remain at home. He was then ordered
to equip and maintain two hundred soldiers for service in
the Holy Land, to restore to Canterbury all the Church pro-
perty which had been confiscated, and, if ordered by the Pope,
to rescue Spain from the heathen. He swore on the Gospels
to fulfil these commands, and he then received absolution,
and was allowed to enter the cathedral.

There are still some remains of the ancient episcopal
palace — an arched vestibule of the fourteenth century
and a fine granite staircase. Up-stairs is the public library,
containing many valuable books and curious manuscripts,
chiefly brought from Mont St. Michel, among which was found
Abelard's prohibited treatise, " Sic et Non." There are here
also a picture-gallery and a museum of antiquities. In this
gallery the objects of greatest interest are a model of the
Cathedral of Avranches, which makes one realise how awful
a catastrophe its sudden fall must have been, and an embla-
zoned " table of the names and arms of the hundred and

LAN FRANC AT AVRANCHES. 477

twenty gentlemen who defended the town of Mont St. Michel
in 1475/' The table is dated 6th June, 1823. Charlemagne
is said to have fortified Avranches in 800, and the Celtic and
Roman remains found there attest that it was anciently a
place of importance ; but, probably from its isolated position,
there is not much mention of it in early Norman history.
Mr. Freeman relates one interesting circumstance connected
with the charming little town.

" In the period of anarchy which formed the early years
of the reign of William (about 1039), Lanfranc came into
Normandy with a following of scholars, and opened a school
in the episcopal city of Avranches. The cathedral church of
that city beheld in after-times the penance by which the
greatest successor of William atoned for his share in the
death of the most renowned among the successors of Lan-
franc. But the glory of Avranches has passed away. From
it alone, among the seven episcopal towns of Normandy,
minster and Bishopric have wholly vanished. But, for those
few years of the life of Lanfranc, Avranches must have beeji
an intellectual centre without a rival on this side the Alps.
The fame of the great teacher was spread abroad, and
scholars flocked to him from all quarters. But as yet his
learning was wholly secular ; his pursuits were peaceful, but
he thought perhaps less of divine things than Herlwin had
thought when he rode after Count Gilbert to battle. At last
divine grace touched his heart ; a sudden conversion made
him resolve to embrace the monastic profession. He left
Avranches suddenly, without giving any notice to his friends
and scholars, and set forth to seek for the poorest and most
lowly monastery that could be found — for one which his own
fame had never reached. A happy accident led him to

478

LA MANCHE,

Bee, which then fully answered his ideal. Received as a
monk by Abbot Herlwin, he strove to hide himself from the
world j he even at one time thought of leaving the monas-
tery and leading a life of utter solitude in the wilderness.
But the Abbot required him on his obedience to remain, and
he was advanced to the dignity of Prior." *

The walks and scenery outside Avranches are very charm-
ing; the view given is taken near the little Church of
St. Jean. The walk to St. Quentin through the Bois de

Church of St. Jean.

Quenouailles is very delightful; or it may be reached by
some of the charming country lanes which are so plentiful
near Avranches.

The Church of St. Quentin is very old and interesting ;
but the view from the hill of Quenouailles is magnificent, and,
although it is some distance from Avranches, it well repays
the fatigue of the walk. A nearer and very pleasant walk
is to the pretty little village of St. Loup. There are some
* " History of the Norman Conquest/' vol. ii.

THE ABBEY OF LUZERNE, 479

remains of an ancient abbey here, and a remarkable
church of a very interesting period of Norman architecture ;
the chancel seems to be of later work, the windows being of
the transition, or even still later. Gaily Knight does not
speak of this church, and it is probably seldom visited. A
splendid view of Mont St. Michel and its bay is got from the
Bois de Naffre'e ; this hill commands the Val St. Pair, and
the whole walk is full of beauty. We heard of the wood
of Arpilly, and there are doubtless many other lovely nooks
to be explored by those who have time for a long stay in
Avranches.

A very charming excursion is to the ruins of the Abbey of
Luzerne, founded in the twelfth century. The square
tower, of later date, is very perfect, and the church has been
fairly well preserved. The situation of the ruins is most
picturesque and charming; but the abbey buildings have
evidently suffered as Jumibges and Hambye and so many of
the finest Norman abbeys have suffered from wanton and
comparatively recent demolition.

The abbey is, of course, in a valley watered by a pretty
little river. Certainly the founders of religious houses in
those far-ofif times understood the true meaning of the word
picturesque. The drive to Luzerne is tiring, as the first
part of the journey lies over the greve at the mouth of the
Selune ; but after Sartilly the country is charming, although
the road does not improve.

There is altogether so much in its neighbourhood to
render Avranches delightful, that it is not surprising that it
should have contained a colony of English residents ; how-
ever, within the last few years this seems to have dispersed,
leaving only a few to represent its former numbers.

MONT ST. MICHEL.

CHAPTER XIX.

*' La roche dreite, naive
Qui cuntre la grant mer estrive."

Roman de Rou.

E Started early one morn-
ing for Mont St. Michel.
The weather seemed
showery ; but the pil-
grimage had just begun,
and it was expected that
the succeeding days
would bring a much
larger number of pil-
grims to the Mount.

Travellers by diligence
go by way of Pontorson ;
but this, although a
better road, is supposed
to be a longer round. For some way the road out of
Avranches is not very interesting. It is terraced zigzag
fashion like that on the Granville side of the town, to avoid
the excessive steepness of the hill on which Avranches is

THE ROAD TO THE MOUNT. 481

built. At the first of these sharp turns there is a sudden
opening, and we see Mont St. Michel bathed in grey-
morning light as wonderful-looking as ever. After a while
we reach the river Selune, and cross it ; the stream is
shallow at this tide, a third part on each side being river
mud, or, as it is called, sablon; it seems to us as we
flounder along the muddy road that it, too, is made oi sablon,
and we wonder how our little Americaine will progress
at all should the mud be deeper farther on ; but our driver
is very confident of the prowess of his horse, and says we
shall reach the mount before twelve o'clock. (N.B., we did
not get there till nearly one !) The costume of the women
at work in the fields was picturesque. Presently we passed
a group as they stood talking in the muddy road ; they had
been reaping sarrasin, and they each carried a reaping-hook ;
a peculiarity of their costume was a sort of extra sleeve of
blue or white reaching from the wrist to the elbow. One of
the girls had a black skirt, a blue apron tied over the ends
of a greenish-grey neckerchief, white close-fitting sleeves
and over these the looser blue half-sleeve.

We drove on beside the river. To our left were plots
of red-stalked sarrasin, alternated with patches of grain de
tremaine, with its black, knob-like heads tied in bunches.
After this we came to much rich-looking meadow land,
which, our driver said, benefits greatly from being manured
with the sablon. We saw men carting this in quantities to
send by railway to different parts of the interior. Salt is
also extracted from it.

Soon after this we drove through the village of Courtils.
It seemed all mud : miserable, squalid children, pigs, and
fowls were alike muddy and forlorn-looking : there was a

I :

482 MONT ST. MICHEL.

)

mnd-heap in front of every house, and we felt sure that
the rooms had a mud flooring. Meantime, our road had
grown heavier, and our horse could hardly go beyond a
^alk.

After a while we came in sight of the sea — the bay, with
Mont St. Michel in its midst, now a wide, desolate expanse
of sand or grhje, a bright line of light marking the track of
the water, and behind this a wide stretch of very distant
hills. Several men in blouses offered themselves as guides
across the greves^ but our driver said we did not want a
guide.

The trees had been gradually diminishing ; till lately the
slimy, sloppy road of grey mud had been bordered only by
the exquisite green of feathery tamarisks, with their pink
blossoms ; but gradually, as we approached the edge of the
grhje, even these disappeared ; and now, circling round, we
entered on the desolate expanse of sand, covered here and
there by huge tracts of a small purple-blossomed weed.
The rain began to fall heavily, and we could not keep it
out with umbrellas. All around us were the moving, shifting
sands, " so full of deadly treachery," says Miss Costello, "that
a track, which may be firm overnight, will suck in an unsus-
pecting traveller next morning."

We asked our driver about the quicksands. " They are
on each side of the tracks ; they are everywhere," he said ;
" but there is no danger for foot-passengers during les eaux
mortes, for then the sea never covers the sands : it is the ad-
vance of the tide which makes the grh>es dangerous ; at least,
there is no danger so long as there is no fog, and the
travellers keep the tracks." He pointed with his whip to
the deep cart-ruts beside us. " For us it is different ; if the

THE GREVES, 483

carriage were too heavily laden, it might sink beyond all
power to raise it. But madame need not be uneasy," he
gave an encouraging smile ; " if I saw the wheel sink evef
so little, I should ask my travellers to get out, and then it
is easy to set the matter right — only a little walk over the

" But if there are no tracks ? " For he had already said
that the road was especially heavy in consequence of the
unusual traffic caused by the pilgrimage.

" Ah, that is different," he said ; " then the traveller must
take a guide across the greves : it is not safe for a stranger
to find his way across the smooth sand alone,"

But it was alarming to hear that these fogs come on quite
suddenly, and that many persons have gone astray in them,
and have been swallowed up in these fearful quicksands
on the greves of Mont St. Michel.

Every now and then, especially when we got near the
river or canal of the Couesnon, which runs across the greve^
there came awkward gaps in the sandy waste. Our driver
dismounted, and encouraged his horse across ; but we felt
that it required both practice and skill to bring us safe up
on the other side.

Near one of these gullies the diligence from Pontorson
passed us, going at a much faster rate than our horse
attempted. Our driver shook his head.

" They are fools," he said ; " but then it is to be said
they have two horses."

The Mount seemed to recede as we advanced ; it looked
darker and yet more awful under the gloomy, unbroken,
grey sky. Every now and then, spite of the driving rain,
clouds of sand whirled before us. As we drew nearer, we saw

484 MONT ST. MICHEL,

that the huge conical mass of granite rock was circled neai
its base by ramparts with towers. Above was a village of
clustering houses, and above these a solid wall of granite
rock, on which appeared — first, the fortress, then the abbey
buildings, and, poised above all, the church. Formerly,
there stood on the apex of this a gilded figure of St. Michael
smiting the dragon, but this no longer exists.'

Probably, on a more genial day, bathed in a flood of
sunshine, the aspect of the rock would have been less weird
and terrible. As it was, we approached it with solemn awe;
and as we drew near the walls, the wind began to howl
fiercely, and blew with such strength that we had to hold
on our wraps with both hands, the rain beating all the while
with pitiless fury in our eyes.

Tradition says that Mont St. Michel was once united to
the continent, and closely surrounded by forests ; and there
is an amount of petrified wood dug up from time to time on
the greve, which gives colour to this legend. It seems to
have been a temple of Belenus, served by Druid priestesses :
they wore crowns of vervain and quivers of golden arrows,
which last had the power of allaying the fury of tempests,
if shot by a youth who had never known the passion of
love. The legend says that sailors went to the Mount to
purchase these arrows; and if the result was successful,
the youth who had shot the arrow was sent to the
priestesses laden with gifts, and, if he found favour in her
eyes, was rewarded with the love of the fairest among
them, who sewed golden shells on his garments.
^ On the right, crouching as if in abject homage before the
church on the Mount, is the dark rock of Tombeleine, said
to take its name from its resemblance to a tomb, although

A LEGEND OF THE MOUNT, 485

there are legends which give it a more poetic origin. There
are several rare plants found on Tombeleine.

About half-way between it and the Mount there used to
be a cross, standing on the greve itself. Mention of it is
found in a charter of 1244, and again in 1644 : it has doubt-
less been swept away by the advancing tide ; but this is the
story of its erection : —

" A woman in Normandy, expecting to give birth to a
child, persuaded her husband to go with her on pilgrimage
to the Mount, which he accordingly did with some of their
neighbours. After having paid their devotions, as they were
returning, in the middle of the greves, behold a thick fog
rose up all at once, as we often see it in these parts. The
poor pilgrims, seeing neither sky nor ground, and hearing
the approach of the sea, stood still, very much frightened.

" But when they tried to flee, the woman became so ill
that the others left her to the mercy of the waves. This
woman, seeing herself thus bereft of all human help, put up
her prayers to St. Michael, beseeching him to succour her
in her extremity, which the archangel did in a manner
altogether admirable. The sea, when it reached her, made
a circle round her, so that the water rose to a height of
more than twelve feet, leaving her as dry as if she had been
in the middle of an empty well. She gave birth thus to a
son, whom she baptised with the sea-water, and who, when
he came of age, dedicated himself to the service of the
church, and was ordained priest. Coming every year to the
Mount to offer there the holy sacrifice of the mass in token
of gratitude for such a miracle, the cross was erected on the
site of his birth."

The Mount itself was called formerly Mons Tumba.

486

MONT ST. MICHEL.

Holy hermits seem to have succeeded the Druids on the
granrte rock, which then stood in the midst of a dense
forest; but,jn the eighth century, St. Aubert founded here
a monastery of Benedictines. This is the legend of its
foundation : — St. Aubert was Bishop of Avranches in the
time of Childebert II. ; in the year 706 St. Michael ap-
peared to him as he slept, and commanded him to build a
church in his honour. St. Aubert, fearing a delusion of

Mont St. Michel.

Satan, took no heed of the holy vision. The angel again
appeared, and still St. Aubert remained incredulous. At
last St. Michael came a third time, and pressed his finger
so hard on the bishop's skull that an indentation was ever
after to be seen there. When St. Aubert saw this token
of the archangel's presence, he was convinced, and next
morning he set out for Mount Tumba, followed by a con-
course of people.

When the bishop reached the Mount, he showed on his

THE BUILDING OF THE CHURCH. 487

forehead the print of the archangel's finger, and told the
assembly if the commandment he had received. He found,
too, on tLe Mount, as his vision had announced, a bull tied
to a tree. The ground trampled by the bull indicated the
site he was to choose for the church. The workmen began
to prepare the ground, but an enormous rock stood in the
very midst, and baffled their eftbrts. St. Aubert went nto
the forest, and found a child only a year old — the child of a
man named Bain. As soon as this child touched the rock
with his little foot, it rolled to the bottom of the precipice.
After this the labours of the workmen progressed ; but at
last they wanted water. Thereupon St. Aubert struck the
rock with his crozier, and a fountain trickled forth, the
water of which was renowned in after-years for its healing
powers.

The church being finished, St. Aubert sent to the monas
tery of Mont Gargan, in Italy, for a portion of the relics ol
St. Michael; but when the emissaries returned with their
sacred treasures to the Mount Tumba (henceforward the
Mount of St. Michael), they scarcely recognised it, so greatly
was it changed. The sea had completely swallowed up the
forest which formerly surrounded it, and reached to the foot
of the rock ; nothing was to be seen but a sandy greve.

It is said that whenever an English fleet approached the
French coast on this side with hostile intentions, the arch-
angel raised a tempest round the mount which caused the
fleet to disperse ; and whenever war was on the point of
breaking out between these two rival nations, at night the
spire of the abbey church on the rock used to shine with a
light more brilliant than that of day, which light spread
over the surrounding country.

488 MONT ST. MICHEL.

Duke Rolf and all his successors were liberal benefactors
to the abbey of Mont St. Michel. Orderic says that Richard
the Fearless built the abbey. It is certain that he established
here a community of thirty monks, who chose for their
superior Maynard, of St. Wandrille, 966. Maynard governed
the abbey for twenty-five years, and Richard was present
at his burial ; but in the time of Maynard's successor the
abbey was destroyed by fire, except the cell of Bernehere,
which contained the body of St. Aubert. Duke Richard
and his wife Gunnor, and Geoffrey, Duke of Britany, were
lavish in their gifts for the restoration of the abbey.

In the time of the fourth Abbot, Hildebert II., Richard II.
the Good celebrated at the Mount his marriage with Judith
of Britany, and laid the foundation of a " superb and mag-
nificent " church. This was the original church ; but little
of it remains, except the present nave.

In the time of the seventh Abbot, Suppon (1048), the
monastery received from King Edward the Confessor " the
glorious gift " of the Abbey of St. Michael's Mount, Cornwall.

From 1060 to 1085 Mont St. Michel had a remarkable
Abbot, Ranulph. He completed the nave of the church, and
built the southern galleries and walls of the fortress. He
exercised much influence on the mind of King William,
who avowed that the greatest victory he ever gained hap-
pened on Michaelmas-day.

After William's coronation the abbey sent him six great
ships and several monks, who became English abbots.

Td the time of Ranulph's successor, Roger, Henry Beau-

erc took refuge in the abbey, when war broke out between
him and his brothers. When Henry was crowned King of
England, he testified in various ways his gratitude to the

HENRY n. AT THE MOUNT. 489

abbey. Among other things he caused to be struck pieces of
money bearing the image of St. Michael. " These pieces,"
says the chronicler, " were called angelos."

The eleventh Abbot was Roger, Prior of Jumieges, 11 06
— 1 1 23. The church and monastery were destroyed by
lightning ; but Roger was the builder of the wonderful pile
called La Merveille.

During the reign of Henry II. the monks elected three
successive Abbots, without consulting him, and Henry in
his anger pillaged the monastery.

But the most illustrious of the Abbots of Mont St. Michel
was Robert de Thorigny, or Robert du Mont, the friend and
confidant of Henry II. He had been previously Prior of
Bee. "He was esteemed by popes, cherished by kings,
revered by monks, and beloved by all." In 1 156, the Arch-
bishop of Rouen, the Bishops of Bayeux, Coutances, and
Avranches, passed four days with him, " without being able
to leave him, so saintly and pleasant was his society."
King Henry II. paid him three visits, and in 1158 dined in
the refectory with him and his monks. Henry met at the
abbey his wife's first husband, Louis VII. of France. One
fancies the meeting must have been a strange one. This
Abbot, Robert, was godfather to Henry's child, by Eleanor,
probably young Henry. Robert increased the number of
monks to sixty. He seems to have built almost all the
present edifice of St. Michel, below the church, the Prome-
noir, the chapel of St. Etienne, and the buildings below
and above it. He was the author of several chronicles, of
a Treatise on Norman Abbeys, of a Commentary on the
Epistles of St. Paul, and of various other works, which may
be seen in the Public Library of Rouen.

490 MONT ST. MICHEL,

Radulph des lies, eighteenth Abbot (121 2), was elected
by the monks, who refused the interference of the Bishop of
Avranches in their choice of a superior, and only admitted
Uie bishop to their church to pay his devotions there. He
j-ebuilt the refectory, after the abbey had been burned down
for the fourth time under his predecessor. In the exchequer
accounts of the abbey for 1203, are items for the mainte-
nance of the knights and men-at-arms kept at the monastery
at the expense of the Dukes of Normandy. They resided
in the Montgomeries and in the Salle des Chevaliers. The
glory of the abbey, its exquisite cloister, was the work of
Raoul de Villedieu, twentieth Abbot, in 1225.

The twenty-first Abbot, Toustain, built the Salle des
Gardes ; but he seems to have been very unpopular. He
obtained from the Pope permission to wear the mitre ; " and
having had a fine one made, he delighted in distributing
public benedictions." He was publicly admonished by the
Archbishop of Rouen, Odo Rigault.

In the time of the twenty-fifth Abbot, Guillaume le Chateau
(1299), Philippe le Bel came on pilgrimage to the Mount;
and Tiphaine Raguenel, sumamed for her learning Tiphaine
la Fee, " was brought by her husband, Bertrand du Gueselin,
to inhabit a fine house which he had built for her on the
Mount." In Guillaume's abbacy the church was struck by light-
ning, but in the space of six years the damage was repaired.

The twenty-ninth Abbot, Pierre le Roy, was as great a
builder as Robert de Thorigny. Among other erections he
built the charming tower, Des Corbins, also the Chartrier.
The Abbots were now called also captains of Mont
^t. Michel. When Charles VI. went on pilgrimage to the
Mount in 1393, he recognised the merit of Pierre le Roy,

LOUIS D'ESTOUTEVILLE.

491

gave him an income of a thousand Hvres, and took him for
one of his councillors. He also sent him on various
embassies to Italy, England, and Aragon.

In the fifteenth century Robert Jolivet, thirtieth Abbot,
built the ramparts and fortifications, which enabled the
Mount so gloriously to resist the English ; but, after doing
this, he retired and lived in obscurity. In 142 1 the top of

S^.,

Les Michelettes.

the church was again burned, and at the rebuilding of this
the crypt of the Gros Piliers was made in the rock itself.
King Charles VII. came to the Mount to offer thanks,
bringing a stone, which fell on his head without wounding
him. How real and simple was faith and love in those days !
In 1427 came the famous attack and repulse of the English.
Lord Scales, with 20,000 men, attacked the Mount " with
several terrible machines and divers engines of war." The

492 MONT ST. MICHEL.

attack was repulsed by Louis d'Estouteville of Hambye,
captain of the Mount, and the 120 Norman gentlemen
whose names and coats of arms we saw emblazoned at
Avranches. The English lost 2,000 men; and their two
enormous cannon, called the Michelettes, still remain as
trophies of the victory. Charles VII. sent Dunois to the
Mount, to compliment these Norman heroes. We do not
find in the history of the Abbots any record of the construc-
tion of the Salle des Chevaliers, which, although included in
the outward construction of La Merveille, is of far more re-
cent date internally. It was therefore the work of one of the
royal benefactors of the abbey, probably of PhiHp Augustus.

After Robert Jolivet came William, the brother of the
valiant Louis d'Estouteville (1446), but he and the suc-
ceeding Abbots seem to have been of a more worldly kind.
No longer the fathers of their flock on the Mount, they lived
at courts and elsewhere in splendour on its revenues, and
it must have been about this time that the fortress began to
be used as a state-prison. William of Estouteville began to
rebuild the upper part of the church in a magnificent
manner. During his abbacy Louis XL, who had instituted
the order of St. Michel, came on pilgrimage to the Mount
in 1462. " At length," the chronicler says, " God, regarding
with a favourable eye this poor abbey, inspired the king,
Louis the Just (the XIIL), to make choice of a person who
should restore it to its former splendour."

Henri de Lorraine was elected in 1615, and in his time
Mont St. Michel came under the reformed code of the
" congregation of St. Maur." Henceforth the internal rule
of the Abbots gave place to that of Priors. One of the
last Priors was Dom Charles Estienne de la Passeiz, in

LA MERVEILLE—LES MICHELETTES. 493

1776. He sold to Charles Philip, Comte d'Artois, all the
greiies, for the annual rent of a sol per acre. The last
Abbot was Monsieur de Montmorency, cardinal bishop of
Metz, 1788. The last Prior was Dom Ganat. At the
Revolution the monastery was suppressed, and the Conven-
tion turned it into a prison for three hundred Breton and
Norman priests, calling it Le Mont Libre. These prisoners
were liberated by the Vendean army, on its way to the
famous siege of Granville.

In 1818 the fortress abbey became an ordinary gaol;
but it never ceased to receive prisoners convicted of offences
against the State.

In 1863 the abbey was freed from the presence of these
criminals of various grades, and a few years later it was
ceded to the Bishop of Coutances. He has restored it to
its original destination, and has established there ten priests
of the order of St. Edme. They have charge of the building
and of its restoration. There is also a community of
Sisters, who superintend an orphanage. The Government
has now included the Mount among the historical monu
ments of France. This time the works carried on there
have been at the cost of the Bishop of Coutances.

As we get nearer, the Mount takes a grander and severer
aspect. There is something almost savage in the ruggedness
of its tawny moss-grown walls, so built in the rock itself that
one seems a part of the other. Around its base is a wall
with round towers at intervals, machicolated all round the
top ; this is the fortification of the Abbot Jolivet. Above
these walls, houses cluster among trees, and from them rises
the bare tremendous rock on which is built the abbey
fortress, crowned by the stone church. It seems as if a huge

494 MONT ST. MICHEL.

bare mass of granite had been suddenly transformed into a
lofty church. The two points which fix the eye are the
church, as it were in the air above, and the marvellous
buttressed wall, upwards of 245 feet long and 108 feet high.
This wall, called La Merveille, has at its angle the elegant
tourelle called Les Corbins.

It is a very steep walk up to the entrance of the fortress
abbey. We go in through a low archway, and find ourselves
in a small court, the Cour du Lion, so called from the lion
carved in the wall on the left with his paw on the shield of
Abbot Jolivet. There is another archway before us, and on
each side a long, rusted, ungainly-looking cannon, with a
stone ball lying below; these are the famous Michelettes,
taken from the English by Louis d'Estouteville and his
brave garrison in the time of Henry V., when Mont St.
Michel alone in Normandy successfully resisted the invader.
Through this gate we enter the second courtj the Cour de
la Herse, so called from the gate of the town on the farther
side of it, which still retains fragments of its portcullis. On
the right of this gate is the Tour du Roi, now converted
into stables ; and beside and in the tower on the left is the
little inn of the Tete d'Or. The town gate is still sur-
mounted by a stone shield, which once doubtless bore the
arms of the abbey : three flowers or and nine shells sable.
The emblem of the town was, salmon playing on the waves.

Our driver advised us to rest at the Tete d'Or, which, he
said, was the best inn in the town ; but when we went in
through the little low door into the entrance-kitchen, we
found such a goodly company of pilgrims that it seemed
doubtful whether we could find room. The low roof was
supported by dark oak beams ; on the left a huge fire of

PILGRIMS AT THE TETE D' OR,

495

logs was blazing on the great stone hearth. On spits in front
there were ducks and a leg of mutton ; and on the right was
a long table filled with pilgrims of both sexes, each with a
red cross pinned on his or her shoulder, eating and drinking,
and laughing and talking, as fast as possible. Beyond, in
a sort of half-darkness, was another long table, at which a
number of fishermen and men in blouses were drinking and
smoking. With a little change of dress it might have been

Salle des Chevaliers.

a scene out of the middle ages. There were no modern
surroundings : all was rude, rough plenty.

While we stood looking on, and shivering over the wel-
come fire, a woman, in a black gown, with a red shawl crossing
her shoulders and tied behind, came out of the darkness
with a huge frying-pan — it looked big enough for Glum-
dalclitch — full of golden yolks of eggs. She asked us to stand
aside, flung a little butter carelessly into the mess, and then
held it over the blazing logs, tossing it from side to side as
if the pan were a feather-weight.

496 MONT ST. MICHEL.

She looked over her shoulder presently, and said there
was now room for us in the eating-room up-stairs, and that
we had better be quick, as the omelette would soon be
ready. Up-stairs we found a large room, with three long
tables crowded with the pilgrims, who seemed to be enjoying
themselves greatly, eating and drinking, and laughing and
talking in very merry fashion. The house, we learned, was
crammed; every room in the town was occupied. There
had arrived more than three hundred pilgrims on the pre-
vious day, and many more had come that morning ; in factj
they were arriving constantly, anxious to be in time for the
office which was to be said at three o'clock before the black
Virgin in the Crypte des Gros Piliers.

We got a very good meal at the Tete d'Or; the omelette
we had seen in course of cooking proved excellent; and
then we set out on our pilgrimage. The town looks as it
must have looked ages ago. There is not a trace of modem
element in its life, although there is in the outsides of some
of the houses. One of the old monks, writing of the
Mount, says, " A little town full of honest folk, who have,
however, nothing worth frying."

It appears that the population has greatly decreased since
the fortress has ceased to be a prison. The way is steep
and twisting through the ancient stone houses, many of
which have circular-headed doorways. On the left, the
houses, with their gardens, green with vines and fig-trees,
seem to be climbing up the steep rock; on the right, a
flight of stone steps gives us a more extended view than
we can get in the dirty street, so full of pilgrims to-day
that the effect is contradictory. One would prefer to see
this gaunt, tawny rock in solitude and silence, instead of

LA MERVEILLE, 497

the clatter of footsteps, the merry voices, the constant greet-
ings, as one friend meets another, unseen perhaps for years
till the pilgrimage has brought them face to face. Out-
side some of the doors were fishing-nets of various kinds,
and there were one or two shops for the sale of crucifixes
and rosaries for the pilgrims. A broken flight of steps
led us on to the ramparts ; as we mount, there is a grand
view of the abbey ; above, on the right, is the Bay of Mont
St. Michel, with flocks of pilgrims on their way across the
grhue; at this distance they looked like ants crawling
along the desolate, monotonous stretch of sand ; on the
left are picturesque tiled houses, with a broken wall in front
overgrown with vine.

At the angle of the rampart where the staircase mounts
again to the donjon is the little Tour Claudine. We stopped
before we reached the top of the first flight of steps to gaze
at the stupendous wall above us — La Merveille, as it is
justly named — more than two hundred feet above Xht g?-hve,
and more than a hundred feet in sheer height of granite wall
rising from the wooded rock below. The wall is strength-
ened by fifteen massive buttresses, and is green and bronze
with moss and lichen. At the eastern angle of this wall
is the gi-aceful staircase-tower, Des Corbins, the work of
Abbot Pierre le Roy, 1391.

The entrance to the abbey is called Le Gouffre. It is the
gate of the donjon built by Pierre le Roy in 1393, be-
side the Tour des Corbins at the angle of the Merveille.
This entrance is very sombre and mysterious looking, and
must have struck a chill to the hearts of unhappy state
criminals doomed to imprisonment in the fortress.

The low menacing doorway leads up some steps into the

K K

49« MONT ST. MICHEL.

Salle des Gardes. Here formerly the vassals of the monas-
tery assembled on solemn occasions. To-day it plainly did
not bear a normal aspect. It had gone on pilgrimage, like
the red-cross visitors of the Tete d'Or ; for one side of it was
occupied by a range of counters ; behind the first of these
were three or four of the Brothers selling crucifixes, medals,
reliquaries, and rosaries, some of which were under glass
cases on the counters, and others hung on the old stone wall
behind them. Beyond, the counter was covered with photo-
graphs of the abbey, and several old women were very busy
selling these; they could not at all understand our delay
in selecting specimens.

" They are all alike parts of the holy abbey," said one.
She plainly thought a pilgrim should be satisfied with the
mere memento. We inquired for a guide over the building,
and were told that all the Brothers and priests were busy
to-day with the bishop — the Bishop of Coutances.

" But all is open," our informant added ; " there is no-
thing to pay to-day, because of the pilgrimage. You can
find your own road."

There are three doors in the Salle des Gardes : one has
been opened through the ancient fireplace, and leads only
to the porter's lodge ; the next leads to the great staircase ;
and that on the right along a gloomy passage to the
lowest story of the Merveille, once the stables of the
Knights of Mont St. Michel. This vast building has three
stories : the first is called the Montgommeries ; the second
contains the refectory and the Salle des Chevaliers ; and the
third, the cloister and the dormitory.

We went along the gloomy passage till we reached the
Montgommeries, an immense crypt, upwards of 245 feet long

CRYPT OF THE MONTGOMMERIES. 499

by about 40 feet broad. The vaulted stone roof is suppoited
by eighteen pillars, which divide it into three aisles ; it is
also divided into two lengthwise by a stone wall, in which
is a door of communication between the one crypt, formerly
used as a stable, into the other which was the almonry.

The name of Montgommeries was given from an attack on
the fortress in the fifteenth century by the Calvinist leader,
Montgommery. On this side was formerly Les Poulains,
a lift moved by an immense wheel for raising provisions for
the fortress from below, now removed to the other side of
the abbey buildings. The monk, Dom Huynes, who has
left a MS. history of the Mount, gives this quaint account
of Montgommery's attempt : —

" The Calvinists having captured one of the garrison, and
put a cord round his neck, told him that they would grant
him his life if he would promise to betray the abbey to
them. The poor man accepted the offer, and arranged that
they were to assemble at the foot of the staircase of the
fountain St. Aubert, and that he would then introduce them
into the crypt by means of the great wheel used to mount
provisions.

" If God had not changed the heart of this soldier, the
Mont St. Michel had been lost. But he repented, and
gave notice to the governor, who resolved to put to the
sword all these enemies.

" That day the air was so full of fog that the French reached
the foot of the rock without fear of discovery. Then climbing
up into the wheel, they began to enter one after another, and
were received with open arms. They were conducted into
the great hall ; and there, the better to deceive them, were
made to drink a taste of wine to give them courage to kill

500 MONT ST. MICHEL.

the monks ; then they were ushered into the guard-room, and
each was run through the body with a halberd ; and thus were
put to death ninety-eight. The commanders of this illustrious
company becoming very much surprised that so great a
number of soldiers, all chosen men, made no noise, called
out that, if all was going well, they should fling a monk
Irom the window.

" The soldiers of the garrison thereupon turned a prisoner
into a monk ; they shaved him, and put on him an old habit,
and, after sending a sword through his body, flung him down
the rock.

" But Montgommery still doubted, and was resolved to
discover the truth. He bade his page mount the wheel,
who, seeing none of his own people, cried out ' Treason,
treason !' and let himself drop to the ground. At this the
Calvinists, taking alarm, climbed dov/n the rock again as
quickly as they could, while those above sent after them a
discharge of musketry and stones ; of which some of them
were found dead on the sands, and those whom they had
left in pledge in the chateau were thrown down after the
metamorphosed monk; and all were buried next day at
fifteen paces from the Poulains."

Some years ago, in making a trench at the foot of the Mer-
veille, a quantity of human bones was discovered ; these were
identified with the unlucky companions of Montgommery.

The crypt is sombre and massive, well calculated to
support the immense pile of building that rests on it.

A flight of steps leads to the Salle des Chevaliers.
This is a beautiful hall of early thirteenth-century work,
divided into three by two rows of columns, with richly
carved and varied capitals : there is evidently another row

SALLE DE CHEVALIERS. 501

of columns built into the wall, which takes a passage off
from this splendid hall. The groining of the roof is
equally bold and elegant. This hall is ninety-eight feet
long by sixty-eight wide ; it was used as the chapter-house
of the Knights of St. Michel, by Louis XL He instituted
the Order of St. Michel at his Chateau d'Amboise in 1496,
about the time of one of the two pilgrimages he made to the
Mount ; that is probably about the date of the two fireplaces
with projecting fronts as big as houses, and of the square-
headed windows beside them, evidently more modern than
the rest of the hall, which is attributed to Philip Augustus.

A little door in this hall leads into the ancient Chartrier.
In this is a collection of fragments of the abbey.

Outside, the building called the Chartrier may be recog-
nised by an elaborate arcade, built by Abbot Pierre le Roy,
early in the fifteenth century, at the western angle of the
Merveille. This Chartrier contained so large an amount of
precious manuscripts, that the Mount was called '' the city of
books." The greatest part of these found their way to the
library of Avranches. The most ancient of the dated MSS.
before iioo is signed —

" Cyraldi calamus hoc renovatit opus."

From the Salle des Chevaliers, which supports the cloisters,
we passed along another gloomy passage to the refectory,
supporting the dormitory. This is also a splendid hall,
but of simpler architecture than the Salle des Chevaliers.
It is divided into two by eight round pillars, with octagon
bases ; the stone groining of the roof is remarkably bold and
well developed. The refectory is about a hundred and twelve
feet long and about forty broad. At the end of the room

502 MONT ST. MICHEL,

are two roofed fireplaces of vast size — much larger than
those in the Salle des Chevaliers ; and on one of these huge
open stone hearths was a blazing fire of logs, and round
about were several women in large aprons acting as cooks ;
for we had come upon the pilgrims again in the refectory ;
and probably since the time of the • middle-age Abbots,
before the glory of the abbey had grown dim, there had
never been enacted in this refectory a scene so like the old
hospitality of Mont St. Michel. Tables were spread from
one end of the hall to the other, which had evidently been
crowded with guests; for several fresh-looking country-
women were busy changing plates and glasses, and arranging
the table for new arrivals. There were still several pilgrims
eating their meal, much more silently here than those we
had met with at the Tete d'Or. One of the cooks asked
us to step inside the fireplace and look up the chimney.
It is wonderfully lofty, and so spacious that it might lodge
a regiment.

" We have a table d'hote here," she said, " for the pilgrims.
Yesterday we had to serve three hundred and fifty repasts.
Monsieur and madame could have eaten here as well as at
the inn, if it had so pleased them." We were told that
these women had worn their picturesque Breton caps on
the previous day, but had been so stared at that to-day
they appeared in plain white dimity caps : they were some
of them pilgrims from Britany.

The refectory was richly decorated with inlaid floor and
painted windows, when Henry II. dined there with his
barons, on the occasion of his visits to his friend Robert
du Mont. But the present hall was built on that old site
by Abbot Radulph in 12 12— 121 8. Certainly Charles VII.

LBS GROS PILIERS. 503

and Louis XI. of France must have been feasted here
when they came on pilgrimage to the Mount.

From the refectory we went along a passage up some
stairs, into another vaulted passage, or crypt, with three
windows looking down into the Salle des Chevaliers.

We found ourselves here in a stream of people mounting
by another staircase, and mingling with them we followed
into what was at first total darkness. When we got further in,
we seemed to be in a semicircular underground church, sup-
ported by nineteen round pillars, placed in two rows round
two in the centre, some of these pillars are said to be fifteen
feet in diameter. This is the famous crypt of the Gros Fillers,
or more correctly the Chapel of Notre-Dame Sousterre^ and
is the tour deforce of the abbey. The monks called it " the
great work." It supports the apse of the church above.

There are five chapels against the walls, in which we saw
rough temporary wooden altars. In the midst of the chapel,
against the two massive central pillars, was a life-size image
of the Blessed Virgin, perfectly black, but richly dressed.
Above her was a lamp, shedding a little light, like a halo
round her ; and all about her, in a long circling wreath of
laurel, were fixed candles, burning dimly in the underground
atmosphere and darkness of the place. On one side was a
temporary wooden altar.

We had been told that the procession would halt here, for
a short service before the Black Virgin, on its way to the
church, and we waited its coming. The crowd of pilgrims
began to range itself in orderly fashion all round the chapel,
between the second and third rows of pillars, leaving a
way open near the door, which we saw led on to the grand
staircase of the abbey. We stationed ourselves near this

S04 MONT ST. MICHEL.

opening, and in a few minutes came the sound of chanting,
and then the procession — acolytes swinging silver censers,
banner-bearers, cross-bearers, numerous priests with candles,
priests in rich vestments, then the magnificent crozier
of the bishop, and, following close after, the Bishop of
Coutances, a very tall and remarkable-looking man, splen-
didly robed, and wearing a lofty mitre ; then more white-
robed priests, each bearing a lighted candle between thumb
and finger ; and about two hundred pilgrims, each with red
cross on shoulder and a lighted candle in hand, chanting at
the top of their voices.

The procession walked round the chapel, and then
halted before the image. The bishop removed his mitre,
and handed it to his chaplain, and then he began to say the
office. We had moved round so as to have a better view,
and the effect was most striking and inspiring. The light
of the lamp fell fiill on the glittering robes of the bishop,
on his upturned eloquent face, and on the crowd of white-
robed priests behind him; it fell, too, on the ecstatic
faces of the pilgrims (many of them Bretons), some
with tears streaming down their wrinkled faces, relieved
strongly against the intense gloom around ; and when the
hymn began, in which all joined, every verse ending with —

** Vierge, notre esperance,
Etends sur nous ton bns,
Sauve, sauve la France —
Ne I'abandonne pas,"

the enthusiasm grew fervid, and one was able somewhat
to realise the preaching of the early crusades and the zeal
it kindled.

IN THE CRYPT, 505

As soon as the hymns were sung, the bishop resumed
his mitre and went on to the church. Before we followed,
we went back into the passage to the refectory, and up a
staircase, which we learned would lead us to the open air,
for there had been something almost stifling in the atmo-
sphere of the Gros Piliers. One realises the saying of
being in the bowels of the earth in this crypt, which,
although it cannot from its vast height aboveground be
called subterraneous, is certainly dug out of the recesses of
the granite rock.

Hitherto we had found our way fairly well, but we wished
for a guide to the crypts and darker parts of the building ;
and at the top of the staircase we met a priest evidently
belonging to the abbey. We explained our wish, and he
seemed surprised ; he said, " All is open to day ; you can
go where you please." He said it was almost impossible
to get a guide during the bishop's visit, as all the priests
were so busy ; but if we would be in church when service
was over, he would see what could be done. Meantime he
pointed to the cloister which we had just reached, and
advised us to examine it while the crowd of pilgrims was
occupied in the church. He pointed to some steps beyond
the cloister, and said that was the way to the church, and
then bowed very politely and left us.

It is difficult to describe the effect of the cloister just
after emerging from the sepulchral gloom of Les Gros Piliers.
The name Palace of Angels, given to the abbey by its monks,
seems well applied here. We came out suddenly into full
daylight in a square court, quite three hundred feet above
the sands, surrounded on all sides by a triple row of more
than two hundred columns ; those against the walls are

5o6

MONT ST. MICHEL.

of granite, and those round the quadrangle have the
lancet arches which connect them, the capitals and
spandrels, carved most exquisitely in Caen stone. It is
impossible tp overpraise the charming lightness and beauty
of these arcades. The frieze above the pillars is richly and
delicately carved. The double row of little columns round
the centre are so placed that they alternate with the arches,

allowing each capital
to be seen. Probably
the contrast of the
richly carved, delicate
stonework here en-
hances the effect by
the refined contrast it
makes to the massive
granite used in the rest
of the abbey buildings.
One fancies the de-
light the monks must
have taken in these
cloisters, and in the
view from the win-
dows over the grhje.
The world looks so
small at this distance of three hundred feet. People crawl
over the sand like black specks, and the coast of Britany
is a faint line. • In clear weather there is a magnificent
view from here, which we regretted not to have seen. In
later times the cloister was used for air and exercise by
the unhappy prisoners confined in the Mount. At the
northern angle of the cloister is the library, built by a

Angle of Cloister.

THE CHURCH. 507

prior in 1646 ; the works which it contained are now at
Avranches.

The dormitory must have been very vast, but it has been
so subdivided and mutilated during the occupation of the
abbey as a prison that it is now the least interesting part of
the building.

We went across the cloister into the church. It was
no doubt very grand before the Revolution, when half of
the nave was destroyed and a Greek portal erected, as a
French writer says, " to stanch the wound made by this
amputation." The nave with its aisles and clerestory is the
original nave, begun by Abbot Hildebert in 1020. The
transepts are also of Romanesque architecture, but these are
of later date. The four large central columns were erected
in 1050 by Radulph de Beaumont. But we regretted that
we had not seen this part of the church before its recent
restoration ; it bears too modem an aspect now.

The choir is flamboyant, and was begun in 1450 by the
Cardinal d'Estouteville. Guillaume de Lamps, 1449, car-
ried on his work, and built the triforium. The tracery of the
windows is very elaborate, and Jean de Lamps, brother of
Guillaume, finished it, 151 3, by the clerestory, which is
simpler and more like the first stage.

The carvings on the altar and the other bas-reliefs were
sculptured by the prisoners ; some of these are very gro-
tesque. The decorations of the altar and the fittings of the
church were formerly superb, the pious offerings of kings
and princes ; but the Revolution destroyed all this magni-
ficence. When we entered, the altar was very brilhant with
lights and decorations, and the church was full of pilgrims
intent on the service.

508 MONT ST. MICHEL,

When the Bishop had given his blessing, as he passed
down the church he held out his hand to those near, who
knelt and kissed his ring with much reverence. The church
was soon cleared, as all the pilgrims followed the Bishop
closely. A French lady and gentleman, and one or two others,
who evidently were not pilgrims, lingered ; and presently
our friendly priest appeared with a sulky unwilling-looking
young fellow, whom he presented to us as our guide.

"He knows everything," said the courteous gentleman,
" and will guide you as well as we could ourselves."

We secretly thought we should have preferred himself;
however, there was no help for it. Our guide went into
the chapel of St. Martin and unlocked a door, inside which
was a spiral staircase. He told us to mount as quickly
as possible. At the first halt of these giddy, winding
steps we came out on a forest of gargoyles, flying buttresses,
pinnacles elaborately crocketed and carved, suspended,
seemingly, at this immense height over the graves, a won-
derful sight when one thinks of the diflSculty of their con-
struction, and the years of tempest they have endured. Many
of the pinnacles are left unfinished, and some bear the
marks of the fire of 1 594, which did infinite damage to the
building. Another ascent up the staircase-tower, and then
we came into the open air on a staircase thrown across
bridge-fashion to the roof of the choir. This is called the
Escalier de Dentelle, and its elaborately carved. From here
we mounted to the parapet of the tower called Le Petit
Tour des Fous, because, although it is very giddy work to
walk all round this platform, still it is a less foolish attempt
than to walk round the Grande Tour des Fous, still higher
up. This Grande Tour des Fous is a poor substitute for

r/EfV FROM THE TOP OF THE MOUNT 509

the graceful spire which once existed, surmounted by a
gilded figure of the archangel with wings outspread.

But the view from this lower platform, at such a fear-
fully giddy height — four hundred feet above the sands — is
worth climbing to see. The wind was rising fast, and blew so
strongly that the weaker ones of the party were glad to cling
to the parapet ; but the wind had cleared away the mist, and
we saw lying spread around us, beyond the ^^'sXtgrlves on one
side and the glistening water on the other, the town of
x^vranches, the tower of the Church of Courtils, with the dark
rock of Tombeleine, and the Rochers de Cancale, in front
of the coast of Britany. We seem so far away from life up
here : all around are the carved pinnacles of the church ;
below is the steep rock, with its sombre crypts and horrible
dungeons, of which, as yet, we have only got glimpses; and
beneath these, so far away that its sounds cannot reach us,
is the little town cUnging to the sides of the rock, among its
vines and fig-trees, girt in closely by the belt of ramparts,
beyond which stretch the pale monotonous greves, only
broken by the line, like a silver thread, of the canal of the
Couesnon.

We came down again by the " Lace staircase," on to the
platform on a level with the church ; this is called the Saut
Gautier, because an unhappy madman was killed by throwing
himself over on to the rocks beneath. Over one of the door-
ways of the church, on this platform, is a very curious bas-
relief representing the miracle of St. Aubert. St. Michael
presses his finger on the saint's forehead, and shows him the
Mount Tumba, where he is to build him a church. There is
a grand view from this platform, which is also called Beau-
regard. We were told that seventeen church spires and

510 MONT ST. MICHEL.

towers may be seen in clear weather. Many of the pilgrims
were already departing on foot to their homes : most of
them lived far away — some as far as Paris and Versailles.
They looked like a long line of stragghng ants crawling over
the sand.

Suddenly the line broke and scattered in the middle,
as though in chase of something; but soon the straight
line formed again, and they toiled on in the howling wind.
We learned, when we got back to the town, that the
violence of the wind had blown off the hats of many of the
priests and pilgrims — for most of the flocks of pilgrims are
headed by their cur^s — and the poor creatures would have
to go home hatless, as they dared not chase the missing hats
far over the sand.

Adjoining the platform is the abbot's dwelling, called the
Abbatiale, but it has been modernised out of all interest ;
from here, down some steps, was the chapel of St. Catherine,
in the Grand Exil ; and close by is the Prison of Petit Exil.

Our guide seemed to consider it his duty to show us the
dormitory and the cloisters, probably because the staircase
leading from them conducts to the beginning of the dun-
geons, and the quaint, weird staircase, of which we had
already got a glimpse in our wanderings, leads direct into
the Crypte de I'Aquilon, which is in the midst of the series.

The sensation in descending from the airy height and
boundless space, over which we had been gazing into this
confined gloom, is terrible.

There is no carving, no groined roof here. We are
within the bare, rough rock itself, at the beginning of
what is called the Promenoir. On the left is an ancient
chapel, which, during the prison period of Mont St. Michel,

THE CRYPTE DE L'AQUILON. 511

was converted into so awful a dungeon that it was called
Le Cachot du Diable : the roof of this chapel is supported
by a column with carved capital standing out in the midst.
There is too much light in this first part for effect, although,
a little farther on, one longs to escape from the awful gloom
around. The Promenoir is the ancient cloister of the convent,
divided into two sombre walks by six granite pillars : it was built
in the twelfth century. What awful seclusion, to pace up and
down here under the granite roof, closed up in these granite
walls with always the same companions ! One seems unable
to breathe freely in the Promenoir : and yet the next crypt
is much darker ; it is, in fact, the horrible dungeon in which
was the iron cage invented by Cardinal la Balue. The first
iron cage was afterwards replaced by one made of strong cross-
bars of wood. This last one was destroyed when the young
Due de Chartres (afterwards King Louis Philippe) visited
Mont St. Michel. It must have been horrible enough to be
shut up in this dark hole without the desperate barbarity of
the iron cage. Down some dark, rough steps, we looked in
at gloomy vaults, once the cellars of the monks ; but there
was less horror here. Presently, passing by the Promenoir
again, we followed the descent of the rock, its rugged side
walling us in on either hand. On the left this contained
prison-ceils cut in the rock, but partly lined with wood :
nothing could be heard here. At the end of this horrible
passage, we found ourselves in the Crypte de I'Aquilon.
Here are arches and pillars with carved capitals, evidently
of the twelfth century. We seem to have got into the
religious life again, and we breathe more freely in this gloom
than we did in the dungeon beyond. The Abbot, Robert du
Mont, consecrated an altar to the Virgin in the Crypte de

512

MONT ST. MICHEL.

TAquilon, at the feast of Pentecost, by the hands of the
Archbishop Hugh of Rouen. This crypt and the Pro-
menoir are the most interesting parts of this subterranean
or rather within-rock portion of Mont St. Michel : they
are breathing-spaces from the horror of the rest. The effect

of light and shade on
the quaint staircase
leading from the crypt
up into the church is
most striking. We
went down the steps
at the end of the
crypt, and found a
gallery running across :
on the right is the
ancient entrance to
the abbey, and on the
left are a succession
of dungeon-cells in
the rock. Our guide
opened the door of
two, which are called
the Twins, so close
together that the
wretched prisoners
could speak to one another. The French gentleman
scrambled into one of these dens, but could not stand
upright in it. A match was lighted that we might see into it,
but it was only a hole with bare rocky sides. A lady of the
party asked to be shut into one of these cells for a few
minutes. The place was full of awful horror, and it is said

Crypte d'Aquilon.

THE GREAT WHEEL. 513

that some of these dungeons contain holes leading to
oubliettes below.

It was a relief when our guide went again towards the stairs.
As soon as we had mounted them, he led us, on the right,
into a long narrow passage, this being the ancient bury ing-place,
or charnier, of the monks. It looks a dismal cavern, which one
shrinks from penetrating into. Lately, a passage has been
discovered leading from it to the church ; and along these
awful crypts the monks must have come in long procession,
bearing their departed brethren to the gloomy charnel-
house, vast enough in its unfathomable gloom to have con-
tained generations of Benedictines. Close by this cemetery
we reach the light again in the ruined chapel of St. Etienne.
Near this was another chapel, Notre-Dame Sousterre, or the
chapel of Notre-Dame des Trente Cierges. Here was once
the Black Virgin — now in Notre-Dame des Gros Piliers —
always surrounded by thirty blazing candles. It is said that
this chapel was the germ of the abbey, and that here was
the first altar which St. Aubert dedicated to the archangel
Michael.

But in 1630, the Prior, Dom Bede de Fiesque, destroyed
the Chapelle des Trente Cierges, and removed the image
to Notre-Dame Sousterre des Gros Piliers, and a little while
after the ancient chapel was turned into its present state of
passage for the provisions brought up by the wheel. This
enormous wheel, removed here from the northern side of
the fortress, still exists in an opening of the wall at the
end of the ruined chapel : it used to be worked by the
prisoners, who by it raised the lift on which the provisions
were placed.

From this point we reached again the Crypte d'Aquilon,

L L

514 MONT ST. MICHEL.

and thence along some dark turnings came into the light
airy gallery beside the Salle des Chevaliers.

One stands still here, and draws a long breath of relief at
being free from the suggestive horror of those regions of
crime and human suffering, closed in between the primitive
little town below and the richly carved church above. We
did not seem to realise the full meaning of these infamous
dungeons while we were grouping blindly along the rocky
passages ; it is the contrast of the dayHght, of the richly sculp-
tured columns in the Salle des Chevaliers filling the mind
with memories of chivalrous generous deeds and pictures
of knightly splendour, that stimulates indignation and loathing
for the atrocities committed within these sacred walls. Louis
the XIV. and his successor each confined a prisoner in the
iron cage : the first, a journalist, named Dubourg, died in
this terrible confinement, eaten by rats ; his crime was that
he had dared to satirise Le Grand Monarque. The last
tenant of the cage was released by Louis XVI.

At length we found ourselves again in the Salle des Gardes.
Interesting and beautiful as the abbey is, still there is a feel-
ing of intense relief in escaping from its dark dirty dungeons
and close and gloomy passages hewn in the rock ; it is like
the sensation one has in emerging from a mine.

We came down into the town again by a different way, to
see the little parish church of St. Michel. It is a very humble
building, said to have been built in the eleventh century ;
but it does not appear to be older than the fifteenth : except
some old stones with curious inscriptions, there is nothing
worthy of notice. In the churchyard there is the tomb of
David Benoit, who left money to pay for the tolling of the
convent bells in fog-time, so that souls might not perish in the

A IVALK ROUND THE MOUNT. 515

quicksands. From the church it is easy to reach the ramparts
and walk partly round the citadel ; and it is much better
to do this after one has visited the interior than beforehand,
for one examines the different buildings with so much greater
interest. There are first the seven towers, ending with the
Tour Claudine, which communicates with the Merveille ; a
little way on is the miraculous fountain of St. Aubert ; next
we find ourselves beneath the Chartrier, and beyond this, as
we get round to the farther side of the rock, is the chapel of
St. Aubert ; the block of stone on which it is built is said to
be the summit of the rock, kicked down miraculously by the
foot of the child when it came in the way of the builders of
the first church, and resisted all their efforts for its removal.
On the western side there are no longer houses nestling
among gardens with trees ; the rock is bare and rugged — a
savage precipice ; above it is a wall as severe and bare as
itself, the work of Duke Richard the Good and the Abbut
Hildebrand in the tenth century. One shudders at the sight
of this wall, for within are the dungeons and all the gloomy
horror of the Mount. It is said that the round tower at the
angle of the platform overhead was the mouth of the ou-
bliettes, and that by a tube of communication the wretch
condemned to this fate was sent down into the charnel-house
of the monks : it is called the Tour du Meridien. From here
we only see the porch of the church overhead ; but formerly,
before the half of the nave was destroyed, the church itself
reached almost to the edge of the precipice. It is this side
of the Mount which is represented in the Bayeux tapestry,
and near here that Harold's stalwart arm rescued the Norman
soldiers in the passage of the Couesnon. One feels that
Harold must have paused on his wav to marvel at the won-

5i6 MONT ST. MICHEL.

drous church on the rock, sumounted as it then was by its
guardian angel. And now we come to the huge yawning rift
in the rock left by the destruction of the Hotellerie, and the
infirmary built in the twelfth century by that illustrious abbot
Robert de Thorigny ; overhead is the platform Saut Gautier,
built on three arches, like a balcony \ and below is the Tour
Gabrielle or Du Moulin; above us, too, is the Poulains.
Next comes in the upper story of the Abbatiale, with its
green blinds : during the prison time it was the abode of the
governor; just below it was once the chapel of St. Catherine,
and close by were the Grand Exil and the Petit Exil with
their dungeons. The next building is the Bailliverie ; and
the square erection, with an arcade of eight lancets, is the
Perrine, date 1393, which joins the donjon entrance-tower;
and on the right, at the angle of the Merveille, is the grace-
ful Tour des Corbins, built in the fourteenth century.

And when one has thus examined the Mount inside and
out, trying to look at it as a reality, the same impression
remains — a profound sadness, deepened by every glance
across the pale waste of sands entirely surrounding the huge
rocky pile, and intense, never-ending wonder at the gigantic
strength and massive solidity of the abbey fortress. And
yet these granite walls and huge pillars, real and substantial
as they are, do not destroy the phantom-like effect of the
Mount. It is essentially weird. When first a steamer was
seen crossing the bay, sending huge wreaths of smoke from
its tall black chimney, a legend sprang up among the simple
people that Satan had come in person to claim the fortress,
which was surely his own building.

The costume of the fishing population is very picturesque,
but the Mount seems scantily peopled.

THE RETURN ACROSS THE GREVES. 517

One imagines that the monks must have watched the
approach aUke of foes and friends, from the Saut Gautier or
Beauregard — of pilgrims chanting in procession on the
grhies, and also of the attacks on Henry Beauclerc, when, be-
sieged by his elder brothers, he took refuge in the abbey.
William was encamped at Avranches, and Robert at Genets.

We regretted not to make a longer stay at this wonderful
spot, but this was not possible. It is a wonder how the
little inns could lodge the pilgrims already quartered in
the town : probably some of them would have to claim the
hospitality of the monastery.

Just as we were ready to start, the diligence came in from
Pontorson, with the passengers and horses bruised and bleed-
ing : the violence of the wind had blown the vehicle over on
the journey; many of the people were much hurt. Our
driver told us it was much safer not to drive down the steep
descent: he led his horse cautiously, and we began to
follow ; but as soon as we were outside the shelter of the
walls the wind took me as if I had been a leaf, and if I had
not been suddenly caught by a strong hand I should have
been blown away along the sand.

No words can paint the weird wildness of that journey
back across the greves : the rain poured down in torrents ; as
our driver said —

"It is not rain, it is water;" and yet he dared not put
up the hood of the carriage, lest the wind should blow us over
as it had blown the diligence. It was not possible to keep
an umbrella open for an instant against the howling furious
wind ; it seemed like some monster risen from the desolate
waste of tawny sand, roaring and clamouring for prey. So we
drove on, soaked with the rain, and shrinking under our

5i8 MONT ST. MICHEL,

wraps as closely as we could. Our poor driver had nothing to
protect him, but he said rain never hurt him. Looking back,
we saw the Mount looming like a giant melancholy phantom
through the mists of rain over the desolate waste.

When we reached the road again we found it had become
a morass, and we were more than four hours in reaching
Avranches. On the way our driver opened his mind to us
on the subject of the pilgrimage, which he said was extremely
unpopular, as it was known to be set on foot for a political
purpose — for the speedy accession of Henri V. He said also
that the town of Mont St. Michel was very much offended
with the priests for turning the refectory into a table d'hote,
and thereby defrauding the inns.

It had grown dark before we reached Avranches, very
wet and tired and hungry, feeling much as if we had been
taking a sea-voyage, we were so blown about by the wind,
but full of a new experience utterly unlike any we had before
gained. There is something completely special in a visit to
Mont St. Michel, and it is worth any fatigue or trouble.

THE BOCAGE COUNTRY.

CHAPTER XX.

Vire. Mortain.

HTHE best way to get to Vire from
Avranches is to drive to Ville-
dieii, and then go on to Vire by the
Granville and Paris Railway from
Villedieu station ; but we got a mes-
sage from the office, saying that the
dihgence for Villedieu had been en-
gaged to take a party of pilgrims to
Mont St. Michel, and that we were to
have an Americaine instead. As it
was a fine morning, we preferred this
change, as we were to have the inside of the carriage, our two
fellow-travellers sitting on the box-seat. When we had gone
about two miles, the horse stood suddenly still. The driver
said it was ill, and that we were not to trouble, as it would
soon go on again; but when this stopping was repeated every
five minutes, we told him he must try to get another horse, as
we had just passed a post-house. He obstinately refused to
do this, asserting that there were no horses to be had there ;

520 THE BO CAGE COUNTRY.

SO we got out and walked a good part of the way, in great
fear of being too late for our train. The contrast between
English and French estimate of time was very amusing.
Our fellow-travellers, Avranchin peasants — a man and a
woman — could not understand our hurry ; neither could
they understand our indignation against the driver when he
said he knew that the horse was ill before starting. They
were very reluctant to get down and walk.

" He can stand still ; he will be better soon," the woman
said. "What does it matter?" This cruelty to horses is
frequent among these country drivers : it is one of the few
drawbacks to the pleasure of travelling in France.

At last the horse recovered a little ; and, after we had
given up all hope of being in time, we reached Villedieu
before the train did.

The railway runs through the forest of St. Sever. At the
town, beyond the forest, was formerly a celebrated abbey of
Benedictines, now used for the residence of the mayor, and
schools, barracks, &c There is only a small portion left of
the ancient church ; the rest is of the seventeenth century.
But soon we got a view over the picturesque valley of the
Vire. We had left frowning hills and bare rocks behind us:
we were in orchards and wooded heights, with every now and
then glimpses of golden corn-fields and rich pasture-land,
with brown cows feeding; a river meandering below the
hills, shaded by tall slender trees. We had left Avranches at
half-past nine o'clock, and we did not reach Vire till two.
The delays of French travelling, unless one always travels ex-
press, rob the traveller of many hours which might be spent
among lovely scenery or in rest ; and a French country rail-
way-station is even more uncomfortable than an English one.

VIRE. 521

Even a hasty glance at Vire, as soon as we had cHmbed
up the hill leading from the railway-station, was enough to
show us that we had reached the most picturesque town
we had yet seen. Modern improvements and alterations
have been hard at work : and trade, in the way of tall
chimneys, has made itself extremely obtrusive ; one sighs
over what must once have been, but there is still ample
loveliness left in the Vaux de Vire to tempt the traveller
to make a stay of several days in the town of Olivier
Basselin.

The town is singularly quaint, placed at the end of a ridge
of hills. Across the principal street is a picturesque arched
gateway, supporting the Tour de I'Horloge, a construction
of the thirteenth century ; the top of the tower is very
original. In front, just over the gateway, is a gaily painted
image of the Virgin, with the legend '* Marie protege la
ville." Just before we reached the Tour d'Horloge we went
up a charming old street on the right ; it is the way to the
post-office, and is full of curious old houses and quaint
effects. We came down this again, and, passing under the
Clock-Tower, reached the church of Notre-Dame, around
which is a group of very old wooden houses. The church
is remarkable ; built of dark stone. There is a nave with
two aisles, and a large choir, built at several periods — the
nave probably about the thirteenth century. The pillar on
which the pulpit is fixed is curiously cased in wood. Near
this an old woman, with a muslin cap over her bonnet de
coton, and an Indian red handkerchief over her shoulders,
was saying her prayers in one of the high pews, which injure
the effect of the interior of this fine church. The walls and
columns of the choir and apse are richly illuminated, and

522

THE BO CAGE COUNTRY,

the effect of these from the western end, contrasted against
the cold, dark stone of the nave, is admirable.

In the afternoon we took a charming walk, to find the
house of Olivier Basselin. We had to ask several times before
we could find any one who had heard of his name, or who
knew where his house was. The first part of the walk was
beside the washing-place of the town, crowded by women
of all ages, and as usual full of charming pictures. From

this we went down a steep road
on the right, beside a branch of
the river, with rich dark-coloured
crags on one side, clothed here
and there with ivy and bushes,
while opposite was a green hill,
wooded up to its very summit by
tall feathery trees. As this branch
of the river winds in and out
among the factories which it feeds,
the road descends after a bit to
its level, and the hills rise high
abovehead, making a deep green
valley. Every now and then we
came upon pleasant walks cut up the hill-side, from which one
overlooks the winding river and its never-ending succession
of rocky glens and wooded valleys ; but the presence of the
numerous factories, and the constant whirr of the mills,
destroy much of the beauty of the place. Tall red-brick
chimneys stand out boldly in the very midst of an exquisite
landscape, and the river bank is defaced by huge red slated-
roofed factories, which employ hundreds of industrious
Virois in the manufacture of blue cloth for the French

Old Woman saying Paternosters.

THE HOUSE OF OLIVIER BASSELIN. 523

army. One feels that it is all right, and that trade must pro-
gress ; but yet it seems hard that the loveliest spot in France
should have been chosen for such an amount of usefulness.
Every now and then the rich red brown of the rocks is varied
though hardly improved by long lines of blue cloth stretched
out to dry.

After rather a long walk of constant ascent and descent
between the rocks and the river, we came to the poet's
house; for although Monsieur Paul Lacroix, Monsieur de
Beaurepaire, and other modern French writers seem to be
doubtful about Olivier Basselin's claim to the verses attributed
to him, and to incline to exalt Jean Le Houx as the author,
instead of the compiler, of the more ancient of the '' Vaux de
Vire," instead of regarding him as simply the author of the
" Chants Nouveaux," still it is pleasant always to cling to
old beliefs, and to think that Olivier Basselin really lived,
and wrote, and plied his trade in this house beside the
river. He is said to have been a fuller, and to have
lived in the fifteenth century — about a century before Jean
le Houx — and to have written drinking and warlike songs.
His lays were very popular among his fellow-townsmen ;
but he was disliked by the monks, the Cordeliers, who had
a convent near his mill, and he was probably much addicted
to the wine he wrote in praise of. He seems to have fought
at the battle of Formigny, near Bayeux, when the English
were finally driven out of the province ; and contemporary
poems say that he was killed by the English, but his death
seems as uncertain as his birth.

The factory adjoining the house is modem : it is charm-
ingly placed on the river itself. A dark rock, Des Cordeliers,
projects over the road beside it, and beyond it the valley

524 THE BO CAGE COUNTRY.

opens and shows the Vire winding round, the shoulder of
another hill, which stretches boldly forward, and offers a
double series of exquisitely tinted hill and valley ; this
evening a veil of blue mist rose up as the sun sank behind
the crest of the rocks.

Still farther on the valley grows more and more beautiful ;
indeed we fancied weeks might be spent in exploring the love-
liness of these Vaux de Vire. It seems a necessity of nature
that such a country should have created a poet, or, indeed,
two, for Le Houx's confessed poems are quite equal to those
early ones which he has assigned to Basselin.

Le Houx was a learned advocate, of Vire, and a man of
classical education. His " Chants Nouveaux " reveal this ;
and yet they are more uniformly in praise of wine and
cyder than the older " Vaux de Vire." It seems a pity that
so much power of verse should not have found a worthier
subject. One of the " Chants Nouveaux " must have sug-
gested a popular song of our own day — " Jolly Nose : " —

♦« Beau nez, dont les rubis m'ont couste mainte pipe

De vin blanc et clairet,
Et duquel la couleur richement participe

Du rouge et violet ;
Grand nez, qui te regarde a travers un grand verre

Te trouve encore plus beau :
Tu ne resembles pas au nez de quelque here

Qui ne boit que de I'eau.
Un coq-d'Inde sa gorge a toi semblable porte ;

Combien de riches gens

N'ont pas si riclie nez ! "

Here is one in a more pleasant vein —

" J'ay oui dire a ma grand'm^re :
Toujours des vieux on apprend,

LES VAUX-DE- VIRES. 525

Que de la goutte derni^re
La bonne chere depend.

Bonne femme,

Que ton ame
Puisse etre au ciel en repos !

J'ai envie,

Si j'ai vie,
De suivre bien tes propos."

Le Houx seems to have given great scandal to the clergy by
his volume of " Chants Nouveaux ; however, before his death
he went to Rome, and received the absolution refused him
in his native town, and, it is supposed, gave up the writing
of " Vaux de Vire." There seem to have been many other
composers of these songs, besides Basselin and Le Houx.
There are some martial lays among the early " Vaux de
Vire." One of these, a very early one, which Monsieur
Beaurepaire thinks may have been composed by Basselin
himself, begins thus —

'• He, cuidez-vous que je me joue,

Et que je voulsisse aller
En Angleterre demourer ?
lis ont une longue coue."

From these " Vaux de Vire " the vaudeville is said to be
derived ; but Norman antiquaries seem undecided as to when
and how the change was made.

Next day the rain was incessant, but we went out to
see the ruins of the old castle. They stand most pic-
turesquely on a promontory of rock, which, though in the
midst of the town, projects itself a perpendicular height
of bare rock into the valley of the Vire. The river divides
here, and circles round the hills, which rise one beyond

5^6

THE SOCAGE COUNTRY.

another till the last are lost in misty distance. It offered a
most exquisite succession of pictures, even at this our first
view, through the veil of rain, and left us to imagine far
greater beauty. The special peculiarity of this view is the
steep descent of the rock, about two hundred and thirty
feet, and the way in which the river forms a double valley
below among the ever-varying hills.

The ruins are only a part of the wall of the lofty donjon.

They stand in a sort
of enclosed park, and
are well preserved.
There are pleasant
shaded walks and
seats here ; it is a
sort of public pro-
menade. Henry I.
rebuilt the castle of
Vire in the twelfth
p- century; but Cardinal
Richelieu ordered the
fortifications to be
destroyed in 1630.
We found our way
round the town by some curious old houses. Among them
was a dark round tower, with a crenelated top ; we then
went upwards till we got into the Rue des Teinturiers —
a very picturesque street. On the left are varied groups
of old houses, some built of stone, with quaint dormers
and carved gables, others covered with essejites black with
age, each story overhanging that beneath. On one window-
ledge was a blue sheepskin ; on the next, some bright-

The House of Olivier Basselin.

BESIDE THE VIRE. 527

coloured flowers. A good-natured looking woman, standing
out in front, told us this walk was called Au Monts. On
the right is the Vire, a wider stream here than near the
house of Olivier Basselin, bordered by dyers' yards and
sheds, under which bales of blue cloth are soaking in tanks
of water, or else stretched out in huge lengths drying on
poles in fiont.

K httle farther on, between openings in the wooden
sheds, we came to tiny cascades, with a rickety, picture-like
wooden bridge. We crossed to the middle of this, and
came in full view of a washing-shed. The sluice has been
made by huge blocks of stone. The water rushes down each
side in little foaming cascades, freshening the delicate green
of the ferns which nestle between the huge brown stones.
The white foam, the glistening brown water, the green of
the trees overhead and the fern below, made the darkness
within the shed still darker, and out of this the white cotton
nightcaps and bright neckerchiefs of the washers gleamed
with marvellous intensity. An old woman in the centre of
the group, evidently the oracle of the party, wore a dark blue
skirt, a lilac apron, and a red neckerchief: she soaped away
vigorously while she chattered. Behind the shed is a small
three-storied house, the side next the river clothed up to
the roof with a vine clustered with fruit, the open windows
showing black through the clinging festoons of tender gree^^.
Beyond, along the river, are the houses and quaint chimneys
of the town, crowned by the tall tower of the Horloge, and
backed by the wooded hills.

There must be endless walks round about this interesting
old town. It must be a pleasant place to make a long stay
in. There is a comfortable inn, the Hotel St. Pierre, and

528 THE SOCAGE COUNTRY,

the air is very fresh and healthy, and there are plenty of good
shops, besides the exquisite beauty of the country in which
it is placed. We much regretted that we had not come by
diligence from Caen through Villers Bocage and Beny-
Bocage, for we heard marvellous accounts of the loveliness
of the country, and we saw enough of it in our walks and
drives to be sure that this was not exaggerated.

The people, too, are so quaint and primitive, and their
costume was the most original we had seen, except that of
the Granvillaises. The favourite cap is the bonnet ro7id, a
high conical muslin cap, with a pair of wing-like borders
curving round behind the ears, and a muslin bow in front or
behind ; beneath this is a lofty stiff pointed sky-blue cone ;
a bright-coloured handkerchief is crossed over the chest,
and fastened in front by the apron, usually black or hiac,
tied round the waist. Coming back along the Rue des
Teinturiers, we stopped to admire a charming old house,
the front covered with essentes. At an upper window were
myrtles and geraniums, and sundry pairs of blue and black
stockings were hanging from a line across the window.
The owner of the house saw that this was being sketched,
and came out and spoke to us.

*' Ah," she said, " it is all very well for travellers, they
only think of the outside; but for us, who have to live
within, I assure you it is different. We would gladly sell
our old house-front to have one of brick, that would not let
in dirt and the cold of winter as this one does ; but then,
what will you ? — already strangers say the town of Vire has
been spoiled by modem houses. And my husband's people
have lived here, facing our mill," she pointed to one of the
buildings beside the river, " for I don't know how many

PARENTS AND CHILDREN.

529

years ; so we shall go on, I suppose, till the old place falls
on us ; but, for me, I like the comfortable."

And as one walks through Vire and sees how very old
are the remaining ancient houses, one fears that very soon
the " comfortable " and the common-place will have com-
pleted their conquest over the exquisite Vaux de Vire and
their town. We noticed in Vire what we had before noticed
in Caudebec and Caen
and Avranches, and many
other towns, the happy,
loving way in which the
fathers and mothers and
children speak to one
another. Perhaps the chil-
dren are indulged, but at
least they do not seem
spoiled. In one of our
long journeys we met
with a respectable towns-
man of Vire, his wife, and
their son, a young fellow
of about three or four
and twenty ; it was de-
lightful to see the merry harmony among them, and especi-
ally to listen to the respectful manner in which the young man
spoke to his father ; to his mother he spoke quite lovingly^
We were much pleased to meet the father again in Vire.

Instead of following the street into the town, we climbed
up a huge stone staircase on the left. This led to a very
narrow and muddy, but picturesque, walk, beside a stone
wall covered with cHmbing plants in full flower. On the

M M

Tour de I'Horloge.

530 THE SOCAGE COUNTRY.

left was a steep descent, and at the bottom of this was the
town ; so that we walked along rather above the tops of
the houses, and got a charming view of the surrounding
country, with the spires and towers of the town as fore-
ground.
\ After going straight for some distance, the road suddenly
turned to the left ; and down some steps we found ourselves
in a very old and narrow street, with houses on each side. On
the right was a curiosity-shop : the master was absent, but
he had left in charge a creature who was really the chief
curiosity of the dirty motley collection. It was impossible
to say whether he was old or young. His skin was like
parchment, and his hair looked like a wig, and yet his keen
black eyes and unwrinkled mouth protested against the rest
of his appearance.

A little way on was a house, with a vine clinging to the
front, and pots of scarlet geraniums on the window-sills. Just
opposite, as if set there to make a contrast, was a small house
of two stories, surmounted by a very ancient gable. The
low diamond-paned window in this was so cobwebbed
across, so begrimed and shattered, that it seemed as if the
room within could not have been used for years ; below it
was a very heavy oaken beam, and below this an open
lattice window. Close to this window, framed in by the
dark squalor of the room behind, an old woman was seated
at her spinning-wheel. She sat crouching at her work ; and
as we stood still, fascinated by the sudden contrast she made
to the brightness of the flowers beside us, she suddenly
raised her head, and showed a red inflamed face, out of
which two tiny grey eyes glowered at us in an alarming
fashion.

'I HE OLD VIROISE. 531

We apologized for staring, and asked her if she made her
living by her spinning-wheel.

*' It is all I can do, and I can hardly do that," she said ;
and she showed us that her right thumb was useless. Poor
old woman ! part of one side was paralyzed ; she had lost
her husband some years ago, and lately her last son in the
war ; and " if my neighbours did not give me a little cyder,"
she said, " I could not buy it."

She was the only instance we met with, among the
numbers of peasants we had talked with, of complaint ; with
all the others the answer was the same —

" It is the good God who sends it, and He knows best."

It is, doubtless, this entirely simple trust, quite as
natural to them as their gaiety, which gives the French
country-people what we are pleased to call their frivolity.
Certainly they always do look at the sunny side of the peach
as long as they can ; but the cheerfulness of the poor, in a
life of what seems almost starvation, is most admirable. It
is this trait of cheerfulness which likens them to the Irish ;
but then the Norman peasant, at least, is always thrifty, and
rarely idle.

As we stood talking to the poor spinner, it seemed that
her hfe must be most desolate and hopeless. The sun
could never find its way into her little dismal room ; the floor
was black, the walls were dark and dingy. She sat on a broken
chair ; behind her was a squalid bed, and on the other side
of the room a little black, fireless stove and a broken stool.
This was actually all, except a heap of rubbish on the floor,
protruding from which was the handle of a stewpan.

Poor old Viroise ! we wished she could have been safely
lodged ir such a shelter as that of Les Petites Soeurs, just

532 THE SOCAGE COUNTRY,

outside the Porte de Calais, at Boulogne-sur-Mer, where,
out of funds chiefly given by one private individual, a
number of old men and women, who can no longer work,
are fed, and clothed, and nursed in the tenderest manner.

** They can stay here till they die," sweet-faced Soeur
Monique said, as she showed us some of her beloved
charges, sitting in a large bright room, in sight of a pleasant
garden ; " and we are so glad they like to be here."

We came out near the large square fountain in the Grande
Rue. It was very picturesque to see an old woman, in a
lofty bonnet rond, filling one of the narrow tall red pitchers
of the country, and carrying it away. These pitchers are
delightful, both for form and colour, and, with the baskets,
they vary in shape in different places : ever since Lisieux, the
bourrische, a kind of open basket without handles, had been
abundant ; also the square flat basket, with a strong handle
of twisted withes across, made, like the bourrische, of stout
wood shavings, had taken the place of the tall, narrow, round
baskets of the Seine Inferieure.

The drive from Vire to Mortain is singularly beautiful.
For some distance all around is a constant succession
of wooded hills. The gates of the fields beside the road are
kept shut by a large lump of stone placed at the end of the
upper rail; but after we have passed Sourdeval — where we
saw a group of women washing in the granite fountain, with its
tall obeUsk — we cross the river Sees, dwindled here to a tiny
brook, and mount above the pretty valley, clothed with
pines, through which it runs. Before us is a lofty ridge,
and the road begins to climb : to do this it has to circle
•round and about for miles, as the cote of rugged Mortain is
almost perpendicular. Far below us is the road we have

THE DRIVE TO M OR TAIN. 533

traversed, stretching like a white riband across the dark
expanse of woods, and then suddenly appearing again lower
yet, behind the crest of another hill, which rises across the
view; here and there plots of sarrasin show out purple
among the varied tints of green.

Our horse was a capital goer; and though his harness
must have been fifty years old, it did not seem to cumber
his movements. He flew along the road, his long brown-
black mane floating in a wild tangle in the breeze. The
far-off hills were still shrouded in haze, but the sun was
making vigorous efforts to dispel the vapour which had
gathered during these previous days of Scotch mist.

There had been rain till now ; but at this point of our
journey it suddenly ceased, and the mist rose slowly,
leaving the hills distinct, except near the top, where there
seemed to be a battle between them and the mist, for
it rolled up like a moving cloud, and then, returning, spread
itself again, blurring the outline as with a mass of grey
smoke.

The country grows more and more beautiful. We have
scarcely seen a farmhouse all the way, and now we lose all
trace of human life and labour. The landscape spreads out
a waving sea of bocage ; and yet hills and valleyb are so
exquisitely intermingled, the tints on the foliage are so
varied, contrasted too with sudden masses of grey rock and
stretches of moorland, crimson and golden with furze and
heather, and backed by such intensely blue hills, that there
is no sameness in the picture.

"There is the Abbaye Blanche!" and our sharp-witted
driver points with his whip to some buildings nestling among
the trees. Just before we enter Mortain, the scenery is

534

THE BO CAGE COUNTRY.

most romantic. On one side is the wood-crowned hill, with
masses of grey rock frowning down on us through the trees,
from the other comes a sound of rushing water ; and there are
the cascades roaring and tumbling in yellow foam into the
valley below. We grow quite excited, and in a few minutes
we are rattling into Mortain, and stop at the inn.

The rain had begun to pour in torrents ; there was a cold
wind, and certainly the outside of our hotel did not promise
much. Moreover, we had read in more than one book a

Chapel of St. Michel, Mortain.

solemn warning against the inns of Mortain. It was, there
fore, a relief to find ourselves in a large comfortable-looking
kitchen, and to be welcomed by a clean, kind hostess.

She at once placed two chairs in front of a huge fireplace,
very like an American cooking-stove \ and having taken our
wet wraps to dry, she begged us to sit down, and, opening a
sort of oven-door on each side of the stove, bade us put our
feet in to warm. It was a comical notion ; but it was very
comforting, for we had been wet through more than once

M OR TAIN. 535

that morning. While we sat thus rejoicing in the warmth,
and hoping the weather would clear, we were surprised by
the apparition of an English lady. She and her sister had
been staying at this inn for some days, and had explored
Mortain, and they most kindly offered to guide us to the
Abbey and the Cascades.

After a little, the weather improved ; and though certainly
it is better to go about Mortain in dry weather, specially on
account of the long grass near the cascades, still, when after
a little the clouds broke, and the sun shone out over the
rocks glistening with rain-drops and the sea of freshened
foliage, it seemed to us that the end of our pilgrimage
contained the loveliest spot that we had met with, and that
Mortain truly deserves the name of the Switzerland of
France.

Our kind guides proposed that we should visit the Chapel
of St. Michel, on the summit of a ridge of rocks covered with
pine-trees, then the seminary of the Abbaye Blanche, and
leave the church, the famous Collegiale of Mortain, till we
returned, so as to take immediate advantage of the fine
weather for the distant view.

Passing by the church, we took the road up a steep
hill : half-way up the view in front opens widely ; below
is a dense growth of pine-trees, with huge grey rocks
rising up among them here and there ; in the middle dis-
tance is a richly wooded country, hills stretching far and wide
to an immense distance. At our feet is the churchyard ; but
a Httle farther on, on the very crest of the ridge of hills, we
reach the little Chapel of St. Michel, and the whole view bursts
on us in all its glory. The mist is rising slowly from the
valley, and we see the steep granite hills descendinoj into

536 THE BOCAGE COUNTRY.

it ruggedly, as if against their will. Westward is a huge
granite rock, with a quarry beneath its shelter ; in front is
the road, and behind it the cascades, churning down yellow
foam, rush into the pine valley below. Blue hills cross the
distance seen through the opening between the hills.

Our friends told us that in fine weather Mont St. Michel
was to be seen from this point, and just afterwards the sun
came out again from behind a cloud, and there was actually
the Mount itself glorified in brilliant Hght. We were so re-
joiced to see it again, and to take a last look at " the wonder
of Normandy." There was an old woman in the chapel, the
concierge of the Seminaire, and she guided us by a near
way to the Abbaye Blanche. It is most picturesquely placed
beneath the steep crags we had been climbing, nestling in
a valley of pine-trees, among rocks and cascades.

There is little of the ancient abbey left except the church,
built in II20 ; but it has been much added to, and is now
being again restored ; a part of the cloister is of the twelfth
or early thirteenth century. This abbey was founded in
1 105, by the son of Robert of Mortain. The abbey buildings
are now occupied by a petit shfmiaire, a college for the
education of priests. We went over this, and thought some
of the arrangements very complete, especially the wardrobe
and linen-room, presided over by a sweet-faced Sister. The
church promises well, if the restoration be carried out as it
is begun. There is something very delightful in the seclusion
of the place, surrounded by frowning, pine-clad rocks, and,
except in dry weather, by the never-ceasing roar of the
cascades. In the grounds of the seminary we saw a curious
Way of the Cross. The crosses look equally real and
picturesque, standing among the blocks of granite rock.

THE CASCADES. 537

From the abbey we went to the cascades : the way is slip-
pery and dangerous, across a wooden bridge some way down
the Falls. They are grand from here, dashing furiously from
the height above on to the next ledge of rock, and then re-
bounding, the water seems to fall with double force on the
next till it reaches a meadow far below the immense height
of rock from which it descends. The contrast between the
foaming yellow torrent, the rich brown of the rock, and the
red-armed pine-trees is very grand. The rocks look like the
turrets and battlements of a ruined castle, as they jut out
among the- trees in constant variety of form and colour.
We found our way, after some climbing up and down, to the
smaller falls. The scene here is very lovely. The place is
surrounded by huge rugged crags, some of which look
exactly like the ruins of an old castle ; near these, shadowed
by trees, is a quiet pool of water ; and close by some smaller
cascades dash from the rocks and form a mass of seething
foam, across which a little bridge is carried ; and then
down rushes the water into the mass of verdure below. We
went across the little bridge, and found innumerable pictures
among the rocks. There are tiny caves, festooned with ivy
and lined with a growth of ferns ; and all around the crags
seem to offer endless variety to the climber willing to explore
them. It must be delightful to spend a week at Mortain,
exploring these exquisite romantic walks, and our kind
guides told us that, though the inn was rough, they had
found it quite as comfortable as in many other places, and
very much better than they had expected.

The castle, the dwelling-place of so many of our kings
and princes, has been completely destroyed ; it stood below
the cascades, on the left bank of the river. The county of

538 THE BO CAGE COUNTRY.

Mortair, or Moritolium, was taken by Duke William the
Bastard from his cousin William, son of Malger, and grand-
son of Richard the Fearless, and bestowed on his own half-
brother Robert, son of Arlette, by her husband Herlwin of
Conteville. King John was also Count of Mortain.

Robert of Mortain appears to have been very inferior to
either of his brothers ; but we see him at the battle of
Hastings in the, Bayeux tapestry, and we hear of him in
the " Roman de Rou" as fighting near his brother : —

" Si quens Robert de Moretoing
Ne se tint mie del Due loing ;
Frere ert li Dus de par sa mere
Grant aie fist a son frere."

We also hear of him as the first Norman to whom William
the Conqueror made a grant of English land, in giving him
the lordship of Pevensey. Afterwards Robert of Mortain
becomes Earl of Cornwall. He has large estates both in
Devon and in Somerset ; and he holds land in quite half
of every other shire, especially in Yorkshire. His chief
exploits in England seem to have consisted in robbing the
churches and monasteries in the lands that thus came into
his possession. We came down into the town again, and
went to see the church called La Colle'giale built by this same
Robert of Mortain in 1085. There are no remains of this
church except the south porch, a very remarkable circular-
headed doorway, richly ornamented : the western doorway
and the rest of the building is of later date. There is a
curious sort of campanile beside the church, with remarkably
long, narrow windows. There are no transepts to this
church ; the pointed arches spring from pillars instead of

THE CHURCH. 539

piers, and yet the capitals, ornaments, and mouldings are
all Norman, while all the arches are pointed, and all the
windows are lancets. There is a tradition that this church,
which is dedicated to St. Evroult, was built in thirty-two
years by thirty-two builders, of whom two only died before
the work was completed.

The town of Mortain is strangely lifeless. The street
looked deserted, and we did not meet any one while we
wandered about the rocks and among the cascades. One
might fancy the town had stood still since the middle ages.
There is very much to see about and around it, and it is
cheering to find that it is quite possible to lodge at the
Hotel de la Poste.

ORNE.

CHAPTER XXI.

Domfront. Seez.

Argentan. Alen9on.

nnHE best way to get to Domfront is to go either by
carriage or diligence from Mortain, and then from the
station at Domfront into the line of railway at Flers ; but it
is also easy to go out to Domfront from Vire and back.

The castle of Domfront rises from the extreme verge of a
pointed rock more than two hundred feet high. The town
is still fortified, and stands within a circle of walls formerly
defended by twenty-four towers, of which only fourteen
remain, and most of these are in ruins. At the foot of the
lofty precipice runs the river Varenne, and beside this is
the church of Notre-Dame de I'Eau. It has been greatly
destroyed ; but in one of the transepts is a tomb, said to be
that of the famous WiUiam de Belesme, the founder of
Domfront.

In I020 he built on the summit of the steep rock a square
castle, defended by four large towers and by deep ditches
cut in the rock. Very soon the neighbouring people,
drawn by the privileges offered them by the Norman lord
of Domfront, gathered round the fortress ; and to defend

DOM FRONT. 541

them William of Belesme surrounded the rock with massive
walls, and flanked these with numerous towers. In spite of
these defences, Geoffrey Martel, Count of Anjou, took pos-
session of the town. But Duke William attacked it in 1049,
and forced it to capitulate after a long siege. After the
death of William the Conqueror, during the struggles among
his sons for succession to the Duchy of Normandy, Domfront
came into the possession of Henry I. The inhabitants, weary
of the oppression and cruelties of Roger de Montgomery
who had married the wicked Mabel, the daughter of William
de Belesme, drove the garrison out of the fortress, and then
yielded it up to Henry. Soon after it was invested by
Robert Courthose, with a large army ; but he was forced to
retreat, leaving behind him the greater part of his baggage.

As a frontier town of the much-disputed province of
Maine, Domfront was sure to suffer in all the wars of Nor-
mandy. Philip Augustus besieged it twice — once when he
reconquered Normandy from our coward King John, and
again when he took Domfront from a rebellious vassal.
Before this it is recorded that King Richard Coeur de
Lion spent Christmas at Domfront. In 1341 Robert
d'Artois again ravaged Domfront: in 1356 the King of
Navan-e entered it at the head of a large army, and left
in it an English garrison. After the treaty of Bretigny,
Domfront was given back to France, and enjoyed a fifty
years' peace. But in the civil wars under Charles VI.
the town declared for the Duke of Orleans, and repulsed
several attacks of the Burgundians. In 141 7 Domfront was
forced to yield to the English, under the Earl of Warwick.
It was not restored to France till 1450, after a siege of five
days. After this the poor battered town enjoyed a hundred

542

ORNE.

years of peace; but in 1562 the cry of civil war once
more sounded through France in the fierce struggles of the
League. Gabriel de Montgommery, the Huguenot, defended
the castle of his ancestors, in 1574, against the army of the
League, but was defeated and taken prisoner. In 1598
the castle was entirely dismantled, and now only a few
ruins of it remain. It is said to have afforded shelter to

Old Tower, Argentan.

the Empress Matilda, and also to have been the residence
of Henry II., who received at Domfront the nuncio sent by
the Pope to reconcile him with Becket. But the most
interesting points of Domfront, besides its associations, are
the view from the ruined castle over the surrounding country,
and the old church on the banks of the rocky river, with
the tomb of William Talvas.

• ARGENT AN. 543

Near Domfront is a very curious old manor-house,
surrounded by a moat, called the Manoir de la Saucerie.

The railway from Vire to Argentan passes near Tinchebrai,
where Robert of Normandy was defeated and taken pri-
soner by his brother Henry in 1106, and was then con-
demned to perpetual imprisonment. Poor Matilda, if she
could have foreseen the fate of her best-loved son, for whom
she even braved the displeasure of the husband to whom
she had shown herself so devoted 1 The virtues of Matilda
must have been appropriated by her daughters, for though
Henry I. is very superior to the impious William and the
weak, headstrong Robert, he is very inferior to both his
father and his mother. We pass through Flers, a wholly
modern town, although near it are the remains of an old
abbey. Brioude has an old church, but it is not remarkable.
We are more than three hours in reaching Argentan,
although the distance between this quaint old town and
Vire cannot be more than forty-five miles.

Argentan is an old-fashioned, clean, quiet town on the
banks of the Orne. It is a good place to halt at ; the inn is
so extremely clean and comfortable. The town consists of
one principal street, which rises and widens till it reaches
the church; then it narrows again, and the houses group
picturesquely round the Church of St. Germain. There are
two Italian towers, quaint in form and good in colour ; but
the double north porch is a remarkable specimen of florid
Gothic. There was once a fortified castle here, and the
town was surrounded with walls ; but these defences have
all been swept away, except some fragments of the
donjon tower. There is another church, dedicated to St.
Martin, and both in this and in St. Germain there is

544 ORNE. •

some old painted glass. Henry I. of France burned
Argentan to the ground during the minority of William the
Bastard.

Sdes can be i-isited from Argentan ; and between these
two places is the well-known Haras du Pin. There are
numerous interesting chateaux within reach of Argentan,
especially that of Chambois and the Chateau d'O. About
seven miles beyond Alm^neches, a station on the way to
Sees, is the Chateau de Sacy, a most interesting specimen
of Norman architecture.

Sdes, one of the seven Armorican cities, stands in open
country ; it is a dull, lifeless town, but the Cathedral is very
fine. The first church was built at Sees in 440 ; the second
in the tenth century ; a third in the eleventh ; this one
dates chiefly from the thirteenth and fourteenth. There
seems to have been some fault of construction, for the
west front is much disfigured by buttresses of later date.
Two very lofty spires surmount the west front : the arches
are interesting, but sadly injured. In the choir are some
remarkable carved bas-reliefs : and there is some good glass
in the rose windows. It is sad to see this poor old town
so completely shorn of its ancient glories. Serlon, Bishop
of Sees in the reign of Henry I., preached against the long
hair of the Norman nobles, and so moved the king-duke
that he submitted to have his hair cut short by the bishop,
and the courtiers had to follow suit.

The famous monastery of St. Evroul was thirty miles from
the city of Sees, in the forest of Ouche, and on the banks of
the Charentonne. About thirteen miles from Sees we come
to Alengon, the capital city of the department of Orne.
It stands on the border line of Normandy, in a plain,

ALENCON. 545

surrounded by forests, at the meeting of the Sarthe and the
Briante.

Compared with Se'ez or Avranches, Alengon is a modem
city. It does not acquire any historical importance till Ivo of
Belesme, one of the faithful adherents of Richard the Fear-
less, built the castle of Alengon. From that time the lords
of Belesme are lords of Alengon ; but the history of these
rulers, and of the dukes of Alengon who succeeded them,
is only a record of crimes. Alengon becomes memorable in
the reign of Duke William the Bastard for the fearful
cruelty he showed there in vengeance for the insult offered
by the inhabitants of Alengon.

Geoffrey, Count of Anjou, had thrown an Angevin garrison
into Alengon at the same time that he had made himself
master of Domfront, also a stronghold of the Norman fron-
tier. In the midst of the siege of Domfront, William, leav-
ing men to continue his operations, sped swiftly to Alengon
and attacked the bridge over the Sarthe — a bridge fortified to
defend the Norman territory. The defenders of the bridge,
little dreaming of the vengeance they aroused, spread skins
on the bridge, and shouted, " Hides, hides for the tanner."
The insult, aimed at his mother, roused William to fury ; he

** Jura par la resplendor De,
Co ert suvent sim serement,"

[Roman de Rou)

that the men who mocked should be lopped limb from limb
like branches from a tree. By his order the fosse was filled
with dry timber ; this was set on fire, the defences and gates
burned, and William was master of the town of Alengon.
The castle would not yield, and he kept his fearful oath. He

N N

546

ORNE.

brutally ordered the hands and feet of thirty-two of the rebels
to be cut off and thrown pver the castle walls. The garrison
surrendered on a pledge of personal safety; and William
hastened back after his rapid conquest to Domfront, where
the garrison, having heard of the taking of Alengon, surren-
dered at once. Alengon is a good-sized thriving town, seem-
ingly well built and
clean, but very dull and
lifeless; there are wool-
len and cotton manufac-
tories ; but the manu-
facture of the famous
poifit d'Alejipn, which
Colbert introduced here
from Venice, and which
employed till 1812 as
many as two thousand
workwomen, has dwin-
dled away.

In the centre of the
town is a very large
imposing open space,
called the Place
d'Armes. On one side
is the Hotel de Ville ;

The Castle, Alen^on.

on the other, the Palais de Justice, a heavy classical stone
building with the usual fagade of portico and columns.
Behind this are the remains of the old castle; one round
crenelated tower of considerable height, called La Tour
Couronn^e, and a doorway flanked by two massive round
towers. The fosses are very deep, and are filled by the

THE PREFECTURE. 547

Briante. Behind is a building with richly sculptured dormers.
On the other side of the Briante, which is bordered by yellow
iris and white spearwort, and overhung by old wooden
houses, women were washing on the flat door-stones beneath
the houses.

The outside of the church of Notre-Dame is very late
Gothic. In the western facade are six figures, intended to
represent the Transfiguration. The figure of St. John turns
his back ; and the statue is said thus to have turned itself
because a profane hand touched it when the church was
pillaged by the Huguenots in 1562. The interior has happily
escaped whitewash \ it is also Gothic of a late period. The
roof of the nave is groined ; the mouldings of the groins are
ornamented with embossed shields and animals. The choir,
apse, chancel, arch, and interior of the tower are Italian.
There is good old glass in several of the clerestory windows.
A very remarkable pulpit bears the date 1536 ; it is said to
have been carved by a criminal condemned to death, who
was pardoned for this proof of his skill. This pulpit, spoiled
by white paint and gilding, is fixed against one of the pillars
of the nave ; the staircase is in the pillar itself, and an
entrance is thrown out from it. There are texts cut upon
the frieze of the pulpit.

The Pre'fecture is the most picturesque building in
Alengon ; it stands back from the street ; the centre is built
of red brick, with high slate roof, and stone dressings to the
windows ; along the front are myrtle and orange trees in
green boxes. The grey stone buildings on either side con
trast happily with this warm centre. It reminded us a little
of Hampton Court Palace, only in much better style.
Through an opening in an ivy-covered wall on the right Ave

543 ORNE,

got a peep of a charming garden, with bright geraniums and
marigolds, and some purple flowers backed by a group of
trees — a garden which looks as if it had existed in that sunny
corner behind the grey ivy-clad wall as long as the quaint
house itself, and that dates from the seventeenth century.

After the battle of Agincourt in 141 5, Alengon, with all
Normandy, except Mont St. Michel, submitted to the
English. In 1476 Louis XI. was brilliantly feted at Alen9on ;
but the time of its greatest glory was during the reign of
Duke Charles IV. : his duchess, Marguerite d'Angouleme,
sister to King Charles VIII., kept her court at Alengon,
and it entirely eclipsed that of her royal brother in wit and
brilliancy.

There is a picture-gallery in the Hotel de Ville, and an
excellent public library of fifteen thousand volumes and
many valuable manuscripts in the upper part of the ancient
Church of the Jesuits.

There are some curious legends about Alengon. In a
village near, a field, on a certain day at sunrise, is said to
appear covered with gold and silver coin ; but however
eager the watcher may be who perceives them, he will
gather nothing unless he has in his hand some medal
or cross or rosary blessed by a priest. If he throws this
into the field, the coin touched by it becomes real, and may
be gathered by the thrower.

Another story relates to the Tour Couronnee, and is told
in a popular ballad of the country.

It seems that this tower was inhabited by a beautiful lady,
named Marie Anson, who is, however, not mentioned in
history. She had the misfortune to be married to a jealous,
brutal husband, who, suspecting her unjustly of infidelity,

LAI DE MARIE ANSON. 549

ordered her to be fastened to the tail of an unbroken horse.
The wild animal, turned loose into the park, dragged the
unhappy lady nearly to death, and then the husband pre-
sented himself in the disguise of a priest to receive her last
confession.

But she persisted in declaring herself innocent of any
sin towards her husband, and died, leaving the brutal
wretch tortured by remorse. Ever since, at midnight, Marie
Anson, or La Dame du Pare, as she is called, appears
dressed in white on the summit of the cienelated tower.
She walks slowly round it, utters a cry, and disappears.

LAI DE MARIE ANSON.

" Marianson, dame jolie,

Ou est alle votre mari ? "

** Monsieur, il est alle en guerre :

Je ne sais quand il reviendra."

" Marianson, dame jolie,
Pretez-moi vos anneaux dores."
Marianson, mal avisee,
Les trois anneaux lui a pretes.

Quand il a tint les trois anneaux,
Chez I'argentier s'en est alle :
"Bel argentier, bel argentier,
Faites-moi trois anneaiix dores.

** Qu'ils soient beaux, qu'ils soient gros,
Comme les anneaux de Marianson."
Quand il a tint les trois anneaux,
Sur son cheval il a monte.

Le premier qu'il a rencontre

Fut le mari de Marianson.

" O Dieu te garde, franc chevalier ! *'

" Quell' nouveir m'as-tu apportee .'' "

550

ORNE,

" Marianson, dame jolie,
De moi a fait son ami."
" Tu as menti, franc chevalier ;
Ma femme n'est pas deborde."

" Oh bien ! croyez-le ou non croyez.
En voila les anneaux dores."
Quand il a vu les trois anneaux,
Contra la terre il s'est jette.

II fut trois jours et trois nuits
Ni sans boire, ni sans dormir ;
Au bout des trois jours et trois nuits
Sur son cheval il a monte.

Sa mere estait sur les balcons,
Avisait son gendre venir :
-' Vraiment, fille, ne savez pas,.
Voici votre mari qui vient.

" II n*y vient point en homme aim6,
Mais il y vient en courrouce."
<' Montrez-lui votre petit-fils ;
Cela le pourra rejouir."

" Bonjour, mon fils, voil^ ton fils,
Quel nom lui don'ras tu, mon fils ? "
A pris I'enfant par les maillots,
Et en a battu les carreaux.

Puis la mere par les cheveux,
Et I'a attachee a son cheval.
N'y avait arbre ne buisson
Qui n'eut sang de Marianson.

*' Oh venez 9a, ruse catin,
Oil sont les anneaux de vos mains ? '^
«< Prenez les clefs du cabinet,
Mes trois anneaux vous trouverez,"

LAI DE MARIE ANSON, 551

Quand il a vu les trois anneaux,
Centre la terre il s'est jette :
*'N'est-il barbier, ni medecin,
Qui pmsse mettre ton corps en sain ? "

*' II n'est barbier ni medecin
Qui puisse mettre mon corps en sain ;
Ne faut qu'une aiguille et du fil
Et un drap pom- ra'ensevelir."

We said good-bye to Normandy at Alen^on, and took
train direct to Paris ; but it is worth while to stop and see
Mantes on the way. It is also easy to go on from Alengon
into Brittany, although it saves time and distance to do this
from Avranches or Mont St. Michel, visiting the quaint old
town of Fougeres, on the border line of the two countries,
placed so near together and yet differing so essentially in
aspect, in language, and in inhabitants.

INDEX.

Alencon, 545
Castle, 546

Church of Notre-Dame, 547
Hotel de Ville, 546
Palais de Justice, 546
Place d'Armes, 546
Prefecture, La, 547
Tour Couronnee, La, 546
Legends of Alencon, 548

Andelys, Les, 268
Church, 276

Fountain of St. Clotilde, 276
Hotel du Grand Cerf, 268

Argentan, 543

Church of St. Germain, 543
Church of St. Martin, 543

Arromanches, 437

avranches, 473
Bishop's Palace, 476
Site of Cathedral, 475
Stone, 475

View from Public Garden, 474
Environs, 478

B
Bayeux, 442

Cathedral, 442

Old Streets, 456

Tapestry, 450

Environs, 459
Beaumont-le-Roger, 289

Priory of Holy Trinity, 289

Chateau de Beauraesnil, 289
Bernay, 289

Abbey, 291

Church of Notre-Dame de la
Couture, 292

Church of Ste. Croix, 290
Bernieres, 410
Beuzeval, 321
Brionne, 298

Bee, Abbey of, 297

Cabourg-les-Bains, 404

Caen, 337

Abbaye d'Ardaine, 395
Abbaye aux Dames, 350
Abbaye aux Hommes, 343
Academic des Beaux Arts, 350
Allemagne, Quarries of, 435
Bon Sauveur, Le, 366
Castle, 361
Church of St. Etienne-le-Vieux,

363
Church of St. Gilles, 357
Church of La Gloriette, 363
Church of St. Jean, 360
Church of St. Julian, 399
Church of St. Michel, 364
Church of St. Nicholas, 400
Church of St. Ouen, 381
Church of St. Pierre, 340
Church of St. Sauveur, 343
Church of St. Sauveur (ancient),

394
Ecoles Prim aires, 349
Fete de I'Empereur, 346
Hotel de la Bourse, 340
Hotel de la Monnaie, 360

INDEX,

553

Hotel de Nollent, or Maison des

Gendarmes, 391
Hotel de Ville, 413
Hotel Dieu, Hospital of, 353
Lycee, 346
Maladrerie, La, 397
Palais de Justice, 394
Place Hotel de Ville, 363
Place St. Pierre, 340
Place de la Prefecture, 363
Place Royale, 363
Place St. Sauveur, 394
Prefecture, 363
Streets —
Rue des Chanoines, 401
Rue des Fromages, 394
Rue de Geole, 398
Rue St. Jean, 360
Rue Oratoire, 360
University, 349
Val-es-Dunes, 401

Enviro7U —
Chateau de Creully, 407
Chateau Fontaine Etoupe-

four, 414
Chateau Fontaine Henri, 406
Chateau de Lantheuil, 406
Chateau de Lasson, 405
Church of Le Fresne Camilly,

406
Church of Thaon, 406
Priory of St. Gabriel, 409
Cany, 127
Caudebec, 204

Barre, or Alascaret, 231
Church, 210

Chapel of Barre-y-va, 228
Caudebecquet, 223
St. Gertrude, 220
Maison Blanche, 228
Madame Vacquerie, 229
Villequier, 227
Church, 229
Chateau, 229
St. Wandrille, 224
Cerisy-la-Foret, 461
Abbey of Cerisy, 461
Chateau Gaillard, 271
Conches, 287

Chateau of Conches, 28;

Church of St. Foy, 287

Ruins of Abbey, 288
Courseulles, 409
coutances, 464

Cathedral, 465

Church of St. Nicholas, 467

Church of St. Pierre, 465

Piliers, Les, 466

Public Garden, 466
Criquebceuf, 315

Deauvtlle, 320
Delivrande, La, 410
Dieppe, 102

Castle, 109

Chateau d'Arques, 119, 121

Church of St. Jacques, £07

D'Ango, 112

Manoir d'Ango, 123

Le Pollet, 113

Legends of LePollet, 115—117.
Dives, 402
DoMFRONT, 540

Castle, 540

Churchof Notre-Dame del'Eau,

540

Manoir de la Saucerie, 543
DouvRES, 410
DucLAiR, 253

Chair of Uargantua, 253

Etretat, 138

Bathing, 142

Church, 150

Legend of, 150

Cote d'Amont, 141

Cote d'Aval, 141

Chambre des Demoiselles, 147
Eu, 124
EvREUX, 281

Cathedral, 282

Church of St. Taurin, 284

Episcopal Palace, 283

Legends of St. Taurin, 284

Tour de I'Horloge, 284

Vieil Evreux, Le, 285

554

INDEX.

Falaise, 415

Castle, 425

Church of St. Gervais, 416

Church of Holy Trinity, 416

Statue of William the Con-
queror, 416

River Ante, 431

Breche du Diable, 432
Fecamp, 129

Abbey, 131

Chapel of Notre-Dame de la
Grace, 131

Fiquainville, Chateau of, 128

Gaillon, 262

Odo Rigault, 262

Georges d'Amboise, 266
Granville, 468

Church, 469

Costume, 469

Hambye, Abbey of, 467

Hareleur, 161

Havre, Le, 152

Docks, 157

Hotel de Villa, 158

Musee, 155

Place Louis Seize, 154
Rue de Paris, 155
Ste. Adresse, 159
Environs —
Chateau d'Orcher, 161
Graville, Abbey Church of,

167
Montivilliers, 170
Hennequeville, 320
honfleur, 309
Belfry Tower, 310
Cote of Notre Dame de la Grace,

La Lieutenance, 310
HouLGATE, 321

JUMIEGES, Abbey of, 235
Abbot Annon, 243 '
Abbot Martin, 243

Abbot Richard, 246

Abbot Robert, 245

Agnes Sorel, 246, 250

Bathilda, Queen, 236, 238

Charles VH., 246

Clovis H., 236, 238

Enerves, Les, 237, 250

Edward the Atheling, 245

Northmen, 241

Richard the Fearless, 243

Rolf, 242

St. Aicadre, 251

Ste. Austreberthe, 251

St. Ouen,

St. Phihbert, 238

Tassillon and Theodon, 240

Terre Gemitique, 236

William of Jumieges, 245

William Longsword, 243

La Cote des deux Amants, Lai

of Marie de France, 258
Langrune, 410

LiLLEBONNE, 1 89

Castle of the Conqueror, 200

Church, 190

Mosaic Pavement, 193

Roman Theatre, 190
Lion-sur-Mer, 409
LisiEUX, 323

Bishop's Palace, 326

Cathedral (now the Church of
St. Pierre), 324

Church of St. Jacques, 330

Public Garden, 327

Rue aux Fevres, 328

Rue de la Paix, 329

Rue des Boucheries, 332

Environs, 332

LONGUEVILLE, lOI
LOUVIERS, 278

Church, 279

Old Houses, 279
Luc-sur-Mer, 409
Luzerne, Abbey of,

Mailleraye, La, 234
Mantes, 257

INDEX.

;55

Mont St.-Michel, 480

Church, 507

Crypte des Gros Fillers, 503

Dungeons, 510

History of, 488

Merveille, La, 498

Traditions of, 484
MORTAIN, 534

Abbaye Blanche, 536

Cascades, 537

Chapel of St. Michel, 535

Church, La Collegiale, 536

NORREY, 435
NORVILLE, 173

Chateau d'Etelan, 173

Orbec, 332
ouistreham, 339

Petites Dalles, Les, 128

POINTE DE la ROQUE, 307

Pont-Audemer, 298
Castle of jSIontfort, 300
Church of St. Germain, 304
Church of St. Ouen, 303
St. Evroul, 304, 544

Pont de l'Arche, 258
Abbaye de Bon-Port, 258

Pont l'Eveque, 322

Rouen, i

Aitre of St. Maclou, 45

Bridges, 89, 90

Buildings {^Ancient) —
Archiepiscopal Palace, 45
Bureau des Finances, 27
Caserne Bonne Nouvelle, 89
La Grosse Horloge, 83
Hotel St. Amand, 87
Hotel Bourgtheroude, 66
Palais de Justice, 81
Tour Jeanne d'Arc, 78

Buildings [Modem) —
Bourse, 64
Custom-House, 65

Hotel de Ville, 60

Post-Office, 81

Tribunal de Commerce, 65

Churches —
Cathedral of Notre Dame, 27
St. Eloi, 65
St. Gervais, 68
St. Godard, 78
St. Maclou, 44
Ste. Madelaine, 68
St. Nicaise, 48
St. Ouen, 53
St. Patrice, 73
St. Paul, 90
St. Romain, 73
St. Sever, 88
St. Vincent, 85
St. Vivien, 48

Suppressed Churches —
St. Andre, 85
St. Laurent, Sct
St. L6, 81

St. Pierre du Chatel, 81
Chapel of the Cordeliers, 85

Environs —
Bon Secours, 91
La Bouille, 60
Canteleu, 95
Chapel of St. Julien, 61
Chateau of Robert le Diable,

62
Cote of St. Catherine, 93

Gardens —
Jardin des Plantes, 88
Jardin Solferino, 80

Hospitals —
Hospice General, 19
Hospice Hotel Dieu, 68

Markets —
Marche aux Fleurs, 23
Les Halles, 40
Marche Neuf, 81

Places —
Place de la Cathedrale, 26
Place Cauchoise, 73
Place Eau de Robec, 22
Place Hotel de Ville, 52
Place de la Pucelle, 65
Place de la Haute Vieillc

Tour, 39

556

INDEX.

Place Basse Vieille Tour, 4 1

Fountains, 90

Fierte of St. Romain, 76

History of Rouen, 24

Legend of the Gargouille, 75

Monument of St. Romain, 41

Museum of Antiquities, 49

Porte Guillaurae Lion, 90

Quays, 60

Remains of Roman Walls, 24

St. Avitien, 70

St. Godard, 25

St. Maurille, 31

St. Mellon, 24, 70

St. Nicaise, 74

St. Romain, 74

St. Victrix, 24
Streets —

Rue d'Amiens, 21

Rue des Arpents, 20, 44

Rue des Bons Enfants, 73

Rue des Carmes, 87

Rue de la Chaine, 22

Rue des Cordeliers, 85

Rue Damiette, 45

Rue Eau de Robec, 22

Rue Grosse Horloge, 83

Rue Jeanne d'Arc, 81

Rue des Juifs, 83

Rue Malpalu, 43

Rue Martainville, 43

Rue Nationale, 85

Rue Nouveau Monde, 43

Rue aux Ours, 85

Rue de la Pie, 68

Rue de la Republique, 12

Rue Ruissel, 20
Suburb of St. Sever, 87
William the Conqueror, Death

of, 71

Skez Cathedral, 544
St. Aubin, 401

St. Jouin, 146
St. l6, 461

Cathedral; 462

Church of Ste. Croix, 462
St. Valery-en-Caux, 126

Tancarville, 180

Trouville, 316

Chateau de Bonneville, 319
Chateau de Glatigny, 322
Chateau d'Hebertot, 321
Chateau de Lassay, 320
Chaumiere Normande, 321
Priory of St. Arnault, 320
Les Roches Noires, 317

TouQUES, 319

Treport, 125

Valmont-en-Caux, 128

Abbey, 128

Du Guesclin, 128

Legend of Marie d'EstouteviUej
129
Vernon, 277
Verneuil, 288

Church of La Madeleine, 288

Tour Grise, 288

ViLLERS, 320

Villerville, 320

ViRE, 521

Church of Notre-Dame, 521
Castle, 525

House of Olivier Basselin, 523
Rue des Teinturiers, 520
Tour de I'Horloge, 521
Vaux de Vires, 524

Yport, 146

THE END.

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THE CASE OF MR. LUCRAPT. By W. Besant and James Rice.
THIS SON OF 'VULCAN. By W. Besant and James Rice.
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THE GOLDEN BUTTERFLY. By W. Besant and James Rice.

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ANTONINA. By WiLKiE Collins. Illustrated by Sir J. Gilbert

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MAN AND WIFE. By Wilkie Collins, lllust. by Wm. Small.

POOR MISS FINCH. By Wilkie Collins. Illustrated by G.
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MISS OR MRS. ? By Wilkie Collins. Illustrated by S. L.
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THE NEW MAGDALEN. By Wilkie Collins. Illustrated by
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THE FROZEN DEEP. By Wilkie Collins. Illustrated by G.
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THE LAW AND THE LaDY. by Wilkie Collins. Illus-
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CHATTO &- W INDUS, PICCADILLY. 21

Piccadilly N(>vels — continued.
THE TWO DESTINIES. By Wilkie Collins.

THE HAUNTED HOTEL. By Wilkie Collins. Illustrated by

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JULIET'S GUARDIAN. By Mrs. H. Lovett Cameron. Illus-

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FELICIA. By M. Betham-Edwards. Frontispiece by W. Bowles.

OLYMPIA. By R. E. Francillon.

GARTH. By Julian Hawthorne.

IN LOVE AND WAR. By Charles Gibbon.

WHAT WILL THE WORLD SAY .f> By Charles Gibbon.

FOR THE KING. By Charles Gibbon.

IN HONOUR BOUND. By Charles Gibbon.

UNDER THE GREENWOOD TREE. By Thomas Hardy.

THORNICROFT 'S MODEL. By Mrs. A. W. Hunt.

FATED TO BE FREE. By Jean Ingelow.

THE QUEEN OF CONNAUGHT. By Harriett Jay.

THE DARK COLLEEN. By Harriett Jay.

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OAKSHOTT CASTLE. By Henry Kingsley, With a Frontis-
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MY ENEMY'S DAUGHTER. By Justin McCarthy.
LINLEY ROCHFORD. By Justin McCarthy.
A FAIR SAXON. By Justin McCarthy.
DEAR LADY DISDAIN. By Justin McCarthy.

MISS MISANTHROPE. By Justin McCarthy. Illustrated by

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Piccadilly Novels — continued.

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My Little Girl. By the same.
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Man and Wife. By the same.
Poor Miss Finch. By the same.
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TheNewMagdalen. By the same.
The Frozen Deep. By the same.
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The Two Destinies. By Wilkie

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The Luck of Roaring Camp.

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Gabriel Conroy. Bret Harte.
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Confidence. By Henry James,

Jun.

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The Dark Colleen. By Har-
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Number Seventeen. By Henry
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Oakshott Castle. By the same.

Patricia Kemball. By E. Lynn
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The Atonement of LeamDundas
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The World Well Lost. By E.
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The Waterdale Neighbours.

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My Enemy's Daughter. By

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Linley Rochford. By the same.
A Fair Saxoru By the same.
DearLadyDisdain. By the same.

Miss Misanthrope. By Justin

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Macquoid.

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S. Macquoid.

Open! Sesame! By Florence

Marryat,

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Held in Bondage. By OuidA.

Strathmore. By Ouida.

Chandos. By Ouida.

Under Two Flags. By Ouida.

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Dog of Flanders. By Ouida.

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Less Black than We're Painted.

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Her Mother's Darling. By Mrs.

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The Lion in the Path. By John

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Tales for the Marines. By

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The Way we Live Now. By

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The American Senator. By

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Diamond Cut Diamond. By
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An Idle Excursion.

Twain.

Adventures of Tom

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By Mark
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