evening,
while a platform is erected for the instrumental performers, and for the
exhibition of feats of legerdemain. You must not take leave of St. Ouen
without being told that, formerly, the French Kings used occasionally to
"make revel" within the Abbot's house. Henry II, Charles IX, and Henry III,
each took a fancy to this spot--but especially the famous HENRI QUATRE. It
is reported that that monarch sojourned here for four months--- and his
reply to the address of the aldermen and sheriff of Rouen is yet preserved
both in MS. and by engravings. "The King having arrived at St. Ouen (says
an old MS.)[56] the keys of the tower were presented to him, in the
presence of M. de Montpensier, the governor of the province, upon a
velvet-cushion. The keys were gilt. The King took them, and replacing them
in the hands of the governor, said--"Mon cousin, je vous les baille pour
les rendre, qu'ils les gardent;"--then, addressing the aldermen, he added,
"Soyez moi bons sujets et je vous serai bon Roi, et le meilleur Roi que
vous ayez jamais eu."

Next to the Abbey of St. Ouen, "go by all means and see the church _St.
Maclou_"--say your friends and your guides. The Abbe Turquier accompanied
me thither. The great beauties of St. Maclou are its tower and its porch.
Of the tower, little more than the lantern remains. This is about 160
English feet in height. Above it was a belfry or steeple, another 110 feet
in height, constructed of wood and lead--but which has been nearly
destroyed for the sake of the lead,--for the purpose of slaughter or
resistance during the late revolution.[57] The exteriors of the porches are
remarkable for their elaborate ornaments; especially those in the _Rue
Martainville._ They are highly praised by the inhabitants, and are supposed
to be after the models of the famous Goujon. Perhaps they are rather
encumbered with ornament, and want that quiet effect, and pure good taste,
which we see in the porches of the Cathedral and of the Abbey St. Ouen.
However, let critics determine as they will upon this point--they must at
least unite in reprobating the barbarous edict which doomed these delicate
pieces of sculptured art to be deluged with an over-whelming tint of
staring yellow ochre!

Of the remaining churches, I shall mention only four: two of them chiefly
remarkable for their interior, and two for their extreme antiquity. Of the
two former, that of _St. Vincent_ presents you with a noble organ, with a
ligh