eds of St. Ouen, may
refer to Pommeraye's history of the convent, in which thirty-seven folio
pages are filled with his life and miracles; the latter commencing while
he was in long clothes. The monastery, under his protection, continued
to increase in reputation; and, in the year 1042, the abbatial mitre
devolved upon William, son of Richard IInd, Duke of Normandy, who laid
the foundation of a new church, which, after about eighty years, was
completed and consecrated by William Balot, next but one to him in the
succession[93].

But this church did not exist long: ten years only had elapsed when a
fire reduced it, together with the whole abbey, to ashes. An opportunity
was thus afforded to the sovereign to shew his munificence, and Richard
Coeur de Lion was not tardy in availing himself of it; but a second fire
in 1248 again dislodged the monks; and they continued houseless, till
the abbot, Jean Rousel, better known by the name of _Mardargent_, laid
the foundation in 1318, of the present structure, an honor to himself,
to the city, and to the nation. By this prelate the building was
perfected as far as the transept: the rest was the work of subsequent
periods, and was not completed till the prelacy of Bohier, who died in
the beginning of the sixteenth century.

To speak more properly, I ought rather to say that it was not till then
brought to its present state; for it was never completed. The western
front is still imperfect. According to the original design, it was to
have been flanked by magnificent towers, ending in a combination of open
arches and tracery, corresponding with the outline and fashion of the
central tower. These towers, which are now only raised to the height of
about fifty feet, jut diagonally from the angles of the facade; and it
was intended that, in the lower division, they should have been united
by a porch of three arches, somewhat resembling the west entrance of
Peterborough; and such as in this town is still seen, at St. Maclou,
though on a much larger scale. Pommeraye has given an engraving of this
intended front, taken from a drawing preserved in the archives of the
abbey. The engraving is miserably executed; but it enables us to
understand the lines of the projected building. Pommeraye has also
preserved details of other parts of the church, among them of the
beautiful rood-loft erected by the Cardinal d'Etouteville, and long an
object of general admiration. The bronze doors of this screen