boasts at present of no less than fourteen thousand inhabitants,
exclusive of four hundred and twenty distinct families in the basse
ville, or suburbs--it must have grown up by little and little, I
suppose, to its present size.

Though there are four convents, there is but one parochial church in the
whole town; I had not an opportunity of taking its exact dimensions, but
it is pretty easy to make a tolerable conjecture of 'em--for as there
are fourteen thousand inhabitants in the town, if the church holds them
all it must be considerably large--and if it will not--'tis a very
great pity they have not another--it is built in form of a cross, and
dedicated to the Virgin Mary; the steeple, which has a spire to it, is
placed in the middle of the church, and stands upon four pillars elegant
and light enough, but sufficiently strong at the same time--it is
decorated with eleven altars, most of which are rather fine than
beautiful. The great altar is a master-piece in its kind; 'tis of white
marble, and, as I was told, near sixty feet high--had it been much
higher, it had been as high as mount Calvary itself--therefore, I
suppose it must be high enough in all conscience.

There was nothing struck me more than the great Square; tho' I cannot
say 'tis either well paved or well built; but 'tis in the heart of the
town, and most of the streets, especially those in that quarter, all
terminate in it; could there have been a fountain in all Calais,
which it seems there cannot, as such an object would have been a great
ornament, it is not to be doubted, but that the inhabitants would have
had it in the very centre of this square,--not that it is properly a
square,--because 'tis forty feet longer from east to west, than from
north to south; so that the French in general have more reason on their
side in calling them Places than Squares, which, strictly speaking, to
be sure, they are not.

The town-house seems to be but a sorry building, and not to be kept in
the best repair; otherwise it had been a second great ornament to this
place; it answers however its destination, and serves very well for the
reception of the magistrates, who assemble in it from time to time; so
that 'tis presumable, justice is regularly distributed.

I have heard much of it, but there is nothing at all curious in the
Courgain; 'tis a distinct quarter of the town, inhabited solely by
sailors and fishermen; it consists of a number of small streets, neatly
bui