antique, in an attire which for lightness and scantiness I never saw equalled, till I saw it surpassed at Paris. They appeared to be clothed only in jewels, and a little muslin, very gracefully disposed: the latter, to borrow a beautiful expression, had the appearance of "woven air."-From emotions of gratitude, for the captivating display which they made, I could not help offering a few fervent wishes, that the next day might find them preserved from the dreaded consequences of a very bitter cold night.

Rouen, which, upon the whole, is a fine city, and very large and populous, was formerly the capital of the kingdom of Normandy: it stands upon plain, screened on three sides by high and picturesque mountains, and is near two leagues in compass, exclusive of the fauxbourgs of St. Severs, Cauchoise, Bouveul, St. Hiliare, Martainville and Beauvisme. Its commerce was very celebrated, and since the peace is beginning again to rear its head. Most of the fine buildings in this city and its environs are Anglo-Norman antiquities, and were founded by the English before they left Normandy.

The cathedral, which is a grand and awful pile of Gothic architecture, was built by our William the Conqueror, and has two towers, one of which is surmounted by a wooden spire covered with lead,and is of the prodigious height of 395 French feet, the other is 236 feet high.

The want of uniformity in these towers produces an unfavourable effect. During the Revolution, this august edifice was converted into a sulphur and gunpowder manufactory, by which impious prostitution, the pillars are defaced and broken, and the whole is blackened and dingy.

The costly cenotaphs of white marble, enriched with valuable ornaments, containing the hearts of two of our kings of England, and dukes of Normandy, formerly placed on each side of the grand altar-piece, were removed during the Revolution.

The altar-piece is very fine. Grand preparations were making for the inauguration of the archbishop, which was to take place the following Sunday. There were not many people at mass; those who were present appeared to be chiefly composed of decrepid old women, and young children. Over the charity-box, fastened to one of the pillars, was a board upon which was written in large letters, "Hospices reconnoissance et prospérité à l'homme géneréux et sensible." I saw few people affected by this benedictory appeal. I next visited the church of St. Ouens, which is not so large as the cathedral, but surpasses it in point of elegance. This graceful pile has also had its share of sufferings during the reign of revolutionary barbarism. Its chaste and elegant pillars have been violated by the smoke of sulphur and wood; and, in many places, present to the distressed eye chasms produced by massy forges, which were erected against them for casting ball. The costly railing of brass, gilt, which half surrounded the altar, has been torn up and melted into cannon. The large circular stained window over the entrance, called La Rose du Portail is very beautiful, and wholly unimpaired. The organs in all the churches are broken and useless. They experienced this fate in consequence of their having been considered fanatical instruments during the time of terror. The fine organ of St. Ouens is in this predicament, and will require much cost to repair it.*

I cannot help admiring the good sense which in all the churches of France is displayed, by placing the organ upon a gallery over the grand entrance, by which the spectator has an uninterrupted view, and commands the whole length of the interior building. In the English cathedrals it is always placed midway

The ornaments of the churches of England experienced a similar fate from the commissioners of the Long Parliament, in 1643.

between the choir and church, by which this desired effect is lost.-St. Ouens is now opened for worship.

After we left St. Ouens, we visited the square aux Vaux, where the celebrated heroine of Lorrain, Joan d'Arc, commonly called the Maid of Orleans, was cruelly burnt at the stake, for a pretended sorceress, but in fact to gratify the barbarous revenge of the Duke of Bedford, the then regent of France; because, after signal successes, she conducted her sovereign, Charles, in safety to Rheims, where he was crowned, and obtained decisive victories over the English arms. We here saw the statue erected by the French to the memory of this remarkable woman, which, as an object of sculpture, possesses nothing worthy of notice.

Upon looking up against the corner wall of a street, surrounded by particoloured advertisements of quack medicines, wonderful cures, new invented essences, judgments of cassation, rewards for robbers, and bills of the opera, I beheld Buonaparte's address to the people of France, the object of which was to procure the election of First Consulship for life. If the Spanish proverb of "tell me with whom you are, and I will tell you what you are," were to be applied in this instance, I fear the result would not be very reputable to the consular application.

A circumstance occurred at this time, respecting this election, which was rather ridiculous, and excited considerable mirth at Paris. Upon the first appearance of the election book of the first consul in one of the departments, some wag, instead of subscribing his name, immediately under the title page, "shall Napoleon Buonaparte be first consul for life?" wrote the following words, "I can't tell." This trifling affair reached Mal Maison with great speed, but is said to have occasioned no other sensation there than a little merriment. Carnot's bold negative was a little talked of, but as it was solitary, it was consi. dered harmless.

To the love of finery, which the French still retain to a certain degree, I could alone attribute the gay appearance of the eggs in the market, upon which had been bestowed a very smart stain of lilac colour, the effect of which was so singular that I could not help noting it down.

On the third day after our arrival in this city, we attended the trial of a man who belonged to one of the banditti which infest the neighbouring country. The court was held in the hall of the ancient parliament house, and was composed of three civil judges (one of whom presided) three military judges, and two citizens. The arrangements of the court, which was crowded, were excellent, and afforded uninterrupted accommodations to all its members, who had separate doors and passages allotted to them, and also to the people, who were permitted to occupy the large area in front, which gradually rose from the seats of the persons belonging to the court, and enabled every spectator to have a perfect view of the whole. Appropriate moral mottos were inscribed in characters of gold upon the walls. The judges wore long laced bands, and robes of black, lined with light blue silk, with scarfs of blue and silver fringe, and sat upon an elevated simicircular bench, raised upon a flight of steps, placed in a large alcove, lined with tapestry. The secretaries and subordinate officers were seated below them. On the left the prisoner was placed, without irons, in the custody of two gensdarmes, formerly called maréchaussées, who had their long swords drawn. These soldiers have a very military appearance, and are a fine and valuable body of men. I fear the respectable impression which I would wish to convey of them will suffer, when I inform my reader, that they are servants of the police, and answer to our Bow-street Tunners. The swiftness with which they pursue and apprehend offenders is surprising. We were received with politeness, and conducted to a convenient place for hearing and seeing all that passed. The accusa

teur general, who sat on the left, wore a costume similar to that of the judges, without the scarf. He opened the trial by relating the circumstances, and declaiming upon the enormity of the offence: by which it appeared that the prisoner stood charged with robbery, accompanied with breach of hospitality; which in this country, be the amount of the plunder ever so trifling, is a capital offence. The address of the accuser was very florid and vehement, accom panied by impassioned action, which was occasionally graceful. Normandy has the reputation of producing the most eloquent advocates in France.

The wit-nesses, who were most wisely kept sepa. rate previous to their giving their evidence, were numerous, and proved many robberies against him, attended with aggravated breaches of hospitality. They entered into proofs of offences committed by the prisoner at different periods, and upon different per sons. The women who gave their testimony, exhibited a striking distinction between the timidity of English females, confronting the many eyes of a crowded court of justice, and the calm self-possession with which they delivered their testimony. The charges were clearly proved, and the prisoner upon being called upon for his defence, undismayed, and with all the practised hardihood of an Old Bailey felon, calmly declared, that he purchased the pile of booty produced in the court, for sums of money, the amount of which he did not then know, of persons he could not name, and in places which he did not remember. He had no advocate, and was followed by the public accuser, who made a long speech in reply to the defence. The court retired, the criminal was re-conducted to the prison behind the hall; and after an absence of about twenty minutes, a bell rang to announce the return of the judges; the prisoner reentered, escorted by a file of national guards, to hear his fate, upon which the president addressed the unhappy man, very briefly recapitulated his offences,