,,normandy3 ,,the ,,scenery ,,romance ,,of ,,its ,,ancient ,,towns3 ,,depicted ,,by ,,gordon ,,home ,,preface ,this book is not a guide4 ,it is an attempt to convey by pictures and description a clear impression of the ,normandy which awaits the visitor4 ,the route described could1 however1 be followed without covering the same ground for more than five or six miles1 and anyone choosing to do this would find in his path some of the richest architecture and scenery that the province possesses4 ,as a means of reviving memories of past visits to ,normandy1 ,i may perhaps venture to hope that the illustrations of this book--as far as the reproductions are successful--may not be ineffectual4 ,,gordon ,,home ,,epsom1 ,october #aije ,,contents ,,preface ,,list ,,of ,,coloured ,,illustrations ,,list ,,of ,,line ,,illustrations ,,chapter ,i ,some ,features of ,normandy ,,chapter ,,ii ,by the ,banks of the ,seine ,,chapter ,,iii ,concerning ,rouen1 the ,ancient ,capital of ,normandy ,,chapter ,,iv ,concerning the ,cathedral ,city of ,evreux and the ,road to ,bernay ,,chapter ,v ,concerning ,lisieux and the ,romantic ,town of ,falaise ,,chapter ,,vi ,from ,argentan to ,avranches ,,chapter ,,vii ,concerning ,mont ,st ,michel ,,chapter ,,viii ,concerning ,coutances and ,some ,parts of the ,ctentin ,,chapter ,,ix ,concerning ,st ,l and ,bayeux ,,chapter ,x ,concerning ,caen and the ,coast ,towards ,trouville ,,chapter ,,xi ,some ,notes on the ,history of ,normandy ,,list ,,of ,,coloured ,,illustrations ,,mont ,,st ,,michel ,,from ,,the ,,causeway ,,on ,,the ,,road ,,between ,,conches ,,and ,,beaumont-,,le-,,roger ,this is typical of the poplar-bordered roads of ,normandy4 ,,the ,,chateau ,,gaillard ,,from ,,the ,,road ,,by ,,the ,,seine ,the village of ,le ,petit ,andely appears below the castle rock1 and is partly hidden by the island4 ,the chalk cliffs on the left often look like ruined walls4 ,a ,,typical ,,reach ,,of ,,the ,,seine ,,between ,,rouen ,,and ,,le ,,petit ,,andely ,on one side great chalk cliffs rise precipitously1 and on the other are broad flat pastures4 ,,the ,,church ,,at ,,gisors1 ,,seen ,,from ,,the ,,walls ,,of ,,the ,,norman ,,castle ,,the ,,tour ,,de ,,la ,,grosse ,,horloge1 ,,rouen ,it is the ,belfry of the ,city1 and was commenced in #achi4 ,,the ,,cathedral ,,at ,,rouen ,showing a peep of the ,portail de la ,calende1 and some of the quaint houses of the oldest part of the ,city4 ,,the ,,cathedral ,,of ,,evreux ,,seen ,,from ,,above ,on the right1 just where the light touches some of the roofs of the houses1 the fine old belfry can be seen4 ,a ,,typical ,,farmyard ,,scene ,,in ,,normandy ,the curious little thatched mushroom above the cart is to be found in most of the ,norman farms4 ,,the ,,bridge ,,at ,,beaumont-,,le-,,roger ,on the steep hill beyond stands the ruined abbey church4 ,,in ,,the ,,rue ,,aux ,,fevres1 ,,lisieux ,the second tiled gable from the left belongs to the fine sixteenth century house called the ,manoir de ,francois ,i4 ,,the ,,church ,,of ,,st ,,jacques ,,at ,,lisieux ,one of the quaint umber fronted houses for which the town is famous appears on the left4 ,,falaise ,,castle ,the favourite stronghold of ,william the ,conqueror4 ,,the ,,porte ,,des ,,cordeliers ,,at ,,falaise ,a thirteenth century gateway that overlooks the steep valley of the ,ante4 ,,the ,,chateau ,d',o ,a seventeenth century manor house surrounded by a wide moat4 ,,the ,,great ,,view ,,over ,,the ,,forests ,,to ,,the ,,south ,,from ,,the ,,ramparts ,,of ,,domfront ,,castle ,down below can be seen the river ,varennes1 and to the left of the railway the little ,norman ,church of ,notre-,dame-sur-l',eau4 ,,the ,,clock ,,gate1 ,,vire ,a ,,view ,,of ,,mont ,,st ,,michel ,,and ,,the ,,bay ,,of ,,cancale ,,from ,,the ,,jardin ,,des ,,plantes ,,at ,,avranches ,on the left is the low coast-line of ,normandy1 and on the right appears the islet of ,tombelaine4 ,,mont ,,st4 ,,michel ,,from ,,the ,,coast ,,road ,,the ,,long ,,main ,,street ,,of ,,coutances ,in the foreground is the ,church of ,st ,pierre1 and in the distance is the ,cathedral4 ,,the ,,great ,,western ,,towers ,,of ,,the ,,church ,,of ,,notre ,,dame ,,at ,,st ,,lo ,they are of different dates1 and differ in the arcading and other ornament4 ,,the ,,norman ,,towers ,,of ,,bayeux ,,cathedral ,,st ,,pierre1 ,,caen ,,ouistreham ,,list ,,of ,,line ,,illustrations ,,the ,,fortified ,,farm ,,near ,,gisors ,a ,,seventeenth ,,century ,,house ,,at ,,argentan ,,the ,,old ,,market ,,house ,,at ,,ecouche ,,one ,,of ,,the ,,towers ,,in ,,the ,,walls ,,of ,,domfront ,,the ,,ch,,telet ,,and ,,la ,,mervfille ,,at ,,mont ,,st ,,michel ,the dark opening through the archway on the left is the main entrance to the ,abbey4 ,on the right can be seen the tall narrow windows that light the three floors of ,abbot ,jourdain's great work4 ,,an ,,ancient ,,house ,,in ,,the ,,rue ,,st ,,malo1 ,,bayeux ,,the ,,gateway ,,of ,,the ,,chateau ,,the ,,disused ,,church ,,of ,,st ,,nicholas ,,at ,,caen ,a ,,courtyard ,,in ,,the ,,rue ,,de ,,bayeux ,,at ,,caen ,,chapter ,i ,some ,features of ,normandy ,very large ants1 magpies in every meadow1 and coffee-cups without handles1 but of great girth1 are some of the objects that soon become familiar to strangers who wander in that part of ,france which was at one time as much part of ,england as any of the counties of this island4 ,the ants and the coffee-cups certainly give one a sense of being in a foreign land1 but when one wanders through the fertile country among the thatched villages and farms that so forcibly remind one of ,devonshire1 one feels a friendliness in the landscapes that scarcely requires the stimulus of the kindly attitude of the peasants towards les anglais4 ,if one were to change the dark blue smock and the peculiar peaked hat of the country folk of ,normandy for the less distinctive clothes of the ,english peasant1 in a very large number of cases the ,frenchmen would pass as ,english4 ,the ,norman farmer so often has features strongly typical of the southern counties of ,england1 that it is surprising that with his wife and his daughters there should be so little resemblance4 ,perhaps this is because the ,french women dress their hair in such a different manner to those on the northern side of the ,channel1 and they certainly1 taken as a whole1 dress with better effect than their ,english neighbours2 or it may be that the similar ideas prevailing among the men as to how much of the face should be shaved have given the stronger sex an artificial resemblance4 ,in the towns there is little to suggest in any degree that the mediaeval kings of ,england ruled this large portion of ,france1 and at ,mont ,st ,michel the only ,english objects besides the ebb and flow of tourists are the two great iron michelettes captured by the ,french in #adcc4 ,everyone who comes to the wonderful rock is informed that these two guns are ,english2 but as they have been there for nearly five hundred years1 no one feels much shame at seeing them in captivity1 and only a very highly specialised antiquary would be able to recognise any ,british features in them4 ,everyone1 however1 who visits ,normandy from ,england with any enthusiasm1 is familiar with the essential features of ,norman and early pointed architecture1 and it is thus with distinct pleasure that the churches are often found to be strikingly similar to some of the finest examples of the earlier periods in ,england4 ,when we remember that the ,norman masons and master-builders had been improving the crude ,saxon architecture in ,england even before the ,conquest1 and that1 during the reigns of the ,norman kings1 8,frenchmen10 as the ,saxons called them1 were working on churches and castles in every part of our island1 it is no matter for surprise to find that buildings belonging to the eleventh1 twelfth1 and even the thirteenth century1 besides being of similar general design1 are often covered with precisely the same patterns of ornament4 ,when the period of ,decorated ,gothic began to prevail towards the end of the thirteenth century1 the styles on each side of the ,channel gradually diverged1 so that after that time the ,english periods do not agree with those of ,normandy4 ,there is also1 even in the churches that most resemble ,english structures1 a strangeness that assails one unless familiarity has taken the edge off one's perceptions4 ,though not the case with all the fine churches and cathedrals of ,normandy1 yet with an unpleasantly large proportion--unfortunately including the magnificent ,church of ,st ,ouen at ,rouen--there is beyond the gaudy tinsel that crowds the altars1 an untidiness that detracts from the sense of reverence that stately ,norman or ,gothic does not fail to inspire4 ,in the north transept of ,st ,ouen1 some of the walls and pillars have at various times been made to bear large printed notices which have been pasted down1 and when out of date they have been only roughly torn off1 leaving fragments that soon become discoloured and seriously mar the dignified antiquity of the stone-work4 ,but beyond this1 one finds that the great black stands for candles that burn beside the altars are generally streaked with the wax that has guttered from a dozen flames1 and that even the floor is covered with lumps of wax--the countless stains of only partially scraped-up gutterings of past offerings4 ,there is also that peculiarly unpleasant smell so often given out by the burning wax that greets one on entering the cool twilight of the building4 ,the worn and tattered appearance of the rush-seated chairs in the churches is easily explained when one sees the almost constant use to which they are put4 ,in the morning1 or even as late as six in the evening1 one finds classes of boys or girls being catechised and instructed by priests and nuns4 ,the visitor on pushing open the swing door of an entrance will frequently be met by a monotonous voice that echoes through the apparently empty church4 ,as he slowly takes his way along an aisle1 the voice will cease1 and suddenly break out in a simple but loudly sung ,gregorian air1 soon joined by a score or more of childish voices2 then1 as the stranger comes abreast of a side chapel1 he causes a grave distraction among the rows of round1 closely cropped heads4 ,the rather nasal voice from the sallow figure in the cassock rises higher1 and as the echoing footsteps of the person who does nothing but stare about him become more and more distant1 the sing-song tune grows in volume once more1 and the rows of little ,french boys are again in the way of becoming good ,catholics4 ,in another side chapel the confessional box bears a large white card on which is printed in bold letters1 8,m4 le ,cur40 ,he is on duty at the present time1 for1 from behind the curtained lattices1 the stranger hears a soft mumble of words1 and he is constrained to move silently towards the patch of blazing whiteness that betokens the free air and sunshine without4 ,the cheerful clatter of the traffic on the cobbles is typical of all the towns of ,normandy1 as it is of the whole republic1 but ,caen has reduced this form of noise by exchanging its omnibuses1 that always suggested trams that had left the rails1 for swift electric trams that only disturb the streets by their gongs4 ,in ,rouen1 the electric cars1 which the ,britisher rejoices to discover were made in ,england--the driver being obliged to read the positions of his levers in ,english--are a huge boon to everyone who goes sight-seeing in that city4 ,being swept along in a smoothly running car is certainly preferable to jolting one's way over the uneven paving on a bicycle1 but it is only in the largest towns that one has such a choice4 ,although the only road that is depicted in this book is as straight as any built by the ,romans and is bordered by poplars1 it is only one type of the great routes nationales that connect the larger towns4 ,in the hilly parts of ,normandy the poplar bordered roads entirely disappear1 and however straight the engineers may have tried to make their ways1 they have been forced to give them a zig-zag on the steep slopes that breaks up the monotony of the great perspectives so often to be seen stretching away for great distances in front and behind4 ,it must not be imagined that ,normandy is without the usual winding country road where every bend has beyond it some possibilities in the way of fresh views4 ,an examination of a good road map of the country will show that although the straight roads are numerous1 there are others that wind and twist almost as much as the average ,english turnpike4 ,as a rule1 the route nationale is about the same width as most main roads1 but it has on either side an equal space of grass4 ,this is frequently scraped off by the cantoniers1 and the grass is placed in great piles ready for removal4 ,when these have been cleared away the thoroughfare is of enormous width1 and in case of need1 regiments could march in the centre with artillery on one side1 and a supply train on the other1 without impeding one another4 ,level crossings for railways are more frequent than bridges4 ,the gates are generally controlled by women in the family sort of fashion that one sees at the lodge of an ,english park where a right-of-way exists1 and yet accidents do not seem to happen4 ,the railways of ,normandy are those of the ,chemin de ,fer de l',ouest1 and one soon becomes familiar with the very low platforms of the stations that are raised scarcely above the rails4 ,the porters wear blue smocks and trousers of the same material1 secured at the waist by a belt of perpendicular red and black stripes4 ,the railway carriages have always two foot-boards1 and the doors besides the usual handles have a second one half-way down the panels presumably for additional security4 ,it is really in the nature of a bolt that turns on a pivot and falls into a bracket4 ,on the doors1 the class of the carriages is always marked in heavy ,roman numerals4 ,the third-class compartments have windows only in the doors1 are innocent of any form of cushions and are generally only divided half-way up4 ,the second and first-class compartments are always much better and will bear comparison with those of the best ,english railways1 whereas the usual third-class compartment is of that primitive type abandoned twenty or more years ago1 north of the ,channel4 ,the locomotives are usually dirty and black with outside cylinders1 and great drum-shaped steam-domes4 ,they seem to do the work that is required of them efficiently1 although if one is travelling in a third-class compartment the top speed seems extraordinarily slow4 ,the railway officials handle bicycles with wonderful care1 and this is perhaps remarkable when we realize that ,french railways carry them any distance simply charging a penny for registration4 ,the hotels of ,normandy are not what they were twenty years ago4 ,improvements in sanitation have brought about most welcome changes1 so that one can enter the courtyard of most hotels without being met by the aggressive odours that formerly jostled one another for space4 ,when you realize the very large number of ,english folk who annually pass from town to town in ,normandy it may perhaps be wondered why the proprietors of hotels do not take the trouble to prepare a room that will answer to the drawing-room of an ,english hotel4 ,after dinner in ,france1 a lady has absolutely no choice between a possible seat in the courtyard and her bedroom1 for the estaminet generally contains a group of noisy ,frenchmen1 and even if it is vacant the room partakes too much of the character of a bar-parlour to be suitable for ladies4 ,except in the large hotels in ,rouen ,i have only found one which boasts of any sort of room besides the estaminet2 it was the ,hotel des ,trois ,marie at ,argentan4 ,when this defect has been remedied1 ,i can imagine that ,english people will tour in ,normandy more than they do even at the present time4 ,the small washing basin and jug that apologetically appears upon the bedroom washstand has still an almost universal sway1 and it is not sufficiently odd to excuse itself on the score of picturesqueness4 ,under that heading come the tiled floors in the bedrooms1 the square and mountainous eiderdowns that recline upon the beds1 and the matches that take several seconds to ignite and leave a sulphurous odour that does not dissipate itself for several minutes4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,by the ,banks of the ,seine ,if you come to ,normandy from ,southampton1 ,france is entered at the mouth of the ,seine and you are at once introduced to some of the loveliest scenery that ,normandy possesses4 ,the headland outside ,havre is composed of ochreish rock which appears in patches where the grass will not grow4 ,the heights are occupied by no less than three lighthouses only one of which is now in use4 ,as the ship gets closer1 a great spire appears round the cliff in the silvery shimmer of the morning haze and then a thousand roofs reflect the sunlight4 ,there are boats from ,havre that take passengers up the winding river to ,rouen and in this way much of the beautiful scenery may be enjoyed4 ,by this means1 however1 the country appears as only a series of changing pictures and to see anything of the detail of such charming places as ,caudebec1 and ,lillebonne1 or the architectural features of ,tancarville ,castle and the ,abbey of ,jumiges1 the road must be followed instead of the more leisurely river4 ,havre with its great docks1 its busy streets1 and fast electric tramcars that frighten away foot passengers with noisy motor horns does not compel a very long stay1 although one may chance to find much interest among the shipping1 when such vessels as ,mr ,vanderbilt's magnificent steam yacht1 without a mark on its spotless paint1 is lying in one of the inner basins4 ,if you wander up and down some of the old streets by the harbour you will find more than one many-storied house with shutters brightly painted1 and dormers on its ancient roof4 ,the church of ,notre ,dame in the ,rue de ,paris has a tower that was in earlier times a beacon1 and it was here that three brothers named ,raoulin who had been murdered by the governor ,villars in #aeii1 are buried4 ,on the opposite side of the estuary of the ,seine1 lies ,honfleur with its extraordinary church tower that stands in the market-place quite detached from the church of ,st ,catherine to which it belongs4 ,it is entirely constructed of timber and has great struts supporting the angles of its walls4 ,the houses along the quay have a most paintable appearance1 their overhanging floors and innumerable windows forming a picturesque background to the fishing-boats4 ,harfleur1 on the same side of the river as ,havre1 is on the road to ,tancarville4 ,we pass through it on our way to ,caudebec4 ,the great spire of the church1 dating from the fifteenth century1 rears itself above this ancient port where the black-sailed ships of the ,northmen often appeared in the early days before ,rollo had forced ,charles the ,simple 7he should have been called 8,the ,straightforward07 to grant him the great tract of ,french territory that we are now about to explore4 ,the ,seine1 winding beneath bold cliffs on one side and along the edge of flat1 rich meadowlands on the other1 comes near the magnificent ruin of ,tancarville ,castle whose walls enclose an eighteenth century chateau4 ,the situation on an isolated chalk cliff one hundred feet high was more formidable a century ago than it is to-day1 for then the ,seine ran close beneath the forbidding walls1 while now it has changed its course somewhat4 ,the entrance to the castle is approached under the shadow of the great circular corner tower that stands out so boldly at one extremity of the buildings1 and the gate house has on either side semi-circular towers fifty-two feet in height4 ,above the archway there are three floors sparingly lighted by very small windows1 one to each storey4 ,they point out the first floor as containing the torture chamber1 and in the towers adjoining are the hopelessly strong prisons4 ,the iron bars are still in the windows and in one instance the positions of the rings to which the prisoners were chained are still visible4 ,there are still floors in the ,eagle's tower that forms the boldest portion of the castle1 and it is a curious feature that the building is angular inside although perfectly cylindrical on the exterior4 ,near the chateau you may see the ruined chapel and the remains of the ,salle des ,chevaliers with its big fireplace4 ,then higher than the entrance towers is the ,tour ,coquesart built in the fifteenth century and having four storeys with a fireplace in each4 ,the keep is near this1 but outside the present castle and separated from it by a moat4 ,the earliest parts of the castle all belong to the eleventh century1 but so much destruction was wrought by ,henry ,v4 in #adag that the greater part of the ruins belong to a few years after that date4 ,the name of ,tancarville had found a place among the great families of ,england before the last of the members of this distinguished ,french name lost his life at the battle of ,agincourt4 ,the heiress of the family married one of the ,harcourts and eventually the possessions came into the hands of ,dunois the ,bastard of ,orleans4 ,from ,tancarville there is a road that brings you down to that which runs from ,quilleboeuf1 and by it one is soon brought to the picturesquely situated little town of ,lillebonne1 famous for its ,roman theatre4 ,it was the capital of the ,caletes and was known as ,juliabona1 being mentioned in the iters of ,antoninus4 ,the theatre is so well known that no one has difficulty in finding it1 and compared to most of the ,roman remains in ,england1 it is well worth seeing4 ,the place held no fewer than three thousand people upon the semi-circular tiers of seats that are now covered with turf4 ,years ago1 there was much stone-work to be seen1 but this has largely disappeared1 and it is only in the upper portions that many traces of mason's work are visible4 ,a passage runs round the upper part of the theatre and the walls are composed of narrow stones that are not much larger than bricks4 ,the great castle was built by ,william the ,norman1 and it was here that he gathered together his barons to mature and work out his project which made him afterwards ,william the ,conqueror4 ,it will be natural to associate the fine round tower of the castle with this historic conference1 but unfortunately1 it was only built in the fourteenth century4 ,from more than one point of view ,lillebonne makes beautiful pictures1 its roofs dominated by the great tower of the parish church as well as by the ruins of the castle4 ,we have lost sight of the ,seine since we left ,tancarville1 but a ten-mile run brings us to the summit of a hill overlooking ,caudebec and a great sweep of the beautiful river4 ,the church raises its picturesque outline against the rolling white clouds1 and forms a picture that compels admiration4 ,on descending into the town1 the antiquity and the quaintness of sixteenth century houses greet you frequently1 and you do not wonder that ,caudebec has attracted so many painters4 ,there is a wide quay1 shaded by an avenue of beautiful trees1 and there are views across the broad1 shining waters of the ,seine1 which here as in most of its length attracts us by its breadth4 ,the beautiful chalk hills drop steeply down to the water's edge on the northern shores in striking contrast to the flatness of the opposite banks4 ,on the side of the river facing ,caudebec1 the peninsula enclosed by the windings of the ,seine includes the great forest of ,brotonne1 and all around the town1 the steep hills that tumble picturesquely on every side1 are richly clothed with woods1 so that with its architectural delights within1 and its setting of forest1 river and hill1 ,caudebec well deserves the name it has won for itself in ,england as well as in ,france4 ,just off the road to ,rouen from ,caudebec and scarcely two miles away1 is ,st ,wandrille1 situated in a charming hollow watered by the ,fontanelle1 a humble tributary of the great river4 ,in those beautiful surroundings stand the ruins of the abbey church1 almost entirely dating from the thirteenth century4 ,much destruction was done during the ,revolution1 but there is enough of the south transept and nave still in existence to show what the complete building must have been4 ,in the wonderfully preserved cloister which is the gem of ,st ,wandrille1 there are some beautiful details in the doorway leading from the church1 and there is much interest in the refectory and chapter house4 ,down in the piece of country included in a long and narrow loop of the river stand the splendid ruins of the abbey of ,jumiges with its three towers that stand out so conspicuously over the richly wooded country4 ,when you get to the village and are close to the ruins of the great ,benedictine abbey1 you are not surprised that it was at one time numbered amongst the richest and most notable of the monastic foundations4 ,the founder was ,st ,philibert1 but whatever the buildings which made their appearance in the seventh century may have been1 is completely beyond our knowledge1 for ,jumiges was situated too close to the ,seine to be overlooked by the harrying ship-loads of pirates from the north1 who in the year #hea demolished everything4 ,william ,longue-,epe1 son of ,rollo the great leader of these ,northmen1 curiously enough commenced the rebuilding of the abbey1 and it was completed in the year of the ,english conquest4 ,nearly the whole of the nave and towers present a splendid example of early ,norman architecture1 and it is much more inspiring to look upon the fine west front of this ruin than that of ,st ,etienne at ,caen which has an aspect so dull and uninspiring4 ,the great round arches of the nave are supported by pillars which have the early type of capital distinguishing eleventh century work4 ,the little chapel of ,st ,pierre adjoining the abbey church is particularly interesting on account of the western portion which includes some of that early work built in the first half of the tenth century by ,william ,longue-,epee4 ,the tombstone of ,nicholas ,lerour1 the abbot who was among the judges by whom the saintly ,joan of ,arc was condemned to death1 is to be seen with others in the house which now serves as a museum4 ,associated with the same tragedy is another tombstone1 that of ,agns ,sorel1 the mistress of ,charles ,,vii41 that heartless king who made no effort to save the girl who had given him his throne4 ,jumiges continued to be a perfectly preserved abbey occupied by its monks and hundreds of persons associated with them until scarcely more than a century ago4 ,it was then allowed to go to complete ruin1 and no restrictions seem to have been placed upon the people of the neighbourhood who as is usual under such circumstances1 used the splendid buildings as a storehouse of ready dressed stone4 ,making our way back to the highway1 we pass through beautiful scenery1 and once more reach the banks of the ,seine at the town of ,duclair which stands below the escarpment of chalk hills4 ,there are wharves by the river-side which give the place a thriving aspect1 for a considerable export trade is carried on in dairy produce4 ,after following the river-side for a time1 the road begins to cut across the neck of land between two bends of the ,seine4 ,it climbs up towards the forest of ,roumare and passes fairly close to the village of ,st ,martin de ,boscherville where the church of ,st ,george stands out conspicuously on its hillside4 ,this splendid ,norman building is the church of the ,abbey built in the middle of the eleventh century by ,raoul de ,tancarville who was ,william's ,chamberlain at the time of the conquest of ,england4 ,the abbey buildings are now in ruins but the church has remained almost untouched during the eight centuries and more which have passed during which ,normandy was often bathed in blood1 and when towns and castles were sacked two or three times over4 ,when the forest of ,roumare1 has been left behind1 you come to ,canteleu1 a little village that stands at the top of a steep hill1 commanding a huge view over ,rouen1 the historic capital of ,normandy4 ,you can see the shipping lying in the river1 the factories1 the spire of the cathedral1 and the many church towers as well as the light framework of the modern moving bridge4 ,this is the present day representative of the fantastic mediaeval city that witnessed the tragedy of ,joan of ,arc's trial and martyrdom4 ,we will pass ,rouen now1 returning to it again in the next chapter4 ,the river for some distance becomes frequently punctuated with islands4 ,large extents of forest including those of ,rouvray1 ,bonde and ,elbeuf1 spread themselves over the high ground to the west4 ,the view from above ,elbeuf in spite of its many tall chimney shafts includes such a fine stretch of fertile country that the scene is not easily forgotten4 ,following the windings of the river through ,pont-de-,l',arche and the forest of ,louviers we come to that pleasant old town2 but although close to the ,seine1 it stands on the little river ,eure4 ,louviers remains in the memory as a town whose church is more crowded with elaborately carved stone-work than any outside ,rouen4 ,there is something rather odd1 in the close juxtaposition of the ,htel ,mouton d',argent with its smooth plastered front and the almost overpowering mass of detail that faces it on the other side of the road4 ,there is something curious1 too1 in the severe plainness of the tower that almost suggests the unnecessarily shabby clothing worn by some men whose wives are always to be seen in the most elaborate and costly gowns4 ,internally the church shows its twelfth century origin1 but all the intricate stone-work outside belongs to the fifteenth century4 ,the porch which is1 if possible1 richer than the buttresses of the aisles1 belongs to the flamboyant period1 and actually dates from the year #adif4 ,in the clerestory there is much sixteenth century glass and the aisles which are low and double give a rather unusual appearance4 ,the town contains several quaint and ancient houses1 one of them supported by wooden posts projects over the pavement1 another at the corner of the ,march des ufs has a very rich though battered piece of carved oak at the angle of the walls4 ,it seems as if it had caught the infection of the extraordinary detail of the church porch4 ,down by the river there are many timber-framed houses with their foundations touching the water1 with narrow wooden bridges crossing to the warehouses that line the other side4 ,the ,place de ,rouen has a shady avenue of limes leading straight down to a great house in a garden beyond which rise wooded hills4 ,towards the river runs another avenue of limes trimmed squarely on top4 ,these are pleasant features of so many ,french towns that make up for some of the deficiencies in other matters4 ,we could stay at ,louviers for some time without exhausting all its attractions1 but ten miles away at the extremity of another deep loop of the ,seine there stands the great and historic ,chateau-,gaillard that towers above ,le ,petit-,andely1 the pretty village standing invitingly by a cleft in the hills4 ,the road we traverse is that which appears so conspicuously in ,turner's great painting of the ,chateau-,gaillard4 ,it crosses the bridge close under the towering chalk cliffs where the ruin stands so boldly4 ,there is a road that follows the right bank of the river close to the railway1 and it is from there that one of the strangest views of the castle is to be obtained4 ,you may see it thrown up by a blaze of sunlight against the grassy heights behind that are all dark beneath the shadow of a cloud4 ,the stone of the towers and heavily buttressed walls appears almost as white as the chalk which crops out in the form of cliffs along the river-side4 ,an island crowded with willows that overhang the water partially hides the village of ,le ,petit-,andely1 and close at hand above the steep slopes of grass that rise from the roadway tower great masses of gleaming white chalk projecting from the vivid turf as though they were the worn ruins of other castles4 ,the whiteness is only broken by the horizontal lines of flints and the blue-grey shadows that fill the crevices4 ,from the hill above the ,chateau there is another and even more striking view4 ,it is the one that appears in ,turner's picture just mentioned1 and gives one some idea of the magnificent position that ,richard ,cur de ,lion chose1 when in #aaig he decided to build an impregnable fortress on this bend of the ,seine4 ,it was soon after his return from captivity which followed the disastrous crusade that ,richard commenced to show ,philippe ,auguste that he was determined to hold his ,french possessions with his whole strength4 ,philippe had warned ,john when the news of the release of the lion-hearted king from captivity had become known1 that 8the devil was unchained10 and the building of this castle showed that ,richard was making the most of his opportunities4 ,the ,french king was1 with some justification1 furious with his neighbour1 for ,richard had recently given his word not to fortify this place1 and some fierce fighting would have ensued on top of the threats which the monarchs exchanged1 but for the death of the ,english king in #aaii4 ,when ,john assumed the crown of ,england1 however1 ,philippe soon found cause to quarrel with him1 and thus the great siege of the castle was only postponed for three or four years4 ,the ,french king brought his army across the peninsula formed by the ,seine1 and having succeeded in destroying the bridge beneath the castle1 he constructed one for himself with boats and soon afterwards managed to capture the island1 despite its strong fortifications4 ,the leader of the ,english garrison was the courageous ,roger de ,lacy1 ,constable of ,chester4 ,from his knowledge of the character of his new king1 de ,lacy would have expected little assistance from the outside and would have relied upon his own resources to defend ,richard's masterpiece4 ,john made one attempt to succour the garrison4 ,he brought his army across the level country and essayed to destroy the bridge of boats constructed by the ,french4 ,this one effort proving unsuccessful he took no other measures to distract the besieging army1 and left ,roger de ,lacy to the undivided attention of the ,frenchmen4 ,then followed a terrible struggle4 ,the ,french king succeeded in drawing his lines closer to the castle itself and eventually obtained possession of the outer fortifications and the village of ,le ,petit-,andely1 from which the inhabitants fled to the protection of the castle4 ,the governor had no wish to have all his supplies consumed by non-combatants1 and soon compelled these defenceless folk to go out of the protection of his huge walls4 ,at first the besiegers seemed to have allowed the people to pass unmolested1 but probably realizing the embarrassment they would have been to the garrison1 they altered their minds1 and drove most of them back to the castle4 ,here they gained a reception almost as hostile as that of the enemy1 and after being shot down by the arrows of the ,french they remained for days in a starving condition in a hollow between the hostile lines4 ,here they would all have died of hunger1 but ,philippe at last took pity on the terrible plight of these defenceless women and children and old folks1 and having allowed them a small supply of provisions they were at last released from their ghastly position4 ,such a tragedy as this lends terrible pathos to the grassy steeps and hollows surrounding the chateau and one may almost be astonished that such callousness could have existed in these days of chivalry4 ,the siege was continued with rigour and a most strenuous attack was made upon the end of the castle that adjoined the high ground that overlooks the ruins4 ,with magnificent courage the ,frenchmen succeeded in mining the walls1 and having rushed into the breach they soon made themselves masters of the outer courtyard4 ,continuing the assault1 a small party of intrepid soldiers gained a foothold within the next series of fortifications1 causing the ,english to retreat to the inner courtyard dominated by the enormous keep4 ,despite the magnificent resistance offered by de ,lacy's men the besiegers raised their engines in front of the gate1 and when at last they had forced an entry they contrived a feat that almost seems incredible--they cut off the garrison from their retreat to the keep4 ,thus this most famous of castles fell within half a dozen years of its completion4 ,in the hundred years' war the ,chateau-,gaillard was naturally one of the centres of the fiercest fighting1 and the pages of history are full of references to the sieges and captures of the fortress1 proving how even with the most primitive weapons these ponderous and unscalable walls were not as impregnable as they may have seemed to the builders4 ,like the abbey of ,jumiges1 this proud structure became nothing more than a quarry1 for in the seventeenth century permission was given to two religious houses1 one at ,le ,petit-,andely and the other at ,le ,grand-,andely to take whatever stone-work they required for their monastic establishments4 ,records show how more damage would have been done to the castle but for the frequent quarrels between these two religious houses as to their rights over the various parts of the ruins4 ,when you climb up to the ruined citadel and look out of the windows that are now battered and shapeless1 you can easily feel how the heart of the bold ,richard must have swelled within him when he saw how his castle dominated an enormous belt of country4 ,but you cannot help wondering whether he ever had misgivings over the unwelcome proximity of the chalky heights that rise so closely above the site of the ruin4 ,we ourselves1 are inclined to forget these questions of military strength in the serene beauty of the silvery river flowing on its serpentine course past groups of poplars1 rich pastures dotted with cattle1 forest lands and villages set amidst blossoming orchards4 ,down below are the warm chocolate-red roofs of the little town that has shared with the chateau its good and evil fortunes4 ,the church with its slender spire occupies the central position1 and it dates from precisely the same years as those which witnessed the advent of the fortress above4 ,the little streets of the town are full of quaint timber-framed houses1 and it is not surprising that this is one of the spots by the beautiful banks of the ,seine that has attained a name for its picturesqueness4 ,with scarcely any perceptible division ,le ,grand-,andely joins the smaller village4 ,it stands higher in the valley and is chiefly memorable for its beautiful inn1 the ,hotel du ,grand ,cerf4 ,it is opposite the richly ornamented stone-work of the church of ,notre ,dame and dates chiefly from the sixteenth century4 ,the hall contains a great fireplace1 richly ornamented with a renaissance frieze and a fine iron stove-back4 ,the courtyard shows carved timbers and in front the elaborate moulding beneath the eaves is supported by carved brackets4 ,unlike that old hostelry at ,dives which is mentioned in another chapter1 this hotel is not over restored1 although in the days of a past proprietor the house contained a great number of antiques and its fame attracted many distinguished visitors1 including ,sir ,walter ,scott and ,victor ,hugo4 ,in writing of the hotel ,i am likely to forget the splendid painted glass in the church1 but details of the stories told in these beautiful works of the sixteenth century are given in all good guides4 ,there is a pleasant valley behind ,les ,andelys running up towards the great plateau that occupies such an enormous area of this portion of ,normandy4 ,the scenery as you go along the first part of the valley1 through the little village of ,harquency with its tiny ,norman church1 and cottages with thatched roofs all velvety with moss1 is very charming4 ,the country is entirely hedge-less1 but as you look down upon the rather thirsty-looking valley below the road1 the scenery savours much of ,kent2 the chalky fields1 wooded uplands and big1 picturesque farms suggesting some of the agricultural districts of the ,english county4 ,when we join the broad and straight national road running towards ,gisors we have reached the tableland just mentioned4 ,there are perhaps1 here and there1 a group of stately elms1 breaking the broad sweep of arable land that extends with no more undulations for many leagues than those of a sheet of old-fashioned glass4 ,the horizon is formed by simply the same broad fields1 vanishing in a thin1 blue line over the rim of the earth4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,fortified ,,farm ,,near ,,gisors ,at ,les ,thilliers1 a small hamlet that1 owing to situation at cross-roads figures conspicuously upon the milestones of the neighbourhood1 the road to ,gisors goes towards the east1 and after crossing the valley of the ,epte1 you run down an easy gradient1 passing a fine fortified farm-house with circular towers at each corner of its four sides and in a few minutes have turned into the historic old town of ,gisors4 ,it is as picturesque as any place in ,normandy with the exception of ,mont ,st ,michel4 ,the river ,epte gliding slowly through its little canals at the sides of some of the streets1 forms innumerable pictures when reflecting the quaint houses and gardens whose walls are generally grown over with creepers4 ,near the ascent to the castle is one of the washing places where the women let their soap suds float away on the translucent water as they scrub vigorously4 ,they kneel upon a long wooden platform sheltered by a charming old roof supported upon a heavy timber framework that is a picture in itself4 ,if you stay at the ,hotel de l'cu de ,france you are quite close to the castle that towers upon its hill right in the middle of the town4 ,most people who come to ,gisors are surprised to find how historic is its castle1 and how many have been the conflicts that have taken place around it4 ,the position between ,rouen and ,paris and on the frontier of the ,duchy gave it an importance in the days of the ,norman kings that led to the erection of a most formidable stronghold4 ,in the eleventh century1 when ,william ,rufus was on the throne of ,england1 he made the place much stronger4 ,both ,henry ,i4 and ,henry ,,ii4 added to its fortifications so that ,gisors became in time as formidable a castle as the ,chateau ,gaillard4 ,during the ,hundred ,years' ,war1 ,gisors1 which is often spoken of as the key to ,normandy1 after fierce struggles had become ,french4 ,then again1 a determined assault would leave the flag of ,england fluttering upon its ramparts until again the ,frenchmen would contrive to make themselves masters of the place4 ,and so these constant changes of ownership went on until at last about the year #adej1 a date which we shall find associated with the fall of every ,english stronghold in ,normandy1 ,gisors surrendered to ,charles ,,vii4 and has remained ,french ever since4 ,the outer baileys are defended by some great towers of massive ,norman masonry from which you look all over the town and surrounding country4 ,but within the inner courtyard rises a great mound dominated by the keep which you may still climb by a solid stone staircase4 ,from here the view is very much finer than from the other towers and its commanding position would seem to give the defenders splendid opportunities for tiring out any besieging force4 ,the concierge of the castle1 a genial old woman of gipsy-like appearance takes you down to the fearful dungeon beneath one of the great towers on the eastern side1 known as the ,tour des ,prisonniers4 ,here you may see the carvings in the stone-work executed by some of the prisoners who had been cast into this black abyss4 ,these carvings include representations of crucifixes1 ,st ,christopher1 and many excellently conceived and patiently wrought figures of other saints4 ,we have already had a fine view of the splendid ,renaissance exterior of the church which is dedicated to the ,saints ,gervais and ,protais4 ,the choir is the earliest part of the building4 ,it belongs to the thirteenth century1 while the nave and most of the remaining portions date from the fifteenth or sixteenth century4 ,it is a building of intense architectural interest and to some extent rivals the castle in the attention it deserves4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,concerning ,rouen1 the ,ancient ,capital of ,normandy ,when whole volumes have been written on ,rouen it would be idle to attempt even a fragment of its history in a book of this nature4 ,but all who go to ,rouen should know something of its story in order to be able to make the most of the antiquities that the great city still retains4 ,how much we would give to have an opportunity for seeing the ,rouen which has vanished1 for to-day as we walk along the modern streets there is often nothing to remind us of the centuries crowded with momentous events that have taken place where now the electric cars sweep to and fro and do their best to make one forget the ,rouen of mediaeval times4 ,of course1 no one goes to the city expecting to find ancient walls and towers1 or a really strong flavour of the middle ages1 any more than one expects to obtain such impressions in the city of ,london4 ,rouen1 however1 contains sufficient relics of its past to convey a powerful impression upon the minds of all who have strong imaginations4 ,there is the cathedral which contains the work of many centuries2 there is the beautiful and inspiring church of ,st ,ouen2 there is the archway of the ,grosse ,horloge2 there is the crypt of the church of ,st ,gervais1 that dates from the dim fifth century2 and there are still in the narrow streets between the cathedral and the quays along the river-side1 many tall1 overhanging houses1 whose age appears in the sloping wall surfaces and in the ancient timbers that show themselves under the eaves and between the plaster-work4 ,two of the most attractive views in ,rouen are illustrated here4 ,one of them shows the ,portail de la ,calende of the cathedral appearing at the end of a narrow street of antique1 gabled houses1 while overhead towers the stupendous fleche that forms the most prominent feature of ,rouen4 ,the other is the ,grosse ,horloge and if there had been space for a third it would have shown something of the interior of the church of ,st ,ouen4 ,the view of the city from the hill of ,bon ,secours forms another imposing feature1 but ,i think that it hardly equals what we have already seen on the road from ,caudebec4 ,when you come out of the railway station known as the ,rive ,droite a short street leads up to one of the most important thoroughfares1 the ,rue ,jeanne d',arc4 ,it is perfectly straight and contains nothing in it that is not perfectly modern1 but at the highest point you may see a marble tablet affixed to a wall4 ,it bears a representation in the form of a gilded outline of the castle towers as they stood in the time of the ,maid of ,orleans1 and a short distance behind this wall1 but approached from another street1 there still remains the keep of ,rouen's historic castle4 ,the circular tower contains the room which you may see to-day where ,joan was brought before her judges and the instruments of torture by which the saintly maiden was to be frightened into giving careless answers to the questions with which she was plied by her clever judges4 ,this stone vaulted room1 although restored1 is of thrilling interest to those who have studied the history of ,joan of ,arc1 for1 as we are told by ,mr ,theodore ,cook in his 8,story of ,rouen10 these are the only walls which are known to have echoed with her voice4 ,those who have made a careful study of the ancient houses in the older streets of ,rouen have been successful in tracing other buildings associated with the period of ,joan of ,arc's trial4 ,the ,rue ,st ,romain1 that narrow and not very salubrious thoroughfare that runs between the ,rue de la ,rpublique and the west front of the cathedral1 has still some of the old canons' lodgings where some of the men who judged ,joan of ,arc actually lived4 ,among them1 was ,canon ,guillaume le ,desert who outlived all his fellow judges4 ,there is still to be seen the house where lived the architect who designed the palace for ,henry ,v4 near ,mal s'y ,frotte4 ,mr ,cook mentions that he has discovered a record which states that the iron cage in which ,joan of ,arc was chained by her hands1 feet and neck was seen by a workman in this very house4 ,in the quaint and narrow streets that are still existing near the ,rue ,st ,romain1 many strange-looking houses have survived to the present day4 ,they stand on the site of the earliest nucleus of the present city1 and it is in this neighbourhood that one gets most in touch with the ,rouen that has so nearly vanished4 ,in this interesting portion of the city you come across the marvellously rich ,grosse ,horloge already mentioned4 ,a casual glance would give one the impression that the structure was no older than the seventeenth century1 but the actual date of its building is #aebi1 and the clock itself dates from about #achi1 and is as old as any in ,france4 ,the dial you see to-day is brilliantly coloured and has a red centre while the elaborate decoration that covers nearly the whole surface of the walls is freely gilded1 giving an exceedingly rich appearance4 ,the two fourteenth century bells1 one known as ,la ,rouvel or the ,silver ,bell on account of the legend that silver coins were thrown into the mould when it was cast1 and the other known as ,cache-,ribaut1 are still in the tower1 ,la ,rouvel being still rung for a quarter of an hour at nine o'clock in the evening4 ,it is the ancient ,curfew1 and the ,tower de la ,grosse ,horloge is nothing more than the historic belfry of ,rouen1 although one might imagine by the way it stands over the street on an elliptical arch1 that it had formed one of the gates of the city4 ,at the foot of the belfry is one of those richly sculptured fountains that are to be seen in two or three places in the older streets4 ,the carving is very much blackened with age1 and the detail is not very easily discernible1 but a close examination will show that the story of ,arethusa1 and ,alpheus1 the river-god1 is portrayed4 ,the fountain was given to ,rouen by the ,duke of ,luxembourg early in the eighteenth century4 ,adjoining the imposing ,rue ,jeanne d',arc is the fine ,gothic ,palais de ,justice1 part of which was built by ,louis ,,xii4 in the year #adii1 the central portion being added by ,leroux1 sixteen years later4 ,these great buildings were put up chiefly for the uses of the ,echiquier--the supreme court of the ,duchy at that time--but it was also to be used as an exchange for merchants who before this date had been in the habit of transacting much of their business in the cathedral4 ,the historic hall where the ,echiquier met is still to be seen4 ,the carved oak of the roof has great gilded pendants that stand out against the blackness of the wood-work1 and the ,crucifixion presented by ,louis ,,xii4 may be noticed among the portraits in the ,chambre du ,conseille4 ,the earliest portions of the great cathedral of ,notre ,dame date from the twelfth century1 the north tower showing most palpably the transition from ,norman work to the ,early ,french style of ,gothic4 ,by the year #abee when ,louis ,,ix4 came to ,rouen to spend ,christmas1 the choir1 transepts and nave of the cathedral1 almost as they may be seen to-day1 had been completed4 ,the chapel to ,st ,mary did not make its appearance for some years1 and the side portails were only added in the fifteenth century4 ,the elaborate work on the west front belongs to the century following1 and although the ideas of modern architects have varied as to this portion of the cathedral1 the consensus of opinion seems to agree that it is one of the most perfect examples of the flamboyant style so prevalent in the churches of ,normandy4 ,the detail of this masterpiece of the latest phase of ,gothic architecture is almost bewildering1 but the ornament in every place has a purpose1 so that the whole mass of detail has a reposeful dignity which can only have been retained by the most consummate skill4 ,the canopied niches are in many instances vacant1 but there are still rows of saints in the long lines of recesses4 ,the rose window is a most perfect piece of work2 it is filled with painted glass in which strong blues and crimsons are predominant4 ,above the central tower known as the ,tour de ,pierre1 that was built partially in the thirteenth century1 there rises the astonishing iron spire that is one of the highest in the world4 ,its weight is enormous despite the fact that it is merely an open framework4 ,the architect of this masterly piece of work whose name was ,alavoine seems to have devoted himself with the same intensity as ,barry1 to whom we owe the ,royal ,courts of ,justice in ,london1 for he worked upon it from #ahbc1 the year following the destruction of the wooden spire by lightning1 until #ahcd1 the year of his death4 ,the spire1 however1 which was commenced almost immediately after the loss of the old one1 remained incomplete for over forty years and it was not entirely finished until #ahgf4 ,the flight of eight hundred and twelve steps that is perfectly safe for any one with steady nerves goes right up inside the spire until1 as you look out between the iron framework1 ,rouen lies beneath your feet1 a confused mass of detail cut through by the silver river4 ,the tower of ,st ,romain is on the north side of the cathedral4 ,it was finished towards the end of the fifteenth century1 but the lower portion is of very much earlier date for it is the only portion of the cathedral that was standing when ,richard ,i4 on his way to the ,holy ,land knelt before ,archbishop ,gautier to receive the sword and banner which he carried with him to the ,crusade4 ,the ,tour de ,beurre is on the southern side--its name being originated in connection with those of the faithful who during certain ,lents paid for indulgences in order to be allowed to eat butter4 ,it was commenced in #adhe1 and took twenty-two years to complete4 ,in this great tower there used to hang a famous bell4 ,it was called the ,georges d',amboise after the great ,cardinal to whom ,rouen owes so much1 not only as builder of the tower and the facade1 but also as the originator of sanitary reforms and a thousand other benefits for which the city had reason to be grateful4 ,the great bell was no less than #cj feet in circumference1 its weight being #cf1jjj lbs4 ,the man who succeeded in casting it1 whose name was ,jean ,le ,machon1 seems to have been so overwhelmed at his success that scarcely a month later he died4 ,at last when ,louis ,,xvi4 came to ,rouen1 they rang ,georges d',amboise so loudly that a crack appeared1 and a few years later1 during the ,revolution1 ,le ,machon's masterpiece was melted down for cannon4 ,inside the cathedral there are1 besides the glories of the splendid ,gothic architecture1 the tombs of ,henry ,plantagenet1 the eldest son of ,henry ,,ii41 and ,richard ,i4 ,there are also the beautifully carved miserere seats in the choir which are of particular interest in the way they illustrate many details of daily life in the fifteenth century4 ,the stone figure representing ,richard ,cur de ,lion lies outside the railings of the sanctuary4 ,the heart of the king which has long since fallen into dust is contained in a casket that is enclosed in the stone beneath the effigy4 ,the figure of ,henry ,plantagenet is not the original--you may see that in the museum1 which contains so many fascinating objects that are associated with the early history of ,rouen4 ,the splendid sixteenth century monument of the two ,cardinals d',amboise is to be seen in the ,chapelle de la ,sainte ,vierge4 ,the kneeling figures in the canopied recess represent the two ,cardinals--that on the right1 which is said to be a very good portrait1 represents the famous man who added so much to the cathedral--the one on the left shows his nephew1 the second ,cardinal ,georges d',amboise4 ,in the middle of the recess there is a fine sculpture showing ,st ,george and the ,dragon1 and most of the other surfaces of the tomb are composed of richly ornamented niches1 containing statuettes of saints1 bishops1 the ,virgin and ,child1 and the twelve ,apostles4 ,another remarkable tomb is that of ,louis de ,breze1 considered to be one of the finest specimens of ,renaissance work4 ,it is built in two storeys--the upper one showing a thrilling representation of the knight in complete armour and mounted upon his war-horse1 but upon the sarcophagus below he is shown with terrible reality as a naked corpse4 ,the sculptor was possibly ,jean ,goujon1 whose name is sometimes associated with the monument to the two ,cardinals1 which is of an earlier date4 ,the tomb of ,rollo1 the founder of the ,duchy of ,normandy1 and the first of the ,normans to embrace the ,christian religion1 lies in a chapel adjoining the south transept4 ,the effigy belongs to the fourteenth century1 but the marble tablet gives an inscription which may be translated as follows3 8,here lies ,rollo1 the first ,duke and founder and father of ,normandy1 of which he was at first the terror and scourge1 but afterwards the restorer4 ,baptised in #iab by ,francon1 ,archbishop of ,rouen1 and died in #iag4 ,his remains were at first deposited in the ancient sanctuary1 at present the upper end of the nave4 ,the altar having been removed1 the remains of the prince were placed here by the blessed ,maurille1 ,archbishop of ,rouen in the year #ajfc40 ,the effigy of ,william ,longsword1 ,rollo's son1 is in another chapel of the nave1 that adjoining the north transept4 ,his effigy1 like that of his father1 dates from the fourteenth century4 ,it is in surroundings of this character that we are brought most in touch with the ,rouen of our imaginations4 ,we have already in a preceding chapter seen something of the interior of the church of ,st ,ouen1 which to many is more inspiring than the cathedral4 ,the original church belonged to the ,abbey of ,st ,ouen1 established in the reign of ,clothaire ,i4 ,when the ,northmen came sailing up the river1 laying waste to everything within their reach1 the place was destroyed1 but after ,rollo's conversion to ,christianity the abbey was renovated1 and in #ajdf a new church was commenced1 which having taken about eighty years to complete was almost immediately burnt down4 ,another fire having taken place a century later1 ,jean ,roussel1 who was ,abbot in #acah1 commenced this present building4 ,it was an enormous work to undertake but yet within twenty-one years the choirs and transepts were almost entirely completed4 ,this great ,abbot was buried in the ,mary chapel behind the ,high ,altar4 ,on the tomb he is called ,marc d',argent and the date of his death is given as ,december #g1 #acci4 ,after this the building of the church went on all through the century4 ,the man who was master mason in this period was ,alexandre ,barneval1 but he seems to have become jealous of an apprentice who built the rose window that is still such a splendid feature of the north transept1 for in a moment of passion he killed the apprentice and for this crime was sentenced to death in the year #addj4 ,st ,ouen was completed in the sixteenth century1 but the west front as it appears to-day has two spires which made their appearance in recent times4 ,the exterior1 however1 is not the chief charm of ,st ,ouen2 it is the magnificent interior1 so huge and yet so inspiring1 that so completely satisfies one's ideas of proportion4 ,wherever you stand1 the vistas of arches1 all dark and gloomy1 relieved here and there by a blaze of coloured glass1 are so splendid that you cannot easily imagine anything finer4 ,a notable feature of the aisles is the enormous space of glass covering the outer walls1 so that the framework of the windows seems scarcely adequate to support the vaulted roof above4 ,the central tower is supported by magnificent clustered piers of dark and swarthy masonry1 and the views of these from the transepts or from the aisles of the nave make some of the finest pictures that are to be obtained in this masterpiece of ,gothic architecture4 ,the tower that rises from the north transept belongs1 it is believed1 to the twelfth century church that was burnt4 ,on the western front it is interesting to find statues of ,william the ,conqueror1 ,henry ,,ii4 and ,richard ,cur de ,lion among other dukes of ,normandy1 and the most famous ,archbishops of ,rouen4 ,besides the cathedral and ,st ,ouen there is the splendid church of ,st ,maclou4 ,its western front suddenly appears1 filling a gap in the blocks of modern shops on the right hand side as you go up the ,rue de la ,rpublic4 ,the richness of the mass of carved stone-work arrests your attention1 for after having seen the magnificent facade of the cathedral you would think the city could boast nothing else of such extraordinary splendour4 ,the name ,maclou comes from ,scotland1 for it was a member of this clan1 who1 having fled to ,brittany1 became ,bishop of ,aleth and died in #efa4 ,since the tenth century a shrine to his memory had been placed outside the walls of ,rouen4 ,the present building was designed by ,pierre ,robin and it dates from between #adcg and #aebj1 but the present spire is modern1 having replaced the old one about the time of the ,revolution4 ,the richly carved doors of the west front are the work of ,jean ,goujon4 ,the organ loft rests on two columns of black marble1 which are also his work2 but although the dim interior is full of interest and its rose windows blaze with fifteenth century glass1 it is the west front and carved doors that are the most memorable features of the building4 ,in the ,place du ,marche ,vieux you may see the actual spot where ,joan of ,arc was burnt1 a stone on the ground bearing the words 8,jeanne ,darc1 #cj ,mai1 #adca40 ,to all who have really studied the life1 the trial and the death of the ,maid of ,orleans--and surely no one should visit ,rouen without such knowledge--this is the most sacred spot in the city1 for as we stand here we can almost hear her words addressed to ,cauchon1 8,it is you who have brought me to this death40 ,we can see her confessor holding aloft the cross and we seem to hear her breathe the ,redeemer's name before she expires4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,concerning the ,cathedral ,city of ,evreux and the ,road to ,bernay ,the tolling of the deep-toned bourdon in the cathedral tower reverberates over the old town of ,evreux as we pass along the cobbled streets4 ,there is a yellow evening light overhead1 and the painted stucco walls of the houses reflect the soft1 glowing colour of the west4 ,in the courtyard of the ,hotel du ,grand ,cerf1 too1 every thing is bathed in this beautiful light and the double line of closely trimmed laurels has not yet been deserted by the golden flood4 ,but ,evreux does not really require a fine evening to make it attractive1 although there is no town in existence that is not improved under such conditions4 ,with the magnificent cathedral1 the belfry1 the ,norman church of ,st ,taurin and the museum1 besides many quaint peeps by the much sub-divided river ,iton that flows through the town1 there is sufficient to interest one even on the dullest of dull days4 ,of all the cathedral interiors in ,normandy there are none that possess a finer or more perfectly proportioned nave than ,evreux1 and if ,i were asked to point out the two most impressive interiors of the churches in this division of ,france ,i should couple the cathedral at ,evreux with ,st ,ouen at ,rouen4 ,it was our own ,henry ,i4 who having destroyed the previous building set to work to build a new one and it is his nave that we see to-day4 ,the whole cathedral has since that time been made to reflect the changing ideals of the seven centuries that have passed4 ,the west front belongs entirely to the ,renaissance period and the north transept is in the flamboyant style of the fifteenth century so much in evidence in ,normandy and so infrequent in ,england4 ,the central tower with its tall steeple now encased in scaffolding was built in #adgj by ,cardinal ,balue1 ,bishop of ,evreux and inventor of the fearful wooden cages in one of which the prisoner ,dubourg died at ,mont ,st ,michel4 ,in most of the windows there is old and richly coloured glass2 those in the chancel have stronger tones1 but they all transform the shafts of light into gorgeous rainbow effects which stand out in wonderful contrast to the delicate1 creamy white of the stone-work4 ,pale blue banners are suspended in the chancel1 and the groining above is coloured on each side of the bosses for a short distance1 so that as one looks up the great sweep of the nave1 the banners and the brilliant fifteenth century glass appear as vivid patches of colour beyond the uniform1 creamy grey on either side4 ,the ,norman towers at the west end of the cathedral are completely hidden in the mask of classical work planted on top of the older stone-work in the sixteenth century1 and more recent restoration has altered some of the other features of the exterior4 ,at the present day the process of restoration still goes on1 but the faults of our grandfathers fortunately are not repeated4 ,leaving the ,place ,parvis by the ,rue de l',horloge you come to the great open space in front of the ,hotel de ,ville and the theatre with the museum on the right1 in which there are several ,roman remains discovered at ,vieil-,evreux1 among them being a bronze statue of ,jupiter ,stator4 ,on the opposite side of the ,place stands the beautiful town belfry built at the end of the fifteenth century4 ,there was an earlier one before that time1 but ,i do not know whether it had been destroyed during the wars with the ,english1 or whether the people of ,evreux merely raised the present graceful tower in place of the older one with a view to beautifying the town4 ,the bell1 which was cast in #adjf may have hung in the former structure1 and there is some fascination in hearing its notes when one realises how these same sound waves have fallen on the ears of the long procession of players who have performed their parts within its hearing4 ,a branch of the ,iton runs past the foot of the tower in canal fashion2 it is backed by old houses and crossed by many a bridge1 and helps to build up a suitable foreground to the beautiful old belfry1 which seems to look across to the brand new ,hotel de ,ville with an injured expression4 ,from the ,boulevard ,chambaudouin there is a good view of one side of the ,bishop's palace which lies on the south side of the cathedral1 and is joined to it by a gallery and the remains of the cloister4 ,the walls are strongly fortified1 and in front of them runs a branch of one of the canals of the ,iton1 that must have originally served as a moat4 ,out towards the long straight avenue that runs out of the town in the direction of ,caen1 there may be seen the ,norman church of ,st ,taurin4 ,it is all that is left of the ,benedictine abbey that once stood here4 ,many people who explore this interesting church fail to see the silver-gilt reliquary of the twelfth century that is shown to visitors who make the necessary inquiries4 ,the richness of its enamels and the elaborate ornamentation studded with imitation gems that have replaced the real ones1 makes this casket almost unique4 ,many scenes from the life of the saint are shown in the windows of the choir of the church4 ,they are really most interesting1 and the glass is very beautiful4 ,the south door must have been crowded with the most elaborate ornament1 but the delicately carved stone-work has been hacked away and the thin pillars replaced by crude1 uncarved chunks of stone4 ,there is ,norman arcading outside the north transept as well as just above the floor in the north aisle4 ,st ,taurin is a somewhat dilapidated and cob-webby church1 but it is certainly one of the interesting features of ,evreux4 ,instead of keeping on the road to ,caen after reaching the end of the great avenue just mentioned1 we turn towards the south and soon enter pretty pastoral scenery4 ,the cottages are almost in every instance thatched1 with ridges plastered over with a kind of cobb mud4 ,in the cracks in this curious ridging1 grass seeds and all sorts of wild flowers are soon deposited1 so that upon the roof of nearly every cottage there is a luxuriant growth of grass and flowers4 ,in some cases yellow irises alone ornament the roofs1 and they frequently grow on the tops of the walls that are treated in a similar fashion4 ,a few miles out of ,evreux you pass a hamlet with a quaint little church built right upon the roadway with no churchyard or wall of any description4 ,a few broken gravestones of quite recent date litter the narrow1 dusty space between the north side of the church and the roadway4 ,inside there is an untidy aspect to everything1 but there are some windows containing very fine thirteenth century glass which the genial old cur shows with great delight1 for it is said that they were intended for the cathedral at ,evreux1 but by some chance remained in this obscure hamlet4 ,the cur also points out the damage done to the windows by socialistes at a recent date4 ,by the roadside towards ,conches1 there are magpies everywhere1 punctuated by yellow hammers and nightingales4 ,the cottages have thatch of a very deep brown colour over the hipped roofs1 closely resembling those in the out-of-the-way parts of ,sussex4 ,it a beautiful country1 and the delightfully situated town of ,conches at the edge of its forest is well matched with its surroundings4 ,in the middle of the day the inhabitants seem to entirely disappear from the sunny street1 and everything has a placid and reposeful appearance as though the place revelled in its quaintness4 ,backed by the dense masses of forest there is a sloping green where an avenue of great chestnuts tower above the long1 low roof of the timber-framed cattle shelter4 ,on the highest part of the hill stands the castle1 whose round1 central tower shows above the trees that grow thickly on the slopes of the hill4 ,close to the castle is the graceful church1 and beyond are the clustered roofs of the houses4 ,a viaduct runs full tilt against the hill nearly beneath the church1 and then the railway pierces the hill on its way towards ,bernay4 ,the tall spire of the church of ,st ,foy is comparatively new1 for the whole structure was rebuilt in the fifteenth century1 but its stained glass is of exceptional interest4 ,its richness of colour and the interest of the subjects indicate some unusually gifted artist1 and one is not surprised to discover that they were designed by ,aldegrevers1 who was trained by that great master ,albrecht ,dyrer4 ,altogether there are twenty-one of these beautiful windows4 ,seven occupy the eastern end of the apse and give scenes taken from the life of ,st ,foy4 ,you can reach the castle by passing through the quaint archway of the ,hotel de ,ville1 and then passing through the shady public garden you plunge into the dry moat that surrounds the fortified mound4 ,there is not very much to see but what appears in a distant view of the town1 and in many ways the outside groupings of the worn ruin and the church roofs and spire above the houses are better than the scenes in the town itself4 ,the ,hotel ,croix ,blanche is a pleasant little house for dejeuner4 ,everything is extremely simple and typical of the family methods of the small ,french inn1 where excellent cooking goes along with many primitive usages4 ,the cool salle-a-manger is reached through the general living-room and kitchen1 which is largely filled with the table where you may see the proprietor and his family partaking of their own meals4 ,there seems no room to cook anything at all1 and yet when you are seated in the next room the daughter of the family1 an attractive and neatly dressed girl1 gracefully serves the most admirable courses1 worthy and perhaps better than what one may expect to obtain in the best hotel in ,rouen4 ,there is a road that passes right through the forest of ,conches towards ,rugles1 but that must be left for another occasion if we are to see anything of the charms of ,beaumont-le-,roger1 the perfectly situated little town that lies half-way between ,conches and ,bernay4 ,the long street of the town containing some very charming peeps as you go towards the church is really a terrace on the limestone hills that rises behind the houses on the right1 and falls steeply on the left4 ,spaces between the houses and narrow turnings give glimpses of the rich green country down below4 ,from the lower level you see the rocky ridge above clothed in a profusion of trees4 ,the most perfect picture in the town is from the river bank just by the bridge4 ,in the foreground is the mirror-like stream that gives its own rendering of the scene that is built up above it4 ,leaning upon a parapet of the bridge is a man with a rod who is causing tragedies in the life that teems beneath the glassy surface4 ,beyond the bridge appear some quaint red roofs with one tower-like house with an overhanging upper storey4 ,higher up comes the precipitous hill divided into terraces by the huge walls that surround the abbey buildings1 and still higher1 but much below the highest part of the hill1 are the picturesque ruins of the abbey4 ,on the summit of the ridge dominating all are the insignificant remains of the castle built by ,roger la ,barbe1 whose name survives in that of the town4 ,his family were the founders of the abbey that flourished for several centuries1 but finally1 about a hundred years ago1 the buildings were converted to the uses of a factory6 ,spinning and weaving might have still been going on but for a big fire that destroyed the whole place4 ,there was1 however1 a considerably more complete series of buildings left than we can see to-day1 but scarcely more than fifty years ago the place was largely demolished for building materials4 ,the view from the river ,rille is therefore the best the ruin can boast1 for seen from that point the arches rise up against the green background as a stately ruin1 and the tangled mass of weeds and debris are invisible4 ,the entrance is most inviting4 ,it is down at the foot of the cliff1 and the archway with the steep ascent inside suggests all sorts of delights beyond1 as it stands there just by the main street of the town4 ,i was sorry afterwards1 that ,i had accepted that hospitality1 for with the exception of a group of merry children playing in an orchard and some big caves hollowed out of the foot of the cliff that rises still higher1 ,i saw nothing but a jungle of nettles4 ,this warning should not1 however1 suggest that ,beaumont-le-,roger is a poor place to visit4 ,not only is it a charming1 ,i may say a fascinating spot to visit1 but it is also a place in which to stay1 for the longer you remain there the less do you like the idea of leaving4 ,the church of ,st ,nicholas standing in the main street where it becomes much wider and forms a small ,place1 is a beautiful old building whose mellow colours on stone-work and tiles glow vividly on a sunny afternoon4 ,there is a great stone wall forming the side of the rocky platform that supports the building and the entrance is by steps that lead up to the west end4 ,the tower belongs to the flamboyant period and high up on its parapet you may see a small statue of ,regulus who does duty as a 8,jack-smite-the-clock40 ,just by the porch there leans against a wall a most ponderous grave slab which was made for the tomb of ,jehan du ,moustier a soldier of the fourteenth century who fought for that ,charles of ,navarre who was surnamed 8,the ,bad40 ,the classic additions to the western part of the church seem strangely out of sympathy with the gargoyles overhead and the thirteenth century arcades of the nave1 but this mixing up of styles is really more incongruous in description than in reality4 ,when you have decided to leave ,beaumont-le-,roger and have passed across the old bridge and out into the well-watered plain1 the position of the little town suggests that of the village of ,pulborough in ,sussex1 where a road goes downhill to a bridge and then crosses the rich meadowland where the river ,arun winds among the pastures in just the same fashion as the ,rille4 ,at a bend in the road to ,bernay stands the village of ,serquigny4 ,it is just at the edge of the forest of ,beaumont which we have been skirting1 and besides having a church partially belonging to the twelfth century it has traces of a ,roman ,camp4 ,all the rest of the way to ,bernay the road follows the railway and the river ,charentonne until the long--and when you are looking out for the hotel--seemingly endless street of ,bernay is reached4 ,after the wonderful combination of charms that are flaunted by ,beaumont-le-,roger it is possible to grumble at the plainer features of ,bernay1 but there is really no reason to hurry out of the town for there is much quaint architecture to be seen1 and near the ,hotel du ,lion d',or there is a house built right over the street resting on solid wooden posts4 ,but more interesting than the domestic architecture are the remains of the abbey founded by ,judith of ,brittany very early in the eleventh century for it is probably one of the oldest ,romanesque remains in ,normandy4 ,the church is cut up into various rooms and shops at the choir end1 and there has been much indiscriminate ill-treatment of the ancient stone-work4 ,much of the structure1 including the plain round arches and square columns1 is of the very earliest ,norman period1 having been built in the first half of the eleventh century1 but in later times classic ornament was added to the work of those shadowy times when the kingdom of ,normandy had not long been established4 ,so much alteration in the styles of decoration has taken place in the building that it is possible to be certain of the date of only some portions of the structure4 ,the ,hotel de ,ville now occupies part of the abbey buildings4 ,at the eastern side of the town stands ,st ,croix1 a fifteenth century church with a most spacious interior4 ,there is much beautiful glass dating from three hundred years ago in the windows of the nave and transepts1 but perhaps the feature which will be remembered most when other impressions have vanished1 will be the finely carved statues belonging to the fourteenth century which were brought here from the ,abbey of ,bec4 ,the south transept contains a monument to ,guillaume ,arvilarensis1 an abbot of ,bec who died in #adah4 ,upon the great altar which is believed to have been brought from the ,abbey of ,bec1 there are eight marble columns surrounding a small white marble figure of the ,child ,jesus4 ,another church at ,bernay is that of ,notre ,dame de la ,couture4 ,it has much fourteenth century work and behind the high altar there are five chapels1 the centre one containing a copy of the 8sacred image0 of ,notre ,dame which stands by the column immediately to the right of the entrance4 ,much more could be said of these three churches with their various styles of architecture extending from the very earliest period down to the classic work of the seventeenth century4 ,but this is not the place for intricate descriptions of architectural detail which are chiefly useful in books which are intended for carrying from place to place4 ,,chapter ,v ,concerning ,lisieux and the ,romantic ,town of ,falaise ,lisieux is so rich in the curious timber-framed houses of the middle and later ages that there are some examples actually visible immediately outside the railway station whereas in most cases one usually finds an aggregation of uninteresting modern buildings4 ,as you go towards the centre of the town the old houses1 which have only been dotted about here and there1 join hands and form whole streets of the most romantic and almost stage-like picturesqueness4 ,the narrow street illustrated here is the ,rue aux ,fevres4 ,its houses are astonishingly fine1 and it forms--especially in the evening--a background suitable for any of the stirring scenes that took place in such grand old towns as ,lisieux in medieval days4 ,this street is however1 only one of several that reek of history4 ,in the ,rue des ,boucheries and in the ,grande ,rue there are lovely overhanging gables and curious timber-framing that is now at any angle but what was originally intended4 ,there is really so much individual quaintness in these houses that they deserve infinitely more than the scurry past them which so frequently is all their attractions obtain4 ,the narrowness and fustiness of the ,rue aux ,fevres certainly hinder you from spending much time in examining the houses but there are two which deserve a few minutes' individual attention4 ,one which has a very wide gable and the upper floors boarded is believed to be of very great antiquity1 dating from as early a period as the thirteenth century4 ,it is numbered thirty-three1 and must not be confused with the richly ornamented ,manoir de ,francois ,i4 ,the timber work of this house1 especially of the two lower floors is covered with elaborate carving including curious animals and quaint little figures1 and also the salamander of the royal house4 ,for this reason the photographs sold in the shops label the house 8,manoir de la ,salamandre40 ,the place is now fast going to ruin--a most pitiable sight and ,i for one1 would prefer to see the place restored rather than it should be allowed to become so hopelessly dilapidated and rotten that the question of its preservation should come to be considered lightly4 ,if the town authorities of ,lisieux chose to do so1 they could encourage the townsfolk to enrich many of their streets by a judicious flaking off of the plaster which in so many cases tries to hide all the pleasant features of houses that have seen at least three centuries1 but this sort of work when in the hands of only partially educated folk is liable to produce a worse state of affairs than if things had been left untouched4 ,an example of what over-restoration can do1 may be seen when we reach the beautiful old inn at ,dives4 ,the two churches of ,lisieux are well fitted to their surroundings1 and although ,st ,jacques has no graceful tower or fleche1 the quaintness of its shingled belfry makes up for the lack of the more stately towers of ,st ,pierre4 ,where the stone-work has stopped short the buttresses are roofed with the quaintest semi-circular caps1 and over the clock there are two more odd-looking pepper boxes perched upon the steep slope that projects from the square belfry4 ,over all there is a low pyramidal roof1 stained with orange lichen and making a great contrast in colour to the weather-beaten stone-work down below4 ,there are small patches of tiled roofing to the buttresses at the western ends of the aisles and these also add colour to this picturesque building4 ,the great double flight of stone steps which lead to the imposing western door have balustrades filled with flamboyant tracery1 but although the church is built up in this way1 the floor in the interior is not level1 for it slopes gently up towards the east4 ,the building was commenced during the reign of ,louis ,,xii4 and not finished until nearly the end of the reign of ,francois ,i4 ,it is therefore coeval with that richly carved house in the ,rue aux ,fevres4 ,along the sides of the church there project a double row of thirsty-looking gargoyles--the upper ones having their shoulders supported by the mass of masonry supporting the flying buttresses4 ,the interior is richer than the exterior1 and you may see on some of the pillars remains of sixteenth century paintings4 ,a picture dating from #afha occupies a position in the chapel of ,st ,ursin in the south aisle2 it shows the relic of the saint being brought to ,lisieux in #ajee4 ,the wide and sunny ,place ,thiers is dominated by the great church of ,st ,pierre1 which was left practically in its present form in the year #abcc4 ,the first church was begun some years before the conquest of ,england but about a century later it suffered the fate of ,bayeux being burnt down in #aacf4 ,it was reconstructed soon afterwards and shows to-day the first period of ,gothic architecture that became prevalent in ,normandy4 ,only the north tower dates from this period1 the other one had to be rebuilt during the reign of ,henri ,,iii4 and the spire only made its appearance in the seventeenth century4 ,the ,lady ,chapel is of particular interest owing to the statement that it was built by that ,bishop of ,beauvais who took such a prominent part in the trial of ,joan of ,arc4 ,the main arches over the big west door are now bare of carving or ornament and the ,hotel de ,ville is built right up against the north-west corner1 but despite this ,st ,pierre has the most imposing and stately appearance1 and there are many features such as the curious turrets of the south transept that impress themselves on the memory more than some of the other churches we have seen4 ,lisieux is one of those cheerful towns that appear always clean and bright under the dullest skies1 so that when the sun shines every view seems freshly painted and blazing with colour4 ,the freshness of the atmosphere1 too1 is seldom tainted with those peculiar odours that some ,french towns produce with such enormous prodigality1 and ,lisieux may therefore claim a further point in its favour4 ,it is generally a wide1 hedgeless stretch of country that lies between ,lisieux and ,falaise1 but for the first ten miles there are big farm-houses with timber-framed barns and many orchards bearing a profusion of blossom near the roadside4 ,a small farm perched above the road and quite out of sight1 invites the thirsty passer-by to turn aside up a steep path to partake of cider or coffee4 ,it is a simple1 almost bare room where the refreshment is served1 but its quaintness and shadowy coolness are most refreshing4 ,the fireplace has an open hearth with a wood fire which can soon be blown into a blaze by the big bellows that hang against the chimney corner4 ,a table by one of the windows is generally occupied in her spare moments by the farmer's pretty daughter who puts aside her knitting to fetch the cider or to blow up the fire for coffee4 ,they are a most genial family and seem to find infinite delight in plying ,english folk with questions for ,i imagine that not many find their way to this sequestered corner among waving trees and lovely orchards4 ,a sudden descent before reaching ,st ,pierre-sur-,dives gives a great view over the level country below where everything is brilliantly green and garden-like4 ,the village first shows its imposing church through the trees of a straight avenue leading towards the village which also possesses a fine ,market ,hall that must be at least six hundred years old4 ,the church is now undergoing restoration externally1 but by dodging the falling cement dust you may go inside1 perhaps to be disappointed that there is not more of the ,norman work that has been noticed in the southern tower that rises above the entrance4 ,the village1 or it should really be called a small town1 for its population is over a thousand1 has much in it that is attractive and quaint1 and it might gain more attention if everyone who passes through its streets were not hurrying forward to ,falaise4 ,the country now becomes a great plain1 hedgeless1 and at times almost featureless4 ,the sun in the afternoon throws the shadows of the roadside trees at right angles1 so that the road becomes divided into accurate squares by the thin lines of shadow4 ,the straight run from ,st ,pierre is broken where the road crosses the ,dives4 ,it is a pretty spot with a farm1 a manor-house and a washing place for women just below the bridge1 and then follows more open road and more interminable perspectives cutting through the open plain until1 with considerable satisfaction1 the great thoroughfare from ,caen is joined and soon afterwards a glimpse of the castle greets us as we enter ,falaise4 ,there is something peculiarly fascinating about ,falaise1 for it combines many of the features that are sparingly distributed in other towns4 ,its position on a hill with deep valleys on all sides1 its romantic castle1 the two beautiful churches and the splendid thirteenth century gateway1 form the best remembered attractions1 but beyond these there are the hundred and one pretty groupings of the cottages that crowd both banks of the little river ,ante down in the valley under the awe-inspiring castle4 ,even then1 no mention has been made of the ancient fronts that greet one in many of the streets1 and the charms of some of the sudden openings between the houses that give views of the steep1 wooded hollows that almost touch the main street1 have been slighted4 ,a huge cube of solid masonry with a great cylindrical tower alongside perched upon a mass of rock precipitous on two sides is the distant view of the castle1 and coming closer1 although you can see the buttresses that spring from the rocky foundations1 the description still holds good4 ,you should see the fortress in the twilight with a golden suffusion in the sky and strange1 purplish shadows on the castle walls4 ,it then has much the appearance of one of those unassailable strongholds where a beautiful princess is lying in captivity waiting for a chivalrous knight who with a band of faithful men will attempt to scale the inaccessible walls4 ,under some skies1 the castle assumes the character of one of ,turner's impressions1 half real and half imaginary1 and under no skies does this most formidable relic of feudal days ever lose its grand and awesome aspect4 ,the entrance is through a gateway1 the ,porte ,st4 ,nicolas1 which was built in the thirteenth century4 ,there you are taken in hand by a pleasant concierge who will lead you first of all to the ,tour ,la ,reine1 where he will point out a great breach in the wall made by ,henri ,,iv4 when he successfully assaulted the castle after a bombardment with his artillery which he had kept up for a week4 ,this was in #aehi1 and since then no other fighting has taken place round these grand old walls4 ,the ivy that clings to the ruins and the avenue of limes that leads up to the great keep are full of jackdaws which wheel round the rock in great flights4 ,you have a close view of the great ,tour ,talbot1 and then pass through a small doorway in the northern face of the citadel4 ,inside1 the appearance of the walls reveals the restoration which has taken place within recent years4 ,but this1 fortunately1 does not detract to any serious extent from the interest of the whole place4 ,up on the ramparts there are fine views over the surrounding country1 and immediately beneath the precipice below nestle the picturesque1 browny-red roofs of the lower part of the town4 ,just at the foot of the castle rock there is still to be seen a tannery which is of rather unusual interest in connection with the story of how ,robert le ,diable was first struck by the charms of ,arlette1 the beautiful daughter of a tanner4 ,the ,norman duke was supposed to have been looking over the battlements when he saw this girl washing clothes in the river1 and we are told that owing to the warmth of the day she had drawn up her dress1 so that her feet1 which are spoken of as being particularly beautiful were revealed to his admiring gaze4 ,arlette afterwards became the mother of ,william the ,conqueror1 and the room is pointed out in the south-west corner of the keep in which we are asked to believe that the ,conqueror of ,england was born4 ,it is1 however1 unfortunate for the legend that archaeologists do not allow such an early date for the present castle1 and thus we are not even allowed to associate these ramparts with the legend just mentioned4 ,it must have been a strong building that preceded this present structure1 for during the eleventh century ,william the ,norman was often obliged to retreat for safety to his impregnable birthplace4 ,the ,tour ,talbot has below its lowest floor what seems to be a dungeon1 but it is said that prisoners were not kept here1 the place being used merely for storing food4 ,the gloomy chamber1 however1 is generally called an oubliette4 ,above1 there are other floors1 the top one having been used by the governor of the castle4 ,in the thickness of the wall there is a deep well which now contains no water4 ,one of the rooms in the keep is pointed out as that in which ,prince ,arthur was kept in confinement1 but although it is known that the unfortunate youth was imprisoned in this castle1 the selection of the room seems to be somewhat arbitrary4 ,in #adbh the news of ,joan of ,arc's continued successes was brought to the ,earl of ,salisbury who was then governor of ,falaise ,castle1 and it was from here that he started with an army to endeavour to stop that triumphal progress4 ,in #adej when the ,french completely overcame the numerous ,english garrisons in the towns of ,normandy1 ,falaise with its magnificent position held out for some time4 ,the defenders sallied out from the walls of the town but were forced back again1 and notwithstanding their courage1 the town capitulated to the ,duke of ,alenon's army at almost the same time as ,avranches and a dozen other strongly defended towns4 ,we can picture to ourselves the men in glinting head-pieces sallying from the splendid old gateway known as the ,port des ,cordeliers4 ,it has not lost its formidable appearance even to-day1 though as you look through the archway the scene is quiet enough1 and the steep flight of outside steps leads up to scenes of quiet domestic life4 ,the windows overlook the narrow valley beneath where the humble roofs of the cottages jostle one another for space4 ,there are many people who visit ,falaise who never have the curiosity to explore this unusually pleasing part of the town4 ,in the spring when the lilac bushes add their brilliant colour to the russet brown tiles and soft creams of the stone-work1 there are pictures on every side4 ,looking in the cottages you may see1 generally within a few feet of the door1 one of those ingenious weaving machines that are worked with a treadle1 and take up scarcely any space at all4 ,if you ask permission1 the cottagers have not the slightest objection to allowing you to watch them at their work1 and when one sees how rapidly great lengths of striped material grow under the revolving metal framework1 you wonder that ,falaise is not able to supply the demands of the whole republic for this class of material4 ,just by the ,hotel de ,ville and the church of ,la ,trinit stands the imposing statue of ,william the ,conqueror4 ,he is mounted on the enormous war-horse of the period and the whole effect is strong and spirited4 ,the most notable feature of the exterior of the church of ,la ,trinit is the curious passage-way that goes underneath the ,lady ,chapel behind the ,high ,altar4 ,the whole of the exterior is covered with rich carving1 crocketed finials1 innumerable gargoyles and the usual enriched mouldings of ,gothic architecture4 ,the charm of the interior is heightened if one enters in the twilight when vespers are proceeding4 ,there is just sufficient light to show up the tracery of the windows and the massive pointed arches in the choir4 ,a few candles burn by the altar beyond the dark mass of figures forming the congregation4 ,a ,gregorian chant fills the building with its solemn tones and the smoke of a swinging censer ascends in the shadowy chancel4 ,then1 as the service proceeds1 one candle above the altar seems to suddenly ignite the next1 and a line of fire travels all over the great erection surrounding the figure of the ,virgin1 leaving in its trail a blaze of countless candles that throw out the details of the architecture in strong relief4 ,soon the collection is made1 and as the priest passes round the metal dish1 he is followed by the cocked-hatted official whose appearance is so surprising to those who are not familiar with ,french churches4 ,as the priest passes the dish to each row the official brings his metal-headed staff down upon the pavement with a noisy bang that is calculated to startle the unwary into dropping their money anywhere else than in the plate4 ,in time the bell rings beside the altar1 and the priest robed in white and gold elevates the host before the kneeling congregation4 ,once more the man in the cocked hat becomes prominent as he steps into the open space between the transepts and tolls the big bell in the tower above4 ,then a smaller and much more cheerful bell is rung1 and fearing the arrival of another collecting priest we slip out of the swinging doors into the twilight that has now almost been swallowed up in the gathering darkness4 ,the consecration of the splendid ,norman church of ,st ,gervais took place in the presence of ,henry ,i4 but there is nothing particularly ,english in any part of the exterior4 ,the central tower has four tall and deeply recessed arches 7the middle ones contain windows7 on each side1 giving a rich arcaded appearance4 ,above1 rises a tall pointed roof ornamented with four odd-looking dormers near the apex4 ,every one remarks on their similarity to dovecots and one almost imagines that they must have been built as a place of shelter on stormy days for the great gilded cock that forms the weather vane4 ,the nave is still ,norman on the south side1 plain round-headed windows lighting the clerestory1 but the aisles were rebuilt in the flamboyant period and present a rich mass of ornament in contrast to the unadorned masonry of the nave4 ,the western end until lately had to endure the indignity of having its wall surfaces largely hidden by shops and houses4 ,these have now disappeared1 but the stone-work has not been restored1 and you may still see a section of the interior of the house that formerly used the west end of the south aisle as one of its walls4 ,you can see where the staircases went1 and you may notice also how wantonly these domestic builders cut away the buttresses and architectural enrichments to suit the convenience of their own needs4 ,as you go from the market-place along the street that runs from ,st ,gervais to the suburb of ,guibray1 the shops on the left are exchanged for a low wall over which you see deep1 grassy hollows that come right up to the edge of the street4 ,two fine houses1 white-shuttered and having the usual vacant appearance1 stand on steep slopes surrounded by great cedars of ,lebanon and a copper beech4 ,the church of ,guibray is chiefly ,norman--it is very white inside and there is some round-headed arcading in the aisles4 ,the clustered columns of the nave have simple1 pointed arches1 and there is a carved marble altarpiece showing angels supporting the ,virgin who is gazing upwards4 ,the aisles of the chancel are restored ,norman1 and the stone-work is bright green just above the floor through the dampness that seems to have defied the efforts of the restorers4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,from ,argentan to ,avranches ,between tall poplars whose stems are splotched with grey lichen and whose feet are grown over with browny-green moss1 runs the road from ,falaise to ,argentan1 straight and white1 with scarcely more than the slightest bend1 for the whole eight miles4 ,it is typical of the roads in this part of the country and beyond the large stone four or five kilometres outside ,falaise1 marking the boundary between ,calvados and ,orne1 and the railway which one passes soon afterwards1 there is nothing to break the undulating monotony of the boundless plain4 ,we cannot all hope to have this somewhat dull stretch of country relieved by any exciting event1 but ,i can remember one spring afternoon being overtaken by two mounted gendarmes in blue uniforms1 galloping for their very lives4 ,i looked down the road into the cloud of dust raised by the horses' hoofs1 but the country on all sides lay calm and deserted1 and ,i was left in doubt as to the reason for this astonishing haste4 ,half an hour afterwards a group of people appeared in the distance1 and on approaching closer1 they proved to be the two gendarmes leading their blown horses as they walked beside a picturesque group of apparently simple peasants1 the three men wearing the typical soft1 baggy cap and blue smock of the country folk4 ,the little group had a gloomy aspect1 which was explained when ,i noticed that the peasants were joined together by a bright steel chain4 ,evidently something was very much amiss with one of the peaceful villages lying near the road4 ,after a time1 at the end of the long white perspective1 appear the towers of the great church of ,st ,germain that dominate the town where ,henry ,,ii4 was staying when he made that rash exclamation concerning his 8turbulent priest40 ,it was from ,argentan that those four knights set out for ,england and ,canterbury to carry out the deed1 for which ,henry lay in ashes for five weeks in this very place4 ,but there is little at the present time at ,argentan to remind one that it is in any way associated with the murder of ,becket4 ,the castle that now exists is occupied by the ,courts of ,justice and was partially built in the ,renaissance period4 ,standing close to it1 is an exceedingly tall building with a great gable that suggests an ecclesiastical origin1 and on looking a little closer one soon discovers blocked up ,gothic windows and others from which the tracery has been hacked4 ,this was the chapel of the castle which has been so completely robbed of its sanctity that it is now cut up into small lodgings1 and in one of its diminutive shops1 picture post-cards of the town are sold4 ,the ruins of the old castle are not very conspicuous1 for in the seventeenth century the great keep was demolished4 ,there is still a fairly noticeable round tower--the ,tour ,marguerite--which has a pointed roof above its corbels1 or perhaps they should be called machicolations4 ,in the ,place ,henri ,,iv4 stands a prominent building that projects over the pavement supported by massive pointed arches1 and with this building in the foreground there is one of the best views of ,st ,germain that one can find in the town4 ,just before coming to the clock that is suspended over the road by the porch of the church1 there is a butcher's shop at the street corner that has a piece of oak carving preserved on account of its interest while the rest of the building has been made featureless with even plaster4 ,the carving shows ,adam and ,eve standing on either side of a formal ,tree of ,life1 and the butcher1 who is pleased to find a stranger who notices this little curiosity1 tells him with great pride that his house dates from the fifteenth century4 ,the porch of ,st ,germain is richly ornamented1 but it takes a second place to the south porch of the church of ,notre ,dame at ,louviers and may perhaps seem scarcely worthy of comment after ,st ,maclou at ,rouen4 ,the structure as a whole was commenced in #adbd1 and the last portion of the work only dates from the middle of the seventeenth century4 ,the vaulting of the nave has a very new and well-kept appearance and the side altars1 in contrast to so many of even the large churches1 are almost dignified in their somewhat restrained and classic style4 ,the high altar is a stupendous erection of two storeys with ,corinthian pillars4 ,nine long1 white1 pendant banners are conspicuous on the walls of the chancel4 ,the great altars and the lesser ones that crowd the side chapels are subject to the accumulation of dirt as everything else in buildings sacred or lay1 and at certain times of the day1 a woman may be seen vigorously flapping the brass candlesticks and countless altar ornaments with a big feather broom4 ,on the north side of the chancel some of the windows have sections of old painted glass1 and in one of them there is part of a ship with men in crow's nests backed by clouds1 a really vigorous colour scheme4 ,keeping to the high ground1 there is to the south of this church an open ,place1 and beyond it there are some large barracks1 where1 on the other side of a low wall may be seen the elaborately prepared steeple-chase for training soldiers to be able to surmount every conceivable form of obstacle4 ,awkward iron railings1 wide ditches1 walls of different composition and varying height are frequently scaled1 and it is practice of this sort that has made the ,french soldier famous for the facility with which he can storm fortifications4 ,the river ,orne finds its way through the lower part of the town and here there are to be found some of the most pleasing bits of antique domestic architecture4 ,one of the quaintest of these built in #afaf is the galleried building illustrated here1 and from a parallel street not many yards off there is a peep of a house that has been built right over the stream which is scarcely less picturesque4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,seventeenth ,,century ,,house ,,at ,,argentan ,the church of ,st ,martin is passed on entering ,argentan from ,falaise4 ,its east end crowds right up against the pavement and it is somewhat unusual to find the entrances at this portion of the building4 ,the stained glass in the choir of ,st ,martin is its most noticeable feature--the pictures showing various scenes in the life of ,christ4 ,as in all ,french towns ,argentan knows how to decorate on fete days4 ,coming out of the darkness of the church in the late twilight on one of these occasions1 ,i discovered that the town had suddenly become festooned with a long perspective of arches stretching right away down the leafy avenue that goes out of the town--to the north in one direction1 and to ,st ,germain in the other4 ,the arches were entirely composed without a single exception of large crimson-red ,chinese lanterns4 ,the effect was astonishingly good1 but despite all the decoration1 the townsfolk seemed determined to preserve the quiet of the ,sabbath1 and although there were crowds everywhere1 the only noise that broke the stillness was that of the steam round-about that had been erected on a triangular patch of grass4 ,the dark crowds of people illuminated by flaring lights stood in perfect quiet as they watched the great noisy mass of moving animals and boats1 occupied almost entirely by children1 keep up its perpetual dazzle and roar4 ,the fair--for there were many side-shows--was certainly quieter than any ,i have witnessed in ,england4 ,a long1 straight road1 poplar-bordered and level1 runs southwards from ,argentan to ,mortre1 a village of no importance except for the fact that one must pass through it if one wishes to visit the beautiful ,chateau d',o4 ,this sixteenth century mansion like so many to be seen in this part of ,france1 is in a somewhat pathetic state of disrepair1 but as far as one may see from the exterior1 it would not require any very great sum to completely restore the broken stone-work and other signs of decay4 ,these1 while perhaps adding to the picturesqueness of the buildings1 do not bring out that aspect of carefully preserved antiquity which is the charm of most of the houses of this period in ,england4 ,the great expanse of water in the moat is very green and covered by large tracts of weed1 but the water is supplied by a spring1 and fish thrive in it4 ,the approach to the chateau across the moat leads to an arched entrance through which you enter the large courtyard overlooked on three sides by the richly ornamented buildings1 the fourth side being only protected from the moat by a low wall4 ,it would be hard to find a more charming spot than this with its views across the moat to the gardens beyond1 backed by great masses of foliage4 ,going on past ,mortre the main road will bring one after about eight miles to the old town of ,alenon1 which has been famed ever since the time of ,louis ,,xiv4 for the lace which is even at the present day worked in the villages of this neighbourhood1 more especially at the hamlet of ,damigny4 ,the cottagers use pure linen thread which is worth the almost incredible sum of #ajj per lb4 ,they work on parchment from patterns which are supplied by the merchants in ,alenon4 ,the women go on from early morning until the light fails1 and earn something about a shilling per day6 ,the castle of ,alenon1 built by ,henry ,i4 in the twelfth century1 was pulled down with the exception of the keep1 by the order of ,henry of ,navarre1 the famous contemporary of ,queen ,elizabeth4 ,this keep is still in existence1 and is now used as a prison4 ,near it is the ,palais de ,justice1 standing where the other buildings were situated4 ,the west porch of the church of ,notre ,dame is richly ornamented with elaborate canopies1 here and there with statues4 ,one of these represents ,st ,john1 and it will be seen that he is standing with his face towards the church4 ,a legend states that this position was taken by the statue when the church was being ransacked by ,protestants in the sixteenth century4 ,another road from ,argentan is the great route nationale that runs in a fairly direct line to ,granville4 ,as one rides out of the town there is a pretty view on looking back1 of ,st ,germain standing on the slight eminence above the ,orne4 ,keeping along by that river the road touches it again at the little town of ,ecouche4 ,the old market hall standing on massive pillars1 is the most attractive feature of the place4 ,its old tiled roof and half-timbered upper storey remind one forcibly of some of those fortunate old towns in ,england that have preserved this feature4 ,the church has lost its original nave1 and instead1 there is a curious barn-like structure1 built evidently with a view to economy1 being scarcely more than half the height of the original3 the vacant space has been very roughly filled up1 and the numerous holes and crevices support a fine growth of weeds1 and a strong young tree has also taken root in the ramshackle stone work4 ,from the central tower1 gargoyles grin above the elaborately carved buttresses and finials in remarkable contrast to the jerry-built addition4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,old ,,market ,,house ,,at ,,ecouche ,passing through rich country1 you leave the valley of the ,orne1 and on both sides of the road are spread wide and fascinating views over the orchard-clad country that disappears in the distant blue of the horizon4 ,wonderful patches of shadow1 when large clouds are flying over the heavens1 fall on this great tract of country and while in dull weather it may seem a little monotonous1 in days of sunshine and shade it is full of a haunting beauty that is most remarkable4 ,about seven miles from ,argentan one passes ,fromentelle1 a quiet hamlet full of thatched cottages and curious weathercocks1 and then five miles further on1 having descended into the valley of the little river ,rouvre1 ,briouze is entered4 ,here there is a wide and very extensive market-place with another quaint little structure1 smaller than the one at ,ecouche1 but having a curious bell-turret in the centre of the roof4 ,on ,monday1 which is market day1 ,briouze presents a most busy scene1 and there are plenty of opportunities of studying the genial looking country farmers1 their wives1 and the large carts in which they drive from the farms4 ,in the midst of the booths1 you may see a bronze statue commemorating the 8,sapeurs1 pompiers0 and others of this little place who fell in #ahed4 ,leaving the main road which goes on to ,flers1 we may take the road to ,domfront1 which passes through three pretty villages and much pleasant country4 ,bellau1 the first village1 is full of quaint houses and charming old-world scenes4 ,the church is right in the middle on an open space without an enclosure of any description4 ,standing with one's back to this building1 there is a pretty view down the road leading to the south1 a patch of blue distance appearing in the opening between the old gables4 ,to all those who may wish to either paint or photograph this charming scene1 ,i would recommend avoiding the hour in the afternoon when the children come out of school4 ,i was commencing a drawing one sunny afternoon--it must have been about three o'clock--and the place seemed almost deserted4 ,indeed1 ,i had been looking for a country group of peasants to fill the great white space of sunny road1 when in twos and threes1 the juvenile population flooded out towards me4 ,for some reason which ,i could not altogether fathom1 the boys arranged themselves in a long1 regular line1 occupying exactly one half of the view1 the remaining space being filled by an equally long line of little girls4 ,all my efforts failed to induce the children to break up the arrangement they had made4 ,they merely altered their formation by advancing three or four paces nearer with almost military precision4 ,they were still standing in their unbroken rows when ,i left the village4 ,passing a curious roadside cross which bears the date #agda and a long ,latin inscription splashed over with lichen1 one arrives at ,la ,ferriere aux ,etangs1 a quaint village with a narrow and steep street containing one conspicuously old1 timber-framed house4 ,but it is scarcely necessary to point out individual cottages in this part of ,normandy1 for wherever one looks1 the cottages are covered with thick1 purply-grey thatch1 and the walls below are of grey wooden framework1 filled in with plaster1 generally coloured a creamy-white4 ,when there are deep shadows under the eaves and the fruit trees in blossom stand out against the dark thatch1 one can easily understand how captivating is the rural charm of this part of ,normandy4 ,gradually the road ascends1 but no great views are apparent1 although one is right above the beautiful valley of the ,varennes1 until quite near to ,domfront4 ,then1 suddenly there appears an enormous stretch of slightly undulating country to the south and west4 ,as far as one can see1 the whole land seems to be covered by one vast forest4 ,but though part of this is real forest-land1 much of it is composed of orchards and hedgerow trees1 which are planted so closely together that1 at a short distance1 they assume the aspect of close-growing woods4 ,the first impression of the great stretch of forest-land does not lose its striking aspect1 even when one has explored the whole of the town4 ,the road that brings one into the old town runs along a ridge and after passing one of the remains of the old gateways1 it rises slightly to the highest part of the mass of rock upon which ,domfront is perched4 ,the streets are narrow and parallel to accommodate themselves to the confined space within the walls4 ,at the western end of the granite ridge1 and separated from the town by a narrow defile1 stands all that is left of the castle--a massive but somewhat shapeless ruin4 ,at the western end of the ramparts1 one looks down a precipitous descent to the river ,varennes which has by some unusual agency1 cut itself a channel through the rocky ridge if it did not merely occupy an existing gap4 ,at the present time1 besides the river1 the road and railway pass through the narrow gorge4 ,the castle has one of those sites that appealed irresistibly to the warlike barons of the eleventh century4 ,in this case it was ,william ,i41 ,duc de ,belleme1 who decided to raise a great fortress on this rock that he had every reason to believe would prove an impregnable stronghold1 but although only built in #ajaa1 it was taken by ,duke ,william thirty-seven years later1 being one of the first brilliant feats by which ,william the ,norman showed his strength outside his own ,duchy4 ,a century or more later1 ,henry ,,ii41 when at ,domfront1 received the pope's nuncio by whom a reconciliation was in some degree patched up between the king and ,becket4 ,richard ,i4 is known to have been at the castle at various times4 ,in the sixteenth century1 a most thrilling siege was conducted during the period when ,catherine de ,mdicis was controlling the throne4 ,a ,royalist force1 numbering some seven or eight thousand horse and foot1 surrounded this formidable rock which was defended by the ,calvinist ,comte de ,montgommery4 ,with him was another ,protestant1 ,ambroise le ,balafr1 who had made himself a despot at ,domfront1 but whose career was cut short by one of ,montgommery's men with whom he had quarrelled4 ,they buried him in the little church of ,notre-,dame-sur-l',eau--the wonderfully preserved ,norman building that one sees beneath one's feet when standing on the ramparts of the castle4 ,the body1 however1 was not long allowed to remain there1 for when the royal army surrounded the castle they brought out the corpse and hung it in a conspicuous place to annoy the besieged4 ,like ,corfe ,castle in ,england1 and many other magnificently fortified strongholds1 ,domfront was capable of defence by a mere handful4 ,in this case the original garrison consisted of one hundred and fifty1 and after many desertions the force was reduced to less than fifty4 ,a great breach had been made by the six pieces of artillery placed on the hill on the opposite side of the gorge1 and through this the besiegers endeavoured to enter4 ,the attenuated garrison1 with magnificent courage1 held the breach after a most desperate and bloody fight4 ,but after all this display of courage1 it was found impossible to continue the defence1 for by the next morning there were barely more than a dozen men left to fight4 ,finally ,montgommery was obliged to surrender unconditionally1 and not long afterwards he was executed in ,paris4 ,you may see the breach where this terrible fight took place at the present day1 and as you watch the curious effects of the blue shadows falling among the forest trees that stretch away towards the south1 you may feel that you are looking over almost the same scene that was gazed upon by the notable figures in history who have made their exits and entrances at ,domfront4 ,so little has the church of ,notre-,dame-sur-l',eau altered in its appearance since it was built by the ,duc de ,belleme that1 were he to visit the ruins of his castle1 he would marvel no doubt that the men of the nine centuries which have passed1 should have consistently respected this sturdy little building4 ,there are traces of aisles having existed1 but otherwise the exterior of the church can have seen no change at all in this long period4 ,inside1 however1 the crude whitewash1 the curious assemblage of enormous seventeenth century gravestones that are leant against the walls1 and the terribly jarring almost life-sized crucifix1 all give one that feeling of revulsion that is inseparable from an ill-kept place of worship4 ,on the banks of the river outside1 women may be seen washing clothes2 the sounds of the railway come from the station near by1 and overhead1 rising above the foliage at its feet1 are the broken walls and shattered keep from which we have been gazing4 ,illustration3 ,,one ,,of ,,the ,,towers ,,in ,,the ,,walls ,,of ,,domfront ,the walls of the town1 punctuated by many a quaint tower1 have lost their fearsome aspect owing to the domestic uses to which the towers are palpably devoted4 ,one of them appears in the adjoining illustration1 and it is typical of the half-dozen or so that still rise above the pretty gardens that are perched along the steep ascent4 ,but though ,domfront is full of almost thrilling suggestions of medievalism and the glamour of an ancient town1 yet there is a curious lack of picturesque arrangement1 so that if one were to be led away by the totally uninteresting photographs that may be seen in the shops1 one would miss one of the most unique spots in ,normandy4 ,stretching away towards ,flers1 there is a tract of green country all ups and downs1 but with no distant views except the peep of ,domfront that appears a few miles north of the town4 ,crowning the ridge of the hill is the keep of the castle1 resembling a closed fist with the second finger raised1 and near it1 the bell-cote of the ,palais de ,justice and the spire of the church break the line of the old houses4 ,ferns grow by the roadside on every bank1 but the cottages and farms are below the average of rustic beauty that one soon demands in this part of ,france4 ,flers is a somewhat busy manufacturing town where cotton and thread mills have robbed the place of its charm4 ,at first sight one might imagine the church which bears the date #ahgj was of considerably greater age1 but inside one is almost astounded at the ramshackle galleries1 the white-washed roof of rough boards discoloured by damp1 and the general squalor of the place relieved only by a ponderous altar-piece of classic design4 ,the castle is still in good preservation but although it dates from early ,norman times1 it is chiefly of the sixteenth century4 ,out in the country again1 going westwards1 the cottage industry of weaving is apparent in nearly every cottage one sees4 ,the loud click-a-ti-clack--click-a-ti-clack of the looms can be heard on every side as one passes such villages as ,landisacq4 ,everywhere the scenery is exceedingly ,english1 the steep hillsides are often covered with orchards1 and the delicate green of the apple-trees in spring-time1 half-smothered in pinky-white blossom1 gives the country a garden-like aspect4 ,you may see a man harrowing a field on a sudden slope with a cloud of dust blowing up from the dry light soil1 and you may hear him make that curious hullaballooing by which the peasants direct their horses1 so different from the grunting 8way-yup there0 of the ,english ploughman4 ,coming down a long descent1 a great stretch of country to the north that includes the battlefield of ,tinchebrai comes into view4 ,it is hard to associate the rich green pastures1 smiling orchards1 and peaceful cattle1 with anything so gruesome as a battle between armies led by brothers4 ,but it was near the little town of ,tinchebrai that the two brothers1 ,henry ,i41 ,king of ,england1 and ,robert ,duke of ,normandy fought for the possession of ,normandy4 ,henry's army was greatly superior to that of his brother1 for he had the valuable help of the ,counts of ,conches1 ,breteuil1 ,thorigny1 ,mortagne1 ,montfort1 and two or three others as powerful4 ,but despite all this array1 the battle for some time was very considerably in ,robert's favour1 and it was only when ,henry1 heavily pressed by his brother's brilliant charge1 ordered his reserves to envelop the rear1 that the great battle went in favour of the ,english king4 ,among the prisoners were ,robert and his youthful son ,william1 the ,counts of ,mortain1 ,estouteville1 ,ferrieres1 and a large number of notable men4 ,until his death1 twenty-seven years later1 ,henry kept his brother captive in ,cardiff ,castle1 and it has been said that1 owing to an effort to escape1 ,henry was sufficiently lacking in all humane feelings towards his unfortunate brother1 to have both his eyes put out4 ,it seems a strange thing that exactly sixty years after the battle of ,hastings1 a ,norman king of ,england1 should conquer the country which had belonged to his father4 ,the old church of ,st ,remy at ,tinchebrai1 part of which dates from the twelfth century1 has been abandoned for a new building1 but the inn--the ,hotel ,lion d',or--which bears the date #afad1 is still in use4 ,vire1 however1 is only ten miles off1 and its rich mediaeval architecture urges us forward4 ,standing in the midst of the cobbled street1 there suddenly appears right ahead a splendid thirteenth century gateway--the ,tour de l',horloge--that makes one of the richest pictures in ,normandy4 ,it is not always one can see the curious old tower thrown up by a blaze of gold in the west1 but those who are fortunate enough to see such an effect may get a small suggestion of the scene from the illustration given here4 ,the little painted figure of the ,virgin and ,child stands in a niche just over the arch1 and by it appears the prayer 8,marie protege la ville60 ,one of the charms of ,vire is its cleanliness1 for ,i can recall no unpleasant smells having interfered with the pleasure of exploring the old streets4 ,there is a great market on the northern side of the town1 open and breezy4 ,it slopes clear away without any intervening buildings to a great expanse of green wooded country1 suggestive of some of the views that lie all around one at ,avranches4 ,the dark old church of ,notre ,dame dates mainly from the twelfth century4 ,houses and small shops are built up against it between the buttresses in a familiar1 almost confidential manner1 and on the south side1 the row of gargoyles have an almost humorous appearance4 ,the drips upon the pavement and shops below were evidently a nuisance1 and rain water-spouts1 with plain pipes leading diagonally from them1 have been attached to each grotesque head1 making it seem that the grinning monsters have developed a great and unquenchable thirst4 ,inside1 the church is dark and impressive4 ,there are double rows of pillars in the aisles1 and a huge crucifix hangs beneath the tower1 thrown up darkly against the chancel1 which is much painted and gilded4 ,the remains of the great castle consist of nothing more than part of the tall keep1 built eight hundred years ago1 and fortunately not entirely destroyed when the rest of the castle came down by the order of ,cardinal ,richelieu4 ,an exploration of the quaint streets of ,vire will reveal two or three ancient gateways1 many gabled houses1 some of which are timber-framed visually1 and most of them are the same beneath their skins of plaster4 ,the houses in one of the streets are connected with the road by a series of wooden bridges across the river1 which there forms one of the many pictures to be found in ,vire4 ,mortain is separated from ,vire by fifteen miles of exceedingly hilly country1 and those who imagine that all the roads in ,normandy are the flat and poplar bordered ones that are so often encountered1 should travel along this wonderful switch-back4 ,as far as ,sourdeval there seems scarcely a yard of level ground--it is either a sudden ascent or a breakneck rush into a trough-like depression4 ,you pass copices of firs and beautiful woods1 although in saying beautiful it is in a limited sense1 for one seldom finds the really rich woodlands that are so priceless an ornament to many ,surrey and ,kentish lanes4 ,the road is shaded by tall trees when it begins to descend into the steep rocky gorge of the ,cance with its tumbling waterfalls that are a charming feature of this approach to ,mortain4 ,high upon the rocks on the left appears an enormous gilded statue of the ,virgin1 in the grounds of the ,abbaye ,blanche4 ,going downwards among the broken sunlight and shadows on the road1 ,mortain appears1 picturesquely perched on a great rocky steep1 and in the opening of the valley a blue haze suggests the great expanse of level country towards the south4 ,the big parish church of the town was built originally in #ajhb by that ,robert of ,mortain1 who1 it will be remembered1 was one of the first of the ,normans to receive from the victorious ,william a grant of land in ,england4 ,the great tower which stands almost detached on the south-west side is remarkable for its enormously tall slit windows1 for they run nearly from the ground to the saddle-back roof4 ,the interior of this church is somewhat unusual1 the nave and chancel being structurally one1 and the aisles are separated by twenty-four circular grey pillars with ,corinthian capitals4 ,the plain surfaces of the walls and vaulting are absolutely clean white1 picked out with fine black lines to represent stone-work--a scarcely successful treatment of such an interior6 ,on either side of the ,high ,altar stand two great statues representing ,st ,guillaume and ,st ,evroult4 ,to those who wish to 8do0 all the sights of ,mortain there is the ,chapel of ,st ,michael1 which stands high up on the margin of a great rocky hill1 but the building having been reconstructed about fifty years ago1 the chief attraction to the place is the view1 which in tolerably clear weather1 includes ,mont ,st ,michel towards which we are making our way4 ,a perfectly straight and fairly level stretch of road brings you to ,st ,hilaire-du-,harcout4 ,on the road one passes two or three large country houses with their solemn and perfectly straight avenues leading directly up to them at right angles from the road4 ,the white jalousies seem always closed1 the grass on the lawns seems never cut1 and the whole establishments have a pathetically deserted appearance to the passer-by4 ,a feature of this part of the country can scarcely be believed without actually using one's eyes4 ,it is the wooden chimney-stack1 covered with oak shingles1 that surmounts the roofs of most of the cottages4 ,where the shingles have fallen off1 the cement rubble that fills the space between the oak framing appears1 but it is scarcely credible that1 even with this partial protection1 these chimneys should have survived so many centuries4 ,i have asked the inmates of some of the cottages whether they ever feared a fire in their chimneys1 but they seemed to consider the question as totally unnecessary1 for some providence seems to have watched over their frail structures4 ,st ,hilaire has a brand new church and nothing picturesque in its long1 almost monotonous1 street4 ,instead of turning aside at ,pontaubault towards ,mont ,st ,michel1 we will go due north from that hamlet to the beautifully situated ,avranches4 ,this prosperous looking town used1 at one time1 to have a large ,english colony1 but it has recently dwindled to such small dimensions that the ,english chaplain has an exceedingly small parish4 ,the streets seem to possess a wonderful cleanliness2 all the old houses appear to have made way for modern buildings which1 in a way1 give ,avranches the aspect of a watering-place1 but its proximity to the sea is more apparent in a map than when one is actually in the town4 ,on one side of the great place in front of the church of ,notre ,dame des ,champs is the ,jardin des ,plantes4 ,to pass from the blazing sunshine and loose gravel1 to the dense green shade of the trees in this delightful retreat is a pleasure that can be best appreciated on a hot afternoon in summer4 ,the shade1 however1 and the beds of flowers are not the only attractions of these gardens4 ,their greatest charm is the wonderful view over the shining sands and the glistening waters of the rivers ,see and ,selune that1 at low tide1 take their serpentine courses over the delicately tinted waste of sand that occupies ,st ,michael's ,bay4 ,out beyond the little wooded promontory that protects the mouth of the ,see1 lies ,mont ,st ,michel1 a fretted silhouette of flat pearly grey1 and a little to the north is ,tombelaine1 a less pretentious islet in this fairyland sea4 ,framed by the stems and foliage of the trees1 this view is one of the most fascinating in ,normandy4 ,one would be content to stay here all through the sultry hours of a summer day1 to listen to the distant hum of conversation among white-capped nursemaids1 as they sew busily1 giving momentary attention to their charges4 ,but ,avranches has an historical spot that no student of history1 and indeed no one who cares anything for the picturesque events that crowd the pages of the chronicles of ,england in the days of the ,norman kings1 may miss4 ,it is the famous stone upon which ,henry ,,ii4 knelt when he received absolution for the murder of ,becket at the hands of the papal legate4 ,to reach this stone is1 for a stranger1 a matter of some difficulty4 ,from the ,place by the ,jardin des ,plantes1 it is necessary to plunge down a steep descent towards the railway station1 and then one climbs a series of zigzag paths on a high grassy bank that brings one out upon the ,place ,huet4 ,in one corner1 surrounded by chains and supported by low iron posts1 is the historic stone4 ,it is generally thickly coated with dust1 but the brass plate affixed to a pillar of the doorway is quite legible4 ,these1 and a few fragments of carved stone that lie half-smothered in long grass and weeds at a short distance from the railed-in stone1 are all that remain of the cathedral that existed in the time of ,henry ,,ii4 ,it must have been an impressive scene on that ,sunday in ,may #aagb1 when the papal legate1 in his wonderful robes1 stood by the north transept door1 of which only this fragment remains1 and granted absolution to the sovereign1 who1 kneeling in all humbleness and submission1 was relieved of the curse of excommunication which had been laid on him after the tragic affair in the sanctuary at ,canterbury4 ,in place of the splendid cathedral1 whose nave collapsed1 causing the demolition of the whole building in #agii1 there is a new church with the two great western towers only carried up to half the height intended for them4 ,from the roadway that runs along the side of the old castle walls in terrace fashion there is another wonderful view of rich green country1 through which1 at one's feet1 winds the river ,see4 ,away towards the north-west the road to ,granville can be seen passing over the hills in a perfectly straight line4 ,but this part of the country may be left for another chapter4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,concerning ,mont ,st ,michel ,so1 when their feet were planted on the plain ,that broaden'd toward the base of ,camelot1 ,far off they saw the silver-misty morn ,rolling her smoke about the ,royal mount1 ,that rose between the forest and the field4 ,at times the summit of the high city flash'd2 ,at times the spires and turrets half-way down ,pricked through the mist2 at times the great gate shone ,only1 that open'd on the field below3 ,anon1 the whole fair city disappeared4 ,tennyson's ,gareth and ,lynette 8,the majestic splendour of this gulf1 its strategetic importance1 have at all times attracted the attention of warriors40 ,in this quaint fashion commences the third chapter of a book upon ,mont ,st ,michel which is to be purchased in the little town4 ,we have already had a glimpse of the splendour of the gulf from ,avranches1 but there are other aspects of the rock which are equally impressive4 ,they are missed by all those who1 instead of going by the picturesque and winding coast-road from ,pontaubault1 take the straight and dusty route nationale to ,pontorson1 and then turn to follow the tramway that has in recent years been extended along the causeway to the mount itself4 ,if one can manage to make it a rather late ride along the coast-road just mentioned1 many beautiful distant views of ,mont ,st ,michel1 backed by sunset lights1 will be an ample reward4 ,even on a grey and almost featureless evening1 when the sea is leaden-hued1 there may1 perhaps1 appear one of those thin crimson lines that are the last efforts of the setting sun4 ,this often appears just behind the grey and dim rock1 and the crimson is reflected in a delicate tinge upon the glistening sands4 ,tiny rustic villages1 with churches humble and unobtrusive1 and prominent calvaries1 are passed one after the other4 ,at times the farmyards seem to have taken the road into their own hands1 for a stone well-head will appear almost in the roadway1 and chickens1 pigs1 and a litter of straw have to be allowed for by those who ride or drive along this rural way4 ,when the rock is still some distance off1 the road seems to determine to take a short cut across the sands1 but thinking better of it1 it runs along the outer margin of the reclaimed land1 and there is nothing to prevent the sea from flooding over the road at its own discretion4 ,once on the broad and solidly constructed causeway1 the rock rapidly gathers in bulk and detail4 ,it has1 indeed1 as one approaches1 an almost fantastic and fairy-like outline4 ,then as more and more grows from the hazy mass1 one sees that this remarkable place has a crowded and much embattled loneliness4 ,two round towers1 sturdy and boldly machicolated1 appear straight ahead1 but oddly enough the wall between them has no opening of any sort1 and the stranger is perplexed at the inhospitable curtain-wall that seems to refuse him admittance to the mediaeval delights within4 ,it almost heightens the impression that the place belongs altogether to dreamland1 for in that shadowy world all that is most desirable is so often beyond the reach of the dreamer4 ,it is a very different impression that one gains if the steam train has been taken1 for its arrival is awaited by a small crowd of vulture-like servants and porters from the hotels4 ,the little crowd treats the incoming train-load of tourists as its carrion1 and one has no time to notice whether there is a gateway or not before being swept along the sloping wooden staging that leads to the only entrance4 ,the simple archway in the outer wall leads into the ,cour de l',avancee where those two great iron cannons1 mentioned in an earlier chapter1 are conspicuous objects4 ,they were captured by the heroic garrison when the ,english1 in #adcc1 made their last great effort to obtain possession of the rock4 ,beyond these1 one passes through the barbican to the ,cour de la ,herse1 which is largely occupied by the ,hotel ,poulard ,aine4 ,then one passes through the ,porte du ,roi1 and enters the town proper4 ,the narrow little street is flanked by many an old house that has seen most of the vicissitudes that the little island city has suffered4 ,in fact many of these shops which are now almost entirely given over to the sale of mementoes and books of photographs of the island1 are individually of great interest4 ,one of the most ancient in the upper part of the street1 is pointed out as that occupied in the fourteenth century by ,tiphane de ,raguenel1 the wife of the heroic ,bertrand du ,guesclin4 ,it is almost impossible for those who are sensitive in such matters1 not to feel some annoyance at the pleasant but persistent efforts of the vendors of souvenirs to induce every single visitor to purchase at each separate shop4 ,to get an opportunity for closely examining the carved oaken beams and architectural details of the houses1 one must make at least some small purchase at each trinket store in front of which one is inclined to pause4 ,perhaps it would even be wise before attempting to look at anything architectural in this quaintest of old-world streets1 to go from one end to the other1 buying something of trifling cost1 say a picture postcard1 from each saleswoman4 ,in this way1 one might purchase immunity from the over-solicitous shop-keepers1 and have the privilege of being able to realise the mediaeval character of the place without constant interruptions4 ,nearly every visitor to ,mont ,st ,michel considers that this historic gem1 in its wonderful setting of opalescent sand1 can be 8done0 in a few hours4 ,they think that if they climb up the steps to the museum--a new building made more conspicuous than it need be by a board bearing the word ,musee in enormous letters--if they walk along the ramparts1 stare for a moment at the gateways1 and then go round the abbey buildings with one of the small crowds that the guide pilots through the maze of extraordinary vaulted passages and chambers1 that they have done ample justice to this world-famous sight4 ,if the rock had only one-half of its historic and fantastically arranged buildings1 it would still deserve considerably more than this fleeting attention paid to it by such a large proportion of the tourists4 ,so many of these poor folk come to ,mont ,st ,michel quite willing to learn the reasons for its past greatness1 but they do not bring with them the smallest grains of knowledge4 ,the guides1 whose knowledge of ,english is limited to such words as 8,sirteenth ,senchury0 7thirteenth century71 give them no clues to the reasons for the existence of any buildings on the island1 and quite a large proportion of visitors go away without any more knowledge than they could have obtained from the examination of a good book of photographs4 ,to really appreciate in any degree the natural charms of ,mont ,st ,michel1 at least one night should be spent on the rock4 ,having debated between the rival houses of ,poularde ,aine and ,poularde ,jeune1 and probably decided on the older branch of the family1 perhaps with a view to being able to speak of their famous omelettes with enthusiasm1 one is conducted to one of the houses or dependences connected with the hotel4 ,if one has selected the ,maison ,rouge1 it is necessary to make a long climb to one's bedroom4 ,the long salle a manger1 where dinner is served1 is in a tall wedge-like building just outside the ,porte du ,roi and in the twilight of evening coffee can be taken on the little tables of the caf that overflows on to the pavement of the narrow street4 ,the caf faces the head-quarters of the hotel1 and is as much a part of it as any of the other buildings which contain the bedrooms4 ,to the stranger it comes as a surprise to be handed a ,chinese lantern at bedtime1 and to be conducted by one of the hotel servants almost to the top of the tall house just mentioned4 ,suddenly the man opens a door and you step out into an oppressive darkness4 ,here the use of the ,chinese lantern is obvious1 for without some artificial light1 the long series of worn stone steps1 that must be climbed before reaching the ,maison ,rouge1 would offer many opportunities for awkward falls4 ,the bedrooms in this house1 when one has finally reached a floor far above the little street1 have a most enviable position4 ,they are all provided with small balconies where the enormous sweep of sand or glistening ocean1 according to the condition of the tides1 is a sight which will drag the greatest sluggard from his bed at the first hour of dawn4 ,right away down below are the hoary old houses of the town1 hemmed in by the fortified wall that surrounds this side of the island4 ,then stretching away towards the greeny-blue coast-line is the long line of digue or causeway on which one may see a distant puff of white smoke1 betokening the arrival of the early train of the morning4 ,the attaches of the rival hotels are already awaiting the arrival of the early batch of sight-seers4 ,all over the delicately tinted sands there are constantly moving shadows from the light clouds forming over the sea1 and blowing freshly from the west there comes an invigorating breeze4 ,before even the museum can have a real interest for us1 we must go back to the early times when ,mont ,st ,michel was a bare rock2 when it was not even an island1 and when the bay of ,mont ,st ,michel was covered by the forest of ,scissey4 ,it seems that the ,romans raised a shrine to ,jupiter on the rock1 which soon gave to it the name of ,mons ,jovis1 afterwards to be contracted into ,mont-,jou4 ,they had displaced some earlier ,druidical or other sun-worshippers who had carried on their rites at this lonely spot2 but the ,roman innovation soon became a thing of the past and the ,franks1 after their conversion to ,christianity1 built on the rock two oratories1 one to ,st ,stephen and the other to ,st ,symphorian4 ,it was then that the name ,mont-,jou was abandoned in favour of ,mons-,tumba4 ,the smaller rock1 now known as ,tombelaine1 was called ,tumbella meaning the little tomb1 to distinguish it from the larger rock4 ,it is not known why the two rocks should have been associated with the word tomb1 and it is quite possible that the ,tumba may simply mean a small hill4 ,in time1 hermits came and built their cells on both the rocks and gradually a small community was formed under the ,merovingian ,abbey of ,mandane4 ,it was about this time1 that is in the sixth century1 that a great change came over the surroundings of the two rocks4 ,hitherto1 they had formed rocky excrescences at the edge of the low forest-land by which the country adjoining the sea was covered4 ,gradually the sea commenced a steady encroachment4 ,it had been probably in progress even since ,roman times1 but its advance became more rapid1 and after an earthquake1 which occurred in the year #gji1 the whole of the forest of ,scissey was invaded1 and the remains of the trees were buried under a great layer of sand4 ,there were several villages in this piece of country1 some of whose names have been preserved1 and these suffered complete destruction with the forest4 ,a thousand years afterwards1 following a great storm and a consequent movement of the sand1 a large number of oaks and considerable traces of the little village ,st ,etienne de ,paluel were laid bare4 ,the foundations of houses1 a well1 and the font of a church were among the discoveries made4 ,just about the time of the innundation1 we come to the interesting story of the holy-minded ,st ,aubert who had been made bishop of ,avranches4 ,he could see the rock as it may be seen to-day1 although at that time it was crowned with no buildings visible at any distance1 and the loneliness of the spot seems to have attracted him to retire thither for prayer and meditation4 ,he eventually raised upon the rock a small chapel which he dedicated to ,michel the archangel4 ,after this time1 all the earlier names disappeared and the island was always known as ,mont ,st ,michel4 ,replacing the hermits of ,mandane with twelve canons1 the establishment grew and became prosperous4 ,that this was so1 must be attributed largely to the astonishing miracles which were supposed to have taken place in connection with the building of the chapel4 ,two great rocks near the top of the mount1 which were much in the way of the builders1 were removed and sent thundering down the rocky precipice by the pressure of a child's foot when all the efforts of the men to induce the rock to move had been unavailing4 ,the huge rock so displaced is now crowned by the tiny chapel of ,st ,aubert4 ,the offerings brought by the numerous pilgrims to ,mont ,st ,michel gave the canons sufficient means to commence the building of an abbey1 and the unique position of the rock soon made it a refuge for the ,franks of the western parts of ,neustria when the fierce ,norman pirates were harrying the country4 ,in this way the village of ,mont ,st ,michel made its appearance at the foot of the rock4 ,the contact of the canons with this new population brought some trouble in its wake4 ,the holy men became contaminated with the world1 and ,richard1 ,duke of ,normandy1 replaced them by thirty ,benedictines brought from ,mont-,cassin4 ,these monks were given the power of electing their own abbot who was invested with the most entire control over all the affairs of the people who dwelt upon the rock4 ,this system of popular election seems to have worked admirably1 for in the centuries that followed1 the rulers of the community were generally men of remarkable character and great ideals4 ,about fifty years before the ,conquest of ,england by ,duke ,william1 the abbot of that time1 ,hildebert ,,ii41 commenced work on the prodigious series of buildings that still crown the rock4 ,his bold scheme of building massive walls round the highest point1 in order to make a lofty platform whereon to raise a great church1 was a work of such magnitude that when he was gathered to his fathers the foundations were by no means complete4 ,those who came after him however1 inspired by the great idea1 kept up the work of building with wonderful enthusiasm4 ,slowly1 year by year1 the ponderous walls of the crypts and undercrofts grew in the great space which it was necessary to fill4 ,dark1 irregularly built chambers1 one side formed of the solid rock and the others composed of the almost equally massive masonry1 grouped themselves round the unequal summit of the mount1 until at last1 towards the end of the eleventh century1 the building of the nave of the church was actually in progress4 ,roger ,,ii41 the eleventh of the abbots1 commenced the buildings that preceded the extraordinary structure known as ,la ,merveille4 ,soon after came ,robert de ,torigny1 a pious man of great learning1 who seems to have worked enthusiastically4 ,he raised two great towers joined by a porch1 the hostelry and infirmary on the south side and other buildings on the west4 ,much of this work has unfortunately disappeared4 ,torigny's coffin was discovered in #ahgf under the north-west part of the great platform1 and one may see a representation of the architect-abbot in the clever series of life-like models that have been placed in the museum4 ,the ,bretons having made a destructive attack upon the mount in the early years of the thirteenth century and caused much damage to the buildings1 ,jourdain the abbot of that time planned out 8,la ,merveille10 which comprises three storeys of the most remarkable ,gothic halls4 ,at the bottom are the cellar and almonry1 then comes the ,salle des ,chevaliers and the dormitory1 and above all are the beautiful cloisters and the refectory4 ,jourdain1 however1 only lived to see one storey completed1 but his successors carried on the work and ,raoul de ,villedieu finished the splendid cloister in #abbh4 ,up to this time the island was defenceless1 but during the abbatiate of ,toustain the ramparts and fortifications were commenced4 ,in #abef the buildings known as ,belle-,chaise were constructed4 ,they contained the entrance to the abbey before the chatelet made its appearance4 ,after ,toustain came ,pierre le ,roy who built a tower behind ,belle-,chaise and also the imposing-looking chatelet which contains the main entrance to the whole buildings4 ,the fortifications that stood outside this gateway have to some extent disappeared1 but what remain are shown in the accompanying illustration4 ,in the early part of the fifteenth century1 the choir of the church collapsed1 but peace having been declared with ,england1 soon afterwards ,d',estouteville was able to construct the wonderful foundations composed of ponderous round columns called the crypt of les ,gros-,piliers1 and above it there afterwards appeared the splendid ,gothic choir4 ,the flamboyant tracery of the windows is filled with plain green leaded glass1 and the fact that the recent restoration has left the church absolutely bare of any ecclesiastical paraphernalia gives one a splendid opportunity of studying this splendid work of the fifteenth century4 ,the nave of the church has still to undergo the process of restoration1 for at the present time the fraudulent character of its stone-vaulted roof is laid bare by the most casual glance1 for at the unfinished edge adjoining the choir one may see the rough lath and plaster which for a long time must have deceived the visitors who have gazed at the lofty roof4 ,the western end of the building is an eighteenth century work1 although to glance at the great patches of orange-coloured lichen that spread themselves over so much of the stone-work1 it would be easy to imagine that the work was of very great antiquity4 ,in earlier times there were some further bays belonging to the nave beyond the present west front in the space now occupied by an open platform4 ,there is a fine view from this position1 but it is better still if one climbs the narrow staircase from the choir leading up to the asphalted walk beneath the flying buttresses4 ,about the middle of the fourteenth century1 ,tiphaine de ,raguenel1 the wife of ,bertrand du ,guesclin1 that splendid ,breton soldier1 came from ,pontorson and made her home at ,mont ,st ,michel1 in order not to be kept as a prisoner by the ,english4 ,there are several facts recorded that throw light on the character of this noble lady1 sometimes spoken of as 8,the ,fair ,maid of ,dinan40 ,she had come to admire ,du ,guesclin for his prowess in military matters1 and her feeling towards him having deepened1 she had no hesitation in accepting his offer of marriage4 ,it appears that ,du ,guesclin after this most happy event--for from all we are able to discover ,tiphaine seems to have shared his patriotic ideals--was inclined to remain at home rather than to continue his gallant1 though at times almost hopeless struggle against the ,english4 ,although it must have been a matter of great self-renunciation on her part1 ,tiphaine felt that it would be much against her character for her to have any share in keeping her husband away from the scene of action1 and by every means in her power she endeavoured to re-animate his former enthusiasm4 ,in this her success was complete1 and resuming his great responsibilities in the ,french army1 much greater success attended him than at any time in the past4 ,du ,guesclin was not a martyr1 but he is as much the most striking figure of the fourteenth century as ,joan of ,arc is of the fifteenth4 ,all through the period of anxiety through which the defenders of the mount had to pass when the ,hundred ,years' ,war was in progress1 ,mont ,st ,michel was very largely helped against sudden attacks by the remarkable vigilance of their great watch-dogs4 ,so valuable for the safety of the ,abbey and the little town were these dogs considered that ,louis ,,xi4 in #adge allowed the annual sum of twenty-four pounds by ,tours-weight towards their keep4 ,the document states that 8from the earliest times it has been customary to have and nourish1 at the said place1 a certain number of great dogs1 which are tied up by day1 and at night brought outside the enclosure to keep watch till morning40 ,it was during the reign of this same ,louis that the military order of chivalry of ,st ,michael was instituted4 ,the king made three pilgrimages to the mount and the first chapter of this great order1 which was for a long time looked upon as the most distinguished in ,france1 was held in the ,salle des ,chevaliers4 ,for a long while ,tombelaine1 which lies so close to ,mont ,st ,michel1 was in the occupation of the ,english1 but in the account of the recovery of ,normandy from the ,english1 written by ,jacques le ,bouvier1 ,king of ,arms to ,charles ,,vii41 we find that the place surrendered very easily to the ,french4 ,we are told that the fortress of ,tombelaine was 8,an exceedingly strong place and impregnable so long as the persons within it have provisions40 ,the garrison numbered about a hundred men4 ,they were allowed to go to ,cherbourg where they took ship to ,england about the same time as the garrisons from ,vire1 ,avranches1 ,coutances1 and many other strongholds which were at this time falling like dead leaves4 ,le ,bouvier at the end of his account of this wonderful break-up of the ,english fighting force in ,normandy1 tells us that the whole of the ,duchy of ,normandy with all the cities1 towns1 and castles was brought into subjection to the ,king of ,france within one year and six days4 8,a very wonderful thing10 he remarks1 8and it plainly appears that our ,lord ,god therein manifested ,his grace1 for never was so large a country conquered in so short a time1 nor with the loss of so few people1 nor with less injury1 which is a great merit1 honour and praise to the ,king of ,france40 ,in the early part of the sixteenth century1 ,mont ,st ,michel seems to have reached the high-water mark of its glories4 ,after this time a decline commenced and ,cardinal le ,veneur reduced the number of monks to enlarge his own income4 ,this new cardinal was the first of a series not chosen from the residents on the mount1 for after #aebc the system of election among themselves which had answered so well1 was abandoned1 and this wealthy establishment became merely one of the coveted preferments of the ,church4 ,there was no longer that enthusiasm for maintaining and continuing the architectural achievements of the past1 for this new series of ecclesiastics seemed to look upon their appointment largely as a sponge which they might squeeze4 ,in ,elizabethan times ,mont ,st ,michel once more assumed the character of a fortress and had to defend itself against the ,huguenots when its resources had been drained by these worldly-minded shepherds1 and it is not surprising to find that the abbey which had withstood all the attacks of the ,english during the ,hundred ,years' ,war should often fall into the hands of the protestant armies1 although in every case it was re-taken4 ,a revival of the religious tone of the abbey took place early in the first quarter of the seventeenth century1 when twelve ,benedictine monks from ,st ,maur were installed in the buildings4 ,pilgrimages once more became the order of the day1 but since the days of ,louis ,,xi4 part of the sub-structure of the abbey buildings had been converted into fearful dungeons1 and the day came when the abbey became simply a most remarkable prison4 ,in the time of ,louis ,,xv41 a ,frenchman named ,dubourg--a person who has often been spoken of as though he had been a victim of his religious convictions1 but who seems to have been really a most reprehensible character--was placed in a wooden cage in one of the damp and gruesome vaults beneath the abbey4 ,dubourg had been arrested for his libellous writings concerning the king and many important persons in the ,french court4 ,he existed for a little over a year in the fearful wooden cage1 and just before he died he went quite mad1 being discovered during the next morning half-eaten by rats4 ,a realistic representation of his ghastly end is given in the museum1 but one must not imagine that the grating filling the semi-circular arch is at all like the actual spot where the wretched man lay4 ,the cage itself was composed of bars of wood placed so closely together that ,dubourg was not able to put more than his fingers between them4 ,the space inside was only about eight feet high and the width was scarcely greater4 ,the cage itself was placed in a position where moisture dripped on to the miserable prisoner's body1 and we can only marvel that he survived this fearful torture for so many months4 ,during the ,french ,revolution the abbey was nothing more than a jail1 and it continued to be devoted to this base use until about forty years ago4 ,since that time1 restoration has continued almost unceasingly1 for in the prison period nothing was done to maintain the buildings1 and there is still much work in hand which the ,french government who are now in control are most successfully carrying out4 ,these are a few of the thrilling phases of the history of the rock4 ,but what has been written scarcely does the smallest justice to its crowded pages4 ,the only way of being fair to a spot so richly endowed with enthralling events seems to be in stirring the imagination by a preliminary visit1 in order that one may come again armed with a close knowledge of all that has taken place since ,aubert raised his humble chapel upon the lonely rock4 ,who does not know that sense of annoyance at being conducted over some historic building by a professional guide who mentions names and events that just whet the appetite and then leave a hungry feeling for want of any surrounding details or contemporary events which one knows would convert the mere 8sight0 into holy ground4 ,i submit that a ,french guide1 a ,french hand-book or a poor translation1 can do little to relieve this hunger1 that ,mont ,st ,michel is fully worthy of some preliminary consideration1 and that it should not be treated to the contemptuous scurry of a day's trip4 ,the tides that bring the sea across the great sweep of sand surrounding ,mont ,st ,michel1 are intermittent1 and it is possible to remain for a day or two on the island and be able to walk around it dry-shod at any hour4 ,it is only at the really high tides that the waters of the ,bay of ,cancale give visitors the opportunity of seeing the fantastic buildings reflected in the sea4 ,but although it is safer and much more pleasant to be able to examine every aspect of the rock from a boat1 it is possible to walk over the sands and get the same views provided one is aware of the dangers of the quicksands which have claimed too many victims4 ,it is somewhat terrifying that on what appears to be absolutely firm sand1 a few taps of the foot will convert two or three yards beneath one's feet into a quaking mass4 ,there is1 however1 no great danger at the foot of the rocks or fortifications1 but to wander any distance away entails the gravest risks unless in company with a native who is fully aware of any dangerous localities4 ,the sands are sufficiently firm to allow those who know the route to drive horses and carts to ,tombelaine1 but this should not encourage strangers to take any chances1 for the fate of the ,english lady who was swallowed up by the sands in sight of the ramparts and whose body now lies in the little churchyard of the town1 is so distressing that any repetition of such tragedies would tend to cast a shade over the glories of the mount4 ,you may buy among the numerous photographs and pictures for sale in the trinket shops1 coloured post-cards which show flaming sunsets behind the abbey1 but nothing that ,i have yet seen does the smallest justice to the reality4 ,standing on the causeway and looking up to the great height of the tower that crowns the highest point1 the gilded ,st ,michael with his outspread wings seems almost ready to soar away into the immensity of the canopy of heaven4 ,through the traceried windows of the chancel of the church1 the evening light on the opposite side of the rock glows through the green glass1 for from this position the upper windows are opposite to one another and the light passes right through the building4 ,the great mass of curiously simple yet most striking structures that girdle the summit of the rock and form the platform beneath the church1 though built at different times1 have joined in one consenescence and now present the appearance of one of those cities that dwell in the imagination when reading of 8many tower'd ,camelot0 or the turreted walls of fairyland4 ,down below these great and inaccessible buildings comes an almost perpendicular drop of rocks1 bare except for stray patches of grass or isolated bushes that have taken root in crevices4 ,then between this and the fortified wall1 with its circular bastions1 encircling the base of the rock1 the roofs of the little town are huddled in picturesque confusion4 ,the necessity of accommodating the modern pilgrims has unfortunately led to the erection of one or two houses that in some measure jar with their mediaeval surroundings4 ,another unwelcome note is struck by the needlessly aggressive board on the museum which has already been mentioned4 ,however1 when a sunset is glowing behind the mount1 these modern intrusions are subdued into insignificance1 and there is nothing left to disturb the harmony of the scene4 ,a walk round the ramparts reveals an endless series of picturesque groupings of the old houses with their time-worn stone walls1 over which tower the chatelet and ,la ,merveille4 ,long flights of stone steps from the highest part of the narrow street lead up to the main entrance of the abbey buildings4 ,here1 beneath the great archway of the chatelet1 sits an old blind woman who is almost as permanent a feature as the masonry on which she sits4 ,ascending the wide flight of steps1 the ,salle des ,gardes is reached4 ,it is in the lower portion of the building known as ,belle-,chaise1 mentioned earlier in this chapter4 ,from this point a large portion of the seemingly endless series of buildings are traversed by the visitor1 who is conducted by a regular guide4 ,you ascend a great staircase1 between massive stone walls spanned by two bridges1 the first a strongly built structure of stone1 the next a slighter one of wood1 and then reach a breezy rampart where great views over the distant coasts spread themselves out4 ,from here you enter the church1 its floor now littered with the debris of restoration4 ,then follow the cloister and the refectory1 and down below them on the second floor of the ,merveille is the ,salle des ,chevaliers4 ,besides the wonderful ,gothic halls with their vaulted roofs and perfect simplicity of design1 there are the endless series of crypts and dungeons1 which leave a very strong impression on the minds of all those whose knowledge of architecture is lean4 ,there is the shadowy crypt of ,les ,gros ,pilliers down below the chancel of the church2 there is the ,charnier where the holy men were buried in the early days of the abbey2 and there is the great dark space filled by the enormous wheel which was worked by the prisoners when ,mont ,st ,michel was nothing more than a great jail4 ,it was by this means that the food for the occupants of the buildings was raised from down below4 ,without knowing it1 in passing from one dark chamber to another1 the guide takes his little flock of peering and wondering visitors all round the summit of the rock1 for it is hard1 even for those who endeavour to do so1 to keep the cardinal points in mind1 when1 except for a chance view from a narrow window1 there is nothing to correct the impression that you are still on the same side of the mount as the ,merveille4 ,at last the perambulation is finished--the dazzling sunshine is once more all around you as you come out to the steep steps that lead towards the ramparts4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,concerning ,coutances and ,some ,parts of the ,ctentin ,when at last it is necessary to bid farewell to ,mont ,st ,michel1 one is not compelled to lose sight of the distant grey silhouette for a long while4 ,it remains in sight across the buttercup fields and sunny pastures on the road to ,pontaubault4 ,then again1 when climbing the zig-zag hill towards ,avranches the ,bay of ,mont ,st ,michel is spread out4 ,you may see the mount again from ,avranches itself1 and then if you follow the coast-road towards ,granville instead of the rather monotonous road that goes to its destination with the directness of a gun-shot1 there are further views of the wonderful rock and its humble companion ,tombelaine4 ,keeping along this pretty road through the little village of ,gents1 where you actually touch the ocean1 there is much pretty scenery to be enjoyed all the way to the busy town of ,granville4 ,it is a watering-place and a port1 the two aspects of the town being divided from each other by the great rocky promontory of ,lihou4 ,if one climbs up right above the place this conformation is plainly visible1 for down below is the stretch of sandy beach1 with its frailly constructed concert rooms and cafs sheltering under the gaunt red cliffs1 while over the shoulder of the peninsula appears a glimpse of the piers and the masts of sailing ships4 ,there is much that is picturesque in the seaport side of the town1 particularly towards evening1 when the red and green harbour-lights are reflected in the sea4 ,there are usually five or six sailing ships loading or discharging their cargoes by the quays1 and you will generally find a ,british tramp steamer lying against one of the wharves4 ,the sturdy crocketed spire of the sombre old church of ,notre ,dame stands out above the long line of shuttered houses down by the harbour4 ,it is a wonderful contrast1 this old portion of ,granville that surmounts the promontory1 to the ephemeral and gay aspect of the watering-place on the northern side4 ,but these sort of contrasts are to be found elsewhere than at ,granville1 for at ,dieppe it is much the same1 although the view of that popular resort that is most familiar in ,england1 is the hideous casino and the wide sweep of gardens that occupy the sea-front4 ,those who have not been there would scarcely believe that the town possesses a castle perched upon towering cliffs1 or that its splendid old church of ,saint-,jacques is the real glory of the place4 ,granville cannot boast of quite so much in the way of antiquities1 but there is something peculiarly fascinating about its dark church1 in which the light seems unable to penetrate1 and whose walls assume almost the same tones as the rocks from which the masonry was hewn4 ,i should like to describe the scenery of the twenty miles of country that lie between ,granville and ,coutances1 but ,i have only passed over it on one occasion4 ,it was nine o'clock in the evening1 and the long drawn-out twilight had nearly faded away as ,i climbed up the long ascent which commences the road to ,coutances1 and before ,i had reached the village of ,brehal it was quite dark4 ,the road became absolutely deserted1 and although one or two people on bicycles passed me about this time1 they were carrying no lamps as is the usual custom in ,france1 where the rules governing the use of a bicyclette are so numerous and intricate1 but so absolutely ignored4 ,my own lamp seemed to be a grave distraction among the invisible occupants of the roadside meadows1 and often much lowing rose up on either side4 ,the hedges would suddenly whirr with countless grasshoppers1 although1 no doubt1 they had been amusing themselves with their monotonous noises for hours4 ,the strange sound seemed to follow me in a most persistent fashion1 and then would be merged into the croaking of a vast assemblage of frogs4 ,these sounds1 however1 carry with them no real menace1 however late the hour1 but there is something which may almost strike terror into the heart1 though it might almost be considered foolish by those who have not experienced a midnight ride in this country4 ,the clipped and shaven trees that in daylight merely appear ridiculous1 in the darkness assume an altogether different character4 ,to the vivid imagination1 it is easy to see a witch's broom swaying in the wind2 a group of curious and distorted stems will suggest a row of large but painfully thin brownies1 holding hands as they dance4 ,every moment1 two or three figures of gaunt and lanky witches in spreading skirts will alarm you as they suddenly appear round a corner4 ,when they are not so uncanny in their outlines1 the trees will appear like clipped poodles standing upon their hind legs1 or they will suddenly assume the character of a grove of palm trees4 ,after a long stretch of this sort of country1 it is pleasant to pass through some sleeping village where there are just two or three lighted windows to show that there are still a few people awake besides oneself in this lonely country4 ,i can imagine that the village of ,hyenville has some claims to beauty4 ,i know at least that it lies in a valley1 watered by the river ,sienne1 and that the darkness allowed me to see an old stone bridge1 with a cross raised above the centre of the parapet4 ,soon after this ,i began to descend the hill that leads into ,coutances4 ,a bend in the road1 as ,i was rapidly descending1 brought into view a whole blaze of lights1 and ,i felt that here at last there were people and hotels1 and an end to the ghostly sights of the open country4 ,then ,i came to houses1 but they were all quite dark1 and there was not a single human being in sight4 ,following this came a choice of streets without a possibility of knowing which one would lead in the direction of the hotel ,i was hoping to reach2 but my perplexity was at length relieved by the advent of a tall youth whose cadaverous features were shown up by the street lamp overhead4 ,he gave his directions clearly enough1 but although ,i followed them carefully right up the hill past the cathedral1 ,i began to think that ,i had overshot the mark1 when another passer-by appeared in the silent street4 ,i found that ,i was within a few yards of the hotel2 but on hurrying forward1 ,i found to my astonishment1 that the whole building was completely shut up and no light appeared even within the courtyard4 ,as ,i had passed the cathedral eleven reverbrating notes had echoed over the town1 and it seemed as though ,coutances had retired earlier on this night of all nights in order that ,i might learn to travel at more rational hours4 ,going inside the courtyard1 my anxiety was suddenly relieved by seeing the light of a candle in a stable on the further side2 a man was putting up a horse1 and he at once volunteered to arouse some one who would find a bedroom4 ,after some shouting to the gallery above1 a maid appeared1 and a few minutes afterwards mine host himself1 clad in a long flannel night robe and protecting a flickering candle-flame with his hand1 appeared at a doorway4 ,his long grey beard gave him a most venerable aspect4 ,the note of welcome in his cheery voice was unmistakable and soon the maid who had spoken from the balcony had shown the way up a winding circular staircase to a welcome exchange to the shelter of a haystack which ,i had begun to fear would be my only resting-place for the night4 ,in the morning1 the ,hotel d',angleterre proved to be a most picturesque old hostelry4 ,galleries ran round three sides of the courtyard1 and the circular staircase was enclosed in one of those round towers that are such a distinctive feature of the older type of ,french inn4 ,the long main street does not always look deserted and in daylight it appeared as sunny and cheerful as one expects to find the chief thoroughfare of a thriving ,french town4 ,coutances stands on such a bold hill that the street1 almost of necessity1 drops precipitously1 and the cathedral which ranks with the best in ,france1 stands out boldly from all points of view4 ,it was principally built in the thirteenth century1 but a church which had stood in its place two centuries before1 had been consecrated by ,bishop ,geoffrey de ,montbray in #ajef1 in the presence of ,duke ,william1 afterwards ,william ,i4 of ,england4 ,the two western towers of the present cathedral are not exactly similar1 and owing to their curious formation of clustered spires they are not symmetrical4 ,it is for this reason that they are often described as being unpleasing4 ,i am unable to echo such criticism1 for in looking at the original ideas that are most plainly manifest in this most astonishing cathedral one seems to be in close touch with the long forgotten builders and architects whose notions of proportion and beauty they contrived to stamp so indelibly upon their masterpiece4 ,from the central tower there is a view over an enormous sweep of country which includes a stretch of the coast1 for ,coutances is only half a dozen miles from the sea4 ,this central tower rises from a square base at the intersection of the transepts with the nave4 ,it runs up almost without a break in an octagonal form to a parapet ornamented with open quatrefoils4 ,the interior has a clean and fresh appearance owing to the recent restorations and is chiefly remarkable for the balustraded triforium which is continued round the whole church4 ,in many of the windows there is glass belonging to the sixteenth century and some dates as early as the fourteenth century4 ,besides the cathedral1 the long main street of ,coutances possesses the churches of ,st ,nicholas and ,st ,pierre4 ,in ,st ,nicholas one may see a somewhat unusual feature in the carved inscriptions dating from early in the seventeenth century which appear on the plain round columns4 ,here1 as in the cathedral1 the idea of the balustrade under the clerestory is carried out4 ,the fourteen ,stations of the ,cross that as usual meet one in the aisles of the nave1 are in this church painted with a most unusual vividness and reality1 in powerful contrast to so many of these crucifixion scenes to be seen in ,roman ,catholic churches4 ,the church of ,st ,pierre is illustrated here1 with the cathedral beyond1 but the drawing does not include the great central tower which is crowned by a pyramidal spire4 ,this church belongs to a later period than the cathedral as one may see by a glance at the classic work in the western tower1 for most of the building is subsequent to the fifteenth century4 ,st ,pierre and the cathedral form a most interesting study in the development from ,early ,french architecture to the ,renaissance2 but for picturesqueness in domestic architecture ,coutances cannot hold up its head with ,lisieux1 ,vire1 or ,rouen4 ,there is still a remnant of one of the town gateways and to those who spend any considerable time in the city some other quaint corners may be found4 ,from the western side there is a beautiful view of the town with the great western towers of the cathedral rising gracefully above the quarries in the ,bois des ,vignettes4 ,another feature of ,coutances is the aqueduct4 ,it unfortunately does not date from ,roman times when the place was known as ,constantia1 for there is nothing ,roman about the ivy-clad arches that cross the valley on the western side4 ,from ,coutances northwards to ,cherbourg stretches that large tract of ,normandy which used to be known as the ,ctentin4 ,at first the country is full of deep valleys and smiling hills covered with rich pastures and woodland1 but as you approach ,lessay at the head of an inlet of the sea the road passes over a flat heathy desert4 ,the church at ,lessay is a most perfect example of ,norman work4 ,the situation is quite pretty1 for near by flows the little river ,ay1 and the roofs are brilliant with orange lichen4 ,the great square tower with its round-headed ,norman windows1 is crowned with a cupola4 ,with the exception of the windows in the north aisle the whole of the interior is of pure ,norman work4 ,there is a double triforium and the round1 circular arches rest on ponderous pillars and there is also a typical ,norman semi-circular apse4 ,the village1 which is a very ancient one1 grew round the ,benedictine convent established here by one ,turstan ,halduc in #ajdj1 and there may still be seen the wonderfully picturesque castle with its round towers4 ,following the estuary of the river from ,lessay on a minor road you come to the hamlet of ,st ,germain-sur-,ay4 ,the country all around is flat1 but the wide stretches of sand in the inlet have some attractiveness to those who are fond of breezy and open scenery1 and the little church in the village is as old as that of ,lessay4 ,one could follow this pretty coast-line northwards until the seaboard becomes bold1 but we will turn aside to the little town of ,la ,haye-du-,puits4 ,there is a junction here on the railway for ,carentan and ,st ,l1 but the place seems to have gone on quite unaltered by this communication with the large centres of population4 ,the remains of the castle1 where lived during the eleventh century the ,turstan ,halduc just mentioned1 are to be seen on the railway side of the town4 ,the dungeon tower1 picturesquely smothered in ivy1 is all that remains of this ,norman fortress4 ,the other portion is on the opposite side of the road1 but it only dates from the sixteenth century1 when it was rebuilt4 ,turstan had a son named ,odo1 who was seneschal to ,william the ,norman1 and he is known to have received certain important lands in ,sussex as a reward for his services4 ,during the next century the owner of the castle was that ,richard de la ,haye whose story is a most interesting one4 ,he was escaping from ,geoffrey ,plantagenet1 ,count of ,anjou1 when he had the ill luck to fall in with some ,moorish pirates by whom he was captured and kept as a slave for some years4 ,he however succeeded in regaining his liberty1 and after his return to ,france1 he and his wife1 ,mathilde de ,vernon1 founded the ,abbey of ,blanchelande4 ,the ruins of this establishment are scarcely more than two miles from ,la ,haye du ,puits1 but they unfortunately consist of little more than some arches of the abbey church and some of the walls of the lesser buildings4 ,immediately north of ,la ,haye there is some more heathy ground1 but it is higher than the country surrounding ,lessay4 ,a round windmill1 much resembling the ruined structure that stands out conspicuously on the bare tableland of ,alderney1 is the first of these picturesque features that we have seen in this part of the country4 ,it is worth mention also on account of the fact that it was at ,st ,sauveur-le-,vicomte1 only about seven miles distant1 that the first recorded windmill was put up in ,france about the year #aahj1 almost the same time as the first reference to such structures occurs in ,england4 ,st ,sauveur has its castle now occupied by the hospital4 ,it was given to ,sir ,john ,chandos by ,edward ,,iii4 after the ,treaty of ,bretigny in #acfj1 and that courageous soldier1 who saw so much fighting in ,france during the ,hundred ,years ,war1 added much to the fortress which had already been in existence since very early times in the history of the duchy4 ,a road runs from ,st ,sauveur straight towards the sea4 ,it passes the corner of a forest and then goes right down to the low sandy harbour of ,port ,bail4 ,it is a wonderful country for atmospheric effects across the embanked swamps and sandhills that lie between the hamlet and the sea4 ,one of the two churches has a bold1 square tower1 dating from the fifteenth century--it now serves as a lighthouse4 ,the harbour has two other lights and1 although it can only be entered at certain tides1 the little port contrives to carry on a considerable export trade of farm produce1 most of it being consumed in the ,channel ,islands4 ,the railway goes on to its terminus at ,cartaret1 a nicely situated little seaside village close to the cape of the same name4 ,here1 if you tire of shrimping on the wide stretch of sands1 it is possible to desert ,normandy by the little steamer that during the summer plies between this point and ,gorey in ,jersey4 ,modern influences have given ,cartaret a more civilised flavour than it had a few years ago1 and it now has something of the aspect of a watering-place4 ,northwards from ,cartaret1 a road follows the coast-line two or three miles from the cliffs to ,les ,pieux4 ,then one can go on to ,flamanville by the cape which takes its name from the village1 and there see the seventeenth century moated manor house4 ,cherbourg1 the greatest naval port of ,france1 is not often visited by those who travel in ,normandy1 for with the exception of the enormous breakwater1 there is nothing beyond the sights of a huge dockyard town that is of any note4 ,the breakwater1 however1 is a most remarkable work4 ,it stands about two miles from the shore1 is more than #djjj yards long by #ajj yards wide1 and has a most formidable appearance with its circular forts and batteries of guns4 ,the church of ,la ,trinit was built during the ,english occupation and must have been barely finished before the evacuation of the place in #adej4 ,since that time the post has only been once attacked by the ,english1 and that was as recently as #ageh1 when ,lord ,howe destroyed and burnt the forts1 shipping and naval stores4 ,leaving ,cherbourg we will take our way southwards again to ,valognes1 a town which suffered terribly during the ceaseless wars between ,england and ,france4 ,in #acdf1 ,edward ,,iii4 completely destroyed the place4 ,it was captured by the ,english seventy-one years afterwards and did not again become ,french until that remarkable year #adej1 when the whole of ,normandy and part of ,guienne was cleared of ,englishmen by the victorious ,french armies under the ,count of ,clermont and the ,duke of ,alenon4 ,the ,montgommery1 whose defeat at ,domfront castle has already been mentioned1 held ,valognes against the ,catholic army1 but it afterwards was captured by the victorious ,henry of ,navarre after the battle of ,ivry near ,evreux4 ,valognes possesses a good museum containing many ,roman relics from the neighbourhood4 ,a short distance from the town1 on the east side1 lies the village of ,alleaume where there remain the ivy-grown ruins of the castle in which ,duke ,william was residing when the news was brought to him of the insurrection of his barons under the ,viscount of the ,ctentin4 ,it was at this place that ,william's fool revealed to him the danger in which he stood1 and it was from here that he rode in hot haste to the castle of ,falaise1 a stronghold the ,duke seemed to regard as safer than any other in his possession4 ,still farther southwards lies the town of ,carentan1 in the centre of a great butter-making district4 ,it is1 however1 a dull place--it can scarcely be called a city even though it possesses a cathedral4 ,the earliest part of this building is the west front which is of twelfth century work4 ,the spire of the central tower has much the same appearance as those crowning the two western towers at ,st ,l1 but there is nothing about the building that inspires any particular enthusiasm although the tracery of some of the windows1 especially of the reticulated one in the south transept1 is exceptionally fine4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,concerning ,st ,l and ,bayeux ,the richest pasture lands occupy the great butter-making district that lies north of ,st ,l4 ,the grass in every meadow seems to grow with particular luxuriance1 and the sleepy cows that are privileged to dwell in this choice country1 show by their complaisant expressions the satisfaction they feel with their surroundings4 ,it is wonderful to lie in one of these sunny pastures1 when the buttercups have gilded the grass1 and to watch the motionless red and white cattle as they solemnly let the hours drift past them4 ,during a whole sunny afternoon1 which ,i once spent in those pastoral surroundings1 ,i can scarcely remember the slightest movement taking place among the somnolent herd4 ,there was a gentle breeze that made waves in the silky sea of grass and sometimes stirred the fresh green leaves of the trees overhead4 ,the birds were singing sweetly1 and the distant tolling of the cathedral bells at ,carentan added a richness to the sounds of nature4 ,imagine this scene repeated a thousand times in every direction and you have a good idea of this strip of pastoral ,normandy4 ,about four miles north of ,st ,l1 the main road drops down into the pleasant little village of ,pont ,hbert and then passes over the ,vire where it flows through a lovely vale4 ,in either direction the brimming waters of the river glide between brilliant green meadows1 and as it winds away into the distance1 the trees become more and more blue and form a charming contrast to the brighter colours near at hand4 ,to come across the peasants of this pretty country in the garb one so frequently sees depicted as the usual dress of ,normandy1 it is necessary to be there on a ,sunday or some fete day4 ,on such days the wonderful frilled caps1 that stand out for quite a foot above the head1 are seen on every peasant woman4 ,they are always of the most elaborate designs1 and it is scarcely necessary to say that they are of a dazzling whiteness4 ,the men have their characteristic dark blue close-fitting coats and the high-crowned cap that being worn on week days is much more frequently in evidence than the remarkable creations worn by the womenfolk4 ,there is a long climb from ,pont ,hbert to ,st ,l but there are plenty of pretty cottages scattered along the road1 and these with crimson stonecrop on the roofs and may and lilac blossoming in the gardens1 are pictures that prevent you from finding the way tedious4 ,at last1 from the considerable height you have reached1 ,st ,l1 dominated by its great church1 appears on a hill scarcely a mile away4 ,the old town1 perched upon the flat surface of a mass of rock with precipitous sides1 has much the same position as ,domfront4 ,but here we are shut in by other hills and there is no unlimited view of green forest-lands4 ,the place1 too1 has a busy city-like aspect so that the comparison cannot be carried very far4 ,when you have climbed the steep street that leads up through a quaint gateway to the extensive plateau above1 you pass through the ,rue ,thiers and reach one of the finest views of the church4 ,on one side of the street1 there are picturesque houses with tiled roofs and curiously clustered chimneys1 and beyond them1 across a wide gravelly space1 rises the majestic bulk of the west front of ,notre ,dame4 ,from the wide flight of steps that leads to the main entrance1 the eye travels upwards to the three deeply-recessed windows that occupy most of the surface of this end of the nave4 ,then the two great towers1 seemingly similar1 but really full of individual ornament1 rise majestically to a height equal to that of the highest portion of the nave4 ,then higher still1 soaring away into the blue sky above1 come the enormous stone spires perforated with great multi-foiled openings all the way to the apex4 ,both towers belong to the fifteenth century1 but they were not built at quite the same time4 ,in the chancel there is a double arcade of graceful pillars without capitals4 ,there is much fine old glass full of beautiful colours that make a curious effect when the sunlight falls through them upon the black and white marble slabs of the floor4 ,wedged up against the north-west corner of the exterior stands a comparatively modern house1 but this incongruous companionship is no strange thing in ,normandy1 although1 as we have seen at ,falaise1 there are instances in which efforts are being made to scrape off the humble domestic architecture that clings1 barnacle-like1 upon the walls of so many of the finest churches4 ,on the north side of ,notre ,dame1 there is an admirably designed outside pulpit with a great stone canopy overhead full of elaborate tracery4 ,it overhangs the pavement1 and is a noticeable object as you go towards the ,place de la ,prefecture4 ,on this wide and open terrace1 a band plays on ,sunday evenings4 ,there are seats under the trees by the stone balustrade from which one may look across the roofs of the lower town filling the space beneath4 ,the great gravelly ,place des ,beaux-,regards that runs from the western side of the church1 is terminated at the very edge of the rocky platform1 and looking over the stone parapet you see the ,vire flowing a hundred feet below4 ,this view must have been very much finer before warehouses and factory-like buildings came to spoil the river-side scenery1 but even now it has qualities which are unique4 ,facing the west end of the church1 the most striking gabled front of the ,maison ,dieu forms part of one side of the open space4 ,this building may at first appear almost too richly carved and ornate to be anything but a modern reproduction of a mediaeval house1 but it has been so carefully preserved that the whole of the details of the front belong to the original time of the construction of the house4 ,the lower portion is of heavy stone-work1 above1 the floors project one over the other1 and the beauty of the timber-framing and the leaded windows is most striking4 ,st ,l teems with soldiers1 and it has a town-crier who wears a dark blue uniform and carries a drum to call attention to his announcements4 ,in the lower part of the town1 in the ,rue des ,halles1 you may find the corn-market now held in the church that was dedicated to ,thomas ,becket4 ,the building was in course of construction when the primate happened to be at ,st ,l and he was asked to name the saint to whom the church should be dedicated4 ,his advice was that they should wait until some saintly son of the church should die for its sake4 ,strangely enough he himself died for the privileges of the church1 and thus his name was given to this now desecrated house of ,god4 ,the remains of the fortifications that crown the rock are scarcely noticeable at the present time1 and it is very much a matter of regret that the town has1 with the exception of the ,tour ,beaux-,regards1 lost the walls and towers that witnessed so many sieges and assaults from early ,norman times right up to the days of ,henry of ,navarre4 ,it was one of the towns that was held by ,geoffrey ,plantagenet in ,stephen's reign1 and it was burnt by ,edward ,,iii4 about the same time as ,valognes4 ,then again in the religious wars of the sixteenth century1 a most terrific attack was made on ,st ,l by ,matignon who overcame the resistance of the garrison after ,colombieres1 the leader1 had been shot dead upon the ramparts4 ,it is fortunate for travellers in hot weather that exactly half-way between ,st ,l and ,bayeux there lies the shade of the extensive forest of ,cerisy through which the main road cuts in a perfectly straight line4 ,at ,semilly there is a picturesque calvary4 ,the great wooden cross towers up to a remarkable height so that the figure of our ,lord is almost lost among the overhanging trees1 and down below a double flight of mossy stone steps leads up to the little walled-in space where the wayfarer may kneel in prayer at the foot of the cross4 ,onward from this point1 the dust and heat of the roadway can become excessive1 so that when at last the shade of the forest is reached1 its cool glades of slender beech-trees entice you from the glaring sunshine--for towards the middle of the day the roadway receives no suggestion of shadows from the trees on either side4 ,in this part of the country1 it is a common sight to meet the peasant women riding their black donkeys with the milk cans resting in panniers on either side4 ,the cans are of brass with spherical bodies and small necks1 and are kept brilliantly burnished4 ,the forest left behind1 an extensive pottery district is passed through4 ,the tuilleries may be seen by the roadside in nearly all the villages1 ,naron being entirely given up to this manufacture4 ,great embankments of dark brown jars show above the hedges1 and the furnaces in which the earthenware is baked1 are almost as frequent as the cottages4 ,there are some particularly quaint1 but absolutely simple patterns of narrow necked jugs that appear for sale in some of the shops at ,bayeux and ,caen4 ,soon the famous ,norman cathedral with its three lofty spires appears straight ahead4 ,in a few minutes the narrow streets of this historic city are entered4 ,the place has altogether a different aspect to the busy and cheerful ,st ,l4 ,the ground is almost level1 it is difficult to find any really striking views1 and we miss the atmosphere of the more favourably situated town4 ,perhaps it is because of the evil influence of ,caen1 but certainly ,bayeux lacks the cleanliness and absence of smells that distinguishes ,coutances and ,avranches from some of the other ,norman towns4 ,it is1 however1 rich in carved fronts and timber-framed houses1 and probably is the nearest rival to ,lisieux in these features4 ,the visitor is inclined to imagine that he will find the tapestry for which he makes a point of including ,bayeux in his tour1 at the cathedral or some building adjoining it1 but this is not the case4 ,it is necessary to traverse two or three small streets to a tree-grown public square where behind a great wooden gateway is situated the museum4 ,as a home for such a priceless relic as this great piece of needlework1 the museum seems scarcely adequate4 ,it has a somewhat dusty and forlorn appearance1 and although the tapestry is well set out in a long series of glazed wooden cases1 one feels that the risks of fire and other mischances are greater here than they would be were the tapestry kept in a more modern and more fire-proof home4 ,queen ,mathilda or whoever may have been either the actual producer or the inspirer of the tapestry must have used brilliant colours upon this great length of linen4 ,during the nine centuries that have passed since the work was completed the linen has assumed the colour of light brown canvas1 but despite this1 the greens1 blues1 reds1 and buffs of the stitches show out plainly against the unworked background4 ,there is scarcely an ,english ,history without a reproduction of one of the scenes portrayed in the long series of pictures1 and ,london has in the ,south ,kensington ,museum a most carefully produced copy of the original4 ,even the chapter-house of ,westminster ,abbey has its coloured reproductions of the tapestry1 so that it is seldom that any one goes to ,bayeux without some knowledge of the historic events portrayed in the needlework4 ,there are fifty-eight separate scenes on the #bcj feet of linen4 ,they commence with ,harold's instructions from ,edward the ,confessor to convey to ,william the ,norman the fact that he 7,harold7 is to become king of ,england4 ,then follows the whole story leading up to the flight of the ,english at ,senlac ,hill4 ,even if this wonderful piece of work finds a more secure resting-place in ,paris1 ,bayeux will still attract many pilgrims for its cathedral and its domestic architecture compare favourably with many other ,norman towns4 ,the misfortunes that attended the early years of the life of the cathedral were so numerous and consistent that the existence of the great structure to-day is almost a matter for surprise4 ,it seems that the first church made its appearance during the eleventh century1 and it was in it that ,harold unwittingly took that sacred oath on the holy relics1 but by some accident the church was destroyed by fire and there is probably nothing left of this earliest building except the crypt4 ,eleven years after the conquest of ,england1 ,william was present at ,bayeux when a new building built by his half-brother ,odo1 ,bishop of ,bayeux1 was consecrated4 ,ten years after his death1 however1 this second church was burnt down4 ,they rebuilt it once more a few years later1 but a third time a fire wrought much destruction4 ,the portions of the cathedral that survived this century of conflagrations can be seen in the two great western towers1 in the arches of the ,norman nave1 and a few other portions4 ,the rest of the buildings are in the ,early ,french period of pointed architecture1 with the exception of the central tower which is partly of the flamboyant period1 but the upper portion is as modern as the middle of last century4 ,the spandrels of the nave arcades are covered over with a diaper work of half a dozen or more different patterns1 some of them scaly1 some representing interwoven basket-work1 while others are composed simply of a series of circles1 joined together with lines4 ,there are curious little panels in each of these spandrels that are carved with the most quaint and curious devices4 ,some are strange1 ,chinese-looking dragons1 and some show odd-looking figures or mitred saints4 ,the panel showing ,harold taking the oath is modern4 ,there is a most imposing pulpit surmounted by a canopy where a female figure seated on a globe is surrounded by cherubs1 clouds 7or are they rocks87 and fearful lightning4 ,at a shrine dedicated to ,john the ,baptist1 the altar bears a painting in the centre showing the saint's dripping head resting in the charger4 ,quite close to the west front of the cathedral there stands a house that still bears its very tall chimney dating from mediaeval times4 ,not far from this there is one of the timber-framed fifteenth century houses ornamented with curious carvings of small figures1 and down in the ,rue ,st ,malo there is an even richer example of the same type of building4 ,on the other side of the road1 nearer the cathedral1 a corner house stands out conspicuously4 ,illustration3 ,,an ,,ancient ,,house ,,in ,,the ,,rue ,,st ,,malo1 ,,bayeux ,it is shown in the illustration given here and its curious detail makes it one of the most quaint of all the ancient houses in the city4 ,some of these old buildings date from the year #adej1 when ,normandy was swept clear of the ,english1 and it is probably owing to the consideration of the leader of the ,french army that there are any survivals of this time4 ,the ,lord of ,montenay was leading the ,duke of ,alenon's troops and with him were ,pierre de ,louvain1 ,robert ,conigrain and a number of free archers4 ,after they had battered the walls of ,bayeux with their cannon for fifteen days1 and after they had done much work with mines and trenches1 the ,french were ready for an assault4 ,the ,king of ,france1 however1 and the notables who have been mentioned 8had pity for the destruction of the city and would not consent to the assault40 ,without their orders1 however1 the troops1 whose ardour could not be restrained1 attacked in one place1 but not having had the advice of their leaders the onslaught was quite indecisive1 both sides suffering equally from arrows and culverins4 ,it was soon after this that ,matthew ,gough1 the ,english leader1 was obliged to surrender the city1 and we are told that nine hundred of the bravest and the best soldiers of the ,duchy of ,normandy came out and were allowed to march to ,cherbourg4 ,the ,french lords 8for the honour of courtesy0 lent some of their horses to carry the ladies and the other gentlewomen1 and they also supplied carts to convey the ordinary womenfolk who went with their husbands4 8,it was10 says ,jacques le ,bouvier1 who describes the scene1 8a thing pitiful to behold4 ,some carried the smallest of the children in their arms1 and some were led by hand1 and in this way the ,english lost possession of ,bayeux40 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,gateway ,,of ,,the ,,chateau ,,chapter ,x ,concerning ,caen and the ,coast ,towards ,trouville ,caen1 like mediaeval ,london1 is famed for its bells and its smells4 ,if you climb up to any height in the town you will see at once that the place is crowded with the spires and towers of churches2 and1 if you explore any of the streets1 you are sure to discover how rudimentary are the notions of sanitation in the historic old city4 ,if you come to ,caen determined to thoroughly examine all the churches1 you must allow at least two or three days for this purpose1 for although you might endeavour to 8do0 the place in one single day1 you would remember nothing but the fatigue1 and the features of all the churches would become completely confused4 ,my first visit to ,caen1 several years ago1 is associated with a day of sight-seeing commenced at a very early hour4 ,i had been deposited at one of the quays by the steamer that had started at sunrise and had slowly glided along the ten miles of canal from ,ouistreham1 reaching its destination at about five o'clock4 ,the town seemed thoroughly awake at this time1 the weather being brilliantly fine4 ,white-capped women were everywhere to be seen sweeping the cobbled streets with their peculiarly fragile-looking brooms4 ,it was so early by the actual time1 however1 that it seemed wise to go straight to the hotel and to postpone the commencement of sight-seeing until a more rational hour4 ,my rooms at the hotel1 however1 were not yet vacated1 so that it was impossible to go to my bedroom till eight o'clock4 ,the hotel courtyard1 though picturesque1 with its three superimposed galleries and its cylindrical tower containing the staircase1 was not1 at this hour in the morning at least1 a place to linger in4 ,it seemed therefore the wisest plan to begin an exploration of some of the adjoining streets to fill the time4 ,after having seen the exterior of three or four churches1 the interiors of some others2 after having explored a dozen curious courtyards and the upper part of the town1 where the ,chateau stands1 the clocks began to strike seven1 although to me it seemed like noon4 ,by half-past eight the afternoon seemed well advanced1 and when dejeuner made its appearance at the hotel it seemed as though the day would never cease4 ,i had by this time seen several more churches and interesting old buildings1 and my whole senses had become so jaded that ,i would scarcely have moved a yard to have seen the finest piece of architecture in the whole of ,normandy4 ,the circumstances of this day1 were1 no doubt1 exceptional1 but ,i mention them as a warning to those who with a pathetic conscientiousness endeavour to see far more than they can possibly comprehend in the space of a very few hours4 ,it would be far better to spend one's whole time in the great church of the ,abbaye aux ,hommes1 and photograph in one's mind the simplicity of the early ,norman structure1 than to have a confused recollection of this1 ,st ,pierre1 the church of the ,abbaye aux ,darnes and half a dozen others4 ,the galleried hotel ,i have mentioned was known as the ,hotel ,st ,barbe4 ,it is now converted into a warehouse1 but no one need regret this for it was more pleasant to look at than to actually stay in4 ,i am glad1 personally1 to have had this experience2 to have seen the country carts1 with the blue sheep-skins over the horse collars1 drive into the courtyard1 and to have watched the servants of the hotel eating their meals at a long table in the open air4 ,there was a ,spanish flavour about the place that is not found in the modern hotels4 ,there is no town ,i have ever known more confusing in its plan than ,caen1 and1 although ,i have stayed there for nearly a week on one occasion1 ,i am still a little uncertain in which direction to turn for the castle when ,i am at the church of ,st ,jean4 ,the streets1 as a rule1 are narrow and have a busy appearance that is noticeable after the quiet of ,bayeux4 ,the clatter and noise of the omnibuses has been subdued in recent years by the introduction of electric trams which sweep round the corners with a terrifying speed1 for after a long sojourn in the country and quiet little towns one loses the agility and wariness of the town-bred folk4 ,caen1 of course1 does not compete with ,lisieux for its leading position as the possessor of the largest number of old houses1 but it nevertheless can show some quaint carved fronts in the ,rue ,st ,pierre and the narrow streets adjoining4 ,at the present time the marks of antiquity are being removed from the beautiful renaissance courtyard of the ,bourse near ,st ,pierre4 ,the restoration has been going on for some years1 and the steps that lead up to the entrance in one corner of the quadrangle are no longer stained with the blackish-green of a prolonged period of damp4 ,but it is better1 however1 that this sixteenth century house should assume a fictitious newness rather than fall entirely into disrepair4 ,it was originally the house of one of the wealthy families of ,caen named ,le ,valois1 and was known as the ,hotel d',escoville4 ,another splendid house is the ,hotel de la ,monnaie built by the famous and princely merchant ,etienne ,duval1 ,sieur de ,mondrainville1 whose great wealth enabled him to get sufficient supplies into ,metz to make it possible for the place to hold out during its siege in #aeec4 ,in his most admirably written book 8,highways and ,byways in ,normandy10 ,mr ,dearmer gives an interesting sketch of this remarkable man whose success brought him jealous enemies4 ,they succeeded in bringing charges against him for which he was exiled1 and at another time he was imprisoned in the castle at ,caen until1 with great difficulty1 he had proved the baseness of the attacks upon his character4 ,duval was over seventy when he died1 being1 like ,job1 wealthy and respected1 for he had survived the disasters that had fallen upon him4 ,the gateway of the ,chateau is the best and most imposing portion of the fortifications of ,caen4 ,the castle being now used as barracks1 visitors as a rule are unable to enter1 but as the gateway may be seen from outside the deep moat1 the rest of the place need not tantalise one4 ,in ,william the ,conqueror's time the castle was being built1 and the town walls included the two great abbeys for which ,caen is chiefly famous4 ,these two magnificent examples of ,norman architecture have been restored with great thoroughness so that the marks of antiquity that one might expect are entirely wanting in both buildings4 ,the exterior of the great church of ,st ,etienne disappoints so many1 largely from the fact that the gaunt west front is the only view one really has of the building except from a distance4 ,inside1 services seem to go on at most times of the day1 and when you are quietly looking at the mighty nave with its plain1 semicircular arches and massive piers1 you are suddenly startled by the entry from somewhere of a procession of priests loudly singing some awe-inspiring chant1 the guttural tones of the singers echoing through the aisles4 ,following the clerical party will come a rabble of nuns1 children and ordinary laity1 and before you have scarcely had time to think a service has commenced1 people are kneeling1 and if you do not make haste towards the doors a priest will probably succeed in reaching you with a collecting dish in which one is not inclined to place even a sou if the service has hindered the exploration of the church4 ,owing to the perpetuation of an error in some of the ,english guides to ,normandy1 it is often thought that a thigh-bone of the founder of the abbey is still lying beneath the marble slab in the sanctuary1 but this is a great mistake1 for that last poor relic of ,william the ,conqueror was lost during the ,revolution4 ,the whole story of the death1 the burial1 and the destruction of the tomb and remains of the founder of the abbey are most miserable and even gruesome4 ,william was at ,rouen when he died1 and we need scarcely remind ourselves of that tragic scene discovered by the clergy when they came to the house not long after the great man had expired4 ,every one of ,william's suite had immediately recognised the changed state of affairs now that the inflexible will that had controlled the two kingdoms had been removed1 and each1 concerned for himself1 had betaken himself with indecent haste to ,england or wherever his presence might be most opportune4 ,in this way1 there being no one left to watch the corpse1 the ,archbishop of ,rouen discovered that the house and even the bed had been pillaged1 so that the royal body was lying in great disorder until reverently tended by a ,norman gentleman named ,herluin4 ,having fulfilled ,william's wishes and brought the remains to ,caen1 a stately funeral was arranged4 ,as the procession slowly passed through the narrow streets1 however1 it was interrupted by an alarm of fire-some of the wooden houses blazing fiercely just when the bier was passing4 ,the flames grew so quickly that in some danger the mournful procession was dispersed and the coffin was only attended by a few monks when the gates of the ,abbaye aux ,hommes were reached4 ,eventually the burial ceremonies were in progress beside the open grave within the church1 but another interruption ensued4 ,scarcely had the ,bishop of ,evreux concluded his address when everybody was startled at hearing the loud voice of ,ascelin resounding through the church4 ,he was a well-known man1 a burgher1 and a possessor of considerable wealth1 and it was therefore with considerable anxiety that the clergy heard his claim upon the ground in which they were about to bury ,william4 ,it was the actual site of a house that had belonged to ,ascelin's father1 for the dead king had shown no consideration to private claims when he was building the great abbey to appease the wrath of the church4 ,the disturbance having been settled by the payment for the grave of a sum which ,ascelin was induced to accept1 the proceedings were resumed4 ,but then came the worst scene of all1 for it has been recorded that the coffin containing the ponderous body of the king had not been made with sufficient strength1 and as it was being lowered into the grave1 the boards gave way1 and so gruesome was the result that the church was soon emptied4 ,it thus came about that once more in the last phase of all ,william was deserted except by a few monks4 ,the monument which was raised over the ,conqueror's grave1 was1 however1 of a most gorgeous character4 ,it was literally encrusted with precious gems1 and it is known that enormous quantities of gold from the accumulated stores of wealth which ,william had made were used by ,otto the goldsmith 7sometimes known as ,aurifaber7 who was entrusted with the production of this most princely tomb4 ,such a striking object as this could scarcely pass through many centuries in safety1 and we find that in the ,huguenot wars of the seventeenth century it was largely destroyed and the stone coffin was broken open1 the bones being scattered4 ,we only know what became of a thigh-bone which was somehow rescued by a monk belonging to the abbey4 ,he kept it for some time1 and in #afdb it was replaced in a new1 but much less gorgeous tomb4 ,about one hundred years later1 it was moved to another part of the church1 but in the ,revolution this third tomb was broken into1 and the last relic of the ,conqueror was lost4 ,then after some years1 the ,prefet of ,calvados placed upon the site of the desecrated tomb the slab of black marble that still marks the spot4 ,the inscription reads 8,hic sepultus est1 ,invictissimus ,guielmus ,conquestor1 ,normanni ,dux et ,angli ,rex1 ,hujusce domus ,conditor ,qui obit anno ,,mlxxxvii40 ,when ,lanfranc had been sent to the ,pope by ,william with a view to making some arrangement by which the ,king could retain his wife ,matilda and at the same time the good offices of the ,church1 his side of the bargain consisted in undertaking to build two great abbeys at ,caen1 one for men and one for women4 ,the first we have already been examining1 the other is at the eastern side of the town on the hill beyond the castle4 ,it is a more completely ,norman building than ,st ,etienne1 but its simple1 semi-circular arches and round-headed windows contrast strangely with the huge pontifical canopy of draped velvet that is suspended above the altar1 and very effectually blocks the view of the ,norman apse beyond4 ,the smallness of the windows throughout the building subdues the light within1 and thus gives ,st ,trinit a somewhat different character to ,st ,etienne4 ,the capitals of the piers of the arcade are carved with strange-looking monkeys and other designs1 and there are chevron mouldings conspicuous in the nave4 ,the tomb of ,queen ,mathilda is in the choir4 ,like that of her husband it has been disturbed more than once1 so that the marble slab on top is all that remains of the original4 ,opposite the ,place ,reine ,mathilde stands the desecrated church of ,st ,gilles1 one of the numerous beautiful buildings in ,caen now in partial ruin and occupied as warehouses1 wine-vaults or workshops4 ,they are all worth looking for1 and if possible examining inside as well as out1 for they include some beautiful flamboyant structures and others of earlier date1 such as ,st ,nicholas1 illustrated here1 which in part dates from ,norman times4 ,st ,etienne le ,vieux1 quite close to the ,abbaye aux ,hommes1 is a beautiful building rich in elaborate carving and rows of gargoyles4 ,it was built in the early years of the fifteenth century in place of one which had fallen into ruin when ,henry ,v4 besieged ,caen4 ,it is still unrestored1 and if you peep inside the open doors you will see the interior filled with ladders1 boxes1 brooms1 and a thousand odds and ends1 this most beautiful structure being used as a municipal workshop4 ,we have more than once referred to the church of ,st ,pierre1 but as yet we have made no reference to its architecture4 ,the tower and graceful spire needs no detailed description1 for it appears in the coloured illustration adjoining1 and from it one may see what a strikingly perfect structure this is for such an early date as #acjh4 ,it is a marvel of construction1 for the spire within is hollow1 and without any interior framework or supports at all4 ,although it is so seemingly frail1 it was used during the sixteenth century for military purposes1 having been selected as a good position for firing upon the castle1 and it naturally became a target for the guns inside the fortress4 ,you cannot now see the holes made by the cannon balls1 but although they were not repaired for many years the tower remained perfectly stable1 as a proof of the excellent work of ,nicholas1 the ,englishman who built it4 ,unlike the church of the ,abbaye aux ,dames1 ,st ,pierre is brilliantly lit inside by large1 traceried windows that let in the light through their painted glass4 ,in the nave the roof is covered with the most elaborate vaulting with great pendants dropping from the centre of each section2 but for the most crowded ornament one must examine the chancel and the chapels4 ,the church of ,st ,jean is not conspicuous1 but it is notable for two or three features4 ,the western tower is six and a half feet out of perpendicular1 the triforium has a noticeable balustrade running all round1 and the chancel is longer than the nave4 ,st ,sauveur1 in the ,rue ,st ,pierre is of the same period as ,st ,jean1 but its tower if it had been crocketed would have very closely resembled that of ,st ,pierre1 and it is chiefly notable for the fact that it is two churches thrown into one--that of ,st ,eustace being joined on to it4 ,another feature of ,caen that is often overlooked is the charm of its old courtyards4 ,behind some of the rather plain stone fronts1 the archways lead into little paved quadrangles that have curious well-heads1 rustic outside staircases1 and odd-shaped dormer windows on the steep roofs4 ,one of these courtyards behind a house in the ,rue de ,bayeux is illustrated here1 but to do justice to the quaintnesses that are to be revealed1 it would have been necessary to give several examples4 ,in the ,boulevard ,st ,pierre1 where the pavements are shaded by pink horse chestnuts there stands the ,tour le ,roy4 ,it is the most noticeable remnant of the days when ,caen was a walled and strongly fortified city1 but as you look at it to-day it seems too much like a good piece of the sham antique to be found at large exhibitions4 ,it is the restoration that is at fault1 and not the tower itself1 which is really old1 and no doubt is in quiet rebellion at the false complexion it is obliged to wear4 ,the view of ,caen from across the race-course is a beautiful one1 but under some aspects this is quite eclipsed by the wonderful groupings of the church towers seen from the canal as it goes out of the town towards the east4 ,i can remember one particular afternoon when there was a curious mistiness through which the western sunlight passed1 turning everything into a strange1 dull gold4 ,it was a light that suppressed all that was crude and commercial near at hand and emphasised the medievalism of the place by throwing out spires and towers in softly tinted silhouettes4 ,i love to think of ,caen robed in this cloth of gold1 and the best ,i can wish for every one who goes there with the proper motives1 is that they may see the place in that same light4 ,on the left1 a few miles out of ,caen on the road to ,creully1 stands the ,abbaye d',ardennes where ,charles ,,vii4 lodged when his army was besieging the city in #adej4 ,the buildings are now used as a farm1 and the church is generally stacked with hay and straw up to the triforium4 ,although they start towards the east1 the canal and the river ,orne taking parallel courses run generally towards the north1 both entering the sea by the village of ,ouistreham1 the ancient port of ,caen4 ,along the margin of the canal there is a good road1 and almost hidden by the long grass outside the tall trees that line the canal on each bank1 runs the steam tramway to ,cabourg and the coast to the west of the ,orne4 ,except when the fussy little piece of machinery drawing three or four curious1 open-sided trams1 is actually passing1 the tramway escapes notice1 for the ground is level and the miniature rails are laid on the ground without any excavating or embanking4 ,the scenery as you go along the tramway1 the road1 or the canal1 is charming1 the pastures on either side being exceedingly rich1 and the red and white cattle seem to revel in the long grass and buttercups4 ,heronville1 ,blainville and other sleepy villages are pleasantly perched on the slight rise on the western side of the canal4 ,their churches1 with red roofs all subdued with lichen into the softest browns1 rise above the cottages or farm buildings that surround them in the ideal fashion that is finally repeated at ,ouistreham where locks impound the waters of the canal1 and a great lighthouse stands out more conspicuously than the church tower4 ,seen through the framework of closely trimmed trees ,ouistreham makes a notable picture4 ,the great ,norman church is so exceedingly imposing for such a mere village1 that it is easy to understand how1 as a port in the ,middle ,ages1 ,ouistreham flourished exceedingly4 ,the tramway crosses the canal at ,benouville on its way to ,cabourg1 and leaving the shade of birches and poplars takes its way over the open fields towards the sea4 ,benouville is best remembered on account of its big chateau with a great classic portico much resembling a section of ,waterloo ,place perched upon a fine terraced slope4 ,ranville has an old church tower standing in lonely fashion by itself1 and you pass a conspicuous calvary as you go on to the curious little seaside resort known as ,le ,home-,sur-,mer4 ,the houses are bare and 7if one may coin a word7 seasidey4 ,perched here and there on the sandy ridge between the road and the shore1 they have scarcely anything more to suggest a garden than the thin wiry grass that contrives to exist in such soil4 ,down on the wide sandy beach there is an extensive sweep of the coast to be seen stretching from beyond ,ouistreham to the bold cliffs of ,le ,havre4 ,keeping along the road by the tramway you have been out of sight of the sea1 but in a few minutes the pleasant leafiness of ,cabourg has been reached4 ,here everything has the full flavour of a seaside resort1 for we find a casino1 a long esplanade1 hotels1 shops and bathing apparatus4 ,it is a somewhat strong dose of modern life after the slumbering old world towns and villages we have been exploring1 and it is therefore with great satisfaction that we turn toward the village of ,dives lying close at hand4 ,the place possesses a splendid old market hall1 more striking perhaps than that of ,ecouche and a picturesque inn--the ,hotel ,guillaume le ,conquerant4 ,the building is of stone with tiled roofs1 and in the two courtyards there are galleries and much ancient timber-framing1 but unfortunately the proprietor has not been content to preserve the place in its natural picturesqueness4 ,he has crowded the exterior1 as well as the rooms1 with a thousand additions of a meretricious character which detract very much from the charm of the fine old inn and defeat the owner's object1 that of making it attractive on account of its age and associations4 ,madame de ,sevigne wrote many of her letters in one of the rooms1 but we know that she saw none of the sham antique lamps1 the well-head1 or the excess of flowers that blaze in the courtyards4 ,on account of its name1 the unwary are trapped into thinking that ,william the ,norman--for he had still to defeat ,harold--could have frequently been seen strolling about this hostelry1 when his forces for invading ,england were gathering and his fleet of ships were building4 ,this is1 of course1 a total misapprehension1 for the only structure that contains anything that dates back to #ajff is the church4 ,even this building dates chiefly from the fourteenth century1 but there is to be seen1 besides the ,norman walls1 a carved wooden cross that is believed to have been found in the sea1 and therefore to have some connection with ,william's great fleet and its momentous voyage to ,england4 ,the names of the leading men who accompanied ,william are engraved upon two marble slabs inside the church1 and on the hill above the village a short column put up by ,m4 de ,caumont1 commemorates the site upon which ,william is believed to have inspected his forces previous to their embarkation4 ,it is a difficult matter to form any clear idea of the size of this army for the estimates vary from #fg1jjj to #ad1jjj1 and there is also much uncertainty as to the number of ships employed in transporting the host across the channel4 ,the lowest estimates suggest #fif vessels1 and there is every reason to believe that they were quite small4 ,the building of so large a fleet of even small boats between the winter and summer of #ajff must have employed an enormous crowd of men1 and we may be justified in picturing a very busy scene on the shores of this portion of the coast of ,normandy4 ,duke ,william's ship1 which was named the ,mora1 had been presented to him by his wife ,mathilda1 and most of the vessels had been built and manned by the ,norman barons and prelates1 the ,bishop of ,bayeux preparing no less than a hundred ships4 ,the ,conquest of ,england must have almost been regarded as a holy crusade6 ,when the fleet left the mouth of the river ,dives it did not make at once for ,pevensey ,bay4 ,the ships instead worked along the coast eastwards to the ,somme1 where they waited until a south wind blew1 then the vessels all left the estuary each carrying a light1 for it was almost dark4 ,by the next morning the white chalk of ,beachy ,head was in sight1 and at nine o'clock ,william had landed on ,english soil4 ,close to ,dives and in sight of the hill on which the ,normans were mustered1 there is a small watering-place known as ,houlgate-sur-mer4 ,the houses are charmingly situated among trees1 and the place has in recent years become known as one of those quiet resorts where princes and princesses with their families may be seen enjoying the simple pleasures of the seaside1 incognito4 ,this fact1 of course1 gets known to enterprising journalists who come down and photograph these members of the ,european royal families wherever they can get them in particularly unconventional surroundings4 ,from ,houlgate all the way to ,trouville the country is wooded and hilly1 and in the hollows1 where the timber-framed farms with their thatched roofs are picturesquely arranged1 there is much to attract the visitor who1 wearying of the gaiety of ,trouville and its imitators along the coast1 wishes to find solitudes and natural surroundings4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,some ,notes on the ,history of ,normandy ,the early inhabitants of ,normandy submitted to the ,roman legions under ,titurus ,sabinus in ,b4,c4 #eh1 only a few years before ,caesar's first attempt upon ,britain4 ,by their repeated attacks upon ,roman territory the ,gaulish tribes had brought upon themselves the invasion which1 after some stubborn fighting1 made their country a province of the ,roman ,empire4 ,inter-tribal strife having now ceased1 the civilisation of ,rome made its way all over the country including that northern portion known as ,neustria1 much of which from the days of ,rollo came to be called ,normandy4 ,traces of the ,roman occupation are scattered all over the province1 the most remarkable being the finely preserved theatre at ,lillebonne1 a corruption of ,juliabona1 mentioned in another chapter4 ,in the second century ,rouen1 under its ,roman name ,rotomagos1 is mentioned by ,ptolemy4 ,it was then merely the capital of the tribe of ,velocasses1 but in ,diocletian's reign it had become not only the port of ,roman ,paris1 but also the most important town in the province4 ,in time the position occupied by ,rotomagos became recognised as one having greater strategical advantages than ,juliabona1 a little further down the river1 and this ,gallo-,roman precursor of the modern ,rouen became the headquarters of the provincial governor4 ,the site of ,rotomagos would appear to include the ,palais de ,justice and the ,cathedral of the present day4 ,after the four centuries of ,roman rule came the incursions of the savage hordes of northern ,europe1 and of the great army of ,huns1 under ,attila1 who marched through ,gaul in ,a4,d4 #dea4 ,the ,romans with their auxiliaries engaged ,attila at ,chalons--the battle in which fabulous numbers of men are said to have fallen on both sides4 ,the ,roman power was soon completely withdrawn from ,gaul1 and the ,franks under ,clovis1 after the battle of ,soissons1 made themselves complete masters of the country4 ,in #eaa ,clovis died4 ,he had embraced ,christianity fifteen years before1 having been baptised at ,rheims1 probably through the influence of his wife ,clothilda4 ,then for two hundred and fifty years ,france was under the ,merovingian kings1 and throughout much of this period there was very little settled government1 ,neustria1 together with the rest of ,france1 suffering from the lawlessness that prevailed under these 8sluggard0 kings4 ,rouen was still the centre of many of the events connected with the history of ,neustria4 ,we know something of the story of ,hilparik1 a king of ,neustria1 whose brutal behaviour to his various queens and the numerous murders and revenges that darkened his reign1 form a most unsavoury chapter in the story of this portion of ,france4 ,following this period came the time when ,france was ruled by the mayors of the palace who1 owing to the weakness of the sovereigns1 gradually assumed the whole of the royal power4 ,after ,charles ,martel1 the most famous of these mayors1 had defeated the ,saracens at ,tours1 came his son ,pepin-le-,bref1 the father of ,charlemagne4 ,childeric1 the last of the ,merovingian kings1 had been put out of the way in a monastery and ,pepin had become the ,king of ,france4 ,charlemagne1 however1 soon made himself greater still as ,emperor of an enormous portion of ,europe--,france1 ,italy1 and ,germany all coming under his rule4 ,at his death ,charlemagne divided his empire4 ,his successor ,louis le ,debonnaire1 owing to his easy-going weakness1 fell a prey to ,charlemagne's other sons1 and at his death1 ,charles the ,bald became ,king of ,france and the country west of the ,rhine4 ,the other portions of the empire falling to ,lothaire and the younger ,louis4 ,during all this period1 ,france had suffered from endless fighting and the famines that came as an unevitable consequence1 and just about this time ,neustria suffered still further owing to the incursions of the ,danes4 ,even in ,charlemagne's time the black-sailed ships of the ,northmen had been seen hovering along the coast near the mouth of the ,seine1 and it has been said that the great ,emperor wept at the sight of some of these awe-inspiring pirates4 ,in the year #hda the ,northmen had sailed up the ,seine as far as ,rouen1 but they found little to plunder1 for during the reign of the ,merovingian kings1 the town had been reduced to a mere shadow of its former prosperity4 ,there had been a great fire and a great plague1 and its ruin had been rendered complete during the civil strife that succeeded the death of ,charlemagne4 ,wave after wave came the northern invasions led by such men as ,bjorn ,ironside1 and ,ragnar ,lodbrog4 ,charles the ,bald1 fearing to meet these dreaded warriors1 bribed them away from the walls of ,paris in the year #hge4 ,but they came again twelve years afterwards in search of more of the ,frenchmen's gold4 ,when ,charles the ,fat1 the ,german ,emperor1 became also ,king of ,france1 he had to suffer for his treacherous murder of a ,danish chief1 for soon afterwards came the great ,rollo with a large fleet of galleys1 and ,paris was besieged once more4 ,odo1 ,count of ,paris1 held out successfully1 but when the king came from ,germany with his army1 instead of attacking the ,danes1 he induced them to retire by offering them a bribe of #hjj lbs4 of silver4 ,before long ,odo became ,king of ,france1 but after ten years of constant fighting1 he died and was succeeded by ,charles the ,simple4 ,this title does an injustice to his character1 for he certainly did more for ,france than most of his predecessors4 ,finding the ,northmen too firmly established in ,neustria to have any hope of successfully driving them out of the country1 he made a statesmanlike arrangement with ,rollo4 ,the ,dane was to do homage to the ,french king1 to abandon his gods ,thor1 ,odin and the rest for ,christianity1 and in return was to be made ruler of the country between the ,river ,epte and the sea1 and westwards as far as the borders of ,brittany ,rollo was also to be given the hand of the ,princess ,gisela in marriage4 ,rouen became the capital of the new ,duchy of ,normandy1 and the old name of ,neustria disappeared4 ,the ,northmen were not at this time numerous1 but they continued to come over in considerable numbers establishing centres such as that of ,bayeux1 where only ,danish was spoken4 ,as in ,england1 this warrior people showed the most astonishing adaptability to the higher civilisation with which they had come into contact1 and the new generations that sprang up on ,french soil added to the vigour and daring of their ancestors the manners and advanced customs of ,france1 although the ,northmen continued to be called 8,the ,pirates0 for a considerable time4 ,when ,rollo died he was succeeded by his son ,william ,longsword1 and from an incident mentioned by ,mr ,t4,a4 ,cook in his 8,story of ,rouen10 we can see the attitude of the ,normans towards ,charles the ,simple4 ,he had sent down to ,rouen two court gallants to sympathise with the ,princess ,gisela1 his daughter1 for the rough treatment she had received at the hands of ,rollo1 but they were both promptly siezed and hanged in what is now the ,place du ,marche ,vieux4 ,great stone castles were beginning to appear at all the chief places in ,normandy1 and when ,duke ,richard had succeeded ,harold ,blacktooth we find that the ,duchy was assuming an ordered existence internally4 ,the feudal system had then reached its fullest development1 and the laws established by ,rollo were properly administered4 ,with the accession of ,hugh ,capet to the throne of ,france1 ,normandy had become a most loyal as well as powerful fief of the crown4 ,the tenth century witnessed also an attempt on the part of the serfs of the ,duchy to throw off something of the awful grip of the feudal power4 ,these peasants were the descendants of ,celts1 of ,romans1 and of ,franks1 and their efforts to form a representative assembly bear a pathetic resemblance to the movement towards a similar end in ,russia of to-day4 ,the representatives of the serfs were treated with the most fearful cruelty and sent back to their villages2 but the movement did not fail to have its effects1 for the condition of the villains in ,normandy was always better than in other parts of ,france4 ,broadly speaking1 all the successors of ,rollo1 the first ,duke of ,normandy1 governed the country with wisdom and ability1 and although there was more or less constant war1 either with the ,french1 who were always hoping to regain the lost province1 or with rebellious barons who disputed the authority of the dukes1 yet the country progressed steadily and became prosperous4 ,abbeys and churches that the invaders had laid waste were rebuilt on a larger scale4 ,at ,jumiges there are still to be seen some remains of the church that ,william ,longsword began to build for the unfortunate monks who had been left homeless after their abbey had been destroyed by the 8,pirates40 ,richard ,i41 who died in #iif1 had added to the ,cathedral at ,rouen1 and the abbey of ,st ,ouen prospered greatly in the religious revival that became so widespread during the eleventh century4 ,duke ,richard ,,ii4 had been assisted on one occasion by ,olaf1 ,king of ,norway1 and before his return to the north that monarch1 impressed no doubt by the pomp of the ceremonial1 was in #ajjd baptised in the cathedral at ,rouen4 ,after ,richard ,,ii4 came ,robert the ,magnificent1 who was called also ,robert the ,devil by the people4 ,it was he1 who from the walls of his castle at ,falaise1 if the legend be true1 first saw ,arlette the tanner's daughter who afterwards became the ,mother of ,william the ,bastard4 ,as a boy ,william had a perilous life1 and it is almost marvellous that he survived to change his appellation to that of 8,conqueror40 ,robert the ,magnificent had joined one of the crusades to the ,holy ,land when ,william was only seven years old1 but before he left ,normandy1 he had made it known that he wished the boy to succeed him4 ,for twenty years there was civil war between the greater barons and the supporters of the heir1 but in the end ,william showed himself sufficiently strong to establish his power4 ,he won a great battle at ,val-es-,dunes where he had been met by the barons led by ,guy of ,burgundy1 and1 having taken some of the most formidable fortresses in the ,duchy1 he turned his attention to his foes outside with equal success4 ,soon after this ,william married ,mathilda a daughter of ,count ,baldwin of ,flanders1 but although by this act he made peace with her country1 ,william soon found himself in trouble with the church4 ,bishop ,mauger1 whom he had appointed to the ,see of ,rouen1 found fault with the marriage owing to its being within the forbidden degrees of relationship1 and the papal sanction having been refused1 ,william only obtained his wishes through the agency of ,lanfranc4 ,all his life ,william appears to have set a stern example of purity in family life1 and his relations with the church1 from this time to his death1 seem to have been most friendly4 ,it was largely due to his religious life as well as the support he gave to the monasteries that ,william was able to give the colour of a religious crusade to his project for invading ,england4 ,harold had slighted the sacredness of the holy relics of the saints of ,normandy1 and ,william was to show ,england that their king's action was not to pass unpunished4 ,in this way the ,norman host that assembled at ,dives1 while the great fleet was being prepared1 included many who came from outside ,william's dominions4 ,after the whole of ,england had been completely subjugated ,william had his time and attention largely taken up with affairs in ,normandy4 ,his son ,robert was soon in open rebellion1 and assisted by the ,french ,king1 ,philip ,i41 ,robert brought about the death of his father1 for it was while devastating a portion of ,french territory that ,william received the injury which resulted in his death4 ,robert then became ,duke of ,normandy1 and there followed those sanguinary quarrels between the three brothers ,william ,rufus1 ,king of ,england1 ,henry ,beauclerc and ,robert4 ,finally1 after his return from ,palestine1 ,robert came to ,england to endeavour to make peace with his younger brother ,henry1 who was now king1 but the quarrel was not to be settled in this way4 ,henry1 determined to add ,normandy to the ,english crown1 crossed the channel with a large army and defeated his brother at ,tinchebrai in #aajf4 ,with the accession of ,stephen to the ,english throne in #aace1 came the long struggle between that king and ,maud4 ,when ,henry ,,ii4 married ,eleanor of ,aquitaine1 not only that great province but also ,maine and ,anjou came under his sway1 so that for a time ,normandy was only a portion of the huge section of ,france belonging to the ,english ,crown4 ,during his long reign ,henry spent much time in ,normandy1 and ,argentan and ,avranches are memorable in connection with the tragedy of ,thomas ,becket4 ,during the absence of ,richard ,cur-de-,lion in ,palestine ,john became exceedingly friendly with ,philip ,augustus1 the ,french ,king1 but when ,richard was dead he found cause to quarrel with the new ,english king and1 after the fall of the ,chateau ,gaillard1 ,john soon discovered that he had lost the ,duchy of ,normandy and had earned for himself the name of 8,lackland40 ,from this time1 namely1 the commencement of the thirteenth century1 ,normandy belonged to the crown of ,france although ,english armies were1 until #adej1 in frequent occupation of the larger towns and fortresses4