Bretagne; in the town and neighbourhood, therefore, are many of the
relics of these early sovereigns. On an hill to the eastward is the
castle in which these princes used to hold their court: it is still
entire, though built nearly nine hundred years ago; and the repairs
having been made in the character of the original structure, it remains
a most perfect specimen of the architecture of the age in which it was
built. One room, the hall or banquetting-room, as in all Gothic castles,
is of an immense size, and lofty in proportion. The ornaments likewise
partake of the character of the age; they are chiefly carved angels,
croziers, and other sacred appendages. A remark here struck me very
forcibly, that many curious conclusions as to the characters, manners,
and even of the detail of domestic economy of men in the early ages,
might be deduced from the remains of their architecture. I have read
very curious and detailed histories founded only on the figures on
medals; the early history of Greece, and that of the lower empire of
Rome, have scarcely a better foundation. Now, why may not the same use
be made of architecture? Is not the religion of our ancestors legible in
the very ornaments of their house? Are not their excessive ignorance
and credulity equally visible in the griffins, sphinxes, dragons,
mermaids, and chimeras, which are so frequently carved in Gothic roofs,
and which are so absurdly mistaken for angels and devils? The analogy
might be extended much farther.

The monument of Francis the Second, Duke of Bretagne, and father to Anne
of Bretagne, the Queen of France, is one of the most magnificent of the
kind in France, and from this circumstance, I suppose, has been suffered
to survive the Revolution undefaced. This monument was the work of
Michael Colomb, and is one of those works of art which, like the Apollo
Belvidere, is sufficient of itself to immortalize its artist. The
figures are a curious mixture of the wives and children of the deceased
Duke, with angels, cherubs, &c.; but this was the taste of the age, and
must not be imputed to Michael Colomb. The heart of Anne is likewise
buried in a silver urn in the same vault. The inscription on the tomb
relates a vow made by Francis to the Holy Virgin, that if he should
obtain a child by his second marriage, he would dedicate a golden image
to the Virgin. The prince obtained the child, and the image was made and
dedicated.

It would be an injustice, in this a