of
the organ in the Cathedral) are of their natural colour. I paced the
pavement beneath, and think that this organ cannot be short of forty
English feet in length. Indeed, in all the churches which I have yet seen,
the organs strike me as being of magnificent dimensions.

You should be informed however that the extreme length of the interior,
from the further end of the Chapel of the Virgin, to its opposite western
extremity, is about four hundred and fifty English feet; while the height,
from the pavement to the roof of the nave, or the choir, is one hundred and
eight English feet. The transepts are about one hundred and forty feet in
length. The central tower, upon the whole, is not only the grandest tower
in Rouen, but there is nothing for its size in our own country that can
compare with it. It rises upwards of one hundred feet above the roof of the
church; and is supported below, or rather within, by four magnificent
cluster-pillared bases, each about thirty-two feet in circumference. Its
area, at bottom, can hardly be less than thirty-six feet square. The choir
is flanked by flying buttresses, which have a double tier of small arches,
altogether "marvellous and curious to behold."

I could not resist stealing quietly round to the porch of the _south
transept_, and witnessing, in that porch, one of the most chaste, light,
and lovely specimens of Gothic architecture, which can be contemplated.
Indeed, I hardly know any thing like it.[55] The leaves of the poplar and
ash were beginning to mantle the exterior; and, seen through their green
and gay lattice work, the traceries of the porch seemed to assume a more
interesting aspect. They are now mending the upper part of the facade with
new stone of peculiar excellence--but it does not harmonise with the old
work. They merit our thanks, however, for the preservation of what remains
of this precious pile. I should remark to you that the eastern and
north-eastern sides of the abbey of St. Ouen are surrounded with promenades
and trees: so that, occasionally, either when walking, or sitting upon the
benches, within these gardens, you catch one of the finest views imaginable
of the abbey.

At this early season of the year, much company is assembled every evening
in these walks: while, in front of the abbey, or in the square facing the
western end, the national guard is exercised in the day time--and troops of
fair nymphs and willing youths mingle in the dance on a sabbath