ving, though a wretched one, of this intended front, is
given in Pommeraye's History of the Abbey, from a sketch preserved among
the records of the convent.

The view of this church, etched by Mr. Cotman, is copied from a drawing
made by Miss Elizabeth Turner. It represents the building, as seen from
a seat in the gardens formerly belonging to the monastery, but now open
to the public; and it is well calculated to convey a general idea of the
character of the exterior of the building, including the central tower,
which is wholly composed of open arches and tracery, and terminates,
like the south tower of the cathedral, with an octangular crown of
fleurs-de-lys. The plate also exhibits a portion of a circular chapel,
now commonly known by the name of _la Chambre des Clercs_, the only
remaining part of the church built by William Balot, in the beginning of
the twelfth century. This chapel, the south porch, the central tower,
and a specimen of ancient sculpture in the church, have been engraved by
Mr. Turner, in his _Tour in Normandy_. The two first, of the same
subjects, together with the western front, a general view of the church
from the south, the curious bas-relief over the southern entrance, and a
representation of the interior, have since been lithographized in M.
Jolimont's _Monumens de la Normandie_. Considerable pains have been
devoted in both these works, to the description and the history of the
building; and to them the reader must be referred, who is unwilling to
engage with the ponderous folio of Pommeraye.

NOTES:

[172] _Milton's Letters on the Fine Arts, written from Paris in the year
1815._ p. 183.

[173] Jolimont, from whom this quotation is borrowed, states, that it is
to be found in the chronicle of an author of the name of Fridegode; and
he proceeds with the following observations:--"The expression appears
remarkable, as warranting the inference, that the style of architecture,
which Fridegode calls _Gothic_, was in use in France as early as the
commencement of the sixth century, the time assigned by him for the
building of the first church of St. Ouen. But it is equally to be
inferred, from the manner in which he notices it, that this style was
not then common; and his subjoining, that it was made of square stones,
(in opposition, most probably, to rubble) serves to point out that such
an edifice was an extraordinary building for Rouen at that period. This
idea receives confirmation, from the