centre of the town. It had begun to rain smartly as we took shelter in
the kitchen; where, for the first time since leaving England, I saw a
display of utensils which might have vied with our own, or even with a
Dutch interior, for neatness and order of disposition. Some of the dishes
might have been as ancient as--not the old round Tower--but as the last
English Duke of Normandy who might have banquetted there. The whole was in
high polish and full display. On my complimenting the good _Aubergiste_
upon so creditable a sight, she laughed, and replied briskly--"Ce n'est
rien, ceci: Pentecote est tout pres, et donc vous verrez, Monsieur!"--It
should seem that Whitsuntide was the season for a general household
purification. Some of her furniture had once belonged to the Castle: but
she had bought it, in the scramble which took place at the dispersion and
destruction of the movables there, during the Revolution. I recommend all
travellers to take a lunch, and enjoy a bottle of vin ordinaire, at _Les
Trois-Negres._ I was obliged to summon up all my stock of knowledge in
polite phraseology, in order to decline a plate of soup. "It was delicious
above every thing"--"but I had postponed taking dinner till we got to
Bolbec." "Bon--vous y trouverez un hotel superbe." The French are easily
pleased; and civility is so cheap and current a coin abroad, that I wish
our countrymen would make use of it a little more frequently than they
appear to do. I started about two for Bolbec.

The rain continued during the whole of my route thither; but it did not
prevent me from witnessing a land of plenty and of picturesque beauty on
all sides. Indeed it is scarcely possible to conceive a more rich and
luxuriant state of culture. To the left, about half a league from
Lillebonne, I passed the domain of a once wealthy, and extremely extensive
abbey. They call it the _Abbey of Valasse._ A long rambling bare stone
wall, and portions of a deserted ruin, kept in sight for full half an
English mile. The immediate approach to BOLBEC is that of the entrance to a
modern and flourishing trading town, which seems to be beginning to recover
from the effects of the Revolution. After Rouen, and even Caudebec, it has
a stiff modernized air. I drove to the principal inn, opposite the church,
and bespoke dinner and a bed. The church is perfectly, modern, and equally
heavy and large. Crowds of people were issuing from _Vespers_, when,
ascending a flight of steps, (