iver about
five miles from the town. The French, like the Dutch, seemed to be
peculiarly attached to this kind of site, having a river run through
their towns, one half being built on one side, and one on the other. The
water of the Mayenne is so harsh, that it cannot be drunk or used for
cookery, and were it not for the proximity of the Loire, and some
aqueducts, Angers, though built on a river, must necessarily become
desolate for want of water. The same improvidence is visible in many
towns in France, and still more in Holland.

The walls round this city were built by King John of England, and though
six centuries, have elapsed, are still nearly entire. Part of them were
indeed demolished by Louis the Eighth, but they were restored in their
original form by his successor, and remain a proof of the durable style
of building of that Age (1230). The castle of Angers was built at the
same time. It is situated on a rock which overhangs the river, and
though now in decay, has still a very striking appearance. The walls are
lofty and broad, the towers numerous, and the fosses deep. They are cut
out of the solid rock, and must have required long and ingenious labour.

The cathedral of Anjou, the inner part of which exactly resembles
Westminster Hall, is chiefly celebrated for containing the monument of
Margaret of Anjou, the queen of Henry the Sixth of England. This woman
was in every respect a perfect heroine, and worthy of her illustrious
father, Rene, King of Sicily. She was taken prisoner in the battle of
Tewkesbury, and immediately committed, to the Tower, from which she was
ransomed by Louis the Eleventh, of France. This King, however, who was
never known to forget himself, and act otherwise than selfishly, had a
very different motive than humanity for this apparent generosity: having
gained possession of the person of Margaret, he immediately rendered her
his own prisoner, and caused her father to be informed that if he wished
to ransom her, he must give up all his hereditary rights to the duchies
of Anjou and Lorrain. So tenderly did Rene love his daughter, that he
made the sacrifice without hesitation. The history of this princess, as
collected from the French memoirs, has an air rather of romance than of
real history. Though the English historians all concur in her praise,
they seem to know very little of her. A remark here suggested itself:
that the best of the English historians seem totally to have overlooke